\Samvad

Falgun Shukla 13 Vik. Samvat 2078, Yugabda 5123 : 16 March, 2022:SM 3024 (For Private Circulation only)


1. FESTIVALS: VARSHA PRATIPADA 2. EXISTENCE OF RIVER SARASWATI SHOULD BE ESTABLISHED:DR. MOHAN BHAGWAT
3. PM MODI CALLS FOR OBSERVING ANNUAL 'NADI UTSAV' FOR WATER CONSERVATION 4. RSS - AKHIL BHARATIYA PRATINIDHI SABHA : ABPS RESOLUTION - NEED TO PROMOTE WORK OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE BHARAT SELF RELIANT
5. OPERATION GANGA: BHARATIYA CITIZENS EVACUATED 6. SEWA EUROPE HELPS IN EVACUATION FROM UKRAINE
7. HSS USA CELEBRATED BLACK HISTORY MONTH 8. MP CHANDRA ARYA URGES CANADIAN PARLIAMENT TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN HINDU SWASTIKA AND NAZI HAKENKREUZ
9. BAPS, ISKCON AND ART OF LIVING IN UKRAINE 10. MANGALURU: VILLAGERS UNITE TO BRING 800-YEAR-OLD TEMPLE BACK TO LIFE
11. INDIGENOUS ANTI-COLLISION SYSTEM 'KAVACH' TO AVOID RAIL ACCIDENTS SUCCESSFULLY TESTED BY BHARATIYA RAILWAYS: 12. RASHTRAPATI KOVIND CONFERS NARI SHAKTI PURASKARS:
13. MADE IN BHARAT PETASCALE SUPERCOMPUTER 'PARAM GANGA' 14. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN & FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Article: HINDUTVA AS THE FOUNDATION OF CONSTITUTION OF INDIA  

1. FESTIVALS: VARSHA PRATIPADA: Chaitra Shukla Pratipada, Yugabda 5124 (April 2 this year) is the beginning of the Hindu New Year.

The day is celebrated as Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra, Ugadi in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka, Cheti Chand in the Sindhi community and Navreh in Kashmir. Sant Jhulelal Jayanti also falls on this day.

Chaitra Shukla Pratipada is the beginning of the Chaitra Navratri, also known as the Vasanta Navratri. The festival honours and celebrates Devi Durga for defeating the demon Mahishasura in a battle. The ninth day is also celebrated as Ram Navami – the day Bhagwan Ram was born.

The founder of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Dr. Keshav Rao Baliram Hedgewar was born on the day of Yugadi and swayamsevaks offer ‘Adya Sarsanghachalak Pranam’ on this day in shakhas. -GoTop

2. EXISTENCE OF RIVER SARASWATI SHOULD BE ESTABLISHED : DR. MOHAN BHAGWAT:  On March 1, speaking at the book launch of ‘Dwirupa Saraswati’ in Delhi, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarasanghachalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat said that the next generation will believe in existence of the historical river Saraswati just as they have accepted the established truths about Ram Setu and Ramjanmabhoomi in Ayodhya. However, he added that it is necessary to prove existence of the historical river Saraswati so that people who doubt its existence can be proven wrong.

Dr. Bhagwat said that satellite images show water source below the earth where River Saraswati once existed and its origin and path should be clearly established. He added that Saraswati River should be mentioned in textbooks along with enough proof to establish its existence. Dr. Bhagwat said that even though our history is related to the Saraswati River, the British created an illusion of lies. He said that Bharat should throw out this illusion of fabricated truths and establish antiquity and truth from the ancient past to make the country stand out in the world as ‘Vishwa Guru’.
The book ‘Dwirupa Saraswati’ is a collection of history and documentary evidences of the Saraswati River compiled by Dr. Mahesh Sharma and Shri Sachhidananda Joshi of Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA). Dr. Murali Manohar Joshi was also present at the book release.
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3. PM MODI CALLS FOR OBSERVING ANNUAL 'NADI UTSAV' FOR WATER CONSERVATION:  While addressing a public meeting after the inauguration of various developmental projects in Pune on March 6, Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi made a pitch for the rejuvenation of rivers and called upon people to observe 'Nadi Utsav' in urban cities once a year to spread awareness for water conservation.

PM Modi laid the foundation stone of various projects for rejuvenation and pollution abatement of the Mula-Mutha River along a 9-km stretch of the river. -GoTop

4. RSS - AKHIL BHARATIYA PRATINIDHI SABHA: The Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS) of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was conducted from March 11-13 at Nishkalanki Narayan Tirthdham at Pirana , Gujarat. The ABPS is an important decision-making body of RSS and more than 1200 karyakartas from all the states in the country attended it.
In a press conference, Sah Sarkaryavah Dr. Manmohan Vaidya said that RSS conducts nearly 60,000 daily shakhas across the country, and 97.5 per cent shakhas have started functioning again after the easing of Covid-19 related restrictions.

Sarsanghchalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat and Sarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosbale inaugurated the ABPS by paying obeisance to Bharat Mata. At the beginning of the meeting, tribute was paid to the dignitaries who departed in the last year including Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar, CDS General Bipin Rawat, Shri. Babasaheb Purandare, Shri. Rahul Bajaj, Pandit Birju Maharaj and P. Srinivasa Ramanujacharya Swami. Sarkaryavah Shri Hosabale presented the annual report for the year 2021-22.

In his address Shri Hosabale said that it was heartening to see that enthusiasm and speed of the pre Corona period has been visible amongst karyakartas in the past year and hence there has been a marked increase in holding of organisational meetings, programs and training camps. Noting that a large section of the society is enthusiastically engaged in the task of writing a golden chapter of future Bharat, Shri Hosabale said that we have before us an opportunity to fulfill our Rashtra Dharma by making the Sangh work victorious.
In a separate statement released by Shri Hosabale on the occasion of Amritmahotstav of independence, he said that we should take a resolve to re-invent our selfhood which provides us an opportunity to connect with our roots and to uphold the spirit of national integration.
The ABPS also passed a resolution about the need to promote work opportunities to make Bharat self-reliant.
Addressing a press conference on the last day of ABPS, Sarkaryavah Shri Hosabale said that for a long time there has been a conspiracy to spread misconceptions about Bharat. Shri Hosabale said that it has been decided to try and create effective and strong ideological discourse based on truth and facts about Nationality, Hindutva, its history, social philosophy, cultural values and tradition etc. Many people in the society are working on this subject, have done research and written books.  He informed that every 3 years, Sangh prepares a plan for the expansion of work. To date, sangh work is present in 50% rural ‘mandals’ and 45% urban ‘vastis’ and it is planned to expand the work to all ‘mandals’ and ‘vastis’ in the next two years. He added that the expansion is to increase the inherent strength of the society through organization, social equality and samarasata. He also said that swayamsevaks have been working in various fields with other like minded people to bring about a positive societal transformation. Swayamsevaks have been active in the domain of parivar-prabodhan, environment, samarasata etc. Speaking about the Amrit-Mahotsav of independence, he said that even though the freedom movement was all encompassing in the national sense, some facts have been obscured. Events have been planned to make the current generation aware of it and motivate them to work towards the freedom fighter’s dream of a united, prosperous Bharat. He stressed the importance of working in the field of education and employment generation to overcome the setbacks and deficits of Corona pandemic and mentioned the resolution passed by the ABPS regarding it.
ABPS RESOLUTION - NEED TO PROMOTE WORK OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE BHARAT SELF RELIANT: Bharat, with its abundant natural resources, vast human power and inherent entrepreneurial skills to transform our agriculture, manufacturing and service sectors, has the potential to create ample work opportunities and take the entire economy to greater heights. As we have experienced the impact of the recent Covid pandemic on employment and livelihood, we have also witnessed opening up of new opportunities which some sections of the society have taken benefit of. The Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS) wishes to emphasize that the entire society has to play a proactive role in harnessing such work opportunities to mitigate the overall employment challenge.
The ABPS is of the opinion that thrust is to be given to Bharatiya economic model that is human centric, labor intensive, eco friendly and lays stress on decentralization and equitable distribution of benefits and augments village economy, micro scale, small scale and agro based industries. The areas like rural employability, unorganized sector employment, employment to women and their overall participation in the economy need to be boosted. Efforts are essential to adapt new technologies and soft skills appropriate to our societal conditions.
It is noteworthy that there are many successful models of employment generation based on the above lines available in every part of the country. They have also taken into account local specialities, talent and requirements. At many such places, entrepreneurs, businessmen, micro finance institutions, self help groups and voluntary organizations have initiated endeavours in the areas of value added products, cooperative sector, direct marketing of local products and skill development etc. These initiatives have encouraged ventures such as handicrafts, food processing, home made products and family enterprises. After sharing their experience with others, replicating them at places wherever required should be earnestly considered. Certain educational and industrial institutions have contributed in employment generation efforts in a significant way. The ABPS appreciates all the success stories which have been able to generate sustainable work opportunities for a large section of the society including weaker and deprived sections. Efforts to inculcate spirit of ‘Swadeshi and self reliance’ in the society would give right impetus to the above initiatives.
Our manufacturing sector that has high employment potential requires to be bolstered which can also lessen our dependence on imports. An environment conducive of encouraging entrepreneurship should be created by educating and counselling people, especially youth, so that they can come out of mentality of seeking jobs only. Similar entrepreneurial spirit also needs to be fostered among women, village folk and people from remote and tribal areas. Educationists, industry and community leaders, social organizations and other institutions can have effective participation towards this end. For that it is essential that the governmental and other efforts go in tandem with these.
The ABPS feels that we, as a society, look for innovative ways to address the challenges of fast changing global economic and technological scenario. Opportunities of employment and entrepreneurship with emerging digital economy and export possibilities should be keenly explored. We should engage ourselves in manpower training both pre and on job, research and technology innovations, motivation for start ups and green technology ventures etc.
The ABPS calls upon the citizens to work on Bharat centric models of employment generation to strengthen the economy and achieve sustainable and holistic development. The ABPS urges upon all sections of the society to establish a healthy work culture based on our eternal values catalysing the whole effort of promoting various types of work opportunities so that Bharat regains its rightful place on the world economic front.
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5. OPERATION GANGA: BHARATIYA CITIZENS EVACUATED: Bharat had about 20,000 Bharatiya nationals in Ukraine, out of which over 18,000 were students. Approximately 16,000 Bharatiya citizens were present in Ukraine at the moment of commencement of Russian invasion.  Operation Ganga was launched by the Government of Bharat to evacuate the Bharatiya citizens. This involved transport assistance from the neighboring countries of Romania, Hungary, Poland, Moldova and Slovakia to reach Bharat. The first evacuation flight from Bucharest reached New Delhi with 249 nationals on February 27. Four union ministers namely – Hardeep Singh Puri, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kiren Rijiju and V.K. Singh were sent the next day to the neighboring countries to assist in prioritizing coordination with local authorities. The Bharatiya Vayu Sena and multiple private airlines (Air India, IndiGo, Air India Express, SpiceJet, Vistara, AirAsia India and Go First) provided logistical support. Between 24 February and 7 March, PM Modi talked to the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin multiple times about the situation, during which among overarching issues, evacuation was discussed and assistance acknowledged.

By 6 March about 16,000 Bharatiyas had been flown to Bharat in 76 flights. On 11 March, all the 600 Bharatiya Nationals from Ukraine's Sumy were brought to Rzeszow airport in Poland via 13 buses, and then were finally brought back to Bharat via three flights, accomplishing the operation. On the same day, Bharat’s Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar on Twitter hailed the operation, thanking everyone who were responsible and helped to accomplish this mission.
During the operation, Bharat also helped evacauate Bangladeshi and Nepali citizens from Ukraine. Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina and Prime minister of Nepal Sher Bahadur Deuba thanked the Bharatiya government for their help.
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6. SEWA EUROPE HELPS IN EVACUATION FROM UKRAINE: Sewa International volunteers in Europe have helped nearly 12,000 individuals since the war started in Ukraine. Sewa Europe set up a helpline to connect with the people in need. More than 6000 individual and group requests were received. More than 350 Sewa volunteers spread across many countries in Europe coordinated relief efforts in 18 Ukrainian cities. Working closely with Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) volunteers, Sewa units in Ukraine, Finland, Poland, Romania, Hungary, and Denmark fielded calls from stranded students and others seeking help and directed them to a volunteer who lived close to them for further assistance. Over 100 Sewa volunteers worked within Ukraine to provide food and arrange transportation to reach neighbouring countries. Fifty volunteers worked in the border locations assisting people to cross the border. So far, Sewa has helped stranded people from twelve nations.

On March 8, Sewa International Europe played a key role in evacuating 467 African students - including 367 from Nigeria, and another 100 from Namibia, Zambia, and South Africa - from Sumy. Sewa volunteers coordinated the evacuation efforts responding to a request by Shina Alege, the Nigerian Ambassador to Ukraine. Nigeria’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Geofferey Onyema, thanked Sewa International Europe for “their amazing facilitation and coordination”. -GoTop

7. HSS USA CELEBRATED BLACK HISTORY MONTH: The Parsippany Chapter of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh HSS USA celebrated Black History Month on February 27 at the Viraj Dham Temple. Gordon Drewery Jr., Minster of the Gospel First Baptist Church and Nora Drewery, Licensed Social Worker and Storyteller presented a unique and interactive introduction to the History of the Black community and their journey to the US.

They also covered the many contributions of black leaders, inventors, writers, scientists. They emphasized the essence of every human and how important it is to be proud of who we are. It was a rewarding experience for all the families that attended the event. -GoTop

8. MP CHANDRA ARYA URGES CANADIAN PARLIAMENT TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN HINDU SWASTIKA AND NAZI HAKENKREUZ: Chandra Arya, a Bharatiya origin member of the Canadian Parliament, in a speech, called upon members of the house and all Canadians to distinguish between Hindu religious sacred symbol Swastika, and the Nazi symbol of hatred called Hakenkreuz in German or the hooked cross in English. He shared a video of his speech on Twitter. 

“In the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit, Swastika means that which brings good luck and well-being,” he added. He continued to say, “Please stop calling the Nazi symbol of hatred as Swastika. We support the ban of the Nazi symbol of hatred Hakenkreuz or the hooked cross. Calling it Swastika is to deny us Hindu-Canadians our religious right and freedom to use our sacred symbol Swastika in our daily life.” Later on, he also issued a written statement on his speech in the parliament.
The American Jewish Committee, (one of the country’s oldest Jewish advocacy organizations), released a leaflet clarifying the distinction between the Swastika used for millennia by Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist cultures and the deformed Nazi version of it.
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9. BAPS, ISKCON AND ART OF LIVING IN UKRAINE: With the humanitarian crisis taking place in war-torn Ukraine, several temples and Gurudwaras have come forward to help people by giving them shelter, food, and other facilities. As hundreds of thousands are fleeing the warzone seeking refuge in neighbouring countries, BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha has also taken charge to ensure the safe passage of Bharatiya nationals on the Polish, Romanian and Hungarian borders with Ukraine.  

This comes after PM Modi had called Swami Brahmavihari Das, spokesperson of BAPS, and urged him to provide assistance to students on the Ukrainian border. He sought help from BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha for helping students stranded at different locations in Ukraine.
In line with the Bharatiya government's Operation Ganga to evacuate Bharatiya nationals from Ukraine, Art of Living said that it has helped nearly 1,200 students to evacuate to safety. Students are taking shelter at ashrams located in Poland and in other neighbouring countries. AOL has arranged transportation, food, and other facilities for the students.
Volunteers from ISKCON are also working to serve food, provide shelter, and reach out to people who need help.
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10. MANGALURU: VILLAGERS UNITE TO BRING 800-YEAR-OLD TEMPLE BACK TO LIFE: In Sarve village near Puttur, villagers have come together and contributed to the renovation of the Yelia Sri Vishnumurthy temple, an 800-year-old structure about 65 km from Mangaluru.

Despite several attempts to renovate the temple in the past, work could begin only after the whole village, cutting across all barriers, came out to support the project. “A temple renovation committee was formed in 2019, after which the renovation work began,” Prasanna Rai S, the treasurer of the committee, said.
Several WhatsApp groups were created and it was decided to split the expenses so that donors are not burdened. “Hence from a zero balance, when the temple renovation work began, we managed to raise sufficient funds mostly through the WhatsApp groups, and we were able to do the work that cost us about Rs 2 crore,” Prasanna said.
Also, hundreds of people volunteered to work at the site to complete the renovations.
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11. INDIGENOUS ANTI-COLLISION SYSTEM 'KAVACH' TO AVOID RAIL ACCIDENTS SUCCESSFULLY TESTED BY BHARATIYA RAILWAYS: On March 4, Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that the anti-collision test conducted by Bharatiya Railways to check the indigenous developed ‘Kavach’ system to avoid rail accidents is successful. 'Kavach' automatically stopped the train before 380 metres of other Locomotive at the front. He tweeted about the successful test of Kavach.

The test involved two trains - one with the railway minister on board and the other with the Chairman of the Railway Board - hurtle towards each other at full speed. Both the trains stopped 380 metres apart.
The indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system, Kavach, was designed to help the Railways achieve - zero accidents. The Kavach will be the world's cheapest automatic train collision protection system. The railway authorities informed that once implemented, it will cost 50 lakh rupees per kilometre to operate compared to about 2 crore rupees worldwide. 
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12. RASHTRAPATI KOVIND CONFERS NARI SHAKTI PURASKARS: Celebrating the International Women's Day on March 8, Rashtrapati Ram Nath Kovind conferred the Nari Shakti Puraskars to 29 outstanding individuals for 2020 and 2021. The Nari Shakti Puraskar is a Women and Child Development Ministry initiative to acknowledge exceptional contributions made by individuals and institutions, and to celebrate women as game-changers and catalysts of positive change in society.  Twenty-eight awards - 14 each for 2020 and 2021 - were given to the women in recognition of their exceptional work towards women empowerment, especially the vulnerable and marginalised. 

Its recipients are from fields such as entrepreneurship, agriculture, innovation, social work, education and literature, linguistics, arts and crafts, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), disability rights, merchant navy and wildlife conservation. 
The awardees include social entrepreneur Anita Gupta, organic farmer and tribal activist Ushaben Dineshbhai Vasava, innovator Nasira Akhter, Intel-India head Nivruti Rai, down syndrome affected Kathak Dancer Saylee Nandkishor Agavane, first woman snake rescuer Vanita Jagdeo Borade and mathematician Neena Gupta.
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13. MADE IN BHARAT PETASCALE SUPERCOMPUTER 'PARAM GANGA': A Made in Bharat Petascale Supercomputer "PARAM Ganga" has been installed at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee on March 7 by B.V.R. Mohan Reddy, Chairman, Board of Governors, IIT Roorkee. The 1.66 PFLOPS (Peta Floating-Point Operations Per Second) supercomputer has been built by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) under the approach of the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM).

The focus is to provide computational power to the user community of IIT Roorkee and neighbouring academic institutions. -GoTop

14. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Saumitra Gokhale, Sanyojak Vishwa Vibhag will travel to USA after ABPS in Bharat, Dr. Ram Vaidya, Sahsanyojak will travel to UK. Visitors: Rajesh Verma and Sai Phanindra - USA
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Accept only that which stands to your reason. Never accept anything merely because it is preached by some great leader. Test its truth on the touchstone of your intellectual discrimination. — Dr.K.B.Hedgewar
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JAI SHRI RAM

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HINDUTVA AS THE FOUNDATION OF CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
RAJIV TULI

A Constitution enshrines the collective values and aspirations of a nation. It also chalks out the way to achieve those goals and also empowers authority in the hands of the government to perform their functions. In the same breath, the Constitution of India is based on the civilisational values which have evolved over 5,000 years in this land of Bharat.
The core values of the Indian Constitution are liberty, equality, fraternity, peaceful mutual co-existence, democracy, and respect for nature, natural resources and other creatures. These cultural-civilisational values have emanated from the core values of Hindu culture which is the oldest flourishing civilisation of the world. The enshrined values in the Constitution have drawn heavily from the cultural ethos of Hindu-ness (Hindutva). So much so, the very name of the nation has been derived from Hindu legends. There are three core areas that have been guarded so righteously by the Supreme Court as the Basic-Structure. It includes the Preamble, Fundamental Rights, and Directive Principles and Fundamental Duties, besides some other provisions.

The very first Article 1(1) says, “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.” The Constitution of India has given our country a name Bharat which is a symbol of its pre-Muslim and pre-British glorious past. The very name Bharat is derived from the legends of ancient Hindu traditions. Our country has traditionally been known since ions as ‘Bharat’ or ‘Bharatvarsha’. According to the Vishnu Purana, “The country that lies north of the ocean and the south of the snowy mountains is called Bharat for there dwell the descendants of the Bharat.” This was quoted by the prime minister in his Lok Sabha speech recently.
India was called Bharatvarsha after the king named Bharata since the Mahabharata times. Bharata was a legendary emperor and the founder of the Bharata dynasty and an ancestor of the Pandavas and Kauravas of the Mahabharata epic. He was son of King Dushyanta of Hastinapur and Queen Sakuntala. The great king Bharat conquered all of the Bharatvarsha (area comprising the Indian subcontinent as of today).
The phrase, ‘Union of States’ underlies the cultural-historical fact that the basis of Hindu civilisation in India has been a multicultural, plural and tolerant society where many sub-cultures existed and flourished. Most of these sub-cultures emanated from Hindu-ness or have been influenced heavily by it. Despite the existence of sub-micro yet multi-cultures, there has been an underlying political, geographical and cultural unity in India for ages. The unifying force has been the cultural tenants of Hindu-ness which is not merely a religion but a way of living. This underlying unity has come up openly many times politically in the form of centralised power but remained latent and potent often without compromising the flourishing space for regional sub-culture to develop, evolve and survive.
The core value of fraternity embedded in the Preamble of the Constitution is exclusively borrowed from the Upanishadic ideal of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ i. e. the whole universe is one family. The makers of the Constitution were subtly saying that the Indian ethos was essentially Hindu in character but that ethos implied ingrained respect for and tolerance of all other faiths.
The Fundamental Duties in the Indian Constitution, though non-enforceable by the state power, are those duties which are expected by the Indian nation from its citizens. Part IV A, Article 51–A of the Constitution provides that the citizen ought to have ‘sprit of common brotherhood’, ‘strive for excellence’, ‘preserve natural environment’. The term ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ which is the core ethos of Hinduism also implies tolerance towards other faiths, harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities.
Hindu-ness has been a way of life where the co-existence of humans with nature is a natural way of living. In our daily prayers in temples, we speak of Praniyon Mein Sadbhavna Ho (there be harmony in all the creatures including animals and plants) and Vishwa Ka Kalyan Ho (let the whole world prosper). Article 51-A(g) of the Constitution enjoins upon every citizen that it shall be the Fundamental Duties to protect and improve the natural environment, including forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife, and to have compassion for living creatures.
Hindu ways of life not only respect human beings but even animals. Cow has been worshipped and venerated as mother in the Hindu-Indian society since the Vedic era. Cow worshipping is embedded and ingrained in the Hindu cultural psyche. Hindus consider the cow to be part of their family and there are many cultural-religious festivals which are centred on the cow and its worship. In the Directive Principles of State Policy, which serve as a guide for the states to follow them while framing their laws, the importance of the cow has been hailed.
As per Article 48 of the Constitution, the state shall endeavour to organise agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines and shall, in particular, take steps for preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter, of cows and calves. It specifically directs the state to prohibit the slaughter of cows and calves through legislation. So, following the ideal of Mahatma Gandhi, the Directive Principles specifically enjoins upon the state to make laws to protect the cow and stop its slaughter.
The oldest civilisation of Hindu-ness has its own language: Sanskrit has been a language which is the thread which has connected the whole of Hindutva. Sanskrit is known as the language of Gods. Our scriptures like Vedas, Ramayana, Bhagavad Gita, Mahabharata, Yoga Sutra, etc, have been written and compiled in Sanskrit language. As per Articles 343 and 351, which make Hindi the official language of the Union and direct the state to spread the Hindi language drawing “primarily on Sanskrit and secondarily on other languages” for its vocabulary. This clearly enjoins the Central and state governments to spread the unifying language of Hindi by drawing from the Sanskrit language.
Hindu-ness is an ever-evolving religion. Over time there crept up some distortions by the vested interests which sought to be amended through the Constitution. For example, untouchability has been sought to be abolished through Article 17 which abolishes untouchability in all its forms and practices.
The foundation of the Indian Constitution is Hindu-ness which is nothing but humanism and humanity.
The author, Rajiv Tuli is an independent columnist and commentator. Views expressed are personal. This article was first published in FirstPost on Feb 17, 2022. https://hinduexistence.org/2022/02/19/hindutva-as-the-foundation-of-constitution-of-india/
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