Was Rani Laxmibai Fighting for India?

Did the queen of Jhansi Fight for India or self?

RaniLaxmibai of Jhansi ( 1835-58) is romanticized as a great woman who fought for the "Independence" of India. She was a brave woman who took on the might of the Raj and died fighting. In her last battle, her troops were surrounded by Sir Hugh Rose and she was killed on 17 March 1858. Sir HughRose the British commander was himself wounded and later commented that " The Rani was the bravest and greatest of the commanders of the mutiny". 

All this is very well but some half-truths need to be re-stated for history to recognize the truth. The Rani was married at the age of 13 to Raja of Jhansi Maharaj Gangadhar Rao Newalkar who was 40 years older than her. She gave birth to a son in 1851, who died and after that, the Maharaj Rao and Laxmibai adopted another boy as heir. This was not recognized by the British. The Maharaj Rao died in 1853 and Rani Laxmibai carried out a ceremony installing the adopted boy as the heir. She appealed to the English to recognize this. The British however did not approve and the Rani repeatedly appealed to the English to recognize the young adopted boy as the heir to the throne of Jhansi. She was not all inclined to fight the English and made many overtures to the East India Company. 

In case the British had accepted the young adopted boy as the Maharaj of Jhansi, the Rani was prepared to side with the East India company. The rejection of her request led the  Rani to launch her fight against the British. Her entire aim was very limited and just consisted of allowing her adopted son to rule Jhansi, freedom of India was never in her mind. Thus the rani was interested in local issues, but her army despite being aided by Tantya Tope was defeated on all fronts. She fought bravely, but it is small consolation for the poor performance of the troops of  Tantya Tope and the Rani in battles with the English army. Truth is never sweet.

 

The Loves of Madhubala

The Loves of Madhubala

 Madhubala was a Muslim actress from Hindi films. She had adopted a Hindu screen name and had made a mark for herself as a lovely actress. Even now after decades after her death, the Indian public is enamored of her image and many opine that she was the most beautiful actress on the Hindi screen.Madhubala gave many hit films, but she died young at the age of 36 of a disease which is known as a hole in the heart;. She even went to England for treatment, but in that age (the fifties) the science of heart surgery was in its infancy and Madhubala was not cured. She died shortly.  But to people who followed and loved her do feel she had a tragic love life. Her first love affair was with the thespian Dilip Kumar, another Muslim with a Hindu name. He was the top start of the fifties of the last century. Dilip and Madhubala acknowledged their love affair in public, but the marriage never took place. They broke apart as Madhubala's father in particular and family were against this match. Madhubala at that time was a top actress with a market value of lakhs of rupees. The family was loathing to let go of that and opposed the marriage and the duo drifted apart.

  This was a tragic end as Madhubala allowed herself to be manipulated. She perhaps regretted her decision, but Dilip had moved on in life. The two were seen together in Mughal -e – Azam and the love scenes of that film will convince die-hard skeptics of the emotional bond between Dilip and Madhubala.  Madhubala when in poor health found a savior in Kishore Kumar, the versatile Hindi singer-actor. They married, but it was not a happy affair. Both separated within a month and Madhubala left Kishore. It was a tragedy as she died a little later of the all-consuming heart disease. One of the reasons for the breakdown was perhaps that Madhubala was a Muslim and Kishore a Hindu and the Urdu press lambasted this union. Madhubala is no more, but she has left behind an endearing image of a lovely actress who albeit never found love in real life

Tribal Girls are Exploited for Sex in India

 

India has a large tribal population. However, they are mostly concentrated in the Eastern provinces. When the British ruled India, they left the tribal population isolated and did not integrate them with other parts of the country. The tribes continued with their animistic beliefs and gods. One facet of tribal life was sex, which was treated as normal and necessary. There are no taboos and it's not uncommon for an unmarried boy and girl to sleep together. Sometimes the youngsters are encouraged to have sex by elders to decide whether they are compatible with each other. 
Even older men and women also indulge in sex after tribal ceremonies. Only Christian missionaries were allowed, but they could not change the tribal attitudes, though they converted some tribal to Christianity.
Once the British left India in 1947, these tribal areas were opened up and many traders and others came inside tribal lands. Seeing free sex these men used tribal girls, impregnated many, and left. A new breed of men also came who enticed the tribal with gifts and took their girls and forced them into brothels in Mumbai and Calcutta. It is a sordid affair, but though the government has become alive to the situation, yet I wonder how it can be stopped. 

Mahindra XUV 500 is Back With a Face Lift

 

XUV 500 gets a makeover to compete with Jeep Compass

Image Source - by author, Madan G Singh

I was among the first to own a Mahindra XUV 500 the flagship vehicle of Mahindra Motors. This vehicle comes in 5 variants and I bought the W-10 which is the top variant with a sunroof. It was the top model in its class and cost about Rs 20 Lakh. At that time and for the next two years this SUV held its own as the number one vehicle in its class on Indian roads. The vehicle was a little short on power as it generated 140 BHP with a 2299cc M-Hawk engine developed in-house by Mahindra. Patrons overlooked this and the vehicle is a familiar sight on Indian roads.

At that time there was no automatic transmission which was introduced later. Within limits, it was a good vehicle but things changed with the advent of the Jeep in India.

The new XUV has been made sleeker, with a better console and grill.  It is also having a 4X4 model and automatic transmission. The car is good but again it's difficult to match a cult vehicle like the Jeep. Mahindra is advertising the new model on TV and the press and one will have to see how much it will carry conviction in the light of the new SUVs launched.

My Review of the Mustang

 
I have a Mustang. Its a convertible model and the roof can be pulled back for an exhilarating drive. Mind you at anything above 150 MPH with the roof pulled down can be like Adrenalin in the blood. The Mustang has been christened as the original " Muscle Car" by auto enthusiasts. This is because of the immense power it packs under the hood. It is available in two engine specifications namely the V-6 and V-8 which means 6 and 8 cylinders. The V-8 has an output of 396 HP and a top speed of 200 MPH. I have personally driven the Mustang at 180 MPH and the car just breezed away without the trace of a ripple.

The car comes both as a convertible and a coupe and has only two doors. The model introduced in India is a coupe and the pleasure of driving with the roof pulled down cannot be savored. 

The Mustang is a low slung car and once you get in the driver's seat one will get the idea that you are hugging the road. This is inevitable, as its a racing car and the designers have designed it to keep the drag -coefficient low. The car has a six-speed automatic transmission that apart from a high BHP of over 300 and develops torque at 280@ 4000 RPM. The automatic transmission is a must for such a car so that the driver can concentrate on just handling the car and not worry about changing gears.

The car I own has 18-inch alloy wheels and manual AC. Frankly, if the hood is pulled up you don't need any air conditioning, as the wind whistles around your ear. The bucket seats are very comfortable and can seat 4 adults.  The car has a cruising speed of about 100MPH but sadly you can't run the car at that speed in India, except perhaps on the Pune-Panvel freeway. Maybe the Agra -Delhi freeway also. But you can still cruise around the city as it has an extremely powerful engine and the drive is effortless and will certainly make the eyes of the people turn, more so if you have an attractive passenger in the front with you. Lastly yes, the Mustang is an excellent advertisement for the owner to latch on to a good looking girl for company.

Imran Khan : The Lothario from Lahore is now Prime Minister of Pakistan

 

The Lothario who seduced innumerable women as well as led Pakistan cricket is now leading Pakistan.

 

The English dictionary has defined a Lothario as a man whose aim in life is to seduce women. Obviously, the name of the game is sex and Imran Khan certainly fits the title of the Lothario from Lahore. He was a  wonderful cricket player and he dominated the cricket world for over  2 decades. When he left cricket, he entered politics and formed the party Tehreek-e-Insaf political party. For two decades Imran Khan has been in politics, yet he  achieved nothing. But in the changed political circumstances with Nawaz  sidelined with not a little help from the army he has  become the prime minister of Pakistan.

Most of the opinion polls had been predicting that Imran's party will win the maximum number of seats in the Senate. This is so because the powerful political leader Nawaz Sharif had been sidelined and put in prison at the behest of the Army.

The army as we know in Pakistan call all the shots and General Zia ul Haq has the dubious distinction of having committed a judicial murder by hanging Zulfikar Ali Bhutto the erstwhile PM of Pakistan. His grandson Bilawal Bhutto is also not likely to win many seats and like Nawaz PML. The fact is the only party which could win ahead of these two is the party of Imran Khan. 

Imran Khan is made the right noises and in a  television interview when asked whether he was the support of the Pakistan army replied that he was not dependent on the support of the Pakistan army but the fact is that the army has a soft corner for Imran Khan and they have manipulated directions in such a way that this man become the prime minister of Pakistan.

Khan has led a colorful life. His second wife  published a book in which she has brought out many facts about Imran Khan and there are so many rumors that he had love affairs with many Bollywood actresses. Imran Khan fits the title of the lothario from Lahore. Imran is  not  a success but with Nawaz Sharif the main political force spending time in jail along with his daughter the army createda free field for him.

There is an old saying that a man who rides a tiger is eaten by the tiger. Imran may be feeling smug but this adage may well boomerang on him

Horoscope of Modi: Napoleonic House

Modi won a great victory when the BJP on its own steam won over 280 seats in the Lok Sabha( lower house). It was a victory that had happened after 30 years and nobody expected Modi to ride home to victory on his own. At that time many astrologers had forecast his win but a bigger lot had said he would be hard-pressed to cobble a majority. 

 Now, this is history and people are looking and Modi has replicate his 2014 win in 2019.

I will not go on what the political pundits are saying and will mention just one aspect of the horoscope of Modi and this I will say is alarming for him A look at the 12th house of Modi's chart shows that he has Saturn in a dominant position. Saturn, as we all know, is under certain circumstances a malefic planet. I will also add that the 12th house is also known as the "Napoleonic" house.  The great Napoleon Bonaparte had Saturn in the 12 house and everybody knows what happened to him.

Napoleon rose to great heights but had a precipitous fall. In other words, the 12 house with Saturn shows that a person rises to great glory and then has a sudden crash.