1. FESTIVALS: Datta Jayanti, also known as Dattatreya
Jayanti, falls on Margshirsha Poornima corresponding to December 6 this
year. Dattatreya, the son of the sage Atri and
his wife Anasuya,
is considered a form of the triad of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. The festival
is mainly celebrated in Maharashtra. Devotees worship Dattatreya with
flowers, incense, lamps and camphor. They also meditate on his image, read
and recite ‘gurucharitra’ and pray to Dattatreya with a vow to follow in his
footsteps. -- goTop
2. PM
TELLS YOUTH TO MAKE LIFE 'SARTHAK': Prime
Minister Narendra Modi invoked the life and struggle of RSS ideologue Eknath
Ranade to urge the youth to make their life meaningful rather than be just
successful.
"Eknath Ranade attached more importance to
make life meaningful rather than being simply successful. That should be our
strive in life," he said. Modi said Ranade's vision should inspire in
creation of a Bharat that is both "bhavya" (prosperous) and "divya"
(spiritual). Modi was launching, at Vigyan Bhawan, the birth centenary
celebrations of Ranade that will begin from November 19. He added that
Ranade played a "very significant role during the Emergency". "I am
delighted to be here. Eknathji remains an inspiration ever since my
childhood. Also got to work with him," the PM said, lauding his
perfectionist skills and noting that none in the Sangh Parivar can match him
in this aspect. -- goTop
3. TUMKURU SANT
SAMMELAN PLEDGES TO END UNTOUCHABILITY AND CASTEISM: With
a clear message to stop religious conversion and pledge to end social evils
like untouchability and casteism within Hindu Society, the 2-day historic
Sant Sammelan on November 11-12, organized by Vishwa Hindu Parishad as a
part of its golden jubilee celebrations, concluded in Tumakuru Karnataka.
The sammelan was ianugurated by Sri Dr Shivakumar Swamiji of Siddaganga
Matha along with RSS Sarasanghachalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat.
“Some forces of the world want to divide Hindu society. Such forces took
away our own people. …We need to show a mirror which reflects the unity to
each Hindu. Such a task can be effectively undertaken by sants and swamis of
Hindu society,” said Dr. Bhagwat.
The Sammelan passed resolution on 5 major
issues of socio-religious significance:-
1. Complete ban on export of cattle meat in
Bharat. Govt should not give licence to new cow slaughter houses in Bharat.
2. Declare Cow as ‘National Animal of Bharat’ and make Bharat ‘a nation
free from cow slaughtering’. 3. To implement Uniform Civil Code. 4. Legal
measures to stop religious conversions. 5. Demand to central govt to
withdraw “Medical Termination of Pregnancy Amendment Bill 2014.
Over 600 swamijis and dharmacharyas
participated in the sammelan including Sri Vishwesha Theertha Swamiji of
Pejawara Matha Udupi, Sri Nirmalanathananda Swamiji of Adichunchanagiri
Matha, Sri Sri Ravishankar of Art of Living, VHP’s International Secretary
Champat Rai and other prominent saints.
-- goTop
4. KALAM FOR BHARAT-CHINA JOINT SPACE COLLABORATION: 83-year-old
APJ Abdul Kalam, former Rashtrapati, became a rare Bharatiya leader to take
up teaching assignment in a Chinese university after he was formally
conferred the title of Honorary Professor by the Peking University, one of
the oldest Chinese universities. Kalam delivered three lectures in the
University. Firstly he spoke on "Sustained development system and creative
leadership" on November 5 to a group of students drawn from different
disciplines. Two other lectures of Dr. Kalam were on ‘Terrestrial Solar
Power’ and ‘Sustainable Development System and Creative Leadership’ on
November 6 and 7 respectively.
Dr. Kalam was formally invited to teach at
the University by its Chairman Zhu Shanlu when he visited China for the
first time in 2012. -- goTop
5. SHAKHA ADDS
VALUES IN A CITIZEN’S LIFE: RSS
Sarsanghachalak Mohan Bhagwat called upon the youth to join Sangh shakha if
they want to understand the Sangh and its work. “There is no other
organisation similar to the Sangh in the world. There is a certain
perspective and inquisitiveness required to understand the Sangh which is
working towards organising the Hindu society,” said Shri Bhagwat interacting
with the youth at Yuva Sankalp Shivir in Agra on November 3.
He said there can be no Hindu without Bharat
and there is no Bharat without Hindus. Bharat is not the name of the land
but it’s a place where the Bharatiyas reside. The character and tradition of
Bharat is Hindutva. We need to maintain the decorum in the society to stay
united. -- goTop
6. BHARAT'S UN
RESOLUTION ON YOGA GETS RECORD BACKING OF 130 COUNTRIES: In
an overwhelming response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for
commemorating an International Day of Yoga, about 130 countries have joined
as co-sponsors to a Bharat-led UN General Assembly resolution recognising
yoga's benefits.
The draft resolution for an 'International
Day of Yoga' was prepared by Bharat and informal consultations were convened
last month by the Bharatiya mission in the UN General Assembly where views
on the topic were expressed by other delegations.
The draft resolution, known as the 'L
Document,' was finalised with 130 countries co-sponsoring it, an all-time
record for a resolution of such kind.
The resolution would proclaim June 21 as the
'International Day of Yoga'.
Several Asian, European and Latin American
countries and nearly 60 per cent of African nations are the co-sponsors of
the resolution. -- goTop
7. SRILANKA GOVT
APPRECIATES HSS RELIEF WORK: Kosalandha
Meeriapeththa, an estate village in Uva province of Sri Lanka was badly
affected by landslide on October 29. About 1,055 men and women including 162
children were displaced to a relief camp in Poonagala School after the
landslide. At present, the camp is managed by Ministry of disaster
management with the help of Army.
Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) Sri Lanka
volunteers in many districts immediately planned to collect the essential
material to help the affected. A group of karyakarthas travelled from
Colombo to the affected village to assess the ground reality and planned to
work in the relief camp.Within a day, swayamsevaks collected materials worth
Rs 20 lakhs. Only swayamsevaks and sevikas are working inside the relief
camp other than the government officials and the Army.
-- goTop
8. LOST JAIN TEXT ON BHARATIYA PHILOSPHY RECONSTRUCTED: Dwadasharnayachakra
- a fifth century AD Jain treatise on comparative Bharatiya philosophy
reported lost some 1,300 years ago has been painstakingly 'resurrected' by
experts with the help of commentaries and critiques of that era. It took 30
years for the team led by Muni Jambuvijaya in Ahmedabad to recreate the
Sanskrit scripture for the students of Darshan Shastra, the study of
Bharatiya and comparative religious philosophies dating back to 4th and 5th
centuries AD.
The muni learnt 14 languages - including
Tibetan, German and French, apart from the classical Bharatiya languages of
Pali, Prakrit and Ardhamagdhi - to harness critical references from that
era.
Jitendra Shah, the director of the LD
Institute of Indology, who pursued a doctoral thesis on Dwadasharnayachakra,
said that the book commands significance due to its content. "Acharya
Mallavadi, a fifth century AD monk, had written the book as the outcome of
his study of all religious thoughts and philosophies," said Shah.
-- goTop
9. 6TH WORLD
AYURVEDA CONGRESS AT DELHI: “Ayurveda
can acquire global recognition, like yoga, if it is presented in the right
spirit and recognized as a way of life,” stressed Prime Minister Narendra
Modi at the 6th World Ayurveda Congress (WAC) and Arogya Expo organized in
New Delhi by the AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and
Homoeopathy) department under the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry,
in collaboration with the World Ayurveda Foundation (WAF) and the Delhi
government on 6-10 November.
"The biggest challenge for promoting Ayurveda
is finding physicians who are completely committed to Ayurveda. Unless
practitioners believe in it fully they will not be able to convince the
patients," he added.A disease can be cured by Allopathy, but if a person
adopts Ayurveda, he can protect himself against various infections and
lifestyle diseases for life. --
goTop
10. CUBA AIMING TO INTRODUCE AYURVEDA IN MEDICAL CARE,
CURRICULUM: Natalia
Marzoa Silva, a biologist at the state-owned Finlay Institute in Havana and
representing Cuba at the 6th World
Ayurveda Congress in New Delhi said: "In Cuba, we have all the tools for
treating diseases, but we have to improve the preventive system further."
"We want to introduce Ayurveda in our country
to prevent diseases. India can teach us about medicinal plants to fight
diseases such as cancer and diabetes. We have the same plants in Cuba, but
we don't know how to use them," she said, adding, a bilateral collaboration
could create an understanding of the use of medicinal plants.
-- goTop
11. AGNI-II
TEST-FIRED FOR FULL 2,000-KM STRIKE RANGE: Bharat
test-fired the nuclear weapon-capable Agni-II ballistic missile for its full
strike range of 2,000 km from Wheeler Island off the Odisha Coast on 9th November.
The 20-metre-tall Agni-II zoomed to an altitude of 600 km and began its
descent before splashing near its pre-designated impact point in the Bay of
Bengal with “two-digit accuracy.”
The exercise was carried out as regular user
training under the supervision of missile scientists from the Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which designed and developed
the weapon system. The two-stage missile has been inducted for military use
and can carry a one-tonne payload.
Terming Agni-II a workhorse, the official
said the overall mission objectives were met precisely. The navigation,
guidance and control aspects of this class of missile were proven once
again. -- goTop
12. YOUNG SCIENTIST PRIZE TO SAHIL DOSHI: Sahil
Doshi, 14 year-old boy from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US has won the award
for his innovative eco-friendly battery design. He was awarded $25,000 and
named young America's 'top young scientist'. He also won an adventure trip
to Costa Rica. Doshi, a pupil from Upper St. Clair School District’s Upper
St. Clair High School, competed with nine other finalists on Nov 3 to win
the coveted prize. Determined to help 1.2 billion people worldwide who lack
access to electricity and the rising levels of toxic air pollution, Doshi
created an energy storage device named 'PolluCell'. 'PolluCell' converts
carbon dioxide into electricity and lowers harmful greenhouse gases while
offering power for household use.The competition gave the finalists an
opportunity to work directly with 3M scientists.
-- goTop
13. FOUR BHARATIYA-AMERICAN WOMEN WIN ELECTIONS: The
four Bharatiya American women who vied for the US House of Representatives,
won their polls comfortably to make the community proud. South Carolina
Republican Gov. Nikki Haley trounced her Democrat challenger Vincent Sheheen
by a mammoth margin, to get another four years in office. In California,
Kamala Harris, 50, was re-elected as Attorney General. In Washington State,
the Democrat Pramila Jayapal was elected to the State Senate seat from the
37th Legislative District in her debut bid; becoming the first Bharatiya-
American to be elected to the state legislature.The Democrat Aruna Miller
retained her District 15 legislative seat for the second time in Maryland.
-- goTop
14. HINDU ENCYCLOPAEDIA IS ‘GREAT CONTRIBUTION TO
HUMANITY’: British
Prime Minister David Cameron termed the Encyclopaedia of Hinduism as a
‘great contribution to humanity’, adding that he is going to make use of
this compilation. “This encyclopaedia is a great contribution to humanity. I
love the saying, ‘Let all noble thoughts come from all directions’. I am
going to use this. This is beautiful,” said Prime Minister Cameron, while
launching the 11 volume encyclopaedia , produced by the India Heritage
Research Foundation, in UK at a Diwali party on October 28.The event took
place at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in Westminster.
-- goTop
15. BHARATIYA-ORIGIN POLITICIAN KEITH VAZ NAMED AS 'LABOUR
MP OF THE YEAR':Bharatiya-origin
British politician Keith Vaz has been named as the Labour MP of the year
2014 for his valuable work for under-represented, deprived and minority
sections of the country."I am honoured to have been chosen for this award.
In my constituency of Leicester East, I work with individuals and groups of
all backgrounds, faiths and races. For all groups to be better represented
in Parliament, and the wider political process, is a positive and necessary
aim in our multicultural society," Vaz said
Speaker John Bercow announced the Patchwork
Foundation MPs of the Year 2014 at Speakers House Nov 6, for those who have
represented and worked with underrepresented, deprived and minority
communities across the country
-- goTop
16. 5TH
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AND GATHERING OF ELDERS will
be held at Mysuru – Karnataka from 31st January
– 5th February 2015.
The theme of the conference will beUniversal Wellbeing – Sustaining
Nature, Culture and Communities.
The conference will explore how the current
era of globalization is influencing inequality, politics, religious freedom
and propagating borderless Nations.
It will bring together the leaders and
scholars of 100+ living ancient cultures. This event will be focused on
sharing insights on how to leverage the current globalization trend, access
technology tools and build leadership capability within communities to
ensure universal wellbeing in the twenty-first century and beyond. Pl visit www.iccsglobal.org for
more information. -- goTop
17. CONCESSIONS FOR
REFUGEES FROM PAKISTAN, AFGHANISTAN: Bharatiya
Government on 13th November
announced a number of concessions for Hindu and Sikh refugees from Pakistan
and Afghanistan as part of which it also introduced relaxations in the
procedure for granting them Bharatiya citizenship. Home minister Rajnath
Singh approved a proposal for manual acceptance of applications for granting
of Bharatiya citizenship to those who entered Bharat prior to 31 December,
2009. The children of such refugees, who entered Bharat on the basis of
their parents’ passport, can apply without passport for the grant of
Bharatiya citizenship after the regularisation of their stay in Bharat. In
case of children of such persons born in Bharat, they can also apply without
passport for grant of citizenship after regularisation of their stay in the
country. There are about 400 Pakistani Hindu refugee settlements in cities
like Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner and Jaipur. Many Sikh refugees live in
Punjab, Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. There are about one lakh minority
community refugees from Pakistan and Afghanistan living in Bharat.
-- goTop
18. K SURYANARAYANA
RAO TURNS 90: Veteran
RSS Pracharak Kru Suryanarayana Rao, popularly known as ‘Suruji’ turned 90
this year. RSS Karnataka greeted this legendary icon of Sangh work in a
simple function held at Sri Shankar Matha premises, Shankarapuram, Bengaluru
on 5th November. In a
function held later in the evening, Pejawar Matha’s Vishwesha Theertha
swamiji met and greeted Suruji on his 90th Birthday, and called Suruji as
‘Bheeshmacharya’ in his address.
Suryanarayana Rao, born in 1924, became RSS
swayamsevak in 1942 and pracharak in 1946 after his graduation in B Sc
Mathematics. He held various responsibilities including Tamilnadu Pranth
Pracharak, Dakshin kshetra pracharak and Akhil Bharatiya Seva Pramukh of RSS
giving a new dimension for Seva activities of RSS. He has visited countries
like USA, Trinidad, Canada, England, during this period.
-- goTop
19. HINDUS IN
BANGLADESH SPEAK OUT AGAINST HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS: Human
rights organizations in Bangladesh have forcefully demanded an independent
and neutral investigation into incidents of repression on the minorities.
Seeking justice for the victims, the organizations demanded that the
attackers be brought to book.
Bangladesh Minority Watch (BDMW) and
Bangladesh Center for Human Rights and Development (BCHRD) with the
collaboration of Global Human Rights Defense (GHRD) jointly published “Human
Rights Report of Religious Minorities-2014” at a press conference on 7th November
at Dhaka. Minority victims from various parts of Bangladesh appeared at the
Conference Hall and expressed their experiences of sufferings.
“Stop this injustice. Punish those who
launched barbaric attacks against people of the minority communities across
the country from 2001 to 2014,” BDMW president Rabindra Ghosh urged the
government. -- goTop
20. OLDEST PAINTINGS OF BHARATIYA FACES FOUND IN AJANTA: In
March earlier this year, historian and writer William Dalrymple, the author
of White Mughals, The Last Mughal, and City of Djinns, visited the famed
Ajanta caves with his wife. They wandered into two lesser-known caves in the
31-cave complex — numbers 9 and 10.
"I saw these extraordinary but unfamiliar
paintings. I couldn't recall having seen their photographs anywhere, in any
books on Ajanta," recalled Dalrymple during a talk organized by the Tasveer
Foundation. "Although badly damaged, I could make out that these paintings
were in a different style from the better known Ajanta paintings — more
realistic and humanistic." "This pre-dates everything in Indian art. These
are the oldest faces of Indians in existence," said Dalrymple, while
pointing to slides showing visual representations of the Jataka tales, which
formed the main subject matter of these paintings. The faces are full of
vigour and expression, and each face is individually delineated, the
historian pointed out.
"The most marvellous thing is, you still see
these faces, these same features, and sometimes even the same designs in
jewellery and dress, even today in western India. But the people represented
here — though we don't know if the anonymous artists painted them from life
or imagination — lived two millennia ago."
-- goTop
21. SHRI VISHWA
NIKETAN: Pravas: Shri
Suresh ji Soni, sahsarkaryavaha will tour countries in South East Asia
including Thailand in December. Shri Saumitar Gokhale, samyojak Vishwa
Vibhag, Dr.Ram Vaidya sah samyojak arrived in Bharat to attend World Hindu
Congress. Shri Ravikumar, sah samyojak returned from his tour to Australia. Visitors: Amrit
Mittal – USA -- goTop
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: The
greatest legacy one can pass on to one’s children and grandchildren is not
money or other material things accumulated in one’s life, but rather a
legacy of character and faith. –
Billy Graham. -- goTop
JAI SHREE RAM
ON RAISING HINDU AMERICANS IN
DETROIT, MICHIGAN
Chandruacharya
As a first generation American who grew up in
India, it seems counter-intuitive, at first, to be writing about growing up
Hindu in America. Reflecting on my experience as a parent raising two Hindu
American teens, though, a 19-year old and a 13-year old, I feel emboldened
to put ‘pen to paper’ and share my thoughts.
Interacting with Hindu kids growing up in
America today, I find that they primarily identify as Americans. They share
and cherish American core values and have American role models from various
walks of life. Whether it is music, sport, or dance, mainstream American
culture is a powerful glue that brings people together, breaking down the
barriers that divide. Nonetheless, every individual wears secondary
identities based on such criteria as gender, ethnicity, religion and race.
Hindu kids too have nagging questions about
their roots, questions like: Who is a Hindu? and What is our identity?
Immigrants in a New Home
Most first-generation Indian Americans reach
the shores of this bountiful country in pursuit of the great American Dream.
Many have advanced degrees in fields such as computer science, medicine, and
biotechnology and find their skills and experience much sought after in the
techno-commercial market place here. I immigrated to America from India in
2002 as an information technology professional, and my family came shortly
thereafter. The suburbs of Detroit, Michigan welcomed us with traditional
Midwestern warmth. I felt at home the moment I arrived in this new land,
surrounded by the majestic great lakes.
About 2.7 million Hindu Americans, mostly of
South Asian descent, live in America today. Second-generation Hindu
Americans, growing up in the late 90s and the early 2000s, found the overall
environment encouraging, allowing them to pursue a career of choice as
equals. This has been particularly true where the Hindu population is highly
concentrated in socially diverse states such as California, New Jersey, New
York, and Texas. The environment is not always welcoming, though. In some
regions Hindu Americans feel that they are “polemically tolerated,” in
others they are simply “accepted,” while in a city like Detroit the
diversity they bring the community is “celebrated.”
wedding
Prior to the 90s, Hindu children growing up
in America faced more of an identity crisis. Parents were busy adjusting to
the new land, pursuing careers, and establishing themselves. The younger
generation seldom had opportunities to learn about tradition, faith, and
culture. However, as the community stabilized itself financially, the second
generation started making its mark in everything from spelling bee contests
to corporate boardrooms in Silicon Valley. This was a great leap from
earlier media-driven stereotypes of taxi drivers and 7/11 shop owners. A new
confidence about our future developed, and a yearning was born for ways to
draw inspiration from our rich cultural past and establish a distinct Hindu
American identity.
The Heart of the Matter
A major challenge faced by Hindu American
parents is conveying the essence of Hinduism to their kids. For many in the
West, especially those in the Abrahamic traditions, faith and worship are an
integral part of religion. For them, “religion” includes an inherent
emphasis on adhering to the belief systems proposed by the founders of their
respective traditions. Regular community worship each week tends to be
embraced.
By contrast, Hinduism is an ancient
pluralistic civilizational framework that is based on freedom of faith
rather than faith itself. The uniqueness of the framework is that every
individual has absolute liberty in choosing a path of worship and adopting
or rejecting a belief system. Hindu civilization is held together by two
profound philosophical concepts : Vasudeva Kutumbakam (the entire Universe
is my family) and Sarva Panth Samabhava (equal respect for all faiths).
Accordingly, Hindu civilization has played a motherly role in ensuring that
various Dharmic faiths that emerged from the civilization flourished
unhindered and co-existed with respect and admiration. For an adult it might
not be difficult to grasp the subtle difference between a civilizational
framework that nurtures freedom of faith versus a religion based on theology
and community worship, but try explaining that to a nine-year-old!
As a Hindu parent, I have to create
explanations my kids can understand. I tell them to think about Hinduism as
a way of life where “everyone lives in a community with a common shared
backyard. Within each household, members privately practice their faith of
choice. And when they all come out, sharing their backyard, the boundaries
are invisible and insignificant.” Clearly this is not a religion where
adherents live in fenced houses in exclusive gated communities.
I came up with a simple poem to explain our
identity:
WE ARE HINDU AMERICANS!
All are equal and all are free, all are part
of our family.
We care for the weak and share when we eat,
We fold our hands and greet when we meet…
Namaste! Namaste! Namaste!
When it is right, we have no fear,
To show our might, we never fight.
We talk of peace, we have no foes,
We are friends of trees and nature as a
whole.
We share our joy and love every life,
Be it the soul of a man or a tiny mole.
Yoga for the body and Gita for the mind,
For Black, Brown, Yellow, White, every shade
and kind.
Respect for age is never hard to find,
We are a people that only try to bind.
WE ARE HINDU AMERICANS!
Reforging an Identity
Today we see a conscious effort in the Hindu
American community to get connected with its roots. From Yoga classes to
Bollywood actors, from classical dancers to spiritual gurus, every sort of
cultural ambassador is in demand. Socio-cultural organizations such as
Balavihaar and Balagokulam have gained popularity in temples, and youngsters
are actively attending South Asian culture and language classes.
Organizations like Hindu Students Council and Hindu Yuva are mushrooming on
college campuses, and Hindu American youth are connecting with their roots
in a more confident and assertive manner.
In America as in India, Hindu festivals play
an important role in propagating our key values – living in harmony with
Mother Nature and living up to our roles and responsibilities towards
family, society at large, and the whole human family. Important festivals
are celebrated in America with vigor and traditional fashion. The most
popular is Diwali, which hails the triumph of good over evil. In recent
times Hindus have become actively engaged during Diwali in contributing to
the wider community through service projects such as food drives for
shelters and highway-cleanup projects.
INDIA IS CHANGING, AND FASTER THAN WE THINK
Stewart beck
Two months after leaving India as Canada’s
High Commissioner, I returned two weeks ago as part of British Columbia
Premier Christy Clark’s official delegation to the country.
Stepping out into the hot and humid Delhi
night, everything looked the same but there was certainly a sense of change
in the air: everyone from taxi drivers, to business people and politicians
seem to feel a new confidence that India can now move forward. In his first
100 days in office, new Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to have
changed the attitude and outlook of the world’s second-most populous nation.
Coinciding with the Premier’s visit was a
delegation of federal representatives, including Foreign Affairs and
International Trade Ministers John Baird and Ed Fast, who were there to
reinforce Canada’s commitment to strengthening ties with India’s new
government. The success of the concurrent delegations was an excellent
example of how Canada can capitalize on some of its constitutional
similarities with India – in this case, the devolution of power over issues
such as education and national-resource management to the provinces – in
order to improve relations for Canada as a whole.
Our ministers had the opportunity to sit down
with the prime minister: Mr. Baird extended an official invitation for Mr.
Modi to visit Canada, and Mr. Fast raised the pending Canada-India
Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), the negotiations for
which have been continuing since 2010. For his part, Mr. Modi noted that he
was looking forward to meeting Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the G20
Summit in Brisbane, scheduled to begin Dec. 1.
With the CEPA negotiations now having gone
through eight rounds, and an unsigned FIPA, India-watchers in Canada have
had little reason to anticipate any formalized deepening of ties. But India
is changing, and it is happening faster than we think.
Over the last four years in India, I saw
little, if any, change. The second UPA government under Manmohan Singh was
sclerotic, bumping from one scandal to another starting with the
Commonwealth Games in 2010. This left the country, its people and its
businesses with little hope and enormously frustrated by a corrupt
environment, lagging job growth and a government incapable of providing
services for its citizens.
Mr. Modi was elected as prime minister with a
mandate to make things happen. From my own experience in dealing with Mr.
Modi, he is prepared, direct and looking for results and accountability,
rare attributes in an Indian politician. His past record as chief minister
of Gujarat demonstrates what he is capable of: his policies and approach
attracted the most foreign investment of all Indian States, including major
Canadian investments by Bombardier and McCain’s.
In the past 100 days, Mr. Modi has made some
dramatic international maneuvers, including securing sizeable infrastructure
funding commitments from Japan and China and building new security
arrangements with the United States. Domestically, he moved forward on
introducing land and labour reforms, and with the drop in crude oil prices,
he has been able to reduce fuel subsidies. This will further improve India’s
investment environment, and with a declining current account deficit he will
have more room to take bolder reform measures.
This change in attitude and level of
confidence was clearly evident in the meetings Ms. Clark had with her
counterparts. There was a strong commitment to securing long-term gas
supplies based on current and future investments in British Columbia and
meetings with steel industry executives opened many Canadian eyes to the
staggering growth planned in the economy. Steel manufacturing capacity will
grow to 300 million tons by 2025, which, alone will mean that India will
need to import at least 150 million tons of coking coal to meet the demand.
Mr. Modi’s most significant challenge will be
providing the necessary skills to employ the one million people entering the
work force every month for the next 15 years (more than 50 per cent of
India’s population is under the age of 25). The Premier was able to present
solutions to this challenge, including how the proper Canadian
accreditations delivered through joint programming in India can solve some
of the skill shortages facing the province.
Opportunities abound in India and even more
so now that there is a newfound optimism and energy. Canada is uniquely
placed to become a priority country for India. We engaged early with Mr.
Modi when other western countries were reticent; we are colonial cousins and
share a similar constitutional framework; and we have a vibrant diaspora
that cares about India’s future place in world. As Mr. Harper meets with Mr.
Modi for the first time later this year in Australia, and we look ahead to a
possible official visit next year, the time is ripe for Canada and India to
grow in closer partnership together.
(Stewart Beck is president and CEO of the
Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada and was Canada’s High Commissioner to
India.) -- goTop
