The Dogged Walk

I will walk the path forever walked

One step ahead of you

And one step behind

I will choke in the dust of your passing

And skirl more into your face

It all tastes the same

Even when you feign otherwise

But here on the path forever walked

The old will lie itself anew

We can sigh like kings, Like empresses on gift-carts

Resplendent in imagined worth.

I will walk the path forever walked

Though my time is short

As if the stars belong

Cupped here in my hands

Showering out these pleasures

That so sparkle in the sun

When down they drift settling flat

To make this path forever walked

Behind you behind me

Between the step past, the step to come

Look up look up once

Before I am gone

Paradigm shift in blog issues.

Sorry for the rather long hiatus in blog posts. I was locked on the horns of a dilemma, and the relevance of this blog was in question. I seem to have resolved the situation. The new plans for the near future of the blog consists of chronicling my readings and some of my long-term aspirations.

One of the things that I am going to do is to chart the journey of India since independence.The rationale behind this is the fact that I recently read Ramachandra Guha's amazing "India after Gandhi" and I want to share my opinions and understanding with others. The posts may be interspersed with Chinese affairs,in keeping with my ongoing course. I also plan to have some posts which will lay the groundwork for my "magnum opus" ,the fantasy novel that I want to create.(sounds appropriately ambitious)

That's it for now. Keep reading.

China News Digest 7

After a prolonged hiatus,China news returns :

1.Sudanese Vice-President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha on Saturday inaugurated a bio-energy project that will provide an alternative source of energy and improve the local environment.
The project, which is part of a partnership between Sudan and China, has been established at al-Selait area, some 25 km east of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.
It consists of many units for producing bio-fuel and energy for lighting purposes using local sources of animal waste."We have established 75 units of bio-energy in all parts of Sudan and they are operating satisfactorily," Chinese Ambassador to Khartoum Li Chengwen told Xinhua.

"This project is characterized by the fact that it is less costly and easier to use besides its guaranteed continuation. It helps farmers to develop agriculture and resolves the issue of wood cutting, which protects environment," the ambassador said.
The Chinese ambassador regarded the project as another good example of the deeply rooted and progressive China-Sudan ties in a way that served the interests of the two peoples.

2. China hoped Egypt could restore social stability and normal order at an early date, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Sunday.

3. China and Switzerland formally launched bilateral talks on a free trade agreement Friday. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Chinese Commerce Minister Cheng Deming said the agreement talks between China and Switzerland have attracted huge attention and interest from the countries' leadership and business communities.Cheng expected a successful conclusion of the FTA negotiations. Cheng said a free trade agreement would enhance mutual trust between the two sides and promote economic development and closer ties between China and Switzerland.
China and Switzerland have seen fast-growing bilateral trade and investments for decade. In the past 10 years, China's exports to Switzerland have grown by 18 percent while Switzerland registered an even stronger 25 percent surge in exports to China.

Currently, China is the largest trading partner of Switzerland in Asia, while Switzerland ranks ninth among China's trading partners in Europe.

4.With a Chinese New Year concert held on Tuesday in the Golden Hall, China and Austria officially kicked off celebrations for the 40th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations.

It also marked the launch of Austria's Year of China.

Uyunqimg, vice-chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Barbara Prammer, president of the Austrian National Council, Chen Haosu, president of the the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), and Chinese Ambassador Shi Mingde attended the concert.

While addressing the audience, Prammer spoke highly of Austria-China relations. "Our diplomatic relations have gone through a very successful journey, and (are) unbelievably good," she said.

5.China to invest $608b in water projects :The country will invest 4 trillion yuan ($608 billion) into projects during the next decade to improve water conservation, Chen Xiwen, director of the office for the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee's Leading Group on Rural Work, said on Sunday.The country aims to double its average annual spending on water conservation over the next 10 years compared to the 200 billion yuan investment in 2010, according to the document, also known as the No 1 document.

The government will also encourage loans to, and private investment in, the water sector to ensure funding for conservation, it said.
"Floods and drought in recent years have exposed weaknesses in water conservancy infrastructures," the document said, citing severe drought in Southwest China as well as severe flooding and mud-rock flows in many regions last year.

The document also said more efforts would be made to improve water quality and farmland irrigation, such as increasing areas under irrigation by 2.7 million hectares over the next five years.
The country aims to build effective flood control and drought relief systems by the end of 2020.The harnessing of major medium- and small-sized rivers will be completed during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015).The country aims to maintain annual water consumption at below 670 billion cubic meters in the next five years.The central government will subsidize the maintenance of public benefit water projects in western regions and poverty-stricken areas.The problem of water not safe to drink in rural areas will be eradicated by the end of 2015.

6. Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan's statement "welcoming" China overtaking his nation as the world's second-largest economy points to a positive and strong change in future China-Japan relations, according to analysts. In his speech, Kan said "the world faces major changes that can be likened to a tectonic shift both in the national security and economic fields", and Asia is "the center of major tectonic changes".

Against this background, he said, the Japan-US alliance "is becoming even more important" and should continue to play a key role in the Asia-Pacific region.

"For Japan, its relationship with China, which is expanding its influence in Asia as it achieves remarkable economic growth, is extremely important," Kan added."Both Japan and China have an important responsibility to bear in the international community, and will need to enhance cooperation in a wide array of fields such as the economy, regional stability and the global environment," he said.Kan also has to follow the US, its important ally, which experienced positive changes in relations with China after President Hu Jintao's visit earlier this month, Shen noted.

"Japan will not choose to isolate itself out of the framework that China and the US have established," Shen said. Sino-Japanese relations soured since the September collision between a Chinese fishing boat and two Japanese patrol boats in waters off China's Diaoyu Islands, which Japan also claims.

In the latest development, Japanese officials complained to a major US newspaper after it published a column saying that China's sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands "has a strong historical case", Japan's Mainichi Daily News reported on Friday.In the New York Times column published on Jan 20, op-ed columnist Nicholas Kristof said: "My take is that China has a strong historical case in claiming the ... islands" known as the Diaoyu Islands.Japanese Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Satoru Sato claimed in a letter to the editor of the US newspaper, which was published on Thursday, that the islands are "clearly an inherent territory of Japan".

Attention : Notes.

Attention and perception syllabus :
Attention - factors, influencing attention including set and characteristics of stimulus. Sensation-concepts of threshold, absolute and difference thresholds, signal detection and vigilance. Definition and concept of perception, biological factors in perception. Perceptual organisation-influence of past experiences, Perceptual defence-factors influencing. Space and depth perception, size estimation and perceptual readiness.

Summary :

1. The auditory system is able to process sounds in such a way that, although several may be present simultaneously, it is possible to focus upon the message of interest. However, in experiments on auditory attention, there have been contradictory results concerning the fate of the unattended material:

. The auditory system processes mixed sounds in such a way that it is possible to
focus upon a single wanted message.

. Unattended material appears not to be processed:
– The listener is normally unable to report significant details concerning the unattended information.

– Only the most recent unattended material is available, while still preserved in the echoic memory.

. These results suggest parallel acquisition of all available information, followed by serial processing to determine meaning for one attended message.

. Although there is little conscious awareness of unattended material, it may receive more processing than the above results imply:
– Words presented to the unattended ear can produce priming and physiological effects.

– Participants trying to ‘shadow’ one ear will follow the message to the other ear.

. These results imply that processing takes place in parallel, to the extent that meaning is extracted even from unattended material.


2. The results of the visual attention experiments we have considered can be interpreted as follows.
. Attention can be directed selectively towards different areas of the visual field,without the need to re-focus.The inability to report much detail from brief, masked visual displays appears to be linked to the need to assemble the various information components.
. The visual information is captured in parallel, but assembly is a serial process.
. Episodic detail (e.g. colour, position) is vulnerable to the passage of time, or to ‘overwriting’ by a mask.
. Semantic information (i.e. identity/meaning) is relatively enduring, but does not reach conscious awareness unless bound to the episodic information.
. Attention, in this context, is the process of binding the information about an item’s identity to its particular episodic characteristics.
. ‘Unbound’ semantic activation can be detected by priming and electrophysiological techniques.


3. When consciously perceiving complex material, such as when looking for a particular letter of a particular colour:

. Perception requires attention.

. The attention has to be focused upon one item at a time, thus ...

. processing is serial.

. Some parallel processing may take place, but ...

. it is detected indirectly, such as by the influence of one word upon another.



4. We have seen that attentive processes will ‘work hard’ to unite information into a coherent whole.
. Even spatially separate visual and auditory stimuli can be joined if they appear to be synchronous (the ventriloquism effect).
. When stimuli are not synchronous the system attempts to order the segments of the stimuli independently, resulting in distraction and lost information.
. It is a ‘bottleneck’ in the ordering process that results in one stream of information interfering with the processing of another.



Attention has a role to play in dealing with competition. The early researchers believed that attention was vital, because the brain would be able to deal with only one signal at a time; a ‘winning’ signal had to be picked from among the competitors. Although we have shown that a good deal of analysis can actually take place in parallel, there are also results which suggest that more complex analysis is largely serial, thus requiring a mechanism to select from the competing stimuli. Often, the parallel processes have to be demonstrated rather obliquely, since their results do not become consciously available. Thus attention has to do with what reaches conscious
awareness. Why should this be so? Why should we not be equally aware of several items imultaneously?
Allport (1987) offered an answer that suggests yet another role for attention: it is to direct actions. Although we might, in principle, be able to perceive many things at once, there are situations where it would be counterproductive to attempt to do more than one thing. Allport gave fruit-gathering as an example. When we look at a bush of berries we need to focus attention upon one at a time, since that is how they have to be picked. If animals had not evolved this ability to select, if all the food items remained equally salient, they would starve as they hovered over them all, unable to move toward any one! From this perspective, attention is the process that saves us from trying to carry out incompatible actions simultaneously. However, everyday experience reminds us that the issue of consciousness remains relevant. For example, novice drivers experience considerable difficulty in trying simultaneously to perform all the actions needed to control a vehicle; in Allport’s view they are trying to ‘attend-for-action’ to more than one thing at a time. However, this could be restated as an attempt to be conscious of more than one thing at a time. Once the driver has become more skilful, the difficulty of combining actions disappears, but so too does the driver’s conscious awareness of performing them: they have become automatic.

One might well ask how the term ‘attention’ has come to be applied to so many roles and processes; it might have been better to use different labels to distinguish between them. To use one word with so many aspects certainly makes a unitary definition very difficult to formulate. I suspect that the single term has stuck because ultimately all these facets of attention do lead to one result: conscious awareness. Even in so-called altered states of consciousness, such as hypnosis, attention appears to be a vital component.
Attention is the process which gives rise to conscious awareness.

Intelligence : A psychological account .

Here are my notes on the topic of intelligence :

Definition :- Intelligence is the ability to judge well, understand well and reason well. It has some key components -
1.Direction : ability to set up a goal and work towards it.
2.Adaptability :ability to make necessary adjustments to solve a problem
3.Comprehension :ability to gain a good understanding of what the problem is
4.Self-evaluation :person's idea whether heor she has been able to correctly solve the problem

The aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with the environment”.

According to Howard Gardner (1986), intelligence is “the ability or skill to solve problems or to fashion products which are valued within one or more cultural settings”.

An analysis of the above and other definitions indicates that intelligence consists of three general classes of skills or abilities:

1. Adapting to new situations and changing task demands.
2. Learning or profiting optimally from experience or training.
3. Thinking abstractly using symbols and concepts.

Robert Sternberg (1997),a pioneer in the field of intelligence research,
has defined intelligence as follows:

Intelligence comprises the mental abilities necessary for adaptation to, as well as shaping and selection of, any environmental context.

Models of Intelligence : There have been a plethora of ways in which people have tried to understand intelligence. Here is an account of some of the theories.

1.Charles Spearman (1927) proposed a “Two Factor theory” of intelligence. According to him, intelligence consists of General (‘g’) and Specific (‘s’) factors. This theory maintained that all intellectual activities share a single common factor,called ‘g’. Characterised as mental energy,‘g’ is considered responsible for relationships between different human activities. Positive correlations between any two factors were attributed to ‘g’ factor. In addition to ‘g’, this theory also postulates a number of specific factors ‘s’, each being strictly specific to a single activity.

2. “Theory of Primary Mental Abilities” which states that intelligence consists of seven major factors, each of which is relatively independent of the others. These factors are: Verbal Comprehension, Verbal Fluency, Inductive Reasoning, Spatial Visualisation, Number, Memory, and
Perceptual Speed.

3. Raymond Cattell (1971) proposed that there are two ‘g’ factors, ‘gf’ (for fluid intelligence) and ‘gc’ (for crystallised intelligence). Fluid intelligence includes the ability to think creatively, to reason abstractly, to make inferences from data,and to understand relationships. It can be measured by analogy and classification problems. It is strongly influenced by heredity. In contrast, crystallised intelligence includes what a person learns and retains from experience; so, it is strongly influenced by environment. Tests of vocabulary and general information can be used to measure crystallised intelligence. It has been found that fluid intelligence tends to decline at an early age than crystallised intelligence though both show rapid decline starting in
the late seventies.

4. On the basis of more than two decades of factor analytic research, J. P. Guilford proposed a box-like model, which is known as Structure-of-Intellect Model. This theory organises intellectual traits along three dimensions: Operations—what the respondent does, Contents—the nature of the materials or information on which operations are performed, and Products—
the form in which information is processed by the respondents. Guilford’s classification
includes 6 x 5 x 5 categories, resulting into 150 cells in the model. In each cell at least one factor or ability is expected; some cells may contain more than one factor.


5. Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences : Based on 3 principles: Intelligence is not a single entity but has multiple distinct intelligences, these intelligences are independent of each other, different types of intelligences interact with each other to solve a given problem.

The 8 intelligences are:
1.Linguistic :reading,writing,comprehension,talking etc.
2.Logical-mathematical :abstract reasoning,manipulation of symbols.
3.Spatial :navigation,mental images..
4.Musical :understand pitch,tone,musical creativity.
5.Bodily-kinesthetic : dexterity,coordination and body control
6.Interpersonal :understanding motives,feelings and behaviour of people
7.Intrapersonal : good understanding of one's self and identity
8.Naturalistic :recognizing flora and fauna and making a distinction in the natural world.

6. Sternberg's Triarchic theory of intelligence :According to this theory, there are 3 sub-theories of intelligence : Componential, Experiential and Contextual .

Componential sub-theory consists of internal mental mechanisms responsible for intelligent behaviour.The components of intelligence serve three different functions :
Metacomponents are the executive processes that are involved in planning strategies,monitoring progress,allocating resources to problem solving.
Performance components are processes used to perform a given task.This component is best tested by modern intelligence tests. Knowledge Acquisition components are processes used in learning.

Experiential subtheory focuses on the relation between a person's inner mental world and the external world.It takes into account the effect of intelligence on one’s experiences as well as the effect of one's interactions with the environment on intelligence. This view adds Creativity to overall intelligence.(combine various experiences in uniquely original ways)
The second function of experiential theory is to automatize tasks that are done routinely.(driving,cycling etc.)

Contextual subtheory deals with the ways in which people shape their environments,adapt to different contexts and make the most of available resources. (Street-Smarts or Situational Intelligence) It is the effective management of self and the practical management of the business of everyday life.


7. PASS model of intelligence : Extending the information processing approach, J.P. Das,Naglieri, and Kirby (1994) proposed this theory. The basic statement of the model is that intelligence can
be understood as a result of interdependent functioning of three neurological systems:
those responsible for arousal (and attention), coding (or processing), and planning. The two
coding processes are simultaneous and successive. Thus the theory is known as PASS (Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, and Successive) Theory.

Based on the PASS theory, Das-Naglieri Cognitive Assessment System (CAS) was developed. The system employs verbal and non-verbal tests presented through visual and auditory sensory channels. It is appropriate for use with individuals between ages 5 to 11, and has been specially designed for use with intervention purposes. Some measures are given in Box 1.3. The system is considered an appropriate and innovative tool for the assessment of cognitive status.

Creativity and Intelligence :
Highly intelligent people may or may not be creative but highly creative persons are without doubt highly intelligent. Sternberg talks about three types of intelligence:Analytic, Creative , and Practical.Creativity is a process that requires the balance and application of various aspects
of intelligence. The creative intelligence is the ability to go beyond the given data to generate novel and interesting ideas. A creative person is a good synthetic thinker, sees the connections and relationships others don’t see. In addition, creative people also have the ability to analyse and evaluate ideas. The practical intelligence is the third aspect of creativity, which refers to the ability to translate theory into practice and transfer abstract ideas into practical accomplishments. Thus, while an intelligent person is high only on analytical intelligence, a creative person is high on all the three aspects.


Culture and Intelligence : Notions of intelligence differ in different cultural contexts.

The salient features of Western culture are urbanisation, high use of technology and schooling.

It encourages the development of the following factors in children :
1.generalisation : going beyond the given information
2.speed
3.minimal moves : efficiency
4.preference of mental over the physical
5.creativity

All this gives rise to a technological intelligence characterized by attention,observation,speed and higher achievement in school.

Indian notions of intelligence :

The following four competencies constitute intelligence :
1. Cognitive Competence :context,comprehension,problem-solving etc.
2. Social Competence :following social norms, obedience and respect to elders,concern for poor etc
3. Entrepreneurial Competence :hardwork,commitment,vigilance,goal-directed behaviour
4. Emotional Competence :control over emotions,honesty, politeness,etc.

Indian concepts of intelligence are not limited to the cognitive domain and are more inclusive. So they are called "integral intelligence".

Other cultural notions of Intelligence:

Africa Capability in specific situations, and social responsibility (such as
cooperativeness and obedience).
Baoule Service to the family and community, politeness and respect for elders, and speaking
well in public.
China Non-verbal reasoning (or silent thinking).
Japan (a) Sociable, humorous, and effective speaker, (b) ability to take another’s point of
view, and admitting mistakes, (c) task efficiency, (d) originality, and (e) reading and
writing.
Kenya Ability to judge and perform tasks that are required to be done at homestead.
Uganda Slow, careful and active.
Yoruba More listening than talking, understanding the problem in the proper perspective
and constructive intelligence.


The next post will talk about intelligence testing and measurement.

Random facts for the aspiring bureaucrat .

Well ,this is supposed to be interesting for a certain section of the people. I will list out certain facts and then will reveal the connection. Casual readers may not appreciate the purpose of this post. You have been warned !

1. Kiang Nongbah : The British imposed a house-tax in 1860 which was met with resentment and within a few months, the people rose in a rebellion that was easily put down as the rebels were not organised. Towards the close of 1860 income tax was also levied in addition to the house-tax. There was an apprehension in the air that tax would also be levied on betel and betel-nut. Imposition of these taxes created turmoil amongst the Jaintias and they rose again in a fierce rebellion in 1862. The magnitude of the upsurge was such that as many as seven regiments and detachments of troops were put into action to suppress it. Jowai, which was besieged by the rebels for about 3 weeks, was thus reoccupied amidst heavy casualties. The leader and guiding spirit in this rebellion was a young man, U Kiang Nongbah. In the first rebellion he kept his identity secret and thus avoided arrest. He was extremely shrewd and a great organiser. He contacted all the Dolois and Sirdars without causing any suspicion. He managed to hoodwink the British Intelligence Service. They had no trace of his movements and activities. Yet, ultimately he was defeated because of the superior might of the British. In the unequal fight that ensured, hundreds of Jaintias were killed and U Kiang Nongbah was betrayed, captured and hung publicly to strike terror into the hearts of the Jaintias on December 30, 1862. When he was put to the gallows, he said, in a clear voice: “If my face turns eastward when I die on the rope, we shall be free again within a hundred years. If it turns westwards, we shall be enslaved forever”. His prophesy came true as India became free within a hundred years!


2. Guru Gobind Singh (Punjabi: ਗੁਰੂ ਗੋਬਿੰਦ ਸਿੰਘ, Hindi: गुरु गोबिन्द सिंह, Marathi: गुरू गोबिंद सिंघ; 22 December 1666 – 7 October 1708) was the tenth Guru of Sikhism. He was born in Patna, Bihar in India and became a Guru on 11 November 1675, at the age of nine years, succeeding his father Guru Tegh Bahadur. He was the leader of the Sikh faith, a warrior, a poet, and a philosopher. In the Sikh society, Guru Gobind Singh is considered a perfect example of manhood; highly educated, skilled in horsemanship, armed combat, chivalrous, and generous in character.[2]
Guru Gobind Singh's life and teachings have had a lasting impression on Sikh ideology as well as in their daily life. His establishment of the Khalsa is considered as one of the most important events in the history of Sikhism. He fought twenty defensive battles with the Mughals and their alliances, such as Rajas of Shivalik Hills. Guru Gobind Singh was the last human Sikh Guru; and in Nanded he declared the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of Sikhism, as the next permanent Sikh Guru on October 7, 1708.


3. Maski is a village and an archaeological site in the Raichur district of the state of Karnataka, India. It lies on the bank of the Maski river which is a tributary of the Tungabhadra. The site came into prominence with the discovery of a minor rock edict of Emperor Ashoka by C. Beadon in 1915. It was the first edict of Emperor Ashoka that contained the name Asoka in it instead of the earlier edicts that referred him as Devanampiye piyadasi. This edict was important to conclude that many edicts found earlier in the Indian sub-continent in the name of Devanampiye piyadasi, all belonged to Emperor Ashoka.[3] The edict is etched on a rock-face of Durgada-gudda, one of the gneissic outcrops that are present in the site.

4. Land grants to religious institutions were called Brahmadeya, (i.e. donated to Brahmins) Devadana (donated to Gods) and Agrahara (Settlement – of priests) These lands donated to the temples and monasteries apart from being used as normal tenancy also carried a right vested with the temple authorities to call for unpaid labour (called Vishti) as a religious service to the temple from the tillers on the donated land.

Lands were given as brahmadeya either to a single Brahmana or to several Brahmana families which ranged from a few to several hundreds or even more than a thousand, as seen in the South Indian context. Brahmadeyas were invariably located near major irrigation works such as tanks or lakes. Often new irrigation sources were constructed when brahmadeyas were created, especially in areas dependent on rains and in arid and semi-arid regions. When located in areas of intensive agriculture in the river valleys, they served to integrate other settlements of a subsihena level production. Sometimes, two or more settlements were clubbed together to form a brahmadeya or an agrahara. The taxes from such villages were assigned to the Brahmana donees, who were also given the right to get the donated land cultivated. Boundaries of the donated land or village were very often carefully demarcated. The various types of land, wet, dry and garden land within the village were specified. Sometimes even specific crops and trees are mentioned. The land donations implied more than the transfer of land rights. For example, in many cases, along with the revenues and economic resources of the village, human resources such as peasants (cultivators), misans and others were also transferred to donees. There is also growing evidence of the encroachment of the rights of villagers over community lands such as lakes and ponds. Thus, the Brahmanas became managers of agricultural production in these settlements for which they organized themselves into assemblies.


5. Haileybury College ,an educational and training institute for the newly recruited cadets of the east india company. The idea of giving the East India Cadets (newly recruited members of the Company’s Civil Service) a designed education and training before they entered active service was first conceived and implemented by Lord Wellesley. With the purpose of educating and training the newly arrived cadets, Wellesley set up an institution called fort william college in 1800. But the court of directors refused to fund the College on the plea of irregularity. It was established without taking any prior permission from the Court. The Court rejected Wellesley’s Fort William College, but not his idea of building a professional bureaucracy for administering the colonial state. The Court resolved to establish a similar training and educational institute in England. The East India College, commonly known as Haileybury College (from its location) was thus established in 1806.

All cadets were henceforth required to receive education and training at the College for four years to qualify themselves for the Company’s Covenanted Civil Service. Rigid rules and regulations were framed to give moral, physical and intellectual training to the cadets. The educational programme was planned according to the syllabi of the Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Along with the courses on western subjects were introduced additionally the Indian languages and history. For moral training of the cadets were engaged reputed moral philosophers like Rev Samuel Henley (principal) and, Rev Edward Lewton. Thomas R Malthus (1766-1834), a celebrated theorist of Political Economy was also a Moral Philosopher in the College. With Malthus was another great theoretician, David Ricardo (1772-1823).


6. Taji Mideren : A resident of Elopain village in the Ithun Valley, Lohit District, North-East Frontier Agency (Arunachal Pradesh), Taji Mideren was a farmer and trader. He took part in the activities against British rule and killed three British officers near the Dikran river in 1905. He organized his Mishmi fellow tribals and got them to come together to resist the expansion of British authority. He established a Mishmi Confederacy under Pangon and other Mishmi leaders. A British expedition was sent to his village in 1913 to arrest him for the murder of the three British officers. The British burnt down the houses in the village but failed to arrest him and others. He was finally captured by the British police at Sadiya in December 1917, and was deported to Tezpur in Assam. There he was tried and sentenced to death. He died on the gallows in the Tezpur Jail on January 29, 1918.


7. Ijarah System :“Ijarah” is a term of Islamic fiqh. Lexically, it means ‘to give something on rent’. In the Islamic jurisprudence, the term ‘Ijarah’ is used for two different situations. In the first place, it means ‘to employ the services of a person on wages given to him as a consideration for his hired services.” The employer is called ‘musta’jir’ while the employee is called ‘ajir’. Therefore, if A has employed B in his office as a manager or as a clerk on a monthly salary, A is musta’jir, and B is an ajir. Similarly, if A has hired the services of a porter to carry his baggage to the airport, A is a musta’jir while the porter is an ajir, and in both cases the transaction between the parties is termed as Ijarah. This type of Ijarah includes every transaction where the services of a person are hired by someone else. He may be a doctor, a lawyer, a teacher, a laborer or any other person who can render some valuable services. Each one of them may be called an ‘ajir’ according to the terminology of Islamic law, and the person who hires their services is called a ‘musta’jir’, while the wages paid to the ajir are called their ‘ujrah’. Labor The second type of Ijarah relates to the usufructs of assets and properties, and not to the services of human beings. ‘Ijarah’ in this sense means ‘to transfer the usufruct of a particular property to another person in exchange for a rent claimed from him.’ In this case, the term ‘Ijarah’ is analogous to the English term ‘leasing’. Here the lessor is called ‘Mu’jir’, the lessee is called ‘musta’jir’ and the rent payable to the lessor is called ‘ujrah’. Both these kinds of ‘Ijarah’ are thoroughly discussed in the literature of Islamic jurisprudence and each one of them has its own set of rules. But for the purpose of the present book, the second type of Ijarah is more relevant, because it is generally used as a form of investment, and as a mode of financing also. The rules of Ijarah, in the sense of leasing, are very much analogous to the rules of sale, because in both cases something is transferred to another person for a valuable consideration. The only difference between Ijarah and sale is that in the latter case the corpus of the property is transferred to the purchaser, while in the case of Ijarah, the corpus of the property remains in the ownership of the transferor, but only its usufruct i.e. the right to use it, is transferred to the lessee. Therefore, it can easily be seen that ‘Ijarah’ is not a mode of financing in its origin. It is a normal business activity like sale. However, due to certain reasons, and in particular, due to some tax concessions it may carry, this transaction is being used in the Western countries for the purpose of financing also. Instead of giving a simple interest -bearing loan, some financial institutions started leasing some equipment’s to their customers. While fixing the rent of this equipment, they calculate the total cost they have incurred in the purchase of these assets and add the stipulated interest they could have claimed on such an amount during the lease period. The aggregate amount so calculated is divided on the total months of the lease period, and the monthly rent is fixed on that basis. The question whether or not the transaction of leasing can be used as a mode of financing in Shari‘ah depends on the terms and conditions of the contract. As mentioned earlier, leasing is a normal business transaction and not a mode of financing. Therefore, the lease transaction is always governed by the rules of Shari‘ah prescribed for Ijarah.


8. Marumakkathayam is a matrilinear system of inheritance which was followed by all Nair castes including of Royal Families, some of the Ambalavasis, Arayars, Ezhava, some tribal groups and Mappilas in North Malabar of Kerala state, South India. Unlike other Brahmin families, Payanoor Nambootiris also followed Marumakkattayam. Marumakkathayam was also extensively practiced by Srilankan Tamils, later fused with patriarchal under the influence of migrant India Tamils and was known as Thesavalamai. It was one of the few traditional systems that gave women some liberty, and the right to property. In the matrilinear system, the family lived together in a Tharavadu, which comprised a mother, her brothers and younger sisters, and her children. The oldest male member was known as the karanavar and was the head of the household and managed the family estate. Lineage was traced through the mother, and the children "belonged" to the mother's family. All family property was jointly owned. An example is the former princely state of Tiruvitankoor, where the royal lineage passes from the king to his nephew, rather than his son.

The chief representatives, by lieu of their social standing and past research interest, of the castes practicing Marumakkattayam were the Nairs and Mappilas (Muslims) of North Malabar. Their line of descent was traced from the common female ancestress, and it was not a man's own children, but his sister's sons who were his heirs. The family or tharavadu consisted of women living with their brothers and their children in one house. All family property, other than that acquired through individual exertions, belonged to the family jointly, and except through common consent, was indivisible. Each member was entitled to be maintained out of the profits of it, but not to sell or otherwise dispose of it. The management and control of all family property was vested in the eldest male, who is called the Karanavan. Even property individually acquired, although their own to deal with during their lifetime, could not be disposed of by will. On their death, such property merged into the family property. This state of affairs indicates the possibility that in an earlier “classical” form of marumakkattayam, the institution of marriage was absent and that the union of the sexes might simply have been a state of concubinage into which the woman entered out of her own choice, being at liberty to change her consort when and as often as she pleased.

The word Marumakkathayam itself is gender-neutral. It is not Matriarchy. To an extent, it is matrilineal, albeit male-centric. In social anthropology, matrilocal residence would best describe the practice. However, Marumakkathayam extends certain concessions to women, who were the carriers of the man’s family name and legacy. Unlike in many other Indian traditions, they were not considered unwanted births, to be married away and never to return. They were conferred a higher social status, they inherited family property and the family home. The sister of the man came first in affection and responsibility before his own "wife". They did not live in the otherwise common fear of the mother-in-law. At their husband’s homes, where they visited occasionally, they were treated as special guests. But, it still meant that their happiness was determined by the men folk, like many other social systems. Families without an elder male member felt a certain sense of insecurity.


9. The Gurdwara Reform Movement (Gurdwara Sudhar Lehr) is the Legislation passed by the Punjab Legislative Council which marked the culmination of the struggle of the Sikh people from 1920-1925 to wrest control of their places of worship from the mahants or priests into whose hands they had passed during the eighteenth century when the Khalsa were driven from their homes to seek safety in remote hills and deserts.
When they later established their sway in Punjab, the Sikhs rebuilt their shrines endowing them with large jagirs and estates. The management, however, remained with the priests, belonging mainly to the Udasi sect, who, after the advent of the British in 1849, began to consider the shrines and lands attached to them as their personal properties and to appropriating the income accruing from them to their private use. Some of them alienated or sold Gurudwara properties at will. They had introduced ceremonies which were anathema to orthodox Sikhs. Besides, there were complaints of immorality and even criminal behavior lodged against the worst of them. All these factors gave rise to what is known as the Gurudwara Reform movement during which the Sikhs peaceful protests were met with violence and death and ended with them courting arrest on a large scale to gain the world's attention. Before it was all over many would fall as martyrs with some being literally blown apart while they were strapped to cannaon barrels.
‘During the Gurdwara Reform Movement, the Sikh leaders started a publication that was named Akali. From this paper and its policy the leaders began to be called Akalis, in view of which they formed the present Akali party. These Nihang Akalis should not be confused with the members of the Akali party.’ The Turban And The Sword’' , by Dr. Trilochan Singh. (Page 402)
The British government, who at first sided with the priests, eventually relented under popular pressure and passed, in the first instance, the Sikh Gurdwaras and Shrines Act, 1922, which envisaged a committee nominated by the government to take over control of the gurdwaras. This, however, was not acceptable to the Akali leaders and remained for this reason a dead letter. The agitation continued and the government had another draft worked out. Akali counsel was sought this time and the principal demand about the shrines being handed over J or management to a representative body of the Sikhs was conceded. The bill was moved in the Punjab Legislative Council by Sardar Tara Singh of Moga on 7 May 1925 and piloted by another Sikh member, Bhai Jodh Singh, eminent educationist and theologian. The bill was, in the first instance, referred to a select committee which presented its report on 20 June. The Council passed the bill on 7 July. It was published in the Punjab Government Gazette on 7 August and it became operative on 1 November 1925 as The Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925 ( Punjab Act. VIII of 1925).


All of these were asked in the General Studies 2009 paper for the civil services. This marks the official beginning of my study.

China News Digest 6

The following has been making headlines in China:

1.China's economy grew 10.3 percent last year, up from 9.2 percent in 2009, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced Thursday.

Gross domestic product (GDP) hit 39.8 trillion yuan ($6.05 trillion) last year, up 10.3 percent year on year calculating at comparable prices, Ma Jiantang, director of the NBS, told a press conference Thursday.


2.China and the United States on Wednesday agreed on $45 billion in US export deals and to give US companies greater access to China's $88 billion-plus government contracts market at the start of President Hu Jintao's four-day state visit.White House officials said the agreements included a $19 billion contract to buy 200 Boeing aircraft for delivery between 2011 and 2013.
The White House also announced deals in various stages of development involving Honeywell, Caterpillar, Westinghouse Electric, a unit of Japan's Toshiba Corp, and other companies. The announcements served to underscore the theme of economic cooperation struck by Hu and Obama.


3.The Chinese government has allocated 98.6 billion yuan ($15 billion) for farmers nationwide in a bid to maintain steady grain output and boost farmers' incomes.
The bulk of the funding - 83.5 billion yuan - is to be used in the purchasing of farm machinery such as equipment to plant seeds and reapers.
The remainder, 15.1 billion yuan, would subsidize farmers in growing crops such as rice, corn, and cotton, according to a statement released Thursday by the Ministry of Finance.
The move came as most northern Chinese regions, plagued by a months-long drought, will continue to see cold and dry weather in the next 10 days, the National Meteorological Center forecast Wednesday.

The drought has affected some 4 million hectares of crops and left about 2.2 million people short of drinking water, according to the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters on Monday.


4.China on Thursday urged India to properly handle issues related to the detention of three Chinese nationals by Indian Police, said Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei.
Hong made the remarks in response to a question on China's reaction on the issue.
He said three Chinese tourists recently strayed into Indian territory from Nepal when travelling at the Nepalese-Indian border and were detained by Indian Police.

The Chinese embassy in India are contacting Indian Police for further information, and asking the Indian side to properly deal with the issue, said Hong.

Hong told reports that the three Chinese tourists were spies or had engaged in money laundering were groundless.

Indian police said Wednesday they had arrested three Chinese nationals on Monday in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.


5.India Wednesday said that it is likely to ink defense contracts worth 460 billion rupees (about $10 billion) in the next five to 10 years.

"In the 11th Plan, the value of offsets contracts is likely to be more than 100 billion rupees. In addition, (offsets worth) 48. 18 billion rupees are at the contract negotiation and 315 billion rupees are at other stages," Indian Minister of State for Defense M.M. Pallam Raju said in the national capital.

Stating that offsets provide an opportunity for small and medium enterprises to emerge as suppliers for Indian defense companies and earn a significant revenue, he said 12 offsets contracts worth 99.43 billion rupees have been signed which have benefitted 85 public and private sector companies.

The minister said that the country is looking to procure an increased number of platforms such as unmanned aerial vehicles, Airborne Early Warning Systems, refuelling tankers, battle tanks and missile systems.


6.The Chinese State Council will give away 10.4 billion yuan ($1.58 billion) to help low-income families enjoy Spring Festival, the www.gov.cn reported Wednesday.

The decision to issue the Spring Festival allowances was made at a meeting of the State Council on Jan 19 chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao.

The allowances will be classified into three categories. Low income urban residents entitled to basic living allowances will be given 150 yuan ($22.77) per person. Rural residents receiving subsistence allowances, as well as the elderly, disabled and teenagers who can't work and have no income or family, will be given 100 yuan ($15.18) per person.


7.

The following are highlights of Chinese President Hu Jintao's activities in the United States Wednesday, the second day of his state visit to the country.

-- President Hu attend an official welcome ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House. During the ceremony, Hu said his state visit is aimed at increasing mutual trust, enhancing friendship, deepening cooperation and pushing forward the positive, cooperative and comprehensive China-U.S. relationship for the 21st century.

Hu told his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama that both countries "share broad common interests and important common responsibilities" and should adopt a long-term perspective and seek common ground while reserving differences.

-- Later, President Hu held talks with Obamba at the White House and made a five-point proposal for enhancing bilateral ties.

He said firstly the two sides should develop a political relationship of equality, mutual trust and seeking common ground while reserving differences.

Secondly, Hu said both sides should deepen their comprehensive, cooperative, mutually beneficial and win-win economic ties.

China and the U.S. should jointly meet challenges through global cooperation, further their friendship with the extensive involvement of both peoples, establish a high-level contact pattern featuring in-depth communication and candid dialogue, He said.

Both leaders expressed their dedication to developing a cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual benefit. They also mapped out major directions for bilateral ties as well as key areas to deepen cooperation.

-- At a joint press conference with Obama, Hu said China and the United States have agreed to further boost their bilateral relationship toward a cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutal benefit for the benefit of the whole world.

He said the two sides "should firmly adhere to the right direction," respecting each other's core interests and handling their relations with a long-term perspective, which will enable both countries to make greater contributions to world peace and development.

Hu stressed that Beijing and Washington "share expanding common interests and shoulder increasing common responsibilities."

Accordingly, the two sides have agreed to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in economy, trade, environment, education, science and technology, non-proliferation and counter-terrorism among many other fields, he added.

Hu put forward a three-point proposal for both countries to better work together to tackle global problems: to keep up the in-the-same-boat spirit of cooperation, to increase communication and coordination and to respect and accommodate each other's interests and concerns.


8. China surpassed South Korea to become the world's largest shipbuilder in 2010 in terms of shipbuilding capacity and new orders, according to recently released statistics from China's Ministry of Industry and Information.

The statistics show that from January to December 2010, China's shipyards finished building 65.6 million deadweight tons, an increase of 54.6 percent year on year. They received new orders exceeding 75 million deadweight tons, nearly triple the amount of a year earlier.

The great development of the shipbuilding industry in recent years can be mostly attributed to the increasing capacity requirements due to economic growth, said an expert from the economic research center of China's shipbuilding industry.