Indian history unveiled ! ~ ever heard of 'battle of Khanwa' !!

 9 Nov 2019, is a landmark day ~ a Red lettered day ..   Supreme Court of India  quashed the lower court's judgement and ordered the 2.77 acre land to be handed over to a trust to build the Hindu temple.  The much-awaited verdict on the decades-long Ram-Janmabhoomi -Babri Masjid suit stands judicially resolved.  Ram Bakths are happy that a beautiful Mandir will come up exactly in the place of His birth ~ and in our lifetime, we would be able to have darshan of Ram Lalla at His Janmasthan.   

The other litigant too would not be too unhappy – they have been asked to vacate and provided a bigger place of 5 acres.  There have been some who had tried to project it as a great conflict in history – that of Ram vs Babar.  Sad that we read only history of Moghuls hailing Babar – here is something which I never read in school ! ~ but deeply recorded in history ! – sure, you know   Keoladeo National Park [better known as Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary]  in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, a famous avifauna sanctuary that hosts thousands of birds, especially during the winter season. Over 230 species of birds are known to be resident. It is also a major tourist centre with scores of ornithologists arriving here in the hibernal season.  It is  a man-made and man-managed wetland and one of the national parks of India. The reserve protects Bharatpur from frequent floods, provides grazing grounds for village cattle, and earlier was primarily used as a waterfowl hunting ground.  .. most of us never knew that this was the stage for a famous battle too - The Battle of Khanwa  !!   Bharatpur  was also an independent princely state during British rule  and that they  fought 13 back to back war with British and won all - even Queen Victoria signed a treaty favouring jats and declared Bharatpur a independent state.

In our school books, we read Battle of Panipat, dynasty founded by Babar, followed Humayun, Akbar to Aurangazeb .. .. here is something more of history -

Humayun, son of Babar born out of  Maham Begum, succeeded Babur as the second Mughal Emperor.  His other siblings were – Kamran, Askari, Hindal, Ahmad, Shahrukh, Barbul, Alwar & FaruQ – Mirzas. There were sisters too : Begum - Fakhr-un-Nissa, Aisan, Mehr Jahan, Masuma Sultan, Gulzar, Gulrukh, Gulbadan, Gulchera, Gulrang, .. .. .. all these before Babur died in Agra aged 47.  He was first buried in Agra later removed to Kabul.    Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad,  famously known as Babar was the  first Emperor of the Mughal dynasty.  He was a direct descendant of Emperor Timur (Tamerlane) from what is now Uzbekistan.

Babur was born in Andijan, in the Fergana Valley, in modern Uzbekistan. He was the eldest son of Umar Sheikh Mirza, governor of Fergana and great-great grandson of Timur. Babur ascended the throne of Fergana in its capital Akhsikent in 1494 at the age of twelve and faced rebellion. He conquered Samarkand two years later, only to lose Fergana soon after. In his attempt to reconquer Fergana, he lost control of Samarkand. In 1501, his attempt to recapture both the regions went in vain as he was defeated by Muhammad Shaybani Khan. In 1504, he conquered Kabul, which was under the rule of the infant heir of Ulugh Beg II. Babur formed a partnership with Safavid ruler Ismail I and reconquered parts of Turkistan, including Samarkand, only to again lose it and the other newly conquered lands to the Sheybanids.

After losing Samarkand for the third time, Babur turned his attention to India. At that time, the Indo-Gangetic Plain of the Indian subcontinent was ruled by Ibrahim Lodi of the Afghan Lodi dynasty, whereas Rajputana was ruled by a Hindu Rajput Confederacy, led by Rana Sanga of Mewar. Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi at the First Battle of Panipat in 1526 and founded the Mughal empire. He faced opposition from Rana Sanga.  Rana prepared an army of Rajputs and Afghans to force Babur out of India, however the Rana was defeated in the Battle of Khanwa after which he was poisoned to death by his own men  !!

Babur is considered a national hero in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Many of his poems have also become popular folk songs. He wrote the Baburnama in Chaghatai Turkic which was translated into Persian during Akbar's reign.  Of his many battles, in our history books we read of that ‘First Battle of Panipat’, on 21 April 1526, fought between the invading forces of Babur and the Lodi Kingdom. It marked the beginning of the Mughal Empire and the end of the Delhi Sultanate. This was one of the earliest battles involving gunpowder firearms and field artillery in the Indian subcontinent which were introduced by Mughals in this battle.

Intense but lesser known (or lesser read !) war was – the  Battle of Khanwa,  fought near the village of Khanwa, in Bharatpur District of Rajasthan, on March 16, 1527. It was fought between the invading forces of the Babur and the Rajput forces led by Rana Sanga of Mewar.   The victory in the battle consolidated the new Mughal dynasty in India.

Rajput ruler Rana Sanga had sent an ambassador to Babur at Kabul, offering to join in Babur's attack on Sultan Ibrahim Lodi of Delhi. Sanga had offered to attack Agra while Babur would be attacking Delhi.  Babur agreed to Sanga and attacked Lodi. However, while Babur did attack Lodi and took over Delhi and Agra, Sanga made no move, apparently having changed his mind. Babur had resented this backsliding; in his autobiography, Babur accuses Rana Sanga of breach of agreement. Historian Satish Chandra speculates that Sanga may have imagined a long, drawn-struggle taking place between Babur and Lodi, following which he would be able to take control of the regions he coveted. Alternatively, writes Chandra, Sanga may have thought that in the event of a Mughal victory, Babur would withdraw from Delhi and Agra, like Timur, once he had seized the treasures of these cities. Once he realized that Babur intended to stay on in India, Sanga proceeded to build a grand coalition that would either force Babur out of India or confine him to Afghanistan.

On 30 Jan 1528 Rana Sanga died in Chittor, apparently poisoned by his own chiefs, who held his plans of renewing the fight with Babur to be suicidal. It is suggested that Rana was valiant but was defeated with the use of cannons which were much modern than the warfare the artillery of Rana.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

12^th Nov. 2019.

exemplary commitment to service means .. .. ... !!

Sunday, 4th of  August, 2019  would ever remain  a gold letter day in the annals of SYMA history.  We have been aspiring, dreaming for this ~ ‘dreaming big or a big dream’.   SYMA has an unsaturated desire for serving the Society. SYMA [Srinivas Youngmen’s Association]  has been in the field of Social service since 1977 starting with street cleaning campaigns and keeping environment, more specifically, the temple tank and its surroundings clean.   We at SYMA, feel strongly the primary responsibility of improving the Society and helping the underprivileged. 

We have been dreaming of expanding ~ and the foremost impediment in realizing our endeavour was perhaps lack of space.  SYMA has been functioning in a 270 SFT approx premises at 29 TP Koil Street,   Opp to Bharathiyar  Illam.   On 4.8.2019  with the munificent support of Vasavi Builders, SYMA moved  to a sprawling premises at 37 Car Street, Triplicane, Chennai 600 005.  At an auspicious hour, the new building was opened and our services inaugurated by :  His Holiness Sri Sri Vadhikesari Azhagiya Manavala Jeeyar, Thirukachi.  The guests of honour were: Dr K Sridhar, Founder Trustee – SKKSM Trust; Director & Senior Consultant – Plastic Surgery, SIMS Hospital &         Sri M Balasubramanyam, Director, Mangal Tirth Estate Ltd

This is no post on SYMA medical centre or other activities but about a man, of whom the SYMA Office bearers have been talking today with concern – this man has really touched us all with his exemplary commitment – it is unlikely that most of us would have noticed him sitting here in the middle (a photo taken on 4.8.2019 when our new premises was inaugurated)

Whilst our thanks  are due to all our patrons and well-wishers and especially all those who have contributed in money and material for infrastructure creation in the new building, there are some silent workers who have contributed immensely too. 

By shifting to this new premises, we have seen a quantum leap in our varied services as also the no. of beneficiaries.  Primarily, we have our Medical Centre [5 to 7 pm – Rs. 2 hospital]; Medical analysis job; Physiotherapy centre; Dental Clinic; Gynaec advice, Eye care ~ really a mini-hospital.  Our Lab in Oct served 364 patients with 996 tests ( just missing 1000 tests ! perhaps  due to a day holiday), Medical center 851 (including Wednesday special consultation& Gynaec),  thanks to Dr Nagaiah Chetty, Dr.Varalakshmi ( Gyn), Pammal Sankara eye Hospital management, Physiotherapy for 100 patients thanks to Physiotherapist – the volumes have been growing exponentially.    In Sept 2019 – we had - Lab - 318 Persons 920 tests; Physio – 106; Dental – 166; Medical Centre and in Oct 2019 -  Lab - 364 Persons 996 tests; Physio – 100; Dental – 156; MC - 851.      

One would certainly wonder – how SYMA is managing .. .. yes, the expenditure has gone up so high – we are always supported by noble donors but handling such volumes is a gigantic task.  It is where SYMA scores – we have always had enthusiastic volunteers [Mrs Prema mami, Venkatesh  and Mr Rangarajan being outstanding among the many] and committed workers – for eg., Mrs Suguna Ramesh, Mrs Thara, Mrs Mahalakshmi, Ms Gayathri, Mr Rajkumar .. .. .. .. and for Admin, we after moving in here recruited Mr Jayasimhan.

Deepavali sweets to Rangarajan Sir, Jayasimhan, Mahalakshmi and Prema mami

A simple unassuming person, Jayasimhan has endeared himself to be close to every one of us – to the Doctors, patients and everyone visiting Medical Centre.  A seasoned disciplined retired person, he comes early in the day and is always available with a smile – raising the comfort to everyone in SYMA that the medical centre is administered and taken care of so very well.

This morning did not dawn well with the news of hospitalization of Mr Jayasimhan having suffered an heart-attack yesterday night.  He is in ICU and we all pray for his speedy recovery.  Sure, he would recover well and be back with us.

A couple of hours ago, saw this note from him addressed to TJ Ramani – a note from a man admitted for heart ailment and in ICU – ‘what a level of commitment’ – hats off to you Sir, you simple are a towering inspiration for all of us to continue service to the poor and downtrodden.

We pray for your speedy recovery Mr Jayasimhan Sir,  Come back soon – SYMA and the society needs you

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

Secretary, SYMA.

11^th Nov 2019.

Deepak Chahar's magical feat !

The wicket of Aminul Islam, clean bowled is significant ~ and if you ask what is great about the last batsman wicket – read on !

Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah elected to field first after winning the toss against India in the series deciding third T20I in Nagpur. Mahmudullah said that they want to field first as India likes to chase in this format. For the visitors, Mosaddek Hossain has been ruled out due to a groin injury, with Mohammad Mithun replacing him.  India has one change  Manish Pandey in place of allrounder Krunal Pandey.  One thought that Rishab Pant needs to be left out, so also Khaleel Ahmed and perhaps Shikhar Dhawan too .. .. Team management thought otherwise but reading the line up, one felt that India was clearly one bowler short !

Attacking half-centuries from KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer helped India reach 174 for five.., Shreyas Iyer and Rahul put on a crucial 59-run stand for the third wicket to give the hosts a challenging total in their 20 overs after India were invited to bat first in the final match of the series tied at 1-1. Shafiul Islam struck with two early blows including skipper Rohit Sharma for two and Shikhar Dhawan for 19 as India slipped to 35 for two.

Rahul then made 52 after raising his fifty in 33 balls as he hit seven fours before falling to paceman Al-Amin Hossain. Iyer made the most of a reprieve on nought when dropped by Aminul Islam off Shafiul to bring up his maiden T20 fifty and went on to score 62 off 33 deliveries. Iyer took the attack to the opposition with a flurry of sixes including three successive hits over the fence off Afif Hossain. He hit four fours and five sixes. Soumya Sarkar struck twice in an over to send back Rishabh Pant, for six, and then got Iyer's prized scalp. Manish Pandey, who replaced Krunal Pandya in the XI, played a useful cameo of 22 off 13 deliveries to stay unbeaten with Shivam Dube and set Bangladesh 175 to win.

The target was quite stiff and Bangladesh never looked winning ~ but what happened is history !!  ~   Litton Das and Soumya Sarkar were out in quick succession but from 12/2 they went to 110 .. .. but flurry of wickets in the end saw them all out for 144. 

Of the 5 bowlers, Khaleel and Washington Sundar went wicketless; Yuz Chahal had one taking him to the fastest Indian to 50 wickets in T20I.. Shivam Dubey was the unlikely hero with 3 wickets (was on a hattrick with 4-0-30-3)

.. .. it was CSK Deepak Chahar who stole the show ! ~ he reportedly was rejected by  Greg Chappell, who was director of the Rajasthan Cricket Association academy in 2008.   Deepak Chahar had remarkable  figures of 8 for 10 on Ranji debut and shot into stardom as Rajasthan skittled Hyderabad for 21, the lowest team total in Indian domestic cricket. He was later selected for CSK and today he had dream figures of 3.2-0-7-6 – including a hat-trick.

He joins the list of Bret Lee, Jacob Oram, tim Southee, Perera, S Malinga, Faheem Ashraf, Rashid Khan, Malinga, Mohd Hasnain, Khawar Ali, N Vanua – those who had taken hat-trick in T20I.

When Aminul Islam was bowled off the 2nd ball of the last over – it was his third consecutive wicket split between 18th and 20th overs.  Only 3 bowlers have taken 6 wickets in T20I – Ajantha Mendis twice and Ys Chahal once – now DL Chahar heads that list with a magical 3.2/0/7/6.

Hats off Chahar

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

10th Nov. 2019.

Lucknow hosts an One dayer not involving India on most significant day for the Nation

Who would be interested in a Cricket One dayer on most significant day of the Nation ~ the day on which the verdict on Rama Janmabhoomi was delivered !

As some may be following,  after trouncing South Africa, India is playing neighbouring Bangladesh who began the series by beating India in a T20I for the very first time, and they know they have every chance of going one better and winning the series.  The 3^rd and deciding match is to be played tomorrow  at Nagpur.  If there's a bit of grip in the surface, they have the spinners to exploit it, as well as a canny exponent of cutters in Mustafizur Rahman. Their batting is suited to a slower surface too, but they'll need to learn a few lessons from Rajkot, where they failed to build on a bright start and ended up - in their captain Mahmudullah's estimation - 25-30 runs short of a challenging total. 

Should India continue to repose faith on Rishab Pant is one Q ~  India have kept faith in Shikhar Dhawan as Rohit Sharma's partner at the top of the order despite KL Rahul making a strong case whenever he has had the chance to open. Dhawan has lately shown a greater willingness to take risks during the powerplay overs, and has tasted some success while doing so, both in the IPL and in recent T20I innings against West Indies and South Africa. Bangladesh, however, have managed to tie him down in this series by denying him width. How will he respond to that tactic in the decider?  Having conceded 81 runs in eight overs across the first two T20Is, Khaleel Ahmed has been the one misfiring component of an India attack that Bangladesh have otherwise found hard to get away for boundaries. The left-arm quick is a talented bowler and gives India a bit of variety, but they may choose to leave him out and play Shardul Thakur instead.   Yuzvendra Chahal needs four wickets to go past R Ashwin and become India's most prolific T20I bowler. Chahal currently has 49 in 33 games at an average of 20.89.

Today the whole Nation was incensed with the verdict.  The news flash that the Supreme Court would deliver on Saturday made everyone waiting to hear.     Reading the "unanimous" judgment on the Ayodhya title suit in a packed courtroom today, CJI Ranjan Gogoi opined that there is clear evidence that Hindus believe Lord Ram was born at the disputed site. "Babri Masjid was not constructed on vacant land. There was a structure underlying the disputed structure. The underlying structure was not an Islamic structure," the bench said.  The Supreme Court today  pronounced its verdict on the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi title suit, clearing the way for the construction of a Ram temple at the 2.77-acre disputed site in Ayodhya. A Supreme Court Constitution bench led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi dismissed the Shia Waqf Board's petition to be considered an appellant in the case as well as the claim of Nirmohi Akhara.  The Supreme Court order recognised the deity Ram Lalla's title rights to the  entire  2.77-acre Ayodhya land and directed the government that a trust be set up to manage the land's affairs, paving the path for the construction of a Ram temple. The Supreme Court has directed that the Sunni Waqf Board be given a five acres of land in Ayodhya for the construction of a mosque.

The Indian Railways has installed two 'Health ATMs' at the Charbagh railway station in Lucknow.   The kiosks, promoted by YOLO Health ATM, provide 16 health check-ups for Rs 50-100. There are two types of check-ups -- a 9-minute one that costs Rs 100, and a 6-minute one that costs Rs 50. The report is delivered instantly to the email or smartphone of the user. Health ATMs can be defined as private, walk-in medical kiosks with integrated medical devices for basic vitals, cardiology, neurology, pulmonary testing, gynecology, basic laboratory testing and emergency facilities and staffed by a medical attendant.

At Rajkot India played and defeated Australia in a T20I on 10.10.2013 chasing a mammoth 201.  In his second comeback after recovering from cancer, a leaner and fitter Yuvraj Singh was called upon to do a job he has done numerous times for India in ODIs - revive a floundering chase, with MS Dhoni for company, and only the lower order to follow. Only, this was a T20 and Yuvraj did not have the luxury of building his innings before accelerating. He duly cut out the building part, and unleashed trademark pick-up sixes and lofted drives to haul in the target of 202 with two deliveries remaining.  Nic Maddison made his debut.  An attacking batsman who is not afraid to go over the top, Nic Maddinson was a surprise inclusion in Australia's Test squad against South Africa in 2016-17.

Now comes the news that Nic Maddinson has withdrawn from the Australia A team to face Pakistan a three-day tour match in Perth for mental-health reasons. Maddinson, 27, has become the second player in recent weeks to step down from an Australian representative team due to mental-health issues after Glenn Maxwell stepped away from the T20 international squad during the series against Sri Lanka. Western Australia batsman Cameron Bancroft will replace Maddinson in the Australia A team for the day-night game at Perth Stadium. Australia A coach Graeme Hick said the squad was fully supportive of Maddinson's decision to withdraw. "Nic has made the right decision and we are all behind him," Hick was quoted in a statement. "It is braver to speak up than to suffer in silence and I applaud Nic for having the courage to put his health first.

West Indies overcame a spirited Afghanistan fight fuelled by Najibullah Zadran's half-century to win their first ODI series since Aug 2014. The key architects of their win in the second ODI were Nicholas Pooran and Roston Chase - the former leading an excellent lower-order rally to make 56 while the offspinning allrounder nicked out Afghanistan's top order in a superb spell of 3 for 30 to put the brakes, eventually resulting in a 47-run win.  Afghanistan would rue a number of opportunities, not least of all the double-strike following a sixth-wicket stand of 68 between Najibullah and Mohammad Nabi. Then Sheldon Cottrell had Najibullah nicking behind for 56 while attempting a slash to turn the scales. Needing 70 off 66 at that stage, legspinner Hayden Walsh had Nabi lbw next ball to extinguish any hopes of an Afghanistan rearguard. Walsh, who was only introduced in the 29th over, seemingly because Afghanistan had two set left-handers, finished with 3 for 36, including the final wicket to seal victory when Sharafuddin Ashraf holed out to Shimron Hetmyer at deep midwicket.

What could easily escape one’s attention is that both the ODI  between WI and Afghan were played at India at Lucknow and today’s match went uninterrupted least on a day when the Nation was hooked to Mandir judgment settling the century long pending issue.  The match was played at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.  It hosted its first International match, T20I between India and WI on 6 Nov 2018.    In that match Rohit Sharma became the first cricketer to score four centuries in T20Is. India won that match by 71 runs.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

9^th Nov. 2019