Friedrich Ludwig "Fritz" Bauer (10 June 1924 – 26 March 2015) was a German pioneer of computer science and professor at the Technical University of Munich. He coined the term Software engineering

Life
Bauer earned his Abitur in 1942 and served in the Wehrmacht during World War II, from 1943 to 1945. From 1946 to 1950, he studied mathematics and theoretical physics at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich. Bauer received his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) under the supervision of Fritz Bopp for his thesis Gruppentheoretische Untersuchungen zur Theorie der Spinwellengleichungen ("Group-theoretic investigations of the theory of spin wave equations") in 1952. He completed his habilitation thesis Über quadratisch konvergente Iterationsverfahren zur Lösung von algebraischen Gleichungen und Eigenwertproblemen ("On quadratically convergent iteration methods for solving algebraic equations and eigenvalue problems") in 1954 at the Technical University of Munich. After teaching as a privatdozent at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich from 1954 to 1958, he became extraordinary professor for applied mathematics at the University of Mainz. Since 1963, he worked as a professor of mathematics and (since 1972) computer science at the Technical University of Munich. He retired in 1989.

Work

Bauer's early work involved constructing computing machinery (e.g. the logical relay computer STANISLAUS from 1951–1955). In this context, he was the first to propose the widely used stack method of expression evaluation.

Bauer was a member of the committees that developed the imperative computer programming languages ALGOL 58, and its successor ALGOL 60, important predecessors to all modern imperative programming languages. For ALGOL 58, Bauer was with the German Gesellschaft für Angewandte Mathematik und Mechanik (GAMM, Society of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics) which worked with the American Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). For ALGOL 60, Bauer was with the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) IFIP Working Group 2.1 on Algorithmic Languages and Calculi, which specified, maintains, and supports the languages ALGOL 60 and ALGOL 68.

Bauer was an influential figure in establishing computer science as an independent subject in German universities, which until then was usually considered part of mathematics. In 1967, he held the first lecture in computer science at a German university at the Technical University of Munich, titled Information Processing. By 1972, computer science had become an independent academic discipline at the TUM. In 1992, it was separated from the Department of Mathematics to form an independent Department of Informatics, though Bauer had retired from his chair in 1989.

In 1968, he coined the term software engineering which has been in widespread use since, and has become a discipline in computer science.

His scientific contributions spread from numerical analysis (Bauer–Fike theorem) and fundamentals of interpretation and translation of programming languages, to his later works on systematics of program development, especially program transformation methods and systems (CIP-S) and the associated wide-spectrum language system CIP-L. He also wrote a well-respected book on cryptology, Decrypted secrets, now in its fourth edition.

He was the doctoral advisor of 39 students, including Rudolf Berghammer, Manfred Broy, David Gries, Manfred Paul, Gerhard Seegmüller, Josef Stoer, Peter Wynn, and Christoph Zenger.

Friedrich Bauer was one of the 19 founding members of the German Informatics Society. He was editor of the Informatik Spektrum from its founding in 1978, and held that position until his death.

Friedrich Bauer was married to Hildegard Bauer-Vogg. He was the father of three sons and two daughters.

Definition of software engineering
Bauer was a colleague of the German Representative the NATO Science Committee. In 1967, NATO had been discussing 'The Software Crisis' and Bauer had suggested the term 'Software Engineering' as a way to conceive of both the problem and the solution.

In 1972, Bauer published the following definition of software engineering:

"Establishment and use of sound engineering principles to economically obtain software that is reliable and works on real machines efficiently."

Legacy
Since 1992, the Technical University of Munich has awarded the  in computer science.

In 2014, the Technical University of Munich renamed their largest lecture hall in the Department of Informatics building after him.

Awards
 1944: Iron Cross 2nd Class
 1968: Member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences in mathematics and science class
 1971: Bavarian Order of Merit
 1978: Wilhelm Exner Medal (Austria).
 1982: Federal Merit Cross 1st Class
 1984: Member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
 1986: Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art
 1987: Honorary Member of the Society for computer science
 1988: Golden Ring of Honour of the German Museum
 1988: IEEE Computer Pioneer Award
 1997: Heinz-Maier-Leibnitz Medal from the Technical University of Munich
 1998: corresponding member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
 2002: Honorary Member of the Deutsches Museum
 2004: Silver Medal of Merit of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences

Honorary doctorates
 1974: Honorary Doctor of the University of Grenoble
 1989: Honorary Doctor of the University of Passau
 1998: Honorary doctorate from the Bundeswehr University Munich (Neubiberg)

Publications
 , a very influential paper on compilers

References

External links

 Oral history interview with Friedrich L. Bauer, Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota. Bauer discusses his education and early research, including the European side of the development of ALGOL, as well as his later work in numerical analysis and programming languages.
 Photograph of Friedrich L. Bauer (provided by Brian Randell)
 Bauer about Rutishauser at a symposium at the ETH Zürich in 2002

 Author profile in the database zbMATH

1924 births
2015 deaths
German computer scientists
20th-century German mathematicians
German historians of mathematics
People from Regensburg
Programming language designers
Software engineering researchers
Computer science educators
Academic staff of the Technical University of Munich
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni
Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
21st-century German mathematicians
Members of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
German military personnel of World War II

Friedrich L. Bauer


Massachusetts Bay Community College (MassBay) is a public community college in Norfolk and Middlesex Counties. Founded in 1961, MassBay currently serves more than 4,400 full-time and part-time students on its three locations: Wellesley, Ashland, and Framingham. MassBay offers more than 70 degree and certificate programs aimed at helping students transfer to a four-year college or university or towards direct placement into a career. Massachusetts Bay Community College is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education.

History

Massachusetts Bay Community College was chartered in February 1961 by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as one of the first community colleges in Massachusetts. MassBay opened with temporary campuses in Watertown, in a property leased from Raytheon Company, and Boston, and at the time served just several hundred students. In 1975, the college moved to its permanent location in Wellesley Hills, on the campus of the former Elizabeth Seton High School. In 1990, MassBay opened a second campus in Framingham, which currently houses its health sciences and human services programs. In 2001, MassBay opened its Automotive Technology Center in Ashland.

External links
Official website

References

1961 establishments in Massachusetts
Community colleges in Massachusetts
Universities and colleges established in 1961
NJCAA athletics
Universities and colleges in Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Wellesley, Massachusetts

Massachusetts Bay Community College


A purported Khazar ruler of the late tenth century CE who ruled over a Khazar successor-state in the Taman region. David is mentioned in a single document dated AM 4746 (985/986 CE) which contains a reference to "our lord David, Prince of the Khazars, who lives in Taman." The document in question is of uncertain authenticity, as it passed through the hands of Abraham Firkovich, who on occasion forged documents and inscriptions.

Based upon this text, Heinrich Graetz hypothesized that the Khazars reorganized themselves after 969 in Crimea and the Taman peninsula. Graetz further maintained that the Khazar Jewish representatives summoned by Vladimir I of Kiev to debate the merits of their religion against representatives from Catholic Germany, Orthodox Byzantium, and Muslim Volga Bulgaria were dispatched by David and were citizens of his Pontic kingdom.

David's capital may have been in or near Tmutorakan; though rule by the Kievan Rus is reported in Russian sources before 985, it is conceivable that the Khazars reasserted control over the town or that David ruled as a client. The first independent Russian prince of Tmutorakan is Mstislav, whose rule began in 988. The later Khazar ruler Georgius Tzul ruled from Kerch; it is uncertain whether his kingdom was the same polity that had earlier been under the rule of David of Taman.

Resources
Kevin Alan Brook. The Jews of Khazaria. 2nd ed. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc, 2006.
Douglas M. Dunlop, The History of the Jewish Khazars, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1954.

Khazar rulers
Jewish royalty
10th-century monarchs in Europe

David of Taman


Spinochordodes tellinii is a parasitic nematomorph hairworm whose larvae develop in  grasshoppers and crickets. This parasite is able to influence its host's behavior: once the parasite is grown, it causes its grasshopper host to jump into water, where the grasshopper will likely drown. The parasite then leaves its host; the adult worm lives and reproduces in water. S. tellinii does not influence its host to actively seek water over large distances, but only when it is already close to water.

The microscopic larvae are ingested by their insect hosts and develop inside them into worms that can be three to four times longer than the host.

The precise molecular mechanism underlying the modification of the host's behaviour is not yet known. A study in 2005 indicated that grasshoppers which contain the parasite express, or create, different proteins in their brains compared to uninfected grasshoppers. Some of these proteins have been linked to neurotransmitter activity, others to geotactic activity, or the body's response to changes in gravity. Furthermore, it appears that the parasite produces proteins from the Wnt family that act directly on the development of the central nervous system and are similar to proteins known from other insects, suggesting an instance of molecular mimicry.

A similar parasitic worm is Paragordius tricuspidatus.

References

External links

 Video of Spinochordodes tellinii, in which it causes a cricket to drown and then emerges from it.

Nematomorpha
Parasitic protostomes
Parasites of insects
Suicide-inducing parasitism
Animals described in 1888
Taxa named by Lorenzo Camerano

Spinochordodes tellinii


New religious movement is a term that is used for certain religious communities. Such communities are usually small, compared to world religions. Very often, they do not have a long history. In most cases, the following will be true:
Most people in the movement converted from another religion; the case where the parents and children are part of the same movement does not occur often.
The members are all part of the same social group, for example the new middle class.
There is a charismatic leader.
There is a clear distinction between people who are part of the movement, and those that are not. This distinction can often not be made easily, for mainstream religions.
The way the group is organised may change.

Other names for such movements include sect and cult. They are problematic though, because they have a negative connotation. Examples for movements that have been called cults are Scientology, Transcendental Meditation, Unification Church, Family International also called Children of God, Branch Davidians, Heaven's Gate and Wicca.

References

New religious movement


Kailas Nath Kaul (1905–1983) was an Indian botanist, naturalist, agricultural scientist, horticulturist, herbalist, plant collector and herpetologist, and a world authority on Arecaceae. He founded India's National Botanical Research Institute and was instrumental in organizing the country's modern scientific infrastructure. He is regarded as a vital influence behind his niece Indira Gandhi's proactive role in environmental protection by means of extensive legislative and policy interventions.

Notable achievements
Having served as the first Indian scientist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and worked with the Natural History Museum, London, and several British universities including the University of Cambridge, Professor Kaul established the National Botanical Research Institute (formerly, the National Botanic Gardens of India), at Lucknow in 1948. He directed the Institute until 1965, during which time it remained one of the world's five best botanical gardens, along with those at Kew (UK), Bogor (Indonesia), Paris (France) and New York (USA). From 1953 until 1965, Kaul surveyed botanically the whole of India, from the Karakoram mountains in the north to Kanyakumari at the southern tip of the country, and from the North East Frontier Agency in the east to the Rann of Kutch in the west. In the same period, he contributed to the development of the botanical gardens at Peradeniya (Sri Lanka), Singapore, Bogor (Indonesia), Bangkok (Thailand), Hong Kong, Tokyo (Japan), and Manila (Philippines). He represented India at the International Botanical Congresses at Paris (1954), Montreal (1959), and Edinburgh (1964). In 1968, he was elected as the President of the Palaeobotanical Society, India. In 1975, he was appointed the first Vice Chancellor of the Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur, India.

Kaul's 1929 work on the medicinal plant Artemisia brevifolia in Kashmir caused yields of Santonin, an anthelminthic derived from the plant, to increase six times. This made the production of Santonin economically viable in India.

In 1947, Kaul discovered fresh water aquifers in the princely state of Jodhpur in the Thar Desert, India, mainly by studying the spatial patterns of vegetation and depths of wells in the region. He used a small aircraft owned by Maharaja Umaid Singh to conduct aerial surveys for this purpose. He then prepared a desert reclamation scheme to solve the enigma of Jodhpur's water shortage. In 1949–50, he also organized the Underground Water Board for Rajasthan at Jaipur.

In 1969, Kaul, a native of Kashmir, was appointed Director for Gardens, Parks and Floriculture in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. He worked for several years on the conservation and management of floral biodiversity and the rejuvenation of the Mogul-era gardens in the state, and as the advisor to the Chief Minister on the subject.

Kaul was responsible for the reclamation of several thousand acres of alkaline land in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. His work has been named The Banthra Formula after Banthra, the place where it was initiated in 1953. The project involved organic amendments and biological interventions such as the cultivation of alkali-tolerant herbaceous, shrub and tree species. Its decentralized, community-based development approach benefited subsistence and small-scale commercial farmers through the intensification and diversification of biomass production for food, fuel, fodder, fertilizers, medicines, timber, animal husbandry, aquaculture, soil amelioration, and bioaesthetics.

As the architect of the Vigyan Mandir or School of Science Scheme (1948), which was later adopted by the Government of India, Kaul encouraged science education and research across the country. He also worked for the promotion of traditional sculpture, painting, and applied arts, and was elected as the President of the Lalit Kala Akademi of Uttar Pradesh in 1965.

Contribution to the Indian freedom movement
Kaul joined the Indian freedom movement led by Gandhi in 1930, when he was sent by the All India Congress Committee to assist Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan in organising rural uplift work in the Kohat, Bannu and Peshawar districts. He also worked in villages adjoining Delhi under the guidance of Asaf Ali during the Civil Disobedience Movement. In 1931, Kaul was arrested and charged with planting the flag of Independence and was sentenced to six months in jail. While in jail, he ran a school for 'C Class' prisoners. His thesis on alkaline (usar) soils was confiscated by the British Government for his active participation in the Indian Freedom Movement. Kaul also worked against untouchability and gave free education to Dalit children in Lucknow. His mother Rajpati Kaul and his sister Kamala Nehru were among the first few women to have participated in the Indian freedom movement.

Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen, on Salim Ali's choice of Kailas Nath Kaul as the botanical expert for a 1937 expedition to Afghanistan, remarked, "He [Kaul] is a young man, nice mannered and intelligent, but I am a little doubtful whether I can stomach two seditionists for three months all day and every day. Salim is a rank seditionist and communist; so is Kaul..."

Family and friends

Rajpati and Jawahar Mull Atal-Kaul were Kaul's parents, and Kamala Nehru, Chand Bahadur Kaul, and Swaroop Kathju were his siblings. He was married to Sheila Kaul, an educationist, social worker, and politician. Gautam Kaul, Deepa Kaul, and Vikram Kaul are their children.

Kaul's paternal great-grandfather, Moti Lal Atal (originally Thullal in Kashmiri), was dewan of the princely state of Jaipur, his brother-in-law, Jawaharlal Nehru ('Jawahar Bhai'), was the first prime minister of independent India, and his niece, Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi ('Indu'), was the third prime minister of India. Having spent much time with him in the Himalayas, Indira became deeply influenced by Kaul's passion for nature.

Among Kaul's natural scientist friends were Frank Hawking, a British biologist and physician and Stephen Hawking's father; Sir Edward James Salisbury, a British botanist and ecologist; Ronald Melville, a British botanist; Arthur John Cronquist, an American botanist; Birbal Sahni, an Indian palaeobotanist; G.C. Mitra, an Indian botanist; Alexandr Innokentevich Tolmatchew, a Soviet botanist; Kiril Bratanov, a Bulgarian biologist; Ronald Pearson Tripp, a British palaeontologist; and René Dumont, a French agronomist. His other friends included Todor Zhivkov, former President of Bulgaria; Alfred Jules Ayer, a British philosopher, Herbert V. Günther, a German philosopher and linguist, and Margaret Mee, a British botanical artist.

Awards and honours
Padma Bhushan, Indian civilian honour (1977)
K.N. Kaul Institute of Life Sciences, India
K.N. Kaul Block, National Botanical Research Institute, India
Kaulinia, a genus of ferns named in his honour.

References

External links

20th-century Indian botanists
Scientists from Lucknow
1905 births
1983 deaths
Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education
Kashmiri people

Kailas Nath Kaul


Superparamagnetism is a form of magnetism. A superparamagnetic material has many small clusters of magnetic things in its structure, but they are not all pointed the same way, so the material is not magnetic by itself. If a magnetic field is applied to the material, then the clusters change direction to match the magnetic field and the material becomes magnetic. Superparamagnetism is like paramagnetism, except it can happen at near room temperature. It happens when materials are made up of very small parts (1-10 nm).

Magnetism

Superparamagnetism


Disgraced (2012) is the first stage play by playwright, novelist, and screenwriter Ayad Akhtar. It premiered in Chicago and has had Off-Broadway and Off West End engagements. The play, which won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, opened on Broadway at the Lyceum Theater October 23, 2014. Disgraced has also been recognized with a 2012 Joseph Jefferson Award for New Work – Play or Musical and a 2013 Obie Award for Playwriting. The 2014 Broadway transfer   earned a nomination for Tony Award for Best Play in 2015.

The 90-minute, one-act play is centered on sociopolitical themes such as Islamophobia and the self-identity of Muslim-American citizens. It explores a dinner party among four people with very different backgrounds. As discussion turns to politics and religion, the mood quickly becomes heated. Described as a "combustible powder keg of identity politics," the play depicts racial and ethnic prejudices that "secretly persist in even the most progressive cultural circles." It is also depicts the challenge for upwardly mobile Muslim Americans in post-9/11 America. Productions have included performances by Aasif Mandvi and Erik Jensen.

Plot
Lawyer Amir Kapoor and his wife Emily host a dinner in their Upper East Side apartment in New York. Amir is an American-born, Muslim-raised lawyer, who works on Manhattan mergers and acquisitions. Emily is an up-and-coming artist who focuses on Islamic themes in her art. Amir has cast aside much of his Muslim heritage for the sake of his career and serves as Emily's muse. She has an affinity for Islamic artistic traditions.

Prior to the dinner, Amir, who is on the partner track, has become involved in a controversial case. Amir's assimilated nephew, Abe (born Hussein Malik), has concerns regarding the propriety of the arrest of a local imam who is imprisoned on charges that may be trumped-up of financing terrorist-supporting groups. Amir questions whether it is religious persecution. Emily encourages the reluctant Amir to appear in court in support of the imam; although he is in an unofficial capacity, his name is mentioned in The New York Times.

The case becomes dinner conversation when Amir hosts Jory, a colleague from work, and her Jewish husband, Isaac, who is Emily's art dealer. In all, the dinner table assembly includes an ex-Muslim, an African American, a Jew and a WASP discussing the topic of religious faith. The conversation touches upon "Islamic and Judaic tradition, the Quran and the Talmud, racial profiling and September 11 and the Taliban and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Benjamin Netanyahu" as tensions mount.

When Amir admits he felt a "blush of pride" on September 11, and holds secret animosity toward Israel, his friends are disgusted. Jory and Amir leave the apartment to get a bottle of champagne. It is revealed that Isaac and Emily have had an affair in the past, and that he is secretly in love with her. Jory and Amir return just as Isaac is about to kiss Emily.

It is revealed that Jory has been selected as partner in the law firm over Amir, in part because he attended the imam's trial. Enraged, Amir discredits Jory using an ethnic slur. Jory and Isaac depart, with the status of their relationship uncertain following the revelation of Isaac's infidelity. When Emily confesses her affair with Isaac, Amir beats her. Abe stumbles into the apartment and finds his uncle standing over her.

The play jumps ahead a period of time. Amir is packing his belongings and preparing to leave the apartment. Emily brings Abe over for legal advice. He was questioned by the FBI after his friend expressed a jihadist sentiment at a Starbucks cafe. Amir warns Abe to be more cautious, but Abe blows up, saying that the West has "disgraced" Islam, but that they will take it all back one day. He storms out. Amir tries to reconcile with Emily, but she leaves.

Cast

On November 2, 2011, the Chicago cast was announced. Usman Ally played Amir, Alana Arenas played Jory, Behzad Dabu played Abe, Benim Foster played Isaac, and Lee Stark played Emily. Previews started on January 27, 2012, and the official debut was on January 30. The Chicago production creative team included set designer Jack Magaw, lighting designer Christine Binder, costume designer Janice Pytel, prop designer Nick Heggestad, sound designer Kevin O'Donnell, fight choreographer David Woolley, and production stage manager Katie Klemme.

On July 26, 2012, the Off-Broadway cast was announced:  Aasif Mandvi, Heidi Armbruster, Adam Dannheisser, Omar Maskati and Karen Pittman. At the time, Mandvi was a correspondent for Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Other creative team members were sets designer Lauren Helpern, costume designer Dane Laffrey, lighting designer Tyler Micoleau, and sound designer Jill BC DuBoff. The show began previews with Dannheisser on October 7, but Erik Jensen replaced him on October 10 after an illness, with opening night scheduled for October 22. Kimberly Senior directed both productions at the American Theater Company in Chicago and at LCT3/Lincoln Center Theater in New York. She was also set to direct the Broadway run in 2014.

The New York production opened at the Claire Tow Theater at Lincoln Center in New York on October 22, 2012, with the following cast: Heidi Armbruster as Emily, Erik Jensen as Isaac, Aasif Mandvi as Amir, Omar Maskati as Abe, and Karen Pittman as Jory. The Off West End cast, which was directed by Nadia Fall, consisted of Danny Ashok, Kirsty Bushell, Hari Dhillon, Sara Powell and Nigel Whitmey.

The Broadway production was originated by Hari Dhillon and Danny Ashok reprising their Off West End roles as Amir and Abe, respectively, Karen Pittman reprising her Off-Broadway role as Jory, and Josh Radnor reprising as Isaac and Gretchen Mol as Emily.  Kimberly Senior, who directed the Chicago and Off-Broadway productions signed on to direct. She was joined on the creative team by John Lee Beatty (set), Jennifer von Mayrhauser (costumes), Ken Posner (lighting) and Jill DuBoff (sound).

The following tables show the casts of the principal original productions:

Production history

About the author
Akhtar is a first generation Pakistani-American born in New York City and raised in Milwaukee. He had previously written and starred in the film The War Within (2005), in which he portrayed a Pakistani engineering student who became a terrorist. He studied at Brown University and Columbia University. His debut novel was American Dervish (2012), which studies "the Muslim religious experience in America".

The son of immigrant doctors, Akhtar had spent a decade exploring dual identity before writing this play. Akhtar decided to write from his own experiences. He said that, at a metaphorical level, in order to write this play he had to "turn and look over my shoulder at what I was running away from. And at that moment there was an explosion of creativity."

Productions
Disgraced was originally scheduled at the American Theater Company in Chicago, Illinois, to run February 3 – March 4, 2012, with an official debut of February 6. The run was moved forward one week to January 27 – February 26, 2012, with an official January 30 debut. On February 21, its run was extended in Chicago until March 11, 2012.

It made its New York debut of its Off-Broadway run at LCT3/Lincoln Center Theater with an October 22, 2012, premiere and was scheduled to run until November 18 before being extended until December 2. Hurricane Sandy caused the cancellation of the October 28 and 29 evening performances but not the October 28 matinee. On November 1, it was extended again until December 23.

On February 6, 2013, the London premiere of the play was announced as an Off West End opening at the Bush Theatre, beginning in May 2013 under the direction of Nadia Fall. Its previews were scheduled to begin on May 17 before opening on May 22 and running until June 15. On March 15, Disgraced was extended until June 22. The play opened as scheduled on May 22. That July, the producer Matthew Rego announced that the show was being considered for a Broadway run during the 2013–14 season. On June 10, 2014, was announced to have a Broadway run starting on October 23, following previews beginning September 27 at the Lyceum Theatre.

On Broadway
Disgraced began its limited run on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre with preview performances on September 27, 2014.  Opening night was October 23 with an original announced run lasting until February 15, 2015. In January, the closure of the engagement was announced for March 1. Direction was by Kimberly Senior, sets by John Lee Beatty, costumes by Jennifer von Mayrhauser and lighting by Ken Posner.  The cast included Danny Ashok, Hari Dhillon, Gretchen Mol, Karen Pittman, and Josh Radnor.

Reception
Charles Isherwood of The New York Times, who saw the 2012 Off-Broadway production, said it was "a continuously engaging, vitally engaged play" that "bristles with wit and intelligence" and "puts contemporary attitudes toward religion under a microscope, revealing how tenuous self-image can be for people born into one way of being who have embraced another." Isherwood selected the play as one of his year-end Ten Best Plays of 2012. David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter also selected it as among his Ten Best in New York Theater 2012, writing that Akhtar "staked a claim as one of the boldest voices to appear on the playwriting scene in recent years with this stinging swipe at the fallacy of the post-racial nation."

Of the Chicago production at American Theater company, Chicago Tribune theatre critic Chris Jones praised the show as "intensely arresting." Time Out Chicago Kris Vire called the play "a compact, stunning gut punch addressing the cultural affinities some of us are allowed to escape and those we aren't." However, Chicago Sun-Times critic Hedy Weiss noted that the play's five characters were all "identity-warped", and the show was a "minefield... that feels all too deliberately booby-trapped by the playwright." The play won the Jeff Award—honoring excellence in Chicago Theater—for Best New Play in Chicago 2012.

Entertainment Weekly critic Thom Geier suggested that the ending was underdeveloped, but that the play was well-executed: "Akhtar packs a lot into his scenes, in terms of both coincidence-heavy personal drama and talky disquisitions on religion and politics, but he usually manages to pull back from the edge of too-muchness. There is an admirable restraint to director Kimberly Senior's well-paced scenes. Mandvi, best known for his comedy, has a surprisingly commanding stage presence and captures the full range of his character's internal conflicts."

Themes
National Public Radio describes the play thematically as one that "tackles Islamophobia and questions of Muslim-American identity". Isherwood noted: "As two couples exchange observations about faith and politics in the modern world, the intellectual thickets they find themselves in become increasingly tangled." More specifically he said, it is a play "about thorny questions of identity and religion in the contemporary world, with an accent on the incendiary topic of how radical Islam and the terrorism it inspires have affected the public discourse." Kapoor has "rejected his Muslim upbringing (and even his surname) to better assimilate into his law firm, but he still feels the occasional tug of Islam". Geier wrote: "Disgraced offers an engaging snapshot of the challenge for upwardly mobile Islamic Americans in the post-9/11 age." According to The Guardian  Stephen Moss, the play comes to a head as the protagonist "tries to come to terms with his multiple identity – American v Asian, Muslim v secularist, passive observer of injustice v activist". Although Amir has an affinity for $600 shirts with obscenely high thread counts, his home dinner party is set in his apartment which is "spare and tasteful with subtle flourishes of the Orient".

During interviews following the Pulitzer announcement, Akhtar said that the play's title has both a literal and a metaphorical meaning. Literally, Amir plays out his disgrace in almost real time before the audience. Metaphorically, Akhtar says "There are ways that the colonial history of the West is still playing out in the Muslim world. The events that comprise that history — a disgrace of native peoples, as it were — is still very much a part of our contemporary moment."

Awards and nominations

The Chicago production received four Joseph Jefferson Awards nominations for the August 1, 2011, and July 31, 2012, theatrical productions season on August 21. Disgraced was recognized as the Best New Work – Play or Musical on October 15, 2012.

In its description of the play, the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama committee described it as "a moving play that depicts a successful corporate lawyer painfully forced to consider why he has for so long camouflaged his Pakistani Muslim heritage." The Pulitzer jury was headed by The Washington Post theater critic Peter Marks. Playwright Donald Margulies, Princeton University professor Jill Dolan, critic John Fleming and critic Alexis Soloski were also on the jury.

On April 3, Aasif Mandvi earned a 2013 Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor.  On April 22 Ayad Akhtar received an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for the John Gassner Award. Akhtar won a 2013 Obie Award for Playwriting on May 20. On May 8, the production was nominated for a 2013 Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best New Play. It lost to Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike on May 21.

On April 28, 2015, the Broadway production was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play at the 69th Tony Awards.

Chicago production

Off-Broadway production

Disgraced's Off-Broadway premiere competed in the 2012-13 season for Off-Broadway awards such as Drama Desk, leaving only new actors and technical staff eligible in the Broadway transfer in 2015.

Broadway production

Notes

External links

Disgraced at Playbill
Theatre in Chicago webpage
Disgraced at Theater Mania

2012 plays
One-act plays
Plays about race and ethnicity
Pulitzer Prize for Drama-winning works
Pakistani-American culture

Disgraced


Uttarakhand ( ,  or ; , ), formerly known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in northern India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" () due to its religious significance and numerous Hindu temples and pilgrimage centres found throughout the state. Uttarakhand is known for the natural environment of the Himalayas, the Bhabar and the Terai regions. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north; the Sudurpashchim Province of Nepal to the east; the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh to the south and Himachal Pradesh to the west and north-west. The state is divided into two divisions, Garhwal and Kumaon, with a total of 13 districts. The winter capital of Uttarakhand is Dehradun, the largest city of the state, which is a rail head. Gairsain, a town in Chamoli district, is the summer capital of Uttarakhand declared on 5 March 2020. The High Court of the state is located in Nainital, but is to be moved to Haldwani in future.

Archaeological evidence supports the existence of humans in the region since prehistoric times. The region formed a part of the Uttarakuru Kingdom during the Vedic age of Ancient India. Among the first major dynasties of Kumaon were the Kunindas in the second century BCE who practised an early form of Shaivism. Ashokan edicts at Kalsi show the early presence of Buddhism in this region. During the medieval period, the region was consolidated under the Katyuri rulers of Kumaon also known as 'Kurmanchal Kingdom'. After the fall of Katyuris, the region was divided into the Kumaon Kingdom and the Garhwal Kingdom. In 1816, most of modern Uttarakhand was ceded to the British as part of the Treaty of Sugauli. Although the erstwhile hill kingdoms of Garhwal and Kumaon were traditional rivals, the proximity of different neighbouring ethnic groups and the inseparable and complementary nature of their geography, economy, culture, language, and traditions created strong bonds between the two regions, which further strengthened during the Uttarakhand movement for statehood in the 1990s.

The natives of the state are generally called Uttarakhandi, or more specifically either Garhwali or Kumaoni by their region of origin. According to the 2011 Census of India, Uttarakhand has a population of 10,086,292, making it the 20th most populous state in India.

Etymology

Uttarakhand's name is derived from the Sanskrit words uttara () meaning 'north', and khaṇḍa () meaning 'land', altogether simply meaning 'Northern Land'. The name finds mention in early Hindu scriptures as the combined region of "Kedarkhand" (present day Garhwal) and "Manaskhand" (present day Kumaon). Uttarakhand was also the ancient Puranic term for the central stretch of the Indian Himalayas.

However, the region was given the name Uttaranchal by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led union government and Uttarakhand state government when they started a new round of state reorganisation in 1998. Chosen for its allegedly less-separatist connotations, the name change generated enormous controversy among many activists for a separate state who saw it as a political act. The name Uttarakhand remained popular in the region, even while Uttaranchal was promulgated through official usage.

In August 2006, Union Council of Ministers assented to the demands of the Uttaranchal Legislative Assembly and leading members of the Uttarakhand statehood movement to rename Uttaranchal state as Uttarakhand. Legislation to that effect was passed by the Uttaranchal Legislative Assembly in October 2006, and the Union Council of Ministers brought in the bill in the winter session of Parliament. The bill was passed by the Parliament and signed into law by then President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam in December 2006, and since 1 January 2007 the state has been known as Uttarakhand.

History

Ancient rock paintings, rock shelters, paleolithic age stone tools (hundreds of thousands of years old), and megaliths provide evidence that the mountains of the region have been inhabited since prehistoric times. There are also archaeological remains that show the existence of early Vedic () practices in the area. The Pauravas, Khasas, Kiratas, Nandas, Mauryas, Kushanas, Kunindas, Guptas, Karkotas, Palas, Gurjara-Pratiharas, Katyuris, Raikas, Chands, Parmars or Panwars, Mallas, Shahs and the British have ruled Uttarakhand in turns.

Among the first major dynasties of Garhwal and Kumaon were the Kunindas in the second century BCE who practised an early form of Shaivism and traded salt with Western Tibet. It is evident from the Ashokan edict at Kalsi in Western Garhwal that Buddhism made inroads in this region. Shamanic Hindu practices deviating from Hindu orthodoxy also persisted here. However, Garhwal and Kumaon were restored to nominal Vedic Hindu rule due to the travels of Shankaracharya and the arrival of migrants from the plains.

Between the 4th and 14th centuries, the Katyuri dynasty dominated lands of varying extent from the Katyur valley (modern-day Baijnath) in Kumaon. The historically significant temples at Jageshwar are believed to have been built by the Katyuris and later remodelled by the Chands. Other peoples of the Tibeto-Burman group known as Kirata are thought to have settled in the northern highlands as well as in pockets throughout the region, and are believed to be ancestors of the modern day Bhotiya, Raji, Jad, and Banrawat people.

By the medieval period, the region was consolidated under the Garhwal Kingdom in the west and the Kumaon Kingdom in the east. During this period, learning and new forms of painting (the Pahari school of art) developed. Modern-day Garhwal was likewise unified under the rule of Parmars who, along with many Brahmins and Rajputs, also arrived from the plains. In 1791, the expanding Gorkha Empire of Nepal overran Almora, the seat of the Kumaon Kingdom. It was annexed to the Kingdom of Nepal by Amar Singh Thapa. In 1803, the Garhwal Kingdom also fell to the Gurkhas. After the Anglo-Nepalese War, this region was ceded to the British as part of the Treaty of Sugauli and the erstwhile Kumaon Kingdom along with the eastern region of Garhwal Kingdom was merged with the Ceded and Conquered Provinces. In 1816, the Garhwal Kingdom was re-established from a smaller region in Tehri as a princely state. In the southern part of Uttarakhand in Haridwar district (earlier part of Saharanpur till 1988), the dominance and kingship (rajya) was exercises by Gujar chiefs, the area was under control of Parmar (Panwar or Khubars) Gujars in eastern Saharanpur including Haridwar in kingship of Raja Sabha Chandra of Jabarhera (Jhabrera). Gujars of the Khubar (Panwar) gotra held more than 500 villages there in upper Doab, and that situation was confirmed in 1759 in a grant by a Rohilla governor of 505 villages and 31 hamlets to one Manohar Singh Gujar (written in some records as Raja Nahar Singh son of Sabha Chandra). In 1792 Ram Dayal and his son Sawai Singh were ruling the area but due to some family reasons Ramdayal left Jhabrera and went to Landhaura village, now some villages were under control of Raja Ramdayal singh at Landhaura and some under his son Sawai Singh at Jhabrera. Hence, there were two branches of Jabarhera estate (riyasat) main branch at Jabarhera and second one at Landhaura, both father and son were ruling simultaneously without any conflicts till death of Raja Sawai Singh of Jabarhera in 1803. After death of Sawai Singh total control of powers transferred to Ram Dayal Singh at Landhaura, but some villages were given to descendants of Sawai Singh and her widow to collect revenue. By 1803 the Landhaura villages numbered 794 under Raja Ram Dayal Singh. Raja Ram Dayal Singh died on 29 March 1813. These holdings, at least those in the original grant made by the Rohilla governor, were initially recognised by the British in land settlements concluded with Ram Dayal and his heirs. As the years passed, more and more settlements appear to have been made with the village communities, however, and by 1850 little remained of the once vast estate of the Landhaura Khübars.

After India attained independence from the British, the Garhwal Kingdom was merged into the state of Uttar Pradesh, where Uttarakhand composed the Garhwal and Kumaon Divisions. Until 1998, Uttarakhand was the name most commonly used to refer to the region, as various political groups, including the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (Uttarakhand Revolutionary Party), began agitating for separate statehood under its banner. Although the erstwhile hill kingdoms of Garhwal and Kumaon were traditional rivals the inseparable and complementary nature of their geography, economy, culture, language, and traditions created strong bonds between the two regions. These bonds formed the basis of the new political identity of Uttarakhand, which gained significant momentum in 1994, when demand for separate statehood achieved almost unanimous acceptance among both the local populace and national political parties.

The most notable incident during this period was the Rampur Tiraha firing case on the night of 1 October 1994, which led to a public uproar. On 24 September 1998, the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly and Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council passed the Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, which began the process of forming a new state. Two years later the Parliament of India passed the Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000 and thus, on 9 November 2000, Uttarakhand became the 27th state of the Republic of India.

Uttarakhand is also well known for the mass agitation of the 1970s that led to the formation of the Chipko environmental movement and other social movements. Though primarily a livelihood movement rather than a forest conservation movement, it went on to become a rallying point for many future environmentalists, environmental protests, and movements the world over and created a precedent for non-violent protest. It stirred up the existing civil society in India, which began to address the issues of tribal and marginalised people. So much so that, a quarter of a century later, India Today mentioned the people behind the "forest satyagraha" of the Chipko movement as among "100 people who shaped India". One of Chipko's most salient features was the mass participation of female villagers. It was largely female activists that played pivotal role in the movement. Gaura Devi was the leading activist who started this movement, other participants were Chandi Prasad Bhatt, Sunderlal Bahuguna, and Ghanshyam Raturi, the popular Chipko poet.

Geography

Uttarakhand has a total area of , of which 86% is mountainous and 65% is covered by forest. Most of the northern part of the state is covered by high Himalayan peaks and glaciers. In the first half of the nineteenth century, the expanding development of Indian roads, railways and other physical infrastructure was giving rise to concerns over indiscriminate logging, particularly in the Himalaya. Two of the most important rivers in Hinduism originate in the glaciers of Uttarakhand, the Ganges at Gangotri and the Yamuna at Yamunotri. They are fed by myriad lakes, glacial melts and streams. These two along with Badrinath and Kedarnath form the Chota Char Dham, a holy pilgrimage for the Hindus.

The state hosts the Bengal tiger in Jim Corbett National Park, the oldest national park of the Indian subcontinent. The Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the upper expanses of Bhyundar Ganga near Joshimath in Gharwal region, is known for the variety and rarity of its flowers and plants. One who raised this was Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, who visited the region. As a consequence, Lord Dalhousie issued the Indian Forest Charter in 1855, reversing the previous laissez-faire policy. The following Indian Forest Act of 1878 put Indian forestry on a solid scientific basis. A direct consequence was the founding of the Imperial Forest School at Dehradun by Dietrich Brandis in 1878. Renamed the 'Imperial Forest Research Institute' in 1906, it is now known as the Forest Research Institute.

The model "Forest Circles" around Dehradun, used for training, demonstration and scientific measurements, had a lasting positive influence on the forests and ecology of the region. The Himalayan ecosystem provides habitat for many animals (including bharal, snow leopards, leopards and tigers), plants, and rare herbs.

Uttarakhand lies on the southern slope of the Himalaya range, and the climate and vegetation vary greatly with elevation, from glaciers at the highest elevations to subtropical forests at the lower elevations. The highest elevations are covered by ice and bare rock. Below them, between  are the western Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows. The temperate western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests grow just below the tree line. At  elevation they transition to the temperate western Himalayan broadleaf forests, which lie in a belt from  elevation. Below  elevation lie the Himalayan subtropical pine forests. The Upper Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests and the drier Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands cover the lowlands along the Uttar Pradesh border in a belt locally known as Bhabar. These lowland forests have mostly been cleared for agriculture, but a few pockets remain.

In June 2013 several days of extremely heavy rain caused devastating floods in the region, resulting in more than 5000 people missing and presumed dead. The flooding was referred to in the Indian media as a "Himalayan Tsunami".

On 7 February 2021, floods emerged from the Nanda Devi mountain glaciers, devastating locations along the Rishi Ganga, Dhauli Ganga and Alaknanda Rivers, resulting in many people reported missing or killed, yet to be numbered. The damages include Rini village, several river dams and the Tapovan Vishnugad Hydropower Plant.

Flora and fauna

Uttarakhand has a diversity of flora and fauna. It has a recorded forest area of , which constitutes 65% of the total area of the state. Uttarakhand is home to rare species of plants and animals, many of which are protected by sanctuaries and reserves. National parks in Uttarakhand include the Jim Corbett National Park (the oldest national park of India) in Nainital and Pauri Garhwal District, and Valley of Flowers National Park & Nanda Devi National Park in Chamoli District, which together are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A number of plant species in the valley are internationally threatened, including several that have not been recorded from elsewhere in Uttarakhand. Rajaji National Park in Haridwar, Dehradun and Pauri Garhwal District and Govind Pashu Vihar National Park & Gangotri National Park in Uttarkashi District are some other protected areas in the state.

Leopards are found in areas that are abundant in hills but may also venture into the lowland jungles. Smaller felines include the jungle cat, fishing cat, and leopard cat. Other mammals include four kinds of deer (barking, sambar, hog and chital), sloth, Brown and Himalayan black bears, Indian grey mongooses, otters, yellow-throated martens, bharal, Indian pangolins, and langur and rhesus monkeys. In the summer, elephants can be seen in herds of several hundred. Marsh crocodiles (Crocodylus palustris), gharials (Gavialis gangeticus) and other reptiles are also found in the region. Local crocodiles were saved from extinction by captive breeding programs and subsequently re-released into the Ramganga river. Several freshwater terrapins and turtles like the Indian sawback turtle (Kachuga tecta), brahminy river turtle (Hardella thurjii), and Ganges softshell turtle (Trionyx gangeticus) are found in the rivers. Butterflies and birds of the region include red helen (Papilio helenus), the great eggfly (Hypolimnos bolina), common tiger (Danaus genutia), pale wanderer (Pareronia avatar), jungle babbler, tawny-bellied babbler, great slaty woodpecker, red-breasted parakeet, orange-breasted green pigeon and chestnut-winged cuckoo. In 2011, a rare migratory bird, the bean goose, was also seen in the Jim Corbett National Park. A critically endangered bird, last seen in 1876 is the Himalayan quail endemic to the western Himalayas of the state.

Evergreen oaks, rhododendrons, and conifers predominate in the hills. sal (Shorea robusta), silk cotton tree (Bombax ciliata), Dalbergia sissoo, Mallotus philippensis, Acacia catechu, Bauhinia racemosa, and Bauhinia variegata (camel's foot tree) are some other trees of the region. Albizia chinensis, the sweet sticky flowers of which are favoured by sloth bears, are also part of the region's flora. A decade long study by Prof. Chandra Prakash Kala concluded that the Valley of Flowers is endowed with 520 species of higher plants (angiosperms, gymnosperms and pteridophytes), of these 498 are flowering plants. The park has many species of medicinal plants including Dactylorhiza hatagirea, Picrorhiza kurroa, Aconitum violaceum, Polygonatum multiflorum, Fritillaria roylei, and Podophyllum hexandrum. In the summer season of 2016, a large portion of forests in Uttarakhand caught fires and rubbled to ashes during Uttarakhand forest fires incident, which resulted in the damage of forest resources worth billions of rupees and death of 7 people with hundreds of wild animals died during fires. During the 2021 Uttarakhand forest fires, there was widespread damage to the forested areas in Tehri district.

A number of native plants are deemed to be of medicinal value. The government-run Herbal Research and Development Institute carries out research and helps conserve medicinal herbs that are found in abundance in the region. Local traditional healers still use herbs, in accordance with classical Ayurvedic texts, for diseases that are usually cured by modern medicine.

Demographics

The native people of Uttarakhand are generally called Uttarakhandi and sometimes specifically either Garhwali or Kumaoni depending on their place of origin in either the Garhwal or Kumaon region. According to the 2011 Census of India, Uttarakhand has a population of 10,086,292 comprising 5,137,773 males and 4,948,519 females, with 69.77% of the population living in rural areas. The state is the 20th most populous state of the country having 0.83% of the population on 1.63% of the land. The population density of the state is 189 people per square kilometre having a 2001–2011 decadal growth rate of 18.81%. The gender ratio is 963 females per 1000 males. The crude birth rate in the state is 18.6 with the total fertility rate being 2.3. The state has an infant mortality rate of 43, a maternal mortality rate of 188 and a crude death rate of 6.6.

Social groups
Uttarakhand has a multiethnic population spread across two geocultural regions: the Garhwal, and the Kumaon. A large portion (about 35%) of the population is Kshatriya (various clans of erstwhile landowning rulers and their descendants), including members of the native Garhwalis, and Kumaonis as well as a number of migrants. According to a 2007 study by Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Uttarakhand has the highest percentage of Brahmins of any state in India, with approximately 20% of the population. 18.3% of the population is classified as Other Backward Classes (OBCs). 18.76% of the population belongs to the Scheduled Castes (an official term for the lower castes in the traditional caste system in India). Scheduled Tribes such as the Jaunsaris, Bhotiyas, Tharus, Buksas, Rajis, Jads and Banrawats constitute 2.89% of the population. Several non-scheduled tribal groups such as Shaukas and Gurjars are also found here. Gurjars and Bhotiyas are nomadic tribes while Jaunsaris are completely settled tribe.

Languages

The official language of Uttarakhand is Hindi, which according to the 2011 census is spoken natively by % of the population (primarily concentrated in the south), and also used throughout the state as a lingua franca. Additionally, the classical language Sanskrit has been declared a second official language, although it has no native speakers and its use is constrained to educational and religious settings.

The other major regional languages of Uttarakhand are Garhwali, which according to the 2011 census is spoken by % of the population, mostly in the western half of the state, Kumaoni, spoken in the eastern half and native to %, and Jaunsari, whose speakers are concentrated in Dehradun district in the southwest and make up % of the state's population. These three languages are closely related, with Garhwali and Kumaoni in particular making up the Central Pahari language subgroup. There are also sizeable populations of speakers of some of India's other major languages: Urdu (%) and Punjabi (%), both mostly found in the southern districts, Bengali (%) and Bhojpuri (%), both mainly present in Udham Singh Nagar district in the south-east, and Nepali (%, found throughout the state, but most notably in Dehradun and Uttarkashi).

All the languages enumerated so far belong to the Indo-Aryan family. Apart from a few other minority Indo-Aryan languages, like Buksa Tharu and Rana Tharu (of Udham Singh Nagar district in the south-east), Mahasu Pahari (found in Uttarkashi in the north-west), and Doteli, Uttarakhand is also home to a number of indigenous Sino-Tibetan languages, most of which are spoken in the north of the state. These include Jad (spoken in Uttarkashi district in the north-west), Rongpo (of Chamoli district), and several languages of Pithoragarh district in the north-east: Byangsi, Chaudangsi, Darmiya, Raji and Rawat. Another indigenous Sino-Tibetan language, Rangas, became extinct by the middle of the 20th century. Additionally, two non-indigenous Sino-Tibetan languages are also represented: Kulung (otherwise native to Nepal) and Tibetan.

Religion

More than four-fifths of Uttarakhand's residents are Hindus. Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, and Jains make up the remaining population, with the Muslims being the largest minority. Hill regions are almost entirely Hindu, while the plains regions have a significant minority of Muslims and Sikhs.

Government and politics

Following the Constitution of India, Uttarakhand, like all Indian states, has a parliamentary system of representative democracy for its government.

The Governor is the constitutional and formal head of the government and is appointed for a five-year term by the President of India on the advice of the Union government. The present Governor of Uttarakhand is Gurmit Singh. The Chief Minister, who holds the real executive powers, is the head of the party or coalition garnering the majority in the state elections. The current Chief Minister of Uttarakhand is Pushkar Singh Dhami.

The unicameral Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly consists of 70 members, known as Members of the Legislative Assembly or MLAs, and special office bearers such as the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, elected by the members. Assembly meetings are presided over by the Speaker, or the Deputy Speaker in the Speaker's absence. The Uttarakhand Council of Ministers is appointed by the Governor of Uttarakhand on the advice of the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand and reports to the Legislative Assembly. Leader of the Opposition leads the Official Opposition in the Legislative Assembly. Auxiliary authorities that govern at a local level are known as gram panchayats in rural areas, municipalities in urban areas and municipal corporations in metro areas. All state and local government offices have a five-year term. The state also elects 5 members to Lok Sabha and 3 seats to Rajya Sabha of the Parliament of India. The judiciary consists of the Uttarakhand High Court, located at Nainital, and a system of lower courts. The incumbent Acting Chief Justice of Uttarakhand is Sanjaya Kumar Mishra.

Politics in Uttarakhand is dominated by the Indian National Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party. Since the formation of the state these two parties have ruled the state in turns. Following the hung mandate in the 2012 Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly election, the Indian National Congress, having the maximum number of seats, formed a coalition government headed by Harish Rawat that collapsed on 27 March 2016, following the political turmoil as about nine MLAs of INC rebelled against the party and supported the opposition party BJP, causing Harish Rawat government to lose the majority in assembly. However, on 21 April 2016 the High Court of Uttarakhand quashed the President's rule questioning its legality and maintained a status quo prior to 27 March 2016 when 9 rebel MLAs of INC voted against the Harish Rawat government in assembly on state's money appropriation bill. On 22 April 2016 the Supreme Court of India stayed the order of High Court till 27 April 2016, thereby once again reviving the President's rule. In later developments regarding this matter, the Supreme Court ordered a floor test to be held on 10 May with the rebels being barred from voting. On 11 May at the opening of sealed result of the floor test, under the supervision of Supreme Court, the Harish Rawat government was revived following the victory in floor test held in Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly.

Subdivisions

There are 13 districts in Uttarakhand, which are grouped into two divisions, Kumaon and Garhwal. Each division is administered by a divisional commissioner. Four new districts named Didihat, Kotdwar, Ranikhet, and Yamunotri were declared by then Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Ramesh Pokhriyal, on 15 August 2011 but yet to be officially formed.

Each district is administered by a district magistrate. The districts are further divided into sub-divisions, which are administered by sub-divisional magistrates; sub-divisions comprise tehsils which are administered by a tehsildar and community development blocks, each administered by a block development officer.

Urban areas are categorised into three types of municipalities based on their population; municipal corporations, each administered by a municipal commissioner, municipal councils and, nagar panchayats (town councils), each of them administered by a chief executive officer. Rural areas comprise the three tier administration; district councils, block panchayats (block councils) and gram panchayats (village councils).

According to the 2011 census, Haridwar, Dehradun, and Udham Singh Nagar are the most populous districts, each of them having a population of over one million.

Culture

Architecture and crafts

Among the prominent local crafts is wood carving known as Likhai, which appears most frequently in the ornately decorated temples of Uttarakhand. Intricately carved designs of floral patterns, deities, and geometrical motifs also decorate the doors, windows, ceilings, and walls of village houses. Paintings and murals are used to decorate both houses and temples. Pahari painting is a form of painting that flourished in the region between the 17th and 19th century. Mola Ram started the Garhwal Branch of the Kangra school of painting. Guler State was known as the "cradle of Kangra paintings". Kumaoni art often is geometrical in nature, while Garhwali art is known for its closeness to nature. Other crafts of Uttarakhand include handcrafted gold jewellery, basketry from Garhwal, woollen shawls, scarves, and rugs. The latter are mainly produced by the Bhotiyas of northern Uttarakhand.

Arts and literature

Uttarakhand's diverse ethnicities have created a rich literary tradition in languages including Hindi, Garhwali, Kumaoni, Jaunsari, and Tharu. Many of its traditional tales originated in the form of lyrical ballads and chanted by itinerant singers and are now considered classics of Hindi literature. Abodh Bandhu Bahuguna, Badri Datt Pandey, Ganga Prasad Vimal; Mohan Upreti, Naima Khan Upreti, Prasoon Joshi, Shailesh Matiyani, Shekhar Joshi, Shivani, Taradutt Gairola, Tom Alter; Lalit Kala Akademi fellow – Ranbir Singh Bisht; Sangeet Natak Akademi Awardees – B. M. Shah, Narendra Singh Negi; Sahitya Akademi Awardees – Leeladhar Jagudi, Shivprasad Dabral Charan, Manglesh Dabral, Manohar Shyam Joshi, Ramesh Chandra Shah, Ruskin Bond and Viren Dangwal; Jnanpith Awardee and Sahitya Akademi fellow Sumitranandan Pant are some major literary, artistic and theatre personalities from the state. prominent philosophers, Indian independence activists and social-environmental activists; Anil Prakash Joshi, Basanti Devi, Gaura Devi, Govind Ballabh Pant, Chandi Prasad Bhatt, Deep Joshi, Hargovind Pant, Kalu Singh Mahara, Kunwar Singh Negi, Mukandi Lal, Nagendra Saklani, Sri Dev Suman, Ram Prasad Nautiyal, Sunderlal Bahuguna and Vandana Shiva are also from Uttarakhand.

Cuisine

The primary food of Uttarakhand is vegetables with wheat being a staple, although non-vegetarian food is also served. A distinctive characteristic of Uttarakhand cuisine is the sparing use of tomatoes, milk, and milk-based products. Coarse grain with high fibre content is very common in Uttarakhand due to the harsh terrain. Crops most commonly associated with Uttarakhand are Buckwheat (locally called Kotu or Kuttu) and the regional crops, Maduwa and Jhangora, particularly in the interior regions of Kumaon and Garhwal. Generally, either Desi Ghee or Mustard oil is used for the purpose of cooking food. Simple recipes are made interesting with the use of hash seeds Jakhya as spice, chutney made of Bhang is also a regional cuisine. Bal Mithai is a popular fudge-like sweet. Other popular dishes include Dubuk, Chains, Kap, Bhatiya, Jaula, Phana, Paliyo, Chutkani and Sei. In sweets; Swal, Ghughut/Khajur, Arsa, Mishri, Gatta and Gulgulas are popular. A regional variation of Kadhi called Jhoi or Jholi is also popular.

Dances and music

The dances of the region are connected to life and human existence and exhibit myriad human emotions. Langvir Nritya is a dance form for males that resembles gymnastic movements. Barada Nati folk dance is another dance of Jaunsar-Bawar, which is practised during some religious festivals. Other well-known dances include Hurka Baul, Jhora-Chanchri, Chhapeli, Thadya, Jhumaila, Pandav, Chauphula, and Chholiya. Music is an integral part of the Uttarakhandi culture. Popular types of folk songs include Mangal, Basanti, Khuder and Chhopati. These folk songs are played on instruments including Dhol, Damau, Turri, Ransingha, Dholki, Daur, Thali, Bhankora, Mandan and Mashakbaja. "Bedu Pako Baro Masa" is a popular folk song of Uttarakhand with international fame and legendary status within the state. It serves as the cultural anthem of Uttarakhandi people worldwide. Music is also used as a medium through which the gods are invoked. Jagar is a form of spirit worship in which the singer, or Jagariya, sings a ballad of the gods, with allusions to great epics, like Mahabharat and Ramayana, that describe the adventures and exploits of the god being invoked. B. K. Samant, Basanti Bisht, Chander Singh Rahi, Girish Tiwari 'Girda', Gopal Babu Goswami, Heera Singh Rana, Jeet Singh Negi, Meena Rana, Mohan Upreti, Narendra Singh Negi and Pritam Bhartwan are popular folk singers and musicians from the state, so are Bollywood singer Jubin Nautiyal and country singer Bobby Cash.

Fairs and festivals

One of the major Hindu pilgrimages, Haridwar Kumbh Mela, takes place in Uttarakhand. Haridwar is one of the four places in India where this mela is organised. Haridwar most recently hosted the Purna Kumbh Mela from Makar Sankranti (14 January 2010) to Vaishakh Purnima Snan (28 April 2010). Hundreds of foreigners joined Indian pilgrims in the festival, which is considered the largest religious gathering in the world.

Kumauni Holi, in forms including Baithki Holi, Khari Holi, and Mahila Holi, all of which start from Vasant Panchami, are festivals and musical affairs that can last almost a month. Ganga Dashahara, Vasant Panchami, Makar Sankranti, Ghee Sankranti, Khatarua, Vat Savitri, and Phul Dei (The festival of spring) are other major festivals. In addition, various fairs like Kanwar Yatra, Kandali Festival, Ramman, Harela Mela, Kauthig, Nauchandi Mela, Giddi Mela, Uttarayani Mela and Nanda Devi Raj Jat take place.

The festivals of Kumbh Mela at Haridwar, Ramlila, Ramman of Garhwal, the traditions of Vedic chantings and Yoga are included in the list of Intangible cultural heritage of the UNESCO.

Economy

The Uttarakhand state is the second fastest growing state in India. Its gross state domestic product (GSDP) (at constant prices) more than doubled from 24,786 crore in FY2005 to 60,898 crore in FY2012. The real GSDP grew at 13.7% (CAGR) during the FY2005–FY2012 period. The contribution of the service sector to the GSDP of Uttarakhand was just over 50% during FY 2012. Per capita income in Uttarakhand is  198738 (FY 2018–19), which is higher than the national average of  126406 (FY 2018–19). According to the Reserve Bank of India, the total foreign direct investment in the state from April 2000 to October 2009 amounted to US$46.7 million.

Like most of India, agriculture is one of the most significant sectors of the economy of Uttarakhand. Basmati rice, wheat, soybeans, groundnuts, coarse cereals, pulses, and oil seeds are the most widely grown crops. Fruits like apples, oranges, pears, peaches, lychees, and plums are widely grown and important to the large food processing industry. Agricultural export zones have been set up in the state for lychees, horticulture, herbs, medicinal plants, and basmati rice. During 2010, wheat production was 831 thousand tonnes and rice production was 610 thousand tonnes, while the main cash crop of the state, sugarcane, had a production of 5058 thousand tonnes. As 86% of the state consists of hills, the yield per hectare is not very high. 86% of all croplands are in the plains while the remaining is from the hills. The state also holds the GI tag for Tejpatta (Cinnamomum tamala) or Indian bay leaf, which is known to add flavour to dishes and also possesses several medicinal properties.

Other key industries include tourism and hydropower, and there is prospective development in IT, ITES, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and automobile industries. The service sector of Uttarakhand mainly includes tourism, information technology, higher education, and banking.

During 2005–2006, the state successfully developed three Integrated Industrial Estates (IIEs) at Haridwar, Pantnagar, and Sitarganj; Pharma City at Selakui; Information Technology Park at Sahastradhara (Dehradun); and a growth centre at Sigaddi (Kotdwar). Also in 2006, 20 industrial sectors in public private partnership mode were developed in the state.

Transport

Uttarakhand has  of roads, of which  are national highways and  are state highways. The State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC), which has been reorganised in Uttarakhand as the Uttarakhand Transport Corporation (UTC), is a major constituent of the transport system in the state. The corporation began to work on 31 October 2003 and provides services on interstate and nationalised routes. As of 2012, approximately 1000 buses are being plied by the UTC on 35 nationalised routes along with many other non-nationalised routes. There are also private transport operators operating approximately 3000 buses on non-nationalised routes along with a few interstate routes in Uttarakhand and the neighbouring state of U.P. For travelling locally, the state, like most of the country, has auto rickshaws and cycle rickshaws. In addition, remote towns and villages in the hills are connected to important road junctions and bus routes by a vast network of crowded share jeeps.

The air transport network in the state is gradually improving. Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun, is the busiest airport in the state with six daily flights to Delhi Airport. Pantnagar Airport, located in Pantnagar of the Kumaon region have 1 daily air service to Delhi and return too. There government is planning to develop Naini Saini Airport in Pithoragarh, Bharkot Airport in Chinyalisaur in Uttarkashi district and Gauchar Airport in Gauchar, Chamoli district. There are plans to launch helipad service in Pantnagar and Jolly Grant Airports and other important tourist destinations like Ghangaria and Hemkund Sahib.

As over 86% of Uttarakhand's terrain consists of hills, railway services are very limited in the state and are largely confined to the plains. In 2011, the total length of railway tracks was about . Rail, being the cheapest mode of transport, is most popular. The most important railway station in Kumaun Division of Uttarakhand is at Kathgodam, 35 kilometres away from Nainital. Kathgodam is the last terminus of the broad gauge line of North East Railways that connects Nainital with Delhi, Dehradun, and Howrah. Other notable railway stations are at Pantnagar, Lalkuan and Haldwani.

Dehradun railway station is a railhead of the Northern Railways. Haridwar station is situated on the Delhi–Dehradun and Howrah–Dehradun railway lines. One of the main railheads of the Northern Railways, Haridwar Junction Railway Station is connected by broad gauge line. Roorkee comes under Northern Railway region of Indian Railways on the main Punjab – Mughal Sarai trunk route and is connected to major Indian cities. Other railheads are Rishikesh, Kotdwar and Ramnagar linked to Delhi by daily trains.

Tourism

Uttarakhand has many tourist spots due to its location in the Himalayas. There are many ancient temples, forest reserves, national parks, hill stations, and mountain peaks that draw large number of tourists. There are 44 nationally protected monuments in the state. Oak Grove School in the state is on the tentative list for World Heritage Sites. Two of the most holy rivers in Hinduism the Ganges and Yamuna, originate in Uttarakhand. Binsar Devta is a popular Hindu temple in the area.

Uttarakhand has long been called "Land of the Gods" as the state has some of the holiest Hindu shrines, and for more than a thousand years, pilgrims have been visiting the region in the hopes of salvation and purification from sin. Gangotri and Yamunotri, the sources of the Ganges and Yamuna, dedicated to Ganga and Yamuna respectively, fall in the upper reaches of the state and together with Badrinath (dedicated to Vishnu) and Kedarnath (dedicated to Shiva) form the Chota Char Dham, one of Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious pilgrimage circuits. Haridwar, meaning "Gateway to the God", is a prime Hindu destination. Haridwar hosts the Haridwar Kumbh Mela every twelve years, in which millions of pilgrims take part from all parts of India and the world. Rishikesh near Haridwar is known as the preeminent yoga centre of India. The state has an abundance of temples and shrines, many dedicated to local deities or manifestations of Shiva and Durga, references to many of which can be found in Hindu scriptures and legends. Uttarakhand is, however, a place of pilgrimage for the adherents of other religions too. Piran Kaliyar Sharif near Roorkee is a pilgrimage site to Muslims, Gurudwara Darbar Sahib, in Dehradun, Gurudwara Hemkund Sahib in Chamoli district, Gurudwara Nanakmatta Sahib in Nanakmatta and Gurudwara Reetha Sahib in Champawat district are pilgrimage centres for Sikhs. Tibetan Buddhism has also made its presence with the reconstruction of Mindrolling Monastery and its Buddha Stupa, described as the world's highest at Clement Town, Dehradun.

Auli and Munsiari are well-known skiing resorts in the state.

The state has 12 National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries, which cover 13.8 per cent of the total area of the state. They are located at different altitudes varying from 800 to 5400 metres. The oldest national park on the Indian sub-continent, Jim Corbett National Park, is a major tourist attraction.

Vasudhara Falls, near Badrinath is a waterfall with a height of  set in a backdrop of snow-clad mountains. The state has always been a destination for mountaineering, hiking, and rock climbing in India. A recent development in adventure tourism in the region has been whitewater rafting in Rishikesh. Due to its proximity to the Himalaya ranges, the place is full of hills and mountains and is suitable for trekking, climbing, skiing, camping, rock climbing, and paragliding. Roopkund is a trekking site, known for the mysterious skeletons found in a lake, which was featured by National Geographic Channel in a documentary. The trek to Roopkund passes through the meadows of Bugyal.

New Tehri city has Tehri Dam, with a height of  is the tallest dam in India. It is currently ranked No 10 on the List of Tallest Dams in the world. Tehri Lake with a surface area of , is the biggest lake in the state of Uttarakhand. It has good options for Adventure Sports and various water sports like Boating, Banana Boat, Bandwagon Boat, Jet Ski, Water Skiing, Para-sailing, Kayaking.

Education

, there were 15,331 primary schools with 1,040,139 students and 22,118 working teachers in Uttarakhand. At the 2011 census the literacy rate of the state was 78.82% with 87.4% literacy for males and 70% literacy for females. Dehradun, Uttarakhand has multiple multinational companies like Tanicsys . 1

The language of instruction in the schools is either English or Hindi. There are mainly government-run, private unaided (no government help), and private aided schools in the state. The main school affiliations are CBSE, CISCE or UBSE, the state syllabus defined by the Department of Education of the Government of Uttarakhand. Furthermore, there is an IIT in Roorkee, AIIMS in Rishikesh and an IIM in Kashipur.

Sports

The high mountains and rivers of Uttarakhand attract many tourists and adventure seekers. It is also a favourite destination for adventure sports, such as paragliding, sky diving, rafting and bungee jumping.

More recently, golf has also become popular with Ranikhet being a favourite destination.

The Cricket Association of Uttarakhand is the governing body for cricket activities. The Uttarakhand cricket team represents Uttarakhand in Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehradun is the home ground of Uttarakhand cricket team.

The Uttarakhand State Football Association is the governing body for association football. The Uttarakhand football team represents Uttarakhand in the Santosh Trophy and other leagues. The Indira Gandhi International Sports Stadium in Haldwani is the home ground of Uttarakhand football team.

Notable people

 Ajit Doval, 5th National Security Adviser of India
 Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat, recipient of Maha Vir Chakra
 General Bipin Chandra Joshi, Chief of Army Staff of Indian Army
 General Bipin Rawat – 1st Chief of Defence Staff of India
 General Anil Chauhan – 2nd Chief of Defence Staff of India

See also

 Outline of Uttarakhand
 Himalayan states
 Indian Himalayan Region
Mountain Temples and Temple Mountains

References

Further reading

 Handa, Umachand (2002). History of Uttaranchal. Indus Publishing. .
 Husain, Z. (1995). Uttarakhand Movement: The Politics of Identity and Frustration, A Psycho-Analytical Study of the Separate State Movement, 1815–1995. Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot.
 Sharma, D. (1989). Tibeto-Himalayan languages of Uttarakhand. Studies in Tibeto-Himalayan languages, 3. New Delhi, India: Mittal Publications.
 Phonia, Kedar Singh (1987). Uttarakhand: The Land of Jungles, Temples and Snows. New Delhi, India: Lancer Books.
 Mukhopadhyaya, R. (1987). Uttarakhand Movement: A Sociological Analysis. Centre for Himalayan Studies special lecture, 8. Raja Rammohunpur, Distt. Darjeeling: University of North Bengal.
 Thapliyal, Uma Prasad (2005). Uttaranchal: Historical and Cultural Perspectives. B. R. Pub. Corp., .
 Negi, Vijaypal Singh, Jawaharnagar, P.O. Agastyamuni, Distt. Rudraprayag, The Great Himalayas  1998,

External links

Government
 Uttarakhand Government Portal
 Uttarakhand Tourism

General information

 Map of Uttarakhand with places of interest and historical attractions, mountainshepherds.com.

Uttarakhand
North India
States and union territories of India
States and territories established in 2000
2000 establishments in India

Uttarakhand


A rainband is an area of rainfall where all the clouds and precipitation are stretched out in a long line or band. Rainbands can be stratiform or convective. They are caused by differences in temperature.  When seen on a weather radar, the long narrow shape is called a banded structure.  Rainbands in a tropical cyclone are curved and may even spiral around the center of the cyclone. Tropical cyclone rainbands include rain showers and thunderstorms. When this includes an eyewall and the eye, they make a hurricane or tropical storm. The size of rainbands around a tropical cyclone helps to measure the cyclone's intensity.

Rainbands that form near and ahead of cold fronts can be squall lines which can produce tornadoes. The shape of rainbands linked with cold fronts can be changed by mountains. The mountains block the winds which can then form a low-level barrier jet. Bands of thunderstorms can form when sea breeze and land breezes meet, if enough moisture is present. Sometimes sea breeze rainbands which are ahead of a cold front, can hide the location of the cold front itself. Rainbands in an extratropical cyclone can cause large amounts of rain or snow. Behind extratropical cyclones, rainbands can form downwind of large, warmer bodies of water such as the Great Lakes. If the air is cold enough, these rainbands can cause heavy snowfalls.

Extratropical cyclones

Rainbands ahead of warm occluded fronts and warm fronts have little upward motion. They tend to be wide and stratiform in nature.  In an atmosphere with rich low level moisture and vertical wind shear, narrow, convective rainbands form. These are known as squall lines, and are usually in the cyclone's warm sector, ahead of strong cold fronts associated with extratropical cyclones.  Wider rain bands can form behind cold fronts, which usually have more stratiform, and less convective, precipitation. In colder cyclones, small bands of heavy snow can occur with a width of  to .  These bands are linked with areas of frontogensis, or zones of strengthening temperature contrast.  The curved air flow from extratropical cyclones bringing cold air across the relatively warm Great Lakes can lead to narrow lake effect snow bands. These can bring heavy localized snowfalls.

Tropical cyclones

Rainbands exist on the edges of tropical cyclones, and point towards the cyclone's center of low pressure.  Rainbands within tropical cyclones need moisture and a low level pool of cooler air.  Bands located  to  from a cyclone's center move outward.  They can cause heavy rains and squalls of wind, as well as tornadoes. Some rainbands move closer to the center, forming a secondary, or outer, eyewall within intense hurricanes.  Spiral rainbands are such a basic part of a tropical cyclone that in most tropical cyclone basins, use of the satellite-based Dvorak technique is the main method used to determine a tropical cyclone's maximum sustained winds.  Using this method, the area of spiral banding and difference in temperature between the eye and eyewall is used to estimate the maximum sustained wind and a central pressure.

Forced by geography
Convective rainbands can form parallel mountains on their windward side. This is due to lee waves triggered by hills just upstream of the cloud's formation.  Their spacing is normally  to  apart.  When rainbands near frontal zones get close to steep mountains, a low-level barrier jet stream forms parallel to and just before the mountain ridge. This slows down the frontal rainband just before the mountain barrier. If enough moisture is present, sea breeze and land breeze fronts can form convective rainbands. Sea breeze front thunderstorm lines can become strong enough to hide the location of an approaching cold front by evening.  The edge of ocean currents can cause thunderstorm bands due to heat differences where they meet.  Downwind of islands, rainbands can form when low level winds meet downwind of the island edges.  Offshore California, this has been noted in the wake of cold fronts.

References

Other websites

Precipitation
Tropical cyclones

Rainband


Telalginite is a structured organic matter (alginite) in sapropel, composed of large discretely occurring colonial or thick-walled unicellular algae such as Botryococcus, Tasmanites and Gloeocapsomorpha prisca. Telalginite is present in large  algal bodies. It fluoresce brightly in shades of yellow under blue/ultraviolet light. The term of telalginite was introduced by Adrian C. Hutton of the University of Wollongong.

See also
Lamalginite

References

Sedimentology
Organic minerals
Petrology

Telalginite


Shunning is the rejection of a person. It is usual in some religious groups to cut people off if they do not believe the beliefs or follow the rules of the group. It has been used in industrial action (strikes) and as a punishment in certain societies.

Religions which use or have used shunning
 The Catholic Church, before the Code of Canon Law of 1983. The practice of inquisition is famous. Other religious and quasi-religious groups which use the practice are:
 Amish.
 Jehova's Witnesses. Holden says that many keep affiliation out of fear of being shunned and losing contact with friends and family members.
 Church of Scientology. The Church of Scientology asks its members to quit all communication with Suppressive Persons (those whom the Church deems antagonistic to Scientology). The practice of shunning in Scientology is termed disconnection. In the United States, the Church has tried to argue in court that disconnection is a constitutionally protected religious practice. However, this argument was rejected because the pressure put on individual Scientologists to disconnect means it is not voluntary.
 Islam: apostasy in Islam (,  or , ) is for a Muslim to abandon Islam by word or deed. It includes the act of converting to another religion or non-acceptance of faith, by a person who was born in a Muslim family or who had previously accepted Islam. Classical Islamic law called for execution, but how it should be punished is a matter of controversy: opinions of  Islamic scholars differ on these questions.

Tax implications
In many countries, religions get huge financial advantages by being recognised as religions. They are not taxed, or have much reduced taxes. In the United States, the Establishment Clause of the US Constitution prevents the US government and (through the Bill of Rights) the 50 state governments from imposing church taxes. In 1947, the US Supreme Court ruled  that "No tax in any amount, large or small, can be levied to support any religious activities or institutions, whatever they may be called, or whatever form they may adopt to teach or practice religion." This explains why organisations such as Scientology wish to be classified as religions.

References

Religious behavior and experience
Social issues
Taxation
Punishments

Shunning


Henry Lewis Stimson (September 21, 1867 – October 20, 1950) was an American statesman, lawyer, and Republican Party politician. Over his long career, he emerged as a leading figure in U.S. foreign policy by serving in both Republican and Democratic administrations. He served as Secretary of War (1911–1913) under President William Howard Taft, Secretary of State (1929–1933) under President Herbert Hoover, and Secretary of War (1940–1945) under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, overseeing American military efforts during World War II.

References

1867 births
1950 deaths
United States Secretaries of State
United States Secretaries of War

Henry L. Stimson


Alexander V. Boughner House is a historic home located at Greensboro in Greene County, Pennsylvania. It was built about 1857, and is a -story, three bay, "I"-plan dwelling in the Greek Revival style.  It has a rear kitchen ell.  The front facade features a small entry porch with a hipped roof supported by four square columns.

Alexander V. Boughner, born in 1830, was a third generation potter.  The 1850s and 1860s were a prosperous time in the Greensboro area partially due to an 1856 extension of the slack water system of locks and dams on the Monongahela River allowing easier travel to and from Pittsburgh. Boughner participated in the general prosperity brought to the area by the stoneware industry, he remained active during the peak years in the 1870s and 1880s.  He also branched out into a successful mercantile business.  As was typical for the Greensboro area in that time, owner/managers lived on the same level as local artisans and workers; Boughner's home was a modest, yet substantial one.

The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

References

Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania
Greek Revival houses in Pennsylvania
Houses completed in 1857
Houses in Greene County, Pennsylvania
National Register of Historic Places in Greene County, Pennsylvania
1857 establishments in Pennsylvania

Alexander V. Boughner House


The John B. Stetson Company, founded by John B. Stetson in 1865, was the maker of the Stetson cowboy hats, but ceased manufacturing in 1970. Stetson hats are now being manufactured in Garland, Texas, by Hatco, Inc., who also produce Resistol and Charlie 1 Horse hats.

Stetson resumed manufacturing in the 1980s, but the company went bankrupt in 1986. The factory equipment and the license to manufacture Stetson hats was purchased by Hat Brands, a company owned by Irving Joel.

History
The John B. Stetson Company was established in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1865 when John B. Stetson decided to mass-produce a hat like one he had fashioned for himself out of necessity during a lengthy Western expedition. Stetson's Boss of the Plains, with its high crown and wide flat brim, became the prototype for all other cowboy hat designs. A factory in  St. Joseph, Missouri produced Stetson hats until parent company, Hatco Inc., closed it in 2004. The second factory in Galveston, Texas, continue to turn out the "Boss of the Plains," along with over 100 variations for men and women.

The early years
The Philadelphia factory, incorporated in 1891, produced dress hats for both women and men. Employing over 5,000 workers in various departments, the company turned out more hats than any other during the early 20th century.

The Stetson Company was considered especially innovative for its time. The production of high-quality hat boxes became associated with the Stetson name. These hat boxes depicted Christmas imagery or famous Philadelphia institutions. The company also spread its reputation using marketing techniques and the recording of industrial films promoting its process and product. Hats and copies of the film Birth of a Hat, produced by the Company itself and showing the hat-making process, were distributed to merchants and popular conventions where feedback was recorded and used to make future product.

The first significant change in the Company occurred after John B. Stetson's death in February 1906. His position as president of the company was filled by J. Howell Cummings.

The later years
Stetson sales declined dramatically in the 1950s and 1960s. Between 1947 and 1968, revenues sharply dropped from around 29 million dollars to about 8 million dollars. Members of John B. Stetson's family eventually decided to sell company stock, Ira Guilden, who controlled Ramco Enterprises Inc., came into conflict with the Stetson family although by 1968, he would have majority interest in the Stetson Company.

In the early 1970s, the factory in Philadelphia shut down. Even though the clock tower, gymnasium, auditorium, and fitting room were saved from destruction, they burned down in 1980.

Paternalism
John B. Stetson quickly gained a reputation as an employer driven by religious morals. He ran the Stetson Company in a paternalistic fashion designed to provide benefits for workers, increase profits, and discourage unionization. The Stetson Company provided many benefits for the time such as prizes, Christmas bonuses, shared stock, pensions, and membership to a building association as well as access to Stetson facilities. These facilities serviced several aspects of an employee's life. In the early 1900s, Stetson added a company library, dentist, hospital, auditorium, and athletic fields for recreational use. The John B. Stetson Building Association assisted over 1,000 employees to purchase homes, and over 2,000 children of employees attended Sunday School or Kindergarten on company grounds.

One of the most anticipated events at the Company surrounded the Christmas holiday. Employees gathered at the factory auditorium for an annual celebration that featured speeches from the Company President or Santa Claus, and a distribution of awards, bonuses, and gifts. These gifts and awards varied according to one's position at the company. Women received candy and gloves, married men received a Christmas turkey, and unmarried men were given hats.

Employees
Many Stetson employees were immigrant hat-makers with reputations of moving around where work was plentiful. The Stetson Company, to encourage yearlong work and a high retention rate, offered immigrants a portion of annual earnings as a Christmas bonus, increasing each successive year. Some of these immigrant workers were able to become U.S. citizens, partly due to the "Americanization" classes the Company offered that offered English among other subjects.

Highly specialized positions in the factory utilized the apprentice system. Those recruited to an apprenticeship signed contracts valid until they had reached eighteen years old or completed three years of work. While under contract, they agreed to abstain from gambling or marriage. Pay was two dollars per week with an additional dollar for every week worked after the contract was fulfilled. Many apprentices became full-time employees and had the potential to become a foreman due to their loyalty to the Stetson brand.

Unions
John B. Stetson's tradition of providing annual bonuses, Christmas gifts, and facilities for employees were an active attempt to dissuade unions. However, there was a sizable number of union workers at the Philadelphia factory during the early 1900s. They were ordered to leave the factory by their union and work at shops instead. Some of these workers demanded to stay on until Christmas when they received their bonuses and this was generally allowed. However, the attraction of an end of year bonus was so great that many returned to the factory as non-union workers.

References

External links

The Hat of the West" is Born, John B. Stetson's Hats

Hat companies
Manufacturing companies based in Philadelphia
Companies based in Missouri
St. Joseph, Missouri
Economy of Garland, Texas
1865 establishments in Pennsylvania
Clothing companies of the United States
Companies that have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1986

John B. Stetson Company


Mheibes () is a traditional game involving two teams. It is mostly played in the Arab Mashriq, and specifically in Iraq and it is roughly equivalent to the English game Up Jenkins .

The word Mheibes is a cognate of the word Mihbes (), which means ring. The game involves two teams, with each team attempting to hide a ring from the other. The game begins with a player going around the team, to give the ring to one person, trying to prevent the other team from knowing which player holds the ring.

The other team must then nominate a player, who has only one guess to find out who is holding the ring. The decision is based on studying the facial expressions of each team member. The player can also rule out players if he believes they do not hold the ring. He can rule out as many as he wants.

When a player rules out a hand holding the ring, the ring is exposed followed by a shouting of the word Bat () implying in the iraqi-dialect "to sleep over" or to "stay the night", as the ring is once again hidden.

References
 Mheibes – A traditional Iraqi game during Ramadan - Prashant Rao

Traditional games
Iraqi culture
Articles containing video clips

Mheibes


Qamar Zaman (born 11 April 1952 in Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan) is a former squash player from Pakistan. He was one of the leading players in the game of Squash during the 1970s and 1980s. His biggest triumph was winning the British Open Squash Championships in 1975. He is referred to as 'The Stroke Master'.

Career
Qamar won the Pakistan junior squash championship in 1968. On his first trip to the United Kingdom in 1973, he reached the semi-finals of the British Amateur Championship. In 1974, he reached the semi-finals of the British Open and won the Australian Amateur championship.

In the 1975 British Open, Qamar stunned and beat the defending-champion Geoff Hunt of Australia in the quarter-finals, and went on to win the title, beating fellow Pakistani player Gogi Alauddin in the final 9-7, 9-6, 9-1.

Subsequently, Qamar reached the British Open final on four further occasions. He was runner-up to Hunt in 1978, 1979 and 1980, and to Jahangir Khan in 1984. He was also runner-up at the World Open four times, losing to Hunt in the finals of 1976, 1979 and 1980, and to Jahangir in 1984.

Awards and recognition
Pride of Performance Award by the President of Pakistan in 1984

References

External links

 https://psaworldtour.com/news/view/5733/g-o-a-t-13-qamar-zaman-janet-morgan

1952 births
Living people
Pashtun squash players
Sportspeople from Quetta
Pakistani male squash players
Recipients of the Pride of Performance

Qamar Zaman


Vatel is a 2000 French British Belgian romantic period drama movie directed by Roland Joffé and starring Gérard Depardieu, Uma Thurman, Tim Roth, Timothy Spall, Julian Sands, Julian Glover, Edwin Apps, Richard Griffiths, Hywel Bennett, Murray Lachlan Young, Arielle Dombasle. It was nominated for an Academy Award in 2001.

The movie tells the story of François Vatel (1631-1671), a cook, who needs to organize a banquet for Louis XIV.

Other websites

2000s biographical movies
2000 romantic drama movies
French romance movies
French drama movies
French biographical movies
British romantic drama movies
British biographical movies
Belgian biographical movies
Belgian romance movies
Belgian drama movies
Movies directed by Roland Joffé
Movies set in the 17th century
Movies set in France

Vatel (movie)


Irving Price Wanger (March 5, 1852 – January 14, 1940) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.

Wanger was born in North Coventry Township, Pennsylvania, the son of Rebecca (Price) and George Wanger. He served as deputy prothonotary of Chester County, Pennsylvania, in 1871.  He commenced the study of law at Norristown, Pennsylvania, in 1872.  He served as deputy prothonotary of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania from 1873 to 1875.  He was admitted to the bar in 1875, and commenced the practice of law in Norristown.  He was as an elected burgess of Norristown in 1878.  He was a delegate to the 1880 Republican National Convention.  He was elected district attorney of Montgomery County in 1880 and again in 1886.  He served as chairman of the Montgomery County Republican committee in 1889.

Wanger was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1890.  He was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-third and to the eight succeeding Congresses.  He served as chairman of the United States House Committee on Expenditures in the Post Office Department during the Fifty-fifth through Sixty-first Congresses.  He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1910.  He lived for a short time in Wilmington, Delaware.  He resumed the practice of his profession in Norristown and Media, Pennsylvania, in 1920.  He died in Norristown in 1940 and was buried in Mount Zion Cemetery in Pottstown, Pennsylvania.

Sources

The Political Graveyard

External links

1852 births
1940 deaths
Pennsylvania lawyers
Politicians from Chester County, Pennsylvania
County district attorneys in Pennsylvania
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
The Hill School alumni

Irving Price Wanger