INDEPENDENCE DAY Spl Series :::: Memories :::: When Naga rebel leader Phizo said ..... one of his relatives and even the British Govt were "stupid" ???

 Memories :::  

A few years ago, veteran Naga leader S C Jamir had shared with me certain anecdotes about his meeting with rebel leader A Zapu Phizo in 1963 in London. 

Legendary founder of NNC

Apparently the meeting was necessitated at the directives of the Govt of India 

In fact, many believe in the negotiation stage too -- Indira Gandhi  (then Jawaharlal Nehru was Prime Minister) played a key role in trying to bring things under control in the Naga hills. 

Nagaland got statehood in 1963. 

Jamir tried to be practical and impressed upon Phizo to be flexible in his approach so that peace and a lasting Solution to the Naga issue was worked out. 

In course of our discussion, I asked Jamir  - how much or did be ever thought the Naga insurgency was encouraged by the British colonial masters just on the eve of their departure from India. 

S C Jamir, a former Nagaland CM and ex Governor in Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Odisha - told me : 

"Many Indian officials at one point used to argue on these lines. In 1947 - I was 16 year-old. So I did not know much. 

But one thing is certain, Nagas were always very proud community. Nagas believed we had our own world, own religion and own Naga customs. In fact, each Naga tribe had their own tradition... 

So, the idea of Naga independence was almost inbuilt. 

Uncle Phizo did lead us the right way".  

However, Jamir hastened to add, "But it is true, I had differences with him especially when I began to work as a parliamentarian. 

We wanted to be practical. Once we had statehood and we and our party NNO were in power - 

--- we realised development, education and health care were very important to survive in the present civilisation. 

Veteran Jamir and Home Minister Amit Shah 

That means Economy was important. We had only rice cultivation and horticulture ... we were dependent on the Govt of India.  

"So; when I met Phizo ... I told him .. Economy is important. Americans are doing well today ... You are in London for so long; but the British Govt allowed you to stay but they never utter a single word supporting you or NNC for Naga independence ... Can you tell me why ?" 

(Jamir apparently asked this of Phizo). 

The response was -- "oh .. they are just stupid". Jamir started laughing. 

While narrating the story after so many years --- Jamir was again all split. I too joined him almost in a natural manner of conversation. 

At one point Jamir added :  "I think ... Phizo liked the word Stupid". Of course - I had to ask - why he thought so.

Jamir told Phizo : "Uncle, you are not at all practical. Let us try to solve the problem in your lifetime. Otherwise, we Nagas are going to suffer.... 

We owe this to our people. The Govt of India can be convinced if we also understand their position...".

Jamir went on - "But Phizo was simply not getting my point. 

He was not agreeing to the idea of a negotiated settlement in the manner New Delhi had drawn the parameters. Indira Gandhi and others in Delhi wanted everything within Indian Constitution.

"I had served as an MP and a parliamentary secretary to Ministry of External Affairs and PM Nehru. I understood the gravity of the constitution ... even I was under oath... I think, I said this in a jovial mood - (to Phizo) .. "even one of your close relatives married an Indian army officer".

Phizo understandably, according to Jamir - again said - "Well, she is also stupid".

To this Jamir reportedly told Phizo - "No sir; this is not stupid. This is life... when a young man and a young woman meet ... many things work".  

I knew one of S C Jamir's sisters was married to a Dimapur-based Bengali medico Dr S Sen. I asked him -- "Sir even your sister married a Bengali doctor". 

Jamir was not embarrassed, "Exactly ... my family members initially said so many things. I loved my sister. I told her nothing doing, if you marry him; he is also part of our larger family. 

He was Sylheti .. from Sylhet region originally in Bangladesh".  

During Jamir's conversation with Phizo -- when it came to British policy vis-a-vis the Naga issue; the former chief minister had told the Naga rebel leader -- 

"You know... why the Britishers are silent, it is because it is they who handed over India and that include Naga hills to the Govt of India under an international law ... The Indian Independence Act 1947".

"The British Govt is not stupid;  The Indian Independence Act 1947 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that partitioned British India into two new independent dominions: India and Pakistan. 

This law was given royal assent on July 18, 1947 ... hence they could not eat back their own words". 

Jamir further added:

"I was interviewed by a senior journalist in Mumbai... I told her ... to a large extent, I agree to the argument that the Govt of India did not create the Naga problem ... they inherited it from the Britishers".

                             Great Wall - 1960s :::: Key Naga rebel leaders in China 

ends 

 

Nihang attacks Sukhbir Badal with kirpan in Maharashtra, injures his hand

Akali Dal chief and former Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal was attacked in Maharashtra's Nanded on Thursday, police said.

Badal was attacked near a gurudwara and has been hospitalised.

The attack took place around 1.45 pm at Gurdwara Mata Sahib Devan Ji Mugat, where Badal was visiting. The attacker was identified as Nihang Jaspal Singh Tejpal and was detained by police shortly after the incident.

Police officials quickly intervened in the scuffle; however, Badal suffered injuries.

A viral video showed Badal walking inside a building with a cloth wrapped around his right hand.  

Nihang attacks Sukhbir Badal with kirpan in Maharashtra, injures his hand

Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal sustained a minor hand injury after being attacked with a kirpan inside a gurdwara in Maharashtra's Nanded. 

Police arrested the accused, while the Maharashtra government ordered a probe into the motive and any possible security lapses.  

Doctors at Yashosai Hospital said Sukhbir Singh Badal is being treated by a team of three senior surgeons for an injury to his hand caused by the kirpan attack. They said surgery was underway under local anaesthesia after his blood pressure was found to be elevated.

ends 

Former Trinamool MLA Nirmal Ghosh arrested for ‘hurried’ cremation of RG Kar victim :::: CJI Chandrachud during a hearing wondered how the post-mortem could be conducted even before the FIR was filed !!

Former Trinamool MLA Nirmal Ghosh arrested for  ‘hurried’ cremation of RG Kar victim  

The then Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud during a hearing in the apex court had wondered how the post-mortem could be conducted even before the FIR was filed.

The arrest came within a week after West Bengal chief minister Suvenu Adhikari ordered a fresh probe into the hurried cremation of the slain doctor on the night of August 9, 2024.   

Nirmal Ghosh, the former MLA of the Trinamool from Panihati, was arrested on Thursday from Odisha’s Puri in connection with the alleged hurried cremation of the post-graduate trainee doctor raped and murdered at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital two years ago.  

The victim’s father had on Monday lodged an FIR naming Ghosh and two others.

Ghosh had allegedly fled to Odisha after the chief minister instructed the Barrackpore police commissionerate to start a probe.  

The slain doctor lived with her parents in Panihati, a seat that Ghosh represented five times in the state Assembly. The current MLA is the victim’s mother who is with the ruling BJP.  

Ghosh had changed his mobile SIM but stayed in contact with some of his close associates, according to police sources. Tracking the calls, the former MLA was traced to a hotel in Puri and arrested. 

“At the cremation ground, the serial number [of the doctor’s body in the cremation queue] was three; however, the body was cremated at serial number one,” chief minister Adhikari had said at an event on the second anniversary of the crime that shook Kolkata and Bengal.

“The cremation documents, which should have carried the signatures of the family or nearest relatives, did not have any signatures. 

All this was done by Nirmal Ghosh, Somnath Das and Sanjib Mukherjee,” the CM had said. 

 Soon after the doctor’s body was found at the seminar hall on the third floor of the hospital’s emergency department, Ghosh, who was the then government chief whip in the Bengal Assembly and an influential politician in the then ruling Trinamool, had rushed to the hospital.

The cremation was held at Natagarh, Kadamtala crematorium in North 24-Parganas Ghola and the family was told not to worry about the expenses.

“The chief minister himself has named them. The cremation was conducted in a hurry by Nirmal Ghosh, Somnath Dey [the local councilor] and Sanjib Mukherjee [a neighbour],” the victim’s father had said after lodging the new FIR on Monday.

CPI-M leader Minakshi Mukherjee along with members of the party’s youth wing had tried to block the cortege carrying the victim’s body from the hospital.

Then Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud during a hearing in the apex court had wondered how the post-mortem could be conducted even before the FIR was filed.

“One thing is clear the body was handed over to the family for cremation at 8.30 pm and the FIR is registered at 11.45 pm, three hours and 15 minutes after the body is handed over for cremation,” then-CJI Chandrachud had observed.

ends 

Once upon a time there was a zero; he met another zero ... together they were 'zero' ::: They also met the third zero and so all put togeher; the result was ZERO

Let us debate some issues here based on certain things which are known in a geo-political sense.  

Do we know - what's common between India, Cyprus, Greece and Yemen ?? Our answer could be both - Yes and No. These four countries have respective detractors and enemies. In India's case it's singular and that's Pakistan.  

Saudi Arabia is locked in a war with neighboring Yemen since 2015. Two others Greece and Cyprus have unresolved tensions with neighboring Turkey.

Blogger and journo colleagues in Defence Correspondents Course 2000

But when it came to Muslim Nato - floated recently; we have stories around Saudi Arab, Pakistan and Turkey inking a new pact. 

On August 7, these three countries inked a defense pact that echoed Article 5 of NATO: -- 

an attack on one will be attack on all. 

Sounds interesting. The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement has sent shockwaves. Take a pause - so now if PM Narendra Modi 're-starts' Operation Sindoor; essentially New Delhi would enter fight against Turkey, Saudia Arabia and Pakistan. Hence, a basic question - does it not increase the 'weight of the problem called Pakistan' for India ? 

The game is not yet over. The four countries including India are not actually 'common enemies' of Turkey, Pakistan and  Saudi Arabia. To get a grasp of the paradox - we must also note that .... 

-- Saudi Arabia is making a record investment in India of $100 billion.

The amount exceeds that of the four-nation European Free Trade Association. Moreover, Saudis host an estimated 2.5 million Indian expatriate workers who sustain a steady stream of foreign exchange earnings for that nation. There are other contradictions and surprising element too.  

Somewhere in Eastern India - not far from Myanmar 

Riyadh's Turkish turn is the more significant implication of the Mecca Accord. Only a few years ago, Recep Tayyip Erdogan was campaigning to make Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman a pariah over the 2018 killing of Jamal Khashoggi.

Pakistan for its part may be relishing an "elevated strategic profile". But is more in terms of perception and is on paper.

It does not quite alter Pakistan’s domestic security balance or immediate South Asian border dynamics.  

The pact acts only as an external security alignment for Middle East stability and does not provide a mutual defense guarantee or leverage for Pakistan within its own regional disputes or borders. On the contrary; there are reasons to believe Iran would not be pleased.  

All three countries in the new-born alliance agree that the accord is “defensive in nature,” and “not aimed at any specific country”.

They also say other states could join.

It is therefore no coincidence that Israel’s and U.S. official response to the accord was “no response". 

Iran’s reaction was : we don’t care.   

Even when it comes to the region’s waterways, each member of the alliance has concerns that vary in degree, kind, and emphasis. Saudi Arabia, for instance, is most concerned about maritime safety across the Red Sea. 

Since the Iran war, the bulk of its energy exports has been diverted to this passageway. Turkey is also more concerned with the Red Sea while Pakistan focuses on the strait of Hormuz and less so on the Red Sea. Much of Pakistan’s energy imports transit through the strait. 

Pakistan’s or Turkey’s cargoes, thus far, have been passing without interruption through both waterways.

In Diplomacy, you need Arjuna's perfection 

ends 

BJP MPs step up attack against Rahul Gandhi ::: Nishikant Dubey says - "Rahul Gandhi chor hae .. He robs Jharkhand and runs Congress with that money"

BJP MP Kangana Ranaut says, 

"They have completely disrupted the atmosphere here. The situation is deteriorating day by day. 

"On the one hand, Rahul Gandhi asks questions of the Home Ministry, yet he says they won't let the Home Ministry speak. What kind of behavior is this? They demand a discussion, but when offered one, he claims he doesn't want an answer... 

"This implies he has no real issues. The opposition lacks any substantive issues. Having run out of issues regarding development, national progress, the economy, or defense, he is simply throwing tantrums here."

"If there is anyone who is the true heir of Jinnah, it is Rahul Gandhi"

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey says, 

"Rahul Gandhi is a thief. He lacks courage. 

He earns crores of rupees from Jharkhand and uses it to run the Congress party... He has ruined the future of our children in Jharkhand... The spirit of Jinnah resides in his mindset. He wants to tear the country apart... 

He lacks the courage and the standing to withdraw support from the (Jharkhand) government. We will continue to agitate under the leadership of our State President, Aditya Sahu, until a CBI inquiry is ordered. The BJP will stand with the students..."

On opposition's protest outside the parliament, he says, 

"They are monkeys themselves, aren't they? They come to lay siege to the Prime Minister's residence alongside forces that seek to break the country. 

If he (Rahul Gandhi) has the courage, why doesn't he withdraw support from the government in Jharkhand? If there is anyone who is the true heir of Jinnah, it is Rahul Gandhi."

ends 

Lok Sabha adjourned sine die ::::::: "You are playing the role of an urban naxal," Union Minister Giriraj Singh blasts Rahul ::: Says - "Kharge ji indulges in chamchagiri"

Lok Sabha adjourned sine die. #Monsoon session of Parliament ... total washout 

Union Minister Giriraj Singh says, 

"Rahul Gandhi is the name of a man who is like an unruly child in a village. Look at his expressions and words. What one of our MPs said is right. 

He is the LoP, he says, 'challenge karta hoon.' What challenge are you posing? A parliamentary system has some decorum. 

"Will you make comparisons with Amit Shah? He has worked and shown results on how Article 370 is abrogated, 

... how 35A is abrogated, how CAA is implemented. 

"You want terror to spread in the country. 

"You are playing the role of an urban naxal. If you have guts, then speak as one speaks in a parliamentary system and listen to others. You act like a hit-and-run. 

"Amit Shah has exposed. He (Lok Sabha LoP) has no guts to discuss NEET. When the pellet gun issue is discussed, NEET will be discussed too. When that happens, other states of the country will be discussed too - Punjab will be discussed, Karnataka will be discussed, Himachal Pradesh will be discussed, Jharkhand will be discussed. 

"So, he (Rahul) doesn't have guts...Congress should be ashamed of itself. Kharge ji, who is such a senior leader, indulges in 'chamchagiri' of Rahul Gandhi...", he added. 

Charges proved against Justice Yashwant Verma in cash-at-home case: Probe panel :::: also rejected his contention that the storeroom was completely outside his control

 Charges proved against Justice Yashwant Verma in cash-at-home case: Probe panel

It also rejected his contention that the storeroom was completely outside his control, holding that it formed part of his official residential premises and remained under his institutional control.

The panel, however, stopped short of concluding that Justice Varma personally owned the money in the criminal-law sense. Its finding was that substantial unexplained cash was found on premises under his control and that he failed to satisfactorily explain its presence, source or ownership.

A three-member inquiry committee has found all three charges against former Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma proved, concluding that substantial unexplained cash was found at his official residence, material evidence was not properly preserved and his explanations about the episode were evasive and unsatisfactory.

The findings relate to cash discovered in a storeroom at Justice Varma’s official residence at 30 Tughlak Crescent in Delhi after a fire on March 14, 2025.  The panel, however, stopped short of concluding that Justice Varma personally owned the money in the criminal-law sense. Its finding was that substantial unexplained cash was found on premises under his control and that he failed to satisfactorily explain its presence, source or ownership.

WHAT DID THE INQUIRY FIND?

The committee, constituted by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, examined three formal charges against Justice Varma, essentially the specific allegations framed for investigation.

Unexplained cash at official residence   

The committee found that a substantial quantity of Rs 500 notes was present in the storeroom after the fire. The evidence pointed to bundles, heaps and stacks of currency rather than a few stray notes.

The panel said Justice Varma could not satisfactorily explain where the cash came from, who owned it or why it was present there.  

Failure to preserve evidence

The second charge concerned what happened at the scene after the fire.

The committee found that the storeroom was not immediately sealed and that cleaning took place after first responders had left. By the time a formal inspection was carried out, the cash was no longer available.

It concluded that material evidence had not been properly secured or preserved.

The panel referred to the presence of Justice Varma’s Private Secretary Rajinder Singh Karki and household staff member Mohd Rahil near the storeroom during the cleaning process. However, it did not conclude that Justice Varma himself had removed the cash.

Evasive and unsatisfactory explanations

The panel also found Justice Varma’s explanations inadequate, saying they failed to sufficiently address key questions about the presence, source and ownership of the cash and the steps taken after the fire.

It described his responses as “evasive, incomplete and misleading in effect” and said they did not reflect the degree of candour and institutional responsibility expected in the circumstances.