Even after India became Independent, the Portuguese refused to give up their territory of Goa.
bq. Both Britain and France had long given up their territories. A reluctant India decided to march into Goa and on December 13, 1961 Operation Vijay was launched. It was no contest and the whole thing finished in 48 hours.
bq. And yet, the action was not bereft of some interesting incidents. The Indian Navy saw its first action after Independence. At Diu, the Indian Army found it hard going to cross the creek surrounding Diu island and were taking heavy casualties until the navy’s ageing cruiser Delhi carried out point blank bombardment of Diu fort from a range of one-and-a-half miles forcing the garrison to surrender.
bq. Off Goa the only resistance put up was by the pre-World War II Portuguese frigate Alfonso de Albuquerque which came out to give battle to the Indian Navy’s latest frigate Betwa, commanded by Commander (later Vice-Admiral) Rusi Gandhy. Gallant Albuquerque was no match for Betwa’s state-of-the-art gunnery and was soon driven on shore by the latter. Her crew were taken prisoner.
[Source: “Rediff”:http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/may/10nad.htm]

Did you know that Sikkim became part of India only as late as 1975. When India became independent Sikkim became a protectorate under India. The Sikkim state congress wanted a democratic setup and join the Indian Union. The ruler Tashi Namgyal died in 1963 and was succeeded by his son Palden Thondup Namgyal. By 1970 people wanted an end to monarchy and an agitattion started. Indian Govt appointed a Chief Administrator and in 1973 Sikkim became an associate state. Then in 1975 the constitution was amended and Sikkim became a state in the Indian Union.

The present state of Kerala is made up of three princely states, Travancore, Cochin and Malabar. When the British announced their withdrawal from India, the Diwan of Travancore, Sir. CP Ramaswamy Iyer announced that Travancore would establish itself as an independent state and would not join the Indian Union.
Continue reading “Forgotten Events: How Travancore joined the Union” →

1921 was a memorable year in Kerala due to an event which happened in Turkey. The Caliphate was abandoned. This was followed by an uprising against the British by the Muslims in Malabar.
bq. Police attempted to arrest the secretary of the Khilafat Committee of Pokottur in Eranad on a charge of having stolen a pistol. A crowd of 2000 Moppilas from the neighbourhood foiled the attempt. The next day, a police party in search of Khilafat rebels entered the famous Mambaram mosque at Tirurangadi. They seized some records and arrested a few Khilafat volunteers. A rumour spread that the mosque was desecrated. Hundreds of rustic Moppilas converged on Tirurangadi and besieged the local police station. The police opened fire. The mob reacted in a mad fury. Violence spread and engulfed Eranad and Valluvanad taluks and neighbouring areas for over two months.
Continue reading “Forgotten Events: Wagon Tragedy” →

Born in 1765 AD in a very righteous family, Umar Qazi was to become the pride of Kerala, the visionary poet and a just ruler. At the age of 11, he joined the Madrasa at Tanoor. At 13, he joined Ponnani Madrasa for higher studies. After completing his studies in Ponnani Madrasa, he was made the Qazi (judge) of Veliyankode.
Umar Qazi introduced the Non-Taxation Movement decades before Mahatma Gandhi, the father of nation and the unchallenged leader of Indian freedom struggle, started it. In 1805, Umar publicly announced his defiance of the British taxation system.
Continue reading “Forgotten Indians: Umar Khazi” →

Shanti has started an interesting series to bring into our attention “various freedom fighters of India”:http://www.madhoo.com/archives/002683.php#002683. Everyone knows Gandhi, Nehru and Bose. But there are so many people who have not receieved that kind of attention. These are people we have forgotten.

Pazhassi Raja was the king of Kottayam in Kerala in late 17th century. Following an unpopular revenue policy by the East India Company, he stopped the collection of all revenues in Kottayam. Following this the British tried to capture him. He fled to the hills and led a Guerilla war against the British, but finally he was gunned down
Continue reading “Forgotten Indians: Pazhassi Raja” →

InstaPundit has been keeping track on the debate going on about electronic voting machines and the “possible fraud”:http://www.instapundit.com/archives/010702.php.
bq. “What we know is that the machines can’t be trusted. It’s an unlocked bank vault …, a disaster waiting to happen,” said David Dill, a Stanford University computer science professor who has prompted more than 110 fellow scientists to sign a petition calling for more accountability in voting technology.
In this context it is interesting to note this announcement by the Election Commision of India that the next General Election in 2004 would be completly done using Electronic Voting Machines.
bq. Talking to newspersons after a meeting with the Delimitation Commission, headed by Justice Kuldip Singh, he said the Election Commission (EC) would require nearly one million EVMs to cover the entire country.
This is the largest election in the world in terms of the number of people who vote. And here is what the Election Commision had to say about the last elections
bq. In the 1996 election to Lok Sabha there were 1,269 candidates from 38 officially recognised national and state parties seeking election, 1,048 candidates from registered parties, not recognised and 10,635 independent candidates. A total number of 59,25,72,288 people voted.
[See: “SIFY”:http://sify.com/news/politics/fullstory.php?id=13201701, “Sameer”:http://optimystic.typepad.com/optimystic/2003/07/india_will_vote.html, “Election Commision of India”:http://www.eci.gov.in/infoeci/elec_sys/elecsys_fs.htm, “Denver Post”:http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~53~1540873,00.html ]