Magh 3 Vik Samvat 2066. Yugabda 5111: January 16, 2010

1 FESTIVALS: Over 10 lakh take dip in Ganga on Kumbh: Braving bone-chilling cold, over 10 lakh devotees took a holy dip in the waters of the Ganga at Haridwar on Makar Sankranti January 14.
Having at its centre ritualistic ablutions in the Ganges to cleanse one’s soul of sins and attain salvation, the massive festival of Kumbh at Haridwar is expected to draw more than 60 million from across the world in the ensuing three months. Spread over a sprawling 130 km, it extends to Haridwar, Rishikesh, Munikireti and Swarga-shram banks of the river.
First Snan of the Kumbh was on January 14 and the second on 15th Jan, the Mauni Amawasya. Rest of the snans will go up to April 28 including the three biggest Shahi Snan days of February 12, March 15 and April 14 marked by huge religious processions. Astrologically, the festival marks the entry of Jupiter into Aquarius and the Sun into Aries.
Having its roots in the Vedic period, the magnificent confluence of devotees transpires from the ancient legend of Samundra Manthan. The origin of the Kumbh Mela has also been traced to the river festivals in which pots of grains were soaked in the waters of the holy rivers and put to seed with the rest of the grain, during the sowing time. Kumbh’s grand spectacle has roused the curiosity of foreign travelers since the ancient times and Huan Tsiang or Xuanzang of China, who lived during the 7th century was the first to recount the fair in his diary.
Mark Twain’s eulogy of the Kumbh is also worth quoting, “It is wonderful, the power of a faith like that, that can make multitudes upon multitudes of the old and weak and the young and frail enter without hesitation or complaint upon such incredible journeys and endure the resultant miseries without repining. It is done in love, or it is done in fear; I do not know which it is. No matter what the impulse is, the act born of it is beyond imagination, marvelous to our kind of people.”
2. AHMEDABAD BRTS BEST IN THE WORLD: For the first time, Ahmedabad’s Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) has been adjudged the best sustainable transport system in the world. Ahmedabad BRTS happened to be the only mass transit system from Bharat and South Asia that was nominated for this award. Last year, this award was given to New York. On January 13, Ahmedabad Janmarg Limited (AJL) representatives were awarded by Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) president Enrique Penalosa in Washington, US.
Each year, this award is given to a city or major jurisdiction that has a profound impact on lessening the impact of climate change and which enhances the sustainability and liveability of its community or region through innovative transportation strategies.
A major reason for the AJL clinching the title is that the city residents embraced their new BRTS system with 35,000 daily passengers to commute to work, to school and elsewhere. Bus stations have passive solar design, an inexpensive way to keep stations naturally cool. The BRTS system has incorporated high-quality pedestrian facilities in some corridors, as well as bicycle lanes. Besides, this the city had initiated car-free days.
3. 2,000-YEAR-OLD SHIVALINGAM UNEARTHED IN VIETNAM: The Archaeology Institute and the Khanh Hoa Museum in Saigon, Vietnam have unearthed thousands of artifacts at the site of the ancient village of Vinh Yen in the south-central province. After preliminary studies, the archaeologists determined that the ancient inhabitants who left the artifacts lived 2,000-2,500 years ago during the end of the Neolithic period and early Bronze Age.
Among the more important findings were a Shiva lingam made of rock crystal, moulds for casting bronze and iron objects, and jewelry.
Dr. Tran Quy Thinh, the leader of the excavation group, said the discoveries contribute significantly to knowledge of prehistoric development in the southern part of the central region.
4. SANSKRIT IS SECOND OFFICIAL LANGUAGE IN UTTARAKHAND: It is a great irony that in Bharat, 18 states have made Urdu their second official language under the appeasement policy but for the first time the Uttarakhand government took the right decision by declaring Sanskrit the second official language. -KS Sudarshan, former RSS Sarsanghachalak
Thus, the Uttarakhand Assembly has set an example for other states in the country by declaring Sanskrit as second official language. The Rajbhasha Vidheyak was brought in the Assembly to make Sanskrit as second official language as people of the State have keen interest in the language.
They tend to use Sanskrit on special auspicious occasions with extreme regards. There are primary, intermediate, graduate and postgraduate Sanskrit medium schools and colleges also in the State which contribute to spread and learning of Sanskrit.
This decision of the government would certainly help in flourishing and promoting Sanskrit in the State. Former RSS Sarsanghachalak Shri KS Sudarshan and many Sanskrit scholars felicitated Dr Nishank, Chief Minister of Uttaranchal in Haridwar for this courageous step. Shri Sudarshan described it a historical and commendable decision. He said the decision is according to the sentiments of the people since so many saints and rishis dwelt and learnt spiritual values through Sanskrit
5. THE CLIMATE SUMMIT 2009: At the backdrop of Climate Summit at Copenhagen Denmark, the official Bharatiya delegation could spend sometime with the Bharatiyas there. The swayemseveks & sevikas of Guru Gobind Singh Shakha, (Hindu Swayamsevek Sangh Denmark) organised a dinner at Mangat Ram Sharma’s place for the M.P.’s Dr. Murli Monohar Joshi (BJP), Hamdullah Sayeed (Congress),, Bhartruhari Mahtab (BJD) and Sita Ram Yachuri (CPI).
On the concluding day of the Climate Summit, the swayemseveks and sevikas with the help from Durga Bhajan Mandli, Denmark invited Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi to a meeting attended by 40 people at Katrinedal School, where the weekly Shakha is held every Sunday.
Dr. Murli Monohar Joshi delivered a lecture on the climate change and the contributions of Bharat to the cause. He gave some references from the Hindu scriptures and the Hindu ways of life how the Bharatiya people are already doing a lot to save the gobal environment through the daily routine.
6. COURT STAYS WORK ON PROPOSED ISLAMIC BANK IN KERALA: A division bench of the Kerala High Court on Jan 5 stayed all further move by the state-owned Kerala State Industrial Development Corp (KSIDC) to set up an Islamic bank.
The division bench gave its orders after a petition was filed by former central minister Subramanian Swamy, who maintained that the proposed bank was against India's secular credentials and its banking norms.
The proposed bank would have Sharia-compliant banking products and profits made out of the investments would be distributed to the shareholders.
7. SEVIKA SAMITI SAMMELAN IN KOLKATA: A three-day training camp of Rashtra Sevika Samiti as part of the birth centenary of Vandaniya Tai Apte for the workers of Purvottar Kshetra concluded in Kolkata on December 27 . Over 600 Sevikas participated in the camp.
Sanyasini Gynanandamayi Maa inaugurated the sammelan on December 25. Akhil Bharatiya Baudhik Pramukh Smt Sarad Renu, Sah-Baudhik Pramukh Smt Sulabha Despande, Prant Sanchalika of Uttar Assam Dr Malati Barua were present on the occasion.
Sanyasini Gynanandamaoyi Maa praised the activities of Rashtra Sevika Samiti and invited Smt to visit her Ashram at Hridaypur to impart training to the activists. She urged the women to join the Samiti work.
8. THE 4TH BHARATVANSHI GAURAV SAMMAN-2008 was conferred on Shivnath Rai Bajaj of Thailand by Smt. Sushma Swaraj, Leader of Opposition, Lok Sabha, at a colourful ceremony in New Delhi, on 10th January, 2010. The award has been constituted by Antar-Rasshtriya Sahayog Nyas (Trust for International Co-operation) and consists of a citation, a shawl, a memento and Rupees one lakh to appreciate achievement by publicly honouring a person every year for their excellence and working for Bharatiya Diaspora.
On this occasion Smt. Sushma Swaraj, recalled the love for Bharat in the hearts of PIOs by narrating another story, that earlier days, they put flowers in sea (ocean) thinking that atleast at later date, it will touch the shore of Bharat. In the absence of Shri Shivnath Bajaj his son, Subhash Bajaj, accepted the award.
9. MAKAR SANKRAANTI 2010. TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Makar Sankranti Utsav was celebrated at a National level in Trinidad at the Manzanila beach, on 10th January 2010.
At Mrityunjay shakha with the whistle of Mukhya
Shikshak Balkaran ji all swyamsevaks and sevikas settled down for the SuryaNarayan puja with singing of bhajans. Surya namaskaar demonstration by the Aranguez mandal followed. On the occasion, the chief guest of the function, Prof. Vijay Narayn Singh, a well known surgeon remarked that, it has been proved beyond doubt that surya namasakar not only helps in toning your body but also helps in development of mental activity. Ramcharan ji, mandal karyawah of Barrackpore mandal delivered an inspiring baudhik and exerted everyone to be a Hindu by choice and a more active Hindu. After this the Sanghchalak of Trinidad & Tobago Shri Deoroop ji Teemal gave a vote of thanks. Dhwajaavataran was done after Praarthanaa. 59 swayamsevaks, out of which 41 were in ganavesh and 54 sevikaas, 25 in ganvesh took part in the utsav
10. NRIS TO GET VOTING RIGHTS BY NEXT LS POLLS: PM: NRIs will be able to vote in the next general elections, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the annual gathering of the Bharatiya diaspora - Pravasi Bharatiya Divas amid indications that the long-held promise may be comimg to fruition with government planning to change the definition of who is a "citizen".
Dr. Singh said, "I recognise the legitimate desire of Bharatiyas living abroad to exercise their franchise and to have a say in who governs Bharat... In fact, I would go a step further and ask why more overseas Bharatiyas should not return home to join politics and public life as they are increasingly doing in business and academia."
11. KNIGHTHOOD FOR UK'S FIRST SIKH JUDGE: London based Mota Singh, who is the UK's first Sikh and Asian judge, who is also a Queen's Counsel, has been knighted in the Queen's New Year Honours List for "services to the Administration of Justice, Community Relations and to the Voluntary Sector".
His decision to wear a white turban in court, instead of a wig, came to be seen as a sign of a multicultural Britain.
A Ramgarhia Sikh, Mota Singh was raised and educated in Nairobi, Kenya. In 1954, he shifted to England to complete the remaining part of his studies of Law. He joined the English bar in 1967.
Within months, he developed a successful practice in civil law.
12. DELHI GIRL BECOMES FIRST BHARATIYA WOMAN TO SKI TO SOUTH POLE: For 38 days, Reena Kaushal Dharmshaktu, a mountaineer and outdoor instructor based in Delhi, along with seven other women skied for eight to ten hours a day, traversing a 915km path through one of the coldest and most desolate regions of the world.
Reena reached the trademark mirrorball in the middle of nowhere that marks the geographic South Pole, becoming the first Bharatiya woman to ski to the southern-most tip of the Earth.
The women, from seven countries, were part of the Kaspersky Commonwealth Antarctic Expedition mounted to mark the 60th anniversary of the Commonwealth.
For 38-year-old Reena, who had edged out 116 compatriots to get the right to represent Bharat in the expedition, it marked a unique achievement.
It was an arduous journey through the incredibly cold, all-white expanse of the continent, where the team had to negotiate crevasses hundreds of metres deep.
13. DRDO DEVELOPS ‘WEARABLE COMPUTERS’ FOR SOLDIERS: The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) is working on a ‘wearable computer’ project, which could be used for various applications by soldiers, including locating scattered team members while moving along in the most inhospitable terrain.
The prototype of the ‘wearable computers’ was displayed at the ongoing Indian Science Congress, by the personnel of Centre for Artificial Intelligence & Robotics (CAIR) under DRDO’s Bangalore unit.
14. BAL SWAYAMSEVAK SANGAM, AMRAVATI: "Who says RSS is witnessing a retarded growth these days? Who claims there is no inflow of new swayamsevaks in the daily RSS shakhas? They should come and see these resurgent and reverberating children gathered here from all over Vidarbha region, marching in tune towards a definite goal—the goal to take Bharat Mata to the highest pinnacle of glory; a goal to make her Vishwaguru—world leader once again”.
This was the instant reaction of a very senior and famous journalist of Amravati Pradeep Deshpande, editor of Janmadhyam, a largely circulated Marathi daily of Western Vidarbha region, who witnessed the splendid route march of the 2000-odd Bal swayamsevaks gathered there from 98 places in all the 11 districts of Vidarbha at the three-day winter camp of RSS.
The camp was organised at Amravati from December 18-20, 2009.
The spectacular route march of the swayamsevaks was supported by an impressive Band Unit of 280. The people of Amravati welcomed these ‘future of Bharat’ with open hearts showering flower petals, rangolis, and slogans—Kaun chale bhai kaun chale-Bharat maa ke lal chale’. Later commenting on the route march Sarsanghachalak Shri Mohan Bhagwat said Dr Hedgewar, the founder of RSS saw great potential in these Bal swayamsevaks when he started the Sangh.
Addressing the grand public function of the camp organised at Prerana Sthal of Hanuman Vyayam Prasarak Mandal, Shri Mohan Bhagwat, who spent a day with the participants, said that Bharatiya Sanskriti inculcates love for mother and motherland. We follow a lot of gods and goddesses, worship according to different ways, but love for motherland is the one common bond that binds all of us together. The country can be made powerful, strong and vibrant with inculcation of this love for motherland alone. The Sangh has been doing this work since its foundation.
15. IIT-D ENGINEERS WAY TO HARVEST ORGANS: In collaboration with AIIMS and PGI Chandigarh, IIT Delhi has created scaffolds on which stem cells can be grown into tissues, which then develop into a full organ. The organ thus developed can be used for transplantation. At present, these scaffolds — made of biodegradable polymers — are being used for animal testing in Paris.
Explaining that this marvel of tissue engineering has an edge over the traditional donor system of organ transplantation, professor Bhuvanesh Gupta from the bioengineering group, textile department, IITD, said: "Since a new organ can be developed on the scaffolds using patient's own cells, there will be no need of finding a donor. There will be no chances of rejection either like in a normal organ transplant."
16. BHARAT READYING WEAPONS TO DESTROY ENEMY SATELLITES: SARASWAT: Bharatiya defence scientists are readying a weapons system to neutralise enemy satellites operating in low-earth orbit, a top defence scientist said on 2 January.
However, he added that the defence scientists have not planned any tests but have started planning such technology which could be used to leapfrog to build a weapon in case the country needed it.
Saraswat, who is also the Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister, said the scientists were planning to build the weapon which would have the capacity to hit and destroy satellites in low-earth orbit and polar orbit.
17. SIKH WHO DIED FIGHTING MUGGERS IS UK'S HERO: A Sikh man of Bharatiya origin who was killed while confronting two muggers who were running away after snatching a woman’s handbag has been described as a hero by the British police.
Sukhwinder Singh, a builder and father of one, was attacked while pursuing the two muggers who had robbed a 28-year-old woman near Barking station. After chasing the two men along several streets, Singh caught up with them and a fight broke out, during which he was stabbed around 7pm on January 8, according to the Metropolitan Police. Singh, 31, was immediately taken to Royal London Hospital where he died of his injuries.
Describing Singh’s actions as ‘‘very brave’’, detective inspector of Metropolitan Police John Sandlin said, ‘‘This is a tragic death of a man who was killed for attempting to stop others committing crime. Our thoughts are with his family.”
18. CHANDRAYAAN-II TO TAKE OFF IN 2013: ISRO: The launch of Bhaat’s next moon mission, Chandrayaan-II, will be in the first quarter of 2013 as per schedule, its project head said on January 3 in Tiruchi.
The project is shaping up as per schedule, Mylswamy Annadurai, project director, Chandrayaan-I and II of the Indian Space Research Organization, said.
Chandrayaan II, the second lunar mission, a four-year project under Indo-Russian collaboration, is being executed by ISRO after the success of Chandrayaan I.
19. BHARATIYA ORIGIN HINDU-BUDDHISTS TOP FOREIGN STUDENT ENROLMENT IN US: Report of Open Doors 2009 on international students studying in the US, reveals that Bharatiya origin Hindu-Buddhists combine are the forerunners among the foreign student enrolment in US, beating the numbers of Christians and Muslims this time like previous year.
The number of international students at colleges and universities in the United States increased by eight per cent to an all-time high of 671,616 in the 2008/09 academic year, according to the Open Doors report, which is published annually by the Institute of International Education (IIE) with support from the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. This is the largest percentage increase in international student enrolments since 1980/81and for the eighth year in a row.
20. BHARAT TO HAVE FIVE NUCLEAR ENERGY PARKS BY 2032: Bharat would set up five energy parks by 2032 to raise the generation of nuclear energy.
"The selected sites for the energy parks are Haripur in West Bengal, Mithi Virdi in Gujarat, Jaitapur in Maharashtra, Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh and Kudamkulam in Tamil Nadu," chairman of Atomic Energy Commission and secretary, Department of Atomic Energy, Srikumar Banerjee said on Jan 11.
The country plans to have 35,000 MW of installed capacity by 2020 and 60,000 MW by 2032, out of which 40 -45,000 MW would come from energy parks Banerjee said at the 60th foundation day of Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics in Kolkata.
21. THIS IITian SEEKS TO MAKE FIRE WITHOUT SMOKE: IIT graduate Brijesh Rawat and his New York-based sibling are fast replacing coal fired ovens and LPG cylinders in towns and rural areas with health-safe, clean and more efficient gasified commercial chulhas that run on pine needle briquettes.
Pine needles scattered, apparently uselessly, on the forest floor of Uttarakhand help in watertable preservation. Villagers cut down pine trees as pine needles pose hazards to grazing animals.
Under this project, these needles are collected by poor villagers and transported to a Kotdwar-based factory where they are compacted into biomass pellets. The smokeless stoves fueled by these briquettes are safe, economical and environment-friendly.
22. BHARAT WARNS NGC OVER WRONG MAP: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Jan 5 issued a warning to the National Geographic Channel for showing the wrong map of Bharat in its programme on Rhinos in South Asia telecast on August 4, last year. The Channel in its reply maintained that it had inadvertently shown the map of South Asia, which included Bharatiya territorial boundary that was not in conformity with that published by SOI.
23. SUBSTANTIAL LOSS OF LAND TO CHINA, ADMITS REPORT: Repeated incursions by China and an unclear border map have resulted in Bharat losing a ‘‘substantial’’ amount of land in the past two decades. The area along Line of Actual Control with China has ‘‘shrunk’’ over the years, and Bharat is clearly ‘‘withdrawing’’.
At a recent meeting chaired by Commissioner (Leh) A K Sahu and attended, among others, by Brigadier General Staff of 14 Corps Brig Sarat Chand and Colonel Inderjit Singh. Besides mapping discrepancies held in Leh which was attended by officials from the Jammu and Kashmir government, ministry of home affairs and Army, it was agreed that maps drawn up by various agencies were all different and that there was lack of proper mapping of the area.
According to the minutes of the meeting , it was also identified that ‘‘there is a lack of institutional memory in various agencies as well as clear policy on this issue which in the long run has resulted in loss of territory by Bharat in favour of China’’.
24. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas : Dr.Shankar Tatwawadi, Samyojak Vishwa Vibhag will visit Portugal and Ireland. Visitors: Harish Dhruv – USA, Rajesh Shukla, USA. Adv.Udaykumar and others – Malaysia; Rajaram Sethi from Middle East; Nripen Acharya – USA; Dr.Balmukund Bhala – UK; Dr. Anita and Anith Maharaj - South Africa; Dwaraka Persaud – Canada ;Manoj Motwani - Hong Kong.
25. FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Be perfectly resigned,perfectly unconcerned; then alone can you do any true work. No eyes can see the real forces ; we can only see the results. Put out self, forget it; jjust let God work, it is His business. Doing is very good, but that comes from thinking…..fill the brain, therefore, with high ideals, place them day and night before you, and out of that will come great work. – Swami Vivekananda.
JAI SHREE RAM
BIHAR, A GROWTH STORY
Raj Kumar, TNN, 10 January 2010
Roads “as smooth as Hema Malini’s cheeks” was a promise that Lalu Yadav had once given to the people of Bihar. Ironically, it is his rival Nitish Kumar who seems to be delivering on that front. Despite three years of floods followed by a year of drought, ‘backward and benighted’ Bihar reports a miraculous figure: 11% GDP growth, second only to Gujarat. The state’s economy has never grown so fast so consistently as it has since 2004-2005. A few pointers on what’s going right in Bihar:
* Getting anywhere in Bihar has always been an exercise in endurance. But that’s changing. More than 6,800 km of roads have been relaid and 1,600 bridges and culverts constructed in the last four years. Journey time in India’s 12th largest state, sprawling over 94,163 sq km, has been cut by half today in many places. Now, most of the state’s 38 districts — from northernmost West Champaran to Kaimur on the western end — are a drive of six hours or less from Patna.
* Automobile sales in the state grew 45% in 2009, at a time when sales had dipped 20-25% in several other states during the economic slowdown. Is this buying spree an indication that a section of Biharis have more money to splurge than they did earlier? “A few people had money earlier too, but they didn’t flaunt it for fear of attracting extortionists and kidnappers,” says Ranjit Singh, director of a high-end Patna hotel. That fear may have evaporated now.
* Only 317 kidnappings for ransom were reported during the last four years as against 1,393 during the previous four. The kidnapping industry has clearly fallen on hard times. One indication of this is that doctors no longer refuse to go to patients’ homes on emergency calls. “Today you can see boards at clinics saying we go on calls,” says Dr Amulya Kumar Singh, who runs a nursing home in Patna.
* Most of Bihar’s infamous dons are behind bars. That includes Mohd Shahabuddin, the former RJD MP who had once gone live on TV, daring the state police chief to arrest him. Things are a little different now. A ruling JD(U) MLA, Sunil Pandey, attempted an encore of sorts in early 2006 when he brandished a revolver and talked murder on TV. But Pandey found himself behind bars within no time. Speedy trials have ensured a total of 38,824 convictions between 2006 and September 2009.The convicts included dons and their henchmen.
* Gun-toting strongmen are no longer a common sight on the streets of Bihar. Policemen patrol them now. And places like Siwan, where Shahabuddin once held sway, do not get deserted after dusk.
This improvement has shown results. Malls, shops and private educational institutions are coming up. So are mobile service providers and banking firms. It’s boom time for real estate with apartment buildings coming up all around. “That’s because even non-Biharis for a change want to have a foot in Bihar which has become a better place to live in,” says economist Shaibal Gupta of the Asian Development Research Institute. Adds Faizal Alam of Kalyanpur Cements, “Cement inflow to the state went up 18% to 51 lakh tonnes in 2008-09.” That’s an indicator of the construction boom.
Ironically, this economic growth has happened without any worthwhile contribution from the manufacturing sector. The state’s economy is growing because of a boom in agriculture and services sectors. “It’s government-induced growth,” admits Bihar Industries Association (BIA) president S P Sinha. According to former BIA president K P S Keshri, private investments in the manufacturing sector have been as little as Rs 1,500 crore during the last four years.
Many attribute the growth to the fact that the flow of Central funds to states has increased manifold in recent years. In the case of Bihar, it went up from Rs 37,341 crore during the five-year period 2000-2005 to Rs 55,459 crore during the next three years. But equally importantly, the funds are now getting better utilized than during the Lalu-Rabri regime when large chunks remained unspent. Also, adds Gupta, the state made concerted efforts to mobilise internal resources with its own revenue collection going up from Rs 2,919 crore in 2003-04 to Rs 5,256 crore in 2008-09.
The flip side is that much of this growth does not get reflected in social indicators which remain abysmal. But, as Gupta says, it would be unrealistic for anyone to “expect the moon” at this stage. “Right now the fundamentals are getting corrected and therefore you can find mostly infrastructural indicators of growth; one will have to wait for social indicators to become visible,” he says.
While contractors and realtors stand to gain, more than half the state’s 8.2 crore people — 1.25 crore families — still live below the poverty line. For these families to prosper, Bihar desperately needs huge investments and more growth. The State Investment Promotion Board, formed by the Nitish government, has received proposals worth Rs 96,000 crore. But most of them, especially the major ones, remain on paper as Central rules prove a stumbling block. For instance, thermal power plants cannot come up in Bihar because the Centre has so far refused to provide coal linkages to ensure regular supplies to any such new plant.
Also, Bihar has a lot of catching up to do with the rest of India. “There cannot be any comparison between Gujarat and Bihar, both of which reportedly grew by over 11%; since our base is low, even a small investment results in impressive growth in percentage,” Gupta points out. State officials admit that crucial sectors like health are still sick with meagre resources in comparison to other states.
From its bleak past, Bihar may be finally moving towards a brighter future, but the common Bihari is not patting himself just yet. Maybe he is still waiting for this high growth to translate into better food on his table and more money in his pocket.
BHARAT SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES OF PRAVASI BHARATIYAS
The Union Government is very enthusiastic about holding the Pravasi Bharatiya International Conference with great fanfare as it is an occasion to canvass for increased NRI investments and win encomiums from the powerful non-resident Bharatiya community abroad, but unfortunately, it takes little or no interest in addressing the problems of the less privileged Bharatiya community which is looking for support and intervention in the face of near racial annihilation in countries like Malaysia.
For the last many years groups of Bharatiya origin people from Malaysia have been petitioning the government of Bharat of the serious racial discrimination and ethnic cleansing going on in that country. There are some two million people of Bharatiya origin living there, majority of them are Tamil speaking Hindus. They are a proud, hard working, law abiding and tradition bound community. They look to Bharat for cultural and spiritual inspiration. Now, they are seeking political initiatives also.
A delegation of the oppressed Bharatiya community in Malaysia under the leadership of Waytha Moorthy Ponnusamy, chairman of HINDRAF, Malaysia, who was detained for two years for organising a protest meet of oppressed Bharatiya community in that country in 2007, is in Bharat attending the Pravasi Bharatiya Conference (January 7 to 9), and he submitted a memorandum to the participants narrating the heart-wrenching condition of his people. The inhuman suffering into which the religious persecution and ethnic discrimination have driven the Indian community deserves world wide condemnation and immediate intervention of the Government of Bharat and the United Nations. So far, the US is the only country that has taken note of the situation in Malaysia and made a reference to the violations of Human Rights with that government.
The HINDRAF, according to Ponnusamy, who is a barrister at law from Lincoln’s Inn, has already approached the UN Human Rights citing the grave danger facing this Bharat origin minority community in Malaysia.
This journal has on a number of earlier occasions reported about the state sponsored atrocities and discriminations, wanton destruction of thousands of temples, forced occupation of temple property, crematorium and religious intolerance in that country. But if what Ponnusamy has narrated in his 60-page long report is any indication then the eight per cent strong Bharat origin community in Malaysia is facing a near annihilation. They face not just religious persecution, but their basic human rights and rights as citizens of the land of their forefathers is being systematically denied under the Wahabi Islamist racist regime. The victims are third, fourth and fifth generation Malaysians of Bharatiya origin. They are descendants of the migrants from Bharat whom the British had taken as labourers for the plantations there over two hundred years ago. The government has robbed these people of their fundamental rights, and denied equal opportunities in every segment of human activity. By explicit state policies the vast majority of Malaysian Bharatiyas are excluded from the national mainstream. These people are not given a chance to get better education, health care, drinking water, ration, social congregation, equal opportunity to compete, bank loans, licence to set up even small eateries and grocery shops. They are denied admission to higher education institutions and are condemned to remain daily wage poor unskilled labourers. Majority of them live in huts and temporary shelters as land and housing rights are denied by the state. Even the low income unskilled jobs are taken away on religious grounds. The community is, as part of the pursuit of ethnic cleansing and Islamisation, are not given birth and marriage certificates. Conversion is made mandatory for getting admission to better educational institutions, government jobs, industry licence or bank loan. The Bharat origin community is barred, according to this report, from economic and social development programmes, cultural and recreational activities, social functions and festivals. For raising these issues and organising a massive protest a number of Malaysian lawyers including P Udaykumar and M Manoharan were arrested and detained without trial under the draconian Internal Security Act for 514 days. A large number of people were killed in police firing and many injured and maimed for life as a result of the police atrocities. These two lawyers who were released recently attended the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas and pleaded their case before the large audience from all over the world. These people are appalled by the studied indifference and silence of the Government of Bharat. They also charge the Indian Missions abroad of callous indifference if not hostility to plea for help of the plight of Bharatiya origin peoples abroad.
The Government of Bharat can play a proactive role in redressing the situation. Bharat traditionally has cordial relations with Malaysian Government. Bharat has large areas of mutual cooperation and trade relations with that country. The Government of Bharat with its record of excessive pandering to Indian minorities can canvass and convince its counterpart in Malaysia to be more humane, at least be mindful of the UN Declaration of Human Rights which in itself will go a long way in helping the Bharatiya community lead a life of dignity. It can also open a special wing in the Ministry of External Affairs to register and follow-up on Human Rights violations and religious freedom of Bharat origin overseas communities. This is the least the Government of Bharat can do as it hosts such self-serving jamborees year after year in the name of Pravasi Bharatiyas. – Editorial, The Organiser, Jan 17, 2009

Paush 17 Vik Samvat 2066. Yugabda 5111: January 1, 2010

1 FESTIVALS: The month of January marks sun entering the zodiac sign – rashi of Makara (Capricorn) and the beginning of Uttarayana, the sun's movement northward for a 6 month period. It is celebrated throughout Bharat by names such as Makar Sankranti in western parts, Pongal in Tamilnadu and Lohri in Punjab and North Bharat.
Pongal is the Tamil New Year and also a celebration of the prosperity associated with the harvest by thanking the rain, sun and the farm animals that have helped in the harvest.
Pongal is celebrated four days from the last day of the Tamil month Maargazhi to the third day of Thai. The first day, Bhogi, is celebrated by throwing away and destroying old clothes and materials, the second day, Pongal, is the main day, falling on the first day of the Tamil month Thai (January 14 - 15). Also known as Sarkarai Pongal or Veetu Pongal, it is celebrated by boiling rice with fresh milk and jaggery in new pots early in the morning and allowing it to boil over the vessel. The act of boiling over of milk in the clay pot is considered to denote future prosperity for the family. The third day, Maattu Pongal, is for offering thanks to cattle, while Kaanum Pongal is the day for for visiting relatives, friends to enjoy the festive season,
2. THAILAND GOVERNMENT RELEASED NEW POSTAGE STAMPS ON HINDU DEITIES: Government of Thailand released new edition of stamps depicting the Hindu Deities, namely Lord Ganesha, Lord Brahma, Lord Narayana (Phra Narai) and Lord Shiva (Phra Issuan). Thailand has a remarkable affinity to the Hindu Religion and Thai People are obviously proud of their Hindu connection with the rich and colourful Thai culture and tradition.
The newly published stamps and the first day covers has brought great honor to the minds of the Hindu fraternity in Thailand and every parts in this globe. The inclusion of Aum sign and the Trimurthi ( Brhama, Vishnu and Mahesh) in the first day cover enhanced the significance of Hindu Dharma into the mind of every Hindu admirers without any doubt.
3. "BHARAT KO MEIN MATA MANTA HOON" - MAURITIUS PRESIDENT: President of Mauritius Anerood Jugnauth was felicitated with the status of `Mahamana' on Dec 6 at a program in Varanasi jointly organized by Satua Baba Ashram, Matribhoomi Sewa Mission (Kurushetra) and Sai Maa Vishnu Shakti Trust.
The felicitation ceremony (near the famous Harischandra Ghat) saw the special connection and bondage with Bhojpuri land coming to light when the President delivered his speech. "Is dharati se mera khoon ka rishta hai aur bharat ko mein mata manta hoon (I have blood relation with the Bhojpuri land and I consider India as my mother)," said the President in Hindi. He was overwhelmed by the love and affection showered on him during the ceremony.
"Nearly 70 per cent of the Mauritius population had migrated from India in the past. Therefore, a strong sense of brotherhood and fraternity still prevail among the two countries." He said. “India has the potential to become a super power and it must be realised soon to create a balanced world order” He added.
4. KASHMIR A NON NEGOTIABLE ISSUE: BHAGWAT: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghchalak Shri Mohan Bhagwat said Kashmir was a non- negotiable issue with Pakistan.
Addressing a meeting of RSS workers, in Patna Shri Bhagwat said Kashmir was an integral part of the country and it could never be an issue for negotiation with Pakistan.
''We should ask Pakistan in clear terms that continued encouragement to terrorism in Kashmir and other parts of the country from across the border must be stopped without further loss of time,'' Shri Bhagwat said adding western countries, instead of checking Pakistan in this regard, were often found suggesting Bharat to maintain restraint.
Referring to the agreement reached in Copenhegan to protect ecological balance, Shri Bhagwat said Bharat and other developing countries had been unnecessarily pressurised to bear the burden of saving the globe from carbon emission.
5. SEVA BHARATI ADOPTS 15 FLOOD-AFFECTED VILLAGES: Seva Bharati, the service wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, is doing a remarkable job by providing houses to North Karnataka people who lost their dwellings in the recent floods. Seva Bharati has identified 15 villages in 11 taluks spread across 6 districts including Raichur, Gulnbarga, Bagalkot to construct a total of 2,371 houses. An MoU, signed between Seva Bharati, Karnataka, and Government of Karnataka regarding construction of houses, indicates that at least 2371 families will be able to live peacefully.
Dr HV Parswanath, Secretary, revenue department (disaster management), Government of Karnataka, exchanged copies of MoU in the presence of Chief Minister of Karnataka BS Yeddyurappa. Senior RSS pracharak Shri MC Jayadev, Shri N Dinesh Hegde, co-ordinator of Seva Bharati, Karnataka,
Seva Bharati has formed a core team and various committees comprising experienced civil engineers, construction material suppliers, labour contractors, chartered accountants, and dedicated volunteers to implement the project for the flood victims.
6. GANESHA, ‘LINGGA YONI’ FOUND AT NEWLY DISCOVERED SITE: An excavation team from the Yogyakarta Prehistoric Legacy Conservation Center examines a Ganesha statue and lingga yoni on Dec 26 at the newly discovered site within the Indonesian Islamic University in Yogyakarta. The site was believed to be part of an ancient Hindu temple.
Head of the center’s protection working group Indung Panca Putra said the findings led the excavation team to conclude that the site, located in the Indonesian Islamic University (UII) campus on Jl. Kaliurang, Yogyakarta, was from a Hindu kingdom.
The team expects to find two more statues on the site, because according to Hindu mythology lingga and yoni always accompany statues of Durga Mahisasura Mardini and Agastya.“Materials from volcanic eruptions could have buried these two statues,” Indung said. The site is located at the base of Mount Merapi.
UII Rector Edy Suandi Hamid confirmed his university will relocate the site of the library and is working with the BP3 and the Education Ministry. - (By Slamet Susan to, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta 12/24/2009)
7. 100TH AGM OF RAMAKRISHNA MISSION HELD: The 100th Annual General Meeting of the Ramakrishna Mission was held at Belur Math on Dec 23. With this meeting, the Mission completed 100 years since its registration on May 4, 1909 with the Registrar of Societies. During the year, the Mission started a new centre at Hatamaniguda in Rayagada in Orissa. The Mission has also started many new projects in the field of education, medical and rural development. The Math also started a new centre at St Petersburg in Russia besides upgrading its activities in various other countries as well.
8. HOME COMING IN ANDHRA PRADESH: More than 300 people belonging to 76 families of four villages returned home at a function organised at Suryapeta town of Nalgonda district in Andhra Pradesh. The function to welcome these people back to Hinduism was organised by Dharma Prasar Samiti of Paschim Andhra on December 4.
The people, who had embraced Christianity some time back, originally belong to Madiga, Mudiraj and Lambadi communities. The local Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Dharma Prasar Samiti workers were also assembled at the function. The home coming ceremony started with reciting hymns. The 76 family members offered aahutis in the yajnas.
9. LAUNCING OF WEBSITE OF HSS MAURITIUS: Website of Hindu swayamsevak Sangh – Mauritius was launched by Swami Poornanand Ji, on December 30 at Triolet . The function was presided over by Sri Raghunath Deealji, Sanghchalak Mauritius and the chief speaker was Sri Prabhu Narain Srivastava(Prabhuji), Sah Prant Sangh Chalak, Avadh Prant, U.P., Rtd Chief Engineer and All Inda Organizing Secretary of Mahamana Malaviya Mission.
On this occasion Prabhuji said that the entire world is engaged in resolving challenges mankind is facing and Hindu Dharma since time immemorial has advocated life vision which addresses those problems in its entirety. It is because of this that the Hinduism has survived since thousands of centuries.
Swami Poornanandji also blessed the HSS for expanding its work in Mauritius. The sanghchalak of Mauritius Sri Raghunath Deealji elaborated the importance of Gurupooja and Bhagwa Dhwaj.
10. GIRLS STORM MALE BASTION IIT: In the last five years, the number of women clearing the joint entrance test (JEE) to get into the seven IITs has trebled, according to a report analysing IIT admission trends.
In 2005, women formed five per cent of the total number of those who cleared the JEE (381 out of 6,433). In 2009, their pool increased to 10 per cent (1,048 of 10,035). Though the percentage is small, it is a big improvement.
“The number of applications from women has also increased and courses at IIT are no longer viewed as only-for-men. Even women are interested in technical fields,” said Anil Kumar, IIT-Bombay’s JEE chairperson, who prepared the report.
“Parents may still be apprehensive about sending their daughters to the male-majority IITs but there is no bias on campus,” said Sukhada Pendse, a third year IIT-B electrical engineering student, one of eight girls in her class.
11. ANEROOD JUGNAUTH INAUGURATES SAHAYOG PARISHAD: Pravasi Bhavan, the long cherished project of Antar Rashtriya Sahayog Parishad (ARSP), was inaugurated by Sir Anerood Jugnauth, President of the Republic of Mauritius, in the presence of foreign diplomats and High Commissioners of Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname and Mauritius in New Delhi on December 1.
Dr Sarojini Mahishi, former union minister, former president of ARSP Shri LL Mehrotra, senior vice president of ARSP Shri JC Sharma, and Swami Chidanand of Parmarth Ashram, Rishikesh were also present on the occasion. Inaugurating the Bhavan Sir Anerood Jugnauth lauded various good works done by its members since its inception in 1978 to develop people to people contact among Bhartiya diaspora settled in various countries of the world and brings them closer to Mother Bharat. Earlier general secretary of the Parishad Shri Baleshwar Agrawal said the Pravasi Bhawan is a dream project of ARSP. It is not just a building, it is a Mission.
12. NOW, UP SECOND NRI STATE AFTER KERALA: Uttar Pradesh has emerged as second biggest NRI State in the country, behind only Kerala. According to recent statistics brought out by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs on the workers who have gone through emigration channels across the country to abroad, the State of UP has surprisingly crossed the NRI flow from costal States like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
According to data collected by the Ministry from offices of Protectors of Emigrants, in 2008, 1,39,254 persons from Uttar Pradesh has flown to Middle East for jobs, second to the traditional largest NRI population State Kerala with 1,80,703. The figures also indicate that Rajasthan and Bihar have emerged with considerable number of workers moving abroad. As many as 64,601 workers from Rajasthan and 60,642 workers from Bihar landed in the Middle East in 2008
13. RAJIV SHAH IS HIGHEST RANKING BHARATIYA AMERICAN IN US ADMINISTRATION: The United States Senate has unanimously approved the nomination of Rajiv Shah to head the US Agency for International Development (USAID), making him the highest ranking Bharatiya American in the Obama administration. Shah, a medical doctor, currently serves as chief scientist for the US Department of Agriculture and previously worked as director for agricultural development at the foundation headed by Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates and his wife.
Dr. Shah earned his MD from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School and his Master of Science in health economics at the Wharton School of Business. He has attended the London School of Economics and is a graduate of the University of Michigan.
14. TRICKLE OF HOPE IN THE PARCHED HIMALAYAS: It’s a sparkling morning, the dawn chill lifting as the sun’s rays light up this little village in Pauri Garhwal. Situated nearly on top of a hill, and facing east, the villagers get the early sun. It helps, because morning is the time for fetching water from the three public taps in this small village of 235 people. Each family gets two buckets, no more, and then the tap is put under lock and key, using an ingenious contraption made from a metal dabba.
This is a fairly common story in the parched Himalayas, often called the ‘‘Water Tower’’ or even the Third Pole of the world, because these mountains contain the largest store of freshwater in the world after the north and south poles. Most of it is in the form of snow and glaciers. Life-giving waters of 10 major river systems originate from the Himalayas, sustaining nearly one-fifth of humanity from southern China, through the Mekong delta in Vietnam and the Irrawady in Myanmar to the Indo-Gangetic plains in north Bharat.
But for the people here, water is arguably the greatest hardship. Spring water, the main source of water in the hills, is drying up. In Pokhri, it trickles in at about 11 litres per minute, while the need of the villagers — for personal use, as well as for animals and kitchen gardens — will get fulfilled only by 24 litres per minute. And, this is leaving aside irrigation needs.
With changes in rainfall pattern, deforestation and growing population, the springs are going dry across the hills.
This has unleashed many responses, ranging from government schemes to lay pipelines to more lasting efforts by NGOs at rejuvenating water sources.
One of the most innovative efforts is the result of an unlikely collaboration between villagers of Nagrasu, in Rudraprayag district, and nuclear scientists of the Bhaba Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai. Using isotope analysis, the scientists traced water flows inside the mountain. This helped locate the areas from where water starts percolating into the ground to finally reappear at the spring. Water conservation structures were built on these areas so that the water doesn’t flow off but gets absorbed into the ground.
Gursharan Singh, head of BARC’s isotope division explained the process to TOI. ‘‘Naturally occurring isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen were analysed from water collected at various points above the spring by the scientists. -(Subodh Varma, TNN 20 December 2009 )
15. BHARAT INC RAISES OVER RS 150,000CR IN 2009: Companies knocking on government doors for bailout funds may have been the norm in the West, but Bharat Inc begged to differ from this rule by raising over Rs 1,50,000 crore of capital for expansion from investors across the world in 2009.
Nearly two-thirds of these funds are estimated to have come from investors in overseas markets, which themselves were in shambles and where companies were in dire need of capital, forcing them to beg their respective governments for money.
Also, Bharatiya companies took the quickfire QIPs to meet their immediate capital needs, instead of the time consuming IPO route. As a result, the funds raised by Bharatiya companies during 2009 were more or less equal to the levels seen in 2008, when economic downturn was not a reality for most part of the year.
A total of about 50 companies raised a record-breaking cumulative figure of about Rs 55,000 crore through sale of shares to qualified institutional investors, mostly overseas private equity firms and also local and foreign financial services firms like banks, insurers and fund houses.
16. IGNOU’S GLOBAL REACH ON THE RISE: Over 28,000 students have been registered from 35 countries so far to the various academic programmes of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and the number is ever increasing, announced VC Professor VN Rajasekharan Pillai.
Female students are approximately 38 per cent and the programmes preferred are BCA, MCA, MBA, BEd and Bachelor’s Degree programmes.
Under the pan-African e-Network Project, all 53 African countries universities’ will be partnered with IGNOU. Afterwards, IGNOU shall provide tele-education to SAARC countries for different professional programmes, he added.
NM Hedayathullah said, “I was the first student to enroll with IGNOU in Saudi Arabia for the MBA programme. It has been a great honour and privilege to be part of one of the largest universities in the world.”
IGNOU has an assortment of partners. In the Gulf countries, higher education is mostly in private hands and therefore in the UAE, Kuwait, Doha, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Singapore, Kenya, Mauritius, Nepal and Afganistan, private institutions are IGNOU partners. In the Republic of Oman, an administrative body that manages all Bharatiya schools with CBSE affiliation coordinates programme delivery.
17. GUJARAT MAKES VOTING COMPULSORY IN PANCHAYAT ELECTIONS: Gujarat Government has moved the "The Gujarat Local Authorities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2009" which will make voting compulsory in all local body elections of the state.With this Gujarat became the first state to introduce such a law in the country.
Speaking on the Bill, State Urban Development Minister Nitin Patel termed the move as pioneering and aimed at making democracy more representative and meaningful.
With state assembly passing the Bill it becomes mandatory for all registered voters in Gujarat to vote and those absent will be summoned by the local election officer to submit a valid reason for being absent with proof within a month.
The new amendment empowers the election officer to declare people who do not cast their vote as defaulter voters and subsequently, the government will decide on the action to be taken against the defaulters.
18. HINDU SAMHATI CONCLUDES SUCCESFUL REGIONAL CONFERENCE: A two days State Conference of Hindu Samhati was concluded in Kolkata on 26th and 27th of Dec 2009, very successfully. Over 230 delegates from 22 blocks covering 83 villages attended the meeting at Mundhra Dharmashala in the heart of the city, to chalk out the organizational strategy and plan for the next year programs.
In the opening speech Tapan Ghosh, President of Hindu Samhati described the situation of Bengali Hindus as worse than ever. He urged the Hindu Samhati members to keep keen vigil on the situation for combating the evil forces in the Hindu Society including the secular political parties favoring the Muslims. Radheshyam Brahmachari, Dr. Dipankar Pati, Amitava Ghosh, Rabindranath Dutta, Madanlal Sharma and Vijoy Saraff were also present in the conference.
19. BHARATIYA-ORIGIN BARRISTER APPOINTED TO KEY UK JUDICIAL POST : Kalyani Kaul, a prominent barrister of Bharatiya origin who has handled high-profile cases in the UK, has been appointed a Recorder by Queen Elizabeth and will soon preside over hearings in county courts.
Kalyani 49 who was the third highest paid barrister in terms of legal aid payments in 2005, has been practicing law in Britain for the last 26 years. She studied Law from the London School of Economics (LSE).
20. GAU-GRAM YATRA NEWS: Vishwa Mangal Gau Gram Yatra is entering last leg of its four – month sojourn leaving behind the message of cow protection, rural development based on cow and cattle power firmly etched on the minds of crores of people. It traversed Gujrath, Rajasthan and Delhi during second fortnight of December drawing huge crowds and people from all walks of social life. While Swami Akhileshwaranand blessed the yatra in Sambhajinagar – Aurangabad Maharashtra, Poojya SatyaMitrananda ji Giri and Rameshbhai Oza addressed the gatherings at Patan – Gujrath. On Sunday Dec 27, yatra wound its way through the lanes and bastis of Delhi including Trilokpuri, YamunaVihar culminating at Uttam Nagar. Several Dharamacharyas including Swami Anubhootananda, Ramte Ram addressed the gatherings on the way.
21. NOW, BHARATIYAS CAN FLY TRICOLOUR AT NIGHT: Bharatiya citizens can now fly the National Flag even at night. This is subject to the condition that the flagpole is really tall and the flag is kept well-illuminated.
The home ministry took the decision following a proposal by industrialist and MP Naveen Jindal, who had earlier won a court battle in the 1990s for flying the Tricolour as a fundamental right for every citizen.
Jindal had sought permission to fly mammoth-sized national flag on monumental flagpoles during night. Jindal had said that the National Flag is to be flown in "as far as possible between sunrise and sunset" as per Flag Code of Bharat, but it was a common practice worldwide for massive national flags to be flown day and night on monumental flagpoles of 100 feet and above in height.
Citing the example of countries like Malaysia, Jordon, Abu Dhabi, North Korea, Brazil, Mexico and Turkmenistan where monumental flags are flown at night, Jindal proposed that such flags to be flown in Bharat also.
22. SURAT TOP PLAYER IN BIG DIAMOND PROCESSING: The world’s biggest diamond cutting and polishing centre in Surat has become a top player in global diamond industry by processing almost 80% of solitaire diamonds, big diamonds above one carat, once dominated by Israel and Belgium.
Experts said the diamond hub in Surat has been processing 30%, Rs 15,000 crore, of the large-sized diamonds of its total annual production of Rs 50,000 crore. There were only 10 to 15 leading diamond companies like Venus Jewels, Hare Krishna Exports, Ram Krishna Exports and Karp Impex manufacturing large-sized diamonds above one carat some five to six years ago. At present, the industry has more than 200 diamond manufacturers who have shifted from processing small-sized diamonds to the large ones.
“The diamantaires in Surat will easily capture the global market for large-sized stones in the next five years,” says Rohit Mehta, president of Surat Diamond Association (SDA).
23. SENIOR PRACHARAK MA.SRI DESPANDEJI FROM AP PASSED AWAY: Senior Pracharak Bheemsenrao Despande, Paschima Andhra Prantha Dharma Jagarana Pramukh, passed away on Dec 26 at a Hospital at Hyderabad after suffering a heart stroke. He was 60 years. Bhimsenji, born in Mogiligidda Village, near Hyderabad was a Sangh Pracharak from 1972.
24. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Visitors: Smt.Devi and Shri Susheel Bhanot Botswana, Sardar Devinder Singh Sawhney USA Pravas: Shri Shyam Parande, Secretary Sewa International is back in Bharat after visiting South Africa and Kenya.
25. FOOD FOR THOUGHT: "The Bhagavad Gita is the most systematic statement of spiritual evolution of endowing value to mankind. It is one of the most clear and comprehensive summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed; hence its enduring value is subject not only to Bharat but to all of humanity." -Aldous Huxley.

JAI SHREE RAM

THERE’S A METHOD TO THEIR MADNESS
Vir Sanghvi

Most of us forget nearly everything we learned in university within months of graduating. I doubt if I am an exception. But there’s one particular Politics tutorial that comes back to haunt me again and again each time Pakistan is discussed.
I was at university during the Cold War so all dons were slightly obsessed with the way in which the rivalry between Nato and the Soviet bloc would play out. One of them told us that he was an admirer of Henry Kissinger’s strategic thinking.
In those days, we were taught the doctrine of MAD or Mutually Assured Destruction.
The US and the Soviets both had so many nuclear weapons that each could easily destroy the other. Any Russian leader or American president who ordered a nuclear strike knew that he was, in effect, ordering the destruction of his own country. The other side would retaliate with so much force that the original attacker’s country would be destroyed.
If neither side could afford to go to war — because the nuclear destruction that followed would devastate both countries — then the threat of war could not be used ‘as a negotiating tool’. After all, only a madman would start a nuclear war that would lead to total destruction.
Kissinger’s bright idea, my don explained, had been to convince the Russians that President Richard Nixon was unstable. He drank late into the night, flew into rages, went down on his knees in the Oval Office to ask Jesus for instructions. In other words, Nixon was a madman.
The moment one of the players in this game of MAD is mad or unstable, then the threat of war suddenly becomes a negotiating ploy again. Who knows, Kissinger would tell the Russians, if you provoke this mad Nixon, he might just press the nuclear button after he has had too much to drink!
The strategy had worked, my don said. And he was now convinced that the Cold War would not be ended by visionary statesmen but by tacticians who pretended to be mad for strategic advantage.
Can it be a coincidence that when the West finally won the Cold War, it was after eight years of sabre-rattling Ronald Reagan who most liberal commentators (and the Russians) regarded as a foolish, unstable, reactionary, war-monger?
I thought back again to this Madman theory of politics on the first anniversary of 26/11 as I witnessed the sorry spectacle of Pakistani commentators and defence experts appearing on Indian TV to deny all responsibility for those monstrous attacks. I first thought: are these people mad?
Then, remnants of my education kicked in. Oh my God, I said to myself. They are using the Madman theory of politics!
Look at it this way. When our prime ministers (whether it is Atal Bihari Vajpayee or Manmohan Singh) talk to Pakistan, they act like statesmen. They are reasonable, flexible and willing to go the extra mile. When Pakistanis talk to us, it is an entirely different story.
Whoever we talk to, always plays the Kissinger role and warns us that there is a mad Nixon-like figure hovering in the background, who could go off the handle at any time. Even as we talked peace to Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan was sending militants into Kashmir. Years later, when I asked Benazir about it, she said: what could I do? It was the ISI. They don’t listen to us.
Then, when Vajpayee went to Lahore and held hands with Nawaz Sharif, the photo-ops were followed by the invasion of Kargil. What a tragedy but there’s nothing I can do, said Sharif. The army acts on its own. They are all mad!
Then, when General Musharraf turned up in Agra, I asked him how we could trust him after what he had done in Kargil. He denied the army’s involvement. There was a mujahideen factor, he said. The Pakistani army could not be blamed.
A year ago, Asif Zardari talked peace at the HT Leadership Summit. He offered a hand of friendship, he said. Weeks later, 26/11 happened. Zardari’s explanation: he wanted peace but what could he do? There were powerful Islamic groups that he had no control over. And they were lunatics and fanatics.
And so on. Nobody India speaks to wants war or terror. But there is always some uncontrollable force that does and, sure enough, war and terror follow.
Because the Pakistanis maintain a careful ambiguity about where power actually resides within their society, they are able to speak in many voices at the same time. Time after time, Indian leaders fall for this. Even as astute a tactician as Indira Gandhi bought Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s claim that he would not include the acceptance of the Line of Control in Kashmir as the international border in the Simla Agreement because “public opinion in Pakistan is so strong that I will be lynched when I go back”. Now Pakistan denies Bhutto ever agreed to this.
Can you imagine Indian leaders behaving like this? Can you conceive of Vajpayee saying “I know I promised peace but my generals attacked you anyway”? (As Sharif did after Kargil.) Can you conceive of Manmohan saying “I want to talk peace but the Hindu fundamentalists will kill me if I appear too reasonable”?
Because we’re a stable nation with a single centre of democratic authority, we talk with one voice. And each time, that works against us.
Pakistan has perfected the Madman theory so completely that even the Americans have now been taken in. Islamabad says: “If you don’t give us billions of dollars and lots of arms and extract some concessions from India, then our country will self-destruct and you will have instability and Islamic extremism in the region.” And the US gives in.
Within the Indian intelligentsia, Pakistan uses a variation of the same argument: if you don’t do as we say, then our country will self-destruct.
So gullible Indian intellectuals say things like “It is our job to save Pakistan.” Or even, “A strong and stable Pakistan is in India’s best interests.” (Is it? Why? So it can send more terrorists here and keep shifting the blame? Would India really be worse off if Sindh seceded? If Baluchistan revolted?)
If history has taught us anything, it is this: talking peace with Pakistan gets us nowhere. Every peace talk is followed by war or terror. About the only time in recent memory when we have had a degree of peace was between 1972 and 1989. And how did we achieve nearly two decades of peace? By winning the Bangladesh war.
In this day and age, war may not be possible. But, let’s be realistic: peace is not possible either. It’s time to stop acting like statesmen when we are dealing with cunning madmen. There’s only one language that works in these situations.And that, sadly enough, is the language of strength. -- (Hindustan Times December 12, 2009)

AUTONOMY’ REPORT
It is astonishing that a working group set up by the Prime Minister to study Centre-State relations in the context of Jammu & Kashmir should have come up with a report that has neither been endorsed by all the members of the panel nor addresses the real issues. The group, headed by a former judge, Justice S Saghir Ahmad, was set up after the Round Table Conference of May 2006 — which was an initiative of the Prime Minister to resolve political issues related to Jammu & Kashmir — and its remit was to recommend measures to strengthen relations between the State and the Centre. Although not stated specifically, the group was supposed to deal with the demand for ‘autonomy’ which is voiced by Srinagar-based political parties though it is defined differently by each one of them — for instance, the PDP calls it ‘self-rule’ — and which transmogrifies into the demand for ‘azadi’ when it comes to the so-called aspirations of the separatists, exemplified by the charter of the All-Party Hurriyat Conference. But the aspirations of Jammu & Kashmir are not represented by the politicians of the Kashmir Valley alone: Jammu province seeks greater autonomy within the State to ensure its development and progress, so does Ladakh; both feel neglected, and justifiably so, by Srinagar. Justice Ahmad and his team were supposed to come up with fresh ideas to reconcile conflicting demands within the State and address the core issue of the State’s relationship with the Centre. Twenty-seven months later, he has come up with a report which deals with neither. If the executive summary of the report, released by the State Government’s Information Department, is an accurate guide to what the document says, then the working group has done precious little other than meet the representatives of only certain political parties and regurgitate outdated ideas and old demands. Worse, the report’s draft was not circulated among other members of the group before being finalised, nor were their views sought to evolve a consensus. In fact, Justice Ahmad now stands accused of not holding formal meetings over the past two years. Curiously, though the group was set up by the Prime Minister, it has chosen to submit a copy of its report to the National Conference Government headed by Mr Omar Abdullah.
On the face of it, the report is a compilation of the recommendations of previous committees and commissions that were set up to deal with intra-State demands as well as the clamour for ‘autonomy’. Most of those recommendations are well past their use-by-date and the situation which obtained when they were submitted bears no resemblance to the situation that obtains today. For example, it is absurd to talk about the ‘Kashmir Accord’ today or going back to the pre-1953 status. Nor does ‘self-rule’ mean anything — Jammu & Kashmir, in case the PDP has missed the point, is ruled by elected representatives of the people of the State and not ‘outsiders’. The recommendations for Jammu and Ladakh are neither here nor there and fall far short of the expectations of the people of this region by way of addressing their genuine grievances which are related to development. Nor does the report do justice to the Kashmiri Pandits who were forced to flee the Valley by Islamic terrorists and are living as refugees in their own country. In a sense, an opportunity to deal with the real issues of Jammu & Kashmir has been squandered. --(Editorial, The Pioneer 26 Dec 2009)