Uttar Pradesh

• 24 Jan 2023

10th Century Idols Found in Kalinjar Fort

Why In News?

On January 23, 2023, Arvind Chhirauliya, director of Uttar Pradesh Social Organization Kalinjar Research Institute, said that ancient idols of Shivalinga, Ganesh, Lord Vishnu, Mother Lakshmi and many gods and goddesses have been found from the wall of Koti Tirtha Sarovar of historic Kalinjar Fort in Banda district of the state.

Key points

• Arvind Chhirauliya said that there are many small and big lakes and ponds in Kalinjar Fort. One of them is Koti Tirtha Sarovar, where sculptures and artifacts made of stones have been found, which date back to the ninth and tenth centuries.
• He said that there are carvings of gods and goddesses on some stones. It also has idols of Lord Vishnu, Ganesh, Lakshmi ji, Parvati ji with a happy posture. Except for The Shivalinga, most of the idols are fragmented.
• Vivek Shukla, a social worker who knows the history of Kalinjar Fort, said that in 1986, a road was being built to go to Fort. Even then, during the excavation, the idols came out in a similar way. He was preserved by the Archeological Department and kept in The Raja Aman Singh Palace.
• Sources associated with the fort say that then statues and cannon shells ranging from 282 KF number 305 were found. They were taken under the protection of the Archaeological Department. Apart from this, in 1960, the Archaeological Survey of India took Kalinjar Fort under its protection.
• It is known that Kalinjar is a very ancient fort, where the rule has been from the Gupta period to the Bundels. Here in the past also such statues have been found during construction work.
• It is known that Theertha Sarovar is the most beautiful and mythological site of Kalinjar Fort. The entire fort is under the Archaeological Department of India. It is being rebuilt by saving statues and artifacts from the wall of the lake. There are statues and artifacts of gods and goddesses on the ancient walls around the lake.
• Arvind Chhirauliya, associated with Kalinjar history, said that the sixth ruler to rule India was known as Aurangzeb Alamgir. He ruled between the 15thand 16th centuries, calling it the idol Bhanjak. He used to break the idols of Hindu religion.
• Between 1812 and 1947, during the British rule, the work of destroying memories related to Hinduism was also done. The Court Tirtha Sarovar is quite ancient, but the walls around it were built by the British. Then these idols were also buried behind the wall, so that Sanatan Dharma and Hinduism could not be awakened.
• Pandit Shankar Pratap Mishra, Rajpurohit of Kalinjar Fort Neelkanth temple, said that water of all the pilgrims has been found in Koti Tirtha Sarovar. In such a situation, by offering water to Lord Neelkanth sitting here with the water of this lake, one gets the virtue of donating one thousand cows. Especially on Kartik Purnima, Jalabhishek is considered more fruitful.

Islands of Andaman and Nicobar Named After Four Param Vir Chakra Winners of Uttar Pradesh

Why In News?

On January 23, 2022, on the occasion of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's birth anniversary (Parakram Diwas), Prime Minister Narendra Modi named 21 major unidentified islands of Andaman and Nicobar Islands after 21 winners of param Vir chakra, the largest military decoration in India. The list includes four Paramvir Chakra winners from Uttar Pradesh.

Key points

• Three of the four Param Vir Chakra winners from Uttar Pradesh – Company Quarter Master Havildar Veer Abdul Hameed, Naik Jadunath Singh, Lieutenant Manoj Kumar Pandey – have been awarded Param Vir Chakra posthumously and Honorary Captain Yogendra Singh Yadav while alive.
• Born in Dharampur village in Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh, Veer Abdul Hameed was commissioned into the Grenadiers Infantry Regiment on 27 December 1954 at the age of 21. In the fight with Pakistan, he destroyed three Panton tanks of Pakistan with his gun jeep. In response, the Pakistani army attacked them simultaneously. He was martyred in this attack. He was awarded the Param Vir Chakra on September 10, 1965, in recognition of his extraordinary contribution to the Indo-Pakistani War.
• Lieutenant Manoj Kumar Pandey was born on 25 June 1975 in Rudha village of Sitapur district. He got elected to Indian Army from NDA. He was commissioned as a commissioned officer in the 1st Battalion of the 11 Gorkha Rifles Regiment. In the 1999 Kargil war, he destroyed enemy bunkers. Meanwhile, he was martyred at the age of just 24 due to a bullet in the head. He was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra for his courage and leadership during the Kargil War in 1999.
• Jadunath Singh, a resident of village Khajuri in Kalan tehsil of Shahjahanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, was drafted into the British Indian Army in 1941. He participated in World War II fighting against Japan in Burma. While serving in the Rajput Regiment of the Indian Army, he participated in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. On February 6, 1948, in Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir, Jadunath Singh single-handedly forced the Pakistani army soldiers in tribal disguise to retreat. During this fight, a bullet hit his head, due to which he attained martyrdom. Naik Jadunath Singh was also posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra.
• Honorary Captain Yogendra Singh Yadav was born on May 10, 1980, in Aurangabad village of Bulandshahr. In 1996, at the age of 16, he joined the 18 Grenadiers. He displayed indomitable courage and Vallor in the capture of Tiger Hill in the Kargil War in 1999. Capt. Yogendra Yadav captured the three outposts of Tiger Hill in wounded condition despite being hit by several bullets and hoisted the tricolour there. Yogendra Yadav, who completed this struggling mission, was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, the highest gallantry award of the Indian Army, at the age of just 19.
• It is noteworthy that keeping in view the historical importance of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and to pay respect to the memory of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, during his visit to Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the year 2018, the Prime Minister renamed the Ross Islands as ' Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Island. Neil Island and Havelock Island were renamed as 'Shaheed Dweep' and 'Swaraj Dweep'.
• With a view to pay due respect to the real-life heroes of the country, it has been decided to name 21 large unexplored islands of the archipelago after the 21 Param Vir Chakra winners.
• The 21 Param Vir Chakra winners named after these islands are - Major Somnath Sharma; Subedar and Honorary Captain (then Lance Naik) Karam Singh, MM; Second Lieutenant Ram Raghoba Rane; Naik Jadunath Singh; Company Havildar Major Piru Singh; Gurbachan Singh Salaria; Lieutenant Colonel (Then Major) Dhan Singh Thapa; Subedar Joginder Singh; Major Shaitan Singh; CQMH Abdul Hameed; Lt. Col. Ardeshir Burjorji Tarapore; Lance Naik Albert Ekka; Major Hoshiyar Singh; Second Lieutenant Arun Khetrapal; Flying Officer Nirmaljit Singh Sekhon; Major Ramaswamy Parameswaran; Naib Subedar Bana Singh; Captain Vikram Batra; Lieutenant Manoj Kumar Pandey; Subedar Major (Then Rifleman) Sanjay Kumar; and Subedar Major Retd (Honorary Captain) Grenadier Yogendra Singh Yadav.