A. K. Antony
Minister of Defence
Incumbent
Assumed office 26 October 2006
Prime Minister	Manmohan Singh
Preceded by	Pranab Mukherjee
Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
In office 1993–1995
Prime Minister	P. V. Narasimha Rao
Chief Minister of Kerala
In office 17 May 2001 – 29 August 2004
Governor	Sikander Bakht T. N. Chaturvedi R. L. Bhatia
Preceded by	E. K. Nayanar
Succeeded by	Oommen Chandy
In office 22 March 1995 – 9 May 1996
Governor	B. Rachaiah P. Shiv Shankar Khurshed Alam Khan
Preceded by	K. Karunakaran
Succeeded by	E. K. Nayanar
In office 27 April 1977 – 27 October 1978
Governor	N. N. Wanchoo Jyothi Vencatachellum
Preceded by	K. Karunakaran
Succeeded by	P. K. Vasudevan Nair
Personal details
Born	Arackaparambil Kurien Antony അറയ്ക്കപറമ്പില്‍ കുര്യന്‍ ആന്റണി (1940-12-28) 28 December 1940 (age 71) Cherthala, British Raj (now India)
Political party	Indian National Congress (Before 1978; 1982–present)
Other political affiliations	Indian National Congress-Urs (1978–1980) Indian National Congress-A (1980–1982)
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Antony
Alma mater	Maharaja's College (B.A.) Mahatma Gandhi University (LL.B.)
Profession	Politician Lawyer
Religion	Atheist;[1] devotee of Mata Amritanandamayi[2][3]

Arackaparambil Kurien Antony (born on December 28, 1940) is an Indian politician who is currently a Member of Parliament from Rajya Sabha and the current Defence Minister of India. He previously served as the Chief Minister of Kerala.

He presently also serves as the chairman of the Disciplinary Action Committee of the All India Congress Committee and member of the Central Election Committee and the Congress Working Committee (CWC). He is a senior member of the Cabinet Committees on Accommodation, Economic Affairs, Political Affairs, and Security.^[4]

Early life and education[link]

A. K. Antony was born in a Syrian Catholic family at Cherthala, near Alleppey in Travancore, as the son of Arackaparambil Kurien Pillai and Aleykutty Kurian.^[5] He lost his father in 1959 and self-financed part of his education through odd jobs.^[6]

He completed his primary education in Holy Family Boys High school (Lower primary) and Government Boys High school (Upper primary), Cherthala (both are mixed higher secondary schools now and the latter has changed its name to Sree Narayana Memorial Government Higher Secondary school) and completed his Bachelor of Arts from Maharajas College and Bachelor of Law from Mahatma Gandhi University.

Early politics[link]

A. K. Antony entered into politics as a student leader in Cherthala Taluk (Alleppey District) as an activist of Kerala Students Union (KSU) under the guidance of M. A. John.^[7] He has been an active leader of many strikes like Oru Ana Samaram (Single Penny Strike). He became the youngest president^[8] of Kerala Students Union in 1966^[8] and also served in the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) before becoming an All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary in 1984. When he became KPCC president in 1972 he was the youngest person to hold that post. He was elected again as KPCC president in 1987, and was defeated by Vayalar Ravi in the KPCC presidential elections in 1991.

Congress Politics and Party Faction[link]

Congress (A) was a political party founded by Antony when he split from the Indian National Congress (Urs) a splinter group of the Indian National Congress (and opposed Indira Gandhi in inner party politics during the time when she was prosecuted by the Morarji Desai government, splitting off from the parent party with Devraj Urs.) The party was primarily active in Kerala and joined the LDF ministry headed by E. K. Nayanar during 1980-1982. After the fall of the Nayanar ministry, this party merged with the Congress in 1982, but Antony was not given any office until the death of Indira Gandhi. The members of the party have continued as a faction in the local congress afterwards.

Chief Minister of Kerala[link]

On accusations in the Rajan case, K. Karunakaran resigned and Antony was made the 8th Chief Minister of Kerala.^[9] Antony thus became the youngest Chief Minister of the state^[8][10] at the age of 37 serving from years April 27, 1977 to October 27, 1978.

Again, when K. Karunakaran resigned in connection with the ISRO case Antony was made the 16th Chief Minister of Kerala serving from years March 22, 1995 to May 9, 1996. He was the Leader of Opposition in Kerala Legislative Assembly during 1996 to 2001. Antony was elected and served the third term from May 17, 2001 to August 29, 2004. He failed to retain power on the first two occasions as Chief minister. In 2004, immediately after the Congress in Kerala suffered a total rout in the Lok Sabha elections amid factional politics and in-fighting within the Congress Party, Antony resigned as the Chief Minister of Kerala.^[8][10] He was succeeded by Oommen Chandy.

It was at his behest that the decision to construct the new Legislature Complex was taken in 1977. During his tenure, he introduced the Unemployment Allowance, Festival Allowance for the State Employees, Prohibition of arrack and the steps initiated to revive the economy of Kerala. He also took some initiatives in the field of Higher Education, Science & Technology, Bio-Technology, Information Technology and other related areas.^[11]

Rajya sabha and Union cabinet[link]

Union Minister for Civil Supplies[link]

He was a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha between 1985 and 1995 and was the Minister for Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution for a year in 1994 during the tenure of Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao. He resigned on moral grounds as food minister in 1994 when his ministry was involved in a sugar import scandal, despite there being no allegations against him.^[8][12]

Union Minister for Defence[link]

Wikinews has related news: Antony becomes Central Cabinet Defence Minister in a minor expansion-cum-reshuffle in 2006 by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

In 2005, A. K. Antony entered the Rajya Sabha and was inducted into the Union Council of Ministers as Defence Minister following Natwar Singh's expulsion from the Congress and Pranab Mukherjee's transfer to the Ministry of External Affairs. After the Congress again won the elections in 2009 and formed the government once again under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Antony retained the portfolio of Defence for the second term becoming the longest serving Defence Minister of India in a continuous stint.^[13][14]

Corruption in Armed Forces[link]

In Sukna land scandal, then Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor toned down the action against one his key aides, Lieutenant-General Avadesh Prakash who is one of the seniormost officers of the Army, against the recommendations of the Eastern Army Commander who had ordered the probe.^[15]

After an outcry over the perceived “letting off” of a senior officer in the case, who incidentally retired. Antony intervened and directed the Army Chief to order a court martial to bring out the facts of the case.^[16][17]

A.K Antony ordered CBI to investigate Army Chief Gen. V K Singh’s allegation that a former defence officer had offered him a Rs 14-crore bribe to clear a contract for 600 sub-standard heavy vehicles for Indian Army.^[18]

Adarsh scam[link]

After Adarsh Housing Society Scam in Mumbai, A K Antony recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation probe to fix responsibility of the armed forces and defence estates officers.^[19] He also stated that under his supervision as defence minister of India, his ministry will not cover up the Adarsh Housing Society scam, but initiate "strict" action against those guilty though top armed forces officers, bureaucrats and politicians were allegedly involved in it.^[20][21]

Public image[link]

Antony is known for his incorruptible record^[22][23] and his intolerance towards corruption in public life.^{[8][10][24][25][26]} In India, he is known as "Mr. Clean" and "Saint Antony".^[27][28][29] He is ranked among top 10 Most Powerful Indians for the year 2012 by the Indian Express.^[30]

Personal life and beliefs[link]

Antony is married to Elizabeth, a Syrian Orthodox and they have two sons named Anil Kurien Antony who is a graduate of Stanford University^[31] and Ajith Paul Antony who is a graduate of St. Stephen's College, Delhi.^[32]

A. K. Antony was born into a Syrian Catholic family. He is an atheist^[1] and has always assumed office by affirmation rather than by a religious oath. However, he is a devotee of Mata Amritanandamayi^[2] and claims to have seen stars when she hugged him.^[3]

Honours, awards and international recognition[link]

Gallery[link]

References[link]

Wikinews has related news: World's defense chiefs meet in Singapore.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: A. K. Antony

	Biography portal
	India portal

• AK Antony Official bio-data at india.gov.in
• Biography: AK Antony Official biography at niyamasabha.org

A Knight's Tale is a 2001 American romantic adventure film written, directed, and produced by Brian Helgeland. The film stars Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossamon, Mark Addy, Alan Tudyk, Rufus Sewell, Paul Bettany as Geoffrey Chaucer, and James Purefoy as Sir Thomas Colville/Edward, the Black Prince.

The film follows the story of William Thatcher, a peasant masquerading as a knight, along with his companions in the world of medieval jousting. William poses as a knight and competes in tournaments, winning accolades and acquiring friendships with such historical figures as Edward, the Black Prince of Wales and Geoffrey Chaucer.

The film takes its title from Chaucer's "The Knight's Tale" in his Canterbury Tales, though the plot is not especially similar. Garnering $117,487,473 with a budget of $41 million, it becomes successful at the worldwide box office.

Plot[link]

Set in late Medieval Europe in the mid-14th century, the story begins with the protagonists and squires, William (Heath Ledger), Roland (Mark Addy) and Wat (Alan Tudyk), discovering their master, Sir Ector (Nick Brimble), dead of bowel problems in the middle of a jousting tournament. He was ahead "three lances to none" and merely had to finish the final round to win the tournament and be awarded the money that was to buy food for them all. While Wat and Roland resign themselves to destitution now that they no longer have Sir Ector's employment and protection, William Thatcher takes the armour, and more importantly the helmet, from Sir Ector's body and poses as the noble to finish the match. William's inexperience is evident, as he receives a lance blow to the face mask, but regardless wins the tournament (and the money) due to Ector's previous lead. This gives William the idea that, with proper training, he and his companions could make a living in jousting. For a month, William trains with the help of Roland and Wat to improve his balance and aim. After many tries Will is able to joust properly and is therefore ready to compete.

Along the way to his first tournament in Rouen, William and his friends come upon Geoffrey Chaucer (Paul Bettany), trudging down a road with no clothes or money. William persuades the writer to fake his patents of nobility, as it is illegal for peasants to joust, and joins the jousting circuit under the assumed name of "Sir Ulrich von Liechtenstein" from Gelderland. Chaucer is then discovered to have a gambling problem, which William saves him from by paying his debts with his tournament winnings, and therefore gains Geoffrey's true loyalty (and services as a herald at the tournaments). Helped by Chaucer, Wat and Roland, he begins to win match after match. When his armour—still the same suit taken from Sir Ector—becomes loose and damaged, he gains an addition to his fellowship, Kate the blacksmith (Laura Fraser), who makes him revolutionary new armour and decides to travel with them. He faces a Sir Thomas Colville (James Purefoy) in one of his matches and deals him a crippling blow, but rather than finish him off William instead agrees to a draw in order to preserve Colville's honor. William meets and falls in love with a noble lady, Jocelyn (Shannyn Sossamon), who has already been noticed by the powerful Count Adhemar (Rufus Sewell), the film's antagonist. A rivalry begins between the two of them for the affection of Jocelyn and the accolades of the tournaments, and Adhemar defeats William in his first tournament.

In the following tournament, they are both assigned to tilt against Sir Thomas Collville but Adhemar withdraws at the last minute after learning his true identity is that of Edward, the Black Prince (who assumed another identity hoping he will get a rare chance to compete if his opponents do not know his identity as the Prince of Wales), not willing to take the risk of harming English royalty. When William's turn comes, however, his competitiveness overcomes the pressure to withdraw, and he jousts with Edward (to Edward's surprise and pleasure) and wins the tournament, along with Edward's respect (because of the respect William has shown him in turn on two separate occasions, which the Prince considers an honorable and knightly quality). Following this, Will's companions, Wat, Roland, Kate, and Geoff, gamble all of their share of the money that William will win the French tournament in Paris. Simultaneously, Jocelyn tells William that he must lose the tournament to prove his love to her. After he openly accepts defeat after defeat, she changes her mind; he must now win to prove his love. He does win the tournament. After this, Jocelyn joins him in bed.

The group travels to London for the World Championship, and an important flashback to William's childhood is shown. His father, wanting the best for his son, reluctantly gave him over for squire services to Sir Ector, so that someday, he could realize his dream of becoming a knight and "change his stars" to live a better life than his father. Returning to the present, and to London for the first time since childhood, William, assuming that his father has long since died, visits his old neighborhood. He talks to a young local girl, (Alice Connor), who informs him that his father is still alive and well, albeit blind. William visits his father, initially presenting himself as Ulrich; and tells him that he has a message from William: that he has changed his stars after all. His father, overcome with joyous emotion, realizes it is actually his son, and they embrace and spend hours together.

Although everything appears well, Adhemar has returned from fighting in the Battle of Poitiers and discovers William's humble origins from a young girl outside Thatcher's home. He alerts the authorities. William's friends, including Jocelyn beg him to flee. Jocelyn promises to give up her privileged life and run away with him, but he refuses to run; and is arrested. Adhemar visits him in prison and gloats that he will marry Jocelyn, while beating the defenseless William. When William is moved to the stocks, his companions all stand with him to defend him from the crowd, which grows increasingly hostile until Prince Edward emerges from the mob. Silencing the crowd, and privately noting that William's friends' willingness to stand by him reflects the honour that he has earned, Edward orders William to be released, declaring that his historians have discovered that William is descended from an "ancient royal line" and that he is entitled to a knighthood after all; repaying William for the respect William had previously shown him (as it is the Prince's verdict, none are allowed to argue). He knights William. The newly dubbed "Sir William" goes on to resume his place in the tournament and compete against Adhemar.

With Jocelyn and William's father in attendance, Adhemar cheats with an illegal lance with a sharp point on the tip, which stabs into William's shoulder during the first round. William, unable to grip his lance or breathe properly due to his injury, has his armour removed and his lance strapped to his arm while Chaucer buys time by providing the introduction he 'forgot' earlier, and competes in the final round wearing only ordinary clothing. The two adversaries charge for the final bout, with William's life in the balance. He shouts his finally accepted true name, "WILLIAM," and knocks Adhemar from his horse, winning the tournament. Chaucer remarks that he should write this whole story down, a reference to "The Knight's Tale" of the Canterbury Tales. Jocelyn runs out ecstatically to meet William and they embrace in a long kiss.

Cast[link]

• Heath Ledger as William Thatcher/Sir Ulrich/Sir William (late in the film), a determined peasant who proves that he is not only a fantastic jouster, but is also more knightly in his acts and countenance than many of the high-born nobles
• Rufus Sewell as Count Adhemar, the main antagonist- a cowardly, petty knight who is not above cheating his way to victory
• Shannyn Sossamon as Jocelyn, a high-born lady who expects more from her life than what a woman could expect in those days
• Bérénice Bejo as Christiana, Jocelyn's loyal friend and lady-in-waiting
• Paul Bettany as Geoffrey Chaucer, an extremely well spoken herald & writer
• Laura Fraser as Kate, a hard-working widowed blacksmith wanting to be recognized for her talent, and not defined by her gender
• Mark Addy as Roland, a chubby squire and solid friend of Thatcher. He finds amusement in the interactions between Chaucer and Wat
• Alan Tudyk as Wat, a red-haired squire and loyal friend of Thatchers', with a fiery temper
• James Purefoy as Sir Thomas Colville (Edward, the Black Prince)
• Leagh Conwell as Young William Thatcher
• Christopher Cazenove as John Thatcher
• Steven O'Donnell as Simon the Summoner
• Nick Brimble as Sir Ector, the knight who had William, Roland, and Wat as squires
• Roger Ashton-Griffiths as Old Bishop
• David Schneider as Relic Seller
• Alice Connor as Lone Girl
• Berwick Kaler as Man in Stocks

Production[link]

The entire film was shot in Prague, Czech Republic.

The film includes a great deal of jousting footage. The initial scene of the two knights jousting is actually footage of Heath Ledger's stunt double in an accident. During filming of a later scene in the movie, the lance of the stunt double's opponent moved off target and hit him in the head. The double fell to the ground unconscious. In another incident, Heath Ledger knocked out one of director Brian Helgeland's front teeth with a broomstick when the two were demonstrating a jousting move. It took several months for Helgeland's mouth to heal enough to repair the damage.

Plenty of effort was expended creating lances that would convincingly explode upon impact without injuring the stunt riders. The body of each lance was scored so it would break easily, and the tips were made of balsa wood. Each was also hollowed out, with the holes filled with balsa splinters and uncooked linguine.^[1] Jousting armour was made by Rod Vass and his company Armordillo Ltd. using a unique sprayed Polyurethane system that they invented for the film Gladiator. On screen it is almost impossible to distinguish between the polyurethane stunt armour and steel armour, much of which was also made by Armordillo. Heath Ledger's armour was originally made in steel along with 3 x Polyurethane stunt replicas.

Use of anachronisms[link]

In the film's actor/director DVD commentary, Brian Helgeland, co-commentating with Paul Bettany, states that the film was intended to have occurred sometime in the 1370s during a six-month period in which Chaucer had apparently gone missing and show what he might have done during this time, which Helgeland says later on in the commentary inspired Chaucer to write his Canterbury Tales. (The first Canterbury tale is The Knight's Tale. Chaucer also threatens two men he meets in the film with undying humiliation through fiction; these characters seem to have inspired the vitriolic descriptions of the Tales' Pardoner and Summoner.)

Helgeland also jokes in the commentary that he chose 1970s music and hairstyles for the movie because "the seventies are always the same", regardless of century. More seriously, Helgeland justifies his use of music by speculating that even during the 1370s, persons in the main characters' age group would've enjoyed newer, more contemporary music than something that had been around since their great grandparents were young, and opted to use music that would affect the audience the same way late 14th century music would've affected the youth of the 1370s. Thus, Helgeland attempted to stylize the movie in such a way as to bring the Middle Ages to the audience, rather than force the audience into the Middle Ages.

To this end, many intentional anachronisms are used within the story itself. Jocelyn's appearance combines medieval and modern styles, and the armor Kate makes for William is engraved with a symbol resembling the Nike logo. In the first jousting scene, when "We Will Rock You" is playing, the crowd provides the rhythmic thump-thump-clap as a modern-day crowd that recognizes the song would, the audience performs the wave, and a teenage girl is shown in the stands performing a distinctly twentieth-century dance. At a banquet, Count Adhemar tries to trip up the unsophisticated "Sir Ulrich" by urging him to show the other guests a dance from his own country; William, who's only spent a couple of hours learning to dance that day before the banquet, improvises with Jocelyn and comes up with something suited to a rock video (the featured song in this scene was "Golden Years" by David Bowie).

Language is also borrowed from the present day. An extended metaphor involving hunting during William's first conversation with Jocelyn leads to his calling her a "foxy lady." The first time Chaucer introduces William at a competition, he ends with a comedy-club "Thank you, I'll be here all week" in response to the crowd's wild cheers. When Jocelyn defends herself during an argument with William by saying, "Better a silly girl with a flower than a silly boy with a horse and a stick," an offended Wat calls after her, "It's called a lance... hellooo?" In one shot the London Eye is shown.

Music[link]

The film, which notionally took place during the Middle Ages, is notable for its deliberate use of classic rock songs in its soundtrack. The ten that were credited in the movie are listed in order of appearance:^[2]

• "We Will Rock You" – Queen
• "Low Rider" – War
• "Takin' Care of Business" – Bachman–Turner Overdrive
• "Golden Years" – David Bowie
• "Further on Up the Road" – Eric Clapton
• "Get Ready" – Rare Earth
• "I Want to Take You Higher" – Sly and the Family Stone
• "The Boys Are Back in Town" – Thin Lizzy
• "You Shook Me All Night Long" – AC/DC
• "We Are the Champions" – Robbie Williams & Queen

Reception[link]

Initially the reception for this film was mixed, with complaints about the anachronisms (the classic rock music in a movie that takes place during the Middle Ages), the many jousting scenes and the thin plot. However, notable film critic Roger Ebert gave the film 3 stars out of a possible 4 and commented that "Some will say the movie breaks tradition by telling a medieval story with a soundtrack of classic rock. They might as well argue it breaks the rules by setting a 1970s rock opera in the Middle Ages. To them I advise: Who cares?" and that in this film the director "pointed out that an orchestral score would be equally anachronistic, since orchestras hadn't been invented in the 1400s."^[3] The aggregate review site Rotten Tomatoes rated the movie as being 59% fresh along with 80% approval from the audience. ^[4]

Newsweek revealed in June 2001 that print ads for at least four movies released by Columbia Pictures, including A Knight's Tale and The Animal (2001), contained glowing comments from a film reviewer who did not exist. The fake critic, David Manning, was created by a Columbia employee who worked in the advertising department. "Manning" was misrepresented as a reviewer for a newspaper in a small Connecticut town.

See also[link]

• List of historical drama films

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: A Knight's Tale

• A Knight's Tale at the Internet Movie Database
• A Knight's Tale at AllRovi
• A Knight's Tale at Rotten Tomatoes
• A Knight's Tale at Box Office Mojo

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The Crisis

First Issue of The Crisis: A Record of the Darker Races, November 1910. New York: NAACP, 1910
Editor	W.E.B. Du Bois
Staff writers	Oswald Garrison Villard, J. Max Barber, Charles Edward Russell, Kelly Miller, W.S. Braithwaite, M. D. Maclean
Monthly[1]
Publisher	NAACP
First issue	November 1910 (1910-November)
Company	The Crisis Publishing Company
Country	United States
Based in	New York, NY
Language	English
Website	www.thecrisismagazine.com
ISSN	1559-1573

The Crisis is the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and was founded in 1910 by W. E. B. Du Bois (editor), Oswald Garrison Villard, J. Max Barber, Charles Edward Russell, Kelly Miller, W.S. Braithwaite, M. D. Maclean.^[2]

The original title of the journal was The Crisis: A Record of The Darker Races. From 1997 to 2003, it appeared as The New Crisis: The Magazine of Opportunities and Ideas, but the title has since reverted to The Crisis. The title derives from the poem "The Present Crisis" by James Russell Lowell.^[1] Published monthly, by 1920 its circulation had reached 100,000 copies. Du Bois proclaimed his intentions in his first editorial:

The object of this publication is to set forth those facts and arguments which show the danger of race prejudice, particularly as manifested today toward colored people. It takes its name from the fact that the editors believe that this is a critical time in the history of the advancement of men. …Finally, its editorial page will stand for the rights of men, irrespective of color or race, for the highest ideals of American democracy, and for reasonable but earnest and persistent attempts to gain these rights and realize these ideals.^[3]

Predominantly a current-affairs journal, The Crisis also included poems, reviews, and essays on culture and history. Du Bois' initial position as editor was in line with the NAACP's liberal programme of social reform and racial equality, but by the 1930s Du Bois was advocating a form of black separatism. This led to disputes between Du Bois and the NAACP resulting in his resignation as editor in 1934. He was replaced by Roy Wilkins.

Although The Crisis was officially an organ of the NAACP, Du Bois had a large degree of control over the periodicals expressed opinion. Du Bois wrote in Dusk of Dawn that he intended for The Crisis to represent his personal opinions:

I determine to make the opinion of the Crisis a personal opinion; because, as I argued, no organization can express definite and clear cut opinions… the Crisis would state openly the opinion of its editor, so long, of course, as that opinion was in general agreement with that of the organization.

Du Bois contends that the periodical suffered during the Great Depression as the "circulation dropped steadily until by 1933 it was scarcely more than ten thousand paid subscriptions." Du Bois left the magazine for both financial and ideological reasons.

Throughout the Du Bois years The Crisis published the work of many young African American writers associated with the Harlem Renaissance. Its greatest era as a literary journal was between 1919 and 1926, when Jessie Redmon Fauset was literary editor. Fauset encouraged such writers as Arna Bontemps, Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen and Jean Toomer.

Following the departure of Fauset and Du Bois, the influence of The Crisis declined. The magazine was unable to sustain the high literary standards it had achieved under Fauset, but it continued to have a powerful political voice.

References[link]

A 1911 copy of The Crisis depicting "Ra-Maat-Neb, one of the black kings of the Upper Nile", a copy of the relief of Nebmaatre I on Meroe pyramid 17.

Du Bois, WEB (1940), Dusk of Dawn, Library of America, ISBN [[Special:BookSources/97809400450332|97809400450332]] .

Partington, Paul, The Moon Illustrated Weekly: Black America's First Weekly Magazine, ISBN 978-0-9602538-2-1 .

External links[link]

• The Crisis, http://www.thecrisismagazine.com/ .
• History, NAACP, http://www.naacp.org/about/history/ .
• The Crisis, Footnote, January 1918, http://www.footnote.com/browsemore/179488128_Boom%20and%20Bust:%201920-1935/ .
• The Crisis, Books, Google, http://www.google.com/search?tbs=bks%3A1&tbo=1&q=The+Crisis+Magazine&btnG=Search+Books#q=The+Crisis+Magazine&hl=en&tbo=1&tbs=bks:1,bkt:m&source=lnt&sa=X&ei=TrrMTILMLJG4sQPMn9CPDg&ved=0CBMQpwU&fp=fd2e97bdff999388 .
• The Crisis, 1, 10–23, The Modernist Journals Project, Nov. 1910 – Apr. 1911, May 1915 – Apr. 1922, http://www.modjourn.org/render.php?view=mjp_object&id=crisiscollection .

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (April 2012)

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2012)

Mamata Banerjee মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়
Chief Minister of West Bengal
Incumbent
Assumed office 20 May 2011
Governor	M. K. Narayanan
Preceded by	Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee
Constituency	Bhabanipur (Vidhan Sabha constituency)
Minister of Railways
In office 22 May 2009 – 19 May 2012
Preceded by	Lalu Prasad Yadav
Succeeded by	Manmohan Singh
Member of Parliament
In office 1991–2011
Preceded by	Biplab Dasgupta[1]
Succeeded by	Subrata Bakshi
Personal details
Born	(1955-01-05) 5 January 1955 (age 57) Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Nationality	Indian
Political party	Indian National Congress (1970–1997) Trinamool Congress (1997–present)
Spouse(s)	Unmarried
Residence	Harish Chatterjee Street, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Alma mater	University of Calcutta
Profession	Politician Advocate
Religion	Hindu[citation needed]
Signature

Mamata Banerjee (Bengali: মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়, pronounced [mɔːmoːt̪ʰaː bɛːnaːrjiː]; born 5 January 1955)^[2] is the 11th and current Chief Minister of West Bengal. She is the first woman to hold the office. Banerjee founded All India Trinamool Congress in 1997 and became chairperson, after separating from the Indian National Congress.^[3][4] She is usually called "Didi" (meaning elder sister). She is often cited by the media and critics to be as "megalomaniac, eccentric and populist politician".^[5][6][7]

Banerjee pulled off a landslide victory for the All India Trinamul Congress (AITMC ) or (TMC) in West Bengal by defeating the world's longest-serving democratically-elected communist government, the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front government, bringing to an end 34 years of Left Front rule in the state.^[8][9][10] Banerjee previously served as a Minister of Railways twice, Minister of Coal, and Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Department of Youth Affairs and Sports and Women and Child Development in the cabinet of the Indian government.^[11] She opposed forceful land acquisition for industrialisation by the then communist government in West Bengal for Special Economic Zones at the cost of agriculturalists and farmers.^[12]

In 2012, the Time magazine named her one of the "100 Most influential People in the World".^[13]

Early life and career[link]

Banerjee was born in Calcutta (now Kolkata), West Bengal to Promileswar Banerjee and Gayetri Devi.^[14] She grew up in a lower middle class family, and her father died when she was young. Banerjee became involved with politics while still in school, joining the Congress (I) Party in West Bengal and serving in a variety of positions within the party and in other local political organizations. As a young woman in the 1970s, she quickly rose in the ranks^{[clarification needed]} to become the general secretary of the state Mohila Congress (1976–80).^[12] She was a college student in the mid-1970s when politics in Bengal began to accommodate the riffraff^{[clarification needed]}.

Banerjee graduated with an honours degree in History from the Jogamaya Devi College, an undergraduate women's college in southern Kolkata.^[15][16] Later she earned a master's degree in Islamic History from the University of Calcutta. This was followed by a degree in education from the Shri Shikshayatan College. She also earned a law degree from the Jogesh Chandra Chaudhuri Law College, Kolkata.^[17]

Throughout her political life Banerjee has maintained an austere lifestyle, always dressing in simple traditional Bengali cotton sarees called 'taat', while wearing none of cosmetics or jewellery and always has a cotton bag slung on her shoulder. She has remained single throughout her life.^[18][19]

Early political career[link]

Indian National Congress[link]

Banerjee started her political career in the Congress party, and as a young woman in the 1970s, she quickly rose in the ranks of the local Congress group, and remained the General Secretary of Mahila Congress (I), West Bengal, from 1976 to 1980.^[20] In the 1984 general election, Banerjee became one of India's youngest parliamentarians ever, beating veteran Communist politician Somnath Chatterjee, from the Jadavpur parliamentary Constituency in West Bengal. She also became the General-Secretary of the All India Youth Congress. Losing her seat in 1989 in an anti-Congress wave, she was back in 1991 general elections, having settled into the Calcutta South constituency. She retained the Kolkata South seat in the 1996, 1998, 1999, 2004 and 2009 general elections.^[21]

In the Rao government formed in 1991, Mamata Banerjee was made the Union Minister of State for Human Resources Development, Youth Affairs and Sports, and Women and Child Development. As the sports minister, she announced that she would resign, and protested in a rally at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata, against Government's indifference towards her proposal to improve sports in the country.^[22] She was discharged of her portfolios in 1993. In April 1996, she alleged that Congress was behaving as a stooge of the CPI-M in West Bengal. She claimed that she was the lone voice of reason and wanted a "clean Congress". At a private rally at Alipore in Kolkata, Mamata Banerjee wrapped a black shawl around her neck and threatened to make a noose with it.^[23] In July 1996, she squatted at the well of Lok Sabha, the lower house of Indian parliament, to protest a hike in petroleum price, although she was a part of the government that instituted it. In that very time she grasped the collar of Amar Singh, MP of Samajwadi Party, in the well of the parliament. In February 1997, on the day of railway budget presentation in Lok Sabha, Mamata Banerjee threw her shawl at the railway minister Ram Vilas Paswan for ignoring West Bengal and announced her resignation. The speaker, P. A. Sangma, did not accept her resignation and asked her to apologise. Later she came back when Santosh Mohan Deb mediated.

Trinamool Congress[link]

In 1997, Mamata Banerjee left the Congress Party in West Bengal and established the All India Trinamool Congress. It quickly became the primary opposition party to the long-standing Communist government in the state.^[why?] On 11 December 1998, she controversially held a Samajwadi Party MP, Daroga Prasad Saroj, by the collar and dragged him out of the well of the Lok Sabha to prevent him from protesting against the Women's Reservation bill.^[24]

In 1999, she joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government and was allocated the Railways Ministry.^[21]

Railway Minister (first tenure)[link]

In 2000, Mamata Banerjee presented her first Railway Budget. In it she fulfilled many of her promises to her home state West Bengal.^[25] She introduced a new biweekly New Delhi-Sealdah Rajdhani Express train and four express trains connecting various parts of West Bengal, namely the Howrah-Purulia Rupasi Bangla Express, Sealdah-New Jalpaiguri Express, Shalimar-Bankura Arannyak Express and the Sealdah-Amritsar Superfast Express (weekly).^[25] She also increased the frequency of the Pune-Howrah Azad Hind Express and extension of at least three express train services. Work on the Digha-Howrah Express service was also hastened during her brief tenure.^[26]

She also focused on developing tourism, enabling the Darjeeling-Himalayan section with two additional locomotives and proposing the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited. She also commented that India should play a pivotal role in the Trans-Asian Railway and that rail links between Bangladesh and Nepal would be reintroduced. In all, she introduced 19 new trains for the 2000–2001 fiscal year.^[26]

In 2000, she and Ajit Kumar Panja resigned from the cabinet to protest the hike in petroleum prices,^[27] and then withdrew their resignations without any reason.^[28]

Split with NDA[link]

In early 2001, after the Tehelka expose,^[29] Banerjee walked out of the NDA cabinet and allied with the Congress Party for West Bengal's 2001 elections, amidst speculation that the move could unseat the Communist government.

Return to NDA[link]

She returned to the NDA government in January 2004, and holding the Coal and Mines portfolio till the Indian general election, 20 May 200404 elections, in which she was the only Trinamool Congress member to win a Parliament seat from West Bengal.^[21]

On 20 October 2005, she protested against the forceful land acquisition and the atrocities^{[clarification needed]} on local farmers in the name of industrial development policy of the Buddhadev Bhattacharya government in West Bengal. Benny Santoso, CEO of the Indonesia-based Salim Group had pledged a large investment to West Bengal, and the West Bengal government had given him farmland in Howrah, sparking protest. In soaking rain, Banerjee and other Trinamool Congress members stood in front of the Taj Hotel where Santoso had arrived, shut out by the police. Later, she and her supporters followed Santoso's convoy. A planned "black flag" protest was avoided, when the government had Santoso arrive three hours ahead of schedule.^[30][31]

Mamata Banerjee suffered further setbacks in 2005, when her party lost control of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and the sitting mayor defected from her party. In 2006, the Trinamool Congress was defeated in West Bengal's Assembly Elections, losing more than half of its sitting members.

On 4 August 2006, Banerjee hurled her resignation papers at the deputy speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal in Lok Sabha. The provocation was the speaker (Somnath Catterjee)'s rejection of her adjournment motion on illegal infiltration by Bangladeshis in West Bengal. The motion was turned down by the speaker on the ground that it was not in the proper format.^[32][33]

In November 2006, Banerjee was forcibly stopped on her way to Singur for a rally against a proposed Tata Motors car project. Mamata reached the West Bengal assembly and protested at the venue. She addressed a press conference at the assembly and announced a 12-hour shutdown by her party on Friday.^[34] The Trinamul Congress MLAs^{[clarification needed]} protested by damaging furniture and microphones in the West Bengal Assembly.^[34][35] A major strike was called on 14 December 2006.

Alliance with UPA[link]

Before the 2009 parliamentary elections she forged an alliance with the UPA^{[clarification needed]}. The alliance won 26 seats. Banerjee joined the central cabinet as the railway minister (second tenure). In the 2010 Municipal Elections in West Bengal, TMC won Kolkata Municipal Corporation in a margin of 62 seats. TMC also won Bidhan Nagar Corporation in 16-9 seats margin. In 2011, Banerjee won a sweeping majority and assumed the position of chief minister of the state of West Bengal. Her party ended the 34-year rule.^{[clarification needed]}

Nandigram protests[link]

The Nandigram violence was an incident in Nandigram, West Bengal where, on the orders of the Left Front government, more than 4,000 heavily-armed police stormed the rural area in the district of Purba Medinipur with the aim of stamping out protests against the West Bengal government’s plans to expropriate 10,000 acres (40 km²) of land for a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to be developed by the Indonesian-based Salim Group. The police shot dead at least 14 villagers and wounded 70 more.

The SEZ controversy started when the government of West Bengal decided that the Salim Group of Indonesia^[36][37][38] would set up a chemical hub under the SEZ policy at Nandigram. The villagers took over the administration of the area, and all the roads to the villages were cut off. A front-page story in the Kolkata newspaper, The Telegraph, on 4 January 2007 was headlined, "False alarm sparks clash". According to the newspaper that village council meeting at which the alleged land seizure was to be announced was actually a meeting to declare Nandigram a "clean village", that is, a village in which all the households had access to toilet facilities. The administration was directed to break the Maoist-backed Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee's (BUPC) resistance at Nandigram and a massive operation with at least 3,000 policemen along with armed cadre of the Marxist ruling party was launched on 14 March 2007. However, prior information of the impending action had leaked out to the BUPC who amassed a crowd of roughly 2,000 villagers at the entry points into Nandigram with women and children forming the front ranks. In the resulting mayhem, at least 14 people were killed.^[39] Many people of the lower classes were made homeless due to this political carnage.^[40] A large number of intellectuals protested on the streets and this incident gave birth of a new hope for movement to ouster the left from government headed by the CPI(M)^{[clarification needed]}.^[41][42][43] Mamata Banerjee wrote letters to the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil to stop the violence promoted by CPI(M) in Nandigram. Agitation in Nandigram subsided, after the state government shelved the proposed chemical hub project.

2009 Indian election[link]

Trinamool Congress performed well in the 2009 parliamentary election, bagging 19 MP seats, among them 5 women (including Banerjee), reiterating its faith in the Women's Reservation Bill^{[clarification needed]}. Its allies in congress and SUCI also got six and one MP seats respectively marking the best performance by any opposition party in West Bengal since the start of the left regime. Until then, the Congress victory of 16 seats in 1984, by the sympathy vote after the death of Indira Gandhi, was considered the best show of opposition.

Railway Minister (second tenure)[link]

In 2009, Mamata Banerjee became the railway minister for the second time. Her focus was again on West Bengal.^[44] She neglected her duties as a railway minister to concentrate on electioneering in West Bengal.^[45]

She led Indian Railways to introduce a number of non-stop Duronto Express trains connecting large cities^[46] besides a number of other passenger trains,^[47] including women-only trains.^{[48] [49][50]} The Anantnag-Qadigund railway line of the Kashmir railway that has been in the making since 1994^[51] was inaugurated during her tenure.^[52] She also declared the 25-km long line-1 of Kolkata Metro as an independent Zone of the Indian Railways^[53] for which she was criticized.^[54]

Reuters reported that "Her two-year record as railway minister has been heavily criticized for running the network into more debt to pay for populist measures such as more passenger trains."^[55] The Indian Railways became loss-making in her two-year tenure.^[56] Even before stepping down as railway minister to become the Chief Minister of West Bengal, she declared that she would be able to handle both the portfolios together.^[57] Her nominee Dinesh Trivedi from her party succeeded her as railway minister.

Allegations of dictatorial tendencies[link]

Forces Trivedi's Resignation as Railway Minister[link]

On 14 March 2012, Dinesh Trivedi announced the annual rail budget 2012 that included an all over hike in passenger fares, ranging from 2 paise to 30 paise per kilometre for reasons of safety, along with network expansion and associated modernisations. The rail fare had not been hiked for nearly a decade ^[58] putting Indian Railways in ICU as far as its financial viability was concerned. The proposed fare hike would have added 4200 crores to railways income, which while paltry compared to its expenses, would still have saved railways from becoming bankrupt. The budget received enthusiastic support from a wide cross section of society including the general public,^[59] industry groups^[60][61][62] and all five Rail Unions.^[63][64] However, the fare hike proposal in the budget was fiercely opposed by Mamata Banerjee. Although Trivedi initially tried to defend the budget by pointing out that it was necessary for making Indian Railways stronger, Mamata Banerjee forced him to resign as Railway Minister on 18 March 2012.^[65][66]

Criticism against Mamata over Trivedi's sacking[link]

On hearing of the incident, noted Indian woman entrepreneur and Chairman & MD of Biocon, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw tweeted that "Mamta is a dangerous, populist demagogue: economically illiterate but politically astute - deadly combo!". She added that "Mamta is a sad reflection on just how feudal our society and culture is - talk of human rights!" and "Mamata is behaving like a mad despot. Political leadership is in deficit with such irrational behaviour that can only harm the poor."^[67] Industrialist Rahul Bajaj opined that ""It was a very bold budget and he is a brave man to take such a tough call of increasing fares after ten years. I would have wished to see him around as the Railways Minister. However, it is very unfortunate that his own party is now distancing him."^[67] Veteran journalist, Vivian Fernandes reported that, "It is getting clearer by the day that Mamata Banerjee's poribortan is not a change for the better. Like the communists, she can only tear, not build." ^[68] Trinamool MP Kabir Suman came out in open support for Trivedi and expressed his solidarity with him, saying “My respects for the Chief Minister and other party leaders notwithstanding, I must say that it defies parliamentary decorum to get a Railway Minister removed simply because he has acted in the country’s interest.” ^[69]

Support for Mamata over Trivedi's sacking[link]

Mamata defended herself by saying that the entire Trivedi incident was Congress's "gameplan".^[69] However, Mamata received support for her actions from the Left, her main opposition, who said "Mamata has every right to ask for a rollback".^[70]

Ambikesh Mahapatra Cartoon incident[link]

Ambikesh Mahapatra, a professor of Jadavpur University was assaulted, then arrested and forced to spend a night in police custody for allegedly circulating 'defamatory' cartoons of Mamata Banerjee. While Prof. Mahapatra, as the victim of the assault was forced to spend a night in police station, his attackers - Amit Sardar, Arup Mukherjee, Sheikh Mustafa and Nishikanta Gharai – allegedly Trinamool Congress activists of the New Garia area on the southern fringes of Kolkata, were arrested on the next day and they were released on bail after being produced before the court.^[71] Mamata Banerjee defended the professor's arrest.^[72][73]

Walking off the stage where a discussion hosted by a television channel[link]

Mamata Banerjee stormed out off the stage in a huff during an interactive programme organised by CNN-IBN TV channel on Friday 18 May 2012 at the Kolkata Town Hall, Kolkata without answering questions from audience (which consisted a large number of students). Mamata alleged that the students were Maoist cadres. Moments after walking off the stage,the Chief Minister instructed the police to take photographs of those in the audience who had asked questions.“The students are only asking Maoist questions and the CPI(M) questions,” she complained as the programme moderator sought her answer to the issues raised. “They are the Maoist students."^[74]

Some publications, in their editorials characterized Mamata Banerjee as "Dictatorial"^[75] and her rule as "Mamata's growing dictatorship",^[76][77] citing her forcing Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi's resignation, and the professor Ambikesh Mahapatra cartoon incident, as examples of this tendency.

Chief Minister of West Bengal[link]

The All India Trinamool Congress along with SUCI^{[citation needed]} and the Indian National Congress won the legislative assembly election against the incumbent Left Alliance by securing 227 seats. TMC won 184 seats with the INC winning 42 seats and the SUCI secured one seat. This marked the end of the longest ruling democratically elected Communist party in the world.

Mamata Banerjee at Milan Mela ground after inauguration of the 'Infocom 2011' an IT fair in Kolkata.

Taking the Oath at Raj Bhavan, Kolkata Mamata Banerjee takes the oath of office as Chief Minister administered by Governor M. K. Narayanan on May 20, 2011.

Banerjee was sworn in as Chief Minister of West Bengal on 20 May 2011. As the first woman Chief Minister of West Bengal, one of her first decisions was to return 400 acres of land to Singur farmers. "The cabinet has decided to return 400 acres to unwilling farmers in Singur," the chief minister said. "I have instructed the department to prepare the papers for this. If Tatababu wants, he can set up his factory on the remaining 600 acres, otherwise we will see how to go about it," she added.^[78]

She has also been credited to solving the longstanding "Gorkhaland Problem"^{[clarification needed]} by setting up the Gorkhaland Autonomous Council.^[79]

She has started various reforms in education and health sectors. Some of the reforms in the education sectors include release of the monthly pay of the teachers on the first of every month^[80][81] and quicker pensions for retiring teachers.^[82] In health sector "A three-phase developmental system will be taken up to improve the heath infrastructure and service,” Mamata Banerjee said."^[83]

In fact she was instrumental in the rollback of the petrol price hikes ^[84] and the suspension of FDI in Retail Sector until a consensus is evolved.^[85] In a bid of improve the law and enforcement situation in West Bengal, Police commissionerates were created at Howrah, Barrackpore, Durgapur-Asansol and Bidhannagar. The total area of Kolkata Municipal Corporation has been brought under the control of Kolkata Police.

Even before assuming the role of Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee had shown keen interest in making the public aware of the state's history and culture. She had named several stations of the Kolkata Metro after freedom fighters,^[86] and plans on naming upcoming stations after religious leaders, poets, singers and the like.^[87] One of her unprecedented moves as Chief Minister has been to arrange for the playing of Rabindra Sangeet at traffic signals in Kolkata.^[88]

On 16 February 2012, Bill Gates, of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, sent a letter to the West Bengal government praising Mamata Banerjee and her administration for achieving a full year without any reported cases of polio. The letter said this was not only a milestone for India but also for the whole world.^[89][90]

Mamata Banerjee's Tenure as railway minister is now being questioned as most of the big-ticket announcements made by her last year when she was the railway minister, have seen little or no progress.^[91]

Knights Became kings -Bengal celebrates[link]

The state of West Bengal set up a grand felicitation involving Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee and Governor of West Bengal M K Narayanan after the KKR won the IPL 2012 championship throphy .^[92] The Cricket Association of Bengal gifted the 17 members of the team with gold chain each and mementos.^[92] A victory parade for the team members was also organized on 28th May beginning from Hazra , Writers Building to the Eden Garden stadium where ten thousand spectators came to cheer for the team during a one-hour celebration that was compared to the India's World Cup victory lap at the Wankhede in Mumbai the year before. ^[92] However, the celebration received criticim from media and certain political parties and has been ridiculed by some pols of society as it had only been organised for a club team.^[92] Shahrukh Khan, the team's co-owner and the state's brand ambassador, defended the move and stated: "There is no harm in being happy and sharing happiness. Nobody should criticise it. It's alright to be happy. Let's not be political. It has been done because we all are happy. There is nothing wrong if we bring a bit of happiness to the city of joy."^[92]There were about Lakhs of people waited in the Eden Gardens Stadium to be a part of this joy and happiness accross the city of Kolkata.

References[link]