Alphabet.

The French alphabet is based on the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet, uppercase and lowercase, with five diacritics and two orthographic ligatures. The letters and are rarely used except in loanwords and regional words. The phoneme sound is usually written ; the sound is usually written anywhere but before, before, and sometimes at the ends of words. However, is common in the metric prefix kilo- (originally from Greek "khilia" "a thousand"): "kilogramme, kilomètre, kilowatt, kilohertz," etc.

Diacritics.

The usual diacritics are the acute (, "accent aigu"), the grave (, "accent grave"), the circumflex (, "accent circonflexe"), the diaeresis (, "tréma"), and the cedilla (, "cédille"). Diacritics have no effect on the primary alphabetical order.  The tilde diacritical mark ( ̃ ) above n is occasionally used in French for words and names of Spanish origin that have been incorporated into the language (e.g., "El Niño"). Like the other diacritics, the tilde has no impact on the primary alphabetical order.  Diacritics are often omitted on capital letters, mainly for technical reasons. It is widely believed that they are not required; however both the Académie française and the Office québécois de la langue française reject this usage and confirm that "in French, the accent has full orthographic value", except for acronyms but not for abbreviations (e.g., "CEE", "ALENA", but "É.-U."). Nevertheless, diacritics are often ignored in word games, including crosswords, Scrabble, and "Des chiffres et des lettres".

Ligatures.

The two ligatures "œ" and "æ" have orthographic value. For determining alphabetical order, these ligatures are treated like the sequences "oe" and "ae".

Œ.

( or "o, e collés/liés") This ligature is a mandatory contraction of in certain words. Some of these are native French words, with the pronunciation or, e.g., "chœur" "heart", "cœur" "heart", "mœurs" "moods (related to moral)", "nœud" "knot", "sœur" "sister", "œuf" "egg", "œuvre" "work (of art)", "vœu" "vow". It usually appears in the combination "œu"; "œil" "eye" is an exception. Many of these words were originally written with the digraph "eu"; the "o" in the ligature represents a sometimes artificial attempt to imitate the Latin spelling: Latin "bovem" > Old French "buef"/"beuf" > Modern French "bœuf".  "Œ" is also used in words of Greek origin, as the Latin rendering of the Greek diphthong "οι", e.g., "cœlacanthe" "coelacanth". These words used to be pronounced with the vowel, but in recent years a spelling pronunciation with has taken hold, e.g., "œsophage" or, "Œdipe" or etc. The pronunciation with is often seen to be more correct.  When "œ" is found after the letter "c", the "c" can be pronounced in some cases ("cœur"), or in others ("cœlacanthe").  The ligature œ is not used when both letters contribute different sounds. For example, when is part of a prefix ("coexister"), or when is part of a suffix ("minoen"), or in the word "moelle" and its derivatives.

Æ.

( or "a, e collés/liés") This ligature is rare, appearing only in some words of Latin and Greek origin like "tænia", "ex æquo", "cæcum", "æthuse" (as named "dog’s parsley"). It generally represents the vowel, like.  The sequence appears in loanwords where both sounds are heard, as in "maestro" and "paella".

Digraphs and trigraphs.

French digraphs and trigraphs have both historical and phonological origins. In the first case, it is a vestige of the spelling in the word's original language (usually Latin or Greek) maintained in modern French, for example, the use of in words like "téléphone", in words like "théorème", or in "chaotique". In the second case, a digraph is due to an archaic pronunciation, such as,,,, and, or is merely a convenient way to expand the twenty-six-letter alphabet to cover all relevant phonemes, as in,,,,, and. Some cases are a mixture of these or are used for purely pragmatic reasons, such as for in "il mangeait" ('he ate'), where the serves to indicate a "soft" inherent in the verb's root.

Words from Greek.

The spelling of French words of Greek origin is complicated by a number of digraphs which originated in the Latin transcriptions. The digraphs,, and normally represent,, and in Greek loanwords, respectively; and the ligatures and in Greek loanwords represent the same vowel as (). Further, many words in the international scientific vocabulary were constructed in French from Greek roots and have kept their digraphs (e.g., "stratosphère", "photographie").

History.

The Oaths of Strasbourg from 842 is the earliest text written in the early form of French called Romance or Gallo-Romance.

Roman.

The Gaulish language of the inhabitants of Gaul disappeared progressively over the course of Roman rule as the Latin languages began to replace it: written (Classical) Latin and spoken (vulgar) Latin. Classical Latin, taught in schools, remained the language of religious services, of scientific works, of legislative acts and of certain literary works. Vulgar Latin, spoken by the Roman soldiers and merchants, and adopted by the natives, evolved slowly, taking the forms of different spoken Roman vernaculars according to the region of the country.  Eventually the different forms of Vulgar Latin would evolve into three branches in the Gallo-Romance language sub-family, the langues d'oïl north of the Loire, the langues d'oc in the south, and the Franco-Provençal languages in part of the east.

Old French.

In the 9th century, the Romance vernaculars were already quite far from Latin. For example, to understand the Bible, written in Latin, footnotes were necessary. With consolidation of royal power, beginning in the 13th century, the "Francien" vernacular, the langue d'oil variety in usage then on the Île-de-France, brought it little by little to the other languages and evolved toward Classic French.  The languages found in the manuscripts dating from the 9th century to the 13th century form what is known as Old French or "ancien français." These languages continued to evolve until, in the 14th century to the 16th century, Middle French ("moyen français") emerged.

Middle French.

During the Middle French period (c. 1300–1600), modern spelling practices were largely established. This happened especially during the 16th century, under the influence of printers. The overall trend was towards continuity with Old French spelling, although some changes were made under the influence of changed pronunciation habits; for example, the Old French distinction between the diphthongs "eu" and "ue" was eliminated in favor of consistent "eu", as both diphthongs had come to be pronounced or (depending on the surrounding sounds). However, many other distinctions that had become equally superfluous were maintained, e.g. between "s" and soft "c" or between "ai" and "ei". It is likely that etymology was the guiding factor here: the distinctions "s/c" and "ai/ei" reflect corresponding distinctions in the spelling of the underlying Latin words, whereas no such distinction exists in the case of "eu/ue".  This period also saw the development of some explicitly etymological spellings, e.g. "temps" ("time"), "vingt" ("twenty") and "poids" ("weight") (note that in many cases, the etymologizing was sloppy or occasionally completely incorrect; "vingt" reflects Latin "viginti", with the "g" in the wrong place, and "poids" actually reflects Latin "pensum", with no "d" at all; the spelling "poids" is due to an incorrect derivation from Latin "pondus"). The trend towards etymologizing sometimes produced absurd (and generally rejected) spellings such as "sçapvoir" for normal "savoir" ("to know"), which attempted to combine Latin "sapere" ("to be wise", the correct origin of "savoir") with "scire" ("to know").

Classical French.

Modern French spelling was codified in the late 17th century by the Académie française, based largely on previously established spelling conventions. Some reforms have occurred since then, but most have been fairly minor. The most significant changes have been:

Modern French.

In October 1989, Michel Rocard, then-Prime Minister of France, established the High Council of the French Language () in Paris. He designated experts — among them linguists, representatives of the Académie française and lexicographers — to propose standardizing several points, a few of those points being:  Quickly, the experts set to work. Their conclusions were submitted to Belgian and Québécois linguistic political organizations. They were likewise submitted to the Académie française, which endorsed them unanimously, saying: "Current orthography remains that of usage, and the'recommendations' of the High Council of the French language only enter into play with words that may be written in a different manner without being considered as incorrect or as faults."  The changes were published in the "Journal officiel de la République française" in December 1990. At the time the proposed changes were considered to be suggestions. In 2016, schoolbooks in France began to use the newer recommended spellings, with instruction to teachers that both old and new spellings be deemed correct.

Punctuation.

In France, the exclamation mark, question mark, semicolon, colon, percentage mark, currency symbols, hash, and guillemet all require a non-breaking space before and after the punctuation mark. Outside of France, this rule is often ignored. Computer software may aid or hinder the application of this rule, depending on the degree of localisation, as it is marked differently from most other Western punctuation.

French orthography encompasses the spelling and punctuation of the French language. It is based on a combination of phonemic and historical principles. The spelling of words is largely based on the pronunciation of Old French c. 1100–1200 CE and has stayed more or less the same since then, despite enormous changes to the pronunciation of the language in the intervening years. This has resulted in a complicated relationship between spelling and sound, especially for vowels; a multitude of silent letters; and many homophones (e.g., "/////" (all pronounced ), "//" (all pronounced )). Later attempts to respell some words in accordance with their Latin etymologies further increased the number of silent letters (e.g.,'vs. older'– compare English "tense", which reflects the original spelling – and'vs. older '). Nevertheless, there are rules governing French orthography which allow for a reasonable degree of accuracy when pronouncing French words from their written forms. The reverse operation, producing written forms from a pronunciation, is much more ambiguous.


Plant sources.

"Nardostachys jatamansi" is a flowering plant of the valerian family that grows in the Himalayas of Nepal, China, and India. The plant grows to about 1 meter (3 ft) in height and has pink, bell-shaped flowers. It is found at an altitude of about. Rhizomes (underground stems) can be crushed and distilled into an intensely aromatic amber-colored essential oil with thick consistency. Nard oil is used as a perfume, an incense, and an herbal medicine.

Historical use.

The oil was known in ancient times and was part of the Ayurvedic herbal tradition of India. It was obtained as a luxury in ancient Egypt, the Near East. The Egyptians stored the oil in alabaster cases to preserve its fragrance.  The name "nard" is derived from Latin "nardus", from Greek. This word may ultimately derive either from Sanskrit "naladam" (Indian spikenard), or from Naarda, an ancient Assyrian city (possibly the modern town of Dohuk, Iraq). This is possibly related to the Hebrew (, head of nard bunch), which was part of the ketoret used when referring to the consecrated incense described in the Hebrew Bible and Talmud. It was offered on the specialized incense altar when the Tabernacle was located in the First and Second Jerusalem Temples.  The ancient Greeks gave this name to a species of lavender native to coastal regions of the Mediterranean. Nard was used to perfume the body of Patroclus by Achilles in Book 18 of Homer's "Iliad". In ancient Rome, "nardus" was used to flavor wine, and occurs frequently in the recipes of Apicius. During the early Roman empire, "nardus" was the main ingredient of a perfume ("unguentum" "nardinum"), and Pliny's "Natural History" lists twelve "species" of "nardus", identifiable to varying degrees of assurance, including "Lavandula stoechas" and tuberous valerian as well as spikenard ("Nardostachys jatamansi").  An ingredient called "nard" or "narde" was used to season foods in Medieval European cuisine, especially as a part of the spice blend used to flavor hypocras, a sweetened and spiced wine drink. From the 17th century, it was one of the ingredients for a strong beer called stingo.

Religion.

In the Hispanic iconographic tradition of the Catholic Church, the spikenard is used to represent Saint Joseph. The Vatican has said that the coat of arms of Pope Francis includes the spikenard in reference to Saint Joseph.  Nard (Italian ) is also mentioned in the "Inferno" of Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy":

Spikenard, also called nard, nardin, and muskroot, is a class of aromatic amber-colored essential oil derived from "Nardostachys jatamansi", a flowering plant of the valerian family which grows in the Himalayas of Nepal, China, and India. The oil has been used over centuries as a perfume, a traditional medicine, or in religious ceremonies across a wide territory from India to Europe.


Taxonomic systems.

In 1973, astronomers Clark R. Chapman, David Morrison, and Ben Zellner developed a simple taxonomic system for asteroids based on color, albedo, and spectral shape. The three categories were labelled "C" for dark carbonaceous objects, "S" for stony (silicaceous) objects, and "U" for those that did not fit into either C or S. This basic division of asteroid spectra has since been expanded and clarified. A number of classification schemes are currently in existence, and while they strive to retain some mutual consistency, quite a few asteroids are sorted into different classes depending on the particular scheme. This is due to the use of different criteria for each approach. The two most widely used classifications are described below:

S3OS2 classification.

The Small Solar System Objects Spectroscopic Survey (SOS "or" S3OS2, also known as the Lazzaro classification) observed 820 asteroids, using the former ESO 1.52-metre telescope at La Silla Observatory during 1996–2001. This survey applied both the Tholen and Bus–Binzel (SMASS) taxonomy to the observed objects, many of which had previously not been classified. For the Tholen-like classification, the survey introduced a new "Caa-type", which shows a broad absorption band associated indicating an aqueous alteration of the body's surface. The Caa class corresponds to Tholen's C-type and to the SMASS hydrated Ch-type (including some Cgh-, Cg-, and C-types), and was assigned to 106 bodies or 13% of the surveyed objects. In addition, S3OS2 uses the K-class for both classification schemes, a type which does not exist in the original Tholen taxonomy.

Bus–DeMeo classification.

The Bus-DeMeo classification is an asteroid taxonomic system designed by Francesca DeMeo, Schelte Bus and Stephen Slivan in 2009. It is based on reflectance spectrum characteristics for 371 asteroids measured over the wavelength 0.45–2.45 micrometers. This system of 24 classes introduces a new "Sv"-type and is based upon a principal component analysis, in accordance with the SMASS taxonomy, which itself is based upon the Tholen classification.

Tholen classification.

The most widely used taxonomy for over a decade has been that of David J. Tholen, first proposed in 1984. This classification was developed from broad band spectra (between 0.31 μm and 1.06 μm) obtained during the Eight-Color Asteroid Survey (ECAS) in the 1980s, in combination with albedo measurements. The original formulation was based on 978 asteroids. The Tholen scheme includes 14 types with the majority of asteroids falling into one of three broad categories, and several smaller types "(also see above)". The types are, with their largest exemplars in parenthesis:

Taxonomic features.

The Tholen taxonomy may encompass up to four letters (e.g. "SCTU"). The classification scheme uses the letter "I" for "inconsistent" spectral data, and should not be confused with a spectral type. An example is the Themistian asteroid 515 Athalia, which, at the time of classification was inconsistent, as the body's spectrum and albedo was that of a stony and carbonaceous asteroid, respectively. When the underlying numerical color analysis was ambiguous, objects were assigned two or three types rather than just one (e.g. "CG" or "SCT"), whereby the sequence of types reflects the order of increasing numerical standard deviation, with the best fitting spectral type mentioned first. The Tholen taxonomy also has additional notations, appended to the spectral type. The letter "U" is a qualifying flag, used for asteroids with an "unusual" spectrum, that falls far from the determined cluster center in the numerical analysis. The notation ":" (single colon) and "::" (two colons) are appended when the spectral data is "noisy" or "very noisy", respectively. For example, the Mars-crosser 1747 Wright has an "AU:" class, which means that it is an A-type asteroid, though with an unusual and noisy spectrum.

SMASS classification.

This is a more recent taxonomy introduced by American astronomers Schelte Bus and Richard Binzel in 2002, based on the Small Main-Belt Asteroid Spectroscopic Survey (SMASS) of 1,447 asteroids. This survey produced spectra of a far higher resolution than ECAS "(see Tholen classification above)", and was able to resolve a variety of narrow spectral features. However, a somewhat smaller range of wavelengths (0.44 μm to 0.92 μm) was observed. Also, albedos were not considered. Attempting to keep to the Tholen taxonomy as much as possible given the differing data, asteroids were sorted into the 26 types given below. As for the Tholen taxonomy, the majority of bodies fall into the three broad C, S, and X categories, with a few unusual bodies categorized into several smaller types "(also see above)":  A significant number of small asteroids were found to fall in the Q, R, and V types, which were represented by only a single body in the Tholen scheme. In the Bus and Binzel SMASS scheme only a single type was assigned to any particular asteroid.

Color indices.

The characterization of an asteroid includes the measurement of its color indices derived from a photometric system. This is done by measuring the object's brightness through a set of different, wavelength-specific filters, so-called passbands. In the UBV photometric system, which is also used to characterize distant objects in addition to classical asteroids, the three basic filters are:  In an observation, the brightness of an object is measured twice through a different filter. The resulting difference in magnitude is called the color index. For asteroids, the U–B or B–V color indices are the most common ones. In addition, the V–R, V–I and R–I indices, where the photometric letters stand for visible (V), red (R) and infrared (I), are also used. A photometric sequence such as V–R–B–I can be obtained from observations within a few minutes.

Appraisal.

These classification schemes are expected to be refined and/or replaced as further research progresses. However, for now the spectral classification based on the two above coarse resolution spectroscopic surveys from the 1990s is still the standard. Scientists have been unable to agree on a better taxonomic system, largely due to the difficulty of obtaining detailed measurements consistently for a large sample of asteroids (e.g. finer resolution spectra, or non-spectral data such as densities would be very useful).  Some groupings of asteroids have been correlated with meteorite types:

An asteroid spectral type is assigned to asteroids based on their emission spectrum, color, and sometimes albedo. These types are thought to correspond to an asteroid's surface composition. For small bodies that are not internally differentiated, the surface and internal compositions are presumably similar, while large bodies such as Ceres and Vesta are known to have internal structure. Over the years, there has been a number of surveys that resulted in a set of different taxonomic systems such as the Tholen, SMASS and Bus–DeMeo classification.


French Air Force.

Born into a wealthy family on 21 August 1914 in Paris, Mouchotte began his military service in October 1935 with the French Air Force at Istres, where he was promoted to corporal (April 1936), master corporal (March 1937), and sergeant (April 1937); he qualified as a pilot in February 1937. In January 1939, he transferred to the reserve and resumed civilian life. Recalled in September 1939, he was posted to training establishments at Salon-de-Provence and Avord as a flying instructor. Despite several requests to join a fighter squadron, he was transferred to Oran in May 1940 for a conversion course to twin-engined aircraft. After the Armistice, the pilots on the base were ordered not to escape to join the Free French and the aircraft were placed under armed guard. Despite this, Mouchotte and five comrades (including Henry Lafont) escaped in a twin-engined Caudron Goéland aircraft, only to find that the controls for the variable-pitch propellers had been disabled, making the take-off hazardous. However they did manage to land in Gibraltar and later transferred to the Free French armed trawler, "Président Houduce" and sailed to England.

In Britain.

After arriving in Britain Mouchotte trained at RAF Old Sarum and RAF Sutton Bridge on Hawker Hurricanes, before being posted to No. 615 Squadron RAF at RAF Northolt in northwest London. He carried out his first operational sortie on 11 October 1940. The squadron moved to RAF Kenley in December 1940 and in August 1941 Mouchotte participated in the shooting-down of a Junkers 88. In November 1941 he transferred to RAF Turnhouse, where the Free French No. 340 Squadron RAF was training on Spitfires; he became a flight commander in February 1942 and subsequently squadron commander of No. 65 Squadron RAF, the first RAF squadron to be commanded by a non-Commonwealth officer. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on 1 September 1942.  Finally, he took command of No. 341 Squadron RAF ("Groupe de Chasse n° 3/2 "Alsace"") with the Biggin Hill Wing. On 15 May 1943, S/L 'Jack' Charles (611 squadron) and Mouchotte both destroyed an Fw 190 of I./JG 2, as the Biggin Hill Wing's 999th and 1,000th kill claim.  He was shot down and killed in combat with Fw 190s of JG 2 during Ramrod S.8, escorting Flying Fortresses on the first daylight raid to Blockhaus d'Éperlecques in the Pas de Calais on 27 August 1943. His body was later washed ashore on 3 September and was buried in Middelkerke, Belgium. After the War in 1949, his body was exhumed, repatriated and buried in the family tomb at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris on 3 November after a memorial service with full military honours conducted at Les Invalides in Paris.  He had accumulated some 1,748 flying hours, including 408 operational hours flying 382 war sorties. He had claimed two aircraft destroyed (with a further one "shared"), one "probable" and one damaged.

Legacy.

After the war, his diaries and flying logs were compiled into a book by Andre Dezarrois which was published in France in 1949 as ""Les carnets de René Mouchotte, 1940-1943"" and later as ""Mes carnets : juin 1940-août 1943"". In 1956 it was translated into English by Philip John Stead and published in the United Kingdom under the title "The Mouchotte Diaries"; by the following year, eight editions had been printed. The book was reissued in France in 2000 and in the UK in 2003.  In Paris, a street "Rue du Commandant Rene Mouchotte" in the 14th Arrondissement of Paris and a nearby footbridge over the River Seine are named after him. There are two plaques in his memory at Eperlecques. A French Air Force base at Cambrai-Épinoy was named "Base Aérienne 103 "Commandant René Mouchotte"" in his honour. Cambrai Epinoy is no longer an active establishment, so the French Air Force Training Base at Cazaux was named after Commandant Mouchotte in September 2012. At the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle in London on 18 June 2013 a vitrine by Yorkshire Air Museum was unveiled in honour of Commandant René Mouchotte & the "Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres". The RAF headquarters in Gibraltar was renamed the Mouchotte Building on the weekend of the Battle of Britain Commemorations on 14–15 September 2013.  Mouchotte was the subject of a BBC One television programme by Jan Leeming, shown in the United Kingdom on "Inside Out" on 28 January 2013 and another version filmed at Elvington in February 2013. Mouchotte's British campaign medals, including the Battle of Britain Clasp, were not presented to his family after the war and were obtained by the Yorkshire Air Museum & Allied Air Forces Memorial who presented them to his sister along with footage of her brother taken in 1943, recently discovered by the Museum shortly before she died in June 2012. Later they were officially presented to family members along with the medals of Mouchotte's friend Henry Lafont, in the British Ambassador's Residence in Paris on 13 July 2012.

Commandant René Mouchotte DFC (21 August 1914 – 27 August 1943) was a World War II pilot of the French Air Force, who escaped from Vichy French–controlled Oran to join the Free French forces. Serving with RAF Fighter Command, he rose to command a fighter wing before being shot down and killed on 27 August 1943.


History.

The black eye pea is cultivated throughout the world. Most of the black-eyed pea cultivation occurred in the Southern United States as early as the 17th century in Virginia. The crop would also eventually prove popular in Texas. Throughout the South, the black-eyed pea is still a widely used ingredient in soul food and cuisines of the Southern United States. The planting of crops of black-eyed peas was promoted by George Washington Carver because, as a legume, it adds nitrogen to the soil and has high nutritional value. Black-eyed peas contain calcium (41 mg), folate (356 μg), protein (13.22 g), fiber (11.1 g) and vitamin A (26 IU), among other nutrients, with less than of food energy in a serving.

Cultivation.

This heat-loving crop should be sown after all danger of frost has passed and the soil is warm. Seeds sown too early will rot before germination. Black-eyed peas are extremely drought tolerant, so excessive watering should be avoided.  The crop is relatively free of pests and disease. Root-knot nematodes can be a problem, especially if crops are not rotated. As a nitrogen-fixing legume, fertilization can exclude nitrogen three weeks after germination.  The blossom produces nectar plentifully, and large areas can be a source of honey. Because the bloom attracts a variety of pollinators, care must be taken in the application of insecticides to avoid label violations.  After planting the pea, it should start to grow after 2–5 days

Lucky New Year food.

Southern United States.

In the Southern United States, eating black-eyed peas or Hoppin' John (a traditional soul food) on New Year's Day is thought to bring prosperity in the new year. The peas are typically cooked with a pork product for flavoring (such as bacon, fatback, ham bones, or hog jowls) and diced onion, and served with a hot chili sauce or a pepper-flavored vinegar. The traditional meal also includes Cabbage, collard, turnip, or mustard greens, and ham. The peas, since they swell when cooked, symbolize prosperity; the greens symbolize money; the pork, because pigs root forward when foraging, represents positive motion. Cornbread, which represents gold, also often accompanies this meal.  Several legends exist as to the origin of this custom. Two popular explanations for the South’s association with peas and good luck dates back to the American Civil War. The first is associated with General William T. Sherman’s march of the Union Army to the sea, during which they pillaged the Confederates' food supplies. Stories say peas and salted pork were said to have been left untouched, because of the belief that they were animal food unfit for human consumption. Southerners considered themselves lucky to be left with some supplies to help them survive the winter, and black-eyed peas evolved into a representation of good luck. One challenge to this legend is that General Sherman brought backup supplies with him including three days of animal feed and would have been unlikely to have left even animal feed untouched. In addition, the dates of the first average frost for Atlanta and Savannah, respectively, are November 13 and November 28. As Sherman's march was from November 15 to December 21, 1864, it is improbable, although possible, that the Union Army would have come across standing fields of black-eyed peas as relayed in most versions of the legend. In another Southern tradition, black-eyed peas were a symbol of emancipation for African-Americans who had previously been enslaved, and who after the Civil War were officially freed on New Years Day. Other Southern American traditions point to Jews of Ashkenazi and Sephardic ancestry in Southern cities and plantations.

Culinary uses worldwide.

Africa and Middle East.

In Egypt, black-eyed peas are called "lobia". Cooked with onions, garlic, meat, and tomato juice, and served with Egyptian rice with some pastina called "shaerya" mixed in, it makes the most famous rice dish in Egypt.  In Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, "lobya" or green black-eyed-beans are cooked with onion, garlic, tomatoes, peeled and chopped, olive oil, salt and black pepper.  In Nigeria in West Africa and the Caribbean, a traditional dish called "akara" is made of mashed black-eyed peas to which is added salt, onions and/or peppers. The mixture is then fried. In Nigeria, there’s also a pudding made from it called ‘moin-moin’ where it is ground and mixed with seasoning as well as some plant proteins before it is steamed. This is served with various carbohydrate rich foods such as pap, rice or garri.

Asia and the Pacific.

In Indonesia, black-eyed peas are called "" or "kacang tolo" in the local language. They are commonly used in curry dishes such as "sambal goreng", a kind of hot and spicy red curry dish, "sayur brongkos", or "sayur lodeh".  The bean is commonly used across India. In North India, black-eyed peas are called "lobia" or "rongi" and cooked like "daal", served with boiled rice. In Maharashtra, they are called "chawli" and made into a curry called "chawli amti" or "chawli usal". In Karnataka they are called "alsande kalu" and used in the preparation of "huli", a popular type of curry. In South Kanara district they are called as "lathanay dha beeja" and are cooked in spiced coconut paste to make a saucy curry or a dry coconut curry. In Tamil Nadu, they are called "karamani" or thattapayaru and used in various recipes, including being boiled and made into a salad-like "sundal" (often during the Ganesh Chaturthi and Navratri festivals). In Andhra Pradesh they are known by the name 'alasandalu' and are used for variety of recipes most popularly for 'vadas'. In Kerala, they are a part of the Sadhya dish, Olan.  In Vietnam, black-eyed peas are used in a sweet dessert called "chè đậu trắng" (black-eyed peas and sticky rice with coconut milk).

Europe.

In Cyprus ( φρέσκο λουβί) and Turkey (börülce salatası), blanched black-eyed peas are eaten as salad with a dressing of olive oil, salt, lemon juice, onions and garlic.  In Portugal, black-eyed peas are served with boiled cod and potatoes, with tuna, and in salads.  "Hoppin' John", made of black-eyed peas, rice, and pork, is a traditional dish of parts of the Southern United States.

The Americas.

Texas caviar, another traditional dish in the American South, is made from black-eyed peas marinated in vinaigrette-style dressing and chopped garlic.  In Brazil's northeastern state of Bahia, especially in the city of Salvador, black-eyed peas are used in a traditional street food of Nigerian origin called "akara". The beans are peeled and mashed, and the resulting paste is made into balls and deep fried in "dendê". "Acarajé" is typically served split in half and stuffed with "vatapá", "caruru", diced green and red tomatoes, fried sun-dried shrimp and homemade hot sauce.  In the northern part of Colombia, they are used to prepare a fritter called "buñuelo". The beans are immersed in water for a few hours to loosen their skins and soften them. The skins are then removed either by hand or with the help of a manual grinder. Once the skins are removed, the bean is ground or blended, and eggs are added, which produces a soft mix. The mix is fried in hot oil. It makes a nutritious breakfast meal.  In Guyana, South America, and Trinidad and Tobago, it is one of the most popular type of beans cooked with rice, the main one being red kidney beans, also referred to as red beans. It is also cooked as a snack or appetizer on its own. On New Year's Eve (referred to as Old Year's Night in Guyana and Suriname), families cook a traditional dish called cook-up rice. The dish comprises rice, black-eyed peas, and other peas and a variety of meats cooked in coconut milk and seasonings. According to tradition, cook-up rice should be the first thing consumed in the New Year for good luck. Cook-up rice is also made as an everyday dish.

The black-eyed pea, black-eyed bean, or goat pea is a legume grown around the world for its medium-sized, edible bean. Its other common name is cowpea, although it is actually a subspecies of the cowpea.


Viticultural regions.

A government decree of 13 July 1960 officially divided Bulgaria into five distinct viticultural regions.

Danubian Plain (North Bulgarian).

The Danubian Plain or North Bulgarian region encompasses the south banks of the Danube and the central and western parts of the Danubian Plain. The climate of the area is temperate continental, has a hot summer and many sunny days a year. Typical styles are Muscat Ottonel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Aligoté, Pamid and the local Gamza. In the US appellation also approved as "Danube River Plains" region.

Black Sea (East Bulgarian).

The Black Sea region is where 30% of all vines are located. The region is characterized by long and mild autumns that are a favourable condition for the accumulation of sugars to make fine white wine (53% of all white wine varietals are concentrated in the region). Wine styles include Dimyat, Riesling, Muscat Ottonel, Ugni blanc, Sauvignon blanc, Traminer, and Gewürztraminer. In the US appellation also approved as "Black Sea Coastal" region.

Rose Valley (Sub-Balkan).

The Rose Valley region is located south of the Balkan Mountains. It is divided into an eastern and western subregion, with styles such as Muscatel, Riesling, Rkatsiteli, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot dominating. The region mostly produces dry and off-dry white wine and less red wine. The region includes the Sungurlare Valley, famous for its wine from the Red Misket grape variety. In the US appellation also approved as "Valley of the Roses" region.

Thracian Lowland (South Bulgarian).

The temperate continental climate in the area and the favourable distribution of precipitation are good premises for the developed red wine growing in the lowlands of Upper Thrace. The region includes the central part of the lowland, as well as parts of the Sakar mountain. Mavrud, a famous local wine, as well as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Muscatel and Pamid are grown.  The Balkan Mountains serve to block the cold winds blowing from the plains of Russia, and the region to the south of the Balkans, the valley drained by the Maritsa River, has a Mediterranean climate, with mild, rainy winters and warm, dry summers. In the US appellation also approved as "Thracian Valley" region.

Struma River Valley (Southwest Bulgarian).

The region includes the southwestern parts of Bulgaria, the valley of the river Struma in the historical region of Macedonia. The area is small in size, but is climatically very distinct and characteristic, owing to the strong Mediterranean influence from the south. The local style Shiroka melnishka loza (taking its name from Melnik), as well as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are cultivated.

Grape growing and wine production have a long history in Bulgaria, dating back to the times of the Thracians. Wine is, together with beer and grape rakia, among the most popular alcoholic beverages in the country.


History.

The term "Maratha" referred broadly to all the speakers of the Marathi language. In the 17th century, it also served as a designation for peasants from the Deccan Plateau who served as soldiers in the armies of Muslim rulers and later in the armies of Shivaji. Thus, the term "Maratha" became a marker of an endogamous caste for them. A number of Maratha warriors, including Shivaji's father, Shahaji, originally served in those Muslim armies. By the mid-1660s, Shivaji had established an independent Maratha kingdom. After Shivaji's death, Marathas fought under his sons and defeated Aurangzeb in the Mughal–Maratha Wars. The Maratha empire was further expanded into a vast empire by the Maratha Confederacy including Peshwas, stretching from central India in the south to Peshawar (in modern-day Pakistan) on the Afghanistan border in the north, and with expeditions in Bengal to the east.  By the 19th century, the empire had become a confederacy of individual states controlled by Maratha chiefs such as Gaekwads of Baroda, the Holkars of Indore, the Scindias of Gwalior, the Puars of Dhar and Dewas, and Bhonsles of Nagpur. The Confederacy remained the pre-eminent power in India until their defeat by the British East India Company in the Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–1818).  By the 19th century, the term "Maratha" had several interpretations in the British administrative records. In the Thane District Gazetteer of 1882, the term was used to denote elite layers within various castes: for example, "Maratha-Agri" within the Agri caste and "Maratha-Koli" within the Koli caste. In the Pune District, the words Kunbi and Maratha had become synonymous, giving rise to the Maratha-Kunbi caste complex. The Pune District Gazetteer of 1882 divided the Kunbis into two classes: Marathas and other Kunbis. The 1901 census listed three groups within the Maratha-Kunbi caste complex: "Marathas proper", "Maratha Kunbis" and Konkan Maratha.  According to Steele, in the early 19th century, Kunbis, who were agriculturists, and the Marathas who claimed Rajput descent and Kshatriya status, were distinguished by their customs related to widow remarriage. The Kunbis allowed it and the higher status Marathas prohibited it. However, there is no statistical evidence for this. However, the Kunbis and Marathas had hypergamous inter-community marriages – a rich Kunbi could always marry his daughter to a poor Maratha.  Historically, the Maratha population comprised more than 31% of the population in Maharashtra and the Kunbi was 7%, whereas the upper castes, Marathi Brahmins, Saraswat Brahmins, and Prabhus, were earlier only about 4% of the population. The Other Backward Class population (other than the Kunbi) was 27% while the population of the Mahars was 12%.  Gradually, the term "Maratha" came to denote an endogamous caste. From 1900 onwards, the Satyashodhak Samaj movement defined the Marathas as a broader social category of non-Brahmin groups. These non-Brahmins gained prominence in the Indian National Congress during the Indian independence movement. In independent India, these Marathas became the dominant political force in the newly-formed state of Maharashtra.  The ritual caste hierarchy in Maharashtra is led by the Deshasthas, Chitpawans, Karhades, Saraswats and the Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhus. The Maratha are ranked lower under this classification than the above castes but are considered higher than the Kunbi, backward castes and castes that were considered ritually impure. According to the Chairperson of the Centre for Social Justice and Governance, this caste ranking is significant even in recent times in inter-caste matrimonial alliances between Maharashtrians.

Origin.

Modern research has revealed that the Marathas and Kunbi have the same origin. Most recently, the Kunbi origin of the Maratha has been explained in detail by historians Richard Eaton and Stewart Gordon. Marathas ("Assal" or true i.e. belonging to 96 clans), who were distinguished from the Kunbi, in the past claimed genealogical connections with Rajputs of northern India. However, modern researchers demonstrate, giving examples, that these claims are not factual. Modern scholars agree that Marathas and Kunbi are the same. Anthropologist J. V. Ferreira claims: "The Maratha claim to belong to the ancient 96 Kshatriya families has no foundation in fact and may have been adopted after the Marathas became with Shivaji a power to be reckoned with". Gordon theorises how the Maratha caste was generated from the Kunbis who served the Muslim rulers, prospered, and over time adopted different customs like different dressing styles, employed genealogists, started identifying as Maratha, and caste boundaries solidified between them. In the nineteenth century, economic prosperity rather than martial service to the Muslims replaced the mobility into Maratha identity. Eaton gives an example of the Holkar family that originally belonged to the Dhangar (shepherd) caste but was given a Maratha or even an "arch-Maratha" identity. The other example, given by Susan Bayly, is of the Bhonsles who originated among Maratha and Kunbi populations of the Deccani tiller-plainsmen. Dhanmanjiri Sathe states that "The line between Marathas and Kunbis is thin and sometimes difficult to ascertain". Iravati Karve, an anthropologist, showed how the Maratha caste was generated from Kunbis who simply started calling themselves "Maratha". She states that Maratha, Kunbi and Mali are the three main farming communities of Maharashtra – the difference being that the Marathas and Kunbis were "dry farmers" whereas the Mali farmed throughout the year. Cynthia Talbot quotes a saying in Maharashtra, "when a Kunbi prospers he becomes Maratha". The Kunbi origin has been one of the factors on the basis of which the head of Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission (MSBCC), a Judge, M.G. Gaikwad, and some others in 2018, stated that Maratha associations have submitted historical proofs and petitions to be included in the Other Backward Class. The decision for giving reservation in jobs and education for Marathas based on the petitions that Marathas and Kunbis are one and the same caste was upheld by the Mumbai court in 2019.

Internal diaspora.

The empire also resulted in the voluntary relocation of substantial numbers of Maratha and other Marathi-speaking people outside Maharashtra, and across a big part of India. Today several small but significant communities descended from these emigrants live in the north, south and west of India. These descendant communities tend often to speak the local languages, although many also speak Marathi in addition. Notable Maratha families outside Maharashtra include Bhonsle of Tanjore, Scindia of Gwalior, Gaekwad of Baroda, Holkar of Indore, Puar of Dewas and Dhar, Ghorpade of Mudhol.

Culture.

Literacy.

In 17th century Maharashtra, the Brahmins and CKPs were the communities that had a system of higher education in Gurukula or lower-level education in clerical work or book-keeping. Education of all other castes and communities consisted of listening to oral reproductions from sacred texts like the Puranas and Kirtans. However, despite lack of education, the Maratha caste due to their long tradition of service in military of the Yadavas and later the Muslim sultanates produced good soldiers and commanders.  Stewart Gordon writes that the prominent Ghorpade Maratha family, for instance, was not literate and had to use Brahmins as record keepers.  Gail Omvedt concludes that during the British era, the overall literacy of Brahmins and CKPs was overwhelmingly high as compared to the literacy of the Maratha and Kunbi communities where it was strikingly low. The artisan castes were intermediate in terms of literacy. For all castes, men were more literate than the women from that caste(respectively). Female literacy, as well as English literacy, showed the same pattern among castes.  Brahmins are not to blame for the lack of education of Marathas, as shown by other non-Brahmin communities whose occupations required education, like the Prabhus, Saraswats and Kayasthas. These communities got education despite the barriers imposed by the Brahmins and it has been argued that the need for reservations does not arise if each community tries for its own development.

Marriages.

Like other Maharashtrian communities such as Kunbis, Malis, Mahars, etc., the marriage of a man to his maternal uncle's ("mama" in Marathi) daughter is common in the Maratha community. Maratha and Kunbis intermarried in a hypergamous way i.e. a rich Kunbi's daughter could always marry a poor Maratha. Anthropologist Donald Attwood shows giving an example of the Karekars of Ahmednagar that this trend continues even in recent times indicating that the social order is fluid and flexible.

Widows.

The Marathas do not prohibit widow remarriage due to their ritualistic norms and therefore widows from the community have avoided the distress suffered in the past by widows belonging to castes such as Brahmin and CKP that prohibited widow remarriage.

Dowry Issues.

Being a politically dominant caste, the Marathas have not been able to progress beyond the social practices of Dowry (Dowry refers to the durable goods, cash, and real or movable property that the bride's family gives to the bridegroom, his parents, or his relatives as a condition of the marriage.). 80% of the Maratha community are farmers and there have been cases where the Maratha farmers had to sell their lands just to get their daughters married. Data compiled by the Maratha Kranti Morcha members showed that the expenditure incurred by an average low income and poor Maratha family has doubled in the last 10 years when it comes to dowry. A member said (in 2018), "The dowry amount ranges from Rs 7 lakh to Rs 50 lakh, depending on the profession of the groom. The lower-middle class Marathas too often have to bear an expenditure of Rs 7 lakh to Rs 10 lakh for a daughter's wedding. Even in the remote villages, a small and marginal farmer spends Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3.5 lakh on a daughter's wedding." Some caste members tried to use the Morcha to address the issue of Dowry but they did not get a positive response. Dowry has now attained a status symbol in the community and that is part of the issue.

Festivals and Gods.

Rosalind O'Hanlon, Professor at the University of Oxford stated that the Hindu God Mhasoba is traditionally very popular in the Maratha caste. She quotes about the devotion of the Marathas in the 19th century to Mhasoba as follows: Mhasoba was also worshiped by the Bhonsles. The other Hindu Gods popular in the Maratha community are Khandoba and the Goddess Bhavani of Tuljapur.  Maratha leaders said that "Chhatrapati Shivaji is worshiped by the Maratha community, while different sections of society hold him in high esteem". "Shivaji Jayanti" (his birthday) is celebrated with folk dances, songs, plays and Puja. There was some controversy over the date but it is now celebrated on 19 February. Earlier, the regional Marathi political parties – Shiv Sena as well as the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena were celebrating it as per the Tithi according to the Hindu Calendar ("Falgun Vadya Tritiya" – third day of the month of Falgun), whereas the State Government was celebrating it as per the Gregorian Calendar.

Varna status.

The varna of the Maratha was a contested issue, with arguments for their being of the Kshatriya (warrior) "varna", and others for their being of Shudra origins. This issue was the subject of antagonism between the Brahmins and Marathas, dating back to the time of Pratap Singh, but by the late 19th century moderate Brahmins were keen to ally with the influential Marathas of Bombay in the interests of Indian independence from Britain. These Brahmins supported the Maratha claim to Kshatriya status, but their success in this political alliance was sporadic and fell apart entirely following independence in 1947.  As late as the turn of 20th century, the Brahmin priests of Shahu, the Maratha ruler of Kolhapur refused to use Vedic mantras and would not take a bath before chanting, on the grounds that even the leading Marathas such as Shahu and his family belonged to the Shudra varna. This opinion about the Shudra varna was supported by Brahmin Councils in Maharashtra and they stuck to their opinion even when they (the Brahmins) were threatened with the loss of land and property. This led to Shahu supporting Arya Samaj and Satyashodhak Samaj as well as campaigning for the rights of the Maratha community. He soon became the leader of the non-Brahmin movement and united the Marathas under his banner.  In the 21st century, the Government of Maharashtra cited historical incidents for the claim of Shudra status of prominent Maratha families to form a case for reservation for the Marathas in the state. Additionally, a report by an independent commission in November 2018 concluded that the Maratha caste is educationally, socially and economically a backward community.

Reservations.

The Marathas were classified as a Forward caste by the Mandal commission. In 2018, they were classified as Socially and Educationally Backward (SEBC) and were granted 16% reservation in jobs and education. In 2019, the court upheld the quota but recommended that the quota be cut to 12%.

Inter-caste issues.

Anti-Marwadi Deccan riots of 1875.

Claude Markovits, director of center of Indian and South-Asian studies, writes, that in 1875, in places such as Pune and Ahmednagar, Marwadi moneylenders became victims of coordinated attacks by the "local peasantry of the Maratha caste". Historian, David Ludlen states that the motivation for the violence was destroying the debt agreements that the moneylenders held over the Maratha farmers. These riots were known as the "Deccan riots".

Anti-Brahmin Violence.

Following the assassination of Gandhi in 1948 by Nathuram Godse, a Chitpawan Brahmin from Pune, other Brahmins in Maharashtra became targets of violence, mostly from elements from the Maratha caste. Later, in Sangli, Jains and Lingayats joined the marathas in their attacks against the Brahmins. Thousands of offices and homes were also set on fire. Molestation incidents were also reported during these attacks. On the first day alone, the number of deaths in Bombay were 15, and 50 in Pune.  One scholar has observed, "It will be too much to believe that the riots took place because of the intense love of Gandhiji on the part of the Marathas. Godse became a very convenient hate symbol to damn the Brahmins and burn their properties." Donald Rosenthal opines that the motivation for the violence was the historic discrimination and humiliation that the Maratha community faced due to their caste status. He writes, "Even today, local Brahmins claim that the Marathas organized the riots to take political advantage of the situation".  In Satara alone, the official reports show that about 1000 houses were burnt in about 300 villages. There were "cruel, cold-blooded killings" as well – for example, one family whose last name happened to be 'Godse' had three of its male members killed. Brahmins suffered from serious physical violence as well as economic violence in the form of looting.  Maureen Patterson concludes that the greatest violence took place not in the cities of Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur - but in Satara, Kolhapur and Belgaum. Destruction was extensive in Kolhapur. Shahu of Kolhapur had actively collaborated with the British against the Indian freedom struggle that was identified with Chitpawans such as Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Shahu was also actively involved in the anti-Brahmin movement as well. In Sangli, the Jains and the Lingayats joined the Marathas in the attacks against the Brahmins. Here, specifically, the factories owned by the Chitpawan Brahmins were destroyed. This event led to the hasty integration of the Patwardhan states into the Bombay Province by March 1948.

Worli BDD Chawl violence.

The BDD Chawl in the Worli inner suburb of Mumbai is a complex of buildings which were built in 1920s to house workers employed by the textile mills. In the 1970s, at the height of the Dalit Panther movement, fights between the Chawl's dominant Maratha population and the Neo-Buddhists living in 20-odd buildings resulted in full-scale riots. Violence between the communities continued through the 1970s to the early 1990s.

Other incidents of caste related violence.

Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.

Sambhaji Brigade is a branch of "Maratha Seva Sangh"(a Maratha caste organisation) and has committed acts of violence. In 2004, a mob of 150 Maratha activists attacked the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute - the reason being a book by James Laine. The vandalism led to loss of valuable historic documents and an estimated loss of Rs 1.25 crore. Sanskrit and religious documents dating back to the 16th century were destroyed, translation of the RigVeda by the Shankaracharya was thrown on the road. A woman who tried to call the police had bricks pelted at her by the mob.

Ram Ganesh Gadkari Statue.

In 2017, the statue of Ram Ganesh Gadkari, a noted playwright and poet who showed Sambhaji Maharaj in a poor light in his 1919 play 'Rajsanyas', was uprooted and thrown in the river by Sambhaji Brigade. The Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu(CKP), the community to which Gadkari belonged later organised a meeting to protest this incident at the "Ram Ganesh Gadkari Rangayatan"(a theatre named after Gadkari) in Thane. Indian National Congress leader Nitesh Rane later rewarded the vandals and made inflammatory remarks claiming that he had announced a reward earlier in 2016 for removing the bust, and was proud of the act carried out by the accused.

Violence related to inclusion in the Other Backward Caste(OBC).

In 2018, several incidents of violence were reported due to agitation over the delay of the inclusion of the Maratha caste in the Other Backward Class category. The agitation was started by the Maratha Kranti Morcha. In June 2018, the Marathas threatened violent protests if their demands were not met. In July, Maratha protests turned violent as the protesters attacked police and torched police vehicles. Several incidents, including some deaths, were reported in other locations as well – several police were injured by the mobs, public property was damaged and private cars were torched. In Navi Mumbai itself, hundreds of vehicles were torched and buses were set on fire in cities such as Mumbai and Pune.

Other inter caste issues.

Medha Khole Incident.

In a widely publicised 2017 incident, a Brahmin scientist by the name of Medha Vinayak Khole(Deputy Director-General for the weather forecasting section) filed a police complaint against her Maratha domestic worker, Nirmala Yadav, for hiding her caste and "violating ritual purity and sanctity". Khole even insulted the latter's Gods, Khandoba (a popular God worshipped by most Marathi Hindu communities) and Mhasoba (a Hindu God worshiped by Pastoral communities and very popular in the Marathas). The "Akhil Bhartiya Bramhan Mahasangh" initially came out in support of Khole. However, there were widespread protests not just by Maratha caste organisations but also by non-caste organisations like Domestic Workers Unions and Women's organisations and Khole was widely criticised.

Political participation.

The 1919 Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms of the British colonial government called for caste based representation in legislative council. In anticipation a Maratha league party was formed. The league and other groups came together to form the non-Brahmins party in the Marathi speaking areas in the early 1920s under the leadership of Maratha leaders Keshavrao Jedhe and Baburao Javalkar. Their early goals in that period were capturing the Ganpati and Shivaji festivals from Brahmin domination. They combined nationalism with anti-casteism as the party's aims. Later on in the 1930s, Jedhe merged the non-Brahmin party with the Congress party and changed the Congress party in the Maharashtra region from an upper-caste dominated body to a more broadly based but Maratha-dominated party. Apart from Jedhe, most Congress leaders from the Maratha /Kunbi community remained aloof from the Samyukta Maharashtra campaign of the 1950s. However, they have dominated the state politics of Maharashtra since its inception in 1960.  The INC was the preferred party of the Maratha/Kunbi community in the early days of Maharashtra and the party was long without a major challenger, and enjoyed overwhelming support from the Maratha dominated sugar co-operatives and thousands of other cooperative organisations involved in the rural agricultural economy of the state such as marketing of dairy and vegetable produce, credit unions etc. The domination by Marathas of the cooperative institutions and with it the rural economic power allowed the community to control politics from the village level up to the Assembly and Lok Sabha seats. Since the 1980s, this group has also been active in setting up private educational institutions. Major past political figures of Congress party from Maharashtra such as Keshavrao Jedhe, Yashwantrao Chavan, Shankarrao Chavan and Vilasrao Deshmukh have been from this group. Sharad Pawar, who has been a towering figure in Maharashtrian and national politics, belongs to this group.  The state has had many Maratha government ministers and officials, as well as in local municipal councils, and panchayats. Marathas comprise around 32 per cent of the state population. 10 out of 16 chief ministers of Maharashtra hailed from the Maratha community as of 2012.  The rise of the Hindu Nationalist Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party in recent years have not dented Maratha representation in Maharashtra Legislative assembly.  Shiv Sena's strength mainly came from the Maratha support which it drew away from the Congress. In 1990, 24 MLAs elected from Shiv Sena were Marathas which increased to 33 in 2004 (more than 50%). Thus, researcher Vora concludes that the Shiv Sena has been emerging as a "Maratha Party".  Maratha Seva Sangh, a Maratha caste based organisation and its youth wing Sambhaji Brigade came into the political scene after the BORI attack. The group distances itself from the Hindu nationalist parties like the BJP and Shiv Sena and invokes a secular anti-Brahmin genealogy from Shivaji, Tukaram, Jyotirao Phule and B. R. Ambedkar. In late 2004, Maratha Seva Sangh announced that they had established a new religion called "Shiv Dharma" to protest "Vedic Brahminism" and oppose Hinduism. The details of this are published in "Jijau Brigade va Sambhaji Brigade Sanskarmala, Maratha Sanskarmala I".

Military service.

The Duke of Wellington, after defeating the Marathas, noted that the Marathas, though poorly led by their Generals, had regular infantry and artillery that matched the level of that of the Europeans and warned other British officers from underestimating the Marathas on the battlefield. He cautioned one British general that: "You must never allow Maratha infantry to attack head on or in close hand to hand combat as in that your army will cover itself with utter disgrace".  Norman Gash says that the Maratha infantry was equal to that of British infantry. After the Third Anglo-Maratha war in 1818, Britain listed the Marathas as one of the Martial Races to serve in the British Indian Army although it was unclear whether this categorisation referred to the Maratha caste or a subset of some Marathi castes. Despite praising the military prowess of the Marathas, the British considered them inferior to Sikhs and Gurkhas in terms of other masculine traits due to prevailing Christian notions of being a "man at arm" in battlefield i.e., they disapproved of Maratha utilisation of guerrilla warfare in combat along with their uncharitable and ruthless attitudes. However, racial theories have been discredited. Lord Roberts, commander-in-chief of the Indian Army 1885–1893, who came up with the "Martial Race" theory, stated that in order to improve the quality of the army, there was a need to use "more warlike and hardy races" instead of the current sepoys from Bengal, the Tamils, Telugus and the Marathas. Based on this theory, Gurkhas and Sikhs were recruited by the British army and they were "construed as martial races" in preference to other races in India. Historian Sikata Banerjee notes a dissonance in British military opinions of the Maratha, wherein the British portrayed them as both "formidable opponents" and yet not "properly qualified" for fighting in the western manner, criticising the Maratha guerrilla tactics as an improper way of war. Banerjee cites an 1859 statement as emblematic of this disparity:  The Maratha Light Infantry regiment is one of the "oldest and most renowned" regiments of the Indian Army. Its First Battalion, also known as the "Jangi Paltan" ("Warrior Platoon"), traces its origins to 1768 as part of the Bombay Sepoys.  The battle cry of Maratha Light Infantry is "Bol Shri Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj ki Jai!" ("Hail Victory to Emperor Shivaji!") in tribute to the Maratha sovereign and their motto is "Shatrujeet" (victory over enemy).

The Maratha caste is originally formed from the amalgamation of families from the peasant(Kunbi), shepherd(Dhangar), blacksmith(Lohar), Sutar(carpenter), Bhandari and Thakar castes in Maharashtra. Many of them took to military service in the 16th century such as the Deccan sultanates or the Mughals. Later in the 17th and 18th centuries, they served in the armies of the Maratha empire, founded by Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Some were granted fiefs by the rulers for their service.


Plot summary.

Twelve-year-old Johnny receives a pirate edition of the new video game "Only You Can Save Mankind" from his friend Wobbler. However, he hasn't been playing for long when the ScreeWee Empire surrenders to him. After accepting the surrender he finds himself inside the game in his dreams, where he must deal with the suspicious Gunnery Officer as well as the understanding Captain, and work out exactly what they're all supposed to do now.  This might all be the result of an over-active imagination except that the ScreeWee have disappeared altogether from everyone else's copy of the game. With the help of another player, Kirsty, who calls herself "Sigourney" (as in Weaver), Johnny must try to get the ScreeWee home.

Ideas and themes.

It plays with the effects of perception. For instance, since Kirsty refuses to see the ScreeWee as anything other than alien monsters who exist to be shot, they are much less human-like in her presence than when only dealing with Johnny.  Wobbler writes a computer game entitled "Journey to Alpha Centauri". The game is meant to be played in real-time, meaning it would take three thousand years to finish the journey. If the game were actually played for three thousand years, the player would be rewarded with a message saying "Welcome to Alpha Centauri. Now go home". This inspired an interactive fiction game, "Journey to Alpha Centauri (In Real Time)".

Adaptations.

In 1996, "Only You Can Save Mankind" was adapted into a three-part radio drama on BBC Radio 4, starring Tim Smith as Johnny.  In 2004, a musical adaptation for the stage was premiered at the Edinburgh Festival, with music by Leighton James House and lyrics by Shaun McKenna. A UK national tour is planned for opening in late 2011 with director Nikolai Foster. The album was released online November 23, 2009. A national CD release came out in April 2010 or from www.ifnotyouthenwho.com.

Only You Can Save Mankind (1992) is the first novel in the Johnny Maxwell trilogy of children's books and fifth young adult novel by Terry Pratchett, author of the "Discworld" sequence of books. The following novels in the "Johnny Maxwell Trilogy" are "Johnny and the Dead" (1993) and "Johnny and the Bomb" (1996). The setting of the novels in the modern world was a departure for Pratchett, who writes more regularly in fantasy world settings.


Plot.

In 1921, an archaeological expedition led by Sir Joseph Whemple (Arthur Byron) finds the mummy of an ancient Egyptian high priest named Imhotep (Boris Karloff). An inspection of the mummy by Whemple's friend Dr. Muller (Edward Van Sloan) reveals that the viscera were not removed, and from the signs of struggling Muller deduces that although Imhotep had been wrapped like a traditional mummy, he had been buried alive. Also buried with Imhotep is a casket with a curse on it. Despite Muller's warning, Sir Joseph's assistant Ralph Norton (Bramwell Fletcher) opens it. He reads aloud an ancient life-giving scroll, the "Scroll of Thoth". Imhotep rises, the sight of which snaps Norton’s mind and causes him to laugh hysterically, as the Mummy shuffles off with the scroll.  Ten years later, Imhotep is masquerading as a modern Egyptian named Ardeth Bay covering himself with makeup. He calls upon Sir Joseph's son Frank (David Manners) and Professor Pearson (Leonard Mudie) and shows them where to dig to find the tomb of the princess Anck-su-namun. After locating the tomb, the archaeologists present its treasures to the Cairo Museum and thank Ardeth Bay for making their discovery possible. It is further revealed that Imhotep's horrific death was punishment for sacrilege: attempting to resurrect his forbidden lover, Princess Anck-su-namun.  Imhotep soon encounters Helen Grosvenor (Zita Johann), a half-Egyptian woman bearing a striking resemblance to the princess. Believing her to be Anck-su-namun's reincarnation, he attempts to kill her, with the intention of mummifying her, resurrecting her, and finally making her his immortal bride. Helen is rescued when she remembers her ancestral past life and prays to the goddess Isis to come to her aid. The statue of Isis raises its arm and emits a flash that sets the Scroll of Thoth on fire. This breaks the spell that had given Imhotep his immortality, causing him to crumble to dust. At the urging of Dr. Muller, Frank calls Helen back to the world of the living while the Scroll of Thoth continues to burn.

Production.

Inspired by the opening of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922 and the Curse of the Pharaohs, producer Carl Laemmle Jr. commissioned story editor Richard Schayer to find a literary novel to form a basis for an Egyptian-themed horror film, just as the novels "Dracula" and "Frankenstein" informed their 1931 films "Dracula" and "Frankenstein". Schayer found none although the plot bears a strong resemblance to a short story by Arthur Conan Doyle entitled "The Ring of Thoth". Schayer and writer Nina Wilcox Putnam learned about Alessandro Cagliostro and wrote a nine-page treatment entitled "Cagliostro". The story, set in San Francisco, was about a 3,000-year-old magician who survives by injecting nitrates.  Pleased with the Cagliostro concept, Laemmle hired John L. Balderston to write the script. Balderston had contributed to "Dracula" and "Frankenstein", and had covered the opening of Tutankhamun's tomb for "New York World" when he was a journalist so he was more than familiar with the highly popular tomb unearthing. Balderston moved the story to Egypt and renamed the film and its title character Imhotep, after the historical architect. He also changed the story from one of revenge upon all the women who resembled the main character's ex-lover to one where the main character is determined to revive his old love by killing and mummifying her reincarnated self before resurrecting her with the spell of the Scroll of Thoth. Balderston invented the Scroll of Thoth, which gave an aura of authenticity to the story. Thoth was the wisest of the Egyptian gods who, when Osiris died, helped Isis bring her love back from the dead. Thoth is believed to have authored "The Book of the Dead", which may have been the inspiration for Balderston's Scroll of Thoth. Another likely source of inspiration is the fictional "Book of Thoth" that appeared in several ancient Egyptian stories.  Karl Freund, the cinematographer on "Dracula", was hired to direct, making this his first film in the United States as a director. Freund had also been the cinematographer on Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" and later photographed the television series "I Love Lucy". The film was retitled "The Mummy". Freund cast Zita Johann, who believed in reincarnation, and named her character 'Anck-su-namun' after the only wife of Pharaoh Tutankhamun. The real Ankhesenamun's body had not been discovered in the tomb of King Tut and her resting place was unknown. Her name, however, would not have been unknown to the general public.  Filming was scheduled for three weeks. Karloff's first day was spent shooting the Mummy's awakening from his sarcophagus. Make-up artist Jack Pierce had studied photos of Seti I's mummy to design Imhotep; however, Karloff looked nothing like the mummy of Seti I in the film, instead bearing a resemblance to the mummy of Ramesses III. Pierce began transforming Karloff at 11 a.m., applying cotton, collodion and spirit gum to his face; clay to his hair; and wrapping him in linen bandages treated with acid and burnt in an oven, finishing the job at 7 p.m. Karloff finished his scenes at 2 a.m., and another two hours were spent removing the make-up. Karloff found the removal of gum from his face painful, and overall found the day "the most trying ordeal I [had] ever endured". Although the images of Karloff wrapped in bandages are the most iconic taken from the film, Karloff only appears on screen in this make-up for the opening vignette; the rest of the film sees him wearing less elaborate make-up.  A lengthy and detailed flashback sequence was longer than as it presently exists. This sequence showed the various forms Anck-su-namun was reincarnated in over the centuries: Henry Victor is credited in the film as "Saxon Warrior", despite his performance having been deleted. Stills exist of those sequences, but the footage (save for Karloff's appearance and the sacrilegious events leading up to his mummification in ancient Egypt) has been lost.  The piece of classical music heard during the opening credits, taken from the Tchaikovsky ballet "Swan Lake", was previously also used (in the same arrangement) for the opening credits of Universal's "Dracula" (1931) and "Murders in the Rue Morgue" (1932); in 1933 it would be re-used as the title music of the same studio's "Secret of the Blue Room".

Reception.

The film was a success at the box office, particularly in the United Kingdom  The film received positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 93% score, based on 27 reviews, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The site's consensus states: "Relying more on mood and atmosphere than the thrills typical of modern horror fare, Universal's "The Mummy" sets a masterful template for mummy-themed films to follow."

Legacy.

Sequels.

Unlike other Universal Monsters films, "The Mummy" had no official sequels, but rather was reimagined in "The Mummy's Hand" (1940) and its sequels, "The Mummy's Tomb" (1942), "The Mummy's Ghost" (1944), "The Mummy's Curse" (1944), and the studios' comedy-horror crossover movie "Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy" (1955). These films focus on the titular character named Kharis (Klaris in the Abbott and Costello film). "The Mummy's Hand" recycled footage from the original film for use in the telling of Kharis' origins, where Karloff is clearly visible in several of these recycled scenes but was not credited.

Hammer Film Productions series.

In the late 1950s, British Hammer Film Productions took up the "Mummy" theme, beginning with "The Mummy" (1959), which, rather than being a remake of the 1932 Karloff film, is based on Universal's "The Mummy's Hand" (1940) and "The Mummy's Tomb" (1942). Hammer's follow-ups — "The Curse of The Mummy's Tomb" (1964), "The Mummy's Shroud" (1966) and "Blood from The Mummy's Tomb" (1971) — are unrelated to the first film or even to each other, apart from the appearance of "The Scroll of Life" in "Curse of The Mummy's Tomb" and "Blood from The Mummy's Tomb".

Remake series.

The much later Universal film "The Mummy" (1999) also suggests that it is a remake of the 1932 film, but has a different story line. However, in common with most postmodern remakes of classic horror and science-fiction films, it may be considered as such in that it is produced-distributed by the same studio, its titular character is again named Imhotep, resurrected by the Book of the Dead, and out to find the present-day embodiment of the soul of his beloved Anck-su-namun, and features an Egyptian named Ardeth Bay (in this case, a guard of the city and of Imhotep's tomb). This film spawned two sequels with "The Mummy Returns" (2001) and "" (2008). "The Mummy Returns" also spawned a prequel spin-off of that sequel, "The Scorpion King" (2002), which in turn spawned a prequel, "" (2008), and three sequels, "" (2012), "" (2015) and "" (2018). Also, a short-lived animated series simply titled "The Mummy" ran from 2001 to 2003.

Reboot.

In 2012, Universal announced a reboot of the film, more in-line with the horror films, from the Universal Monsters film franchise. The reboot was directed by Alex Kurtzman. "The Mummy" was planned as the first film in a series of interconnected monster films, as Universal has planned to build a shared universe film series out of its vault of classic monster movies. On January 21, 2016 it was announced that Tom Cruise would be starring in the film. Sofia Boutella was cast to portray Princess Ahmunet / The Mummy for the film, while Russell Crowe would appear as Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Hyde, two roles which had previously been portrayed by Boris Karloff in the studios' previous film franchise. In June 2017, the studio announced the name, logo, theme music (written by Danny Elfman), and upcoming schedule for the shared universe titled Dark Universe. It received negative reviews and is considered a box office bomb scrapping the plans for the upcoming films of the dark universe

Criticism.

"The Mummy" has been decried for "othering" Eastern culture, especially portraying it as being more primitive and superstitious than Western culture. In one scene, Helen Grosvenor longs for the "real" (Classical) Egypt, disparaging that she is in contemporary Islamic Egypt. This is viewed by critic Caroline T. Schroeder as a slight against Islamic culture at the time.  According to Mark A. Hall, of the Perth Museum and Art Gallery, film portrayals of Egypt, especially in Egyptian archaeology, often deal with themes of appropriating and controlling the dangers of non-European cultures, or deal with the past if it relates to legend and superstition. Mummies, Hall says, are a common example of this. While he commended the archaeological wisdom espoused by Sir Joseph Whemple in the film, he writes that "much more is learned from studying bits of broken pottery than from all the sensational finds" and that archaeologists' job is to "increase the sum of human knowledge of the past", and mentions that the archaeological element was only used as a foil for the supernatural elements. As a result, per Hall, what it and similar films offered was a "depiction of archaeology as a colonial imposition by which cultural inheritance is appropriated".

Historical accuracy.

The Scroll of Thoth is a fictional artifact, though likely based on the "Book of the Dead". Thoth, the Egyptian god of knowledge, is said to be the inventor of hieroglyphs and the author of the "Book of the Dead". The film also makes reference to the Egyptian myth of the goddess Isis resurrecting Osiris after his murder by his brother Set.  Conspirators were caught in a plot to assassinate Pharaoh Ramesses III around 1151 B.C.E. Papyrus trial transcripts reveal that the conspirators were prescribed ‘great punishments of death’, and archaeological evidence led to the suggestion that at least one of them may have been buried alive. Although such punishment was not common practice, this discovery probably influenced the film’s screenplay.  There is no evidence to suggest that the ancient Egyptians believed in or considered the possibility of reanimated mummies. Mummification was a sacred process meant to prepare a dead body to carry the soul through the afterlife, not for being reincarnated and living again on Earth. While it is possible that some individuals were mummified by being buried alive, it is unlikely that ancient Egyptians would think resurrection was possible because they were very aware of the fact that all the necessary organs had been removed and the body would be of little use on Earth anymore. However, Egyptologist Stuart Tyson Smith notes that ‘the idea of mobile mummies was not entirely alien to ancient Egypt’, citing one of the Hellenistic-era stories of Setna Khaemwas, which features both the animated mummy of Naneferkaptah and a fictional "Book of Thoth" and may have inspired screenwriter John Balderston.

The Mummy is a 1932 American pre-Code horror film directed by Karl Freund. The screenplay by John L. Balderston was from a story by Nina Wilcox Putnam and Richard Schayer. Released by Universal Studios, the film stars Boris Karloff, Zita Johann, David Manners, Edward Van Sloan and Arthur Byron. The film is about an ancient Egyptian mummy named Imhotep who is discovered by a team of archaeologists and inadvertently brought back to life through a magic scroll. Disguised as a modern Egyptian, the mummy searches for his lost love, whom he believes has been reincarnated into a modern girl.


Mandate.

The Commission had a broader mandate, more power and greater resources than the Auditor General, and most importantly could look beyond government to the advertising agencies that had received the Sponsorship dollars. The terms of reference allowed the commissioner to question witnesses, hire experts and adopt any procedures or methods that he considers expedient for the proper conduct of the inquiry. The purpose given was to "investigate and report on questions raised, directly or indirectly" by the Auditor General's report. However, as is typically the case in commissions of inquiry, he was specifically directed not to make any conclusions or recommendations on criminal charges or civil liability.  Commissioner Gomery was given a two part mandate with power issued to him under the Inquiries Act. The first part of the mandate was investigate and report on questions and concerns addressed in the 2003 Report of the Auditor General of Canada relating to the sponsorship program and advertising activities of the Government of Canada. These concerns included the program’s creation, the selection of agencies, the program’s management and activities, the receiving and use of funds and disbursement of commissions, and anything else that Gomery feels relevant.  The second part of the mandate was for Gomery to make any recommendations that he considers advisable, based on his findings. Specifically requested of Gomery were the following: to prevent mismanagement of sponsorship or advertising programs in the future, taking into account legislation to protect "whistleblowers"; to recommend changes to legislation to change the governance of Crown corporations to ensure that audit committees are strengthened, that public access to information is increased, that there is a consistent application of the provisions for each organization, that compliance and enforcement be enhanced, and finally that respective responsibilities and accountabilities of Ministers and public servants as recommended by the Auditor General of Canada.

Proceedings and testimonies.

The Commission began in Ottawa, meeting in the Old City Hall. The hearing opened in September 2004. The first to testify was Auditor General Sheila Fraser who reported the findings of her earlier investigations. The first part of its investigation was of the political direction of the project. Most of the top officials involved were called to testify. In an unprecedented event, the inquiry saw the testimony of two Prime Ministers in February 2005: Paul Martin and Jean Chrétien. The testimony of Chrétien was much anticipated. In December 2004, Chrétien's lawyers had moved to expel Justice Gomery due to comments he had made to a "National Post" reporter that the lawyers argued showed that Gomery was biased against Chrétien. These included Gomery commenting that golf balls marked with Chrétien's name, which had been paid for by the sponsorship program, were "small town cheap." Gomery rejected the calls to recuse himself setting up a confrontation between him and Chrétien. At the end of his day of testimony Chrétien closed his statement by pulling out a series of golf balls bearing the name of American presidents and the law firm Ogilvie Renault (which at the time employed former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Gomery commission counsel Bernard Roy and Gomery's own daughter) asking whether each of them was "small town cheap". The stunt was the focus of all the media reports.  After the prime ministers testified, the hearings moved to Montreal to investigate where the money had gone. The hearings in Ottawa had uncovered little more than what was in the Auditor General's report. The AG did not have the authority to investigate outside of the government, and the look into the advertising companies in Montreal uncovered a great deal of new and explosive allegations. The most important of these were by Groupaction executive Jean Brault who recounted a series of crimes committed to direct government money to Liberal party supporters. These caused a sharp fall in the support for the governing Liberals, and put their government in jeopardy.

Phase I Report.

On November 1, 2005, Gomery released the Phase I Report. Gomery criticized Chrétien and his chief of staff Jean Pelletier but cleared them of direct involvement in kickback schemes. While people such as Alfonso Gagliano, Chuck Guité and Jacques Corriveau took advantage of the programme, Gomery argued that abuses would not have occurred had Chrétien set the programme with safeguards in place. Gomery said that Pelletier "failed to take the most elementary precautions against mismanagement – and Mr. Chrétien was responsible for him."  Gomery also exonerated Prime Minister Paul Martin, the minister of finance during most of the sponsorship programme. Gomery specifically said that Martin "is entitled, like other ministers from the Quebec caucus, to be exonerated from any blame for carelessness or misconduct", as the Department of Finance's role was not oversight, but setting the "fiscal framework".

Phase II Report.

On February 1, 2006, Gomery released his final report consisting mostly of recommendations for changes to the civil service and its relation to government.  The recommendations suggested include:  Shortly after Justice Gomery held a press conference, Prime Minister-designate Stephen Harper, elected on January 23, 2006, told the press that some of the Commission's recommendations matched his proposed first bill, the Federal Accountability Act. Other recommendations went further than what Harper promised, while some other recommendations (dealing with the public service) would not be enacted in the short term.

Criticisms.

Many commentators criticized the report for various reasons: alleged bias on the part of the commission, the terms of reference with which it was set up, and the use of evidence in the report. Several, including former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, Warren Kinsella, and former cabinet minister Sheila Copps, criticized the commission as being little more than an extension of Liberal party infighting.  Gomery was accused by some as being friendly to Paul Martin, and hostile toward Chrétien, and Chrétien's lawyers attempted unsuccessfully to have Gomery removed due to his alleged bias. The two men had long represented a power struggle within the party. Subsequent to the release of the first report, Chrétien took action in Federal Court to review the commission report on the grounds that Gomery showed a "reasonable apprehension of bias", and that some conclusions didn't have an "evidentiary" basis.  Jean Chrétien's lawyers stated that Gomery has made many comments which indicate he had a bias going into the investigation such as comments Gomery made calling Chrétien "small town cheap", referring to the management of the sponsorship program as "catastrophically bad," and calling Chuck Guité a "charming scamp".  Other allegations of bias concern the commission's chief counsel, Bernard Roy, a former chief of staff to former Progressive Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Roy is also a partner in Mulroney's law firm where Gomery's daughter works. Chrétien's lawyers stated that the appointment is a conflict of interest. Roy is a longtime personal friend of the former prime-minister's. Brian Mulroney and Jean Chrétien have had an adversarial personal relationship in recent years since the Airbus affair. The choice of counsel may account for the failure to call some Chrétien friendly witnesses.  During spring 2005, Chrétien legal team made a request to have Gomery removed but it was denied.  Conservative leader Stephen Harper was sympathetic to Chrétien's complaints of bias, stating that the main problem was that the commission's terms of reference did not allow it to investigate Paul Martin's contracting habits as finance minister. Other criticisms concern the lack of powers the commission had to investigate criminal matters, which were being investigated by the RCMP.  Chrétien's lawyers have indicated they are concerned about conclusions which are not based on evidence, but mere extrapolation. Jean Chrétien, on the day the report was tabled in the House of Commons, objected to the findings of the Commission, commenting that Gomery believed the wrong witnesses. "Personally, I believe Jean Pelletier, a man who dedicated his life to the service of his city, his province and his country," said the former Prime Minister, dismissing's Chuck Guité's testimony. Chrétien believes that Gomery's conclusion that the programme was run out of the prime minister's office is wrong.

Appeal to Federal Court.

Subsequent to the release of the first report, Chrétien's lawyers took action in Federal Court to invalidate the report and clear his name. They want the court to review the commission report on the grounds that Gomery showed a "reasonable apprehension of bias", and that some conclusions didn't have an "evidentiary" basis.  On June 26, 2008, the Federal Court quashed the Gomery inquiry's conclusions that Chrétien and Pelletier bore responsibility for the sponsorship scandal. Justice Max Teitelbaum criticized Gomery for having a preoccupation with the media spotlight that led him to give interviews he should have eschewed, making comments that indicated he judged issues before all evidence was heard, exhibited bias against Mr. Chrétien, and trivialized the inquiry proceedings. For instance, Teitelbaum pointed out that Gomery's remark halfway through the hearings that "juicy stuff" was yet to come made it appear that evidence of wrongdoing was expected before it was heard. The federal judge also ruled that Gomery's comments on "small town cheap" amounted to a personal insult against Chrétien. The federal government was ordered to pay Chrétien's legal costs. Chrétien and his aides have described it as vindication. Justice Teitelbaum's decision was appealed to the Federal Court of Appeal where it was upheld.

The Gomery Commission, formally the Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities, was a federal Canadian Royal Commission headed by Justice John Gomery for the purpose of investigating the sponsorship scandal, which involved allegations of corruption within the Canadian government.