SAMVAD

Margshirsha Krishna 5, Vik. Samvat 2072. Yugabda 5117: December 1, 2015


1.  FESTIVALS: Tripura celebrates Raas Leela 2. BHARAT WILL USE ALL MIGHT TO PROTECT ITS SOVEREIGNTY: RASHTRAPATI
3. Monk Mahan Maharaj gets Infosys Prize 2015 in Mathematical Science 4. SEWA USA delivers 150 handmade scarves, blankets to women's shelters
5. SETTING RIGHT A WRONG 6. TRIBUTES PAID TO SHRI ASHOK SINGHAL WITH PLEDGE FOR RAM TEMPLE IN AYODHYA
7.  Culture is the expression of soul of the nation: Dattatreya Hosabale 8. SWAYAMSEVAKS RESCUE FLOOD VICTIMS IN CHENNAI
9. PM NARENDRA MODI UNVEILS SWAMI VIVEKANANDA'S STATUE IN MALAYSIA 10. $3.2 million Hindu temple launched in Ontario
11.  Australia's largest Hindu Durga Mata temple, opens in Melbourne's west 12. Hindu festival at home at Woodburn
13. BHARATIYA-American judge receives public service award 14.  DVD documents all ancient Jain settlements across Tamil Nadu
15.  Bharat test fires n-capable Dhanush missile 16.  Nuclear capable Arihant submarine successfully test-fires unarmed missile
17.  Bharatiya origin South African freedom fighter honoured 18. 83% OF BHARATIYAS BAT FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: PEW SURVEY
19. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas & Visitors FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Articles:  
The Carrier of Multi-dimensional Ayodhya Movement  

1.  FESTIVALS: Tripura celebrates Raas Leela: Thousands of Manipuris celebrated "Maha Raas", a festival celebrating the love life of Lord Krishna, at Agartala on 26th November. The festival is celebrated every year on the full moon night of "Kartik Purnima" to mark Krishna's love for Radha. Girls in their traditional dresses danced round the idols of Lord Krishna and Radha even as one acting as Gopies sang devotional songs throughout the night at a local temple.

The Maha Raas celebration started in Tripura more than two centuries ago and the Radha-Madhav Jews Temple. Before the partition of Bharat, devotees far from Syllhet and Comilla in present day Bangladesh used to come to participate in the night long festival. The celebration started after a Maharani of the Manikya dynasty of Tripura, daughter of Manipur's Maharaja Bhagya Chandra, brought the idol of Radha-Gobind from there and established a Radhamadhav temple here.

Tripura had a cultural and traditional bond with the Manipur kingdom that started more than 350 years back through matrimonial alliances.

Abhijeet Bhattacharjee, a priest in the temple, said, "The Raas Leela of Tripura state in the 1798 during the rule of second Rajdhar Manika after Hariswari, the second daughter of Manipur's Bhagya Chandra, was married here. Earlier it was funded by the Maharaja's but at present the District administration of West Tripura fund the Rass. From that time the Rass Leela is continuing in this Radhanaga temple."

Raas is a symbol of love and communal harmony where people of all communities gather to celebrate forgetting  differences and get united and thus can play a vital role in bringing peace in this state burning with the flames of militancy. --goTop

 

2. BHARAT WILL USE ALL MIGHT TO PROTECT ITS SOVEREIGNTY: RASHTRAPATI: Rashtrapati Pranab Mukherjee on November 28 said that Bharat is firmly committed to peace but is always prepared to deploy its military might to safeguard its sovereignty as he decorated two gallant IAF fighter aircraft squadrons at a strategic border airbase  in Hasimpura, West Bengal. Mukherjee, the Supreme Commander of the armed forces, presented the Rashtrapati's Standards to the 22nd and 18th Squadrons of the Indian Air Force operating the strike and combat superior MiG-27 aircraft to secure Bharatiya skies along the eastern theatre during peace times and war. The Squadrons are based in Alipurduar district of West Bengal, strategically located right across the Bharat-Bhutan border with the task to keep a vigil over the entire north east border skies of Bharat.

He lauded the air force by calling it the "cutting edge" of Bharat's military might and praised its men and women as he said the armed forces, "exemplified by the air warriors who stand before us, reflect our steely resolve to defend our interests."

The Rashtrapati's Standards are given to armed forces' units which render exceptional and dedicated service over a period of time. --goTop

 

3. Monk Mahan Maharaj gets Infosys Prize 2015 in Mathematical Science: Ramakrishna Mission ascetic Mahan Maharaj was awarded the Infosys Prize 2015 in Mathematical Science - which carries a Rs 65lakh purse and a 22-karat gold medallion - for his contributions to geometric group theory, low-dimensional topology and complex geometry. In 1997, Mahajan, then known as Mahan Mitra, earned his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley on 'Maps on Boundaries of Hyperbolic Metric Spaces'. The very next year, he renounced the world and joined the Ramakrishna Mission order. Maharaj travels all over the world collaborating with mathematicians and lecturing students.

"I am very much a part of the mathematics community, my uniform has got nothing to do with it," he jokes.

Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University Vice Chancellor Swami Atmapriyananda said, "Maharaj is considered one of the brightest mathematicians in the world today. His findings and explanations are extremely sought-after globally. He is the perfect synthesis of religion and scientific quest, a breed that Swami Vivekananda wanted to establish in his Mission."  --goTop

 

4. SEWA USA delivers 150 handmade scarves, blankets to women’s shelters: On the occasion of Diwali,  Sewa USA delivered 150 hand-knit scarves and baby blankets to Chicago-based women's shelters. Sixty people from 15 states participated in the drive by knitting and mailing in their handmade items. Participants included knitting novices as well as experts and ranged from the ages of 10 to 75. In some families, mothers and grandmothers used this project as an opportunity to teach their children the art of knitting and crochet.

The scarves and blankets were delivered to Chicago's South Suburban Family Shelter (SSFS) and Connections for Abused Women and their Children (CAWC). These organizations serve victims of domestic violence by providing counseling, legal services, and emergency shelter.

"These women have been through so much suffering, and our aim is to bring warmth to their lives - both literally and figuratively," said Aparna Soni, coordinator of Knit for Sewa.

"Diwali is a time of year when we try to bring the light of love and service into our own lives, as well as the lives of others," said Sreevidya Radhakrishna, coordinator of Knit for Sewa.  --goTop

 

5. SETTING RIGHT A WRONG: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Indian National Army memorial during his recent trip to Singapore has enormous symbolic importance. He is India's first Prime Minister to pay homage there to the fallen soldiers of the INA which had been raised by one of the greatest and until recently least acknowledged freedom-fighters, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Jawaharlal Nehru had pulled out of a confirmed visit to the memorial, which was just taking shape then, during his trip to Singapore in March 1945, apparently because he was advised by people close to him, including Lord Louis Mountbatten, to do so.

This has been documented in Mountbatten's own words, sometime in 1970: "I was able to persuade him not to lay the wreath on (memorial to the) pro-Japanese Indian National Army." He went on to add that Nehru's Singapore trip minus the memorial visit was the beginning of a "deep friendship" between the future Indian Prime Minister and him. In a way, this was not surprising because Nehru over-depended on Mountbatten's advice. He also did not get along politically with Netaji, whom he perhaps saw as a formidable opponent in his political space. Nehru also held the INA in contempt, treating its members as "misguided elements" who had aligned with Fascist forces, rather than freedom-fighters. But politics should not have come in the way of paying tribute to INA soldiers who had, after all, sacrificed their lives for the country's freedom. Mr Modi has, therefore, set right a wrong that Nehru had done 70 years ago.

The foundation stone for the memorial had been laid by Netaji himself and the motto of the army he had raised was inscribed there as follows: 'Unity, Faith and Sacrifice'. How can anybody have a problem with these inspiring words? Besides, it is ironical that, while the Indian leadership maintained a distance from the INA men and women who had fought for the nation's independence, Singapore took the initiative to make the memorial a grand reality. The modern structure which Mr Modi visited came up in 1995 due to the efforts of the Singapore Government. The Indian Prime Minister's gesture was not a mere photo-op; he has set in motion a number of initiatives that demonstrates his Government resolve to re-establish Netaji Bose's pre-eminence. In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, before he arrived in Singapore, Mr Modi announced that the Indian cultural centre there would be named after Netaji Bose.

The Prime Minister's gestures come in the backdrop of his Government's decision to declassify the Netaji files - the process will begin on January 23, Netaji's Bose's birth anniversary. Mr Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party had, before coming to power, pitched for the declassification so that the country was made aware of Netaji's contributions and of what went behind the scenes to deny him his due place in the freedom struggle. Putting to rest speculation that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance regime too was set to follow in its predecessors' footsteps on the matter (that had steadfastly refused to make the documents public), the Prime Minister not just gave the date for declassification but added that there was "no need to strangle history". He observed that "nations that forget their history lack the power to create it". (Editorial, The Pionner, 26 November) --goTop

 

6. TRIBUTES PAID TO SHRI ASHOK SINGHAL WITH PLEDGE FOR RAM TEMPLE IN AYODHYA: Thousands of people from different walks of life paid rich tributes to late Shri Ashok Singhal in a condolence meeting held in KD Jadhav wrestling stadium at Indira Gandhi sports complex, New Delhi on 22nd November. Sharing his memories, RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat said that Singhal was an orator par excellence, true stalwart of hindutva movement, a good classical singer and a guiding force for all. Shri Bhagwat further stated that Shri Ashok Singhal had two resolves in life: re-building glorious temple of bhagwan Ram in Ayodhya & spreading Vedic wisdom in the world. The real tribute to him will be putting our complete strength towards fulfillment both of his resolves, he added. Others who spoke were BJP Veteran Dr Murli Manohar, JP President Amit Shah, VHP Working President Dr Praveen Togadia, and VHP President Raghav Reddy etc. Several Union Ministers, Dharmacharyas and others were present at the occasion.  --goTop

 

7.  Culture is the expression of soul of the nation: Dattatreya Hosabale: "Culture is the expression of soul of the nation. Land, people and culture give birth to a nation. For any nation, culture is the key element. Every nation has its own cultural identity. Soul of the nation is spirituality, which will get expressed in various ways", said RSS Sah-sarakaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale at India Idea Conclave, an international conference of intellectuals which was held at Panaji, Goa from November 15 to 17. Dattatreya Hosabale was addressing the gathering on "RSS and its Cultural agenda" at the conclave which was chaired by Sheshadri Chari.

Hosabale clarified that "RSS has no cultural agenda, but RSS has vision and views on Culture, which is to preserve values from practices since centuries and millennium in this nation".

India Idea Conclave was inaugurated on November 15 with inaugural address of Prime Minister of Bhutan, Lyonchhen Tshering Togbay, Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, Minister for State for Finance Jayant Sinha and Chief Minister of Goa Laxmikant Parsekar.

Dattatreya Hosbale said that the Bharatiya society has evolved a worldview over centuries, in so far as to live with other members or the society, nature. This worldview gets expressed through various activities in different departments of life. The basic understanding of this is culture and the cultural expressions are the diverse ways of doing it. It is this diverse culture that is expressed in the famous adage 'Unity in diversity'.

The RSS views that this is 'one nation, one people and one culture' and this culture is expressed in variety of ways. Culture of any nation cultured on key elements or the foundational principles of the elements makes the people a nation. Nation is formed because of land, people and culture.

A fine mix of these three gives birth to a nation and the culture is the expression of the soul of a nation. As Swami Vivekananda put it, "Every nation has its own identity, a personality, a message to deliver and that identity is the soul of a nation and expression of the soul is culture."

The diversity which we should celebrate is a unique thing and we have been repeating that there should be no uniformity. Unity is different from uniformity.

Homogenization of the cultural expression is something that any society abhors. You can't have a uniform culture for a people, particularly for Bharat as we are diverse, so-called pluralist, maybe the connotation of pluralism is different and I understand it in a different way. I generally do not use that term but because it is there in the common parlance I used the term pluralist. Then what are cultural expressions if it is not just performing arts. --goTop

 

8. SWAYAMSEVAKS RESCUE FLOOD VICTIMS IN CHENNAI: Recent heavy rains lashed Chennai city throwing normal life out of gear. The city saw severe water logging and people wading through knee deep water. RSS swayamsevaks in their respective areas carried out the relief activities. In Villiwakkam, Annai Satya Nagar, food packets were distributed to the victims. The swayamsevaks carried out the relief activity at MKB Nagar Vyasarpadi, North Chennai. They cleared the street lamp post which had fallen down and blocked the main road, thus helping in clearing the traffic. The swayamsevaks prepared and distributed food to around 400 people in Arundathi Nagar, Mettupalayam, Perambur Bhag. --goTop

 

9. PM NARENDRA MODI UNVEILS SWAMI VIVEKANANDA'S STATUE IN MALAYSIA: Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi unveiled a 12-ft bronze statue of Swami Vivekananda in Malaysia on 22nd November, saying the sage is neither the name of a man nor identity of a system but he personifies Bharat's soul.

Addressing a gathering at the unveiling of Swami Vivekananda's statue at the Ram Krishna Mission Kuala Lumpur, Modi said it was Swami Vivekananda who first gave the concept of 'One Asia' that ASEAN and the East Asia Summits are talking about.

The Padhan Mantri Modi unveiled the bronze statue of Vivekananda amid cheers from more than 2,000 Bharatiyas, most of them ethnic Bharatiya -Malaysians. --goTop

 

10. $3.2 million Hindu temple launched in Ontario: A new about $3.2-million Hindu temple has been launched in Windsor (Ontario, Canada). Known as Hindu Mandir Windsor, this 14,000 square-foot building has reportedly been raised with donations from the area community and is said to be about three times larger than the old temple.

About 1,000 Hindu families reside in the area hailing from various countries besides Bharat.

The temple along with its regular religious services, it also offered cultural and educational services in the area; including services at marriages, funerals and naming ceremonies. It also celebrated various festivals and offered astrology.  --goTop

 

11.  Australia's largest Hindu Durga Mata temple, opens in Melbourne's west: Hundreds of Melbourne's Bharatiya community joyfully raised their hands, while others raised their phones to capture the moment, as Sri Durga Temple, Australia's largest Hindu Durga Mata temple, officially opened its new building in Melbourne's west on November 30 night. Sri Durga Temple volunteer Vivek Sharma said the $4.5 million hall was the biggest Bharatiya community building in Australia. More than 95 per cent of the funds for the new building came from community donations. The temple's stone idols, weighing five tonnes in total and carved from quality marble, cost $100,000 to make and import from Bharat. --goTop

 

12. Hindu festival at home at Woodburn: When Paul Gupta asked Delaware Gov. Jack Markell to commemorate the Hindu holiday of Diwali this year, he was hoping for a proclamation - a gesture, not much more. Markell went quite a bit further, to Gupta's surprise: The governor offered up his house. That's how it came to be that a Diwali ceremony took place in Woodburn, the governor's mansion in Dover, on November 30. Although the ceremony took place a few weeks after this year's observance of Diwali, spirits were still festive among the dozens of Delaware Hindus who gathered in Dover. --goTop

 

13. BHARATIYA-American judge receives public service award: A Bharatiya-American woman judge in New York has become the first recipient of a US public service award in recognition of her contributions in the field of law.

Queens Senior Assistant District Attorney and newly elected Civil Court Judge Ushir Pandit -Durant was honoured with the 'South Asian Public Service Award' by the Office of Immigrant Affairs under Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

"It is fitting that Senior Assistant District Attorney and Judge-Elect Pandit-Durant to be the first recipient of our office's South Asian Public Service Award as she personifies the determination, strength and vitality of the Bharatiya heritage," Brown said in a statement.  --goTop

 

14.  DVD documents all ancient Jain settlements across Tamil Nadu: Six years ago, when K Ramesh Kumar, a research assistant with the French Institute of Pondicherry, climbed a hill which had abandoned Jain sites, he never thought he would go on to photo-document all the sites in the state. With the help of a team of experts from the FIP, Kumar has now produced a DVD containing more than 8,000 photographs of Jain sites for the first time. This is the first time a DVD is coming up with photographs and basic details of all the sites.

"I have documented 459 sites, including 79 sub sites, comprising structural and cave temples, rock beds, inscriptions, converted sites and stray sculptures. Special emphasis has been laid on the iconography of the 24 Tirthankaras and associated gods, Jain rituals and festivals and their role in the development of Tamil language," said Kumar.  --goTop

 

15.  Bharat test fires n-capable Dhanush missile:  Bharat successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable Dhanush ballistic missile  on November 24 with a strike range of 350 km from a naval ship off the Odisha coast. The surface-to-surface Dhanush was test fired from INS Subhadra in the Bay of Benga. It is a naval variant of Bharat's indigenously-developed Prithvi missile. Dhanush missile is capable of carrying conventional as well as nuclear payload of 500 kg and can hit both land and sea-based targets under 350 km range. It has already been inducted in the armed forces. --goTop

 

16.  Nuclear capable Arihant submarine successfully test-fires unarmed missile: Bharat's first indigenously-developed nuclear-powered nuclear attack submarine, Arihant, successfully test fired a dummy or unarmed missile. The vital first test in ejecting a missile from its onboard silos was conducted on November 25, proverbially adding a feather to the cap of the Bharatiya Navy and scientists from DRDO and BARC. The firing was done remotely from a far away location by the Strategic Forces Command (SFC), Bharat's nuclear command authority which is tasked with creating nuclear deterrence.  --goTop

 

17.  Bharatiya origin South African freedom fighter honoured: Bharatiya-origin South African freedom fighter Ahmed Kathrada has been awarded the Freedom of the City of Cape Town, becoming only the sixth such recipient in the country’s oldest city. Kathrada was a close confidante of South Africa’s first black president and global anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela. --goTop

 

18. 83% OF BHARATIYAS BAT FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: PEW SURVEY: Bharat is among the countries that have highest support for religious freedom, with eight out of 10 Bharatiyas believing that it is very important to have the freedom to practice their faith, compared to a global median of 74%, according to a survey by Pew Research Center.Non-partisan fact tank US-based Pew Research --that surveyed 38 countries and interviewed 40,786 people between April 5 and May 21, 2015 --found there is strong support for gender equality and religious freedom in Bharat. 83% Bharatiyas say it is very important to have the freedom to practice their religion compared with a global median of 74% across the nations polled. --goTop

 

19. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Saumitra Gokhale samyojak Vishwa Vibhag and Dr Ram Vaidya sah samyojak would be in Bharat for the upcoming Vishwa Sangh Shibir. Visitors: Yashwant Radia - UK, Pramod Buravalli - USA

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Go on bravely. Do not expect success in a day or a year. Always hold on to the highest. Be steady. Avoid jealousy and selfishness. Be obedient and eternally faithful to the cause of truth, humanity, and your country, and you will move the world. - Swami Vivekanand  --goTop

JAI SHREE RAM

 --

The Carrier of Multi-dimensional Ayodhya Movement

Ram Bahadur Rai

Those who were present there on that fateful day would imagine and understand how the scene at completely or reverberates when the body is of a Sanyasi Senapati (Saint Commander). This was on 18th November 2015, the Sun was to set. The body of Ashok Singhal arrived much later. People thronged the place much before that standing at places waiting for the body to arrive and have the last glimpse of their leader. Nigambodh Ghat has been witness to grief-stricken family members almost daily. It is this place from where the relatives say goodbye to their near and dear ones who have left for heavenly abode. But the day the scene was different. There was a feeling of peace and satisfaction on the each face present there. Many amongst them were such who had just heard the name of Ashok Singhal. It is well nigh impossible to gauge how enlarged that name was. In that atmosphere one friend asked: ''What was so special in Ashok Singhal?"

The word 'special' had a number of nuances – extraordinary, and unique having multi-speciality character traits. For a moment I was dumbfound on his query. I was silent. But the next moment I said to him: "This scene at Nigamboth Ghat is enough to make us understand the extraordinary personality of Ashok Singhal."

Then I remembered the incident happened during 1980s. The incident was narrated by the late Bhanu Pratap Shukla, and scripted by Ramkumar Bhramar. "Ashokji would go, address meetings, but police used to be there but could not identify him". This is essence of that incident. This was considered as a miracle. What was the secret? When asked, Ashokji said his Guru had given him a mantra that this miracle happened. This is not the only one. There are many more. Some of them I know and I was about to share them with my friend I noticed hundreds of youth marching in a martial style. This was a red letter day for Nigambodh Ghat. They were shouting slogans, one amongst them was Ashok Singhal Amar Rahe (Long live Ashok Singhal!). This was a routine slogan but that day the same slogan became very special because it had the signs and signals of history and future, history that was related to Shri Ram Janmabhoomi movement. Its roots date back to 1528. The slogans were actually salute to the departed soul. But the sound that reverberated was assuring that Ashok Singhal had given an army of youth to the Hindu society in the form of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). This can be deep sentiment also. Why should we delve deep into the past? The scene in front of me was no less historic and with this thought it became almost impossible to be a witness to that event.

The multi-dimensional feeling of Ayodhya Movement engulfed Nigambodh Ghat that day. People from every section of the society representing each strata and interest groups were present there. Famous leaders, saints, Sanyasins, Sadhu of various Akharas were there in large number, but the extensive presence of youth indicated to the future of Ayodhya Movement and it would reach its destination. Nigambodh Ghat is a crematorium. Anyone who comes here is filled though temporarily, with a feeling of detachment. That is why the saying "Shmashan Vairagya" came into existence. But there were no signs of this detachment. On the contrary there was inspiration of action pervading the atmosphere there because people had come to say goodbye to Ashok Singhal who had left a memory of action-packed life. No one remembers about large screens at Nigambodh Ghat. But this time screen became necessary because of large presence of people and leaders in the cremation of Ashok Singhal.

Ashok Singhal fulfilled three things before he left his mortal frame. Those are his legacy. Did he get a prior warning? This is a matter of perception. His life mission was clear and that is visible in all three of his acts. The importance of 30th September would be underlined in future. That day he took Dr Subramanian Swamy along with him and talked to media. He did less of the talking and allowed Dr Swamy to speak more. The talk was related to Shri Ram Janmabhoomi. That's why media was called.

Ashok Singhal was well aware with the approach and stand of the respective Central government and their Prime Ministers on Ram Janmabhoomi issue. He knew everything. His role in making Narendra Modi Prime Minister was important and known to everybody. The way he raised this issue 18 months after the Modi government took over displayed his down to earth thinking and behavior. He knew the legal hurdles in way of the temple. That is why he took Dr Swamy with him and made an announcement for a national seminar on legal aspects of the movement. The seminar whenever held would influence the public opinion. They will understand that this legal hurdle can be removed by the Parliament. Next day, he was given a rousing public felicitation on his 90th birthday. The song he delivered on the special request from Sarsanghchalak Shri Mohan Bhagwat became his last expression. That song was "yeh matribhoomi meri, yeh pitrabhoomi meri.."

The information of his third act was given by Shri Mohan Bhagwat himself in the condolence meeting. This was held on 22nd November in Indira Gandhi Sports Campus auditorium. He described how Ashok Singhal had talked to him on November 10 for an hour. He informed him of two of his life missions: 'To erect a grand Ram temple at Ayodhya' and 'to spread Vedas'. Informing this to the audience Shri Bhagwat appealed to them to adopt 'his resolve and work relentlessly to translate them into reality’. Even after a short notice senior saints, social activists, RSS, VHP workers, political leaders, ministers of Government of Bharat, BJP President Amit Shah were present. The proceedings were conducted by Shri Champat Rai. Notable presence was of nonagenarian Dr Bhai Mahavir.

Ashokji left after making these important resolves a milestone of his life. They will guide us on to the correct direction. They will be guiding posts for those who opt to walk on this road. Ashok Singhal resumed his last journey not before he put these milestones on the path. He reached Allahabad where he lived. His home is now a temple. Here he grew with the time. From here he plunged into public life in 1942 at the age of 16. That is the beginning of his public life. His life was full of simplicity, service, pursuit for truth and transforming the society. The seeds later grew into a large banyan tree.

We can look at his life from a number of angles. But he was a 'satyagrahi' to the root. He learnt his lessons in this during the August Revolution. It would have been impossible for this Allahabad youth to remain aloof from August Revolution. Ashok Singhal was a soldier of that Revolution and he had all the qualities that would make him a commander. This quality was further nursed during his stay at Banaras Hindu University (BHU). He took the path of nationalism as he joined the RSS. And that made all the difference Ashok Singhal did not look back since then not even for a moment.

Only once he was in dilemma. But that did not last long. He searched his way out for himself. That dilemma was about limitations of social service and spiritual pursuit. He was inclined towards spirituality and started pursuing it. But he overcame this dilemma and identified his mission and then whatever responsibility was befallen on his shoulders; he made that a spiritual one. This became the source of his energy. And the one who searches his own source of strength becomes energy source for others and for the society also. Ashok Singhal became one such source for others and for the society also. Ashok Singhal became one such source. Very few people know, and now their number is even less today, that he was the main driving force behind the student-youth revolution. He inspired the agitations. In Emergency he gave a slip to the police of Indira Gandhi. He assumed the responsibility of underground movement then with great precision and expertise.

The best period of his life came in 1980. Or did he select that period. That was his decision, which was approved by the RSS. He joined the VHP with a youthful mind and transformed it. This became possible because of uniqueness of his efforts and organizing skills. Everyone knows of the incident of Meenakshipuram where hundreds of families were converted into Islam. This incident became a challenge for the entire Hindu society and this would have been allowed to pass had Ashok Singhal not taken it as a challenge. He conceived of "Virat Hindu Samaj" and soon this forum became an all party forum for every sect within the Hindu society. Those nationalists in the Congress Party even thought of Ashok Singhal as emancipator of Hindu society. They too joined with the Forum. People know many such names who joined the Ayodhya movement in the initial days.

Dr Murli Manohar Joshi is right when he recalled how Ashok Singhal possessed a melodious voice and was a composer since his childhood. This composer became the music director of Bharteeyata in the entire world. He gave a common platform to different philosophies of Bharat. The way he conducted the Ayodhya movement, it became in reality a movement of national reconstruction of Bharat. Some people allege that Ashok Singhal was a divisive personality. Dr Murli Manohar Joshi says Ashok Singhal possessed the courage to speak the truth. Divisiveness is a debatable issue and if such a debate takes place it would clear the clouds and make our thoughts clear. Not only in Delhi, but also in other parts of the world Ashok Singhal is remembered as historical icon, the person who made history, the one who instilled confidence in the scared, confused Hindu society, who shook the global Hindu mind. He did not say much about self. He was beyond that self-description. He was a "Atmavilopi". He became identified with an intellectual movement more so he would be remembered as for his guidance and inspiration. He achieved a perfect balance of thought and trust. Thought breeds revolution and trust gives meaning to it. Ashok Singhal's life is merged in these two words. (The writer is renowned Hindi journalist) - Organiser Weekly, 6 December 2015. --goTop


Shri Vishwa Niketan www.shrivishwaniketan.blogspot.com vishwav@bol.net.in