Bogibeel bridge

        About Bogibeel bridge:

• Bogibeel bridge is a combined road and rail bridge over the Brahmaputra river in the north eastern Indian state of Assam between Dhemaji district and Dibrugarh district. the 4.94 kilometres bridge, work on which was started in 2002.
• The Bogibeel Bridge is the longest rail-cum-road bridge over the Brahmaputra river in the Dibrugarh district of Assam state in north-east India.
• Bogibeel river bridge is the longest rail-cum-road bridge of India with the total length of 4.94 kilometers, it is the longest rail-cum- bridge in India.
• Bogibeel Bridge is India's first bridge to have fully wielded steel-concrete support beams that can withstand earthquakes of magnitudes upto 7 Richter Scale.
• This is also Asia’s 2nd longest rail-cum-road bridge that has a serviceable period of around 120 years.
• This is the 4th longest bridge in India after Bhupen Hazarika Setu, Mahatma Gandhi Setu and Bandra-Worli Sea Link.
• The Bogibeel bridge, situated 17 km downstream of Dibrugarh and Dhemaji, spans the Brahmaputra river and will connect the town of Dibrugarh in the south to Dhemaji to the river's north.
• The bridge is located just over 20 km away from the Assam- Arunachal Pradesh border and is thus expected to act as an alternative to the Kolia Bhomora Setu, Tezpur in providing connectivity to nearly five million people residing in Upper Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
• Bogibeel is the fourth rail-road bridge on the Brahmaputra river in Assam. Due to its location, the bridge will be of strategic importance to India as it will significantly enhance India's ability to transport troops and supplies to its border with Tibet in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Being located in an area of intense rainfall, construction has been significantly slowed down by the fact that construction largely takes place only during a period of four dry months between November and March.

Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya

        About Pandit Madan Mohan Malvia:

• Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya was an Indian educationist and politician notable for his role in the Indian independence movement and as the thrice president of Indian National Congress.
• Malavia is most remembered as the founder of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) at Varanasi in 1916, which was created under the B.H.U. Act, 1915.
• The largest residential university in Asia and one of the largest in the world, having over 40,000 students across arts, sciences, engineering, medical, agriculture, performing arts, law and technology from all over the world. He was Vice Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University from 1919–1938.
• Indians have forgotten his role in ending "Indentured Labours" particularly to West Indies. As Gandhi is for South Africans Malaviya is to East Indians.
• Malaviya was one of the founders of Scouting in India.He also founded a highly influential, English-newspaper, "The Leader" published from Allahabad in 1909.
• He was also the Chairman of Hindustan Times from 1924 to 1946. His efforts resulted in the launch of its Hindi edition named Hindustan Dainik in 1936.
• Pandit ji was posthumously conferred with Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, on 24 December 2014, a day before his 153rd Birth Anniversary.

        Political career:

• In December 1886, Malaviya attended the 2nd Indian National Congress session in Calcutta under chairmanship of Dadabhai Naoroji, where he spoke on the issue of representation in Councils.
• His address not only impressed Dadabhai but also Raja Rampal Singh, ruler of Kalakankar estate near Allahabad, who started a Hindi weekly Hindustan but was looking for a suitable editor to turn it into a daily.
• Thus in July 1887, he left his school job and joined as the editor of the nationalist weekly, he remained here for two and a half years, and left for Allahabad to join L.L.B., it was here that he was offered co-editorship of The Indian Opinion, an English daily.
• After finishing his law degree, he started practising law at Allahabad District Court in 1891, and moved to Allahabad High Court by December 1893.
• Malaviya became the President of the Indian National Congress in 1909 and 1918. He was a moderate leader and opposed the separate electorates for Muslims under the Lucknow Pact of 1916. The "Mahamana" title was conferred to him by Mahatma Gandhi.
• To redeem his resolve to serve the cause of education and social-service he renounced his well established practice of law in 1911, for ever.
• In order to follow the tradition of Sannyasa throughout his life, he pursued the avowed commitment to live on the society's support. But when 177 freedom fighters were convicted to be hanged in the Chauri-chaura case he appeared before the court, despite his vow and got acquitted 156 freedom fighters.
• He remained a member of the Imperial Legislative Council from 1912 and when in 1919 it was converted to the Central Legislative Assembly he remained its member as well, till 1926.
• Malaviya was an important figure in the Non-cooperation movement. However, he was opposed to the politics of appeasement and the participation of Congress in the Khilafat movement.

         Journalistic career:

• Malaviya started his journalistic career as the Editor of the Hindi daily '‘Hindosthan’' in 1887. Raja Rampal Singh of Kalakankar impressed by the speech and the personality of Malaviyaji, during the 2nd Congress Session in Calcutta held in 1886. requested Malaviya to take up this position.
• Then in 1889, he became the Editor of the "Indian Opinion". After the incorporation of "Indian Opinion" with the "Advocate" of Lucknow, Malaviya started his own Hindi weekly "Abhyudaya"(1907–1909 under his editorship).
• Also, his poems (sawaiyas) were published (sometime in 1883–84) under the pseudonym of ‘Makrand’ in ‘Harischandra Chandrika’ magazine (brought out by the famous Bharatendu), articles on religious and contemporary subjects published in ‘Hindi Pradeepa’.
• When the English Government tried to bring in the Press Act and Newspaper Act in 1908, Malaviyaji started a campaign against the Act and called an All India Conference in Allahabad.
• He then realized the need of an English Newspaper to make the campaign effective throughout the country. As a result, with the help of Motilal Nehru he started an English daily the "Leader" in 1909, where he was Editor 1909–1911 and President 1911–1919.
• In 1910, Malaviyaji started the Hindi paper `Maryada'.
• In 1924, Malaviya along with the help of national leaders Lala Lajpat Rai and M. R. Jayakar and industrialist Ghanshyam Das Birla, acquired Hindustan Times and saved it from an untimely demise.
• Malaviya raised Rs.50,000 rupees to acquire the Hindustan Times and industrialist Ghanshyam Das Birla paid most of the cash.
• Malaviya was the Chairman of Hindustan Times from 1924 to 1946. His efforts resulted in the launch of its Hindi edition 'Hindustan' in 1936. The paper is now owned by the Birla family.
• In 1933, Malaviya started Sanatana Dharma from BHU, a magazine dedicated to religious, dharmic interests.

         Legal career:

• In 1891, Malaviya completed his LL.B. from Allahabad University and started practice in Allahabad District Court and then from 1893 practised at the High Court. He soon earned huge respect as one of the most brilliant lawyers of the Allahabad High Court. He gave up his legal practice when he was at his pinnacle in 1911 on his 50th birthday so that he could serve the nation thereafter.
• Malaviya only once again donned his lawyers robe in 1924, following the Chauri Chaura incident in which a police station was attacked and arsoned in February 1922, as a result of which Mahatma Gandhi called off the then launched Non Cooperation movement.
• The sessions court had sent to gallows 170 persons for the attack. However, Malaviya defended them in the Allahabad High Court and was able to get 155 persons saved from the gallows.
• The remaining 15 also were recommended for clemency by the High Court, whereafter their sentences were also commuted from death to life-imprisonment. During these arguments, the then Chief Justice Honble Sir Grimwood Mears bowed thrice to Malaviya as a Mark of great appreciation for the sheer brilliance of his arguments.

         Banaras Hindu University:

• In April 1911, Annie Besant met Malaviya and they decided to work for a common Hindu University in Varanasi. Besant and fellow trustees of the Central Hindu College, which she had founded in 1898, also agreed to Government of India's precondition that the college should become a part of the new University.
• Thus Banaras Hindu University (BHU) was established in 1916, through a Parliamentary legislation, the 'B.H.U. Act 1915', and today it remains a prominent institution of learning in India.
• In 1939, he left the Vice-Chancellorship of BHU and was succeeded by S. Radhakrishnan, who later became the President of India.
• BHU is the largest residential university in Asia. In 1928 he joined Lala Lajpat Rai, Jawaharlal Nehru and many others in protesting against the Simon Commission, which had been set up by the British to consider India's future.
• Just as the "Buy British" campaign was sweeping England, he issued, on 30 May 1932, a manifesto urging concentration on the "Buy Indian" movement in India. Malaviya was a delegate at the Second Round Table Conference in 1931.
• However, during the Civil Disobedience Movement, he was arrested on 25 April 1932, along with 450 other Congress volunteers in Delhi, only a few days after he was appointed in 1932 at Delhi as the President of Congress after the arrest of Sarojini Naidu.