Sad saga of looting ! ~ Nigeria is a tinderbox of deep social and economic grievances

A Nation is represented by its people, rulers and its culture !! Civilization may not be about development but should be more about the culture and development of humans in a society to live happily and let others too to live peacefully !  Sad many parts of the globe already reeling under the ill-effects of Covid 19 are no peace havens with different groups spoiling harmony, for different reasons.

A decade or so ago, in our dollar city, the textile kingdom on the banks of Noyyal river – Tirupur, part of Kongu Nadu, there were concerning news that Nigerians who had come as workers were  causing trouble – the TV news showed groups of Nigerians as causing trouble to the womenfolk, threatening traders and taking away material at will without making any payment.   Around that time, TN Police went on a fresh enumeration of Nigerians staying in Tirupur knitwear cluster following  arrest of Michael Odinnaka alias Michael Okke, a Nigerian national, on the charges of sending heroin through a courier office at Erode.  In 2009, it was reported that there were only four registered Nigerians (i.e. those staying legally on business visas)  in the entire district. There was another news of a Nigerian national punching a police 53 year old sub-inspector.  Following the incident few Nigerians were picked up from the Kadar Pettai retail market  which is known to sell inferior quality goods.   At that time 9 Nigerians were arrested  for illegal stay in the country.  Police officials stated that they were arrested under Foreigners’ Act 1946.

Jos  is a city in the Middle Belt of Nigeria.  Popularly called "J-Town", it is the administrative capital and largest city of Plateau State.  The Federal Republic of Nigeria  comprising 36 states has Abuja as its capita.  The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, the seventh most populous country in the world, and the most populous country in the world in which the majority of the population is black. In terms of religion Nigeria is roughly split half and half between Muslims in the North and Christians in the South; a very small minority practice traditional religion. Since 2002 there have been a spate of clashes, particularly in the North of the country, between government forces and the Islamists Boko Haram, militant jihadists who seek to establish sharia law.  The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin, Chad, Cameroon  and Niger.  Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, the seventh most populous country in the world.  Nigeria is in news – for wrong reasons !!

Three weeks of protests in Nigeria that provoked a violent response from the military have been followed by a looting spree, highlighting the divide between the nation’s rulers and its poverty-stricken citizens. The fault lines were evident before the discord surfaced on Oct. 5. About half of Nigeria’s 200 million people live on less than $2 a day despite the nation being Africa’s largest oil producer, and 55% are either jobless or under-employed. Rampant poverty has been exacerbated by the coronavirus and restrictions imposed to curb its spread.

In what is being projected as extreme civilian unrest, thousands of anti-government protesters went on a looting spree in  an aid warehouse in Nigeria and accused ministers of 'hiding food' after shortages caused by Covid lockdowns.   Thousands of people have been filmed ransacking a food aid warehouse in Nigeria amid widespread unrest in the African country. The warehouse, located in the city of Jos, was targeted at the weekend after angry demonstrators accused the government of 'hiding' food aid from them.  Footage shows people clambering on the roof of the warehouse, ripping off corrugated metal panels and then throwing out food sacks to the crowd. The warehouse in Jos is just one among a string of similar buildings to be hit, with almost a third of the country's 36 states reporting raids on food aid. Those raiding the warehouse accused the government of hiding food supplies from them, in a country that has been wracked by shortages of basic supplies during coronavirus lockdowns. 

The warehouse in Jos was just the latest in a long line of similar buildings that have been hit, with another looted in the capital of Abuja on Monday as authorities appealed for calm.   People were filmed carrying away 50kg sacks of grains and rice as the warehouse was stripped of supplies. Ministers denied hiding the food, and said they were in the process of distributing it.   But amid widespread anti-government protests and in the wake of peaceful activists being shot dead as security services watched on, people were not buying it.  One person at the Jos food warehouse told France24: 'How can we have such a wicked government, where their citizens are dying of starvation and they hide these relief materials from them?

There is hunger and starvation because there is high inflation of food prices in the market and not everyone can afford to buy due to lack of employment and poor wages and salaries.' Another who was present during the Abuja raid on Monday added: 'We are hungry, you understand. 'There is plenty of food in this country but people are suffering. The government is cheating us by parking away this food. We are not stealing, it's our food and our right.' According to the Nigerian government, more than half of the country's population was forced to take out loans to pay for food during lockdown earlier this year.  Meanwhile 68 per cent of households experienced moderate or severe food insecurity during August, even after the lockdown had eased.  A coalition of state governors has denied allegations of graft and said the supplies were held back as a 'strategic reserve' in case of a second wave of the virus.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday appealed for 'peace' as authorities struggled to halt the looting. A statement from the presidency said Buhari backed a judicial inquiry in Lagos 'to give justice to peaceful protesters who lost their lives, security men who were murdered' and those who lost property in days of violence. The leader 'appealed to the people all over the country to maintain peace and brotherhood as the machinery of the government and the wheel of justice turn against the perpetrators', it said. Peaceful demonstrations against police brutality erupted in Nigeria on October 8 and snowballed into one of the biggest challenges to the ruling elite in decades. Chaos spiralled after security forces on Tuesday opened fire on peaceful demonstrators in the centre of Lagos, sparking international outrage and days of rioting in Africa's biggest city.

Buhari has faced fierce criticism for failing to publicly address Tuesday's shooting of protesters, in which Amnesty International says the army and police killed 12 people. The situation has calmed in economic hub Lagos after days of violence that saw official buildings torched, supermarkets looted and vehicles destroyed. But authorities over the weekend struggled to halt a wave of looting in a number of regions as crowds defied curfew orders to ransack government warehouses. The presidency said 229 suspects accused of looting and destroying property were set to face prosecution in Lagos.

Nigeria is a tinderbox of deep social and economic grievances with around half of the estimated 200 million population living in extreme poverty. Frustration runs deep among younger generations furious with the country's graft-riddled leadership over a lack of opportunities.  .. .. .. and that speaks ill of the Nation and its rulers ! 

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
29.10.2020.

  

ever heard of this war in Australia - this day 88 years ago !!

How good were you as a student of History in Schools ~ WE read more about Battle of Plassey and Battles at Panipat ! – have never heard of this ‘war’ conducted this month, 88 years ago – down under !!

Military involvement was due to begin in Oct 1932.  The "war" was conducted under the command of Major G. P. W. Meredith of the Seventh Heavy Battery of the Royal Australian Artillery, with Meredith commanding soldiers Sergeant S. McMurray and Gunner J. O'Halloran, armed with two Lewis guns and 10,000 rounds of ammunition.  The operation was delayed, however, by a period of rainfall and started after the rains stopped in 2 November 1932 !

The emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the second-largest living bird by height, after its ratite relative, the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus Dromaius. The emu's range covers most of mainland Australia, but the Tasmanian, Kangaroo Island and King Island subspecies became extinct after the European settlement of Australia in 1788.  Emus are soft-feathered, brown, flightless birds with long necks and legs, and can reach up to 1.9 metres (6.2 ft) in height. Emus can travel great distances, and when necessary can sprint at 50 km/h (31 mph); they forage for a variety of plants and insects, but have been known to go for weeks without eating.  

Is it a distinct trait of the State – to get lured by fast promises, put all their money and then cry hoarse when they are cheated ? -  Why don’t people realize that ‘you can never get any unrealistic % of yield in any business’ and that one should only do the business which is known to them or atleast the one which they can understand – and not leave things to others and then blame the others for not paying !  What else and how can people wait – almost a decade ago ! - they went in large numbers lured by the advertisements in Coimbatore, with no exception in Krishnagiri, Pollachi, Mettupalayam, Tirupur, Perundurai, Dharapuram and Salem – all dreaming it to be a viable option.  The farms and vacant lands were soon turned to Emu farms with security deposit and investment raised either from farm money or by loans at a high % of interest. ~ Public memory is so short that they perhaps have forgotten in 5 years.

Those were the days when people  from Agriculture, to Spinning and textile mills – all requiring knowledge and labour, got lured and ran after  Emu rearing believing it to be an easy paying option and shortly reality slapped them on face ..  the economies of scale also hurt – as reportedly the meat price came down heavily with more emu meat available in the market.  The oil processing and other industrial ventures would remain only in newspaper advertisements.  It was a bubble waiting to burst ! – people have invested in cine-field; finance companies termed as ‘blade companies’; multi-level marketing not selling any product but asking them to enlist more people in chain; and many other similar activities.

                                   It was the turn of thousands of  farmers, to get  lured by private firms – and they promptly lined up, queuing up to invest in emu farms in Salem and Erode in the hope of making a quick buck, investing life savings or borrowing money to start a business.   Within a few months, farmers started complaining that they were suffering losses and were being cheated. There had been  advertisements in television channels and newspapers  offering freebies and mentioning ‘rag to riches’ stories and people started investing without knowing ‘what Emu was’ and the ‘nuances of Emu farming’.  They got carried by empty prattles of some Firms offering the chicks and buying the same back at a higher price after a few months !!  - they believed that emus would grow big, inturn making them richer, which was not to happen……….  They got carried by the offer of Emu Farms,  demanding  Rs 1.5 lakh as deposits and the promised return of  Rs 6,000 per month for three years and – as a freebie,  a gold coin.     .. .. .. and more easily gullible with star actors who preach wisdom in their speeches endorsed this product.

In 2012 - in Perundurai, the emu hub, all 28 firms involved in the dubious business remained closed. Anxious investors were seen outside many of the closed firms with signed contracts, hoping to get some answers. More than 500 victims thronged the head office of Susi Emu Farms in the morning, shouting slogans demanding the return of their money. They raised slogans against the owner of the farm  and film personalities Sarath Kumar and Sathyaraj ( one TOI report erroneously named Bhagyaraj as one of the brand ambassadors), who promoted the business through television advertisements. The protestors blocked the road in front of the office. Police pacified the agitators, taking them to a marriage hall located nearby, so that they could register their complaints with them. : https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/coimbatore/Emu-farming-scam-Main-culprit-on-the-run/articleshow/15413524.cms

It was rank foolishness on the part of people to have invested their hard earned money, without ever thinking ! – they say that got lured by advertisements.  Just as you have IPL heroes promoting all and sundry brands, you had cinema actors promoting Emu farms.  In a first of its kind case in Tamil Nadu, well known Tamil actors Sarathkumar and Sathyaraj, both brand ambassadors of Susi Emu Farms in Perundurai  reportedly were  booked on charges of “criminal conspiracy.” The film stars had appeared in advertisements endorsing the fancy schemes of the firm which has now been accused of defaulting several crore rupees due to thousands of depositors from various parts of the State.

Breeding takes place in May and June, and fighting among females for a mate is common. Females can mate several times and lay several clutches of eggs in one season. The male does the incubation; during this process he hardly eats or drinks and loses a significant amount of weight. The eggs hatch after around eight weeks, and the young are nurtured by their fathers. They reach full size after around six months, but can remain as a family unit until the next breeding season. The emu is an important cultural icon of Australia, appearing on the coat of arms and various coins. The bird features prominently in Indigenous Australian mythology.

The Emu War, also known as the Great Emu War, was a nuisance wildlife management military operation undertaken in Australia over the latter part of 1932 to address public concern over the number of emus said to be running amok in the Campion district of Western Australia. The unsuccessful attempts to curb the population of emus, a large flightless bird indigenous to Australia, employed soldiers armed with Lewis guns—leading the media to adopt the name "Emu War" when referring to the incident. While a number of the birds were killed, the emu population persisted and continued to cause crop destruction.

Following World War I, large numbers of discharged veterans who served in the war were given land by the Australian government to take up farming within Western Australia, often in agriculturally marginal areas. With the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, these farmers were encouraged to increase their wheat crops, with the government promising—and failing to deliver—assistance in the form of subsidies. In spite of the recommendations and the promised subsidies, wheat prices continued to fall, and by October 1932 matters were becoming intense, with the farmers preparing to harvest the season's crop while simultaneously threatening to refuse to deliver the wheat.

The difficulties facing farmers were increased by the arrival of as many as 20,000 emus.  Emus regularly migrate after their breeding season, heading to the coast from the inland regions. With the cleared land and additional water supplies being made available for livestock by the Western Australian farmers, the emus found that the cultivated lands were good habitat, and they began to foray into farm territory—in particular the marginal farming land around Chandler and Walgoolan.

The emus consumed and spoiled the crops, as well as leaving large gaps in fences where rabbits could enter and cause further problems. Farmers relayed their concerns about the birds ravaging their crops, and a deputation of ex-soldiers were sent to meet with the Minister of Defence, Sir George Pearce. Having served in World War I, the soldier-settlers were well aware of the effectiveness of machine guns, and they requested their deployment. The minister readily agreed, although with conditions attached: the guns were to be used by military personnel, troop transport was to be financed by the Western Australian government, and the farmers would provide food, accommodation, and payment for the ammunition.  Pearce also supported the deployment on the grounds that the birds would make good target practice,   A cinematographer from Fox Movietone  too was enlisted.  

Despite the problems encountered with the cull, the farmers of the region once again requested military assistance in 1934, 1943, and 1948, only to be turned down by the government. Instead, the bounty system that had been instigated in 1923 was continued, and this proved to be effective: 57,034 bounties were claimed over a six-month period in 1934.  By December 1932, word of the Emu War had spread, reaching the United Kingdom. Some conservationists there protested the cull as "extermination of the rare emu". Dominic Serventy and Hubert Whittell, the eminent Australian ornithologists, described the "war" as "an attempt at the mass destruction of the birds".

The history of mankind has seen many wars between Nations, ethnics, some fratricidal too – but perhaps this war against flightless defenceless Emus was cruel to say the least ! 

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
2^nd Nov. 2020.

Remembering the sacrifice and fighting spirit of “Vasudev Balwant Phadke”

British who came as traders, conquered our motherland and ruled it for centuries~ they were so clever and cunning that they wiped out our National identity, culture, symbols and ensured that we were tuned to act in the way they wanted !  .. .. the great rising of 1857 was described and ingrained in our minds to be more of ‘Sepoy Mutiny’ – an uncoordinated attempt by a few !  and not seen as the First war of Independence.  The only freedom fighters we read in History was Indian National Congress as freedom was obtained without ‘drop of blood’.. .. in reality there were thousands of glorious country men who sacrificed their lives but were largely neglected.  If you have a different opinion, please touch your heart and say – have we ever heard of a great freedom fighter “Vasudev Balwant Phadke” in our history books or elsewhere !!

 

 

While many freedom fighters when arrested were kept in State guest houses or their own homes and could pen letters to their kin – there were others who were sent to prisons – far away from their places and were tortured.  One would immediately think of Andaman Cellular prison and its prisoners like Batukeshwar Dutt, Yogendra Shukla and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, among others.  Some famous inmates of the Cellular Shukla, Batukeshwar Dutt, Maulana Ahmadullah, Babarao Savarkar,  Sachindra Nath Sanyal, Bhai Parmanand, Shadan Chandra Chatterjee, Sohan Singh, Subodh Roy, Vaman Rao Joshi and Nand Gopal.  Several revolutionaries tried in the Alipore Case (1908) such as Barindra Kumar Ghose, Upendra Nath Banerjee, Birendra Chandra Sen too were lodged there. It is written that though Savarkar brothers Babarao and Vinayak were lodged there for two years at the same time, they would not know of each other’s presence.  

Miles away lies Aden, a port city and capital of Yeman since 2015,   located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some 170 km (110 mi) east of Bab-el-Mandeb.  Surprised to know that the hero of the post was kept in prison here !!

The modern day Legislators earn good fee as salary and perks (some of them have wealth beyond imagination too !) – but the way they care for our freedom fighters !!  - in 2004, there was an newsitem that freeze has at last been applied on more portraits in the already-cluttered Central Hall in Parliament !  Six of them of poets, patriots and politicians were added in August 2003 which took the total to 30.  Accommodating more would have defied the aesthetic sensibilities !  The Committee on Statues and Portraits  decided that while there would be a formal unveiling of a portrait, with flowers and speeches, they would not be housed in the main complex and instead, shifted to a new gallery in Parliament  library building.  One would be tempted to ask – if there is no place for those who fought and sacrificed for the Nation – where is the need for that building at all !!

Vasudev Balwant Phadke was undoubtedly among the first brigade of Indian revolutionaries and soldiers of freedom. His life was a saga of toil, sweat, blood and tears, the prototype of many martyrs after him. When even learned Pundits and great political leaders faltered in proclaiming our ideal of absolute political independence, Vasudev Balwant openly proclaimed it. He was the first Indian leader to go from village to village to preach the mantra of swara} and to exhort the people to rebel against foreign rule.   Most portraits of the late 19th-century revolutionary Vasudev Balwant Phadke depict him with big brooding eyes, a ragged face and a bulky body. His posture signifies that he is a man with ferocious intent and purpose. Known as one of India’s first independence activists, the stories about Phadke valiantly fighting the British with a band of members of the Ramoshi community have created a mythic, cult-like status around him: to some, he is a modern-day avatar of Shivaji, a progenitor of Hindu civilisational supremacy.

Phadke’s arrival on the political scene in the second part of the 19th century coincides with the arrival of new narratives in Western India.  Phadke’s rebellion of 1877 was the first Hindu rebellion after 1857 and his autobiography as the first-ever Marathi work about a rebellion against the British.  Attaining Swaraj was not just a political matter for Phadke. Spirituality was deemed crucial to give pure meaning to militant action.  Phadke’s influence was so powerful that the young Lokmanya Tilak is said to have taken sword-fighting lessons and participated in physical exercises overseen by the revolutionary.   Inspired by Phadke, several others  congregated at the premises of local temples to chart out their future for fighting for freedom of the Nation. 

Vasudev Balwant Phadke (4 Nov 1845 – 17 Feb 1883) was an Indian independence activist and revolutionary who sought India's independence from the British Raj. Phadke was moved by the plight of the farming community and believed that Swaraj was the only remedy for their ills.  He formed  a revolutionary group of the Ramoshi people. The group started an armed struggle to overthrow the British Raj, launching raids on rich English businessmen to obtain funds for the purpose. Phadke came to prominence when he got control of the city of Pune for a few days after catching British soldiers off-guard during one a surprise attack.

In 1845,  Phadke was in Shirdhon village of Panvel taluka, now in Raigad district, Maharashtra.  As a child, he preferred learning skills like wrestling, riding over high school education.   Krantiveer Lahuji Vastad Salve a then prominent social figure based in Pune was his mentor. Salve, an expert wrestler.  It was during this period that Phadke began attending lectures by Mahadeo Govind Ranade which mainly focused on how the British Raj policies hurt the Indian economy.   In 1870, he joined a public agitation in Pune that was aimed at addressing people's grievances. Phadke founded an institution, the Aikya Vardhini Sabha, to educate the youth.  

Phadke was one the earliest person graduate from a British established institution in Bombay presidency. In 1860, along with fellow social reformers and revolutionaries Laxman Narhar Indapurkar and Waman Prabhakar Bhave, Phadke co-founded the Poona Native Institution (PNI) which was later renamed as the Maharashtra Education Society (MES). Through the PNI, he went on set up Bhave School in Pune. Today, the MES runs over 77 institutions in various parts of Maharashtra.

In 1875, after the then Gaekwad ruler of Baroda was deposed by the British, Phadke launched protest speeches against the government. Severe famine coupled with the evident apathy of the British administration propelled him to tour the Deccan region, urging people to strive for a free republic. He organised around 300 men into an insurgent group that aimed at liberating India from British rule. Phadke intended to build an army of own but lacking funds they decided to break into government treasuries. The first raid was done in a village called Dhamari in Shirur taluka in Pune district.   Impressed by his zeal and determination, the villagers of Nanagaum offered him protection and cover in the local forest. The general plot would be to cut off all the communications of British forces and then raid the treasury. The main purpose of these raids was to feed famine-affected farmer communities.  

Meanwhile,  Daulatrav Naik, who was the main supporter of Phadke, headed towards the Konkan area on the western coast.  In May 1879, they raided Palaspe and Chikhali, looting around 1.5 lakh rupees. While returning towards Ghat Matha, Major Daniel attacked Naik, and shot him dead.   Phadke's plans to organise several simultaneous attacks against the British Raj nationwide were met with very limited success. He once had a direct engagement with the British army in the village of Ghanur, whereafter the government offered a bounty for his capture. Not to be outdone, Phadke in turned offered a bounty for the capture of the Governor of Bombay, announced a reward for the killing of each European, and issued other threats to the government. He then fled to Hyderabad State.    A British Major, Henry William Daniell and Abdul Haque, Police Commissioner to the Nizam of Hyderabad, pursued the fleeing Phadke day and night. The British move to offer a bounty for his capture met with success: someone betrayed Phadke, and he was captured in a temple after a fierce fight at the district of Kaladgi on 20 July 1879 while he was on his way to Pandharpur

He was  taken to Pune for trial. Ganesh Vasudeo Joshi, also known as Sarvajanik Kaka, defended his case.    Phadke was transported to jail at Aden, but escaped from there in Feb  1883. He was soon recaptured and then went on a hunger strike, dying on 17 February 1883.

Phadke became known as the father of the Indian armed rebellion in that he provided the inspiration for fellow freedom fighters. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's patriotic novel Anand Math incorporated various contemporary acts of patriotism performed by Phadke during his freedom struggle. As the British government did not like this, Bankim had to print up to five editions of the book to tone down these stories.  In 1984, the Indian Postal Service issued a 50 paise stamp in honour of Phadke.  A chowk in South Mumbai near Metro Cinema is named in his honour.  VS Joshi’s Marathi biography Adya Krantikarak (First Revolutionary),   is a prime example of   that militant phase in India’s freedom struggle.      

Instead of remembering these action heroes and reading their life history for inspiration, we sadly slipped into reading Simon Commission, Mercy of Cawning and plans of Dalhousie among other things as History in our Text books.   To fully understand the sacrifices of Phadkes and others -  legacy must be considered against the backdrop of the tumultuous historical period of late 19th century India.

Jai Hind ! ~ salute those numerous warriors whose blood and sacrifice gave us freedom.

With respects to all of them – S. Sampathkumar

4.11.2020. 

CSK `காலிப் பெருங்காய டப்பா’ !! ~ never knew Asafoetida is only imported !!

In game, losses do happen .. ..yet fans find it so difficult to accept that CSK too could crash out of IPL and are so angry !  நண்பர் ஒருவர் கோவத்தில் உதித்த பதிவு .. 'இவர்கள் பழைய பெருங்காய டப்பா'  

Ferula (from Latin ferula, 'rod') is a genus of about 170 species of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae, native to the Mediterranean region east to central Asia, mostly growing in arid climates. They are herbaceous perennial plants growing to 1–4 m tall, with stout, hollow, somewhat succulent stems. The leaves are tripinnate or even more finely divided, with a stout basal sheath clasping the stem. The flowers are usually yellow, rarely white, produced in large umbels. .. .. and   we use its product every day – remember your sweet-smelling Pongal, sambar, rasam, pickles  and various condiments !  .. .. can you connect, what ? .. more – we buy this commodity certainly everymonth in our households – may be 100 gms could cost close to Rs.1000 depending on the quality and brand !

Not the plant but this spice is used as a digestive aid, in food as a condiment, and in pickling. It plays a critical flavoring role in Indian vegetarian cuisine by acting as a savory enhancer.  Used along with turmeric, it is a standard component of lentil curries, such as dal, chickpea curries, and vegetable dishes, especially those based on potato and cauliflower. Asafoetida (பெருங்காயம்)  is used in vegetarian Indian  especially  South Indian cuisine where it enhances the flavor of numerous dishes, where it is quickly heated in hot oil before sprinkling on the food.   It is sometimes used to harmonise sweet, sour, salty, and spicy components in food. The spice is added to the food at the time of tempering. Sometimes dried and ground asafoetida (in small quantities) can be mixed with salt and eaten with raw salad.

In its pure form, it is sold in the form of chunks of resin, small quantities of which are scraped off for use. The odor of the pure resin is so strong that the pungent smell can impact  other spices stored nearby if it is not stored in an airtight container.

வெத்து வேட்டாய் தோற்று பயனில்லாதவர்களை - `காலிப் பெருங்காய டப்பா’ என சொல்ல கேட்டிருப்போம்.  அதாவது ஒரு காலத்தில் சிறப்பாய்  இருந்து, இன்று பலராலும் ஏளனப்படுத்தப்படுவது !  பெருங்காயம் சாதாரணமானது அல்ல.  சமையலுக்கு மணமூட்டும்.  அரிய மருத்துப்பலன்களை  கொண்டதாக கருதப்படுகிறது.  .  பெருங்காயத்தின் மணத்தை முகர்ந்து முகம் சுளித்த அமெரிக்கர்கள், ஒரு காலத்தில் அதை ஏளனப்படுத்தினார்களாம்.   இப்போது உலகத்தை  நம்மைப் பயமுறுத்திவரும் கொரோனா போல,  சென்ற நூற்றாண்டில்   ஸ்பானிஷ் ஃப்ளூ (Spanish Flu) பல்லாயிரம் பேரைக் கொன்று குவித்த போது பெருங்காயம் மருந்தாக பயன்பட்டதாம்.  

The English name is derived from asa, a latinised form of Persian azā, meaning "resin", and Latin foetidus meaning "smelling, fetid", which refers to its strong sulfurous odour.  It is called perunkayam (பெருங்காயம்) in Tamil, hinga (हिंग) in Marathi, hengu (ହେଙ୍ଗୁ) in Odia, hiṅ (হিং) in Bengali, ingu (ಇಂಗು) in Kannada, kāyaṃ (കായം) in Malayalam (it was attested as raamadom in the 14th century), inguva (ఇంగువ) in Telugu, and hīng (हींग) in Hindi.   Its pungent odour has resulted in its being known by some  unpleasant names too.   In English it is sometimes called Devil's dung, and equivalent names can be found in most Germanic languages . 

Asafoetida   is the dried latex (gum oleoresin) exuded from the rhizome or tap root of several species of Ferula (F. foetida and F. assa-foetida).   They are part of the celery family, Umbelliferae. Notably, asafoetida is thought to be in the same genus as silphium, a North African plant now believed to be extinct, and was used as a cheaper substitute for that historically important herb from classical antiquity. The species are native to the deserts of Iran and mountains of Afghanistan where substantial amounts are grown.    Asafoetida was familiar in the early Mediterranean, having come by land across Iran. It entered Europe from an expedition of Alexander the Great, who, after returning from a trip to northeastern ancient Persia, thought they had found a plant almost identical to the famed silphium of Cyrene in North Africa—though less tasty.   After the Roman Empire fell, until the 16th century, asafoetida was rare in Europe, and if ever encountered, it was viewed as a medicine.  

Hing or asafoetida is a key part of the cuisine in many parts of India, but so far, it has had to be imported from countries like Afghanistan, Iran and Uzbekistan, because it was never grown locally. (news to me – all along I thought it comes from southern village !!) But now, scientists from the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have planted hing saplings in Himachal Pradesh, in the hope that cultivation of the spice will become a common practice in India.

Even though India consumes 40 per cent of the world’s hing, no attempt had been made to start its cultivation locally. However, since 2016, Sanjay Kumar, director of CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT) in Palampur, has been working on growing asafoetida locally. “India imports nearly 1,200 tonnes of ferula asafoetida, amounting to nearly US $130 million every year,” Kumar told The Print. “That is a huge amount to pay for just one spice.” Moreover, there have been many times when war and strife has prevented Iran and Afghanistan from exporting hing. “Hing from Kabul has become part of the tradition, no one thought about cultivating it in India. Several people in India claim that we do have ferula species in India — but those are not the real varieties. In the last 30 years, no one has imported hing seeds into this country,” Kumar said.

Himachal’s Lahaul and Spiti district is also a cold desert with climate similar to Afghanistan, making it ideal for hing cultivation. The CSIR team has started the project on about 500 hectares of land, but it will take four to five years before the homegrown hing achieves the same quality as what is imported from Iran or Afghanistan. If the pilot is successful, the scientists want to expand the cultivation to Ladakh, parts of Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh. Kumar and his fellow scientists are working closely with government officials of Himachal Pradesh to train the local farmers about the correct way to cultivate the spice.

“There is no scientific literature available on how to grow asafoetida. So, we developed the agrotechnology of this plant — we know precisely how this plant is germinated, and how it should be transplanted. We conducted training programmes for the farmers and state officials,” Sanjay Kumar said. He explained that the plant can only be seen above the surface for one or two months, after which it gets buried under snowfall, and goes into a state of hibernation. “At this point, from past experience with other types of cultivation, we know that farmers are likely to become impatient. They might start digging to check, but once the plant gets disturbed, the quality of the hing will not be good. We have to make sure farmers understand this,” he said.

Apart from this, farmers are also being trained on how to irrigate the plant, which mostly survives on the moisture from melting snow. Farmers are also being discouraged from using chemical fertilisers, and being asked to only work with animal dung. Using funds provided by the state government to the tune of Rs 4 crore, IHBT has set up a tissue culture lab that can quickly grow lakhs of saplings. This way, eventually, India will not even need to import asafoetida seeds from other countries, Kumar said.

Though we may not know the history behind, for sure LG Perungayam has been part of our house for ages !  Laljee Godhoo and Co. was started in 1894 by Shri Laljee Godhoo. At that time the company exclusively dealt in ‘Lumps’ of Hing (Asafoetida) that was prepared manually by hundreds of workers employed by the company. At the time, no sophisticated machinery was used. Goods were prepared by churning products by hand. Sale of ‘Laljee Godhoo & Co.’ Asafoetida initially started in Mumbai, after which it spread to South India which is our primary market today. This was accomplished by Shri Khimji Laljee, with the aid of a Gujarati family settled in Chennai.

Laljee Godhoo & Co. opened its doors to the Southern Markets by establishing its First branch in Nagapattnam (currently non-operational), followed by Kumbakonam and then Chennai.  The years 1976-1978 brought about some crucial changes for the company. With the evolution of a busier lifestyle where women had no time to dry and grind the lumps to get the perfect powdered texture, we wished to provide our customers with just the right product which would provide the same taste without effort or delay.  With the introduction of Compounded Asafoetida in Powder Form in 1978 and with this, LG also introduced the 50gm bottle of Compounded Asafoetida which is seen in almost every household today.

Interesting ! 

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
21.10.2020.