\ SAMVAD
Pausha Krishna 7, Vik. Samvat 2079, Yugabda 5124: 16 December, 2022: SM4018(For Private Circulation Only)
1. FESTIVALS: GURU
GOVIND SINGH JAYANTI: Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti (January 5, 2023) marks the
birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh Maharaj, the tenth Sikh guru. According
to Drik Panchang, Guru Gobind Singh was born on Paush Shukla Saptami to Guru
Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh guru, and Mata Gujri. He was born in Patna, Bihar.
A shrine named Takht Sri Patna Harimandar Sahib marks the site of the house
where he was born.
2. VARIOUS PROGRAMS OF SARASANGHACHALAK DR. MOHAN BHAGWAT:
On December 11, RSS Sarasanghachalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat said that the nation
is a priority for all people, irrespective of their differences. Addressing the
concluding event of a karyakarta varg in Assam, he also said that swayamsevaks
should work for the progress of the nation with full conviction in Bharat’s
heritage.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the Tritiya Varsh Sangh Shiksha Varg in
Nagpur on December 8, Dr. Bhagwat said that it is not an ordinary thing that
Bharat got the G20 presidency and Bharatiyas have now become confident that they
can lead the world. He added that entire society needs to walk together as
Bharat cannot become Vishwa Guru through one organisation or institution.
On November 27, Dr. Bhagwat attended a ceremony at Malkhachak in Chhapra to
honour freedom fighters and released the book ‘Scattered episodes of the freedom
movement’ written by senior journalist Ravindra Kumar. On December 12, he also
inaugurated the exhibition ‘Gallery of Braves’ - including heroes of 1962
Sino-Bharat war - at Donyi Polo Vidya Niketan, Talom Rukbo Nagar, Arunachal
Pradesh. 
3. NATION WILL BECOME ‘VISHWAGURU’ IN 25 YEARS: RASHTRAPATI
MURMU: While addressing the Navy Day celebrations at the Ramakrishna Beach
in Vishakhapatnam, Rashtrapati Draupadi Murmu exuded confidence that the country
would become ‘Vishwaguru’ by the time it celebrated the centenary of its
independence in 2047. She reminded the need to rededicate ourselves to taking
Bharat forward, transiting through Amrit Kaal, towards a great future.
On December 9, the second day of her two-day visit to Uttarakhand, Rashtrapati
Murmu performed a ‘rudrabhishek’ at the Raj Pragyeshwar Mahadev Temple inside
the Raj Bhavan and inaugurated the Nakshatra Vatika at the governor’s official
residence.
4. VARIOUS PROGRAMS OF SARAKARYAVAH DATTATREYA HOSABALE:
On December 12, RSS Sarakaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale inaugurated employment
generation centers in 16 government districts of Madhya Pradesh. The centers are
being operated under the Swavlambi Bharat Abhiyan. Speaking on the occasion, he
said that there is a need to create an ecosystem for employment and youth should
be encouraged to seek self-employment. He added that the campaign to make Bharat
self-reliant should become a campaign of the entire society. 
On December 1, Shri Hosabale inaugurated the special issue of Rashtra Dharma
monthly magazine 'Rashtriya Vichar-Sadhana' at Ganna Sansthan in Dalibagh,
Lucknow. Speaking on the occasion, he said that Bharat got political freedom on
August 15, 1947, but not from intellectual slavery. The British divided Bharat
for their selfishness and our history was misrepresented. Hindus of Bharat were
declared communal in the illusion of secularism. He added that the work of
rectifying this mistake is being done in the new education policy.
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5. PUT EFFORTS TO BRING OUT TRUTH OF HISTORY: ARUN KUMAR:
On December 10, RSS Sah-Sarkaryavah Arun Kumar said that there is a need for
positive and constructive approach and instead of blaming the historians who
distorted history, it is time to put in dedicated efforts to bring out the
truth. He was speaking at the launch of the book, ‘SWA: Struggle for National
Selfhood’ by J Nandakumar, Prajna Pravah National Convenor. Renowned historian
and author Dr Meenakshi Jain, Sanchi University of Buddhist Indic Studies VC Dr
Neeraja Gupta and prominent persons from various walks of life attended the
event at the Ambedkar International Centre in Delhi.
6. GOLKONDA SAHITYA UTSAV ‘SWADHEENTA KA AMRITAVARSH’:
Hyderabad was liberated on September 17, 1948 and a year long celebration is
being held to commemorate 75 years of liberation. As part of the celebrations,
the media organization Samachar Bharati in collaboration with other
organizations including Itihas Sankalan Samiti, Pragna Bharati, Sahitya Parishad
and others organised the second edition of Golkonda Literary Festival on
December 11 at Agarwal college campus, Patthargatti, Hyderabad. The day-long
seminar organized with the spirit of ‘Swadharma, Swabhiman and Swarajya’ had
several thought provoking debates and panel discussions and multiple book
launches. Several scholars and authors were also felicitated during the event.
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7. PURPOSE BEHIND CHARITY CANNOT BE RELIGIOUS CONVERSION :
SUPREME COURT: On December 5, the Supreme Court said that charity by
religious groups is welcome but the intention of such acts cannot be religious
conversion.
Petitioner Upadhyay sought directions from the court to the Union and state
governments to take stringent steps to control fraudulent religious conversion
by “intimidation, threatening, deceivingly luring through gifts and monetary
benefits”.
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8. NO CASTE RESERVATION FOR PEOPLE WHO CONVERT : MADRAS HIGH
COURT: The Madras High Court bench headed by Justice G.R. Swaminathan said
that a person who has converted to another religion cannot claim the benefits of
the community in which the person existed before the conversion. The court also
dismissed a petition seeking the benefits of reservation which was filed by a
youth who converted from Hinduism to Islam.
9. TWO-DAY ASHTALAKSHMI SANT VICHAR SAMMELAN HELD IN TRIPURA
BEGINS IN TRIPURA: The two-day Ashtalakshmi Sant Vichar Sammelan began on
December 9 in Tripura with an aim to awaken spiritual thoughts in the
northeastern states of the nation. Signifying the gathering as ‘Vasudhaiva
Kutumbakam’, Tripura chief minister Dr Manik Saha inaugurated the Sammelan in
presence of Deputy chief minister Jishnu Dev Varma, Chairman Haribhakta Parayan
Justice Dr Madan Maharaj Gosavi and other important dignitaries. The meeting was
presided over by Swami Chittaranjan Maharaj of Tripura’s Shantikali Ashram in
Amarpur.
Deputy chief minister Jishnu Dev Varma said that Bharat is not just a
geo-political entity and therefore, to know the nation, we have to know
spirituality. He added that the conference will enlighten everyone about the
literature and knowledge of the saints in the North-east.
-GoTop
10. CENTRAL PACIFIC SAMBHAG PRATHAMIK VARG CONDUCTED:
Central Pacific Sambhag of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh HSS USA - covering
Sacramento, San Joaquin and Contra Costa counties - conducted the Prathamik
Sangh Shiksha Varg from Novenber 23 to 27 at the HSS Property in Tracy,
California. 21 shiksharthis including 4 kishoris, 7 kishors, 2 sevikas and 8
swayamsevaks participated in the varg. The varg was supported by 4 full time
shikshaks and the bauddhik and vyvastha teams.
11. SEWA INTERNATIONAL TRINIDAD FLOOD RELIEF: In the
morning of November 26, Trinidad experienced rainfall which was concentrated in
the northern and central parts of the island. In the afternoon, Caroni River
began to burst its banks in some areas causing flooding in many parts of
Trinidad. More than 30 flood incidents and 51 landslides were reported across 12
administrative districts. Approximately 100,000 people were adversely affected.
12. SEWA INDONESIA: EARTHQUAKE RELIEF: On November 21,
a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 struck Cianjur district, West Java
Province, Indonesia. The earthquake which was felt strongly for about 3-10
seconds affected many districts. A 30-day state of emergency has been declared
by the government and evacuation centers have been set up. According to an
ongoing survey, more than 73,000 people have been displaced and more than 40,000
people live in the evacuation centres.
13. SEWADIWALI 2022 CONCLUDED: Sewa Diwali, a large
food drive organized by Dharmic communities across the USA, donated over 630,000
pounds of food this year, benefiting more than 200 organizations from 32 states,
including food pantries, homeless shelters, worship houses, and schools. Hindu
Swayamsevak Sangh USA (HSS) volunteers enthusiastically coordinated these
efforts regionally and nationally.
Sewa Diwali extended to more than 200 cities and towns in 2022, its fifth
consecutive year. Since its inception in 2018, the Sewa Diwali project has
donated close to 1.5 Million pounds of food nationwide.
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14. NAGA ICON RANI GAIDINLIU’S BUST UNVEILED IN GORAKHPUR:
A 3.5 ft bust of Naga freedom fighter and champion of indigenous faith Padma
Bhushan Rani Gaidinliu was installed in a public park in Rail Vihar Colony of
Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. The bust was unveiled by Gorakhpur Mayor Sitaram
Jaiswal on December 6 in a function attended by several socio-cultural
organizations of Gorakhpur.
15. SHABARIMALA MANDIR SEES RECORD FOOTFALL: The
Shabarimala mandir in Kerala received record bookings for darshan as over 1 lakh
devotees thronged the mandir on December 12. Elaborate arrangements were made
keeping the tremendous footfall in mind. Devotees were escorted from Pampa to
Sannidhanam in a controlled and segmented manner and devotees waiting in the
queue were provided light food and drinking water. The officials added that the
darshan timing was also extended by one hour.
16. BHARATIYA STARTUP KHEYTI WINS EARTHSHOT PRIZE:
Bharatiya startup Kheyti was among the five winners of The Earthshot Prize for
their ground-breaking solutions to the greatest environmental challenges facing
the planet. Prince William and The Earthshot Prize announced the winners on
December 2 in Boston. Each winner was awarded a 1 million pound prize at the
second-annual Earthshot Prize awards ceremony.
Kheyti has developed a simple Greenhouse-in-a-Box solution designed for
small-hold farmers and the crops they grow, offering shelter from unpredictable
elements and destructive pests. So far, 1,000 farms have a Kheyti greenhouse.
Kheyti hopes they can reach 50,000 farmers by 2027.
-GoTop
17. PRAMUKH SWAMI MAHARAJ’S LEGACY CELEBRATED AT UN:
On December 7, the Permanent Mission of Bharat to the United Nations and the
BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha came together to honor the life and message of Pramukh
Swami Maharaj and celebrate his centennial birthday at the United Nations
Headquarters in New York.
Dr. Kashyap Patel, a BAPS volunteer and cardiologist at the Northside Hospital
Cardiovascular Institute in Atlanta introduced Pramukh Swami Maharaj, his life
work surrounding humanitarian efforts for social and spiritual upliftment, and
his foundational belief that the world is one family.
The program concluded with a recital of the Shanti Paath, a prayer for universal
peace.
-GoTop
18. AROUND THIRTY FIVE COUNTRIES SHOW INTEREST IN RUPEE
TRADE MECHANISM: Intending to internationalise the Bharatiya Rupee and ease
the flow of payments from certain sanction-hit or crisis-rid countries,
Bharatiya Finance Ministry has asked Indian Banks Association to spearhead the
awareness campaign of the rupee trade mechanism. This campaign will set the
stage for other nations’ more significant and easier adoption of the rupee trade
scheme. The Reserve Bank of India will guide the Indian Bank Association in this
exercise. 
19. BHARAT SET TO BECOME THE FIRST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD TO
RECEIVE $100 BILLION IN REMITTANCES: Bharat, Asia's third-largest economy,
is set to become the first country in the world to receive $100 billion in
remittances this year from migrant workers abroad. USA has surpassed the UAE as
the top source country, according to a study by the World Bank.
Notably, Bharat had received $89.4 billion in remittances in 2021, according to
the World Bank report, which then made Bharat the top recipient globally.
One of the reasons for the high remittance is a gradual structural shift in
Bharatiya migrants’ key destinations from largely low-skilled, informal
employment in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to a dominant share
of high-skilled jobs in high-income countries such as the United States, the
United Kingdom, and East Asia.
Around 20 percent of Bharat’s emigrants are in the United States and the United
Kingdom.
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20. BHARATIYAS AMONG TOP FIVE NATIONALITIES WHO BECAME US
CITIZENS: Nearly one million immigrants obtained US citizenship during the
fiscal year 2022 — the highest number of naturalized citizens in almost 15
years, according to a US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) report.
The top five countries of birth of immigrants who became naturalized US citizens
were Mexico, Bharat, the Philippines, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic,
according to the USCIS data. Immigrants with US citizenship are allowed to vote
in federal elections, be eligible for candidacy in US elections, have greater
access to government assistance programs, like Medicare, sponsor relatives
seeking permanent residency, and ensure automatic US citizenship for children.
-GoTop
21. BHARATIYA AVIATION SAFETY ACHIEVED 48TH RANK: On
December 3, the Director General of Civil Aviation Arun Kumar said that Bharat
has been ranked among the top 50 countries of the world in terms of
comprehensive safety audits conducted by the International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO). He added that it is a great achievement in terms of ranking
as they have jumped from the 102nd rank four years ago to the 48th spot this
year and the challenge lies in retaining the newfound status.
22. MAJOR MILESTONE ACHIEVED IN SRINAGAR RAIL LINK: The
USBRL (Udhampur Srinagar Baramulla Rail Link) is a National project undertaken
by the Bharatiya Railways for construction of broad-gauge railway line through
the Himalayas, with the aim of connecting the Kashmir region with rest of the
country. On December 15, a major milestone has been achieved by executing the
breakthrough of Escape Tunnel T-49 between Sumber and Khari Stations on the
Katra –Banihal section of the USBRL project. The breakthrough of the 12.89 km
long escape tunnel of T-49 was achieved without any flaw despite many geological
challenges.
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23. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Vishwa Vibhag Samyojak
Saumitra Gokhale and Sah Samyojak Anil Vartak will be travelling to Bharat.
Sah Sarkaryavah Krishnagopalji will be travelling to Kenya Visitors: Nirmal
Laungani - Hong Kong
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Be a warrior with a noble cause who stands against
injustice, promises to uphold dharma, is inwardly spiritual, is a fearless soul
and is compassionate within oneself. — Guru Govind Singh
-GoTop
JAI SHRI RAM
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RELIGIONS-20: A PIONEERING INITIATIVE IN G-20 TO BUILD A GOD-CENTRIC VALUE
SYSTEM
Ram Madhav
Did God exist? This question bothered the West for
centuries. One of the earliest arguments for the existence of God, which
Immanuel Kant called “ontology”, was given by the Archbishop of Canterbury,
Anselm, in 1078 AD. “Id quo maius cogitari nequit”, Anselm argued, meaning
“there must be that (thing), the greater than which cannot be conceived”. Since
God cannot be conceived to be non-existent, he is deemed existent, was Anselm’s
ontological argument.
This idea of an “inconceivable” God had led to conflicts over His
interpretation, with various Semitic religions drawing daggers at each other.
Crusades followed, tempting Napoleon to famously quip that “religious wars are
basically people killing each other over who has the better imaginary friend”.
It led to the rise of Deism which insisted on having God, but not religion, and
atheism which rejected both God and religion. Receiving French mathematician
Pierre-Simon Laplace’s work, Napoleon asks, “They tell me you have written this
large book on the system of the universe, and have never even mentioned its
Creator”. Laplace defiantly replies, “Je n’avais pas besoin de cette hypothèse-la”
(I had no need for that hypothesis).
But the deists and Enlightenment thinkers wanted a universal God. Spinoza, the
17th-century Dutch philosopher, equated God with nature, proclaiming “deus sive
natura” (God or Nature). Voltaire, the French philosopher, despite being
critical of the Catholic church, declared: “Si Dieu n’existait pas, il faudrait
L’inventer” (If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him). “I
shall always ask you if, when you have lent your money to someone in your
society, you want neither your debtor, nor your attorney, nor your judge to
believe in God,” he indignantly asked.
God was reason and ethics for the Enlightenment deists. But the medieval
understanding of an inconceivable God, often jealous, continued. Managers of
those medieval beliefs became merchants of death. God needed to be rescued. A
new enlightenment became the need of the hour.
“The need for spiritual guidance has never been greater. It is imperative that
we double our efforts to spread the message of good neighbourliness based on our
common humanity, a message shared by all faith traditions,” the United Nations
said recently.
Can this enlightenment come from the eastern religious beliefs that offer
universalism of divinity, respect for diversity and spirit of dialogue and
accommodation as an ontology? “God is not inconceivable; He is omnipresent;
there is not One God; there is Only God” — they say.
Two important Muslim organisations, coming from two corners of Asia, want to
take the lead in this effort by launching the R-20 (Religions-20) forum on the
sidelines of the G-20 summit. Indonesia is the chair of the G20 in 2022 and the
leaders’ summit will take place in November in Bali. The Indonesian government
has chosen “Recover Together, Recover Stronger” as the theme.
The keen interest taken by Joko Widodo, the President of Indonesia, has led to
the inclusion of R-20 in the agenda as the G-20 Forum of Religions this year.
Global issues like health, economy, climate and technology, besides issues like
war, hatred and disharmony have, for a long time, been considered the concern of
the political leadership. That religious and cultural leaders too can play a
complementary role has not been fully appreciated. Politicians, technocrats and
professionals are the new popes and power; economy and technology have become
demigods.
It is in this context that the Indonesian government’s initiative to bring
religious and cultural leaderships into active discourse acquires significance.
The two organisations taking the lead in this endeavour are — the Nahdlatul
Ulama (NU) of Indonesia and the Muslim World League (MWL) of Saudi Arabia.
The God/religion dichotomy is not fully resolved in the Western world with
religions still competing with each other leading to theories like the clash of
civilisations. The leadership of the Enlightenment era (17-18th century) had
largely addressed this issue within the domain of Christianity. A similar
enlightenment is dawning on the world’s second-largest religion, Islam.
Countries such as Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, and organisations like the NU and
MWL, are at the forefront of this development.
The NU, the largest Muslim organisation in Indonesia with over 90 million
members, has been spearheading what it describes as Eastern Humanitarian Islam.
Under the leadership of its dynamic chairman, Yahya Cholil Staquf, it has been
working towards rejecting radicalism and exclusivism and bringing humanitarian
values to the centre stage. The NU rejects concepts like kafir and insists on
putting the love of country ahead of the love of religion.
The MWL, under the leadership of Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, is also
actively seeking to promote a more humanitarian version of the Islamic worldview
that rejects narrow and fundamentalist interpretations. The invisible hand of
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman behind this progressive initiative cannot be
missed. The MWL, despite the criticism it has endured in the last six decades,
takes a strong stand against extremism today, emphasising that “Islam
understands the existence of religions as a universal design that must be
celebrated, since difference, diversity and multiplicity are characteristics of
human nature”.
At an interfaith forum conducted earlier this year at Riyadh, Al-Issa called for
building a universal consensus on “common principles of human values, values of
moderation and harmony, tolerance and peace, and rational intellectual
frameworks to immunise against the dangers of extremist ideology and behaviour”.
The R-20 will be historic if it succeeds in building a God-centric value system
in place of the current religion-centric one. Religion-centrism is no longer
limited to the West today. Hatred, exclusivism and cancel culture have entered
the eastern religions also as a reaction, diminishing the beauty of their
universalist doctrines.
The R-20 will move from Muslim-majority Indonesia this year to Hindu-majority
India next year and Catholic-majority Brazil in 2024. This process can help the
three world religions, together with Buddhism and other important religions,
evolve a universal value system and also become equal partners with the
political, economic and technological leadership of the world in defining the
destiny of mankind in the 21st century.
SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN shrivishwaniketan@gmail.com http://svn.epapers.in
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