Monday, December 28, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
TELANGANA REVOLUTION
Abstract:
To comprehend the notion of people’s movements or participatory politics in democracy, study intended to take the ongoing Telangana movement (II phase-1990-2008) as a reference. There are several issues, concerns, democratic voices, grassroots people’s movements have been involved in the movement. Another coin of the movements, there are political parties that emerged just merely the cause of the separate statehood for Telangana region within Andhra Pradesh (provincial). They are: Telangana Rastra Samithi, Nava Telangana Party, and Talli Telangana Party. Another side the movement, several leaders, artists, activists, singers, creative writers was emerged. Parallel to the movement several scholars, artists, writers and activists from marginalized communities are demanding for equal share in political power, inclusive growth, annihilation of caste, and creed, economic empowerment and striving for the self-respect, descent-dignified life. Study also looks into the government’s response towards the movement. The author intended depends more on the empirical work that enhances to asses and comprehend the notion of formal and substantive democracy in India.
JAC to spearhead T-movement
HYDERABAD: The Telangana Rashtra Samithi, Congress and Praja Rajyam in Telangana have decided to form a joint action committee to spearhead the Telangana movement.The newly-formed JAC called a bandh in Telangana region for 48 hours from tomorrow and appealed to people to maintain peace and not to resort to violence.They also decided to rope the Telugu Desam into the committee and received support from the BJP and CPI.TRS president K Chandrasekhara Rao, Congress legislators K Jana Reddy and R Damodar Reddy, and Praja Rajyam legislator A Anil met tonight after Union Home Minister P Chidambaram’s statement on Telangana.However, they decided that there would be no leader for the JAC, saying that Telangana itself was its leader.Speaking to presspersons, Chandrasekhara Rao alleged that the Congress had betrayed T-people again and the bottomline of Chidambaram’s announcement was that they put the creation of Telangana State on the backburner. He criticised that the announcement did not mention any time frame for the wide range of consultations.``With whom would the Centre hold consultations?’’ he wanted to know.The TRS president said that the proposed rally in Warangal tomorrow was cancelled.All public representatives right from the ward member to Parliament member will resign tomorrow.Rao questioned Chief Minister K Rosaiah why the latter was biased against Telangana. While Section 144 and 30 were not imposed and agitations were allowed in the Andhra region, the curbs were imposed in Telangana.The government was dealing with the situation in Telangana in a high-handed manner, and arrested and caned students, he said. Assuring people that the political parties were taking the movement forward, he urged them to agitate peacefully to humble the Centre. He made a special appeal to students not to end their precious lives.Congress legislator and former minister K Jana Reddy said Chidambaram’s announcement disappointed T-people. He appealed to people not to get emotional but express their protest by observing the bandh tomorrow and not to frighten any section of the society.He wanted the Centre to make another announcement making its stand clear on Telangana.Accusing the State Government of regional bias in maintaining law and order, he wanted the government and the police to maintain restraint during the bandh.The agitation would be intensified step by step, he said........IMPORTANT NOTE:
Thursday, December 10, 2009
JAI TELANGANA --VICTORY OF EVERY TELANGANA PEOPLE
The Centre on Wednesday night announced that the process of forming the State of Telangana would be initiated and an appropriate resolution moved in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly. KCR broke his fast shortly after the announcement. more..... |
Telangana region is part of Andhra Pradesh state in southern India. It constitutes Hyderabad, Adilabad, Karimnagar, Khammam, Mahaboobnagar, Medak, Nalgonda, Nizamabad, RangaReddy and Warangal districts. Telangana region is one of the least developed regions in India. Rampant poverty, illiteracy, malnourished children, child labor, farmer suicides, unemployment, water scarcity and electricity shortage are some of the problems of this region. There are millions of people who are not fortunate enough to send their children to schools or feed their children three time a day, or provide safe drinking water to their families in this area. We, Telangana.com, wish to have development of Telangana region on par with other parts of the state. We welcome visitors to contribute and share their ideas and help Telangana region whichever way they can..... HistoryMain article: History of Andhra Pradesh The Telangana region was mentioned in the Mahabharata as the Telinga Kingdom[2] which said to be inhabited by the tribe known as Telavana and said to have fought on the Pandava side in the great war of Mahabharata. It is also evident from the fact that there is Pandavula Guhalu in Warangal district (where the Pandavas spent their life in exile (Lakkha Gruham)).And, in Treta yuga, it is believed that Rama, Sita and Lakshmana, spent their life in exile at Parnashala on the banks of Godavari river which is about 25 km from Bhadrachalam in Khammam District of Telangana. Telangana region has been heartland for many great dynasties like Sathavahanas, Kakatiyas. In fact, Kotilingala in Karimnagar is the first Capital of the Sathavahanas before shifting to Dharanikota. Excavations at Kotilingala revealed this fact and coinage of Simukha, Satavahana emperor found. Telangana came under Muslim rule in 14th century for the first time by Delhi Sultanate followed by Bahmanis, Qutb Shahis and Mughals. As the Mughal Empire began to disintegrate in the early 18th century, the Muslim Asafjahi dynasty established a separate state known as Hyderabad. Later Hyderabad entered into a treaty of subsidiary alliance with the British Empire, and was the largest and most populous princely state in India. Telangana was never under direct British rule, unlike Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions of Andhra Pradesh, which were part of British India's Madras Presidency. Post-independence historyIndia became independent from the British Empire in 1947. The Nizam of Hyderabad wanted to retain his independence, but the Indian Government amalgamated his state of Hyderabad by force on September 17, 1948 after the successful execution of Operation Polo by the Indian Army. When India became independent, the Telugu-speaking people were distributed in about 22 districts; 9 of them in the Telangana region of Nizam's Dominions (Hyderabad State), 12 in the Madras Presidency and one in French-controlled Yanam. A Communist led peasant revolt started in 1946, lasted until 1951. Meanwhile, Telugu speaking areas were carved out of an erstwhile Madras state by popular agitation by the leaders like Potti Sri Ramulu to create Andhra state in 1953.[citation needed]Merger of Telangana and AndhraIn December 1953, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru appointed the States Reorganization Commission to prepare for the creation of states on linguistic lines. This was headed by Justice Fazal Ali and the commission itself was also known as the Fazal Ali Commission. The efforts of this commission were overseen by Govind Ballabh Pant, who served as Home Minister from December 1954. The commission created a report in 1955 recommending the reorganisation of India's states.The States Reorganization Commission (SRC) was not in favour of merging the Telangana region with the then Andhra state. Para 382 of States Reorganization Commission Report (SRC) said "..opinion in Andhra is overwhelmingly in favour of the larger unit, public opinion in Telangana has still to crystallize itself. Important leaders of public opinion in Andhra themselves seem to appreciate that the unification of Telangana with Andhra, though desirable, should be based on a voluntary and willing association of the people and that it is primarily for the people of Telangana to take a decision about their future...". The concerns of Telanganas were manifold . The region had a less developed economy than Andhra, but with a larger revenue base (mostly because it taxed rather than prohibited alcoholic beverages), which Telanganas feared might be diverted for use in Andhra. They also feared that planned dam projects on the Krishna and Godavari rivers would not benefit Telangana proportionately even though Telanganas controlled the headwaters of the rivers. Telanganas feared too that the people of Andhra would have the advantage in jobs, particularly in government and education. Para 386 of States Reorganization Commission Report (SRC) said "After taking all these factors into consideration we have come to the conclusions that it will be in the interests of Andhra as well as Telangana area is to constitute into a separate State, which may be known as the Hyderabad State with provision for its unification with Andhra after the general elections likely to be held in or about 1961 if by a two thirds majority the legislature of the residency Hyderabad State expresses itself in favor of such unification." The central government decided to ignore the SRC recommendations and established unified Andhra Pradesh on November 1, 1956. However, a "Gentlemen's agreement" provided reassurances to the Telangana people as well to Andhra people in terms of power sharing as well as administrative domicile rules and distribution of expenses of various regions. This agreement is known as Gentlemen's agreement of Andhra Pradesh (1956). Separate Telangana state movement1969 MovementIn the following years after the formation of Andhra Pradesh state, however, the Telangana people had a number of complaints about how the agreements and guarantees were implemented. Discontent with the 1956 Gentleman's agreement intensified in January 1969 when the guarantees that had been agreed on were supposed to lapse. Student agitation for the continuation of the agreement began at Osmania University in Hyderabad and spread to other parts of the region. Government employees and opposition members of the state legislative assembly swiftly threatened "direct action" in support of the students. This movement, also known as Telangana movement, led to widespread violence and deaths of hundreds of people and students of this Telangana region. Approximately 360 students gave their lives in this movement.[3]Although the Congress faced dissension within its ranks, its leadership stood against additional linguistic states, which were regarded as "anti-national." As a result, defectors from the Congress, led by M. Chenna Reddy, founded the Telangana People's Association (Telangana Praja Samithi). Despite electoral successes, however, some of the new party leaders gave up their agitation in September 1971 and, much to the disgust of many separatists, rejoined the safer political haven of the Congress ranks.[4] Movement in 1990-2004The emotions and forces generated by the movement were not strong enough, however, for a continuing drive for a separate state until 1990s when Bharatiya Janata Party, promised a separate Telangana state if they came to power. But the BJP could not create a separate Telangana state because of the opposition from its coalition partner, Telugu Desam Party. These developments brought new life into the separatist Telangana movement by year 2000. Congress party MLAs from the Telangana region, supported a separate Telangana state and formed the Telangana Congress Legislators Forum.[5][6][7][8][9] In another development, a new party called Telangana Rashtra Samithi (or TRS) was formed with the single point agenda of creating a separate Telangana state, with Hyderabad as its capital lead by Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhar Rao popularily known as KCR.[10][11][12]Proponents of a separate Telangana state feel.. all the agreements, accords, formulas, plans and assurances on the floor of legislature and Lok Sabha, in last 50+ years, could not be honoured and Telangana was forced to remain neglected, exploited and backward. The experiment to remain as one State proved to be a futile exercise and therefore, separation is found to be the best solution.[13][14][15] 2004 and laterIn 2004, for Assembly and Parliament elections, the Congress party and the TRS had an electoral alliance in the Telangana region with the promise of a separate Telangana State.[16] Congress came to power in the state and formed a coalition government at the centre. TRS joined the coalition government in 2004 and was successful in making a separate Telangana state a part of the common minimum program (CMP) of the coalition government.[17] In September 2006 TRS withdrew support for the Congress led coalition government at the centre on the grounds of indecision by the government over the delivery of its electoral promise to create Telangana.[18][19][20]In December 2006, the TRS won the by-election to the Karimnagar parliamentary constituency with a record margin.[21] There was pressure on the Congress party to create a Telangana state in 2008.[22][23][24] All TRS legislators in Parliament and in State (4MPs, 16MLAs, 3MLCs) resigned in the 1st week of March 2008 and forced by-elections to increase the pressure on Congress party, and to intensify the movement.[25][26] By-elections for the 16 MLA seats, 4 MP seats were held May 29, 2008. During the election campaign the TRS party said it is a referendum on a Telangana state but both Congress and TDP parties said it is not a referendum on Telangana and also said that they are not opposed to the formation of Telangana state.[27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36] To the disappointment of Telangana proponents TRS retained only 7 out of 16 MLA seats and 2 out of 4 MP seats after the by-elections.[37] In June 2008, Devender Goud, who is considered number two in the TDP, a politbureau member and Deputy Leader of the Telugu Desam Legislature Party, resigned from the party saying he would devote his time and energy to the formation of a separate Telangana state.[38] In July 2008, Mr Goud along with some other leaders like Mr. E Peddi Reddy formed a new party called Nava Telangana Praja Party.[39] On 9 October 2008, in a historical turnaround from its 26-year history TDP announced its support for the creation of Telengana.[40] Symbolic declaration of statehoodThe Nava Telangana Party, led by the former home minister of Andhra Pradesh, T Devender Goud, declared Telangana as a separate province within India on November 2, 2008. Konda Laxman Bapuji announced that "We solemnly declare statehood for Telangana on November 2, 2008." Goud released ten pigeons in the air symbolising the ten districts of the region, while he also unfurled the national flag on the occasion. Along with his party activists he was later arrested when they tried to barge into the Andhra Pradesh Secretariat to change the name plate -— from Andhra Pradesh to Telangana. A scuffle then followed between the police and the NTP workers before the party workers were taken to the Chikkadapalli police station. Other NTP workers soon descended on the scene and staged a dharna to protest against the arrest.[41]2009 and laterAhead of the 2009 General Elections in India all the major parties in Andhra Pradesh supported Telangana state.[42]The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) again announced their policy of having smaller states and will create 2 more states Telangana and Gorkhaland if they win the election.[43] When the BJP was last in power, they created Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarkhand. They suggest smaller states create more competition for investment and are better governed. Congress Party still says it is committed to Telangana statehood.[44] But it did not create any new states during its rule over the last 5 years, not did it have a convincing answer to why it could not create Telangana state.[45] Also it claims Muslim minorities are opposed to creation of separate state along with majority people...[46][47] Telugu Desam Party(TDP) promised to work for Telangana statehood. Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) joined a Mahakutami(or grand alliance) with TDP and left parties to defeat congress party for denying statehood for Telangana.[48][49][50] Praja Rajyam Party(PRP), newly founded by film star Chiranjeevi, too supports Telangana statehood. Nava Telangana Party merged with PRP after it realized that there is not enough political space for two sub-regional Telangana parties with Telananga statehood as main agenda.[51][52] Several political parties, including some Telangana congress leaders, criticized Chief Minister, Y.S. Rajasekahr Reddy (YSR), when he changed his stand from pro-Telangana and gave anti-Telangana statements after the polls.[53][54][55] Congress returned to power both at center and state. TRS and the grand alliance lost the elections in overwhelming fashion.[56] In the first week of Dec 2009, the TRS president, K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) started a fast-unto-death demanding that the Congress party introduce a Telangana bill in the Parliament.[57][58] [59][60] [61]Student organizations, employee unions and various organizations joined the movement. [62][63] [64] [65] The decline of KCR's health has contributed to a sense of urgency for the central government to take a decision on the issue of Telangana statehood. [66] On Dec 9th 2009, 11:30 PM, Mr. P. Chidambaram, Union Minister of Home Affairs, on behalf of the Government of India announced that a resolution in the Andhra Pradesh assembly for the creation of a separate Telangana state will be passed. Mr. Chidambaram also informed that process for the formation of a separate Telangana state will be initiated soon. KCR ending his 11 day fast said from his hospital bed that this a true victory of the people of Telangana.. [67]. On Dec 10, Thursday, Indian government has agreed to start the process of forming a separate Telangana. GeographyOf the three regions of the state, Telangana has the largest area, with 1,14,800 km2 yet much of the land is arid and not nearly as fertile as the agriculturally rich coastal region. The Telangana plateau is drained by two major rivers, theGodavari and the Krishna. The entire region is divided into two main regions namely ghats and peneplains. The surface is dotted with low depressions.IrrigationTelangana region Andhra Pradesh is situated in the central stretch of the eastern seaboard of the Indian Peninsula. Deccan plateau is situated at a high altitude in an up-land area. The river Godavari is flowing on the North and the river Krishna is flowing on the South. Apart from the major rivers, there are other small rivers such as Bhima, Dindi, Kinnerasani, Manjeera, Manair, Penganga, Praanahita, and Peddavagu and Taliperu.Culture and IdentityCenturies of independent existence has given Telangana its own distinctive culture and identity. The Telugu language spoken here has evolved into a new dialect with a liberal mixture of words from Urdu and Marathi. Festivals: Diwali, Dassera, Eid-ul-Fitr and Ugadi are prominent festivals in Telangana. The region celebrates distinctive festivals like Bathukamma, and Bonalu. The other festivals, such as, Deepawali, Holi, Moharram and Vinayaka chaturthi are also celebrated with equal enthusiasm as in northern India. The national festival Sankranti is also celebrated in the beginning of harvest season on 14 January every year.Places of interest
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Monday, November 9, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Light Up Your Life!
Deepawali or Diwali is certainly the biggest of all Hindu festivals. It’s the festival of lights (deep = light and avali = a row i.e., a row of lights) that’s marked by four days of celebration, which literally illumines the country with its brilliance and dazzles all with its joy. Each of the four days in the festival of Diwali is separated by a different tradition, but what remains true and constant is the celebration of life, its enjoyment and goodness.
Historically, the origin of Diwali can be traced back to ancient India, when it was probably an important harvest . However, there are various legends pointing to the origin of Diwali. Some believe it to be the celebration of the marriage of Lakshmi with Lord Vishnu. Whereas in Bengal the festival is dedicated to the worship of Mother Kali, the goddess of strength. Lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed God, the symbol of auspiciousness and wisdom, is also worshipped in most Hindu homes on this day. In Jainism, Deepawali has an added significance to the great event of Lord Mahavira attaining the eternal bliss of nirvana. Diwali also commemorates the return of Lord Rama along with Sita and Lakshman from his fourteen year long exile and vanquishing the demon-king Ravana. In joyous celebration of the return of their king, the people of Ayodhya, the Capital of Rama, illuminated the kingdom with earthen diyas (oil lamps) and burst crackers.
These Four Days
Each day of Diwali has it’s own tale, legend and myth to tell. The first day of the festival Naraka Chaturdasi marks the vanquishing of the demon Naraka by Lord Krishna and his wife Satyabhama. Amavasya, the second day of Deepawali, marks the worship of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth in her most benevolent mood, fulfilling the wishes of her devotees. Amavasya also tells the story of Lord Vishnu, who in his dwarf incarnation vanquished the tyrant Bali, and banished him to hell. Bali was allowed to return to earth once a year, to light millions of lamps to dispel the darkness and ignorance, and spread the radiance of love and wisdom. It is on the third day of Deepawali – Kartika Shudda Padyami that Bali steps out of hell and rules the earth according to the boon given by Lord Vishnu. The fourth day is referred to as Yama Dvitiya (also called Bhai Dooj) and on this day sisters invite their brothers to their homes.
The Significance of Lights & Firecrackers
All the simple rituals of Diwali have a significance and a story to tell. The illumination of homes with lights and the skies with firecrackers is an expression of obeisance to the heavens for the attainment of health, wealth, knowledge, peace and prosperity. According to one belief, the sound of fire-crackers are an indication of the joy of the people living on earth, making the gods aware of their plentiful state. Still another possible reason has a more scientific basis: the fumes produced by the crackers kill a lot of insects and mosquitoes, found in plenty after the rains.
The Tradition of Gambling
The tradition of gambling on Deepawali also has a legend behind it. It is believed that on this day, Goddess Parvati played dice with her husband Lord Shiva, and she decreed that whosoever gambled on Diwali night would prosper throughout the ensuing year.
From Darkness into Light…
In each legend, myth and story of Deepawali lies the significance of the victory of good over evil; and it is with each Deepawali and the lights that illuminate our homes and hearts, that this simple truth finds new reason and hope. From darkness unto light – the light that empowers us to commit ourselves to good deeds, that which brings us closer to divinity. During Diwali, lights illuminate every corner of India and the scent of incense sticks hangs in the air, mingled with the sounds of fire-crackers, joy, togetherness and hope. Outside India, Diwali is more than a Hindu festival, it’s a celebration of South-Asian identities. If you are away from the sights and sounds of Diwali, light a diya, sit quietly, shut your eyes, withdraw the senses, concentrate on this supreme light and illuminate the soul.
10 Reasons to Celebrate Diwali – The Festival of Lights is for All
Why do we celebrate Diwali? It’s not just the festive mood in the air that makes you happy, or just that it’s a good time to enjoy before the advent of winter. There are 10 mythical and historical reasons why Diwali is a great time to celebrate. And there are good reasons not just for Hindus but also for all others to celebrate this great Festival of Lights.
1. Goddess Lakshmi’s Birthday: The Goddess of wealth, Lakshmi incarnated on the new moon day (amaavasyaa) of the Kartik month during the churning of the ocean (samudra-manthan), hence the association of Diwali with Lakshmi.
2. Vishnu Rescued Lakshmi: On this very day (Diwali day), Lord Vishnu in his fifth incarnation as Vaman-avtaara rescued Lakshmi from the prison of King Bali and this is another reason of worshipping Ma Larkshmi on Diwali.
3. Krishna Killed Narakaasur: On the day preceding Diwali, Lord Krishna killed the demon king Narakaasur and rescued 16,000 women from his captivity. The celebration of this freedom went on for two days including the Diwali day as a victory festival.
4. The Return of the Pandavas: According to the great epic ‘Mahabharata’, it was ‘Kartik Amavashya’ when the Pandavas appeared from their 12 years of banishment as a result of their defeat in the hands of the Kauravas at the game of dice (gambling). The subjects who loved the Pandavas celebrated the day by lighting the earthen lamps.
5. The Victory of Rama: According to the epic ‘Ramayana’, it was the new moon day of Kartik when Lord Ram, Ma Sita and Lakshman returned to Ayodhya after vanquishing Ravana and conquering Lanka. The citizens of Ayodhya decorated the entire city with the earthen lamps and illuminated it like never before.
6. Coronation of Vikramaditya: One of the greatest Hindu King Vikramaditya was coroneted on the Diwali day, hence Diwali became a historical event as well.
7. Special Day for the Arya Samaj: It was the new moon day of Kartik (Diwali day) when Maharshi Dayananda, one of the greatest reformers of Hinduism and the founder of Arya Samaj attained his nirvana.
8. Special Day for the Jains: Mahavir Tirthankar, considered to be the founder of modern Jainism also attained his nirvana on Diwali day.
9. Special Day for the Sikhs: The third Sikh Guru Amar Das institutionalized Diwali as a Red-Letter Day when all Sikhs would gather to receive the Gurus blessings. In 1577, the foundation stone of the Golden Temple at Amritsar was laid on Diwali. In 1619, the sixth Sikh Guru Hargobind, who was held by the Mughal Emperor Jahengir, was released from the Gwalior fort along with 52 kings.
10. The Pope’s Diwali Speech: In 1999, Pope John Paul II performed a special Eucharist in an Indian church where the altar was decorated with Diwali lamps, the Pope had a ‘tilak’ marked on his forehead and his speech was bristled with references to the festival of light.
Wish you a happy Diwali!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
BHUVAN EARTH
Bhuvan Earth, Bhuvan Download, Bhuvan ISRO
- Posted by Kiran kumar in Earth
ISRO,Indian space & research organization has launched Bhuvan, a satellite mapping tool similar to Google Earthand Wikimapia.
Bhuvan was launched on 12th August 2009.
Bhuvan offers resolution up to 5 metres and is said to be a competitor to Google Earth.
“Bhuvan will be able to give you an image from only 10 meters away”, isro spokesman said.
Check the Official site www.bhuvan.nrsc.gov.in
Bhuvan can take closer pictures of the Indian Subcontinent as compared to the Google Earth.
Instructions to Download Bhuvan
Click link http://bhuvan2.nrsc.gov.in/Bhuvan/WebClient/PresentationLayer/WebClient/index.aspx
Step 1: Open link
Step 2: Register
Step 3: Login
Step 4: Download plugin and run
Step 5: Again click Above link
Bhuvan is capable of taking a zoom level of up to 10 meters, while Google Earth features a zoom level of up to 200 meters.
“With Bhuvan we will be able to produce very local information which will be specific to only to our own country. This information available from this mapping system will be useful in addressing very local problems like floods, famines, infrastructure development, education and much more,” said ISRO chairman Dr G Madhavan Nair.
Unlike Google Earth, however the Bhuvan application will not be downloadable and will not allow users to host content in the near future. “We are not competing with Google,” said Jayaraman.
Read more: http://www.greenpacks.org/2009/08/13/bhuvan-earth-bhuvan-download-bhuvan-isro/#ixzz0Pe9UjmKe
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Independence Day (India)
15th August is a national holiday in India. Government Offices are lit up. Flag hoisting ceremonies and cultural programs take place in all the state capitals. In the cities around the country the national flag is hoisted by politicians in their respective constituencies. In various private organisations the flag hoisting is carried out by a senior official of that organisation. Schools and colleges around the country organise flag hoisting ceremonies and various cultural events within their premises, where younger children in costume do impersonations of their favourite characters of the Independence era. Families and friends get together for lunch or dinner, or for an outing. Housing colonies, cultural centres, clubs and societies hold entertainment programmes and competitions, usually based on the Independence Day theme. Most national and regional television channels screen old and new film classis with patriotic themes on Independence Day.
American Experience: Race for the Superbomb
This two-hour documentary uncovers the U.S.-Soviet race to build the hydrogen bomb and describes the fear of destruction that ensued. More powerful than the atomic bomb, the hydrogen fusion (or "super") bomb was used as a political weapon during the Cold War. This documentary also shows the tension among American scientists of the time: Inventor Edward Teller defended the bomb as a deterrent against Soviet attack, while Robert Oppenheimer denounced it purely as a weapon for mass destruction. It was the Americans who, in 1952, tested the first super bomb; its power a thousand times greater than the atomic bomb, it vaporized an entire island in the Pacific. Eighteen months later the Soviet team exploded their first H-bomb. The nuclear arms race had begun. |