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No stranger to high-stakes speeches, Mr Obama rose to national prominence on the power of his oratory. But this speech is different, White House officials have told AP.

Determined not to simply recite a history of the last eight years, Mr Obama directed his team to craft an address that would feel "bigger than politics" and speak to all Americans - including those who voted for Mr Trump.

His chief speechwriter, Cody Keenan, started writing it last month while Obama was vacationing in Hawaii, handing him the first draft on the flight home. By late Monday Mr Obama was immersed in a fourth draft, with Keenan expected to stay at the White House all night to help perfect Mr Obama's final message.

Ahead of his speech, the president acknowledged that the chaos of Washington makes it easy to lose sight of the role American citizens play in democracy. He said that while he leaves office with his work unfinished, he believes his administration made the US "a stronger place for the generations that will follow ours."

Seeking inspiration, Mr Obama's speechwriters spent weeks poring over his other momentous speeches, including his 2004 keynote at the Democratic National Convention and his 2008 speech after losing the New Hampshire primary to Hillary Clinton. They also revisited his 2015 address in Selma, Alabama, that both honoured America's exceptionalism and acknowledged its painful history on civil rights.

Former aides were brought back to consult on the speech, including advisers David Axelrod and Robert Gibbs, and former speechwriter Jon Favreau, said the officials.

Barack Obama rose to power as the country's first African American president with message of hope and boundless optimism for the future.

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible...who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer," he told crowds in Chicago in 2008 after winning the election.

In all the years since he never wavered from his mission to help foster in America what he once called the "renewal of morality".

Unlike Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton and so many others before him, this is a president unblemished by scandal.

The president acted presidential even behind closed doors: even his closest aides fail to recall moments when Mr Obama gave way to roiling anger. Emotions have rarely muddled the academic rigor of his mind.

White House staffers have nicknamed him the 'Colombo president', after the famous television detective who always catches the killer with his questions.

Speech

THE PRESIDENT: Hello, Chicago! It's good to be home! Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. All right, everybody sit down. We're on live TV here. I've got to move. You can tell that I'm a lame duck because nobody is following instructions. (Laughter.) Everybody have a seat. (Applause.)

My fellow Americans, Michelle and I have been so touched by all the well wishes that we've received over the past few weeks. But tonight, it's my turn to say thanks. Whether we have seen eye-to-eye or rarely agreed at all, my conversations with you, the American people, in living rooms and in schools, at farms, on factory floors, at diners and on distant military outposts — those conversations are what have kept me honest, and kept me inspired, and kept me going. And every day, I have learned from you. You made me a better President, and you made me a better man. (Applause.)

So I first came to Chicago when I was in my early 20s. And I was still trying to figure out who I was, still searching for a purpose in my life. And it was a neighborhood not far from here where I began working with church groups in the shadows of closed steel mills. It was on these streets where I witnessed the power of faith, and the quiet dignity of working people in the face of struggle and loss.

AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT: I can't do that.

AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT: This is where I learned that change only happens when ordinary people get involved and they get engaged, and they come together to demand it.

After eight years as your President, I still believe that. And it's not just my belief. It's the beating heart of our American idea — our bold experiment in self-government. It's the conviction that we are all created equal, endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It's the insistence that these rights, while self-evident, have never been self-executing; that We, the People, through the instrument of our democracy, can form a more perfect union.

What a radical idea. A great gift that our Founders gave to us: The freedom to chase our individual dreams through our sweat and toil and imagination, and the imperative to strive together, as well, to achieve a common good, a greater good.

For 240 years, our nation's call to citizenship has given work and purpose to each new generation. It's what led patriots to choose republic over tyranny, pioneers to trek west, slaves to brave that makeshift railroad to freedom. It's what pulled immigrants and refugees across oceans and the Rio Grande. It's what pushed women to reach for the ballot. It's what powered workers to organize. It's why GIs gave their lives at Omaha Beach and Iwo Jima, Iraq and Afghanistan. And why men and women from Selma to Stonewall were prepared to give theirs, as well. (Applause.)

So that's what we mean when we say America is exceptional — not that our nation has been flawless from the start, but that we have shown the capacity to change and make life better for those who follow. Yes, our progress has been uneven. The work of democracy has always been hard. It's always been contentious. Sometimes it's been bloody. For every two steps forward, it often feels we take one step back. But the long sweep of America has been defined by forward motion, a constant widening of our founding creed to embrace all and not just some. (Applause.)

If I had told you eight years ago that America would reverse a great recession, reboot our auto industry, and unleash the longest stretch of job creation in our history — (applause) — if I had told you that we would open up a new chapter with the Cuban people, shut down Iran's nuclear weapons program without firing a shot, take out the mastermind of 9/11 — (applause) — if I had told you that we would win marriage equality, and secure the right to health insurance for another 20 million of our fellow citizens — (applause) — if I had told you all that, you might have said our sights were set a little too high. But that's what we did. (Applause.) That's what you did.

You were the change. You answered people's hopes, and because of you, by almost every measure, America is a better, stronger place than it was when we started. (Applause.)

In 10 days, the world will witness a hallmark of our democracy.

AUDIENCE: Nooo —

THE PRESIDENT: No, no, no, no, no — the peaceful transfer of power from one freely elected President to the next. (Applause.) I committed to President-elect Trump that my administration would ensure the smoothest possible transition, just as President Bush did for me. (Applause.) Because it's up to all of us to make sure our government can help us meet the many challenges we still face.

We have what we need to do so. We have everything we need to meet those challenges. After all, we remain the wealthiest, most powerful, and most respected nation on Earth. Our youth, our drive, our diversity and openness, our boundless capacity for risk and reinvention means that the future should be ours. But that potential will only be realized if our democracy works. Only if our politics better reflects the decency of our people. (Applause.) Only if all of us, regardless of party affiliation or particular interests, help restore the sense of common purpose that we so badly need right now.

That's what I want to focus on tonight: The state of our democracy. Understand, democracy does not require uniformity. Our founders argued. They quarreled. Eventually they compromised. They expected us to do the same. But they knew that democracy does require a basic sense of solidarity — the idea that for all our outward differences, we're all in this together; that we rise or fall as one. (Applause.)

There have been moments throughout our history that threatens that solidarity. And the beginning of this century has been one of those times. A shrinking world, growing inequality; demographic change and the specter of terrorism — these forces haven't just tested our security and our prosperity, but are testing our democracy, as well. And how we meet these challenges to our democracy will determine our ability to educate our kids, and create good jobs, and protect our homeland. In other words, it will determine our future.

To begin with, our democracy won't work without a sense that everyone has economic opportunity. And the good news is that today the economy is growing again. Wages, incomes, home values, and retirement accounts are all rising again. Poverty is falling again. (Applause.) The wealthy are paying a fairer share of taxes even as the stock market shatters records. The unemployment rate is near a 10-year low. The uninsured rate has never, ever been lower. (Applause.) Health care costs are rising at the slowest rate in 50 years. And I've said and I mean it — if anyone can put together a plan that is demonstrably better than the improvements we've made to our health care system and that covers as many people at less cost, I will publicly support it. (Applause.)

Because that, after all, is why we serve. Not to score points or take credit, but to make people's lives better. (Applause.)

But for all the real progress that we've made, we know it's not enough. Our economy doesn't work as well or grow as fast when a few prosper at the expense of a growing middle class and ladders for folks who want to get into the middle class. (Applause.) That's the economic argument. But stark inequality is also corrosive to our democratic ideal. While the top one percent has amassed a bigger share of wealth and income, too many families, in inner cities and in rural counties, have been left behind — the laid-off factory worker; the waitress or health care worker who's just barely getting by and struggling to pay the bills — convinced that the game is fixed against them, that their government only serves the interests of the powerful — that's a recipe for more cynicism and polarization in our politics.

But there are no quick fixes to this long-term trend. I agree, our trade should be fair and not just free. But the next wave of economic dislocations won't come from overseas. It will come from the relentless pace of automation that makes a lot of good, middle-class jobs obsolete.

And so we're going to have to forge a new social compact to guarantee all our kids the education they need — (applause) — to give workers the power to unionize for better wages; to update the social safety net to reflect the way we live now, and make more reforms to the tax code so corporations and individuals who reap the most from this new economy don't avoid their obligations to the country that's made their very success possible. (Applause.)

We can argue about how to best achieve these goals. But we can't be complacent about the goals themselves. For if we don't create opportunity for all people, the disaffection and division that has stalled our progress will only sharpen in years to come.

There's a second threat to our democracy — and this one is as old as our nation itself. After my election, there was talk of a post-racial America. And such a vision, however well-intended, was never realistic. Race remains a potent and often divisive force in our society. Now, I've lived long enough to know that race relations are better than they were 10, or 20, or 30 years ago, no matter what some folks say. (Applause.) You can see it not just in statistics, you see it in the attitudes of young Americans across the political spectrum.

But we're not where we need to be. And all of us have more work to do. (Applause.) If every economic issue is framed as a struggle between a hardworking white middle class and an undeserving minority, then workers of all shades are going to be left fighting for scraps while the wealthy withdraw further into their private enclaves. (Applause.) If we're unwilling to invest in the children of immigrants, just because they don't look like us, we will diminish the prospects of our own children — because those brown kids will represent a larger and larger share of America's workforce. (Applause.) And we have shown that our economy doesn't have to be a zero-sum game. Last year, incomes rose for all races, all age groups, for men and for women.

So if we're going to be serious about race going forward, we need to uphold laws against discrimination — in hiring, and in housing, and in education, and in the criminal justice system. (Applause.) That is what our Constitution and our highest ideals require. (Applause.)

But laws alone won't be enough. Hearts must change. It won't change overnight. Social attitudes oftentimes take generations to change. But if our democracy is to work in this increasingly diverse nation, then each one of us need to try to heed the advice of a great character in American fiction — Atticus Finch — (applause) — who said “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

For blacks and other minority groups, it means tying our own very real struggles for justice to the challenges that a lot of people in this country face — not only the refugee, or the immigrant, or the rural poor, or the transgender American, but also the middle-aged white guy who, from the outside, may seem like he's got advantages, but has seen his world upended by economic and cultural and technological change. We have to pay attention, and listen. (Applause.)

For white Americans, it means acknowledging that the effects of slavery and Jim Crow didn't suddenly vanish in the '60s — (applause) — that when minority groups voice discontent, they're not just engaging in reverse racism or practicing political correctness. When they wage peaceful protest, they're not demanding special treatment but the equal treatment that our Founders promised. (Applause.)

For native-born Americans, it means reminding ourselves that the stereotypes about immigrants today were said, almost word for word, about the Irish, and Italians, and Poles — who it was said we're going to destroy the fundamental character of America. And as it turned out, America wasn't weakened by the presence of these newcomers; these newcomers embraced this nation's creed, and this nation was strengthened. (Applause.)

So regardless of the station that we occupy, we all have to try harder. We all have to start with the premise that each of our fellow citizens loves this country just as much as we do; that they value hard work and family just like we do; that their children are just as curious and hopeful and worthy of love as our own. (Applause.)

And that's not easy to do. For too many of us, it's become safer to retreat into our own bubbles, whether in our neighborhoods or on college campuses, or places of worship, or especially our social media feeds, surrounded by people who look like us and share the same political outlook and never challenge our assumptions. The rise of naked partisanship, and increasing economic and regional stratification, the splintering of our media into a channel for every taste — all this makes this great sorting seem natural, even inevitable. And increasingly, we become so secure in our bubbles that we start accepting only information, whether it's true or not, that fits our opinions, instead of basing our opinions on the evidence that is out there. (Applause.)

And this trend represents a third threat to our democracy. But politics is a battle of ideas. That's how our democracy was designed. In the course of a healthy debate, we prioritize different goals, and the different means of reaching them. But without some common baseline of facts, without a willingness to admit new information, and concede that your opponent might be making a fair point, and that science and reason matter — (applause) — then we're going to keep talking past each other, and we'll make common ground and compromise impossible. (Applause.)

And isn't that part of what so often makes politics dispiriting? How can elected officials rage about deficits when we propose to spend money on preschool for kids, but not when we're cutting taxes for corporations? (Applause.) How do we excuse ethical lapses in our own party, but pounce when the other party does the same thing? It's not just dishonest, this selective sorting of the facts; it's self-defeating. Because, as my mother used to tell me, reality has a way of catching up with you. (Applause.)

Take the challenge of climate change. In just eight years, we've halved our dependence on foreign oil; we've doubled our renewable energy; we've led the world to an agreement that has the promise to save this planet. (Applause.) But without bolder action, our children won't have time to debate the existence of climate change. They'll be busy dealing with its effects: more environmental disasters, more economic disruptions, waves of climate refugees seeking sanctuary.

Now, we can and should argue about the best approach to solve the problem. But to simply deny the problem not only betrays future generations, it betrays the essential spirit of this country — the essential spirit of innovation and practical problem-solving that guided our Founders. (Applause.)

It is that spirit, born of the Enlightenment, that made us an economic powerhouse — the spirit that took flight at Kitty Hawk and Cape Canaveral; the spirit that cures disease and put a computer in every pocket.

It's that spirit — a faith in reason, and enterprise, and the primacy of right over might — that allowed us to resist the lure of fascism and tyranny during the Great Depression; that allowed us to build a post-World War II order with other democracies, an order based not just on military power or national affiliations but built on principles — the rule of law, human rights, freedom of religion, and speech, and assembly, and an independent press. (Applause.)

That order is now being challenged — first by violent fanatics who claim to speak for Islam; more recently by autocrats in foreign capitals who see free markets and open democracies and and civil society itself as a threat to their power. The peril each poses to our democracy is more far-reaching than a car bomb or a missile. It represents the fear of change; the fear of people who look or speak or pray differently; a contempt for the rule of law that holds leaders accountable; an intolerance of dissent and free thought; a belief that the sword or the gun or the bomb or the propaganda machine is the ultimate arbiter of what's true and what's right.

Because of the extraordinary courage of our men and women in uniform, because of our intelligence officers, and law enforcement, and diplomats who support our troops — (applause) — no foreign terrorist organization has successfully planned and executed an attack on our homeland these past eight years. (Applause.) And although Boston and Orlando and San Bernardino and Fort Hood remind us of how dangerous radicalization can be, our law enforcement agencies are more effective and vigilant than ever. We have taken out tens of thousands of terrorists — including bin Laden. (Applause.) The global coalition we're leading against ISIL has taken out their leaders, and taken away about half their territory. ISIL will be destroyed, and no one who threatens America will ever be safe. (Applause.)

And to all who serve or have served, it has been the honor of my lifetime to be your Commander-in-Chief. And we all owe you a deep debt of gratitude. (Applause.)

But protecting our way of life, that's not just the job of our military. Democracy can buckle when we give in to fear. So, just as we, as citizens, must remain vigilant against external aggression, we must guard against a weakening of the values that make us who we are. (Applause.)

And that's why, for the past eight years, I've worked to put the fight against terrorism on a firmer legal footing. That's why we've ended torture, worked to close Gitmo, reformed our laws governing surveillance to protect privacy and civil liberties. (Applause.) That's why I reject discrimination against Muslim Americans, who are just as patriotic as we are. (Applause.)

That's why we cannot withdraw from big global fights — to expand democracy, and human rights, and women's rights, and LGBT rights. No matter how imperfect our efforts, no matter how expedient ignoring such values may seem, that's part of defending America. For the fight against extremism and intolerance and sectarianism and chauvinism are of a piece with the fight against authoritarianism and nationalist aggression. If the scope of freedom and respect for the rule of law shrinks around the world, the likelihood of war within and between nations increases, and our own freedoms will eventually be threatened.

So let's be vigilant, but not afraid. (Applause.) ISIL will try to kill innocent people. But they cannot defeat America unless we betray our Constitution and our principles in the fight. (Applause.) Rivals like Russia or China cannot match our influence around the world — unless we give up what we stand for — (applause) — and turn ourselves into just another big country that bullies smaller neighbors.

Which brings me to my final point: Our democracy is threatened whenever we take it for granted. (Applause.) All of us, regardless of party, should be throwing ourselves into the task of rebuilding our democratic institutions. (Applause.) When voting rates in America are some of the lowest among advanced democracies, we should be making it easier, not harder, to vote. (Applause.) When trust in our institutions is low, we should reduce the corrosive influence of money in our politics, and insist on the principles of transparency and ethics in public service. (Applause.) When Congress is dysfunctional, we should draw our congressional districts to encourage politicians to cater to common sense and not rigid extremes. (Applause.)

But remember, none of this happens on its own. All of this depends on our participation; on each of us accepting the responsibility of citizenship, regardless of which way the pendulum of power happens to be swinging.

Our Constitution is a remarkable, beautiful gift. But it's really just a piece of parchment. It has no power on its own. We, the people, give it power. (Applause.) We, the people, give it meaning. With our participation, and with the choices that we make, and the alliances that we forge. (Applause.) Whether or not we stand up for our freedoms. Whether or not we respect and enforce the rule of law. That's up to us. America is no fragile thing. But the gains of our long journey to freedom are not assured.

In his own farewell address, George Washington wrote that self-government is the underpinning of our safety, prosperity, and liberty, but “from different causes and from different quarters much pains will be taken…to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth.” And so we have to preserve this truth with “jealous anxiety;” that we should reject “the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest or to enfeeble the sacred ties” that make us one. (Applause.)

America, we weaken those ties when we allow our political dialogue to become so corrosive that people of good character aren't even willing to enter into public service; so coarse with rancor that Americans with whom we disagree are seen not just as misguided but as malevolent. We weaken those ties when we define some of us as more American than others; when we write off the whole system as inevitably corrupt, and when we sit back and blame the leaders we elect without examining our own role in electing them. (Applause.)

It falls to each of us to be those those anxious, jealous guardians of our democracy; to embrace the joyous task we've been given to continually try to improve this great nation of ours. Because for all our outward differences, we, in fact, all share the same proud title, the most important office in a democracy: Citizen. (Applause.) Citizen.

So, you see, that's what our democracy demands. It needs you. Not just when there's an election, not just when your own narrow interest is at stake, but over the full span of a lifetime. If you're tired of arguing with strangers on the Internet, try talking with one of them in real life. (Applause.) If something needs fixing, then lace up your shoes and do some organizing. (Applause.) If you're disappointed by your elected officials, grab a clipboard, get some signatures, and run for office yourself. (Applause.) Show up. Dive in. Stay at it.

Sometimes you'll win. Sometimes you'll lose. Presuming a reservoir of goodness in other people, that can be a risk, and there will be times when the process will disappoint you. But for those of us fortunate enough to have been a part of this work, and to see it up close, let me tell you, it can energize and inspire. And more often than not, your faith in America — and in Americans — will be confirmed. (Applause.)

Mine sure has been. Over the course of these eight years, I've seen the hopeful faces of young graduates and our newest military officers. I have mourned with grieving families searching for answers, and found grace in a Charleston church. I've seen our scientists help a paralyzed man regain his sense of touch. I've seen wounded warriors who at points were given up for dead walk again. I've seen our doctors and volunteers rebuild after earthquakes and stop pandemics in their tracks. I've seen the youngest of children remind us through their actions and through their generosity of our obligations to care for refugees, or work for peace, and, above all, to look out for each other. (Applause.)

So that faith that I placed all those years ago, not far from here, in the power of ordinary Americans to bring about change — that faith has been rewarded in ways I could not have possibly imagined. And I hope your faith has, too. Some of you here tonight or watching at home, you were there with us in 2004, in 2008, 2012 — (applause) — maybe you still can't believe we pulled this whole thing off. Let me tell you, you're not the only ones. (Laughter.)

Michelle — (applause) — Michelle LaVaughn Robinson, girl of the South Side — (applause) — for the past 25 years, you have not only been my wife and mother of my children, you have been my best friend. (Applause.) You took on a role you didn't ask for and you made it your own, with grace and with grit and with style and good humor. (Applause.) You made the White House a place that belongs to everybody. (Applause.) And the new generation sets its sights higher because it has you as a role model. (Applause.) So you have made me proud. And you have made the country proud. (Applause.)

Malia and Sasha, under the strangest of circumstances, you have become two amazing young women. You are smart and you are beautiful, but more importantly, you are kind and you are thoughtful and you are full of passion. (Applause.) You wore the burden of years in the spotlight so easily. Of all that I've done in my life, I am most proud to be your dad. (Applause.)

To Joe Biden — (applause) — the scrappy kid from Scranton who became Delaware's favorite son — you were the first decision I made as a nominee, and it was the best. (Applause.) Not just because you have been a great Vice President, but because in the bargain, I gained a brother. And we love you and Jill like family, and your friendship has been one of the great joys of our lives. (Applause.)

To my remarkable staff: For eight years — and for some of you, a whole lot more — I have drawn from your energy, and every day I tried to reflect back what you displayed — heart, and character, and idealism. I've watched you grow up, get married, have kids, start incredible new journeys of your own. Even when times got tough and frustrating, you never let Washington get the better of you. You guarded against cynicism. And the only thing that makes me prouder than all the good that we've done is the thought of all the amazing things that you're going to achieve from here. (Applause.)

And to all of you out there — every organizer who moved to an unfamiliar town, every kind family who welcomed them in, every volunteer who knocked on doors, every young person who cast a ballot for the first time, every American who lived and breathed the hard work of change — you are the best supporters and organizers anybody could ever hope for, and I will be forever grateful. (Applause.) Because you did change the world. (Applause.) You did.

And that's why I leave this stage tonight even more optimistic about this country than when we started. Because I know our work has not only helped so many Americans, it has inspired so many Americans — especially so many young people out there — to believe that you can make a difference — (applause) — to hitch your wagon to something bigger than yourselves.

Let me tell you, this generation coming up — unselfish, altruistic, creative, patriotic — I've seen you in every corner of the country. You believe in a fair, and just, and inclusive America. (Applause.) You know that constant change has been America's hallmark; that it's not something to fear but something to embrace. You are willing to carry this hard work of democracy forward. You'll soon outnumber all of us, and I believe as a result the future is in good hands. (Applause.)

My fellow Americans, it has been the honor of my life to serve you. (Applause.) I won't stop. In fact, I will be right there with you, as a citizen, for all my remaining days. But for now, whether you are young or whether you're young at heart, I do have one final ask of you as your President — the same thing I asked when you took a chance on me eight years ago. I'm asking you to believe. Not in my ability to bring about change — but in yours.

I am asking you to hold fast to that faith written into our founding documents; that idea whispered by slaves and abolitionists; that spirit sung by immigrants and homesteaders and those who marched for justice; that creed reaffirmed by those who planted flags from foreign battlefields to the surface of the moon; a creed at the core of every American whose story is not yet written: Yes, we can. (Applause.)

Yes, we did. Yes, we can. Thank you. God bless you. May God continue to bless the United States of America. (Applause.)

Kamikaze "divine wind" or "spirit wind", officially Tokubetsu Kogekitai ("Special Attack Unit") and used as a verb as Tokko were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy warships more effectively than was possible with conventional attacks. During World War II, about 3,860 kamikaze pilots died, and about 19% of kamikaze attacks managed to hit a ship.

Kamikaze aircraft were essentially pilot-guided explosive missiles, purpose-built or converted from conventional aircraft. Pilots would attempt to crash their aircraft into enemy ships in what was called a "body attack" in planes laden with some combination of explosives, bombs, torpedoes and full fuel tanks; accuracy was much better than a conventional attack, the payload and explosion larger, although a negative aspect to this tactic was that only 11% of kamikaze attacks were successful. A kamikaze could sustain damage which would disable a conventional attacker and still achieve its objective. The goal of crippling or destroying large numbers of Allied ships, particularly aircraft carriers, was considered by the Empire of Japan to be a just reason for sacrificing pilots and aircraft.

"Kamikaze" - it is a word that has become synonymous with all that is crazy, fanatical and self-destructive. I remember as a young schoolboy in Britain learning about the kamikaze pilots. To me, what they had done was inexplicable. For long afterwards, it coloured my view of Japan, and it left me with a nagging question: how did it happen? What caused thousands of ordinary young Japanese men to volunteer to kill themselves?

I had since quite a while ago longed for asking a kamikaze pilot that question. Thus it was that last week I wound up ringing the ringer of an open to looking house outside the city of Nagoya in focal Japan. Minutes after the fact, striding out to meet me came a little, lively and perfectly dressed old man, a wide grin all over.

Tadamasa Itatsu is a vivaciously 89-year-old with twinkling eyes and a firm handshake. He wiped out his tennis amusement since I was coming, he lets me know. It's difficult to trust that lively old man was before a kamikaze pilot.

In March 1945 Itatsu-San was a 19-year-old pilot. Several American and British war vessels and flying machine bearers were cruising towards Okinawa. He was approached by his administrator to volunteer for one of Japan's scandalous "exceptional assault" squadrons.

"In the event that Okinawa was attacked, then the American planes would have the capacity to utilize it as a base to assault the principle islands of Japan." He lets me know: "So we youngsters needed to keep that. In March 1945 it was an ordinary thing to be a kamikaze pilot. Every one of us who were requested that volunteer did as such."

Media inscription Watch Rupert Wingfield-Hayes' News night film in full Within Itatsu-San's house is a place of worship to his fallen companions, the dividers shrouded in grainy photographs of young fellows in flying suits. Again and again as we talk, he returns to a similar point - these young fellows were not enthusiasts, they trusted their activities could spare their nation from debacle.

"Common sense says you only have one life," he says, "so why would you want to give it away? Why would you be happy to do that? But at that time everyone I knew, they all wanted to volunteer. We needed to be warriors to stop the invasion from coming. Our minds were set. We had no doubt about it."

Itatsu-San did not die. As he flew south towards his target, his engine failed and he was forced to ditch in the sea. He returned to his unit, but the war ended before he could try again. A kamikaze attack on a US warship during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, October 1944 for many years afterwards he kept his story a secret, ashamed he had survived. He often thought of committing suicide, he says, but didn't have the courage.

Then, in the 1970s, he began to seek out the families of his dead comrades, asking them for letters and photographs from the dead pilots. His collection became the core of what is now known as the Kamikaze Letters.

Shoichi Yokoi in 1941, when he was enlisted to be sent to Manchuria for most of the 28 years that Shoichi Yokoi, a lance corporal in the Japanese Army of world War II, was hiding in the jungles of Guam, he firmly believed his former comrades would one day return for him.

Three decades in the jungle

What Japanese history lessons leave out from a series of long cardboard tubes Itatsu-San pulls thin pieces of paper covered in black calligraphy. He carefully unfurls one on the table and begins to read.

"Dear mother, my one regret is I could not do more for you before I die. But to die as a fighter for the emperor is an honour. Please do not feel sad."

A lot of the letters are in this vein. They appear to confirm the view that a whole generation of Japanese men had been brainwashed in to self-abnegation and blind obedience to the Emperor.

But there are others, which show a minority of kamikaze pilots had not swallowed the propaganda, and even some that appear to reject Japan's cause.

One of the most extraordinary is by a young lieutenant, Ryoji Uehara.

"Tomorrow, one who believes in democracy will leave this world," he wrote. "He may look lonely but his heart is filled with satisfaction. Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany have been defeated. Authoritarianism is like building a Itatsu-san unfurls the "Kamikaze Letters"

So what should the world make of the Kamikaze Letters, and should they be given World Heritage status?

The people who died did so willingly. I thought at the time it was really bad luck to survive.

Itatsu-San clearly thinks they should. He describes them as a "treasure to be passed down to future generations". But even today with the benefit of 70 years' hindsight, Itatsu-San remains astonishingly deflective about what happened to him and his comrades.

"I never look back with regret," he says, "The people who died did so willingly. I thought at the time it was really bad luck to survive. I really wanted to die with them. Instead, I have to concentrate my efforts to maintain their memory."

Japan has immense problems with its memory of the war. Prominent politicians and media figures still frequently espouse absurd revisionist versions of history - that Japan never started the war, that the Nanjing Massacre never happened, that tens of thousands of comfort women "volunteered" to become sex slaves for the Japanese military.

The massive bombing of Japanese cities at the end of the war, and in particular the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, has allowed the construction of a narrative of victimhood. Japan is the only country to have suffered an atomic attack. The firebombing of Tokyo, in one night, killed at least 100,000 civilians. But when talking about these horrors, what is often forgotten or omitted is how it all began.

The earthquake that generated the great Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 is estimated to have released the energy of 23,000 Hiroshima-type atomic bombs, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Giant forces that had been building up deep in the Earth for hundreds of years were released suddenly on December 26, shaking the ground violently and unleashing a series of killer waves that sped across the Indian Ocean at the speed of a jet airliner.

By the end of the day more than 150,000 people were dead or missing and millions more were homeless in 11 countries, making it perhaps the most destructive tsunami in history.

The epicenter of the 9.0 magnitude quake was under the Indian Ocean near the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, according to the USGS, which monitors earthquakes worldwide. The violent movement of sections of the Earth's crust, known as tectonic plates, displaced an enormous amount of water, sending powerful shock waves in every direction.

The earthquake was the result of the sliding of the portion of the Earth's crust known as the India plate under the section called the Burma plate. The process has been going on for millennia, one plate pushing against the other until something has to give. The result on December 26 was a rupture the USGS estimates was more than 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) long, displacing the seafloor above the rupture by perhaps 10 yards (about 10 meters) horizontally and several yards vertically. That doesn't sound like much, but the trillions of tons of rock that were moved along hundreds of miles caused the planet to shudder with the largest magnitude earthquake in 40 years.

Above the disturbed seafloor the great volume of the ocean was displaced along the line of the rupture, creating one of nature's most deadly phenomena: a tsunami. Within hours killer waves radiating from the earthquake zone slammed into the coastline of 11 Indian Ocean countries, snatching people out to sea, drowning others in their homes or on beaches, and demolishing property from Africa to Thailand.

Tsunamis have been relatively rare in the Indian Ocean, at least in human memory. They are most prevalent in the Pacific. But every ocean has generated the scourges. Many countries are at risk. (Read "Tsunami: Facts About Killer Waves" for more about killer waves' causes and warning signs—information that can be a lifesaver in a tsunami zone.)

For more about the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 scroll down the page.

The Indian Ocean tsunami traveled as much as 3,000 miles (nearly 5,000 kilometers) to Africa, arriving with sufficient force to kill people and destroy property.

A tsunami may be less than a foot (30 centimeters) in height on the surface of the open ocean, which is why they are not noticed by sailors. But the powerful pulse of energy travels rapidly through the ocean at hundreds of miles per hour. Once a tsunami reaches shallow water near the coast it is slowed down. The top of the wave moves faster than the bottom, causing the sea to rise dramatically.

The Indian Ocean tsunami caused waves as high as 50 feet (15 meters) in some places, according to news reports. But in many other places witnesses described a rapid surging of the ocean, more like an extremely powerful river or a flood than the advance and retreat of giant waves.

Tsunamis can extend inland by a thousand feet (300 meters) or more. The enormous force and weight of so much water sweeps away almost everything in its path. As many as a third of the people who died in the Indian Ocean tsunami were children; many of them would not have been strong enough to resist the force of the water. Many people were crushed by debris or when the sea hurled them against structures.

Witnesses said the approaching tsunami sounded like three freight trains or the roar of a jet. In some places the tsunami advanced as a torrent of foaming water.

In several places the tsunami announced itself in the form of a rapidly receding ocean. Many reports quoted survivors saying how they had never seen the sea withdraw such a distance, exposing seafloor never seen before, stranding fish and boats on the sand. Tragically the novelty of the sight apparently stoked the curiosity of the people who ran out onto the exposed seafloor. Tourists in Thailand were seen wandering around photographing the scene.

People who knew geography knew what the receding ocean meant. Survivors who knew it meant trouble reported how they ran for high ground, rounded up family and friends, and tried to warn people who were drawn to the water's edge. Experts say that a receding ocean may give people as much as five minutes' warning to escape to high ground. That may have been enough time for many of the people who were killed by the 2004 tsunami to save themselves, if only they knew what to do.

A British newspaper reported that a school student, on vacation in Thailand, recalled a geography lesson about tsunamis and what the withdrawal of the ocean meant. She warned her family and they saved themselves.

In India a man told the Associated Press how he saved his village of some 1,500 people because he recalled watching a National Geographic television documentary about tsunamis [Killer Wave], and remembered that when the ocean receded it was a sign of danger. He sounded the alarm and led the people to high ground, saving almost the entire village.

Somehow the animals also seemed to know that disaster was imminent. Many people reported that they saw animals fleeing for high ground minutes before the tsunami arrived. Very few animal bodies were found afterwards.

When the ocean started to return on December 26 it was in the form of the tsunami—a series of crashing waves in some places and a sudden flood hundreds of yards inland in others. Reports quoted survivors saying they could not run away fast enough, although many people did manage to escape.

Death struck randomly. People who were together when the tsunami struck were separated in the torrent. Some survived; others succumbed or disappeared. A baby was found floating safely on a mattress.

Survivors of the Indian Ocean tsunami reported that the sea surged out as fast and as powerfully as it came ashore. Many people who had survived the wall of water rushing inland were seen being swept out to sea when the ocean retreated.

A tsunami is a series of waves, and the first wave may not be the most dangerous. A tsunami "wave train" may come as surges five minutes to an hour apart. The cycle may be marked by repeated retreat and advance of the ocean. Some people did not know this on December 26. Once the first wave had gone, they thought it was safe to go down to the beach.

The Indian Ocean tsunami destroyed thousands of miles of coastline and even submerged entire islands permanently. The island country Maldives rises only a few feet above sea level, but it is largely protected by outlying coral reefs. Even so, the tsunami swept across the reefs and was reported to have washed over some islands entirely. The capital and many tourist resorts in the Maldives were flooded. Astonishingly, relatively few people were killed. The country was likely protected from the full force of the tsunami by its reefs.

As the day of horror drew to a close the ocean calmed. But where at the start of the day people were going about their normal lives or relaxing at exotic beach resorts now millions of people were struggling with the reality of tens of thousands of dead or missing relatives, destroyed homes, and shattered lives. The thousands of corpses, many hanging in trees or washed up on beaches, immediately started to rot in the tropical heat. With no food or clean water and open wounds, the risk of famine and epidemic diseases was high. Health authorities feared that the death toll might double to 300,000.

Across the world the magnitude of the disaster and the scale of the suffering prompted a new wave—one of sympathy, support, and assistance for the people affected by the tsunami.

Deep beneath the ocean, at the source of the great earthquake and tsunami, the Earth's tectonic plates continued their relentless pressing against one another. Pressure was already building for the day when pent-up energy will once again be released violently—but hopefully not for hundreds of years.

Casualties from the December 26, 2004, Indian Ocean Tsunami

Country Deaths Missing Injured Displaced
Indonesia 167,736 37,063 – > 500,000
Sri Lanka 35,322 6,700 21,411 516,150
India 18,045 5,640 – 647,599
Thailand 8,212 2,817 8,457 7,000
Somalia 289 211 – 5,000
Myanmar 500 500 45 3,200
Maldives 108 26 – 15,000
Malaysia 75 6 299 –
Tanzania 13 – – –
Seychelles 3 – 57 200
Bangladesh 2 – – –
South Africa 2 – – –
Kenya 1 – 2 –
Madagascar > 200 – – 1,000
Total 230,00 45,752 125,000 1,690,000

The founding father of the Sikh faith, Nanak was born on Apr 15, 1469 within the Western geographic region village of Talwandi. He was born to a straightforward Hindu family. His father Mehta chicha Das was associate businessperson within the employment of the native Muslim authorities. From associate early age Nanak created friends with each Hindu and Muslim kids and was terribly interested in the that means of life. At the age of six he was sent to the village faculty teacher for schooling in reading and writing in Hindi and arithmetic. He was then taught within the study of Muslim literature and learned Persian and Arabic. He was an extraordinarily talented kid UN agency learned quickly and infrequently question his lecturers. At age thirteen it absolutely was time for Nanak to be invested the sacred thread in line with the normal Hindu custom. At the ceremony that was attended by family and friends and to the frustration of his family Nanak refused to simply accept the sacred cotton thread from the Hindu priest. He herbaceous plant the subsequent poem,

"Let mercy be the cotton, happiness the thread, Continence the knot and truth the twist. O priest! If you've got such a thread, Do provides it to Maine. it's going to not wear out, nor get fecal, nor burnt, nor lost. Says Nanak, blessed ar people who set about carrying such a thread" (Rag Asa)

As a young man gregarious the family Bos taurus, Nanak would pay long hours absorbed in meditation and in spiritual discussions with Muslim and Hindu holy men UN agency lived within the forests encompassing the village. Thinking that if certain in wedding Nanak would possibly begin taking interest in house affairs an appropriate match was found for him. At age sixteen he was married to Sulakhani girl of a pious bourgeois. Nanak failed to object as he felt that married life failed to conflict with non secular pursuits. Nanak was merrily married, he fair-haired his spouse and eventually had 2 sons Sri Chand in 1494 and Lakshmi Chand 3 years later. currently that he had a family of his own Nanak was persuaded by his folks to require employment as associate businessperson to blame of the stores of the Muslim governor of Sultanpur Daulat Khan Lodi. Nanak in agreement associated was joined by his family and an previous Muslim childhood friend Mardana, a musician by profession. Nanak would work throughout the times, however early within the mornings and late at nights, he would meditate and sing hymns amid Mardana on the rabab ( a string instrument). These sessions attracted plenty of attention and lots of folks started change of integrity the 2.

Early one morning amid Mardana, Nanak visited the watercourse Bain for his tub. once plunging into the watercourse, Nanak failed to surface and it absolutely was rumored that he should have submerged. The villagers searched everyplace, however their was no trace of him. Nanak was in ritual with God. The Lord God disclosed himself to Nanak and enlightened him. In praise of the Lord, Nanak uttered;

"There is however One God, His name is Truth, he's the Creator, He fears none, he's while not hate, He ne'er dies, he's on the far side the cycle of births and death, he's self lighted, he's completed by the kindness of actuality Guru. He was True within the starting, He was True once the ages commenced and has ever been True, he's additionally True currently." (Japji)

These words ar enshrined at the start of the Sikh Holy Scriptures, the Guru Granth Sahib. Nanak failed to believe a Trinity of Gods, or the idea that God may be born into human type.

After 3 days Nanak appeared at identical spot from wherever he had disappeared. He was now not identical person he had been, there was a divine lightweight in his eyes and his face was resplendent. He remained during a trance and same nothing. He gave up his job and distributed all of his belongings to the poor. once he finally poor his silence he verbalized "There is not any Hindu, no Muslim". Daulat Khan asked what he meant once he same to Nanak, "Perhaps the Hindus were now not Hindus however the Muslims stay devout to their religion." Nanak replied,

"Let God's grace be the house of prayer, and devotion the rug. Let the sacred text be the nice conduct. Let modesty be compassion, manner abstinence, you ought to be a Muslim sort of this. Let sensible deeds be your Kaaba and truth be your mentor. Your Kalma be your creed and prayer, God would then vindicate your honour." (Majh)

Guru Nanak was thirty years previous at this point in 1499. consequent stage of his life began with in depth travels to unfold the message of God. amid his Muslim rabab player Mardana for company, Nanak undertook long journeys to convey his message to the folks within the variety of musical hymns. Nanak select this medium to propagate his message as a result of it absolutely was simply understood by the population of the time. where he traveled he used the native language to convey his message to the folks. He traveled throughout the Indian landmass and additional east, west, and north to unfold his mission. where he went he discovered native cells referred to as manjis, wherever his followers might gather to recite hymns and meditate.

Once once Nanak came to the tiny city of Saidpur in West geographic region he prefer to keep there with Lalo, a coffee caste carpenter. At identical time the native chief of the city leader Bhago, UN agency was quite flush and a really proud man was holding a feast to that all holy men were invited. once leader Bhago distinguished that Nanak wouldn't attend his feast however instead partook of the straightforward fare of his host Lalo, he was quite angry and had the Guru dropped at him for questioning. once asked why he did not take part the feast, the Guru sent for the meal served by leader Bhago and additionally a number of the straightforward meal served by Lalo. Holding these in separate hands he squeezed them, blood appeared out of the made food of leader Bhago, whereas milk oozed out of Lalos easy fare. leader Bhago was place to shame and completed that his material resource had been concentrated by exploiting the poor, whereas what Lalo offered was the milk of hard-earned honest work.

Another time whereas camped out at a city throughout the season, many devotees would return to the Guru on a daily basis. one in all them whereas on the thanks to see the Guru, discovered a prostitute and was allured by her. thenceforth he would depart home on the pretext of aiming to see the Guru, however instead visited the prostitute. a number of days later his friend UN agency daily came to pay court to the Guru was pricked by a thorn, whereas his neighbor, UN agency visited the prostitute, found a gold coin within the street. The incident confounded the Guru's fan UN agency came a day religiously. He mentioned it within the canonical hour meeting wherever Nanak detected it and was entertained. He told the Sikh;

"Your friend was destined to return across a treasure however as a result of his evil ways in which, it's been reduced to one coin. whereas on the account of your past destiny you were to own been impaled with a stake, however having reformed yourself, you've got been excuse with the mere prick of a thorn." (Janamsakhi)

When the Guru visited Kurukshetra in Haryana, an enormous truthful was being command at the holy tank to celebrate the occultation. there have been an outsized range of pilgrims everywhere the country. On his arrival at the truthful, Nanak had Mardana cook them a meat dish of a ruminant bestowed to them by one in all his followers. Upon finding that meat was being steamed on the holy premises, an outsized angry crowd gathered in anger to attack the Guru for what they thought amounted to irreverence (Bhai Mani Singh, Gyan Ratnavali, pg. 123). Upon hearing the angry crowd Nanak responded;

"Only fools argue whether or not to eat meat or not. they do not perceive truth nor do they meditate thereon. UN agency will outline what's meat and what's plant? UN agency is aware of wherever the sin lies, being a eater or a non- vegetarian?" (Malhar)

When Nanak stopped at Hardwar a journey center on the river he found an outsized gathering of devotees. They were taking ritual baths within the holy watercourse and giving water to the sun. once the Guru asked "Why does one throw water like that?" The pilgrims replied that they were giving it to their ancestors. Nanak upon hearing this started throwing water within the other way towards the west. once the pilgrims asked him what he was doing?. Nanak replied "I am causation water to my farm that is dry". They asked, "How can water reach you crops to date away?". Nanak replied, "If your water will reach your ancestors within the region of the sun, why cannot mine reach my fields a brief distance away?" The pilgrims completed their folly and fell at the Gurus feet.

On associate japanese journey Nanak visited Gorakhmata wherever he mentioned actuality that means of asceticism with some yogis;

"Asceticism does not dwell ascetic robes, or in walking workers, nor within the ashes. Asceticism does not dwell the jewelry, nor within the beardless head, nor processing a univalve. Asceticism lies in remaining pure amidst impurities. Asceticism does not dwell mere words; he's associate ascetic UN agency treats everybody alike. Asceticism does not dwell visiting burial places, It lies not in wandering concerning, nor in bathing at places of journey. Asceticism is to stay pure amidst impurities. (Suhi)

After his initial long journey, Nanak came home once twelve years of propagating his message. He then commenced on a second journey traveling as so much south as state. On his come back north he supported a settlement called Kartharpur (the Abode of God) on the western banks of the Ravi watercourse. Nanak would in some unspecified time in the future relax here in his maturity. it absolutely was additionally here that he met a young fan UN agency would later endure to serve 5 of the subsequent Gurus, cake Buddha (the revered previous one). On his third nice journey Nanak traveled as so much north as Asian country. where Nanak traveled he forever wore a mixture of designs worn by Hindu and Muslim holy men and was forever asked whether or not he was a Hindu or Muslim. Nanak visited ruler patriarch the muslim successor of cake Farid the good Sufi fakir of the twelfth century at Ajodhan. once asked by patriarch that of the 2 religions was actuality thanks to attain God, Nanak replied; "If there's one God, then there's solely His thanks to attain Him, not another. One should follow that means and reject the opposite. Worship not him UN agency is born solely to die, however Him UN agency is eternal and is contained within the whole universe."

On his fourth nice journey in life Nanak wearing the blue garb of a Muslim pilgrim traveled to the west and visited Mecca, Medina and Bagdad. inbound at Mecca, Nanak fell asleep together with his feet inform towards the holy Kabba. once the security guard on his night rounds noticed this he kicked the Guru, saying, "How dare you switch your feet towards the house of God". At this Nanak awakened and same, "Good man, i'm weary once a protracted journey. Kindly flip my feet within the direction wherever God isn't." once pilgrims and also the holy men of the shrine gathered to listen to Nanak and question him, he herbaceous plant in Persian;

"I bid you, O Lord! pray grant Maine a hearing. you're the truthful, the great, the merciful, and also the perfect Creator. i do know sure enough, this world should pass away, And death should return, i do know this and zilch else. Neither spouse, nor son, nor father, nor brothers shall be ready to facilitate. i need to go into the tip, none will undo what's my fate. I even have pay days and nights in self-importance, considering evil. ne'er have i believed of good; this can be what i'm. i'm unfortunate, miserly, careless, short-sighted, and rude. however says religious leader, I am yours, the mud of the feet of your servants." (Tilang)

While in Bagdad contradicting the Muslim clergymen views that their were solely seven higher and as several lower regions Nanak loud out his own prayer oral communication,

"There ar worlds and additional worlds below them and there ar 100 thousand skies over them. nobody has been ready to notice the bounds and limits of God. If there be any account of God, than alone the mortal will write the same; however Gods account doesn't end and also the mortal himself dies whereas still writing. religious leader says that one ought to decision Him nice, and God Himself is aware of His ownself." (Japji)

In 1916 a pill with the subsequent inscription was uncovered in Bagdad, "In memory of the Guru, the holy cake religious leader, King of holy men, this monument has been raised afresh with the assistance of the seven saints." The date on the pill 927 Hijri corresponds to A.D. 1520-1521.

On his come back journey home he stopped at Saidpur in western geographic region throughout the invasion of the primary Mughal Emperor fictitious character. On seeing the extent of the massacre by the invaders, Mardana asked Nanak why such a big amount of innocent folks were place to death at the side of those few UN agency were guilty. Nanak told Mardana to attend beneath a banian and once a short time he would come back to answer his question. whereas sitting beneath the tree Mardana was suddenly bitten by associate hymenopter. In anger Mardana killed as several ants as he might together with his feet. Nanak same to him, "You apprehend currently Mardana, why do the innocents suffer at the side of the guilty?"

Guru Nanak and Mardana were each taken unfortunate by the Mughal's. whereas in jail Nanak herbaceous plant a divine hymn concerning the senseless slaughter of the innocents by the Mughal invaders. Upon hearing it the peace officer rumored it to his king. fictitious character sent for the Guru and upon hearing him completed that Nanak was an excellent spiritual figure. He asked for the Gurus forgiveness and set him free giving him a pouch of soft drug. Nanak refused oral communication the he was already intoxicated with the love and name of God.

After having spent a period of time of traveling abroad and fitting missions, associate aged Nanak came home to geographic region. He settled down at Kartharpur together with his spouse and sons. Pilgrims came from so much and concerning hear the hymns and preaching of the Master. Here his followers would roll up the mornings and afternoons for spiritual services. He believed during a castless society with none distinctions supported birthright, faith or sex. He institutionalized the common room referred to as langar in Sikhism. Here all will sit along and share a standard meal, whether or not they were kings or beggars.

While operating the fields in some unspecified time in the future in 1532 Nanak was approached by a brand new fan UN agency same, "I am Lehna," Nanak checked out him and replied, "So you've got arrived Lehna - the soul. I even have been anticipating you of these days. i need to pay your debt." ("Lehna" in Punjabi means that debt or soul.) Lehna was an excellent fan of the Hindu God Hindu deity. in some unspecified time in the future having hearing concerning Nanak and his teachings, he set to go to and see the Guru for himself. Once Lehna met Nanak he left his previous beliefs and have become a dedicated follower of the Guru. Lehna's devotion to Nanak was absolute, once he wasn't functioning on the farm, he would devote his spare time to the contemplation of God. Over time he became Guru Nanak's most ardent follower. Nanak place his followers to several tests to envision UN agency was the foremost trustworthy. Once whereas amid Lehna and his 2 sons Nanak discovered what seemed like a stiff lined with a sheet. "Who would eat it?" asked Nanak unexpectedly. His sons refused, thinking that their father wasn't in his senses. Lehna tho' in agreement and as he removed the quilt he found that it absolutely was a receptacle of sacred food. Lehna initial offered it to Nanak and his sons and so partook of the leftovers himself. Nanak on seeing this replied;

"Lehna, you were endowed the sacred food as a result of you may share it with others. If the folks use the wealth given on them by God for themselves alone or for treasuring it, it's sort of a stiff. however if they attempt to share it with others, it becomes sacred food. you've got celebrated the key. you're my image." (Janamsakhi)

Guru Nanak then blessed Lehna together with his National Guard (hand) and gave him a brand new name, Angad, oral communication "you ar a vicinity of my body". Nanak placed 5 coins and a coconut ahead of Guru Angad and so bowed before him. He then had Bahi Budhha anele Angad with a saffron mark on his forehead. once Nanak gathered his followers along for prayers he invited Angad to occupy the seat of the Guru. so Guru Angad was ordained because the successor to Nanak. Feeling his finish was close to, the Hindus same we are going to burn you, the Muslims same we are going to bury you. Nanak said; "You place flowers on either aspect, Hindus on my right, Muslims on my left. Those whose flowers stay recent tomorrow can have their means." He then asked them to prey and lay down covering himself with a sheet. so on Gregorian calendar month twenty two, 1539 within the early hours of the morning Nanak unified with the eternal lightweight of the Creator. once the followers upraised the sheet they found nothing except the flowers that were all recent. The Hindus took theirs and cremated them, whereas the Muslims took their flowers and buried them.

Thus having unfold the words of reform throughout his period of time, Nanak with success challenged and questioned the present spiritual tenants and arranged the foundations of Sikhism.

The Portuguese were the first European settlers to arrive inside the house, semiconductor device by daring Pedro Cabral, international organization agency began the colonial quantity in 1500. The Portuguese reportedly found native Indians list around seven million. Most tribes were peripatetic, with entirely restricted agriculture and temporary dwellings, tho' villages sometimes had as many as 5000 inhabitants. Cultural life looks to possess been richly developed, tho' every grouping warfare and observe were present. The few remaining traces of Brazil's Indian tribes reveal little of their modus vivendi, in distinction to the proof from completely different chain tribes. Today, fewer than 200,000 of Brazil's native people survive, most of whom inhabit the jungle areas.

Other Portuguese explorers followed Cabral, in search of valuable product for European trade but to boot for unsettled land and so the prospect to escape status in Portuguese Republic itself. the only real item primary they found was the pau do South yankee country (brazil wood tree) from that they created red dye. in distinction to the colonizing philosophy of the Spanish, the Portuguese in Brazil were plenty of less targeted ab initio on conquest, dominant, and developing the country. Most were Brazil History impoverished sailors, international organization agency were far more inquisitive about profitable trade and subsistence agriculture than in territorial enlargement. The country's interior remained undiscovered.

Nonetheless, sugar presently came to Brazil, and with it came foreign slaves. To a degree alone in most of the yank colonies, the Portuguese settlers oft intermarried with every the Indians and so the African slaves, and there are to boot mixed marriages between the Africans and Indians. As a result, Brazil's population is mixed to a degree that is unseen elsewhere. Most Brazilians possess some combination of European, African, Amerindian, Asian, and nation lineage,and this multiplicity of cultural legacies may well be a notable feature of current Brazilian culture.

The move to open the country's interior coincided with the invention inside the 1690s of gold inside the south-central an area of the country. The country's gold deposits failed to pan out, however, and by the shut of the eighteenth century the country's focus had came back to the coastal agricultural regions. In 1807, because the very little Corporal clathrate on Portugal's capital city of Lisbon, the leader Regent shipped himself off to Brazil. Once there, Dom Joao established the colony as a result of the capital of his empire. By 1821 things in Europe had cooled down sufficiently that Dom Joao may return to Lisbon, and he left his son inebriant I responsible of Brazil. once the king tried the next year to come back Brazil to subordinate standing as a colony, inebriant flourished his arm and declared the country's independence from Portuguese Republic (and his own independence from his father).

In the nineteenth century occasional took the place of sugar as Brazil's most significant product. The boom in occasional production brought a wave of concerning one thousand thousand European immigrants, for the most part Italians, and to boot semiconductor diode to the Brazilian republic. In 1889, the wealthy occasional magnates backed a military coup, the emperor fled, Associate in Nursingd Brazil was no extra Associate in Nursing imperial country. The occasional planters nearly in hand the country and so the govt. for ordered thirty years, until the worldwide depression vapourish occasional demand. For ordered zero.5 century Brazil struggled with governmental instability, military coups, and a fragile economy. In 1989, the country enjoyed its first democratic election in nearly three decades. sadly, the Brazilians created the error of electing Fernando Collor First State Mello. Mello's corruption did nothing to help the economy, but his peaceful removal from geographical point indicated a minimum of that the country's political and governmental structures unit of measurement stable.

Brazil has the sixth largest population inside the world--about 148 million people--which has doubled inside the past thirty years. because of its size, there unit of measurement entirely fifteen people per sq. km, centered within the main on the coast and inside the key cities, where fraction of the parents presently live: over nineteen million in larger metropolis and 10 million in larger metropolis.

The migrator Portuguese language was greatly influenced by the numerous Indian and African dialects they encountered, but it remains the dominant language in Brazil lately. In fact, the Brazilian idiom has become the dominant influence inside the event of the Portuguese language, for the easy reason that Brazil has fifteen times the population of Portuguese Republic and the way extra dynamic linguistic setting.

Urdu, the national language of Asian nation, was created round the 1600’s in Central Asia. The word ‘Urdu’ comes from the Turkish word ‘ordu’ which means ‘camp’ or ‘army’. it had been used as a unifying communication tool between the Muslim troopers throughout their conquest of Ancient Republic of India (including Countries east till Myanmar) and japanese Persia. These troopers were of Persian, Arab, or Turkish descent. the bulk of the troopers, however, were of Persian origin. This directly affected the language to be used between them. The language of the govt. which that dominated earlier on was Farsi, however eventually modified to Urdu to accommodate the opposite races.

The language of the Muslims of Central and Southern Asia was Persian for the time between a thousand atomic number 58 and 1700 atomic number 58. it had been the language of the govt., literature, and education. once the 1700’s, Urdu emerged because the dominating force replacement Persian bit by bit. Urdu, however, may well be thought-about as a spinoff of Persian as its vocabulary remained over seventieth Farsi. Urdu differentiated itself from its precursor with further grammatical usages and a bigger influence of Arabic. the foremost noted Urdu literature is written by Mirza Assadullah Ghalib and Allama Iqbal and their works ar browse till nowadays.

The fall of the Urdu language began within the late 1800’s. coincidently it had been constant time once the Muslims lost management of the region to a people once ruling (majority) Hindu Republic of India for over 1200 years. The imperialist power gave nice importance to the unfold of English and selected Hindustani because the medium language for the typical man. Hindustani was the language mixed between Urdu and Hindi (with the size slanted heavily towards the latter). it had been used as a tool to merge the Hindus and therefore the Muslims into one identity, servants of england. At this time the leaders and educated among the Muslims knew that if they didn’t produce their own state, they might shortly be Indianized loosing their faith, culture, and identity.

The Muslims created their state to the so much West of the Empire, bordering Iran. They left the cities from that they dominated like urban center to the Hindus. monotheism design and signs of Muslim rule will still be found in Republic of India to the current day. The land of the Muslims came to be referred to as the monotheism Republic of Asian nation, translated as ‘the Land of the Pure’. there have been nice visions for the folks, the country, and therefore the state, Faith, Unity, and Discipline :based on 3 main principles. A leadership by the desire of the folks that would institute the Shari’a system (Islamic Law) whereas at constant time promoting education and therefore the progression of the state. A dream of economic, technological, and scientific progression abstaining from that that the Creator forbade and remaining steadfast on what He commanded. Urdu was at that point the language of the govt., academic system, and therefore the folks.

Then befell unto Asian nation tragedies that would be lamented till the Day of Resurrection. Corrupt men and ladies took management of the country and used the facility for private gain; education and acquirement fell greatly. The Urdu language was directly laid low with these events. Media and technology were on the increase and a lot of and a lot of folks had access to motion video footage. shortly the common person was drawn to the glamour of English movies and therefore the indecency of Indian films; the study and usage of Urdu grew to minimal levels. once a military motorcar Asian nation fell into the hands of Musharraf and his officers. Now, the longer term of the Urdu language appearance grim resting within the hands of these able to compromise themselves and their religion. continued in ‘Future’ section.

Now a days you'll see that what's the standing of Urdu speakers in our country some politicians as talking rubbish concerning the Urdu speakers however they are doing not apprehend the globe is aware of Pakistani nation as Urdu speaker no instead of Sanskrit, Panjabi, Iranian language and Balochi i'm not degrading any language I simply need to acknowledge the importance of Urdu language they must respect their tongue also as its speakers and may promote a Urdu friendly surroundings within the country.

"Ibrahim was of the self-same religion (as Noah) and came to his Lord with a pure heart. He aforesaid to his father and to his individuals, 'What square measure these that you simply worship? Would you serve false gods rather than Allah? What does one think about the Lord of the Creation?'
He upraised up his eyes to the celebs and aforesaid, 'I am sick!' Then, his individuals turned their backs and went off.

He scarf away to their idols and aforesaid to them, 'Will you not eat your offerings? Why does one not speak?' therewith, he acquired them, placing them down along with his right.
The individuals came running to the scene. 'Would you worship that that you've got created together with your own hands,' he said, 'when it absolutely was Allah UN agency created you and every one that you simply have made?'

They replied, 'Build up a heap and solid him into the blazing flames.' therefore they schemed against him, however we tend to balked their schemes.
He said, 'I can take refuge with my Lord; he can guide Pine Tree State. Grant Pine Tree State a son, Lord, and let him be a righteous man.'

We gave him news of a delicate son. And once he reached the age once he might work with him his father aforesaid to him: "My son, I dreamt that i used to be sacrificing you. Tell Pine Tree State what you think that.'
He replied: 'Father, do as you're bidden. Allah willing, you shall notice Pine Tree State devoted.' And once they had each relinquished themselves to Allah's can, and Ibrahim had ordered down his son prostrate upon his face, we tend to referred to as resolute him saying: 'Ibrahim, you've got consummated your vision.' therefore did we tend to reward the righteous. That was so a bitter check. we tend to ransomed his son with a noble sacrifice and given on him the praise of later generations. 'Peace get on Ibrahim!'
Thus square measure the righteous rewarded. He was one in all Our basic cognitive process servants.
We gave him Ishak, whom we tend to created a saintlike prophet, and blessed them each. Among their offspring were some UN agency did smart words et al UN agency clearly sinned against their souls."
- Book 37:83 to 37:113

Prophet Ibrahim is that the Father of monotheistic Faiths (Jewish, Christian and Islamic) and was named Khalil'ullah - Friend of Allah for his staunch religion within the Unseen God. He went against his father, Azar, and his community UN agency were idol worshippers and upheld his belief in Tawhid - One God.
To uphold his belief and his dawa of the One God, he didn't surrender to Nimrud and his people that vulnerable to throw him into a blazing fireplace once they were bewildered.

"Ibrahim's individuals replied: 'Kill him! Burn him!' however from the fireplace Allah delivered him. certainly during this there square measure signs for true believers." 29:24
"'Fire', We said, 'be cool to Ibrahim and keep him safe." - Qulna ya naru koonee bardan wasalaman AAala Ibraheema - Book 21:69

Prophet Ibrahim's life may be a sign Associate in Nursingd an example to U.S.. His trust in Allah and temperament to have Him with the sacrifice of his lover possession was a severe trial turned manifest example. If one sees the mystic read of this series of events, it's pronto evident that once Ibrahim was willing to fulfil Allah's command of let go his expensive son, Allah didn't wish} or want his son as Ismail had been granted to him in adulthood 11:69-71, - it absolutely was a check. And Ismail, by pronto agreeing to his father's ought to conform the command of Allah, alleviated the burden Ibrahim should have felt. each father and son submitted to the desire of Allah.
Then Allah offers a hundred-fold...

In reality, blood wasn't shed, however life was created even additional valuable with the data of Allah's pleasure in their temperament to abide by. it's constant with our Dasond and different offerings created within the name of Allah. we tend to square measure solely giving back what was granted to U.S.. After all, we tend to square measure Ismailis!

This event in history gave birth to Eid-ul Adha - competition of Sacrifice, wherever Muslims everywhere the planet bear in mind the powerful sacrifice Hazrat Ibrahim had to create Associate in Nursingd was rewarded by Allah by economical Ismail and creating him an example for U.S. to follow in our lives - once we like better to have His can, all ends well.

Eid-ul Adha is widely known on the tenth of the month of Zul-Hijja when pilgrims complete their pillar of Islam to Kabbah and follow the footsteps of Bibi Hajar once she was left within the depression of Mecca with Ismail by Hazrat Ibrahim. Families and Jamat get along to recite the morning prayers and so there's banqueting, exchange of gifts and rejoicing.

This time of year, within the Moslem year may be a terribly special time, as shortly it'll be time for pillar of Islam and Eid al –Adha; a time of celebration and a time of joy. On The tenth of Zul Hijjah we tend to commemorate the sacrifice of Prophet Ibrahim (as).

Prophet Ibrahim (as) and his married person girl wife (sa) desired to own a baby, but as time went on and that they each grew older, girl wife (sa), told her husband to marry girl Hajra (sa), so he might have a baby. By now Prophet Ibrahim (as) was quite previous, and deeply needed a baby. With Allah’s (swt) blessing, shortly prophet Ismail (as) was born. Throughout the lifetime of Prophet Ibrahim (as), he didn't have a son, and solely in his adulthood did Allah bestow him with a son.

Prophet Ibrahim (as) dearly idolized his son. As Prophet Ismail (as) grew older, Ibrahim (as) saw a dream; he unreal that he was sacrificing his beloved son! when seeing the dream thrice, Ibrahim’s (as) knew that's a message from Allah, a test.

With this sacrifice, Allah tested Prophet Ibrahim’s love, created him make a choice from the love of Allah, and love for his child; duty of adulthood and duty of fatherhood. Ibrahim (as) selected the Love of God over the Love of self, Prophethood over Fatherhood.

Instead of seeing the Brobdingnagian fantastic thing about Prophet Ibrahim’s call, the diluted and altered lens through that the planet sees, has created it to ascertain this incident as a story of cruelty wherever a father grabs his son to sacrifice him. but this can be faraway from the case, as prophet Ibrahim (as) didn't forcefully slaughter his son however instead:

“And once he earned to operating with him, he aforesaid ; “O my son! certainly I even have seen in an exceedingly dream that I ought to sacrifice you; contemplate then what you see. He aforesaid of father! Do what you're commanded; if Allah pleases you'll notice Pine Tree State of the patient ones.” (37:102)

This shows the Brobdingnagian fantastic thing about Prophet Ibrahim and Ismail’s commitment to Allah (swt), showing U.S. duty, harmony and choice! the wonder of the sacrifice shows the partnership of the daddy and son. once each of them relinquished to the desire of god, willingly, and Ibrahim a.s created his son lay down, and Ibrahim got prepared sacrifice, Allah then referred to as on Ibrahim ;

“ therefore once they had each submitted their wills (to Allah), and he had ordered him prostrate on his forehead (for sacrifice), we tend to referred to as resolute him “O Abraham! one thousand hast already consummated the vision!” – therefore so can we reward people who do right. For this was clearly an effort and that we ransomed him with a important sacrifice: and that we left (this blessing) for him among generations (to come) in later times: ”Peace and salutation to Abraham!” therefore so can we reward people who do right, For he was one in all our basic cognitive process Servants.“ ( 37:103-111)

As well it absolutely was not solely his son that prophet Ibrahim had the consent of, however conjointly his married person, girl Hajra (sa). though spiritual being tried to urge her to oppose Prophet Ibrahim sacrificing her son, she stood quick behind her husband and Allah’s can.

Prophet Ismail was replaced by a goat; Allah didn’t create Prophet Ibrahim perform; his was an effort of commitment. it absolutely was solely in Kerbala, wherever each individual went for martyrdom, from their own need and even once Muhammedan Hussain (as) assured anyone desire to go away they will leave, but no one left them. These lovers of martyrdom, they're the lovers of Muhammedan, Sacrificed themselves within the manner of Allah.

Recall that Ibrahim was place to the check by his Lord, through bound commands, and he consummated them. (God) said, “I am appointing you Associate in Nursing Muhammedan for the individuals.” He said, “And conjointly my descendants?” He aforesaid, “My covenant doesn't embody the transgressors.” [2:124]

This verse shows however Prophet Ibrahim (as) through his action and his sacrifice gained the standing of Imamat. He not solely sacrificed, however conjointly raised a son UN agency is willing to be sacrificed.

It was his ability to boost a son like Ismail, and procure reference to Associate in Nursing extent that even his married person was substantiating and prepared to follow him in his leadership. therefore on Eid al-Adha we tend to celebrate the Brobdingnagian sacrifice of our beloved Prophet and inshAllah we will learn from prophet Ibrahim and his family, and learn to present up and sacrifice our Nafs, our wishes and our love of the planet, for the pleasure of Allah (Almighty).

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Daniyal Shaikh