Sunday, September 27, 2015

PANCHAAMRITAM 282

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PANCHAAMRITAM 282
(pancha is five in samskritam; amritam is nectar)
Poornima / Kali Yugabda 5117 / Manmatha Purattaasi 11 (September 28, 2015)

This issue of PANCHAAMRITAM is devoted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s - “Mann Ki Baat” – his monthly broadcast over Akashvani which completed one year this September. A bunch of inspiring anecdotes from out of the 12 Mann Ki Baat talks.





ONE


Many may not know that 15 lakh Indian soldiers fought in the World War I (1914-1918). Of them 74,000 have sacrificed their lives and 9,200 were honoured with gallantry awards. (Mann Ki Baat, April 25, 2015).
** Over 30 lakh families have surrendered their LPG subsidy, and not just the rich. Most are from the lower middle and middle classes like retired teachers, pensioners. This is nothing but proof of that a silent revolution is on. (Mann Ki Baat, September 20, 2015).

TWO
A big team of officials in the Harda district administration in Madhya Pradesh is at something wonderful. These officials are waging a “mala yuddham” (war on human refuse). They honour anyone who gifts a toilet to his sister on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan festival with the title ‘Number One Brother’.  See what a dimension the concept of Raksha Bandhan has assumed! (Mann Ki Baat, July 26, 2015).

THREE
Serhiy Nazarovych Bubka is a former Ukrainian pole vaulter. He represented the Soviet Union until its dissolution. He is credited to have broken his own records 35 times. He challenged himself; he put himself to test. My dear young students, if you too followed him in this aspect, no one can prevent your progress. Face the exam cheerfully. Make it a festival fit to be enjoyed. (Mann Ki Baat, February 2, 2015).

FOUR
“Some people wonder, what does "Barack" mean? I was searching for the meaning of Barack. In Swahili language, which is spoken in parts of Africa, Barack means, one who is blessed. I believe, along with a name, his family gave him a big gift. African countries have lived by the ancient idea of 'Ubuntu', which alludes to the 'oneness in humanity'. They say - "I am, because we are". Despite the gap in centuries and borders, there is the same spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, which we speak of in India. This is the great shared heritage of humanity. This unites us. When we discuss Mahatma Gandhi, we remember Henry Thoreau, from whom Mahatma Gandhi learnt disobedience. When we talk about Martin Luther King or Obama, we hear from their lips, respect for Mahatma Gandhi. These are the things that unite the world.” ( Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the special Mann Ki Baat aired on January 27,2015, jointly with US President Barrack Obama, who was in New Delhi as the Guest of Honour at the Republic Day parade, 2015).
FIVE
Shri Bharat Gupta from Satna, Madhya Pradesh, posted this on mygov.org website: “Nowadays awareness of cleanliness is high among people, particularly the Railway users, thanks to Swatch Bharat campaign. Passengers look for a dust bin in compartment. If they do not find one, they keep all the waste heaped neatly in a corner. They don’t litter all over.” On reading this I was very happy. (Mann Ki Baat, October 3, 2014).
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Thursday, September 17, 2015

PANCHAAMRITAM 281

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PANCHAAMRITAM 281
(pancha is five in samskritam; amritam is nectar)
Amavaasya / Kali Yugabda 5117 / Manmatha Avani 26 (September 12, 2015)

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi (September 17) !
Sorry for the delay in posting this issue: Moderator.

ONE



The Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) felicitated 74 Muslims who own or rear cows at its first Muslim Gau Palak Sammelan in  Mewat (Haryana, Bharat) on September 13, 2015; it  asked them to take a pledge against cow slaughter. The event was attended by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Khattar and chief of All India Imam Council Imam Umar Ahmed Ilyasi. “Mewat is known for slaughter of cows and we wanted to dispel the myth. We succeeded in bringing a large number of Muslims to the event,” Mohammad Afzal, national convenor, MRM told The Indian Express. Khattar released a booklet (Gai aur Islam) and a CD named “Gau ki Hifazat par Ulma ka Nazariya (Ulemas’ view on cow protection)”. MRM margdarshak (guide) and senior RSS leader Indresh Kumar was present at the event. The MRM will also set up 10 cow shelters — Gau Palak Kendra — to be exclusively managed by Muslims in Uttar Pradesh. A booklet, Gai aur Islam (cow and Islam), which is a compilation of articles by several Muslim clerics highlighting the importance of cow in the religion, will also be distributed in areas dominated by the minority community. Imam Umar Ahmed Ilyasi welcomed the idea of holding such functions. “It is a good idea. We also want to have good relations with Hindus. Cow is considered sacred by Hindus; so Muslims should come forward and avoid its slaughter,” Ilyasi said. (Based on a report by Shri Mohd Faisal Fareed in THE INDIAN EXPRESS, September 16, 2015).
TWO



It is a moment of rare honour for Bharatiya conservationists Sukhram Baiga, Ujiyaro Bai and Gopal Mandal, who have been invited to address the 5-day XIV World Forestry Congress in Durban beginning on September 7. They were invited by Timber Watch, a South African NGO working on forest conservation with the help of local communities. The efforts of Ujiyaro Bai and her fellow villagers from Pondi have successfully saved forests in Dindori (Madhya Pradesh, Bharat) from forest fires and illegal wood contractors. The community organisation-Rural Development Society-has about 15 hectares of community mangrove forests in about seven villages, This has developed generated various options of  traditional livelihoods like  fishing and  honey collection.  According to Gopal, nearly 350 persons have been diverted from the tiger habitat to these community mangrove forests.This has not only reduced incidents of man-tiger conflicts but also controlled human pressures in tiger habitat, thereby helping in big cat conservation. “For generations Baiga tribe has been co-existing with tigers.  Today, both Baigas and tigers are endangered. Both need the jungles to survive. Yet in this battle for survival why are only tigers allowed to flourish and Baigas left to perish as victims of displacement from their native jungles,” Ujiyaro asks. “Our age old co-existence with big cats has been endangered,” said Sukhram, adding, “Our lives, livelihood, culture and ethos are all rooted in the jungles.”Ujiyaro, who belongs to the Baiga tribe, started her fight to save forests, seven years back. (Based on a report by Smt Moushumi Basu in THE PIONEER, 8 September 2015).
THREE
 

Amit Vaidya, a Gujarati, was born and brought up in the US, with a Ph.D. in economics; he was diagnosed with first stage gastric cancer when he was 27. He went in for “aggressive chemo radiation” in New York. Two years later he went into remission. Doctors told Amit that his life too was just a matter of time. “I started planning my funeral”, says Amit. Soon he planned a trip to India. He lived in Delhi with a friend when he was told about alternative therapies. The treatment at a hospital in Gujarat was disciplined with yoga, meditation and he was made to drink a mix of desi cow milk, curd, ghee and gobar, go-mutra (panchagavya). Scans showed that the cancer “had not spread”. Another 40 days in the hospital, and reports showed the cancer had decreased. Wanting to continue the therapy, Amit stayed with a farmer, who opened his house to Amit. “I continued the therapy and after months was able to walk. Over time, walks became jogs, jogs became runs and I started finding joy in my mind. The villagers had time for me, which was the best gift I got, especially when I needed time to heal.” After 18 months Amit claims he is cancer free and decided on planning to live his life instead of planning a funeral. He now talks to people about his journey and that healing is possible. He  spends time with cancer patients. He started an NGO called Healing Vaidya (healingvaidya.org.).  He does not plan on going back to the US as “this country has given me much. I have learnt that people here don’t value what it can offer.” Amit has written a book  ‘Holy Cancer – How A Cow Saved My Life’, (Aditya Prakashan, Rs. 495) . (Based on a report by Smt Shilpa Sebastian in THE HINDU, 2015).
FOUR



Shri Vijay, a resident of Hyderabad (Telengana, Bharat), posted a photograph with a traffic cop and shared his story on social media. “I was on my bike and making my way home from the office. I ran out of fuel and, fortunately, stopped in front of Merajuddin Syed, traffic cop of ASI rank, who was on duty. “When he came to know that I had run out of petrol, he yelled at a man beside him to get a bottle of petrol from his bike. Meanwhile, he told me that he has got a hike and with the raise in his salary, he wanted to help people. Now, he helps out people who have run out of petrol, gives it to them free of cost. And he simply refused to take any money from me either. I was so overwhelmed by his kind and helpful nature. Hats off to you,” he wrote. Merajuddin Syed who has become a local hero over the past few weeks keeps with him 6 bottles of petrol at all times in his scooter. He offers help to anyone that he notices needs help. He does all this out of the emotion to help people and not for money. Therefore, never accepts any money from the riders/drivers that he helps, even if the other person insists."I like when they smile after a messy day. I want people to understand that we (police) are not here just to punish offenders or to take a bribe. We can also help them," Syed was quoted telling ANI. (Based on report by Smt Mugdha Kapoor in THE TIMES OF INDIA, September 8, 2015).
FIVE



The unique nine-day-old strike by over 5,000 women workers of the Kanan Devan Hill Plantations Company (KHDP) in Munnar (Kerala, Bharat) against the management yielded the desired results on September 13, 2015. Unique, as the women workers, with no single notable leader, decided to keep out both trade unions and political parties of all hues, in what they knew was a just cause. The historic decision agreed to 8.33 per cent of salary as bonus and 11.67 per cent as ex-gratia. And their demand for fixing the minimum salary at Rs 500 a day is to be taken up for consideration in a fortnight’s time. Many of the striking ladies are also shareholders in the firm. Set up in April 2005, it is the largest employee-owned tea company in the world, covering 17 plantations spanning 24,000 hectares. (When the Tata group decided to exit the plantations business in 2005, it sold 75 per cent of the shares in KHDP to 13,350 workers in a landmark deal of ‘participatory management’). (From an editorial in THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS, September 15, 2015).
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