Monday, April 8, 2013

STOP! LISTEN! PROCEED! [1 ]




STOP! LISTEN! PROCEED! [1 ]
15 messages



innamburan@googlemail.com Tue, Mar 30, 2010 at 11:23 AM

To: Roots
Cc: mintamil@googlegroups.com
"   In 1947, India became an independent country.

    India's biggest English newspapers, which had called Mahatma
Gandhi "a ridiculous little man" when he launched his salt march in
1930, changed their tune.

    The British Empire had created a barrier of thorns and bushes,
known as the Great Hedge, two thousand miles long, between the
Himalyas and the coast of Orissa, to stand in the way of the salt of
the earth. Free competition forbade freedom: India was not free to
consume its own salt, even though it was better and cheaper than salt
imported from Liverpool.

   Over time, the hege grew old and died. But the prohibition lived
on, against it marched a tiny, bony, nearsighted man, who went about
half-naked, leaning on a bamboo cane.

   Mahatma Gandhi began his march to the sea leading a handful of
pilgrims. Within a month. after a lot of walking, a multitude marched
with him. When they reached the sea, each of them picked a fistful of
salt. By doing so, they broke the law. It was civil disobedience
against the empire.

   A few of the disobedient were shot and killed and more than a
hundred thousand were imprisoned.

   Imprisoned too was their country.

   Seventeen years later, the disobedience freed it"

Excerpted from Galeano E: 2009: "Mirrors" :USA:Nation Books
Copyright Author & Translator/ Acknowledged with thanks

Innamburan

innamburan@googlemail.com Wed, Mar 31, 2010 at 7:54 PM

To: Roots
Cc: mintamil , Innamburan Innamburan
I was waiting for Dr.N.Kannan's Policy Statement for posing the
questions that arise on the excerpt cited. They are:

1. Was the Mahatma morally right in transgressing the enacted Law?

2. If not, how did his Movement gather awe-inspiring strength?

3. If so, may one transgress the Law that he frowns upon? e.g.
incomtetax law.

4. 'Law is an ass.' Right?

5. A powerful person is caught in a fraud- say sandmining. The
politician proclaims, 'The Law will take its inexorable course'.
Nothing worthwhile happens. Was he being 'politically correct' or
hypocritical?

Innamburan



On Mar 30, 5:23 am, "innambu...@googlemail.com"
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Innamburan Innamburan Wed, Mar 31, 2010 at 8:16 PM
To: mintamil
எழும் வினாக்கள்

1. தார்மீகரீதியில், அண்ணல் சட்டத்தை மீறியது நியாயமா?

2. இல்லையெனில், அவரின் இயக்கத்தின் வலிமை என்ன?

3. ஆம் எனில், நமக்கு ஒவ்வாத சட்டத்தை மீறலாமா? - வருமானவரிச்சட்டம்.

4. சட்டம் ஒரு கழுதையா?

5. ஒரு அதிகார மையம் சட்டத்தை மீறுகிறது; மணல் கொள்ளை என்போம். அது பிடிப்பட்டவுடன், அரசியல் தலைவர் ' சட்டம் தன்
வேலையை செய்யும்' என்கிறார். உருப்படியாக ஒன்றையும் கானவில்லை. தலைவர் அரசியல் ரீதியாக சமாளித்தாரா? பொய்யுரைத்தாரா?

இன்னம்பூரான்
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--
இன்னம்பூரான்

N. Kannan Thu, Apr 1, 2010 at 12:19 AM

Reply-To: mintamil@googlegroups.com
To: mintamil@googlegroups.com
அண்ணா! இப்படிப் பின்னிப் பெடலெடுத்தால் என்ன செய்வது? பின் நவீனத்துவ
காலத்தில் காந்தியும் கட்டுடைக்கப்படுகிறார் என்றறிவேன். ஆயின்
தேசத்தந்தை அல்லவா. அவர் ஆட்டுப்பால் குடிச்சு அறிவழிந்து போய் வேண்டாத
விடுதலை வாங்கித்தந்தார் என்று புலவர்கள் சொன்னாலும், நானும் சொல்லலாமா?
என்ற குற்ற உணர்வில் கேட்டுக் கொண்ட மன்னிப்பு வாசகம் அது. நீங்க எங்கோ
போறீங்க, `ஹே ராம்!` ;-)

க.


Innamburan Innamburan Thu, Apr 1, 2010 at 1:25 AM

To: mintamil@googlegroups.com
Cc: indic-roots@googlegroups.com, Innamburan Innamburan
Bcc: innamburan88@yahoo.com
கவலை விட்டொழிக, கண்ணன். எனது பாதை சீரானது. கேள்விக்கணை, கருத்து அமைக்க. முதல் கேள்விக்கு என் பதில், உங்களுக்காக.

" அண்ணலின் தார்மீகம் கரை கடந்தது. அயல் நாட்டு அரசின் சட்டம் மக்கள் விரோதி. உடைத்து தகர்க்க வேண்டியது. அதற்கான தண்டனையை முறுவலுடன் ஏற்றுக்கொண்டார். அஹமதாபாத் கோர்ட்டில் ஒரு வழக்கில், அவர் பகர்ந்த வாக்குமூலம் இன்றும் அக்கட்டிடத்தில் கல்வெட்டில் உள்ளது. தண்டனை அளித்த வெள்ளைய மாஜிஸ்ட்ரேட், அண்ணலை எழுந்து நின்று வரவேற்றார்.தன் ஆணையின் பின்னணியை பக்குவமாக/தாழ்மையுடன் கூறினார். வாய்மையை இறையாகப் போற்றிய அண்ணல் ஒரு மாபெரும் இயக்கத்தை தொடங்கி, மக்கள் விழிப்புணர்ச்சியை அக்னி பகவானாக நாட்டுக்கு அர்ப்பணித்தார். 

ஒரு நிஜக்கதை தெரியுமா? வேதாரண்யம் உப்பு சத்யாக்கிரஹத்தில், ஒரு புரோகிதர் மாட்டிக்கொண்டார். கோர்ட்டில் வாக்கு மூலம்: " தொழில் என்ன? கருமாதி செய்யும் பார்ப்பனன். ஏன் உப்பு எடுத்தாய்? ஒன்றுமில்லை. பிரிட்டீஷ் அரசு செத்துவிட்டது என்று சொன்னார்கள். கருமாதி பண்ணும் எண்னத்தில் இங்கு வந்து சேர்ந்தேன். அப்படியே உப்பு எடுத்தேன். கோர்ட்டில், 'கலீர்' என்ற சிரிப்பு; பிறகு அவர் சிரித்துக்கொண்டே சிறை சென்றார். அவருக்கு விழிப்புணர்ச்சி ஏற்படித்தியது, அண்ணல் அல்லவா. சார். நீங்கள் நான் பதிவு செய்த 'சத்யாக்கிரஹ நாள்' கேட்கவில்லை போல.

நன்றி, வணக்கம்.
இன்னம்பூரான்


2010/3/31 N. Kannan
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Raja sankar <Thu, Apr 1, 2010 at 3:24 AM

Reply-To: mintamil@googlegroups.com
To: mintamil@googlegroups.com
அண்ணல் எல்லா சட்டத்தையும் மீறவில்லை. வெள்ளைய அரசின் சட்டத்திற்குள் இருந்து கொண்டே சட்டரீதியாக அநியாயமான சட்டங்களை மீறினார். வெள்ளைய அரசில் இருந்தவர்கள் தாங்கள் ஒழுங்காக இருக்கிறோம் என அவர்கள் நாட்டுமக்களுக்கு நீருபிக்க வேண்டி இருந்ததால் அது சாத்தியம்.

இன்றைக்கு நீங்கள் ஏதாவது சட்டத்தை மீறி அதை வெளியே சொன்னால் விசாரணை கைதியாகவே ஆயுட்காலம் முழுவதும் இருக்க வேண்டி இருக்கும். :-))))))))

ராஜசங்கர்

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srirangammohanarangan v Thu, Apr 1, 2010 at 3:35 AM

Reply-To: mintamil@googlegroups.com
To: mintamil@googlegroups.com
Compare  the  Salt-march  with  the  Boston  tea  party  of  Uncle  Sam:--))))
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Tthamizth Tthenee Fri, Apr 2, 2010 at 8:46 AM

Reply-To: mintamil@googlegroups.com
To: mintamil@googlegroups.com

சட்டங்களில் தவறு இருந்தால்
அது மனிதர்களை பாதிக்குமானால்
ஒரு வழி அந்தச் சட்டம் திருத்தப் படல் வேண்டும்,
சட்ட திருத்தத்துக்கு  வகை செய்யவில்லையென்றால்
மீறப்படவேண்டியதே
அதுதான் சட்டம்
அன்புடன்
தமிழ்த்தேனீ
S.Partha sarathy Fri, Apr 2, 2010 at 6:51 PM

Reply-To: mintamil@googlegroups.com
To: mintamil@googlegroups.com
///3. ஆம் எனில், நமக்கு ஒவ்வாத சட்டத்தை மீறலாமா? - வருமானவரிச்சட்டம்.///’நமக்கு’ - என்பதற்கு பதில்  ’நாட்டிற்கு’ எனில் மீறியது, மீறுவது சரியே..
அதுவும் அயல்நாட்டினரின் சட்டத்தை நம் நாட்டினர் ஏற்றுக்கொள்ளத்தேவை இல்லயே! பிரச்சனையே தாய்நாட்டை கொடுத்துவிடு என்பதுதானே. அது நியாத்திற்கான.. சத்தியத்திற்கான.. போராட்டம்.

இன்றைய மணல்கொள்ளை? மணல் திறந்தவெளியில்தானே உள்ளது..எப்படி கொள்ளையாகும்? :)
அன்புடன்
பார்த்தசாரதி



Innamburan Innamburan Sun, Apr 4, 2010 at 1:46 AM

To: mintamil , indic-roots@googlegroups.com
Cc: Innamburan Innamburan


On Fri, Apr 2, 2010 at 12:51 PM, S.Partha sarathy  wrote:
///3. ஆம் எனில், நமக்கு ஒவ்வாத சட்டத்தை மீறலாமா? - வருமானவரிச்சட்டம்.///’நமக்கு’ - என்பதற்கு பதில்  ’நாட்டிற்கு’ எனில் மீறியது, மீறுவது சரியே..
அதுவும் அயல்நாட்டினரின் சட்டத்தை நம் நாட்டினர் ஏற்றுக்கொள்ளத்தேவை இல்லயே! பிரச்சனையே தாய்நாட்டை கொடுத்துவிடு என்பதுதானே. அது நியாத்திற்கான.. சத்தியத்திற்கான.. போராட்டம்.

இன்றைய மணல்கொள்ளை? மணல் திறந்தவெளியில்தானே உள்ளது..எப்படி கொள்ளையாகும்? :)
அன்புடன்
பார்த்தசாரதி


On Thu, Apr 1, 2010 at 12:46 AM, Innamburan Innamburan <innamburan@googlemail.com> wrote:



நன்றி பல. வந்திருக்கும் கருத்துக்களின் நல்வரவாக, வினாக்களுக்கு விடை காண முயலுகிறேன். மாற்றுக்கருத்துக்களுக்கும், நல் வரவே:

எழும் வினாக்கள்

1. தார்மீகரீதியில், அண்ணல் சட்டத்தை மீறியது நியாயமா?


அந்த சட்டம் : Section 124 of Indian Penal Code.  [தேசத்துரோகம்] .  இன்றும் நம் நாட்டு சட்டப்புத்தகத்தில் இருக்கிறது. அரசியல் சாஸனத்திற்கு, இது முரண் அல்ல என்று உச்ச நீதி மன்ற தீர்ப்பு.  திரு. ராஜா சங்கர்  கூறியது போல, இன்று மீறினால், என்றும் சிறை. ஆனால், அவர், 'அரசின் சட்டத்திற்குள் இருந்து கொண்டே சட்டரீதியாக அநியாயமான சட்டங்களை' என்பது புரியவில்லை. அவரது விளக்கம், அடுத்த வினாக்களுக்கு பதில் அளிக்க உதவும்.

அன்று மீறியது சரியே. இன்று மீறலாகாது என்பது தார்மீகமா? விடை:  அன்று தேசத்துரோகம், அன்னிய அரசுக்கு துரோகம். எனவே அன்று தார்மீகம். இன்று, நம் நாட்டு அரசு தண்டிக்கும்.  காந்திஜியும் அந்த வழக்கும், நாம் படித்தால், பல தெளிவுகள் கிடைக்கும். விருப்பமிருந்தால், http://gandhiashramsabarmati.org/the-mahatma/speeches/great-trial-1922.pdf என்றதை படிக்கவும்.

வினா 2: எழவில்லை. இருந்தும் சிக்கல்கள், தேனியார் சொல்வதை உன்னிப்பாக, கவனித்தால். இன்று, அதீதமான சட்டங்களும், உள் விதிகளும், குழப்பத்தை மட்டும் தருகின்றன; பாமர மனிதனுக்கு சட்டம் இரண்டாம்பக்ஷமாக தான் உதவுகிறது. செல்வந்தர்களுக்கு உடனடி. இந்த நிலை மாறவேண்டும்.

வினா 3: சட்டம் இயற்றிய விதம், இயற்றும் போது அள்ளித்தெளிக்கும் அவசரக்கோலம், சட்டமன்றத்தால் இல்லாமல், அரசு இயந்திரம் விதிக்கும் விதிகளும் சட்டம் என்பதாலும், எல்லா சட்டங்களிலும், குறுக்குச்சால்கள் 
இடம் பெற்று, குற்றவாளியை காப்பாற்றுகின்றன. இன்று சட்டத்தை கையாளுபவர்களின் அசிரத்தை உலக வெளிச்சம்.  எனவே, ஒட்டுமொத்தமாகக் கூறின் சட்டம், கழுதை போல், பொறுமையாக, இருக்கிறது.
சான்றாக, இந்த காலாவதியான மருந்துகள் பற்றி கவனித்தால், என் கூற்று புலப்படும்.
வருமானவரி ஏய்ப்பது சுயநலம். தவறு.

வினா 4: மணல் கொள்ளையை, உதாரணமாகக்காட்டியது, அதன் சட்ட/சமூக/ இயற்கை விரோதம். என் கூற்றை. இடம், பொருள், ஏவல், பொருத்திப்பார்க்கவேண்டும், என்று திரு.பார்த்தசாரதியை கேட்டுக்கொள்கிறேன்.


இன்னம்பூரான்   


























2. இல்லையெனில், அவரின் இயக்கத்தின் வலிமை என்ன?

யாரும், இல்லை என்று கூறவில்லை. 


3. ஆம் எனில், நமக்கு ஒவ்வாத சட்டத்தை மீறலாமா? - வருமானவரிச்சட்டம்.


கூடாது. அண்ணல் சமுதாயப்புரட்சி படைத்தார். வருமான வரிச்சட்டத்தை மீறுவது தன்னலம். மேலும், தார்மீக நியதியும், பொறுப்பும் சட்டத்தை மீறுவதில் மட்டுமல்ல. அரசை எதிர்த்து, தண்டனையை ஏற்கும் உறுதி. மற்றபடி, சட்டத்தை நிலை நிறுத்தவும், மாற்றவும், விழிப்புணர்ச்சி வேண்டும். பெரும்பாலாக, அரசியல் சாசனத்தையும், சட்டத்தையும் மீறுவது தவறு.  


4. சட்டம் ஒரு கழுதையா?

ஆம், குறிப்பிட்ட தருணங்களில்.  இன்று சட்டம் சிலந்தி வலையாக இருப்பதற்கும், குப்பையும் கூளமுமாக இருக்கும் பின்னணியில், முன்னணி சட்டங்கள் புதைந்து, சிதைந்து இருப்பதும், சிக்கலே சட்டமடா என்று வக்கீல் ராஜ்யம் இருப்பதும், அரசும், மக்களும் சட்டங்கள அசட்டை செய்வதும்,  சட்டமெனும் புரவியை, மட்டக்கழுதை ஆக்கிவிடுகின்றன. 
[Quoted text hidden]

Innamburan Innamburan Sun, Apr 4, 2010 at 10:30 PM
To: mintamil , indic-roots@googlegroups.com
ஆண்டவா!
இன்னம்புரான்




Date:05/04/2010 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2010/04/05/stories/2010040554331




Downloading a document from the Internet can land you in jail
Staff Reporter
Laws abused to intimidate activists, scribes in conflict zones

The administration stages encounters with impunity
Police use the media to frame the accused


New Delhi: When does downloading a document from the Internet land you in jail? In the strife-torn Jammu and Kashmir, the Official Secrets Act (OSA) can do the trick. Like it did for journalist Iftikhar Gilani back in 2003.
When does calling upon “Dalits, women, minorities, farmers and adivasis to build organisations in order to fight for their rights” (among other things) qualify as sedition? In the police notice to Dr. Rati Rao, vice president of the People's Union for Civil Liberties, it does.
Mr. Gilani and Dr. Rao were among the journalists and activists who spoke of State repression at a conference of Media and Law organised by the Human Rights Law Network, here on Sunday.
“When they arrested me they said it was in the national interest. When I was released, they said it was in public interest,” Mr. Gilani told the audience. Jailed for seven months, he said several victims like him were “rotting” in the prisons of J&K. He recalled a man who had spent 12 years in jail under the Public Security Act (PSA) for digging up a cricket pitch.
Maqbool Sahil, writer and Chief Editor of Pukar in Kashmir was subjected to the third degree after being arrested under the PSA and accused of spying for Pakistan. “Journalists are performing a challenging task since the militancy of the 90s. Eleven journalists have died so far in direct and indirect attacks by the government. I was held without trial for 30 months. When I was released in January 2008, I had lost all contacts and sources. I rejected an offer from the Hurriyat to become a separatist leader. Instead, I have returned to my profession.”
In a minefield
Preventive detentions, threats and encounters have become the order of the day in conflict zones. For journalists working in such areas, “it's like walking in a minefield,” said Irengbam Arun, Editor of IREIBAK, Manipur.
Mr. Arun said “the culture of impunity,” built when the Armed Forces Special Powers Act was in effect, has now spread to the police. Six journalists, one recently, and five others in the 90s have died in various encounters. “When it happens, you don't know if it's the army, the police or the militants,” he said.
In the backwards areas, the anonymity of remote jungles and the tag of ‘naxalite' make for a perfect combination for the administration to stage encounters with impunity. “Police atrocities are increasing in Narayanpatna and Naupada in Orissa. Children are kept in jails. People are shot in jungles and termed naxalites,” said journalist and activist Khuturam Sunani, himself charged with sedition.
From Lakhmipur in Uttar Pradesh, journalist Samiuddin Neelu of Amar Ujala recounted his close escape from a possible police encounter.
“They claimed to have recovered a lion's nail, the skin of a rhino and a sandalwood stick from me,” he said. The National Human Rights Commission later ordered the U.P. government to pay Rs. 5 lakh to him for illegal detention.
Mr. Gilani's fight opened his eyes to the way the media treats crime stories. While he was still inside his house during a raid, the television reported him to be absconding. And the papers reported that he had admitted to being an ISI agent in court. “If the media did that to me, what about the other people? The reportage built up an atmosphere [of distrust]. Since the police have no proof, they use the media [for such purposes],” he said.
© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu


[Quoted text hidden]

Innamburan Innamburan Sun, Apr 4, 2010 at 10:36 PM

To: mintamil , indic-roots@googlegroups.com
Cc: Innamburan Innamburan

சட்டம் ஒரு கழுதை.
இன்னம்பூரான்
இன்றைய செய்தி.

"

Four days after getting bail, Nooriya Haveliwala, accused of drunk driving and fatally knocking down two persons on January 30, was released from the Byculla women's jail on Sunday.
Nooriya Haveliwala (27), a beautician by profession, was arrested on January 31 for allegedly mowing down two persons, including a traffic police inspector, and injuring four traffic police constables. She tested positive for alcohol and drugs.

Surety

A metropolitan magistrate on Wednesday granted her bail on a surety of Rs. 15,000 after the police failed to file the charge sheet in the case within the stipulated 60-day period.
“Nooriya was released after all the formalities were completed,” her lawyer Renuka Lazmeshwar said.
[Quoted text hidden]

Tthamizth Tthenee Mon, Apr 5, 2010 at 2:02 PM

Reply-To: indic-roots@googlegroups.com
To: indic-roots@googlegroups.com

சட்டங்கள்  மனிதருக்காக,மனிதர்களின் நலனுக்காக  ஏற்படுத்தப்பட்டவை  என்றால்
நிச்சயமாக  அந்தச் சட்டத்தினால் மக்கள் துன்புறுகிறார்கள், பாதிக்கப்படுகிறார்கள் என்றால்
ஒன்று  அந்தச் சட்டத்தை  திருத்தவேண்டும்
அல்லது மீறப்படுதல் வேண்டும்
அன்புடன்
தமிழ்த்தேனீ

5-4-10 அன்று, Innamburan Innamburan <innamburan@googlemail.com> எழுதினார்:
[Quoted text hidden]


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Innamburan Innamburan Mon, Apr 5, 2010 at 10:25 PM
To: indic-roots@googlegroups.com


Date:06/04/2010 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2010/04/06/stories/2010040651350900.htm


Gopalkrishna Gandhi
The Great Dandi March — eighty years after



Mahatma Gandhi's choice of salt for the 1930 campaign initially evoked derision and scepticism but the march proved to be sui generis, a gift of gifts to India. It is time to give something back to Dandi, a commemoration that is not stereotypical.


- PHOTO: THE HINDU ARCHIVES

GIFT OF GIFTS:Mahatma Gandhi leading volunteers of the Indian National Congress during the historic march to Dandi in March 1930.
This was not the first time that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi had decided to lead a march.
A great column of over 2000 men, women and children had moved in 1913 under his lead from Natal across the Transvaal border to break a ban on Indians travelling from one South African province to another, and to protest against a law that rendered all marriages barring those under Christian aegis as illegal. The result, coming with the Relief of Indians Act, was dramatic.
His work among the indigo peasants in Champaran, Bihar in 1917 and among Kheda's peasants in Gujarat the following year saw him trudging the dusty trail again. Both those roads led to the removal of the peasants' grievances within some six months.
The 24 days during which he led a column of 80 satyagrahis traversing 241 miles from Sabarmati to the Surat coastline to break the salt laws did not yield such results. Though raw salt was lifted 'illegally' by Gandhiji and his followers and though ‘contraband' salt was made and sold, the salt laws stayed and the salt tax was not repealed. And yet the salt march culminating at Dandi on April 6, 1930 is regarded as the most electrifying of all his satyagrahic campaigns, with Jawaharlal Nehru saying “it seemed as though a spring had been suddenly released.”
The choice of salt for his campaign had initially evoked derision. The Statesman wrote: “It is difficult not to laugh, and we imagine that will be the mood of most thinking Indians.” The Congress leadership too had been ambivalent, with Motilal and Jawaharlal Nehru being initially unpersuaded and Gandhiji's ‘right arm,' Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who wanted a land revenue boycott instead, not concealing his scepticism of salt.
C. Rajagopalachari saw both the logic and the magic of his leader's decision. Speaking at Sholanur, C.R. said: “You may say, hello, this is a funny thing. All along he was telling [us] that if we made khaddar we will get swaraj, now he says we must make salt also...” And then at Tuticorin explained in detail why this “funny thing” was not funny at all. “Suppose,” C.R. said, “a people rise in revolt. They cannot attack the abstract constitution or lead an army against proclamations and statutes...Civil disobedience has to be directed against the salt tax or the land tax or some other particular point — not that that is our final end, but for the time being it is our aim, and we must shoot straight.”
Gandhi's ‘southern warrior' then did a salt march from Tiruchirappalli to the Tamil coastal village of Vedaranyam, in spectacular sync with Dandi.
Sardar Patel, we have noted, was not an initial enthusiast for salt as a satyagrahic weapon. But once the decision was taken, he not only plunged into the preparations but, typically, gave the campaign its first propulsion. ‘Putting Sardar Patel out of the way' became the Surat District Administration's priority because it knew that in a salt-based satyagraha in Gujarat, Sardar Patel would be the salt's very savour.
The Sardar was touring the area to determine the best route to the salt-laden coast and to alert the peasantry, already ‘trained' by the Bardoli satyagraha, for the coming campaign, when villagers in the Surat village of Raas engaged him on March 7 (five days before Gandhiji's column started from Sabarmati) in eager conversation. “How many in Raas are ready for prison?” the Sardar asked. About two hundred came forward. “Are the women ready too?” A group of them, young and old, said they were. Later, when he was about to rise to address the villagers of Raas, an order was brought by a first class magistrate forbidding him to address any meeting in the district. After the Sardar went through the paper the Magistrate asked him, “What do you intend to do?” Came the answer, “I will ignore the notice and speak.” Before he could utter a single word to the gathering, the future Home Minister of India, the country's first to hold that office, was asked to follow the posse of policemen. Rajmohan Gandhi writes in his biography of the Sardar: “Patel rose from his seat, farewelled the audience and stepped smiling and laughing into the police car.”
The campaign had started.
What made this campaign different from earlier ones?
Earlier campaigns had been sharply focussed on issues that were as vital, but with all their voltage, were still of local import. Dandi, despite being geographically identifiable with a particular district, a specific stretch of coast, and a particular spot on that coast, yet straddled the nation. This was by virtue of its being centred on an object that all of India related to. That a gift of nature, salt, could be turned into a government-controlled commercial monopoly suddenly seemed unacceptable. And non-violent but strident resistance of that monopolisation also suddenly seemed logical and in fact vital.
Gandhiji utilised the march to breach some things other than the salt laws as well. One of these was the caste divide in the villages en route. On his arrival in some villages he headed straight for the so-called ‘untouchable' quarters and drew water from the well there for his wash, making his village hosts, often from ‘higher' castes, to cross those ancient and hurtful divides.
Another thing on his mind was the fragility of Hindu-Muslim equations at the time. There were only two Muslim marchers in his team of 78, which later became 80. But the role he gave to Abbas Tyabji, as his alternative ‘leader,' and his choice of the beachside home of Sirajuddin Vasi (locally known as Shiraz Abdulla) as his place of stay in the village of Dandi sent a clear message. It was that the swaraj being fought for was to be for all India, across religious denominations.
A third ‘bonus' of the campaign was the profiling it gave to women satyagrahis and thereby to the Indian woman. Gandhiji did not include women among the marchers, but gave them roles along the campaign, with Kasturba setting the marchers off at Sabarmati, Sarojini Naidu being at hand the moment the first fistful of salt was lifted at Dandi on April 6,1930, and the remarkable Parsi social worker Mithuben Petit standing just behind the Mahatma when he repeated the violation at Bhimrad three days later. A memorable photograph captures the moment, Gandhiji stooping to lift the salt crystals. And at different places, women like Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Hansa Mehta, Amina Tyabji, and Rukmini Lakshmipathy broke the salt laws. Their example acquires a meaning of its own today as the nation moves dramatically ahead with what is popularly called the Women's Reservation Bill.
But beyond these, there are two other ‘Dandi achievements' that need to be recognised and studied for their contemporary salience.
Dharasana, 25 miles south of Dandi, had a government salt depot. The satyagrahis did a series of raids on this depot. The brutality with which the non-violent raids at Dharasana led first by Abbas Tyabji and then by Sarojini Naidu, with Gandhiji's son Manilal Gandhi participating, was met showed, in J.C. Kumarapppa's words “the fangs and claws of the government in all its ugliness.” But more astonishing than the state use of force against the satyagrahis was the amazing self-discipline of the satyagrahis in the face of the repressive violence. Not one satyagrahi retaliated to the baton charges, often delivered from horseback.
Dandi and Dharasana exemplified Gandhiji's non-violent methods of protest based on the principle that “to kill for freedom will legitimise killing after freedom.” They carry a meaning today that we cannot afford to miss.
The other abiding ‘Dandi achievement' lies in an altogether different area. Explaining “why salt?” Gandhiji said: “Next to air and water, salt is perhaps the greatest necessity of life.”
Gandhiji was not a conscious ‘environmentalist.' The term ‘ecology' did not figure in his vocabulary. But the fact that he described the criticality of salt as being “next to air and water...” assumes an enormous significance. At a time when environmental pollution and the contamination of water sources are all too plain and can shock us into astonished disbelief, the attention paid by Gandhiji to those two lifelines and then to the only inorganic material that humans and animals consume carries more than a significance. It carries a message and constitutes a mandate.
There is no governmental monopoly over Indian salt today. But India, like the rest of the world, is aware of the manner in which the industrial behemoths of the world hold nature's gifts of air and water, of non-renewable resources, including land and its minerals, in a techno-commercial grip.
Dandi gave India a gift of gifts in 1930. It is time, during this 80th anniversary of that gifting, for India to give something to Dandi. This can and should be in terms of a ‘built' commemoration that vivifies the Great March. Dandi would like to see such a memorial. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's announcement in Dandi in April 2005 was to that effect. And the Government of India and the Government of Gujarat are working towards raising precisely such a complex.
But the more abiding ‘gift' to Dandi needs also to be in terms of a ‘living memorial' that enriches the quality of the life of the people of Dandi and the region, enabling them access to more drinking water, green energy. The march was sui generis. Its commemoration cannot be stereotypical.
Which is why it is hope-giving to see State and central authorities planning a project at Dandi, which, apart from a sculptural-cum-architectural monument complex, will use solar power for lighting the venue and later generate solar energy at Dandi, and give it a bioshield as well. The stretch of beach at Dandi today is no different from our coasts elsewhere. Need one be surprised? The Gujarat Vidyapith at Ahmedabad, which played a major role during the Dandi campaign, is planning to collaborate with the local authorities to see the Dandi beachline becoming, in time, pristine.
With remarkable sensitivity, the Archaeological Survey of India has, under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture currently under the Prime Minister's direct charge , restored the house at Dandi where Gandhiji stayed. Its solar-illumining on April 6, 2010 by the Ministry of Renewable Energy will spotlight the multi-mode memorial.
His pocket watch dangling at the waist, Gandhi truly took time by the forelock at Dandi. The evolving commemoration of that historic event will also have to do more than be in step with the times. It will have to show the way to an ecologically sustainable future where the gifts of nature are not in thrall.
( The author is Chairman of the Dandi Memorial Committee constituted by the Government of India.)





© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu

[Quoted text hidden]

innamburan@googlemail.com Fri, Apr 30, 2010 at 9:18 PM

To: Roots
Cc: mintamil , Innamburan Innamburan


On Apr 5, 4:25 pm, Innamburan Innamburan <innambu...@googlemail.com>
wrote:
> *Date:06/04/2010* *URL:http://www.thehindu.com/2010/04/06/stories/2010040651350900.htm*
> ------------------------------
>
> Gopalkrishna Gandhi
> *The Great Dandi March — eighty years after*
>
> *Mahatma Gandhi's choice of salt for the 1930 campaign initially evoked
> derision and scepticism but the march proved to be sui generis, a gift of
> gifts to India. It is time to give something back to Dandi, a commemoration
> that is not stereotypical.*
>
> - PHOTO: THE HINDU ARCHIVES
>
> *GIFT OF GIFTS:Mahatma Gandhi leading volunteers of the Indian National
> Congress during the historic march to Dandi in March 1930.*
[Quoted text hidden]
> the region, enabling them access to more...
>
> read more »

Please click the URL to see the rare photo.
Innamburan



Date:01/05/2010 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2010/05/01/stories/2010050153381000.htm
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Tamil Nadu

Tales of valour from Vedaranyam Satyagraha

P.V.Srividya
Sustained acts of rebellion tired the British
—THE HINDU ARCHIVES

HISTORIC: Rajaji leading Vedaranyam Salt Satyagraha.
VEDARANYAM: Eight decades ago, this day, at the strike of dawn,
C.Rajagopalachari, picked up a fistful of spontaneous salt at
Agasthyampalli in Vedaranyam in defiance of the British Raj and
blazoned out “Vande Mataram”.

An unnerved British sepoy posted there asked Rajaji why he chose that
spot, putting his job in jeopardy. An amused Rajaji is said to have
assured the sepoy that he would wait to court arrest till he returned
with his officer. And so says popular history. In Vedaranyam, April
30, 1930 also marked the beginning of marathom arrests, with each day,
sathyagrahis picking up salt to court arrest - recorded to have
continued for over a month.

The Vedaranyam Salt Satyagraha had always been a footnote in the large
narrative of Gandhi's salt Satyagraha. However, it hosts other tales
of valour that seek to be recorded. The success of the Satyagraha -
defying the hawk-eyed sepoys stationed at every nook and corner of
Vedaranyam to prevent the marchers- would have been chequered had it
not been those footsoldiers, who drafted its success in a familiar
terrain. Pertinent among them was Sardar Vedarathinam Pillai, a salt
merchant and ardent Gandhian, who is said to have laid the pitch for
nationalistic struggles from the fringes here.

According to popular and recorded history, the Satyagrahis, who had
camped in Vedaranyam (what now hosts Rajaji Poonga) after reaching on
April 28, were oblivious to Rajaji's plan to pick up salt before dawn
– a plan that saw fruition due to Sardar Vedarathinam's ingenuity.
Sardar Vedarathinam Pillai deputed Naganandha Desikar, Marimuthu
Thevar, and Rajagopala Iyer to smuggle Rajaji before dawn to
Agasthyampalli through gullies and lanes to avoid surveillance. It is
said that even the Satyagrahis were not aware until Rajaji broke the
salt law, says A.Vedarathinam, the grandson of Sardar Vedarathinam
Pillai.

Why Vedaranyam, while there was a larger salt-making centre in
Tuticorin? A nationalistic turf was already laid in Vedaranyam by
Sardar Vedarathinam Pillai. Earlier, in 1929, Sardar Vedarathinam had
personally invited Gandhi to preside over the Madras Provincial
Congress Committee meet at Vedaranyam. Citing his inability to travel
from the heartland of struggle, Gandhi deputed Mahadev Desai and
Sardar Vallabhai Patel for the meet.

Such was the impact of the Vedaranyam struggle that Gandhi is recorded
to have delayed his trip to the Second Round Table Conference in 1932,
on grounds that Lord Irwin had not kept his promise of ensuring return
of all confiscated property. Gandhi had taken up Sardar Vedarathnam's
case, and his property was returned. On receipt of a telegram from
Sardar Vedarathinam, Gandhi is said to have embarked on his journey,
says A.Vedarathinam.

Unlike Dandi, here women marched alongside men to the lyrics of Poet
Namakkal Ramalingam Pillai, “ Kathiyindri, rathamindri, yudham ondru
varugudhu” (Sans sword, sans blood, a war is being waged), written for
the occasion eight decades ago.

The barber

And there were other heroes, who from the fringes did their bit to
tire the administration out. Vairappan, a barber in his teens had
vowed not to render his services to any one in the service of the
British Raj that he once walked off mid-way, leaving behind a sepoy
with his half shaven face on realising that he was a British servant.
Today, there is a bust in honour of Vairappan in Vedaranyam.

Just as envisioned by Gandhi, sustained acts of rebellion during the
course of the struggle did tire the administration out, like day-to-
day entries made by the Salt department here reveals. Photographs of
these entries along with other priceless records – that includes
photographs and name rolls, a few retrieved from the Nehru Memorial
Museum Library in New Delhi, have been documented by Mr.A.Vedarathinam
to the extent possible.
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