Monday, February 26, 2007
Relation between Smoking And Headaches
Headaches can be triggered by smoking in the following ways:- Nicotine present in tobacco can enlarge blood vessels in the brain that will press on the nerves, bringing on a headache.- Headaches can also be caused by enlarged blood vessels due to irritation in the nose and throat, which is true for people who are highly sensitive to smoke. - The nerves located at the back of the throat can also be stimulated by smoking, which can worsen a headache in progress.Second Hand SmokeThe smoke from cigarettes, tobacco, cigars and pipes can be considered as even worse than other known types of fumes, mainly because they take some time to dissipate. The longer they take to dissipate, the longer they linger more in the air. The smoke eventually clings to clothes, hair, drapes and furniture. The more time we are in contact with the smoke increases the probability for irritation to occur, and for a headache to be triggered.What Can Be DoneIf you get headaches from smoking, you can request your friends and loved ones not to smoke whenever you are around. Encouraging them to entirely give up smoking is even better, as it will prove beneficial to everyone's health.Smoking and Cluster HeadachesCluster headaches seem to be primarily triggered by smoking; it is interesting to note that many cluster headache sufferers are also smokers. One noteworthy improvement as seen in a study of headache sufferers showed that as much as 50% cut their incidence of headaches by just smoking less than a half a pack a day, making improvement possible even without giving up smoking.Smoking and StressMany people think that smoking helps them deal with stress, and they use this reason to justify their smoking. They know that stress is known to trigger migraines or headaches -- so why bother exchanging one trigger for another?According to Allen Carr, who runs the EasyWay to give up smoking, the cigarettes themselves are actually causing the stress. In order to relieve the stress of waiting, stubbing out one cigarette just creates a need for the next one. Those who have used this method to quit mention that ever since they stopped, they are less stressed out.Treatment for Headaches Triggered by SmokingTreatment for smoking-induced headaches can use the same painkillers and medications for other types of headaches, but the best treatment of all is to simply stop smoking.Smoking is now banned in many places worldwide in an attempt to encourage people to quit smoking. Even restaurants and bars, which were once thought of as safe places to smoke, have now become smoke-free areas. The smoking ban will make a lot of difference for those who frequently get headaches from cigarette smoke, and maybe even persuade other places to clean up their air. New Jersey, which doesn't impose a ban on smoking, was shown in a recent study to have levels of indoor air pollution that were nine times as much as New York, which has the ban in effect.Other MethodsIf you do not think you can stop smoking cold turkey, their are lots of options available to aid your craving for nicotine, and to gradually ease your way to stopping smoking altogether. You can try out the following methods:- Nicotine patches- Nicotine chewing gum- Nicotine inhalers- Nicotine microtabs- Hypnotherapy- Acupuncture-
Sunday, February 25, 2007
How to Find Online Jobs
There are many avenues to home employment on the Internet. If you look for jobs at home or work at home jobs on a search engine, you will find many Jobs at Home Websites with Job Listings. Some offer Free Membership and some charge a Monthly, Annual or Lifetime Registration Fee. Many offer Free Trial Memberships or Trial Memberships. Some jobs at home websites you will see on the Internet are: 2Work-At-Home.com, Bassador.com, HomeJobStop.com, Homeworkers.org, LegitJobs.net, SohoJobs.com, SpeedySecretarial.com, TJobs.com, Work-At-Home-Land.com and WorldWideWorkAtHome.com. Staffing Services, No Fee Work At Home However, there are also many more companies online offering home employment directly with no cost to you. Some of them are Outsourcing Services hiring home employees from their own websites. You will also see help wanted advertisements from temporary and permanent employment agencies looking for workers. You might consider employment agencies, staffing services, freelance websites, recruiters, help wanted classifieds or jobs search agents. An online search for virtual staffing services should provide many helpful online virtual staffing services that are looking for employees to work for their clients. Outsourcing Services No Fees You will find many more work at home opportunities on the Internet with Outsourcing Services. They already have a large clientele and marketing system and are looking for more employees to help their clients. There are call centers, customer support providers and customer relationship management firms that pay people for customer support work done from home, telesales specialists looking for salespeople, virtual assistant agencies looking for virtual assistants, data processing services looking for data entry typists and many other outsourcing services are advertising for employees to work online. You will also see many online Outsourcing Services that advertise editing services and recruit editors to work for their online services, or writers, typists, accountants, etc. Many temporary agencies and freelance websites also advertise for workers who will work on outsourced projects for them.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
ABOUT CHHATTISGARH
Origin of 'Chhattisgarh'
The name Chhattisgarh is not ancient and has come into popular usage in the last few centuries. In ancient times the region was called Dakshin Kosala. All inscription, literary works and the accounts of foreign travelers, call this region Kosala of Dakshin Kosala. According to Hari Thakur, the contest between Jabalpur and Chhattisgarh for the name Mahakosala is settled beyond doubt in favour of Chhattisgarh in the light of available evidence. Even during the reign of the Mughals, it was called Ratanpur territory and not Chhattisgarh. The word Chhattisgarh was popularized during the Maratha period and was first used in an official document in 1795.
A British Chronicler, J.B. Beglar provides and interesting story explaining the origins of the name Chhattisgarh. It becomes very relevant in the context of contemporary caste consciousness and the caste configuration of the region. According to Beglar "the real name is Chhattisghar and not Chhattisgarh. There is a tradition saying that ages ago about the time of Jarasandha, thirty six families of dalits (leather workers) emigrated southwards from Jarasandha's kingdom and established themselves in country, which after them is called Chhattisgarh". Another common explanation regarding the origins of the name Chhattisgarh is that it denotes the number of forts in the region, which are supposed to be thirty six in number. However, experts do not agree with this explanation, as thirty-six forts cannot be identified in the region. An explanation popular with the experts and historians in that Chhattisgarh is the corrupted form of 'Chedisgarh' or the political seat of the Chedis.
History of Chhattisgarh
According to a mythological legend, Ram, during his Vanvas stayed in Dakshin Kosala. Which is modern day Chhattisgarh. The unbroken history of Chhattisgarh or of South Kosala can be traced back to fourth century AD and its mythological history goes back as far back as the Mahabarata and the Ramayana. About the history of the region the famous historian C.W.Wills writes, 'in the 10th century AD a powerful Rajput family ruled at Tripuri near Jabalpur, Issuing from this kingdom of Chedi (also known as Kalchuri dynasty) a scion of the royal house by the name Kalingraja, settled about the year 1000AD, at Tuman, a site at present marked only by a few ruins in the north east of the erstwhile Laphazamidari of The Bilaspur district. His grandson Ratanraja founded Ratanpur Which continued as the capital of a large part of the country now known as Chhattisgarh. This Rajput family called themselves the Haihaya dyanasty. This dynasty continued ruling Chhattisgarh for six centuries about the 14th century it split into parts, the elder branch continued at Ratanpur, while the younger settled in semi-independent state at Raipur. At the end of 16th century it acknowledged the suzerainty of the Mughals, In Bastar, in the middle ages, Chalukya dynasty established its rule. The first Chalukya ruler was Annmdev, who established the dynasty in Bastar in 1320 .
The Marathas attacked Chhattisgarh in 1741 and destroyed the Haihaya power. In 1745 AD after conquering the region, they deposed Raghunathsinghji, the last surviving member of the Ratanpur house. In 1758, the Maraths finally annexed Chhattisgarh, it came directly under Maratha rule and Bimbaji Bhonsle, was appointed the rule. After death of Bimbaji Bhonsle, the Marathas adopted the Suba system. The Maratha rule was a period of unrest and misrule. There was large-scale loot and plunder by the Maratha army. The Maratha officials were openly surrendering the interests of the region to the British. As a result of this, the region became extremely poor and the people began resenting the Maratha rule. Only the Gonds continued to resist and challenge the advances of the Marathas and this led to several conflicts and much animosity between the Gonds and the Marathas (Captain Blunt, 1975). The Pindaris also attacked and plundered the region in the beginning of the Nineteenth Century.
In 1818 Chhattisgarh came under some sort of British control for the first time. In 1854, when the province of Nagpur lapsed to the British government, Chhattisgarh was formed into a deputy commissionership with its headquarters at Raipur. Historian C.W. Wills, writing about Chhattisgarh says, Chhattisgarh presents the remarkable picture of a Hindu government continuing till modern times outside the sphere of direct Mohammedancontrol. The British made certain changes in the administrative and revenue systems of Chhattisgarh, which adversely affected the people of Chhattisgarh. The intrusion of the British was resisted strongly in Bastar by the tribals and the Halba rebellion which lasted nearly five year (1774-1779) was the first documented rebellion against the British and Marathas in Bastar.
The First war of independence in 1857 was spearheaded in Chhattisgarh by Vir Narain Singh who was a benevolent jamindar of Sonakhan. The British arrested him in 1856 for looting a trader's grain stocks and distributing it amongst the poor in a severe famine year. In 1857 with the help of the solders of the British Army at Raipur, Vir Narain Singh escaped form prison. He reached Sonakhan and formed an army of 500 men. Under the leadership of Smith, a powerful British army was dispatched to crush the Sonakhan army. The British succeeded after a prolonged battle and Vir Narain Singh was arrested and later hanged on the 10th December, 1857. He became the first martyr from Chhattisgarh in the War of Independence. Vir Narain Singh's martyrdom has been resurrected in the 1980's and he has become a potent symbol of Chhattisgarhi pride.
Social Structure and Configuration
Women in Chhattisgarh have traditionally enjoyed a kind of freedom denied to women elsewhere in the country. This position of women continues to be very much the same even in modern times. This comes out strongly from available data and from the general Development index in the Human Development Report (1998) of the Government of Madhya Pradesh. The districts of Chhattisgarh fare much better and rank higher in the Gender Development Index than most other districts of Madhya Pradesh. The relative freedom to women is evident in the local traditions and customs. The Pardah system, present in one form or the other in many parts of India is not present in Chhattisgarh except in a few Brahmin and Bania Communities. According to another local custom, women, other than those of these caste can choose to terminate a marriage relationship and through a custom called Chudi pahanana, it she so desires. However, a mention of these progressive local customs, in no way suggests that the ideology of female subservience does not exist in Chhattisgarh. On the contrary, in spite of this male authority and dominance is seen quite clearly in the social and cultural life of Chhattisgarh11.
The population of Chhattisgarh is notable for the high proportion of Scheduled Tribes and for specific Sects primarily constituted of Schedule Castes. Of the total population of Chhattisgarh, tribals constitute at least 32.5%, which is a significantly high percentage. In the last few decades, the demographic profile of tribal dominated areas has undergone a change. This is a cause for concern as it represents large-scale intrusion of non tribals in tribal areas. This changing demographic profile is strongly evident in Bastar, where the proportion of tribals has decreased in the last few decades. The tribal areas of Chhattisgarh have witnessed several rebellions starting from 1774 onwards against the intrusion by outsiders, primarily the British, in the domain of traditional rights and the tribal way of life. Interestingly, since the 17th century, the social history of the non-tribal areas of Chhattisgarh has been marked by reform movements such as the Satnam sect. Kabir Panthis and the Movements of share croppers and agricultural labour. Despite presence of a high tribal population and religious reform movements, the region is also the domain of classic Hindu culture (although in some rituals the impact of tribal rituals can be identified), in which the cult of Ram assumes an essential and central role. Impact of this domination in evident and has its manifestations in the growth of sectarian formations is contemporary politics.
In India, the combined population of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes is 23.6% of the total population and for Madhya Pradesh; this figure rises to 37.1%. The combined population of Scheduled Castes and Tribes in Chhattisgarh is significantly higher at 44.7% and this is largely due to a high proportion of tribal population, Although the Scheduled Castes do not constitute a very high proportion of the total population they are critical for understanding the social history of Chhattisgarh, which has been deeply influenced and effected by the religious reform movements.
The Movement for Prathak Chhattisgarh
The demand for a separate Chhattisgarh state was first raised in the early twenties. Similar demands kept cropping up at regular intervals; however, a well-organised movement was never launched. Several efforts were made by individuals and organisations towards highlighting the Chhattisgarh identity and expressing the sense of perceived marginalisation. There were certain protests with mass support but these were limited and sporadic. There were several all-party platforms formed and they usually resolved around petitions, public meetings, seminars, rallies and bandhs.
A demand for separate Chhattisgarh was raised in 1924 by the Raipur Congress unit, and later on also discussed in the Annual Session of the Indian Congress at Tripuri. A discussion also took place of forming a Regional Congress organisation for Chhattisgarh. Sporadic attempts to give a call for a separate state for Chhattisgarh continued in the years immediately following Independence. In 1955, a demand for a separate state was raised in the Nagpur assembly of the then state of Madhya Bharat.
When the State Reorganisation Commission was set up in 1954, the demand for a separate Chhattisgarh was put forward to it, through this was not accepted. It was reported that the State Reorganisation Commission rejected the demand for Chhattisgarh on the grounds that the prosperity of Chhattisgarh would compensate for the poverty of other regions of Madhya Pradesh.
The eighties were a comparatively quiet phase in the demand for Chhattisgarh. The 1990's saw more activity for a demand for the new state, such as formation of a state wide political forum, especially the Chhattisgarh Rajya Nirman Manch. The Late Chadulal Chadrakar led this forum, several successful region-wide Bandhs and rallies were organised under the banner of the forum all of which were supported by major political parties including the Congress and the BJP. The rallies of the all party forum were attended by leaders from most political parties.
Creation of Chhattisgarh
The Congress Government of Madhya Pradesh took the first institutional and legislative initiative for the creation of Chhattisgarh. On the 18 of March 1994, a resolution demanding a separate Chhattisgarh was tabled and unanimously approved by the Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha. Both the Congress and the Bhartiya Janta Party supported the resolution. The election manifestos of the Congress and the BJP for both the 1998 and the 1999 parliamentary elections as well as the Madhya Pradesh assembly election of 1998 included the demand for creation of separate Chhattisgarh. In 1998, the BJP led Union Government drafted a bill for the creation of a separate state of Chhattisgarh from sixteen districts of Madhya Pradesh. This draft bill was sent to the Madhya Pradesh assembly for approval. It was unanimously approved in 1998, although with certain modifications. The union government did not survive and fresh elections were declared. The new National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government sent the redrafted Separate Chhattisgarh Bill for the approval of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, where it was once again unanimously approved and then it was tabled in the Lok Sabha. This bill for a separate Chhattisgarh was passed in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, paving the way for the creation of a separate state of Chhattisgarh. The President of India gave his consent to The Madhya Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2000 on the 25 of August 2000. The Government of India subsequently set the First day of November 2000 as the day on which the state of Madhya Pradesh would be bifurcated into Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Many political observers have commented on the relatively peaceful manner in which the Chhattisgarh state has been created.
There is no single factor responsible for the creation of Chhattisgarh. It is in fact a complex interplay of a combination of factors that paved the path for a separate state. The long standing demand and the movement for Uttarakhand and Jharkhand which led to the acceptance of separate states for these two regions, created a sensitive environment for the Prithak Chhattisgarh demand. Therefore, the creation of Chhattisgarh coincided with the creation of these two states and became a concurrent process. Another important factor leading to the creation of Chhattisgarh was that there was clear acceptance, within Chhattisgarh and outside that Chhattisgarh had a distinct socio-cultural regional identity that had evolved over centuries. A consensus had evolved and emerged on the distinctiveness of Chhattisgarh. The people of Chhattisgarh accepted this and saw Prithak Chhattisgarh as giving expression to this identity. A sense of relative deprivation had also developed in the region and people felt that a separate state was imperative for development to take place in the region. In a democratic polity, the people's demand has a high degree of legitimacy and weight. Therefore the people's demand voiced through democratic channels was heard and contributed immensely to the creation of Chhattisgarh.
The consensus regarding the distinctiveness of Chhattisgarh did not remain limited to its socio-cultural identity. All over Madhya Pradesh, the consensus on a need for separate Chhattisgarh was also carefully developed. This consensus cuts across geographical regions castes, classes and political parties. A strong reflection of this consensus was evident in the unanimous passing of the Chhattisgarh bill in the Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha. This consensus is a pointer to the high degree of maturity of Madhya Pradesh polity and the smooth passage of the Prithak Chhattisgarh bill resulting in the peaceful and unanimous creation of a new state a tribute to this maturity.
Seed of Protest and Change
Guru Ghasidas and the Satnam Panth
Chhattisgarh primarily due to its large tribal population has historically not been a part of the mainstream and has therefore remained underdeveloped. Critical indicators for education and health have remained low. However, as stated above, the region was influenced by mainstream traditional Hindu culture as the overaching organising principle despite the presence of a large percentage of Scheduled Castes and Tribes. This oppressive, hierarchical social and religious order was not accepted, and from the 17th century onwards, the social history of Chhattisgarh is marked by the process of questioning and protests in the form of a number of socio-religious reform movements. These movements established a tradition of protest and have played a critical role in creation of the identity of Chhattisgarh, Initiated by sects like the Satnam Panth, the kabirpanthis and the Raedasis spread over all over Chhattisgarh, they carried the message of equality. Often the spread of these movement was within the boundaries of Chhattisgarh and therefore these movements contributed indirectly towards creating a regional consciousness.
An illustrative case would be the Satnam Panth, which emerged as sectarian formation, primarily reconstituting a small number of dalit groups by incorporating them as Satnamis, The Satnam Panths was an attempt to negotiate and cope with the cultural and economic processes in Chhattisgarh in the nineteenth century. It was a new sect, formed primarily amongst the poors of Chhattisgarh in the second decade of the nineteenth century and was led by Ghasidas, a humble farm worker. This community constituted a significant proportion, a little less then one sixth, of the total population of Chhattisgarh. They either owned land or were sharecroppers and farm workers. The new sect was given the name of Satnam and its followers were expected to believe only in the formless - Satnam or the true name. Gradually, the followers of this sect were given the name satnamis. Satnamis abstain from meat, liquor, tobacco, certain vegetables and red pulses. Satnam Panth rejected the deities and idols of the Hindu pantheon. The panth preaches a casteless order. Guru Ghasidas initiated a Guru parampara in the sect, which became hereditary. The main religious centres of the sect in Chhattisgarh are Bhandar and Girod.
In the nineteenth century a new system of property rights and revenue collection known as the malgujari settlement was intorduced in Chhattisgarh. The new system was implemented with the sole purpose of expropriation and exploitation of marginal farmers, sharcropers and farm servants by the upper caste Malgujars. Satnam Panth and its followers responded to this exploitative system through various strategies. In several cases the Satnamis deserted villages or continued with the process of Lakhabatta or the periodic redistribution of land, despite the implementation of the new system. Their united challenge to the upper caste Malgujars over the issues of rent and loss of land in the last decade of the nineteenth century was a reflection of the solidarity of Satnamis . This form of protest and response to the new system or property rights and malgujari settlements was widespread among the Satnamis of Chhattisgarh.
The primary concern of the Anglo Maratha politics in the Nineteenth century was of expropriation and consolidation of power. Guru Ghasidas the founder of the Satmani sect realised this. He believed that the politics of the Anglo-Marathas was deprived of morality. He worked towards uniting all downtrodden persons to morally oppose the immoral politics of the British The people of Chhattisgarh realised the potential threat of the British and were terror struck by the exploitative nature of their policies. Despite this, they were unable to unite under one flag to oppose the British. It was at this juncture that Ghasidas made efforts to unite the people of Chhattisgarh through the ideology of equality and non-violence.
Other sects emerged in response to the hierarchical social order and linked Chhattisgarh to other social reform movements in the country. However the regional specificities of these sects remained unaltered.
Kabir Panthis for example, are largely recruited from dalits and have a substantial presence in Chhattisgarh. The followers of this sect adhere to the teachings and principles of Kabir, the revolutionary social reformer saint poet of the sixteenth century. The centres of Kabir Panth activities are monasteries which are placed in the charge of Mahants. In Chhattisgarh, Kabir Panthi monasteries are in Kudurmal, Kharsia, Champa, Hardi, Bangoli, Banni, Dhamdha, Panda, Tarai and Ratanpur. The Kabir Panth does not believe in caste hierarchies. However in contemporary times the Panth has been divided along caste lines. The only time that they do not adhere to caste hierarchies is in the presence of the Chief Guru on the birth anniversary of Kabir. All who desire to become members of the Panth are required to renounce polytheism and to acknowledge their belief in only one god. The Kabir Panth of Chhattisgarh are descendents of Dharmadasa, one of the disciples of Kabir who established the Panth in Chhattisgarh. There fore the branch of the Kabir Panth in Chhattisgarh is also known as Dharmadasa or Bhai branch.
The Ramnami Panth is small sect in Chhattisgarh with a membership primarily from the dalit community. This sect propagates the cult of Rama among the dalits and does not believe in Brahmins as a medium for worshipping god. Ramnamis are found chiefly on the southern side of the Mahanadi in Chhattisgarh. This sect is easily distinguishable as they carry a flute and put peacock feathers around their caps. Ramnamis as the name suggests chant the name of Ram. They of ten get their bodies tattooed with the name of Ram.
The social religious reformer Ramananda had a committed dalit follower from Chhattisgarh. His name was Ravi Das or Rae Das. Gradually, the followers of Rae Das formed a separate sect and started calling themselves Rae Das Panthis or simply Raedasis. A striking similarity between all these sects is that the followers are drawn mostly from the Dalit communities. Secondly all these sects spread the message of equality.
The most widespread and important rebellion was the Bhumkal rebellion of 1910 that spread to 46 of the 84 parganas of Bastar. The term Bhumkal is significant as it refers to the social solidarity of the members of a clan that binds them to each other and to their specific Bhumor land. The basic reasons listed for the Bhumkal rebellion by historians clearly reaffirms the findings from earlier rebellions. It continued the tradition of tribal struggle for preserving and defending their traditions and their way of life and for reasserting their traditional rights on forests, land and natural resources. One of the main reasons for the rebellion is given by Standan dispossession of traditional forests and land resources had been the most important cause of the Bhumkal rebellion. In 1908, the forests were first made reserved forests and the contractors given rights to take timber and wood for railway sleepers. This deprived the tribals of one of their main sources of their livelihood. Leasing out of liquor monopolies also aggravated the situation, as the locally made country liquor was declared illegal. The introduction of education and schools was seen by the tribals as an attempt by the State to subvert their culture and therefore became a precipitating factor. Finally, the brutality and exploitation by the police, which included begar by the officials culminated in the Bhumkal rebellion.
Tribal Protests and Rebellions
Bhumkal in Bastar (1910)
Chhattisgarh is generally perceived as a tribal dominated state. Although this is factually incorrect it does reflect the significantly high proportion of tribals in the region. It also underscores a fundamentally important point that the tribals in Chhattisgarh have been able to retain their culture and traditional way of life despite the all pervasive influence of forces of modernity. While tribal people constitute 7.8 % and 23 % of the total population of India and Madhya Pradesh respectively they constitute 32.5 % of the population of Chhattisgarh. According to the 1991 census the tribal population in the then districts of Chhattisgarh was Durg -12.6 %, Raipur -18.6%, Rajnandgaon -25.3 %, Bilaspur -23.4 % Surguja -54.8 %, Raigarh - 45.5%, Bastar -67.7 %. The various tribes in the Chhattisgarh region are Gonds, Muria, Bhumja, Baiga, Kanars, Kawars, Halbas etc. A few of these tribes particularly the Gonds have influenced by the Hindu tradition and have in turn influenced local practices in the Hindu tradition as well. Other tribes like the Kamars and the Baigas have largely been untouched by the mainstream and have retained more of their traditional culture and way of life.
Chhattisgarh has withnessed several tribal rebellions starting from the late 18 century through the 19 century to the first few decades of the 20 century. Some of these tribal revolts were localised while others were more widespread. Geographically too, the rebellions were not centered in one region, in some of them precipitating factors were immediate and local in nature and in some the revolt took its time to brew. However the central narrative of these rebellions remained largely common and unchanged. All these rebellions were focussed and asserted the traditionally inalienable right of the tribals on the local resources land and forests. Often the mobilisation was around the issues of tradition culture and the tribal way of life. These rebellions were also protest against an alien system of governance and an alien political, economic and social order that had been forced upon them by the British. These tribal rebellions, although they predominantly took place in Bastar were spread across the various tribal areas of Chhattisgarh as well. The assimilation of this tradition of protest and rebellion by the tribals will be critical in any attempt to forge a Chhattisgarh identify and for evolving a vibrant and inclusive Chhattisgarh ethos. An understanding of these rebellions and integrating them in the new Chhattisgarh ethos will contribute to the future and the success of the new state. In this section we shall briefly discuss the tribal rebellions of Chhattisgarh. The key tribal rebellions are listed:
1. Halba rebellion (1774-79)
2. Bhopalpatnam Struggle (1795)
3. Paralkot rebellion (1825)
4. Tarapur rebellion (1842-54)
5. Maria rebellion (1842-63)
6. First Freedom Struggle (1856-57)
7. Koi revolt (1859)
8. Muria rebellion (1876)
9. Rani rebellion (1878-82)
10. Bhumkal (1910)
The Halba rebellion is a very important event in the history of Bastar as it was responsible for the decline of the Chalukya dynasty, which in turn created circumstances that first brought the Marathas and then the British to the region. The rebellion was initiated in 1774 by the governor of Dongar, Ajmer Singhwith the intention of establishing an independent kingdom at Dongar. The Halba tribe and Halba soldiers supported him. However, the fundamental reasons for the rebellion were economic in nature. There had been a prolonged famine, which had severely affected the people who had very little cultivable land. The presence of Maratha forces and the terror caused by the East India Company in these adverse circumstances precipitated the rebellioin. The stronger armies of Bastar supported by the British and the Marathas crushed the rebellion. A massacre of Halba tribesmen followed the defeat of the Halba army. However, the revolt created conditions for the decline of the Chalukya dynasty which in turn significantly altered the history of Bastar.
The Paralkot rebellion was representative of the resentment felt by the Abujhmarias against the invasion of outsiders, primarily the Marathas and the British. This rebellion was supported by the Abujhmarias and was led by Gend Singh a fellow Abhujmaria. One of the objectives of the rebellion was to establish a world free of loot, plunder and exploitation. The presence of the Marathas and the British threatened the identity of the Abujmarias and they resisted this through organising the rebellion of Paralkot in 1825. The rebels were opposing the taxes levied by the Maratha rulers. In essence this rebellion was directed against the foreign interference and control of Bastar and wanted to re-establish the freedom of Bastar.
The rebellion of Tarapur (1842-54) was once again the assertion of the tribals against the invasion of their local culture and the tampering with their traditional principles of social, economic and political organization. It started with an opposition to taxes levied under the pressure of Anglo-Maratha rule. For the tribals, these experiences of coercive taxation were alien and new, and therefore they opposed them. The local Diwan became a symbol of oppression and bore the brunt of tribal anger.
The Maria rebellion, which lasted nearly 20 years from 1842 to 1863, was seemingly in favour of an inhuman practice of human sacrifice. In reality the revolt was against the insensitive and intrusive handling of tribal faith. The Anglo Maratha combine did not hesitate to enter and pollute the temple of Danteswari. The facts clearly indicate that this rebellion was more defensive in nature and was waged by the tribals to protect their land and tradition. Furer Hamendorf (Aboriginal Rebellions in the Deccan, Man in India, No.4,1945, PP 2089) writes all these rebellions were defensive movements, they were the last resort of tribesmen driven to despair by the encroachments of outsiders on their land and economic resources What is surprising is not the occurrence of uprisings, but the infrequency of violent reaction on the part of the aboriginals to the loss of their ancestral lands and to their economic enslavement. Hutton extends the analysis and writes (as quoted in H.L. Shukla, Baster Ka Mukti Sangram, p 118) early days of British administration did great detriment to the economic position of tribes through ignorance and neglect of their right and customs.
Bastar was also actively involved in the First War of Iindependence of 1857 with Southern Bastar as the centre of the revolt. Under the leadership of Dhruvarao a batle was waged against the British. He belonged to one of the Maria tribes called Dorlaon and was supported by his tribesmen.
Later in 1858, the Gonds challenged the British in several battles. In 1859 a very important rebellion began to take shape in Southern Bastar with the tribals refusing to let contractors undertake cutting of Sal trees. The people of these Jamindaris were called Kois. This rebellion was against the decision of the British to give contracts for cutting forests to contractors from Hyderabad. These contractors were also responsible for the exploitation of the tribals. The local tribals in 1859 decided that they would not allow the felling of a single tree. The British took this as a challenge to the might of the empire and used coercive methods to continue the felling of trees. This rebellion was loud and clear assertion by the tribals of their inalienable rights of the tribals on their forests and natural resources.
In 1867, Gopinath Kapardas was appointed the Diwan of Bastar State and was responsible for large scale exploitation of the tribal population. Tribals from different parganas jointly requested the King to remove the Diwan but the King did not concede to these demands. This led to the Muria Revolt of 1876 The rebelling tribals surrounded Jagdalpur on 2 March 1876; the King with great difficulty was able to inform the British forces. Finally a strong British army sent by the Resident of Orissa, crushed the rebellion.
Emerging Identity and Socio-Cultural Spaces
New Chhattisgarh in New India
The socio-religious reform movements and the tribal rebellions, contributed, although indirectly to emerging consciousness in the region. Guru Ghasidas clearly articulated the need to consolidate and create regional consciousness and solidarity to fight against exploitation. Similarly, other sects with their message of equality and solidarity also influenced the unfolding regional narrative. The tribal rebellions deeply affected the political, social and economic discourse of Chhattisgarh. The issue of people's rights over local resources was brought centre stage.It also raised the fundamental question of identity and preserving traditional culture and way of life. The evolution and formation of a formal Chhattisgarh identity coincided with the national movement and it was in this period that the process of crystallisation of a Chhattisgarh identity was initiated and a distinct identity started emerging and taking definite shape in the social and cultural sphere.
Pandit Sunderlal Sharma, Thakur Pyarelal Singh and Khub Chand Baghel were members of the Indian National Congress and some of the prominent leaders of the national movement in Chhattisgarh. These leader did not confine themselves merely to political activity; they were involved in initiating as well as actively participating in socio-cultural reform movements. These leaders also reiterated the fact that Chhattisgarh had a distinct socio-cultural identity and used this as a base for reform encourage the formation of a Chhattisgarhi consciousness amongst the masses through literacy drives cultural activities and social reform programmes.
The literature of the period also reflected the search for and an attempt to establish a distinctive identity. As early as 1901, M R Sapre from Pendra Road published a magazine called ' Chhattisgarh Mitra' which focussed on the region. Khub Chand Baghel who was waging a struggle against untouchability wrote plays called 'Jarnail Singh ' and 'Unch Neech' . During this period, leaders were also writing plays that focussed on social issues in the context of Chhattisgarhi identity. Pt. Sundarlal Sharma wrote ' Daan Lila ' and R.C. Deshmukh wrote ' Naacha ' and ' Gumbad'. Vaman Rao Deshmukh , an important cooperative leader of the times was specifically writing about the identity of Chhattisgarh.
Pandit Sundar Lala Sharma who was one of the most prominent leaders of Central India , fought against the caste system and worked continuously for an improvement in the condition of dalits. In 1917, he broke the forest laws in Sihawa with the support of the tribals. Three years later, in 1920, Pt. Sharma initiated the Nahar Satyagrah in Kandal village, Durg district, against the tax on water. In 1925, he entered a temple with a group of dalits. Thakur Pyarelal Singh, also known as the father of the cooperative movement in Chhattisgarh, was a Gandhian with a reformatory zeal. He organised the first labour movement of Chhattisgarh in Rajnandgaon in 1920. This movement was started to demand a fixed number of working hours. Later in the same region, the second and the third labour movement of 1924 and 1925 were also organised under the leadership of Pyare Lal Singh.
By the time India gained Independence in 1947, the discourse on regional identity had changed its focus from social reform movements to the issue of exploitation of Chhattisgarh. Multiple channels of expression of this demand were used. A journal called ' Chhattisgarh Chhatisgarhion Ka or Chhattisgarh belongs to the people of Chhattisgarh was started by Khub Chand Baghel. Another journal called ' Chhattisgarh Atma Ki Pukar' or The voice of the Soul of Chhattisgarh which also dealt with the same issues was also published and is especially looked into the significance of possessing a cultural identity and initiated a movement for establishing pride in Chhattisgarhi culture. In 1956, Chedi Lal Barrister with the support of Khub Chand Baghel organised the Chhattisgarh Mahasabha at Rajnandgaon. This meeting was attended by members of all parties and was supported by various caste groups and associations of Chhattisgarh. It is reported that the Mahasabha was attended by more than 50,000 people. The Mahasabha passed a resolution stating that the 'Art and Culture of Chhattisgarh should get fair opportunity to grow'. A decision to launch the journal ' Chhattisgarh' was taken. The Mahasabha unanimously resolved to work towards solving the problems of the region as well as to struggle for the rights of Chhattisgarh.
The movement for consolidating the Chhattisgarh identity has continued through the decades. It would become dormant for some years and then against erupt in some other district. It is therefore, impossible to create a linear pattern of the creation of Chhattisgarh identity. However, it is important to underscore that the multilayered and multilateral process of formulating and expressing Chhattisgarhi identity took place over a long period of time. Various other political and non-political formations have, within the framework of their ideological positions and worldview, been working towards the formation of an identity for Chhattisgarh.
Chhattisgarh Samaj an organisation formed under the umbrella of the Proutist Sarva Samaj Samiti has working for the development of a political, social and cultural consciousness of Chhattisgarh. Since the late sixties the Samaj has been publishing a weekly news paper in Chhattisgarhi through which they have been working for the growth of the Chhattisgarhi language. Through the different wings of the Samja, an attempt is being made to spread regional consciousness which they believe will then translate into the development of Chhattisgarh. A diametrically opposite non-party political formation struggling for the identity of Chhattisgarh is Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha or the CMM.
This mass based peoples movement started as a trade union movement and then moved on to link the exploitation of the region to the fact that its cultural identity had been suppressed. Gradually the movement started focussing on the struggle of Chhattisgarh against the exploitative oppressive and hegemonic mainstream.
On 19 December, 1979, in an attempt to link the tradition of struggle to the ethos of Chhattisgarh, the CMM then the CMSS, initiated the tradition of observing Shahid Vir Narain Singh's date of execution by the British as martyr's day.
The identity of Chhattisgarh has been created and evolved through a complex process that has largely charted its own course. A combination of cultural historical social economic and political factors have contributed to this process. The wide pluralities of cultures, traditions, histories and customs existing in the region have combined to form a unique mixture that has fed into the development of the Chhattisgarh ethos and identity. However, the key point is that the identity of Chhattisgarh cannot be viewed as separate form the people of Chhattisgarh. It is important to note that the Chhattisgarh identity has been asserted in different forms and has become more pronounced in adverse circumstances manifesting itself especially as protest against exploitation. Dr H L Shukla distinguishes between self image and other image for a more holistic understanding of Chhattisgarh identity and ethos. It is imperative to synthesize and blend the two images to understand the priorities and challenges facing new Chhattisgarh. The identity of Chhattisgarh is an inclusive identity, in spite of the movement for Prathak Chhattisgarh. There exists in the Chhattisgarh identity while being sensitive towards as well as protecting and preserving the plurality of customs, traditions and cultures.
Source - "Chhattisgarh - A State is born", Sanket Bhopal.
The name Chhattisgarh is not ancient and has come into popular usage in the last few centuries. In ancient times the region was called Dakshin Kosala. All inscription, literary works and the accounts of foreign travelers, call this region Kosala of Dakshin Kosala. According to Hari Thakur, the contest between Jabalpur and Chhattisgarh for the name Mahakosala is settled beyond doubt in favour of Chhattisgarh in the light of available evidence. Even during the reign of the Mughals, it was called Ratanpur territory and not Chhattisgarh. The word Chhattisgarh was popularized during the Maratha period and was first used in an official document in 1795.
A British Chronicler, J.B. Beglar provides and interesting story explaining the origins of the name Chhattisgarh. It becomes very relevant in the context of contemporary caste consciousness and the caste configuration of the region. According to Beglar "the real name is Chhattisghar and not Chhattisgarh. There is a tradition saying that ages ago about the time of Jarasandha, thirty six families of dalits (leather workers) emigrated southwards from Jarasandha's kingdom and established themselves in country, which after them is called Chhattisgarh". Another common explanation regarding the origins of the name Chhattisgarh is that it denotes the number of forts in the region, which are supposed to be thirty six in number. However, experts do not agree with this explanation, as thirty-six forts cannot be identified in the region. An explanation popular with the experts and historians in that Chhattisgarh is the corrupted form of 'Chedisgarh' or the political seat of the Chedis.
History of Chhattisgarh
According to a mythological legend, Ram, during his Vanvas stayed in Dakshin Kosala. Which is modern day Chhattisgarh. The unbroken history of Chhattisgarh or of South Kosala can be traced back to fourth century AD and its mythological history goes back as far back as the Mahabarata and the Ramayana. About the history of the region the famous historian C.W.Wills writes, 'in the 10th century AD a powerful Rajput family ruled at Tripuri near Jabalpur, Issuing from this kingdom of Chedi (also known as Kalchuri dynasty) a scion of the royal house by the name Kalingraja, settled about the year 1000AD, at Tuman, a site at present marked only by a few ruins in the north east of the erstwhile Laphazamidari of The Bilaspur district. His grandson Ratanraja founded Ratanpur Which continued as the capital of a large part of the country now known as Chhattisgarh. This Rajput family called themselves the Haihaya dyanasty. This dynasty continued ruling Chhattisgarh for six centuries about the 14th century it split into parts, the elder branch continued at Ratanpur, while the younger settled in semi-independent state at Raipur. At the end of 16th century it acknowledged the suzerainty of the Mughals, In Bastar, in the middle ages, Chalukya dynasty established its rule. The first Chalukya ruler was Annmdev, who established the dynasty in Bastar in 1320 .
The Marathas attacked Chhattisgarh in 1741 and destroyed the Haihaya power. In 1745 AD after conquering the region, they deposed Raghunathsinghji, the last surviving member of the Ratanpur house. In 1758, the Maraths finally annexed Chhattisgarh, it came directly under Maratha rule and Bimbaji Bhonsle, was appointed the rule. After death of Bimbaji Bhonsle, the Marathas adopted the Suba system. The Maratha rule was a period of unrest and misrule. There was large-scale loot and plunder by the Maratha army. The Maratha officials were openly surrendering the interests of the region to the British. As a result of this, the region became extremely poor and the people began resenting the Maratha rule. Only the Gonds continued to resist and challenge the advances of the Marathas and this led to several conflicts and much animosity between the Gonds and the Marathas (Captain Blunt, 1975). The Pindaris also attacked and plundered the region in the beginning of the Nineteenth Century.
In 1818 Chhattisgarh came under some sort of British control for the first time. In 1854, when the province of Nagpur lapsed to the British government, Chhattisgarh was formed into a deputy commissionership with its headquarters at Raipur. Historian C.W. Wills, writing about Chhattisgarh says, Chhattisgarh presents the remarkable picture of a Hindu government continuing till modern times outside the sphere of direct Mohammedancontrol. The British made certain changes in the administrative and revenue systems of Chhattisgarh, which adversely affected the people of Chhattisgarh. The intrusion of the British was resisted strongly in Bastar by the tribals and the Halba rebellion which lasted nearly five year (1774-1779) was the first documented rebellion against the British and Marathas in Bastar.
The First war of independence in 1857 was spearheaded in Chhattisgarh by Vir Narain Singh who was a benevolent jamindar of Sonakhan. The British arrested him in 1856 for looting a trader's grain stocks and distributing it amongst the poor in a severe famine year. In 1857 with the help of the solders of the British Army at Raipur, Vir Narain Singh escaped form prison. He reached Sonakhan and formed an army of 500 men. Under the leadership of Smith, a powerful British army was dispatched to crush the Sonakhan army. The British succeeded after a prolonged battle and Vir Narain Singh was arrested and later hanged on the 10th December, 1857. He became the first martyr from Chhattisgarh in the War of Independence. Vir Narain Singh's martyrdom has been resurrected in the 1980's and he has become a potent symbol of Chhattisgarhi pride.
Social Structure and Configuration
Women in Chhattisgarh have traditionally enjoyed a kind of freedom denied to women elsewhere in the country. This position of women continues to be very much the same even in modern times. This comes out strongly from available data and from the general Development index in the Human Development Report (1998) of the Government of Madhya Pradesh. The districts of Chhattisgarh fare much better and rank higher in the Gender Development Index than most other districts of Madhya Pradesh. The relative freedom to women is evident in the local traditions and customs. The Pardah system, present in one form or the other in many parts of India is not present in Chhattisgarh except in a few Brahmin and Bania Communities. According to another local custom, women, other than those of these caste can choose to terminate a marriage relationship and through a custom called Chudi pahanana, it she so desires. However, a mention of these progressive local customs, in no way suggests that the ideology of female subservience does not exist in Chhattisgarh. On the contrary, in spite of this male authority and dominance is seen quite clearly in the social and cultural life of Chhattisgarh11.
The population of Chhattisgarh is notable for the high proportion of Scheduled Tribes and for specific Sects primarily constituted of Schedule Castes. Of the total population of Chhattisgarh, tribals constitute at least 32.5%, which is a significantly high percentage. In the last few decades, the demographic profile of tribal dominated areas has undergone a change. This is a cause for concern as it represents large-scale intrusion of non tribals in tribal areas. This changing demographic profile is strongly evident in Bastar, where the proportion of tribals has decreased in the last few decades. The tribal areas of Chhattisgarh have witnessed several rebellions starting from 1774 onwards against the intrusion by outsiders, primarily the British, in the domain of traditional rights and the tribal way of life. Interestingly, since the 17th century, the social history of the non-tribal areas of Chhattisgarh has been marked by reform movements such as the Satnam sect. Kabir Panthis and the Movements of share croppers and agricultural labour. Despite presence of a high tribal population and religious reform movements, the region is also the domain of classic Hindu culture (although in some rituals the impact of tribal rituals can be identified), in which the cult of Ram assumes an essential and central role. Impact of this domination in evident and has its manifestations in the growth of sectarian formations is contemporary politics.
In India, the combined population of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes is 23.6% of the total population and for Madhya Pradesh; this figure rises to 37.1%. The combined population of Scheduled Castes and Tribes in Chhattisgarh is significantly higher at 44.7% and this is largely due to a high proportion of tribal population, Although the Scheduled Castes do not constitute a very high proportion of the total population they are critical for understanding the social history of Chhattisgarh, which has been deeply influenced and effected by the religious reform movements.
The Movement for Prathak Chhattisgarh
The demand for a separate Chhattisgarh state was first raised in the early twenties. Similar demands kept cropping up at regular intervals; however, a well-organised movement was never launched. Several efforts were made by individuals and organisations towards highlighting the Chhattisgarh identity and expressing the sense of perceived marginalisation. There were certain protests with mass support but these were limited and sporadic. There were several all-party platforms formed and they usually resolved around petitions, public meetings, seminars, rallies and bandhs.
A demand for separate Chhattisgarh was raised in 1924 by the Raipur Congress unit, and later on also discussed in the Annual Session of the Indian Congress at Tripuri. A discussion also took place of forming a Regional Congress organisation for Chhattisgarh. Sporadic attempts to give a call for a separate state for Chhattisgarh continued in the years immediately following Independence. In 1955, a demand for a separate state was raised in the Nagpur assembly of the then state of Madhya Bharat.
When the State Reorganisation Commission was set up in 1954, the demand for a separate Chhattisgarh was put forward to it, through this was not accepted. It was reported that the State Reorganisation Commission rejected the demand for Chhattisgarh on the grounds that the prosperity of Chhattisgarh would compensate for the poverty of other regions of Madhya Pradesh.
The eighties were a comparatively quiet phase in the demand for Chhattisgarh. The 1990's saw more activity for a demand for the new state, such as formation of a state wide political forum, especially the Chhattisgarh Rajya Nirman Manch. The Late Chadulal Chadrakar led this forum, several successful region-wide Bandhs and rallies were organised under the banner of the forum all of which were supported by major political parties including the Congress and the BJP. The rallies of the all party forum were attended by leaders from most political parties.
Creation of Chhattisgarh
The Congress Government of Madhya Pradesh took the first institutional and legislative initiative for the creation of Chhattisgarh. On the 18 of March 1994, a resolution demanding a separate Chhattisgarh was tabled and unanimously approved by the Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha. Both the Congress and the Bhartiya Janta Party supported the resolution. The election manifestos of the Congress and the BJP for both the 1998 and the 1999 parliamentary elections as well as the Madhya Pradesh assembly election of 1998 included the demand for creation of separate Chhattisgarh. In 1998, the BJP led Union Government drafted a bill for the creation of a separate state of Chhattisgarh from sixteen districts of Madhya Pradesh. This draft bill was sent to the Madhya Pradesh assembly for approval. It was unanimously approved in 1998, although with certain modifications. The union government did not survive and fresh elections were declared. The new National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government sent the redrafted Separate Chhattisgarh Bill for the approval of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, where it was once again unanimously approved and then it was tabled in the Lok Sabha. This bill for a separate Chhattisgarh was passed in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, paving the way for the creation of a separate state of Chhattisgarh. The President of India gave his consent to The Madhya Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2000 on the 25 of August 2000. The Government of India subsequently set the First day of November 2000 as the day on which the state of Madhya Pradesh would be bifurcated into Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Many political observers have commented on the relatively peaceful manner in which the Chhattisgarh state has been created.
There is no single factor responsible for the creation of Chhattisgarh. It is in fact a complex interplay of a combination of factors that paved the path for a separate state. The long standing demand and the movement for Uttarakhand and Jharkhand which led to the acceptance of separate states for these two regions, created a sensitive environment for the Prithak Chhattisgarh demand. Therefore, the creation of Chhattisgarh coincided with the creation of these two states and became a concurrent process. Another important factor leading to the creation of Chhattisgarh was that there was clear acceptance, within Chhattisgarh and outside that Chhattisgarh had a distinct socio-cultural regional identity that had evolved over centuries. A consensus had evolved and emerged on the distinctiveness of Chhattisgarh. The people of Chhattisgarh accepted this and saw Prithak Chhattisgarh as giving expression to this identity. A sense of relative deprivation had also developed in the region and people felt that a separate state was imperative for development to take place in the region. In a democratic polity, the people's demand has a high degree of legitimacy and weight. Therefore the people's demand voiced through democratic channels was heard and contributed immensely to the creation of Chhattisgarh.
The consensus regarding the distinctiveness of Chhattisgarh did not remain limited to its socio-cultural identity. All over Madhya Pradesh, the consensus on a need for separate Chhattisgarh was also carefully developed. This consensus cuts across geographical regions castes, classes and political parties. A strong reflection of this consensus was evident in the unanimous passing of the Chhattisgarh bill in the Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha. This consensus is a pointer to the high degree of maturity of Madhya Pradesh polity and the smooth passage of the Prithak Chhattisgarh bill resulting in the peaceful and unanimous creation of a new state a tribute to this maturity.
Seed of Protest and Change
Guru Ghasidas and the Satnam Panth
Chhattisgarh primarily due to its large tribal population has historically not been a part of the mainstream and has therefore remained underdeveloped. Critical indicators for education and health have remained low. However, as stated above, the region was influenced by mainstream traditional Hindu culture as the overaching organising principle despite the presence of a large percentage of Scheduled Castes and Tribes. This oppressive, hierarchical social and religious order was not accepted, and from the 17th century onwards, the social history of Chhattisgarh is marked by the process of questioning and protests in the form of a number of socio-religious reform movements. These movements established a tradition of protest and have played a critical role in creation of the identity of Chhattisgarh, Initiated by sects like the Satnam Panth, the kabirpanthis and the Raedasis spread over all over Chhattisgarh, they carried the message of equality. Often the spread of these movement was within the boundaries of Chhattisgarh and therefore these movements contributed indirectly towards creating a regional consciousness.
An illustrative case would be the Satnam Panth, which emerged as sectarian formation, primarily reconstituting a small number of dalit groups by incorporating them as Satnamis, The Satnam Panths was an attempt to negotiate and cope with the cultural and economic processes in Chhattisgarh in the nineteenth century. It was a new sect, formed primarily amongst the poors of Chhattisgarh in the second decade of the nineteenth century and was led by Ghasidas, a humble farm worker. This community constituted a significant proportion, a little less then one sixth, of the total population of Chhattisgarh. They either owned land or were sharecroppers and farm workers. The new sect was given the name of Satnam and its followers were expected to believe only in the formless - Satnam or the true name. Gradually, the followers of this sect were given the name satnamis. Satnamis abstain from meat, liquor, tobacco, certain vegetables and red pulses. Satnam Panth rejected the deities and idols of the Hindu pantheon. The panth preaches a casteless order. Guru Ghasidas initiated a Guru parampara in the sect, which became hereditary. The main religious centres of the sect in Chhattisgarh are Bhandar and Girod.
In the nineteenth century a new system of property rights and revenue collection known as the malgujari settlement was intorduced in Chhattisgarh. The new system was implemented with the sole purpose of expropriation and exploitation of marginal farmers, sharcropers and farm servants by the upper caste Malgujars. Satnam Panth and its followers responded to this exploitative system through various strategies. In several cases the Satnamis deserted villages or continued with the process of Lakhabatta or the periodic redistribution of land, despite the implementation of the new system. Their united challenge to the upper caste Malgujars over the issues of rent and loss of land in the last decade of the nineteenth century was a reflection of the solidarity of Satnamis . This form of protest and response to the new system or property rights and malgujari settlements was widespread among the Satnamis of Chhattisgarh.
The primary concern of the Anglo Maratha politics in the Nineteenth century was of expropriation and consolidation of power. Guru Ghasidas the founder of the Satmani sect realised this. He believed that the politics of the Anglo-Marathas was deprived of morality. He worked towards uniting all downtrodden persons to morally oppose the immoral politics of the British The people of Chhattisgarh realised the potential threat of the British and were terror struck by the exploitative nature of their policies. Despite this, they were unable to unite under one flag to oppose the British. It was at this juncture that Ghasidas made efforts to unite the people of Chhattisgarh through the ideology of equality and non-violence.
Other sects emerged in response to the hierarchical social order and linked Chhattisgarh to other social reform movements in the country. However the regional specificities of these sects remained unaltered.
Kabir Panthis for example, are largely recruited from dalits and have a substantial presence in Chhattisgarh. The followers of this sect adhere to the teachings and principles of Kabir, the revolutionary social reformer saint poet of the sixteenth century. The centres of Kabir Panth activities are monasteries which are placed in the charge of Mahants. In Chhattisgarh, Kabir Panthi monasteries are in Kudurmal, Kharsia, Champa, Hardi, Bangoli, Banni, Dhamdha, Panda, Tarai and Ratanpur. The Kabir Panth does not believe in caste hierarchies. However in contemporary times the Panth has been divided along caste lines. The only time that they do not adhere to caste hierarchies is in the presence of the Chief Guru on the birth anniversary of Kabir. All who desire to become members of the Panth are required to renounce polytheism and to acknowledge their belief in only one god. The Kabir Panth of Chhattisgarh are descendents of Dharmadasa, one of the disciples of Kabir who established the Panth in Chhattisgarh. There fore the branch of the Kabir Panth in Chhattisgarh is also known as Dharmadasa or Bhai branch.
The Ramnami Panth is small sect in Chhattisgarh with a membership primarily from the dalit community. This sect propagates the cult of Rama among the dalits and does not believe in Brahmins as a medium for worshipping god. Ramnamis are found chiefly on the southern side of the Mahanadi in Chhattisgarh. This sect is easily distinguishable as they carry a flute and put peacock feathers around their caps. Ramnamis as the name suggests chant the name of Ram. They of ten get their bodies tattooed with the name of Ram.
The social religious reformer Ramananda had a committed dalit follower from Chhattisgarh. His name was Ravi Das or Rae Das. Gradually, the followers of Rae Das formed a separate sect and started calling themselves Rae Das Panthis or simply Raedasis. A striking similarity between all these sects is that the followers are drawn mostly from the Dalit communities. Secondly all these sects spread the message of equality.
The most widespread and important rebellion was the Bhumkal rebellion of 1910 that spread to 46 of the 84 parganas of Bastar. The term Bhumkal is significant as it refers to the social solidarity of the members of a clan that binds them to each other and to their specific Bhumor land. The basic reasons listed for the Bhumkal rebellion by historians clearly reaffirms the findings from earlier rebellions. It continued the tradition of tribal struggle for preserving and defending their traditions and their way of life and for reasserting their traditional rights on forests, land and natural resources. One of the main reasons for the rebellion is given by Standan dispossession of traditional forests and land resources had been the most important cause of the Bhumkal rebellion. In 1908, the forests were first made reserved forests and the contractors given rights to take timber and wood for railway sleepers. This deprived the tribals of one of their main sources of their livelihood. Leasing out of liquor monopolies also aggravated the situation, as the locally made country liquor was declared illegal. The introduction of education and schools was seen by the tribals as an attempt by the State to subvert their culture and therefore became a precipitating factor. Finally, the brutality and exploitation by the police, which included begar by the officials culminated in the Bhumkal rebellion.
Tribal Protests and Rebellions
Bhumkal in Bastar (1910)
Chhattisgarh is generally perceived as a tribal dominated state. Although this is factually incorrect it does reflect the significantly high proportion of tribals in the region. It also underscores a fundamentally important point that the tribals in Chhattisgarh have been able to retain their culture and traditional way of life despite the all pervasive influence of forces of modernity. While tribal people constitute 7.8 % and 23 % of the total population of India and Madhya Pradesh respectively they constitute 32.5 % of the population of Chhattisgarh. According to the 1991 census the tribal population in the then districts of Chhattisgarh was Durg -12.6 %, Raipur -18.6%, Rajnandgaon -25.3 %, Bilaspur -23.4 % Surguja -54.8 %, Raigarh - 45.5%, Bastar -67.7 %. The various tribes in the Chhattisgarh region are Gonds, Muria, Bhumja, Baiga, Kanars, Kawars, Halbas etc. A few of these tribes particularly the Gonds have influenced by the Hindu tradition and have in turn influenced local practices in the Hindu tradition as well. Other tribes like the Kamars and the Baigas have largely been untouched by the mainstream and have retained more of their traditional culture and way of life.
Chhattisgarh has withnessed several tribal rebellions starting from the late 18 century through the 19 century to the first few decades of the 20 century. Some of these tribal revolts were localised while others were more widespread. Geographically too, the rebellions were not centered in one region, in some of them precipitating factors were immediate and local in nature and in some the revolt took its time to brew. However the central narrative of these rebellions remained largely common and unchanged. All these rebellions were focussed and asserted the traditionally inalienable right of the tribals on the local resources land and forests. Often the mobilisation was around the issues of tradition culture and the tribal way of life. These rebellions were also protest against an alien system of governance and an alien political, economic and social order that had been forced upon them by the British. These tribal rebellions, although they predominantly took place in Bastar were spread across the various tribal areas of Chhattisgarh as well. The assimilation of this tradition of protest and rebellion by the tribals will be critical in any attempt to forge a Chhattisgarh identify and for evolving a vibrant and inclusive Chhattisgarh ethos. An understanding of these rebellions and integrating them in the new Chhattisgarh ethos will contribute to the future and the success of the new state. In this section we shall briefly discuss the tribal rebellions of Chhattisgarh. The key tribal rebellions are listed:
1. Halba rebellion (1774-79)
2. Bhopalpatnam Struggle (1795)
3. Paralkot rebellion (1825)
4. Tarapur rebellion (1842-54)
5. Maria rebellion (1842-63)
6. First Freedom Struggle (1856-57)
7. Koi revolt (1859)
8. Muria rebellion (1876)
9. Rani rebellion (1878-82)
10. Bhumkal (1910)
The Halba rebellion is a very important event in the history of Bastar as it was responsible for the decline of the Chalukya dynasty, which in turn created circumstances that first brought the Marathas and then the British to the region. The rebellion was initiated in 1774 by the governor of Dongar, Ajmer Singhwith the intention of establishing an independent kingdom at Dongar. The Halba tribe and Halba soldiers supported him. However, the fundamental reasons for the rebellion were economic in nature. There had been a prolonged famine, which had severely affected the people who had very little cultivable land. The presence of Maratha forces and the terror caused by the East India Company in these adverse circumstances precipitated the rebellioin. The stronger armies of Bastar supported by the British and the Marathas crushed the rebellion. A massacre of Halba tribesmen followed the defeat of the Halba army. However, the revolt created conditions for the decline of the Chalukya dynasty which in turn significantly altered the history of Bastar.
The Paralkot rebellion was representative of the resentment felt by the Abujhmarias against the invasion of outsiders, primarily the Marathas and the British. This rebellion was supported by the Abujhmarias and was led by Gend Singh a fellow Abhujmaria. One of the objectives of the rebellion was to establish a world free of loot, plunder and exploitation. The presence of the Marathas and the British threatened the identity of the Abujmarias and they resisted this through organising the rebellion of Paralkot in 1825. The rebels were opposing the taxes levied by the Maratha rulers. In essence this rebellion was directed against the foreign interference and control of Bastar and wanted to re-establish the freedom of Bastar.
The rebellion of Tarapur (1842-54) was once again the assertion of the tribals against the invasion of their local culture and the tampering with their traditional principles of social, economic and political organization. It started with an opposition to taxes levied under the pressure of Anglo-Maratha rule. For the tribals, these experiences of coercive taxation were alien and new, and therefore they opposed them. The local Diwan became a symbol of oppression and bore the brunt of tribal anger.
The Maria rebellion, which lasted nearly 20 years from 1842 to 1863, was seemingly in favour of an inhuman practice of human sacrifice. In reality the revolt was against the insensitive and intrusive handling of tribal faith. The Anglo Maratha combine did not hesitate to enter and pollute the temple of Danteswari. The facts clearly indicate that this rebellion was more defensive in nature and was waged by the tribals to protect their land and tradition. Furer Hamendorf (Aboriginal Rebellions in the Deccan, Man in India, No.4,1945, PP 2089) writes all these rebellions were defensive movements, they were the last resort of tribesmen driven to despair by the encroachments of outsiders on their land and economic resources What is surprising is not the occurrence of uprisings, but the infrequency of violent reaction on the part of the aboriginals to the loss of their ancestral lands and to their economic enslavement. Hutton extends the analysis and writes (as quoted in H.L. Shukla, Baster Ka Mukti Sangram, p 118) early days of British administration did great detriment to the economic position of tribes through ignorance and neglect of their right and customs.
Bastar was also actively involved in the First War of Iindependence of 1857 with Southern Bastar as the centre of the revolt. Under the leadership of Dhruvarao a batle was waged against the British. He belonged to one of the Maria tribes called Dorlaon and was supported by his tribesmen.
Later in 1858, the Gonds challenged the British in several battles. In 1859 a very important rebellion began to take shape in Southern Bastar with the tribals refusing to let contractors undertake cutting of Sal trees. The people of these Jamindaris were called Kois. This rebellion was against the decision of the British to give contracts for cutting forests to contractors from Hyderabad. These contractors were also responsible for the exploitation of the tribals. The local tribals in 1859 decided that they would not allow the felling of a single tree. The British took this as a challenge to the might of the empire and used coercive methods to continue the felling of trees. This rebellion was loud and clear assertion by the tribals of their inalienable rights of the tribals on their forests and natural resources.
In 1867, Gopinath Kapardas was appointed the Diwan of Bastar State and was responsible for large scale exploitation of the tribal population. Tribals from different parganas jointly requested the King to remove the Diwan but the King did not concede to these demands. This led to the Muria Revolt of 1876 The rebelling tribals surrounded Jagdalpur on 2 March 1876; the King with great difficulty was able to inform the British forces. Finally a strong British army sent by the Resident of Orissa, crushed the rebellion.
Emerging Identity and Socio-Cultural Spaces
New Chhattisgarh in New India
The socio-religious reform movements and the tribal rebellions, contributed, although indirectly to emerging consciousness in the region. Guru Ghasidas clearly articulated the need to consolidate and create regional consciousness and solidarity to fight against exploitation. Similarly, other sects with their message of equality and solidarity also influenced the unfolding regional narrative. The tribal rebellions deeply affected the political, social and economic discourse of Chhattisgarh. The issue of people's rights over local resources was brought centre stage.It also raised the fundamental question of identity and preserving traditional culture and way of life. The evolution and formation of a formal Chhattisgarh identity coincided with the national movement and it was in this period that the process of crystallisation of a Chhattisgarh identity was initiated and a distinct identity started emerging and taking definite shape in the social and cultural sphere.
Pandit Sunderlal Sharma, Thakur Pyarelal Singh and Khub Chand Baghel were members of the Indian National Congress and some of the prominent leaders of the national movement in Chhattisgarh. These leader did not confine themselves merely to political activity; they were involved in initiating as well as actively participating in socio-cultural reform movements. These leaders also reiterated the fact that Chhattisgarh had a distinct socio-cultural identity and used this as a base for reform encourage the formation of a Chhattisgarhi consciousness amongst the masses through literacy drives cultural activities and social reform programmes.
The literature of the period also reflected the search for and an attempt to establish a distinctive identity. As early as 1901, M R Sapre from Pendra Road published a magazine called ' Chhattisgarh Mitra' which focussed on the region. Khub Chand Baghel who was waging a struggle against untouchability wrote plays called 'Jarnail Singh ' and 'Unch Neech' . During this period, leaders were also writing plays that focussed on social issues in the context of Chhattisgarhi identity. Pt. Sundarlal Sharma wrote ' Daan Lila ' and R.C. Deshmukh wrote ' Naacha ' and ' Gumbad'. Vaman Rao Deshmukh , an important cooperative leader of the times was specifically writing about the identity of Chhattisgarh.
Pandit Sundar Lala Sharma who was one of the most prominent leaders of Central India , fought against the caste system and worked continuously for an improvement in the condition of dalits. In 1917, he broke the forest laws in Sihawa with the support of the tribals. Three years later, in 1920, Pt. Sharma initiated the Nahar Satyagrah in Kandal village, Durg district, against the tax on water. In 1925, he entered a temple with a group of dalits. Thakur Pyarelal Singh, also known as the father of the cooperative movement in Chhattisgarh, was a Gandhian with a reformatory zeal. He organised the first labour movement of Chhattisgarh in Rajnandgaon in 1920. This movement was started to demand a fixed number of working hours. Later in the same region, the second and the third labour movement of 1924 and 1925 were also organised under the leadership of Pyare Lal Singh.
By the time India gained Independence in 1947, the discourse on regional identity had changed its focus from social reform movements to the issue of exploitation of Chhattisgarh. Multiple channels of expression of this demand were used. A journal called ' Chhattisgarh Chhatisgarhion Ka or Chhattisgarh belongs to the people of Chhattisgarh was started by Khub Chand Baghel. Another journal called ' Chhattisgarh Atma Ki Pukar' or The voice of the Soul of Chhattisgarh which also dealt with the same issues was also published and is especially looked into the significance of possessing a cultural identity and initiated a movement for establishing pride in Chhattisgarhi culture. In 1956, Chedi Lal Barrister with the support of Khub Chand Baghel organised the Chhattisgarh Mahasabha at Rajnandgaon. This meeting was attended by members of all parties and was supported by various caste groups and associations of Chhattisgarh. It is reported that the Mahasabha was attended by more than 50,000 people. The Mahasabha passed a resolution stating that the 'Art and Culture of Chhattisgarh should get fair opportunity to grow'. A decision to launch the journal ' Chhattisgarh' was taken. The Mahasabha unanimously resolved to work towards solving the problems of the region as well as to struggle for the rights of Chhattisgarh.
The movement for consolidating the Chhattisgarh identity has continued through the decades. It would become dormant for some years and then against erupt in some other district. It is therefore, impossible to create a linear pattern of the creation of Chhattisgarh identity. However, it is important to underscore that the multilayered and multilateral process of formulating and expressing Chhattisgarhi identity took place over a long period of time. Various other political and non-political formations have, within the framework of their ideological positions and worldview, been working towards the formation of an identity for Chhattisgarh.
Chhattisgarh Samaj an organisation formed under the umbrella of the Proutist Sarva Samaj Samiti has working for the development of a political, social and cultural consciousness of Chhattisgarh. Since the late sixties the Samaj has been publishing a weekly news paper in Chhattisgarhi through which they have been working for the growth of the Chhattisgarhi language. Through the different wings of the Samja, an attempt is being made to spread regional consciousness which they believe will then translate into the development of Chhattisgarh. A diametrically opposite non-party political formation struggling for the identity of Chhattisgarh is Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha or the CMM.
This mass based peoples movement started as a trade union movement and then moved on to link the exploitation of the region to the fact that its cultural identity had been suppressed. Gradually the movement started focussing on the struggle of Chhattisgarh against the exploitative oppressive and hegemonic mainstream.
On 19 December, 1979, in an attempt to link the tradition of struggle to the ethos of Chhattisgarh, the CMM then the CMSS, initiated the tradition of observing Shahid Vir Narain Singh's date of execution by the British as martyr's day.
The identity of Chhattisgarh has been created and evolved through a complex process that has largely charted its own course. A combination of cultural historical social economic and political factors have contributed to this process. The wide pluralities of cultures, traditions, histories and customs existing in the region have combined to form a unique mixture that has fed into the development of the Chhattisgarh ethos and identity. However, the key point is that the identity of Chhattisgarh cannot be viewed as separate form the people of Chhattisgarh. It is important to note that the Chhattisgarh identity has been asserted in different forms and has become more pronounced in adverse circumstances manifesting itself especially as protest against exploitation. Dr H L Shukla distinguishes between self image and other image for a more holistic understanding of Chhattisgarh identity and ethos. It is imperative to synthesize and blend the two images to understand the priorities and challenges facing new Chhattisgarh. The identity of Chhattisgarh is an inclusive identity, in spite of the movement for Prathak Chhattisgarh. There exists in the Chhattisgarh identity while being sensitive towards as well as protecting and preserving the plurality of customs, traditions and cultures.
Source - "Chhattisgarh - A State is born", Sanket Bhopal.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Home-Based Business - Keep Home Out Of Work And Work Out Of Home
Depending on who's counting, there are between 18 million and 38 million home-based business operating in the United States. In fact, over 52% of all small businesses are home-based. And the phenomenon is growing. Clearly, more and more people are discovering the satisfaction and financial reward of business ownership and the advantages of working from home.However, along with these advantages come a number of potential problems. One of the most persistent issues for home-based workers is the simple fact that they are conducting a professional activity from their home. The ideal situation is to create a good balance between your work life and your home life even when the commute has been reduced to walking from one room to another.Get dressed for workIt's great to spend the day working in your bathrobe but many people say that when they are dressed for leisure, their attitude, voice presence on the telephone and work habits become leisurely as well.Get a separate phone lineIt's hard to project a professional image when your voicemail says, "Hi, you've reached GJT Catering and also the home of Gail, John, Timmy and Scout (woof, woof). Please leave a message." Potential clients may worry that their message will be received by Timmy, not Gail or John, or whoever is actually the business owner. Plus, on a shared line, you may miss calls when the line is tied up with family issues.Keep regular hoursKeep regular business hours or at least say that you do, even if you're more likely to produce those corporate communications at odd hours of the night. Clients like to know how they can reach a business owner and are often uncomfortable calling in the evening when they know it's a home business. (Of course, there are also those clients who believe that because it's a home business, you are available 24/7.)The second big reason is, especially if you're a mom, working from home can translate to other people as "available during the day" for PTO activities, child pickup and snow day babysitting while "working moms" go off to their places of employment. Of course, it may be that part of the reason you work from home is precisely to be available for these activities. If so, just be sure that you have defined the parameters by advertising your "work hours" then adjusting at your own discretion.Keeping regular hours is also a good way to tell yourself it's time to quit and get in some personal or family time.Maintain a barrier between your work space and your home spaceEven though your client may say they understand, no business person really wants to have a telephone conversation with someone whose child is audible in the background. This very typical scenario will lead your client to wonder if you can really pay attention to what they are saying when there are clearly family issues going on at the same time. The ability to shut a door and limit the sounds of home life will lend a much more professional tone to your business.On the other hand, a door or some other barrier allows you to walk away from the job when it's time to re-enter family life without being tormented by the piles on your desk or the lure of the computer screen.Get some exercise and stay out of the fridgeSome people who begin to work from home find that they can better schedule exercise because their time is their own. However, for many, they are no longer walking up the stairs to the office, taking a stroll through the park at lunch or stopping by the gym on the way home. Moreover, the fridge is available, the food is free and no one's looking. The stress of being a business owner combined with the change in lifestyle can create a less healthy lifestyle. Do yourself a favor and make exercise and healthy food a part of your home office routine.Take advantage of the advantagesIt's great to be able to take a break from your work, pay a few bills, put a chicken in the oven and take a minute to check in with your teen when he gets home after school. Take advantage of these perks without guilt; you deserve to enjoy your work-at-home life.
Author: Alan Masters AlanMasters@Ameriplan.net
Author: Alan Masters AlanMasters@Ameriplan.net
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Teenagers- a Great Asset to Save You Money, Time, and Heartache!
When I was a young child I thought that my father knew EVERYTHING. It might have been true in my father's case, but now that I myself am a father (twelve times over) I see that this is as far from the truth as London is from Los Angeles! With the never ending technological and social changes it is almost impossible to be aware of all that is going on. But, do you know what, it really doesn't matter. Vickie L. Milazzo recently wrote in Entrepreneur.com that one of the ways that she grew her business 300% to be worth 12 million dollars was by not only listening to experts but also by listening to $8 an hour employees! Obviously she made the final decisions but she listened to EVERYONE'S ideas. Instead of spending lots of time researching what kind of car to buy, what is the best restaurant in town or even where you should shop, asks your teenagers. Here are a few areas where they can you money, time, and heartache. * Big Purchases. If you are planning to buy something expensive for the house, let's say a new dining room set, a new kitchen or a new home entertainment center then ask your teen to ask their friends (if they haven't already) or go on line to compare prices and quality between different brands. Ask them also to investigate which stores in your city have the best service. You'll be saving yourself a lot of time and, if you are like me, also a lot of money. (I usually lose my patience after I compare one or two stores.) * Home improvements. You'll be surprised what great ideas your teens have to fix up your house. They have seen all types of good ideas at their friends houses and they are not lazy to go on line to find better ideas and to compare prices. An added benefit is they might do it themselves! The other day, after I asked my son how to fix a leaking washing machine he told me that he'll take care of it. He saved me a good few hours and probably did a better job than me! * Family get together. Planning a holiday dinner for the whole family (cousins, parents, parent-in-laws etc.)? I'm sure your daughter will love to help you find new recipes that she heard from her friends. She can also look through magazines for original ways to set the table. An added benefit you might gain is that since she helped plan the dinner she will help more willingly. * Vacations. Researching where to take the family on a vacation could take a long time. Your teen can research for you hotel prices, plane schedules and fun and interesting activities in that area. Tell them the time that you are planning to go and basically where and see what they come up. If you feel uncomfortable to discuss with them the financial limitations, tell them to look at different price ranges and then you'll decide in the end. Remember, like all CEO's, you make the final decision. You'll be amazed at the cheap flights and hotels that they will discover. Also, if you choose to listen to what they suggest and it doesn't work out, they won't be able to complain since it was their suggestion! * Younger children. The area in which they are most helpful is to help you with younger children. As long as you know that they really care about their younger siblings (don't pay attention to their petty fights) then they will help you find out what the younger brothers and sisters are really up to and with whom they really hang out and what they feel is a good intervention. Remember, they understand better than us what, nowadays is considered "normal" behavior and what is bizarre. This can save you much heartache and trips to the school's counselor. Just remember, the younger sibling can never catch on that you discuss him with the older siblings. You have to make sure not to use any information you receive from the older sibling in a way that the younger one will figure out how you know it. One last word. Don't only listen to their facts and figures and totally disregard their opinions. You surely should decide what to buy, where to vacation, and what to do with your other child but show your teens that you appreciate and respect what they did for you. If you do this, I'm sure, you will probably be pleasantly surprised at how much they helped you.
About The Author Shevach Pepper is the happy father of twelve children and is a family and life coach helping successful people to utilize their business and leadership skills in their personal life.For more information and helpful tips on family issues visit http://www.greatfamilyman.com/.
About The Author Shevach Pepper is the happy father of twelve children and is a family and life coach helping successful people to utilize their business and leadership skills in their personal life.For more information and helpful tips on family issues visit http://www.greatfamilyman.com/.
Acne - Herbal Treatment, Ayurvedic Remedies and Home Remedies
What is Acne? Acne is a very common skin ailment found mostly in the period of puberty. It is more common in women than in men. Acne is characterized by the presence of eruptions on the skin, which are commonly known as zits or pimples. Acne is more commonly found in the western countries especially of the American and European continents. This could be because of a higher genetic disposition in these areas. However, the general trend is that women tend to suffer more from acne than men. Though most cases of acne come and go with the puberty, rare acne cases could continue well into adulthood. Why is Acne caused? Acne is a sign of the impurity within the body. The impurity could be in the blood, which manifests itself externally as acne. If the blood is impure, then the sebaceous (sweat) glands will have to work harder in eliminating these wastes. This hyperactivity of the sweat glands causes acne. Hormonal imbalances are very important causes of acne. During puberty there are major hormonal changes in the body, as also during each menstrual cycle of women. Therefore, these are important periods when acne can occur. People who consume steroids for any reason also stand a higher chance of getting acne. Personal hygiene is another factor that can cause acne. People who do not care much about facial hygiene will have dead cell accumulation on their faces. These cells could develop an allergic reaction, manifesting itself as acne. Otherwise, bacteria could reside in the facial pores and cause pimples. Such factors could cause the person to itch the face, which would aggravate the acne. Other metabolic conditions can also aggravate the acne. Indigestion is one of the known factors. People who have too much libido, but are not able to give vent to their sexual desires with actual sexual intercourse might develop acne as a result of their sexual frustration. People living under stressful conditions are also prone to acne. What are the Symptoms of Acne? The most prominent symptoms of acne are the pimples that appear generally on the face. The most common regions of the face for the acne to appear are the cheeks, the nose and the forehead. However in extreme cases, the pimples could spread to the chest, back and the arms. Pimples are tiny eruptions on the skin, which go away within a couple of days. In some cases the pimples could develop pus in them, which would make them bigger in size and more prominent. In general cases, the pimples disappear without any trace. But if the pimples are too severe, then they could leave behind a healing scar. Over time, this would make the face very scarred and ungainly in appearance. How can Acne be avoided? If acne is caused due to hormonal reasons, there is no way to eliminate it completely. It will pass away when the person crosses his/her pubertal age. But even then, there are many ways to prevent the acne from aggravating and to keep it at a minimum. The following are some of the ways in which acne can be reduced:-· Maintain proper facial hygiene. Washing the face at least thrice a day can do this. Use lemon soap for washing. It is very important to wash the face after returning home from outside.· Maintain a healthy dietary regime. Oily and spicy foods can aggravate the acne. Foods that are beneficial for acne are green leafy vegetables, salad vegetables and fruits that have good water content in them. Foods that are difficult to digest can aggravate the acne.· Keep your mind stress-free. Stress can release more hormones, which would exacerbate the acne. How can Acne be controlled with Simple Home Remedies? There are many household remedies that can be used to control the condition. Most of these remedies are external applications, but some of them are also meant to be taken orally.· Mix the husk of mustard seeds in paste form with cow’s milk. Apply this mixture on the affected areas every night and wash it off thoroughly in the morning. The eruptions should disappear within a week.· Application of buttermilk on the affected regions is also helpful.· Prepare a mixture of nutmeg and red sandalwood in water. Apply this mixture on the face.· Mix the pulp of the neem fruit in water and apply it on the face. This application provides quicker but temporary relief from the pimples.· Application of a paste of thorns of the semolina in milk for three consecutive nights will help reduce the eruptions.· A very simple and cheap remedy is to apply the paste of orange peels on the face.· Indian plum or jambola must be squeezed in water and this paste must be applied on the affected part. This is more effective in the pimples which appear in early youth.· One traditional method to keep acne away is to wash the face twice or thrice a day with buttermilk. This is also believed to increase the glow on the face.
Author: Tom alter
Author: Tom alter
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Drop Shipping As A Business!
Elaine has been a fan of eBay for a long time and has recently cleaned out her home thanks to them. She sold many of the things that she no longer needed (or wanted) and made a decent amount of money off of it. The process was simple and she enjoyed doing it. It just worked for her. Now, she has nothing more to sell. She has thought about starting to look at garage sales and selling things for friends, but she knows that if she wants to make good money, she'll need to find products to really sell.
This is where dropping shipping or wholesale purchasing come into play. For many individuals this is the ideal way to sell products. All you need to do is to purchase products that people want at low prices and then to sell them at a higher mark up. Sounds easy right? It really can be that easy, in fact.
For many individuals, selling on eBay is what draws them to drop shipping. This online auction site features hundreds of people looking to buy virtually anything you can imagine. This makes it the ideal place to go to find a deal too. Yet, for those that are looking to sell, it can be a way to make a solid income. While eBay is in itself an entirely different article, just know that many individuals that get into drop shipping do so to sell products through eBay.
Other avenues can be used to sell products to. For example, many individuals develop websites, promote them and drive traffic (customers) to them to sell their products. In fact, you can even use drop shipping to help you to sell products through mail order as well. All of this can be done right from your home. Nice and neatly too.
So, what is drop shipping or wholesaling? If you were to start a home based business today selling pens you would need to stock lots of pens to sell right? Not necessarily. In drop shipping, you can actually sell the product without having the product in front of you. This is done by simply working with a manufacturer who will put aside a lot of the product you wish to sell. They will take care of sending the product to the customer, once it is ordered while you handle the money. You will charge them more than you were charged which is what gives you the profit.
This is not always the case though. In some cases, individuals will actually purchase the products they plan to sell and stock them to send out as they are needed. In either case, the goal is to purchase and sell products at a higher cost than you bought it for.
The Pros And Cons
In order for you to make any money at wholesaling, you'll need to purchase and sell products that people want. To do this, you will need to do some basic research to help you. This is not that hard to do especially if you are using a program such as eBay. Next, you will need to track down distributors that will allow you to advertise and sell their product. This can be more challenging. One mistake that people make it to purchase lists of drop shippers from others. This can be a vital mistake. It is often wiser to do your research and find a more reliable way to go such as getting feedback from others.
If you find a product that is selling well, you can make a good amount of money off of it. You'll find that most people that work at promoting their products will do well at selling them. It really pays to take the time to research the right products out there. Of course, you can always make and sell your own product. This can actually be a great way to make even more money through selling products.
About The Author
Keith Lee is a motivational speaker, a life coach and a fitness instructor for the past 10 yeras. He study and did research on the Internet Marketing Industry for years. Go to his webiste http://www.myinternetmarketingsuccess.com/ for some superb tips.
This is where dropping shipping or wholesale purchasing come into play. For many individuals this is the ideal way to sell products. All you need to do is to purchase products that people want at low prices and then to sell them at a higher mark up. Sounds easy right? It really can be that easy, in fact.
For many individuals, selling on eBay is what draws them to drop shipping. This online auction site features hundreds of people looking to buy virtually anything you can imagine. This makes it the ideal place to go to find a deal too. Yet, for those that are looking to sell, it can be a way to make a solid income. While eBay is in itself an entirely different article, just know that many individuals that get into drop shipping do so to sell products through eBay.
Other avenues can be used to sell products to. For example, many individuals develop websites, promote them and drive traffic (customers) to them to sell their products. In fact, you can even use drop shipping to help you to sell products through mail order as well. All of this can be done right from your home. Nice and neatly too.
So, what is drop shipping or wholesaling? If you were to start a home based business today selling pens you would need to stock lots of pens to sell right? Not necessarily. In drop shipping, you can actually sell the product without having the product in front of you. This is done by simply working with a manufacturer who will put aside a lot of the product you wish to sell. They will take care of sending the product to the customer, once it is ordered while you handle the money. You will charge them more than you were charged which is what gives you the profit.
This is not always the case though. In some cases, individuals will actually purchase the products they plan to sell and stock them to send out as they are needed. In either case, the goal is to purchase and sell products at a higher cost than you bought it for.
The Pros And Cons
In order for you to make any money at wholesaling, you'll need to purchase and sell products that people want. To do this, you will need to do some basic research to help you. This is not that hard to do especially if you are using a program such as eBay. Next, you will need to track down distributors that will allow you to advertise and sell their product. This can be more challenging. One mistake that people make it to purchase lists of drop shippers from others. This can be a vital mistake. It is often wiser to do your research and find a more reliable way to go such as getting feedback from others.
If you find a product that is selling well, you can make a good amount of money off of it. You'll find that most people that work at promoting their products will do well at selling them. It really pays to take the time to research the right products out there. Of course, you can always make and sell your own product. This can actually be a great way to make even more money through selling products.
About The Author
Keith Lee is a motivational speaker, a life coach and a fitness instructor for the past 10 yeras. He study and did research on the Internet Marketing Industry for years. Go to his webiste http://www.myinternetmarketingsuccess.com/ for some superb tips.
Monday, February 19, 2007
What Love Is
If it's true love, it involves respect. You claim no sense of "ownership" of the other person. You do not own his or her time, mind, heart, and not even their things. If you are given these things, be glad and be thankful, but under no circumstances are you to assume that you can make decisions for the other person. Do not be offended if your lover has opinions different from your own. Respect your lover's privacy and individuality.
Loving is being open to change. People are dynamic - their personalities and interests constantly change. Sometimes, this change happens slowly, and sometimes it happens at the blink of an eye. Whatever the change is, and however long it takes, you have to accept it. Even if it means accepting that your lover no longer loves you.
True love can stand the test of time. Being with someone for a long period of time allows you to go through different emotions and periods with that person. If your heart has the strength to weather through these different experiences with your lover, then both you and the relationship will grow stronger.
Love isn't about winning. Sometimes, you have to let go of a fight. Whenever you "win" a fight with your lover, you don't actually win. Nobody wins. Love is about a partnership, not a contest of egos. Whenever you feel a fight coming, you have to weigh the consequences and ask yourself "Is this really important?"
Love doesn't mean that your lover has the responsibility to keep you happy and vice versa. The only person who has the responsibility to make you happy is yourself. While you and your lover can make each other "happier", you shouldn't be solely dependent on each other for happiness. The couples who end up being happy together are made up of individuals who were happy to begin with. Keeping yourself happy is a hard enough responsibility, don't make it harder for yourself by letting another person's happiness be your responsibility too.
Loving isn't about restricting the other's freedom. There's no reason for you to call your lover every five minutes to check if they're okay. There's also no reason for you to be selective about which friends he or she can go out with. If you're in an exclusive relationship, then the rules of the game dictate that you can only be intimate with your lover. However, this doesn't mean that you'll be the only person that he or she can come in contact with. Keep in mind that when people are caged, they will almost always try to break free.
About the Author:Ron Steiner writes for http://www.drdating.com./ Visit http://www.drdating.com/ for dating advice, dating services reviewed and love advice.
Loving is being open to change. People are dynamic - their personalities and interests constantly change. Sometimes, this change happens slowly, and sometimes it happens at the blink of an eye. Whatever the change is, and however long it takes, you have to accept it. Even if it means accepting that your lover no longer loves you.
True love can stand the test of time. Being with someone for a long period of time allows you to go through different emotions and periods with that person. If your heart has the strength to weather through these different experiences with your lover, then both you and the relationship will grow stronger.
Love isn't about winning. Sometimes, you have to let go of a fight. Whenever you "win" a fight with your lover, you don't actually win. Nobody wins. Love is about a partnership, not a contest of egos. Whenever you feel a fight coming, you have to weigh the consequences and ask yourself "Is this really important?"
Love doesn't mean that your lover has the responsibility to keep you happy and vice versa. The only person who has the responsibility to make you happy is yourself. While you and your lover can make each other "happier", you shouldn't be solely dependent on each other for happiness. The couples who end up being happy together are made up of individuals who were happy to begin with. Keeping yourself happy is a hard enough responsibility, don't make it harder for yourself by letting another person's happiness be your responsibility too.
Loving isn't about restricting the other's freedom. There's no reason for you to call your lover every five minutes to check if they're okay. There's also no reason for you to be selective about which friends he or she can go out with. If you're in an exclusive relationship, then the rules of the game dictate that you can only be intimate with your lover. However, this doesn't mean that you'll be the only person that he or she can come in contact with. Keep in mind that when people are caged, they will almost always try to break free.
About the Author:Ron Steiner writes for http://www.drdating.com./ Visit http://www.drdating.com/ for dating advice, dating services reviewed and love advice.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Principal Deserts of the World
SUBTROPICAL DESERTS
Desert : Sahara
Location : Morocco, Western Sahara, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia
Size : 3.5 million sq. mi.
Topography : 70% gravel plains, sand, and dunes. Contrary to popular belief, the desert is only 30% sand. The world's largest nonpolar desert gets its name from the Arabic word Sahra', meaning desert
Desert : Arabian
Location : Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen
Size : 1 million sq. mi.
Topography : Gravel plains, rocky highlands; one-fourth is the Rub al-Khali (“Empty Quarter”), the world's largest expanse of unbroken sand
Desert : Kalahari
Location : Botswana, South Africa, Namibia
Size : 220,000 sq. mi.
Topography : Sand sheets, longitudinal dunes
Australian Desert
Desert : Gibson
Location : Australia (southern portion of the Western Desert)
Size : 120,000 sq. mi.
Topography : Sandhills, gravel, grass. These three regions of desert are collectively referred to as the Great Western Desert—otherwise known as “the Outback.” Contains Ayers Rock, or Uluru, one of the world's largest monoliths
Desert : Great Sandy
Location : Australia (northern portion of the Western Desert)
Size : 150,000 sq. mi.
Topography : Sandhills, gravel, grass. These three regions of desert are collectively referred to as the Great Western Desert—otherwise known as “the Outback.” Contains Ayers Rock, or Uluru, one of the world's largest monoliths
Desert : Great Victoria
Location : Australia (southernmost portion of the Western Desert)
Size : 250,000 sq. mi.
Topography : Sandhills, gravel, grass. These three regions of desert are collectively referred to as the Great Western Desert—otherwise known as “the Outback.” Contains Ayers Rock, or Uluru, one of the world's largest monoliths
Desert : Simpson and Sturt Stony
Location : Australia (eastern half of the continent)
Size : 56,000 sq. mi.
Topography : Simpson's straight, parallel sand dunes are the longest in the world—up to 125 mi. Encompasses the Stewart Stony Desert, named for the Australian explorer
Desert : Mojave
Location : U.S.: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, California
Size : 54,000 sq. mi.
Topography : Mountain chains, dry alkaline lake beds, calcium carbonate dunes
Desert : Sonoran
Location : U.S.: Arizona, California; Mexico
Size : 120,000 sq. mi.
Topography : Basins and plains bordered by mountain ridges; home to the Saguaro cactus
Desert : Chihuahuan
Location : Mexico; southwestern U.S.
Size : 175,000 sq. mi.
Topography : Shrub desert; largest in North America
Desert : Thar
Location : India, Pakistan
Size : 175,000 sq. mi.
Topography : Rocky sand and sand dunes
COOL COASTAL DESERTS
Desert : Namib
Location : Angola, Namibia, South Africa
Size : 13,000 sq. mi.
Topography : Gravel plains
Desert : Atacama
Location : Chile
Size : 54,000 sq. mi.
Topography : Salt basins, sand, lava; world's driest desert
COLD WINTER DESERTS
Desert : Great Basin
Location : U.S.: Nevada, Oregon, Utah
Size : 190,000 sq. mi.
Topography : Mountain ridges, valleys, 1% sand dunes
Desert : Colorado Plateau
Location : U.S.: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming
Size : 130,000 sq. mi.
Topography : Sedimentary rock, mesas, and plateaus—includes the Grand Canyon and is also called the “Painted Desert” because of the spectacular colors in its rocks and canyons
Desert : Patagonian
Location : Argentina
Size : 260,000 sq. mi.
Topography : Gravel plains, plateaus, basalt sheets
Desert : Kara-Kum
Location : Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan
Size : 135,000 sq. mi.
Topography : 90% gray layered sand—name means “black sand”
Desert : Kyzyl-Kum
Location : Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan
Size : 115,000 sq. mi.
Topography : Sands, rock—name means “red sand”
Desert : Iranian
Location : Iran
Size : 100,000 sq. mi.
Topography : Salt, gravel, rock
Desert : Taklamakan
Location : China
Size : 105,000 sq. mi.
Topography : Sand, dunes, gravel
Desert : Gobi
Location : China, Mongolia
Size : 500,000 sq. mi.
Topography : Stony, sandy soil, steppes (dry grasslands)
POLAR
Desert : Arctic
Location : U.S., Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia
Size : 5.4 million sq. mi.
Topography : Snow, glaciers, tundra
Desert : Antarctic
Location : Antarctica
Size : 5.5 million sq. mi.
Topography : Ice, snow, bedrock
Monday, February 12, 2007
Highest Mountain Peaks of the World
Mountain peak Range Location Height
ft.
Everest Himalayas Nepal/Tibet 29,035
K2 (Godwin Austen) Karakoram India 28,250
Kanchenjunga Himalayas India 28,169
Lhotse I Himalayas Nepal/Tibet 27,940
Makalu I Himalayas Nepal/Tibet 27,766
Cho Oyu Himalayas Nepal/Tibet 26,906
Dhaulagiri Himalayas Nepal 26,795
Manaslu I Himalayas Nepal 26,781
Nanga Parbat Himalayas Pakistan 26,660
Annapurna Himalayas Nepal 26,545
Gasherbrum I Karakoram Pakistan/China 26,470
Broad Peak Karakoram Pakistan/China 26,400
Gasherbrum II Karakoram Pakistan/China 26,360
Shishma Pangma
(Gosainthan) Himalayas Tibet 26,289
Annapurna II Himalayas Nepal 26,041
Gyachung Kang Himalayas Nepal 25,910
Disteghil Sar Karakoram Pakistan 25,858
Himalchuli Himalayas Nepal 25,801
Nuptse Himalayas Nepal 25,726
Nanda Devi Himalayas India 25,663
Masherbrum Karakoram India 25,660
Rakaposhi Karakoram Pakistan 25,551
Kanjut Sar Karakoram Pakistan 25,461
Kamet Himalayas India 25,446
Namcha Barwa Himalayas Tibet 25,445
Gurla Mandhata Himalayas Tibet 25,355
Ulugh Muztagh Kunlun Tibet 25,340
Kungur Muztagh Ata China 25,325
Tirich Mir Hindu Kush Pakistan 25,230
Saser Kangri Karakoram India 25,172
Makalu II Himalayas Nepal 25,120
Minya Konka
(Gongga Shan) Daxue Shan China 24,900
Kula Kangri Himalayas Bhutan 24,783
Chang-tzu Himalayas Tibet 24,780
Muztagh Ata Muztagh Ata China 24,757
Skyang Kangri Himalayas India 24,750
Ismail Samani Peak
(formerly Communism Peak) Pamirs Tajikistan 24,590
Jongsong Peak Himalayas Nepal 24,472
Pobeda Peak Tien Shan Kyrgyzstan 24,406
Sia Kangri Himalayas India 24,350
Haramosh Peak Karakoram Pakistan 24,270
Istoro Nal Hindu Kush Pakistan 24,240
Tent Peak Himalayas Nepal 24,165
Chomo Lhari Himalayas Tibet/Bhutan 24,040
Chamlang Himalayas Nepal 24,012
Kabru Himalayas Nepal 24,002
Alung Gangri Himalayas Tibet 24,000
Baltoro Kangri Himalayas India 23,990
Muztagh Ata (K-5) Kunlun China 23,890
Mana Himalayas India 23,860
Baruntse Himalayas Nepal 23,688
Nepal Peak Himalayas Nepal 23,500
Amne Machin Kunlun China 23,490
Gauri Sankar Himalayas Nepal/Tibet 23,440
Badrinath Himalayas India 23,420
Nunkun Himalayas India 23,410
Lenin Peak Pamirs Tajikistan/Kyrgyzstan 23,405
Pyramid Himalayas Nepal 23,400
Api Himalayas Nepal 23,399
Pauhunri Himalayas India 23,385
Trisul Himalayas India 23,360
Korzhenevski Peak Pamirs Tajikistan 23,310
Kangto Himalayas Tibet 23,260
Nyainqentanglha Nyainqentanglha ShanChina 23,255
Trisuli Himalayas India 23,210
Dunagiri Himalayas India 23,184
Revolution Peak Pamirs Tajikistan 22,880
Aconcagua Andes Argentina 22,834
Ojos del Salado Andes Argentina/Chile 22,664
Bonete Andes Argentina/Chile 22,546
Ama Dablam Himalayas Nepal 22,494
Tupungato Andes Argentina/Chile 22,310
Moscow Peak Pamirs Tajikistan 22,260
Pissis Andes Argentina 22,241
Mercedario Andes Argentina/Chile 22,211
Huascarán Andes Peru 22,205
Llullaillaco Andes Argentina/Chile 22,057
El Libertador Andes Argentina 22,047
Cachi Andes Argentina 22,047
Kailas Himalayas Tibet 22,027
Incahuasi Andes Argentina/Chile 21,720
Yerupaja Andes Peru 21,709
Kurumda Pamirs Tajikistan 21,686
Galan Andes Argentina 21,654
El Muerto Andes Argentina/Chile 21,463
Sajama Andes Bolivia 21,391
Nacimiento Andes Argentina 21,302
Illampu Andes Bolivia 21,276
Illimani Andes Bolivia 21,201
Coropuna Andes Peru 21,083
Laudo Andes Argentina 20,997
Ancohuma Andes Bolivia 20,958
Cuzco Andes Peru 20,945
(Ausangate)
Toro Andes Argentina/Chile 20,932
Tres Cruces Andes Argentina/Chile 20,853
Huandoy Andes Peru 20,852
Parinacota Andes Bolivia/Chile 20,768
Tortolas Andes Argentina/Chile 20,745
Chimborazo Andes Ecuador 20,702
Ampato Andes Peru 20,702
El Condor Andes Argentina 20,669
Salcantay Andes Peru 20,574
Huancarhuas Andes Peru 20,531
Famatina Andes Argentina 20,505
Pumasillo Andes Peru 20,492
Solo Andes Argentina 20,492
Polleras Andes Argentina 20,456
Pular Andes Chile 20,423
Chañi Andes Argentina 20,341
McKinley (Denali) Alaska Alaska 20,320
Aucanquilcha Andes Chile 20,295
Juncal Andes Argentina/Chile 20,276
Negro Andes Argentina 20,184
Quela Andes Argentina 20,128
Condoriri Andes Bolivia 20,095
Palermo Andes Argentina 20,079
Solimana Andes Peru 20,068
San Juan Andes Argentina/Chile 20,049
Sierra Nevada Andes Argentina 20,023
Antofalla Andes Argentina 20,013
Marmolejo Andes Argentina/Chile 20,013
ft.
Everest Himalayas Nepal/Tibet 29,035
K2 (Godwin Austen) Karakoram India 28,250
Kanchenjunga Himalayas India 28,169
Lhotse I Himalayas Nepal/Tibet 27,940
Makalu I Himalayas Nepal/Tibet 27,766
Cho Oyu Himalayas Nepal/Tibet 26,906
Dhaulagiri Himalayas Nepal 26,795
Manaslu I Himalayas Nepal 26,781
Nanga Parbat Himalayas Pakistan 26,660
Annapurna Himalayas Nepal 26,545
Gasherbrum I Karakoram Pakistan/China 26,470
Broad Peak Karakoram Pakistan/China 26,400
Gasherbrum II Karakoram Pakistan/China 26,360
Shishma Pangma
(Gosainthan) Himalayas Tibet 26,289
Annapurna II Himalayas Nepal 26,041
Gyachung Kang Himalayas Nepal 25,910
Disteghil Sar Karakoram Pakistan 25,858
Himalchuli Himalayas Nepal 25,801
Nuptse Himalayas Nepal 25,726
Nanda Devi Himalayas India 25,663
Masherbrum Karakoram India 25,660
Rakaposhi Karakoram Pakistan 25,551
Kanjut Sar Karakoram Pakistan 25,461
Kamet Himalayas India 25,446
Namcha Barwa Himalayas Tibet 25,445
Gurla Mandhata Himalayas Tibet 25,355
Ulugh Muztagh Kunlun Tibet 25,340
Kungur Muztagh Ata China 25,325
Tirich Mir Hindu Kush Pakistan 25,230
Saser Kangri Karakoram India 25,172
Makalu II Himalayas Nepal 25,120
Minya Konka
(Gongga Shan) Daxue Shan China 24,900
Kula Kangri Himalayas Bhutan 24,783
Chang-tzu Himalayas Tibet 24,780
Muztagh Ata Muztagh Ata China 24,757
Skyang Kangri Himalayas India 24,750
Ismail Samani Peak
(formerly Communism Peak) Pamirs Tajikistan 24,590
Jongsong Peak Himalayas Nepal 24,472
Pobeda Peak Tien Shan Kyrgyzstan 24,406
Sia Kangri Himalayas India 24,350
Haramosh Peak Karakoram Pakistan 24,270
Istoro Nal Hindu Kush Pakistan 24,240
Tent Peak Himalayas Nepal 24,165
Chomo Lhari Himalayas Tibet/Bhutan 24,040
Chamlang Himalayas Nepal 24,012
Kabru Himalayas Nepal 24,002
Alung Gangri Himalayas Tibet 24,000
Baltoro Kangri Himalayas India 23,990
Muztagh Ata (K-5) Kunlun China 23,890
Mana Himalayas India 23,860
Baruntse Himalayas Nepal 23,688
Nepal Peak Himalayas Nepal 23,500
Amne Machin Kunlun China 23,490
Gauri Sankar Himalayas Nepal/Tibet 23,440
Badrinath Himalayas India 23,420
Nunkun Himalayas India 23,410
Lenin Peak Pamirs Tajikistan/Kyrgyzstan 23,405
Pyramid Himalayas Nepal 23,400
Api Himalayas Nepal 23,399
Pauhunri Himalayas India 23,385
Trisul Himalayas India 23,360
Korzhenevski Peak Pamirs Tajikistan 23,310
Kangto Himalayas Tibet 23,260
Nyainqentanglha Nyainqentanglha ShanChina 23,255
Trisuli Himalayas India 23,210
Dunagiri Himalayas India 23,184
Revolution Peak Pamirs Tajikistan 22,880
Aconcagua Andes Argentina 22,834
Ojos del Salado Andes Argentina/Chile 22,664
Bonete Andes Argentina/Chile 22,546
Ama Dablam Himalayas Nepal 22,494
Tupungato Andes Argentina/Chile 22,310
Moscow Peak Pamirs Tajikistan 22,260
Pissis Andes Argentina 22,241
Mercedario Andes Argentina/Chile 22,211
Huascarán Andes Peru 22,205
Llullaillaco Andes Argentina/Chile 22,057
El Libertador Andes Argentina 22,047
Cachi Andes Argentina 22,047
Kailas Himalayas Tibet 22,027
Incahuasi Andes Argentina/Chile 21,720
Yerupaja Andes Peru 21,709
Kurumda Pamirs Tajikistan 21,686
Galan Andes Argentina 21,654
El Muerto Andes Argentina/Chile 21,463
Sajama Andes Bolivia 21,391
Nacimiento Andes Argentina 21,302
Illampu Andes Bolivia 21,276
Illimani Andes Bolivia 21,201
Coropuna Andes Peru 21,083
Laudo Andes Argentina 20,997
Ancohuma Andes Bolivia 20,958
Cuzco Andes Peru 20,945
(Ausangate)
Toro Andes Argentina/Chile 20,932
Tres Cruces Andes Argentina/Chile 20,853
Huandoy Andes Peru 20,852
Parinacota Andes Bolivia/Chile 20,768
Tortolas Andes Argentina/Chile 20,745
Chimborazo Andes Ecuador 20,702
Ampato Andes Peru 20,702
El Condor Andes Argentina 20,669
Salcantay Andes Peru 20,574
Huancarhuas Andes Peru 20,531
Famatina Andes Argentina 20,505
Pumasillo Andes Peru 20,492
Solo Andes Argentina 20,492
Polleras Andes Argentina 20,456
Pular Andes Chile 20,423
Chañi Andes Argentina 20,341
McKinley (Denali) Alaska Alaska 20,320
Aucanquilcha Andes Chile 20,295
Juncal Andes Argentina/Chile 20,276
Negro Andes Argentina 20,184
Quela Andes Argentina 20,128
Condoriri Andes Bolivia 20,095
Palermo Andes Argentina 20,079
Solimana Andes Peru 20,068
San Juan Andes Argentina/Chile 20,049
Sierra Nevada Andes Argentina 20,023
Antofalla Andes Argentina 20,013
Marmolejo Andes Argentina/Chile 20,013
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Principal Rivers of the World
| River | Source | Outflow | Approx. length (km) |
| Nile | Tributaries of Lake Victoria, Africa | Mediterranean Sea | 6,690 |
| Amazon | Glacier-fed lakes, Peru | Atlantic Ocean | 6,296 |
| Mississippi-Missouri- Red Rock | Source of Red Rock, Montana | Gulf of Mexico | 5,970 |
| Chang Jiang (Yangtze) | Tibetan plateau, China | China Sea | 5,797 |
| Ob | Altai Mts., Russia | Gulf of Ob | 5,567 |
| Huang He(Yellow) | Eastern part of Kunlan Mts., West China | Gulf of Chihli | 4,667 |
| Yenisei | Tannu-Ola Mts., western Tuva, Russia | Arctic Ocean | 4,506 |
| Paraná | Confluence of Paranaiba and Grande rivers | RÃo de la Plata | 4,498 |
| Irtish | Altai Mts., Russia | Ob River | 4,438 |
| Zaire (Congo) | Confluence of Lualab and Luapula rivers, Congo | Atlantic Ocean | 4,371 |
| Heilong (Amur) | Confluence of Shilka (Russia) and Argun (Manchuria) rivers | Tatar Strait | 4,352 |
| Lena | Baikal Mts., Russia | Arctic Ocean | 4,268 |
| Mackenzie | Head of Finlay River, British Columbia, Canada | Beaufort Sea (Arctic Ocean) | 4,241 |
| Niger | Guinea | Gulf of Guinea | 4,184 |
| Mekong | Tibetan highlands | South China Sea | 4,023 |
| Mississippi | Lake Itasca, Minnesota | Gulf of Mexico | 3,779 |
| Missouri | Confluence of Jefferson, Gallatin and Madison rivers, Montana | Mississippi River | 3,726 |
| Volga | Valdai plateau, Russia | Caspian Sea | 3,687 |
| Madeira | Confluence of Beni and Maumoré rivers, Bolivia-Brazil boundary | Amazon River | 3,238 |
| Purus | Peruvian Andes | Amazon River | 3,207 |
| São Francisco | Southwest Minas Gerais, Brazil | Atlantic Ocean | 3,198 |
| Yukon | Junction of Lewes and Pelly rivers, Yukon Territory, Canada | Bering Sea | 3,185 |
| St. Lawrence | Lake Ontario | Gulf of St. Lawrence | 3,058 |
| Rio Grande | San Juan Mts., Colorado | Gulf of Mexico | 3,034 |
| Brahmaputra | Himalayas | Ganges River | 2,897 |
| Indus | Himalayas | Arabian Sea | 2,897 |
| Danube | Black Forest, Germany | Black Sea | 2,842 |
| Euphrates | Confluence of Murat Nehri and Kara Su rivers, Turkey | Shatt-al-Arab | 2,799 |
| Darling | Central part of Eastern Highlands, Australia | Murray River | 2,739 |
| Zambezi | 11°21'S, 24°22'E, Zambia | Mozambique Channel | 2,736 |
| Tocantins | Goiás, Brazil | Pará River | 2,699 |
| Murray | Australian Alps, New South Wales | Indian Ocean | 2,589 |
| Nelson | Head of Bow River, western Alberta, Canada | Hudson Bay | 2,575 |
| Paraguay | Mato Grosso, Brazil | Paraná River | 2,549 |
| Ural | Southern Ural Mts., Russia | Caspian Sea | 2,533 |
| Ganges | Himalayas | Bay of Bengal | 2,506 |
| Amu Darya (Oxus) | Nicholas Range, Pamir Mts., Turkmenistan | Aral Sea | 2,414 |
| Japurá | Andes, Colombia | Amazon River | 2,414 |
| Salween | Tibet, south of Kunlun Mts. | Gulf of Martaban | 2,414 |
| Arkansas | Central Colorado | Mississippi River | 2,348 |
| Colorado | Grand County, Colorado | Gulf of California | 2,333 |
| Dnieper | Valdai Hills, Russia | Black Sea | 2,284 |
| Allegheny | Potter County, Pennsylvania | Mississippi River | 2,102 |
| Irrawaddy | Confluence of Nmai and Mali rivers, northeast Burma | Bay of Bengal | 2,092 |
| Orange | Lesotho | Atlantic Ocean | 2,092 |
| Orinoco | Serra Parima Mts., Venezuela | Atlantic Ocean | 2,062 |
| Pilcomayo | Andes Mts., Bolivia | Paraguay River | 1,999 |
| Xi Jiang (Si Kiang) | Eastern Yunnan Province, China | China Sea | 1,989 |
| Columbia | Columbia Lake, British Columbia, Canada | Pacific Ocean | 1,983 |
| Don | Tula, Russia | Sea of Azov | 1,968 |
| Sungari | China-North Korea boundary | Amur River | 1,955 |
| Saskatchewan | Canadian Rocky Mts. | Lake Winnipeg | 1,939 |
| Peace | Stikine Mts., British Columbia, Canada | Great Slave River | 1,923 |
| Tigris | Taurus Mts., Turkey | Shatt-al-Arab | 1,899 |
Friday, February 09, 2007
Indian Prime Ministers and their working period
Shri Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru from 26/02/1950 to 27/09/1964
Shri Gulzari Lal Nanda (Exucutive) from 27/05/1964 to 09/06/1964
Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri from 09/06/1964 to 11/01/1966
Shri Gulzari Lal Nanda (Exucutive) from 11/01/1966 to 24/01/1966
Smt. Indira Gandhi from 24/01/1966 to 24/03/1977
Shri Morarji Desai from 24/03/1977 to 28/07/1979
Shri Chaudhari Charan Singh from 28/07/1979 to 14/01/1980
Smt. Indira Gandhi from 14/01/1980 to 31/10/1984
Shri Rajiv Gandhi from 31/10/1984 to 02/12/1989
Shri V.P. Singh from 02/12/1989 to 10/11/1990
Shri Chandra Shekhar from 10/11/1990 to 21/06/1991
Shri Narsimha Rao from 21/06/1991 to 16/05/1996
Shri Atal Bihari Vajpai from 16/05/1996 to 01/06/1996
Shri Devi Gaura from 01/06/1996 to 21/04/1997
Shri I. K. Gujral from 21/04/1997 to 19/03/1998
Shri Atal Bihari Vajpai from 19/03/1998 to 19/05/2004
Shri Manmohan Singh from 19/05/2004 to till date
Shri Gulzari Lal Nanda (Exucutive) from 27/05/1964 to 09/06/1964
Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri from 09/06/1964 to 11/01/1966
Shri Gulzari Lal Nanda (Exucutive) from 11/01/1966 to 24/01/1966
Smt. Indira Gandhi from 24/01/1966 to 24/03/1977
Shri Morarji Desai from 24/03/1977 to 28/07/1979
Shri Chaudhari Charan Singh from 28/07/1979 to 14/01/1980
Smt. Indira Gandhi from 14/01/1980 to 31/10/1984
Shri Rajiv Gandhi from 31/10/1984 to 02/12/1989
Shri V.P. Singh from 02/12/1989 to 10/11/1990
Shri Chandra Shekhar from 10/11/1990 to 21/06/1991
Shri Narsimha Rao from 21/06/1991 to 16/05/1996
Shri Atal Bihari Vajpai from 16/05/1996 to 01/06/1996
Shri Devi Gaura from 01/06/1996 to 21/04/1997
Shri I. K. Gujral from 21/04/1997 to 19/03/1998
Shri Atal Bihari Vajpai from 19/03/1998 to 19/05/2004
Shri Manmohan Singh from 19/05/2004 to till date
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
More on Ocian LIfe
Monday, February 05, 2007
Glycaemia Index
Fruits/foods which can be eaten
by diabetic patient.
- Sting Beans
Calories/100 gm : 26
Glycaemia index : 10 - Tomato
Calories/1 cup : 37
Glycaemia index : 15 - Cauliflower
Calories/100 gm : 30
Glycaemia index : 15 - Apple
Calories/100 gm : 66
Glycaemia index : 34 - Ground Nuts
Calories/0.25 cup : 206
Glycaemia index : 15 - Orange
Calories (1 med.) : 68
Glycaemia index : 40 - Strawberry
Calories/1 cup : 28
Glycaemia index : 32 - Cucumber
Calories/100 gm : 10
Glycaemia index : 15 - Cherry
Calories/1 cup : 100
Glycaemia index : 22 - Spinach
Calories/100 gm : 26
Glycaemia index : 16 - Grapes
Calories/(12 Nos.) : 64
Glycaemia index : 43 - Onion
Calories/100 gm : 50
Glycaemia index : 10 - Cauliflower
Calories/100 gm : 30
Glycaemia index : 15
Fruits/foods, which can be eaten in, limited
quantity by diabetic patient.
- Papaya
Calories/1 No. : 118
Glycaemia index : 60 - Banana
Calories/1 L. : 132
Glycaemia index : 58 - Mango
Calories/1 Med : 122
Glycaemia index : 60 - Potato
Calories/100 gm. : 97
Glycaemia index : 62 - Rice
Calories/100 gm. : 345
Glycaemia index : 56 - Wheat
Calories/100 gm. : 355
Glycaemia index : 59
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Our Solar System
The details of our solar system
THE SUN:
The Sun looks 1600 times fainter from Pluto than it does from the Earth.
Comets' tails point away from the Sun at all times. Thus, when a comet is moving away from the Sun, its tail is actually leading. Comet tails are caused by dust and gas being lost from the comet and then pushed away from the Sun by the solar wind (charged particles moving out from the Sun) and by radiation pressure from the Sun.
The Sun is a fairly average star in terms of mass, temperature, and size.
The Earth orbits the Sun at an average velocity of approximately 30 kilometers per second (18 miles per second). Planets closer to the Sun travel faster in their orbits and planets further away travel slower.
Sunspots appear dark because they are cooler than the surrounding areas on the Sun, and therefore radiate less light and appear "dark" relative to the areas around them. Sunspot temperatures average about 3800 degrees versus 5800 degrees Celsius for the average surface of the Sun.
Due to frequent collisions with subatomic particles, it takes a typical gamma ray photon about one million years to travel from the core of the Sun to its surface, even though gamma rays travel at the speed of light (the gamma ray region of light has shorter wavelengths than X-rays). By the time the photon that started out as a gamma ray photon escapes the solar furnace, it has lost so much energy through collisions that it emerges from the Sun's surface as a photon of ordinary, visible light.
MERCURY:
The water ice may exist in the bottoms of craters at Mercury's poles, based upon radar data taken in recent years. Even though Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, and extremely hot over most of its surface, ice may exist at the bottoms of some polar craters because the crater floors are permanently shadowed by the crater rims.
VENUS:
The surface of Venus is obscured by clouds at ultraviolet, visible, and infrared wavelengths, which is why the Pioneer and Magellan spacecraft used radar to penetrate the clouds and image the surface.
The atmospheric pressure you would experience on the surface of Venus is approximately equal to the pressure you would experience 3000 feet (approx. 1 km) down in the Earth's oceans, i.e., about 90 times the pressure at the Earth's surface.
Venus rotates very slowly. A Venus day, the time it takes Venus to rotate once, is approximately 243 Earth days long.
Venus is the brightest natural object in the sky besides the Sun and Moon. It can be as much as 15 times brighter than the brightest star (Sirius).
All of the major features on the planet Venus are named after famous women in history and mythology.
EARTH :
This is the only unique planet that has life in the known world.
Almost all of the Oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere has been produced by living organisms. Oxygen accounts for 21% of our atmosphere, with Nitrogen making up 78%, and a mixture of other gases composing the remaining 1%. Oxygen only occurs as a minor constituent in the atmospheres of other planets in our Solar System.
The Earth has the highest average density (5.52 g/cubic cm) of any planet in our Solar System. Saturn has the lowest (0.69 g/cubic cm). For reference, the density of liquid water is 1 g/cubic cm.
MARS:
The liquid water does not currently occur on Mars because of the cold temperatures and low atmospheric pressures. Only water ice and water gas (vapor) are stable. However, large channels on Mars appear to have been cut by outflows of liquid water during Mars' distant past which may have had warmer temperatures and a much thicker atmosphere.
The largest canyon system in the Solar System is Valles Marineris on Mars. It is more than 3000 miles long and so would stretch from California to New York. In some places it reaches 3 miles in depth and 200 miles in width.
Mars' surface area is approximately the same as the surface area of all the land (as opposed to water) on Earth. So, even though Mars is a smaller planet, studying its surface is just as large a task as studying all of Earth's land surfaces.
Mars has two large-scale geologic regions (in addition to many smaller geologic variations within both regions). The "Southern Highlands," which cover a little more than half of Mars' surface, are composed of old (at least 3.9 billion years) densely cratered terrain. The "Northern Plains" have lower and more variable crater densities, indicating that the plains are younger and formed over a much longer period of time. The cause of this Martian geologic dichotomy is not yet agreed upon.
The gravitational force at the surface of Mars is only about one-third as strong as the gravitational force at the surface of the Earth.
Many of the larger rocks at the Viking Lander sites on Mars were given names. These included Toad, Badger, and Guppy, all of which were named because of some resemblance to those creatures, as well as ones named for all seven dwarfs, and the largest of the rocks near the landers was named Big Joe.
At its closest approach to Earth, Mars appears about as big as a tennis ball viewed from a distance of one and a half miles (two and a quarter kilometers).
The main constituent of the Martian atmosphere, carbon dioxide, actually freezes n the surface during the winter, particularly in the polar regions. This can cause global atmoshperic pressure changes. On Earth, water freezes out, but is a minor constituent in the atmosphere.
JUPITER:
The most volcanically active body in the solar system besides the Earth is Jupiter's moon Io. Erupting volcanoes were discovered on Io by the Voyager spacecraft.
Jupiter's magnetosphere is the largest single structure inside the Solar System. If you could see it with your eyes, it would appear larger than our full Moon.
Jupiter's moon Europa may have a liquid water "ocean" far beneath its water ice covered surface.
The Great Red Spot on Jupiter is a hurricane-like storm system. It is large enough that two Earths could fit across it. The Red Spot has been around since at least the early 1600's when it was first detected shortly after the invention of the telescope.
From the Jupiter-facing side of the moon Amalthea, Jupiter would fill up a huge chunk of sky: equivalent to going from the horizon to half way above the horizon.
Jupiter's moon Io, less than 1/3 the size of Earth, puts out twice as much heat as the Earth. This is primarily due to tidal forces from Jupiter's enormous gravitational field causing a constant squeezing and stretching of Io. Heat generated by that squeezing and stretching accounts for Io being the most volcanically active body in the Solar System.
Jupiter's moon Ganymede is the largest moon in the Solar System, and is larger than the planets Mercury and Pluto.
A Jupiter day, the time required for the planet to rotate once, is only about 10 hours long. Jupiter has the shortest day (rotation period) of any planet in the Solar System.
Europa, covered with mostly water ice, has the smoothest surface of any large object in the solar system. This satellite of Jupiter has a mostly flat surface, with no discovered topographic relief larger than 1 km (0.6 mi) in height, even though Europa has an intricate set of cracks criss-crossing its icy surface.
Jupiter's moon Ganymede, the largest moon in the Solar System, has a surface area that is approximately half that of Earth's land surface area (not including Earth's oceans).
Jupiter's core is thought to consist primarily of metallic hydrogen.
SATURN:
All four giant planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) have ring systems. As of 20 years ago, only Saturn was known to have rings. Saturn's ring system is by far the largest and most developed of the four.
URANUS:
Methane gas, which absorbs red light, is what causes Uranus and Neptune to look bluish in color. Methane is a relatively minor constituent of their atmospheres, however. Like Jupiter and Saturn, Uranus and Neptune have atmospheres made mostly of hydrogen and helium.
The planet Uranus was discovered by the eminent English astronomer William Herschel in 1781. He briefly considered naming the planet George in honor of England's King George III.
PLUTO:
Pluto's elliptical orbit sometimes brings it inside of the orbit of Neptune for a few years. We are currently in one of those periods, so right now Neptune is the farthest planet from the Sun.
On average, the distance from Pluto to the Sun is approximately 40 times the distance from the Earth to the Sun. Put a different way, if a scale model were constructed with the Sun on the California coast and the Earth about 75 miles inland, then on the same scale Pluto would be in New York.
MOONS:
Did you know that some of the moons in our Solar System are larger than some of the planets? Jupiter's moon Ganymede, the largest moon in the Solar System, and Saturn's moon Titan are both larger than the planets Mercury and Pluto. The Earth's Moon, Jupiter's moons Callisto, Io, and Europa, and Neptune's moon Triton are all larger than Pluto, but smaller than Mercury.
If you added up the mass of all of the thousands of known asteroids in the asteroid belt, the total would be less than ten percent the mass of the Earth's moon.
Our moon has only one eightieth the mass of the Earth.
A Blue Moon is the second of two full Moons that fall in the same month. This can occur because full Moon's occur roughly every 29.5 days. A Blue Moon occurs roughly every two and three-quarter years. So, now you know how long once in a Blue Moon really is.
The Moon actually appears much brighter than the Sun at gamma ray wavelengths (as seen from the Earth-orbiting Compton Gamma Ray Observatory).
COMETS:
As comets approach the Sun, their tails can become long enough that they stretch from one planet's orbit across the orbit of another planet.
Comet Hale-Bopp is putting out approximately 250 tons of gas and dust per second. This is about 50 times more than most comets produce.
For the first 100 million years or so after the formation of the solar system, a bright, naked-eye comet was visible in the skies of Earth roughly once a week.
Based upon data from the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite, Comet Hyakutake was found to be ejecting ten tons of water every second as it passed near the Sun.
SPACE SHUTTLE:
It only takes the Space Shuttle about 8 minutes to accelerate to its orbital speed of more than 17,000 miles per hour.
The Space Shuttle main engine weighs 1/7th as much as a train engine, but delivers as much horsepower as 39 train engines.
Pioneer 11's speed going past Jupiter was over 107,000 mph, the fastest speed ever traveled by a human-made object.
At almost six billion miles away, Pioneer 10 is the most distant object built by humans.
A Space Shuttle and its boosters ready for launch are the same height as the Statue of Liberty but weigh almost three times as much.
Each of the Space Shuttle's solid rocket boosters burns 5 tons of propellant per second.
The Galileo probe, weighing in at 339 kilograms (750 pounds), will enter Jupiter's atmosphere at 170,000 kilometers per hour (106,000 mph), or more than 50 times faster than a bullet shot out of a rifle. The probe will experience deceleration forces as high as 230 times Earth's gravity. In about two minutes, the orbiter's speed will be slowed to about 1,600 kilometers per hour (1,000 mph).
The amount of power transmitted by the Galileo spacecraft's radio is about the same amount used by a refrigerator light bulb--about 20 watts. By the time they reach Earth, the radio signals from Galileo are incredibly weak (about a billion times fainter than the sound of a transistor radio in New York as heard from Los Angeles).
The average radiation dose per minute absorbed by the Galileo spacecraft during its orbital mission is equivalent to what the average person receives in a whole year on Earth. On December 7, as it made its closest approach to Jupiter, the radiation dose per minute to Galileo exceeded by several times what a person on Earth would receive in their entire lifetime and would have been quite lethal to a human.
The Voyager spacecraft delivery accuracy at Neptune (100 km or 60 mi.) (62 mi), divided by the trip distance of 7,128,603,456 km (4,429,508,700 mi), was the equivalent of sinking a 3630 km (2260 mi.) golf shot, although Voyager, as opposed to a golf shot, was allowed a few minor trajectory adjustments along the way.
It takes radio signals from Earth (traveling at the speed of light: 186,000 miles per second) approximately 9 hours to reach the Pioneer 10 spacecraft, which is the most distant object built by humans. It takes another 9 hours for the spacecraft's response to reach Earth.
NASA's Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, launched in 1991 aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis, is the heaviest spacecraft ever deployed by a Space Shuttle.
The Space Shuttle flies about 200 miles (330 km) above the Earth's surface (equivalent to roughly half the distance between Los Angeles and San Francisco). In contrast, geostationary (stationary with respect to the Earth's surface) communications satellites have to be lofted approximately 21,500 miles (35,800 km) above the Earth's surface, and the Apollo spacecraft were approximately 227,000 miles (378,000 km) above the Earth's surface when they reached the Moon.
In its six years of operation, the Hubble Space Telescope has observed approximately 8000 objects, which is roughly equivalent to the number of stars that can be seen from the surface of Earth with the naked eye.
It currently takes radio signals approximately 35 minutes to get from the Galileo spacecraft to Earth. Galileo, in orbit around Jupiter, is over 635 million kilometers (about 395 million miles) from Earth.
The amount of power being transmitted by the Galileo spacecraft radio is about the same as that used to power a refrigerator light bulb--about 20 watts
The Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) used during Space Shuttle launches are the largest solid-propellant motors ever flown and the first designed for reuse. Each is 149.16 feet long and 12.17 feet in diameter.
The speed required for a spacecraft or other object to completely escape the gravitational pull of the Earth (escape velocity) is approximately 11 km/s (7 mi/s), or about 40,000 km/hr (25,000 mi/hr).
The Galileo spacecraft traveled 2.4 billion miles on its way to Jupiter and along the way used about 67 gallons of fuel to control the flight path and spacecraft attitude. This is the equivalent of about 36 million miles per gallon, although Galileo's usage of fuel was not at all continuous, but rather occurred in discrete bursts.
Each Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) has a thrust of approximately 3,300,000 pounds at launch.
The propellant mixture in each Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) consists of ammonium perchlorate (oxidizer, 69.9 percent by weight), aluminum (fuel, 16 percent), iron oxide (a catalyst, 0.4 percent), a polymer (a binder that holds the mixture together, 12.04 percent), and an epoxy curing agent (1.96 percent).
During launch, the main engines of the Space Shuttle use liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, which are stored in the large, expendable central fuel tank.
During landing of a space shuttle, it takes approximately one minute between touchdown of the wheels and wheelstop, the point at which the shuttle comes to a complete stop.
Viking Lander 1 was originally scheduled to land on July 4, 1976, just as Mars Pathfinder will land on July 4. However, the landing was delayed and the site adjusted because the original site appeared too hazardous in Viking Orbiter photographs. Landing occurred July 20, 1976, seven years after Apollo 11 landed on the Moon.
Mariner 10 was the first spacecraft to encounter two planets (besides Earth) on one mission. It flew past both Venus and Mercury in the early 1970's.
ASTRONAUTS:
Who is the only astronaut to have flown into space on board all five Space Shuttles (including Challenger)? The answer is Story Musgrave.
The first American to eat food in space was Scott Carpenter aboard the Mercury spacecraft Aurora 7 in 1962.
Stump your friends: who was the last astronaut to fly in space alone in a spacecraft? For you space buffs who immediately thought of Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper, think again. It was Apollo 17 command module pilot Ron Evans, who circled the Moon alone while astronauts Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt went to the surface.
Only 12 humans have ever visited another world--all of them walking on the Moon during brief stays between July 20, 1969 and Dec. 13, 1972 as part of the Apollo program.
MARS PATHFINDER:
The Mars Pathfinder rover, named Sojourner, is 63 cm (25 in) long and 48 cm (19 in) wide, and weighs approximately 12 kg (25 lb).
Large channels and valleys on Mars are named after the name for Mars in various languages. For example, Pathfinder landed at the end of Ares Vallis. Ares is the Greek word for Mars.
SIZES & DISTANCE:
Size comparisons: About 1000 Earths would fit inside Jupiter, and about 1000 Jupiters would fit inside the Sun.
Our Solar System, by virtue of its proper motion through our galaxy (the Milky Way) is moving at a speed of 43,000 miles per hour toward the globular cluster of stars known as M13 in the constellation Hercules.
Some of the objects visible in Hubble Space Telescope images are nearly four billion times fainter than the limits of human vision.
Comet Hyakutake's orbit will carry it over 1000 astronomical units from the Sun before it once again heads back towards the Sun in another 7,000 years (1 astronomical unit = the average distance from the Earth to the Sun = 93 million miles = 150 million km). Such large orbits are not unusual for long-period comets. For comparison Pluto is on average 40 astronomical units from the Sun and orbits the Sun once every 248 years.
The largest mountain in the Solar System is Olympus Mons on Mars. At a height of over 26 km (16 mi.), it is nearly 3 times taller than Mt. Everest. Olympus Mons is also enormous in its width: 600 km (360 mi.) across.
If you suspend three grains of sand in a large sports arena, such as Madison Square Garden in New York, the arena will be more closely packed with sand than our galaxy is with stars.
A beam of light travels just over twelve inches in one nano-second (a billionth of a second). Some have suggested naming this unit of distance the phoot.
The elements Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Nitrogen - all crucial to life - are found in roughly the same proportions in comets and human beings.
At Voyager 1's present distance, sunlight is only one five-thousandth as intense as it is on Earth. Radio signals from Voyager 1, traveling at the speed of light (300,000 kilometers per second) take 9 hours and 36 minutes to reach Earth.
The first experimental confirmation of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity was made during the total solar eclipse of May 29, 1919. During an eclipse, bright stars become visible. Einstein had predicted that gravity from the Sun would slightly bend the path of starlight passing close to the Sun. Astronomers tested this assertion by measuring the positions of several stars that appeared close to the Sun during the 1919 eclipse. The deviations in the observed positions of these stars due to the Sun's gravity matched Einstein's predictions.
If all of the particles that make up Saturn's rings were gathered together, they would form a sphere about 120 miles in diameter, roughly the size of Saturn's seventh largest moon, Mimas.
The average distance between stars in the spiral arms of the Milky Way galaxy is currently estimated to be seven light years, or sixty-six trillion kilometers. This distance is equal to roughly 443,000 times the distance between the Earth and Sun.
THE SUN:
The Sun looks 1600 times fainter from Pluto than it does from the Earth.
Comets' tails point away from the Sun at all times. Thus, when a comet is moving away from the Sun, its tail is actually leading. Comet tails are caused by dust and gas being lost from the comet and then pushed away from the Sun by the solar wind (charged particles moving out from the Sun) and by radiation pressure from the Sun.
The Sun is a fairly average star in terms of mass, temperature, and size.
The Earth orbits the Sun at an average velocity of approximately 30 kilometers per second (18 miles per second). Planets closer to the Sun travel faster in their orbits and planets further away travel slower.
Sunspots appear dark because they are cooler than the surrounding areas on the Sun, and therefore radiate less light and appear "dark" relative to the areas around them. Sunspot temperatures average about 3800 degrees versus 5800 degrees Celsius for the average surface of the Sun.
Due to frequent collisions with subatomic particles, it takes a typical gamma ray photon about one million years to travel from the core of the Sun to its surface, even though gamma rays travel at the speed of light (the gamma ray region of light has shorter wavelengths than X-rays). By the time the photon that started out as a gamma ray photon escapes the solar furnace, it has lost so much energy through collisions that it emerges from the Sun's surface as a photon of ordinary, visible light.
MERCURY:
The water ice may exist in the bottoms of craters at Mercury's poles, based upon radar data taken in recent years. Even though Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, and extremely hot over most of its surface, ice may exist at the bottoms of some polar craters because the crater floors are permanently shadowed by the crater rims.
VENUS:
The surface of Venus is obscured by clouds at ultraviolet, visible, and infrared wavelengths, which is why the Pioneer and Magellan spacecraft used radar to penetrate the clouds and image the surface.
The atmospheric pressure you would experience on the surface of Venus is approximately equal to the pressure you would experience 3000 feet (approx. 1 km) down in the Earth's oceans, i.e., about 90 times the pressure at the Earth's surface.
Venus rotates very slowly. A Venus day, the time it takes Venus to rotate once, is approximately 243 Earth days long.
Venus is the brightest natural object in the sky besides the Sun and Moon. It can be as much as 15 times brighter than the brightest star (Sirius).
All of the major features on the planet Venus are named after famous women in history and mythology.
EARTH :
This is the only unique planet that has life in the known world.
Almost all of the Oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere has been produced by living organisms. Oxygen accounts for 21% of our atmosphere, with Nitrogen making up 78%, and a mixture of other gases composing the remaining 1%. Oxygen only occurs as a minor constituent in the atmospheres of other planets in our Solar System.
The Earth has the highest average density (5.52 g/cubic cm) of any planet in our Solar System. Saturn has the lowest (0.69 g/cubic cm). For reference, the density of liquid water is 1 g/cubic cm.
MARS:
The liquid water does not currently occur on Mars because of the cold temperatures and low atmospheric pressures. Only water ice and water gas (vapor) are stable. However, large channels on Mars appear to have been cut by outflows of liquid water during Mars' distant past which may have had warmer temperatures and a much thicker atmosphere.
The largest canyon system in the Solar System is Valles Marineris on Mars. It is more than 3000 miles long and so would stretch from California to New York. In some places it reaches 3 miles in depth and 200 miles in width.
Mars' surface area is approximately the same as the surface area of all the land (as opposed to water) on Earth. So, even though Mars is a smaller planet, studying its surface is just as large a task as studying all of Earth's land surfaces.
Mars has two large-scale geologic regions (in addition to many smaller geologic variations within both regions). The "Southern Highlands," which cover a little more than half of Mars' surface, are composed of old (at least 3.9 billion years) densely cratered terrain. The "Northern Plains" have lower and more variable crater densities, indicating that the plains are younger and formed over a much longer period of time. The cause of this Martian geologic dichotomy is not yet agreed upon.
The gravitational force at the surface of Mars is only about one-third as strong as the gravitational force at the surface of the Earth.
Many of the larger rocks at the Viking Lander sites on Mars were given names. These included Toad, Badger, and Guppy, all of which were named because of some resemblance to those creatures, as well as ones named for all seven dwarfs, and the largest of the rocks near the landers was named Big Joe.
At its closest approach to Earth, Mars appears about as big as a tennis ball viewed from a distance of one and a half miles (two and a quarter kilometers).
The main constituent of the Martian atmosphere, carbon dioxide, actually freezes n the surface during the winter, particularly in the polar regions. This can cause global atmoshperic pressure changes. On Earth, water freezes out, but is a minor constituent in the atmosphere.
JUPITER:
The most volcanically active body in the solar system besides the Earth is Jupiter's moon Io. Erupting volcanoes were discovered on Io by the Voyager spacecraft.
Jupiter's magnetosphere is the largest single structure inside the Solar System. If you could see it with your eyes, it would appear larger than our full Moon.
Jupiter's moon Europa may have a liquid water "ocean" far beneath its water ice covered surface.
The Great Red Spot on Jupiter is a hurricane-like storm system. It is large enough that two Earths could fit across it. The Red Spot has been around since at least the early 1600's when it was first detected shortly after the invention of the telescope.
From the Jupiter-facing side of the moon Amalthea, Jupiter would fill up a huge chunk of sky: equivalent to going from the horizon to half way above the horizon.
Jupiter's moon Io, less than 1/3 the size of Earth, puts out twice as much heat as the Earth. This is primarily due to tidal forces from Jupiter's enormous gravitational field causing a constant squeezing and stretching of Io. Heat generated by that squeezing and stretching accounts for Io being the most volcanically active body in the Solar System.
Jupiter's moon Ganymede is the largest moon in the Solar System, and is larger than the planets Mercury and Pluto.
A Jupiter day, the time required for the planet to rotate once, is only about 10 hours long. Jupiter has the shortest day (rotation period) of any planet in the Solar System.
Europa, covered with mostly water ice, has the smoothest surface of any large object in the solar system. This satellite of Jupiter has a mostly flat surface, with no discovered topographic relief larger than 1 km (0.6 mi) in height, even though Europa has an intricate set of cracks criss-crossing its icy surface.
Jupiter's moon Ganymede, the largest moon in the Solar System, has a surface area that is approximately half that of Earth's land surface area (not including Earth's oceans).
Jupiter's core is thought to consist primarily of metallic hydrogen.
SATURN:
All four giant planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) have ring systems. As of 20 years ago, only Saturn was known to have rings. Saturn's ring system is by far the largest and most developed of the four.
URANUS:
Methane gas, which absorbs red light, is what causes Uranus and Neptune to look bluish in color. Methane is a relatively minor constituent of their atmospheres, however. Like Jupiter and Saturn, Uranus and Neptune have atmospheres made mostly of hydrogen and helium.
The planet Uranus was discovered by the eminent English astronomer William Herschel in 1781. He briefly considered naming the planet George in honor of England's King George III.
PLUTO:
Pluto's elliptical orbit sometimes brings it inside of the orbit of Neptune for a few years. We are currently in one of those periods, so right now Neptune is the farthest planet from the Sun.
On average, the distance from Pluto to the Sun is approximately 40 times the distance from the Earth to the Sun. Put a different way, if a scale model were constructed with the Sun on the California coast and the Earth about 75 miles inland, then on the same scale Pluto would be in New York.
MOONS:
Did you know that some of the moons in our Solar System are larger than some of the planets? Jupiter's moon Ganymede, the largest moon in the Solar System, and Saturn's moon Titan are both larger than the planets Mercury and Pluto. The Earth's Moon, Jupiter's moons Callisto, Io, and Europa, and Neptune's moon Triton are all larger than Pluto, but smaller than Mercury.
If you added up the mass of all of the thousands of known asteroids in the asteroid belt, the total would be less than ten percent the mass of the Earth's moon.
Our moon has only one eightieth the mass of the Earth.
A Blue Moon is the second of two full Moons that fall in the same month. This can occur because full Moon's occur roughly every 29.5 days. A Blue Moon occurs roughly every two and three-quarter years. So, now you know how long once in a Blue Moon really is.
The Moon actually appears much brighter than the Sun at gamma ray wavelengths (as seen from the Earth-orbiting Compton Gamma Ray Observatory).
COMETS:
As comets approach the Sun, their tails can become long enough that they stretch from one planet's orbit across the orbit of another planet.
Comet Hale-Bopp is putting out approximately 250 tons of gas and dust per second. This is about 50 times more than most comets produce.
For the first 100 million years or so after the formation of the solar system, a bright, naked-eye comet was visible in the skies of Earth roughly once a week.
Based upon data from the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite, Comet Hyakutake was found to be ejecting ten tons of water every second as it passed near the Sun.
SPACE SHUTTLE:
It only takes the Space Shuttle about 8 minutes to accelerate to its orbital speed of more than 17,000 miles per hour.
The Space Shuttle main engine weighs 1/7th as much as a train engine, but delivers as much horsepower as 39 train engines.
Pioneer 11's speed going past Jupiter was over 107,000 mph, the fastest speed ever traveled by a human-made object.
At almost six billion miles away, Pioneer 10 is the most distant object built by humans.
A Space Shuttle and its boosters ready for launch are the same height as the Statue of Liberty but weigh almost three times as much.
Each of the Space Shuttle's solid rocket boosters burns 5 tons of propellant per second.
The Galileo probe, weighing in at 339 kilograms (750 pounds), will enter Jupiter's atmosphere at 170,000 kilometers per hour (106,000 mph), or more than 50 times faster than a bullet shot out of a rifle. The probe will experience deceleration forces as high as 230 times Earth's gravity. In about two minutes, the orbiter's speed will be slowed to about 1,600 kilometers per hour (1,000 mph).
The amount of power transmitted by the Galileo spacecraft's radio is about the same amount used by a refrigerator light bulb--about 20 watts. By the time they reach Earth, the radio signals from Galileo are incredibly weak (about a billion times fainter than the sound of a transistor radio in New York as heard from Los Angeles).
The average radiation dose per minute absorbed by the Galileo spacecraft during its orbital mission is equivalent to what the average person receives in a whole year on Earth. On December 7, as it made its closest approach to Jupiter, the radiation dose per minute to Galileo exceeded by several times what a person on Earth would receive in their entire lifetime and would have been quite lethal to a human.
The Voyager spacecraft delivery accuracy at Neptune (100 km or 60 mi.) (62 mi), divided by the trip distance of 7,128,603,456 km (4,429,508,700 mi), was the equivalent of sinking a 3630 km (2260 mi.) golf shot, although Voyager, as opposed to a golf shot, was allowed a few minor trajectory adjustments along the way.
It takes radio signals from Earth (traveling at the speed of light: 186,000 miles per second) approximately 9 hours to reach the Pioneer 10 spacecraft, which is the most distant object built by humans. It takes another 9 hours for the spacecraft's response to reach Earth.
NASA's Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, launched in 1991 aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis, is the heaviest spacecraft ever deployed by a Space Shuttle.
The Space Shuttle flies about 200 miles (330 km) above the Earth's surface (equivalent to roughly half the distance between Los Angeles and San Francisco). In contrast, geostationary (stationary with respect to the Earth's surface) communications satellites have to be lofted approximately 21,500 miles (35,800 km) above the Earth's surface, and the Apollo spacecraft were approximately 227,000 miles (378,000 km) above the Earth's surface when they reached the Moon.
In its six years of operation, the Hubble Space Telescope has observed approximately 8000 objects, which is roughly equivalent to the number of stars that can be seen from the surface of Earth with the naked eye.
It currently takes radio signals approximately 35 minutes to get from the Galileo spacecraft to Earth. Galileo, in orbit around Jupiter, is over 635 million kilometers (about 395 million miles) from Earth.
The amount of power being transmitted by the Galileo spacecraft radio is about the same as that used to power a refrigerator light bulb--about 20 watts
The Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) used during Space Shuttle launches are the largest solid-propellant motors ever flown and the first designed for reuse. Each is 149.16 feet long and 12.17 feet in diameter.
The speed required for a spacecraft or other object to completely escape the gravitational pull of the Earth (escape velocity) is approximately 11 km/s (7 mi/s), or about 40,000 km/hr (25,000 mi/hr).
The Galileo spacecraft traveled 2.4 billion miles on its way to Jupiter and along the way used about 67 gallons of fuel to control the flight path and spacecraft attitude. This is the equivalent of about 36 million miles per gallon, although Galileo's usage of fuel was not at all continuous, but rather occurred in discrete bursts.
Each Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) has a thrust of approximately 3,300,000 pounds at launch.
The propellant mixture in each Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) consists of ammonium perchlorate (oxidizer, 69.9 percent by weight), aluminum (fuel, 16 percent), iron oxide (a catalyst, 0.4 percent), a polymer (a binder that holds the mixture together, 12.04 percent), and an epoxy curing agent (1.96 percent).
During launch, the main engines of the Space Shuttle use liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, which are stored in the large, expendable central fuel tank.
During landing of a space shuttle, it takes approximately one minute between touchdown of the wheels and wheelstop, the point at which the shuttle comes to a complete stop.
Viking Lander 1 was originally scheduled to land on July 4, 1976, just as Mars Pathfinder will land on July 4. However, the landing was delayed and the site adjusted because the original site appeared too hazardous in Viking Orbiter photographs. Landing occurred July 20, 1976, seven years after Apollo 11 landed on the Moon.
Mariner 10 was the first spacecraft to encounter two planets (besides Earth) on one mission. It flew past both Venus and Mercury in the early 1970's.
ASTRONAUTS:
Who is the only astronaut to have flown into space on board all five Space Shuttles (including Challenger)? The answer is Story Musgrave.
The first American to eat food in space was Scott Carpenter aboard the Mercury spacecraft Aurora 7 in 1962.
Stump your friends: who was the last astronaut to fly in space alone in a spacecraft? For you space buffs who immediately thought of Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper, think again. It was Apollo 17 command module pilot Ron Evans, who circled the Moon alone while astronauts Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt went to the surface.
Only 12 humans have ever visited another world--all of them walking on the Moon during brief stays between July 20, 1969 and Dec. 13, 1972 as part of the Apollo program.
MARS PATHFINDER:
The Mars Pathfinder rover, named Sojourner, is 63 cm (25 in) long and 48 cm (19 in) wide, and weighs approximately 12 kg (25 lb).
Large channels and valleys on Mars are named after the name for Mars in various languages. For example, Pathfinder landed at the end of Ares Vallis. Ares is the Greek word for Mars.
SIZES & DISTANCE:
Size comparisons: About 1000 Earths would fit inside Jupiter, and about 1000 Jupiters would fit inside the Sun.
Our Solar System, by virtue of its proper motion through our galaxy (the Milky Way) is moving at a speed of 43,000 miles per hour toward the globular cluster of stars known as M13 in the constellation Hercules.
Some of the objects visible in Hubble Space Telescope images are nearly four billion times fainter than the limits of human vision.
Comet Hyakutake's orbit will carry it over 1000 astronomical units from the Sun before it once again heads back towards the Sun in another 7,000 years (1 astronomical unit = the average distance from the Earth to the Sun = 93 million miles = 150 million km). Such large orbits are not unusual for long-period comets. For comparison Pluto is on average 40 astronomical units from the Sun and orbits the Sun once every 248 years.
The largest mountain in the Solar System is Olympus Mons on Mars. At a height of over 26 km (16 mi.), it is nearly 3 times taller than Mt. Everest. Olympus Mons is also enormous in its width: 600 km (360 mi.) across.
If you suspend three grains of sand in a large sports arena, such as Madison Square Garden in New York, the arena will be more closely packed with sand than our galaxy is with stars.
A beam of light travels just over twelve inches in one nano-second (a billionth of a second). Some have suggested naming this unit of distance the phoot.
The elements Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Nitrogen - all crucial to life - are found in roughly the same proportions in comets and human beings.
At Voyager 1's present distance, sunlight is only one five-thousandth as intense as it is on Earth. Radio signals from Voyager 1, traveling at the speed of light (300,000 kilometers per second) take 9 hours and 36 minutes to reach Earth.
The first experimental confirmation of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity was made during the total solar eclipse of May 29, 1919. During an eclipse, bright stars become visible. Einstein had predicted that gravity from the Sun would slightly bend the path of starlight passing close to the Sun. Astronomers tested this assertion by measuring the positions of several stars that appeared close to the Sun during the 1919 eclipse. The deviations in the observed positions of these stars due to the Sun's gravity matched Einstein's predictions.
If all of the particles that make up Saturn's rings were gathered together, they would form a sphere about 120 miles in diameter, roughly the size of Saturn's seventh largest moon, Mimas.
The average distance between stars in the spiral arms of the Milky Way galaxy is currently estimated to be seven light years, or sixty-six trillion kilometers. This distance is equal to roughly 443,000 times the distance between the Earth and Sun.
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