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Scroll.in
3 days ago
- Politics
- Scroll.in
The Indian raja who gave away his powers to the praja
On August 11, 1940, Mahatma Gandhi wrote a short article in his weekly magazine Harijan, beginning it with high praise: 'Who does not know little Aundh? Little it is in size and income, but it has made itself great and famous by its Chief having bestowed, unasked, the boon of full self-government on his people.' Gandhi was referring to a remarkable decision by the Raja of the princely state of Aundh. In November 1938, the ruler, Bhawanrao Shrinivasrao Pant Pratinidhi – popularly known as Balasaheb Pant Pratinidhi – had granted 'full self-government to his subjects'. To implement this change, a state constitution for Aundh was drafted by Gandhi, Balasaheb's son Appasaheb Pant, and a mystic-engineer of Polish-Jewish origins, Maurice Frydman. It was enacted on January 14, 1939. Despite its size – it was about four pages long – the constitution was a deeply progressive document. It guaranteed people of Aundh freedoms of speech, press, assembly and worship besides promising them non-discrimination and universal and free primary education. Most importantly, it decentralised power. The state constitution established village democracy – a cause dear to Gandhi's heart – with a tiered governance system. It included five-member village panchayats, taluka panchayats, and an assembly made up of panchayat presidents, elected representatives and five nominees of the ruler. Gandhi admired this change, writing in Harijan magazine: 'This small State has always been progressive. The Ruler of Aundh has but anticipated the wants of his people and has even been in advance of them in social matters. The declaration of full responsibility was the natural result of the past acts of the Ruler.' Dramatic accession Balasaheb's accession in 1910 was unexpected. Aundh, a small state formed from the remnants of the Maratha kingdom, had come under British control in 1849 after the Peshwa's defeat. By the early 20th century, it was fragmented, with villages in Satara and Bijapur scattered among British-administered lands. In 1907, Balasaheb's uncle and then-ruler Gopalkrishnarao Parashuram (Nanasaheb) was implicated in a conspiracy to assassinate the British-appointed kharbari (prime minister), Jacob Bapuji. Two associates of the ruler and a prison warden were also accused. To add to the mystery, the investigating officer died of arsenic poisoning. Nanasaheb was forced to abdicate, and, after a two-year interregnum, Balasaheb, then 43, became the Pratinidhi or ruler. Educated at Deccan College, Poona, Balasaheb was among the few Indian princes with a degree. His teacher, the historian and reformer Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar, left a lasting impression on him. At one of the first meetings of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Balasaheb donated Rs 1 lakh to produce a popular illustrated Mahabharata. This followed the 1916 publication of the Chitra Ramayana (Illustrated Ramayana), which was widely praised, especially for Balasaheb's colour illustrations in it. The Illustrated London News called it an ' ideal introduction ' to the epic for British readers: 'It has merits of extreme simplicity, and the authentic Indian atmosphere both in the illustrations and the narrative.' Charles Kincaid, a British administrator and an ally of Balasaheb, wrote in the preface: 'The Ramayana now comes to us in a new garb, helping us better to understand the influence of the dim past upon the India we know and love. This is exactly the kind of knowledge which is needed by all who are called upon to minister to the growing wants of her people. There is no true sympathy without understanding.' Radical offer The roots of representative government in Aundh go back to the 1920s. Appasaheb Pant, in his foreword to Indira Rothermund's The Aundh Experiment (1983), recalled how the raiyat sabha, a legislative council formed in 1923 to give advice to the king, was gradually empowered. By 1935, a member of the sabha had been appointed minister for primary education, health and agricultural reforms. In addition, he was made part of a three-member administrative team with the king and divan. In 1927, Balasaheb made a radical offer: he placed both the state and his personal budget under the council's control. The Daily Herald, a Chicago newspaper, reported that such a move, at a time when 'the huge private incomes and personal expenditures of many of the Indian princes' was widely criticised, made a strong public impression. Balasaheb was not just a progressive patron of the arts: he was forward-looking, encouraging local industries in line with his commitment to Swadeshi and self-sufficiency. He supported Laxmanrao Kirloskar in establishing a factory for iron ploughs despite early resistance from superstitious farmers. Kirloskar later helped Shripad Prabhakar Ogale and his brothers set up a glass works factory in Kirloskarwadi. Another friend of Balasaheb, Vajirao Ramrao Guttikar, invented a multi-dish cooker – an early version of the instant pot – to ease domestic work for women, though it never caught on. In 1932, the Chicago Tribune reported that Aundh had launched India's first Gliders Association, with Balasaheb donating the first eight motorless craft. Though a strong Swadeshi proponent, he and his associates celebrated modern innovation. The Kirloskar Khabar, in October 1927, featured a cartoon of 'Miss India' congratulating 'Uncle Sam' after Charles Lindbergh's historic transatlantic flight. Physical fitness In 1938, Balasaheb opened the Shree Bhavani Sangrahalaya, an art museum showcasing Indian and European works. That year also saw the fourth edition of his book on the Surya Namaskar – a ten-step yogic regimen – published by JM Dent in London. The foreword was written by journalist Louise Morgan, who took up the practice after meeting him. Morgan recalled her surprise at meeting Balasaheb. She was expecting a frail 70-year-old, but instead found 'a man with the agile, supple movements of youth, eyes shining like a boy's, strong, brilliantly white teeth, firm muscles, radiant smile, and а mind that worked like summer lightning'. Balasaheb promoted the Surya Namaskar in schools and among citizens, guided by Shripad Damodar Satvalekar, a Gandhian yoga scholar. The regimen was related to Balasaheb's larger vision to raise a physically and mentally self-reliant populace. Just as he wanted the people of Aundh to be physically fit, Balasaheb also wanted them to be aesthetically aware. His Shree Bhavani Sangrahalaya, according to historian Deepti Mulgund, fostered aesthetic awareness through its mix of Indian and Western art, including medieval miniatures, paintings from the Bengal school, as well as Western artefacts and casts. Notably, a Henry Moore sculpture – Mother and Child – was acquired by Appasaheb Pant when the artist was still relatively unknown. During a visit to Britain in 1936, Balasaheb promoted both the Surya Namaskar and the arts. He delivered lectures on art, toured industries that made agricultural and dairy equipment, and screened a film that showed his family and friends demonstrating the Surya Namaskar. A film of his visit survives and can still be seen on YouTube. The Sunday People on July 12, 1936, said about Balasaheb: 'The white-haired Raja of Aundh claims to have discovered the greatest of all secrets: eternal youth.' Some tongue-in-cheek accounts said the Raja left 'nothing undone to make converts to the habit of deep breathing,' practicing even in boats, trains, and cars. Play For nearly a decade, until it joined the Indian Union in 1947, Aundh governed itself according to its constitution. Balasaheb died in 1951, aged 84. His son, Appasaheb Pant – later a distinguished Indian diplomat – reflected on the enduring legacy of Aundh's experiment: 'By his renouncing power and possessions, the raja had 'constitutionally' become 'the first servant of the Aundh people' and keeper of their conscience. The relationship of the individual with authority, the hierarchy of power changed with this declaration; that was the key that unlocked the doors to a successful working of democracy in Aundh's villages. As long as there is fear of, or desire for, favour from authority, democracy cannot work: that is the message of the Aundh experiment.'
Hindustan Times
01-08-2025
- Science
- Hindustan Times
Encyclopaedic Sanskrit dictionary portal provides free access to ancient knowledge
Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan through videoconferencing launched the KoshaSHRI encyclopaedic Sanskrit dictionary portal and inaugurated the Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems–Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Sanskrit (IKS-EDS) at Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Pune. The dual launch was part of the Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam 2025 held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi on July 29, marking the fifth anniversary of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, according to a release issued by the college on Thursday. The KoshaSHRI Portal is a collaborative effort between Deccan College and the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Pune and represents one of the world's largest Sanskrit lexicography projects. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO) The KoshaSHRI Portal is a collaborative effort between Deccan College and the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Pune and represents one of the world's largest Sanskrit lexicography projects. It builds on the project 'An Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Sanskrit on Historical Principles' started in 1976 and has published 35 volumes. The academic resource is accessible for free at The portal includes search functionality by subject, author, grammar, and period, and provides access to 15 lakh digitised vocables and over one crore reference slips collected, documented and stored at Deccan College. Sanskrit font Koshashri enhances the portal's usability by supporting Vedic symbols, Roman diacritics, and English characters. The IKS-EDS Centre will train researchers in lexicography and promote academic partnerships with institutions working in the field of Indian Knowledge Systems. The Centre has been provided with 21 new positions, including 20 academic and one administrative post. The Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Sanskrit on Historical Principles was first conceptualised by Professor SM Katre in 1948.
The Hindu
17-07-2025
- The Hindu
CIIL to launch mobile app for learning 22 Indian languages
Shailendra Mohan, Director of CIIL, Mysuru, on Thursday announced two major initiatives to be launched by the end of this month - a mobile app for learning 22 Indian languages which will eventually expand to other mother tongues, and an AI-based language assessment system enabling nationwide proficiency testing. Presiding over the 57th foundation day of CIIL here, Mr. Mohan highlighted CIIL's technological advancements, including machine translation tools, text-to-speech systems, and multilingual corpora accessible via Mr. Mohan shared details about the translation of 'The Constitution of India' into 11 Indian languages and reaffirmed CIIL's dedication to linguistic diversity and its pivotal role in national language planning. Udaya Narayana Singh, former Director, CIIL, in his keynote address, spoke on the future of language and literature studies in India, and the urgent need for indigenous linguistic data to fuel Artificial Intelligence (AI), Natural Language Processing (NLP), and speech technology. He urged linguists to enrich Indian language archives and begin engaging in creative literature writing. Mr. Singh also advocated for the creation of a Museum of Voices to support endangered and tribal languages, and called for multilingual education in line with NEP-2020, culturally sensitive AI, and mobile applications for minority languages. He stressed using voice interfaces for non-literate users and proposed multilingual diagnostic tools to address the mental health issues of youth. Mr. Singh spoke on underexplored domains such as Forensic Linguistics and language in law, and laid out a 20-year vision blending cultural heritage with digital innovation for CIIL's future growth. Vice-chancellor of Deccan College, Pune, Prasad Joshi; Founder-Director of CIIL D.P. Pattanayak; and former Directors of CIIL Rajesh Sachdeva and C.G. Venkatesh Murthy also spoke at the event.
Scroll.in
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Remembering CM Naim (1936-2025): The conscience keeper of Urdu, who wrote fearlessly of its politics
Chaudhary Mohammad Naim, aka CM Naim, who passed away on July 9, 2025, at the age of 89, was a peerless scholar of Urdu literature who wrote prolifically in English. In that sense, Naim was also a conscience keeper since he regularly assessed the works of Urdu legends and Urdu studies in the more exacting standard that writing in English could provide him. He was born in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh and after studying at Lucknow University, Deccan College and the University of California, Berkeley, he remained associated with the University of Chicago for over four decades at the Department of South Asian Languages and Civilisations. Besides contributing enormously to South Asian studies, he also introduced some prominent and not-so-prominent Urdu literary works to a wider audience. It won't be out of place to call him a one-man industry. Apart from his vast scholarly output, he frequently wrote in the media. Letters to Hindustan Times, EPW and his columns in Outlook stand out for the fresh and sharp perspectives they offered. He never shied away from taking difficult positions. Obituaries published following his passing away rightly mention his books – the most recent one being Urdu Crime Fiction, 1890-1950: An Informal History. However, equally celebrated and forthright were some of his journal articles and writings in the media. A decade and a half ago, he wrote about the alleged plagiarism by the high priest of Urdu, Gopi Chand Narang. The plagiarism, highlighted by several people, including Fuzail Jaffrey and Imran Bhinder, acquired more weight as Naim expounded on it in his popular Outlook column. In his quest for objectivity and honest scholarship, even the greatest would come under the scanner. A journal article written in the wake of the 1965 India–Pakistan war examined the attitude and literary output of the prominent Urdu writers in both countries. Naim described Ali Sardar Jafri's piece in Dharmayug as having 'blatantly confused motives' and parts of eminent Hindi writer Kamaleshwar's rejoinder to it as 'unfair'. Khwaja Ahmed Abbas had accused Faiz Ahmed Faiz of tacitly supporting Pakistan's war mongering against India. According to Naim, the 'hypocrisy underlying Abbas' remarks needs no comment.' One has to read this article to appreciate the nuanced analysis from Naim of an important event that gave him the opportunity to point out certain plain truths. He highlighted that '…the elders of the Progressive Movement who over the years had come to form a kind of literary establishment, controlling magazines, radio and film industry jobs, and cultural embassies.' What stood out for me was his perceptive observation that two separate literary-cultural identities will emerge that will complement the existing separate national-political identities. Naim did not want Urdu writers to apologise for their politics, which was only stopping them from writing more freely. This was crucial, according to Naim, to generate an atmosphere of greater trust and respect akin to English language writers in England and America. While Naim had donned the hat of a critic when several of the Progressive Movement legends were alive and he never minced words, some of his critics would seek to reduce his stature by saying that he was teaching elementary Urdu to students in the US! Such invectives didn't bother him. A whole generation of scholars benefited from his stewardship of The Annual of Urdu Studies and his large-heartedness to help those who reached out to him. Although I never met him, I enjoyed and benefited much from our conversations over email, which began over a decade ago. For someone steeped deep in the Urdu ethos and who grew up in the environs around Lucknow of the 1940s and 1950s, he was uncharacteristically unbeholden to nostalgia. I think that stemmed from his catholicity of views and the ability to look at things from a long-term perspective. Five years ago, in an email he recounted his experience of attending a Progressive Writers Association meeting in Lucknow. 'In 1966, I happened to be in Barabanki when I read that a major meeting of the Association would be held in Lucknow to celebrate the 30th anniversary. I eagerly went and was horrified to see thatthe crowd consisted of fewer than 20 people. In Lucknow – the city where the Association began. In a city full of colleges and one university. Only the old, big names who had survived the years had come.' Naim held the view that the average Marathi and Bengali scholars knew more about literary theories than Urdu academics. He was also critical of scholars who had notions that a non-native academic could not do justice to Urdu studies. In response to one such tirade, he gave a sharp rejoinder, titling his piece 'Our ungenerous little world of Urdu Studies.' I have mentioned these nuggets to make the point that CM Naim, the person, was not different from C M Naim the scholar. His life was marked by humility, solid scholarship and measured words. Although it must be pointed out that if the occasion arose, he never shied away from using his meticulous observation and wisdom to great effect. He moved to the US in the late 1950s but continued his annual visits to India. Lucknow, the city of culture, was a regular visit for Naim, known for its two iconic bookstores: Ram Advani Booksellers in Hazratganj (which closed down in 2016) and Danish Mahal in Aminabad. Naim could easily be one of the most learned and treasured customers of both these stores and his passing away signifies the death of an icon who straddled multiple genres and cultures.
Time of India
13-06-2025
- Science
- Time of India
India's second urbanisation: It's confirmed, Keeladi is as old as the Gangetic plains; radiocarbon dating traces site's origins to 580BCE
The Keeladi site in Madurai has revealed yet another chapter in Tamil Nadu 's past. Radiocarbon dating by US laboratory Beta Analytics has confirmed that it dates to 6th century BCE, making it contemporary with the urbanisation of the Gangetic plains. Of the 29 radiocarbon samples dated by the Tamil Nadu state department of archaeology since the 2017-18 excavation season, the earliest was from 580BCE and the most recent from 200CE. The findings point to an urban and industrial settlement that flourished for 800 years between 6th century BCE and 2nd century CE. The large brick structures from the Sangam Age found here are evidence of the urbanisation described in Sangam literature. 'Most samples above the brick structures date to after the 3rd century BCE, while those below go as far back as the 6th century BCE,' says archaeologist K Rajan, advisor to Tamil Nadu's archaeology department. 'This places Keeladi alongside the urbanisation of the Gangetic plains, India's second urbanisation. Of the 29 radiocarbon dates, 12 fall in the pre-Ashokan era, before the 3rd century BCE.' It also looks like the archaeologists are inching closer to revealing the face of the ancient Tamil, who lived in the Keeladi settlement thousands of years ago, using 3D technology and anthropometric measurements from a skull unearthed at the Kondagai burial site. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Keep Your Home Efficient with This Plug-In elecTrick - Save upto 80% on Power Bill Learn More Undo 'Based on the skull, we will reconstruct the age, dietary pattern, determine the gender, and actual face of the person,' says Rajan. The state archaeology department is collaborating with more than 20 research institutions from India and overseas on the project, including Liverpool University in the UK, University of Pisa in Italy, the Field Museum in Chicago, the French Institute of Pondicherry, IIT Gandhinagar, and Deccan College, to reconstruct life in Keeladi in 580 BCE. The Deccan College is analysing animal bones found in Keeladi. Excavations uncovered bones of bulls, buffaloes, goats, cows, sheep, dogs, pigs, antelope and spotted deer. Madurai Kamaraj University researchers are working on analysing ancient human DNA and animal DNA, which will help understand human migration and admixture of the ancient inhabitants of Keeladi and Kondagai, a cluster village of Keeladi. This scientific approach has yielded 29 dates from a single site. The Tamil-Brahmi inscribed potsherds unearthed at Keeladi have pushed the script's origin back to the 6th century BCE. Gold and ivory artefacts suggest the ancient Tamils led a life of luxury. 'It shows Keeladi was an urban settlement with a literate society and a community of artisans,' says R Sivanandam, joint director, state archaeology department. 'It was an industrial hub along an ancient trade route linking the east coast port of Alagankulam to Muziris on the west coast via Madurai.' The original name of the settlement, however, remains unknown. Sangam literature talks about overseas trade, ornaments, gemstones, cities and streets and palatial buildings. 'Keeladi has proved that Sangam literature was a lived experience of ancient Tamils and not imaginative stories,' says indologist R Balakrishnan. Archaeologists also found terracotta and ivory dice in rectangular and cubic forms at the site, which Balakrishnan says is mentioned in 'Kalithogai', sixth of the eight anthologies of Sangam literature. 'Keeladi isn't the only site with roots in the 6th century BCE. Kodumanal, Porunthal, Sivagalai, Adichanallur and Korkai have also yielded dates from that period,' says Rajan. 'Korkai has produced a date as early as 785BCE, suggesting Sangam-age urbanisation was widespread.' Despite 10 seasons of excavations at Keeladi, researchers have excavated only 4% of the 110 acres of cultural deposit in Keeladi. The state govt plans to continue excavations and has set up a museum to showcase the findings, with an onsite museum, the first of its kind in India, also in the works. 'Tamil Nadu has endured archaeological apathy for far too long until Keeladi sparked a wave of interest among Tamils,' says Balakrishnan. 'Keeladi is the first site that transformed the understanding of archaeology in Tamil Nadu,' says Rajan. KEELADI CONTROVERSY Archaeologist K Amarnath Ramakrishna, who led the first two excavation seasons (2014-2016), submitted a report in 2023 to ASI stating that Keeladi functioned between 8th century BCE and 3rd century CE. Two years later, ASI challenged the dating, claiming the site could best be dated to 300 BCE and asked Ramakrishna to revise his report. Ramakrishna defended his original findings. Two days ago, Union minister for culture and tourism Gajendran Singh Shekhawat also stated that the report was not technically well supported and further scientific validation is needed WHY IS KEELADI IMPORTANT? Contains brick structural remains from the Sangam Age (early historic period) Among the few sites in Tamil Nadu, along with Arikamedu, Kaveripattinam and Korkai, to yield a wide variety of structures such as complex brick structures, drainage systems with tank-like features, doublewalled furnaces, terracotta ring wells HOW RADIOCARBON DATING WORKS Living organisms absorb carbon, including the radioactive isotope C-14, from the atmosphere. When they die, C-14 intake stops and the organism begins to decay at a known rate. Measuring the remaining C-14 helps estimate the time of death of the organism. A common technique used is accelerator mass spectrometry, which directly counts C-14 atoms, requires just 1g of sample and has dating accuracy within ±30 years KEELADI FINDS Excavated area is 90m long and 60m wide. Artefacts include glass, shell, ivory, pearl and terracotta beads; seals; dice, unidentified copper coins; gold ornaments Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
