Amitabh Bachchan carried the Olympic torch through Southwark

Amitabh Bachchan

Amid loud cheers from hundreds of his fans, Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan carried the Olympic torch at Southwark on 26JUL12, a day before the opening ceremony of the sporting spectacle. Bachchan is not the only celebrity to lend the Indian touch to the 2012 London Olympics. Indian music maestro A R Rahman teamed up with his ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ director Danny Boyle to compose a track for the inaugural event.

As a big Amitabh Bachchan fan, I had to at least make one post documenting his brief 300 meter jog through an area I used to live when I was studying in London!

Hobson-Jobson: The words English owes to India

In 1872 two men began work on a lexicon of words of Asian origin used by the British in India. Since its publication the 1,000-page dictionary has never been out of print and a new edition is due out next year. What accounts for its enduring appeal?

Hobson-Jobson is the dictionary’s short and mysterious title.

The subtitle reveals more: “A glossary of colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases, and of kindred terms etymological, historical, geographical and discursive. By Colonel Henry Yule and AC Burnell.”

“It’s a madly unruly and idiosyncratic work,” says poet Daljit Nagra.

“Not so much an orderly dictionary as a passionate memoir of colonial India. Rather like an eccentric Englishman in glossary form.”

Take the entry for the Indian word dam. The dictionary defines it as: “Originally an actual copper coin. Damri is a common enough expression for the infinitesimal in coin, and one has often heard a Briton in India say: ‘No, I won’t give a dumree!’ with but a vague notion what a damri meant.”

PK AFG & UK Leaders Talk in Kabul

British leader David Cameron, Afghan President Hamid Karzai & Pakistan’s new Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf

British leader David Cameron and Afghan President Hamid Karzai met Pakistan’s new Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf for the first time, as British and Nato combat troops prepare to leave Afghanistan in 18 months’ time.

At a joint news conference with Karzai earlier, Cameron warned the Taliban that the international community would continue to support the Afghan government after Nato troops pull out in 2014.

In further reiteration, Cameron signed a deal to build an officers’ training academy modelled on Britain’s Sandhurst as Afghan forces take increasing responsibility for the fight against Taliban insurgents.

Other issues were brought to the fore during the meeting. Raja Prevaiz Ashraf mentioned that Pakistan was hosting more than three million Afghan refugees and called for including the factor of their return in any future arrangements. He also pointed to illicit drug production and drug trafficking as major challenges and stressed for a comprehensive strategy for their control.

IAF pilots training on VIP helicopters in Britain

Agusta Westland AW 101

Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots have begun training on the Agusta Westland AW 101 helicopters in Britain. The same model has been purchased for ferrying dignitaries in India, the first of which are to be delivered by end-2012.

Finmeccanica group CEO Giuseppe Orsi told India Strategic during a media interaction at the Farnborough Air Show that the first batch of the IAF pilots had arrived in Britain as scheduled and were undergoing training at the Agusta Westland facility.

Agusta Westland, incorporating the former British Westland Helicopters, is a Finmeccanica group company. It has delivered some 300 helicopters of different types to 22 countries since the merger of Augusta and Westland in 2000.

IAF had selected the three-engined AW 101 for its VIP squadron in 2010 in a euro 560 million ($827 million) deal for 12 helicopters inclusive of training. The delivery of the 12 helicopters is to be completed in 2013.

The AW 101 had also been selected for use by the White House, but President Barack Obama had the deal cancelled as part of the measures to reduce defence expenditure.

Sikorsky S92 Superhawk

The AW 101 was selected after field trials were evaluated by the IAF and the Special Protection Group (SPG), responsible for protecting the prime minister and select political leaders. The aircraft was chosen over the previously considered American Sikorsky S92 Superhawk.

Prior to selecting the Superhawk, the IAF had been using Soviet-vintage Mi-8s and some Mi-17s to fly the prime minister and other dignitaries around, an often criticized choice due to their maintenance issues.

The VIP Squadron, officially designated Air HQ Communication Squadron, was set up in 1952. According to an IAF statement, “the primary role of the squadron is to convey VVIPs/VIPs of India and visiting foreign heads of state and government”.

Indian Navy & Royal Navy shares views on maritime operations

HMS Daring

To exchange and share views on the maritime areas of Anti-Piracy, Humanitarian Assistance, Disaster Relief, Information Sharing, amphibious warfare training and submarine rescue operations, the Royal Navy(RN) Ship HMS Daring from the UK visited Mumbai from June 11 to 14. The ship is commanded by Capt Guy Robinson and has a crew of 227 personnel.

Indian Navy (IN) officials said that during her stay, the ship’s crew interacted with various personnel of the Western Naval Command. CO Daring and Naval & Air Adviser UK called on the Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet Rear Admiral AR Karve.

The IN has traditional links with the RN and has come a long way in institutionalising the defence relationship between the two countries. Both Navies over the years have built up high levels of interoperability through conduct of Konkan Series of bi-lateral exercises.

However Note:

The British press also reports that the crew of HMS Daring donated funds to finance a health programme and the purchase of a much needed water purifier for a local school during their visit.

In addition, HMS Daring served as the ‘exhibition hall’ for British firms to display their technology and wares to the Indian market at a Defence and Security Industry Day.

(TOI 14JUN12)