Netaji currency made public

Chennai, 23 January : A currency issued by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s Bank of Independence has been made public here on the eve of his 113th birth anniversary, leading to excitement among his supporters.In the 1980s, Ram Kishore Dubey, a retired contractor with the TN State Irrigation Department, discovered the note in his grandfather’s Ramayana book, but did not realise its historical significance till recently. 
“My grandfather, Praagilal, worked for Netaji in the Azaad Hind Fauj and passed away in 1958,” says the 63-year-old Dubey. The currency, of denomination one lakh, has a photograph of Bose on the left side and a pre-independence map of the Indian territory with the inscription “ swatantra bharat” in Hindi on the other. In the middle are inscribed the words “ Jai Hind” in English, with the words “I promise to pay the bearer the sum of one Lac” below it.
On the top of the note is a series of flags of the Azaad Hind Fauj over a bold inscription saying “Bank of Independence” with “good wishes” inscribed at the bottom.
TITBITS

KalimNews: Bangla O Bangla Bhasa Bachao samity marchers were stopped by Police near Dagapur and were not allowed to proceed for their Darjeeling march from Siliguri towards NH 51. The supporters of BOBBBS included people from Dooars area and Coochbehar. Meanwhile a rally of GJVM on the same road from opposite direction was stopped by Siliguri Police near Viramma Resort. There were solgans and antislogans between the two groups but later in the afternoon they dispersed.BOBBS demanded establishment of Netali Subhas  Chandra University in Pintail Village and opposed formation of a separate State for Gorkhas.

KalimNews: Netaji Birthday was observed at Netaji Museum at Giddapahar, Kurseong. Roshan Giri General secretary of GJMM felicitated Motimaya Lepcha and RP Majhi and presented them cash amount of Rs. 5000 , the two were coworkers of Netaji during his house arrest.
Protests for separate Gorkhaland continue in Darjeeling hill
ANI, Panchonoi, 23 January : Activists of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJMM), who are spearheading the movement for a separate Gorkhaland state, created communication bottlenecks in the Darjeeling region on Friday.

Buzz up!At Panchonoi, which is located between Siliguri in the foothills and Darjeeling, GJMM activists blocked the national highway and also movement of the toy train. "The local people are protesting for their demand and in this our train has been stopped. So we are facing some problem and a worried lot. I have booked a hotel and if the money is refunded then it will be helpful," noted Prakash Seth a passenger.

Activists said they would continue their protests till the Central Government concedes their demand for  a political dialogue on the Gorkhaland issue.

Jobs to 1 Lakh

Indrani Dutta, TH, Kolkata: The West Bengal government is planning to create one lakh jobs by March 2010. State Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta said this was decided at the cabinet meeting held on Friday. The meeting also decided to set up police outposts in the State’s coastal area.

He said most of these recruitments would take place in government-run schools. State government offices would also recruit new hands. While some of the job-creation would be through filling up of posts lying vacant for sometime, in some cases jobs would be created by converting temporary posts into permanent ones, he told journalists.

The Minister also announced the creation of three police outposts in the coastal areas, as part of the Centre’s plan to step up security along the coast in the wake of 26/11 attacks. These three outposts would be set up in South 24 Parganas on the southern precincts of the State. They would be located on three islands — Kalash, Sitarampur and Bonney Camp. About 30 sergeants would be manning these outposts.

The cabinet meet also decided to set up a 100-seater medical college in Kalyani in Nadia district. A National Institute of Genomics is also proposed to be set up with assistance from the Centre.

Mr. Dasgupta said the State has already set up a committee to take forward the Unique Identification (UID) project of the Centre.

The issue regarding setting up a museum at the residence of Jyoti Basu was however not considered at this meeting. It was learnt that one of the Ministers mooted the proposal.

Admission Session Nears Darjelling schools stare at Testing Times

Shiv Sahay Singh, IE, Kolkata: With the admission session nearing, management of the famed schools of Darjeeling are gearing up to face questions on the academic disruptions because of political agitations in the Hills from anxious parents from across the country and neighboring countries like Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, which send a large number of students.

Of nearly 20 convent boarding schools located in three subdivisions of   Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong, at least half of the Anglo-Indian schools are said to be among the best in country. These schools have about 1,000 students on an average.

While Darjeeling has schools like St Josephs (North Point), St Paul’s, Mt Herman and Loreto Convent, Kalimpong is home to Dr Grahams Home, St Augustine and St Joseph. Geothals Memorial and St Helen’s are located at Kurseong.

“Due to political instability, we are losing out on international students as also those from Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. Parents are thinking twice before sending their children here,” said Fr Kinley, principal of St Josephs (North Point), a prestigious boarding school in the Hills.

“There is a fear among parents about the situation in Darjeeling,” said Sajid Ahmed, a computer teacher at a convent school, adding they are now up against corporate schools in Silliguri and the plains. “A few like Little Flower at Kurseong, which had 200 students, mostly from Bangladesh, had to close down due to the crisis and competition.”

Although the authorities denied there is a mass exodus of students as yet, they say this is the third year in row that they are being affected by the political instability. They say although schools were exempted from bandhs, they feel the impact due to disruption in food supplies and transport. Many schools are also finding it hard to recruit teachers since not many are willing to move to the troubled region.

School authorities say they stay away from local politics but sometimes students are sucked into it by pro-Gorkhaland agitators. “Unless very necessary, we do not interact with the local political leadership,” said Fr Kinley.

“Once, a few students were taken to Kolkata to protest. In this situation, how can the students and institutions be kept   insulated from the agitations?” said a retired principal of a school in Kalimpong.