Kumbh Mela is the largest religious gathering in the world. The Kumbh going on in the city of Prayagraj now will have an estimate of more than 12 crore pilgrims taking the holy dip. No event in the world, be it religious, entertainment, or otherwise can match the scale of Kumbh. Kumbh Mela is held in four places – Haridwar, Prayagraj, Nashik, and Ujjain. It is held in the Sangam of rivers Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, and Saraswathi. There are several references of the Kumbh Mela in the Hindu scriptures and the history. There are mythological, spiritual, astronomy, social and cultural aspects that make the Kumbh a grand festival.
Let us go into the details of the massive nature of the Kumbh so well organized at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh. UNESCO has declared the event Intangible Cultural Heritage. The following list will give you an idea of the perfectly organized city to accommodate the world’s biggest gathering.
Kumbh Mela(ardh) in Prayagraj is held once every 12 years.
Infrastructure – Over 4200 premium tents, 10000 policemen, 300 KM of roads, and 1.2Lakh toilets built.
A temporary town is built that spreads over 32 square kilometers.
5000 tons of rice, 7800 tons of wheat flour and 3100 tons of sugar allocated by the government.
100 bedded hospital for health emergencies.
Politicising Kumbh Mela
Kumbh also attracts a lot of academic, social, cultural and political studies from different parts of the world.
Diverting the spiritual significance of the Mela and calling it a superstition. Kumbh has deep spiritual significance in Hinduism. The event is held uninterruptedly from at least 10000 years.
Kumbh has been highlighted for political benefits – Leftists and Missionaries have been continuously trying to influence the Kumbh Mela and undermine the importance since a long time.
Highlighting environmental pollution, public health concern and infrastructure has been a practice by several anti-Hindu forces.
Questioning the event and linking it with the unemployment has begun in the recent past.
Creating unrest with communal and anti-religion approaches.
Missionaries entering the Kumbh Mela and converting the non-believers.
Designing academic and research studies that undermine the significance and highlight the simple issues.
Blaming the expenditure of the state government with a communal label to the BJP government.
Let us try and realize the spiritual significance of the Kumbh Mela and work towards celebrating an ancient event of the massive scale in this secular world. Do not forget to take the holy dip whenever you get a chance.
यह सेना की बहुत बड़ी सफलता है कि उसने पुलवामा हमले के मास्टरमाइंड अब्दुल रशीद गाज़ी को आखिरकार मार गिराया हालांकि इस ऑपरेशन में एक मेजर समेत हमारे चार जांबांज सिपाही वीरगति को प्राप्त हुए। देश इस समय बेहद कठिन दौर से गुज़र रहा है क्योंकि हमारे सैनिकों की शहादत का सिलसिला लगातार जारी है। अभी भारत अपने 40 वीर सपूतों को धधकते दिल और नाम आँखों से अंतिम विदाई दे भी नहीं पाया था, सेना अभी अपने इन वीरों के बलिदान को ठीक से नमन भी नहीं कर पाई थी, राष्ट्र अपने भीतर के घुटन भरे आक्रोश से उबर भी नहीं पाया था, कि 18 फरवरी की सुबह फिर हमारे पांच जवानों की शहादत की एक और मनहूस खबर आई।
पुलवामा की इस हृदयविदारक घटना में सबसे अधिक पीड़ादायक बात यह है कि वो 40 सीआरपीएफ के जवान किसी युद्ध के लिए नहीं गए थे। वे तो छुट्टियों के बाद अपनी अपनी डयूटी पर लौट रहे थे। “जिहाद” की खातिर एक आत्मघाती हमलावर ने सेना के काफिले पर इस फियादीन हमले को अंजाम दिया। हैवानियत की पराकाष्ठा देखिए कि पाक पोषित आतंकवादी संगठन जैश ए मोहम्मद न सिर्फ हमले की जिम्मेदारी लेता है बल्कि उस सुसाइड बॉम्बर का हमले के लिए जाने से पहले का एक वीडियो भी रिलीज़ करता है। इंसानियत का इससे घिनौना चेहरा क्या हो सकता है। इससे किसे क्या हासिल हुआ कहना मुश्किल है लेकिन इस घटना ने इतना तो साबित कर ही दिया कि बिना स्थानीय मदद के ऐसी किसी वारदात को अंजाम देना संभव नहीं था। कहने की आवश्यकता नहीं कि इस वीभत्सता में कश्मीरियत जम्हूरियत और इंसानियत ने कब का दम तोड़ दिया है। वो घाटी जो जन्नत हुआ करती थी आज केसर से नहीं लहू से लाल है। वो कश्मीर जो अपनी सूफी संस्कृति के लिए जाना जाता था आज आतंक का पर्याय बन चुका है।
घाटी में आतंक का ये सिलसिला जो 1987 से शुरू हुआ था वो अब निर्णायक दौर में है। देश के प्रधानमंत्री ने कहा है कि जवानों के खून की एक एक बूंद और हर आंख से गिरने वाले एक एक आँसू का ऐसा बदला लिया जायेगा कि विश्व इस न्यू इंडिया को महसूस करेगा।
वर्तमान सरकार के प्रयासों से स्पष्ट है कि वो इस बार आरपार की लड़ाई के पक्ष में है और यह सही भी है। क्योंकि देश में हुए आतंकवादी हमले के बाद इस समय जो देश का माहौल बना हुआ है, वो शायद इससे पहले कभी देखने को नहीं मिला। आज देश की हर आंख नम है, हर दिल शहीदों के परिवार के दर्द को समझ रहा है, हर शीष उस माता पिता के आगे नतमस्तक है जिसने अपना जिगर का टुकड़ा भारत माँ के चरणों में समर्पित किया। हर हृदय कृतज्ञ है उस वीरांगना का जिसने अपनी मांग का सिंदूर देश को सौंप दिया और हर भारत वासी ऋणी है उस बालक का जो पिता के कंधों पर बैठने की उम्र में अपने पिता को कंधा दे रहा है।
ये वाकई में एक नया भारत है जिसमें आज हर दिल में देशभक्ति की ज्वाला धधक रही है। यह एक अघोषित युद्ध का वो दौर है जिसमें हर व्यक्ति देश हित में अपना योगदान देने के लिए बेचैन है। कोई शहीदों के बच्चों की पढ़ाई की जिम्मेदारी ले रहा है तो कोई अपनी एक महीने की तनख्वाह दे रहा है। स्थिति यह है कि “भारत के वीर” में मात्र दो दिन में 6 करोड़ से ज्यादा की राशि जमा हो गई। आज देश की मनःस्थिति का अंदाज़ा इसी बात से लगाया जा सकता है कि देश का बच्चा बच्चा और महिलाएं तक कह रही हैं कि हमें सीमा पर जाने दो हम पाकिस्तान से बदला लेने को बेताब हैं। पूरा देश अब पाकिस्तान से बातचीत नहीं बदला चाहता है। हालात यह हैं कि पाक से बातचीत करने जैसा बयान देने पर सिद्धू को एक टीवी शो से बाहर का रास्ता दिखा दिया जाता है तो कहीं पाकिस्तान से हमदर्दी जताने वाले को नौकरी से बाहर कर दिया जाता है। जिस देश में कुछ समय पहले तक अभिव्यक्ति की स्वतंत्रता के नाम पर देश विरोधी नारे लगाने वालों के पक्ष में कई राजनैतिक दलों के नेता और मानववादी संगठन इकट्ठा हो जाते थे, आज वो देश भारत माता की जय और वंदे मातरम जैसे नारों से गूंज रहा है
टीवी चैनल और सोशल मीडिया देश भक्ति और वीररस की कविताओं से ओतप्रोत हैं। यह नए भारत की गूंज ही है कि अपने भाषणों में हरदम आग उगलने वाले ओवैसी जैसे नेता पहली बार आतंकवाद के खिलाफ बोलते हैं। यह नए भारत की ताकत ही है कि कश्मीर के अलगाववादी नेताओं को मिलने वाली सुरक्षा और सुविधाओं के छीने जाने पर फारूख अब्दुल्लाह और महबूबा मुफ्ती जैसे घाटी के नेता शांत हैं। और नए भारत की यह ताकत सिर्फ देश में ही नहीं दुनिया में भी दिखाई दी जब आतंकवाद की इस घटना पर विश्व के 48 देशों ने भारत को समर्थन दिया। अमेरिका से लेकर रूस ने कहा कि भारत को आत्मरक्षा का अधिकार है और वे भारत के साथ हैं।
और यह नए भारत की शक्ति ही है कि आज पाकिस्तान बैकफुट पर है। आज वो अपने परमाणु हथियार सम्पन्न होने के दम पर युद्ध की धमकी नहीं दे रहा बल्कि इस हमले में अपना हाथ न होने की सफाई दे रहा है। यह नए भारत का दम है कि यह हरकत उसपर उल्टी पड़ गई। दरअसल अमरीका की ट्रम्प सरकार द्वारा अफगानिस्तान से अपनी फौज वापस बुलाने के फैसले से आतंकी संगठनों और पाक दोनों के हौसले फिर से बुलंद होने लगे थे। इस समय को उन्होंने इस क्षेत्र में अपनी ताकत दिखाने के मौके के रूप में देखा। क्योंकि सेना की मुस्तैदी और ऑपरेशन ऑल आउट के चलते वे काफी समय से देश या घाटी में कोई वारदात नहीं कर पा रहे थे जिससे उन्हें अपने अस्तित्व पर ही खतरा दिखने लगा था और वो जबरदस्त दबाव में थे। उन्होंने सोचा था कि भारत में चुनाव से पहले “कुछ बड़ा” करके वो भारत पर दबाव बनाने में कामयाब हो जाएंगे जबकि हुआ उल्टा।
क्योकि आज आर्थिक रूप से जर्जर पाकिस्तान सामाजिक रूप से भी पूरी दुनिया में अलग थलग पड़ चुका है। और रही सही कसर भारत के प्रधानमंत्री के बदला लेने के संकल्प के बाद 14 तारिख से लगातार भारत के हर गली कूचे में गूंजने वाले पाकिस्तान मुर्दाबाद के नारों ने उसको मनोवैज्ञानिक पराजय दे कर पूरी कर दी। वो पाक अपनी नापाक हरकतों से विश्व में आर्थिक सामाजिक कूटनीतिक और राजनैतिक मोर्चे पर आज बेहद बुरे दौर से गुज़र रहा है।अपने दुश्मन की इस आधी पराजय को अपनी सम्पूर्ण विजय में बदलने का इससे श्रेष्ठ समय हो नहीं सकता जब देश के हर बच्चे में सैनिक, हर युवा में एक योध्दा और हर नारी में दुर्गा का रूप उतर आया हो।
What can the common citizen do for Pulwama martyrs?
This has been the question on my mind after the initial heartbreak and the emotions that dominated my thoughts after the news.
Of course, we see the usual suspects in action – the Breaking India forces (the Urban Naxals, Paid Sepoys, Brainwashed Sepoys, most Bollywood and other cinema people except a few, Jihadists, Christian Evangelicals, etc)- the common thread to all of them being that they are Hinduphobes, either for money or for ideological reasons (Jihadists, Christians, etc.). As Bharatiyas who care about country first, we are as usual busy giving responses to their lies, their hypocrisy and all the slander they perpetrate in the media (both social and mainstream media). In effect, what is happening is that Bharatiyas are well and truly falling in to the trap set by the Breaking India forces to divert the news which will eventually ensure that this attack is also whitewashed and that there is no relevant response from the Government.
So, what do we common citizens do?
Well, as a starter, this what I did:
1. Make a payment to the families of our martyrs.
2. Pray:
– for a good place for the Atmas who made the ultimate sacrifice (I mean our brave soldiers, not the terrorist)
– for strength to the families of the martyrs
– to drill down some sense in to our Government to take real actionable steps beyond mere words
What else can we do?
We are all quick to point out what the Government can do, which we should by the way. But what do we do?
1. We should monetarily boycott all the Breaking India forces – because most of them are driven by money and even the ideological ones need money.
2. We should answer clearly with our votes – imagine the plight of our country if these forces come to rule again.
3. We should build memorials for our martyrs so we never forget (it is very easy to move on to the IPL or the next movie or the world cup).
Preparations for the forthcoming parliament election are gaining steam with the onset of summer in Tamil Nadu. Most of the smaller political parties are moving here and there to stitch an alliance with either of the major Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadu. The interesting development is the deep worry and unnecessary anxiety of DMK in the likely alliance between BJP and AIADMK along with many other parties in Tamil Nadu. The fear of DMK is not only visible but also has enough substance and merit. From the vote share per se of AIADMK, BJP, PMK, DMDK if all the above parties form alliance, Stalin has lots to fear as the AIADMK alliance may hold up 58% of the vote share and that might sweep the poll. Such situation may put an end not only to the ambition of Stalin to become the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu but also may end his political carrier and DMK. Hence, out of fear, frustration and anxiety, he is accusing that BJP only has forced AIADMK to form an alliance.
In fact AIADMK forming an alliance with BJP along with PMK and other parties will certainly do more good to AIADMK than to BJP because AIADMK today suffers from factionalism, lacks the great leadership of Amma and is also challenged by TTV Dinakaran. Such political situation would prove disastrous to the party if it go for pool all alone without forming an alliance. Many people in Tamil Nadu have started to consider BJP as a decisive political party and Nrendra Modi to be the most honest, upright Prime Minister with clear vision on development and sab ka viakas.
Therefore AIADMK aligning with BJP will give credible leadership to AIADMK, help to rejuvenate the cadres, revive the glory of the party and would give clear vision to the state through supporting a stable government at the centre under PM Modi
On the other hand, DMK has decided to align with congress where the formula will be seen as two dynasts wants to work together to save the sinking dynasty. Corruption charges faced by both the parties, entire state know.
Knowing fully well about the brilliant strategy of such alliance and PM Modi shall be the credible and dependable face of such an alliance in Tamil Nadu which will sweep the poll, Stalin has started to engage in hate politics and politics of negativism. He chose to attack Narendra Modi than AIADMK because he fears BJP to be the bigger threat to his dynasty politics than AIADMK.
If we look at the history of formation of DMK from DK and the role of hatred, atheism, anti-God, anti-Hindu, anti-Brahmin rhetoric the hate politics of Stalin in nothing new.
For nearly 5 decades, hatred and negativism was the gene of the party. Hence Stalin is trying the same old formula of hate and negative politics by keeping Narendra Modi as the anchoring point. He is equating Modiji and BJP to Hindutva and Hindutwa with Brahminism. So he is using the same formula to test his poll fortune. But the leaders like Seeman, Maniarasan, Sakthivel, John Pandian are not only gaining recognition and overwhelming support base in the state they also have sufficiently exposed how DMK has destroyed the great Tamil culture, Bhakti tradition and masked the Tamil identity with Dravidian tag to cover up the Telugu origin of some of its leaders.
People of Tamil Nadu have clearly understood how bad it would be for the state if DMK is elected. It is wise to elect AIADMK + BJP alliance than DMK and some more time is required for Seeman to mature as some of his ideologies look quite cruel and un-implementable. Therefore the need of the hour is a credible, honest, decisive government headed by PM Modi at the centre and TN being rule by the vision of Amma.
Stalin has accused and abused AIADMK government to be the most corrupt and has lost the faith and support of the people. If he believes the above to be true, why then he fears about the alliance between BJP and AIADMK as most to the surveys (might have been managed by DMK) have clearly shown that DMK would sweep the poll. Why he does not even want to face the election in Tiruvarur where his father contested and won the last election.
The first time voters and youths of Tamil Nadu must think of the state and the interest of the nation at large than anything else and must vote for development, sab ka vikas and stability. The politics of hatred and negativity, politics of anti-God, anti-Hindu, anti-Brahmins rhetoric must end in the state as such politics will never take the state to development or prosperity.
The worst nightmare of Stalin is how to deal BJP+AIADMK alliance in the state and what he might have learned possibly from his father and others in DMK is nothing but engage in politics of hatred and negativity and that is why he is doing hate politics against Narendra Modi. Stalin is absolutely right in his fear that PM Modi will provide a credible and honest leadership to AIADMK front in Tamil Nadu and in all probability such an alliance may sweep the poll as well.
Hope the millions of youths and the first time voters will vote for development and sab ka vikas and not the vikas and power of two dynasts.
The present generation people of Tamil Nadu are made to believe that DMK only fought for the Tamil cause, made the re-naming of Madras state as ‘Tamil Nadu’ possible, way back in July 18, 1968 when first DMK government lead by CN Annadurai came to power in the state.
The first time voters of the state must remember that Sankaralinga Nadar went on indefinite fast for 77 days and died for the cause of renaming the Madras state as Tamil Nadu way back in 1956. Sankaralinga Nadar was a true Gandhian, a freedom fighter from Virudunagar district. When he fought for the Tamil cause, he was 78 years.
Sivagnanams’s Tamilarasu Kalagam demanded the name change and invoked the contributions of Sankaralinga Nadar when CN Annadurai came to power in 1967 and that is how the name change happened. However the subsequent DMK government muddled the identity of Tamil as Dravidian and to destroy the great Bhakti tradition and constantly propelled anti-God, anti-Hindu and anti-Brahmin hatred in the state.
It was Amma J Jayalalithaa took initiatives to build Manimandapam for Sankaralinga Nadar to commemorate his contributions to the present and future generation. The history of demand for the state goes back to middle of 19th century. The ancient Tamil literature has several mentions of ‘Tamil pride’.
The anti-God, anti-Hindu, anti-Brahmin politics of EV Ramasamy Naicker and DMK carefully drifted people away from the real glory of Tamil tradition and culture. Thanks to the significant contributions of the two Tamil scholars such as Suryanarayana Sastri and UV Swaminatha Iyer, both belonged to Brahmin community, today several Tamil literary work are preserved from palm leaf manuscripts. Further Suryanarayana Sastri was the first to demand Tamil language to be declared as classical language.
Way back in 1938, Marimalai Adigal and Somasundara Bharathi raised the slogan of Tamil Nadu for the first time but which was stolen by Dravidian party and projected as if they were the true crusader of Tamil cause. C. Subramaniam the then Finance Minister of Madras state announced in the assembly in February 24, 1961 that the state Chennai Rajyam would thereafter be referred as Tamil Nadu. However this proposal had a limitation that the above reference could be used only within the state and not in the official correspondence to the central government and foreign countries.
The above issue was raised in Parliament by Bupesh Gupta of communist party and introduced constitution (amendment) Bill in 1961 in Rajya Sabha which sought to change the name of Madras state to Tamil Nadu. Subsequently Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh also placed their demand for name change. This preamble work, CN Annadurai materialized in 1968 and then the DMK lead by Karunanidhi milked the same politically.
The term similar to Tamil Nadu has been mentioned in Sangam literature Parippadal and also in Silappathikaaram. The term was also referred in Aganaanuru and Purannanuru. Further in 1910, the poet Bharathiyar has reiterated the term in his poem as Senthamizhnadu. C Rajagopalachari was the one who made suggestion to the end the grammatical dispute in the nomenclature and thus Tamil Nadu with the addition of ‘u’ at the end was finalized whereas many other regions chosen the term Pradesh as suffix.
Neither the Justice Party nor EV Ramasamy Naicker or DMK has done anything great to the state instead they capitalized the efforts of great Tamil leaders and scholars for political gain and finally the politics of the state has been reduced to politics of dynasty and travesty.
Today the history is portrayed in such a way that it was only DMK and Karunanidhi made the language Tamil grow and the landmass called Tamil Nadu to happen.
In fact the true culture, sacredness and Bhakti tradition of Tamil Nadu was completely destroyed by EV Ramasamy Naicker, abused God, Hindu religion, Brahmins, several Tamil scholars and spiritual leaders of the state including Tiruvalluvar and spread negativity, atheism and hatred in the name of rationalism and self-right. Self-right and rationalism could have been brought without abusing the sacred culture or renaming the Tamil culture as Dravidian culture just because people like EVR might want to hide his non-Tamil identity as postulated by several Tamil scholars like Maniarasan and Sakthivel.
It was Amma and MGR who really revived the ancient tradition of the state by re-consecrating the contributions of Muthuramlingam Thevar, Sangaralinga Nadar etc.
Tamil Nadu can be saved and developed to meet the aspirations of millions of educated youths of the state only when the agenda of development initiated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi is elected back to power.
Amma’s dream and PM Modi’s vision of New India must win in 2019 and not the politics of dynasty if Tamil Nadu has to be saved.
Nowadays it has become common for us to hear that military operations in Kashmir are being affected by the heavy stone pelting led by the separatist leaders and some youths. And the worst part of it is that they are being protected by the local politicians and some media personnel, they are being referred to as “The Bhatke Hue Bachche”. I mean really! Is this happening for real? The one and the most important thing that everyone who all are protecting their Bhatke hue youth should know that you all are not saving or protecting their future but destroying their careers. And the latest example of this is the recent heinous attack on our army Jawans.
The accused Adil Dar used to be a stone pelter, and after being protected by the local politicians and the liberal media, he became one of the deadliest terrorist, who not only destroyed the families of those 44 martyrs but also disturbed the minds of 125 crores citizens. And the thing that makes me sad is that this cowardly attack is being celebrated by some of the stiff-hearted people of our country. Yeah, you read it right, some of the people of our country are celebrating this heinous act openly. And you know what some of them are even spreading fake news that Kashmiri students are being attacked across the country after the attack. And you all know whom I am referring to? Yes, you guessed it right, Shehla Rashid, the same girl who was accused of fraud in the money collected for Kathua rape case victim. And the worst part of this is that some media personnel came out with tweets asking Kashmiri students to come to them if they are in fear of being attacked.
I mean okay, offering someone help is an act of kindness, but you all are not helping instead you all are provoking them to fight for a thing which is not true. And if you all were kind enough, then where was your kindness when Kashmiri Pandits were being brutally killed? Why didn’t you open your gates for them then? So please stop showing your fake kindness, and we are not fool that we won’t be able to find what your intentions are behind this fake kindness. So please keep them to yourself only.
Today when I was watching news of the mastermind of Pulwama terror attack being killed by our army personnel, you know what the following news was? The news was followed by, “Heavy stone pelting has started around the encounter area during the ongoing clash between terrorists and army jawans”.And in between, I heard one of the army personnel requesting the mob (the bhatke hue youth) that please leave the encounter area, your life is very precious to us, if something happens it would be very difficult for us to help you. But those bhatke hue youth started abusing them and chanting pro Pakistani slogans. Have you guessed how difficult it would be for the army personnel to handle stone pelters and the terrorists simultaneously?
The main reason why this happening is because of the existence of Art 370 & 35 A, and according to me these articles are a major bug in our constitution and the time has come to remove them. And I am pretty sure that when these articles will be scrapped then the conditions in Kashmir will improve a lot. The time has come to be together to put an end on stone pelting and to improve the future of the Kashmiri youth which is being destroyed by the separatist leaders. If we’ll not come forward today then we don’t know how many of these stone pelters will become A++ category terrorists and would carry out more attacks like the recent Pulwama attack.
One thing that has become clear is the dominant power of social media, for instance, consider the reaction on social media after Sidhu’s comments on the Pulwama attack. The power of social media made Sony TV kneel before them and it ended up after Sidhu was sacked from the Kapil Sharma show. We have an indomitable weapon with us in form of social media, which can help us to make India better if used in the right way. So why not start a campaign to abolish Art 370 & 35 A from our constitution. If each one of us comes forward and joins hands together then we will be successful. And I literally mean what I am saying. So, come forward and help, in making Kashmir, a New Kashmir, and a better Kashmir.
Jai Hind.
Jai Bharat.
Scrap 370
There has been a rupture of emotions throughout the country. The political and geopolitical implications of Pulwama attack remains in a nascent stage for any authentic observation. However, in the future, the hindsight would be an essential tool to judge as well as discern what would have been the optimal response to such a horrific act of state-sponsored terrorism. The vulnerability of ordinary Indian citizens does not stem from fear of terrorism, however, from scrawny actions that follow those acts of violence.
The principal cause of these feelings had been the inability of the state to take stern actions against state-sponsored terrorism in the past. In a nutshell, emotions run high across people of a different spectrum. The people all over are stressing that “Kashmir policy is not working.” Well, such remarks are dangerous on two counts. One, there is no official Kashmir policy to begin with (at least not in writing that is available in public domain) and second as this article seeks to emphasize the problem is not identified correctly. And with such critical errors how can one choose an appropriate policy (hard/soft) in Kashmir or how can people debate without knowing the facts of the problem. The question one needs to ask themselves is, what are we missing?
The charged-up atmosphere around the nation is somewhat guided if not necessarily dictated ordinarily by traditional media, the neo-print media and most certainly the social networking platforms. These all being mostly one-sided communications stir no debates but narratives that risk the snubbing of truth and reality. The social media provides a chance to fight back if not preparing a full-on counter-narrative. This limited interaction of people, therefore, soon turns into an unsavory, coarse and accusing spectacle where the first casualty is of truth. One of the things that are appreciated in democracies is discussions. This appreciation for discussion remains relevant as long as it is productive and beneficial to the broader interests of the country. The grave concern in the backdrop of this attack is this absence of discussions that are meaningful and honest.
The quest of honest and meaningful discussions should be guided by the idea of serving wider societal and state-interests. This would mean to initiate discussions and deliberations that are relevant which in this case would be to identify genuine points of discussions. There have been, in most crude generalizations (which should usually be avoided) two broad groups in India which are anti-violence and pro-violence. This debate of anti and pro appears obvious and legitimate, nevertheless, nonsensical because it is distracting people from the original and relevant discussion.
The discussion should be about the nature of such state-sponsored terrorism. And in pursuance of much needed honest and meaningful discussion, this discussion should be based on evidence, facts, and data. The terrorism directed in Kashmir is masked as a freedom struggle by the anti-violence group which at times legitimizes the attack as “response.” For such people who depict themselves to be uniquely rational makes cases for avoiding generalizations and asserts that intricacies behind such incidents are immense that the general public is missing. It is, therefore, quite ridiculous that they generalize the terrorism in Kashmir as “solely the quest for statehood.” The argument for the pro-violence group is sometimes just product of frustration growing out of indecisiveness of the past, which makes it easier for the “anti-violence” groups to condemn their actions mere heat of the moment.
The argument from the pro-violence group, therefore, should be to identify the additional and perhaps more important factors that expound the nature of terrorism in Kashmir and consequentially a better case for adopting a hard power approach to the attack. The grit of such an argument would be understood through the statement made by Adil Ahmad Dar the perpetrator of the attack in his confession-cum-statement video released minutes after the attack.
The ten minutes long video makes various derogatory and offensive remarks at Indian citizen primarily to Hindus. Nevertheless, one should confront such statements up front.
The need for such confrontation can be questioned and responded in one simple sentence: his statement is a fact, and just because a fact is uncomfortable or offends someone cannot be an excuse to avoid the fact. The video uses phrases like “cow urine drinkers” and multiple other phrases targeting the Hindu population. The means of JeM is neither rooted in the modern state system nor is their end a modern state. It is intrinsically entrenched in Islamic understanding of the world where state and church are the same. These distinctions are somewhat complicated. However, under-discussed misunderstood and at times purposely discounted. Therefore, it is incumbent for people from anti and pro-violence spectrum to have honest and truthful debates and discussions which would help in understanding such distinctions between means and ends of Kashmir liberation movement (domestic as well external).
The solutions of problems cannot be based on subjective understanding but careful deliberation of the problem. The problem in Kashmir is not as simple as ‘individuals distraught by the state have picked up arms and are waging a freedom struggle.’ It is much more complex; as the statement video of the terrorist attack at Pulwama and countless similar statements before it illustrates, there are religious nitty-gritty which are masquerading and misrepresenting the problem in Kashmir into a convenient and straightforward struggle for a modern state.
In conclusion, the need of the hour is not just a clear-cut Kashmir policy by the government, but a well-informed public. The attack, as tragic as it was should also be viewed as a flashpoint, a wake-up call to everyone who remains privy to limited understanding of Kashmir and the conflict therein. Because what could be more frightening than a misinformed public?
कश्मीर के पुलवामा में पाकिस्तानी आतंकी संगठन जैश-ए-मुहम्मद के आतंकी ने एक आत्मघाती हमले में CRPF के 40 से ऊपर बेगुनाह जवानों की जान ले ली है. जवानों के शहीद होने के तुरंत बाद ही कांग्रेस पार्टी के नेताओं के जिस तरह से शर्मनाक बयान आने शुरू हुए और उन बयानों में आतंकी की तरफदारी करते हुए जिस तरह से मोदी सरकार को घेरने की कवायद शुरू हुई, उसे देखकर किसी भी देशभक्त भारतीय का सर शर्म से झुक जाना चाहिए. रस्म अदायगी के लिए कांग्रेस पार्टी और इसके नेताओं ने सैनिकों की इस शहादत पर शोक तो प्रकट कर दिया लेकिन एक तरफ नवजोत सिंह सिद्धू समेत सारे नेता पाकिस्तान को “क्लीन चिट” देने का काम करते रहे, दूसरी तरफ इन्ही के कुछ नेता पाकिस्तान की बजाये मोदी सरकार को घेरने का काम करते रहे. इन्ही के इशारे पर आतंकी के पिता से किसी स्व-घोषित पत्रकार ने इंटरव्यू भी कर लिया और उसी के आधार पर यह कहानी बनाई जाने लगी मानो वह आतंकी पूरी तरह निर्दोष हो और सारा दोष पुलिस और सुरक्षा बलों का हो जिन्होंने 2016 में इस आतंकी से पत्थरबाज़ी की एक वारदात के सिलसिले में सख्ती से पूछताछ की थी.
आतंकी के पिता ने जो कहानी इस तथाकथित पत्रकार को सुनायी उसने उसे पूरी तरह सच मानकर अख़बारों में परोस दिया और उसी के आधार पर कांग्रेसियों ने आतंकी को “बेक़सूर” और मोदी सरकार को “गुनहगार” बताने का सिलसिला शुरू कर दिया. सुरजेवाला ने इस हमले को मोदी सरकार की बड़ी विफलता बताया तो कपिल सिब्बल ने इस घटना के लिए अति-राष्ट्रवाद [हाइपर-नेशनलिज्म] को जिम्मेदार बता दिया. पूर्व केंद्रीय मंत्री सुशील कुमार शिंदे भी कहाँ पीछे रहने वाले थे- उन्होंने इस हमले को भारत द्वारा की गयी सर्जिकल स्ट्राइक का जबाबी हमला बता दिया. नवजोत सिंह सिद्धू तो पहले ही पाकिस्तान को इस हमले के मामले में “क्लीन चिट” दे चुके थे. कांग्रेस पार्टी और इनकी भजन मंडली ने जो कहानी तैयार की उसके हिसाब से आतंकी एक निहायत शरीफ व्यक्ति था. क्योंकि पुलिस और सुरक्षा बलों ने उससे पत्थरबाज़ी के सिलसिले में सख्ती से पूछताछ कर ली थी, इसलिए वह बहुत अपमानित महसूस कर रहा था और इसीलिए उसने आतंकी संगठन जैश-ए-मुहम्मद को ज्वाइन कर लिया. अगर एक बार को यह कहानी सही भी मान ली जाए तो उसके हिसाब से पुलिस पूरे देश में रोजाना सैंकड़ों आरोपियों को संदेह के आधार पर पकड़कर पूछताछ करती है- फिर तो उन सभी को आतंकी बनकर सेना पर हमला करने का अधिकार मिल जाना चाहिए. क्या इस तरह से किसी देश में कानून व्यवस्था चल सकती है ?
दरअसल 2014 में लोकसभा चुआवों में हारने के साथ ही कांग्रेस ने मोदी सरकार को हटाने के लिए नित नए पैतरे इस्तेमाल करने शुरू कर दिए थे. पुलवामा का आतंकी हमला उनमे से आखिरी पैतरा है. 2015 में कांग्रेस के नेता मणि शंकर अय्यर पाकिस्तान में यह फ़रियाद करने गए थे की मोदी को हटाने में कांग्रेस की मदद करो. इसी बात को इनके अलग अलग नेता अलग अलग समय पर अलग अलग तरीके से उठाते रहे. पाकिस्तानी रणनीतिकार तारिक पीरज़ादा ने इसके बाद यह सुझाव भी दिया कि मोदी को सत्ता से हटाने का सिर्फ और सिर्फ एक ही तरीका है -वह यह कि राहुल और केजरीवाल मिलकर हिन्दुओं को जाति-पाति में बाँट दें. कांग्रेस ने यह तरीका भी अपनाया और दलित आंदोलन को वेवजह हवा देकर जोर अजमायश की लेकिन वहां भी ज्यादा सफलता हाथ नहीं लगी.
इसके बाद “इन्टॉलरेंस” की डुगडुगी बजाकर अवार्ड वापसी भी कराई गयी, जिसका कुछ असर हुआ और बिहार में सत्ता हथियाने में महागठबंधन कामयाब हुआ. कांग्रेस के सामने लक्ष्य बड़ा था -लिहाज़ा उसने अब नोटबंदी और जी एस टी का जमकर विरोध किया और इसे जन विरोधी साबित करने में एड़ी चोटी का जोर लगा दिया लेकिन इसके तुरंत बाद हुए उत्तर प्रदेश के चुनावों में भाजपा की बम्पर जीत ने कांग्रेस की रही सही उम्मीदों पर भी पानी फेर दिया. इसके बाद शुरू हुआ किसान आंदोलन और नोटा की साज़िश जिसके चलते कांग्रेस को हालिया तीन राज्यों में सत्ता हासिल करने में मदद मिली. लेकिन इन राज्यों में मिली जीत निर्णायक नहीं थी और सिर्फ उसी के आधार पर लोकसभा चुनावों की नैया पार लग पाना मुश्किल काम था-लिहाज़ा “राफेल” नाम के एक फ़र्ज़ी घोटाले का निर्माण किया गया और उसे जोर-शोर से प्रचारित किया गया- लेकिन पहले सुप्रीम कोर्ट और बाद में CAG की “क्लीन चिट” मिलने की वजह से इस काल्पनिक घोटाले के भी हवा निकल गयी. जब कुछ भी नहीं बचा तो हताशा में पाकिस्तान प्रायोजित पुलवामा का हमला हो गया.
पाठकगण कृपया ध्यान दें-इतनी बड़ी कांग्रेस पार्टी में पंजाब के मुख्यमंत्री कैप्टेन अमरिंदर सिंह अकेले कांग्रेसी नेता हैं जिन्होंने इस हमले के लिए पाकिस्तान को जिम्मेदार ठहराया है-बाकी किसी कांग्रेसी नेता की आज भी हिम्मत नहीं है कि इस हमले के लिए पाकिस्तान की तरफ उंगली भी उठा सके. उंगली तो तब उठाएंगे जब इन्होने पाकिस्तान से मोदी को हटाने के लिए मदद न माँगी हो. अब जब पाकिस्तान ने माँगी हुई मदद की आखिरी किश्त पहुंचा दी तो अब उसके लिए पाकिस्तान को भला यह लोग दोषी कैसे ठहरा सकते हैं?
पाठकों की याददाश्त ताज़ा करते हुए मैं वाजपेयी सरकार के समय 13 दिसंबर 2001 को हुए संसद पर हुए हमले की ओर ध्यान आकर्षित करना चाहता हूँ. इस हमले के बारे में सभी को सब कुछ मालूम होगा लेकिन एक बात सबको मालूम नहीं होगी या फिर किसी ने उस पर ध्यान नहीं दिया होगा. संसद पर हमले वाले दिन सोनिया गाँधी जी खुद संसद में नहीं आयी थीं- हमले के बाद उन्होंने फ़ोन करके वाजपेयी जी की खैरियत जरूर पूछी थी. वाजपेयी जी ने उस हमले पर कोई ठोस कार्यवाही नहीं की और उनके हाथ से सत्ता फिसलकर अगले दस सालों के लिए कांग्रेस के पास चली गयी. पुलवामा का हमला संसद का हमला बनकर कांग्रेस की मदद करेगा या नहीं, यह आने वाला समय ही बताएगा.
यह बात कांग्रेस को भी पता है कि मोदी जी का तरीका वाजपेयी जी से पूरी तरह उलट है -इसीलिए कांग्रेस को इस सारे नाटक में मिलने वाली सफलता मोदी जी के अगले कदम पर निर्भर है. आज भी हालत यह है कि सब कुछ मोदी जी के हाथ में है -कांग्रेस की सारी उम्मीदें इस बात पर टिकी हैं कि मोदी जी गलती से कोई गलत कदम उठा लें और कांग्रेस की बात बन जाए. ऐसा कुछ होता फिलहाल तो दिख नहीं रहा है- जैसा कि मैंने पहले ही कहा है कि मोदी जी वाजपेयी जी से बिलकुल उलट हैं- सेना को खुली छूट देने के साथ साथ, पाकिस्तान से मोस्ट फेवर्ड नेशन का स्टेटस छीना जाना और हुर्रियत के अलगाववादियों को पिछले 70 सालों से दी जाने वाली सुरक्षा और अन्य सरकारी सुविधाओं का वापस लिया जाना इस बात की तरफ संकेत कर रहा है कि कांग्रेस की मुश्किलें अभी ख़त्म नहीं हुई हैं.
When on February 14th 2019 at around 3:30 pm, Jaish-e-Mohammad’s Adil Ahmad Dar (20) rammed with his SUV into CRPF Vehicle with 350 Kg IED, it turned out to be most heinous and dastardly terror attack in the valley in nearly 3 decades. Around 40 of our brave warriors were martyred. The whole nation went into mourning. Another act of Islamic Terror and another chain of condolences and condemnation. Pakistan once again made the nation to mourn. Series of protest broke out throughout the nation to show its anger against terrorist and terrorist safe-haven Pakistan. While whole world condemned that incident there were some in India who were preparing to justify it. Those were the ’eminent’ pseudo-seculars of India. They do not understand why that boy became terrorist and vowed to killed ‘Gaumutra drinkers’. They do not understand why he said “I will be in heaven”.
The biggest mistake that our government and our society does in context of terror attacks or in concern of Kashmir is considering it only as an act of cross-border terrorism. The situation of Kashmir is not because of Pakistan or Kashmir’s geopolitical position, it is because of Islamic radicalization. Crying and mourning in front of International Community, Waiting for UN to designate some Masood Azar a terrorist or The chimerical isolation of Pakistan will lead to no place. No other country except for India can do anything in Kashmir to solve the problem because it is not a geopolitical war it’s an ideological war. Terrorist groups pick up already semi-radicalized children, already kafir hating Islamists and convert them into a full-fledged Jihadi.
Terrorist ideologue always requires justification from pseudo-secularist, whom they consider as idiots, for their heinous actions of jihad. When people like Pseudo-secularists say “Pulwama bomber Adil Ahmad Dar became terrorist after he was beaten up by troops”, they are justifying an act of Jihad which will inspire hundreds of semi-radicalized youths to become full-fledged Jihadis. When pseudo-secularist say “Even U.S. forces couldn’t hold Afghanistan and Iraq after large scale suicide attacks” they are paving way for destruction of our own civilization. No wonder these lobby of left-liberals, when they justify terror, get huge audience in nations like Pakistan who need such kind of inane justification.
Why does Kashmiri youths becomes terrorist? Because they are filled with a notion of hatred for Kafirs, because in their ignorance they believe what they are taught. Kashmiri youth thinks he is a descendent of Mohammad Ghaznavi, Mohammad Ghori, Sikander Butshikan and they should not live with Kafirs. They, like Pakistanis, are told proudly that ‘We Ruled India for 800 years’ and that ‘We will again rule India’. This same mentality lead to exodus of original inhabitants Kashmiri Pundits. This same mentality of radical Islamic rule lead to destruction of around 738 Temples, 2754 Idols and killing and raping of innocent Kashmiri Pundits between 1986 and 1990. What happened in Kashmir in 1990 was not immediate anger but centuries of radicalization of Muslims in the valley.
Starting from invasion of Dhu ‘1 Qadr Khan or Zulju in 1320 and followed by rule of Sikander Butshikan who mercilessly butchered thousands of Hindus, carried large scale conversion, imposed Jaziya tax, forbade Hindu to apply Tilak and destroyed hundreds of temples and idols including the Great Martund Sun Temple of Parihaspur. And then Zain-ul-Abidin who discarded Sanskrit as state language. What happened on 13th July 1931 was a small result of years of radicalizations and cornering of Hindu community in Kashmir and eventually leading to 1990 exodus. Why do they become radicalized? Not because they are unemployed, poor, had suffered humiliation once or because they are beaten.
All such reasons are fatuous and befuddled reasons. They become radicalized because they don’t know Kashmir is the Land of Sage Kashyap who drained the waters of lake Satisar by cutting gap in hill eventually giving the name to the very land – Kashyapmir. Because they don’t know Kashmir is the land of Patanjali, Bharat Muni, Kumarajiva, Great Abhinavgupta, Lalitaditya Muktapida and Kalhan.
To understand the situation of Kashmir we must look into radical Islam carefully. When we see some people justifying and enjoying the tragic death of our soldiers, we should know it that there is a serious misinformation campaign and a serious brainwashing of people. Whether it’s a Basim Hilal of AMU, Kayshir Rashid of Dehradun, Mazhar Hasmi of Bihar or a Debjit Bhattacharjee of Bengal these all are getting radicalized by that misinformation and pseudo-secular justification. As J Sai Deepak very well puts that “Pakistan is not a country it is a mindset and its existence is not limited to the territory of Pakistan” it is an idea which makes people to fear the very existence of minority in a Hindu majority nation, an idea which makes people unsure of our present and fearful of our future.
As J Sai Deepak said “To the Pakistani mindset, the Indian Muslim who subscribes to Bharat’s civilizational values and is proud of its heritage and sees an invader/bigot in Babur, Aurangzeb or Tipu Sultan, is either a Mushriq or Munafiq and deserves the same treatment as an infidel or worse”. The Islam of Pakistani Mindset is the separatist Islam about which Dr. Ambedkar said “Islam can never allow a true Muslim to adopt India as his motherland and regard a Hindu as his kith & kin” and “wherever there is rule of Islam, there is his own country”. The Pakistani mindset is the same mindset which led to assassination of Rajpal for Rangila Rasool by Ilm-ud-din and which led Allama Iqbal to write an eulogy for Ilm-ud-din stating “We sat idle while this carpenter’s son took the lead”.
We must understand that when terrorist like Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed pledges to kill Hindus and build Babri Masjid, they are not just against Indian Army or Ram Temple, they are against Bharat and its great civilization. They are against the incredible diversity, progress, harmony and culture of Bharat. They just cannot bear the fact that India has survived and fought with ‘Breaking India’ forces for thousands of years and is still the same great Bharat. To protect our Bharat and its civilization we do not need to blindly follow Gandhi ji who after Mopla riots justified Moplas as “Brave god fearing Mopla who were fighting for what they considered as religious and in a manner which they considered as religious”, rather we need to follow the principles of Shri Krishna who preaches to fight Adharmic forces with full strength and no fear.
We must be clear that anyone who uses secularism to harm Bharat and its civilizational values and who promotes the Pakistani mindset is as dangerous to nation as any terrorist. This is a war of our existence. This is a war where we don’t have liberty to loose, this is a war we must win in all circumstances. This is the War of Civilization.
Bridge for most in India is a taken for granted necessity. 22 km stretch of Yamuna around Delhi alone has about 11 bridges with 3 more bridges coming up, more than one bridge for every stretch of 2 km. A new bridge being built to ease the traffic cut down on the travel time from one place to another is a common sight for a person living in a metro city. However, until 2014, 1000km of Brahmaputra had only 3 major bridges. Yes, three. One about every 300km. And compare average discharge of about 2000 cubic metre – second of Yamuna to mighty ferocious Brahmaputra with more than average 19000 cubic metre-sec of water discharge. Now think of crossing the Brahmaputra in its full glory during monsoon. The Brahmaputra is, in fact, the widest river of Asia sub-continent, with an average bank to bank width of 5 km with some places in Assam being separated by more than 25 Kms.
Before and After Modi govt.
Most of the rivers in Indian cities are less than a km width. Consider crossing these banks of Brahmaputra, the world’s fifth largest drainage in the monsoon with more than 75000 cubic meters per second of water gushing through. For some, it may be kind of adventure tourism on a vacation at exotic locations with walkover bamboo bridges and hopping cars on boats to ferry across the river. But for most living along these banks, there was practically no connectivity for all these years. Imagine paying 2000/- with a car and 500/- person toll to cross the river every day to work. School children walking long distances over bamboo bridges, because school buses just can’t make it over these bamboo bridges. For most of the year, trucks will ferry you across the gushing stream, in monsoon, you simply can’t travel to the opposite bank, be it for a medical emergency or daily needs. And that was the accepted way of life for most living in the northeast.
BBC in its article of 2015 writes the ordeal of Dambuk Music festival when Musicians were rescued and instruments got drenched with truck stuck on sandbanks and bus getting submerged (first picture) in the river while trying to cross the river. And notice the unfinished bridge in the background of the second picture, it remained unfinished till 2017.
Bus getting submerged in the riverThe unfinished bridge in the background
Till about 5 years ago this part of India didn’t even have basic bridge connectivity; to travel for a bare minimum of 5kms, people would have to take a truck or boat across the river, crossing bamboo bridges to reach their destination, ferrying everyday goods across banks was a daily routine for people residing in this part of India. And that too in a state like Arunachal Pradesh which shares 1100 km of border with China, providing strategic disadvantages to Indian troops and continued hardships to the citizens.
In short, first there is no east-west connectivity yet for border areas, a couple of major roads running in the North-South is all we have and so you will have to come down and go up again. And then most importantly you can cross over the Brahmaputra only from these three bridges. Imagine the catastrophic danger potentially waiting for in times of emergency when either the common citizen or troops need to be urgently transported.
Bridges provide this necessary connectivity for both movements of troops to the border and importantly along the border too. A couple of small bridges of hardly a few hundred metres can provide much required infrastructural support to national security, especially for places with strategic importance. Because of few such small insignificant bridges alternative road from Guwahati to the border area of Tawang has opened up. Earlier there used to be just one way, the one which had seen Chinese marching down in 1962, as we had no other way to reinforce or reach border area except this one road, and we still did not have another one till late 2016. These disconnected roads of hundreds of kilometres on either bank got connected due to these small bridges of hardly few metres.
Three bridges marked with red circles over the Brahmaputra till 2014
Fig: Three bridges over the Brahmaputra till 2014. Old Saraighat (started in 1910), New Saraighat (2017); Tezpur (1987, the peak of Assam Accord), Golaghat (opened by Shri AB Vajpayee in 1998)
Now the same area is facilitated with 7 more bridges making citizens’ life much easier and convenient.
Fig: Accessibility to border areas of eastern Arunachal due to newly constructed bridges from 2015 -2019
The three major bridges prior to 2014, were Saraighat bridge, connecting two banks of the capital city Guwahati. The idea of this bridge was first mooted in 1910 during the British rule and was inaugurated in 1962. The bridge is 7-metre-wide and used for both up and drown traffic. It used to take 2/3 hours to cross the bridge of about 1.5 KM’s. The second bridge was inaugurated in 1987 at peak of Assam movement and historic Assam accord of 1985. The third bridge of about 2kms was inaugurated by Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1998. Since 1910 to 2014, there were three bridges providing connectivity to two banks of 1000km long Brahmaputra. And none of these bridges could withstand movement of heavy Indian Army tanks weighing 60 tonnes.
Bogibeel rail cum road bridge, cannot only withstand movement of these tanks it can also facilitate Fighter jet landing. Asia’s second largest rail cum road bridge, construction of which was started in 2002 by the then PM Shri Vajpayee was eventually inaugurated by PM Shri Narendra Modi in Dec 2018 taking 16 years and second PM from NDA for a bridge of fewer than 5 Kms. This one bridge connects Indian Army camps in places like Tinsukia to forward bases like Mechuka about 400 odd Kms away. With just one bridge of few KM’s, the remotest border area is now connected to rest of country by Airport at Dibrugarh, by Railways from Tinsukia and to border areas with roads with bridges which can withstand heavy tanks.
A lot of projects which were proposed by the earlier government have been fast-tracked by the present Government under mission mode. Between the year 2017-2018 the Eastern part of Arunachal Pradesh has seen immense roads and bridges development thereby enhancing rapid convenience to the people and army in particular.
As much as Northeast India lacked basic infrastructure as compared to rest, East Arunachal was one of the most neglected regions even by low standards of northeast India Between the year 2017-2018 the Eastern part of Arunachal Pradesh has seen immense roads and bridges development thereby enhancing rapid convenience to the people and army in particular. India’s longest bridge “Dhola-Sadiya Bridge” measuring 9.15kms connecting upper Assam and Arunachala has reduced the distance from 6 hours to 30 mins. Which basically means, a person who would think twice to cross the river and reach the bank across every weekend can now safely travel on metallized four-lane bridges daily to work, school, for shopping, trading or urgently moved to a hospital in times of critical care. Bridges are providing this basic dignity of living to the much long-neglected region of India.
Lohit bridge (Alubari bridge) with a length of 2.9km has reduced the distance for people travelling from aspirational District Namsai to Lohit by 2 hours. Dibang River Bridge (6.20km) second longest bridge inaugurated by Nitin Gadkari connects Roing to Rupai Assam via Pasighat which normally takes 6-hour journey has been reduced to just one hour. This connectivity has improved strategic capacities with border countries. The Deopani/Eze Bridge inaugurated on Dec 2017 is the main lifeline that bridges China bordering district of Dibang Valley with the rest of the country.
Tine Mina is the first woman to climb Mount Everest from this region and wants to start her own trekking and adventure sports venture near her hometown, about 100 km (62 miles) from the China border. Quoting her from the BBC report of 2015, Ms Mina said that the Indian army had been supportive of her cause, but getting tourists to brave the road to Dambuk is the difficult bit.
In 2019, Paul Chawang from the same town today is all optimistic initiating a community startup hub with the help of volunteers from IIT Guwahati. “The much awaited 3000 megawatts concrete gravity dam of NHPC will come to reality with the opening of this bridge. East Arunachal will soon see a paradigm shift upwards with the boom of socio-economic activities”. It sure looks more apparent now with orchards and farms connected with markets and economic hubs. With about four bridges built in the last 2-3 years have now connected easternmost border areas with the capital of the state and Dibrugarh airport 3 hrs away. “Roing is just two hours away from over-night Rajdhani express” comments the volunteers from IIT Guwahati.
“Neither Itanagar (capital of Arunachal Pradesh) or Guwahati (gateway to the northeast) or Delhi, the capital of the nation was this close ever to the northeast in every sense of the word; nor were our borders more secured”.
The below bridges are just a few examples of how the Modi Government has expedited and implemented the long-delayed projects to transform the infrastructure picture of the North-Eastern states.
1. Bhupen Hazarika Setu (Dhola Sadia Bridge):
Interesting facts about Bhupen Hazarika Setu
2. Alubari Bridge:
• The bridge over Lohit River on Alu Ghat was made open to commuters in January 2017.
• This is 2.9kms long bridge and 5kms of road connects Chow Kham tri-junction to Digaru.
• This bridge has reduced the distance of travel between Lohit and Namsai by 2 hours.
• Before this bridge was made the locals had to be ferried across the Lohit River in case of medical emergencies to bigger towns like Dibrugarh. The ferries which would only work before sunset; critical patients would have to wait overnight to take the ferry in the morning which leads to endangerment of lives.
• The small farmers can now travel to bigger towns to sell their produce at better prices.
• Tourism industry would also grow as Lohit district would become easily accessible by tourists.
3. New Saraighat Bridge:
This is why bridges like Saraighat Bridge are life-line for the daily commuters
4. Injupani Bridge:
• This 140m long bridge on the Roing – Koronu – Payu road would connect Roing and Tezu; both important districts in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Arunachal Pradesh which is dominated by rivers becomes inaccessible during the monsoons because of the flash floods and incessant rains.
• The Injupani Bridge would provide around-the-year connectivity to the strategic Dibang Valley bordering China.
• The Government has planned 150 such bridges across the state to facilitate uninterrupted and quicker movement of supplies to our army at the Line of Control throughout the year.
5. Deopani Bridge:
• The Deopani Bridge inaugurated in December 2018, lies over the Eze River connecting Lower Dibang Valley and Upper Dibang Valley.
• The Dibang Valley was cut off from the rest of the country during monsoons; this bridge would help the people to stay connected throughout the year.
• This 300m long bridge would also help in securing the defence requirements along the Sino-Indian Border.
• It has been designed in pre-stressed concrete balanced cantilever to withstand the whims of nature.
The Injupani Bridge and Deopani Bridge would give a push to the high potential tourism sector and help utilise the prospective hydropower scope in Arunachal Pradesh which becomes a reality by the much awaited 3000 megawatts concrete gravity dam of NHPC.
6. Assam-Meghalaya River Bridge:
• An ambitious project planned by the Modi Government after the Dhola -Sadiya Bridge (longest bridge), this Bridge over the Brahmaputra would be the longest in the country once completed.
• The bridge would be double the length of the Dhola-Sadiya bridge at round 19.3kms
Connecting Dhubri (Assam) and Phulbari (Meghalaya) which is close to the Bangladesh border.
• At present people have to either take a 200km detour to the Narayanan Bridge which is 60km upstream or take small ferries across the river which takes around 3hrs.
• The bridge is proposed to be completed by 202 cutting down travelling distance by about 203 km.
• The bridge would help in the socio-economic development of the people belonging to both the states. It would broaden their scope of earnings connecting them to new unexplored markets.
7. Dibang River Bridge :
• This bridge built over the Dibang River would be the second longest River Bridge in our country covering a distance of 6.2kms fully functional by the end of 2018.
• The bridge would connect Meka and Bomjur, located in the Lower Dibang Valley of Arunachal Pradesh.
• Strategically this bridge would help our army in controlling the anti-national activities on the border connecting Lower Dibang Valley in Arunachal Pradesh with West Siang, Lohit, East Siang and Assam.
• Due to the rains, most parts of Arunachal remain isolated; such bridges would help in connecting locals to the rest of the state and also facilitate the movement of arms and supplies to the Line of Control in case of emergencies.
8. Roing – Dambuk Bridge:
• This bridge built over the Dibang River connects Roing and Dambuk is planned at 7.5kms, part of the Trans-Arunachal Highway Project (TAH). This bridge is said to be fully functional by the mid of 2019.
• Dambuk is famous for its vast agricultural products, especially oranges. This bridge would provide a lifeline to the residents who would be able to sell their products in a bigger market resulting in their socio-economic upliftment.
• Dambuk has also been organising the “Orange Festival of Adventure &Music” the only festival with a unique combination of adventure and music gigs, putting it on the Global Map.
• This bridge would help boost tourism, especially adventure tourism for which this terrain is famous.
9. Bogibeel Bridge:
Stunning Bogibeel Bridge constructed and inaugurated by the PM Modi
• The longest rail –cum- Road Bridge in India, also the second-longest rail –cum-Road Bridge in Asia is about 4.94kms long built over the Brahmaputra River.
• This bridge connects Dhemaji and Dibrugarh districts in the Northeastern state of Assam.
• The bridge was inaugurated on the birth anniversary of Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the 25th December 2018.
• This double-decker bridge has a two-line railway track on the lower deck and a three-lane road on the upper deck.
• It is the first time for Indian Railways; the girder has a steel floor system for railway tracks and concrete for the road.
• The Bridge will reduce travel time from Dibrugarh (Assam) to Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh) by 4 hours. It will reduce the travel distance to the northeast by 165km saving fuel expense of Rest 10lakh per day for the region.
• The Bridge would give the people of Dhemaji access to the better medical and business opportunities in Dibrugarh which is the 3rd largest state of the North-East.
• The Bridge would also help secure the Sino-Indian Border, ensuring fast movement of supplies by the Indian Army to the farthest point of the Indo-China Border.
• This bridge is a crucial part of the infrastructure projects India has planned to improve logistics to the Indo-China border which is said to be about 4000km, of which 75% lies in Arunachal Pradesh.
10. Jorhat-Majuli Bridge: The proposed bridge over the Brahmaputra River would be connecting Majuli (world’s largest river island) with Jorhat and North Lakhimpur. The Bridge is proposed to be 110kms long.
11. Gohpur – Numaligarh Bridge: The proposed bridge over the Brahmaputra River would be 12kms long connecting Gohpur (NH-52) and Numaligarh.
