Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="narendra-modi" source="Orion">Narendra Modi</keyword> on Tuesday said in Kevadia, Gujarat, that the next 25 years of this century is the most important period for India and "we have to make it a prosperous and developed country" and achieve the goal while drawing inspiration from <keyword id="6358976" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sardar-vallabhbhai-patel" source="Orion">Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel</keyword>. Modi paid floral tribute to <keyword id="24098" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="sardar-patel" source="Orion">Sardar Patel</keyword> at the Statue of Unity at Kevadia in Gujarat's Narmada district on the occasion of the birth anniversary of India's first home minister and addressed a gathering here. Born in Gujarat in 1875, Patel was a lawyer and emerged as a leading Congress leader and associate of Mahatma Gandhi during the independence struggle. As the first home minister of the independent India, he is credited with uniting hundreds of princely states into the Union with his mix of persuasion and firmness. "There came a period of 25 years preceding the country's independence during the last century when every Indian exhausted himself to achieve independence. Now we are faced with a similar 'Amrit Kaal' of the next 25 years for a prosperous India as an opportunity. We have to achieve every goal while drawing inspiration from Sardar Patel," Modi said. He also referred to the abrogation of Article 370, which accorded special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. "Who would have thought that Kashmir will be rid of Article 370? But today, the wall of Article 370 between Kashmir and the country has fallen. Sardar Saheb would be feeling the happiest and blessing us from wherever he is today," the PM said.

On Sardar Patel's birth anniversary, PM Modi says India aims to become a developed country in next 25 years

<ul><li>Today, India observes <keyword id="1440262" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="National-Unity-Day">National Unity Day</keyword> to celebrate 144rd birth anniversary of <keyword id="998593" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vallabhbhai-Patel">Vallabhbhai Patel</keyword>. </li><li>Popularly known as ‘<keyword id="6414070" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Iron-Man">Iron Man</keyword>,’ Patel unified 562 states into a republic. </li><li>To mark his birthday, PM Modi unveiled Patel’s <keyword id="1704539" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="statue-of-unity">Statue of Unity</keyword> in Gujarat — which is the world’s tallest statue in the world at a height of 182 metres.</li></ul>Today, India observes National Unity Day to celebrate 144rd birth anniversary of Vallabhbhai Patel. Popularly known as ‘Iron Man,’ Patel unified 562 states into a republic. On the occasion, Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> also participated in the ‘<keyword id="1970186" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Run-for-Unity">Run For Unity</keyword>’ — which takes place every year to mark Sardar Patel’s birth anniversary. Modi also unveiled Patel’s Statue of Unity in Gujarat — which is the world’s tallest statue in the world at a height of 182 metres same day last year. 
	
	
	
	
	
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 On his birth anniversary, here are his five famous ideas which hold true till date.

"Rise above caste region and religion"— and other Sardar Patel quotes that are relevant even today

<keyword id="6358976" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sardar-Vallabhbhai-Patel">Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel</keyword>, the iron man of India, was born on October 31, 1875. Breathing his last on December 15, 1950, this dynamic freedom fighter lived a life of enormous sacrifice, statesmanship, and patriotism. He played an important role in bringing about stability and consolidation of the Indian Republic after we achieved independence. Fondly known as Sardar Patel, his contribution to the birth of a new and strong India will always be remembered. To commemorate his birth anniversary on October 31, here are some <a href="https://archive.pib.gov.in/ektadiwas/Quotations.aspx">famous quotes</a> from one of India's most eminent and inspiring leaders. Inspiring quotes from the ‘Iron man of India’ <ul><li>Today we must remove distinctions of high and low, rich and poor, caste or creed.</li><li>So long as you do not know how to die it is useless for you to learn how to kill. India will not be benefited by brutal force. If India is to be benefited it will be through non-violence.</li><li>We have to shed mutual bickering, shed the difference of being high or low and develop the sense of equality and banish untouchability. We have to restore the conditions of Swaraj prevalent prior to British rule. We have to live like the children of the same father.</li></ul>(Date: 21 January 1942, Occasion: During Quit India Movement) <ul><li>We have tried to overcome our weaknesses honestly and in a definite manner. The proof, if any proof is needed, is Hindu- Muslim unity… Similarly, we have established cordial relations with Parsis, Christians and other citizens of the country. </li></ul>(Date: 28 December 1921, Occasion: Speaking at Reception Committee of 36th Session of Indian National Congress at Ahmedabad) <ul><li>In a domestic Government unity and cooperation are essential requisites.</li></ul>(Date: 6 March 1949, Occasion: An appeal to the East Punjab Govt. on arrest of Tara Singh) <ul><li>Caste, community will rapidly disappear. We have to speedily forget all these things. Such boundaries hamper our growth.</li></ul>(Date: 16 April 1946, Occasion: Assuring Harijans a Place of Honour in Independent India during a Lecture delivered at Patidar Students Hostel at Vadodra.) <ul><li>No distinctions of caste and creed should hamper us. All are the sons and daughters of India. We should all love our country and build our destiny on mutual love and help.</li></ul>(Date: 19 September 1950, Occasion: Addressing the Session of the Maharashtra Youth Congress at Nasik) <ul><li>The main task before India today is to consolidate herself into a well-knit and united power.</li></ul>(Date: 11 August 1947, Occasion: Speaking to Delhi Citizens during Liberty Celebrations) <ul><li>The negligence of a few could easily send a ship to the bottom, but it required the whole-hearted co-operation of all on board; she could be safely brought to port.</li></ul>(Date: 14 May 1928, Occasion: To villagers of Bardoli taluka during Bardoli Movement) <ul><li>Young men and women are to build-up a strong character. A nation’s greatness was reflected in the character of her people. If it was sullied by selfishness, such people could not prosper or achieve great things. Selfishness had its place in life as everyone had to look to his own needs and that of his family, but it could not be made the be – all and end – all of life.</li></ul>(Date: 13 June 1935, Occasion: Advising young men and women to build up a strong character at Maharashtra Youth Congress) <ul><li>Happiness and misery are paper balls. Don’t be afraid of death. Join the nationalist forces, be united. Give work to those who are hungry, food to invalids, forget your quarrels.</li></ul> (Date: 7 March 1942, Occasion: During Quit India Movement) <ul><li>Two ways of building character – cultivating strength to challenge oppression, and tolerate the resultant hardships that give rise to courage and awareness.</li></ul>(Date: 13 June 1935, Occasion: Vallabhbhai stresses on building character among students at the Rashtriya Shala Board meeting, Karadi in Jalalpore district.) <ul><li>As satyagrahis we should always claim and we did – that we are always ready to make peace with our adversaries. As a matter of fact we are always eager for peace and when we found that the door to peace was opened we decided to enter it.</li></ul>(Date: 5 April 1931, Occasion: During his address on Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev at Karachi Congress Session) <ul><li>A war based on Satyagraha is always of two kinds. One is the war we wage against injustice and the other we fight against our own weaknesses.</li></ul>(Date: 28 April 1935, Occasion: Addressing the Kisan Conference at Allahabad, U.P.) <ul><li>I am blunt and uncultured. To me there is only one answer to this questions. That answer is not that you should shut yourselves in colleges and learn history and mathematics while the country is on fire and everybody is fighting freedom’s battle. Your place is by the side of your countrymen, who are fighting the freedom’s battle.</li></ul>(Date: 5 July 1930, Occasion: Addressing gathering of College Students at Bombay) <ul><li>One can take the path of revolution but the revolution should not give a shock to the society. There is no place for violence in revolution.</li></ul>(Date: 19 February 1939, Occasion: Addressing the Students at Gujarat Vidyapith) <ul><li>Satyagraha is not a creed for the weak or the cowardly.</li></ul>(Date: 28 April 1935, Occasion: Addressing the Kisan Conference at Allahabad, U.P.) <ul><li>Non-violence has to be observed in thought, word and deed. The measure of our non-violence will be the measure of our success.</li></ul>(Date: 26 January 1939, Occasion: Announcing resumption of the struggle at Rajkot) <ul><li>The war started by Mahatmaji is against two things – the Government and secondly against one self. The former kind of war is closed, but the latter shall never cease. It is meant for self-purification.</li></ul>(Date: 2 January 1935, Occasion: Advising the farmers at Ahmedabad after the close of Civil Disobedience Movement)

Rashtriya Ekta Diwas: Famous quotes by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword>, during his two-day visit to his home state Gujarat, on Saturday will pay tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his 145th birth anniversary, by inaugurating the country's first seaplane service between the Statue of Unity (SoU) site at Kevadiya Colony to the Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad. He will also participate in the Rashtriya Ekta Divas Parade. The inauguration programme will most likely be the last item on the PM's agenda on Saturday. He will take off from the Kevadiya Jetty built on lake number 3 near the Sardar Sarovar Dam. The sea plane will arrive at the Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad. From there, the PM is likely to return to Delhi. The seaplane services will be started by the aviation company, SpiceJet. The services will be provided incentives and benefits under the central government's 'Udaan' scheme. The scheme is being implemented as per a tripartite agreement between the Gujarat government, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Airports Authority of India (AAI). For the maiden flight, the company has procured a Twin Otter 300 seaplane, which has arrived at Kevadiya SoU jetty. Infrastructural facilities such as a floating jetty are ready at both the places of landing and takeoff at lake number 3 at Kevadiya and at the Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad. Before that the PM will take part in the National Unity Parade. The police forces of Gujarat Police, Central Reserved Armed Forces, the Border Security Force, the Indo Tibetan Border Police, the Central Industrial Security Force and the National Security Guards will participate in the parade. The PM will also witness a rifle drill by female officers of the CRPF. The Indian Air Force will be performing a flypast. He is also likely to interact with more than 400 trainee officers from services such as the Indian Administrative Services through a virtual conference. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/us-looks-to-replace-h-1b-visa-lottery-system-with-a-wage-based-selection-process-that-will-prioritise-higher-salaries/articleshow/78951033.cms">US looks to replace H-1B visa lottery system with a wage-based selection process that will prioritise higher salaries</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/2020-full-blue-moon-will-appear-on-halloween-for-the-first-time-in-76-years-heres-why-it-was-missing-for-so-long/articleshow/78950810.cms">The Full Blue Moon haunting of Halloween returns after 76 years — and here's why it was silent since World War II</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/google-amazon-twitter-and-facebook-remain-apprehensive-about-indias-new-data-laws-but-paytm-is-open-to-regulation/articleshow/78949708.cms">Google, Amazon, Twitter, and Facebook remain apprehensive about India’s new data laws but Paytm is open to regulation</a>

Modi to launch India's first seaplane service tomorrow

As India celebrates its <keyword id="22461581" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="78th-Independence-Day" source="Orion">78th Independence Day</keyword> on August 15, 2024, the nation stands united in commemorating the spirit of freedom, resilience, and patriotism. This day marks the anniversary of India's liberation from British rule in 1947, a historic moment that paved the way for the country to become a sovereign and democratic nation. The day is a reminder of the sacrifices made by countless freedom fighters and the enduring values that continue to guide the nation. As we celebrate our 78th <keyword id="28240" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Independence-Day" source="Orion">Independence Day</keyword> on August 15, 2024, here’s a collection of 30 heartfelt messages, wishes, and quotes to share with our fellow Indians. <h2>30 Heartfelt <keyword id="22763550" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Independence-Day-2024-Wishes" source="Orion">Independence Day 2024 wishes</keyword> and messages</h2><ul><li>Happy 78th Independence Day! Let's honour the bravery and sacrifices of our freedom fighters by working towards a better and brighter India.</li><li>May the spirit of freedom fill your heart with pride and joy. Happy Independence Day!</li><li>On this special day, let's salute the heroes who fought for our freedom. Happy Independence Day!</li><li>Jai Hind! May our tricolour always fly high as a symbol of peace, prosperity, and pride.</li><li>Wishing you a day filled with pride, joy, and gratitude for the freedom we enjoy. Happy Independence Day!</li><li>Let's celebrate the unity in diversity that makes our nation so unique. Happy Independence Day!</li><li>May we always stand strong as a nation and work together for a prosperous future. Happy 78th Independence Day!</li><li>As we celebrate our freedom, let's pledge to protect and cherish it forever. Happy Independence Day!</li><li>Let us remember the golden heritage of our country and feel proud to be a part of India. Happy Independence Day!</li><li>On this Independence Day, let's commit to building a nation that our future generations will be proud of.</li><li>Happy Independence Day! May our country continue to flourish and prosper in peace and harmony.</li><li>Freedom is the most precious gift. Let's cherish and celebrate it every day. Happy Independence Day!</li><li>Wishing you a day filled with patriotic spirit and love for our nation. Happy Independence Day!</li><li>Happy Independence Day! Let's honour the sacrifices of those who gave us the gift of freedom.</li><li>May our flag always fly high as a symbol of our unity and strength. Happy Independence Day!</li><li>Let's pledge to work together for a peaceful and prosperous India. Happy Independence Day!</li><li>Jai Hind! May the pride of being an Indian remain in our hearts forever.</li><li>Wishing you a day of pride, joy, and unity as we celebrate our freedom. Happy Independence Day!</li><li>Let's cherish the freedom we have and strive to make India the best it can be. Happy Independence Day!</li><li>May the colours of our flag always remind us of the sacrifices made for our freedom. Happy Independence Day!</li><li>Happy Independence Day! Let's celebrate the spirit of freedom and the strength of our nation.</li><li>Let's honour the courage and dedication of those who fought for our freedom. Happy Independence Day!</li><li>May we continue to uphold the values of justice, equality, and liberty. Happy Independence Day!</li><li>Happy 78th Independence Day! Let's work together to build a brighter future for our country.</li><li>Wishing you a day filled with pride and love for our nation. Happy Independence Day!</li><li>Let's celebrate the freedom we enjoy and strive to protect it every day. Happy Independence Day!</li><li>Happy Independence Day! May the spirit of patriotism always inspire us to work for a better India.</li><li>Let's honour the legacy of our freedom fighters by upholding the values of our nation. Happy Independence Day!</li><li>May our country continue to progress and prosper in unity and peace. Happy Independence Day!</li><li>Jai Hind! Let's celebrate the spirit of independence and the pride of being an Indian.</li></ul> <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="112465963" title="Independence Day: Delhi Police enhance security at Red Fort with advanced CCTV analytics" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> <h2>Memorable quotes by freedom fighters on Independence</h2>Mahatma Gandhi: "Freedom is never dear at any price. It is the breath of life. What would a man not pay for living?" Jawaharlal Nehru: "At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom." Subhas Chandra Bose: "Give me blood, and I will give you freedom!" Bhagat Singh: "Bombs and pistols do not make a revolution. The sword of revolution is sharpened on the whetting stone of ideas." Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel: "Every citizen of India must remember that he is an Indian and he has every right in this country but with certain duties." Dr. B.R. Ambedkar: "Freedom of mind is the real freedom." Sarojini Naidu: "We want deeper sincerity of motive, a greater courage in speech, and earnestness in action." Bal Gangadhar Tilak: "Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it." India's 78th Independence Day is not just a day to remember our past but also to reflect on our present and future. As we celebrate this milestone, let's pledge to uphold the values of freedom, justice, and unity, and work towards a brighter and more prosperous nation. Jai Hind! SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/webstories/10-must-watch-patriotic-movies-for-independence-day-2024/slidelist/112469739.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">10 must-watch patriotic movies for Independence Day 2024</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/webstories/1947-to-the-present-films-that-mirror-indias-political-evolution/slidelist/112471203.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">1947 to the present: Films that mirror India’s political evolution</a>

Independence Day 2024: Uplifting quotes, wishes, and messages to share

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New Delhi, Apr 21 () Commending the yeomen services rendered by civil servants in the fight against COVID-19, Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Tuesday said India's prospects to contain the pandemic rest on their broad shoulders.In an interactive call with a group of select officers of 25 states and five Union territories on the Civil Services Day, Singh said the country's governance model has been widely recognised as promoting meritocracy and constitutional values.He said district collectors have been leading the fight against the pandemic and India's prospects to contain it rested on the broad shoulders of civil servants, according to a statement issued by the Personnel Ministry.The Civil Services Day events have been deferred due to the coronavirus lockdown.The Prime Minister's awards for excellence in public administration 2019 and 2020 will now be presented on October 31 to mark the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the statement said.Singh complemented the civil servants for their support to the government's COVID-19 relief operations by offering one-day salary to the PM-CARES Fund."It is also pertinent to mention here that civil servants for their support to government's COVID-19 relief operations in various ministries of the central government have contributed more than Rs 4,227 crore to the PM CARES fund so far by offering one day salary and through CSR contributions," the minister added.Singh, the minister of state for personnel, public grievances and pensions, said "minimum government, maximum governance" has been the motto of the Modi government.In the past 6 years the nation has witnessed significant civil service reforms in reorganising and rightsizing of government institutions, recruitment reforms like lateral entry at joint secretary level, improved delivery of public services with emphasis on providing e-services, as also several initiatives with the citizens at the centre, he said.The publication of the good governance index and the national e-services delivery assessment in 2019 represented India's endeavour to bring its civil service on par with global best practices, according to the statement. "India's governance model has been widely recognized as promoting meritocracy and constitutional values," it said.Singh also expressed satisfaction that so far more than 1,44,736 persons have enrolled at the Department of Personnel and Training e-learning platform (https://igot.gov.in) to combat the virus and 96,268 candidates completed the course.The Government of India celebrates April 21 as Civil Services Day to commemorate the day when the first home minister of independent India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, addressed the probationers of Administrative Services Officers in 1947 at Metcalf House, Delhi. He referred to civil servants as the 'steel frame of India'. AKV ABHABH

India's prospects to contain COVID-19 rest on broad shoulders of civil servants: Jitendra Singh

Shanghai Cooperation Organization Includes India’s Statue of Unity In the ‘List of Eight Wonders of SCO’. Each of the attractions we find in the list has its own unique set of characteristics. This year, India invited all the members of the SCO including Pakistan for the annual meeting of the central Asian group. The group has eight member states and four observer states as a part of the group. Here are the compelling features of the 8 Wonders of SCO. Statue Of Unity The Statue of Unity is today the tallest statue in the world towering over a height of 182 meters. Inaugurated on the 143 birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhai Patel, the monument is a tribute to the first Home Minister and Deputy Chief Minister of India. Built within 33 months using 90,000 tonnes of cement and 25,000 tonnes of iron, the statue is ably engineered to withstand any harsh acts of nature. It is ideally located on an island called Sadhu Bet in the vicinity of Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada River in Gujarat. The statue comprises five zones and three of them are accessible to the public. The interesting components of the statue include a memorial garden, museum, and an audio-visual gallery. The statue and the surroundings span over an area of about 4.9 acres surrounded by a picturesque lake that was created artificially. Daming Palace In China The Daming Palace is designated as the National Heritage Site of China. This is an imperial palace complex that belonged to the Tang Dynasty and is situated in the capital Chang’an. For over two centuries, this place was the imperial residence of the Tang Emperors. The highlights of the palace include the Three Great Halls namely the Hanyuan Hall, the Xuanzheng Hall, and the Zichen Hall. It has a gate known as Danfeng Gate at the central southern entrance. This is a massive gate comprising five doorways. A series of excavations and conservative works at the palace location followed after the site of the Daming Palace was discovered in 1957. The Daming Palace National Heritage Park was opened to the public on 1 October 2010. In the site of the palace complex, there are a number of exhibition halls that display the cultural relics excavated at the site. Navruz Palace In Tajikistan Located in the Ismail Somoni Avenue near the Varzob River that runs across the town, the Navruz Palace is one of the top attractions of Tajikistan. Initially constructed to accommodate a conference of leaders, this palace is now rented out. The four main halls of the facility include Guliston, Didor, Zarandud and Arzhang. Navruz palace also has a cinema hall, shopping mall and a nightclub. Lovers of architecture will find this place a great site to admire and relax. Also called as the Kohi Navruz, the idea behind this palace was conceived to make it the national tea house in the Central Asia region. In the course of time, it also ended up as the museum of national handicrafts of Tajikistan. Spanning over four hectares, the palace includes summer pavilions, fountains, art gallery, bowling, billiard, 3D, teahouse, and gardens. It is said about four thousand craftsmen from all over Tajikistan were involved in decorating the palace. Visitors can admire the exquisite wooden carvings on the ceilings, and the walls, paintings on the ceilings, and very tall cupola with the largest measuring forty meters. Mughal Heritage In Pakistan The heritage places of the Mughal period in Pakistan is one among the impressive members of the Eight Wonders of SCO. The two distinguished royal complexes we find in Pakistan belonging to the Mughal period are the Fort and Shalamar Gardens in Lahore. The fort is located near the Northwest corner of the Lahore walled city. It contains about 21 monuments which date back to the times of Akbar. This fort was destroyed and re-built many times in history. A typical example of Mughal Gardens, the Shalamar Garden was created by Emperor Shah Jahan in 1642. The 16 hectare garden featuring Persian and Islamic architecture. Tamgaly Gorge In Kazakhstan One of the most visited heritage places in Kazakhstan, Tamgaly Gorge is a highly unique spot of ancient rock carvings. These are among the oldest monuments of the land identified as petroglyphs. The most striking place of Semirechye, there are around 5000 drawings in this place including the images of gods, soldiers, married couples, and scenes of animal sacrifice and hunting. A greater part of these drawings are attributed to the Bronze Age. This place also houses a large number of ancient graves. This is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Po-I-Kalan Complex In Uzbekistan Uzbekistan’s Poi Kalan architectural complex is located in the center of Bukhara. The most impressive feature of this monument is the Kalan Minaret which towers to a height of 50 meters visible from any place in Bukhara. Arabs started constructing this site in 713 when they visited here to spread Islam. Though the complex has been destroyed and built several times, the minaret has outlived Mongol invaders, fires and earthquakes. The minaret’s diameter is 9 meters at the base and 6 meters at the top. The spiral staircase with 104 steps has been polished by the feet of millions of people who have visited it so far. In the past, criminals and unfaithful wives were executed on the site. The Golden Ring cities of Russia Created during the Soviet era, Russia’s Golden Ring is a tourist route that was intended to boost the number of foreign tourists visiting the country. Today, we see the Golden Ring popularly used by visitors as well as the domestic travelers of Russia. The eight main cities that make up the Golden Ring include Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Ivanovo, Suzdal, Vladimir, Sergiev Posad, Pereslavl-Zalessky, and Rostov Veliky. The Golden Ring boasts of picturesque churches, golden domes and many other places of interest both ancient and modern. Kyrgyzstan — Lake Issyk-Kul Deemed as the seventh deepest lake and the tenth largest lake of the world in terms of volume, Issyk-Kul is located in the northern Tian Shan Mountains in the eastern Kyrgyztan. The term Issy-Kul means a warm lake. Though the lake is surrounded by snow-capped peaks, its waters never freeze. Forming part of the Issyk-Kul Biosphere Reserve, the Issyk-Kul Lake is known for its amazing bio-diversity. The total area of the lake is 6,236 square kilometers. Located at an altitude of 1,607 meters above the sea level, the lake reaches a depth of 668 meters. Around 118 rivers and streams flow into this second largest mountain lake of the world.

Checkout List of 8 Wonders of SCO (Shanghai Cop. Org.)

Holiday list 2022 – Here is the full list of holidays in the new year

Full text of President Ram Nath Kovind's first address to the Parliament as the 17th Lok Sabha gets underway

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54971d46ecad04023207b23f-1200-924/narendra-modi-29.jpg" border="0" alt="Narendra Modi">Hindustan Times/Getty ImagesPrime Minister Narendra Modi pays tributes to freedom fighter Veer Savarkar on 131st birth anniversary at Parliament House on May 28, 2014 in New Delhi, India. </img>In 1906, in a lodging house for Indian students in Highgate, a pleasant area of north London, a young lawyer called Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi dropped in on a law student called Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, who happened to be frying prawns at the time. Savarkar offered Gandhi some of his meal; Gandhi, a vegetarian, refused. Savarkar allegedly retorted that only a fool would attempt to resist the British without being fortified by animal protein.
The meeting is said to have begun hostilities between the two young Indian nationalists; whether or not the story is apocryphal, there were real reasons for antipathy.
The two men had very different approaches to the struggle against Britain. Gandhi, who became leader of the Indian National Congress (INC), was a pacifist with an inclusive attitude towards Muslims and Christians. Savarkar, who would lead the Hindu Mahasabha, was a right-wing majoritarian who spawned the idea of hindutva, or Hindu-ness--the belief that the Hindu identity is inseparable from the Indian identity. Congress eclipsed the Mahasabha and, since history belongs to the victors, the story of India's independence movement became one of non-violence. But the strand of thought that Savarkar represented was more important than is generally recognised, and is enjoying a revival.
A member of the Mahasabha broke away to form the paramilitary Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), or national volunteer organisation, in 1925, modelled, some say, on the British army. A social rather than explicitly political organisation, it presented itself as the world's largest non-governmental group, in which like-minded, khaki-uniformed men could gather for dawn calisthenics. It recruited boys at an impressionable age, as the Jesuits did, the better to inculcate them with discipline and with passion for the cause. One such was the eight-year-old Narendra Modi. The future prime minister attended training sessions with the RSS, was subsequently inducted as a cadet, and in 1985 was assigned by the RSS to its political wing, the Bharatiya Janata Party, which he rose to lead.
Mr Modi is India's strongest leader since Indira Gandhi, and its most controversial. The source of controversy is his failure in 2002, when chief minister of Gujarat, to avert a massacre of Muslims, which opponents attribute to a hostility to Muslims born of the ideology that Savarkar spawned. Mr Modi has never apologised for the massacre, though he said last year that he felt regret over them, as he would at seeing a puppy run over in the street. Nor has he made any attempt to distance himself from the RSS.
The RSS, meanwhile, is becoming more overtly political. Mohan Bhagwat, its current leader, is somewhat in the mould of Savarkar, paraphrasing his beliefs and promoting Hindutva. In August this year Mr Bhagwat directly echoed Savarkar by saying all who live in "Hindustan" are in fact Hindus, whatever Muslims, Christians or secular Hindus might say. More striking, the RSS leader has switched the organisation's methods. Now, far from eschewing party politics, the group has become an enthusiastic and effective actor within it. The RSS's millions of members and volunteers (no one knows just how many active ones there really are) played a big role in electing the BJP by a landslide in 2014. At least 19 ministers in government, including Mr Modi, have a background in the RSS. Its leaders are seconded to senior posts in the party too. So the ideas of the man who inspired the RSS matter more than ever before.
<h3>The naked jumper</h3>
The lawyer described by a British official in 1906 as "a small man with an intelligent face and a nervous manner" does not sound like the muscular hero that Indian nationalists crave, but Savarkar clearly had a certain dash. In 1910, while he was in London, he was charged with conspiring to wage war against the king and with providing weapons used to assassinate a Briton in the Indian civil service, sentenced to two life terms--50 years--in jail and sent back to India. While the steamship "Morea" was berthed in Marseille harbour, he slipped away from his guards, leapt, almost naked, into the sea and swam ashore. Unfortunately for the eulogists, he was promptly caught by French police and bundled back to the ship.
His daring did, however, win him fame, and also created legal history. France's government, annoyed that Britain had overseen an arrest on its territory, wanted Savarkar returned. Britain refused so the matter went to the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague. It ruled his arrest was indeed "irregular", but decided Savarkar might as well stay in India. The case was one of the earliest heard by the tribunal.
Savarkar's next stop was the Andaman Islands--a group of islands in the Bay of Bengal. This palm-fringed tropical paradise served as a penal colony for the British. Cellular Jail in the capital, Port Blair, is now a memorial for freedom campaigners. In a park opposite stands a row of statues of independence heroes. One is of a slender man with a pinched face behind round spectacles. A pen protrudes from his jacket pocket, one hand rests on a part-furled umbrella and the other wags a finger at the sky. You might mistake him for a prissy bank manager, but a plaque identifies him as Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. The park is named after him.
Ranjit Savarkar, his great-nephew, who runs the Savarkar trust, says that he showed great fortitude in jail. A trained yogi, he overcame thoughts of suicide. Other inmates nicknamed him "Barrister Babu", for his London legal training. Already a published historian and poet, he used Cellular Jail to work on his writing--literally: he wrote on its walls. He spent a decade there before being moved to the mainland in 1921. He was subsequently freed, after pledging to keep out of politics--a promise which the ideology he was developing in jail suggests he did not intend to keep.
A fierce nationalist, he adored Guiseppe Mazzini, who fought for the unification of Italy, writing about him in the hope of inspiring resistance to the British in India. Savarkar believed that India is really composed of, and must only be run by, Hindus. In his 1924 book, "Hindutva", he drew on cultural, philosophical and religious practices of ancient Hinduism, a rich faith that allows immense variety in how it is followed. But he also distinguished the ideology of hindutva--an attempt to unite disparate Hindus in a political project--from the religion. He himself was an atheist, and disapproved of aspects of traditional Hindu belief, dismissing cow worship as superstitious--a stance that would upset many today. He was an early outspoken opponent of caste discrimination. In the 1920s and 1930s others among the emerging Indian political elite opposed "untouchability", the rejection as sub-human of those considered "below caste". But Savarkar went further, saying modern India should drop altogether the idea of dividing people by caste.
His attitude towards Muslims, who made up a quarter of the population before partition, and other non-Hindus was less liberal. He regarded them as alien and separate, in effect not as real Indians. He was fiercely opposed to the formation of Pakistan and what his great-nephew calls the "appeasement" of Muslims. He believed that they, along with the Europeans, had crushed Hindus for a millennium--a sentiment echoed by Mr Modi in an address to parliament after his election this year, when he spoke of ending "1,200 years of slave mentality" in India.
Aside from his view of Muslims, the big difference between Savarkar and the nationalists in the INC lay in their contrasting attitudes to violence. He also wrote one of the first Indian accounts of the uprising in 1857, centred in Delhi. Known as the "Mutiny" to the British, it is referred to by many Indians as the "first war of independence"--echoing the title of Savarkar's book, "The Indian War of Independence". It was a gruesome episode, in which hundreds of thousands were killed, but Savarkar was untroubled by the violence, and seemed to justify the murders of British women and children. His works are steeped in a desire for revenge against those who have humiliated Hindus, and his frustration with the passivity of his co-religionists: "I want all Hindus to get themselves re-animated and re-born into a martial race." In his early years, he circulated manuals on bomb making. He approved of--and probably assisted in--the assassination of colonial administrators. He was suspected, for example, of encouraging a student radical who shot dead Sir Curzon Wyllie, a government official, one summer night on a Kensington street in 1909.
<h3>Rewriting history</h3>
<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54971c4e69bedd2367d1449f-1200-924/gandhi-4.jpg" border="0" alt="gandhi" width="800">AP/James A. Mills</img>
Today, some Indians adulate him. On the day your correspondent called in at Cellular Jail, a party of jovial men in their 80s and 90s, an official "Eminent Committee of Freedom Fighters", was also visiting. Among the last surviving veterans who battled the British in the Quit India movement in the 1940s, they raised gnarled fists to chant "Jai Hind", posed for pictures and praised Savarkar as strong. The local MP called veer (brave) Savarkar a "ferocious, dangerous man who frightened off the British". Rashida Iqbal, the jail's curator, assessed him as "one of the most important freedom fighters". Port Blair's airport, like the park, bears his name. Some 2,000km away, in his native Maharashtra, a street and a park in Mumbai also each carry his name. (In London a blue plaque identifies his former home in Highgate.)
Savarkar's enthusiasm for violence sits uncomfortably with conventional ideas of how India got its independence. India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and then the Congress party (successor to the INC) promoted a pacifist narrative of history, the idea that Gandhi and the likes of B.R. Ambedkar, a social reformer who inspired the Modern Buddhist Movement, triumphed through non-violent resistance. That meant downplaying the bloodshed of 1857, in which atrocities were perpetrated by both sides, and also the roles of Savarkar, Subhas Chandra Bose and Vallabhbhai Patel.
Bose, the Bengali leader of an Indian National Army against the British in the second world war and an ally of Hitler and imperial Japan, led some 40,000 soldiers against the British. (He didn't get far, though the Japanese briefly handed him control of the Andamans.) Patel, the "Iron Man of India", had the Bismarckian task of uniting the country. He oversaw the integration of 562 princely states into India, threatening and using military force. Operation Polo in 1948, a five-day conquest of Hyderabad, a wealthy and Muslim-run state in the south, was bloody indeed. Official estimates, only made public in 2013, suggest the fighting and subsequent Hindu-Muslim clashes there killed between 27,000 and 40,000 people. Some historians claim the real toll might have been five times higher.
The way the story of Indian independence is told is beginning to change. Mr Modi and the BJP are keen to celebrate muscular, nationalist figures. Patel is likely to have a much higher profile in future: in the national budget, in July 2014, the government set aside $32m to erect a statue of him in Gujarat, twice the size of the Statue of Liberty, by 2018. And while Mr Modi frequently invokes Gandhi's name and beliefs, he refers almost as often to Swami Vivekananda, a 19th-century nationalist who revived Hinduism and promoted it abroad. Mr Modi is said to be named after him (the swami was originally called Narendra Nath Datta) and frequently poses before his photograph. Vivekananda's ideas on invigorating Hinduism foreshadowed Savarkar's hindutva project.
Savarkar's profile is lower, but is also rising. Educational comics, hagiographies and patriotic films retell parts of his life story. In 2008 Mr Modi, then chief minister of Gujarat, inaugurated a website (savarkar.org) that promotes a man "largely unknown to the masses because of the vicious propaganda against him and misunderstanding around him that has been created over several decades", and in 2012 he launched a Gujarati-language biopic. A previous BJP-led government put Savarkar's portrait in parliament. On his birthday this year, May 28th, the prime minister paid homage to him there. Mr Modi tweeted about Savarkar's "tireless efforts towards the regeneration of our motherland". Ranjit Savarkar's group plans various events to mark the 50th anniversary of Savarkar's death in 1966. (Aged 83, he submitted to what he called atmaarpan--refusing food, water or medicine in order to die. It took 20 days.)
Yet Savarkar remains immensely divisive. He was a fiercely outspoken critic of Gandhi, still India's top national hero: he called Gandhi weak, a "sissy" and far too willing to collaborate with Britain. Gandhian talk of man's common humanity he regarded as utopian to the point of naivety. In articles from the 1920s to the 1940s Savarkar lambasted Gandhi as a "crazy lunatic" who "happens to babble...[about] compassion, forgiveness", yet "notwithstanding his sublime and broad heart, the Mahatma has a very narrow and immature head." Gandhi promoted ahimsa, a Buddhist rejection of violence which Savarkar called "mealy-mouthed". He said Gandhi was a hypocrite for supporting violence by the British against Germany in the first world war. Nor did he cheer Gandhi's prominent backing for the Ottoman Caliphate Movement, designed to win Indian Muslims to oppose British colonial rule.
Over the years, Savarkar was eclipsed by his rival. During the 1920s and 1930s, the INC benefited from its ability to claim plausibly that it spoke for Muslims as well as Hindus, which made it a more credible interlocutor with the colonial authorities. Perhaps more important, it had an impressive organisation and, in Gandhi and later in Nehru, accomplished political leaders.
By the mid 1940s Savarkar and his supporters in the Mahasabha (which he led until his death) had a new gripe against Gandhi. They were enraged at the prospect of Pakistan seceding from India. Gandhi, in their eyes, did nothing to stop that "vivisection". Worse, he seemed to favour Pakistan when it sent forces to violently seize Kashmir, evidence to Savarkar that warlike Muslims were again crushing passive Hindus. When Nehru applied economic sanctions on Pakistan (refusing to pass on its share of central-bank funds from before independence), Gandhi launched a fast in protest and forced him to back down. To Savarkar's followers in the Mahasabha, that constituted national betrayal.
On January 30th 1948 Gandhi was assassinated in Delhi. The killer, Nathuram Godse, was a member of the Mahasabha, edited its newspaper and was an associate of Savarkar's. Godse's explanation of his actions echoed Savarkar: he said he murdered Gandhi for his "false notions of Hindu-Muslim unity" and in fury over the secession of Pakistan. Savarkar was arrested and tried as a plotter in the murder. He denied all and was acquitted. That did not convince everybody. As the leader of the Mahasabha, who had praised the efficacy of violence and railed against Muslims, it was reasonable to suspect he had at least inspired Gandhi's killer. A.G. Noorani, author of a book on Savarkar and Godse, goes further. He draws a parallel to the Kensington murder of Wylie in 1909, saying the elder man had twice pressed others to pull the trigger. "I would definitely call him complicit in the assassination of Gandhi," he concludes. He points, too, to an official commission of inquiry into Gandhi's death, in the late 1960s, which drew on testimony unavailable at the original trial. It found the evidence was "destructive of any theory other than the conspiracy to murder by Savarkar and his group". Following Gandhi's murder the RSS was also banned, for a year. Yet the final reason why Savarkar should remain unacceptable in modern India goes beyond suspicion over Gandhi's murder. It lies in his attitude to his fellow, non-Hindu, Indians. In his own writing he relates joyfully how as a 12-year-old boy he led a gang of schoolmates to stone his village mosque and smash its windows and tiles, in the aftermath of Hindu-Muslim riots. Relating how "we vandalised the mosque to our heart's content", he adds that when confronted by Muslim boys, he and his pals wielded knives and sticks and chased them away.
Throughout his writing he sets out Muslims as savage, immoral, sensual and eager to destroy the Hindu way of life. In 1937 he wrote of there being "two antagonistic nations living side by side in India", an idea that relies on using religion as the defining characteristic of any Indian, one utterly against the secular constitution of India. And while he occasionally wrote admiringly of the political and religious fervour of Islam, or rather of Muslim political leaders, he did so to encourage his fellow Hindus to match or exceed it.
In India today the fear of communal clashes--between Hindus and Muslims--should not be overblown. But it is never far away. Especially before elections, parties exploit religious tensions. Those who promote hindutva and echo Savarkar whip up stories of "love jihad", alleging that Muslim men convert large numbers of Hindu women by seducing them. Earlier this month a BJP parliamentarian praised Godse as a "patriot" equal to Gandhi. Members of the increasingly influential RSS feel emboldened. Such majoritarian politics, when a larger religious group sets out to absorb or flatten a minority, is utterly destructive. One need only look at the failure of Pakistan as a reminder of that. Sarvarkar could be a brilliant, eloquent and progressive leader. He could also be extremist, violent and divisive. If his influence grows, India's tolerance and moderation will be at risk.
"Notwithstanding his...broad heart, the Mahatma has a very narrow and immature head," wrote Savarkar
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Savarkar (back row, second left) was arrested and tried as a plotter in Gandhi's murder. He was acquitted
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