Sepoy Mutiny - III

My continuing last in the Series of narration from Dalrymple's "Last Mughal" retold in my own words...

In 3 months of seize of Delhi outside its Ridge by the British Army of mostly Gurkha, Sikhs and Punjabi Muslim mercenaries, the rebel Sepoys were weakened by many factors - from lack of good leadership, food, money, logistics to recently acquired Veneral disease from visiting brothels in Delhi.

It was accentuated by bouts of Cholera post the late June monsoon showers. But cholera was more impartial - took its toll on the rebel Sepoys as well as many from the British Army, including a few of their able officers.

It did not mean that the Rebels gave up without a fight .Seapoys won multiple battles, fought to the hilt, but couldn't combine these wins to win the more important war. They couldn't sustain the battles on long run against a stubborn enemy who continued pushing forward to the city. Often ending a battle with a win, they will relax only to allow the Company Army to replenish and regroup.

It was only when the Sepoys running out of food, ammunition and more importantly the zeal to fight they decided to give one final push, which they could have done long time ago when time was on their side. Now they were desperately looking for leadership to Old Bahadur Shah Zaffer, whom they once it taunted as BUDHA (Oldie) by pulling his beard, passed lecherous remarks at his angry begums and concubines in ZANANA (ladiesquarters) and their horses spoiled his beloved gardens so carefully nourished and preserved by the aesthetic Emperor.

Zaffer, already 80 years in age was hardly battle hardened, so also neither any of his 15 odd legitimate childrens (only Mirza Mughal provided some leadership) and his brood of bastards produced from concubines - which can be attributed to the age sans condoms. (One of his sons was eaten by crocodile in river Yamuna. It is interesting to know Crocs roamed as far as Delhi and Lions now restricted to Gir forest of Gujarat and Cheetah already extinct were in large numbers in North and Central India).

Though the Hindu and Muslim Sepoys were bound by a common cause of hatred towards the English, there was plenty of lack of trust and respect among them. The Wahabbis (followers of an orthodox version of Islam) Jihadi elements openly taunted the Hindus as cowards and "one Muslim being the equivalent of 10 Hindus". They openly proclaimed to annihilate the idol worshipper Kafir Hindus after they drive out the British.

An incident in July during the Muslim festival of Bakr Id brought the difference to the forefront. Instead of sacrificing the usual goat or sheep, the fundamentalist  Muslims in the city slaughtered a cow near Jama Masjid. It created an uproar amongst the Hindus whose response was swift.

On 19th, July they slit the throat of 5 Muslim butchers accused of cow killing. The situation turned tense inside the walled city whose population was evenly divided amongst Hindus and Muslims. Bahadur Shah Zaffer, half Hindu himself who celebrated Hindu festivals inside his Red Fort came to the forefront, showing a rare leadership appealing the Hindus and Muslims to maintain peace. His subjects finally acquiesced to the disappointment of the British who were updated by their spies and banked on a communal riot to further the division between the rebels.

But by end of July the wind was blowing in favor of British, refreshed by fresh supply of soldiers, arms and bolstered by the logistics and ready for the final push. They were able to blow their way inside the city by incessantly blasting cannons, only to face stiff resistance by the Sepoys inside the city who stunned the British by staging a successful urban guerrilla warfare.

Couple of times the Sepoys were close to victory. But lack of imagination, leadership, killer instinct inability to give a finishing touch, not to mention lack of logistics providing supply lines cost them the war. Even inside the city Bakht Khan and Mirza Mughal gave a stiff resistance which took the life of the 6 feeter General Nicholson, who perished mortally wounded by a shot from a Sepoy sniper, temporarily demoralizing the English. Yet the faltering Sepoys could hardly take advantage of the situation.

16th of September, 1957 was the turning point of the war. Bahadur Shah Zaffer was prodded one last time and came out to lead a troop of rebels and city dwellers - a 70,000 strong. But soon he chickened out and went back to his Fort on pretext of prayers. His subjects confused by this dithering behaviour of their Commander in Chief, were first disorganised and then fled the city. The British chased and butchered them, rampantly shooting and hanging them. Many of Zaffer's son, including Mirza Mughal who led the rebels and were betrayed into surrendering by their own were shot by General Hudson from point blank, their bodies lying in open rotting in hot Delhi weather for 3 days before given burial.

One of the rare survivors was Mirza Ghalib, the legendary witty poet. British who bore anathema to Muslims post mutiny asked him if he belonged to the community. Ghalib responded - " I am half Muslim". The puzzled officer asked, "How come you are half Muslim" to which the poet replied - "I drink wine, but do not eat Pork. So, I am half Muslim". Impressed by his wit, the officer let him go, but not without an warning.

Zaffer was spared from death and was transferred to Allahabad where he borded a Steam Ship and transported to Diamond Harbour port, Calcutta where they stocked up supplies for the long trip to Rangoon set for his exile. The last Mughal was Excited about seeing sea for the first time in life and fascinated by the technical prowess of the ship.

He was accompanied by his wife, concubines and two living sons. One of them was Jawan Bakht, his son born from his young and powerful wife Zeenat Mahal who dreamt of seeing his son as the next Emperor which was never to be. Now Jawan Bakht, a spoilt brat earned the ire of his mom due to his affair with one of his father's kept and stealthily buying Port wine from the British by bribing them.

Zaffer died in seclusion in 1862 in faraway Rangoon, buried in a nondescript location effectively ending the 300 year old Mughal rule which had seen better days. Ghalib published this news in Delhi's Urdu newspaper where he regularly contributed his SHAYARIs (poems). The legendary poet died in the year 1869, the same year hundred of miles away in Porbandar, Gujarat was born Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi - the man credited of driving away the British less than a century later.

Padmavat and how Jeffersonian Democracy does not suit all

Eminent Odia writer Manoj Das in his book SMRUTIRA PRADEEPA (Lamp from Memory), a collection of his articles written a decade or so ago in Odia provided a rare glimpse into our History, especially the part about the valor of Rajputs, a warrior clan. 

Shah Jahan, the Mughal Emporer (credited with the building of Taj Mahal) once invited the independent minded Rajput King Amar Singh of Mewar in modern day Rajastan under the guise of peace. No sooner the brave but unsuspecting Rajput entered the Mughal fort, than he was betrayed by the wily emperor and was killed. The emperor ordred the Rajput king's body not to be cremated and left on the ground as the proud Rajput king dared to defy the Mughal-E-Azam. 

Soon came marching a cavalry of 20 brave Rajputs to secure Amar Singh's body and entered into the Mughal fort. In the ensuing fierce fight 17 of them were killed but the remaining 3 managed to get Amar Singh's body back  and give him the cremation he deserved.

In another incident, Aurangzeb who succeeded Sah Jahan as the emperor was taking the king of Jodhpur Kingdom, Jashwant Singh for a stroll around his palace. He showed one of his prize collection, a full grown Tiger inside a cage. The emperor asked the Rajput if he had seen any animal more fierce than his prize catch.  

Jashwant Singh laughed and said that it is normal for the Rajput kids to play with Tigers. "Is that so ?" Arurangzeb mocked at the Rajput King thinking that the later was bluffing. Jashwant Singh ordered his young son Prithvi Singh to enter the cage and fight the Tiger. Prithvi Singh entered the cage, fought and killed the Tiger despite suffering grave injuries. Aurangzeb turned red with humiliation. There are numerous such anecdotes of Rajput bravery. 

In this context, the activities of Karni Sena who achieved a memoable victory over kids in a school bus must be making the likes of Veer Hammir, Rana Pratap and Amar Singh turning in their graves in shame.

Netaji Subash Bose wasn't far from truth if he said that India needed years of Military rule before tasting democracy (not sure if he really said so or an urban legend, but it's profound). Also Jiang Xemin, China's President from 1993 to 2003 told the Americans who lectured him about Democracy - "The Jefferson model of democracy doesn't suit everybody".

No one, yes no one, should take the law into one's own hand. Period. Whatever may be the disenchantment, the rule of law should prevail without fear or favor to no one. It is sad that a bunch of rag tag hooligans can hold an entire nation to hostage. Luckily for China they don't have to deal with vote bank politics, so they can ruthlessly come down on those creating anarchy with iron hand.

If China is so successful today it is because they don't give slightest scope to the likes Karni Sena. Not long ago for the Chinese, a nation of 1.4 billion people, the handling of trash was a major problem, especially in its urban centers. When there are people, they will produce trash. The city of Sanghai itself produces 22000 tons of trash every day, a gargantuan amount. All this cannot be handled by filling up the landfills. So the pragmatic Chinese authorities came with this innovative idea of using incinerators imported from Japan to burn garbage.

But the use of incinerators was not free from side effects. In the affluent Lake side city of Shangzhu, the foul smell emanated from the burning trash at 850 degrees became as burning issue for the local populace, who protested by burning a few government vehicles. 

As usual the retaliation by the Chinese authorities was swift. It immediately poured in law enforcement officials into the city, both uniformed and civilians. They suppressed the protest with firm hand and continued incinerating the trash. Forget vandalism, no one raised a voice ever again.

Those who still remember the days of Emergency imposed on India in 1975 say that though the individual freedom was clipped, it had its positive side. People in government offices came to work on time. Public sectors made profit. Buses, planes and trains were dot on schedule. Though short lived, it yet vindicated that we respect the rod more than democracy.

I still believe a benevolent dictatorship with a vision is better than the chaotic democracy we presently have will serve its purpose. We can disagree on this, but Jeffersonian model of democracy is a myth, a mirage and certainly doesn't fit in to all milieu.

50 folks can gather to form a XXX Sena, being capable to bring an entire to a screeching halt if they are part of the righr vote bank at right time, all assured the authority will look orherwise. No wonder rest of the world, including Pakistan perceive us as a weak state. Subash Bose wasn't far from the truth if the legend surrounding him is to be believed.

Seapoy Mutiny - Part II

(My continuing next in the Series of narration from Dalrymple's "Last Mughal" retold in my own words)

The Sepoy Mutiny or the First War of Indian Independence was a fight between a bunch of disgruntled employees Sepoys who took up arms against their employer, the British East India Company. There was more religious angle to the fight than any kind of nationalism involved in it. It was mostly Indians vs Indians, one led by the British Army ultimately achieving the victory by successfully pitting one set of natives against the other.

British ruled India with the support of the majority of Indians. Their army which defeated the Upper caste Hindu and Muslim dominated PURBAIYAs (Easterners from modern day UP and Bihar) was overwhelmingly dominated by Indians, consisting of Gurkhas, Sikhs and Punjabi Muslims. Sikhs had no qualms about slitting the throats of the captured Hindus Sepoys while they fought along the side of Punjabi Muslims. Both Sikhs and Muslims in British Army had a history of strong hatred against each other. Their Holy warriors, Sikh NIHAANGs and Muslim JIHADI GHAZIs ( suicide squads) were at perpetual loggerheads at each others throat. Yet the British managed to mould them together into a single unit for a common cause to get rid of the Sepoys.

The smart British were impressed by the prowess of the Sikhs who by then were transformed into a battle tested race under the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Nothing motivated the SARDARs (as Sikhs are called) more than the opportunity to take the revenge against the descendants of Mughals, especially Aurangzeb who killed their Gurus. The Englishmen took full advantage of it, though the current occupant of the Mughal throne Bahadur Shah Jaffer was far from Aurangzeb type. Jaffer was secular, far from a JIHADI (hardliner) type. The last Mughal's mother was a Hindu. Celebration of Holi and Diwali was a common event under his tutelage.

Interestingly for the religious minded Indians, the Sepoy Mutiny was fuelled by couple of rumors. The first one we all know and there was some truth in it. It was the British attempt at conversion to Christianity which fermented agitation amongst the religious minded natives for whom losing their religion or caste was tantamount to a total loss of identity. Not to mention the supposedly beef and pork fat laced cartridges which the Sepoys were forced to bite - not biting the vehement denial of the animal fat by their English Officers.

The second rumor was completely baseless. It was the widespread notion of an astrological prediction that the East India Company was destined to rule India no more than 100 years. That fateful year of mutiny was 1857, exactly100 years after Robert Clive's victory over Bengal's Siraj Ud Daula in 1757 to cement the British authority in India.

There was no basis to believe this in this 100 year prediction. But belief in Astrology is well ingrained in Indian mindset. During the 1803 Maratha war against the British, the Peshwa was advised by his astrologers to procrastinate attack on the British positions before until the arrival of an auspicious moment favored by stars. As the Peshwa dilly dallied, the English used that invaluable time to surround the Maratha fort, preventing any communication from outside. This blockage led to a shortage of food inside the fort where the Maratha army was ensconced. The hungry and desperate Maratha soldiers were forced to kill their horse and eat them. British never consulted any astrologer and easily defeated the starving Marathas. Yet our natives believed in the 100 year deadline of English rule set by the soothsayers.

There are many such astrology based rumors ruled the roost during those days of revolt, almost all fortune tellers foresaw the end of British Empire. The Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah, though skeptic of the Sepoys withstanding the British on long run was partly motivated by one his court astrologers predicted a comeback of Mughals at the expense of the British.

(Another instance from history of strong belief in astrology was that of Narayan Apte, the accomplish of Nathuram Godse who killed Mahatma Gandhi. Apte believed that he is destined to live long and his death sentence will be commuted to life imprisonment in the last moment. While Nathuram Godse had no such belief and walked nonchalantly to the gallows, Narayan Apte fell twice and has to be helped standing straight before the hangman put the noose around his neck).

There were many elites of Delhi, both from Hindu and Muslim communities who strongly believed in this astrological prediction of the end of the British Empire and stuck to their locations inside the city, even the Company's army was on rampage, indiscriminately killing and ransacking their neighborhoods. Finally when they were caught while trying to flee and were either shot dead or their bodies decorated the hanging podiums, it is not clear if they carried their belief of astrology until their last breath. More later...

Dekha Sikha Odia - Watch and Copy Odias

A recent post by Prasanna Mishra Sir - "When we (Odias) copy everything from outside why we don't celebrate the Jalikattu here" inspired to write this prodding blog.

A very pertinent question indeed which made me think why we (Odias) tend to ape North Indians - their language, culture, tradition and even festivals more than South Indians ? The answer is, the fair skinned North Indians look cool, and their mother tongue Hindi cooler than other Indian languages. We conveniently give cold shoulder to those from south of Vindyas (the low height mountain running from east to west which pretty much divides North and South), same as the North Indians dismiss their South Indian counterparts as MADRASIs (all South Indians are Madrasis to them).

A la we Indians prefer to ape the West (British before, now Pax Americana it is United States) rather than Nigerians or Ugandans, we Odiad have our distinct preference for North Indians over the rest. Both reflect a clear preference to the fair skin. Hindi has overridden our mother tongue, thanks to Bollywood and the new arrivals from North India in heartland Odisha. Full marks to the person who coined the phrase - DEKHA SIKHA ODIA, "Watch and Copy Odias".

We Odias can beat Americans as the most immigrant friendly folks on earth, specially liberal to those outsiders who don't speak Odia so that we can copy them. Copying north is the flavor of the season. Because North Indians have fairer complexion and Hindi sounds so modern !!! 

Chhena has become paneer, Ghanta has paved the way for Vegetable Jalfrazie. Odia anchors on TV are seen uttering - "MEHNGA Padila", " Apana ka Samna Re PES Karuchu MLA ka  KHULASA", " Kouthi Khechudi PAKUCHI". Mate CHUTIA Baneila (made an ass of me) is an accepted slang these days. Lori and Dhantera are celebrated by Odias, not Pongal. A recent Odia movie with leading actor and actresses being Odias was tittled - ISHQ TU HI TU and many more...

Glad Jalikattu is celebrated Tamil Nadu not from Bihar. Othewise, we would be wrestling our poor Kataki Bulls inside the Kalinga or in Barabati Stadium today.

Sepoy Mutiny - the mutiny days in the beginning

 (Continues from my last blog on Sepoy Mutiny or the First Indian War of Independence)..

The whole Sepoy Mutiny was an impromptu uprising with hardly any planning. It was an instant reflex reaction to the prevalent perception of East India Company's surreptitious attempt to convert their Sepoys or Military recruits into Christians. This belief was reinforced by an active band of Evangelical Christians in North India who towards mid 19th century started proselytizing with vigor, establishing Churches and spreading the message of Jesus. 

There were new converts amongst Indians, more Hindus than Muslims - including two prominent citizens of Delhi, Master Ramachandra, a much revered teacher at local college and another renowned Physician. The news of the conversion of well known personalities raised the fear and alarm of the natives. When the British wanted the Sepoys, mostly from Upper caste Hindus to fight the Burmese War in Rangoon their was murmurs of protest - for the Brahmins going across the seas was tantamount to becoming an outcast, losing their religion. They took it as a sign of the British trying to stealthily convert them.

Nothing divides and nothing unites more than religion in India in an age sans Bollywood and competitive cricket. But the most humiliating part which instantly fuelled the rebellion was the use of greased cartridges for the latest Enfield Rifles which were inadvertently or otherwise laced with cow and pig fats, both respectively anathema to the Hindu Sepoys and their Muslim counterparts.

Tension was thick in the air during the early summer of 1857. The rebellion started in Barackpore when a Brahmin Sepoy named Mangal Pandey refused to use the grease laces cartridge and shot his commanding Officer. He was promptly court marshalled and hanged.

But Mangal Pandey did his job. He lit a matchstick in a room full of inflammable gas. The die of revolt was cast, a move had been made. Soon the fire of rebellion spread towards West from Kanpur to Meerut when the marauding Sepoys killed whoever English came their way, including women and children in cold blood. First in hundreds then in thousands, the swarm of Sepoys a la devouring locusts marched in waves after waves into Delhi, the last Citadel of the weak Mughals.

The war so far between the rebelling Sepoys and the British. But soon it turned into a war between the Sepoys and Delhites - a least mentally as the citizens of the walled City of differed from the newcomers  as chalks from cheese. On arrival in Delhi on 11th May, 1857 the Sepoys mostly consisting of peasants from Eastern UP and Bihar, also called PURBAIYA (The migrants from East) went berserk. They indulged in rampant looting, killing the British as well as those who they perceived as the collaborators of the Firangis (foreigners). Those natives who converted to Christianity, including the nascent Christians Master Ramachandra and the Physician were brutally murdered, their homes ransacked by the Sepoys. The authorities of the weak Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Jaffer were both unable and unwilling to stop the carnage.

But in affluent Delhi, the uncouth "Purbaiyas" were despised by the TEHZEEB oriented (well mannered), Muslim dominated citizens of Delhi. They didn't like the senseless killings as well as the curt, uncouth behavior of the new arrivals who forced the local inhabitants to feed them, extort money and passed lewd innuendos at their women folks. They even did not spare the palace of old but cultured and suave last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Jaffer. They ogled at his ZANANA (ladies) quarters and peed facing them, passing lascivious gluts of smut at them. Not to mention, they tied their ponies inside the famed gardens of the Emperor who maintained them with utmost care only to see it soon filled with horse poop

The Sepoys from the poor heartlands of present day Bihar and UP were dazzled by the spectre of Delhi, a city of culture and class which would soon clash with their brute force and lack of finesse in mannerism. They spent their nights in the Courtyards, going after the famed courtesans and prostitutes of Delhi, without cleaning after their act in an age sans condoms. It was resented by the Muslim elites of Delhi who cleaned themselves post copulation, a habit these rag tag rural peasantry lacked.

When the Englishmen came to know this through their well oiled spy network, it was music to their ears, fully knowing that such frolicking nature of their bete noires will do more harm than good to them. Many Purbaiyas contracted Sexually Transmitted diseases, which along with bouts of Cholera on the outset of monsoon created havoc in the Rebel camp - more than the well coordinated attacks from the British and their army of Sikhs, Gurkhas, Muslims from Punjab and North West. More of that latter.

The Spying network of British during the Sepoy Mutiny

Flipping through the pages of this fascinating, well researched book which takes you back on a Time Machine to mid 19th century - into the days, months and years surrounding the year 1857 when occurred the First War of Indian Independence, otherwise known as "The Sepoy Mutiny".

Let me narrate in my own words some interesting aspects and anecdotes from the book (will continue with other interesting stories of the mutiny in my subsequent blogs). Today let me cover the intelligence gathering and the spying networks used by both the British and the Marauding Sepoys who after revolting in Meerut marched, occupied and looted Delhi, proclaiming an 81 year old Bahadur Shah Zaffer from a tottering Mughal Dynasty as their Emperor.

Post capturing Delhi, the rampaging Sepoys had an inkling that the British won't seat quite and do their best to gather information from the Walled City. Any one leaving the city was thoroughly checked by the Rebels, their SALWARS (trousers) and DHOTIs (loin clothes) were thoroughly searched. A few caught were summarily executed in public in order to discourage any further attempts to stealthy pass their secrets to KAFIR FIRANGIS (Infidel Foreigners).

But the secret service network of a bunch of rag tag Rebels without any central command was hardly extensive and well entrenched, as the formidable British who ran a professional spy network of informers from both Hindus and Muslim communities. They moulded the art of SHAAM (Persuasion), DAAM (Bribery), DAND (Punishment) and BHED (Division) to perfection serving their aim.

Prominent spy recruits of English included one one- eyed MAULAVI (Preacher) Rajab Ali who set up a widely stretched spy network, and a Black Sheep amongst the Sepoy Commanders Brigadier Major Gauri Shankar Sukul who provided incessant string of information about the Sepoy Army, even falsely accusing his honest counterparts as British agent to forment division. But the central figure, the Jewel and Ace of British pack of spies was Munshi Jiwan Lal of Delhi who ran an efficient network of informers in the guise of SADHUs and FAQIRs (mendicants).

For the British a recent invention called Telegraph came handy, yet vindicating how technology can be a real game changer. Time is the essence of any war. Soon after the Rebels entered Delhi and before they sieged it, two young English operators managed to send Morse code messages alerting the Military bases in Ambala, Simla, Lahore and Peshawar which may sound fortuitous but eventually proved propitious.

The Englishman in charge of Peshawar was John Nicholson, a General who loved butchering the natives ever since he saw in his own eyes his brother's corpse stuffed with his genital inside his mouth during the ill fated British - Afghan War not long ago. He once killed the leader of a Dacoit gang, severed his and kept on his table for days as trophy.

Nicholson lost no time in marching towards Delhi, containing the sporadic mutinies on the way. One fine evening in the hot summer month of May 1857, a group of hungry British Officers from his Regiment were eagerly waiting for their cooks' call for dinner as they were resting near Jalandhar, Punjab.

But to their surprise instead came a smiling Nicholson who told them not to worry about food as he just killed all the cooks. The perplexed Officers looked on. The cooks earlier laced their soup with poison but somehow Nicholson got a tip from someone who betrayed the plotters.

Nicholson challenged the cooks to drink the soup. When they refused to do so, he force fed the hot soup to a monkey. The simian soon went into convulsions and frothed from mouth before laying still. He promptly hung the cooks from the nearest tree until they shook to death as his battalion moved on.

While Nicholson saved his Officers by preventing their dinner turning into their last supper, his counterpart from Punjab the ruthless William Hodson's spy network was so elaborate that one of his officers said his boss knew exactly what the Rebel Sepoys ate for dinner. Known for his band of Hodson's Horse, he led a Cavalry of selected, brave Sikhs from Punjab who accompanied him covering 250 miles in 2 days with little or no rest, as soon as Lahore's telegraph office delivered the news of the mutiny.


Hodson motivated the Sikh cavalry with the opportunity to take revenge on the last of the Mughals in Delhi whose ancestors killed at least 2 of their venerated Sikh Gurus - plus the promise of a lion share of the loot with additional pleasure of the famed Courtesans of Delhi, mostly Muslims. (The Sikhs no fans of Muslims were swayed by a Punjabi legend among them that Muslim girls were too hot to handle).


The energetic but stoic and heartless Hodson had no patience for tying the hanging noose or knots on back of the Rebel Sepoys brought to him, betrayed by their own brethren. Without any qualms and mercy, he emptied his pistol from point blank on the Rebels caught before instructing his "Hodson's Horses" to the bigger target - the city of Delhi already fortified by thousands of Sepoys. More later...

Dog in Indian mythology

In Hindu Mythology there are a number of animals associated with Gods and Goddesses. Shiva has Bull as his carrier, with snake adoring his neck as garland. Vasuki, the giant serpent holds the entire earth on its giant head.

Shiva's son Ganesh has a mouse to seat on and roam around. His other son Kartiyeka has peacock, Goddess of Wealth Laxmi has Owl. Durga rides Tiger, in some pictures I have seen her riding a Lion. Monkeys are associated with Hanuman and are revered. Hanuman along with his Monkey Regiment, along with Jambaban's Bear Regiment fought along with Lord Ram during his battle against Ravan.

There is JATAYU, the Giant Eagle who fought to death trying to save Sita while she was kidnapped by Ravana. Even Ravan, though a demon yet respected by many for his knowledge of Sacred Vedas and Public administration has his PUSHPAK VIMAN or private jet which ruled the sky propelled by a bunch of Geese.

Lord Vishnu has taken incarnation as animals multiple times - As MATSYA (Fish), VARAHA (Boar) and NARASIMHA (The mystic half man, half lion).The Lord Yama, the God of Death rides a Buffalo. Saraswati, the Goddess of Knowledge rides a Swan. And many more...

But conspicuously missing is Dog, man's oldest friend and probably the first animal to be domesticated, even before the Vedic age when most Hindu mythologies were compiled. Though extremely close to humans, the poor doggy is often looked down upon in our culture and tradition, for the reasons best known to those who compiled the sacred scriptures.

In the famous Jagannath Temple of Puri, if a dog enters into the temple the entire MAHAPRASAD (the special offerings to the God) literally goes down the drain. The Lord and the temple premises go through a purification process. However Cats and Monkeys roam free inside the temple. (Puri Jagannath Temple has its own rules. Unlike almost all Hindu temples, it doesn't forbid Girls and Women to enter the temple during their monthly period).

Every dog has his day. I remember a mention of it at the fag end of epic MAHABHARATA when the Pandav Brothers are guided by a snow white dog in the snow clad Himalayas towards their last journey. That dog turned out to be DHARMA (The Lord of Righteousness). May be our SANATANA DHARMA (The Eternal Religion), the oldest in the world give the mankind's oldest friend its due.

Casteism - A bane on Indian society

The recent caste based riot in the Indian state of Maharashtra is nothing new nor surprising. No doubt, it is politically motivated. And no doubt the GOP (Grand Old Party) of India Congress's hidden hand is palpably visible here, so that in the next election people will give it a hand by voting for its Hand symbol.

Casteism is a big bane in India. It is there more or less everywhere, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, from Delhi to Dimapur. 50% of students in my alma mater NIT, Rourleka came from the outside Odisha. A few of my Bihari classmates, great guys nevertheless, occasionally whispered in my ears - ISKA JAAT KAA HAI (what's his caste), curious to know about the caste of us Odias and then trying to connect it to their counter part in Bihar. (For example, they linked our KARANA caste to KAYAST in Bihar. The caste Brahmin was self explanatory, though they struggled a lot, whether to align our KHANDAYAT caste to Rajputs or Bhumihars).

As the teenager in me who had hardly travelled beyond coastal Odisha, it felt rather weird. Soon I noticed, a few of the upper caste folks from Bihar would avoid sitting on the Mess Dining Table with certain guys, whom they perceived as from lower caste or strata of the society. Odias might have tons of shortcomings, but such rampant, naked casteism is not one of them. The thought of not sharing a meal with someone never came to my mind.

Casteism inside the Congress party can be traced to a meeting of its law makers in 1970s. Once during a Cabinet meeting Indira Gandhi walked towards Kamalapati Tripathy, a Brahmin and Railway minister from UP and asked him "Tripathy JEE. BABU JAGJIVAN RAM (a minister from Scheduled Caste in her cabinet) KEHTE HAIN KI AAP UNKE SAATH NAHI KHAATE (Mr. Tripathy, Jagjivan Ram complains, you don't eat with him)".

Kamalapati replied - MADAM, MEIN AAP KE SAATH BHI NAHI KHAATA, WOH TO CHAMAAR HAI (Madam, I don't even eat with you, he is from a low caste of shoe makers). Indira, though born a Brahmin, lost her caste after her marriage to Feroz Gandhi and was never allowed inside Lord Jaganntah Temple post marriage.

And no party other than Congress has a longer history of using caste polarization to its favor. Hindus constitute 85% of India's population but are divided along the lines of multiple castes and sub castes. Its rival party at the national level BJP's strength is its ability to consolide the Hindu votes to electoral advantage. The more it unites them, the better it performs. Congress's strength is minority votes, especially in states where they form a credible opposition to BJP. The more it can pull chunks of castes from the Hindu vote bank by creating fissures amongst them, the better is the result.

I sense Congress is playing its usual dirty politics once again. Ahmed Patel practised it in Gujarat and reaped some success. Bolstered by it, I smell a rat of Congress hand here - may be with tacit support of Siv Sena which is currently peeved with BJP. Watch for more such incidents until April, 2019 when the Parliament elections are held.