\Samvad

Shravana Krishna 9 Vik. Samvat 2078, Yugabda 5123 : 1 August, 2021:SM 3009 (For Private Circulation only)


1. FESTIVALS: RAKSHA BANDHAN

2. DR MOHAN BHAGWAT RELEASES BOOK ON CAA AT GUWAHATI

3. HSS USA HONORS TEACHERS IN 113 SCHOOLS NATIONWIDE

4. HSS UK HONOURS TRAFFORD TEACHERS

5. HINDU HERITAGE YOUTH CAMP 2021

6. HSS LIBERIA COVID RELIEF WITH RED CROSS

7. HSS FAMILIES IN HOUSTON DONATED BOOKS FOR KIDS

8. SEWA BY HSS DALLAS

9. HSS HIGHWAY CLEANUP ‘ADOPT A HIGHWAY’

10. SEWA INTERNATIONAL ACTVITIES

11. SEWA IN MAHARASHTRA FLOOD AFFECTED AREAS BY RSS

12. SANSKAR BHARTI SUPPORTS NEEDY ARTISTS

13. ‘MAJDOOR GHAR’ INAUGURATED IN GUNTUR

14. HOW ARUNACHAL VILLAGE ACHIEVED 100% VACCINATION

15. SIX PAKISTANI MIGRANTS GRANTED BHARATIYA CITIZENSHIP

16. RAMAPPA TEMPLE IN TELANGANA AND CITY OF DHOLAVIRA GETS UNESCO HERITAGE TAG

17. BHARATIYA STUDENTS BAG MEDALS IN MATHEMATICS OLYMPIAD

18. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN & FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Article: REMEMBERING REVERED JAGDEV RAM UROAN JEE ON HIS FIRST DEATH ANNIVERSARY


1. FESTIVALS: RAKSHA BANDHAN: Raksha Bandhan, celebrated on Shravan Poornima will be celebrated on 21st August this year. Raksha Bandhan stirs up one of the sublime and noblest emotions in the human being – the abiding and chaste bond of love between every being, often expressed as a bond between brother and the sister. Traditionally, the sister ties rakhi – a bracelet in the form of thread or more decorative forms and sweets and gifts are distributed to mark the occasion.

The sister brother relationship highlighted by the Rakhi goes far beyond the mere personal protection of the female from a male. It implies the basic element of an amicable and harmonious social life where all members of the society look upon themselves as brothers and sisters and as children of one common motherland and one universe on a global level.
RSS Swayamsevaks celebrate the utsav in shakhas by tying Rakhi to Bhagwa Dhwaj and each other and then reach households to tie to rakhi to people in tribal, urban and rural areas alike.
HSS shakhas celebrate the utsav and swayamsevaks in many countries visit lawmakers, fire and police officials and other dignitaries to tie rakhi and convey the message of the Rakhi. -GoTop

2. DR MOHAN BHAGWAT RELEASES BOOK ON CAA AT GUWAHATI: Secularism, democracy and pluralism are inherent in our culture and people of Bharat do not need to understand the concept of inclusiveness from other nations, said RSS Sarsanghchalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat on 21st July while releasing a book titled ‘Citizenship Debate over NRC & CAA: Assam and the Politics of History’ at Shrimanta Shankardev Kalakshetra. He added that the citizens of the great nation have been practicing the concept of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ since thousands of years .
Speaking about the controversies related to citizenship amendment act (CAA), he said that after the partition, the Bharatiya government successfully addressed the concerns of minorities, but Pakistan did not and it compelled hundreds and thousands of persecuted Hindu, Sikh, Jain families to leave their ancestral places and enter Bharat. The CAA rules support those refugees and it has nothing to do with Bharatiya Muslims.
The function was also addressed by Assam chief minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, Guwahati University vice-chancellor Professor PJ Handique and author of the book Prof Nani Gopal Mahanta. -GoTop

3. HSS USA HONORS TEACHERS IN 113 SCHOOLS NATIONWIDE: Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh HSS USA held 99 events nationwide in 73 Cities from 24 States and 113 school districts, felicitating over 1,700 teachers and educators. More than 5,300 participants took part in these events.
To honor the teaching community for their exemplary service in educating the students, the first week in May is considered ‘Teacher Appreciation Week’ in the United States. The first Tuesday of the same week is "National Teacher Day." To celebrate the special occasion, HSS chapters organize an annual event called ‘Guru Vandana.’
This year, due to corona, most chapters organized events in a virtual setting. However, to give a personal touch, children made a gift box for teachers containing sweets, masks, and personalized handmade greeting cards. Teachers received these boxes in advance of the event. During the event, teachers were introduced to the Hindu cultural significance of Guru and Guru Vandana, followed by cultural events and speeches. Most of the teachers wholeheartedly appreciated the initiave in comments like "I love that the event was primarily presented by the kids! It was great to hear about different aspects of their culture directly from them. It was very organized and well done." -GoTop

4. HSS UK HONOURS TRAFFORD TEACHERS: HSS UK shakhas took the initiative to organize a celebration known as Shikshak Vandan Divas, translated as ‘Teacher Appreciation Day’ to show utmost praise and gratitude for the incredible and heroic efforts of teachers, especially during the pandemic period. .
Over 15 events from Cheltenham to Leeds were organized virtually , mostly in July, inviting teachers from local schools and engaging over 500 students to show their respect and appreciation. In The Sale area of Trafford Ganga Shakha/Balagokulam organized their event on 5th July attended by teachers from various schools in Trafford.
The event included recitation of Sanskrit Shlokas by the children, Yoga, fun quiz, and the insight into Guru Shishya relationship in Hindu culture.
A video with gratitude and thanks from over 40 students in various schools in Trafford was played at the event and many children presented their teachers with cards and expressed their gratitude. The teachers attending the event appreciated the efforts and many termed it a humbling experience. -GoTop

5. HINDU HERITAGE YOUTH CAMP 2021: Annual Hindu Heritage youth camp HHYC, organized under the banner of Hindus of Greater Houston, will be going offline to the joy of all. 55 HHYC counselors, most of whom are former campers came together in June to prepare for the annual event , scheduling camp activities and played games and other activities.
The directors for HHYC 2021, Shamal Shah and Ranjan Veludandi shared the feelings as , " After directing virtual camp last year, it has been an exciting experience getting to direct for in-person camp.” For 37 years, HHYC has inspired youth to expand their knowledge of Hindu concepts, culture, and rich values through programs in camp viz bhajans, yoga, games etc.
After an year of isolation, the HHYC community is counting down the days until 250 campers can come together to reconnect with friends on 8th August. -GoTop

6. HSS LIBERIA COVID RELIEF WITH RED CROSS: Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh HSS Liberia and Liberia National Red Cross Society (LNRCS) provided food and rations to several orphanages and disabled organizations in Montserrado County during the week preceding Liberia independence day, starting on 19th July. Assorted items distributed were rice, gallons of oil, cartons of biscuit and cartons of candy. The organizations who received the assistance were group of 77, United Association of the Blind, Sis Aye Home, Share cared Children Home, Khantan Children village and Antoinette Tubman Cheshire Home.
Secretary General of the LNRCS Ambullai Perry and President of HSS Liberia Rohit Suji, said, “Food is a necessity, as absolutely essential in terms of life-saving and our major concern is to provide food ration to people with special needs on this Independence Day to enable you to celebrate with your families without any worry about food in the home. -GoTop

7. HSS FAMILIES IN HOUSTON DONATED BOOKS FOR KIDS
Houston vibhag has collected over 330 gently used children's books through a book drive for the young souls in low income families. These collected books were donated to 'Books Between Kids' organization.
Books Between Kids collects these kind of books, sorts, organizes them as per reading levels and distributes to at risk kids in Greater Houston. In nine years, this organization has distributed 1.7 million books to over 500,000 children in 44 zip codes. Few of the HSS karyakartas and balas went for drop off at their facility on 21st July. Bal swayamsevaks loved the idea of volunteering at this facility to sort and organize in future and helping some kids get their reading scores up!-GoTop

8. SEWA BY HSS DALLAS: Swayamsevaks from Dallas Vibhag did volunteering shift at Metrocrest Resale in Carrollton TX. Work included sorting, bagging, shelving, stocking and moving the items and making it available for the sale. Total 8 Swayamsevaks joined the shift including 3 kishores. -GoTop

9. HSS HIGHWAY CLEANUP ‘ADOPT A HIGHWAY’: HSS volunteers in Schumburg, IL and Balagokulam Abhimanyu Schaumburg did highway cleanup as part of Adopt a Highway program on 10th July from 9-11 am. This is the second cleanup of this year where total 25 karyakartas ( including kishors) participated. This is a example of great team work by local Shakha to serve the community. -GoTop

10. SEWA INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES: Sewa International raises $30 million, airlifts medical equipment to Bharat: A planeload of medical equipment reached New Delhi in first week of July in continuation with Covid related assistance material sent by Sewa USA, making yet another milestone in Sewa International’s efforts to supply much-needed medical equipment to Bharat to help the country fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sewa International USA is procuring needed medical equipment like oxygen concentrators and also helping to build oxygen plants in Bharat. For this, Sewa partnered with Another Joy Foundation to help in transporting lifesaving supplies to Bharat. Since its inception, Another Joy Foundation has been involved in supplying medical equipment, medicines, toys, clothes, and other essential supplies to many countries around the world.
MedStar Foundation Donates PPE Worth $1.4 Million to Sewa International: MedStar Foundation USA donated over $1.4 million worth of Personal Protective Equipment and two CPAP machines to Sewa International on 9th July in an event held at the Foundation’s warehouse in Hyattsville, Maryland.
Ed Robinson, MedStar Health’s vice president of Integrated Support Operations, presented the PPE material to the Maryland Chapter coordinator of Sewa International Dr. Anita Roy. Dr. Siva Subramanian, a pediatric cardiologist at the Georgetown Medical Center Washington DC acted as liaison between MedStar and Sewa International.
“This is the largest in-kind medical equipment donation Sewa has received from a hospital system in the U.S. Sewa is sending the PPE to Trinidad and Tobago and to a few countries in South America which are experiencing the second wave of COVID-19 cases. The CPAP machines will go to India,” said Sree Sreenath, former president of Sewa International, who was present at the event.
SI appeal for Maharsahtra flood relief: Sewa International Bharat has appealed for people affected by floods in Maharashtra and urged to help us provide relief to the disaster stricken districts and people.
More details can be found at #DonateNow https://www.sewainternational.org/Maharashtra-Flood-2021
SI help reached Bangladesh: Sewa International help has reached Bangladesh. Oxygen concentrators and other medical equipments reached Dhaka and were received by Ram Krishan Mission.
Yoga by Yezidis in Iraq: A Couple of years back, Sewa International sent 5 Yezidi girls from Iraq to Nagpur for training in advance nursing. These girls after coming back started Sewa activities including Yoga and meditation classes. -GoTop

11. SEWA IN MAHARASHTRA FLOOD AFFECTED AREAS BY RSS: Several parts of Maharashtra including Mahad and Chiplun area of Konkan, hilly areas near Mahabaleshwar and cities like Kolhapur in western Maharashtra were badly affected by incessant rains and floods with swollen rivers and discharges from the dams. Over 100 people succumbed to the incidents of landslides, the worst being witnessed at Taliye – dist Raigad where over 40 people lost their lives and about 30 missing ( presumed to have succumbed ) in a landslide. Shops and houses in Mahad and Chiplun were in neck deep water for hours.
RSS swayamsevaks, under the banner of RSS Jankalyan Samiti – Maharashtra Prant immediately started relief activities in the form of supplying fresh food packets, bottled water, medicines and other essential items. Several youth teams from adjoining areas of Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Pen, Panvel stayed put for days doing works like clearing the debris, repairing damaged electrical equipments, sanitization and distributing relief material. Swayamsevaks in Satara district and nearby areas reached to remote villages in Koyna dam area carrying relief material on foot for several kilometers. (For more info, Visit https://www.facebook.com/rssjankalyan/) -GoTop

12. SANSKAR BHARTI SUPPORTS NEEDY ARTISTS: Keeping in mind the struggle of artists of various art genres, Sanskar Bharti, Delhi province, hosted a virtual fundraising concert, titled 'Peer Parai Jaane Re', on 9th July in which eminent artists of the country from diverse art fields like literature, music, dance, and cinema participated to raise funds for needy artists. 
Renowned actors such as Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher, stand-up comedian Kapil Sharma and singers including Daler Mehndi, Mika Singh, Sonu Nigam, Kailash Kher appealed for help to Covid-hit artists and gave inspiring speeches.  
Stalwarts from classical music and dance including Pandit Birju Maharaj, Amjad Ali Khan, Sonal Mansingh, Hariharan, Shankar Mahadevan, Anup Jalota, Anuradha Paudwal, Hansraj Hans and Vasifuddin Dagar also participated. 
Summing up, campaign president and MP Hansraj Hans said: "Peer Parai Jaane Re is the biggest campaign in recent years to help the artists in this covid crisis and we want to give assistance to the artists at all levels.”  -GoTop

13. ‘MAJDOOR GHAR’ INAUGURATED IN GUNTUR: ‘Majdoor Ghar’ was inaugurated in Guntur on 23rd July on the occasion of founding day of Bharatiya Majdoor Sangh. B. Surendran, Akhil Bharatiya Organizing Secretary of BMS attended the event as Chief Guest. Surendran said that the Majdoor Sangh office should function as an information center.
Jupudi Haimawati, BMS Secretaries Radha Krishna, Sama Balireddy attended the programme along with other office bearers. -GoTop

14. HOW ARUNACHAL VILLAGE ACHIEVED 100% VACCINATION: The remote New Tupi village under Longo administrative circle in the state’s Tirap district achieved the commendable feat on 8th July after 100% of the villagers falling under the 45 years and above category were inoculated with the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
New Tupi, which has around 80 households, is around 15 kms from Khonsa, the headquarters of Tirap district. The 15 km journey, however, takes anywhere between 1.5 to 2 hours, depending on weather conditions and the rough terrain. Tireless efforts of the medical team, local leaders and most importantly the ASHA workers and one to one counseling helped to alleviate fears and doubts about vaccination before the entire village was fully inoculated. -GoTop

15. SIX PAKISTANI MIGRANTS GRANTED BHARATIYA CITIZENSHIP: Six Pakistani migrants, living in Madhya Pradesh for decades, were granted Bharatiya citizenship on 6th July under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra said these migrants were victims of religious persecution.
Among the six who were granted Bharatiya citizenship, Nandlal and Amit Kumar are residents of Bhopal while Arjundas Manchandani, Jairam Das, Narayan Das and Saushalya Bai are from Mandsaur.
Manchandani said, "We are happy that the government has provided us citizenship. I was neither an Indian nor a Pakistani for the last 31 years, but now I am an Indian citizen". -GoTop

16. RAMAPPA TEMPLE IN TELANGANA AND CITY OF DHOLAVIRA GETS UNESCO HERITAGE TAG: Dholavira- a Harappan era city located in Gujarat's Rann of Kutch was added to the list of World Heritage Sites by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on 27th July.  
This comes two days after the Kakatiya Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple in Telangana got inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  
With this development, Bharat has 40 world heritage properties overall, which include 32 cultural, 7 natural and one mixed property. It should be noted that Italy, Spain, China, Germany and France are the only other countries that have 40 or more World Heritage sites. 
Rudreswara temple, situated at Palampet in the Mulugu district of Telangana was constructed in 1213 AD during the reign of the Kakatiya Empire by Recharla Rudra, a general of Kakatiya king Ganapati Deva. The Harappan city of Dholavira, is one of the very few well preserved urban settlements dating from approximately 3rd to mid-2nd millennium BCE. It is the sixth largest of more than 1,000 Harappan sites discovered so far. -GoTop

 

17. BHARATIYA STUDENTS BAG MEDALS IN MATHEMATICS OLYMPIAD: Bharatiya students have secured one gold, one silver, and three bronze medals in the 62nd International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), which Russia hosted from July 14 -24 and three Silver and one bronze at the 32nd International Biology Olympiad (IBO) hosted by Portugal from July 18 to 23. In all, 619 students from 107 countries participated in the IMO and 304 students from 76 countries in IBO. Both the contests were held online.

-GoTop


18. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Dr Ram Vaidya vishwa vibhag sahsamyojak is touring Switzerland and other Europe countries. Visitors: -GoTop


FOOD FOR THOUGHT: A truthful man is treated as reliable as the mother, as venerable as the guru (preceptor) and as beloved as the one who commands knowledge. — Bhagwan Mahavir -GoTop

JAI SHRI RAM
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REMEMBERING REVERED JAGDEV RAM UROAN JEE ON HIS FIRST DEATH ANNIVERSARY
Vivekanand Nartam

Revered Jagdev Ram Uroan Jee left for heavenly abode exactly a year ago on 15 July 2020 at Akhil Bhartiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ahram’s (ABVKA) National Office at Jashpur, his workplace at least for a half century. While we remember him on his first death anniversary, it’s very important for us as a nation to remember his journey and legacy. He remained National President of ABVKA for twenty five years after inheriting the mantle from his master revered Vanvyogi Balasaheb Deshpande Jee. He truly lived up to the trust and confidence with which the baton was passed on to him by his master. Though he belonged to a poor janjati family in Komdo village in Jashpur Nagar district of today’s Chhattisgarh state, he did not confine himself to the worries of hearth and home. He remained unmarried and dedicated all his life for the cause of janjati community of Bharat.

Jagdev Ram Uroan Jee was born on 8 October 1949 to Aghnu Ram and Buchhubai. He was the eldest of four daughters and three sons of his parents. He started attending RSS Shakhas, the morning and evening gatherings of swayansevaks (volunteers) at his early age. He did his Master of Arts (M.A.) and acquired a degree in Physical Education. Having come from janjati community himself, it was quite easy for him to get a government job in those days and start a normal family life but he chose to live the life of a hermit.
The far-flung and inaccessible areas of today’s Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand primarily inhabited by janjati community had remained much underdeveloped. Poverty, illiteracy due to lack of schools and immense scarcity of health facilities were all pervasive in the region. The situation was rendered a fertile ground for evangelical missions who were fervently carrying on with their activities of converting janjatis into Christian fold taking advantage of their poverty and innocence. It was in this backdrop that Pt. Ravi Shankar Shukla, the then Chief Minister of Central Provinces (today’s Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh) visited the region in the late 1940s. In this visit, he was welcomed everywhere but was shown black flags and asked to go back when he reached Jashpur. His experiences in this visit exposed him to unimaginable backwardness and massive conversion so prevalent among people. This made him think to assuage sufferings and anguish of people by coordinating with revered Thakkar Bappa, a well known Gandhian who had extensively worked in the janjati areas. Very soon social welfare department was established and Balasaheb Deshpande Jee joined the same in 1948. After Thakkar Bappa’s death in January 1951, he found it difficult to carry on with janjati development activities due to administrative pulls and pressures. This made him think that there was a need to carry on with his developmental projects for janjati communities in the area independently leading to the establishment of Vanvasi Kalyan Ahram on 26 December 1952.
In 1977 at Surat Meet of Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, Babasaheb Deshpande Jee decided to expand the organization's activities all over Bharat. Thus Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram became Akhil Bhartiy Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram. Since then Shri Jagdev Ram Jee started travelling with his mentor. In 1985, he was made the member of ABVKA's National Committee and further in 1987 Vice- President, Babasaheb being the President. Two years before passing away in 1995, Balasaheb nominated Jagdev Ram Jee .as the National Working President of ABVKA at its Cuttack National Convention in 1993. The relationship between Balasaheb and Jagdev Ram Jee is embodied in the Guru-Shishya tradition of Bharat like that of Swami Ramkrishna Paramhans and Swami Vivekananda.
Since the time Jagdev Ram ji became president of ABVKA, he played an important role in developing the plant of Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram sown by his master Balasaheb into a banyan tree. At present ABVKA is the largest organization in Bharat working for the overall development of janjatis that covers aspects such as education, health, sports, village development, skill development, youth development, women empowerment, self help groups, protecting janjati constitutional rights and so on all over Bharat. The organization that was started with its first project having only 13 janjati children enrolled to be educated with hostel facilities today has 20,000 projects in 323 districts with footprints in more than 52,000 villages. His life was one of devoted to the cause of janjatis of Bharat and he lived to see that happen. He was staunch believer that the janjatis are very much integral part of Bharat’s socio-cultural fabric from time immemorial. Therefore, he travelled tirelessly from north to south and east to west invoking the thought that we all are one and our destinies are intrinsically interwoven. His contributions in the successful organization of Shabri Kumbh in the Dang District of Gujrat in 2006 in which hundreds and thousands of janjatis from all over Bharat participated are immense. Similarly, he exuberantly participated along with the ocean of janjati people from all over the country in Ardha Kumbh Mela at Ujjain and Mahakumbh Mela at Prayag.
Jagdev Ram Jee was equally concerned about reinvigorating cultural heritage of janjatis. For example; he started Rohtas fort pilgrimage located in the Son River Valley, in the small town of Rohtas in Bihar. The Oraon janjati owes their origin to this fort and surroundings. People from Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bengal etc. are participating in this pilgrimage for many years now. It was in his leadership that ABVKA made rapid strides and became more vocal in the public discourse by bringing in ‘Vision Document’ for socio-economic-cultural development in 2015. He was very crucial in bringing the final draft of the document in consultation with activists, policy makers and academician from across the country. He remained at the fore front in bringing various issues with regard to various issues of janjati community to the notice of constitutional authorities and policy makers and insisted on their timely resolution.
Despite being such a man of stature, his demeanor was that of simplicity, care, affection and compassion towards everyone he met. It’s because of these traits of his personality, he could easily connect with thousands karykartas, men, women and children alike. He certainly is the strongest pillar of ABVKA that has grown leaps and bounds in every nook and corner of the country. He lived and dedicated all his life for the cause of janjatis but his legacy is not confined to a particular community. Moreover, thoughts and deeds of great men must not be kept limited to a particular segment of society. The impact of their life’s work is pan national, across all communities. Therefore, their legacy must be re-invoked and presented to this and coming generations so that we learn to trade the path that men like Jagdev Ram Jee have created for us to follow. ( Vivekanand Nartam is Assistant Professor at Shyamlal College, University of Delhi, https://www.newsbharati.com/Encyc/2021/7/15/Jagdev-Ram-Uroan.html-GoTop


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