Significance of The Day 8th December

Binoy Krishna Basu along with Badal Gupta and Dinesh Chandra Gupta launched an attack on the secretariat 'Writers Building' in Kolkata on 8th December 1930.

Heritage building in Kolkata, West Bengal

Writers' Building was the first three-storey building in Kolkata. The main block, with a ground coverage of 37850 Square Feet was completed in 1780.

On 8 December 1930, Badal along with Dinesh Gupta and Vinay, dressed in European costume, entered the Writers' Building and shot dead Simpson. Police in the building started firing at them in response. What ensued was a brief gunfight between the three young revolutionaries and the police.

In The Year 8 December 1930 Alind War held in Mahakaran, Kolkat

This was followed by a famous gunfight in the corridors of the secretariat, remembered as the 'Battle of the Verandah'. Vinay and Badal shot themselves with their last bullets while Dinesh was hanged in 1931.

KNOWN AS B.B.D BAG :

Dalhousie Square is one of south Asia’s few surviving colonial centers, and it is unique in India because much of its peripheral environment remains intact. The classical-style St. John’s Church is just one of 55 municipal landmarks in the vicinity of the plaza, which has been dubbed the “Dalhousie Square Heritage Zone” by city officials. The buildings that line the square range in date from 1695 and 1947, the latter year being the date of India’s independence from the United Kingdom. In the aftermath of that momentous event, Dalhousie Square was renamed Vinay-Badal-Dinesh Bagh (B.B.D. Bagh) after three Indian nationalists who were killed leading the rebellion.

The last summit of SAARC (18th), a regional organization of South Asia, was held in Kathmandu, Nepal in November 2014.

Its seven founding members are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan joined later on 3rd April, 2007

SAARC: The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation was established on 8 December 1985. The Secretariat of the Association was set up in Kathmandu, Nepal, on 17 January 1987. SAARC has eight member countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri-Lanka).

THE LOGO OF SAARC:

The SAARC logo shows two hands joining together. There are seven doves in between the two hands. The two hands symbolize friendship and goodwill. Seven doves represent the seven member nations seeking peace.

SAARC SECRETARIAT:

• The SAARC Secretariat is based in Kathmandu, Nepal. It coordinates and monitors implementation of activities, prepares for and services meetings, and serves as a channel of communication between the Association and its Member States as well as other regional organisations.

• The Secretariat is headed by the Secretary General.

Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed from Maldives is the current Secretary General.

• The Secretary General is assisted by eight Directors on deputation from the Member States.

• The SAARC Secretariat and Member States observe 8 December as the SAARC Charter Day.

OBJECTIVES OF SAARC:

• Promoting the welfare of the people of South Asia and to improve their quality of life.

• Accelerating economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region and to provide all individuals the opportunity to live in dignity and to realize their full potential.

• Promoting and strengthen collective self-reliance among the countries of South Asia.

• Contributing to mutual trust, understanding and appreciation of one another's problems.

• Promoting active collaboration and mutual assistance in the economic, social, cultural, technical and scientific fields.

• Strengthening cooperation with other developing countries;

• Strengthening cooperation among themselves in international forums on matters of common interest.

OBSERVERS:

Observers States

• AUSTRALIA • CHINA • EUROPEAN UNION • JAPA • IRAN

• MAURITIUS • ΜΥΑNMAR (Burma) • SOUTH KOREA

FUTURE MEMBERS:

• China has shown interest in joining SAARC. While Pakistan & Bangladesh support china's candidature, India strongly opposes it.
• Indonesia supported by Sri Lanka intends to become a observer of SAARC.
• Myanmar has expressed it's desire to become a full time member
of SAARC. Myanmar's military regime officially applied for full
SAARC membership in May 2008. However, the application is still being considered and the government is currently restricted to observer status.
• Russia intends to become an observer as well, and is supported by India
• Iran because of it's strong cultural, economic and political relationships with Afghanistan and Pakistan and has expressed its desire to become a member of the South Asian organization.

SAARC SUBMITS:

1st SAARK summit held on 7-8 December 1985 in Bangladesh,(Dhaka) by the lead Ataur Rahman Khan.

2nd Summit held on 16-17 November 1986 in India, (Bangalore) by the leader Rajiv Gandhi.

3rd summit held on 2-4 November 1987 in Nepal (Kathmandu) by the leader Marich Man Singh Shrestha.

4th SAARC Summit held on 29-31 December 1988 in Pakistan, (Islamabad) by the leader Benazir Bhutto.

5th Summit held on 21-23 November 1990 in Maldives, (Male) by the leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

6th summit held on 21 December 1991 in Sri Lanka (Colombo) by the leader Dingiri Banda Wijetunge.

7th Summit held on 10-11 April 1993 Bangladesh (Dhaka) by the leader Khaleda Zia

8th Summit held on 02-04 May 1995 in India, (New Delhi) by the leader P. V. Narasimha Rao.

9th Summit held on 12-14 May 1997 in Maldives  (Male) by the leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

10th Summit held on 29-31 July 1998 in Sri Lanka,(Colombo) by the leader Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike.

11th Summit held on 04-06 January 2002 in Nepal, (Kathmandu) by the leader Shera Bahadur Deuba.

12th summit held on0 2-06 January 2004 in Pakistan, (Islamabad) by the leader Zafarullah Khan Jamali.

13th Summit held on 12-13 November 2005 in Bangladesh, (Dhaka) by the leader Khaleda Zia.

14th Summit held on 3-4 April 2007 in India, (New Delhi), by the leader Manmohan Singh.

15th Summit held on 01-03 August 2008 in Sri Lanka, (Colombo) by the leader Ratnasiri Wickremanayake.

16th Summit held on 28-29 April 2010 in Bhutan, (Thimphu) by the leader Jigme Thinley.

17th Summit held on 10 November 2011 (Planned) in Maldives, (Addu Atoll, Fuvahmulah) by the leader Mohamed Nasheed. And Theme of the Summit Was "Building Bridges".

18th Summit held on 26 -27 November, 2014 in Nepal (Kathmandu) by the leader,Chairman Prime Minister Sushil Koirala. The motto was ‘Deeper Integration for Peace and Prosperity’. The legal permission on SAARC Satellite Scheme in this summit. The scheme will be developed in all member nations except Bangladesh and Pakistan.

THE LAST SAARC SUMMIT:

It is supposed to be a biennial event, was hosted by Nepal in 2014. Pakistan was to host the summit in 2016, but it was stalled after India refused to participate following the terror attack in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based terrorists.

The 19th conference was scheduled to be held in Islamabad, Pakistan. It was eventually shelved due to India's reluctance. This time also India has no interest in the conference. India has not agreed to participate in the SAARC Summit this time as well. As a result, all Pakistan's efforts to hold the SAARC summit have failed.

 In response to a question at the weekly briefing of the Ministry of External Affairs of India, the spokesperson of the ministry, Arindam Bagchi, said that there has been no change in the reason why the summit of this regional alliance is closed. So there is no consensus on the summit.

 According to SAARC's charter, summits cannot be held unless all member countries agree.

 The SAARC summit was supposed to be held in Pakistan in 2016, but it did not happen mainly because of the India-Pakistan conflict. It is also clear from India's position that there is no possibility of this happening in the near future.

 After the transition of power in Afghanistan, Pakistan has been eager to hold conferences with renewed vigour. The Foreign Minister of that country Shah Mahmood Qureshi recently expressed his interest and said that India can attend the conference virtually if there are difficulties.

 When asked what is India's attitude in this regard, the spokesperson of the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, India has come to the notice of the news in the media. The reason why the SAARC summit has been suspended since 2016 remains unchanged. So there is no consensus on the summit.

 Shah Mahmood Qureshi blamed India's 'stubborn attitude' for the non-conference. He also blamed India entirely for making SAARC 'ineffective'.