Magh Shukla 2 Vik Samvat 2070. Yugabda 5115: February 1, 2014


 

1. FESTIVALS: 16. FREE TEMPLES FROM STATE CONTROL
2.  WORDS OF A PRESIDENT 17. MUKTESWAR DANCE FESTIVAL
3.  BRAVERY AWARDS TO 25 CHILDREN 18.  CENTENARY OF SARDAR VALLABH BHAI PATEL’s CALL TO THE BAR-AT-LAW
4. RSS CELEBRATES REPUBLIC DAY 19.  LADAKH CIVILIANS GET BRAVERY AWARD FROM ARMY
5. TIBETANS CELEBRATE 65TH REPUBLIC DAY OF BHARAT 20.  NRI SCIENTIST AJ PAULRAJ WINS TECH ‘NOBEL’
6.  SOMYA HEGADE SANGH FAMILY DAUGHTER RECEIVES NATIONAL AWARD FROM PRIME MINISTER 21. BHARAT-ORIGIN PROF. RAKESH KHURANA TO HEAD HARVARD
7.  THREE AUSTRALIANS OF BHARATIYA ORIGIN GET AUSTRALIA DAY HONOURS 22.  SURYA NAMASKAR YAGNA 2014 IN INDIANAPOLIS
8.  TEMPLE RELOCATED USING MODERN TECHNOLOGY 23.  TAIWAN-ORIGIN SCHOLAR OF TAMIL GETS THIRUVALLUVAR AWARD
9. FIRST PREPARE YOURSELF FOR NATION’S CAUSE THEN TELL OTHERS – MOHAN BHAGWAT 24.  US RETURNS MISSING SCULPTURES TO BHARAT
10. RSS REMEMBERS NETAJI SUBHASH CHANDRA BOSE ON HIS 117TH JAYANTI 25.  YOUNG BHARATIYA SCIENTISTS NO LONGER HESITANT TO RETURN, SAYS MASHELKAR
11. NARENDRA MODI A PERSON OF GREAT PROMINENCE 26. RUPEE, LEGAL TENDER IN ZIMBABWE
12. ‘BHARATIYA WOMEN CAN GUIDE THE WORLD AT CROSSROADS’ 27.  INFOSYS CO-FOUNDER GIVES IISC Rs 225 CRORE
13.  BHARAT TEST FIRES NUKE AGNI-IV MISSILE 28. BHARAT’S CULTURAL TREASURES TO GO ONLINE
14.  LITERALLY FROM KASHMIR TO KANYAKUMARI 29. ACT, TO RETAIN OUR CULTURAL PURITY – RAJIV MALHOTRA
15.  PROF SC MITTAL FELICITATED WITH DR VAKANKAR PURASKAR 30. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas & Visitors
FOOD FOR THOUGHT HE WAS LUCKY TO HAVE MET NETAJI
 
1. FESTIVALS: Mahashivratri, the 13th night/14th day of Krishna Paksh of Phalgun falling on 27th March this year, marks the marriage of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. It is believed that on this night Lord Shiva performed Tandava dance  that led to the creation, conservation and devastation of the universe. Devotees visit Shiva temples in the morning and pour water mixed with milk on the lingam of Lord Shiva. Holy mantras are recited and special puja is performed throughout the night.
Mahashivratri is not only a magnificent festival in Bharat but also in Nepal and many other countries. back

 
2.  WORDS OF A PRESIDENT - Pranab Mukherjee has raised valid concerns: President Pranab Mukherjee's observation during his Republic Day eve speech that “anarchy” cannot “substitute governance”, may have raised the Aam Aadmi Party's hackles. But the party and its well-wishers must take the comment in their stride and reflect on its wisdom, rather than adopt a combative posture. It is obvious that Mr Mukherjee had Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's recent dharna in mind, but it would be wrong to read into the statement any offence directed at either Mr Kejriwal or his party. As head of state and having spent decades in governance holding senior positions at the Centre, Mr Mukherjee can only have the good of the country at heart, and he has through the speech shared his views with the people. The observation is meant equally for all those political leaders who believe that empty populism can propel them to power, even if such populist conduct militates against established democratic systems and processes and strikes at the very interests of society and the country at large. It is this displeasure with populist tendencies that the President elaborated upon when he advised the representatives of the people to refrain from making promises to the electorate that they cannot honour. He said, with telling effect, “Elections do not give any person the licence to flirt with illusions”. Since he was addressing the nation — in effect, the people of the country — Mr Mukherjee's words must not be lost on the citizens. They should hold their representatives accountable and rap them on the knuckle when the latter begin selling illusions. At the same time, the people are justified in their anger when the political class fails to deliver on the assurances it has offered to gain the votes. It is to this outpouring of dissent that the President referred to when he remarked, “False promises lead to disillusionment, which gives birth to rage, and that rage has one legitimate target: Those in power”. Here, the President is completely bipartisan, and he in fact acknowledges that the Anna Hazare-led anti-corruption movement of 2011 was the result of failed assurances by the ruling class to tackle corruption. Naturally, political parties have been interpreting the President's speech depending on whom they wish to target. While the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party are happy over Mr Mukherjee's disguised jibe at the Aam Aadmi Party, Mr Kejriwal appears to be elated that there is now a “debate” on whether a Chief Minister should sit on a dharna. It is typical of the Delhi Chief Minister to reduce the President's sagacious advice to an observation about his pet method of resolving issues. He needs to grow up. – Editorial, The Pioneer, 28 January 2014. back

 
3.  BRAVERY AWARDS TO 25 CHILDREN: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on January 24 presented the National Bravery Awards to 25 children ahead of the Republic Day, saying that the children were the “nation’s pride” and their courageous acts an “inspiration” to all. Paying his tributes to the five brave children who lost their lives while trying to save others last year, the Prime Minister said: “Mausmi Kashyap and Aryan Raj Shukla from Uttar Pradesh, M Khayingthei from Manipur, Malsawmtluangi from Mizoram and L Manio Chachei from Nagaland are not among us today, but the sacrifice of these brave children will always inspire the country.”
“The youngest among you is seven-year-old Tanvi, who saved her four-year-old sister from drowning. Helping others at such a tender age is not an ordinary thing,” he said. Manmohan Singh also mentioned the brave deeds done by other children like Shilpa Sharma from Himachal Pradesh who saved a child from a leopard; Shubham Santosh Chaudhari from Maharashtra who saved two girls from a fire; and Malieka Singh Tak who took on four men alone.
The awardees received a medal, certificate and cash. They will also receive financial assistance until they complete their schooling.back

 
4. RSS CELEBRATES REPUBLIC DAY; Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh celebrated 65th Republic Day with hoisting national flags at various places. Sarasanghachalak Mohan Bhagwat Ji hoisted National Flag and offered salutes at Tejpur of Assam in a simple ceremony.     Sarkaryavaha Bhaiyyaji Joshi attended Republic Day celebrtaions at Pune of Maharashtra, hoisted national flag and offered salutes. Sahsarakaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale hoisted National Flag at Mumbai, addressed a small gathering and conveyed his wishes and concerns on Republic Day. Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh Dr Manmohan Vaidya hoisted flag at Gaziabad, UP.back

 
5. TIBETANS CELEBRATE 65TH REPUBLIC DAY OF BHARAT: The Central Tibetan Administration celebrated the 65th Republic Day of Bharat at its headquarters at Ghankyi Kyishong led by the caretaker PM Pema Chinjor. Chinjor, the minister for religion and culture, unfurled the tricolor Bharatiya national flag in front of the Kashag Secretariat followed by the Bharatiya national anthem recital.back

 
6.  SOMYA HEGADE SANGH FAMILY DAUGHTER RECEIVES NATIONAL AWARD FROM PRIME MINISTER: Soumya Hegade received National Award for Best NCC Cadet from Prime Minsiter Dr Manmohan Singh  in New Delhi on January 28. Soumya Hegade is the daughter of RSS Karnataka Dakshin Pranth Saha Vyavastha Pramukh Ganapati Hegade. Mother Bhageerathi Hegade and sister Sindhu Hegade encouraged Soumya’s skills and interest in NCC. RSS Sahasarakaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale, Akhil Bharateeya Bouddhik Pramukh Bhagayya, RSS Karnataka Dakshin Pranth Karyavah N Tippeswamy and several other senior functionaries congratulated Soumya on receiving the award.back

 
7.  THREE AUSTRALIANS OF BHARATIYA ORIGIN GET AUSTRALIA DAY HONOURS: Three Australians of Bharatiya origin have received one of the Australian Government's most prestigious honours in recognition of their exceptional contribution to Australian society. Australian High Commissioner Patrick Suckling congratulated the three recipients of the Australia Day Honours, which were announced on January 26, the national day of Australia. Dr Sadanandan Nambiar, Radhey Shyam Gupta and Dr Pratish Chandra Bandopadhayay have all been awarded a place in this year's Australia Day (26 January) honours list. Mr Suckling said their achievements were recognition of the extraordinary contribution the Bharatiya community had made to Australian society.
Dr Sadanandan Nambiar, a forest scientist, who works with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), has been awarded the Officer of Order of Australia (AO), Australia's second highest award, for distinguished service to science. Radhey Shyam Gupta, from Templestowe, Victoria, received the Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia for services to the arts through classical Bharatiya music. Dr Bandopadhayay received an OAM for community service to the Australian Bengali and Nepali communities.   back

 
8.  TEMPLE RELOCATED USING MODERN TECHNOLOGY: Residents of Ayyanur, about three miles west of Ambur, Tamilnadu thought of a novel but hi-tech idea of retaining a small 300-year-old Amman temple when the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) decided to demolish it to facilitate the widening of the four-lane Chennai-Bangalore National Highway into a six-lane highway.          
R. Moorthy, president of the renovation committee of the temple said that he got the idea of relocating the temple by seeing such structural relocations of buildings done in the U.S. on National Geographic channel. They hired a Haryana-based company which was professionally undertaking structural relocations. They fixed a steel framework under the temple and with the use of jacks, moved it at the rate of 8 feet a day to its new location. As part of the process, they also rotated it to face east.
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9. FIRST PREPARE YOURSELF FOR NATION’S CAUSE THEN TELL OTHERS – MOHAN BHAGWAT: “Prepare yourself for nation’s cause and then tell others to do it. It is our responsibility to reshape the nation’s destiny and without uniting the Hindu society the nation cannot make progress”, said RSS Sarsanghchalak Shri Mohan Bhagwat while addressing a gathering of swyamsevaks at the Maharaj Udaya Singh Statiudm in Kota, Rajasthan on January 19. Shri Bhagwat said Bharat cannot make progress until the countrymen start thinking and acting purely for national interest and keeping the self-interests in a corner. He appealed to the swyamsevaks to follow examples to be emulated through their daily conduct. Kshetra Sanghchalak Purushottam Paranjape, Prant Sangh Chalak Bhagawati Prasad, Vibhag Sanghchalak Prabhash Chandra and many other senior RSS functionaries were also present on the occasion.back

 
10. RSS REMEMBERS NETAJI SUBHASH CHANDRA BOSE ON HIS 117TH JAYANTI: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh celebrated 117th Jayanti of freedom fighter Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose by organising a traditional Route March (Patha Sanchalan) with Ghosh (Band) in Siliguri  on January 23 afternoon for an hour. During the Pathasanchalan, R S S swayamsevaks paid their heart-warming tributes to the national hero who devoted himself for the motherland. More than 300 swyamsevaks participated in the Path-sanchalan.back

 
11. NARENDRA MODI A PERSON OF GREAT PROMINENCE: The European Union on January 24 termed Narendra Modi as a "person of great prominence" on Bharat political landscape and said it respects the judicial verdict that has given clean chit to the Gujarat chief minister for 2002 riots, on which there were "enormous" concerns around the world. EU Ambassador to Bharat Joao Cravinho said the views of the 28-member bloc on the Gujarat riots have been based on Bharata's judicial and political process and it engages with Modi like with any other leader.
"He is a person of great prominence in the political scene. So, of course, we are interested in knowing his views, seeing what plans he has if he comes to power," Cravinho said.back

 
12. ‘BHARATIYA WOMEN CAN GUIDE THE WORLD AT CROSSROADS’: Coinciding with the 151st birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda a woman’s convention ‘Bharatiya women as the guide for the world at crossroads’ was organized at Chennai on January 23. Thousands of women attended the convention. Dr. V Shanta, Chairman of Cancer Institute (WIA), recipient of many awards gave the welcome address, in which she gave a clarion call to women in Bharat—in the words of Swami Vivekananda “Awake, Arise, Stop not till the goal is reached”. This was a call to women to be part of what is happening around them, to bring back values and principles in life and for women to understand and appreciate their respective roles and responsibilities.
Dr Padma Subramanyam Chairperson, Organizing Committee of Swami Vivekananda 150 Women’s Initiative, gave a short brief on the origin of this convention. She cited various contributions of women in Vedic times namely Gargi, Avvaiyar (Sangam period), Karaikkal Ammaiyar (Saiva Nayanmars), Brahmavadini, Andal (Srivilliputhur), Queen Akka Mahadevi (Karnataka), Meera (Rajasthan), Rani Padmini (Chittor), Velu Nachiyar, Jhansi Rani and gave an outlook on how women are held in high esteem in religious, spiritual and temporal traditions.
Speaking about his mother who raised his stature, the factory of Dharma, S. Gurumurthy said that Bharatiya economy was essentially family based and woman-centric, which is in contrast to the rights-based and duty based approach of the West. The convention concluded with an oath to resolve the views of Swami Vivekananda on women and to become a contributor and exporter of Bharatiya thoughts to the world. back

 
13.  BHARAT TEST FIRES NUKE AGNI-IV MISSILE: Bharat on January 20 successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable strategic missile Agni-IV, with a strike range of about 4,000 km, from a test range off the Odisha coast. “The test firing was a total success. The missile travelled its full range,” M V K V Prasad, the director of Integrated Test Range, said. “It is equipped with modern and compact avionics to provide high level of reliability,” a DRDO official said.back

 
14.  LITERALLY FROM KASHMIR TO KANYAKUMARI: Samskrita Bharati, an all Bharat movement to pupularise spoken Samskritam, literally spreads Sanskrit from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Last year, shikshaks of ten-day spoken Samskrita Shibiram from all states converged in Jammu and conducted camps at 300 places in Jammu region. This year, Kanyakumari district witnessed 131 camps in which over 3,600 persons learnt how to speak in Sanskrit. 80 shikshaks and shikshikas from all the four southern states converged in the district. The camps were conducted in the premises of schools and colleges and also under street light in some places. The common closing fuction of all the camps was held in Kanyakumari on January 12, 2014 coninciding with the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.back

 
15.  PROF SC MITTAL FELICITATED WITH DR VAKANKAR PURASKAR: Noted historian Prof Satish Chandra Mittal was honoured with the 16th Dr Vishnu Vakankar Puraskar by the Baba Saheb Apte Smarak Samiti in Delhi on January 19. After doing PhD from the Kurukshetra University Mittal started teaching in the same university and is now Rashtriya Adhyaksh of the Akhil Bharatiya Itihaas Sankalan Yojna. He specialises on Bharatiya national movement and is a renowned historian. The Puraskar is presented to those historians who have contributed in the propagation of glorious Bharatiya history.
Speaking on the occasion RSS Sahsarkaryavah  Suresh Soni said Baba Saheb Apte focused on two topics—Sanskrit and History. He wanted that Sanskrit should become the language of the masses. He said if the history is distorted the future would also be distorted. Now since our history has been distorted we shall have to put our efforts to bring the real history into limelight.back

 
16. FREE TEMPLES FROM STATE CONTROL: The Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgment on January 6, 2013, allowing the former Union Minister Dr Subramanian Swamy’s Special Leave Petition that sought the quashing of the Tamil Nadu Government's G.O. of 2006 which had mandated the government takeover of the hallowed Sri Sabhanayagar Temple(popularly known as the Nataraja temple). The Madras High Court Single Judge and Division Bench had in 2009 upheld the constitutionality of the G.O. by a tortuous and convoluted logic that new laws can overturn past court judgments that had attained finality earlier. In 2014, in Dr. Swamy’s SLP, the Supreme Court Bench of Justices B.S. Chauhan and S.A. Bobde termed this re-opening of the matter as "judicial indiscipline" and set aside the 2009 Madras High Court judgment as null and void on the principle of Res Judicata. back    

 
17. MUKTESWAR DANCE FESTIVAL: The Mukteswar Dance Festival was held in BhubaneswarJanuary 14-16 in a specially constructed open air auditorium with the backdrop of the 10th century Odishan architectural marvel. With the winter chill, the mystic ambience and surrounding small temples created a visual treat. The festival featured talented dancers from all over Bharat. back

 
18.  CENTENARY OF SARDAR VALLABH BHAI PATEL’s CALL TO THE BAR-AT-LAW: The Indo British Cultural Exchange and the British Sikh Association in partnership with the Sardar Patel Memorial Society UK, National Congress of Gujarati Organisations UK and Society of Asian Lawyers held a historic event to mark the centenary of Bharat Ratna Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s call to the Bar-at-Law on 27th January 2014 at the Middle Temple, London. A plaque was unveiled by the Chief Guest, the Rt. Hon. Dominic Grieve QC, MP; the Attorney General for England and Wales, Advocate General for Northern Ireland. Dr. Rami Ranger MBE, FRSA, Chairman of the British Sikh Association welcomed the guests by sharing the message of the British Prime minister, the Rt. Hon. David Cameron MP lauding Sardar Patel’s contribution to modern Bharat as a barrister and statesman”. The Rt. Hon. Dominic Grieve QC, MP then unveiled the commemorative plaque to an audience that had been waiting in anticipation. Presiding over the function, H.E. Mr Ranjan Mathai – Bharatiya High Commisioner to UK spoke of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as being a man of self-discipline, with clarity of mind and determination.  Over 150 prominent members of society attended the Unveiling Ceremony.back

 
19.  LADAKH CIVILIANS GET BRAVERY AWARD FROM ARMY: For the first time, three civilians from Ladakh region, including a porter in Siachin who saved two soldiers buried in an avalanche, have been honoured by Army with special award for their exemplary courage and devotion to duty. Lt. Gen. Sanjeev Chachra Army Commander of Northern Command, gave away the awards to Stanzin Padma, Jigmet Urgain and Nima Norboo on January 14, the eve of Army Day at Udhampur, Jammu.
Padma was honoured for digging out alive two army soldiers who were buried under snow due to an avalanche on May 28 last year while risking his own life. Jigmet Urgain’s career in the army was cut short by an unfortunate mine accident during training in which he lost his eyesight as well as both his hands but that did not stop him for helping others. Padma also saved the life of fellow porter Nima Norboo. Both are employed at Siachin — an assignment which is challenging and fraught with danger. On 5 December 2012, while operating a trolley, Narboo fell into a 200 feet deep crevasse. The only way to save him was for someone to lower himself down into the treacherous crevasse and physically extricate Narboo. Undaunted by the grave danger, Padma volunteered for this task and after a gruelling effort which extended for about 20 hours, was able to extricate Norboo from the jaws of certain death.back

 
20.  NRI SCIENTIST AJ PAULRAJ WINS TECH ‘NOBEL’: A Bharat-born engineer-scientist whose work in the US is at the heart of the current high speed WiFi and 4G mobile systems, has been awarded the 2014 Marconi Prize, a Nobel equivalent for technology pioneers. Coimbatore-native and Stanford University Professor Emeritus Arogyaswami Joseph Paulraj, simply known as ''Paul'' to his legion of friends and admirers, has been recognized for his work in inventing and advancing MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) technology, a key enabler of wireless broadband services that has revolutionized high speed delivery of multimedia across the world. The Marconi Prize, whose previous winners include worldwide web pioneer Tim Berners-Lee, Internet legend Vint Cerf, Google search maestro Larry Page, and cell phone inventor Martin Cooper, comes with a $100,000 prize. ''Paul has made profound contributions to wireless technology, and the resulting benefit to mankind is indisputable. Every wifi router and 4G phone today uses MIMO technology pioneered by him,'' said Professor Sir David Payne, Chairman of the Marconi Society and Director of the Optoelectronics Research Centre at the University of Southampton.back

 
21. BHARAT-ORIGIN PROF. RAKESH KHURANA TO HEAD HARVARD: Rakesh Khurana, who is currently a Professor of Leadership Development at Harvard Business School (HBS) and professor of sociology in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), will be the new Dean starting July of theHarvard College, established in 1636. A Harvard insider who has studied, taught, and administered in the famed school, Khurana will be the third dean of Bharatiya origin in the Harvard system after Venky Narayanmurthi headed the Harvard College of Engineering and Applied Sciences nearly a decade back, and Nitin Nohria was named Dean of the prestigiousHarvard Business School in 2010.
Khurana earned his BS from Cornell University. He began graduate studies at Harvard in 1993, earning his PhD in 1998. He was appointed to the HBS faculty in 2000 and became co-master of Cabot in 2010. He taught at Massachusetts Institute of Technology between 1998 and 2000. Prior to graduate school, he worked as a founding member of Cambridge Technology Partners.back

 
22.  SURYA NAMASKAR YAGNA 2014 IN INDIANAPOLIS: On Saturday, January 18th, the first Yogathon for Indianapolis was held at United Methodist Church in Fishers, Indiana. In the 2-hour program, 35 participants collectively performed nearly 2,000 Surya Namaskars and learned about the benefits of Yoga. The Yogathon was organized by Srimala ji and Uday ji Murthy. Their outreach efforts brought together residents from various towns of Indiana such as Fishers, Greenwood, Indianapolis, and Greenfield.
The program began with a detailed presentation by Akshay Bhagwatwar explaining what is SNY and its benefits. Aparna Soni helped everyone warm up with different stretching exercises. This was followed by a Surya Namaskar demonstration by Aathreya Murthy and Darshan Soni with Aparna Soni being the Sutradhar. Yogathon concluded with guided Shavasana by Uday Murthy ji.back

 
23.  TAIWAN-ORIGIN SCHOLAR OF TAMIL GETS THIRUVALLUVAR AWARD: Taiwan scholar and poet Dr. Yu Hsi (Hung Ching Yu), who has translated Tirukkural and the poems of Subramaniya Bharathi and poet Bharathidasan in Mandarin, was conferred with the Thiruvalluvar Award instituted by the Tamil Nadu government on January 15. The founder president of the Tamil Sangam of Taiwan, Dr. Yu Hsi is the first foreign scholar to receive this award. The award carries a gold medal, a check for US$1,625 and a citation.
Dr. Yu Hsi was born in Taiwan on March 16, 1951 and is a Doctor of Letters. He has authored more than 60 books. The scholar was awarded $8,775 by the State for translating Tirukkural. However, he had donated the amount to Tamil University for setting up of an endowment to propagate Tirukkural. In his acceptance speech, the scholar said after learning Tirukkural, he found that the teachings of Saint Tiruvallur and Chinese philosopher Confucius were similar with regard to ethics, statecraft, etc.back

 
24.  US RETURNS MISSING SCULPTURES TO BHARAT: The US has returned to Bharat three ancient sculptures that had been smuggled into the US by art dealers and accomplices. "I'd really like to express very heartfelt gratitude to US authorities for having invested so much time, energy and resources in obtaining, securing and now helping us repatriate these [idols] to the place where they belong," Mr. Mulay said. The 11th-12th Century sandstone sculptures had been stolen from temples in Bharat and offered for sale in the US.back

 
25.  YOUNG BHARATIYA SCIENTISTS NO LONGER HESITANT TO RETURN, SAYS MASHELKAR:Young Bharatiya scientists – in great demand all over the world – are now more than willing to come back to their motherland, feels renowned scientist Dr. RA Mashelkar who was awarded the Padma Vibhushan on January 25.
“There is a new realization among young scientists that it is great to be in Bharat. Bharat was always the land of ideas. But it was the US that was the land of opportunities. Now the equation has changed. There has been a vast expansion of the Bharatiya education and research institution system. The investments in industrial R&D are going up nonlinearly”, he said.back

 
26. RUPEE, LEGAL TENDER IN ZIMBABWE: The Reserve  Bank of Zimbabwe, on January 29 said it would add the Bharatiya rupee to the basket of currencies to be circulated in the country.The decision has been taken keeping in view the growing trade and investment ties between the two countries. Zimbabwe no longer has its own currency.The southern African country abandoned its local currency, the Zimbabwean dollar, in 2009 after it had been ravaged by hyperinflation, and introduced a basket of foreign currencies dominated by the US dollar.back

 
27.  INFOSYS CO-FOUNDER GIVES IISC Rs 225 CRORE: In one of the biggest philanthropic contributions to the Pure Sciences, Infosys executive vice-chairman Kris Gopalakrishnan has set aside Rs 225 crore to develop a Centre for Brain Research at the Bharatiya Institute of Science in Bangalore. It's also one of the single-largest donations the 105-year-old institute has received from an individual. Kris, a co-founder of the Bangalore-based IT giant, will give the money under the banner of the Pratiksha Trust, a charitable organization he has set up with his wife Sudha. The trust funds education, research, innovation and entrepreneurship. Kris will also fund the setting up of three chairs each in the departments of computer science, IISc and at the IIT,Madras. "The broad goal of the centre is to understand the functioning of the brain," said Vijayalakshmi Ravindranath, chairperson, Centre for Neuroscience, IISc. With its focus on clinical research, the centre is expected to have 50-75 faculty as well as visiting faculty and post-doctoral students. The centre will be an autonomous body.back

 
28. BHARAT’S CULTURAL TREASURES TO GO ONLINE: In the days to come, with just a click of the mouse one can have a glimpse of lakhs of Bharat’s rich cultural treasures, including artefacts and antiquity, kept in the 52 Government-run museums across the country. These were never on display and the new initiative would make Bharat the first country in the world to adopt such a nationwide system wherein rich cultural treasures that are currently inaccessible to be available to the public through a searchable and centralised database. In the first phase, by the year-end, the treasure in the trove kept in the country‘s 10 major national museums will be available online through a website, said a senior official from the Union Culture Ministry. The official said that the digitization, which is being done by ‘Jatan’ software by Pune-based Centre for the Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC), includes archiving the location to which the artifact belongs, its date and age, nature, measurements and detailed visual description. Jatan, a virtual museum builder software, is basically a digital collection management system specially designed for museums.back

 
29. ACT, TO RETAIN OUR CULTURAL PURITY – RAJIV MALHOTRA: It was an enlightening evening for hundreds of patriotic citizens of Bangalore on January 19. The occasion was the talk and interaction session by the renowned researcher and writer Rajiv Malhotra organized by the social service trust Uthishta. It also coincided with the release of the Kannada version of Rajiv's book 'Being Different'.
Rajiv Malhotra said "the situation is grim...unless we act now, it will be too late for us to retain our cultural purity". There are many forces and concerted efforts out there to demean our great heritage and culture. Crores of dollars are being spent every year on projects meant to spread mis-information about our history and religion. Many of the foreign supported so called 'human rights groups', 'empowerment projects', 'education projects', 'training programs' etc are really involved in nefarious activities. Justice N Kumar of Karnataka High court called upon the audience to sacrifice little bit from our present day comforts and support such projects. He said, without that sacrifice and action from each individual, there is no point in how much ever we talk.back

 
30. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Shri Saumitra Gokhale samyojak Vishwa Vibhag would reach Bharat for ABPS baithak and other pravas till mid-March. Visitors: Ashes Ramjivan - Mauritius, Savitriji – Netherlands, Arjun Lal Sharma – UK.back

 
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: “Youth is not the prime of life, but a state of mind. You are as young as your faith and as old as your doubts, you are as young as your self-confidence and as old as your fear.” – Yadav Rao Joshi.back
JAI SHREE RAM

 
HE WAS LUCKY TO HAVE MET NETAJI
Vivek Shukla
Sardar Sewa Singh Namdhari was a bridge between the Sikhs of Thailand and Bharat, and one of the few people alive who had a face to face meeting with Netaji Bose. His passing away snaps yet another link with the charismatic leader. With the recent passing away of Sardar Sewa Singh Namdhari, Bharat lost another link with Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s era. Till the last days of his eventful life, the memory of his meeting with Netaji was not diminished.
It was at his place in Bangkok in the 1940s that Netaji Bose came to interact with the local Bharatiya community. Namdhari was then a young man doing business with his father. Local Bharatiyas came in hordes to meet the charismatic Bose. Namdhari’s father, Sardar Pratap Singh’s house was chosen to host the meeting with Netaji, as more than 1,000 people could be accommodated. He was also greatly respected in the local Bharatiya community. As an 18-year-old, Namdhari worked hard with his father to ensure that everything went off well when Netaji came to their place.
Once, while recalling that meeting, Namdhari said, “Netaji came to the meeting place exactly on time. The crowd went wild on seeing their hero in flesh and blood for the first time. People lifted him on their shoulders and started chanting slogans like, ‘Netaji zindabad’ and ‘Bharat mata ki jai’. Many in the crowd started weeping in the wake of his brilliant oratory. They felt helpless sitting thousands of miles away from their motherland.”
Netaji exhorted the Bharatiya community to help so that he could fight the British. He spoke for over 30 minutes and the moment he completed his emotionally charged speech, the expatriate Bharatiya community started giving everything they had with them. When almost everybody had contributed, he was taken aback that his main host Sardar Pratap Singh didn’t contribute anything. He asked his host the reason for not helping the cause of his motherland. Namdhari was present when Netaji asked this question. After a pause, Sardar Pratap Singh said that he was waiting to see how much money was collected. After that he would donate the same amount later. Netaji was overwhelmed with this gesture and embraced his host. Even after the passage of so many decades of that meeting, Namdhari remembered every word Netaji spoke to his father: “Now, I am convinced that with sons like you, your motherland would be freed sooner than later”, Netaji had said.
Namdhari was born in Bangkok. His family was among the first Bharatiya families who came toThailand after 1920 and Bangkok was indeed the centre of migrant Sikhs. The early migrant were in to trading of cloths. There being no gurdwara, religious prayers were held in the homes of the Sikhs in rotation on every Sunday, Sangran and all the Gurpurab days. Namdhari was proud of the fact that Thailand’s strong Bharatiya community regarded Netaji as no less that God. Even though the generation that saw and greatly admired him is almost negligible, it is a legacy they have left to their successors. Unlike in Bharat, one can still find photos of Netaji in his khakhi dress placed at vantage points in Bharatiya homes.
Once Bharat got freedom in 1947, Sewa Singh Namdhari shifted to Delhi, though part of his family remained back. And in Delhi, he was very active with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and remains head of Delhi unit in 60s. It was not a small thing that a Sikh working in RSS. He worked with the likes of Balasaheb Deoras, Kedar Nath Sahni, Vijay Kumar Malhotra and others. He was part of the famous cow protection movement that shook New Delhi in 1966 ,as most prominent personalities like Puri Shankaracharya and Prabhudatt Brahmachariji were on fast unto death.
For a while, he was also heading the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s Delhi chapter. For a Sikh to head the RSS in the national capital was not a small achievement. During his frequent trips toThailand, he exhorted the Bharatiya community to remain in touch with Bharat. As and when there was any calamity here, he visited Thailand to collect relief. – The Pioneer, 22 January 2014 back