Falgun Krishna 14, Vik. Samvat 2082, Yugabda 5127:16 February 2026: SM 7022 (For Private Circulation Only)
1. FESTIVALS :
CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI MAHARAJ JAYANTI on
February 19 marks the birth anniversary of the founder of the Hindavi Swaraj and
an ideal ruler. On this day, young enthusiasts dress up in traditional warrior
attire and take out processions in honor of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
2. PROGRAMS OF SARSANGHCHALAK DR MOHAN BHAGWAT: A
two-day Vyakhyanmala titled ‘100 Years of Sangh Journey – New Horizons’ was held
at Nehru Centre, Mumbai, on February 7 and 8, as part of the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Centenary Year.
The gathering included participation of more than 900 eminent personalities of
Mumbai from a wide spectrum of society such as industrialists, cinema
personalities, doctors, scientists, educationists, legal professionals,
sportspersons, media representatives, members of social organisations, dharma
gurus, academicians, authors, social media influencers and advertising
professionals.
While addressing a Vichar-Prerak programme on the theme ‘Nation Building through
Man-Making’ at Shri Ramakrishna Vishva Sadbhavana Niketan, Kasrawad, Indore, Dr
Bhagwat said that all human beings are a manifestation of the Divine; and
therefore, in Bharatiya tradition, there is no concept of charity, but of
service. Bharat’s civilisational journey has proved that happiness does not lie
outside, but within the human being. Based on experience, our ancestors stated
that spirituality must be the foundation of material life.
At the launch of the updated website of Samarth Bharat at the Motibag karyalaya
in Pune, Dr. Bhagwat said that today, society looks at the Sangh with a sense of
positivity and trust.
3. NATION FIRST IS BEDROCK OF ALL ACTIVITIES: DATTATREYA
HOSABALE: At the RSS centenary Prerana program in Kozhikode, Sarkaryavah
Dattatreya Hosabale addressed over 700 youths, outlining Sangh’s vision of
creating value-rooted individuals, strengthening social capital, reclaiming
Bharat’s intellectual tradition, and placing the Nation First in all spheres of
activity.
4. RASHTRIYA SWAYAMSEVAK SANGH SHATABDI VARSH PROGRAMS:
Hindu Sammelans are being organised across several states of Bharat as part of a
large-scale grassroots outreach effort. The gatherings aim to strengthen social
cohesion, encourage community participation and address local issues through
collective discussion and cultural engagement.
On February 1, the Dimapur Hindu Society organised a Vishal Hindu Sammelan at
the DDSC Stadium, with participation of more than 4,400 people from across
Nagaland and neighbouring regions. The Sammelan emerged as a significant
platform for cultural assertion, social harmony, and reflection on national
responsibilities.
Stressing the importance of character, commitment, and collective
responsibility, RSS Sah Sarkaryavah Arun Kumar urged youth to dedicate
themselves to national service. He was addressing a Yuva Samvad programme
organized under the theme ‘The Sangh Way: 100 Years of Service’ at the
Auditorium of the College of Agriculture, Iroisemba, Manipur. Outlining the path
toward national rejuvenation, he identified the essential aspects of character
formation: understanding civilizational identity, putting nation first,
maintaining unity and discipline, staying alert to challenges, and overcoming
the lingering effects of colonial thought. Encouraging youth to live a life of
purpose, he advocated the principle of ‘One Life, One Mission’, urging each
young person to commit to solving at least one significant social challenge.
Speaking at the Organiser Commemorative Lecture Series in Gorakhpur, Uttar
Pradesh, Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Toli Sadasya of RSS Mukul Kanitkar said that
Sangh represents the Bhagavad Gita in action in today’s context, stressing youth
participation, disciplined social organisation, and selfless national service.
The book ‘Resolve for Selfless Service’, edited by Prafulla Ketkar, editor of
Organiser, was also released on the occasion.
-GoTop
5. PROF. K.K. MITTAL MEMORIAL LECTURE: The International
Centre for Cultural Studies (ICCS), in joint collaboration with the Uttamjan
Family Trust, and sponsored by Sewa International, organised the Prof. K.K.
Mittal Memorial Lecture at the National Museum Auditorium, New Delhi. The theme
of the lecture, ‘Civilizational Continuity Between India (Bharat) and Thailand
(Siam)’, focused on the enduring historical, cultural, spiritual, and
intellectual bonds between the two countries. The programme was attended by
academicians, diplomats, researchers, cultural practitioners, and students from
across institutions.
Dr. Sangiampongsa observed that the spread of Buddhism, the Ramayana tradition,
Sanskrit and Pali literary sources, religious rituals, mandir architecture, and
artistic expressions play a significant role in Thailand’s social and cultural
life. He further stated that cultural diplomacy rooted in shared heritage
strengthens trust between nations and provides a humane framework for engagement
beyond political and economic considerations.
Amitabh W. Mittal, Director and General Secretary (West America), Uttamjan
Family Trust, addressed the gathering as the Guest Speaker.
The session was chaired by Prof. Srinivasa Varakhedi, Vice-Chancellor of the
Central Sanskrit University, New Delhi. In his presidential address, Prof.
Varakhedi highlighted the role of Sanskrit and Bharatiya Knowledge Systems in
shaping the cultural and intellectual landscape of Southeast Asia.
-GoTop
6. 6TH HIMALAYAN NATIONS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE: The
6th Himalayan-Hind Oceanic Nations Group International Conference was
inaugurated on February 6 at the Convention Centre of Jawaharlal Nehru
University (JNU). The central theme of the conference was ‘India’s Geopolitical
and Strategic Significance in the Indian Ocean Region’. The event witnessed the
presence of eminent academicians, policymakers, defence experts and scholars.
7. 21ST TRIENNIAL NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF BMS: The 21st
Triennial Adhiveshan of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) was held at Puri,
Odisha, from February 6 to 8, witnessing the participation of over 2,700
delegates from across the country. Labour representatives from Brazil, Russia,
Nepal, Indonesia, China, and other countries also attended the event.
8. HSS JAPAN: KAUN BANEGA RAMAYAN EXPERT: Hindu
Swayamsevak Sangh HSS Japan successfully conducted an online Ramayan learning
program titled Kaun Banega Ramayan Expert (KBRE), from July to December 2025. It
was tailored for two age groups – below and above 10 years. The initiative ran
as weekly classes, combining structured content with engaging activities to
sustain interest and deepen understanding of the Ramayan’s values and
narratives. Each session was complemented by thoughtfully designed homework that
emphasized creativity, recall, and application, making the learning experience
both fun and interactive for participants and families.
At the conclusion of the course, an online quiz assessed comprehension and
celebrated achievement, with three winners recognized from each age group.
Overall, KBRE achieved its objective of imparting knowledge of the Ramayan
through a modern, child-centric format that blended tradition, technology, and
joyful learning. -GoTop
9. HSS SOUTH AFRICA HINDU FAMILY GATHERING: On February
8, HSS KZN (Durban - South Africa) successfully hosted a ‘Hindu Family
Gathering’ program at the Paradise Valley, Pinetown. The event's activities were
positively received by both adult and youth swayamsevaks and sevikas. Attendees
engaged in a variety of physical and intellectual exercises, demonstrating
remarkable enthusiasm and teamwork.
10. HSS USA SNY YOGATHON 2026 GLIMPSES: In the 19th
Annual Surya Namaskar Yajna (SNY), HSS families
in Naperville-Aurora collectively performed over 31000 Surya Namaskars in 19
days. On the last day, 85 participants performed Surya Namaskars together.
Recognizing the health and wellness benefits of this Yogathon to the larger
society, the Governors of the states of South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and
Massachusetts issued proclamations supporting this signature program of HSS USA.
Some city mayors nationwide have also recognized the Yogathon.
-GoTop
11. HINDUS CELEBRATE RAMAYANI FESTIVAL IN WESTERN MYANMAR:
Hindus celebrated the 75th Maha Ramayan Harinama Ram chanting festival in
Rakhine/Arakan province in western border of Myanmar.
12. THAIPUSAM CELEBRATED IN MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE:
According to Hindu beliefs, Devi Parvathi gave her son Bhagwan Murugan a
powerful lance to fight demons on the day of Tahipusam. Thaipusam celebrations
in Malaysia centred, as they have for more than a century, on the Batu Caves
complex on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur.
The annual Thaipusam festival in Singapore was jointly organised by Sri
Srinivasa Perumal Mandir, Sri Thendayuthapani Mandir and Hindu Endowments Board.
It saw a record turnout with over 19,000 devotees carrying milk pots and around
350 bearing kavadis, exceeding 2025 figures.
13. BHAGWAN BUDDHA’S SACRED DEVNIMORI RELICS RETURN BHARAT:
The sacred Devnimori Relics of Bhagwan Buddha returned to Bharat after a
week-long public exposition at the revered Gangaramaya Mandir in Colombo, Sri
Lanka. The Relics, which were taken abroad for their first-ever international
exposition, was escorted back by a high-level Bharatiya delegation led by the
Governor of Madhya Pradesh, Mangubhai Patel, and the Deputy Chief Minister of
Arunachal Pradesh Chowna Mein, along with senior Buddhist monks and officials.
The ceremonial departure took place at Bandaranaike International Airport in the
presence of Sri Lankan Ministers and the High Commissioner of Bharat to Sri
Lanka.
14. FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Our greatest glory lies not in
never falling, but in rising every time we fall. —Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
-GoTop
JAI SHRI RAM
----
BEYOND THE HEADLINES: WHAT INDIA REALLY LOOKS LIKE ON THE GROUND
By Mitesh Sevani, UK
I returned to India after six
years, travelling between 24th December 2025 and 4th January 2026. It was a
short ten-day trip, but one I used deliberately, not as a tourist insulated by
hotels and private travel, but by moving on foot and public transport, among the
common people. I wanted to experience grassroots reality and test the narratives
about India that are so confidently circulated in the West against the reality
on the ground.
Those narratives are familiar: India is dirty, poor, intolerant, unsafe for
minorities, lacking civic sense, and sliding into religious extremism. Much of
this is presented not as opinion, but as settled fact. What I witnessed,
however, was far more complex and far more hopeful.
Christmas in India, according to reality: I flew from London to
Bhagyanagar (Hyderabad), with a short layover in Bengaluru (Bangalore). The
first surprise came immediately. As I landed, airport staff greeted passengers
with “Merry Christmas”, and the duty-free area was adorned with elaborate
Christmas decorations, including two lively Santa Clauses at 3.30 am! Hyderabad
Airport took this even further, with festive décor inside and outside the
terminal that was grander than anything I have seen in Britain.
I dwell on the Christmas decorations for a reason. In the UK and much of the
West, we are repeatedly told that Christians are persecuted in India. Headlines
routinely claim that “Hindu extremists are trying to curtail Christmas.” And yet
here I was, in a majority-Hindu country, surrounded by public Christmas
celebrations, at airports, on streets, and in public spaces.
Yes, there are isolated incidents in certain regions. India is vast, with a
population of 1.4 billion. But to portray these isolated incidents as evidence
that religious minorities are unsafe across the country is not just misleading,
it is malicious. India is a civilisation that does not merely tolerate
difference; it accommodates it, celebrates it, and often participates in it.
There are lessons here for countries that pride themselves on multiculturalism
yet struggle to practice it.
On my return journey, I managed to capture a photograph that says more than any
commentary ever could: a Muslim girl, freely wearing a hijab, posing in front of
a Christmas tree in a Hindu-majority nation.
This is the India rarely shown in Western media, but it is the real one - a
truly multicultural and pluralistic society.
Hyderabad: Faith, Development and Coexistence: In Hyderabad, I joined a
two-day tour. We visited the Yadadri temple, dedicated to Bhagwan Narasimha, and
the towering Statue of Equality, honouring the 11th-century philosopher
Ramanujacharya. Both sites were impeccably maintained, again reflecting the
visible impact of the Clean India movement.
And yet we are constantly told that Muslims are unsafe in India. My lived
experience suggested the opposite. Indian Muslims enjoy freedoms that many
Muslim minorities elsewhere in the world can only dream of. Again, isolated
incidents exist, as they do in every society, but they are nowhere near the
scale or severity portrayed abroad, and unfortunately believed by millions.
Delhi: Crowds, Faith, and a Cultural Confidence: My final three days were
spent in Delhi. I’ll spare you another description of the airport — by now, the
pattern is clear.
On 1st January, I made my way to the iconic Akshardham Temple via the metro.
Along the way, I noticed something striking: people of all ages wearing the
tilak, tikka, bindi, and sindoor openly and proudly. Married women, young
people, entire families. I soon realised why. New Year’s Day, I was told,
traditionally means visiting the temples.
When I arrived at Akshardham station, I was momentarily disheartened.
Overflowing bins, street food litter, and crowds everywhere. The Clean India
journey, I realised, is uneven. There is still much work to be done.
Then I reached the temple entrance, around seven minutes’ walk from the station
and saw at least a thousand people queuing to enter and gathered at the security
and cloakroom sections. At first, I questioned whether I should even continue.
How could one possibly enjoy a spiritual space amid such crowds? When I asked a
security guard why it was so busy, his answer: “It’s New Year’s Day. Everyone
comes to the temple.”
This moment and the outward expression of faith I saw earlier shattered another
common narrative, that Hindus, especially the youth, are losing their culture
and becoming “Westernised.” What I saw was the opposite. A civilisation deeply
rooted in its Hindu identity, confident enough to express it publicly and
peacefully.
India Gate, History, and Perspective: On 2nd January, I visited India
Gate and the National War Memorial. Walking through unexpectedly quiet streets,
I was struck by how clean the pavements and roads were, restoring some faith
after the previous day’s disappointment.
At the War Memorial, I lingered at the section on the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation
War. India sacrificed immensely to liberate East Pakistan and create Bangladesh.
More than fifty years later, with rising anti-Hindu violence and hostility
towards India in Bangladesh, the irony was painful. History, it seems, is not
always met with gratitude.
I then made my way to Akshardham later that afternoon, expecting a better
experience. When I reached, I was stunned. Within 24 hours, the entire area had
been cleaned. All the litter was gone. The transformation was undeniable. Should
the mess have existed in the first place? No. But the fact that it was addressed
so swiftly speaks volumes - my feelings on the Clean India movement were
restored.
Delhi’s Pakistani-Hindu Refugee Camp: India’s Invisible Stateless People:
On 3rd January, I spent time in one of India’s many Pakistani-Hindu refugee
camps and encountered a community that has escaped brutal religious persecution,
only to become trapped in bureaucratic limbo. Hindus and other minorities in
Pakistan face systematic violence, including forced conversions, abductions,
rape, and targeted killings, realities that drive tens of thousands to risk
their lives crossing into India. The camp near Adarsh Nagar, established in
2013, now houses around 350 Hindu families (nearly 1,500 people), mostly from
Sindh province of Pakistan. Despite trauma and hardship, the refugees remain
resilient and steadfast in their faith, even refusing offers of material aid
from Christian missionaries in exchange for religious conversion.
What makes their plight especially painful is the inconsistency of India’s
response. While persecuted Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar have largely been
granted asylum and Aadhaar cards, Hindu refugees from Pakistan remain in limbo.
With tightened border security following the Pahalgam terror attack, now
preventing further escapes, thousands still trapped in Pakistan watch their last
refuge close. If India is truly to honour its civilisational promise as a
sanctuary for persecuted Hindus, these families cannot remain invisible.
A Civilisation on the Rise: Progress, Not Perfection: Civic sense
remains India’s weakest link. Queue-jumping, poor public space etiquette, and
littering are still common. But change is underway. In a country of 1.4 billion
people, behavioural transformation takes time. Education — especially in schools
— will be key. From what I observed, meaningful improvement is happening, and
within another decade, the shift could be profound.
India is a rising superpower and a resurgent civilisation, steadily breaking
free from the weight of centuries of invasions, colonisation, and repeated
attempts to erode its spiritual Hindu foundations. What I encountered was not
the India of Western caricature, but a nation looking forward, confident in its
identity, ambitious in its outlook, and increasingly influential on the global
stage. This is an India shaping global conversations, not retreating from them;
an India striving for progress without severing itself from its civilisational
roots. It is a country where diversity is not merely tolerated but woven into
the fabric of everyday life, a living example of how a plural society can
function without losing cohesion or purpose.
India has come a long way, and its trajectory is unmistakable. It deserves far
more honesty, and far less prejudice from those who observe it from a distance.
For in understanding India more truthfully, the world may also glimpse a path
towards a safer, more balanced, and more peaceful future. -GoTop
SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN samvadnewsletter@gmail.com http://shrivishwaniketan.blogspot.com https://svn.epapers.in
