\ SAMVAD श्री विश्व निकेतन SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN
Kartik Shukla 5, Vikram Samvat 2076 Yugabda 5121: 1 November 2019
1. FESTIVAL: LABH PANCHAMI : The festival of Labh
Panchami, observed on Kartik Shukla 5 (1st November this year), marks the final
day of Diwali celebrations.
This day is also known as Saubhagya Panchami or Gyaan Panchami or Laakheni
Panchami and is celebrated with full enthusiasm and fervour mainly in the state
of Gujarat. On this day prayers are offered to Bhagwan Ganesha and Devi Lakshmi
for well being and prosperity. Labh Panchami is believed to be a very auspicious
day for initiating a new business venture and it is on this day that most of
shops and business establishments are opened, after the Diwali festivities.
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2. HISTORY CREATED AT AYODHYA: 6 LAKH DIYAS LIT UP
SARYU BANKS ON DIWALI : The banks of Saryu in the temple town Ayodhya were
lit up with the sparkling light of over 6 lakhs of earthen lamps on the day of
Narak Chaturdashi—26th October evening. This year's count of the earthen lamps
lit on the river bank far surpassed the three lakh-plus number of 'diyas' lit
last year.
Enthusiasm was palpable among the people and the volunteers at dusk, as they lit
the lamps to mark the occasion. Uttar Pradesh government's Director Information
Shishir said, "Last year's record was of three lakh one thousand one hundred
eighty six 'diyaas' at the ghat. This time, it was 4 lakh 10 thousand 'diyaas'
lit at the ghat. Apart from this, more than two lakh 'diyaas' were lit elsewhere
than the ghat. In all, more than 6 lakh 'diyaas' were lit."
Addressing the people on the occasion, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said,
"Of the seven pious cities, three of them -- Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura -- are
in our UP. We all feel proud on the tradition of Ram. The name of Ayodhya itself
brings the idea of 'Ram Rajya' in our minds," said Adityanath.
Meanwhile, in the morning, a grand 'shobha yatra' of Bhagwan Ram was flagged off
by Deputy Speaker of Fiji's Parliament Veena Bhatnagar at Saket College. The
Shobha Yatra with 11 chariots was welcomed and cheered by excited citizens.
Speaking on the occasion, Veena Bhatnagar said she felt honoured and lucky to
have participated in Diwali-eve celebration at Ayodhya.
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3. HINDU MANDIR EXECUTIVES’ CONFERENCE AT NEW JERSEY :
The World Hindu Council of America (VHPA) sponsored historic 14th annual ‘Hindu
Mandir Executives’ Conference (HMEC)’ concluded with resounding success on
September 22 in East Hanover, New Jersey. This annual gathering takes place in
different regions of North America (includes Caribbean Islands). The primary
objective of this eminent gathering is to collectively enhance their relevance
to the Hindu society-at-large and to the rising second generation.
The theme of this year’s HMEC was – “Sustaining Temples and Institutions by
Building Security and Strength through Community Outreach and Seva programs”.
This years’ 3-day affair had 35 speakers and approximately 200 delegates
representing more than 75 Mandirs and Institutions.
The conference began with Swami Pratyagbodhanandaji, along with other seers,
blessing the event with Sanskrit shlokas and lighting the auspicious lamp. Among
various sessions including one discussing security aspects in the temples, the
gathering resolved to (1) create ‘Hindu Seva and outreach portal’, after
database collection is complete (2) publish visitor’s guide for various Temples
spread across the landscape (3) establish ‘HMEC Library’ to catalogue
progressive ideas, suggestions and practical projects.
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4. AUSTRALIAN PM JOINS DIWALI CELEBRATIONS : It was
none other than Prime Minister Scott Morrison who joined his colleagues to the
Diwali function in the parliament. “Friends, for more than fourteen years, the
doors of this Parliament have been thrown open to celebrate Deepavali. ” he said
in his opening remarks at the event hosted by the Hindu Council of Australia.
“A wonderful celebration of light over darkness. Of knowledge over ignorance. Of
good over evil,” the Prime Minister said. He also hailed the Bharatiya community
when he attended the Diwali celebration in Sydney.
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5. MODI CELEBRATES DIWALI WITH SOLDIERS : In
continuation of the tradition set in the first tenure, Pradhan Mantri Shri
Narendra Modi celebrated the festival of Diwali with soldiers of the Bharatiya
Army at the Line of Control in Rajouri district of Jammu & Kashmir. This was the
third instance of the Pradhan Mantri celebrating the auspicious festival with
the troops in Jammu & Kashmir.
He visited the ‘Hall of Fame’ in Rajouri and paid homage to the gallant soldiers
and brave citizens who laid down their lives to protect Rajouri and Poonch
sectors. He termed the Hall of Fame as ‘Parakram Bhoomi, Prerna Bhoomi, Paavan
Bhoomi’. GoTop
6. BRAHMOS MISSILES HIT TARGETS : The two successive
successful test firings of Bharat’s most formidable and deadliest weapon BRAHMOS
in its surface-to-surface configuration by the Indian Air Force (IAF) have come
as a spectacular Diwali gift for the nation.
“A direct hit on the target was achieved in both the cases. Firing of the
missile has enhanced IAF’s capability to engage the grounds targets with
pinpoint accuracy from a mobile platform,” an official said after the successful
test-firings at Trek Islands in Andaman & Nicobar on October 21-22.
The missile has proved its impeccable accuracy, firepower and devastating
capability to destroy any kind of land target over a distance of up to 300 km.
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7. RAKSHA MANTRI LAUNCHES NAVY'S FIRST STEALTH FRIGATE : Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh during his visit to the Western Naval Command on 28th September launched INS ‘Nilgiri’, the first of the Navy’s seven new stealth frigates, at Mazagon Dock Mumbai and commissioned the largest dry dock of Bharatiya Navy—The Aircraft Carrier Dock at the Naval Dockyard. He also spent a “day at sea” onboard INS Vikramaditya off the Goa coast. Speaking on these occasions he said that the Government was making concerted efforts to modernize the Navy and equip it with the best platforms, weapons and sensors to deal with any conventional and unconventional threats to Bharat’s maritime interests. GoTop
8. HIGHEST BATTLEFIELD THROWN OPEN TO PUBLIC :
Commoners can now visit Siachen glacier, the world’s highest battlefield, as
tourists and get a feel of how the Armed Forces guard this strategically
important sector despite extreme weather conditions and inhospitable terrain.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on 21st October announced the glacier is now
“open” to tourists and they can trek from the base camp to Kumar post. “From
Siachen base camp to Kumar post, the entire area has been opened for tourism
purposes,” he tweeted.
The Army earlier used to organize such treks for civilians annually but it was
suspended two years back due to logistical and operational issues. The
temperatures there vary from minus 10 to minus 40 degrees Celsius and the troops
have been guarding posts at heights ranging from 16,000 feet to 24,000 feet
since 1984.
The base camp is at a height of 12,000 feet while the Kumar post is at an
altitude of 16,000 feet. Given the nature of the terrain, the trekkers were put
through a three-phase acclimatization due to harsh winter and lack of oxygen.
The nearest airport to Siachen is located at Thoise and troops board and deboard
there to serve a stint at the glacier or returning after finishing the term
which lasts about three to four months.
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9. RESPONSIBILITY OF ANY GOVERNMENT TO IDENTIFY
INFILTRATORS : BHAIYYAJI JOSHI : Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh RSS Sarkaryavah
Bhaiyyaji Joshi addressed the press conference at Bhubaneshwar on 18th October,
the concluding day of the Akhil Bharatiya Karyakari Mandal Baithak. He said that
RSS swayamsevaks are running more than 1.50 lakh projects across the country.
They are also running 20 large charitable hospitals and 15 blood banks. The
swayamsevaks are also working for people with special needs. Due to their
efforts, around 3 to 4 thousand eye donations happen every year. The
swayamsevaks are also working in the field of rural development. With their
efforts and support from the local residents, 250 villages have been developed
as role model. He also said that there are more than one lakh villages where
people understand and accept Sangh’s thoughts and support RSS.
Replying to questions related to NRC, Bhaiyyaji Joshi said that the NRC should
be implemented across the nation. He said that it is the responsibility of any
government to identify the infiltrators and take proper action after formulating
a policy. Replying to a question regarding construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya,
he said, our view is that all the hurdles in the way of constructing a Ram
Temple at Ayodhya should be removed. Now the hearing has been completed in the
Court and we are hoping that the Court’s verdict would be in favour of Hindus.
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10. COLOURFUL MOON IMAGES FROM CHANDRAYAAN –2 :
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) released fresh set of pictures of
impact craters on moon surface On 22nd October, taken by its Chandrayaan-2
Orbiter.
"Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter's DF- SAR has been operated in full-polarimetry mode- a
gold standard in SAR polarimetry, and is the first-ever by any planetary SAR
instrument," ISRO said. This image presents many interesting facts about the
secondary craters of different ages and origins in the lunar south polar region.
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11. FIRST VISUALLY IMPAIRED WOMEN IAS OFFICER : Pranjal Patil became Bharat’s first visually challenged women to crack the UPSC Civil Services exam. She has taken charge as the Sub-Collector of Thiruvananthapuram from 17th October. She appeared in 2017 Civil Services and cracked it too with an All Bharat Rank of 124. Pranjal Patil lost her eyes at the age of six, and she is from Ulhasnagar in Maharashtra. She completed her graduation in political science with a master’s in International Relations from JNU with her determination. GoTop
12. COW POPULATION UP BY 18 PERCENT : The population
of cows in the country has risen by 18 per cent in the last seven years, while
that of oxen dipped by 30 per cent, according to the latest census of livestock.
The total number for livestock was pegged at around 536 million.
The provisional data released on 16th October showed that the livestock
population increased by 4.6 per cent, from 512.06 million in 2012. Besides,
there was a spectacular 16.8 per cent increase in the poultry population in the
country to 851.81 million, mainly on account of a 46 per cent rise in backyard
poultry birds, whose numbers have gone up to 317 million. Among the States,
Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of livestock of 67.8 million followed by
Rajasthan 56.8 million. GoTop
13. NIRMAL FROM NEPAL SCALES 14 PEAKS IN 6 MONTHS :
36-year-old Nirmal Purja from Nepal became the fastest climber to summit the
world’s 14 highest mountains on 29th October scaling all the mountains in just
over six months, his hiking agency said, a feat other climbers have taken
several years to complete.
Nirmal scaled Mount Shishapangma at 8,027 metres (26,335 feet) in Tibet, six
months and one week after he climbed his first in the campaign, Mount Annapurna
I, kicking off his “Project Possible”.
Mingma Sherpa of the Seven Summit Treks agency, that provided logistics to
Purja’s team, said he was accompanied by three sherpa climbers to the
Sishapangma summit. GoTop
14. NEW AIRPORT CONNECTS CHENNAI AND JAFFNA AFTER 40
YEARS : It takes less than 30 minutes to undertake a journey from Chennai to
Jaffna by air. But it took an Air India flight more than 40 years to cover that
distance. On 17th October, a small Alliance Air ATR flight — a subsidiary of Air
India in Chennai made its maiden landing at the newly upgraded Jaffna
International Airport at Palaly, 20 km north of Jaffna city of Sri Lanka,
opening with it a new chapter in the 2,000-year-old relationship between the two
nations. Equipped with a 2.3-km runway, Sri Lanka’s third international airport
was declared open by President Maithripala Sirisena after the landing of the
first flight from Bharat.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Jaffna, the Tamil heartland in Sri Lanka, had
well-connected aerial routes with Bharat, with both Air India and Ceylon Airways
operating between the two countries. It was discontinued in the late 1970s when
the 30-year Eelam war for a separate homeland for Tamils forced the Sri Lankan
government to shut all international operations at the airport.
The people of Jaffna, who have both cultural and familial relationships with
Bharat, had been demanding that the airport be reopened for public transport
since the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) in 2009. The
distance between Jaffna and Colombo is 370 km and a journey of six to eight
hours by road or train. GoTop
15. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN:
Pravas: Dr Manmohan Vaidya sah sarkaryavaha , RSS will tour Australia and New
Zealand. Saumitra Gokhale, Vishwa Vibhag samyojak will tour UK, Greece and
Cyprus. Dr Ram Vaidya sah samyojak will tour West Africa.
Visitors: Smt and Shri Prabhulal Shah—Nairobi—Kenya, Vijay Subramaniam—Cleveland,
USA
Food for Thought: Our only business is to love God, not to ask God for our
necessities.”
― A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
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JAI SHREE RAM
BHASKAR RAO : A MAHATMA
OF OUR TIMES
Tarun Vijay
It's difficult to imagine that such a simple, yet stronger than the steel man
was amidst us just a few years before. He was a source of strength for thousands
of RSS workers who were facing the brutal attacks from the CPM goons, he was a
brother to innumerable families who sought his advice and help for matters that
included education, medical treatment, marriage, mutual discords and even buying
a new house !! He never taught Sangha through books, never discussed shakha when
visiting a family, but remained a dear sahēādaran, chettan, jeshtan,
aniyan,anujan……..to all those who were ready to live and sacrifice their lives
for Bharath Mata.
He was a living embodiment of Dr Hedgewar’s ideals and represented the old
school of pracharaks carrying forward the legacy of Dattopant, Seshadri ji,
Yadavrao Joshi ji and Suryanarayan Rao.
Such threads of warmth and a Hindu family affinity he had woven that each one of
us thought- I am very close to him. And he was close to every one of us-
equally. We would often say- if some one hadn’t seen Deendayalji, he could well
imagine how he might have been after seeing Bhaskar Rao ji.
He was born in Yangon on 5th October 1919, where his father Dr Shiv Ram Kalambi
was a popular medical practitioner and a RSS Swayamsewak. His mother Smt Radha
Devi was instrumental in giving Bhaskar the intrinsic values of a Hindu family.
Unfortunately his both parents died too early forcing Bhaskar to return to
Mumbai with his uncle and pursue studies. He did graduation from St Xaviers
College and took LLB degree from Bombay university.
But the destiny had a different field reserved for him. He felt the plight of
the Hindus who were struggling for the independence from the British yoke on one
side and the attacks of the Islamists and Christian evangelists on the other. He
decided to be a pracharak in the RSS and was sent to Kerala in 1946.
It was the most difficult time for the Hindu consolidation in Kerala those days.
Muslim intransigence and offensive against the Hindus was on a rise, Christians
were forcibly trying to take over many Hindu shrines and their zeal to convert
Hindus was unstoppable, Hindu society was deeply divided in caste and community
segments, the influence of Sri Narayan Guru, Mahatma Ayyankali, saved Hindus to
a great extent,still the flood of assaults on the Hindus was continuing . RSS
had hardly twenty shakhas in the entire Kerala region as it was known then as
Travancore-Cochin or Thiru-Kochi (1949–1956), originally called United State of
Travancore and Cochin. The Malabar area was a Muslim hub of Jihadist activities,
which was the first Muslim majority district carved out by the Communist
government led by EMS Namboodiripad ( Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad).
The Hindus in Kerala needed a strong helping hand to regain confidence that was
shattered by the barbaric Moplah violence about which Dr B.R Ambedkar had
written, " The Hindus must have the courage and the faith to feel that they can
protect their religion in spite of such fanatical eruptions. A verbal
disapproval by the Mussalmans of Mopla madness is no test of Mussalman
friendship. The Mussalmans must naturally feel the shame and humiliation of the
Mopla conduct about forcible conversions and looting, and they must work away so
silently and effectively that such a thing might become impossible even on the
part of the most fanatical among them.
My belief is that the Hindus as a body have received the Mopla madness with
equanimity and that the cultured Mussalmans are sincerely sorry of the Mopla's
perversion of the teachings of the prophet “
—-B. R. Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Bhimrao. Pakistan or the Partition of India. Chapter
7).
The Kerala that was nourished with the noble teachings of Sri Narayan Guru and
Mahatma Ayyankali, had received a brotherly hand of strength and wisdom by
stalwarts like Dattopant Thengadi, Madhavan ji, Sukumaran ji, Ranga Hari ji, P
Parameswaran ji , Sethu Madhavan ji and many more. K. Bhasakar Rao, or K
Bhaskaran or simply Bhaskarattan, had a huge challenge before him to prove
worthy of this Sangha legacy , tackle the situation and hold the flood of
assaults on Hindus as well as keep the morale of the society high. His focus on
the low income groups, making new Sangha swayamsewaks among fishermen, poor
artisans, farmers, rickshaw drivers, teachers and students was a big success.
RSS grew leaps and bounds in rural areas and among the poorest of the poor
sections.
It drew the brutal ire of the communist leadership that saw they’re losing
ground in a big way . The long list of the martyrs of the Sangh is a testimony
to the bewildered CPM leadership that found refuge in killing the young RSS
workers. It goes to the credit of Bhaskar Rao that he remained an unwavering
source of solace and strength to the bereaved Sangha families as well as
creating a new generation of Swayamsewaks who won’t be fearful of CPM violence.
When I look at his early years it surprises how a young lad in his twenties
would decide to give his life for the society, in-spite of having a LLB degree
in his pocket in those days when being a solicitor meant a high profile rich
life.
Yes, he was in that dreamy eyed age when he left home in Mumbai and joined the
ranks of the sangha workers in south- learnt Malayalam and became one with the
new environment he was asked to adopt. Consolidating the Hindu society,
encouraging dharma and powering cultural threads among the new generation was
his main task and soon he became a highly respected household name among the RSS
cadre. His simplicity, unassuming nature, an extraordinary ability to bring out
the best from the most ordinary and often ‘rejected and dejected’ youth- was his
forte.
He worked to eliminate the caste barriers and took strong stand to help and
support intercaste marriages. The one quality that endeared him to thousands was
his transparent behavior that made innumerable swayamsewaks like us to feel he
belongs to our family and we can discuss any personal problem with him. He
listened carefully, and he advised in most trying situations, often bringing
peace and resolving domestic conflicts too.
Bhaskar Rao is the creator of the Veer- Kerala that will not yield before the
violence of the anti Hindu forces, keep the fire of Dharma intact with Ahuti of
their lives, defeat the foreign funded agencies of the Islamists, proselytizer
zealots, insanely brutal Communists democratically and keep on working to build
the edifice of a humane, tolerant and a civilized Hindu society , dedicated to
Bharat Mata.
The second avatar
His life’s second avatar was to join India;’s largest tribals service
organization Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram in 1984.
The Kalyan ashram saw best of the service projects, new hostels, medical centres,
schools, and late evening literacy classes for tribal farmers under his
guidance. I was a full time worker of the Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram during his
tenure and had the privilege to seek his guidance and received his affection as
a worker.
When he saw my mother was having a difficult time in Dehradun, as she was alone
and had severe eye problem that made her helpless, while I was in Dadra Nagar
Haveli, he, sent a few tribal students from Assam to be with my mother and also
study in local school.
The idea later grew into a bigger separate Vanavasi school and hostel thats was
inaugurated by Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee .
He helped and encouraged all, and each swayamsewak never ever felt as if his
help is like a ‘burden’.
He was kind, soft spoken, suave and too humble.
It certainly was a new challenge for him when he was asked to work among tribal
people, as organizing secretary of the Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram which is running
thousands of schools,
colleges, hostels, all over India- in specifically tribal pockets. It was a new
world for him— as tribals form a very distinct fabric of the Indian milieu ,
brilliant and yet clouded by various inhospitable factors that make them
vulnerable to exploitation by the rich urban traders, miners, bureaucrats and of
course foreign funded conspiracies of proselytization.
It is often ignored that though the tribals form just eight percent of Indian
population, more than ninety eight percent incidents of insurgency, terrorism
and foreign controlled activities like conversion through agencies inimical to
India’s growth occur in the tribal region alone.
Very soon Bhaskar Rao grasped the situation and he focussed on giving quality
education to the tribal students so that they become aware of their environment,
are able to understand the threats and reduce their vulnerability to fall prey
to exploitative forces.
You can’t awaken a person who wont understand what exploitation means and
neither can you teach religious texts to a hungry boy.
Give them good education, nourish their body and the soul and you will see that
you have turned him into a brilliant, awakened patriotic
Indian, he would say. Good education is the key to not only prosperity and
health but also to produce patriotic Indians who can contribute enormously to
the growth of motherland.
He said that the education must be such that it must inculcate values of love
for motherland, dharma and culture- and they must understand that a conversion
to an alien faith not only makes them alien to the very heritage of their
ancestors but also cuts all threads that form their cultural and civilizational
fabric. First make tribal youth understand what are the values that define his
being, his existence, his tribal social world- then he would stand tall and
protect his dharma and culture.
Great ideas were so beautifully explained by him that there was hardly any need
for further elaborate or get into a reactionary, offensive mode.
He was everything to us. He was a mahatma to Bharatvarsh that we see in the
personalities of Mahatma Gandhi and Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya.
(The writer has worked as full time worker in Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram between
1981-86, Former Editor, Panchjanya and former Rajya Sabha MP. Organizer weekly,
5th October 2019) GoTop
