Archive for May 2nd, 2009

Kolkata Knight Riders

Saturday, 2nd May, 2009


Kolkata Knight Riders 

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Controversies Kolkata Knight Riders team has always remained in headlines not for its performance but for the controversies that had been created by the rifts between Sourabh Ganguly and the support staff of the team. Team owner Shahrukh Khan had tried to use Sourabh to gain tax exemptions from the

West Bengal government. But he had declined to do so. Another issue that had widened the rift between them was the issue of opening the batting. There are also some reports that reveal that Sourabh is not liked by KKR Coach John Buchanan.  Coach had been made more powerful by Shahrukh Khan as for as the selection of the team is concerned. It has further added more to the fire.  It is the caption who plays on the field and he knows well to adjust his players in the best way. But increased powers of Buchanan have created problems for the captains of the team.kolkata-knight-riders3.jpegMultiple-Captains Theory KKR’s IPL season 2009 has started with more controversies. John Buchanan’s theory of ‘multiple-captains’ was criticized by all the famous cricket players. But Shahrukh Khan had fully supported him. Prior to the start of the season Ganguly was removed from team’s captainship and

New Zealand
Wicket-keeper Brendon McCullum have been appointed the captain of the side. It must be noted that Brendon McCullum had started his IPL career by hitting sensational 158 runs in the first match of the team in 2008. He had remained not out in that match. But his appointment as the captain of the team has not solved the internal problems of KKR. Ganguly was not given any prior information about the decision. Some hidden KKR controversies have also come to surface. According to a revelation a racial rift between the coaches and players is also affecting team’s performance in the tournament.
 

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Team Former Indian Captain Sourabh Ganguly was the captain of the team and is also the icon player in the team. Brad Hodge, Brendon McCullum(Captain), Ishant Sharma, Ajantha Mendis, Chris Gayle, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and Moises Henriques are some other internationally famous players in the team. Sri Lankan spin-sensation Ajantha Mendis and

Bangladesh all-rounder Mashrafe Bin Mortaza were the new signings prior to the start of IPL season 2009. But in the presence of overseas players ‘desi’ players can not be under-estimated. Murali Kartik, Ajit Agarkar and Laxmi Ratan Shukla have remained impressive throughout the tournament. KKR has been badly affected by the absence of Pakistani players from the tournament. KKR won most of their matches on the basis of strong performances of Shoaib Akhtar and Sourabh Ganguly in IPL 2008. But whenever they could not perform well the team lost the matches. KKR has also the record of making the lowest run total of 67 runs on its name. They could not reach the semifinal in 2008. It could win only 6 matches out of 14 in that season. It had started its IPL season as the hot favorites of the tournament but fared badly in the tournament. Team’s franchisee is owned by Shahrukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment. Bollywood Actress Juhi Chawla and her husband Jai Mehta are the other co-partners.
 

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Pressure In IPL season 2009, KKR’s performance is worst as compared to the other teams. It has won only one match out of the total of 11 matches it has played till May 12. And with it, it has been ousted out of the semifinal race. With these figures it has become evident that without the leadership of Ganguly KKR’s performance has dipped. Ganguly had given a new aggressive look to the

India national team. His international experience is enough to boost the courage. But Shahrukh’s ‘multi-captains’ theory has kept most of the players under tremendous pressure. And this pressure has affected their performance adversely. It is the pressure created by the team owners and the support staff that is responsible for team’s present situation in the tournament.

Back To Vedas: Arya Samaj

Saturday, 2nd May, 2009

The Arya Samaj Movement was a great socio religious movement which aimed at reconstructing the modern Hindu society on the ideas contained in the four Vedas. It was founded by Swami Dayanand ideas on April 10, 1875 in Bombay. Two years later, he started the Arya Samaj at Lahore and its rapid growth quickly enabled it to eclipse the Bombay Arya Samaj and Lahore became the headquarters of the movement

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Dayanand started his active career of missionary work in 1866. He appealed to the people by public lecture and discourses against idolatry. polygamy and rigid caste system , pointing that these practices were not permissible by the ancient Dharma. The example of Keshub Chandra and Brahma Samaj persuaded him to carry on propaganda in the language of the people i.e., Hindi and not in Sanskrit. He published in 1874 his chief work, Satyarath prakash, in which he propounded his doctrines and set forth a critical examination of the various Indian creeds.

 

Dayanand’s watch word was “Back to Vedas”. He dreamed of a world order in which the Vedas would be accepted as the only revealed knowledge of God, the Arya nation would assume the leadership of all other nations and Aryavarta would have suzerainty over all other countries. Max Muller remarks,” he considered the Vedas not only divine inspired but as pre historic and prehuman.” to him everything continued in the Vedas was a perfect truth. He believed in unity of Godhead and held that there was no polytheism in the Vedas which are divine knowledge, that god should be worshiped spiritually and not images, and that salvation is emancipation from transmigration and Karma. He condemned Sharadhas as also pilgrimages.  He sanctified Agni which plays a prominent part in the Arya Samaj rituals of which the Havana sacrifice is the most characteristic feature.

 

Dayanand was first and foremost a great social and religious reformer. He was neither a political philosopher nor a politician. But there is no denying the fact that he occupies a great place in the development of political thinking in India. He gave the slogan of Swaraj or India for Indians. He wrote in Satyarath Prakash that no foreign government howsoever good can be equal to self government. He was the first to give the lesson of Swadeshi to the Indians, which was later followed by national leaders like Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi.

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The Arya Samaj was essentially a socio religious movement but it cannot be denied that it inspired political thought and action on many occasions.  The early Arya Samaj threw a good number of leaders who took living interest in political matters and gave full support to Indian freedom movement. The first to welcome the Indian National congress were the Arya Samajis.  They took to Swadeshi long before the Swadeshi movement that arose out of Curzon’s partition of Bengal. The first political agitation in the Punjab against the agrarian laws was led and inspired by the Arya Samajis in 1898. The first deportees from the Punjab on sedition charges were Lala Lajpat Rai and Ajit Sing who had been brought up in the Arya Samaj. . In 1909, a large number of Arya Samajists including Raja Jawala Prasad were prosecuted at Patiala for their anti government activities. Bhai Parmanad who was an ardent Arya Samajists was imprisoned on the change of possessing a description of making bombs.

 

The government from the very beginning looked upon the Arya Samaj with an eye of doubt and suspicion. It disliked its independent attitude, its propagation on self confidence and sense of self reliance. Some of the active members of the Arya Samaj who were in government service were the victims of the government policy of distrust. They were debarred from promotions and their transfer became frequent. There were made to understand that unless their attitude towards the government changed, they would continue to suffer. The government could not find fault with their official conduct so in open reports; they were always spoken of in high terms but in secret reports, their political morality and private propaganda were condemned. Their patriotism thus brought them into official disgrace. After suffering from persecution and discrimination they admitted their defeat and professed loyalty to the government.