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Gorakhpur (UP), Nov 24 (IANS) In a shocking incident, a dog was seen carrying a dead human foetus in its mouth at the Maharajganj district hospital here.

The chief medical superintendent (CMS) Dr A.K. Dwivedi has lodged a police complaint against three sanitation employees and served notices on six hospital staff, including an on-duty nurse and doctor.

An inquiry into the incident has also been initiated.

According to reports, the dog was spotted in the hospital's gallery by people present there. Following the complaint, the hospital staff immediately caught the dog and recovered the foetus.

The hospital chief said deliveries of two stillborn babies had taken place on the day and bodies of both the babies were given to their respective families.

Allegedly, one of the families was reluctant to take the body, and abandoned it near a dustbin which was picked up by the dog.

--IANS
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By Sujit Chakraborty
Guwahati, Nov 24 (IANS) As Assam is celebrating the year-long varied events on the occasion of the 400th birth anniversary of Lachit Borphukan, the great Ahom General who had inflicted the most crushing defeat on the mighty Mughals, a new book throws light on how Assam had fought relentlessly against Muslim invasions for close to five decades.


While the Assam government has made it a point to take the Lachit Borphukan story across the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the celebration in New Delhi on Friday.

Lachit Borphukan, it may be recalled, had defeated the Mughal army in the Battle of Saraighat, one that took place on the Brahmaputra in March 1671.

Such was the defeat that it also signalled the beginning of the Mughal empire's gradual collapse.

"Unfortunately, the Lachit Borphukan story has largely remained untold to the rest of India. His 400th birth anniversary thus has come as an opportunity to project the heroism of the great Assamese General at both the national as well as international level," said veteran journalist and author Samudra Gupta Kashyap, who has recently published a book titled, "Assam's Great Heroes Who Fought the Muslim Invasions".

He told IANS: "It is a matter of regret that while kings and generals of other parts of the subcontinent have found place in Indian history, repeated invasion of Assam for nearly five centuries, beginning with Bakhtiyar Khilji of the Slave Dynasty in 1206 A.D., have somehow not found favour with our historians."

In his book, Kashyap has given in detail how Qutb ud-Din Aibak, soon after taking over the reins of Delhi, had dispatched Ikhtiyar al-Din Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khilji on a mission to central and eastern India.

"After conquering Bihar and Bengal in 1203 A.D., Khilji headed for Assam. But such was the counter-attack by the Kamrup (Assam) king Viswasundardeva that Bakhtiyar Khilji somehow managed to get back to Bengal after his entire army was literally wiped out on the banks of the Brahmaputra," Kashyap in his book said.

The Kamrup king's victory over the first-ever Muslim invaders of Assam has been recorded in a rock inscription at Kanai-Borosi-bowa near Guwahati.

"Since then, there were a series of invasions of Assam by different Muslim rulers of Delhi and Bengal. While the invaders were successful in a few of those attempts, Assam however had managed to resist the invasions in most cases, with the kings of Kamrup as well as a number of local chieftains fighting valiantly with traditional weapons against the better-equipped invaders."

The book describes the heroism of kings and chiefs like Indra Narayan, Chakradhwaj, Nilambar, Chilarai, Indrapratap Narayan, Parikshit, Sonatan, Balinarayan, Madhusudan, Parasuram, Jadu Nayak, Susengpha, Momai-Tamuli Barbarua, Tangchu Sandikui and several others who had resisted the invaders despite the latter having better fire-power.

"While it were the Sultans of Delhi and Bengal who had invaded Assam for the first four decades, it was only from 1613 A.D. onwards that the Mughals eyed Assam, leading to several major wars," Kashyap said.

"The book describes in detail the 1661 invasion led by Aurangzeb's commander Mir Jumla, one that led to a prolonged war lasting a little over a year, during which the Mughals occupied the whole of Assam. But, while the Mughals forced the Ahom king to sign the Treaty of Ghilajharighat in January 1663 and pay a huge indemnity, preparations however were soon begun to oust the Mughals."

"It was at this juncture of history that Assam saw the emergence of a new General in Lachit Borphukan to recover the lost glory. A master military strategist, Borphukan easily reoccupied Guwahati in November 1667 and freed most of Assam from the grip of the Mughals. Borphukan, however knew that the invaders would soon come back with renewed strength, and prepared for a string defence," the author wrote.

Thus, even as Aurangzeb in December 1667 dispatched a 50,000-men army under Ram Singh of Amber "to teach a lesson" to the Assamese, Borphukan put his strategies into full use, and despite losing about 10,000 soldiers in a day-long battle at Alaboi near Guwahati on August 5, 1669, he successfully lured the invaders into a naval battle on the Brahmaputra three months later, to inflict the most crushing defeat on the enemy in the mid-March 1671.

The book describes in detail how Borphukan personally led his men from the front despite ill-health, and as hundreds of Mughal soldiers perished in the Brahmaputra, it forced the invaders to withdraw from the battlefield and retreat. The Battle of Saraighat, which also marked the beginning of military decline of the Mughals, is today remembered as "the greatest naval battle fought on a river".

Author Kashyap has quoted eminent historians who had described Barphukan as "a born leader whose captains and soldiers obeyed his command to the minutest detail". One historian had stated that "Lachit Borphukan had tuned his measures to one single objective, that of victory at any cost. His soldiers were nursed from the very beginning in one solitary dream, it being the victory of the Assamese; and an impression was given to Ram Singh (the Mughal commander) that his defeat was a foregone conclusion".

But, while Borphukan had passed away immediately after the victory at Saraighat, the Mughals once again managed to occupy Guwahati (and the entire Assam) in 1679. It however took less than three years to oust the invaders again, and as the book points out, the Mughals never looked at Assam since the final defeat in August 1682.

A year-long celebration of Barphukan's 400th birth anniversary was formally launched by former President Ram Nath Kovind on February 23.

(Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujit.c@ians.in)

--IANS
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Bhopal, Nov 24 (IANS) A day after Madhya Pradesh Congress MLA Umang Singhar's wife lodged an FIR accusing him of sexual harassment, she has written a letter to top Congress leaders, including former All India Congress Committee President Sonia Gandhi and state party chief Kamal Nath seeking justice for her.

The same letter was also sent to Congress leaders -- Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, sources told IANS on Wednesday.

In her letter, Singhar's wife alleged that the MLA has a fetish for recording women and blackmailing.

"I have been wronged by Umang multiple times but this time he has crossed all the limits and I cannot tolerate it anymore. It is important to inform you, as you are the party head and you have always supported women. I expect that you will get me justice," the woman wrote in her letter.

She also alleged Singhar has exploited many other women earlier as well and brought a bad name to the party because of such incidents.

"He has a fetish for recording women. He used to make videos and audio-recordings of his ex-wife and has done the same to me and now he is blackmailing me using these videos," she claimed.

She has mentioned that the Congress MLA has multiple personalities, and acts differently in front of different people.

Singhar's wife also claimed she has filed multiple complaints against him but the local police did not pay heed to them.

"I never wanted any of this information to come out in public because this is my personal matter, but I had no options left, and finally the FIR has been registered against him (Singhar). I wanted to inform you as both of us are part of the Congress," she added.

This incident comes to light when Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' entered in Madhya Pradesh where the foot-march began through the tribal dominated Malwa-Nimar region of the state, and the powerful tribal leader belongs to that area.

Meanwhile, the state BJP unit has also slammed the Congress and demanded action against Singhar. Speaking over this issue, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, "I am surprised that Congress people are seeing it as politics, instead of punishing their own leader. I would make it clear that the BJP has nothing to do with this matter, but the law will do its work. Whoever will be found harassing women in Madhya pradesh will be punished as per the law."

Singhar, the former Madhya Pradesh Forest Minister and MLA from Gandhwani (Dhar) was booked on Sunday evening, for domestic violence, rape, unnatural sex, criminal intimidation and abusive conduct -- criminal assault under sections 294, 323,376(2)(n), 377, 498-A and 506 of the IPC at Naugaon police station of the Dhar district on the complaint of a 38-year-old woman, who claims to be his wife.

Confirming the development, the Dhar Superintendent of Police, Aditya Singh, said, "After lodging the case, subsequent investigations are underway."

--IANS
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Chennai, Nov 23 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi said on Wednesday that it was Lal Bahadhur Shashtri as Prime Minister of the country who had brought a paradigm shift in the policies of the government, orienting India towards self-reliance.

Ravi was addressing a gathering after unveiling a statue of India's second Prime Minister Lal Bahadhur Shastri at the Shastri Bhavan, here on Wednesday.

The Governor said that India suffered humiliation and was demoralised on defence and food security fronts in the first 17 years of Independence. This was an oblique reference to the period of Jawaharlal Nehru as the Prime Minister of the country.

He said that in the first one-and-a-half decades of the country's Independence, the nation paid scant attention to its defence forces and kept losing its territories in Jammu and Kashmir and Aksai Chin to its enemies.

Ravi said that the country was following an idealistic path and not a realistic path in those days.

The former IPS officer said that it was Shastri who coined the term 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan' and added that this was not just a slogan but marked a paradigm shift in the way the nation looked at its defence forces.

The Tamil Nadu Governor said that it was Lal Bahadhur Shastri who laid the foundation for the Green Revolution in the country, which led to self-reliance in food for the people of the country.

Ravi said that even as the tenure of the second Prime Minister was cut short by destiny, he had laid the foundation stone for taking the country forward for the formation of a great India.

--IANS
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Hassan (Karnataka), Nov 23 (IANS) The Karnataka government has taken the elephant menace seriously and has constituted the Elephant Task Forces to deal with the issue, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Wednesday.

Talking to reporters at Halebeedu Helipad here, he said the elephants, which had come here following drought for many years, have not returned.

Other reasons for the jumbo attack are human beings entering forests for some reason or the other and climate change. It will be very difficult to disperse the herd of elephants, he said.

Since it is not correct to launch an operation after any single incident, the task force has been constituted to launch the operation regularly, he said, adding that each task force is provided with training, vehicles, equipment and a control room has also been established.

The job of the special force members is to patrol the elephant-infested areas regularly and push back the animals back into forests. In case the wild elephants are more in number, then members of all the forces must join together and send back the jumbos into forests, Bommai said.

The task force has been given directions to launch this operation for at least ten days. A sum of Rs 100 crore has been earmarked in this year's budget for this purpose. A new kind of fence is being put up in Bandipur National park. The Elephant Corridor will be fully protected, he said.

Bommai said a solatium of Rs 15 lakh is given to those killed in wild elephant attack and giving a job to a member of the deceased family will be seriously considered.

--IANS
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Bengaluru, Nov 22 (IANS) India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy rainfall till November 24 in most parts of Karnataka, including Bengaluru.

The rains are going to lash coastal districts of Udupi, Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada and Udupi besides hilly regions of Shivamogga, Kodagu and Hasan.

South Karnataka districts of Mandya, Ramnagar, Mysuru, Tumakuru, north Karnataka districts of Vijayapura and Haveri are also likely to recieve showers from Tuesday onwards.

Bengaluru woke up to cloudy morning and resembled a hill station.

The city recorded 13.9 degrees Celsius as minimum temparature on Monday. This minimum temperature is the least recorded in the month of November in Bengaluru for a decade.

Chilling weather has set in for a week in Bengaluru and other parts of the state. However, the residents of rain prone areas are crossing their fingers as heavy rains could throw the life out of gear in the city.

--IANS
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Dakshina Kannada (Karnataka), Nov 22 (IANS) Hindu organisations have raised objections to an interfaith couple applying for marriage at a sub-registrar's office here, suspecting it to be a "love jihad" case.

The incident came to light after the office of registrar invited objections, if any, to the marriage as part of the normal procedure. It had given 30 days' time to register disapproval.

According to sources, the girl is a resident of Darbe near Puttur town in Dakshina Kannada and she is currently staying in Bengaluru. The man is 44-year-old Sheik Mohammad Saleem, a resident of Nyapanahalli in Bengaluru. Both had applied for marriage at a sub-registrar's office.

The development has raised concerns and there is no statement by the police as well as the parents of the girl.

--IANS
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Lakhimpur Kheri (UP), Nov 22 (IANS) Five people were killed and others six injured when an SUV overturned into a ditch on the Bhira-Pallia road on Tuesday morning.

According to police, the SUV carrying 12 people, was on its way from Shahjahanpur to Pallia when the accident took place near Pallia town.

Pallia Kotwali inspector Pramod Kumar Mishra said that the driver of the vehicle lost control due to a pothole on the road.

The deceased included two teachers, identified as Umesh Gangwar of Rampur district and Harnam Singh posted at Himmatnagar school.

Two others were identified as Raj Kishore and Vinay, while the identity of the fifth deceased is yet to be established, police said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed grief over loss of lives and directed officials to ensure proper treatment of the injured.

--IANS
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Guwahati, Nov 22 (IANS) At least four people, including a forest guard, were killed on Tuesday in a police firing following a clash in a village located in Assam's West Karbi Anglong district near the Meghalaya border, officials said.

Several other villagers were also reportedly injured in the incident.

Imdad Ali, Superintendent of Police of West Karbi Anglong, said that forest department officials intercepted a truck that was transporting illegal wood from the remotest Mukro village of the district at around 3 a.m.

While the forest guards approached the truck to seize the illegal consignment, it accelerated trying to flee.

The guards opened fire and punchered the tyre of the vehicle. Three people, including the driver and handyman of the vehicle, were apprehended, but others managed to flee from the scene.

The forest officials then informed the nearest police station at Zirikending and requested for additional forces.

According to the police, when a team reached there, a huge number of people from Meghalaya 'gheraoed' them with sharp weapons.

"The angry mob demanded the release of those arrested. The police team had to open fire to control the violent mob. A forest home guard and three members of the Khasi community were killed in the firing," the officer added.

Meanwhile, a police team reached the scene.

The village is at a distance of six hours' drive from the district headquarters.

--IANS
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Lucknow, Nov 22 (IANS) Samajwadi Party leaders and workers across Uttar Pradesh celebrated the birth anniversary of late Mulayam Singh Yadav on Tuesday by organising 'havans' and prayer meets.

SP President Akhilesh Yadav remembered his father and SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav and tweeted "Dharti Putra Diwas Netaji amar rahen".

Defence minister Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also tweeted their tributes to the late leader.

The Yadav family held a "havan" at the "samadhi" of the late leader and all family members participated in it.

Blood donation camps and fruit distribution were carried out in district hospitals at all district headquarters.

Mulayam Singh Yadav passed away on October 10 and his death witnessed a massive outpouring of grief by his supporters.

--IANS
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