Ashada Krishna 1 Vik Samvat 2068. Yugabda 5113: June 16, 2011

1. FESTIVAL: Vyas/Guru Puja is celebrated on Ashadha Poornima falling on July 15 this year. The Guru in the Hindu tradition is looked upon as an embodiment of God himself. It was the great sage Vyas, son of a fisherwoman, who classified the accumulated spiritual knowledge of the Vedas under four heads – Rig, Yajur, Saama and Atharva. He composed Brahma-sootras to explain the background of Vedas. Mahabharat and Bhaagvata are also his priceless contributions. He is looked upon as the supreme preceptor of mankind. Offering of worship to him signifies the worship of all the preceptors of all times.
Great sages and saints have been the spiritual and religious preceptors to countless individuals. But all of them have been mortals. No mortal can be a permanent guide for the entire nation for all time to come. The preceptor for a whole society should be able to act as a perennial source of inspiration to the people, embodying the highest and the noblest national values and ethos. To the Hindu people, such a Guru can be no other than the sacred Bhagava Dhwaja. In RSS shakhas on Guru Poornima day after dhwajarohan and dhwaja pranam, all participants stand in daksha while the seniormost adhikari worships Bhagava Dhwaja and offers dakshina. Worship and dakshina – offering by others follow.
2. GOVT SHOULDN'T HAVE SNAPPED DIALOGUE WITH BABA - BHAGWATJI: "This is not done in a democracy. People had gathered on Ramlila Maidan on their own to support a social cause. Baba Ramdev was only leading them and voicing peoples' concerns,” said Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Sarsanghchalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat on June 7 condemning the midnight attack by government agencies on the peacefully assembled protesters demanding end to corruption and bringing back of black money stashed abroad.
"The agitation was non-political and it did not target any party or individuals. The government should not have humiliated the yoga guru and beaten up women and children. Many said the incident was reminiscent of Jallianwala Bagh and the Emergency. He was addressing a massive gathering at the Reshimbagh grounds, Nagpur at the valedictory function of the 3rd year course of the RSS. Kanchi-Kamakoti Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati presided the function and Ganga Raju, a businessman and VHP functionary from Andhra Pradesh, was the chief guest.
Shri Bhagwat said the RSS had in its 'pratinidhi sabha' held at Puttur in March resolved to support the agitation of Anna Hazare and similar agitations aimed at eradicating corruption.
"By disrupting Baba's agitation, the government has snapped the channel of communication it had established with him. Even the government said it was in agreement with the issues raised by Ramdev. The differences were only on how to implement policies to check corruption and bring back the black money. Such a harsh action on Baba Ramdev and his followers was simply unwarranted," stressed Shri Bhagwat.
In a significant remark, he also said just a fresh set of laws and policies were not enough. The society and every individual should change. In this social change, moral values and ethics are crucial.
Shri Bhagwat also raised the issue of a draft of the anti-communal bill prepared by the National Advisory Council (NAC) of the UPA government. Wondering who gave the NAC authority to draft the proposed law. He alleged that the Bill was aimed at pitting one community against another and keep the communal pot boiling, adding that the bill was detrimental to the interests of Hindus.
The Kanchi seer Jayendra Saraswati hailed the efforts of the RSS in building cadres wedded to the cause of Hinduism. Shri Raju expressed concern over rampant conversion activities by missionaries in Andhra Pradesh and said the RSS should spread its activities in every village of the southern state.
Friends of India Society International (FISI) and Overseas Friends of BJP, USA (OFBJP) have also condemned the shameful behaviour of Delhi police on devotees of Baba Ramdev.
In an opinion poll conducted by LensOnNews among a cross sectional sample of 850 respondents across four major cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad – from June 7 to 9, as many as 78% of the respondents felt that the police action against the Baba was unwarranted, against only 17% who felt there may be some justification.
Bharatiya students in US have condemned the police action against yoga guru Baba Ramdev and his supporters in New Delhi, saying the Government has lost “moral authority” and people’s faith.
3. BJP OBSERVES 24-HR SATYAGRAHA: A large number of BJP activists on June 6 participated in 'satyagraha' to protest the police action against Baba Ramdev and those who joined the movement launched by him against the government to bring back the black money to the country deposited in foreign banks.
The BJP said that the situation at Ramlila Grounds was like undeclared emergency in which fundamental rights of citizens were crushed. Ramdev's movement was very democratic and the police action against him and his followers was unconstitutional and in barbaric manner.
4. BABA FAST OVER, CRUSADE ON: Yoga guru Baba Ramdev broke his nine-day-old fast on June 12 by taking juice after the spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar met him at the Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences for a third time. Later Baba’s companion Acharya Balkrishna announced that Baba has broken his fast but has taken a pledge to continue his crusade against corruption.
5. FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION SHOULD START FROM SCHOOLS – CBI chief: Referring to the ongoing high-profile corruption cases and campaigns against it, CBI Director Amar Pratap Singh on June 3 said that the fight against corruption should start from school level and teachers have a big role in it.
The CBI director was speaking at the annual police awards ceremony and DP Kohli (first Director of CBI) memorial lecture in Delhi. Singh also sought implementation of harsher punishments for police personnel engaged in fake encounter cases.
6. JUST PEACE – AN OXYMORON: RAM MADHAV: (World Council of Churches(WCC), a Geneva-based umbrella body of churches belonging to hundreds of denominations organised International Ecuminical Peace Convention from May 17 to 24 at Kingston, Jamaica.
RSS National executive member Shri Ram Madhav was invited to give the Hindu Response. He spoke at the Convention in Jamaica on May 20 along with a Muslim and a Jew representative coming from South Africa and Surinam respectively. Dissecting the theme ‘Just Peace’ he said, “ For the West, the word peace is derived from the Latin word ‘pax’ which literally means a pact, a contract, an agreement to end war or any dispute and conflict between two people, two nations or two antagonistic groups. Napoleon once quipped, “What is peace after all – it is just an interval between two wars”.
But for Hindus the concept of Shanti is divine; it is the natural state of our existence. For them peace without justice has no sense as whatever is divine is just too. In the name of justice there cannot be subjection and in the name of peace there cannot be impunity. Thus Just Peace, for a Hindu, is an Oxymoron.” (Visit for more details http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=401&page=9)
7. FORMERLY BEGGERS, NOW DONORS: In Thakkalai of Kanyakumari District, Tamilnadu, swayamsevaks asked two children to come to shakha. When they came, the swayamsevaks found that they were beggars and their parents were also involved in begging. Swayamsevaks asked the children whether they were interested in studying. They readily accepted and gave up their begging (which was their livelihood). Slowly transformation took place in the family also. Swayamsevaks asked the parents whether they were interested in going for a work. They happily accepted. Due to this, their regard for the Sangh slowly grew. When they came to know that the Sangh was involved in collecting money for the affected persons in Srilanka, they voluntarily came forward and happily donated Rs.300/-. Now, the whole family is transformed and is serving the other less privileged people.
8. BHARAT TEST-FIRES INDIGENOUS MISSILE PRITHIVI-II: Bharat on June 9 successfully test-fired its nuclear capable Prithvi-II ballistic missile from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur as part of the user's trial by the Army.
"The indigenously developed missile mounted on a mobile launcher was test-fired from the launch complex-3 in the ITR at around 0905 hours and was fully successful."
'Prithvi', the first ballistic missile developed under the country's prestigious Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), is propelled by liquid propulsion twin engine. With a length of nine meter and one meter diameter, Prithvi-II uses an advanced inertial navigation system with manoeuvrings trajectory.
9. DEVELOP HYPERSONIC VERSION OF CRUISE MISSILE, APJ KALAM: Former Rashtrapati and eminent defence scientist APJ Abdul Kalam on June 12 urged the BrahMos aerospace company to develop hypersonic version of the cruise missile and maintain its edge in this category of missile system. BrahMos missile, a joint venture of Bharat and Russia, travels at a speed of Mach 2.8 to 3.0 and can hit a target at 290 km and can be fired from land and sea. He was addressing a function in New Delhi to mark the 10th anniversary of the launch of the BrahMos missile.
BrahMos Aerospace chief A Sivathanu Pillai said BrahMos is a unique missile which can be configured for multiple types of platforms on land, on sea and underwater against different types of targets on land and sea.
10. SHIKSHIKA PRASHIKSHAN VARG IN USA: Northeast Sambhag had its first shikshika prashikshan varg at the Sadhu Vaswani Center in Massachusetts on May 28-29. 18 shiksharthis and 6 shikshikas including Bindu and Anisha from UK participated in the varg. Ma. Alkatai Inamdar National sah-karyavahika Rashtra sevika samiti was, on pravas to US was present in the varg.
Activities of the varg included how to conduct padvinyas, dand, yogchap, niyuddha, khel, yogasana; charchas on shikshika vyavhar and how to conduct an effective bauddhik. Avartan dhyan, workshops on developing new games and on Sangathan kaushal, vyavastha kaushal and bauddhiks were other ingredients of the garg.
11. DROUGHT-HIT CHINA TO DIVERT BRAHMAPUTRA?: China seems to be considering a new plan to divert Brahmaputra waters from the upper reaches as it battles hard with severe drought conditions, a development which has sparked fresh fears in Bharat about Chinese intentions.
While Beijing last year announced the construction of a $1.2-billion hydroelectric power station on the Brahmaputra (known as Yarlung Tsangpo in China), it maintains that this project will not impact the flow of water to downstream countries like Bharat and Bangladesh. While the dam is meant to deal with shortage of power in Tibet, China is said to be also considering diverting the waters in the upper reaches towards Xinjiang.
12. EKAL CONCERT IN NEW JERSEY: Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation's (E.V.F.) benefit concert on June 4 by Bollywood singer and SA RE GA MA PA sensation ‘Manoj Mishra & Nirupama Dey Group’ at "Vrundavan Temple Auditorium" in Edison, N.J., was a smashing success. The enchanting musical duo took the audience down the memory lane by singing nostalgic melodies of Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, MannaDey, Lata, Asha, and legendary Saigal. Prajna Khisti, President of NJ-Ekal Chapter, set the tone for the evening by quantifying illiteracy in modern Bharat and the efforts needed to eradicate it, during her flawless Power Point presentation about "Ekal Vidyalaya Project" (one-teacher school). Explaining the vicious cycle of illiteracy, poverty and exploitation, Dr. Yogendra Patel, demonstrated to the capacity crowd, how education could lead to empowerment and better quality life.
13. AGNI-V TEST SCHEDULED FOR DECEMBER: Bharat has planned to test its most ambitious strategic missile Agni-V, with near ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) capabilities, this December.
With high road mobility, fast-reaction ability and a strike range over 5,000 km, Agni-V would even bring China's northernmost regions within its nuclear strike envelope if it is ever required.
14. TRANSPARENCY REVOLUTION: Headlines are now blaring about the mudslinging that's going on between anti-corruption activists and the government. But defence minister A K Antony - in remarks that might cause some discomfort to his colleagues in the Congress - has broached a longer-term outlook that's more positive. Renowned for his clean image - which stands out so much in today's atmosphere that some refer to him as St Antony - his current notion that the country is passing through a transparency revolution is significant.
Antony believes that the walls of secrecy are crumbling, even though many within the government and outside are not ready for the winds of change. Nonetheless, he concludes that the transparency revolution has reached critical mass and can't be stopped midway. The scenario Antony projects is optimistic, but plausible. Even if his statements are embarrassing for his colleagues, they may well be prophetic. The main reason why the anti-corruption movement may be more successful this time than on earlier rounds - Jayaprakash Narayan and V P Singh have campaigned before on similar issues - is the rise of the middle class.
Since the liberalisation of economy in the 1990s, economic growth has added to middle class numbers - those who are aspirational in character and well aware of their rights. Experiences worldwide inform us that it is this segment of society that forms the backbone of a modern democracy. This also explains why the old power structures defined by feudal aristocracy and crony capitalism are increasingly under pressure to reform. There is dwindling patience for politicians and babus who use corruption as a tool for personal aggrandisement. Scams such as those involving the sale of 2G spectrum or contracts for the Commonwealth Games are seen as loot of national wealth, rather than just an issue of impropriety.
In that sense, the UPA has sadly misjudged the political moment. In continuing with old-style politics focussed on entitlement, identity and patronage, it has invited the ire of the people. Civil society is no longer willing to be taken for granted or have the wool pulled over their eyes. Nevertheless, as Antony has pointed out, the political class has also played its role in ushering in greater transparency. For example, the UPA, in its first avatar, passed the Right to Information Act. As the electorate grows more aware and 24x7 media does its bit, politicians will be under greater pressure to perform. In the end, the battle against corruption will be fought and won in Parliament, not outside. But it is only by heeding the demand of civil society for greater probity that the government can redeem itself. (Editorial, Times of India, June 10, 2011)
15. MEDICINAL PLANTS TO GET GOOD QUALITY TAG : Bharat's wonder plants with medicinal properties will now come with a special "good quality tag" with the government putting in place a voluntary certification scheme for medicinal plant produce based on good agricultural practices and good field collection practices. This will enhance confidence in the quality of Bharat's medicinal plant produce and make available good quality raw material to the ayurvedic and herbal drugs industry.
Under the scheme, launched jointly by the National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) and the Quality Council of India (QCI), any producer/collector or group of producers/ collectors can obtain certification from a designated certification body (CB) and will be under regular surveillance of the certification body.
16. BHARAT BEEFS UP CHINA FRONT: Bharat is deploying spy drones or UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) and light observation helicopters along the borders with China to keep a hawk-eye on the stepped-up activities of People's Liberation Army.
The construction of over 5,500 "permanent defences and bunkers" along the borders is now being speeded up to ensure their completion within four to five years, under the Rs 9,243 crore military infrastructure development project approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security for the Eastern Army Command.
The Army is also pushing for a mountain strike corps after having raised two new mountain infantry divisions.
17. SUKANYA ROY WINDS 84TH SCRIPPS NATIONAL SPELLING BEE: How Do You Spell ‘cymotrichous’? No matter how you spell it, the word provides yet another feather in the cap of Bharatiya-Americans at the Scripps National Spelling Bee contest, as Sukanya Roy became the fourth consecutive Bharatiya-American, and the ninth Bharatiya American to win the title in the last 12 years.
Sukanya Roy, an eighth-grader at Abington Heights Middle School, won the 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bee on June 2 night, correctly spelling 'periscii' and 'cymotrichous' to win the title. She will will take home more than $40,000 in cash and prizes.
18. ATHIRATHRAM LOWER WATER, SOIL CONTAMINATION: SCIENTISTS : The initial findings of a scientific study carried out during the Vedic ritual in Kerala show that the ancient Sanskrit chants, rites and smoke from the sacred fire accelerate germination of seeds in the vicinity and lower the level of microbe contamination in water and ambient soil. The ritual of 'Athirathram' was held in Panjal village in Thrissur district of Kerala from April 4-15.
The scientists researching the impact of the ritual on environment said the fire laced with herbs, wood, milk and the juice of Soma plant, the earliest known intoxicant, acted as a natural purifier. The Soma plant grows in abundance in the Western Ghats bordering Kerala.
The scientists led by V.P.N. Nampoori, former director of the International School of Photonics, Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), had planted three types of seeds - cowpea, green gram and Bengal gram - around the venue of the ritual.'The results showed that the growth was accelerated in the case of seeds on the western side of the altar in comparison to other sides. Microbial analysis carried out at distances between 500 metres to 1.5 km of the location of the ritual to count the bacterial colonies before and after the ritual found that 'ambient air and water was purer with low microbial count compared to normal circumstances'.
19. IITian’s MILLION DOLLOR GIFT FOR BHARAT CENTRE IN CANADA: Toronto-based IITian Vasudev Chanchlani has given a million dollars to help start a Bharatiya policy centre at Canada's University of Waterloo. The centre will be launched on June 8.
A multi-millionaire IIT Kanpur graduate, Chanchlani runs the Sigma Group of companies and VC Capital Management in Toronto.
The Chanchlani Centre "will undertake applied and topical policy research related to the Canada-Bharat relationship and collaborate with governments, universities, and community organisations across the country in promoting stronger ties between Bharat and Canada".
20. LAUNCHING THE FIRST HINDI MILITARY CHAPLAINCY: The Department of Defense has recently established the first Hindu Military Chaplain program in American history. Army Captain Pratima Dharm, who currently works as a Chaplain Clinician at Walter Reed Medical Center Hospital, took on her new role as the Army's first Hindu Chaplain as of May 16.
Chaplain Dharm, who holds degrees in Psychology and Theology, earned her commission in the U.S. Army in 2006 and in 2008 was selected for the Army's Clinical Pastoral Education Program (CPE) while serving in Iraq. Her awards include the Bronze Star Medal, Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal and Global War On Terrorism Service Medal.
21. KOREANS LEARNING HINDI: The Department of Linguistics of the Delhi University has been teaching Hindi to more than 60 Korean students each year. These students come from the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) to study Hindi and Bharatiya culture. The students are taught to read, write and speak in Hindi with basic grammar.
22. PATENT ON DENGUE MEDICINE SOUGHT: Researchers at the Jodhpur-based Desert Medical Research Centre (DMRC) have developed a medicine to fight dengue and have sought a patent on the cure. According to official sources, researchers at the Centre affiliated to the Indian Medical Research Council, have developed this medicine from the latex of Aak (calopropis procera), a common bush available in plenty in the desert regions of Rajasthan.They started research on this herb in 2008 and found that its latex had medicinal value to fight the dengue virus and mosquitoes that carry this deadly disease. Experiments undertaken by the researchers gave the results that this latex not only tackled the dengue virus successfully but also killed the mosquitoes.
23. FOUND! INDUS VALLEY BRAIN SURGEONS: Researchers have claimed that brain surgical practice was prevalent even 4,300 years ago — in the Indus valley during the Harappa culture! Their claim is based on the surgical procedure, known as trepanation, discovered in one Harappan male skull kept in the Palaeoanthropology Repository of the Kolkata-based Anthropological Survey of India. The skull was discovered in the 1930s during excavations in Harappa.
“The first unequivocal case of ancient brain surgical practice, known as trepanation, was observed 4,300 years ago in a Bronze Age Harappan skull,” said AR Sankhyan, a palaeoanthropologist from the ASI in the latest edition of the Bharatiya journal, Current Science.
After intensive study, Sankhyan, who collaborated with GR Schug, a bioarcheologist from the US-based Appalachian State University, found that the trephined hole is just on the right superior temporal line at the terminus of the traumatic line.
24. CANADA ANNOUNCES 10-YEAR VISAS FOR BHARATIYAS: In a significant gesture, Canada announced a 10-year multiple entry visa for Bharatiyas at a preliminary session of the fifth Parvasi Bharatiya Divas in Toronto. Canadian International Trade Minister and Asia-Pacific Gateway Minister Edward Fast said the new visa regime will boost trade ties between the two countries seeking to triple their trade to $15 billion by 2015.
25. BOOM TIME FOR TELECOM INDUSTRY: Bharat’s premier diversified / technology, telecom (and entrepreneurship) research firm Cyber Media Research expects the Bharat telecom services and mobile handsets market to grow at 16.7 per cent in 2012 (over 2011) to touch revenues of Rs 288,832 crore or USD 63 billion, as per a 2-part study titled “India IT, ITeS and Telecom Services and Mobile Handsets Industry MarketView 2011”.
Of this revenue, the telecom services (including mobile and fixed line services) will contribute Rs 2,05,454 crore (USD 45 billion) in 2012. The Bharat mobile handsets market, that includes feature phones and smart phones, will grow at over 30 per cent during 2012 (over 2011) to touch revenues of Rs 83,377 crore (USD 18 billion), CMR said.
26. ATAL BEHARI VAJPAYEE A GLOBAL LEADER— Dr Kalam: “Atal Behari Vajpayee is a global leader. We should not confine his personality to a particular party. He is beyond party leadership. The compilation of his speeches, articles or poems will surely serve as a source of inspiration for the generations to come,” said former Rashtrapati of Bharat Dr APJ Abdul Kalam while formally launching ‘Samagra Atalji’ project at Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi on June 8.
‘Samagra Atalji’ is a mega project launched to compile and digitize the speeches, articles, interviews, poems, photographs, videos, etc. related to the former Prime Minister. Mumbai-based Rambhau Mhalagi Prabodhini will undertake the work. The Prabodhini has already compiled the speeches of Shri Vajpayee in Parliament in 2006.
Dr Kalam also inaugurated an exclusive website for the project—www.atalji.org. Nitin Gadkari described Vajpayee as the inspiration for all party workers. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe said the main objective of the project is to preserve Shri Vajpayee’s thoughts in digital format, as a generation of youths was influenced by Vajpayee’s oratory and ideology.
27. NEWS PORTAL NEWSBHARATI.COM LAUNCHED: With a view to meet the growing demand from domestic as well as international intellectual community, Bharati Web Private Limited, launched a unique news portal, www.newsbharati.com, on June 4.
Shri Vishwas Pathak, director of Bharati Web Private Limited said the intellectual class in Bharat and across the globe would be their reader. The Newsbharati believes that sewa is the most positive news happening around us. Lakhs of service projects are being run in Bharat by various voluntary organizations but the dedicated volunteers from the organisations rarely appear in the limelight. ‘Sewa Sadhana’ section of Newsbharati is an effort to bring such invaluable contribution before the society, he further added.
28. BHARAT AMONG PREFERRED FDI DESTINATIONS: Despite regulatory hurdles, Bharat continues to be among the preferred destinations for FDI due to the country's high economic growth, with both Mumbai and Delhi being touted as among the cities likely to produce the next Microsoft or Google, according to the '9th Annual European Attractiveness Survey' by Ernst & Young. Bharat will rank fifth among the most attractive destinations for European firms within the next three years, mainly on account of Bharat's perceived specialisation as a hub for low cost outsourcing business.
29. BHARAT LAUNCHES OWN CRUISE LINER TO LINK SOUTHEAST ASIA: Marking a historic occasion in Bharatiya maritime history, Union Shipping Minister G K Vasan on June 8 flagged off MV AMET Majesty, the country’s first cruise liner and an on board training ship at the Chennai Port. The luxury cruise liner will sail to exotic Southeast Asian islands, aiming to capture the growing Bharatiya tourists opting for sea holidays. The Amet Majesty would sail from Chennai to destination such as Andman & Nicobar Islands, Langkawi, Maldives, Phuket, Sri Lanka and Singapore.
SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Shri Ravi Kumar, Sah-samyojak Vishwa Vibhag will be in Singapore and Hong Kong till first week of July. Visitors: Mitesh Sevani and Hasmukh Rabadia from UK
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: So long as we believe in our heart of hearts that our capacity is limited and we grow anxious and unhappy, we are lacking in faith. One who truly trusts in God has no right to be anxious about anything. – Paramhansa Yogananda.

JAI SHREE RAM

The battle of Kaliyuga has begun
FRANCOIS GAUTIER

Previously, the Congress was able to brazen out scandalous truth through bullying, deceit, lying and political cunning. Now it hopes that by slandering Ramdev and the RSS, it will be able to put a lid on mounting allegations of corruption against the party and the Government
The world is a battlefield. All great gurus and avatars have incarnated themselves throughout the ages to help the forces of good, which in India are called ‘dharmic’, against forces which are inimical to the Evolution of Humanity and which are called ‘adharmic’, or even asuric.
The concept of the asura in India is very different from the West. There is no such thing here as the black and white renderings of American cartoons or the Christian idea of a benevolent god and a cruel devil. Keen observers of human history may have noticed that very often asuric forces take on the face of goodness and charity, or use half truths or semi-lies to appear good. But in the end, the harm they do should make them recognisable to all.
In this light, we can discard Mr Digvijay Singh: He incarnates the world of sycophancy, which is a perversion of the Indian bhakti tradition. Or even Mr Kapil Sibal, a more intelligent man, but who got so perverted by a lawyer’s mind that lying has become a second nature to him. History will probably judge Mr Manmohan Singh as a weak man, who was ready to close his eyes on everything just to stay in power.
But what about Ms Sonia Gandhi? What are the forces which are using her, maybe even in spite of her? Let us discard all those evil avatars attributed to her, such as her being a KGB or a Vatican agent, rumours which has been floating around for a long time. We should not also look at her personality, what she projects, or what people say about her, not even at her deeds. No, it is the visible consequences of her overt and covert actions which should tell us a story. What are the consequences of her being the unelected supreme authority in India since many years, one whose one word or glance can have innocent people teargassed and beaten up?
Well the first sign is the increase in terrorist onslaughts since she came to power; the 26/11 terror attacks and the inability of the Government to respond to them — on the spot, and later — are the best symbols of her presence at the top. There has also been a tremendous increase in Christian conversions since she came to power, a radicalisation of Islam in India and a galloping Westernisation, which is fast eradicating Indian culture in cities and major towns.
But to my mind, it is the attack on Hindu gurus, which is the most representative sign of her adharmic reign. For in Ms Gandhi’s India, Hindu gurus are not only mocked at, but they can also be imprisoned, attacked, killed one day. Nobody would dare touch an imam if he preaches secession, nor even a Christian bishop, but gurus are fair game today.
Now Swami Ramdev, who incarnates an old tradition of spirituality in India, of all these gurus who throughout the ages have come to teach and preserve this ancient knowledge which takes the form of hatha-yoga, pranayama, meditation or Ayurveda. Is he perfect? How to judge a guru, who is to grade them? Sri Aurobindo, in one of his aphorisms, said something like this: “Even if god were to manifest himself in front of thy very eyes, you would not recognise him.” I am not able to judge Ramdev, but I can say with confidence that what he teaches is good, because it has benefited thousands of people.
Why then is he run down so much by the Congress whose leaders have gone as far as calling him a thug? Well it’s an old British tradition which has been taken up by the Congress and part of the media. French historian DaniĆ©lou summed it up well in his History of India: “The British-controlled Congress utilised to the hilt its English-speaking Press to present the Hindu Mahashaba, which attempted to counterbalance the Muslim League’s influence, or the even more maligned Ram Rajya Parishad, as barbaric, fanatical, ridiculous; and the British media in turn, took-up, as parrots, the cry of their Indian counterparts.” (Histoire de l'Inde)
In the case of Swami Ramdev, there are also accusations of an ‘empire’ worth hundreds of crores and even an island. Well a guru has to decide: Either he stays in a cave and looks after his own salvation, or if he has come to help humanity, he will have first a few disciples, then a few hundreds, eventually thousands. He has to feed them, organise courses, satsangs, launch sewa projects. You need money for all that. Donations come, bigger and bigger, as the good work of this particular guru comes to be known. The funds have to be managed, more and more money is needed and gurus end up being like the head of a multinational corporation, with a hundred projects, all sewa-oriented, to manage. I have seen it at close hand.
The fact that Ramdev got manhandled is nothing new. Gurus come to save humanity, but men either mock them or even crucify them. That is also in the nature of things.
So who will win this battle of Kaliyuga? Sri Aurobindo came to announce the Supramental: He said that as there was man after the animal, so would there come a superman after man. Not the superman of the Hollywood series, but a man who is closer to beauty, love, compassion. One of the main attributes of the supermind, he stated, would be truth.
This is why at the moment in India, the magnifying glass of truth is put upon men and events and falsehood comes out in the form of the stupendous scams that have happened in the last few years.
Previously, the Congress was able to brazen it out, through bullying, deceit, lying and political cunning. Will it be able to do so this time? We have seen how it hopes that by slandering Ramdev and his very nice assistant, planting rumors, using the eternal scarecrow of the RSS (those old fuddy-fuddies, who most of the time could not harm a fly), it hopes to put a lid on all the suspicions which are hanging over their head.
For the first beneficiary of the 2G or the CWG scams, is not the DMK, but the Congress. They are the ones who have institutionalised political corruption, the bribing of parliamentarians and elections which cost hundred of crores to elect a single MP.
If truth does triumph, then Ms Gandhi’s role will also come in the open, along with the truth about Italian middleman Ottavio Quattrocchi and the enormous covert funds the Congress is believed to be controlling. It may take time, but karma is inevitable. That is also an ancient Indian truth. -- The Pioneer, June 9, 2011

Jyesth Krishna 30 Vik Samvat 2068. Yugabda 5113: 1 June 2011

1. FESTIVALS: Shri Jagdish Rathyatra, Puri Jagannath Rath Yatra, one of the largest religious ceremonies of Bharat, takes place on Ashad Shukla Dwitiya, corresponding to July 3 this year. The ceremony commemorates the journey of Lord Krishna from Gokul to Mathura. As part of Rath Yatra, the idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Subhadra are taken out in a procession to Gundicha Temple and remain there for nine days. Then the idols or Rath Yatra returns to Puri Jagannath temple. The return journey of Puri Jagannath Rath Yatra is known as Bahuda Yatra. Similar yatras are organized at many places in Bharat as well as in many parts of the world.
2. 'NATIONS SHOULD EMULATE BIHAR CM IN HEALTH SECTOR': For many, Bihar isn't a formidable example of change. However, the much-maligned state was the beacon of hope at the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva on May 17.
Bill Gates, IT czar-turned-philanthropist, went gaga over Bihar's extraordinary turnaround in the healthcare sector. He showcased the state's success to hundreds of world's top health administrators, heads of state and diplomats at WHA. He singularly praised Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar. "I was struck by the chief minister's popularity. People are hungry for visionary leaders, who not only promise a better future but also deliver upon that promise," he said.
He urged politicians across the world to emulate Kumar. "Leading a health ministry is a hard job. You face a multitude of complicated choices. The stakes are always life and death. And, you never have enough resources," he said.
"Just a few years ago, the Bharatiya state of Bihar was vaccinating about 30% of its children. Then, Nitish Kumar was elected. Under Kumar, the vaccination rate has more than doubled, and it's still climbing," he said.
3. BEASTLY BEHAVIOUR: Racist Americans have an attitude problem: The Government of Bharat has done well to support the legal action initiated by Ms Krittika Biswas, daughter of our vice consul Debashis Biswas at the Indian Consulate in Manhattan, for her wrongful arrest and confinement at the instigation of the principal and mathematics teacher of the New York school she attends, John Browne HS Senior, on charges that have been found to be entirely spurious. But extending support is not enough. The Government should step forward and hire the best lawyers to take the case to its logical conclusion. The issue at stake is not the damages ($1.5 million) that have been claimed by Ms Biswas who has filed a suit against the New York City Education Department: No amount of money can compensate for the indignity, trauma and humiliation she has had to suffer because of rude and racist Americans who think they are beyond accountability and do not have to answer for their boorish behaviour and worse, especially when Indians are involved. The nation’s prestige is at stake and even if it pains the Prime Minister to see Americans being put in the dock for abusing the freedom and dignity of Indians, he must step aside and let the Government robustly defend the rights of Ms Biswas. Nothing less than this shall suffice; the time has come to tell the Americans where they get off — their President cannot come looking for jobs in this country while they treat Indians like criminals in their country. Not only must New York City be made accountable, the arrogant school principal who still refuses to admit his mistake should be made an example of. Meanwhile, all diplomatic privileges extended to American diplomats posted in India, as well as their wives and children, must be immediately suspended till the US State Department apologises in writing and provides an assurance that such beastly acts shall not be repeated. There is no reason why we should continue to be needlessly nice to Americans who hold us in contempt.
This is not the first time that Indians, that too those who enjoy diplomatic immunity, are being subjected to harassment and humiliation in the US. Last December, India’s Ambassador to the US, Ms Meera Shankar, a top diplomat, was groped in the guise of a ‘pat-down’ at an American airport by officials who, we are expected to believe, found a person wearing a sari suspicious. Our Permanent Representative to the UN, Mr Hardeep Puri, also a senior and distinguished diplomat, was asked to take off his turban at another American airport. When he protested, he was held in a detention room. India’s former President APJ Abdul Kalam was asked to take off his shoes before entering an American aircraft, ostensibly because the American security officials thought he could be a potential shoe-bomber. In Ms Biswas’s case, even after she pleaded with the police that she held a diplomatic passport, that her father was employed with the Indian Consulate, she was handcuffed and frog-marched to a prison by American officials who rudely mocked at her. The American Embassy in New Delhi and the State Department in Washington, DC, will predictably wave aside the latest instance of American arrogance as a stray incident and offer lip-service to assuage hurt feelings. We must not get distracted by such hollow gestures which mean nothing. -- Editorial, The PIoneer, May 28, 2911.
4. AT 359 METRES, RAIL BRIDGE OVER CHENAB WILL BE WORLD’S HIGHEST: The world's highest railway bridge -- five times the height of Qutub Minar and 35 metres taller than Eiffel Tower -- will come up over the Chenab river on the under construction rail link to the Kashmir Valley.
The bridge will rise 359 metres over the Chenab, 65 km from Katra, on the 73-km Katra-Dharam section of the ambitious Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project. This section alone will cost around Rs 5,005 crore.
Konkan Railway Corporation, with experience of building 179 major bridges on the path-breaking rail link through the Konkan region, will execute this particular section.
5. SIMILARITIES BETWEEN SOUTH AMERICAN AND BHARATIYA CULTURES: Delivering Prof SW Bakhle Memorial Lecture on the occasion of foundation day of International Centre for Cultural Studies (ICCS) Nagpur, noted historian and erudite scholar Dr Sharad Hebalkar hinted upon a lot of similarities between the South American and Bharatiya cultures.
Though Bharat and South America are separated geographically by a distance of 16,000 km as the crow flies, and by 18,000 km by the sea route, there are striking similarities between the two cultures in their attire, hair styles, traditions and archaeological evidences, Dr Hebalkar said with his presentation of photographs taken during his recent visit to six nations of that southern continent.
Vice-Chancellor of Rashtrasant Tukdoji Maharaj Nagpur University Dr Vilas Sapkal, ICCS president Virag Pachpore, secretary Vijay Bhagdikar, director Research Dr Vinod Indurkar and vice-president Dr Vinayak Deshpande were also present on the dais.
Giving example of Manaus janjati of South America Dr Hebalkar said there are striking similarities between them and the Khasi janjati of Meghalaya in relation to their dress and dance, mode of worship, deity, housing pattern etc. The Manaus are idol worshippers and worship Sun and the Earth Gods. After studying various janjatis of South America it was found that their concepts relating to cosmology and cosmogony, concepts of God, creation etc. are akin to those of Bharatiyas.
6. FROM NO. 1 TO 10, SMALL TOWNS SCORE BIG IN IIT ENTRANCE: Hyderabad, Kota Prithvi Tej, the son of a small-time jeweller in a village in Andhra Pradesh’s West Godavari district, travelled every day to school in a neighbouring town before joining junior college in Vijayawada. From that to the top of the IIT-JEE list, which was declared on May 25, it has been a long journey.
Shubham Mehta from Kota was ranked second while Sumegha Garg from Bathinda in Punjab, with a 12th rank, topped among girls. Mehta is the first student born and brought up in Kota to secure a top three finish after 1986. Mehta’s classmate at a coaching centre in Kota, Nishit Lahoti, followed closely with an all-Bharat rank of five. For Tanmay Vittal Randhawne who came to Kota from Koppargaon in Maharashtra, computer gaming has always been a priority and now with a tenth rank.
Andhra had many reasons to rejoice apart from home boy getting the top rank — the third, fourth, sixth, eighth and ninth spots too were taken by students from the state in the general category, besides the state bagging the 5th and 7th ranks in the OBC category, the 8th rank in the ST category, and two 9th ranks in the Physically Handicapped and SC category respectively.
Up north in western UP, Saharanpur got its first ranker in the top 60. The son of a departmental store owner, Harshit Jain, has not stopped smiling since he found he stood 55 in the entrance exam.
7. MOHAN BHAGWAT JI FELICITATES MERITORIOUS STUDENTS IN CHENNAI: Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh Sarsanghachalak Mohan Bhagwat appreciated the efforts of meritorious students during his visit to Chennai recently. He was in the city to participate in Dwiteeya Varsha Sangh Shiksha Varga held at Vyasarpadi. Sushri Sandhya, a student of Vivekananda Educational Society, affiliated to Vidya Bharati, scored highest marks in Tamil Nadu i.e. 1191/1200 marks in her Plus Two Board Examinations conducted recently in March 2011. She took Sanskrit as her language paper.
8. “SCALE OF CORRUPTION IN SOCIETY IS A MATTER OF SERIOUS CONCERN”: “Corruption, today has grown to a large extent, the scale of corruption in society is a matter of serious concern. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) will support all genuine attempts to fight against corruption” says Dr Manmohan Vaidya, Akhil Bharatiya Prachara Pramukh of RSS on May 29.
He was addressing an Intellectual meet, on a topic Jan Lok Pal Bill, organised by ‘Manthana’ an intellectual forum of Vijayanagar, Bangalore.
Dr Vaidya said, “Political issues and the Politics itself is capturing maximum space in social life. The officers of all public offices should show courage to fight against corruption. CBI, a major investigative agency of Bharat is still hesitating in Hasan Ali case, even after a warning from Supreme Court. Hence all offices of public life should show courage against spreading nature of corruption. TN Sheshan after becoming Chief Election Commissioner has set an example of being courageous over corruption in elections. He has left such model footsteps by which rest of the election commissioners courageously work to minimise corruption in politics. We need people with strong courage and conviction on corruption-free communications”, Dr Vaidya opined.
Delivering a key-note address, VS Hegde, noted advocate, said that politicians are resisting in passing the bill since 1968 because of a fear that if they pass anti-corruption bill, they themselves will be punished at later intervals. Lokpal bill though underwent so many modifications since the time it was put forward, it is still a snake without teeth. To make it more powerful and effective, the demand is for passing Jan Lok Pal Bill instead of Lokpal Bill.
The Seminar was attended by a select audience in the premises of Sri Sharada Adhyatma Mandir at Vijayanagar organised by Manthana-Vijayanagar at Bangalore
9. FIRST BHARATIYA PRIME MINISTER TO VISIT ADDIS ABABA, SINGH WINS HEARTS: The first Prime Minister from Bharat to visit Ethiopia ever, Manmohan Singh, on May 27 won over the hearts of Ethiopian Parliamentarians, calling their country the cradle of humankind, a magnet for foreign investment, and one of the most stable and progressive states driving the engine of African growth.
“Ethiopia has the credentials to shape a new vision for Africa’s prosperity and development … The people of Bharat will stand with you every step of the way,” Singh said attracting thunderous applause from a packed house in his address to the joint session of Parliament of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa.
Bharat’s bilateral trade with Ethiopia is on course to touch $1 billion by 2015, and it is the largest foreign investor besides Ethiopian-born Arabs. More than 450 Bharatiya companies have committed upwards of $4 billion in investment till date, Singh pointed out.
During bilateral talks, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said his country had decided to set aside 3 million hectares of fertile land for foreign investors to invest in agriculture.
10. THREE IAF WOMEN OFFICERS CLIMB EVEREST: In a first, three IAF women officers have scaled the 8,848-metre Mt Everest in keeping with the motto of their force: "Touch the sky with glory".
"Squadron Leader Nirupama Pandey and Flight Lieutenant Rajika Sharma reached the summit at 10.15 am on May 25. The first officer, Flight Lieutenant Nevidita Choudhary, performed the feat May 21," said an official.
The team of 11 IAF women officers, accompanied by a medical officer and eight other personnel, followed the South-East Ridge route, which was used by Hillary and Tenzing during the first-ever successful expedition to Mt Everest in 1953.
To undertake this challenge, the women officers underwent a strenuous training schedule, including a mountaineering course and winter training at Siachen in 2010 and 2011.
11. ARJUN VAJPAI YOUNGEST ON MT LHOTSE: A 17-year-old Noida boy, Arjun Vajpai, who had climbed Mt Everest last year, has become the youngest person ever to reach the summit of Mt Lhotse, which at 8,516 metres is the fourth highest peak in the world.
Arjun had climbed Everest as a 16-year-old last year, but his record was shattered about an hour later when a 13-year-old American reached the peak. On morning of May 20, however, Arjun was unambiguously the youngest to summit Mt Lhotse — just 332 metres lower than Everest but a much tougher peak to climb.
Arjun's next stop is the South Pole, where he aims to go this winter.
12. BHARATIYA KIDS BEAT GLOBAL SCIENCE GEEKS: A 16-year-old boy from Chennai bagged the first prize in chemistry at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), the world's largest international pre-college science competition.
Raghavendra Ramachandran, from Chennai's St. John's International School, won over $9,000 in prize money for his research in the field of drug synthesis.
Some other winners from Bharat included brother-sister duo of Hetal and Ankur Vaishnav from Rajkot, who received the second prize in the environmental-science category for developing a novel and economic way of recycling rexine waste material. Manosij Ghosh from South Point School in Kolkata also got a second prize (mathematical sciences) for his work on integer partitions and sequences.
The global fair, which included over 1,500 students from 65 countries had around nine Bharatiya students participating, most of whom won some award or prize money for their science exhibits. Apart from these, the fair saw many NRI and PIO finalists, many of whom went on to win in their respective categories. Raghavendra, who was ecstatic after his win, said he had missed an entire year of school to focus on his research. The fair in Los Angeles was organized by Intel and the Society for Science and the public.
13. GURU VANDANA, AN HONORARY CEREMONY: On April 30, 2011 the event, Guru Vandana, hosted by the “Hindu Education Foundation” in Pearland at Nolan Ryan Junior High School was an honorary, invitational event in which several students showed their teachers the significance of the Guru in Hindu culture and tradition. Teachers from 20 schools representing 5 different school districts from the greater Houston area attended the ceremony. Smt. Shraddha Belsare showed a PowerPoint presentation on the origins of the bond between a Guru and their disciple, clearly emphasizing the holy reverence Hindus have for the learning and teaching of knowledge. Radha Danayak and Mayor Reid expressed their opinions of the importance of education. A cultural program with the honoring of the teachers followed, including dances (kolatam, bhangara), a skit (Satyameva Jayate), and instrumental performances. The keynote speaker for the evening Dr. Kalpalata Guntapalli, a medical doctor, a professor, and a Chief of Pulmonary and Critical Care at Baylor College of Medicine, talked about how she and her entire family was fortunate to be very well educated and conveyed the importance of being yourself by being truthful to native traditions; she stressed that ultimately your merit and true worth will be recognised no matter who you are and how you look.
14. GURUVANDANA ORGANIZED IN OTHER SHAKHAS IN US: Guruvandana programs to honour the teachers were organized in various HSS shakhas of US. At Shaumberg in Chicago, 25 teachers were honored in the program attended by more than 125 people on May 14. A Poster Exhibition on Hinduism and Bharatiya culture and an extravaganza of classical dances and light music were the center of attraction at the program.
At Lake County shakha, fourteen children extended the invitation to their Gurus with ten total guests being honored at the event on May 15. An exhibition and games added to the attractions of the occasion. Speakers highlighted the role of teachers in our lives.
At Sun Prairie—Madison, WI, on May 14 each student honored his Gurus with a memento which was a Goddess Saraswati Murti made up of Brass and was brought from Bharat.
At Naperville-Aurora Balagokulam Shakha of Chicago Vibhag, over 140 guests including around 30 teachers from Naperville-Aurora area schools attended the event on May 15. 40 students presented Pratyakshik/Pradarshan (Presentation): Shloka, Power Point Presentation on Balagokulam Festivals, Yogchap, Surya Namaskar Mantra.
At Colorado Springs shakha three teachers from two different schools attended the function on May 15. A bouddik on the importance of Guru in Hindu culture, shlok recital on Guru by children, bhajan and short story from Mahabharat were the highlight of the function.
The functions at every shakha ended with the serving of sumptuous food, mostly home cooked.
15. KISHORE NIVAASI VARG: A 3-day varg was organized at Pasadena in US for the teens from nearby shakhas. The teens were stayed for the two nights in different designated homes.
In the morning, the children were taken to a park where they were divided in two groups, one of those who had been to SSV before and one of the children who had not. They were taught danda, niyuddha and martial arts.
The next session was of the energetic games like kabaddi, a sankhya matching game, and piggyback relay. Then followed a fascinating discussion about monoculture, and how it had taken over our lives, individuality, and diversity. These were followed by a series of three games. The first one was a game involving different question to be answered, the next one to rank 10 leadership qualities from one through ten and lastly a game to challenge of turning a blanket over, with 20 people on it, who were not allowed to step onto the grass.
After an exhilarating discussion on problems faced by children like interactions with Bharat kids at school, they were taught Samata – ah rama, daksha and dakshina vrita followed by a vigorous game of Frisbee.
The teens were taken for sampark in a community of apartment homes where they sought and visited Bharatiya homes.
After a comfortable stay for night in different homes, the children met at Live Oaks Park for a feedback session of the whole varg. To conclude all the kishors ran the Pasadena shakha, ranging from the yoga sessions to the baudhik.
16. FLORIDA VIBHAG FAMILY CAMP: Florida Vibhag’s family camp was held at Camp Ithiel in Gotha, Florida, a quiet and serene suburb of Orlando. The camp was attended by a total of 24 families from across the state. The total sankhya was 79 and included 7 shishu, 10 bala, 16 kishore, 4 yuva, 19 mahilas and 25 taruns.
The camp started at noon on Saturday, May 14 and concluded at 2pm on Sunday May 15. Games, Charcha, Shakha, Vikas Ji’s presentation --- Impact of HSS In The Community, Talent Show (Dances, Kirtan, Music, Singing.), Camp Fire (A great session of antakshari), Yoga, Arun ji’s Presentation -- Setting Our Goals, Shakha Wise Discussions --- Tampa Bay, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, Vyam Yog, Dandha and Shloka were highlights of the camp.
17. HSS ORGANIZES BALASANGAM 2011 A GRAND, MEMORIAL AND UNIQUE EVENT FOR CHILDREN: The word “Balasangam” is a compound word made up of “Bala” or young children and “Sangam” meaning confluence. Balasangam 2011 was organized by HSS (Hindu Swayamsewak Sangh) on May 21 in DeAnza College from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. so that children of up to 8th grade living in South Bay Area could come together, showcase their talents, have lot of fun and learn few aspects of Hindu Dharma. Balasangam included competitions in Speech (English as well as Bharatiya Languages), Shloka recitation, group dance (Bharatiya classical and non-classical) and art.
The event was attended by 450 children and 450 adults. Vasuvaj Easwaramangalam - Program Director and International Coordinator for Samskrita Bharati inaugurated the event, children proceeded to the areas of their interest. There were many parallel activities that ran till 5 p.m. including the various contests, fun games, face paintings, balloons, magic show and Vedic Math tutoring. The chief guest of the event, Satya Kalra, founder of Path to Anandam-Blissful Living said, “Education without dharma can't build character” and encouraged parents to be part of the process.
18. GSAT-8 LAUNCHED, TO HELP DTH SERVICES: Bharat's advanced communication satellite GSAT-8 was successfully launched into its geosynchronous transfer orbit by Arianespace's launch vehicle Ariane-5 from Kourou in French Guyana on early May 21. Weighing about 3100 Kg, GSAT-8 is configured to carry 24 high-power transponders and a two channel GPS-aided GEO Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) payload.
19. ANNU IS FIRST BHARATIYA WOMAN PISTOL SHOOTER TO MAKE OLYMPIC GRADE: When the 27-year-old Haryana shooter bagged her first World Cup medal, finishing second behind Ukraine’s Olena Kostevych on the other side of the planet, his father Dr D.P. Singh was the first to realise, and did not need to be informed as is the custom, that his daughter had bagged another quota place for the 2012 London Olympics.
At the Rifle & Pistol World Cup in Fort Benning, USA, Annu became the first Bharatiya women pistol shooter to win a quota berth for Olympics. And it was only the second time after Abha Dhillon was given a wild card entry to the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Annu, who won a gold in 10m air pistol pairs at the Commonwealth Games and a subsequent silver at the same discipline at the 2010 Asian Games, eclipsed her personal best score of 386/400, by tallying 389 on May 17.
20. DRDO CONDUCTS SUCCESSFUL TEST OF DESI UAV: The Defence Research and Development Organisation on May 21 conducted a successful flight tes of the indigenous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), Rustom1 from a private airfield at Hosur, Tamil Nadu. This marked the second successful flight test of the UAV, being developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment.
21. YOUTH SPIRIT FOCUS OF CONFERENCE: “Hindu Youth conferences are organised to unleash the potential of the youth. The second New Zealand Hindu Youth Conference was successful in this endeavour,” said joint general secretary of the Hindu Coiuncil of New Zealand Pritika Sharma. The conference was inaugurated by Phil Goff, the Leader of Opposition. He said “Our young people are our future. We need to inspire them, give them hope and the confidence to know they can achieve whatever they set out to do. This forum gives young people an opportunity to make a positive difference in terms of their own lives and the lives of others in New Zealand.” MPs Dr Rajen Prasad and Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi also attended the ceremony.
22. WIDEN SWAMI LAXMANANANDA KILLING PROBE AMBIT, HC ORDERS POLICE: Dissatisfied over the nature and progress of the investigation into the sensational murder of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, the Orissa High Court on May 24 once again asked the State Crime Branch (CB) police to expand the purview of its investigation and file a fresh affidavit in the court before the next date of hearing on June 29.
The 80-year-old Hindu seer was brutally murdered along with four of his disciples during the Janmashtami celebrations at Jalespeta Ashram in Kandhamal district on August 23, 2008.
Not satisfied with the CB investigation, the seer’s disciple Brahmachari Madhav Chaitanya filed a writ in the HC seeking an impartial inquiry by an independent agency. He also questioned why the investigating police were not probing the motive and conspiracy angle of the brutal murder.
Petitioner’s advocate Krishnamani also brought to the notice of the court that the CB police have not brought the reported resolution passed by a local Church, into the purview of investigation. Members of Beticola Parish Church Council of Baliguda had reportedly passed a resolution prior to the incident that Swamiji would be killed.
23. KHANDURI AND NITYANAND SWAMI FELICITATED: On May 10 former Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Major General (retd) BC Khanduri was felicitated by Leader of Opposition Harak Singh Rawat at a public function organised by Uttarakhand Public Forum. The felicitation was for Khanduri’s sting as Union Minister for Surface Transport during the NDA government ranked 9th amongst the 50 historical works done in the country after Independence, by The Economics Times.
It was for the first time in Independent Bharat’s economic history when a major road project encompassing the whole country was launched. What it now needed was someone who could take the huge project forward. BC Khanduri was the man for the job. During 2004, the target of completion of the proposed 5,846 km was a challenge. National highways have more than doubled to 70,000 km in this period.
Speaking on the occasion Khanduri said the project needed sixty thousand crore rupees. It seemed an impossible task but all the hurdles were removed with strong will power and a vision. He said the whole credit for this project goes to only Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee. Leader of the Opposition Dr Harak Singh Rawat praised BC Khanduri for his vision and as an honest and successful politician.
24. KALYAN ASHRAM HEALTH WORKERS CAMP: A meeting of Kalyan Ashram health workers – 45 doctors from 25 states, was held in Vishakhapatanam. The meeting was inaugurated by Dr P Vishweshwar Rao and the Kalyan Ashram general secretary Kripa Prasad Singh, organising secretary of Kalyan Ashram Somaiyajulu, Dr Pankaj Bhatia (Agra), Dr Anuj Singhal (Waynad) Dr Shashi Thakur (Saga and Dr SN Agarwal (Gorakhpur) were present on the occasion.
Dr Anuj Singhal presented a paper on Sicklecell in Kerala along with other parts of the country. He also presented a CD on rural health working—how to start a dispensary, how to conduct survey and how to prepare a report, etc. Dr Shashi Thakur presented a paper on female health problems. Dr Pankaj Bhatia and Dr SN Agarwal also shared their experiences.
Kalyan Ashram health workers treated 19,08,948 patients during the year 2010. The target for the year 2011 is much higher. The Ashram runs about 2,400 health centres across the country. Dr P Vishweshwar Rao donated rupees one lakh for this noble cause.
25. MBA (DERBYSHIRE) OPTS TO BE SARPANCH: At a time when there is a mad race among the youth of the border belt of the Jammu region for going abroad in search of employment opportunities, 28-year-old Gurmeet Singh Bajwa rejected offers of lucrative jobs in the corporate world abroad and preferred to become the sarpanch of the Kaloen panchayat to serve the people of his native village. As Gurmeet was a highly-qualified young candidate among all contestants, he won the elections with hands down.
“The decision to reject offers of lucrative jobs is not so easy, as a few of my family members were against it despite the fact that ours is a political family,” says Gurmeet. “But I had made up mind. So, ultimately, I prevailed upon my family members,” he adds.
The Kaloen panchayat, one of the most socially, economically and educationally backward areas of the RS Pura sub-division, is located near the international border and the residents of this belt always bear the brunt of the hostility between Bharat and Pakistan. Bajwa is an MBA from Derbyshire Business School, Derby University, UK.
26. YOGA HELPS FIGHT BREAST CANCER, SAY SCIENTISTS: Practicing yoga significantly improves the quality of life of women suffering from breast cancer and undergoing radiation therapy, Bharatiya and American researchers have established and scientifically confirmed yet another benefit of the globally-popular, ancient Bharatiya practice. Yoga helps breast cancer patients more than generic stretching exercises, improving their physical functioning, general health and reducing levels of cortisol - the stress hormone - the scientists have said.
The findings are particularly significant because high cortisol levels have been associated with worse outcomes for cancer patients, they have said.
The research was performed by a team of scientists from the Bangalore-based Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana - Bharat's largest yoga research institution - and University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The findings will be presented next month to the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
27. THINK OUT OF BOX WHILE WRITING ON ANY ISSUE—DR BAJRANG LAL GUPT: “Before writing on any issue we should also study the views on the same issue which are against the established thinking. Only then we can present a balanced view with full facts and logics,” said RSS Uttar Kshetra Sanghachalak Dr Bajrang Lal Gupt. He was speaking at a workshop of writers organised by Vishwa Samvad Kendra in Jalandhar on May 8.
Dr Gupt appealed to the writers not to keep the doors of their mind closed and keep them open for modern and new ideas.
Dr Kuldip Agnihotri of the Bharat Tibbet Sahayog Manch stressed the need to preserve the rich treasure of Sanskrit manuscripts.
RSS Punjab Prant Pracharak Kishore Kant said the good works being done by certain people in the society like Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal, Sant Sewa Singh Khadur Sahib and others should be highlighted as they inspire others.
28. BHUTAN LITERATURE FESTIVAL: FUSION OF ART & CULTURES: Any misgiving that an Indo-Bhutanese literary festival in Thimphu would be a unilateral parade of Bharatiya thought and art was put to rest at Mountain Echoes 2011. The outing in Bhutan's capital, which concluded on May 23, was a fair trade in ideas with each culture improving on its acquaintance with the other through readings and debate. "I worry about Gross National Happiness (GNH) being over-marketed and under practiced," said Dasho Kinley Dorji, secretary for information and communication and one of the architects of the concept, in conversation with Dr Chencho Dorji, Bhutan's only psychiatrist, on maiden day of the festival.
The session, called The Eye of the Dragon, was interpreted by Dasho Kinley Dorji as the underbelly of the Dragon, a reference to the scaly midsection of cultural transition, where mass media, introduced only as late as 1999, has been steadily replacing traditional forms as a moral compass for the youth.
29. NAK BROWNE TO BE NEXT IAF CHIEF: Air Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne, a top-notch fighter pilot with over 3,100 hours of flying to his credit, will be the next IAF Chief after Air Chief Marshal P V Naik retires on July 31. Air Marshal Browne has held crucial command and staff posts during his 39-year career in IAF, including being the chief of the operationally significant Western Air Command.
Air Marshal Browne will be at the helm for two-and-a-half years at a time when IAF is slowly transforming itself into an "expeditionary'' force with "strategic reach" to protect and project Bharat's geo-political interests.
30. A FUSION OF YOGA & TAI CHI: What do a 93-year-old yoga guru and a 117-year-old Shaolin master have in common? The fact that they practice their art for hours even at this age. Next month, yogacharya B K S Iyengar and the oldest Chinese martial artiste alive, Master Lu Zijian, will come together at an ambitious China-Bharat yoga summit to be held in Guangzhou. The agenda: a dialogue on the traditional fitness regimens of the two countries. There are about 15 millions yoga practitioners in China today. This summit will see the entire yoga industry spread across neighbouring Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau converge at Guangzhao.
Lu Zijian, who is fondly referred to as the Yangtze River's Great Chivalrous Man, lives in Chongqin and practises the evolved Tao-based martial art and healing system, bagua zhang.
31. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Dr. Shankar Tatwawadi, former Samyojak Vishwa Vibhag will be visiting UK and Canada in June. Shri Ravikumar, Sah-samyojak Vishwa Vibhag will be visiting Singapore and Hongkong in the second half of June. Shri Shyam Parande, Secretary Sewa International returned Bharat from his tour to Caribbean countries, USA and Canada. Visitors: Shri Dinesh Mani Dubey from Thailand; Shri Balkrishanan, Shri Krishna Kumar and others from Middle East; Shri Parag Singla from USA.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Then they (peasants) will think that you are worse than the Mughals. There is no need to force anybody or to tyrannize over anybody. We shall keep ourselves informed frequently, even everyday and deal out punishment where necessary. ---Shivaji in instructions to his soldiers.

JAI SHREE RAM