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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
5th 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 25th
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 4th 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 6th 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 15th 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
Aug 13, 2012
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.