Symbol of Valour & Valiant son of Bharat Mata : Maharana Pratap

Maharana Pratap Singh, is a name worth remembering to begin one’s day with. His name is engraved with gold among the list of valiant kings who protected the Nation, Dharma, Culture and Freedom of this country by sacrificing his life ! This is a holy remembrance of his valour!

Who does not know the name of the great king of Mewar, Maharana Pratap Singh? In the history of India, this name has always proved to be motivating for qualities like valour, bravery, sacrifice and martyrdom. Many brave warriors like Bappa Rawal, Rana Hamir, Rana Sang were born unto the Sisodiya family of Mewar and were given the title of ‘Rana’ but the title of ‘Maharana’ was only bestowed on Pratap Singh.

Childhood : Maharana Pratap was born in 1540. Rana Uday Singh, the Second, of Mewar had 33 children. Among them, the eldest was Pratap Singh. Self-respect and virtuous behaviour were the main qualities of Pratap Singh. He was bold and brave right from his childhood and everyone was sure that he was going to be a very valiant person as he grew up. He was more interested in sports and learning to wield weapons rather than general education.

Coronation : During Maharana Pratap Singh’s time, Akbar was the Mughal Ruler in Delhi. His policy was to make use of the strength of Hindu kings to bring other Hindu Kings under his control. Many Rajput kings, abandoning their glorious traditions and fighting spirit, sent their daughters and daughters-in-law to the harem of Akbar with the purpose of gaining rewards and honour from Akbar. Uday Singh appointed before his death, Jagammal, the son of his youngest wife as his heir although Pratap Singh was elder to Jagammal but he was ready to give up his rights like Prabhu Ramchandra and go away from Mewar but the chieftains did not at all agree with their king’s decision. Besides they were of the opinion that Jagammal did not possess qualities like courage and self-respect which were essential in a leader and king. Hence it was collectively decided that Jagammal would have to sacrifice the throne. Maharana Pratap Singh too gave due respect to the wish of the chieftains and the people and accepted the responsibility of leading the people of Mewar.

Unbreakable Oath to free the ‘Motherland’ : The enemy had surrounded Mewar at all its’ boundaries. Shakti Singh and Jagammal, the two brothers of Maharana Pratap had joined Akbar. The first problem was to gather enough soldiers to fight a face-to-face war which would have required vast money but Maharana Pratap’s coffers were empty whereas Akbar had a large army, a lot of wealth and a lot more at his disposal. Maharana Pratap, however, did not get distracted or lose heart nor did he ever say that he was weak as compared to Akbar. His only concern was to immediately free his motherland from the clutches of the Mughals. One day, he called a meeting of his trusted chieftains and made an appeal to them in his serious and lustrous speech. He said, “My brave warrior brothers, our Motherland, this holy land of Mewar, is still under the clutches of the Mughals. Today, I take an oath in front of all of you that till Chittod is freed, I will not have food in gold and silver plates, will not sleep on a soft bed and will not stay in the palace; instead I will eat food on a leaf-platter, sleep on the floor and stay in a hut. I will also not shave till Chittod is freed. My brave warriors, I am sure that you will support me in every way sacrificing your mind, body and wealth till this oath is fulfilled.” All the chieftains were inspired with the oath of their king and they too promised him that till their last drop of blood, they would help Rana Pratap Singh to free Chittod and join him in fighting the Mughals; they would not retreat from their goal. They assured him, “Rana, be sure that we all are with you; waiting only for your signal and we are ready to sacrifice our life.”

Battle of Haldighat : Akbar tried his best to bring Rana Pratap under his clutches; but all in vain. Akbar got angry as no compromise could be arrived at with Rana Pratap and he declared a war. Rana Pratap also started preparations. He shifted his capital to Kumbhalgad in the Aravalli range of mountains which was difficult to access. He recruited tribal people and people dwelling in forests in his army. These people had no experience of fighting any war; but he trained them. He appealed to all Rajput chieftains to come under one flag for Mewar’s independence.

Rana Pratap’s army of 22,000 soldiers met 2,00,000 soldiers of Akbar at Haldighat. Rana Pratap and his soldiers exhibited great valour in this battle although he had to retreat but Akbar’s army was not successful in completely defeating Rana Pratap.
Along with Rana Pratap, his faithful horse named ‘Chetak’ also became immortal in this battle. ‘Chetak’ was seriously injured in the battle of Haldighat but to save his master’s life, it jumped over a big canal. As soon as the canal was crossed, ‘Chetak’ fell down and died thus it saved Rana Pratap, risking its own life. The strong Maharana cried like a child over the death of his faithful horse. Later he constructed a beautiful garden at the place where Chetak had breathed its last. Then Akbar himself attacked Rana Pratap but even after 6 months of fighting the battle, Akbar could not defeat Rana Pratap and went back to Delhi. As a last resort, Akbar sent another great warrior General Jagannath in the year 1584 with a huge army to Mewar but after trying relentlessly for 2 years, even he could not catch Rana Pratap.



Severe destiny : Wandering in the jungles and valleys of the mountains, Maharana Pratap used to take even his family with him. There always used to be the danger of the enemy attacking at anytime from anywhere. Getting proper food to eat was an ordeal in the forests. Many times, they had to go without food; they had to wander from one place to another without food and sleep in the mountains and forests. They had to leave the food and immediately proceed to another place on receiving information about the enemy’s arrival. They were constantly trapped in some catastrophe or the other. Once the Maharani was roasting ‘bhakris (Indian bread)’ in the forest; after eating their share, she asked her daughter to keep the left over ‘bhakri’ for dinner but at that time, a wild cat attacked and took away the piece of ‘bhakri’ from her hand leaving the princess crying helplessly. That piece of ‘bhakri’ was also not in her destiny. Rana Pratap felt sorry to see the daughter in such state; he got angry with his valour, bravery and self-respect and started thinking whether all his fighting and bravery was worth it. In such a wavering state of mind, he agreed to call a truce with Akbar. A poet named Pruthviraj from Akbar’s court, who was an admirer of Maharana Pratap, wrote a long letter in the form of a poem to him in Rajasthani language boosting his morale and dissuading him from calling a truce with Akbar. With that letter, Rana Pratap felt as if he had acquired the strength of 10,000 soldiers. His mind became calm and stable. He gave up the thought of surrendering to Akbar, on the contrary, he started strengthening his army with more intensity and once again immersed himself in accomplishing his goal.

Devotion of Bhamashah : There was a Rajput chieftain serving as a minister in the regime of forefathers of Maharana Pratap. He was very much disturbed with the thought that his king had to wander in forests and was going through such hardships. He felt sorry to know about the difficult times Rana Pratap was going through. He offered a lot of wealth to Maharana Pratap that would allow him to maintain 25,000 soldiers for 12 years. Rana Pratap was very happy and felt very grateful. Initially, he refused to accept the wealth offered by Bhamashah but at his constant insistence, he accepted the offering. After receiving wealth from Bhamashah, Rana Pratap started receiving money from other sources. He used all the money to expand his army and freed Mewar except Chittod which was still under the control of the Mughals.

Last wish : Maharana Pratap was lying on the bed made of grass even when he was dying as his oath of freeing Chittod was not still fulfilled. At the last moment, he took his son Amar Singh’s hand and handed over the responsibility of freeing Chittod to his son and died in peace. There is no comparison in history to his fight with a cruel emperor like Akbar. When almost the whole of Rajasthan was under the control of the Mughal Emperor Akbar, Maharana Pratap fought for 12 years to save Mewar. Akbar tried various means to defeat Maharana but he remained unbeatable till the end. Besides, he also freed a large portion of land in Rajasthan from the Mughals. He underwent so much of hardship but he preserved the name of his family and his Motherland from facing defeat. His life was so bright that the other name for freedom could have been  ‘Maharana Pratap’. We pay tribute in his valiant memory.

Christian missionaries donate billions to Indian NGOs

What has been asserted time and again by nationalist organisations and has been emphatically refuted by self-proclaimed liberals, is now out in the open. The latest report of the Home Ministry shows that more than Rs 10,000 crore was pumped into India during 2009-2010, mostly from theUSA and Europe's Christian organisations to NGOs in India.

The report, approved by Union Home Secretary RK Singh in January 2012, revealed that major donors from abroad and receivers in India areChristian Missionaries and Church-sponsored NGOs. The four largest donors are all evangelical christian organisations who have a prophessed goal to convert people to Christianity. The list of foreign donors is topped by the Gospel For Asia Inc of the USA (Rs232.71 crore) followed by Fundacion Vicente Ferrer, Barcelona, Spain (Rs228.60 crore), the World Vision Global Centre of the USA (Rs197.62 crore) followed by Compassion International of US, (Rs131.57 core).

An analysis of the Home Ministry’s 42-page report brings out that 14,233 Indian NGOs received foreign contribution of Rs10,337.59 crore. Around 18% of it came to Delhi, 16% to Tamilnadu and 13% to Andhra. Among districts, nearly 8.5% went to Chennai, 7% to Bangaluru and 6% to Mumbai. Maximum funds came from USA (Rs3,105.73 crore) followed by Germany (Rs1,046.30 crore) and the UK (Rs1,038.68 crore). The other toppers are Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Canada, France, Australia and UAE.

The highest amount of foreign contribution was received by the World Vision of India, Chennai, Tamil Nadu (Rs 208.94 crore), followed by theRural Development Trust, Ananthapur, AP (Rs 151.31 crore), and Shri Sevasubramania Nadar Educational Charitable Trust, Chennai (Rs. 94.28 crore). The NGO's show these rupees to be spent on philanthropic causes. The report says that the highest amount of foreign contribution was received and utilised for establishment expenses, rural development, welfare of children etc. However, the report categorically mentions that the NGO sector in India is vulnerable to the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing and necessary steps for rigorous enforcement as well as coordination with foreign countries for law enforcement will continue.

Nav-Varsh 2070 : Indian Cultural Legacy

New Year is welcomed all over the world on different dates, drenched in multifarious colors of traditions. This is because the World is an assorted basket of different communities and they heterogeneously follow their own calendars. Gregorian calendar is used globally for civil purposes. It is also known as Western calendar/ Christian calendar and is based on solar cycle. Most of the calendars synchronize months and year with sun or moon cycles. Persians follow solar-calendar, where as an Islamic Calendar is of lunar-type. An amalgam of both solar and lunar reckonings is conceived as a luni-solar calendar, which is followed by Hindus.

Gregorian calendar has 365 days in a year. The days are divided into twelve months. Most of the countries across the globe follow the Gregorian calendar and celebrate their New Year’s Day on 1st of January. Whereas some countries like India, Bangladesh, Israel and Myanmar use their own calendar alongside to mark the cycles of religious and astrological events. In India, the “Indian National calendar or Saka calendar” along with Gregorian calendar is used as the official civil calendar by The Gazette of India and for calendars and communications issued by the Government of India. The Indian National calendar ambivalently refers to the Hindu calendar.

In India, Shalivahana or Saka calendar and Vikrama calendar is used. The story behind the calendars date backs to 56 BCE when the Emperor Vikramaditya of Ujjain founded Vikrama Samvat era to mark his victory over Sakas as a revenge of his father’s death. Later in the year 78 CE, Gautamiputra Satakarni who was a Satavahana king initiated the Saka Era to celebrate his victory against the Sakas.

India flamboyantly celebrates the International/ English New Year on 1st of January. They welcome New Year at mid-night with fireworks and parties. Some people also organize bhajan sandhyas. However, no specific traditions are followed to celebrate it.

Hindu New Year is celebrated according to Panchanga. Most of the states follow Shalivahana calendar and celebrate the Nav Varsh Samwat which starts on first day of Chaitra month and is also known as Chaitra Shukladi. The Hindu New Year Samvat 2070 is on 11th April, 2013. The Vikrama calendar begins with the month of “Baisakha / Vaisakha” or “Kartak” (in Gujarat) and is also called as Vikram Samwat. The accustomed New Year celebrations vary from state to state. Not just the traditions but also the time of celebration varies. The day is anthologized by different names in different states.

# GUDI PADWA: It is celebrated as New Year’s Day in Maharashtra on first day of Chaitra month.

# UGADI: It is also celebrated on first day of the month of Chaitra and marks the onset of spring. Ugadi is derived from the name “Yuga Adi” which means the beginning of a new age.

# CHEIRAOBA: It is the festival of Manipur and it falls on same day as Ugadi. “Cheirao-ba” means the announcement of the coming year.

# NAVREH: It is the lunar New Year which coincides with the first day of the Chaitra Navratras and is celebrated in Kashmir.

# CHAITTI: Himachal Pradesh celebrates its new year as Chaitti on first day of Chaitra month.

# CHAITRA PRATIPADA: It is celebrated in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkand and Uttar Pradesh with the beginning of Chaitra month.

According to Hindu Astrological system, 13/14th April is the day when the Sun will start its new cycle in the traditional zodiac number one. On this day, Tamils celebrate Puthandu, Punjabis ceremonialize it as Vaishaki, Bengalis welcome it as Bohaag Bihu and Malayalees feast the New Year as Vishu. Gujaratis celebrate Bestu Varas as New Year’s Day which falls on the day next to Diwali.

It is believed that Lord Brahma, the creator of Universe began with the nexus of miraculous creations including all forms of life. Apart from this, the day also incites the flux of new astronomical cycle. This day also evince the beginning of first season of the year, that is, the spring season. This season emblematize the fresh start of life in the form of out-spurt of shoots from the plants.

This day also marks the commencement of the Vasant Navratri festival with first day of Chaitra Month. Shri Rama and Shri Lakshmana worshipped Devi during Navratris to seek her blessings that helped them in recovery of Mata Sita. The Vasant Navratri is celebrated for nine tithis and culminates with Ram Navami. According to Election Astrology this day is one of the four auspicious days and is known as “Saade Teen Muhurtha”. This day is fortunate to perform any ritual or activity.

The ebullience with which we welcome the International New Year is missing in the people while celebrating Hindu New Year. The speed with which we are drifting towards the western culture is disuniting us from our tradition and culture. Hinduism is the most primitive religion of the World with its origin as far as pre-historic times. All other religions have emerged from it. Hinduism is affluent enough to fascinate and allure people around the planet. The flavorful cultures, variegated customs and people make the religion unique in itself.

Religion is the rope between humanity and spirituality. The sacred histories of the festival convey their meaning and explain their origin and morality. New Year is considered to be magnanimous for new ventures and success. It symbolizes the vestibule of positivity and new hopes. We should perform the ritualistic pujas and seek the divine blessings on the sacred day. The ethos, mighty ethics and purity of our culture should not be adumbrated in the glamour of modernized World. Some say it a moral obligation but we should never bisect from our foundation, our religion. Religion and its spirituality is the nucleus of our soul.

Hindu Nav-Varsh ki Hardik Shubhkaamnayein !!

Gujarat CM Modi demands for indigenous currency ink

At the inauguration session of 'India Chem Gujarat 2011' conclave, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi asked, "Why do we need foreign ink to print Gandhiji's photo?" The CM was referring to the use of foreign ink for the printing of Indian currency. He said that there are Indian manufacturers who produce chemical ink for currency printing, which is used by many other countries but India prints its currency using foreign ink. Modi said that union government should encourage Indian ink.

Modi spoke about taking Gujarat to the next level of the chemical industry. He said, "We are interested in high end value addition products in chemical sectors in the state. We want to encourage product upgradation and environment friendly technological upgradation." Modi also emphasized on keeping chemical industries environment friendly. He said that more NGOs are set up than companies in one year. All these NGOs watch the processes in these industries carefully, so you should keep your plants, processes and technologies environment friendly.

Other than CM, minister of state for energy and petrochemicals Saurabh Patel, Neel Kamal Darbari, jt. secretary, department of chemicals & petrochemicals, ministry of chemicals and fertilizers, government of India and leading industrialists of various chemical industries were present at the event. Darbari applauded the progress of Dahej PCPIR (Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region). She said, "Progress of Dahej PCPIR is an example for other states to follow."

Over 160 participants from across the world are attending the two-day conclave.

Khoon se khelenge holi gar vatan muskhil mein hai : Ashfaqulla Khan's 111 Birth anniversary

Ashfaqulla Khan was a loyal friend, a great revolutionary, a real martyr who sacrificed his life for the cause of freedom. By his unique sacrifice, Ashfaqulla Khan became an immortal revolutionary, an unforgettable name in the Indian freedom struggle history.

Born in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, Ashfaqulla Khan was the son of Shafiqulla Khan. In 1921, Mahatma Gandhi had called on all Indians not to pay taxes to the government or cooperate with the British. This non-cooperation movement kindled the fire of freedom in the hearts of all Indians. However, with the Chauri Chaura violence which resulted into setting ablaze of a police station and death of some policemen, Mahatma Gandhi called off the non-cooperation movement in February, 1922. The youth of the country were greatly disappointed with this calling off the movement and they themselves resolved that the country should become free as early as possible. Ashfqulla Khan joined the band of such revolutionaries. Ramprasad Bismil who also hailed from Shahjahanpur was the leader of the militant group of these revolutionaries. A friendship was cultivated between AshfaqullaKhan and Ramprasad Bismil. Ramprasad was a Aryasmaji whereas AshfaqullaKhan was a devout Muslim. They were so devoted to the cause of the nation that their religion did not come in the way of their firm resolve to join together for the freedom struggle.

Their friendship was so strongly fastened that they always moved together, ate together and worked together. They were called two bodies but one soul. An incident in this connection is worth mentioning. Once Ashfaq had severe fever and under the very high temperature he was muttering Ram, my dear Ram. Ashfaq's parents became much perturbed and thought Ashfaq had been overpowered by some evil spirit since he was uttering the name of Ram, the Lord of Hindus. They called their neighbor. The neighbor assured them explaining that Ashfaq was remembering Ram Prasali Bismil, his friend whom he is in the habit of addressing as Ram. Bismal was called. Asfaq's muttering came to a stop and both embraced each other.

They formed the Hindustan Republican Association. Shachindra Nath Sanyal was the founder of this organization. Their objective was to win freedom for the country through armed revolution. The association published a manifesto called Krantikari in 1925 advocating the elimination of inequality and slavery. For the purpose of carrying out the revolution they needed money. The famous Kakori train robbery was conceived with the sole objective of getting money for carrying out their revolutionary activities. The train robbery was conceived by Ramprasad.Once while travelling from Shahjahanpur to Lucknow he noticed moneybags being taken into the guard’s van and dropped into an iron safe. Ashfaq opposed the idea saying that it would be a hasty step and will expose the revolutionaries to direct attack by strong government who will use the entire machinery to crush the revolutionary activities. However the revolutionaries decided to go ahead with the plan. Like a disciplined soldier Ashfaq vowed to join.

On August 9, 1925, the train from Shahj ahanpur to Lucknow was approaching Kakori. Someone pulled the chain and the train stopped abruptly. Ashfaq got off the second class compartment with his friends Sachindra Bakshi and Rajendra Lahiri. The two revolutionaries fell on the guard and made him lie down on his face. Ashfaq was the strongest of the group. He entered the guard’s van and pushed the bags containing money to the ground. He dealt blows after blows on the opening of the box to open it and to take the moneybags out. The group consisting of ten young revolutionaries took the money and fled. For about a month, none of the revolutionaries could be arrested but the government was determined to arrest the culprits as it was a challenge to the safety and security of the British and it may give rise to such more incidents.

On 26th September 1925 Ramprasad Bismil was arrested. Ashfaq escaped from his home and hid in a sugarcane field. Later he managed to reach Varanasi and stayed for some time in Banaras University. With the help of his friends he went to Bihar and worked their as clerk in an engineering firm at Daltonganj. After that he went to Delhi with a plan to go abroad. In Delhi he met a Pathan friend who also hailed from Shahjahanpur and was a classmate of Ashfaq. Falling for greed of money which the British Government had announced on Ashfaq’ s head, the Pathan sounded the police and next morning Ashfaq was also arrested.

The police submitted charge sheet against him in the court. During the Court proceedings the Superintendent of Police who was a Muslim went to Ashfaq’s jail room and tried to break him from the revolutionaries. The S.P. said: “Ashfaq, I am also Muslim. I am very sorry for your arrest. I can have you released if you accept my advice. You Government approver and give testimony against Ramprasad Bismil. He is a Hindu and wants to establish the rule of Hindus. You should not be with him”. Ashfaq got enraged to hear the words of the Muslim S.P. and retorted, “I warn you, never utter such unholy words from your mouth. Ram Prasad is my brother. I would rather die under the rule of Hindus than to live under the British rule’

A committee consisting of eminent lawyers like Moti Lal Nehru, Jawahar Nehru, Sriprakasha, Acharya Narendra Dev, Govind Vallabh Pant and Chandra Bhanu Gupta was formed to defend the revolutionaries in the Kakori train robbery case. Their effort to save the revolutionaries, however, failed in the court of justice under the British rule which sentenced to death Ramaprasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan Rajendra Lahiri and Roshan Singh. The others were given life sentences.

The whole country protested against the death sentences. Petitions were made to the Viceroy to reduce their death sentence into life imprisonment. Even the Privy Council was also approached but all in vain, the British could not be moved down.

On 19th December 1927, Ashfaqulla Khan was hanged to death at district jail, Faizabad. When Ashfaq was brought to gallows he said, “My hands are not soiled with the murder of man, God will give me justice. “ He then prayed to the Almighty and went down the plank on which he stood after the hangman’s noose came around his neck.

The Last Journey : Rajiv Dixit

Though he is physically not present wit us now, his teaching, knowledge and the courage he gave us stays with us for ever, and the responsibility of fulfilling his dreams now lies with us. 

                                                                                                                 I salute to his dedication and commitment towards Swadeshi Bharat. Being inspired by that, we wish to move ahead towards our goal.

                                                          Rajiv Dixit's Dead Body in Plane

                                                        Bhai Rajiv Dixit Ji's Antim Sanskar

Modi exposes Centre's anti-people move, Gujarat alone can save 3.5 Cr cylinders per year

# CM expresses indignation over Centre’s unjust move of snatching the Gujarat government’s right for installing gas pipelines and distributing cooking gas through the state’s own gas network.

# Gujarat has spent Rs. 5,000 Cr for laying 2,200 km high pressure gas pipeline and Rs. 5,000 Cr for 8,000 km low pressure gas pipeline

# If the Centre allows Gujarat to lay gas pipelines, it would save 3.5 crore gas cylinders every year, and benefits of billions of rupees to the Centre exchequer, which would otherwise be used in giving subsidy

Chief Minister Narendra Modi has expressed indignation over Centre’s unjust move of snatching the Gujarat government’s right to distribute cooking gas through the state’s own gas pipeline network. “Gujarat is the only state which has set up a 2200 km. gas grid with a view to make available cooking gas at cheaper rates compare to LPG cylinder provide by the Centre. But, at one hand the Centre is multiplying the troubles of crores of women by rationing the LPG cylinders and on the other hand, from last two years, it is also not allowing Gujarat to lay more gas distribution pipelines and provide gas at cheaper rates”, he said.


Speaking at the Vivekanand Yuva Vikas Yatra the chief minister said, “The Centre itself does not have capacity to provide adequate gas cylinders and moreover, by rationing the gas cylinders, it compels people to buy gas at high prices from black market”. Gujarat has laid 2,200 km. high pressure gas pipeline at the cost of Rs.5,000 crore, as well 8,000 km. low pressure gas pipeline also at the cost of Rs.5,000 crore. Besides, about 10 lakh LPG connections have been given to the households at the cost of Rs.1,000 crore with partnership of government and private companies, he said.

Cooking gas is being provided to about 350 villages and cities of Gujarat at the cheaper rates compare to the Centre’s cylinder gas through the gas grid. This amounts to a saving of Rs.600 crore for the Centre in the form of subsidies. But since there is BJP government in Gujarat, the Centre keeps political enmity and has snatched from last two years the state’s right of laying gas distribution pipelines, he said.

“If Centre allows Gujarat to lay gas pipelines, the state government would be able to give 30 lakh cooking gas connections in the state in next three to five years. This means that Gujarat alone can save 30 lakh gas cylinders every month for the Centre. This amounts to saving of 3.5 crore gas cylinders every year, and benefits of billions of rupees to the Centre exchequer, which would otherwise be used in giving subsidy”, he said.But the Centre’s Congress government harbours perverted mentality of rendering troubles to Gujarat even at the cost of people’s money, he said.