1. FESTIVALS: Paryushana is one of the two most important festivals for the Jains, the other being Diwali. Paryushana means "abiding, coming together". The duration of Paryusana is for eight or ten days. For this minimum duration, Paryushana must be initiated by panchami of the shukla paksha of Bhadrapada (August 30 this year). The last day is called Samvatsari, short for Samvatsari Pratikramana.
Most of
the Jains observe fast and Ekasan (meal/boiled water once a day), perform
rituals and try to ready themselves for a virtuous life.
The
festival ends with Sravakas requesting each other for forgiveness for all
offenses committed during the last year by telling "Micchami Dukkadam" or "Uttam
Kshama" to each other.
-Top
2. LET'S BUILD A NEW BHARAT, PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI SAYS IN I-DAY ADDRESS: In his maiden Independence Day address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to work for a new and clean Bharat by shedding the "poison" of communalism and making the country the world's manufacturing hub.
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's first Independence Day address carried some very
significant social messages. In a departure from tradition, Mr Modi spoke
extempore, without consulting any notes, and in his hour-long speech, did
not falter even once and the first time in many years the prime minister did
not stand behind a bullet-proof screen.
For the
first time in years, there was no reference to Pakistan in the Independence
Day address. Indeed, he made no mention to any other country except
neighboring Bhutan and Nepal which he recently visited.
He
talked about societal and family responsibility in ending rapes, advising
parents to bring up better sons and not just question daughters. He lamented
the skewed sex ratio and appealed to doctors to end abortion of female
foetuses and advised mothers not to hanker after sons. The prime minister
asked MPs and business leaders to help build toilets, especially for women,
and model villages.
Mr Modi
also talked about turning Bharat into a manufacturing hub and moving from an
import-based economy to an export-driven one.
He also
announced a burial of the Planning Commission, saying it was not needed any
more. He said a new institution will take its place.
Nearly
10,000 people were present at the Red Fort in a departure from the last few
years when the event was attended only by officials.
"I
stand before you today not as the prime minister but as the Pradhan Sevak
(Chief Public Servant)." The remark, made at the start of his speech, drew
thunderous applause.
-Top
3. CULTURAL IDENTITY OF ALL BHARATIYAS IS HINDUTVA – DR. MOHAN BHAGWAT: If inhabitants of England are English, Germany are Germans and USA are Americans then why all inhabitants of Hindustan are not known as Hindus, came a poser from RSS chief Dr. Mohan Bhagwat.
"The
cultural identity of all Indians is Hindutva and the present inhabitants of
the country are descendants of this great culture," Bhagwat said while
speaking at the 'Golden Jubilee' function of an Odia weekly ‘Rashtradeep’ at
Cuttack on Aug 10.
The RSS
chief further went on to say that Hindutva is a way of life and Hindus could
be of any religion worshipping any God or not worshipping at all. Referring
to Vivekananda, Bhagwat said not worshipping any God is not necessarily an
atheist rather the one who doesn't have faith in self is sure an atheist.
-Top
4. BHARATIYA ORIGIN PROFESSOR WINS ‘NOBEL’ OF MATHEMATICS: A Bharatiya origin professor of mathematics at the reputed Princeton University has bagged the coveted Fields Medal, widely regarded as the ‘Nobel’ Prize for mathematics.
Manjul
Bhargava, a 40-year-old Canadian-American, has won the 2014 medal along with
three others, including an Iranian woman professor at Stanford University,
who is the first-ever woman to achieve the honour.
Bhargava has been chosen “for developing powerful new methods in the
geometry of numbers, which he applied to count rings of small rank and to
bound the average rank of elliptic curves”, said the International
Mathematical Union (IMU).
Apart
from Bhargava, another Bharatiya origin mathematician, Subhash Khot,
professor at the New York University’s Computer Science Department has won
the IMU’s Rolf Nevanlinna Prize, for his “prescient definition of the
“Unique Games” problem, and leading the effort to understand its complexity
and its pivotal role in the study of efficient approximation of optimization
problems”. -Top
5. BOB BLACKMAN PRAISES HSS ACTIVITIES: Bob Blackman, MP for Harrow East praised the Youth Leadership, training and character building activities of HSS UK while addressing over 800 packed audience at the concluding function of the Sangh Shiksha Varg (SSV), a 9 Day residential youth leadership training course on Sunday 3 August 2014 at the Roundwood Park School in Harpenden, Hertfordshire.
Leadership, teamwork and discipline are the three of many important
qualities that 110 boys (Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh UK) and 53 girls (Hindu
Sevika Samiti UK) developed in this course. Each morning the participants
arose at 6 am and began their day with prayers and physical activities such
as Yoga , games etc. Later during the day they were engaged in intellectual
activities in form of discussions, role-plays, and lectures, designed to
increase their knowledge and understanding of the Hindu Dharma. Each
participant also chose one physical and one intellectual subject like Public
Speaking, History of Hinduism and Mahabharata.
The last
day of the course was a public function where the participants showcased
their talents in front of their parents and guests. Prominent personalities
like Haribhai Halai – President Hindu Forum of UK and Bharati Taylor – Hindu
Forum of Europe and a visiting group of Akhil Bharatiya Sahitya Parishad
including its National President Balwant bhai Jani attended the samarop.
-Top
6. SWAYAMSEVAKS RUSH IN FOR RESCUE OPERATION AT PUNE LANDSLIDE: On July 30, a massive landslide occurred in Malin Village of Ambegaon tehsil in Pune. Turning the whole village into debris, 44 houses and around 200 locals residing in them were hit by the landslide caused by a burst of heavy rainfall. A team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) of 80 people reached the spot but with continued heavy rains relief operations were still difficult. Before the official operation could start, Shri Ganesh Khandeshi, a swayamsevak of Dibhe and Amegaon Taluka Karyavah of RSS reached there. He instantly informed the swayamsevaks nearby and a team of around 60 swayamsevaks reached there. Swayamsevaks along with the NDRF volunteers started the work around 3pm and rescued a woman and a child at around 5 pm.
The real testing
work was managing the last rites of dead bodies. Administration was clearing
the debris but nobody was coming forward for the dead bodies. The
swayamsevaks not only assured to get necessary material for the funeral but
ensured dignified last rites. In fact, district administration officially
issued letter to the RSS team to handle this matter. The work of managing
the team of doctors, helping the administration in getting the dead bodies
out of debris and performing last rites continued for three days.
-Top
7. RSS CELEBRATES INDEPENDENCE DAY: Rashtreeya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) celebrated 68th Independence Day across the nation, swayamsevaks saluted the national flag wherever they attended the Independence Day ceremony.
RSS
Sarasanghachalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat hoisted the national flag at Dr Hedgewar
Bhavan at Mahal, Nagpur. In his brief speech on Independence day, he said,
“The sacrifices made and the hard work on the basis of which we got
independence, even the world is astonished at times, that we still are
independent in spite of all the difficulties that we face as a nation. I
wish that the glimpses of the sacrifices made and the hard work enlightens
our nation.”
RSS
Sahsarakaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale attended a program at Sambalpur in
Odisha. -Top
8. RAM SETU WILL NOT BE BROKEN: GADKARI: The government on Aug 14th said it remained firm on its decision to protect the ‘Ram Setu,’ but it would offer a suggestion to the Supreme Court on the proposed Sethusamudram shipping canal project which would be “acceptable to all.”
Union
Minister for Shipping Nitin Gadkari told the Lok Sabha during Question Hour
that the ‘Ram Setu’ would “not be broken” by the government. The Minister
said the issue was sub judice and the government had certain “alternatives,”
which it would submit to the Supreme Court.
-Top
9. INAUGURATION OF BAPS TEMPLE IN NEW JERSEY: The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir was inaugurated in Robbinsville, NJ by Pramukh Swami Maharaj and senior Sadguru Swamis of BAPS, on 10thAugust.
The
inauguration of this traditional stone mandir marks the completion of the
second phase of the Swaminarayan Akshardham complex that is currently
planned for the site. The mandir is 133 feet long and 87 feet wide,
comprising of 98 pillars and two domes (ghummats) 30 feet wide and 34 feet
high, according to a press release. The Mandir is made entirely of Italian
marble and was completed in three years at a cost of $18 million.
-Top
10. FRANCIS PONAMAN HONOURED GUADELOUPE FOR HIS CONTRIBUTION: The Ganesh D'Or (Golden Ganesh) prize was awarded to Gilbert Francis Ponaman at the Guadeloupe Council for Indian Languages (CGPLI) 12th anniversary celebration on June 27, 2014. The prize, given annually, was created to honor those who have done something significant in the promotion of Bharatiya heritage, culture, religion or language.
Ponaman
was honored as being "the father of Indianness" and for his struggle for the
recognition and acceptance of the Bharatiya contribution to the Creole
society of the islands. In 1967, encouraged by elders, he began a "back to
our roots/Indian pride" movement among a small group of friends. He started
the Soleil Indien (Indian Sun) journal defining what it meant to be a
Bharatiya in Creole society, through articles about Hindu religion and
culture and the history of Bharatiyaness.
-Top
11. MUKUND VARADARAJAN GETS ASHOK CHAKRA: Highest peacetime gallantry medal Ashok Chakra was posthumously conferred on Major Mukund Varadarajan, an officer of Rajput Regiment who attained martyrdom in an encounter with a group of terrorists in village Qazipathri in Shopian district on April 25. A jawan Vikram accompanying him also died in the fight when he tried to save the officer. Vikram was awarded Shaurya Chakra.
Two
Navy officers Lt Commanders Manoranjan Kumar and Kapish Singh Muwal were
also awarded Shaurya Chakra posthumously for saving the lives of 13 sailors
when a fire broke out on board submarine INS Sindhuratna on February 25 off
Mumbai. They died due to heavy smoke.
-Top
12. MARS ORBITER HAS TO TRAVEL ONLY 88 MILLION KM FOR TRYST WITH RED PLANET: Bharat's Mars orbiter spacecraft has to travel only 88 million km as part of its total journey of 680 million km for its rendezvous with the red planet scheduled for September 24.
On its
300-day voyage in deep space, Mars Orbiter Mission has to travel only 88
million km more in its heliocentric trajectory to reach Mars, Bangalore
MOM,
the country's first inter-planetary mission under a Rs 450 crore project,
was launched from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on board Polar Satellite
Launch Vehicle on November 5th last
year with an aim to reach the red planet's atmosphere by September 24.
-Top
13. BHARAT GIFTS NEPAL $1 BN EASY LOAN: Assuring Nepal that Bharat did not want to interfere in its internal affairs, Narendra Modi, the first Bharatiya Premier to visit the Himalayan nation in 17 years on 3rd August, emphasized that their border should be a “bridge” and not a barrier even as he announced USD 1 billion (NRs 10,000 crore) Line of Credit to this country.
“Nepal
is a truly sovereign nation. We have always believed that it is not our job
to interfere in what you do but to support you in the path you decide to
take.” Said the Prime Minister who was addressing the Nepalese Constituent
Assembly. He also visited famous Pashupatinath temple and offered pooja
during his 2-day visit.
-Top
14. INS KOLKATA INDUCTED INTO THE NAVY: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 16th August inducted Bharat's largest indigenously built warship INS Kolkata in Mumbai. Defence Minister Arun Jaitley and Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral RK Dhowan were also present at the ceremony.
While remembering
Chhatrapati Shivaji at the event, Modi said, "Chhatrapati Shivaji understood
the importance of securing the seas for increasing trade."
The 6,800 tonne
warship, a part of the Kolkata Class destroyers of the Bharatiya Navy is
fitted with the most advanced weapons systems, including anti-submarine
technology, this is the largest stealth destroyer constructed by the Mazgaon
Dock Limited.
Most of the
weapons and sensors fitted on board are of indigenous make like
state-of-the-art BrahMos surface-to-surface missiles, rocket launchers,
torpedo launchers, sonar Humsa etc.
-Top
15. INTRODUCE GITA, MAHABHARATA IN CLASS 1: SC JUDGE: Lauding the ancient system of imparting education, Supreme Court justice A R Dave said on 2nd August that given a choice, he would like to introduce the Gita and the Mahabharata for study from class 1 in schools.
Talking
on 'Contemporary Issues and Challenges of Human Rights in the Era of
Globalization' during the inaugural ceremony of a workshop on 2nd August
at Ahmedabad , Justice Dave said, "Somebody who is very secular... so-called
secular will not agree... Had I been the dictator of India
The SC
judge stressed going back to traditions to solve modern problems. "Our old
tradition such as 'Guru-Shishya parampara' is lost. If it had been there, we
would not have all these problems (violence, conflicts and terrorism) in our
country. -Top
16. HISTORY MADE AT RUKMINI TEMPLE: In a historic departure from the well-established tradition of patriarchy and casteism, a low-caste non-Brahmin woman priest performed puja at the nine century-old Vitthal-Rukmini temple at Pandharpur in Solapur district of western Maharashtra on 1st August.
Being
seen as a landmark event which saw Urmila Bhate perform puja to the Lord
Vitthal’s consort in the temple Rukmini – was a consequence of a January 15,
2014 ruling of the Supreme Court stripping the traditional Brahmin families
of their ancestral right to appoint priests and keep the donations with
them.
Another
female priest Hema Ashtekar assisted Bhate in performing the puja at the
temple, which attracts lakhs of Warkaris and other pilgrims especially
during the month of Ashadh.
After
the puja Urmila Bhate said: “Hema and I were extremely happy… It is a
privilege for a woman like me to perform puja to presiding goddess Rukmini
and that too for the first time in the history of the temple.”
-Top
17. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas : Shri Saumitra Gokhale, samyojak Vishwa Vibhag returned to US after touring Caribbean countries, Dr. Ram Vaidya sah samyojak is on tour to Canada and USA, Ravikumar sah samyojak is on pravas to South Korea and Hong Kong. Visitors: Ma Dr. Sukhdeo Soni, USA, -Top
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Always speak the truth; Control over oneself is very important; There is no point accumulating loads of wealth that you can’t even spend; Be honest to all; Follow the path of non violence; Be compassionate towards living beings. – Bhagwan Mahavira -Top
JAI
SHREE RAM
Champat Rai
Way
back in 1960s, Dr Shambhu Nath Kapil Dev, the then MP from Trinidad and
Tobbago was on tour to Bharat. He was much at pains to observe the erosion
of Hindu ethos and life values among the Hindus living in Trinidad since
centuries. He came with a hope that the then Government of Bharat would help
him tide over this social problem. But he was disappointed. Someone advised
the visiting MP to seek audience with the then Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)
Chief M S Golwalkar popularly known as Shri Guruji. Accordingly he met
Guruji at Belgaum in Karnataka and shared his concerns with him.
It was
at this meeting that the seeds for a worldwide organisation of Hindus were
planted.
Prior
to this, the late Shivram Shankar alias Dadasaheb Apte, who was a Pracharak
of RSS, used to tour the entire country and abroad as a journalist. He would
observe the plight of Hindus in various countries. Coupled with this the
challenge of conversion of Hindus to alien religions was faced at home.
Justice Niyogi Committee Report had amply highlighted their nefarious
anti-national designs way back in 1957. Shri Apte wrote three articles in
1961 in Kesari projecting the problems of the Hindus abroad and thus
attracting the attention of the Hindus of Bharat to them. He also suggested
forming a worldwide organisation of the Hindus.
It was
a happy coincidence that Swamy Chinmayananda of Chinmay Mission also felt
the similar need for the global Hindu organisation and he expressed his
desire in his article in Tapovan Prasad in November 1963.
Against
this background and in view of Dr Shambhu Nath Kapil Dev’s visit, Shri
Guruji entrusted the responsibility of examining and exploring the
possibility of such global organisation for Hindus to Dadasaheb Apte. Shri
Apte, after delegating the responsibility of Hindustan Samachar to other
colleague toured the entire country meeting intellectuals, religious heads,
social luminaries and others to garner support for this epoch-making idea.
He met
in course of his tour Shankaracharyas of Kanchi Kamakoti and Sharada Petham,
K M Munshi, Sant Tukdoji Maharaj, Chandrasekhar Shastri (Who later became
Shankaracharya of Govardhan Petham), Dr Sampoornanand, Shri Kushak Bakula of
Laddakh, Justice B P Sinha, Babu Jagjivanram, Jain Sadhu Muni Sushil Kumar,
Gyani Bhupendra Singh, Dr Hajariprasad Dwivedi, Dr Acharya Vishwabandhu,
Sadguru Jagjit Singh Namdhari, Prabhudatta Brahmachari, Sir Sitarm Rai,
SriPrakash, Hanuman Prasad Poddar, Jugal Kishore Birla, Yogiraj Maharaj of
Swami Narayan Sect and others. Apte consulted nearly 600 individuals in
Bharat and 40 institutions abroad and discussed with them the idea of global
Hindu body. As a result of this massive effort a meeting of selected 150
people was held on August 29, 1964 in (Bombay) Mumbai at Sandipani
Sadhanalaya where the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) was officially formed.
Prominently present on this occasion were RSS Chief Shri Golwalkar , Dr K M
Munshi, Sant Tukdoji Maharaj, Swami Shankaranand, Brahmachari Dattmurthy,
Master Tara Singh, Gyani Bhupendra Singh, 151-year-old Yog Shiromani
Sitaramdas Maharaj of Ramtek, General Secretary of Hindu Mahasabha V G
Deshpande. Swamy Chinmayananda chaired this historic session.
Setting
the goal of VHP Shri Guruji said that the objective was to reinvigorate the
dormant pride of our dharma, sanskriti among the Hindus who have settled
abroad. This effort is not aimed at establishing a new order or confined to
any particular sect. It is not a narrow, parochial effort too.
Taking
clue from Shri Guruji’s exhortation Shri Apte clarified further, saying that
though we have accepted oneness of human beings, religions like Islam and
Christianity do not accept the existence of other ways to realise the
supreme reality. Communism is relatively new ideology that is again opposed
to religion. These three forces have targeted the Hindus. Thus, the
situation at national and international levels demands that Hindus be
organised to save their own culture, dharma and sanskriti. This congregation
is expected to formulate certain parameters for the Hindu society at home
and scattered abroad.
Mysore
Maharaja Jayachamaraja Wodiyar was crowned as first president of the VHP
while Sir C P Ramaswamy Ayyar became its Vice-President. At the first
meeting held at Acharya Lokesh Chandra’s residence on Decembar 22-23, 1964,
it was decided to hold First World Hindu Conference with the blessings and
cooperation of revered Dalai Lama, Emperor of Mangolia and Buddhist scholars
of Japan. Later at a meeting on May 27-28, 1965, it was decided to form VHP
units in countries where Hindus were in a sizeable number.
Organising the first World Hindu Conference at Prayag in 1966 was a real
challenge for the nascent VHP. The tradition of such conferences is not new
to Bharatiya milieu. There had been in the past records of such
congregations where social, cultural, spiritual and such aspects of the
societal life were discussed, amended according to the changing scenario and
requirements of the time. Such a practice of reviewing the traditions and
mending them suitably for the society to accept changes easily made the
Hindu society eternal. The first such historically recorded conference was
held during the period of Emperor Harshvardhana in 680 AD in Paryag. It was
the time Bharat started confronting foreign invasions , the tradition that
continued till 1947. This renewed attempt of VHP was aimed at rejuvenating
the Hindu tradition of discussion and debate and to cleanse the mindset of
the Hindus polluted by the western education and liking for western
lifestyle.
Accordingly the first World Hindu Conference began on January 22 ,1966 on
the banks of holy River Ganga in presence of Dharmacharyas, Shankaracharyas,
Mahamandleswars, and social and religious leaders drawn from all sects of
Hindu society. The Dalai Lama, then President Dr S Radhakrishnan, King of
Nepal, UP Governor Vishwanath Das, Bihar Governor Anant Shayanam Ayyangar,
Vishweshteerth Maharaj, Sant Tukdoji Maharaj, congratulated the VHP.
Scholars and Intellectuals from USA, Canada, Australia, the U K, Germany,
France, Poland, Switzerland, Finland, Japan and countries of south and east
Asia expressed happiness on this event.
The
resolution passed in this first conference is relevant even today. The VHP
has always concentrated on protection of temples, cow protection and
welcoming those who have converted to other religions into their original
fold. The historic slogan Na Hindu Patito Bhavet (No Hindu can ever be
considered fallen) had a very good impact and gave impetus to ghar-vapasi
programme. Eradication of untouchability was another area where VHP
concentrated. In the 1970 Pandharpur session of VHP Dadasaheb Apte had said
that we need to eradicate this social scourge. Our great seers and acharyas
have always opposed the system of caste-based discrimination. Now we have to
imbibe this in our daily life.
Among
the notable regional meetings were the ones held in Assam where Hindus
leaving in deep jungles and high hills participated along with their urban
counterparts. The North-eastern region of Bharat is very sensitive and has
been the target of the anti-Hindu forces since long. The presence of Naga
Rani Gaidinliu, and other leaders from Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya,
Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura and Mizoram was a very encouraging omen. Shri
Guruji was present for all the three days at Jorhat conference which proved
a historical milestone.
The VHP
meet at Udupi in Karnataka in 1969 was yet another historical event which
was presided over by R Bharnayya, retired member of Karnataka Public Service
Commission. It was at this conference that the saints and acharyas gave a
slogan of Hindavah Sodara Sarve and Na Hindu Patito Bhavet meaning all
Hindus are brothers and a Hindu can never fall. This was a clear cut message
for eradicating the centuries old evil of untouchability.
The VHP
organised a number of regional conferences in the ensuing years spreading
its message of equality of Hindus of all sects, thus reinstalling self-
pride and self-confidence in the Hindus. Similarly at the global level the
VHP started its work in the USA, UK, Surinam and Mauritius. Shri Apte toured
30 countries, visited 140 meetings in 117 cities to initiate VHP activities.
He also toured the countries in company of Swamy Gangeswaranand to establish
Ved Mandirs at 88 places in the world. On June 12, 1977 Apte delegated his
responsibility to Sanskrit Scholar Rajabhau Degwekar and retired to Pune
till he left this mortal world on October 10, 1985.
The
Second World Hindu Conference was held on 25-27 January 1979 in presence of
VHP President Maharana Bhagwat Singh of Mewar, and Rajabhau Degwekar, Vishnu
Hari Dalmia. His Holiness Dalai Lama inaugurated the meet which was also
attended by RSS Sarsanghachalak Balasaheb Deoras who succeeded Golwalkar in
1973. The then Industries Minister of Mauritius Dayanand Basantrai, Naga
Rani Gaidinliu, Mahadevi Verma, Dr Karan Singh and other luminaries of Hindu
society attended the meeting. The Conference accepted six resolutions
In July
1988 Shri Ashok Singhal was given the responsibility of Joint General
Secretary of VHP. Acharya Giriraj Kishore came to VHP in 1983. Justice
Shivnath Katju (1985-92), Industrialist Vishnu Hari Dalmia (1992-2005) and
Ashok Singhal (2005-2011) remained presidents of VHP. The VHP today has come
a long way in the history of Independent Bharat and in the last 50 years it
has carved niche for itself in the Bharatiya society and Hindus abroad
through its multi-faceted activities of social welfare and nation building.
(The writer is General Secretary, VHP, Weekly
Organiser, August 24, 2014)
-Top
BOB
BLACKMAN MP PRAISES HSS ACTIVITES
Namaste
to young people, parents, distinguished guests.
What we
should do is thank all the volunteers who made this 9 day training course
such a valuable learning exercise for everyone.
This is
not my first visit to HSS summer camp. My first visit to HSS summer camp was
in 1992 in Leicester as a guest. I saw there what I see now. Young people
learning the benefits not only of physical education, not only of mental
education but also learning as individuals and as part of a team. Far too
many myths have been allowed to develop about what HSS does which needs to
be dispelled.
HINDU
VOICE IN PARLIAMENT
I have
a long history of public service. I would like to think that it is a
distinguished service but it is for others to judge. When I was elected to
the parliament for the first time it felt like a fresher’s week in the
University. There are different things you can do. You can change society or
join all societies, etc. Similarly, there is a parliamentary group for
absolutely everything you can think of, all the health related issues, every
sport, countries, religion, special interest. There is one for India (which
I am proud to be part of), Israel, Pakistan, Bangladesh, … for every
religion, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Sikh but guess what? There was no
parliamentary group (APPG) for Hindus. I said why is this? The third
biggest religion in the UK , this cannot be right. I looked into creating
this group but encountered obstructions as some politicians believe that
Hindus are (in scope) supporters of some other political party. I don’t
think that is right. I believe that British Hindus support all British
political parties, participate fully in the British society and therefore
should have a voice in parliament. It took me three and a half years and
last December we launched the group. Now the British Hindus have a direct
voice in the parliament for the issues that matter to them. The challenge
for you good people is to ensure that you feed us your concerns and we will
make sure that things are done properly. One of the first thing which the
group had to address was rather foolish change in the law which was taking
place which almost encapsulated the caste system. It was done without any
consultations with leaders of the Hindu community or with politicians. I
believe it is wrong. It enshrines things which were a problem when first
people came to this country. Imagine your child coming home and asking what
caste he was? It doesn’t matter. What matters is the young people seeking
their way into the world irrespective of previous history. This is a vital
aspect.
DISPEL
MYTHS ABOUT HSS
We
should dispel myths that have grown about HSS. Such stories that it is a
paramilitary organisation, it trains people to hate other people. What you
see is that it trains people to be physically fit and who would think that
is a bad thing. It trains young people with mental education as well and
teaches meditation. It enshrines core values of Hinduism which is to create
a peaceful world. Who would think that is a bad thing? Being peaceful is
the core value of Hinduism and to maintain peace one needs to be vigilant.
One should be ever willing to go to war in order to maintain peace.
HSS
brother organisation has presented two great prime ministers to India.It is
a misconception that young generation does not care about politics but with
elections in India they were enthused by Mr Modi’s policies and BJP. It is
possible that one of you could become prime minister of UK. Why not? Why
should we not aspire to achieve that particular end?
BRITISH
VALUES – HINDU VALUES
When we
talk about British values, some people think that is excluding
othersStanding on your own two feet, loyalty to country, family, rule of law
are great British values. These are also great Hindu values. Remember the
Hindu contribution to the country. The power of our economy is driven by
Hindu contribution. Hindus are the most law abiding citizens with 0.005%
rate of imprisonment. The smallest sector of any identifiable group. They
are more likely to be victims of crime rather than perpetrators. So actually
when you see young people learning the art of self-defence that is a big
deterrent to being victims of crime and there is nothing wrong with
defending yourself from aggressors. So that is something to celebrate.
We
should also remember that belief of education is embedded in Hindu religion
and that is great. Parents want their children to become doctors, engineers,
scientists and dentists etc and aspire to be superior people in the society
and within this generation I think that will be achieved.
Also
remember, tomorrow we will commemorate 100 years to the start of world war
one. Great contribution was made by India and now commonwealth. So many
soldiers sacrificed their life so that we can be free and their
contributions are often forgotten and we should not allow that.
MEDIA
BIAS
We
recognise media bias exists out there against HSS and Sangh community in
general. During Indian elections several accusations were made on Mr Modi,
mainly false. He was banned from coming here by the previous government and
the coalition government has now removed the ban. We expect him to visit us
this autumn and hear his wise words about he turned around Gujarat and will
now turn around India as well.
Stay
under no illusion of media bias, combat that by going back and promoting
the benefits of this camp. You had benefit of 9 days training at the camp –
apply the learning – excel in various areas. Not good enough to be good at
studies. Vital for some of you to get involved in politics. Your community
needs it. Your country needs it. Your grandparents, in eastern Africa, ran
the economy power horse of the eastern African countries but did not get
involved in politics. When mad dictators came they kicked them out of the
country. An insurance policy is for young people to get involved in
politics.
SEWA
AND TOLERANCE
I will
finish with two important concepts.
One is
Sewa – people from all walks of life giving their voluntary services,
cleaning floor by senior executives. It is crucial that everyone should
learn this. All parliament debates are recorded by Hansard. I was explaining
the concept of sewa as part of the debate on Diwali. Why should Hindus only
celebrate Diwali? We should all join in and enjoy Diwali and understand each
other better. I received an email from Hansard, asking if I was out of
context, did I mean saving money instead. I then realised how much work has
to be done.
The
second is tolerance. How do we make the world a safer place? A more peaceful
place? There is a terrible situation in Gaza. More people die a month in
Syria but don’t see that on the news. More people die in Libya in a month
than in Gaza but it is not in the news. Across the world there are many
conflicts going on mainly because people cannot seem to live with one
another. Hinduism is the mother of all religions. It practices what it
preaches – everyone is allowed to celebrate their own religion and is given
equal value. Equally tolerance is preached from the word go. So wouldn’t the
world be a better place if we at least embraced the principles of Hinduism
even if people could not give up their own religion.
MESSAGE
OF HOPE
Maybe
the message we have to send out is one of tolerance and getting along with
one another.
I hope
that in this country we continue to be a beacon of hope to the world where
people of all creeds, all faith, all colours could come together; celebrate
their religion, live their lives with peace and promote harmony across the
world and if we can do it then the rest of the world can do it as well.
Let’s
part with that message of hope. With what you have learnt in the past 9 days
we can translate into a message for the world. Aum Shantih!
(Key
points from the speech of Bob Blackman, MP and Chairman APPG – All Party
Parliamentarian’s Group for British Hindus , at the concluding function
Youth Training Course of HSSUK )
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