RSS and Kashmir

With Kashmir finally being officially united with Bharata, after a really long and costly delay, there is an urgent need to define its relationship with Bharata again and drill it down in the heads of modern Indians as well as brainwashed Kashmiris.

The anti-Bharatiyas have always questioned how RSS has contributed to the building of India. The extent to which the contributions of Sangh have been kept out of our curriculum and the rabid propaganda against this nationalist group of people should be fought with fiercely. This share is a contribution to this continuing fight.

Source - https://hillpost.in

The below article was written by Late Shri. V Sundaram, a retired IAS officer and appeared first online in 2006, but since has been taken down for unknown reasons. I was fortunate to get this in web archives and sharing it from now.

Late Shri. V. Sundaram, IAS

The idea of the article is to document the contribution of the Sangh during the Kashmir days as well as to put on record some really obscure episodes of Indian history.

Original URL - http://newstodaynet.com/2006sud/06jan/1201ss1.htm

Archived - https://web.archive.org/web/20081204190403/http://newstodaynet.com/2006sud/06jan/1201ss1.htm

Salutations to Guruji Golwalkar - V. Sundaram, IAS

Unshakable faith, the antiseptic of the soul Shri Guruji was noted for his burning patriotism for Akhand Bharath and he had spoken strongly against the partition of India right from 1943. 

Responsibilities often gravitate to the person who can shoulder them. Many people today may not be aware of the fact how Shri Guruji was deputed by Sardar Patel on a political mission in a special plane to Srinagar to meet Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu & Kashmir and the stellar role he played in the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to the Indian Union after independence.

Source - http://vsktelangana.org/

This is indeed an interesting story about the historic role played by Shri Guruji as a responsible and patriotic citizen at a crucial time in our national history.

Soon after independence, the most serious challenge to the freedom and integrity of independent Bharath was posed in Kashmir. The British government declaration of 3 June 1947 left the princely rulers of independent Bharath to join either Bharath or Pakistan or remain independent.

Hari Singh, the Maharaja of Jammu & Kashmir, was in an awful fix. He was a devout and patriotic Hindu and could not think of joining Pakistan. In view of the marked Muslim majority in the State, he was a little hesitant. Lord Mountbatten flew to Kashmir in the third week of June, 1947 in a bid persuade the Maharaja to join Pakistan. The Maharaja resisted the pressure. R C Kak, the then Prime Minister of Kashmir, however, advised Maharaja Hari Singh to remain independent. Amidst these conflicting pulls, the Sangh leaders in the State of Jammu & Kashmir began exerting every possible influence to persuade the Maharaja to declare his accession to Bharath before the deadline of 15 August, 1947. 

The State Sanghachalak of the R S S, Pundit Prem Nath Dogra, submitted several petitions and followed them up with personal interviews with the Maharaja. The Sangh also persuaded several social, political and cultural organisations in the State to pass resolutions urging the Maharaja to join Bharath without delay. At the same time, Shri Badridas, Sanghachalak of Punjab, whom the Maharaja held in high esteem, rushed to Srinagar to meet and advise him. However, forces inimical to Bharath would not let Maharaja Hari Singh have his way. When 14 August, 1947 (one day prior to independence) came, the postal authorities in Srinagar hoisted the Pakistani flag in their office, because the post offices in the State came under Sialkot Circle which was to become part of Pakistan from that day. Promptly, the Sangh Swayamsevaks and sympathisers saw to it that the postal authorities pulled down the Pakistani flag. On the next day, 15 August 1947, the Indian tricolour flew over most of the houses and shops in Kashmir. The tricolour had been prepared in thousands in the Sangh Karyalaya in Srinagar and distributed to the people. Meanwhile, the pro-Pakistani Muslim elements in Kashmir intensified their propaganda to pressurise the Maharaja to join Pakistan.

Large-scale smuggling of arms into the State to foment internal rebellion started taking place from the month of August 1947. At the diplomatic level at the Centre, too, Sangh had made certain strategic moves in the crucial mid-October days in 1948.

Sardar Vallabhai Patel, knowing the mind of Maharaja Hari Singh, had pitched upon Shri Guruji to talk to the Maharaja. Patel knew that Shri Guruji commanded the implicit and full confidence of the Maharaja.

At the instance of Sardar Patel, Shri Guruji flew to Srinagar on 17 October, 1947. He explained to the Maharaja, the futility of entertaining any idea of retaining Kashmir as an independent Kingdom, and advised him to join Bharath straightaway. Consequently, the Maharaja expressed his readiness to sign the instrument of accession to Bharath.

Shri Guruji returned to New Delhi on 19 October, 1947 and reported to Sardar Patel about the Maharaja's readiness to accede to Bharath. Unfortunately there was a sudden and massive invasion of Kashmir on 23 October, 1947 by Pakistani tribesmen which was instigated by the government of Pakistan and the Maharaja appealed to government of India for help, agreeing to the accession of the State to Bharath and the flying of Indian troops to save Kashmir - all these historic events following in lightning succession.

Within the city of Jammu itself, the local Muslims numbering about 20,000 were in a rebellious mood. The fate of Jammu city and the entire countryside in Jammu, with no troops on hand, was in a precarious state.

The young men of Sangh rose to the occasion. They faced the pro-Pakistani Muslim elements inside and repulsed their repeated attacks and shattered their designs. But for the Swayamksevaks' valiant efforts, Jammu could never have been saved; and without Jammu, there was not the ghost of a chance to save Srinagar even by Indian forces. This inspiration to defend our motherland against the Pakistani marauders was provided by the clarion call of Shri Guruji to all the Swayamsevaks and not by the indecisive government of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

On the contrary, it was Pandit Nehru who stopped the Indian Army from driving out the Pakistani invaders from a portion of Kashmir by taking the matter to the United Nations. Nehru took this disastrous and abrupt decision against the advice of Major General Kulwant Singh, Corps Commander, General Thimmiah and General Cariappa of the Indian Army. He did not trust his countrymen. He had greater faith in the machinations of Lord Mountbatten and his British officers. The country is still paying the price for that inexcusable political blunder.

Against this background, it will be clear that Shri Guruji was no less patriotic than either Nehru or Patel or for that matter any Congress leader of that time. Shri Guruji had a good equation with Mahatma Gandhi who addressed the RSS Swayamsevaks at Bhangi Colony in New Delhi on 16 September, 1947 where they were posted to keep guard at various points.

At that point of time, Shri Guruji was not aware of the capacity of the Congress party for infidelity and intrigue. The Nehru government, in a most uncivilised way, ordered the arrest of Shri Guruji on 1 February, 1948 and charged him with the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. To crown it further, the same mindless and soulless government withdrew the charge of conspiracy for assassination against Shri Guruji and issued a new ordinance ordering his internment under the National Security Act on 7 February, 1948.

On 6 August, 1948 Shri Guruji was released subject to certain restrictions placed on his activity. Shri Guruji immediately wrote to Nehru and Patel protesting against his unwarranted and illegal detention without assigning any reasons. He also jokingly commented about the restrictions placed on him by saying: 'I have been transferred from a smaller jail to a bigger one! Only my prison walls have been extended'. He also wrote another strong letter to Nehru in October 1948 requesting him to lift the ban on the RSS.

He wrote: 'It is now almost eight months and nothing can remain to be investigated into against me or the RSS. I am sure you are convinced that the allegations against the RSS have been found to be without foundation in facts. It is therefore a case for simple justice, which we have a right to expect from a government which we have always considered our own.'

Sardar Patel sent a reply to Shri Guruji stating 'there can be no doubt that the RSS did service to Hindu society. In the areas where there was the need for help and organisation the young men of the RSS protected women and children and strove much for their sake. I am strongly convinced that the RSS men can carry on their patriotic endeavour only by joining the Congress and not by keeping separate or opposing'.

At the same time, Nehru wrote to Shri Guruji stating that the RSS was a communal and anti-national organisation. He indirectly seemed to share the view of Patel that the RSS should merge with the Congress.

Was it not a moment of great national disgrace that the Prime Minister Nehru and the Deputy Prime Minister of independent India Patel, whose government had baselessly charged Shri Guruji with the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi and arrested him on 1 February, 1948 and detained him illegally for six months till 6 August, 1948, should now somersault and invite Shri Guruji to join the Congress party in October 1948(!) even while the trial against Nathuram Godse was still on and he was to be hanged only in November 1949? Were they not guilty of perfidy and travesty of truth? Was it not a sordid act of great national betrayal by both Nehru and Patel? Nathuram Godse only liquidated the body of Mahatma Gandhi. Nehru and Patel spiritually destroyed Mahatma Gandhi and all that he represented for ever. 'Secular Spiritual Baptism' even at that time perhaps meant joining only the Congress party and no other political party!

On 13 October, 1948 all restrictions on Shri Guruji's activities were unilaterally removed. Shri Guruji went to New Delhi and met Sardar Patel on 23 October, 1948. Sardar Patel insisted that the RSS should merge with the Congress.

Shri Guruji gave him a firm 'no' stating that the RSS was a cultural organisation and not a political party. Emotionally upset by Shri Guruji's spirited reply, Sardar Patel spoke imperiously to Shri Guruji stating that no more discussions were possible and that he could go back to Nagpur. Sardar Patel failed to realise that he was dealing with a Maharishi and not with a Congress mercenary who would sell his soul for a mess of pottage. Unsurpassed courage of conviction was the footstool of the virtues upon which he stood. Shri Guruji then moved like a hurricane to show his 'Vishwaroopa' form, even as Lord Krishna did to Arjuna at Kurukshetra, to both Nehru and Patel and indeed the country.

The World's Best Chicken Biryani

Most of us non vegetarian urban Indians will say that Biryani is our favourite dish. Each one has his own favorite version, and most of us are happy being served spiced meat with rice in any form.

Source - Arpan Anand at behance.net

The eternal debate around whether Hyderabadi or Lucknowi or Calcutta Biryani is the best is going to go on till humans exist on this planet, and continue calling this dish biryani. What truly matters is everyone loves spicy meat served with rice.

Source - https://www.fortunefoods.com

What sets Biryani apart from rest of the meat and rice dishes is that a truly well made Biryani is a work of art and the one who can cook it to such a level is definitely a great Chef.

I am penning down this note because finally after a year long tryst with trying to cook various biryanis and learning my lessons, I finally was able to dish out what can be called as my best Biryani attempt till date. You can look below for yourself.

What do you think?

Since you can't actually taste this amazing biryani which well, doesn't exist anymore, I will share the recipe with all the points which will help you make it for yourself.

This biryani is an amalgamation of various biryanis that i love, with certain techniques incorporated from various cuisines i have experimented with, till date. You will learn about those techniques as well.

Assumption - You are fairly acquainted with the art of cooking and have attempted biryani at least once. The recipe is not meant for beginners as the basics will be assumed from my end and I won't explain those. You can very well read on, but only if you are thorough with your fundamentals, will you be able to conclude this on a delicious note...;)

Indicated quantities will yield a portion which Serves - 3

Step 1 -  Marination

A good biryani should have tender and well spiced pieces of chicken, which should also have a good coating of spice.

To achieve this, take around 250 gms of cubed boneless chicken and marinate it with

1. 0.5 teaspoon of turmeric
2. 1 teaspoon of red chilli powder
3. 1 teaspoon of dhania powder
4. 1 teaspoon of garam masala powder
5. 1 tablespoon freshly prepared ginger garlic paste (don't use the packed versions, they are horrible)
6. 2 tablespoon white vinegar
7. Salt to taste

This needs to marinate for a minimum of 8 hours in the refrigerator. I had marinated the chicken in the morning and prepared the biryani in the evening.

After 8 hours.....................

Step 2 - Preparations

1. Prepare rice - Take 2.5 cups of good quality Basmati rice (I prefer Dawat brand. Not really happy with the others.) Wash it properly with water 3 times till clear water runs. Keep it soaked in water for 30 minutes.

2. Prepare ginger garlic paste from 8-10 cloves of medium sized garlic and an inch piece of ginger.

3. Prepare a puree of two medium sized tomatoes with 1 green chilly in a mixie.

4. Prepare onions for Brista - Chop 3-4 medium sized onions lengthwise for preparing Brista or browned onions.

Brista. Source - http://pakrice.pk

The browned onion is actually one of the key ingredients of Biryani which gets overlooked many times. This separates a mediocre biryani from the best. I have seen average biryani being transformed with addition of this amazing ingredient. Preparation requires a bit of time, but it is a very necessary investment. Many people will want to skip it, and if you too are one of them, forget about making lip smacking biryani.

4. Prepare the spices + curd mix - Take a 2 tablespoons of curd and whisk it so that it forms into a smooth paste. Now add the standard desi spices - 0.5 tsp turmeric, red chilli powder, dhania powder and garam masala powder as per your taste and mix them well with the curd.

5. Prepare the chopped greens - Chop coriander and mint leaves finely, as per preference. 2 cups of chopped greens is good to go.

Step 3 - Cooking

Till now, 30 minutes must have passed and the rice would have properly absorbed water.

1. Cooking Rice - Place a cooking pot with more than a litre of water. Add some turmeric and some garam masala powder and a tablespoon of salt. Keep on the stove to bring this to a boil. Also add some whole garam masala - pepper, shahi jeera, cloves etc. as per availability (I also added Marathi Moggu which i had purchased during my Coorg trip)

When this starts boiling, add the rice and cook it till it is 75 percent done. Once done, drain out all the water and keep this aside.

Notes - 

• Shahi Jeera and cloves in the cooked rice give it a very Hyderabadi Biryani signature.
• Cooking the rice till 75% since we will be assembling it with the meat and dum cooking it to finish

2. Frying the onions - In the vessel you will use to prepare biryani, take around 6 tablespoons of oil. Place on the stove and once heated up, add the chopped onions along with 1 tsp salt. Salt helps the onions to release moisture quickly and get browned. Saute the onions occasionally till you see that they start browning, once properly done, take them out, ensuring that all the excess oil is squeezed out in the pan, with the help of the ladle.

Tip - When the onions are just about to be done, I add two sprigs of curry leaves as I really love the taste. Gives it the Bhatkali flavour to it.

3. Pre-frying the chicken - The oil will now have a lot of savoury, caramelized taste of the onions. We will now infuse these flavours in the chicken by frying the marinated chicken pieces.

Before that, break an egg in the chicken and add 2 tablespoons of maida/cornflour into it and mix well.

When the oil heats up, fry these chicken pieces in batches for not more than 5 mins per batch. Take care that the chicken in cooked from all ends.

Notes - 

• This technique is inspired from Chinese cooking methods for keeping chicken tender, by locking in the moisture.
• This step also helps get the coating on the chicken, which stays even after the chicken is put in the gravy.
• The oil in the pan is now rich with the flavours of onion as well as the fried chicken. This gives an additional dimension to the flavours in the biryani.

4. Preparing biryani gravy - In the remaining oil, add whole garam masala of your choice and ginger garlic paste, saute well, and add the tomato-chilli puree. You may add oil to this as per your wish, if you see there is too little oil. Cook this till the oil separates. Now, add the spices + curd mix and saute well till oil starts separating. Add 1/3rd of the fried onions to this stir well and add 2 cups of water to the mix.

The gravy items are almost cooked at this point. Once the mixture comes to a boil, add 1.5 cup chopped coriander+mint leaves and the fried chicken, and mix well.

Critical - Check and adjust salt and any other spices you feel are required at this point. Remember that the rice is already seasoned while boiling, so don't overdo the salt.

5. Assembling - The assembling method I have used is derived from Maqloubeh, which can also be called as ulta biryani.

Maqloubeh. Source - http://tasteofpalestine.org

Instead of multiple layers of rice and meat, there is a layer of meat at the bottom of the pan, and rice on top of it, while dum cooking. Only while serving it, the vessel is inverted and the chicken comes on top.

The chicken and gravy should not be too thin and not too dry, as we will be doing dum cooking for 15 mins next. Note that rice is only 75% done, and the dum process will finish the rice, along with adding the chicken aroma in it. 

This is exactly the point of cooking biryani on dum. As a bonus, the chicken retains its tenderness as well.

Once the chicken mixture is bubbling, lower the flame and add half the rice. Now spread out the remaining brista over this layer and add the remaining rice on top of it. Flatten it out. Using the back side of the ladle, push it through the layers at two places in the assembled biryani, so that the steam from the chicken mixture comes to the top and cooks the rice through.

Such a vessel is best suited for ulta biryani.
Source - https://mycookalicious.files.wordpress.com

Cover the vessel and cook on dum, by placing a weight on top of the lid. Place this on the smallest burner on your stove and keep the flame minimum/sim.

My idea of dum cooking - Slowly cooked with an attempt to seal as much flavour as possible. You don't really need to make the dough lining to seal your vessel, but if you can, nothing better than that. I prefer keeping a heavy mortar on top of the vessel lid, to prevent the steam from escaping, so that items get dum cooked properly.

Step 4 Serving

After 15 minutes, close the flame and open the lid to allow excess steam to escape. Note that the rice is properly cooked now. Take a tablespoon of pure ghee and dot on top of the rice. Close this and keep as it is for 5 minutes to allow the ghee flavour to infuse in the rice.

Take a huge plate, Keep on top of the vessel and invert. Lift the vessel and enjoy the delicious smell and sight of your labour of love.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves, fried cashews and kishmish and cut boiled eggs, if desired.

All the best...:)

Dont give your power away

For some men, submission unto the wishes of someone who is super-idiotic in their opinion is not a good way of wasting time. They may better read something or sleep away than give away their power to such assholes.

I have given power to one such asshole wishfully thinking him to have an iota of sense but its been the worst mistake I have committed till date. It has caused me lose complete power over myself and all the weak points have become uncovered only to be attacked by the consequent faulty thought process.



Src - http://boardofwisdom.com

 

I henceforth will do only what I believe must be done instead of following what assholes tell me to do, however senior they may be in the role hierarchy.

Its all getting cheap

There were times when one had to spend years learning an art and honing it and only post that was one able to exhibit it. Years later only could one even imagine of earning a livelihood from art.

Today upstarts call themselves artistes and are able to trade their wares for a decent sum of money, without any focus on continuous improvement of art.

Yes its easy to be an artiste today. But the value of such art is also cheap.

As cheap as a disposable razor.

The design of modern life

Modern human life is based on the building of a bright future. People work hard to earn money which they can 'enjoy' in parties, vacations etc. Humans buy huge separate homes so that they can enjoy privacy with their spouse or their small nuclear families.

Human life is also based on the premise of an unpredicatable future. Crores of money are earned by insurance companies because people think their immediate families will be inconvenienced if they happen to fall a victim to the whims of the Grim Reaper. People want to be buy homes in places where there are hospitals so that in case of emergencies, help should be nearby.

Reconciling the two divergent basis of the lives of present day humans, we can conclude one thing - we are far more affluent today and wanting to be reliant on our selves so that we can shape our day to day lives and take care of ourselves and our small worlds.

Yet we see that the pursuit of self reliance has made us the most loneliest we have been in entire human history. The concept of joint familes is almost extinct today, and the concept of helpful neighbours is going out of vogue soon. Man is at the mercy of the money hungry establishments and as long as he has a source of income, all seems well. All hell breaks loose in the old age, and with inflation and devaluation of all the hard earned cash stashed in the banks as a security.

And the entire machinery is made up of similar human entities leading similar lives, being a cause of each others miseries and feeling alone at the same time! Kya design hai jee. Ekdum badhiya...:)

On Understanding Abstract Lyrics

I am more of a music listener than a lyrics listener. But then there are songs which are rich on content, and I have to listen to what the lyricist has tried to say. Such instances are rare and make me very happy. I saw Masaan a few days back and was spellbound by its songs.

Source - indiatimes.in

This short post is inspired from Varun Grover's take on his songs in Masaan. I thank him for the beautiful lyrics and also his effort to explain his thought process succintly.

Understanding Abstract Lyrics

Those who say that they understand the lyrics of a song are only able to see what their experience helps them see in the painting painted from the unique life, mind and experiences of the lyricist. If the words are direct, its easier to see the meaning, like the painting of a scene from history. But great lyrics are like abstract art. Its a glimpse into the unknown universe of the artist which somehow catches our eyes as we can see some familiarity in the scene from the universe which the artist has presented as form of the abstract art. The lyricist is an abstract artist too, and to say that I understand what the song means is describing one perspective of the lyrics. It is not necessarily what the lyricist meant  to convey.

I believe, lyricists should explain their thoughts at-least a year after people have had the opportunity of internalising a song and deriving its meaning on their own terms. Then it would be interesting to note how close our observations are to that of the lyricist. This exploration of parallel universes will be very interesting.

FB Friends Day Video - How to download

Today, on the occasion of FB's 12th anniversay, you must have seen your customised Friend's day video. I was delighted with the one made for me, but had no intent of sharing it.

But I wanted to download it. I am sure, even you want to download it and enjoy. Here are the steps (for Google Chrome);

 1. Right Click on the video and click 'Inspect'

2. A window opens with the HTML layout. Scroll to the layout for the video.

3. You can see the video link here. Double click on the src field to select the link. Right Click and Copy.

5. Paste the link in a new tab, and the video opens

6. Right Click on the video, and select 'Save Video As'. On the prompt that appears next, give a suitable name and save on your machine.

7. Enjoy maadi:)