PLANNING to renovate your home but in a muddle because of the different lifestyle brands coming up? After all, home is where one retreats to at the end of the day, so it&’s got to be a warm, comforting place. It&’s also true renovation is a very unique way of flaunting your personality among peers, colleagues and friends.
  That being the case, H&R Johnson (India) could be the solution for all your problems. From tiles, bathroom products, engineered marble and quartz to modular kitchen appliances, they have it all. Like brand ambassador Katrina Kaif says, “I’m happy to be associated with Johnson, one of the most trusted and globally renowned home lifestyle brands. My home is my personal space. It&’s my retreat and at the end of a long day at work, it always feels good to be home.”

Click it
Portronics launches its latest wireless mouse, Bean, with a micro USB dongle stored inside. It comes in three attractive dual colours — black and grey, white and blue, black and white — with exclusive four DPI settings that range between 500-1,750 and is suitable for both artists and gamers. Price: Rs 999.

Value for money
Tupperware announces the launch of its water filter that is hassle-free, portable and involves a three-layer filtration process that removes visible contaminants, chlorine, bacteria and viruses. Made of food-grade virgin plastic, it provides a unique customised cartridge that incorporates HaloPure technology. Priced at Rs 3,200, it comes with a lifetime guarantee on Tupperware plastic parts and service assurance.

No-gray guarantee
Berina has designed a new Symple hair colour cream that will not only colour but also mend damaged hair and transform it into a smooth and silky fall. Containing no ammonia, its hydrolysed collagen will cover your 100 per cent gray hair within 10-30 minutes. For both men and women, it is available in five shades in 120-gm pack at Rs 350.

Popcorn evolution
Bored of the same old plain buttered popcorn? 4700BC, India&’s first gourmet popcorn brand, brings to you more than 18 evolved flavours in cheese, caramel, chocolate and candy variants. Choose from Italian-herbed golden cheese, tex-mex salsa golden cheese and magical rainbow potpourri to nutty tuxedo choco-all-ate. All come in various packaging options such as signature bags, gift tins and baskets and corporate tins.  For details, visit www.4700BCPopcorn.com.

Easy to monitor
Paramount Surgimed Ltd has launched a digital blood pressure monitor that comes with an LCD display with fuzzy logic inflation and controlled deflation, with easy-to-read in-progress results. It measures pulse rate and detects and alerts on irregular heartbeats. It is equipped with a World Heath Organisation indicator. Price: Rs 4,200 and Rs 4,000 for the Digital BP monitor (arm and talking) respectively. The anaroid one costs Rs 1,100.

Alluring impact
Fossil’s latest timepieces, Wonderful Whites combines simplistic, easy-to-wear fashion with a refined edge in super chic white trend, for both men and women. Inspired by vintage men’s pocket watches, the chic ES3276 has a delicate white strap, paired with an oversized round dial with three hand movement. Striking, modern with oversized lugs the stark white JR1423 is a timepiece with a masculine vibe. Price: Rs 4,995 onwards, available at all leading watch retailers across the country.

Exhilarating experience
Simmtronics unveils India&’s first gaming tablet – the XPad X-Q1 — that comes with a four-in-one multiple video viewing option and Quad Core processor. It runs on android 4.1 Jelly Bean and is powered by 1.0 Ghz. Available in all stores along with e-commerce web portal snapdeal.com.
Price: Rs 15,,999.

What&’s with Madonna and her niqab, asks david wyatt
THE Queen of Pop is at it again. Madonna loves touting a gun or wearing fishnets and spandex at an age when most of us prefer to cover up. But her latest outfit is more controversial still. She has been pictured wearing a chainmail mask resembling a niqab — a face veil worn by Muslim women. The star posted a photo from her forthcoming photoshoot with Harper&’s Bazaar magazine on Instagram and Facebook, accompanied by the line, “The Revolution of Love is on… Inshallah (Arabic for “God willing”)”.
It is unclear what message Madonna, who is well known for her humanitarian work with women in developing countries and as an exponent of the Kabbalah religion, meant to send via her new look. Some fans have interpreted the chainmail mask as a message of empowerment to women, but one Instagram user said, “You think this message is empowering to women…? If this was a woman who really wanted to empower other females, she could do this in many other ways… When did gagging women make them feel good?”
Other fans have suggested that Madonna&’s chainmail mask is a direct criticism of the oppression suffered by women in some Islamic countries. Bill Paul Buttuls wrote on Facebook, “Are you saying the burqa is ‘trapping’ women?” And Ccim Le Bon commented, “Burqa covers even the eyes… and this is the NIQAB… the message is not clear… what do you mean, queen?”
While the majority of fans posted positive comments about the outfit, and the odd joke about the Queen of Pop raiding Lady Gaga&’s wardrobe, others found the photograph “disappointing” and “ reductive”.
the independent, london

pradip chatterjee
KOLKATA, 6 JULY: The state government is losing crores of rupees as revenue from land owners are not being collected as the state Land and Land Reforms Department does not have the necessary records.
Senior officials of the department said up to April 2013 out of a total of 33 lakh odd land owners, only nine lakh are paying tax in North 24-Parganas.
A key document called Register II which was maintained by the department till late 70’s was scrapped after the Left Front government took a pro-people stance and exempted some of the land owners from paying revenue. As a result, during the past few decades the government suffered huge loss in terms of revenue generation.
After coming to power, the new government stressed on revenue collection. It is now a hard task for the officials of the Land and Land Reforms Department to identify the land owners or raiyats whose revenues are pending as the department did not maintain the Register II for a long time.
The Register II gives an official a detailed idea about the names of raiyats, total amount of land owned by an individual, their revenue arrears. Officials in the department said if the raiyats voluntarily come forward to submit their revenues and other cesses, then only can the department collect the revenue. If a customer fails to produce any previous document showing that he/she had submitted a portion of the land revenue earlier, he/she has to pay revenue from the beginning. The government has no infrastructure to collect cess and revenue if they do not come forward voluntarily to submit the dues.
It has often been alleged that some bhumi sahayaks, the officials who collect revenue from the raiyats in the block level, do not maintain the necessary documents. Dwaipayan Khasnobis, general secretary, Paschim Banga Bhumi o Bhumi Sanskar Adhikarik Samiti, said: "The software to maintain land records must be upgraded so that officials can have detailed information of the raiyats. Opinions of the department officials who have vast knowledge of the field should be considered by seniors."
A senior official of the department who preferred anonymity refused to admit that Register II was not properly maintained leading to a huge loss in the revenue collection.

statesman news service
KAMDUNI (North 24-Parganas), 6 JULY: A month after the Kamduni rape and murder the victim’s family is still apprehensive of leaving home for work or to attend school apprehending a volley of “unwelcome questions”. 
The victim’s father, who is the sole bread earner of the family and works as a mason, stopped going to work from the day his only daughter was raped and murdered. As a result, the family now has to depend on relatives and neighbours. 
“Whenever I think of going back to work, faces of my co-workers asking awkward questions comes to my mind. I don’t have the strength to face the situation that may surface,” he said. 
The victim’s mother is yet to overcome the trauma and get back to a normal life. She broke into tears recollecting the days when she used to see her daughter prepare for her examinations in their one-room-home.   
The couple cried saying they won’t get their daughter back, but the culprits should be punished. 
The victim’s brother, a student in a local school, has stopped going to school since the incident. Neither the school authority nor local representatives of any political party has come forward to help the boy continue his studies. When asked, the victim’s brother said: “I feel that someone may attack me if I go out of the village to participate in the rallies demanding justice for my sister.” 
The headmaster of the school, however, passed the buck to the school’s managing committee saying no one had informed them yet about the boy’s problem and that they can’t take any steps without discussing it with members of the managing committee. 
The only silver lining in the situation is that the entire village, irrespective of their political affiliation, has joined hands to demand justice for the girl.

LONDON, 6 JULY: Immune response to the tuberculosis bacterium varies between patients of different ethnic origin, raising important implications for the development of tests to diagnose and monitor treatment for the disease.
The study, led by researchers at Queen Mary, University of London, in collaboration with the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), analysed the immune response of 128 newly-diagnosed TB patients in London who were divided by ethnicity into those of African (45), European (27), Asian (55) or mixed European/Asian (1) ancestry.
TB remains a major global health problem, responsible for nearly nine million new cases and 1.4million deaths in 2011, researchers said.
By analysing the levels of various inflammatory markers in blood samples taken before treatment, the scientists showed that immune responses of Asians and Europeans were similar to each other, but different from those of Africans.
This difference was caused by ethnic variation in the patients’ genetic make-up and was not related to the strain of TB bacterium that the patients were infected with.
“The TB bacterium has co-evolved with humans following migration to Europe and Asia some 70,000 years ago, and different strains of the TB bacterium disproportionately infect particular ethnic groups,” Dr Adrian Martineau, Reader in Respiratory Infection and Immunity at the Blizard Institute, part of Queen Mary, who led the research, said.
Experiments with white blood cells cultured in the lab have shown that different strains of the TB bacterium elicit different amounts of inflammation.
One might therefore expect that TB patients’ immune responses would differ according to the strain of TB bacterium that they are infected with.
“However our study has shown, for the first time, that it is actually ethnic differences in the patient&’s genetic make-up that cause most of this variation in immune responses    with little effect of the TB strain they are infected with, researchers said.
By analysing blood samples taken from 85 of the original cohort after an eight-week period of intensive treatment, the researchers found that ethnic variation in immune responses became even more marked.  pti

Trinamul govt symbolises failure of democracy
SIR, ~ Apropos the editorial, “Onward to polls” (4 July), the elected representatives are expected to protect the basic rights of the people.  The Trinamul government has failed on this score. It is a politically-driven administration. It symbolizes the failure of democracy. It has insulted the people&’s mandate.
It is a virtual anarchy. The government is trying to muzzle the media. Rural governance can suffer if the panchayats are not elected on time. Given the circumstances, only the judiciary can act as the guardian-cum-protector of the people.    The Supreme Court has seen through the political conspiracy. Hence the ruling on the revision petition that the elections will be held during the Ramzan. Mira Pande, the State Election Commissioner, has led from the front. Mamata Banerjee should draw a lesson from her joust with the SEC.
yours, etc. uttam k bhowmik, tamluk, 4 july.
Constitutional certitudes
SIR, ~    This refers to your editorial, “Onward to polls” (4 July). You have rightly described the Supreme Court&’s verdict as a victory of  constitutional certitudes. The Trinamul counsel&’s claim ~ “it is a victory for the state government as ultimately the panchayat poll, which the State Election Commissioner had wanted to stop, will be held” ~ is a specious argument. There is no denying that the Supreme Court&’s order is a  rebuff for the state government which has been pulled up for “dilly-dallying” on the issue. The Supreme Court has upheld the primacy of the SEC in the conduct of elections, as enshrined in the Constitution. It has accepted the commission&’s contention that it would not be possible to hold peaceful elections in the prevailing circumstances as adequate security personnel were not available.  The court has increased the number of phases from three to five. The election will be held with the support of central forces. The state police has lost its neutrality; it functions as a stooge of the ruling party.
As per constitutional provisions, the panchayat election ought to have been completed before the expiry of the tenure of the existing boards. But the Mamata-led government unnecessarily stirred a controversy over primacy, the deployment of central forces and the number of phases. This has resulted in inordinate delay. The Supreme Court verdict has ended her dream to seize the power of the panchayats with handpicked administrators.
yours, etc., s s paul, chakdaha (nadia ), 4 july.
Defective chargesheet
SIR, ~ In another jolt to the ruling party, the fast-track judge of Barasat court has faulted the chargesheet submitted by the CID in the Kamduni rape and murder case. It appears that the CID, under instructions of its political masters, had framed the  chargesheet in a manner that would ensure an escape route for the main accused, said to be a brother of a local Trinamul leader. There was also an attempt to make Saiful an approver in the case. The fact that Calcutta High Court will monitor the investigation is an endorsement of the observations of the fast-track judge. Under the circumstances, only a CBI enquiry can nail the actual culprits. The ruling party cannot subvert the Constitution and the rule of law.
yours, etc., anil kumar choudhury, kalyani, 4 july.

NEWS ITEMS

AGRICULTURE IN BENGAL
The New programme
Important Schemes Initiated
(From Our Special Correspondent)
Simla, July 6
The following is the programme of the Bengal Agricultural Department:- This province has undergone an administrative change since April 1st, 1912; and consequently the work includes various problems formerly relating to Eastern Bengal.
The Agricultural Chemist will arrange for the distribution of Barbados cane seedlings, which have proved of great merit and will conduct experiments connected with planting methods, etc., on an extended scale.

AN ALLEGED DISHONEST SIKH
The Commissioner Of Police, Calcutta, has received intimation that a resident of Allahabad City, has been robbed of a complete magneto, belonging to a four-seated Daracq motor car worth over Rs 5000. It is alleged that accused called on the complainant in search of employment, towards the middle of June last, and produced certain credentials, showing that he was a chauffeur and had come from Calcutta. The complainant put him in charge of the car, and after working for three days the accused is reported to have absconded to Calcutta with the magneto. The Calcutta Police are making enquiries in the matter.

"CALCUTTA DIOCESAN RECORD"
With the July issue the Calcutta Diocesan Record enters upon its second year, and the number fully maintains the reputation already won. The Bishop of Calcutta writes a brief note relative to the long proposed Bishopric of Assam, based upon the experiences of his recent tour, and his Lordship seems to think that this particular bit of work needs to be placed in the forefront of ecclesiastical politics. The missionary notes by the Rev. R. Gee, of Bishop’s College, are most interesting reading, and the paper by the Rev. J.F. Smith, Chaplain of St. James’, originally read before the Calcutta Clerical Society, is a valuable contribution to the educational question from the standpoint of the value of a child, as pourtrayed in the New Testament. In conclusion the Editor prints his balance sheet for the year, and, whilst showing that the Record more than pays its way, appeals for a larger circle of annual subscribers on the ground that an increased and intelligent knowledge of the doings of the Church in India cannot but be beneficial.

OCCASIONAL NOTE

Telegrams published this morning show that the floods in Cachar and South Sylhet are abnormal and call for the special attention of the authorities. A correspondent telegraphing from Kallicherra reports that the highest flood since 1883 is now being experienced. The distress is much greater than in the year mentioned. Areas which were considered absolutely safe, and which had become thickly settled, have been submerged. Many houses have been carried away; many others are covered above the eaves. There have been great losses of stored paddy, and new planting is inevitable. Our correspondent urges that Government should arrange for the immediate import of rice, as in 1883. A Rema correspondent, telegraphing from Chandpur Bagan, states that serious  floods have occurred in South Sylhet, and that tea prospects there are bad. The price of rice locally has risen to a very high figure. It is evident from these  messages that the floods have created a serious emergency.

Jharkhand CM designate has already got letters of support from 4 Independent MLAs
press trust of india
NEW DELHI, 6 JULY: The challenge to accommodate independents who have agreed to provide critical support stares at the newly formed Congress-JMM alliance which is expected to stake claim to form the next government in Jharkhand in a day or two.
Confident after RJD chief Lalu’s Prasad categorical assurance and letters of support from at least four Independent MLAs, JMM’s Chief Minister designate Mr Hemant Soren left for Ranchi today.
Mr Soren, who is tipped to be the Chief Minister in the new ruling dispensation in the tribal state, has already got letters of support from independent MLAs Mr Harinarayan Rai, Mr Bandhu Tirkey, Mr Chamra Linda and Mr Bidesh Singh, according to sources in the JMM.
Other two independent MLAs are Mrs Gita Koda, wife of former chief minister Madhu Koda who is in jail on graft charges, and Mr Enos Ekka.
A section in the Congress has been wary of forming a government in the state with the support of independents with a clear view that they should not be taken as ministers in the new government, a stand which the JMM also did not contradict
earlier.
However, the challenge persists with independents now seeking share in the power, even as they vouch their support for the new government.
The JMM has 18 members, the Congress 13 and the RJD five MLAs in the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly. With their number coming to 36 together they need the support of five more MLAs to form a government with simple majority in the state.
Talking to PTI, Mr Tirkey said while he welcomes the formation of a government headed by Mr Soren and has already given letter of support to him, “independents should also get representation in the ministry”.
“We have always supported formation of a government in state. I and three independent MLAs also gave letters of support to Mr Soren. Though I am not the leader of the Independents, I am suggesting Mr Soren should also talk to other independent MLAS Mrs Gita Koda and Mr Enos Ekka."
“Independents are in favour of government formation but their honour should also be kept in mind. Only then a stable government can be in place,” Mr Tirkey said.
He is stated to be close to Mr Prasad.

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
New Delhi, 5 July
 A tree plantation drive is going to be organised by New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) from 10 July till August in the open spaces and road dividers of NDMC area. The civic body is all set plant 3,000 trees and 50,000 tree seedlings.
The NDMC horticulture department today informed that the tree plantation drive would help the civic body plant more saplings in the season. "We have already planned the plantation areas for the drive," said the official.   "The civic body would now tap the large area in NDMC and plant about 3,000 saplings. We are also encouraging various ministers and entrepreneurs to participate in the drive," said the official, adding, "Students of NDMC schools will be taking active part in the drive. Apart from this we are also providing saplings to all the NDMC hospitals, libraries and offices asking the concerned officers to plant saplings on their premises."  He also said the civic body covers large part of the city and has a green cover of 20 per cent on its own while various schools, colleges, NGOs and individuals helped in planting more trees which is adding volume to the green cover. Aformer Director of NDMC, Horticulture department  said the civic body should not only focus on planting saplings but should also take efforts to make sure that they survive.

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
New Delhi, 5 July
In a move to raise the awareness and sensitising the school students about environment, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in partnership with Centre for Environment Education (CEE) today organised a plantation drive for the school students at the Children’s Museum at Siri Fort Garden.
 Along with the plantation drive the students were also given insights on the various aspects of ASI. Mr Praveen Shrivastava, director general, ASI was the chief guest at the programme. 
A workshop on bird nest making was also organised with the support of Eco Roots Foundation (ERF). ERF works on socio-environmental issues by  creating awareness through innovative projects with educational institutions.
Over 200 students from about 15 schools gathered and planted trees as a symbol of their support for revival of the environment.
The bird house workshop was the main attraction of the celebration where children created bird house from bamboo sticks.

Agence France-Presse
SANA’A, 6 JULY: A bomb hidden in a plastic bag exploded at a checkpoint in the Yemeni capital Sana’a today, killing three policemen and wounding a fourth, a security services official said.
The device was planted near a police checkpoint in the north of the capital and detonated as the policemen opened the bag to check its contents, the official added. The blast killed two of the policemen immediately and seriously wounded two others, one of whom died later.
A manhunt has been launched for those behind the attack, the official added.
Today’s deadly blast came after a period of relative calm in the Yemeni capital.
Yemen’s politicians are currently taking part in a national dialogue aimed at paving the way for a new constitution and planned February 2014 general elections.
The impoverished Arabian Peninsula country has been hit by violence attributed to Al Qaida militants, southern separatists and a Shi’ite rebellion in the north.

Agence France-Presse
WASHINGTON, 6 JULY: America’s missile defence system failed today in a test over the Pacific, with an interceptor failing to hit an incoming ballistic missile, the Pentagon said today.
The miss represented yet another setback for the costly ground-based interceptors, which have not had a successful test result since 2008.
The test’s objective was to have an interceptor, launched from Vandenberg air base in California, knock out a long-range ballistic missile fired from a US military test site at Kwajalein atoll in the Marshall Islands.
But “an intercept was not achieved,” US Missile Defence Agency spokesman Richard Lehner said in a brief statement.
“Programme officials will conduct an extensive review to determine the cause or causes of any anomalies which may have prevented a successful intercept,” it said.
The anti-missile weapon has run into repeated technical problems, with tests delayed after two failures in 2010.
The USA has 30 of the ground-based interceptors in Alaska and California, at a cost of about $34 billion. They are supposed to counter the potential threat posed by North Korea, which has tried to develop long-range ballistic missiles.
The Pentagon wants to deploy an additional 14 ground-based interceptors to bases in Alaska, at a cost of about $1 billion, also in response to what Washington deems a growing threat from North Korea.
Some lawmakers also are pushing to open a new missile defence site on the country’s East Coast, in case Iran or other adversaries obtain long-range missiles.
Critics of the missile defence program are sure to seize on the test result as further proof that the system faces insurmountable technical hurdles.

Press Trust of India
DEHRADUN/BHOPAL, 6 JULY: Relief operations were today badly hit by a fresh spell of rain at most places in Uttarakhand, including Rudraprayag, Chamoli and Uttarkhashi districts, with choppers carrying relief material not flying due to low visibility conditions.
Fresh showers in Uttarkashi district have swelled the Bhagirathi river once again prompting the administration to evacuate people living in the houses located on its banks to safe places as a precautionary measure, officials here said.
Chopper operations in Kedarghati in Rudraprayag district remain badly affected due to bad weather, delaying distribution of relief material in affected villages on the 20th day of the tragedy, District Magistrate Dilip Jawalkar said. It received fresh showers yesterday making the administration issue an alert and advise people inhabiting banks of the Alaknanda to move to safer places. Rain in Kedarghati has also slackened the process of disposal of bodies with only 72 of them having been cremated in over a week so far, DGP Satyavrat Bansal said.
Transportation of relief by air being the only option, the emphasis is now on repairing breached roads in affected areas so that the process could be expedited, officials said. Chief Secretary Subash Kumar, who visited the remote and cut off blocks of Chamoli District, instructed officials to make sure that the roads open by 15 July.
In view of the MeT department warning of heavy rains in the next 24 hours in parts of the state especially Nainital, Pithoragarh and Almora districts of Kumaon region, the administration is fully alert to deal with any emergency.
State Disaster Management Minister Yashpal Arya, who visited Pithoragarh, directed the officials to work on a war footing for relief and rehabilitation of affected people in the district.
Amid reports of ton of relief material stuck in government godowns at various places due to problems being faced in their transportation, a state government estimate claimed there is no shortage of food in any affected village.
Apart from the regular supply of civil supplies department more than 393 vehicles carrying relief material have been sent to various disaster-hit areas, it said.                                                                                              Meanwhile, a Madhya Pradesh-based welfare trust has donated Rs 5 lakh to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for helping people in the rain-ravaged Uttarakhand.
Rawatpura Sarkar Lok Kalyan Trust handed over a cheque of Rs 5 lakh to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan yesterday at Raipur during his visit to Chhattisgarh, as reported by official sources.

Agence France-Presse
MEXICO CITY, 6 JULY: Frustrated passengers stood in long lines at Mexico City’s airport as US airlines cancelled flights for a second day after the Popocatepetl volcano spewed a new column of ash.
United Airlines, Delta Airlines, Alaska Airlines and AirTran voluntarily scrapped 15 flights yesterday as a precaution, but the airport did not restrict travel as it did not consider the ash a risk, as airport spokesman Jorge Andres Gomez said.
On Thursday, six US airlines had canceled some 60 flights, stranding 600 passengers, with many of them still looking for a way out of the Mexican capital yesterday afternoon.
“They can’t even give us chairs,” Mexican traveler Gabriela Garcia said as she stood in a long line at a Delta counter with some 200 other people. “Nobody knows anything, nobody says anything, we’ve been standing for six hours.”
Another Mexican traveler, Eusebio Pacheco, said that he had also been waiting in line for six hours with his wife, hoping to finally take off to the Canadian province of Quebec.
“We don’t know anything, they don’t tell us anything, we’re desperate,” he said, adding that two flights were canceled. They hoped to fly out today.
A Slovenian couple who were heading to Paris with Delta said they were advised to book a hotel and return in two days, with the airline saying it wouldn’t pay for food or lodging since it was a weather event.
The airport spokesman said operations were getting back to normal later in the day and that flights from Europe and other regions had been landing all day.
The National Disaster Prevention Center (NDPC) had reported early Yesterday the 5,452-metre (17,887-feet) high volcano had blown a 1.5 km (one mile) high column of ash that was heading west-northwest and produced low-intensity tremors in the last 24 hours.
In an evening bulletin, the agency said the volcano had spewed more gas, steam and ash which had dispersed as it blew west. Authorities flew over the crater and saw molten rocks that were blown one kilometre into the air before falling on the mountain’s slopes.
Volcanic activity at the snow-capped Popocatepetl, located 65 km (40 miles) southeast of the capital, has intensified since May.

The Tiger of Bengal
sudipta chatterjee

WHEN then Viceroy and Governor-General of India Lord Curzon peremptorily requested Sir Ashutosh Mookerjee to visit England so that Britons could get some glimpses of the scholars produced by British education in India, he declined. All because his mother refused to allow him to make that sea voyage. Even when Curzon decreed, “Tell your mother the Viceroy and Governor-General of India commands her son to go,” Asutosh didn’t hesitate and replied, “Then I will say that Ashutosh Mookerjee refuses to be commanded by any other person except his mother, be he Viceroy or be he somebody higher still.”
   Perhaps this instance of his characteristic defiance of the powers-that-were was based on the strength of his enormous devotion to his mother. For his distinctive uncompromising attitude towards the British government, his exemplary courage, profound self-esteem and enduring academic integrity, this celebrated Bengali academician and illustrious educator – born on 29 June 1864 — came to be dubbed the “Tiger of Bengal”.
   The Asutosh Mookerjee Memorial Institute, established in 1927, is overseeing the celebration of his sesquicentennial birth anniversary from June 2013 in collaboration with Calcutta University and the state Government. Sir Asutosh&’s massive ancestral residence — a heritage building at 77, Asutosh Mookerjee Road — presently houses the Memorial Institute under whose aegis the Asutosh Memorial Library was established in 1927 and Asutosh Memorial Hall was set up in 1935, adjacent to the library.
   One of the most dynamic entities of the evolution of Indian education, Sir Ashutosh Mookerjee (1864-1924) was of a towering personality and remarkable managerial acumen. Son of the well-known doctor, Ganga Prasad Mookerjee, founder of South Suburban School in Kolkata, and father of the famous Syama Prasad Mookerjee, founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, he was born in Bowbazar in the heart of the city. Brought up in an atmosphere of science and literature at home, the young Asutosh exhibited an early aptitude for mathematics.
  When he was still young, he met Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, who was a source of major inspiration. In 1879, when he was just 15, he passed the entrance exam of Calcutta University. In 1880, he was admitted to the widely famed Presidency College and had luminaries like PC Ray and Narendranath Dutta (later Swami Vivekananda) as classmates. In 1883, he came first in the BA examination at Calcutta University and was awarded the Premchand-Roychand scholarship to complete a postgraduate degree in mathematics. In 1885, he majored in mathematics and also acquired a postgraduation in physics, becoming the first student to be awarded a dual degree from Calcutta University. In 1886, he did his Masters in physical science. Rejecting a job offer in the Department of Public Instruction for the purpose of completing his Bachelor of Law degree, he found the time to publish prolific papers on issues in mathematics and physics.
   Lord Curzon&’s education mission in 1902 identified the universities, and Calcutta University especially, as centres of sedition where young people formed networks of resistance to colonial domination. The cause of this was considered to be the granting of autonomy to these universities in the 19th century. Thus, during 1905-1935, the colonial administration tried to reinstate government control of education.
   At the age of 24, Ashutosh Mookerjee had become a Fellow of Calcutta University and soon transformed it into a great teaching and research institution. He had an eye for talent and among his “discoveries” were Dr CV Raman and Dr S Radhakrishnan. He became the Indian vice-chancellor of the University of Calcutta for four consecutive two-year terms (1906-1914) and a fifth two-year term (1921-23), dominating university affairs throughout his life. In 1923, however, when Lord Lytton tried to impose conditions on his reappointment as vice-chancellor, Mookerjee indignantly refused the post.
   Mookerjee was responsible for the foundation of the Bengal Technical Institute in 1906 and the Calcutta University College of Science in 1914. The Calcutta Mathematical Society was also founded by him in 1908 and he served as its founder president during 1908-1923. He was the first president of the inaugural session of the Indian Science Congress in 1914 and South Suburban College was renamed Asutosh College in 1927.
   Mookerjee had an innovative vision about the kind of education youth needed and he had the insight, tenacity and grit to wrest the requisite resources from his colonial masters. He set up several new academic graduate programmes, like comparative literature, anthropology, applied psychology, industrial chemistry, ancient Indian history and culture as well as Islamic culture. He also made arrangements for postgraduate teaching and research in Bengali, Hindi, Pali and Sanskrit. The diverse range of subjects offered by Calcutta University today is evidently the harnessing of his concerted efforts. Scholars from all over India, irrespective of race, caste and gender, came to study and teach in the university. He even persuaded European scholars to teach at his university. For his contribution to education, the government of India issued a stamp in his honour in 1964.
  Mookerjee was a member of the 1917-1919 Sadler Commission, presided over by Michael Ernest Sadler, which investigated the status of Indian education. He was three times president of the Asiatic Society and in 1910 of the Imperial (now National) Library Council. He donated his entire personal collection of 80,000 books to the library. Learned and conversant in Pali, French and Russian, he was awarded the titles of “Saraswati” and “Shastravachaspati” by the pandits of Bengal for his service to Indian education. Mookerjee was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Star of India in June 1909 and knighted in December 1911.
The fight never went out of Sir Ashutosh Mookerjee, in spite of all the opposition he faced because of his innovative dreams. “Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds,” Einstein had once remarked famously.
   Sir Ashutosh died suddenly in 1924 at Patna, soon after losing a fiercely contested Hindu law inheritance case to the Shia Bihari barrister, Syed Hasan Imam. The epitaph beneath his marble bust at the Ashutosh Museum of Arts at the University of Calcutta reads, “His noblest achievement, surest of them all/A place for his mother tongue — in his stepmother&’s hall”. French scholar Sylvan Levi&’s observation makes fitting conclusion, “Had this Bengal Tiger been born in France, he would have exceeded even Georges Clemenceau, the French Tiger.”
 

Associated Press
TOKYO, 6 JULY: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling bloc is set to secure a majority in the Upper House in this month’s election, newspaper polls indicated.
Victory would give Abe control of both Chambers of the legislature and he would not have to face a public vote for three years.
The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition ally should comfortably win more than half of the 121 seats that are up for grabs in the 242-seat Upper House election on 21 July, according to separate polls in the Nikkei newspaper, Kyodo News and the Asahi Shimbun.
The ruling bloc needs to win 63 seats to secure a majority in the chamber. In the last session the Opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) was the biggest single grouping.
A poll by the liberal-leaning Asahi Shimbun estimated that the conservative LDP was likely to win 63-73 seats.
Supporters say Mr Abe will use his renewed political clout to force changes on cosseted and inefficient industries such as agriculture, and to cut a swathe through labour laws that businesses say make it too difficult to hire and fire workers.
Detractors say he will abandon the economic project of his first six months and get back on his hobby horse revising the constitution, boosting the military and re-assessing Japan’s wartime history.
Opposition parties have so far struggled to find a coherent message to sell to voters, who have on the whole warmed up to Mr Abe’s big-spending, easy-money policy blitz, often termed as “Abenomics”, which has nurtured the green shoots of economic growth.