India urges Dhaka to reconsider demolition of Satyajit Ray's ancestral home
In an official statement on Tuesday, the External Affairs Ministry noted: 'We note with profound regret that the ancestral property of noted filmmaker and litterateur Satyajit Ray in Mymensingh, belonging to his grandfather and eminent litterateur, Upendra Kishor Ray Chowdhury, is being demolished.'
The building, owned by the Government of Bangladesh and located on Horikishore Ray Chowdhury Road, had reportedly fallen into disrepair after years of neglect. It was most recently used as the Mymensingh Shishu Academy.
Bangladeshi newspaper The Daily Star reported that the century-old structure is being razed to make way for a new semi-concrete building. The house stands just behind the historic Shashi Lodge, a prominent regional archaeological site.
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Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Biometric enrolment for Myanmarese, Bangladeshi refugees underway in Mizoram
Aizawl, The biometric enrolment of over 34,000 people from Myanmar and Bangladesh, who took refuge in Mizoram, is underway, officials said on Thursday. Biometric enrolment for Myanmarese, Bangladeshi refugees underway in Mizoram The Serchhip and Lunglei administrations began the enrolment drive in their respective districts on Wednesday, while east Mizoram's Champhai district authorities started the collection of biometric and demographic details of Myanmar refugees on Thursday, they said. Serchhip district's Nodal Officer for Foreigners Identification Portal and Biometric Enrolment, Vanthangpuia told PTI that biometric enrolment was conducted for Myanmar refugees who took shelter in Chanmari locality in Serchhip town. Sixteen people were enrolled in the Foreigner Identification Portal during the exercise held at Chanmari village council house on Wednesday, he said. The enrolment drive will resume on August 4 and is scheduled to be completed by September 22 within the Serchhip district, the official said. The exercise will be carried out twice a week, and those who are out of station due to important work or students who studied in other places will be enrolled in separate phases, he said. The refugees need not panic as the enrolment is meant solely for identification and not for the purpose of deportation, the official said. According to Vanthangpuia, Serchhip currently hosts 647 Myanmarese nationals, including 299 children, across 30 villages and localities. Besides, 266 Bangladeshis, including 47 children, also took shelter in Thenzawl town in Serchhip district, he said. Most refugees stay in rented houses, he said. Lunglei District Additional Deputy Commissioner Zoramdini said that the local administration also began the collection of biometric and demographic details of 1,991 Myanmarese and 73 Bangladeshi refugees taking shelter in the southern district of Mizoram. The drive was carried out at a relief camp on Wednesday during which 10 refugees were enrolled, she said, adding that the exercise could not be conducted smoothly due to poor connectivity, she said. Another official also said that Champhai district, which hosts the maximum number of refugees, has begun the enrolment drive on Thursday. According to the state home department, more than 32,000 Myanmar refugees are currently taking shelter across all 11 districts of Mizoram, with Champhai hosting the highest at 13,586. The number, however, keeps changing almost on a daily basis as some of them have a habit of going to their country and coming back to Mizoram, the officials said. The home department also said that over 2,000 Bangladeshi nationals from the Chittagong Hill Tracts are staying in the state. These Myanmar nationals, mostly from the Chin state of the neighbouring country, came to Mizoram, following a military coup there in February 2021, while many people from Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts came to the state after a military offensive against an ethnic insurgent group in 2022. The Chins in Myanmar and the Bawm tribe of Bangladesh share close ethnic ties with the Mizos of Mizoram. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
News18
3 days ago
- News18
Biometric enrolment for Myanmarese, Bangladeshi refugees underway in Mizoram
Aizawl, Jul 31 (PTI) The biometric enrolment of over 34,000 people from Myanmar and Bangladesh, who took refuge in Mizoram, is underway, officials said on Thursday. The Serchhip and Lunglei administrations began the enrolment drive in their respective districts on Wednesday, while east Mizoram's Champhai district authorities started the collection of biometric and demographic details of Myanmar refugees on Thursday, they said. Serchhip district's Nodal Officer for Foreigners Identification Portal and Biometric Enrolment, Vanthangpuia told PTI that biometric enrolment was conducted for Myanmar refugees who took shelter in Chanmari locality in Serchhip town. Sixteen people were enrolled in the Foreigner Identification Portal during the exercise held at Chanmari village council house on Wednesday, he said. The enrolment drive will resume on August 4 and is scheduled to be completed by September 22 within the Serchhip district, the official said. The exercise will be carried out twice a week, and those who are out of station due to important work or students who studied in other places will be enrolled in separate phases, he said. The refugees need not panic as the enrolment is meant solely for identification and not for the purpose of deportation, the official said. Besides, 266 Bangladeshis, including 47 children, also took shelter in Thenzawl town in Serchhip district, he said. Most refugees stay in rented houses, he said. Lunglei District Additional Deputy Commissioner Zoramdini said that the local administration also began the collection of biometric and demographic details of 1,991 Myanmarese and 73 Bangladeshi refugees taking shelter in the southern district of Mizoram. The drive was carried out at a relief camp on Wednesday during which 10 refugees were enrolled, she said, adding that the exercise could not be conducted smoothly due to poor connectivity, she said. Another official also said that Champhai district, which hosts the maximum number of refugees, has begun the enrolment drive on Thursday. According to the state home department, more than 32,000 Myanmar refugees are currently taking shelter across all 11 districts of Mizoram, with Champhai hosting the highest at 13,586. The number, however, keeps changing almost on a daily basis as some of them have a habit of going to their country and coming back to Mizoram, the officials said. The home department also said that over 2,000 Bangladeshi nationals from the Chittagong Hill Tracts are staying in the state. These Myanmar nationals, mostly from the Chin state of the neighbouring country, came to Mizoram, following a military coup there in February 2021, while many people from Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts came to the state after a military offensive against an ethnic insurgent group in 2022. The Chins in Myanmar and the Bawm tribe of Bangladesh share close ethnic ties with the Mizos of Mizoram. PTI CORR BDC view comments First Published: July 31, 2025, 18:45 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Deccan Herald
4 days ago
- Deccan Herald
A soldier's journey beyond the battlefield
The year was 2018. We were in the process of launching a new course in Aerospace Management at HAL Management Academy. I urgently needed someone to handle a specific computer task, but the staff was occupied. That was when 59-year-old Anthony Cruz stepped in to help. I was surprised because I had heard that he had been promoted from a cook in the canteen to the role of stores-in-charge. I also learned that Cruz, who had failed Class 8, had begun his career at HAL in the canteen at the age of 18. .He completed the work efficiently. I was amazed by his commitment to self-improvement and asked him what his secret was behind self-actualisation. He said that he had learned discipline and the importance of time from his father, Anthony Manickam, a World War II veteran. What unfolded was the story of one of the many sepoys of the British Indian Army, whose contributions were crucial to the war effort but who were largely forgotten after Manickam was born on June 10, 1923, in Pavitram village in Tamil Nadu. He had only studied up to Class 2 and mostly helped his father with farming. One day, he heard that the Army was conducting a recruitment camp in a nearby village. Out of curiosity, Anthony and his friend went to watch. .'Hindutva' activists booked for accusing Kargil war veteran's kin of being Bangladeshi look at the tall, well-built Anthony was enough to convince the selection officer to seek out his enlistment. Anthony immediately was enrolled on June 10, 1941, at the age of 18, as a sepoy in the Madras Sappers, later renamed the Madras Engineering Group (MEG), headquartered in Bangalore since 1834. .After just six months of training, he was deployed to the Burma Campaign of World War II, where he fought in the British colony of Burma against the invading Japanese forces. It was a brutal war, filled with gunfire and loss, and Anthony witnessed many fellow soldiers fall around independence came the joy of serving one's own nation. When Anthony Cruz brought in his father's medals, I held the Burma Star in my hand, a campaign medal awarded to personnel who served in Burma between 11 December 1941 and 2 September 1945. .The medal, a six-pointed star, bore the Royal Cypher 'GRI VI' (King George VI) on the front, surrounded by the inscription 'The Burma star'. There was also a second six-pointed star bearing The 1939–1945 star and a third medal, The war medal 1939–1945, with a side profile of King George his Indian honours were five medals awarded after Independence. One of them was the Indian Independence Medal, which featured the Ashoka lions with the inscription Indian Independence at the top and 15th August 1947 below. .Manickam was also promoted to the rank of 'Naik'. During his service, he was posted in Bangalore for several years. His eldest daughter was born at Bowring Hospital in 1949. His postings took him across the country, including to Poona, where Anthony Cruz was served in the Indian Army's MEG regiment until 1968. Upon discharge, he struggled to support his family of five children. In Bangalore, he found daily-wage work in a workshop near MEG as a pattern maker in carpentry. A chance visit by a former Army commander helped him secure a job at HAL in 1971. Here, he worked in the security department until his retirement in 1981. He passed away on March 13, 2016, carrying with him the proud memories of having served the Anthony Manickam, an unsung sepoy mostly invisible in the pages of history, served the country with pride and honesty. I saw his legacy live on in his son Anthony Cruz, who, wherever he was posted, canteen, stores, or library, left the place more organised and improved. Anthony Cruz retired from HAL as Senior Chief Supervisor in 2019.
