Home   Contact Us                                                                      Dateline New Delhi, Monday, Aug 15, 2005

 

 


Index Page                                                       Archive

 

I-Day marked by parades, sweets and kite flying

     New Delhi/Wagah/Agartala/Cuttack: Indians celebrated their 59th Independence Day on Monday by holding parades, flying kites and exchanging sweets. The city skyline in capital New Delhi was dotted with thousands of kites, many of them depicting the Indian tricolor. Kite flying after Prime Minister's speech from the ramparts of the historic Red Fort monument is an annual feature. On the occasion, shops selling kites did a brisk business. At the Wagah border, Indian and Pakistani soldiers shook hands and exchanged sweets amidst bonhomie. In Tripura, chief minister Manik Sarkar hoisted the flag to mark the celebrations in capital Agartala. With patriotism in the air, a biker from Cuttack in Orissa performed acrobats to mark the occasion. Thirty-one-year-old Mandhata Swain, says since childhood it was his passion to celebrate the Independence Day in a different way rather than the usual kite flying and flag hoisting. Swain said he was motivated after seeing the army soldiers perform acrobats on special occasions. "When I saw the military personnel performing acrobats on Independence Day and Republic Day so I thought I should also be doing such a thing. So I though I would do it for my country," Swain told reporters. But in Jharkhand, a small tribal community identified as Tana Bhagat, which decided against celebrating the event. They said the State Government has failed to inaugurate a memorial dedicated to their forefathers who fought for the country's independence from British colonial rule. "We are Tana Bhagats and we worship the flag but we have vowed that we will not hoist the flag till the memorial is not inaugurated by the leaders," said Somra Tana Bhagat, a resident. The tribes literally worship the national flag and consider "Indianism" as their religion. The Tana Bhagat movement started in 1914 and saw the participation of more than 26,000 tribals. Later, it got merged with mainstream freedom movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. The tribals, 80,000 in number are spread over six districts -- Ranchi, Gumla, Lohandagga, Latchar, Hazaribagh and Giridih in Jharkhand.

Manmohan combines Urdu and Hindi in I-Day speech (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: Displaying a unique affinity between Hindi and Urdu languages, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today read his address to the nation on the Independence Day in Hindi but the script was in Urdu. He turned the pages of his speech from last to first and also read the words from right to left. According to sources, Prime Minister's love for Urdu is well known. Whenever he holds summit talks with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, there is always an element of Urdu poetry. He reads out several Urdu couplets to make the atmosphere light. The Prime Minister was educated in Urdu during his school days. Urdu is the official language of Pakistan and the official language of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, as well as an officially recognized regional language in India. Widely spoken Hindustani dialect across the northern parts of India is a mix of Hindi and Urdu words.

Prime Minister's Independence Day address highlights (Go To Top)

    New Delhi: Following are some of the highlighted announcements made in Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh's Independence Day speech on Monday (August 15).

    Initiatives for Rural India 1. Krishi Vigyan Kendra to be created in every village by 2007. 2. National Rainfed Area Authority to be set up. 3. Funding for Bharat Nirman " budgetary focus on outcomes, not outlays alone. 4. Appeal to all political parties to address water issues from a national and holistic perspective. 5. Reiterates commitment to preserve environment and wildlife. 6. Revamping of Khadi & Village Industries Commission, to create jobs.

     Social Welfare Initiatives 1. Pension for Freedom Fighters 2. Prime Ministers Scholarship Scheme for children of ex- servicemen and security personnel - 5000 children would be provided scholarships for college education every year. 3. Focus on elementary, secondary and higher education. "New wave" of development for old Universities in Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. 4. Development of sports - India to bid for Asian Games. 5. Focussed commitment to combat HIV/AIDS. 6. New 15-point programme for welfare and empowerment of Minorities. 7. Empowerment of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes through investment in education, assurance of employment and tribal rights. 8. Empowerment of women - Legislation against domestic violence against women, legal protection of property rights. 9. Development programme for skill enhancement of artisans and weavers.

     Infrastructure Development 1. Six-laning of Golden Quadrilateral. 2. High-speed rail freight corridor " Mumbai-Delhi-Kolkata " with Japanese aid. 3. Urban Renewal Fund " special focus on revitalization of Mumbai. Development of non-metro urban centers. 4. World class airports to be built. 5. New thrust to civil nuclear energy development.

     Governance Issues 1. National Campaign for Cleanliness of villages, towns and cities to be launched. 2. National movement against wastage of water. 3. Review of Armed Forces Special Powers Act complete. AFSPA to be made more humane to ensure protection to human rights. 4. Government to ensure that outlays of expenditure are visible to citizens as outcomes of progress. 5. Handling of tsunami and recent floods, including in Mumbai - National Disaster Management Authority created.

     National Security and External Relations 1. Reiteration of commitment to discussion and dialogue with all disaffected groups, provided they abjure the path of violence. Doors are always open to anyone interested in dialogue. 2. Reaffirmation of commitment to fight terrorism. Pakistan must dismantle entire infrastructure of terrorism. Success of Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus link shows way forward in Jammu & Kashmir. 3. Need for holistic response to extremism. Development and security are inter-linked. Assurance of life of dignity and self- respect for all people. POTA repealed. 4. Indias firm commitment to make South Asia a region of peace and prosperity. Well-being and welfare of neighbours in Indias interests. Warm greetings to people of Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Mauritius and Nepal. 5. Discussions proceeding on Iran- Pakistan- India gas pipeline. 6. Movement forward in relations with all countries. Successful meetings last year with leaders of United States, Russia, European Union, Japan, China and several important and friendly countries. Summit meetings with leaders of United States, Russia, China and Japan have significantly improved bilateral relations, and strengthened Indias global profile. 7. Success of Look East Policy in improving relations with countries of East and South-East Asia.

NDA leaders give Independence Day a miss (Go To Top)

    New Delhi: Senior NDA leaders Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L K Advani and George Fernandes were conspicuous by their absence at the 59th Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort in New Delhi. The leaders had to leave for Bangalore early this morning, to attend the funeral of veteran RSS leader H V Sheshadri, who died there on Sunday night, sources said. Fernandes has never attended any official Independence and Republic Day function except as Defence Minister.

BJP leaders absent at President's 'At Home' for I-Day (Go To Top)

    New Delhi: Senior leaders of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party were conspicuous by their absence at this year's `At Home' hosted by President A.P.J.Abdul Kalam on the lawns of the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday evening. The event was organised to celebrate India's 59th Independence Day. Normally, senior BJP leaders like L.K.Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Madan Lal Khurana and Sushma Swaraj grace the occasion, but this year, no party leader of national importance, including former ministers Jaswant Singh, Pramod Mahajan and Arun Jaitely was present. In fact, leaders of the Delhi unit of the BJP were also not present at the event. Informed party sources said that most of the BJP leaders were away in Bangalore attending the last rites of senior RSS leader H.V.Seshadri, who died on Sunday. Jaitely, however, was not present as he was recovering from a heart bypass operation that he had undergone a couple of months ago. The BJP leaders were also not present at the Independence Day speech of the Prime Minister, which was read out from the majestic ramparts of the 17th century Red Fort in Old Delhi amid tight security. Every year on the ocassion of the country's Republic Day and Independence Day, the President of India hosts an `At Home' for prominent people from all walks of life, including politicians, writers media personnel and service personnel. The event is held in an informal atmosphere on the lawns of Rashtrapati Bhavan, and is used by the President to interact with the hoi polloi of the Indian capital. Invitees also use the occasion to effectively network with people from other walks of life.

References: Independence day Manmohan speach text NDA BJP at home, blast Srinagar, Govinda mishap, Mumbai Thane flood leptospirosis, India, India News, Newspaper, Indian, News, Travel News, India Travel Times, Travel,Tourism, Tour, Tourist, India, Times, News, Hotels, Airlines, Ayurveda, Yoga, Hindu, Taj Mahal, Cuisine, Festival, Temple, Trekking, Hindu, Bharatanatyam, Kathakali, Odissi, Dance, Shimla,Varanasi, Kullu, Manali, Dehra Dun, Mussourie, Mussoorie, Haridwar, Hardwar, Rishikesh, Nainital, Delhi, Goa, Kovalam, Darjeeling, Bodh Gaya, Kancheepuram, Kanchipuram, Thekkady, Badrinath, Amar Nath,Vaishno Devi, Tirupati, Sabarimala, Guruvayoor, Kanyakumari, Kodaikanal, Ooty, Chennai,

     Previous File                 Go To Top
Home    Contact Us
NOTE:  Free contributions of articles and reports may be sent to editor@indiatraveltimes.com
DISCLAIMER
All Rights Reserved ©indiatraveltimes.com