haryana review may-2010

Gender equality: taking roots

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May 2010, Vol 24 Issue 5 Rs 15

Haryana:Cradle ofIndian culture

Dedicated to MotherAs I look back

As I look back on my life

I find myself wondering

Did I remember to thank you

For all things that you have done for me?

For all the time you were by my side

To help me celebrate my success

Or for teaching me the value of hard work,

Good judgement, courage and honesty?

I wonder if I had even thanked you for the simple things

The laughter, smiles, and quite times we have shared?

If I have forgotten to express my gratitude

For any of these things

I am thanking you now

And I am hoping that you have known all along

How very much you are loved and appreciated

-Tarun Vaid

HARYANA REVIEW, MAY 2010

EDITOR-In-CHIEF

Dr K K Khandelwal

CHIEF EDITOR

Shiv Raman Gaur

COnSULTInG EDITOR

Gobind Thukral

MAnAGInG EDITOR

M S Yadav

nEWS BUREAU

Amanbir Kaur Brar

Aparna Pawar

Nishant Prabhakar

Ruchi Sharma

Shweta Vashishta

LAYOUT

Sunil Kumar

ILLUSTRATOR

Gurpreet Singh

PHOTOGRAPHER

Randeep Singh

PHOTO SUPPORT

Tek Chand AroraGopal Singh Karam Singh Neeraj ChopraGauri ShankarJasmer Singh

VOL 24, ISSUE 5, MAY 2010

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E D I TO R I A L

Understanding our rich past

Haryana because of its geographic location inthe fertile Indo-Gangetic plains is a part of the

Indus Valley Civilisation, a Bronze Age civilisation3300–1300 BCE and mature period 2600–1900 BCE. Itflourished around the Indus river basin, primarilycentred along the Indus and the Punjab region andextended into the Ghaggar-Hakra river valley andthe Ganges-Yamuna Doab. It encompassed most ofwhat is now Pakistan, extending into thewesternmost states of modern India, Afghanistan,Balochistan and Iran.

According to some archaeologists, manyHarappan sites have been discovered along thedried up river beds of the Ghaggar-Hakra river andits tributaries, therefore the tag Indus-Saraswaticivilisation is justified. We appreciate the logic that“sources that inform us about the past have to bemeticulously analysed and subjected to a rigorousmethodology irrespective of their status or theauthority they command.” Yet, it is abundantlyclear that from prehistoric times to Indus and laterpre Vedic and Vedic period, Haryana witnessed anadvance civilisation in one form or the other. Thebattle of Mahabharata [850 BC] is a hard socialreality and the battle ground was Kurukshetra.Later, rise and fall of the village republics and theconstant unsettling invasions saw more battlesaround this area.

These deep roots in the past are more than amatter of pride. These do provide insight into theculture of the people and the social setup. Fromhunting to food gathering, to farming withimproved ploughs and now to machine driventilling apparatus, the march continues. Wanderingtribes to settled small republics to kingdoms andnow democracy, civilisation moves on.

In this issue of Haryana Review we bring to theattention of readers not only our hoary past, butalso relate it to the present through the pens ofexperts and our staff writers. As usual, we dealwith other issues; sports, education, culture andbooks. g

COVER STORY

Rendezvous with civilisation 4Haryana: Cradle of Indian

civilisation 6Ancient languages and literature 8Seeds of republicanism 10Archaeology establishes a sequence 12Our forgotten gods 14Coins tell history 16A peep into our past 18The legend of the Saraswati 20Antiquity of Pehowa 22Battles that changed history 24Shadows of invasions 26Haryana: Precursor of modern

town planning 28Phases of civilisation 32

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CONTENTS HARYANA REVIEW, MAY 20102

Dekh bhaichhore! mharepurvaj badiyacham-chamateghare meinrahe karte

Readers may send their comments [email protected] or to SCO 23, First Floor,

Sector 7-C, Madhya Marg, Chandigarh - 160 019

[46]

[21]

ART AnD CULTURE

Woman painter’s palette-for girl child 33SPECIAL REPORT

The 4th Municipal General Election 35PHOTO FEATURE

Shades of Haryanvi life 36SPECIAL ARTICLE

Gender equality: Miles to go 42REPORT

Counting the heads 44SPORTS

Keeping track of athletics 46MODERn TECHnOLOGY

Poor man’s refrigerator 47EnVIROnMEnT

Purifying the elixir of life 48TOURISM

Panchkula: On the tourist map 50FESTIVAL

Baisakhi: The festival of harvest 52SUCCESS STORY

Ability to challenge disability 54GUEST COLUMn

Weaving magic with words 55BOOKS

To know more, read on... 56

CONTENTS 3HARYANA REVIEW, MAY 2010

[33]

Gobind Thukral

Haryana’s tryst with civilisationcan be traced to the very dawn of

progression of man. The excavationsof Agroha, Banawali, Kunal and otherplaces including Daulatpur near Pipliand the latest from Farmana trace theroots of an advanced civilisation. Allof these were the pre and post-Harappan settlements, bringing for usthe very first images of prehistorictimes. Historians who rely on hardscientific, archaeological and relatedevidence assert,“Evidence ofprehistoric settlements in Haryanacomes from excavated finds at thevarious sites belonging to the pre-Harappan (c. 2500-2300 BCE),Harappan (c. 2300-1800 BCE), lateHarappan (c. 1800-1600 BCE) and proto-historic (2000-1500 BCE) cultures.”While some historians assert that thiswas the decadent phase of urbanisedsettlements, others argue that thesesettlements were part of continuousprocess, moving forward the wheels of

civilisation. Only phases changed. There are several historical sites

that clearly establish that Haryanawas part of the Indus valleycivilisation. Planned towns and brickstructures, apart from sculptures,coins and other historical evidenceestablish this relationship. Thiscivilisation developed near 4000-3000BC. These people used ornamentedterracotta utensils, decorated withhuman figures, birds and animals ingeometric patterns. Utensils weredecorated with lines, angles andcircles along with birds, animals,leaves and flowers drawn with blacklines on red base.

Excavations reveal the prehistoricphase of ancient civilisation. Here wefind planned cities with commercialcentres and sophisticatedcraftsmanship. There must have beenfreedom of thought to triggerintellectual churning. Religion alsoduring this period was not lost in thecobwebs of rituals and regulations,but helped creative urges to mature.

The pillar in the Hisar fort belongingto the time of Emperor Ashoka (234BC) was originally placed in Agroha.The discovery of coins of the Kushankings tells tales of ancient India.

Ropar in Punjab, Lothal in Gujaratand Kalibangan in Rajasthan andAgroha reveal fascinating detailsabout the hoary past. There is a degreeof sophistication in the layout anddesign of houses, drains, roads andbathrooms. Designs or utensils bearthe figures of deer, peacock, cairnsand snakes along with geometricpatterns--triangle, square, rectanglecircle and semi-circle. Maize, grass,wheat, barley were also painted onthem. There was a degree ofsophistication that showedaesthetically developed minds anddexterous hands.

These centres of urban civilisationeither fell on trade routes and part ofwell developed agriculture and crafts.The growth of towns, trade and moneyeconomy are closely linked up withthe development of diverse arts and

Rendezvouswith civilisation

COVER STORY HARYANA REVIEW, MAY 20104

The remains of an old fort at Agroha

COVER STORY 5HARYANA REVIEW, MAY 2010

crafts. There were occupations likewasherman and drier, painter, barber,tailor, weaver and severalmanufacturing crafts. They were ofcourse the potters, the goldsmiths,metalsmiths, carpenters and silkweavers. New social groups weretaking shape. The greater part of landwas owned by grahpatis (peasantproprietors). Wealth was nowbecoming measure of respect andsome kind of class division was takingroots. Artisans and craftsmen wereoften organised into guilds.

Agriculture was hugely facilitatedwith the introduction of iron which inturn led to the growth of thrivingvillages and settlements all over theland. Historian Buddha Prakash in hisbook ‘Haryana Through the Ages’makes interesting observations. Hewrites,“The painted Grey WareCulture, concentrated in Haryana andWestern UP, which came to be knownas Kurudesha, is associated with theKurus. Should this suggestion bevalid, it would appear that the bulk ofthe Kurus lived in the houses of mudand wattle-and-daub, practisedagriculture, cattle-breeding andhunting, used fine hand-made andwheel-turned pots, slightly convexbowls, shallow dishes with sagger orflat bases and lota like vessels, whichhad a grey colour on account of theirbeing fired under reducing conditionsin the kiln, and made tools of copperand iron. The domestication of horseand the use of iron gave them the keyto expansion and prosperity and madethem the paramount power of NorthIndia. Thus, under the Kurus, the vastregion, encompassing the valleys ofthe Saraswati and Ganga, a sort ofVishala Haryana became the centre ofagriculture, industry, ruraldevelopment and political power.”

D. D. Kosambi, the renownedhistorian, is not very impressed withthe level of knowledge created duringthe transformation from Vedictribalism to feudalism in the Punjab[Haryana was part of this] and therest of India. The Punjab was in theforefront of such a transformationfrom tribalism to feudalism, givingbirth to isolated villages and citieswhere kings and priestly classes haddeveloped close links. Kosambi argues,“The isolation of villages and theirsurplus channelled through the kingand not through market mechanism,created conditions that were not

conducive to enhancing knowledge.The interaction of individualsthrough commodity markets createsand builds institutions of knowledge.”

Kosambi maintains that the Punjabwas at par with Greece in the earlyperiods, but the repulsion felt by thepriestly classes for material realityhindered progress. In his words,“Thus, Brahmin indifference to pastand present reality not only erasedIndian history but a great deal of realIndian culture as well. The loss may beestimated by imagining the works ofAristotle, Herodotus, Thucydides andtheir contemporaries as replaced bypriestly rituals rewritten [by theGreek intelligentsia]…” In otherwords, the priestly classes wererewriting rituals, while society wastransforming its base.

During these several centuries ofcivilisation journey, Haryana has hada turbulent past, largely because of itsstrategic geographic location andwealth created through fertile land bysturdy peasants. This attractedinvaders from Greece, Iran and otherArab lands. Farmers were goodsoldiers and defended their land withvalour. Invaders came in hordes andplundered the land from all sides.

Peace was often elusive, yet peoplemade big efforts to developagriculture, cattle breeding, crafts andtrade, taking to even intentional tradethrough sea routes of Gujarat.Whenever peace prevailed, progresswas fast.

Sheer tribalism gave place to well-settled tribes and the ancientrepublics flourished. Legendary kingHarshavardhana ruled over NorthernIndia for forty one years. He was theson of Prabhakarvardhan who unitedthe small republics from Punjab toCentral India, and they, at an assembly,crowned him in 606 AD when he wasmerely 16 years old. At the height ofhis power his kingdom spread over thePunjab, Gujarat, Bengal, Orissa andthe entire Indo-Gangetic plain north ofthe Narmada.

Medieval period proved to be moretroublesome except when the Mughalsfinally settled until giving place to theBritish. In 1857, Haryana rose like alion and defeated the British. It was ashort lived affair as the state lackedleaders who could command andorganise the people. During thefreedom movement, the participationwas legendary. These struggles wererooted in our antiquity. g


Brajesh Krishna Kathil

Haryana has a long and glorioushistory of thousands of years,

dotted with remarkable epochs andillustrious happenings. The region waswatered in ancient times by the holyriver Saraswati, Drishadvati andApaga. The land of Haryana has beenan important rendezvous of variouspeople and races, and it played animportant role of a crucible for mixingand mingling to cast the shape andform of the culture and civilisation ofour country.

In the beginning, prehistoric man ofthe Stone Age roamed about in theShiwalik and Aravali hills. The earliestman who reached these regions usedstone tools like hand-axes, scrappers,cleavers, cores, unfinished flakes andchoppers. These tools have beendiscovered from Dera Karoni, MansaDevi, Pinjore, Ahian, Dhamla, Kotla,Paplona, Sukretri etc. (all in Kalkadistrict) and belong to lowerpalaeolithic age. Similarly, some Stone-Age tools were discovered from theterrace of Jhirka Cho, a seasonalnullah connected to the Sahibi rivernear Firozepur-Jhirka (in districtGurgaon). The tools were embedded ingravel deposits and are cleavers andhand-axes made of quartzite. Thediscovery of these tools gives evidenceof the presence of one of the earlyhomo-sapiens and provides clues to theevolution of man in Indian sub-continent. This early man walked fromone place to another in search of huntand lived a homeless life full ofexertion and struggle.

Archaeological explorations andexcavations reveal that the region ofHaryana was inhabited as early asproto-historic times and it saw the

Haryana: Cradle ofIndian cultureThe state played an important role of a crucible for mixing andmingling to cast the shape and form of the culture and civilisation ofour country

Combination of `V’ signs and linear strokes were used to indicate volumes

Harappan beads


growth and expansion of the earliestBronze Age culture in the thirdmillennium BC. The region was one ofthe most important epicenters of thisearliest cultural activity.

Archaeological excavationsconducted by the Department ofArchaeology and Museums, Haryana atKunal (in Ratia Tahsil of Fatehabaddistrict) shows that pit-dwelling wasprevalent at this place in 2700-2500 BC.People made circular pits, raised by redsoil, to live in. On the periphery ofthese pits, wooden pillars were fixed tomake roof by bamboo, grass, straw andother such material. People of this

culture used hand-made and wheeledpottery, bone implements, blades ofchalcedony and arrow-heads of copper.The remains of this culture, which istermed as Pre-Harappan Culture, arealso found at various other places, viz.,Siswal, Mitathal, Banawali, Balu andRakhigarhi. But at these sites thehouses were made of mud or sun-driedbricks or huts of reeds plastered withclay. These settlements were rural ones.

Around 2300 BC, a qualitativechange took place in this region. It sawthe emergence and growth of one ofthe most important civilisations of theworld, known as Harappan civilisation

or popularly known as IndusValley Civilisation.Archaeological discoveries atnumerous places in Haryanaprove that it was aprosperous urban civilisationrelated to Sind, Punjab,Rajasthan and Gujarat. Theculture is characterized byfortified township withprominent amenities andfacilities, developedindustries and distant trade-relations. People knew the artof writing and used inscribedseals and sealings for theirtrade with west Asia. Variousobjects of terracotta, faience,steatite, bronze, silver, goldand semi-precious stoneswere profusely used in dailylife. Most prominentsettlements of this cultureare Banawali (Fatehabad),Rakhigarhi (Jind), Balu(Kaithal) and Farmana(Rohtak). All these sites showthe existence of twin moundssuggesting dichotomous planlaid in the classical chess-board pattern. Theemergence of thesesettlements introduced firsturbanization in Haryana.Striking features of thesettlements are wide streets,strong defence-walls and goodsanitary arrangements.Surplus food production(wheat, rice, gram, mustard,date-palm etc.), big cattlefarms, hunting and fishinggave impetus to theemergence of a complexsociety of specialized traders,skilled labourers and otherclasses of people.

After the decline of the Harappanculture, the next phase (circa 1700 BC-1500 BC) is known as Late Harappanwhich is represented by smallersettlements devoid of urbanism, scriptand long distance trade. The remains ofthis period have been found from theexcavations of Mitathal (Bhiwani),Daulatpur and Mirzapur (Kurukshetra)and Balu (Kaithal). Around 1200 BC,people using Painted Grey Ware(typical fine grey pottery with blackdesigns) came to settle in the Saraswativalley of Haryana. They had theirlinks with North-West India andbeyond and represented a wave ofAryan people. Their remains have beenfound inter-locked with the earliercultures of the region. Excavations atBhagwanpura (Kurukshetra) reveal forthe first time, intermingling andjuxtaposition of the Late Harappan andthe Painted Grey Ware cultures. It is asignificant discovery for thereconstruction of history of the regionfrom the middle of the second to thebeginning of the first millennium BC.

Haryana played a pivotal role in theprocess of assimilation and expansionof the Aryans. The land, watered by theSaraswati and Drishadvati was afavourite and beloved abode of theAryans. A number of hymns of theRigveda were composed in this land.The Vedic people prospered highly inthis region. The most prominent tribeof the Aryans was called the Bharatas,after whom the country was calledBharatavarsh. They contributed a lot tothe growth of Aryan culture andcivilisation in Haryana. Later on,another tribe of the Aryans, known asthe Kurus, inhabited this region andthus the region or its part came to beknown as Kurudesa, Kurukshetra andKuru Janapada. The Kurus made thisregion the home of Vedic culture andland of idealism and spiritualism. Theregion became a source of greatspiritual contemplation and attainedits culmination with the message ofBhagvad Gita which occupies a specialplace in the life of the nation.

Thus, the region of Haryana has agreat significance and unique place inour country. It was the cradle of Indianculture and made remarkablecontribution to the mainstream ofIndian history. g

The writer is former Professor andChairman of the Department of AncientIndian History and Archaeology,Kurukshetra UniversityStone inscription, Agroha


Prof J S Grewal

Writing is regarded as 'the mostmomentous' invention of human

beings, representing an enormousintellectual advance. Apart fromstorage of information and recordingfor future reference, distantcommunication was made possible bywriting.

The script prevalent among thepeople of the protohistoric Indus plainshas not yet been deciphered. The smallnumber of the available inscriptions,their shortness and the absence of anybilingual inscription has madedecipherment extremely difficult. It isclear, however, that the script remainedstable over a number of centuries.Accents are added to a large number ofletters, suggesting phonetic maturity.Written probably from right to left, thescript bears no ascertainablerelationship with any contemporary or

near-contemporary script. Thelanguage of the lndus people belongedperhaps to the Dravidian family.

The first work of literature, knownto have been composed in the Punjab,is the Rigveda. Composed largelybetween 1500 and 1000 BC, it wasrecorded in writing more than twothousand years later. In its presentform, the Rigveda is divided into ten'books' (mandalas). Six of these, fromthe second to the seventh, are more orless homogeneous and are the work ofspecific seers and their descendants.These 'family books' are arranged on auniform plan, and appear to form thenucleus of the Rigveda. The unity ofthe ninth book lies in the fact that allits hymns are addressed to a singledeity called Soma. The early part of thefirst book has an affinity with theeighth. The tenth book of the Rigvedawas composed probably towards theend of the period. It appears to stand

apart because of its subject matter, itsform and its language.

The language of the Rigveda iscalled 'Vedic' by some scholars to markits distinction from the classicalSanskrit which developed later. Apartfrom a definite change in the tenthbook of the Rigveda, dialecticdifferences are reflected in the otherbooks. In fact, some elements in thelanguage of the Rigveda are found inneither the Indo-Iranian nor the Indo-European family of languages. Recentlinguistic analyses have suggested thepresence of proto-Dravidian elementsin the vocabulary and phonetics of theRigveda. Some of the proto-Dravidianwords relate significantly toagricultural activities, pointing to thelocal agricultural communities as theirsource.

The Kaushitaki Brahmana of theRigveda contains the statement thatthe study of language was specially

Ancient languagesand literature

The life of the earliest Aryans is represented by the Rig Veda, which was composed in about 1500 BC


cultivated in the north of India, andthat students who returned from therewere regarded as authorities onlinguistics. We do not know the placeswhere this study was cultivated but wedo know that Panini had a number ofpredecessors. The study of languagewas intimately linked with religion inthe sense that correct recitation andunderstanding of the sacred text wereregarded as essential requirements ofworship. Therefore, interest inphonetics, etymology, grammar andmetre developed quite early. TheTaittiriya Aranyaka mentionsphonetics (shiksa) as a subject whichdealt with letters, accent, quantity,pronunciation and euphonic rules. Thebasis for such studies was provided by'word-text' (pada-patha) of the Vedas.Connected with pada-pathas were thePratishakhyas which furnished asystematic account of Vedic euphoniccombinations. Panini used them for hisAshtadhyayi.

In the study of etymology,collections of rare or obscure Vedicwords, arranged for the use ofteachers, were prepared as Nighantus.These could be used for exegesis. Yaskahad before him five such collectionswhen he wrote his Vedic commentary,the famous Nirukta. Besides beingimportant from the point of view ofexegesis and grammar, the Nirukta issignificant as the earliest extantSanskrit prose tract of the classicaltype, considerably earlier than Panini.Yaska must have lived long beforePanini for a considerable number ofnames of important grammarians arementioned between them. His Niruktaalso shows that the Rigveda had a fixedform in his time, and its text wasessentially identical with the text nowavailable.

Grammatical studies werecultivated to a considerable extentbefore Yaska. He talks of two schools:the 'eastern' and the 'northern'. Hementions nearly a score ofpredecessors among whom wereShaktayana, Gargya and Shakalya.Yaska has an interesting discussion onthe theory of Shakatayana that nounswere derived from verbs. Gargya isrejected by him because of his ownview that all nouns are derived fromverbs. The whole system of Panini'sgrammar is founded on Shakatayana’stheory of the verbal origin of nouns.Regarded as an infallible authority,Panini superseded all his predecessors.

Their works, consequently, haveperished. Yaska alone survives becausehe was not a grammarian. His workrepresents Vedanga 'etymology'.Panini's own work can be regarded asthe culmination of the study ofgrammar and the starting point for thepost-Vedic classical Sanskrit.

Panini's work has a great culturalsignificance in itself. His interest ingrammar and linguistics underlinesthe importance of Vedic language andliterature in the Punjab, particularlywhen we know that he had a number ofpredecessors. He moulded the future ofthe language precisely because hiswork came as the culmination ofinterest in systematic analysis oflanguage. His work is also significantfor revealing his familiarity with thelater Vedic tradition. He was a masternot only of the Rigveda but also of theSama and the Yajura. He describes thelanguage spoken by a group of priestswho were familiar with the language ofthe northern schools of the Vedictradition, which was close to the laterVedic prose in structure. Thus, Panini'swork reveals a certain degree of closecontact between Vahika, the north-western region beyond the river Sutlej,and the Kuru-Panchala regionextending beyond the river Jamuna.

Another great name associated withthe north-western region is that ofKautilya. On the basis of thoroughanalyses of the Arthashastra in recentdecades, it can be stated with someconfidence that it was originallycomposed by him around 300 BC. It wascommented upon and edited by laterwriters till the text now available wasprepared by Vishnugupta in the thirdor the fourth century AD, includingwhatever interpolations had beenincorporated by then. The second bookof the Arthashastra appears to be theoriginal core, with a few other booksclosely allied to it. This treatise on

political economy gives a clear andmethodical analysis of economic andpolitical thought in its application tothe existing conditions. Kautilya canlegitimately be looked upon as thetheorist of the Mauryan system ofadministration and taxation. Paniniand Kautilya are perhaps, the bestexamples of profound thought coupledwith a strong element of empiricalobservation. Their works appear to beclosely related to the life around.

The official language and script ofthe Achaemenian Empire wasAramaic. The Aramaic script wasinadequate to express all the sounds ofthe language spoken by the people inthe north-west of the subcontinent.Gradually, a new script was evolvedfor the north-western Prakrit. Thisnew script was Kharoshthi. Itspopularity is indicative of theprevalence of Prakrit as the spokenlanguage of the people of the north-western region.

The inscriptions of Ashoka appearto be the oldest tangible record fromthe north-west to have survived intothe present. In any case, they throwsome light on matters related tolanguages and scripts. When Ashokadecided to give wide publicity to hisideas and programmes, he decided touse Prakrit as the medium. Theinscriptions from Topra and Kalsi inthe Sutlej-Jamuna Divide are in Prakritwritten in Mauryan Brahmi. Thelanguage of the inscription atMansehra in the upper Sindh SagarDoab is also Prakrit, but the script usedis Kharoshthi. This is also true of theinscription at Shahbazgarhi across theriver Indus. The language of thefragment of an inscription discoveredat Taxila is Aramaic, which wouldindicate that there were some Iranianresidents of Taxila. The inscription atLampaka (Lamghan) is in Aramaic. Inthe inscription at Kandhar, Greek aswell as Aramaic is used, indicating thepresence of Greek and Aramaicspeaking people in Kandhar. It need notbe ruled out, however, that inscriptionsin Greek and Aramaic languages weremeant for the traders coming from thewest as well as for the local people. Theevidence of Ashokan inscriptions issuggestive of the popularity of Prakritthroughout the region. g

The writer is an eminent historianand former Chairman and Director,Indian Institute of Advanced Study,

Shimla


Nishant Prabhakar

We normally take the origin ofthe concept called democracy to

its western roots. For some, theconcept of democracy is anappendage of modern times. Even ifone goes into the ancient historicalroots, democratic identification islinked to the great civilisation ofGreece in around 500 BC. However,surprising as it may be, the origin ofdemocratic republicanism has itsroots in north-western India and isolder than what was practised by theGreek Civilisation.

In the 6th century BC, we find alarge number of states in NorthernIndia which were not ruled by kingsbut formed petty republics oroligarchies. This has been provedfrom various literary sources.Panini, the great Sanskrit scholarwho wrote Ashtadhyayi andformulated 3959 rules of Sanskritgrammar in 4th century BC,mentions that all the states andregions (janapadas) of northernIndia during his time were based onthe settlement in a given area byidentifiable warrior people. Some ofthese peoples (in Panini's termsjanapadins) were subject to a king,who was at least in theory, of theirown blood and was perhapsdependent on their special support.Elsewhere, the janapadins ran theiraffairs in a republican manner.

Further, the Greek travellernamed Megasthenes, who came toIndia in 300 BC, about two decadesafter Alexander's invasion andserved as ambassador of the Greekking Seleucus Nicator to the Indian

emperor ChandraguptaMaurya, writes about north-western India beingdominated by republics whoseheads were elected by thepeople.

These ancient republicswere broadly of three types asfar as their politicalorganisation is concerned.There were democracies orpure-Gana, wherein the totaladult population participatedin the administration. Theother was aristocracies orpure-Kula, wherein only fewselected families participatedin the administration. The lastone was mixed aristocraciesand democracies or mixture ofKula and Gana, where theadministration was a mixture of two.

Further, the republicanstates which had a unitarycharacter were called city-republics or Nigamas. Therepublics having federalcharacter were called state-republicsor Janapadas. In certain states, onlykshatriya "royal families" (rajakulas)were given the right to frame lawsand elected the members of theexecutive council ; in some, the headof joint families were given thisright ; while in certain others entireadult population had this right.Besides, in certain states the localassemblies enjoyed wide autonomyto look after their respective localadministration and the mattersconcerning the entire state weredecided by all the electedrepresentatives of local assemblies;

while in others, the power to governthe entire state was handed over toan elected central assembly andexecutive.

The term raja, which in amonarchy certainly meant king, wasalso used in a state with gana orsangha constitution to designatesomeone who held a share insovereignty.

Another evidence suggests that insome states the enfranchised groupwas even wider. Such a developmentis hinted at by Kautilya. Accordingto him, there were two kinds ofjanapadas: ayudhiya-praya- those

Seeds ofrepublicanismVillage republics and oligarchies flourished in ancient Haryana. The concept of democracy has it origin muchbefore the Greeks thought of it

in Haryana

COVER STORY 11HARYANA REVIEW, MAY 2010 11

made up of mostly soldiers, andsreni-praya- those comprising guildsof craftsmen, traders andagriculturalists. The first werepolitical entities where militarytradition alone defined those worthyof power, while the second wouldseem to be communities wherewealth derived from peacefuleconomic activity gave some accessto the political process. Thisinterpretation is supported by thefact, that sreni or guilds based on aneconomic interest were often both,part of the armed force of a stateand the political set up, and were

recognized as havingjurisdiction over their ownmembers.

In all these states, thepeople who had the right torule according to settled lawsof the state used to assembleat an assembly hall called theSanthagara, discussed allimportant matters concerningthe state and decisions weretaken by a majority vote. Thevoting pattern was either openor secret ballot if there was nounanimity of opinion. Themembers of the executivecouncil were called Rajanaand the head of the executivecouncil was called Raja orGanapati.

Haryana, which was part ofthe ancient Punjab, virtuallyremained a battle ground andhad to bear the brunt of anumber of foreign attacks.Also, being on the periphery ofearly empires whichflourished in Ganaga- JamunaDoab, centralisedadministration was not aseffective due to the distancesfrom the capital and lack ofcommunication. Hence, thisarea became the activity lociof many tribes and tribalrepublics that had to take uparms repeatedly and thusbecame dependent upon armsfor survival and evensubsistence. It is due to thisfact, that these tribes aregenerally catagorised asayudhayajivi samghas orsastropijivin samghas.

According to ProfessorManmohan Kumar, “On thebasis of Numismatics, we get

evidence of the tribal republics thatformed part of the geographicallandscape which now constitutesHaryana. We can trace coinageassociated to various republics inHaryana dating back to 2nd centuryBC.” The main republic of this timewas the Agratya or Agacga,janapada whose coins werediscovered at Agroha and wassituated towards modern day Hisar,Fatehabad and parts of Sirsa.

Similarly, the Kadas or Kathaswere the ancient people who areidentified with the Kathaios of theGreek historians and known to have

lived in the region that lies betweenthe Ravi and Beas rivers. Theybecame independent and issuedcoins which have been discoveredfrom Sugh (Distt. Yamunanagar).Their republic was quite close to theareas of Kunindas and Yaudheyas.The coins associated with them havebeen found at Yamunanagar,Kurukshetra and Kaithal districts ofHaryana along the Ghaggar river.

Yaudheyas republic with theircapital Rohitika (Rohtak) was themost prominent republic of ancientIndia. From literary references theirempire is placed between 5th centuryBC and 10th century AD. But theirindependent existence as attested bycoins was from 2nd century BC to 4thcentury AD. When due to foreignattacks, the central administration ofthe Mauryan Empire became weak,they declared their independence.They issued coins bearing the legendYaudheyanarm Bahudhatyake,during this period. Their emprirespread from Nanital, Saharanpur,Hastinapur to parts of Haryana up tothe Sarswati river.

By 1st century BC, the Agratyarepublic ceased to exist and itsterritory was usurped by theYaudheyas republic while the farnorth of Haryana, covering presentday Panchkula and Yamunanagardistrict, came under the domain ofthe Kunindas. However, towards theend of this century, the Yaudheyashad faced the wrath of the foreignersand were forced to migrate to thehilly areas of Uttaranchal andHimachal Pradesh. Here, they issuedsix headed Karttikeya type coinswhich are not found anywhere inPunjab and Haryana.

According to historian andnumismatics expert, Dr. DevendraHanda, “The Yaudheyas were at thezenith of their political powerduring the 3rd to 4th century AD.They issued copper currency bearingYaudheya Ganasya Jaya.” Theircoins are found from Bahawalpur(Pakistan) to western Uttar Pradeshincluding Malwa of Punjab, whole ofHaryana, parts of northernRajasthan and parts of southernHimachal Pradesh.

The era of republics was finallyended by the imperial Guptas whopursued the policy of extension ofthe empire by annexing theneighbouring states. g


Dr Sukhdev Saini

It is widely believed that Haryana hasbeen the cradle of cultures from the

time of emergence of man in India andit has bequeathed a rich culture. In thecultural cavalcade of India’s history,the contribution of Haryana is ofimmense value, occupying animportant geographical position whichbrings together ample elements to builda reliable model for the understandingof the cultural background of thehistory of Indian civilisation.

In this connection, the Harappanphases and their continuity is alandmark in the cultural expansion anddevelopment of the region. It is one ofthe most important areas which havegiven a surprising picture of culturalmovement and local tradition. Thediscovery of the Hakra ware cultureand subsequently Harappan culture inSaraswati valley indeed constitutes alandmark in the archaeology of Indiansubcontinent. Recently, the excavationat Bhirrana opened a new chapterabout the early farming communities ofthe Saraswati valley. It has pushed backthe antiquity of settled life in the partof Harappan civilisation to early 7thmillennium BC. Previously, theexplorations conducted by differentscholars of Kurukshetra University ,particularly those by Professor SurajBhan brought to light a large number ofsettlements of early farmers of theSaraswati valley.

The excavations and extensiveexplorations carried out in theSaraswati valley provided a sufficientdata that help us to build a solidchronological framework of greatsignificance. The concentration anddistribution of Harappan sites inHaryana shows that there were‘economic pockets’ in the Saraswativalley. In these ‘economic pockets’, theprocess of self-sufficiency in

subsistence was achieved by closely-knit interdependent settlements.

The excavated sites which havesupplied most valuable information areBhirrana, Farmana, Rakhigarhi,Banawali, Kunal, Balu, Mitathal andSiswal. The evidences from sites likeKunal, Bhirrana and Farmana onevolutionary pattern in houseconstruction activities are notable. Itdeveloped from pit-dwelling, mud ormud brick structure in early phases tostructures of baked brick in the matureHarappan phase. The Late Harappansof these sites may be the users of the

upper portion of Harappanarchitecture for a long time.

This area of Haryana is well knownfor its achievement in the field ofagriculture and creation of surplusagricultural produce which triggeredeconomic activity and providedimpetus to the development of culturesince the day of Harappan culture oreven earlier. The fabric of agriculturein the proto-historic Haryana restedundoubted on plough cultivation,although conspicuous by its absenceexcept a clay model of a plough fromBanawali. But close contacts of thisregion with Kalibangan and therecovery of archaeo-botanical remainsfrom the region dispelled doubts overthe absence of any positive evidence.The archaeo-botanical remains fromearly onward reveal a rich and variedfood economy based on the cultivationof cereals and legumes. The lateHarappans of this region were alsogreat agriculturists and producedenough agricultural produce that led tothe diffusion or expansion ofsettlements in large numbers.

Although, no large scalecommerce is testified during the earlyHarappan period, but a trade ofrestricted kind with neighbouringplaces is well attested. The Harappansociety was basically a society of urbancharacter and had certain advancedtechnical knowledge like coppermanufacturing and bead-making andhad market centres. Seals and sealinghad been playing an important role inthe commercialisation of economicsetup of the Harappans. In spite of itsrural character, the bead industry ofKunal proves beyond doubt that MatureHarappan type of stone and metalbeads were manufactured centuriesbefore the emergence of Harappansettlements.

The examination of archaeo-botanical remains from different sites

Archaeologyestablishes a sequenceA critical assessment of early culture of Haryana and recent discoveries

Bronze figurine of 'Dancing Girl'found in Mohenjodaro


reveals a rich and varied food economybased on the cultivation of cereals andlegumes throughout Proto-historicoccupational phases. The agriculturalwaste and vast grazing ground aroundthe site must have given rise to animalhusbandry. The agro-pastoral characterof the site never got marginalised,other traits of subsistence remainedsubordinate.

CULTURE SEQUENCE:

The evidences of Kunal and Siswalsignificantly contributed a lot in thecontinuity of cultural sequence. Thecultural features of three structuralphases of Period Ic (Harappan) atKunal clearly demonstrate developingstages of culture marked by changewith continuity.

The causes for the decline ofHarappan culture and thecharacteristics of the post-urban phasehave been a subject of great interest toscholars. Much research has beencarried out in various regions ofHarappan domain to understand theseaspects. Though various views havebeen put forward regarding the factorsthat led to the end of the Harappancivilization, there is no unanimityamong scholars. This was perhaps dueto the play of numerous variables likechange in climate, tectonic activity,hydrological changes and shift insubsistence system, trade and economyor invasion, which resulted in thecollapse of urban centres. No singlecause can be considered to have led tothe degeneration of the Mature/Urbanphase. However, the characteristics of

the post-urban phase in various regionsare fairly well-known though theunderstanding is far from complete.Nevertheless, the decline of theHarappan culture was not uniform andsimultaneous in the entire-region. Likethe early Harappan phases, the post-urban phase has a number of regionalcultural variations. Wherein in Punjaband Cholistan region this phase isrepresented by Cemetery H culture, ineastern Punjab and Harayna it is thelate Sothi and Bara culture, in Sind theJhukar culture and in Gujarat byRangpur IIC and III occupation. Thiswas the time when the local cultureswere coming into prominence and theHarappan phenomena were on adecline. But now the question arisesthat who were the authors of theselocal cultures? Were they the lateHarappans adapting new localtendencies as the beginners of theirnew settlements (Late Harappan sites)?If they were non- Harappans then wehave to trace out their process ofdevelopment and relation withHarappans from their beginning.Another question that begs an answeris that if the Harappan cities are theconsolidated form of expansion ofearly Harappan settlement expansion,then what is the consolidated form ofnewly emerged late Harappansettlements in such large numbers?

The contents of the followingcultural sequence are worked out in thelight of the fact that the prevailingtendencies cannot disappear untilreplaced by the new one. The processesof inferiority in old tendencies givespace to accelerate the process ofdevelopment of new tendencies. So,both processes are happeningsimultaneously. Then how the gradualelimination of old tradition can betermed or defined as the decline of agroup of people or a culture, while theyare adapting new traditions initially,although may not be in a perfectmanner. Haryana provides ampleevidence to solve this riddle. There is aneed for analogical study of the lateHarappan character of Harappan sitesand Harappan character of lateHarappan sites.(A) Hakra ware culture: Origin ofagricultural communities; potterymaking industry; pit-dwelling; inter-community cultural contact; (B) Early Harappan village culture:Expansion of agriculturalcommunities; expansion of rural

settlements; origin of industrial artand crafts; origin of trade andcommerce (C) Harappan culture + ruralsettlement (with urban character):Origin of commercialization ofagriculture; consolidation of expansionof rural settlements; expansion ofdifferent arts and crafts; expansion ofTrade and commerce (D) Mature Harappan + tradingcommunities (with urbanization):Expansion of Commercialization ofagriculture; expansion of ruralsettlements of urban character;consolidation of different arts andcrafts; consolidation of trade andcommerce (E) Late Harappan phase:Consolidation of expansion ofcommercialization of agriculture;diffusion of Harappan settlements;diffusion or decentralization ofHarappan arts and crafts; expansion ofinternal trade(F) Post Harappan (chalcolithiccommunity) + pgw culture + baraculture + transformation: Culturalrelation of Late Harappan settlementswith non-Harappan settlement due toexpansion of internal trade; some oldpottery tradition replaced by the newone, Chalcolithic pottery tradition,inferior late Harappan potterytradition; Chalcolithic metal industry,faience industry (G) Transformation fromcommunity based administrativesystem to the territorial basedadministrative system: Incontinuation with foreign trademechanism; development in art andarchitecture; new trading centers

To understand this Proto-Historiccultural continuity of the region, thenotable feature that generally strikes isits geographical position and riversystem, which makes it a viable region.Haryana being a part of Saraswatiregion forms a distinct geographicalunit and accordingly reflects a differentview of physiographic as well ascultural aspects. A survey of the riversystem of Saraswati valley is essentialto search new evidence beforeembarking upon the assessment ofcultural contents and possible futurepotentialities of greater dimensions toreconstruct the ancient history of theregion. g

The writer teaches in the Departmentof Ancient History, Kurukshetra

University

A red potsherd with an engravingthat resembles the 'Dancing Girl',discovered in Fatehabad district in Haryana

Devendra Handa

Over-awed by the force of some ofthe natural phenomena with

which man in antiquity wassurrounded he developed a belief intheir being animate and divine.Everything that was regarded ascapable of exercising a good or evilinfluence became an object not only ofadoration but of prayer also. Theearly gods of mankind were thedeified representations of thephenomena of nature though thedegree of their anthropomorphismvaried. India was no exception to itand the Rigveda which is the earliestliterary monument of the worldacquaints us with a plethora of suchdivinities: the Earth, Sun, Dawn, Sky,Winds, Fire, Soma, Varuna, Indra, etc.With the passage of time theredeveloped speculations about life andcreatures around, various systems ofphilosophy and religious beliefscommensurate with which andequally varied with those are the faithin the multiplicity and oneness of theSupreme god or even in the negationof such a Being. In course of timethere evolved myths of their power,birth, parents, kin andaccomplishments.

It is interesting to note that thesegods have also undergone vicissitudesof fate and fame like their mundanecounterparts. The all-powerful Vedicgod Indra lost his supreme status anda form of the Sun-god Vishnu rosesubsequently to occupy the highestrung of divinity. Many gods even gotforgotten. In this series we shall betaking up such deities whose worshipwas quite strong and wide-spreadsometime but are lesser known now orhave went into oblivion. One such godwas Vaikuntha.

Vaikuntha is one of the thousandnames of Vishnu. In the realm ofplastic art, Vaikuntha is a unitary

Our forgotten godsVaikunth, a form of Lord Vishnu, whose worship was widespread inantiquity, has now gone into oblivion

Vaikuntha from Pehowa


multiple image which symbolicallyrepresents Vaikuntha (i.e. VasudevaVishnu) as the Highest Being alongwith his three emanations –Samkarshana (Balarama),Pradyumna and Ainiruddha – orincarnations, i.e., Narasimha, Varahaand Kapila. The Mahabharata refersto this esoteric form of Vishnu asMurti-chatushtaya (four-fold form)but does not give any details. Theevolution of Vaikuntha images istraced by some scholars from thefour-faced Yaksha image from Bhitanear Allahabad, now exhibited in theLucknow Museum but some Kushan-Gupta images from Mathura showingthree different busts emanating fromthe shoulders of a central figure maycertainly be regarded as theprecursor of the later development.Vaikuntha images with lion and boarfaces, however, seem to have comeinto existence during the Guptaperiod. During the early medievalperiod, Vaikuntha worship hadgrown quite popular in the hillregion of Kashmir and HimachalPradesh. In the latter state numeroustemples may still be seen containingimages of the god. It seems that fromthe Mathura region the worship ofVaikuntha spread to Haryana,Punjab, Himachal and Kashmir inthe north and even to Afghanistan inthe northwest and towards UttarPradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthanand Gujarat and further south toBelgam and Bijapur in Karnatakawhere such images have been found.

The earliest iconographicaldescription of the Vaikuntha imageoccurs in a text Jayakhya Samhitabelonging to the late or post Guptaperiod where it has been described ashaving four faces of Vaikuntha orVishnu, Narasimha, Varaha andKapila and having four arms holdinga conch (shankha), a wheel (chakra),a mace (gada) and a lotus (padma)and mounted on a white garuda. TheVishnudharmottara Purana, anothertext of the late Gupta period, statesthat the joint image of Vasudeva(human), Samkarshana (lion),Pradyumna (boar) and Aniruddha(terrific face) is called Vaikunthawhich should be quadricephalous(chaturmukha). Symbolically themain eastern face is placid andrepresents strength, southernleonine face represents knowledge,

northern boar face representsaffluence and the western terrificface represents strength (shakti). Thedeity should have eight handsholding an arrow, a rosary and apestle in the right hands and a shield,a plough, a bow and a discus in theleft ones and the god should ride thecelestial bird. Later texts like theAparajitaprichchha, Rupamandanaand Devatamurtip-rakarana alsodescribe the Vaikuntha-murtisimilarly as four-faced, eight-handedand riding the mount Garuda. Theattributes according to these textsshould be a mace, a sword, a discusand an arrow in the right hands anda conch, a shield, a bow and a lotusin the left ones.

We find an interesting story inKhajuraho inscription ofYashovarmadeva (CE 954) about thefour-faced Vaikuntha form ofVishnu. It states that Kapila and twoother demons had obtained a boonfrom Brahma that they should bekilled only by one who would assumetheir forms. In order to kill thedemons Vishnu assumed thesyncretistic form of Vaikuntha withthe faces of lion, boar and Kapila.This mythological story, however, isnot met with anywhere else. Theabove-mentioned Khajurahoinscription refers to the constructionof the Lakshmana Temple atKhajuraho for setting up the four-faced Vaikuntha image which wasbrought from the Kailash region andpresented to the Shahi ruler ofKangra as a token of friendship butwas taken away forcibly from theShahi king by king Herambapala.The Chandella king Yashovaramansnatched this image fromHerambapala’s son Devapala.Another Vaikuntha temple known tous is the larger Sas (of the Sas-Bahu)temple at Gwalior built in CE 1093 byking Mahipala. We have someinscriptional evidence of theinstallation of Vaikuntha images intemples in Kashmir also. Numerousother shrines dedicated to this godwho must have existed once have notsurvived the vicissitudes of natureand human vandalism.

Haryana being located in closevicinity of Mathura seems to haveembraced Vaikuntha worship verysoon after its inception as indicatedby the Gupta image bearing

additional lion and boar faces nowworshipped in a Shiva temple atGharaunda, a straggling town nearKarnal on the Sher Shah Suri Marg(National Highway No. 1) and famousfor its Mughal sarai ‘carava restingplace’. Kapal-Mochan, a holy placeand pilgrimage near Jagadhari indistrict Yamunanagar has yielded alate Gupta broken image ofVaikuntha which betrays thecontinuing popularity of the god inthis region. An almost completeimage measuring 65 x 40 cm whichmay roughly be dated to the period ofking Harshavardhana shows thenimbate god wearing a flatcylindrical crown (kirita-mukuta),earrings, torque, sacred thread,vaijayantimala ‘long garland’, lowergarment secured by a waistband andhaving clearly carved leonine face onhis proper right and boar face on theleft. His natural hands hold a lotusand conch while the additionalhands are placed over personifiedmace (Gadadevi) and conch(Shankha-purusha). The period ofseventh through the ninth centurysaw the evolution of small portableplaques of the deity. Such plaqueshave been recovered from Hat nearSafidon and Agroha near Hisar. Themost beautiful image of Vaikuntha,however, comes from Pehowashowing sparing use of jewellery,graceful curves and contours,pleasing composition, detailed caregiven even to the incidental figuresand delicacy of chisel work whichbestow a distinctive character to thisone of the loveliest reliefs fromHaryana belonging to the first halfof the tenth century CE bearingaffinity to the Pratihara idiom.Images and fragments found fromPinjore, Chandimandir, Lalru,Kurukshetra, Asandh and Jasat nearPataudi furnish ample evidence ofthe popularity of Vaikuntha inHaryana during the medieval period.Medieval iconoclasm and religiousbigotry, however, seem to havepushed this god into oblivion andpeople now are hardly aware of hisname and the fact that onceVaikuntha was a popular god of theregion. g

The writer is a former chairman,department of Ancient History,

Culture and Archaeology, PanjabUniversity, Chandigarh



Virjanand Devkarni

The place of coins in understandingthe ancient history is of utmost

importance. In India the excavation ofancient sights has revealed hordes ofcoins. These coins are of variousmediums like metal gold, silver, copper,bronze, brass and various metal alloysand terracotta and leather.

From the ancient Sanskrit

literature and Puranas, we come toknow about the lineage of variouskings and discovery of coins hasproved their historical relevance andtruth. The existence of Bhanumitra,Vangpal and others Panchal kings;Kunindas; Yaudheyas; Arjunaayaans;Maalwas; Mahadevas; Audumbers;Agrahars; Shibis; Kanishka, Huvishksand other Kushans dynasty kings;Chandragupta – Smaudragupta and

other Gupta kings; Aganimitra,Bhraspatimitra and other rulers; kingsof Kushambhi, Ganendra-bhav-nagand other Nag dynasty kings;Satkarnis, Andharas, Pallavas, Cholas,Ghadwallas, Harshvardhan;Rudradaman and other Kshatrapasdynasty, Abhimanu-Sangram and otherKashmiri kings; Menander,Apollodotus and other Indo-Greekkings; Ujjain, Takshila, Mathura,Mahipal Deva and other kings of theThomar dynasty; Someshwar Dev,Bisal Dev, Prtihaviraj and otherChauhan kings; from MohammadGauri to George VI; Shiavaji Maratha;Ranjeet Singh, the Sikh king and othernumerous dynasties has been provedby the discovery of coins.

From the size, weight and design ofvarious coins, we come to know aboutthe system of measurement followedduring that time. On various coins wefind mention of various periods andname of the minting areas whichproves the existence of manyhistorical places with theircorresponding eras. Similarly, singlecoins depicting name of two rulersindicate the co-existence and co-rule oftwo kings. The name of the old king onthe coin when is superimposed by anew ruler’s name indicates that the oldking was defeated by the new king andthe new king was in a hurry to havehis own coin depicting his rule. Theking was very much interested inhaving his own royal insignia andhurriedly got the old currencypunched in his name so that the peoplefollowed it, symbolizing hissovereignty. For example Dambhuti’scoins depict a punched name of

Coinstell historyThere is history embedded in the coins, whichwhen deciphered, throws open the doors to ourancient past Coin of army chief Veer Dwar

found at Rohtak

Casting blocks for coins belonging to Gaudheya Rajput-Khakhrakot (Rohtak)


Vangpal which is superimposed on thename of Dambhuti.

The world’s oldest punch-markedcoins depict some logos like sun, stars,fish, peacock, mountains, bow andarrow and other symbols. An analysisof these coins tells us about theancient customs, beliefs and culture ofthat era.

The coins of Yaudheyas depictingShiva, Parvati, Kartikeya, Nandi,Hand, Trishul, Chakra and othersymbols show that the Yaudheyas wereshavites. Similarly, coins of Kanshikashow Mahatma Buddha. Besides this,they also have pictures of Shiv, Surya,Vayu devta and Agni devta, whichmeans the Indian gods were veneratedby the Kanishk people. During theGupta dynasty we find coins depictingGoddess Laxmi seated on a lotus(Kamal Pushp). The Agrahars who areknown to be the forefathers ofAggarwal community, had Lion, Nandiand Gaj-Laxmi on their coins.Similarly, the Nag dynasty had theNandi as the symbol on the coinsissued by them.

The kings of the Panchal dynastyhad given Surya (Sun) and Agni (fire),a prominent place on the first face oftheir coins. The coins issued byPanchalas in the western border areasof ancient India, had both Bharamiand Kharosthi script on either side ofeach coin. This indicates that thepeople living in western areas ofancient India during that time hadknowledge of both Bharami andKharosthi scripts. Similarly, in the farwestern frontiers of ancient India,coins having Kharosthi and Greekscripts were in use.

Lord Krishna had thee lineages:Andhak, Bhoj and Vardesh. Out of thethree, in the coins issued by Vardesh,both Kharosthi and Bharami scriptshave been used and they depictsymbols like elephant, lion, chakra etc.This shows that Vardesh believed inthe Vishnu incarnation of Krishna.

The Turkish kings of Sultanateperiod like Mohammad Ghauri, Balbanand others; Allaudin Khilji and SherShah Suri used Devnagari script intheir coins. The initial policy of theearlier Muslim kings was to establishthemselves among the natives of Indiaas one of them and not as an outsider.Thus, by using Devangari script intheir coins, they tried to projectthemselves as real patrons of theIndians. This was a policy used bythem to consolidate their empire.

In those areas where we find thecoins of a particular ruler, we canconclude, that the area was under therule of that king in that particular era.Further, when we get a horde of coinsof different rulers, this indicates theirpresence in the same era, only theirtime of rule differs by a few decades inthat particular era.

Similarly, from the study of coins,

we can get an idea of the old language,customs, culture, education, religion,ruler, kingdom, defence advancementsand art forms. The coins issued byvarious kings are a subject ofdedicated and deep research for ascholar of history. Further, if thefindings on the study of coins are alsoproved by the ancient literature, bhojpatras, copper plates, rockinscriptions, pillar inscriptions etc, ajob of the historian is to assimilatethese findings in a properchronological manner. The study andresearch of numerous panegyriccompositions found on secret coinswhich if found to be similar to thepanegyric compositions on copperplates or rock inscriptions, helps incorrelating historical past, thereby,proving its occurrence whichotherwise would have remained lost.For this type of research which iscarried out by researchers, theHaryana Purutatav Sangharaley atGurukul, Jhajjar, is at the help of theresearchers. This museum holds thepriceless treasures related to theancient history of Haryana.g

The writer is Director, PuratatavSangharaley, Gurukul, Jhajjar.

Coin of Indo-Greek king Eucratides

Casting blocks for coins of Samantdev and Yaudheyas at Khakrakhot (Rohtak)


Ravneet Kaur

Haryana has been the hub of social,cultural and religious activity in

India, even before the time of Vediccivilisation. The history of Haryana ismarked by constant integration ofdiverse cultures with continuousmigration of people from differentparts of the world. Given its distinctivegeography, the state of Haryana waswitness to the invasions of the Muslimrulers, battles of the Marathas and theSikhs. Hindu saints, Buddhist monksand Sikh gurus have traversedHaryana, spreading their message ofuniversal love and brotherhood. Sihi inFaridabad, the birth place of greatHindi poet Surdas, is another nucleusof culture in Haryana while the legendof Lord Krishna is very evident in thelives of the people.

Haryana’s history and culture is

ancient and dynamic, spanning back tothe beginning of human civilisation.Primitive society was largely nomadicand pastoral. Man spent most of histime hunting for food, making andusing tools, protecting himself fromanimals and fighting with naturalcalamities. He worshipped naturalelements like water, air, fire and trees.The status of man and woman wasequal.

The domestication of plants andanimals usually distinguishes Neolithicculture from earlier Paleolithic orMesolithic hunting, fishing, and food-gathering culture. Bronze and ironbrought revolution in the life of man.Concept of rich and poor developed.Indus valley civilisation falls in thisBronze Age. With the advent of iron,man started cleaning more and moreforests for agriculture. Thus,agriculture forced man to lead a settled

life. This was also the beginning ofprivate ownership of land.

Indus valley civilisation wasbasically an urban civilisation and thepeople lived in well-planned towns. Thehighly civilized Harappans knew theart of growing cereals, and wheat andbarley constituted their staple food.They consumed vegetables and fruitsand ate mutton, pork and eggs as well.Evidences also show that they usedcotton as well as woolen garments.Both males and females used nearlysame dresses. Fan-shaped headdresswas common among women. Men keptshort beards but shaved theirmoustaches. Females used variouscosmetics to beautify themselves. Both,rich and poor, wore various ornamentsof different metals like gold, silver,copper and precious as well as semi-precious stones. Necklaces, armlets andfinger-rings were mostly used by males

A peep into our pastThe cultural ethos of Haryana before 18th century

Artefacts of Harappan Era


while females used headbands,bracelets, bangles, ear-rings and ankletsin addition to them. Fishing, huntingand bird fighting was main source ofentertainment for them. Toys like cartswhistles and rattles were favouriteamong children. Mostly dead wereburied and certain household articleswere also buried with them. This wasmay be because they believed in lifeafter death. Indus valley civilisationwas followed by Vedic period.

Haryana was a part of the state ofPunjab for a long time. The largelyaccepted view is that a section ofAryans reached the frontiers of theIndian subcontinent around 200 BC andfirst settled in Punjab and it is here, inthis land, where the hymns of Rig-Vedawere composed. The Vedic Age laid thefoundation of Hinduism and religiouspractices associated with it.

The increase in population,development of the agrarian economy,increase in local trade, the castefactors, and emergence of the rulingclass and hereditary nature ofkingship, all led to the rise of smallkingdoms. Families were patrilinealand people prayed for the abundance ofsons. Regarding their food habits, Yava,which probably meant wheat, barleyand beans, was the chief foodstuff ofAryans. Milk and its variouspreparations like ghee butter and curdwere used. The flesh of ox, sheep andgoat was normally eaten. Horse fleshwas eaten only on special occasions.For beef, only barren cows called Vasaswere sacrificed. Both cotton and woolengarments of different colours wereused. A special garment was worn by abride at her marriage ceremony. Thekurira was some kind of head garment

worn specially by brides. NikshaRukma and Mani were popularornaments. Aryans had not built upcities, they lived in villages. Roads werebuilt up and carts and chariots werepopular means of transport. Thechariot race, hunting, gambling anddicing, dancing and music were mainsources of entertainment of Aryans.The drum, the lute and the flute werevery much familiar to them.

An important development of thelater Vedic age was the division of thesociety based on work into differentcastes. The Brahmins or the priestlyclass led the society in conductingreligious duties and educating people,the Kshatriyas were warriors, theVaishyas or merchants were pettybusinessmen and peasants and theShudras or the outcasts performedmenial jobs like scavenging, fishing andremoving dead bodies. The castesystem was rigid at this time andpeople could not change jobs accordingto their ability and interest.

According to studies, women enjoyedequal status and rights during the earlyVedic period. There were womenteachers, scholars, Brahmavadins andhighly respected rishis and they alsoparticipated in battles. However, later(approximately 500 BC), the status ofwomen began to decline with theSmritis (codified law books) especiallyManusmriti and with the Islamicinvasion of Babur and the Mughalempire and later Christianitycurtailing women's freedom and rights.She was started being treated ascommodity. Tulsidas’s celebrated linein Ramcharitmanas: dhol, ganwar,shudra, pashu, nari; yeh sab taran keadhikari very well portrays position of

women. Decline in the status of womenis also sometimes related withagriculture. As man developed inagriculture, women started takingbackward position because of herphysical structure. She had to givebirth to babies and take care of themand so had to stay at home. Duringmedieval period, there came a radicaldecline in women's status. Whenforeign conquerors like Muslimsinvaded India they brought with themtheir own culture. They treated womanas the sole property of her father,brother or husband who did not haveany will of her own. Indian men alsostarted treating women the same wayin order to show their dominance overwomen. As polygamy was prevalent,these invaders picked up any womenthey wanted and kept her in theirharems. In order to protect themselves,Indian women started using 'Purdah', (aveil). They were not allowed to movefreely. These practices gave rise tosome new evils such as Child Marriage,Sati, Jauhar and restriction on girleducation.

If we leave aside the status ofwomen and talk of the Mughal periodin other terms, it is often referred to asthe golden period in the history ofIndian art, craft, architecture andculture. The Mughal rulers broughtwith them a rich heritage, which theyhad acquired from Persia. Theyintroduced many new forms of art suchas carpet weaving, inlay work,brocades, enameling and glassengraving. The style became popularand seeped into Hindu temples too,especially in Kaithal, Kalayat andRohtak. The mughals brought withthem their rich aromatic food culturein India. Their cooking methodsincluded lot of milk and cream withexotic spices, nuts and dried foods tomake it more rich and spicy. Poetry wasalso a big accomplishment in Indianculture during this period. Mostlypoetry was written in Persia because itwas an official language until the sackof Delhi in 1739, and Urdu became thenew language after that. The costumeswere lavish with work elaborately doneon them. Block print fabrics were invogue during this period. Bandhini,Lehariya and mothra was also seen.Rich designs and ornaments gave asplendid touch to this period.

Assimilation of different culturesmakes Haryana’s culture rich andcopious. g

Terracotta Stamps from Jind


Amanbir Kaur Brar

Haryana government is nowplanning to revive the course taken

by Saraswati river by building a 50 km-long channel in Kurukshetra. TheUnion Government has recentlyadmitted that scientists have discoveredwater channels indicating “beyonddoubt” the existence of the “VedicSaraswati.”

The Centre has embarked on anambitious project to trace Saraswati,the mythological river, believed to beflowing underground and forming theSangam in confluence with the Gangaand the Jamuna. Above are the recentreports of the newspapers with regardto the Saraswati river.

The legend of the Saraswati riverhas lived on in India since timeimmemorial. Vedas are full oftantalizing hymns about it being thelife-stream of the people. The riverSaraswati, during its heydays, isdescribed to be much bigger thanSindhu or the Indus river. During theVedic period, this river had coursedthrough the region between modernYamuna and Sutlej.

According to geological andglaciological studies, Saraswati wassupposed to have originated inBandapunch masiff. It passed throughthe plains of Punjab, Haryana,Rajasthan and Gujarat before fallinginto the Arabian Sea at the Rann ofKutch. The rivers, Saraswati andGhaggar, are supposed to be one and thesame, though a few workers use thename Ghaggar to describe Saraswati’supper course and Hakra to its lowercourse, while some others refer

Saraswati of weak and decliningstage, by the name Ghaggar.

Over a 3000 year-long period sincethe Vedic times the drainage patternof many rivers had changed. Thedecline of Saraswati appears to havecommenced between 5000–3000 BC,probably precipitated by a majortectonic event in the Siwalik Hills ofSirmur region.

Intense investigations during the lastthirty years have yielded fruitful dataobtained through ground and satellitebased techniques as well as frompalaeoseismic, and palaeoclimaticrecords all of which had enabled a goodreconstruction of the drainageevolution in north-western India. Inaddition, TL-dating of dry-bed sandsand isotopic studies of the groundwaterbelow these channels provided usefullinks in these reconstruction efforts.The observed river-shifts and otherchanges could also be correlated withspecific geologic, seismic or climaticevent that occurred during the mid- tolate-Quaternary period.

The Dirshadvati and the Saraswatiaccording to the Vedic literature weretwo distinct rivers in the beginning butby the time Aryans reached that area,these had joined together to form onestream. The Chautang, one timeconsidered a tributary of Hakra, wasthe main stream of the Dirshadvati andlater on when the Dirshadvatidischarged in the Saraswati, itindirectly became a tributary of theSaraswati. The Dirshadvati is anothername for the Chautang. Due toexistence of Jamuna fault in Siwaliks,the Jamuna could not have flowedwestwards through the bed of Hakra,

which is too narrow to carry its waters.South of Simla, between the towns ofJagadhari on the east and Patiala in thewest, there are at least seven beds ofancient streams and also two more tothe west of Patiala. All these flow fromNorth-northeast to South-southwestand merge into each other forming twomajor streams, the Dirshadvati to theeast and the Saraswati to the West. TheDirshadvati is represented by theeastern most streams, now called theChautang and the Saraswati, by the resteight streams which are considered itstributaries, although stream capturewas common between the twothroughout their life time.

During the early or the LowerPleistocene (2.0 million years to 5,00,000years ago), due to start of aridity, theDirsahdvati’s waters reduced and itcould not reach the Luni. The tectonicmovements in the head reaches of theDirshadvati and the Saraswati inSiwaliks may to some extent have beenresponsible in changing courses ofthese streams but the major factor waslarge amounts of silt, which theycarried with themselves from Siwaliksand deposited it down streams blockingtheir own path.

The Saraswati had a number oftributaries in Haryana and Ganganagardistrict of Rajasthan. These tributariescovered a wide valley extending fromthe Siwaliks and the area presentlyoccupied by towns of Dadwati,Ganganagar, Jakhal, Tajewala,Jagadhari, Panipat, Thanesar and

The legend ofthe SaraswatiThe river Saraswati which once flowedthrough Haryana and was consideredsacred and praised in the Vedas is nowhistory. There is a serious attempt toresurrect the river

A temple in Pehowa, where theSaraswati once flowed


Patiala. It had almost a catchment areaof about 10,000 square miles, fromwhich it drained its summer and wintermonsoon waters, as well as Himalayansnow melts, making the Saraswati aperennial river.

It is not certain from aerialphotographs if the whole of the Sutlejduring pre- Pleistocene period passedinto the Saraswati or only a part of it.During mid and late Pleistocene, theSutlej was an independent riverallowing only its spill waters to theSaraswati.

The Indus culture settlementsexisted along the old courses of theSaraswati from fort Abbas to DerawarFort, as investigated by Mughals.Renowned historian, Stein investigatedthe following sites along Ghaggar andHakra bed in Bikaner and easternBahawalpur:- Bhadrakali, MundaFatehgarh, Kalibangam, Bhawar,Badopal, Ranimahal, Karnisar,Sardargarh, Sohankot, Suwaiki,Bijnagar, Ramsinghpur, Binjor, Walar,Sandhnawala, Kudwala and Luriwala.All these sites are either Chalcolithic(Indus Culture) or early historica, goingback to the period of arrival of Aryansand none later than about 750 BC. Theearlier sites go back to 2300 BC.

Once Hakra or Saraswati becamenon-perennial, its contribution to thelocal economy was limited topastoralism in Rajasthan andCholistan. But in Sind below JamraoHead, it supported some agriculture insummer, although not very regularly,

probably up to1200 AD, andoccasionally after-wards but, this datecannot be stated with accuracy. Thereare, however, indications of occasionalsupply of water up to mid 18th Century.

Even as a non- perennial river, itcould not have been utilized fornavigation at the time of Greekconquest of Sind, in 325 BC, and after-wards. As a perennial river, it didcontribute to navigation and means ofcommunication with the other Indusculture cities in Sind, Kathiawar andGujarat.

A study of ancient cultures givesindication that archaeological sites ofthe Early (3500 BC-2350 BC) and matureIndus Culture (2350 BC-2000 BC) existedalong the ancient courses of theSaraswati, Ghaggar the main channelof the Saraswati on which flourishedKalibangan, and the Chautang. TheIron age or Grey Ware sites (around1000 BC) also existed along the upperreaches of Ghaggar, but not along thelower Saraswati (or Hakra proper).

Along major courses of theSaraswati and the Dirshadvati, there isfresh ground water, especially alongDharmi Khu, Ghantial, Ghotarou anddown to Shahgarh, where it is availableat 30-40 metres depth. It appears thatthis ground water in the area movesunder the old course from Himalayasin a slow movement which takescenturies.

The ancient settlements along thebanks of Hakra or Saraswati go back tothe Indus culture times (2000 BC, in its

whole reach and 2350-1650 BC, belowNaukot), and some of these have beenlocated very close to its mouth in theRann of Kutch, i.e, near Rahim-ki-Bazar and Sindhuri.

Historical versions on Hakra,recorded mostly in the 17th centuryand afterwards, cannot be consideredauthentic, especially about the eventswhich in this particular case, tookplace around 2000 BC, or even in 11th -13th centuries AD. Althoughhistorians of these works have beentoo assertive, the fact remains thattheir source of information wascontemporary folklore. Folklore on theother hand is full of eulogies andexaggerations and the story tellers(Sugharhs) have given free rein totheir imaginations and these havechanged from occasion to occasion,according to how good a sugharh was.Folklore, therefore, is not a media toresolve an issue, totally contradictedas it is by the scientific evidence.

Finding a river, which is historynow, is worthwhile. But the concept ofreviving the river again is not at allappreciating. In the present times,water has become a big issue. We arefighting against the scarcity of thislife support element. We should saveour already existing rivers which areon the verge of extinction. But overhere we are failing miserably and torevive an ancient river seems a farthought. g

The article is based on the researchesof historian Mr M H Panwar

Ancient river


Nishant Prabhakar

Modern day Pehowa is a bustlinggrain market, thirty five

kilometres from Kurukshetra. Itoffers a little clue to its antiquity. Thetown is like any other humdrummandi town of Haryana or Punjab.Located on National Highway 65,Pehowa is a place where the Hinduscome for the last rites of theirdeparted relatives. They are greetedby ‘pandas’ or priests who performthe required pind-daan and then theydepart. Close to the holy tank is asprawling gurudwara and a busy bus-stand.

The modern name Pehowa is acorruption of the Sanskrit wordPrithudaka, which was the originalname of the town as mentioned in theGaribnath Temple inscription of thisplace. Rajasekhara (10th century AD)has also mentioned Prithudaka as anoutpost of Uttarapatha. TheMahabharata and the Puranas alsorefer to Prithudaka as a holy place.Traditionally, it derives its name fromPrithu, son of king Vena who was ascion of Hiranyakasipu and wascured of his leprosy by bathing in theSaraswati. Prithu thought it his filialduty to do something for the good ofhis father. So after cremating hisfather's body, he performed the usualfuneral rites and sat on the bank ofthe Saraswati for twelve days offeringwater (Udaka) to all comers. The spot,therefore, came to be known asPrithudaka (Prithu + udaka), i.e.Prithu's water or pool, and the citywhich he built on or near the spotwas also named similarly.

All the derivations, however, seemto be only the modern efforts toexplain the name linguistically, ofcourse, in the perspective of localhistory and tradition. The people saythat Prithvi Raja built a temple andcalled it by the name Prithveswar. Itstood in front of the place nowoccupied by Garibnath'sestablishment. Much sculpture hasbeen found there. The wordPrithveswar contracts more easilyinto Pehoa or as some call it Pehowathan does Prithudaka. Some scholarsgive another explanation for the nameof the town. They believe thatbecause of geo-tectonic changes andaeolian winds advancing from thewest, the bed of the river Saraswatigot choked resulting in the formation

Antiquity ofPehowaThe modern day Pehowa was calledPrithudaka in ancient times and was regardedas an important pilgrimage place of India

Doorway from ‘Visvamitra Ka Tila’ in the Saraswati Temple


of a reservoir of fresh and deep waterin its present bed. The place whereabundant (Prithu means abundantalso) water (udaka) was available wasthus called Prithudaka.

THE ANCIENT PRITHUDAKA

Prithudaka has been regarded as oneof the most important tirthas ofIndia. It is situated on the bank of theSaraswati river which has been heldas the most divine and the best of therivers in the Rigveda. Famous in allthe three worlds, it has been regardedas possessing many merits, removerof sins and auspicious.

The town of Pehowa is built partlyupon the low ground and partly on anold mound as lofty as that ofThanesar, or from 30 to 40 feet high.There is an inscription in theGaribnath Temple belonging to kingBhoja (Pratihara) and it is dated to882 AD. Another inscription from thisplace is now preserved in the LahoreMuseum. It belongs to Bhoja'ssuccessor, Mahendrapala. Theseinscriptions reveal that Pehowa was aflourishing town in the ninth-tenth

centuries AD. The fact of its being afamous town can be guessed from thefact that a certain scholar,Prithudakasvami, wrote acommentary at Kurukshetra onBrahmagupta's Brahmasphuta-siddhanta (seventh century AD)shortly before AD 864 under thePratihara king Bhoja.

Renowned archaeologistCunningham had found large sizedbricks, 18 x 12 x 2.5-3 inches, fromPehowa. Another archaeologist,Rodgers has also recorded bricks of13.5 x 9 x 2.5 inches and fragments ofsculptures and temple remains atPehowa but it is difficult to date themprecisely in the absence ofillustrations. A terracotta figureobtained by Cunningham fromPehowa, amongst other remains, wasillustrated by him and may be datedback to the Gupta period. Anotherbrick¬-panel containing the figure ofa dvarapala dated to circa 4-5thcentury AD has also come to lightfrom Pehowa. Kushana and Kunindacoins recovered from the site byRodgers push back its antiquity to

about the beginning of the Christianera. Since a great part of the ancientmound is now under habitation, theearly history of the town seems to besealed under it. The earliest remainsknown so far, however, are in theform of potsherds which werecollected from the southern andsouth-eastern part of the mound nowunder habitation. These potsherds areknown to the archaeologists by thename of Painted Grey Ware whichbelong to the first half of the 1stmillennium BC.

Prithudaka had a very largenumber of tirthas. Such a largenumber of holy places could not havebeen established on the banks of adesiccated river. The sanctity of theSaraswati river and of the tirthas onits banks, eulogised so often inreligious works, indicates that theywere established on the perennialriver as depicted in the Rigveda.Some of the tirthas, too, arereminiscent of the facts and eventsrecorded in the Vedic literature. g

The article is based on the researchesof historian Dr Devendra Handa

Pasupatinatha (Sravananatha) Temple


Amanbir Kaur Brar

Historically, Panipat bringsmemories of the three major

battles fought on this land. Everyinvader who came to loot and plunderafter traversing Punjab had to fight apitched battle in Haryana beforereaching Delhi.

FIRST BATTLE

The first Battle of Panipat was foughtbetween Sultan Ibrahim Lodhi ofDelhi and Babur, on April 21, 1526. Itgave a death blow to the Lodhi Empireand marked the end of the DelhiSultanate's rule in India. It led to theestablishment of the Mughal Empire.Mongol prince Zahir-ud-DinMuhammad, known as Babur, hadpromised to help Daulat Khan Lodhi,

Governor of Lahore, to fight theSultan of Delhi, Ibrahim Lodhi.Ibrahim fought with a big army of onelakh soldiers whereas Baburpossessed only 12 thousand soldiers.Superior battle tactics, betterorganizational abilities and the deadlyuse of cannons won for Babur adecisive battle over Ibrahim Lodhi.Lodhi was killed and Delhi and Agrapassed into the hands of Babur. Thislaid the foundation of Mughal dynastywhich ruled India for more than 200years. It was during this battle thatartillery was used for the first time inIndia.

At the time of the Babur's invasion,India was a house divided. In factmany historians believe that Baburwas invited by both, Daulat Khan,Governor of Punjab and Rana Sangha.

SECOND BATTLE

On 24th January 1556 AD, Mughal rulerHumayun slipped while climbing downthe steps of his library and fell to hisdeath. His son, Akbar was only thirteenyears old when he ascended the throne.At the time of Akbar's accession to thethrone, the Mughal rule was confined toKabul, Kandhar, and parts of Punjaband Delhi. Akbar was thencampaigning in Punjab with his chiefminister Bairam Khan. On February 14,1556, in a garden at Kalanaur, Akbarwas enthroned as emperor. Hemu(Hemchandra) was a military chief ofthe Afghan King Muhammad Adil Shahwho had established himself at Chunarand was seeking to expel the Mughalsfrom India. Taking advantage ofHumayun's death, Hemu marched toAgra and Delhi in October and

Battles tthhaatt cchhaannggeeddhhiissttoorryyThe three battles of Panipat between 1526and 1761 changed the course of Indianhistory and firmly placed Muslim rulein India till 1857


occupied it without difficulty, andbecame the ruler.

To counter this, Bairam Khan(Akbar's guardian) marched towardsDelhi. On November 5, 1556 both thearmies met at Panipat. Hemu with alarge army including 1,500 warelephants had initial success. Therewas a pitched battle and Hemu was on awinning spree when a stray arrowstruck him in the eye. He fellunconscious. As in many other battles,the loss of the leader caused panicamong the troops and turned the tide ofthe battle. The Mughals won the battle.

There was a great slaughter of thosewho were captured and in keeping withthe custom of his ancestors; Akbar hada victory pillar built with their heads.This battle, known as Second Battle ofPanipat was an epoch-making event inthe history of India as it resulted in re-establishment of the Mughal Empire inIndia.

THIRD BATTLE

The Third Battle of Panipat wasfought on January 14, 1761 between theAfghan invader Ahmed Shah Abdaliand Marathas, the protectors andfriends of the Mughal emperor ShahAlam II. In this battle, the Marathacommander Sadashiv Rao Bhau wasdefeated by the Afghan commanderAhmed Shah Abdali. Bhau, thePeshwa’s young son and a number ofMaratha commanders fell in thebattlefield. This gave a fatal blow to theMaratha power. The battle proved to bedisastrous as not only the Marathashad to bear tremendous losses, but theevent also marked the beginning of thedownfall of the Mughals.

The Mughals remained in nominalcontrol over small areas of India, butwere never a force again. The empireofficially ended in 1857 when its lastemperor was accused of being involvedin the Sepoy Mutiny and exiled.

POLITICAL EFFECTS

The verdict of Panipat decided thatboth the Marathas and the Afghanswere not to rule over North India. Theynever regained any unity, and weresoon under increasing pressure fromthe British. Their claims to empirewere officially ended in 1818.

Meanwhile the Sikhs, the originalreason for Ahmad Shah Abdali’sinvasion, were left largely untouched bythe battle. They soon re-took Lahore.When Ahmad Shah Abdali returned in

March 1764, he was forced to break offhis siege after only two weeks due torebellion in Afghanistan. He returnedagain in 1767, but was unable to winany decisive battle. With his own troopsstarted arguing over a lack of pay, heeventually abandoned the district to theSikhs, who remained in control until1849.

Before the rule of the Mughals, Indiawas divided into small kingdoms. Aunified kingdom with improvedadministration came into being. Side byside the local chiefs were suppressed.Apart from this, the Mughals werefamiliar with advanced military tactics.For the first time, artillery was used byBabur in first battle of Panipat. Peopleof India also learned warfare methodsfrom them. Mughals used horses whichmade them fast and people of Indiaused elephants, so they also shifted tohorses instead of elephants.

EFFECT ON THE LANGUAGE

Persian was the court language duringthe Mughal rule. The common people,however, spoke mixture of Hindustaniand local dialect mixed with somePersian words. Gradual interminglingof the soldiers of the Mughal armywith the local people gave rise to a newlanguage, Urdu. Urdu became a popularlanguage with the poets and writersand remained the official language inIndia for a long time.

SOCIAL EFFECTS

Muslim rule was no blessing to Indiansparticularly Hindus. They sufferedcruelty and injustice. Only Muslimswere appointed to high administrativeposts. The jazia tax was imposed onHindus. The Muslim rulers committedcruelties on the bulk of Hindus to makethem embrace Islam. But during therule of Akbar, jazia was abolished.However, both Hindus and Muslimschanged a lot because of the closecontact and social interaction betweenthe two over a long period and thisresulted in a new culture. It's anaccepted fact that the ruling classesdetermine the culture of the commonpeople.

Muslim rulers used to keep men andwomen as slaves. Alauddin Khilji hadas many as 84,000 slaves. As a result ofcontact with the Muslim rulers, theHindu rulers also started keepingslaves in large number in their palacesand the condition of slaves alsodeteriorated with time.

According to Buddha Prakash,former Professor of History inKurukshetra University, “Thoughunder Akbar, Jahangir and Shahjahan,Haryana enjoyed peace and saw theconstruction of roads, sarais,kosminars and wells, the condition ofpeasants did not improve. They sharedthe destitution and indigence of theirfellows in other parts of the country.The government and its officials tookaway a major part of their produce inthe form of taxes and other imposts."

POSITION OF WOMEN

There was no purdah in Hindus but, itwas the gift of the Muslim rule inIndia. The position of womendeteriorated with the coming of theMuslim rule.

EFFECTS ON DRESS, FOOD ANDAMUSEMENT

Achkan and Salwar owe theirintroduction to the Muslims. Shararaand Kurta and Pathani suits were alsobrought by Muslims. The ornamentsworn by women were mostly commonexcept for the jhumar sui worn by theMuslim women on the side of the head.

Mughals brought with them a richnon-vegetarian cuisine and a long list oftandoori dishes. They also madeIndians familiar with summer fruitslike water-melon, musk melon andgrapes.

Hunting, hawking, polo and manyother games have the Muslim impact intheir form and technique. Mughalswere great lovers of flowers andgardens and this habit was alsotransmitted to many Hindus. Theyconstructed beautiful gardens inSrinagar, Delhi, Agra, Lahore andSirhind.

EFFECT ON INDIAN ECONOMY

Agriculture and trade touched newheights during the Mughal rule.Hundreds of traders from Bukhara,Samarkand, Balkh, Khurasan,Khwarizm and Persia used to come fortrade. The Mughal governmentfacilitated commercial relations withthe European nations and also allowedthem to establish industries in thecoastal regions. This resulted not onlyin commercial contacts but also inexchange of customs and traditions.During the two hundred years ofMughal rule, towns and the citiesprospered while the peasants sufferedfrom excessive taxation. g


Ruchi Sharma

Owing to Haryana’s geographicallocation and its immense riches,

the land has witnessed manyinvasions in the past for loot andplunder. Several important battleswere fought in the region that leftimpact on the history of India.

Due to its proximity to the searoute in the west, many invaderscame into India through this region;therefore it is also known as "TheGateway of North India". Thesuccessive streams of Huns, Turksand the Afghans invaded India andfought decisive battles on this land.

11TH CENTURY

During the rule of Pratiharas andTomaras, Haryana reached the peak ofprogress in trade, art and culture. Inthe 11th century, the Tomaras, thoughindependent of the Pratiharas, had tobear invasions of the Ghaznavi Turks.In 1014, Mahmud Ghaznavi raidedThanesar and desecrated its temples.The Tomara chief pleaded to otherIndian princes for help to ward off theGhaznavis in order to save north Indiafrom his depredation, but received noresponse. Mahmud invaded andplundered many regions marchingthrough Haryana.

Being thus cornered, the Tomarasformed a league of some leading

chiefs of north India. In the meantimethe chiefs of north India had seen theconsequences of not responding to theplea of the Tomara king. Thus, theyreadily rallied round the Tomara chiefand advanced to recover Haryanafrom the Ghaznavis.

While the Ghaznavis wereinflicting heavy blows on Haryana,the Lohara kings of Kashmir alsolaunched an expedition, campaignedat Kurukshetra and conquered theterritory upto the Yamuna. Thisdisastrous calamity may have forcedthe Tomaras to make a patch-up withthe Ghaznavis.

12TH CENTURY

In the 12th century, the Chauhansdefeated the Tomaras by invadingHaryana. In about 1156, Bisaladeva orVigrahraja IV defeated theBhadanakas, the people of Haryana,and captured Delhi and Hansi fromthe Tomaras. This victory made theChauhans an all India power becauseunder the Tomaras the possession ofDelhi and Haryana had become thesymbol of an all-India status. In thatstate of conflict, the invaders from thenorth-west made several bids toconquer the region but the Chauhansrepelled all of them.

Shihabuddin Mohammad Ghorioccupied Sialkot in 1181 and five yearslater, captured Lahore from the last

Ghaznavi ruler Khusrau Malik. Fromthere he began his raids and razziasinto the domain of the Chauhans inHaryana. According to tradition, heled eight invasions against theChauhans. In seven battles, Prithvirajdefeated Ghori. The seventh battlewas quite momentous for in it theChauhans had severely wounded andnearly killed Shihabuddin, but couldnot effectively pursue the invaders inWest Panjab.

With the defeat of Prithviraj atTerrain in 1192 AD by Ghori, a newchapter opened in the history ofHaryana and left an impact on Indianhistory. The following 600 yearscovered the period of the DelhiSultanate and Mughal Empire, whenHaryana suffered the most owing toits proximity to the capital.

13TH AND 14TH CENTURY

In 1206, Qutbuddin Aibak sat on thethrone of Delhi and inauguratedTurkish rule in north India. Theirtheory was that prosperity bredsedition and poverty was theguarantee of stability and peace. Thepeople did not reconcile themselves tothis tyranny and struggled tooverthrow it whenever an opportunityoccurred. After the death of Iltutmish,the Hindus revolted and shook theSultanate for a while.

In 1288, Jalaluddin Firuz Khilji

Shadows ofinvasionsMany invaders in the pastentered India throughHaryana owing to itsgeographical location andthus the region witnessed anumber of bloody battles


usurped power and two years later hehimself ascended the throne. In 1291,a dreadful famine broke out takingheavy toll of life and the people againbecame assertive. This made the nextruler, Alauddin (1296-1315) deal with ahard hand. Such laws were framedwhich curbed the wealth andprosperity of the people. Revenue wasraised to half the produce, besidesgrazing charges and other dues. Thepeople were irked by oppressivepolicies and reacted strongly. After theSultan died, Qutbuddin MubarakShah (1315-1320) acceded to the throne.He withdrew many harsh enactments,reduced revenue, remitted arrears andlifted the controls. But thediscontented Indians raised thesuperficially converted Khusrau Khanto the throne in 1320.

Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq defeatedKhusrau Khan and ascended thethrone. He revived the repressivepolicies and laws of Alauddin. Afterhim his son, Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq(1325-1351), adopted many fanaticschemes which goaded people torevolt.

In 1351 Firuz Shah Tughlaq came tothe throne and pacified the people andlifted oppressive imposts. Hepromoted agriculture by diggingcanals, planting groves and squaringup the revenue with the produce andalso gave impetus to trade. Hisgrandson, Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq IIascended the throne in 1388. Hisuncle, Nasiruddin Muhammad battledwith him and faced defeat. This wasfollowed by invasion of Timur.


Timur’s invasion affected Haryanavitally as he razed large part of theregion by spreading terror anddevastation. The martial communitiesof the area, the Jats, Rajputs and theAhirs defied him at several places.

He remained in Haryana for nearlyone month and had to constantly fightwith people there. At every step, Jatsand non-Muslims gave him strongopposition. Thousands of people diedin the defence of their soil. In contrastto this, the King of Delhi neverthought of any resistance and ratheradvised the people to flee and savethemselves.

Even after the withdrawal ofTimur, conditions did not improve inHaryana. The Jats and the Meosremained unrestrained. The sultanate

was obviously disintegrating. Duringthe 15th century, the Delhigovernment was not able to exerciseauthority over a wide area. TheHindus escaped persecution to someextent. The ‘Bhakti’ and ‘Sufi’movements also rose in this period.Therefore, men like Kabir and GuruNanak were able to preach withoutfear.

With the consolidation of power bySikander Lodi, persecution wasrevived. Under the last Lodi ruler,Ibrahim (1517-26) there was such greatdissatisfaction that Babar who wasencouraged to invade India repeatedly,succeeded at last at Panipat in 1526.This laid the foundation of theMughal dynasty which ruled India formore than 200 years.

At the time of Babar’s invasion,India was a house divided. BothDaulat Khan, governor of the Punjab,and Rana Sangha, are said to haveinvited Babar. The people of Haryana,however, refused to submit meekly. In1529 the Mandhar Rajputs of Nardakregion rebelled against their chiefand defeated the local Mughal troops.Babar took serious note of theuprising and despatched a huge armyto Nardak. After fierce fighting,lasting several days, the rebels weredefeated.

The rule of his son, Humayun, witha brief spell by Sher Shah, followeduneventfully till the coming of Akbarwho ruled for forty-nine years.

Akbar, however, had to face a greatbattle of Panipat in 1556, the Delhiforces being commanded by a greatHindu general Hemu. His militaryskill was such that he is rankedamongst the greatest generals of histime. Akbar won by sheer accident.Hemu could as well have been thewinner. Akbar, the greatest of theMughals, was averse to the people ofthis region because of their rebelliousand independent disposition. With thecoming of Aurangzeb the picturechanged and his intolerance hastenedthe end of the Empire.

17TH CENTURY

Though under Akbar (1556-1605),Jahangir (1605-1627) and Shahjahan(1627-1658) Haryana enjoyed peace andsaw the construction of roads, sarais,kosminars and wells, the condition ofthe peasants did not appreciablyimprove. The recurrent naturalcalamities like famines and draughts

in all parts of India took heavy tollon life. The disasters made peoplerestless and rebellious. The Satnamiuprising spearheaded this movementin Haryana. People from high andlow professions though followed thepath of faith and honesty but onoffence, were ready to raise arms.


The agrarian crisis at the end of the18th century threw the peasants, ledby their zamindar chiefs, intorebellion over large parts of thecountry. In regions around Delhi, theJats rose against the administration.Aurangzeb tried hard to subduethem.

After the death of Aurangzeb in1707, the empire which Babar andAkbar had built and Jahangir andShahjahan nurtured, crumbled topieces where Haryana suffered much.All the aspirants to power of theImperial city had to fight in theHaryana territory. The two foreigninvasions of Nadir Shah and Abdalifurther added to the confusion.

Delhi has always been the heart ofpolitical life of Haryana and theneighbouring territory. From theearly 18th century, it underwent swiftdecline after the disintegration of theMughal Empire. The main steps inthis direction were the sacking ofNadir Shah and Abdali, the civil warsof the nobility or feudal lords, andthe atrocities of Ghulam Quadir. Thiswas followed by the internecine warsbetween the Marathas, the Sikhs andthe Jats. The situation was finallyresolved by the British who occupiedthe Mughal capital in 1803 afterdefeating the Marathas in its vicinity.

The two powers, the Afghans andthe Marathas, failed to capture Delhi.The Panipat combat between theAfghans and the Marathas was notdecisive but it showed that neitherwas suited to the role of politicalsuccessor to the great Mughals. Otherpowers around Delhi, the Sikhs in thenorth, the Rajputs chiefs in the west,and the Bharatpur Jats in the south,were not strong enough to influencethe final result. After Panipat, theAfghans returned to the north andthe Marathas to the south, leavingthe Sikhs and the Jats to fill the void.Emperor Shah Alam remained afeudatory of the Marathas till theirdefeat at the hands of the British in 1803. g


Vivek Dangi

In the early decades of the lastcentury, it was believed that there

existed no civilisation worth thename on the Indian sub-continentprior to the invasion of Alexander in326 BCE. This was the view of almostall the western historians andscholars, though it was a well-knownfact that Vedas existed and whichaccording to some scholars like Max

Muller were as old as 1200 BCE. It wasin 1862, that Alexander Cunningham,the first Director General of theArchaeological Survey of India,during his excavations, found potteryand seals at Harappa. He found a sealwith a humpless bull and theengraved Harappan letters on it. But,he was unable to identify these thingsand attributed it to foreign influence.Thus, the discovery of the great IndusValley civilisation began, when

excavations were started in 1920-22 byDaya Ram Sahni at Mohenjodaro andby R D Banerjee at Harappa. Theremains found, pushed with a singlestroke, the antiquity of thecivilisation in Indian sub-continent tothird millennium BCE.

The large scale excavations atHarappa and Mohenjodaro yielded adetailed picture of this civilisation,which in many spheres excelled theEgyptian and Mesopatamian

HARYANA:Precursor of moderntown planning


civilisations. During the partition ofIndia most of the famous sites werelocated in newly constructed countryPakistan. Only two sites viz. KotalaNigang Khan in Punjab and Rangpurin Gujarat remained within theIndian border. After independence,scholars like A Gosh, Prof Suraj Bhanand J P Joshi carried out intensiveexplorations in north-western India

and put thousand of Harappan siteson the archaeological map.

The entire credit of puttingHaryana on the archaeological mapgoes to Prof Suraj Bhan. He carriedout extensive exploration in theSaraswati and Drisadvati valley anddiscovered about 250 sites belongingto various phases of Harappancivilisation and excavated Mitathal(Bhiwani district) in 1967. Later onexcavations were carried out bydifferent agencies at a number ofsites viz. Banawali, Balu, Rakhigarhi,Kunal, Bhirrana, Farmana, Badli etc.Not even a single detailed report ofthe excavations is available, but onthe basis of the available material wecan know about the town planning ofthe Harappans.

The striking feature of theHarappan town planning is citadeland lower town. All the importantHarappan centers have both of these,but there are regional variations inthem. Like Harappa, Dholavira andKalibanga have separate citadel. Butin Haryana the situation is quitedifferent, here the entire settlement isfortified by a single defence wall and

there is an internal wall whichseparates the acropolis from the lowertown. Apart from fortification,emphasis is laid on the streets andlanes. They are properly laid in such away that each and every house hasopening in the main street or lane.The main features of the Harappantown planning are discussed below:

In the Harappan town planning,there was provision of a ‘Citadel’ and‘Lower town.’ Almost all theexcavated sites like Banawali,Bhirrana, Rakhigarhi and Mitathal inHaryana or out of Haryana haveyielded these types of divided cities.Just like Harappa, at Mohenjodaroand Kalibanga, citadel and lower townwere located some distance away fromeach other and had separatefortification wall.

In Haryana, the situation is quitedifferent, here citadel and lower townare surrounded by a single defencewall and speared by the internalfortification wall. In Haryana,Banawali and Bhirrana are the twosites giving details of town planningof this period. Rest of the excavated

Streets, lanes and house plan,Bhirrana (After L.S. Rao, 2007)

A burnt brick drain in Bhirrana


sites like Farmana, Rakhigarhi, Baluwere excavated on large scale but incomparison to the size of settlementsthe excavated area was not enough togive much details about the townplanning.

At Banawali and Bhirrana, similartype of the planning was observed.The entire settlement wassurrounded by a common defencewall and an internal parametric wallseparated the citadel from the lowertown. Evidences of citadel and lowertown have come from Mitathal,Banawali, Rakhigarhi and Bhirrana.The fortification of wall of Banawaliis trapezoidal in shape. Here no twoarms of the defence wall were foundeither parallel to each other or equalin length. While at Bhirrana, it ismore or less rectangular in shape,Balu is surrounded by a square wall.In Kalibanga, situated close toHaryana in Hanumangarh district ofRajasthan, the citadel was designedlike a pentagon and lower town like arectangle. At Rakhigarhi, theacropolis (RGR2) was surrounded bya mud brick wall. The internal or

core of the wall was filled with themud bricks whereas the interior andexterior were found lined with burntbricks. The northern and southernarm of the defence wall was exposedup to 70 meters.

Another feature of the Harappandefence system came from Banawali;entire settlement was surrounded bya ‘V’ shaped moat. This moat was dugabout three furlong from the defencewall. It was about 5.70 to 6.50 m wideat the top and measured about 3.60 min depth. The excavator was able tolocate the moat along with theeastern and northern arm of thefortification. It was probably filledwith water. So far as its utilitypurpose is concerned, it seemed to bea part of defence system. The spacebetween the moat and the wall wasenough for the movement of thesecurity guards and others. It alsoacted as a beam against the water ofditch and fortification wall. The totalfloor occupied by acropolis atBhirrana is 2.75 hectare which isabout one-third of the total size ofthe site.

Streets and lanes played animportant role in the urban planningof the Harappa. At most of theexcavated sites such as Mitathal,Bhirrana, Farmana, Rakhigarhi andBalu, streets and lanes intersect atright angle. At Farmana, the mainstreet was about 4 m wide, but laterencroachments reduced it to 3.6 m. AtMitathal, one street measuring about2 m and a lane were found. AtBanawali, the formal arrangement ofthe streets and lanes was in cardinaldirection and cut each other at rightangle. Streets and lanes weremanaged in such a way that eachhouse was like a separate sector. Notwo houses had a common wall. Thistype of plan was observed atacropolis, whereas in lower town,trapezoidal or conventionalparallelogram shaped sectors ofhouses were found. Here a number ofstreets met at a point, in radialpattern. At one place near the mainentrance, five streets met at a point,out of them three came from theinterior of the town and two ranalong the outer fortification wall of

Bathing platform, Farmana


the city. In Farmana, the main streetwas about 4 m wide, but laterencroachments reduced it to 3.6 m.This space was enough for thebullock cart, which was the onlymeans of transportation during thatperiod. Some cart wheel impressionswere also noticed at the southern endof the main street. The average widthof the lane is about 1.50 m, and itintersects the main street at rightangle. After it runs 19 m straighttowards south-west, it turns in theright angle towards the south (seefigure-1). Bhirrana excavationsenrich our knowledge about thestreets and lanes of the Harappancivilisation. Here the major streetrunning north-south was 4.80 m wide,where as the width of the lanesvaried from 1.60 m to 2.80 m.

Drainage system and refuse watermanagement, too, played a vital rolein the urban planning of theHarappans. Sites like Banawali,Rakhigarhi, Bhirrana and Farmanagive us detailed information aboutthe Harappan drainage system. At

Banawali, not much evidences ofdrains were encountered, but somedrains to let out rain water werefound piercing through the defencewalls and under gateways. Similarevidences have also been noticed atBhirrana. A public drain made up ofbaked bricks was found and properoutlets from the houses were alsoobserved. At Farmana, a drain madeup of wedge- shaped burnt bricks andwhich runs east-west, was foundduring the excavation. Theirsanitary arrangements depended onthe use of sanitary pottery jarswhich served as washbasins, and alsofor soaking purposes and bathingplatforms. Evidences of sanitarysystem came from Banawali,Rakhigarhi, Farmana and Bhirrana.

Excavator of Banawali, R S Bishtclaimed that at Banawali amultipurpose ground was observedin the acropolis. It was used for thestadium, performing ritual activitiesand open market. Similar evidencescame from Dholavira, a Harappansite located in Gujarat.

The evidences came from theexcavated sites of Haryana provesthat the people in Haryana, knew theconcept of town planning 4500 yearsago and town planning of HaryanaUrban Development Authority(HUDA) is not unique. It is more orless a copy of Harappan townplanning. Harappans were themasters of planning, exquisitemonumental structures and aestheticarchitecture. The concept of townplanning, bathroom, washbasin,kitchen and courtyard was firstintroduced by the Harappans in theregion. During the excavations, noobjects like scales, compus,measuring tapes etc were found butthe town planning itself proves thatthe Harappan people had goodknowledge of trigonometry and otherarchitectural calculations. In short,we can say that the land of Haryanahas evidences of the earliest plannedcities in the world and of the first inthe Indian sub-continent. g

The writer is a Research Scholar,Department of History, MDU, Rohtak

A burnt brick drain in Farmana (courtesy V.Shinde)


PREHISTORY

The prehistoric period in the historyof humankind can roughly becalculated from 200000 BC to about3500-2500 BC, when the firstcivilisations began to take shape. Thehistory of India is no exception to theabove-mentioned fact. The firstmodern human beings or the Homosapiens set their foot on the Indiansubcontinent anywhere between200000 BC and 40000 BC and they soonspread throughout a large part of thesubcontinent, including peninsularIndia. These primitive people movedin groups of few families and mainlylived on hunting and gathering. Whilethe males in the group spent most oftheir time in hunting, fishing, andgathering food like fruits, roots, andberries, the females gathered food,looked after the children and thedwellings where they lived.

STONE AGE

The age when the prehistoric manbegan to use stones for utilitarianpurpose is termed as the Stone Age.The Stone Age is divided into threebroad divisions- Paleolithic Age or theOld Stone Age (from unknown till 8000BC), Mesolithic Age or the MiddleStone Age (8000 BC-4000 BC) and theNeolithic Age or the New Stone Age(4000 BC-2500 BC) on the basis of thespecialization of the stone tools, whichwere made during that time.

PALEOLITHIC AGE

The human beings living in thePaleolithic Age were essentially foodgatherers and depended on nature forfood. The art of hunting and stalkingwild animals individually and later ingroups led these people to make stoneweapons and tools. First, crudelycarved out stones were used in hunting,

but as the size of the groups began toincrease and there was need for morefood, these people began to make"specialized tools" by flaking stones,which were pointed on one end. Thesekind of tools were generally used to killsmall animals and for tearing fleshfrom the carcass of the hunted animals.These tools were characteristic of thePaleolithic Age and were very rough.By this time, human beings had come tomake and use fire.

MESOLITHIC AGE

As time passed and the size of familiesgrew in small communities. There wasa constant need to feed all the membersof the community and to lead a life ofsubsistence. In the Mesolithic Age, thestone tools began to be made morepointed and sharp. To ensure a life thathad abundance of food and clothing(rough animal skin garments werebeing worn by the Stone Age man), thestone tools began to appear inincreasingly specialized way.

The simple handheld stone toolswere now attached to thick branchesfrom trees with rope made from animalskin and sinew. These tools are knownas hand axes, which could be flung atfast-moving animals from a distance.Apart from hand axes, they alsoproduced crude stone-tipped woodenspears, adzes, borers, and burins. Thisperiod also saw the domestication ofplants and growing of wild varieties ofcrops. Because of farming, smallsettlements began to take shape.

NEOLITHIC AGE

The Neolithic Age (4000 BC-2500 BC) orthe New Stone Age was the last phase ofthe Stone Age and is characterized byvery finely flaked, small stone tools,also known as blades and burins. Thesestone blades are so sharp that themodern blades cannot match theirsmooth surface and cutting edges. TheNeolithic Age also saw thedomestication of cattle, horses, andother farm animals, which were usedfor dairy and meat products. Animportant invention of this time wasthe making of the wheel.

The Neolithic Age quickly gave wayto a number of small "cultures" thatwere highly technical. These peopleused copper and bronze to make arange of utilitarian tools. This phaseor period is termed as the ChalcolithicAge (1800 BC-1000 BC). g

Phases ofcivilisation

Stone Age painting

ART AND CULTURE 33HARYANA REVIEW, MAY 2010

Kavita Singh

From the time immemorial, artists,writers and thinkers have been

found standing in the front row tobring about change in the societythrough their creative tools andfarsightedness and have beensuccessful in infusing fresh blood inthe way all rational persons shouldthink and act. It becomes a sort ofsacred, moral and creative duty of anartist to reach the masses in order toenlighten them about the rapidlychanging patterns in human values onthe fabric of society. Though writersand poets create wonderful lyrics andpoems on the theme of social change,foremost among the themes being theimportance of girl child and her rights,but the visual impact created by artistsin their creations on the said theme hasmore profound impact on the minds ofthe targeted population. As aptlysummed up, a picture can easily carrya weight equal to a thousand words.Visual impact on the mind of thebeholder is instant and enigmatic.

The skewed sex ratio and the genderbias in favour of male child in Haryanahas compelled the pundits of policy-making to formulate campaigns, whichmay undo this unjustified and unholybias against the girl child. ‘Value theGirl child’ was the theme of one suchartists’ workshop in Governmentcollege for Girls, Chandigarh whichsaw the participation of eminentartists as well as the student painterswho gave vent to their creativethoughts and talents and producedsome fantastic works of art on thistheme. This truly is in the rightdirection as through artistic pleadingsone can educate and implore themasses to bring up the girl child and

give her equal importance, amenitiesand opportunities. Merely equating agirl child to a devi will not suffice.Concrete steps have to be taken in thisdirection and art is the best mediumone can think of. Scores of imaginativecampaigns comprising powerful visualcontent can initiate the change ofmindset.

It is very heartening to note thatUnited Nations Population Fund(UNPF) has also taken note of thisgender disparity and has launched acampaign titled ‘Ladli’ which awards

prestigious prizes to the journalistswho are instrumental in spreadingawareness about this curse which isplaguing the society. Though HaryanaGovernment has also started manyschemes for the benefit of girl child yetit is pertinent to mention here thatgovernment alone cannot start arevolution and the participation ofgeneral public is of immense value.The campaigns which can removegender bias have to be high on artisticcontent and low on loud eloquence. Thesituation has presented a challenge to

Woman painter’s palette-for girl childArtists are lending a helping hand to government and society increating a safe place for the girl child

Painting by the author

ART AND CULTURE HARYANA REVIEW, MAY 201034

the artistic fraternity to join hands anddefeat the negative aspects of this age-old stigma through their paintings,songs, lyrics and posters. Dedicatedefforts through mass media can changethe thinking of the people and they willdevelop love for the girl child.

The legendary woman artist AmritaShergil was perhaps the first suchpainter who touched upon the plight ofa girl child and painted some movingand heart-rending paintings of frailrustic girls and ladies in pensivemoods. More recently, the other famouswoman artist who was moved by thistheme is Arpana Caur of New Delhi.She has narrated the pangs of being agirl in her own inimitable stylejuxtaposing symbols of needles,threads, scissors, embroideries, starsand gotta tilla in awe-inspiring workswhich speak volumes of the drudgeryand plight of a girl child and a woman.Anupam Sud has bared some of theupper pseudo cultural layers of male-dominated society and has delved deepinto the depths of a woman’s mindburied under the loads of injustice andgloom. In a masterly etching titled ‘TheLaundry’ she has expressed her desiresto be free from the strings of strangeculture and traditions which weighheavily on her emotions andaspirations.

Perhaps the most evocative amongstthe women artists is well known artistAnjolie Ela Menon who through herworks of young women with blank eyesand mute expressions on their faces

has uncovered the undercurrents ofinherent abhorrence of a female childin our society peeping from behind thehalf shut doors and windows in searchof openings and flights. Womentrapped in situations not of their ownmaking and the lurking fears andshadows of gloom inside them aredepicted with poetic expressions.

Similarly, Gogi Saroj Pal’s paintingof a woman/beast not only hasmythological connotations but isfraught with all the Freudianimplications of a subliminalautobiography. These pictures thougha bit shocking in stance andappearance narrate the tales ofdeprivation and unequal limitationsand chains thrust upon a female. Thereis a yearning to become an equal if notbetter or bigger person than a male.One of the most sensitive femaleartists, Arpita Singh has used body ofsymbols to express the desires andaspirations of a woman through herfree flowing scribbling. Her drawingswhich have a flavour of an urbanwoman caught in the whirlwind ofmodernity and unjustified values andher daily struggles for a rightful placein home and professional life. ‘Awoman with a girl child II’ is a verysensitive rendering of her thoughts onthis theme and the lurking maleviolence engulfing her in unfathomedand unsaid sorrows. Similar views andpleadings are the content ofmarvellous poems written by famouspoetess Nirupama Dutt in her

collection of poems titled ‘The BlackWoman’. The creative contribution ofother leading woman artists likeVasundhara Tiwari, Navjot Altaf, B.Prabha, Madhavi Parekh, NaliniMalini, Jaya Ganguly, JayashreeChakravaty, Rekha Rodwittya,Shakuntala Kulkarni, Elena Banikhave lent deep insight into the realmsof women’s fight for equality. Theseartists have painted scores ofpaintings, drawings and graphic printshighlighting the urgency to treatwomen as equal partners in all walksof life through the symbols of paperboats, dolls, pixies, butterflies, utensilsand lanterns. Other series comprise ofa ‘Girl Child in Cactus Garden’ andsome with horrifying crows andsharks lamenting their sorrows andplight.

This should be treated as a never-ending artistic crusade to place the girlchild and the rights of a woman on thesame pedestal so that much desiredharmony, peace and love prevails inour society. I expect more womanartists to come forward and paint thistheme in their own style so that wemay set the ball of change in motionespecially in Haryana.

The brush of an artist will dispelthe darkness from the minds of peopleand a new dawn will emerge where onewill be able to see healthy, happy andprotected girls smiling all the way. g

The writer is Assistant Professor,Department of Fine Arts, PunjabiUniversity, Patiala

Painting by Arpana Caur Painting by Amrita Shergil Painting by Anjolie Ela Menon

SPECIAL REPORT 35HARYANA REVIEW, MAY 2010

Nishant Prabhakar

The 4th Municipal GeneralElections for 35 wards of

Municipal Corporation, Faridabad, 266wards of 10 municipal councils and436 wards of 28 municipal committeesare to be held on 20 May 2010 inHaryana. The election code had comeinto force from 26 April 2010 and willremain in force till 25 May 2010.However, the seven newly establishedmunicipal corporations atYamunanagar, Panchkula, Ambala,Rohtak, Panipat, Karnal and Hisar willnot go for the polls.

The State Election Commission haspurchased 5,314 electronic votingmachines (EVMs) and remainingEVMs would be taken from the ChiefElectoral Officer, Haryana. HaryanaState Election Commissioner Dharam

Vir said, “This is for the first time inthe country that EVMs are being usedin the elections of municipal bodies inthe state, hence Haryana gets the firstdistinction in this respect.”

The votes polled will be countedimmediately after the polling is closed,at the polling station itself on thesame day that is May 20, itself. Theelection result would be declaredimmediately after the account of ballotpapers received from the PresidingOfficers of the polling stations of theconstituency (ward) is consolidated bythe Returning Officer. The electionprocess will be completed on May 25.

According to Dharam Vir thecriminalization of politics is a cause ofconcern. Hence, to stop personsconvicted by court of law for criminaloffences, from entering into theelection fray and contesting elections,

a contesting candidate is required tosubmit in writing his criminalbackground, if any, details ofmoveable or immoveable assets andeducational qualification. Also, he hasto submit along with his nominationpaper, an affidavit stating that he isnot suffering from any disqualificationas provided in section 13 A of theHaryana Municipal Act, 1973, rule 21of the Haryana Municipal ElectionRules, 1978 and section 8 of theHaryana Municipal Corporation Act,1994, in respect of election tomunicipal council or committee orcorporation.

The limit of the expenditure thatmay be incurred by the contestingcandidates or his authorised electionagents in connection with the electionis Rs 75,000 for a member of municipalcorporation, Rs 50,000 for a member ofmunicipal council and Rs 35,000 for amember of municipal committee. Thecontesting candidates are alsorequired to maintain account ofelection expenditure and submit thesame within 30 days from the date ofdeclaration of the result of theelection to the Deputy Commissioneror with any other officers specified bythe Commission, failing which thedefaulting candidate shall be liable tobe disqualified.

Meanwhile, in an importantdecision, the Punjab and HaryanaHigh Court cleared the decks forholding Panchayat elections in thestate in two phases in May and June.However the court made it clear thatthe fate of these elections woulddepend on the outcome of the petitionfiled by the residents of Bhiwani andother areas. The term of the electedpanchayats has already expired onApril 30; therefore elections are to beheld before May 31. g

The 4th MunicipalGeneral Election10 municipal councils and 28 municipal committees in Haryana to goto the polls on 20 May 2010

Dharam Vir, Haryana ElectionCommissioner

PHOTO FEATURE HARYANA REVIEW, MAY 201036

Before the glimmering landscape fades,On a hard race, oh my oxen run fast.

Art photographer Rajkishan Nain has over the years captured many shades ofHaryanvi life in its various colourful facets. He has become a living legend through hisyears of devotion to his art; capturing on camera, the ploughmen, the colurful belle, thetrees, the cattle, the ponds and the havelis spread across the length and breadth of thisancient land of Haryana. With his camera in his bag, he travels around takingwhatever available mode of transport, recording social life, economic activites and thevillage folks. Haryana Review offers its readers a glimpse of his wonderfulphotographs.

Shades of Haryanvi life

PHOTO FEATURE 37HARYANA REVIEW, MAY 2010

The ploughman homeward plods his weary way

Rest oh! weary man, let you andthe oxen have a hearty meal

PHOTO FEATURE HARYANA REVIEW, MAY 201038

Picking the sweet-scented flowers

Behold my son!your father's fieldsare awash withflowers

PHOTO FEATURE 39HARYANA REVIEW, MAY 2010

A tight embrace for adear daughter beforeshe departs

PHOTO FEATURE40

The haunting music, thesteely muscle and the

wonder clay

SPECIAL ARTICLE HARYANA REVIEW, MAY 201042

Dr Pankaj Mittal

The empowerment of women iscentral to the UN’s efforts to address

social, economic and politicalchallenges across the globe. Themovement from the first UN worldconference held in Mexico in 1975 to thefourth world conference on women heldat Beijing in 1995 has been a journey insearch of equality, development andgrant of rightful place to women. Untilwomen are liberated from poverty andinjustice – peace, security andsustainable development stand injeopardy.

One of the proudest achievements ofour Constitution is the recognition ofright to equality as a fundamental right.India holds the proud distinction ofbeing one of the first countries in theworld to give women the right to vote.The provisions of universal adultfranchise, non-discrimination on thebasis of sex and positive discriminationin favour of women are of the

Constitution. There has been arecognizable shift from viewing womenas targets of welfare policies in thesocial sectors to regarding them ascritical actors of development. India iswitnessing, increased compliance ofinternational standards laid downthrough Beijing Platform for Action,Millennium Development Goals andConvention for the Elimination ofDiscrimination against Women,through progressive legislations andsignificant judicial decisions. Manygender responsive policies andprogrammes have been adopted by thegovernment to increase opportunitiesfor women in several critical areas. Inrecent years, the government hasarticulated comprehensive policies forempowerment of women throughgender mainstreaming and genderbudgeting focusing on an explicit visionof equal partnership of women in allwalks of life.

One important move for empoweringwomen was taken in 1993 through 73rdand 74th constitutional amendment toenhance the women’s representation inlocal governance. Today, one third ofseats in local Government bodies arereserved for women and 1 millionwomen are members and chairpersonsof local governance bodies. This hasbrought about a “silent revolution” inIndia. Elected Women Representativesare prioritizing provision of drinkingwater, health, hygiene, establishment ofmother and child care centres, roadconstruction etc. A number of themhave placed high priority on literacy.They have also been active incampaigns and drives againstalcoholism. A few of them havedisplayed commendable performance ofservice.

Panchayats in India have become

more responsive to demands of healthcare and housing since women enteredthem. The newly elected womensarpanches are slowly learning theintricacies of the administration andprocedures. They are now becomingvigilant but need special training tomake them confident to meet theirresponsibilities.

In spite of the success story at thelevel of village Panchayats, the women’spolitical participation at higher levelremains low. Political parties tend tochoose the male candidates and avoidwomen candidates because they feelthat they lack the skills and theconnections necessary to succeed inpolitics. These processes aredisadvantageous for women who arealso constrained by their familyresponsibilities and cannot devote asmuch time to political activities as theirmale counterparts.

Not only in the sphere of politics, therepresentation of women in almost alljobs relating to decision-making processhas not crossed “critical mass.” Whilein Indian Administrative Services andIndian Police Services it is 7.6%, atpresent, women occupy less than 10% ofParliamentary Seats, less than 6% ofCabinet Positions, less than 4% of seatsin High Courts and Supreme Courts andless than 3% of the administrators andmanagers are women. Therepresentation of women in StateAssemblies is also very low. Even after62 years of independence, India has notseen even a single woman Chief Justiceof India. Only four women have beenable to reach the Supreme Court so farbut none to the post of Chief Justice ofIndia.

Even in sphere of education, in spiteof increasing number of womenteachers, the number of women vice-chancellors in universities other thanwomen universities is not more than 2%and same ratio holds good for womenprincipals in co-educational colleges (9out of 471).

Thus in a country like India wherehalf of its population is women, theirentry into decision-making bodies,policy making institutions and upperechelons of the society is restrictedwhich minimizes their role in Indiangovernance and democracy.

Indian women are marginalized ingovernance by a variety of processesthat begin right from infancy. Girls areencouraged to play passive roles and aregiven very little opportunity to make

Gender equality:Miles to goTo attain development in the true sense,women need to be liberated from genderinequality and injustice

SPECIAL ARTICLE 43HARYANA REVIEW, MAY 2010

decision or to develop leadershipskills outside the family context.Instead, they are taught to acceptthe decisions that others –parents, teachers, brothers andhusbands make on their behalf.As a result women tend to lackthe self-confidence and skillsneeded to function effectively inthe private and public sphere. Allthese facts show that women inIndia are silent victims ofsocietal prejudices. Looking atthis dismal state of affairs, weneed to take urgent remedialsteps to correct the situation.

When we educate a girl today,we help to create a leader fortomorrow, a leader within thefamily and community – perhapsa teacher, an engineer, a lawyer, adoctor, or a mother of a healthyand educated children, a womanwho is working hard to make herlife and the lives of her family asgood as it can be. Education isrecognized throughout the worldas a powerful tool for a child, fora family and for a whole society to makeprogress. More and more womenleaders are required to come forward tobreak the gender barriers.

It is absolutely necessary that aclimate of change is created for thewomen by women themselves. We mustnever doubt for a moment that each andevery one of us when we work togethercan meet injustice and create a climatefor change. Women have always drawnon the power of collective action tochange the world.

India presents a very complexeducational context where progressmade in girls’ education in the past 10years is quite visible but more needs tobe done to realize gender parity. Therapidly growing economy of India is yetto bring equitable benefits for girls andwomen living in backward and ruralareas in terms of their participation ineducation.

The most significant barrier to agirl’s education is poverty. The majorityof Indian people live in villages, wheremost of the domestic roles areconsciously or subconsciously assumedby women. In a poor family, youngschool-age girls are required at home tohelp the family with essential householdchores or as a wage labour. Thus,sending girls to the school has anopportunity cost which the poor parentsare unwilling to bear.

Educating a daughter, especially in apoor family, is perceived not only as anunnecessary luxury but also as aliability. As dowry is still a widelypracticed cultural norm, the birth of adaughter in the family is, in the firstplace, a huge financial burden. Secondly,a girl is expected to marry a man whoshould be in a better social positionthan her. Therefore, an educated girl canonly marry a more educated boy, and ifdowry payments increase with theeducation of the groom then, aneducated girl is likely to be moreexpensive to marry off. For a poverty-stricken family, it is unthinkable to meetthe dowry demand of an educatedgroom.

The Government has taken manyaffirmative steps to address theseissues. The National Policy onEducation, 1986 and programme ofAction 1992 also reaffirmed thegovernment’s commitment toimproving literacy levels, by providingspecial attention to girls and children.The 86th Constitutional AmendmentAct, 2002 made free and compulsoryeducation, a fundamental right for allchildren in the 6-14 age group which hasnow been translated into “Right toEducation Bill”. This has shown results,and there has been significant progressin the literacy rates.

Women’s literacy rate has grown

over the three decades and thegrowth of female literacy has infact been higher than that of maleliteracy rate. While in 1971 only 22per cent of Indian women wereliterate, by the end of 2001, 54.16per cent of females were literate.At present, the growth of femaleliteracy rate is 14.87 per cent ascompared to 11.72 per cent of maleliteracy rate. But it is interestingto note that although femaleliteracy rate has increased from 40per cent in 1991 to 54 per cent in2001, the absolute number ofilliterates has remained almostthe same (193 million in 1991 to198 million in 2001) mainlybecause of population explosion.

At the same time, there hasbeen a 100 per cent increase in theenrolment of women for highereducation since Independence.While in 1950-51, approximately40,000 women enrolled for highereducation, today this number hasmultiplied over 100 fold to thecurrent level of over 42 lakh

women.The objective is not gender parity

alone, but rather gender equality “in,within and through” education. Thepower of education lies not just inimparting formal literacy to women,but rather in acquisition of multiplevocational skills to improve theireconomic, social, political and civicconditions.

To conclude, India needs to make“gender discrimination” a history.Gender justice is the only way toachieve gender equality and freedomfrom want and fear. This calls foraccountability on the part ofGovernments, parliamentarians,judges, jurists, educationists, women’sgroups, non-governmentalorganizations (NGOs) and all of uspresent here, in providing the impetusfor change. We all must continue towork together so that from the smallestvillage to the largest city, the voices ofwomen are heard at the ballot boxes, inthe legislatures, in the executives, inthe Court room, in classrooms, incorporate groups and above all withinthe walls of their homes. The initiativefor promoting peace and prosperityshould come from within the walls ofeach home. g

The writer is Vice-Chancellor, BPSMahila Vishwavidyalaya, Khanpur

Kalan, Sonepat

Inspectingand guiding

REPORT HARYANA REVIEW, MAY 201044

Amanbir Kaur Brar

The census is the most crediblesource of information on a

country's economic, social, culturaland most of the other issues. Itbrings out details on demography,economic activity, literacy andeducation, housing and householdamenities, urbanisation, fertility andmortality, Scheduled Castes andScheduled Tribes, language, religion,migration, disability and many othersocio-cultural activities. India

organised its first census in 1872. This is the only source of primary

data at village, town and ward level.It provides valuable information forplanning and formulation of policesfor central and state governmentsand is widely used by national andinternational agencies, scholars,business people, industrialists, andmany more.

India has kick-started 'Census2011', the biggest-ever census exercisedone in the history of mankind. Itwill provide details of the country's

1.2 billion people and will classifyresidents according to their gender,religion, occupation and education.

The substantial exercise, to bespread over next 11 months, willmark a milestone as the first-everNational Population Register (NPR)will also be prepared. All personsaged above 15 years will bephotographed and fingerprinted tocreate a biometric national database.With this, India will probably becomethe first democratic nation in theworld which will have its population

Counting the headsCensus 2011 is the biggest-ever census exercise done inthe history of mankind

Neerja Shekhar, Director, Haryana Census Department, gives details of census operations in Haryana and their significance

REPORT 45HARYANA REVIEW, MAY 2010

fingerprinted.The 15th National Census exercise,

since 1872, will see over 25 lakhofficials capturing the socio-economic-cultural profile of itscitizens. It will cost around 22 billionrupees while the expenditure on NPRwill be Rs 3,539.24 crore. The exercisewill consume more than 11 milliontonnes of paper.

The enumerators for the first timewill collect information likeownership of mobile phones,computers, internet, having treatedor untreated drinking water facilityand usage of banking services. Theywill also seek additional informationfor the creation of NPR. Noinformation will be collected oncastes as no caste-based census hasever been conducted in independentIndia. But a debate is going on in theParliament in this regard.

Census will be conducted in twophases. The first phase, called theHouse listing and Housing Census,will be conducted between this Apriland July. The second phase, called thePopulation Enumeration phase, willbe conducted simultaneously all overthe country from February 9 to 28,2011, and the entire exercise would becompleted by March 5, 2011. Census2011 would be 15th in India since1872, seventh since Independence andfifth since formation of Haryana.

With about two-thirds of theIndian population in rural areas, thecensus is the main source of data foreveryone from manufacturers of carsand marketers of toothpaste togovernment officials planning andimplementing key programmes.Since the first census in 1872, it hasalso been the key to drawing upconstituencies for local and nationalelections.

With the government stepping upthe rollout of massive programmesfor the poor such as rural jobs andhealth insurance, the data shouldalso help plug leakages, which aformer prime minister onceestimated at about 85 percent of thetotal outlay.

The data will also help take theguesswork out of companies'investment and marketing plans inAsia's third largest economy. Thegovernment will also, for the firsttime, spend about 35 billion rupeeson preparing a National PopulationRegister (NPR), which will have

photographs and fingerprints of allpersons above the age of 15 years.The NPR will pave the way for theambitious Unique Identificationscheme, which aims at issuing asmart card and unique identitynumber to every Indian citizen,enabling easier access to banking,welfare payments and to boost taxcollections.

It will be for the first time thatevery person over the age of 15 willbe counted and photographed tocreate a biometric national database.From exclusive apartment blocks inMumbai to remote rural villages, the11-month exercise will create acomprehensive picture of modernIndia — and modern Indians. Thecensus-takers also plan to includemillions of homeless people.

In Haryana, the exercise began onMay 1 and it will continue up to June

15. It will involve house listing andhousing census in all 21 districts, 71tehsils, 106 towns and 6764 villages ofthe state.

As per Neerja Shekhar, Director,Haryana Census Department, 56,000enumerators and supervisors havebeen appointed and trained for theexercise of database collection. Thecensus will be done in two phases. Inthe first phase, listing of houseswould be done by enumerators andafter that National PopulationRegister would be prepared. Sheasked the residents of Haryana toassist in the collection of data byproviding correct information to theenumerators, who would visit theirhouses from May 1. The second phasei.e population enumeration will beconducted from February 9 toFebruary 28, 2011, with a revisionround from March 1 to 5, 2011. g

What is the National Population Register? What is its use?The NPR would be a register of usual residents of the country. The NPR willbe a comprehensive identity database that would help in better targeting ofthe benefits and services under the government schemes/programmes,improve planning and help strengthen security of the country. This is beingdone for the first time in the country.

Whom to contact if your house is not covered?The local Tehsildar/Ward Officer of your area is the designated officer. Incase of need, you can also contact the Collector/DC/DM of your District orthe Commissioner of your Town.

In Haryanag 53,000 enumerators for census in Haryanag First phase from May 1, 2010 to June 15, 2010g Second Phase from February 9 to February 28, 2011g 21 districts, 71 tehsils, 106 towns and 6764 villages of the state will

be covered.

In Indiag 11-month exercise will enumerate country's 1.2 billion population.g 2.5 million enumerators will be engaged g All 640 districts, 5,767 tehsils, 7,742 towns and more than six lakh

villages will be covered.g Census staff will visit more than 240 million householdsg Total cost is estimated at Rs 6,000 crore,g Estimated cost of the Census is 22 billion rupees and will consume at

least 11million tonnes of paper.g Computer and mobile phone ownership has been added for the first

time.

SPORTS HARYANA REVIEW, MAY 201046

Vaibhav Sharma

What is the first thing that hitsyour mind when you think of

sports? The medals, the money, thefame or the scandals? Actually none ofthese. For sports is, and will always beabout one thing: triumph of hope overa dismal reality. And this triumph hasbeen at the heart of Haryana as thestate has gone from one milestone toanother, crossed many a hurdle tomake a place, a name for itself in thefield of sports. From the dusty, weary-looking villages have emerged men ofimmense resolve and greataccomplishments.

But while sports like boxing andwrestling have flourished, there hasbeen a somewhat unexplainabledrought of talent in the field ofathletics. Although the state has beenupgrading and creating more andmore infrastructure, the results havesomehow not been anywhere close tothe level of expectations. Of course itis easy to question and form anopinion without getting the rightperspective, but this indeed is an

intriguing state of affairs.The Haryana government, with an

eye on a richer medal haul in futuretournaments, has been regularlyupdating their infrastructure. Inaddition to the existing stadiums andsports complexes already in place,there is a modern sports complexcoming up in Rohtak in an area ofabout 83.13 acres.

Another one is the Regional Centreof Sports Authority of India (SAI)being set up in an area of 83 acres atJoshi Chauhan Village in districtSonipat. This centre will provideinternational standard playingfacilities to players.

Also a Special Sports TrainingCentre at CCSHAU, Hisar has beenestablished by SAI to impart coachingto 100 boys and girls in athletics,boxing, judo and table tennis.

In addition to these, the HaryanaUrban Development Authority(HUDA) has completed the work on asports complex in sector 3, Panchkula,which is equipped to provide trainingand competition facilities for cricketand a complete athletics stadium

along with room for other sports likevolleyball, basketball and badminton.

There is also a sports complexbeing developed in Sector-38, Gurgaon,by HUDA. Although the complex is yetto be fully operational, the work onthe athletics track has beencompleted. Another sports complex ofinternational standards has been setup at Faridabad in collaboration withthe Government of India.

So the big question is that with allthe ingredients for grooming athletesin place, why has the state not beenable to go medal hunting? Why arethere no star athletes from Haryana,much like their boxing or wrestlingcounterparts? The answer is prettymuch wrapped within the questionitself. Sports like boxing and wrestlinghave a rural background in the state.Wrestling especially has been a big hitwith the rural folk and even withmodern techniques coming in to thepicture, the interest has not waned.That is where athletics misses a senseof belonging. The sport has not been apart of the evening talks and heroicbed-time stories. Despite somepromising athletes like BhupinderSingh and Seema Antil (discus throw),being consistent performers at thenational and international level, therehas not been one fairy tale that couldhave changed the face of athletics inthe state.

But with willing people and the stateensuring abundant infrastructure, itshould not be too long before athleticsfinds its due place in Haryana. The statehas the potential, and compared to otherIndian states, much more facilities andinfrastructure too.

Also with the Commonwealth Gamesand Asian Games lined up for this year,and time for the London Olympics alsoflying away briskly, this might be the apttime for young athletes to devotethemselves to preparations for theevents and make most of theopportunity to achieve dizzying heights.The country is looking for its heroeswho can achieve such levels in athleticswhich can inspire others. Even after somany years this looks like a challenge.The nation wants its own Bolts,Johnsons and Lewis….but how manystates can actually reply back is adifferent question. Haryana surelycan….but will it? That again is adifferent matter. g

The writer is Sports Correspondentwith The Tribune, Chandigarh

Keeping trackof athletics

MODERN TECHNOLOGY 47HARYANA REVIEW, MAY 2010

Shweta Vashishta

Summers are here. Withtemperatures running high and

weather turning dry, the mantra tobeat the heat is everything “thandathanda cool cool.” Immediately thepicture of a refrigerator stocked withice-cream, pudding, fruits, juices, ice-cubes and beautiful water bottlesneatly lined on the door shelves comesto the mind. But only those who canafford to have a refrigerator canfantasize such delicacies. What aboutthe poor? Leave apart the chilled

beverages; they cannot even have aglass of cold water to quench theirthirst.

Prajapati Mansukhlal Raghavji willget a thousand blessings from the poorfor he has invented a poor man’srefrigerator from the good old clay.Now it is possible even for the poorman to eat and drink everythingchilled and cold in the scorchingsummers. Priced at Rs 2,000, therefrigerator cools naturally withoutusing any electricity. It is ideal forrural areas with an erratic powersupply.

Mansukhlal belonging to acommunity of potters in Gujarat hasproved that inventions are not theprerogative of the highly qualifiedindividuals; sometimes simple folkslike Prajapati can come out with novelideas and innovations.

Just by thinking out of the box andtoiling for days, Mansukhlal came upwith the ingenious innovation ofMitticool refrigerator. Touted as mudfridge, it has two large water tanks atthe top and bottom that cool the sides.Akin to the clay pots, or ‘matkas’ thatkeep water cool in summer, Mitticoolcan lower the temperature by about 8degrees Celsius in comparison to theroom temperature. The USP ofMitticool lies in the quality anddensity of mud used which ensuresthat everything kept inside is protectedfrom the heat outside.

Mitticool refrigerator weighs 20 kg(height 18.5’’ and width 11’’) and workson the simple principle of evaporation.Water from the upper chambers dripsdown the side, taking heat from theinside and gets evaporated, leaving thechambers cool.

The upper portion of the

refrigerator can store about 20 liters ofwater, while the bottom cabinet hasseparate space for storing fruits,vegetables and milk. The naturalcooling process inside the refrigeratorcan keep vegetables and fruits fresh foraround five days, while milk can bepreserved for three days.

Mansukhlal was born in a potter’sfamily in 1965 in a vil¬lage calledNichimandal in Morbi in districtRajkot. He started his journey as asupervisor in a companymanufac¬turing roof tiles in Gujarat.But he wasn't happy. The entrepreneurin him com¬pelled Mansukhlal to starthis own venture. He took a loan of Rs30,000 from a money-lender to start anearthenware manufacturing factory in1988.

The idea of fashioning a fridge outof clay came to Prajapati during the2001 earthquake. He was inspired by acaption that said that ‘the earthquakedid not even spare the poor man’sfridge.’ The use of the word ‘fridge’made him think of making anaffordable eco-friendly fridge for thecommon man. It is rightly said thatnecessity is the mother of invention!

After more than three years ofcontinuous efforts and failures, in 2004Prajapati's clay fridge model workedsuccessfully. He called his product'Mitticool.' Mansukhlal finessed theMitticool refrigerator after the GujaratGrassroots Innovation AugmentationNetwork (GIAN), Ahmedabad, helpedhim with design inputs. Although ittook Prajapati months to fabricate thefirst fridge, it now takes him 8-10 daysto make one Mitticool.

It’s time for potters in Haryana totake cue from this invention and startmanufacturing Mitticool refrigeratorsso that they can both, earn and serve. g

Poor man’srefrigeratorMoulding clay, Prajapati MansukhlalRaghavji has created a wonder fridge whichis the best bet for the poor

Nishant Prabhakar

With two thirds of the earth'ssurface covered by water and

the human body consisting of 75percent of it, it is evidently clearthat water is one of the primeelements responsible for life onearth. Water circulates through theland just as it does through thehuman body, transporting,dissolving and replenishingnutrients and organic matter, whilecarrying away waste material.Further in the body, it regulates theactivities of fluids, tissues, cells,lymph, blood and glandularsecretions.

An average adult body contains42 litres of water and with just asmall loss of 2.7 litres, he or she cansuffer from dehydration, displayingsymptoms of irritability, fatigue,nervousness, dizziness, weakness,headache and consequently reach astate of pathology. Since the waterwe drink provides for cell functionand its volume requirements, thedecrease in our daily water intakeaffects the efficiency of cell activity.As a result, chronic dehydration

causes symptoms that equaldisease.

OUR WATER TODAY

The population decline of themarine and riparian life, theappearance of green algae in therivers and the stench and slime thatcomes as a result of putrefaction inwater, are clear signs of the depthand extent of disruption that hasbeen caused to this intricateecosystem. For example, the riverYamuna has been turnedpractically into a flowing sewage init onwards journey from Delhi.

Our drinking water today is farfrom being pure and it containssome two hundred deadlycommercial chemicals. Add to this,there are bacteria, viruses,inorganic minerals (making thewater hard) and you have achemical cocktail that is unsuitable(if not deadly) for humanconsumption. The onus ofawareness and action lies entirelyupon us, as we need to become ourown educators, physicians andinnovators in order to ensure puredrinking water for ourselves.

Purifying theElixir of LifeFollow simple methods to purify water athome and make it potable

ENVIRONMENT HARYANA REVIEW, MAY 201048

HOME REMEDIES TO PURIFYWATER

Having continuous access to asupply of clean water is necessaryfor survival. Today this isespecially true as toxiccontaminants and disease-causingpollutants become more of aconcern worldwide. People inindustrialized societies tend torely most on municipal watertreatment facilities for their waterpurification needs. Here areseveral simple methods ofpurifying water at home or in anemergency situation. 1. Choose a reliable filtrationsystem. This can include using afilter that attaches to the tap onyour sink. The tap-mounted unitremoves impurities as the tapwater is released. Another type offilter that can be used is thefiltration pitcher. This lookssimilar to a water pitcher but itcontains a water filter and aholding tank. You fill the pitcher’stank with plain tap water. Thetank passes a controlled amount ofwater through its filter and thendeposits the filtered water into thepitcher below for your use. 2. Purchase and maintain a supplyof purification tablets. Consideredto be vital to any disaster reliefkit, water purification tablets arean excellent addition to anyemergency supplies that you mayhave set aside. As these may differslightly in potency depending onthe brand, refer to themanufacturer’s instructions todetermine how much water can betreated with one tablet and howlong the water will remain safe touse.

3. We can purify water with iodineand it is found to be an effectiveway. For this, add 2% tincture ofiodine in the water i.e. 20 dropsper 4 litres of water. Add 40 drops,if the water is cloudy. Stir thesolution and allow it to stand forabout 30 minutes. Similarlydissolve a heaping teaspoon ofhigh-test granular calciumhypochlorite into 8 litres of water.Stir this water well, to make adisinfecting solution. And finallyadd the solution to 800 litres ofwater. This would purify the water. 4. Use unscented chlorine bleach.Only pure and undilutedhousehold bleach should be usedfor water purification purposes.The amount used depends uponhow much water in a containerneeds to be purified. Using astandard eyedropper, 15 or 16 dropsis usually enough, even for severalgallons or 3.8 to 4 litres of water.The water should be stirred oragitated well, then allowed to sitfor a few minutes. A slightchlorine scent will be noticeable,but pathogens would be killed andthe water will be rendered safe todrink. 5. Boil water to purify it. If youhave the ability to do so in anemergency, it is always a good ideato boil water in a heat-resistantcontainer in order to destroymicrobes and clear awayimpurities. An open fire orpropane stove will suffice if youare outdoors or camping. Bring thewater to a rolling boil for up to 5minutes. If sediments are present,they will rise to the surface in athin layer. Skim this off with awide spatula or a large metalspoon and discard it. When the

water has cooled, it may be storedfor later use. Using potassiumpermanganate is also quiteeffective in purifying water. Forthis, you need to add about 3 or 4crystals of the chemical compoundper litre of water. Stir the solutionwell and leave it for about 30minutes. 6. The most interesting one is thesolar water disinfection method.For this, you need to pour waterinto clear plastic PET bottles andexpose it to direct sunlight, for atleast 6 hours. The UV rays presentin the sun rays help in killingmany microbes and also results inclean water. But before using suchwater, make sure it is left in openso that it is aerated. After all thewater has been purified make sureit is stored in a clean container.For better taste the water can beaerated between two cleancontainers by pouring water fromone container to another and thenvice-verse, repeating not less than6 to 7 times. For sweet taste onecan add a pinch of salt to purifiedwater.

Though these householdmethods are quite effective inpurifying water and making itsuitable for drinking, yet somechemical and pathogens cannot beremoved. The home made filterswhich use reverse osmosis are thebest for purifying water from allimpurities. But what is essentiallyrequired is that we human beingsstart respecting the naturalresources and take care of them asif we own them. We should notwaste this precious resource andmake sure we do not pollute thewater bodies whether we go onexcursions or on a pilgrimage. g

ENVIRONMENT 49HARYANA REVIEW, MAY 2010

TOURISM50

Ruchi Sharma

Situated in the foothills of Shivaliks,Panchkula not just offers scenic

spectacle for the lensman but there islot more to it. Where the city wears afresh look in the morning, there itdazzles at night and tempts one toexplore the varied facets of the city.

Panchkula touches the tri-cityChandigarh and in its vicinity areprominent towns like Pinjore, Kalkaand Morni which are known touristspots. Thus the city and itssurroundings hold something foreveryone - adventurers, spirituallyinclined people, nature lovers andaesthetic lovers.

The Cactus Garden, Asia’s largestoutdoor landscaped cacti andsucculents’ garden, is in Panchkula. Itshowcases a large variety of over 2,500species of cacti. The diversity in sizes

and rarity of cactus plants is theunique attraction of the garden and amajor turn on for botanists. Every yearin the month of March, a major CactusShow is organized here and people fromall over the region visit it.

Lush green and well maintainedparks of Panchkula are a delight for thedenizens as well as outsiders. Vatikagarden with it serene surroundings anda small water body offers a beautifulview which is soothing to eyes. There isan eating joint inside the garden whichoffers delicious food. Travellers whowish to relax and eat peacefully canplan a stopover here. Adjoining this isTopiary Park which has large figures ofanimals made with green shrubs, andfountains which illuminate eveningswith its coloured lighting.

There are a number of eating jointsin the city to choose from like Domino'sPizza, Pizza Hut, KFC, Subway, Cafe

Coffee Day and Hot Millions. Touristscan spot their favourite eating jointwhere they can relish their favouritefood.

Malls like Fun Republic, Shalimar inPanchkula and City Centre Mall in ITPark open wide options ofentertainment. One can choose towatch any on-going popular movie ormake a choice of eating from the foodvariety available in the food court. Thethought of shopping prominent brandsunder one roof also excites one,especially women.

HEALING SIDE

At a distance of 20 kms fromChandigarh, the village Dab Kori ofPanchkula offers perfect destination fornature lovers. The Emerald GreenOrchard spreading over an area of 10acres opens one to a beautiful sight offruit orchards. The gush of fresh wind

Panchkula: On the tourist mapOffering a variety of places of tourists’ attraction, Panchkula issurely a treat for visitors

Mughal gardens, PinjoreGlitzy Malls

TOURISM 51

and the soothing green cover welcomesthe visitors. This farm is a perfectgetaway for those who live in towns buttheir heart remains in the countryside.One can enjoy sporty activities likebadminton, cycling and cricket. Itssurrounding villages hold an idealrural ambience that allows visitors tohave the feel of rural life by feedingcattle, milking cow, splashing freshwater from tubewell and riding ontractor and bullock cart.

About 11 kms drive from Panchkula,Thapli offers an exotic setting for thosewho look for an escape in peacefulsurroundings. For bird lovers, it’s atreat. One can plan a night stay andhave a worthwhile experience by livingin tent house and enjoy on tree houseespecially meant to be with the nature.Dining in the open inside a Gol Gharmade of wood gives a differentpleasure. A sitting pergola outsideamidst the greenery gives anopportunity to visitors to catch aglimpse of a variety of birds chirpingon trees or flying in the sky and havethe feel of fresh air.

FOR VENTURERS

Morni hills with matchless scenicbeauty are a perfect escape for theventurers. Adventure lovers often visitthis place to taste the fright andexcitement involved in trekking,camping and boating. Covered withpine trees, it offers suitable climate fortrekking.

Many nature starved people frequent

the hills in their private vehicles. Alarge number of resorts and rest housesare available on the way for tourists. Itis mostly crowed during weekendswhen families plan a picnic to the hills.The months of September till Marchare the best time to visit. The two smallman-made lakes called Tikkar Taal,bada tikkar and chota tikkar are themajor attraction for tourists andcampers. Campers can experience thethrills of living in tents by the lakeside.Boating in lake and sports activities onthe lawn are other attractive options forthe visitors.

RESTORING HISTORY

About 22 km from Chandigarh, theBhima Devi Temple Complex in Pinjoreshowcases and restores the ruins of anancient Hindu temple of 8th century to11th century AD in a museum.

Situated adjacent to the temple is the17th century Pinjore Gardens, globallyknown as Mughal gardens. It was builtby Aurangzeb’s foster brother usingmuch of the ruins of the Hindu templesdestroyed by the Muslim invaders from13th to 17th century. It is perhaps theloveliest and the oldest garden innorthern India. Away from themaddening crowd, set over 1,800 feetabove sea level in a beautiful valleyoverlooking Shivalik hills which is aperfect place for the harmony of mindand spirit.

SPIRITUAL SIDE

The Mansa Devi temple in Panchkula

was built by Maharaja Gopal Singh,the ruler of Manimajra in 1815 AD.The temple is very popular amongspiritually inclined people even ofother religions. During holy days ofNavratras, the devotees throng inlakhs to pay their obeisance.Adjoining it is a large temple built bythe Maharaja of Patiala. Patiala royalfamily helped in the development ofthe temple. Now government hastaken over the charge of the templeand it's one of the best managedtemples. Devotees throng twice duringNavratras.

About 10 kms away from MansaDevi Shrine, the prestigiousChandimandir CantonmentHeadquarters of the Indian ArmyWestern Command with an impressiveentrance is located. In Chandimandir,there is a very old temple which isdedicated to goddess Chandi.

Nada Sahib, situated on the banksof river Ghaggar, is a pilgrim place forHindus as with the Sikhs. After theBattle of Bhangani in 1688, GuruGobind Singh halted here whiletravelling. Nadu Shah of nearbyvillage served him and his followerswith food and milk. Later the sacredspot was discovered and raised byBhai Motha Singh to perpetuate thememory of the Guru's visit. Everymonth thousands of devotees visithere on the full moon (Purnima) day.

Such beautiful spots and sights areno doubt making Panchkula popularamong tourists. g

Race boating in the lap of nature, Tikkar Taal, Morni

HARYANA REVIEW, MAY 2010FESTIVAL52

Shweta Vashishta

Come April 13 and one can hear thebeats of dhol reverberating in the

sky. Jubilant farmers and theirwomenfolk shaking a leg together onthe beats is the usual sight invillages. All roads lead to the nearbyplaces of worship and rivers. Riverbanks are thronged with people totake a dip into the holy water of the

rivers. Men, women and childrenadorned in the best of their apparelscan be seen offering prayers in thegurdwaras and participating withenthusiasm in langar. Processionswith bands playing religious tunesare carried out at different places incities. All this fervor and feasting isto welcome the festival of Baisakhi.

Baisakhi is basically a festival offarmers to celebrate the joy of

harvest. A farmer is all smiles as heis about to get the fruit of his wholeyear’s hard labour. One of the mostpopular festivals of northwest India,Baisakhi is celebrated on a largescale particularly in the states ofPunjab and Haryana. It marks a NewYear’s time for the farmingcommunity as it is time to harvestRabi crop. On Baisakhi, farmersthank god for the bountiful crop and

Baisakhi:the festivalof harvest

Baisakhi:the festivalof harvest

Baisakhi festival is rooted in the peasant cultureand is secular in nature. It denotes arrival ofharvest season and is harbinger of prosperity

FESTIVAL 53HARYANA REVIEW, MAY 2010

pray for good times ahead. They buynew clothes and make merry bysinging, dancing and enjoying thebest of festive food. Everyday farmingscenes of sowing, harvesting,winnowing and gathering of cropsare expressed through zestfulmovements of the body to theaccompaniment of ballads and dholmusic.

The Baisakhi festival is an ancient

harvest festival. Harvest festivalshave been held as long aspeople have been sowingand gathering food.Peasants from variouscultures all over the worldcelebrate the gathering ofthe harvest. ForAmericans, this harvestfestival is held on thefourth Thursday ofNovember and is calledThanksgiving. Yam festivalin Ghana, Chinese HarvestMoon Festival in China, ChuSuk in Korea and Trung Thuin Vietnam are celebrated tomark harvesting.

Baisakhi Festival falls onthe first day of Vaisakhmonth (April-May) accordingto Nanakshahi or SikhCalendar. For this reason,Baisakhi is also popularlyknown as Vaisakhi. Accordingto English calendar, the date ofBaisakhi corresponds to April13 every year and April 14 oncein every 36 years. Thisdifference in Baisakhi dates isdue to the fact that day ofBaisakhi is reckoned accordingto solar calendar and not thelunar calendar. The auspiciousdate of Baisakhi is celebrated allover India under different namesand different set of rituals and

celebrations. Baisakhi date coincideswith 'Rongali Bihu' in Assam, 'NabaBarsha' in Bengal, ‘Puthandu’ inTamil Nadu and 'Pooram Vishu' inKerala.

It is heartening to note thatBaisakhi is a secular festival whichtranscends all barriers of religionand community. Though the reasonand way of celebration differs fromreligion to religion, it is equallysignificant for all.

Baisakhi has a special meaningfor the Sikhs. On this day in 1699,their tenth Guru Gobind Singhorganized the order of the Khalsa. Onthis day he administered amrit(nectar) to his first batch of fivedisciples making them Singhs, amartial community. Yet anotherlegend says that on the day ofBaisakhi, Guru Arjan Dev wasmartyred by the Muslim rulers whoin an act of barbaric cruelty threwhim alive into a cauldron of boilingoil. Also, the tragic Jallianwala Bagh

massacare took place on Baisakhi dayin Amritsar in 1919.

The day of Baisakhi Festival isalso important for the Hindus as it onthis day in 1875 that Swami DayanandSaraswati founded the Arya Samaj - areformed sect of Hindus who aredevoted to the Vedas for spiritualguidance and have discarded idolworship.

For the Buddhists, the day ofBaisakhi Festival is significant, asaccording to a popular legend it wason this auspicious day that GautamBuddha attained enlightenment orNirvana under the Mahabodhi tree inthe town of Gaya. For this reason, theday of Baisakhi is celebrated asBuddha Purnima is several parts ofthe country.

Colourful Baisakhi Fairs areorganized to celebrate the day. Peopleparticipate in these fairs with lots ofenthusiasm and charm. Majorattractions of Baisakhi fairs are thebhangra and gidda performancesbesides wrestling bouts, singing andacrobatics. Performance of folkinstruments - vanjli and algoza is alsoquite popular. Food stalls and shopsselling trinkets make these fairs evenmore joyful.

As the festival has tremendousimportance in Sikh religion, majoractivities of the day are organized ingurdwaras. People wake up early toprepare for the day. Many also takebath in the holy river to mark theauspicious occasion. After gettingready, people pay a visit to theirneighbourhood gurdwara and takepart in the special prayer meetingorganized for the day. At the end ofthe Baisakhi ardas, congregatesreceive specially prepared Karaprasad or sweetened semolina. This isfollowed by a guru ka langar orcommunity lunch.

Another high point of Baisakhicelebrations by Sikhs is the Baisakhiprocession or nagar kirtan carriedthroughout the city under theleadership of Panj Piaras or the FiveBeloved Ones. Men, women andchildren alike participate in theBaiskhi processions with enthusiasm.Mock duels, bands playing religioustunes and performance of bhangraand gidda dance make Baisakhiprocessions quite colourful andenchanting.

Thus, every year Baisakhi bringsjoy and prosperity for everyone. g

SUCCESS STORY HARYANA REVIEW, MAY 201054

Haryana Review Bureau

Cerebral palsy is an incurabledisease. But if one has the will

power, nothing is impossible. A perfectexample of this is Ritesh Sinha, whowith his resolve has turned hisdisability into a strength.

Karnal-resident Ritesh, 36, wassuffering from the disease since birth.There was a time when he could notmove without a wheel chair. He took itas a challenge, completed his studies byattending school and college regularly.He secured a certificate in computing,and a postgraduate diploma incomputer application. He also did B Scand attained a Master’s degree ininformation technology.

Furthermore, Ritesh’sdetermination to fight his disabilitymade him practise yoga for animprovement in his physical condition.Earlier, he was not able to balance hisbody and had frequent falls. The yogapractice had a magical effect on himand he felt more relaxed while writingand performing other activities. Nowhe has a better control over his body.He says, “My self-confidence hasincreased and the frequency ofincidental falls has reduced drastically.Now I am physically disabled but nothelpless.”

He was in search of a platformwhere he could guide other patientssuffering from cerebral palsy, but therewas no hope of assistance fromanywhere. This did not deter him. He

created his own blog‘ritesh.blogspot.com’ and formed acommunity of patients suffering fromcerebral palsy on Orkut.

He says, “Through onlinenetworking sites and blogs, I propagateyogic mudras for the benefit of thepeople suffering from cerebral palsyand reach out to more such people.”

For such sufferers, he has alsodeveloped new methods of writingthrough mudras, which help in speedycure of the disease. Ritesh says, “Thesemudras have shown amazing results inthe concentration of mind. They helpin manipulating and redirecting theenergy through hands and fingers andback to the body like reflection throughmirror and each mudra establishes adifferent link with specific effect onbody and mind.”

Ritesh, since his childhood, had akeen interest in reiki, numerology andspiritual healing, mudras and theireffect on human health. With theconsultation of the doctor, he developedmudras which relaxed his body.

Ritesh also made a film on Vayumudra and participated in the IndianInternational Disability Film Festivalwhere his film, “60 Seconds to Fame”was screened.

He has become a source ofinspiration for others. g

Ability to challenge disability

“The mudras have shownamazing results in theconcentration of mind. Theyhelp in manipulating andredirecting the energythrough hands and fingersand back to the body likereflection through mirrorand each mudraestablishes a different linkwith specific effect on bodyand mind.”

-Ritesh

Physicallychallenged provetheir mettle

The district rehabilitation centrerun by the District Red Cross

Society at Yamunanagar organised aT20 cricket match betweenphysically challenged persons ofYamunanagar and rest of Haryana.Here the aim was to bring outhidden abilities of physicallychallenged persons.

The physically challenged provedtheir mettle as equal by winning thematch. They proved that they areequal to any normal person and noburden to their family or society.

After winning the toss, the teamof physically challenged playerselected to bat first. They gave thetarget of 133 runs to the rest of

Haryana team. With one run theYamunanagar team won the match.Sourav was elected man of thematch and was awarded a cash prizeof Rs 500. The winner team wasgiven a cash prize of Rs 4,100 and therunner-up Rs 3,100. Sourav said, “Iwanted to set an example for thephysically challenged persons thatwe are not less in any field ascompared to normal persons.”

Parveen Kumar, captain of theYamunanagar team, said he wasworking as accountant and was notdependent on his family and insteadtaking care of his family members. g

“I wanted to set anexample for the physicallychallenged persons thatwe are not less in anyfield as compared tonormal persons.”

-Sourav

Ritesh at work accepting the challenge

GUEST COLUMN 55HARYANA REVIEW, MAY 2010

Dr Dinesh Dadhichi

Afew years ago, this young poet wasperceived as a precocious child,

who had the knack of penning downverses imbued with the ‘modern’ spirit.Today his poems are read with an awedexpectation that is usually reserved forrecognized luminaries in the field ofIndian poetry in English. As a matter offact, he represents the fast promisingclass of talented young men and womenfrom Haryana, who have carved out aniche for themselves beyond theboundaries of the state in various fields.

Samartha Vashishtha has an array ofachievements to prove his acumen.Born on June 10, 1983 at Nabha(Punjab), he had the advantage ofbelonging to a family of poets andintellectuals in Haryana. Hisgrandfather, Khushi Ram Vashishtha,who belonged to Meham, rose in histime to a position which won him thecoveted title of the State Poet ofHaryana. Samartha’s father, Dr.Jitendra Vashishtha, is also known forhis poems and ghazals in Hindi.Understandably, therefore, fertileground had been prepared for Samarthato venture forth in the same field, but hechoose the medium in which he hadreceived his education, though fluentlywriting poems in Hindi also, usingmodern idiom and style. When his firstcollection of poems in English,curiously entitled Anhadnad, came out,he was hardly seventeen years old. Itincludes his early poems, with a prefaceby the present author. A second one,titled Shadows Don't Live In Walls, waspublished in 2004 by Writers Workshop,Kolkata.

Apart from these books, Samarthahas also contributed to some prominentIndian literary journals. His work inEnglish has appeared in Chandrabhaga(Cuttack), edited by Jayant Mahapatra,Sahitya Akademi’s Indian Literature,The Journal of Literature and Aesthetics(Kerala), The Journal of the PoetrySociety (India) and Poetry Chain(Mumbai).

Besides, he translates to and from

Hindi and Punjabi and has publishedtransliterations of his poems in theleading Hindi journals, Pahal, aninfluential literary magazine broughtout by Gyanaranjan from Jabalpur andVartaman Sahitya (Ghaziabad), as alsoin some daily publications. He won theChosen Poet - II award in The PoetrySociety (India) - Poetry Chain AnnualPoetry Prizes 2003. Samartha is also aclassical vocal musician.

His poems stand out as a creativemedley of innovative evocations ofstrikingly rich and fresh images of ourhumdrum existence. The followingextract from a poem, “For Father on HisFiftieth Birthday,” aptly brings out thesharpness of his expression:

“I dream of wax wings meltingand splashing onto walls and flooras we pass by burning slopesarguing on poetry and love.”

Similarly, in his poem, “Dadiji: The LastRecollections,” he states with disarmingrealism:

“I hoped the whole dayshe would riseand throwing away the cotton plugs in her nosewould smile through her fallen oral castle;and listen to my exaggerated accountsof my mother’s cruelties(she seemed to be the only one who could scold her).She didn’t.”

His glowing tribute to Swadesh Deepak,a renowned author from Haryana, is

also remarkable for its intuitive sharingof experiences captured in paradoxesand striking juxtapositions:

“I know you and I know your smokefilling the room and my lungs -a rally of slender charminarsconspiring against God -or the ice in your fiery eyesthat only knowing death can give.I know you, sirwith your metaphors run amokyour wrist without a watchwalls sans a clock.”

Quite often his explorations into theessence of experience take on aphilosophical hue, as in the followinglines from “Innocence”:

“She came to my corner of the room. It was dark as ifthe dark was not the absence of lightbut a way of living; a metaphor beyond meaning for her.”

An engineer by education, he currentlyworks as a technical writer with AdobeSystems.

In the past, he has served as theEditorial Coordinator of LINUX ForYou, a magazine focused on Linux andopen source software.

Samartha is also a co-translator(along with Shailendra Shail) ofSoumitra Mohan's long Hindi poem,Luqman Ali into English. Thetranslation was published inChandrabhaga 14/2007.

One feels quite confident about thefuture of this brilliant young poet ofHaryana, who has very suitablysummed up the whole point of being apoet in the following words:

“There was this man –fiery eyes, cannon balls –who went to the little teashop by the roaddaily yet no one knew him by name

But still when he talkedhe talked of no less than changing a world.” g

The writer is professor of English atKurukshetra University

Weaving Magic with wordsA young poet from Haryana transcends boundaries of language to pen

beautiful verses which deal with complex human emotions

Samartha Vashishtha

BOOKS HARYANA REVIEW, MAY 201056

Haryana : A HistoricalPerspectiveBy S C MittalPublisher: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, NewDelhi 1986

Ancient Kuruksetra,Studies in Historical &cultural GeographyBy O P BhardwajPublisher: Haryana publication House, New DelhiISBN 81-85151-40-7

Haryana : Ancient andMedievalBy H A PhadkePublisher: Harman publishing House, New DelhiISBN 81-85151-34-2

A Few Pages From TheHistory of HaryanaBy Bhim Sain TyagiPrinted at: The Himalia Press, Chandigarh 1985

Haryana Through the AgesBy Buddha PrakashPublisher: Kurukshetra University

Ancient IndiaAn introductory OutlineBy D N JhaPublisher: People’s Publication House, New DelhiISBN 81-7007-039-2

An Epic PilgrimageHistory and Antiquity of Pehowa:Ancient Prithudaka

By Devendra HandaPublisher: Aryan Books International, New DelhiISBN 81-7305-272-2

Jaina Bronze from HansiBy Devendra HandaPublisher: Aryan Books International, New DelhiISBN 81-7305-234-4

History of Hisar From Inception to Independence(1354-1947)

By M M JunejaPublisher: Modern Books company, Hisar 1989

To know more, read on...

Sculptures from HaryanaIconography and Style

By Devendra HandaPublisher: Aryan Books International, New DelhiISBN 81-7305-307-3

The Culture and Civilis-ation of Ancient Indiain historical OutlineBy D D KosambiPublisher: Vikas Publishing House Pvt LtdISBN 0-7069-6454-3

Medieval IndiaThe Study of a CivilizationBy Irfan HabibPublisher: National Book Trust, IndiaISBN 978-81-237-5255-6

The problems of theSarasvati Riverand Notes on the ArchaeologicalGeography of Haryana and Indian Punjab

By Dilip K Chakrabarti, Sukhdev Saini

Publisher: Aryan Books International, New DelhiISBN 978-81-7305-381-8

Amazing historical facts about ancient India

v India invented the number system and Aryabhatta invented the number zero. Chess(Shataranja or AshtaPada) was invented in India.

v The art of navigation was born in the river Sindhu 6000 years ago. The very word'navigation' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'Navgatih’ and the word 'navy' is alsoderived from the Sanskrit word ‘Nou’.

v The world's first university was established in Taxila in 7th century BC. More than10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects.

v The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century BC was one of the greatestachievements of ancient India in the field of education.

v Bhaskaracharya calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundredsof years before the astronomer Smart did. The time taken by earth to orbit the sunas mentioned in 5th century BC text is 365.258756484 days.

v Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans. Charaka, who wrote‘Charaka Samhita’, a book dedicated to Ayurveda, 2500 years ago, is regarded as thefather of medicine. Today, Ayurveda is fast regaining its rightful place.

v Budhayana first calculated the value of pi, and he explained the concept of what isknown as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century BC, longbefore the European mathematicians.

v Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computer software as reported in Forbesmagazine in July 1987.

v Algebra, trigonometry and calculus came from India; quadratic equations were bySridharacharya in the 11th century.

v The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 10 6(10 to the power of6) whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 1053 (10 to the power of 53) with spe-cific names, as early as 5000 BCE during the Vedic period. Even today, the largestused number is Tera 1012(10 to the power of 12).

v The earliest reservoir and dam for irrigation was built in Saurashtra by Saka KingRudradaman I of 150 CE. This reservoir was called 'Sudarshana' and was construct-ed on the hills of Raivataka.

v Sushruta who wrote ‘Sushruta Samhita’ in 3rd or 4th century AD is the father ofsurgery. 2600 years ago, he and health scientists of his time conducted complicat-ed surgeries like caesareans, cataract, artificial limbs, fractures, urinary stones andeven plastic surgery and brain surgery. Usage of anaesthesia was well-known inancient India. Over 125 surgical equipments were used. Deep knowledge of anato-my, aetiology, embryology, digestion, metabolism, genetics and immunity is alsofound in many texts.

Registered with the Registrar of Newspapers of India, RNI No 10412Postal Regd No CHD/123/2009-11

On this side of history

haryana review may-2010

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indus river basin

panchkula haryana

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river beds

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theindus valley civilisation

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mature period