Kartik Krishna 4 Vik Samvat 2068. Yugabda 5113: October 16, 2011

1. FESTIVAL: Kartik Poornima is celebrated on the full moon day or the fifteenth lunar day of Kartik month (November 10, 2011 this year). It is also known as Tripuri poornima and Tripurari Poornima. Tripurari is an epithet of Shiva, in his form as Tripurantaka ("Killer of Tripurasura"), as he killed the demon Tripurasura on this day. It is sometimes called Deva-Diwali or Deva-Deppawali - the festival of lights of the gods.
The Kartik Purnima festival also coincides with the Jayanti of Guru Nanak Dev.
In Pushkar, Rajasthan, the Pushkar Fair or Pushkar mela commences on Prabodhini Ekadashi and continues till Kartik Poornima. This fair is held in the honour of god Brahma, whose temple stands at Pushkar, Rajasthan. People take bath in the Pushkar Lake and do Pradakshina. About 200,000 people and 25,000 camels assemble in Pushkar for the fair. Pushkar fair is Asia's largest camel fair.
Charity especially donation of cows, feeding of Brahmins, fasting and other religious activities are performed on this day.
2. RSS SARKARYAVAH’S PRESS STATEMENT: The annual meeting of Akhil bharatiya Karyakari Mandal of RSS comprising of its national executive members and members of prant and Kshetra executive committees took place during October 16-18 at Gorakhpur. The meet discussed various organizational issues besides Swami Vivekanand’s 150th birth anniversary to be celebrated in 2013-14, proposed communal violence bill etc. While commenting on the controversy arising out of Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh’s letter to Anna Hazare regarding RSS involvement in his campaign and Anna Hazare’s reply with remarks on Sarsanghchalak Mohanji Bhagwat, RSS general secretary Suresh (Bhayya ji) Joshi commented in a press statement that Shri Anna Hazare is a man committed to noble ideals and is leading a massive popular movement against corruption in the country. Entire credit for the success of this movement goes to him only. It is tragic that a person of Anna’s stature too has got influenced by narrow political conspiracy. The views expressed in his letter would prove detrimental to the anti-corruption movement only. It will be most unfortunate. The Swayamsevaks of the RSS along with millions of countrymen genuinely aspire to see a Bharat completely free of corruption. It is the paramount responsibility of the leaders of the anti-corruption movements to safeguard them from narrow and low-level conspiratorial politics.
3. BHARAT JOINS SPACE BIG LEAGUE: On October 6 Bharat became the second country in the world after the United States to launch a mission to study climatic and atmospheric changes in tropical regions with the success of Indo-French tropical weather satellite Megha-Tropiques.
Within 25 minutes of its upward journey, the rocket planted Megha Tropiques satellite followed by SRMSAT, VesselSAT and Jugnu in the orbit.
Apart from Megha-Tropiques, the three small satellites that were ferried by the PSLV-C18 are the 10.9-kg SRMSAT built by the students of SRM University near Chennai to monitor Greenhouse gases in atmosphere; the 3-kg remote sensing satellite Jugnu from the Indian Institute of Technology- Kanpur (IIT-K) for earth imaging and the 28.7-kg VesselSat from LuxSpace of Luxembourg to locate ships on high seas.
4. SEWA Day – a day dedicated to service – started last year at the initiative of Sewa International UK soon spread its wings across the globe when on September 25 – Sewa Day was held in over a dozen countries from SriLanka (21 projects and 615 participants), Kenya, Finland (11 projects 104 participants), USA and UK. One of the major achievements of Sewa day is that the activities got participation from many nationalities across the globe in besides Hindu groups in countries like Finland, UK.
In UK over 155 projects like helping elderly day centers, cleaning of gardens and public places. Collection and distribution of food items and clothes were undertaken by over 14000 participants. A local borough (equivalent to city ward/zone) council could involve 6000 school children for doing SEWA. Hindu Council of Kenya along with other organizations held a tree plantation program at Mata Amrita Centre (MAC) in Athi River. A total of 450 including volunteers and students planted 1900 saplings attended by area Member of Parliament and and Assistant Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports Hon. Wavinya Ndeti, Mayor Patrick Makau and others.
5. RASHTRIYA SEWA BHARATI’S SEWA SANGAM IN HARIDWAR: "Service to deprived people is truly service to God. It is the embodiment of yajna, charity and sacrifice. ” said noted saint and founder of Bharatmata Mandir Haridwar, Swami Satyamitranand Giri while speaking at the concluding ceremony of three-day Sewa Sangam organised at Haridwar from October 1 to 3. About 900 delegates from 65 districts of Uttarakhand and Western Uttar Pradesh presented details about their service activities at the Sangam. A total of 72 service organisations were represented at the Sewa Sangam. Others who graced the Sangam were Shankaracharya Swami Vasudevananda Saraswati, All Bharat Seva Pramukh Sitaram ji and many Sangh Adhikaris.
6. FLOOD RELIEF IN ODISHA: Uttkala Bipanna Sahayata Samiti conducted a massive relief operation during the recent floods in Odisha. The Samiti workers actively worked in 205 villages of 36 blocks in 12 flood affected districts. Around 54,000 flood victims were served with cooked and dry food; supplied 85,000 pouches of water; articles of daily use like candles, match boxes were distributed. Sanitation activities were carried out at 21 different places. Anilmal feeding was also provided. More than 450 volunteers worked day and night for over two weeks in flood affected areas in the state. More than 3,500 people were provided health services. A team of seven doctors and paramedical staff is working in the affected areas of Kendrapada and Jajpur districts.
7. ABKM 2011 RESOLUTION: The sole resolution passed at the ABKM meeting in Gorakhpur titled ‘Need for Comprehensive Strategic Initiative for National Security’ highlighted growing terrorist and separatist activities along our borders and also threat to our security on land, sea and aerial borders as well as other strategic issues involved.
Describing the challenges posed by China including it’s strategic partnership with with our bordering counries with the objective of military encirclement of Bharat and development of military bases in those countries; it’s arming of Pakistan against Bharat, patronizing anti-Bharat terrorism there and military activism in the PoK;
active support to the insurgent groups in our North-East; as a direct challenge to the unity and integrity of our nation, the ABKM also drew the attention towards Government’s utter apathy towards development of basic infrastructure facilities on our borders, inroads of China in our economy and strategic communications sector and urged Bharatiya government to develop such infrastructure and military capabilities to effectively counter these challenges.
Pointing towards the admission by the Prime Minister regarding rise in the cross-border infiltration in the last few months; the resolution detailed the ISI – terrorist groups’ nexus and asked the Government to take firm stand in the volatile Af-Pak region looking at the withdrawl of US forces in near future.
Criticizing the handing over of several thousand acres of our territory in Assam and West Bengal to Bangladesh under the pretext that it was already under the latter’s control; the resolution warned about the danger of demographic distortion in CoochBihar and Jalpaiguri areas due to this agreement. The ABKM regretted that the issue of millions of Bangladesh infiltrators residing in Bharat never figures in these talks.
The resolution emphasized upon the need to strengthen Bharat’s age old ties with the countries in Hind Mahasagar (Indian Ocean) region looking at its strategic importance. It dealt with security implications of growing Chinese influence in the region, its ever expanding naval arsenal and aggressiveness and maintained that our foreign policy objectives must be in consonance with our strategic needs. ABKM regretted that there is a serious disconnect between the nationalist aspirations widely present among the general public and the policy approach of the political establishment.
At the end the resolution urged the Government to initiate effective measures to safeguard the entire national borders including the Indo-Tibetan border, sea and aerospace borders and also protect the national interests in the entire oceanic region; and adopt strong measures to counter the challenge of separatism, terrorism and infiltration.
(For full text please visit http://www.rssonnet.org )
8. DU REMOVES BLASPHEMOUS ESSAY ON RAMAYANA: As a major victory for the Shiksha Bachao Andolan Samiti, the Delhi University on October 10 withdrew the blasphemous essay on Ramayana from history textbook following a civil suit, filed by national convenor of the samiti Shri Dina Nath Batra and others. The essay ‘Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translation,’ written by AK Ramanujan contained derogatory, defamatory and offensive language against Hindu gods and goddesses. The removed chapter will be replaced by two articles, one by Romila Thapar and the other by RS Singh. The essay was part of the syllabus for BA (Hons) History students. The Shiksha Bachao Andolan Samiti expressed its satisfaction over the decision.
9. 6th HINDU MANDIR CONFERENCE IN USA: Over 280 delegates from 100 Mandirs and Hindu organizations across the world participated in the sixth annual Hindu Mandir Executives' Conference (HMEC – 2011) from Sept 23-25 at Columbus – Ohio. Participants were mainly focused on developing programs to provide leadership to nourish, protect and sustain Hindu Dharma in North America.
Swami Dayananda Saraswati of the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam addressed the conference via video, while Shri Ashokji Singhal, President of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, gave an inspiring speech on the need for unity, assertiveness and a collective response of Hindus around the world in face of threats. Greater participation by youth speakers was one of the highlights of the HMEC 2011.
10. CHINA MUST KEEP OFF PoK: Army Chief Gen V.K. Singh has brought into sharp focus a very disturbing development in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). He told journalists on the sidelines of a function in New Delhi on Wednesday that the Bharatiya security establishment was greatly concerned about the presence of nearly 4000 Chinese construction personnel, including combat engineers from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), in PoK. Bharat has been aware of this provocative Chinese activity for some time. New Delhi has already lodged a strong protest with Beijing, reminding it that any kind of engagement in PoK without Bharat’s consent or permission is illegal as the area is a part of Jammu and Kashmir but under illegal occupation of Pakistan. Therefore, the entry of Chinese military and other personnel in PoK is in clear violation of international law.
The Chinese behaviour in the case of PoK becomes more alarming when seen in the backdrop of its attitude vis-à-vis the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The Chinese practice of issuing stapled visas to visitors from Bharat’s J and K shows that China refuses to recognise the status of Kashmir the way the international community views it. This duplicity in its conduct needs to be exposed.
China is engaged in PoK in building the Diamer-Bhasha dam and the upgradation of the Karakoram Highway. It is working on having a shorter land route to Central Asia and West Asia through Pakistan. It has not only helped Pakistan in the construction of Gwadar port in Balochistan, but is also involved in many other significant projects there. Chinese presence in Pakistan and PoK is widespread and growing rapidly. Bharat cannot sit idle under the circumstances. Though it cannot oppose what China and Pakistan decide to do as part of their national policy, India has a right to oppose the illegal Chinese activities in PoK. One can understand that Pakistan is prepared to give any kind of concessions to China, its “all-weather friend”, because of Islamabad’s tense relations with the US. But China must remember that it cannot emerge as a responsible global power by behaving irrationally. (The Editorial, The Tribune, October 8, 2011)
11. HSS , NAIROBI CELEBRATES VIJAYA DASHMI UTSAV: Nairobi Shakha Vijayadashmi Utsav was held on Sunday 9th October 2011 at C.G.H.U Secondary School, 4th Parklands Avenue, Nairobi. About 100 swayamsevaks took part in the demonstrations of Dand, dumbbells, yogasana etc. Shri Jitendra Ratilal Khetia, Chairman of the Education Board of C G H U Sec School was the Chief Guest while Prantap Joshi was main speaker.
12. M. F. HUSAIN PAINTINGS’ EXHIBITION AT HEMA MALINI'S DANCE PROGRAM CANCELED: SAAMA, the organizers of the show scheduled in New York on 1st October cancelled M. F. Husain’s paintings’ exhibition upon receiving emails from protesting Hindus. The organizers wrote, “On behalf of SAMAA, we apologize to all of you if we hurt your sentiments. Hemaji was unaware of such an exhibition. As soon as we received your emails, we cancelled the exhibition. As soon as Hemaji came to know about the exhibition, she totally opposed it and did not want to be any part of it.”
13. WORLD'S CHEAPEST TABLET LAUNCHED: Bharat's finally got its much hyped ultra-low-cost tablet, Aakash. The government is buying the first units of the device for Rs 2250 each from a British company which is assembling the devices in Bharat. They will initially be given to students for free in a pilot run of 100,000 units.
The tablet runs on Android 2.2 (Froyo) and comes with a 7-inch resistive touchscreen with 800x480 resolution and weighs 350 grams. The tablet has a 256MB of RAM, a 32GB expandable memory slot and two USB ports.
14. DUSSEHRA FESTIVITIES CONCLUDE IN KULLU: The seven-day-long Dussehra festivities of Kullu concluded at Kullu, Himachal Pradesh on Oct 12 with Lanka Dahan (burning) and the beginning of return journey of assembled deities to their temples in beautifully decorated palanquins amid the blowing of trumpets and beating of drums.
Accompanied by 226 deities, the chariot of Lord Raghunath was pulled up to Lanka Bekar near the Beas in Kullu. According to tradition, palanquins of all deities are stopped at a certain distance while Goddess Hadimba continues her journey to complete the rituals. Hadimba temple priest Rohit Ram Sharma said the goddess is considered to be the grandmother of Kullu royal family and she starts and ends the Dussehra festivity. "All other deities cannot be part of Lanka Dahan ceremony. They only watch the proceedings from a certain distance. The tradition is centuries old," he said.
After Lanka Dahan, all deities pay their final obeisance to Lord Raghunath and leave for their respective shrines.
15. YOUTH CAMP IN AWADH PRANT, UP: “The nation today needs the people who live for the nation and not for their individual needs only. The Sangh has been building such people since 86 years,” said RSS Sarsanghachalak Shri Mohan Bhagwat while addressing the concluding ceremony of two day youth camp organized by RSS, Awadh Prant in Lucknow on October 2. A total of 886 swayamsevaks from 12 districts of the State participated in the camp included 67 engineering students, 9 medical, 123 post graduates, 566 graduates, 31 computer science, 23 BEd and other others 67 youth participated in the camp.
16. SAMSKRIT BHARATI ADOPTS MODERN TECHNOLOGY: Samskrit Bharati has decided to adopt modern technology to spread Sanskrit among the youth. The annual meeting of the organisation held in Kota, Rajasthan, from October 9 to 10, conducted detailed discussion on the issue of using the technology. A total of 211 delegates from 20 states were present at the meeting.
The workers were imparted training how to use the Wikipedia, uploading videos using YouTube, working on social sites, using the Skype for teaching groups kms away from the teacher, use of websites for selling books online, enrolling candidates for correspondence courses through website, etc.
17. AGNI-II SUCCESSFULLY TEST-FIRED: After perfect trial of 'Shourya' and 'Prithvi-II', Bharat on Sep 30 successfully test fired nuclear capable 'Agni-II' ballistic missile with a strike range of 2,000 km as part of user trial by armed forces from Wheeler Island off Orissa coast.
The indigenously built 'Agni-II', developed by Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), has already been inducted into armed forces and forms part of Bharat's arsenal for strategic deterrence.
"The successful launch once again proved reliability of the medium range missile,"DRDO spokesman and scientist Ravi Kumar Gupta said.
With this success story, Bharat is also planning to test by next month "Agni-2 Prime", an advanced nuclear-capable ballistic missile with a strike range of around 3,000 km, defence sources said.
18. COURT FOILS ATTEMPT TO MAKE INROADS INTO HINDU TEMPLE ADMINISTRATION: In a landmark judgement, the Madras High Court decreed that a Hindu temple administration can appoint only Hindus as its employees, while dismissing a petition by a Christian group.
A Private Security Agency (Forte) owned by family of Christians challenged a tender notification issued by Subhramaniya Swamy Temple at Tiruchendur in Tuticorin district, Tamilnadu, on July 29. Justice K Chandru dismissed the writ petition filed stating that ‘Hindu temple cannot be compelled to engage the services of a security agency owned by non-Hindus.
19. BHARAT TIES WITH MYANMAR AND VIETNAM: Bharat made two important initiatives in an effort to boost strategic and economic ties in South and South East Asia last week. Bharat and Vietnam on October 12 signed an agreement on oil exploration along with an extradition treaty after talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the visiting Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang. This is the first visit by the Vietnamese President outside the ASEAN region.The two countries also decided to launch a security dialogue between the Home ministries.
Days after Myanmar President U. Thein Sein suspended the China-supported south-east Asian nations' largest ever hydropower project, Bharat on October 14, rolled out a red carpet to the head of the state by offering a $500 million Line of Credit (LoC) for a slew of development projects.
As Myanmar makes efforts to democratise itself and take steps to maintain distance from China, Bharat also offered assistance for several capacity building projects, including developing an Advanced Centre for Agricultural Research and Education in Yezin, a Rice Bio Park and an IT training institute in Mandalay.
20. ICCS CONFERENCE AT HARIDWARIN MARCH 2012 : World council of elders of the Ancient Traditions and Cultures (WCEATC) a forum of Elders under the auspices of ICCS (International Center for Cultural Studies USA Inc. ) in Collaboration with World Congress of Ethnic religions (wcer.org) and The National Council of Elders Mayas, Xinca and Garifuna of Guatemala and many other organizations, is organizing the 4th International Conference and Gathering of the Elders from 3rd to 7th March 2012 at Dev Sanskruti Vishwavidyalay, Haridwar, Bharat . The 4th conference based on the theme, ‘Nourishing the balance of the Universe ‘ expects delegates from more than 50 countries and will have Ceremonies, Paper presentations and Workshops on related topics. (Please visit www.iccsus.org for more info)
21. BHARATIYA ARMY GETS ITS 1ST WOMAN JAWAN: Outperforming her male counterparts in the physical tests, 35-year-old Sapper Shanti Tigga joined the 969 Railway Engineer Regiment of the Territorial Army. A mother of two, she is the first woman jawan.
"Women are allowed to join the armed forces only as officers in the non-combat units. But Tigga has earned the distinction of being the first lady jawan in the 1.3 million strong defence forces," a senior army officer said.
"She performed exceedingly well in all the physical tests. She took five seconds less than her male counterparts to complete 1.5-km run. She completed the 50 meter run in 12 seconds which is rated as excellent," he said.
22. MUTHOOT APOLOGISES TALIBANIC CIRCULAR: As Hindu organisations stepped up the protest against the Talibanic circular targeting Hindu employees, Muthoot Fin Corporation, a leading money lending group from Keala, withdrew the circular after talks with Hindu aikya Vedi leaders.
The circular warned of strict actions against employees who put Bindhi or Sindhoor in forehead had earlier invited wrath of Hindu organisations and Dr Subrahmanya Swamy’s warning to Muthoot group of legal action had made this fanatic group to withdraw the circular.
23. NOBEL LAUREATE WANGARI MATHAI CREMATED AT NAIROBI: Professor Wangari Mathai, an environmental protection activist and Nobel Laureate, was cremated on October 8 at the Hindu Shamshanbhoomi (Crematorium) in Nairobi. Her wish was not to use any wood in making casket and not to bury her and waste a piece of land but to cremate her without using timber.
In a private ceremony attended by her family members, Shri Muljibhai Pindolia, President of the Hindu Council of Africa spoke about her and mentioned about 40,000 trees planted by Hindus in Kenya. A tree was planted by her family members at the place as a mark of her long term memory.
24. BHARAT BORN SPRINTER, 100, SETS RECORD: Fauja Singh, a 100-year-old British man, has run his way to eight sprinting world records and is aiming to set another, when he takes part in the Toronto Marathon on Octoer 16. Mr Singh broke the records for 100-year-old men in all eight sprinting distances on October 13. Born in Bharat in 1911, he started competitive running at the age of 89, after losing his wife and son.
25. BHUTAN TO HAVE FIRST HINDU TEMPLE: The royal kingdom of Bhutan will soon have its first Hindu temple. An official release on Oct 11 said that the foundation stone laying ceremony at Kuenselphondrang was held in the presence of national assembly speaker and ministers in the country's capital Thimphu.
Built on an area of 2.53 acres, the temple will have touches of Buddhist architecture and will organise festivals and marriage ceremonies catering to the need of more than 10,000 Hindus living in Himalayan kingdom. The foundation stone was laid by Je Khenpo, Bhutan's chief abbot.
26. LONGEST RAILWAY TUNNEL UNVEILED IN JAMMU & KASHMIR: The Northern railways on Oct 14 opened Bharat's longest railway tunnel, a part of the ambitious Udhampur - Srinagar - Baramulla rail link project piercing through the Pir Panjal range in Jammu & Kashmir.
At 10.96km long, the Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel is Bharat's longest and Asia's 2nd longest tunnel, aimed at reducing the travel distance between Quazigund and Banihal to only 11 km and providing a hassle-free travel up to Baramulla.
27. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Visitors: Chamanlal Gohil, UK Smt and Shri Madhusudan Jhaveri - USA. Pravaas: Shri Ravikumar, sah samyojak Vishwa Vibhag will be touring Singapore, Australia and New Zealand from Oct 19.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: There is one divine force which acts in the universe and in the individual and is also beyond the individual and the Universe. The Mother stands for all these. – Sri Aurobindo

JAI SHREE RAM

P.P. SARSANGHCHALAKJI’S
VIJAYADASHAMI BOUDDHIK

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh came into existence on this auspicious occasion 86 years ago. The scenario in the world and our country and its effect experienced in our day to day life has created a disturbance in all minds.
Global Scenario In The Context Of Bharat
The powerful countries of the world mount all kinds of efforts to exploit the international situation to establish their hegemony. This explains the current unhealthy competition between US and China for establishing their superiority. On the pretext of its war on terror, the active intervention of America has reached our neighbouring Pakistan.
Naturally, we can not remain untouched by the turmoil created by this power game. We have always regarded the whole world as one family and we seek an intimate friendship with it rather than dominance. The other countries of the world acknowledge this through their experience of exemplary behavior of Bharateeya’s living abroad. That is why they have trust in us and they welcome us whole heartedly. In tune with this world view of ours and keeping intact our sovereignty, dignity and security, we should take initiative to transform the current disturbed situation of the world into one of mutual trust and cooperation.
We have deep cultural relationship with our neighbouring countries particularly in south-east Asia. Even today this relationship is remembered with gratitude, joy and happiness. We are bound by common economic interests. There is general consensus in these countries that Bharat should lead them and stand by them through thick and thin. We should strengthen our economic, diplomatic and cultural ties with all these countries. We will have to be more focussed in our efforts in making the neighbouring Nepal stable and more favourable to us. We should also initiate efforts to end the miseries of Sri Lankan Tamilians and create a situation where by they will be able to contribute to Sri Lankan society and national life on equal footing with their civil rights and status intact. We have to tighten our security on the Bangladesh border, prevent the border being porous and stop infiltration and illegal trafficking of arms, cattle, fake currency and drugs, while we also have to see that the atmosphere in Bangladesh turns favourable to us. Even though Tibet is still occupied by China, we have to help Tibetans living there as well as those living in Bharat and other parts of the world to vent proper voice to their emotions and protect their human-rights, faith and traditions in their homeland as well as in the world.
China’s Moves
Occasionally in its own interest China seems to be taking initiative to strengthen its economic, diplomatic and cultural ties with Bharat. But recent events show its intention to expand its influence in the Asian continent and also in Bharat even by using its war strength…. Still maintaining our cultural ties that we have been enjoying with China since the time of Budhha and also our current economic relations, we nevertheless have to remain vigilant against China, build necessary infrastructure in place on the border, and not allow our military preparedness and vigilance to wither away. There is need to influence international diplomatic dialogues more effectively to garner global support for ourselves in any possible eventuality.
Situation In Kashmir
Terrorists are instigated to infiltrate and disturbance is created in Jammu and Kashmir at the behest of Pakistan. The truth is that even the constitution of Pakistan and the highest Court of the POK don’t regard Jammu and Kashmir as a part of Pakistan. Pakistan, even then is engaged in creating trouble in Jammu & Kashmir. Why despite all this, our Central Government and the interlocutors appointed by them insist time and again that Kashmir is a political problem? The Centre and the State Governments should pursue a policy of strengthening the voice of patriotic elements opposed to this aggression.
The Hindu refugees of 1947-48 should be speedily settled there with full citizenship rights and the displaced Kashmiri Hindus should be able to settle back in their birthland and the land or their ancestors. Article 370 that hinders integration of Jammu and Kashmir with Bharat needs to be abolished.
Problems of The North-East
It has now become imperative for our political class to appreciate the pains of the people of the north-east. They should make their understanding and knowledge deeper and thorough as to how to solve problems of those people. Completely deprived of the mass base and almost defunct terrorist groups are being given a fresh lease of life by the Centre and the State governments by initiating dialogues with them.
Economic Policy
The lack of clear vision and perspective is also reflected in the economic policies and activities of the country. The failures and shortcomings of the economic model of the West have been abundantly exposed in the world. Therefore, we will have to look for a distinct developmental model which should be based on our own unique world view fulfilling the requirements of our people and promoting prosperity and culture hand in hand and also strengthening the pace of progress with our identity.
Anti-Corruption Movement
The pent up rage of the common man created out of the above frustrating conditions exploded into massive support for the recent anti corruption movements….All the big and small organizations participating in the anticorruption movement need to sink their differences and unite to achieve long term success. The issue of corruption is not concerned merely with the theft of wealth. Thus it becomes a serious issue involving integrity, sovereignity and also the security of the country.
Hence we should stay clear from power groups which have dubious background and are impatiently credit hungry. Rejection of symbols of patriotism such as ‘VANDEMATARAM’ and ‘BHARATMATA’ and gimmies to gain cheap popularity can never be tolerated in any national movement. It is necessary to keep away from those tendencies and forces existing in the so-called minorities that pander to the narrow, fanatic and separatist ideas. We will have to take care that, persons and tendencies that maintain total transparency especially in the matter of money and resources, are on board. The RSS volunteers are already active in all movements against corruption without craving for their own position and credit. But everyone should keep it in mind that the law alone cannot solve the problem of corruption. We will have to bring about fundamental changes in the very system that breeds in corruption.
The most important thing is that we will have to inculcate good values in society such as the sense of social responsibility, pure character and social services and altruism.RSS is working with full concentration on this fundamentally important issue.
Proposed Communal And Targeted Violence Bill
The National Integration Council at its recent meeting held on September 10, 2011 discussed the proposed Communal and Targeted Violence Bill. Majority of its members have categorically and strongly opposed the proposed bill. Honourable Prime Minister promised to put forward a revised draft for discussion, but even a cursory look at the original draft shows that it is a deceitful action of destructive mind and distorted ideology aimed at destroying the social harmony thus violating the spirit of our constitution.
The proposed legislation seeks to destroy the federal structure and contemptuously disregards the rights of the States giving absolute power to the Centre to dismiss a State Government on mere allegation. The proposed legislation seeks to destroy our sense of national unity and divide the citizens of the country. This legislation represents a total negation of our national interests.
Parliament and the Government elected by the people of Bharat with the hope that they will provide protection and promote love and justice for all should not allow this draft bill even for discussion in any form; and should summarily reject it. The security and justice for the so- called minorities can be guaranteed by law combined with the goodwill prevailing in society.
Organised Good People, Spirited Society– The Only Solution
A politics bereft of will power and clear and fearless national perspective becomes a collection of shaky policies, cowardice, shirking of responsibilities and selfish considerations creating an atmosphere of mistrust and frustration. Our society has to take the onus of marching ahead on its glorious path by checking aggressive and dangerous tendencies threatening us on one hand and creating power and unity in all endeavours of our national life on the other. The ever victorious benevolent divine power in form of Durga arose out of collective endeavours of the gods and defeated the demons. This is the ancient history of today’s auspicious festival. The existing circumstances are once again demanding of us the same collective endeavour with will to be victorious and it is the native Hindu society that will have to meet this demand.
Clarion Call
The RSS is an effort to realise and establish this universally acceptable thought and conduct by organising the Hindus. Today it stands before you in its vastly expanded form as an invaluable means of mobilising the well-meaning people. Let us become a part of it. Let us create an atmosphere of goodwill, fearlessness and patriotism in society. All the RSS volunteers should realise this responsibility and apply themselves to this work with full vigour and enthusiasm.
(Excerpts from the Speech of P.P.Sarsanghchalak Mohanji Bhagwat’s speech at Vijayadashmi function at Nagpur on 6th October, 2011. Noted writer, novelist and thinker Dr Narendra Kohli was the Chief Guest at the function. Full speech available on www.rssonnet.org )

Ashwin Shukla 4 Vik Samvat 2068. Yugabda 5113: October 1, 2011

1. FESTIVAL: Dhanteras, the first day of the five-day Diwali Festival is also known as "Dhantrayodashi" or "Dhanvantari Triodasi" and falls on the Aashwin Krishna 13, October 24 this year. Dhan means wealth and the "Owl" form of Goddess Laxmi is worshiped to provide prosperity and well being. It holds special significance for the business community due to the customary purchases of precious metals on this day.
According to another popular legend Dhanvantari (the physician of the Gods and an incarnation of Vishnu) emerged carrying a jar of the elixir from Samudramanthana on the day of Dhanteras.
To mark this day, houses and business premises are renovated and decorated, small footprints are drawn with rice flour and vermilion powder all over the houses to indicate arrival of Lakshmi. Another interesting story is of the sixteen year old son of King Hima who was doomed to die by a snake-bite on the fourth day of his marriage. His young wife saved him from clutches of death by blinding Yama with dazzling display of gold ornaments and numerous lighted lamps. Since then this day of Dhanteras came to be known as the day of "Yamadeepdaan" and lamps are kept burning throughout the night in reverential adoration to Yam, the god of death.
2. RELIEF WORK IN SIKKIM: Sikkim, a favored tourist destination in Himalayas was jolted by an earthquake of magnitude 6.8 on Richter scale on September 18. The death toll is reported at 50 which includes’ 25 in Sikkim, and others in Poschimbanga, Bihar, Nepal and Tibet. Coupled by the incessant rains the landslides due of earthquake are severely hampering the relief work. 7-10 villages in Sikkim have been totally vanished and some 32 are worst affected.
As early on 21st September, 3 days after the quake, some 60 odd volunteers of Sewa Bharati have reached Sikkim with necessary relief material and a base camp has been established at Singtam. Plans are underway to reconstruct a couple of villages also. Sewa USA has releasesd $10,000 as an immediate aid. Sewa International has appealed for donations from benevolent in this hour of tragrdy. For more information please write to sewainternationaldelhi@gmail.com
3. RSS WARNS AGAINST GRANTING MORE CONCESSIONS TO J&K: Terming the Kashmir problem as a national issue, RSS Sarsnghachalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat warned against giving more concessions to the state. While interacting with intellectuals of Jammu on September 25 during his five day visit in J&K, he outrightly rejected the demand to restore the pre-1953 position or granting greater autonomy to the state and also rejected the proposal of self-rule.
He said the RSS would not allow the government to compromise with the integrity of the nation. “The accession of the state with Bharat is final”, he added. Expressing grave concern over China threatening Bharat and tampering with the borders, Dr. Bhagwat accused the Centre of lacking the will to fight external and internal threats.
4. SEWA DAY AROUND THE GLOBE: Sewa day – a day dedicated to service - was observed on September 25 in about 17 countries. Started as National Sewa Day in UK by Sewa International UK, it spread its wings around the globe this year. Sewa Volunteers joined hundreds of people on that day to give back to the community. About 40 people took part in Croydon – London where they cleared rubbish from an un-tended part of Matthews Gardens, New Addington, worked to improve a nature reserve Purple Haze, also in New Addington, and spent the day at Tudor House care home, South Croydon. Sewa USA volunteers numbering 45 in Colorado USA helped to clean the Sanatan Mandir temple in Brighton.
5. GANESH FESTIVAL IN THAILAND: This year Ganesh Chaturthi was celebrated in Thailand at two places—Shiva temple in Raminthara (Bangkok) and Ganesh Temple at Nakhon Nayok, about 200 km from Bangkok. About 38ft tall Ganesh idol was ceremoniously worshipped by Shri Phararaj Koson, chancellor of Buddhist University Bangkok at Nakhon and Shri Mae Khu Von Seng, head of Raminthara Temple. The places wore festive look with colourful saffron flags, banners and flower decorations.
A ceremonial procession was taken out on the streets of Thailand on the eve of Ganesh Visarjan. Devotees with saffron and local attire and flags chanted bhajans, kirtans and shouted slogans of Ganapati Bappa Moraya all along the route. Many Thai bands also participated in the processions.
Over the years, the festival is attracting not only the Hindus but also the local Thai population in a big way. This year, a group of 28 Thai devotees came to Mumbai along with a Ganesh idol for Anant Chaturdashi visarjan at Chowpatty under the guidance of Dr Khun Khom Krit (Haridas), additional dean of Shilpacon University and Pandit Brahmananda Dubey.
6. ICCS CONFERENCE AT TAOS, NEW MEXICO, USA: The conference organized by International Center for Cultural Studies USA was attended by 42 participants from Cherokee, Lakota, Hopi, Kipatsi (Peru), Hindu traditions and others.
It started with prayer ceremony by SD Youngwolf. Speakers included Jose from Santo Domingo pueblo who blessed the gathering. This was followed by a nice presentation on colonization in Peru by Kipatsi Indigenous group based in Albuquerque, NM. LaxmiNarayan ji from HSS shared experiences on Balagokulams in USA.
Doug Connell from earth walks organization spoke about the need for maintaining balance in eco system; Dr.Yvotte Rosser (Ram Rani ji) was the final speaker. She quoted several incidents from History on how indigenous traditions are threatened and how Bharat is stopping the onslaught from aggressive faiths. She emphasized the need for unity and coordination among native indigenous traditions to stay united and work together.
7. CHOPPY WATERS: Despite expected protest from China that sees the South China Sea as its exclusive sphere of influence, Bharat has done well to hold its ground and declare its intention to press ahead with oil and gas exploration in two offshore blocks claimed by Vietnam. The latest spat was the highlight of foreign minister S M Krishna`s recent visit to Hanoi and comes on the heels of a Bharatiya warship being buzzed by the Chinese navy off the Vietnamese coast. For Beijing to argue its indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea — which has a plethora of stakeholders including Vietnam, Brunei, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia — is specious. Notwithstanding Bharat`s concerns China has pressed ahead with infra-structure projects in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, also a disputed area. It provides "all-weather" aid to Pakistan which includes diplomatic, financial, military and nuclear elements, despite that country harbouring anti-Bharat terror groups. For it to object to New Delhi`s growing ties with Hanoi is a bit rich.
It would be far more prudent to focus on areas of cooperation and growth in Bharat-China ties. China is Bharat`s largest trading partner with two-way trade expected to reach $100 billion by 2015. New Delhi has taken a positive step by allowing Bharatiya companies to borrow in yuan. It should make the case that Bharat provides a far more stable and vibrant market for Chinese investment and trade than a country like Pakistan. If Beijing sets aside one-upmanship such as issuing stapled visas and blocking Asian Development Bank loans for projects in Arunachal Pradesh, it could pave the way for a new era in Bharat-China cooperation. That would be truly congruent with Beijing`s strategic interests as well as its stated policy of peaceful development. (Editorial, Times of India, Sep 19, 2011)
8. BHARAT TEST FIRES N-CAPABLE PRITHVI-II MISSILE: Bharat on September 26 successfully test fired Prithvi-II -- its indigenously developed, nuclear-capable ballistic missile -- told S.P. Dash, director of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) of Chandipur in Balasore district – Odisha.
The launch of the missile with maximum range of 350 km was carried out by the Bharatiya armed forces, and monitored by the scientists of DRDO. "It was a fantastic launch. The missile met all the mission objectives and it was a perfect text-book launch,” Mr.Dash told.
The medium-range missile, with flight duration of 483 seconds and reaching a peak altitude of 43.5 km, has the capability to carry a 500-kg warhead.
Prithvi uses an advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring capabilities and comes within metres of its target. Bharat has successfully test fired Shourya, its surface-to-surface ballistic missile, from the same test base two days before.
9. RAMDEV BEGINS 10,000-KM SWAMBHIMAN ANTI-GRAFT YATRA: Aiming to “awaken people about corruption and black money”, Yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Tuesday started the 10,000-km-long Bharat Swambhiman Yatra from Jhansi.
“My yatra, 2012 Mahasangram, will awaken people in the entire country on the issue of black money and corruption. The Mahasangram, which started from the land of Veerangana Rani Lakshmi Bai, will reach Parliament from roads one day,” he said on the first day of the yatra. After covering about 10,000 kms, the yatra will end at Prayag in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, his supporters said. Earlier, Ramdev held a two-hour yoga camp in the district.
10. BHARATIYA-AMERICANS NAMED FOR TOP US SCIENCE HONOURS: Three Bharatiya-Americans figured among the 12 scientists named by US President Barack Obama for the country's top awards in the field of scientific research and innovation.
They are Srinivasa S R Varadhan from the New York University for his work in probability theory; Rakesh Agrawal from the Purdue University for improving the energy efficiency and reducing the cost of gas liquefaction and separation and B Jayant Baliga from the North Carolina State University for development and commercialisation of the Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor.
11. PAKISTAN SIKHS SEEK CITIZENSHIP: Niranjeet Kaur and her schoolmate Satya have completed plus two from a local school but are clueless about their future prospects because they have been summoned again to their native town of Peshawar in Pakistan for visa formalities before seeking admission in a college. Their elders, who have been on petty jobs for over a decade here, would have to accompany them them back to Peshawar to furnish documents to seek extension for their stay in Bharat.
On September 26, 20 such Pakistani Sikh families, assembled at the Durgiana Temple complex in Amritsar urging the Bharatiya Government to grant them Bharatiya citizenship on the plea that they had been living here for over 15 years now.
“We are scared. Whenever we go back to Pakistan, Life over there is hell, especially for girls. The education scenario is very bad. We demand that the Bharatiya Government grant us citizenship”, said 18-year-old Niranjeet, who came here when she was three.
12. GUJARAT ASSEMBLY PASSES BILL ON COW SLAUGHTER : A Bill seeking a seven-year jail term for cow slaughter or even transporting the animal for that purpose was passed unopposed in the Gujarat Assembly on Tuesday, with the Opposition Congress extending support to it. As per the provisions of the Gujarat Animal Preservation Act (GAPA) 1954, which prohibits cow slaughter, there is no provision to prevent transportation of the animal for slaughter.
Tabling the bill Agriculture Minister Dileep Sanghani said, “Stringent punishment for violation of the provisions has been proposed in the Bill. The six-month jail term has been extended to seven years on conviction and the fine has been increased to Rs. 50,000 from Rs. 1,000.”
13. CHINA GIVES NORMAL VISAS TO KASHMIRIS: Sending a positive signal to Bharat, China has given normal “pasted” visas to 12 Kashmiri youths who are visiting the country as a part of a 500-member contingent on a government-sponsored exchange programme. The delegation is visiting Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou between September 21 and 29.
The 12 Kashmiris, all aged under 35, have been chosen from the newly-elected panchayats and institutions of higher education.
However, this is the first government-selected delegation to visit China since December when Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao came to Bharat. A similar delegation also has been visted China in the last week of September.
14. GREEN INITIATIVE BY VIVEKANANDA KENDRA: The Vivekananda Kendra established by Eknathji Ranade some 40 years back has several projects including hundreds of schools, hospitals, and service projects throughout the country with special emphasis on the North-East. The Kendra has been taking up projects concerning environment and ecology in a massive way. The bio-gas generated electricity project of Vivekananda Kendra in Mahabalipuram, a notable tourist destination near Chennai, famous for Pallava age stone carvings and sculptures, has drawn all-round applause.
With a population of only 12,000 in 400 households, tons of food waste and other wastes are being treated in a 100-Cubic meter volume bio-gas plant.
As a result health of place improved and there is cleanliness and hygiene everywhere. About 10 KW power generated through the bio-gas plant is used for operating the solid waste management plant and for lighting street lamps.
The Natural Resources Development Project of Vivekananda Kendra (NARDEP) has been doing research and field work in the area for the past 10 years and is credited for developing low volume bio-methanantion plants that are suitable for rural and urban households. It has also developed bio-gas slurry based agro-inputs package and made dissemination of this technology efficient.
For further details please visit www.vknardep.org
15. BHARAT TO DEVELOP TORPEDO CENTRE IN KYRGYZSTAN: Bharat is planning to develop a facility in Kyrgyzstan to produce state-of-the art torpedoes in order to strengthen its under-water attack capabilities. The Torpedo Testing Centre located at Issyk Kul lake in Karakul province, 250 km away from the capital Bishkek, is considered one of the best locations to launch and recover torpedoes fired during test trials. DRDO Chief Controller William Selvamurthy said.
The centre has a network of sensors which can monitor the speed, velocity, homing in and direction of the torpedo once it is fired. This enables scientists to make necessary modifications in the navigation system to make the missiles more accurate and fool proof.
16. HINDU COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA has been celebrating Deepavali in Sydney since 1999 and in Federal Parliament in Canberra since 2003.
Last year Deepavali Fair in Sydney attracted over 15,000 people. The program consisted of Bhajans, cultural programs by local artists originating from Bharat, Bali, Nepal and Bangladesh and also over 100 stalls of food, general merchandice, banks, IT and Phone companies etc. This year the council will be organising Deepavali Fair on Oct 30 and expect even greater number of people.
17. BARC DEVELOPS SPENT FUEL AUTOMATION SYSTEM: The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre has designed and developed the first of its kind advanced automation system for transferring spent fuel bundles of pressurised heavy water reactors for nuclear reprocessing plants.
"Introduction of this automation system for reprocessing plant is aimed at transferring the fuel bundles directly from fuel handling area (FHA) of storage pool to the dissolver cell in an automated way, without the necessity of using charging cask," Director of Remote Handling and Robotics and Design, Manufacturing and Automation Group of BARC, Manjit Singh said.
18. SAMSKRIT BHARATI TRAINING HELPS 90 LAKH TO SPEAK IN SANSKRIT: “Samskrit Bharati, through Samskrit Sambhashan camps, trained over 90 lakh people in Sanskrit speaking during the last 30 years. Today, it is an organisation which is active in 19 countries of the world for propagation of Sanskrit and also to make Sanskrit a language of the masses.
Besides this, over 300 books and different CDs and DVDs, etc. have also been prepared,” said general secretary of Samskrit Bharati Shri CM Krishna Shastry. He was speaking at the concluding function of a ten-day Sanskrit Sambhashan camps at Parishkar College auditorium in Jaipur on September 11. Shri Devkrishan Saraswat, president of Samskrit Bharati, Jaipur Prant, and many other eminent Sanskrit scholars were also present on the occasion.
The elected students’ representatives of 25 Sanskrit colleges were also honoured on the occasion.
19. VAISHNO DEVI SHRINE TO HAVE MATERIAL, PASSENGER ROPEWAYS: The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, at its 50th meeting held in New Delhi on September 22 under the chairmanship of Governor NN Vohra, who is also the Chairman of the Shrine Board, approved two major projects, costing over Rs 65 crore for setting up a material ropeway from Siar Dabri to the Bhawan and a passenger ropeway between the Bhawan and the Bhairon Temple.
The establishment of the passenger ropeway between the Bhawan and the Bhairon Temple is estimated to cost over Rs 55 crore while the material ropeway between Siar Dabri (near Katra) and Bhawan will involve an expenditure of about Rs 9 crore.
20. GOVT, HINDU OUTFITS DECRY MARXISTS’ TAKE ON TEMPLE WEALTH: The Kerala Government, the Congress party and Hindu organisations have rejected the CPI(M) theory that the amazing collection of treasures found in Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple at Thiruvananthapuram are public wealth that should be managed by a committee containing nominees of political parties.
According to Keral CM Oommen Chandy, the treasures belonged to the temple itself. State Congress president Ramesh Chennithala said that atheists, “who could say anything”, need not bother about management of wealth belonging to places of worship. Reiterating that the treasures belonged to the temple alone, Hindu Aikya Vedi general secretary Kummanam Rajasekharan said that Pinarayi’s statement was in effect an infringement on the rights of the believers as well as a humiliation to them. He called for permanent treasures to protect these as temple property.
21. ABVP ACTIVISTS HOIST TRICOLOUR NEAR BANGLADESH BORDER : BSF jawans on September 9 prevented Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists and local farmers from hoisting the tricolour in the “disputed” Lathitila area of Karimganj district which has been handed over to Bangladesh by Bharat through a land swap deal signed in Dhaka on September 13, 2011. However, they hoisted the National Flag in no-man’s land near the place in question later.
22. BHARAT’S FIRST BAMBOO MUSEUM TO OPEN DOORS: The country’s first ‘bamboo museum’ is all set to be ‘formally’ inaugurated at the Institute of Himalayan Bio-resource Technology (IHBT) in Palampur (Himachal Pradesh). The museum will house a workshop and a laboratory. It will also display bamboo products.
The cantilever-based structure happens to be the largest bamboo structure in the country and uses bamboo for reinforcing the walls.
Bamboo in Uttarakhand and elsewhere is fast emerging as a housing substitute in areas with undulating terrains. Low-cost, middle-end and even high-end houses can be constructed with bamboo, say experts. A 1,800 sq feet low- cost bamboo house is likely to cost Rs 4.5 lakh, whereas a middle-end house of the same size would come up at a cost of Rs 15 lakh. A fancier and stronger structure of the same size may cost up to Rs 54-60 lakh. Bamboo is flexible and corrosion resistant and structures made up of this wood can withstand earthquakes and floods too.
23. MINI UAVS TO ASSIST TROOPS IN J&K: Troops on ground in Jammu and Kashmir will soon have their own “eyes in the sky”. The Army is procuring 20 miniature unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to be deployed in the operationally sensitive Northern Command.
These UAVs, sources said, would be used for general surveillance along the Line of Control as well as in certain volatile areas in the hinterland. These would also be used during anti-terrorist operations for providing real-time intelligence and for detecting intrusions as well as for limited search and rescue.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) also recently demonstrated its capability to produce a mini UAV, which has been christened Netra. Besides the Armed Forces, it has also been offered to the state police forces for security management and handling law and order situations.
24. DELHI METRO EARNS UN PRAISE, Rs. 47 CR IN CARBON CREDITS: The Delhi Metro has become the world’s first Metro rail and rail-based system to earn carbon credits — Rs 47 crore annually for the next seven years. The United Nations has hailed the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for helping reduce pollution levels in Capital by 6.3 lakh tonnes a year.
As many as 20 lakh people use the new-age pollution-free transport system a day, he said. The figure of Rs 47 crore may go up with the increase in number of passengers. No other Metro in the world has been able to get carbon credits as the conditions set by the world body are stringent.
25. NOW WATCH RAMLILA LIVE AT HOME, ON PHONE: Centuries old Ramlila is going to don a new look this season. Come September 27 and the stage theatre based on Hindu mythology is all set to hit the web platform with live webcast. The audio of the grand show will also be available on mobile phones through podcasts. What’s more? “The times have changed and in order to attract young audience, we have to innovate. We’ll be going live this year on our website. We have a large Bharatiya diaspora living in the UK, the US, Canada and other European countries. We have to cater them as well as they are more into their culture,” said Rahul Sharma of Shri Dharmik Lila committee which organises the show at the Red Fort ground.
26. PAK TEAM WANTS ANNA'S HELP IN FIGHTING GRAFT: Social crusader Anna Hazare could well take his battle against corruption across the border. On September 21, a two-member delegation from Pakistan came calling on Hazare at Ralegan Siddhi with a request that he travel to their country to guide them on fighting corruption. Hazare agreed to go to Pakistan when he was "fit to travel".
The delegation comprised retired Pakistan Supreme Court judge, Nasir Aslam Zahid and Karamat Ali, trade union leader and peace activist. Ali, who also spoke to reporters, said, "Like Bharat, we too are beset with corruption. Unlike Bharat, however, we do not have an Anna Hazare. We want him to visit Pakistan, which will create pressure on our government. "
27. BIONIC BOON FOR THE BLIND: For millions of Bharatiyas who suffer from loss of vision due to retina damage and age-related macular degeneration, there is now hope. A bionic eye which would help them see is going to be developed indigenously. The visual device would use eyeglasses fitted with digital cameras and a retinal implant and has been successfully tried on patients abroad.
The co-inventor of the global project, Dr Rajat N Agrawal, assistant professor of clinical ophthalmology at the University of Southern California, says he wants to make the implant affordable here and will work to bring down the cost of the implant to Rs 5 lakh from its present cost of Rs 45 lakh (approx).
28. BHARATIYA BOURSES BEAT GLOBAL LEADERS WITH CEO PAY HIKE: The Bharatiya stock exchanges may not rank high on international charts in terms of the volume of business done, but they have beaten global market leaders in terms of pay hikes given to their top executives.
The two largest stock exchanges of the world -- the NYSE Euronext and Nasdaq OMX Group -- cut down the remuneration paid to their respective CEOs last year. At the same time, the annual remunerations paid by Bharatiya bourses rose during the financial year ended March 31, 2011.
NSE’s Ravi Narain was the top-paid CEO, with gross remuneration of about Rs 7.35 crore followed by BSE MD and CEO Madhu Kannan (Rs 2.04 crore) and MCX-SX chief Joseph Massey (Rs 1.80 crore).In contrast, NYSE Euronext CEO Duncan Neiderauer saw his total compensation decline to $ 7.05 million (about Rs 31 crore) from $ 7.2 million in the previous year.
29. TWO IITIANS AMONG 400 RICHEST AMERICANS: Two IIT alumni have made it to the Forbes' list of the 400 richest Americans, topped for the 18th year in a row by Bill Gates with Warren Buffett in second spot.
According to Forbe’s list Bharat Desai with $1.35 billion gets the 329th spot with Vinod Khosla two notches below at 331st place with $1.3 billion.
Kenya born Syntel co-founder Desai (58), an IIT-Mumbai graduate, founded the outsourcing outfit in 1980, took the company public in 1997 and now has some 16,200 employees. Shares have jumped 20 per cent over the past year. Fellow IITian Vinod Khosla (56), The Bharat -born engineer, who made his early fortune as co-founder of Sun Microsystems, recently vowed to give away half his fortune to charity when he signed Bill Gates' and Warren Buffett's Giving Pledge last April.
30. BHARATIYA SCIENTIST DISCOVERS DRUG FOR ALZHEIMER’S SUFFERERS: Making a breakthrough in drug research to improve the quality of life of people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, a Bharatiya scientist has discovered an anti-Alzheimer’s drug that has been extracted from citrus fruits. Dr Mahaveer Golechha, senior research fellow, Department of Pharmacology, AIIMS, has been awarded the prestigious Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation’s, USA Young Investigator Scholarship Award.
“This drug Naringin is a bioflavonoid. Naringin exerted its effects through multiple mechanisms, like anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic. This drug has been discovered from citrus fruits,” added the doctor.
31. ORGANIZER & PANCHAJANYA WEBSITES REDESIGNED: “We should use new web media to reach millions of people worldwide and convey positive information about our activities”, said RSS sahsarkaryavaha Suresh Soni. He was speaking at a function in New Delhi on September 29, to launch websites of Organizer and Panchajanya in its new user friendly avtar. Others present were Delhi prant sah sanghachalak Shyamsundar Agarwal, Vijay ji General Manager – Bharat Prakashan and Milind Oak – senior Sangh prachark who played key role in designing these websites.
32. 106TH ANNIVERSARY OF VANDE MATARAM CELEBRATED: The sky over Yashwant Stadium in Nagpur was filled with Vande Mataram recited by 60,000 students coming from 210 schools of the city on September 6, braving heavy showers and unfriendly weather.
The programme was jointly organised by Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), Maitree Parivar, and School Education Department to commemorate the 106th anniversary of Vande Mataram, the legendry song that inspired thousands during freedom struggle and which became a war cry of Anna Hazare’s movement recently.
Addressing the students and others gathered at the Stadium, Shri Nitin Gadkari, national president of BJP said that recitation of such patriotic songs always inspire the individual.
33. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Visitors: Devanand and Brahmadesh students-Agra, Ganesh Mishra -Nepal, Jagdish Sehwani – USA. Pravas: Shri Ravikumar, sah samyojak Vishwa Vibhag will return Bharat from USA enroute HongKong. Shri Shyam Parande, secretary Sewa International will visit Myanmar in first week of October.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: If you know what I know about the power of giving, you would not let a single meal pass without sharing it in some way. – Bhagwan Buddha

JAI SHREE RAM

INDO-BANGLA LAND SWAP

Mamata terms it suicidal

When there is a clash of interest between two countries – especially between Bharat and Pakistan, or Bharat and Bangladesh or for that matter between Bharat and any Muslim country of the world, Bharatiya government always take a back seat perhaps to show off their magnanimity or liberalism at the cost of their country’s interest.
In the first week of September, Dr Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of Bharat had visited Bangladesh with a long list of agenda to be discussed and ultimately pact or pacts have to be signed. At the very first stage of this initiative, Smt Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of West Bengal, took a very stern attitude regarding sharing of Teesta river water with Bangladesh. Her voice was sounded very much discordant in the orchestration of the PM’s party to Bangladesh. She was very clear in her utterance, “I have nothing to say against Bangladesh. But I must be truthful to the commitment towards our countrymen. I have no right to betray them. Our people of North Bengal are suffering from paucity of water. Agriculture in this area is worst sufferer for this reason.”
At the initial stage Mamata was ready to allow 18,000 cusecs of Teesta water to Bangladesh. Then after some persuasion she agreed to increase the figure up to 25,000 cusecs. But when Central government officials insisted on allowing them at least 33,000 cusecs Mamata said, ‘this far and no further’. Mamata then declared her decision of not to accompanying the Prime Minister in his trip to Bangladesh because she does not want to be a party to this kind of suicidal pact. Not only that, this would damage if not doom the future of North Bengal.
Sharing of river water with the then East Pakistan and presently known as Bangladesh has a long history. There are 54 rivers including Teesta which have this water sharing problem between two countries. This controversy persisted since the days of East Pakistan. In the year 1976, Teesta water sharing issue has been taken to the UNO for an amicable settlement. Then in 1979, when Bangladesh had constructed a barrage in Dalia on Teesta, Bharat by way of a retaliatory action constructed a barrage in the up-stream of Teesta at Gajaldoba, Jalpaiguri in 1993. This had given a good lesson to Bangladesh. But they were not ready to reconcile. It is a fact that the UN rule is to allow at least 16 per cent water from upstream to downstream belonging to a different country. Bharat had never defied this rule. So Mamata was well within the legal parameters as well, when she had stuck up to her point of not damaging the country’s interest. Although diplomatic circle of both the countries have cast a serious note of Mamata’s non cooperation in this regard and Dr. Manmohan Singh was put in a very awkward position in Bangladesh, Mamata was unperturbed because she thought that it was nation’s interest which had to be considered first.
There is a political angle in this matter. Mamata’s party Trinamool Congress (TMC) holds a commanding position in the ruling UPA conglomeration with twenty MPs. So it is not very easy to take any action against Mamata Banerjee because that would risk the very existence of UPA government. Hence, Dr. Manmohan Singh had to bow down and had to find out ways and means to make an adjustment with Mamata Banerjee.
This was not the case when Jyoti Basu was chief minister of West Bengal because he used to put little importance on national issues. He used to enjoy a ‘blue eyed boy’ position in the Congress. For example, in 1996 the then Prime Minister of Bharat Devegowda signed a pact with Bangladesh on sharing Farakka-Ganga water keeping Jyoti Basu in good humour. At that time, Devegowda government allowed 40,000 cusecs of Ganga water to Bangladesh. Jyoti Basu did not oppose the pact. He was happy because Bangladesh government promised him to preserve his ancestral house at village Baradi under Dhaka district of Bangladesh. Only dissenting voice, at that time, was of Bikram Sarkar’s. He was Chairman of Calcutta Port Trust at that time. He was protesting the Bharatiya government’s decision to divert 40,000 cusecs of Ganga water from Farakka to Padma river because he was very much worried as this would kill both Calcutta Port and Haldia Port. Inder Kumar Gujral, the then External Affairs Minister asked Jyoti Basu over telephone to shut down the mouth of Sarkar. Jyoti Basu abided by the order of Gujral and Bikram Sarkar could not assume the post of Chief Secretary of West Bengal. But the fact remains that both Calcutta Port and Haldia Port are now gasping for life for want water. Jyoti Basu did not bother. Now Bikram Sarkar is an MP belonging to TMC.
In this connection one should not forget that Bangladesh government is very much careful to preserve their rights. They did not agree to allow us the right of unhindered Bharatiya goods transit through their land and they did not allow Bharatiya ships to enter Chittagong Port and Mangala Port. And the latest news highlighted in the context of terrorist attack on Delhi High Court premises, is that the suspect fidayeens took part in that blast were trained in Bangladesh madrasas. Their belligerent attitude towards Bharat is a common knowledge.
The Calcutta edition of Hindustan Times published a story on 12 September 2011 under the headline “Bangla Madrasas into arms training” said, “Amid the furore created by the blast on the Delhi high court premises, the Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau (SIB) has learnt that more than 250 madrasa students of Bangladesh, under the aegis of the al-Qaeda and terrorist outfits have started receiving fidayeen training from this month to carry out terror strikes at several places in Bharat.”
“According to the sleuths, these Bangladeshi madrasas are located mainly in districts such as Chapai Nawabgunj, and Rajshahi adjacent to such West Bengal districts as Murshidabad and Maldah”. (By Asim Kumar Mitra Organiser 25 Oct 2011)