\SAMVAD श्री विश्व निकेतन SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN
Magh Shukla 7, Vik. Samvat 2076 Yugabda 5121: 1 February 2020
1. FESTIVALS: 40 LAKH TAKE HOLY DIP at GANGASAGR: More than 40 lakh pilgrims from all across the country and abroad took the holy dip in Gangasagar on the occasion of Makar Sankranti on January 15. Makar Sankranti marks the end of the month with the winter solstice and the start of longer days. Located about 150 km from Kolkata in the South 24 Parganas district Sagar Island hosts Gangasagar mela every year during Makar Sankranti.-GoTop
2. THE JAGANNATH TEMPLE KITCHEN: Considered to be the
largest kitchen in the world, a variety of at least 56 meals or ‘bhoga’ are
cooked in the kitchen everyday for the Deities at Jagannath Puri, over a
wood-fire and in earthen pots. The sacred ‘Mahaprasad’ then feeds a staggering
1,00,000 people a day. On January 15, the Makar Sankranti day, the entire temple
was devoted to prepare a special kind of bhoga, known as the "Makara Chaula," or
Makara rice. Prepared from harvested rice, Makara Chaula is comprised of banana,
jaggery, sesame, milk, ghee, coconut, freshly-made butter, fruits and dry
fruits. -GoTop
3. RASHTRAPATI KOVIND’S GANATANTRA DIWAS ADDRESS: ‘We
the People’ are the prime movers of the Republic. The central tenets of our
democracy – justice, liberty, equality and fraternity are adhering to 150th
birth anniversary of Gandhiji. The Government has launched a number of welfare
campaigns, and what is especially noteworthy about them is the fact that
citizens have voluntarily turned them into popular movements. Every policy
initiative of the Government is guided by the ‘nation-first’ principle. Bharat
is proud of the achievements of ISRO. They are making further progress in
Mission Gaganyaan, and the nation excitedly looks forward to the Bharatiya Human
Spaceflight Programme gaining further momentum this year.
-GoTop
“Padmashree Jaiprakash ji”
"It is with immense pleasure we inform the news of conferment of 'Padmashree'
award to Shri Jaiprakash Agarwal ji. Jaiprakash ji has a long association with
Vishwa Vibhag and Sangh activities and has been instrumental in initiating
various new dimensions like Vishwa Sangh Shibir. A leading industrialist, he has
also worked on various social transformation projects through Surya Foundation.
Shri Jaiprakash ji is also Trustee to Shri Vishwa Niketan'. Samvad team takes
pride in congratulating him and wishing that he continues to guide and motivate
all karyakartas." -GoTop
4. BHARAT CELEBRATED ITS 71ST GANATANTRA DIWAS: Bharat
celebrated its 71th Ganatantra Diwas on 26th January with a 90-minute display of
military might, cultural diversity and socio-economic progress. The armed forces
took centre-stage parading an array of weapons, the Defence Research
Organization put up a display of state-of-the-art technology and the 22 tableaux
held a spectacular display of colours, art and lifestyle. Brazil President Jair
Bolsonaro was the Chief Guest. The ceremony started with Pradhan Mantri Narendra
Modi, in a first, visiting the National War Memorial instead of the Amar Jawan
Jyoti, where he paid tributes to soldiers who died fighting for the country. The
highlights of the parade were the Army's battle tank Bhishma, Infantry Combat
Vehicle Ballway Machine Pikate and the Air Force's brand new Rafale fighter jet
and Chinook and Apache helicopters.
For the second consecutive year, a woman officer led an all-male contingent. The
Corps of Signals marched down the Rajpath, led by Captain Tania Sher Gill, who
recently made history by becoming the first woman Parade Adjutant to lead
all-men contingents during the Army Day function.
The grand finale, and one of the most keenly awaited segments of the parade, was
the fly-past with the "Trishul" formation being carried out by three Advanced
Light Helicopters. -GoTop
5. “THE MAHASWAMI GUIDED MANY PEOPLE THROUGH HIS LIFE”: RSS
SARASANGHACHALAK DR. MOHAN BHAGWAT: Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh (RSS)
Sarasanghachalak Dr. Mohan ji Bhagwat inaugurated a collection of 56 paintings
on the life and teachings of Kanchi Mahaswami and released ‘Param Vani’ Hindi
version of ‘Deivathin Kural’at Kanchi Mahaswami Vidya Mandir near Tambaram on
Jan 21. Shri Omkarananda Swami graced the occasion. R A Sankara Narayanan M.D &
CEO, Canara Bank was the guest of honour. The paintings portray the stiff
challenges faced by Kanchi Mahaswami right in his early days, his travel across
length and breadth of the country by foot, contribution in kindling patriotism
among the masses and spirit of service. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Mohan
Bhagwat, said: “The Mahaswami symbolized Sanatana Dharma and guided many people
through his life.” Bhagwatji also felicitated Priyavrata Patil, a 16 year old
lad who achieved a great feat in Vyakarna Shastra studies by clearing all 14
tests in Tenali MahaPariksha. He has completed it in two years what is usually
completed in seven years. -GoTop
6. SEWA SANGAM 2020 PUNE: Sewa with the spirit of Self
Reliance: “The Sewa projects run in Bharat for the upliftment of deprived
people of our society are basically inspired by the spiritual thought. We regard
sewa as dharma. That is why sewa has been a means to shun the ego”, said RSS
Sahsarkaryavah Dr. Manmohan Vaidya while inaugurating the two day Sewa Sangam
Exhibition on January 18 in Pune. Mayor of Pune Murlidhar Mohol, Cleanliness
Ambassador of Pune Mahadev Jadhav and film actress YuktaMukhi were also present.
About 125 voluntary organizations joined the exhibition and showcased their sewa
activities that they carry out in different areas. Addressing the concluding
ceremony of the exhibition on January 19, RSS national executive member and
former Akhil Bharatiya Sewa Pramukh Suhasrao Hiremath stressed on inculcating
the spirit among those who are being served today to serve the other needy
people after they come out of poverty. -GoTop
7. RSS HAS NO CONNECTION WITH POLITICS, WORKS FOR 130 CRORE
BHARATIYAS : DR. MOHAN BHAGWAT: RSS has no connection with politics, it
works for 130 crore Bharatiyas and it works only to uplift the moral, cultural
and human values of the country said RSS Sarasanghachalak Shri Mohan Bhagwat .
Addressing a large gathering in Moradabad on January 18 Shri Bhagwat said people
from all walks of life are a part of the organization while some also run
political parties. He also denied that the RSS was "remote controlling" the BJP
pointing out that the organization was working for all 130 crore Bharatiyas.
"There are so many top class intellectuals and social reformers who are not our
allies but have our ideology. This is our success," he asserted. Shri Bhagwat
said that the RSS was working with very few persons when it was formed in 1925
but has grown into an organization with 1.3 lakh branches throughout the country
due to continuous dedication towards nation building.
-GoTop
8. ISRO SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETES THREE ORBIT RAISING
MANOEUVRES OF GSAT-30 ISRO has successfully completed the three
orbit-raising manoeuvres of communication satellite GSAT-30 and succeeded in
placing it in an orbit close to its operational orbit. The cumulative duration
of operation of the propulsion system for these manuoeuvres was 2 hours 29
minutes. The satellite was launched on January 17 onboard Ariane 5 rocket from
French Guiana. With a mission life of 15 years, GSAT-30 is an operational
communication satellite for DTH, television uplink and VSAT services.
-GoTop
9. NEUROSCIENCE AND THE ‘SANSKRIT EFFECT’: Sanskrit
scholars in Bharat learn to chant ancient texts from a tender age. They chant
simple mantras, Sanskrit poetry, and prose, along with memorizing and chanting
the most ancient Sanskrit texts, including the Shukla Yajurveda, which takes six
hours to chant. Neuroscience shows how rigorous memorizing can help the brain.
The term the ‘Sanskrit Effect’ was coined by neuroscientist James Hartzell, who
studied 21 professionally qualified Sanskrit pandits. He discovered that
memorizing Vedic mantras increases the size of brain regions associated with
cognitive function, including short and long-term memory. Dr. Hartzell, a
Sanskrit devotee and postdoctoral researcher at Spain’s Basque Centre on
Cognition, Brain and Language, has noticed that the more Sanskrit he studied and
translated, the better his verbal memory seemed to become.
-GoTop
10. RAMAKRISHNA MISSION MONK WINS BHARAT’S HIGHEST MATHS
AWARD: Swami Vidyanandaji Mahan Maharaj alias Mahan Mitra is a monk with the
Ramakrishna Mission order and he has been awarded this year’s Shanti Swarup
Bhatnagar award for mathematics, the highest academic honour for science in
Bharat. The 45-year-old Swami is fluent in English, Hindi and Bengali. Mahan
Mitra studied in St Xavier’s Collegiate School till Class XII and cracked
IIT-JEE to enter the prestigious IIT Kanpur to study electrical engineering.
After completing his MSc, he went to University of California, Berkeley. After
coming back from US, he renounced the worldly affairs and became a monk. Mahan
Maharaj, who teaches M Sc students and takes course work for PhD students,
joined the RK Mission institution in 1998 after a PhD from the UCB.
-GoTop
11. BHARAT PLAYS KEY ROLE IN WORLD’S LARGEST TELESCOPE:
Bharat’s contribution to the world’s largest telescope just got bigger. Apart
from producing edge sensors, mirrors, actuators and electronics for the Thirty
Metre Telescope (TMT) which is in development in Hawaii, Bharat will also
develop a high-resolution optical spectrometer (HROS) for it. The spectrometer —
a device that collects light waves and uses them to determine what material
created the light — is expected to enhance the telescope’s glimpse into
formation of the first galaxies as well as Milky Way’s neighbour, Andromeda,
while also mapping the elements formed during Big Bang such as hydrogen and
helium.-GoTop
12. 'PARASHURAM MELA' BEGINS AT PARASHURAM KUND IN
ARUNACHAL PRADESH: The famous Parashuram Kund Mela began on 14th January in
Arunachal Pradesh on the eve of Makar Sankranti. Devotees from across the
country and Nepal visit the sacred place to take a holy dip in the Kund.
The Puranic story mentioned in the Kalika Purana, the Srimad Bhagavata and the
Mahabharata says that Bhagwan Parashuram beheads his mother and eventually
performs a penance. After his penance, he atones for his sin by taking a bath in
the nearby Brahma Kund at this site. Every year thousands of Hindu devotees
throng the Mela and take a holy dip in the sacred Kund on the occasion of Makar
Sankranti. -GoTop
13. HUM WAPAS AAYENGE: KASHMIRI PANDITS PLEDGE TO RETURN TO
VALLEY: To mark the 30th anniversary of the mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits
from the Valley, members of the community took to social media to post videos of
themselves by narrating the "Hum Aayenge Apne Watan" dialogue from an upcoming
flick, 'Shikara', with the hope that they would return to their homeland one
day. On January 19, the Hindu American Foundation, an advocacy organization that
highlights human rights violations against Hindus around the world, held vigils
across the United States to mark the 30th anniversary of the Kashmiri Pandit
Exodus Day. The HAF partnered with several local organizations to hold
candlelight vigils in Sacramento, San Jose, Concord, and Fresno, California;
Miami, Florida; Philadelphia, PA; and Sugar Land, Texas. A number of other
independently organized community events, including memorial services and local
seva (service) events, also commemorated the 30th year of Kashmiri Hindu
cleansing and exile. The turnout topped 200 people at several locations.
-GoTop
14. MUSLIM BHAJAN SINGER, ‘LANGAR BABA’, SUNDARBAN DOCTOR
AMONG PADMA AWARD WINNERS: Padma Awards 2020 continue the tradition started
by the Modi government a few years ago, of honouring unsung heroes who have been
silently contributing to social, cultural, educational and environmental fields.
The list of 21 such Padma Shri awardees includes a Bhopal gas leak victim who
spent 35 years of his lifespan working with other survivors, a ‘divyang’ from
Anantnag in J&K who runs a school for specially-abled children; a ‘langar baba’
who has been feeding patients and attendants outside a hospital in Punjab; a
doctor in West Bengal who travels 6 hours each day to Sundarban villages to
treat patients; an orange seller who spends his meagre earnings on educating
children; a former manual scavenger lady who now heads the Sulabh International
Social Service Organization; an elephant conservationist from Assam; Mysuru
based husband and wife who run Sanskrit daily ’Sudharma’ and a Muslim bhajan
singer from Rajasthan who has penned bhajans in praise of Lord Krishna and cows.
Among the commoners honoured this year is Late Abdul Jabbar, a 1983 Bhopal gas
leak victim who ran an advocacy group for other victims and survivors. He
provided vocational training to 2300 widows of gas leak victims and fought for
medical rehabilitation of victims in courts.
-GoTop
15. RICKSHAW RUN 2019 - LET EVERY DEAF CHILD SPEAK (A
FUNDRAISING INITIATIVE BY SEWA UK): Rickshaw Run 2019 organized by Sewa UK
with Saksham as local partner in Bharat, was a unique event, featuring 30
auto-rickshaws carrying 94 people for 12 days around 2600 km from Kanyakumari (Tamilnadu)
to Ahmedabad (Gujarat). It was organized to raise funds for Cochlea Pune for
Hearing and Speech, which offers Cochlear Implant surgery for congenitally deaf
children and then they offer speech therapy to these children to enable them to
speak.
At Cochlea Pune for hearing and speech, the team met and interacted with kids
who were undergoing process of cochlear implant and then speech therapy. This
organization was started by Dr Avinash Vachasundar. With the funds raised
through Rickshaw Run 2019, newer infrastructure will be built which will enable
many more kids from larger surrounding area to be given the opportunity to
undergo surgery as well as speech therapy and have a chance at better life.
-GoTop
16. BHARAT’S FIRST GANDHI CONVENTION CENTRE IN NIGER: External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and President of Niger Mahamadou Issoufou on 21st January jointly inaugurated the first convention centre established in Africa by Bharat to honour the memory of Mahatma Gandhi whose 150th Birth Anniversary was observed last year. The convention centre has been designed as a spacious, modern and eco-friendly facility, including a 2,000 capacity Plenary Hall, to witness high-level and wide-ranging participation from African Union member states and other high-level conventions. Dr. Jaishankar, the first Bharatiya Foreign Minister to visit the West African country, met PM Brigi Rafini and discussed bilateral ties. -GoTop
17. HINDU AMERICAN SUHAS SUBRAMANYAM INTO VIRGINIA STATE
LEGISLATURE: Suhas Subramanyam was officially sworn in as the first
Bharatiya American and Hindu-American to the Virginia state Legislature on 8th
January. He took oath on Bhagvad Geeta.
Bharatiya American Usha Reddi was chosen as the new mayor of Manhattan, Kansas
on 7th January. Reddi, who served as mayor pro tem before being selected as
mayor, served as the mayor of Manhattan in 2016 and 2017.
-GoTop
18. REFUGEE, OHIOAN, FIRST NEPALI-BHUTANESE ELECTED IN US:
Moments after reciting the oath of office, a swarm of people descended upon
Bhuwan Pyakurel. In between receiving congratulatory handshakes, the new
Reynoldsburg councilman humbly posed for group photos and selfies as loved ones
and strangers captured the historic moment. Believed to be the first
Nepali-Bhutanese man to be elected into office in the U.S., Pyakurel expressed
immense gratitude toward his friends, family, and everyone who helped him along
the way. -GoTop
19. PAK-BORN WOMAN WHO GOT BHARATIYA CITIZENSHIP IN
SEPTEMBER, ELECTED SARPANCH IN RAJASTHAN: Amid row over Citizenship
Amendment Act, and proposed National Register of Citizens, a Pakistani immigrant
Neeta Kanwar, who became a Bharatiya citizen in September 2019, was elected
sarpanch of a gram panchayat in Rajasthan on 17th January. Born in Pakistan,
Kanwar came to Bharat for higher studies. She graduated in Arts from Ajmer’s
Sophia College in 2005 and got married to Punya Pratap Karan of Natwara on
February 19, 2011. She applied for Bharatiya citizenship after marriage and got
it in September 2019. She said she would like to work for the women by
organizing them into self-help groups to ensure their financial independence.
-GoTop
20. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Shri Saumitra
Gokhale, samyojak Vishwa Vibhag will visit New Zealand and Australia. Dr Ram
Vaidya, sahsamyojak will visit Russia, Ukraine and Japan.
Visitors: Smt Sarlaben and Ma Dhirajbhai Shah —UK.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: We must never be dejected. Our work is God’s work. We
must be sure that He will definitely get it done.— RSS Founder Dr. Keshav
Baliram Hedgewar -GoTop
JAI SHREE RAM
---
UNDERSTANDING THE CITIZENSHIP AMENDEMENT ACT
RAJIV SIKRI
A widespread and
unseemly controversy has broken out in India over the Citizenship Amendment Act
passed by the Indian Parliament in December 2019 that fast tracks citizenship
for persecuted minorities in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh belonging to
the Hindu, Sikh, Christian, Buddhist, Jain and Parsi faiths. This brings closure
to a sad and messy legacy of the Partition of India in 1947, when the new,
expressly Muslim, state of Pakistan was carved out of India. There were
widespread bloodshed and killings in both India and Pakistan as millions of
Hindus and Sikhs migrated from, Punjab, Sindh and Northwest Frontier Province of
West Pakistan (now Pakistan) to India, and Muslims, mostly from Punjab, Delhi
and Uttar Pradesh in India migrated to West Pakistan. Many Hindus and Sikhs
living in Afghanistan also migrated to India since there was an open, undefined
border and movement of people between Afghanistan and undivided India. However,
the exchange of populations was not comprehensive. Some chose not to migrate,
others just could not manage to do so. On the India-East India (now Bangladesh)
border, although the partition was less violent and bloody, there has been a
steady inflow of Hindu refugees into India from East Pakistan/Bangladesh over
the last seven decades.
Religious minorities have suffered enormously in Pakistan, and to a lesser
extent in Bangladesh (till recently), as well as in Afghanistan. All three
countries are today officially Islamic states where Muslims enjoy special rights
and privileges, while minorities continue to be discriminated against,
humiliated and persecuted. Many have been forcibly converted to Islam. Women
belonging to the minority communities have been raped, kidnapped, and forced
into marriage with Muslims. Hundreds of Hindu and Sikh temples have been
destroyed or allowed to fall into ruin. As a result, the share of minorities in
these three countries has come down, drastically. Thousands of people belonging
to these persecuted minorities have sought refuge in India, and have been given,
on an ad hoc basis, Indian citizenship. The new law merely formalizes this
process so that the refugees languishing here can be given Indian citizenship
that would enable them to secure admissions in educational institutions, get
jobs, buy property, enjoy state welfare benefits and thereby have a more secure
and dignified life. This is also India’s moral obligation, one that has been
publicly articulated by leaders of all political parties over the decades,
including former PM Manmohan Singh, himself a Sikh refugee from Pakistan.
Why then such a brouhaha? Many Indian opposition parties, frustrated at being
out of power, have deliberately distorted this issue and stoked a controversy,
spreading, imaginary fears among Muslims in India that they would be deprived of
their citizenship, even though the new law has no impact on or relevance to
those who are already Indian citizens, irrespective of their religion. These
parties, with an eye on their traditional, but weakening, Muslim vote bank that
relies on creating insecurity among Muslims, continue to mischievously and
irresponsibly conflate the Citizenship Amendment Act with a proposed National
Register of Citizens, even though Prime Minister Modi has clearly and
emphatically declared publicly that the process of having a National Register of
Citizens will not be initiated without widespread consultations.
Fears that India would no longer remain a pluralistic society are unwarranted.
There is strong and widespread public support for an India where people
belonging to all religions and communities feel secure and not discriminated
against. India has special legal and constitutional provisions to protect all
minorities including Muslims (whose share in India’s total population has
steadily risen). It needs to be plainly and unequivocally stated: Indian Muslims
are an integral part of India’s society and India is their home. India is proud
that some of the biggest Bollywood stars and sports icons are Muslim, as are
many successful and prosperous business and Industry leaders. We also have proud
and patriotic Muslim soldiers and generals, wise and fair Muslim judges,
efficient and committed Muslim officials and policemen, brilliant and respected
Muslim scientists and engineers. All sects of Islam can and do peaceably follow
their religious practices in India. Minorities, including Muslims, manage their
own places of worship and institutions, and can have their own educational
institutions where their children are taught about their religions. Whatever
development work is being done – roads, water supply, gas connections, housing,
toilets, education, health, etc. – is not targeted to favor any particular
community.
India remains a robust democracy, where the Constitution is supreme. There is
ample room for debate and opposition, and an established legal and judicial
process for redressal of grievances. While peaceful protest is acceptable,
violence is not. People should be held accountable if they destroy public
property and attack police personnel and institutions. Everyone must respect the
institution and authority of Parliament. Street mobs and political rhetoric
cannot undo laws that have been duly legislated by Parliament after an open
debate. Nor can State Governments and legislatures defy laws that, under the
Indian Constitution, are the remit of Parliament. One hopes that all political
parties will act responsibly and channelize public opinion in a constructive
direction. (Rajiv Sikri is the former Bharatiya Ambassador to Kazakhstan and
former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs.) January 14, 2020
https://www.indiawest.com
-GoTop
Shri Vishwa Niketan www.shrivishwaniketan.blogspot.com vishwav@bol.net.in
