Brigadier Mohammad Usman: A Great Army Officer of India Born in July and Died in July

 For the common citizens’ peace and happiness and to keep our international border safe , time to time many army personnel of different cadres irrespective of caste , creed and religions have sacrificed their lives. I am presenting a case of a great army officer Brigadier Mohammad Usman who was born on 15 July 1912 in present Uttar Pradesh and died on 3 July 1948 while fighting with the enemies at Naushera in Jammu Kashmir. He was a great patriot as at the time of partition of India he along with many other Muslim officers declined to go to Pakistan to join in Pakistan Army. 

It is pertinent to mention that partition of India was the most unfortunate part in the history of India. The common people irrespective of caste, creed and religion fought against the British Raj but unfortunately few leaders supported by the British in those only to enjoy power were the architects of the partition at the cost of human lives. Unfortunately these power hungry leaders enjoyed the power because the partition displaced between 10 and 20 million people along religious lines, and 200,000 to 2 million deaths took place. And lakhs of women were assaulted and huge properties were damaged.  All were the common people of different religions. 

Anyway, Brigadier was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra and it is pertinent to mention that the Maha Vir Chakra (MVC, a great warrior medal) is the second highest military award  in India after the Param Vir Chakra. 

Brigadier Usman studied at Harish Chandra Bhai School in Varanasi. He had a great desire to join the army so with a lot of struggle got admission in the prestigious Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst (RMAS). He was commissioned as Second Lieutenant on 1 February 1934. Later on he was posted to the 5th battalion of 10th Baluch Regiment. For his great service, he was promoted as Lieutenant in April 1936 later on in August 1941 he was promoted as Captain. From February to July 1942, he attended the Indian Army Staff College at Ouetta (now in Pakistan). During partition, he was under great pressure from the Pakistani leadership to join in the Pakistani Army and it is now fact that Brigadier Usman had declined a request from Muhammad Ali Jinnah to settle in Pakistan. Also it is believed that he was promised in future as Pakistan's Army Chief. When the Baluch Regiment was allotted to Pakistan after partition, Brigadier was transferred to the Dogra Regiment in India.

 In January- February 1948 Brigadier Usman repulsed the attack from the Pakistan side in Naushera and Jhangar, both highly strategic locations in Jammu and Kashmir.  Indian forces inflicted around 2000 casualties on the Pakistani side (about 1000 dead and 1000 wounded) while Indian forces suffered only 33 dead and 102 wounded. For his bravery and skill and prowess, Pakistani forces announced a sum of Rs.50,000 for his  head. 

According to the Government of India, Press Information Bureau, “Late Brigadier Mohammad Usman, also known as the savior of Naushera, was responsible for the recapture of Jhangar & Naushera (Jammu & Kashmir) during the 1947-48 war with Pakistan. The gallant officer attained martyrdom on 03rd July 1948 when an enemy artillery shell landed close to him in Naushera”.

A great salute to the Brigadier as in July month he was born and also left for heavenly abode by saving our border. 

 The following websites and Press release have been consulted while writing the article:

1)    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad_Usman

2)    Government of India. Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Defence, 03-July-2014

3)    https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/army-to-restore-defaced-jamia-grave-of-    war- hero/cid/1802136

   Dr Shankar Chatterjee, Hyderabad Dt 20 July 2021

Case of a Valiant Rat Who Saved Lives of Many Human Beings: Awarded PDSA Gold Medal

 As a senior citizen from my school days, I have read in various newspapers and later on watched on TV that many stalwarts have received gold medals for their dedication whether for the development of science and technology or any other innovation or other noble activities even for the supreme great sacrifice made by the person. But here I am presenting a case of a special type of Rat named as 'Magawa' who was awarded the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA), a veterinary charity in the United Kingdom Gold Medal in September, 2020. This Medal is also described as the George Cross for Animals. He was the first rat awarded with the medal in the charity's 77-year history. Many newspapers including foreign newspapers and also on TV channels highlighted the case of this rat.  I am presenting again so that many readers can get an idea about if anyone has missed. The rat, an African breed after its training named as ’Magawa’, has helped to find 39 landmines and 28 unexploded munitions in his lifetime after training in Cambodia. It is pertinent to mention that landmines are explosives. These mines have detonating systems that are triggered by the pressure of any person or bulky animals. There are two types of landmines- a) anti-personnel landmines, aimed at killing or injuring a person (or bulky animals may also die if foot touches), and b) anti-tank mines, designed to destroy or incapacitate vehicles.

The landmines were first used during World War I, but their deployment increased from 1960 onwards.  According to Landmine Monitor more than 120,000 people were killed or wounded by the landmines between 1999 and 2017. It is unfortunate to mention that about half of the victims were children. According to the mine-clearing NGO the HALO Trust, Cambodia has recorded more than 64,000 casualties and little more than 25,000 amputees due to landmines since 1979. Most of the landmines were laid during the country's civil war in the 1970s and 1980s. Anyway the special type of rats after imparting training are used to detect a chemical compound within the explosives which means they ignore scrap metal and can search for mines more quickly and thus lakhs of human lives were saved and now also these rats are in job. The rats are certified after training and normally the training period is one year. These specially trained rats detect landmines from 1990. As already mentioned ’Magawa’ was trained by the Belgium-registered charity organisation viz., APOPO, (Anti-Personnel Landmines Removal Product Development), in Tanzania that trains rats like 'Magawa' to find landmines. APOPO has been nurturing the rats - known as 'HeroRATs'. 

According to APOPO, Magawa was born and raised in Tanzania. Its weight after full development was 1.2 kilogram and was 70 centimetres long. So if Magawa walks over the mine but because of the lightweight mine does not blow.  According to the report 'Magawa' has discovered 39 landmines and 28 items of unexploded ordnance, making him the charity’s most successful ‘HeroRAT’. During his career he has helped to clear more than 141,000 square metres of land (the equivalent of twenty football grounds). ‘Magawa’ can search an area of a tennis court​(size) in 30 minutes, which for a person with a metal detector takes a minimum​ ​​of ​ one day.

These rats, if they survive, can extend service up to five years.  'Magawa' the heroic rat, has retired after sniffing out landmines for five years by saving the lives of thousands of people mainly in Cambodia (he is now around seven years old).  According to the website, (pdsa.org.uk/magawa), ‘He’ll spend his time playing and relaxing!’

My great salute to the valiant soul.

References:

1)      https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-49799292

2)      https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57345703

3)      https://www.newsbred.com/article/magwa-the-rat-is-hero-in-detecting-mines-explosives-as-long-as-peanuts-keep-coming

4)      https://www.pdsa.org.uk/what-we-do/animal-awards-programme/pdsa-gold-medal/magawa

Dr Shankar Chatterjee, Hyderabad Dt. 11 July 2021

 

1 July Celebrated Two Events in India: National Doctors’ Day & National Chartered Accountant Day

 Every year the first July in our country is celebrated as two famous events - one is Doctors’ Day and another is National Chartered Accountant Day. Both have importance in our life. All human beings required the service of medical doctors during their lifetime. My father was MBBS of Calcutta Medical College, served in Guwahati, Assam and I have observed the services rendered by him to all the echelons of the society. Similarly, accounting is important in our family life also as in the family particularly the earning member and the spouse based on the income spends money, a sort of budget is prepared. I am highlighting the importance of both the Days so that the young generation can get ideas. Also researchers can take up in-depth study in this regard. 

      National Doctors' Day is celebrated as recognition to the service rendered by the medical doctors in India the National Doctors' Day is celebrated on 1 July across India to honour the legendary physician and the second Chief Minister of West Bengal, Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy popularly known as Dr. B.C. Roy. He was born on 1 July, 1882 in Patna and died on the same date (July 1) in 1962 in then Calcutta now Kolkata after treating some patients in morning hours. He was a follower of Brahmo Samaj and in those days many intellectuals in Bengal advocated Brahmo Samaj philosophy to counter evil practices of Hinduism such as Sati system etc. Dr. Roy led the Civil disobedience movement in Bengal and was later on elected as Mayor of Calcutta Corporation. He is still considered a greatest Chief Minister of West Bengal ( according to me best among the CMs of West Bengal) and a visionary of developing the State as after independence a lot of industrial development took place in the State. Medical institutions like Jadavpur TB Hospital, Chittaranjan Seva Sadan, Victoria Institution (college), Chittaranjan Cancer Hospital and the Chittaranjan Seva Sadan for women and children were set up during his regime. He was also referred to as the first medical consultant in the subcontinent of India and was more successful and dedicated than his contemporaries in several fields, mentioned British Medical Journal. It may be mentioned that many countries celebrate Doctors' Day based on their own situation. It has to be admitted that amid the pandemic, the role of medical staff and paramedical staff is commendable as at the cost of their own life they have been doing excellent work. Cheers to the spirit and dedication of the front line workers who immensely contributed in the hour of crisis.

National Chartered Accountant Day is observed in order to celebrate the formation of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) on 1 July, 1949. ICAI is the sole licensing and regulatory body for the financial audit and accounting profession in India. It is pertinent to mention that in 1913, the British Government passed the Companies Act that prescribed a list of books that every registered firm had to maintain. Accordingly, an auditor had to be appointed which had the power to audit these books. In 1918, a course named ‘Government Diploma in Accountancy’ was introduced in Bombay now Mumbai and after completing this course the person was eligible to work as an Auditor throughout India. After some years, the course was discontinued. In the year 1930, the British Government decided to maintain a Register called the Register of Accountants and head was Registered Accountant. After independence, in the year 1948, an expert committee was set up to examine the matters. The committee suggested a separate autonomous association of accountants should be set up to regulate. Accordingly, on 1 July 1949 Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) was formed.

 On this auspicious occasion my salute to all the Doctors, the supporting staff and also to all the Accountants. 

 Dr. Shankar Chatterjee, Hyderabad Dt. 1 July 2021