SAMVAD
Margshirsha Shukla 2, Vik. Samvat 2073.Yugabda 5118: 1 December 2016
1. FESTIVALS: Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti Guru Gobind Singh, born Gobind Rai on Paush Shukla Saptami, December 22, 1666, was the 10th Sikh Guru, a spiritual master, warrior, poet and philosopher. When his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was beheaded for refusing to convert to Islam, Guru Gobind Singh became the tenth and the last living Sikh Guru. His four sons died during his lifetime, two in battle and two executed by the Mughal army.
Among his notable contributions to Sikhism are founding the Khalsa in 1699 and introducing the Five Ks, the five articles of faith (Kesh, Kangha, Kara, Kirpan and Kachhera) which Sikhs wear at all times. Guru Gobind Singh also continued the formalisation of the religion, wrote important Sikh texts, and enshrined the scripture the Guru Granth Sahib as Sikhism's eternal Guru.
The 350th birthday function of the 10th Sikh guru will be held at Takht Sri Harmandir Sahib Ji in Patna, his place of birth, on January 5, 2017. Lakhs of Sikh pilgrims from across the world are expected to attend the event. -goTop
2. K SURYANARAYANA RAO PASSES AWAY AT RIPE AGE OF 93: One of the most senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) pracharaks K Suryanarayan Rao (93), popularly known as 'Suruji', passed away in Bengaluru on November 18 at 11.11 pm at Sagar Apollo Hospital. He was suffering from old-age illness since last few weeks. He was serving as RSS pracharak since last 70 years. Born on August 20, 1923, in Bengaluru he became an RSS pracharakin 1946. He was one amongst the first batch of three RSS pracharaks from Karnataka along with late HV Seshadri and RSS veteran Champakanath, under the guidance of late Yadav Rao Joshi, the Sangh pioneer in Karnataka.
Sarasanghachalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat, Sarakaryavah Bhaiyyaji Joshi, Sah sarakaryavahs Dattatreya Hosabale and other senior RSS functionaries expressed deep condolences on the demise of K Suryanarayan Rao. -goTop
3. HSS JAPAN CELBRATES DEEPOTSAV: HSS Japan celebrated "Deepotsav" along with many other Bharatiya organizations on Oct28. It was second year for such Diwali celebrations in Tokyo and was attended by more than 2,200 guests (one third Japanese). It was an authentic Diwali celebration providing unique experience and best way for cultural exchange with the host community. Some highlights of the event were Ladies& other art lovers exhibited art of Rangoli, kids designed lamps (many wrote a message for BharatiyaArmy soldiers) and both Japanese &Bharatiyaartists performed their respective classical dance and music etc. The event was graced by Deputy Governor of Edogawa. -goTop
4. LOKMANTHAN 2016 (Colloquium of 'Nation First' Thinkers and Practitioners) was held in M P Vidhan Sabha Parisar, Bhopal from 12 to 14 Nov 2016, which was jointly organized by Dept of Culture - Govt of Madhya Pradesh and PrajnaPravah. It was attended by around 700 participants. About 50% of them were youths from selected Institutes of repute from all over Bharat, from 22 states, from Kutchh to Kamroop and Kerala to Kashmir.Around 100 performers gave stunning memorable performance.The exhibition was a big attraction. It was open to public and thousands came to watch it.
The topics covered in Lokmanthanwere from the concept of Rashtriyatato North-East and JK-Laddakh.The total number of speakers was around 125. The participants were overwhelmed by the rich intellectual contents of the sessions. -goTop
5. RSS'S VISION WILL BE THE VISION OF THE COUNTRY IN FUTURE - BHAGWAT: Addressing the volunteers in Bhilwara on 27th November, RSS chief Dr Mohan Bhagwat said that RSS's vision was for the overall development of humanity and the world and this was going to the be the vision of the country in future.He asked the Sangh workers to work with dedication to take the country to new heights and to make the nation prosper. "Solution to the problems will be there when the society is made good and this is the vision of the RSS," he said. He said that when the Sangh's work will expand, the society will grow and prosper.
Bhagwat was speaking at a function held on the concluding day of his four-day visit to Bhilwara. Other leaders and functionaries of the organisation were also present in the meeting which was attended by close to 10,000 volunteers who were clad in the new uniform.-goTop
6. LIFE OF GURU GOBIND SINGH MOTIVATES TO RISE AGAINST AUTOCRATS: HAMID ANSARI: While delivering the inaugural address at the International Seminar on 'Guru Gobind Singh: Life and Legacy' Upa-RashtrapatiM. Hamid Ansari said, "Guru Gobind Singh ji's life resonates with a universal message that showed the masses can be motivated to rise against tyrants; that there can be no political unity without social cohesiveness; and that religious bigotry and intolerance have no place in the multicultural tapestry of this land." Upa-Rashtrapatiji said that the repeated harassment and persecution of the still nascent Sikh identity led the Guru to organize the Sikhs into a martial order.
The seminar was organized by Bhai Vir Sahitya Sadan in collaboration with India International Centre in New Delhi on November 25. The former Pradhan Mantri, Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Arun Jaitley and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion. -goTop
7. PROF VED NANDA, CHIEF GUEST IN UNIVERSITY OF DELHI€™S 93rdANNUAL CONVOCATION: About 666 doctoral degrees, 37 DM/M.Ch. and 181 medals were awarded to the students of Delhi University at the convocation ceremony held on 19thNovemeber.
The chief guest at the convocation Prof. Ved P. Nanda, an internationally renowned jurist, John Evans University professor, Thompson G. Marsh Professor of law and director of the Nanda Centre for International and Comparative Law, University of Denver, USA, in his convocation address emphasised on the importance of interdisciplinary education and said, "For too long in academia, we have built silos as each discipline jealously guards its own turf. Instead, what is needed in today's knowledge-based world are insights from multiple perspectives. For example, at the University of Denver offer several programmes for graduate students combining law and business, law and international relations etc."
Prof Nanda, an alumni of Faculty of Law, Delhi University has served as a president of the Faculty of law student union and subsequently as the first president of Delhi University Student Union and was a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad. He also taught at Delhi University. -goTop
8. VEDANTA SOCIETY OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CELEBRATES TEMPLE RE-DEDICATION: The original temple of the Vedanta Society of Northern California, which was dedicated by its builder, Swami Trigunatita, in January, 1906, as being "The first Hindu Temple in the Whole Western World", was rededicated on October 29, 2016, the Holy Kali Puja day, after a two year period of strengthening and reconstruction. Formal worship was offered to Sri Ramakrishna, to the Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, to Mother Kali in an image copied from a Belur Math image, and to Swami Vivekananda.
Swami Girishananda, the manager of Belur Math and a trustee of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, was the chief guest, and Swami Devapriyananda did the puja assisted by Swami Aparananda as the Tantra-Dharaka. On the next day, October 30, from 1 PM until 6 PM, in the New Temple auditorium, a public celebration was held, starting with a 45 minute audio-visual PowerPoint presentation on the history and significance of the Old Temple, with many photographs of Swamis and events associated with its century-long history. -goTop
9. SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR CONFERRED DR NAGENDRA SINGH INTERNATIONAL PEACE AWARD for his constructive efforts to ensure world peace. Griha Mantri Rajnath Singh gave away the Award at a function at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on November 19. Rajnath Singh said that Sri Sri Ravishankar is harbinger of peace and has made potential contribution in preserving Bharatiya culture. The Dr Nagendra Singh International Peace Award has been founded in the memory of Dr Singh, the first Bharatiya judge at the International Court of Justice. -goTop
10. SONAM WANGCHUK FROM LADAKH GETS ROLEX AWARD FOR ENTERPRIS - four visionary women and six men from nine countries - of Rolex Awards for Enterprise presented in a ceremony held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on 15 November.The 2016 winners include a polar scientist, a robotic suit designer and an eye specialist who wants to save millions of people from going blind. Other winners have projects as diverse as technology to stop hunger and conservation initiatives to save species and habitats. Sonam Wangchuk, 50, Bharat - is a mechanical engineer and educationist who is solving the problem of a lack of water for agriculture in the desert landscapes of the western Himalayas by building "ce Stupas". Named after Buddhist monuments, these conical ice mounds behave like mini artificial glaciers, slowly releasing water in the growing season.Hundreds of luminaries, leading scientists, environmentalists and business people from Los Angeles and abroad gathered to celebrate the spirit of enterprise demonstrated by the winners chosen in this commemorative 40th year of the Rolex Awards.Each Laureate receives 100,000 Swiss francs (US$104,000) to advance their project; a Rolex chronometer and worldwide publicity for their projects. -goTop
11. THE PRINCESS OF SANSKRIT: The princess of Thailand, Maha Chakri Sirindhorn was presented with the maiden World Sanskirt award, for the year 2015 by Upa-Rashtrapati M Hamid Ansari at the Pravasi Bhartiya Kendra in New Delhi on November 21. "Honoured and humbled to receive the first award instituted by ICCR. It's a great honour to receive it from the Upa-Rashtrapati of the country. The Thai language is very different from Sanskrit. But culturally its very similar," she said after receiving the award that comprises US$ 20,000 (Twenty Thousand US Dollars), a Citation and a Lapel Pin.
An eminent scholar of Sanskrit, Pali, cultural and historical studies, the princess is keenly interested in epigraphy and has been a patron of Sanskrit studies in Thailand and propagation of Sanskrit. Upa-Rashtrapatiji said, "Sanskrit encompasses one of the largest literatures of any language, and incorporates the sacred literature of three of the world's major religions."
Professor George Cardona from the University of Pennsylvania received the award for the year 2016.She has singularly been responsible for making the University of Pennsylvania a centre of Sanskrit learning in North America. -goTop
12. IIT-KHARAGPUR IN TOP 100 OF GLOBAL RANKINGS: Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur has been ranked as the top institution in Bharat by QS Employability Ranking for the year 2017. This is the second consecutive year that the country's oldest technology school has bagged the award. It has featured in the range 81-90, which is the highest rank among Bharatiya institutions. Three hundred universities from across the world had participated in the exercise. IIT-Kgp is the only Bharatiyainstitution in the top 100. The institute, which gives degree to nearly 2500 students each year, maintains a successful track record of placement for students from the graduating batches enrolling for campus placement.
The top three universities ranked globally are Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tsinghua University. IIT-Kharagpur has been ranked among the peers such as University of Warwick, University of Calgary, University of Washington and others.The other Bharatiya institutions among the top 200 are IIT-Bombay, IIT-Delhi, IIT-Madras, IIT-Kanpur and University of Delhi. -goTop
13. TRUMP PICKS BHARATIYA AMERICANS: Donald Trump, the US President-elect has named South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley as US Ambassador to the UN.The 44-year-old Bharatiya-American Ms Haley isthe first non-white female cabinet-level official appointed within the Trump administration. Born Nimrata Randhawa, she studied in the US and married Michael Haley (with ceremonies both at the church and in a gurdwara) and got into public life, eventually rising to the post of Governor of South Carolina. Trump has named yet another PIO Seema Verma, founder and CEO of health policy consulting firm SVC Inc., to serve as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in the US. "She has decades of experience advising on medicare and medicare policy.." President-elect Ronald Trump said. -goTop
14. CANADA'S NEW RESIDENCY POINTS PLAN: Bharatiya studentsin Canada, wishing to obtain permanent residency after studies, will benefit from a revision in the calculation of points under the Express Entry Program (EEP), as their education will fetch points. Currently, there are nearly 50,000 students from Bharat and their numbers are growing. "Previously, those applying for permanent residency could earn up to 150 points based on their educational qualifications. The only advantage for those who had studied in Canada was nothaving to prove the equivalency of their degrees. Under the new system, applicants (foreign students) with a Canadian educational credential, will get up to 30 additional points. This will strengthen their profile in the express entry pool for better chances of selection against other applicants," explains Ontario-based TalhaMohani, immigration law expert and MD at Migration Bureau Corp.-goTop
15. BHARATIYA STUDENTS IN THE US AT RECORD HIGH: Bharat accounted for the largest growth in students in the US for the second year in a row. The number of Bharatiya students studying in the US soared by 25% to a record high, figures from 2015-2016 show. The 2016 Open Doors data says students contribute more than $5.5bn (£4.4bn) to the American economy. A total of 165,918 students are now studying in the US, up from 132,888 in 2014-15, the report says. It is released by the Institute of International Education (IIE) in collaboration with the US State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. -goTop
16. USA: LOCAL ORGANIZATION HIGHLIGHTING A TREND IN HINDU AMERICAN COMMUNITY SERVICE: Hindu American Community Services Inc. (HACSI) started seven years ago as a way of helping the homeless and providing resettlement services for the roughly 1750 or so Bhutanese Hindu refugees living in the Baltimore-DC region. Today, some 30 community groups - temples, social organizations, dance schools - are affiliated with HACSI in preparing 4,500 meals a day on 24 days in a year there. The practice of selfless service, or seva, has helped HACSI draw from a large volunteer pool. HACSI has been recognized by the local interfaith community for its work in helping others. The Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan DC awarded them with their prestigious Bridgebuilder Award in 2013. -goTop
17. WORLD HINDU ECONOMIC FORUM: US Congressman Ed Royce, chairperson of the powerful House Foreign Relations has told a global meeting of Hindu businesses and entrepreneurs in Los Angelesthat the economic reforms unleashed by Bharat would not only boost its growth but also accelerate the Indo-US relationship.
The top Republican Congressman was speaking on "the contribution of Hindu entrepreneurs to US economy" at the World Hindu Economic Forum in Los Angeles recently.Into its fifth annual event, the World Hindu Economic Forum is an effort to bring Hindu entrepreneurs from across the world together, said its media coordinator Sushil Pundit.Nearly 500 delegates from across five continents have gathered in Los Angeles to cooperate and collaborate globally and help each other with market access, technology, innovation, and competitively priced capital for success in business.Prominent among the participants at this three-day conference were Mohandas Pai, Gururaj (Desh) Deshpande, VandanaTilak and MukeshAghi. Founded by Swami Vigyananand, the previous WHEF meetings have been held in Hong Kong (2012), Bangkok (2013), New Delhi (2014) and London (2015). -goTop
18. SINDH PROVINCE IN PAK CRIMINALISES FORCED CONVERSIONS:Legislators in Sindh passed a law on November 24 making "forced conversions" punishable with a life sentence and forbidding minors from changing their religion, a bid to protect minorities in the conservative Muslim country.The billalso mandates a 21-day waiting period for any person who wants to convert. "It is necessary to criminalise forced conversions and provide protection for those who are victims of this abhorrent practice," an excerpt of the bill reads. The law bans anyone under the age of 18 from changing their religion. It calls for a minimum sentence of five years and maximum of life imprisonment for anyone found to be forcing people to convert. "It is a historic law we have carved and passed. This will end the plight of minority Hindus, who will feel more protected now," Nand Kumar Goklani, a Hindu legislator and author of the law, said. -goTop
19. PAK GURUDWARA REOPENS IN GURU NANAK€™S BIRTHPLACE: A pre-partition gurudwara, GurudwaraKiyara Sahib in Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Sikhism's founder Guru Nanak, has been reopened in Pakistan's Punjab province. Thousands of Sikhs gathered in Nankana Sahib to attend the festivities on the 548th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak on November 14 when it was reopened by ETPB chairman SiddiqulFarooq.Farooq also laid a foundation stone of a memorial of Bhai Mardana, a close associate of Guru Nanak, in Nankana Sahib. The main event of Palki was held in Gurudwara Janamasthan Nankana Sahib, 80 kms from Lahore, in which more than 15,000 people mostly Sikh pilgrims from Bharat (2,100), US, Canada, Britain and other European countries participated. -goTop
20. SWAYAMSEVAKS JOIN RESCUE WORKS IN TRAIN TRAGEDY NEAR KANPUR: RSS swayamsevaks rushed in for the rescue works, helped local police and NDRF staff when Indore-Patna Express Train had derailed at Pukhrayan near Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, on November 20. The swayamsevaks also helped in admitting the injured passengers at the LalaLajpat Ray Hospital at Swarup Nagar. RSS Akhil Bharatiya Bouddhik Pramukh Shri Swantaranjan and RSS Kanpur Prant Pracharak Shri Anilvisited the accident site and met the injured passengers at the Hospital. Nearly, 128 people died and over 100 got injured in the tragedy. RSS has expressed deep condolences to thepassengers who lost their life in this major train tragedy. -goTop
21. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Dr Manmohan Vaidya, Akhil Bharatiya prachar pramukh will return from his tour to Austalia, New Zealand and Fiji. Shri Anil Oke, sahvyavastha pramukh, Saumitraji Gokhale, Ravikumar and Dr Ram Vaidya shall reach Kenya for Vishwa Sangh ShikshaVarg. Visitors: Dr Ved Nanda - USA, Mukund Parmar and Vadukar - UK
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Faith is the one essential thing. God exists. He is very near us. Through faith alone one sees Him. - Sri Ramakrishna. -goTop
JAI SHREE RAM
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HOW INDIANS TRIUMPHED IN AMERICA
America needs to consider what it might lose if it curbs the influx of clever, hard-working, entrepreneurial Indian immigrants
IN THE early 20th century just a few hundred people emigrated from India to America each year and there were only about 5,000 folk of Indian heritage living in the United States. That was more than enough for some xenophobes. A government commission in 1910 concluded that Indians were "the most undesirable of all Asiatics" and that the citizens of America's west coast were "unanimous in their desire for exclusion".
Today Indian-born Americans number 2m and they are probably the most successful minority group in the country. Compared with all other big foreign-born groups, they are younger, richer and more likely to be married and supremely well educated. On the west coast they are a mighty force in Silicon Valley; well-off Indians cluster around New York, too. "The Other One Percent" is the first major study of how this transformation happened. Filled with crunchy analysis, it exudes authority on a hugely neglected subject.
India's diaspora is vast, with 20m-30m people spread across the world from the Caribbean to Kenya. In colonial times many moved as labourers after Britain abolished slavery in 1833, to build the east African railway, for example. In the 1970s a second wave of workers went to the Gulf during the oil boom. Perhaps the least well known flow of Indians abroad is the one to America. It picked up after 1965, when American immigration rules were relaxed, and surged after 1990. Three-quarters of the Indian-born population in America today arrived in the last 25 years.
Like all immigrant groups, Indians have found niches in America's vast economy. Half of all motels are owned by Indians, mainly Gujaratis. Punjabis dominate the franchises for 7-Eleven stores and Subway sandwiches in Los Angeles. The surge in Indians moving to America is also intimately linked to the rise of the technology industry. In the 1980s India loosened its rules on private colleges, leading to a large expansion in the pool of engineering and science graduates. Fear of the "Y2K" bug in the late 1990s served as a catalyst for them to engage with the global economy, with armies of Indian engineers working remotely from the subcontinent, or travelling to America on workers' visas, to make sure computers did not fail at the stroke ofmidnight on December 31st 1999.
Today a quarter or more of the Indian-born workforce is employed in the tech industry. In Silicon Valley neighbourhoods such as Fremont and Cupertino, people of Indian origin make up a fifth of the population. Some 10-20% of all tech start-ups have Indian founders; Indians have ascended to the heights of the biggest firms, too. Satya Nadella, Microsoft's boss, was born in Hyderabad. SundarPichai, who runs Google, the main division of the firm Alphabet, hails from Tamil Nadu.
The authors of "The Other One Percent" have been careful to avoid the trap of explaining Indians' success in America through their particular culture. Instead they argue it is "at its core a selection story". Indians cannot walk across a border to America. Because of the filters of caste, class and a fiercely competitive education system, only those with above average financial and human capital get the chance to move to America. Most have travelled either as students or holders of H1-B working visas, which require a university degree, and then acquire residency. This visa system acts as a further filter.
Despite the light that the authors' data-driven approach casts on this little-known story, there are some disadvantages. One is that it leaves little scope for exploring the dark side of India"s diaspora. Readers keen to peek at the underbelly should buy "The Billionaire's Apprentice", by Anita Raghavan, which was published in 2013. It is a brilliant account of the insider-trading ring that led to the downfall of Rajat Gupta, the former boss of McKinsey, a consulting firm. Fittingly he was pursued by a much-admired prosecutor of Indian descent.
But the authors do touch on the most fascinating question of all: how this gilded corner of the diaspora influences India itself. Diplomatic relations between the two giant democracies have long been testy. But in other realms the bond has grown closer. The stars at the pinnacle of American society are celebrated back in India alongside rather un-American figures such as spin-bowling masters and Bollywood maidens. The American-educated children of India's governing elite probably helped push India to open up its economy in 1991. The tens of billions of dollars of income earned in America by India's big technology firms is crucial for its balance of payments. And a new generation of entrepreneurs who have led a boom in e-commerce in India in the last five years are almost all American educated, or have worked for American technology firms.
If, under its new president, America clamps down on immigration, the mutually beneficial movement of Indians will surely slow - they were the largest group of new immigrants in 2014, exceeding even arrivals from China and Mexico. That will be a loss, both to America and to India. In this new era of populism, "The Other One Percent" is a rigorous, fact-based analysis of how cross-border flows of brainy and ambitious people make the world a better place. Politicians and policymakers in both America and in India should make sure they read it. This article is a review of the book "The Other One Percent" by SanjoyChakravorty, DeveshKapur and Nirvikar Singh, as appeared in 'The Economist' - Nov, 26th 2016. -goTop
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SRI SURYA NARAYANA RAO - AN IDEALOGY PERSONIFIED
V.Shanmuganathan
(Hon'ble Governor Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh)
At the very mention of the name, Mananeeya K.Surya Narayana Rao, one cannot resist the increasing awe and respect which begins to grip one's mind
Ever since Mananeeya K.Suraya Narayana Rao set his foot on the soil of Tamil Nadu in the early 70's, he became one of the most admirable leaders of the Sangh, not only for his wits and wisdom but also for his magnetic personality. He was a kind person, courteous, generous and filled with abounding good nature but, sturdy, virile, tall and well built like a soldier. He came to be called affectionately as 'Suruji' by the entire Sangh fraternity in the south.
As far back as one could remember, Suruji had been the same, his voice soft and kind, whether in praising or reproving, his manners efficient and unruffled despite the daily emergencies in the Sangh work. He galvanized the entire Sangh machinery in the south and brought order and dignity to the Sangh by his mere presence.
He set an example not by mere preaching and propaganda but by his own inspired action The very fact that he learnt to read and write in Tamil within a short span of time showed his grit of determination to serve the people of the state. Starting his work in Chennai, he travelled relentlessly all over Tamil Nadu in pursuit of the Sangh activities.
His narration of the life of Swami Vivekananda had always been soul stirring. His own way of articulating a subject with a powerful diction, narrating skills with a dramatic voice was never lost on anyone who heard him. His speech used to penetrate the minds of his listeners to undertake a life in the service of the mother land. One of his famous quotations from Swami Vivekananda was "Have faith in yourself and God". One can never forget the inspiring way in which he would talk to the Sangh Karyakartas about Sri Guruji Golwalkar. Whether it was about Guruji as a disciple of Swami Akandananda or Sri Guruji with Dr.Hedgewar or Sri Guruji as Sarsanghchalak or Sri Guruji and the Kashmir problem, he could transport his audience as if to that far off actual history. His emotional description of his personal experiences with Sri Guruji and that of Sri Guruji's letter to him had always been a very interesting part of his life.
He was a brainchild of Sri Yadava Rao Joshi and came to Tamil Nadu as Saha Kshetra Pracharak in the year 1970. All the karyakartas at that time used to imagine him like the actual Sun God and themselves as the horses of his chariot. So much was the inspiration infused by him upon his workers, they had gained a great clarity in their conviction, motivation to dedicate themselves for further hard work. He went on to become an unquestionable leader by of his qualities, courtesy and kindness. He was a friend, philosopher and guide and a Sanghadhikari, all in one and was accepted rather naturally by all the Karyakartas. It was as though he was a heart of the Sangh and the rest of us being its face. He was the last person to place his Karyakartas in a chain of obedience, but on the contrary, allowed everyone the utmost freedom of independent action. Preferring to keeping himself away from the limelight he projected hundreds of others to light and glory. Although we were not exposed to any underground activity during the 'Emergency' of 1975, he prepared our minds to carry on the works of the Lok Sangharsha Samiti to organise the masses for democratic values. He made us courageous and resolute to face all kind of exigencies. He then organised the Satyagraha Movement against the dictator. He did everything through us. He made us to contact the industrial workers, textile mill labourers, farmers, traders, students and almost everyone of the society. We enlightened the people through pamphlets and booklets and when it reached them, the entire population was awakened and reacted against the state of emergency.
After the removal of Emergency, he focused his entire attention in strengthening the organisation by building up shakas and inculcating values among the karyakartas. During the early 80s, he made us to contact the intellectuals of Tamil Nadu and also the social and spiritual leaders. That was the time when we came in to contact with Swamy Chidbhavananda, Justice Krishnaswamy Reddyar, industrialist Dr. Mahalingam (Pollachi) and journalist Cho. Ramaswamy. He was able to protect our dalit brothers during the Meenakshi Poram 'Mass Conversion' incident. He also made a special effort for the Gangajal Yatra. During the Yatra, he asked me to contact Mr. Vishwanathan, brother of Mr. Kakkan (an ex minister in Kamaraj's cabinet), belonging to the dalit community to carry the gangajal water for abhisekam in the final programme with lakhs of people from Madurai and Rameshwaram
Sri.Suryanarayana Rao was accessible by everyone. He used to interact with all types of people. He was a caring person and showed concern to everyone. He lived his life with one mission. He served our Hindu Rashtra in a beautiful manner, wholeheartedly and with a free mind and complete joy. He was an undaunted personality. His spirit of dedication attracted everyone. He was a disciplinarian. Every morning, he did exercise and practised yoga. He recited the shlokas from The Gita. Till the last minute of his life, he worked hard. His life was full of resilience. He showed enormous courage. He was very bold and a wonderful personality who cannot be easily forgotten.
He will always live in the hearts and mind of the people. -goTop
SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN vishwav@bol.net.in www.shrivishwaniketan.
