Bhadrapad Purnina, Vik.Samvat 2073. Yugabda 5118: September 16, 2016
1. FESTIVALS: Onam celebrations: The festival falls during the Malayalam month of Chingam (Aug-Sep). In Keral, the festival is celebrated with several cultural elements such as Vallam Kali, Pulikali, Pookkalam, Onathappan etc. The birthday of Sri Padmanabhan, the presiding Deity of Thiruvananthapuram, is on the Thiruvonam day in the month of Chingam. Thiruonam day is the most important day of Onam which falls on 14th September this year. Onam is also the harvest festival celebrated in Kerala by farmers. Like other harvest festivals celebrated in other parts of the country, Onam too has some special rituals, delicacies and traditional celebrations attached to it.
The first and the tenth day of the 10-day festival are considered the most important day. Celebrations begin from early in the morning and people celebrate Thiru Onam with a prayer at home or a temple. The floral carpet called Onapookkalam is made out of flowers entire inside the house or in the courtyard on all the ten days of Onam. Onam Sadya, the feast better known as Onam sadya is served on banana leaves. It consists of 26 dishes including sweets and other delicacies. -goTop
2. DIVERSITY IS BHARAT'S STRENGTH, NOT A PROBLEM: BHAGWAT: Stating that Bharat's diversity was a matter of "celebration" and not a "problem" as outsiders consider it to be, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghchalak Shri Mohan Bhagwat on 11th September urged the people to celebrate the festivals of all the religions to "strengthen" the unity of the country. He said people with "petty minds" divide the world on the basis of colour, language etc. And hence, Bharatiyas should strive to spread the message of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' (the world is one family).
He was addressing a gathering at the Siddhi Vinayak temple in Dandiya Bazaar locality in Vadodara on the occasion of Ganesh Utsav.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was present on the occasion. Bhagwat was felicitated on his 66th birthday in the presence of prominent personalities including Gujarat Minister of State for Sports Rajendra Trivedi and city Mayor Bharat Dangar. However, the RSS chief told the people that he was not in favour of birthday celebrations. -goTop
3. 'Global Peace Leader' and 'Global Peace Ambassador': Indresh Kumar, member All Bharat executive of RSS has been bestowed the most coveted 'Global Peace Leader' and 'Global Peace Ambassador' awards by the Thailand-based World Alliance of Buddhist Leaders on 3rd September at Bangkok. On the occasion he said: "Bharat and Thailand share close and historic relations and both sides will help each other in social and cultural development with mutual admiration". His visit signifies the important step in spreading the humanitarian ideology of the organization and thought process at an international level starting with Thailand, which shares its cultural heritage with Bharat. He also had meetings with workers from all the branches of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh in Thailand. Speaking at Chamber of Commerce, Indresh Kumar said that the main objective of the embassy should be to take care of its people in the foreign land. It is supposed to behave like the parents caring for their children, he explained while commenting on the role of Bharatiya diplomatic mission abroad. -goTop
4. ABAP Silver Jubilee celebration: With a pledge to make all efforts to ensure quick, affordable and satisfactory justice to the last man of the society, the Silver Jubilee celebration of Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad (ABAP) formally began in New Delhi from September 7. The legal fraternity all over the country joined the celebrations.
Addressing the opening ceremony Union Minister of Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad appealed to the lawyers associated with the Adhivakta Parishad to come forward for defending the human rights of the victims of violence. "Today it has become a fashion to defend the human rights of terrorists and separatists, while nobody thinks about the human rights of the innocent children, wives and family members of those who are killed by the enemies of humanity", he said. He also stressed the need to debate whether the educational institutions, which receive monitory aid from governments, should be allowed to enjoy the benefits of religious reservation.
Manan Mishra, president of Bar Council of India, BJP Rajya Sabha MP and national general secretary Bhupendra, Additional Solicitor General, Government of Bharat, ABAP organising Secretary Joydip Roy, National president of the Parishad Vinayak Dixit also addressed the gathering. -goTop
5. Trinidad Observes Ganesha Festival: Hindus in Trinidad and Tobago celebrated the annual festival of Lord Ganesh Ustav from September 4 to 15. Hindus flocked to 300-plus temples, along with private and other public places, to seek Bhagwan Ganesh's blessings and guidance in all their spiritual and material undertakings. Bhagwan Ganesha Murtis, constructed from clay or mud, were worshipped and submerged in the ocean at the end of the celebrations. There has been an upsurge of young people participating in the observance. Trinidad and Tobago is a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society with 44 per cent of the 1.3 million populations belongs to Bharatiya origin. -goTop
6. GANESH UTSAV IN USA: Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh inspired Saraswati Shakha of Chicago Vibhag celebrated Ganesh Utsav in Grays Lake Hindu Mandir, IL on Saturday, on Sept 10th. Dr. Savita ji Joshi, and Dr. Joshi ji and Mr. Manoj ji Bhat from Mandir Trust were instrumental in this event. Pooja place was decorated by beautiful rangoli and deepaks. Aparna ji Verma from Art of Living started the event with few Ganesh Bhajans while Vikram ji Gokhale started Pooja in Shastrokt chanting while Yashaswini ji explained the importance of each step and spiritual way in our lives and relevance in today's lives. About 50 people participated in the pooja.
Abhimanyu Shakha of Schaumburg - Illinois also organized Ganesh Puja during Shakha on Sep 10th. Around 90 people including kids assembled to perform Ganesh Puja. All families brought Ganesh idol and puja items. Manish ji Joshi conducted the puja and explained the meaning of each shloka. Both parents as well as kids enjoyed the puja. -goTop
7. Malaysia: Celebrating BHAGWAN Ganesha's birthday: Devotees converged at the Sri Sakthi Karpaga Vinayagar Temple in Jalan Berhala in Brickfields to celebrate the birth of the Vinayagar or Ganesha as he is commonly known. For over 50 years, the temple has led the chariot procession on the streets in Brickfields as devotees throng the place to catch a glimpse of Lord Ganesha as it is considered highly auspicious. Temple president S.K.K. Naidu said more than 10,000 devotees participated in the day-long festival. The Brickfields Karpaga Vinayagar temple however is considered special because of its rarity. Karpaga Vinayagar is the 33rd form of Lord Ganapathy and his trunk is curled towards his right, a rare depiction. In his hand is the Shiv Linga, a form of Lord Shiva. -goTop
8. WITH 11,000 VOLUNTEERS, RSS QUIETLY MAKES ITS MARK ON BIHAR FLOOD RELIEF: Quietly and unobtrusively, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) is making its mark among the Bihar flood victims.
Activists of six RSS affiliates, namely, Sewa Bharati, Ganga Samagra, Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, Bajrang Dal, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and Vishwa Hindu Parishad, have fanned out in the state's flood-hit districts to provide relief including food, medicines and survival apparatus to the victims. "About 11,000 of our workers are in the service of the flood victims. We have reached out to about 66,000 victims so far. We are supplying them food packets and medicines every day", said Amarendra Kumar Singh of the RSS who is in overall charge of relief operations. -goTop
9. WHO CERTIFIES BHARAT YAWS AND MATERNAL & NEONATAL TETANUS FREE: Bharat officially received certificates from World Health Organisation (WHO), declaring the country yaws and maternal and neonatal tetanus free. The certificates were presented to Union health minister JP Nadda at the 69th Session of the WHO regional committee for south-east Asia region held in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Bharat is the first country to be officially acknowledged as being yaws-free. Bharat was validated for maternal and neonatal tetanus elimination in April 2015, much ahead of the global target date of December 2015.
The elimination of tetanus as a public health problem means that in Bharat, the annual rate of maternal and neonatal tetanus is now less than 1 per 1000 live births. -goTop
10. Deepa Malik first Bharatiya woman to win Paralympics medal: Deepa Malik, a 45-year-old wheelchair-bound adrenaline junkie, from Gurgaon made history when she became the first Bharatiya woman to win a medal at the Paralympics, Rio. Her throw of 4.61m won her silver in the shot put F-53 event. "I want to use this medal to support women with disabilities in Bharat. This journey has been wonderful for me and my entire family. I am proud to be the oldest athlete in the team and win a medal," Deepa said immediately after she won the medal. A mother of two and wife of an Army officer, Deepa is a vocal spokesperson for paraplegic rights in the country with her Ability Beyond Disability movement. -goTop
11. DEVENDRA JHAJHARIA - 1ST BHARATIYA TO WIN 2 PARALYMPIC GOLDS: Devendra Jhajharia, 36-year-old javelin thrower, who had lost his left arm below the elbow after being electrocuted as an eightyear old, won the second gold medal of his career in the Paralympics, creating history for Bharat. The native of Rajgarh in Churu district of Rajasthan improved on his own world record of 62.15m -set in Athens in 2004 when he won his first gold -in men's F46 category with a throw of 63. The state government announced a cash award of 75 lakh, a residential plot and agricultural land to him. -goTop
12. 'Swadesh Darshan' projects worth Rs 450 crore get govt nod: The government has approved projects worth about Rs 450 crore under 'Swadesh Darshan' scheme for five states, including Uttar Pradesh. The scheme was launched with an objective to develop 13 theme-based tourist circuits, have been identified for development, namely North-East Bharat Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Himalayan Circuit, Coastal Circuit, Krishna Circuit, Desert Circuit, Tribal Circuit, Eco Circuit, Wildlife Circuit, Rural Circuit, Spiritual Circuit, Ramayana Circuit and Heritage Circuit in the country and the approval for five was given in a meeting of the central sanctioning and monitoring committee (CSMC) on September 5.
'Ramayana circuit' in Uttar Pradesh envisages development of two destinations - Chitrakoot and Shringverpur and it also includes Ayodhya with a project cost of Rs 70 crore was approved. 'Heritage circuits' in Madhya Pradesh which covers Gwalior-Orchha-Khajuraho-Chanderi-Bhimbetka-Mandu and Uttarakhand covers "Jageshwar-Devidhura-Katarmal- Baijnath" with costs of Rs 100 crore and Rs 83 crore, respectively. 'Coastal circuit' in Tamil Nadu with a cost of about Rs 100 crore and envisages development of Chennai-Mamamallapuram- Rameshwaram-Manpadu-Kanyakumari. The 'North East circuit', with cost of Rs 95.50 crore, in Sikkim and it includes development of eco log huts, cultural centre, paragliding centre, craft bazaar, base camp for mountaineering and meditation hall. -goTop
13. INSAT-3DR ANOTHER FEATHER IN ISRO'S CAP: Scripting success on the maiden operational flight of its heavy-duty rocket fitted with the indigenous cryogenic upper stage, Bharat on September 8 launched its advanced weather satellite INSAT-3DR onboard GSLV-F05 from the spaceport at Sriharikota.The 49.13-metre tall rocket lifted off from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 4.50 pm, majestically soared into the skies and injected the 2,211-kg INSAT-3DR into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit about 17 minutes later.
INSAT-3DR, with a designed mission life of ten years, will provide service continuity to earlier meteorological missions and further augment the capability to provide various meteorological, search and rescue services. GSLV-F05 also marked a hat-trick of success for the indigenously developed complex cryogenic upper stage (CUS) after GSLV-D5 (January 2014) and D6 (August 2015) missions, which had launched GSAT-14 and GSAT-6 satellites into precise orbit. -goTop
14. ABVP SWEEPS DUSU 3RD TIME: Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) bagged three of the four seats in the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) elections.
The ABVP won the post of president, vice president and secretary. The post of joint secretary went to Congress National Students' Union of India (NSUI). Amit Tanwar was elected as the president of DUSU while Priyanka Chabri won vice president's post. Ankit Sangwan and Mohit Garid have been elected as secretary and joint secretary respectively.
Meanwhile, the students' council elections also took place in 44 colleges where Congress-affiliated NSUI won the five-member panels in 33 colleges while the ABVP emerged victorious in 11 colleges. -goTop
15. MAJULI: NATION FIRST ISLAND DISTRICT: Hopes were afloat in the shrinking and sinking river island Majuli on September 8 after the BJP-led Assam Government upgraded it to a full-fledged district. With this, Majuli, known as the largest river island in the world becomes the first and only island district in Bharat. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal also held a meeting of his Cabinet at the island on September 8, which unanimously resolved to take several steps not only to develop the island but also to boost conservation of the rich cultural heritage, eco-system, flora and fauna, which are under threat due to rampant soil erosion every year.
The island, which comprises only 352 sq km of landmass now, has already lost over 50 per cent of its landmass due to erosion since 1950. Known as the top seat of neo-Vaishnavite culture propagated by 15th century saint and reformer Srimanta Sankardeva, Majuli had remained backward due to long neglect by subsequent Governments at Dispur. The island had also lost 43 of the total 65 Vaishnavite Satras set up by Sankardeva and his disciple Madhavdeva. -goTop
16. Three Bharatiya-origin students honoured by Michelle Obama: Three Bharatiya-origin students were honoured at White House by Michele Obama during the National Student Poets Program on September 8. Maya Eashwaran, Gopal Raman and Maya Salameh were among the five students felicitated by US first lady for their poetry skills. Stella Binion and Joey Reisberg were the other two students.
Maya Eashwaran attracted a sizeable audience at the when she narrated a poem that shared her experience as an immigrant and how it was painful to replace her mother tongue Tamil with English. "I have lost more than I have ever lost in sixteen years. I have started shedding ethnicity like hair: Mother, I fear I'll go bald," Maya, 17, concluded reading her poetry "Ma, I haven't spoken in three years" amidst applause from the audience. -goTop
17. United Nations charter can now be read in Sanskrit: Bharatiya diplomacy has witnessed a very interesting development on September 7. For the first time the most important charter that binds the assembly of nations i.e. the United Nations, has been translated into Sanskrit. This is the very first attempt at translating such an important international document into one of Bharat's most fundamental and oldest languages. The translation work was promoted by the National Mission for Manuscripts in Bharat. In particular, the work was pioneered by Dr.Jitendra Kumar Tripathi. -goTop
18. Christian priest, nuns visit Ganesh festival at RSS karyalaya in Mangaluru: On the occasion of Ganesha Chaturthi, Christian priest and Director of the Infant Jesus shrine Fr Elias D'Souza and nuns from Santa Cruz Convent visited Ganesh festival organized by Sangh karykartas. They paid homage to Lord Ganesh at Sangha Nikethan at Mangaluru. Speaking on the occasion, Fr Dominic, the former director of the shrine said, "Bharat is the only country having unity in diversity. The development of the country is possible only through harmony between the religions." Earlier, functionaries of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh visited the Infant Jesus Shrine at Bikarnakatte and invited the Carmelite priests and the Catholics of the city for the upcoming Ganesha Chaturthi celebration. -goTop
19. Florida Cancer Center launching 'Mindfulness Yoga for Cancer' program: Cancer Center of Martin Health System (MHS) headquartered in Stuart (Florida) is offering a six-week "Mindfulness Yoga for Cancer" program starting September 19. This free program uses techniques such as mindfulness meditation, yoga and stretching, breath awareness and body awareness. Kim Romer and Nancy Aldrich are the facilitators. According to US National Institutes of Health, yoga may help one to feel more relaxed, be more flexible, improve posture, breathe deeply, and get rid of stress. According to a recently released "2016 Yoga in America Study", about 37 million Americans (which included many celebrities) now practice yoga; and yoga is strongly correlated with having a positive self image. -goTop
20. Thousand year old Hindu Shiv linga discovered in Thailand: Phra Kru Supakittayaporn, the honorary abbot (priest) of Wat Nang tra (temples) in the Tha Sala district of the province said that the discovery came into light during a construction work in the temple recently. While digging down the grounds, the workers discovered the symbol along with an ancient jar and 20 pieces of Buddha coins. The shiva linga measures 1 meter long, a base diameter of 47 cm. It has flowers carved in Tawaravadee style. The sculpture is still in good shape. The Fine Arts Department director, Anat Bamrungwong believes that these artifacts date more than thousands years old. -goTop
21. SANSKRIT DAY CELEBRATIONS: THE CONNECTING FACTOR: The celebration of Sanskrit Day on August 26, 2016 at Royal University Cambodia connects the bridge between the two countries. Sanskrit Diwas was first observed in the year 1969. The day is celebrated to spread awareness about the mother of all Bharatiya languages and the first of the ancient languages spoken in Bharat. But for the first time this programme was held with the efforts of Bharatiya embassy and Prof C Upender Rao. Prof Rao is now on ICCR chair as a visiting professor in Cambodia. The program was held in Royal University of Phnom Penh, on August 26, 2016.
An excellent video on 'Sanskrit Activities in Cambodia' was displayed on this occasion. Prof Rao said 'Sanskrit is the bridge' between two countries Bharat and Cambodia. He said that he had found many Sanskrit inscriptions in Cambodia.
Dr Chet Chealy, the Rector, RUPP, Phnom Penh, who was the Guest of Honour on the occasion, said that Royal university of Phnom Penh wanted to develop Sanskrit language. He described Sanskrit to be the richest language in the world. Then N Sitlhou, the first Secretary from Bharatiya Embassy, Phnom Penh explained how Sanskrit is the connecting factor between the two countries. Vote of Thanks was presented by Chunteng Hun from Khmer studies. -goTop
22. Temple Doors Opened for SCs: It was a historic day for the people of Scheduled Castes in Jakkuva village under Mentada Mandal of Vizianagaram district Andhra Pradesh on September 5. The people who were denied entry into temple by some people on May 3, 2014 entered into the temple with leading saint Swami Srinivasananda and performed puja happily.
Deeply pained over the incident in 2014, the Samajik Samarasata Vedika (SSV) formed a committee to investigate into the matter. During the last two years, the Vedika supported the SC's to get benefits from the Government. Now involving the leaders of various parties including the TDP, BJP and YSRC, the SSV ensured the entry of Dalits into Ram Temple on September 5.
Under the leadership of Swami Srinivasananda, head of North Andhra Sadhu Parishad, the people of SC community along with other villagers entered the mandir chanting Jai Sri Ram. Later, the status of Mahatma Buddha, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Dr. Ambedkar were unveiled by zonal convener of Samarasta Vedika K Shyam Prasad, Pujya Srinivasananda Swami, RSS Kshetra Karyavah Dusi Rama Krishna etc. -goTop
23. VIGYANA BHARATHI HELD WORKSHOP ON UPCOMING HABITAT III GLOBAL SUMMIT: Vigyana Bharathi, an NGO, organised a national workshop on 'Sustainable Development of Coastal Habitats in India' at Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) in Hyderabad, on August 29 - 30. This two day workshop was aimed at bringing various agencies and experts from different fields related to habitat and climate change on one platform to discuss holistically about Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), climate change and Bharat's response for Habitat III, an upcoming global summit to be held in Quito, Ecuador on 17-20 October 2016.
Sri Jayanth Sahasrabuddhe, national secretary of Vigyana Bharathi, explained the back ground of this conference and further actions that the contemporary global thinking about how human settlements has influenced to a great extent by development in last two years.
The conference concluded with remarks made by Sri Dr Saraswat, member of Niti Ayog, stressing on the need for prioritisation of essential needs of coastal belts for an effective human habitats. The two day workshop was attended by Dr Saraswat, Sri Sathish Shenoy, director at INCOIS, Sri Vivek Pai, secretery of Vigyana Bharathi, Mayuresh, research officer at Habitat Lab, Mumbai and scientists working in INCOIS, IIT Hyderabad, Ocean studies also participated. -goTop
24. Yogalates among 1200 new words in Oxford dictionary: Yogalates, the trend of combining Pilate's exercises with the postures and breathing techniques of Yoga, is among 1,200 new entries unveiled in the latest edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). Michael Proffitt, the chief editor of the OED, said the latest update confirms the OED as one of the largest and longest-running language research projects in the world. -goTop
25. BHARATIYA-AMERICAN WOMAN TO BE FEDERAL JUDGE IN NY: US President Barack Obama has nominated Diane Gujarati, a Bharatiya-American woman attorney, to serve on the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York. "I am pleased to nominate Diane Gujarati to serve on the United States District Court bench. I am confident she will serve the American people with distinction," Obama said.
She has been Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division of the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York since 2012. -goTop
26. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: RSS sahsarkaryavaha Bhagaiah ji is on a tour to USA and Canada. Ravi Kumar, Vishwa Vibhag sahsamyojak will tour Japan and Hong Kong. Dr Ram Vaidya, sahsamyojak is on a tour to Nigeria, Secretary Sewa Internaitonal Shri Shyam Parande is touring USA, Guyana and Suriname and Trinidad. Visitors: Darshan Soni, Jignesh Borisa-USA, Sunil Pala, Suraj Taylor, UK.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: He who is rich in the knowledge of the Self does not covet external power or possession. - Upanishadas -goTop
JAI SHREE RAM
A TRIBUTE TO DEENDAYAL UPADHYAYA
Anirban Ganguly
In his centenary year, it is worthwhile to remember and pay tribute to the fact that it was primarily due to Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya's leadership that the Baharatiya Jana Sangh struck deep roots in the Indian political soil and spread across the country
In 2016, his centenary year, it is worthwhile to remember and pay tribute to the fact that it was primarily due to Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya's leadership, during a challenging and crucial phase, that the Baharatiya Jana Sangh struck deep roots in the Indian political soil and spread across the country. In shaping post-independent India's political evolution and in imparting it a distinct direction, Upadhyaya's contribution has been unparalleled and epochal. He joins the rank of Syama Prasad Mookerjee, BR Ambedkar, Ram Manohar Lohia and Jayaprakash Narayan as leaders who envisaged and aspired to shape an alternate polity and politics.
Yet, had it not been for the political party he worked to establish in India's national life or for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), to whose vision he had dedicated himself early in life with the aim of organising and re-vitalising the Hindu samaj, Upadhyaya would have been largely forgotten, subjugated by the multiple narratives that celebrated the one 'Pandit', who dominated Indian politics post-independence and whose legacy has been officially celebrated and patronised for decades.
Upadhyaya was essentially a political-philosopher, who brought back into the Indian public life and public lexicon, words that described the nation as a pulsating entity - an entity which possessed an identity-soul - chiti and whose frame was infused with virat, like the physical body was infused with prana. Just as prana infuses strength in various organs of the body, refreshes the intellect, and keeps body and soul together, argued Upadhyaya, "so also in a nation, with a strong virat alone, can democracy succeed and Government be effective." Such articulations brought back into the post-independent Indian polity, a tone that was in consonance with her intrinsic civilisational temper and worldview. While articulating the inner layers of a nation and the civilisational faith in its sacrality, one did not see Upadhyaya hesitate or become apologetic.
Yet, such a deep analysis did not evolve out of a narrow or constricted reading of political philosophy and thought. Upadhyaya's reading and his effort and quest in trying to understand the currents of world thought and the evolution of society and mankind's aspirations for models of society and development, was impressive as it was wide and prolific. In his comparative analysis of two thinkers "Deendayal and Marx", one of the avant-garde thinkers of the nationalist narrative, Dattopant Thengdi (1920-2004), for example, records Upadhyaya's readings.
It must, however, be noted that Upadhyayaji was well conversant with all the thought-currents of the West. Apart from Marxism, (and different versions of revisionists - from Eduard Bernstein to Josip Broz Tito) he was very well acquainted with the direct or indirect social experiments of Robert Owen, Joseph Fourier and Étienne Cabet; theories of Saint Simon: Socialist militancy of Gracchus Babeuf; agrarian socialism of O' Connor; proletarian socialism of O' Brien, 'minority conscience' theory of Blauqui; evolutionary socialism of Louis Blanc: The 'self-help' doctrine of Schulze- Delitzsch; and 'true socialism' of the German trio, Bruno Bauer, Moses Hess, and Karl Grun. He had also studied Lassalle, Sismondi, Lamennais and Proudhon. He had critically analysed all the pre and post-Marxian European thought-systems ranging from capitalism to anarchism and including all the varieties of 'socialism.'
While he exposed and immersed himself in examining the realm of Western thought and civilisational alternatives, Upadhyaya "had an additional advantage of being closely acquainted with different streams of traditional Indian thought. He had fully grasped the implications of the term 'Dharma' which is the characteristic gift of Hindu seers to humanity." It was this training that led him to evolve an Indian matrix of political thought through which he would ceaselessly try and evaluate, re-evaluate and re-state the Indian position and direction. By shaping a political philosophy that was essentially a quest to evolve a political framework and movement inspired by the Bharatiya civilisational ethos, Upadhyaya unleashed the possibilities of evolving a political discourse that was inspired by indigenous thought-roots of India. Unlike other political ideologies which had no roots in the Indian thought-evolution and which primarily derived inspiration from foreign frameworks and paradigms, the vision of integral humanism - or humanness, as propounded by Upadhyaya, sprung from the fountains of Bharatiya thought and aspirations. Post-independence, when models for India were being volubly debated often bordering on the raucous, when the dominant attitude was that of importing and grafting onto Indian conditions, models that were predominantly experimented with in the West, Upadhyaya displayed a spirit that was not overawed by the achievements or dominance of the West.
Instead, he chose to question, examine, analyse and weigh the viability, the success and the shortcomings of each proposition. He was not, as some have preposterously argued, opposed to Western science, instead he pointed out like many of his ideological and spiritual colleagues and mentors from the RSS, that while Western science was universal and needed to be absorbed if one were to move forward, the same could not be said to be true of the Western way of life and of its values. Upadhyaya refused to equate modernisation with Westernisation and in that, he was way ahead of his times and of the period when societies across the world would increasingly aspire to go back to their roots of identity which had seen gradual dilution due to a process of 'modernisation' read 'Westernisation.' The post-modern phenomena of seeking out the origins of identity and on that primal foundation to re-interpret and re-direct the march of collectivities was closely analysed by Upadhyaya long before the process had actually gained momentum and credence.
More importantly for the Indian contex, Upadhyaya spoke of dharma rajya, as a state, where inequality and divisiveness was eradicated. An economic system and a Government must be able to provide food, clothing and shelter and must "enable the individual to carry out his obligations to society by properly educating him" and in the event of "an individual falling prey to any disease, society must arrange for his treatment and maintenance" he argued. For him, a Government which was concerned with these was a Government which worked out the rule of dharma - otherwise it reflected the rule of adharma. Upadhyaya argued, basing himself on the Indian civilisational vision and framework of governance, that "Being responsible for the maintenance, protection and education of his subjects", the ruler was their true father. (The Pioneer, 7th September 2016. The author is Director, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Foundation, New Delhi) -goTop
Shri Vishwa Niketan vishwav@bol.net.in www.shrivishwaniketan.blogspot.com
