Jammu:Veteran General Goverdhan Singh Jamwal, 92, the last General of the Maharaja Hari Singh’s State Forces of Gen Zorawar Singh, now the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles that had founded the unique Dogra State under Maharaja Gulab Singh has voiced the demand of all Ex-servicemen and the Dogras and urged the Prime Minister, Government of India and the Lt Governor of Jammu and Kashmir to build a statue of Maharaja Gulab Singh and a Museum in Jammu to commemorate his memory.
General Jamwal has underscored the importance of a Museum as it will show how Maharaja Gulab Singh had created the unique plural Empire and handed it over to India providing strategic depth where Prime Minister Narendra Modi had the honour to address the soldiers and the Nation together with international ramifications. It will be a befitting Tribute to Maharaja Gulab Singh and the Dogras who have always been ready to sacrifice their all and have paid the price to establish and defend the territory of Jammu and Kashmir for 101 years and suffered for 72 years till 2019.
General Jamwal, a Dogra Veteran who has lived the History for almost a century, is urging the Prime Minister for a genuine cause. A Museum to commemorate the memory of Maharaja Gulab Singh in Jammu, on the way to Mata Vaishno Devi, where over 10 million pilgrims go every year to offer their prayers, will put the State not only on the map and at the heart of the country but also on the World map.
Srinagar: A 29 July 2020 post on facebook illustrated with pics says: “The pit temple next to the river is said to be ancient Shiv temple of Bijbihara mentioned by Kalhana as Vijeshvara.
The word Bijbehara or Vijbor has been derived from Sanskrit word Vijayeshwar. It was an ancient site of Shiva Vijayeshwar.
The sculptures found at Bijbehara, a town in Anantnag district of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir are considered the earliest ones in distinct Kashmiri style of sculptures. A lot of material from Bijbehara was moved to Sri Pratap Singh Museum museum by the turn of the 20th Century
Vinayak Rajdan wrote about the Pit temple of Bijbehara in SearchKashmir.org in January 2017. We quote: ” Although lot of old fragments can be found in the pit, John Siudmak mentions about a standing Ganesha, the oldest from around early 7th century AD. Although, Siudmak had seen it in late 1980s, in his book “The Hindu-Buddhist Sculpture of Ancient Kashmir and its Influences”, a Handbook of Oriental Studies, published in 2013, he reports the statue to be missing.” On visiting the temple site, Rajdan was left wondering whether this was the same Ganesha.
Bijbehara temple in 1906
Much through the 80s the site was a regular victim of religious strife. People would break in and vandalize.
Rajdan wrote this piece when terrorists were launching attacks in close vicinity of this pit temple.
Burzahom archeological site
Whatever remains of the Bijbihara pit temple in Kashmir is a sad reminder of the ancient Burzahom site – a prehistoric settlement in the village of the same name in the Srinagar District, 16 kilometres to the northwest of Srinagar.
Archaeological excavations have revealed four phases of cultural significance between 3000 BC and 1000 BC.
The different period represented by the Burzahom sites stretch from neolithic to megalithic to pre-history.
The remarkable find during this period was of pits which were inferred as dwelling units.
This site was nominated on 15 April 2014 for declaring it as a UNESCO World Heritage Site by the Permanent Delegation of India to UNESCO, and is yet to be approved. The declaration is still awaited
The Kashmiri Pandits who were driven out of their homes in the Kashmir valley and were made refugees in their own country by terrorists 30 years ago, are sad, heartbroken, bitter, angry but there is also optimism. They feel Kashmir will once again embrace inclusiveness.
This is what they are saying on social media
You dig anywhere in Kashmir, temple’s will erupt – Rakesh Bhat
It’s our destiny given to us by cruel rulers. But destiny changes for sure in a lifetime. – Sanjay Koul
I am still to come to terms – what prompted a mass movement from a peace loving population to taking up guns fighting for liberation of Kashmir. Whether it were Jagmohans of the world or Abdullahs, the verdict was delivered, the society was divided and the brotherhood challenged. Kashmir was a centre of Sufi pilgrimage. Who in Islam doesn’t like Sufism? Is it the Wahabi. Or that some of our elite brethren felt Wahabism can replace traditional Sufism. And in doing so the turmoil erupted….The generations to come will search for answers why the peaceful Kashmiriyat was torn into pieces. Or that I am in a delusion about the so-called fabric of Kashmiriyat – Anil Koul
AICC General Secretary in-charge Rajasthan Avinash Pande
New Delhi: AICC General Secretary in-Charge Rajasthan Avinash Pande on Saturday 25 July launched a blistering attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party by accusing it of doing everything to destroy and demolish constitutional institutions and democratic values.
The Congress General Secretary drew attention to the countrywide “Speak up for Democracy Movement’ being launched by the Congress party on Sunday by underscoring BJP’s blatant moves to destabilise democratically elected Governments with money and muscle power and by using the Central Government agencies.
देश की संवैधानिक संस्थाओ व मूल्यों पर भाजपा द्वारा निरंतर प्रहार किया जा रहा है। लोकतांत्रिक तरीके से चुनी हुई सरकारों को धन,बल व केन्द्रीय एजेंसियों के दुरुपयोग से अस्थिर करने का कुंठित कृत्य किया जा रहा है। इसी क्रम में कल राष्ट्रव्यापी #SpeakUpForDemocracy अभियान चलाया जाएगा। pic.twitter.com/chPRvIntAL
The Congress has gone on the offensive after Sachin Pilot took the rebel path creating political turmoil and the Gehlot led Congress Government in Rajasthan into a spins. Congress MLAs had even went for a marathon sin-in strike on the lawns of the Raj Bhawan demanding that Governor Kalraj Mishra should immediately call a session of the State Assembly to allow the Chief Minister to prove his majority.
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has drawn Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s attention to the seizure of about 30 Kg of gold by the Customs Officials at Trivandrum International Airport on 5 July 2020 and sought investigation into this by central agencies.
The Kerala Chief Minister has written to the Prime Minister stating that the fact that there has been an attempt to smuggle huge quantity of gold concealed in diplomatic baggage makes the matter extremely serious.
While pointing out that customs officials are conducting inquiry into the incident, Pinarayi has said the case has serious implications as this undermines the economy of the Nation. In fact, it has more than one angle warranting a thorough investigation.
The Chief Minister, seeking an effective and coordinated investigation into this by all central agencies concerned, has underscored the scope of the probe should cover all aspects from the source to the end utilisation. Every link of this crime should be unravelled so that such incidents do not recur, he has emphasised.
Pinarayi has assured all necessary assistance and support to the agencies involved in the investigation by the State Government.
Swapna Suresh
Pinarayi’s letter to the PM has drawn special attention as Swapna Suresh, the main accused in the gold smuggling case, is considered close to the CM. She was working with the UAE Consulate and had been given a lucrative assignment by the Kerala government. Swapna has gone missing after her name was flagged along with an accomplice, when 30 kg of gold was found hidden in a diplomatic consignment being sent to the UAE Consulate from the capital of Kerala.
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