India Kicks Off Biggest Head Count

India kicked off the national census of its billion-plus population Thursday with a 2.5 million strong army of census-takers fanning out across the country to conduct what has been billed the world's largest administrative exercise. The census, conducted every 10 years, has a new element this year with the collection of biometric data in which every citizen over the age of 15 will be photographed and fingerprinted, information that will form the base of a new National Population Register of the country's 1.2 billion population.

"It is for the first time in human history that an attempt is being made to identify, count, enumerate and record and eventually issue an identity card to 1.2 billion people," Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said. So far, India has not had a system of issuing a national identity number or card to its citizens.

The collection of biometric data using a combination of fingerprint and facial identification will be linked with another massive exercise launched last year to ensure that every Indian gets assigned a single identity number. President Pratibha Patil marked the start of the 11-month exercise Thursday at her pink sandstone presidential palace, which became the first household to be listed for the first phase of the census known as 'houselisting.
' Over the next six months, census-takers, or 'enumerators,' will travel across more than 630,000 villages and over 5,000 cities in the country to visit every structure that serves as a home to put together a national data base. From skyscrapers to tin shanties, census takers will note details such as the availability of drinking water and electricity, and the type of construction material used for a comprehensive picture of housing stock in India.

The census-takers also plan to include millions of homeless people who sleep on railway platforms, under bridges and in parks. Census-takers are typically government officials, school teachers or other local officials who go home-to-home collecting data on the size of families, marital status, education and work information.

For the first time, they also will count bank account holders and cell phone users. While China, the world's most populous country, also counts its population, its census is carried out by various agencies, including Communist Party units, commune leaders and factory heads, unlike the New Delhi-based Registrar and Census Commission that carries out India's count.
India's census will face a special challenge from left-wing extremists active in 20 of the country's 28 states who have stepped up a campaign of violent attacks on government officials. The census-takers plan to finish their work by February 2011.

The information will be used for government policymaking, planning and budget allocations. This will be India's 15th census being held without interruption at the turn of every decade.

5 Most Mystical Places of the World

The world around us is full of mysteries. There are things we believe in without even knowing about its existence. Science doesn’t always find an answer to all questions and that’s exactly why we still love to watch movies like “Lord of the Rings’ and read ‘Harry Potter’ numerous times. All mysterious things have a charm and the charm lies in the fact that we don’t know everything about it. From old civilizations to some of the cultural practices, mystery has been associated with every part of the world. There are innumerable places in the world which can be called mysterious for some reason or another. Let’s have a look at five of them which make it to the top.

Easter Island

Easter Island is one of the most isolated regions in the world, Easter Island makes to the top of the list. The region is full of giant volcanic rock statues called “moai”. The people of the island were called Rapa Nui and no one knows where they came from and where they vanished. The reason for the carving remains as unknown as the islanders. There have been a lot of research in finding out the stories behind these giant structures but there hasn’t been any concrete answer to this question.

The Pyramids of Giza

The largest and oldest of the three pyramids in Giza Necropolis, the great pyramids of Giza also called the Pyramid of Khufu and the Pyramid of Cheops was the tallest man made structure in world for more than 3800 years. The casing stone which originally formed the smooth surface on the great pyramid has worn off and what we actually see the core structure. Egyptian civilization is the said to be the most mysterious and advanced civilization of all times and the great pyramid only adds to the mystery.

The three largest pyramids are Great Pyramid of Khufu, the Pyramid of Kafhre and the Pyramid of Menkaura which are said to be the tombs dedicated for three different Egyptian king.

Stonehenge

Located in the English country of Whltshire, Stonhenge is a one of the most famous prehistoric monuments in the world. What makes this place special is the circular setting of standing stones. The stone monument is believed to be *****ed near 2500 BC though there is no concrete proof the origin. The region lists in UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites.

The construction of the setting is quite impressive in itself considering the labor and time that went in making it. Stonehenge is believed to be a large earthwork constructed about 5000 years ago. The tools used are said to be equivalent to the earth digging and moving.

Castlerigg Stone Circle

This stone circle in Cumbria is an impressive pre historic monument in Britain. The stone circle is said to date back to 3200 BC and is a vision in itself. Not only is it flooded with tourists all around, it has also been a subject among archeologists. Apparently many of the stones of Castlerigg reflect features in the surrounding hills.

38 stones of different shapes and sizes form this circle. Some of the stones are as high as 5 feet. A mystery on how, when and why it was built, the Castlerigg is not a full circle and is flattened on the northeast. Inside the eastern side is a rectangular enclosure of about 10 stones. The purpose of this enclosure remains as mysterious as this whole structure.

Cenote in Mayan Civilization

Deep within the jungles of Mexico and Guatemala, this civilization flourished when Europe was still in the Dark ages. These people were the masters of mathematics and had mapped the heavens. These warriors called Maya had fought the Spanish. The cities were built with utmost perfection without any metal tool. The stone structures found in jungle talks about the genius they were. The Mayas are a mystery in themselves as such great architecture doesn’t seem to belong to that era.

The underground world called Cenote are water bodies which will make a chill rn down your spine if you manage to walk down the narrow stairs that led to this vertical hole. Nothing in the world can be more bizarre than the sight you see when you get used to light under 20 feet.