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‘Hyderi Manjil’, the Building where Mahatma Gandhi stayed In 1947 to open as Museum on October 2

Photographs of Mahatma Gandhi’s 1947 stay at Beliaghata in Kolkata and articles used by him during the over three-week period when he tried to douse the flames of communal violence will be on display from October 2 at the house that hosted him.

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Hyderi Manjil', the Building where Mahatma Gandhi stayed In 1947

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Photograph of Hyderi Manjil’, the Building where Mahatma Gandhi stayed In 1947 at Beliaghata in Kolkata and articles used by him during the over three-week period when he tried to douse the flames of communal violence will be on display from October 2 at the house that hosted him, which is now been developed as a full-fledged museum, according to reports. 

In August and September of 1947, Gandhi chose to be in Kolkata, away from the celebration of Independence, with some of his followers to calm the rioters down. 

 “The city was in flames. Gandhi and his followers stayed in the building and sat on an indefinite fast on August 31. Gandhi called off the fast on September 4 after leaders of the two communities visited him and laid down arms at his feet and cried for forgiveness,” said an office-bearer of the Purba Kolkata Gandhi Smarak Samiti, which has been managing the building since late 1950s.

 On August 13, 1947, Gandhi and his followers moved to the building, earlier known as ‘Hyderi Manjil’, and lived in two of its seven rooms as only these two were inhabitable, she added.

However, once Gandhi left on September 4, the building again went into decay. 

On October 2, 1985, the state government’s Public Works Department carried out some maintenance works there in consultation with the samiti and and it was named ‘Gandhi Bhavan’. But it didn’t draw wider public attention.

 In 2009, when the then state governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi visited the place, he asked the samiti to put on display some of the objects used by the Mahatma. Since then, it has been run as a small ‘museum’ by the samiti and objects like the spinning wheel, cap, ‘kharam’, pillow and mattress used by the Mahatma during his stay are on display in one of the rooms, an official of the samiti said.

 However, with limited resources of the samiti, there was not much public knowledge about the building and some of its exhibits and hence the number of visitors were few. In 2018, the state government fully took over the building and it has been massively upgraded. This renovated building will open as a full-fledged state-run museum on Wednesday, when the nation celebrates the 150th birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation. After the restoration of the entire building, these items will be displayed in a better and more organised way, the official said, expressing satisfaction the state government has taken the organisation on board in turning the building into a full-fledged museum. 

There will be some new additions in the museum too. “Items used by Gandhiji in the ashram he set up at Sodpur, 10 km from Beliaghata, to help inmates weave clothes by Charka and his correspondence (letter) with people in Noakhali, in present day Bangladesh, during the period of turmoil in Kolkata and Noakhali will also be added,” she said.

 Also newspaper clippings recording that turbulent phase in Bengal history will also be displayed in all the seven rooms of the museum, she added. 

“There are photographs too. For example, one is of a pensive Gandhiji looking at a dimly-lit lantern. Another image captured on September 4, showed teary-eyed community leaders asking him to call off the fast on. Another photo portraying Gandhi in ‘mounobrato’ (silence),” the office-bearer said. 

A glass case with three swords surrendered to the Mahatma by the rioters will also be on display, she said. “Hyderi Manjil is not just a building; it is associated with many memories. It was the epicenter of the fight against communalism,” said the samiti officer-bearer.

 “The museum, in its full glory and as a state-run facility, will be unveiled on October 2 to let the present generation knows more about Gandhiji and his association with the city,” she said.

 After the restoration, the building is now safeguarded by a high wall and the steps are paved with marbles. Its large central hall houses several wall paintings, crafted by the students of Rabindranath Tagore’s Viswa Bharati, on the 1947 communal violence. 

Biswanath Dey, who passed away in 2017, was one of the associates of Gandhi during his stay. His daughter-in-law recalls with pride how Gandhiji asked him to accompany him during his morning walks to a nearby canal every day. 

“My father-in-law, who was a teenager in 1947, used to say he was a part of six youths who would be always on Gandhiji’s side,” she recalls. 

Another nonagenarian, who frequented the place in those days and liked by Bapu, says she recently visited the place and was very happy with the ongoing maintenance work. She is now settled in South Africa. 

An official of the Information and Cultural Affairs department said the museum will have three divisions. “There will be one section depicting Gandhiji’s birth, death and political life; this will be the new addition to the previous museum, run by the voluntary organisation. There will be another section on his relations with Hyderi Manjil. And the third will show how he prevented the riots in Kolkata and Noakhali form escalating further. Newspaper clippings and other books and archival materials will be kept there,” the official said.

 There will be audio-visual presentation, another new addition, with voice-over in one section of the museum, a top official said. Besides a big gate, frescoes depicting non-violent movements of Gandhiji have been put up on the walls of the museum for the grand opening. A government official said an entry fee will be charged after all the objects are completely restored and put on display.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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JMM-RJD-Congress are supporters of Bangladesh infiltrators: PM Modi at Jharkhand rally

Narendra Modi further claimed that if the bad policies of JMM, Congress and RJD continue, the adivasi society in Jharkhand will shrink

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JMM-RJD-Congress are supporters of Bangladesh infiltrators: PM Modi at Jharkhand rally

Ahead of the Jharkhand Assembly election, PM Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the incumbent Hemant Soren government, accusing it to put appeasement at the top of its agenda.

While addressing a rally in Jharkhand’s Garhwa, the Prime Minister said the coalition government of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Congress and RJD are supporters of Bangladesh infiltrators. He said that the JMM-RJD-Congress government has taken appeasement to its peak, and that these parties are destroying the state’s social harmony. He alleged that the parties are supporters of infiltrators, and to get votes of Bangladesh infiltrators, they are getting them settled across Jharkhand.

The Prime Minister stated that when schools disallow Saraswati Vandana, one can imagine how big the danger is. When there is stone-pelting during festivals, Maa Durga is stopped and curfew is imposed, one knows how dangerous it is, he continued. The Prime Minister also added that when the issue of infiltration goes to court and the administration denies, it becomes clear that the government machinery has been infiltrated. PM Modi was referring to allegations that a Muslim teacher stopped prayers to Goddess Saraswati at a school in Jharkhand’s Giridih.

Narendra Modi further claimed that if the bad policies of JMM, Congress and RJD continue, the adivasi society in Jharkhand will shrink, and advised people to use their vote to uproot this infiltrator coalition. He maintained that Jharkhand’s swift development is possible only if it has a government that expedites the implementation of central schemes.

Referring to the JMM’s decision to replace Champai Soren as Chief Minister after Hemant Soren was granted bail in a money laundering case, PM Modi said that the party has left no stones unturned in humiliating an adivasi son. He asked how the party will take care of the people of the state when nothing matters to them more than family. He added that he does not have a family, and the people are his family. He also mentioned that Champai Soren, once a trusted lieutenant of Hemant Soren, is now with the BJP.

Slamming the ruling coalition of corruption, he said that corruption hollows out the country like termites, and destroys the poor, Dalits, people from backward classes and tribals. He claimed that Jharkhand has seen for five years the corruption of the JMM-Congress-RJD government.

He also referred to the massive cash haul from the home of Congress’s former Rajya Sabha MP Dhiraj Sahu last year. Mentioning that mountains of cash are recovered from the home of Congress’s Rajya Sabha MP, he questioned if this money didn’t belong to Jharkhand.

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Ruckus in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly over resolution against Article 370 abrogation

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah addressing the session, said that the resolution has no importance and it is only for the cameras.

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Ruckus in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly over resolution against Article 370 abrogation

Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on Monday witnessed chaos after People’s Democratic Party (PDP) MLA Waheed Para moved a resolution opposing the abrogation of Article 370 and called for restoring the union territory’s special status.

Waheed Para, the PDP MLA from the Pulwama Assembly seat, submitted the resolution to newly elected Speaker, Abdul Rahim Rather and requested for a discussion on the matter during the five-day session, despite not being a part of the agenda.

It was submitted that although the agenda of the House has been finalised, they believe that the authority as the Speaker allows the inclusion of the resolution, as it reflects the sentiment of the people at large. After the resolution was submitted, all 28 Jammu and Kashmir BJP MLAs stood up to oppose the move, leading to noisy scenes inside the Assembly.

As the members protested, BJP MLA Sham Lal Sharma demanded Para’s suspension for bringing the resolution in violation of Assembly rules. The agitation continued even after the Speaker repeatedly requested the protesting members to take their seats. He asserted the resolution has not come to him yet and when it does, he would examine it.

While the BJP members refused to call off their protest, National Conference MLAs slammed them for interrupting the proceedings of the House. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah addressing the session, said that the resolution has no importance and it is only for the cameras.

The Chief Minister added that how the House will reflect and discuss this matter will not be decided by any one member. If there was a purpose behind the resolution, then they would have discussed this with the government before, he continued.

Nonetheless, CM Abdullah also admitted that the people of Jammu and Kashmir do not approve of the decision taken on August 5, 2019, when Article 370 was abrogated. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha also said that his government will make all efforts for the restoration of full statehood. He mentioned that restoration of full statehood would be a reciprocation of the faith reposed by the people of Jammu and Kashmir in democratic institutions.

Meanwhile, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti expressed that she was proud of Waheed Para for submitting the resolution.

Notably, Article 370 was a provision in the Constitution that granted special autonomy to the region of Jammu and Kashmir. It also allowed the state to have its own constitution, flag, and autonomy over internal matters except defense, communications, and foreign affairs.

However, the Centre on August 5, 2019 revoked Article 370, effectively removing the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and reorganising it into two Union Territories namely, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

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20 killed after bus falls into gorge near Uttarakhand’s Pauri-Almora border, CM Dhami expresses grief

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has announced financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh each for the families of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh each for the injured.

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20 killed after bus falls into gorge near Uttarakhand’s Pauri-Almora border, CM Dhami expresses grief

In a tragic incident, nearly 20 people were killed after a Garwal Motors Users bus fell into a 200-metre deep gorge near Uttarakhand’s Kupi in Ramnagar at Pauri-Almora border on Monday. The injured are being hurried to the hospital and a search operation is currently underway. At least 35 people were inside the bus when the accident occured.

The fatal accident was reported to authorities at around 9 am by passengers who had fallen from the bus during the accident. Police and teams from National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are at the accident site in Marchula’s Salt area. 

Speaking to the media, District Magistrate Alok Kumar Pandey said that the bus was going from Garhwal to Kumaon where the accident took place at Marchula in Almora. Sanjay Kumar, Salt Sub-District Magistrate stated that some of the passengers have been rescued and admitted to hospital. 

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has announced financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh each for the families of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh each for the injured. The Chief Minister also directed the Commissioner of the Kumaon division to carry out a magisterial inquiry into the incident. 

Taking to social media platform X, CM Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed grief, and said that a very sad news has been received about the casualties of passengers in the unfortunate bus accident that took place in Marchula of Almora district. He added that the district administration has been instructed to carry out relief and rescue operations swiftly. 

Furthermore, CM Dhami stated that the local administration and SDRF teams at the accident site are working rapidly to evacuate the injured and take them to the nearest health centre for treatment. He mentioned that instruction have also been given to airlift seriously injured passengers if required. 

In a tweet, the Prime Minister’s office also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF for the next of kin of each deceased in the mishap in Almora, adding that the injured would be given Rs 50,000.

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