A case study – whether SARS Covid-19 is man-made virus or a virus that evolved through natural mutation

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A case study – whether SARS Covid-19 is man-made virus or a virus that evolved through natural mutation

(A conspiracy theory of origin of virus in China – deliberate or accidental)

A 3-D image of the Corona virus
(Sourced from the internet)

            As an aftermath of the SARS Covid-19 pandemic that has brought the entire world to its knees, a controversy is raging all across the planet that as to whether this virus was a natural phenomenon or an man-made induced virus.  Most of the affected nations are up in arms and the blame game has become an everyday affair. Consequently the majority of the population is at a loss to understand the scientific jargon and reasons for such accusations, especially being levelled against China for having unleashed a bio-weapon to effect change in the world order.  The specific reason to examine this issue in detail was provoked by the latest meme making rounds in the social platforms on the internet related to the interpretation of COVID-19 and it had been interpreted in the meme as – “Chinese Origin Virus Inducted in December 2019”.  Let us examine the issue in a step by step manner, so as to enable the readers to reach a logical conclusion.  In order to understand the history, progeny and epidemiological study of the virus, this article has been accordingly divided into several chapters/headings.

HISTORY OF CORONA VIRUS

Although there have been several pandemics, but the ones in 1700s and 1800s were mostly because of bacterial infections, in early 19^th century Plague and Cholera Pandemics had hit the world hard, however, the first known viral pandemic that had devastated the world, was commonly referred to as the ‘Spanish flu’ that had hit the world during the time of first World War and ravaged the world between 1918 to 1920s.  The present pandemic has come in about a 100 years later, which is fuelled by the fast spreading Cororna virus known as SARS CoV-2 that causes Covid-19.

The first known discovery of the Corona Virus is attributable to one Ms. June Almeida, an electron microscope technician, who had honed her skills to such an extent that even the most renowned scientists sought her help to obtain clear images of viruses etc.  As published in the National Geographic April, 2020 edition wherein her work and immense contribution towards enhancing scientific know how has been recognized, mentions as follows – “When June Almeida peered into her electron microscope in 1964, she saw a round, grey dot covered in tiny spokes. She and her colleagues noted that the pegs formed a halo around the virus – much like the sun’s corona”.   This was a virus isolated from a very sick school boy in Surrey and Dr. David Tyrrell, who had collected the sample and labelled it as B814, was finding it difficult to cultivate it and identify it and had accordingly had sought Ms. June Almedia’s help.  The first photograph of the new strain of virus named as Corona virus can be accessed in the article by this link - https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/04/june-almeida-discovered-coronaviruses-decades-ago-little-recognition/?cmpid=org=ngp::mc%E2%80%A6#/first-woman-coronavirus-151056911.jpg

Although there have been several other viral outbreaks in the past, but tracing the history or Corona viruses, the major attack came in the year 2003 when the world by hit by an pandemic triggered by the now infamous SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) virus, whose causative virus was named RT-PCR.  The disease first emerged in November, 2002 but as per the practice in China, it was declared only in the spring of 2003 as having emerged in Guagdong province of China, after it got out of their hands.  The mortality rate of this new virus strain was at about 10% and hence a major source of concern for the world.  There have been many research papers since 2003 to establish the actual cause of the infection and its source.  Although now it is an established fact that the original host of the virus are certain species of Bats (being mammals the transmission was probable after some mutations), however, nothing conclusive have evolved.  There is still some confusion regarding the zoonotic transfer, as this strain of the virus have also been found in Civets, which has more homology with the human strain.  Some of the research papers, had at that point of time also,  pointed out that the source of virus was the animal markets in China, but there is little proof of the same, especially in light of the fact that the virus that was found in the Bats was very different from the one that afflicted the humans.  Although there were veiled references to this virus also having been bred in China, but as the loss of human lives was not many hence the international community did not press for details.  However, there are verifiable reports that five top officials of the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were punished and asked to take blame for this outbreak of SARS.  These officials, including centre Director Li Liming, were forced to take responsibility for the outbreak which started with the infection of two laboratory researchers by the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) virus, Vice-Premier Wu Yi had publically announced this in a conference.

           

The next known world pandemic that is attributable to the same family of the Corona virus was the MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome), caused by another strain of the Corona virus called the MERS-CoV.  The first reported incident of the virus was on June 13, 2012 from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.  This virus was also a novel virus that mainly affected the adults and in some cases the mortality rate was upto 40%.  With the experience of SARS behind them, the WHO was prompt in declaring it as an emergency and appropriate medical protocols were adopted that was instrumental in its containment.  However, it would be pertinent to place here on record that this Novel Corona virus also had a reservoir source in Bats alongwith other domesticated animals like Pigs, Cows, Camels etc. although those associated with Camels i.e. rearing or slaughtering etc. were found to be percentage wise more afflicted by this deadly virus.

WHAT IS A NOVEL CORNOA VIRUS AND HOW IT INFECTS HUMANS

An artists representation of the Corona virus
(Sourced from the internet)

            Whenever, any virus appears for the first time and has no known history of earlier occurrence, it is called a ‘Novel’ virus and since the Wuhan Corona virus was also a new virus it was called as Novel.  The virus belongs of family named as Corona, which in turn gets the name from the tell-tale spikes jutting out from the blob like core that looks like a crown or corona.  These spikes interact with the receptors of the specific cells in human bodies, which these viruses attack.  The spikes act as a key to the lock and gain entry into the human body cell.  These viruses then transfer the RNA (Ribo Neuclic Acid – a single strand genetic material) into the cells, which in turn then replicates itself inside these infected cells and subsequently get released after damaging the cell wall, so as to infect more such cells around and that causes the infection in the human body.  Those who have an idea as to how the Malaria parasites enter and destroy the human Red Blood Corpuscles can visualize this better.  As for the spikes of the virus it has been found that sugars dot the outside of the spike, just like sugars dot the outside of regular human cells, as found by Dr. 
David Veesler, a structural virologist at the University of Washington who led a team that visualized the SARS-CoV-2 spike.  This carbohydrate camouflage makes the virus even more difficult for the human immune system to recognize. 

Studies on SARS- and MERS-causing viruses indicate that all three proteins in a spike have to open for it to gain access to a cell.  SARS-CoV-2 is the seventh coronavirus known to infect humans; SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 can cause severe disease, whereas HKU1, NL63, OC43 and 229E are associated with mild symptoms.  As the virus is being claimed to have a ‘zoonotic transfer’ (meaning that the virus jumped from natural reservoir host to humans) from Bats or Civets etc.  Estimates of the timing of the most recent common ancestor of SARS-CoV-2 made with current sequence data point to emergence of the virus in late November 2019 to early December, 2019.   The identification of a potential intermediate host of SARS-CoV-2, as well as sequencing of the virus from very early cases, would similarly be highly informative and helpful to researchers for finding a chink in its armour. Irrespective of the exact mechanisms by which SARS-CoV-2 originated via natural selection, the ongoing surveillance of pneumonia in humans and other animals is clearly of utmost importance at present alongwith methods to cure it.

The SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 as explained is a blob of lipid (a kind of fat also found in human body and people can relate it with Lipid profile being ordered by doctors from time to time) enveloping the genetic material i.e. RNA inside.  This virus is known to be highly contagious as well as sturdy enough to survive in sterile (outside natural host) environments upto 36 hours or more unlike other viruses.  The mode of transmission is also to be established in detail and the only protocol now being advised is social distancing (as the current protocol) and use of Personal Protective Equipment while dealing with infection/infected persons by medical/para-medical personnel.  This virus causes an antibody reaction in the human body that produces phlegm in the lungs as mechanism to fight against the virus and excessive production results in gradual accumulation of same and its density becoming thicker with passage of time.  This results in blocking of air passages, as the body is unable of expel this stick phlegm and hence extensive use of life support system, especially respirators /Ventilators have become the immediate need of the hour, as it is an integral instrument for life support for victims of this virus.  Since at present there is no known cure or vaccination against this virus, the other methods that can be used for disinfecting and getting rid the virus are – (a) Washing hands with soap for 20 seconds or more, as the soap disintegrates the outer lipid layer and exposes the inner genetic material i.e. RNA and rendering the virus without any protection and hence it cannot propagate any further; (b) Sanitizer with more than 60% alcohol content, as it too disintegrates the outer lipid layer and renders the virus redundant; (c) By Ultra violet radiation that destroys the RNA or causes mutation in it rendering it incapable of causing infection; and (d) By Heat – as it has been seen that in temperatures above 56 degrees centigrade for 30 minutes disintegrate it’s spikes, thus rendering the virus incapable of entering the human cell.

WHY CHINA IS BEING BLAMED FOR THE FIASCO

Dr.Li Wenliang - the first to warn the world of the impending disaster
(Sourced from the internet)

After the SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 started ravaging lives across Europe and America, charges started being levelled against the Chinese Government of both creating this virus as well as trying to supress the fact of its being so highly contagious and being non treatable with known drugs.  It is a well-established fact through scientific research that the virus came into being in late November or early December, 2019.  The reasons why questions are now being asked from Chinese authorities (that include some of my assumptions) are as follows –

• Ø     The Chinese authorities have been trying to pin the blame of the dissemination of the virus from Wuhan animal market from its source i.e. Bats.  However, the fact remains that the concerned bats are situated 40 Kms. away from there and bats do not cover that long distances for food.  Although there is ample proof of bats being used for research in the Wuhan laboratory;
• Ø  Further none of the first fourteen afflicted persons had any known connection with the said market;
• Ø  Whether there was lack of proper and adequate protection measures for containment of the virus within the facility is also a question that is being put, as many photographs have appeared in many magazines, wherein the condition of refrigerators being used in the facility have been shown to be damaged;
• Ø  Why China is not keen to inform the world of the ‘patient zero’ and his/her viscera not being released for further scientific examination.  Zero patient is the person who is known to have contacted the infection first and this helps is studying as to how the virus jumped from animal to human (zoonotic transfer);
• Ø  Speculations are rife that an intern at Wuhan lab named Huang Yanling was the first to contact the virus and had passed it on to her boyfriend and thereafter it spread from the Wuhan animal market from a secondary person.  Although the Chinese Government has denied it on record stating that the said Huang Yanling had obtained her Ph.D in 2015 and was no longer working in the Wuhan Lab.  However, the website of Wuhan Lab lists her name, but has conveniently removed her photographs and her credentials, alongwith that of three other interns, thus raising the suspicion that the allegations of the virus having been carried outside the lab through this conduit is a plausible explanation;
• Ø  There is another plausible link that a local animal product contractor named Li Ning had been selling off the meat of animals from the Wuhan Lab to the local market dealers and he had been subsequently sentenced to 12 years of prison, this information too is available on the internet, although the reasons for such punishment have been stated to be embezzlement;
• Ø  The world should acknowledge the spirit and grit of Dr. Li Wenliang, who was the first to publically point out the deadly nature of the virus.  His voice was not only quashed by the totalitarian Chinese regime that not only made him write an apology letter, but later conveniently silenced him forever using the camouflage of the virus as the causative agent of his death.  Even in this photograph (that I have displayed hereinabove), there is no distress on his face that is palpable during acute respiratory problems caused by the virus.  Therefore, the act of the Chinese regime to silence him was to stop him from informing the world of how the virus spread in the region;
• Ø  Despite the warning issued by Dr.Li Wenliang in around third week of December, 2019 the Chinese authorities continued to be in denial mode and the world was also mislead by the World Health Organization (WHO for short) through its head Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who had been backed by the Chinese regime to assume charge as head of WHO.  It now appears that there was a sinister plan being implemented by the Chinese regime in a step by step manner.  This head of WHO has a very shady past and details of which may be accessed through this link - https://frankreport.com/2020/04/14/the-ethiopian-terrorist-in-charge-of-the-world-health-organization-dr-tedros-adhanom/?fbclid=IwAR2nvjTTGy%E2%80%A6;
• Ø  There are other factual issues that point out towards overt and covert Chinese association with the present crisis.  As per a report of December, 2017 there were about 2.2 million workers in Government owned enterprises, about 2.75 million in private owned industries and about 1.25 million in unorganized sectors in Wuhan region.  Looking at the increase in Chinese GDP over the years, these numbers would definitely have moved upwards by Dec., 2019.   We are all aware as to how the migrant workers move towards their home states during festivals (in India like Diwali etc.) and likewise such a movement is expected in China as well during the Chinese New Year and the same fell on 25^th January, 2020 this year, with holidays from 23^rd to 30^th January, 2020 being declared in China as per their Government calendar.  The Chinese imposed the lockdown only on 23^rd January, 2020 and by that time hundreds of thousands of such migrant workers would already have migrated back to their home towns for the festivities.  But the spread of infection in other places in China was either not reported or never happened and if this was the case, it was a fallacy and the incident in Wuhan appears to be just a cover up to mislead the international forum.  Further, it is not understood or can be appreciated as to why the international flights continued to operate from China, despite the fact that the Chinese had by this time were fully aware of the virulence of this unknown virus and had taken steps like that of total lockdown;
• Ø  It is now a well-documented fact that Wuhan was put under total quarantine and Chinese authorities acknowledged about 2300 odd persons having succumbed to the infection, which has now been revised upward of 3000, but the fact remains that the Chinese authorities still continue to hide the figures and public unrest is also growing over it, as the number of ash urns of deceased are lying in tens of thousands.  The next aspect that needs answer is that despite the migration of so many workers from Wuhan, why other parts of China were not affected by the virus at all, even if reported its impact was negligible.  The question thus that comes to mind of any logical individual would be – as to how a virus that ravaged the entire world did not affect any other part of China???  Evidently, the Chinese authorities were either hand in glove with WHO in supressing information or it was a strategy for cover up and China is still denying permission to international experts to visit its sites and to collect first-hand information;
• Ø  Another question that crops up in my mind is that there were several photographs of Chinese origin persons holding placards stating ‘We are not virus, we are humans/Chinese – please give us a hug’ in Italy and ultimately, this country was the first to bear the full brunt of the fatalities and infections.  It would be appropriate that the Italian authorities investigate the credentials of these Chinese nationals and check as to whether they had any role in the spread of the disease in Italy?  This being done in pursuance of a part of the sinister plan woven by the Chinese Government;
• Ø  Every tourist who visits Europe makes it a point to visit Italy and especially Venice in Florence.  This city now has a communist leaning Mayor and his role appears to be very suspect and needs to be checked by the Italian authorities, as he was the one who was encouraging the citizens to treat the Chinese with compassion and hugs.  Further, this tourist destination had been cleverly chosen, if it was a conspiracy, as during the festival season of Christmas and New Year, many thousands of tourists throng this destination and were likely to easily carry back the infection to their home countries.  Could this be the reason that forced the Chinese to gag the whistle blower, as they were reluctant to ‘get the cat out of the bag’ and thus, had initiated action against Dr. Li Wenliang, of censuring him and he being forced by the local Police to withdraw his statement about the unknown virus, as the disclosure at that juncture of time would have jeopardized their entire Chinese game plan?  A further cover up of now declaring him a ‘martyr’, is only to assuage the public sentiments in China?
• Ø  One can consider this kind of warfare as a kind of fifth generation warfare that would be fought without crossing swords in battle fields and this concept has been in development in China since long.  Some of the military top brass, in the past, have already acknowledged that in a conventional warfare scenario, China may not be able to match up to USA and hence some other strategy was needed.  Even the takeover of the Wuhan Lab by the Chinese Military through Major General Chen Wei, China’s chief biochemical weapon defence expert, reflects that something sinister was going on that required direct military intervention, so that any information may not get leaked.  This question is also of paramount concern, as the question that whether there were no other senior Chinese civilian scientists, who could have been handed over the charge of this installation?;
• Ø  The role of Chinese scientist Dr. Shi Zenghli of the Wuhan Laboratory where she is working as Chief Scientist and is acknowledged as expert in Virus studies conducted on Bats.  Her paper presented in 2015 where she had detailed the pseudo-typing experiments, which could ultimately be used to make tailor made viruses,  is indicative of the process that could have been adopted – here is the link to her controversial paper, after which USA stopped funding of the project - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4797993/.  After the outbreak in Wuhan, the Chinese authorities used her name to claim that the Virus stored in Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), was genetically different from that causing infection in humans, in simple words.  However, another Chinese scientist Dr. Botao Xiao who is a DNA specialist, however, had expressed his opinion about possibility of the virus having originated from Wuhan lab in his paper published on 5^th March, 2020.  However, now the article/paper has not only been withdrawn, but his entire profile stands deleted completely.  These incidents of State controlled expression that suits their narrative of the story being churned by the Chinese, lends credence to the world opinion that points out towards some deliberate sinister role of China in this deplorable episode;
• Ø  More recently the international magazine ‘The Week’ in series of articles published by it, have pointed fingers at deliberate Chinese hand in spread of the virus.  In the first article published in January 28, 2020 with the heading ‘Coronavirus outbreak a result of Chinese biological espionage’ had drawn a detailed picture as to how the deadly virus was ferreted out of NIH in Canada by Chinese agents and here is the link to the article - https://www.theweek.in/news/world/2020/01/28/coronavirus-outbreak-a-result-of-chinese-biological-espionage.html.  In another more recent publication dated 19^th April, 2020 the Magazine had referred to interview of French Nobel laureate Luc Montagnier wherein he had claimed that the virus was man made and attributable to WIV – here is the link to the article - https://www.theweek.in/news/world/2020/04/19/coronavirus-man-made-in-wuhan-lab-says-nobel-laureate.html;

CORNAVIRUS/COVID-19 INFECTION OR WUHAN VIRUS AND ITS PERSPECTIVE VIZ A VIZ INDIA AND ACTIONS OF CHINA

            It is evident that India had its own apprehensions about the Chinese handling of the entire Wuhan Virus episode, although it has steadfastly avoided the controversy of calling it as China Virus and even the Chinese envoy stationed in India had requested India to help it counter this Western propaganda.  However, there is little on record, as detailed hereinabove whereby China can be absolved of its complicity in this entire sordid episode that would become part of World History.   India was always apprehensive of the partisan role being played by the WHO chief and his advice was accordingly and appropriately so, not heeded to the present Government in power, which instead chose to go by the advice of its own medical think tank i.e. ICMR.  The decision to impose lock down all across India on 25^th March, 2020 much to dismay of WHO chief, who showed his displeasure publically through various interviews.  However, the decision taken has contained the spread of infection unlike more advanced Nations like Italy, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, USA etc. and is now being lauded by the same Chief, as being a timely action, this after having been done after having been reprimanded badly by the USA, which had stopped all funding of WHO.   It would be imperative to mention here the sinister design of the so called Tabligi Jamat a Muslim brotherhood that supposedly spreads teachings of Islam.  This very kind of organization was responsible for spread of virus in Malaysia and therefrom to other nearby Islamic states.  India was an intended target, as many foreign nationals who entered India in guise of tourists, spread across the country and were found from remote locations, where they had no business to visit as tourists, particularly so, as they had no knowledge of the local languages and hence the plea that they wanted to spread Islam falls flat on its face.  So far the information gathered indicates that it was planned move and it would be premature to pinpoint the exact motive, but an educated guess would be that it was a two pronged strategy, stitched together by China with its all-weather friend Pakistan.   The Chinese think tank had already looked at the scenario of World backlash, in case the virus outbreak was attributed to China and consequent fall out.  The only probable Nation that would stand to gain from China’s fall out would be India, so a strategy was put in place by the Pakistan’s ISI to under guidance of the Chinese was to fester biological warfare attack upon India, as the conventional ones in the past had not yielded desirable results.  The plan was drawn to transmit and dissipate the virus, by transmitting the disease across India through these foreign agents in collaboration with the local moles.  It is accordingly advisable for Government of India and its agencies, to thoroughly check the credentials and baggage of these foreign participants to find if they were carrying disease containing vials or hawala money etc. to encourage disbursement of the virus package throughout India.  Through this act, China and Pakistan could destabilise India through a civil unrest and indications are rife in this regard, since 2015 itself, as the Muslims of India have been slowly brainwashed in active connivance with some political parties and the role of certain elements of the fourth estate also cannot be ruled out.  The economic fall out because of huge numbers getting infected, especially during the Hindu festivities of ‘Navratris’ and presumption by those across the border that the Government would not impose lockdown during this period of festivity, failed miserably in their presumptions.  The dismay and agony can be gauged from the outcry of the WHO Chief in particular, during this period, establishes this doctrine of mine albeit through surmises and conjectures.  The other aspect that many missed is that China and for that matter Pakistan barely have any value for human lives and accordingly, they spread the propaganda that the virus could not infect Muslims, as they performed ‘wazu’ (ritualistic ablution) five times a day, with the sinister motive that even if large number of Muslims die, they were likely to occupy most of the Hospital beds and they would deliberately ill-treat the medical professionals and Hindu patients, if admitted.  This would unleash a friction amongst the two communities, finally leading to a civil strife in the country and in pursuance of this agenda, not only the Muslims are resorting to various acts to enrage Hindus, but of late have also started physically attacking them and this is in connivance with various political parties/fourth estate personnel etc. and this is evident from the daily reports in social media about such incidents.  This kind of deliberate attempt to weaken India economically and the attempt to show to the world that it is a strife torn country, is with only one of the sinister intents i.e. to discourage the international community to trust India with its manufacturing etc. or to shift base out from China.   However, the central leadership of our country i.e. India is committed to welfare of India and hence these attempts till now have not gained much grounds till now.  Further, the social media alongwith the army of Indian citizens have risen to the occasion and started circulating actual footage of incidents and people are now no longer required to go by the dissemination of doctored media reports and hence the elements of the frustrated fourth estate, in the pay books of China, is not able to deliver with much punch and is generally getting exposed on a daily basis.  A glimmer of light that has emerged from behind the dark clouds, in favour of India, is that the propaganda generated by Pakistan’s ISI that the infection will not affect Muslims have now come to haunt them back albeit a Frankenstein, as despite several attempts, the Muslims in Pakistan are defying Government orders and gathering in mosques to pray and the fear of Corona infection taking a huge toll in Pakistan is looming large on its face.  Now these very elements who propagated this thought process at the first place, cannot ask them to unlearn or say that it was false propaganda, for the fear that they would stand to get exposed at international level in this sinister game plan.

            

         Another probable reason for the failure of the sinister game plan of these neighbouring countries, lies in the Hindu cultural ethos, as per my personal take on it.  ICMR in its recent report has stated that in India 80% of the patients in India are asymptomatic i.e. without any symptoms.  Like in Japan, where no lock down had to imposed because of personal hygiene and public discipline, as most Japanese wear masks as a matter of routine and wash their hands before entering offices and public places. Juxtaposed to this, in India as per Hindu ethos and traditions, most of Indians bathe in the mornings on a regular basis, do some puja etc. before embarking upon their daily routine/ journey to their work place etc.   Even after they return back in the evenings, the shoes are either kept out of the homes or in specific designated place in the house, followed by a bath or through washing of hands and feet with soap (as per weather conditions) and thereafter change of clothes for daily use at home, which too is regularly washed and dried in Sun and only after this he/she partakes any snacks/tea etc.   This would go a long way in arresting the spread of the virus, because of the practice that needs to be honed a bit more with masks etc.  In rural areas the gamcha is worn both during winters and summers, as a bandana and hence the mask bit is also covered naturally and only need is to be re-introduce it back into the culture of the younger generation.  Finally, the intake of Haldi and other condiments on a daily basis, as part of daily dietary habits in Indians, not only builds up immunity but also has the ability to fight disease causing bacteria/virus, through its active ingredient ‘curcumin’ all-round the year.  Thus, in my opinion, because of the above conditions prevailing in India, coupled with the present gradual rise in temperatures all across, the virus is not going to have the kind of impact that many thought and desired to happen in India. Last, but not the least, is a figurative condition laced with a little bit of humour, unlike Europe and America, India does not have a near perfect sanitized or sterile conditions and being used to eating all kinds of street food, prepared without much of hygienic sense and the pollution all around, Indians have a wee bit stronger immunity than the other nations around, the so called developed nations.

CONCLUSION

            

          Apart from the reasons listed under the heading - ‘Why China is being blamed for the fiasco’, the other actions of China, like the clandestine support of installing Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as Chief of WHO and coupled with his partisan role in covering up the spread of virus, points out towards a long drawn plan on part of China.  Further, the activities of Chinese companies in mopping up shares of industries world-wide during this period points out towards intents of gaining financial supremacy over the world economy, so that it can dictate terms later.  The Chinese Government, as all industries in China are directly or indirectly controlled by it, stands exposed by exporting sub-standard medical kits all across the world, so as to gain financially at the cost of lives of citizens of other countries.  The government in China has no morality, as it stands exposed from the fact that the Indian Government had provided medical aid to it at the time of ‘so called’ crisis and in return it has exported defective testing kits to India.  Seeing the world opinion tilting towards India, in an aggressive stance, China has again published a map wherein part of Arunachal Pradesh (an integral part of sovereign India) has been shown to be part of China, just in order to provoke a diplomatic row and divert the negative attention it is getting in India because of the mishandling of Corona crisis.  It is evident that the activities undertaken by the Chinese in aftermath of the Corona pandemic, indicates that probably this was in planning for a long time and there was nothing natural about its outbreak.  It was a deliberate move intended to cripple the world economy and gain financial control all across the globe, but did not foresee its move getting exposed so quickly.  Therefore, in my opinion, China has deliberately created this fiasco, with the intent to gain financial control over the world economy and every nation should now take action against it, like the one taken against Germany, after the Second World War, so as to cripple it economically.

© S. Roy Biswas

BIBILOGRAPHY

i)                She discovered Corna virus decades ago – but got little recognition -

(https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/04/june-almeida-discovered-coronaviruses-decades-ago-little-recognition/?cmpid=org=ngp::mc%E2%80%A6)

ii)              Ten years after SARS; where was the virus from?

(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3747529/?report=reader)

iii)           The history and epidemiology of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome corona virus -

(https://mrmjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40248-017-0101-8)

iv) What the structure of the coronavirus can tell us -(https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/health/coronavirus-sars-cov-2-structure/)

v)                The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2  -

(https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-0820-9)

vi)      Evidence SARS-CoV-2 Emerged From a Biological Laboratory in Wuhan, China  - (https://project-evidence.github.io/#%28part._.Evidence_.S.A.R.S-.Co.V-2_.Emerged_.From_a_.Biological_.Laboratory_in_.Wuhan__.China%29)

vii) SARS-CoV-2 : Virus dynamics and host response – (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(20)30235-8/fulltext)

viii) Why does the coronavirus spread so easily between people? – (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00660-x)

ix) Explained: how coronavirus attacks, step by step – (https://in.style.yahoo.com/explained-coronavirus-attacks-step-step-190151398.html)

x)              State Department Cables warned of safety issues at Wuhan Lab studying bat coronavirus – (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/14/state-department-cables-warned-safety-issues-wuhan-lab-studying-bat-coronaviruses/?fb%E2%80%A6)

Mamta – finds her lost home

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Mamta – finds her lost home

 

'Mamta'
(only an representative photo for the narrative)

I am the only one till date who is aware as to what her actual name was, her present name is the name coined by me for her ‘Mamta’, looking at her complete dedication and love for her child, despite all the odds faced by her in her daily life and it is this name that she goes by even today.  The story of Mamta is based in my adopted village in Uttarakhand, where I had chosen to build a small home for my post retirement days during mid-nineties.  I had purchased some space within the spacious compound of one Rabindra Negi, as I did not want to have a solitary life, but one that would be inter-twined with the residents around.  As the person was a bit aged and needed some quick cash, he agreed to my proposal and I purchased a portion of his house overlooking the compound, with two rooms and kitchen overlooking the compound and the road across that a refurbished as per my needs.  Whereas, Negi ji occupied the entire left had side of the compound and the right hand side housed the toilet etc. built by me, but is also used by the family, at times, during my absence.  The funny part is that Negi ji would always be nagging about a broken tap or door knob, as if I was obliged to put them on, despite being used and broken by him, but that is how the villagers in these hilly regions are, they embrace everyone as family and make demands as such.  So with a sly smile, I obliged to these small irritants and in return enjoyed a blissful co-existence, whenever I visited for short breaks. 

These small expenses were miniscule, as compared to the benefits that I would usually reap from such gestures.   The village being remotely located and the public transport system was not all that well developed then and even today, it took quite some time from the rail head to reach the destination village that I had chosen to be my home.  After traversing by train, I would take a bus up to the district headquarters and thereafter, hitch a ride in the locally available Jeeps/Maxi-cabs or other forms of transport available and would reach my destination only late in the afternoon or rather early evening.  But because of my small pampering’s, my room would have been cleaned and fresh water placed in my small kitchen and a cup of piping hot tea would await me at my arrival.  I would just sip in the tea relaxing, sitting in my small balcony, enjoying the Himalayan ranges at sun set or the play of clouds or light and would experience bliss and always looked towards these short vacations to rejuvenate myself.  It would also be not out of place to mention that I would also receive a treat of local delicacies being prepared in the kitchen of Negi ji often, whenever I was in the village.

Quite a few years back, during the late nineties, I had visited the destination for a good few days and got struck there for another few weeks due to sudden landslide because of untimely rains, when the incident related to Mamta unfolded.  Just across the road, is the residence of Rawat ji, he has two sons and a daughter, she being the youngest.  The elder son’s name was Sandeep and he was working as a Chef in Kashmir and has been missing since then.  His younger son named Suresh is a hard working boy but a bit dull and not a very literate and smart person.  The younger daughter named Guddi was much younger and was born when the brothers were adolescents and thus, she was a pampered kid in the home.  There was another young lady, whom I used to see going around doing the house hold chores like collecting potable water, firewood, tending to her little kid etc. and assumed her to be the wife of the elder son, although I had never seen him. 

Today while just musing through my past reminiscences, I happened to remember the incident that occurred during that period and thought of penning down the same.  One evening I heard a lot of commotion in the Rawat house hold, with Guddi and her mother shouting and the young lady crying in an inconsolable manner and Suresh trying to pacify the parties and on this Guddi accusing Suresh of having an illicit affair with the young women.  As I had gained a respectable position in the village community by this time, because of many monetary helps provided for community services in the village, I thought of intervening in the matter and walked straight into the arguments.  Seeming me in their house stopped the cacophony immediately.  I asked Rawat ji to explain the situation, so that an amicable solution could be attained to the problem.  Even before Rawat ji could start, his wife started lamenting that because of the ‘manhus’ (cursed person) in the house, her daughter’s marriage could not be solemnized, as many a good matrimonial proposals being received were not maturing and she held the young women i.e. Mamta responsible for the same.  I showed my concern for the unfortunate state of affiars and asked Rawat ji to first narrate the entire sequence of events, so that I could understand the problem and find a solution, if possible.

Rawat ji narrated the incident as that his eldest son was interested in working in the Army, as is the practice in many of the villages in Uttarakhand, but despite his best efforts he could not make it.  He thereafter underwent training as Chef and gained employment on contractual basis in the local Cantonment nearby.  However, as the unit moved to the erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir during early nineties, since employment opportunities was scarce in the region, Sandeep had chosen to move out with the brigade.  There were no Cell phones available during those days and land lines too being a scarce commodity in the villages, contact was to a bare minimum.  The last physical contact with Sandeep was his one short visit in summer of 1991 and he had painted a very grim scenario about the conditions and the life in Kashmir.  Thereafter, there was no contact with him for many years and they had all but given up on him, till this young girl with an infant in her clutch, turned up on their door step in 1994.  She had a letter from Sandeep addressed to his father wherein he had again painted a very desolate and grim picture of Kashmir and explained that the girl was a Kashmiri pundit girl, whom he had married, as her parents had been killed by the militants, but unfortunately failed to mention her name in the letter.  One poking and prodding further, Rawat ji stated that the girl i.e. Mamta had brought in a marriage photograph that was almost washed out with Sandeep and about Rs.35,000/- (quite a princely sum during those days), as being the payment meted out to late Sandeep by the Army.  They had accepted her as their daughter in law and has been living with them ever since.  The money being received by the family from this girl, on behalf of late Sandeep, was never disclosed to the villagers by Rawat ji’s family.

So when I asked them about the reason for berating her and abusing her now, the wife of Rawat ji again jumped to the fore stating that in the absence of any proof of solemnization of the marriage with her late son Sandeep, many of the would be grooms for Guddi, her daughter, were reluctant to go ahead with the marriage proposal and hence she and Guddi were not only perturbed, but also held Mamta responsible for the same.  So in order to take the conversation to a logical end, I asked that the girl or daughter in law to be called, but I was informed that she could not speak and on asking her name, Rawat ji’s wife simply said that she was not aware of it.  When I asked them as to how they addressed her, she simply said that she would merely point out the work to be done to her.  By now I was not only anguished, but was also losing my patience at the crude behaviour of Rawat ji’s wife, but the time was not such that I displayed the same, as it would have been detrimental to the interest of the poor daughter in law.  So I asked her as to what was the name of the dog that they owned, whereupon Rawat ji’s wife retorted, his name is Rocky.  I said you name an animal, but cannot give a name to your daughter in law?  So from today let us call her ‘Mamta’ and henceforth we will call her by that name.  I enquired from them that I had seen the daughter in law teaching English alphabets to her young son by writing on the Slate (a small portable black board made of slate stone), so I called the young daughter in law and started conversing with her by writing on the slate and exchanging it.

It emerged from the written exchange in Hindi that the young daughter in law was a daughter of well to do Kashmiri pundit family and had two young brothers studying in local colleges in Awantipura locality in Kashmir.  Despite their request to move out of the valley, their father was sure that no harm would come their way and continued staying in their house.  However, on fateful night their house was torched and when the family members rushed out, they were gunned down by the militants.  This girl had fallen and struck her head on the stone on the ground and thus, rendered senseless and the militants left her for dead.  The army recovered her the next morning and she was kept in a camp within the precincts of the army cantonment for safe keeping.  Her actual name was ‘Chandri’ meaning moonlight and she came in contact with late Sandeep here and found him to be a genuine and loving person.  They bonded and got married in the Cantonment itself in a simple ceremony performed by the local priest.  But she felt that her life was to be a tormented one, with endless agony was in fate for her, as per her own statement.  She was in the last month of gestation and they had planned to return back to his village for good after the delivery.  On one such day Sandeep wrote this letter with address etc. and handed it over to her mimicking that in case anything happened to him, she should head back to his village and hand it over to his father.  She berated him badly for such a bad joke, but probably late Sandeep had some premonition about his untimely death.  As fate had ordained, a rocket propelled grenade shot by militants landed in the kitchen portion and late Sandeep received severe injuries and died instantaneously.   The news of Sandeep’s death was so shocking that she (Mamta) immediately collapsed and emergency delivery had to be conducted and she lost her power of speech because of the shock from the ghastly incident, but could hear and understand everything.  I was almost shell shocked at the type of torment being borne by her, without an iota of response from her side.  When I asked her about this, she said that at-least she had a home for her Son, late Sandeep’s son and did not want to lose it any cost and hence continued to bear the tormentors for her son’s future.  I was moved and I responded that I had coined her name as ‘Mamta’ and that hence forth everyone will know her by that name only because of the immense sacrifice on her part for the love of her Son.

The Rawat family was perplexed as to what was happening by passing of the slate with each other, but kept quiet.  My brain had by now started working overtime, as I understood that the situation could only be handled with a ‘carrot & stick’ policy.  I knew that the people in hills were much attached to cash money and would not easily part with it, so I decided to use it as a stick.  I politely asked Mamta to leave the room and she did so without any hesitation.  Then I told Rawat ji and his wife and also Guddi that the money that Mamta had brought in, was actually a parting gift from late Sandeep for his sisters’ marriage, so I felt.  In case the girl Mamta was a crook, she could have easily used the money to settle anywhere else and they would have never known about the demise of their Son and the siblings about their brother.  That brought about a bit of remorse on the faces of the family members and seeing their reaction, I further queried that as to whether the kid resembled his late father.  Upon this, the wife of Rawat ji burst out in tears and said that the kid was a constant reminder of her late Son, who looked exactly the same during his childhood.  I could gauge that I had hit the right chord and continued that if they forced Mamta out of the house at this stage, they will not only upset the spirit & soul of their departed Son, but the family may face financial problems as well and to drive home the point, I immediately told that Mamta was an educated person and may have details of payments received from the Army and in such a scenario, if she was driven out, she may ask for the money and the amount of Rs.35,000/- would have grown to more than a lakh of rupees and that Rawat ji may have cough out that amount.  In the same breath, I told Rawat ji that at this juncture this amount was significant for his daughter’s wedding and that God willing, Guddi would get a very good match, as a person’s karma is always rewarded by the almighty.  Seeing that everyone of Rawat ji’s family were now nodding their heads in unison with the delivery of my verdict, I immediately addressed Guddi, as to why she was abusing her brother of having an illicit affair.  A sudden hush fell in the room and after a few long drawn seconds, Guddi said that the villagers used to make these kind of accusations that had reached her ears as well.  I had seen that Suresh had a soft corner for Mamta, so I mentioned that there is a practice in North Indian plains, where young widows of elder brother are married off with the younger brother and as to whether such a practice is prevalent in the region as well.  The answer was in affirmative, although it was not so common a practice here.  I then put an option before the wife of Rawat ji that as to whether she felt that Mamta had all the qualities of being a good house wife, she agreed to that.  Upon her admission I played my final card and suggested that if they got Suresh married elsewhere, the problem with Mamta may continue and they may lose their peace of mind and financially also.  So if both the parties agreed i.e. Suresh & Mamta, then they could first get these two married at the first instance and that would not only settle the rumour mongering in the village, but also settle the issues arising in respect of Guddi’s marriage.  I then left them to decide the issue amongst themselves and this was my final trump card, as over indulgence on my part would have created doubts in their minds and I left for the day.

Early next morning, I found Rawat ji standing at my doorstep, early in the morning, he entered with a big smile and a sense of gratitude and was happy over my intervention.  He was always in favour of solemnizing the relationship between his younger Son and Mamta, widow of his elder Son, but the female family members were not conducive to the proposal, so he had to defer the same.  My intervention had truly drawn out the picture for them and Mamta was reluctant at first, but when she was told about the predicament of Guddi’s imminent marriage, she agreed and that had changed the equation between the two.  The marriage was solemnized in a small ceremony in the village temple and I participated in it whole heartedly.  Now many years have passed, the family of Rawat ji is in a perpetual bliss, Mamta is an adoring daughter in law of the home and had borne another Son to Suresh.  Guddi is married off into a family that was much more affluent than Rawatji and has two loving children, a son and a daughter.  Rawat ji believes that it as a blessing of God for having done a good deed and now his wife fully agrees with him.  Looking at this one happy family, I always enjoy the moment I became the almighty’s conduit to bring them this bliss and feel blessed for the same.

© S Roy Biswas

Saheen Bagh & Sarjeel Imam – an aberration or by design

Saheen Bagh & Sarjeel Imam – an aberration or by design

The area that Sarjeel Imam wants to block

            The incidents that unfolded in a lightening manner after the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Bill (now Act) [referred to as CAA hereinafter], got me thinking about the reasons for such an adverse reaction, particularly when this amendment in no way was an impediment in the general welfare & position of the Muslim community per se.  However, the follow up at the now infamous ‘Saheen Bagh’ and the commentaries from its so called organizers, whom I would like to refer to as perpetrators, especially the sinister scheme of cutting off of Assam from rest of the Country, tickled my brain cells to take a look at the issue in a holistic manner.

            Assam struck a chord because my father & uncles were uprooted from their lands because of the partition as it unfolded and I had heard a lot from my late father about it, especially about Sylet and his mention of names like Surawardy, Shaudllah and Gopi Nath Bordoli etc.  Most the newbies, born much after the partition have not even heard about the miseries brought about by the partition in the life of ordinary residents on either side and Sylet was not an exception.  Therefore, I looked into some books, articles etc. and this narrative is my own interpretation of the events and is brought forth to educate the youth about the facts & circumstances.   The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India has especially segregated the petitions from Assam and Tripura from those emanating from other States and in order to understand the reason, one has to delve into history of the region, which is specifically being suppressed by a major section of the media.  Thus, the younger generation in particular is not aware as to why the people of Assam rose up against the CAA and the media coloured it, as being an uprising because the Muslims had not been covered in the said amendment, which is the main stay of the present campaign in other parts of the country and based on false premises.

            I have a strong belief that the partition of Bengal, over and over again, by the Britishers was to vent their anger and frustration at the acts of residents of Bengal, who had spearheaded the independence movement, especially at the final stages.  It could especially be because of Netaji, whose actions was the final nail in the British coffin that prompted them to take such drastic action, especially so in Sylet, which was the breeding ground for many revolutionaries and patriots of that time.  I am not delving into much details about the life and contributions towards independence movement of these luminaries, as it would take away the narration from the present essence of this write-up. 

            The Britishers in order to channelize their ‘Tea Garden’ establishments and business had amalgamated Sylet with Eastern Bengal & Assam in 1874 and thereafter, in 1912 brought it into folds of Assam.  Both these amalgamations had brought about intense reactions and resentment, especially from the Bengali Hindus of Sylet, who wanted to remain with Calcutta (as it was known at that time) and within the jurisdiction of Calcutta High Court, as they could identify themselves with Bengali speaking gentry there.  However, despite several assurances given by the Britishers, this request was never acceded to.  The people of Sylet, where both Hindu and Muslim sects, who were influenced by the contemporary saints of the Bhakti cult like Chaitainya Maha Prabhu (an ardent devotee of Lord Krishna) and Muslim saint Shah Jalal (a Sufism follower), had overwhelming influence on the residents of this district, as both belonged to this region and had widespread following on either side and acted as a strong cohesive string in the region. 

            However, after the amalgamation of 1912 large number of Bengali Hindus from Sylet joined the Government jobs in Assam Secretariat and this planted seeds of insecurity and fear of being over-run by Bengali speaking people amongst the Assamese gentry.   Thereafter, in late 1920’s when the Khilafat movement was introduced by Gandhi ji, the concept of separate country for Muslims had taken firm hold amongst the educated Muslim gentry, despite the fact that the movement was scrapped by Gandhi ji because of violence associated with it at a later stage, but the seed of partition planted through this movement had taken firm roots.  In pursuance of this sinister design to include Assam as part of larger Muslim nation, the demographic profile of Assam was constantly being changed with influx of Bengali Muslim population migrating from East Bengal and there was a substantial rise in their numbers from 1911 to 1941.  Despite introduction of ‘Line System’ in 1920 that did not allow immigrant population of settle in certain regions their influx continued and the Muslim leaders tried all means available to settle them in Assam.  The Muslim dominated Assembly, continued making all efforts to abolish this line system and when the Gopinath Bordoloi Ministry took charge on 19^th September, 1938 it was faced with this piquant situation of trying to stop this illegal Muslim immigration into Assam.  However, his ministry was again brought into minority and Mohammad Sadullah regained power on 16^th November, 1939 and again started tampering the Muslim immigrant’s settlement in Assam.  Thereafter, in order to further change the demographic profile of Assam, the Sadullah Government during the 1941 census again tried to tamper with the records by grouping the residents of Assam by their category i.e. naming them as tribals instead of earlier religion based identification.  This resulted in grouping the indigenous residents of Assam, who earlier were enrolled themselves as either Hindus/Buddhists etc., as tribals and this census resulted in reflection of a huge fall in number of Hindus in the region in the census and explosion of Muslim population by many folds.   For this his Government came under severe criticism alongwith the land policy being followed by it and it was forced to tender its resignation on 12^th December, 1941.  The resignation was also perpetrated because of the statement made by one Muslim league member by name of Kazimuddin Ahmed who stated that – “….We want to see Assam as Muslim majority province.  The settlement of the immigrants is the best means of doing it”.  However, through his machinations Mohammad Sadullah again returned to power on 25^th August, 1942 and again started following the pre meditated design to settle illegal Muslim immigrants into the State.  The high handed actions of the Sadullah Government was resented by one and all in Assam, including the Hindus settled there and finally Sadullah was forced to call for a conference to debate upon these issues from 16^th to 19^th December, 1944 of the major opposition parties, who denounced the acts and suggested reforms vide resolution dated 16^th January, 1945.  But the same was not implemented and as Congress gained an upper hand in the Assembly, Sadullah got unnerved because of stiff opposition to his policies and announced his resignation on 23^rd March, 1945.  However, his resignation was preceded by a secret pack between Gopinath Bordoli, R.K. Choudhury and Sadullah and accordingly, the ministry was reconstituted with all the five Muslim ministers being retained in Cabinet alongwith one Tribal and four non-Muslim members being nominated by the Congress party.  Thereafter, the Constituent Assembly was dissolved on 1^st October, 1945 and general elections took place on 9^th January, 1946 in which the Congress party alongwith other parties gained complete majority and government headed by Sh. Gopinath Bordoli took charge on 11^th February, 1946.  Thus, it is evident from the narration hereinabove that the Muslim League and its allies were mainly interested in incorporating Assam into East Bengal/Pakistan and were using their machinations to change the demographic profile to Assam by settling illegal Bengali speaking Muslims in large numbers in Assam and exodus of Hindus was negligible, except for in respect of Government jobs, for which they were found more suitable.

            The other part of this sordid saga was the design of the Muslim leadership to include Calcutta (as it was known then) in East Bengal/Pakistan and a brief sketch of this sinister design requires narration at this point, to stitch together the larger picture that was being drawn by the Muslim leadership.  Calcutta was the only city in the Bengal region that had a majority of Hindus, but due to larger number of Bengali Muslims in erstwhile East Bengal, the Government in Bengal was headed by one uncouth Muslim leader known as H.S Surawardy, who is also known in the annals of history as the ‘Butcher of Bengal’.  The whole of Bengal at that time comprised of about 42 percent population of Muslims, but Calcutta had around 64 percent Hindus.  This notorious character, who had assumed power as head of Muslim League Government in Bengal in 1945, after having been inducted into Constituent Assembly of Bengal in 1937.  From the initial days itself, he was hell bent upon annexing Bengal, especially Calcutta with East Bengal/Pakistan into the Muslim nation.  After assuming power in 1945 he started working with this ulterior motive and the most noteworthy one is that he started changing the demographic profile of the Calcutta Police by inducting tribals from North West Frontier Province of Pakistan  into the Police forces instead of the traditional induction,  as per the then prevalent A,B,C,D formula i.e. induction of police constabulary from Arrah, Balia, Chapra and Deoria who were Bhojpuri speaking people and being well built and loyal, but were steadfast Hindus following Lord Hanuman and Lord Ram and reciting the Hanuman Chalisa regularly.  This constabulary did not meet the sinister designs that Surawardy had in mind, as he was aware that they would not harm the Hindus at any cost and would rather revolt in case of atrocities were meted out upon Hindus.  Therefore, he roped in one ICS Officer named Niaz Mohammad Khan the then District Magistrate of Midnapore and known for the perpetration of brutal repressive force upon the protestors during Civil disobedience movement, who was sent to the North West Frontier Province to recruit locals for induction into Calcutta Police with intent to Muslimise it.  All this was the build-up for the final assault to subjugate and terrorize the Hindus to refrain from voting during referendum.  Upon call of Jinnah for ‘direct action’ against the British Government to force them to implement the partition on religious lines, it was decided that the same would be launched on 16^th August, 1946. This date was specifically chosen by Jinnah, as 16^th August, 1946 was the eighteenth day of Ramzan and it was on that day that Prophet Mohammad had waged the bloody Battle of Bard, which culminated in the first decisive victory for the Prophet over the heathens and consequent conquest of Mecca.  Radical Islamists celebrated this day as a decisive day for Islam. 

As per the pre-planned action that unfolded on 16^th August, 1946 the Muslim League leader Khawza Nizamuddin was the lead speaker, followed by H.S Surawardy, who delivered speeches to the Muslims after the Jumma Namaz (Friday prayers) and slogans like -

“Maar ke lenge Pakistan, lad ke lenge Pakistan, le kar rahenge Pakistan, Allahu Akhbar, nara-i-takhbir”. 

were raised and the crowds instigated to kill Hindus and burn their properties.  The infamous H.S Surawardy had conspired with Bengal Governor of that time named Fredrick Burrows, an equally infamous character, to block the Police forces from reaching the riot affected areas.  He had during his speech informed the Muslims about this position, which had emboldened them further.  Thus the ‘Great Calcutta killings’ commenced with this call in Central Calcutta region and spread all around, the estimated Muslims engaged in mayhem were estimated between 60,000 to 2,00,000 in numbers and this mass killings of Hindus continued unabated from 16^th August to 22^nd August, 1946.  Where after, the Viceroy’s rule was imposed on 21^st August, 1946 and the battalions of British, Indian and Gurkha troops marched into Calcutta and the rioting finally stopped on 22^nd August, 1946.

            As a reaction to these killings in Calcutta, riots had erupted in adjoining areas of Bihar and United Province (now Uttar Pradesh), but the most catastrophic riots took place in Noakhali.  As per his grand plan of annexing entire Bengal with East Pakistan, the nefarious H.S Suhrawardy’s close associate Gholam Sarwar Husseini, another botched up character, ran a different kind of ‘Direct action’ and killed an estimated 5000 Hindus and as many number of Hindus were maimed in Noakhali and further, about 4000 Hindu women were raped and thousands of families forcibly converted into Islam between October and November, 1946 under aegis of the H.S Suhrawardy.  There are a plethora of communications, in form of letters, establishing the connivance between these two nefarious Muslims that is available in the National Archines in India and in the United Kingdom.  As a result of this action the Hindu population of Noakhali declined dramatically, as per the diabolical plan to these two nefarious characters.  Although Gandhi ji tried to intervene and reached the region on 7^th November, 1946, but on persistent opposition by Muslim League left the place on 2^nd March, 1947.  Immediately thereafter, the Muslims started the mayhem against the Hindus all over again and even resorted to burning them alive.  When a fresh appeal was made to Gandhi ji, he merely stated that Hindus should either leave or perish.

            However, the sad part of this entire sordid drama that had been enacted at the time of partition of India, particularly by the villainous Surawardy, has been in a sinister and systemic manner swept under cover, by the Marxist & Nehruvian historians and this trend still continues today, wherein history and historical facts are convoluted and concocted to placate a particular community.  In this tryst, they have gradually brought about a stand that H.S Surhawardy, who later went on to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan, as a respectable figure, contrary to the facts that history presents before us. 

Another clever narrative devised by these Leftists is the word ‘secular’, which only encompasses Hindu reactions blown out of proportion and is completely silent on Muslim atrocities, much akin to the story of ‘Emperor’s new clothes’, where despite the fact that a conman had made the King walk naked, everyone thought that speaking out the truth, would make him look like a fool, till a harmless little child pointed out the folly.   In the present context, it can be seen that a rather clean politician, who sees the inherent danger of fracture of our democracy by the bigots and is acting save the national interest, but because of his stand every, so called educated Hindu does not like to align with, because of the fact that if you speak out for Hindus, one is termed as a communal, bigot and illiterate.  In this confusion, most of educated Hindus have started acting as those characters watching the King walk naked and rather not talk about it, for the fear of being termed as illiterate and communal.  This is kind psyche that the leftist & Nehruvian machinations have created, especially by conspiring and convoluting the text books and historical facts that a modern day kid is totally unaware of.

From the above narration it is quite evident that in their grandiose design for making a comprehensive Muslim nation, their leadership and the community at large, were besieged with the idea of including Calcutta and whole of Assam into East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).  They had left no stones unturned to achieve this, as is evident from the narrations hereinabove.  Apparently, this unfinished task still remains in the memories and is etched in psyche of the Muslim gentry, who are still trying to achieve it, albeit now with support of some known Political parties, both in Bengal and elsewhere.  Therefore, what Sarjeel Imam stated in his speech regarding cutting off Assam from rest of India, is not something that is just an aberration, but it is a sinister historical design of the particular sect of Muslims, who are still striving to achieve this.    Thus, the rhetoric’s and chants heard in places like Saheen Bagh, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Aligarh Muslim University, Jadavpur etc., echoes the same narrative that happened earlier in history and more recently in erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir in early 1990’s, when the Kashmiri Pandits were thrown out of their own land, can be deciphered as the bugle of the same sinister design that is again being nurtured for fracturing the nation further on religious lines.  The Citizenship Amendment Act in no way affects the rights of the Muslims residing in India in any manner, but is an enabling provision for granting citizenship to minorities in some neighbouring Islamic nations.  Whereas, the National Register of Citizens is maintained in most of the countries across the globe, is being opposed by a particular community in connivance with certain political parties, with the same design that was being followed in the past, the aim being to annexe Assam prior to partition.  The same agenda is now again being brought to fore i.e. to increase their population or numbers by hook or by crook and any legal attempt to subvert it is taken as a challenge by these bigots.  Every rationally thinking individual, who wants to protect his nation and his identity, needs to look through this sinister design and act appropriately to defend himself, but by no means as per the methods adopted by the Muslims in Bengal during pre-independence days.  One should stand in unison and deliver their verdict by their pens and ballots or else if we continue to fall for the fallacy perpetrated by leftist oriented gentry and acting like so called seculars, would cost them their dignity and way of life at the end.

© S Roy Biswas

Edit - These elements i.e. Sarjeel Imam and Umar Khalid's bail applications were reject by Hon'ble Supreme Court of India, as their activities were found to be against the interest of the nation - here is the link to the gist of the judgement - https://www.scobserver.in/reports/supreme-court-rejects-umar-khalid-and-sharjeel-imams-bail-pleas-says-continued-detention-not-constitutionally-impermissible/

Here is a link to Sarjeel Imam's speech seeking to cut off Assam - https://x.com/i/status/1575742855355985920

[The edit was necessititated for the Supreme Court Judgement]

Kumaon – the cradle of saints

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Kumaon – the cradle of saints

The famed Neem or Neeb Karoli Baba sitting outside his Kainchi Dhaam ashram

There are three famous saints, whose glory is spread far and wide, who trudged this part of the holy land that is known as Kumaon of Uttarakhand.  The trio of saints comprised of Neeb (also Neem) Karoli Baba, Hairakhan Baba and Sombari Baba.  The lives of these holy saints appear to be intertwined mysteriously in this siddha bhoomi (pious land) of Kumaon.  All the three holy saints are Siddhas and one who is fully accomplished and self-realized beings and in consonance with the Gods.  Out of these three, only Shri Shri Sombari Baba does not enjoy much of international fame, but the remaining two i.e. Hairakhan or Haidakhan Baba and Neem Karoli Baba have a substantial following in the Western hemisphere as well.

Sombari Baba

The ashram of Sombari Baba in Padampuri

Sombari Baba does not enjoy any substantial following in the West and the main reason for the same is that he had passed on to his heavenly abode in 1919 and very few westerners had the opportunity to meet him.  This famed saint got his name from the day of a week i.e. Sombar or Monday, as he used to organize a langar (community lunch or dinner) on Mondays for all those who visited him on this day.  An anecdote is associated with this act of his.  It is said that the saint was a great healer and used to give medicine in form of various plants and their by-products to the locals, who had started thronging his Ashram for the same.  This affected the business of Doctors doing business in Almora and they started a vilification campaign against him and due to regular interference by the Britishers, on behest of these doctors, he abandoned his practice of providing medicines.  But he came up with the innovative way of providing food to the visitors that acted as medicine and for this act of providing the free food on Mondays, he came to be known about as Sombari Baba.  It is said that through one of his miracles, food never ran short even if the number of visitors were in great numbers and no one knows as to from where he got the resources for running the said community food kitchen.

Sombari Baba

             No one knows for sure as to where this great Saint was born, but assumption is that he was born in between 1815-1827, in a small town called Pind Dadankhan.  The holy saint had no belongings except for a small cloth bag, a tiger skin and a chillum.  He was a very simple person, never seeking anything from anyone nor took to preach anyone.  He resided at two places namely Karkarighat during summers and in Padampuri during winters.  The other saints who roamed the region during his period or afterwards regarded him in high esteem and Neem Karoli Baba even built the Ashrams at the two destinations that the Sombari Baba lived in.  About his divinity, it is said that all those who visited this holy saint from far and wide were never ever attacked by any wild animals (that roamed this region in large numbers, especially tigers) or any bodily harm came upon them while traversing the treacherous hilly terrain to meet him. 

Another photograph of  Sombari Baba

             From the sources in internet, it appears that Sombari Baba was a ‘haat yogi’ and practiced a kind of ‘fire ritual’ as way to appropriating the Gods.  It is said that he used to get up very early in the mornings and prepare four wood ‘homa kunds’ (Fire ritual pyre) along the four geographical directions and used to sit in the middle of it meditating for hours.  It appeared as if he had been engulfed by the fires raging all around and it is said that every ‘homa kund’ emanated a different color of flame.  It is said that he told one of his followers that ‘Agni’ (Fire) is the vehicle on which life sustains within the entire universe and to be one with the all-encompassing God, one has to propitiate him appropriately.  It is also said that this holy saint always had the premonition about the person who was about to visit him or for what purpose the person had come.  It is sad that none of this teachings or preaching’s or methods of ‘Yagna’ (lighting of holy fire pyre) could be preserved for posterity, as he did not have any well versed follower at that point of time who could record the same.

Sombari Baba with his chillum

            At present the ashrams where Sombari Baba spent most of his time i.e. Karkarighat on Almora highway and one at Padampuri are functional and may be visited by those desirous of experiencing the places venerated by this great soul.

Hairakhan or Haidakhan Baba

Temple and ashram dedicated of Hairakhan Baba in Chinyalisaur, Ranikhet

The Kumaon region of the present Uttarakhand State was a place endowed with rich flora and fauna in the past and small townships and villages were scattered all along the hills, especially near streams and other water sources.  One of such small hamlets was called Hairakhan village that was situated on the south side of the Hairakhan jungle.  During the late nineteenth century, the villagers were intrigued and beguiled by a strange bright light that appeared on a hill top in the mountain in the jungles during the evenings.  After a few days, this strange light started appearing near the village as well.  The people started gathering around the place from where the light was emanating and they found a saint with a radiant glow all around him.  Since he had emerged from the forest of Hariakhan, the villagers started calling him Hairakhan Baba.  The villagers wanted this saintly person to stay with them and after detailed discussions, it was decided to house him in the room of the forest guard named Dham Singh, who used to stay alone.  Afraid that the Baba would wonder out by himself in the forest or will be taken away by persons of other nearby villages, he used to lock up the Baba in his room, whenever he went out for his daily duties.   However, one day some other folks from nearby villagers wanted to visit Hairakhan Baba during the day time, during absence of Dhan Singh and reached his shack.  The villagers found the doors locked and all windows properly barred, so they broke open the lock but could not find Babaji inside.  Thereafter, Hairakhan Baba appeared in a cave in the Hairakhan jungle.  It is believed that Hairkahan Baba was another form of the famed Maha avtar Babaji, who is believed to be a form assumed by Lord Shiva himself to visit the Earth plane and Babaji’s appearance was sudden in the year 1890 and was interspersed with sudden disappearances and re-appearances in the Northern region of India till his final disappearance in a ball of light before his devotees in 1924.  He is said to have traversed back to holy Kailash to meditate.

Maha avtar Babaji

A possible photograph of Mahavtar Babaji

            It is said that the holy Hairakhan Babaji did not communicate frequently and ate only when offered food by his devotees.  He appeared to be a person of slim body with a youthful radiance and had an unusually fast gait.  His appearances and disappearances were always unpredictable.  He was seen with Tibetan Lamas on many occasions and the Buddhist monks and his attire consisted of a Lama Skull cap.  It is said that Baba was proficient in many languages and used to communicate with the persons/devotees in their language and hence it was very difficult to identify his place of origin as well.  He had all the known siddhas (Yogic powers) and occasionally performed miracles in a natural way according to the circumstances at hand. But mostly people were drawn to him because of the bliss they experienced in his presence.  His fame grew after a devotee, named Mahendra Bramhachari, who had a divine vision about him 1949, started collecting information about Hairakhan Babaji and spent thirty five years traversing the places visited by Babaji and collected first had accounts and anecdotes associated with Babbaji.  He penned his collection under the title ‘Punya Smriti’ under the pseudo name of Guru Chanasrit.  The other source of information about the famed Hairakhan Babaji can be accessed through another book written by Baba Hari Dass titled ‘Unknown’ published in USA in 1975 by the Sri Ram Foundation.

The said reincarnation of Hairakhan Baba - Sri Sri 1008 Hairakhan wale Baba

            The present day, so called reincarnation of famed Hairakhan Baba and known as Sri Sri 1008 Hairakhan wale Baba made his appearance in 1970 and left for his heavenly abode on 14^th February, 1984.  At present there is a temple cum ashram dedicated to this holy saint at Chinyalinaula in Ranikhet and another at the place he originally appeared i.e. Hairakhan village.

Neem or Neeb Karoli Baba

The famed ashram of Neem Karoli Baba at Kainchi Dham

The most famous of the trio of Saints was the Neem or Neeb Karoli Baba.  Born to a Brahmin family in the year 1900 as Lakshmi Narayan Sharma in Akbarpur in Uttar Pradesh to the family of Durga Prasad Sharma, this great saint left for his heavenly abode in the year 1973.  It is said that he had a vision in his 17^th year of life wherein Lord Hanuman is said to have initiated him on to the way of sainthood.  Fearing loss of his child, he was married off by his father and after the birth of his youngest daughter, he left his home to become a Sadhu.

Neem Karoli Baba during his younger age

          It is said that after a few years of wandering around, one day while travelling on a train, the Ticket Collector sought his ticket and on informing that he did not have any money to buy the same, he was unceremoniously deboarded from the train at a small station called Neem Karoli in Nanital region.  Thereafter, Babaji went and sat under the shade of the tree near the Kosi River and when the train started, despite the engine running, the train failed to budge from its place.  Despite several engineers trying to make it run, the train would not budge, in spite of the fact that there was nothing wrong with the engine.  Finally some passengers pointed out to the Railway authorities that they should approach the Sadhu and seek his forgiveness.  After many attempts, since the train failed to move, the Railway authorities approached Maharaj ji, who agreed to board the train on one condition that a regular station would be built at the village of Neem Karoli and upon his boarding the train, it moved easily.  After this incident, he came to be known as ‘Neem Karoli Baba’, but as the westerners were unable to pronounce the word ‘Neem’ it gradually became ‘Neeb Karoli Baba’. 

Neem Karoli Baba during his mid life

On hearing about this incident, his father immediately rushed to the village of Neem Karori to meet and get his son. There he met Maharajji and ordered him to return home. Maharajji followed his father’s instructions and returned. This was the beginning of two different types of life that Maharajji led. One that of a householder and the other that of a saint. He devoted time towards his responsibility of a householder and at the same time he continued to look after his bigger family i.e. the world at large. However, there was no difference in his life and style of living when discharging duties of a householder or that of a saint. In his family as a householder he has two sons and a daughter.

Neem Karoli Baba in his late life

               Neeb karoli Baba also called ‘Maharaj ji’ by his disciples, preached that all were one – ‘Sab Ek’, he emphasized upon loving all beings, serve everyone, to tell the truth always and to remember God.  He was an ardent worshipper of Lord Hanuman and being deeply devout, followed the ‘bhakti path’ for attaining enlightenment.  He was also known as the miracle baba, as he could manifest himself at two places at the same time or putting his disciples in deep state of trance or Samadhi with touch of his fingers.  There are several anecdotes related with his miraculous ways, one goes as that during a huge community lunch being hosted at his ashram, there was shortage of ghee, upon being informed, he asked the cook to fill one drum of water from the nearby rivulet and he just touched it and the cooking medium poured forth from the container.  Another one goes that one day during hot summer afternoon, one of his ardent devotee visited him, on his way back a patch of cloud continuously moved and shielded the devotee from the rays of the relentless sun till he reached his residence.  Yet another one goes that one of the daughters of his disciple was very sick and on his request he visited his household and cleverly occupied the bed the girl was sleeping on, he suffered pain and fever throughout the night and the girl recovered fully the next day.  It is touted that during their struggling days both Steve Jobs and Kottle had visited his Ashram in India, although Maharaj ji no longer manifested in the worldly form, yet after their brief stay at Ashram, both of them reached the zenith of their business i.e. Apple Inc.  On advice of Steve Jobs, the founder of Facebook, Mark Zukerberg has also admitted regarding his visit to the famed ashram during the period when he was struggling to establish his business.

Baba Neem Karoli during is old age

At present the disciples of Neeb Karoli Baba maintain several ashrams all across India and abroad, but the two that stand out are the one at Vrindavan and other at Kainchi Dham on the Almora Highway in Nainital District of Uttarakhand.

[The information and photographs have been sourced from the internet and books, especially after reading the 'Autobiography of a Yogi' – this article is to provide a short & precise insight into the lives and works of these three famed Babas of Kumaon region of Uttarakhand.  Please feel free to comment, if any inputs are factually incorrect.]