The Banke Vataram : The Themes Of The Vande Mataram

He is an award winning historian and travel writer. His area of interest includes the history of India, Pakistan, Afganisthan, the Middle East, Mughal rule, the Muslim World, Hinduism, Buddhism and Jains. Most of his books have won literary prizes. His books are travel and historical accounts. His books have been translated into 30 languages. He is a regular contributor to ‘The New York’, ‘Review of Books’, The Guardian, ‘The New Statesman’, and The New Yorker’. He has also written many articles for Time Magazine. He wrote an essay ‘Business as usual for the India Charges Ahead’. It was a special issue commemorating 60 years of Indian Independence. To bring accuracy to his writings, he juxtaposed the literary and non-literary sources and to provide meticulous material with no single error, he reached to the places that were referred in the sources. He enquired the people of that area and provided direct word and eye witness. One of the books that analyze and interpret the present society is ‘The Age of

“Let us always remember that we are all children of our mother country. Indeed, I have never worked in any other spirit than that I am an Indian and owe a duty to my country and to all my countrymen. Whether I am a Hindu, a Mohammedan, a Christian, a Parsi or any other creed, I am above all an Indian. Our country is India; our nationality is Indian.”

An artist has the ability to connect with one’s audience through their art and the obscure connotations that appear beneath it, not just the image that lies on the surface. Artists Jan Van Eyck and Caravaggio communicate these implications through their work, utilising symbols and motifs. Van Eyck’s The Arnolfini Portrait (1434) explores the social status of the time, along with the issue of marriage between two unequals. Caravaggio’s The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist (1608) reflects the world of his time’s attitude on violence and the insensitivity of a positive resolution. Although, these two paintings showcase incredible technique and attention to detail, the context is what is integral to the audience’s understanding of their world

The Fenians sought to outflank the British Coast Guards stationed in Canada with guerilla warfare. Their plan was to cause a bloody rebellion until news that the treatment of the Irish has improved or until the patience of England is quite worn out. The lyrics “..we’re going to fight for Ireland…. And we’ll go and capture, for we’ve got nothing else to do” exemplifies the Fenians rentlesslesnes and the pride they took in trying to liberate Ireland.

During the first song, ‘Thomas Muif of Huntershill’, this song depicts Muir’s transportation as unfortunate, discussing the major themes during the criminal justice system of Britain in the eighteenth and nineteenth century such as a lack of freedom and an unfair trial. The song goes, “M’lord, you found me guilty before the trial begun”, which shows that Muir believes he was not given a fair trial. Further, he goes to say that no one could testify that he ever broke the law. As a result of his transportation, he has been sentenced to fourteen years. Muir closes with “when you vote in an election when you freely voice your thought” which further represents the lack of free will convicts of this time had which included not having the ability to vote further dividing him as a convict, from the rest of society. The second song, ‘Black Velvet Band’ depicts the character of a man who was given seven years for theft after being drawn in by a beautiful woman. The song states, “Be aware of pretty colleens” and continuously refers to the black velvet band. Moreover, it goes it mentions the use of alcohol landing himself in Van Dieman’s Land saying “They’ll feed you with strong drink ‘Til you are unable to stand and the very first thing that you’ll know is you’ve landed in Van Dieman’s Land”. Both of these songs do a very good job at showing the readers what the convicts that were transported, lives were

Have you ever wondered who God appointed to sail four times farther than Christopher Columbus on his first official expedition and became one the the most superb navigators of all time? Around 1497, Vasco da Gama, who was raised near the Atlantic Ocean, was chosen by the King of Portugal to lead an over 24,000 mile expedition, which would establish a direct open water and spice trade route from Portugal to India. Making Portugal a dominate power in politics, trade and colonization, Vasco da Gama finished what Bartolomeu Dias started, and valiantly accomplished what Christopher Columbus could not.

Vasco da Gama once said “I am not afraid of the darkness. Real death is preferable to a life without living.” Vasco da Gama might have been one of the great European explorers of his time.

In Tennyson’s poem “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” tells about the charge on the English army to go recuperate weaponry that their adversary stole, so they charge into “valley of Death” knowing they could die due to fact they do not have weapons. The captain make an order can no one dare “to make a reply”, “to reason why”, “but to die and to die.” When we read the first line, a reasonable comment should be that those soldiers are foolish to go to war even though they know that they will fail or rather die. However, for Tennyson it is not the case, this charge is patriotic and of common sense “when their glory fade?” He even congratulates them for their act “Honour the light Brigade.” We thus see for Tennyson die for one country, whether the circumstances, is a good thing to do. In addition, for Kipling’s poem If who is more sentimental pass through the advice of father to his son and assumption in which one is required to take action in honor of the country. He clearly incites Englishmen to enlist to the army to battle for England. Notwithstanding, the element which is peculiar is that he clearly incites the English to go colonize and reign on India. “Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it.” Contrary to other works of Kipling as “Wee Willie Winkee” and “The One Who Will Be King” wherein he seemed to sympathize and want peace to the Indians, in “If” we no longer see this noble wish but the domination. In McCrae’s poem “In Flanders Field,” appears to states two point of view. One Is that enemy went on a village and kill people, so he incites the people on village to go revenge them by being a soldier. Hence, he had the same idea as Kipling and Tennyson to incite people fight for tee country. Second, perspective conversely to the former poem hitherto is that in which way the people in the village can avenge

Contemporary comparative erudition on the topic of nationalism proposes another reason for India’s democratic survival. Under the independence movement, with the governance of Gandhi, Nehru and the Congress party turned what formerly had been a cultural unit into a nation with a cultural political unit. This transformation perpetuated Indian democracy: “There has to be a political unit before there can be a democracy” The strategic communications between British authorities and national movement leaders also laid the fundamentals of democracy. No historical explanation can be comprehensive unless it takes the “agency” of India’s freedom movement into justification – with the attainment of India’s autonomy. (Varshney 1998: 38)

Hence, the purpose of this letter was written in hopes of giving the British government an idea of the tension India has with them since they do not approve of their constrictive efforts and lack of acknowledgment for the war effort. It emphasizes the trend of decreased Indian involvement due to British policy and outlines the effects this has on the people of India. This source is a valuable example of a personal statement made by the leader of the Indian people and it introduces key concepts as to why British rule is a “curse.” However, limitations to my investigation using this source are that it may be biased since Gandhi is a Hindu reformer and this letter outlines his actions personally not the entire nation. Another limitation is the time period in which the letter was written as it could not meet the needs of the people and the sacrifice they made and wanting

In history, Samad’s Great-Grandfather, Mangal Pande, was the person who fired the first shot in the Indian Mutiny of 1857. According to Samad, Mangal Pande was a hero and every act that he has undertaken in the war had been in the shadow of his example. In Samad’s life, however, he is ridiculed by his English academics and they will never give him his due. Pande is also ridiculed for his suicide attempt. Samad looks up to Mangal Pande as the hero of the Indian Mutiny. (pg 84)

It was composed by Arthur Sullivan in 1871. The lyric of the hymn was first written for children. But later on, it has been associated with protest, war, funeral etc. Besides that, Winston Churchill chose this song for the battle ship. Furthermore, in one of the verses, it is mentioned, “We are not divided, all one body we/ one in hope and doctrine, one in charity.” I don’t understand what prompt them to fight if they think all of us came from the one body. Is it due to materialistic desires?

Vasco Da Gama was the first european to sail from europe to india. He made one of the

Vasco da Gama's revolutionary sea expedition to India is one of the most crucial moments in the entire history of exploration. Till the middle of 15th century, Portugal was the foremost seafaring country in Europe. King Manuel I: the ruler of Portugal hired about four ships for the voyage around Africa to the legendary land of India. King Manuel I knew that India was a huge cradle of variety of spices, which were extremely rare to see in other places and moreover they were pretty expensive in Europe. The king had also noticed that the Muslim merchants transported the spices by caravans through Arabian deserts and sold them in the markets of the Mediterranean ports. King Manuel I expected a new sea route to India, as that would enable him to import spices directly. This achievement was very important for Portugal as they could trade and earn money a lot of money from it. India was filled with spices: Pepper was a very common and the most used spice, it was used to preserve food and to flavor spoiled meat. Pepper was originated from Cochin and Malabar Coast in India. Cloves and cinnamon were equally used. They were used for keeping the food hygienic and ventilated. They were also sprinkled across the floor to avoid foot odor from entering the room. Many spices were also used for the cure of various illnesses and deadly diseases. India was the foremost spice trader for most of the countries including Europe.

After reading the Sermon at Benares, I do find the concept of the “middle path” as expressed in the provided text, to explicate that we must strike a common ground in our every day life. In particular, I liked how the passage talked about the “two extremes”, and how there must be a balance between the notions of “ self-indulgence” and “self-mortification”. Resultantly, if we are to pursue or to achieve Nirvana, we must live a proper life. We should not shy away from our passions or desires, but at the same time, we should not indulge. We must be moderate and fulfill what is only needed for our mind and body. Only then, can we follow the “middle path”, and live a fulfilling life that is meaningful and abundant.