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Abhinav Kumar created new article Origin of Life- Focussing Chemical Evolution.
This article is focused particles on chemical evolution. Earth developed around 4.6 billion years back by condensation of elm or cloud of cosmic dust and gases. Not body knows what actually happened. Well its beyond our reach to go into past and observe the events one by one. But we made an estimate and statistics based on the evidences(fossils) and process taking place on the earth. Many experiments were done. And finally it was concluded that the origin of life took place from chemical evolution followed by biological evolution.
What actually happened?
At first, there were only gases and dust particles. It was made up of radioactive elements. They soon started decaying and formed heat. It was followed by condensation and cooling resulting in stratification with heavier elements (e.g. Nickel, Iron). At this time, the surface was as hot as melted iron. Due to this the lighter elements like Hydrogen, Carbon, Oxygen were present in atomic state. But soon the formation of molecules started taking place. As the time passed, the temperature came down and its surface cooled down. The lighter elements interacted with each other and formed water, methane, ammonia, Carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen cyanide.
On the similar way, nitrites and oxides also formed. Atmosphere of this period is called reducing atmosphere. However, there was no ozone layer. Therefore, the UV rays were highly active on the surface. With the time our earth became solidified enough to have large depressions and elevations all around. Since the temperature was high, the water was mainly present in the form of steam. The rate of evaporation was fast. Average temperature was around 50-60 Celsius. Lightening was frequent. The intense heat of volcano and radioactive decay of various elements contributed a large amount of energy merging methane, ammonia and other molecules with each other and formed new complex molecules. This resulted in the formation of simple organic molecules. These were mainly alcohols, Aldehydes, amino aids, sugar etc. An experimental proof of same has also been given. The proof was given by the famous scientist Stanley L. Miller on the theory that life originated from preexisting non-living matter. This helped the basic theory to be widely accepted by the people.
Soon larger molecules were formed. The simple organic molecules remained in low concentration due to development of steady state or equilibrium. Polymerization required their concentration, a source of energy and evaporation of water. this occurred on the shores of water bodies where clay and other minerals helped in their aggregation and formation of a short of sludge. he molecules came in contact with each other and reacted simultaneously. They formed newer molecules. The environment was oxygen free. Radiations, lightening volcanic eruptions were frequent. All these along with solar energy provided the energy undergo more chemical reactions. Simple sugar condensed to form pep-tides, polypeptides and even proteins. On the similar way polynucleotides condensed to form nucleic acid.
Result
The basic elements were formed.It paved the entry of processes involving various biological activities on after another.All these reactions occurred without any enzyme, DNA, RNA or ribosome. In this way, the basic condition for origin of life was fulfilled. But it was just the beginning of a source of life on earth. This nearly took billions of year(don't know the exact figure). It was followed by the biological evolution in which the first of life developed. It will be discussed separately in another article.
9 years ago
MG Singh created new article Hindu Muslim Marriages are Dynamite in The Sub-Continent.
Background
Hindus and Muslims are the two major communities in the sub-continent and both have existed together for close to 1100 years. Hinduism first came in contact with Islam around the 10th century and a substantial portion of the Hindu community converted to the new religion. Despite both religions having lived side by side with each other, yet the unalienable fact remains that they never gelled with each other. In fact, a degree of animosity remained between the two religions and their followers.
The reason for this is that both the faiths are diametrically opposed in ethos and concepts. The enemy of one is the god of the other. While one is an idol worshipper the other believes in the concept of one god. The biggest difference is the concept of tolerance.While the Hindu by nature is tolerant, by contrast, the Muslim is intolerant and believes in conversion even if the sword is to be used. Thus, at most times both religions have been in a degree of conflict. Matters were not helped by the fact that the Muslims were the rulers and the Hindus the subjects.
This led to an unequal equation between the two. Now, it is a well-known fact that women for centuries have been the bone of contention between races and many wars have been fought over them.The most famous being the Trojan-Greek war over Helen, the Queen of Macedonia and wife of King Menelaus.
In India, the Muslims constantly desired Hindu women, both as wives or consorts and wanted them to be part of their harems. In Islam for a non-Muslim woman to marry a Muslim, it is essential that she converts to Islam. The Muslims most often as they were the rulers, many times carried out these marriages by force, by abduction and conquest and the Hindus could do pretty little about it.This continued for almost 900 years. The Hindus where they had the chance also desired Muslim women and an example is Maharajah Ranjit Singh, the Sikh ruler who had 4 Muslim wives. The difference was that he never converted them to Sikhism and when Ranjit died, these Muslim wives were not consigned to the funeral pyre.
The Situation During British Rule
The defeat of the Muslims By the English led to some respite for the Hindus from the abductions and kidnapping of Hindu women. The British enforced a uniform law and Hindu and Muslim criminal law was banned. The British did not touch personal law, with the result the compartmentalized division between Hindus and Muslims continued. Both communities desired each other's women but were deeply divided to accept a union between a man or woman from Islam to a Hindu man or woman. In real terms, any union between a Hindu and a Muslim was fraught with great risk and often led to communal clashes, despite the British being the paramount power overhead.
This state of affairs continued till 1947, the year India became free. However despite the British rule, the desire for a Muslim or Hindu woman to sleep with continued with both communities. There are cases that when Hindu men visited a brothel,more often than not they desired a Muslim girl.
One would have thought that with the passage of time running into centuries, the Hindus and Muslims would have been tolerant of marriage between them. But it never happened. Here Islam scored as it accepted Hindu girls into its fold, albeit after conversion to Islam. In contrast, Hindus were more rigid and thus reciprocal traffic was limited.
India after 1947
Jawaharlal Nehru led India to independence. The British accepted the two nation theory of Hindus and Muslims being separate people and partitioned the country. Pakistan became a theocratic state with Islam as the state religion while India opted for a secular constitution. This had it's repercussions as in Pakistan the Hindus who were left behind were at the mercy of the Muslims. There are hundreds of reports of Hindu girls being abducted, particularly in Sind and being converted to Islam and married to Muslim men. I will say that in Pakistan official policy does not favor this and the government is trying to stop this practice.
In India the Muslims became a minority and felt they were under siege. Intermarriage between Hindus and Muslims, however, continued to create tensions. The Muslims stole a march over the Hindus because of open encouragement from the Ulema. At many places, it was openly preached in the mosques that Muslim men must marry Hindu girls. I recollect when I was in Kashmir, loud speakers openly broadcast that Kashmiri Pandits should either be exiled or killed, but Pandit women must be abducted and converted to Islam and made wives.
The Indian state has not been able to cope with this insidious propaganda. In the state of Kerala a new term "love Jihad" has been coined. This word was used by the Kerala High Court to describe devious plans of Muslim youths to befriend Hindu and Christian girls and marry them.The girls were converted to Islam and many taken to Saudi Arabia and then divorced. Passions still rise when any girl from any community marries either a Hindu or a Hindu girl marries a Muslim. In UP and Bihar at many places, riots have broken out when such incidents have taken place.
In this scenario of intolerance in marriage, the Muslims appear to be ahead. They readily accept a Hindu girl in their fold. But, they are fanatic on their women marrying a Hindu man.They will insist that the Hindu convert to Islam and in case he does not do so, there have been cases of the Hindu being killed.
Last Word
Recently I attended a marriage of my senior friend's son, a doctor to a Muslim girl.She was his colleague, but I was taken aback to observe the marriage was as per Islamic rights and the boy had converted to Islam.An educated doctor doing this was a surprise to me. It also reminded me of my affair with a Muslim dentist girl when I was a subaltern posted in Bombay. We broke, as I refused to convert to Islam. More on that later.
The fact is that both communities are like watertight compartment. I wonder whether Jinnah was right when he said the Hindus and Muslims cannot mix as they are separate communities with entirely different concepts and thoughts.
Frankly I am saddened that this happens in India where both communities have lived for hundreds of years.
9 years ago
MG Singh created new article Pakistan is Part of "the Axis of Evil".
The word evil has been used many times in politics. Ronald Reagon used the word " The Evil Empire" to describe the Soviet Union. Late George Bush used the word " Axis of Evil" to describe the 3 renegade nations at that time ; namely Iran, North Korea and Iraq. The Soviet Union has ceased to exist and of the latter 3, only North Korea remains. However, one wonders that more than these nations, the one nation that deserved this epithet is Pakistan. A study of this nation's history, particularly with regard to its nuclear doctrine, is revealing. It shows that the Pakistan state has adopted methods that are not in consonance with good order and discipline. It has violated basic canons of human conduct and made the world a more dangerous place. This is sad as the Pakistan army and Government is not aware of what a nuclear exchange means. Pakistan compared to India and China is a small country and few H-Bombs will not obliterate India or China, but Pakistan will cease to exist. This simple rationale does not seem to dawn on the Pakistan ruling elite.
Pakistan has a long history of enmity with India. However much we deny it, the fact remains that this hatred is rooted in history and a part of old Muslim hatred for Hinduism.In sum total, it is a Hindu-Muslim conflict sustained from the Pakistan side. India would like to eschew it and move forward, but Pakistan is rooted in time and still harks back to the older age.
The Pakistan rulers to remain in power have created the India bogey. This is like beating a dead horse, but all the same the Pakistan army and government continue with it. Part of the hatred stems from the fact that the Muslims who ruled the sub-continent for 900 years are now relegated in importance and only rule one-fifth of their earlier empire. This loss of pre-eminent position in the sub-continent has made the Pakistan nation envious of India and it has embarked on a one point plan to match India militarily and at the same time try and destroy " Hindu" India. Matching and beating the Indian nuclear arsenal is one of the points of parity with India.
The world should be concerned about the nuclear arsenal of Pakistan. This is where the danger lies and India and the USA must be concerned about it. In simple words, the nuclear weaponry of Pakistan is not safe. The Pakistan scientists with not a little encouragement from the ISI of the army have carried out a blatant proliferation of nuclear secrets and technical know-how. The head of their nuclear program Dr.Khan is known to have sold nuclear secrets to Iran for cash and also supplied nuclear know-how to renegade organizations like ISI.Dr. Khan is in the dog house now as it transpired he was an Ahmeddiya and this community is vilified and ostracized in Pakistan.
A great danger is whether the Pakistani nuclear weapons are safe and secure. Nobody knows what the Pakistani nuclear doctrine is and Donald Trump the presumptive candidate for President of the GOP has clearly stated that the Pakistan nuclear weapons are not safe and could pass into the hands of Jihadi groups.This is the reason he has not advocated a US withdrawal from Afghanistan as he feels the US forces are required to be there to safeguard the nuclear arsenal of Pakistan.
The latest bits of news trickling from Pakistan is simply horrifying. The Pakistan nuclear policy believes in the first strike with nuclear weapons in a war with India. Pakistan is thus the only country in the world that follows this policy. Even the North Korean dictator has recently announced that North Korea would not be the first to use Nuclear weapons.Pakistan has also made it clear that their nuclear weapons are for use only against India and no one else. It has also announced that command of tactical nuclear weapons would be handed over to local commanders. This is an extremely dangerous move and one wonders whether the Pakistan ruling elite is aware of its consequences. Handing over the nuclear button to local commanders is fraught with danger as any renegade commander could unleash a nuclear strike. In addition, Jihadi groups will have easy access to this weaponry. This is not a far-fetched idea as elements of the security forces are deeply infiltrated with Jihadi elements. This was apparent when the bodyguard of the Punjab Governor, a member of the elite security group to guard VVIPs gunned down the Punjab governor, the man he was supposed to guard. He reportedly pumped 21 bullets into the body of the Punjab leader.
Handing over the nuclear button to local commanders is fraught with danger as any renegade commander could unleash a nuclear strike. In addition, Jihadi groups will have easy access to this weaponry. This is not a far-fetched idea as elements of the security forces are deeply infiltrated with Jihadi elements. This was apparent when the bodyguard of the Punjab Governor, a member of the elite security group to guard VVIPs gunned down the Punjab governor, the man he was supposed to guard. he reportedly pumped 21 bullets into the body of the Punjab Governor. With such policies, Pakistan aptly qualifies to be labelled an evil state or the axis of evil.
One wonders whether the world will wake up to what is happening in Pakistan.The fact is that the command and control of nuclear weapons in Pakistan is suspect and I presume the nuclear button is with the army chief and not with the civilian leadership. In any case as far as India policy is concerned the civilian leadership is redundant. The obsession with India is now completely paranoid. George Bush referred to this obsession with India. The world must beware of this evil state that may well destroy itself and a major portion of humanity in SE Asia. God forbid the weapons falling into hands of Jihadi groups and then the fat will be in the fire as the USA will be the target.
It is about time the USA took action. It is well aware of the goings on in Pakistan and a surgical strike may yet save humanity from an impending disaster that may emanate from this Islamic republic.
9 years ago
Lopamudra created new article Usefulness to the society.
Solitude might be relaxing and pleasing for a while, but as quoted by Aristotle, ‘Man is a social animal’ and therefore being cut off from the world is neither healthy nor agreeable. Besides the physical and material needs, our emotional needs too are fulfilled by the society. Our happiness and sorrows depend to a great extent on the people who surround us. We react to them and are affected by their actions. Conversely they respond and react to us based on the vibes we send across. If this was not true, we would have lived our independent lives and would have been devoid of any emotion. Since we are so much a part of the society and so much dependent on it , it is our moral duty and responsibility to contribute towards its benefit. Whichever profession we choose, our aim should primarily be to contribute towards the development of the society. The satisfaction and happiness one gets from rendering his services to the society so as to make a positive difference is most rewarding.
Progress of a society and Nation as a whole, depends to a great extent on its youth. How they are guided and molded by their elders is what makes them responsible citizens. All experienced and knowledgeable and responsible members of the society are duty bound to guide these youngsters for progress of the Nation. The first duty is undoubtedly the parents’ who are always the first and the best guides for their children. Giving them time and helping them through their ups and downs, inculcating right values and priorities is the biggest responsibility of each parent. When parents are too busy to take care of their children or too ignorant to understand what is best for them, the onus falls on the teachers. Apart from formal education, it is important to teach etiquette, moral values, personal well-being, and sanitation or just about anything that helps in their overall growth, with practical inputs.
In the modern world where friendship is virtual, pleasantries are exchanged over telephones and taking care of parents refers to putting them in plush old age homes or keeping full time nurses for them, there is this incessant need to bridge the distance between individuals so as to remain human instead of being robots in the hands of technology and work pressure. Life skills today are a part of school curriculum, something that got instilled in the earlier generations at home since childhood. Life skills, soft skills are trained so that people can excel in their lives. Things like stress management, time management, decision making, interpersonal relationships which were leant by trial and error methods by everybody ,is lacking so much that there are training institutes for the same. People are so busy with work that they are unable to instill these skills in their own children. More so because they are unable to lead by example. How are we contributing to the society if we are so lost in ourselves? Taking breaks and going for holidays in order to recharge is something done by everyone but does it really work? Should we not try and make our everyday life interesting so that holidays are just a choice and not a necessity? Most people work because it is a means for earning bread but if we enjoy our work the output is always better. Today we work for ourselves, for comfort and luxury. Very rarely do we think of upliftment of the society. Small gestures like teaching street children, donating old clothes to the needy, teaching compassion and tolerance to our own children and standing up against what is wrong are just examples of numerous ways one can contribute to the society. The ultimate aim is growth and development which is possible only by reaching out and helping out.
Earning money is of course essential for everyone. For anyone to feel motivated towards his profession, incentive is paramount. Hard work for success should very much be compensated with rewards appropriately. That’s the key to the progress of a Nation and society as a whole. But there is a thin line between earning money by unfair means or crushing whoever comes your way and earning money through fair means, hard work and dedication .The difference between the two is that one is a self cantered motive while the other is to work for the community and for progress of an organization or the Nation. In one we overlook all those surrounding us and work for our own personal gain while in the other we work for the benefit of others and in the process benefit ourselves. The first kind is like an unquenchable thirst while the other is satisfying, fulfilling carrier. Focus to broaden the outlook or horizon and to think beyond self is the only way to contribute towards the progress of a society. Our own happiness is interlinked with satisfaction. What we earn is also satisfactory only if we enjoy what we do. Finding time to socialize, spending time with family and stealing time to look around and breathe in fresh air ,feel the surroundings and contributing in whichever ways possible must be done on daily basis.
Besides reaching out to our fellow beings, contribution to the society and world as a whole also includes contributing to our surroundings, our environment. The rise in temperature over the years, shortage of natural resources, innumerable natural disasters to a great extent hold us responsible. The rise in population, lack of sanitation and hygiene, remorseless wastage of resources by the better privileged, corruption at every sphere of life and general indifference to the problems is largely responsible for various disasters like landslides, droughts and global warming as a whole. Unless each one of us is aware of the consequences of wastage of natural resources and importance of conservation there is precious little we can do to save the world. Shoving the issue and pretending that the responsibility lies on the Government or the Western countries is simply feigning ignorance and turning a blind eye to the problem. Its time to be aware and create awareness and strictly follow what we preach. Planting more trees, saving electricity, conserving water, saving food, recycling wastes, cleaning surroundings are our individual responsibilities.
Simple things if followed with diligence and by encouraging all in the vicinity to pledge to themselves that they will contribute to the society the best they can is the only way we leave a happier ,healthier and better world for our generations to come.
9 years ago
Abhinav Kumar created new article Single Cell Protein.
Already more than 25% of human population is suffering from hunger and malnutrition. Both human population and animal population are rising. Conventional agricultural produce of cereals, pulses, vegetables and fruits would not be able to meet the rising demand of food. It can be produced entirely independent of agricultural waste products. Further, stress of health advisers on meat diets is reducing the availability of cereals and other food articles because 3—10 kg of grains are required to produce 1 kg of meat from animal farming. SNPs usually develop after fermentation of waste materials providing all necessary conditions like temperature, humidity, water, pH etc. Even then the availability of animal protein cannot be abundant. A 250 kg cow produces only 200 g of protein per day while it eats 20—30 kg of food. Therefore alternative methods of raising food items have to be searched.One of them is single cell protein.
Single cell protein is protein rich cell biomass which is used as food or feed. It is a very successful example of naturally synthesized food. Basically the food which is produced has the texture of meat. It posses a lot of fiber. Animals such as cow buffalo need a large amount of protein. Earlier Spirulina, a cyanobacterjum (blue-green alga) has long been used as human food and fodder. Microorganisms are commonly used in raising fermented foods, e.g., curd, cheese, butter, bread. A number of other edible fungi (e.g., mushroom) and blue green algae are also known. It is a novel mechanism to fulfill not only the needs of our own but of animals too. The problem of lack of food is increasing day by day. In such condition, such techniques become an elixir for us to fulfill our basic needs in the coming future.
Efforts had been math to raise Chlorella as food. Spirulina can be grown on starch rich waste water of Potato processing industries, straw, molasses, animal manure and sewage. Doctors prefer food rich in protein, vitamins and minerals. Single Cell Protein stands perfectly to fulfill the condition. It can be a part of diet not only for children but also for sports person who in maintaining healthy diet and physical fitness. Spirulina is not only rich in protein, it also contains sufficient carbohydrates, fats, minerals and vitamins. To my knowledge, it is the first natural of deriving large amount of food in short period of time. It can be used as supplemented diet for undernourished children. Mushroom is already an acceptable food item. It is raised on waste organic matter. Therefore, nutrient rich microbes can also become an acceptable form of food. Their potential is quite high 250 g of bacterium Methylophilus methylotrophus grown on organic wastes.
Other microbial biomass can also be raised using low cost substrates. While algae do not require any organic materials in their substrates, other microorganisms (bacteria, yeast and other fungi) flourish on organic matter. Spirulina is recommended for diabetes patients to control blood sugar level. It has rare side effects. You my think for a while if the SNPs have any side effect. Let me make clear to you that SNPs are made from natural organisms without the use of chemicals, acids, enzymes etc. So the chances are rare. They are raised on low cost organic matter like that of saw dust, paddy straw, paddy husk and industrial organic wastes and effluents like whey. But minor symptoms like constipation , nausea may arise. But overall it is advantageous. With the development in the filed of biotechnology, the science behind SNPs will become more clear and better. The most common source of single cell protein are single celled yeasts and filamentous fungus. Single cell protein is rich in good quality protein. It is poor in fats. High protein and low fat are desirable features of human food. However, care has to be taken to remove excess nucleic acids and heavy metal or toxins present in organic wastes.
Single cell protein actually means a protein rich biomass of unicellular microorganisms. However, it includes biomass of multi-cellular microorganisms as well. Some of its uses are:
It can be used as protein rich supplement of human diet. In broad spectrum, it can also used as carbon source including waste product which helps in removal of pollutants.
It requires high level of sterility control to prevent infections an spoilage. This will bridge the gap between requirement and supply of protein for human diet and take off the pressure on agriculture system for increasing the protein content of food articles.
Use of organic wastes and industrial effluents in raising Single cell protein will help in reducing environmental pollution.
Certain algae grown in open ponds require only Carbon dioxide as the carbon source. In the presence of sunlight, they can effectively carry out photosynthesis, and produce protein. The examples of these algae are Chlorella species and Spirulina species. Chlorella is used as a supplement for enriching ice-creams, breads and yogurts in some countries. Overall, I would say that this technique deserves a serious consideration for its use as food or other supplement.
9 years ago
MG Singh created new article Warfare: Hindus Lacked Strategic Sense.
Introduction
Hindus is the generic term for residents of Hindustan who as it stands professed the Hindu faith. It is a loose terminology as Hindu's had many sects and different schools of thought. But overall the entire sub-continent was inhabited by Hindus, though their practices differed. Hindus were also very fond of war and had an exclusive caste which was classified as a warrior caste, often referred to as the Kshatriyas.This had its plus and minus points. The plus was that a dedicated group was available to fight for the nation. The minus was that arms were only handled by the Kshatriyas and in case they were defeated there was no second line of defense and invariably the enemy after the defeat of the Kshatriyas had a free run without any opposition.
Field Marshal Viscount Bernard Montogomery in his " History of Warfare" devotes a chapter to " Warfare of the Hindus". He makes a telling observation.Monty, as he was popularly called has stated that the Hindus were very brave with a fatalistic contempt of death. But he has also stated that they disregarded the Principles of War and had no strategic sense.
War is a serious subject and has been studied by scholars since the dawn of history. The earliest exponent of the art of war was the Chinese scholar Sun Tzu. Later in the 19th century Baron Von Clausewitz enunciated his 10 Principles of War, which is now the Bible of warfare.
The bravery of the Hindus was legendary. Even poets eulogized it in what is known as the "Vir Gatha Kaal". Despite bravery and great courage the Hindus ( residents) of India were defeated by invaders who came from the North West, mainly from the Khyber Pass. It is worth mentioning here that even the invaders who defeated the Hindus incorporated the very policies regarding warfare of the Hindus and succumbed to them. It was as if they were under a spell. This is beautifully brought out by Nirad C Choudhary in his book " The Continent of Circe"
Hindu Warfare
The first brush the Hindu army had with an invader was when Raja Purshottam ( Porus)met Alexander the Great in the Battle of Hydespes ( River Jhelum) in 327BC. The first casualty was unity of command as Porus was betrayed by the Raja of Taxila who went and joined the army of Alexander. Despite this Porus put up a creditable fight and stopped Alexander. Most historians now conclude that the elephant Corps of Porus unnerved the Greeks and Alexander decided to return back. He also gave vast lands to Porus and left. This is a sign that in effect he was defeated by Porus. Greek historians who came along with Alexander have chronicled that the battle with Porus was the fiercest that Alexander faced.
A study of the battle shows that despite a tactical victory, Porus committed some strategic blunders. He was lucky that his elephant corps stopped the Greeks otherwise he would have been routed. Porus remained on the East Bank of the Jhelum and waited for Alexander to attack. The Greek general showed initiative and crossed the Jhelum and attacked Porus, something which Porus should have done. In this, he lost the element of surprise as well as the chance to go on the offensive. He was thus fighting a battle with one arm tied behind his back and both his sons were killed.
This, lack of initiative has been the bane of the Hindu military for all times. When Mohammed of Ghazni invaded India 17 times, it is a matter of surprise that no Hindu Raja or general thought it fit to go and attack Ghazni in his den in Samarkand. It is a matter of pity that the Hindu army just sat and waited every year for the raid by Ghazni. This really makes sad reading. It proves that the Hindu Kings and generals had no strategic sense and even if a small force had been positioned at Khyber, Ghazni could have been halted. The second concerns absence of unity. When Ghazni advanced into India, no united Hindu force met him and it is on record that Raja Bhoj the most powerful Hindu King at that time never mounted a defence or joined other Hindus fighting Ghazni.
Another aspect that the Hindus ignored was mobility. The Hindu army with its elephant corps was a sluggish outfit and a slow moving affair. In contrast, the Muslim army had mounted archers and there were hordes of them.This gave them mobility and it was not difficult for Muslim armies under a great general to cover 150-200 miles in aday and surprise the enemy. Even the Muslims who settled in India got bogged down in creating elephant corps and also lacked strategic sense.
An example of the Battle of Panipat in 1526 between Babur and Ibrahim Lodhi is worth mentioning. Lodhi, the Muslim ruler of Delhi, knew that Babur was advancing across the plains of Punjab. His best course of action should have been to march forward to Punjab and face Babur at a place of his choice and surprise the Mongol. Sadly he did nothing and just waited for Babr at the gates of Delhi ( Panipat). He was defeated.
Analysis
What conclusion can we draw from ancient history? One can conclude that bravery is not a quality to win a war and along with it tactics and strategy are very important. Most rulers in India seemed to be unaware of the importance of guarding the Khyber and other passes in the North West of the Hindu Kush mountains. They left the passes unguarded and showed a poor strategic concept of warfare.
Hindu armies also lacked mobility and over-reliance on the elephant was their doom. In addition, the Hindus were never united and in most significant battles like the Battle of Tarain between Prithviraj Chauhan and Mohammed of Ghor, Raj Jaichand went and joined Ghor. Such traitors abound in Indian history.
We can conclude that the Hindus lost because they never studied the art of war. Sadly even now, Nehru never realised the concept of military power and was beaten by Mao. Indian must take lessons from the defeat of the Hindus a thousand years back and resove that such a state of affairs will never be allowed again.
9 years ago
MG Singh created new article Castro and Cuba.
Introduction
Dr. Fidel Castro and his brother Raoul Rao Castro have ruled Cuba for over 6 decades. In a way, they are the longest ruling family in the world and Fidel has the distinction of being the head of state for the longest period in the world. These are impressive statistics, but what is the sum total of the rule of the Castro brothers? During these 6+ decades of their rule did Cuba have prosperity ? were the Cuban people happy? these are questions that must be answered. Statistics do not lie and the per capita income of an average Cuban is very low still, despite the rhetoric of Communism and Marxism that Fidel Castro touted. The lot of the common Cuban did not improve. If this is so, then the question that must be answered is as to how the Castro brothers survived for so long as rulers of Cuba.Why were they not overthrown?
Rule of Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro is an enigmatic person. Just looking at him inspires confidence. With his black flowing beard and beret, he looked a charismatic figure. When he landed with a band of revolutionaries, the people spontaneously joined him to overthrow the corrupt dictator Batista. This man was an American stooge and when the revolutionaries headed towards Havana, he fled the island. Castro seized power.Initially, the USA treated him with kid gloves, but in a few months, Castro showed his true colors and brought in Communism in all spheres of Cuban life. He nationalized all industry and in particular took over the manufacture of sugar as well as the large sugarcane farms. The entire sugar industry was controlled by Americans and they were thrown out without a penny as compensation.
Castro was quick to realize the geopolitical situation and sided with Russia. The Soviet state under Nikita Khruschev bolstered the regime of Castro with aid and gas.The Americans who had for long relied on the " Monroe Doctrine" were aghast and the US President General "Ike" Dwight Eisenhower took the decision to overthrow the Castro regime.He accordingly instructed the CIA to plan an invasion of Cuba with help from Cuban exiles, who had escaped from Cuba when Castro had started enforcing communism.
Nikita Khruschev was not sitting idle and he ordered the bolstering of the Cuban army and air force with latest field guns and MIG Fighters. The CIA force landed in Cuba for the invasion in 1961. This was the time when Jack Kennedy was President as Eisenhower had finished his 2 terms as President, the maximum allowed by the amended US constitution.
The Cuban invasion aided by the CIA collapsed at the Bay of Pigs as they encountered a superior military force of MIGs and Russian weaponry. This was a black mark on the CIA, who had not anticipated the weaponry of Castro' s army. Kennedy himself cut a sorry figure as the Soviets played victory music.
Castro now on a visit to Russia asked that nuclear IRBM's be positioned in Cuba. Khruschev also agreed and the Russians began to install these missiles in Cuba. Once installed the entire USA was at risk and in great peril of a nuclear attack from Cuba. Photographs by CIA spy planes, notably the U-2 confirmed the American fears. Kennedy could not allow it and he enforced a blockade of Cuba. The world was on the brink of a nuclear conflagration. The year was 1962 and has gone down in history as the " 1962 Missile Crisis". Khrushchev backed down at the last moment but ensured that Americans gave him some concessions. One of these concessions was the promise of the United States NEVER to try and destabilize the Castro Regime.
This was a significant concession and a boon for Castro, who at that time did not realize what he had gained. He had asked for a Nuclear attack on 6 American cities, but when Khrushchev capitulated he was very angry.But Khruschev had played his cards well and he with one stroke ensured the survival of the Castro regime.
The USA scrupulously honored its pledge and that is the reason that Castro continued to rule Cuba with an iron hand. Castro thus got a lease of life and he started enforcing Communism in Cuba. The results were disastrous as the economy nose-dived. Poverty spread as the USA enforced a trade embargo. Cuban people made no progress and at times, things became so bad that desperate Cuba had to sell their old art heritages paintings and sculptures to earn money. In fact, the Cuban economy was shattered after the collapse of the Soviet union. Castro hung on despite the odds as the USA honored its pledge not to destabilize the Communist regime. Resultantly Castro survived. This was the one single reason that Castro continued in power. In the meantime, thousands of Cubans escaped in boats to the USA as Cuba had become one big prison.
Exit of Fidel Castro
In 2007, Castro suffered ill health and decided to hand over power to his brother Raul Rao Castro. The younger brother of Fidel Castro is a pragmatist and he realized that Cuba could not progress without help from the USA. He decided to open up to the USA. He was lucky as the present American President Barack Obama believed in a more open American policy.Both leaders shook hands and the reversal of American policy took place. This was epitomized with the first visit by an American President to Cuba in 80 years by Obama. It was a historic visit as the USA and Cuba opened up. Credit for this must go to Raoul Castro and Obama.
Last Word
One fact that has emerged is that Fidel Castro ruled for nearly 6 + decades and made history as the longest serving head of state. But it would not have been possible if Khrushchev had not extracted a promise from Kennedy that the USA would never destabilize the Cuban regime.
Dr. Fidel Castro has now gone into history. Unfortunately though he restored Cuban pride, the Cuban people suffered a lot under him. It appears as if Cuba was wrapped in a time warp. There are lessons to be drawn from the Cuban experiment and one of them is that a totally totalitarian state cannot deliver the goods and make things better. But all the same Fidel Castro made history and his name will be remembered as the man who restored Cuban pride and lived and went the way he wanted.
9 years ago
MG Singh created new article The Stars and Narendra Damodar Modi.
Background
Narendra Damodar Modi is the Prime Minister of India. He has had a checkered career and risen to great heights from a not so affluent background. Modi was born on 17 September 1950 at Mehsana in Gujerat. The time is given as 11am and I presume this is accurate enough. That makes him 66 years old.This is an age when many men reach their prime intellectually and Modi is no exception. He is the Prime Minister of India and that is one of the most difficult appointments in the world. This is because he heads a nation that from Kashmir to Assam has a diverse culture and language. Though 80% of the population is Hindu, yet this Hinduism has many facets and the people are not one in thought and deed.
I am an amateur astrologer and thought it fit to present to readers of this site a fascinating view of what the stars foretell about Modi. Astrology is not infallible, but ancient Indian astrologers like the Bhrigue in their works have forecast horoscopes of people thousands of years back. So there is an element of truth in horoscopes. Normally horoscopes which are cast are called " Natal Horoscopes", which is the position of the plants and their conjunctions at the time of birth. The horoscope of Modi is sent to me by my friend from California. It is also available on the net, but the interpretations are made by me.
The Horoscope of Modi
The horoscope is based on the Ascendent. This is the dominating star and house at the time of birth. The Ascendent of Modi is Mars and this shows energy and strength. This has carried him to his present position. There is no point in discussing his past and his marriage which are events that have long passed. At this stage one is interested in the future and what it holds for Modi.
Modi won the last general election single-handed. It was a victory that can correctly be ascribed only to him. The reason is that 4 planets including the Sun are in the 10th house. This conjunction spells the rise of Modi. A decade back nobody could have imagined that Modi will rise to this height. Yet, he surmounted all problems and led the BJP to victory. This is entirely due to placements of plants in the 10th house.
The Napoleonic House in Modi's Horoscope
But again the 10th house has great significance otherwise. It is a house that is also referred to as " Napoleonic house". Now Napoleon was a great French man. He rose from obscurity to be a great leader and emperor of France. But having reached his apex he dropped to the nadir with a massive defeat at Waterloo. This ended all his dreams and he spent the rest of his life as a prisoner of the English at the island of St Helena in the Atlantic Ocean, thousands of miles from home.
Sadly Modi has the same dispensation of plants in the 10th house.Sun and Saturn have conjoined in this house and they show a tremendous rise as is demonstrated by his rise to power. But Saturn unlike Jupiter in all astrology's has great side effects. It gives great rise, but abject downfall to the depths of nowhere. Everybody knows what happened to Napoleon. There is a similar chance of events overtaking Modi in the years to come.
The position of the planets in the 10th house can be interpreted to mean that in the 2019 election, he may crash to a gigantic defeat. I will say a shattering defeat. This is sad, but again this is what one reads from the stars. I am a supporter of Modi, but I am afraid the stars do not portend his continuation in power.
One fact that emerges from Modi's horoscope is that he is not a revolutionary. Thus, for limited gains he has not followed what he had preached. On at least a dozen issues from UCC, Article 370,reservation, China, Pakistan policy among others he has not brought in anything revolutionary. On the contrary like giving the reservation of 10% to higher castes and violating the instructions of the Supreme Court he has in fact seriously compromised himself.This is because of Saturn in the 10th house and it's conjunction with the Sun. Saturn has always long term ill effects and that perhaps is the reason that Modi for short term vote bank politics has resorted to such subterfuges.
Last Word
Modi's horoscope is interesting and in some later posts I shall give readers many other insights to his character. In particular the complete absence of women in his life, which again is a trait that is not found in a majority of horoscopes.
Modi will do well to beware. I recollect reading Shakespear's famous play " Julius Ceasor". He was warned to beware of the "Ides of March" and not go to the Senate. He went and got murdered. The 2019 election is still 3 years away and if Modi pulls up his socks he could turn the effects of the 10th house. But to my mind, he has reached his zenith and when you reach the zenith, you slip. in the case of Modi, it may be a sheer and precipitous fall.
9 years ago
ABSIVAKUMAR created new article Why excessive permissiveness is always very dangerous.
It is a very well documented fact and a very well admired point globally -- the strength of the Indian family as a unit, which has survived generations, and is still going strong.
In spite of several problems, we as a Nation, have been able to sustain family values and there is absolutely no reason why the family cannot be a very good and self-sustaining unit for ever.
However, in the past fifteen years or so, there have been a huge number of disturbing trends that seem to be giving our traditional family values, considerable stress and strain.
Why does this happen? Yes, we need to understand what are the problems and how this happens, and why.
Firstly, since both the parents are always so busy with their jobs and their commercial lives, even the smallest amount of time that they need to spend with the children, is just not there. Furthermore, even that smallest amount of time, is spent on watching TV or catching with friends on Facebook or What's up or whatever.
This merry-go-round is deeply disturbing to the children, who find someone outlet with friends and peers, even if they are not classmates. This leads to further problems, as just one negative influence may lead to very dangerous consequences.
For example, in the city of Coimbatore, a seventh standard girl, was spotted right on the middle of a busy road, expressing her deep regret that her boy friend had ditched her, and had not accepted her love!!
Worse, she was seen consuming alcohol in full public view!! This is the result of inadequate attention that the children always get even from relatively less educated or illiterate parents. Hence, the urgent need of the hour, is to spend quality time children, and take such a thing to its logical conclusion. It ought to be realized that only parents can have a huge influence in terms of good values, and unless this happens, no improvement is going to happen.
The second reason why permissiveness is so huge is the negative influence of the media. The atrocious TV serials in literally every single language, including the major language of Hindi, have taken India down the road --- all on the negative side. For example, it is now a proven fact that the TV serials even teach youngsters to commit a murder and get away with it!! Worse, the TV serials make the children addicts and a huge amount of time is effectively wasted at any point in time.
The third reason for permissiveness is the trend among children to express dissent in a big way, particularly to parents. They do not understand that such dissent leads them to the path of ruin, more so, when the dissent is meaningless, often expressed for worthless purposes. The most important point of dissent is on the manner in which young children want to dress.
Very young children want to expose their bodies, and often wear atrocious outfits that were not even considered okay even a decade ago. When parents object, all hell breaks loose, and the unhappiness that results is often so huge. Deviant behavior takes over, and the net result is that the permissiveness goes on. This is mainly because parents are not able to control their children, anymore. This often happens due to lack of time. Parents just allow the children to do whatever they want, and this leads to even more misery.
The fourth reason why permissiveness happens is because the children are themselves often confused about what is good or bad at various points of time. It is essential that there is very good career counseling at various levels. To some extent, this has already started to happen, but is more confined to the urban areas. This should become more widespread and cannot be restricted to only the urban areas.
The fifth reason why permissiveness is so widespread is the trend among boys to "experiment", even this goes to the ridiculous levels, like raping their own classmate. This has happened even in rural areas, even among school children.
The remedies are obvious. Firstly, there is a big need for communication between children and parents, between teachers and children, and even between children and relatives. Blood relatives, particularly the brother of the mother, have a big influence on children, often when the child or children are very well known to the man. This happens in the semi-urban and rural areas. This happens when the man comes to the house very often, and communicates to the child or children.
There is another remedy which should be tried out. Friends of every child, in the neighborhood, should be often consulted to check if the child or children is/are on the right track. Even the smallest problem, should be rectified immediately.
The third remedy lies in making child understand the value of money, and develop feelings or emotions like empathy, compassion for others, and honesty, by taking them to places where the less unfortunate people, including orphanages, are housed.
This will open up new channels of communication, and make the child understand that he or she can contribute very effectively to noble causes. In fact, some trusts have a practice where even small children do physical work, and make each and every activity a meaningful one. Such children will naturally be more inclined to discipline of a tall order and permissiveness can and will be in check.
In the urban areas, where the flats and apartments are the norm, a huge amount of communication between residents should happen more often than now. This is because useful feedback can be obtained from various quarters and such feedback can be used for stemming permissiveness.
So, we need the stop this menace of excessive permissiveness. How and how fast we do it, will differ from family to family, but the fact is that it ought to be done.
The solutions are not too complex and with some effort, everything will face in place. The will to do it is important, and if this is there, permissiveness, as an issue, can be easily handled.
9 years ago
Bajirao created new article Zika Virus and Pregnancy.
Zika Virus is very much in news now a days. We all know about Zika virus hence I am not going to talk more about Zika virus but will be talking about the relation of virus and pregnancy and its effect on newborn and unborn babies. Spread of Zika virus during pregnancy has made a news as it has caused much harm to the baby and mother as well.
Zika virus primarily spreads through the bite of an infected mosquito of Aedes species family. This species is also known to cause Dengue fever. These mosquitoes are also more likely to spread other diseases like Dengue and Chikenguniya. Currently the outbreak of Zika virus have been occurring in many countries like Africa, Southeast Asia and Pacific Islands, however it was first noticed in Brazil.
Zika virus affected countries are Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, Dominic Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Gyuana, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Saint Martin, Suriname and Venezuela.
Common Symptoms of Zika
The most common symptoms of Zika disease are fever, rashes, joint pain and red eye. Zika virus infection does not need hospitalization and rare deaths have been noticed due to this disease, however this virus has severe effect on the babies and pregnant women. Women suffered from Zika disease during the pregnancy has given birth to the child with small headed brain or 'microcephaly'.
Zika Disease and Pregnant Women
Pregnant women can get infected with Zika virus through two ways - Through the bite of an infected mosquito which is a primary way of getting infected and can also be spread through sexual partner as this virus is sexually transmittable.
Zika virus when spreads from pregnant women to the fetus it causes severe birth defect called as Microcephaly. According to the researchers, there is strong link between Zika disease during pregnancy and microcephaly. However it is important to remember that there are several other causes of developing microcephaly in the newborn babies (other than Zika disease). Other causes includes genetic factors, contact with certain chemicals like Pyriproxifen (pesticides) and certain other viral and bacterial infections during the pregnancy.
Some other defects are also seen in the newborn babies like hearing problems, ear problems and impaired growth of the body.
Zika Disease and Fetus or baby.
A baby who has traveled to the active Zika virus disease areas are highly at risk of developing this disease. Also mother who travel to the active Zika virus countries within two weeks of delivery is also at great risk of developing the disease in infants or baby. The virus can be transmitted to the baby in two ways - before birth and after the birth of baby.
Before the birth of child, virus is transmitted to the baby through the mother who is infected with Zika virus during the pregnancy. The transmission of virus after the birth of baby is still unknown. There is also no evidence if the virus is transmitted via breast feeding. According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention, babies born in active transmission areas must be tested for Zika virus within 48 hours of the delivery. Even mothers should be tested for Zika virus during the pregnancy and after the birth of the baby.
Details about Microcephaly
Let's understand what exactly microcephaly is and what happens to the baby during this condition.
A condition where a baby's head is much smaller than expected as baby's head does not develop during the pregnancy or because it stops developing after the birth.
Depending on the severity of microcephaly, babies develop other problems as well like -
Delay in developmental milestones like sitting, standing, walking, etc.
Decreased ability to learn and understand the daily life.
Difficulty in balancing the body and movements
Difficulty in swallowing
Convulsions
Vision problems
Hearing problems
Most of these problems remain lifelong and cannot be treated. Some times they become life threatening as well in case of severe microcephaly.
Spread of Zika virus during pregnancy can cause life threatening microcephaly as well and baby becomes life long abnormal.
Are GMO Mosquitoes reason for the spread of Zika?
Many controversies are going on regarding the relation of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes and Zika disease. Many critics were of the thought that Zika disease is spread by genetically modified mosquitoes. However according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and other experts this is a rumor that GMO mosquitoes caused zika virus, in fact, GMO mosquitoes would help to fight the spread of virus. Natural Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are the only one that has caused this disease.
A British based company is developing the genetically modified mosquitoes to fight the diseases like dengue and zika. Still research is going on developing the mosquitoes.
Zika Disease and Sexually Transmitted Disease?
There is a controversy whether Zika virus is spread sexually or not and whether Zika disease is one of the sexually transmitted disease as other STD's like Herpes and HIV. Researchers have found certain cases where Zika virus is spread through sex, however there is still no confirmation if it predominately spreads through sexual indulges. If Zika virus spreads through sex then it means we no longer need mosquitoes to spread the disease.
Conclusion
Zika disease is not a dreadful disease but it is important to take the precaution, especially pregnant women need to be more cautious. Any sign of fever or rash should be tested and checked immediately by local physician to avoid the spread of disease. Since Zika is also spread through sexual contact it is always better to abstain yourself from intercourse until you get fully treated.
Proper examination and treatment can help to prevent the spread of disease and thus many lives can be saved.
9 years ago
Kalyani Nandurkar replied to the topic Services are dissatisfied with Modi Government and 3 chiefs have written a letter of Protest to PM..
usha manohar wrote:
Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:
Babu saroj wrote:
rambabu wrote:
I agree with you. Strengthening Army is as important as Swatch Bharat. If Swatch Bharat keeps the country clean, A strengthened Army keeps the Country safe and secure. In the background of a hostile country in our neighbor and the rapid spread of ISIS, it is highly essential to strengthen the Army. Modi should not compromise with this issue.
yeah if the country is safe then only we can think of cleaning the country unless its not worth it
Wow, what a great and insightful thought! Is that why most places in India are so dirty because our army fails to keep us safe???
LOL, if not anything else, at least he makes us laugh with his posts adding some comedy value !!!
Yes I grant him that, Like the great buffoon Lalu Prasad Yadav, he does have a little entertainment value LOL
9 years ago
Kalyani Nandurkar liked a reply to the topic Services are dissatisfied with Modi Government and 3 chiefs have written a letter of Protest to PM..
9 years ago
rambabu said thank you to Kalyani Nandurkar for his/her reply to the topic What do most Indians do while travelling abroad.
usha manohar wrote:
Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:
Babu saroj wrote:
rambabu wrote:
Bargaining at every shop is another disgusting habit. Perhaps to prove their smartness.. But this habit annoys . This is the habit one can see even when they are not traveling abroad.
this is what we called a pure Indian habit which mostly everyone in India has because they are being taught from their childhood itself
Oh really! Did you attend a special school to learn bargaining as well as another one on how to cheat???
LOL....I am sure he does not know what he is talking about ! However, there is some truth in what he says because habits like lying and cheating are taught at home by parents who at times use children as tools to do their dirty work , without realising the impact it has on their character formation !
Ha ha ha I am sure half the time he doesn't know what he talks about! But yes, it is at home that most children learn how to cheat and deceive others!
9 years ago
Kalyani Nandurkar said thank you to vijay for his/her reply to the topic This is how things work in Switzerland ...
The pharma industry in Switzerland is a huge revenue generator.
9 years ago
rambabu said thank you to Kalyani Nandurkar for his/her reply to the topic Eating Bread can cause cancer..
usha manohar wrote:
Babu saroj wrote:
Instead of saying me please i request you to share your thoughts of this post
Besides making spam posts you also have the audacity to question one of the most senior members and moderator who has already proved her worth and she does not need any certificate nor prompting from the likes of you. It is in your own interest that you become a responsible member before the admin steps in and bans you forever !
Thanks a lot Usha, sometimes a little appreciation is much needed.
Actually, he had been banned once recently by Sunil, but somehow, we really don't what happened, the very next day he was back on the site, why had admin chosen to lift his ban, no clue!! But this time, I assure you, he won't get away with it.
9 years ago
rambabu replied to the topic Eating Bread can cause cancer..
Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:
usha manohar wrote:
Babu saroj wrote:
Instead of saying me please i request you to share your thoughts of this post
Besides making spam posts you also have the audacity to question one of the most senior members and moderator who has already proved her worth and she does not need any certificate nor prompting from the likes of you. It is in your own interest that you become a responsible member before the admin steps in and bans you forever !
Thanks a lot Usha, sometimes a little appreciation is much needed.
Actually, he had been banned once recently by Sunil, but somehow, we really don't what happened, the very next day he was back on the site, why had admin chosen to lift his ban, no clue!! But this time, I assure you, he won't get away with it.
Please do it Kalyani. I was really really disgusted seeing this spammer active. When I was thinking that the site is buzzing with activity, such spammers appear and spoil the entire activity.
9 years ago
Kalyani Nandurkar replied to the topic What do most Indians do while travelling abroad.
usha manohar wrote:
Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:
Babu saroj wrote:
rambabu wrote:
Bargaining at every shop is another disgusting habit. Perhaps to prove their smartness.. But this habit annoys . This is the habit one can see even when they are not traveling abroad.
this is what we called a pure Indian habit which mostly everyone in India has because they are being taught from their childhood itself
Oh really! Did you attend a special school to learn bargaining as well as another one on how to cheat???
LOL....I am sure he does not know what he is talking about ! However, there is some truth in what he says because habits like lying and cheating are taught at home by parents who at times use children as tools to do their dirty work , without realising the impact it has on their character formation !
Ha ha ha I am sure half the time he doesn't know what he talks about! But yes, it is at home that most children learn how to cheat and deceive others!
9 years ago
Kalyani Nandurkar liked a reply to the topic What do most Indians do while travelling abroad.
9 years ago
Kalyani Nandurkar replied to the topic Eating Bread can cause cancer..
usha manohar wrote:
Babu saroj wrote:
Instead of saying me please i request you to share your thoughts of this post
Besides making spam posts you also have the audacity to question one of the most senior members and moderator who has already proved her worth and she does not need any certificate nor prompting from the likes of you. It is in your own interest that you become a responsible member before the admin steps in and bans you forever !
Thanks a lot Usha, sometimes a little appreciation is much needed.
Actually, he had been banned once recently by Sunil, but somehow, we really don't what happened, the very next day he was back on the site, why had admin chosen to lift his ban, no clue!! But this time, I assure you, he won't get away with it.
9 years ago
Abhinav Kumar created new article Origin of Life- Focussing Chemical Evolution.
This article is focused particles on chemical evolution. Earth developed around 4.6 billion years back by condensation of elm or cloud of cosmic dust and gases. Not body knows what actually happened. Well its beyond our reach to go into past and observe the events one by one. But we made an estimate and statistics based on the evidences(fossils) and process taking place on the earth. Many experiments were done. And finally it was concluded that the origin of life took place from chemical evolution followed by biological evolution.
What actually happened?
At first, there were only gases and dust particles. It was made up of radioactive elements. They soon started decaying and formed heat. It was followed by condensation and cooling resulting in stratification with heavier elements (e.g. Nickel, Iron). At this time, the surface was as hot as melted iron. Due to this the lighter elements like Hydrogen, Carbon, Oxygen were present in atomic state. But soon the formation of molecules started taking place. As the time passed, the temperature came down and its surface cooled down. The lighter elements interacted with each other and formed water, methane, ammonia, Carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen cyanide.
On the similar way, nitrites and oxides also formed. Atmosphere of this period is called reducing atmosphere. However, there was no ozone layer. Therefore, the UV rays were highly active on the surface. With the time our earth became solidified enough to have large depressions and elevations all around. Since the temperature was high, the water was mainly present in the form of steam. The rate of evaporation was fast. Average temperature was around 50-60 Celsius. Lightening was frequent. The intense heat of volcano and radioactive decay of various elements contributed a large amount of energy merging methane, ammonia and other molecules with each other and formed new complex molecules. This resulted in the formation of simple organic molecules. These were mainly alcohols, Aldehydes, amino aids, sugar etc. An experimental proof of same has also been given. The proof was given by the famous scientist Stanley L. Miller on the theory that life originated from preexisting non-living matter. This helped the basic theory to be widely accepted by the people.
Soon larger molecules were formed. The simple organic molecules remained in low concentration due to development of steady state or equilibrium. Polymerization required their concentration, a source of energy and evaporation of water. this occurred on the shores of water bodies where clay and other minerals helped in their aggregation and formation of a short of sludge. he molecules came in contact with each other and reacted simultaneously. They formed newer molecules. The environment was oxygen free. Radiations, lightening volcanic eruptions were frequent. All these along with solar energy provided the energy undergo more chemical reactions. Simple sugar condensed to form pep-tides, polypeptides and even proteins. On the similar way polynucleotides condensed to form nucleic acid.
Result
The basic elements were formed.It paved the entry of processes involving various biological activities on after another.All these reactions occurred without any enzyme, DNA, RNA or ribosome. In this way, the basic condition for origin of life was fulfilled. But it was just the beginning of a source of life on earth. This nearly took billions of year(don't know the exact figure). It was followed by the biological evolution in which the first of life developed. It will be discussed separately in another article.
9 years ago
MG Singh created new article Hindu Muslim Marriages are Dynamite in The Sub-Continent.
Background
Hindus and Muslims are the two major communities in the sub-continent and both have existed together for close to 1100 years. Hinduism first came in contact with Islam around the 10th century and a substantial portion of the Hindu community converted to the new religion. Despite both religions having lived side by side with each other, yet the unalienable fact remains that they never gelled with each other. In fact, a degree of animosity remained between the two religions and their followers.
The reason for this is that both the faiths are diametrically opposed in ethos and concepts. The enemy of one is the god of the other. While one is an idol worshipper the other believes in the concept of one god. The biggest difference is the concept of tolerance.While the Hindu by nature is tolerant, by contrast, the Muslim is intolerant and believes in conversion even if the sword is to be used. Thus, at most times both religions have been in a degree of conflict. Matters were not helped by the fact that the Muslims were the rulers and the Hindus the subjects.
This led to an unequal equation between the two. Now, it is a well-known fact that women for centuries have been the bone of contention between races and many wars have been fought over them.The most famous being the Trojan-Greek war over Helen, the Queen of Macedonia and wife of King Menelaus.
In India, the Muslims constantly desired Hindu women, both as wives or consorts and wanted them to be part of their harems. In Islam for a non-Muslim woman to marry a Muslim, it is essential that she converts to Islam. The Muslims most often as they were the rulers, many times carried out these marriages by force, by abduction and conquest and the Hindus could do pretty little about it.This continued for almost 900 years. The Hindus where they had the chance also desired Muslim women and an example is Maharajah Ranjit Singh, the Sikh ruler who had 4 Muslim wives. The difference was that he never converted them to Sikhism and when Ranjit died, these Muslim wives were not consigned to the funeral pyre.
The Situation During British Rule
The defeat of the Muslims By the English led to some respite for the Hindus from the abductions and kidnapping of Hindu women. The British enforced a uniform law and Hindu and Muslim criminal law was banned. The British did not touch personal law, with the result the compartmentalized division between Hindus and Muslims continued. Both communities desired each other's women but were deeply divided to accept a union between a man or woman from Islam to a Hindu man or woman. In real terms, any union between a Hindu and a Muslim was fraught with great risk and often led to communal clashes, despite the British being the paramount power overhead.
This state of affairs continued till 1947, the year India became free. However despite the British rule, the desire for a Muslim or Hindu woman to sleep with continued with both communities. There are cases that when Hindu men visited a brothel,more often than not they desired a Muslim girl.
One would have thought that with the passage of time running into centuries, the Hindus and Muslims would have been tolerant of marriage between them. But it never happened. Here Islam scored as it accepted Hindu girls into its fold, albeit after conversion to Islam. In contrast, Hindus were more rigid and thus reciprocal traffic was limited.
India after 1947
Jawaharlal Nehru led India to independence. The British accepted the two nation theory of Hindus and Muslims being separate people and partitioned the country. Pakistan became a theocratic state with Islam as the state religion while India opted for a secular constitution. This had it's repercussions as in Pakistan the Hindus who were left behind were at the mercy of the Muslims. There are hundreds of reports of Hindu girls being abducted, particularly in Sind and being converted to Islam and married to Muslim men. I will say that in Pakistan official policy does not favor this and the government is trying to stop this practice.
In India the Muslims became a minority and felt they were under siege. Intermarriage between Hindus and Muslims, however, continued to create tensions. The Muslims stole a march over the Hindus because of open encouragement from the Ulema. At many places, it was openly preached in the mosques that Muslim men must marry Hindu girls. I recollect when I was in Kashmir, loud speakers openly broadcast that Kashmiri Pandits should either be exiled or killed, but Pandit women must be abducted and converted to Islam and made wives.
The Indian state has not been able to cope with this insidious propaganda. In the state of Kerala a new term "love Jihad" has been coined. This word was used by the Kerala High Court to describe devious plans of Muslim youths to befriend Hindu and Christian girls and marry them.The girls were converted to Islam and many taken to Saudi Arabia and then divorced. Passions still rise when any girl from any community marries either a Hindu or a Hindu girl marries a Muslim. In UP and Bihar at many places, riots have broken out when such incidents have taken place.
In this scenario of intolerance in marriage, the Muslims appear to be ahead. They readily accept a Hindu girl in their fold. But, they are fanatic on their women marrying a Hindu man.They will insist that the Hindu convert to Islam and in case he does not do so, there have been cases of the Hindu being killed.
Last Word
Recently I attended a marriage of my senior friend's son, a doctor to a Muslim girl.She was his colleague, but I was taken aback to observe the marriage was as per Islamic rights and the boy had converted to Islam.An educated doctor doing this was a surprise to me. It also reminded me of my affair with a Muslim dentist girl when I was a subaltern posted in Bombay. We broke, as I refused to convert to Islam. More on that later.
The fact is that both communities are like watertight compartment. I wonder whether Jinnah was right when he said the Hindus and Muslims cannot mix as they are separate communities with entirely different concepts and thoughts.
Frankly I am saddened that this happens in India where both communities have lived for hundreds of years.
9 years ago
MG Singh created new article Pakistan is Part of "the Axis of Evil".
The word evil has been used many times in politics. Ronald Reagon used the word " The Evil Empire" to describe the Soviet Union. Late George Bush used the word " Axis of Evil" to describe the 3 renegade nations at that time ; namely Iran, North Korea and Iraq. The Soviet Union has ceased to exist and of the latter 3, only North Korea remains. However, one wonders that more than these nations, the one nation that deserved this epithet is Pakistan. A study of this nation's history, particularly with regard to its nuclear doctrine, is revealing. It shows that the Pakistan state has adopted methods that are not in consonance with good order and discipline. It has violated basic canons of human conduct and made the world a more dangerous place. This is sad as the Pakistan army and Government is not aware of what a nuclear exchange means. Pakistan compared to India and China is a small country and few H-Bombs will not obliterate India or China, but Pakistan will cease to exist. This simple rationale does not seem to dawn on the Pakistan ruling elite.
Pakistan has a long history of enmity with India. However much we deny it, the fact remains that this hatred is rooted in history and a part of old Muslim hatred for Hinduism.In sum total, it is a Hindu-Muslim conflict sustained from the Pakistan side. India would like to eschew it and move forward, but Pakistan is rooted in time and still harks back to the older age.
The Pakistan rulers to remain in power have created the India bogey. This is like beating a dead horse, but all the same the Pakistan army and government continue with it. Part of the hatred stems from the fact that the Muslims who ruled the sub-continent for 900 years are now relegated in importance and only rule one-fifth of their earlier empire. This loss of pre-eminent position in the sub-continent has made the Pakistan nation envious of India and it has embarked on a one point plan to match India militarily and at the same time try and destroy " Hindu" India. Matching and beating the Indian nuclear arsenal is one of the points of parity with India.
The world should be concerned about the nuclear arsenal of Pakistan. This is where the danger lies and India and the USA must be concerned about it. In simple words, the nuclear weaponry of Pakistan is not safe. The Pakistan scientists with not a little encouragement from the ISI of the army have carried out a blatant proliferation of nuclear secrets and technical know-how. The head of their nuclear program Dr.Khan is known to have sold nuclear secrets to Iran for cash and also supplied nuclear know-how to renegade organizations like ISI.Dr. Khan is in the dog house now as it transpired he was an Ahmeddiya and this community is vilified and ostracized in Pakistan.
A great danger is whether the Pakistani nuclear weapons are safe and secure. Nobody knows what the Pakistani nuclear doctrine is and Donald Trump the presumptive candidate for President of the GOP has clearly stated that the Pakistan nuclear weapons are not safe and could pass into the hands of Jihadi groups.This is the reason he has not advocated a US withdrawal from Afghanistan as he feels the US forces are required to be there to safeguard the nuclear arsenal of Pakistan.
The latest bits of news trickling from Pakistan is simply horrifying. The Pakistan nuclear policy believes in the first strike with nuclear weapons in a war with India. Pakistan is thus the only country in the world that follows this policy. Even the North Korean dictator has recently announced that North Korea would not be the first to use Nuclear weapons.Pakistan has also made it clear that their nuclear weapons are for use only against India and no one else. It has also announced that command of tactical nuclear weapons would be handed over to local commanders. This is an extremely dangerous move and one wonders whether the Pakistan ruling elite is aware of its consequences. Handing over the nuclear button to local commanders is fraught with danger as any renegade commander could unleash a nuclear strike. In addition, Jihadi groups will have easy access to this weaponry. This is not a far-fetched idea as elements of the security forces are deeply infiltrated with Jihadi elements. This was apparent when the bodyguard of the Punjab Governor, a member of the elite security group to guard VVIPs gunned down the Punjab governor, the man he was supposed to guard. He reportedly pumped 21 bullets into the body of the Punjab leader.
Handing over the nuclear button to local commanders is fraught with danger as any renegade commander could unleash a nuclear strike. In addition, Jihadi groups will have easy access to this weaponry. This is not a far-fetched idea as elements of the security forces are deeply infiltrated with Jihadi elements. This was apparent when the bodyguard of the Punjab Governor, a member of the elite security group to guard VVIPs gunned down the Punjab governor, the man he was supposed to guard. he reportedly pumped 21 bullets into the body of the Punjab Governor. With such policies, Pakistan aptly qualifies to be labelled an evil state or the axis of evil.
One wonders whether the world will wake up to what is happening in Pakistan.The fact is that the command and control of nuclear weapons in Pakistan is suspect and I presume the nuclear button is with the army chief and not with the civilian leadership. In any case as far as India policy is concerned the civilian leadership is redundant. The obsession with India is now completely paranoid. George Bush referred to this obsession with India. The world must beware of this evil state that may well destroy itself and a major portion of humanity in SE Asia. God forbid the weapons falling into hands of Jihadi groups and then the fat will be in the fire as the USA will be the target.
It is about time the USA took action. It is well aware of the goings on in Pakistan and a surgical strike may yet save humanity from an impending disaster that may emanate from this Islamic republic.
9 years ago
Lopamudra created new article Usefulness to the society.
Solitude might be relaxing and pleasing for a while, but as quoted by Aristotle, ‘Man is a social animal’ and therefore being cut off from the world is neither healthy nor agreeable. Besides the physical and material needs, our emotional needs too are fulfilled by the society. Our happiness and sorrows depend to a great extent on the people who surround us. We react to them and are affected by their actions. Conversely they respond and react to us based on the vibes we send across. If this was not true, we would have lived our independent lives and would have been devoid of any emotion. Since we are so much a part of the society and so much dependent on it , it is our moral duty and responsibility to contribute towards its benefit. Whichever profession we choose, our aim should primarily be to contribute towards the development of the society. The satisfaction and happiness one gets from rendering his services to the society so as to make a positive difference is most rewarding.
Progress of a society and Nation as a whole, depends to a great extent on its youth. How they are guided and molded by their elders is what makes them responsible citizens. All experienced and knowledgeable and responsible members of the society are duty bound to guide these youngsters for progress of the Nation. The first duty is undoubtedly the parents’ who are always the first and the best guides for their children. Giving them time and helping them through their ups and downs, inculcating right values and priorities is the biggest responsibility of each parent. When parents are too busy to take care of their children or too ignorant to understand what is best for them, the onus falls on the teachers. Apart from formal education, it is important to teach etiquette, moral values, personal well-being, and sanitation or just about anything that helps in their overall growth, with practical inputs.
In the modern world where friendship is virtual, pleasantries are exchanged over telephones and taking care of parents refers to putting them in plush old age homes or keeping full time nurses for them, there is this incessant need to bridge the distance between individuals so as to remain human instead of being robots in the hands of technology and work pressure. Life skills today are a part of school curriculum, something that got instilled in the earlier generations at home since childhood. Life skills, soft skills are trained so that people can excel in their lives. Things like stress management, time management, decision making, interpersonal relationships which were leant by trial and error methods by everybody ,is lacking so much that there are training institutes for the same. People are so busy with work that they are unable to instill these skills in their own children. More so because they are unable to lead by example. How are we contributing to the society if we are so lost in ourselves? Taking breaks and going for holidays in order to recharge is something done by everyone but does it really work? Should we not try and make our everyday life interesting so that holidays are just a choice and not a necessity? Most people work because it is a means for earning bread but if we enjoy our work the output is always better. Today we work for ourselves, for comfort and luxury. Very rarely do we think of upliftment of the society. Small gestures like teaching street children, donating old clothes to the needy, teaching compassion and tolerance to our own children and standing up against what is wrong are just examples of numerous ways one can contribute to the society. The ultimate aim is growth and development which is possible only by reaching out and helping out.
Earning money is of course essential for everyone. For anyone to feel motivated towards his profession, incentive is paramount. Hard work for success should very much be compensated with rewards appropriately. That’s the key to the progress of a Nation and society as a whole. But there is a thin line between earning money by unfair means or crushing whoever comes your way and earning money through fair means, hard work and dedication .The difference between the two is that one is a self cantered motive while the other is to work for the community and for progress of an organization or the Nation. In one we overlook all those surrounding us and work for our own personal gain while in the other we work for the benefit of others and in the process benefit ourselves. The first kind is like an unquenchable thirst while the other is satisfying, fulfilling carrier. Focus to broaden the outlook or horizon and to think beyond self is the only way to contribute towards the progress of a society. Our own happiness is interlinked with satisfaction. What we earn is also satisfactory only if we enjoy what we do. Finding time to socialize, spending time with family and stealing time to look around and breathe in fresh air ,feel the surroundings and contributing in whichever ways possible must be done on daily basis.
Besides reaching out to our fellow beings, contribution to the society and world as a whole also includes contributing to our surroundings, our environment. The rise in temperature over the years, shortage of natural resources, innumerable natural disasters to a great extent hold us responsible. The rise in population, lack of sanitation and hygiene, remorseless wastage of resources by the better privileged, corruption at every sphere of life and general indifference to the problems is largely responsible for various disasters like landslides, droughts and global warming as a whole. Unless each one of us is aware of the consequences of wastage of natural resources and importance of conservation there is precious little we can do to save the world. Shoving the issue and pretending that the responsibility lies on the Government or the Western countries is simply feigning ignorance and turning a blind eye to the problem. Its time to be aware and create awareness and strictly follow what we preach. Planting more trees, saving electricity, conserving water, saving food, recycling wastes, cleaning surroundings are our individual responsibilities.
Simple things if followed with diligence and by encouraging all in the vicinity to pledge to themselves that they will contribute to the society the best they can is the only way we leave a happier ,healthier and better world for our generations to come.
9 years ago
Abhinav Kumar created new article Single Cell Protein.
Already more than 25% of human population is suffering from hunger and malnutrition. Both human population and animal population are rising. Conventional agricultural produce of cereals, pulses, vegetables and fruits would not be able to meet the rising demand of food. It can be produced entirely independent of agricultural waste products. Further, stress of health advisers on meat diets is reducing the availability of cereals and other food articles because 3—10 kg of grains are required to produce 1 kg of meat from animal farming. SNPs usually develop after fermentation of waste materials providing all necessary conditions like temperature, humidity, water, pH etc. Even then the availability of animal protein cannot be abundant. A 250 kg cow produces only 200 g of protein per day while it eats 20—30 kg of food. Therefore alternative methods of raising food items have to be searched.One of them is single cell protein.
Single cell protein is protein rich cell biomass which is used as food or feed. It is a very successful example of naturally synthesized food. Basically the food which is produced has the texture of meat. It posses a lot of fiber. Animals such as cow buffalo need a large amount of protein. Earlier Spirulina, a cyanobacterjum (blue-green alga) has long been used as human food and fodder. Microorganisms are commonly used in raising fermented foods, e.g., curd, cheese, butter, bread. A number of other edible fungi (e.g., mushroom) and blue green algae are also known. It is a novel mechanism to fulfill not only the needs of our own but of animals too. The problem of lack of food is increasing day by day. In such condition, such techniques become an elixir for us to fulfill our basic needs in the coming future.
Efforts had been math to raise Chlorella as food. Spirulina can be grown on starch rich waste water of Potato processing industries, straw, molasses, animal manure and sewage. Doctors prefer food rich in protein, vitamins and minerals. Single Cell Protein stands perfectly to fulfill the condition. It can be a part of diet not only for children but also for sports person who in maintaining healthy diet and physical fitness. Spirulina is not only rich in protein, it also contains sufficient carbohydrates, fats, minerals and vitamins. To my knowledge, it is the first natural of deriving large amount of food in short period of time. It can be used as supplemented diet for undernourished children. Mushroom is already an acceptable food item. It is raised on waste organic matter. Therefore, nutrient rich microbes can also become an acceptable form of food. Their potential is quite high 250 g of bacterium Methylophilus methylotrophus grown on organic wastes.
Other microbial biomass can also be raised using low cost substrates. While algae do not require any organic materials in their substrates, other microorganisms (bacteria, yeast and other fungi) flourish on organic matter. Spirulina is recommended for diabetes patients to control blood sugar level. It has rare side effects. You my think for a while if the SNPs have any side effect. Let me make clear to you that SNPs are made from natural organisms without the use of chemicals, acids, enzymes etc. So the chances are rare. They are raised on low cost organic matter like that of saw dust, paddy straw, paddy husk and industrial organic wastes and effluents like whey. But minor symptoms like constipation , nausea may arise. But overall it is advantageous. With the development in the filed of biotechnology, the science behind SNPs will become more clear and better. The most common source of single cell protein are single celled yeasts and filamentous fungus. Single cell protein is rich in good quality protein. It is poor in fats. High protein and low fat are desirable features of human food. However, care has to be taken to remove excess nucleic acids and heavy metal or toxins present in organic wastes.
Single cell protein actually means a protein rich biomass of unicellular microorganisms. However, it includes biomass of multi-cellular microorganisms as well. Some of its uses are:
It can be used as protein rich supplement of human diet. In broad spectrum, it can also used as carbon source including waste product which helps in removal of pollutants.
It requires high level of sterility control to prevent infections an spoilage. This will bridge the gap between requirement and supply of protein for human diet and take off the pressure on agriculture system for increasing the protein content of food articles.
Use of organic wastes and industrial effluents in raising Single cell protein will help in reducing environmental pollution.
Certain algae grown in open ponds require only Carbon dioxide as the carbon source. In the presence of sunlight, they can effectively carry out photosynthesis, and produce protein. The examples of these algae are Chlorella species and Spirulina species. Chlorella is used as a supplement for enriching ice-creams, breads and yogurts in some countries. Overall, I would say that this technique deserves a serious consideration for its use as food or other supplement.
9 years ago
MG Singh created new article Warfare: Hindus Lacked Strategic Sense.
Introduction
Hindus is the generic term for residents of Hindustan who as it stands professed the Hindu faith. It is a loose terminology as Hindu's had many sects and different schools of thought. But overall the entire sub-continent was inhabited by Hindus, though their practices differed. Hindus were also very fond of war and had an exclusive caste which was classified as a warrior caste, often referred to as the Kshatriyas.This had its plus and minus points. The plus was that a dedicated group was available to fight for the nation. The minus was that arms were only handled by the Kshatriyas and in case they were defeated there was no second line of defense and invariably the enemy after the defeat of the Kshatriyas had a free run without any opposition.
Field Marshal Viscount Bernard Montogomery in his " History of Warfare" devotes a chapter to " Warfare of the Hindus". He makes a telling observation.Monty, as he was popularly called has stated that the Hindus were very brave with a fatalistic contempt of death. But he has also stated that they disregarded the Principles of War and had no strategic sense.
War is a serious subject and has been studied by scholars since the dawn of history. The earliest exponent of the art of war was the Chinese scholar Sun Tzu. Later in the 19th century Baron Von Clausewitz enunciated his 10 Principles of War, which is now the Bible of warfare.
The bravery of the Hindus was legendary. Even poets eulogized it in what is known as the "Vir Gatha Kaal". Despite bravery and great courage the Hindus ( residents) of India were defeated by invaders who came from the North West, mainly from the Khyber Pass. It is worth mentioning here that even the invaders who defeated the Hindus incorporated the very policies regarding warfare of the Hindus and succumbed to them. It was as if they were under a spell. This is beautifully brought out by Nirad C Choudhary in his book " The Continent of Circe"
Hindu Warfare
The first brush the Hindu army had with an invader was when Raja Purshottam ( Porus)met Alexander the Great in the Battle of Hydespes ( River Jhelum) in 327BC. The first casualty was unity of command as Porus was betrayed by the Raja of Taxila who went and joined the army of Alexander. Despite this Porus put up a creditable fight and stopped Alexander. Most historians now conclude that the elephant Corps of Porus unnerved the Greeks and Alexander decided to return back. He also gave vast lands to Porus and left. This is a sign that in effect he was defeated by Porus. Greek historians who came along with Alexander have chronicled that the battle with Porus was the fiercest that Alexander faced.
A study of the battle shows that despite a tactical victory, Porus committed some strategic blunders. He was lucky that his elephant corps stopped the Greeks otherwise he would have been routed. Porus remained on the East Bank of the Jhelum and waited for Alexander to attack. The Greek general showed initiative and crossed the Jhelum and attacked Porus, something which Porus should have done. In this, he lost the element of surprise as well as the chance to go on the offensive. He was thus fighting a battle with one arm tied behind his back and both his sons were killed.
This, lack of initiative has been the bane of the Hindu military for all times. When Mohammed of Ghazni invaded India 17 times, it is a matter of surprise that no Hindu Raja or general thought it fit to go and attack Ghazni in his den in Samarkand. It is a matter of pity that the Hindu army just sat and waited every year for the raid by Ghazni. This really makes sad reading. It proves that the Hindu Kings and generals had no strategic sense and even if a small force had been positioned at Khyber, Ghazni could have been halted. The second concerns absence of unity. When Ghazni advanced into India, no united Hindu force met him and it is on record that Raja Bhoj the most powerful Hindu King at that time never mounted a defence or joined other Hindus fighting Ghazni.
Another aspect that the Hindus ignored was mobility. The Hindu army with its elephant corps was a sluggish outfit and a slow moving affair. In contrast, the Muslim army had mounted archers and there were hordes of them.This gave them mobility and it was not difficult for Muslim armies under a great general to cover 150-200 miles in aday and surprise the enemy. Even the Muslims who settled in India got bogged down in creating elephant corps and also lacked strategic sense.
An example of the Battle of Panipat in 1526 between Babur and Ibrahim Lodhi is worth mentioning. Lodhi, the Muslim ruler of Delhi, knew that Babur was advancing across the plains of Punjab. His best course of action should have been to march forward to Punjab and face Babur at a place of his choice and surprise the Mongol. Sadly he did nothing and just waited for Babr at the gates of Delhi ( Panipat). He was defeated.
Analysis
What conclusion can we draw from ancient history? One can conclude that bravery is not a quality to win a war and along with it tactics and strategy are very important. Most rulers in India seemed to be unaware of the importance of guarding the Khyber and other passes in the North West of the Hindu Kush mountains. They left the passes unguarded and showed a poor strategic concept of warfare.
Hindu armies also lacked mobility and over-reliance on the elephant was their doom. In addition, the Hindus were never united and in most significant battles like the Battle of Tarain between Prithviraj Chauhan and Mohammed of Ghor, Raj Jaichand went and joined Ghor. Such traitors abound in Indian history.
We can conclude that the Hindus lost because they never studied the art of war. Sadly even now, Nehru never realised the concept of military power and was beaten by Mao. Indian must take lessons from the defeat of the Hindus a thousand years back and resove that such a state of affairs will never be allowed again.
9 years ago
MG Singh created new article Castro and Cuba.
Introduction
Dr. Fidel Castro and his brother Raoul Rao Castro have ruled Cuba for over 6 decades. In a way, they are the longest ruling family in the world and Fidel has the distinction of being the head of state for the longest period in the world. These are impressive statistics, but what is the sum total of the rule of the Castro brothers? During these 6+ decades of their rule did Cuba have prosperity ? were the Cuban people happy? these are questions that must be answered. Statistics do not lie and the per capita income of an average Cuban is very low still, despite the rhetoric of Communism and Marxism that Fidel Castro touted. The lot of the common Cuban did not improve. If this is so, then the question that must be answered is as to how the Castro brothers survived for so long as rulers of Cuba.Why were they not overthrown?
Rule of Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro is an enigmatic person. Just looking at him inspires confidence. With his black flowing beard and beret, he looked a charismatic figure. When he landed with a band of revolutionaries, the people spontaneously joined him to overthrow the corrupt dictator Batista. This man was an American stooge and when the revolutionaries headed towards Havana, he fled the island. Castro seized power.Initially, the USA treated him with kid gloves, but in a few months, Castro showed his true colors and brought in Communism in all spheres of Cuban life. He nationalized all industry and in particular took over the manufacture of sugar as well as the large sugarcane farms. The entire sugar industry was controlled by Americans and they were thrown out without a penny as compensation.
Castro was quick to realize the geopolitical situation and sided with Russia. The Soviet state under Nikita Khruschev bolstered the regime of Castro with aid and gas.The Americans who had for long relied on the " Monroe Doctrine" were aghast and the US President General "Ike" Dwight Eisenhower took the decision to overthrow the Castro regime.He accordingly instructed the CIA to plan an invasion of Cuba with help from Cuban exiles, who had escaped from Cuba when Castro had started enforcing communism.
Nikita Khruschev was not sitting idle and he ordered the bolstering of the Cuban army and air force with latest field guns and MIG Fighters. The CIA force landed in Cuba for the invasion in 1961. This was the time when Jack Kennedy was President as Eisenhower had finished his 2 terms as President, the maximum allowed by the amended US constitution.
The Cuban invasion aided by the CIA collapsed at the Bay of Pigs as they encountered a superior military force of MIGs and Russian weaponry. This was a black mark on the CIA, who had not anticipated the weaponry of Castro' s army. Kennedy himself cut a sorry figure as the Soviets played victory music.
Castro now on a visit to Russia asked that nuclear IRBM's be positioned in Cuba. Khruschev also agreed and the Russians began to install these missiles in Cuba. Once installed the entire USA was at risk and in great peril of a nuclear attack from Cuba. Photographs by CIA spy planes, notably the U-2 confirmed the American fears. Kennedy could not allow it and he enforced a blockade of Cuba. The world was on the brink of a nuclear conflagration. The year was 1962 and has gone down in history as the " 1962 Missile Crisis". Khrushchev backed down at the last moment but ensured that Americans gave him some concessions. One of these concessions was the promise of the United States NEVER to try and destabilize the Castro Regime.
This was a significant concession and a boon for Castro, who at that time did not realize what he had gained. He had asked for a Nuclear attack on 6 American cities, but when Khrushchev capitulated he was very angry.But Khruschev had played his cards well and he with one stroke ensured the survival of the Castro regime.
The USA scrupulously honored its pledge and that is the reason that Castro continued to rule Cuba with an iron hand. Castro thus got a lease of life and he started enforcing Communism in Cuba. The results were disastrous as the economy nose-dived. Poverty spread as the USA enforced a trade embargo. Cuban people made no progress and at times, things became so bad that desperate Cuba had to sell their old art heritages paintings and sculptures to earn money. In fact, the Cuban economy was shattered after the collapse of the Soviet union. Castro hung on despite the odds as the USA honored its pledge not to destabilize the Communist regime. Resultantly Castro survived. This was the one single reason that Castro continued in power. In the meantime, thousands of Cubans escaped in boats to the USA as Cuba had become one big prison.
Exit of Fidel Castro
In 2007, Castro suffered ill health and decided to hand over power to his brother Raul Rao Castro. The younger brother of Fidel Castro is a pragmatist and he realized that Cuba could not progress without help from the USA. He decided to open up to the USA. He was lucky as the present American President Barack Obama believed in a more open American policy.Both leaders shook hands and the reversal of American policy took place. This was epitomized with the first visit by an American President to Cuba in 80 years by Obama. It was a historic visit as the USA and Cuba opened up. Credit for this must go to Raoul Castro and Obama.
Last Word
One fact that has emerged is that Fidel Castro ruled for nearly 6 + decades and made history as the longest serving head of state. But it would not have been possible if Khrushchev had not extracted a promise from Kennedy that the USA would never destabilize the Cuban regime.
Dr. Fidel Castro has now gone into history. Unfortunately though he restored Cuban pride, the Cuban people suffered a lot under him. It appears as if Cuba was wrapped in a time warp. There are lessons to be drawn from the Cuban experiment and one of them is that a totally totalitarian state cannot deliver the goods and make things better. But all the same Fidel Castro made history and his name will be remembered as the man who restored Cuban pride and lived and went the way he wanted.
9 years ago
MG Singh created new article The Stars and Narendra Damodar Modi.
Background
Narendra Damodar Modi is the Prime Minister of India. He has had a checkered career and risen to great heights from a not so affluent background. Modi was born on 17 September 1950 at Mehsana in Gujerat. The time is given as 11am and I presume this is accurate enough. That makes him 66 years old.This is an age when many men reach their prime intellectually and Modi is no exception. He is the Prime Minister of India and that is one of the most difficult appointments in the world. This is because he heads a nation that from Kashmir to Assam has a diverse culture and language. Though 80% of the population is Hindu, yet this Hinduism has many facets and the people are not one in thought and deed.
I am an amateur astrologer and thought it fit to present to readers of this site a fascinating view of what the stars foretell about Modi. Astrology is not infallible, but ancient Indian astrologers like the Bhrigue in their works have forecast horoscopes of people thousands of years back. So there is an element of truth in horoscopes. Normally horoscopes which are cast are called " Natal Horoscopes", which is the position of the plants and their conjunctions at the time of birth. The horoscope of Modi is sent to me by my friend from California. It is also available on the net, but the interpretations are made by me.
The Horoscope of Modi
The horoscope is based on the Ascendent. This is the dominating star and house at the time of birth. The Ascendent of Modi is Mars and this shows energy and strength. This has carried him to his present position. There is no point in discussing his past and his marriage which are events that have long passed. At this stage one is interested in the future and what it holds for Modi.
Modi won the last general election single-handed. It was a victory that can correctly be ascribed only to him. The reason is that 4 planets including the Sun are in the 10th house. This conjunction spells the rise of Modi. A decade back nobody could have imagined that Modi will rise to this height. Yet, he surmounted all problems and led the BJP to victory. This is entirely due to placements of plants in the 10th house.
The Napoleonic House in Modi's Horoscope
But again the 10th house has great significance otherwise. It is a house that is also referred to as " Napoleonic house". Now Napoleon was a great French man. He rose from obscurity to be a great leader and emperor of France. But having reached his apex he dropped to the nadir with a massive defeat at Waterloo. This ended all his dreams and he spent the rest of his life as a prisoner of the English at the island of St Helena in the Atlantic Ocean, thousands of miles from home.
Sadly Modi has the same dispensation of plants in the 10th house.Sun and Saturn have conjoined in this house and they show a tremendous rise as is demonstrated by his rise to power. But Saturn unlike Jupiter in all astrology's has great side effects. It gives great rise, but abject downfall to the depths of nowhere. Everybody knows what happened to Napoleon. There is a similar chance of events overtaking Modi in the years to come.
The position of the planets in the 10th house can be interpreted to mean that in the 2019 election, he may crash to a gigantic defeat. I will say a shattering defeat. This is sad, but again this is what one reads from the stars. I am a supporter of Modi, but I am afraid the stars do not portend his continuation in power.
One fact that emerges from Modi's horoscope is that he is not a revolutionary. Thus, for limited gains he has not followed what he had preached. On at least a dozen issues from UCC, Article 370,reservation, China, Pakistan policy among others he has not brought in anything revolutionary. On the contrary like giving the reservation of 10% to higher castes and violating the instructions of the Supreme Court he has in fact seriously compromised himself.This is because of Saturn in the 10th house and it's conjunction with the Sun. Saturn has always long term ill effects and that perhaps is the reason that Modi for short term vote bank politics has resorted to such subterfuges.
Last Word
Modi's horoscope is interesting and in some later posts I shall give readers many other insights to his character. In particular the complete absence of women in his life, which again is a trait that is not found in a majority of horoscopes.
Modi will do well to beware. I recollect reading Shakespear's famous play " Julius Ceasor". He was warned to beware of the "Ides of March" and not go to the Senate. He went and got murdered. The 2019 election is still 3 years away and if Modi pulls up his socks he could turn the effects of the 10th house. But to my mind, he has reached his zenith and when you reach the zenith, you slip. in the case of Modi, it may be a sheer and precipitous fall.
9 years ago
ABSIVAKUMAR created new article Why excessive permissiveness is always very dangerous.
It is a very well documented fact and a very well admired point globally -- the strength of the Indian family as a unit, which has survived generations, and is still going strong.
In spite of several problems, we as a Nation, have been able to sustain family values and there is absolutely no reason why the family cannot be a very good and self-sustaining unit for ever.
However, in the past fifteen years or so, there have been a huge number of disturbing trends that seem to be giving our traditional family values, considerable stress and strain.
Why does this happen? Yes, we need to understand what are the problems and how this happens, and why.
Firstly, since both the parents are always so busy with their jobs and their commercial lives, even the smallest amount of time that they need to spend with the children, is just not there. Furthermore, even that smallest amount of time, is spent on watching TV or catching with friends on Facebook or What's up or whatever.
This merry-go-round is deeply disturbing to the children, who find someone outlet with friends and peers, even if they are not classmates. This leads to further problems, as just one negative influence may lead to very dangerous consequences.
For example, in the city of Coimbatore, a seventh standard girl, was spotted right on the middle of a busy road, expressing her deep regret that her boy friend had ditched her, and had not accepted her love!!
Worse, she was seen consuming alcohol in full public view!! This is the result of inadequate attention that the children always get even from relatively less educated or illiterate parents. Hence, the urgent need of the hour, is to spend quality time children, and take such a thing to its logical conclusion. It ought to be realized that only parents can have a huge influence in terms of good values, and unless this happens, no improvement is going to happen.
The second reason why permissiveness is so huge is the negative influence of the media. The atrocious TV serials in literally every single language, including the major language of Hindi, have taken India down the road --- all on the negative side. For example, it is now a proven fact that the TV serials even teach youngsters to commit a murder and get away with it!! Worse, the TV serials make the children addicts and a huge amount of time is effectively wasted at any point in time.
The third reason for permissiveness is the trend among children to express dissent in a big way, particularly to parents. They do not understand that such dissent leads them to the path of ruin, more so, when the dissent is meaningless, often expressed for worthless purposes. The most important point of dissent is on the manner in which young children want to dress.
Very young children want to expose their bodies, and often wear atrocious outfits that were not even considered okay even a decade ago. When parents object, all hell breaks loose, and the unhappiness that results is often so huge. Deviant behavior takes over, and the net result is that the permissiveness goes on. This is mainly because parents are not able to control their children, anymore. This often happens due to lack of time. Parents just allow the children to do whatever they want, and this leads to even more misery.
The fourth reason why permissiveness happens is because the children are themselves often confused about what is good or bad at various points of time. It is essential that there is very good career counseling at various levels. To some extent, this has already started to happen, but is more confined to the urban areas. This should become more widespread and cannot be restricted to only the urban areas.
The fifth reason why permissiveness is so widespread is the trend among boys to "experiment", even this goes to the ridiculous levels, like raping their own classmate. This has happened even in rural areas, even among school children.
The remedies are obvious. Firstly, there is a big need for communication between children and parents, between teachers and children, and even between children and relatives. Blood relatives, particularly the brother of the mother, have a big influence on children, often when the child or children are very well known to the man. This happens in the semi-urban and rural areas. This happens when the man comes to the house very often, and communicates to the child or children.
There is another remedy which should be tried out. Friends of every child, in the neighborhood, should be often consulted to check if the child or children is/are on the right track. Even the smallest problem, should be rectified immediately.
The third remedy lies in making child understand the value of money, and develop feelings or emotions like empathy, compassion for others, and honesty, by taking them to places where the less unfortunate people, including orphanages, are housed.
This will open up new channels of communication, and make the child understand that he or she can contribute very effectively to noble causes. In fact, some trusts have a practice where even small children do physical work, and make each and every activity a meaningful one. Such children will naturally be more inclined to discipline of a tall order and permissiveness can and will be in check.
In the urban areas, where the flats and apartments are the norm, a huge amount of communication between residents should happen more often than now. This is because useful feedback can be obtained from various quarters and such feedback can be used for stemming permissiveness.
So, we need the stop this menace of excessive permissiveness. How and how fast we do it, will differ from family to family, but the fact is that it ought to be done.
The solutions are not too complex and with some effort, everything will face in place. The will to do it is important, and if this is there, permissiveness, as an issue, can be easily handled.
9 years ago
Bajirao created new article Zika Virus and Pregnancy.
Zika Virus is very much in news now a days. We all know about Zika virus hence I am not going to talk more about Zika virus but will be talking about the relation of virus and pregnancy and its effect on newborn and unborn babies. Spread of Zika virus during pregnancy has made a news as it has caused much harm to the baby and mother as well.
Zika virus primarily spreads through the bite of an infected mosquito of Aedes species family. This species is also known to cause Dengue fever. These mosquitoes are also more likely to spread other diseases like Dengue and Chikenguniya. Currently the outbreak of Zika virus have been occurring in many countries like Africa, Southeast Asia and Pacific Islands, however it was first noticed in Brazil.
Zika virus affected countries are Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, Dominic Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Gyuana, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Saint Martin, Suriname and Venezuela.
Common Symptoms of Zika
The most common symptoms of Zika disease are fever, rashes, joint pain and red eye. Zika virus infection does not need hospitalization and rare deaths have been noticed due to this disease, however this virus has severe effect on the babies and pregnant women. Women suffered from Zika disease during the pregnancy has given birth to the child with small headed brain or 'microcephaly'.
Zika Disease and Pregnant Women
Pregnant women can get infected with Zika virus through two ways - Through the bite of an infected mosquito which is a primary way of getting infected and can also be spread through sexual partner as this virus is sexually transmittable.
Zika virus when spreads from pregnant women to the fetus it causes severe birth defect called as Microcephaly. According to the researchers, there is strong link between Zika disease during pregnancy and microcephaly. However it is important to remember that there are several other causes of developing microcephaly in the newborn babies (other than Zika disease). Other causes includes genetic factors, contact with certain chemicals like Pyriproxifen (pesticides) and certain other viral and bacterial infections during the pregnancy.
Some other defects are also seen in the newborn babies like hearing problems, ear problems and impaired growth of the body.
Zika Disease and Fetus or baby.
A baby who has traveled to the active Zika virus disease areas are highly at risk of developing this disease. Also mother who travel to the active Zika virus countries within two weeks of delivery is also at great risk of developing the disease in infants or baby. The virus can be transmitted to the baby in two ways - before birth and after the birth of baby.
Before the birth of child, virus is transmitted to the baby through the mother who is infected with Zika virus during the pregnancy. The transmission of virus after the birth of baby is still unknown. There is also no evidence if the virus is transmitted via breast feeding. According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention, babies born in active transmission areas must be tested for Zika virus within 48 hours of the delivery. Even mothers should be tested for Zika virus during the pregnancy and after the birth of the baby.
Details about Microcephaly
Let's understand what exactly microcephaly is and what happens to the baby during this condition.
A condition where a baby's head is much smaller than expected as baby's head does not develop during the pregnancy or because it stops developing after the birth.
Depending on the severity of microcephaly, babies develop other problems as well like -
Delay in developmental milestones like sitting, standing, walking, etc.
Decreased ability to learn and understand the daily life.
Difficulty in balancing the body and movements
Difficulty in swallowing
Convulsions
Vision problems
Hearing problems
Most of these problems remain lifelong and cannot be treated. Some times they become life threatening as well in case of severe microcephaly.
Spread of Zika virus during pregnancy can cause life threatening microcephaly as well and baby becomes life long abnormal.
Are GMO Mosquitoes reason for the spread of Zika?
Many controversies are going on regarding the relation of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes and Zika disease. Many critics were of the thought that Zika disease is spread by genetically modified mosquitoes. However according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and other experts this is a rumor that GMO mosquitoes caused zika virus, in fact, GMO mosquitoes would help to fight the spread of virus. Natural Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are the only one that has caused this disease.
A British based company is developing the genetically modified mosquitoes to fight the diseases like dengue and zika. Still research is going on developing the mosquitoes.
Zika Disease and Sexually Transmitted Disease?
There is a controversy whether Zika virus is spread sexually or not and whether Zika disease is one of the sexually transmitted disease as other STD's like Herpes and HIV. Researchers have found certain cases where Zika virus is spread through sex, however there is still no confirmation if it predominately spreads through sexual indulges. If Zika virus spreads through sex then it means we no longer need mosquitoes to spread the disease.
Conclusion
Zika disease is not a dreadful disease but it is important to take the precaution, especially pregnant women need to be more cautious. Any sign of fever or rash should be tested and checked immediately by local physician to avoid the spread of disease. Since Zika is also spread through sexual contact it is always better to abstain yourself from intercourse until you get fully treated.
Proper examination and treatment can help to prevent the spread of disease and thus many lives can be saved.
9 years ago
Kalyani Nandurkar replied to the topic Services are dissatisfied with Modi Government and 3 chiefs have written a letter of Protest to PM..
usha manohar wrote:
Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:
Babu saroj wrote:
rambabu wrote:
I agree with you. Strengthening Army is as important as Swatch Bharat. If Swatch Bharat keeps the country clean, A strengthened Army keeps the Country safe and secure. In the background of a hostile country in our neighbor and the rapid spread of ISIS, it is highly essential to strengthen the Army. Modi should not compromise with this issue.
yeah if the country is safe then only we can think of cleaning the country unless its not worth it
Wow, what a great and insightful thought! Is that why most places in India are so dirty because our army fails to keep us safe???
LOL, if not anything else, at least he makes us laugh with his posts adding some comedy value !!!
Yes I grant him that, Like the great buffoon Lalu Prasad Yadav, he does have a little entertainment value LOL
9 years ago
Kalyani Nandurkar liked a reply to the topic Services are dissatisfied with Modi Government and 3 chiefs have written a letter of Protest to PM..
9 years ago
rambabu said thank you to Kalyani Nandurkar for his/her reply to the topic What do most Indians do while travelling abroad.
usha manohar wrote:
Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:
Babu saroj wrote:
rambabu wrote:
Bargaining at every shop is another disgusting habit. Perhaps to prove their smartness.. But this habit annoys . This is the habit one can see even when they are not traveling abroad.
this is what we called a pure Indian habit which mostly everyone in India has because they are being taught from their childhood itself
Oh really! Did you attend a special school to learn bargaining as well as another one on how to cheat???
LOL....I am sure he does not know what he is talking about ! However, there is some truth in what he says because habits like lying and cheating are taught at home by parents who at times use children as tools to do their dirty work , without realising the impact it has on their character formation !
Ha ha ha I am sure half the time he doesn't know what he talks about! But yes, it is at home that most children learn how to cheat and deceive others!
9 years ago
Kalyani Nandurkar said thank you to vijay for his/her reply to the topic This is how things work in Switzerland ...
The pharma industry in Switzerland is a huge revenue generator.
9 years ago
rambabu said thank you to Kalyani Nandurkar for his/her reply to the topic Eating Bread can cause cancer..
usha manohar wrote:
Babu saroj wrote:
Instead of saying me please i request you to share your thoughts of this post
Besides making spam posts you also have the audacity to question one of the most senior members and moderator who has already proved her worth and she does not need any certificate nor prompting from the likes of you. It is in your own interest that you become a responsible member before the admin steps in and bans you forever !
Thanks a lot Usha, sometimes a little appreciation is much needed.
Actually, he had been banned once recently by Sunil, but somehow, we really don't what happened, the very next day he was back on the site, why had admin chosen to lift his ban, no clue!! But this time, I assure you, he won't get away with it.
9 years ago
rambabu replied to the topic Eating Bread can cause cancer..
Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:
usha manohar wrote:
Babu saroj wrote:
Instead of saying me please i request you to share your thoughts of this post
Besides making spam posts you also have the audacity to question one of the most senior members and moderator who has already proved her worth and she does not need any certificate nor prompting from the likes of you. It is in your own interest that you become a responsible member before the admin steps in and bans you forever !
Thanks a lot Usha, sometimes a little appreciation is much needed.
Actually, he had been banned once recently by Sunil, but somehow, we really don't what happened, the very next day he was back on the site, why had admin chosen to lift his ban, no clue!! But this time, I assure you, he won't get away with it.
Please do it Kalyani. I was really really disgusted seeing this spammer active. When I was thinking that the site is buzzing with activity, such spammers appear and spoil the entire activity.
9 years ago
Kalyani Nandurkar replied to the topic What do most Indians do while travelling abroad.
usha manohar wrote:
Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:
Babu saroj wrote:
rambabu wrote:
Bargaining at every shop is another disgusting habit. Perhaps to prove their smartness.. But this habit annoys . This is the habit one can see even when they are not traveling abroad.
this is what we called a pure Indian habit which mostly everyone in India has because they are being taught from their childhood itself
Oh really! Did you attend a special school to learn bargaining as well as another one on how to cheat???
LOL....I am sure he does not know what he is talking about ! However, there is some truth in what he says because habits like lying and cheating are taught at home by parents who at times use children as tools to do their dirty work , without realising the impact it has on their character formation !
Ha ha ha I am sure half the time he doesn't know what he talks about! But yes, it is at home that most children learn how to cheat and deceive others!
9 years ago
Kalyani Nandurkar liked a reply to the topic What do most Indians do while travelling abroad.
9 years ago
Kalyani Nandurkar replied to the topic Eating Bread can cause cancer..
usha manohar wrote:
Babu saroj wrote:
Instead of saying me please i request you to share your thoughts of this post
Besides making spam posts you also have the audacity to question one of the most senior members and moderator who has already proved her worth and she does not need any certificate nor prompting from the likes of you. It is in your own interest that you become a responsible member before the admin steps in and bans you forever !
Thanks a lot Usha, sometimes a little appreciation is much needed.
Actually, he had been banned once recently by Sunil, but somehow, we really don't what happened, the very next day he was back on the site, why had admin chosen to lift his ban, no clue!! But this time, I assure you, he won't get away with it.
9 years ago