Bhadrapad Krishna 14 Vik Samvat 2069. Yugabda 5114: August 16, 2012

    

: P.O.BOX 5728 SRT NAGAR, NEW DELHI 110055 (BHARAT);          Email: vishwav@bol.net.in

No. Sm1210/2069 (For Private Circulation Only)             Tel: 91-11- 23684445; Fax:: 91-11-23517722 

1. FESTIVALS: Ganesh Chaturthi, the fourth day of Bhadrapad Shukla, falling this year on September 19, is celebrated with great devotion all over Bharat and in all the countries where Hindus reside. In 1893, Bal Gangadhar Tilak promoted this as publc festival and used as effective tool for mobilization against British rule. Ganesh Chaturthi is dedicated to Lord Ganesh, God of all good beginnings and success. The festival, celebrated as the birth day of Lord Ganesh is a 10-day event with idols of Ganesh installed at home and prayers offered to them. After that, they are ceremoniously carried in a procession throughout the town and immersed into the river, sea or well. Dance, musical performances, poetry recitations, theatre and film festivals are the highlights of the event.

2. SUNITA WILLIAMS UNFURLS TRICOLOUR IN SPACE, WISHES I-DAY: Bharatiya-American astronaut Sunita Williams displayed the tricolour on board the International Space Station and wished Bharatiyas a very happy Independence Day. "I wish India a very happy Independence Day for August 15... India is a wonderful country and I am very proud to be a part of India," Williams said in her message. "Of course, you know that I am half Indian. My father is from Gujarat. India is a very colourful and wonderful place and I am very proud to be from there. Happy Independence Day to everybody in India," she added.

3. The Bharatiya who landed curiosity: Dr Renjith Kumar, 49, is the CEO of the company which was closely involved with the rover's Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL), or what is now being famously called the "seven minutes of terror". Analytical Mechanics Associates (AMA)  is an old hand at Mars missions since their inception, be it the Mars Pathfinder, Mars Exploration rovers Spirit and Opportunity, or the Mars Science Laboratory.

In the case of Curiosity, AMA had computer-simulated the dynamics of the spacecraft after it enters the Martian atmosphere. This included accurately modeling the Martian atmosphere and coordinating between various parts of the spacecraft such as the parachute, bridles, heatshield.

Kumar admits that the "seven minutes of terror" was indeed terrifying as a lot of money and effort was at stake. "The mission cost upward of $2.1 billion. Moreover, Curiosity was heavy (about 1 ton) and a new, never before-attempted idea — Sky Crane — was used for this mission where instead of rolling the rover off an elevated lander, it was attached to the bottom of the rocket-powered descent stage, and lowered directly to the surface."

Renjith Kumar studied at Loyola School and College of Engineering in Thiruvananthapuram where, in 1985, he got a gold medal for B Tech in Mechanical Engineering. In 1986 he came to Virginia Institute of Technology to pursue an MS and a Ph D in aerospace engineering.

4. MODI QUESTIONS PM, ASKS WHY HE IS QUIET ON MUMBAI VIOLENCE: Terming Prime Minister's Independence Day speech as disappointing, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on August 15 questioned his silence on the Mumbai violence and asked him to clarify his government's policy on the issue of Bangladeshi infiltrators. He also accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of adopting "dual standards" with regard to incidents in Assam and Mumbai in his 66th Independence Day speech at Junagarh. "The infiltration of Bangladeshis in Bharat is becoming a issue of concern. Assam (violence) is just a small example of it becoming a major problem for the nation," Modi said. "Prime Minister, the country wants to know what are you thinking about Bangladeshi infiltration. What are your policies? Will Bangladeshis have a sway in Bharat," Modi said. Accusing the PM of adopting dual standards, he said, "Why the Prime Minister has remained silent on the violence in Mumbai, while he expressed remorse on the violent protests in Assam? Why this dual standards ? How can a Prime Minister of a country be mum on such a serious incident?" Modi said he heard the Prime Minister's speech not as a chief minister but as a common man and was disappointed.

5. SPREAD POSITIVE VALUES: DR. BHAGWAT: “Journalists should strive to spread positive values and dialogue to ensure proper sustenance of the society while fully utilizing the technological innovations”, observed Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Sarasanghchalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat at Nagpur on August 4. He was speaking at a Rashtriya Patrakarita Kalyan Nyas, New Delhi function in Nagpur to felicitate journalists. He said that the media has to play an important role to keep the process of dialogue and communication on the right track so that the society develops itself on the positive values adding that highlighting positive attitudes and values was necessary to create a positive atmosphere in the country.            Bapurao Lele Patrakarita Puraskar was conferred on Nagpur’s noted journalist, consumer activist and social worker D G alias Rajabhau Pophali while Dadasaheb Apte photo-journalist award was given to Ganesh Bisht from Delhi. Noted Hindi writer Mridula Sinha was honored with Smt Asharani Vora Mahila Patrakarita Puraskar. The awards were of Rs 51,000/- for Lele Puraskar and Rs 21,000/- each for the other two awards.

6. Know Bharat; Be Bharat; Make Bharat: Sitaram Kedilaya, an RSS pracharak for the last 6 decades, Akhil Bharatiya Sewa Pramukh till last year, is on 15,000 kilometers ‘Bharat Parikrama’ which started from Kanya Kumari on August 9. Sitaram Ji covers 10 kilometers a day on foot sticking on for single meal a day.  He has no possessions or belonging with him.  During his walk he sings bhajans. In the afternoons, he goes in front of a house and asks ‘Bhikshan Dehi’. Being invited in, he enters the home and eats only 3 handful of rice given by the Annapoorna.  In his lectures to women and discussions with youth, he emphasizes 6 points – one should love his village, love the mankind, conserve the water, help elders and all living beings, and should work for grama upliftment. 

7. Ekal, the largest, fastest and the best: “People are now confident that the Ekal Vidyalaya movement will lead the renaissance of the nation,” said Manju Didi, founder member of the movement, while addressing a gathering of Shri Hari Satsansga Samiti members in Mumbai on 5^th August. Shri Hari Satsansga Samiti raises resources for various educational and samskaar related activities of Ekal Vidyalaya movement in the tribal parts of Bharat.

The movement, in its 25^th year now, has reached even to the remotest parts of Ladakh and North Eastern states. It has 50 active chapters in as many metros across Bharat, running more than 32,000 ekal vidyalayas in around 200 districts, having acharyas and gram samitis in additional 40,000 tribal villages, over 7,000 life workers and lakhs of citizens contributing regularly to the cause.

8. WE StRONGLY CONDEMN KILLINGS AT us gURUDWARA: rss Sarkaryavah Suresh (BhayyaJI) Joshi: It came as a rude shock to millions of peace-loving citizens of the world, especially the countless millions of Bharatiyas, that several innocent Sikhs were massacred and several more injured in the mindless shoot out outside a Gurudwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, US. We strongly condemn this heinous crime. It demonstrates the abominable tendencies of racism and violence still prevalent in some sections of the American society and the ignorance about great humanistic precepts of Sikhism.

Our heart goes out for the innocent Sikhs, including women, elderly and children. We pray to the Vaheguru to offer peace to the departed and quick relif to the injured. We offer condolences to the families of the deceased.

We urge our Government to talk to its counterparts in US to ensure that proper education about the great teachings of religions from Bharat like Sikhism etc. are imparted widely to the American society as the hoary common heritage of the humanity so that such acts of vendetta borne out of misinformed prejudices and hatred are not repeated.

9.  VSSV 2012 IN TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Vishwa Sangh Shiksha Varg (VSSV) – 2012 concluded on a happy note with an in house program at Chinmay Ashram on August 5, 2012. The public concluding function was held at Diwali Nagar – Chaguanas in Trinidad & Tobago on the evening of August 4^th in the presence of Honourable Minister of Local Government, Dr. Surujrattan Rambachan as the Chief Guest and RSS General Secretary (Sarkaryavaha) Shri Suresh ji (Bhaiya ji) Joshi.

VSSV – 2012, started on July 15th at Chinmaya Ashram - Couva in Trinidad, was the first such varg outside Bharat. A total of 58 participants from 6 countries participated in the varg. The countries represented were USA, UK, Kenya and Caribbean countries of Suriname, Guyana and Trinidad. This was the 6^th VSSV which takes place every 3 or 4 years for volunteers of HSS who finish their 3 Sangh Shiksha Vargs of 7 days in their respective countries.

The public function at Diwali Nagar, attended by local Hindu community in large numbers, saw impressive physical demonstrations of Yoga, Niyuddha (Self Defense) and Ghosh (Marching Band). Chief Guest Dr.Rambachan urged that all Hindus should inculcate the spirit of yajna in their work. Praising the initiative by HSSTT he felt that such program should be taken to every village in Trinidad & Tobago.

RSS Sarkaryavaha Shri Bhaiyaji Joshi spoke about the term Hindu and gave insights into its depth, meaning, values and principles. He mentioned that the root cause of world problems seems to spring from narrow and exclusive perspectives that promote materialism that leads to human conflict and the fast depletion of resources of Mother Nature. He urged all the participants of VSSV to strive for inculcating these noble ideals in the world.

Included in the audience were Senator The Honourable Mbau Moheni, Minister of State in the Ministry of National Diversity & Social Integration; Shri Deokinanan Sharma, President of the National Council of Indian Culture, Shri Jagdish P Arya, Director of the Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Cultural Cooperation, various Hindu leaders and several other dignitaries. Swami Aksharananda ji – Guyana and Shri Deoroop Teemal, Sanghchalak – HSS Trinidad & Tobago were others present on the dais. HSS International coordinator Shri Saumitra ji Gokhale gave information about the VSSV while Shri Lalchan Dookie – Karyvaha HSS Trinidad & Tobago conducted the proceedings.

The Varg was inaugurated on July 15^th by Swami Prakashanand ji of Chinmaya Ashram in the presence of Swami Aksharananda ji – Guyana who was Sarvadhikari for the varg and Shri Arun ji Kankani, Vice President of Sewa International USA was thekaryavaha for the varg. The varg schedule included shareerik training like Ashtang Yoga, Samata, Dand, Niyuddha and bauddhik programs of important topics on Hindu culture, challenges to youth, modern methods of communication etc. Programs from local cultural groups showcasing the efforts taken by ‘Jahaji’ Bharatiyas to preserve their culture and roots with Bharat touched the hearts of the participants. A 35 minute patha sanchalan (route march) through the lanes of Felicity brought the local community out on streets greeting the young participants of VSSV on Aug 1. Door to Door Rakshabandhan undertaken by these volunteers was a heartwarming experience which revealed the deep rooted emotions within the ‘Jahaji’ community about the land and people of Bharat. Another memorable evening was that of ‘Matrihaste bhojan’, when about 20 families brought homemade food and each family shared it with a group of participants giving the whole milieu a touch of family get-together.

Overall, the successful completion of 21 day camp will certainly prove to be an important milestone in the Hindu work abroad.

10. 23 ITALIANS RECEIVE HINDU DIKSHA: 23 Italian citizens (consisiting of four children) from Vatican received Diksha from A Raja Sastrigal at a Veda Patasala at Karuvadikuppam, Puduchery on August 5. The three-hour ceremony was held at the Gomaatha Kovil amidst chanting of mantras and hymns by the Italian devotees — teachers, doctors, engineers and other professionals. It all began with one Italian man, Flavio, who got influenced by the Hindu way of life, came into contact with Raja Sastrigal, way back in 2001. Sastrigal went to Vatican and stayed there for three months to teach Flavio and his wife Stepano, the basics of Sanskrit hymns and Vedas. Over the years, the couple gathered followers, who were also influenced by Hindu spirituality.

The few local people assembled at the Diksha ceremony were astonished to hear the Italians’ near-perfect rendering of Sri Rurdram Chamakam, Rudrajapam, Srisuktham, and portions from Upanishads. Flavio and Stepano even changed their Italian names, adopting Hindu names Shivananda Saraswati and Savithri. Aurora, an Italian team member, said that she believes Bharat is a Karmabhoomi and the Hindu way of life has led to understanding herself better.

11.  Bharatiya bags top physics honour: Ashok Sen, a shy and unassuming scientist of Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, a professor at the little known but exclusive Harish-Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad, has been declared one of the winners of the first Fundamental Physics Prize started by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner.

Sen and eight other scientists will get $3 million each - double of what is given with the Nobel Prize. Seven of the winners are based in US, one is in France and one in Bharat. Sen has been awarded for his pioneering work on string theory. Yuri Milner personally selected the winners of this year's award.

Ashoke Sen is considered one of original contributors to string theory, a complex mathematical construct which is meant to resolve one of science's biggest mysteries - that gravity as explained by Einstein does not fit in with quantum theory which explains all other forces and particles of nature.

Ashoke Sen studied in Shailendra Sircar Vidyalaya, and then Presidency College, in Kolkata before going on to IIT Kanpur in 1976. He got his doctorate from State University of New York, Stonybrook and then worked at Fermilab and Stanford before returning to Bharat. He has won the ICTP Prize in 1989, the Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar award in 1994, the Padma Shri in 2001 and the Infosys prize in Mathematical Sciences in 2009.

12. DENIALS WON’T WORK NOW: Pakistan does treat its Hindus callously: That the news of Hindu families from the Sindh and Balochistan Provinces of Pakistan migrating en masse to Bharat, fearing greater religious persecution, comes alongside reports of the abduction of a teenaged Hindu girl from that same region, serves as a scathing commentary on the plight of minorities in that country.

Only earlier this week, the Pakistani media reported that some 60 Hindu families from Balochistan and Sindh have decided to migrate to Bharat. Compound this with the fact that the Bharatiya High Commission in Pakistan has given about 250 visas to Pakistani Hindus, that 130 Pakistani Hindus with valid Bharatiya visas were held back at the border on for not having ‘security clearances’ and that more than 50 Hindu families have already emigrated in the past six months ago. You then have the very real possibility of a Hindu exodus from Pakistan hard to ignore. This is not surprising at all given the manner in which so many Hindus are treated in Pakistan — ostracised, tortured, abducted and abused until they are forcibly converted to Islam, the life of the average Pakistani Hindu is hellish, to say the least. It is living proof of how an increasingly intolerant society has pushed its religious minority so far out to the fringes that the latter would rather be refugees in another country than live in their own. Equally importantly, it also points to the failure of the Pakistani Government to protect religious minorities. The authorities have neither provided additional security to the vulnerable nor have they prosecuted those responsible for crimes perpetrated against Hindu minorities. In fact, so lackadaisical has been the Pakistani state's response that one is compelled to ask whether it too is complicit in this pogrom against Hindus.

Little else explains why the state machinery has largely refused to acknowledge that there is an anti-Hindu campaign at work. This is despite the fact that Hindu businessmen continue to be routinely held to ransom, Hindu shops are looted and Hindu women forcibly married off to Muslim men. Most recently, the Chief Minister of Sindh ordered an inquiry but it is highly unlikely that anything will come of it as long as the authorities refuse to acknowledge the truth about Hindu persecution in Pakistan. Mostly, the authorities write off such charges by pointing to Pakistan's overall law and order situation. ‘Who is safe in Pakistan?' is the common refrain. Similarly, with regard to the forced conversion of Hindu women, the popular response is that they eloped and married Muslim men out of love. Such ridiculous denial of reality extends to even the highest echelons of power. Senior Pakistani leaders actually believe that those travelling to Bharat are doing so because they are undertaking a religious pilgrimage. “They will come back after their 30-40 day stay”, Sindh's Minister for Excise and Taxation said, even as his colleague in Islamabad, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Interior Affairs, Mr Rehman Malik, labelled it a “conspiracy against Pakistan”.

But, even if Islamabad chooses a blinkered approach to its response, New Delhi must formulate a well-crafted strategy to deal with the crisis. India has a history of failing to handle its immigrant population that eventually just slips through the cracks in the system. It is time to change all of that, or else the influx of Pakistani Hindu refugees will soon morph into a social problem. – Editorial, The Pioneer 11 August 2012

13. Hindu Heritage Camp of MN Vibhag: The camp for Minnesota vibhag this year was held on July 14-15 at Lake Okoboji, Iowa. There were total 61 attendees (tarun 37, yuva gana 17 and bal gana 7) from North Dakota, Rochester and Minneapolis shakhas including one visiting shakha pramukh from Bharat. The camp was a totally new experience as compared with the camps organised in Bharat for the nitya shakha swayamsevaks. Games were planned for different age groups. Lagori, which many played after long time was enjoyed by all! Baudhik topics were well received and stimulating.  Arts and Crafts was lot of fun for all.  There were Mandal games – some with object & some spread across the ground.  Yoga & games for the second day were well planned and participants enjoyed them. 

Guruji Shantharam Bhandarkar visualized Shrimadbhagavad Gita describing how its entire essence lies in meditation. He covered all of its chapters in 20 minutes. Dr. Devdutt Patanaik, a Bharatiya physician turned leadership consultant, mythologist and author, spoke from Bharat via Skype.

14.  RAKSHA BANDHAN IN MELBOURNE SHAKHA: Raksha Bandhan was celebrated in the Praudh shakha of Melbourne, Australia with tying of rakhis by not only the ladies but by men also. Bhajans on Rakhi, Krishan Janamashtami and national songs were highlights of the function. Sweets were distribured. Bhushan ji from Delhi, Thakur ji from Jalandhar and Jai Sukh Bhai of Kenya graced the occasion.

15.  Bharat-origin girl raises 6,400 pounds: Sabina Ranger, a second year university student in UK, has raised over 6,400 pounds by organising a '5K walk' for the Akshaya Patra Foundation, a Bharat NGO which provides food for 1.3 million school children daily across 9 states and 19 locations in Bharat.

The walk took place on 5th August, the same day that The Akshaya Patra foundation fed its billionth meal. Ranger made T-shirts with a picture of school children eating meals given by the foundation and with the NGO's logo for the walkers to wear. She was joined in by many neighbours and friends, besides her family and Dipika Khaitan, the president of The Akshaya Patra Foundation UK.

16.   BHARATIYA-AMERICAN LEADS NEW WAYS TO TREAT COLON CANCER: "There are significant findings from this study that better inform us about the cancer, and also provides potential new opportunity for treating this cancer," says Bharatiya-American Harvard professor and the principal investigator for the colon cancer study, Raju Kucherlapati, who has been working on this subject for over 20 years. Currently, the treatments for colon cancer are primarily surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, which he said are "not tremendously effective".

A Professor in Harvard Medical School Department of Genetics, Kucherlapati’s research focuses on gene mapping, gene modification, and cloning disease genes. It might take a few years for some of these therapies to become common place but this opens the door & is a great opportunity to change the therapeutic agents for this cancer.

17.  PoK part of Bharat: Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is considered part of Bharat and people living in that territory are considered Bharatiya nationals, the Maharashtra state government on August 6 told the Bombay High Court in the context of a man from PoK who claimed that he accidentally crossed over into Bharat in 1996 when he was 10 years old. A Division Bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and A R Joshi, however, questioned why the police had registered cases against the man under the Passports Act and Foreigners Act, given the stand of the state government.

The petitioner, Siraj Murad Khan, approached the court seeking a directive to the authorities to send him back to PoK. The court has now asked the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to state if it concurs with the state government’s stand on the case.

18.   Agni-II successfully test fired: The trial of the surface-to-surface missile was conducted from a mobile launcher from the Launch Complex-4 of Integrated Test Range (ITR) at around 0848 hours on August 9. The launch was a complete success. All mission parameters were met during the trial of the indigenously developed missile.

The two-stage missile equipped with advanced high accuracy navigation system, guided by a novel scheme of state of the earth command & control system was propelled by solid rocket propellant system, said ITR Director MVKV Prasad. The entire trajectory of the trial was tracked by a battery of sophisticated radars, telemetry observation stations, electro-optic instruments and naval ships located near the impact point in the down range area of the sea. The 20-metre long Agni-II is a two-stage, solid-propelled ballistic missile. It has a launch weight of 17 tonnes and can carry a payload of 1000 kg over a distance of 2000 km.

19.   BHARAT-Thailand highway to be ready by 2016: A 3,200-km trilateral highway linking Bharat, Myanmar and Thailand will become a reality by 2016.  Bharat has given a $500 million loan to Myanmar, some of which will be used to fund the highway, said Anil Wadhwa, Bharat's ambassador to Thailand. The trilateral highway, which is also being funded by the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank, will open up Bharat's northeastern states to Southeast Asia.

20. Sikhs in NYPD be allowed turban and beard: In the wake of a deadly attack at a Wisconsin Gurdwara, the New York city Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been asked to allow Sikhs to wear turban and sport a beard in the New York Police Department (NYPD). United Sikhs and representatives of the New York Sikh community had a meeting with NYC Comptroller Liu to discuss issues faced by the Sikh community, following the terror attack on the Wisconsin Sikh Gurdwara on August 5.

21. Gaijatra Festival: Hindus in Kathmandu, Nepal regard the Gai (cow) as holy animal as she is supposed to help departed souls to reach heaven. A Gaijatra Festival, also known as the festival of cows, is celebrated on the day following Rakshabandhan (August 3 this year), in which people ask for salvation and peace for their departed loved ones. A Jatra is taken out on the streets of Kathmandu in which children and elders put different religious attires. A boy dressed as Lord Krishna plays the flute while many girls are dressed as holy cows.

22. British used Holkar PM to assess Hitler, Mussolini: About four years before World War II broke out; pairing Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, Britain had relied on a Bharatiya to gain an insight into the thought process of the two dictators. Sir Siremal Bapna, prime minister in Indore's Holkar princely state from 1926 to 1939, had secretly met Italian fascist leader Mussolini and Hitler, the chief of Nazi Germany, in 1935, reveals his diary. His great-grandson Upendra Singh, who is based in the US and is writing a historical novel on his family’s legacy, said in an email, “Because of the sensitivity of this mission, these meetings were kept low-key, almost secret at the time.”

Singh said the British prime minister wanted Bapna to meet Mussolini and gauge his intentions on invading Ethiopia (which he eventually did). On Churchill being keen on Bapna meeting Hitler, Singh said he came to know of this from Churchill’s daughter Sarah and Earl Nicholas Eden, son of Anthony Eden (Bapna’s friend and Britain’s prime minister in the 1950s), when he met them in London in 1984. A day after Bapna reached London following his meeting with the dictators, Churchill visited him. Little did Bapna know that his visitor would one day lead Britain as prime minister to victory against Hitler’s Germany.

23.  SAVE YAMUNA – UK BHARATIYAS’ CONCERN: Hindu Council UK, National Council of Hindu Temples in UK, ISKCON UK, Hindu Forum of Britain and Vishwa Hindu Parishad, UK have voiced concern of Hindus residing in Britain on the sad state of river Yamuna in Bharat, a holy river so closely connected to Sri Krishna’s earthly pastimes.

UN report pointed out that 97% of the river’s water is directed away from the riverbed not far from its source. Experts decry superficial efforts to treat the river without allowing its natural water to flow. Foremost among several measures agreed upon by environmentalists, government institutions and a committee recognized by the Supreme Court of Bharat are that a substantial and sufficient amout of water from the Yamuna must be allowed to enter the natural riverbed and not be redirected at Haryana. Hindus of UK in their letter to the Bharatiya High Commission in UK have called upon the Bharatiya Government to act quickly to correct this environmental crisis.

24. Ramdev reminds leaders to weed out corruption: Dalai Lama:  Buddhist spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama said corruption is a kind of violence and yoga guru Ramdev‘s movement is helpful in reminding people and leaders of the country that something should be done to weed it out. “I have always been clear, corruption is one kind of violence, exploiting others rights in money field,” the Dalai Lama said in Jammu on August 13. Giving details about his visit to Jammu and Kashmir, he said, “I went to Ladakh where my aim was to give lecture to Buddhist community. I also met Muslims in Ladakh. There are very good relations between Muslims and Buddhists in Ladakh.”

25. Why Parrikar quit chewing gutka: “In 2003, I was attending a school function, when I saw a sixth standard boy opening a pouch of gutka right before my eyes and pour the contents into his mouth. I slapped him.” Narrating his experience during zero hour in the assembly on August 7, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said that the experience left such a deep impression on him that he quit the habit himself. The Assembly was debating a move to stop a gutka manufacturer from branding his wares under the name of ‘Goa Gutka’.

Goa became the first State to ban the sale and consumption of gutka. The step was followed years later by Madhya Pradesh and very recently Rajasthan moved to ban the intoxicant.

26. Appeal for help to riot-hit people in Assam: Sewa International has been at the forefront of relief and rehabilitation during the natural and man-made calamities in Bharat, USA, Guyana, UK, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Myanmar etc. for more than 2 decades. Sewa International Bharat now appeals for support in its activities for providing succor to the riot-affected people in Assam.

Fact File:-

v      Total Relief Camps run by Sewa Bharati – 303

v      Deaths in camps – 124 children.

v      2 Year age children in camps – 8,076.

v      Pregnant women – 2,428.

v      Total needy patients – 93,789.

v      Diarrhea patients – 14,994.

v      Dysentery patients – 3,374.

v      Malaria patients – 100.

v      Viral fever patients – 23,088.

Your timely help may save a life, provide food to the hungry or shelter to people who have been displaced due to violence.

Sewa International

49, Deendayal Upadhyaya Marg,

New Delhi -110002, India

Tel: +91 11 23232850, +91 11 43007650 or 23684445

Email: sewainternationaldelhi@gmail.com

Account details: For Foreign Donations-

Sewa International  Account No.- 10080533326

State Bank of India, Jhandewala Extn Branch

Branch Code-9371  Swift Code- SBININBB550

Account details: For Inland Donations-

Sewa International  Account No.- 10080533304

State Bank of India, Jhandewala Extn Branch

Branch Code-9371  Swift Code- SBININBB550

27. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Visitors: Sevikas from Kenya and Trinidad attending Vishwa Samiti Shiksha Varg – Hubli on Delhi tour. Pravas: Ma. Bhayya ji Joshi, Sarkaryavaha RSS is on a 2-week pravas of USA till Aug 20. Vishwa Vibhag Adhikaris Saumitra ji Gokhale, Ravikumarji and Dr. Ram Vaidya returned from Trinidad to USA, Bharat and UK resp. Dr. Ram Vaidya-sah samyojak is on a 3-week tour to Kenya.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: All knowledge that World has ever received comes from the mind; the infinite library of the universe is in our own mind. – Swami Vivekananda.

JAI SHRIRAM

 MUMBAI VIOLENCE

R Jagannathan

 Aug 13, 2012

It is easy to blame the police for being unprepared for the huge crowd that turned out, but it is the leadership of the protest organisers who must be blamed more. PTI

It is time to throw the spotlight on the Muslim leadership for building up the anger and not doing anything to rein it in. One SMS was designed to make every Muslim in India feel like a hunted animal and angry and victimised. According to The Times of India, the SMS read thus: “Burma, Assam, Gujarat, Kashmir ke bad na jane kahan? Burma mein Musalmano ke qatl-e-aam or zulm ke khilaf Azad Maidan me Sunday ko rally hai. America me 5 Sikho ka katal hua to media or sarkar me hadkam hai, or lakhon Musalmanon ki zindagi ki koi keemat nahi. Sab ki ankhen band hai. Is SMS to Sunday se pehle Hindustan ki har Musalman or mantriyo or media tak pohchao..”.

The bashing of the media and destruction of television OB vans can be traced to this SMS message.

Look at the number of deliberate truth distortions here. The Indian media has been more than fair in reporting the Bodo-Muslim violence in Kokrajhar – in fact, it has been balanced, and did not overtly take the Bodo side even though the Bodos have as much reason to be angry as the Muslims, thanks to the influx from Bangladesh, some of them illegal immigrants. The fact that many people are infiltrators from Bangladesh is not even mentioned. Every word in the SMS is designed to feed a sense of victimhood without context.

As for the Myanmarese violence against the Rohingyas of the Arakan, the SMS assumes that it is somehow India’s job to take up the issue. This is why the murder in the US Gurdwara is mentioned – to show that if India can take up that issue, why not the riots in Myanmar? That many of the Rohingyas are taking shelter on the India side (some have even shifted to Hyderabad) is not seen as a reason to be grateful to this nation which has not so far discriminated against the flood of migrants from Bangladesh and even Myanmar. Would Indian Muslims be so angry if told that we are providing shelter to these victims of violence?

The incendiary statement of Asaduddin Owaisi in parliament the other day, where he “warned the central government…” about a “third wave of radicalisation among Muslim youth”, and another one right at the protest venue (where one speaker talked about biased media coverage) are clear examples of Muslim leaders trying to engender feelings of victimisation among Muslims.

When Owaisi said he was warning the central government about the radicalisation, he was forgetting one thing: was it not his duty to combat this radicalisation, to tell Muslims the whole truth rather than just the one he wants to convey?

It is no one’s case that Muslims are not discriminated against in India, or that they are not targeted occasionally in communal violence, but balance requires that Muslim leaders should speak the whole truth – that this is not a one-way street.

No Muslim in India is even told that Hindus in Pakistan are now being forced to consider seeking asylum in India.

India’s Muslim leadership has a responsibility to highlight the grievances of their community, but it has an even greater responsibility to speak the truth about how much better it is to live in a secular state, despite the warts. –Excerpts from the article Mumbai violence: Reinventing the Muslim victimhood stance, Firstpost. India.