1. FESTIVALS: Jyeshtha Shuddha 13 is the day on which great Hindu King Shivaji was coronated. It is known as ‘Shivrajyabhishek divas’ and in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh; it is celebrated as Hindu Samrajya Divas (June 2 this year).
Shivaji as a teenager had taken the pledge to establish Hindavi swaraj and not
his own kingdom. He had also declared that it was the will of God that the
goal would be accomplished. On his royal seal, he had declared that this
auspicious raja mudra of Shivaji, the son of Shahji, would grow like the moon
on the first day of Shukla Paksha and be venerated by the entire world.
The
grand function took place in 1674 atop the 5,000-ft high Raigadh fort in
Maharashtra. He became thereafter a full-fledged chhatrapati—a Hindu emperor
in his own right. Swami Vivekananda once remarked that Shivaji was an ideal
Hindu king born to establish Dharma on the lines of Shri Ram and Sri Krishna.
It is
in remembrance of this histroric feet which has inspired Hindus since then
that the day is celebrated as utsav in RSS shakhas and also public functions
are held to mark the occasion.--top
2. HSS HINDU YOUTH CONFERENCE 2014:
A 2 -day Hindu Youth Conference
was held on April 5th-6th at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam in Saylorsburg,
Pennsylvania in US, in which 29 working professionals and students from
various universities like Pennsylvania State and Massachusetts, Universities
at Drexel, Rutgers, Boston, Columbia etc. participated.
Activities like Scavenger Hunt, “Minute to win it” challenges, khel sessions,
and a very energetic Holi celebration were highlights of the conference.
Overall, the varg was filled with laughter, enthusiasm, and a feeling of
togetherness. It ended on a high note with concluding remarks by Yellojirao
Mirajkar, highlighting the universal and all-inclusive principals of
Hinduism. --top
3.
EVERY MEDICO SHOULD SPARE AT LEAST 10 DAYS FOR VANVASIS—DR KRISHNA GOPAL:
Bhoomi Pujan ceremony for a project
of Vivekananda Health Mission was held at Jubli Village of Dehradun recently
in the presence of Swami Padmanabhananda of Shivananda Ashram, Rishikesh, RSS
Sahsarkaryavah Dr Krishna Gopal and vice president of Akhil Bharatiya Vanvasi
Kalyan Ashram Shri Kripa Prasad Singh. Swami Padmanabhananda blessed the team
of medicos for their proposed services to the Vanvasis of Uttarakhand. He
appreciated the medical services being rendered by the Vivekananda Medical
Mission and the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram in remote areas of the country. He said
Narayan (God) lives in huts of Vanvasis. Samanwaya Ashram was established by
Swamiji for the same cause, he said.
RSS Sahsarkaryavah
Dr Krishna Gopal appreciated the initiative of doctors and said the project
was a dire need for the area. Dr Krishna Gopal appealed to all the doctors of
the country to spare at least 10 days in a year for the Vanvasis, as it would
support the dreams of Dr Hedgewar —service to needy is service to God.--top
4.
TCS JOINS TOP 10 GLOBAL IT SERVICES COS CLUB:
This is a landmark for Bharatiya IT. The
countrys largest IT services provider, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has
broken into the league of top 10 global IT services companies, moving from the
13th position in 2012 to the 10th spot in 2013.
Twelve years ago,
when TCS revenues were about $1 billion, then CEO S Ramadorai had laid out a
vision to be among the top 10 by 2010. It has taken a little longer, partly
because of the global financial slump of 2008-09, but the company has now got
there, and considering the pace at which it is growing compared to its global
counterparts, the ranking could get better fairly quickly in the years to
come.
TCS is estimated to
have IT services revenues of $10.1 billion (out of its total revenues of about
$12.5 billion).IBM ($54.4 billion), Fujitsu ($32.1 billion), Hewlett-Packard
($29.2 billion) and Accenture ($25.4 billion) lead the list.--top
5. BHUMI PUJA PERFORMED FOR INTERNATIONAL SREE KRISHANA
KENDRA, IN KERALA:
Bhoomi Pooja for International Sree Krishana Kendra (ISK) was performed on
April 16 by His Holinees Jayendra Sarwswathy of Kanchi Kamakodi Peedam and the
construction will start right after. The ISK is a re-creation of the age old
concept of Vrindavana village, in central Kerala on the slopes of the Western
Ghats, about 5kms off Kochi-Thrissur National Highway near Kodakara. During
the ceremony, Swamy Athmasvaroopaanada assorted waters collected from 43
rivers from across Kerala to Ganga jal and sprinkled in the sacred land.
Incarnation of Dwapara yug Vrindhavana to present Kalyugha was started out by
worshiping Gomatha under the guidance of Vezha parambu Chithrabhnu Nambuthiri
padu and Kaimukku Vaidhikan Sreedharan Namboothiri. The public function was
inaugurated by Kochi Devasaom Ombudsman; Justice R Bhaskaranan. He had
remarked the project to be a milestone in the history of Bhalagokhulam during
the inaugural speech. While addressing the function Balagokhulam chief mentor
M A Krishnan had emphasized the potential impact of ISK in the society and the
transformation. P.E.B Menon, Prantha Sanghachalak of RSS also called ISK
project as another milestone in Sangh history of Kerala
Bharathiya Vichara Kendram director P Parameshvaran, former Centeral Minister
O Rajagopal, RSS Prantha Karyavaha P Gopalan Kutty, Kaliyan silks managing
director T.S Pattabhi raman, Jayalekshmi Silks director Narayana Kammatha were
also present for the inaugural function. A centre devoted to informal and
formal education on Sreekrishna’s life, teachings and actions would resurrect
our value systems.
It is
in this perspective that Balagokulam (a nationwide cultural organization,
registered in 1974, engaged in inspiring children with human values and
cultural activities through weekly classes) has initiated steps to establish
International Sreekrishna Kendram (ISK), as a unit under Bala Samskara Kendram
(a Public Charitable Trust, registered in 1988).--top
6. BHARAT BECAME 3RD-LARGEST ECONOMY IN 2011 FROM 10TH IN
2005: In a matter of
six years, Bharat emerged as the world's third-largest economy in 2011 from
being the 10th largest in 2005, moving ahead of Japan, while the US remained
the largest economy closely followed by China, latest figures have revealed.
Asia
and the Pacific, including China and Bharat, account for 30 per cent of world
GDP.
China
and Bharat make up two-thirds of the Asia and the Pacific economy, excluding
Japan and South Korea, which are part of the OECD comparison. Russia accounts
for more than 70 per cent of the CIS, and Brazil for 56 per cent of Latin
America. South Africa, Egypt, and Nigeria account for about half of the
African economy," said the report.
"At
27 per cent, China now has the largest share of the world's expenditure for
investment (gross fixed capital formation) followed by the US at 13 per cent.
Bharat, Japan and Indonesia follow with 7 per cent, 4 per cent, and 3 per
cent, respectively," the report said.
China
and Bharat account for about 80 per cent of investment expenditure in the Asia
and the Pacific region.--top
7. BHARATIYA-AMERICANS FORM THIRD LARGEST ASIAN POPULATION IN
US: Bharatiya
-Americans numbering 3.34 million is the third largest Asian community in the
United States, after China and Philippines, a report said. The Bharatiya
-American population shot up 76 per cent in the first 12 years of the 21st
century, a report on demographics of the Asian-American population released by
the Centre for American Progress said.
While
the Chinese-Americans form the largest group of Asian-American population with
4.1 million (22 per cent), Filipinos-Americans are placed second with 3.59
million (19 per cent) followed by Bharatiya-Americans with 3.34 million (18
per cent).
Bharatiya -Americans grew 76 per cent from 2000 to 2012, compared to
Filipino-Americans who expanded by 52 per cent in the corresponding period.
The
top six groups — Chinese, Filipino, Bharatiya , Vietnamese, Korean and
Japanese — account for 85 per cent of all Asian-American residents.
Japanese-Americans — who were once in the top two Asian-American communities —
have seen a decline in population share. They form the smallest of the top six
groups.
The
largest concentration of Bharatiya -Americans is in three States - California
(19 per cent), New York (12 percent) and New Jersey (10 per cent). Hindus (51
percent) are in majority among Bharatiya -American, followed by Christians (18
per cent), Muslims (10 per cent), Sikhs (5 per cent), Jains (2 per cent) and
Buddhists (1 per cent).--top
8. BHARAT SUCCESSFULLY TEST-FIRES INDIGENOUS AKASH MISSILE:
Bharat on April 23
test-fired its Akash surface-to-air missile from the Integrated Test Range of
Chandipur in the coastal district of Balasore, Odisha, an official said. The
indigenously developed missile, with a 27-km range has an effective ceiling of
15km. "It was a trial by the Indian Air Force," test range director M V K V
Prasad told.
The
700-kg all-weather missile can carry a 60-kg warhead at speeds of up to Mach
2.5. It can operate autonomously and simultaneously engage and neutralize
different aerial targets.
It
can be launched from static or mobile platforms, enabling flexible deployment
by the armed forces.
Developed by DRDO, Akash is being produced by Bharat Dynamics Limited as the
nodal production agency with the involvement of Bharat Electronics Limited and
a large number of other industries.--top
9.
TEST-FIRE OF PRITHVI MISSILE DEFENCE VEHICLE A SIGNIFICANT STEP:
In a significant milestone in the direction of
developing a two-layered Ballistic Missile Defence system, Bharat successfully
carried out its maiden Prithvi Defence Vehicle (PDV) test-fire on April 27th,
meeting the mission objectives.
“The PDV mission is
for engaging targets in the exo-atmosphere region at more than 120 km
altitude,” the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) said in a
statement after the trial conducted on the Odisha coast.
“Both the PDV
interceptor and the two-stage target equipped with motors were specially
developed for the mission. The target, developed to mimic a ‘hostile ballistic
missile approaching from more than 2,000 km away,” was launched at 0907 hrs
from a ship in the Bay of Bengal,” it said.
“In an automated
operation, a radar-based detection and tracking system detected and tracked
the enemy’s ballistic missile. The computer network with the help of data
received from radars predicted the trajectory of the incoming ballistic
missile,” it said.--top
10. SHRI RAM-HANUMAN JAYANTI SHOBHA YATRA HELD AT NEW DELHI:
The procession of Shri Ram-Hanuman Jayanti was
arranged on April 15th with great zeal under the guidance of
Indraprastha Vishva Hindu Parishad by Hindu Parva Samanvaya Samitee and other
religious, cultural, social & educational institutions of Delhi.
More than hundred
Jhankis (tabloids) & Bhajan Mandalis were decorated by devotees. Jhanki of
Bhagwan Shri Ram & Hanuman showing crushing the demons was worth seen. Office
bearers of the different institutions were seen with saffron turban (Bhagva
shafa) in an open jeep preceeded by the Shri Hanuman Dhwaja (flag) and
followed by well decorated 21 horses and 51 odd Bajarang Dal youths riding on
bikes with band parties playing Sri Ram Dhun, singing and dancing.
Flagging off the
yatra, the International secretary general (organization)-VHP shri Dinesh
Chandra said that the sixteenth Lok Sabha will serve the nation like Hanuman
ji who solves every typical problem of the society. We expect that the
sixteenth Lok sabha will protect & promote our cultural & religious heritage
and solve every internal & external problem of the country.
Dr. Surendra Jain,
the national secretary-VHP, ex President of VHP shri Vishnu Hari Dalmia, and
orther saints and dignatories ignited Lamps to inaugurate the procession.--top
11. I AM PROUD TO BE A HINDU: NARENDRA MODI:
In an interview to PTI, BJP’s PM
candidate Narendra Modi said, "I would like to see myself as a Bharatiya first
and foremost, I am a Hindu by faith and I am proud of the faith I belong to. I
love my country. So you can say that I am a patriot." Modi's interview came at
a time when polling on 349 seats was over with 194, including Varanasi, still
to go.--top
12. I HAVE COME TO BHARAT TO SHOW MY CHILDREN THEIR ROOTS, SWRAJ PAUL:
It was an emotional homecoming for
leading NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul to his childhood schools and his
birthplace in the city here.
Overwhelmed with
nostalgia, Lord Paul, a prominent peer in Britain, visited his alma maters
Doaba Primary School and Doaba Secondary School and thanked his parents for
having admitted him into these institutions which shaped his life ahead.
The noted
industrialist, accompanied by his son Angad, daughter Anjali, daughter-in-law
Michelle and three grandchildren took a tour of the three places and offered
floral tributes on the statues of his parents.
During his time
spent at his alma maters, Lord Paul visited the classrooms, interacted with
students, got pictures taken with them and and also introduced his
grandchildren to them. --top
13. NOKIA NAMES RAJEEV SURI AS CEO:
Nokia named the man who led a turnaround at
its main telecoms network business as its new chief executive on April 29,
boosting investors' confidence in the future of the company following the sale
of its once-dominant handset arm.
"Mr. Suri has done
a very commendable job in turning around NSN, in our view. Thus, we see the
market being positive about his appointment," JP Morgan Cazenove analysts
said.
Suri, a 46-year-old
Bharatiya national, was widely expected to lead the company after the sale of
the handset business.--top
14. WHITE HOUSE NAMES BHARATIYA -AMERICAN "SOLAR CHAMPION OF CHANGE":
White House has named Bharatiya
-American professor Rajendra Singh as one of ten "Solar Champions of Change"
who are taking the initiative to spur solar deployment across America.
Rajendra Singh is D
Houser Banks Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and director of
Clemson University's Centre of Silicon Nanoelectronics in South Carolina.
Singh devoted his
doctoral thesis research to solar cells in 1973 during the Arab oil embargo
and in the last 40 years he has served as a visionary leader to advance the
technology of photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturing. "The vision I had in
1980 is happening only now, 30 years later," Singh said.
To transform global
electricity infrastructure, Singh is providing leadership to use photovoltaics
as the source of local direct-current electricity in the US and emerging and
underdeveloped economies.
He is also actively
involved with civic groups to bring legislation and regulations in South
Carolina that will lead to the growth of solar-generated electricity, the
university said.--top
15. JUSTICE LODHA IS BHARAT'S NEW CHIEF JUSTICE:
Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha was
on April 27 sworn in as the chief justice of Bharat. He was administered the
oath of office by President Pranab Mukharjee. He will preside over the Supreme
Court for five months as his term will end Sep 27, 2014.
Chief
Justice Lodha succeeds Chief Justice P. Sathasivam. A law graduate from
Jodhpur, Lodha practised law in the Rajasthan High Court and dealt with
constitutional, civil, company, criminal, taxation, labour and other matters. --top
16. SHRI VISHVA NIKETAN: Pravas:
Shri Saumitra Gokhale samyojak Vishwa Vibhag
will return to US after his tour to Australia and New Zealand. Dr.Ram
Vaidya sahsamyojak returned UK from European Shibir at Hamburg, Germany.--top
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly. ~ Gautam Budhdh--top
JAI SHREE RAM
--
VANVASIS RESHAPING THEIR DESTINY
Chaitram Pawar
In the election
period every section of the society is seen pushing its agenda and trying to
get its demands accommodated in election manifestos. The political parties
also waste no time in making promises, without bothering whether they could be
materialised or not. But Baripada Village of Maharashtra is a different one.
None from this village expects anything from the political parties or
government agencies. Rather they have made the government agencies to come to
them to learn how they reshaped their destiny.
Baripada, which
faced severe scarcity of food, water, forest cover and employment till early
1990s, is now writing new story of development and self-reliance. About 10 to
15 people from other villages come to this village everyday to know how the
villagers have done a wonder. A professor from Germany is staying in the
village for some time to study this model of development based on local
know-how.
$img_titleMost of
the farming in the village is based on cow and no hybrid seed is used. The
indigenous seeds give astonishing output here. This can be a good case study
for the ‘scientists’ who are mad after hybrid seeds and now even want
permission for trails of poisonous Genetically Modified (GM) crops.
The revolution here
began with curbing deforestation of 450 hectare of forest near the village in
1993 by contributing Rs 3 by every family and shramdan. Illegal cutting of
trees had turned the hill near the village almost barren. A mechanism was
created declaring punishments to those who cut the trees and awards to those
who prevent it.
Two most elderly
persons were appointed watchmen to check deforestation. 50 acres of the forest
land was set aside for grazing. As a result thick forest started surfacing
within two-three years and in1997-98, the Forest Department came to the
village with an award of rupees one lakh to the village. The Department also
legitimised their informal village protection group under its Joint Forest
Management Scheme.
The second step
which too proved equally revolutionary was curbing water scarcity. The work
began by constructing small check dams. So far, 480 check dams have been
built. The experiment not only proved beneficial for storing water for future
use but also curbed soil erosion. Later the villagers dig 5 km long and one
meter deep canal for recharging ground water level. The entire work was done
through shramdan. The result of all these activities is that the village which
used to fetch drinking water from 3km in early 1990s now supplies water to
five surrounding villages. Steps were also taken for financial empowerment of
people. The experiment of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) proved highly beneficial.
Five SHGs are involved in rice marketing alone. The latest drive is for
alcohol de-addiction. The families which fed themselves by preparing and
selling country-made alcohol were requested to shift to fishing. As a result
alcohol production has completely been curbed. Now work has begun for
biodiversity conservation. The people also initiated a plant diversity
register process in October 2004 to monitor the plants found in their forests.
They have
identified 14 different sites from the forest and initiated vegetation mapping
through a 100 sq m quadrant. A group of UN Development Programme (UNDP) is to
visit the village shortly to study the biodiversity conservation work. The
integrated development process has multiple facets. Night schools were stated
for adult illiterates and the primary school was reopened. An absent student
is fined Re 1 per day, while the teacher is fined Rs 51 per day for absent.
Festivals are celebrated together and the village organises marriages together
to save money. Sports competitions are also held, not just to enjoy games but
also to disseminate the message of self-development in surrounding villages.
As a result similar experiments have begun in around 20 nearby villages.
This small village,
with just 108 Vanvasi families and 785 population, is located at the border of
Maharashtra and Gujarat and is about 97 km from Dhule district headquarter.
The brain behind the whole revolution is a post graduate youth of the village
Chaitram Devchand Pawar, who instead of doing any job in city, chose to stay
in the village and organised the villagers for self-development. “We cannot
draw desired results as long as we continue to depend upon government for help
every time. The best option is to start self and create the situation when
government runs after you,” says Pawar.
When asked about
the motivation he received for this wonder, Pawar says, “After completing my
graduation I was preparing to shift to a city for job. But Dr Anand Pathak,
who runs Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram health centre in a nearby village, reminded me
of my duty to my village. The same day I dropped the idea of shifting to city
and decided to stay in the village only.” Later Pawar also joined the Kalyan
Ashram work and is now president of its Devgiri Prant unit.
Apart from Kalyan
Ashram, Janseva Foundation also extends full cooperation to the villagers in
cultivation updates on rice, potato, wheat, vegetable and other cash crops.
The Foundation also
helps in undertaking community-based development activities like building
improvised toilets, setting up kitchen gardens that uses recycled water, etc.
Apart from an example of integrated village development, Baripada shows how
the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram is changing the mindset of people in Vanvasi areas
across the country motivating them to be the creator of their own destiny. (Organiser
Weekly, April 27, 2014)--top
---
PARADOX IN NEHRUVIAN SECULARISM
Dr S Gurumurthy
Bharat’s culture is
‘Sanatan’ or it is ever surviving, eternal. This culture or ‘samskar’ is
nothing but our enlightened way of living. Culture resonates Bharat’s soul.
The people of Bharat from the days of Valmiki, Vyasa and Valluvar (who wrote
Ramayana, Mahabharata and Thirukkural) lived upholding this culture. They
understood it as core values of our society. They might have been ruled by
different kings and monarchs that made no difference to them. These values
descended from great saints, were practiced and passed from generation to
generation. Today we are a republic. Under the present republic, we are more
responsible to uphold our national culture, because there is no king to
protect it.
This culture, a
refined way of life, unifies the country. It is a well oriented, time tested
social force. We can draw immense strength from it. In fact it protects our
people and the nation. Many alien onslaughts might have dented us, but could
not destroy us. Bharat would surge again. That is how Bharat proceeded to
transform all intrusions and its after effects. It is only a matter of time.
Today our republic
might have undergone many changes. It is all apparent, may seem to be
permanent. But not so. The core values do not change. The strength is within.
The nation will rebound.
One may ask what
are the characteristic qualities of our culture? Our culture is truly based on
love and not hatred. It is a nascent, uncontaminated strong surge of pure love
from heart. It has immense energy to uplift the whole humanity. Yes, our
Scriptures are universal and they are inspirational across the globe for
lasting peace and happiness of mankind.
The British
Imperialism led by people like Macaulay tried to corrupt Bharat culturally,
through their education system, but left behind a language that was enriched
and exquisitely handled by Bharat’s own tongue. It gave wings to Swami
Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore and Naipaul. Thus republic of Bharat is all
absorbing, as it is deeply rooted in our culture. It can absorb any amount of
shocks, it will again bounce back.
When Parsees and
Jews lost their nation, and became despondent in many countries, Bharat
received them with open heart, gave them shelter. Today they enjoy stability,
peace and happiness and stand one with us. But it is a paradox that Muslims
continue to be defiant.
Muslims in
Bharat – a paradox
Historically the
Muslim leaders in Bharat never tried to comprehend national realities that
could help see their futures in togetherness with country’s mainstream. Islam
spread in Bharat under Muslim invasion, through onslaughts on Hindus and Hindu
temples and through forceful conversion. It was effectively restricted by many
Hindu kings. Later under British rule Muslims considered themselves as
minorities.
Though Muslims knew
that at a point of time, under historic compulsion, the Mughal invaders
changed their religion by force and latter through the country repulsed and
dethroned the Mughals, they continued their allegiance to those handful of
Mughals; forgetting their parentage and centuries old ancestry and love for
motherland that provides them bread and butter. Those are inseparable
realities, which could help Muslims see their future in togetherness. Hamid
Dalwai, the noted Muslims reformist thinker, who pondered deeply over the need
for democratic policies for Bharatiya Muslims says, Muslim leaders failed to
align fully with Hindus during freedom movement and rather they initiated
policies of separation. The British through their divide and rule policy
damaged Hindu–Muslim relation resulting in Partition. Their separatist
thinking bolstered in post-Independent period resulting in many riots.
Secularism, a new word added in our Constitution, in now used as a bunch of
ideas to keep Muslims away from country’s mainstream. The Muslims also see the
Constitution, as an agreement to put up their stay in independent Bharat as
minorities along with mainstream. This thinking, with secularism, nourished
historical separation. In our democracy, under the opportunistic political
process of forming governments, political parties started appeasing Muslims.
To further their vote bank policies, secularism became a political tool. They
addressed secularism where even Hindus should not talk about their culture and
tradition that unifies the nation. If they do so they are branded as communal.
By these political processes, in the long drawn separation, Muslims failed to
see their roots in Bharatiya soil. Their claim for special status and
privileges as minorities prevented them from becoming full citizens in a
thriving democracy.
There is famous
story of a lame and blind man. The lame man asks the blind that he will sit on
his shoulders and show him the path. The blind man, who cannot see the path,
agreed to carry the lame and move forward to make a living. In the same way,
in our secularism, the minorities who refuse to see their footings in our
soil, want to sit over the shoulders of majorities and want to realise their
own dreams. The majority too, keeping their eyes closed to their national
realities, agreed to carry the unnecessary burden. This is our present
condition of secularism in Bharat. In the long run will it not destabilise our
country?
As Bharat’s
republic still searches for maturity, the mainstream too especially the modern
educated citizens also should see their identity, their roots in their own
country. Thereby they get their grip to help Muslims to end our separations
and see reasons. As we all know, there cannot be further partition, Muslims
must understand their national realities and end their egoistic separation.
They should pick up their antecedents in Bharatiya soil and try for national
harmony, just as the Syrian Christians did in Kerala. They must understand the
soul of Bharat’s republic is love and not hatred. Mere change of faith need
not alienate them from their motherland, or accepting Bharat as their
motherland in no way deters their faith. Bharat upholds ‘Sarva Dharma Sama
Bhav’, signifies - ‘Treat all religions with equal respect’. This is Bharat’s
secularism, discovered thousands of years back. And till today Bharat has
lived up to it. Because of this our republic has embraced all diversities.
Bharat is a great country, and every Bharatiya should be proud of this
uniqueness. In affirmation, our former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi said
Bharat’s Tradition is eight thousand years old. In the same vein, when asked
by young school students, why Bharat should spend so much to go nuclear, when
country is reeling under poverty, our farmer president Dr Abdul Kalam, a
Muslim by birth, the scientist behind Pokhran test, replied; ‘Bharat is poor
because we failed to safe guard our frontiers for three thousand years ‘These
are golden words to be chipped in every text book.
A Lasting Remedy
Nehruvian
secularism is a western idea born out of battles between church and state in
Europe. In Bharat we never had such a dirty history. Just as Satyameva Jeyate,
Serva Dharma Samabhav should be adopted as Bharat’s secularism by Parliament.
This will put an end to communal politics in Bharat. This motto should be
written in golden letters in both houses of Parliament, state assemblies and
other Government offices. Our politicians have spoiled our democracy. We
should convert their crocked mind to conscious mind and refine our democracy.
Our modern youths, who don’t see the values of our culture that holds
humanities together must be educated. BJP wants to uphold these Bharat’s
cultural values and hold all its citizens and strive together to remove
poverty and miseries. As BJP has mentioned ‘Hinduthwa’, it means as a
political party, it gives importance to our rich culture and true secularism,
as Hinduism stands for and wants to strive an inclusive approach in solving
Bharat’s problems. Narendra Modi’s Patna speech, soon after the bomb blast in
the venue, touched the very crux of problem. He asked the two communities to
choose; they could either fight each other or together they could confront
that shaming course called poverty. MJ Akbar, who recently joined BJP,
addresses this very point of historical separation. How long this can
continue? He asks? Our republic needs a proper direction. For that it should
listen to its inner voice, firm its roots in its national ethos, gain grip and
grow like a strong banyan where all can take shelter and live happily.
Bharatiya Muslims
should also watch the developments taking place in our neighbouring states. In
Pakistan, a similar situation exists, but at an advanced stage. When they
declared Pakistan as an Islamic state, Muslims thought there will be stability
and peace. But the fundamentalist and Muslim fanatics, through guns, are
dictating every section of the society, the government journalist and
civilians to bow to their dictates. Thus taking their country centuries back.
Today the intelligentsia in Pakistan started feeling that by Islamisation,
they have lost their national base, and it is time to find their roots. Some
in Government want to find the same in Indus Valley Civilizations and take
pride in the findings of Mohan-jo-daro and Harappa, now in their side.
In East Pakistan
the same unstable situation led to their departure from the West Pakistan.
They established Bangladesh, by re-embracing Bengali culture and language.
They have come half way in search of stability and peace. They even adopted
Rabindranath Tagore ‘Hamar Sonar Bangla’ as their national anthem and want to
be friendly with us.
Thus mere change of
faith or division of of a nation on religious lines in no answer to religious
sentiments. Maharishi Aurobindo saw Pakistan as an unstable state and the
formation of Bangladesh, a first step towards stability. In the same
perspective, in the long run, a loose understanding of Unified Bharat, is in
the vision, through the inclusive all embracing philosophy of Bharat; may be
the dream of Akhand Bharat getting realised; where everyone, the Hindu,
Muslims, Parsees, Christians can seek their destiny together. There will be no
Kashmir problem or export of terrorism and real issues like poverty, education
and development can be addressed. (Organiser Weekly, May 4, 2014)
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