Netaji birth anniversary marked with tributes, exhibition in UK
London, Jan 24 (PTI): The 126th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Parakram Diwas, was marked with tributes and a special diaspora portrait exhibition at the Indian High Commission in London.
The special event, hosted by the Indian High Commission in London on Monday evening, brought together community leaders and members of the British Bengali diaspora to pay homage to Netaji.
‘Sangram’, an exhibition made up of portraits of revolutionaries who fought in the Indian freedom struggle drawn by members of the Indian diaspora from around the world, was displayed by Heritage Bengal Global (HGB) to mark the occasion.
"Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and his many feats of military and political courage live on," Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami said in his address, following floral tributes to a portrait of Netaji in the Gandhi Hall of India House.
"The museum in his memory in Kolkata is well worth visiting to see the courage, daring and enterprise that he displayed in escaping from custody in house arrest, his extraordinary journey through India, his efforts to mobilise an army including prisoners of war all of this is the stuff of legend," he said.
The Indian envoy highlighted the legendary freedom fighter's selflessness, shunning a life of privilege and luxury in favour of the hard road to fight for the independence of his country.
"His message essentially was to reject the idea that had been imposed upon us since 1857, that the people of our subcontinent were largely not a martial race, that Indians couldn't actually fight...Netaji showed that was not true," he said, highlighting his forward thinking reflected in the diverse makeup of the Indian National Army (INA) which also had a women's wing.
"Netaji's senior commanders represented all the faiths of India," he added.
The commemorative event involved patriotic music by the Bengal Heritage Foundation, including the moving INA battle anthem of ‘Kadam, Kadam’ and concluding with the Indian National Anthem 'Jana Gana Mana'.
A lecture by journalist and historian, Dr Vijay Rana, took the audience through the key moments in Netaji's military campaign for India's independence.
As part of the birth anniversary celebrations, Heritage Bengal Global has also launched a diaspora-led petition calling for direct flight connections between London and Kolkata. It was formally flagged off at the organisation's annual Saraswati Puja in west London on Sunday.
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Kerala HC sets aside Sabarimala airport land acquisition process
Kochi (PTI): The Kerala High Court has set aside crucial stages of the land acquisition process for the proposed Sabarimala greenfield airport, holding that the state failed to properly assess the minimum land actually required for the project.
On December 30, 2022, the state government issued an order granting sanction for the acquisition of 2,570 acres of land, comprising the Cheruvally Estate and an additional 307 acres located outside it.
Justice C Jayachandran, delivering the judgment on a writ petition filed by Ayana Charitable Trust (formerly Gospel for Asia) and its managing trustee Dr Siny Punnoose, ruled the decision-making process under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, was legally flawed.
The court, in its December 19 order, directed the state to restart the process by conducting a fresh social impact assessment limited to examining the minimum land requirement, followed by a fresh appraisal by the expert group and reconsideration by the government.
The petitioners had challenged several government actions, including the Social Impact Assessment (SIA) report, the expert committee appraisal, the state government order approving the acquisition, and the subsequent notification under Section 11 of the 2013 Act.
The land in question, mainly the Cheruvally Estate in Pathanamthitta district, is proposed to be acquired for building a new airport intended to serve Sabarimala pilgrims.
The court found that while the state is entitled to acquire land for public purposes, the law clearly mandates that only the "absolute bare minimum" extent of land required for a project can be acquired.
According to the court, this mandatory requirement under Sections 4(4)(d), 7(5)(b), and 8(1)(c) of the 2013 Act was not properly complied with.
Justice Jayachandran observed that the authorities had shown "manifest non-application of mind" in assessing how much land was genuinely necessary.
As a result, the SIA report, the Expert Committee report and the government order were declared invalid to the extent they failed to address this crucial requirement.
Since the Section 11 notification could only be issued after a valid completion of these steps, it too was quashed.
On the petitioners' allegation of fraud on power and colourable exercise of authority, the court did not give a final finding. It held that this issue is closely linked to determining the minimum land required and can only be examined after that exercise is properly completed.
Before concluding, the court suggested that for technically complex projects like airports, the state should include technical experts in the SIA team to ensure informed and lawful decision-making.
The writ petition was accordingly allowed, keeping other issues raised by the petitioners open for future consideration.
