Uttarakhand Updates > Articles By Esteemed Guests of Uttarakhand - विशेष आमंत्रित अतिथियों के लेख
Articles By Shri D.N. Barola - श्री डी एन बड़ोला जी के लेख
D.N.Barola / डी एन बड़ोला:
Uttarakhand ki Nihatthi (Unarmed) Police
Believe it or not in Uttarakhand's Nihatthi (unarmed) police is maintaining the Law and Order position of the State. The Patwaris are responsible to maintain the Law and Order of the villages in hills of Uttarakhand. Recently Diwarkar Bhatt, the Minister for Revenue declared that soon Patwaris would be armed with a ‘danda (wooden rod). This seems to be a ridiculous statement but is hundred percent true. In this Nation of Gandhi non-violent Patwari Police is working efficiently for the past over 200 years. In fact the main job of this Revenue Police is to maintain the land records. But Patwaris have also been given powers of a Station In charge of a Police Station. They are required investigate crimes even under Sections like 302 which deals with murder. But they are not provided any kind of arms, not even a danda.
After the arrest of any alleged criminal, the Patwari is supposed to present the criminal before the Magistrate within 24 hours. Sometimes when the arrest is made in the night, the Patwari handcuffs the criminal and also himself, so that there are no chances of the criminal absconding. You can very well imagine the scene. The situation is so peculiar that if some Officer makes a surprise visit under these circumstances, it would be difficult for him to recognize the Patwari, as both the Patwari and criminal would be visible as handcuffed. After the establishment of Uttarakhand, it was expected that the Patwari police would be granted facilities in commensurate with their responsibility. However the Minister has ‘gracefully’ decided to arm them with a danda. The Government has also decided in principle to do away with the Patwari Police system, but it will take time. In the meanwhile the Government has established Patwari Chowkis with facility of Lock up for the criminals. Patwari Training Institute, which is the only Institute of its kind in the world, has been attached with the Officers’ Training Centre, Nainital and Hostel facilities for Patwari trainees have also been provided in the Training Centre. The hill area of Uttarakhand is comparatively peaceful and the Patwaris have so far played a powerful yet peaceful role in maintaining law and order in the hills. Hence the Govt. must study the merits and demerits of withdrawing police powers from the Patwaris.(D.N.Barola)
D.N.Barola / डी एन बड़ोला:
KUMAON REGIMENT CENTRE (KRC), RANIKHET
The illustrious Kumaon Regiment neither had its home among the lush green hills of Kumaon nor was it known by this name till recent years. Some of its battalions have a history that goes back to the closing decades of the eighteenth century. Retracing that history we find that the Regiment was born far away in the Deccan, where some of its units were raised as part of the army of the Nizam of Hyderabad. Now Ranikhet, a small hill station located in the picturesque Himalayas, is the abode of the glorious Kumaon & Naga Regiment. The Regiment is a combination of one of the oldest, largest and youngest and one of the most decorated Battalions of the Indian Army. The Regiment has an enviable tally of gallantry awards bestowed upon the brave Offices and men of the Regiment in recognition of their selfless and dedicated service to the nation. India’s first Param Vir Chakra (PVC), the highest gallantry award was conferred upon Major Som Nath Sharma, posthumously, in 1947. Major Shaitan Singh was the second recipient of the PVC in 1962, against the Chinese aggression at Rezangla. Besides the two PVCs, the Regiment has to its credit four Ashok Chakras, l1 Maha Vir Chakras, one Padma Shri, eight Kirti Chakras, three Uttam Yudh Sewa Medals, one Arjuna Award besides a host of other awards. Recently the Kumaon Regiment Centre hosted the 13th Re-Union of the Kumaon and 7th Re-Union of the Naga Regiment. The re-union is held in a cycle of four years along with Battalion Commander’s Conference. The Reunion has a special significance for any Regiment. It is an occasion wherein veterans of the Regiment get together to invigorate their ties with the Regiment.
The Kumaon Regiment has its origin in the Nizam’s Contingent and its history dates back to the 18th Century. The Regiment thus has over two centuries of distinguished service in which eight generations of the British and at least ten generations of Indians have served this great family with utmost dedication and devotion. Before Independence, the units of the Regiment fought under the British in foreign and alien lands, which included Palestine, Egypt, Burma, Malaya, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan and Europe. In the post-independence period, our Battalions have operated in battlefields near and far such as J&K to include Ladakh and Siachen, Arunanchal Pradesh, Punjab Rajasthan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Korea, Congo, Gaza, South, Africa, Ethiopia and Eritrea. On the 27 October, 1945, in recognition of the heroic deeds, the Regiment’s designation was changed from XIX Hyderabad Regiment to the Kumaon Regiment.
History tells that it is from Mohammad Salabat Khan’s corps that the present 4th and 5th Battalions of the Kumaon Regiment descended. Though most of the infantry regiments of the Nizam had British Officers, their number was limited to one or two in each. Towards the end of 1812, there was mutiny in two of the regiments; and the pressure of these events, the Nizam’s government was induced by the Resident (Mr. Russell) to sanction raising of two battalions of regular infantryman, to be equipped and disciplined like the Sepoys of the Company’s army. The two battalions, which came to be known as the 4 Russell-Brigade, were formed in March, 1813. Both battalions formed part of the Kumaon Regiment till April 15, 1952, when the first Battalion left the fold to join the newly raised Parachute Regiment. The 2nd Battalion continues to be a part of the Regiment. From its inception in 1788 the Regiment completed 200 years of glorious service to the Nation in 1988. The oldest Battalion of the Regiment 4 Kumaon celebrated it’s Bicentenary on 17 and 18 February, 1988 and General K. Sunderji, took the salute at an impressive parade. A special stamp was also released to commemorate the historical occasion.
It may also be mentioned here that the Kumaon Regiment is the only Regiment which has the unique proud privilege and distinction of having three Chief of Army Staff, namely Gen SM Srinagesh, Gen KS Thimayya and Gen TN Raina. At present Lt. General Satya Vir Singh Yadav is the Colonel of the Regiment and Brig. Bhupinder Singh is the Commandant of the KRC.
Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India presented Colours to the one of its Regiment, 4 Kumaon on 7 April, 1961, thus it became the first Regiment of the Indian Army to get colours for its glorious deeds and unique performance both during peace and war. Latter V.V.Giri, the then President of India also gave colours to the 14th Battalion of this Regiment.
. It would be pertinent to mention that Indian Naval Ship (INS) Khanjar was affiliated with the Regiment in 1994. These affiliations were formalised on 27 October 2007 with the signing of a charter between the Colonel Commandant of the Kumaon and Naga Regiments, Commandant of the Kumaon Regimental Centre, Brig Bhupinder Singh, Sqn Ldr Sahani of 7 Squadron and Lt cdr G Gurumurthy of INS Khanjar. This charter formalised the affiliation between the three institutions. The charter lays down directives for training and interactions between the Kumaon Regiment, the 7 Squadron and INS Khanjar. A Special Day Cover was also released on the occasion by the Army Postal Service. This in nut-shell is the story of the famous Kumaon Regiment.(D.N.Barola)
Gen Deepak Kapoor,
Army Chief
D.N.Barola / डी एन बड़ोला:
Kaun chala raha hai Bharat ko?
I wish to relate a story about the present state of the country. Once a Russian came to India and landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport. The Electronic Media reporters rushed towards him and put a question. Do you believe in God? The Russian promptly replied No, Not at all. Disappointed the media persons vanished away from there.
After 3 months the Russian was returning to Russia. At the Airport the same Media persons again put him the same question. Do you believe in God? He said Yes, definitely yes. The media people were elated and said: After all India is Dev Bhumi, the land of Gods. The Russian an Atheist, a non-believer in God is now returning to Russia after becoming a Theist, a believer in God. After all this is the greatness of Bharat Bhumi that an Atheist is today a Theist. They posed another question, how have you changed your faith on God? You were an Atheist. Is it that in this land of pious sages, hermits and ascetics, you have been influenced by their blessings? He said NO. It is definitely not so. In fact during my sojourn in India I saw that trains do not reach anywhere in time, still they run, carry a heavy load of people and reach the destination and are earning huge profits. In the Offices, I saw people reach late and sometimes they don’t at all go to Offices; still the work is going on. Government has been constituted with the support of so many parties, each threatening the Government from time to time to withdraw support, yet the Government is running smoothly and taking important decisions in the National interest fearlessly. Terrorist activities are at its peak. Policemen are killed or they kill innocent people, Match Fixing is common. Train reservation is through computer, yet you cannot get a ticket without the middleman at a price. There is a rampant corruption Sacred River like Ganga is highly polluted. Human excreta, dead bodies, dirty nalas all are submerged in Ganga. Yet Ganga water is pure. No Driver in the Buses, still buses are running and reach the destination. Slogans like Feel good, Feel Great, Indian Shining and Mera Bharat Mahan are being digested by the people. The question after all is how the country is running, on to the path of progress. India is a Nuclear power, now recognized by the International community. It is a country of more than 100 crore people. It’s a country of Gandhi and Nehru. This means there must be somebody who is running the show, it cannot be any other person but God, so while In India I believe in God. After delivering this lecture he rushed towards the Airplane leaving the electronic media personnel bewildered, hallucinated and hyped. For the first time media persons could not prevail upon a person and the Russian made them dumb.(D.N.Barola)
D.N.Barola / डी एन बड़ोला:
‘Birth pangs’ of a new Car
Today if we want to purchase a Car, we can simply visit a Car Show Room and walk out with a Car. But two decades back, it was not so. There was a time when the delivery of a Car or Scooter used to take months and sometimes years. In fact during the period when Vespa Scooter was floated in the market usually people jocularly used to ask whether the Scooter has been booked for the Son or the Grand-Son. The waiting period was in years. Even in 1995 when I wanted to purchase a Car, the waiting period was at least 6-7 months. I booked a Car after depositing the full cost of the Car. The delivery of my Car was delayed beyond 7 months. I wrote a letter to the Maruti dealer in light vein. The letter dated 9 October, 2008 did have some effect and I got the delivery of the Car in October, 1995 itself i.e. exactly after 9 months. I am reproducing the letter just to share the thoughts with Mera Pahar, as under:
It was that fateful day that I got a Maruti Car 800 CC (red colour) booked with M/S Kavisa Udyog, Bareilly on the 28th January, 1995. The Booking No. 10059 coincided with the favourable numbers which so far I feel and take them to be lucky. My Car Number is 2059; Phone No. being 2259 and so on. I felt that I am the luckiest man of India to have the 59 suffix to the booking number. I was told that the delivery would take 6-7 months.
Back to Ranikhet, I was pondering how the delivery period could be 6-7 months. A normal delivery means 9 months. My presumption, now I feel, was correct. Today exactly after 8 months and 12 days, i.e. in the ninth month, I am anxious of course my family members joining me, and we feel we have no option but to expect a delivery – a full time normal delivery. While going to the market, to the Club and to the brother Officers and Public, I was faced with one question – When do I expect the ‘delivery’ of my Car; and I had no option but to thank them for the concern which they are bestowing upon me on the delivery of the third car – the first being the Ambassador and the second being the Premier Padmini.
Recently I posed a question to my Astro-palmist friend as to when should I expect the delivery of the Car? Is it definitely going to be a normal full time delivery, i.e. roughly 9 months, or it could be slightly pre-mature, so that D.N. Barola is ready for the ‘birth pangs’ and the resultant consequences. After all these days a delivery costs extra money and during this period the cost may escalate thereby justifying the pros and cons of a pre-mature or post-mature delivery.
In the 56th year of D.N.Barola’s life history, an event, a rather somewhat risky (?) event is going to take place. My family friends join me in my thoughts and we all are expecting that Maruti Udyog will see to it that the risks are not grave. I am sure Maruti Udyog will rise to the occasion and will spare no stone unturned in granting an expeditious and smooth delivery of the ‘prized collection’ of the brand new ‘historical’ red Maruti Car, thereby sharing the moments of ecstasy with me and my friends.(D.N.Barola)
D.N.Barola / डी एन बड़ोला:
We marry to love, you love to marry
Once a foreign National put a question to Swami Vivekanand that in India a boy marries a girl whom he does not know, without any love affairs, how after all such marriage succeeds? He said that as per his knowledge, boys simply obey the orders of their parents and on their suggestion they marry the girl of the choice of parents, yet the marriage is successful and cases of divorce are negligible. How and why?
Swami replied: We in India marry a girl to love her. Whereas you people love the girl and then marry her. In our country marriage is a socio-religious companionship valid for seven births. They take oath to remain as husband and wife for seven births. It is not only a marriage between the young couple; it is the marriage of an entire family with another family. It has socio-religious sanction. The marriage is solemnized with Barties as witness by lighting the sacred fire amidst the pronunciations of Vedic Mantras. The marriage is more a social and religious act than a legal act. And hence the question of divorce does not come to anybody’s conscious or unconscious mind. We are psychologically prepared to love the girl whom we marry, because she becomes the Dharma Patni, the Ardhangani after marriage. They become the companions in sorrow or comfort- sukh, dukh, ke shathi. This is the reason the marriages are successful in India. After marriage, the personal safety of the girl is ensured while she is young and in the old age the family members look after her. Similarly she looks after the older generation while she is young and when she becomes old she is looked after by the younger generation i.e. by her children. Love and affection of the woman towards the family members plays the most dominant role in the institution of marriage. Hence the saying marriages are decided in Heaven and arranged in the earth. This is India and no other place can be like India. We all should be proud of the socio-religious bonds, which is the exclusive privilege of sus Indians.(D.N.Barola)
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version