Podcasts about Punjabis

In this latest SBS Punjabi radio program, listen to an exclusive interview with scientist Dr Parvinder Kaur, who has made history as the first Sikh woman in Australia to hold a position in the Australian Parliament.The show also features SBS Punjabi's weekly segment Punjabi Diary, bringing you the latest updates from Punjab.As always, enjoy the program in your mother tongue and stay connected with the stories of Punjabis in Australia and back home in Punjab. - ਐਸ ਬੀ ਐਸ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਦੇ ਇਸ ਪ੍ਰੋਗਰਾਮ ਵਿੱਚ ਸੁਣੋ ਆਸਟ੍ਰੇਲੀਆ ਦੀ ਪਹਿਲੀ ਸਿੱਖ ਪੰਜਾਬਣ ਵਜੋਂ ਪਾਰਲੀਮੈਂਟ ਵਿੱਚ ਸ਼ਾਮਲ ਹੋਣ ਵਾਲੀ ਡਾ. ਪਰਵਿੰਦਰ ਕੌਰ ਜੀ ਨਾਲ ਖ਼ਾਸ ਇੰਟਰਵਿਊ। ਇਸ ਤੋਂ ਇਲਾਵਾ, ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੀ ਖਬਰਸਾਰ ਸੁਣਾਉਂਦਾ ਸਾਡਾ ਹਫ਼ਤਾਵਾਰੀ ਸੈਗਮੇਂਟ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਡਾਇਰੀ ਵੀ ਇਸ ਪ੍ਰੋਗਰਾਮ ਦਾ ਹਿੱਸਾ ਹੈ। ਹਮੇਸ਼ਾ ਵਾਂਗ ਮਾਂ ਬੋਲੀ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਗੱਲਾਂਬਾਤਾਂ, ਅਤੇ ਭਾਈਚਾਰੇ ਨਾਲ ਜੋੜਨ ਵਾਲਾ ਐਸ ਬੀ ਐਸ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਦਾ ਪੂਰਾ ਪ੍ਰੋਗਰਾਮ ਇੱਥੇ ਸੁਣੋ....

Welcome back to the Kaka Balli Punjabi Podcast – your go-to platform for unfiltered, thought-provoking conversations about Punjab, culture, politics, and global issues! In this episode, Ajaydeep Singh Dhaliwal and I explore some of the most controversial, thought-provoking, and trending topics that affect Punjabis worldwide.

Welcome back to the Kaka Balli Punjabi Podcast, where we dive into hard-hitting, raw, and unfiltered discussions on the topics that truly matter. In this episode, I sit down with Parvinder Singh to explore some of the most VIRAL and HOTLY debated subjects that are shaping the Punjabi, American, and global landscape today.

Welcome to the Kaka Balli Punjabi Podcast, where we explore the hottest, most controversial topics shaping our lives and the world around us.

Welcome to the Kaka Balli Punjabi Podcast, your go-to platform for engaging discussions on culture, religion, and societal shifts. In this episode, I team up with the thought-provoking Ajaydeep Singh Dhaliwal to explore the pressing issues shaping Punjab's cultural and religious landscape. From the commercialization of December to the rising influence of Christianity in Punjab, we leave no stone unturned. Join us as we delve into: 1. December: The Month of Marketing Magic Ever wondered how Christmas became such a big deal, even in places where it's not traditionally celebrated? We discuss the clever marketing strategies that turn December into a consumer frenzy and how the holidays are sold as a product to the masses. What does this mean for cultures like ours, where traditional festivals are being overshadowed by global trends? 2. Christmas in Punjab: A New Tradition? The growing popularity of Santa parades and Christmas celebrations in Punjab – a sign of cultural diversity or a deeper shift? Why is the Christian population increasing in Punjab, and what does this mean for the region's identity? Could this shift pose a threat to Sikhism? Or is it an opportunity for interfaith dialogue? 3. Religious Celebrations: Why They Matter Exploring the importance of celebrating and expressing religious identity. How do religious celebrations strengthen community bonds, and what happens when those bonds are challenged by external influences? 4. Church Tactics & Rising Christian Conversions in Punjab Are churches in Punjab employing strategic tactics to attract conversions? Why is the poor population particularly vulnerable to these efforts? Are pastors using sermons to spread hate against other religions, and how does this impact communal harmony? 5. Miracles or Manipulation? The rise of staged miracles in Punjab: From healing ceremonies to divine interventions, how real are these claims? Why do people, especially those in vulnerable situations, fall for these tricks? Can miracles exist in modern faith, or are they just tools for exploitation? 6. North Indian Languages & Artistic Legacy Why is Punjab such a rich breeding ground for poets, writers, and artists? The cultural significance of oral storytelling and poetry in shaping the region's identity. How this legacy continues to influence music, cinema, and global culture. 7. The Problem with Oral Communication Why oral communication of important information often leads to misunderstandings and misinformation. The need for written and documented communication, especially in preserving history and culture. 8. The Role of Superheroes in Modern Culture How superheroes have become the new-age mythological figures for younger generations. The lessons they offer and how they fill the void left by traditional religious stories. 9. Challenges in Sikh Preaching & SGPC's Role The struggles faced by Sikh preachers in engaging with the modern audience. How the SGPC can modernize its approach to connect with the youth. The importance of movies and digital content in spreading Sikh teachings and countering misinformation. 10. Where is Sikhism Lacking? A deep dive into the areas where Sikhism needs to evolve to stay relevant in today's fast-paced, digital world. From better marketing to storytelling, how can Sikhism reclaim its space in the hearts of the youth?

Welcome to the latest episode of the Kaka Balli Punjabi Podcast, where we explore thought-provoking ideas and discuss real-world problems that resonate on both personal and global levels. Ajaydeep Singh Dhaliwal joins me in this unfiltered and in-depth conversation, where we cover everything from self-discovery on road trips to the environmental and political challenges faced by Punjab. This episode is packed with insights, opinions, and bold questions that'll keep you hooked!

Welcome to another mind-bending episode of the Kaka Balli Punjabi Podcast! In this power-packed conversation, Ajaydeep Singh Dhaliwal and I dive deep into the most thought-provoking and trending topics that will leave you questioning the very fabric of reality, society, and politics. From metaphysical debates to political conspiracies, this episode is loaded with insights, revelations, and hot takes that you just can't miss. Topics Covered: Humans as Vessels of ManifestationAre humans the creators of thoughts, or are thoughts pre-existing entities that flow through us? We dissect the ancient and modern perspectives on the interplay between consciousness, manifestation, and the universe. Are we truly in control, or are we mere vessels channeling a greater intelligence? The Dual Power of Money and ViolencePower dynamics in the world: Is wealth the ultimate tool of influence, or does violence hold a more primal sway? We break down the psychology, historical patterns, and societal impacts of these forces, revealing their intertwined relationship in shaping civilizations. The Importance of Political PartiesWhy do diverse ideologies and parties matter in a democratic setup? We explore why suppressing thoughts and ideas could lead to dangerous consequences for any society. Is a world without opposing political voices truly democratic? Attack on Sukhbir Singh BadalWas the recent attack on Sukhbir Singh Badal real or a staged scam? We analyze the evidence, question motives, and explore conspiracy theories that have taken the internet by storm. Could this be part of a larger agenda? Narain Singh Chaura: The Unsung Hero?A closer look at the life and background of Narain Singh Chaura, his role in Punjab's socio-political landscape, and his influence on contemporary events. What makes him a pivotal figure? Sukhbir Singh Badal at the Golden TempleWhat was Sukhbir Singh Badal's real purpose at the Golden Temple? We uncover the story behind his controversial "Maafinaama" to the Dera chief and discuss the public's perception of his punishment. Was it a sincere act of atonement or political maneuvering? True Punishment: Physical vs. MentalWhat constitutes genuine punishment? We delve into the philosophical debate of physical pain versus mental anguish and their implications on justice and accountability. Can a punishment that targets the psyche be more transformative? The Future of Shiromani Akali DalWill the Shiromani Akali Dal rise from the ashes of its political setbacks? We share life lessons for the party, analyze its current challenges, and discuss their potential trajectory in Punjab's politics. What strategies could bring them back into the spotlight? Akal Takht's Role in PunjabIs the Akal Takht compromised? We evaluate its historical and contemporary influence on Punjab's politics and society. What role does it play in maintaining cultural and political integrity? History of Shiromani Akali Dal's Leadership Did the party do justice to Punjab during its time in power? We reflect on its legacy, achievements, and controversies. What lessons can be drawn from their governance? Z+ Security Lapse: A Planned Conspiracy? Was the lapse in Sukhbir Singh Badal's Z+ security a mere oversight, or a deliberate plot? We dive into this conspiracy theory and its potential ramifications. How does such an incident affect public trust? Why Fat Shaming Works An unexpected yet compelling discussion on the psychology of fat shaming and why it has such a profound societal impact. How do societal standards of beauty and fitness perpetuate this phenomena. #PunjabiPodcast #AjaydeepSinghDhaliwal #ShiromaniAkaliDal #SukhbirBadal #GoldenTemple #AkalTakht #PoliticalConspiracy #PunjabPolitics #ZPlusSecurity #ManifestationThoughts #PodcastBuzz #PunjabiPolitics #SukhbirBadalAttack #NarainSinghChaura #PunjabLeadership #PoliticalDrama #PunjabConspiracy #AttackAnalysis

Welcome to another thought-provoking episode of the Kaka Balli Punjabi Podcast, where we dive deep into the burning issues shaping Punjab, India, and the global Punjabi diaspora. Joined by the insightful Ajaydeep Singh Dhaliwal, we unravel topics that matter most to our listeners, blending facts, opinions, and bold perspectives. This episode covers: ➡️ Balancing Indian Pride and Punjabi Concerns: As proud Indians, we celebrate India's incredible progress, but why does Punjab feel left behind? Is it poor governance, lack of planning, or something deeper?➡️ Aam Aadmi Party's Marketing Game: Their social media campaigns are top-notch, but does their work reflect their promises? Or is it just smoke and mirrors to win votes?➡️ The Power of WhatsApp in Politics: Discover how political parties manipulate narratives using WhatsApp campaigns to influence voters and control public opinion.➡️ Khalistan Referendum Elections Abroad: A deep dive into the much-debated Khalistan referendum. Is it a serious legal movement with global support, or just a cleverly crafted PR stunt?➡️ Canada Immigration Crisis: With rising crime rates linked to immigrant communities, is Canada's immigration policy failing? How do bad actors impact the economy, and what role do Punjabi immigrants play?➡️ Fake Asylum Stories: The truth behind Punjabis claiming persecution under the guise of Khalistan for asylum. Are these cases hurting genuine asylum seekers?➡️ Ravneet Bittu's Drug Farming Controversy: Could legalizing certain drug crops help solve Punjab's drug problem? Or is this suggestion morally and socially wrong?➡️ Pollution and Stubble Burning: Punjab is often blamed for Delhi's smog, but is it fair? We explore sustainable solutions for stubble burning and discuss how affordable alternatives can save the environment.➡️ Gujarat's Business Boom: Why are businesses thriving in Gujarat? Is it political stability, government incentives, or just smarter governance? Can Punjab adopt similar strategies?➡️ Nuclear Power in Punjab: Did Punjab miss out on a major opportunity to generate clean energy? The history and politics behind the absence of nuclear power plants.➡️ Democracy and Bureaucracy's Slowdown: How red tape and sluggish systems hinder progress, business growth, and economic prosperity in Punjab and beyond.➡️ Tourism in Punjab: Why isn't Punjab a global tourist destination despite its rich culture and history? What needs to change to attract international visitors?➡️ Farmer Challenges in Punjab: With rising costs and diminishing returns, how can Punjab's farmers thrive? What role should the government play in offering real support?

Kaka Balli Punjabi Podcast ft. Ajaydeep Singh Dhaliwal | Diwali Celebrations, Hockey, & India's Love for Cricket In this episode of the Kaka Balli Punjabi Podcast, we're joined by Ajay Singh Dhaliwal for a lively discussion that dives into diverse issues surrounding Indian culture, sports, and community behavior both in India and abroad. Ajay and I tackle a wide range of topics with the goal of shedding light on the lesser-talked-about aspects of Indian identity and cultural nuances. Key topics covered: Diwali Celebrations in the West: How Indians celebrate Diwali abroad, often with fireworks, and the disturbances this can sometimes cause among local communities. Show-Off Culture: The trend of loud, lavish parties among Indians living overseas and its impact on the cultural image of Indians. Car Insurance Frauds: A closer look at how some international students commit insurance fraud on vehicles. Wealth Creation Insights: A brief discussion on what wealth creation means in today's changing world. Canada's Weather & Sports Culture: Ice hockey's popularity in Canada, the violence often associated with it, and how it contrasts with Indian hockey. Cricket vs. Hockey in India: Why cricket outshines hockey in popularity, and whether British influence played a role in cricket's dominance in India. The Sad Reality of Indian Hockey: Challenges faced by hockey in India, especially among Punjabis, and why personalities like Dolli Chaawala gain more fame than athletes. Cultural Differences in Raising Children: How different parenting styles across cultures affect children's performance, resilience, and success. The Drug Crisis in Punjab: Why the drug problem in Punjab is so challenging to eradicate. Governmental Neglect of Hockey: The Punjab government's role, or lack thereof, in promoting hockey and supporting athletes. North vs. South Indian Cultures: A comparison of cultural differences and perspectives within India. Cricket's Role in 1984: Exploring how cricket was potentially used as a distraction during a turbulent period in Indian history. Marketing & National Awards: The power of marketing in cricket and the significance of Indian National Awards. Legacy of Balbir Singh Senior: Honoring Balbir Singh's contributions to Indian hockey and the controversies surrounding him.

BJP's 2024 Haryana campaign is different. Modi isn't the lead picture on hoardings and after two terms in power, BJP is relying once again on its mainstay: upper castes & Punjabis. Watch ThePrint Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta share his experience of travelling around poll-bound Haryana. #WritingsOnTheWall --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To read the article click here: https://theprint.in/opinion/writings-on-the-wall/writings-on-the-haryana-wall-still-had-modi-first-just-the-first-among-equals/2298331/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To read series of Writings on the wall: https://theprint.in/category/sg-writings-on-the-wall/ Exclusive content, special privileges & more – Subscribe to ThePrint for Special benefits: https://theprint.in/subscribe/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In this explosive episode of the Kaka Balli Punjabi Podcast, we pull back the curtain on the dark side of Punjab. The state is battling an ever-growing drug epidemic and a booming gangster culture, but why does this problem continue to spiral out of control? We tackle this question and many others as we unpack the deeper issues behind Punjab's ongoing crisis. Here's a complete breakdown of what we cover:Punjab's Drug Problem: A Never-Ending CrisisWhy does the drug problem in Punjab refuse to go away?The shocking amounts of black money flowing through the drug trade, its political connections, and why no one is talking about it.The powerful influence of drug cartels and how deeply they've penetrated every level of society.Punjab: The Drug Route for IndiaPunjab's strategic location makes it a hotbed for drug trafficking.How the porous India-Pakistan border has turned into a highway for narcotics smuggling, and why securing this border is so challenging.The role of international drug syndicates and why Punjab is at the center of this dangerous network.Agriculture's Decline: A Forgotten PriorityHow the decline of Punjab's once-thriving agricultural sector is fueling the drug crisis.Why the government has turned a blind eye to farmers' issues, leading many to turn to drugs and illegal activities.The lack of investment in agriculture, leaving Punjab's rural economy in shambles.Punjab Police: Overworked, Understaffed, and UnderpaidThe Punjab Police is overwhelmed by the rise of drugs and gang violence but lacks the resources to combat it effectively.Why the police force is severely understaffed and struggling with poor recruitment policies.The immense workload on the police and why they're unable to curb the growing crime rates.The Debt Crisis: Punjab's Financial Time BombPunjab's rising debt is pushing the state to the brink of financial collapse.How the state's massive debt load is choking essential services like healthcare and law enforcement.Why the budget crisis is preventing the government from addressing the drug issue head-on.Free Electricity & Subsidies: The Hidden CostsThe AAP government's popular free electricity and subsidy schemes sound great on paper, but they're wreaking havoc on the state's economy.How these handouts are creating long-term financial liabilities that Punjab can't afford.Why these populist moves are just band-aid solutions that ignore the real problems facing the state.Solving the Drug Crisis: A Call for Urgent ActionWhy addressing the drug crisis should be the #1 priority for Punjab's government.The staggering impact drugs are having on Punjabi youth, pushing them toward addiction and away from opportunities.Why ignoring this issue is a ticking time bomb for Punjab's future.The Financial & Social Toll on FamiliesDrugs are destroying families across Punjab, both financially and emotionally.The huge medical bills that come with treating addiction, and the burden on the state's already struggling healthcare system.How the drug crisis is breaking down the social fabric of Punjab, one family at a time.Brain Drain: Punjab's Lost GenerationThe alarming rise of brain drain as young Punjabis flee the state to escape the growing drug menace.How this exodus is robbing Punjab of its brightest minds, leaving the state with fewer skilled workers and professionals.The long-term consequences of losing an entire generation to drugs and emigration.Drugs & Gangster Culture: A Vicious CycleThe drug problem is directly feeding into the rise of gangster culture in Punjab, creating a dangerous feedback loop.How drug-fueled violence is taking over communities, and why the state is struggling to contain it.The impact of gang violence on businesses, public safety, and Punjab's once-booming tourism industry.Punjab's Lost Revenue: The Economic FalloutDrugs and crime are draining Punjab's economy, with businesses and industries suffering as a result.

In this in-depth episode of the Kaka Balli Punjabi Podcast, we tackle a wide range of critical issues that affect not just Punjab, but also India and the global community. From the challenges of balancing creativity with family obligations to the socio-economic dynamics between different regions and cultures, this episode is packed with thoughtful analysis and insightful discussion. Episode Highlights: Balancing Creativity and Family Life: We explore the often-overlooked struggle of finding a balance between pursuing creative passions and fulfilling family responsibilities. How can one maintain creativity without compromising on family duties? We share personal experiences and practical advice for achieving this delicate balance. The Harsh Treatment of Bihari Migrant Workers in Punjab: The mistreatment of Bihari workers in Punjab is a pressing issue that raises questions about social justice and human rights. We delve into the reasons behind this mistreatment and discuss potential solutions to foster a more inclusive and fair environment for all workers in Punjab. Origins and Impact of the Caste System in India: We trace the historical roots of the caste system in India, examining why it began and how it continues to shape Indian society today. This discussion also touches on the broader implications of caste-based discrimination and the ongoing struggle for equality. Understanding the Reservation System in India: The reservation system in India is a deeply contentious topic. We explore its origins, the reasons behind its implementation, and its impact on society, particularly in terms of social mobility and political dynamics. We also discuss how similar policies have sparked unrest in Bangladesh, leading to significant political turmoil. Current Situation in Bangladesh: Bangladesh is currently facing a severe crisis, with widespread public anger leading to the Prime Minister fleeing the country. We analyze how the country's reservation policies have contributed to this unrest and draw parallels with the situation in India. The Punjabi Exodus: Why Are Punjabis Leaving Punjab?: A growing number of Punjabis are choosing to leave their homeland. We examine the reasons behind this trend, including economic factors and social pressures, and discuss how Punjabis behave and adapt in foreign countries. Economic Comparison: Bihar vs. Punjab: We take a closer look at the economic conditions in Bihar and Punjab, highlighting the stark contrasts between the two states. What are the factors contributing to Bihar's economic struggles, and what can Punjab learn from them? The Need for Controlled Immigration: With immigration being a hot-button issue globally, we discuss the importance of controlled immigration policies. Using the recent UK riots as a case study, we explore the potential consequences of unmanaged immigration and the need for balanced approaches. Punjab's Safety Concerns and Investment Challenges: Punjab is facing significant challenges in terms of safety and attracting investment. We analyze the underlying causes of these issues and consider what steps can be taken to improve the situation, ensuring a brighter future for the state. Maharashtra: India's Economic Powerhouse: Maharashtra stands out as the most economically vibrant state in India. We discuss the reasons behind its success and what other states, including Punjab, can learn from Maharashtra's approach to development and governance. The Importance of Cultural Exchange: In an increasingly globalized world, the mingling of different cultures is more important than ever. We highlight the benefits of cultural exchange and how it can lead to a more harmonious and progressive society. Why America is on Top: The Role of Indian Immigrants: America's global dominance is a result of various factors, including the contributions of immigrant communities. We examine why Indians are the most rapidly growing immigrant group in the U.S.

  Punjabis are infamous for their obsession with migrating abroad, especially to Canada. There's a saying among diaspora Punjabis that goes, “Jitthe assi, utthe Punjab,” meaning “We create Punjab wherever we go.” But, in the recent past, a new narrative of ‘Vatan vaapsi' or ‘Reverse Migration' has taken hold in Punjabi media. According to podcasts and some news articles, Punjabis are sick of living abroad and are excited to return to their homeland.  In this episode, Kudrat Wadhwa investigates how much truth there is to the claim that Punjabis are returning to India and why people are coming back, if they are.  References:  Is a waning Canadian dream fuelling reverse migration in Punjab? 91% Parents ‘satisfied' Over Their Wards Moving Abroad, Says Study | Chandigarh News - Times of India Back to Motherland | Reverse Migration | Part 6 | EP 68 | Punjabi Podcast Punjabi Students Becoming Homeless In Canada | ਕੈਨੇਡਾ ਵਿਚ ਬੇਘਰੇ ਹੋ ਰਹੇ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਸਟੂਡੈਂਟਸ Homless 6 punjabi munde te ik kudi dekho kime reh rhe ne See sunoindia.in/privacy-policy for privacy information.

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Welcome to the Kaka Balli Punjabi Podcast, your go-to channel for insightful discussions on societal issues, cultural phenomena, and intriguing conspiracies. Hosted by Gagan (Kaka Balli) and Parvinder, this podcast delves deep into a variety of topics that are sure to spark your curiosity and broaden your perspective.In This Episode:

Last time we spoke about the Siege of Myitkyina. General Vinegar Joe made huge gains in northern Burma. Myitkyina's airstrip was taken, now the main town was under siege. The Japanese resistance around Kamaing was greatly reduced. However setbacks were also seen, such as the Chindits abandonment of the Blackpool stronghold, prompting Stiwell to toss a new attack at Mogaung. Likewise American officers embedded with the Chinese units were sending reports of how the Chinese were suffering very heavy casualties and utilizing far too much ammunition for their objectives. Regardless, it seemed the Ledo Road to China was going to pan out. Calvert chose a new stronghold location, this time at Lakum, where his Chindits faced heavy resistance. Over on New Guinea, the allies were advancing west of their new beachheads to assault Lone Tree Hill. Soon assaults against Arare and Biak would also be made. This episode is the Landing against Biak Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  In the last episode, plans were made for an amphibious assault against Biak, yet there were some hiccups. The Hurricane Task Force staged at Humboldt Bay, were facing issues with terrain. Terrain considerations forced most of the task force to assemble on the southern of the two sand spits dividing Humboldt and Jautefa Bays. On this spit the beach had a steep slope which made it impossible for more than a very few LST's to be held against the shore line long enough to load bulk stores. The LST's had to beach on the northern spit, where clearing and salvage after the fires and explosions which had ravaged that beach during the early phases of the Hollandia operation had not been completed. In addition, the northern spit was being used to unload supplies destined to be used at Hollandia, to load supplies being sent to the Tornado Task Force at Wakde-Sarmi, and to unload cargo for the Hurricane Task Force. No road connected the northern and southern sandspits. Consequently, most of the supplies and equipment, as well as many of the troops, had to be transported by water from the southern to the northern loading area. There were only a few LCT's available for this work and only by working twenty-four hours a day, were all the troops and supplies transported to the loading beach in time for departure on the 25th.  Finally, General Fuller's task force would depart the bay on the evening of May 25th, covered by Admiral Fectheler's cruisers and destroyers. Taking the most direct route, the convoy would be able to arrive off Biak on the morning of May 27th. At the time, Biak was held by the Biak Detachment, under Colonel Kuzume Naoyoki. It consisted of the 222nd Regiment; the 19th Guard Unit; and some rear echelon, service, and construction units. There were 10000 IJA personnel, 4000 were combat troops in total and 2000 IJN personnel, 125 were combat troops in total. In view of the intense enemy concentration on the Sorido-Mokmer airfield sector, Colonel Kuzume decided on May 22nd to shift the operational center of gravity of the detachment to the west. The 1st Battalion, 222nd Infantry, was relieved of its mission in the sector east of Opiaref and sent to replace the naval garrison unit in the Bosnek sector. The naval troops were, in turn, shifted westward into the Sorido airfield sector, while the tank company was brought over from Arfak Saba and assembled in the area northwest of Mokmer airfield. Although most of the Japanese efforts had been directed to the construction of airfields, Kuzume had ably managed to build a system of strong cave positions.  In this amphitheater-like terrain and along the low ridge, both of which were covered with thick growth, the Biak Detachment emplaced many field artillery and antiaircraft weapons. There were also many automatic weapons and a few mortars. All these weapons were located within range of Mokmer Drome and most of them could also fire on Borokoe Drome. The key to Colonel Kuzume's defenses in this area was the West Caves area, located about 50 yards north of the low ridge and about 1200 yards north of the western end of Mokmer Drome. The West Caves were actually three large sumps, or depressions in the ground, which were connected by underground tunnels and caverns. The caves were ringed with pillboxes, bunkers, and foxholes, and an extensive system of coral and log emplacements was built along the spur ridge above Mokmer Drome. Biak naval headquarters was originally located in the West Caves, which could shelter 1000 men, and Colonel Kuzume planned to move Biak Detachment headquarters to the caves for the final defense of the airdromes. As long as the West Caves and the positions along the low ridge were occupied by the Japanese, Allied planes could not safely use the airfields. Chief of Staff of 2nd Area Army, Lieutenant-General Numata Takazo and Rear-Admiral Senda Sadatoshi, Commander of the 28th Special Base Force, with HQ at Manokwari had come to visit the garrison just as the Allies were preparing to invade, with Numata choosing to stay on the island to direct the battle alongside the resourceful Kuzume. Yet all of the Japanese at Biak were about to be caught with their pants down as many of their troops were scattered about the island. The Biak Detachment would not be in their defensive positions on Z Day but were apparently being held mobile. Detachment headquarters, the 1st Battalion of the 222nd Infantry about half of the 19th Naval Guard Unit, and miscellaneous service organizations were all located in a cave and garden area on the inland plateau about 3,000 yards north-northwest of Bosnek. Outposts at Saba and Opiaref were held by the 1st Company, 222nd Infantry, and a platoon of the 2nd Company was stationed along the main ridge behind Bosnek. The bulk of the 2nd Battalion, the rest of the naval guard unit, and some naval antiaircraft organizations were located at the East Caves. Naval headquarters, various naval service units, and the 6th Company, 222nd Infantry, were at the West Caves. Most of the army service units were at Mokmer Drome or disposed along the low ridge north of that field. The bulk of the 3rd Battalion was posted at the west end of the same airfield. One platoon of the 10th Company was at Sorido, guarding the southern terminus of a trail which led north across the island to Korim Bay. The tanks had not yet moved to Saba but were assembled on the terrace north of the eastern end of Mokmer Drome. On the morning of May 27, Fechteler carried out his naval fire support as planned and General Kenney's bombers also launched their air bombardment, receiving little answering fire from the surprised Japanese shore installations. Yet there was a westerly current off Biak that would push the transports over 3000 yards to the west, which would complicate the landings. A rocket-equipped LCI, which began firing on the beaches about H minus 4 minutes, led the first LVT wave toward the shore. The LCI fire, consisting of rockets and fire from automatic weapons, continued until H plus 2 minutes, when it was lifted because it began to endanger the troops who were unloading and pushing inland. The first waves of LVTs then formed rapidly and crossed the line of departure; but because of the westerly current and the smoke and dust raised by the preliminary bombardment, they would end up landing on a mangrove swamp almost 3000 yards west of Green Beach 4. Nevertheless, by 7:30, the 2nd Battalion, 186th Regiment had successfully landed and was pushing beyond the swamps to the main coastal road connecting Bosnek and the airfields. Five minutes later, Companies I and K of Colonel Newman's 186th Regiment also landed about 700 yards east of the 2nd Battalion. Realizing about the westerly current, Fechteler then started to turn succeeding waves eastward to the proper beaches, with the troops coming ashore in disorder for the next thirty minutes.  With more than half of his regiment already far west of the proper landing beaches, and knowing that the landing had become disorganized and that the rest of the boat waves were being delayed, Colonel Newman asked the task force commander if the 186th Regiment should continue with its original mission or whether it might be feasible to switch missions with the 162nd Regiment and start moving west toward the airfields. General Fuller, the Task Force commander, ordered the 186th Regiment to continue with its original mission. As events turned out, it might have been better had the regiment continued west, and it is possible that a great deal of time might have been saved if the missions had been switched. In the first place, the maps with which the task force was supplied were so inaccurate that both regiments soon came upon terrain features that threw much planning out of gear. Secondly, most of the 186th Regiment had landed so far west that both it and the 162nd consumed much valuable time getting to their proper locations. Finally, an exchange of missions might have been executed without much difficulty, for, in amphibious training, the 41st Division had learned to switch missions when such mistakes were made. Luckily, the landings would face no opposition, though the confusion would give Kuzume time to prepare his defense. By 8:00, the rest of Newman's 3rd Battalion had landed to secure the jetties; and by 10:30, Companies I and K arrived to take their position west of Old Jetty. Entangled with the landed artillery and tanks, the 2nd Battalion would only be able to reach the area east of New Jetty by noon, then sending patrols to the north and east to secure the Bosnek perimeter. The face of the coral ridge behind Bosnek was found to be rough and honeycombed with small caves. Companies F and G, aided by elements of the Support Battery, 542nd Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment, sent patrols along the steep slope and to the top of the ridge to investigate many of the caves, most of which proved to be unoccupied, though three Japanese were killed near caves directly north of New Jetty. The companies moved over the first slope to a second ridge line which was parallel to and about seventy-five yards north of the first. Company G started looking for a trail which was thought to lead over the ridges to the plateau north of Bosnek, but it was Company E which, shortly after noon, found the ill-defined track. A few Japanese from the 2nd Company, 222nd Regiment in a pillbox temporarily prevented the two companies from securing the trail, which was not cleared until 2:00 hours, after the pillbox had been destroyed. During the late afternoon, patrols were sent north of the ridges to the area which the Japanese had surveyed for an airdrome. A few Japanese , most of whom fled upon being sighted, were found at the airdrome site, but there were no signs of large organized enemy groups north, northeast, or east of Bosnek insofar as the 186th Infantry could ascertain. The only enemy action during this day would be an air attack by four Japanese bombers.  A few enemy planes which flew over Biak around noon fled before anti-aircraft guns from ship or shore could be brought to bear. But all anti-aircraft crews were on the alert to expect further Japanese air action late in the afternoon. Because of the difference in time of sunset at the closest Allied and Japanese bases, Japanese aircraft could remain in the Biak area about half an hour after Allied planes had to leave. The expected attacks developed shortly after 4:00, when four Japanese two-engined bombers, accompanied by three or four fighters, approached the beachhead from the north, flying low over the ridge behind Bosnek and thus escaping radar detection. Some excellent targets were ready for the Japanese. Admiral Fechteler had permitted four LST's to tie up side by side at one of the jetties. Although he knew this move to be tactically unsound, he considered it justified because of the importance of the cargo aboard the LST's and because the jetty provided the only good spot for LST beaching. The Japanese bombing was accurate, but the LST's were lucky. None of the Japanese bombs exploded! Though the Japanese planes also bombed and strafed the beaches, none of the bombs dropped ashore exploded, while the strafing runs killed only one man and wounded two others. All four bombers were shot down by ground or ship-based antiaircraft, and the Japanese fighters were driven off by some Allied fighter planes which had remained late in the area. One Japanese bomber crashed into the water, sideswiping an SC which was standing offshore. Two of the ship's crew were killed and nine wounded. The SC had to be towed away for repairs, and a few other naval vessels suffered minor damage from strafing. There was negligible damage to supplies and equipment ashore. Total Allied losses as a result of the air raid were three killed and fourteen wounded, most of them naval personnel. Unloading also progressed satisfactorily, with 12000 men, 12 medium tanks, 29 artillery pieces, about 500 vehicles, and an estimated 3000 tons of bulk cargo being landed by 5:15. Meanwhile, Colonel Haney's 162nd Regiment had begun landing shortly after 9:00 and immediately started moving west along the main coastal road towards Biak's three airdromes. Moving with speed, the 3rd Battalion passed through Ibdi village at 10:30 and then began to traverse the difficult Parai Defile. At 11:15, the regimental Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon discovered an enemy position on the face of the cliff west of Ibdi, that the 162nd Infantry first learned of the existence of the Parai Defile. At 1:00 the 3rd Battalion, with six tanks of the 603rd Tank Company leading the advance, arrived at the eastern entrance to the defile. There was no large Japanese force stationed along the cliff, but the few Japanese had such a tactical advantage over troops moving along the coastal road that they were able to delay the 162nd Infantry's advance for some time. Meanwhile Company E, which had been attempting to advance along the ridge north of the rest of the regiment, had found that the terrain and thick vegetation made progress along that route next to impossible. Since the company was lagging far behind the rest of the advance and since strong enemy opposition had not yet been encountered either inland or on the coastal route, it withdrew to join the rest of the 2nd Battalion on the beach, and by the time that battalion had reached Parai, Company E was back in place.  By 3:00, the 3rd Battalion had successfully pushed through the defile and had secured Parai and a large jetty at that village. Progress west of the Parai Defile was without noteworthy incident during the rest of the afternoon, so Haney's 2nd and 3rd Battalion would be able to dig in at Parai by nightfall. On the other side, Kuzume was surprised by the landings, but he was expecting the enemy to land exactly there, where the extreme narrowness of the beach and the few entrances inland would make deployment difficult. Deciding to seize this momentary advantage, he thus ordered his 1st and 3rd Battalions to carry out an attack all along the Bosnek beachhead during the night. On the 3rd Battalion front, after an unsuccessful raid against two batteries near Ibdi. Then the 3rd Battalion, 222nd Infantry , renewed the attack with grenades and rifle fire, some circling to the north around Battery C and a few others moving against Battery B, located 200 yards to the east. Attacks on Battery C continued until daylight, when the last Japanese withdrew. The action cost Battery C 4 men killed and 8 wounded, while a near-by antiaircraft detachment lost 1 man killed and 1 wounded. Over 15 of the enemy had been killed during the night and an unknown number wounded. The 1st Battalion also raided the beachhead, suffering many casualties as a result.  On the morning of May 28th, the 162nd then resumed its westward advance, with its 3rd Battalion rapidly proceeding through Mokmer village without opposition. By 9:30, however, the Americans began to face stiff resistance at a road junction nearly 1500 yards west of Mokmer. Supported by artillery, Company K would be able to push to within 200 yards of Mokmer Drome; yet Kuzume would rapidly counterattack them with his 2nd Battalion. Charging repeatedly, the Japanese would eventually force the Americans to pull back by noon, with Lieutenant Yokoyama Hideo dying heroically during these attacks. Emboldened by this success, Kuzume then launched an all out assault from the East Caves area. On the main ridge north of Mokmer the Japanese had another strongpoint east of the West Caves, which was called by the Japanese the East Caves. Behind Mokmer the ridge rose to a height of 240 feet. It was not so steep a cliff as the Parai Defile barricade, but it could not be climbed without the use of hands. About three quarters of the way to the top was a flat ledge from which two large caverns, similar to those in the West Caves area, could be entered. The Japanese constructed pillboxes on the ridge both below and above the ledge, and in the caverns they emplaced mortars, 20-mm. guns, and heavy machine guns. Observation posts were also set up at the East Caves, from which an unobstructed view of the coast from Parai to the west end of Mokmer Drome could be obtained. The Biak Detachment used the East Caves principally as living quarters, supply dumps, and as a connecting link between the Ibdi Pocket and the West Caves. Continued Japanese occupation of the East Caves would endanger Allied troop and supply movements along the coastal road from Parai to Mokmer Drome. The enemy threw more troops into the battle from the East Caves area until the attackers were coming not only from the west but also from the northwest and north. The Japanese split the 3rd Battalion by driving a wedge along the cliff between the troops on the shore and those on the terrace. Companies L and M were cut off. The 2nd Battalion, attempting to get on the terrace to the north of the 3rd Battalion, was pinned down by Japanese fire from the East Caves and was unable to advance. Company G, on the terrace north of the main road and between the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, was also cut off. In response to the attacks, Haney ordered the 1st Battalion to move north from Parai onto the main coastal ridge to outflank the enemy positions, but efforts to do so were halted by enemy fire from the East Caves. Two companies patrolled in the broken terrain along the main ridge but were unable to move westward. Most of Company L and the Company M detachment which was also on the coral terrace managed to find a covered route back to the rest of the 3rd Battalion on the shore, but one platoon, initially surrounded, had to fight its way eastward into the lines of the 2nd Battalion, north of Mokmer village. Company G, on the terrace north of the main road and between the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, was also cut off and withdrew to the 2nd Battalion only with difficulty, and after it had suffered many casualties from Japanese fire. During the afternoon the 3rd Battalion stood off two more concerted enemy counterattacks, one at 12:00 and another shortly after 2:00, and suffered more casualties from the enemy mortar and artillery fire. During the latter attack, the Japanese began moving some light tanks forward from the Mokmer Drome area. The 3rd Platoon, 603rd Tank Company, engaged these tanks at a range of 1,200 yards and, with the aid of fire from destroyers lying offshore, drove the enemy tanks back into defilade positions. Three tanks of the 603rd were damaged by Japanese artillery fire and three men of the same organization were wounded during the action. Meanwhile, General Fuller had decided to reinforce the 3rd Battalion, 162nd Infantry. The 1st Platoon, 603rd Tank Company, moved west along the coastal road. At the same time small boats manned by the 542nd Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment were also sent forward with ammunition and medical supplies, both dangerously low. The small craft moved along the shore out of range of Japanese mortar and artillery fire until opposite the 3rd Battalion's position and then shot inshore at full speed, one by one. Supplies were replenished and the worst casualties evacuated despite continued shelling of the 3rd Battalion's position by the Japanese. The 1st and 2nd Battalions continued their efforts to clear the Japanese from the terrace behind the 3rd but met with little success. By late afternoon, just as the 3rd Battalion's position was becoming untenable, Fuller gave up plans for further attempts at reinforcement and ordered Haney to withdraw his 3rd Battalion. The withdrawal started slowly because communications difficulties still prevented concentration of supporting fires. However, at 5:00 the regimental commander finally ordered the 3rd Battalion to start moving back along the coastal road. Tanks were to act as point, and rear guard and close-in artillery fire was substituted for a disengaging force. The battalion was to continue eastward until it had passed through the 2nd, which was setting up a new defensive position east of Mokmer village. The men of the 3rd Battalion moved in small parties along the beach and main road, which was intermittently swept by Japanese mortar, machine gun, and rifle fire. Many troops were unable to use the main road, but had to drop down to the beach below the overhanging cliff. Four tanks brought up the rear and protected the north flank. Between 1830 and 1900 all elements of the 3rd Battalion reached safety beyond the 2nd Battalion's lines and began digging in for the night east of the latter unit. Casualties for the day, almost all of them suffered by the 3rd Battalion, were 16 killed and 87 wounded. Facing strong resistance, he also decided to commit his tank company to the attack. At around 8:00, new waves of Japanese infantry, now supported by four tanks, appeared west and north of the 2nd Battalion, thus beginning the first tank battle of the war in the Southwest Pacific Area. The 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry, with the 1st Platoon, 603rd Tank Company, in support, was astride the main coastal road 1,000 yards east of Mokmer. The battalion's left flank was on the beach while its right was against the coastal cliff and less than forty yards inland. Between the beach and the cliff was a coconut grove. The main coastal road crossed the rise of the cliff at a point about 475 yards west of the 2nd Battalion's lines. Shortly after 8:00 the Japanese tanks, followed by an infantry column, advanced down the incline where the main road crossed the cliff and deployed in echelon left formation in the coconut grove. The Japanese vehicles were light tanks, Type 95, weighing about nine tons, carrying a crew of three men, and armed with one 37-mm. cannon and two 7.7-mm. machine guns. They were opposed by two General Sherman M4A1 medium tanks, the heaviest armament on which was the 75-mm. Each Japanese tank was stopped by one round of 75-mm. armor-piercing ammunition, while the enemy infantry was literally mowed down by the machine guns and mortars of the 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry. Armor-piercing 75-mm. shells passed right through the Japanese light tanks, and the Shermans followed with a few rounds of 75-mm. high explosive, which tore holes in the Japanese vehicles and blew loose their turrets. During this action several hits scored on the Shermans by the Japanese 37-mm. guns caused no damage. About thirty minutes after the first attack the Japanese sent in a second wave of three tanks, which used the same route of approach and the same formation in the coconut grove. These three were quickly destroyed by three Shermans. One enemy 37-mm. shell locked the 75-mm. gun of one Sherman in place, but the American tank backed part way into a shell hole to obtain elevation for its weapon and, despite the damage, managed to destroy one of the enemy tanks. The Japanese tanks having been stopped and the leading elements of the second infantry wave killed, the attack disintegrated and the enemy withdrew. For an hour or so the Japanese were quiet, but late in the morning, under the cover of machine gun fire and mortar barrages, they began to circle north of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, 162nd Infantry. New infantry attacks began about 12:00. The enemy was unable to dislodge the 162nd Infantry, but his mortar fire caused many casualties within the regimental perimeter and the Japanese managed to cut the coast road east of a large T-jetty at Parai. Company B and the Cannon Company counterattacked the Japanese roadblock behind close-in mortar support and succeeded in dislodging the enemy by fire and movement. During the afternoon of May 29, the 162nd thus moved back to Parai, where the 2nd Battalion and two companies boarded some amphibious craft back to Bosnek while the rest of the regiment moved overland through the Parai Defile and took up positions at Ibdi The 162nd Infantry's casualties during the day were 16 killed, 96 wounded, and 3 injured. The regiment estimated that it had killed over 500 Japanese during the day. Though Kuzume's forces had suffered massive casualties, they had heroically managed to stop the enemy advance and would subsequently push troops forward to Parai and into the cliffs along the Parai Defile. They would however also lose most of their armor during these attacks. Only five tanks survived and were withdrawn to the West Caves. Pending the arrival of reinforcements, General Fuller planned to use his available troops to hold the west flank at Ibdi and expand the beachhead at Bosnek. The 162nd Infantry was to establish a semicircular perimeter beginning on the beach west of Ibdi, reaching north to the main ridge, and returning to the beach at the village. The 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry, would maintain a perimeter around Mandom, where the Hurrican Task Force HQ was located, while the 3rd Battalion moved over the ridge behind Bosnek to set up defenses on the inland plateau. The 2nd Battalion, with part of the 3rd attached, would remain at the Bosnek beachhead. During this period, the 800 well-armed men of the 3rd Battalion, 222nd Infantry in the Ibdi Pocket, made only harassing attacks with small groups against the positions of the 162nd Infantry. On 30th and 31st of May the 162nd Infantry patrolled around the main ridge near Ibdi for a route over which large bodies of troops might move north to the inland plateau in preparation for the second attack westward. During the course of this patrolling, it was discovered that the main ridge from Bosnek to the Parai Defile actually comprised a series of seven sharp coral ridges, the crests of which were 50-75 yards apart and separated by gullies 50-100 feet deep. These separate ridges were honeycombed with small natural caves, potholes, and crevices. There was little soil on most of the coral, yet the area maintained a cover of dense rain forest containing trees 8-20 inches thick and 100-150 feet high. The 162nd Infantry discovered two native trails over the ridges. The most easterly of these, designated "Old Man's Trail," began on the beach road about 1,200 yards west of Mandom. It was a fairly well defined track which swung north over the seven ridges along a comparatively easy route. Another track began 1,200 yards to the west, near Ibdi. Called "Young Man's Trail," the latter followed a very difficult route over the ridges to the inland plateau. Both of these trails ran through the outer defenses of the Ibdi Pocket, into which the Biak Detachment, on 30 May, moved the 3rd Battalion, 222nd Infantry. On 30 and 31 May the 162nd Infantry's patrols along the ridges north of Ibdi and Mandom were harassed by the Japanese in the Ibdi Pocket, which had not yet been recognized as a major enemy strong point. On 30 May the 162nd Infantry located a water hole near the beach terminal of Old Man's Trail. A regimental water point established there was constantly harassed by Japanese rifle fire from the Ibdi Pocket area or by small enemy parties which moved down out of the ridges north of Ibdi and Mandom. The Cannon Company, 162nd Infantry, was therefore assigned the missions of clearing the enemy from the water point area and protecting that important installation from Japanese attacks. Halfway through the Parai Defile, a little over a mile west of the 162nd Infantry's main perimeter, an underground stream ran from the base of the cliff into Soanggarai Bay. At the point where the main road crossed the stream, the 162nd Infantry set up an ambush to prevent Japanese infiltration from the west along the beach. The ambush site was also used as a patrol base from which small parties reconnoitered along the cliffs of the Parai Defile to discover enemy dispositions in the area. Patrolling on 30th and 31st of May cost the 162nd Infantry 6 men killed, 17 wounded, and 4 injured. On the main coastal ridge between the village of Ibdi and the Parai Defile the Biak Detachment developed another center of resistance which came to be known as the Ibdi Pocket. The terrain in the area was a series of knifelike east-west ridges separated by depressions and crevices up to fifty feet deep. These ridges were connected in places by cross-ridges, and the entire area was covered with thick rain forest and dense jungle undergrowth which had found a foothold in the coral. Pillboxes of coral and logs, hasty emplacements of the same materials, small caves and crevices, and foxholes at the bases of large trees were all utilized by the enemy to defend the area. Back to the Wakde-Sarmi area, General Patrick was preparing to launch another assault on Lone Tree Hill. On the morning of May 27th at 7:00 two destroyers, firing on Lone Tree Hill and the Maffin Strip area, started scheduled fire support for the day's advance. Artillery and infantry action on this morning was much more closely coordinated than on the previous day. The destroyer fire lasted until 7:45, at which time the field artillery and all the 81-mm. mortars of the 158th Infantry laid concentrations on suspected and known enemy positions in the defile, on Lone Tree Hill, and on Hill 225. After this Colonel Herndon sent his 1st Battalion against the defile between Lone Tree Hill and the eastern nose of Mount Saksin and his 2nd Battalion against Hill 225. At 8:30 Company F, moving around Company E on the south flank, started its attack. Behind close artillery support, apparently controlled by artillery liaison planes for the most part, Company F pushed up a terrain feature initially believed to be Hill 225. It was not discovered until late the next day that F Company was actually on the eastern nose of Mt. Saksin and about 700 yards east of its reported location. Since artillery fire had knocked out two enemy machine gun nests which had been delaying the advance, patrols of Company F were able to reach the top of the eastern ridge. The rest of the company moved up the hill at 10:00; encountering scattered rifle fire from enemy positions to the southwest. Company E, just before noon, arrived atop the same hill on F's right. Company E had orders to secure the southern slopes of the defile between Hill 225 and Lone Tree Hill. Company B, still at the eastern entrance to the defile, was again unable to make any progress and during the morning was held up by machine gun and mortar fire from concealed enemy positions on the southern and southwestern slopes of Lone Tree Hill. No sooner had some of these positions been eliminated by American artillery and mortar fire than Company B was subjected to enemy machine gun and mortar fire originating from the northeast side of Hill 225, the reported location of Companies E and F. Actually, the artillery fire had not been entirely effective, because it had not reached into deep draws or caves in which many of the Japanese weapons were emplaced. Company E, attempting to move down the northern slopes of the eastern ridge to Company B's aid, was soon forced back by enemy rifle fire and infantry counterattacks from the west. At the same time small parties of Japanese, under cover of their own machine guns, started a series of minor counterattacks against Company B. Company F did not become engaged in this action. Instead, the company dug in on the ridge it was holding and sent patrols to the south and west to probe Japanese defenses. It was soon discovered that the combination of rugged terrain and Japanese machine gun and rifle fire limited patrolling to a very small area. North of Company B, Company A patrolled along the west bank of the Snaky River and on the eastern slope of Lone Tree Hill during the morning and early afternoon. About 4:30 the company moved in force up Lone Tree, finding the eastern slope of the hill to be unoccupied. Most of the fire that had harassed the company during the morning had apparently originated on the beach below the northern face of Lone Tree Hill. For the night the unit dug in at the crest of the hill. Again, little ground had been gained, although the eastern nose of Mr. Saksin and Lone Tree Hill had been at least partially occupied. At the same time, Patrick was informed that two battalions of the 163rd Regiment would be shipped to Biak to reinforce Fuller on June 1st, with General Krueger also preparing the 6th Division led by Major General Franklin Silbert  to be dispatched to Wakde to replace the 163rd. Yet before this could occur, Colonel Matsuyama crossed the Tementoe River and launched a surprise night attack against Toem. During pitch-black night at 8:30, an estimated 100 Japs struck 1st Battalion's area. Divided into small groups, but in two major commands, they carried grappling hooks, knives, grenades, knee-mortars, and rifles. Their grappling hooks had two prongs, like anchors and were attached to long ropes by which they could pull to explode booby traps harmlessly. A knee mortar barrage began the attack. While their mortars drove the men to ground, their grappling hooks caught booby trap wires and exploded attached grenades. They struck from southeast and southwest, two different commands about 150 yards apart. First command shouted wildly and threw grenades. They fired a light machine gun down A Company's street and holed up their tents. But this command's howling rush with grenades was just a feint to cause confusion. The second command, around 35-40,  made the main drive. Easily they broke through 1st Battalion's far-spread perimeter holes. An estimated 25 made the serious penetration. They were trying to reach the Regimental command post to kill the top officers. Some of the staff officers were actually cut off outside their holes in a tent and actually unarmed. Ten Japanese almost reached the command post before they were cut down. Such was the official report, but 163rd men said that they tried to blow up the motor poo, nearly 100 of them. From a slit trench, four blazing M-1s stopped them, from the motor pool chief Staff Sergeant Burton, Staff Sergeant Engbretson, T/4 Switzer, and T/5 Donakowski. They piled up 13 dead Japanese, the last just 20 feet away. On a whistle signal, all Matsuyama's men withdrew. The wild attack prompted Patrick to not to ship the 163rd towards Biak. The following morning, after another well-timed preliminary artillery bombardment, Herndon once again threw his forces against the Ilier Mountains, yet the result was the same as before. Nonetheless, his troops would be able to cover the amphibious arrival of two tanks to aid in further attacks; but with the situation soon becoming untenable because of strong Japanese counterattacks, all his companies ultimately had to withdraw to the Snaky River line. On May 29th, Krueger finally notified Patrick that the two battalions of the 163rd would have to leave for Biak the next day, so this would force Patrick to cease offensive action and withdraw the 1st Battalion, 158th Regiment back to Arare. Yet further Japanese counterattacks also forced Herndon to withdraw his remaining forces to the Maffin area as well, where he would form a new defensive line.  Patrick ultimately disagreed with Herndon's decision to retreat, judging the withdrawal to be unwarranted and would relieve Herndon of his command, replacing him with Colonel Earle Sandlin. Colonel Herndon's fears of attack along his line of communications had been well taken, for the Right Sector Force had begun flanking movements designed to recapture the entire Maffin Bay area. However, the combat engineers quickly proved their versatility by driving off the enemy force with rifle, carbine, and machine gun fire. Five of the engineers were killed. Enemy casualties could not be estimated since the Japanese removed their dead and wounded during the night. The remainder of the night was more quiet, and the next morning the defenses along the Tirfoam were improved. There were a couple of minor attacks during the afternoon and desultory rifle and 70-mm. or 75-mm. artillery fire was directed against all American units still west of the Tor. The 147th Field Artillery Battalion, withdrawing to the east bank of the Tor late in the afternoon, was struck by some of this enemy artillery fire and lost one man killed. A new defensive line along the Tirfoam was being developed on May 30th as the bulk of the 163rd Regiment would depart for Biak. This left Patrick's forces spread out over almost twelve miles of coastline, just as Colonel Yoshino was about to launch his night attack. After the difficult river crossing, the 223rd Regiment had spent three days moving into the jungle southwest of Arara, from where they launched a series of simultaneous attacks against some anti-aircraft positions along the beach.  A 6:05 on June 30th, a guard at B Battery's Position No 6 challenged two men in the jungle across the beach road. Other Japanese were moving west down the road. When they did not answer his challenge, he fired, and hit the ground. Instantly, Japanese machine guns, rifles, mortars, and even grenades hit the B-6 position. The anti-aircraft men killed 10 Japs, but one heavy machine gun jammed. The second gun became overheated and had to cease fire. The Japanese were hard to hit in the dark. They were heavily camouflaged with leaves and nets down to their hips. After one American was killed, the anti-aircraft men left their emplacement and fled 500 yards east on the beach road to Battery A's Position 7. Joined with the men of A-7 - they had already stopped one attack - the B-6 men helped fight about 15-25 Japanese. From 6:40 to 4:30 next day, the Japanese struck intermittently, but rifle and machine guns fire repelled them. About 500 yards west of the B-6 position where the first attack had occurred, Battery A-6 also endured harassment from Japanese mortar, rifle, and machine gun fire. At least twice, the gunners repulsed attacks. A fourth position, Battery B-8, which was 400 yards west of A-6, was assailed about 6:30 also. The anti-aircraft men's .50 multiple heavy machine gun became overheated and jammed. Rifle ammo was running out. Scurrying from the gun-pit, they took cover in the shore brush until the Japanese left at 4:30. All attacks began about the same time, about 8:30, and some men glimpsed a Jap officer with his saber who was giving orders. All Japanese dead had rolls of white gauze in their mouths, and the Japanese officer had completely covered his lower face. The Americans thought that they used these means to prevent them from shouting or screaming when they were wounded. While they attacked the anti-aircraft batteries, Yoshino's men also tried to storm 1st Battalion 158 Infantry protecting Task Force Headquarters and the supply dumps. About 7:00, rifle and machine gun fire began impacting 1st Battalion positions. A captured heavy machine gun fired also. At 10:00 came a furious suicidal attack against B Company - beaten off with rifles, grenades, bayonets, pistols, and even knives. They failed to fire the supply dumps with demolition charges and Molotov cocktails. In the end, the Americans miraculously only lost 12 killed and 10 wounded while inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy. But fearing more enemy attacks, Patrick would decide to reduce the number of separate perimeters along the beach, from 21 to only 8.  The bulk of the 158th had to withdraw behind the Tor, leaving only its 2nd Battalion west of the river to secure the bridgehead. Facing little resistance, the Japanese recaptured Maffin, though they would be unable to push Sandlin's troops behind the river. Yoshino and Matsuyama were unable to coordinate their efforts however, allowing the Americans to continue to strengthen their defenses for the next few days, with the Japanese only able to launch nightly raiding attacks that were easily repelled. On June 5, the first units of Major-General Franklin Sibert's 6th Division then began to arrive, freeing up the 158th to continue with its offensive.  Sandlin then launched an attack with his 1st and 2nd Battalions supported by tanks crossing the Tor to attack Maffin on June 8, meeting increasingly strong enemy resistance from a line of hastily-repaired bunkers and pillboxes. The tanks were able to reduce the Japanese defenses due to their strong firepower, but not before the Americans had to dig in by nightfall.  The night passed without incident and early on June 9th patrols began to probe westward toward the Tirfoam. Scouts reported that the Japanese were holding another defense line, including reoccupied bunkers, on a slight rise at the west bank of the river. About 10:00, tank-infantry teams began to destroy the Japanese-held positions along the new line. While tank 75-mm fire was destroying bunkers or forcing the Japanese to seek cover, infantrymen crept forward to toss grenades into bunker gun ports or shoot down Japanese who tried to escape from the area. While these tank-infantry team operations were taking place, the rest of the two infantry battalions rested. Japanese 75-mm. fire, from a weapon emplaced on the beach between the Snaky River and Lone Tree Hill, harassed the 1st Battalion for a while, but this fire was summarily stopped when a 155-mm howitzer of the 218th Field Artillery Battalion scored a direct hit on the enemy piece. By 11:30 the enemy defensive positions had been cleaned out and the 1st and 2nd Battalions resumed the advance westward. Aided by fire from the 147th Field Artillery, which had supplanted the 167th in the close support role, the two infantry units probed cautiously forward, and it was not until 3:30 that both reached the east bank of the Tirfoam. Opposition was scattered, but the American units lost 6 men killed and 6 wounded. It was estimated that 50 of the enemy had been killed and one was captured. At this point, the 158th would have to stop its advance because they received new orders from Krueger, who planned to employ the regiment for an assault on Noemfoor Island, 300 miles northwest of Sarmi, in late June or early July. As such, advances west of the Tirfoam would be postponed until a second combat team of the 6th Division could arrive in the area to relieve the 158th in mid-June.  General Sibert assumed command of the Tornado Task Force on June 12th. On 10 and 11th June the 158th Infantry limited its activities to patrolling, consolidating defensive positions, and driving Japanese outposts westward. One outpost, lying southeast of the 2nd Battalion, was manned by about a hundred Japanese and had to be cleared by tank fire and infantry assault. The Japanese, who were members of a 223rd Infantry company assigned to the Right Sector Force, fled toward Mr. Saksin, leaving behind 4 heavy machine guns, 1 light machine gun, 2 70-mm. howitzers, and 1 37-mm. antitank gun. On 14 June the 20th Infantry, 6th Division, relieved the 158th Infantry at the Tirfoam. The 158th recrossed the Tor and went into a defensive perimeter on the west bank of Tementoe Creek. Patrols sent south and east during the next week encountered a few stragglers from the Japanese garrison at Hollandia or from the Matsuyama Force. On the 22nd the entire regimental combat team was relieved of all combat responsibility in the Wakde-Sarmi area and began final preparations for the Noemfoor Island operation. During its operations in the Wakde-Sarmi area the 158th Regimental Combat Team lost 70 men killed, 257 wounded, and 4 missing. The unit took 11 Japanese prisoners and estimated that it killed 920 of the enemy. With their supply line compromised, Yoshino and Matsuyama would also decide to withdraw from their present positions about this time, which would allow the 36th Division to establish better defensive positions in the Ilier Mountains line. Yet that is all for Operation Tornado and Hurricane for now, as we now need to head over to the Imphal-Kohima front. By June, the situation at Manipur saw General Slim's 14th Army losing all of their advantages. Despite the extreme odds, with a slim chance of success, General Mutaguchi continued his wild attacks against Imphal. As it was, the two armies had been battling it out in difficult terrain and conditions. There were the steep and often jungle-covered hills, the heat for men not accustomed to it, the risk of tropical diseases like malaria and the leeches – not to mention the weeks and months of both physical and psychological strain from fighting a formidable enemy. The monsoon rains that began later in May only made matters worse. As the days passed by, the low-lying areas in the Imphal Valley would flood because of the downpours, while the streams and small rivers everywhere would become raging torrents. The water level of Loktak Lake would also rise, making it especially uncomfortable for the units of both sides dug in at some of the lakeside villages on the Tiddim Road. Dysentery and diarrhea became an ever-greater concern. Foot rot would start to set in for men in their flooded positions. The slopes in the hills became slippery and that much more treacherous to navigate. The incessant rains would dissolve stretches of ‘fairweather' roads and ‘jeepable' tracks into mud and slush everywhere, while triggering landslides in the hills. For the units on higher altitudes like the Shenam Saddle, Point 5846 and the Ukhrul area, the nights would become shockingly cold and damp, adding to their misery. Yet things were undoubtedly harder for the Japanese, who had carried few supplies and didn't expect to be strung out fighting for so long.  To the north, General Sato's 31st Division were withdrawing from Kohima towards Ukhrul, defying Mutaguchi's orders, with General Miyazaki providing rearguard at Viswema, whileGeneral Grover's 2nd Division pursued them. Miyazaki's men held out at Visweman until June 12th, before withdrawing to Maosongsang. Then they held out at Maosongsang until June 16, before retreating to the last holding position at Maram. Over to the south, General Brigg's 5th Division was engaging Colonel Matsumura's 60th Regiment, fighting brutally for control over the Imphal-Kohima road. The battered Japanese defenders were fighting tooth and nail to prevent the opening of this vital supply line.  The 9th and 123rd Brigades pushed on, they would only be able to capture the Zebra hill on June 7. The following day, the 3/14th Punjabis made a wide hook and arrived on the road behind Japanese lines by nightfall, where they would repel three heavy counterattacks. This would allow the 123rd to clear the hill positions near Modbung and link up with the Punjabis on June 11th. The 9th Brigade made great progress during these days, pushing on to Satarmaina by June 13th. General Gracey's 20th Division was also attacking towards the Ukhrul Road during this period, with the 80th Brigade advancing northwards from Kameng up the Iril River Valley on a wide encircling move towards Litan while the 100th Brigade attacked up the road towards Kasom. Though the 80th faced little resistance, the 100th would struggle to progress against the fierce counterattacks of the recently-arrived 67th Regiment. By mid-June, the 51st Regiment was also ordered to abandon its positions and support the 67th on the Ukhrul Road.  Over in the southwest front, the arrival of reinforcements in the form of the 2nd Battalion, under the command of Colonel Yanagisawa Kanji at the end of May, gave General Tanaka a gleam of hope that he could launch another offensive in early June. On June 6th, four battalions under Colonel Sasahara attacked the 63rd Brigade's hill positions, applying such great pressure, General Cowan was forced to withdraw his brigade to Bishenpur the following day. On June 7th, Tanaka ordered his recently-arrived reinforcements to clear Ningthoukhong and retake Potsangbam, yet their first coordinated attack would end in failure. The attack was almost single-handedly held by Sergeant Hanson Victor Turner of the 1st West Yorks. Defending his platoon's position on the perimeter, Turner grabbed some grenades and charged forward, throwing them at the Japanese. He did this five times, going back to gather grenades each time and returning to the attack in the face of Japanese grenade and small-arms fire. He was killed on the sixth occasion while throwing a grenade. For his bravery, Turner was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. The Japanese eventually captured some ground in North Ningthoukhong, but withdrew after being struck from the air and shelled. In the meantime, after the Japanese defeat at the Gibraltar Box, the Yamamoto Detachment would continue to harass the British-Indian positions from Nippon and Scraggy Hills in early June. On the evening of June 9, the Japanese put in their last major attack on Scraggy, starting with a heavy artillery bombardment. Artillery concentrations were directed at the Japanese and an airstrike was made on their part of Scraggy and Lynch. The Gurkhas followed up with an advance. Although some ground was recovered, the Japanese maintained their grip on Scraggy's crest. Having suffered many casualties and feeling that the Gurkhas' new position was sufficiently strong, General Roberts then decided to halt the counterattacks, thus leaving General Yamamoto in control of Scraggy up until the end of July. Concurrently, as a last hope to break through towards Imphal, Mutaguchi was planning to conduct a desperate offensive on Palel with some reinforcements that would fail to arrive in time. Due to these delays, he would end up sending some of Yamamoto's exhausted troops to recover Langgol and advance to the hill northeast of Palel. The Japanese managed to get beyond Langgol and attack some positions in the foothills near Palel Airfield, but were soon rebuffed. They finally sent in a commando raid on the airfield in early July, which succeeded in blowing up eight planes. Over in Ningthoukhong, Tanaka launched another heavy assault on June 12th. Though a salient on the other side was initially captured, a ferocious counterattack would ultimately evict them. This action was performed by units of the 48th Brigade, including reinforcements sent from Potsangbam.  Rifleman Ganju Lama of the 1/7th Gurkha Rifles who earned a Victoria Cross in this action. To the west, Tanaka ordered the newly-arrived 151st Regiment of Colonel Hashimoto Kumakoro to attack the British picquets overlooking the Silchar Track. After a wave of assaults, Water Picquet would fall on June 21; yet the 32nd Brigade would respond immediately with a series of counterattacks that developed into confused fighting as positions were won and lost by both sides.  On the night of 25 June, no less than a company of Japanese began attacking Mortar Bluff, a picquet position bereft of cover and a short distance away from Water Picquet. It was held by a small garrison of some 40-odd men of the 2/5th Royal Gurkha Rifles who had replaced the 7/10th Baluchis. In pouring rain, the Japanese first bombarded the position with mortars and guns at point-blank range. For the next few hours, the infantry repeatedly attacked the surrounded and dwindling garrison. Subedar Netra Bahadur Thapa defended the besieged position almost through the night, organizing counter-attacks with whatever ammunition and grenades his unit had left. The Japanese finally overran Mortar Bluff the next morning, with Netra Bahadur Thapa fighting to his death. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. A few hours later, a company of the same unit formed for a counterattack on Mortar Bluff. In the face of heavy fire, Naik Agan Singh Rai led his section in charging a Japanese machine-gun post and killing its crew. It then recaptured Mortar Bluff and neutralized a 37mm gun position and crew. Rai now advanced on a Japanese bunker and killed its occupants, after which his company also recovered Water Picquet. For his actions that day, Rai won the Victoria Cross, the second for the 2/5th Royal Gurkha Rifles the same day. Faced with such counter-attacks and intense artillery fire from Gun Box, the last throw of the Japanese 33rd Division around the Silchar Track ended in failure. This left Hashimoto and Tanaka empty-handed for all the losses they had suffered. Tanaka was forced to withdraw units before they were annihilated. On July 2st the 214th Infantry, with only 400 effectives remaining, completed its withdrawal to the area south of Nouyangtek and the 151st was directed to move back to Laimanai. Having been decimated by sickness and straggling en route to the front, the strength of the entire 151st Infantry Regiment was, at that time, less than 100 men. Back in the north, Briggs' units continued to struggle for control of the Satarmaina area. The struggle over the next week centered on the main feature east of the road, the hill named Liver. The 3/9th Jats attacked repeatedly to try to dislodge the Japanese from this feature. One such attempt was made on June 15th, when Hurribombers strafed the hill, followed by heavy artillery concentrations from 25-pdrs, 3.7in  howitzers and 3in  mortars. A Jat company climbed the hill, but had to withdraw some 100 meters from its objective because of heavy machine-gun fire. At the same time, the 1/17th Dogras were sent off on a wide hook left of the road and the 3/14th Punjabis were able to secure the Octopus position by June 20.  North of them, Grover's troops would also be able to break through Maram and continue south down the road on June 20, finally meeting the Dogras two days later. Beaten, Miyazaki had nonetheless fulfilled his task and could now withdraw east towards Ukhrul. Sato's rearguard fought determinedly. Often a few men with an artillery piece, grenades and a machine-gun would take up positions on the high ground above tracks, ambushing the British advance guards before melting away to repeat the performance a few km further back or, as was often the case, remaining obstinately in their positions until they were killed. Few were free from disease and fatigue, but surrender played no part in these men's vocabulary; they fought on till overtaken by a British bullet or bayonet or, more often, by starvation and exhaustion. But the 31st Division had literally fought itself to death. Exhausted men lay in pits unable to defend themselves, suicide squads with anti-tank mines tottered towards the advancing Lee Grants and Stuarts to be mown down by accompanying infantry, or obliterated by shellfire Although the battered 31st Division would manage to survive the Kohima disaster, General Sato would be relieved of his command as he had refused to carry Mutaguchi's orders numerous times. As a result, Miyazaki was promoted to Lt-General and given temporary command of the division by the end of June. Meanwhile, though his men had resisted like demons, Matsumura now had no choice but to abandon the road and retreat east towards Ukhrul with what remained of his command due to this new threat to the north. On June 21, the Liver position would fall at last. Again, the Japanese positions were bombed and strafed from the air, this time by three squadrons of Hurribombers for half an hour. The 4th and 28th Field Regiments, as well as a troop of the 8th Medium Regiment, fired a concentration on Liver that covered it in dust and smoke. Three companies of the Jats now went in, and yet this attack was also held by the Japanese on and around Liver. They had had enough, however, and by the next morning were found to have withdrawn from the feature. The Jats suffered around 150 casualties that week, including 33 killed. The 15th Division would adopt new defensive positions at Ukhrul to cover the withdrawal of Miyazaki and Matsumura. The main force of the 15th Division then went into defense positions in a line extending generally from Ukhrul through Tongou, Shongphel and Aishan to the 3524 Pass in order to be in position to cover and pick up the Right Assault Unit and the Miyazaki Detachment as they withdrew to the east. In order to hold the new defense positions, all available men, including all those in the rear service units, were thrown into the line. Finally the Imphal-Kohima road was reopened. Slim knew while the battle was not yet over, it had already been won. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. The landings at Biak was another allied success. The first tank battle of the war in the Southwest Pacific Area saw the American Sherman's absolutely devastate Japanese Type-95's. Within the Burma front, General Slim had finally reopened the Imphal-Kohima road spelling doom for Mutaguchi's failed offensive.  

Abbas is joined by comedian Hassan Chaudhry, and they chat living with his dad, Brampton strip clubs, Punjabis vs. Texans, and getting bit by a dog. upcoming shows TORONTO - MAY 31 BROOKLYN - JUNE 6 PHILADELPHIA - JUNE 7 SEATTLE - JUNE 13 CHICAGO - JUNE 14 HOUSTON - JUNE 20 AUSTIN - JUNE 22 SAN FRANCISCO - JUNE 27 Tell me what city to go to next! https://shorturl.at/cdJX4 socials Abbas Instagram: www.instagram.com/abbaswahab_/ Hassan Instagram: www.instagram.com/hassanbollywoodstar

Last time we spoke about the remarkable success of Operation Reckless and Persecution.  Colonel Oliver Newman led the drive towards Hollandia's airfields, encountering scattered opposition and discovering large undefended Japanese supply dumps. General MacArthur was forced to postpone future plans until May 21st. Meanwhile, Allied submarine interceptions disrupted IJN troop movements, and Task Force 58's airstrikes neutralized Truk. Within Burma, General Stilwell's offensive faced challenges from Japanese resistance and heavy monsoon rains. Despite setbacks, the 22nd Division aimed to capture Inkangahtawng while Chinese forces engaged the enemy along various fronts. Chindits continued Operation Thursday, facing logistical hurdles and Japanese attacks. Colonel Kinnison's Marauders encountered strong resistance near Tingkrukawng, while Colonel Hunter's force successfully surprised the Japanese at Myitkyina.  This episode is the Japanese Defeat at Imphal and Kohima Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  We are jumping right back into the heat of General Mutaguchi's insane Operation U-Go. Poor General Yamauchi after suffering a devastating defeat at Nungshigum, was now facing allied tanks he simply had no answer for. Yamauchi ordered his men to dig in around Sendgmai and Kanglatongbi, basically so they would at least be hung around the Kohima-Imphal road. The allies answer to this was 6000 sorties, dropping 1000 bombs in the sector. It was a tremendous amount of damage, but the Japanese did benefit from bunkers. Yamauchi's 15th Division due north of Imphal were now being contained successfully, allowing General Briggs and Roberts to initiate their own counter offensives by the end of April. Simultaneously the 33rd Division was struggling to advance upon Bishenpur and the Shenam Saddle; over at Kohima, General Sato's 31st Division was reluctantly falling onto the defensive as the looming threat of a full British-Indian counteroffensive was dawning upon them. Imphal was still facing a grave threat from the Japanese along the Tiddim Road. Mutaguchi was personally directing the 33rd Divisions actions around Bishenpur at this time. Mutaguchi planned a three-pronged attack, one prong along the Tiddim Road, another down south from the Silchar Track by the 215th Regiment and a lastly from the north by the 214th Regiment. For the assault the 33rd Division received reinforcements in the form of the 14th Tank Regiment; the 2nd Battalion, 18th Heavy Field Artillery Regiment; and the 1st Anti-Tank Battalion from the Yamamoto Detachment. In late May they would also be receiving the 151st regiment and the 14th Tank regiment, amongst other units. This of course meant other units like the Yamamoto Detachment were being deprived of men, thus they in turn would be reinforced. The Yamamoto Detachment received the 2nd battalion, 51st regiment who were previously engaged with the Chindits at Indaw. They would arrive at Kampang after the fall of Crete West. Now in preparation for Mutaguchis renewed offensive the IJA would be tossing aircraft against the Gun Box in Bsihenpur. The Japanese Army Air Force made four air raids on the Gun Box position in Bishenpur in the first ten days of May. There was good reason for this, for at Gun Box the 32nd Indian Brigade had concentrated its artillery support. This included four 3.7in. howitzers, eight 25-pdrs, six 6-pdrs and three A/A guns. From here the guns were able to support the infantry's actions both on and around the Silchar Track, as well as the villages on the Tiddim Road such as Potsangbam. The Japanese heavy field artillery was at Khoirentak. The 215th regiment meanwhile performed some preliminary attacks against the positions at Ngarangial. Attacks began in early May against positions between Wireless Hill and Ngarangial, with two battalions attacking from the north and one from the south. The enemy, in strong positions, withstood a series of attacks which continued until the middle of May. While Mutaguchi waited for reinforcements to arrive so he could renew his southern offensive, Generals Yamamoto and Gracey were slugging it out for control over Crete West. The extremely exhausted 3rd battalion, 213 Regiment finally made a break through against the Lynch Pimple on the 8th,  forcing the 80th Brigade to evacuate Crete West two days later. On the night of the 10th, Yamamoto launched his first attacks against Scraggy Hill, which was extensively shelled, followed by a massive infantry assault: in classic style, wave upon wave of Japanese soldiers crashed on Scraggy, overwhelming its forward defenses. A point was finally reached in the night when the British battalion commander on Scraggy felt that the hill would fall unless supporting artillery fire was directed on his own positions. This was called in and the Japanese advance finally halted on the morning of 11th. But parts of Scraggy were now under the control of Yamamoto Force, which dug in. General Scoones reacted by relieving the exhausted 20th Division with the fresher 23rd Division of General Roberts. The new arrivals were shocked to see the conditions on the forward positions of the Shenam Saddle. Scraggy stood out. The Japanese were on part of the hill, while the rest of it was under British control. Trenches and bunkers covered the feature; in places, mere meters separated the two sides' front trenches. Bits of body parts of soldiers lay everywhere and a terrible stench covered the hillside. Now Cowan was planning a counter to Mutaguchis incoming offensive. He planned for an anvil and hammer maneuver; the hammer would be the 63rd Indian Brigade recently relieved from Sekmai in the first week of May by the 89th Indian Brigade. They would push down from Bishenpur towards Potsangbam, Ningthoukhong and even further south while the 48th Brigade established a roadblock on the Tiddim Road around Torbung, deep behind enemy lines. Cowan hoped to crush the 33rd Division along the road between his hammer and anvil while also cutting off the incoming Japanese reinforcements. Thus Brigadier Ronald Cameron's 48th Brigade stealthily advanced south along the eastern shore of Lake Loktak, crossed the Manipur River at Shuganu. It was a long grueling march. Simultaneously, Brigadier Guy Burton's 63rd Brigade advanced south against Potsangbam on the 10th. In their frustrated push southwards on the Tiddim Road, Burton's men had to deal first with the determined Japanese defense of Potsangbam. Burton took over on the 9th from Mackenzie's 32nd Indian Brigade, which had gained a foothold in the village the day before and was now to give its full attention to the Silchar Track. The 63rd Indian Brigade put in a first attack on Potsangbam on 10th. This involved two Gurkha battalions, each supported by a troop of tanks from the 3rd Carabiniers. The area they targeted was the main part of the village east of the Tiddim Road. The initial full frontal attacks failed to make much progress. Burton then changed tack against the Japanese, who had withdrawn to their main defenses south of the Potsangbam turel. He called for a heavy artillery bombardment from the same direction as before in the northern half of Potsangbam to make it appear that he was repeating the previous line of attack. Except this time he instructed one of his battalions to pass secretly behind the other and make for the area to the immediate east of the road. The move worked and the road through the village and its immediate vicinity were captured by the 15th. The Tiddim Road through Potsangbam was now open, although the Japanese still held on in parts of the village. But it had all taken much longer than expected. While the anvil at Torbung was about to be put in place, the hammer had only inched forward. After a long and difficult march, the brigade arrived near Torbung in mid-May. The roadblock was set up on 17th where three nullahs crossed the road near Milestone 33. To the east were several low-lying hills where brigade headquarters was established, centered on one called Point 3404. The sluggish Khuga River flowed between the hills and the road. In the Torbung sector, the Americas surprised Lt. Colonel Matsuki of the 33rd Supply Regiment, who was given the mission of reopening the line of communications using whatever troops were available in the immediate area. A composite company from the 33rd Supply Regiment, which had been deployed in the Mountainous area west of Churachandpur, held Hill 4358 against several enemy attacks. On the night of 17th, approximately 100 men of the 33rd Supply Regiment were gathered from rear elements to make the first attack on the roadblock. The attacking group was mounted on trucks and the leaders miscalculating the location of the enemy position drove squarely up to the roadblock and the entire attacking unit was virtually annihilated. Mutaguchi reacted furiously to this by unleashing artillery fire upon Point 3404 and the roadblock from the surrounding hills. Cameron's guns responded with retaliatory fire. Simultaneously Mutaguchi tossed his 1st battalion, 67th regiment against the Torbung roadblock, but Cameron's men held on inflicting tremendous casualties against the Japanese. Meanwhile Burton unleashed an attack against the hills immediately west of the road in the hopes of cutting off the supply line of the 214th and 215th Regiments. The 63rd rigade set off on 18th; the next day it had captured the villages of Tokpa Khul and Kha Aimol, and near them Three Pimple Hill and OP Hill respectively. This directly threatened the 33rd Divisions HQ at Laimanai. Mutaguchi reacted by abandoning the assaults from the west and south, and redirected the 215th Regiment to deal with Burton's 63rd division. All three of Sasahara's battalions were thrown into the counterattack, the first of which went in on the 20th. Another major assault was made two days later; both were driven off. The Japanese lost over 110 men. But they persisted and put in further attacks over the next week, frustrating any further movement southwards for the 63rd Indian Brigade. The Japanese failed to clear Burton's position, their relentless attacks would completely pin down the 63rd Brigade, thus preventing any further movement southwards.  Now at this point the 32nd Brigade had managed to recapture Wireless Hill, prompting Mutaguchi to abandon Potsangbam by the 24th. The 4th Independent Engineer Regiment and 2nd battalion, 213th Regiment fell back to Ningthoukhong. Mutaguchi then tossed another battalion to help out in the attack against Burton's 63rd division. Without further support of the hammer, Cameron's anvil force had to repel a coordinated tank-infantry attack on the 21st and again on the 23rd. The 2nd Battalion, 154th Infantry Regiment and a composite company from the 14th Tank Regiment attacked on the 21st and again on the 23rd but were not only unsuccessful in dislodging the enemy, but also suffered extremely heavy losses. Two tanks were destroyed during these attacks. Though the anvil held firm, Burton's failed attempts to continue the push south would ultimately force Cameron to abandon the roadblock and head back.  On May 24th, the 48th Brigade was fighting through Bishenpur heading up the road finally linking up with the other brigade around Potsangbam. Thus the Torbung roadblock was an enormous success for Cowan, his men had inflicted 500 casualties and disrupted Mutaguchi's plan completely. Now Mutaguchi chose to go ahead with only part of his original plan, the attack from the north that would be carried out by Colonel Sakuma Takayoshi's 214th regiment. To oversee the Bishenpur offensive,  Major-General Tanaka Nobuo was appointed in command of the 33rd Division. Leaving Bungte on the night of the 19th, Sakuma's 1st battalion advanced south to attack Bishenpur from the north, while the 2nd battalion moved north from Wainen and attacked Hill 2926. Yet as they tried to storm Point 2926, they were beaten off by a platoon of the 7/10th Baluchs. Failing to take the peak, they captured the southern part of the feature and parts of the adjacent Maibam village. The 1st battalion proceeded with their assault against Bishenpur targeting the area at the northern end of the village, near the junction between the Tiddim Road and the Silchar Track. This is also the area where the Gun Box was. Once they had managed to infiltrate the road junction area, however, the Japanese were repeatedly counter-attacked in the next few days, British tanks firing on their positions at close range. Without any anti-tank guns and the British tanks firing on their positions at close range, they were ultimately wiped out.  Back over with the 2nd Battalion, they had successfully captured Maibam village and Hill 2926, very close to Cowan's headquarters, so the British would have to direct several reinforcements to lay siege on these enemy positions. Early on the 26th, Sakuma directed a composite company to launch a last charge on Bishenpur from the north, but this attack would also end in failure. Cowan then directed the brigade-strength Woodforce to evict the Japanese from Hill 2926.  Woodforce consisted of the 50th Indian Parachute Brigade's HQ, commanded by Brigadier Woods and was a composite force of tanks, artillery, sappers and infantry. Taking over the front on the 26th, Woodforce mounted robust counter-attacks over the next two days, finally overcoming all opposition and recapturing the hill and Maibam by the 29th. With most of the 33rd Division fighting to reopen the Tiddim road at Torbung, Sakuma's 214th Regiment was left to extricate itself as best it could. But the fall of the Torbung roadblock on the 24th also allowed Mutaguchi's reinforcements to finally reinforce Ningthoukong in preparation for an attack on Potsangbam.  At this point, the balance of power had shifted very definitely to the allies. Sakuma's early success at Hill 2926 was the closest any Japanese would get to Imphal from the south. Meanwhile General Yamamoto's attacks against the Shenam Saddle resumed on the 20th, with his men rushing the crest of Scraggy in waves throwing gelignite bombs and grenades, but ultimately getting pushed back each time. Meanwhile the 2nd battalion, 51st regiment and 1st battalion, 60th regiment began an attack against Gibraltar, a very steep hill along the saddle. Their initial attacks were repelled easily, but on the night of the 23rd they managed to gain a foothold on Gibraltar's crest and this in effect cut off the 37th Indian brigade at Malta and Scraggy. With the Fourteenth Army units on Malta and Scraggy cut off, the fate of the entire Shenam Saddle now hung in the balance, but the very next day the hill was recovered by a counter-attack led by the 5/6th Rajputana Rifles and 3/10th Gurkha Rifles. Gibraltar would be the farthest the Japanese would be able to advance on the Shenam Saddle and the closest they came to breaking through; and from then on, a stalemate developed with neither side making any important moves. After the Japanese had been evicted from Gibraltar on the 24th, they did not follow up with another major attempt to push through the Shenam Saddle for a fortnight. But there was never really a quiet moment on these heights. Sniper fire was ever-present, as was the booming of artillery guns. The situation was the worst on Scraggy, where both sides continued to maintain their respective positions. The British and Indian units here would be fired on from Nippon Hill, besides being subjected to rifle fire, mortaring and grenade attacks from Scraggy itself. To the north, General Brigg's resumed his counteroffensive against Molvom, tossing his 9th Brigade into a series of attacks against the Japanese held Hump. The infantry put in several attacks against the Hump, suffering increasing casualties. The men of the 3/14th Punjabis attacked Hump at least half a dozen times that month. Despite it all, the Japanese were still found in their bunkers at the end of May. Sited on the reverse slopes of Hump, their bunkers were difficult to target by guns firing from the other side. Even when they were hit, they were so solidly built that they suffered little damage. The defenders of Hump would wait until the 3/14th Punjabis neared the crest; they would then let loose a barrage of machine-gun fire and grenade attacks. Attack after attack had to be called off in the face of such furious resistance. Though heavy artillery and mortar fire and repeated air strikes were called in on it, the tenacious Japanese defenders would successfully repel all British-Indian attacks throughout early May.  On the other side, realizing the vital need for artillery support, General Yamauchi decided to bring to the front the field guns that had been left east of the Chindwin River. He also was reinforced with the 2nd Battalion, 67th Regiment, which would seize Lamu on May 10th, securing the rear of the 15th Division. On the 15th, thanks to the timely arrival of the 89th and 123rd Brigades, Briggs was able to renew his assaults in front of Sekmai with greater intensity, finally clearing Kanglatongbi and the hills to the immediate east six days later.  Colonel Matsumura responded by creating new defensive positions around Modbung. As the month came to a close, Briggs decided to concentrate both his division's brigades on the Imphal–Kohima Road. The 9th Indian Brigade was to be brought on to the road, swapping places with the 89th Indian Brigade, which would move to the Iril River Valley. The opening of the Imphal–Kohima Road was a far greater priority than clearing the Mapao– Molvom Range. The Japanese defenders of the latter would be left where they had hung on for weeks. In any case, the opening of the road was likely to encourage them much more to leave than any direct attacks on their positions.  On May 15th Yamauchi was relieved of his command. Yamauchi had really drawn the short end of the straw. As he admitted at the time, his men simply had no answer to the British tanks. His men had thrown themselves into the jungle as lightly as possible in order to strike Imphal quickly, so they did not have effective anti-tank weapons. Ymauchi's division was always the Japanese weak spot, but they valiantly had refused to lift their roadblock at Kanglatongbi. As a last desperate throw, Yamauchi had ordered the use of poison gas. Yamauchi was also a man who understood how strong the allies were, especially America. Unlike the xenophobic and ignorant Tojo and Mutaguchi, Yamauchi had spent time in the USA and this led him to be quite pessimistic. Regardless, without anti-tank weapons it was quite hopeless. Yamauchi was carried from the battlefield on a litter and would later die in a hospital in Maymyo. Back over at Kohima, Generals Stopford and Grover were continuing their counteroffensive. Brigadiers 4th Brigade were occupying Oaks Hill when on May 1st, they began to descend during  The Royal Scots stopped their advance and reoccupied Oaks Hill, the brigade artillery back in Jotsoma was on standby to pound any Japanese positions the Norfolks, who were pressing on down the ridge, encountered. The Japanese, alert now to the dangerous presence of enemy troops above them, moved up against Oaks Hill and fought hard to expel the Royal Scots during that first night, with no success. The morning that followed a night of screaming, fear-inducing attacks found the jungle undergrowth littered with Japanese bodies. It was usual practice for the Japanese to take away their dead and wounded, but on this occasion there were too few Japanese survivors for the task. As the Royal Scots repelled numerous enemy counterattacks, the Norfolks were continuing their descent towards the GPT ridge. On May 4th, the Norfolks found themselves in a good position to assault the crests of the ridge. They stormed up catching the Japanese by surprise, managing to seize numerous bunkers. At the same time, the 161st Brigade was able to seize the area southeast of Two Tree Hill, but the Japanese had a complex bunker system there preventing them from linking Jotsoma with Pulebadze. The bunker complex on GPT Ridge was much more substantial than the British had expected, with literally dozens of small, carefully sited bunkers littering the entire area with interlocking arcs of fire, while the entire position was also covered by Japanese machine guns further to the east on the Aradura Spur. No sooner would one be discovered and attacked, than another would open up against the attackers from somewhere else. Until the entirety of GPT Ridge was cleared, Goschen's brigade could not enjoy the shortcut through to Jotsoma via Two Tree Hill; the road to Imphal remained in Japanese hands and their machine guns continued to spray fire on 6th Brigade's exposed right flank. Within the center the 6th Brigade was attacking Kuki Piquet and FSD Hill. While the attack against Kuki Piquet was not seeing much progress, they did gain a toehold atop FSD Hill. Further north, the 5th Brigade were able to bypass the 138th regiments position on Merema Ridge. They managed to secure a small part of Naga Village by the end of the day. Being close in proximity to General Sato's HQ, the response from the Japanese was a series of fierce counterattacks. THe 33rd battalion, 14th regiment stormed the Cameron Highlanders who did not have time to consolidate their success by digging in, and heavy Japanese mortar fire at daylight forced the Jocks back to the western edge of the hill. Here Hawkins had them dig to secure the ground that had been seized and the Worcesters, who had protected the flanks of the night advance, were called up to help build a defensive position able to resist counterattack. The rain was by now constant. Everyone was drenched to the skin. The next morning the Japanese Air Force made one of their occasional forays into the deep valley that flowed out of the Kohima Ridge westward, but to limited effect.  Meanwhile Brigadier Frederick Loftus-Tottenham's newly arrived 33rd Brigade was in the process of reinforcing the exhausted 6th Brigade at Kohima Ridge, with preparations being made for a renewed general counteroffensive. Meanwhile, over on Pulebadze on the 6th, B Company of the Norfolks, commanded by Captain Jack Randle, was ordered to seize the remaining part of the bunker position at the bottom of GPT Ridge, while the 4/lst Gurkhas of , assisting the breakthrough in the center against Kohima Ridge and Jail Hill, were to attack the lower, western slopes of GPT Ridge. In these attacks the Norfolks were to seize the remaining Japanese bunkers but at high cost, in which Capt. Randle was awarded the posthumous VC.  The Norfolks remained in the positions they had seized and, after a night of heavy rain, a further attempt to attack the remaining Japanese positions was made at first light on the morning of 7 May by the 4/lst Gurkhas and the Royal Scots. It was important that this operation was successful, as at 10.30am an attempt was to be made by the 1st Queen's - part of 33rd Indian Brigade, who had arrived at Kohima exhausted and malaria-ridden from Arakan the day before - on Jail Hill. If the machine-gun nests on GPT Ridge could be wiped out before the Queen's attacked they would enjoy a much higher chance of success. The only result of this failed assault would be the death of Brigadier Goschen, shot by snipers.  The Queen's, aware that 4th Brigade had not managed to secure GPT Ridge, nevertheless went in against Jail Hill as planned and were slaughtered. In retrospect the attack was premature, but Stopford continued to demand speed to remove the Japanese stranglehold on Kohima in order to relieve beleaguered Imphal. There was a belief in some higher quarters - held in particular by those whose only experience of the terrain came from reading a map in the comfort of a headquarters tent in the rear - that 2nd Division's offensive lacked pace. These accusations were preposterous to the hard-pressed men on the ground. It was impossible for commanders and staff officers in the rear who could not see the ground to understand how a small piece of jungle-topped hillside could absorb the best part of a brigade; how a small group of well-sited bunkers could hold up an advance until every single one - together with every single occupant - had been systematically destroyed; how only medium artillery could penetrate the roof of a Japanese trench; how only direct and short-range sniping by Lee/Grant tanks was guaranteed to defeat a Japanese bunker; how the desperate terrain, incessant rain and humidity led even the fittest men to tire quickly and what an extraordinarily determined opponent they faced. With few exceptions, the Japanese gave in only when they were dead. Every conscious man who could lift a weapon fought until he collapsed.  Due to these defeats, the British-Indian morale plummeted, even though Sato's men were also facing a serious supply problem that was further weakening them with each passing day.  Nevertheless, the Japanese continued a brave defense under heavy artillery, mortar and aerial bombardment. Sato's defensive technique, while it was not going to enable him to break through Kohima by dint of offensive action, was designed to do the next best thing: to draw the enemy onto defences of great complexity and depth and to break them there, both physically and morally. In so doing his troops had to withstand the sort of conditions few other soldiers in history could have survived. They did so, and very nearly succeeded in persuading Stopford that battering through Kohima was an impossible task. Between the 4th and the 'Black 7th', for instance, the 38 3.7in. mountain guns dug in around Jotsoma fired over 3,000 rounds, the 48 25-pdrs fired over 7,000 rounds and the big 5.5in. guns of the medium artillery fired more than 1,500 shells at the Japanese positions, not to mention the almost continuous salvoes from the 3in. mortars of the infantry battalions and the constant strafing and bombing by Hurricanes and Vengeance dive-bombers. For the next few days, General Stopford's brigades were slowly reducing the Japanese defenses. British progress, though slow, remained sure, even though it seemed to the troops on the ground as if this battle would go on for ever. 4th Brigade cleared GPT Ridge on 11 May, by which time further costly attacks by the British 6th and 33rd Indian Brigades had finally forced the Japanese to relinquish their hold on Pimple, FSD and Jail hills, the latter of which was captured by the Queen's and C Company, 4/lst Gurkha Rifles. The tide was slowly - and painfully - beginning to turn. On the days that followed, the positions seized on 11 and 12 May were carefully consolidated, the remaining Japanese being exterminated one by one, sniper by sniper and gun by gun. The Berkshires cleared FSD Hill on 12 May, discovering that the Japanese had honeycombed the hill with tunnels, creating an elaborate underground fortress that included a battalion headquarters, repair shop, ammunition storage dump and hospital. Those Japanese bunkers on the western edge of the ridge that remained out of reach of the British artillery could now be engaged directly and at pointblank range by the Lee/Grants, trundling up the road that divides DIS and Jail hills. They did so to the cheers of the British and Indian infantry, who found themselves hugging the ground as the 75mm smashed the enemy foxholes only metres from them, the ground shaking and the shockwave of the blast sucking out their breath and showering them with dirt and debris. The capture of the southern part of Kohima Ridge a full 37 days after the arrival of Sato's units would force the Japanese to retreat to a secondary defensive line north of Aradura. On the 15th, patrols of the 5th Brigade advanced down from Naga Hill, securing Treasury Hill before meeting up with the exhausted victors of Kohima Ridge who were advancing along the Imphal road. Yet that is all for the India front, as we now need to jump back over to check out what is going on with Operation Ichi-Go. After the fall of Xuchang, General Uchiyama dispatched some units south to attack Luohe, while the bulk of his 12th Army advanced north to capture Luoyang and hopefully annihilate General Enbo's 31st Army Group. On May 2nd, General Uchiyama dispatched the 110th Division against Dengfeng, the 62nd Division against Yuzhou and the bulk of his 37th Division, 3rd armored division and 4th cavalry Brigade against Jia and Ruzhou. On 2nd, the 4th Cavalry Brigade defeated the enemy force in the sector southwest of Yingchiaochen and, on the 4th, advanced to the sector northwest of Linju. The 3rd Armored Division routed the retreating enemy heading west and, on the 4th, mopped up the enemy in the vicinity of Linju. Also on the 4th, the 37th Division arrived at Linju. On the same day, the 7th Independent Mixed Brigade occupied Hsiangcheng. on the 3rd the 62nd defeated the 29th Army at Yuzhou while the 3rd Armored Division and the 4th Cavalry Brigade pursued the retreating Chinese towards Ruzhou. On the 4th, Uchiyama's main forces were able to capture Ruzhou and the 110th Division managed to dislodge the 13th Army's position east of Dengfeng. After this Uchiyama's main forces enveloped the area, annihilating the 13th and 29th Armies at Dengfeng while the 62nd and 110th Divisions made a frontal assault of the city. Alongside this the 7th Independent Mixed Brigade attacked the enemy near Likouzhen. Yet before Uchiyama's men could complete the envelopment, General Enbo's men pulled out towards Tangjiezhen and Changshuixiang around midnight on the 5th. On the 7th, the 37th Division and 7th Brigade managed to envelop Tangjiezhen, and with air support inflicted heavy casualties on the outflanked defenders. Simultaneously, the 27th Division captured Luohe and Suipin. General Yokoyama had dispatched the 11th Independent Brigade to aid Uchiyamas men from the south, facing little resistance as they captured Queshan and Zhumadian before linking up with the 27th Division on the 11th.  On the other side, General Jiang Dingwen's 1st War Area Army was regrouping the bulk of its forces along the Luoyang-Yiyang line. General Okamura Ysuji ordered the 12th Army to advance upon Luoyang while Lt General Yoshimoto Teiichi's 1st Army crossed the Yellow River to try and cut off the Chinese retreat at Xin'An and Xiashichiang. Having defeated the enemy in the sector southwest of Dengfeng, the 12th Army continued to keep the enemy in the Loyang area under strict observation while, at the same time, it ordered the 110th Division to pursue the enemy toward Iyang, the 62nd Division to pursue them toward Pingteng, the main force of the 3rd Armored Division toward Iyang and Hsinan and the 4th Cavalry Brigade to the western sector of Pingteng. Okamura dispatched his reserve 63rd Division led by Lt General Nozoe Masanori to try and break through at Sishuizhen so they could join the attack upon Luoyang. They were successful and in the process, defeated the 177th Division and managed to reach the northeastern sector of Luoyang by the 12th. With assistance from the 59th Brigade coming from the west, Nozoe captured Xin'an by the 14th. The 62nd Division and the 4th Cavalry Brigade captured Pingdengxiang on the 13th and part of the 110th Division captured Yiyang on the 14th. Most of the 110th Division, however, moved to Lungmenchieh below Luoyang. The 3rd Armored Division also reached the area southwest of Lungmenchieh at this point. The 37th Division, meanwhile, was directed to move towards Sunghsien. These actions effectively enveloped Luoyang as Uchiyama had his 110th Division advance through the Luohe River Valley; Yoshimoto's men advance to Sanmenxia which would fall by the 18th. The 37th Division captured Song alongside the aidromes at Luoning and Lushi by the 20th. But the main effort would be made by the 63rd Division assisted by elements o the 110th Division who launched the assault against Luoyang, being defended by the 36th Army Group. On the 19th, the 63rd Division initiated its attack against enemy positions on the outskirts of Loyang, however, the enemy positions were so strong that the battle situation did not progress as planned. As a result of this the North China Area Army ordered the 12th Army to place the main force of the 3rd Armored Division and 4th Cavalry Brigade together with part of the 110th Division under the command of the 63rd Division commander. At the same time, the 63rd Division was ordered to defend the railway east of Mienchih. At 1pm on the 23rd, the 12th Army dispatched the 63rd Division to attack Luoyang Castle from the north and northeastern fronts of Luoyang to the northeastern corner of the castle while the 3rd Armored Division was to attack the castle from the western front toward the northwestern corner of the castle. The Army also directed the Cavalry Brigade to capture and destroy the enemy which it was expected would flee to the south at the line of the Lo Ho. On the 24th, the Army-called on the enemy in Luoyang to surrender but they refused. At 1pm, therefore, the Army opened its attack and, on the 25th, completely occupied the castle. During this battle, Lieutenant-General Li Jiayu would heroically die covering the retreat of the remaining troops of his battered 36th Army Group. With the fall of Luoyang and the near destruction of the 1st War Area, Operation Kogo ended in a resounding success for the Japanese, thus securing the South Beijing-Hankou railway. The Japanese estimated over 32000 Chinese casualties and some 7800 troops captured. In turn, they claimed to have lost only 2000 casualties. Interestingly, Operation Kogo also saw the Henan peasants attack the Kuomintang forces in revenge for the Yellow River flood of 1938 and the Henan Famine of 1942. As told to us by General Jiang Dingwen "During the campaign, the unexpected phenomenon was that the people of the mountains in western Henan attacked our troops, taking guns, bullets, and explosives, and even high-powered mortars and radio equipment... They surrounded our troops and killed our officers. We heard this pretty often. The heads of the villages and baojia (village mutual-responsibility groups) just ran away. At the same time, they took away our stored grain, leaving their houses and fields empty, which meant that our officers and soldiers had no food for many days… Actually this is truly painful for me to say: in the end the damages we suffered from the attacks by the people were more serious than the losses from battles with the enemy." In the end, the peasants would be able to disarm over 50000 troops, picking their weapons to defend themselves from the Japanese, but also causing much damage to the Nationalist defense. For their role in this disaster, Generals Dingwen and Enbo would be relieved from their commands, with General Chen Cheng later taking over the 1st War Area in July to oversee its recovery. Meanwhile, the Japanese would continue to prepare for Operation Togo, the Hunan offensive. Yet to finish off this episode we also need to mention some progress in the future plans to invade Wakde. Admiral King had requested support from the British Eastern Fleet. At this time the Eastern Fleet was organized into three forces for Operation Transom, the invasion of Japanese occupied Surabaya. Force 65 consisted of Battleships Queen Elizabeth, Valiant, Renown, the French battleship Richelieu, two cruisers and eight destroyers, under the direct command of Admiral Somerville; Force 66 consisted of aircraft carriers Illustrious, Saratoga, two cruisers and six destroyers, under the command of Rear-Admiral Clement Moody aboard Illustrious. Force 67 was the replenishment group and comprised six tankers, a water distilling ship and the cruisers London and Suffolk. Somerville commanded the entire fleet from Queen Elizabeth. The warships were drawn from six navies, the capital ships being accompanied by three American destroyers, four British cruisers and three destroyers, four Australian destroyers, a Dutch cruiser and destroyer and a New Zealand cruiser. The Australian light cruiser HMAS Adelaide also sailed from Fremantle in Western Australia to protect the tankers while they were at Exmouth Gulf; this allowed their two escorting cruisers to augment Force 66 during the attack. Two squadrons of Supermarine Spitfire fighters were transferred from No. 1 Wing RAAF at Darwin to Exmouth Gulf to protect the Eastern Fleet while it refueled and Australian and American maritime patrol aircraft were assigned to operate offshore. Each carrier had an air group made up of units from their parent navies. Illustrious embarked two squadrons equipped with 14 Vought F4U Corsair fighters each and two squadrons with nine Avengers. Saratoga's air group comprised a squadron with 26 Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters, a squadron with 24 Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers and a squadron operating 18 Avenger torpedo bombers, as well as a single Hellcat allocated to the Air Group Leader. As for Surabaya, its defenses against air attack at the time of Operation Transom included a few anti-aircraft guns, whose crews were inadequately trained. Radar stations and a network of observer posts were also sited to detect minelaying aircraft. The Japanese forces stationed in the city included the Imperial Japanese Army's 28th Independent Mixed Brigade and the headquarters of the Imperial Japanese Navy's 2nd Southern Expeditionary Fleet under Vice-Admiral Mikawa Gunichi. Because of the distance to be covered from Ceylon and the Royal Navy's lack of experience in underway replenishment, the final plans for the operation involved the Eastern Fleet refueling at Exmouth Gulf in Western Australia before striking Surabaya. Force 67 was the first element of the Eastern Fleet to sail, departing on April 30th. Forces 65 and 66 sailed on May 6th. The Allied ships proceeded to Exmouth Gulf on a course that kept them at least 600 miles from Japanese airfields to avoid being detected or attacked. The carriers air wings practiced the attack they would conduct on Surabaya three times during the voyage. The warships arrived at Exmouth Gulf on 14 and 15th ofMay. The Eastern Fleet departed Exmouth Gulf on the afternoon of the 15th and proceeded north. It arrived at the flying off point at 6:30 am local time on the 17th without being detected by the Japanese. One British and seven American submarines also took up positions near Surabaya, the southern entrance to the Strait of Malacca and the Bali, Lombok and Sunda Straits to support the Eastern Fleet. The submarines were positioned to rescue Allied aircrew that were forced down, attack ships that tried to escape from Surabaya and intercept any Japanese warships that attempted to attack the Allied fleet. Operation Transom opened up with 76 aircraft launched from Illustrious and Saratoga. The aircraft launched by the carriers were organized into two strike forces. Force A was made up of nine Avengers from Illustrious, twelve Dauntless dive bombers and an escort of eight Corsairs. Force A's Avengers were to bomb the Braat Engineering Works and the Dauntlesses the oil refinery. Force B was to attack shipping and dock facilities in Surabaya's port. It comprised twenty-one Avengers and six Dauntlesses escorted by eight Corsairs and twelve Hellcats. The commander of Saratoga's air group, Commander Joseph C. Clifton, led both carriers' air wings during the attack. All of the aircraft were launched and formed up with the rest of their force by 7:20 am. Two British Avengers crashed during takeoff, their crews being rescued. The attack on Surabaya commenced at 8:30 am. The Japanese had not detected the aircraft as they approached, and were taken by surprise. The two forces made a well-synchronized attack, Force A approaching Wonokromo from the south and Force B attacking the port from the north. No Japanese fighter aircraft were encountered, and the anti-aircraft guns were largely ineffective. One of Saratoga's Avengers was shot down, and both members of its crew became prisoners of war. The two forces claimed to have damaged 10 ships, demolished the Wonokromo oil refinery and the Braat Engineering Works, destroyed 16 aircraft and leveled several buildings. Saratoga and her three escorting American destroyers detached from the Eastern Fleet shortly before sunset on the 18th, and proceeded to Fremantle. The remainder of the Eastern Fleet reached Exmouth Gulf the next morning, and sailed for Ceylon before sunset after refueling again. Adelaide and one of the Australian destroyers that had been attached to the Eastern Fleet left Exmouth Gulf bound for Fremantle after the tanker group departed on 19 May. The Eastern Fleet arrived back at Ceylon on the 27th. Saratoga reached Bremerton, Washington, on June 10th and after a refit re-joined the Pacific Fleet in September 1944. Though the Japanese would not really divert any forces from western New Guinea in response to the raid and despite the fact that the Japanese claim that not much damage had been inflicted on their shipping or shore facilities, with only one vessel confirmed sunk, Operation Transom would provide Somerville's Eastern Fleet important experience of carrier strike operations and exposure to superior American carrier tactics.  I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. The Allies were gradually countering Operation U-Go as the intense battles at Kohima Ridge and Pulebadze saw British-Indian forces slowly gaining ground amid heavy casualties. Meanwhile, Operation Ichi-Go saw major Japanese successes in China. Lastly Operation Transom saw British-Dutch-American successful carrier strikes against Surabaya, yielding experience despite limited damage.

Last time we spoke about the battle for Kohima and the mop up of the Admiralty islands. The battle for Kohima led to battles raging over the Kohima Ridge. At one point only 2500 allied defenders were facing nearly 15,000 Japanese. Numerous features fell to the Japanese top Kohima ridge. The Japanese were taking heavy casualties while pushing the defenders close to Kohima. A decisive moment presented itself, the Japanese had an open shot against Dimapur. However, mostly because of animosity towards General Mutaguchi the chance to deliver a kill blow was lost. If Dimapur had been taken, it may have changed the entire Burma War. Over in the Admiralty Islands, Los Negros and Manus were finally all mopped up and now the allies had forward airfields to further smash the inner Japanese perimeter. General MacArthurs triumphant return to the Philippines was on its way. This episode is the Defense of India Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  Last we spoke, General Mutaguchi had initiated a grand offensive against Kohima. General Slim, knew the seizure of Kohima would be attempted only in conjunction with the seizure of the much more important target, Dimapur. It was at Dimapur where an enormous allied supply dump lied over the Ledo-Imphal line, it was the hub for which all allied activity in the region revolved. If Dimapur fell, the province of Manipur would be impossible to defend and the Brahmaputra valley would be interdicted thus cutting off all overland supply to China. To everyone's shock the Japanese instead invested an entire division to attack Kohima. Slim thought this was a enormous blunder on the part of General Sato Kotoku, going as far as to ask the RAF not to bomb the Generals HQ as “it never struck him that he could inflict terrible damage on us without taking Kohima at all”. In truth it was not really Sato at fault, it was more so upon his superior General Kawabe Mazakazu who did not trust nor like Mutaguchi and rightly suspected the man's megalomaniac plan to invade India. Thus Mutaguchi's Operation U-Go, the intended invasion of India saw the 33rd and 15th divisions closing in on Imphal by the end of March as the 31st Division attacked Kohima. General Cowan's 17th Division was able to effectively retreat to Imphal by April 4th, with the 49th Brigade acting as rearguard. Meanwhile General Yanagida had just replenished ammunition and provisions after the battle at Tonzang and now ordered the 214th and 215th Regiments to resume their advance. Colonel Sasahara Masahiko's 215th regiment departed Singgel on March 27th and crossed the India-Burma border by April 3rd. They advanced to Churachandpur by the 7th as the 214th followed closely behind them. Meanwhile, the Right Assault Unit, the Yamamoto unit had been in hot pursuit of General Gracey's 20th division since the start of April, and the 3rd battalion, 213th regiment of the Mitsui Unit had just captured the town Chamol. Additionally the 1st battalion, 60th regiment attempted, but failed to break through Laiching Hill in late March. Afterwords the unit was ordered to turn back and attempt a development of Gravey's left flank by Moving through Lamlong and then Kampang in early April. To the north, General Yamauchi's Divisional Headquarters advanced to Kasom on March 28. Yamauchi ordered two companies of the 1st Battalion, 67th Infantry to attack and occupy Kameng, which presented an easy approach route to Imphal. The 123rd Indian Brigade, 5th Indian Division had closed the gap with barbed wire and set up defensive positions in the hills to the immediate north and south of the road. The attack was made on the night of April 3 against the positions held by the 1/17th Dogras of the 123rd Indian Brigade on a hill off the Ukhrul Road, south of the village of Kameng, but failed to achieve its objective. They were then furiously counter-attacked by the guns of the 28th Field Regiment and by the Dogras themselves. A troop of tanks each of the 3rd Carabiniers and 7th Cavalry were also positioned on either side of the hill and fired on what were easy targets. By the next morning, almost 100 Japanese bodies were found; the few survivors had withdrawn. It is believed that the ultimate objective of this attack had been the fair-weather Kangla Airfield farther south. It was now felt the 15th Division's strength was spreed too thinly, thus the Japanese believed their detachments holding along the Imphal-Ukhrul road were badly in need of reinforcement. As such, Yamauchi ordered the 60th and 51st regiments to get into closer contact and by the 4th of April they were moving into positions north of Imphal. On that same day, Colonel Matsumura started moving down the road to seize the supply depot known as the 221 Advance Ordnance Depot, the largest in the Imphal Area justnorth of Kanglatongbi. As Japanese pressure on the road increased, its men and some of the most valuable supplies, including ammunition and explosives, were moved into a defensive area at Kanglatongbi known as Lion Box. The 2nd battalion managed to take Hill 3813 by April 6th, the 3rd battalion was less fortunate facing the Lion Box. The Lion Box had very few fighting troops among the several thousand men within its perimeter. The box was defended against mounting Japanese assaults from 4 to 7 April, while the evacuation of the supplies to Imphal continued apace. Its defense was assisted by units of the 9th Indian Brigade and tanks of the 3rd Carabiniers, who would travel up from Sekmai in the south during the day. On the 5th while the 9th Indian BRigade and tanks of the 3rd Carabiniers were patrolling forward to help out the Lion Box, Cowan's 63rd Brigade arrived to Sekmai to reinforce the northern defenses, and this in turn allowed the 9th Brigade to take up a position to defend Nungshigum. On the 6th, Colonel Omoto's 3rd battalion attacked Nungshigum's northern Hill, known as Hill 3833, successfully overrunning the hastily developed Indian defenses there, while the 1st battalion marched upon Hill 4057. There was a heroic counter attack by a platoon led by 18 year old Jemadar Abdul Hafiz serving as Naib Subedar, Junior Commissioned Officer in the 9th Jat Regiment, British Indian Army. His platoon managed to recover Hill 3833 by the end of the day. Jemadar Abdul Hafiz was tasked with recovering it with two sections of his platoon. He fearlessly led the way and recovered the feature in the face of a hail of machine-gun fire and grenade attacks, killing several Japanese in the process. Injured by now, Hafiz continued the attack, fought to his death and was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. The hill became known as Runaway Hill because of the way the Japanese had fled from Hafiz's brave actions. April the 7th saw a follow-up charge with Omoto's 3rd battalion re-seizing the hills around Nungshigum. In the four days that followed, Nungshigum exchanged hands a couple of times: the 3/9th Jats recovered it, only to lose it again to the Japanese of the 3/51st Battalion by 11 April who dug in well on the northern and southern bumps around Nungshigum. Meanwhile Matsumura was continuing to exert heavy pressure upon the Lion Box, finally forcing the battle weary defenders to evacuate the box as the position became impossible to defend. The valiant efforts of the Lion Box defenders had earned the British-Indian troops valuable time to evacuate a large amount of critical supplies back to Imphal, preventing their use to the Japanese. Do remember Mutaguchi literally planned the entire offensive on the basis their logistical supply line was simply seizing the allies supply depots. That is what we call a bold strategy. Matsumura's troops had suffered heavy casualties in their efforts against the Lion Box. Now he ordered the 60th regiment east to reassemble around the villages of Tingsat, Molvom and their surrounding heights by April 8th. They would be reinforced by the honda raiding units coming from the north. On the 9th, Omoto's 1st battalion assaulted Hill 4057 taking it from elements of the 123rd Indian Brigade, as the 3rd battalion secured Nungshigum. This breakthrough posed an unacceptable threat to the British, leaving the 4th Corps HQ, the Imphal Main and Kangla airfield vulnerable to further Japanese attacks. This prompted General Brigg's to get forces together to evict the Japanese from their recently gained heights. Brigg's was reinforced with the 254th Indian Tank Brigades armor for the job. An unrelenting artillery and aerial bombardment began against the 51st regiment, greatly reducing the strength of Omoto's companies. Suffering such horrific losses, Omoto was forced to retreat over to the eastern side of the Iril River. At around dusk on the 12th, Omoto's 3rd battalion withdrew from Nungshigum to take up better positions in the hills north of Hill 4057. From this position the 3rd battalion was able to cover the 1st battalion's withdrawal from Hill 4057 during the night.  Simultaneously, Briggs launched his main counteroffensive, tossing two companies of the 1/17th Dogras and B Squadron of the 3rd Carabiniers. That morning, the infantry and tanks began climbing up via two spurs on the south-eastern side of Nungshigum. On each spur was a troop of M3 Lee-Grant tanks, together with a company of Dogras. The division's artillery, together with another troop of tanks, had been placed to the east and west of Nungshigum on the plain. As the infantry and armor climbed, the Vengeance dive-bombers and Hurricanes bombed and strafed the peaks. Soon thereafter, the 88 pieces of artillery and tanks on the plain plastered the same area. The two groups of infantry and tanks joined up at the peak named Pyramid and proceeded in a single file up a narrow ridge towards the Japanese on Southern Bump. As they approached the Japanese defenses, fierce fighting erupted. The tanks were sprayed with machine-gun and rifle fire, and grenades were thrown at them. But there was only so much the Japanese could do. The use of armor on Nungshigum, which rose over 1,000ft above the valley floor, was a masterstroke. The Japanese had never expected to encounter tanks and they had nothing to counter them effectively. The British had to pay a high price, too. All of the British tank officers were killed and the infantry officers wounded later that day. The former had been shot as they stuck their heads out of their tanks' turrets to guide them safely on the narrow and steep ridgeline. It was finally left to the VCO of the Dogras, Subadar Ranbir Singh, and Squadron Sergeant-Major Craddock of the 3rd Carabiniers to complete the battle. They rose to the occasion; the tanks finally destroyed the main bunkers and the infantry charged at and killed any survivors. There were casualties on both sides, but Japanese losses were especially heavy, leaving 250 bodies. This was the closest the Japanese would come to Imphal as a large, organized force in 1944. Yamauchi's 15th Division would never be able to pose such an urgent threat from the north again.  On April 13th, the Honda unit and 2nd battalion, 60th infantry launched an unsuccessful attack against Sengmai. In another attack on the 18th, the 2nd battalion gained a foothold in the enemy positions on the eastern hill of Sengmai, but would be forced off it quickly losing 150 men. The failure to breach the defenders at Sengmai marked a turning point in the operation, forcing the Right Assault Unit onto the defensive. Meanwhile Omoto's withdrawal had opened a gap between his units and Matsumura's, leaving Matsumura isolated around the Imphal-Kohima road and the Mapao-Molvom range. This also left Matsumura's supply lines increasingly vulnerable to attacks by Brigg's 5th Division. General Scoones ordered the 23rd Indian Division to push back on the Ukhrul Road to regain control over the area, while Briggs cleared the Japanese out of the Imphal-Kohima and Mapao-Molvom Range. For this Major-General Ouvry Roberts dispatched the 37th Brigade up the Ukhrul Road while the 1st Brigade made a wide flanking maneuver to the right to swing north in an attempt to capture Yamauchi's HQ. A composite unite of the 51st regiment known as the Suzuta unit formed out of two companies and Suzuta's HQ managed to resist the Indian attacks at Yaingangpokpi. Their mission was to hold the pass near Hill 3524 and they were met by numerous enemy counterattacking groups. The Suzuta Unit was faced with a serious crisis when it was attacked by a strong enemy tank force on 18 April. Meanwhile back on the 15th, the sudden appearance of the 1st Brigade at Hill 5515.. With his headquarters threatened by this new enemy maneuver, Yamauchi decided to move 15th Division headquarters and the Suzuta Unit to the rear of the Right and Center Assault Units. This move was complicated in that it entailed the evacuation of large numbers of casualties, among whom was General Yamanouchi himself. Upon arriving in the vicinity of Nungga intense enemy activity was encountered. It was found impossible to move west, to the desired destination and the headquarters was forced to move toward Lungshong via Ukhrul. The Suzuta Unit troops reverted to their parent organizations. The command post of the Division was finally established at a point about three miles southwest of Lungshong on 29 April. By april 22nd, Robert's Brigades made contact over the Ukhrul Road near Litan and began hunting down Yamauchi's HQ. They searched for it around Shongphel to the north. They converged on the spot, only to find Yamauchi was not there. To the east the 9th Brigade attacked the Mapao-Molvom Range on the 23rd, making some initial gains at Mapao. Their field guns with Hurricane bombers smashed Mapao, allowing the Jats and Punjabis to fight their way up and capture it in two days. But farther north, the heights around Molvom were better defended and the Japanese defied attempts to infiltrate these positions. The brigade soon got bogged down. Further east the 123rd Brigade advanced up the Iril River Valley facing some of Omoto's retreating men and would reach Sengmai by mid-may. The Japanese at this point were also preparing to continue their offensive further south. General Yanagida received reports on the progress of the 15th Division and that Kohima had already fallen. So he decided to bypass the expected resistance in the Moirang vicinity and advance directly upon Imphal. This prompted Colonel Sasagara to send his 2nd battalions of the 215th and 213th regiment to attack the Torbung positions on the 9th. They managed to successfully outflank the 49th brigade and exerted so much pressure in the area, the 49th brigade were forced to withdraw over the next few days. With the Japanese in hot pursuit, Cowan dispatched the 32nd Indian Brigade to defend the Tiddim Road with Brigadier David MacKenzie shifting his main position further back to Bishenpur. The Bishenpur village was well located: it was where the hills touched the Tiddim Road to its west; to the east lay the upper reaches of the Loktak Lake. Bishenpur was considered the best place to position a defense of the southwestern approach to Imphal. It was also important because from here a track wriggled west over the mountains to Silchar in Assam. Besides the Imphal–Kohima Road, the Bishenpur–Silchar Track was the only other navigable route back out to the rest of India. Unsurprisingly then, it was also of interest to the Japanese. On April 12th the Japanese attacked Potsangbam, but the 2nd battalion, 213th regiment was held up by heavy artillery and aerial bombardment from Bishenpur. The Japanese forayed into the villages of Kwa Siphai and Khoijuman to the northeast, but they were rebuffed. To counter them, aerial bombardments were called in on Potsangbam and the next large village, Ningthoukhong. Strategic Air Force Liberators pattern-bombed the two villages with 1,000lb bombs. The British sent tanks, together with infantry units, across the paddy fields towards Potsangbam, but their advance was held up by fierce opposition. Unlike at Nungshigum, the Japanese here were armed with anti-tank guns. Evicting them would require that much more effort. The 4th Independent Engineer Regiment was brought up to reinforce the 2nd Battalion, 213th Infantry at Potsangbam about 20 April, but it would be unable to break through nonetheless. To the west Sasahara's men tried to break through Kokadan on the 14th. They made repeated attacks for over a month, but would be unable to penetrate Mackenzie's defenses. The 214th regiment tossed three attacks against Hill 5846 from their position on Ingourok by April 24th. Hand-to-hand fighting ensued as each side sought to gain possession of these hills. The British had brought up a troop of Lee-Grant tanks of the 150th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps from Bishenpur and these were pressed into battle, firing in close support of the infantry. By 26 April, Point 5846 and Wooded Ridge were under their firm control, while the Japanese had Wireless Hill. Meanwhile the 2nd battalion reinforced the 214th regiment to skirt around Hill 5846 from the west, going just due north of the track. This endeavor ultimately failed in the end, and the men would have to turn back by the end of the month. Due to his failures and disagreements, General Mutaguchi consequently lost faith in Yanagida, who was ignored from this point onwards while his chief-of-staff, Colonel Tanaka Tetsujiro, effectively commanded the 33rd Division.  Meanwhile over on the hill of the Shenam Saddle, the battle for Nippon Hill had been raging since early April. Gracey's initial piecemeal attempts to retake the feature only saw his men fail. On the other side, the Yamamoto Detachment launched a general attack from Chamol on the 8th, trying to make a breakthrough to Nippon Hill, to relieve the outnumbered 11th company, 213th regiment. While the Japanese were held up by crossfire from Tengnoupal, the 80th Brigade sent three companies of the 1st Devon's to recapture Nippon Hill on the 11th. Following heavy artillery and aerial bombardment, the British troops stormed the hill with a fierce lobing of grenades and machine gun fire, seizing the feature by the end of the day. Nonetheless the Japanese, General Yamamoto kept committing troops to continuous attacks over the next few days. What was witnessed on Nippon Hill was to be repeated on many occasions around Imphal. Japanese defensive positions would be subjected to intense bombardments, which it was hard to imagine anyone surviving. And yet, time and again, the Japanese would emerge out of the targeted positions and counter-attack. In fact, Nippon Hill was one such place where, even days after it had been recaptured by the British, a lone Japanese soldier would emerge from the rubble and attack. This after being buried for hours, or even days, usually without recourse to food or water. This behavior was a measure of the extraordinary capabilities of the Japanese, as defenders in particular, and of their dedication to their cause in general. It was also a testament to the strength of their defenses. On features like Nippon Hill, the Japanese had shown themselves to be adept at digging an extensive, deep network of underground tunnels and holes within their positions. These allowed them to withstand bombardments, while the small openings allowed for a sustained fire to be kept up on anyone who approached. After a week of fighting, the 3rd Battalion, 213th Regiment finally recaptured Nippon Hill on April 16, and this time it was to stay with the Japanese until the end of July. The hill would allow the Japanese to observe allied movements over the Shenam Saddle and the road below, so accurate firing from well-sited guns on this hill and the adjacent ridge would cause many casualties among the defenders. Yamamoto ramped up his efforts trying to break through towards Imphal. With additional tank and artillery support the 3rd battalion, 213th regiment managed to overrun Crete East on the 22nd as the 80th Brigade evacuated to the isolated Cyprus. Pressing onwards, Yamamoto attacked Crete West, tossing multiple attacks at the feature over the next two weeks. Despite the ferocity of the invaders, the defenders would manage to hold on until the end of April. Meanwhile the 1st battalion, 60th regiment was unable to break through Hill 5240 near Kampang, so on the 20th they were redirected to hit the northern sector of Palel. The battalion had suffered 300 casualties, unable to pose much of a threat any longer to Gracey's men. To their left was the 1st INA Division's 2nd Gandhi Brigade,  deployed on the left flank of Yamamoto Force and an initial group that had rushed through the hills towards Palel. They were targeting the airfield from the south in coordination with the Japanese closing in via Langgol from the east. They clashed with Indian and Gurkha defenders at Purum Chumban on May 2nd. There are differing accounts of what happened during the battle of Purum Chumbang. One has the INA group reaching very close to the airfield, while another has it reach some 8km short of it. What is common to both, however, is the reaction of the Fourteenth Army units (Indian and Gurkha) to the INA's effort. A parley between the two is supposed to have taken place at some point, where the latter tried to convince their brethren on the British side not to fight. This being rejected, the INA attacked and was repulsed. At least 50 INA men were killed in the retaliatory response. It has been argued that these attacks by their fellow Indians affected INA morale. They had not expected to be considered traitors by their former comrades of the Indian Army. Several hundred INA men deserted before the end of the battle, although the majority of the force remained in the hills around the Tamu–Palel Road, wracked by disease and hunger. In the meantime, the Kohima Garrison received relief on their ridge positions, now General Grover was formulating a plan to recapture lost territory in the Kohima area and to annhilate the 31st division. His plan was to hold Zubza and Periphema in the rear while Brigadier John Shapland's 6th Brigade would launch an attack against the Japanese center and gradually push them towards the southern and southwestern flanks of the Kohima Ridge. Brigadier Victor Hawkins 5th Brigade would would perform a flanking maneuver to the north while Brigadier William Goshcens 4th Brigade did the same in the south. On April 18, Hawkins thus dispatched his first units across the deep Zubza nullah to the Merema Ridge to cut the Kohima-Merema-Bokajan road, with the rest of the brigade following in an excruciating march and finally assembling at the Merema Ridge by April 27.  Further to the north, in parallel with the 2nd Divisions advance, Brigadier Perowne's men have been performing an extremely difficult march into the Naga Hills. Their task was to prevent the Japanese from escaping the Brahmaputra Valley, taking a track leading from Merema to Bokajan. For weeks the Chindit Brigade had conducted an effective operation, ambushing Japanese supply routes, denying them territory, encouraging local Naga resistance efforts and causing general havoc. General Mutaguchi and ordered Sato to send his 124th Infantry Regiment to support the struggling 15th Division in the south.  Sato decided to occupy Garrison Hill prior to complying with Mutaguchi's directive, immediately sending the 1st Battalion, 138th Regiment to support the attacks of the 58th Regiment. The assault failed on the 23rd and this further convinced Sato he would be unable to hold Kohima if he sent the reinforcements Mutaguchi requested. His decision was also heavily influenced by his increasing anger at his superior as Mutaguchi was completely failing to supply his men. He had been promised at least 250 tons of resupplies would arrive by April 8, Sato testily demanded food and ammunition. In fact, very few supplies ever reached the 31st Division from Burma, the men having to survive on what they had brought with them, what they could beg or steal from Naga villages, or what 'Churchill Rations' they could capture from British stockpiles. Sato's fury at the lack of promised supplies reaching Kohima was fuelled by his belief that the 31st Division was being let down by Mutaguchi's abject failure to break into Imphal. In response to Mutaguchi's demand that he send troops to assist in the Imphal battle, on April 20 Sato sent the first of a number of increasingly tetchy signals to the army commander: 'We captured Kohima in three weeks as promised. How about Imphal?' Mutaguchi replied: 'Probable date for capture of Imphal April 29', which was the Emperor's birthday. Sato plainly did not believe him. On April 30, Sato signaled again: '31st Division at the limit of its endurance. When are you going to destroy Imphal?' To this he received no reply.  The relationship between Sato and Mutaguchi had never been good, but now it was really bad. Over the next two weeks, the battles on Kohima Ridge were not seeing results. Repeated attacks were made against Garrison Hill as Shapland's men tossed desperate attacks at the extreme northern edge of the ridge allowing for a troop of Lee/Grant tanks to lumber up the western end of Naga Hill in order to provide armored support for the 5th Brigade. The plan to get tanks onto the back of Naga Hill by driving through the Japanese positions overlooking the TCP finally succeeded on April 27, the Lee/Grants trundling along the track, wary of mines, but taking the Japanese entirely by surprise at this stroke of legerdemain. Peppered on all sides futilely by bullets, they joined 5th Brigade on Naga Hill, albeit at the cost of 28 Dorset dead, who had kept intense pressure on the TCP end of the Kohima Ridge to distract the Japanese during the operation. In the fighting for control of the tennis court no means of overcoming Japanese bunkers could be discovered using infantry alone, and attempts were made to bulldoze a path up to the remains of the Deputy Commissioner's bungalow to allow a Lee/Grant tank to move onto the tennis court and engage the bunkers directly with its 75mm gun. Unhappily the first effort failed when the Lee/Grant went into reverse, pulling the bulldozer to which it was attached back down the steep slope in a heap of crashing, twisted metal. Four days later a similar attempt with a Stuart Light tank of the 45th Indian Light Cavalry also failed, as the Japanese had brought up a 3.7in. anti-tank gun that put the tank out of action, fortunately with no loss to the crew.By the 27th, the tanks made a break through to the Naga Hill. The Japanese suffered terrible casualties causing them to suspend operations against Garrison Hill. The 31st división was not fully adopting a defensive stance. Meanwhile, Goschen's men had set out on a long march to cut the Imphal Road below the Aradura Spur on the night of April 25. They were advancing through some of the worst terrain of the entire region, it was deep, nearly vertical jungle-covered gullies falling between  Mount Pulebadze and the face of Mount Japfu.  The 4th Brigade would reach the valley between Pulebadze and Japfu in three days. One there, General Stopford ordered Goschen to climb over Pulebadze Ridge then come down into Kohima to hit the Japanese position on the GPT ridge, which were giving serious problems to Shaplands men. The brigade accordingly turned left, climbing up and over the Pulebadze Ridge and beginning the slow descent through the jungle down onto the Kohima side. A prominent pimple above the GPT Ridge known as Oaks Hill, sitting at 6,000ft, was occupied by the Norfolks and the 143rd Company on 1 May, the presence of British troops 1,500ft above the Japanese positions becoming known to them for the first time. But that is all for today for India, as there is something else cooking up in the CBI theater. Since early 1943, the United States had steadily increased its air force in China. By the beginning of 1944 there were more than 500 US planes in this area, whereas, in spite of the organization of the 5th Air Army,the Japanese Air Force had less than half this number of planes in China. Furthermore, with the war situation rapidly growing worse in the Pacific, the Japanese Air Force in China could not hope for any replenishment. Enemy planes not only interfered with Japanese ground operations, but also harassed the lines of communication and attacked the occupied areas. General Chennault's 14th Air Force had been causing such problems, the Japanese were forced to act. The catalyst for their future action was because of a raid against Formosa carried out by 14 B-25s, 8 P-38s and 8 P-51s on November 25, 1943, which caught the Japanese by surprise as the Chinese-American aircraft strafed and dropped bombs over Shinchiku airfield, successfully destroying its installations along with 42 planes on the ground at the cost of three fighters lost.  This prompted the Japanese commanders to target strategic points along the Hunan-Guangxi, Guangzhou-Hankou and Southern Beijing-Hankou Railways. Thus the infamous Operation Ichi-Go was born. Ichi-Go's primary targets were Guilin and Liuzhou's airfields where the US was developing bases for B-29's to launch strikes against the Japanese home islands. If you are interested in a in-depth talk about this by the way, over on the Pacific War Channel on Youtube or Spotify, I did an interview with Dave from the Coldwar about the bombing of Japan and we talked about this very subject. Pretty neat episode I recommend it! Now in general the main objectives were to link railways in Beijing and Hankou in northern China to the southern Chinese coast at Guangzhou. This would spare shipping and avoid the pesky American submarine force who were now ruining havoc; it was also to take out airfields in Sichuan and Guangxi to thwart further US bombing of Formosa and the Japanese home islands. This also in turn would open a land route to Indochina and hopefully would destroy enough NRA units to collapse Chiang Kai-Sheks government, finally solving the China Problem. Ichi-Go would start in late April with an offensive  by the 12th Army of Lt General Kita Seiichi, later replaced by Lt General Uchiyama Eitaro. This was codenamed Operation Kogo, tasked with capturing the areas along the South Beijing-Hankou railway, centered around Zhengzhou and Luoyang, and destroying the main strength of the 1st War Area. Then, early in June, the 11th Army of General Yokoyama would launch Operation Togo, with the objective of capturing Changsha and Hengyang and destroying the main force of the 6th and 9th War Areas. Following the conclusion of the first phase, late in July, the 11th Army would be assisted by the 23rd Army of Lt General Tanaka Hisaichi and the Indochina Garrison Army of Lt General Viscount Machiiji Kazumoto would capture Guilin and Liuzhou and the destruction of the 4th War Area.  Finally, the third phase of Operation Togo would see the 23rd Army capture the strategic areas along the south Canton-Hankou railway, centered around Nanning, by destroying the 7th War Area in September while the 11th Army continued the advance south towards Suichwan Arfield to link with the Indochina forces. For the entire operation, the 5th Air Army of Lt General Shimoyama Takuma would support the offensives from the skies, tasked with annihilating the American-Chinese air force and attaining air supremacy over China. The logistics of Operation Ichi-Go constituted was one of the most notable examples of the IJA's offensive preparations. Between some of the measures taken was the emplacement of dozens of anti-air batteries throughout the Yangtze River to limit the Chinese-American air activity against troop concentrations at its southern channel; the transfer of dozens of thousands of troops by railway without interference from Chinese guerrillas because security at the railway lines was increased; the monthly river transport of 40000 tons of supplies; the secret storage of 600 pontoons; and the constructions of hideouts for a munitions arsenal that should last for two years and of hundreds of deposits that harbored 50 million liters of gasoline that should last for eight months: 40 million for land vehicles and 10 million for planes.By early April General Hata had amassed 62,000 men, 52,000 Japanese and 10,000 collaborationist units alongside 800 tanks, 1550 artillery pieces, 250 aircraft, 15550 motorized vehicles and 100000 horses.  Meanwhile the British Eastern Fleet had been receiving more naval resources due to the successes in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe and could now carry out more aggressive actions in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Agreement had been reached, after objections from Admiral Ernest King, but new procedures would need to be learnt by naval crews and Fleet Air Arm aircrew. To this end, Operation Diplomat, a training exercise, took place in late March 1944. The objective was for the fleet to rendezvous with a group of tankers, escorted by the Dutch cruiser HNLMS Tromp and practice refueling at sea procedures. The ships then rendezvoused with USN Task Group 58.5 built around aircraft carrier USS Saratoga and three destroyers. To further support the coming Hollandia and Aitape landings, Admiral King requested that, during April, the Eastern Fleet should engage Japanese forces in their area and hold them there to reduce the opposition that could be encountered by the Americans at Western New Guinea. In response, Admiral Somerville launched Operation Cockpit on April 16, an air attack against Sabang off Sumatra. The fleet sailed from Trincomalee on 16 April, and two days later the Gambia and Ceylon were detached from Force 69 to strengthen the anti-aircraft defense of the carrier force. On the morning of April 19, 17 Barracudas and 13 Corsairs from the carrier Illustrious and 29 Dauntless and Avenger bombers and 24 Hellcats from Saratoga took off towards Sumatra and subsequently caught the Japanese completely by surprise, finding no opposition there. Thirty Japanese aircraft were destroyed on the airfield and a direct hit by a 1000-pound bomb set a large oil tank on fire. The power-station, barracks and wireless station were badly damaged. The submarine HMS Tactician reported large fires in the dockyard burning fiercely hours after the fleet had left the area. The raid was a clear success, with Somerville later saying that the Japanese "had been caught with their kimonos up".  I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. The invaders it seems bit off more than they could chew when they attacked India. General Mutaguchi was facing a determined enemy and very pissed off and somewhat insubordinate colleagues. Operation Ichi-Go was being prepared and the Royal Navy was sending forces into the Indian and Pacific Oceans adding to the IJN's misery.

rWotD Episode 2501: Abu Zar Ghaffari Welcome to random Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of a random Wikipedia page every day.The random article for Saturday, 9 March 2024 is Abu Zar Ghaffari.Abu Zar Ghaffari (Urdu: ابو ذر غفاری Sindhi: ابو ذر غفاي) is a neighborhood in the Karachi Central district of Karachi, Pakistan. It was previously administered as part of New Karachi Town, which was disbanded in 2011.There are several ethnic groups in Abu Zar Ghaffari including Muhajirs, Sindhis, Punjabis, Kashmiris, Seraikis, Pakhtuns, Balochis, Memons, Bohras, Ismailis, etc. Over 99% of the population is Muslim. The population of New Karachi Town is estimated to be nearly one million.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:17 UTC on Saturday, 9 March 2024.For the full current version of the article, see Abu Zar Ghaffari on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm Joey Standard.

Happy Valentine's Day to all the lovebirds out there, as well as the businesses making the most of the romantic buzz. Per the Economic Times, many luxury hotels in Rajasthan are booked out. Meanwhile, quick commerce company Blinkit is on a mission to become the go-to online app for romantic gifts, offering everything from chocolate boxes and rose bouquets to freshly baked cakes. Join us in today's episode as we delve into how businesses are going above and beyond to cater to the needs of lovebirds this season. In other news, Punjabis are reconsidering the Canadian dream. The Signal Daily is produced in association with IVM.The episode was researched, written, and produced by Anup Semwal and ManaswiniEdited by Venkat AnanthMastered and mixed by Manas and Nirvaan See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

⚡️ In each episode, Paddy Dhanda deep dives into a new human Superpower to help you thrive in the age of AI.This episode delves into the fascinating world of storytelling in marketing, exploring its profound impact on branding, business growth, and personal development. Chirag Nijjer, a marketing expert and TikTok influencer, joins host Paddy Dhanda to share insights from his journey and practical strategies for effective storytelling.Key Takeaways:* The Essence of Branding Through Storytelling: Chirag highlights the crucial role of storytelling in branding, emphasizing how it connects consumers to products beyond mere logos or features. * Practical Storytelling Techniques: The discussion pivots to practical storytelling techniques, with Chirag providing insights into his approach. He discusses the AIDA marketing funnel (Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action) and its application in personal and professional contexts. Chirag also outlines the six types of stories crucial for branding: Origin, Culture, Product, Societal, Customer, and Future Stories.* Personal Branding and Storytelling in the Professional World: The conversation also covers the importance of storytelling in personal branding, even for individuals not running a business. Chirag underscores that everyone has a story to tell, and effectively narrating this story can significantly influence how others perceive and interact with you in professional settings.Episode Highlights:* Chirag's journey from growing up in a small business family to becoming a marketing and branding expert.* The power of storytelling in transforming perceptions and influencing customer behaviour.* Discussion on Punjabi culture and its influence on Chirag's personal and professional life.* The criticality of having clear and specific goals (KPIs) in marketing and personal endeavours.* The importance of authenticity and transparency in the workplace.Resources Mentioned:* "Winning the Story Wars" by Jonah Sachs, recommended by Chirag for deeper insights into storytelling in marketing.* “How to make learning as addictive as social media” TED Talk, recommended by PaddyChirag Nijjer"Chirag makes you want to stay in a 60-minute workshop for 60 more minutes" - With an online audience of 60k+ followers & 6.1M+ views, Chirag is a recognized expert in simplifying complex business concepts into practical advice. With compelling digital content and global speaking engagements, he employs dynamic real-world storytelling to help entrepreneurs navigate toward setting clear objectives and following research-backed methods.In his “9-to-5”, Chirag is a Platinum Customer Success Lead at Google. He works with some of the world's largest global brands, as an expert in crisis management and proactive problem-solving.His accolades include the Hunsicker Business Studies Award, a Dyer Innovation Fellowship, and appointments as a Whitman Economics Fellow, Dyer Innovator-in-Residence, and a c-e-o.org Global Ventures Judge.If you'd like to get in touch, reach out to Chirag@ChiragSpeaks.com!Links* Website: ChiragSpeaks.com* Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chiragspeaks/* Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@entrekey* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chiragspeaks/

The "AK Talk Show" podcast features Gurinder Bhatti discussing the innovative 'Donkey Method' in the immigration business. This episode delves into why Punjabis are increasingly seeking opportunities abroad, offering insightful perspectives on migration trends and the unique challenges faced by this community. Tune in for an engaging conversation that sheds light on the dynamics of immigration and the pursuit of global opportunities. Perfect for listeners interested in cultural studies, global migration, and entrepreneurial strategies in the immigration sector. #ImmigrationTrends #PunjabiDiaspora #GlobalOpportunities #AKTalkShow #GurinderBhatti #DonkeyMethod

Join us in this insightful episode of Kaka Balli Punjabi Podcast, where our special guest Ohi Saabi dives into an array of thought-provoking topics that resonate deeply in today's world. We kickstart our conversation delving into the aftermath of COVID-19, reflecting on how it has evolved from a prevalent issue to seemingly becoming a thing of the past. We explore the lingering concerns about the possibility of future pandemics and the erosion of trust in vaccines due to mandated regulations, pondering how this might impact responses to future health crises. Shifting gears, we spotlight the global immigration challenges, focusing on the journey of Punjabis seeking visas for Canada and the implications of strained international relationships on the influx of Indian students to Canada. The conversation navigates through the complexities of immigration and its multifaceted impact on communities. Delving into societal shifts, we tackle the topic of woke culture, examining its peak and its influence on the prominence of right-wing politics. Has the fervor of woke culture subsided? How has this influenced the political landscape? Ohi Saabi shares his experiences traveling the world, balancing personal life, and managing a successful YouTube channel while on the go. We uncover the intricacies of maintaining a global lifestyle and the challenges and joys it brings. As we ponder the global stage, we touch upon the evolving dynamics of world powers and India's place within it. We explore recent surges in podcasting culture, the rise of attention-seeking behaviors, and the roles social media plays in shaping our lives and perceptions. This episode is a deep dive into pressing global issues, personal reflections, and cultural shifts that define our contemporary world. Tune in to gain profound insights into these captivating discussions with Ohi Saabi, only on Kaka Balli Punjabi Podcast!

Canada has always been a favourite location to migrate for Punjab residents along with others. Millions of Sikhs and Punjabis have migrated in the past and are still doing so. But what makes Canada so popular. What is the history of this migration, how did it all start. Was it always easy to migrate or were there any challenges. What was Canada's take on Indians coming to their country in large number. What effect did the migration have in Canada. Lets discuss all of this in detail.

LoP Bajwa says Punjabis must wake up to what AAP's 'fake revolutionaries' are up to. Punjab minister Cheema & Haryana AAP's Tanwar held press meets on dispute in adjacent bungalows.

Ramandeep Singh Sodhi - Campus De Boot (EP77) - Punjabi Podcast with SangtarReleased July 21, 2023Ramandeep Singh Sodhi is a world renown Punjabi Journalist. His high profile interviews and articles are always received well by Punjabis all over the world. In this Episode of Punjabi Podcast, Sangtar and Ramandeep talk about the old and new world along with a good dose of entertaining stories from all over the world. More at https://www.PunjabiPod.com - Thanks for supporting, sharing and following Punjabi Podcast.

Welcome to the Instant Trivia podcast episode 824, where we ask the best trivia on the Internet. Round 1. Category: fairy tale birds 1: The Grimms said this heroine got her beautiful clothes from a little white bird, not a fairy godmother. Cinderella. 2: He was so large and unattractive that the bird who hatched him wondered if he was a turkey. the Ugly Duckling. 3: Hans Christian Andersen wrote about a pond where babies wait for these birds to take them to their parents. storks. 4: The couldn't find their way home because some crummy birds ate their bread crumbs. Hansel and Gretel. 5: This extremely small girl, born in a flower, saves the life of a kind-hearted sparrow. Thumbelina. Round 2. Category: occupation hazards 1: Chafing from chaps, rope burns from lassos and that saddle horn -- watch where you sit if you're one of these. cowboy. 2: If this is you're job you'd be fired if this clue go t by you uncorected. proofreader. 3: In this job aiding a medical professional, Angie might get a finger nipped by little Billy while X-raying his molar. dental hygienist. 4: He has to listen to his wheels going round, round, round all day and may get a paper cut from a transfer. bus driver. 5: If this is your job you might get brine in your eye after dropping the cucumber in the barrel. pickler. Round 3. Category: this land is their land 1: Many people of this country's Xinjiang region speak a language similar to Turkish. China. 2: Punjabis are the largest group in this country just east of Afghanistan. Pakistan. 3: 5-syllable word for a resident of a Central American isthmus. Panamanian. 4: This tiny Swiss neighbor has about 30,000 people and a 25-person legislature. Liechtenstein. 5: 1 of the 3 former Soviet republics where the Balts live. Latvia (Lithuania and Estonia). Round 4. Category: the "iv" league 1: Seemingly insignificant facts and info--but not on "Jeopardy!". trivia. 2: As a verb, it means to live together closely, like bees. to hive. 3: A competitor for the same object or goal. a rival. 4: From the Latin for "from a stream", it's the historical origin of a word. derivation. 5: The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species banned this trade in 1989. ivory. Round 5. Category: animal quotes 1: Both Shakespeare and Clement Clarke Moore wrote about this creature not "stirring". mouse. 2: "I never saw a purple" one of these: "I never hope to see one, but I can tell you anyhow, I'd rather see than be one". cow. 3: "All right", said this animal: "and this time it vanished quite slowly, beginning with the end of the tail". Cheshire Cat. 4: Groucho Marx said, "One morning I shot" this "in my pajamas. How he got into my pajamas I'll never know". an elephant. 5: John Donne called it "Nature's great masterpiece ... the only harmless great thing; the giant of beasts". an elephant. Thanks for listening! Come back tomorrow for more exciting trivia! Special thanks to https://blog.feedspot.com/trivia_podcasts/

We touch on it.. this episode is jammed packed with juicy conversation From the legal system in Canada and the truth about awakening while working in the 3D matrix. Activism for human rights and ongoing conversations about the transition of where Canada is going and things to take note of (Bill C-11). Once you are unlocked in your spiritual gifts, what to expect, how it changes the way you do the world and all other things in between. We even touch on Mercury Retrograde and what's to come in the next few years with humanity. Raminder dives into her spiritual awakening journey and when she was directed to own her gifts. Which lead to leaving the law profession full time and leading within her heart center. We lean into all things truth with the dynamic over the last few years, especially in Canada and how we can move this through. It was such a great interview. We hash out a lot and I cannot wait to share it with you! Xo Enjoy Raminder Kaur Hayre (RKH)  is a B.C. born litigator, psychic healer, and activist. In Punjabi, "Kaur" means Lioness, and "Singh" means Lion. You will commonly see Punjabis and/or Sikhs use these as middle or last names. The goal is to preserve the culture and religion without discrimination.Raminder spent a lot of time becoming a lawyer and excelling in the legal industry, and with the grace and helpful nudge of Spirit, has taken on:Redefining litigation through activism.Defined in the gate of activism leads the purpose of being a spiritual advocateThe RKH services are listed here - you can book online.​Your personal spirit guide and torch bearer. Raminder's brand, “The RKH”, is an astrological business planning, and healing practice. She uses her knowledge of higher dimensions, energy, and “being able to read people” as a mechanism in creating deeper change that stays relevant far past a regular business plan or strategic call.www.therkh.com https:/www.instagram.com/the.rkh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beyondtheeyes.ca/Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6xsLpjxvnC3NZnaxKdNTPk?si=0e91415505b54bd0Contact Raminder directly for her Mercury Retrograde video Colleen Lindberg is a Soul Mission Activator and Spiritual Guide Her mission on earth is to dismantle the conformity infrastructures holding us back, so people can fully embody their potency and power.  She believes that each soul mission's is a unique rhythm that is meant to ripple through the world. Her programs and teachings, guide Light Warriors into more embodiment into their light, owning their unique tools and vibration.  The Revolution of Sovereignty is a real thing.  She is a leader within this collective, as are you.  Find her on Instagram to follow her content and see what offers she has to work with her. https://www.instagram.com/thecolleenlindberg/And some of her current offers can be found here: https://linktr.ee/lightpreneurs

Amritpal Singh's controversial views and sudden rise to fame have sparked a political crisis in the north Indian state. He has now been declared a fugitive. But his case raises important questions about the Khalistan notion, which calls for a separate homeland for Sikhs. What does the rise of amritpal singh, as a preacher of Sikhism and as Bhindranwale 2.0 mean? And does Khalistan really exist as a romantic notion in the minds of Punjabis? Or is it that the huge Punjabi diaspora in Canada, the US, the UK, gets attached to the idea of a sovereign Sikh state, and those ideas find their way back home? Listen in!

Sujata returns to tell us about her battles with addiction, Punjabis and alcohol, how it affected her life as a dancer, and how she got it all together and took control of her life, her own way. 

In this new episode of Punjabi Podcast, me & sukha discussing how Punjabi language is being extinct and what are the reasons. also we went back to memory line that what we used to do in 90s, in our childhood & how good days those were. do like & share if you enjoy our discussion. #ohisaabi #punjabipodcast #newepisode #90s SSA ji, Myself Sarbjit Singh. I live in Spain and I make Travelling vlogs & Podcast to Share my views, opinions. I have Travelled European Countries Like Spain, Andorra, France, Monaco, Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Belguim, Netherlands, Ukraine, Belarus, Serbia etc & Punjabis most Favourite countries too like Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand. Then in North Africa Morocco, Algeria. ah yes, Dubai too. My Aim is to Travel 100 Countries. Sometimes i do Share my opinions about current affairs of Punjab which i feel that are effecting my people. My Social Media Handles Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ohiisaabi Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ohiiSaabi Twitter - https://twitter.com/OhiSaabi website - https://www.ohisaabi.com Contact - contact@ohisaabi.com

big numbers of Punjabi are going to USA & mostly through Mexico. so when @the Punjabi wanderer was in Mexico, he met some Punjabi there who wanted to go USA, he is sharing this experience. We are talking about his trip to Europe & Japan too. #ohisaabi #thepunjabiwanderer #travelstories #mexico #USA #JAPAN #EUROPE #PODCAST SSA ji, Myself Sarbjit Singh. I live in Spain and I make Travelling vlogs & Podcast to Share my views, opinions. I have Travelled European Countries Like Spain, Andorra, France, Monaco, Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Belguim, Netherlands, Ukraine, Belarus, Serbia etc & Punjabis most Favourite countries too like Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand. Then in North Africa Morocco, Algeria. ah yes, Dubai too. My Aim is to Travel 100 Countries. Sometimes i do Share my opinions about current affairs of Punjab which i feel that are effecting my people. My Social Media Handles Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ohisaabi/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ohiSaabi Twitter - https://twitter.com/OhiSaabi website - https://www.ohisaabi.com Contact - contact@ohisaabi.com

immigration is happening at large scale all over the world, especially from less developed countries. People from Punjab are going to Canada, Europe, Australia, USA for many reasons like better financial status, safe environment etc but same time some people are choosing Punjab & majority of them are from Bihar, UP etc   in this episode of podcast I have Aman with me who is from Bihar & works with us to help in our farms. he is sharing his experience of living in Punjab & Good, Bad experiences he had.  what he likes & dislikes about Punjab   #immigration #bihar #Canada #Punjab #Europe #podcast #PunjabiPodcast  SSA ji, Myself Sarbjit Singh. I live in Spain and I make Travelling vlogs & Podcast to Share my views, opinions. I have Travelled European Countries Like Spain, Andorra, France, Monaco, Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Belguim, Netherlands, Ukraine, Belarus, Serbia etc &  Punjabis most Favourite countries too like Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand. Then in North Africa Morocco, Algeria. ah yes, Dubai too.  My Aim is to Travel 100 Countries. Sometimes i do Share my opinions about current affairs of Punjab which i feel that are effecting my people.   My Social Media Handles    Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ohisaabi/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ohiSaabi Twitter - https://twitter.com/OhiSaabi website - https://www.ohisaabi.com Contact - contact@ohisaabi.com

#Candareturn #pethouz #ohisaabi in this episode we have Jaskirat veer with us who started his business in Mohali after leaving Canada. a side everybody is leaving Punjab for Canada but he chose to come back and follow his passion. I am asking about his work, his decision of leaving Canada that if he regrets this decision and what was early reaction of known people to this decision. https://instagram.com/jaskirat_virk22?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= https://instagram.com/badass_exoticbullz?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= https://instagram.com/pet__houz?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= SSA ji, Myself Sarbjit Singh. I live in Spain and I make Travelling vlogs & Podcast to Share my views, opinions. I have Travelled European Countries Like Spain, Andorra, France, Monaco, Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Belguim, Netherlands, Ukraine, Belarus, Serbia etc & Punjabis most Favourite countries too like Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand. Then in North Africa Morocco, Algeria. ah yes, Dubai too. My Aim is to Travel 100 Countries. Sometimes i do Share my opinions about current affairs of Punjab which i feel that are effecting my people.

The Pakistan Experience is an independently produced podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan through conversations. Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience To support the channel: Jazzcash/Easypaisa - 0325 -2982912 Patreon.com/thepakistanexperience Syed Muzammil Shah is a Journalist and a Content Creator. Muzammil comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss Arshad Sharif's murder, Sadaf Naeem's death, the DG ISI Press Conference, the Long March, Nietzsche, Muzammil's journey, Philosophy, Rationality and the Youth. And Please stay in touch: https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1 https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications. Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/ Twitter.com/shehzad89 Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 1:15 Arshad Sharif's Murder 7:30 State-friendly Journalists realizing their mistakes 13:30 DG ISI/ISPR Press Conference 23:00 Sadaf Naeem's murder and Channel 5 31:30 Fascism and the Imran Khan phenomenon 42:45 Personal transformation from reading Zaid Hamid 48:30 How did he become such a staunch rationalist? 50:00 Nietzsche 59:30 How Narrative is Built in Society 1:01:20 Ways to decrease extermism 1:04:10 Ten Major Necessary Steps Pakistan needs to take 1:06:50 Individualism and Post-modernism 1:13:15 South Punjab 1:16:00 Youth 1:18:30 How to challenge the powerful 1:21:20 Civil Society of Pakistan 1:22:40 Indic Philosophies 1:25:30 Politics; Mohsin Dawar vs Manzoor Pashteen 1:29:00 Biases and Prejudices 1:32:10 Asymmetry in Pakistani Politics 1:33:50 Equal vote vs equal opinion 1:35:20 Decline of populism in the developed world 1:36:00 Pakistan; fault lines and nation-building 1:40:22 Which political party is the lesser evil 1:43:20 Moraliy 1:44:10 Punjabis and Privilege 1:47:40 Current State of Journalism and role of Ordinary Pakistanis 1:53:56 Turning Point in Life 1:56:00 Revolution 1:56:00 Journalism and Journalists 1:58:40 Nihilism 2:00:00 The Why

WE TOURING CANADA, BABY! GET TICKETS Abbas is joined by comedian, Jesse Singh, and they chat about visiting Jamaica, the white savior trope, Pixar movies, immigrant cultural differences, companies wanting people back in the office full-time, comedy writing habits, breathwork, science in religion, and the life of social workers. connect with  Abbas / Jesse The Immigrant Section is a weekly show where guests join Abbas Wahab, Sudanese-Canadian Standup Comedian, to talk about funny cultural similarities/differences, current events, and sometimes more. It's raw and unfiltered, for your listening pleasure. Enjoy! Support The Show & Get Every Episode

I had the pleasure to host Jivraj Singh Sachar, host of the award-winning podcast Indian Silicon Valley on Creative Punjabis. ISV podcast was awarded as the best Business and Entrepreneurship podcast by Hubhopper. The ISV Podcast is a series of intricate conversations with Founders, Investors and Domain Experts from India's flourishing startup ecosystem. Watch the complete episode to get amazing insights on podcasting, content creation and much more. In this podcast episode, we discussed: - Jivraj's podcasting Journey - Identifying a Niche to begin the content Creation Journey - How to get influential people on your show as a Guest - Framework for better communication and conversation -Key learnings from the podcasting journey Social Media Handles ⤵︎ Jivraj's Twitter Account Jivraj's Instagram Handle Indian Silicon Valley Podcast Link

Mental Health has gained more importance through the years, and for a long time we have been looking at surface level solutions to tackle those problems. Although it can be said that we have a better understanding of mental health than we did before, we still need to find and implement better ways to deal with it. On this episode of Creative Punjabis, host Jasmeet Narang is joined by Bani Singh CO- founder Now&Me. Now&Me is a safe space for people, from all walks of life, to take their “first step” towards accepting their feelings and talking about them. In this podcast we discussed: - Bani's Entrepreneurial Journey - Now&Me's vision to create A kinder internet - free of stigma & judgement. - Mental Health Issues Awareness in India - Overcoming challenges in early years of Building Now&Me - Tips for a better metal wellbeing - Need to create a supportive space where everyone can interact in a kind, compassionate manner. Social Media Handles ⤵︎ Instagram: Now&Me Bani's Instagram Handle Website: https://nowandme.com LinkedIn : Bani's LinkedIn

This Episode of Kaka Balli Podcast, i invite my friend Simran. She was not ready for this conversation but due to the peer pressure, she had no choice but to sit next to me for this chat. We touch various topics as we start with the conversation how different genders have different advantages on on social media i.e. girls have advantage on aesthetics and guys do not get slut shamed etc etc. Other struggles of boys and girls on social media platform i.e. Instagram, facebook etc. Also, a bit of comparison between hollywood, bollywood and south indian movies. How downfall of bollywood triggered by bad scripts and dominance of KHANs. A bit about Ranveer singh and why i dont like him. We also talk a bit on relationships and we try to answer "what a girl wants". Discussion on Punjabi Vlogging and trend of Punjabis gravitating towards virtual platform like youtube and much more.

We Talking About: 00:00:00 - Punjabis in World War 1 - punjabww1.com 00:08:29 - Whats Your Data Worth / Shinda Gets Hacked - #deadboltyt #ransomware 00:20:20 - Joti Singh Mann Attacked // Free Speech - #freespeach #brampton #violence 00:44:20 - Weddings Getting Too Loud or Just Old Heads Hating #weddings #punjabi 01:03:20 - Things Canada Sucks At #canpoli 01:12:30 - This Weeks L's #walmart --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/much-ado-about-nothing/message

In this episode of Creative Punjabi's Show with Jasmeet Narang we have Simran Kaur who is Founder of Girls That Invest. GTI was started by 2 millennials (Simran & Sonya) in 2020 to share their knowledge around personal finance, Let's explore the journey of Girls that Invest from an Instagram Page to releasing a podcast which has a 1MN+ downloads and now launching their own book "Girls That Invest". In this podcast we discussed: -Simran's introduction to the world of Personal Finance -How Simran an Optometrist by qualification quit her job & became a full time content creator -What goes behind producing the content at Girls That Invest -Favourite instruments for Investing -Regulations for Content Creators -Long Term Investing Mindset -Whether to Invest in Crypto in 2022 -Identifying multi baggers or investing in fundamentally good stocks Preorder Link for Book US/Worldwide: Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Amazon AU/NZ: Booktopia, Whitcoulls, PaperPlus, The Nile Social Media Handles ⤵︎ Instagram: Girls That Invest Website: www.girlsthatinvest.com

In this episode of Creative Punjabi's with Jasmeet Narang we have Ramneet Brar who is Chief Growth officer at Isempower (job search platform for international students in Canada) In this podcast we discussed: -Ramneet's Journey -Challenges faced by International Students -What is Isempower? -How is Isempower bridging the gap by Connecting Students, Employers & Universities -How to Land in your Dream Job in your dream country -What's coming Soon on the platform for Students -Things students don't realise when they move for studies abroad. Social Media Handles ⤵︎ LinkedIn : Ramneet Brar Instagram: @thelifeof.rb Website: www.isempower.com

In this episode of Creative Punjabi's with Jasmeet Narang we have Sutej Pannu who shares his journey of becoming a wedding photographer, what goes behind capturing that perfect shot. In this podcast we will discuss: -Sutej's Journey? -Cracking the first assignment as a wedding photographer -Creative Mindset behind capturing a perfect shot. -How to choose a wedding photographer for your own wedding -How glamorous is being a full time photographer -Best Lighting Set-up to Capture a Photograph -Sutej's Dream Project. Social Media Handles ⤵︎ Instagram: @sutejpannu @sutej.pannu @sutej_pannu Website: www.sutejpannu.com

On this episode of the Brown Pundits Browncast I had a long conversation with  Nikunj Trivedi and Pushpita Prasad of the Coalition of Hindus of North America. One of the things we talked extensively about during this podcast is the Carnegie Endowment study Social Realities of Indian Americans: Results From the 2020 Indian American Attitudes Survey. The survey is rich with data that might surprise (for example, there are as many Bengali speakers as Punjabi speakers in the US, though I suspect this might be due to many ethnic Punjabis putting Hindi down as their mother tongue). But for the purposes of this episode, we were interested in caste identity, and how it relates to Hindus in America. The Carnegie takes a shot at the 2018 Equality Labs survey that argues for the pervasiveness of caste discrimination: A 2018 survey of 1,500 South Asian Americans found that many low-caste members of numerous diaspora communities had endured firsthand experience of caste discrimination. However, the study is not based on a representative sample, raising questions about the generalizability of its findings. The figure above shows that most Hindu Indian Americans do not live in a caste-homogeneous environment. There are reasons for this. From the text: Forty-seven percent of Hindu respondents report identifying with a caste, which means the majority (53 percent) said that they do not personally identify with a caste group of any kind. However, there is marked variation by place of birth. Whereas 53 percent of foreign-born Hindu Indian Americans affiliate with a caste group, 34 percent of U.S.-born Hindu Indian Americans do the same. ... ...Overall, there are 632 respondents in the IAAS sample who belong to the Hindu faith but only 293 who report identifying with a caste group. Of this latter group, the overwhelming majority—83 percent—categorize themselves as General or upper caste. Sixteen percent identify as a member of OBC and 1 percent each identify as Adivasi/Scheduled Tribe (ST) or Dalit/Scheduled Caste (SC). The latter number, that about 80 percent of Hindu Indian Americans are not OBC, Dalit or Adivasi is exactly what I've seen in other data. But perhaps a more important aspect is that large numbers of Hindus in America don't "affiliate" with a caste group. Some of the American-born individuals may not actually even know their caste group, though the foreign-born ones clearly know their origins as noted in the text: Figure 21 looks more closely at the caste composition of social networks among Hindus. Seventy-four percent of Hindu respondents who report not identifying with a caste nevertheless know enough to be able to identify the caste identities of their social networks. Only 26 percent of Hindus who do not identify with a caste respond to questions about the caste composition of their social networks by answering “don't know.” This indicates that even though a large proportion of Hindu respondents say they do not identify with a caste, only a small fraction are unaware of the caste composition of their networks. What is also striking is how relatively small the differences are between respondents who identify with a caste versus those who do not. While the former report that a slightly higher share of their social network comprises people of the same caste, if one sets aside the “don't know” responses, the relative differences between caste identifiers and non-identifiers is marginal. For instance, 27 percent of Hindu respondents who identify with a caste report that all or most of their Indian friends share their caste affiliation. Nineteen percent of those who do not identify with a caste group answer similarly. Respondents who acknowledge a caste identity are only slightly more likely to report that some of their social network is made up of people of the same caste (41 percent versus 33 percent for those without a caste identity). So here is the subtle point: people who do not identify with a caste group nevertheless can often assess whether their social circle is mostly of their caste group or not. The dynamic here is that people are proactively disavowing or denying caste identity personally, but they clearly still know the provenance of their own lineage and that of their friends.  The landscape of caste and America is complex. Nevertheless, today's social justice activists are trying to reframe it as just another black-white dichotomy, with oppressed Dalits, etc., against oppressive Brahmins. Finally, we discuss the casual and not-so-casual anti-Hindu comments that are spreading across mainstream discourse. For example, an organization at UC Davis called the Other Collective has said some really bizarre things about Diwali:

Big Story: We look at the Qutub Minar's disputed history and why rewriting history does not help undo past wrongs.https://splainer.in/posts/2022/Pillar-of-SocietyPress Decode Episode on Jallianwalla Bagh https://shows.ivmpodcasts.com/show/press-decode-udzw-RNePZBI15p0bis1T/episode/jallianwala-bagh-and-nirvana-perils-of-artistic-licence-n9wj-Itio8jIuWCNUEnJO?startTime=0Food for Thought: From 'Maahi Ve' to Bhangra pop, we're looking at how and why Punjabi music became as popular as it did, both across India and the world.https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/apr/07/how-panjabi-mc-became-a-british-asian-icon-bhangrahttps://lifestyle.livemint.com/news/big-story/music-in-the-age-of-algorithm-111643340996398.htmlRoast or toastLeast fave1) Demolition derby at Khargone2) The problem with MBAsFave item1) A defense for spoilershttps://www.vox.com/culture/22934014/spoilers-capitalism-mordew-hyper-spoiledCheck out more at Daily SplainerFollow us on social media:Instagram | Twitter | Facebookhttps://www.instagram.com/splainerin/?hl=enhttps://twitter.com/splainerin?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthorhttps://www.facebook.com/splainerin/You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.You can check out our website at https://shows.ivmpodcasts.com/featured

This Episode of kaka Balli Punjabi Podcast talks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Punjab and conspiracy theories behind his security lapse. With upcoming Punjab elections, there is a pattern of bad news towards Punjab and Punjabis, especially last week's news first Bulli bai app using Sikh's profile to sell muslim women online and second, failure of CM Channi to provide ample security to PM's tour. I talk about gaps in SPG planning and much more.

A version of this essay was published by firstpost.com at https://www.firstpost.com/india/punjab-phenomenon-is-devastating-psychologically-but-is-it-just-reversion-to-the-mean-10254751.htmlPerhaps I am naive, but growing up in the South, I had a healthy respect for Sikhs, whom I viewed as men of honor and of principle. Later when I lived in California, I visited the Gadar Memorial Hall, and I wrote in 1996 (“Across a chasm of 75 years, the eyes of these dead mean speak to today’s Indian-American”) about the photographs of “glowering young men”, long-dead patriots, mostly Sikhs.I wrote of Kartar Singh Sarabha, the 19-year-old from the University of California, Berkeley, who was hanged by the British for ‘sedition’ in 1915. He inspired others like Bhagat Singh. And then there is the Komagata Maru incident; once again Sikhs were prominent. They were the ones who tried, as economic migrants, to move to Canada and the US, and were forced to return, and massacred on arrival.Thanks for reading Shadow Warrior! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Later, I read O V Vijayan’s under-appreciated masterpiece The Path of the Prophet, and he spoke of “the lament of the innocent first-borns”, and I learned from a colleague named Inderjeet Gujral how he literally was the first-born of a Hindu family who had become a Sikh.Vijayan wrote of the betrayal ordinary Sikhs felt when the Indian Army attacked the Golden Temple. I wrote about Jallianwallah Bagh (“Remember Jallianwallah Bagh!”) and the sacrifice of the Sikhs, quoting Vijayan (translation from the Malayalam is mine):As far as the eye can see, gallows, hundreds and thousands of them; and on them, smiling, hanged martyrs, Sikhs! Merchants, hedonists, yet they paid the price for freedom. They loved India deeply.In 2019, I went to Kala Pani, the infamous penitentiary in Port Blair, the Andamans. They broke our patriots there, in a Panopticon, as visualized by the famous British liberal Jeremy Bentham. I paid homage to Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. And I read the plaques that had long lists of those incarcerated there: and they were disproportionately Sikhs and Bengalis.Thank you for reading Shadow Warrior. This post is public so feel free to share it.Therefore it is with personal anguish that I have followed the trajectory of the Khalistani movement, and the anti-India fervor espoused by them, including the Air India Kanishka bombing, followed by their infiltration into the farm-bill agitation. There is reason to believe that there are hostile entities’ fingerprints all over.Then there were the horrifying incidents of two lynchings, one in Amritsar and the other in Kapurthala. It is likely that both the victims were Hindus (the authorities have carefully refrained from naming them and the media has not produced tear-jerker stories about their grieving relatives, and by past experience this only happens when the murdered are Hindus). The likely implication is that there is a plan (now that Afghanistan is in the bag) by the ISI to escalate things back to the daily murders and mayhem in the pre-KPS Gill days in the 1990s.Worryingly, this is the same template that was used by the ISI to ethnically cleanse Hindus from Jammu & Kashmir in 1990. In Punjab, too, many Hindus were killed; but there was no exodus. Perhaps the idea now is to create enough terror and force a migration of Hindus out of Punjab.That fits the proposed map from “Sikhs for Justice” of ‘Khalistan’, which, notably, does not include any Pakistani territory, not even the Gurudwara Shri Kartarpur Sahib. That is telling. Also notice that J&K is not even in the map! This is reminiscent of similarly expansive ‘Eelam’ maps put out by LTTE, which included much of southern India. Therefore we can conclude that there is a clear political angle. But there is also a socio-economic angle to the troubles in Punjab.For one thing, there are serious caste fissures among Sikhs, and Jat Sikhs dominate and in some sense oppress SC Sikhs. And apparently Jat-ness transcends religion and even national boundaries: I was amused when a famous woman journalist bragged on Twitter that her half-Pakistani, out-of-wedlock son has classic Jat looks! Apparently this is also behind massive conversions to Christian churches in Punjab recently: what I gather is that the SC Sikhs are converting en masse perhaps in a rebuke to Jats.But I wonder if there are also some more mundane explanations. It may well be a reversion to the mean. Those parts of India that were ahead may well be now declining in relative terms. Similarly there’s the interesting idea of the “middle-income trap” that has caused some nations to stumble in their path to wealth.In addition to Punjab with its many freedom fighters (some of whom are alluded to above), Bengalis clearly led the flowering of a nationalist consensus, and there was a veritable constellation of greats: famous names like Bankim Chandra, Rash Behari Bose, Swami Vivekananda, Shri Aurobindo, Subhas Chandra Bose, all the way to unknowns like Bina Das.So what happened to West Bengal? Why is it benighted, and not the glittering center of Indian civilization? Have both Bengal and Punjab regressed to a mean, after having been outliers for a long time? Of course the two also bore the brunt of Partition.There is another reason to believe there is a reversion to the mean. Consider which states are well off and which states are poor. Look at the poverty rates in the graph.Remarkable, isn’t it? The least poor states are: Kerala, Sikkim, Goa, Delhi and Punjab. For the moment, let us ignore Sikkim, Goa and Delhi as they are small. (By the way, earlier data I found showed that J&K was by far the least poor territory. I am not sure what has changed.) So let us look at Kerala and Punjab.There is a simple reason for Kerala’s prosperity: it is a money-order economy, taking advantage of the superior indices of high school education and of healthcare, a legacy from the enlightened rulers of Travancore. This led to mass emigration, first to the rest of India, and later to many parts of the world: not only West Asia, but also rich white countries. Result: remittance money that props up creaking state finances.Take a look at the footnote in the graph: Kottayam district in Kerala has 0.0% poverty! Why is this? Kottayam (and nearby Ernakulam, also a winner) are the most Christian areas in Kerala, and produce the majority of the nurses who have become a major export: you can find Kerala-origin Christian nurses in large numbers in every part of the rich world. They emigrate, bring family members, and send good money back.More recently there has been a virtual invasion of oil-rich West Asia by Kerala people, leading to a windfall (most often from Muslim-dominated Kozhikode district, another winner). But that is coming to an end: I read that some 15 lakh emigres have returned, often after losing their jobs.Similarly, Punjab’s prosperity is easily explained. Punjabis are talented farmers (note the Sikh-Mexican Catholic farmers of California’s Central Valley who have become some of the biggest producers of almonds and so on there) and landowning castes (Jats in particular) benefited from the Green Revolution.These castes now do not want to share their prosperity with their landless laborer brethren; besides, they figured out how to make big bucks as intermediary arhatiyas who, among other things, ‘import’ lower-priced grain from other states and demand high support prices in Punjab. In other words, their prosperity now depends on looting the taxpayer and converting public property to private gain. Thus the opposition to the farm bills.Slowly but surely, this neat trick will cease to work, and Punjab’s gains will disappear.If I were a betting man, I’d bet on the laggard Gangetic Plain lands: yes, Bihar, UP, MP. All of them are low-hanging fruits, and within a decade, with good policies, leadership and a bit of luck, they will be the places to be. That would only be a reversion to what once was: the Gangetic Plain led the country with its empires: Mauryan, Gupta etc (of course, later there were the Cholas, Chalukyas and Vijayanagar as glittering imperial states).Thus regression to the mean may not be such a bad thing; and it is only in relative terms. In absolute terms, the entire nation will rise. And I suspect Punjabi separatism will subside, too. It is fairly clear that Sikhs are better off in India than in an imaginary ‘Khalistan’: they merely need to reflect on how they had to flee from Afghanistan with their sacred books as soon as the ISI won there.1350 words, 31 Dec 2021 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rajeevsrinivasan.substack.com

There are some people who dream, there are some people who Dream + Achieve + Inspire. Bringing to you the stories of most impactful creative professionals across industries like Cinema, Design, Art, Fitness, Modelling, Entrepreneurship and many more. My name is Jasmeet Narang and you are listening to Creative Punjabi's Show

Please follow us on all social media handles: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1TTSkRzu43EcZn7ha65tfA Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/jantakshow/ Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/jantakshow Hosted by Manik Kamra Instagram: https://instagram.com/manikkamra?igshid=12qsypg3wcfbo Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manikkamra21 LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/manik-kamra Produced by Ayush Bajaj Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ayushbajaj0202/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayush0202/ 0:00 Introduction 2:20 What is your relationship with money? 4:49 Does public life affect your mental health sometimes? 7:54 Do you get requests from people to say something entertaining in public places? 9:57 How do you prepare yourself for a character presented to you in a movie? Jan Tak Show is a talk show where we speak to people who have been doing amazing work in their field. Through this, we aspire to help people discover their purpose and navigate through their personal and professional life. We are always looking for feedback from you. Please let us know in the comments or at thejantakshow@gmail.com Listen to us on:- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bud63GAb2jVPTXxFfyjqq Google Podcasts: https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy80NzVkZGViOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw==

Bengali's, Punjabis, Gujaratis, Mallus, Tamils, etc etc the list of south Asian browns is almost never ending and thank GOD for that. 

(note: time stamps are without ads & may be off a little) This week Beth and Wendy discuss Baljit Singh Buttar, who went by the nickname Bal. He was a member of an Indo-Canadian gang in the Vancouver area of British Columbia, and it's unknown how many people he killed, but more than one! We dive into the setting (09:29), the killers early life (25:32) and the timeline (28:23).  Then, we get into "Where are they now?" (49:05) followed by our takeaways and what we think made the perp snap (51:02).   As usual we close out the show with some tips on how not to get murdered (57:07) and our shout outs (59:22).  Thanks for listening! This is a weekly podcast and new episodes drop every Thursday, so until next time... look alive guys, it's crazy out there! Sponsors Upstart  https://www.upstart.com/fruit Better Help BetterHelp.com/Fruit Shout Outs Dr. Death https://www.peacocktv.com/stream-tv/dr-death The Murder Accountability Project http://murderdata.org/ Algorithm podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/algorithm/id1570192032 Corinne Rice-Grey Cloud https://www.instagram.com/misscorinne86/ Promo Apple for The Teacher podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/apple-for-the-teacher/id1473698720 Where to find us: Our Facebook page is Fruitloopspod and our discussion group is Fruitloopspod Discussion on Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/groups/fruitloopspod/ We are also on Twitter and Instagram @fruitloopspod Please send any questions or comments to fruitloopspod@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail at 602-935-6294.  We just might read your email or play your voicemail on the show! Want to Support the show? You can support the show by rating and reviewing Fruitloops on iTunes, or anywhere else that you get your podcasts from.  We would love it if you gave us 5 stars! You can make a donation on the Cash App https://cash.me/$fruitloopspod Or become a monthly Patron through our Podbean Patron page https://patron.podbean.com/fruitloopspod Footnotes Articles/Websites 604Now. (11/11/2011). Bindy Johal Associate Bal Buttar Dies At 35. Retrieved 07/16/2021 from https://604now.com/bindy-johal-associate-bal-buttar-dies-at-35/ Bolan, Kim. (07/16/2011). Bal Buttar Agrees to Plead Guilty in Murder Conspiracy Case. Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 07/16/2021 from https://vancouversun.com/news/staff-blogs/bal-buttar-agrees-to-plead-guilty-in-murder-conspiracy-case Sharma, Viney. (07/01/2018). Punjabi gangs' claim to shame in organised crime. Tribune India. Retrieved 07/16/2021 from https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/column/punjabi-gangs-claim-to-shame-in-organised-crime-613120 Kerr, Samuel. (01/07/2019). I'm Still Around. Medium.com. Retrieved 07/16/2021 from https://medium.com/@Samuel.kerr/im-still-around-32db1572765a Amar, Mani. (n.d.). Bal Buttar Finally Dead. A Warrior's Religion. Retrieved 07/23/2021 from http://www.warriorsreligion.com/news/balbuttarfinallydead Bolan, Kim. (10/01/2005). Stepping Up The Ranks. Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 07/23/2021 from http://www.primetimecrime.com/Recent/Organized%20Crime/VS20051001Indo.htm Bolan, Kim. (06/10/2005). 1991- 2004: NRI organized crime in NRI Community in BC. Retrieved 07/23/2021 from https://www.nriinternet.com/NRI_Murdered/CANADA/BC/Gang_Killing/2_BC_NRI1991-%202004_Ganf_Murders%20.htm Bolan, Kim. (09/06/2007). Paralysed blind man charged in murder conspiracy. Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 07/23/2021 from https://www.pressreader.com/canada/vancouver-sun/20070906/281513631770250 Staff Writer. (06/05/2011). No jail time for paraplegic who conspired to have man killed. Surrey Now Leader. Retrieved 07/25/2021 from https://www.surreynowleader.com/news/no-jail-time-for-paraplegic-who-conspired-to-have-man-killed/ History City of Richmond. (08/2019). Immigration Hot Facts. Retrieved 07/17/2021 from https://www.richmond.ca/__shared/assets/Immigration6252.pdf World Population Review. (n.d.). What Languages do People Speak in Canada? Retrieved 07/17/2021 from https://worldpopulationreview.com/languages/canada Walton-Robert, Margaret. (05/1998). Three Readings Of The Turban: Sikh Identity In Greater Vancouver. Researchgate. Retrieved 07/17/2021 from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/250171093_Three_readings_of_the_turban_Sikh_identity_in_Greater_Vancouver Pier 21. (n.d.). Continuous Journey Regulation, 1908. Retrieved 07/17/2021 from https://pier21.ca/research/immigration-history/continuous-journey-regulation-1908 Bakshi, Renu. (12/23/2002). The Roots Of Gang Warfare: B.C.'s Sikhs Must Look Hard At Themselves. Sikh Pioneers. Retrieved 07/17/2021 from https://www.sikhpioneers.org/roots-gang-warfare/ Preet, Jatinder. (07/15/2012). Canada gang wars have a Punjab connection. The Sunday Guardian. Retrieved 07/17/2021 from http://www.sunday-guardian.com/news/canada-gang-wars-have-a-punjab-connection Wikipedia contributors. (06/17/2021). Indo-Canadian organized crime. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 07/24/2021 from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Indo-Canadian_organized_crime&oldid=1028990557 Sangha, Amandeep Gill. (2003). The Pathway To Gang Life: A Descriptive Analysis Of South Asian Youth Most Susceptible To Recruitment. University of The Fraser Valley. Retrieved 07/23/2021 from https://ufv.arcabc.ca/islandora/object/ufv:18288/datastream/PDF/download Wikipedia contributors. (07/22/2021). Punjabis. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 07/23/2021 from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Punjabis&oldid=1034916633 Books Schneider, Stephen. (2009). Iced: The Story of Organized Crime in Canada. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Video A Warrior's Religion https://www.cultureunplugged.com/documentary/watch-online/play/9756/A-Warrior-s-Religion How Not to Get Murdered Window Security Film https://www.safewise.com/best-security-window-film/ Music “Abyss” by Alasen: ●https://soundcloud.com/alasen●https://twitter.com/icemantrap ●https://instagram.com/icemanbass/●https://soundcloud.com/therealfrozenguy● Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License “Fake Friends” by Yung Kartz https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Yung_Kartz Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License “Baba Yaga” & “Furious Freak” by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3791-furious-freak License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Connect with us on: Twitter @FruitLoopsPod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/fruitloopspod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Fruitloopspod and https://www.facebook.com/groups/fruitloopspod

While excellent newsletters on specific themes within public policy already exist, this thought letter is about frameworks, mental models, and key ideas that will hopefully help you think about any public policy problem in imaginative ways.Audio narration by Ad-Auris.  India Policy Watch #1: Satyam Eva Jayate?  Insights on burning policy issues in India- RSJWe often talk about truth, disinformation and radically networked societies in this newsletter. Our interest in these issues is often on account of news stories around us. But that’s not all. We find there’s a more fundamental shift on the understanding of truth that’s underway in societies around the world. That is what fascinates us about truth. Now, truth or its nature is the basis of all philosophy from the time Socrates started asking questions of fellow Athenians at the public square many centuries ago. Yet we come back to the question of truth and certainty again and again over the course of our history. Not because attaining the truth is an epistemological necessity for our race. That it might be. Instead understanding the nature of truth is important to control it. And those who control the truth control power. Not only for the present but far into the future. So what’s the point of this random discourse on truth at the start? Truth Is The First CasualtyThere were a few news stories over the past couple of weeks that made me wonder about where we are on truth in India today. First, the kerfuffle between Twitter and the Indian government. A lot of commentary on this topic conflate two issues - one, Twitter not complying (yet) to certain parts of the new IT intermediary guidelines and two, Twitter tagging certain tweets by BJP spokespersons on the Congress ‘toolkit’ case as manipulated media. The first point is of limited interest to me. There are new guidelines and they must be followed if you want to be treated as an intermediary in India. Others have complied and Twitter has been lax. The second point is interesting. Twitter claims it has a global policy on tagging certain tweets as manipulated media and that’s what it followed in the Congress ‘toolkit’ case too. This claim has been attacked by many. Some have questioned Twitter’s commitment to free speech and alleged it suppresses right wing handles more than others. I haven’t seen any credible data to support this so I don’t know. But, more importantly, invoking freedom of speech argument here betrays a poor understanding of the concept. Free speech is a right of the citizens that has to be protected from the state which holds a legitimate monopoly on violence (Weber). Suppression of free speech is an issue only when the state is involved. Private entities don’t have that monopoly on violence. If they suppress free speech on their platform, well, there are other platforms. The other attack on Twitter is more credible. Who is Twitter to arbitrate on truth? How does Twitter know what’s the truth? These questions are closely linked to the other news story about a viral video involving an attack on a Muslim man in Ghaziabad. The UP police filed an FIR against Twitter and Mohammed Zubair among others for creating communal divide and intending to disrupt public peace. Zubair is the co-founder of AltNews, a fake news busting media outlet. Zubair and AltNews had done the forensic work debunking the Congress toolkit document on Twitter. It is possible that work could have been the reason for Twitter to have tagged certain tweets as manipulated. Now AltNews was being accused by the state for spreading fake news. Life has came full circle in two weeks for Zubair. Why has the question of truth become so fraught in our lives? Why are we inundated with versions of truth on social media each with its compelling argument and logic? Have we lost objectivity while looking for balance while reporting on truth? These are tough questions. I have no answers. Easy or otherwise. But since we have come so far with piece, like Crime Master Gogo, we need to go back with some takeaways. Truth And TruthfulnessWe live in times where we are suspicious of every claim of truth. We look for who is making the claim, we investigate it, we check on their politics and we debunk the claim if there’s even a whiff of their allegiance to the other side of the political divide from us. This is now the norm.Of course this has always been the case in politics. Political parties are formed on the basis of the belief among the members that theirs is the right path. That the party knows the truth that will lead the society or the nation to the lofty goals set out in the constitution. Politics has always been about '“our truth” versus “their truth”. It is a contestation on versions of truth.This we lived with. But the problem of our times is how deeply politics has pervaded every sphere. There’s not even a sliver of convergence on truths in any subject these days because politics cannot countenance it. No inch can be yielded to “their truth” anywhere. So, the effort on all sides is to bury the others in an avalanche of lies. The more tenuous your truth, the greater the desire to fight with an arsenal of lies. Bernard Williams, the great analytical British philosopher, wrote about this in his last book, Truth and Truthfulness (2002). For Williams, truth is a cultural value to be defended against the onslaught of lies. The accuracy and the sincerity with which we identify and then speak the truth across all social forms is worthy of a good fight. Else, we lose everything. I have excerpted from the first couple of pages of the book below. Williams had presaged the current times of the widespread suspicion of truth even before the advent of social media: “Two currents of ideas are very prominent in modern thought and culture. On the one hand, there is an intense commitment to truthfulness - or, at any rate, a pervasive suspiciousness, a readiness against being fooled, an eagerness to see through appearances to the real structures and motives that lie behind them. Always familiar in politics, it stretches to historical understanding, to the social sciences, and even to interpretations of discoveries and research in the natural sciences.Together with this demand for truthfulness, however, or (to put it less positively) this reflex against deceptiveness, there is an equally pervasive suspicion about truth itself: whether there is such a thing; if there is, whether it can be more than relative or subjective or something of that kind; altogether, whether we should bother about it, in carrying on our activities or in giving an account of them. These two things, the devotion to truthfulness and the suspicion directed to the idea of truth, are connected to one another. The desire for truthfulness drives a process of criticism which weakens the assurance that there is any secure of unqualifiedly stateable truth. Suspicion fastens, for instance, on history. Accounts which have been offered as telling the truth about the past often turn out to be biased, ideological, or self-serving. But attempts to replace these distortions with “the truth” may once more encounter the same kind of objection, and then the question arises, whether any historical account can aim to be, simply true: whether objective truth, or truth at all, can honestly (or, as we naturally put it, truthfully) be regarded as the aim of our inquiries into the past. Similar arguments, if not quite the same, have run their course in other fields. But if truth cannot be the aim of our inquiries, then it must surely be more honest or truthful to stop pretending that it is, and to accept that.We can see how the demand for truthfulness and the rejection of truth can go together. However, this does not mean that they can happily co-exist or that the situation is stable. If you do not really believe in the existence of truth, what is the passion for truthfulness a passion for? Or - as we might also put it - in pursuing truthfulness, what are you supposedly being true to? This is not an abstract difficulty or just a paradox. It has consequences for real politics, and it signals a danger that our intellectual activities, particularly in the humanities may tear themselves to pieces.…. My question is: how can we address this situation? Can the notions of truth and truthfulness be intellectually stabilised, in such a way that what we understand about truth and our chances of arriving at it can be made to fit with our need for truthfulness? I believe this to be a basic problem for present-day philosophy.” Pluralism, Balance And ObjectivityThe other challenge to truth has come from a total lack of understanding of the concept of value pluralism among the media. The construct, popularised by Isaiah Berlin, allows for two or more incommensurable values to be held at the same time by a polity each of which may be true and still be at odds with one another. For Berlin, these differences are unlike a titanic battle between the right and the wrong; instead they are about accepting contradictions and differences in values which then deliver diversity and strength to a society. The media has distorted the notion of pluralism to some kind of an elusive ‘balance’ in its coverage of any issue. Both sides must be represented is a common refrain. The role of the media is to unearth truth through objectivity. Balance doesn’t help in that. That the earth is round is a truth objectively established. Of course, there are ‘flat earthers’ still who think otherwise. The role of media is not to give air time to both in in the interest of pluralism or balance. That’s lazy journalism and an invitation to untruths of every stripe to be concocted to crowd out the truth. This is what has happened. Social media platforms have accentuated this generation of untruths. Over time these turn into ‘versions of truths’ which get quoted by mainstream media aiming for a balance by presenting both sides of the story. It is a systematic perversion of truth. We All Have Our Truths NowThere’s also the failure of liberalism to defend stoutly the core values it stands for in the past decade. It has been attacked from the outside by those with conventional suspicion of the liberals. But liberal ideas have withered under the attack from within from the supporters of relativism, moral scepticism and extreme identity politics. The reverence of relativism among the liberals has meant there’s no objective truth for them anymore. Everything is true in its context. Therefore, everything is false too. This ambiguity has meant everyone can claim their own truth based on some kind of a lived experience. Nothing is sacred in general anymore because everything can be questioned. Simultaneously, everything is sacred in particular because there’s a never ending contest to be purer than the next person. It is difficult to even define a truth in these circumstances. Forget defending it. This absence of a rigid commitment to an ideology by the liberals would lead to moral panic, anarchy and philistinism as Leo Strauss had warned. This is where we seem to have arrived.Lastly, there’s a vast majority who watch this battle of different versions of truth from the sidelines. They think of themselves as the audience. They aren’t. It is they who are being played in the arena. Yet, often, they know the truth and they see through the game. But they remain onlookers, reluctant to take sides and ever willing to be taken in by what’s unfolding in front of them. When truth is no longer valuable, it is they who end up paying the highest price. Like Ramdhari Singh Dinkar wrote:समर शेष है, नहीं पाप का भागी केवल व्याघ्र,जो तटस्थ हैं, समय लिखेगा उनका भी अपराध।Translation: This war over truth is eternal. Your adversary isn’t alone in the wrong. Those on the sidelines, unwilling to take a stand are culpable too. In time, they will face a reckoning. India Policy Watch #2: When Federating Units are ExtinguishableInsights on burning policy issues in India— Pranay KotasthaneMany reports of restoration of J&K’s statehood came out this week. In what appeared to be a step towards restoration, the PM and HM met leaders of significant political parties of the J&K Union Territory. And so it appears that a former state in the Indian Union — reduced to a UT a couple of years ago — might soon become a state again, albeit a truncated one, and on terms different from the ones before August 2019. Any issue involving J&K is a Pandora’s Box. So, for a moment, keep the particularities of J&K aside and consider this question: what does the Indian government’s flip-flop story tell us about the nature of federalism in India? Before answering this question, let’s take a detour to our western neighbour. As in many other areas, it teaches us what not to do. The One Unit ProgrammeThe four provinces of Pakistan as we know today didn’t exist between 14th October 1955 and 1 July 1970. These provinces, along with erstwhile princely states, were merged together into a single unit: the One Unit called West Pakistan. The primary reason was to create parity between the eastern and western wings of the country. East Bengal was renamed East Pakistan and the whole of its western wing became West Pakistan. Provincial governments of Sindh, NWFP, Balochistan, and West Punjab were dismissed and these units were relegated to being merely divisions of the province of West Pakistan.The One Unit of West Pakistan (1955–1970). Source: modified from wikimediaIn 1954, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Bogra, is believed to have expressed this hope:There will be no Bengalis, no Punjabis, no Sindhis, no Pathans, no Balochis, no Bahawalpuris, no Khairpuris. The disappearance of these groups will strengthen the integrity of Pakistan.We know how that turned out.Now, look at this from a federalism angle. Most federations have a centripetal bias meaning that the union is stronger than the states. But if provincial governments can be dismissed with the ease as it was done in Pakistan, can that system even be called a federal one?Perhaps not. I came across a key differentiation between federalism and decentralisation that sheds some light on this question in A Review of Indian Fiscal Federalism by Dr Govinda Rao:A federal system is the one in which the entire set of powers — legislative, fiscal and regulatory — are divided in the Constitution or conventions between different levels of government. There is a measure of permanency in the assignments and in particular, the powers given to lower level governments cannot be extinguished by higher level governments (Breton, 2000). Thus, checks and balances to safeguard the system is an inherent part of the federal system whereas, decentralisation does not necessarily entail that. In other words, all federal systems are decentralized whereas all decentralized systems are not federal. The Constitution and other institutions set up to ensure checks and balances and safeguard the domains of different levels of government are inherent components of a federal system.Seen from this lens, the Pakistani system was decentralised but not federal.What about the Indian system?Article 3 of the Indian constitution permits the Parliament to, by law:(a) form a new State by separation of territory from any State or by uniting two or more States or parts of States or by uniting any territory to a part of any State;(b) increase the area of any State;(c) diminish the area of any State;(d) alter the boundaries of any State;(e) alter the name of any State;At the same time, the ‘basic structure doctrine’ recognises Federalism as one of the basic and hence unalterable components of the Indian constitution. So, in all likelihood, if the Indian union were to embark on a One-Unit or Four-Units programme of its own, the Supreme Court would come in its way. In other words, the ‘measure of permanency of the Indian federation’ rests on the role of the judiciary.What about the J&K Reorganisation Act?Now, we return to the central question. Does J&K’s conversion into a UT go against the basic structure doctrine? I’m not competent to analyse the legal aspects of this question. As it stands, several cases are pending before the Supreme Court which argue that the act was unconstitutional because it goes against the basic structure doctrine. Even after two years, the Court hasn’t made a decision yet.From a non-legal perspective, it does seem to me that the J&K reorganisation goes against the spirit of federalism. This is perhaps the first time a full-fledged state of the Indian union has been converted into a union territory. This is an important distinction because the powers that J&K enjoyed as a state were in one fell swoop ‘extinguished’ by the Indian government. A notification in Oct 2020 allowing non-residents to own immovable property in the union territory illustrates this point further. This was not allowed under J&K’s pre-independence State Subject Laws. Many border states and regions in India still have such restrictions. Even beyond India, it is not unusual for peripheries of nation-states to be accorded special status, as a quid pro quo for accepting a higher sovereign. The undoing of this arrangement with J&K by a union government rule militates against ‘permanency in assignments of powers’ to lower levels of governments, a key requirement of federal systems.In sum, even if we keep the specifics of J&K aside, India took a step back on the issue of federalism on August 5, 2019. The move towards reversing some of the damage caused is welcome and much-needed. Pakistan should warn us about the costs of sacrificing federalism at the altar of national integration.Other good articles on the One Unit scheme:Formation of One Unit, The NewsFlashback: One Unit: a dark chapter in our history, DawnIndia Policy Watch #3: Phrases that Should Fall into DisuseInsights on burning policy issues in India— Pranay KotasthaneWords have meanings. They indicate the quality of a nation’s policy discourse. With this idea in mind, we are compiling a running list of words and phrases that should disappear from India’s public discourse. Here’s the first instalment.Haves and Have-nots. You would have come across this phrase in many policy discussions. It is easy to present every policy problem as an eternal class struggle between the ‘haves and the have-nots’. And yet, this understanding is misplaced. A speaker at an event I attended a few years ago said that ‘there is no such thing as haves vs have-nots. Instead, there are haves and want-to-haves’. A lightbulb went off in my head.The underlying story behind the haves/have-nots formulation is a zero-sum one. The implicit causality is that the haves have it because the have-nots don’t. The haves are the villains merely because they are successful, rich, or privileged. Structured this way, only one kind of policy recommendation can surface — take things away from the haves and distribute them to the have-nots. The alternate formulation of haves and want-to-haves has a positive sum game at its core. It acknowledges that individuals from both groups are united by the same purpose — to make their lives better off. It doesn’t vilify the haves. The policy recommendations derived from this perspective focus on the ways to increase opportunities for the want-to-haves. A language of confrontation is replaced by a language of competition.Centre/Central GovernmentThe DMK government in Tamil Nadu has raised this issue in recent times. And they are right. ‘Centre’ and ‘Central government’ are terms that are not mentioned even once in the Indian constitution. Not only is it inaccurate to call the union government as the central government, this formulation implicitly assumes that Delhi and the Union government are at the centre while other Indian places and state governments are at the periphery. Given that the Indian constitution explicitly devolves certain powers to states, there is no scope for a government that can claim centrality over the others. This is what well-known constitutional expert Subhash C Kashyap has to say on the matter:“From the point of the usage of the words, 'centre' indicates a point in the middle of a circle, whereas 'Union' is the whole circle. In India, the relationship between the so-called 'Centre' and States, as per the Constitution, is actually a relationship between the whole and its parts. The relation between the whole and its parts is definitely different from the relation between a centre and its periphery”.Population Bomb/Population Explosion.It is a national pastime to blame overpopulation for India’s problems. Maybe, population was a problem in the last decades of the Raj and the early years of the Republic. But those Malthusian concerns have long become irrelevant. India’s total fertility rate has dropped from six in 1950s to near replacement levels of 2.2 in 2020. This decline has happened across religions and regions in India. Note what the Population Foundation of India says:“Religion has little to do with fertility levels. Muslim dominated countries like Indonesia and Bangladesh, have out-performed India in terms of falling birth rates.  Even within India, the fertility rates among Muslims in Kerala is lower than the fertility rates among Hindus in Bihar. States like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh have proven that it is not religion that matters.  What has made the difference is education, employment opportunities and accessibility of contraceptives. In neighbouring Sri Lanka, fertility rates were stabilised by simply increasing the age at marriage, a move that was made more effective by ensuring girls were educated.”In fact, we might soon have the problem of a falling working-age population. By 2035, the dependency ratio — the proportion of working-age population to non-working age population — is expected to peak. So, we should get rid of Malthusian notions of overpopulation from our public discourse. Blame undergovernance, not overpopulation, as my colleague Nitin Pai says.HomeWorkReading and listening recommendations on public policy matters[Article] “Don't Give Up on Truth” in the Persuasion: Yascha Mounk and Jonathan Rauch discuss the dangers of disinformation, the limits on robust debate, and why truth is fundamental to preserving democracies around the world. [Article] The Population Foundation of India has a note on Lessons for India as China calls off two-child policy. Again, a case of a neighbour helpfully reminding India of the mistakes it should avoid.[Interview] The News Minute speaks to Subhash Kashyap on the differences between ‘centre’ and ‘union’.[Podcast] On Puliyabaazi, Saurabh and Pranay discuss China’s three-child policy, rising petrol prices in India, and implications of the economic and social disparities between India’s southern and northern states. Get on the email list at publicpolicy.substack.com

FROM THIS EPISODE ON, AND FOR THE NEXT THREE EPISODES, AND FOR EVERY LISTEN TO EPISODES IN THIS SERIES, I WILL MATCH Rs. 100/ listen and donate to a charity helping COVID-19 patients. UPDATES TO FOLLOW after the 3rd part in this series. Please Share/ Subscribe/ Listen/ Reach out if I can help. #ThePodcastPledge About this episode: Growing up Punjabi - Well Sardaron ke bachche (Sikh kids) are in a league of their own. You'd see what I mean if you look around you - in ads and lines that have been made famous in advertisements and/ or movies by a Surdy or Punjabi kid. I'm here to tell you stories from my childhood in a Surdy-Punjabi household, surrounded by the craziness that only Punjabis can bring to any situation. It's no wonder all three of us siblings have been labelled “dramebaaz” (melodramatic), with my nearly-seven-year-old niece following merrily in the footsteps of her very Sikh father and Punjabi mother. This is a tribute to all the mad little Surdy bachchas I grew up with! You guys rock. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/ps193/message

Why are Punjabis Upset in Foreign Countries

What are leaving behind in 2020 and taking with you to 2021 .....my sense of humor def coming with me shooooo!

Punjabi folk singer Shaukat Ali passed away on Friday after a brief illness in Lahore at 78. Ali was famous among Punjabis on both sides of the border for keeping the folk tales alive. Tune into this special report by Masood Mallhi dedicated to the legandary singer.

Classic Aussie slang words can leave some people scratching their heads in confusion. Do you know what ‘arvo’, ‘bikkie’, ‘brekkie’ and ‘sanga’ mean? Spiced-up versions of English words coined by Punjabis living Down Under add to the fun and confusion. - ‘ਆਸਟ੍ਰੇਲੀਆ ਐਕਸਪਲੇਨਡ’ ਦੇ ਇਸ ਹਿੱਸੇ ਵਿੱਚ ਅਸੀਂ ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ ਇੱਥੇ ਵਸਦੇ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਦੁਆਰਾ ਵਰਤੇ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਅੰਗਰੇਜ਼ੀ ਦੇ ਕੁਝ ਖ਼ਾਸ ਸ਼ਬਦਾਂ ਅਤੇ ਲਹਿਜੇ ਬਾਰੇ ਜਾਣਕਾਰੀ ਦੇਵਾਂਗੇ। ਇੱਕ ਜ਼ਿਕਰ ਹੋਵੇਗਾ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਭਾਈਚਾਰੇ ਦਾ ਜੋ ਅੰਗਰੇਜ਼ੀ ਦੇ ਕਈ ਸ਼ਬਦਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਆਪਣੇ ਹੀ ਢੰਗ ਜਾਂ ਨਿਵੇਕਲੇ ਲਹਿਜੇ ਵਿੱਚ ਵਰਤਦੇ ਹਨ।

Season 1 of the Kitchenpostcards Podcast is all about “Locating Ourselves”. As Punjabis, we can trace our roots to the state of Punjab, now and in undivided India. We retrace our culinary roots in this episode and discover there are many different ways of cooking and eating among Punjabis! Join us on this journey.

Indian-origin academic researcher, Dr Sabine Wardle has conducted research to support the provision of 'culturally and religiously' appropriate palliative care to senior members of the Punjabi community living in Australia.

A brief discussion on how different generations see "Punjabi culture" differently. My personal opinion how Punjabis are being distorted away from their identification and what are the real values of being a Punjabi.  #Punjabipodcast #punjabiculture #punjab ਵੱਖ ਵੱਖ ਪੀੜ੍ਹੀਆਂ ਕਿਵੇਂ "ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਸਭਿਆਚਾਰ" ਨੂੰ ਵੱਖਰੇ .ੰਗ ਨਾਲ ਵੇਖਦੀਆਂ ਹਨ ਇਸ ਬਾਰੇ ਇੱਕ ਸੰਖੇਪ ਵਿਚਾਰ-ਵਟਾਂਦਰੇ.  ਮੇਰੀ ਨਿੱਜੀ ਰਾਏ ਕਿਵੇਂ ਸਾਡੀ ਪਛਾਣ ਤੋਂ ਪੰਜਾਬੀਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਭਟਕਾਇਆ ਜਾ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ.

Perth-based actor and entertainer Nav Lehal uses multiple social media platforms including Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Instagram to share his content that is specifically tailored to touch the lives of millions of Punjabis settled across the globe.

Three farm bills passed by the government of prime minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) in India have ignited mass protests. In recent days tens and hundreds of millions of farmers and workers have taken to protest in India, especially in its agricultural heartlands of which Punjab is the most prominent. Thousands of Punjabis in diaspora have also taken out protests in Western countries. The Modi government argues its reforms are necessary to resolve India's agrarian crisis. Will these agricultural reforms improve the situation for farmers in India? What exactly do they contain and what impacts will they have on India's agricultural system?I'm joined by Dr. Ritika Shrimali, author of the forthcoming Corporatization of Indian Agriculture: The Case of Contract Farming in India, to discuss these questions.Music by Zobu.

This week Sachin, Sumit and Darshan discuss man nipples, fear mongering of vaccines, testing your oxygen to debunk anti-masker arguments, if Sachin's dad was alive, the one Brampton Gurdwara fiasco during Diwali, perspective on celebrating actor of terror, infrastructure in Punjab, would you live in Khalistan?, marriage benefits men more than it does women, Gurshaan gets roasted a little again, defining an alpha male, Mats Sundin, the worst beating we ever got, being patient on progress, the influence of Punjabi singers, and rappers on culture, Punjabi music videos are trash, consume conscious content and more! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/peopleofthecommunity/message

Hockey NSW, the governing body managing hockey competitions has initiated a major project to introduce and promote hockey in culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Manu Singh, selected as ambassador to connect this game in Indian sub-continent communities, appeals to everybody to come and play this social, friendly and family-oriented game. - ਹਾਕੀ ਐਨ ਐਸ ਡਬਲਿਊ, ਜੋ ਕਿ ਹਾਕੀ ਦੇ ਮੁਕਾਬਲੇ ਕਰਵਾਉਣ ਵਾਲੀ ਇੱਕ ਅਹਿਮ ਸੰਸਥਾ ਹੈ, ਨੇ ਇਸ ਖੇਡ ਨੂੰ ਵਿਭਿੰਨ ਭਾਈਚਾਰਿਆਂ ਤੱਕ ਲੈ ਕੇ ਜਾਣ ਦਾ ਇੱਕ ਨਿਵੇਕਲਾ ਉਪਰਾਲਾ ਸ਼ੁਰੂ ਕੀਤਾ ਹੈ। ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਮੂਲ ਦੇ ਮੰਨੂ ਸਿੰਘ ਵਾਲੀਆ ਜੋ ਕਿ ਇਸ ਕੰਮ ਲਈ ਅੱਗੇ ਆਏ ਹਨ, ਸਾਰੇ ਹੀ ਪੰਜਾਬੀਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਅਪੀਲ ਕਰਦੇ ਹਨ ਕਿ ਇਸ ਵਿਸਰ ਰਹੀ ਖੇਡ ਨੂੰ ਅਗਲੀਆਂ ਪੀੜ੍ਹੀਆਂ ਤੱਕ ਲੈ ਕਿ ਜਾਣ ਲਈ ਅੱਗੇ ਆਉਣ।

In this week's episode I talk to knan Nair a Indian(NOT PUNJABI)-American Comedian based out California. We talk about what was like growing up in States as Indian. I learn how say Sambar correctly and how North and South Indians are so different, he even low-key admits that Punjabis are better and of course we talk everything Comedy. It was an amazing conversation and you listen to here go what are you waiting for!!???! You can find more Krishnan and where he is doing zoom mics because of god damn COVID on Insta: @Knan_nair.

This was a live podcast originally broadcast on 13 August 2020 in collaboration with #SouthAsianHeritageMonth.  From Gujuratis in Harrow and Wembley, Punjabis in Southall and Handsworth, Bangladeshis in Tower Hamlets and Pakistanis in Bradford and Sparkhill, South Asians form the fabric of British society, influencing the development of communities, infrastructure and services. In this special episode, Brown Don't Frown and BAME in Property share your housing stories. We unpack the experiences of social housing, community cohesion, financial decision-making, cultural and social mobility, sexism and inter-generational living as told through your voices. Following our discussion, we open up the floor to our audience, where we answer questions and facilitate an interactive discussion.  Continue the conversation by using the hashtags #OurStoriesMatter and #SAHM and tag us on Twitter: @BDFpodcast, @BAMEinProp, Instagram: @browndontfrownpodcast, @bameinproperty and LinkedIn: Brown Don’t Frown podcast, BAME in Property. 

Talking about the film Bulbbul:Abhinandan: Rajyasree, I must say this Anvita Dutta...Rajyasree: Ya?Abhinandan: Dutt, sorry. Dutta will be Punjabi!Rajyasree: No no, Dutta is Bengali also. I think the Punjabis have just stolen it from us because I know a Dutta who is Punjabi and his first name is Bengali. He said, “No, I'm Punjabi.” And I just felt that was strange.Abhinandan: He started saying, “No”? Like you start everything? You could have said, “He said, ‘I am Punjabi.' Why is everything “no”?Rajyasree: Because you made me a negative person Nikku. Before I met you, I was a very upbeat, chirpy, positive person. I believed in good and happiness. Now, I just believe that we will all die and I will get Covid.Rajyasree and Abhinandan burst out laughing.This and a whole lot of other stuff awful and awesome as Abhinandan Sekhri and Rajyasree Sen discuss Netflix offerings Bulbbul, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga; documentary films Athlete A and Disclosure; and the cooking show Britannia Cheese Star Chef.Tune in! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Punjabis sitting abroad are worried about their farmland in India as for what the future might hold.  Harjinder Thind discusses unique solutions to this unique problem with Baldev Duhre, as well as RedFM callers. 

Sepoy Nanak Singh of the 1/69th Punjabis is one of the few Indian veterans of the Gallipoli campaign. His war memories are still remembered by his descendants living in Perth, WA.

Today we are talking about how we still can discriminate people and cultures, from different states even within the same country. For example: We discussed Punjabis from Pakistan (Balle balle)

Days after Kushal Punjabi’s untimely demise, his ex wife Audrey Dolhen finally opened up about her relationship with the actor. 

Toronto-based Sukhman Gill is a model, actor, speaker and entertainer. Sukhman gained traction on Instagram when he began modeling and ever since, he has tackled a variety of art forms and experiences. You may recognize Sukhman for being the face of a Hershey’s Gold ad campaign in Canada or from one of several short films he’s participated in. Sukhman’s most recent YouTube video, a turban tutorial, is perhaps the most clear example of Sukhman’s goals: to educate others about minority groups and diverse populations, especially Punjabis and Sikhs, through entertainment and mainstream media. In this episode, we discuss this goal and Sukhman's many other projects, as well as his advice or other rising artists.  And be sure to follow @pardesipodcast on Instagram and Twitter, and like us on Facebook for updates and more content.

Akshay Kumar expresses his grief over the demise of actor Kushal Punjabi. He also said that he would like to make a movie on Depression which is the reason why Kushal took his life.

With reinforcements on the way, the British lead Commonwealth troops strive to keep the Japanese away from Singapore. And though exhausted, the Gurkhas, Punjabis, Hyderabad, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of the 11th Indian Infantry Division are on their own against Lt. Gen. Yamashita's 25th Army. It's a race between the arrival of help versus the capture of the port city. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Driving a truck is very common among the Punjabis of Canada. We talk to Bikka Mander who has driven truck as a driver and as an owner/operator. Bikka is also a big fan of Kabaddi and we also discuss what the Kabaddi scene among Punjabis is like. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/laalbutton/message

We discuss Nav and his pretzel allergy, brown musicians and the status quo, why hip-hop can do what it wants but brown-helmed hip-hop can't, Eminem, trolling for the sake of trolling, getting more love outside your hometown than inside, humility and why indians will never have a hip-hop star, the "clean" indian celebrity syndrome, being genre-less, not believing rappers, gothic people being happy inside, the maturity of being able to hold two opposing thoughts in your head, Kunal still can't figure out how much time we've been recording, Ria just released new music, saying Ria's name correctly, the difference between us and a media company (hint: millions of $$$). @kalysay@kushparm@rianjalimusic

Over the 2019 Easter weekend, footy will be amongst the many games Punjabis will play apart from kabaddi, hockey and cricket.

We are 3 brown folk. One is angry. One is nice. And one just happened to be in the room when this started. So she's here forever now.We'll get better at this. Promise.

We discuss the extravagance of Indian weddings, parental guilt, putting Ganesh on every part of your wedding invite, Haathibhen adding bhen to her passport, the auspiciousness of everything, fancyba, Dosa hut, how generational games of telephone result in genocide, the Patel Video Mahbharata collection, fair & lovely's male counterpart...in that order.We're still figuring this out.

JP and Chad begin by cracking open another round of suds and discuss the benefits of "chasing the NEIPA dragon." Then, they touch on a little bit of everything from this week's wide-ranging headlines of the week. Freight Alley: a region where logistics contributes to more than 40% of the economy ArcBest's accounting irregularities They interrupt their program for 5 Good Minutes, sponsored by Trimble, with Ashley Smith from Truckers Against Trafficking. It all connects: supply chain sustainability is just good business Punjabis and their rise as an Indian-origin trucking community in the U.S. Then, they go for broke and try to round up eight more headlines in two-minutes or under for the fourth consecutive time. Florence adds volatility to lean hog prices: big deal or little deal? UPS announces plans to hire 100,000 seasonal workers to deliver for the holiday rush: big deal or little deal? FedEx's higher employee compensation costs sends shares lower: big deal or little deal? Women and young people: Addressing the driver shortage without compromising safety: big deal or little deal? Traveler’s rights after Hurricane Florence? There’s an app for that: big deal or little deal? What is the Typhoon Mangkhut fallout on shipping and the supply chain?: big deal or little deal? New Jersey unemployment tax owner-operator exemption gutted: What’s the fallout?: big deal or little deal? Union Pacific will implement parts of the precision railroading model: big deal or little deal?

Since the first Punjabis emigrated from India to California at the turn of the 20th century, this population has carved out a prominent role in the economy, culture and identity of Yuba City, despite decades of laws that prevented immigration, citizenship and land ownership for Indian Americans. The Yuba-Sutter area boasts one of the largest Sikh populations in the U.S., estimated to be over 15,000. Back in Punjab, Yuba City is a desired destination where Punjabis of all religions know they can find friends and family thousands of miles away from their homeland. This city, rooted in agriculture, is an unassuming place where the American Dream, elusive to so many, is alive and well. Written and read by Sena Christian

#Lohri is one of the most popular Punjabi festivals celebrated by Punjabis all over the world and there are various origins of Lohri which are linked to this festival from the #Punjab region.Its believed that Lohri festival commemorates the passing of the longest night before Winter Solstice. Lohri had originated on the night before the winter solstice since it is the shortest day of the year. This year also the Punjabis will celebrate Lohri in full swing with festive spirit on Friday, January 13th 2017.Lohri is considered the coldest day in northern India since the earth is farthest away from the sun at this time and begins its journey towards the sun on Lohri. Thus, bonfire Festival of Lohri marks the end of cold month of Paush and the beginning of Magh or the arrival of spring. This season shift is an occasion for the people to celebrate. Lohri even marks the last day of the month of Maargazhi, the ninth month of the lunar calendar.As we all know the Festival of Lohri is succeeded by Makar Sankranthi which is a popular festival in central India. The auspicious day of Makar Sankranti (January 14) is celebrated as Bhugali Bihu in Assam, Pongal in South India and Bhogi in Andhra Pradesh and even other parts of India. Priyanka Chopra, the renowned Bollywood and Hollywood actress, singer, philanthropist and film producer has ventured into regional cinema in India. After Marathi and Bhojpuri films her Punjabi movie Sarvann made under her banner Purple Pebble Pictures Directed by Karaan Guliani will release at a theatre near you on Lohri on 13th January 2017.Check out this #BollywoodExclusive #Video where SARVANN Movie Producer Dr. Madhu Chopra and Director Karaan Guliani wish everyone for Lohri !