Jay Prakash Narayan

Bharat Ratna Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan (October 11, 1902 - October 8, 1979), widely known as JP orLoknayak (leader of the masses), was an Indian independence activist and political leader, remembered especially for leading the opposition to Indira Gandhi in the 1970s and for giving a call for peaceful Total Revolution. His biography, Jayaprakash, was written by his nationalist friend and an eminent writer of Hindi literature, Ramavriksha Benipuri. In 1998, he was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, in recognition of his social work. Other awards include the Magsaysay award for Public Service in 1965. The airport of Patna is also named after him.

Early life

Jayprakash Narayan was born in a Kayastha Family in Sitabdiara village of Saran in Bihar. When he was a child, he had many pets. One day, his pigeon died and he did not eat food for two days afterward. His father Harsudayal was a junior official in the canal department of the State government and was often touring the region. Jayaprakash, called Baul affectionately, was left with his grandmother to study in Sitabdiara. There was no high school in the village, so Jayaprakash was sent to Patna to study in the Collegiate School. He excelled in school. His essay, "The present state of Hindi in Bihar", won a best essay award. He entered the Patna College on a Government scholarship.Jayaprakash Narayan joined "Bihar Vidyapeeth" founded by Dr. Rajendra Prasad for motivating young meritorious youths and was among the first students of eminent Gandhian Dr. Anugrah Narayan Sinha , a close colleague of M. K. Gandhi who later became first Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar.

JP and Marxism

Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar

Bodhisatva Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956), also known as Babasaheb, was an Indian jurist, political leader, philosopher, thinker, anthropologist, historian, orator, prolific writer, economist, scholar, editor, and a revolutionary. He was also the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of Indian Constitution. Born into a poor Mahar (considered an Untouchable caste) family, Ambedkar spent his whole life fighting against social discrimination, the system of Chaturvarna — the categorization of Hindu society into four varnas — and the Hindu caste system. He converted to Buddhism and is also credited with providing a spark for the conversion of hundreds of thousands of untouchables to Theravada Buddhism. Ambedkar was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, in 1990.

Overcoming numerous social and financial obstacles, Ambedkar became one of the first so called "Outcasts" to obtain a college education in India. Eventually earning law degrees and multiple doctorates for his study and research in law, economics and political science from Columbia University and the London School of Economics, Ambedkar gained a reputation as a scholar and practiced law for a few years, later campaigning by publishing journals advocating political rights and social freedom for India's so-called untouchables. He is regarded as a Bodhisattva by some Indian Buddhists, though he never claimed himself to be a Bodhisattva.

Jawahar Lal Nehru

Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) often referred to affectionately as 'Pandit-ji', was an Indian statesman who was the first and longest-serving Prime Minister of India (1947–1964). One of the leading figures in the Indian independence movement, Nehru was elected by the Indian National Congress to assume office as independent India's first Prime Minister, and re-elected when the Congress Party won India's first general election in 1952. As one of the founders of the Non-Aligned Movement, he was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the 1930s and ’40s. Nehru established parliamentary government and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs.

The son of the wealthy man and politician Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru became a leader of the left wing of the Congress when fairly young. Rising to become Congress President under the mentorship of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Nehru was a charismatic and radical leader, advocating complete independence for India from the British Empire. In the long struggle for Indian independence, Nehru was eventually recognized as Gandhi's political heir. Throughout his life, Nehru was also an advocate for Fabian socialism and the public sector as the means by which long-standing challenges of economic development could be addressed by poorer nations.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement. A pioneer of satyagraha, or resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience — a philosophy firmly founded upon ahinsa, or total nonviolence — Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. Gandhi is often referred to as Mahatma. In India, he is also called Bapu and officially honoured as the Father of the Nation. His birthday, 2 October, is commemorated in India as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday, and worldwide as the International Day of Non-Violence.

Gandhi first employed non-violent civil disobedience as an expatriate lawyer in South Africa, in the resident Indian community's struggle for civil rights. After his return to India in 1915, he set about organising peasants, farmers, and urban labourers in protesting excessive land-tax and discrimination. Assuming leadership of the Indian National Congress in 1921, Gandhi led nationwide campaigns for easing poverty, expanding women's rights, building religious and ethnic amity, ending untouchability, increasing economic self-reliance, but above all for achieving Swaraj — the independence of India from foreign domination. Gandhi famously led Indians in protesting the British-imposed salt tax with the 400 km (250 mi) Dandi Salt March in 1930, and later in calling for the British to Quit India in 1942. He was imprisoned for many years, on many occasions, in both South Africa and India.

Gandhi strove to practice non-violence and truth in all situations, and advocated that others do the same. He lived modestly in a self-sufficient residential community and wore the traditional Indian dhoti and shawl, woven with yarn he had hand spun on a charkha. He ate simple vegetarian food, and also undertook long fasts as means of both self-purification and social protest.

Hina Rabbani Khar

Hina Rabbani Khar

Hina Rabbani Khar was born on 19 January 1977 in Multan, Punjab, Pakistan. She is the daughter of politician Malik Ghulam Noor Rabbani Khar and niece of Malik Ghulam Mustafa Khar. A businesswoman by profession, Hina Rabbani Khar's family has roots in village ‘Khar Gharbi’ located in Kot Addu a Tehsil in Muzaffargarh District in the Punjab province. The Khar political power comes from the family's land holdings: their sprawling estate includes fisheries, mango orchards and sugarcane fields. She graduated with a B.Sc. (Hons) from Lahore University of Management Sciences in 1999, and received her M.Sc. in Hotel Management from the University of Massachusetts in 2001.

She was elected as a member of the National Assembly from the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML-Q) in 2002 from NA-177 Muzaffargarh-II, Punjab. PML-Q denied Hina Khar a ticket for re-election in 2008 and she ran and won as a member of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), securing more than 84000 votes.

She served as the State Minister for Economic Affairs and Statistics in the cabinet of Yousaf Raza Gillani. On 13 June 2009 she became the first woman to present a budget speech in the National Assembly.

She was appointed Minister of State for Foreign Affairs on February 11, 2011, as part of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani's new cabinet. She is the first female Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in Pakistan's history. After Shah Mehmood Qureshi was dismissed as Foreign Minister, she became Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs on February 13, 2011. She was officially appointed as foreign minister on 19 July 2011 by President Asif Ali Zardari and was sworn in as permanent Minister for Foreign affairs on 20 July 2011. In a message of felicitation, President Zardari described Ms Khar’s appointment as a demonstration of the PPP government’s “commitment to bring women into the mainstream of national life”.

Samudragupta

Samudragupta, ruler of the Gupta Empire (c.AD 335 – 375), and successor to Chandragupta I, is considered to be one of the greatest military geniuses in Indian history according to Historian V.A Smith. His name is taken to be a title acquired by his conquests (Samudra referring to the 'oceans'). Samudragupta the Great is believed to have been his father's chosen successor even though he had several older brothers. Therefore, some believe that after the death of Chandragupta I, there was a struggle for succession in which Samudragupta prevailed.

The Empire

The main source of Samudragupta's history is an inscription engraved on one of the rocks set up by Ashoka the Great in Kausambi ( present day Allahabad). In this inscription Samudragupta details his conquests. This inscription is also important because of the political geography of India that it indicates by naming the different kings and peoples who populated India in the first half of the fourth century AD. The inscription to Samudragupta's martial exploits states that its author is Harishena, who was an important poet of Samudragupta's court.

The beginning of Samudragupta's reign was marked by the defeat of his immediate neighbours, Achyuta, ruler of Ahichchhatra, and Nagasena. Following this Samudragupta began a campaign against the kingdoms to the south. This southern campaign took him south along the Bay of Bengal. He passed through the forest tracts of Madhya Pradesh, crossed the Orissa coast, marched through Ganjam, Vishakapatnam, Godavari, Krishna and Nellore districts and may have reached as far as Kancheepuram. Here however he did not attempt to maintain direct control. After capturing his enemies he reinstated them as tributary kings. This act prevented the Gupta Empire from attaining the almost immediate demise of the Maurya Empire of Ashoka the Great and is a testament to his abilities as a statesman. The details of Samudragupta's campaigns are too numerous to recount here. These can be found in the first reference below. However it is clear that he possessed a powerful navy in addition to his army. In addition to tributary kingdoms, many other rulers of foreign states like the Saka and Kushan kings accepted the suzerainty of Samudragupta and offered him their services.

Chandragupta II

Chandragupta II the Great (very often referred to as Vikramaditya or Chandragupta Vikramaditya) was one of the most powerful emperors of the Gupta empire. His rule spanned 375-413/15 CE, during which the Gupta Empire achieved its zenith. The period of prominence of the Gupta dynasty is very often referred to as the Golden Age of India. Chandragupta II the Great was the son of the previous ruler, Samudragupta the Great. He attained success by pursuing both a favorable marital alliance and an aggressive expansionist policy. In this his father and grandfather set the precedent.

Biography

Not much is known about the personal details of the great king. His mother, Datta Devi, was the chief queen of Samudragupta the Great. After Samudragupta's death, Ramgupta his brother took over the throne and also married Chandragupta's fiance 'Dhruvaswamini by force. The most widely accepted details have been built upon the plot of the play 'Devi-Chandraguptam' of Vishakadatta. The play is now lost but fragments have been preserved in other works (Abhinava-bharati, Sringara-prakasha, Natya-darpana, Nataka-lakshana Ratna-kosha). There even exists an Arabic work Mujmalu-t-Tawarikh which tells a similar tale of a king whose name appears to be a corruption of 'Vikramaditya'.He holds a semi-mythical status in India. The most popular native calendar which happens to be a lunar calendar goes after his name. It is widely believed that the great poet in Sanskrit, Mahakavi Kalidasa was one of the jewels of his royal court.

The fragment from Natya-darpana mentions the king Ramagupta, the elder brother of Chandragupta, surrendering his queen Dhruvaswamini to the Saka king of the Western Kshatrapas Rudrasimha III, after a defeat at the Saka king's hands. To avoid the ignominy the Guptas decide to send Madhavasena, a courtesan and a beloved of Chandragupta, disguised as the queen. Chandragupta changes the plan and himself goes to the Saka King disguised as the queen. He then kills Rudrasimha and later his brother Ramagupta. Dhruvaswamini is then married to Chandragupta.

Chandragupta I

The Gupta dynasty first seems to be in eminence with the accession of Chandra Gupta I, son of Ghatotkacha to the throne of the ancestral Gupta kingdom. While his two ancestors were given the title of Maharaja(king), Chandra Gupta I is described in his inscriptions as Maharajadhiraj(king of kings) signifying a rise in the family fortunes. A series of gold coins issued by the king also testifies to his rising influence. The well known Gupta era which commenced on February 26, 320 AD  is generally attributed to Chandra Gupta I. Hence it is surmised that the Gupta era began on the occasion of the coronation of Chandra Gupta I. According to the Puranas the Guptas ruled over territories (referred to as Janapadas) such as Prayag (Allahabad), Saket(Oudh) and Magadh(south Bihar). This description of the Gupta dominion precedes the reign of Samudragupta and hence must refer to the territories ruled over by Chandragupta I.

The coins issued by Chandra Gupta commemorate his marital union with the Lichchhavi princess. Gupta the Great is always referred to in the genealogical accounts of the imperial Guptas as 'daughter's son of the Lichchhavis'. The maternal genealogy is never mentioned in the records of other kings. V.A. Smith places the Lichchhavi kingdom as that the Lichchhavi dynasty was ruling somewhere in North Bihar, between Nepal and Vaisali. A Lichchavi dynasty was also the rulers of Nepal which points to the Lichchhavi dynastes were playing in the politics of the age in eastern India. It is probable Guptas ruled over Gupta by his marriage with Kumaradevi. This considerably strengthened the position of the Guptas and may have allowed its subsequent rapid expansion under Samudra Gupta.

Most records indicate that Chandragupta reigned in the period c. 319-335 A.D. The Allahabad inscription on Samudra Gupta by Harishen seems to suggest that he publicly announced Samudra Gupta the Great as the heir apparent and may have abdicated the throne in his son's favour.

Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL)

Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) is a state-owned electronics company with about nine factories, and few regional offices in India. It is owned by the Indian Government & primarily manufactures advanced electronic products for the Indian Armed Forces. BEL is one of the eight PSUs under Ministry of Defence, Government Of India. It has even earned the government's Navratna status.

As of April 1, 2008, BEL's order book is estimated to be around 9,450 crore (US$2.1 billion).

Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) was established at Bangalore, India, by the Government of India under the Ministry of Defence in 1954 to meet the specialised need of Indian defence services. Over the years, it has grown into a multi-product, multi-technology, multi-unit company serving the needs of customers in diverse fields in India and abroad.

BEL, is a strategic electronics company of the Ministry of Defence. The company specialises in the manufacture of a wide spectrum of technology like Radars, Military Communications, Naval Systems, Electronic Warfare Systems, Telecommunications, Sound and Vision Broadcasting, Opto-Electronics, Tank Electronics, Solar Photovoltaic Systems, Embedded Software and Electronic Components. The company also claims to provide turnkey systems solutions.

Defence continues to be BEL’s prime focus but the company has also diversified into civilian areas. Some of the successful civilian products include electronic Voting Machines, solar Powered LED-Based traffic signal lighting, simputers, set top boxes etc.

BEL offers contract-manufacturing services for both domestic and international customers. It has automated assembly, inspection and testing facilities as well as precision machining capabilities.

BEL has its corporate office at Bangalore and manufacturing units at nine locations in India. A network of marketing and customer support centers across India completes the vertically integrated company profile. Two offices, one in New York and the other in Singapore mark the company’s current international presence.

The BEL R&D lab is located in Ghaziabad.

Naval weapons developed by BEL are tested at plants in Mumbai, Vishakhapatnam and Kolkata . Its radar equipment is tested in its Hyderabad plants as well as series production of weapons. Series production plants of different weapons are located at Ghaziabad, Panchkula, Pune, Hyderabad,Vishakhapatnam, Machlipattam, Taloja, Chennai, Mumbai.

BEL developed weapons are tested and improved for cold weather and mountainous regions in its Kotdwara plant.

Diesel Locomotive Works

The Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW) in Varanasi, India, is a production unit owned by Indian Railways, for which it manufactures diesel-electric locomotives and spare parts.

Founded in 1961, the DLW rolled out its first locomotive three years later, on January 3, 1964. It manufactures locomotives which are variants based on the original ALCO designs dating to 1960s and the GM EMD designs of the 1990s. DLW has an annual production capacity of 150 locomotives and plans to increase it to 200 based on the current demand.

DLW locomotives have power outputs ranging from 2,600 horsepower (1,900 kW) to 4,000 horsepower (3,000 kW). Currently DLW is producing EMD GT46MAC and EMD GT46PAC locomotives under license from Electro-Motive Diesels (formerly GM-EMD) for Indian Railways.

It has supplied locomotives to other countries such as Germany, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Mali, Senegal, Sudan, Tanzania, Angola, and Vietnam and also to a few users within India, such as large power plants.