Banned poem on Jallianwala massacre now in English
New Delhi, Feb 14: A poem on the Jallianwala Bagh massacre by acclaimed Punjabi writer Nanak Singh which was banned by the British after its publication in 1920 has now been translated into English.
Singh was present at Jallianwala Bagh on April 13, 1919. He was 22 years old at the time. As the British troops opened fire on the unarmed gathering protesting against the Rowlatt Act, killing hundreds, Singh fainted and his unconscious body was piled up among the corpses.
After going through the traumatic experience, he proceeded to write "Khooni Vaisakhi", a long poem that narrates the political events in the run-up to the massacre and its immediate aftermath.
The poem was a scathing critique of the British Raj and was banned soon after its publication. Its manuscript was subsequently lost.
After long years, the poem has been rediscovered and now translated into English by the author's grandson and diplomat, Navdeep Suri. It will be published by HarperCollins India next month to mark the centenary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
Featuring the poem in translation and in original, the bilingual edition is accompanied by essays by Suri, H S Bhatia and by Justin Rowalatt, whose great-grandfather, Sir Sydney Arthur Taylor Rowlatt, drafted the Rowlatt Act.
Singh (1897-1971) is widely regarded as the father of the Punjabi novel. With little formal education beyond the fourth grade, he wrote an astounding 59 books and received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1962.
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Two held at Bengaluru airport with hydroponic ganja worth Rs 5.79 cr
Bengaluru (PTI): Two people were arrested at the Kempegowda International Airport here for attempting to smuggle hydroponic ganja valued at Rs 5.79 crore, upon their arrival from Bangkok on Wednesday, officials said
They seized 16.54 kg of hydroponic ganja, which was concealed in the checked-in baggage, the Bengaluru Customs said in a post on 'X'.
Both the accused were arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, it said.
Meanwhile, the Customs officials at the Bengaluru Airport also disposed of 287.5 kg of Ganja (Hydroponic Weed) and 1.17 kg of Cocaine seized under the NDPS Act, 1985, in accordance with CBIC (Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs) Disposal Manual on March 17, it said in another post.
