Monthly Archives: March 2016

Bengal Area completes 121 years

Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All

Kolkata :

One of the oldest static formations of the Indian Army in the eastern region, Headquarter Bengal Area, celebrated its 122nd Raising Day in Kolkata on Tuesday. What makes this formation extremely crucial for civilians is that it liaisons with the West Bengal and Bihar governments for activities such as disaster relief, rescue efforts during natural calamities and deployment of troops to curb violence.

Lt Gen Rajeev Tewari, general officer commanding, Bengal Area, addressed all ranks of the formation at a special sainik sammelan and conveyed his greetings.

Bengal Area Headquarter was raised as Bengal Command at Fort William on March 1, 1895, by Lt Gen Sir WK Ells. It moved to its present location at 246, AJC Bose Road from Bengdubi in north Bengal in September 1995. Bengal Area participated with distinction during World War-II, the Sino-Indian conflict of 1962 and Indo-Pak War of 1971. Besides operational war time task, the formation also supports the logistics requirements of fighting formations and units of the Eastern Command in war and peace.

It is also the ‘local military authority’ acting as a link between the state government and the Army besides being the custodian of the ‘Maidan’ area and all Army land around Kolkata.

“With growing need of the military in combating natural disasters as well as man-made calamities, the importance of the formation has gone up by leaps and bounds. It also provides necessary assistance to the Eastern Command in maintaining bases in parts of south Bengal and bordering areas of Bihar,” an officer said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Kolkata / by Jayanth Gupta / March 01st, 2016

Experts to Document Ashoka Circuit in State

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All, Travel

Kalaburagi :

A joint initiative of HKRDB and Calcutta University to document an Ashoka Circuit for Karnataka from Sannati to Siddhapura has been launched.

Head of Ancient History Department of Calcutta University Prof Susmita Basu Majumdar is the Principal Investigator. As part of this expedition, a documentary will be filmed and a pictorial Pali-English-Kannada dictionary will be compiled.

Karnataka has perhaps the largest number of Ashoka sites and those dating back to the 3rd century BC are the earliest legible records found from Afghanistan in the northwest, Andhra Pradesh in the south, Odisha in the east to Girnar in the west. The project will first document all the Ashokan sites in Karnataka and then establish the full circuit from Afghanistan.

AshokaBF02mar2016

A team of three, Prof Susmita Basu Majumdar, artist Rajib Chakraborty and film maker Ranjay Ray Choudhury visited the Chandralaparameshvari temple at Sannati on Sunday, to document the spot where the Ashoka edict was found. They found the original idol of deity Mahakali broken into four pieces lying on the western side of the temple on the banks of river Bhima.

Prof Basu Majundar took the initiative to re-join the idol and narrated the interesting story behind the discovery of the Ashoka inscriptions. In 1986, a portion of the roof of the temple collapsed and caused damage to the 12th century seated four handed figure of goddess Mahakali wearing mundamala and holding damaru, trishula, kapala and sword.

Presently, this beautiful piece of sculpture only shows the trishula and kapala and the other two hands are broken but the temple authorities informed that the present image of Chandraparameshwari which is worshiped in the temple is a replica of the previous Goddess.

The khandita pratima of the deity lying on the banks of Bhima was almost awaiting the visit of this team and when the sculpture was joined it looked as if the beautiful Goddess had reappeared.

The idol base had a protruding pillar like hinge which was fitted into a stone socket. The stone on which the Ashoka inscription was engraved was used to form the base of this deity. When the idol was damaged, the inscription was discovered.

This inscription carried the separate edicts one and two and rock edits 12 and 14 of Ashoka (274-232 BC). Karnakata was the southernmost boundary of the Ashoka’s Mauryan Empire.

This inscription was discovered in 1989. Now the original idol which is about 600 years old is also restored to the temple. The matter is being reported to the ASI for further action.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Express News Service / March 02nd, 2016

Bengal village teen bags top Nasa scholarship

Education, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Science & Technology, World Opinion
Eighteen-year-old Sataparna is among only five scholars from the world chosen for the programme
Eighteen-year-old Sataparna is among only five scholars from the world chosen for
the programme

Kolkata :

Eighteen-year-old Sataparna Mukherjee, a Class 12 student from a village around 30km from Kolkata, has been selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) for its prestigious Goddard Internship Programme under the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS). She is among five scholars chosen from across the world for this programme.

Nasa’s GIP selects five exceptional individuals from across the world every year and funds their entire education after school.

Sataparna, who will appear for her school-leaving exams this year from St Judes School, Madhyamgram, in Kamduni – it gained notoriety for a brutal gangrape in 2013 – will be at Oxford University, where she she will pursue graduation, post-graduation and PhD (as Nasa faculty) in aerospace engineering at its London Astrobiology Centre.

Sataparna told TOI, “It all started in May last year when I was a member of a group on a social networking site where there were many members, including some scientists. One day I shared some of my thoughts on ‘Black Hole Theory’, and one of the members of this group gave me Nasa’s official website and told me to post my findings, which I did.” Sataparna’s paper on Black Hole Theory, and how this could be used to create a ‘Time Machine’, was hugely appreciated. “I am very happy to get this opportunity where I will also work as a researcher at the Nasa centre in London,” she said.

Under the Goddard Internship Programme, Sataparna will work as an “employee and researcher”, where she will be part of its earth science and technology development programme. Nasa is paying her a generous sum as honorarium, apart from bearing all her expenses.

Her father Pradip Mukheree, a headmaster of a primary school who led a people’s movement against goons and political pressure to drop the infamous June 2013 Kamduni gang-rape case, said, “She has made us, and the entire country, proud.”

Pulak Chakraborty, a professor of English at the Nabagram Hiralapal College, who’s acting as Sataparna’s referee at Oxford, said, “She is a very good student and her ability should not be judged through her marks alone. She is original, and that has made her attain so much.”

“She is going on August 17,” said Pradip. “Though every cost is borne by the university and Nasa, we will arrange for the passage money, which is quite high. I am thinking of taking a loan because I don’t want to let this opportunity go,” he said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Kolkata / by Saibal Gupta / TNN / February 29th, 2016