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.
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.
