New York: Mahatma Gandhi-led ‘Salt Satyagraha’ during India’s independence struggle has been named among the ‘Top 10 Most Influential Protests’ in the world by the prestigious Time magazine.
In March 1930, Gandhi embarked on a 24-day march from Sabarmati Ashram near Ahmedabad to the small seaside town of Dandi to produce salt to protest against the British salt monopoly in colonial India.

The non-violent campaign triggered the wider Civil Disobedience Movement against British rule.

Known as the salt “satyagraha” — a Sanskrit term loosely meaning “truth-force” — it carried the emotional and moral weight to break British empire, the Time said.

The magazine said Britain’s centuries-long rule over India was, in many ways, first and foremost a regime of monopolies over commodities like tea, textiles and even salt.

Under colonial law, Indians were forbidden to extract and sale their own salt, and instead were forced to pay the far costlier price of salt manufactured and imported from the UK.

That act — for which more than 80,000 Indians would get arrested in the coming months — sparked years of mass civil disobedience that came to define both the Indian independence struggle as well as Gandhi himself, the Time said.

The January 25 Egyptian revolution against the regime of Hosni Mubarak has also made it to the list.

After 30 years in the top spot, Mubarak received his first serious challenge on January 25, 2011 when more than one million protesters, fuelled by political unrest, massive unemployment and social media, assembled in Tahrir (Liberation) Square, the Time said.

The uprising was mainly a campaign of non-violent civil resistance, which featured a series of demonstrations, marches, acts of civil disobedience, and labour strikes.

Mubarak finally stepped down on February 11. The Tiananmen Square protests in China in 1989 is also on the list. There were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The movement used mainly non-violent methods and can be considered a case of civil resistance.

As crowds swelled to 100,000, similar gatherings across the country joined their pleas for change. Finally, on June 4, 1989, the government gave the green light for troops and tanks to open fire on the square.

The Boston Tea Party Civil Rights 1773; March on Washington, 1963; Stonewall Inn, 1969; Moratorium Against the Vietnam War, 1969; Muharram protests in Iran, 1978; People Power protests, 1986 and Purple Rain Protest in Cape Town 1989 are other movements that have been named in the list.

Tags : Salt Satyagraha, Indian Satyagraha movement 1930, Gandhiji Salt Satyagraha movement, Indian freedom fight

Facebook will introduce ‘Facebook Credits’ through which users can spend virtual currency across various games or applications they use on the popular website.

A virtual currency, Facebook Credits is already popular among gaming enthusiasts in many other countries, including the US.

“Facebook will introduce a new payment system Facebook Credits in India from July 1,” a company spokesperson told media.

Facebook Credits enables fast and easy transactions across games on the social networking site and would benefit about 2.5 crore Facebook subscribers in the country.

The users would be able to enter their payment information once and can buy, earn and spend safely across various games or applications they use on Facebook.

“Starting July 1, we will require all social game developers on the Facebook canvas platform to process payments through Facebook Credits,” Facebook Platform Marketing Manager Deb Liu wrote on the company’s official blog in January.

This will also help various brands, which use the medium of Facebook to retail them goods through their social pages.

“Facebook Credits is currently used in more than 350 applications from 150 developers, representing more than 70 per cent of virtual goods transactions volume on Facebook,” Liu had said.

Tags : Facebook India, Facebook Credits, Facebook Credits for Indians

Movie Myth No. 1: Investment Bankers Are Rich and Ruthless
OK, so maybe Bernie Madoff, although not an investment banker, sort of proves this myth – he was certainly ruthless. The reality about the average investment banker is not nearly as black-and-white as Hollywood movies like “Wall Street” or “Boiler Room” would like you to think, however. Most investment bankers are men and women who go to work, often in a cubicle, and most of the time not even on Wall Street. The truth is that life as an investment banker is pretty normal – and most of them don’t smoke cigars either. (This job takes guts, hard work and a predator’s instincts. Do you have what it takes? See Swim With The Sharks As A Stockbroker.)

Movie Myth No.2: Women Can’t Handle Money
Hollywood often uses stereotypes to keep things simple, and women get the worst financial deal. Rich girls are always shopping, like Alicia Silverstone’s character in “Clueless,” or they marry for money, like Sharon Stone’s character in “Casino.” In “Indecent Proposal,” Demi Moore’s character must decide whether or not to sleep with a man for money – a million dollars, no less. The truth is that most women go to work every day to earn a living (and not in the oldest profession in the world, thank goodness) or are busy raising children – the spoiled, supported woman Hollywood likes to depict is just a stereotype.

Movie Myth No.3: Rich Guys Always Hang Out at the Golf Course
It’s your typical scene: the detective is investigating Mister Fatwallet, the murder suspect and millionaire. So naturally, he goes to the golf course, because that’s where all the rich people hang out, right? Actually, a full 80% of millionaires created their own wealth through hard work, meaning that they do much more than just play golf all day.

Movie Myth No.4: All You Need Is a Break
It’s not easy living paycheck to paycheck like most of us do – and Hollywood knows exactly how to play on our hopes. All you need is a break, right? You just have to win the lottery or get on a TV game show, like in “Slumdog Millionaire” to get out of your financial jam. The reality is that these types of breaks are rare. The odds of winning the average lottery are approximately one in 18 million – you’re about six times more likely to be struck by lightning. The boring truth is that the best way to get rich is to just save your money and work hard.

Movie Myth No.5: The Universe Will Right All Financial Wrongs
The greedy man got his money, but then loses it all by some act of fate – like in “Solitary Man.” Thankfully, our greedy man has realized that money doesn’t matter, and in a true Hollywood ending, it all works out anyway: he gets the job, the money and the happiness. The reality is that Bernie Madoff is in jail, but few of his victims got their money back, your neighbor is still out of a job, and your paycheck doesn’t actually stretch at all. But it sure is nice to watch a happy ending, right?

IN PICTURES: 7 Millionaires By Marriage

Movie Myth No.6: It’s Love or Money
Back to “Indecent Proposal,” where Demi Moore’s character is seduced by a million dollars (and Robert Redford, of course) – will she choose the love for her husband over the pay for infidelity? It’s a crazy concept, but Hollywood loves to make its characters choose between love and money, as if those are mutually exclusive. Just look at movies like “Jerry McGuire.” The reality is that millionaires are typically married – proof that love and money coexist just fine, as long as you put the cap back on the toothpaste.