1. FESTIVALS: Sri
Ganesh Chaturthi Bhadrapad
Shukla 4, September 9 this year, is the birthday (rebirth) of Ganesha, the son
of Shiva and Parvati. Ganesha, recreated by Bhagwan Shiva after beheading him
by putting an elephant head on his trunk,
is worshipped as the god of wisdom, prosperity and good fortune and
traditionally invoked at the beginning of any new venture or at the start of
travel. The festival is observed for 10 days from Bhadrapad shukla 4 to Ananat
Chaturdashi i.e. Shukla 14.
In houses, a small clay idol
is worshipped, sweets offered and aartis are performed before it is taken to
river or sea for Visarjan. The festival has also taken a public form where tall
ganesh statues are placed in huge pandals, decorations made, cultural programs
organized and lakhs participate in Visarjan processions.
It is celebrated all over
Bharat, more predominantly in Maharashtra, TamilNadu, Goa ,
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha and Chhattisgarh. Outside Bharat, it is
celebrated widely in Nepal
and by Hindus in the United States ,
Canada , Mauritius UK
Thailand, Burma , Fiji
2. RASHTRAPATI PRANAB MUKHERJEE’S ADDRESS ON THE EVE
OF 67TH INDEPENDENCE
Corruption
has become a major challenge. The precious resources of the nation are being
wasted through indolence and indifference. We have to rapidly empower the local
bodies with functions, functionaries and finances to improve their performance.
The
last decade has seen India
Rashtrapatiji
called upon people to elect a stable government in the next general elections
which will ensure security and economic development.
3. BHARAT LAUNCHES INS
VIKRANT:
Bharat launched its first
indigenously-built aircraft carrier on August 12, a landmark moment in the $5
billion project that seeks to project the country's power and check the rising
influence of China.When the INS Vikrant comes into full service in 2018, Bharat
will become the fifth nation to have designed and built its own aircraft
carrier, pushing ahead of China to join an elite club that includes Britain,
France, Russia and the United States. The ship, which will be fitted with
weaponary and machinery and then tested over the next four years, is a major
advance for a country competing for influence in Asia ,
analysts say.
4. ‘Cultural nationalism- The
Bharatiya perspective’: Delivering
the valedictory address of a 2-day
National Seminar organised by India Foundation and Center for Study of Religion
and Society (CSRS), New Delhi along with The Mythic Society, Bangalore on
‘Cultural Nationalism: The Bharatiya Perspective’ on 8th August,
2013 at Bangalore, RSS Sah-Sarakaryavah Dattatreya Hosbale said that ‘Vedic
Rashtra’ was not born out of wars and clashes but was born out of similar
cultures. In Bharat, the Vedas, our rishis and people came together to form a
nation. Rashtra may have a geographical boundary but it also has a spiritual
and ethical connotation to it. The meaning of Rashtra may encompass the whole
world. Our idea of a Rashtra is for spiritual emancipation whereas nation is
for a political purpose.
Bharat
was one before 1947 but now it has been divided into three states. I had once
met a Bangladeshi citizen who when born was a Bharatiya. He belonged to
Bharatiya nation. After 1947, East Pakistan was formed and he became a citizen
of Pakistan Bangladesh
I
had once asked a Jewish diplomat that since the Jews were spread all over the
world for about 2000 years and in the meanwhile they would have intermingled
and married across other cultures and religions and yet how could they claim
that they are one nation still and what formed the basis of their nationalism
even after these 2000 years. He said two things formed the basis of their
nation even after these 2000 years of disparate existence. They are culture and
religion. He said wherever we Jews lived, we followed our culture and religion.
At conscious level we always felt as one nation. Common history, common
traditions, common feelings form a nation.
As
one writer said, nation is a soul. In our nation, the national consciousness
has been carried over various generations. Once Annadurai, former CM of
Tamilnadu, in the Lok Sabha spoke of protecting our Himalayas during China Himalayas which had no border with his state and was
separated by thousands on kilometers. Annadurai answered that they belonged to
one culture and shared the same history. This is cultural consciousness.
We
also need to look into the role of proverbs in our nation. Where ever we go to
any part of our nation, we get to hear the same proverb albeit in different
languages. For example when a person whom we were talking about arrives, we
wish him a hundred years. Even while I was at a remotest place like Demchuk, a
local man quoted the same proverb when met with similar situation. One more
example is ‘Namaste’. ‘Namaste’ is the same all over our nation. Even ‘Tilak’
on the forehead is a common symbol.
Cultural
nationalism is something we are living but has been forgotten due to current
political discourses. We need to understand it in right perspective. Cultural
nationalism is not just a subject for the academia.” Kennedy once said, “Geography
has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us
partners, and necessity has made us allies”. Similarly, Geography has made us a
country, our history has made us a nation. Cultural nationalism is part and
parcel of our life and we live it in our daily lives.” – Report by Prashanth Vaidyaraj for VSK, Karnataka.
5. Be the change to change
the society: Mohan Bhagwat: “If you want to bring change in your favour, you be the change,” said
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghachalak Shri Mohan Bhagwat in Nagpur Nagpur
Ashutosh,
Managing Editor, IBN 7 Channel said that the media has emerged as a powerful
tool that has brought the change in the society changing its time and space
both. Recalling the sayings and observations of Swami Vivekananda, Ashutosh
said we must remove the fear of the new and face the change boldly if we have
to survive and make our nation a world leader.
Earlier,
a short documentary on the journey of Tarun Bharat was screened. All the living
former editors including MG Vaidya, DB alias Mamasaheb Ghumre, LT Joshi,
Wamanrao Telang and Sudhir Pathak were felicitated.
6. Bharat Parikrama Yatra
Completes ONE YEAR: It began with the sole aim to uplift rural Bharatiya life; RSS former
Seva Pramukh Sitaram Kedilaya led Bharat Parikrama Yatra reached Badanor Village
of Bhilawada district in Rajasthan, on its 365th day, marking the completion of
a successful year.
Last
year on August 09, 2012 the Bharat Parikrama Yatra was launched from
Kanyakumari. On August 08, 2013 it completed successful 365 days traversing nearly
400 villages of 7 states, covering approximately 4000 Kilometers of journey. On
July 03, 2013 Rajasthan became the 7th state to receive ‘Bharat Parikrama
Yatra’, which entered the state on July 3rd from neighboring Gujarat .
Yatra will continue in Rajasthan till September 25, 2013.
7. Congress Mukt Bharat is the best tribute to Bharat: Narendra Modi: “Today the atmosphere is of a Congress Mukt Bharat. I
appeal to all parties here. What can be the best tribute to Bharat? It is a
Congress Mukt Bharat”, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi said in a big round
of applause, addreesing the mega public meeting-Nava Bharat Yuva Bheri"
(New Bharat's Youth Conclave) in Hyderabad
Attacking Congress led UPA
government, Modi said, “One family has ruled for decades but they have failed
to do anything for the common man.” No food, clothing, shelter is the doing of
the Congress. To change this we need to walk on path of development, he added.
Advocating inclusive development he said that development is the only way
ahead. In development lies solution to all problems.
Thousands of people turned up
at the stadium to hear Modi. The stadium, in the heart of the city, was filled
to its capacity by 2 p.m, two hours before he reached the venue.
8. Project Nirman, Bilaspur:
An instrument of social change: Vanvasi Vikas Samiti is a social voluntary
organization working in Chattisgarh state. VVS is running Project Nirman at
Bilaspur which is a free coaching centre for Janjati youths. Nirman provides
coaching for competitive exams for youths who come from educationally backward
remote villages. This project is being run for the last three years.
This
year students of project Nirman appeared for various exams and 55 students
successfully got through the exams. Students secured jobs in the field of
Banking, Railway, Police, Veterinary, Education and income tax services.
Felicitation programme of successful students was organized on 21 July at Ram
Mandir auditorium in Bilaspur.
9. YOGA EDUCATION MADE
COMPULSORY IN MADHYA PRADESH: Yoga education will be made compulsory in schools of
the state from class 1 to V. Addressing a meeting of Madhya Pradesh Yoga
Parishad, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan directed to prepare course for
practical and theory for Yoga education. Chouhan said that Yoga education
should be imparted from childhood so that its foundation is strengthened. About
availability of Yoga teachers, Chouhan said that initially, master trainers
should be raised. These trainers will train teachers. Chouhan directed School
Education Department to prepare Yoga education course and outlines for
teachers' training within a month.
It
is noteworthy that Yoga education is being imparted to students of class VI to
VIII in the state. Under it, teaching and reading material has been provided
for Yoga introduction, Yogic postures, Surya Namaskar, aasan, pranayam, mudras
and meditation. At the meeting, issues pertaining to Yoga education's training
and availability of Yoga teachers were also discussed.
10. Ram Madhav on Face BOOK ON
His
elder brother performed the last rites. What he and his wife said after the
funeral was really inspiring and touching. 'My brother dedicated his life to
the RSS. There should be at least one Pracharak in our family. ‘If my brother
is no more today, my son will fill that gap and become a Pracharak soon'.
What
a dedication! His son is still a young boy in studies. Pracharaks in RSS are
dedicated full time activists who remain unmarried and work for the society
without any personal gain.
In
fact, it is the dedicated brothers like the one above who are the real strength
of the RSS and support for the Pracharaks.
11. Dalai Lama opens Tibetan
Pavilion at FACT Museum
The
Tibetan leader was speaking after inaugurating the Tibetan Pavilion at the
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Museum of Indian History at Wadgaon Shinde near
Lohegaon on July 28. The pavilion showcases an exhibition of text and
photographs depicting the trials and travails of Tibetan community over the
last six decades. FACT- Foundation Against Continuing Terrorism, started by
Francois Gautier a French journalist settled in Bharat, undertakes awareness
campaigns, conferences, exhibitions films and papers on Art, Culture, History,
and Human Rights abuses. Fact India
12. Hinduism is very much
alive: “Mahatma
Gandhi used the concepts of Sattva and Ahimsa (non-violence) and packaged them
in such a way that they could be used in the political field. A number of
leaders such as Aung San Suu Kyi, Nelson Mandela draw inspiration from him and
his principles. Even at the Oval office in the White House, Obama pays his
tribute to Gandhi every day,” said Dr Shaunaka Rishi Das, an Irish, of the
Oxford Centre of Hindu Studies, speaking at the Indian Institute of Science,
Bengaluru on August 11, on the long philosophical traditions of Hinduism, its
contemporary relevance and the challenges it is facing.
Quoting
from the Rig Veda and the Upanishads, Das spoke about certain profound
questions relating to Kama (desire), Sattva (goodness) and Atma (soul) that have
been asked in these texts and hold an universal and contemporary appeal. These
ideas have also recently seen their influence in the Middle
East in the form of the Arab Spring. One cannot, however,
characterise these essentially as Hindu or of Hinduism due to its universal
nature which was the beauty of the religion.
13.
Hindus Celebrate New Temple In
Virginia, US: Several white marble statues were installed at the BAPS temple in Salem,
the second such temple in the Roanoke Valley, after a Shobha Yatra in downtown
area, on August 4. Roanoke 's and Salem 's mayors, Virginia lawmakers, national Hindu leaders and about 800
religious followers traveled from as far away as New Jersey Roanoke Valley Salem
14. GURUDAKSHINA IN
KATHMANDU: Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh Nepal Om Prakash Khandelwal, Mahanagar Sanghachalak. Sunil
Ambekar, National Secretary, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad graced the
occasion as chief guest.
"In spite of
availability of various ways of learning, the students today are going astray
due to lack of proper guidance from the teacher. In such a situation, the sole
way to provide students with proper guidance towards right direction is through
the implementation of the sacred Guru-Shishya tradition in today's educational
system too," said Sunil Ambekar.
"Sangh has regarded the
most sacred Bhagwa Dhwaj as the Guru instead of any particular individual. The
Bhagva Dhwaj is a symbol of one of the basic human values 'sacrifice'. It
teaches us to sacrifice our selfish motives for the service of the
society," he added. About 200 Karyakartas from Mahanagar Sakha worshipped
the Dhwaj and offered Guru Dakshina.
15. PIO to head SA hospital that did 1st
heart transplant: A Bharatiya-origin doctor has taken over as the first woman CEO of a
hospital globally renowned for carrying out the world’s first heart transplant.
Dr. Bhavna Patel took charge of the Groote
Schuur Hospital
in Cape Town
16. Green cards for
Bharatiyas soar six-fold: In 2012, as many as 35,472 Bharatiyas with H-1B visas got green cards,
up from 6,000 in 2011 — accounting for more than 50% of all green cards issued
to H-1B holders for all countries in the year. The data from the US Citizenship
and Immigration Services (USCIS) comes in the wake of a new Bill that focuses
on attracting knowledge workers to the US
Clearly,
the US
17. PIO Rumi Verjee made a
lord: Multimillionaire
Rumi Verjee, who brought the Dominos pizza chain to Britain
Verjee
is a highly successful entrepreneur and the proprietor and chairman of Thomas
Goode & Co, based in Londons Mayfair. He founded Dominos Pizza in the UK Uganda Uganda ,
he made the United Kingdom
18. No. of PIOs with overseas Indian citizenship
card soars 10 fold: Over two lakh people of Bharatiya origin have opted for the Overseas
Citizenship of India (OCI) card every year since 2010 while one lakh cards have
been given out in the last 5 months. The largest group of overseas citizens of
Bharat is in the US , which
boasts of 5.2 lakh card holders, followed by the UK Australia with 1.3 lakh people and Canada
19. NAVY LOSES
TOP SUB: In the biggest peacetime
disaster to hit the Bharatiya Navy, its Kilo-class submarine INS Sindhurakshak
docked off the Mumbai coast sank August 13 night after two massive blasts set
off a raging fire. All 18 crew on board, including the warship’s
second-in-command, are feared dead.
20. Sun, sand and
citizenship: Soon, cricket may not be the only connection Bharatiyas have with the Caribbean . Countries like St Kitts & Nevis, Dominica and Antigua
have rolled out attractive cash-for-citizenship programs to woo Bharatiya
immigrants.
The
latest to launch a citizenship-by-investment (CIP) program is Antigua &
Barbuda, a tiny independent Commonwealth state in the eastern Caribbean
which will open up its borders to other nationals in a month. It is giving full
citizenship for an investment of at least $400,000 (about Rs 2.4 crore) in an
approved real estate project. A St Kitts citizenship, too, comes for $400,000
while tiny tropical Dominica Antigua and Barbuda passport besides the
tropical breeze, swaying palm trees and white sand beaches, of course An
Antigua passport can get you visa-free travel to 126 countries including Canada , Hong Kong ,
Singapore , the UK and Europe .
St Kitts gets you over 100 countries. A Bharatiya passport only gets you 55
countries.
As
a Commonwealth citizen, one also receives certain preferential treatment in the
UK UK
21. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN:
Pravas: Shri
Saumitra Gokhale samyojak Vishwa Vibhag returned to USA
after weeklong tour to Jamaica Guyana ,
Suriname and Trinidad . Visitors: Virendrakumar Harit – France,
BS Deshmukh – Japan
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: An aggregate or a
congregation of men does not make a nation, nor do the geographical area and
duration of time qualify a society to be known as a nation. A government formed
on such basis can be called a state, but not a nation. It is common goal or
mission that makes a nation. All the constituents strive collectively for
something noble… Service with a spiritual orientation results in man making
which is invariably and inseparably connected with nation building. It is the
core of all our thoughts behind this organisation (Vivekanand Kendra). – Eknathji Ranade.
JAI SHREE RAM
Nilesh Shukla
In
the last decade, social forestry initiatives have been intensified and new
dimensions added across the State. The Van Mahotsav programme especially has
made a significant contribution. Even though Gujarat ’s
forest cover is less, the State is now a leader in tree coverage. Nationally,
about 2.77 per cent of the area is under tree cover but in Gujarat
that number is over 4.0 per cent, according to a 2011 report of the Forest
Survey of India.
Also,
the number of trees outside the forest area increased from about 25.1 crore in
2003 to 26.9 crore in 2009 to 3014.14 crore this year. That’s an impressive
19.2 per cent increase in a decade. Gujarat ’s
tree density of 16 trees/ha in the non forest areas is also higher than that of
the national average.
This
year, the 64th State-level Van Mahotsav was celebrated at Nageshwar village of Dwarka
in Jamnagar
That
idea was first executed in the form of Punit Van and, thereafter, a total of 10
Sanskritik Vans were successfully established across the State. The objective
of a Sanskritik Van or Cultural
Forest Trees Outside Forest
The
concept of a Sanskritik Van is rooted in ancient Indian texts such as the
Vedas, Puranas, and Upanishads that reflect upon the relationship between
humans and their environment. But it also incorporates the fact that till date,
people have great regard for astrology and the Ayurvedic system of medicine.
Therefore, plantations are planned accordingly — such as Navgraha Van,
Nakashatra Van, Rashi Van, Panchvati, Trithankar, Saptarshi, Shriparni and
Arogya Van — and gain popularity among the Gujaratis .
According
to Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest
(Social Forestry) HS Singh, the Gujarat Forest Department manages a ‘Social
Forestry Programme’ for planting trees on non-forest lands which has greatly
improved the State’s green cover.
The
objectives of the programme were to increase the number of trees in the State,
promote the participation of people and institutions to plant trees and put
unproductive land to productive use. According to the National Forest Policy of
1988, one-third of the geographical area of the country should be maintained as
forest and tree cover. As per the State of Forest Report
(2009), Gujarat has only 9.83 per cent of its
geographical area declared as forest, which is much below the national average.
Forest and tree cover is only to the extent of
11.74 per cent (7.46 per cent forest cover and four per cent tree cover outside
forest) of its geographical area.
This
is because more than half of the population of the State resides in rural
areas, which is directly dependent on forest resources. Consequently, it has
become imperative for the Government to regenerate green cover and maintain the
productivity level of non-forest lands, particularly the common lands so that
it can meet increasing rural needs. Promotion of tree planting on non-forest
land, through the Social Forestry Programme has, therefore, been considered to
be the only answer to improve the State’s green cover.
My Visit to RSS and Sewa
Projects in Mangalore
After
attending shaka in the United States
for the past decade, I had always wanted to see what it was like to attend
shaka in India
On
the Saturday afternoon of June 30th, I took a bus from the town of Udupi to the city of Mangalore U.S.
The
next day, after waking up to prayer at 5:30 in the morning, I attended another
shaka at Sanghaniketan and met several important karyakartas in the Mangalore
area. After shaka, I visited two schools run by Sewa Bharati: Chetana Child
Development Centre and the Roman and Catherine
Lobo School Chetana
School India
On
Monday, I had started off with the same morning routine of prayer and shaka as
the day before. For breakfast, I went to Sachin ji’s house and met his whole
family. Like any other cultured Hindu family, all the members of his family
gave me a very warm welcome. A while later, I went back to Chetana school and
visited several school teachers who taught elementary age students the subjects
of Mathematics, English, and Computer Basics. To my luck, the teachers allowed
me to aid the students who were mentally challenged. After a couple hours, I
understood how difficult it was to teach even the most basic concepts in Math
and English to third and four grade students. It was great to see how dedicated
and passionate the teachers were to helping students overcome their
difficulties and become better individuals in life.
The
following day, Sachin ji and I first visited the Blind School Chetana School Chetana School
Finally,
on the last day of my five day stay at Mangalore, I made my last visit to the Chetana School
