Panchaamritam 16- 20

Panchaamirtam - 16

ONE

Dr Umesh Zadgaonkar and Alka Zadgaonkar, who heads the applied chemistry research unit at G H Raisoni College of Engineering at Nagpur, claimed their process technology converts plastic waste into of distillates containing gasoline, kerosene, diesel and some other petro-products. All one has to do is to mix the waste plastic with coke and catalysts, which the two claim to have developed, and heat the mixture in a 'specially-designed' container. In the laboratory, they converted three kg. waste plastic into three litres of petrol and related products, though it can be upscaled depending on the requirement. The Nagpur-based couple have received provisional patent from the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). The Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP) at Dehra Dun and the Indian Oil Corporation have recently prepared a confidential report on the potential of the new technology, which is being evaluated by petroleum experts. The mixture contains 35 per cent petrol fraction, 25 per cent kerosene fraction and 30 per cent diesel fraction. The rest is a combination of other lubes, Alka Zadgaonkar said, adding that all types of waste plastic have been successfully converted into fuels at the laboratory.

Based on a report by Kalyan Ray in the Deccan Herald, April 20,2003.

TWO

Chennai businessman Shri. Suresh Kamath hired Shri. S.M. Parthasarathy as a trainee programmer in July 1992 mainly because he felt sorry for him -- Parthasarathy's right leg was crippled by polio. But Parthasarathy worked so hard and did so well that Kamath realized that hiring handicapped people wouldn't just be doing them a favour, it could be good business too. Today 40 of Kamath's 475 employees are handicapped. Kamath is also unusual in that he has installed ramps, extra railings and special toilets in his office for the benefit of his handicapped employees. "In fact," says Parthasarathy, now a senior executive in he company, 'Suresh is like a big brother to us. And he never makes us feel that we're different in any way".

Based on a report in Reader's Digest, June 2003

THREE

The Made in India Show organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in Sri Lanka last month has generated business inquiries worth Rs. 495 crores. Over 130 Indian ompanies participated in the five-day exhibition. The Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Ministry of Industries and the Ministry of Commerce & Consumer Affairs, Government of Sri Lanka supported it. The high point of the show was "Enterprise India" which showcased a varied range of consumer products from garments, textiles, to household products. A CII release said that the "Enterprise India Show" saw an overwhelming response from the Sri Lankanconsumers. The visitor turnout was beyond expectation as it crossed the over sixty thousand mark. After the tremendous response received from the show, CII is planning to hold this event annually at Colombo, the release added.

Based on a report in The Hindu

FOUR

Reuters Health has reported that many people turn to yoga to relieve stress, and new study findings suggest they're doing the right thing. U.S. researchers discovered that after a single session of yoga, levels of the stress hormone cortisol dropped, even in people who were trying yoga for the first time. Dr. George Brainard of the Center of Integrative Medicine of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and colleagues measured cortisol levels before and after a 50-minute yoga session. Brainard and his team found that cortisol levels decreased more after a session of yoga than after the rest period, even on the first day of practice. Further research will have to determine whether the decrease in cortisol after yoga is sustained, and whether that hormonal change has a positive effect on health. "My suspicion is that the answer to all that may well be yes," Brainard said. The research is being presented this week in Philadelphia at the 85th Annual Meeting of The Endocrine Society.

Based on a despatch by Shri. Alison McCook, June 19, 2003.

FIVE

This happened in Madurai, Tamilnadu. Railway employee Kuppan died. His wife Thangam had left Kuppan and had been living with a man named Maari who had a wife already. In 1950, Kuppan brought a woman by name Shenbagam into his life. Kuppan-Shenbagam begot four children. The position at the demise of Kuppan was that legally Thangam was eligible for the settlement money from the Railways. I (Shri. K.S.Subramanian, the then Divisional Accounts Officer), on the other hand, felt, on Dharmic grounds, that the money should go to Shenbagam. An attempt was set in motion to find a just solution. Through the labour welfare inspector, Thangam wss brought to my office. Even before I started explaining things, Thangam firmly declared: “ Sir, I will not touch a pie. This money must go to Shenbagan who has lived with Kuppan for fifteen years and is left with four kids, all of them girls. Tell me what I should do now to that effect. If ever I lay hands on this money, my family and children will be doomed.” Her nobility touched my heart. Thangam signed the papers and received the money only to hand it over in toto to Shenbagam whom I had summoned to my office. Thangam proudly walked out of my office after rejecting my advice to accept at least a small share of the amount for the trouble she took.

An anecdote from a Tamil article by Shri. K.S.Subramanian, former manager, Asian Development Bank. Courtesy: DINAMANI, June 6, 2003.

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Panchaamirtam - 17

ONE

Ancient Hindu books speak of offsprings imbibing skills as well as qualities even while staying inside their mother’s womb. Abhimanyu and Bhakta Prahlada are examples for this. Nowadays, scientists have established that the personality of a child could be moulded even while in the womb. That means, during pregnancy the would-be mother needs, in addition to adequate nutrition, a proper ambience. In the Bharat of yore, this was no problem, thanks to the joint family system now being edged out by the nuclear family arrangement. Today, the young wife in the nuclear family has to fend for herself, bereft of the loving care of an odd aunt or grandma who used to be around. She misses even her own mother now. So, the lonely pregnant lady in the house sits glued to the idiot box that keeps spewing violent scenes all the 24 hours, risking the babe in her womb imbibing all that. A group of RSS shakha-trained social workers in Vidarbha, in central Bharat, the MATRU SHAKTI KALYAN KENDRA, have found a way out. They have launched the project GARBHA SAMSKAR KENDRA in two places in Nagpur, where expectant women can avail, in addition to doctor’s advice and diet prescribed by nutrition experts, regular practice of Praanaayaama and necessary yogasanas. There they can listen to Bhakti Geet. Can join the Bhajan. Or listen to ennobling stories. As expected, these Kendras are getting good response from among young mothers-to-be.

Based on a report in the Hindi fortnightly RASHTRA DEV (June 30, 2003)

published from Bareily, Meerut and Dehra Dun.

TWO

In a significant development, India today (June 2) decided to stop taking bilateral aid from most countries, except a few major ones, and prepay Rs. 7,490 crore worth of external debt this year in the face of ballooning foreign exchange reserves, now at over $80 billion. ``The Finance Ministry has decided to discontinue receiving aid from partners other than Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States, the European Commission and the Russian Federation,'' an official announcement said. This is a follow-up of the budget announcement, it said adding that smaller bilateral aid from 14 countries totalling Rs. 7490.77 crores would be prepaid. The 14 countries comprise the Netherlands, Canada, Sweden, Italy, Denmark, Belgium, Austria, Kuwait, Spain, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Australia, the Russian Federation, Czech and Slovak. India's total outstanding bilateral debt from 20 countries as on March 31, 2003, stood at Rs. 66,316.07 crore. Barring outstanding from Japan, Germany, the United States and France totalling Rs. 58,825.30 crore, the remaining Rs. 7490.77 crore worth of aid is being prepaid. There were no outstanding bilateral debt liabilities to the United Kingdom and Norway, the statement said.

PTI / THE HINDU (June 3, 2003)

THREE

Chennai-ites would watch, amused, two gentlemen in shorts and T-shirts, riding tricycle carts early in the morning. The carts would be carrying saplings. Since most Chennai streets were barren, the two men were kept extremely busy. The tricycle journey that started 15 years ago continues, albeit a bit sluggishly, since Chennai faces a water crisis these days. For years, the two men were considered eccentric, but they are perhaps the unsung green heroes of Chennai. By profession, V Subramanian was a banker at the Reserve Bank of India, while Dr R Madhavan is a practising paediatrician. They started their endeavour by planting saplings on the street on which they lived. Then they moved to the next street, and the next, and so forth. By the end of the first year, they had planted more than 400 saplings. The twosome started the Environmental Society of Mandaveli. They renamed it Global Greenways [Phone: (+91-44) 2493 8368/2493 7060] as their area of operation began spreading. "Earlier, we used to cycle down noting the width of the streets and chose the trees accordingly. But, after a few years, many people recognised our work and started calling us to specific places," says Subramanian. Initially, they collected the saplings from the Corporation of Madras (as Chennai was then known) but soon began their own nursery. Dr.Madhavan has added his own touch -- he gifts saplings to all his patients. Fifteen years later, they might have personally planted more than 15,000 trees in various areas all over Chennai. Over and above that, they have distributed thousands of saplings. “When my patients to whom I have gifted saplings come and tell me, 'Doctor, they are big trees now. Thank you', I feel satisfied," says Madhavan. The two have now turned their attention to flowering plants. "Wouldn't it be wonderful if people could see flowers on the streets in the mornings? The streets that have big trees can also have flowering plants," says Subramanian.

Based on a The Rediff Special feature by Shobha Warrier (June 27, 2003). Idea: Sudha

FOUR

Bharat is mahaan not simply on account of lofty philosophies, but because of men and women who live them – like Shri. Pawan Kumar of Chandigarh. His six-year old son Vicky Kumar is suffering (in the year 2000) from a rare disease, Bruton’s Syndrome, A common form of PID (Primary Immune Deficiency). His is an affliction of the immune systemand stops producing disease-fighting anti-bodies. Normally, this disease surfaces only after the child is six months old when immunity gained from the mother is exhausted. Thereafter the child needs to be given an injection once in a month, a single dose of which costs Rs. 5,700. But Pawan Kumar’s monthy salary is just Rs. 4,500. He was finding it impossible to give his son the life-saving medicine. At this stage, in answer tohis appeal for help, the Red Cross Society of Finland sent him 1,000 vials of the injection valued at Rs. 12 lakh as a personal gift. Pawan Kumar kept just 120 vials for his son and donated the rest to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research of Chandigarh, one of the four centres in the whole country which can detect the dreaded PID.

Based on a report in INDIA TODAY, January 7, 2000.

FIVE

On his way to work every morning, V.Mani would see women milling around Bangalore Central Jail waiting to meet their husbands imprisoned inside. "Many of the women would have young children with them," Mani says, "and they'd be there with them even in biting cold or rain." Since most of the jail inmates were hardened criminals serving long sentences, Mani wondered what kind of future their kids would have. After he retired in 1998 as an assistant general manager with RBI, Mani decided to use his savings to convert his home into a free hostel for the children of prisoners. Though mothers were initially hesitant to send their kids, today Mani, his wife and five social workers look after 31 boys between the ages of two and 11. Apart from providing them with food and shelter, Mani also ensures that they are admitted to good schools. Every three months Mani, 66, takes his wards to meet their families and show them how they're progressing. "Most of the kids are doing well," Mani says, "and some have even topped their class."

Courtesy: Reader's Digest, June 2003. Idea: Raghuramji.

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Panchaamirtam - 18

ONE

Meet Sudha Patel. Age 21 in 1995. It was in that year that she defeated all seven candidates pitted against her in the Panchayat polls and became the youngest village Sarpanch in the country. Her village Champa, situated 120 kilometres from Ahmedabad in Gujarat, Bharat, consists of 493 families. Sudha recognizes everyone in all the families by his or her voice. Yes, she is blind. That way, she became the first blind woman Sarpanch in the country. Her memory is extraordinary. She has managed to establish a hospital, a school with computers to boot and a rehabilitation centre for the blind and handicapped in her village.

Based on a report in the EAST & WEST, January 2002, cited by Swami Gautamananda, President, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, in his convocation address in the Vivekananda College, Chennai on February 17, 2003. Courtesy: SRI RAMAKRISHNA VIJAYAM (August, 2003), Tamil monthly of the Math.

TWO

Ever Heard Of Bone Donation? A bone bank will soon be organised in Chennai, to cater to the needs of Orthopaedic surgeons to facilitate bone transplants. Dr. Mayilvahanan Natarajan, an Ortho expert of the Government General Hospital, gave this information. He has done, for the first time in India, bone transplantation successfully last week on a labourer Shri. Sivakumar, whose knee was affected by cancer. The affected bone was removed and instead of implanting a costly metal plate as is usual, a bone bought from the bone bank in Columbo was grafted. So, after blood donation, eye donation and cadaver donation (deha daanam), now it is bone donation.

Based on a report in DINAMANI of July 9, 2003

THREE

Remada village in Orissa's Jharsuguda district having a population of about 1,000, was the scene of camaraderie among local tribals (Vanavasi Hindus) and Muslims, who have joined hands to organise Rath Yatra every year for nearly 100 years now. Located on the edge of the vast Hirakud reservoir, the village sported a colourful look on Friday July 4, 2003. 'Gond' tribals are the majority inhabitants of the village but the 15 Muslim families play a key role in the festival. In fact, the village headman (locally known as gountia), Mohammed Zamiullah, takes upon himself the task of organising the festival. Before the construction of the Hirakud dam the villagers used to visit Rampella, another village on the other side of river Mahanadi, to participate in the Rath Yatra there. But when the river was in spate it was difficult for them to cross over. This led the then Gountia of Remada, Mohammed Waras to hold the festival in the village itself. The tradition has continued for about a century now, says noted writer Kumar Hassan. Hindus also reciprocated the feelings of the minority community in ample measure by joining their festivals. Mohammed Khalil and Maulana Mustquim Khan, gountias of the village have also written many plays and prayers based on Hindu mythology, Hassan said.

Based on a report posted in www.expressindia.com on July 4, 2003.

FOUR

It was a Nav Durga festival with a difference – at Barada in Ambala district of Haryana. Akhand Jaap of Maha Mantra was held. A 7-kund Havana Yajna was performed allright. The village Sarpanch Shri. Ashok Kumar Bansal, an RSS swayamsevak, made the difference. Inspired by the principles of brotherhood taught in RSS shakhas, Shri. Bansal saw to it that nine girls from Harijan families were worshipped as representing aspects of the Divine Mother during the festival. The head priest of the Yajna washed the feet of the girls and another priest applied kumkum on their foerhead. Rajput youths and Vaishya families offered worship to the anointed girls. All this took place in the village Shiva temple. Devotees belonging to all castes sat together and partook prasadam with delight. Throughout the 8-day festival all sections of Hindu society participated with great enthusiasm, mingling with one and all.

Based on a news item in the English bulletin

DESHIYA SAMACHAR (July-August 2003), Chennai.

Originally from a Hindi weekly ADHISHTANAM of Dehra Dun.

FIVE

The head of the Experimental Mechanics division of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala, Bharat), Shri. T. Chelladurai, has laid claim, in January 2003, to developing a method of predicting earthquakes a number of days in advance. He says he uses the Acoustic Emission (AE) technique now being used at the VSSC for conducting structural integrity tests. According to Dr. Chelladurai, the AE method of identifying active stresses in a material could also be used to identify and measure stress waves emitted by pressure points in fault lines beneath the earth’s surface. The entire country could be covered in an AE sensor grid at acost of Rs. 1,000 crore by 2006, he added.

Based on a report by Shri. G. Mahadevan in THE HINDU of January 24, 2003.

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Panchaamirtam - 19

ONE

1. Two villagers lost their lives due to severe diarrhoea on November 30, 2002 in village Kalleri near Veraiyur in Tiruvannamalai district, Tamilnadu, Bharat. Ten more were in a serious condition and they grew anxious, as there was no vehicle to transport them to the Government hospital in Tiruvannamalai. Inspector of Police, Veraiyur, Shri. Nurul Ameen, learnt of this. Accompanied by sub-inspector Shri. Satyamoorthy, he put them all in a police van and quickly drove to Tiruvannamalai. Villagers were all praise for the cops for playing the role of drivers, to save precious lives (DINAMANI December 1, 2002). 2. On November 4, 2001, Shri. Ramachandran, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Srivilliputtur, was returning in a jeep after a survey of flood-hit villages. As the jeep crossed the Vathirayiruppu bridge, he saw an old woman of 65 about to drown in the flood. He at once jumped into the river and struggled for nearly three hours to save the woman. He did succeeed at last. A few youths joined him in this endeavour. (DINAMANI Novenber 5, 2001). 3. Shri. Alexander, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), in charge of the camp for Srilankan refugees in Mandapam, Ramanathapuram district, was seen teaching algebra and English to 60 children of refugees daily from 6.30 PM to 9.30 PM in front of the local church (He had served as an English lecturer early in his career). In addition, he has appointed, at his expense, three teachers. He guided the refugees in getting rid of 20,000 kilograms of plastic waste in the camp premises and beatifying it by planting 200 saplings (DINAMANI, December 12, 2001). 4. Former DGP Shri. Vaikunth has adopted Paranur, a most backward hamlet in Chengalput district. He is busy in works to fulfill basic needs such as drinking water, roads, education and healthcare for the hamlet with a population of 2,500. He has also donated furniture worth Rs.1,20,000 for the benefit of 250 students of the nearby Kattangolathur Panchayat Union Middle School (BHARATAMANI, Gandhian Tamil Monthly, November, 2002).

TWO

1. K. Sowmya and V. Vishwadhara Meenakshi, fourth year Electronics and Communications students at St. Joseph Engineering College, Chennai, have designed a gadget that can tell you what smell it is. They call it ESTER (Experiencing Smell Through Electronic Reality). It is a computer-aided application involving languages ‘C’ and Visual Basic. They have developed software as well, for this application. The smell signal is conveyed via ESTER to the software installed in the computer, which in turn, finds out the exact smell. The girls say that ESTER will be useful in monitering the dosages of medicines to be administered to patients (DINAMANI July 8, 2003). 2. The smear test used to determine cervical cancer, most common among women of the lower socio-economic group, is not feasible in India as the population is high. But the Cancer Institute in Adyar, Chennai, has a low cost alternative. It is CITRON (CI stands for Cancer Institute), an indigenous machine that can be installed at primary health centres and in district hospitals, according to Shri. D.Rajkumar, Director, Research Wing. Introduced in year 2000, the machine costs Rs. 10 lakhs. The cost per patient is Rs. 1,000 for eight sittings (THE HINDU, January 24, 2003). 3. The author of the book, Unofficial Guide To Ethical Hacking, Shri. Ankit Phadia is just 15 years old. Lakhs of copies of this book, written by this class XII student of the Delhi Public School, R.K.Puram, have sold out across the globe already. His website that tells you all about computer hacking is visited by one lakh persons every day. It has a membership of 15 lakhs. The second book by Ankit, Network Security – A Hacker’s Perspective, has also been released. With an alarming increase in cyber crimes and cyber terrorism, this book becomes all the more relevent as it gives details of the way hackers operate and the methods to steer clear of them (SANGH MARG, Hindi monthly, Rohtak, November, 2002). 4. Deep is the name of the new method to generate cooking gas and electricity from farm ‘waste’ like cowdung, dry stalks of plants, etc. Haryana’s young scientist Dr. Shivdarshan Mallik and Shri. Jagram Singh of Hanumangarh, Rajastan have evolved this method after ten years of intensive research. The Deep cooking gas will cost just Rs. six and the Deep electricity will be available at just 50 Paise per unit, claim the two researchers (PATH SANKET, Lucknow, July 8, 2003).

THREE

Here is yet another, but not-so-well-known, method of raising subsoil water level. Along the bed of a river or canal, pits are dug. The depth varies from 2 metres to 10 metres depending upon the volume of flow. On the base of the pits, tubes measuring upto 60 metres are driven. When the flood comes, the water arrested in the pits is taken deep down into the earth. It seeps into the earth down below and thus helps raise the water table. The Central Ground Water Board calls it the ‘Injection Technique’ and plans to implement it in full swing in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh so that the fast depletion of subsoil water there could be arrested and further falling of water level could be prevented. Already ‘Injection Technique’ is harnessed in Sangroor, Patiala, Ropar, Moga, Jallundhar and Amritsar districts in Punjab and Mahendragarh, Kurukshetra and Panipat in Haryana. Shri. D.S.Saini, senior scientist with the Ground Water Board, says that agriculturists from places where this scheme is implemented have reported a rise in water table (SANGH MARG, Rohtak, June 28, 2003).

FOUR

During the third week of June, 2003, Chairman of the National Minorities Commission, Shri. Tarlochan Singh was touring north Gujarat, to hear complaints from minority communities regarding so-called survey of the Christian and Muslim populations. He agreed to act on a few of their demands. But he pulled up the Christian and Muslim leaders for their behaviour. Reacting sharply to the complaint that Narendra Modi government was dragging its feet in the matter of rebuilding the Durgahs damaged in last year’s riots in the state, Shri. Singh cited a parallel. He said, “Why should you wait for the government to rebuild your Durgahs? They damaged Akal Takht and then they renovated it. But we (the Sikhs) pulled it down, and on own, built it up all over again” (SANGH MARG, June 28, 2003).

FIVE

Shri. Vincent Moreau has never met the Indian Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani. Nor is he possibly aware that it was Advani’s initiative that enabled his reunion with his family in his hometown. But if there is one single person who is responsible for this French national’s release from the Tihar (Delhi) jail, it is none other than this senior BJP leader. Moreau was arrested under the Narcotics Act some years ago and sentenced to a ten-year imprisonment. When he was serving the sentence, he was found suffering from AIDS. Efforts by the French embassy to secure his release failed to move the jail authorities; they maintained that he was getting adequate treatment at the jail hospital. The matter was brought to the DPM’s notice during his visit to France in February 2003. Advani promised to recommend Presidential pardon for the AIDS patient. He was as good as his word. President A.P.J.Abdul Kalam responded positively to the suggestion and granted pardon on humanitarian grounds (ORGANISER, March 2, 2003).

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Panchaamirtam - 20

ONE

A monumental number of law-suits in India was a blot. In 2001, there were about 34 lakh cases pending in the various states. It was then that the concept of fast-track courts was conceived. The idea was to create about 1,700 such courts with judges hired for two-year periods from the ranks of the retired and the bar. The scheme was allotted Rs.500 crores or about $200 million. This may seem a vast sum but it made economic sense. There were over 12 lakh under-trials in the country and they were costing the state Rs.240 crores a year for even the basic amenities they received. About 450 of the 1,700 courts came into being by late 2001. As of date, over a 1000 are functional and out of the nearly 20 lakh cases referred to them, they have disposed off 78,000. In Sep 2002, the scheme was beginning to have, its impact on crime situation as the number of heinous crimes had come down, particularly in Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Some impact had also been felt in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar." In May 2003 came the news that the Parliamentary Standing Committee --comprising of members from all parties and headed by an opposition member-- has expressed its satisfaction.

Based on a report in THE HINDU, June 8, 2003. (Idea: Arun).

TWO

As New York reeled under a severe power cut, the action of an Indian restaurant owner there earned much praise for traditional Indian Hospitality. When the lights failed Thursday (August 14) night, several restaurants downed their shutters. Those that remained open doubled or tripled their prices but the stranded had nowhere else to go. As ATM Machines did not work and credit cards became useless, those with a little cash had a tough time. But in the greedy jungle, 'MADRAS MAHAL' on Lexington Avenue owned by NITIN VYAS offered free meals to the hungry. More importantly, it provided FREE cold water when the going rate for a small drinking water bottle was 5
Dollars compared to usual 1 Dollar. The restaurant served rice with Punjabi dish 'Channa Battura' and tea that was much in demand. Even on Friday afternoon, there was a queue of hungry people outside the restaurant waiting for a free meal.

THE TIMES OF INDIA, Bangalore Edition, August 17, 2003. (Idea: Badri).

THREE

India, with its strong presence in the chain of assembly operations, is seen emerging as the most preferred destination for international sourcing of textiles after quota removal from December 2004, according to Cidex Trade Fairs managing director Norbert Schmidt. Cidex is the Asian arm of Messe Dusseldorf GmbH and KolnMesse International GmbH, Germany’s two leading globally acclaimed exhibition organisers to help international garment buyers source their requirements from India. It is in this scenario that the forthcoming Indian Apparel Contrat (IAC), jointly organised by Cidex and the Confederation of Indian Apparel Exporters (CIAe), would help Indian producers and some of the leading global buyers come together and explore the possibilities of buying garments from India. CIAe president Amit M.Goyal said: “The Indian textile industry has huge potential for growth and there is enough room for all the segments of the industry to play their legitimate roles in their own areas of competence.” India, like other countries, has been successful in exports in the international market and there has always been fierce competition and this success can be attributed to the fact that India has a strong raw materials base, and excellent entrepreneurial skill.

Based on a report in the FINANCIAL EXPRESS, July 20, 2003.

FOUR

Dilipkumar Lakhi and Radhakishan Damani, both in their early 50s, pay enough income tax to equal the annual turnover of a small-to-medium sized firm. Neither are celebrities in the conventional sense nor do they wield much influence if it were not for the returns they file, the duo would be as anonymous as any person who passed you by on the street today. But they are the highest individual income tax payers in Mumbai, and thereby among the highest in the country. In the previous fiscal, Lakhi is said to have paid Rs. 6 crore, the highest by any person in Mumbai. And according to sources, the difference between him and Damani, who was the second highest taxpayer, is marginal. Incidentally, Mumbai's third highest taxpayer happens to be film star Hrithik Roshan.
Lakhi has been dealing in stocks for over 30 years; Damani is into retailing these days and has set up a chain of supermarket stores that dot the city's western and central suburbs. Navin Chandra Mehta, president of the Diamond Traders Association, is all praise for Lakhi, who began as a small trader and now operates out of an office at Opera House. The Income Tax department's target for the last fiscal was around Rs. 91,000 crore, and collections at Rs. 89,000 crore are relatively close to the figure.

Based on a report in the INDIAN EXPRESS, June 10, 2003.

FIVE

Here is the story of a mosque in Vidhisha in Madhya Pradesh that is a contrast to the Babri case. That mosque was bigger than the structure Babar had erected in Ayodhya. Till August 1991, regular namaz was taking place in that mosque. But due to heavy rains the mosque collapsed in September. From the debris, a large number of broken and mutilated idols of Hindu gods and goddesses were recovered. Some idols were seen dangling from the roofs. That the mosque had been built by destroying a temple had become self-evident. Immediately the Muslims stopped offering namaz and abandoned the mosque. The Archeological department then excavated the site and established that it was a 7th century Shiva temple, renovated in the 11th century. Aurangazeb had demolished that and the mosque was built on it. Today it is not a mosque. It is a great tourist attraction now.

Information found in Shri. S.Gurumurthy’s article in

THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS (Chennai) of July 11, 2003.

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