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The two Sunni Muslim dynasties of the Kashmir Valley – the National Conference (NC) led by the Abdullah clan and People's Democratic Party's (PDP) Sayeed clan made good their threat not to allow a Hindu to become Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. It would of course be deemed to be politically incorrect if the same reasoning were to be used by Hindus from the rest of Bharat – that no Muslim will be selected or appointed to any high constitutional post: Ministers and Chief Ministers, Judges and Chief Justices of High Courts and Supreme Court, Governors of states and President of Bharat. Not one pulpit thumping news editor of English news channels raised this point. They did not even dare to stay on this point for one solitary minute, let alone a full hour at prime time news – that Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir declared that they will not allow a Hindu to become Chief Minister of the state.
The National Conference and the PDP chose to place the state under President's Rule rather than align with the BJP to form a democratic government. The BJP polled the highest percentage of votes (but as much as 10% less than its share in the Lok Sabha elections) which however did not give them the highest tally of assembly seats, not even a simple majority which would have made the Sunni Muslims of the state irrelevant in government formation. The BJP has only itself to blame; instead of roaring Hindu nationalism it sang in high falsetto about corruption and development to please the Sunni Muslims of the valley instead of consolidating its respectable vote share in Jammu and Ladakh.
During the Lok Sabha elections in 2014, the BJP promised Union Territory status for Ladakh but did not reiterate the promise during elections to the state assembly and Ladakh punished the BJP for what Ladakh correctly perceived as BJP reneging on its promise. The BJP represents Ladakh in parliament but was not even a respectable second in the state elections; the BJP was punished in Jammu and Ladakh for the exact same reasons the BJP was punished in the Lok Sabha elections of 2004 and 2009.
The BJP forsake ideology for the promised land of good governance. Ideology matters; it is ideology and ideology alone which sets the BJP apart from the Congress, the Abrahamic so-called minorities and the Left. It is ideology which determines how the BJP will deal with growing Abrahamic religious demography across the country, with Muslim and Christian terrorism, with Abrahamic separatism and secessionism. The Jammu and Kashmir state assembly elections gave the BJP its best opportunity yet to loosen the Sunni Muslim stranglehold on the state's polity; but casting its eyes on possible political alliance with the NC or the PDP and hoping to make a breakthrough in the Kashmir Valley as it had made in Ladakh during the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP pushed ideology and Hindus and Buddhists to the margins and instead pursued the Muslim voter in the state and Muslim political parties.
News X labelled the long stand-off between the BJP and the NC/PDP combine over government formation in Jammu and Kashmir a "trench war". The label attests to the borderline anti-national proclivities of all English news channels without exception. Let us put it bluntly – any entity with an alien and borrowed sense of the Bharatiya nation and basis of Bharatiya nationhood, which denies or rejects or injures the Hindu identity, is anti-national. The Bharatiya nation is coterminous with the Hindu nation.
This was no trench war; this was the Sunni Muslims of the NC and the PDP declaring in unambiguous language that they will not allow a Hindu to become the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. And Ghulam Nabi Azad, the Sunni Congress Muslim was cheering them on from the sidelines. This wholly explicit anti-Hindu nature of the polity of Jammu and Kashmir is expressed in the gross imbalance of political power and economic empowerment among the three major territorial segments of the state – Jammu, Kashmir valley and Ladakh. Notwithstanding the fact that the BJP polled the largest percentage of votes in the just concluded assembly elections, it was still only in second place with 25 seats behind the PDP which has 28 seats. Kashmir valley's quota of Assembly and Lok Sabha seats is more than the other two segments put together to keep the balance of power perpetually in favour of the Sunni Muslims of the Kashmir valley.
Sunni Muslims control the bulk of the trade and commerce in the state and corner a major portion of the benefits of higher education and of all employment opportunities created by industrialization. Sunni Muslims of the valley who occupy only 15% of the total territory of the state of J&K live off the resources of Jammu and Ladakh by virtue of the fact that after Maharaja Hari Singh abdicated power, political power was transferred from Jammu to the valley – to the Abdullah and Sayeed clans, and effectively, to the Sunni Muslims of the valley. If this were not outrageous enough, the valley Muslims generally do not pay any revenue to the State. It is the regions of Jammu and Ladakh, which contribute over 90% to the state exchequer.
The following facts demonstrate the perverted polity of the state of Jammu and Kashmir:
- Kashmiris hold over 2,30,000 positions out of a nearly 2,40,000 positions in government and semi-government organisations in the Valley. In addition, they corner nearly 25 per cent of the jobs in the regional services of Jammu andLadakh.
- All the professional and technical institutions, universities and all the big public sector industrial units like the HMT, television, telephone and cement factories located in the Valley are the sole preserve of the Kashmiris. Besides, they manipulate for themselves more than 50 per cent of the seats in Jammu's ill-equipped and under-staffed medical and engineering college, and the Agricultural University in R.S.Pura. No such institution exists in Ladakh.
- The Kashmiris control trade, commerce, transport and industry, and own big orchards as well as landed estates. None of them is without a house. Likewise, the per capita expenditure on woollen clothes in Kashmir is perhaps the highest in the world. Till date, none in Kashmir has, unlike in UP, Bihar and Orissa, died either of hunger or cold.
- Interestingly, yet not surprisingly, a vast majority of the Kashmiris don't pay even a single penny to the State in the form of revenue due to it. It is Jammu and Ladakh that contribute over 90 per cent to the State exchequer, but a major part of this money is spent not in the extremely backward and underdeveloped Jammu and Ladakh but in the highly prosperous and developed Kashmir Valley.
The origin of Muslim domination in Jammu and Kashmir
The State is vested with unsurpassed power only to protect and defend the territorial integrity of the nation and its nationhood. Kautilya more than two thousand years ago pronounced that the nation or rashtra is both territory and the people inhabiting the territory. The primary responsibility of the state therefore is to not only protect the territory by defending national borders, but to also keep watch over the people inhabiting the territory who may pose a threat to the sense of nationhood which binds the people into a nation.
By seeking to resolve the threat posed by Muslims to the territory and nationhood in J&K through the agency of seminar-hoppers, bleeding-heart human rights activists and Track II diplomats, the Bharatiya state and the political class across the ideological spectrum can be charged with contempt of rashtradharma; they have rendered the authority and power of the state to eliminate national security threats null and void, and even dysfunctional. The Bharatiya State's inability to end the threat posed by the Muslims in J&K, even sixty years after 1947, is a Gandhian legacy going back to the Gandhi-Nehru duo's criminal unilateralism with regard to J&K, and their warped sense of nationhood compounded by the Bharatiya state's acquiescence to the code of conduct imposed on it by the new world order.
Muslims had made their intentions abundantly clear from as early as 1905 when Bengal was partitioned, that they were working to return Islamic rule over Bharat; failing which they were ready to use violence to create an Islamic state from the body of the Hindu nation. As demonstrated in this writer's book Eclipse of the Hindu Nation, Gandhi's INC set political freedom as its goal only in 1942. Even after 1942, Gandhi's INC wanted political freedom only from British rule; rather than mobilizing the Hindus against Muslim intention to vivisect the nation, Gandhi's bizarre sense of nationhood and his criminal unilateralism in deciding the fate of the Hindu nation drove him to consent to the return of Muslim rule over Bharat if that would avert partition.
The greatest coercion is British coercion. And the Congress is impatient to get out of that coercion. My hope in desiring a Constituent Assembly is that whether the Muslims are represented by the Muslim League mentality or any other, the representatives when they are face to face with the reality will not think of cutting up India according to religions but will regard India as an indivisible whole and discover a national, i.e. Indian solution of even specially Muslim questions. But if the hope is frustrated, the Congress cannot forcibly resist the express will of the Muslims of India. Needless to say the Congress can never seek the assistance of British forces to resist the vivisection. It is the Muslims who will impose their will by force singly or with British assistance on an unresisting India. If I can carry the Congress with me, I would not put the Muslims to the trouble of using force. I would be ruled by them for it would still be Indian rule. In other words, the Congress will have only a non-violent approach to every question and difficulty arising. (March 17, 1940, Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi i.e. CWMG Vol. 78, page 6)
If Bharatiya Rule were all and to Gandhi it mattered little if Hindu Bharat were to be ruled by Muslims, what were Gandhi's objections to Bharat being ruled by Subhash Bose and his INA? Unless Gandhi saw Bose as Nehru's biggest stumbling block.
That there was another choice – that there would be neither partition of the Hindu nation nor return of Islamic rule after ending colonial rule, was not even envisaged by Gandhi or other luminaries of the INC. Sheikh Abdullah, who saw the ease with which Jinnah's Muslim League walked away with territory, began to dream his own dream of converting J&K into his own grand fiefdom. He had observed how Gandhi from the 1930s decade had destabilized several princely states – in the year between 1938 and 1939, the Congress was stirring trouble in Mysore, Jaipur, Rajkot, Travancore and Cochin. Sheikh Abdullah had also observed how dismissively and even contemptuously both Gandhi and Nehru had dealt with the Deccan princes and other rulers of the princely states when they approached Gandhi to express their concerns about their fate when British paramountcy would end with end of colonial rule.
Sheikh Abdullah began to utilize the critical years after 1942 to realize his own manic ambitions. Sheikh Abdullah was another Jinnah already in the making, but typically, neither Gandhi nor Nehru or even Patel read the danger signals emanating from J&K in 1946. Even as the INC was in the midst of the make or break negotiations with the Cabinet Delegation, trouble erupted in Jammu and Kashmir. Sheikh Abdullah, a commoner from the Valley saw a great opportunity for himself in the generally troubled times, to fulfil his own towering Muslim ambitions in the turbulent years preceding 1947. Playing out the drama for civil liberties and 'freedom' that the INC had staged in Rajkot, Jaipur and other Hindu kingdoms, Sheikh Abdullah launched in May 1946, the 'Quit Kashmir' campaign.
Abdullah was promptly arrested and incarcerated. Nehru, playing the Great Democrat to the hilt, attempted to enter Kashmir and was also speedily detained by Ram Chandra Kak, the Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. Gandhi jumped into the fray and in a passionate letter to Jawaharlal Nehru, pleaded with Nehru to return to Delhi with the promise that the Congress would make Nehru's cause in Kashmir its own cause, and Nehru's honour, its honour. The draft reply, drafted by Gandhi contained the ill-concealed threat to the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir that Nehru would return to retrieve his honour and fulfill his mission, a threat which however does not find mention in the official Congress Resolution.
I and all are of opinion that your presence here is essential above everything else. Remember that you are under an organization which you have adorned so long. Its needs must be paramount for you and me. Remember also that your honour is ours and your obedience to the Congress call automatically transfers to it the duty of guarding your honour. The Committee is also solicitous equally with you about Sheikh Abdullah's case and the welfare of the Kashmir people. Therefore I expect you to return in answer to this. You will tell Maharaja Saheb that as soon as you are freed by the Congress you will return to Kashmir to retrieve your honour and fulfil your mission.
(Draft reply to Jawaharlal Nehru, June 21, 1946, Mahatma Gandhi—The Last Phase, Vol. II, p. 346, CWMG Vol. 91 pp 180-81)
Thus by 1946, not only had Gandhi declared that he would not be averse to Muslim rule over Hindu Bharat, but had also signalled to the INC that Nehru and Nehru alone would deal with the affairs of J&K. Gandhi's unilateralism gifted Nehru with J&K on a platter to do with it as he pleased.
Wanted, a resolute Hindu leadership
During the critical years of the nineteenth and twentieth century when the fate of the Hindu nation was being determined by Islam and the colonial British government, the Hindu nation woefully lacked a resolute Hindu leadership with both vision and courage to stay the course in the war against two powerful and well-organized enemies. Regaining state power to protect the Hindu nation was never the objective of the INC's political adventure.
The imperial government in London allowed the INC to be led first by white British citizens and thereafter only by non-Hindus, non-ideologues or notional Hindus like Dadabhai Naoroji, Surendranath Banerjea, Gokhale, Gandhi and finally Nehru who piloted the INC till 1947 when colonial rule was brought to an end on terms determined by the Muslim League and the British Empire. The festering, gangrene-infected sore that is J&K today is a Gandhi-Nehru legacy.
The quality of the deracinated Hindu leadership is best gauged from the passivity with which Gandhi and the INC accepted without murmur the appointment of Mountbatten as last viceroy, the terms for transfer of power and their unwillingness to avert vivisection. Mountbatten as last viceroy, the Cabinet Mission document, creation of Pakistan as west-controlled territory and the problem of J&K were all components of one invisible whole; only neither Gandhi nor Nehru or any other leader in the INC really understood that they were being manipulated skilfully by London with the able assistance of the Muslim League.
In fact, by 1946 Gandhi had not only accepted partition but had actually endorsed Rajaji's formula for partition as the best possible solution. Gandhi and the INC had always readily grabbed whatever political crumbs were thrown by successive viceroys but persisted with the lie that they were leading a freedom movement. Gandhi's hubris did not permit him to see even in 1946 that the imperial government and the British Indian government knew Gandhi exceedingly well and knew how to play him along. Nehru, suffering as much from hubris as Gandhi, while he was determined to inherit Gandhi's political mantle, had only grandiose woolly-headed fantasies for arsenal instead of hard-nosed and hard-headed political sense of international politics.
When World War II had drained London's coffers and when Subhas Bose's INA threatened to overrun Bharat, and when the INA shamed Bharatiya armed forces in the Royal Indian Navy and British Indian Army to revolt, the imperial government in London sent the Cabinet Mission to Bharat in May 1946 to work out the modalities for transfer of power.
Gandhi's INC should have refused to entertain the Cabinet Mission just as it had refused to entertain the Cripps Mission earlier in 1942. Unable to deal with an intractable Gandhi, the Cabinet Mission returned to London at the end of June 1946. The decision to send Mountbatten to Bharat as last viceroy was probably taken after June, in the hope that Mountbatten who played a significant role in throttling Indonesia's fledgling democracy, would be able to repeat his success in Bharat.
If Gandhi and Nehru had understood Mountbatten's role in Indonesia and had they been outraged at Mountbatten's desecration of the war memorial in Singapore for Bose and the fallen soldiers of the INA, they would not have welcomed him as wholesomely as they had and nor would Gandhi have asked him to play umpire (that was Gandhi's prescription exactly) between the INC and the Muslim League; in effect, Gandhi asked Mountbatten to play umpire between him and Jinnah. It is pertinent at this juncture to recollect that Gandhi had also welcomed the Cabinet Mission proposals as "the best document in the circumstances" while refusing to even consider the Sapru Committee report which had drafted the broad contours and contents of the future constitution of independent Bharat. It is not overstating the obvious that the simmering cauldron of Muslim separatism in J&K was brought to boil by the Cabinet Mission proposals for transfer of power.
To hammer home the point yet again, the Sapru Committee report was an all-Bharatiya draft constitution for independent Bharat while the Cabinet Mission document was not only London's blue-print for exit from Bharat but was also consolidation of future geo-strategic interests which factored into its calculations an expanding Soviet Russia into Central Asia. Gandhi was the sole interlocutor with the British government in the negotiations while Sardar Patel and other Congress luminaries merely stood grimly on the side-lines; thus only Gandhi could have rejected the document had he wanted to. Instead he welcomed it within four days after the document was presented to the INC and the Muslim League without reading the fine print.
The INC, after Gandhi's endorsement, never summed up the will to reject the proposals and went along with the Cabinet Mission document (henceforth referred to as Mission document), carrying the Hindu nation inexorably towards vivisection. Along the way to vivisection in 1946, Gandhi and Nehru sowed the seeds, nurtured and brought to full bloom the poison weed of separatism in &K with their endorsement of Sheikh Abdullah as the alternate leader to the King. One of the several troubling questions that haunts us is why, in the absence of any other Bharatiya initiative in that direction, did Gandhi not submit the Sapru Committee proposals to the British government as the starting point for their withdrawal from Bharat?
The Cabinet Mission document had carefully concealed the ticking time bomb of Pakistan and J&K in its proposals. It is not within the purview of this column to go into the details of the document with regard to the Provinces, but to connect the dots between Mountbatten, Gandhi-Nehru, Sheikh Abdullah and J&K. The Mission document concealed the time bomb of vivisection and Pakistan in the cleverly worded offer for maximum autonomy for the Muslim majority provinces "approximating to but not quite" Jinnah's demand for a separate Muslim state.
The Muslim League while accepting the Mission document also declared that it would use the document to sow the seeds of Pakistan. Thus the creation of Pakistan was a certainty; Pakistan would be created either immediately if the negotiations failed or subsequent to British withdrawal from Bharat.
So preoccupied were Gandhi, Nehru, Patel and the others with the imminent threat of the creation of Pakistan that they failed to perceive the real threat posed by the lapse of paramountcy in the Princely states which was linked to imminent vivisection. The threat lay in the unstated truth that J&K was a frontier region which would be contiguous with the still-in-the-future Pakistan. The Mission document yet again camouflaged the time-bomb of London's intent for J&K by cleverly cloaking London's approach to the Princely states in words of sweet reasonableness.
The Mission document laid out the road-map for the future of the princely states in unambiguous language. Paramountcy over the princely states which was vested in the British Government would be allowed to lapse and not passed on to any future post-independence government or governments. The lapse of paramountcy and the British refusal to pass on paramountcy to any future government rested on London's covert determination, notwithstanding the fact that vivisection was not envisaged in May 1946, that no matter how the tripartite negotiations progressed over the Mission document, they would end only in vivisection of what was known as British Bharat.
Before putting forward our recommendations we turn to deal with the relationship of the Indian States to British India. It is quite clear that with the attainment of independence by British India, whether inside or outside the British Commonwealth, the relationship which has hitherto existed between the Rulers of the States and the British Crown will no longer be possible. Paramountcy can neither be retained by the British Crown nor transferred to the new Government. This fact has been fully recognized by those whom we interviewed from the States. They have at the same time assured us that the States are ready and willing to co-operate in the new development of India. The precise form which their co-operation will take must be a matter for negotiation during the building up of the new constitutional structure, and it by no means follows that it will be identical for all the States. We have not therefore dealt with the States in the same detail as the Provinces of the British India in the paragraphs which follow. (STATEMENT OF CABINET DELEGATION AND VICEROY May 16, 1946, CWMG Vol. 90, pp 441-42)
For an empire on the retreat it ought to have mattered little if the five hundred odd princely states acceded to Bharat or Pakistan, declared independence or descended to chaos. And when the negotiations did fail and when vivisection became a certainty, in a move calculated to distract the attention of the INC away from their real intent, the British government constituted two Departments of states – one for Bharat and another for Pakistan to oversee accession of the princely states to their respective countries. While Sardar Patel was made head of the Department of States for Bharat, Abdur Rab Nishtar, a Muslim League leader and minister in the Interim Government, was the head for the Pakistani DoS. The Departments of States came into being on June 27, 1946 and even as late as June 1947 the issue of the princely states remaining sovereign independent entities was still undefined and open-ended.
Amid the chaos of vivisection, communal riots following Direct Action Day and the frenetic activity arising from Mountbatten's decision to advance independence from June 1948 to August 1947 on the one hand, and the highly volatile and surcharged issue of accession of the princely states on the other, Nehru with the full backing of Gandhi was meddling in the affairs of J&K. With no thought to the grave danger and the imminent instability that he was causing to the shape of the emerging post-independence Bharat, Nehru convened the State People's Conference in the first week of June 1947. Nehru convened this conference of the people of the princely states, thus pitting the people against their rulers at a time when the support of the Hindu rulers would have been critical for the shape of the emerging independent Bharat.
Unmindful of the consequences of antagonizing the rulers and encouraging a peoples' uprising in the princely states against the rulers, particularly in J&K where the so-called peoples' movement was only a Sunni Muslim movement led by Sheikh Abdullah and his All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference (later National Conference) against the Hindu king, Nehru declared, on June 8, 1947, before the delegates of State People's Conference "Sovereignty must reside in the people and not in any individual. The State people's claim to represent for themselves is justified and will see to it that they are heard. And certainly their rulers cannot speak for them". Nehru's unilateral proclamation begs the question – what if the Hindu king of Jammu and Kashmir wanted to accede to Bharat and the Muslims of the kingdom wanted to accede to Pakistan?
Amidst the chaos, Patel as head of the department of the states for Bharat, with characteristic wisdom went about the task of winning the trust of the Hindu princes and kings with the same quiet wisdom that he had demonstrated earlier when he went out of his way to apply balm to Ambedkar's injured self-esteem by inviting him to join the Constituent Assembly and making him Convener. Patel assured the rulers that beyond surrendering Defence, Communication and External relations to the Union, the rulers would continue to exercise sovereign control over their kingdoms and could send their representatives to the Constituent Assembly to work out the nature and extent of their co-operation with the Union of Bharat.
After the initial assurance, Patel persuaded, with iron determination not only to discourage ideas of independence of individual princely states but also persuaded the rulers to give in to total constitutional integration with the Union. Except J&K. Gandhi and Gandhi's INC remained mute spectators as Nehru kept J&K out of Patel's jurisdiction and insisted on handling the affairs of J&K single-handedly. The result of this unchallenged claim to J&K as Nehru's personal domain to do with it as he pleased created the bloated parasite called J&K which is living off the blood it continues to suck from the body of the Union of Bharat.
Five days before transfer of power, on August 10, 1947, Maharaja Hari Singh dismissed his Prime Minister Ram Chandra Kak and appointed a military man, Gen. Janak Singh as Prime Minister. Subsequent to unconfirmed news about Pakistan sending in its army into J&K in the guise of a tribal invasion on around 2nd or 3rd September, Gen. Janak Singh asked to be relieved of his new responsibility to enable him to assume charge of active military service; MaharajaHari Singh then nominated an advocate, Mehr Chand Mahajan as Prime Minister.Mehr Chand Mahajan later became the Chief Justice of India in 1954.
Within a week of news of Pakistani intrusion into J&K, Maharaja Hari Singh for some inexplicable reason decided to release Sheikh Abdullah from prison and within a month made his arch-enemy the Head of Emergency Administration. Our history books have never told us about Ram Chandra Kak, his dismissal or anything at all about this unheard of Emergency Administration. Even more strangely, Sheikh Abdullah in democratic independent Bharat re-surfaces as Prime Minister of something called the Interim Government in J&K, when no elections had taken place! The Hindu nation has to assume that Nehru had handed over his personal fiefdom on permanent lease to Abdullah. Gandhi must have been delighted at the political empowerment of Muslims at least in one part of what was non-Muslim, but un-Hindu post-vivisection Bharat.
When the Instrument of Accession was signed by Maharaja Hari Singh as a pre-condition for Bharat sending in her army to fight Pakistan's aggression into J&K, one version of history written by a Kashmiri Hindu (Ram Krishen Kaul Bhatt) states that Sheikh Abdullah too signed the Instrument of accession in his capacity as Head of Emergency Administration while another version of Kashmiri Hindu account of the same history (By Prof. Mohan Krishen Teng) says he did not sign it.
But Kashmiri Hindus – those continuing to live bravely in a Bharat which has let them down or those who chose to run away to foreign lands for a life of comfort, have not recorded in a verifiable or corroborative manner the untold political history of their homeland in that critical 1940s and 1950s decade which sealed their fate. Kashmiri Pandits have been guilty of endorsing the cancerous Kashmiri Sufism as they happily chewed on the lemon called Kashmiriyat sold to them by the wily Sunni Muslims of the valley. And because there is no detailed account of the events of these two decades, the following questions and thoughts simply beg themselves –
- Why was Ram Chandra Kak removed as Prime Minister?
- Did he lose the Maharaja's trust or did someone powerful from outside the state exert pressure on the Maharaja to sack him?
- What advice was Ram Chandra Kak giving the king? Not to accede to Bharat or Pakistan and declare independence or to accede to Bharat or accede to Pakistan?
- Declaring independence would have worried Nehru because he would have wanted to retain some form of control over J&K
- Accession to Bharat would have worried Mountbatten. It would have been easier for the British to control J&K via Pakistan because control of J&K via Bharat would have been impossible
- J&K as an independent kingdom leaning towards Hindu-majority Bharat for sustenance and security would have been an equally abhorrent possibility for Mountbatten
- Maharaja Hari Singh's dilemma must have been the most tragic. Accession to Pakistan would never have been an option while accession to Bharat would have been just as unviable knowing that Gandhi and Nehru had no respect for the Hindu rulers and both wanted Hindu monarchies to disappear
- So what advice was Ram Chandra Kak giving the Maharaja?
- Why did the Maharaja release Sheikh Abdullah knowing that he was just inviting more trouble for himself when he was being told that Pakistan had intruded into his kingdom?
- Under whose pressure did Hari Singh release the known trouble-maker Sheikh Abdullah and make him Head of Emergency Administration?
- Why was Mehr Chand Mahajan removed as Prime Minister with Sheikh Abdullah taking his place?
- Why did J&K alone need an interim government with a Prime Minister?
- What role did Gandhi, Nehru and Mountbatten have in these decisions beginning with the sacking of Ram Chandra Kak and culminating in Abdullah inheriting J&K as his fiefdom?
This writer has noted with alarm the penetration of foreign women in to the lives of very important Hindu leaders in the twentieth century – Vivekananda, Aurobindo, Gandhi, Nehru, Bose, Sheikh Abdullah and finally Rajiv Gandhi. Sheikh Abdullah married the lady who was earlier married to Lawrence of Arabia! His son Farooq Abdullah married a British nurse.
So what should Hindu nationalists make of Omar Abdullah's statement that to align with the BJP will be political suicide for the PDP and that the National Conference was not willing to partner the BJP in governance on the BJP's terms which was appointing a Hindu Chief Minister?
Hindu nationalists must begin to look at this phenomenon fearlessly. If Kashmiri Hindus fail even now to render their history from the perspective of the Hindu Nation, then Maharaja Hari Singh and Ram Chandra Kak will remain history's villains instead of Mountbatten, Nehru and Sheikh Abdullah.
Reclaiming the Hindu nation in Kashmir
Gandhi's megalomaniac presumption that his definition of this nation and sense of nationhood was binding upon the INC and would prevail uncontested, is the one single cause lying beneath Bharatiya polity's continued pampering of Muslims and Christians in ways that pose the biggest threat to the territory of the Hindu nation. Islam and Christianity are inherently antithetic to dharma because at the core of these two religions is the predatory intent to conquer territory not their own and to annihilate other religions, cultures and peoples who do not submit to their jealous god. They are antithetic to dharma because diversity is the essence of dharma; and these two monotheisms homogenize all human life within a single intolerant paradigm.
The God of the Muslims and the Christians has an avaricious appetite for territory. Islam and Christianity are therefore inimical to the Hindu nation and the dharma which permeates this nation. This has to be kept firmly in mind when the Hindu nation will finally summon the resolve to deal with J&K in a manner that fulfils the objectives of rajadharma and rashtradharma. The Hindu nation is paying the price of Gandhi's description of this nation when he declared that this nation belonged equally to Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Parsees and Beni-Israelis; and Nehru's megalomania which made J&K his private dunghill. When and if the religious tenets of Muslims and Christians, Parsees and Beni-Israelis pose a threat to the territory and nationhood of the Hindu nation, it behoves the king or the state to annihilate the threat.
Kautilya's definition of nation as being both territory and the people of that territory is the most accurate and concise so far. The Abrahamic religions spread their tentacles across the globe conquering continent after continent not only by conquering territory by the sword but also by converting non-Abrahamic peoples to their faiths, also by the sword. They posed a threat to the nation not only by threatening the territory but also the nationhood by de-rooting the people from their civilizational roots.
This is how Hindu Kashmir became Muslim-majority Kashmir; the change to the religious demography was effected not only when Kashmir's rulers became Muslim through the agency of Muslim queens and concubines but also by the sufi cancer. What Islam was doing to Hindu Kashmir, it was doing to Hindu and Buddhist Indonesia around the same time.
The challenge posed to the Hindu nation in Kashmir is the state's Muslim population. If Hindu leaders would only pay heed to Kautilya, they will know that at the core of resolving the problem of J&K is to dilute its Muslim identity and re-arranging assembly constituencies in the three major segments. If instead of pandering to jihadi Muslim demands by maintaining silence over the separatist J&K state constitution and Article 370, and belittling the Army to make music for Muslim ears, the BJP will summon the will to move in this direction, the road to our objective will reveal itself.
While Gandhi had an un-Hindu and politically suicidal-for-Hindus understanding of this nation and of who was a national, Nehru had no sense of nationhood. Between them, they led the Hindu nation to vivisection in 1947 which injected the poison of Muslim separatism and Christian aggression into the body politic of post-independence Bharat.
As pointed out earlier, the Cabinet Mission document concealed in its cleverly worded proposals not only the ticking bomb of Pakistan but also the ticking time bomb of J&K. Mountbatten (read London) did not care if Cochin, Bhopal, Hyderabad and Kurundwad acceded to Bharat or to Pakistan or declared independence. The energy and the seeming sincerity with which Mountbatten applied himself to the task of persuading the rulers to accede to Bharat or Pakistan actually concealed his real interest – the frontier province of J&K, which at its northernmost tip adjoined both Afghanistan and Central Asia. Bharatiya rulers of princely states declaring independence would have feared Nehru's antipathy more than distant London. The following points deserve to be reiterated –
- Jinnah's Muslim League shrewdly favoured independence of princely states as the second option after total constitutional integration because some of the Muslim states in what would soon be post-independence Bharat, were rich beyond belief and Jinnah wanted nothing better than Muslim thorns and splinters in the bleeding flesh of the body of the vivisected Bharatiya nation
- Nehru's INC was strongly opposed to independence for precisely this reason but foolishly favoured accession to Bharat surrendering only Defence, Communications and External Affairs to the Union government
- The Muslim League, with a far superior understanding of politics and the future implications of such a limited control over the princely states, rejected the idea and the Instrument of Accession drafted for the princely states by Pakistan was completely different from that which was drafted by Bharat
- The Muslim League insisted on total constitutional integration of the princely states acceding to Pakistan with all sovereignty vesting with the Center; therefore none of the princely states acceding to Pakistan had the right to constitute their own constituent assemblies
- Thus all princely states acceding to Bharat, and not just J&K, as envisaged in July 1947 planned their own constituent assemblies which would draft the constitution for each of the princely states as they desired
- The princely states of Cochin, Mysore and the Union of Saurashtra did indeed constitute their own constituent assemblies but finally conceded to total constitutional integration with Bharat
All except J&K. Nehru retained the right to handle J&K affairs with him and the nation may never know what transpired in private between Nehru and Sheikh Abdullah, what deals were struck and what promises were made. We can be certain of one thing though; nothing would have been recorded in writing and this too would have been at Sheikh Abdullah's behest.
- Why was J&K special and why did Nehru not permit Patel to totally integrate the state constitutionally into the Union?
- While the Instrument of Accession signed by the rulers of the states was acknowledged to be binding upon the people of the states, why did Nehru allow the people of J&K alone the right to ratify the accession signed by their King?
- Why were the people of J&K more special than the people of the other princely states?
Verbal promises made, assurances given and deals struck in private have no witnesses and are not binding; thus Abdullah could and did renege, retract and resile with impunity. What we do know however is that Nehru assured Sheikh Abdullah that J&K would receive special treatment. And so while all princely states acceding to Bharat gave up their right to convene their own constituent assemblies, Sheikh Abdullah demanded that J&K would not surrender its right to have a constitution of its own. Art. 370 is the cancerous outgrowth of the separatist state constitution of Jammu and Kashmir.
Gandhi and Nehru both subscribed to the idea that this was not a Hindu nation; therefore they made common cause with Sheikh Abdullah even after he had issued the 'Quit Kashmir' call to the Hindu king. Gandhi and Nehru made common cause with the Muslims of the kingdom against their Hindu ruler. It is not surprising that the Congress cannot and will not set down the coffin of the political legacy of Muslim separatism in J&K bequeathed to them by Gandhi and Nehru; but the Hindu nation is not obliged to carry this coffin.
When Gandhi did not question Sheikh Abdullah's call to the Hindu king to 'Quit Kashmir', he conceded that the Hindu ruler had no place in Kashmir. By implication, Gandhi also conceded Sheikh Abdullah's right to give that call; in effect Gandhi conceded Abdullah's claim to the territory of J&K. Gandhi's megalomania and Nehru's monumental hubris combined with his monumental ignorance of geopolitics is matched only by the Himalayan greed of contemporary intellectual mercenaries parading as human rights advocates who endorse that J&K is disputed territory and that only the Sunni Muslims of the state can speak for all the people of the state including Kashmiri Hindus, Jammu Hindus, Ladakhi Buddhists and Shia Muslims.
If the Muslims of J&K who constitute 68.3% of the state population think they are special and a class apart from the rest of Bharat and are therefore entitled to the Hindu territory in Kashmir, then the 80% of Hindus across Bharat cannot be standing on the sidelines watching Muslims and Christians carving up their bhumi like so many vultures on carrion. If the Hindu nation is not carrion for Islam and the Church then Hindus must steel themselves to reclaim the Hindu nation in Kashmir not only for the Hindus of the valley but also for the Hindus of the Hindu nation. The BJP can begin by restoring its identity as a Hindu nationalist party.
Tail piece: This is how one very angry Hindu analysed the J&K state election results:
"Almost one lakh votes were lost in Jammu and Ladakh compared to the Lok Sabha polls. That accounts for almost 10 per cent of the votes polled by the BJP in these two regions in the Lok Sabha polls. In Ladakh, which BJP represents in the Lok Sabha, on the promise of delivering the UT status, BJP not only lost all, it was not even in the reckoning in three out of the four seats there. In the Jammu region, the BJP came third in Udhampur, the second largest town of the region, and lost two seats to, of all the parties, the NC. It had won all these three segments in the Lok Sabha polls. Besides the 25 seats won by the BJP, it came second only in 7. Of these 5 were in Jammu region and one each in the Valley and Ladakh. In this Mission 44+, the BJP was actually in serious contest (top two positions), only in 32 seats. And, for all the bending over backwards for the Muslim vote in the Valley, it earned a grand total of a little over 50,000 votes and lost its deposit in 33 out of the 34 seats it contested there. For every single vote gained in the Valley, the BJP lost two in Jammu/Ladakh. While the votes gained in the Valley were not good enough to save the deposits, the votes lost in Jammu/Ladakh cost the BJP several winnable seats".
(This article was originally written in January 2015 immediately after results of J&K assembly elections were announced in the last week of December 2014. It has since been updated.)
Disclaimer: This article represents the opinions of the Author, and the Author is responsible for ensuring the factual veracity of the content. HinduPost will not be responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information, contained herein.


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Hartman Small Space Stool - Glam Style - Brass
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This compact little stool crafts the perfect perch to rest your seat or prop your feet! The cushioned top is upholstered in a simple cotton-linen blend, in a neutral tone for easy style pairing. Nest one beneath a vanity, pair a couple to add balance in a living room, or spread several for a bit of added seating in an entertaining space - they'll be a hit at game nights.
Elegant seating solution for small spaces
Petite frame makes for easy mobility
Neutral-toned cushion blends in w/ any palette
Pipe trim detail
Low profile tucks neatly under a vanity or desk
Living room, dining room, or open concept living space
Glam style
Brass finish w/ warm sand cushion
Overall: 15" W x 15" D x 19" H

subset: commoncrawl


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Jumping into a long-term, ongoing project that has gone through many iterations in order to create and tell its story is no easy task. Merav provided excellent and fast service and accurate and witty texts that captured our brand perfectly. Merav's texts gave the sense that she had been with us through the entire process and was familiar with every angle of the project. Merav isn't just a professional writer—she is a professional! Everything was perfect. Thank you!
Creating a great product is in the small details. While most companies focus on the design, they often neglect the microcopy and messaging. Merav helped us take our product to the next level, from adjusting existing texts within the app to refining how we communicate the main features. She has become our go-to person for the in-app copy.
I had the pleasure of working with Merav on our beta launch, and she contributed significantly to our successful launch. Despite the very short timelines and massive amount of work, Merav managed to rapidly catch up with our business and our product and started giving notable value from her first hours with us. Her "can do" approach, attitude, and professional expertise make it very easy for me to recommend her for anyone who is looking for a copywriter and editor.
From our first meeting, Merav really understood our brand. Working with her was a delight—she brainstormed with us, asked important questions, made accurate remarks, and gave us a lot of helpful feedback. Her writing was professional and clear, yet fun and appealing, and it connected our brand and creative direction.
The experience of working with Merav Levkowitz was indispensable to the ultimate production and success of our academic volume. With her impeccable line editing, mastery of no fewer than five languages, and heightened organizational abilities, she helped us meet our deadline, producing a professional grade manuscript.
Merav is a skillful editor whose work has been invaluable to our journal. Her fluency in many languages is a wonderful asset. She is thorough and meticulous and exhibits great attention to detail and interpersonal skills. Merav's work has contributed tremendously to the success of our journal, and it is a pleasure to work with her.
Merav is a master at making my words sing off the page. Her insight is sharp and accurate. Her winning personality and wonderful sense of humor make her a pleasure to work with.


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Ashely Anne Photography has been a favorite blog of mine for a while. She is the one that posted this great tutorial of how to stitch over the LIVE YOUR LIFE ON PURPOSE print that I know so many of you have printed out and used. And I've been wanting to make more illustrated quotes now for a while, so when she asked me to illustrate a poster as a gift for those who donate money to the orphanage where her daughter is coming from in China, I jumped at the chance. You can read more about the project here. There are other prints for those who donate, all themed around the word "song." Beautiful and inspiring.
I came up with this phrase a while ago, while I was looking back on the paths I've take as well as the paths that I want to take. So often, when making decisions, I tend to look at those I know and love to see what has taken them down their roads. But in the end, I always take my own. We all do. It can be scary, not knowing what your particular road will be. Even though we forge ahead year after year, there are still moments when we have to step back and make sure we are making this the path that we were truly meant for. And it really is an adventure, isn't it?
And so there we go. Sing the song you were born to sing.
Thank you Ashley for bringing awareness to yet another great cause, and enjoy!
This print is 8 x 10. Print it out and pin it up...frame it....trace it and stitch it...whatever suits you! Enjoy!


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ClearEdge3D's Verity software compares as-built structures to CAD models and BIM to identify discrepancies and improve project quality.
By Tim O'Connor, Senior Editor at Knighthouse Media
Every builder knows that what's shown on a blueprint or in a 3-D rendering never exactly matches up with the end result. Something as small as a misaligned bolt could alter the placement of a support beam in a way that impacts how the structure fits together and its overall strength. Understanding those imperfections and having an accurate picture of the real-world building requires a way to map an as-built model of the structure.
Laser scanners are the first step in building a precise 3-D model of an environment. A high-end terrestrial laser scanner digitally captures the shape of physical objects in a 270-degree view, capturing up to one millions points of data each second. Those points are then merged into a point cloud made of billions of dots to create a precise 3-D model of the existing conditions, in this case a building. Multiple scans can be conducted to create a complete point cloud map of the structure.
However, the resulting point cloud doesn't contain what each grouping of points represents. It doesn't know the differences among a structural beam, water pipe or window. Contractors must manually identify those structures within the model, a laborious and time-consuming process that reduces the usability and value of reality capture for construction or operation.
The founders of ClearEdge3D realized that if they could train a computer to recognize building components in a point cloud the way a human does then they could displace a lot of the manual labor and time needed to produce an as-built model. The company began developing algorithms to solve that problem in 2006 and it launched its first software product, EdgeWise, in 2011.
EdgeWise uses object and pattern recognition technology to automatically search for shapes in the point cloud that match standard objects; such as piping, structure, windows, walls and ducts. Items with non-standard shapes, such as chairs and toilets, are not currently identified by the system.
With a comprehensive scan, the software can usually identify 90 percent of pipes in the point cloud. That means that on a project with 1,000 pipes, the software will automatically extract 900 of them into an intelligent model that can be opened using CAD software such as AutoCAD or Revit. A human then checks the software's work, removes false positives and can add any pipes that were missed.
Even though EdgeWise doesn't capture every component within the building, clients have seen a 50 to 90 percent reduction in the hours spent creating the as-built model. "It's kind of a no-brainer if they have existing facilities they need to document," Vice President of Product Management Kelly Cone says. "It's the only tool right now that does that kind of bulk automated extraction."
EdgeWise's efficiency in identifying piping and structural elements made it particularly suitable for the plant and process space, where it has been used in building petroleum and life sciences facilities.
Building upon the success of EdgeWise, the ClearEdge3D team then turned its attention to another major problem in the construction industry, the quality and consistency of the installation of work. The new targets were contractors and trades who needed better ways to validate the installed work against their design, coordination and fabrication models.
Solving Verification
Before joining the company in late 2016, Cone realized the value of EdgeWise as a ClearEdge3D customer. He had used the software while working at a large integrated design and construction firm and became impressed with its accuracy and time-saving capabilities. He began to think of other ways to leverage its capabilities, and during a dinner with ClearEdge3D representatives pitched them on developing a system that would compare the point cloud to the design or coordination model to identify quality control issues.
Rework is a major concern on most construction jobs, eating into profits and causing setbacks that can affect the overall construction timeline. Studies estimate that 5 to 12 percent of a construction project's cost is spent on rework; including material costs, schedule delays and downstream clashes, totaling as much as $450 billion in waste annually. "Even if we just nibble off the top of that, it's a significant amount of money," Cone says.
Ultimately, the cost of rework stems from poor tools for quality control in the field. Cone understood the potential to use ClearEdge's automated modeling algorithms to improve that quality control piece by ensuring the as-built structures lined up with design plans. Other customers soon began suggesting the same thing and ClearEdge went to work on developing its next product, Verity. Cone joined the company about a year ago to help develop and test the software.
Verity takes some of the concepts behind EdgeWise and repurposes them to focus on the general contractor market. Where EdgeWise functions as a computer aided as-built modeling tool, Verity is a a comparison tool focused on quality assurance. It is a deep dive to solve the core problems of quality in the construction industry. "The biggest change was moving from an analyze-everything[process with EdgeWise] to letting the user choose what they want to analyze," Cone says. This workflow change aligns Verity with other construction industry processes like clash-detection.
Verity works with any scope of work on a project, from mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) systems to the concrete, walls and finishes. The software can detect installation status and inform project stakeholders whether a component is in place, missing or obstructed from the scan. Knowing the status of that piece helps contractors know whether that part of the project is on schedule. Clients can also set the tolerance level for the work they are analyzing, and the software will compare the as-built point cloud against the CAD model, then automatically flag components that exceed those tolerance limits.
The software is a companion application to Navisworks, a 3-D design review package. This integration allows users to update the Navisworks elements to their as-built positions, clash-detect the position of the as-built model against the design or fabrication model and visualize the out-of-tolerance work using a color-coded classification scheme.
Unlike other comparison tools that offer heat maps and measurements between the model and the point cloud, Verity fits solid model elements to the as-built point cloud, allowing it to make solid-to-solid model comparisons and provide more accurate and detailed variance data. The software then generates reports to stakeholders to communicate problems with the building. The system is not designed to replace quality assurance professionals and inspectors, but rather to dramatically improve their efficiency. Says Cone: "Our goal was to give quality professionals a tool to let them check 100 percent of the installed work in the same time it now takes them to spot check 5 to 10 percent."
Utilizing scanning as the basis for the comparison also provides tens of thousands of data points on any given element being tested. Compare this to measuring only a few spots on the bottom of a beam using traditional methods. The completeness and accuracy of the data empowers clients to make better decisions on how to solve quality issues.
Quality Control
Because it can examine the entire structure, Verity solves a fundamental problem with how the construction industry approaches quality inspections: the spot check methodology. Spot checking randomly tests small sets of work to gauge whether there are more widespread quality issues. It's an effective methodology in manufacturing facilities and on assembly lines where the consistency of production means that a small sample of a batch is likely to reveal any present faults.
Employees take care to manufacture every part correctly because they can never know when the component they work on will be the one that is tested. "Spot checking works when it's random because you can't find ways to beat the system," Cone says.
But on a construction job, Cone argues that spot check sample is rarely ever random. Supervisors know what problems to look for based on past job experience. If someone had a blow-up on a curtain wall during their last job, they are more likely to check the curtain wall embeds on the next one. Workers learn quickly what the superintendent in charge of their area is worried about and what parts are most likely to receive inspection attention. Those items are likely to meet standards, but other areas can be easily overlooked and quality suffers as a result.
With more than 100 clients using Verity to aid inspections, ClearEdge3D has seen a clear pattern in those quality issues. "What we find are the biggest mistakes are where no one is looking," Cone says.
He recalls one customer that was beta-testing Verity to check for installation issues on the perimeter of a project. The software found some issues with the perimeter that Cone believes the contractor would have likely identified through the regular inspection process, but it also discovered a major issue on the interior of the building. The project's design called for a slope in the middle of the building's footprint to facilitate drainage, but the steel and metal deck was fabricated and installed flat.
Verity picked up on the deviation from the expected design and the quality team alerted the project stakeholders. Fortunately, the concrete had not yet been poured so the contractor was able to fix the problem within a day and stay on schedule. "If the slab had already been poured, that's a $50,000 mistake, and there's no way they were going to catch it early because they weren't checking there," Cone notes.
"We short-circuit that whole loop because we check everything and do it very quickly. We expose errors in those areas where no one is looking," he continues. Verity identifies those mistakes before they become costly problems; most customers have gotten a 100 percent return on investment from the software after only one job. "It's really neat to see these kinds of problems that I lived and pulled my hair out over now get caught early enough to do something about," Cone adds.
Speed is the other reason contractors are jumping onto Verity. Like EdgeWise, Verity's automation capabilities save substantial time in the construction verification process. One customer used to dedicate one person and eight man-hours to validate penetrations were installed correctly for a single 40,000-square-foot concrete slab. "Running our software, they got that down to less than an hour for the same task," Cone says. "Our software can check all of that work in a fraction of the time it takes to check it all manually."
"Laser Larry" Kleinkemper, CTO of Lanmar Services, which models historic buildings for architects, engineers and contractors that are managing renovation, historic preservation or addition projects, plans to utilize Verity in upcoming jobs to improve quality control checks. "Verity will make sure my staff are accurately modeling and matching all the building elements that are there and finding the items they haven't modeled yet," he says.
In previewing the software, Laser Larry was impressed with its ability to verify modeling location. "We haven't really had something like this before," he says. "It's about giving our clients the most accurate models that are the most complete and making sure our work is the highest quality possible."
Anton Dy Buncio, COO at VIATechnik, a company that creates as-built models and virtual reality simulations for construction projects, says Verity has been helpful in retrofits and renovations. "When you're trying to build something around existing conditions, that's when the as-built matters," he explains. If a hospital is planning an addition or equipment installation, for example, having an accurate as-built model can help it design the project around real conditions to avoid disturbing critical life support systems.
Using Verity enables VIATechnik's team to better use their time while the software validates the model against the point cloud. "Instead of having multiple people wok on it, we can have Verity check while working on other things, then we'll look at the report," Dy Buncio says.
Increasing Accessibility
The launch of Verity signals the next leap for ClearEdge3D, but the company is also expanding by acquiring complementary software systems. Earlier this year, ClearEdge3D purchased Pericept, the Texas construction verification software firm. Pericept is the developer behind BIMtrace, a product that captures recently installed scopes-of-work on a construction site and compares the as-built work to the design model to check for accuracy and proper installation. BIMtrace shares similarities with Verity; however, instead of point clouds derived from laser scans, it uses iPhone or iPad images to compare the real-world work with the CAD model.
Technologies such as BIMtrace are lowering the barrier to entry to ClearEdge3D's software solutions. In the past, the high cost of laser scanning meant that general contractors typically had to outsource scans to survey companies that specialize in providing measurements to the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry.
That has begun to change as costs have come down. Even as recently as a year ago, a high quality terrestrial laser scanner would sell for $100,000. The same-quality equipment now goes for $16,000, opening the door for general contractors to more easily invest in their own laser scanners at the jobsite level. "That certainly makes scanning much more accessible, which is good news for us," Cone says.
The types of scanners that can be used to populate the point cloud are also expanding. ClearEdge3D has partnered with GeoSLAM, a leader in 3-D mobile mapping technology, to enable Verity to work with as-built construction data measured using GeoSLAM's hand-held laser scanners. "What might take you eight to 10 hours to capture with a terrestrial laser scanner might take you an hour with a mobile scanner," Cone explains.
Aside from more affordable laser scanners, Cone believes the biggest impact on automated verification software will come from machine learning. When the original computer vision algorithms used to create EdgeWise were developed in the late 2000s, machine learning was not yet relevant to desktop computation.
However, advancements in hardware and machine learning mean there is potential to use it to train the software to identify building components and improve automated extraction, or to more accurately identify whether the installed work is the correct type. "We've put all the feedback infrastructure in so we can really leverage machine learning down the road," Cone says.
Machine learning could be the key to increasing Verity's accuracy from 90 percent to 95 percent, or 99 pecent. "It turns out that it is actually pretty hard to teach a computer to see things in point cloud data the way a human can, so it's really fun to see some of the early applications of machine learning in the AEC space and it's something we want to deploy in the near future," Cone adds.


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Biotechnologists apply biological science to industrial problems and commercial and environmental research programmes. They have knowledge of plant, animal and microbial sciences, biochemistry, genetics, computing and some applied aspects of agriculture, horticulture, environmental science and food science. The role involves developing new products and processes in a number of areas, including:
Medical biotechnology
The study of the genetics of humans, viruses, plants, fungi and bacteria to determine the nature of inherited diseases or cancers and then develop therapies to treat the genetic cause rather than the symptoms. Techniques such as cell culture or genetic modification are used to produce medicines safely, cheaply and in sufficient quantities to treat large numbers of people.
Industrial biotechnology
The production and cloning of enzymes used in the manufacture and preservation of food and drink such as beer, cheese and bread, for use in biological detergents, and in producing dyes for the textile industry. Biotechnologists work in the agricultural industry, improving animal feed and genetically modifying crops to increase productivity.
Environmental biotechnology
Biotechnologists develop microorganisms and plants to clean land or water that is polluted with sewage, industrial waste and agricultural chemicals. They also work to create alternative renewable sources of energy such as biodiesel, and seek to produce environmentally-friendly raw materials for industry such as biodegradable plastics from plant starches.
The work involves using computers and specialised technical equipment, and biotechnologists need a thorough understanding of the manufacturing processes of the particular industry in which they work. Other common duties include preparation of reports, presenting the findings of research projects, and record-keeping and related administration.
The standard working week is 35-40 hours but many employers operate a shift system that includes nights and weekends, as many of the processes in research and industry require continuous monitoring.
Work is carried out in modern laboratories, often under sterile conditions. Protective clothing is worn. There is extensive use of computers and other complex equipment.
To be a biotechnologist, you should:
Biotechnologists are employed in the research and development departments of pharmaceutical and fermentation companies, horticulture, food science, commerce, healthcare technology and teaching. Many are involved in molecular biology research and data processing posts in academic, governmental and research institutes. Others work in hospital research, diagnostic laboratories, and in administrative capacities in the civil service and government agencies.
Some biotechnologists move into scientific writing and journalism, or into quality assurance management, sales and marketing.
Opportunities for work are available in the UK, Europe and North America.
If you would like to know anything about Biotechnologist that does not appear on Hotcourses, further information can be found below.
The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry
12 Whitehall
Tel: 020 7930 3477
The Royal Academy of Engineering
29 Great Peter Street
Tel: 020 7227 0500
SEMTA (Science Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies Alliance)
14 Upton Road
Tel: 0808 100 3682


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Let $A$ and $B$ be positive semidefinite matrices of the same size. If the largest eigenvalues of $A$ and $B$ are less than equal to $1$. probe that: $$AB+BA\geq- \frac{1}{4}I$$
In the hint, it says use the fact: $0\leq (A+B-\frac{1}{2}I)^{2}$. In order for $ (A+B-\frac{1}{2}I)^{2}$ to be positive semidefinite, the matrix $ (A+B-\frac{1}{2}I)$ has to be positive semidefinite. The hint given above confused me because I know that $A+B$ is definitely positive semidefinite since it is the sum of two positive semidefinite matrices, but we can't be sure that $A+B-\frac{1}{2}I$ is positive semidefinite. Does anyone know how to prove that: $0\leq (A+B-\frac{1}{2}I)^{2}$?
Now assume the given hint is true, then: $0\leq A\leq I$ and $0\leq B\leq I$. It follows that:$$0\leq (A+B-\frac{1}{2}I)^{2}=A^{2}+B^{2}+\frac{1}{4}I+A(B-I)+B(A-I)\leq A+B+\frac{1}{4}I+A(B-I)+B(A-I)$$
I need to prove that:$A(B-I)+B(A-I)\leq 0$. This will be true if the product of a positive semidefinite matrix and a negative semidefinite matrix is a negative semidefinite matrix. Is this true?