Ashadha Krishna 12, Vik.Samvat 2073. Yugabda 5118: 1 July 2016
1. FESTIVALS: International Day of Yoga (IDY) was observed all over the world on Summer Solstice Day, June 21, 2016. Millions and millions of masses practiced yogic exercises not only in every village, town and city of Bharat but in almost every country of the world.
UN General Secretary, Ban Ki-moon, in a message on the eve of IDY, said: "Yoga balances body and soul, physical health and mental well-being. It promotes harmony among people, and between ourselves and the natural world," adding that the United Nations General Assembly had proclaimed June 21 as the International Day of Yoga in recognition of its "universal appeal". The event on June 21 was attended by General Assembly President Morgens Lykketoft, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information Cristina Gallach and Isha Foundation founder and spiritual leader Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, who led a simple Yoga practice.
In Bharat, as the first glint of sun's rays touched Chandigarh, the City Beautiful, on the longest day of the year, Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi led more than 30,000 yoga enthusiasts for the second International Yoga Day celebrations. An avid yoga practitioner, the Pradhan Mantri performed most of the 'asanas', along with thousands of participants, clad in blue-and-white-coloured T-shirts and black trousers. On the occasion Modi urged those pursuing yoga to focus on the subject of diabetes before the third event of the UN-recognized day is celebrated next year.
"Yoga can control diabetes if not eliminate it. This should be the main focus for the whole year," said he while expressing concern over the rising number of diabetic patients.
A 34-year old woman advocate and martial art student in Tamil Nadu, K P Ranchana, created a new world record for continuous performance of yoga asanas or exercises by continuous performance of asanas for 57 hours. More than 1,600 pregnant women in Gujarat's Rajkot city claim to have set a new Guinness record by performing a special kind of "pre-natal" yoga on IDY."Criteria of Guinness world Records were followed in order to create the new record. It required participants who would have pregnancy of at least 12 weeks. Against the requirement of 30 minutes session, the pregnant ladies in Rajkot performed yoga for 47 minutes," said Rajkot District Collector Vikrant Pandey.
In USA, the Bharatiya embassy partnered with the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) to celebrate the International Day of Yoga (IDY) at the Capitol Hill on June 18. The event at the West Lawns of the Capitol - the place where the inauguration ceremony of U.S. Presidents occurs - had various Bharatiya classical dance performances, a yoga training session, and was attended by senior diplomats including Ambassador Arun K. Singh. The event was organized jointly with the India International School.
Doha, based TV channel Al-Jazeera, interviewed French-born Noor, a convert to Islam 17 years ago who wears a face veil and is also a yoga instructor in Qatar where she teaches women-only classes. "Yoga and Islam are both very spiritual, the roots are the same, they both come from an oral tradition, through a chain of masters teaching their students how to reach God ... if yoga can help people practice their Islamic faith in a more mindful and peaceful way, then why not?"
Thirty-five-year-old Heba is a Qatari businesswoman and yoga practitioner who runs her own beauty salon. She has been practising yoga for more than 12 years. She told Al Jazeera: "In our Muslim prayer we have some common poses as yoga. These similarities made me more aware of both the practices, yoga and prayer. It helped me become calm and take my time in prayer rather than rushing it, correcting my posture ... resulting in a much more enlightening experience."
In Thailand, around 6,000 people performed yoga at the prestigious Chulalongkorn University, in the heart of Thai capital Bangkok. Most of the participants were Thai, but there were also many foreigners. The participants also included students and yoga enthusiasts.
In Singapore, Bharatiya High Commissioner Vijay Thakur Singh, led more than 4,000 multi-ethnic Singaporeans, diplomatic representatives and migrant construction workers for a 90-minute grand Yoga session. In Malaysia, Yoga Day was celebrated with great enthusiasm at several places. Malaysians from all walks of life, including Malaysians of Chinese origin, participated with great enthusiasm.-goTop
2. HSS celebrates Guru Vandana across the United States: A total of over 740 teachers participated in Guru Vandana celebrations across the United States. 255 teachers from Southwest zone, 190 teachers from West Coast zone, 150 teachers from Midwest zone, 84 teachers from South East zone, and 60 teachers from East Coast zone participated. Number of principals and school superintendents also participated across the country.
In Abhimanyu shakha of Schaumburg, IL, students from the ages of 5 to 13 created and displayed posters covering various aspects of Hindu dharma, including yoga, Ayurveda, and Hindu contribution to the sciences among others. In the Houston area, teachers were exposed to the rich performing arts culture of Bharat, truly highlighting the importance of a well-rounded education. At Anand shakha in the Dallas area, teachers were given a history lesson thorough a skit presented by Baala gana on Shivaji Maharaj and his relationship with his first guru, his mother. In today's world the shaping of the next generation of leaders and greats lies in the hands of our school teachers, nurturing and educating our children so they can succeed and help others to do so. Guru Vandana 2016 has been a successful step in showing our appreciation for these modern day gurus.-goTop
3. First batch of women fighter pilots: Creating history, the first batch of three female pilots - Avani Chaturvedi, Bhawana Kanth and Mohana Singh were inducted in Indian Air Force fighter squadron on 18th June at Hyderabad.
On successful completion of their training, the trio was formally commissioned by Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar. Being the first to break barriers, they were the cynosure of all eyes at the parade in their immaculate turnout. Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi congratulated the freshly commissioned pilots saying that it is a matter of immense pride & joy to see the first batch of women fighter pilots being inducted in our Air Force. -goTop
4. RASHTRAPATI COMPLIMENTS NRIS: Rashtrapati Pranab Mukherjee attended a reception for the Bharatiya Community in Windhoek, Namibia on June 17. Addressing the community, the President complimented NRIs for being hard working and law abiding citizens in the country of their adoption. He urged them to do their utmost for Bharat and the country they live.
The President said Africa has a special place in the mind and hearts of every Bharatiya. The father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi made his experiments with truth and non-violence in South Africa. Rashtrapati Mukherjee also visited Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire before where he addressed Bharatiyas living those nations.-goTop
5. Largest Karma dance: During a recent event in Madhya Pradesh, 3,049 people registered their spot in the Guinness book of world records on June 16 for performing largest Karma Naach dance ever. The people took part in the dance to celebrate the culture and history of the Gond tribes of central Bharat.
Organized by district administration association, the participants formed 61 large circles of 50 people and performed the traditional tribal dance in spectacular synchronicity. In accordance with the Guinness World Records guidelines, the choreographed Karma Naach dance continued for a minimum of five minutes.-goTop
6. ISRO launches record 20 satellites: Bharat successfully put into orbit its own earth observation satellite Cartosat-2 and 19 other satellites, including one belonging to the Google company Terra Bella, USA, on June 22nd morning. With this, Bharat successfully completed yet another multiple satellite launch in a single rocket mission. Exactly at 9.26 am, the PSLV rocket standing 44.4 metres tall and weighing 320 tons tore into the morning skies with fierce orange flames at its tail.
Gathering speed every second, the rocket raced towards the heavens amid loud cheers from ISRO officials and the media at the rocket port at Sriharikota. At the rocket mission control room, Bharatiya space scientists at ISRO were glued to their computer screens watching the rocket escaping the Earth's gravitational pull.
Soon after the launch, a beaming ISRO Chairman A S Kiran Kumar said the mission was a success and that the new-generation Cartosat was in place. The rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle's (PSLV) main cargo was Bharat's 725.5 kg Cartosat-2 series satellite for Earth observation with a design life of five years.
The images sent by Cartosat satellite will be useful for cartographic, urban, rural, coastal land use, water distribution and other applications. -goTop
7. INA REUNION IN KUALA LUMPUR: Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose's bronze bust was unveiled at the Subhash Chandra Bose Indian Cultural Centre in Kuala Lumpur on June 18.10 war veterans out of 35 invited, attended the ceremony. 90-year old frail soldier from the Rani of Jhansi regiment of Netaji's army, Meenachee Perumal brought the entire audience into a poignant yet rapturous state, when she broke into a patriotic song of the Azad Hind Fauj. Then, thousands of men and women of Bharatiya descent from the Malaya Peninsula, Myanmar, Thailand and even Philippines, who had rushed to join Netaji's struggle for Bharatiya Independence, retreated, hopes shattered of crowning their nation Bharat with glory. Dr K R Somasundram, while recounting his days as the young INA soldier, said he made several attempts with previous Bharatiya governments to do something to keep Netaji's memories alive in Malaysia. It was PM Narendra Modi who gave his nod to renaming the ICC after Netaji during his visit to Malaysia last year, he said. According to him, Netaji was inextricably woven into the history of Malaysia, what motivated Bharatiya High Commissioner Tirumurti to set out to bring out the INA war veterans of Malaysia. "And the unveiling of Netaji's bust gave me this unique opportunity to bring the veterans all together," he said.
Two women warriors of the Azad Hind Fauz reminisced how Netaji created one of the most inclusive, harmonious and unified force from Southeast Asia, with people from all faith joining him. Janaki Bai Fateh Singh, Second Lt of INA's Rani of Jhansi regiment, moved the gathering with her tender and touching memories of colleagues Josephine and Stella, who fell to British bullets in the jungles of Myanmar.
This was the refrain of Rasammah Bhupalan too, who said there were no religious barriers or class distinctions in Netaji's army. At 16, she was drawn to Netaji's clarion call to shed the security of home and give her everything for the cause of a free Bharat. -goTop
8. YOGA BECOMES SPEARHEAD OF BHARAT'S SOFT POWER PUSH IN SOUTHWEST CHINA: In a school hall in Dujiangyan - the home of Taoism - hundreds of young people, from all parts of the country, elbowed for mat space, to soak in from an authentic Bharatiya master, the finer points of Yoga, which has become the new spearhead of Bharat's soft-power push in China.
From a stage, an energized and profusely sweating Yoga master Zubin Zarthoshtimanesh, hollers into his microphone: "This is not Kung Fu, but yoga," upbraiding a visiting enthusiast for striking an angled pose that the ancient Bharatiya art of holistic wellness did not permit.
Master Zubin's words and tone, in matching decibels and pitch, were translated in real time into Chinese by Tian Yan, a qualified yoga instructor in her own right. This was Ms. Tian's second outing with Bharatiya masters in Dujiangyan. Last year too, in celebration of the first international yoga day, she had bridged the communication divide between the English speaking yoga gurus and fitness conscious students, more attuned to their native mandarin than a foreign tongue.
"We have no dearth of students, but finding good teachers is a big problem," says Wu Haixia. Ms. Wu is the general manager of the Sacred Yoga and Dance Company, in Chengdu, a major city in southwest China.
Ms. Wu says that during the two day yoga festival she hopes to forge business partnerships with some of the visiting Bharatiya yoga teachers. "The presence and guidance of masters from Bharat, the sources of yoga, would elevate our business to an altogether new level," she gushes excitedly.-goTop
9. CARIBBEAN JURIST SUGGESTS THAT YOGA CAN CURB VIOLENCE IN SCHOOL SYSTEM: Acting Chief Justice of the Caribbean Court of Justice, Justice Rolston Nelson wants the Trinidad's Ministry of Education to introduce yoga in the school system to curb school violence and indiscipline.
Justice Nelson was delivering the keynote address at the launch of International Yoga Day set for June 21 which took place at the Trinidad Hilton Hotel on 13th June.
Nelson noted that yoga enriches the body with peace and harmony. "It is very important in these days of great stress. We would see why such benefits are important. Those of you who watched the news for the last 24 hours would see how the mind can become diseased...it can suddenly explode and cause great destruction".
Deoroop Teemal, chairman of the International Day of Yoga Committee of Trinidad and Tobago (IDYCTT) and HSS Trinidad Sanghachalak pointed that research has shown that if the body is kept in a certain position for prolonged periods, "it works on certain centers of the brain" which can address stress and anger among students. Bharatiya High Commissioner, Shri Gauri Shankar Gupta said that the Government of Trinidad and Tobago is partnering with the Ministry of Health, the United Nations Organizations and the IDYCTT. -goTop
10. ISRO scientist creates drawing kit for blind: Dilip Bhatt, a senior scientist with ISRO has created a visionary device for his son Nikunj, whose sight is impaired. Bhatt's 'Pragya,' considered to be the world's first drawing device for blind people, has won many national and international laurels.
"We learnt along with him. Blind people's world is limited to six dots of braille and I wanted to change that," Bhatt said. "With my mechanical engineering background, I started looking at ways I could teach him geography and language."
Bhatt took a 1.5 x 1.5 feet wooden board and pasted velcro on it. He then designed a pen that would release woollen thread. The thread sticks to velcro, providing a tactile canvas. Once the 'drawing' is complete, the person can roll the thread back on to a spool on top of the pen. Pragya secured international patent in 2000.-goTop
11. 177TH DEATH ANNIVERSARY OF MAHARAJA RANJEET SINGH OBSERVED IN PAKISTAN: A special ceremony in connection with 177th death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh, the founder of the Sikh empire, was held in Gurdwara Dera Sahib on June 29 at his mausoleum in Lahore. Singh was a former Sikh ruler of the united Punjab region under British colonial rule. 448 Sikh yatrees, who went from Bharat specially for this purpose, performed their special rituals "Bhog Akhand Paath Sahib" in the Gurdwara. Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) Chairman Muhammad Siddiqul Farooq, Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) Chairman Tara Singh, Bharatiya Sikhs Group Leader Gurmeet Singh and others participated in the ceremony. -goTop
12. 'DEVELOPMENT NEEDED, BUT IT SHOULD BE WITHIN LIMITS' - At an event to commemorate three years of the Uttarakhand tragedy, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said on 17th June that the development policies should also include traditional knowledge, expertise of the past and "maryada (limits)".
The RSS chief said there should be coordination between 'maryada', science and traditional knowledge and called for viewing development with a new perspective.
Former Uttarakhand chief minister and Hardwar MP Ramesh Pokhriyal "Nishank" demanded a separate development policy for the region.
The BJP's Buxar MP, Ashwini Choubey, whose own family members were killed in the devastating flash floods and who had organized this event, demanded a whitepaper on how the Uttarakhand government utilised the fund. Senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi and Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Prakash Javadekar also spoke at the occasion. -goTop
13. BRAHMOS MISSILE INTEGRATED WITH SUKHOI FIGHTER: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) created history on June 25 when it conducted a test flight of a 2,500kg supersonic BrahMos missile integrated with a Sukhoi SU-30 MKI aircraft at its airport in Nasik. The first carriage flight of Su-30 MKI aircraft with BrahMos missile went up at 2.30pm and was in the air for 45 minutes. "It is a perfect example of the `Make in India' initiative and an engineering marvel in the country's aviation history," HAL chairman and managing director T Suvarna Raju said. The integration of BrahMos on the Su-30 MKI gives "a lethal weapon delivery platform" to IAF, he added.-goTop
14. BHARAT PERMANENT MEMBER OF MTCR: Bharat on June 27 became a permanent member and joined the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) as the thirty-fifth nation to become the member. Bharat's entry into the regime would be mutually beneficial in the furtherance of international non-proliferation objectives.-goTop
15. 293% JUMP IN TOURISTS AVAILING E-VISA TO BHARAT: More than 4.34 lakh foreigners availed the facility of e-tourist visa on arrival to Bharat in the first five months of this year. This marked a growth of 293% in comparison to the number of tourists that visited the country using the facility during the same period last year.
Till last year, citizens of only 43 countries could avail e-tourist visa but the central government has now extended the facility to 150 countries.
In terms of availing an e-tourist visa on arrival, US ranks at the top with 18.52% of total visitors, followed by UK with 15.63% and China with 8.17% visitors, according to the tourism ministry.-goTop
16. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Ravikumar ji sahsamyojak Vishwa Vibhag is on a tour to Thailand. Dr Shankarrao Tatwawadi, former samyojak Vishwa Vibhag is on a tour to UK for attending Sanskruti Mahashibir.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: The degree of freedom from unwanted thoughts and the degree of concentration on a single thought are the measures to gauge spiritual progress. - Ramana Maharshi -goTop
JAI SHREE RAM
THE FORGOTTEN SAINT
Kumarajiva, a seer and scholar, widely known for translating Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit to Chinese played a major role in the dissemination of Buddhism and its philosophical ideas in China. Kritika Dua talks to Shashibala, curator of an art exhibition titled The Life and Legacy of Kumarajiva based on her research
Kumarajiva was born out of wedlock to a Kashmiri father and a royal princess of Kucha (a kingdom on the Silk Route). Kumarajiva was successful in creating a new terminology for Chinese people because parallels of some Sanskrit terms were not available. He translated the texts and led a strong foundation of Buddhism in China. Major Buddhist scriptures translated by Kumarajiva include Diamond Sutra, Lotus Sutra and Brahma Net Sutra among many others. His commentary on Vimalakirtinirdesasutra is important for understanding his thoughts. Through his translations many monk-scholars, philosophers, artists and devotees could seep in the Buddhist philosophy. Murals, reliefs and sculptures et al were created on its basis and a trans-cultural renaissance ushered in East Asia. His legacy has steeped into Japan also. Till date, devotees gather in huge amount and chant sutras translated by him in various temples and monasteries.
The photo exhibition titled The Life and Legacy of Kumarajiva is like the home coming of this great philosopher where one can see the unadorned landscape of the places he visited, splendid murals from the caves and other sacred objects, manuscripts of sutras and royal personages who were big devouts. The exhibition shows facets of his scholarly journey and episodes that led him to spread teachings of Buddhism. The exhibition was showcased at India International Centre and was curated by Shashibala.
When asked about the inspiration which made her choose Kumarajiva for her research work, Bala recalled, "My father was passionate about inspiring Indians to be aware of their own glorious heritage and history. I read about lives and contributions of great Indian teachers who sacrificed their lives for spreading Indian spirituality and philosophy, secular sciences, systems of administration, language, literature, and arts beyond the political boundaries of India. To establish peace, harmony and kindness and in the course of it enlightening others for preservation and promotion of transcendental values. The world cannot be run without value systems. There was a cultural renaissance in Asian countries." She added, "Our forefathers have not recorded a large part of the cultural history of India. And if it was done, it could not reach us maybe due to being destroyed (during foreign invasions). Kumarajiva's life and works have been recorded by many people but our historians have not consulted them. Moreover, this chapter (on Kumarajiva) is not included in our school books. We Indians need to be proud of our cultural history, Sanskrit and its contribution to the world. So I chose to work on outstanding teachers like Kumarajiva and Atisha."
This profound research work has been the result of forty years of sheer hard work. The exhibition is just a small aspect of it. She conducted her research in 2011 when she organised an international conference combined with an exhibition. Many scholars and institutions cooperated and participated in the conference to present their research papers and sent photos to her. She herself travelled on the Silk Route in search of the heritage. Sharing some of the difficulties she faced, she said, "I have been doing all my research without finding sources for funding. So I have to work under financial pressures. I am not a skilled photographer and there were no sources for paying one. So whatever I have documented from various countries does not have high resolution demanded by many publishers."
She explained that her work is not for self achievement but for preservation, promotion and dissemination of knowledge about India's forgotten cultural history. "Many institutions have recognised my research which is done with dedication. At least now I am in a position that they accept the invitation to organise events related to the area. You can say that publication of all my books and research papers in India and abroad is my achievement", said Bala.
Her work is her passion and her mission is to make people aware of Kumarajiva and his vital contributions to the world. When asked about where does she see herself standing, Bala reflected, "Seeing the level of my own standing is a reflection of ego and self-centeredness which not my aim of life. It is up to others to judge."
She is happy to see that all the people and scholars from all over the world whom she met during conferences, lectures, teaching assignments and who use her books and research papers and have been part of conferences have recognised the academic standard of her work.
(Daily Pioneer , June 27,2016) -goTop
5 LESSONS I LEARNT IN JAIL DURING EMERGENCY
VINAY SAHASRABUDDHE
We realised Indians had an unflinching faith in democracy.
Forty-one years before, in 1975, I was a young college student in Pune's Sir Parshurambhau (SP) College. Just about a week after our classes had started, we learnt about the imposition of the Emergency.
Many like me who were active in students' movement - part of the ABVP to be specific - were duly warned by our parents asking us to stop activism. However, although on a fairly low key, the ABVP continued its functioning and we too engaged ourselves in membership campaigns and training programmes.
From October onwards that year, a nationwide non-violent protest started and many participated in satyagraha. Many of our senior activists were already put behind the bars. Those who were not jailed were actively preparing for satyagraha.
Senior ABVP workers in Pune appealed to all of us to prepare ourselves for offering satyagraha and facing imprisonment. Although our spirits were really high, we had to prepare ourselves to offer satyagraha. I was staying with my uncle and he already had issued a very stern warning to me. But ultimately, the determination built in our minds by our seniors prevailed and on December 31, I participated in a satyagraha in our college campus.
In many ways it proved to be a thrilling experience.
We were emboldened by the realisation that we are working for a cause. But there was also an element of drama in it as we actually started sloganeering and demonstration.
Ours was the fifth batch of young satyagrahi students demonstrating in the campus of SP college. All previous batches had at least three-to-four female students, and in the absence of woman constables at that time, demonstrators could get a neat half-an-hour to deliver fiery speeches, shout slogans and sing songs of democracy and patriotism.
Incidentally, when we demonstrated, there were only about half-a-dozen woman constables present in the campus. But they were helpless as ours was an all-men batch of satyagrahis and they refrained from touching us.
They had to wait for arrival of their male colleagues and that gave us enough time to shout slogans condemning prime minister Indira Gandhi and her tyrannical regime. Immediately after arrest, we were taken to court and after about three appearances in court in a span of two weeks, we were sentenced to imprisonment for six weeks.
In the Yerwada jail, some 200 satyagrahis who were already awarded jail terms of varying durations were waiting to receive us. We all enjoyed those 45 days. This brief imprisonment taught us many lessons, five of them were most important.
Firstly, we learnt that whenever one is required to take a personal risk for a lofty ideal, collective resolve helps mitigate apprehensions. We were all college students coming from middle class families. We could gather whatever little or great courage that was required, thanks mainly to our collective resolve.
Courage and conviction is important, but if the conviction is collective, courage converts itself into a natural resoluteness. That helps one to get into a catch-the-bull-by-the-horns mode. The first lesson that we learnt was about the criticality of togetherness.
The second lesson was about assessing individuals. While in jail, although for a very brief period of 45 days, many of us read several books. But more educative was reading personalities. We realised that while behind bars, one gets to know a fellow inmate completely, in and out.
Many who had a very respectable image in the society betrayed their mean-mindedness while facing adverse conditions in jail whereas apparently very ordinary karyakartas showed exceptional large-heartedness.
Jail helps you acquire a distinct insight to understand personalities. Whatever that glitters may not always be gold was lesson number two that the brief jail term taught us. However, the reverse of it - many ordinary-sounding activists could prove to be great in many ways - was obviously a more important realisation.
The third thing that we learnt was about the importance of limited wants in one's personal life. Facing a jail term teaches you the art of living with extremely limited resources. Those in our barrack from a wealthy family were accustomed to a particular set of environments and could not live without them.
Naturally for them, it was much harder to spend time behind bars. Of course they braved all adverse conditions with smiles on their faces, but then it was not difficult to make out how and why things were so harsh for them.
In comparison, many of us from the lower middle classes could easily adjust and limit their requirements and enjoy the fruits of sharing. Simplicity, about which hardly anything is discussed these days, is a great value. It was a significant lesson we learnt in jail.
Two other lessons that we learnt were important in the context of public administration. A mere 45 days in jail made us acutely aware of how inhuman our prison system was. Prisons in India have in fact become factories of criminals.
Prison management requires a thorough overhaul and successive governments have unfortunately ignored this urgent need. Unless we introduce fundamental reforms in prison management, success in reducing the number of grave crimes is difficult, if not impossible.
But the most precious and inspiring lesson was the last, taught to us by the tyranny of Emergency. And that was about the great popular commitment to democracy.
Hundreds of those who were singing paeans to the Emergency either out of conviction or for convenience, openly congratulated and complimented us for our courage after we came out of prison even while the Emergency was still on.
Indians have an unflinching faith in democracy not just because the Constitution gave it to us but because democracy is truly in our blood. It is true that our political democracy is important but not enough as we are yet to achieve social and economic democracy, as rightly emphasised by Babasaheb Ambedkar.
But it is equally true that our political democracy and more importantly, our commitment to the philosophy of democracy emanates from the spiritual democracy that we as civilisation have enjoyed for centuries together. It is this innate strength that ultimately helped the people of India reject authoritarian rule lock, stock and barrel.
(http://www.dailyo.in/politics/emergency-indira-gandhi-democracy-br-ambedkar-indian-constitution-satyagraha/story/1/11404.html) -goTop
Shri Vishwa Niketan vishwav@bol.net.in www.shrivishwaniketan.blogspot.com
