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IRISH: THE FORGOTTEN WHITE SLAVES

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Peter Thomson Well, you learn something every day... IRISH: THE FORGOTTEN WHITE SLAVES They came as slaves: human cargo transported on British ships bound for the Americas. They were shipped by the hundreds of thousands and included men, women, and even the youngest of children. Whenever they rebelled or even disobeyed an order, they were punished in the harshest ways. Slave owners would hang their human property by their hands and set their hands or feet on fire as one form of punishment. Some were burned alive and had their heads placed on pikes in the marketplace as a warning to other captives. We don’t really need to go through all of the gory details, do we? We know all too well the atrocities of the African slave trade. But are we talking about African slavery? King James VI and Charles I also led a continued effort to enslave the Irish. Britain’s Oliver Cromwell furthered this practice of dehumanizing one’s next door neighbour. The Irish slave trade...
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Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

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Born: 26 September, 1820 Died: 29 July, 1890 Contributions Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar is considered as one of the pillars of Bengal renaissance. In other words, he managed to continue the reforms movement that was started by Raja Rammohun Roy. Vidyasagar was a well-known writer, intellectual and above all a staunch follower of humanity. He brought a revolution in the education system of Bengal. In his book, "Barno-Porichoy" (Introduction to the letter), Vidyasagar refined the Bengali language and made it accessible to the common strata of the society. The title 'Vidyasagar' (ocean of knowledge) was given to him due to his vast knowledge in almost all the subjects. Poet Michael Madhusudan Dutt while writing about Ishwar Chandra said: " The genius and wisdom of an ancient sage, the energy of an Englishman and the heart of a Bengali ...
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Nabarun Bhattacharya: A Tribute

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Nabarun Bhattacharya , noted Bengali author and a man of letters passed away today at the age of 66. He was battling cancer for quite some time, to which he finally succumbed despite the best of efforts put in by doctors, first in Kolkata, and subsequently in Mumbai where he was shifted following a deterioration in his condition.  Nabarun, born to Bijan Bhattacharya and Mahasweta Devi, both writers of acclaim, had perhaps inherited the social consciousness that characterized the respective works of his parents. His father Bijan will go down in the annals of Bengali literary history as the man who had authored the much revered and celebrated play 'NABANNO' in the backdrop of the infamous, imperialist-sponsored and thereby man-made Bengal famine of 1943 which reportedly claimed some four million lives and is often referred to as the greatest genocide to have ever been committed by the British imperialists. Nabarun rose to fame with his novel 'Herbert' which won him th...
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