Writings in Indian languages are more authentic than in English because they present a truer picture of Indian life, says multi-faceted Malayalam author Chandrika Balan, whose oeuvre includes 20 books in her mother tongue and four critical books and 36 research papers in English — and two of whose books have been converted into movie screenplays.

“Literature written in Indian languages can be said to be more Indian than Indian writing in English, for it writes more local colour realism and presents a cross-section of Indian life,” Balan, who has also translated widely from English to Malayalam and from Malayalam to English and has received the Katha National Award for English translation,” told IANS in an email interview.

The Sahitya Akademi, eminent publishers and reputed journals in India “give enough importance to translated works now. Translation has become part of academic syllabus too. So the situation is hopeful,” noted Balan, whose latest offering “Invisible Walls” (Niyogi/128 pages/Rs 250), the English translation of Malayalam title “Aparnayude Thadavarakal”, has just been released.

How did the present work come about?

“I began writing it as a short story as I am mainly a short fiction writer. The story started as Kamala’s; Aparna was not there in the picture at all. But then Aparna entered the story half way as Kamala’s friend and soon claimed the story as her own. When I developed the characters, the work became longer and turned out to be a novel, portraying two women who fight invisible walls,” she explained.

To elaborate, “Invisible Walls” is about two women, Aparna and Kamala, whose lives run in parallel, though they do not know each other. They dream of a world without walls, but invisible barriers surround and crush them. Kamala reads a book titled “Invisible Walls” about Aparna’s life on a train journey and thus the reader discovers a story within a story.

Given this theme, Balan, formerly a Professor of English in Thiruvananthapuram’s All Saints’ College, said Malayalam literature today, “especially the scenario of fiction, is full of variety in themes and forms of expression. Earlier, only literature written by Indians in English was considered Indian English literature. Now that Indian literature in translation is being given the importance and attention it deserves, our literature is also on the way of being promoted”.

How did the translating bug bit her?

Balan, the recipient of 15 awards, including the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, the Katha National Prize, the Padmarajan Puruskaram and the O.V. Vijayan Puraskaram, said that while she previously did her creative writing only in Malayalam, she took a break from her teaching career for three years to work with Dr K. Ayyappa Paniker, the renowned English professor, poet and critic, on a Sahitya Akademi project on Medieval Indian Literature in English translation.

“I was the Executive Editor of that project. Editing the translations of eminent professors and writers from all parts of India, I educated myself on the art of translation. Katha Foundation of Delhi asked me to translate some Malayalam writers of their choice to English. When they were published, more offers came; but somehow I did not want to be a professional translator. I wanted to be known as a creative writer. So I took to translating my own stories.

Her first collection, “Arya and Other Stories” was published by Orient Blackswan.

Would she describe herself as a systematic writer?

“I am not a systematic writer at all, devoting a number of hours a day for writing. My dream is to become one. When an idea comes to mind, I develop an outline first and carry it around like a child within the womb. And when the urge for writing it comes upon me I sit late in the night to write down the first draft. The reworking and revisions will be done later; usually it is the third draft that is final,” Balan explained.

How did the foray into the movie world come about?

It began with noted Malayalam film director and screen writer Lenin Rajendran making a movie out Balan’s story “The Website” as “Ratrimazha” (“Rain in the Night”) “which brought him accolades. He has taken a Director’s freedom with the story”, Balan quipped.

Her book, “Njandukalude Naattil Oru Idavela” (An Interval in the Land of Crabs) has recently been made into a similarly titled movie by the popular young actor Nivin Pauly, with the director being Althaf Salim.

“That book is actually my memoirs on my cancer days; they turned it into a family story of a mother’s fight with cancer and brought in a lot of humour. But they conveyed the message of hope as I insisted,” Balan said.

She has also written a screenplay for Kerala’s Social Welfare Department, which turned it into a movie directed by Sanjeev Sivan.
“It is titled ‘Arunimayude Katha’ (The Story of Arunima); the theme is a critique on the extravagant weddings and craze for gold in Kerala,” Balan said.

Her dream now is “to write two novels — one on a village being transformed into a city and the other on (Russian author Leo Tolstoy’s wife) Sonia Tolstoy. Both require a lot of time and work and I intend to devote 2019 to that”, Balan said.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara said the state cabinet would be expended as soon as possible.
“The coalition coordination and monitoring committee have decided to expand the ministry and appoint chairpersons or presidents at 30 boards and corporations of the government as soon as possible,” he told reporters at Dharmasthala, a pilgrimage center in Dakshin Kannada district.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara Parameshwara said there is a need to expedite implementation of these two decisions to carry out work in the light of good monsoon the state has experienced so far.
“These decisions (cabinet expansion and appointment of chairpersons of boards and corporations ) should be implemented soon. Isn’t it? There has been good rain here (Dakshin Kannada) and in our region too (Bengaluru) by God’s grace. Even the weathermen are predicting good monsoon, and hence we may not face drought this year,” he said. On the issue of KPCC President, Parameshwara said the party High Command would announce the name of a suitable candidate at the suitable time.
Asked about his meeting with former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at Dharamshala, Parameshwara said it was just a coincidence and no political significance should be attached to it. “Since Siddaramaiah is our leader and it is our duty to meet him,” he said. Siddaramaiah is undergoing naturopathy treatment in Dharmasthala. However, Parameshwara said he had discussed various political issues including budget and appointment of heads for corporations and boards yesterday.

At around midnight of November 29, 2016, Morjina Bibi was woken up by repeated knocks on her door.

“When I opened the door, I saw two female police officers. Within a minute, several other policemen entered my house and asked me go with them,” the 27-year-old.

Bibi was thrown into detention centre for being a “Doubtful” or “D” voter – a concept introduced by the Election Commission in 1997. Those marked as “D” in electoral rolls are stripped of their citizenship rights.

She walked free on July 17, 2017 after it turned out she was a case of mistaken identity.

Bibi, who is from Fofana Part I village in the northeastern Goalpara district, had spent nearly nine months in detention.

I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep. The only thought that came to my mind was, ‘What did I do? Why did they put me in this hell?'”
MORJINA BIBI

“I asked them, ‘What was my fault, why are you doing this to me?’ I had not done anything wrong. They ordered me to keep quiet,” she said.

She was sent to Kokrajhar detention centre the next day.

“I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep. The only thought that came to my mind was, ‘What did I do? Why did they put me in this hell?'” she said, sitting in the courtyard of her hut.

Bengali origin people suffer from mass illiteracy and poverty [Al Jazeera]
Life inside the detention centre was difficult with poor quality food and crowded cells, she said.

“In one room, there were between 50 and 60 people. People collided with each other while sleeping on the floor.”

Mistaken identity
She had been mistaken for Merjina Begum, a woman from another village.

Bibi’s case was taken up by All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), a party that advocates for people of Bengali origin, who have often complained of harassment at the hands of authorities.

“When we found that another woman of the same name had a case, we filed for her bail,” said Aminul Islam, AIUDF’s general secretary.

The fear [of undocumented immigrants] was real, but it was amplified by the media

Bibi says police have yet to apologise or offer compensation.

Activists say police harassment in the name of detecting so-called foreigners has ripped apart families and instilled fear among the people.

Ruhul Amin, an 18 year old from a village near Assam’s capital, Guwahati, was inconsolable as he narrated the story of his parents, who are currently stuck in separate detention centres.

In 1997, his father and mother Ayub Ali and Rahima Khatun were sent a notice to prove their nationality, which meant they were required to prove their legitimacy in one of the 100 Foreigners Tribunals (FTs), specialized courts to decide on the citizenship of people who are suspected of being foreigners.

After losing their case in Guwahati High Court in 2015, they were taken into custody.

“We sold the shop to fight the case in Supreme Court. Father had already sold the land to fight the case in high court,” said Amin, through tears.

Detention centres
Amin was forced to drop out of school to support his siblings, including his 14 year old brother. His elder sister was married with the financial help from neighbours and relatives.

“Boys of my age are studying. I too had a dream to study and do something good in life but that dream is not going to be fulfilled any more,” he said.

Amin, like many members of the community, is terrified of the police. He fears he could also be declared a foreigner.

“If they arrest me and put in the detention centre what will happen to my younger brother? Who will look after him?”

Ruhul Amin’s parents are among 899 people who are in six detention centres across Assam [ Al Jazeera]
His hope is now pinned on the Supreme Court. If they lose the case in the top court, the parents will languish behind bars for life.

They are among 899 people who are in six detention centres across Assam – all of which are currently located inside district jails.

The government is planning to build a large detention centre in Goalpara district.

NRC exercise
Meanwhile, Assam is carrying out a massive operation and counting its citizens to update the National Register of Citizens (NRC) – the first since 1951 – aimed at finding out the exact number undocumented immigrants.

But more than 250,000 cases of “D” voters and suspected citizens pending in FT courts have been excluded from the NRC process, which means that their lives will remain in limbo in the years to come.

Their children born after 2003 will also not be eligible to become Indian citizens, putting their future in jeopardy.

Moreover, those who won’t find place in the NRC list, slated to be published end of June, will have to go through the long-drawn and arduous process in the tribunal courts.

“It will take several generations for the cases to be finalised. What will happen to their children? Neither they can study nor can they get jobs,” said Islam, the AIUDF leader.

He called for fast track courts to expedite the cases as India’s judiciary is already burdened with some 30 million backlogged cases.

The state government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), came to power in 2016 on an anti-foreigner platform. The right-wing party denounces people of Bengali origin as infiltrators.

Some 15,000 people were declared foreigners last year under the BJP administration. According to government figures nearly 90,000 people were declared as foreigners between 1985 and 2016.

The uncertainty has led many to commit suicide.

Last week Gopal Das, 65, ended his life apparently after he received a notice from the Foreigners Tribunal in Udalguri district. His family, as reported by a local news website, claims his name is included in the 1966 voters list.

Activists say some of the detained were wrongly declared foreigners in judgements where defendants did not turn up in courts.

They also allege that many of the so-called declared foreigners did not receive notice from the court.

Aman Wadud, who practices at the Guwahati High Court, says the process of identifying undocumented immigrants or “D” voters is “arbitrary”, “random” and done without proper investigation.

You are putting people on trial without an investigation. It’s like filing a charge-sheet in a criminal case without investigation

“You are putting people on trial without an investigation. It’s like filing a charge-sheet in a criminal case without investigation,” Wadud said.

The process of proving one’s citizenship takes a heavy financial toll on the people who are summoned, most of whom are poor or marginal farmers, who earn 250 and 350 rupees ($3.6-$5) a day.

“They sell their cattle and lands to pay legal fees, which may go up to 50,000 rupees ($734),” said Wadud, who has successfully fought the cases of wrongfully declared foreigners.

Lawyer Aman Wadud says the process of proving one’s citizenship takes a heavy financial toll on the people
“People are spending their lifetime of income in proving their citizenship as there are few pro bono lawyers or those who charge less,” he said.

In the current environment, genuine Indian citizens are being declared foreigners and people are sent multiple notices.

Genuine citizens harassed
Ajmal Haque, who served in the Indian army for 30 years, was asked to prove his citizenship by border police – a specialised force of more than 4,000 personnel tasked with identifying undocumented immigrants since it was formed in 1962.

He subsequently proved his citizenship.

Though procedures have been laid out, activists and those accused have said it is hardly followed on the ground.

“Election commission can mark ‘D’ voters without hardly any investigation while the border police follow few procedures in identifying suspected citizens,” said Wadud, the lawyer.

Our basic job is to submit the names to the Foreigners Tribunal after proper verification of the papers if any individual is suspected to be illegally staying here

Sanjoy Hazarika, chairman of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, says due process should be followed in handling “D” voters cases and the NRC process.

“The process must be clearly in accordance with the constitutional provisions that we accept and abide by, especially Articles 14, 19 and 21,” he said.

Article 21 says: “No one shall be deprived of his life and personal liberty except by due process, which includes judicial process not just administrative process.”

Sajahan Kazi, a government school teacher, was marked “D” voter in 1997. It took 20 years for him to prove his citizenship, during which he was stripped of voting and other rights.

People of Bengali origin feel discriminated and harassed by police.

Police refute the allegation of harassment
Moinal Mollah of Barpeta district’s Bohri village was detained despite his parents and grandparents declared as Indian citizens with the necessary documents.

He remained in Goalpara detention centre for nearly three years until the Supreme Court ordered his release. A non-profit, MY-FACTS, provided free legal assistance to Mollah.

“My brother took money on interest and spent nearly two lakh rupees ($2,938) while we were fighting the case in the high court. Till today we are repaying the debts,” Mollah told Al Jazeera as his parents sat beside him.

“I didn’t receive any compensation from the government, neither have they apologised to me.”

Assam border police chief Raunak Ali Hazarika refuted the allegation of harassment.

“Legally it’s not possible. Our basic job is to submit the names to the Foreigners Tribunal after proper verification of the papers if any individual is suspected to be illegally staying here,” Hazarika told Al Jazeera.

Nearly 2,000 people were masscared in Nellie village in 1983, but no action has been taken against perpetrators, say community leaders [Al Jazeera]
He denied that linguistic minorities or Bengali-origin Muslims were being harassed.

“No way that’s possible, as the process of enquiry does not have any specific criteria to enquire on religious or linguistic line”.

Indigenous versus the outsiders
Assam is home to 32 million people – one-third of them are Muslim, most of them Bengali origin.

The first arrival of Bengali cultivators began in the 19th century after British colonial rulers took over Assam from the Ahom king in 1826.

Back then, Assam was sparsely populated with dense jungles. In 1855, an English military officer, Major John Butler, called Assam a “dreary and desolate wilderness … devoid of man, beasts, or birds”.

By the early 20th century, millions of Bengali people were settled in Assam, as part of the British policy. The fertile land of Assam attracted people not only from Bengal but also from Bihar and Odisha states.

The policy of bringing more Bengali immigrants by the government of Sayed Mohammad Sadullah in the 1930s as part of its “Grow More Food” programme further polarised Assam’s politics on the issue of indigenous versus the outsiders.

CS Mullan, superintendent of the 1931 Assam Census, likened Bengali immigrants to “an invading, conquering army, to a terrifying birds of prey, and to insects”.

For Mullan, an Indian civil service officer, Bengali immigrants were like “vultures” looking to grab lands.

“The motivation behind such irresponsible and utterings was clear. He wanted the Assamese and the immigrants to be set against each other,” wrote academic Amalendu Guha in his book, “Planter Raj to Swaraj”.

After India’s independence in 1947, more than 200,000 Bengali people were deported to what was then East Pakistan under the Prevention of Infiltration from Pakistan scheme.

Author Rizwana Shamshad wrote in her book, “Bangladeshi Migrants in India: Foreigners, Refugees, or Infiltrators?”, that a narrative was built around Bengali origin people as “land grabbers” and “settlers” against ethnic Assamese depicted as “vulnerable”.

Colonial role overlooked
The dominant narrative in Assam has overlooked the colonial role in bringing immigrants to Assam.

Sushant Talukdar, a senior journalist in Guwahati, said the media helped “perpetuate the stereotype about the community”.

“The fear [of undocumented immigrants] was real, but it was amplified by the media,” he said.

“We cannot deny that there is no problem, but media should have played a responsible role in finding out facts and instead of being carried away by the agenda of the political parties.”

Hafiz Ahmed based in Guwahati has been vocal about the problems faced by his community
India’s Supreme Court quoted Mullan in its 2003 judgment, when it scrapped a controversial tribunal, the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act (IMDT), set up in 1983 to try suspected foreigners.

Assam politicians had demanded the repeal of the IMDT Act, under which the burden of proof was on the state.

“The SC brought back foreigners Act 1946, a British era law, under which the burden of proof shifted to suspects,” Wadud said, adding that it is against natural justice.

Islam of the AIUDF party says the agenda over who is a foreigner has gradually changed over the years.

“In the 1970s, they said remove outsiders, including Indians from other states. Then they said remove foreigners, including Nepalis and Bangladeshis,” Haque said. “Now they are saying exempt Bengali Hindus and deport Bengali origin Muslims. From outsiders it has come down to just Muslims. It’s a secular state, rules should be applied equally to all.”

The son of the soil
Among those of Bengali origin, such as Suleman Qasimi from Nellie village, there is a belief that people who have harmed and killed Muslims have enjoyed impunity.

“We are bhumiputra, the son of the soil. Do not call us Bangladeshis, we are Indians,” he said, anger palpable on his face.

His brother was among the nearly 2,000 people massacred in 1983 in his village during the height of anti-Bengali movement.

“[Until now], no one has been charged for the carnage, except for a compensation of 5,000 rupees ($73),” said Qassemi, who is the leader of a local mosque.

We are bhumiputra, the son of the soil. Do not call us Bangladeshis, we are Indians

“Muslims were killed because they voted in defiance of the election boycott called by the protesters. My brother died for democracy,” he said, claiming that those who harassed and killed Muslims during the Assam Movement have been rewarded.

In 2016, the BJP government in the state announced compensation of 500,000 rupees ($7,345) to the more than 800 killed in police firing during the anti-Bengali Assam agitation.

But successive Congress governments, Qasimi said, did nothing to provide justice to the victims.

Organisations and political groups such as All Assam Students Union (AASU), which led the Assam agitation between 1979-85, have played on the fear of undocumented immigrants.

“The problem is that the BJP is creating a fear psychosis that Muslim population is growing by leaps and bounds and they are going to swamp the local indigenous population,” Assam Congress leader Prodyut Bordoloi said.

He said that the migration from Bangladesh has “almost stopped in the past 25 to 30 years”.

Muslims have been well represented in the state Assembly with 30 members from the community in the 126-seat state assembly, but they are at the bottom of development indices.

The community suffers from mass illiteracy and poverty while the fear of being branded foreigners persists.

Assimilated into Assamese society
Hafiz Ahmed, a Guwahati-based Bengali-origin Muslim and activist, says that Muslims face discrimination and harassment despite having living in the state for generations.

Children of people whose cases are pending in Foreigners Tribunal are also not eligible to become Indian citizens [Al Jazeera]
“My grandfather came to Assam … We do not need any certificate that we are Assamese,” he said. “Muslims have contributed a lot to the Assamese language and culture. And they have always wanted to be assimilated with the greater Assamese nationality.”

The 54-year-old started writing Miya poetry to express the anguish and pain at the way the community has been treated.

“Miyan means gentleman but here it is used in a derogatory manner to refer to Bengali origin people,” he said. “Miya poetry is a voice against injustice and discrimination.

“For the first time, we have seen that some young people from the community have come out. They have used literature as a means of protest.”

AL JAZEERA

The BJP has deny Minister for Minority Welfare B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan’s accounted for a move to name the State Haj Bhavan, near Kempegowda International Airport, after Tipu Sultan.

“The former government made social distress by celebrating Tipu Sultan Jayanti. The new government should oppose any such attempts at lauding Tipu,” said Shobha Karandlaje, MP, and BJP general secretary.
She asserted that the Congress fared inadequately in Karnataka because of its choice to celebrate Tipu Jayanti.

India’s national academy of letters, the Sahitya Akademi, on Friday announced the names of 21 winners of its Bal Sahitya Puraskar and 21 receipients of the Yuva Puraskar for this year.

The Bal Puraskar awards will be conferred at a function on November 14, which is celebrated as Children’s Day, being the birth anniversary of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. The date for conferring the Yuva Puraskar awards has not been declared yet.

“The awards were recommended by jury members representing 22 Indian languages, and approved by the Executive Board of the Sahitya Akademi which met today under the Chairmanship of Dr. Chandrashekhar Kambar, President, Sahitya Akademi,” a statement said.

“Ten books of poetry, seven of short stories, three novels and one play” have been chosen the Yuva Puraskar award.

The award comprises a casket containing an engraved copper-plaque and a cheque of Rs 50,000.

By Abhirami

The most auspicious temple for every Hindu people is Brihadeshwara temple. It is considered as the most sacred temple in South India, and mostly for Tamilians.

Brihadeshwara temple, is also called as Rajarajeswaram kovil and peruvudaiyar kovil . It is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located in Thanjavur , Tamil Nadu, India . It is one of the largest South Indian temples and example of fully realized Tamil Architecture. It was built by Raja Raja Chola 1 between 1003 and 1010 A.D. The temple is a part of World Heritage Site and is known as Great Living Chola temples, along with the Chola dynasty era Gangaikonda Cholapuram temple and Airavatesvara temple that are about 70 kilometers and 40 kilometers to it’s Northeast respectively.

 

Considered a marvel and miracle in the history of temple construction, the temple houses a huge Shivalinga in it’s sanctum justifying the name Brihadeshwara (the all-pervasive Lord) .The whole of the temple is constructed from granite stones. Expert architects marvel at how the octagonally shaped capstone weighing about 81 tons was lifted and placed on top of the hollow Shikara measuring 216 feet(66 metres). The 216 feet Vimana is notable as one of the tallest man-made Shikaras of the world.

 

The Chola King Arulmozhivarman, praised as Rajaraja Chola 1, was a great conqueror whole ruled the entire South India, Ceylon , Malaya and Maldives islands. Laying the foundation for the temple following the orders received in his dream and accomplishing it around 1010 A.D., he named the temple Rajarajeshwaram.

 

While none of the massive palaces built during the history of Chola survives today, the fact that Brihadeshwara temple has managed to stand the test of time for more than a thousand years proves the superior accomplishment of Chola architecture and the patron’s incomparable devotion for Lord Shiva.

 
The third India skills regional competition began here on Thursday with about 300 candidates from 14 states participating in 36 skills, including aircraft maintenance, floristry, mobile robotics, fashion technology, welding, graphic design, web designing, cooking, jewellery and beauty therapy among others.

Organised by the Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, winners from the three-day event will move to nationals to compete with winners from other regional contests and get a chance to represent India at World Skills 2019 at Kazan in Russia.

The candidates are from Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.

“The contest is being held to promote world-class standards in vocational education and training by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) of the ministry,” said 2017 World Skills silver medalist Mohit Dudeja at the event.

For the first time, 22 states and Union Territories partnered with NSDC to organise 500 districts and states competitions, which mobilised 50,000 competitors across 45 skills.

The winners from the four regions will compete at the National Competition in New Delhi later this year for selection to represent the country at the Kazan contest.

“As Bengaluru has been at the forefront of skill development, it is hosting the regional contest to provide the youth a platform to showcase their skills at the global level,” said NSDC Executive Director Jayant Krishna.

NSDC partner Mettl is also hosting at the venue — Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) – a Career Guidance Assessment to help the participants pursue a career in alignment with their skill set and an Innovation Gallery for start-ups to showcase their technology and products.

The contest also promotes exchange of ideas and experience in vocational training through seminars and panel discussions.

Union Minister of State for Skill Development and entrepreneurship Anant Kumar Hegde will felicitate winners of the competition on Saturday after the 3-day contest.