The sect was founded by Guru Jambheshwar (b. 1451) after a drought in the Marwar region of India. He had laid down 29 principles to be followed by the sect. Bish means 20 and noi means 9; thus, Bishnoi translates as Twenty-niners ^[1]. Further, the Guru directed the worship of lord Vishnu (Bishnu), thus the sect is called Vishnoi or Bishnoi. Killing animals and the felling of trees were banned. One of his 29 principles states "JEEV DAYA PALNI, RUNKH LIL0 NAHI GHAVE" which means to protect trees and animals, thus trees and animals are considered to be sacred by the Bishnois.

Lovers of animals and plant life

Bishnois are strong lovers of wild animals. It is because of their protection that in Bishnoi-dominated areas, deer and antelope (such as blue bulls, black bucks, chinkaras and chowsinghas) are seen grazing peacefully in their fields despite the fact that the State of Rajasthan where the Bishnois mainly live, faces severe water shortages.

In recent years, the Bishnoi community has launched strong protests against the killing of black bucks by Salman Khan, a Bollywood film star and Mansur Ali Khan of Pataudi, a former Indian cricketer. Noted chartered accountant and social activist Mangilal Bishnoi led the demonstration against actor Salman Khan in Mumbai. In New Delhi, Mr. Sharvan Bishnoi(sharan) given the notice to Menaka Gandhi, Salman Khan was convicted on the evidence of Bishnoi witnesses.

Amrita Devi and the Khejarli Massacre

On a Tuesday (the 10th day of the month of Bhadrapad, according to the Indian lunar calendar, in 1730 AD, Amrita Devi, a Bishnoi woman was at her home with her three daughters, Asu, Ratni and Bhagu bai, when she learned that a number of people had descended on their otherwise sleepy village of Khejarli, named after "Khejri" (Prosopis cineraria) trees, found in abundance in the village. The people were a party of men sent by Maharaja Abhay Singh, the ruler of the kingdom of Jodhpur, in the Marwar region; their mission was to fell green Khejri trees to burn lime for the construction of the Maharaja's new palace and there was a lot of greenery in the Bishnoi villages even in the middle of the Thar Desert.

Amrita Devi protested against the Maharaja's men who were attempting to cut green trees as it was prohibited according to Bishnoi principles. The malevolent feudal party told her that if she wanted the trees to be spared, she would have to give them money as a bribe. She refused to acknowledge this demand and told them that she would consider it an act of insult to her religious faith and would rather give her life to save the green trees. At that point she spoke these words:

Sar santey rookh rahe to bhi sasto jaan
(If a tree is saved even at the cost of one's head, it's worth it)

Having said these words she offered her head. The axes, which were brought to cut the trees, severed her head. The three young girls Asu, Ratni and Bhagu were not daunted, and offered their heads too.

The news spread like wildfire. The Bishnois of Khejarli gathered and sent summons to their counterparts in eighty-three Bishnoi villages in the vicinity to come and decide on the next course of action. Since the supreme sacrifice by Amrita Devi and her daughters had not satisfied the royal party, and the felling of green trees was continued, it was decided that for every green tree to be cut, one Bishnoi volunteer would sacrifice his/her life. In the beginning, old people voluntarily started holding the trees to be cut in an embrace (as in the 20th century Chipko Movement).

Despite many valiant old persons sacrificing themselves, the Hakim (the royal party's leader), Girdhar Das Bhandari, taunted the Bishnois that they were offering unwanted old persons. Soon, young men and women (including the recently married) and children were sacrificing themselves in a similar manner.

There was pandemonium. The tree-felling party was badly shaken. With their mission unfulfilled, they left for Jodhpur to relay these events to the Maharaja. As soon as he learned about it, he ordered the felling of trees to be stopped.

By that time, three hundred and sixty three (363) Bishnois had already become martyrs.

Honouring the courage of the Bishnoi community, Maharaja Abhay Singh apologised for the mistake committed by his officials and issued a royal decree, engraved on a copper plate ordering the following:

• All cutting of green trees and hunting of animals within the revenue boundaries of Bishnoi villages was strictly prohibited.
• It was also ordered that if by mistake any individual violated this order, he would be prosecuted by the state and a severe penalty imposed.
• Even members of the ruling family would not shoot animals in or near Bishnoi villages.

Trivia

• Bishnois are known to be very violent and aggressive in protecting trees and wildlife. It is said that if you are a hunter, then the worst thing that could happen to you is to be caught hunting by a Bishnoi.
• Unlike most Hindu communities, Bishnois bury their dead instead of cremating them. This is because of the strict prohibition on the felling of trees, the wood of which is required for cremation.
• In October, 1996, Nihal Chand Bishnoi sacrificed his life for protecting wild animals. A film, Willing to Sacrifice, based on his story won the award for the Best Environment Film at the 5th International Festival of Films, TV and Video Programmes held at Bratislava, Slovakia.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishnois

Nu, nu am o revelatie tarzie cu privire la caliatea submediocra a presei din Romania, numai ca pe perioda sumitului NATO de la Bucuresti, acest lucru este atat de evident incat nu ma abtin sa nu ii înfierez un picuţ.

Sumitul NATO are pe agenda sa o problema extrem de spinoasa introdusa in ultimul moment : traficul infernal din Bucuresti. Peste 50% din reportajele televiziunilor si transmisiilor sunt despre nenorocirea incomensurabila care se abate peste capitala. Tot ce putem vedea sunt ştiri redundante despre trafic, trafic si iar trafic. A, si inca ceva, reportaje si transmisii in direct despre numărul wc-urile jurnaliştilor acreditaţi si despre condiţiile in care isi fac ingrata meserie. Nimic consistent depre, să zicem, istoria NATO, disensiunile care exista între tarile membre, efective militare, obligaţii si drepturi. Nu am reuşit să vad in jurnalele dupa ora 20 in sus discursul lui Bush sau al lui Basescu de la Neptun. Au preferat sa spameze cu un incident minor cu 40 de presupusi "protestatari" anti-NATO si cu un barbos "anarhist" cu un ochi invinetit ridicat dintr-o hala ( probabil a fost plesnit de alfa anarhistul grupului pentru ca a cumparat o vodca prea scumpa ). Televiziunile româneşti se afla intr-o febrila căutare de senzaţional ieftin si de prost gust. Imaginaţi-va suferinţa uriaşa in care se afla mass-media autohtona luand in considerare ca in Romania au ajuns numai putin peste 50 de militanti anti-NATO.

Din disperare dupa senzational au inceput sa numere si sa filmeze cainii vagabonzi care se perindau pe traseul unic...eu unul am preferat să urmaresc pe BBC sau CNN ce se întâmpla la Bucuresti si să citesc pe net cateva analize si comentarii.

Cat despre slugo-analistii mei preferaţi din media numai de bine, o ţin pe a lor. Incerca din toate răsputerile să minimalizeze importanta acestui sumit pentru ca, vezi doamne, poate ii creşte popularitatea dictatorului dacă il vede poporu ca se pupa cu Bush si se tine de mânuţa cu Merkel. Ciutacu era exasperat si revoltat ca va ajunge cu o intarziere de 10 minute la locul de munca unde ii sunt introduse fisele in ceafa, ergo, sumitul e toatal inutil iar Basescu si ai lui isi bat joc de bucurestenii cu automobile . Cristoiu le plangea de mila anarhistilor care nu pot vandaliza, in deplina siguranta, ce vad in fata si in dreapta lor. Deasemenea, socialistul iubitor de anarhisti, a devenit peste noapte si un veros avocat pe comercial al intreprinzatorilor cu buticurile inchise ( pe perioda sumitului, 2 zile ) de pe traseul unic. Sa nu mai zic de costurile "infernale" ale acesui summit calculate pe cap de roman si anuntate prapastios din ora in ora pe antena 3. Of, of, mai, mai...

Si uite ce ne spune noua Oxford Analytica despre presa din Romania anului 2008 :

" Media. Guvernul se poate baza pe o presa binevoitoare din cauza mogulilor (tycoons) care cumpara sau influenteaza editorial marile institutii de presa. " Contextul aici.

vezi stirea

Who get's more entertainment from traditional means like the TV or movies than on the Internet? I'd like to know because I entertain myself on my iphone and macbook pro. The video was filmed in the back seat of a taxi car on my way to film Pop17 at a conference.

I attended the Digital Hollywood Media Summit conference here in New York City yesterday and interviewed some leading industry professionals for Pop17. You may watch the video I made at Pop17 where I not only have the video available in flash, but also in wmv, mov, m4v, and 3gp. If you are reading this on RSS I promise you can watch the video where ever you are by going here.

FYI: I'm working on getting distributed on YouTube and iTunes at the moment.

Thanks for all the awesome feedback from this video so far. I'll be updating your responses in this blog post so why don't you tell me your response in the comments.

This is the types of Entertainment We Love:

Hi Sarah,

I would like to say that I 500% agree with you. Since I have a wifi connection and my macbook, I did not watch tv anymore. Internet is incredible universe, with so much information. I am a information addict but my job cannot offer me so much time to be online 25 hours a day...

I think that Internet change our life and is open an new universe and it is just the beginning. I am exciting to discover the internet future, great opportunities.

Continue pop17, great and sometimes I post your video on my French blog.

Arno
_________

Thanks for embedding my videos on your French blog! I use the 3g network to surf mobile because EDGE on my iphone is so slow. Sometimes I'll browse on EDGE, but mostly just to comment on Pop17 and other blogs.

_________

Hi Sarah,

I'm not sure I really love the Internet but I do spend a LOT of time on it.
I'm curious why you want to be emailed by random viewers like me. I've
noticed before that you asked for email and it intrigues me. Do people
respond by email at all?

cheers,
David

_________

Random viewers like you are the ones that make everything I do online worth it. It's a lot of work to write back to emails, but I find it a great way to interact and participate with my audience. Thanks for watching!!!!

_________

Hi Sarah its MacBookGuy91 here yes i love the internet i spend most
of my time on the internet. I do watch a few movies and when i go to
bed i have the tv on all night but i am a sleep so i guess my physical
mind is not watching it but like my body or something is watching it
because someone turns off that tv and i wake up a bit later. But to
answer your question yes i love the internet theirs so much to do i
learn so much and there lots of stuff on it but its not all good it
depends what you do. Well the most use from my macbook is the Internet,
but i still do other fun stuff on my computer. I am still planning on
getting a MacBook Air. Have a great day.
_________
Sarah@Pop17.com

In London, throughout the many boroughs, pollution is being tackled immensely.

Take Ealing for example, in the three day period of the 18/02/08 to 21/02/08, pollution levels soured to what the London Air Quality Network (LAQN) ranked as 10/10 (their highest, and worst rank) in PM10 Particulate. This is a form of liquid found in a gas that is very harmful to humans, at worst causing premature death when consumed for lengthy periods of time.

Yesterday, it was then reported on the LAQN that Ealing's pollution level of PM10 Particulate fell to what they rank as 3/10. The governments health advice say this amount of it is pollution that will not be noticed by those around, or those sensitive to pollution.

While places like Enfield and Bromley have some of the lowest amounts pf pollution in the whole of London (LAQN rank 1/10).

Clearly London is doing something right in the war against climate change. However, with the talks of a third runway at Heathrow being built, fighting this type of war might be a pointless thing.

Deschiderea hotelului a avut loc pe 28 august a.c., potrivit Wall-Street. El este amplasat pe locul fostului Teatru Naţional din Bucureşti, iar construcţia a durat aproximativ doi ani. Hotel cu clasă, de patru stele, Novotel are o arhitectură mai deosebită. Corpul propriu-zis este în stil modern, cu pereţi din sticlă, însă intrarea este în stil baroc, de forma faţadei fostului Teatru Naţional. Amestec de nou şi vechi. Cute.

Iar pe timpul Sommet-ului Francofoniei, se pare că hotelul Novotel a găzduit delegaţia franceză şi pe preşedintele francez Jacques Chirac. Un început promiţător.