We know what #Varanasi looks like today; what it looked like in 2014. I first visited the oldest living city to do a feature for The Statesman 35 years ago.
Since then, I have visited Varanasi several times. During one visit, I acquired a set of old prints. Sharing them.
#Kashi
‘Dusaswumedh Ghat’, or Dasashwamedh Ghat, by James Prinsep. 1831. Litho.
#Kashi
‘Ugneswar Ghat’, by James Prinsep. 1831. Litho.
#Kashi
Brahman with scriptures after Gangasnan, early morning, Varanasi Ghat, by James Prinsep. 1831. Litho.
#Kashi
Hindu pilgrims at ‘Lulita Debee Temple’ on the eve of Lunar Eclipse, 25 November, 1825. Possibly by James Prinsep.
#Kashi
Ganga at Varanasi, as seen from the window of a house on the River Eternal’s ghat. By James Prinsep. 1831. Litho.
#Kashi
‘Man Mandil’ or ‘Hindu Observatory’ on Ganga, by James Prinsep. 1831. Litho.
#Kashi
‘Rajrajeswuree Ghat’, Varanasi, by James Prinsep. 1831. Litho.
#Kashi
Rama Ghat, Varanasi. By James Prinsep. 1831. Litho.
#Kashi
‘Munikurnika Ghat’ or Manikarnika Ghat, Varanasi, by James Prinsep. 1831. Litho.
#Kashi
‘Ghosal Ghat’, Varanasi, by James Prinsep. 1831. Litho.
‘Bruhma Ghat’ or Brahma Ghat, Varanasi, by James Prinsep. 1831. Litho.
#Kashi
‘Bhurut Mela’, Varanasi, by James Prinsep. 1831. Litho.
#Kashi
The antiquated and Anglicised names I have mentioned are as printed on the lithographs. Please do add to this thread with current names as many of the extant names of ghats during Prinsep’s time would have changed between 19th and 20th centuries.
#Kashi
Artist James Prinsep, who painstakingly recorded the ghats of #Varanasi and life in #Banaras in the second quarter of the 19th century, has a ghat named after him in Calcutta / Kolkata — ‘James Prinsep Ghat’, popularly known as ‘Prinsep Ghat’.
#Kashi
As these litho prints by James Prinsep show, #Varanasi looked vastly different in early 19th century. It would have looked entirely different in the 17th century before Aurangzeb destroyed #KashiVishwanath Mandir and built a masjid on the spot, using the temple’s stones.
#Kashi
As the world’s oldest living city, #Varanasi has continued to change and evolve, renewing itself and renewing Sanatan Dharma.
PM @narendramodi has not only arrested the decay caused by time, but also reversed it. #Banaras has now stepped into the 21st century.
#Kashi
#India🇮🇳

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More from @KanchanGupta

11 Dec
Have you heard of Saryu Nahar National Project? You wouldn't have because it did not fit into media's agenda. This project had been lying 'pending' for nearly 40 years. It has now been completed in 4 years.
#SaryuNahar
#ModiHaiToMumkinHai
PM @narendramodi will be at Balrampur, UP, today to inaugurate Saryu Nahar National Project.
It will irrigate 14 lakh hectares and benefit 29 lakh farmers in 6200 villages of eastern #UP
It interlinks Ghaghara, Saryu, Rapti, Banganga and Rohini.
#SaryuNahar
#ModiHaiToMumkinHai
Work on the project started in 1978 but was not completed. PM @narendramodi 's vision for farmer welfare and empowerment, and his commitment to prioritise long pending projects of national importance, have ensured completion of the project.
#SaryuNahar
#ModiHaiToMumkinHai
Read 7 tweets
2 Dec
Data shows Modi Govt strategy on fighting #Maoist #Red terrorism & putting down #Left extremism in #India is working.
Incidents of Maoist terrorism have come down by 70% from all time high of 2258 incidents in 2009 (when Sonia Gandhi's NAC was dictating policy) to 665 in 2020.
n1
Significantly deaths (Civilians + Security Forces) caused by #Maoist #Red terrorism have declined by 80% from all time high of 1005 in 2010 (when Digvijay Singh got Sonia Gandhi to halt anti-#Naxal ops) to 183 in 2020.
n2
Geographical spread of #Maoist terrorism has also declined to 53 districts across 9 States, compared to 76
districts across 10 States in 2013. Declining trend in incidents of #Left extremist and #Naxal violence and its geographical spread continues in 2021.
n3
Read 5 tweets
2 Dec
The ‘arrest, search and seize’ powers of BSF have been enhanced by a recent notification of Ministry of Home Affairs. Here are details of
a) Acts under which jurisdiction has been extended;
b) reasons for enhancement; and,
(d) whether it impacts State police jurisdiction.
n1
The notifications dated 11.10.2021 have extended the territorial jurisdiction of BSF under the Passport Act 1920, Passport Act 1967 and Sections 41(1), 47, 51(1), 52, 100, 131, 149, 150, 151 & 152 of Criminal Procedure Code 1973 in Assam, Punjab and West Bengal.
n2
The extension in territorial jurisdiction of BSF is aimed at empowering the Central force to deal with drones and UAVs being used by anti-India forces for surveillance as well as smuggling arms, drugs and fake currency. It would also help in curbing cattle smuggling.
n3
Read 4 tweets
30 Nov
This rant about Farm Laws repealing Bills being passed swiftly in Parliament is hilarious.
Disrupt Parliament, criticise Govt, excite media: Change the toolkit, it’s dated.
Take a look at this list of Bills passed in less than 1 hour, which had repealing effect before 2014:
n1
- The Union Duties of Excise (Electricity) Distribution Repeal Bill, 2006 [Time taken: 12 minutes]

- The Punjab General Sales Tax (As in force in the Union Territory of Chandigarh) Repeal Bill, 2005 [Time taken: 36 minutes]

There’s more.
n2
- The Special Tribunals (Supplementary Provisions) Repeal Bill, 2004 [Time taken: 18 minutes]

- The Customs and Central Excise Laws (Repeal) Bill, 2004 [Time taken: 8 minutes]

- The Mysore State Legislature (Delegation and Powers) Repeal Bill, 2002 [Time taken: 9 minutes]

n3
Read 4 tweets
31 Oct
If the photograph of PM @narendramodi with @Pontifex Pope Francis at Vatican 'warms' the heart of @PritishNandy , what happened next would, I think, melt his heart. That apart, catholicity, both in liturgical and broader sense, as Pritish Babu would know, abhors closed minds. n1
Catholicity, as @PritishNandy would agree, challenges false presumptions -- for example, PM @narendramodi not meeting Muslim and Sikh spiritual leaders. Pritish Babu's presumptive assertion is patently false.
Here's PM Modi with head granthi of Golden Temple and at a gurdwara. n2
Catholicity, as @PritishNandy knows, rejects the assertion of beliefs that are not only false but also unethical -- for instance, Pritish Babu's claim that PM @narendramodi has not met Muslim spiritual leaders. That may excite ignorant lefties and libbies, but it is untrue. n3
Read 8 tweets
27 Oct
Incorrect and damaging tweets by @neeraj_rajput , Associate Editor of @ABPNews , and commentary published by the news platform on India's sensitive Eastern Front have come to the notice of the security establishment. The falsification of facts is detailed in this thread. n1
The Army’s Eastern Command had organised a tour of journalists to Tawang and forward posts in Arunachal Pradesh recently. During this trip, @neeraj_rajput of @ABPNews in a tweet (now deleted) drew a comparison between vulnerability of Siliguri Corridor and Chumni Valley. n2
The tweet by @neeraj_rajput was attributed to Lt Gen Manoj Pande, Chief of Eastern Command, who had briefed the journalists. However, no such comment was made by Lt Gen Pande. Given the hot borders with China, such mischievous attribution could have caused a major issue. n3
Read 6 tweets

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