1. FESTIVALS: Bhiman amavasya which is Ashadh Amavasya (July 26 this year) is a festival celebrated in parts of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. It is believed that on this day Shiva, taken over by Parvathi devotion towards him accepted her as his wife.
Usually two idols are made using red mud clay,
dried and decorated. One Idol depicts Bhagwan Shiva & the other symbolizes
Parvathi. Women pray for the wellbeing of their husbands and brothers on this
day. On this day, married ladies and unmarried girls pray for the welfare,
happiness and long life of husbands, brothers and other males in the house.
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2. VIGILANT SOCIETY CAN
ALONE SUSTAIN CHANGE: DR. BHAGWAT:
Drawing parallel with the socio-political change brought about by Chhatrapati
Shivaji Maharaj four centuries ago, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)
Sarsanghchalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat called upon the society to remain ever
vigilant to sustain the positive change the country has witnessed after the
2014 General elections.
He was addressing the valedictory function of
25-day-long Third Year Sangh Shiksha Varg at the Reshambag grounds at Nagpur
on 12th June. Noted Spiritual Guru Sri Sri Ravishankarji Maharaj
was the chief guest on the occasion. Varg Sarvadhikari and Kashi Prant
Sanghchalak Sri Vishwanath Lal Nigam and other adhikaris were present on the
dais.
The RSS chief said that the present political
change has aroused the aspirations of the people once again. But these
aspirations could be fulfilled only when the society was ready for
transformation in accordance with the changing time.
In his address Sri Sri Ravishankarji Maharaj
called for instilling self esteem and increasing the level of confidence in
the society to realize the bright future of Bharat. Sri Sri praised the RSS
for giving the society both reformers and rulers. He said that we are all
reformers and reformers have a greater role to play as compared to the rulers.
This year 716 participants from all
the 41 Prants participated in the camp.
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3. PM DEDICATES LARGEST
WARSHIP INS VIKRAMADITYA TO THE NATION:
In his first outing after taking charge as
Prime Minister, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 14th June dedicated
Bharat’s largest warship INS Vikramaditya to the nation and pitched for making
the country self-reliant in manufacturing defence equipment, shedding
dependence on imports.
Arriving on board the warship in a Sea King
chopper, the Prime Minister was given the ceremonial guard of honour by the
Navy and was briefed about the warship.
He also sat in a MIG 29 aircraft and also
witnessed high-speed manoeuvres by the Navy’s Western Fleet ships including
aircraft carrier INS Viraat, Delhi-class destroyers and Talwar-class frigates.
INS Vikramaditya is a modified Kiev-class
aircraft carrier which was purchased by Bharat from Russia for the Bharatiya
Navy in 2013. The ship has been renamed in honour of Vikramaditya, a
legendary 1st century BC emperor.
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4. HSS HONORED TEACHERS
ACROSS THE US: During the
month of May 2014, Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, USA (HSS) honored teachers across
the US, during month long events of Guru Vandana. Each year, US celebrates
first week of May as “teachers appreciation week” and Tuesday of the same week
as “National Teachers Day”. Hindu philosophy and culture considers Guru as
“Supreme Being” who invokes and sustains light of knowledge while eliminating
the darkness of ignorance. To acknowledge and appreciate these Gurus who
silently shape our lives, HSS volunteers across the nation held Guru Vandana
during their weekend activities in the Month of May and at some places in
June.
In typical event, the children presented a
cultural program where Sanskrit sholkas were recited in the honor of the Guru.
The shlokas focused on the significance of the Guru, comparing the Guru to the
God, and pointing out the Guru’s role in achieving the supreme knowledge.
Local chief guest shared his or her thoughts with audience, followed by
appreciation of teachers with flowers and memento.
At 38 places across USA, Guru Vandana
programs were conducted in which 475 teachers from local schools as well as
from dance other classes were honored by their students in presence of over
2550 attendees.
5. OATH TAKING: NEW LS
MEMBERS BRING SANSKRIT BACK IN VOGUE:
The forgotten language Sanskrit was the
flavour of the Lok Sabha on 5th June with several MPs taking oath
in the ancient tongue. The 16th Lok Sabha got off to a speedy start, creating
a record of sorts with 510 of the 539 members, including Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and top leaders taking oath on a single day. This is the first
time that so many members have taken oath on a single day.
Among the top names, External Affairs Minister
Sushma Swaraj took the oath in Sanskrit followed by Water Resources and Ganga
Rejuvenation Minister Uma Bharti and Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.
Several MPs from Rajasthan like CP Joshi and
Sumedhanand Saraswati led others in taking the oath in the ancient language.
However, it was the members from Uttar Pradesh (UP) who surprised the House as
one after another many of them chose Sanskrit to confirm their membership to
the 16th Lok Sabha. In fact, one lost count once UP’s turn came with several
members opting for the rich ancient language. Sanskrit’s distinct diction
continued to reverberate in the House for a long time.
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6. FOOTBALL–THE SYMBOL OF
GLOBAL ONENESS: DATTATREYA HOSABALE:
The International Festival of the Game of
Football has just begun. The World Cup is an occasion when the world comes
together – in a common aspiration, hope and determination – while trying to
win the trophy each country expresses its own uniqueness, separateness and
will and in being part of the greater game where the world comes together,
each country forms part of that larger whole – the world family!
Football has been a great unifier having
admirers, fans, adherents and adepts across civilizations, continents &
borders. It has been so since ages – in ancient India, as in ancient Greece
the game of tackling the ball and hitting it around with the foot was a hugely
popular sport enjoyed by the vast majority – ruler as well as the commoner.
At another dimension too football is indeed a
great leveler – as a game loved and played by all sections and strata of
society in a majority of the countries of the world – this game deprives no
one from partaking of its joys. Some of our most enduring symbols of youth and
youth power and youth potential are images of the young in any part of the
world, gustily and one pointedly playing football.
The game of football exudes dynamism, energy,
the power of will and conviction of reaching the goal – it is a game which is
dominated by the attempt and the urge to reach the goal. It stands in
contradiction to all that is static, stagnant, stultifying – the constant
speed and trajectory of the ball is symbolic of the flow and vitality of life
at a deeper level.
For us in India – we have celebrated each such
unifying occasion to reiterate our core civilisational belief of the “world is
one family” – “vasudhaiva kutumbakam” – the Football World Cup Tournament is a
manifestation of that civilisational belief through the magic of ball. It is
amazing to see how a ball unites the world!
On this occasion of global mela, I wish all
the participating players from various countries grand success, a great
enjoyment and a wonderful time of experiencing the oneness of mankind.
(http://samvada.org/2014/news/football-the-symbol-of-global-oneness-writes-dattatreya-hosabale-rss/)
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7. SARASWATI SISHU MANDIR
STUDENT CLEARS IAS EXAMINATION: Not
letting her disability come in the way of reaching her goals has become Sarika
Jain's second nature. The polio stricken Odisha woman has cleared the civil
service examination in her first attempt, two years after qualifying the tough
Chartered Accountancy exam.
Sarika , a differently abled girl from
Kantabanji town in Odisha's Balangir district, has cleared the UPSC
examination 2013 with a rank of 527 among the 1,122 candidates.
Jain, who was afflicted with polio in her
right leg with 50% disability since the age of two despite taking polio drops,
hails from Kantabanji, a small town in Balangir district, Odisha. Her father
Sadhuram Jain is a small time trader of sanitary fittings.
Third among three sisters and a brother,
Sarika studied in local Saraswati Sishu Mandir and later completed her
bachelor's degree in commerce from Kantabanji Women's College.
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8. MASSIVE PROCESSION
AGAINST EVANGELISM IN SRI LANKA:
Recently the members of evangelical movement had harmed religious harmony in
Sri Lanka by converting Buddhists to Christianity. They have established
prayer centers in majority Buddhist areas and encourage conversion, claims
Akmeemana Dayaratna Thero a Buddhist monk. In wake of this, HINDFOS—a Hindu
Federation organized a procession on 24th May in Colombo. Hindu priests and
Buddhist monks along with 1200 Hindus headed the massive procession covering a
distance of 3 Kms triggered the minds of Hindus calling for an anti-conversion
Bill which is pending before the parliament be passed. -Top
9. LEARN FROM RSS HOW TO
BE A GOOD WORKER — ACHARYA MAHASHRAMAN:
Applauding the discipline and management
skills of the RSS swayamsevaks, leading Jain saint of Terapanth Sect Acharya
Shri Mahashraman said “Anyone wishing to be a good worker should learn this
art from the Sangh swayamsevaks.” Addressing a joint gathering of RSS workers
and Terapanth activists at Keshav Kunj, Jhandewala, New Delhi , he said the
RSS has had a long association with the Sect and Acharya Shri Mahasiddhaji and
former RSS chief Shri Sudarshanji enjoyed close relations. He said the present
RSS chief Shri Mohan Bhagwat has maintained that closeness. Earlier, the
swayamsevaks accorded rousing welcome to the Acharya ji at Keshav Kunj.
Welcoming the Jain saint, RSS Uttar Kshetra Sanghachalak Dr Bajranglal Gupt
said this visit has energised the Sangh workers to work with renewed vigour.
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10. HSS (UK) - PROUDH
SHIBIR 2014: The annual proudh
shibir took place from June 6- 8 at Leicestershire, UK. Theme of the shibir
was "SANGH; SAMAJ & SAMPARK". Total Sankhya was 87.
The two day programme contained lot of
activities such as sharireek; games; bauddhiks; group discussion; manoranjan
Sabha; quiz competition etc. The highlight of the sharireek was warm up
exercises conducted by an 80+ year swayamsevak!
Bauddhiks were rendered by Shri Dhirajbhai
Shah (UK Sanghchalak), Shri Mukesh Naker of British Hindu Voice and Shri
Jayantibhai Doshi of Nav Jivan Samaj, UK. Various other community related
topics were discussed viz Indo-Jew Association; Hindu Chaplaincy in Prisons;
Adult Education and teaching of Yoga , SEWA activity etc.
The samarop Bauddhik was delivered by Shri
Ram Vaidyaji and exhorted swayamsevaks to take up one community related
activity; support local shakha network; assess possibility of commencing
balgokulam. -Top
11. SAMUHIK VIVAH AN
EXPERIMENT TO RESTORE SOCIAL HONOUR:
Lakhs of people are working in tea gardens in
Assam, Tripura and Bengal, unfortunately still they are struggling hard to
earn for daily bread. Many youths have dreams to get married but due to
poverty they cannot afford such ceremonial rituals. So, many of them prefer to
use short cut of Gandharva Vivah. But society does not give social status to
such couples. Kalyan Ashram came forward to help such couples through Samuhik
Vivah (Group Marriage). For last one decade Ashram is conducting such
marriages in Bengal and Assam. Urban units of the organization arrange for all
the expenses and offer gifts to the couples.
On 25th May Samuhik Vivah (Group Marriage)
was conducted at Salibari near Siliguri of North Bengal where 101 couples got
married. All the couples came along with their relatives and villagers with
great enthusiasm. They wore traditional dress. After rituals couples visited
temple and had blessings. Such functions strengthen social fabric and
accelerate the process of social harmony. -Top
12. RSS PRACHARAK WINS
THE LEGAL BATTLE AGAINST ARANMULA AIRPORT:
RSS Pracharak and general secretary of Hindu
Ekya Vedi Shri Kummanam Rajsekharan won the legal battle against controversial
Aranmula Airport in Kerala when the southern unit of the National Green
Tribunal quashed the permission to international airport project on May 29.
Permission to Rs 2,000 crore project at Pathanamthitta district was granted
last November ignoring the local protest. Shri Kummanam was fighting for the
preservation of ecology and cultural heritage of Aranmula Village.
This victory underlines the fact that a private airport project does not come under the ‘public purpose’ category. It stands to benefit only a minority. Also, the necessity for an airport at Aranmula, when Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi Airports are nearby stands unwarranted. -Top
This victory underlines the fact that a private airport project does not come under the ‘public purpose’ category. It stands to benefit only a minority. Also, the necessity for an airport at Aranmula, when Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi Airports are nearby stands unwarranted. -Top
13. 90K BHUTANESE
REFUGEES RESETTLED: A total of
90,000 Bhutanese refugees have been resettled since the third country
resettlement program began seven years ago, the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organisation for
Migration (IOM) said in a recent statement.
The resettlement countries include Canada,
Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom
and the United States. A majority of refugees-over 75,000 people-have been
resettled in the United States. “The courage and resilience of the refugees
has been a great motivation for us to continue our engagement with the
population,” he said. Of the 27,000 refugees remaining in the camps, about
21,000 have expressed an interest in resettlement and are expected to depart
in the coming years, the statement said.
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14. SIKKIM SHOWS BHARAT
CAN EMERGE GLOBAL ORGANIC HUB:
Taking the example of Sikkim, which will soon become a fully organic state,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Bharat's entire north-eastern region
can emulate this model to make the country a global hub for such produce. He
was replying to the debate on President Pranab Mukherjee's address to a joint
session of parliament on 11th June.
Sikkim started eco-friendly farming in a small
area about 10 years ago and had set its eyes on emerging as a certified,
fully-organic state by the end of next year. The state government, in fact,
stopped lifting its quota of chemical fertilizers from the central government
since 2006-07 and all sales points for such nutrients were shut. -Top
15. APPEAL FROM SRI LANKA
FOR HINDU BUDDHIST UNITY: Hindus of
Sri Lanka want peaceful coexistence with Buddhists there. This sentiment was
given expression to in a rally and procession organized in Jaffna recently.
The program organized jointly by Indo-Lanka Hindu People friendship
Association and Hindu Religious Federation. The organizers demanded that
conversion by coercion must be put an end to. Participants in the rally
appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi of Bharat to facilitate Hindu
Buddhist unity. Yoga Raja Dushyantan, one of the organizers, said “Narendra
Modi projected himself as a Hindu always. That is why we look forward to him
for a proper leadership in this issue.” -Top
16. INDIAN B-SCHOOL
GRADS GET JOBS EASILY: Are Indian
management graduates industry’s first choice. A survey by Graduate Management
Admission Council, which conducts GMAT, shows that 92% of Indian management
students had an offer of employment, as against 33% in Asia-Pacific region and
57% globally. Industry-wise, for management graduates of India, jobs are
raining from technology (31%), consulting (26%), finance/ accounting (16%).
Globally the highlight of the 2014 batch has
been that 46% of the graduates launched their own businesses after getting
enrolled in B-schools. The survey was carried out among the students of the
class of 2014 across 111 universities in 20 countries. In all 3,049 graduate
management students were surveyed. It's a rosy picture for graduates from
Indian B-schools compared to the global scenario. The Global management
education graduate survey 2014, which also included 260 management students
across eight institutions, stated that 9 in 10 students at Indian schools have
job offers. This is pretty high if compared to the AsiaPacific region as well
as globally. Maximum jobs are coming from the technology sector in India,
which amounts to 31% of the offers to management graduates, which is followed
by consulting and finance/ accounting with 26% and 16% respectively.
Consulting remains the top job function with 26% of the offers are for this
work profile followed by 21% in marketing/ sales.
Globally 57% of the students graduating this
year have already received at least one job offer. Finance/ accounting
remained the top choice with 26% to work in this job function. Postgraduate
programme students seemed to be preferred over those pursuing full-time MBA.
Nearly 91% of students pursuing PGP have job offers compared to 53% of those
in full-time MBA.
And more than half of the management graduates
of the class on 2014 are likely to switch industries after graduation.
Percentage of job seeking students of European business schools having job
offers has decreased significantly – down to 47% from 55% in 2013.
(Times of India, June 5, 2014)
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17. BRAHMOS MISSILE
TEST-FIRED FROM WARSHIP INS KOLKATA:
Bharat on 9th June successfully
test- fired the 290 km-range BrahMos supersonic anti-ship cruise missile from
the country's largest indigenous warship INS Kolkata off the coast of Karwar
in Karnataka.
The Mazagon Dockyards Limited-built INS
Kolkata is yet to be formally inducted into the Navy and will have the
capability to launch 16 BrahMos missiles in one go when it enters operational
service.
The Navy has already deployed BrahMos weapon
systems on several of its warships including the Russian-origin Talwar Class
vessels. Besides Navy, The missile has also been inducted into the Army and
the Air Force and is being readied for firing from a Su-30MKI combat aircraft.
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18. HIMACHAL NATIONAL
PARK SET FOR WORLD HERITAGE TAG:
Countdown has begun for getting Unesco’s coveted World Heritage Natural Site
tag for the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) in Himachal Pradesh, Bharat’s
richest biodiversity spot in the western Himalayas.
State wildlife officials say the World
Heritage Committee, scheduled to meet in Doha, Qatar, June 15-25, will
consider the inscription of world’s nine natural sites on the World Heritage
List, including Bharat’s lone entry — the GHN.
With a total area of 905 sq km GNHP, formally
declared a national park in 1999, is situated at an altitude ranging between
1,800 metres to 5,200 metres with a major part lying above 4,000 metres.
The GHNPis home to several rare and threatened
species, including the western tragopan, chir pheasant, snow leopard,
Himalayan musk deer, Asiatic black bear, Himalayan tahr, blue sheep and serow.
Some 25 threatened IUCN Red-listed plant species are also recorded in the
park. Bharat currently has six natural sites in the Unesco World Heritage
list, including the Sundarbans in West Bengal.
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19. MUSLIM WOMEN RECITE
‘SHRI HANUMAN CHALISA’ AT JHANDEWALA TEMPLE:
In a bid that can have far reaching impact on
both the communities in the days to come, a group of Muslim women from Banaras
recited Shri Hanuman Chalisa at famous Jhandewala Mata Mandir in Delhi on June
10.
The group of about a dozen women led by Nazneen Ansari visited the temple in the morning and recited Shri Hanuman Chalisa that Nazneen has written in Urdu. “We did it to protect the country from dangers, strengthen unity among Hindus and Muslims, eradicate conflicts and make stronger bonds of mutual trust and harmony,” Nazneen said. Nazneen is president of Muslim Mahila Foundation, which has been fighting for the cause of Muslim women in Banaras for some time. -Top
The group of about a dozen women led by Nazneen Ansari visited the temple in the morning and recited Shri Hanuman Chalisa that Nazneen has written in Urdu. “We did it to protect the country from dangers, strengthen unity among Hindus and Muslims, eradicate conflicts and make stronger bonds of mutual trust and harmony,” Nazneen said. Nazneen is president of Muslim Mahila Foundation, which has been fighting for the cause of Muslim women in Banaras for some time. -Top
20. 8 BHARATIYA SOLDIERS
AMONG 106 PEACEKEEPERS HONOURED BY UN:
The United Nations honoured 106 peacekeepers,
including eight Bharatiya soldiers, who lost their lives in peacekeeping
operations, even as Bharat stressed that the Security Council should act to
restore political situation in troubled nations as peacekeeping is not the
solution to instability in such countries.
The International Day of UN Peacekeepers was
commemorated on 29th May with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
laying a wreath at a newly-created memorial for the peacekeepers. The ceremony
was attended by Bharat’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Asoke
Kumar Mukerji and other envoys and military attaches of member states.
The Bharatiya peacekeepers laid their lives
while performing duties in South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo.
Bharat has been among the largest troop contributors to UN peacekeeping
operations with more than 170,000 troops to 43 of the 68 UN peacekeeping
missions since the inception of UN peacekeeping more than 60 years ago.
Currently, a total of 8,132 Bharatiya soldiers are deployed in 10 critical UN
peacekeeping missions across the world.
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21. TCS MAY SOON BE
WORLD'S SECOND BIGGEST TECH EMPLOYER:
TCS has become the world's third largest
employer of people in the technology sector, with over 3 lakh employees. And
given the pace at which it is growing, it could become the second largest
employer this year, crossing Hewlett-Packard, and would be fast closing in on
leader IBM.
In Bharat, it's one of the biggest creators
of jobs in recent years, possibly even the biggest. Besides the Bharatiya
army, government departments like the Bharatiya Railways and Bharat Post, and
PSU companies like Coal India, there's perhaps no other company that has more
employees. And unlike the government departments, which are mostly reducing
their staff strength, TCS numbers are rising each year by between 25,000 and
35,000.
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22. BRITISH BHARATIYA
PHYSICIST ACCORDED KNIGHTHOOD: A
Bharatiya origin physicist, best known for his work on the Large Hadron
Collider experiment, has been accorded an honorary knighthood by Britain's
Queen Elizabeth II for his achievements in science.
Tejinder Virdee, of Imperial College in
London, was named a Knight Bachelor for his services to science in the Queen's
Birthday Honours List, released on 3rd June. His citation reads,
"Professor Virdee is one of the UK's most distinguished physicists and, as one
of the creators of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) Experiment he has made
outstanding contributions to science".
"Beyond his innovative work in particle
physics, he is also a great campaigner for science, and promoter of science
and education in Africa and India," the citation says.
Another Indian-origin scientist, Anupam Ojha
- director of the National Space Academy - receives an Order of the British
Empire (OBE) in the list.
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23. BHARAT RANKS 15TH
WITH 175,000 MILLIONAIRE HOUSEHOLDS IN 2013
according to a wealth report which said the
total number of millionaire households in the world rose to 16.3 million last
year. The Boston Consulting Group's 14th annual report on the global
wealth-management industry 'Riding a Wave of Growth: Global Wealth 2014' said
global private financial wealth grew by 14.6 per cent in 2013 to reach a total
of $152 trillion.
Bharat’s position improved slightly from 2012
when it had ranked 16 in the world for its number of millionaire households.
It is projected to become the seventh wealthiest nation by 2018. The number of
ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) households in Bharat, those with $100 million or
more, stood at 284 last year. -Top
24. 10-YR-OLD BHARATIYA
PRODIGY GRADUATES HIGH SCHOOL IN US!:
A home-schooled 10-year-old Bharatiya origin
genius has surprised one and all by becoming one of the youngest ever in the
US to graduate high school. Tanishq Abraham, a native of Sacramento,
California, received his high school diploma at a private ceremony at
California Auto Museum on Sunday. Home-schooled since the age of 7, Abraham
passed a state exam in March that certified he had met the appropriate
academic standards to receive his diploma.
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25. BANGALORE GIRL TO
PLAY KEY ROLE IN RETRIEVING MARTIAN SOIL:
Bangalore girl Anusha Mujumdar, a third-year
PhD student in applied mathematics at the University of Exeter in the UK, will
be playing a crucial role in European Space Agency's (ESA) Mars Sample Return
Mission slated for lift off in 2020.
Anusha is one of the 35 global students, who
have recently been honoured with the prestigious Zonta International Amelia
Earhart Fellowship. She plans to use the Fellowship, given to talented women
pursuing advanced studies in aerospace-related sciences, to develop spacecraft
control for the mission.
The ESA's mission plans to collect soil sample
from Mars and return to Earth. Part of the mission will rely on 'rendezvous
and capture' technology, which will allow a canister to be retrieved by a
chaser spacecraft in deep space once the samples have been collected.
Anusha's research relates to the sophisticated
'integrated Guidance, Navigation and Control' (iGNC) algorithms that allow
this retrieval to take place by predicting potential difficulties the mission
may incur. -Top
26. OBITUARIES:
Senior Pracharak and national organising
secretary of the Seema Jagaran Manch, Rakesh Kumar died in a road accident at
Jaisalmer in Rajasthan on June 12. Born in 1955 ,Rakesh Kumar ji became Sangh
Pracharak during the Emergency. He earlier served as Prant Pracharak in Punjab
and Jammu & Kashmir. He was instrumental in organizing the program ‘Sarhad ko
Pranam’ which created awareness about Bharatiya borders among youth. The
cremation was held at his ancestral village Mandi Ahmedgarh in Ludhiana on 13th
June. Senior Pracharak Ashok Prabhakar who was also traveling with him had
minor injuries and is now out of danger.
Prof. A.N. Rao was a retired professor and Head of the Department in Botany, NUS (National University Singapore). He was an authority on Bhagavad Gita, vedanta & Upanishads, an eminent speaker on various subjects and founding member of many popular social organizations in Singapore today, such as Hindu Centre, Hindu Endowment Board, Chinmaya mission, etc. He also served for Ramakrishna mission Singapore, as a vice president for 14 years.
Prof. A.N. Rao was a retired professor and Head of the Department in Botany, NUS (National University Singapore). He was an authority on Bhagavad Gita, vedanta & Upanishads, an eminent speaker on various subjects and founding member of many popular social organizations in Singapore today, such as Hindu Centre, Hindu Endowment Board, Chinmaya mission, etc. He also served for Ramakrishna mission Singapore, as a vice president for 14 years.
Heartfelt condolences and Prayers at the feet
of Paramatma to bestow sadgati to the departed souls.
-Top
27. SHRI VISHWA NKETAN:
Pravas: Shri Shyam Parande,
Secretary Sewa International will return Bharat after his tour to Australia
and Malaysia. Visitors: Sunil Gupta – Hong Kong, Priya Tandon –USA
-Top
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: As
rivers, flowing down, become indistinguishable on reaching the sea by giving
up their names and forms, so also the illumined soul, having become freed from
name and form, reaches the self-effulgent Supreme Self - Mundaka
Upanishad
-Top
IT’S POJK AND NOT POK!
In 1962 China attacked India and took over approximately 42 thousands square kilometer (sq.km) of its area of Ladakh region. Do you know what this region is called? It’s called China occupied Kashmir (COK)! (Kashmir is hundreds of km away from this region). In 1947, 63 thousands square km of Gilgit and Baltistan was invaded and thereafter this region got documented as Pakistan occupied Kashmir PoK (this had nothing to do with Kashmir). The 10 thousands square km area of Jammu region which was occupied by Pakistan after invasion, loot and plunder, rape and arson was also slotted in the same category. Only 6 thousands sq.km of (actual) Kashmir is in illegal occupation of Pakistan.
If we take whole Jammu and Kashmir, Kashmir accounts only for 9% of the area. In the area of J&K which is under occupation of China or Pakistan, only 5% area belongs to Kashmir region. Yet all names given to these regions are related “only” to Kashmir- PoK or CoK. It may surprise any Indian except those who know the politics of J&K after independence. One may think this is simple stupidity or merely negligence at governments end, but it is a planned and forced identity on the state, says a politically “learned” resident of Jammu & Kashmir.
The article is not elaborating on plans or conspiracies behind the naming, but after acknowledging the above facts you would agree that PoK should be renamed as PoJK. Logical enough! While thinking so, did you have vote bank politics or a particular religion in mind before coming to this conclusion? No. But there are many with expertise in secularism and vote bank politics that associate the matter with religion.
It’s good that the present government is not opportunistically philosophical and it has decided to work and take decision based on facts and has attended to the long pending demands of many political and non political organisations of the state. Government has expressed its desire to change the name from PoK to PoJK. And this is a welcome sign! “The beginning of ‘wisdom’ is to call things by their right names” says an old Chinese Quote.
After the judicious but symbolic step of
renaming PoK to PoJK, our government should start taking concrete steps to
claim its right on the region. To start with, this can be initiated by giving
the right of representation to the people of the PoJK, who are living as
refugees in the Jammu region. It may surprise you that in the assembly of J&K,
24 seats are reserved for the PoJK, but these seats are frozen and have never
been contested till date. Out of total 111 assembly seats of J&K, only 87
undergo elections. Rest 24 seats are kept vacant in the Assembly for the
representatives from that part of the state which is illegally occupied by
Pakistan.
As there are twelve hundred thousand refugees from PoJK who live in different parts of Jammu region, they should be allowed to represent their area. Therefore BJP is right when it demands 10 seats (out of 24) of PoJK for the representation of refugees of that region.
As there are twelve hundred thousand refugees from PoJK who live in different parts of Jammu region, they should be allowed to represent their area. Therefore BJP is right when it demands 10 seats (out of 24) of PoJK for the representation of refugees of that region.
For many political parties it may again be an
issue of vote bank politics but if right steps are taken in this direction,
step of these kinds would have far reaching effect on our claim on PoJK, and
will help international community to build a right perspective on J&K.
A vast territory of J&K has been illegally
occupied by Pakistan, which was divided by the Line of Control (LoC).
Sources pointed out that the Government
wanted to send a strong message to Pakistan by renaming PoK as PoJK that
entire J&K State including the territory illegally held by Pakistan is one and
that entire State is an integral part of the country.
Renaming PoK as PoJK is being described as Modi Government’s strategy on Jammu and Kashmir under which it is planning comprehensive plan for return of Kashmiri Pandit migrants to the Kashmir Valley.
Renaming PoK as PoJK is being described as Modi Government’s strategy on Jammu and Kashmir under which it is planning comprehensive plan for return of Kashmiri Pandit migrants to the Kashmir Valley.
