132. Workforce Development


For Manpower, social responsibility extends well beyond just writing a donation check to a charitable cause. It’s about strengthening the diversity of our communities and creating opportunities for all people to participate in the workforce. It’s about focusing on the long-term view and developing solutions that are sustainable.


Whether it’s helping an unemployed single mother return to the workforce, or giving a job to an immigrant when no one else will, our reward comes from knowing that we make a real difference – today and in the future. All over the world, Manpower employees, partnering with community organizations, businesses and government, engage in workforce development programs that make a difference in people’s lives.


Because of our relationships with both employers and individuals, we are uniquely positioned to determine where current and future skills gaps are, identify people who need help engaging with the workforce, and develop solutions that bring these two groups together, mutually benefiting both. In this way, we function as a “bridge” to employment for many who would otherwise be unemployed.

Our systems, programs and policies are designed to make the connection to work a viable option for those who need it. Our industry leading skills assessment processes and hiring policies help us ensure that people are not discriminated against. Rather, we focus on people’s abilities – not their disabilities.

171. Tower of Pisa

Leaning Tower of Pisa italically called as Tonve Pendente Di Pisa is a medieval structure immortalized by the settling of its foundation, causing it to lean 17 feet(5.2 meters) from the perpendicular. The bell tower, began in 1174 as the third and final structure of the cathedral complex, was designated to stand 185 feet high and was constructed of white marbles. Three of its eight stories were completed when the uneven Settling of the foundation in the soft ground became noticeable.

Bonnano Pisano, the engineer in charge of construction of the present tower that leans in Pisa, sought to compensate for the lean by making the new stories slightly taller on the short side, but the extra masonry caused the structure to sink aside still further. Work was suspended several times as engineers sought solutions, but the tower was ultimately topped out in the 14th century and thus it stills leans. In modern times the foundation have been strengthened by injection of cement grounding, but is the late 20th century, the structure was still in danger of collapse, and various schemes were under considerations of saving it.

Galileo, the man who found out that the world is a big ball, round in shape was born in Pisa and the cathedral where the tower is present helped him. Galileo during his study in the college saw the swinging lamp in the bell tower in the leaning tower got the idea of a pendulum that helps in running a clock. The work of Bonnano Pisano was prefixed by Guglino pisano in 1162 and he made the first Pulpit. Bonnano pisano made the bronze doors in 1180, Nicola pisanoi, covered the baptisary pulpit in 1260 and Nicolas son Gicovanni pisano was the sculptor of the present cathedral pulpit in 1310.

Internal struggles help to bring about the occupation of Pisa by the frontiers in 1406. When the French army attacked Italy in 1404, Pisa temporarily, reasserted its independence. It had a lot of war until it was conquered by Florence in 1509. Thereafter, it declined as a provincial Tuscan town. It also has an important railway junction and famous light industries have brought the prosperity to them. Wind spread destruction took away the charm of the leaning tower during the World War II.

178. A PRELIMINARY ECONOMIC OVERVIEW

It appears to the present authors that Egypt has considerable potential for benefits from strengthening its international linkages. Some such strengthening would involve the nations of the Middle East, but should also involve the non Islamic world. As is known the nation is dependent upon the global economy as the source for various manufactured goods and thus must find ways to counter balance such imports with exports (McKee, Garner and AbuAmara McKee, 1999, 145).

In prosecuting such international business dealings Egypt is of course constrained by cultural and religious traditions. Handoussa and Khier El-Din were of the opinion that manufacturing growth can be encouraged through exports (1998, 65) and suggested that moves in that direction could utilize existing capacities in moving into higher value added products that they felt would stimulate growing specialization among suppliers of goods as well as auxiliary services (65).

They were also in favor of increasing the pace of incoming foreign direct investment and recommended links between Egyptian firms and multinationals. Such practices they hoped would generate employment and stimulate the use of modern technology and management (65). They saw practices facilitating Egypt in serving as a locus of activity for both European and Middle Eastern markets (65).


More specifically they recommended developing high tech industries to take advantage of existing engineers and technicians as well as other professionals (65). The views of those authors appear to be well founded. Egypt can certainly accelerate its development through an outward looking posture utilizing its strengths in developing linkages both regionally and beyond.

185. Mysore Palace

Gol Gumbaz, situated in Bijapur is an astounding engineering feat. Its enormous "Whispering" dome is second in size only to St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The dome is the second largest in the world, 124 feet in diameter.The Mysore Palace, built is Indo-Saracenic style with domes turrets, arches and colonnades, the palace is a treasure house of exquisite carvings and works of art from all over the world.

The tastefully decorated and inticrately carved doors open into luxuriously decorated rooms. The walls of the palace are painted with pictures of the Dassera processions and these paintings are painted in such a manner that from any angle you can see the procession coming towards you.

The royal throne of the Wodeyars is displayed during the Dassera festival. The palace has now been converted into a museum, which treasures the souvenirs, paintings, jewellery, royal costumes and other items, which were once possessed by the Wodeyars. It is said that the palace displays the largest collection of gold items, quantity wise.

The Durbar hall of the palace has an ornate ceiling and many sculpture pillars which are said to have been painted with gold. The palace was originally built of wood, which got burnt down in 1897 AD and was rebuilt in 1912 AD. The Palace Lit Up. This profusely decorated and gilded palace is illuminated every Sundays and on holidays.

200. Kancheepuram temples

Tirupporur (place of the sacred war) is one of the 33 major temples of Tamil Nadu dedicated to Lord Muruga, situated 25-km away from Chingleput and 45-kmfrom Chennai. Tirrupporur is an ancient temple dating back to the Pallava period. Tirupporur is known by different names like Poriyur or Yuddhapuri or Samarapuri. It is believed that after vanquishing Soorapadman at Tiruchendur, Skanda destroyed the rest of the demons at Tirupporur.

Inscriptions dating back to the early 10th century as well as from the period of Vikrama Chola of the 12th century can bee seen in the temple. Tirupporur flourished but faded into oblivion for some time. But Tirupporur was rediscovered and renovated by Chidambara Swamigal in the middle of the seventeenth century. Tirupporur was who is said to be a descendant of one of the poets of the "Tamil Sangam" of Madurai.

Previously this place was a forest covered totally by Palmyra trees. The image of the Lord Muruga (also spelt as Murugan) is believed to be as "Swayambhu Murti", which lay covered up by an anthill. Chidambara Swamigal is said to have discovered the image of 'Skanda' in the anthill, and then rebuilt the temple and reinstalled the image. The temple was later on looked after by the decedents of Chidambara Swamigal and brought it to the present day fame.

There are many legends related to Tirupporur according to one, Lord Vishnu and his consort Lakshmi were subjected to the curse of Kanva rishi. In order to liberate them from its effects Lord Shiva came to this place and relieved them from its effects. Hence Tirupporur temple has a lot of significance where Lord Shiva and his son Muruga (also spelt as Murugan) are worshipped.

199. Sabarimala Temple


Sabarimala is a renowned pilgrim centre atop the rugged hills of the Western Ghats. This holy shrine is dedicated to Lord Ayyappa. The sanctum sanctoram nestles 914 m above sea level, amidst the virgin forest wilderness of the Western Ghats. The Village of Sabarimala is named after Shabari who did severe penance in order to meet Rama who granted her wish for her devotion and faith during her penance.

The main pilgrimage is undertaken between November and January. Regardless of caste, creed, colour, they wear black dhotis and carry on their heads, bundles containing traditional offerings like coconut filled with ghee, camphor and rice. Transportation is available upto Pamba, from where one has to travel a distance of 5 kms on foot. Devotees undertake rigorous penance, ritualistic vows and fasts before they visit the temple.


Sabarimala is one of the most important Hindu temples of Kerala. The Sabarimala Temple festival is celebrated in honour of Lord Ayyapan who is revered by all in India.There are two main pujas called the Mandal Puja and the Makara Sankranti Puja, which are celebrated from November to Middle of January in Kerala, during which time the devotees perform austerities and penance.

Devotees undergo rigorous penance and austere living before starting on the pilgrimage. Devotees wear black 'dhotis' and are bare-chested as they prepare for the pilgrimage to Sabarimala. The temple is at the top of the Neeli hills and the devotees have to climb the treacherous route carrying their meagre provision in a bundle called "Iru Mudi" meaning in "two folds".

198. Tirupati Tirumala Balaji Temple


Tirupati town is 67-km from Chittoor in Chittoor district, the southern portion of Andhra Pradesh. The most important place of interest at the place is the historic shrine of Sri Venkateswara, the Lord of Seven Hills, who is famous all over the country. The shrine is located on a hill at Tirumala, a cluster of seven hills known as Seshachalam or Venkatachalam with an elevation of 853m (2,800ft.) above the sea level.


Said to be the richest temple in the world, this temple is a vibrant cultural and philanthropic institution with a grand history spanning several centuries. It attracts pilgrims from all over the country who stand in line for hours together to obtain a glimpse of the presiding deity for a few fleeting seconds. The temple at Tirumala is believed to have existed from ancient times.


The dynasties like the Pallavas of Kanchipuram, the Cholas of Tanjore, the Pandyas of Madurai and the Kings and chiefs of Vijayanagara, vied with one another in endowing the Shrine and offering worship of the presiding deity. The Tirupati temple with its 'gopuram' or tower is a fine example of Dravidian architecture. The elaborate rituals and mode of worship in the temple were prescribed by the saint Ramanujacharya and are being followed even today.


Anointing the idol with camphor, and the offering by pilgrims of the hair on their heads by getting themselves shaved by licensed barbers are the important customs in vogue at Tirupati Temple. The 'Vimana' or Cupola over the sanctum sanctorum is covered entirely with gold plate and is known as "the Ananda Nilayam". The Shrine consists of three 'Prakarams' or enclosures.

197. Murugan Temple

Tirupporur (place of the sacred war) is one of the 33 major temples of Tamil Nadu dedicated to Lord Muruga, situated 25-km away from Chingleput and 45-kmfrom Chennai. Tirrupporur is an ancient temple dating back to the Pallava period. Tirupporur is known by different names like Poriyur or Yuddhapuri or Samarapuri. It is believed that after vanquishing Soorapadman at Tiruchendur, Skanda destroyed the rest of the demons at Tirupporur.

Inscriptions dating back to the early 10th century as well as from the period of Vikrama Chola of the 12th century can bee seen in the temple. Tirupporur flourished but faded into oblivion for some time. But Tirupporur was rediscovered and renovated by Chidambara Swamigal in the middle of the seventeenth century. Tirupporur was who is said to be a descendant of one of the poets of the "Tamil Sangam" of Madurai. Previously this place was a forest covered totally by Palmyra trees.

The image of the Lord Muruga (also spelt as Murugan) is believed to be as "Swayambhu Murti", which lay covered up by an anthill. Chidambara Swamigal is said to have discovered the image of 'Skanda' in the anthill, and then rebuilt the temple and reinstalled the image. The temple was later on looked after by the decedents of Chidambara Swamigal and brought it to the present day fame. There are many legends related to Tirupporur according to one, Lord Vishnu and his consort Lakshmi were subjected to the curse of Kanva rishi.


In order to liberate them from its effects Lord Shiva came to this place and relieved them from its effects. Hence Tirupporur temple has a lot of significance where Lord Shiva and his son Muruga (also spelt as Murugan) are worshipped. The Sthalapurana also discloses that Lord Muruga with his consorts Valli and Devayanai granted protection to devas and expounded the meaning of Pranava to Agastya Muni at this place.

196. Meenakshi Temple

The Sri Meenakshi Sundareswara temple and Madurai city originated together. According to tradition, Indra once committed sin when he killed a demon, who was then performing penance. He could find no relief from remorse in his own kingdom. He came down to earth. While passing through a forest of Kadamba trees in Pandya land, he felt relieved of his burden. His servitors told him that there was a Shivalinga under a Kadamba tree and beside a lake.


Certain that it was the Linga that had helped him; he worshipped it and built a small temple around it. It is believed that it is this Linga, which is till under worship in the Madurai temple. The shrine is called the "Indra Vimana". When the next Pandya, Malayadhvaja, and his queen, Kanchanamala, performed a sacrifice for a child, Lord Shiva caused Goddess Parvati Herself to step out of the fire as a little girl. She had three breasts. Lord Shiva told the couple that the third breast would disappear when she set eyes on he who was to be her husband. They were to name her "Thadathagai" and bring her up as if she were a boy.

Once Dhananjaya, a merchant of Manavur, where the Pandyas had arrived after the second deluge in Kumari Kandam, having been overtaken by nightfall in Kadamba forest, spent the night in the Indra Vimana. When next morning he woke up, he was surprised to see signs of worship. Thinking that it must be the work of the Devas, he told the Pandya, Kulasekhara, in Manavur, of this. Meanwhile Lord Shiva had instructed Pandya in a dream to build a temple and a city at the spot Dhananjaya would indicate. Kulasekhara did so. Thus originated the temple and city.

She succeeded her father to the throne at his death. She gained many military victories. Finally she marched on Kailasa itself. When she saw Lord Shiva, her third breast disappeared. The Lord told her to return to Madurai and said that He would marry her there. The divine marriage was celebrated. This is the theme much beloved of Madurai artists. There is a superb sculpture of this in the temple.

195. OOTY


Udhagamandalam (Ooty), the capital of Nilgiri district, is popularly known as the "Queen of hill stations' among the tourist circuits. It is situated at a distance of 105 km away from Coimbatore. The height of the hills in the Nilgiri range varies between 2280 and 2290 metres, the highest peak being Doddabetta at a height of 2623 metres.

It is believed that the name Nila, has been in use for over 800 years since, the King of the Hoysalas Vishnu Vardhana, who ruled from 1104 to 1141 AD seized the Nilgiris Plateau. His general Ponisia recorded this fact in 1117 AD with mention of Todas. The name Nilgiri was due to the blue haze, which envelops the range with most distant hills of considerable size.

In 1818, Wishand Kindersley, Assistant and Second Assistant to Collector of Coimbatore visited this spot and submitted their experience report to the Collector of Coimbatore Mr. John Sullivan. Settlement in Udhagamandalam began in 1822 with the construction of the Stone House by John Sullivan, the then Collector of Coimbatore. The bungalow, which is locally called "Kal Bangla", is one of the landmarks of Udhagamandalam and is now the Chamber of the Principal of the Government Arts College.

This Nilgiri territory came into possession of the East India Company as part of the ceded lands, held by Tipu Sultan, by the treaty of Srirangapatnam in 1799. Rev. Jacome Forico, a priest was the first European who visited Nilgiris in 1603 and released his notes about the place and people of Nilgiris. In 1812 surveyor William Keys and Macmohan visited the top of the plateau.

194. Kerala Houseboats - The Glory of House Boats

Have you ever gone houseboat cruising on the backwaters of Kerala? If you haven’t, make sure you do. This one’s really an absolutely wonderful, unforgettable experience. The houseboats of today - huge, slow moving, exotic barge used for leisure trips - are the reworked kettuvalloms of olden times. The original kettuvalloms were used to carry tonnes of rice and spices - a standard kettuvallom can hold up to 30 tonnes - from Kuttanad to the Kochi port.

The kettuvallam or ‘boat with knots’- was so called because the entire boat was held together with coir knots only - not even a single nail is used during the construction. The boat is made of planks of jack-wood joined together with coir. This is then coated with a caustic black resin made from boiled cashew kernels. With careful maintenance, a kettuvallom can last for generations. A portion of the kettuvallom was covered with bamboo and coir to serve as a restroom and kitchen for the crew.


Meals would be cooked on board and supplemented with fresh fish from the backwaters. Today, the tradition is still continued and the food from the local cuisine is served by the Kuttanad localites, on board. When the modern trucks replaced this system of transport, some one found a new way that would keep these boats, almost all of which were more than 100 years old, in the market. By constructing special rooms to accommodate travelers, these boats cruised forward from near- extinction to enjoy their present great popularity.

Now these are a familiar sight on the backwaters and in Alleppey alone, there are as many as 120 houseboats. While converting kettuvallams into houseboats, care is taken to use only natural products. Bamboo mats, sticks and wood of the aracanut tree are used for roofing, coir mats and wooden planks for the flooring and wood of coconut trees and coir for beds. For lighting though, solar panels are used.

193. Nilgiris

Nilgiri means "Blue Mountains". The entire area of the Blue Mountains constitutes the present district of Nilgiri. The height of the hills in the Blue Mountain range varies between 2,280 and 2,290 metres, the highest peak being Doddabetta at a height of 2,623 metres. Nilgiris derives its charm from its natural setting. The steep hills and fantastically narrow valleys with numerous rivers and rivulets running in all directions with a few fine waterfalls here and there provide beautiful scenery. The temperate and most equable climate further heightens the attractiveness of the place.

The major tea growing areas in the South are the Nilgiris and these tea gardens are beautiful to watch. The Nilgiris are a trekker's paradise. Landscaped by nature, the hills abound in trek for lovers of nature. There are treks and treks in whichever direction you turn and from whichever point you start. A trek can be full of thrill, excitement and adventure and a way of seeing and enjoying nature in all its beauty and splendour. Trekking pamphlets are available with the Nilgiri Wildlife and Environment Association (NWLEA).


There are guides who have sound knowledge of certain areas. If necessary, their services may be hired. And for further details contact the Tourist Information Office at Charing Cross, Ooty. High above the sea level, situated at the junction of the two ghat ranges of the Sahayadri Hills, Nilgiri district provides a fascinating view. Kerala on the west, the Mysore State on the north, and Coimbatore district on the east and south bound it.


Headquarters of Nilgiris district is Udhagamandalam (also called as Ooty). Coonoor is situated on the eastern side of the southern extremity of the Doddabetta range, at an altitude of 1,858 metres above the sea level. It is the second largest hill station in the Nilgiris. Coonoor is located 19-km away from Ooty and is essentially a small tea garden town where the weather remains pleasantly cool throughout the year.

192. KODAIKANAL HILL STATIONS

Kodaikanal located amidst the folds of the verdant Pali hills is one of the most popular serene hill stations in India, which mesmerises any visitor. With her wooded slopes, mighty rocks, enhancing waterfalls and a beautiful lake, Kodaikanal is a charming hill station of South India.Kodaikanal is situated at an altitude of about 2,133-m high and covers an area of 21.45-sq-km.


The hill town is renowned for its educational institutions of international repute. The pride of Kodaikanal is the 'Kurinji-flower', which blossoms once in 12 years. The hill-plantain fruits and plums are known for their freshness and taste.Kodaikanal offers good accommodation facilities to the tourists. The TTDC run Hotel Tamil Nadu on Fern Hill Road is one example where comfortable accommodation is provided to tourists.


There are several beautiful hill stations in Tamil Nadu. With the Summer Festivals, the hills are even hospitable to welcome the visitors. The summer festival is held in the 'Queen of Hill Stations', the evergreen Ooty; the exquisite Kodaikanal or the salubrious heights of Yercaud. Cultural programs, adventure sports, boat races, flower and fruit shows add to the splendour of the festival.


The Golf Club is located 5-km from the Kodaikanal Lake. Boating and Angling facilities are available at the Kodaikanal Lake. Picturesque trek routes are available in and around Kodaikanal. For details, contact: The Trek Director, Department of Tourism, Government of Tamil Nadu, Chennai.The climate of Kodaikanal is pleasant throughout the year, but the best time to visit Kodaikanal is from April to June and from September to October.

191. Kanyakumari Beach

Kanyakumari is famous for Vivekananda's rock, a huge stone rising out of the sea, on which Swami Vivekananda is said to have meditated. It now houses the statue of Vivekananda and is a memorial to him. Not surprisingly, Kanyakumari is a popular destination for Vivekananda's followers, so there are many Bengalis here, and some Bengali hotels and restaurants are available too.


At the southern most tip of India, where the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal meet, lies Kanyakumari (also spelt as Kanniyakumari), an important pilgrim center. Kanyakumari is also famous for its spectacular sunrises and sunsets, especially on full moon days. The sea is fairly rough, so it is entertaining to watch it beat itself against the rocks and then subside, before it gathers itself up for another attack. With long stretches of sands of many hues, the beach offers a welcome change.


A variety of shells are on sale on the Kanyakumari beach. The beach is a beautiful sight with multi-coloured sand, but it does not really offer one the opportunity to sunbathe on soft golden sands, or to frolic in the waves either. The seashore is rocky and dangerous, and there is a manmade wall running along it. People are warned to stay off the rocks, and when if someone ventures out of bounds, he or she is quickly and severely reprimanded by a watchful policeman. There is a lighthouse from where one can get a panoramic view.


Sangam is the meeting point of the three major bodies of water, the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. It is a bathing ghat, with steps leading into the water and a sort of lagoon formed between land by a series of rocks. People bathe and jump around, getting lightly battered by the remains of waves, which are washing over the rocks.

190. Major Attractions of Mahabalipuram Beach

DakshinachitraWhile travelling from Chennai to Mahabalipuram visit Dakshinachitra - a heritage centre. Here traditional crafts persons and folk artists work and perform in the reconstructed period settings of 19th century homes, streets and workspaces of the Southern States of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

Arjuna's PenanceThe world's largest bas-relief measuring 27m x 9m is the pride of Mahabalipuram. This huge whaleback shaped rock contains figures of Gods, Demigods, men, beasts, birds and infact represents the entire creation.

Five RathasThese are five monolithic temples, each created in a different style. They are also known as the "Pancha Pandava Rathas", and the four of the Rathas are supposed to have scooped out of a single rock formation. It is 4-km north of the main monument complex. It was an open-air theatre, where cultural programmes are held. Though it is very near the sea, the place is serene and calm.

Shore TempleThis is one of the oldest temples in south India. It belongs to the early 8th century AD and is a good example of the first phase of structural temples constructed in Dravidian style. The monuments are floodlit at night and so it is possible to enjoy their beauty after sunset

189. Marina Beach


Golden sand, good surf and a shimmering clean blue sea, this in a nutshell, is Marina beach. This beach is counted among one of the longest beaches in Asia. Its 12-km long stretch was made beautiful by the wonderful facelift given by Governor Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff in the early 1880's, and is a major tourist attraction today.

Marina beach is located on the eastern side of Chennai, adjoining the Bay of Bengal. Watching the sun set and rise from the beach is an enthralling experience. Though bathing and swimming can be dangerous, as the undercurrent is very strong, even then people come for swimming here. In the evenings, the beach is virtually a fair ground with various kinds of entertainment and food stalls lining the beach.

With its natural sandy beauty and spacious promenade and beautiful gardens, the beach is a major attraction for tourists visiting Chennai. It has acquired a South Indian aura with vendors hawking wares ranging from shell and glass baubles to kites and fruit juices. The Marina, however, is large enough to accommodate all visitors as well as the hawkers and is often the venue for important state functions.


Some of the most beautiful buildings in Chennai such as the University of Madras, Senate-House, Chepauk Palace, Presidency College, P.W.D office and Ice House are located on the beach drive. At the other end of the beach is the new lighthouse. In between, sentinels on the promenade, are several statues of Tamil scholars and two splendid bits of sculpture- the Victory of Labour and the Mahatma Gandhi.

188. Kovalam Beach

On the Malabar coast along the Kerala shore line is a small village, called Kovalam. This sleepy town suddenly came on the tourist map when its fabulous beaches were discovered. Today Kovalam has become one of the most popular beach hangouts in India. Kovalam means a grove of coconut trees and truly the coconut trees along the beaches gives it a ravishing look. The palm-fringed bays in secluded coconut groves, promise a relaxed stay.


The boundless blue waters of the Arabian Sea and miles of white sands washed away by the surf at the feet of the stalwart palms and the rocky promontories, makes this beach paradise. This marvellous beach is a tourist's dream come true. A sheltered natural bay with cool soothing palms and gentle waves. Where when you are tired of aquatics, swimming or sunbathing, you can explore the handicrafts, jewellery and cloth shops spread along the waterfront. Not to speak of the delightful sea-food fare including lobsters available at the beachside restaurants.

The crescent-shaped beaches of Kovalam can be divided in three parts. The southern most beach, and the most popular, is the Lighthouse Beach. Further south on the beach one can have a spectacular view of the Vizhinzam mosque. Photography is prohibited here. The middle beach is called Hawah. Each morning this beach acts as a base for the local fisherman.

The northern most beach, Samudra, is least affected of all by the changing times.It is dotted with few rudimentary wooden fishing vessels. In the evening the quiet atmosphere of the place is enlivened by Kathakali performances, the classical dance-drama of Kerala. This mellow Kerala coastal village was once a picturesque settlement built next to two palm-fringed coves enclosed by rocky headlands, but development has been almost unplanned.

187. History Of Golconda Fort


Before the city of Hyderabad was founded the Deccan was ruled from Golconda fort. Founded originally by the Kakatiya's in the 13th century the existing structure was expanded by the Qutub Shahi kings into a massive fort with granite walls and ramparts extending some 5-km in circumference. The first three Qutub Shahi kings rebuilt Golconda, over a span of 62 years.

Shepherd's Hill" or "Golla Konda", as it was popularly known in Telugu, has an interesting story behind it. One fine day, on the rocky hill called 'Mangalavaram', a shepherd boy came across an idol. This was conveyed to the Kakatiya king, who was ruling at that time. The king got a mud fort constructed around the holy spot. Over a period of time this lowly construction was expanded by the Qutub Shahi kings into a massive fort of granite, which has been a silent witness to many historic events.


One of the most remarkable features of Golconda is its system of acoustics- a hand clap at a certain point below the dome at the entrance reverberates and can be heard clearly at the 'Bala Hissar', the highest point almost a kilometre away, palaces, factories, water supply system and the famous 'Rahban' cannon, that was used during the last seize of Golconda by Aurangazeb, to whom the fort ultimately fell.

There is also supposed to be secret underground tunnel leading from the 'Durbar Hall' to one of the palaces at the foot of the hill. The tombs of the Qutub Shahi kings, built with Islamic architecture lie about 1-km north of the outer wall of Golconda. These graceful structures are surrounded by landscaped gardens, and a number of them have beautifully carved stonework. Not be missed is the Sound and Light show conducted by Andhra Pradesh Tourism.

186. Charminar (Char Minar)


A splendid piece of architecture standing in the heart of the city built by Quli Qutub Shah, in 1591. This magnificent monument is the unique symbol of Hyderabad. Charminar is often called as "The Arc de triomphe of the East". It is considered as the legendary masterpiece of Qutub Shahi's.

This beautiful structure derives its name from four intricately carved minarets, The four graceful minarets literally meaning 'Four Minars', soar to a height of 48.7m each, above the ground. It is located amidst the colourful shops of Lad Bazaar with its glittering traditional bangles in the old city. Enormous in its size, this imposing monument exudes a charm that is more than 400 years old.


It was built with granite and lime-mortar. It is a blend of 'Cazia' and Islamic style of architecture. The intertwined arches and domes are examples of typical Islamic style of the architecture. The graceful floral motif atop the Charminar (Char Minar) is enchanting. The Charminar depicts the Indo-Saracenic tradition - a symbiosis of the Hindu and the Muslim traditions, which has woven the magic of a rich Deccan culture.

The Charminar looks spectacular particularly in the nights when it is illuminated. It offers an excellent panoramic view of the city and Golconda Fort, which makes the mind go back into time and recapitulates the past glory of Hyderabad during the Qutub Shahi times. Charminar has become an inseparable part of the history of Hyderabad.

184. Rock Fort Temple


The Rock Fort temple complex in Tiruchirappalli is a collection of three temples - the Manikka Vinayaka temple at the foot of the hill, the Uchhi Pillayar Koyil at the top of the hill and the Taayumaanava Koyil (Shivastalam) on the hill. This Shivastalam is a rock cut temple on a hill in the most prominent landmark in Tiruchirappalli (Trichy); reached by a flight of steps on the way to the famous Ucchi Pillaya temple.

This shrine houses Kangaala Moorthy, one of the 64 manifestations of Shiva. The approach to the temple is through a flight of covered stairs. Towards the end of the climb, the Tayumanavar temple is towards the west and the Uchipillayar temple towards the east. There is a rock cut Pallava temple - Lalitankura Pallaveswaram in this hill temple complex, with several inscriptions here attributed to Mahendravarma Pallavan.

In addition the Cholas, the Vijayanagar rulers and the Nayaks of Madurai have made extensive contributions here. The two storeyed Taayumaanava temple, built on (in!) a hill is a masterpiece of construction. The Chittira Mandapam (also spelt as Mandapa) houses a granite chain with nine loops. Tiruchirappalli itself has a long history, going back to the centuries before the Christian era, when it was a Chola citadel.

The Pandyas and Pallavas held sway over the region for short periods. In the 12th century, Cholas were subverted by the Vijayanagar kings of Hampi, who proudly withstood the invading Muslims. Less than fifty years later, the Nayaks of Madurai came to power, constructed the Rock Fort, and firmly established Tiruchirappalli as the trading city.

183. Mahishamardhani and the Adivaraha Mandapas

Of the many excavated rock temples in Mahabalipuram anomalously called "Mandapas", two of the best are the Mahishamardhani and the Adivaraha. The former contains on walls facing each other two of the most superb sculptural reliefs known to Indian art, both connected with each other in their common scriptural source. The latter Mandapa has two groups of royal sculptures, also facing each other. Besides, it is the only temple in Mahabalipuram apart from the Sthalasayana Perumal, where worship continues today, but fitfully.


The Mahishamardhini temple has been excavated in a rock on the eastern side of the top of the hill. Right above it there is a structural temple, one of four of a lighthouse for decades until a new lighthouse was erected close by. Near the Mahishamardhani temple there is a smaller rock where an unfinished attempt at excavating a fane has been made.

There are three shrines in the Mahishamardhani Mandapa. A small Mandapa projects forward from the central shrine. On the northern and southern walls of the Ardhamandapa there are the great sculptural reliefs of Goddess Durga fighting the demon and of Lord Vishnu in His cosmic sleep. The incidents are from two consecutive cantos of the "Devi Mahatmyam". In the one relief the energy with which the young Goddess goes forth to war with the buffalo headed demon is in magnificent contrast with the cosmic sleep of Lord Vishnu on His serpent couch.

The royal groups in the Adivaraha temple are, in one, of a seated king with two queens flanking him and, in the other, of a standing king with two consorts standing by him. There are many opinions but it is generally thought that the seated monarch is Simhavishnu (574-600) and the standing one his son and successor, Mahendra I (600-630). There are, besides, reliefs of many divinities.

182. History of Mahabalipuram

The history of Mahabalipuram dates back to two thousand years, it contains nearly forty monuments of different types including an "open air bas relief" which is the largest in the world, for centuries it has been a centre of pilgrimage, it figures in the early annals of the British search for the picturesque in India in the 18th century, today it attracts shoals of foreigners in search of relaxation and sea bathing, and most strange of all, it has an atomic power plant for neighbour. A small library has been written on it.


Over its history and that of its monuments a number of scholarly controversies rage. Mahabalipuram was already a centre of pilgrimage when, in the 7th century Mamalla made it a seaport and began to make temples fashioned of rock. It was through Mahabalipuram that many Indian colonists, who included sages and artists, migrated to Southeast Asia. Sri Lanka's national chronicle, the "Mahavamsa" testifies to this fact.

The proper name of the site is "Mamallapuram", after Mamalla, an honorific of the Pallava king, Narasimha Varman I (630-668), who created the earliest of its monuments. But it is popularly called "Mahabalipuram", or "The city of Bali", whom Lord Vishnu chastised for his pride and of whom there is a relief in one of the excavated temples here.

There are, or rather were, two low hills in Mahabalipuram, about 400m from the sea. In the larger one, on both sides, there are eleven excavated temples, called Mandapas, two "open air bas reliefs", one of which is unfinished, and a third enclosed one. Out of a big rock standing free nearby there is a "cut out" temple, called a "Ratha". This type is unique to Mahabalipuram.

181. The Depictions Of Arjuna's Penance

There have been strong differences of opinion among eminent scholars on what this scene depicts. An old view was that it represents Bhagiratha's penance. But the opinion that currently holds the field is that it depicts Arjuna's Penance. This "Mahabharatha" incident, also represented in both mural and relief in Lepakshi and a number of other sites, relates to Arjuna's obtaining a weapon to use in the impending war against the Kauravas.

Bharavi, the Sanskrit dramatist, who, it is believed, was living in Kanchipuram in the seventh century, when this masterpiece was made, has made it his theme in his "Kiratarjuniyam". The Pallava court in that century was a nest of singing birds. It is highly probable that it is this scene, which is depicted here. The main scene of action is on the southern face. Here an ascetic is performing severe penance, standing on one leg. Near him is Lord Shiva, with His attendants. Immediately below them there is a small shrine with a relief of Lord Vishnu inside. By its side are many seated sages in meditation.

The fissure indicates a river. This is clear from a fact and a suggestion. The fact, also strengthened by the presence of water serpents, is the depiction at the edge of the southern surface of some persons performing the rite of "Sandhya vandhana" by the river. The suggestion is that, in Pallava days, actual water flowed down the cleavage from the hill behind, where there are survivals of what would be called a water tank. The notion is similar to what is found in the Isurumuniya in Anuradhapura, the ancient capital of Sri Lanka.

On the northern face are some huge elephants, among the very best of their kind in the whole range of Indian sculptures. There is, besides, the hypocritical cat which, pretending to perform penance, draws to it a number of unfortunate unsuspecting rats. This is a touch of humour not very common in Indian art. There are, besides, the Lion, the Tiger, the Boar.

180. Models of Computation

The rich variety of concurrent models of computation outlined in the previous section can be daunting to a designer faced with having to select them. Most designers today do not face this choice because they get exposed to only one or two. This is changing, however, as the level of abstraction and domain-specificity of design software both rise.

We expect that sophisticated and highly visual user interfaces will be needed to enable designers to cope with this heterogeneity. An essential difference between concurrent models of computation is their modeling of time. Some are very explicit by taking time to be a real number that advances uniformly, and placing events on a time line or evolving continuous signals along the time line.

Others are more abstract and take time to be discrete. Others are still more abstract and take time to be merely a constraint imposed by causality. This latter interpretation results in tim e that is partially ordered, and explains much of the expressiveness in process networks and rendezvous-based models of computation.
Partially ordered time provides a mathematical framework for formally analyzing and comparing models of computation.

A grand unified approach to modeling would seek a concurrent model of computation that serves all purposes. This could be accomplished by creating a melange, a mixture of all of the above, but such a mixture would be extremely complex and difficult to use, and synthesis and simulation tools would be difficult to design.

179. Telephone

Having examined the postal system and discussed important issues with regard to accessibility, it is now useful to turn to the telephone system. The telephone system provides many advantages over postal service. Chief among these is speed of information delivery and the interactive nature of the media. However, fundamental differences between the telephone and postal systems required that accessibility be addressed in new ways.

Basic accessibility to telephone services requires a connection to the telephone network. Universal service efforts were designed to minimize this hurdle. These efforts are described in the Universal Service chapter, below. However, as mentioned earlier, universal access requires that technologies provide services in a useful manner. Unlike mail services, the telephone system imposes significant constraints on the communications it supports.

Providing useful telephone services to hearing-impaired individuals has required specific measures to address these constraints. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) mandates support for two technologies that provide telephone service access to the hearing impaired. Text Telephone Devices (TTY, sometimes know as TTD) support typed communication over the regular phone system. This helps overcome the telephone system?s basic requirement of audio data formats.

The ADA requires support for such devices in a variety of ways including mandatory availability at public phone areas, hotels, etc. However, TTY communication requires that both parties use the technology and exists as an add-on to the telephone system. This means that TTY availability does not guarantee that the hearing impaired can effectively communicate with other parties.

177. Indian Boarding School Movement

The Indian boarding school movement began in the post Civil War era when idealistic reformers turned their attention to the plight of Indian people. Whereas before many Americans regarded the native people with either fear or loathing, the reformers believed that with the proper education and treatment Indians could become just like other citizens.

They convinced the leaders of Congress that education could change at least some of the Indian population into patriotic and productive members of society. One of the first efforts to accomplish this goal was the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania, founded by Captain Richard Henry Pratt in 1879. Pratt was a leading proponent of the assimilation through education policy.

Believing that Indian ways were inferior to those of whites, he subscribed to the principle, "kill the Indian and save the man." At Carlisle, young Indian boys and girls were subjected to a complete transformation. Photographs taken at the school illustrate how they looked "before" and "after".

The dramatic contrast between traditional clothing and hairstyles and Victorian styles of dress helped convince the public that through boarding school education Indians could become completely "civilized". Following the model of Carlisle, additional off reservation boarding schools were established in other parts of the country, including Forest Grove, Oregon (later known as Chemawa).

176. Mission Schools

Meanwhile, on many reservations missionaries operated schools that combined religious with academic training. At Priest's Point near the Tulalip Reservation, Reverend E.C. Chirouse opened a school in 1857 for six boys and five girls. By 1860 he had 15 pupils and the school continued to grow under the auspices of the Sisters of Providence.

At these missionary run schools, traditional religious and cultural practices were strongly discouraged while instruction in the Christian doctrines took place utilizing pictures, statues, hymns, prayers and storytelling. Some missionary schools received federal support, particularly at times when Congress felt less inclined to provide the large sums of money needed to establish government schools.

The Tulalip Mission School became the first contract Indian school, an arrangement whereby the government provided annual funds to maintain the buildings while the Church furnished books, clothing, housing and medical care. In 1896 Congress drastically reduced the funding for mission schools and eventually, in the winter of 1900-01, the Tulalip school became a federal facility. The old school buildings were destroyed by fire in 1902.

On January 23, 1905, exactly fifty years after the signing of the Point Elliott Treaty, a new and larger school opened along the shores of Tulalip Bay. The Tulalip Indian School began under the supervision of Charles Milton Buchanan, a physician who also served as Indian Agent for the reservation. The first year it had only one dormitory, but by 1907 both girls' and boys' buildings were completed and the school had a capacity enrollment of 200 students. The children ranged in age from 6 to 18 years and came from many different reservations as well as some off reservation communities.

175. Boarding Schools

In eastern Washington, a U.S. military fort near Spokane was transformed into a boarding school for Indians of the Spokane and Colville reservations. Fort Spokane Boarding School opened in 1900 with an enrollment of 83 pupils and grew to 200 by 1902. It operated only until 1914 after which time the children attended day schools closer to their homes.

Similarly, the military facility at Fort Simcoe became a school for the Yakama and their neighbors.The national system of Indian education, including both off reservation boarding schools, reservation boarding schools and day schools, continued to expand at the turn of the century. In the Pacific Northwest, Chemawa Indian School became the largest off reservation boarding school and drew pupils from throughout the region and Alaska.

Chemawa had originally been located at Forest Grove, Oregon, but was moved to Salem in 1885 after officials determined that the original site lacked adequate agricultural land. By 1920 Chemawa enrolled 903 students from 90 different tribes, nearly a third coming from Alaska. All federal boarding schools, whether on or off reservation, shared certain characteristics.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs issued directives that were followed by superintendents throughout the nation. Even the architecture and landscaping appeared similar from one institution to the next. Common features included a military style regimen, a strict adherence to English language only, an emphasis on farming, and a schedule that equally split academic and vocational training. By reading the Reports of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and other documents you can compare the official reports submitted by various schools.

174. Great Pyramid of Khufu

This pyramid was built by King Khufu around 2560 BC. Khufu is the second Pharaoh of the fourth dynasty of rulers in Egypt. He was also known as "Cheops". Among all the 3 pyramids listed above, the Great Pyramid of Khufu is the only one pyramid in the list of seven wonders of the world.

This pyramid is believed to have been built over 20 years. When it was built its height was around 146 m. But now it is only 137 m. This was one of the tallest structures in the world till 19th century. It was covered with casings of stones to smoothen its surface. It probably is considered to be one among the seven wonders of world because of its sheer size.

The apex of the pyramid is missing and looks like it was never installed. The casings of the pyramids were removed by the Arabs during 14th century. The sloping angle of the sides is 51 degrees and 51 minutes. Each side is oriented towards one of the cardinal points of the compass that is north, south, east and west. This deserves a place among one of the seven wonders of world for its precision.

On the north face, is the pyramid's entrance. The King Khufu's chamber is located at the heart of the pyramid. The king's coffin is made of red granite, as like the interior walls of his chamber. 5 boat pits surround Khufu's Pyramid on the south and the east. Two of these are believed to be used by the Pharaoh during his life time. One boat is made into a Boat Museum. This is the only one existing wonder, among all the seven wonders of world.

173. Eiffel Tower

Eiffel Tower, found in Paris was designed and constructed by Alexander-Gustave Eiffel. It is a Parisian landmark and technological masterpiece in building construction history. When the French Government was organizing centennial exposition of 1889 to commemorate the French revolution, a competition was held for designs for a suitable monument.

More than hundred designs were submitted and the centennial committee accepted that of the noted bridge engineer Gustave Eiffel. Eiffels conception of a 984 foot (300 Meters) tower of open lattice wrought iron aroused amazement, skeptics and no little opposition on aesthetic Grounds. Nothing remotely it was ever built as it was twice as high as the doom of St.Peters church in Rome or the great pyramid of Giza.

In contrast to such older monuments, Eiffel Tower was raised in height in matter of months with a small labor force and a slight cost. Making use of advanced knowledge of behavior of metal arc and metal truss from the under loading, including wind forces and gigantic structure created a revolution in the field of civil engineering and architectural designs of the period and still now. And despite long continuous protest, it ultimately vindicated itself aesthetically.

The towers based of four semi-circular arcs, dictated partly by engineering considerations but also partly by Eiffels artistic sense. It required elevators to ascend on a curve, the glass cage machines designed by the Otis-elevator company of the United States of America became the principle feature of building helping it to establish it as the worlds best area of tourist attraction. Eiffel Tower lasted as the largest and tallest building in the world until the completion of Chrysler building in New York City in the year 1930.

172. Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal, a mausoleum built on the southern bank of the Yamuna river, outside Agra in India. It was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal whose real name was Arjumand banu beagum. She died in a child birth in Bhuranpur in 1631 A.D. They got married in 1612 A.D the building was planned to be built in 1632 A.D. It was built by a group of men from India, Persia, Central asia,and beyond. About 20,000 workman were employed daily to complete the complex at the expense of 40,000,000 rupees.

The complex consist of a rectangular plot measuring 1,902 feet x 1,002 feet on each side, bounded on north and south by two oblong sections. The southern oblong has a sand stone gateway to the complex while the northern oblong section terminates at the Yamunas edge directly to the mausoleum. The mausoleum is on the west and east by two symmetrically identical buildings, the mosque and the Jawab respectively.

The whole Taj complex was conceived as an entity because Mughal building architecture allowed no amendment in them. The mosque and Jawab of the Red Sikiri sand stone and some pietra duta (hard stone )surface decoration ,contrast in color and texture with the mausoleum of pure white marble. The mausoleum stands on a marble plinth 23 feet high and has four identical faces with a chamfered corner and a massive arch of height 108 feet on each face. Parapets create the skyline rhythm of the mausoleum over each arch and by pinnacle and domed kiosks on each corner.The Islamic building activity of Shah Jahan period is marked by fresh emergence in India with Persian features that had been seen in the Humayun tomb at Delhi, began in 1564. The Taj Mahal has won a good praise virtually from the time of the erection.

The beauty not only lies in its parts but also in the beauty that is seen when viewed from any angle near the complex. The marble surface reflects continuously sunlight during the daytime. All the resources of the emperor was put into the construction of the complex. In addition to the mausoleum the complex includes a wide variety of accessories building parts that gives the building a great appearance. The mausoleum rises on the four sides of the complex and gives it a great appearance.

170. Empire State building- Facts

Empire State building is a steel frame 102 Story building completed in New York City in the year 1931. It was built with the height of 1,250 feet (381 Meters) and was the worlds first Sky Scrapper with the greatest vertical dimension. It stood as the largest and highest Structure in the world up to the year 1954. In 1950, a 222 feet Television Antenna was added to the building on the top, which increased the height of the building from 1,250 feet to 1,472 feet.

The building is addressed in a site of 2 Acres, in the heart of Manhattan city on the 5th Avenue at the 34th Street. The building of Sky Scrapers was only up to the year 1931 and stopped from the year 1932 up to the World War II. The building with a great strength showed its power by sustaining the crash impact of a B-25 Bomber in the year June 1945. The building was not heavily damaged in this attack. There were only minor damages to this building and thus this building came out to be called as Strengthen sky scraper.

Shreve, Lamb and Harmon designed the building. The Credit of the building went to them. As the Sky Scrapers became very popular in the period of the 20th centuries, a law was passed for that sunlight must reach the buildings that are built behind the Sky Scrapers. In New York, buildings were created such that, they were not permitted to attain a height greater than twice the width of the Street Below.

But, the major set back of the empire state building in that at the fifth floor, at the plan of the top section, the tower is equal to the area of only one fourth of the plan at the ground level. The building has an attractive lighting schedule to attract the tourist towards it. The building is decorated with glowing light of different color during the night. As being the independence day of America, the building glows yellow and it glows orange on all Sundays. This colorful appearance gives a good effect.

169. History of Fashion

Any account of historical Indian costumes runs into serious difficulties not for want of literary evidence or of archaeological and visual materials: of both of these there is a fair measure that is available. The difficulty arises when one tries to collate the information that can be culled from these sources. The descriptions in literary works, for all their great poetic beauty and elegance, are, in the nature of things, not precise and one has to guess and reconstruct. Sometimes the descriptions are so general that they can fit more than one costume quite different from each other.


All this is not to say that a broad, general idea cannot be formed of the kinds of costumes worn in the ancient, medieval or the late medieval periods in India. What one is denied is the possibility of going into the many subtleties that Indian costumes possess. Their range is remarkably wide, according to the great size of the country, and geographical differences, and the bewildering diversity of its ethnic groups is added the complex factor of the coming in, at regular intervals, of foreign peoples into India at different periods of time and in varying numbers.


The costumes that these people brought along did not stay necessarily apart from the mainstream of Indian dresses - that one could have dealt with - but, with the Indian genius for adaptation and modification, these costumes become altered, even metamorphosed, and eventually assimilated to the broad, native Indian range of dress. One has, therefore, to sift and isolate, and then relate and bring together, the evidence available which is not the easiest of tasks in the context of Indian history where material culture does not always get the attention it does elsewhere.

Through sharp analysis of Sanskrit, Prakrit, and Hindi, as much as Arabic and Persian sources, they have brought within reach a rich body of material. The inherent difficulty in the matter of interpreting this material and relating it to surviving archaeological and visual evidence naturally leaves some matters obscure, and others open to controversy. But a very substantial body of information has been collected.

168. First Construction of the Great Wall

The first emperor of United China connected the discontinuous walls with watch towers with was used to guard as the rampart. It was mainly built against Hsiung-nu or called he Huns. The wall was constructed partly of masonry and partly of earth and was faced with brick in the eastern portion. It was again rebuilt in the 15th and 16th century.

The basic Wall is 30feet height and the towers are 40m high. The great wall lies from 39.49 degrees North to 98.18 degrees East. The Yen Mountains are the world famous ones and has peak up to 4,900 feet above main sea level. The great wall has it crest over these mountains in a zigzag manner. According to the words of the Astronauts and space researchers, the only clear and visible one from the moon on earth is only The Great Wall.

A statement said The Great wall is the only visible thing from Satellite. China was the only country with the oldest civilization and it led up to 2000 Years from 221 B.C. to 1911 A.D. and remained as a united one until the series of powerful rules. The great walls construction was carried on only during this period and the main reason why the wall bent at some occasions was this because the capitals were shifted, the borders were changed and mainly the country was captured by fierce tribes of the period including the Mongols and however for the most of the history of china, it was the only developed country of that period in art and technology only because of its construction of the great wall.

The inventions of paper, porcelain and gunpowder were the main during the construction of the great wall. The inventions of paper, porcelain and gun power were the main construction items used during the construction of great wall. After the construction of the great wall the Qin empire was the first empire to be protected by the great wall which is now the northern and eastern china. The wall was built there as a defense against the Hostile tribal attacks from central Asia.

167. Indian Air Force

The Indian Air Force was officially established on 8 October 1932.Its first ac flight came into being on 01 Apr 1933. It possessed a strength of six RAF-trained officers and 19 Havai Sepoys (literally, air soldiers). The aircraft inventory comprised of four Westland Wapiti IIA army co-operation biplanes at Drigh Road as the "A" Flight nucleus of the planned No.1 (Army Co- operation) Squadron.

Four-and-a-half years later, "A" Flight was in action for the first time from Miranshah, in North Waziristan, to support Indian Army operations against insurgent Bhittani tribesmen. Meanwhile, in April 1936, a "B" Flight had also been formed on the vintage Wapiti. But, it was not until June 1938 that a "C" Flight was raised to bring No. 1 Squadron ostensibly to full strength, and this remained the sole IAF formation when World War II began, although personnel strength had by now risen to 16 officers and 662 men.

Problems concerning the defence of India were reassessed in 1939 by the Chatfield Committee. It proposed the re-equipment of RAF (Royal Air Force) squadrons based in lndia but did not make any suggestions for the accelerating the then painfully slow growth of IAF except for a scheme to raise five flights on a voluntary basis to assist in the defence of the principal ports. An IAF Volunteer Reserve was thus authorised, although equipping of the proposed Coastal Defence Flights (CDFs) was somewhat inhibited by aircraft availability.

Nevertheless, five such flights were established with No. 1 at Madras, No. 2 at Bombay, No. 3 at Calcutta, No. 4 at Karachi and No. 5 at Cochin. No. 6 was later formed at Vizagapatanam. Built up around a nucleus of regular IAF and RAF personnel, these flights were issued with both ex-RAF Wapitis and those relinquished by No. 1 Squadron IAF after its conversion to the Hawker Hart. In the event, within a year, the squadron was to revert back to the Wapiti because of spares shortages, the aged Westland biplanes being supplemented by a flight of Audaxes.

166. War In Burma

On 1 February, No.1 Squadron arrived in Burma with its Lysanders, flying tactical recce missions from Toungoo before transferring to Mingaladon with a flight deployed at Lashio. I A F personnel were soon hanging pairs of 250-lb. bombs on each of their Lysanders and with these, flew low-level unescorted missions against the principal Japanese air bases at Mae-Haungsaun, Cheingmai and Chiangrai in Thailand.

However, the Japanese advance was relentless and with the final evacuation of Burma, No.1 Squadron personnel were flown to India, where at Risalpur in June 1942, the unit began conversion to the Hurricane IIB fighter. No.2 Squadron had also equipped with Lysanders by the end of 1941, being confined to anti-invasion exercises until, in September 1942, it emulated the IAF's premier unit by converting to Hurricanes. The third IAF unit to operate the Lysander was No.4 Squadron, formed with four aircraft on 16 February 1942.

This squadron was to continue to operate the Westland aircraft until it, too was re-equipped with the Hurricane in June 1943. Six months earlier, No.6 Squadron was raised with personnel from Nos 1 and 2 flights, being Hurricane-equipped from the outset. Between March and December 1942, 10 aircrew schools were opened in India, and the first Harvard Is and IIs were delivered to No. 1 Flying Training School at Ambala, this school having been established to provide basic and advanced training for IAF pilots over a four-and-half month course.

By the end of that year, however,or a decade after the IAF's creation and three years into World War II, the Service could muster just five squadrons. The coastal defence flights had now been disbanded and most personnel of Nos.3 and 6 Flights were combined with regular IAF personnel to form No. 7 Squadron which was equipped with the U:S. - built Vengeance 1 dive bomber in mid-February 1943.

165. Independence and partition

The stimulus provided by the Second World War had raised RIAF personnel strength to 28,500 including some 1,600 officers, by the time hostilities terminated. In August 1945, No. 4 Squadron was designated a component unit of the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces in Japan, exchanging its Spitfire Vllls for Mk XlVs in October and arriving in Japan aboard HMS vengence on 23 April 1946.

Meanwhile, from late 1945, the remaining Hurricane-equipped RIAF fighter squadrons converted to the Spitfire at Kohat, Samungli and Risalpur and by mid-1946 the entire RIAF fighter force was Spitfire-equipped. The year 1946 also saw the establishment of the first RIAF transport unit, No.12 Squadron which had first been raised on Spitfires at Kohat in December 1945 and received C-47 Dakotas in Panagarh in late 1946. A decision had also been taken to re-equip the fighter squadrons with the Tempest II, and implementation of this decision began during the autumn of 1946, No. 3 Squadron at Kolar becoming the first to re-equip, followed by No.10 Squadron later in 1946.

Personnel strength had meanwhile been virtually halved to some 14,000 officers and men in the post-war rundown, but the British authorities had made their own assessment of India's post-war defence needs. As of October 1946, they envisaged expansion of the existing ten RIAF squadrons into a balanced force of twenty fighter, bomber and transport squadrons. Owing to the rapidly changing political situation, however, definitive decisions concerning Indian defence were, in the event, to be left to the emerging Government of Independent India.

No. 4 Squadron converted to the Tempest 11 upon its return to India from Japan and Nos.7 and 8 Squadrons also relinquished their Spitfires for the more efficacious Tempest fighter during the summer of 1947. Nos. 1 and 9 Squadrons, too, received Tempest lls at this time, but on 15 August 1947, and with the division of both India and its armed forces, these units stood down and their equipment was transferred to the newly created Royal Pakistan Air Force.

164. Heavy bombers and jet fighters


No. 2 Squadron had re-equipped with Spitfire XVllls in the interim, and No. 9 Squadron re-raised on this type; No. 101 Photo Reconnaissance Flight was formed in January 1948 on Spitfire PR Mk. XlXs, this unit being destined to achieve full squadron status in April 1950. To make up attrition suffered in the Kashmir operations, a further batch of Tempest IIs was procured from the UK in December 1948.

The same year witnessed various equipment changes, one of which was to have a profound effect on the composition of the RIAF. The Service, wishing to establish a heavy bombing element, contracted with HAL to "re-construct" a force of B-24 Liberators from the mouldering remains of nearly 100 ex USAF bombers of this type at the immense Care and Maintenance Unit Depot at Kanpur.

Despite the scepticism on the part of the US and British advisers concerning the feasibility of the scheme, the first half-dozen HAL-reconditioned B-24s were ready by November 1948 and, on the 17th of that month, No. 5 Squadron was formed with these heavy bombers. Later, in early 1950, No. 6 Squadron was to re-form at Poona also with B-24s, while No.16 Squadron was to be established to provide back-up training on the type.

To supplement the Tiger Moths, Prentice basic trainers were delivered to the RIAF during the course of 1948, eventually to see service at Jodhpur, Tambaram and Ambala, but truly epoch making in so far as the Service was concerned, was the arrival in India on 4 November 1948 of three Vampire F.Mk.3 jet fighters. These were the precursors of more than 400 Vampires of various types that were procured by the Service over the following years. The achievement of operational status on the Vampire FBMk.52 by No. 7 Squadron in the following year was to give the RIAF the distinction of becoming the first Asian air arm to operate jets.

163. Conflict with China

The real test of IAF airlift capability came in October 1962, when open warfare erupted on the Sino-lndian border. During the period 20 October to 20 November, pressure on the Service's transport and helicopter units were intense, troops and supplies having to be flown to the support of the border posts virtually around the clock and at extreme altitudes. The helicopters had to constantly run the gauntlet of Chinese small arms and anti-aircraft fire, while operating to.the tricky helipads in the mountains.

Many notable feats were performed by the IAF during this conflict, including the operation of C-119Gs from airstrips 17,000 ft (5180m) above sea level in the Karakoram Himalayas, and the air-lifting by An-12Bs of two troops of AMX-13 light tanks to Chushul, in Ladakh, where the small airstrip was 15,000 ft (4570m) above sea level.The state of emergency declared as a result of the Sino-lndian fighting resulted in disbandment of the Auxillary Air Force and absorption of its personnel and equipment by the regular IAF.

An emergency training scheme was instituted in which the services of five flying clubs at Madras, Kanpur, New Delhi, Nagpur and Patiala were enlisted, more than 1,000 cadets receiving primary flying instruction with these clubs by the end of 1964. Furthermore, Vampire FBMk.52s "mothballed" since 1961, were restored to service as the equipment of newly-raised squadrons.

The IAF was expanding rapidly, its personnel strength of 28,000 officers and men at the time of the Sino-lndian conflict increasing by some two-thirds by the end of 1964, but the manpower requirements of the 33-squadron force had still to be implemented fully when the scheme was overtaken by even more ambitious expansion to a 45-squadron force which was sanctioned by the Government in October 1962, this calling for the raising of IAF personnel strength to some 100,000 by the early seventies.

162. Republic status

In January 1950, India became a Republic within the British Commonwealth and the Indian Air Force dropped its "Royal" prefix. At this time, it possessed six fighter squadrons of Spitfires, Vampires and Tempests, operating from Kanpur, Poona, Ambala and Palam, one B-24 bomber squadron, one C-47 Dakota transport squadron, one AOP flight, a communications squadron at Palam and a growing training organisation.

Training adhered closely to the pattern established by the RAF, most instructors having graduated from the CFS in the UK and in addition to No.1. Flying Training School at Hyderabad with Tiger Moths and Harvards and No. 2 FTS atJodhpur with Prentices and Harvards, there were IAF colleges at Begumpet, Coimbatore andJodhpur.Licence manufacture of the de Havilland Vampire had been initiated by HAL which, after building a batch from imported major assemblies, went on to manufacture a further 250.

In addition, 60 Vampire T Mk. 55s were to be built of which 10 were assembled from imported kits. Nos.2,3 and 8 Squadrons followed No.7 Squadron on the Vampire, but, extraordinarily, 1951 also saw the formation of the last piston-engined fighter combat unit when No. 14 Squadron was raised on the Spitfire Mk. XVIII. Vampire NF Mk. 54 two-seat night fighters were obtained in May 1953 to re-equip No. 10. Sqn at Palam, thus endowing night-intercept capability upon the IAF for the first time.

At this time, relations between India and Pakistan were again steadily deteriorating and the IAF, its combat strength virtually unchanged since partition in 1947, was scarcely ready for any full-scale conflict. Plans were accordingly framed for major expansion during the period 1953-57, and the Government began to seek non-traditional and alternative sources of combat aircraft procurement.

161. A mature and modern force

Aircraft Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE) the Tactics & Air Combat Development Establishment, (TACDE), the 'College of Air Combat' and other specialist establiments continued to mature. Work on the ADGES was resumed in 1974-75 and plans for the qualitative upgrading of the entire Air Force were continually refined. The IAF handed over its Super Constellations to the Navy in 1975. The early seventies saw force levels being consolidated, and training in new weapons-systems and evolution of new tactics being honed.

By the mid '70s, the IAF was clearly in need of urgent re-equipment decisions and various requirements, better known by their acronyms DPSA, TASA, METAC and HETAC, were pursued and decisions were forthcoming at last. The period, the IAF was to benefit from a crest in the eighties, the period 1978-88 witnessing a major modernisation programme which replaced most of the earlier generation and obsolete equipment with spanking new aircraft types and weapon systems.

No less than twenty new aircraft types and sub-types entered the IAF's service over these years, including various strike fighters, third-generation supersonic interceptors, tri-sonic reconnaissance aircraft, strategic heavy lift transports, medium tactical transports, light transport aircraft, heavy lift and medium-assault helicopters, basic trainers, surface-to-air missiles and an array of sophisticated weaponry propelling the IAF, or Bharatiya Vayu Sena, into one of the world's better equipped air arms.

First off the mark was selection of the Jaguar strike fighter, to meet the IAF's urgent Deep Penetration Strike Aircraft (DPSA) requirement, to replace the Canberra and Hunter still soldiering on in this exacting role. After many years of evaluation and negotiation, the Anglo-French fighter was contracted for, an interim batch of ex-RAF Jaguars being accepted to re-equip No. 14 Squadron. IAF pilots and technicians received conversion training with the RAF and British Aerospace in Lossiemouth, Coltishall and Warton before ferrying the first Jaguars to India in July 1979.

160. Local Government System


In order to establish democracy at grassroots level, the regime of General Pervez Musharaf, introduced the Local Government System. This was not a new experiment in Pakistan. Ayub Khan had undertaken a similar effort in this direction by introducing the Basic Democracy System. This new system of Local Government was installed on August 14, 2001, after holding of elections.


Direct elections on non-party basis were held in five phases for members of Union Councils, Union Nazims, and Naib Union Nazims during 2000 thru to 2001. On the basis of these direct elections, indirect elections were held in July-August 2001 for Zila Nazims and Naib Zila Nazims and also for Tehsil-Town Nazims and Naib Nazims. In order to attract people towards electoral politics, the minimum age for local government elections was lowered from 21 to 18 years. One-third seats were reserved for women.


The main purpose of introducing the Local Government System was to empower the people at the grassroots level and to transfer power from the elite to the masses. This system of grassroots democracy envisaged yielding new political leaders. It was also anticipated to solve people's problems at local level, allow public participation in decision-making and ensure the provision of speedy justice.


The essence of this system was that the Local Governments would be accountable to the citizens for all their decisions. It would enable the proactive elements of society to participate in community work, development related activities and would remove rural-urban divide. The new Local Government plan was an effort on the part of the Military Government to lay the foundations of an authentic and enduring democracy.

159. Union Administration

The lowest tier, the Union Administration was a corporate body covering the rural as well as urban areas across the whole District. It consisted of Union Nazim, Naib Union Nazim and three Union Secretaries and other auxiliary staff. The Union Nazim was the head of the Union Administration and the Naib Union Nazim acted as deputy to the Union Nazim during his temporary absence. The Union Secretaries coordinated and facilitated in community development, functioning of the Union Committees and delivery of municipal services under the supervision of Union Nazim.


The Government allocated Rupees 32 billion to the Local Government in 2002. The funds were deposited in the account of the District Government. The District Government further distributed these funds to Tehsil and Unions. In addition to the fiscal transfers from the Province, the Local Governments were authorized to generate money from their own sources by levying certain taxes, fees, user charges, etc. It is, however, pertinent to make a special mention that it is only in the absence of elected assemblies that local governments are the popularly elected bodies and play important political and developmental roles.


After the election of Senators and members of the provincial and national assemblies, its role has been again substantially marginalized. The elected representatives of National and Provincial Assemblies usually take over some functions, which local governments used to perform and as such in many ways they are prone to intervene in the evolution of proper and improved Local government.


Local governments suffer from the fact that their existence is not constitutionally ordained and they are a mere extension of the provincial government. In the Constitution, the allocations of the functions of the federal and provincial governments are clearly specified whereas the existence of local government is not formally embodied in the Constitution. Moreover, financial, technical, and bureaucratic constraints plus limited revenue (merely 5 per cent of revenue generated by the government) cause the poor and almost non-existent local government for most of the time.

158. India's Flag is on the Moon


India planted its flag firmly in the lunar soil on November 14, 2008, when its Chandrayan-1 orbiter fired its Moon Impact Probe onto Earth's natural satellite. The 75-lb. box-shaped MIP carried three instruments in its 25-minute flight down onto the Moon:
a video imaging system to take pictures of the Moon's surface as MIP approached a radar altimeter to measure the rate of descent of the probe to the lunar surface a mass spectrometer to examine the extremely thin lunar atmosphere on the way down to the surface MIP was painted with India's green, white and saffron flag.


The lunar impact fired off celebrations in the Asian nation that hopes to raise its level of global influence. India is the second most populous country on Earth. India's first attempt to send a probe to the Moon's surface from its spacecraft orbiting the Moon was successful. Another lunar flight, probably with a soft landing and maybe even a small rover, will be launched in 2012, India announced.


Moon missions. India joined the U.S., Russia in the form of the former Soviet Union, the European Space Agency, Japan and China as the nations that have sent missions to the Moon. Today, the MIP probably is scattered across the Moon's Shackleton crater where the small probe smashed into the surface at more than 3,100 mph. Launch. India launched its first unmanned spacecraft to explore the Moon on October 22, 2008. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) calls the Moon flight project Chandrayan Pratham, which has been translated as First Journey to the Moon or Moonshot One in ancient Sanskrit.

The 1,157-lb. Chandrayan-1 was launched on a two-tyear mission on one of India's own Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) space rockets from the Sriharikota Space Center in southern India. The spacecraft circled Earth in a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) from where it flew on out into a polar orbit of the Moon some 60 miles above the lunar surface. The Chandrayan mission will send back to Earth high-resolution 3-D images of the moon's surface including the shadowy polar regions. It is searching for evidence of water or ice. It also will try to identify the chemical breakdown of some lunar rocks.

157. Indian Astronomy


The first references to astronomy in India were found in the Rig Veda, which dates to 2000 B.C. Vedic Aryans deified the Sun, Stars and Comets. Astronomy was mixed with astrology. The relative positions of the nine grahas (planets) are said to determine human fortune. In particular, Shani (Saturn) and Mangal (Mars) are important. Ancient Indian astronomers were ahead of sky watchers elsewhere around the world in recognizing that stars are same as the Sun and that the Sun is center of a universe we know as the Solar System.
Astronomy in India today is referred to as Khagola-shastra, after a famous observatory at the University of Nalanda, which was called Khagola. Aryabhatta, a 5th century Indian Astronomer, worked at Khagola. The ancient Indian astronomers had no telescopes. Instead, they used only rudimentary measuring insturments to do their work. Even so, they were able to predict eclipses and achieve quite accurate measurement of astronomical movements.

Aryabhatta. Aryabhatta was born in 476 A.D. at Ashmaka in what today is the Indian state of Kerala. He was sent to the University of Nalanda as a boy to study astronomy. His Heliocentric theory of gravitation was one of the earliest and preceded Copernicus by a thousand years. In the 5th century, Aryabhatta was one of the earliest persons to support the theory that Earth is a sphere. Aryabhatta's main work is known as the Aryabhattiya. It was so significant that it was translated into Latin in the 13th century.

That's how European mathematicians learned Aryabhatta's method of calculating the areas of triangles, volumes of spheres, and square and cube roots. Aryabhatta also wrote about eclipses and the Sun being the source of moonlight a millennium before Copernicus and Galileo.Brahmagupta. Another Indian astronomer, Brahmagupta in the 7th century calculated the circumference of Earth as 5,000 yojanas at 7.2 kilometers per yojana. That's 36,000 kilometers, which is close to modern computation of 40,000 kilometers.

156. India in Space Pioneers


Vikram Sarabhai. Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai founded India's space program after envisioning Indian satellites that could provide communications, meteorology, remote sensing, and direct-to-home television broadcasting. He founded the Physical Research Laboratory, the Space Science Research Institute, the Department of Space, and the Indian SpaceResearch Organisation (ISRO).

In 1962, Sarabhai organized space research as chairman of Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR). He set up of the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station and began manufacturing sounding rockets in India. He drew up plans to transmit education to remote villages across India with the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE).

After Sarabhai died in 1971, the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (VSSC) in Tiruvananthapuram is named for him. Satish Dhawan. Another early dedveloper of India's space program was Satish Dhawan. He was the longest serving director of the Indian Institute of Science when he died in 2002.

Prime Minister Indira Gandhi asked him to head the nation's space program. When the space scientist and former chairman of ISRO died, Indian President, K. R. Narayanan said, "India's space programmes owe to a great extent its spectacular growth and high level of maturity to the stewardship and visionary leadership of Prof. Dhawan."

155. India's Space Satellites


Aryabhata, the first Indian space satellite, was launched for India on April 19, 1975. Later, Bhaskara-I, an Earth observation satellite, launched for India on June 7, 1979. India launched its own satellite for the first time on July 18, 1980. It was the Rohini-1 satellite carried aloft on a Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) rocket from the Sriharikota Island launch site. Since then, India has invested a great deal of its space development work in complex applications satellites.


The nation's two main interests are satellites for remote sensing and communications -- used for weather pictures, disaster warnings and feeds to 552 television and 164 radio stations on the ground. Space organizations. A Space Science & Technology Centre (SSTC) was established in 1965 in Thumba. A Satellite Telecommunication Earth Station was erected in 1967 at Ahmedabad. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was created August 15, 1969, in the Department of Atomic Energy.


Since then, ISRO has managed India's space research and the uses of space for peaceful puroposes. The government established the Space Commission and the Department of Space (DOS) in June 1972. DOS conducts the nation's space activities for ISRO at four space centres across the country. DOS reports directly to the Prime Minister. ISRO was placed under DOS on June 1, 1972, and made a government organisation on April 1, 1975.

The first experimental launch from the Sriharikota Island launch site of a Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) rocket on August 10, 1979, did not place its Rohini Technology Payload satellite in orbit. However, the next year India successfully launched the Rohini-1 satellite on July 18, 1980, on a Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) rocket.

154. Raja Ram Mohan Rai


Raja Ram Mohan was born of a distinguished Brahmin family in Bengal. He was born in a village called Ramanagar, in the district of Murshidabad in Bengal, on the 22nd of May 1772. His father, Ramakanto Roy was an orthodox Brahmin. Ram Mohan’s parents were devoted to God and strictly performed the duties set by their religion. He himself was devoted to lord Vishnu. He wanted to become a monk in his 14th year but his mother, Tarini opposed his desire. He was married to three wives by the age of nine which was the custom of the day.


Young Ram Mohan was reputed for having a tenacious memory and was intelligent even at an early age. Ram Mohan was educated in Sanskrit, Bengali, Arabic and Persian in his own village. He started to learn English when he was 24 years old. It was in Patna, where he came across the translations of Aristotle and Euclid when to went to study Arabic. He read their books in Arabic. By studying their books, he developed the ability to think for himself.


His wide education and his exposure to different cultures led to many comparative religious questions. He condemned idol-worshiping and he opposed his parents who were doing so. He admired the spirit of freedom as advocated in the Vedas and the Upanishads. He proclaimed that simple living and high thinking should be a man’s motto in life and he lived accordingly.


Ram Mohan joined the service in the Revenue Department of the East India Company. He worked as an assistant to Mr. John Digby, an English officer. Ram Mohan was introduced to western culture and literature shortly following his employment, through Digby. As a lover of knowledge Ram Mohan studied Jainism with the help of Jain scholars, learnt Sufism from Muslim scholars. He translated the Upanishads and other sacred books into English and Bengali.

153. Rajagopalachari


Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari, better known as Rajaji, was the second Governor General of independent India. Later he became the chief minister of Madras Presidency. Rajaji was born in Thorapalli village of Salem district on 10th of December 1878. His father Chakravarthi Venkataraya Iyengar was from Tamilnadu, and his mother Singaramma hailed from Kuppam in Chittor, Andhra Pradesh. Rajaji completed his schooling in Hosur and did his higher education in Central college of Banglore, Karnataka.


He obtained his Law degree in Madras and began his practice in Salem. He became famous pretty soon through brilliance of knowledge of Law and speech. Even as a student he developed great love for literature and later became renowned as a writer in Tamil and English. Rajaji married at an early age and his wife passed away giving birth to three sons and two daughters. He entered into politics as he had a great zeal for social reforms.


He became Chairman of Municipal Council of Salem and fought against the caste system and drinking of liquor. He was opposed strongly and his reforms were oppressed. But he was successful in introducing civic reforms. He participated in the freedom movement and at one time considered as Mahatma Gandhi’s heir. He became the chief minister for Madras twice in 1937 and in 1952 and he had an impeccable record in administration which is free of corruption.


In 1906, he attended Indian National Congress held at Surat. Rajaji joined the Extremists group by 1918 and worked for Tilak and Dr. Annie Besant. In the pre-independence years, as one of the top five leaders of congress, Rajaji, Nehru and Patel were called the “head, heart, and hands” of Gandhiji, in whose shadows they remained till his death. Later he differed with Nehru on policies of nation and started a new party called “Swatantra Party”. It advocated private enterprise as against to government run mega projects favored by Nehru.

152. Annie Besant


Annie Besant, the daughter of William Wood and Emily Morris, was born in 1847 at Clapham, London. Annie’s father, who was a doctor, died when she was only five years old. Therefore she had an unhappy childhood. Mrs. Wood unable to take care of Annie persuaded her friend Ellen Marryat to take responsibility for her upbringing. Later in 1866, at the age of nineteen, Annie married Mr. Frank Besant, who became a vicar in Lincolnshire. They had two children.

Annie was deeply unhappy because her independent spirit clashed with the traditional views of her husband. This resulted in their separation in 1873. After leaving her husband Annie completely rejected Christianity and in 1874 joined the Secular Society. It preached ‘free thought’. During the same period she edited the weekly, ‘National Reformer’ along with Charles Bradlaugh, which advocated advanced for the time on the topics such as trade unions, national education, women’s right to vote and birth control.

In the 1890s Annie became a supporter of Theosophy, a religious movement founded by Madame Blavatsky in 1875. Theosophy was based on Hindu ideas of Karma and reincarnation with nirvana as the eventual aim. She came under the influence of Theosophical Society which was against discrimination of race, color, gender and preached universal brotherhood. To serve humanity at large was its supreme goal. It is as a member of Theosophical Society of India that she arrived in India in 1893.

Her long interest in education resulted in founding of Central Hindu College at Benaras in 1898. Through a network of schools and colleges she tried to instill patriotism and contemporary spirit in the youth of India. She introduced inter-dining in hostels and allowed free transactions between British Indian scholars. The syllabus was a happy blend of Western and Indian philosophy, literature, history, and religious thought.

151. Sarojini Naidu

Sarojini Naidu was born as the eldest daughter of a scientist-philosopher father, Aghornath Chattopadhyaya, and mother Varasundari, who was a Bengali Poetess, on 13 February, 1879. Her father was a pioneer in education, a linguist and an original thinker. He established the Nizam’s college in Hyderabad in 1878, pioneering English and women’s education. She was bought up in a house of intellectuals, poets, philosophers and revolutionaries. She claims that she was bought up in a home of Indians, not Hindus or Brahmins.

She passed Matriculation at the age of 12, and came out first in Madras Presidency. Young Sarojini was a very bright girl. Her father wanted her to become a mathematician or a scientist. But she loved poetry from a very early age. With her father’s support, she wrote a play called “Maher Muneer” in the Persian language. The Nawab of Hyderabad reading a copy of it sent by Sarojini’s father was impressed by the beautiful play written by the young girl. The college gave her a scholarship to study abroad. At the age of 16, she got admitted to King’s College of England.

At the age of 15, she met Dr. Govindarajulu Naidu and fell in love with him. He was from South India. After finishing her studies at the age of 19, she married him during the time when inter-caste marriages were not allowed. Her marriage was a very happy one. They were married by the Brahmo Marriage Act (1872), in Madras in 1898. They had four children. Their house in Hyderabad is the renowned Golden Threshold.
In 1916, she met Mahatma Gandhi and from then on she totally contributed herself to the fight for freedom. The independence of India became the heart and soul of her work.

She was responsible for awakening the women of India. She re-established self-esteem within the women of India. In Hyderabad she was awarded the Kaiser-I-Hind Gold Medal for her outstanding work during the plague epidemic. In 1925, she became the Chairperson to the summit of congress in Kanpur. She went to USA in 1928 with the message of the non-violence. In 1929 she presided over the East Africa Indian Congress in Mombassa, and gave lectures all over South East Africa. In 1942, she was arrested during the “Quit India” protest and stayed in jail for 21 months with Gandhiji.

150. Rajiv Gandhi

Rajiv Gandhi entered politics only after the death of his brother, Sanjay Gandhi, in 1980. Rajiv Gandhi had not shown much interest in politics till then. He attended college at Cambridge, England; married an Italian, Sonia Gandhi; and worked as a pilot for the Indian Airlines. Rajiv's mother, Indira Gandhi, was active in India's national politics as she had by then served as the Prime Minister of India. Rajiv Gandhi's brother was an aide to their mother in politics. So when Sanjay Gandhi died, it is said that Indira Gandhi convinced Rajiv Gandhi to enter politics. But Rajiv Gandhi was not new to politics as he was born into a family of politicians.

His grandfather, Nehru, was the first Prime Minister of India. His mother, father and brother too were politically very active. Rajiv Gandhi won his first parliamentary elections to the Lok Sabha in 1981. At that time, Indira Gandhi was re-elected as the Prime Minister and Rajiv Gandhi became her unofficial political advisor. But in 1984, Indira Gandhi's bodyguards assassinated her and Rajiv Gandhi took over as the head of the Congress party and was sworn in as the Prime Minister.

His government encouraged foreign investment, and industry boomed with the loosening of business controls. He sought to increase Indian investments in modern technology. He removed many restrictions on imports and encouraged foreign investment. His critics claim that he was indecisive as he changed his cabinet members frequently. He fired his mother's aides and instead appointed his friends and technocrats.

In 1987, he committed the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to Sri Lanka in an endeavor to help the government there eradicate militants agitating for a separate Tamil homeland. Though one of the campaign promises of the Congress party was to eliminate corruption in politics, Rajiv Gandhi's tenure as Prime Minister was marred by allegations of corruption. He was accused of receiving "kick-backs" from a Swedish company manufacturing Bofors machine-guns.

149. Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore, recipient of the 1913 Noble prize for Literature, was born into a Brahmin family in Calcutta, India on May 7th 1861. His father was Maharshi Debendranath Tagore and his mother was Sarada Devi. His father was a leader of Brahmo Samaj, which was a new religious sect in nineteenth-century Bengal. This samaj attempted for the revival of Hinduism as laid down in the Upanishads. He was mainly educated at home and at the age of seventeen he was sent to England for formal schooling.

In 1883 Tagore married Mrinalini Devi Raichauduri, with whom he had two sons and three daughters.
He began to write poetry as a child and his first book appeared when he was seventeen years old. After a brief stay in England to study Law, he returned to India, where he rapidly became the most important and popular author of the colonial era. He composed several hundred popular songs and in 1929 he also began painting.

He also started an experimental school at Shantiniketan where he tried his Upanishadic ideals of education. He participated in the Indian national movement from time to time in his own visionary way and Gandhi was his devoted friend. Tagore and Gandhi were great admirers of each other, despite their differences in matter of politics, nationalism, and social reform. It was Tagore who called Gandhi “The Mahatma in a peasant’s garb”, and Gandhi, in turn called Tagore, “The Great Sentinel”.

Tagore objected the burning of foreign cloth because it was foreign. Gandhi stressed the need for Indian self-sufficiency in every sphere of life. Tagore believed that India had a message for the world, but he thought that India must also incorporate others’ messages into her own cultural repertoire. Like Gandhi, Tagore believed that inner Swaraj and cultivation of the self was vital.

148. Lal Bahadur Shastri

Lal Bahadur Shastri was born in Moghalsarai, which is also spelt as Mughalsarai, on October 2, 1904. His parents were Sharada Prasad and Ramdulari Devi. Though his parents were Srivatsavas, Shastri dropped his caste identity in his early years. His father died when he was only a year old. His mother with the help of her father took care of the children. Lal Bahadur acquired virtues like boldness, love of adventure, patience, self-control, courtesy, and selflessness in his childhood.

His abandoned his studies to take part in the non-cooperation movement started by Gandhi in 1921. He was given the title ‘Shastri’ at Kashi Vidya Peetha in 1926. During his four years’ stay there, he was very much influenced by the lectures of Dr. Bhagawandas on philosophy. In his later life, Shastri displayed poise in the midst of conflict and confusion which he learnt from his teacher, Bhagawandas.
After coming out from Kashi Vidya Peeth, he became the life-member of The Servants of the People Society which was started by Lala Lajpat Rai in 1921.

The aim of the society was to train youth who were prepared to dedicate their lives to the service of the country. Shastri earned the love and affection of Lajpat Rai by his earnestness and hard work. Later he became the President of the society. In 1927, Shastri married Lalitha Devi who was from Mirzalyur. Lal Bahadur Shastri took a leading role in ‘Salt Satyagraha’ which was intensified by 1930. He also advised people not to pay land revenue and taxes to the British government. He was sent to prison for two and half years for doing so. From this time onwards prison became his second home.

He was sent to prison seven times and was forced to spend nine long years in various prisons on different occasions. Going to prison became a blessing in disguise for him. He spent time reading number of books. He became familiar with the works of western philosophers, revolutionaries, and social reformers. He translated the autobiography of Madam Curie, a French scientist who discovered Radium, into Hindi. He was a ideal prisoner. The greatness of Shastri was that he maintained his self-respect even in prison.