Kolkata, April 20: Amid controversy over Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deba's claim that internet and satellite communication existed in Mahabharata's time, state Governor Tathagata Roy on Friday said people in the Puranic period either had superhuman imagination or some kind of prototypes otherwise they could not have conceived such ideas.
"In the Puranic period, people had thought of 'Divya Drishti', Pushpaka Ratha' (divine sight, flying chariot, respectively), which means, they must have had superhuman imagination or some kind of prototype. There could be things which are beyond our imagination.
"Unless there was a prototype of something of that type, it was not possible to conceive such a thing," Roy said while responding to a query on the sidelines of the launch of his book "Syama Prasad Mookerjee".
In the 1960s, "could we ever imagine such a thing as a cell phone? Impossible... We could not conceive of it because there was no prototype in front of our eyes," he contended.
Deb had recently claimed that internet and satellite communication existed in the days of Mahabharata.
"Internet and satellite communication had existed in the days of Mahabharata. Sanjaya (the charioteer of king Dhritarashtra) using the technology gave a detailed account and description to the blind king about the battle of Kurukshetra," Deb had said on Tuesday.
Subsequently, the Governor had tweeted: "Tripura Chief Minister's observations about the happenings of the Puranic period are topical. It is virtually impossible to conceive of devices like 'Divya drishti',Pushpaka Ratha', etc. without some kind of prototype and study thereon."
Roy, however, on Friday said: "I have not said there was internet at that time. I have merely said this is a thing worth trying to find out."
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismisses defence minister in surprise announcement
Jerusalem, Nov 5: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday dismissed his popular defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in a surprise announcement that came as the country is embroiled in wars on multiple fronts across the region.
Netanyahu and Gallant have repeatedly been at odds over the war in Gaza. But Netanyahu had avoided firing his rival. Netanyahu cited “significant gaps” and a “crisis of trust” between the men in his Tuesday evening announcement.
“In the midst of a war, more than ever, full trust is required between the prime minister and defence minister,” Netanyahu said. “Unfortunately, although in the first months of the campaign there was such trust and there was very fruitful work, during the last months this trust cracked between me and the defence minister.”
In the early days of the war, Israel's leadership presented a unified front as it responded to Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack. But as the war dragged on and spread to Lebanon, key policy differences have emerged. While Netanyahu has called for continued military pressure on Hamas, Gallant had taken a more pragmatic approach, saying that military force has created the necessary conditions for a diplomatic deal that could bring home hostages held by the Hamas group.
Gallant, a former general who has gained public respect with a gruff, no-nonsense personality, said in a statement: “The security of the state of Israel always was, and will always remain, my life's mission."
Gallant has worn a simple, black buttoned shirt throughout the war in a sign of sorrow over the October 7 attack and developed a strong relationship with his US counterpart, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.
A previous attempt by Netanyahu to fire Gallant in March 2023 sparked widespread street protests against Netanyahu. He also flirted with the idea of dismissing Gallant over the summer but held off until Tuesday's announcement.
Gallant will be replaced by Foreign Minister Israel Katz, a Netanyahu loyalist and veteran Cabinet minister who was a junior officer in the military. Gideon Saar, a former Netanyahu rival who recently rejoined the government, will take the foreign affairs post.
Netanyahu has a long history of neutralising his rivals. In his statement, he claimed he had made “many attempts” to bridge the gaps with Gallant.
“But they kept getting wider. They also came to the knowledge of the public in an unacceptable way, and worse than that, they came to the knowledge of the enemy - our enemies enjoyed it and derived a lot of benefit from it,” he said.
