The Hanging Rope

If you thought that a person condemned to hang – is hung by just any rope bought from any neighbour hood shop , think again.

It is a special wax-coated Manila rope that weighs 3 kg and 750 gram and is 16 feet long. It is by mixing 20 yarns and then coated by wax that becomes very soft. The special rope, used for hanging those facing the gallows, is manufactured only in Buxar Central Jail. The rope cost Rs 180 per kg, totalling Rs 675. The rope was manufactured by six to seven inmates of Buxar central jail on a spinning machine under the supervision of technical experts.

This is the rope which will be used to hang Afzal Guru ,who aided & abbeted the terrorists who attacked the Indian Parliament.

There is much debate on what would happen if this person hangs. Does the state then commute his sentence to life imprisonment? What then is the meaning of the hundreds of soldiers/policemen who have lost their lives, due to the actions of people like this terriorist?

We decorate our soliders on one hand , and on the other hand let go of the people who perpetuate such acts against the state.

They have had the affront to attack the symbol of our democracy and hit at the epicenter of India ,to demonstrate that they can strike at any target.

Lets the state demonstrate that it can stand up to any of the threats proposed by whosoever , wherever, whenever……………….

Let Afzal hang……………………………………..by the special wax coated manilla rope ,made in an Indian jail.

A recent visit to Jalianwala Bagh ( Amristar)

Today the Jalianwala Bagh is a park. At one corner there is an eternal flame burning. A monument has been built in the centre with a fountain..A corridor of walkaway has been built leading to a museum, and a park surrounds all these. A wall has been preserved with the bullet marks fired on that fateful day.In a corner is the well where many jumped in to save their lives, but died.It is only when you see the narrow passage – the only passage in & out of the ground-since the whole ground is surrounded by buildings ,that the whole incident leaps out to you in horror……………

It was Baisakhi day on 13^th April 1919, many had visited the Golden temple nearby, and assembled in the ground with a well, were normally people gather for a prayer meeting, or a satsang. On this day it was to protest peacefully against the Rowlatt Act.

-a new set of emergency measures for the detention and containment of 'terrorists' to meet what was termed the 'continuing threat' were planned by the British ruled Government of India. These measures were incorporated within the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act, known to Indians as the Rowlatt Act after the name of the chairman of the committee that recommended the institution of this legislation.

Then entered General Dyer through the narrow passage with 50 riflemen and two armoured cars with mounted machine guns.But fortunately the armoured cars could not enter the narrow passage. They took up position on an elevated ground ,blocking off the passage and started firing at the people .The General , even for a moment did not take into account that the crowd was unarmed and was not threatening in any way except for raising slogans.

He gave orders to fire at will, at the unarmed men women and children, assembled there. Many of them ran towards the well and jumped into it to save their lives….but obviously coudn't as it became too crowded…about 120 people died in the well……and over 1000 people were killed that day including children.

Dyer later said he would have used his machine guns if he could have got them into the enclosure, but these were mounted on armoured cars. He said he did not stop firing when the crowd began to disperse because he thought it was his duty to keep firing until the crowd dispersed, and that a little firing would do no good.

In the museum , there is description by a woman , who had gone in search of her husband after hearing about the commotion: she says ………. It was already dusk…..the whole ground littered with bodies There was a pall of death in the air . Dogs were all over the place the wounded were lying unattended, the wailing of the family members who managed to reach the place , on finding their loved ones dead,rent the air.

Much later on 13 March 1940 General Dyer was killed in London as he came out of a meeting by one Uddam Singh , who was present at Jalianwala Bagh as a teenager.He was later sentenced to death by a British Court.

These people had paid the price for our freedom………………

The Silk Route

Recently Nathula Pass was in the news ,as trade opened with much fanfare between India and China, through this pass. My memories traveled back in time to the days I spent in Nathula when I as posted there , as a young officer in the Indian Army.The year was 1976.

The Nathula Pass or the Silk Route as it is famously known is about 14400 ft above sea level on the border of China & India with the armies of both the nations facing ech other directly, unlike the borders of Pakistan and India, where the para – military forces face each other.To reach Nathula one had to go to Gangtok in Sikkim via Siliguri in West Bengal.The road to the pass was a treacherous road, winding its way from Gangtok ,and at times would disappear altogether because of a snow slide / or a landslide. The border roads force would then take great pains in re-laying the road , which was the only life line to the troops on top.

The Nathula picket on which I was posted was itself was higher than 14400 ft high. It overlooked the Nathula pass .It was a 3 hour climb from the base camp at Chaangu lake. The lake was full of trout and where Gods supposedly fished. The army personnel were forbidden to fish in this water.

The trucks brought in the ration, paani, mail and other items from Gangtok to the base camp at Chaangu lake.From the base camp, mules would be loaded with water and “Fresh ration”- vegetables /rice water etc., would be supplied to us in the picket,other wise it was a ration of tinned food which was developed by a central government lab in Mysore( incidently the same guys have provided technology for the heat & eat/ ready to eat/ foods with fancy brand names available in your nearest supermarket, now). But in those days it was in the developmental stages and we were probably used as guinea pigs . It was unpalatable. Only the strongest willed officers would attempt to eat it. The Jawans would invariably use these tins in which the food came as route markers on the paths, along which the mules climbed.

There were endless days when it would rain ice , the sound would fill our ears as it rained on the GI sheets which were the roof of our bunkers. One would wake up to the whole mountains and valley white with snow. Looks good on posters, but when one had to patrol the area in the middle of the night, many were washed away by the snow slide or slip on the icy tracts and injured themselves, sometimes grieviously.

I can still feel the chill in my bones as the temperatures regularly dipped to minus double figures. In those days we did not have the fancy equipment which the Indian Army now have when they are in high altitude.Add to that the high altitude diseases like pulmonary odema,hair falling off in clumps, depression and the constant guard to avoid frost bite.

We had to make do with five layers of clothing starting with flannel long johns, woolen trouser, woolen shirt, woolen jersey and a coat lined with wool ( none of the thermal sealing jackets) and yet we could feel the chill creeping to our bones.The heating arrangement in our stone bunkers – insulated with woolen blankets- ,was a kerogas arrangement with a burner stove inside a tin can with drips of kerosene coming through a rubber tube from a jerry can hung outside the bunker.Bathing was an ordeal ,which was attempted in good weather and when it happened, it was a quick throwing of water over oneself, and getting back into all the layers of clothing in the fastest time possible.

But such hardships were easily forgotten in spring . The weather would be crystal clear early in the mornings, flowers of all hues covered the mountain sides ,you thought you were in heaven ,and the silence was almost deafening..One could see the snow covered peaks of Kachenjunga in the far distance. The yaks would be lazily grazing in the slopes and the local people would be walking with headloads of wood , with a chubby kid walking besides its mother on winding pathways.The army looked after the local people in the mountains by providing them medical care, employment to the men and women for carrying loads,and a small school for the children.

I remember standing at the picket which was called the Nathula picket overlooking the Nathula pass between India& China. I was the Observation Post ( OP) officer , there to observe and survey targets in the Chinese Territory in case of an attack. This information would be passed to the artillery guns deployed way behind.Along with me on the picket was an officer and jawans of the paratroop regiment .There was a strip of land about a 100 metres between the two countries with barbed wire strewn on either sides which was a No man’s Land. On our side of the border there was a stone marker called the Nehru Stone to commerate his visit .

When the weather was clear, one could see the Chinese soldiers on the other side practicing their drills with vigour in the thin rarified oxygen less air ,and with equal zest you could see our jawans playing volleyball on our side of the fence.Occassionally, we could catch a Chinese officer peering through a binocular , watching us watch him ! There were days when one could hear the sayings of Mao Tse Tung being aired through loud speakers, while we would play hindi songs from our movies.!

Two days in a week when the weather was clear, , there would be a tenseness in the air as one of our postal department Jawans walked across to the small hut on the Chinese side to deliver international mail and collect the mail to India.we would be on the alert, with loaded arms as this was happening, and would ease up as the Jawan returned back to our side.

The weather invariably packed up at about 7 am in the morning with a thick fog descending in which one could hardly see their own hands. The only recourse was to move to the bunkers , grope around for a bottle of rum, pour a drink and sit quietly pondering over so many thoughts about home, flooding ones mind.However much one drank it was tough to get drunk, and rum was the currency out there in the heights!! And we got supplies dirt cheap.

The arrival of letters, was a major event since it would bring news from home, though it would be a few months old. People who were sick would have become ok, or passed away, children born or other events taken place which would have bypassed our lives.

The occasional screening of a movie at the base camp, was an exquisite reminder of the world which existed out there.

Those were the days…………

I would love to revisit the place now. I suppose now we will have Volvo buses all the way to the top, and it would be a matter of time before we have the Taj or the Marriot or Radisson Hotel out there.

Times surely have changed……………..

Restaurent Recommendations

While in Bangalore just do not miss SAMARKHAND . Its on Infantry road in Gems Complex.
The food is superb. Try the Nalli Ka Salan .. and the kababs............... out of the world.........
Do make a reservation though....

Do try the -KABAB factory in Hotel Radisson- in Mahipalpur on the way to Gurgoan from Delhi.Its aa new concept. Fixed charges and the kababs keep coming..............yes there is vegetarian too......

And how can I not tell you about the canteen at Andhra Bhavan- Jaswant Singh Marg, Delhi. Its sheer value for money at Rs.50/- per unlimited thali ..and add another Rs.50/- for any fish/mutton/or chicken dish . the food is definitely andhra. Dont look for ambience& style, be prepared to wait sometime, because it simply crowded......but definitely worth a wait&value for money !!!

Gandhigiri

I never realised when i went to see the movie " Lage Raho Munna Bhai " which was a sequel to the earlier movie, that i would be subjected to the teachings of the Mahatma in a unique way......Gandhigiri

Whether it is relevant in the present times in India, when most people think Gandhi is either Sonia, Rahul or Priyanka is a highly debatable !

But it definitely made me take a resolution to revisist Mahatma Gandhi's book - My Experiments with Truth-

I truly stand in awe of the man, who dressed in a dhoti, armed with just a spectacle and a walking stick threw out the "empire who's sun never set on its soil"

Da vinci code.................................

   Wonder how many people  in India knew about this book, more so,
read it!! It was a best seller in 2003 and pretty racy.... mixing
religious facts with intelligent speculations.........

  They even started a Da Vinci tours in Paris.and Rome, as the book
was set among the magnificent palaces and churches of yesteryears in
these cities............

 Now every one knows about it, the sales of the book have
soared......with heated debates all over the media and the protests
over the movie,( and the proposed move to ban it) which is being
released tomorrow in India.........( friday 19th)

 So whats it all about..............

 Dan Brown the author among other things about christianity says
..jesus married mary magadelene and even had a kid..............

Well it has set the church on fire.............

  I bet our Indian sensibilities are wondering what this fuss is all
about when our Gods & Godessess are all married !!!

  Well........... if not for anything the book is a good read......and
his other books like Angels & Demons are also hits......

....... and yes...Da Vinci is actually leonardo da Vinci,who was a
designer par excellence and set a rat amongst his works in
code...........


 raj