\ SAMVAD संवाद
श्री विश्व निकेतन SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN
Jyestha Krishna 9, Vik. Samvat 2077, Yugabda 5122:16 May, 2020: SM 2004 (For Private Circulation Only)
1. FESTIVALS : MAHARANA PRATAP JAYANTI: 480th Maharana Pratap Jayanti falls on Jyeshtha Shukla Tritiya, corresponding to May 25 this year. (English date is 9th May 1540). He became the Maharana of Mewar in 1572, after the demise of his father Maharana Udai Singh. His desire to reclaim Chittor, which his father had to leave in 1567, would come to define the rest of his life. He resisted several peace treaties with Akbar, refusing to give up the independence of his kingdom. He fought bravely against overwhelming odds and never succumbed to the Mughals, but his wish to reclaim remained unfulfilled. The war of Haldighati is considered as monumental depiction of his valour. He passed away in 1597. He died fighting for his nation, for his people, and most importantly for his honour. -GoToTop
2. ATMANIRBHAR BHARAT - A SELF RELIANT, RESILIENT BHARAT -
PM: “We have been hearing for many years that the 21st century will be
Bharat’s century, and the COVID-19 crisis is, I believe one that carries a
message, that we have to move forward not just to combat the crisis but to
prevail,” Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi said in his address to the nation on May
12. “That can happen when we are self-reliant,” he added. “When the first case
hit us, we neither produced PPEs nor N95 maks. Now, within weeks we have the
capacity to produce 2 lakh of PPEs and 2 lakh of N95 masks every day,” Shri Modi
said.
“Self-reliance in the sense of embracing the world in the spirit of Vasudhaiva
Kutumbakam, is neither exclusionary nor isolationist, it is for helping the
world, with our actions,” Modi said. He said that the new edifice of this
self-reliant Bharat would be based on the five pillars of the economy,
infrastructure, demography, technologically driven systems and to strengthen
demand and supply chains, with the supply chains being based on local sourcing.
In the past few days, only local supply chains and shops have helped. Pradhan
Mantri Ji said the economic package will be quantum leap in bold reforms with
regard to land, labour, law and liquidity. The package will be aimed at the
workers, migrant labour, street vendors and daily wagers and farmers. Mr. Modi
signed off on a strong note to buy local, and to be vocal about it. “We must and
will make Bharat self-reliant,” he said. -GoToTop
3. WORK RESUMES AT RAM JANMABHOOMI: With the Yogi
Adityanath government allowing construction activity to resume during the
lockdown, work on clearing up the site of Ram temple construction in Ayodhya has
also started again. The metal barricades erected around the makeshift temple and
the CRPF camp at the site were removed on 7th May and leveling of the site has
begun. A local team of PWD officials are working in coordination with engineers
of Larsen & Toubro that will be supervising the temple construction. The company
will be working on a no-profit, no-loss basis on the temple construction.
-GoToTop
4. LINK ROAD TO KAILASH MANSAROVAR INAUGURATED: Defense
Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated link road to Mansarovar Yatra Route through
video conferencing on 8th May. This came after the Border Roads Organization
(BRO) achieved road connectivity from Dharchula to Lipulekh (China Border) known
as Kailash Mansarovar route paving way for the pilgrims and troops. The BRO
built an 80 km long crucial road from Ghatiabgarh to Lipulekh, vastly reducing
travel time to ManSarovar Yatra. A road to the 17,000 feet high Lipulekh pass
will provide connectivity to the villages and security forces.
The 80-km road has now reduced a five-day trip to a two-day trip distance from
Delhi to Lipulekh, a distance of 750 km via Pithoragarh for the
Kailash-Mansarovar yatra. -GoToTop
5. MATA AMRITANANDAMAYI TAUGHT ME THE LIFE-CHANGING POWER OF
GIVING: BENIOFF - The Silicon Valley billionaire Marc Benioff says, "It was
Amma who introduced me to the idea, and possibility, of giving back to the world
by pursuing my career ambitions." One of the world’s greatest philanthropists,
Marc Benioff is a famous American Internet entrepreneur and founder, chairman
and CEO of Salesforce.
'It was like a scene from a movie,' Benioff recalls his meeting with Mata
Amritanandamayi. 'We're in the middle of nowhere in this tiny Indian village and
everybody's dressed in white and orange and there's incense wafting.' 'I'm with
a friend who is Indian. He's telling her [the guru] about the challenges in his
life and his struggles and about this business that he was going to start. I
thought he was going to ask her to invest, he was quite aggressive.' “Then she
looked right at me and said, 'In your quest to change the world, don't forget to
do something for somebody else. It was a comment that would forever change his
life,” he says.
He has donated £1 million, along with another £1 million from Salesforce, to
support the Mail Force Charity, a charity set up by the Daily Mail to help
Britain fight the Covid-19. -GoToTop
6. 77 MILLION PEOPLE WATCHED RAMAYAN IN ONE DAY: Ramayan
has created the world record of the highest viewed entertainment programme
globally. Prasar Bharati said in a tweet that 77 million viewers watched the
show on April 16. The television series was retelecast on Doordarshan from the
28th of March.
Ramanand Sagar's epic serial Ramayan and BR Chopra's Mahabharat were popular
across the country, during the 80s and 90s. People demanded Doordarshan to
re-telecast the serials as it can reduce stress in the times of corona virus. Ramanand
Sagar directed Ramayan featured Arun Govil as Ram, Deepika Chikhalia as Sita and
Sunil Lahiri as Lakshman. The show also featured Late Dara Singh as Hanuman and
Arvind Trivedi as Ravana. The show was originally telecast from 25th January
1987 to 31st July 1988. -GoToTop
7. DECLARE BHAGWAD GITA AS NATIONAL TREASURE—GLORIA:
Gloria Arieira, a Brazilian, was awarded Padma shri in 2020 by the Government of
Bharat for pioneering contributions she made in Sanskrit Studies and Vedanta
literature. An authority in Sanskrit, she has translated the Bhagawad Gita and
parts of the Vedas into Portuguese and has established Vidya Mandir, a school of
Vedanta studies in the city of Copacabana, near the famous sea side city of Rio
de Jeniero. A disciple of Swami Chinmayananda, and Swami Dayananda Saraswathi,
Gloria’s initiation into the world of spirituality happened in 1973 when she
heard a talk on Vedanta by Swami Chinmayananda in Rio de Janiero. She felt that
her search for the greater meaning of life was answered.
Gloria says that Sanskrit is a perfect language and it is structured very
scientifically through clear knowledge of dhatus, the roots of the verbs. The
rules of grammar are beautifully given logically by the great grammarian Panini
through sutras like mathematical formulae. She says that Shrimadbhagawadgita
should be declared as the national text of Bharat adding that if Bharat does not
give the importance the Bhagavadgita deserves, the rest of the world will soon
be deprived of the unique teachings it has. -GoToTop
8. KASHI VISHWANATH CORRIDOR PROJECT UNCOVERS FABULOUS OLD
TEMPLES: Work on a 65-feet corridor to connect Kashi Vishwanath Temple with
the famous ghats on the Ganga 985 feet to the east is in full swing. To create
this corridor, many houses and shops have had to be leveled and the inhabitants
relocated. The whole area (43,636 square meters) was earlier characterized by
serpentine lanes lined with older structures that had become fused, hidden, and
sometimes even buried by newer structures. Thus far, the process of creating
this flattened plateau of land in the heart of the city has led to the discovery
of no less than 53 temples, many of them hidden inside the now demolished
houses. -GoToTop
9. OCTOGENARIAN PRAISES SWAYAMSEVAKS WHO SERVED HER:
When on April 15, RSS swayamsevaks from Belagavi district in Karnataka reached
to the house of Kori Parvatamma in Savadatti of Belagavi district of Karnataka
and handed her a grocery kit, the octogenarian lady had tears in her eyes. She
had not expected anyone to come home to give her grocery during the time of
lockdown. Apparently she had not forgotten as she recollected rightly that it
was the same people (swayamsevaks) who had come home and helped her during the
time of floods last year. The lady thanked the swayamsevaks for their service.
She showered blessings on the swayamsevaks and said, “Ensure that you are near
me when I die…I consider it as a boon to have you people do my last rites for I
am sure to attain Moksha.” -GoToTop
10. 'ONE NATION, ONE RATION CARD' BY MARCH 2021:
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on 14th May that technology
systems will be used to attain 'One Nation, One Ration Card' mission by March
2021. This will enable migrants to access public distribution system from
anywhere in Bharat. She also announced to give free foodgrains including 5 kg of
grains and 1 kg of pulses to 8 crore migrants for two months while announcing
several other measures to boost consumption and economy.
-GoToTop
11. HINDU YUVA AT IOWA WINS 2 AWARDS: The Iowa State
University Student Activities Center recognized Hindu Yuva for its dedication
and enrichment to the Iowa State University Community. Hindu Yuva received the
Outstanding Commitment to Diversity Award of the Year and the Outstanding
Student Organization Advisor of the year- Dr. Arun Somani.
Hindu Yuva organized several events last year to create social awareness about
Hindu culture and values. The events like Universal Oneness Day (Rakshabandhan),
Ganesh Utsav, ISU Yogathon, participation in the Multicultural night at an
elementary school, etc. helped in providing learning opportunities for the Ames
community to know and appreciate Hindu culture.
-GoToTop
12. STATE WIDE BLOOD DONATION CAMP BY NMO ASSAM AND SEVA
BHARATI PURBANCHAL: National Medicos Organization (NMO) and Seva Bharati
Purbanchal in collaboration with different hospitals across Assam has organized
RaktaDhara - a Voluntary Blood Donation Camp on 10th May to commemorate the
memory of the 1st war of Bharatiya Independence Sepoy Mutini. A total of 13
camps were organized across 11 districts of the state with a collection of 441
units of blood. To add upon, another blood donation camp was organized at
Dimapur where a total of 14 units of blood were collected making the grand total
to 455. Various eminent personalities donated their blood at several locations.
-GoToTop
13. AAROGYA SETU DOWNLOADED IN OVER 10 CRORE SMARTPHONES:
In just over 40 days of its launch, the Aarogya Setu app for contact tracing
for managing COVID-19, has crossed more than 10.05 crore downloads. Known as
corona warriors, these individuals through their smartphones have downloaded the
mobile app which keeps their specific and pertinent demographic and travel
history information in an encrypted form in a server and identifies them with a
unique digital ID (DID) and uses the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Global
Positioning System (GPS) location technologies for communicating under strictly
defined protocols which are set in the privacy policy of the app. All aspects of
the privacy and security of the app has been widely factored in before it was
developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC). The app’s efficacy also lay
in making this a more optimal tool for alerting at-risk citizens of the
precautions to be taken and also facilitate mitigation strategies by the
government as also help devise steps to open up the lockdown status in a graded
manner. -GoToTop
14. KALYAN ASHRAM PROJECT ‘NIRMAN’ REGITERS SUCCESS:
The project ’Nirman’, started in 2016—the birth anniversary day of Bhagwan Birsa
Munda, to train janjati students for the various competitive exams and
administrative services conducted by the state government. The project conceived
by late Mohan Singh Munda, Vice-President, Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, is being run
free of cost at Ranchi. Till date 10 trainees at the project have been recruited
in the Jharkhand Public Service Commission and other administrative services. In
the recently declared results of JPSC exams, Praksah Hembram and Manisha Tirkee
both belonging to the janjati communities have been added to the tally.
As of now, three batches of students have been trained at Nirman. In the past
two years, four students were selected for the post of Police Sub-Inspector. One
was selected in CRPF-UPSC exam, one was selected in Air Force and one more was
selected in the Audit service. -GoToTop
15. BHARATAMATA MANDIR IN BENGALURU TURNS INTO A CENTRE FOR
RSS SERVICE ACTIVITIES: The daily satsang and congregation of devotees in
Sri Bharatamata Mandir at Kithaganur, Krishnarajapuram, Bengaluru was suspended
during the lockdown. The Mandir was turned into a centre for the service
activities of the Seva Vibhag of RSS for storing provisions like rice, wheat
flour, oil, salt, dal, milk, onion etc. These provisions are for free
distribution to the poor and downtrodden people in the villages around
Kithaganur and to the stranded labourers in Krishnarajapuram. Kits containing
the above materials were distributed to more than 1500 families by batches of
Swayamsevaks who visited the Mandir every day, packed the goods for distribution
and took them to the destinations in car, autoriskha and two-wheelers with
passes. -GoToTop
16. SEWA INTERNATIONAL BHARAT IN COVID-19 RELIEF IN DELHI:
On 11th May, Sewa International in collaboration with NASSCOM Foundation and
IBM organized a Food Kit Distribution at different locations in Delhi NCR. Sewa
International served the community people at Budh Vihar who were waiting for the
support. These people were not able to get the ration from Government because
they do not have a ration card. They were migrant labourers, daily wagers,
rickshaw pullers, widows, and persons with a disability. Hence, the Sewa team
supported these families by distributing 50 food kits (Rice, Pulse, Oil, Flour,
etc). -GoToTop
17. COVID-19 RESPONSE IN UK: Several activities are
being undertaken by HSS UK, Sewa Day UK and VHP UK during the Corona time. Apart
from online shakhas, and sessions for Yoga, effective writing and webinars, Sewa
Day UK is engaged in feeding ‘caregivers’ - NHS Doctors and staff by providing
250-300 freshly cooked meals on a daily basis. VHP UK has also initiated a
helpline and assistance for last rites for the victims of Covid -19.
-GoToTop
18. SEWA BAY AREA CHAPTER SERVES FIRST RESPONDERS: Sewa
Bay area supported first responders viz healthcare workers, police officers,
fire fighters, and hospital staff. Volunteers distributed over 1500 food packets
and meals to the Oakland and Mountain View homeless communities, the Muslim
Community Center of Pleasanton, the Alcosta Senior Center in Livermore, and many
others. Prior to this event, the Bay Area chapter had distributed almost 20,000
KN95, N95, surgical and hand-made masks and face shields to the United States
Postal Service, Valley Medical Center, San Ramon Police Department and many
other medical and emergency service responders.
-GoToTop
19. LONDON BAPS TEMPLE VIDEO HONOURS KEY WORKERS: The
BAPS Neasden Temple in London has launched a video paying tribute to UK's key
workers battling the Covid-19 pandemic. The video -- based on a poem titled
"Serving Together in the Joy of Others" -- features British Hindu key workers
who are part of the BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic in the UK) frontline
army. There are about a million Hindus in the UK, comprising less than 2 percent
of the total population, but the proportion of British Hindus in the healthcare
sector and other key roles is far higher. The video essentially captures Neasden
Temple creator His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj's teaching: "In the joy of
others lies our own."
Segments of the poem are rendered by British Hindus serving on the frontline in
a wide array of fields, including as medical professionals, hospital
administrators, lab researchers, shopkeepers, a hospital chef, a bus driver, and
even a pilot. "The dedication to public service among British Hindus is often
attributed to the ethos of selfless service prescribed in the Hindu faith," said
a temple statement. " Video can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/XdlEWSPItZY]
20. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Visitors:
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us the importance of
local supply chains very well. The global brands we see today were once local,
they grew after their countrymen suported them. From today, all Bharatiyas
should become vocal for our local products. – Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi in
his address to the Nation on May 12, 2020.
-GoToTop
JAI SHREE RAM
DATTATREYA HOSABLE INTERACTS WITH FOREIGN MEDIA
RSS Sah Sarkaryavah Dattatreya
Hosabale interacted with correspondents of foreign media houses via video
teleconferencing on 6th May." The whole world is grappling with an unprecedented
situation from COVID-19. This enemy is enemy of all, a common enemy for all
human beings irrespective of boundaries, caste, creed or religion,” said
Hosabale. "Bharat has the 2nd largest population of the world with 1.3 billion
people and its literacy and healthcare systems are not like those of the
developed countries but its fight is exemplary. Each death is painful but we
have done much better than many other countries. Union govt, state govt and
society came together to fight the menace. People from all sections of the
society have come out to help those in need in all corners of the country
including in remote villages and towns. Civic society organizations like
temples, mathas, gurudwaras, have played an exemplary role", he said. On the
issue of migrants, he said that both decisive government at the centre and a
sensitive society came together to serve the migrating labor and other weaker
sections of the society. RSS and many other organizations have been volunteering
to help the administration during transfer of migrants to hometowns by providing
them with food and essentials. "Alongwith handling corona infected patients,
medical care for non-corona patients was very important at this time. Hence
blood donation camps at different parts of the country were organized by RSS
swayamsevaks,” he said.
Giving an overview of the RSS seva statistics during COVID-19 lockdown, he said
that RSS swayamsevaks have served at 67,336 places with 3,42,319 dedicated
volunteers. 50,48,088 ration kits have been donated to families and 3,17,12,767
meal packets have been distributed. Nearly 4,89,824 migrant workers have been
helped in one or the other ways. 22,446 units of blood have been collected
through blood donation camps organised by RSS. More than 44,54,555 face masks
have been doanted he said.
Speaking on the world after corona, he said, “Humanity will have to revisit its
model of development. Unbridled materialism has to be questioned. Economic
depression and environment degradation will also have to be addressed with a new
environment friendly lifestyle. The world should also focus on local
manufacturing to boost economy. The swadeshi model is ideal to tide over the
crisis and also to help local manufacturing. RSS believes that entire world is
one – entire world is one family. RSS believes in 'think locally and act
globally' ", he said.
Subsequently, he answered questions from the foreign media correspondents. To a
question on RSS thinking on Muslims being blamed for corona virus spread in the
country posed by Soutik Biswas of BBC and a senior correspondent Dr. Waiel Awwad,
Hosabale said that it is a perception which is not true. "RSS Sarsanghachalak
Mohan Bhagwat in his address to the nation recently clearly said that an entire
community should not be blamed for the fault of a few. Blaming everyone is not
in right spirit, he replied. Just like during past calamities, RSS volunteers
have not discriminated anywhere in their service during the lockdown. They have
donated blood, delivered relief materials, food, etc., to everyone irrespective
of their identity. Even in Delhi, Muslims have received aid from RSS
swayamsevaks. Many Muslims have in fact donated to RSS seva activities", he
added.
In reply to another question, Dattatreya Hosabale said that everyone is part of
RSS activities and the perception is just that. "Muslims send their children to
Vidya Bharati schools run by RSS. Many are part of RSS inspired organization
like BMS, etc. RSS has provided service to everyone irrespective of his or her
religion. RSS swayamasevaks have helped students from North-East living in
different parts of the country when most of them are Christians. Chief Ministers
of many North-Eastern states have thanked RSS for its timely service. RSS does
not consider itself as Right-Wing rather it considers itself as a nationalistic
organization. Those who hold on to such perceptions should visit our service
camps and report what they see" he said.
Rajesh Roy from WSJ asked as to how Bharat is gearing up to the scenario of
companies leaving China. Dattatreya ji said, "We have to think of more ways to
attract such foreign investment without affecting local manufacturing and the
environment. It is a challenge which has to be taken up. Bharat should stand on
its own feet as a manufacturing and agricultural hub." It is in this direction
that human resources of Bharat are an advantage.
Answering another question on the work of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) being
for Hindus only, Dattatreya ji said that HSS swayamsevaks all over the world are
rendering selfless service by providing food and relief to everyone without any
discrimination. Whether it was during Hurricane Katrina in US, earthquake in
Nepal, or natural calamity in Sri Lanka, HSS swayamsevaks have rendered their
services. They do not do it for perception but service to society is their
second nature, he said.
Another journalist S Venkatanarayan asked as to what the RSS is doing to make
Muslims, who are feeling insecure since BJP came to power in 2014, feel secure.
Hosabaleji asked why only one section of the society is being highlighted.
Muslims are not unhappy in Bharat. Govt measures do not discriminate against
anyone. Janadhan, Ujjwalla etc., have reached the poorest of the poor among
Muslims too. UP and Bihar have large number of Muslims and they have benefited
from these schemes in these states. Muslims are in top positions in the country
and have become Chief Ministers, Presidents and are also part of our
entertainment industry. They can stand for elections like any others.
Archana from Bloomberg asked if he was satisfied with the way migrant labor
problem was handled by the govt. He said that the situation is such that no one
could have planned for it. It is an extraordinary situation. Sporadic incidents
should not be generalized. Govt and administration is doing everything possible.
RSS and administration is doing everything to provide timely aid to such
migrants who are traveling. But they have to be tested. We have to work hand in
hand. By and large the migrant labour has behaved wonderfully well. Police and
administration are working 24/7. We need to have patience. Future planning is
also important, he concluded.
The video of the interaction is below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBT0_3AVUZQ&feature=emb_logo
-GoToTop
SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN vishwav@bol.net.in http://shrivishwaniketan.blogspot.com
