
Kanniyakumari collector holds meeting with Indian maritime experts
Kanniyakumari District Collector R. Alagumeena convened a meeting with Indian maritime experts at the district collectorate on Wednesday, regarding the impacts on the Arabian sea following the sinking of a cargo vessel off the Kochi coast.
Speaking at the meeting the collector noted that the district comprises 42 coastal villages spread across a coastline of 71.05 km. Since May 27, debris including the plastic pellets (nurdles) , wooden logs, cashew nuts, iron rods have been washing ashore in the several coastal villages of Kanniyakumari district.
Following the guidelines provided by Kerala State Disaster Management Authority, officials from the departments of Pollution Control Board, Revenue, Fisheries, Fire and Rescue service have been actively involved in clearing the debris along the coastline. The collected materials are safely stored at respective block and municipal offices.
The collector also mentioned that she had conducted discussions with coastal police officials from Gujarat, as well as the Gujarat based agency engaged in debris clearance operations along the coast.
In line with this, a meeting was held with maritime experts and officials of insurance company to assess the impacts in the Arabian sea region. During the meeting the collector also sought information regarding the procedures involved in rescue operations of the sunken cargo vessel MSC ELSA 3.
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Hans India
34 minutes ago
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The Rigveda's 1,028 hymns, with precise syllable counts (e.g., Gayatri with eight syllables per line, Trishtubh with 11), suggest a sophisticated linguistic system, likely supported by a script, despite oral transmission via techniques like pada-patha and ghana-patha. Non-sacred activities, such as trade or annotations, likely required writing, though perishable materials like palm leaves have left no trace. Panini's Ashtadhyayi (~5th century BCE or earlier), a grammatical treatise with ~4,000 sutras, implies a need for written codification due to its complexity. The name "Brahmi," linked to Brahma, the divine holder of the Vedas, reinforces traditional beliefs in its ancient origins, tying it to the Rigveda. The Indus Valley Script (3300–1900 BCE) indicates an early writing culture, potentially influencing a proto-Brahmi. The absence of epigraphical evidence before the third century BCE reflects archaeological limitations, not a scriptless civilisation. Ashokan inscriptions, spanning Afghanistan to Sri Lanka, show Brahmi's role in unifying a diverse empire, spreading Hindu and Buddhist principles. Its standardised form suggests prior development, likely from the Rigvedic period or earlier, establishing Hindu scriptology's foundation. The absence of pre-3rd century BCE epigraphical evidence reflects archaeological limitations, not a scriptless civilisation that produced great works such as the Rigveda and Panini's Ashtadhyayi long before. Ashokan inscriptions, spanning Afghanistan to Sri Lanka, show Brahmi's role in unifying a diverse empire, spreading Hindu and Buddhist principles. Its standardised form suggests prior development, likely from the Rigvedic period, establishing Hindu scriptology's foundation. Bifurcation of Brahmi: Uttara and Dakshina Brahmi By the early centuries CE, Brahmi's regional variants, which began evolving earlier (e.g., Tamil-Brahmi in the 3rd century BCE), were classified as Uttara Brahmi (Northern Brahmi) and Dakshina Brahmi (Southern Brahmi), reflecting geographical and linguistic diversity. Uttara Brahmi: The northern branch: Uttara Brahmi, used north of the Vindhyas, wrote Sanskrit and Prakrit for Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions, characterised by angular forms. Its descendants include: Devanagari:Used for Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, and Nepali, Devanagari evolved from the Gupta script, with its shirorekha (horizontal line) symbolising northern script unity. Sharada:Used in Kashmir for Sanskrit and Kashmiri, it remains a symbol of Hindu heritage. Gujarati:A cursive Devanagari derivative, reflecting Gujarat's cultural dynamism. Gurmukhi:Developed for Punjabi by Guru Angad, tied to Sikhism's Hindu ethos. Bengali, Odiya, Assamese:Evolving from the Siddham script, these preserve Hindu literary traditions. Meetei Mayek:Revived in Manipur, symbolising Hindu heritage reclamation. Tibetan:Developed in the 7th century, it spread Buddhism, a Hindu-derived religion, to Tibet. These scripts, driven by Hindu, and Buddhist traditions, carried Hindu influence to Central Asia, embodying northern Hindu scriptology's unity. Dakshina Brahmi: The southern branch: Dakshina Brahmi, used in southern India, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia, adapted to Dravidian and non-Indo-Aryan languages with rounded forms. Its descendants include: Tamil:Originating from Tamil-Brahmi (3rd century BCE), an early southern Brahmi variant, it evolved through Vatteluttu and Pallava scripts (4th–7th centuries CE), with significant Grantha influence, and was standardised in the 20th century. Telugu, Kannada:From the Kadamba script (4th–6th centuries CE), emerging from a shared script by the 13th century. 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A call to reclaim Hindu civilisation: Brahmi-derived scripts reflect Hindu civilisation's historical grandeur, yet conquest, colonisation, and secularism threaten its survival. Nations like India and Nepal must promote these scripts, fund scriptological research, and integrate Hindu cultural education to preserve this heritage. These scripts, from Devanagari's shirorekha to Telugu's curves, embody a civilisation that once illuminated Asia, urging a renewed identity to ensure its global resonance. Conclusion Brahmi and its descendants represent a pinnacle of human ingenuity and Hindu civilisation's cornerstone. From its Rigvedic origins to its spread across Asia, Brahmi unified diverse regions through a shared scriptological heritage. Its bifurcation into Uttara and Dakshina Brahmi reflects Hindu civilisation's diversity and resilience. Despite losses from conquest, colonisation, and secularism, these scripts endure, testifying to Hindu civilisation's legacy. 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The Hindu
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