\ SAMVAD संवाद
श्री विश्व निकेतन SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN
Shravana Krishna 11, Vik. Samvat 2077, Yugabda 5122:16 July, 2020: SM 2008 (For Private Circulation Only)
1. FESTIVALS:
AMARNATH YATRA BEGINS WITH SPECIAL PRAYERS: Special prayers were held on 5th
July at Pahalgam on the occasion of 'Aashadh-Poornima', marking the traditional
commencement of the annual Amarnath yatra in the South Kashmir.
The pilgrimage this year will have to be undertaken in a restricted manner as
per the arrangements made. A maximum of 500 pilgrims would be allowed per day by
road from Jammu towards the cave. In view of the yatra, the holy mace of Bhagwan
Shiva was taken to Pahalgam and Martand Surya temple. The annual pilgrimage
begins with Bhoomi Poojan at Pahalgam and Chaddi Ashnan (Holy Bath) at fresh
water springs of Martand Surya Temple. This special bhoomipujan was organized
under the supervision of Mahant Dipendra Giri in presence of local devotees.
-GoTop
2. BUDDHA'S MESSAGE SERVES LIKE BEACON: RASHTRAPATI JI:
“As the coronavirus pandemic ravages human lives and economies across the world,
Bhagwan Buddha's message of shunning vices like hatred and violence to find
happiness serves like a beacon”, Rashtrapati Ram Nath Kovind said while
inaugurating the Aashadh Poornima celebrations organized by International
Buddhist Confederation ( IBC )on 4th July at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Dharma Chakra
Day, called as Dharma Chakra Parvattana or "Turning of the Wheel of Dharma",
commemorates Bhagwan Buddha's first discourse to his first five ascetic
disciples at Sarnath near Varanasi.
Speaking at the program, Union Minister of Culture Prahlad Singh Patel expressed
his gratitude towards IBC for organizing this event. Patel presented the copies
of Mongolian Kanjur to Rashtrapati of Bharat Shri Kovind and Ambassador of
Mongolia to Bharat H.E Mr. Gonching Ganboid and said that the Culture Ministry
has decided to deliver these copies in all the Monasteries of Mongolia.
-GoTop
3. WORLD CAN LEARN FROM INDIA HOW TO BUILD SUSTAINABLE
FUTURE: PRINCE CHARLES: Britain's Prince Charles has lauded Bharat's
'sustainable' way of life amid the coronavirus pandemic saying that the
country's diversity and resilience is a personal inspiration for him and much to
teach all.
Speaking at a program ‘India Global Week 2020’ through a virtual link from
London, the Prince of Wales said, "As we rebuild in the current crisis, we have
an unparalleled opportunity to put people and planet at the heart of global
value creation, and to move towards sustainable markets that generate long-term
value through the balance of natural, social, human and physical capital."
Talking about the ancient Hindu concept of 'Aparigraha', Prince of Wales said,
"India has always understood this. Its philosophy and values have emphasized the
sustainable way of life and a harmonious relationship between humanity and
nature. For example, the yogic principle of 'Aparigraha' (the virtue of
non-possessiveness, non-grasping or non-greediness) encourages us to keep only
that which is necessary at a certain stage of life."
-GoTop
4. PM MODI ADDRESSES SOLDIERS IN LADAKH: Pradhan Mantri
Narendra Modi travelled to Nimu in Ladakh to interact with Bharatiya troops on
3rd July. Nimu is surrounded by the Zanskar range and is on the banks of river
Indus. He met the top leadership of the Army and later interacted with personnel
of the Army, Air Force and ITBP.
Pradhan Mantri paid rich tributes to the valour of our Armed Forces, stating
that their courage and devotion to Mother India is unparalleled. He spoke at
length about how the virtues of peace, friendship and courage have been a part
of Bharat’s culture since time immemorial. He recalled that Bharat has always
given a befitting reply to anyone who has tried to disturb the prevailing
atmosphere of peace and progress.
He said that the time for expansionism is over. This is the era of development.
He also recalled that it is this mindset of expansionism that did great harm in
past also. -GoTop
5. SWADESHI IS NOT JUST A SLOGAN OR CAMPAIGN: BHAGAIAH:
Sah Sarkaryavah of RSS V Bhagaiahji has said that Swadeshi is not a slogan or
just a campaign, but it is the basis for overall eco system promoting peace,
prosperity and security. Following the current economic model of development,
structures have been created for indiscriminate exploitation of nature for the
consumption of humans, due to which world has been experiencing rising unrest,
mistrust, anarchy and discontent.
He said that to change this destructive model of development, Swadeshi
Swavalamban Abhiyan has been started by Swadeshi Jagran Manch. He added that
apart from the organizations of the Sangh ideology, many other organizations
including Gayatri Parivar, Jaggi Ji Maharaj and others have already owned this
campaign as their campaign.
Bhagaiahji was expressing his views on the occasion of online release of the
booklet ‘Swadeshi Swavalamban Ki Or Bharat’ (Hindi) and ‘India Marching Towards
Swadeshi and Self Reliance’ (English) written by Satish Kumar, Coordinator of
Swadeshi Swavalamban Abhiyan. -GoTop
6. HINDU COMMUNITY PROTESTS AT GENEVA AGAINST PERSECUTION OF
MINORITIES IN PAKISTAN: Hindu community protested in front of Broken Chair
at Geneva ( a monument which symbolizes opposition to land mines and cluster
bombs ) against the ongoing persecution of minorities in Pakistan. The protests
came during the ongoing 44th session of the UN Human Rights Council. The
protesters called for stopping of abduction of Hindu girls, institutionalized
torture of Hindus in Pakistan and forceful conversions to Islam. They also
called upon the UNHRC to demand implementation of human rights in Pakistan and
stop the genocide of Hindus there. The protesters held placards with slogans of
their demands. -GoTop
7. MOM CAPTURES IMAGE OF THE MARS’ BIGGEST MOON PHOBOS:
The Mars Colour Camera (MCC) onboard ISRO’s Mars Orbiter Mission has captured
the image of Phobos, the closest and biggest moon of Mars. The image was taken
on 1st July when MOM was about 7,200 km from Mars and 4,200 km from Phobos. The
mission also known as Mangalyaan, was initially meant to last six months, but
subsequently ISRO had said it had enough fuel for it to last ‘many years.’ The
country had successfully placed the Mars Orbiter Mission spacecraft in orbit
around the red planet on 24th September 2014, in its very first attempt, thus
breaking into an elite club. -GoTop
8. HELPING NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITIES: While the
outbreak of COVID-19 has sparked concern all over the world, Native American
communities are among those that have been hit the hardest, with some of the
highest known infection rates in the world. These vulnerable nations live in
isolated areas and are unable to access essential services during this time. In
response to their needs, Sewa International is collaborating with International
Center for Cultural Studies (ICCS) and is in direct communication with the
tribal leaders of the Navajo Nation, Yakama Nation, and other Native American
communities in the US to provide them with critical supplies and help them fight
the pandemic. The Navajo Nation is the largest Native American territory in the
United States, spanning parts of Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico.
Sewa International’s Phoenix Chapter has donated over 1,300 masks and helped
more than 200 Navajo families with groceries, medical supplies, and other
necessities.
Another community benefitting from Sewa’s support is the Yakama Nation in
Washington state. This Native American community of 3,000+ families was
immediately supported with a critical supply of masks for protection, including
more than 1,000 surgical, 300 KN- 95, and 2,120 home-made masks and a total of
126,000 pounds of groceries and custom medical supplies such as non-contact
infrared thermometers.-GoTop
9. SUR SANGAM- SEWA USA COVID SOLIDARITY CONCERT: Sewa
International USA, in partnership with TV ASIA, organized Live Musical Concert
on 14th June where the most popular and loved Bharatiya singers performed for
their fans and exhorted them to contribute for Covid-19 relief work. The
concert, SUR SANGAM was graced by prominent singers like Anup Jalota, Ankit
Tiwari, Jaspinder Narula, Shaan, Madhushree Bhattacharya and Daler Mehndi. The
show went live on TV ASIA channel as well as on Sewa Social Media channels. The
donation thus collected from the show would be utilized to provide essentials to
people impacted due to COVID in USA and Bharat.
-GoTop
10. COVID –19 SEWA IN SOUTH AFRICA: Hindu Swayamsevak
Sangh HSS South Africa, Sewa International and World Hindu Federation South
Africa supported over 5000 beneficiaries during Covid-19 by distributing 6000
masks and sanitizers, 500 Hamper Kits, 1000 fresh food packets with the help of
100 karyakartas. Apart from that, Sewa was able to reach 20,000+ audience via
social media & online webinars. -GoTop
11. SEVA BHARTI BUILDS A BAMBOO BRIDGE IN KERALA: The
villagers near Moolamattom in Kerala are faced with a unique problem every year.
The village, situated in Arappuzhalam panchayat in Idukki district is surrounded
by forests all around. Every year during the rainy season the water level rises
and the area around the village become difficult to tread, especially for the
aged and the children. The village is practically cut-off from the outside
world.
A Seva Bharati team visited the village and arranged for the necessary materials
to build a temporary bamboo bridge. The volunteers built the bamboo bridge which
enables those in and around the village to walk to the nearest town.
Every year, people like Sunny used to stay unconnected to the nearest town till
the rains stopped and the water levels subsided. However this year due to the
efforts of the swayamsevaks of Seva Bharti, many like Sunny have a bridge on
which they can commute and buy essential items from Moolamattom.-GoTop
12. ASIA'S LARGEST POWER PROJECT DEDICATED TO NATION:
Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation the 750 MW Rewa Ultra Mega
Solar Power project via video conference on 10th July. It is Asia's largest
power project.
Speaking on the occasion PM Modi said the Rewa project will make the entire
region a major hub for pure and clean energy in this decade. He praised the
effort in that it will also supply power to the Delhi Metro, along with the
entire region surrounding Rewa. He said very soon Madhya Pradesh would be the
main centre of Solar Energy in Bharat, as such major projects are in progress in
Neemuch, Shajapur, Chattarpur and Omkareshwar. He also termed such Solar Energy
projects are a true representation of Aatmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India).
He said that the Government is working towards making our environment, our air,
our water to remain pure and this thinking is also reflected in the policy and
strategy on solar energy. Pradhan Mantri said Bharat is also focusing on
reducing its dependence on imports of various hardware needed for solar plants,
like photovoltaic cells, battery and storage.
-GoTop
13. SC UPHOLDS RIGHT OF TRVANCORE ROYAL FAMILY IN SREE
PADMANABHA SWAMY TEMPLE: The Supreme Court, in a verdict on 13th July,
upheld the rights of the erstwhile royal family of Travancore in the
administration and management of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple in
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
Putting an end to the nine-year-long dispute, the apex court overturned the
January 2011 judgment of the Kerala High Court, which had ruled that the state
government should take over the control of the temple from a trust headed by the
former royal family. Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple is one of the richest temples
in the world after the discovery of wealth locked in 'kallaras' (vaults) for
centuries.
“Great God’s will prevailed. Will say more about it after going through the
whole verdict, said Princess Gowri Lakshmibai of the erstwhile Travancore royal
family soon after the judgment.
The Court further specified that all members of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple
committee will be Hindus. -GoTop
14. '58 BHARATIYA -ORIGIN EXECUTIVES EMPLOY OVER 3.6 MLN
GLOBALLY ACCOUNT FOR 1 TRILLION IN REVENUE: A group of 58 Bharatiya-origin
executives heading various companies across 11 different countries, including
the US, Canada and Singapore, collectively employ more than 3.6 million people
and account for a combined USD 1 trillion in revenue, USD 4 trillion in market
capitalization, according to a list released by a US-based top Bharatiya
diaspora organization.
Bharat-origin business leaders are reaching the pinnacle of corporate success in
greater numbers than ever, many use their platforms for social change advocacy,
said Indiaspora, a nonprofit organization of global Bharatiya diaspora leaders
from various backgrounds and professions.
The Indiaspora Business Leaders list of 58 executives heading companies
headquartered across 11 different countries, including the US, Canada, England,
and Singapore and these companies have delivered annualized returns of 23 per
cent during the tenure of these executives, outperforming the S&P 500 by 10 per
cent.
“We wanted to capture this incredible feat that our community is achieving with
increasing numbers,” said Indiaspora founder MR Rangaswami, a Silicon
Valley-based entrepreneur and investor.
Releasing the list during a virtual press conference, Rangaswami said that these
executives are as young as 37, all the way to age 74 with the median age of
these executives being 54.
During this coronavirus pandemic, these companies have made lots of humanitarian
aid contributions, and also, they're taking care of their employees, their
customers, their supply chain.-GoTop
15. BHARAT’S 2018 TIGER CENSUS SETS WORLD RECORD:
Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi's 2018 initiative 'Tiger Census' has set a new
Guinness Record. The fourth edition of the census, which was carried out between
2018-19, was "the most comprehensive to date, in terms of both resource and data
amassed," mentions the Guinness Book of World Record on its website.
The country now has an estimated 2967 tigers as per the latest census. With this
number, Bharat is home to nearly 75 percent of the global tiger population and
has already fulfilled its resolve of doubling tiger numbers, made at St.
Petersburg in 2010, well ahead of the target year of 2022. Camera traps were
placed in 26,838 locations across 141 different sites and surveyed an effective
area of 1 lakh 21 thousand 337 square kilometers. From the photographs, 2,461
individual tigers were identified using stripe-pattern-recognition software.
-GoTop
16. IFS OFFICER’S BAMBOO BOTTLES REPLACE PLASTIC: Eight
months ago, Indian Forest Services officer Prasada Rao undertook an initiative
to help the tribal communities in Tripura use the locally-available resources to
make value-added products in a bid to make them economically self-dependent. He
chose to put his trust in bamboo.
The NorthEastern state of Tripura grows 28 per cent of Bharat’s annual bamboo
yield. Using this abundant resource, he provided training to 1,000 artisans in
making bamboo handles for brooms. These brooms are not only cheaper but also
environmentally friendly as they eliminate the use of plastic.
Riding on the success of the bamboo broom handles, Prasada launched another
initiative six months ago where he began training artisan families to
manufacture bamboo bottles. He further informs that these leak-proof bottles
come in different sizes –300ml, 500 ml, 750 ml and 1000 ml. The cost starts from
Rs 700 and goes upto Rs 1200, excluding tax and shipping charges.-GoTop
17. RAILWAYS OPERATES FIRST PARCEL TRAIN TO BANGLADESH:
In a major development, the Bharatiya railways operated its first international
cargo express on 10th July to transport red chilies beyond the country borders
to Benapole in Bangladesh from Reddipalem, Andhra Pradesh.
Guntur is well known for Chilies cultivation. Earlier, the farmers and merchants
in and around the Guntur area have been transporting dry Chilies by road to
Bangladesh in small quantities and that was costing around Rs 7000 per tonne.
Guntur division of South Central Railway took the initiative and moved the
special parcel express to Bangladesh. This has helped the farmers and merchants
of Guntur to market their farm produce beyond the country border by transporting
the Dry Chilies in small quantities through Special Parcel Express. The cost per
tonne for carrying by Special Parcel Express is Rs. 4,608 and which is very
cheap and economical as compared to road transport.
-GoTop
18. HINDU SAMHATI LEADER TAPAN GHOSH PASSES AWAY: Tapan
Ghosh, the founder of Hindu Samhati in West Bengal, passed away on July 12. He
was tested positive for coronavirus and admitted at a private hospital in
Mukundapur in Kolkata on 28th June. Tapan Ghosh was a pracharak for RSS for many
years, then worked in Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal at Delhi before
starting ‘Hindu Samhati’ in 2007. The organization, functioning with an aim to
protect Bengali Hindus, has wider presence all over West Bengal. Hindu Samhati
has also opened units in Jharkhand and Assam.
-GoTop
19. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Visitors
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Since the Sangh has never had any hatred for foreigners
or people of other religions and merely worked for uniting the Hindu society,
the word ‘communal’ can never be applied to it. -- Dr. Keshav Baliram
Hedgewar. -GoTop
JAI SHREE RAM
WAKING UP TO CHINA’S MENACING COMMUNIST SPHERE OF INFLUENCE
RAM MADHAV
Recently, the White House National
Security Advisor, Robert C O’Brien was in Phoenix, Arizona to address a meeting
hosted by the Governor, Doug Ducey. The Communist Party of China was O’Brien’s
focus. He also announced that his remarks were going to be the first ‘of several
speeches senior Administration officials will give on this matter over next few
weeks’. He named Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Attorney General William Barr
and FBI Director Chris Wray as the ones to follow. Clearly, the Trump
administration is trying to make China the central campaign issue in the
presidential elections later this year.
O’Brien talked about the ideology of the Communist Party of China – CPC, and how
the Americans have failed to grasp it fully. He described President Xi Jinping
as the successor of Joseph Stalin, who was responsible for the death of over 20
million Russians during his regime in the Soviet Union. “The Chinese Communist
Party seeks total control over the people’s lives. This means economic control,
it means political control, it means physical control, and, perhaps most
importantly, it means thought control”, the NSA said.
O’Brien was right. The CPC obsessively wants to control not just the actions,
but even the thinking of the Chinese people. China is an ancient civilisation.
It is home to great religions like Taoism and Buddhism and philosophies like
Confucianism. Yet, the CPC is driven by none of these. For the CPC, China should
be driven by the Marxist-Leninist thought and the country’s history of the armed
struggle culminating in the establishment of the Communist regime in 1949 under
Mao Tse Tung’s leadership.
The Marxist ideology of proletarian dictatorship, in which man exists only to
serve the state, has been rejected by the entire world. It met with its Waterloo
in the Soviet Union in just seven decades. All other countries too have rejected
this totalitarian ideology. Yet, the ‘Communism with Chinese characteristic’ is
still kicking in the CPC-led China. Stalinist brutality and Maoist ruthless
control are the order of the day in Xi’s regime.
CPC’s most powerful tool is propaganda. In China, it goes on relentlessly. Every
mobile phone comes with an app proclaiming Xi Jinping Thought. Reeducation has
been made mandatory to all the cadres. Party schools flourish all over the
country. For those like the hapless Uighur in Xinjiang, concentration camps and
forced reeducation are the way. While the Uighur elders languish in
concentration camps, their offspring are at the mercy of the party in its
orphanages.
But under Xi, the export of this thought has returned to the Stalinist era
intensity. Many Chinese universities have tied up with universities in the west,
especially in America, to run collaborative centres that spread Chinese
propaganda in the academic world. Several of the Ivy League universities have
such Chinese-funded programs. There are countless radio stations and podcasts
that constantly blare pro-China cacophony.The Chinese Global Television Network
has spread its tentacles far and wide. Confucius centres have mushroomed in
hundreds all over the world. We must also note that the CPC’s influence extends
to many UN organisations. At least four UN organisations are headed by the
Chinese today. The other four permanent members together don’t head as many.
This kind of intense global engagement was the norm during the Cold War era. The
Soviets and the Americans had competed with each other for influence across the
world. In America, this was a major scare in the 1940s and 50s. The famous
Eisenhower Doctrine proclaimed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1957, had
focused on securing nations from the aggression of the ‘international
communism’. Eisenhower doctrine came as a follow up to the much-maligned
‘McCarthyism’, that refers to the Red Scare generated by the Republican
Congressman Joseph McCarthy in 1940s and 50s. While McCarthy was decried and
dismissed for his sweeping and unsubstantiated scare-mongering, there was a
serious realisation about the danger of Soviet Communism spreading its tentacles
in many countries in the world. Eisenhower Doctrine was a result of that
realisation. The very same fears seem to have returned to America today.
In the past, countries like Indonesia have launched massive and brutal purges to
eliminate any traces of Communism from their soil. General Suharto had launched
an infamous campaign against communism in the 1960s that led to the deaths of an
estimated one million Communist sympathisers and cadres. Having erased Communism
from Indonesia in a most savage manner, President Suharto had built a Museum of
Communist Treachery at LubangBuaya on the outskirts of Jakarta that exists even
to this day.
India too had been a victim of these pernicious influences of Communism that had
harmed national interest on many occasions. Jawahar Lal Nehru was among the
first senior leaders to have openly professed love for Communism. Mahatma
Gandhi, however, was categorical about his dislike for it. Calling Socialism and
Communism as western ideas that are “fundamentally different from ours”, Gandhi
declared “I do not subscribe to it”.
Nehru, on the other hand, had openly articulated his fascination with Communism.
In his autobiography, Toward Freedom, Nehru wrote, “… the theory and philosophy
of Marxism lightened up many a dark corner of my mind…… I was filled with a new
excitement”. The Soviets were the first to find a soft target in Nehru. He was
invited to Moscow in 1927 to attend the first decennial of the October
Revolution, together with his family including Motilal Nehru. The Soviets had
turned their attention to Indira Gandhi when she accompanied her father to
Moscow in 1953. That relationship continued and got extended to Rajiv Gandhi.
Mitrokhin Archive graphically reveals how both Indira and Rajiv benefitted from
the Soviet largesse and how Rajiv had thanked them for the monetary support for
his family.
It naturally intrigues everyone that Rahul Gandhi signs an MoU with the CPC on
Congress party’s behalf and the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation receives large sums from
them. Time to remember that the CPC’s stated objective is creating a “community
of common destiny of mankind” – that common destiny being the ‘Xi Jinping
Thought’.
http://chintan.indiafoundation.in/articles/waking-up-to-chinas-menacing-communist-sphere-of-influence/?fbclid=IwAR19gmjGGfyry_28brILGYOygioTpF-_MUCyayqh1nA3NbZkt_4fTYByDGc
SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN vishwav@bol.net.in http://shrivishwaniketan.blogspot.com
