1. FESTIVALS: Guru Poornima, also known as Vyas Poornima (Vyasa being supreme preceptor who constructed 4 vedas and wrote Mahabharata) falls on Ashadh shukla 15. (July 7 this year) Concept of ‘Guru’ has immense significance in Hindu culture and ‘Guru’ in any form is considered essential for emancipation of an individual. It is a sacred and ennobling relationship between Guru and Shishya when both strive hard towards the goal.
It is celebrated by students, spiritual groups and others. RSS founder Dr. Hedgewar propounded ‘Bhagwa Dhwaj’ – which manifests glory and renunciation as Guru for all the swayamsevaks. Shakhas hold ‘Gurupoojan and Dakshina Samarpan utsav’ on this day.
2. MASSIVE RELIEF WORK BY RSS IN CYCLONE AFFECTED SUNDERBANS: It was a nightmarish experience for 50-odd swayamsevaks who were desperate to reach Hingalganj jetighat criss-crossing inaccessible riverine villages in the Sunderbans after Aila cyclone battered and ravaged the Bengal’s famous archipelago of islands on May 25. The rivers Kalindi and Raimangal were turbulent and wind speed was not less than 60 km per hour even 24 hours after the cyclone lashed the Sunderbans.
They hired a large vessel with a capacity to carry about 6 tonnes relief materials for distribution among cyclone hit villagers separated from the main land. Risking lives, they finally reached Jetighat, Hemnagar, Mandirghat and Parghumta villages where thousands of marooned villagers were awaiting government relief for three days since the Aila blown away their hamlets. They had no food and drinking water during those 72 hours.
The team of swayamsevaks, led by North 24 Pargana zilla karyavaha Shri Sukumar Vaidya, was the first batch of volunteers to reach them braving nature’s fury. Initially starving villagers took swayamsevaks as state government relief employees and started to hurl abuses.
However, when the distressed villagers discovered that they were RSS volunteers and risked their lives to bring them relief materials, they were simply over-joyed and begged pardon for their initial mistake. Women blew conch-shells to welcome the swayamsevaks in their mud houses. Packets of dry food, water pouches, milk powder and clothes brought by swayamsevaks were distributed with full cooperation of the distressed villagers.
This is the same area where the local CPI(M) MLA Gopal Gayen from Hingalganj was roughed-up and the chief minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee received abuses from relief deprived villagers on June 2. The distressed villagers in Hingalganj block in the riverine Sunderbans made it amply clear that even in misery they had more respect for honest and hard-working swayamsevaks of the RSS than callous elected communist leaders strutting about in the corridors of power.
The RSS has a well-knit organization in the Sunderbans under north and south 24 Parganas. There are ‘one teacher-one school’ establishments in 90 villages. Swayamsevaks of the two neighbouring districts have set up 32 relief camps and feeding about 30,000 cyclone hit hapless villagers daily since 26 May. The worst affected are the five blocks, Hasnabad, Najat, Sandeshkhali I & II and Hingalganj. Here 50 shakhas are affected due to large-scale inundation. Swayamsevaks are running two relief camps in Basantitala where cooked food is supplied to nearly 4,000 villagers daily.
Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh, Dr Manmohan Vaidya, visited several relief camps in the affected areas in Hasnabad block in north 24 Parganas on June 3 and took a stock of the grim situation prevailing there. (By Ranjit Roy – VSK Kolkatta)
3. THIRD-YEAR SANGH SHIKSHA VARGA CONCLUDES: “The only prescription for all the ills confronting the nation today lies in the philosophy of Hindutva. It is the bedrock of our national and social life. It connotes the way of life and encompasses all the faiths and languages in Bharat”, asserted Shri Mohan Bhagwat, Sarsanghachalak of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Speaking at the concluding function of the third-year Sangh Shiksha Varga at the sprawling Reshimbag grounds in Nagpur, Shri Bhagwat made a passionate appeal to all the people to join RSS in order to know and understand the organization. “Our doors are open for all”, he said.
Former Supreme Court judge Justice KT Thomas, who could not make it to the concluding function due to personal reasons, strongly advocated the need for bringing uniform civil code. He was all praise for the wonderful work the RSS is doing. “I have more admiration for the activities of RSS than criticism, unlike some other members of the minority communities who entertain prejudices towards this organisation”, he said.
A total of 936 shiksharthis took part in the varga where Shri Suryaprakash Tonk was Sarvadhikari and Madhav Vidwans – Varg Karyavaha.
4. A DIPLOMA COURSE IN HINDU RITUALS: From this academic calendar, Jagadguru Shankracharya Sanskrit University Rajasthan plans to start a course on Hindu religious rituals to produce trained Pandits. This will be the first of its kind course, being started at the university level in the country.
The academic council of the university set up by the previous BJP Government at Madau, near Jaipur has already finalised the syllabus for the one-year diploma course. Initially, the study for the course will start at 13 centres in various parts of the country.
The course would include the procedure for performing daily puja in the temples, performing of yagnas by reciting right kind of mantras and its proper pronunciation.
5. OBAMA NAMES DESI BUDDY VINAI AS US ENVOY: US President Barack Obama has nominated Vinai K Thummalapally an old Bharatiya college classmate and buddy of his to be the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Belize.
President Obama has now appointed nearly a dozen Indian-Americans to various posts in his administration. The latest to join the government is Raj Shah, a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation senior executive, who is moving this week from Seattle to Washington DC to be the Undersecretary and Chief Scientist at the US Department of Agriculture.
6. WRONG TURN: Richard Holbrooke, US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, underlined the obvious when he referred to the release of Hafiz Saeed, head honcho of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), as disturbing. It's not much use resorting to judicial cover by attributing the release to a decision by the Lahore high court, over which Islamabad had little influence. Pakistani authorities argued a deliberately weak prosecution case against Saeed, when there is ample evidence of incitement to terrorism by him. Not least of this is 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab's testimony, linking Saeed to the Mumbai attacks.
Pakistan's investigation of 26/11 is also flagging, with no new developments reported. But even as Saeed celebrated his release by vowing to continue his Kashmir jihad, Pakistan premier Yousuf Raza Gilani issued high-decibel statements of his own decrying Indian "occupying forces" in Kashmir. The Pakistani army's campaign against the Taliban in Swat is a positive development, which needs to be welcomed. But Saeed's release suggests that the anti-Taliban campaign doesn't necessarily mean that Pakistani authorities will act against other jihadi groups linked to Taliban and al-Qaeda, such as the LeT and its front organisation the Jamaat-ud-Dawa. On the contrary, Islamabad may view the anti-Taliban campaign as giving it international leverage to go back to its old anti-India grouses and to use jihadi groups to pressure India over Kashmir.
When Pakistan-backed separatist hardliners said that participation in Jammu and Kashmir elections would be tantamount to recognizing India's sovereignty over the state, voters responded by turning out at the ballot box in droves. State elections last year saw an unprecedented 60 per cent turnout, which showed that separatists found it harder than ever to persuade or intimidate voters to stay away from polls.
According to Gilani, the Kashmir issue holds the key to durable peace in the region. That's a seriously questionable proposition, and Islamabad cannot hope to use it as an alibi for failing to crack down on anti-India terror groups operating from Pakistani soil. Even if Gilani is right, the responsibility for resolving Kashmir is as much Pakistan's as India's. The lack of satisfaction on 26/11 or of action on India-specific terror groups will make it harder for New Delhi to go back to peace talks just yet. In the absence of conciliatory gestures from Islamabad, New Delhi has little option but to keep on harping on the dangers of interlinked jihadi groups based in Pakistan for India, for Pakistan and for the world. -- Editorial, 4 Jun 2009 Times of India.
7. IAF MOVING SUKHOI BASE TO NORTHEAST TO THWART CHINESE THREAT: A squadron of the frontline combat aircraft Sukhoi 30- MKI would become operational in Bharat's sensitive NorthEast, a strategic decision to move advanced assets close to the Chinese border, defence spokesperson Colonel R Kalia said on June 8. Four multi-role strike fighter jets would land June 15 at the Indian Air Force (IAF) base in Tezpur, about 185 km north of Assam's main city of Guwahati. Soon it would be a full squadron comprising of 18 aircraft.
Capable of carrying nuclear weapons and tailor-made for Bharatiya specifications, Su-30 MKI is a variant of the Sukhoi Su-30 jointly-developed by Russia's Sukhoi Corporation and Bharat's Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) for the IAF.
8. ISLAMIC AUTHORITIES SHOULD BE REFRAINED IN MALAYSIA - SIKH BODY: A top Sikh body wants the Malaysian Islamic authorities to be refrained from interfering in matters it does not have "jurisdiction", in the wake of the funeral of a man being held up, who allegedly became a Muslim 17 years ago, the latest conversion row to hit the country.
The Malaysian Gurdwaras Council will appeal to the government to issue proper directives to the Islamic authorities of the country in that regard.
The council was referring to the case of Mohan Singh, 41 who recently died of a heart attack on May 25 but his remains were not released by the hospital to his family as he was believed to have converted to Islam in 1992.
9. NOW, IITians MAKE A BEELINE FOR DRDO: For the first time, 12% of the total recruitment at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has been from top-notch IITs, previously known to grab headlines for the six-figure dollar salaries its graduates clinched across the world.
In previous years, the 52 DRDO labs, conducting R&D in naval, aeronautical, life sciences and other sectors, could manage to recruit just one or two engineering graduates from IITs.
Every year, DRDO recruits at least 500 scientists. This year, up to 60 of them, 12% of the total number, have been from the IITs.
10. BHARATIYA ARRIVAL DAY IN GRENADA: The Indo-Grenadian Heritage Foundation held a Memorial and Thanksgiving Service on May 1st at the Samaritan Presbyterian Church to mark the arrival of the first batch of Bharatiyas to Grenada on 1st May, 1857.
On that date, the Maidstone landed 287 persons at Irwin’s Bay, St. Patrick’s. This was the first of several ships bringing a total of 3,200 indentured workers from Bharat to Grenada, the seeds of today’s large Indo-Grenadian community.
11. INDIANS AND CHINESE COMING HARD AT US: OBAMA: Warning that the Chinese and the Indians were coming hard at the US in an increasingly competitive world, President Barack Obama has called for an improvement of the American education system to help US regain its pre-eminence.
While the average public school is actually doing a reasonably good job …” we are falling behind when it comes to math; our kids are falling behind when it comes to science,” Obama said.
Mr. Obama was replying to a question from a teacher at a town hall-style meeting in a high school gymnasium in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on June 11.
12. 'MADE IN INDIA' METRO ROLLS OUT: Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi flagged off what can be called the first truly 'Bharatiya' Metro train, from a manufacturing plant near Vadodara on June 7. The trains are energy efficient and the cost of the trains is also much lesser compared to their imported counterparts.
The new trains promise a more comfortable ride for Delhiites as they have been made after analyzing the problems with the existing coaches. The coaches are state-of-the-art — these have been made using the most advanced manufacturing technology such as spot-welding robots, being used for the first time in the country for rail car body manufacturing. The coaches are about 35-40 % indigenous, as a large part of the spare parts, have also been manufactured by local vendors.
13. GM BETS ON BHARAT FOR TURNAROUND: Bankrupt US carmaker General Motors on June 5 listed Bharat among the "very important" markets that held the key to its turnaround and said it hoped to achieve a double digit share by 2010 on the back of higher sales of mini cars. The company's Bharatiya subsidiary that will launch two new cars in the coming months also plans to start export of a new mini car to Europe and Asia Pacific by the end of 2010 which will further boost its sales and revenues.
GM India sold 65,702 cars and SUVs in Bharat last year, 9.5% more than a year earlier.
14. HINDU GROUP TO GET $175,000 IN TEXTBOOK BIAS SUIT: In USA, Sacramento federal judge entered final judgment in the first week of June in a lawsuit accusing members of the state Board of Education and the state's curriculum czar of unconstitutional actions.
California Parents for the Equalization of Educational Materials alleged that board members had discriminated against Hindus and their supporters during the 2005-06.
In an order filed on June 3, in the case on how Hinduism is taught in California’s Secondary Public Schools, U.S. District Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr. approved a settlement agreement in which the board makes no curriculum concessions but agrees to pay the Northridge-based nonprofit $175,000 – a sum unlikely to cover its costs in connection with the suit that was initiated more than three years ago.
Superior Court Judge Patrick Marlette rejected the foundation's content claim but found the textbook adoption process was flawed because the regulations governing it had not been fashioned in accord with California's Administrative Procedures Act.
15. COW URINE REDUCES THE BLOOD SUGAR LEVEL: A study conducted by Professor K Jayakumar of the Government Veterinary College Bangalore has shown that cow’s urine has anti-diabetic properties. The research is in the preliminary stages but it has been found that the cow’s urine lowers the blood glucose level.
Vidhya, a research scholar who is also working on this project found the tests on the rats showed very encouraging results.
The activity was tested in experimentally induced diabetic rats. The rats were orally given a small dose of cow urine daily. It was noticed that rats treated with the cow urine had lower blood-sugar level as compared to non -treated diabetic rats.
The research will be completed within five years. The project is funded by the State Government with an allocation of Rs 3 crores over five years.
16. CENTENARY OF ARTHASASTRA’S PUBLICATION: The Maharaja of Mysore wanted to celebrate the golden jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen Victoria in 1891 and built a little beauty and named it Victoria Jubilee Institute. The building is a rare blend of classical European, Gothic, Corinthian and Romanesque architectural elements. Subsequently, the walls of this building were adorned by Hoysala sculptures brought from a destroyed Hoysala temple. There are some beautiful inscriptions in front of the building which give a heritage ambience to the structure.
The building used to house thousands of rare palm leaf manuscripts and was called Mysore Oriental Library and now it is called Oriental Research Institute (ORI) and is a part of Mysore University. Queen Victoria is forgotten but this Research Institute is famous all over the world because it was here the first manuscript of Kautilya’s Arthasastra was discovered.
Around 1905 there was a librarian by name Rudrapatnam Shamasastry (1868-1944) who hailed from the celebrated village Rudrapatna on the banks of Kaveri, famous for Karnatak music. He belonged to the Sanketi Brahmin community and by 37 he had mastered Vedas, Vedanga, and classical Sanskrit, Prakrit, English, Kannada, German, French and other languages. He had also learnt the various ancient scripts of Bharat.
As the librarian, he daily examined each manuscript to know its contents. It was not an easy task either. Most of the palm leaf manuscripts were fragile and to handle them was a big problem. This routine examination continued day-by-day, month-after-month and even after years, without great success. But Shamasastry was hopeful of finding out some new spectacular manuscript which was not known to the world. His assistants always taunted him but unmindful of all these, Sastry continued his work with all devotion and sincerity.
One fine morning in 1905, he picked up a palm leaf manuscript from a heap. He examined this palm leaf and was pleasantly surprised to know that it was a work on Arthasastra or administration written by an author called Kautilya, Chanakya or Vishnugupta before the dawn of Christian era. Some people thought that it must have been a hoax; others looked at this with suspicion. But the introduction written by Shamasastry in 1909 giving the details of the author and its authenticity convinced that it was a genuine literary wonder of the ancient world.
Fleet (London), Jolly (Germany), Winternitz (Germany), Thomas (London), Pelliot (France), Keith, Sten Konow and a host of others congratulated Shamasastry for heralding a new era in Bharatiya administration. RK Mukherji, Ashutosh Mukherji, BC, Law, CR Reddy and other Bharatiya scholars paid handsome tribute to Shamasastry. Rabindranath Tagore specially expressed his happiness on this occasion. Thus Shamasastry overnight became a celebrity not only in Bharat but all over the world in academic circles. The book was translated into French, German and many other languages.
Awards and recognitions followed immediately after its publication in 1909. Washington University (USA) awarded a doctorate; Royal Asiatic Society awarded its Fellowship. He was awarded Campbell gold medal. Calcutta University also gave him a doctorate and invited him to deliver a series of lectures on Arthasastra. Mysore University appointed him Professor of History.
Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV gave the title Arthasastra Visharada; the Government of Bharat made him a Mahamahopadhyaya. Varanasi Sanskrit Mandali gave him the title Vidyalankara and Panditaraja. Most of the Oriental institutes in and outside the country invited him to visit their institutions and accept their honour. Unmindful of all these encomiums, Sastry continued his research work on many knotty Indological problems and as Director of Archaeology of Mysore State published many annual reports and discovered many inscriptions on stone and copper plates.
A rare incident which throws light on his illustrious personality may be recounted here. Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV once visited Germany and was invited to address a meeting in a club. The Maharaja was introduced to the guests as His Highness the Maharaja of Mysore State. After the address by His Highness, a German gentleman came near the Maharaja and asked, “Your Majesty, are you the Maharaja of Mysore where lives Dr. Shamasastry, the discoverer of Arthasastra?’’ The Maharaja was pleasantly surprised that Shamasastry of Mysore was well known in the far-off Germany.
He felt proud of this great scholar and after his return he called Sastry and said, “In Mysore we are the Maharaja and you are our subject, but in Germany, you are the master and people recognise us by your name and fame.”
Highly religious and simple in habits, always ready to help the younger scholars, Shamasastry gave self-respect to Bharatiyas in the matter of Bharatiya administration. European scholars had always argued that ancient Bharatiyas learnt the art of administration from the Greeks with the contact from Alexander. But Shamasastry has falsified this idea and showed to the world the contributions of Kautilya which even the Mughals and British adopted in Bharat. Today we salute Dr. Shamasastry on the centenary of the publication of Kautilya’s Arthasastra. (By Prof. AV Narasimha Murthy, former Head, Department of Ancient History & Archaeology, University of Mysore.) -- Organiser Weekly, 14 June 2009.
17. HINDU SANGHATAN DIVAS UTSAV 2009: Pasadena Shakha, Shirdi Sai Temple Shakha and Chino Shakha in Southern California, USA conducted Hindu Sanghatan Divas Utsav on 6th June at Chino location. The main goal of the event was to reach out to the Chino community and create awareness about Shakha activities.
The event was held from 10:00 AM to 02:00 PM. The Sharirik activities include warm-up, suryanamskar, team games and Maha Khel. The Maha Khel was based on Ramayana, Mahabharata and Sewa project.
The Program continued with Sanghik Geet, Vyakti Geet and Boudhik by Sailesh Prakash on Hinduism and significance of Shakha activities. Bala and Shishu gana boudhik was taken by Vibhag pravasi Karyakarta Vivek Jalahalli. The program concluded with the fun filled Dumb-Charades game in which Mahila and Purush competed against each other.
Total Sankhya at event was 90 excluding some new chino families coming towards the end of the program.
18. BHARAT IS NOW FLOODED WITH $1 BN PER WEEK: After six months of financial drought, global money is flooding into Bharat at the rate of $1 billion a week. If sustained, this will be the mother of all financial stimuli, eclipsing the finance minister’s budgetary endeavours. The dollar flood is not due to the Congress election victory.
In April, foreign institution investors (FIIs) poured $1.3 billion into Bharatiya equities. They poured another $1.87 billion in the first half of May, before the election result. For May as a whole, the inflow was $4.14 billion, or a billion a week.
This is part of a global phenomenon. Since April, $20 billion has flooded into all emerging markets. The Sensex is up 50% in 2009. But Russia is also up 63%, China 57%, Brazil 60%, and Argentina 45%. So, the dollar flood is not Bharat-specific: it is part of a global rush into all emerging markets, especially the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, Bharat and China).
19. FORMER RSS SARSANGHCHALAK QUESTIONS EVM’S CREDIBILITY: Former RSS Sarsanghchalak KS Sudarshan has questioned the credibility of Electronic Voting Machines that are being used during polls instead of ballot papers.
"The general polls have become contempt of democracy as machines playing greater role than the voters," Sudarshanji said while addressing the concluding day of the State level Sangha Sikhsha Varga at OMP Ground Cuttack.
20. CRPF TO ADOPT SANSKRIT COLLEGE IN IMPHAL: CRPF will adopt Radha MadhavSanskrit Mahavidyalya, Nambol, said IGP of CRPF (Nagaland and Manipur sector), VPS Panwar while speaking at the inauguration function of a computer block of the College in Imphal on May 24. The computer block, Maharishi Jemini Bhavan, constructed under civic action programme of the Central Paramilitary Force, was inaugurated by the IGP amidst chanting of Sanskrit hymns.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri VPS Panwar said the college would definitely surprise everybody, especially those coming from outside the State that in such a state of unrest, a college in this remote corner of the country is teaching Sanskrit to 700 students.
21. WATER TRIAL OF INDIGENOUS N-SUB ON AUGUST 15: After a series of setbacks, Bharat's hunt for a nuclear submarine has finally gathered steam. For one, the new D-day for 'launching' first indigenous nuclear submarine 'into water' for preliminary tests has been set for Aug 15. Russia has now promised to deliver its Akula-II class attack submarine 'K-152 Nerpa' on a 10-year lease to Bharat by the end of this year.
22. CYCLONE “AILA” - APPEAL FOR RELIEF -2009: CYCLONE “AILA” which hit the coast of West Bengal on the 25th of May 2009, has caused massive devastation and displacement for over a million people and about 250 deaths. SEWA INTERNATIONAL (India) has started relief activities from the evening of 26th May in partnership with like-minded organizations such as Bastuhara Sahayata Samiti, Sewa Bharati, Friends of Tribal Society, Bharat Sevashram and Sri Ramkrishna Mission. At present there are 32 relief centers in remote villages catering to the needs of over 8000 families constituting over 30,000 people. The activities undertaken are distributing cooked meal, supply of dry ration and potable water and treatment for epidemics and other diseases.
There is an urgent need to provide relief to the suffering millions. SEWA INTERNATIONAL appeals to all to help these unfortunate victims.
Sewa International (India) plans to run these 32 relief centers and increase more such centers if needed and continue the relief activities till life returns to normal. SI intends to provide the affected families with immediate necessities for daily living: tarpaulins, food, cloths, medicines etc. The estimated expense will be approximately $220,000.
For more information visit: www.sewausa.org. www.sewainternational.org
23. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Visitors: Shri Anand Pappuri from USA. .Pravas: Shri Ravi Kumar, Sah-samyojak, Vishwa Vibhag, is back in Bharat from Bali and Singapore.
24. FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Spiritual success comes by understanding the mystery of life, and by looking on all things cheerfully and courageously, realizing that events proceed according to a beautiful divine plan. – Paramahansa Yogananda
HUMAN RIGHTS’ VIOLATION OF HINDUS VS SECULARISM
It is a matter of grave concern that brave but very generous and peace loving Hindu society, which not only preaches but also practices to perfection Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (whole world is one family) and Ahimsa Parmo Dharma (non-violence is the highest from of religion) since thousands of years is being attacked, plundered and killed at regular intervals in history.
According to the famous historian Will Durant, Indian history of one thousand years has been the bloodiest one in the world.
It is very unfortunate that even after freedom, Hindus are being eliminated in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kashmir, Afghanistan, Fiji, Africa etc. and their human rights and democratic rights are being systematically destroyed.
With the rise of Muslim fundamentalism, Hindus in Muslim countries have been subject to great threats and reprisals, resulting in a flow of frightened, disenfranchised, often brutalized people who have seen their homes destroyed, their wealth appropriated, members of their family put to death and their fundamental human rights destroyed which has to date attracted minimal attention in the Indian and world press and other news media in the name of secularism.
Take the case of Kashmir, a part of India. Three hundred thousands Hindus (3, 00,000) who were inhabitants of Kashmir since thousands of years were forced out of Kashmir in 1990 by Muslim fundamentalists.
They are continuing to live in filthy tents, window-less one room tenements and hovels, behind community halls without any privacy. Since their forced flight, all their houses have been looted and reduced to ashes.
The terrorist killings have been accompanied by torture unheard of in the annals of human history, which tantamount to grave crimes against all law and against humanity. In sheer disregard of the norms of political behaviour, generally recognised by civilized nations and now embodied in several international covenants, the Charter of Human Rights Declaration, and resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly, the terrorists have inflicted grievous hurt, injury and death/torture on hundreds of Hindus and other dissenters. Torture deaths have been brought about by inhuman practice.
The dead bodies of several Kashmiri Hindus have been salvaged from various places in Kashmir. Their heads had been severed off. Several dead bodies of Kashmiri Hindus were recovered, which had been branded by hot iron before killing them. Several bodies were found with eyes gouged out. 58 Rambhaktas were brutally burnt alive in Godhara, which has no parallel in the world. Hundred of Hindus are being mercilessly killed in Jammu, Kaluchak etc. by terrorists.
Amensty International and the other human rights organasations including press outside India and the human rights organisations in India expressed little concern about the genocide of Hindus in Kashmir. In Pakistan and Bangaldesh more than 20 lakh peace loving Hindus were butchered, most inhuman atrocities were inflicted on innocent women and children and 15 million Hindus are still missing, but no press media and political party has cared to look into this greatest genocide in history just in the name of secularism. Hence in reaction to all this, Hindus want to renounce their 5,000 year old traditional generosity in self-defence for which they are being branded as communal and fundamentalists.
Human rights are recognized as the basic and fundamental rights. They are also civil and religious rights. They are universal and applicable without any discrimination. They proclaim that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
The responsibility of the violation of human rights in Jammu and Kashmir rests upon the terrorist regime in the state established by the terrorists, their abettors and foreign collaborators.
The Muslim crusade in Jammu and Kashmir is a negation of human rights, because its objectives are to merge the state into the Muslim nation of Pakistan. Similar are the cases of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan where Hindus have been looted, brutally tortured forcefully converted to Islam or butchered. More than 4,000 temples of Hindus there have been destroyed.
Hundreds of thousands of houses, shops, godowns, schools, and other institutions of Hindus have been reduced to ashes. With the result that while there were about one crore Hindus in Pakistan before partition there are now hardly one million left. Similarly in Bangladesh instead of 30 million Hindus before partition now there are about 15 million only living like slaves. They are being regularly looted and murdered, hence they are fleeing to India, but no human rights institutions including Hindu intellectuals have the courage to speak the truth lest they be labeled as communal. Many refugees of other nationalities like Palestinians, Vietnamese Cambodians, Haitians, Bosnians, etc. have been in the foreground of world issues at one time or another and have received financial and other help from United Nations but for some unknown reasons the plight of the Hindu refugees is obscure and unrecognized on the international forum and United Nations. The whole world thinks that Hinduism is for tolerance and Hindus are born to tolerate injustice.
Even in India, the media is not taking up the cause of Hindus. Their democratic, human, religious and political rights are being crushed in the name of pseudo secularism. For example no Prime Minister of India visited or helped the camps of Hindu refugees from Kashmir. Nonviolent unarmed Hindus were showered with bullets for 45 minutes when they gathered in Ayodhya to demand their most sacred Ramjanmabhoomi.
Hindus, like second rate citizens, get government job and bank loans only after other communities have had their share. Hindus like slaves are not even allowed to teach their religious books in schools, so the young generations are completely cut off from their heritage making them rootless and immoral. It is a violation of human rights in the name of secularism.
All this is happening because a Hindu due to his Atmavadi Darshan (Spiritual Philosophy) refuses to see the danger ahead. His philosophy is - "No enemy, stranger none, we are at peace with everyone." The Hindu has not learned any lesson from its turbulent history of 1000 years. So when the danger comes he is badly beaten. He has no feeling of ‘Dharma Bandhutva’ towards his own community because he is still spellbound under the romantic slogan of ‘Vishva Bandhutva’. A Hindu should now create a synthesis between Vishwa Bandhutva and Dharma Bandhutva, if he wants to survive in a hostile world.
Prof. Ainslee Embree, one of the foremost India Watchers in America addressing a meeting of Amnesty International on religion and human rights in Washington asserted that Hinduism is a way of life, a culture rather than a religion, the culture of the people of India. Hinduism which was followed by 70% people of India was a religion identified with the land a territorial religion and therefore of great importance for human rights in India. For human rights, the concept of Dharma, Embree said, holds most importance because the word meant some form of "duty obligation". Any idea of rights is subsumed under this concept. (India Abroad New York 2.10.1992).
Hence I appeal to the Government of India to preserve India as a natural habitat for Hindus from all over the world specially when they are in trouble and want to return to the bosom of their "Mother India".
I also appeal to the United Nations as well as to the World News media to exert every pressure to end the persecution of a peace loving race. (Anand Shankar Pandya, Vice President, VHP).
