India Culture, Business, Sports and Food. Get all the buzz in India now

Akbar made Lahore the capital of India due to unstable conditions in Kabul and Kashmir. The frontier tribes were also a source of great trouble and disorder prevailed in the Punjab. From Lahore, the emperor conducted military operation against Kashmir planned was with the north-east Afghanistan. He also undertook the conquest of Sind and Kandahar. He also conquered Kashmir and annexed it to his empire. During this period Akbar carried a number of social reforms.

He condemned the inhuman practice of Sati. He issued a regulation that “a Hindu girl whose husband had died before the marriage was consummated should not be burnt. If a Hindu woman wished to burn herself with her husband, she should not be prevented but she should not be forced.” Akbar not only enacted this measure against the evil of sati but also made provision for the enforcement of this law. The Kotwals were directed to take adequate measures for stopping this evil. Akbar disapproved of polygamy and made some healthy rules with regard to marriage practices. He forbade marriage between near relations. Marriage before the age of puberty was disallowed. The inhuman practice of female infanticide was also common in those days. Akbar’s heart was deep touched by the killing of small children. By a regulation, he laid down severe punishments for those guilty of such offence.

It was also during his stay at Lahore that scarcity of rainfall brought about a famine when many people died of starvation. The emperor opened free kitchen and made arrangements for relieving the distress of famine stricken people at the instance of Guru Arjun Dev, the fifth Guru of the Sikhs, re remitted a potion of the revenue of some territories to give relief to the people. He also introduced a number of judicial reforms by which the Brahmins were permitted to the cases of the Hindus.

He forbade the hateful practice of treating prisoners of war slaves. Those who slaughtered cows and other animals on prohibited days were punished. So far as the state was concerned widow remarriage amongst the Hindus was made lawful. Circumcision on children before the age of twelve was prohibited. He disfavored marriages between near relations and high dowries. He allowed his  non muslim subjects to enjoy perfect freedom of worship. He removed all the restrictions on buildings of the places of public worship by the Hindus and non Muslims

It is difficult to believe that most of the above measures were actually put into practice. The people, in general, continued to live the same way as they had been living since the olden times. During Akbar’s stay at Lahore, he was visited by Portuguese missionaries and by the Englishmen Titch, Newbery, Leeds and Storey. A Christian Church was also built at Lahore. During Akbar’s reign the city of Lahore grew in area and population. The fort of Lahore was enlarged and the city was surrounded with a wall.

A sweeping victory at the Oscars, Slumdog Millionaire has become the movie that everyone wants. This movie has all the masala that is required to get away from the Great depression. Yes a populist hero who overcomes all odds to get the girl and the money. There is a message of the movie to the west: just by seeing this movie you can see India without getting your hands dirty or offending your nose, and cheer it on. Cinderella didn’t walk through tenements and sectarian violence to reach her prince. But in this fairy tale, a concession must be made to modern realities. Dev Patel is symbolic of India here and now, fulfilling its wildest economic aspirations while being conscious of the darkest aspects of social decay and despair. If we follow the metaphor to its logical conclusion, India will get the money and the girl by rising above its slums. Perhaps that’s why Slumdog has created an uneasy reaction in Mumbai and the rest of India. Rising above isn’t the same as solving.

Many Indians have always found west as best option than looking inward. They have learnt so well about the western countries that they can tell you more about the streets of London and New York than the teeming lanes of the ghettos of their own city. In fact this is true about rich elites everywhere in the South Asia. Watching Dev cross the social line is triumphant, but it reminds you that there is a line. (Obama crossed the racial line in triumph, also, but notice how much heat his Attorney General, Eric Holder, took when he suggested in less than polite terms that America needs to be more honest and courageous about the whole problem of race.).

Slumdog a low budget movie managed to outgross number of big budget Hollywood films. Last week, it ranked fifth on the US box office while its nearest Oscar rival, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, was no longer in the top ten. Brad Pitt, being a megastar, has pulled his film to $122 million, compared to Slumdog’s $98 million, but is that really competitive? Ten movies on the scale of Slumdog can be made for the cost of one blockbuster that has yet to pay back its cost.

The whole world and the entire movie industry are watching closely and the developing world is watching even more closely.  After two decades of action flicks with move-your-lips scripts that were primitive enough to appeal to immature male psyches, here is Asia - via the UK - sending back something sophisticated, poignant, and universal. It’s like the ultimate retort to colonialism: the coolie and the wallah have more smarts than the sahib.

 We may know the answers in the near future. Bollywood didn’t conceive Slumdog. It still purveys mindless entertainment, for the most part, interspersed with small independent films that challenge the West for thoughtfulness and freshness. It’s not for lack of talent that India didn’t produce Slumdog. But questions of vision and courage do arise. Past history and ingrained inhibitions make it hard for Indian artists in any field to be as frank and true to life as they should be. They have yet to seize freedom.

The art of painting did not receive the attention and encouragement which the other arts did at the hands of the Delhi Sultans. On account of religious reasons the Sultans had no love for paintings.  We, however, come across some references to ornamental designs painted on the walls of the palace. No specimen of this art has survived. A peciment onf painting of the time of Muhammad bin Tughlaq is considered as specimen of art of this period.

The Sultans of Delhi, though not so magnificent builders like the Great Mughals rulers, took keen interest in this art. The sultans like the Rajput rulers of the earlier peiod spent lavishly on architecture. The Delhi Sultans founded new cities, built forts, palaces, resthouses, bridges, mosques and tombs. Ala-ud- Din Khilji built the city of Siri, Ghyas-ud-Din built the city of Tughalqabad and Feroze Shah built the city of Ferozabad. Some cities were surrounded bywalls. Special atentionwas given to beautify the gates of the cities. Many provincial governors were also patrons of art and developed their distinctive style of architecture. Bengal, Jaunpur, malwas, gujarat have fine specimens of architecture of those times. The famous Adina Masjid at Pandua built by Sikandar Shah was one of the largest mosques in the Muslimworld. The Delhi Darwaza at Gaurhis a “superb example ofwhat can be achieved in brick and terracota”. In Gujarat architecture reached its highest development in the reign of  Mahmud Baghera. The Jama Masjid at Ahmedabad built by Ahmedshah and Mahmud Bograh’s mosque at Champanir are beautiful and lofty structures. The buildings built by the Sharqi Sultans at the Jaunpur present a synthesis of Hindu and Muslim architectural ideas. The Aal Devi Masji which was completed in 1403 A.D. is one of the brilliant specimens of this style.

The Quwaat-ul-Islam mosque at Delhi constructed by Qutub-ud-Din aibak is a fine example fo Indo-Muslim style of architecture. Like the Dhai Din Ki Jhonpraha mosques at Ajmer its foundation was laid during the early Sultanate period. These mosques were founded by Qutab-du-Din Aibak but were enlarged by iltutmish and Ala-ud-Din Khilji.

The Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque would have seemed to be more impressive if it had not been constructed in the courtyard where qutab Minar stands. The Qutab Minar was originally intended to be place for the Muazzin to call the faithfuls to prayer but later on it became a tower of victory. The construction of qutub minar was started by Qutab-ud-Din Aibak but the building was finally completd by Iltutmish. Some writers however, hold that it was built by iltutmish in the memory of a muslim saint Qutab. It was orginally 225 feet in height and consisted of four storeys. The qutub minar was damaged bylightening and Feroze Tughalq while executing repairs to it replaced the fourht storey by tow smaller ones. It is essentially islamic in form and designs .Tehre is a smaller type of Minar at Gaurh named Feroze minar, but is not so impressive as Qutab Minar.

Ala-ud-Din built the new cirty of Sir. He erected there a palace known as “ the Palace of thousand Pillars”. The place is so named because the heads of thousand Mongols were buried in its foundations. He also built a fine mosque known as Jamait Khana.  Another great building erected by Ala-ud-din was Ali Darwaza which is considered as one of the most treasured gems of Islamic culture.

The buildings of the tughlaq period lack splendour and richness of details. They are characterised by Islamic simplicity and austerity. Ghyas-ud-Din Tughlaq built the city of Tughlaqabad and his own mauseleum. Muhammad tughlaq left a few monuments, famous among them being the fortressof Adilabad adjoining the city of Tughlaqabad. He built Jahanph the fourth city of Delhi, by linking the first and second cities by thick walls. Feroze Tughlaq was the most magnificent builders of all the Sultans of Delhi. He built a number of palace cities. But the great monuments of his reign are Kotla Feroze Shah, Kali Masjid, Lal gumbad and his own mausoleum. The most important monument of the Lodhi dynasty is Mothki Masjid built by Sikandar Lodhi.

Indian navy chief admiral Sureesh Mehta pointed out that terrorists may exploit weak security that we have at our ports. He anticipated that the terrorists might attempt to import and bring down a nuclear weapon. He said that the threat is there for the past many years however now that the terrorist activities are on its high after Mumbai attacks. In actual as well the ports that we have are very unsafe. There is no monitoring of what is coming to the country and what is going out. Earlier there was only one agency run by the government of India to monitor this but now there are some government authorized private agencies.

This statement of the naval chief has come right with the program of the US under the Container Security Initiative and Customs-Trade Partnership against Terrorism programmers. It found that there are gaps in the defense structure which can be cause by the insufficient container security. It is been three months after Mumbai attacks that the people responsible for the security of the country have realized this aspect.

It has been observed that there is some movement on the overall security of the ports. The coast guard, navy and marine police have scrambled to implement the long-ignored maritime security blueprint.  There is a boost in the security design. CISF has been deployed on the ports along with the bomb squads. Speedboats have to be provided for patrolling the waters. Now the question arises what were they been waiting for. But as has happened in the past there are reactive measures rather than part of a comprehensive policy.  Different ministries like that of shipping, road transport and highways are planning effectively. It should be kept in mind that we need to make safeguard against the new threat as soon as possible. It simply means that we should not wait for any other Mumbai like attack to happen before we act. And since the terrorist this time explored a new way of entering our country we need to find ways how to protect that point as well.

After inspecting it deeply we have realized that there are lot of things to be done. While planning for this we need to make sure that we always remember that the time that we have to implement all this is very less. We do not know when theses terrorists are planning their next move and that too through which way.  Scanning of the containers should be rigoursly. There are certain processes to be put in place. Looking at the port structure that we have, you will see that the charges that we charge maritime charges from the ships which is much higher than other countries. The reason is because of processing and turnaround times which may stretch over weeks. Adding container scanning procedures to this would raise costs even further, hitting trade. So who will bear the cost if that is to be stopped?

With a passing of the IT Amendment Bill which Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha passed in the end of the year 2008 aims to make changes in the existing cyber  laws. And you would be surprised to hear that though it is a matter of great concern looking at the situation that we have in the country when everyone is using one or the other IT application, this bill was passed by the legislators in such a hurry like no other bill. There was no discussion on this bill. It was not that they needed this bill immidiatly. I think all the politicians were of the opinion that there is no need but just for the heck of it, to show the common man lets pass the bill.

Yes I give the credit to the government for removing the loop holes in the IT bill of 2000, however we need to do a careful analysis and you would find that the new amendments are also sufficient to meet the needs of today. Issues relatd to confidential information and data of corporations, the protection of this data, all this seems not to be addressed. It just has a few sections on data protection which would not serve the law.

It appears we have not learnt any lessons from what happened in America or Europe. Our politicians feel that the terrorists are old and non efficient like them.  Political leadership must keep this in mind that crime is always a step ahead of law. But the kind of law that we have it seems that the crimes is miles away from it. There is no rebuttabel presumptions of confidentiality of trade secrets and information. We know that people and of course the companies save their data online in electronic form. It is found that there are employees who take away data from the databases of the companies. The law must address this as well.

Another major failure of the proposed amendments is hta tthey have not address the issue of spam in a comprehesive nammer. The word spanin not even mentioned anywhere in the IT amendment bill. You may not that the nations like US have shown their interest to fight spam by putitng in place a dedicated law for anti spam.

We know today people and organisations are increasingly relying upon electronic evidnece and electronic media as a means of communicating with each other and doing business. The amendments done do not talk about addressing an issue of electornic discovery. Well the short sightedness the law is clear.

The Turkish invaders of India in the early medieval age were primarily soldiers, but they were devoted to Persian language and literature and were patrons of scholars and poets. Among the many poets and writers who accompanied Mahmud of Ghazni in his expeditions was the great savant Abu Rayhan Mohammad Al-Baruni who left a scholarly account of the condition of India in the early years of the 11the century including Hindu religion, philosophy, history, mathematics and other sciences. He studied Sanskrit and established a close contact with Indian scholars of the age. No Muslim scholar ever rivaled Al-Baruni n the depth and accuracy of his knowledge about India.

Mahmud of Ghur continued the tradition of extending patronage to scholars and poets. Persian language and literature consequently flourished under him. Taj-ud-din-Hassan, Rukn-ud-din-Hamza, Shahab-ud-din, Mohammad Rashid and Nazuki of Mahagha were some of the famous poets who adorned his court.

The Sultans of Delhi were also lovers of literature. Qutab-ud-din Aibak was so liberal to the scholars and poets that he earned the title of Lakh-baksh (the giver of Lakhs). Iltutmish was no less generous to poets and scholars. He had a number of eminent poets and writers of Persian at his court. Nasir-ud-din Mahmud Shafi (1246-65) wrote his famous chronicle Tabaqat Nasiri, a general history from the earliest times of 1260. Gias-ud-din Balban’s courts were adorned by great scholars. The Mongols had ravaged Central Asiatic countries and compelled Muslim scholars and poets from these countries to flee for refuge to Balban’s court at Delhi.  Balban’s son Mahmud was a great patron of eminent poets and it was under his patronage that two of the greatest Indian poets of Persian named Amir Khusru and Mur Hassan Dehlwi had begun their poetic careers. Mir Khusru wrote a large number of works of poetry, fiction, Masnavi and history.

Amir Khusru was probable the first Indian Muslim writer to make use of Hindi words and write on Indian themes. In his couplets and riddles he uses a language which is predominantly a mixture of Persian and Hindi word. In his famous Masnavi entitles Nuh Siphr he refers to India’s climate, its flowers, animals and birds, the religious beliefs and the language of the people? He compares India to the garden of Edin and praises the fertility of its soil and the Indian peacocks. He was also a lover of music and is said to have invented sitar by combining the Indian vina with the Persian Tambura.

Muhammad bin Tughlaq was not only a learned and accomplished man, but was also a great patron of learning. Many scholars and litterateurs were attracted to his court. The historian Zia-ud-Di Barani enjoyed his patronage for seventeen years and wrote his work Sana-i-Muhammadi. Feroze Tughlaq was also a patron of learning and is said to have given away annually 36 lakhs tankas to scholars and poets. He wrote an account of his reign under the title Fatuhat-i-Firozeshahi. A famous scholar during the later Tughlaq period was Yahya bin Ahmed of Sirhind. He wrote his famous Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi.

The Sayyid and Lodhi periods were not devoid of literary activities. The most important poet of the Lodhi period was Sheikh Jamal-ud-Din of Delhi. He met Babur after his success at Panipat in 1526 and praised him in some of his odes.  Some Sanskrit works were translated into Persian during the last quarter of the 14the century. It was not because that the rulers patronized Sanskrit but because these works were useful and were concerned with practical subjects like medicine, astronomy, music and so forth.

It was during the Tughlaq period that the first Masnavi was written in Hindi. It was based on a Sanskrit original poem describing the story of Lokanand Chanda.

It was during the Turko-Afghan period that the Urdu language originated. It was evolved as the result of necessity for carrying on exchange of ideas between the conquering Muhammandans who spoke Turki and Persian and the conquered Indians who spoke Hindi. Urdu is Turki word meaning camp and Urdu was originally a camp language containing word stake from Persian, Turki and Hindi. It gradually developed a literature. Amir Khusru, the famous poet who enjoyed the patronage of sultan Ala-ud-din Khilji, wrote in Urdu as well.

Expelled from his territory in the Punjab, Alam Khan fled straight to Kabul and approached Babur for help for the recovery of the Punjab from his rival Daulat Khan. A secret treaty was signed between Babur and Alam Khan by which it was agreed that Babur would help Alam Khan to install him on the throne of Delhi and in return, he would allow Babur to retain the whole of the Punjab, Babur directed the Mughal chiefs of Punjab to help Alam Khan in conquering Delhi. But before Alam Khan could make any attempt in this direction, he was seduced by Daulat Khan who made him break off his alliance with Babur. The combined forces of Daulat Khan and Alam Khan soon marched against t Ibrahim Lodhi, who, however, inflicted a defeat upon them.

With the defeat of Alam Khan and the Mughal chiefs, Daulat Khan felt encouraged and drove out the Mughals from the Punjab. When Babur came to know of these happenings, he decided to undertake his fifth and final invasion of India.

In November 1525, Babur left Kabul at the head of a large army of 12000 soldiers. He was also joined by his son Humayun and Khawaja Khan. On his way to Lahore he subjugated the turbulent tribes of Gakhars, Jats and Gujjars who had recovered their independence from the rule of Mughal chiefs. When Babur reached Kalanaur, he learnt that Daulat Khan and his son Haji Khan had left Lahore and taken shelter in Malot. He, therefore, marched towards them and besieged the fort. Daulat khan was this time determined to offer tough resistance to Babur. But to his ill luck, his brother Alam Khan deserted him and his army melted away at Babur’s approach. Consequently, Daulat Khan sent a message to the Mughal invader that he was ready to submit and begged to forgive him. The magnanimous Padhshah not only forgave him but also restored to him some Jagirs. Daulat Khan was sent to Bhera where he died after a shot while.

Having occupied the territories of Punjab, Babur now marched towards Delhi. In two marches Babur reached the town of Panipat. Ibrahim Lodhi also advanced to meet the Mughal invader on the historic field of Panipat in 1526. Although Babur’s army was much smaller in number, it had the advantage of fine artillery. Ibrahim Lodhi along with 15 thousand soldiers died in the battle field. Babur won a decisive victory. The battle of Panipat decided not only the fate of the Punjab but also that of whole of India.

Thus during the period of 1519-1526, there was a great chaos and turmoil in the Punjab. A three cornered struggle was going on in which the chief actors were Babur, Ibrahim Lodhi and afghan nobles like Daulat khan and Alam khan. In this struggle for supremacy, Babur ultimately came out triumphant. The intrigues of Daulat Khan Lodhi and Alam Khan, the inefficiency of Ibrahim Lodhi and the frequent invasions of Babur had made Punjab “a hot bed of endless strife”. Nobody’s life and property was safe under such conditions. Mass massacres, looting and burning of the bazaars and the cities were very common.

Babur died in 1530 as was succeeded by his eldest son Humayun. Instead of consolidating the inherited possessions, Humayun divided his empire among his disloyal brothers. He gave Kabul and Punjab to his brother Kamran. It was a great mistake of Humayun because it gave Kamran “command of the new military road which ran form Delhi to Kandahar’. Humayun was defeated by Sher Shah Suri in 1540. 

Most business professionals feel that a prerequisite that one must have to be a successful professional is good networking and socializing. An informal meeting or chat goes a long way in developing potential business partners or clients. But there are many amongst us who are afraid to go out and network with people outside their offices and home.  These soft skills can be cultivated with proper practice and can be learn and polished. Small talk or socializing as it is popularly known as, helps to establish connections and to determine commonalities, and integral part of doing business in some cultures. Therefore, follow the below mentioned tips to overcome your fear of meeting people.

It is important to understand the basic nuances of starting and facilitation introductions that help to generate conversation. The basic rule is to talk about other people’s interest rather than your own and this can be done by asking the right questions. These questions should be framed in such a way that they further discussion in a meaningful way. The second rule is to be prepared. It si important that you know some background about the other person and thus it helps to be prepared for such meetings in advance especially if you are a newcomer and are struggling to establish yourself in the field.

Know how to work the room so you meet the people you came to see, which is a proficiency that will serve you well in all areas of your professional and personal life? A good conversationalist can always get more from the interaction and can effectively turn the conversation towards his interest. It is a good idea to keep yourself abreast with current happenings in and around the world or the news and events concerning your area of business. That gives you something to talk about as you start the conversation. Once the ice is broken, you can gradually move on to topics that are upper most in your mind.

Spontaneity and sincerity should reflect in your manners and conversation. Though it is good to be prepared in advance, faking an interest cannot really take you anywhere. You need to be genuinely interested in the other people and their interest. Only then, will they take you seriously. This is especially important as everyone meets many new people in such event and it is difficult for them t remember all of them. So , unless you have made a good impression, you are most likely to be forgotten the very next day.

Another thing to remember is that even if you have made good impression but you do not follow it up the other person is most likely to forget you. So the key to successful network is timely and consistent follow up. People who belong to network groups are there because they want to learn more about your business and share their own interest with you. So there is no point in fearing rejection at such events. 

 Beconfident and act natural and allow yourself to freely mix with other people and enjoy yourself.

Zahir_ud_din Muhammad Babur laid the foundation of Mughal Empire in India. He was the first great emperor of India. Babur was born in February 14, 1483 in the small kingdom of Farghana of which his father Umar Sheikh was the ruler. Babur was only eleven years of age when his father died and he became the king of Farghana. His early life was full of hardships but he was ambitious and daring. Babur’s greatest ambition was to conquer Samarkand. He twice captured Samarkand but lost it each time. In 1504, he left his native land, crossed the Hindukush and conquered Kabul. From Kabul he made one more attempt to occupy Samarkand and entered the city of his dreams in the midst of great pomp and splendor. But Babur was not destined to enjoy the fruit of his victory for long. He was driven out of Samarkand next year. Babur now abandoned all hope of rescinding the throne of Samarkand which he and won and lost no less than three times. Babur made up his mind to conquer the rich plains of Hindustan.

Babur led as many as four expeditions to India. In 1519 Babur led his first expedition to India. He occupied Bhera on the Jhelum without much resistance. Next he occupied Khushab. After this victory, Babur took his second expedition to India. This time he advanced as far as Peshawar. He wanted to fortify Peshawar to make it the base for further conquests into the interiors of Hindustan. His mission failed because he had to return to Kabul to suppress some disturbance in Badakhsan. He undertook his third expedition in 1520. He recovered Bijour and Bhera from where his general Hindu Beg had been expelled. Babur advanced to Sialkot which he easily occupied. Babur met with a tough resistance at Sayyidpur (Eminabad) but ultimately occupied it.

In 1524, Babur again determined to invade India. This time Daulat Khan Lodhi, the Afghan governor of Lahore invited Babur to invade India. He sent his son Dilawar Khan to Kabul to assure Babur of his help against Ibrahim Lodhi. Babur was already in Possession of a part of the Punjab. He welcomed his support and left Kabul with his army to conquer the Punjab and Delhi. He captured Lahore, Jalandhar Doab and Dipalpur without meeting with much resistance But his rapid progressed alarmed the Afghans of the Punjab. Some of them even offered resistance to him and defended Lahore but in vain. His soldiers plundered its inhabitants and burnt its bazaars. Next Babur conquered Dipalpur and overran whole of the Jalandhar Doab. A large part of the Punjab thus fell into his hands.

After the conquest of the Punjab, Daulat Khan had expected that Babur would appoint him the governor of the Punjab. But Babur offered him only the territories of Jalandhar and Sultanpur. He gave the western part of the Punjab including Dipalpur to another Afghan noble, Alam Khan Lodhi. Daulat Khan turned against Babur and in desperation rose in revolt against him, but was defeated and driven to Shivalik hills. Babur went back to Kabul and began to make fresh preparations for his final bid for the throne of Delhi.

Before leaving for Kabul, Babur had made administrative arrangements for the Punjab. Lahore was handed over to one of the Mughal chiefs Abdul Aziz. Sialkot was given to Khusaaue Ghotlash, Dipalpur and its neighboring territories were entrusted to Alam Khan Lodhi. The Jalandhar Doab and Sultanpur after the revolt of Daulat Kan were put under the charge of his son Dilawar Khan. Dilawar was also ordered to make a hot pursuit of his father and to arrest him.

Soon after Babur’s departure, Daulat Khan came out of his retreat. He attacked Alam Khan and Dilawar Khan and the Muslim chiefs who had occupied practically the whole of the Punjab. He even defeated Ibrahim Lodhi’s forces which he had sent to rearrest his authority over the Punjab.

We all Indians are very proud of Slumdog Millionaire for what it has achieved. This was first time that an Oscar has come to India and we are so ga ga about it. In fact this was the first time that Oscar has been awarded from mainstream cinema. I do not feel bad about anything for this time Oscars. I only wanted to retrospect if the movie really showed the actual face of India. It is showing the truth which  a normal Indian ignores. There were some groups in India who infact wanted this word slumdog to be removed from the dictionary itself because they felt it is racist.

I do not see that movie was an effort to show the poverty of India. Many people have criticized that this movie is showing only the bad part of the nation. They feel that India is only those swanky buildings and glittering malls. I do not know how they can ignore the every day sight on traffice signals and road side scenes. Yes, irrespective of which city you live in.

Slumdog is a story of 2 brothers and a girl from the slums of india. The story takes them to different directions. The big brother of two turns into a gangster where as the yougner of two who infact is the hero of the movie is tea server in a call center. See call center. The true image of India in the west now a days. Oh, yes the girl ends up as a show girl with the gangsters. The film shows that the youger boy reaches the hot seat of a game show. Yes the most famous game show in India- “ kaun banega karorpati”.  There is an interesting host of the show which infact was unlike the real hosts of the show- Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan. The real hosts of the show wanted the contestants to win however the reel life  host did not want the hero to win the game show. This was one of the crucial aspect of the movie which made it interesting. The host calls the police to  get the hero arreseted on the charges of fraud at the end of the first day of the show. The police at the police station tortures him by giving him electric shocks just to know how a tea server slumdweller know all the correct answeres.

The answers to the questions were hidden in the dingy slums of Dharavi.  The heaps of garbage, dogs with flees, young hero jumping into a pit full of …., hindu  muslim roits  etc. it showed the rough langage of the few characteristics of the film which together with the superb cinematography by Anthony Dod Mantle makes it an ultra realistic movie. Kudos to the director Danny Boyle and co-director Loveleen Tandon for the impressive direction and superb camera takes which shows the minutest of the details of the dirty slum life. The screenplay was outstanding.

All the five  kids have acted great in the movie. Half of the movie revolves around them and they have managed the show very well. It was very natural and realistic. Dev Patel was fine. The actress Frieda Pinto had nothing much of the screen time but she delivered very good performance.  Anil Kapoor was cool. Irrfan Khan as the deadly cop together with Saurabh Shukla gave the top performances together with the child artists. Mahesh Manjrekar was looking a real gangster. He was rough, bad and whatever you may call a gangster. Madhur Mittal as the older brother Salim was quite good.

   The music of the movie is beyond any description. Reason? Well the music had so many nominations for Oscars so what more can be written here. The background score was awsome.  The song “ Jai Ho” is  the mobile caller tone of  50% of the populatino in India who have seen this movie. With a strong language, I must say abusive language, violence in roits, torture, a child being blinded with hot syrup (something), murder and other such things happening in the slums. These violent scenes are quite chilling and tense. 

Overall I would recommend this movie to every person who has a tag “Indian” attached to him/her. A detailed insight into the murky life of slumdwellers. Slumdog Millionaire is one of those movies which has a happy ending. And out of the 10 oscar nominations it would bag atleast three i.e in “cinematography”, “editing” & for the song “Jai Ho”. It is a perfect edge of the seat thriller wrapped in the ghostly realities of slums.

In May 1414, Khizar Khan, who help Punjab on behalf of Timur, marched to Delhi and occupied the throne. He laid the foundation of a new dynasty known as the Sayyed Sultans of Delhi. The dynasty has four rulers in all- Khizar Khan (1414-21), Mubarak Shah (1421-34) Muhammad Shah (1434-43) and Alam Shah (1443-50). During the reign of the Sayyed Dynasty, the Punjab was in turmoil and there were frequent revolts at various places. The contemporary literary sources give us some information about the local administration at Sirhind, Panipat, Samana, Bhatinda, Hissar, Jalandhar, Lahore and Dipalpur.

 The last ruler of the Sayyed dynasty was overthrown by Bahlol Lodhi the governor of Lahore and Sirhind. Bahlol Lodhi occupied Delhi and founded the new dynasty of Lodhi Kings. The most capable ruler of this dynasty was Sikander Lodhi who tried to consolidate his power. He suppressed the prevailing disorder and repressed the refractory provincial governors and chieftains. He was succeeded by Ibrahim Lodhi. During the reign of the Lodhis, Tatar Khan and Daulat Khan Lodhi remained the governors of Punjab. Ibrahim Lodhi was an arrogant ruler. He antagonized Afghan nobles by his harsh treatment and drove them into opposition to him. Daulat Khan Lodhi, the governor of the Punjab turned against him and declared himself practically independent. He invited Babur, the King of Afghanistan, to come and overthrow Ibrahim Lodhi.

 Babur led as many as five expeditions to the Punjab 1519-26. During his fifth and final expedition Babur defeated Daulat Khan and occupied Punjab. Babur now advanced towards Delhi and reached the town of Panipat. Ibrahim Lodhi also advanced to meet the Mughal invaders on the historic field of Panipat in 1526. Although Babur’s army was much smaller in number, it had fine artillery. Ibrahim Lodhi along with this 15 thousand soldiers died in the battlefield. Babur won a decisive victory. The battle of Panipat decided not only the fate of Punjab but also that of India. The Lodhi dynasty came to end and Babur led the foundation of the Mughal Empire in India. 

The Indian education system has so far explored the idea of making a person employable after senior secondary education or higher education. Open school and open universities, too offer an opportunity to those who want to continue their education while working. But then, there are millions who are below the poverty line or who come from the underprivileged sections of society with no access to any form of educational and are hence not eligible to be employed in any formal sector.  Also there are those who drop out form school or college to seek employment. But the lack of sufficient education, despite the talent, makes them unemployable. This is where community colleges step in.

A community college aims to empower members of underprivileged sections of society with employment skills. Internationally, education through community colleges has been successful as well as accepted by governments. In India the community college system came into being in 1996, with the establishment of Madras Community college. Though we adopted the US model of awarding points through certificates and diplomas, we changed the model in keeping with the needs of people in our country. In the US, the emphasis is more on work skills. Here, the emphasis is on job as well as life skills. 

We have almost 206 community colleges existing in 17 states.  The question that is often raised is when the government is already running vocational training institutions and polytechnics to enhance job skills, why do we need community colleges at all?  As the name suggests, a community college does not offer academic or professionals programmers that are offered by a university or a polytechnic. Instead, it offers skill based programmes, addressing the needs of a community- especially the underprivileged sections of society. Four aspects that sum up the idea of community colleges are access, flexibility in curriculum, equal opportunity and quality in training.

It aims to empower those who are economically and socially deprived. Many people falling in the age group of 16 to 24 cannot make it to college. They remain unemployed because they lack in the area of skill.  A community college makes sure that more people get employment. There are four types of community colleges- for the urban poor, the rural poor, people belonging to the tribal areas and women. It is started with the training on life skills that include language, computing, fluency in speaking and writing and knowledge of English. Then work skill is imparted in 40 different areas of health assistance, DTP operations, pre primary teaching and so on.

 With money coming in and industry linkage becoming stronger, community colleges may become a commercial venture.  This is the biggest challenge. It can easily become a profit-making institute. But at no point of time can the fee structure be raised. Also we should not forget our target group. On the other hand, quality of education is of course important but the focus should be on imparting job based training.

It was during the reign of Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud when the Sultanate of Delhi was on the brink of ruin that Amir Tamur descended upon India. This great conqueror commonly known as Timur Ling was born in 1336 A.D near Samarkand. He became the head of Chugtai Turks at the age of 33 and ascended the throne of Samarkand. After conquering Persia, Afghanistan and other neighboring territories, he turned his attention to Hindustan. He crossed the Indus not with the intention of founding and empire but simply for satisfying his passion for plunder and military glory.

This progress of the invaders to Delhi was almost without any resistance. Timur sent an advance guard of his army under his grandson Pir Muhammad and himself followed in March 1398 A.D with large force of about 100,000 soldiers. The advance guard conquered Uch and then advanced up to Multan. In September 1398 A.D. Timur himself crossed the Indus at Attock and having easily over powered Mubarik Khan, the governor of Punjab, Timur pressed southwards and joined Pir Muhammad near Multan.

The combined armies now marched towards Delhi and on their way looted and massacred the population of Dipalpur and Bhamir. When the huge invading hordes of Turki horsemen approached Delhi, Sultan Nasir-ud-Din and his minister Mallu Iqbal Khan offered but a feeble resistance. In the battle fought, Timur won a decisive victory. Nasir and his minister fled to Gujarat and Bulandshahar respectively. Delhi was occupied and systematically plundered by the invaders for five days. After staying there for fifteen days and having amassed huge wealth, Timur marched back via Meerut, Hardwar, Kangra and Jammu plundering and ravaging these towns, leaving anarchy, famine and pestilence behind. He also sent a contingent to Lahore which defeated the Khokhar Chiefs and captured the city. Before leaving India, Timur appointed Khizar Khan as the governor of Multan, Lahore and Dipalpur, as a reward for his loyalty to Timur. It is said that on his return home, Timur took with him not only immense wealth he had plundered but also a large number of masons and artisans who built a large mosque and beautiful buildings at Samarkand.

Timur’s invasions spread anarchy throughout the length and breadth of India. The invaders left behind a trail of devastation and ruin. They destroyed great buildings and works of art at Dipalpur, Bhatnir, Delhi, Meerut and Hardwar. Thousands of Hindus andmuslims were massacred in cold blood. To add to the misery of the people, the invasion of Timur brought famines and pestilence in their wake. The wholesale destruction of stores of grain and standing crops by invaders resulted in famines and heaps of corpses polluted the air and the water and bred pestilence. The invasions also gave a death-blow to the Tughlaq Empire. The provincial governors, taking advantage of the weakness of the central government, set themselves to organize and consolidate their individual resources and ultimately declared their independence.

Muhammad Ghori Died in 1206.he died without leaving a male issue. So his viceroys made themselves independent in different parts of his vast kingdom. Qutab-ud-Din Aibak was the Viceroy of Muhammad Ghori’s Indian possessions. As there was no legal successor of the Ghori Sultan, Aibak was naturally tempted to establish his independent rule. The Turkish nobles and chiefs of Lahore invited him to assume sovereign powers. He at once proceeded from Delhi to Lahore and declared himself the Sultan and hand the Khutba read in his name. He also made Lahore the capital of his kingdom.

Even before his accession to the throne, Aibak had established his reputation as a soldier and general. He had played an important role in the expansion of Turkish kingdom in India after the battle of Tarain. To strengthen his position further, he had entered into matrimonial alliances with some of his colleagues. He himself married the daughter of Taj-ud-Din Yalduz, who ruled Ghazni. He gave his daughter in marriage to Iltutmish and his sister to Nasir-ud-Din Qubacha. Whereas Qubacha who governed Multan and Sindh remained loyal to him. Yalduz created difficulties for him. Yalduz was the governor of Kriman during the time of Muhammad Ghori. After his death, Yalduz occupied Ghazni. As he was anxious to bring India under his suzerainty, he tried to seize Lahore. Aibak won over Qubacha by his prudence and diplomacy and marched against Yalduz. Aibak defeated Yalduz and even occupied Ghazni. Although Aibak could keep Ghazni only for 40 days, his expedition proved useful as Yalduz thereafter could not create troubles for Aibak or Qubacha.

Qutab-ud-Din Aibak ruled India for only four years. During this short period, he made no fresh conquests but remained busy in consolidating his rule in the conquered territories. He did not attempt to evolve any sound administrative institution and his rule was purely military in nature. Qutab-ud-Din died in November 1210 A.D. as a result of sudden fall from his horse while playing Chogan or Polo in Lahore.

On the death of his, Turkish nobles and officials placed his son Aram Shah on the throne. Aram Shah proved unequal to the task of governing in those troubled times. The nobles of Delhi refused to accept him as their ruler and invited Iltutmish, a son in law of Qutab-ud-Din Aibak, to occupy the throne. Iltutmish was the governor of Budaun at that time. He marched to Delhi with a large force. Aram Shah supported by the noble of Lahore advanced to Delhi to take action against his rival. Iltutmish defeated and captured Aram shah and ascended to the throne in 1211 A.D. Aram shah was later executed probably by the orders of Iltutmish.

Muhammad Tughlaq was succeeded by his cousin Firoz Shah Tughlaq to the throne in 1351 A.D. He was a peace loving monarch and his reign is notable for many useful reforms. These measures gave impetus to agriculture, trade and commerce. He abolished a number of vexatious taxes levied by Ala-ud-Din Khilji and Muhammad Tughlaq on small traders and shopkeepers like flower sellers, mongers, cotton cleaners, cooks etc. in his schemes of land reform and promotion of agriculture, Firoz was assisted by his able minister Khan-i-Jaha.

For the promotion of agriculture he got dug five canals. The greatest of these public works was perhaps the Jamuna Canal by which water was brought from Karnal to irrigate the arid tract of Hansi and Hissar. This canal was later used by the British government to irrigate the large tract of land in the Punjab. The second canal was dug to connect waters of Saraswati with Markhanda. It was about 96 miles long. It drew water from Satluj near Sirhind and terminated at Jhajar. The third canal was from Sirmur hills. The fourth was from the Ghagar to the newly built town of Firozabad and the fifth from Yamuna to Fatehabad and Sirsa. Firoz is said to have laid out “ twelve hundred gardens in the neighborhood of Delhi and many elsewhere, and the produce among which white and black grapes of several varieties are mentioned, brought in 150,000 rupees per annum to the treasury.” On either side of the canals new settlements of farmers sprang up. This improved the yield of the land and added to the revenue of the state.

The Sultan abolished cruel punishments like cutting off hands, nose and feet of the criminals. He provided jobs to the unemployed and set up a special department of charity (Diwan-i-Kharait) to give monetary help to charitable hospital (Dar Shafa) where medicines and diet were supplied at the cost of the state. A separate department of slaves was created to ameliorate their condition and give them training in various industries and handicrafts. Firoz founded a new city adjoining Delhi which was named Firozabad. To add to the dignity of the town, two inscribed columns of ashoka were brought there by the orders of the Sultan, one from Topra in the Ambala district and the other from Meerut. The other cities founded by the Sultan were- Fatehabad, Muhammadpur, Zafarbad, Rajbas, Hissar, Firoza, Firozabad and Harni Khera near Sirsa.

Firoz Shan did not make any important conquest in the north west. The Mongols were no longer a serious threat, even then in 1359, their raids extended as far as Dipalpur. Firoz Shah learnt that the Hindu Raja of Nagarkot as asserted his independence. The sultan marched against the Raja of Nagarkot and defeated him after a siege of six months. The Raja submitted and recognized Sultan’s sovereignty.

During the reign of Firoz Tughlaq, the province of Multan was goverened by Ain-ul_Malik for many years. He was also incharge of Bhakkra and Savistan. Ain-ul-Malik proved to be efficient administrator and implemented the reforms of the Sultan with great zeal in his territories. The agriculture, industry and commerce flourished and the cournty enjoyed prosperity. The other notable governors were Zia-ul-Malik of Sirhind and Malik Qabul Quran Khan of Samana during the reign of Firoz Tughlaq.

Weakened by illness and old age, Firoz increasingly became dependent on his Wazir, Khan-i-Jahan, who created an atmosphere of distrust and intrigues at the court. The struggle regarding the succession began during the last days of Firoz Shah and continues after his death. A number of weak successors came to the throne but their short reigns were not very eventful. From 1388 A.D. to 1412 A.D the following Tughlaq rulers came into power: Ghiyas-ud-Din (1387-88), Abu Bakr (1389-90), Muhammad Shah (1390-93), Sikandar Shah (1394-95), Nasir-ud-Din Muhmud Shah(1394-1412). During this period, the kingdom was distracted by factions and serious disorders. The empire rapidly fell into pieces and Sultan’s influence was reduced to a small are around Delhi alone.