Participants of the bicycle tour visit the statue of Umaji Naik, one of the freedom fighters who fought against British occupation.
Participants of the bicycle tour visit the statue of Umaji Naik, one of the freedom fighters who fought against British occupation.
Participants of the bicycle tour visit the statue of Umaji Naik, one of the freedom fighters who fought against British occupation.
Participants of the bicycle tour visit the statue of Umaji Naik, one of the freedom fighters who fought against British occupation.

Highlighting the heroes of India's freedom fight


  • English
  • Arabic

NEW DELHI // A secret radio station that spread the word to revolutionaries and a "Robin Hood" who stole from the British to help poor farmers are just some of the stories of India's freedom struggle that activists in one city hope to keep fresh 66 years after independence.

Between 1875 and 1910, the city of Pune in Maharashtra state was a hotbed of agitation against the British.

Prajakta Panshikar, an anthropologist, has now helped put together a tour showcasing the city's role in achieving India's independence on August 15, 1947.

"Pune was an important intellectual seat for ideas about freedom," Ms Panshikar said. "The freedom struggle contributions from here are very much alive and we just wanted to give it a proper programme."

The tour, which launched on Wednesday, visits 16 spots to tell the stories of 17 revolutionaries from the city.

The first is a dispensary, a two-storey building that belonged to Bhau Rangari, an Ayurvedic doctor and revolutionary in the 1800s.

Political activists met in secret chambers hidden behind doors disguised as medicine cabinets, said Srikrishna Bhave, a historian and secretary of the Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal, an institute for historical research.

The clandestine meetings covered a range of topics, from looting British businesses to weapons smuggling.

These were common ideas "at that time, but people were not allowed to discuss such things in public because the British banned public meetings", Mr Bhave said.

The building that once housed a secret radio station no longer exists but the walls of the residential building that replaced it - another stop on the tour - are plastered with newspaper articles from the 1960s about the history of the site.

The station was started in the 1940s by Aruna Asaf Ali, one of India's most prominent female independence activists at the time who was jailed several times for protesting against the British. Mrs Ali ran several newspapers and magazines that published the works of Indian literary minds supporting the independence movement.

The radio station was set up to transmit information about clandestine gatherings discussing ways to disrupt British rule such as organising protests or planning attacks, Ms Panshikar said.

Although India's freedom struggle is widely known for Mahatma Gandhi's non-violent resistance, Pune was one of the hotbeds for those who advocated a different approach.

According to Mr Bhave, Pune produced one of India's earliest militant revolutionaries, Vasudev Balwant Phadke. Phadke worked in the British military's accounts department but rebelled in 1879 over the plight of farmers, who were forced to grow cash crops such as indigo instead of food. He raided British businesses to fund an army he created.

"He was like Robin Hood of that time," Mr Bhave said. "The British ignored him when he would go out and talk to people in villages, but soon he became a nuisance for them."

In 1881 Phadke was jailed in Aden, Yemen, which was under the British administration at that time. He died four years later after a prolonged hunger strike against his imprisonment.

"There are things that are studied in history books, but what most people don't know is how the freedom fighters' lives were shaped by this city," Ms Panshikar said. "This [tour] goes back to a period that gave the country the best political ideas."

One such idea was women's emancipation, she said.

The tour, which snakes through some of the oldest parts of Pune, passes one of the first schools for girls set up by Jyotibai Phule, an engineer, social activist and revolutionary, and his wife, Savitri. Called Bhidewada, it was started in 1848 with 10 students in a room on the second floor of their house, at a time when educating women in India was unheard of, Ms Panshikar said.

Not all the tour sites are so obscure. The Aga Khan palace, where Mahatma Gandhi was placed under house arrest several times between 1942 and 1944 and where his wife Kasturba died in 1944, is one of the landmarks.

"You see it in the film Gandhi but if you go, there is nothing there to connect you with the place's history of how it contributed to the struggle," Ms Panishkar said. "We intend to change that."

Mohan Shethe, a high-school history teacher who led Wednesday's tour, said the best part of the job was teaching people about the lesser known figures who fought against the British.

At a tour stop at the memorial to Bhaskar Karnik, Mr Shethe recounted how the British weapons factory employee smuggled out the explosives used in 1942 to bomb an English-language cinema in Pune. The blast killed four Britons.

"When he was captured he swallowed a cyanide capsule," Mr Shethe said, "because he was afraid about betraying his friends if interrogated by the British."

A group of about 20 people on bicycles and motorbikes took part in the inaugural tour which costs 50 rupees (Dh3) for students and 150 rupees for everyone else.

Maithali Sane, 26, a postgraduate student studying public administration, said she learnt of the tour after a friend saw it advertised on Facebook.

"My main motivation was to get to know the legacy of the city," she said.

"They showed us some beautiful places that many people don't know about."

The 14-kilometre, three-hour journey has been organised by a non-profit heritage conversation group called Janwani - "people's voice" in the local Marathi language - and will be held twice a month.

sbhattacharya@thenational.ae

RESULTS

Women:

55kg brown-black belt: Amal Amjahid (BEL) bt Amanda Monteiro (BRA) via choke
62kg brown-black belt: Bianca Basilio (BRA) bt Ffion Davies (GBR) via referee’s decision (0-0, 2-2 adv)
70kg brown-black belt: Ana Carolina Vieira (BRA) bt Jessica Swanson (USA), 9-0
90kg brown-black belt: Angelica Galvao (USA) bt Marta Szarecka (POL) 8-2

Men:

62kg black belt: Joao Miyao (BRA) bt Wan Ki-chae (KOR), 7-2
69kg black belt: Paulo Miyao (BRA) bt Gianni Grippo (USA), 2-2 (1-0 adv)
77kg black belt: Espen Mathiesen (NOR) bt Jake Mackenzie (CAN)
85kg black belt: Isaque Braz (BRA) bt Faisal Al Ketbi (UAE), 2-0
94kg black belt: Felipe Pena (BRA) bt Adam Wardzinski (POL), 4-0
110kg black belt final: Erberth Santos (BRA) bt Lucio Rodrigues (GBR) via rear naked choke

Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

THE DETAILS

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Dir: Ron Howard

Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson

3/5

RESULT

Brazil 2 Croatia 0
Brazil: 
Neymar (69'), Firmino (90' 3)    

Bib%20Gourmand%20restaurants
%3Cp%3EAl%20Khayma%0D%3Cbr%3EBait%20Maryam%0D%3Cbr%3EBrasserie%20Boulud%0D%3Cbr%3EFi'lia%0D%3Cbr%3Efolly%0D%3Cbr%3EGoldfish%0D%3Cbr%3EIbn%20AlBahr%0D%3Cbr%3EIndya%20by%20Vineet%0D%3Cbr%3EKinoya%0D%3Cbr%3ENinive%0D%3Cbr%3EOrfali%20Bros%0D%3Cbr%3EReif%20Japanese%20Kushiyaki%0D%3Cbr%3EShabestan%0D%3Cbr%3ETeible%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
RESULTS

6.30pm Handicap (TB) US$65,000 (Dirt) 1,400m

Winner Golden Goal, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer)

7.05pm Dubai Racing Club Classic Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (Turf) 2,410m

Winner: Walton Street, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.

7.40pm Dubai Stakes Group 3 (TB) $130,000 (D) 1,200m

Winner Switzerland, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar

8.15pm Singspiel Stakes Group 3 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,800m

Winner Lord Giltters, Adrie de Vries, David O’Meara

8.50pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,600m

Winner Military Law, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.

9.25pm Al Fahidi Fort Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,400m

Winner Land Of Legends, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor

10pm Dubai Dash Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (T) 1,000m

Winner Equilateral, Frankie Dettori, Charles Hills.

Ticket prices

General admission Dh295 (under-three free)

Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free

Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets

Points Classification after Stage 1

1. Geraint Thomas (Britain / Team Sky) 20

2. Stefan Kueng (Switzerland / BMC Racing) 17

3. Vasil Kiryienka (Belarus / Team Sky) 15

4. Tony Martin (Germany / Katusha) 13

5. Matteo Trentin (Italy / Quick-Step) 11

6. Chris Froome (Britain / Team Sky) 10

7. Jos van Emden (Netherlands / LottoNL) 9

8. Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland / Team Sky) 8

9. Marcel Kittel (Germany / Quick-Step) 7

10. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway / Dimension Data) 6

Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021

Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.

The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.

These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.

“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.

“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.

“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.

“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”

Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.

There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.

“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.

“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.

“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”

UAE v Gibraltar

What: International friendly

When: 7pm kick off

Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City

Admission: Free

Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page

UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ACC%20T20%20Women%E2%80%99s%20Championship
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20fixtures%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EFriday%2C%20June%2017%20v%20Oman%3Cbr%3ESaturday%2C%20June%2018%20v%20Singapore%3Cbr%3EMonday%2C%20June%2020%20v%20Malaysia%3Cbr%3EWednesday%2C%20June%2022%20v%20Qatar%3Cbr%3EFriday%2C%20June%2024%2C%20semi-final%3Cbr%3ESaturday%2C%20June%2025%2C%20final%3Cbr%3E%20%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20squad%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Chaya%20Mughal%20(captain)%2C%20Esha%20Oza%2C%20Indhuja%20Nandakumar%2C%20Kavisha%20Kumari%2C%20Khushi%20Sharma%2C%20Lavanya%20Keny%2C%20Priyanjali%20Jain%2C%20Rithika%20Rajith%2C%20Samaira%20Dharnidharka%2C%20Sanchin%20Singh%2C%20Siya%20Gokhale%2C%20Suraksha%20Kotte%2C%20Theertha%20Satish%2C%20Vaishnave%20Mahesh%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
CRICKET%20WORLD%20CUP%20QUALIFIER%2C%20ZIMBABWE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20fixtures%20%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMonday%2C%20June%2019%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ESri%20Lanka%20v%20UAE%2C%20Queen%E2%80%99s%20Sports%20Club%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWednesday%2C%20June%2021%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EOman%20v%20UAE%2C%20Bulawayo%20Athletic%20Club%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFriday%2C%20June%2023%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EScotland%20v%20UAE%2C%20Bulawayo%20Athletic%20Club%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ETuesday%2C%20June%2027%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIreland%20v%20UAE%2C%20Bulawayo%20Athletic%20Club%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand

UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final

Quick%20facts
%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3EStorstockholms%20Lokaltrafik%20(SL)%20offers%20free%20guided%20tours%20of%20art%20in%20the%20metro%20and%20at%20the%20stations%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EThe%20tours%20are%20free%20of%20charge%3B%20all%20you%20need%20is%20a%20valid%20SL%20ticket%2C%20for%20which%20a%20single%20journey%20(valid%20for%2075%20minutes)%20costs%2039%20Swedish%20krone%20(%243.75)%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ETravel%20cards%20for%20unlimited%20journeys%20are%20priced%20at%20165%20Swedish%20krone%20for%2024%20hours%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EAvoid%20rush%20hour%20%E2%80%93%20between%209.30%20am%20and%204.30%20pm%20%E2%80%93%20to%20explore%20the%20artwork%20at%20leisure%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A
Poland Statement
All people fleeing from Ukraine before the armed conflict are allowed to enter Poland. Our country shelters every person whose life is in danger - regardless of their nationality.

The dominant group of refugees in Poland are citizens of Ukraine, but among the people checked by the Border Guard are also citizens of the USA, Nigeria, India, Georgia and other countries.

All persons admitted to Poland are verified by the Border Guard. In relation to those who are in doubt, e.g. do not have documents, Border Guard officers apply appropriate checking procedures.

No person who has received refuge in Poland will be sent back to a country torn by war.

Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.

Based: Riyadh

Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany

Founded: September, 2020

Number of employees: 70

Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions

Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds  

Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices

The%20specs%3A%202024%20Mercedes%20E200
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%20four-cyl%20turbo%20%2B%20mild%20hybrid%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E204hp%20at%205%2C800rpm%20%2B23hp%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E320Nm%20at%201%2C800rpm%20%2B205Nm%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E9-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7.3L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENovember%2FDecember%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh205%2C000%20(estimate)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
In numbers

1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:

  • 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
  • 150 tonnes to landfill
  • 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal

800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal

Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year

25 staff on site