Illicit Arm Manufacturing in India

                    Just 200 KMs from Patna in Bihar, there is a town known as Munger. This town is historically known for its manufacturing of iron articles such as firearms and swords. Oriental Arms Co., leader in manufacturing weapons, was established in 1953 at Munger. It manufactured single and double barrel guns which are not in great demand these days. When the production dropped, it lead to 'illicit arms manufacturing'.

                    An account at the SBI, Munger branch alerted the police. One account number got regular cash deposits from Delhi, Sonepat, Berhampur, Manawar, Kapurthala and from places in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The account had more than Rs 15 lakh. This was found to be unusual. These cash deposits were payments from buyers of arms. In-order to avoid providing PAN details, they always deposited less than Rs 50,000.

When police traced this, they have found few interesting things:

•  The skilled workers (retired) from Oriental Arms company have started this illegal business and this has become a minor scale industry over the last decade.
• Whenever panchayat, assembly elections happen in Bihar, West Bengal or UP, there will be a sudden increase in demand for these arms.
• These arms will have a label - 'Made in Italy' and they will be of world class quality.
• Munger is famous for its SLRs, pistols, revolvers. There are wide variety of options available. A pistol costs Rs 8000 to 10,000 only. Country-made pistols cost Rs 2500-5000 which are very popular in the rural part of North. These are made up of iron rods of bicycles and other easily available materials.
• A country-made AK47 can be procured for Rs 50,000/- and a SLR for Rs. 20,000/-
• These arms are made by women and are transported by their Children. Transportation cost would be ranging from Rs.500 to 2000 depending on the distance.
• About 25% of Munger's population is into this kind of arms manufacturing. There are about 500 arms manufacturing units in and around Munger.
• As per Amnesty International, 50% of the total number of illicit arms worldwide come from India.
• These weapons have huge demand among the maoists, north east militants and the under-world.

The Current Situation:

                           All these years, even though the police knew about these illicit arms factories, they were able to do nothing since these manufacturers had a huge support from the local leaders. They used to have a wonderful market.

                           But things have changed after Nitish Kumar became the CM of Bihar (especially during his third term).  Nitish Kumar government has jailed over 56,000 criminals till date and due to this, the production could not meet the demand.

                           The customers are currently looking options out of Bihar. However, arms manufactured in UP(Azamgarh, Muzaffarnagar) , Rajasthan and MP do not match the quality of Munger weapons.
There is a necessity to uproot the illicit weapon business in India as soon as possible.

Understanding the National Anthem

                       There are many controversies associated with the national anthem of India.

 Let us try to translate the song and understand the meaning.

The main first stanza:

Jana gana mana adhinayaka jaya he, bharatha bhagya vidhata.
{Punjab, Sindhu, Gujarat, Maratha, Dravida, utkala, Banga.
Vindya, himachala, Jamuna, Ganga, uchala jaladhi taranga}
Tava shubha naame jaage;
Tava shubha aashish maage, 
gaaye tava jaya gaatha

It means that,
Oh bharatha bhagya vidhata! you are the adhinayaka (Leader) for us.
Indian people (people mentioned in the flower brackets above) wake up remembering your good name
ask for your blessings and sing your glories. 

There are four other stanzas in the song which we should know:

Second stanza: 

Around your throne people of all religions come and give their love and anxiously wait to hear your kind words.

Third stanza: 

Praise the King for leading the ancient travelers beyond misery.

Fourth stanza: 

Drowned in the deep ignorance and suffering, poverty-stricken, unconscious country,Waiting for the wink of your eye and your mother's true protection.

Fifth stanza:

In your compassionate plans, the sleeping Bharat will wake up. We bow down to your feet O' Queen, and glory to Rajeshwara.

 Why there is controversy associated with this?

•  When we consider India as 'Mother India' or Bharata Matha, why we refer India as Bhagya Vidhatha or Adhinayaka instead of calling Adhinethri?
• Why there is no mention of North-East, Andhra, Karnataka (All parts of Karnataka /Mysore and AP do not come under Dravida)
• Why there is no mention of Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea?
• Why there is no mention of Jammu and Kashmir?
• Why there is no Rajasthan?

Recently added controversies

• Why a mention of region 'Sindh' still active? Sindh is now region under Pakistan, and not India

 The Story:

                        In those days, His Highness, King George V of Great Britain planned a visit to India. To welcome him, Motilal Nehru asked Rabindranath Tagore for a welcome song. The composition was first sung during a convention of the Indian National Congress in Kolkata on Dec. 27, 1911 and the agenda of that day devoted itself to a loyal welcome of George V on his visit to India.

                         So, now, the Adhinayaka is King George who is supposed to be the bhagya vidatha for India. Now,  the translation would mean - Oh King, we Indians wake up remembering your good name, ask for your blessings and sing your glories.

                         In those days, Hyderabad, Mysore, Jammu & Kashmir, princely states of Travancore, Cochin etc were not under direct control of 'Adhinayaka'. Coastal areas were under control of French (Pondicherry, Yanam etc), Portuguese (Goa, Daman, Diu etc). North East was a different part controlled by tribals. So, these were not included in the list. Similar is the case of Rajastan., it had individual Rajput kings who used to pay some sort of tax to the British Government.

What benefits did Rabindranath Tagore get?

1. This song was composed in 1911. He got the noble prize in 1913.
2. He was awarded 'Sir' by the British.
3. He was awarded the tag of 'Biswa Kavi'.

                         However, let it be made clear that, this is not an attempt to insult a great poet. It is just to analyze the things. Whatever may be the meaning, a national anthem must always be respected.

Flag code of India

       There are many things that I have found recently which must be followed while using the Indian Flag.

Can we wear the flag as a part of stage show?

                             No, Indian Flag should never be used for wearing. Like, during any stage shows, if any one wears a flag as a shirt, it is a serious violation.

Can we keep the Indian Flag on our cars?

                             No, Only the President of India, PM, Cabinet Ministers, Chief Justice, Ambassadors in other countries, state CMs, cabinet ministers have such a privilege. Not even normal members of Parliament and legislative assemblies have the privilege of flying the National flag on motor car.

What to do with a damaged flag?

                            When the flag is in a damaged or soiled condition,it should be destroyed as a whole in private, preferably by burning or by any other method consistent with the dignity of the flag.

Can the flag be hoisted  on a private building?

                             Till 2002, private institutions were never allowed to hoist the flag. A FIR was lodged against Naveen Jindal for hoisting flag over a private building. He moved a  PIL in supreme court and won it. Since then, private citizens are allowed to fly India's flag inside and atop their buildings and institutions.

What are the common rules to be followed by private citizens?

• Indian Flag should be higher than all other flags.
• It should be lowered at night.
• Even in-case of heavy rain, storm or wind, the hoisted flag must not be lowered during day time.
• The flag can only be half masted in the event of the death of the important dignitaries. The following rules must be followed while doing the same as a part of observing state-mourning:

1. If the President or Vice-President or Prime Minister of India passes away, flag must be half-masted all over the Nation.
2. In the event of other cabinet ministers, speaker, Chief Justice passing away, it must be done all over New Delhi.
3. If the CM, state ministers, speakers of Legislative assembly etc pass away, it must be done in the respective state capital only.
4. What if, the death happens on a national holiday? (Independence day, republic holiday etc). If that is the situation, it must be half-mast only on the building where the body is kept.

•   The flag should never touch the ground, whatever may be the situation.
•   Nothing should be written on the flag, should not be a spoiled one and should not be a half-burnt one.

Some interesting situations w.r.t. Indian Flag, anthem and Map:

1. In 2007, Indian Cricket team has cut a cake that has Indian Flag made of cream on it. Indian players later apologized.
2. Indian cricket team used to have BCCI emblem over the Indian Flag. This lead to a big controversy.
3. In a Telugu movie 'Chathrapathi', the hero asks for one leg space in Vishakapatnam (okka adugu) by keeping his leg on the Indian Map placed against a wall. This was the main scene of the movie. A PIL was filed against this scene and the director had to apologize.
4. In the movie Kabhi kushi, Kabhi Gam there is a scene where people sing the national anthem in London. A PIL was filed in the high court to remove the scene.
5. Plastic Indian Flags are now banned as a part of go-green initiative.
6. When a President travels in an Indian Train, the Indian flag must be placed at the engine driver's cabin to the side of platform. The flag must be placed only when the train is stationary and must not be flying when the train is moving.
7. When the President or PM is on official visit to a nation, he must carry the flags of those nations along with him and they must be kept at the same level. Suppose if he is traveling from India to US via UK, he must keep both the flags alongside the National flag as a gesture of courtesy and goodwill.
8. When representative of other nation travels in same vehicle along with Indian head, the Indian Flag must be placed to the right while the other flag must be placed at the left.

 Any violation to above will be considered to be insult to the nation and it will lead to severe punishment. So, let us be extremely careful while using the Indian Flag.