PANCHAAMRITAM 204

Vishwa Samvad Kendra, Chennai

PANCHAAMRITAM 204

Pancha is five in Samskritam, Amritam is nectar

Amavaasya / Kali Yugaabda 5112 / Vikruti Thai 19 (February 2, 2011)

ONE

Imagine a High School situated bang in the middle of a Nandavanam (blossoming garden). Step into the government high school premises in Kadathoor, in the Gobichettipalayam block of Erode district (Tamilnadu, Bharat). Your imagination becomes in toto a reality there. The classrooms are surrounded by flower beds. In spite of dense foliage all around, the school verandahs and classrooms are neat and tidy as a new fiddle. It is the result of the inculcation of cleanliness among the boys and girls – it is a co-ed institution – through examples set by the teachers led by the Headmaster. The abundant harvest from the school orchard – plantains and other fruits – are not sold. These are distributed free systematically among the students. Class after class gets these in turn. Students and staff always get clean drinkable water in plenty, though the school is located in a place hard pressed for water. Toilets are in adequate proportion to the number of students. They are remarkably clean, meaning that the students are fully aware of the importance of hygiene. There is a constant complaint that the staff strength is inadequate (it is a government school), but the 90-95 percent results in the Class Ten public exams speak of the shraddha on the part of the teaching fraternity of the school. As told to TEAM PANCHAAMRITAM by Shri Bhaktavatsalan, Saha Prant Pracharak, RSS, North Tamilnadu.

TWO

Smt Anupama Joshi, retired Wing Commander, Indian Air Force, is now happy to be flooded with appreciation mails, messages and calls for having won a fight which she had fought for four years in the Delhi High Court and much before that under Air Force mechanism to get permanent commission for women in defence services. Anupama, who now works as CEO for Regional Rural Financial Services, lives in Dehradun with her 12-year-old son. Anupama, officer of the first woman Short Service Commission (SSC) in defence services, had waged this battle when she was not given permanent commission whereas her men colleagues were liberally given the same. Her present occupation is because of her sympathy for farmers of Uttarkhand who had to run from pillar to post for loans. With 18 branches her Financial Services has entered the self help field as well as insurance. The branches are manned by village youth. The Armed Forces wanted to utilize her services, but she chose to stay put in Dehradun unwilling to disappoint the villagers. From DAINIK JAGARAN and THE TRIBUNE August 18, 2010.

THREE

India has rejected a drug patent application of Abbot Laboratories, a United States multinational pharma company, paving the way for easy access to an important life-saving medication for HIV patients across the globe. The decision to reject the patent application on the important combination drug, Lopinavir/Ritonavir filed by Abbot Laboratories was given by the Indian patent office in New Delhi during the weekend. The Indian Patents Office has put a halt to the multinational Abbott Laboratories patenting and said it was not an invention. "India, the world's leading supplier of affordable medicines, can now supply this drug to patients across the globe who are desperately waiting for treatment. This combination drug is considered to be the frontline of defence for HIV positive patients who have failed to stay healthy with the first round of medicines available currently," Tahir M Amin, director of initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge (I-MAK), one of those who initiated legal action against the US company told PTI in a communication from New York. From www.rediff.com, January 3, 2011.

FOUR

Advocate Prashant Maggu had filed case on behalf of Hindu leader Shri Vinay Joshi in a Navi Mumbai court two years ago against Sahara Group editor Aziz Burney for his baseless allegations against RSS and India's security and intelligence apparatus. Aziz spread conspiracy theories linking RSS to 26/11 attacks through his book 'RSS ki Sazish 26/11?' The Court issued a non-bailable warrant against him, which forced Burney to beg for apology. His apology was published on the front page of Rashtriya Sahara, an Urdu daily. “I am requesting you for the immediate withdrawal of the court case filed against me in Navi Mumbai court, as it is creating professional difficulties for me and I cannot afford to bear cost of litigation. I never intended to target India's security apparatus and any patriotic organisation working in India. But if there are any references made in my articles by mistake then I am really sorry for that. I assure you that I will not write anything in future that may hurt anyone and I will take utmost care for the same. Expecting quick withdrawal of court case once again”, said Aziz in his letter to Joshi. Based on a post dated January 29, 2011 in www.haindavakeralam.com

FIVE

Yoga and Meditation is increasingly becoming popular in the West. Many leading personalities in sports and entertainment field are practicing yoga for maintaining their health and figures. Yoga and Meditation is a Rs 15,000 Crore business in USA alone. More than 10% of the whites and blacks in USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand practice Yoga and Meditation in spite of opposition from church groups. Perhaps there are more yoga centers in west than in Bharat. Fear of Cholesterol and obesity is driving many especially the youth in the west to turn to vegetarianism. There are many Ayurvedic centers in Brazil perhaps next only to Bharat. Many universities around the world have started courses in Ayurveda. Ayurvedic Burqa is in demand in the Arab world. Sanskrit is taught in more than 200 universities around the world. There is more and more demand for software professionals with knowledge of Sanskrit for developing softwares for Robots and Artificial Intelligence. NASA and other research institutes are looking for Sanskrit knowing professionals. From an article ‘Hindu Jagaran Around the World’ compiled by Shri Ravi Kumar, RSS, Delhi.