Bhadra Shukla 12 Vik Samvat 2070. Yugabda 5115: September 16, 2013



1. FESTIVALS: Durga Puja, Ashwin Shukla 1 to Ashwin Shukla 8-9 starting from 5th October this year, marks the victory of Goddess Durga over the demon Mahishasura. The festival is widely celebrated in Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Tripura and West Bengal. Durga Puja is also celebrated as a major festival all over Bangladesh where over 10% population is Hindu. Today, many diaspora Bengali cultural organisations arrange Durgotsab in countries such as the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Singapore and Kuwait, among others. In 2006, a grand Durga Puja ceremony was held in the Great Court of the British Museum.
Durga Puja is celebrated in different ways in different regions of Bharat. In Gujarat, Navaratri is devoted to Amba mataji. In homes, images of mataji are worshiped in accordance with accepted practice. In temples, it is celebrated with garba and dandia-ras late throughout the nights of these nine days. In Tamil Nadu, Golu is the festival celebrated during the Navaratri period. On this occasion dolls, predominantly that of the Gods and Goddesses from Hindu tradition are artistically arranged on a seven stepped wooden platform.

2. LAKHS OF YOUTH JOIN ‘BHARAT JAGO DOUD’ ACROSS NATION: Lakhs of youth, both men and women, joined the Bharat Jago Doud (a run for awakening Bharat) on September 11 across Bharat to commemorate 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda and 120th anniversary of his historic Chicago speech given on September 11, 1893. The run was organised by Swami Vivekananda 150th Birth Anniversary Celebration Committee all over the country.
In Bangalore, the run began from three simultaneous points. Noted scholar Dr Chidananda Murthy, Dr Vijayalakshmi Balekundri, and RSS Akhil Bharatiya Bouddhik Pramukh Shri Bhagaiah, were present on the occasion. Nearly 5000 youth joined the run. In coastal city of Mangalore, over 20,000 youth participated in the run, which was inagurated by Shri Jita Kamananda Swamiji, president of Ramakrishna Mutt, Mangalore. RSS Sah Sarkaryavah Shri Dattatreya Hosabale addressed the gathering.  
In Chennai, the event was blessed by Swami Gautamananda, president of Sri Ramakrishna Mutt Chennai, while in Bhopal; the sprint legend PT Usha joined the marathon with over 20,000 youth at Tatia Tope Stadium. Similar events are reported to have been organized all over the country like Pondicherry, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat Uttarakhand Madhya Pradesh, Nagpur etc.

3. KEDARNATH TEMPLE OPENS AFTER 86 DAYS: The "kapat" (doors) of the Kedarnath shrine opened on September 11 and proper "puja" was performed for the first time 86 days after heavy rains and floods devastated the region which left hundreds of people killed, scores missing, several routes destroyed in Uttarakhand in June 2013. Thirty priests performed the puja in the presence of office bearers of the shrine management committee, representatives of the Shankaracharya, officials and local legislator Shaila Rani Rawat. Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna was forced to abort his travel plans due to inclement weather. The temple was decorated with flowers, and the nearby platform and other places which were damaged in the June floods, were covered with marquees.
The priests first performed "shuddhikaran" (cleansing) puja, after which the deity at the sanctum sanctorum was bathed in milk, holy water from the river Ganga and other items were used in the puja of Lord Shiva.
Officials said it would take some time before the temple is opened to the public. This was because the approach roads to the temple are in bad shape and would take a long time to rebuild. 

4. DHARMA AND YOGA FEST at Houston: On Saturday, Sept 7th, close to 1000 representatives from 66 organizations joined hands in celebrating “Dharma and Yoga Fest” in Houston. Spearheaded by Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS), Dharma and Yoga fest was held as the culmination of the yearlong festivities called Swami Vivekananda 150 (SV150), in commemoration of Swami Ji’s 150th birth year anniversary. Such events are happening in 30 different cities across USA, spreading the awareness about Swamiji’s teachings and path of religious tolerance and brotherhood.
The entire event was set up in four parallel tracks, namely, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga and Raja Yoga.
The Jnana Yoga track had two parallel sessions: a Panel Discussion Session and Speech Contest for middle school and high school kids. Four parallel sessions were planned for Bhakti Yoga: Bhajan & Kirtan recitals, panel discussion on Nava Vidha Bhakti, recital of the entire Srimad Bhagvad Gita and an exhibition on Bhakti Yoga. Karma yoga track focused on the field serving the humanity with charity, social service, disaster response and rehabilitation. Raja Yoga track started with the attendees performing Pranayama (breathing exercises) and then heading into the lecture series.
Over 40 kids from all over Greater Houston put together a play showcasing the life and teachings of Swami Vivekananda. 

5. NEGLECT OF N-E REGION PROVING COSTLY TO THE NATION—MOHAN BHAGWAT: "The neglect of certain areas or the people of our society has proved very costly to the entire nation. It also contributed hugely in making the nation weak. The feeling of alienation that has developed in the hearts of some people of north eastern areas is one example of it. Such a feeling can only be rectified by our own efforts,” said RSS Sarsanghachalak Shri Mohan Bhagwat. He was addressing a select gathering in New Delhi on September 1 after felicitating Shri Dipok Barthakur of Assam with Swami Vivekananda Smriti Karmayogi Award.
The award, which consists of a memento and a cheque of Rs one lakh, was presented by My Home India, a forum established to connect the people of north-east with the rest of the country. Retired IPS officer Shri Prakash Singh and convener of My Home India Shri Sunil Deodhar were also present on the occasion. Noted businessman of Delhi Shri Sajjan Kumar Garg presided over the function. Senior journalist Shri KG Suresh introduced Shri Dipok Barthakur and his outstanding work.

6. VICE PRESIDENT HAMID ANSARI UNVEILS VIVEKANANDA STATUE: Vice President of Bharat Mohd Hamid Ansari unveiled the life size bronze statue of Swami Vivekananda on September 11 in front of Kavadiayar Palace, the house of Travancore royal family.
Swami Atmapriyananda-Vice Chancellor of Vivekananda University of Sri Ramakrishna Mission Kolkata, Tranvancore King Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Verma, State Governor Shri Nikhil Kumar, Chief Minister Shri Oommen Chandy, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Shri Arun Jaitley, Shri P Parameshwaran- president of Vivekananda Kendram Kanyakumari, spoke on the occasion.
In his speech the Vice President Ansari said Swamiji was an Indian, Hindu and Vendathi. He wanted radical changes on all social fronts of the country. Swamiji could not accept spirituality without any mechanism to feed the poor. The statue which resembles the one installed at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari is made in Mahablipuram by sculptor Krishnamoorthy.

7. CATHOLICS IN GOA ARE CULTURALLY HINDUS: PARRIKAR:  “India is a Hindu nation in the cultural sense. A Catholic in Goa is also Hindu culturally because his practices don’t match with Catholics in Brazil except in the religious aspect, a Goan Catholic’s way of thinking and practice matches a Hindu’s,” Parrikar said in an interview to New York Times’ India blog.
Parrikar heads a state where the Catholic population is just under 30 percent of its 1.5 million population. The BJP fielded an unprecedented eight Catholic candidates out of the 24 assembly seats the party contested.
The 57-year-old Chief Minister said he was a “perfect Hindu” but added that it was his personal faith and that “it has nothing to do with government”. Parrikar took pains to distinguish Hindu as a cultural rather than a religious term.
The Chief Minister is a former Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) alumnus and is known for his hands-on style of governance. This is his third stint as chief minister of the state.

8.  AGNI-V MISSILE SUCCESSFULLY TEST LAUNCHED: Bharat on September 15 conducted a second test flight of its indigenously developed nuclear- capable 'Agni-V' long-range ballistic missile, which has a strike range of more than 5000 km, from the Wheeler Island off Odisha coast.
The surface-to-surface missile, which can carry a nuclear warhead of more than one tonne, witnessed an 'auto launch' and detail results of the trial will be known after thorough analyses of all data retrieved from different radars and network systems. Officials said.
The indigenously developed missile Agni-V is capable of striking a range of more than 5000 km. It is about 17 meter long and 2 metres wide with launch weight of around 50 tonnes.
Unlike other missiles of indigenously built Agni series, 'AGNI-V' is the most advanced version having some new technologies incorporated in terms of navigation and guidance, warhead and engine. The high speed onboard computer and fault tolerant software guided the missile flawlessly, said a defence official.
In the Agni series, Bharat at present has Agni-1 with 700 km range, Agni-2 with 2000 km range, Agni-3 and Agni-4 with 2500 km to more than 3500 range.

9.   RSS USES SOCIAL MEDIA TO RECRUIT CADRE IN CITIES: Members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh are taking recourse to social media networks to connect with the young and find potential recruits. This effort on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, coupled with an option for potential members to register on the RSS website, seems to be producing results. “The argument that young people are not joining RSS is not true. Youth wants to join RSS and that is why they are registering online,” said Manmohan Vaidya, who oversees media relations at RSS. “The people who are joining the organization through online registrations are in the age group of 25-40 years and most of them want to be involved in social work. They think that they can contribute to the society through an organization like the RSS.”
At the RSS, it started as an experiment on 24 October last year when its chief Mohan Bhagwat delivered his annual speech on Vijay Dashmi and senior members of the organizations used various social networks to inform its cadre and people in advance about the speech.
The experiment clicked and the total number of registration from 24 October to 6 November was 1,800. Before the annual speech of Bhagwat, online registrations from 1 October to 23 October numbered 494.
“Since people are changing with time, we also have to change ourselves accordingly.” said Surendra Jain, national secretary of VHP. Praveen Togadia, the international working president of VHP, is an active user of both Facebook and Twitter, said Jain.

10. 1,100-YEAR-OLD PALA DYNASTY TEMPLE UNEARTHED IN DINAJPUR: Archaeologists from Jahangirnagar University (JU) have excavated an ancient Hindu temple at Belwa village of Ghoraghat upazila in Dinajpur. The massive brick structure has been identified as a Hindu temple from the Pala dynasty. The chief of the project, Professor Syed Mohammad Kamrul, told journalists that the excavated site was under threat of destruction.
Swadhin Sen, associate professor of archaeology at JU, said the temple, approximately 1,100-years-old, was a major archaeological discovery in Bangladesh. Among the three carvings that have been identified are the pedestal of the Brahmanic sun God Surya, a fragment of the Gada (mace) depicted in the hand of the Hindu God Vishnu, and a fragment of a Visnupatta (a type of dedicatory plaque used to worship Vishnu).
A miniature bronze statue of Ganesha has also been found, said Swadhin Sen. "The worship of these three Gods - Surya, Vishnu and Ganesha - has been attested by these evidences. This is quite unique in the context of undivided Bengal," 

11. 84 KOSI PARIKRAMA YATRA CONCLUDES ON SCHEDULE: The 84 Kosi Parikrama Yatra of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) concluded as per the schedule on September 13 at Makhora Village, about 40 km from Ayodhya, from where it had began on August 25. As usual the administration’s atrocities continued and 40 saints were arrested from Makhora. However some saints performed the havan there. Later a havan was also performed at Karsevakpuram in Ayodhya on September 13.
Though the Uttar Pradesh government adopted all means to prevent the Rambhaktas and the saints joining the Yatra and created barricades on the Parikrama route as well as arrested the devotees, the administration failed to curb the zeal and devotion of the Rambhaktas.
During the entire Yatra more than 3,700 saints, who joined the Yatra from different parts of the country, were arrested at different places. Majority of them were arrested while entering Uttar Pradesh, but a few somehow successfully joined the Yatra and were arrested while conducting the Yatra itself.

12.  UNIVERSAL ONENESS DAY 2013 IN MUMBAI: Vishva Adhyayan Kendra (VAK) Mumbai and Maharashtra Educational Trust (MET) jointly organized Universal Oneness Day function on 30th August 2013.
Keynote speech was delivered by noted thought leader Mr. Sandeep Waslekar on “Making Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam a living reality”. Other dignitaries present were Mr. Matan Zameer Deputy Chief of Mission at Consulate General of Israel in Mumbai, Mr. Pankaj Bhujbal Honorary Secretary MET and Mr. Satish Agarwal CMD Kissan Group of Industries.
Mr. Sanjay Kelapure, President VAK welcomed all in the gathering. Mr. Zameer in his speech mentioned the plight of Jews as they were persecuted practically all over the world with India being exceptionally empatheticfor nearly 2000 years ordeal till their own homeland Israel came into being. In his speech, Sandeep Waslekar wondered why our entrepreneurs and industrial leaders are unable to see the obvious relationship between scientific research and prosperity. He quoted examples from Israel and China to further elaborate how research activities are helping them generate wealth and improve the quality of life.

13.   5K RUN FOR BHUTANESE CAUSE: In August, 2013 a 5K Run was organized by over 20 high school students from 5 high schools at Roswell Park in Roswell, New Mexico, USA, the first such run for Sewa International worldwide. Around 250 runners participated in this run and the young Sewa volunteers were able to raise around $11,000 by putting together 1200 volunteer hours for Bhutanese community. The raised funds will be used for health camps/ school supplies and other activities for Bhutanese community. Varun Ballari led the team of organizers of the run. 

14.  DR HR VISHWAS GETS BALA SAHITYA PURASKAR-2013: Noted Samskrit scholar and Samsktit Bharati’s Akhil Bharatiya Prashikshana Pramukh , Dr HR Vishwas will receive reputed Kendra Sahitya Academy’s ‘Bala Sahitya Puraskar’ award for the year 2013.
Dr Vishwas will receive this award in a programme at Panaji of Goa on November 15th. The award includes a cash prize worth Rs 50,000.
In 2010, Dr Vishwas was awarded the Kendra Sahitya Academy Award for Translation. He received this award for translating well known litterateur Dr SL Bhairappa’s most debated Kannada novel ‘Avarana’ to Samskrit.

15.   ISRO UNVEILS ORBITER FOR MARS MISSION, LAUNCH IN OCT-NOV: Bharat's upcoming Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) seeks to reveal whether there is methane, considered a "precursor chemical" for life, on the Red Planet, key officials behind the ambitious venture said on September 11.
A Methane Sensor, one of the five payloads (scientific instruments) onboard the spacecraft, would look to detect the presence of the gas, MOM Project Director Arunan S said. He said the sensor was aimed at understanding whether life existed on Mars or if it would have life in future.

16. MARTYRS’ DAY OBSERVED IN JAMMU: Displaced Kashmiri Pandits observed Martyrs’ Day on September 14 in Jammu, to pay homage to Tikalal Taploo, a prominent community leader who was gunned down by militants in Srinagar in 1989. Several organisations paid tributes to the leader and thousands of other people who fell victims to bullets of terrorists in the past two decades of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir.A demonstration was organised by Joint Forum of Kashmiri Pandit Organisation. Tough action was demanded against the separatist elements in the state who are openly propagating secession from Bharat.

17. TULSI BEAD PRODUCTION GETS A TECHNICAL LIFT FROM IIT: A technical design intervention by the Rural Technology center of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi has helped about 2000 rural women in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan engaged in fabrication of tulsi malas , boost their production and earn a better livelihood by introducing advanced machinery.
Women could fabricate 30 to 40 tulsi malas with the old machines and make a profit between Rs.60- Rs.80 per day. They were facing problems of low production and physical pain while working on these machines.
Sita Ram Gupta, executive director of the Lupin Foundation who collaborated with IIT, points out that the new machines are capable of enhancing the production of tulsi malas four-fold and provide a comfortable posture for operating them. With each machine, women are now able to prepare beads for 200 to 250 malas everyday and fabricate the final product into different designs.
 
18. SEAT FOR SIKH AND HINDU NATIONALS IN AFGHAN PARLIAMENT: President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai on 4 September 2013 approved, through a legislative decree, a special seat allocated for Sikh and Hindu Afghan Nationals in the Lower House of the Afghan Parliament.
The decree further adds that the amendments to the Election Law that came into force upon signature by the President. It would be published along with the relevant Cabinet resolution in the official gazette.

19.  BHARAT SPEAKS 780 LANGUAGES, 220 LOST IN LAST 50 YEARS: No one has ever doubted that Bharat is home to a huge variety of languages. A new study, the People’s Linguistic Survey of India, says that the official number, 122, is far lower than the 780 that it counted and another 100 that its authors suspect exist.
The survey, which was conducted over the past four years by 3,000 volunteers and staff of the Bhasha Research & Publication Centre also concludes that 220 Bharatiya languages have disappeared in the last 50 years, and that another 150 could vanish in the next half century as speakers die and their children fail to learn their ancestral tongues.
The 35,000-page survey is being released in 50 volumes, the first of which appeared on Sept. 5 to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Bharatiya philosopher Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, who was also the country’s second president. The last one is scheduled to come out in December 2014.
Ganesh Devy, who supervised the project, said this is the first comprehensive survey of Bharatiya languages that anyone has conducted since Irish linguistic scholar George Grierson noted the existence of 364 languages between 1894 and 1928.
There is a major reason for the disparity in the government’s number of languages versus what the survey found: the government does not count languages that fewer than 10,000 people speak. Devy and his volunteers on the other hand combed the country to find languages such as Chaimal in Tripura, which is spoken by just 4 or 5 people.

20.   ADI BADRI TO GET HERITAGE TAG FOR TREASURE TROVE: Revered as the starting point of the Saraswati River, the Adi Badri Temple in the foothills of the Sivalik Hills in Yamunanagar in Haryana is all set to get the tag of “national heritage”.
After nine years of extensive excavation at the site, which has yielded important findings — including a monastery, Buddha statue, pottery, pieces of carved slabs and several artefacts, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has proposed to bring it under its wing. The ASI feels the site has to be protected as much remains to be unearthed from the spot.
A picturesque site framed by hillocks and a major tourist attraction, Adi Badri Temple site is adorned with the late medieval temples of Adi Badri-Narayana, Sri Kedarnath and Mantra Devi.

21.   SEEMA TAMTA AWARDED PHD ON SHRI GURUJI: Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, Srinagar (Garhwal) recently awarded a Ph.D. degree to Seema Tamta on ‘Sociological analysis of Social Philosophy of RSS second Sarsanghachalak Madhav Sadashivrao Golwalkar’. Talking about her research Seema said the visionary philosophy of Shri Guruji provided solutions to many social issues confronting the society and gave birth to a new transformation process that is still relevant in the changing social and cultural milieu of Bharat. With this view an attempt has been made to analyse the thoughts, ideology and philosophy of Shri Guruji from a sociological point of view.

22.   Bharatiya is WHO’s regional director: After a gap of over four decades, a Bharatiya has bagged the top post of the WHO South-East Asia Region at an election held on September 12 during the meeting of the Health Ministers of the 11 countries from the region. This is for the first time that any woman has been nominated to this post in the region.A former IAS officer, Poonam Khetrapal Singh who is presently an advisor, (international health) in the Union Health Ministry has also till recently held the post of the deputy regional director with the WHO South-East Asia Region from 2000 to 2013.

23.   SHYAM ACHARYA HONOURED WITH BAPURAO LELE AWARD: Senior journalist of Jaipur Shri Shyam Acharya was felicitated with Bapurao Lele Patrakarita Award in New Delhi on August 31. The Asharani Vohra women award went to Nivedita Kandekar while the photographer award was presented to Shri Devendra Rawat. The youth award instated in the memory of Shrikant Joshi was presented to Shri Amrit Joshi.
Senior BJP leader Shri LK Advani and RSS Sahsarkaryavah Dr Krishna Gopal felicitated the awardees. 

24.  US PRESIDENT NAMES PIO TO KEY POST: US President Barack Obama has nominated Bharatiya-American Puneet Talwar as assistant secretary of state for political military affairs, a top diplomatic post. Talwar was Obama's top advisor on the Middle East region for over four years.
He is the second Bharatiya-American to be nominated as the assistant secretary position in the state department. In July, Nisha Desai Biswal was nominated as the assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia.

25.   AMERICAN HINDU ORGANISATIONS HELP PAKISTANI HINDU REFUGEES: Prominent Hindu organisations of America, including the World Hindu Council of America, Hindu American Foundation (HAF), United States Sindhi Alliance, have donated twenty five military grade tents to Pakistani Hindu refugees based in Jodhpur district of Rajasthan in Bharat. The tents were donated as a part of nationwide project in USA coordinated by an alliance of various Hindu organisations under project ‘Pakistani Hindu Refugee Relief’.
These Hindu refugees have arrived from Pakistan after facing grave human rights violation. In late 2012, a total of two hundred and forty refugees arrived from Pakistan’s Sindh province, recently around 500-700 refugees arrived from Pakistan comprising mainly women and children.
In the past, Hindu American Foundation (HAF) has organised a medical camp in Jodhpur while VHP of America donated groceries and tents.  This project is being coordinated at local level with assistance from office bearers and volunteers of VHP, Bajrang Dal and Hindu Help Line.

26.  GUJARAT GOVT ORGANISES BIGGEST GLOBAL SUMMIT ON AGRICULTURE: Gujarat Government organised a two day Agricultural Global Summit on September 8-9.
The first of its kind summit was attended by Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi along with Punjab Chief Minister, Prakash Singh Badal. Over 4,000 farmers from 29 States, two Union Territories and 542 districts attended the event to discuss, learn and exchange farming knowledge.
Apart from key political figures, the event also saw presence of experts from countries like South Asia, Denmark, Netherland and other African countries along with over 125 companies. 

27. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas:         Dr. Ram Vaidya sah samyojak Vishwa Vibhag will return to UK after finishing his tour to Caribbean countries. 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: There is nothing more dreadful than the habit of doubt. Doubt separates people. It is a poison that disintegrates friendships and breaks up pleasant relations. It is a thorn that irritates and hurts; it is a sword that kills. ― Gautama Buddha
JAI SHREE RAM

A CRUSADE TO UPROOT THE FLESH TRADE
Ahmednagar based former ABVP activist Dr Girish Kulkarni rehabilitates over 900 sex workers ensuring respectable jobs for their 300 children
During the last four decades the Governments, both state and central, spent billions of rupees on rehabilitation of commercial sex workers. What is the result—mushrooming of red light areas and forced entry of minor girls into the trade! The government claims about 6.8 lakh registered sex workers in the country, but the NACO estimates this number to be more than 12 lakh. Amidst this number game Dr Girish Kulkarni of Ahmednagar in Maharashtra has successfully rehabilitated over 900 commercial sex workers and effectively curbed the entry of second generation into the trade. Twenty years back there were 900 sex workers operating from four streets of Ahemedngar, but today they remain just 150 and that too only in one street. Not surprisingly, 300 children of these women are today doing respectable jobs in state police and different government departments. Wedding of about 200 rescued girls has also been performed.
Normally, it is believed that prostitution is a one way traffic in which there is no U-turn. Of the many reasons, which  block the U-turn, the most serious ones are the tight hold of brothel-keepers, the chain of beneficiaries who thrive on their labour and the inability to cope with the stigma attached to them by wider society.
In such circumstances even thinking about rehabilitation of these women is a herculean as well as life-threatening task. The topmost challenge is: what is the acceptable alternative, and how to provide protection from the people prospering from the earnings of such women? Anybody who dares to do it has to face the consequences. But Dr Girish Kulkarni took up this challenge 25 years ago and so far successfully rehabilitated over 900 such women through his Snehalaya. For it, he had to fight not only against the pimps, brothel-keepers but also against the highly influential businessmen, policemen and bureaucrats in the district.
Formed in 1989 to work for the Victims of Commercial and Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking (VCSE-T) in red light areas of Chitra, Bhagat and Mamta lanes in Ahmednagar, Snehalaya is today an outstanding example of how youth can make a difference in the lives of people. It created a history in 2010 when it secured the conviction of 20 highly influential persons of Ahmednagar, who sexually exploited a minor girl of 14 years. All 20 of them were sentenced to Double Life Imprisonment. Another similar case of a minor is pending in the court.
The output of Snehalaya’s persistent efforts is clearly visible. The sexually transmitted diseases (except HIV/AIDS) have almost disappeared and use of condoms in red light areas is 96 per cent, highest in the country. Similarly, during the last 20 years no child prostitute joined the trade. Apart from many other reasons, it can be attributed to relentless filing of cases against brothel keepers, pimps and procurers, and their successful convictions in the courts.
Thanks to Snehalaya the children of prostitutes are in a process of life-changing education creating a number of role models from the community. Some of the children got admissions in top schools of the city and proved their mettle in the results. About 300 of them have got quality jobs. Snehalaya also provides medical facilities and ensures rehabilitation for HIV+ women and children. It runs Balbhavans in 7 major slums of Ahmednagar and provides after-school coaching to nearly 2000 students.  Apart from 150 abandoned infants, many unwed mothers, raped victims, widows have also been rehabilitated. Snehalaya’s upcoming Himmatgram project is going to prove a ray of hope for HIV victims and sex workers, who are being rehabilitated by providing vocational skills and employment. Snehalaya’s dedicated team of volunteers has devoted their lives for the betterment of these women.  Perhaps this is the reason that noted film personality, Aamir Khan, on May 6, 2012, during his popular TV show Satyamev Jayate, appealed for help to Snehalaya in this fight.
Snehalaya has also motivated these women to start their own Self-Help Groups (SHG) in all red-light areas  of the district. The most poignant testimony of Snehalaya’s empowerment efforts has come in the form of some outstanding milestones. Lata Pawar wrote the first autobiography of a prostitute in Marathi, while Sangeeta Shelar, a former prostitute, represented Snehalaya in the World AIDS Conference held in Mexico in 2008. Similarly, Kantabai Kale became one of Snehalaya’s trustees in the initial days itself and Meena Shinde is working as an honourary director.
A professor and well known crusader in the district, Dr Kulkarni has been an active worker of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) from 1983 to 1991. His concern for the plight of sexually exploited women was not sudden. As a young boy of 14 while attending tuition classes in a bylane known for prostitution, he heard some of the women yell out in pain, as their customers beat them up or the brothel-keepers inhumanly tortured them. “We always try to convince the prostitutes to leave this trade and start a new life. Though, it is a very tough decision to execute for so many reasons, we have inspired many of them to leave the profession,” he says.
Talking about the challenges he encountered, Dr Girish says, “Preparing a sex worker to live a respectable life is not an easy task. We have to start from de-addiction and then the habit of work is developed and vocational training is imparted. Then social acceptance also remains a big question. Sometimes circumstances disappointed and hurt me but most of the times they taught me a lot and influenced my life immensely.”
Of late, some of his students have also started working in various red light areas after completion of their education. What satisfies Dr Girish more is the fact that the society is slowly changing its orthodox attitude towards the women and children from red-light areas. The girls rescued from the flesh trade got good families and grooms for marriages.
When governments have failed in rehabilitation of the sex workers even after spending millions of rupees every year, these efforts of Dr Girish Kulkarni show the way how to efficiently eradicate the social evil and change the mindset of people.
(Snehalaya runs ‘Snehadhar’, a 24x7 helpline for all types of women in distress. The helpline no. is 09011363600) (Organiser, September 22, 2013)

Bhadra Shukla 12 Vik Samvat 2070. Yugabda 5115: September 16, 2013


Bhadra Krishna 11 Vik Samvat 2070. Yugabda 5115: September 1, 2013



1. FESTIVALS: Onam is predominantly celebrated by people from Keral. Onam day is decided based on Solar Calendar. Onam is celebrated in Chingam month on Malayalam Solar Calendar. The day when Nakshatra Thiruvonam prevails in month of Chingam is considered for Onam celebrations. Onam falls on September 16 this year. The festival commemorates the appearance of Vamana avatar of Vishnu and the subsequent home coming of the legendary Emperor Mahabali. Onam celebrates the Asura King Mahabali's annual visit from Patala (the underworld). On Thiruvonam day, Asura King Mahabali is believed to visit every Malayali home and meet his people. The celebrations of Onam start on Atham day (the day when Atham Nakshatra prevails) and continue for 10 days till Thiruvonam day. Atham Nakshatra is known as Hasta Nakshatra in other Hindu Calendars.


2. BALAGOKULAM CELEBRATES JANMASHTAMI IN KERALA: Balagokulam, an organisation of children, celebrated Sree Krishna Jayanti/ Gokulashtami all across Kerala with all its charm and devotion on August 28. Thousands of children, dressed up as Sree Krishna, Gopika and other similar characters from Krishna's life, were seen on the streets of each and every village and towns. Huge processions of children, their parents and other devotees accompanied by beautiful tableaus and ‘Chendamelam’ (a typical Kerala style drum set) were taken out in many places. Dr. Debashish Chattterjee (Director, IIM-kozhikkode) inaugurated the celebrations in Kozhikkode. Dr. G. Madhavan Nair (Former chairman, ISRO and Secretory Department of Space) and Dr M. C. Dileep Kumar (Vice Chancellor, Sree Sankara Sanskrit University) inaugurated the celebrations in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi respectively.

3. SAVE HINDUS AND SIKHS IN PAKISTAN: US HINDU GROUPS PROTEST:  A powerful protest demonstration was successfully organized on 14 August by Indian American Intellectuals Forum (IAIF) in cooperation with Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America, Hindu Human Rights Watch, Justice for Hindus, India Heritage Foundation, Lansing, Michigan; Human Rights Coalition against Radical Islam, Probasi of Brooklyn and Hindu Mahasabha of America (HMSA) in support of the victims of religious bigotry, hate, intolerance and savagery, near Pakistan Consulate in New York.
The Memorandum expressing outrage, shock and indignation at the horrific treatment meted out to Hindus, Sikhs and Christians was submitted to the Consul General of Pakistan. Addressing the audience, Narain Kataria, organizer of the protest said that Hindus have been terrorized in Pakistan to such an extent that in April-May this year, about 500 Hindus who crossed into Bharat under the pretense of visiting a religious festival, refused to go back to Pakistan and begged government of Bharat to give them political asylum.
A similar demonstration was held outside the Pakistan High Commission in London on Aug 17 by Alliance of Pakistani and British Hindus. The protesters, carrying placards reading "No More Forced Conversions", also handed over a petition to the High Commission asking the Pakistani government to take immediate steps to ensure the well being and safety of Hindus in the country. 

4. BHARAT'S FIRST MILITARY SATELLITE SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED: Bharat's first military satellite GSAT-7 or "Rukmini", which will boost the Navy's blue-water combat capabilities with a 2,000-nautical mile footprint over the crucial Indian Ocean Region (IOR), was successfully launched from Kourou Island in French Guiana by European space consortium Arianespace's launch rocket in the early hours on August 30.
The naval communication and surveillance satellite when placed in the geostationary orbit, it will become "a potent force-multiplier", networking all Bharatiya warships, submarines and aircraft with operational centres ashore through high-speed encrypted data-links. This is the first time a high-power UHF (ultra high-frequency) transponder forms part of an Bharatiya communication satellite like INSAT or GSAT.
From the individual "I see, I kill" operation, the entire Navy will now be "seamlessly" networked to get "a composite, clear picture of all the actors" in the IOR. It will transform from "a platform-centric" Navy to "a network-enabled" force. Shorn of military lingo, this means the ability to detect and share emerging maritime threats "in real-time" so that a counter to "neutralise" them can be swiftly launched, said sources.

5.  Naperville-Aurora shakha of the Chicago vibhag celebrated Rakshabandhan utsav: A team of volunteers from Naperville-Aurora shakha of the HSS Chicago vibhag celebrated Rakshabandhan utsav with Congressman Bill Foster who is a scientist and businessman representing the 11th Congressional District of Illinois. 
The meeting lasted for close to 55 mins. This was the 3rd year of celebrating Rakshabandhan utsav with congressman/woman.
Pragya Maheshwari and Shreeraj Garkhedkar explained the Rakshabandhan utsav and tied Rakhi to Congressman and his staff. 

6.  Balinese Hindus celebrate Pagerwesi: Balinese Hindu devotees celebrated Pagerwesi on August 14 by performing prayers in temples throughout the island. In some parts of the island, Pagerwesi is a minor religious holiday, not on par with Galungan and Kuningan, during which the Balinese Hindus celebrate the victory of virtues over vices.
From early morning, people flocked to Kahyangan Tiga temples — the three temples dedicated to Brahma, Wisnu and Siwa — in their villages. Together with family, they also visited their ancestral temples.
For Buleleng natives, the celebration always ends with a prayer performed in cemeteries to pay homage to deceased relatives who have not yet been cremated. The living present an offering of rice, cakes and fruit to the deceased and at the end of the ritual they feast on the offering.

7.  Sewa International gets Jefferson Awards for Public service: Sewa International Houston was conferred with the prestigious 2013 Youth Service Challenge Medallion for outstanding community service by Jefferson Awards in a ceremony held at City Hall in Houston on August 13. Presented by Houston Mayor Annise Parker, this award recognizes Sewa’s monthly community service activities known as Sewa Local Events. From July 2012 Sewa International, Houston has been offering its volunteers a chance to impact in their community and bring forth positive change.
Through Sewa Local Events, over 120 volunteers have committed their time serving various local organizations including the Houston Food Bank, Texas Children’s Hospital, Star of Hope Mission, Habitat for Humanity, and the Huston Zoo. Sewa also operates additional full-fledged programs including Refugee Empowerment, Family Services, and their internship opportunities.

8.   Empowering marginalised with quality learning: With the objective to provide quality education to meritorious students coming from over 15 lakh tribal families of the State, the Gujarat Government has established 80 world-class educational institutions for meritorious tribal students throughout the tribal areas of the State.
These special schools are residential in nature. Considerable investment is made on educational facilities, teachers, students’ nutritional needs, teaching aids, and co-curricular activities. The students are provided education in the English medium in many of these schools in order to enable them to compete with the non-tribal population, a senior officer from Gujarat State Government said.
Giving an example of Vejalpur village of Panchmahal district, a senior officer from Gujarat State Government apprised that an English medium school was established in the village in 2007-2008, which now imparts high standard education. The school is from class six to 12. The school places a great deal of emphasis on pedagogy and the teachers meet fortnightly to prepare their teaching plans. In addition to classroom teaching, the teachers spend extra time on students to enhance the latter’s knowledge repository. The teachers at Vejalpur continue to work out strategies so that children take off on a learning adventure every day.

9.   Chandrayaan helps NASA detect water on Moon: Using data collected by Bharat’s Chandrayaan mission, NASA has detected magmatic water locked under the surface of the Moon. NASA said scientists using data from the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) instrument aboard the Indian Space Research Organisation’s Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, remotely detected magmatic water, or water that originates from deep within the Moon’s interior, on the lunar surface. M3 imaged the lunar impact crater Bullialdus, which lies near the lunar equator.
“Now that we have detected water that is likely from the interior of the Moon, we can start to compare this water with other characteristics of the lunar surface,” said Ms.Rachel Klima, a planetary geologist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel. The study was published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

10.  Bharat to play key role in building world’s largest telescope: Bharat will play a key role in building the world’s largest optical and infrared telescope — the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), which is expected to be completed by 2022 at Mauna Kea in Hawai. This island in the US is among the best astronomical sites in the world. Institutes from Bharat, Canada, Japan, China, and the universities in the USA signed the master partnership agreement on July 25 to build and operate the world’s largest optical and infrared telescope.

11. 25 years in making, Encyclopedia of Hinduism unveiled in US: "It is a deep honor to be participating in the American release of the Encyclopedia of Hinduism. This is a remarkable work of scholarship and research. I hope that many in academia and in everyday life will turn to it as a resource to better understand the characters, the tenets, and the impact that Hinduism has had, and is having in the world,"  said Dr Harris Pastides, President of University of South Carolina on launching the comprehensive 11 volume  encyclopedia  of Hinduism. The encyclopedia covers Hindu spiritual beliefs, practices and philosophy, and is the culmination of a 25-year academic effort.
The work deals with Bharatiya history, languages, art, music, dance, architecture, medicine, and women's issues. It contains more than 1,000 illustrations and photographs.

12.   ‘Reforms in Education System is need of the hour’: Parikkar: “Schooling system makes kids literate but not really educated. Today we get literate people but not educated people. Unless we make people understand issues and go into depth of issues, education is useless”, said Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parikkar addressing an Intellectual meet for vision and thought leaders at CMR Institute of Technology, Bangalore, organised by ‘Swami Vivekananda 150 Birth Anniversary Celebration Committee, Karnataka’
Noted Writer Madhu Kishwar, Social Activist and founder of SVYM – Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement Dr Balasubramaniam also addressed the meet. The talk was followed by a interactive Q & A session. A total of 506 select intellectuals from various professions participated in the seminar. An inspirational solo song was sung before the speeches.

13: MRM adds new dimension to ‘Rakshabandhan’: Addressing a massive congregation of over 2500 Muslim and Hindu women gathered on the occasion at a specially erected shamiyana in the premises of Khandelwal College in Shastrinagar, Delhi, Indresh Kumar, a senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Executive Committee member and Patron of MRM, said that this program was historical in the sense that never in the history of Bharat such a grand program was held.
Senior BJP leader, former Union Minister Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, Swami Yatindranath of Haridwar, Maulana Jafrul Hasan ‘Ayodhyavasi’, MRM National convener Mohd Afzal, Co-Conveners Shahjad Ali, Abu Bakr Naqvi, Reshma Hussain, senior RSS activist Ramprasad and others were present.
Muslim women tied Rakhis to Hindu brothers while their Hindu counterparts tied Rakhis to Muslim brothers in the program presenting a novel concept of Hindu-Muslim unity and harmony.
14. Prestigious Janmashtami Puraskaram Conferred on Guru Chemancheri Kunjiraman Nair: The prestigious Janmashtami Puraskaram instituted by Balasamskarakendram has been bestowed upon renowned Kathakali maestro, the reverential Guru Chemancheri Kunjiraman Nair. Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair began his Kathakali voyage at the age of 15, which still continues relentlessly. Age has never been a restraining barrier for this great maestro. The award was presented at a function inaugurated by head seer of Advaithashramam Kolathur, Swami Chidananda puri and presided over by Dr. KP Prabhakaran Nair.
The Balagokulam the most famous Children’s organisation of South Asia gave away the Janmashtami Award to the veteran Guru of Kathakali Art form of Kerala, for his lifelong achievement and dedication on Art and preservation of the culture.The key address was delivered by KC Kannan, Sahasarkaryavah of Rashtreeya Swayamsevak Sangh.

15. From a hut in Nasik village, 15-yr-old girl runs to gold in China: Anjana Dhavalu Thamake won gold for Bharat by winning the girl's 800m race in the second Asian Youth Games held at Nanjing, China. Thamake clocked a personal best of two minutes 11.47 seconds to bag the gold ahead of Savinder Kaur of Malaysia and Sri Lanka's K Dilhani Fernando. 15-year old Anjana Thamake led the eight-athlete field all through and won the race comfortably. Anjana belongs to a small village, Ganeshgaon, in Nasik district of Maharashtra.
 
16. ParameswarANji's appeal: To commemorate 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekanandaand and his Chicago speech 120 years ago, Thiruvananthapuram Corporation has agreed to the appeal of Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari and Sri Ramakrishna Mutt, Thiruvananthapuram to install a life-size bronze statue of Swamiji at Kowdiar Palace Park.
The total outlay for the Statue and the over-arching structure with proper landscaping is estimated to be about  One Crore Rs. Honorable Vice-President of Bharat M. Hameed Ansari has agreed to unveil the statue on 11th September 2013, day of Swamiji’s speech at Chickago.
Kindly contribute generously for the venture.
Your contributions can be sent in favour of ‘Vivekananda Kendra’ or can be directly remitted to the A/c No- 822201002059, IFSC – CNRB 0000822, Canara Bank, Puthenchantha Branch Thiruvananthapuram.Kerala.

17.  Maharashtra signs anti superstition ordinance: Maharashtra Governor K. Sankaranarayanan signed an Ordinance on August 24  which will curb practices like black magic, witchcraft and award stringent punishment, up to seven 7 years in jail,  for the practioners of such superstitions. Maharashtra is the first state in the country to enact such a law. The move comes five days after the killing of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, the founder-head of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS) which fought against these practices.
18.     Seminar on ‘Dreams of Bharat-Role of Media’: Samachar Bharati conducted a seminar on “Swamiji‘s Dreams of Bharat-Role of Media “on 24th Aug 2013 at Hyderabad on the eve of the 150th Birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.
This seminar was inagurated by Justice L.Narsimha Reddy of the AP High court, called for a closer reading of Swami Vivekananda’s message and it’s appropriateness for our current times.
Mr Chandan Mitra, Editor Daily Pioneer New Delhi and Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha)who was guest speaker on this occasion stressed the continuing relevance of Swami Vivekananda and said his ideas were far ahead of their times.
Mr MVR.Shastry Editor, Andhra Bhoomi , Smt Nivedita Bhide Vice-President of Vivekanada Rock Memorial Kanya Kumari and Justice Sri Ramlu of the AP High Court (Retd) also spoke at the occasion.  

19.  Tributes to Dilip Singh Judeo, The pioneer of Ghar Wapasi movement: Dilip Singh Judeo, BJP leader and MP from Bilaspur parliamentary constituency in Chhattisgarh died on August 14at Medanta Hospital Gurgaon. He was known for his daring personality in Chhattisgarh politics and ‘the Ghar Vapsi Abhiyan’ (reconversion of tribals) on the front of social work. He was 64 and is survived by his wife and two sons.

20.  Madison Hindu community begins big expansion: Ground breaking ceremony of a “Hindu Temple & Cultural Center of Wisconsin” was permormed on a seven acre site 2138 S Fish Hatchery Road in Madison Wisconsin. A cultural center and temple building to cost between $350,000 and $400,000 will be built at the site.
For a Midwestern city, Madison has a relatively high concentration of Hindus, with most of them natives of Bharat, “UW-Madison is a big factor,”  said Sharma, 57, a native of New Delhi, Bharat, moved to Madison in 1992. “There are a lot of researchers here and professors and assistant professors. You also have a lot of doctors because of the medical facilities, and a lot of people working for technology companies.”

21. NATION-WIDE PROTEST BY VHP AGAINST BANNING AYODHYA PARIKRAMA YATRA: After a nation-wide protest, which also reverberated in the Parliament, VHP Veteran Ashok Singhal, Dr Togadia were released from Police arrest on August 26.  However UP Govt did not lift the ban on Ayodhya Parikrama Yatra of VHP. Vishwa Hindu Parishad & Bajrang Dal workers protested across the nation at places like Deharadoon, Kasargod – Keral, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Jantar Mantar in New Delhi against the ban imposed by UP government on 84 kosi parikrama which started on August 25 and arrest of Hindu Saints & VHP activists in and around Ayodhya. 

22. HINDU'S OF SINDH, PAKISTAN CELEBRATE JANAMASHTMI : Despite threats from Talibans, fundamentalists and  persecution and migration to Bharat from Pakistan, the Hindu's of Sindh celebrated Janamashtmi festival with religious fervor.
President of Pakistan Hinduh Seva Welfare Trust, Sanjesh Dhanja informed that trust in collaboration with Shri Naval Ekta Committee celebrated the event of Sri Krishna Janamashtmi at Hyderabad, Pakistan. "It is amazing and indicates that how much Hindu's are aware of their religious rights" he said. Stating that it was the unity among the community that they were able to celebrate the event in such a big way, advocate Ramesh Kumar of the trust said," Hindu's realize their strength and despite all odds they are united to celebrate their religious festivals"
In a similar incident, Hindus and Sikhs from the restive northwest gathered at three temples in Peshawar to celebrate Raksha Bandhan. Arrangements were made at the historic Kali Bari and two other temples in Lower Courts and Gor Ghatri for the celebration where Hindus and Sikhs from cities like Kohat, Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan travelled to Peshawar. 

23.   HINDUS LAUD OREGON PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL FOR OFFERING YOGA: Hindus have applauded Crescent Valley High School (CVHS) in Corvallis (Oregon, USA) for offering yoga, and have urged all schools in Oregon to do the same for their pupils.According to reports, a week-long yoga summer camp is currently being held in the school and a yoga class will be offered after the school opens on September 4.

24.   Bharatiya professor reports first human-to-human brain interface: A Bharatiya Rajesh PN Rao, Associate Professor of Computer and Science Engineering, at University of Washington in Seattle and his American research colleague have successfully performed the first non-invasive human-to-human brain interface over the Internet. Using electrical brain recordings and a form of magnetic stimulation, sent a brain signal to researcher Andrea Stocco on the other side of the UW campus, causing Stocco’s finger to move on a keyboard.
Rao has been working on brain-computer interfacing for more than 10 years. He has just published a textbook on the subject. For the demonstration, the team had a Skype connection set up so the two labs could coordinate, though neither Rao nor Stocco could see the screens.
On his home page on the university website, Rao says the primary goal of his research is “to discover the computational principles underlying the brain’s remarkable ability to learn, process and store information, and to apply this knowledge to the task of building adaptive robotic systems and brain-human interfaces”.

25.   Bharat lures back 500 NRI scientists: Over the last seven years, initiatives such as the Ramanujan and Ramalingaswamy fellowships and the £160-million India Alliance between the UK’s Wellcome Trust and Bharat’s department of biotechnology have prompted over 500 scientists doing research overseas to shift to their homeland. The first two‘re-entry’ fellowships — started in 2006 and 2007 respectively — are granted for five years and come with a monthly salary of Rs. 75,000 in addition to handsome research grants. A large number of their fellows are absorbed in the institutes where they do their research. The government is now trying to increase both the emoluments and research grants under the fellowship so it becomes more attractive, says department of science and technology secretary Dr T Ramasami.

26. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas:  Dr.Ram Vaidya, sahsamyojak Vishwa Vibhag is touring Guyana and Suriname. Visitors: Ujjwal Bharadwaj – UK, Rajesh - Singapore

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: I am sure, if our mothers make a resolve to uplift the society, then there is no power, either in this world or the other, which can defeat them. The ideal of Savitri, before whom even the Lord of Death accepted defeat, is before them. May they all invoke within themselves such single-minded devotion to the ideal, such purity of character and such peerless heroism! Once we do this, I am sure, the long night will pass and a new dawn will spread its golden hue over the horizon of not only Bharat but over the entire world with the renewed effulgence of our Dharma. – Sri Guruji M S Golwalkar.
JAI SHREE RAM

50 YEARS OF HINDU EMPOWERMENT

Dr Pravin Togadia
Recently while traveling a young suited booted professional approached me and said, ‘Jai Shreeram’. I pleasantly looked up and he continued, “I studied in VHP run High School, did well in the board exam and with VHP support I went on to be an MBA and now I am holding a good post in an FMCG.” The passenger sitting next to us exclaimed, “Oh! VHP is in education too? I thought that you guys did only agitations.” Before I give him the details of our service work in education, health, vocational training, the same smart youth rattled the details of VHP’s total educational projects 50628, 1257 schools, 608 health projects including hospitals, mobile dispensaries and health care centres; girls hostels 32, boys hostels 108, orphanages 45, Self-Help Groups for women 633, vocational skills for youth centres 257 and other social help projects such as legal aid, old age homes, etc are 1205.”  And then he added, “This large-scale social service by VHP is important and equally important are the agitations that are done to defend Hindus and Hindu Dharma. I am proud to be associated with VHP.”
This is not the one off incident. Over 50,000 students who have studied in VHP High Schools, are now placed at various respectful places in various fields like science, technology, corporates, health etc. When they came to our schools, they were either from very poor families or from Vanvasi areas. Now various high schools have over 6000 students. When nobody dared to enter Nagaland, VHP opened hostel in Halflong area of Nagaland 40 years back and now 10,000 Nagas proudly call themselves Naga Hindus. This has prevented massive conversion in the area. The same is for Odisha to Chhattisgarh and Tripura to Maharashtra.
When Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) begun on Janmashtami on August 29, 1964 in Mumbai in a simple Sandipani Ashram, Hindu well-being, restoring dignity for Hindu Dharma, protection of Hindus, spreading Hindu Dharma glory nationally and internationally etc were part of the goals. The objective of the VHP was to organise – consolidate the Hindu society and to serve – protect the Hindu Dharma. A strong, effective, enduring and an ever increasing presence of VHP is now seen in lakhs of villages and towns in Bharat as well as globally.
Today when VHP will be completing 50 years coming year, VHP is present in all 450 (Government) districts in Bharat and also in 5868 Prakhands (Taluk, etc) working through its 51,374 committees. VHP has activities of similar types in over 100 countries. This is not mere data; people work here day and night for Hindu well-being. VHP has always treated untouchability as a big social evil. Through the consistent efforts at eradication of social evils like untouchability, VHP is absolving the Hindu society and rejuvenating it to express its inherent Hindu Unity and Dignity. Respected Shankaracharyas and Sadhu-Saints in VHP conclave have passed a resolution to eradicate untouchability. As a part of it Pujya Shankara-charyaji went to Kashi’s Domb King’s home and ate with him. Today, VHP has a special social equality project named ‘Samarasta’ in which VHP workers make people from other castes ‘Hindu Mitra (Friends)’ who are invited for all religious functions and treated like close family members. Globally, with VHP’s efforts, Hindu Dharma is taught as a part of school syllabus in Australia and UK with Government sanction there. This helps others to know facts about Hindu Dharma and also helps Hindus settled there for generations to get their children know of their glorious Hindu traditions. VHP runs interactive summer camps in many countries including the USA for the children and youth to tell them about Bharat’s glorious culture and Hindu Dharma.
Cow protection is an important part of VHP activity. Bajrang Dal workers are always ahead in Gou Raksha. Many states now have law prohibiting cow butchering. VHP has worked tirelessly to get them pass this law. A lot needs to be done to get other states and Centre even pass the law now. To save non-milking cows which are unaffordable for poor farmers, VHP runs over 515 Goshalas all over Bharat. The late Moropant Pingleji had a great vision of making consumer products made from gomutra (cow yrine), gomay (cow dung) and also from cow ghee, curd and milk. These panchgavya products are now made by many Goshalas. Products like soaps, shampoos, medicines etc at par with any MNC are now being used by millions of Hindus. Moropantji always felt that as many consumer products from panchgavya are used as many liters of gomutra and as many kilos of gomay would be used, farmers can earn from them and cows would be saved. VHP Gouseva Gou Raksha also holds interesting exams for school kids on Gou Mata!
Defending Hindus and Hindu rights have been VHP’s one of the objectives. Ayodhya’s Ram Temple, Kashmir’s Amarnath, South Bharat’s Rameshwaram Ram Sethu and stopping reservations to Muslims in jobs / education, / loans are the larger agitations VHP did and have been following up. Amarnath pilgrimage now gets over 10 lakh people annually where no Hindu was safe earlier. Rameshwaram Ram Sethu has been protected with VHP’s continued legal and social fight. Hon. Supreme Court of India has discarded all proposals and committee reports on Muslim Reservations terming them ‘unconstitutional’ due to VHP’s constant socio-legal fight.
Apart from these national agitations, VHP also takes up local issues of Hindus from all states. Recently when a Scheduled Caste minor girl was gang raped and killed by Muslims in Pratapgarh district of UP, VHP dared the Uttar Pradesh government and got the police file an FIR and arrest the culprits. They did it after 15,000 Hindus of all castes from surrounding villages did democratic peaceful march to the police station.
There are umpteen such examples like Kokrajhar Assam where Bangladeshi infiltrators attacked local original Vanvasis and burnt their houses. VHP not only opened the relief camps but also pushed the polity to agree that 1951 would be Citizen Registry cut off and not 1971 as the infiltrators came in then. When North East Indians were being chased away from all parts of Bharat after Kokrajhar incidents, VHP, RSS together stood with them, protected them and those who still wished to be at their homes in NE, helped them with special trains, protection and food supplies on way. From Marad, Kasargoud at Kerala to recent Kishtwar incident in Jammu & Kashmir all states, VHP has been holding Hindu hands many ways.
To help Hindus in routine emergencies like medical, travel, legal etc Hindu Help Line runs a 24X7 call cantre through which Hindus get emergency help all over Bharat. We wish to extend it to globally now. Recently when Hindus from Pakistan fled and came in Bharat, VHP helped them settle and now taking up the issue of their safety and status. ‘Hindu Ahead’ project has excellent youth participation with the appeal of ‘Aware Hindu and Active Hindu’.
Before VHP was established in 1964, Hindus did give fight on their own globally and in Bharat. Now nationally and globally VHP has become a rallying point for Hindus for protection, prosperity and dignity as a Hindu. Many other Hindu organisations followed VHP footsteps and are now active to help Hindus. VHP works with many of them when it comes to Hindu issues.
With 43000 primary schools in Vanvasi areas, VHP has achieved what many governments could not. Preventing mass conversions and not letting separatist movements in are the big successes of this. Over 5 lakh Hindus did voluntary Home Coming (paravartan) from forced Muslim and Christian practice.
It is said that life begins at 50. VHP has come leaps and bounds ahead to spread and protect Hindu Dharma. An apolitical socio-religious movement has become a support hand for Hindus, which now has strength to express in one voice the issues of Hindus and influence the polity so that Hindu rights are protected. We all have many many miles to go. Vicious efforts to malign the image and work of VHP will continue by the so-called anti-Hindu and pseudo secular forces.
VHP will move ahead for Hindus all the tie irrespective of individuals as we believe that ideology is prime. To multiply VHP’s efforts in all the fields of socio-legal, socio-religious and socio-economic aspects for Hindus, VHP is gearing up with the ‘VHP Vision’ which was announced in Kerala meeting in 2011 when a young team had been announced (The detailed VHP Vision document is available on www.vhp.org  Or one can simply give search on Google: VHP Vision – Kerala). Past 2 years much has been charted out and achieved. Much more is to be done. Let us together make a difference! (Contact: drtogadia@gmail.com, www.facebook.com/HinduNewsNetwork)
(Published in Organiser 1 September 2013)