Thursday, June 20, 2013

 

Jyestha Shukla 7 Vik Samvat 2070. Yugabda 5115: June 16, 2013

1.  FESTIVALS:  Ratha Yatra at Puri in the state of Odisha, Bharat, the oldest, biggest and the most visited religious journey in the world, is held on Ashad Shukla Dwitiya corresponding to July 10 this year. The idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Subhadra are usually worshiped in the sanctum of the temple. As part of Rath Yatra, all the three idols are taken out on three beautifully decorated wooden chariots, in a procession to Gundicha Temple and remain there for nine days. Then the idols return to the temple. The return journey is known as Bahuda Yatra.  Ratha Yatra is celebrated in many more cities of Bharat today. The festival has also become a common sight in most major cities of the world including Dublin, Belfast, Birmingham, London, Bath, Budapest, Melbourne, Montreal, Paris, New York, Singapore, since 1968 through the ISKCON Hare Krishna movement with the efforts of ISKON founder A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.  
2.   Trutiya Varsha Sangha ShikshA Varg Concludes: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Sarsanghchalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat on June 6 made a strong case for restoring Dharma that is value system that holds society together to put the fast declining social, political and economic situation back on rails, while addressing the participants in the Samapan of the Trutiya Varsha Sangh Shiksha Varg at Nagpur. Sri Nirmalanandnath Mahaswami, head priest of Chunchungiri Mutt, Bangalore, was the chief guest. Scion of Vadodara Maharaja Samarjitsinh Gaekwad graced the occasion with his special presence. “We had in our country a number of religions. They were not in conformity with each other; even at times were opposed to each other. But they all had the same definition of Dharma because it was related to holding the society together. Today there is a need to introduce this ‘Samajdharma’ in educational curricula so that the eternal values that held the society together could be re-established”, he said. Talking about Naxal problem, he said that these Naxalites talk of protecting the rights of the tribal people. But they believe in the principle ‘power flows through the barrel of the gun’ and indulge in indiscriminate and insensitive killing. They should be paid in the same coin, he added.
On Chinese incursions in Bharatiya territory, he said, “Our leaders look at this ‘aggression’ as ‘localized affair’. They do not know that by saying this they are helping the enemy of the nation.”. Sri Sri Sri Nirmalanand Mahaswami said that immense energy of youth, 70% of the population, should be diverted towards the positive direction so that it could be harnessed properly for development of the society.
3. Raghav Joneja, 15, becomes youngest bharatiya to climb Everest: At the age of 15 years and seven months, Raghav Joneja from Moradabad became the youngest Bharatiya to scale the Mount Everest when he along with his five schoolmates summited highest peak. Raghav broke the record set by Manipur's Nameirakpam Chingkheinganba, at 16 years seven months and 11 days, as recently as last month, surpassing Arjun Vajpai's feat by a week.
A student of Lawrence School, Sanawar, Raghav achieved the remarkable feat on May 21 after embarking on an arduous 56 day-long journey. In the process, the team from one of Asia's extant boarding schools, in Kasuali, became the youngest group and the first school team in the world to reach the top of the 8,848 metres (29,029 ft) mountain range.
"It feels really good to become the youngest Bharatiya to summit such a tough peak. We were trained for around eight months for this expedition. Climbing the peak with my schoolmates made it little easier," Raghav said of the expedition supported by Hero Cycles.
Besides Raghav, Ajay Sohal (17) Prithvi Chahal (17) Shubham Kaushik (16), Fateh Brar (16) Guribadat Singh (17) climbed the peak while one of their teammate Hakikat Grewal had to retreat from 27,600 ft after facing problems with his oxygen mask.
4.    2ND HINDU PRIESTS’ CONFERENCE IN USA was held st Shri Surya Narayan Mandir, Jamaica, New York on May 31 and June 1. The conference was jointly hosted by Shri Surya Narayan Mandir, the Bhavaanee Maa Mandir, the New York Sanatana Mandir and the United Community Mandir. It was attended by more than 130 Hindu devotees, Pandits and Swamis.
The conference started with the chanting of Ganesha Atharvashirsha by more than 50 priests, followed by Amrutur Srinivasan’s presentation on the challenges facing priests in the community. Pandit Parasram spoke about the work of the USA Pandits’ Parishad in Guyana and in the USA; and Swamini Svatmavidyananda talked about Devotion, Dharma, Prayer and the Priesthood. Arya Spiritual Center’s Dharmacharya Pandit Ramlall spoke about the challenges facing the Hindus in hostile societies.
There were sessions on topics such as Priests’ Role: Issues & Concerns; Community’s Issues & Concerns: Devotees’ & Executives’ Inputs; Sharing resources, the GOTO Group; Education & Training; The role of Priests and their Assimilation in the North American society; Hindu Chaplaincy in the University Setting; and Continuing Education and Skill Development Strategies. In one of the sessions, Aneesh Bairavasundaram presented “My story: Growing up in a Priest’s family”.
Another youth Austin Ayer spoke about the training available at universities in the Maharishi Organization, Devi Mehrotra spoke about the Hindu Students Council at Yale University, and Dr. Anand Ramnarine, called for a “national Hindu Voice, as a means of solidifying our Hindu identity.” The conference adopted two resolutions: One to establish a Pandit Sabha to enhance communication among priests in North America; and Two to develop a Priests Training Workshop Model that includes development of a Guide Book. Hindu Mandir Executives’ Conference is an initiative of Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America founded in 1970 and incorporated in the state of New York in 1974.
5. Isro sets up fellowship at US varsity: For the first time, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has established a fellowship at an American university. The Bharatiya space agency has set up the fellowship at the Graduate Aerospace Laboratories of the prestigious California Institute of Technology (Caltech). This fellowship has been established in honour of Satish Dhawan, the ISRO chairman between 1972 and 1984.
The fellowship will provide an opportunity every year to one meritorious graduating student from the aerospace department of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, to pursue masters in aerospace engineering at Caltech, according to ISRO. The programme begins with Caltech's winter session of the academic year 2013-14.
Satish Dhawan was an alumnus of Caltech's Graduate Aerospace Laboratories and obtained his PhD in aerospace in 1951. He was serving as distinguished visiting professor during 1971-72 at Caltech, preceding his ISRO chairmanship starting in 1972. Dhawan was bestowed the Distinguished Alumni Award by Caltech in 1969, the institute's highest alumnus honour.
6.  Hindu Americans Welcome FBI's 'Yes' to Anti-Hindu Hate Crime: The  Hindu American Foundation (HAF) welcomed the FBI Advisory Policy Board's (APB) recommendation that the FBI collect and report data regarding anti-Hindu, anti-Sikh, and anti-Arab hate crimes as part of its annual national data collection program mandated by the Hate Crime Statistics Act of 1990 (HCSA).
Over the past several months, Hindu Americans and supporters of the community lit up their Congressional leaders' phone lines in a nationwide campaign to encourage support for this initiative. The final decision to add the categories was taken on June 6 by the Advisory Policy Board, a subsidiary of the Department of Justice.
"We hope Director Robert Mueller approves the APB recommendation quickly so that they may be implemented without further delay," said Samir Kalra, Esq., HAF Director and Senior Human Rights Fellow. "Law-enforcement agencies will now be better able to track and assess trends in hate crimes against these communities and, most importantly, provide better protection."
7.  Guru Vandana 2013 Report: Meera Shakha, PA: Annual Guru Vandana Utsav was celebrated on Sunday, June 2nd, in Meera Shakha, PA. 52 students, ten teachers from 4 different schools with their family members, children and parents participated. New ghosh gana which attended ghosh varga last month set the tone of the Utsav. Yogasana pradarshan by regular shakha swayamsevaks/sevikas, games, bouddhik, sanghik geet, shloka, and video of skit prepared and presented by shakha children were the highlights of the function.
Mahesh-ji Kalla, HSS NE Sambhag karyawaha, delievered bouddhik focusing on what is "guru" and its importance in today's society and how Hindu culture brings in this important aspect to American society and the world.
8.   BHARAT TO BECOME WORLD'S MOST POPULOUS NATION AROUND 2028: UN: Bharat will surpass China to become world's most populous nation around 2028, with its population crossing the 1.45 billion mark, according to latest report by the United Nations.
The report 'World Population Prospects' says the world's population will hit 7.2 billion next month and is projected to reach 10.9 billion by 2100, with the growth mainly occurring in developing countries, with more than half in Africa.
But, with the number of future global dwellers linked to fertility, the number at the end of the century could be as high 16.6 billion or even fall to 6.8 billion, it adds. After that, Bharat's population will continue to grow and that of China is expected to start decreasing.
9.   Muslim-majority Indonesia gifts goddess Saraswati’s statue to America’s Washington: Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, has gifted an imposing 16 feet statue of Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of education and wisdom, to the American Capital city of Washington DC.
The statue of goddess Saraswati on top of a lotus flower, stands tall a block away from the Bharatiya Embassy in front of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi which was installed several years ago.
Prior to its installing, the structure of the statue was built in Bali and later flown to the US Capital in early April 2013. This steel structure is divided into three parts: upper body, lower body, and base, the later consisting a formation of a lotus flower and a white goose. Furthermore, instead of using bronze or stone, the sculptors opted for a mix of cement to model the body of the statue.
10. HISTORIC FIRSTS AS HINDUS CELEBRATE A DECADE OF ADVOCACY ON CAPITOL HILL: A Hindu monk offered the opening prayer for the House of Representatives and the birth sesquicentennial of Swami Vivekananda, considered Hinduism's first ambassador to the West, was marked in the Congressional record on June 4 morning. These two historical firsts led up to a gala celebration attended by over 300 as the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) marked its tenth year of advocacy on Capitol Hill. A parade of Senate and House leaders took turns at the podium of the ornate Caucus Room of the House Cannon Building and lauded the Foundation's accomplishments over the years.
"The dividends of a decade of investments in education, advocacy, and tireless interactions with every level of our nation's government were on display throughout HAF's full day of events," said Mihir Meghani, M.D., Co-Founder and member of the HAF Board of Directors. "A Hindu prayer given on the floor of the House, and the words of Swami Vivekananda offered by Congressman Ami Bera (D-CA) inspired a remarkable day and will carry us into the next decade of tireless work."
11.  Hundreds in Fiji take crash course in Sanskrit: Hundreds of people in Fiji are coming out to take a seven-day crash course of the Bharatiya classical language Sanskrit. Sanskrit scholar Gajendra Panda is in south Pacific island nation at the invitation of the Fiji Sevashram Sangha (FSS) to impart knowledge of the language.
Even as the classes are being held now at Labasa in Macuata province on the island of Vanua Levu, the earlier classes in Fiji's capital Suva were well attended and the participants' number had to be restricted to 55, according to Swamy Sanyukta Nanda of the FSS.
 “The way this course was run was easy to understand and it captured the participants' interest and enthusiasm on the first day and they were compelled to take time every evening for classes.”
Established in 2000, FSS is an affiliated body of the Bharat Sevashram Sangha and operates two centres from Lautoka, Fiji's second largest city on ths island of Viti Levu, and Suva, and the Hindu Milan Mandir at Labasa.
12.   Dr Mukund Modi is no more: Dr. Mukund Modi of Staten Island, New York, USA breathed his last on June 3. Dr. Mody was one of the pioneers and a Patron Member of VHP of America. He was instrumental in building up VHP of America in the early years. He was a true karamyogi and a prominent member of the Hindu Society in America. He had worked tirelessly to oppose the imposition of Emergency in Bharat in 1975, had organized various seminars in USA and UK for this cause. 
13. Bharatiya-origin Australian appointed envoy to Israel: A 37-year-old Bharatiya-origin Australian diplomat Devanand Sharma, popularly known as Dave Sharma, Australia's new envoy to Israel is only the second Australian-Bharatiya to be appointed ambassador, the other being Peter Varghese who was Australia's Ambassador to Bharat. Varghese was born in Kenya to Malayali parents.
Sharma, who was born in Vancouver and moved to Sydney in 1979, said he wants to change how Australians think of the Middle Eastern country.Sharma's lineage can be traced to Uttar Pradesh and his grandfather migrated to Trinidad in 1908 from Bharat.
14.  Be prepared to protect Hindu society, Dharma: Togadia:  "Though the Hindu society did not lack in valor and courage, it has been suppressed by excessive doses of non-violence and peace in the last 200 years. The growing insults heaped on Hindu society are resulting out of this inaction and indifferent attitude that has crept in the society following these overdoses of non-violence and peace. The time has come to throw off this inertia and stand with fresh strength, vigor and valor to protect the 100 crore Hindu society and Dharma in Bharat, appealed
Dr Pravin Togadia, International Working President of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) speaking at the concluding function of Shaurya Prashikshan Shivir of Bajrang Dal at Nagpur. Baljindersingh Nair presided over the valedictory program while VHP VIdarbha Pressident Vijayjit Valia, Vice-President Prof Hemant Jambhekar, Secretary Ajay Nildawar, Umesh Pradhan were prominently present.
15.   bharatiya-American kids cast a ‘spell': The German curse has turned into a German blessing,” exclaimed 13-year-old Arvind Mahankali from New York as he tackled a German-derived word with ease this time round and walked away with the US's hugely-popular Scripps National Spelling Bee.
In his last two outings, Arvind had finished third, with German-derived words tripping him up on both occasions. But on Thursday night, he had his way as he correctly spelled “knaidel”, a German-derived Yiddish word for a mass of leavened dough.
With that winning word, Arvind had the better off fellow Bharatiya-American finalist, Pranav Sivakumar from Tower Lakes, Illinois, who finished second after his failure to get the word “cyanophycean” right.
As in recent years, Bharatiya-American children continued their domination of this competition, claiming the top three spots. The boy to finish third was Sriram Hathwar from New York. Seven of the 11 finalists happened to be children of Bharatiya origin from across the US. And the youngest contestant of the season was eight-year-old Tara Singh.
16.  British town Warwick’s first Sikh mayor sworn-in: A Sikh man has been elected as the first Bharatiya-origin mayor of the "historic" Warwick town in Britain's West Midlands region. Prabhjit Singh Dhillon, who became the 280th mayor of the town, described his appointment as a "privilege".
After being sworn in as the mayor at a ceremony, Dhillon said: "I am truly honoured and humbled to be elected by my fellow councillors to become mayor for 2013-2014."
17.  BHARATIYA COS CHECKMATE CHINA ON MYANMAR'S GAS BLOCKS BID: The threat from the Chinese dragon seems to have been overwhelmed by the Bharatiya elephant in the oil and gas sector as seven domestic companies including ONGC and Oil India Ltd (OIL) are in the fray as potential bidders for Myanmar's onshore gas blocks which are coming up for auction, while only one company from China features in the list of 59 bidders which have been short listed by the South-east Asian country.
Myanmar which is sandwitched between Bharat and China, opened up its economy after the long ruling military junta's rule came to an end there in 2012 and has been aggressively marketing itself as a potential business destination in the South Asian region. The country has $75 billion worth of gas reserves and earlier this year had invited expressions of interest (EoIs) from several global entities for exploring its onshore and offshore fields. Seven Bharatiya companies comprising mainly of ONGC's overseas arm ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), OIL, Gujarat Natural Resources Ltd and Cairn India Ltd - are among the short listed companies.At the same time only one Chinese company namely SIPC Myanmar Petroleum Company Ltd has been selected among the 59 entities.
18.   MUSLIM COMMUNITY IN MATHURA HOLD ANTI-COW SLAUGHTER CONVENTION: In a rare gesture, Muslim community in Mathura has taken a pledge that they would not allow cow slaughter in the district.
"The Muslims of Mathura are not in favour of cow slaughter. It is the handiwork of outsiders who kidnap cows from here at night and then slaughter them," said Abdul Zabbar, convener of the anti-cow slaughter convention held at Islamia Inter College on June 9.
"Cow slaughtering was started by Britishers in order divide both the communities. The country got independence owing to Hindu-Muslim unity," Sant Ramesh Baba, who was the first to start crusade against mining in hillocks of Barsana about two decades ago, said.
In order to protect the culture of Brij, unity in both the communities is a must, Sant Jai Kishan Das, National President of Yamuna Rakshak Dal said during the convention, which also addressed issues relating to pollution of river Yamuna.
19.    Kalyan Ashram boys' hostel in Kathmandu: Akhil Bharatiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram President, Jagdev Ram Oraon inaugurated newly built administrative office cum boys hostel named "Aamaako Maya Chhatrabas" run by Janjati Kalyan Ashram Nepal in Kathmandu on 2nd June 2013.
At present Kalyan Ashram is running 5 such hostels for the Janjatis 35 Sraddha Jagaran Kendras / Bal Sanskar Kendras and 50 Ekal Vidhyalayas throughout Nepal.  
Addressing the ceremony, Madhav Acharya, Rastriya Karyavah of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh Nepal praised the works done by Kalyan Ashram to bring the Janjatis in social mainstream and preserve their indigenous culture.
Dr. Sundarmani Dikshit, the special guest, said, "The indigenous people of this land have fallen prey to the conspiracies of Christians. They need a strong support to retain their own customs, traditions and culture. It is praiseworthy to see activists of Kalyan Ashram working among the Janjatis of Nepal."  Chief guest, Jagdev Ram Oraon on his part ensured that Akhil Bharatiya Kalyan Ashram would always be happy to extend cooperation required by Juniata Kalian Ashram in Nepal. The office cum hostel has 10 rooms which can accommodate as many as 50 students.
20.  MISSILE MAN AVINASH CHANDER APPOINTED NEW DRDO CHIEF: Eminent scientist Avinash Chander, an IIT-Delhi graduate, who is considered to be the key architect of the AGNI series of nuclear capable missiles, has been named as the new chief of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and will take over with immediate effect.
The scientist will serve as the next DRDO Chief for three years. A Padma Shri awardee, Chander has led the design and development of the AGNI 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 series of missiles that culminated with the latest of the series undertaking a successful test that demonstrated a range of over 5000 km.
21.  PAK'S PROVINCE ASSEMBLY GETS ITS FIRST SIKH MEMBER:  In a historic milestone for the Sikh community in Pakistan, Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora has become the first person from the minority community to enter the Punjab province assembly, since the country's independence in 1947. Arora belongs to Narowal district, 80 km from Lahore, and is associated with the Pakistan Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee.       
22.   BHARAT, THAILAND HOPEFUL OF TRILATERAL HIGHWAY BY 2016: An ambitious project to develop a 3,200-km highway linking Bharat, Myanmar and Thailand was an important item on the agenda of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his visit here.
On Thursday, Dr. Singh and his Thai counterpart Yingluck Shinawatra expressed the hope that the highway would be ready by 2016. Bharat has already given Myanmar $500 million in loan, a part of which will be used to fund the project.
23.   Vijnana Bharati to hold ‘Tech for Seva’ in September: Vijnana Bharati, in collaboration with Seva Sahayog, Global Indian Scientists & Technocrats Foundation (GIST) and Maharshi Karve Stree Shikshan Samstha (MKSSS) will be organizing “Tech for Seva” a socio-technical conference on inclusive and sustainable social development on September 28-29, 2013 at Cummins Engineering College, MKSSS, Pune.
This conference Tech for Seva provides an opportunity to scientific and technological fraternity to come forward and use their creative ability for social good and thus pay tributes to Swami Vivekananda who had inspired the late Jamshetji Tata to start first ever modern scientific institute – Indian Institute of Science (IIS) Bangalore for social welfare of masses.
The conference will be deliberating on topics related to Education, Health, Livelihood and Environment. Scholarly research papers will be presented in the conference. Besides posters on success stories and problems to be addressed; Expo showcasing relevant and appropriate technologies along with solutions manifested into reality and student competition in ideas which highlight the use of technology to solve problems will be added attraction of the conference. Registration and other details are available on www.techforseva.org.
24.    For 18 yrs, his school for blind has been scoring 100% in Std X: While conventional schools strive hard to produce 100% pass in state board examination, a special school for visually impaired children in Sundararajanpatti near Madurai has produced centum results quite convincingly. This is not the first time it has achieved this feat. It has been doing so for the last 18 years.
In the SSLC examination results announced on May 31, all the 23 visually challenged students who appeared for the examination passed it by securing more than 70% marks.In fact,13 students secured more than 80% and three got more than 90% marks.
Talking about the success A Jinnah, founder and secretary of the school, said All the required facilities for the visually impaired students are available in the school.The students also show keen interest in their study which results in success, he said.
25 just 8 and she kicks butt: Eight-year-old Disha is on a mission to create a smoke-free world. In the last two years, the class 3 student has reportedly succeeded in persuading 200 persons to kick the butt. It was the death of her grandfather, who was a chain smoker, a few years back that drove her to start this campaign. Her strategy is quite novel. Disha says, "I ask people a simple question, 'How will you feel if you are put in a closed room.' When they say that they will die of suffocation, then I tell them 'same is the case with your lungs when you smoke'."
Dinesh Parihar, who is making a film on Disha called 'Ekaur Anna', says, "I was impressed by the way she expresses things." Sharad Pandit agrees: "The appeal made by such a small child will have a good impact."  Indeed, Vikram Singh, director of an Indore-based firm, admits that he quit smoking on Disha's persuasion. "I was sitting in a restaurant and smoking along with my business partner. Suddenly, a little girl appeared and started telling us about the harmful effect of smoking. It's now more than a year since we kicked the butt."
26. TIBETAN YOUTH MOVEMENT FOR COMPLETE INDEPENDENCE GOAL: The 15th General Body Meeting of the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC), the largest exile Tibetan non-governmental organization, ended at Dharamsala June 1 with the election of Mr Tenzing Jigme from Minnesota, USA, as its new president. Tamding Sichoe from Pokhara, Nepal and Tashi Lamsang from Dharamshala are the new vice-president and general secretary respectively. During its six-day meeting, more than 130 delegates representing over 40 RTYC chapters reaffirmed the movement’s founding objective of struggling for Tibet’s complete independence from Chinese rule.
27.  Bharat now biggest source of migrants to Australia: Report: Bharat has become the leading source of permanent migrants to Australia for the first time, ahead of China, a government report showed on June 3. The number of permanent migrants from Bharat was 29,018 in 2011/12, up 12.7% on the previous year. China was number two as visa places fell from 29,546 to 25,509.
During the same time British arrivals rose to 25,273 from 23,931 with the Philippines and South Africa four and five respectively. The report showed that during the past 15 years the number of Bharatiya-born Australian residents increased four-fold while Chinese-born tripled. However, Britain remained the main birthplace of migrants, with 1.18 million calling Down Under home.
28. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Shri Ravikumar, sah samyojak Vishwa Vibhag will return from his weeklong tour to Israel. Shri Shyam Parande secretary Sewa International returned from USA after a tour of 6 weeks.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: My ideas are going to work in the West better than in India…. I believe in truth, the Lord sends me workers by the scores wherever I go … they are ready to give up their lives for their Guru. Truth is my God, the universe my country. I do not belive in duty. Duty is the curse of the Samsari [householder], not for the Sannyasin. Duty is humbug, I am free, my bonds are cut; what care I where this body goes or does not go? … I have a truth to speak, I, the child of God. And He that gave me the truth will send me fellow workers from the earths’ bravest and best. – Swami Vivekananda. New York, August 1985.

JAI SHREE RAM

Look to Aurobindo,
Tagore and the restJS 
Rajput
Policy makers should revamp their thoughts on what constitutes sound education in the Indian context. Our greats have provided the hints
The world of education, under the glamorous influence of the Information and Communications Technology, has no time to recall the educational ideas of Indian thinkers who really understood India, its history and heritage, and above all, its culture of acceptance. It is tough to recall any serious national-level discussion organised by the Governments at the Centre or in the States on the educational ideas of Swami Dayanand Saraswati, Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi, Zakir Husain, Rabindranath Tagore, Sri Aurobindo, Mahatma Phule, BR Ambedkar and several other luminaries. During the last couple of years, the West-ward orientation of the Government of India has been total: Wisdom resides only in the West and must be borrowed without any hesitation. Experts in education working in national institutions are being regularly sent to the US for training.
In 1906, Tagore in the context of the National Education Council, set up to ‘keep an eye on the entire education system of the country’, posed the question “as to the idea according to which education will be conducted”. He added that the rules to be followed or the textbooks to be prescribed are external issues”. His elaboration in that context remains totally relevant even in current times and could guide policy-makers and programme implementers provided they were willing to internalise the essence. Comparing the school to a kind of machine that delivers education, he finds the teacher as one of its part. Machines deliver uniform products as ordered, but ‘men differ from one another.' In these days, when practically every human activity including education is greatly influenced by the advances in ICT, Tagore's one simple-looking sentence could pave the path for educational regeneration: “And man can never get from a machine what he can get from another human being.”
The CBSE has decided to ask questions on values in its examinations. One wishes they had studied Tagore's perceptions on moral instructions in schools: “It is futile to expect that a few bookish words delivered between ten to four in the school can rectify the corruption of taste that is being perpetrated every moment by thousand of lies and perversion of our artificial life-style”. It is the societal norms and practices and the role models and icons that inculcate and nurture values. Teachers nurture and develop these. How prophetic were his observations that urban schools would not allow the learner to see the soul of universe pervading “fire, water, sea, land and the entire world”.
In these days of ever-increasing curriculum load that deprives the child of his childhood in prestigious public schools, Tagore's vision is very revealing: “Is it the child's fault that he appeared at birth, without practising algebra or memorising history texts? Is that why the poor wretch must be deprived of his air and light, his happiness and leisure and his education made punitive in every way? Could it not be that children come in this world without any knowledge so that they could savour the excitement of knowing from a state of not-knowing?”
To move ahead in the process of knowing, the family and the teacher contribute in a big way. These days, schools have rigid and fixed regimes; these are augmented by concerned parents through imposition of tuitions, extra coaching in areas like tennis, dance classes, swimming lessons and much more. In the extreme that India is blessed with, there are millions of children who have no school to go; and then there those children who are left with no free time at all! The sufferings of both of these groups are to be ameliorated. It is not a new phenomenon but one that has persisted and has become more intense and demanding with time. Deeply concerned to the core on the suffering of children Tagore said: “Our incompetence and brutality may prevent us from making the acquisition of knowledge a pleasant thing, but must we go out of our way to deliberately and cruelly give the school room of these innocent children, the shape of a prison house?”
Is it not the time that the nation sits up and sets its education system in order?

– The Pioneer, 05 June 2013. 

# posted by Samvad @ 1:37 AM 0 Comments

Saturday, June 1, 2013

 

Jyestha Krishna 8 Vik Samvat 2070. Yugabda 5115: June 1, 2013



1.   FESTIVALS:  Hindu Samrajya Dinotsav is celebrated on Jyeshtha Shukla Trayodashi falling on June 21 this year. On this day we commemorate the coronation of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in 1674 A.D., at Raigadh in Maharashtra. Swami Vivekananda said: “Shivaji is one of the greatest national saviours who emancipated our society and our Dharma when they were faced with the threat of total destruction. He was a peerless hero, a pious and God-fearing king and verily a manifestation of all the virtues of a born leader of men described in our ancient scriptures. He also embodied the deathless spirit of our land and stood as the light of hope for our future.”  
2. BHARATIYAS Right on top of the world: Anshu Jamsenpa, 33, of Arunachal Pradesh, has become the first Bharatiya woman and possibly the world's first mother to scale Mount Everest thrice, and N Chingkheinganba, 16, the youngest Bharatiya to conquer the planet's tallest peak. Anshu, mother to daughters aged 12 and seven years, first scaled Everest on May 12, 2011 and again, in an incredible feat, nine days later on May 21. This year, she reached the peak on May 18 as the deputy leader of the Northeast Indian Mount Everest Expedition, the first such from the Northeast, of 16 members, of whom nine reached the peak, that too in less than 24 hours. One of them is Chingkheinganba of 16 years, seven months and 11 days, a class XI student from Manipur who is set to dethrone Arjun Vajpai of Delhi as the youngest Bharatiya to reach the top of the world. Vajpai was four months older when he achieved the feat on May 20, 2011. Of the others, Wansuk Myrthong, Tarun Saikia and David Zohmangaiha are the first from their respective states, Meghalaya, Assam and Mizoram, to scale Everest, and Ningthoujam Bidyapati Devi the first woman from Manipur. And on the peak with them stood Anand Gurung and Kazi Sherpa from Sikkim and Nima Lama from Arunachal Pradesh.
Thrown out of a moving train after she resisted a group of chain-snatchers, as Arunima Sinha lay in a pool of blood by the railway tracks and battled life and death, she had not imagined that soon she would be on top of the world. Yet, less than two years later, she was — albeit on a prosthetic leg. Having successfully survived multiple life-threatening injuries in the aftermath of that incident, Arunima, on May 21 has become the first differently-abled Bharatiya woman to have scaled Mount Everest. Two Bharatiya girls have also scripted history by becoming the first twins ever to climb Mount Everest together. 21-year-old Tashi and Nancy Malik from Dehra Dun achieved this feat by successfully reaching the world's highest mountain peak at 8,848 meters on May 21. The duo was among other record-makers including the first women from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan who climbed the Everest on May 20.
3.  BALESHWAR AGRAWAL IS NO MORE:
Veteran journalist and former managing editor of Hindusthan Samachar multi lingual news agency Baleshwar ji Agrawal passed away in New Delhi on May 23 after a brief illness. He was 91. He was creamated at Nigam Bodh Ghat on the following day.
Prominent personalities who paid tributes to Baleshwar ji at Pravasi Bhavan and Niganbodh ghat were BJP leaders Shri LK Advani, Shri Rajnath Singh, Dr Subramanian Swamy, Kshetra Pracharak Shri Rameshwar and Kshetra Sanghachalak Dr Bajrang Lal Gupta.  
Born at Balasore (Odisha) in 1921, Baleshwar ji graduated in Engineering from Banaras Hindu University in 1945 and came out as sangh pracharak after that.  He took up the work of Hindusthan Samachar from Shri Dadasaheb Apte and was the Janak of the Hindi Teleprinter service which was used by many print publications and even All India Radio.
He was founder secretary general of the Antar Rashtriya Sahayog Parishad. During the last 50 years Baleshwarji has been able to develop personal contacts with various countries particularly Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka besides Burma, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, Fiji, South Africa, Mauritius, Kenya, Netherlands, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad, Jamaica, etc. Several Prime Ministers, Speakers, Parliament Members are personally very well known to him.  
4.  Visually impaired girl tops MP board exam: 16-year-old Shristi Tiwari from Damoh has topped the humanities stream of Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education by securing 481 out of 500. She stands fourth in the overall merit list of the board. Shristi Tiwari had cataract in both her eyes since birth and despite 11 surgeries, her condition did not improve. In fact, with time it only worsened. Now, she has only five per cent of sight left, that too in only one of her eyes. "We prepared her notes, read it loud many a times, consulted many course materials and made her memorise subjects and then she was able to give her exams," said her maternal uncle VK Gangele.
5.  Blind boy scores 95% in science: Kartik Sawhney, a DPS, R K Puram student, had to wage a battle before being allowed to study science in class XI. The CBSE was not convinced Kartik, who is completely blind, would be able to handle the 'visual inputs' — graphs, diagrams, models — required for science. On May 27, he  scored  95% aggregate in science with computers in class XII. He is now off to Stanford University to study computer science. Kartik would have studied in an IIT in Bharat. But changes in IIT-joint entrance exam rules introduced last year have made it impossible for blind students to qualify, he said.
6.  HUNDRED PERCENT RESULT IN 128 Vidya Bharati schools  IN ODISHA: Saraswati Shishu Vidya Mandir schools run by the Shikhya Bikas Samiti, affiliated to the Vidya Bharati, continue to perform exceptionally well in secondary examinations in Odisha. This year 11,432 students from 897 Shishu Mandir schools appeared in the Board Examinations and recorded the pass percentage of 98.52, much higher than the overall pass percentage of the State, 73.11.
A total of 128 Saraswati Shishu Vidya Mandir schools recorded cent per cent result. The percentage of students getting first class is 76.60 per cent. The percentage of students getting second class is 16.65 per cent. The state secretary of Samiti Dr. Saroj Kumar Hati, at ‘Medhabi Abhinandan 2013’ a programme organized by the Shikhya Bikas Samiti at Bhanja Kala Madap in Bhubaneswar to felicitate 70 students securing more than 94 per cent marks, said, the holistic and value based curriculum, strong teacher-student relationship and strict monitoring system are the main reasons for this success.
7.  RSS Third Year Training Camp begins at Nagpur: “We are committed to bring about a new transformation in the society, nay in the entire world. Anything new is not created sans pains and toil. Even a new birth is not without labor pains. We have come here to tone up our body, mind and intellect to become the vehicles of the change for which the entire humanity is awaiting eagerly. Let us utilize each moment in this camp to transform ourselves first”, said  Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sah-Sarkaryawah K C Kannan in Nagpur in his inaugural address of the 25-days RSS Third Year Sangh Shiksha Varg at the serene ambience at Maharshi Vyas Sabhagrih in Reshambag premises. Kannan is the ‘guardian adhikari’ for the camp. 600-odd participants drawn from all over the country are attending the training camp to learn and acquire as much as they can so that they can tame their physical, psychological, intellectual and spiritual strength to become the agents of change, the RSS desires to usher in the near future.
8.  BLOOD DONATION AND HEALTH CHECK UP CAMP IN NAIROBI: Glorious tributes were paid to Swami Vivekananda on his 150th birth anniversary year at Nairobi on April 28 by organising a blood donation and health check up camp. The camp was organised by Swami Vivekananda 150th Birth Anniversary Celebration Committee in association with various Hindu religious and service organisations of Kenya.
More than 150 units of blood were collected during the camp. Swami Vivekananda Blood Donor Group was launched which has active volunteers who are available to donate blood in any exigency.
General Health Check-up Camp was also held where more than 350 people took an advantage to validate blood sugar status, body mass index and general check-up. About 200 people took advantages of the eye check up camp Under Swami Vivekananda Eye Pledge Camp over 75 people registered themselves with Lions Club as a pledge to donate eye afterwards and lighten others life with happiness.
The camp was visited by Deputy High Commissioner Shri Tanmay Lal who spoke about Swami Vivekananda and his contribution to Hindus and mankind. More than 100 volunteers worked tirelessly for the success of the program.          
9. INDIAN SENIOR CITIZENS FORUM: In Melbourne, during the National Volunteer Week from 10th to 15th May 2013 the services of volunteers of Indian Senior Citizens Forum were recognised at two events by City Council of Greater Dandenong and New Hope Foundation
The City of Greater Dandenong presented an award to Sewa International for the voluntary services offered for seniors of Bharatiya origin in Dandenong. It was presented by the Mayor of Greater Dandenong, Cr. Angela Long on 15th May Sewa coordinators Krishan Dass Auplish and Mrs Nirmal Kanta and others received the award. Sewa international participates in Clean Up Australia day and also organises other events like Blood Donation Camps and Light a Lamp for Bharat etc.
10.  Help the stranded bharatiyas: Saudi Arabia’s Nitaqat law has begun to bite - As thousands of Bharatiya workers wait it out in Saudi Arabia's detention centres for exit papers that will allow them to return home, the Bharatiya mission in that country continues to struggle to put together an effective response mechanism. This is despite the fact that months have passed since Riyadh announced it would strictly implement its Nitaqat labour law — which requires Saudi businesses to have at least one Saudi national for every 10 foreign workers — as well as crack down on undocumented immigrant workers.
On July 3, the three-month grace period offered by the Saudi Government to illegal immigrants comes to an end. Requests for an extension of that deadline have already been denied, leaving Bharatiya officials with just a few weeks at this point to aid as many as 56,700 workers. These workers have no passports or other travel documents, and will either have to be regularised or repatriated by the July 3 deadline, else the Saudi authorities will throw them behind bars. No doubt, the situation is challenging, and almost every other country that sends a large number of workers to Saudi Arabia — such as Bangladesh, Pakistan and Indonesia — is struggling to rescue its stranded citizens.
Consular officials are yet to reach out to many of the workers who complain they have been left to fend for themselves. And even as they run from pillar to post to get their papers in order, these workers and often their families too continue live in detention centres where they are packed like sardines and reportedly have limited access to even basic amenities. It is no wonder then that they have become easy targets for unscrupulous middlemen who are reportedly charging exorbitant                                    sums of money to get them out of the country.
New Delhi and its representatives in Riyadh and Jeddah are still scrambling to stay on top of things. The manner in which the Union Government has   handed to the State Governments all responsibility, especially with regard to workers who have already returned to Bharat, is also not helping the situation. During his four-day trip to Saudia Arabia, which concluded on  May 27, Minister for External Affairs Salman Khurshid said the implementation of the Nitaqat law is an opportunity for “rationalising, regularising and sorting out the ambiguities”, and that it must be welcomed as such. He may be right in a limited sense, but the Union Government needs to do more before this ‘opportunity’ turns into a missed chance and then into a nightmare. -  Editorial, The Pioneer, 28 May 2013
11. Hindu temples, Bollywood and a Yemeni city's bharat ties: Hindu temples dating back over 150 years, a market that sports a Bharatiya name and love for Bollywood reflect the Bharat connect of the Yemeni city of Aden. The famous Hindu temples include the Shri Tarichmerga Temple built in 1862, the Shri Ram Ji Temple built in 1875 and the Hanuman Temple built in 1882. It is estimated that Bharatiyas in Aden numbering 8,563 in 1856 increased to 15,817 in 1955. Now an estimated 1, 00,000 people of Bharatiya origin are concentrated in southern Yemen around Aden, Mukalla, Shihr, Lahaj, Mokha and Hodeidah. Many of them have acquired Yemeni citizenship and become part of the country's fabric. They, however, still retain ties with their families in Bharat. Bharatiya culture had such an impact on Aden's society that the first band in the city in 1903 was a Bharatiya ensemble. Yemeni researcher Shafiqa Al-Arasea said that the Bharatiya influence has so penetrated the cultural and social life of Adeni society that Arabic songs are today sung to Bharatiya music.
12.  'Sri' Srinivasan creates history as top US judge: Chandigarh-born Bharatiya-American legal luminary Srikanth 'Sri' Srinivasan has made history with the US Senate unanimously confirming him as the first South Asian judge on the powerful appeals court for the American capital. Srinivasan, 46, currently principal deputy solicitor general of the US, was  on May 23 confirmed by the US Senate by a 97 to 0 vote, as a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. "Pleased" at the unanimous confirmation of his nominee "the first one to this important court in seven years," President Barack Obama said "Sri is a trailblazer who personifies the best of America."
13. MYANMAR STATE SETS 2-CHILD LIMIT FOR MUSLIMS: Authorities in Myanmar's western Rakhine state have introduced a two-child limit for Muslim Rohingya families. The new measure - part of a policy that will also ban polygamy - will be applied to two Rakhine townships that border Bangladesh and have the highest Muslim populations in the state. The townships, Buthidaung and Maundaw, are about 95% Muslim. "The population growth of Rohingya Muslims is 10 times higher than that of Rakhine (Buddhists),'' Rakhine state spokes-man Win Myaing said. "Overpopulation is one of the causes of tension.''          
14. National Geographic Bee contest: Sathwik Karnik, a Bharatiya-origin boy from Massachusetts has won this year's National Geographic Bee contest after gruelling rounds testing his geographic knowledge about lions in Botswana, mountain ranges in Asia and port cities in England. To clinch this title, Karnik, 12, correctly named Chimborazo as the mountain in Ecuador that represents the farthest point from the Earth's center. Karnik, a native of Norfolk, south of Boston, is a 7th grader at King Philip Regional Middle School.
In addition to Karnik, the third place was grabbed by Sanjeev Uppaluri, 11, fifth-grader at Fulton Sunshine Academy in Roswell, a suburb of Atlanta and the fourth place went to Virginia's Akhil Rekulapelli, 12, seventh-grader at Stone Hill Middle School in Ashburn.
15.   Bharatiya Police unit in Congo gets UN medal: A Bharatiya police unit in the Democratic Republic of Congo has received the United Nations Peacekeeping Medal for its "high level of commitment" towards fighting criminals and maintaining peace in the African nation's troubled east. The 135 Bharatiya Formed Police Unit-2 was honoured with the medal as an appreciation for their service in Goma/North Kivu.
16.  bharatiya-Origin Teen Develops 20-seconds phone Battery charger A Bharatiya-American high-school student has just bagged the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award for her electrifying breakthrough. Eesha Khare, an 18-year old from California, has developed a fast-charging supercapacitor that could be installed into a cell phone and fully charge it within seconds. She claims that the battery could last for around 10,000 charge-recharge cycles, against the 1,000 rounds that current batteries assure. She won $50,000 for her achievement at the annual Intel science fiesta held in Phoenix. The technology, if validated, would be worth millions of dollars and would be more than helpful for charging mobile batteries. If further developed, it could be helpful for a wider circle of computers and cars.
17.  The navy creates a warrior-engineer force: On May 25, amongst 302 cadets who passed out from the Indian Naval Academy (INA) in Ezhimala, Kerala, were 60 from the navy’s first batch of regular officers who are also fully qualified engineers. An increasingly high-tech, equipment-oriented navy is aiming to have every single officer holding a B.Tech or M.Sc degree. “A warship on the high seas, whether in war or peace, is entirely on its own. The crew must be able to fix any technical problem that arises in that complex vessel. That requires every officer, from the captain downwards, to be technologically qualified, while also being a battlefield leader,” says Rear Admiral SN Ghormade, the navy’s HRD chief.
18. Bharatiya-American to head GMAT’s parent firm: The Graduate Management Admission Council, which owns the prestigious GMAT exam for admissions to B-schools across the world, has announced the appointment of Sangeet Chowfla as its new president and CEO. Chowfla, who began his career in New Delhi with IBM, joins the league of Bharatiya-Americans ruling the management education sector in the US, including Soumitra Dutta (Cornell University) and others.
19.  BrahMos missile successfully test-fired from ship: Bharat on May 22 successfully test-fired the 290km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from the Navy's latest guided missile frigate INS Tarkash off the coast of Goa. The missile performed the high-level 'C' manoeuvre in the pre-determined flight path and successfully hit the target. The missile was launched from the Russian-built warship at 1100 hours, BrahMos Aerospace chief A Sivathanu Pillai said in Panaji. "The launch was carried out by the Navy as part of Acceptance Test Firing (ATF) of the ship," he said. INS Tarkash, which is an advanced Talwar Class frigate, was commissioned on November 9, last year.
20.  W.H.O. acknowledges Yoga's benefits: For the first time, World Health Organisation (WHO) has acknowledged the benefits of Bharatiya Yoga, one of the oldest holistic health systems aimed at physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing. It has designated Delhi-based Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga as its collaborating centre (CC) for developing research guidelines for yoga studies while Institute of PG Training and Research in Ayurveda in Jamnagar in Gujarat has been identified for researches in ayurveda. The move is expected to give a major fillip to the country's traditional medical system, including yoga, across the world. So far there have been 21 WHO collaborating centres for traditional medicines but none from Bharat inspite of having a large number of Ayush institutions and 32 collaborating centres for modern medicine.
21. SANT SAHITYA SANDARBHA KOSHA: Dr Ramesh Chandra Mishra, former Reader in Ram Lal Anand College of Delhi University has compiled a 6,500-page 15-part Sant Sahitya Sandarbha Kosha—a Lexiconic guide to the vast Saint Literature of Hindi—generated since the eighth century. The lexicon has been completed by 35-years of undeterred patient labour of Dr. Mishra. The project approved by University Grants Commission has seen light of the day through the financial aid from the Central Hindi Directorate.  The Kosha is an invaluable guide to understand the Hindi saint literature containing local regional words of spoken dialects of northern Bharat.
22. NARAD JAYANTI, the birthday of Sage Narad, the first journalist of the world, was celebrated in different parts of Bharat on 27th May. In Lucknow, Indreshji, Member, RSS National Executive addressed the function in which 10 journalists and 11 editors were felicitated. In Kashi, Prof. Devendra Pratap Singh, former Vice-Chancellor, Lucknow University said that a journalist should be a humanitarian and a nationalist.
In Delhi, Suresh Chavanke of Sudarshan TV, Vivek Sinha of Hindustan Times and Press photographer Kripal Singh were felicitated. Dr Kuldeep Agnihotri was the main speaker. Ashok Tandon, former Media Consultant to the Prime Minister presided over the function. “ Only the ancient Bharat had the quality of open discussion and also to question even kings. This quality was the actual basis of our democracy and media; not the vote bank”,  said eminent journalist P. Rajan who inaugurated the Narada Jayanthi Function of Viswa Samavada Kendra –Kerala.
23.  Mahatma Gandhi's thoughts make debut in Mao's China: The first Chinese version of a book on Mahatma Gandhi's thoughts was launched in Beijing on May 27, marking the debut of Gandhian philosophy in a country intensely dominated by the ideology of 'Chairman' Mao Zedong. 'Gandhi's Outstanding Leadership', written by former Bharatiya diplomat-turned-Gandhian Pascal Alan Nazareth, was released at the Peking University's Centre for India Studies in the presence of Bharatiya Ambassador to China S Jaishankar. Prof Shang Quanyu, a history professor with the South China Normal University, translated the book into Madarin. He described the book as a "trail blazer".
24.  More Hindus migrating to the US than ever: The number of Hindus migrating to the US every year has more than doubled in the last one decade, with an overwhelming majority of them coming from Bharat. An average of about 30,000 Hindus were admitted each year in the 1990s, by contrast, the US admitted an estimated 70,000 Hindu immigrants in 2012, the prestigious Pew Research Center said in its latest report on religious affiliation of immigrants released on May 18. According to the report, the great majority of Hindu immigrants come from Bharat and neighbouring countries with significant Hindu populations, such as Nepal and Bhutan.
25.  Bharat and China to dominate world savings and investment by 2030: Countries classified today as developing will dominate global savings and investment in less than a generation, according to the World Bank. Bharat and China are forecast to provide 38% of the total investment by 2030.
In 17 years time developing countries will provide for more than 50% of the total global stock of capital, up from about 33% they do today, the World Bank said in its Global Development Horizons report. The largest portion of that stock will reside in East Asia and Latin America. In absolute terms, China is projected to become the largest saver by a landslide, accounting for $9 trillion in 2010 dollars by 2030. Bharat ranks the second with its $1.7 trillion.
On the investment side, China is also projected to become the largest, providing 30% of total investment by 2030. Taken together, the remainder of the popular BRIC club of developing nations - Brazil, Bharat and Russia – will account for 13% of global investment.
26.  Sewa Internatinal USA ApPeal: Houston, May 21st, 2013: One of the most horrific storms and disasters struck Moore, Oklahoma when almost a 2-mile wide and 17 mile long tornado flattened everything in its path, inflicting heavy damage all around. Schools, hospitals, theaters, houses, farms, barns – anything and everything that came in its path, was reduced to rubbles. Entire neighborhoods/communities have been devastated and are in dire need of immediate succor.
With the death toll climbing, search and rescue work continues. Over a hundred horses and other animals have perished under the wrath of this monstrous twister. Hundreds of families have been rendered homeless and need food, shelter, other supplies and most importantly a supportive shoulder to lean on so that they can rebuild their lives.
In this moment of unspoken tragedy and human suffering, Sewa International requests you to open your hearts and wallets for the suffering people. We request you to keep the affected citizens in your thoughts and prayers.
Donate generously online at: www.sewausa.org, or, make your check payable to ‘Sewa International’ (add ‘Oklahoma Tornado’ in memo field) and send it to Sewa International, USA, P.O. Box 820867, Houston, TX  77282-086. For more information, call 708-USA-Sewa or email at info@sewausa.org.
27.  SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Shri Shyam Parande, Secretary Sewa International will return Bharat finishing his tour to USA.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Ingersoll once said to me: “I believe in making the most out of this world, in squeezing the orange dry, because this world is all we are sure of.” I replied: “I know a better way to squeeze the orange of this world than you do, and I get more out of it. I know I cannot die, so I am not in a hurry, I know there is no fear, so I enjoy the squeezing. I have no duty, no bondage of wife and children and property; I can love all men and women. Everyone is God to me. Think of the joy of loving man as God! Squeeze your orange this way and get ten thousandfold more out of it. Get every single drop.”—Swami Vivekanand
JAI SHREE RAM

Let guns do the talking
Chandan Mitra
Maoists have dealt a severe body blow to Bharat's democratic polity and cherished value systems. They have not only brutally killed a national hero like Mahendra Karma and 28 others in Bastar, but have also openly challenged Bharatiya society as a whole.
They want the country to raise the white flag of surrender and genuflect before their diabolical ambition to convert  Bharat into a gigantic Gulag where only their diktat runs. Having failed to win popular support except in certain pockets (that too only through terror, extortion, torture and kangaroo courts), they have now unleashed a war on democracy and civil society. The object of their dastardly ambush in the Dharba Valley was not only to eliminate top leaders of the Congress party in Chhattisgarh, particularly Mahendra Karma, but also scare away political activists from an area where they believe only their writ should run. With elections approaching in that State, the Maoists want to create an atmosphere of fear to prevent politicians to approach the electorate and eventually derail the democratic process itself by preventing voters from exercising their franchise. Terrorists of various hues have tried similar tactics in the past. Pakistan-sponsored separatists in Jammu & Kashmir are still pursuing the same objective but the people of the State have firmly rebuffed such attempts. So, no doubt, will the people of Chhattisgarh resoundingly reject the Maoist endeavour.
Some sections of Bharatiya public opinion, however, continue to live in the delusion that it is possible to sit down across the table with a tiger and conduct negotiations so that it agrees to part with its skin. Maoists openly flout their ideological mentor's deranged dictum that power flows only out of the barrel of the gun. But since they will listen to no other logic, it is the gun and gun alone which must do the talking with them. Those who do not believe in democracy; reject the Constitution and seek to overthrow the legally established political order through a violent uprising cannot be extended constitutional courtesies. The scourge they represent must be eliminated through the same surgical and ruthless methods that they employ in the bid to derail Bharatiya society. Just as war is sometimes necessary for peace, undemocratic methods need to be adopted on occasion, if only to re-establish the rule of law and democratic authority.
However, there is little to be said in defence of the laxity demonstrated by our security forces in Naxal-infested areas. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), repeatedly issued by the authorities are routinely breached, while under-equipped, under-staffed and under-trained forces become sitting ducks for a determined bunch of mass murderers. In Sukma, the district where the macabre death dance happened on May 25, Maoists had ambushed and killed 74 CRPF jawans barely a year ago. No lessons seem to have been learnt from that incident and several others that happened since.
As most Maoist outrages take place in remote villages tucked away inside dense forests, involving ordinary impoverished villagers or security forces staffed by men from underprivileged sections of society, urban opinion makers continue to live in a make-believe world, convinced their comfortable existence cannot be dented by a rag-tag tribal band of misguided elements. In fact, large numbers of these so-called opinion-makers claim we need to go into the "root cause" of the problem rather than treat it as a law-and-order issue. While there is no denying that people living in large parts of Central Bharat, especially tribals inhabiting its forests live in abject poverty and under-development even 66 years after Independence, the fact is that they are being mobilised by a bunch of anti-national rogues to serve their own diabolical ends. Possessed with a perverted mindset this group of urbanised "leaders" are determined to prevent development reaching these remote parts. They want to keep the tribals in bondage of poverty, illiteracy and isolation forever so they serve as cannon fodder to their mad bloodlust. Therefore, it must be realised that without physically breaking the back of the terrorists through superior force, the Bharatiya state cannot regain control and re-induct local people into the mainstream.
It was with this aim in mind that the Salwa Judum movement was initiated by leaders like Mahendra Karma of the Congress which received full support from the BJP-led State Government. Just when this mass movement was on the verge of emerging as a powerful counter to the Maoists, some depraved intellectuals successfully convinced the Supreme Court to order the movement's dismantling. This set the clock back and resulted in anti-national forces getting emboldened all over again. Meanwhile, in a misplaced bid to co-opt some leaders of the insurrection, and thereby score political points over the BJP, the Congress-led Government at the Centre even inducted a Maoist ideologue masquerading as a barefoot doctor into an official body. Gestures like these, coupled with the respectability given to overground Maoist sympathisers by a section of the media, have gone a long way to legitimise this illegitimate cause.
It's time the gloves come off. A full-scale war has to be launched against the enemies of the people. UAVs have been lying idle for months, while the Government ponders if they should be deployed at all. Equipping and training local forces for commando operations is lagging way behind schedule even as Maoists strike and kill at will. The Government allots vast sums for development activities in Maoist-infested areas but they blow up roads and schools, while officers are too scared to venture into unofficial Red Zones. Good intentions cannot be a substitute for tough action. None of this softie-softie talk and allocation of vast sums will succeed unless the affected areas are sanitised; in other words, till the last Naxalite is picked up and dispatched to places they deserve to be in.
Bharat owes a tribute to Mahendra Karma and thousands of innocent tribal villagers and brave jawans who have laid down their lives for this country. The only fitting tribute a grateful country can offer them is the elimination of every Maoist who has picked up the gun against society, for those who live by the gun must die by the gun. This mission must be carried out with ruthless determination. It's a fight to the finish. 
-- The Pioneer, 28 May 2013.

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