Monday, December 22, 2014

PANCHAAMRITAM 263

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PANCHAAMRITAM 263

Amavaasya / KALI YUGABDA 5116 / Jaya Margazhi 6 (December 21, 2014)
This issue is devoted to YOUTH – comprising 1 our victorious kabaddi teams (men and women), the world champions, 2 the swadeshi  warrior in the unrelenting Sanskrit student, 3 a tough soldier, 4  the IITians not cowed down by lust for money and 5  a honest taxi driver of Madurai. Read on…
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Bharat defeated Pakistan (45-42) in the final of the fifth World Cup Kabaddi tournament at the Guru Gobind Singh Multipurpose Stadium Badal (Muktsar district, Punjab, Bharat) on December 20, 2014. In the women's final, the Indian veeranganaas defeated New Zealand (36-27). In the men's final, both the Indian and Pakistni teams were neck and neck for the first 10 minutes. Gradually, Pakistan gained lead, and it was only towards the end that India came back in the game. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal appreciated the "keenly contested match". "From next year, the prize money for the winners in the girls' category will be Rs 2 crore, same as for men," he said. Haryana Chie Minister Shri Manoharlal Khattar also was present on the occasion. In women's section, Ram Bateri and Priyanka were adjudged the best raiders. Anu Rani was declared the best stopper for the second year in running. In men's section, Sandeep Surakhpur (India) and Shafiq Ahmed Chisti of Pakistan were adjudged best raiders while Yadwinder Singh Yada was declared the best stopper. "Great news!  Our men and women Kabaddi teams win Kabaddi World Cups. My congratulations to the sportspersons. We are very proud. This is the fifth consecutive win for the men's team and fourth consecutive win for the women's team. Truly phenomenal performance", congratulated Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

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The 32nd convocation of Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi (UP, Bharat), was held on December 19, 2014. Computer scientist, Padma Shri Vijay P Bhatkar was the chief guest. Governor and Chancellor Shri Ram Naik presided over the function. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pledge to make India a 'Vishwa guru' was also discussed at the ceremony.
The dress code was dhoti, kurta and jacket for boys while the girls were clad in cream saree and blouse. White topi (cap) and cream dupatta is a must for students. It may be mentioned here that last year a Sahityacharya (MA) student, Suman Chandra Pant, was ousted by the administration officials from the convocation venue as he refused to wear traditional gown at the 31st convocation ceremony. Pant was to be awarded nine gold medals and a silver medal for his meritorious performance but because of his argument that the gown was a colonial relic he was ousted and was not awarded. It is worth mentioning that Pant had written about it to Ra j Bhavan seeking special permission for wearing dhoti, kurta and jacket. (Talking to The Indian Express over the phone from Lucknow, where he is now pursuing a Ph. D from Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, Pant said: "The issue was not raised of a sudden. In July  2013, a researcher, Umesh Chandra Shukla, who, too, was among those who refused to wear the gown, had written to the Governor, who is the Chancellor of the University, on the issue. But no decision was taken. When I came to know about the convocation on November 20, 2013, I wrote to Raj Bhavan. I wanted a special permission should at least be granted to me for wearing dhoti, kurta and jacket. But the university was not interested").
Based on a report in THE TIMES OF INDIA, December 20, 2014 and THE INDIAN EXPRESS, November 30, 2013.
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Lt Col Sankalp Kumar, the lone officer from 24 Punjab regiment, among 10 security personnel martyred in the Uri (Jammu Kashmir, Bharat) attack on December 5, 2014 leaving behind wife and two cute daughters. All these are known facts. What is relatively lesser known is this story shared by another officer. "Sirs, when I came to know the name, Sankalp Kumar, it brought back memories of April 2003.The scene was 92 Base Hospital, Srinagar. Myself and Sankalp lying next to each other in ICU. Both were recently operated upon.He had got gun shot wounds. I was badly injured in grenade and IED blast .His injuries were peculiar. He had caught a burst of AK on his stomach. Some which hit the magazines which he was carrying and live rounds were extracted from his belly. His parents came over and would always talk to both of us. Even in ICU he was full of fun and his never ending jokes caused a lot of   pain as both of us since we had over 40 stitches on the stomach.  He was a soldier in the truest sense. He was already a battle casualty. NOT recommended to serve in a field area. But, he volunteered to serve in Kashmir for the love of his Paltan, 24 Punjab”. Based on a post in Nitinagokhale.blogspot.in by Shri Nitin A Gokhale; December 8, 2014.


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It is not every day that a job-seeker turns down a Rs 1 crore offer. But four of them — three boys and a girl student — at the IIT-Kanpur have done it. According to the chairman of placement cell, Prof Deepu Philip, the offers were made on December 3 by a multinational company during placement interview on their campus. "The offer was for a take home of $150,000, or close to Rs 93 lakh per annum. Along with other incentives and perks, the size of the package was more than Rs 1 crore yearly," says Philip. The girl student and one of the boys declined the offer saying it did not match their temperament and that they wanted professional fulfilment from their jobs. The two have accepted offers of Rs 50 lakh per annum from a smaller company. "The remaining two students said they want to focus on higher studies and were, therefore, not keen on taking up the Rs 1 crore offer," added Philip.
Meanwhile, Shri Anurag Meena an Engineering Physics  final semester student of IIT Bombay (Maharashtra, Bharat), has opted for the Deferred Placement Programme (DPP). He is developing product the ‘non invasive drug delivery and diagnostic technique’. The product  will be ready next year. He says: “You need no oral pills or injection; the non invasive technology will deliver the drug into the body. Similarly for diagnosis, blood need not be taken from the body.”   So, Anurag does not seek a job; he is bent upon becoming a job giver. Eleven more of his batch too, have taken to DPP.  Based on a report in BUSINESS STANDARD, December 5, 2014 and another in THE TIMES OF INDIA, December 7, 2014.

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Dinesh Kumar, a young taxi driver of Madurai, who hardly earns Rs. 8,000 a month, had returned an iPhone and a purse with Rs. 10,200 left by a young French woman in his taxi. The lady, Amandine Huet, had to catch an early morning train to Chennai. Dinesh Kumar dropped her at 4.30 am on December 15, 2014 at the station. “I noticed the valuables left in the rear seat while washing the car. Immediately, I alerted the person who had booked my taxi,” he said. Stephen J. Muthu, founder-Director of Forum for Concern for Others, who had booked the taxi, organised a simple felicitation along with the Director of Fortune Pandiyan Hotel, G. Vasudevan. The driver was honoured with shawls, bouquet and a cash reward. “We find all negative news/articles every day. We thought it was important to honour honest people just to say that good people are here. And he should become a role model for others,” Dr. Vasudevan said. Based on a report by Shri S. Sundar in THE HINDU, December 16, 2014.
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Tuesday, December 9, 2014

PANCHAAMRITAM 262

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PANCHAAMRITAM 262
Poornima / KALI YUGABDA 5116 / Jaya Karthigai 20 (December 6, 2014)
This issue of PANCHAAMRITAM is devoted to a DASAVATAR (ten avatars of courage and tyaga personified by our unparalleled soldiers).
They sacrificed their lives for us, but how many of us actually know their names, let alone know what they did for us? It's high time we learn about these unsung heroes who are India's real stars.
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1. Captain Anuj Nayyar: Captain Anuj Nayyar, of 17 Jat Regiment of the Indian Army, headed his group to capture a key mountain top called Pimple II that was possessed by Pakistani infiltrators in the Kargil War in 1999. Nayyar and his group fought on like warriors without any aeronautical backing. A rocket explosive specifically hit him, yet he carried on till his last breath to secure the strategic mountain peak. A bit of trivia: Saif Ali Khan played Captain Nayyar's role in J. P. Dutta’s movie LOC Kargil. 2. Colonel Neelakantan Jayachandran Nair: Colonel Neelakantan Jayachandran Nair of 16 Maratha Light Infantry was deployed in Nagaland in 1993. On December 20 of the same year, his convoy was ambushed by Naga rebels. Col N. J. Nair displayed exemplary valour and took on the rebels on his own in order to break the ambush. He sacrificed his life to save his men. For his outstanding courage, the Colonel has been awarded the Ashoka Chakra and Kirti Chakra, the only Indian to have won both the prestigious awards.

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3. Brigadier Kuldip Singh Chandpuri: J.P Dutta's famous war film Border was based on the Battle of Laungewala on the fateful night of December 4-5, 1971. On that night, Brigadier Chandpuri headed a team of 124 soldiers of the Indian Army and 23 officers of the Punjab regiment against a Pakistani ambush and held them off. He was later honoured with the Mahavir Chakra by the Indian government for his administration and valour. The Brigadier's character was played by Sunny Deol in Border. 4. Gurbachan Singh Salaria: After Belgium left Congo, the UN interceded to stop a bloody civil war raging through the African nation. Chief Gurbachan Singh Salaria was a part of the UN’s group to spare the nation from Katangese rebels who were wrecking destruction, and participated in an operation that left the foe totally dampened. Salaria died at the young age of 26 in an unknown land. However, his actions were recognized by the Indian government, and Chief Salaria was honored with the Param Vir Chakra, India’s most astounding wartime military honor, for his grit in the Congo War in 1961.

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5. Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat: The story of Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat is stunning, and the man himself is a legend in the Indian Army. He was a part of the fourth Battalion of the Garhwal Rifles in the Indo-China War of 1962. Due to heavy casualty and circumstances, the company was asked to retreat from their position. Jaswant, however, insisted on staying back and fighting off the Chinese. All the other soldiers retreated and Jaswant was left alone to deal with enemy. What he did then was truly brave. He got some help from two Monpa tribal girls named Sela and Nura. Together, they set up weapons at separate points and maintained a volume of fire that fooled the Chinese into believing that they were faced with a huge battalion. The Chinese were left frustrated and this went on for 3 days. Finally the Chinese managed to capture the man who was supplying rations to Jaswant. On learning that he would be captured soon, Jaswant shot himself in the head. The Chinese were so furious to find that they had been fighting a lone soldier all this while that they cut off his head and carried it back to China. The fate of the brave girls who helped him is unknown. What a hero! 6. Lieutenant Vikram Batra: Lieutenant Vikram Batra, another champion of India’s 1999 Kargil War, was instrumental in recovering Peak 5140 situated at a height of 17,000 feet from the enemy. Batra knew the vital criticalness of the crest and completed a challenging mission in power to recover the peak. An enemy counterattack cut short his life but not before he had recaptured Peak 5140 with his last words – Jai Mata Di. Here's a bit of trivia: Abhishek Bachchan played Batra’s part in the film LOC Kargil.


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7. Arun Kumar Vaidya: This Maha Vir Chakra awardee was part of the action during the 1965 war with Pakistan at the Battle of Chawinda where the first Armored Division of the enemy was destroyed. In 1971, Arunkumar Vaidya navigated a dangerous landscape loaded with mines and pushed ahead to refute the Pakistani counter-assault in the the battles of Chakra and Dahira. In the same clash, in the Battle of Barapind, he appropriated tanks crosswise over minefields and got his second Maha Vir Chakra. In 1984, he planned Operation Blue Star, which sought to evict Sikh militants hidden inside the Golden Temple in Amritsar. 8. Nand Singh: During World War 2, Nand Singh led his troops up a steep ridge in Burma and captured major trenches despite carrying multiple injuries. In 1947, upon Independence, he took part in India’s first war with Pakistan. In the same year, he got severely injured in Uri, after which his body was paraded in Pakistan and thrown into a dump. Sadly, his body was never recovered. Nand Singh has the distinction of receiving the British Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

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9. Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan: “Do not come up, I will handle them.” These were probably the last words spoken by Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan to his men as he was hit by bullets while engaging terrorists inside the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel during the Black Tornado operation in the Mumbai attacks in 2008. Unnikrishnan was a Major in the Indian Army serving in the elite National Security Guards (NSG). During the operation, when a commando got injured, Major Unnikrishnan arranged for his evacuation and started chasing the terrorists himself. It was during this chase that he got seriously injured and succumbed to his injuries. 10. Captain Mahendra Nath Mulla: Captain Mahendra Nath Mulla, the captain of the INS Khukri, died after his ship was hit by torpedoes fired from the enemy submarine during the 1971 war. Mulla gave away his own life-saving jacket to a sailor and tried to save as many lives as he could before he went down with his ship. If you ever end up travelling to Diu, you'll find a memorial in Mulla’s name along with a full-case model of INS Khukri.

Idea: Shri Ashok Chowgule
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