Indian Citizenship Act ........ .......... what ? ! ?

Ever heard of Indian Citizenship Act ! ~ that has nothing to do with India !!

Movie is only a form of entertainment, yet there are some films / some scenes that move us. Shankar directed ‘Indian’ [Bharatheeyudu] was a good film.  To many the hero was not the young Kamal but the older Indian Senapathy. The flashback in black & white was really moving taking us to older days, especially the footage of the great Nethaji Subash Chandra Bose.  The story shows Senapathi as a young valiant fighter joining  Bose’s army with the full support of his wife Amirthavalli. The handful of Nation’s soil to be smeared on forehead daily is poetic.  Senapathi gets captured,  survives the brutalities and comes to back in free India riddled with corruption, and he fights that !!

Way back in Apr 1994, India played UAE – Atul Bedade and Bhupinder Singh debuted alongside 11 players for UAE – India won by 71 runs.  The Emirates' reply of 202 was more than respectable and lasted the full 50 overs. Riaz Poonawala opened for UAE raced to 22 from 14 balls, remember he played for India U25 against touring Australians in 1986 (an Indian turned UAE !)

Former India U-19 World Cup-winner Smit Patel has confirmed retiring from Indian cricket. Smit, who now lives in the US, was picked up by Barbados Tridents for the upcoming Caribbean Premier League (CPL). The update had sort of confirmed that he wasn't going to return to Indian domestic cricket as the BCCI's rules don't permit an Indian player to play overseas leagues. Smit can play overseas leagues from now on but can't ply his trade in the Indian Premier League.

Smit scored a vital 62* off 84 in the 2012 U-19 WC final against the home team, Australia, in Townsville. He joined skipper Unmukt Chand when India were reeling at 97/4 in the chase to the target of 226. The duo stitched a match-winning partnership of 130 runs and propelled India to their 3rd title victory.   Smit hit the winning shot too  for the Men in Blue. Since he has now switched to the US, Smit will be eligible to play international cricket for the USA cricket team once he completes the residency period.

To us, the term ‘Indian’ proudly represents the Nationals and Citizens of India,    containing 17.50% of the world's population. In India, the term "Indian" refers to nationality, rather than a particular ethnicity or language; the Indian nationality consists of dozens of regional ethno-linguistic groups, reflecting the rich and complex history of the country. Due to emigration, the Indian diaspora is present throughout the world, notably in other parts of Asia, North America, Europe, the Caribbean, Oceania, and Africa. 

India has a rich history which includes the prehistoric settlements and societies in the Indian subcontinent; the blending of the Indus Valley Civilization;  the rise of sixteen oligarchic republics known as Mahajanapadas;    greatest empires and dynasties in South Asian history like the Maurya Empire, Satavahana dynasty, Gupta Empire, Rashtrakuta dynasty, Chalukya Empire,  Chera, Chola Pandya, Pallava  Empire, and more .. ..

 

Moving away, the  Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, also known as the Snyder Act, (43 Stat. 253, enacted June 2, 1924) was an Act of the United States Congress that granted US citizenship to the indigenous peoples of the United States, called "Indians" in the Act. While the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution defines as citizens any persons born in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction, the amendment had previously been interpreted by the courts to not apply to Native peoples. The act was proposed by Representative Homer P. Snyder (R) of New York, and signed into law by President Calvin Coolidge on June 2, 1924. It was enacted partially in recognition of the thousands of Native Americans who served in the armed forces during the First World War.

Under Article One of the United States Constitution, "Indians not taxed" were not counted in the population of a state for purposes of apportionment. The earliest recorded date of Native people becoming US citizens was in 1831 when the Mississippi Choctaw became citizens after the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek of 1830 was ratified. Under article XIV of that treaty, any Choctaw who elected not to move to Native American Territory could become an American citizen when he registered and if he stayed on designated lands for five years after treaty ratification. The US Supreme Court in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) said that Native people could become citizens, though their acquisition of citizenship was by way of naturalization (ie., not by birth within US territory)

Native Americans, also known as American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Americans and other terms, are the indigenous peoples of the United States; sometimes including Hawaii and territories of the United States, and other times limited to the mainland. There are 574 federally recognized tribes living within the US, about half of which are associated with Indian reservations.  The ancestors of living Native Americans arrived in what is now the United States at least 15,000 years ago, possibly much earlier, from Asia via Beringia.    After its formation, the United States, as part of its policy of settler colonialism, continued to wage war and perpetrated massacres against many Native American peoples, removed them from their ancestral lands, and subjected them to one-sided treaties and to discriminatory government policies, later focused on forced assimilation, into the 20th century

The term American Indian is often used to refer to the indigenous cultures of the Western Hemisphere in general; its constituent parts were in use from at least the early 16th century. The word Indian came to be used because Christopher Columbus repeatedly expressed the mistaken belief that he had reached the shores of South Asia. Convinced he was correct, Columbus fostered the use of the term Indios (originally, “person from the Indus valley”) to refer to the peoples of the so-called New World. The term America came into use as a referent to the continents of the Western Hemisphere as early as 1507, when the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller published a map naming them after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci. The word American was soon thereafter appended to Indian to differentiate the indigenous peoples of these regions from those of South Asia.

Interesting ! 

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
2^nd June 2021. 

How much freedom you enjoy in your country ! ~ including the hair-dos !!

IPL 2021 was greatly entertaining ~ besides the game, there were characters – Chris Gayle, Hardik Pandya, Shimron Hetmeyer, Andre Russel, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard – and some of them dazzled with their different hair-dos !! – here is Andre Russel conversing with Shimron Hetmeyer, perhaps on that !

In   movie ‘thirupachi’ – Vijay would stealthily move into a neighbour’s house and cut the long hair of a girl, to please his sister who would pale in comparison !

Human hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and fine vellus hair. Hair is an important biomaterial primarily composed of protein, notably alpha-keratin. In olden days, traditionally, women used to sport long hair; school girls would have double plait, a complex pattern formed by intertwining three or more strands hair and wearing dhavani ~ half-sarees !!~ not any longer..!!  

Though uttered sometimes with disrespect – ‘hair’ is valued.  In the upmarket central London salon Inanch, a full head of Great Lengths extensions costs around £900, and lasts up to six months.  In many parts of the World,  hair is more than just a symbol: it is big business. From India to Peru, the human hair trade has spread across the globe, and it has the UK in its grasp.

Dustin Brown, is a Jamaican-German professional tennis player. He rose to fame after beating Rafael Nadal in the 2014 Halle Open and Wimbledon 2015, and is known for his technique, speed and entertaining playing style, often entertaining the crowd with trick shots during matches.

The mullet is a hairstyle in which the hair is shorter at the front, but long at the back. The modern mullet can refer to quite a few different mens’ hairstyles. While a mullet on its own is defined by long hair all over, especially at the back, a modern mullet is shorter on top and the sides. Modern applications of Mullet with faded sides or brushed up top will surely innovate the classic look so get ready for some new versions of mullet. ..

~ all these and more only when you are not residing in North Korea !!

Kim Jong-un reportedly ordered for North Korean man to be shot by firing squad for illegally selling films and music, while his family were forced to watch his execution. .. .. tragic !!!  The father, whose surname was Lee, was arrested in Wonsan, Gangwon province, before allegedly being executed 40 days later in front of a crowd of 500 people.  Lee, who was a chief engineer at the Wonsan Farming Management Commission, was accused by authorities of 'anti-socialist acts' for trading the South Korean videos, a source told Daily NK. The publication claimed that Lee was caught by the daughter of his 'people's unit' leader, or neighbourhood watch group, while secretly selling the films and music. Lee was executed just 40 days after he was arrested while his wife, son and daughter were forced to stand in the front row and watch his final moments.

North Korean authorities reportedly ruled: 'This was the first execution in Gangwon Province for anti-socialist acts under the anti-reactionary thought law.' Authorities said people used to be sent to labour or re-education camps, but added that 'reactionaries should not be allowed to live without fear in our society'. The 'anti-reactionary thought law', which brought in execution for anti-socialist behaviour last year, is believed to be supreme leader Kim Jong-un's crackdown to ban outside influences.  Lee reportedly confessed to selling the CDs and USBs, and authorities are said to be hunting down people who bought the content from him, believed to have been sold for between five and 12 dollars.   

It comes after a report claimed that Kim Jong-un executed a University minister after he 'complained' about work and didn't hold 'enough Zoom calls', according to The Sun. The North Korean dictator was said to have sentenced the leading chairman to death after a 'failure to 'implement the Distance Education Act'. Meanwhile, Kim Jong-un, 37, has also declared a war on cats and pigeons and has ordered authorities to 'eliminate' them as he believes the animals are spreading Covid-19. 

Earlier this week, it was also claimed that Kim Jong-un banned mullet hairstyles and skinny jeans over fears that 'decadent' Western culture will influence young North Koreans.  The country will be ripped down 'like a damp wall' if more is not done to stop the 'invasion of a capitalistic lifestyle', a state-run newspaper claimed. Those who repeatedly flout strict laws on fashion - including a ban on colourfully-dyed or spiked up hair and piercings - will be sent to labour camps under laws put in place by dictator Kim Jong-un in December. Those who don mullets also face these impossibly harsh consequences.  North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun - which is owned by the ruling Worker's Party - wrote on Thursday: 'History teaches us a crucial lesson that a country can become vulnerable and eventually collapse like a damp wall regardless of its economic and defence power if we do not hold on to our own lifestyle.' It went on to say: 'We must be wary of even the slightest sign of the capitalistic lifestyle and fight to get rid of them.'

North Koreans can choose from between 15 approved hairstyles under the country's laws, it has been claimed.

Any comments ! ~    - go to social media and write – we condemn … the ‘fascist ________’  because it all safe here! 

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
29^th May 2021. 

Shakespeare is dead !!

He  died on 23 April 1616, at the age of 52, within a month of signing his will, a document which he begins by describing himself as being in "perfect health". No extant contemporary source explains how or why he died. Half a century later, John Ward, the vicar of Stratford, wrote in his notebook: "________, Drayton, and Ben Jonson had a merry meeting and, it seems, drank too hard, for ________ died of a fever there contracted", not an impossible scenario.   At his time, he was a Bard; originally bards were a specific lower class of poet, contrasting with the higher rank known as fili in Ireland and Highland Scotland.  However, in later days, the   term has loosened to mean a generic minstrel or author 

          Before his  time, written English was, on the whole, not standardized. His works contributed significantly to the standardization of grammar, spelling, and vocabulary. He  introduced 1,700 original words into the language, many of which we still use (despite significant changes to the language since his time). These words include: “lonely,” “frugal,” “dwindle,” and many more; many more. In addition to all these words, many phrases that we use daily originated in his works.  When you talk about “breaking the ice” or having a “heart of gold,” or when you use any number of other phrases, you’re using his  language.

By now you would have figured it out – William Shakespeare. 

Canal 26 is an Argentine news pay television channel operated by Grupo Telecentro, a cable television provider from Buenos Aires. It broadcasts from La Matanza Partido, although its studios are located in Capital Federal, Capital City from Argentina. Founded in the mid 1990s as a variety channel, it soon evolved in a 24-hour news channel, although it also shows some music and special interest shows.

Back  home, immediately after the election results had been announced, the Chief  minister-elect of Tamil Nadu M K Stalin  announced that journalists working amid the raging coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic in the state will be considered as ‘frontline workers.’ "All media persons working in newspapers, visual and audio media at the risk of their lives due to rain, sun and floods will be considered as frontline employees in Tamil Nadu," the  DMK  chief announced on Twitter.  A few days earlier, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee also declared journalists as Covid-19 warriors as she said that they "have taken risk and worked on the field all these days like other Covid warriors."

William Shakespeare (26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616)  was an English playwright, poet, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist.  He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.  Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best work produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in the English language .. ..  .. and he died recently ! 

An Argentinian TV news channel made an awkward blunder after announcing the 'important writer' William Shakespeare had just died in an evening news report. Viewers were left completely baffled on Thursday evening when Noelia Novillo, a newsreader on Canal 26, reported that William Shakespeare, 'one of the most important writers in the English language', died this month. The ultimate comedy of errors came after an 81-year-old man from Coventry called William 'Bill' Shakespeare died five months after getting the Covid-19 vaccine and was mistaken for the 16th century playwright.

According to The Guardian, Novillo announced on air: 'As we all know, he's one of the most important writers in the English language – for me the master. Here he is.  'He was the first man to get the coronavirus vaccine. He's died in England at the age of 81.'  

William Shakespeare famously died in 1616 after penning 38 famous plays, including Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Twelfth Night and As You Like It. While Bill Shakespeare, who was the second person in the world to get the Pfizer vaccine in December last year, died of a stroke on May 20, which was unrelated to his Covid-19 jab. Viewers were quick to take to Twitter to point out the monumental TV blunder, pointing out that although the two men share a name, more than 400 years had passed since the Bard's death. 

But in the days after his Covid jab, Coventry-born Bill Shakespeare's family did claim that he had been believed to be related to the Hamlet author. His niece Emily Shakespeare, a PhD candidate at Waterford Institute of Technology in Ireland, said relatives thought the connection was very likely. She tweeted at the time: 'Around 86 per cent sure we are. Bill's ancestors closely follow Coventry's past with the industry there. And I have glimpsed a connection with the 'Kerseley branch' of the Bard's descendants.' Ms Shakespeare added that her uncle was 'English through and through', and there was no link to Ireland.

He was the second person to get an approved vaccine after Margaret Keenan, 91, got hers at the same hospital moments earlier. Mr Shakespeare, who was a long-term patient at the Coventry hospital's frailty ward, died after a period of illness at the same hospital where he famously received his vaccine. He leaves behind his wife Joy, their two adult sons and four grandchildren.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
30^th May 2021. 

Silver outcrop found this day, 189 years ago !!

We have seen and liked treasure-hunt movies but – those heroes who succeed in finding out huge trash of wealth lead a happy life thereafter ? do riches provide happiness, undoubtedly making the finder wealthier  !  ~ something on silver outcrop found this day, 189 years ago !!

Chileans are heading to the polls in an unprecedented election to decide who will write the new constitution following a period of mass unrest, a vote that will shape the future of one of Latin America’s richest nations. This weekend, citizens will select the 155 members of the Constitutional Assembly that will draft a new charter over a year. Elections will also be held for governors, mayors and city council members. Results will come after polls close at 6:00 p.m. local time on Sunday, in a vote that was extended to two days because of the pandemic.

Chile, is a country in western South America. It occupies a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west.  Chile is the southernmost country in the world, the closest to Antarctica, and borders Peru, Bolivia,  Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage.   The country's capital and largest city is Santiago, and its national language is Spanish.

All that glitters is not gold and life is not only about the yellow metal. There is another cousin equally shining.  The one with the chemical symbol ‘Ag’ – soft, white, lustrous transition metal, having the highest electrical conductivity and one in pristine pure form considered auspicious  -  the Silver.  Silver has been valued as a precious metal for long and is also used to make ornaments, jewellery, high value utensils [silverware] and considered prestigious.  Born with a silver spoon is a common idiom and eating in a silver plate is considered exhibiting one’s richness.  Silver is used in electrical contacts, conductors, as catalyst, photographic film and more.  Silver is ductile, malleable and reveals metallic luster with polish. 

The story of silver mining began about 5,000 years ago. Silver was first mined around 3,000 BCE in Anatolia, now located in modern-day Turkey. The precious metal helped early civilizations in the Near East, Ancient Greece to flourish. In about 1,200 BCE the center of silver production shifted to Greece’s Laurium mines, where it continued to feed the region’s growing empires, even providing currency for ancient Athens. Penasquito, located in the north-eastern part of the state of Zacatecas, Mexico, is the world’s biggest silver mine by reserve.   

Although silver is relatively scarce, it is the most plentiful and least expensive of the precious metals. Nevertheless, geologists currently estimate that given current demand, the world’s extractable resources of silver will last only another twenty years. Today’s silver comes from three primary sources: silver mining; silver produced as a by-product of mining for other metals; and silver recycled from used materials, including old jewelry and photographic films and chemicals. 

Silver is rarely found in its pure form, called native silver.  Between 1830 and 1850 Chilean silver mining grew at an unprecedented pace which transformed mining into one of the country's principal sources of wealth. The rush caused rapid demographic, infrastructural, and economic expansion in the semi-arid Norte Chico mountains where the silver deposits lay. A number of Chileans made large fortunes in the rush and made investments in other areas of the economy of Chile. By the 1850s the rush was in decline and lucrative silver mining definitely ended in the 1870s. At the same time mining activity in Chile reoriented to saltpetre operations.

Placer deposits of gold were exploited by the Spanish in the 16th century following their arrival in the same century. However, only after the independence in the 19th century did mining once again get prominence among economic activities in Chile.

On May 16, 1832, prospector Juan Godoy found a silver outcrop (mineral deposits) 50 km south of Copiapó in Chañarcillo.  According to folklore Godoy was guided to the riches of Chañarcillo by an alicanto, a mythological nocturnal bird of the desert of Atacama, pertaining to Chilean mythology. Godoy successfully claimed the discovered outcrop in his name and the name of José Godoy and Miguel Gallo. The finding attracted thousands of people to the place and generated significant wealth.  During the heyday of Chañarcillo it produced more than 332 tons of silver ore until the deposits begun to be exhausted in 1874.  A settlement of 600 people mushroomed in Chañarcillo leading to the establishment of surveillance system to avoid disorders and theft of ore.  The settlement evolved over time to a town named Juan Godoy which came to have a plaza, school, market, hospital, theater, a railroad station, a church and graveyard.

Copiapó experienced a large demographic and urbanistic growth during the rush. The town became a centre for trade and services of a large mining district. In 1851 Copiapó was connected by railroad to Caldera, its principal port of export. The mining zone slowly grew northwards into the diffuse border with Bolivia. Agriculture in Norte Chico also expanded as a consequence of the rush.  However this could not last long and by 1855, Copiapo saw its decline.   At the end of the silver rush, rich miners had diversified their assets into banking, agriculture, trade and commerce all over Chile

In 1870, 1570 miners worked in the Chañarcillo mines; however the mines were exhausted by 1874 and mining ended in 1888 after the mines became flooded. 

Nicolás Alejandro Massú Fried  is a Chilean tennis player,  who  represented Chile at three Summer Olympics: 2000 Sydney, 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing. At the 2000 event's opening ceremony, he was his country's stand in flag bearer after Marcelo Ríos failed to show up.  In Athens 2004,   Massú captured both singles and doubles titles. On August 21, he and Fernando González defeated Nicolas Kiefer and Rainer Schüttler of Germany to win the doubles competition, making history by giving Chile its first ever Olympic gold medal in any sport, after nearly a full century of Olympic participation. Massú and González came from four straight match points in the fourth set tie-break to claim the gold. The following day, he captured his second gold medal by defeating American Mardy Fish in five sets in the men's singles final.  Pictured at the start is Nicolas Massu & Fernando González 

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
16.5.2021.