text:
Ramkrishna-Vivekananda: Mukto Moner Aaloy (1996) Edited by: Rajesh Datta (Ramakrishna-Vivekananda: In The Light of Freethinking) Publisher: Radical Impression, Kolkata. This Bengali book published in the year 1996 re-evaluates philosophy and thought of Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda from rationalistic outlook. Second and third edition of this book got published in 1998 and 2002.
19 Dec
Tribute to Marathi Rationalist Activist Martyr Dr. Narendra Dabholkar : A Radio programme in Bengali
A Radio programme in Bengali titled 'Drishtipat' in protest of the brutal assassination of Eminent Marathi Rationalist Activist Martyr Dr. Narendra Dabholkar broadcast from 'Akashvani Kolkata' on 9 September, Monday at 9-30 pm. Presented and Produced by Dr. Manaspratim Das. A gentle apology for poor quality of audio as it is an ordinary cell phone recording.
Total duration: 27:56 minutes.
কুসংস্কার বিরোধী আন্দোলনের শহীদ ডা: নরেন্দ্র দাভোলকর স্মরণে ৯ সেপ্টেম্বর ২০১৩, আকাশবাণী কলকাতা কেন্দ্র থেকে সম্প্রচারিত বিশেষ বেতার অনুষ্ঠান 'দৃষ্টিপাত'।
উপস্থাপনা ও প্রযোজনা: ড: মানসপ্রতিম দাস। অনুষ্ঠানে অংশগ্রহণ করেছিলেন বিশিষ্ট জ্যোতির্বিজ্ঞানী ড: অমলেন্দু বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়, বিশিষ্ট সাহিত্যিক স্বপ্নময় চক্রবর্তী, দেবাশিস্ ভট্টাচার্য (সাধারণ সম্পাদক, ভারতীয় বিজ্ঞান ও যুক্তিবাদী সমিতি), সাধন বিশ্বাস (সম্পাদক, 'হেতুবাদী সাময়িকী' পত্রিকা), শুভপ্রতিম রায়চৌধুরী (আমরা-এক সচেতন প্রয়াস) প্রমুখ।
রেডিও থেকে সরাসরি মোবাইল ফোনে রেকর্ডিং-এর কারণে শব্দের গুণগত মানের ত্রুটির জন্য আন্তরিকভাবে দুঃখিত।
13 Aug
People's Science and Rationalist Movement in West Bengal
A Brief History of Science Movement
A Brief History of Science Movement written by Sabyasachi Chattopadhyay is a research article on the history of Science movement and the development of scientific consciousness and rationalism in West Bengal, India and Bangladesh published in 'Utsa Manush', a popular Bengali little magazine on people's science and culture. (From January-February 2000 to July-August 2001)
Please click the following link to read and download the complete article:
The Rationalist Movement in West Bengal
The Movement for the Development of Rationalism in West Bengal by Sabyasachi Chattopadhyay. It is a research paper on the development of Rationalist movement in West Bengal published in Contemporary History of India- IHC: Proceedings, 71st Session, 2010-2011
Please click the following link to read and download the complete article:
A Bengali Article by Sabyasachi Chattopadhyay
যুক্তির পথে যাত্রা : প্রসঙ্গ পশ্চিমবঙ্গ – সব্যসাচী চট্টোপাধ্যায়
A Bengali article on the brief history of Bharatiya Bijnan o Yuktibadi Samity and the advancement of Rationalism in West Bengal written by Sabyasachi Chattopadhyay. (Contemporary History of India : Paschimbanga Itihas Sansad, Volume- 14, Year-2000, Page-634-641)
Please click the following link to read and download the complete article:
Courtesy: Sabysachi Chattopadhyay, 'Paschimbanga Itihas Sansad' and 'Utsa Manush' magazine For any opinion, comment or suggestion please write to Sabyasachi Chattopadhyay (Email: email@example.com)
"Guru Busters", a popular documentary film produced and directed by the British film maker Robert Eagle, portrayed Indian Rationalists exhibiting and teaching many apparently "supernatural" stunts such as levitation, flesh piercing, live burials, fire walking etc. This documentary film, about the Indian Rationalists' movement to obliterate superstition, religious hoax and quackery in India, provoked controversy with its vivid depiction of the activities of leading Indian rationalist campaigners. It showed that the alleged miracles of India's god-men are little more than a magician's petty tricks. The film was broadcast on Channel 4, BBC, UK, in the year 1995. I was in the documentary film and it was my great experience working with Robert and his team. I enjoyed a lot the shooting trip. I relish those memorable days when we travel around the villages of West Bengal from Fraud Fakir S. P. Ali's hermitage (who made "miraculous" fire ball) at Barasat to the snake charmer's village at Nadia district.
Please watch some interesting video clips from Robert Eagle's documentary 'GURU BUSTERS' exposing supernatural stunts and tricksters in India, including some of the country's most famous gurus and "god men". Click the following link:
30 Apr
Shaheed Bhagat Singh
Bhagat Singh
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bhagat Singh (28 September 1907 – 23 March 1931) was an Indian freedom fighter, considered to be one of the most influential revolutionaries of the Indian independence movement. He is often referred to as Shaheed Bhagat Singh (the word shaheed meaning "martyr").
Born to a Jat Sikh family which had earlier been involved in revolutionary activities against the British Raj, Singh, as a teenager, became an atheist and had studied European revolutionary movements. He also became attracted to anarchism and marxist ideologies. He became involved in numerous revolutionary organizations. He quickly rose through the ranks of the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) and became one of its leaders, converting it to the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA). Singh gained support when he underwent a 64-day fast in jail, demanding equal rights for Indian and British political prisoners. He was hanged for shooting a police officer in response to a police lathi charge leading to the demise of veteran freedom fighter Lala Lajpat Rai. His legacy prompted youths in India to begin fighting for Indian independence and contributed to the rise of socialism in India.
Early life
Bhagat Singh was born into a Sandhu Jatt family to Sardar Kishan Singh Sandhu and Vidyavati in a village in the Lyallpur district of Punjab. His ancestral village is the Khatkar Kalan village near Banga in Nawanshahr District of Punjab.The District has recently been renamed as Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar. Singh's given name of Bhagat means "devotee", and he was nicknamed "Bhaganwala" by his grandmother, meaning "The lucky one". He came from a patriotic Jatt Sikh family, some of whom had participated in movements supporting the independence of India and others who had served in Maharaja Ranjit Singh's army. His grandfather, Arjun Singh, was a follower of Swami Dayananda Saraswati's Hindu reformist movement, Arya Samaj, which would carry a heavy influence on Singh. His uncles, Ajit Singh and Swaran Singh, as well as his father were members of the Ghadar Party, led by Kartar Singh Sarabha Grewal and Har Dayal. Ajit Singh was forced to flee to Persia because of pending cases against him while Swaran Singh was hanged on 19 December 1927 for his involvement in the Kakori train robbery of 1925.
Unlike many Sikhs his age, Singh did not attend Khalsa High School in Lahore, because his grandfather did not approve of the school officials' loyalism to the British authorities. Instead, his father enrolled him in Dayanand Anglo Vedic High School, an Arya Samajist school. At age 13, Singh began to follow Mahatma Gandhi's Non-Cooperation Movement. At this point he had openly defied the British and had followed Gandhi's wishes by burning his government-school books and any British-imported clothing. Following Gandhi's withdrawal of the movement after the violent murders of policemen by villagers from Chauri Chaura, Uttar Pradesh, Singh, disgruntled with Gandhi's nonviolence action, joined the Young Revolutionary Movement and began advocating a violent movement against the British.
In 1923, Bhagat famously won an essay competition set by the Punjab Hindi Sahitya Sammelan. This grabbed the attention of members of the Punjab Hindi Sahitya Sammelan including its General Secretary Professor Bhim Sen Vidyalankar. At this age, he quoted famous Punjabi literature and discussed the Problems of the Punjab. He read a lot of poetry and literature which was written by Punjabi writers and his favourite poet was Allama Iqbal from Sialkot.
In his teenage years, Bhagat Singh started studying at the National College in Lahore, but ran away from home to escape early marriage, and became a member of the organisation Naujawan Bharat Sabha ("Youth Society of India"). In the Naujawan Bharat Sabha, Singh and his fellow revolutionaries grew popular amongst the youth. He also joined the Hindustan Republican Association through introduction by history teacher, Professor Vidyalankar, which had prominent leaders like Ram Prasad Bismil, Chandrashekhar Azad and Ashfaqulla Khan. It is believed that he went to Kanpur to attempt free Kakori train robbery prisoners from the jail, but returned to Lahore for unknown reasons. On the day of Dasara in October 1926, a bomb was blasted in Lahore, and Bhagat Singh was arrested for his alleged involvement in this Dasara Bomb Case in 29 May 1927, and was released on a bail of Rs.60,000 after about five weeks of his arrest. He wrote for and edited Urdu and Punjabi newspapers published from Amritsar. In September 1928, a meeting of various revolutionaries from across India was called at Delhi under the banner of the Kirti Kissan Party. Bhagat Singh was the secretary of the meet. His later revolutionary activities were carried out as a leader of this association.
Later revolutionary activities
Lala Lajpat Rai's death and the Saunders murder
The British government created a commission under Sir John Simon to report on the current political situation in India in 1928. The Indian political parties boycotted the commission because it did not include a single Indian as its member and it was met with protests all over the country. When the commission visited Lahore on 30 October 1928, Lala Lajpat Rai led the protest against Simon Commission in a silent non-violent march, but the police responded with violence. Lala Lajpat Rai was beaten with lathis at the chest. He later succumbed to his injuries. Bhagat Singh, who was an eyewitness to this event, vowed to take revenge. He joined with other revolutionaries, Shivaram Rajguru, Jai Gopal and Sukhdev Thapar, in a plot to kill the police chief, Scott. Jai Gopal was supposed to identify the chief and signal for Singh to shoot. However, in a case of mistaken identity, Gopal signalled Singh on the appearance of J. P. Saunders, a Deputy Superintendent of Police. Thus, Saunders, instead of Scott, was shot. Shahid Bhagat Singh quickly left Lahore to escape the police. To avoid recognition, he shaved his beard and cut his hair, a violation of the sacred tenets of Sikhism.
Bomb in the assembly
In the face of actions by the revolutionaries, the British government enacted the Defence of India Act to give more power to the police. The purpose of the Act was to combat revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh.However, the Act was then passed under the ordinance that claimed that it was in the best interest of the public. In response to this act, the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association planned to explode a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly where the ordinance was going to be passed. This idea was originated by Bhagat Singh, who was influenced by a similar bombing by a martyr anarchist Auguste Vaillant in the French Assembly. It was decided that Bhagat Singh should go to Russia, while Batukeshwar Dutt should carry on the bombing with Sukhdev. Sukhdev then forced Bhagat Singh to call for another meeting and here it was decided, against the initial agreement, that Batukeshwar Dutt and Bhagat Singh would carry on the bombing. Bhagat Singh also disapproved that the two should be escorted after the bombing by the rest of the party.
On 8 April 1929, Singh and Dutt threw a bomb onto the corridors of the assembly and shouted "Inquilab Zindabad!" ("Long Live the Revolution!"). This was followed by a shower of leaflets stating that it takes a loud voice to make the deaf hear.
The bomb neither killed nor injured anyone; Singh and Dutt claimed that this was deliberate on their part, a claim substantiated both by British forensics investigators who found that the bomb was not powerful enough to cause injury, and by the fact that the bomb was thrown away from people. Singh and Dutt gave themselves up for arrest after the bomb. He and Dutt were sentenced to 'Transportation for Life' for the bombing on 12 June 1929.
Leaflet thrown in the Central Assembly Hall, April 8 1929
Trial and execution
On 15 April 1929, the 'Lahore Bomb Factory' was discovered by the Lahore police, and the other members of HSRA were arrested, out of which 7 turned informants, helping the police to connect Bhagat Singh in the murder of J. P. Saunders. Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev were charged with the murder. Bhagat Singh decided to use the court as a tool to publicise his cause for the independence of India. The case was ordered to be carried out without members of the HSRA present at the hearing. This created an uproar amongst Singh's supporters as he could no longer publicise his views.
While in jail, Bhagat Singh and other prisoners launched a hunger strike advocating for the rights of prisoners and those facing trial. The reason for the strike was that British murderers and thieves were treated better than Indian political prisoners, who, by law, were meant to be given better rights. The aims in their strike were to ensure a decent standard of food for political prisoners, the availability of books and a daily newspaper, as well as better clothing and the supply of toiletry necessities and other hygienic necessities. He also demanded that political prisoners should not be forced to do any labour or undignified work. During this hunger strike that lasted 63 days and ended with the British succumbing to his wishes, he gained much popularity among the common Indians. Before the strike his popularity was limited mainly to the Punjab region.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, one of the politicians present when the Central Legislative Assembly was bombed, made no secret of his sympathies for the Lahore prisoners – commenting on the hunger strike he said "the man who goes on hunger strike has a soul. He is moved by that soul, and he believes in the justice of his cause." And talking of Singh's actions said "however much you deplore them and however much you say they are misguided, it is the system, this damnable system of governance, which is resented by the people".
On 1 May 1930, by declaring an emergency, an ordinance was passed by Lord Irwin, that shifted the Lahore Conspiracy Case Trial from the court of Rai Sahib Pandit Sri Kishan to a Special Tribunal of three judges. This Special Tribunal was given the power to proceed with the case in the absence of the accused and accept death of the persons giving evidence as a benefit to the defence. Also, the verdict of this special court could not be challenged in higher court. On 7 October 1930, this tribunal convicted Singh among others and sentenced him to be hanged till death.
An abortive plan had been made to rescue Bhagat Singh and fellow inmates of HSRA from the jail, for the purpose of which Bhagwati Charan Vohra made bombs, but died making them as they exploded accidentally.
Bhagat Singh also maintained the use of a diary, which he eventually made to fill 404 pages. In this diary he made numerous notes relating to the quotations and popular sayings of various people whose views he supported. Prominent in his diary were the views of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The comments in his diary led to an understanding of the philosophical thinking of Bhagat Singh.
While in the condemned cell, he also wrote a pamphlet entitled "Why I am an atheist", as he was being accused of vanity by not accepting God in the face of death. It is also said that he signed a mercy petition through a comrade Bijoy Kumar Sinha on 8 March 1931.
On 23 March 1931, Bhagat Singh was hanged in Lahore with his fellow comrades Rajguru and Sukhdev. His supporters, who had been protesting against the hanging, immediately declared him as a shaheed or martyr. According to the Superintendent of Police at the time, V.N. Smith, the hanging was advanced:
Normally execution took place at 8 am, but it was decided to act at once before the public could become aware of what had happened…At about 7 pm shouts of Inquilab Zindabad were heard from inside the jail. This was interpreted, correctly, as a signal that the final curtain was about to drop.
- Bhagat Singh Memorial
Singh was cremated at Hussainiwala on banks of the Sutlej river. The Bhagat Singh Memorial was built in 2009 in his hometown of Khatkar Kalan at a cost of Rs.168 million.
- Bhagat Singh Museum
A museum by the name "Shaheed-e-azam Sardar Bhagat Singh Museum" has been built at his maternal village, where sand and newspaper stained with his blood and his half burnt bones are preserved.
Ideals and opinions
Bhagat Singh was attracted to anarchism and communism. Both communism and western anarchism had influence on him. He read the teachings of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Trotsky and Bakunin. Bhagat Singh did not believe in Gandhian philosophy and felt that Gandhian politics would replace one set of exploiters with another. Bhagat Singh was an atheist and promoted the concept of atheism by writing a pamphlet titled Why I am an Atheist. Bhagat Singh was also an admirer of the writings of Irish revolutionary Terence MacSwiney. When Bhagat Singh's father petitioned the British government to pardon his son, Bhagat Singh quoted Terence MacSwiney and said "I am confident that my death will do more to smash the British Empire than my release" and told his father to withdraw the petition.
Some of his writings like "Blood Sprinkled on the Day of Holi Babbar Akalis on the Crucifix" were influenced by the struggle of Dharam Singh Hayatpur.
From May to September, 1928, Bhagat Singh serially published several articles on anarchism in Punjabi periodical Kirti. He expressed concern over misunderstanding of the concept of anarchism among the public. Singh tried to eradicate the misconception among people about anarchism. He wrote, "The people are scared of the word anarchism. The word anarchism has been abused so much that even in India revolutionaries have been called anarchist to make them unpopular." As anarchism means absence of ruler and abolition of state, not absence of order, Singh explained, "I think in India the idea of universal brotherhood, the Sanskrit sentence vasudhaiva kutumbakam etc., has the same meaning." He wrote about the growth of anarchism,"the first man to explicitly propagate the theory of Anarchism was Proudhon and that is why he is called the founder of Anarchism. After him a Russian, Bakunin, worked hard to spread the doctrine. He was followed by Prince Kropotkin etc."
Bhagat Singh explained anarchism in the article:
The ultimate goal of Anarchism is complete independence, according to which no one will be obsessed with God or religion, nor will anybody be crazy for money or other worldly desires. There will be no chains on the body or control by the state. This means that they want to eliminate: the Church, God and Religion; the state; Private property.
Click the following links to read :
I am not a terrorist and I never was, FEBRUARY 2 1931
Ideal Explained- 6th June 1929
On the slogan of 'Long Live Revolution
We claim to be SHOT DEAD instead of to be HANGED, 19 March 1931
Letter to Saheed Sukhdev 5 April, 1929
Letter to his Father on October 4, 1930
Bhagat Singh was also influenced by Marxism. Indian historian K. N. Panikkar described Singh as one of the early Marxists in India. From 1926, Bhagat Singh studied the history of the revolutionary movement in India and abroad. In his prison notebooks, Singh used quotations from Vladmir Lenin (on imperialism being the highest stage of capitalism) and Trotsky on revolution. In written documents, when asked what was his last wish, he replied that he was studying the life of Lenin and he wanted to finish it before his death.
"Revolution" does not necessarily involve sanguinary strife nor is there any place in it for individual vendetta. It is not the cult of the bomb and the pistol. By "Revolution" we mean that the present order of things, which is based on manifest injustice, must change. Producers or labourers in spite of being the most necessary element of society, are robbed by their exploiters of the fruits of their labour and deprived of their elementary rights. The peasant who grows corn for all, starves with his family, the weaver who supplies the world market with textile fabrics, has not enough to cover his own and his children's bodies, masons, smiths and carpenters who raise magnificent palaces, live like pariahs in the slums. The capitalists and exploiters, the parasites of society, squander millions on their whims. These terrible inequalities and forced disparity of chances are bound to lead to chaos. This state of affairs cannot last long, and it is obvious, that the present order of society in merry-making is on the brink of a volcano.
The whole edifice of this civilization, if not saved in time, shall crumble. A radical change, therefore, is necessary and it is the duty of those who realize it to reorganize society on the socialistic basis. Unless this thing is done and the exploitation of man by man and of nations by nations is brought to an end, sufferings and carnage with which humanity is threatened today cannot be prevented. All talk of ending war and ushering in an era of universal peace is undisguised hypocrisy.
By "Revolution", we mean the ultimate establishment of an order of society which may not be threatened by such breakdown, and in which the sovereignty of the proletariat should be recognized and a world federation should redeem humanity from the bondage of capitalism and misery of imperial wars."
(An excerpt from the statement of Martyr Bhagat Singh and B. K. Dutta in the Assembly Bomb Case, Read in the Court on 6th June, 1929, by Mr. Asaf Ali on behalf of Bhagat Singh and B.K. Dutta)
Singh began to question religious ideologies after witnessing the Hindu-Muslim riots that broke out after Gandhi disbanded the Non-Cooperation Movement. He did not understand how members of these two groups, initially united in fighting against the British, could be at each others' throats because of their religious differences. At this point, Singh dropped his religious beliefs, since he believed religion hindered the revolutionaries' struggle for independence, and began studying the works of Bakunin, Lenin, Trotsky — all atheist revolutionaries. He also took an interest in Niralamba Swami's book Common Sense, which advocated a form of "mystic atheism".
While in a condemned cell in 1931, he wrote a pamphlet entitled Why I am an Atheist in which he discusses and advocates the philosophy of atheism. This pamphlet was a result of some criticism by fellow revolutionaries on his failure to acknowledge religion and God while in a condemned cell, the accusation of vanity was also dealt with in this pamphlet. He supported his own beliefs and claimed that he used to be a firm believer in The Almighty, but could not bring himself to believe the myths and beliefs that others held close to their hearts. In this pamphlet, he acknowledged the fact that religion made death easier, but also said that unproved philosophy is a sign of human weakness.
Click here to read :Why I am an Atheist by Bhagat Singh
Bhagat Singh was known for his appreciation of martyrdom. His mentor as a young boy was Kartar Singh Sarabha. Singh is himself considered a martyr for acting to avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai. In the leaflet he threw in the Central Assembly on 9 April 1929, he stated that It is easy to kill individuals but you cannot kill the ideas. Great empires crumbled while the ideas survived. After engaging in studies on the Russian Revolution, he wanted to die so that his death would inspire the youth of India which in turn will unite them to fight the British Empire.
While in prison, Bhagat Singh and two others had written a letter to the Viceroy asking him to treat them as prisoners of war and hence to execute them by firing squad and not by hanging. Prannath Mehta, Bhagat Singh's friend, visited him in the jail on 20 March, four days before his execution, with a draft letter for clemency, but he declined to sign it.
Conspiracy theories
Many conspiracy theories exist regarding Bhagat Singh, especially the events surrounding his death:
Mahatma Gandhi
One of the most popular ones is that Mahatma Gandhi had an opportunity to stop Singh's execution but did not. A variation of this theory is that Gandhi actively conspired with the British to have Singh executed. Gandhi's supporters say that Gandhi did not have enough influence with the British to stop the execution, much less arrange it. Furthermore, Gandhi's supporters assert that Singh's role in the independence movement was no threat to Gandhi's role as its leader, and so Gandhi would have no reason to want him dead.
Gandhi, during his lifetime, always maintained that he was a great admirer of Singh's patriotism. He also said that he was opposed to Singh's execution (and, for that matter, capital punishment in general) and proclaimed that he had no power to stop it. On Singh's execution, Gandhi said, "The government certainly had the right to hang these men. However, there are some rights which do credit to those who possess them only if they are enjoyed in name only." Gandhi also once said, on capital punishment, "I cannot in all conscience agree to anyone being sent to the gallows. God alone can take life because He alone gives it."
Gandhi had managed to have 90,000 political prisoners who were not members of his Satyagraha movement released under the Gandhi-Irwin Pact. According to a report in the Indian magazine Frontline, he did plead several times for the commutation of the death sentence of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, including a personal visit on 19 March 1931, and in a letter to the Viceroy on the day of their execution, pleading fervently for commutation, not knowing that the letter would be too late.
Lord Irwin, the Viceroy, later said:
As I listened to Mr. Gandhi putting the case for commutation before me, I reflected first on what significance it surely was that the apostle of non-violence should so earnestly be pleading the cause of the devotees of a creed so fundamentally opposed to his own, but I should regard it as wholly wrong to allow my judgment to be influenced by purely political considerations. I could not imagine a case in which under the law, penalty had been more directly deserved.
However, Gandhi did appreciate Bhagat's patriotism and how he had overcome the fear of death, but did not support the violence involved.
"We should not imitate their act. In our land of millions of destitute and crippled people, if we take to the practice of seeking justice through murder, there will be a terrifying situation. Our poor people will become victims of our atrocities. By making a dharma of violence, we shall be reaping the fruit of our own actions. Hence, though we praise the courage of these brave men, we should never countenance their activities. Our dharma is to swallow our anger, abide by the discipline of non-violence and carry out our duty."
(Excerpted from Gandhi's article on the martyrdom of Bhagat Singh in "Young India", March 29, 1931)
Saunders family
On 28 October 2005, a book entitled Some Hidden Facts: Martyrdom of Shaheed Bhagat Singh—Secrets unfurled by an Intelligence Bureau Agent of British-India by K.S. Kooner and G.S. Sindhra was released. The book asserts that Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev were deliberately hanged in such a manner as to leave all three in a semi-conscious state, so that all three could later be taken outside the prison and shot dead by the Saunders family. The book says that this was a prison operation code named "Operation Trojan Horse." Scholars are skeptical of the book's claims.
Indian independence movement
Bhagat Singh's death had the effect that he desired and he inspired thousands of youths to assist the remainder of the Indian independence movement. After his hanging, youths in regions around Northern India rioted in protest against the British Raj and Gandhi.
Modern day
Singh's contribution to Indian society and, in particular, the future of socialism in India. To celebrate the centenary of his birth, a group of intellectuals have set up an institution to commemorate Singh and his ideals.
Several popular Bollywood films have been made capturing the life and times of Bhagat Singh. Possibly the first is Shaheed-e-Azad Bhagat Singh (1954); followed by Shaheed Bhagat Singh (1963), starring Shammi Kapoor as Bhagat Singh. Two years later, Manoj Kumar portrayed Bhagat Singh in an immensely popular and landmark film, Shaheed. Two major films about Singh were released in 2002, The Legend of Bhagat Singh and 23rd March 1931: Shaheed. The Legend of Bhagat Singh is Rajkumar Santoshi's adaptation, in which Ajay Devgan played Singh and Amrita Rao was featured in a brief role. 23rd March 1931: Shaheed was directed by Guddu Dhanoa and starred Bobby Deol as Singh, with Sunny Deol and Aishwarya Rai in supporting roles. Another major film Shaheed-E-Azam, starring Sonu Sood, Maanav Vij, Rajinder Gupta, and Sadhana Singh, and directed by Sukumar Nair, also was produced by Iqbal Dhillon under the banner Surjit Movies.
Movies on Bhagat Singh
- Shaheed-e-Azad Bhagat Singh (1954)
- Shaheed Bhagat Singh (1963)
- Shaheed (1965)
- The Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002)
- 23rd March 1931: Shaheed (2002)
- Shaheed-E-Azam(2003)
- Rang De Basanti(2006)
The 2006 film Rang De Basanti is a film drawing parallels between revolutionaries of Bhagat Singh's era and modern Indian youth. It covers a lot of Bhagat Singh's role in the Indian freedom struggle. The movie revolves around a group of college students and how they each play the roles of Bhagat's friends and family.
The patriotic Urdu and Hindi songs, Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna (translated as "the desire to sacrifice") and Mera Rang De Basanti Chola ("my light-yellow-coloured cloak"; Basanti referring to the light-yellow color of the Mustard flower grown in the Punjab and also one of the two main colours of the Sikh religion as per the Sikh rehat meryada(code of conduct of the Sikh Saint-Soldier) ), while created by Ram Prasad Bismil, are largely associated to Bhagat Singh's martyrdom and have been used in a number of Bhagat Singh-related films.
In September 2007 the Governor of Punjab province, Khalid Maqbool, announced that a memorial to Bhagat Singh will be displayed at Lahore museum, according to the governor "Singh was the first martyr of the subcontinent and his example was followed by many youth of the time."
Bhagat Singh was criticised both by his contemporaries and by people after his death because of his violent and revolutionary stance towards the British and his strong opposition to the pacifist stance taken by the Indian National Congress and particularly Mahatma Gandhi. The methods he used to make his point—shooting Saunders and throwing non-lethal bombs—were quite different from Gandhi's non-violent methodology. Please click the link given below:
Mahatma Gandhi on the Martyrdom of Bhagat Singh
- "The aim of life is no more to control the mind, but to develop it harmoniously; not to achieve salvation here after, but to make the best use of it here below; and not to realise truth, beauty and good only in contemplation, but also in the actual experience of daily life; social progress depends not upon the ennoblement of the few but on the enrichment of democracy; universal brotherhood can be achieved only when there is an equality of opportunity – of opportunity in the social, political and individual life." — from Bhagat Singh's prison diary, p. 124
- "Inquilab Zindabad" (Long live the revolution)
After 63 years of Independence, around 400 million unorganised workers struggle to survive without any tangible right, though they substantially contribute to the national income. No employment regulation, no pension, no maternity benefits, no accident compensation, no provision to get even the minimum wages or health benefits. Instead, crumbs of social assistance schemes are thrown at them by the state as charity.
Ye Kaisi Aazadi Hai? asks Jagjit Singh, joining the campaigners of Social Security Now, a network of trade unions, civil society organisations, people's movements and concerned individuals fighting for securing Social Security Rights for the countless, voiceless unorganised workers. This is your song. Please share it with all the concerned citizens.
Lyrics: Nida Fazli, Music: Jagjit Singh, Dir: Pravin Mishra
The revolutionary spirit of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru is an unfailing source of inspiration to the youth of the country. Their courage, bravery, spirit of struggle and sacrifice are an example to one and all.
Shaheed Bhagat Singh was a Great Indian Freedom Fighter, considered to be one of the most influential revolutionaries of the Indian independence movement.
"BHAGAT SINGH is to be hanged!"- When the news spread, the people all over the country were mad with rage. Thousands of appeals were sent to the British government, pleading that his death sentence should be commuted. Several politicians and social activists joined in the appeal. But all attempts failed. Even the members of the prisoners' families were not allowed to meet them. Sukhdev and Rajguru were the other two to be hanged with Bhagat Singh. Three of them were hanged to death a day before the assigned date because British officials feared a revolt from the Indians.
March 23 is observed as "MARTYRS' DAY" to remember the contribution of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru and other brave 'Krantikaaris' who paved way for Indian Independence.
Long Live the Revolution! Inqilab Zindabad!
Aye Bhagat Singh Tu Zinda Hain: A Mass Song Composed and Sung by Sheetal Sathe
External links
- Bhagat Singh Biography and Contains letters written by Bhagat Singh
- Marxists Internet Archive: Bhagat Singh (1907 – 1931)
- Why I Am An Atheist, an essay by Bhagat Singh
- Martyrdom of Sardar Bhagat Singh by Jyotsna Kamat
30 Apr
Henry Louis Vivian Derozio
Henry Louis Vivian Derozio (18 April 1809 – 26 December 1831) was a fiery Indian teacher and poet. As a lecturer at the Hindu College of Calcutta, he invigorated a large group of students to think independently; this Young Bengal group played a key role in the Bengal renaissance.
Derozio was generally considered an Anglo-Indian, being of mixed Portuguese descent, but he was fired by a patriotic spirit for his native Bengal, and considered himself Indian. In his poem To My Native Land he wrote:
|My Country! In the days of Glory Past. A beauteous halo circled round thy brow. And worshiped as deity thou wast, Where is that Glory, where is that reverence now?
Early life
The son of Francis Derozio, he was born at Entally-Padmapukur in Kolkata on 18 April 1809. He attended David Drummond's Dhurramtallah Academy school, where he was a star pupil, reading widely on topics like the French revolution and Robert Burns. Drummond, "a dour Scotsman, an exile and a 'notorious free thinker'",[1] instilled in him a passion for learning and superstition-free rational thinking, in addition to a solid grounding in history, philosophy and English literature.
He quit school at the age of 14 and initially joined his father's concern at Kolkata and later shifted to Bhagalpur. Inspired by the scenic beauty of the banks of the River Ganges, he started writing poetry. Some of these were published in Dr. Grant's India Gazette. His critical review of a book by Emmanuel Kant attracted the attention of the intelligentsia. In 1828, he went to Kolkata with the objective of publishing his long poem – Fakir of Jhungeera. On learning that a faculty position was vacant at the newly established Hindu College, he applied for it and was selected.
This was the time when Hindu society in Bengal was undergoing considerable turmoil. In 1828, Raja Ram Mohan Roy established the Brahmo Samaj, which kept Hindu ideals but denied idolatry. This resulted in a backlash within orthodox Hindu society. It is in the perspective of these changes that Derozio was appointed at Hindu college, where he helped released the ideas for social change already in the air.
Hindu College and Social Backlash
In May 1826, at the age of 17, he was appointed teacher in English literature and history at the new Hindu College, which had been set up recently to meet the interest in English education among Indians. He was initially a teacher in the second and third classes, later also of the fourth, but he attracted students from all classes. He interacted freely with students, well beyond the class hours. His zeal for interacting with students was legendary.
His brilliant lectures presented closely-reasoned arguments based on his wide reading. He encouraged students to read Thomas Paine's Rights of Man and other free-thinking texts. Although Derozio himself was an atheist and had renounced Christianity, he encouraged questioning the orthodox Hindu customs and conventions on the basis of Italian renaissance and its offshoot rationalism. He infused in his students the spirit of free expression, the yearning for knowledge and a passion to live up to their identity, while questioning irrational religious and cultural practices.
Derozio's intense zeal for teaching and his interactions with students created a sensation at Hindu College. His students came to be known as Derozians. He organised debates where ideas and social norms were freely debated. In 1828, he motivated them to form a literary and debating club called the Academic Association. In 1830, this club brought out a magazine named Parthenon (only one issue came out[2]). Apart from articles criticizing Hindu practices, the students wrote on women emancipation and criticized many aspects of British rule. He also encouraged students into journalism, to spread these ideas into a society eager for change. In mid 1831, he helped Krishna Mohan Banerjee start an English weekly, The Enquirer, while Dakshinaranjan Mukherjee and Rasik Krishna Mallick began publishing a Bengali paper, the Jnananvesan[3]
He took great pleasure in his interactions with students, writing about them:
- Expanding like the petals of young flowers
- I watch the gentle opening of your minds…
He was close in age to most of his students (some were older than he was). The motto of the Derozians was:
- He who will not reason is a bigot, he who cannot reason is a fool, and he who does not reason is a slave.[1]
So all ideas were open to challenge. Many of his inner circle of students eventually rebelled against Hindu orthodoxy, and joined the Brahmo Samaj, while some like Krishna Mohan Banerjee converted to Christianity, and others like Ramtanu Lahiri gave up their sacred thread. Others went on to write in Bengali, including Peary Chand Mitra, who authored the first novel in Bengali.
The radicalism of his teaching and his student group caused an intense backlash against him.
Due to his unorthodox (legendarily free) views on society, culture and religion, the Hindu-dominated management committee of the college, under the chairmanship of Radhakanta Deb, expelled him as a faculty member by a 6:1 vote, for having
- materially injured [the student's] Morals and introduced some strange system the tendency of which is destruction to their moral character and to the peace in Society. … In consequence of his misunderstanding no less than 25 Pupils of respectable families have been withdrawn from the College.[4]
Though facing penury, he continued his interaction with his students, indeed, he was able to do more, helping them bring out several newspapers, etc. However, at the end of the year, he contracted cholera, which was fatal at the time, and died on 26 December 1831 at the age of 22. Being a Christian apostate, he was denied burial inside South Park Street Cemetery; instead he was buried just outside it on the road.
Derozio idolized Byron, modeling many of his poems in the romantic vein. Much of his poetry reflects native Indian stories, told in the Victorian style. The Fakeer of Jungheera(1828) is a long lyrical poem, abundant in descriptions of the region around Bhagalpur. The melancholy narrative involves a religious mendicant, who saves his erstwhile lover from satihood, but comes to a romantic end fighting her pursuers.
Among his short poems, there are several ballads, such as The Song of the Hindustanee Minstrel:
- Dildar! There's many a valued pearl
- In richest Oman's sea;
- But none, my fair Cashmerian girl!
- O! none can rival thee.[5]
Fired by a patriotic zeal he also wrote a good bit of nationalistic poetry, some quite openly rebellious, as in The Golden Vase:
- Oh! when our country writhes in galling chains
- When her proud masters scourge her like a dog;
- If her wild cry be borne upon the gale,
- Our bosoms to the melancholy sound
- Should swell, and we should rush to her relief,
- Like some, at an unhappy parent's wail!
- And when we know the flash of patriot swords
- Is unto spirits longing to be free,
- Like Hope'e returning light; we should not pause
- Till every tyrant dread our feet, or till we find
- Graves…
This anti-imperialist fervor also separated him from the Anglo-Indian (then Eurasian) community, who were overwhelmingly pro-British. At one point, he urged his fellow Anglo-Indians that it would be
- in their interest to unite and be cooperative with the other native inhabitants of India. Any other course will subject them to greater opposition than they have at present.[6]
Despite his poetic bent, and his flamboyant dresses, he never showed much interest in women, though he was a strong advocate for female emancipation. The women in his poetry also appear "a little wooden and lacking in individuality".[1] A 1905 biography subtly hints that his expulsion may have had some underpinnings of homophobia; all his student meetings were exclusively attended by young male students.[7]
His ideas had a profound influence on the social movement that came to be known as the "Bengal Renaissance" in early 19th century Bengal. And despite being viewed as something of an iconoclast by others like Alexander Duff and other (largely evangelical) Christian Missionaries; later in Duff's General Assembly's Institution, Derozio's ideas on the acceptance of the rational spirit were accepted partly as long as they were not in conflict with basic tenets of Christianity, and as long as they critiqued orthodox Hinduism.
Derozio was an atheist [8] but his ideas were also partly responsible for the conversion of upper caste Hindus like Krishna Mohan Banerjee and Lal Behari Dey to Christianity. Many other students like Tarachand Chakraborti became leaders in the Brahmo Samaj.[9]
See also
- ^ a b c Arvind K Mehrotra, An illustrated history of Indian Literature in English Permanent Black, New Delhi 2003 Rs 1495
- ^ http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/Y_0008.htm
- ^ Young Bengal banglapedia
- ^ Proceedings of the Hindu College Committee relating to the dismissal of Henry Louis Vivian Derozio, Saturday, 1831-04-23
- ^ Selected Poetry of Henry Louis Vivian Derozio
- ^ Derozio, Report to Doverton College, 1831
- ^ Madge, Elliot Walter (ed. Subir Ray Choudhuri),Henry Derozio, the Eurasian Poet and Reformer, Metropolitan Book Agency, 1967, 58 pages
- ^ [1] Hindu-School, Kolkata
- ^ Derozio and the Hindu College
- Ramtanu Lahiri O Tatkalin Banga Samaj in Bengali by Sivanath Sastri.
- Sansad Bangali Charitabhidhan (Biographical dictionary) in Bengali edited by Subodh Chandra Sengupta and Anjali Bose
External links
Source- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
30 Apr
Cārvāka: Our Indian Heritage of Skepticism
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cārvāka (Sanskrit: चार्वाक), also known as Lokāyata, is a system of Indian philosophy that assumes various forms of philosophical skepticism and religious indifference.[1] It is named after its founder, Cārvāka, author of the Bārhaspatya-sūtras.[2]
In overviews of Indian philosophy, Cārvāka is classified as a "faithless" (nāstika) system, the same classification as is given to Buddhism and Jainism.[3][4] It is characterized as a materialistic and atheistic school of thought. While this branch of Indian philosophy is not considered to be part of the six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy, it is noteworthy as evidence of a materialistic movement within Hinduism.[5][6]
Name and origins
The name Lokāyata can be traced to Kautilya's Arthashastra, which refers to three ānvīkṣikīs (logical philosophies), Yoga, Samkhya and Lokayata. Lokayata here still refers to logical debate (disputatio, "criticism") in general and not to a materialist doctrine in particular. Similarly, Saddaniti and Buddhaghosa in the 5th century connect the "Lokayatas" with the Vitandas (sophists).
Only from about the 6th century is the term restricted to the school of the Lokyātikas. The name Cārvāka is first used in the 7th century by the philosopher Purandara, who refers to his fellow materialists as "the Cārvākas", and it is used by the 8th century philosophers Kamalaśīla and Haribhadra. Shankara, on the other hand, always uses Lokāyata, not Cārvāka.[7] The etymological meaning of the word Cārvāka is 'a person who is clever in speech and is extremely fond of wrangling (debate)'.
E. W. Hopkins, in his The Ethics of India (1924) assumes that Cārvāka philosophy is co-eval with Buddhism, mentioning "the old Cārvāka or materialist of the 6th century BC"; Rhys Davids assumes that lokayata in ca. 500 BC came to mean "skepticism" in general without yet being organized as a philosophical school, and that the name of a villain of the Mahabharata, Cārvāka, was attached to the position in order to disparage it. The earliest positive statement of skepticism is preserved from the epic period, in the Ramayana.
- regard only that which is an object of perception, and cast behind your back whatever is beyond the reach of your senses (2.108)
The Cārvāka school thus appears to have gradually grown out of generic skepticism in the Mauryan period, but its existence as an organized body cannot be ascertained for times predating the 6th century. The Barhaspatya sutras were likely also composed in Mauryan times, predating 150 BC, based on a reference in the Mahabhasya of Patanjali (7.3.45).[8]
Loss of original works
"Though materialism in some form or other has always been present in India, and occasional references are found in the Vedas, the Buddhistic literature, the Epics, as well as in the later philosophical works we do not find any systematic work on materialism, nor any organised school of followers as the other philosophical schools possess. But almost every work of the other schools states, for refutation, the materialistic views. Our knowledge of Indian materialism is chiefly based on these."[9]
Available evidence suggests that Cārvāka philosophy was set out in the Barhaspatya sutras, probably in Mauryan times. Neither this text nor any other original text of the Cārvāka school of philosophy has been preserved. Its principal works are known only from fragments cited by its Hindu and Buddhist opponents. Cārvāka philosophy appears to have died out some time in the 15th century.
Countering the argument that the Cārvākas opposed all that was good in the Vedic tradition, Dale Riepe says, "It may be said from the available material that Cārvākas hold truth, integrity, consistency, and freedom of thought in the highest esteem."[10]
Tattvopaplavasimha of Jayaraasi Bhatta
The Cārvāka school of philosophy had a variety of atheistic, materialistic, and naturalistic beliefs.
No life after death
The Carvaka believed there was no afterlife, no life after death
- Springing forth from these elements itself
- solid knowledge is destroyed
- when they are destroyed—
- after death no intelligence remains.[11]
The Carvaka believed in a form of naturalism, that is that all things happen by nature, and come from nature (not from any deity or Supreme Being).
- Fire is hot, water cold,
- refreshingly cool is the breeze of morning;
- By whom came this variety?
- They were born of their own nature.[11]
Sensual indulgence
Unlike many of the Indian philosophies of the time, the Carvaka believed there was nothing wrong with sensual indulgence, and that it was the only enjoyment to be pursued.
- That the pleasure arising to man
- from contact with sensible objects,
- is to be relinquished because accompanied by pain—
- such is the reasoning of fools.
- The kernels of the paddy, rich with finest white grains,
- What man, seeking his own true interest,
- would fling them away
- because of a covering of husk and dust?
- While life remains, let a man live happily,
- let him feed on butter though he runs in debt;
- When once the body becomes ashes,
- how can it ever return again?[11]
Religion is invented by man
The Carvaka believed that religion was invented and made up by men, having no divine authority.
- The three authors of the Vedas were buffoons, knaves, and demons.
- All the well-known formulae of the pandits, jarphari, turphari, etc.
- and all the obscene rites for the queen commanded in Aswamedha,
- these were invented by buffoons, and so all the various kinds of presents to the priests,
- while the eating of flesh was similarly commanded by night-prowling demons.
Madhavacharya and Cārvāka
Madhavacharya, the 13th & 14th-century Vedantic philosopher from South India starts his famous work The Sarva-darsana-sangraha with a chapter on the Cārvāka system with the intention of refuting it. After invoking, in the Prologue of the book, the Hindu gods Shiva and Vishnu, ("by whom the earth and rest were produced"), Madhavacharya asks, in the first chapter:
- …but how can we attribute to the Divine Being the giving of supreme felicity, when such a notion has been utterly abolished by Charvaka, the crest-gem of the atheistic school, the follower of the doctrine of Brihaspati? The efforts of Charvaka are indeed hard to be eradicated, for the majority of living beings hold by the current refrain:
- While life is yours, live joyously;
- None can escape Death's searching eye:
- When once this frame of ours they burn,
- How shall it e'er again return?
Quotations attributed to Cārvāka from Sarva-Darsana-Sangraha
- There is no heaven, no final liberation, nor any soul in another world,
- Nor do the actions of the four castes, order, &c, produce any real effect,
- The Agnihotra, the three Vedas, the ascetic's three staves, and smearing oneself with ashes —
- Brihaspati says, these are but means of livelihood for those who have no manliness nor sense.
- In this school there are four elements, earth, water, fire and air;
- and from these four elements alone is intelligence produced —
- just like the intoxicating power from kinwa &c, mixed together;
- since in "I am fat", "I am lean", these attributes abide in the same subject,
- and since fatness, &c, reside only in the body, it alone is the soul and no other, and such phrases as "my body" are only significant metaphorically.
- If a beast slain in the Jyothishtoma rite will itself go to heaven,
- why then does not the sacrificer forthwith offer his own father?
- If the Sraddha produces gratification to beings who are dead,
- then why not give food down below to those who are standing on the house-top?
- If he who departs from the body goes to another world,
- how is it that he come not back again, restless for love of his kindred?
- Hence it is only as a means of livelihood that Brahmans have established here
- all these ceremonies for the dead, — there is no other fruit anywhere.
- The three authors of the Vedas were buffoons, knaves, and demons.
- All the well-known formulae of the pandits, jarphari, turphari, etc.
- and all the obscene rites for the queen commanded in Aswamedha,
- these were invented by buffoons, and so all the various kinds of presents to the priests,
- while the eating of flesh was similarly commanded by night-prowling demons. [12]
Those parts which survive indicate a strong anti-clerical bias, accusing Brahmins of fostering religious beliefs only so they could obtain a livelihood. The proper aim of a Charvakan or Charvaka, according to these sources, was to live a prosperous, happy, and productive life in this world.
Astika schools, Buddhism, and Jainism versus Cārvāka
Cārvākas cultivated a philosophy wherein theology and what they called "speculative metaphysics" were to be avoided. The Cārvākas accepted direct perception as the surest method to prove the truth of anything. Though their opponents tried to caricature the Lokayatikas' arguments, the latter did not completely reject the method of inference. Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya quotes S. N. Dasgupta:
- "Purandara (a Lokāyata philosopher) […] admits the usefulness of inference in determining the nature of all worldly things where perceptual experience is available; but inference cannot be employed for establishing any dogma regarding the transcendental world, or life after death or the law of karma which cannot be available to ordinary perceptual experience."[13]
While a Cārvāka's thought is characterized by an insistence on pleasure seeking on one hand and Jainism is known to emphasize penance on the other, Buddhism is said to stand for a "middle way", avoiding indulgence in sensual pleasures and penance alike.[14]
The Cārvākas did not deny the difference between the dead and the living and recognized both as realities. A person lives, the same person dies: that is a perceived, and hence the only provable, fact. In this regard, the Cārvākas found themselves at odds with all the other religions of the time.
Rejection of the soul as separate from the body led the Cārvākas to confine their thinking to this world only.
Abul Fazl on Lokāyata
Ain-i-Akbari, written by Abul Fazl, the famous historian of Akbar's court, mentions a symposium of philosophers of all faiths held in 1578 at Akbar's insistence. Some Cārvāka thinkers are said to have participated in this symposium.[15]
Under the heading "Nastika," Abul Fazl has referred to the good work, judicious administration, and welfare schemes that were emphasized by the Cārvāka lawmakers. Somadeva has also mentioned the Cārvāka method of defeating the enemies of the nation. Contrary to popular opinion, these so-called "peasant religions(or opinions)"— the direct translation of the word "Lokayata"—never demanded that the practitioner give up happiness; all they said was that that the means of happiness is giving up that which contradicts Cārvāka, who claimed that (material) pleasures suffice to give happiness to the (material) body.
- ^ Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli; and Moore, Charles A. A Source Book in Indian Philosophy. Princeton University Press; 1957. Princeton paperback 12th edition, 1989. ISBN 0-691-01958-4. p. 227.
- ^ Monier-Williams (1899); the name literally means "speaking nicely", from cāru "agreeable" and vāk "speech"
- ^ Radhakrishnan and Moore, "Contents".
- ^ p. 224. Flood, Gavin (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- ^ Though this school of thoughts is not commonly considered as a part of six orthodox schools of Indian Philosophy, Haribhadra Suri, a Jain mendicant from c. seventh century, considers this school as a part of those six in his book ShaDdarshan Samucchaya. Potter, Karl H. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies: Buddhist philosophy from 350 to 600 A.D.. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publications. pp. 435–436. ISBN 9788120819689.
- ^ Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Charles A. Moore. A Sourcebook in Indian Philosophy. (Princeton University Press: 1957, Twelfth Princeton Paperback printing 1989) pp. 227–49. ISBN 0-691-01958-4.
- ^ Bhattacarya (2002), p. 6.
- ^ see Schermerhorn (1930).
- ^ Satischandra Chatterjee and Dhirendramohan Datta. An Introduction to Indian Philosophy. Eighth Reprint Edition. (University of Calcutta: 1984). p. 55.
- ^ Riepe, Dale. The Naturalistic Tradition of Indian Thought (Motilal Banarasidas, Varanasi) p.75
- ^ a b c Sarva-Darsana-Samgraha by Madhava Acharya, translated by E. B. Cowell and A. E. Gough. Kegan Paul, Trench, and Trubner, London, 1914.
- ^ Madhavacarya, Sarvadarsana-sangraha, English translation by E. B. Cowell and A. E. Gough, 1904 quoted in Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya (ed.), Carvaka/Lokayata: An Anthology of Source Materials and Some Recent Studies (New Delhi: Indian Council of Philosophical Research, 1990)
- ^ Indian Philosophy, p. 188
- ^ "There are these two extremes that are not to be indulged in by one who has gone forth. Which two? That which is devoted to sensual pleasure with reference to sensual objects: base, vulgar, common, ignoble, unprofitable; and that which is devoted to self-affliction: painful, ignoble, unprofitable." Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (SN 56.11)
- ^ Ain-i-Akbari, Vol. III, translated by H. S. Barrett, pp 217–218 (also see Amartya Sen [2005], pp 288–289)
- Bhatta, Jayarashi. Tattvopapalavasimha (Charvaka Philosophy).
- Chattopadhyaya, Debiprasad (1959). Lokayata: A Study in Ancient Indian Materialism. New Delhi: People's Pub. House.
- Chattopadhyaya, Debiprasad (1964). Indian Philosophy: A Popular Introduction. New Delhi: People's Pub. House.
- Chattopadhyaya, Debiprasad (1969). Indian Atheism: A Marxist Analysis. Kolkata: Manisha.
- Chattopadhyaya, Debiprasad (1976). What Is Living and What Is Dead in Indian Philosophy. New Delhi: People's Pub. House.
- Flood, Gavin (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Mádhava Áchárya (1996) [1882]. The Sarva-darsana-samgraha: or Review of the Different Systems of Hindu Philosophy. trans. E. B. Cowell and A. E. Gough. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 81-208-1341-3.
- Nambiar, Sita Krishna (1971). Prabodhacandrodaya of Krsna Misra. Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass.
- Phillott, D. C. (ed.) (1989) [1927]. The Ain-i Akbari. by Abu l-Fazl Allami, trans. H. Blochmann (3 vols. ed.). Delhi: Low Price Publications. ISBN 81-85395-19-5 (set).
- Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli; and Moore, Charles A. A Source Book in Indian Philosophy. Princeton University Press; 1957. Princeton paperback 12th edition, 1989. ISBN 0-691-01958-4.
- Riepe, Dale (1964). The Naturalistic Tradition of Indian Thought (2nd ed. ed.). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
- Salunkhe, A. H. (in Marathi). Aastikashiromani Chaarvaaka.
- Sen, Amartya (2005). The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian History, Culture and Identity. London: Allen Lane. ISBN 0-7139-9687-0.
- Pradeep P. Gokhale, The Cārvāka Theory of Pramāṇas: A Restatement, Philosophy East and West (1993).
- John M. Koller, Skepticism in Early Indian Thought, Philosophy East and West (1977).
- R. Bhattacharya, Cārvāka Fragments: A New Collection, Journal of Indian Philosophy, Volume 30, Number 6, December 2002, pp. 597–640.
- R. A. Schermerhorn, When Did Indian Materialism Get Its Distinctive Titles?, Journal of the American Oriental Society (1930).
External links
- Lokāyata/Cārvāka – Indian Materialism (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
- Cārvāka, the first Chapter of The Sarva-darsana-sangraha of Madhavacharya
- "Ancient Indian Wisdom" by Dr. Ramendra published in International Humanist News
- Studies on the Carvaka / Lokayata philosophy
- "On Lokayat" in Some Reflections on Ethics by Dr. Ramendra
30 Apr
Aroj Ali Matubbar- A Folk Philosopher of Bangladesh
Aroj Ali Matubbar
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aroj Ali Matubbar (Bengali: আরজ আলী মাতুব্বর) (1900–1985), a self-taught peasant-philosopher and apostate of Bangladesh, was born in British India on 17 December 1900 (Bengali year 1307) in the village of Lamchari in Charbaria union, about 11 km from Barisal town,[1] currently in Bangladesh. He was born to a poor farming family. He studied for only a few months at the village maqtab. This brief dabble in institutional education centered only on the Quran and other Islam studies. He gathered most of his knowledge on varied subjects, including science and philosophy, through his own efforts.[1]
Approach to life and creation
Matubbar proved to be a thinker who had a rationalist and humanist approach and who wrote against ignorance, superstition, and religious fundamentalism.[1] He came to be considered an iconoclast for writing against established religious doctrines. For example, he questioned Islamic law of inheritance as he failed to reconcile the suggested mode of sharing of inherited property. He wrote several books braving his lack of formal schooling. Aroj Ali's writings reflect his philosophy about life and the world in simple language.
Matubbar befriended a number of scholars and academics of Barisal town, including Professor Kazi Golam Kadir and Professor Muhammad Shamsul Haque. His books were always in danger of being banned by government that since they contained certain religious claims. Matubbar was arrested and taken into police custody for his book, Sotyer Shondhaney (The Quest for Truth).[2] He was subjected to harassment and threat for his writings throughout his life, as many of them challenged religious statements and claims.[2]
Early life
Matubbar lost his father in his early age. When he was 12 years old, his inherited property of 2 acres (8,100 m2) of land was auctioned off as the minor boy was unable to pay land tax. The landless boy faced even more critical crisis when a local usurer called him out of his ancestral homestead. Destitute Araz Ali grew up somehow on the charity of others and by working as a farm labourer. He could not attend in any school due to his poverty. A kindhearted man helped him finish the Bangla Primers. Persevering as he was, he kept on reading more and more. To satisfy his thirst for knowledge he studied all the Bangla books in Barisal Public Library like a serious student. Philosophy as a subject interested him most, but there were not enough books in the collection there. A teacher of philosophy at the B M College, Kazi Ghulam Quadir, was impressed by his depth of knowledge and understanding, so he helped him borrow books from the college library. This is how his mind was shaped.
Due to financial constraints, Matubbar could not pursue any academic course or achieve and formal institutional degree. He lived mostly on subsistence farming. He learned surveying techniques and began his life as a private land surveyor in his locality. This enabled him to accumulate some capital and he could own some land to start farming.
He founded Araz Monjil Public Library at a cost of 60 thousand Taka in a remote village of Barisal District under the funding of Aroj Ali Matubbar trust fund.
He died on 15 March 1985 (1st Chaitra of the Bengali year 1392 ) in Barisal, Bangladesh. He donated his eyes for transplantation after his death.[1] He donated his body which was received by the Anatomy Department of Sher-e-Bangla Medical College and used for dissection by the medical students. After his death in 1985, Aroj Ali Matubbar came to be regarded as prolific thinker that rural Bangladesh ever produced, and an iconoclast who was not afraid of speaking out against entrenched belief and superstitions.[3]
Writings and publications
Matubbar had to take a lot of trouble for publishing his books. He himself drew the cover of his first book which was written in 1952 and published twenty one years later in 1973 under the title Satyer Sandhane. This book gained him reputation in the locality as a "learned man". In the preface he wrote:
"I was thinking of many things, my mind was full of questions, but haphazardly. I then started jotting down questions, not for writing a book, but only to remember these questions later. Those questions were driving my mind towards an endless ocean and I was gradually drifting away from the fold of religion."
He made six propositions in this book which reflected the nature of his philosophical questions. These are:
Proposition 1 : dealt with soul containing 8 questions Proposition 2 : dealt with God containing as many as 11 questions Proposition 3 : dealt with after-world (paralok) containing as many as 7 questions Proposition 4 : dealt with religious matters containing as many as 22 questions Proposition 5 : dealt Nature containing as many as 10 questions Proposition 6 : dealt matters containing as many as 9 questions
The eight questions he posed in the first proposition exemplify his approach. These are (a) Who am I (self)?, (b) Is Life incorporeal or corporal ? (c) Is mind and his/soul one, and the same? (d) What is the relationship of life with the body and the mind? (e) Can we recognize or identify life? (f) Am I free? (g) Will the soul without body continue to have 'knowledge' even after it leaves the body at death? and finally (h) How does life can come into and go out of the body?
He was a different type of writer. Because of his rural background it was not possible on his part to remove darkness covering the society, but with the dim torch he held, he tried to see the truth, wherever he could, without fear or doubt.[4] In Bangladesh, his writings were censored.[5] Following are his writings:
- Shotter Shondhaney (The Quest for Truth) (1973)
- Sristir Rahasya (The Mystery of Creation) (1977)
- Anuman (Estimation) (1983)
- Muktaman (Free Mind) (1988)
Several of his unpublished manuscripts were published posthumously under the title of Aroj Ali Matubbar Rachanabali. Some of his writings have been translated into English and compiled in a volume published by Pathak Samabesh.
Recognition and awards
Matubbar was little known to the elite educated society of the country during his life-time. His first book published in 1973 was rich with secular thought but caught little attention. It is only in the final years of life that he came to be known to the enlightened society of the country. His writings were collected and published. People in general started to take interest in his books, which although refelcted an untrained mind, posed a number of intriguing questions. Soon he rose to eminence albeit after his death in 1985.
- Life Member of Bangla Academy, inducted in 1985 [1]
- Awarded Humayun Kabir Smriti Puraskar (Humayun Kabir Memorial Prize) in 1978 by the Bangladesh Lekhak Shibir [1]
- Award of Honour by the Barisal branch of Udichi Shilpigoshti in 1982 [1]
External links
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aroj_Ali_Matubbar"


text:
January 29, 2014 - AppsGeyser is not only an Android app tool platform, it is also an app maker's partner in creating a successful app business. In recent months it has undertaken some research to understand the most important steps required to ensure that an app hits the app store ready for success. AppsGeyser's aim is to encourage the success of its app makers and the research has yielded five important points that app makers need to consider in the preparation of their app, these points include; placing the app in the Android market for free. Free apps achieve higher revenue than apps that have a premium version, this is because app users are reluctant to pay for an app, but are more likely to pay for additional items within the app once loyalty has been built. Most app makers create numerous apps before an app becomes a success, this is because everyone makes mistakes, a good Entrepreneur will learn from these mistakes and make updates to their app to reflect what their audience needs To find out more about the top five tips please go to the AppsGeyser blog. Zachary Smith has been making apps for six month, he told us, "When I first created an app I was devastated that I was simply not getting as many downloads as I had expected, after reviewing my app and creating another eight apps I have learned from my mistakes and I am now enjoying the income I am receiving from my apps." "Not every app maker is going to achieve Android app success "AppsGeyser Co-founder Vasily Salomatov, told us, " However, those that are determined, and continue upgrading and creating new apps and listening to their users, will eventually become successful." About AppsGeyser AppsGeyser, launched in February 2011, is now the biggest Free Android App Builder on the market. AppsGeyser's popularity has risen by enabling users to create apps with ease for Android devices from any web content in under five minutes. AppsGeyser has seen more than 715,000 apps created on its platform. There have been more than 544 million downloads of its apps. Press Contact:Kim CohenAppsgeyser+1 (703) 881-3167http://www.appsgeyser.com/
Due to extra work required to remove the press-releases we have started charging $1.99 for press release removal.
Your press release will be removed in 24 hours, once the payment has been received.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
December 24, 2019
Patricia J. Brown
I am so excited to announce that I was elected to the #ISTEBOARD. Thank you so much for all of your support and well wishes! I am looking forward to all of the good things to come! #thankful #BlessedAndGrateful
November 6, 2019
My thoughts...
I believe Equity, Digital Literacy, and Teacher PD are the three salient issues in educational technology. If elected to ISTE's Board of Directors, I hope to collaborate with other board members to set directions for ISTE's future. I have gained a better...
November 1, 2019
Here's a big question: how can educators create learning experiences that foster collaboration, and problem solving, but also nurture imagination and curiosity during the school day?
It's simple: try something new. An innovative teacher is a mentor, and allows his or...
September 20, 2019
Apple is pleased to welcome Patricia Brown to the Apple Distinguished Educators (ADE) Class of 2019. In 1994, Apple created the ADE Program to recognize K-12 and higher education pioneers who are using Apple technology to transform teaching and learning in powerful way...
August 2, 2019
Digital Media in the classroom is powerful, because it has the ability to make the classroom come alive, and make meaningful learning experiences and connections. Video allows you to deliver long-lasting images, and reach children with various learning styles. But how...
November 16, 2018
Computer Science Education Week (December 3-9) is almost here. And thanks to the generosity of Ozobot, Dexter Industries, littleBits, and Wonder Workshop, over 100 classrooms that sign up to host an Hour of Code will be selected to receive robots or circuits for their...
July 26, 2018
Description: Explore how facing trauma head-on through conversation and communication can build understanding both within and beyond our communities.
A month later, and I am finally coming down from the "high" I call ISTE 2018. Although this is my 6th ISTE conference, t...
May 23, 2018
Our students now in elementary school have never had a time in their lives where mobile technology wasn't present. We are literally looking at the worst piece of technology our students will see in their lifetime. Technology will only get better, because we are constan...
May 17, 2018
Flyer and banner designed by Patricia Brown
Old Bonhomme's 1st annual Science and Innovation Night was Friday, April 6th. The focus was STEAM, and it included over 30 outside agencies, high school and elementary student showcases, food trucks, GooseChase scavenger hun...
I have had the opportunity to attend ISTE six times, and each time I attend, I discover new ways to make the most out of this wonderful experience. Each year, ISTE invites dynamic keynote speakers, conference presenters, and a huge exhibitor hall. Attending t...


text:
via press release:
Episode Is #1 Cable Telecast Of The Night (W25-54 Rating and Total Viewers) and #2 Rated Show In All of Television For
OWN Was Tuesday Night's #1 Cable Network For W25-54
Los Angeles – Tuesday night's (February 4) episode of OWN's hit Tyler Perry drama "The Haves and the Have Nots" delivered a record-breaking 3.4 million viewers, its most-watched telecast in series history. The episode ranked as the #1 cable telecast of the night (2.60 W25-54 rating and 3.4 million total viewers) and #2 in all of television among W25-54 rating (behind "The Biggest Loser" season finale). OWN was Tuesday night's #1 cable network for W25-54.
In addition, the episode was the second highest telecast in OWN history (W25-54 and total viewers) and the show marked its third consecutive week of growth in W25-54 (up +16% vs. last week). The season two average is up double digits (+44%) vs. season one.
Source: The Nielsen Company
About "The Haves and The Have Nots" (Tuesdays at 9 p.m.)
"The Haves and the Have Nots" follows the complicated dynamic between the rich and powerful Cryer family and the hired help who work in their opulent mansion set in Savannah, Georgia. The series stars John Schneider ("Dukes of Hazzard") and (Tika Sumpter ("Gossip Girl").
About OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network
OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network is the first and only network named for, and inspired by, a single iconic leader. Oprah Winfrey's heart and creative instincts inform the brand – and the magnetism of the channel. Winfrey provides leadership in programming and attracts superstar talent to join her in primetime, building a global community of like-minded viewers and leading that community to connect on social media and beyond. OWN is a singular destination on cable. Depth with edge. Heart. Star power. Connection. And endless possibilities. OWN is a joint venture between Harpo, Inc. and Discovery Communications. The network debuted on January 1, 2011 and is available in 85 million homes. The venture also includes the award-winning digital platform Oprah.com. For more information, please visit www.oprah.com/own and www.press.discovery.com/us/own.


text: Now that a week passed since Erlang Factory, I suddenly remembered one thing we talked during the Birds of a Feather discussion. I think it was originally Joe Armstrong's idea, but I could be wrong. The idea was to build a more-or-less simple site that would force the user to login, do something on the site and then logout. We could build this in various languages (and I assume frameworks) and see how Erlang performs in comparison to other languages. This would not be a purely synthetic test like those on Debian Shootout, but a more or less real-world scenario. I remember myself saying that we could take the dscussion to the list and and arrive at a basic idea how to do this. So here it is — the idea. Is anyone still interested?


text:
Frameworks V -The King of Tyre
The first two videos on right are both great introductory background covering what is about to be covered here. Without this information discussed in the videos it might be difficult to for one to understand the present day news parallels that are going on even as we speak. Enjoy the Videos. ----------------->
Now Tyre over time before its demise was a great cosmopolitan metropolis of trade. It was essentially during that period the world's leading trading center. It had developed many business alliances, agreements, and exchange methods amongst the nations. Tyre without reservation considered herself as the "Queen of the seas". They were first nation-state to learn sea navigation via the stars. They were also famous for their royal purple dye and exchanged all sorts of goods with many nations.
I like how Phillip Judge of www.anglofareast.com puts it. He speaks of ancient Tyre as being a great "trading hub" (see whole article). I agree with him completely. In fact just like him I see great similarities between ancient Tyre and toward the present world now and how it goes about conducting its business globally. Just like him I agree that the downfall of Tyre's civilzation and the downfall of this economy may be for similar reasons now. Please review his article if you have not. (Yet, the intent of this article is heading in a completely different direction).
In the Bible Ezekiel chapter 27 specifically, if you read it you will see for yourself, how powerful and profuse Tyre's trade was, and the interactions of all its trading partners. In Ezekiel 28 you will see spelled out in the chapter where the roots of those flaws in this business world trade center were. They were basically the business skills leading to his wealth which then led to his pride. It does not have to happen to everyone, but to him, it did. Yet the different direction we are going in is in two things. One, In Ezekiel 28:11-16 you see an archetypal connection between Satan as a cherub in the garden of Eden.
This interesting connection ties the antichrist to the Prince of Tyre as the last video on right shows. -------------> I see specific connections of an extremely developed business and trade center, the antichrist, and the later King of Babylon who later besieged this Tyre and in effect swallowed her up into the world empire that Daniel spoke of in Daniel chapter 2. Daniel spoke of 4 world empires coming in the future the first of which would be Babylon which had swallowed up Tyre into itself. The following of course would be, Medo-Persia, Greece, and finally Rome as we discussed in both Frameworks III and Frameworks IV.
I believe and it is shown by history that aspects of an earlier kingdom including customs, cultural, and even spiritual aspects can get assimilated into the conquering later kingdom. So in this revived Roman Empire, as many have previously have said would be demonstrated in the feet of Nebuchadrezzar's Statue. Therefore the the Revived Roman Empire should also have an advanced trading center and system hub in it (as Phillip Judge alluded to).
In Daniel 7 It speaks of a beast with ten horns and Daniel was explained that this beast or final kingdom would have ten kings arise out of it. A king has a kingdom, and a kingdom has people and territory for a king to rule, supervise, and watch over. Out of these 10 kings, will another horn arise and displace three of those first 10 horns. There is also a distinct connection and similarity here occuring with Revelation 13 and the beast rising out of the sea, and the dragon with 10 horns with 10 crowns, yet only 7 heads.
Let's see, ten toes (Dan 2), ten horns (Dan 7 and Rev 13), and 10 crowns, (Rev 13). The ten toes are the divisions in the feet which the statue stands on. It was also said it would be a divided world kingdom (empire). The 10 horns are a symbol of power. Animals having horns will fight for their territory with their horns. The ten crowns are symbols of rule and authority.
Let's add this up Psalm 119:160. We have the first of these four world kingdoms throughout history swallowing up Tyre an established World Trading Center, as prophecied by more than one book in the Bible. Then after that we go through Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome. At this time we have the revived Roman Empire, but it is distguished by a mixture of fired clay and iron, which is a little different from the original Rome's texture as just Iron. Can you see now the connection between the World Trading System, with many World Corporations and Global governmental facilitating agencies put together right now a New World Order that was explained in detail in Frameworks IV? (There are probaly scores of other organizations involved which I did not mention as well which is coordinated by the United Nations Hub).
As was mentioned previously, 4 of these trading blocks or unions or states are already in existence, ie;(European Union, African Union, Mediterrenean Union, and the OAS or Organization of the American States (North American Union). A fifth toe in already in the works on the drawing board (the Asian Union). I wonder how many other of the remaing toes or six business groupings in the world will soon surface right before our eyes.
I find it coincidental that city of Tyre considered as the Queen of the Sea and said in Ezekiel to be destroyed in the midst of the sea Ezekiel 27:32-36 in the book of Ezekiel, and the Beast presented in Revelation 13 that rises out of the sea. Riding on the beast or dragon in Revelation 17:1 was a prostitute, a woman in scarlet, in this case it was Babylon, but the original Babyon swallowed Tyre remember?!!!. Tyre was told by God that he would allow Tyre to rise up again and prostitute herself among the nations by "her business". Isaiah 23:1-17 Also the guardian cherub in Ezekiel 28, the King of Tyre, an Archetype of the Dragon Satan, was punished for his violence and treachery used in business.
Let me say one thing in clarification, however, democracy in itself is not bad. It is centered in a lot of good ideas such as equal rights for everyone. Let me say business in itself is not bad, and globalization and the working out of our worldly problems is not bad in itself. In fact it appears quite noble especially if we can get rid of several major problems for this earth at the same time. Quite frankly it sounds very good.
Yet, there is a missing element here and a critical one. That Jesus spoke of fallen angels and demons that were thrown out of heaven and they are on the earth Job 1:6-7 invisibly, and in the air. That is why Satan is called the Prince and power of the air. Ephesians 2:2, Ephesians 6:10-12 (By the way, thats why UFOs are not alien visitations, but demonic deceptions- see Frameworks I for details.) This missing element will take whatever good intentions that man may have for he world and pervert, twist, and destroy. The inward perceived good will eventually be led by the greed of some for money and power and control. (Money is not the root of all evil, but the love of money is.)See next column...
Essential background History on the Ancient City of Tyre. Please watch both videos Carefully
The Prince of Tyre - Biblical Archetype
The Master Controller or Satan himself will come in a man's form and will come to the center stage of this already present and formed 10 kingdom area (regions, unions) buisiness hub will then play the incarnate Savior as he appears to finally save the world from its troubles, backs himself up with miracles and then creates a 7 year agreement between Israel and its enemies. He will then all of a sudden break the treaty 3.5 years into the agreement.
Yet during this first 3.5 years and the years leading up to the agreement this developing super giant business 10 regional hub will seem to everyone like a true gift from God. It will be so massive, so complete, so wonderful, that people will let go of their hesitations and go for it for it will be a tremendous solution to all of this wordly pain.
If you watch the last video of 4 up above these grouped hyenas will mass, attack, and finally steal these lion's food. You would think these big lions by their complaining against the hyenas attack alone would be enough to make the hyenas go away and let them continue in the prosperity of their catch. No, these hyenas through their massing actually steal the children's bread right out of their mouths! Perhaps they needed to do more than to just complain about what they saw going on to have any effect.
Perhaps, we as Christian's have to do more than just complain about what is going on and do more in the Spirit and in the physical realm, as one body, to prevent the hyenas from stealing our rights, freedoms, and prosperity as we know it. In the video the hyena's dancing and mesmerizing went on for quite a while and then in an instant what the Lion's had was gone.
To go on to Frameworks 6 click Next button


text:
Innovative Wood Surfaces for Architecture and Design
Hardwood Specialist Danzer at the Surface Design Show in London
James Angel explaining Danzer 3D-Veneer to a visitor at the Surface Design Show
Danzer's 3D-Veneer allows for the design and production of wooden organic shapes that couldn't be realized before.
Danzer's proven product lines Linea and Vinterio are also being presented at the Surface Design Show.
Danzer's proven product lines Linea and Vinterio are also being presented at the Surface Design Show.
New Danzer Freeform developments allow unusual inlays and unlimited design possibilities.
Maldon/London. Hardwood specialist Danzer was showcasing its innovative and sustainable Danzer Freeform, Danzer Linea and Danzer Vinterio product lines, as well as Danzer 3D-Veneer at the Surface Design Show in London – the fair for architects, designers and product developers – took place from 6-8 February 2018 at the Business Design Centre.
This year's Surface Design Show, the fair for architects, interior designers, designers and product developers, took place from 6-8 February: hardwood specialist Danzer presented selected highlights from its innovative product lines at stand no. 216 on the mezzanine floor at the Business Design Centre in London. Danzer Freeform, Danzer Linea and Danzer Vinterio, as well as Danzer 3D-Veneer were all on show at the stand. "We are delighted that so many visitors seized the opportunity – we were able to establish a lot of new contacts and received great feedback," says James Angel, Director of Sales at Danzer UK. Danzer is one of the world's leading developers and manufacturers of decorative wooden surfaces for the furniture, design and interior design sectors.
Innovative 3D-Veneer from Danzer
Danzer 3D-Veneer allows for the design and industrial production of organic wood shapes. "Danzer 3D-Veneer ushers in a new era in wood design: while bending wood was previously restricted by narrow parameters, the introduction of 3D-Veneers opens up completely new possibilities. We now have implemented hundreds of 3D-Veneer projects in a range of industries, including the furniture and automotive sectors. We are there every step of the way to support designers and producers right from the outset, using our expertise to produce innovative prototypes," explains James Angel.
Danzer Linea and Danzer Vinterio product lines
Danzer showcased the tried and tested Danzer Linea and Danzer Vinterio product lines at the Surface Design Show. Made from hardwood lumber components, Danzer Vinterio has an even, solid wood aesthetic that reflects the intrinsic properties of the specific type of timber used. The technical veneers in the Danzer Linea series are characterised by a linear, rift-sawn look. Both product lines are available in a range of different woods. "Our innovative developments meet the strong demand for natural materials such as wood. Working in close cooperation with designers and architects, we are constantly coming up with fresh ways to implement new product ideas. We are proud of the fact that some of these designs have already won awards and design prizes," James Angel explains.
Danzer Freeform technology: inlaid wooden surfaces
Danzer Freeform is an industrial process that adds metal inlays to wood surfaces. Until now only possible through painstaking handcraftsmanship, or restricted to straightforward linear patterns, Danzer Freeform technology now makes it possible to create veneers with inlays in virtually any shape. Decorative elements, typographical details and even logos can now be added to wood surfaces quickly and at reasonable cost. "Our technical capabilities are now so advanced that there are virtually no limits to the type of inlays that we can produce. Industrial production methods deliver additional cost efficiencies while opening up a wide range of potential uses," James Angel confirms.
Wood as a sustainable material
Danzer continuously invests in modern technologies and processes to ensure optimal use of hardwood – a precious resource – and keep waste to an absolute minimum. Wood is a sustainable natural material. The company adheres to strict due diligence procedures when it comes to procuring its hardwoods. Danzer is FSC® and PEFC® certified.
Surface Design Show London
Held at the Business Design Centre in the creative hub of Islington, the Surface Design Show in London is an industry platform for architects, interior designers and product developers. Around 200 exhibitors participated at the event, which also featured a fringe programme of keynote talks, discussions and presentations.
Danzer factbox:
Danzer is one of the world's largest producers of decorative hardwood.
Established: 1932
Holding company located in: Dornbirn, Austria
Production sites: 4 in Europe, 5 in North America
Sales offices: 7 in Europe, 8 in North America, 3 in Asia
Product range: sliced wood, lumber, timber and logs, speciality products (Vinterio, 3D-Veneer)
Sales in 2016: EUR 190 million
Delivers to 87 countries worldwide.
Employees: 1,600 worldwide
About Danzer:
Danzer is a leading quality hardwood company with production facilities in North America and Europe. It has approximately 1,600 employees and services customers from 18 sales offices worldwide. Founded in 1932, Danzer is managed by a third-generation family member. The company owns and manages forests in North America sustainably and produces sliced veneer, lumber and innovative value-added wood timber products for decorative purposes. Danzer products are used in high-quality furniture, cars, interior architecture and other applications.
www.danzer.com | www.danzer.co.uk


text:
The US Commerce Committee met last Wednesday to discuss bills on privacy issues. Obama's administration and industry representatives, as well as federal regulators working in the sphere of consumer protection and telecommunications issues, also took part in the meeting.
Should the proposed legislation be approved, it will become the first comprehensive privacy law in US history. It will encompass the issues of e-commerce and personal information theft, and will designate the course of action for companies if their customers' information should be compromised. The creation of the new legislation is aimed to replace the state laws that are in force now.
One of the bills under consideration, that prohibits companies to track consumers without giving them prior notification, has caused a lot of disagreements among the participants at the meeting. For example, Senator Pat Toomey, a member of Commerce's Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance subcommittee, claims that nowadays many people voluntarily place their personal information on social networking sites. He affirms that the new privacy rules could "break the Internet," because "different consumers have different expectations about privacy."
Senator Toomey calls on his colleagues to thoroughly consider the new rules before accepting them. "I'm sure no one on this committee wants to break the internet, or limit many of the popular online services that consumers can access, in order to avoid fundamentally altering the current online experience in creating these unintended consequences. I just urge that we all proceed with caution," he asserted.
However, other participants at the Wednesday hearing, including Julie Brill, Federal Trade Commissioner, Senators John Kerry and John Rockefeller, consider that protecting Internet privacy is very important for consumers. They claim that the new legislation will not restrict the activity of online companies but that it will make more transparent what kind of information about users they collect, giving the users the opportunity to choose whether to share this information or not.


text:
From Blogodoxy: For Those Of You Into Bible-Reading...:
"The long-awaited Old Testament translation of the Orthodox Study Bible is coming out this summer (July I believe). This includes the Apocryphal books, and will be added to the Psalms and New Testament to make it complete. These translations are coming from the Septuagint, which was the Greek version that was in use during Christ's time, rather than from the Masoretic Hebrew texts that date from the 9th century A.D, which the King James and other English versions are translated from.