INDIA : Scientific Spirituality

The universe comes out of the union of two fundamental forces: matter (jada, or ’that which gives shape’) and consciousness (chetan). These are also respectively known as prakrati (the manifested form) and purusha (the invisible enlivening spirit). Both have their own merits when considered in isolation; however, it is the union and co-operation of these two entities that works wonders. The human body is a very good example of this fact. Our body is made up of five basic elements -the panca tatvas.

The body is an integrated form of various organs, muscles, nerves, arteries, veins etc., and can be used to accomplish any desired work but is non-functional without consciousness. The consciousness part of man (termed "the soul") thinks, decides and directs organs towards a particular task. The separation of consciousness from matter results in death. A dead body is useless since it is not functional. In the absence of consciousness, it rapidly decays and its constituting elements eventually dissolve into their cosmic states.

In essence, it is the association of matter and consciousness that gives rise to functionality. Matter alone, otherwise, is unorganised and of very little use even though it is present in abundance in the universe. For example, water is plentiful in oceans but is too salty. The atmosphere is full of gases, electro-magnetic rays, X-rays etc. but these components are not useful on their own.

It is the human intervention, or alternatively the intervention of developed consciousness, that organises matter so as to make it useful. For example, man has developed methods to process water to make it fit for human consumption. Fire and electricity were present in the universe since times immemorial, but man's intelligence organised these entities in a utilisable form.

Thus, although the components of Nature are powerful in their own right, their usefulness has depended on the inventive skills of human consciousness.  

Science and spirituality: The discovery of the powers of Nature, their organisation and the skills that make them useful to man is called science. Science can thus be called the unison of matter and consciousness. Science has made possible the progress of the human civilisation. It should be noted that the knowledge of the use of matter is not enough; its righteous use should also be considered. The same criterion also applies to consciousness. In the absence of their righteous use, matter and consciousness are open to be abused.



The attraction of immediate gains is such that its long-term effects are not appreciated and this short-sighted judgement prompts man to misuse power. Ultimately, he creates a web in which he gets trapped, just like a fish caught in a net. This results in suffering, public anger and self-destruction, and yet it is a practice generally adopted by most people. The society and the government rarely succeed in preventing such practices..

Drama of Secularism in India

It has been almost 66 years; we celebrated freedom from the British. But how bad things still are, can be ascertained by the fact that, 95% of the Indian population still lives in Malaria endemic areas. The problem persists now in all seasons, for the mosquitoes have acclimatized themselves in extreme weather conditions. In the holy city of Haridwar, a billion strong swarm of mosquitoes started to wreck havoc on the local citizens. Large scale diseases such as Malaria, Dengue etc started to spread. The citizens were concerned about their health and deteriorating hygiene conditions in the city. A group of 5 self appointed people decided to meet CM Akhilesh Yadav as the Municipal Corporation had proved to be ineffective in dealing with the situation and seek a permanent solution to this menace. They hoped that the CM would provide them an apt solution, but instead he gifted them a Mosquito Spray (which had already proved ineffective) with pictures of CM and his father below the nozzle. CM also said that he had promised to work for the development of Minorities of the State, since the area of Haridwar which was mosquito affected, hardly had any minorities, the young CM wasn't too keen on addressing those issues.

The group then decided to meet PM Manmohan Singh, hoping for a solution. In order to fix a meeting, they took help of an online petition form, requesting the PM to allot his precious time for a meeting with the group. The online petition was signed by 1.5 million citizens of Haridwar. When this information came to Shashi Tharoor, he tweeted "There cannot be 1.5 million Indians whose blood would have been sucked. I am sure either that the people are fake or their blood is fake". After a lot of struggle the group was able to meet PM. There was a long discussion, where the group explained in lengths, the problems faced by them. The PM listened patiently without opening his mouth; then signalled the group to call on his mobile. When one of them called, the ringtone was a song with the words, "Hazaron Solutions se achhi hai meri khamoshi" The group hoped that now only God could help them and God did help them. Winter descended in Haridwar. Most of the mosquitoes died due to the chill, the remaining went to hibernation. Only 1 mosquito whose name was 'M' remained; M too migrated to Azamgarh, as Haridwar was too cold for it to survive.

'M' was hungry for days as it had spent days without food (blood) and water on its way to Azamgarh. Once it reached Azamgarh, it started feasting upon the local populace. It also started breeding and once again the population of Mosquitoes started increasing. The 'majority' of the population in Azamgarh was 'Minority'. The mosquito started gaining popularity for its seemingly immortal life, as it never died of anything and just kept feasting on people's blood. Famous news anchor Sagarika Ghose wanted to cover the story, but was too scared of 'M'. Hence she let her cameraman go there alone and record the video of 'M' biting people and upload it on YouTube. Ms. Ghose used internet to see the video of 'M' on YouTube and gave 'M' a new name, 'Internet Mosquito'. Thanks to the intense media coverage, the news spread across the country like a wildfire and also reached Delhi & Hyderabad. Home Minister Shinde felt that this mosquito had been bred in RSS terror camps, as it left Haridwar and started sucking the blood of people in Azamgarh. He called the mosquito a 'Saffron mosquito'. Although he could not do anything to get that mosquito eliminated. Down south in Hyderabad, MIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi was furious on Home Minister Shinde's inaction. He called upon the 150 Crore Muslims across the world and asked them to spare '15 minutes' each, so that this enemy could be eliminated.

Digvijay Singh and famous Bollywood film director Mahesh Bhatt, called it an RSS conspiracy and demanded elimination of mosquito by using Nuclear Bomb. Amaresh Mishra tweeted that, the mosquito was a rapist and a murderer as it had sucked the blood of many innocent women and must be eliminated. Meanwhile, CM Akhilesh Yadav, upon instructions of his father created a special task force to end the nemesis of 'M'. Laloo Yadav advised him to use a poisoned 'fodder' as a bait, but 'M' consumed only blood, so it would mean poisoning someone's blood, leaving him dead. Hence this option was ruled out. NDTV reporter Barkha Dutt saw unimaginable things. She saw the mosquito getting inside human bodies. "The mosquito also sucked the blood of an unborn foetus by getting inside the mother's womb", she reported. Student activists in JNU started protesting against this. They started a 'Mosquito elimination' campaign in New Delhi. They went on streets of Delhi to kill the Delhi mosquitoes as UP mosquito 'M' was beyond their reach. Suddenly one of the Comrades crushed a fat mosquito and red blood spilled out. They got confused seeing the 'Red' colour and abandoned their campaign midway. A day later, there was a sensational leak from cable Wiki leaks. It said that Congress PM aspirant Rahul Gandhi considered the threat of 'M' in India to be bigger than any form of terror, law & order, healthcare, defense, internal security and the worsening economic situation of the country. After a lot of efforts, 'M' was captured and was to be presented before a Court of Law, for spilling so much Blood. Years went by but Police was yet to file a charge sheet and present 'M' before a court of law.

All the news channels prime time were devoted to 'M' and lots of discussion went by to suggest what should be done with 'M', so that such an act is never committed in future. Mamta Bannerjee demanded passing a special law in the Parliament, which would block the entry of Mosquitoes in 'Special Minority Zones'. While all the intellectuals of the country were busy thinking an apt punishment for the mosquito 'M', there was a sudden turn of events. Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, issued a Fatwa, saying that the mosquito 'M' had drank a lot of Muslim blood and hence more muslim blood flew in his veins than any other and therefore, should be considered one among the Minority. Leader of Opposition, Ms. Sushma Swaraj said that mosquito had no colour. It was neither saffron, nor green, it was just black and she cursed Home Minister Shinde for painting the issue with any particular colour. Home Minister Shinde was looking for corners, and retaliated that it was Manishankar Aiyer who filled his mind with that crap. He regretted his statement of 'saffron mosquito' and by mistake, instead of saying black, said that the mosquito was 'red' in colour. Upon hearing this, the Communists started raising Anti Shinde Slogan. A confused and apologetic Shinde didn't realize what just happened. So the parliament got adjourned for 1 week. Justice Katju wept a lot and wrote an emotional letter to the President of India. In his letter, he requested the President to pardon the mosquito as it had suffered a lot in prison. Further it had a family and 'M' was immature so it should be pardoned. Social Activist Arundhati Roy suddenly woke up from her slumber and started protesting over violation of 'Mosquito Rights' of 'M'.

Ram Vilas Paswan, who last won any kind of election over 2 decades ago backed Katju and went a step further ahead. He gave an interview to Dainik Jagran and said that his party LJP, which had zero MPs in parliament and zero MLAs in Bihar Legislative Assembly would support that party which fielded 'M' as the Prime Ministerial Candidate in the coming Lok Sabha elections. Laloo Yadav who once had devised a plot to eliminate 'M', now welcomed Paswan's statement and said that the next PM should be someone with Secular credentials. Nitish Kumar, opposed him on naming 'M' as the next PM candidate, but supported that the PM must have Secular credentials. Later on he gave conditional support to 'M' saying that if 'M', provided a special status for backward state Bihar, his party would support his PM candidature. Mulayam Singh Yadav neither supported, nor opposed 'M'. He just said that the next PM would be from Uttar Pradesh (Interestingly both 'M' and Mulayam are from Uttar Pradesh). His son, CM Akhilesh Yadav, released all the mosquitoes who were captured by the UP police earlier, as a mark of respect to 'M'. Mayawati wanted to hoist the Indian flag from Red Fort, but sacrificed her pursuit for power and supported 'M' under the conditions that, 'M' would appoint a 'Dalit' as his deputy PM and that he would carve an elephant statue made of pure marble and bigger than the Taj Mahal in the city of Agra. TDP chief and former Andhra CM Chandra Babu Naidu, started joining forces with various regional parties to form a 'Third Front' with 'M' as its PM face. No sooner did he start the process than his dreams were deflated by Digvijay Singh, who said that in past and in future, no Third Front can stand without Congress support.

Arvind Kejriwal conducted a press conference and exposed seventy thousand politicians who were corrupt. He then said that 'M' was innocent and his party workers would do an indefinite fast in Jantar Mantar to protest M's arrest and name him the unanimous PM without any elections. His party colleague, Prashant Bhushan voiced similar opinions and blamed intelligence agency RAW for maligning 'M' which was innocent. Sagarika Ghose was sweating in a TV program and was quite nervous, if 'M' became PM, he might trouble her as she had once named him 'Internet Mosquito'. Well known 'Historian' Ramchanda Guha fully supported 'M' to be the PM candidate. He said that there was only one criterion which he wanted to see in a PM was; "He must neither be from the Gandhi family nor Narendra Modi". Social Activist Arundhati Roy too supported 'M' for the top job but she had a long list of demands. She wanted that as soon as 'M' becomes the PM, he must give away; Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab and Rajasthan to Pakistan; Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand to China; entire North East to Myanmar; West Bengal to Bangladesh; Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka and Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh as a separate country to the Naxalites. Whatever remained could be considered as the territory of India. When we last heard from Rahul Gandhi, he was practicing to develop some wings on his body. Someone told him that a bee could become a PM, a mosquito could become a PM but he could not. He thought both bee and mosquito had 1 feature in common, 'wings', hence this urgency to develop wings on his body. 'M' was slowly and steadily gaining popularity and was on course to become India's next PM; While he continued to suck the blood of Hindus and Muslims alike, no one seemed to have a problem with this.

Dragon's incursion over Tiger : Rahul Baba busy in election campaining

The nation is currently agitated over the inability of the UPA Government to force the Chinese Army to retreat from Daulat Baig Oldie, a remote advanced landing ground (ALG) and old unused air strip which was recently reactivated. The ALGs are generally constructed where a land route is difficult to build and maintain and all-weather operations are not feasible.

ALGs provide an air-maintained multipurpose station for a range of activities from air surveillance to troop maintenance and long range patrol base (peace time); during crisis they facilitate quick consolidation of forces and assets. The Ladakh ALG was reactivated to ensure the safety of our territory in that area as Chinese activities in the Gilgit area had increased in the past decade or so.

According to the latest information available in the public domain, the Chinese have intruded almost 19 kms within Indian Territory, though they claim that their troops are within their own territory. There is not much one can do about this as our Central Government is not ready to up the ante. Maintaining the status quo as a virtue is the ‘principled position’ of this most non-performing government in the history of India.

The Chinese understand this pretty well and have done this to insult India, a wannabe global power; they will continue to insult us in the same fashion in future as well. India as a nation should be ready for many more such insults. We simply have no answer to these tactics (as long as we have this regime and this attitude).

Still, we may ask, what is new in this incidence? Has this happened for the first time?  Why is a section of Indian society so perplexed with the Government’s decision (inability to respond)?

This is not the first regime to this passive and docile stand against intruders in Kashmir. What is happening in Daulat Baig Oldie is an old script being played again by our neighbours, and as per their expectations, the Indian State has reacted in exactly the same old manner. Neither our enemies have changed their modus operandi nor have we changed our reaction. But the question is: why are things the way they are?

The answer lies in India’s policy and its perception of its neighbours and their motives. Our neighbours perceive things differently. The basis of our perception of our neighbours is based on a political-bureaucratic philosophy rather than on an understanding of their regional or global outlook. We have always failed to understand our enemy’s motives. On the other hand, India does not have any objective to be achieved in a given time frame. It’s a paradox. India follows either status quo-ism or ad-hoc in response to a crisis. In the period between crises’ we go into hibernation. We fail to exploit the period of peace and this happens only because there are no stated national objectives.

Experts give the lack of infrastructure and military hardware as one reason for India’s inability to react to this situation with honour. But this is a myopic view. Let us accept one fact – that China has surrounded us with its infrastructure all along the borders and also in the Indian Ocean. Whatever we do now will be nothing but a response to them and something China would have anticipated. Therefore the element of surprise would not be there.

Secondly, we must remember that Beijing’s existing infrastructure is just a beginning; it will be followed by more infrastructure and institutional and political support to make them far more potent than they appear at present. Our experts have nothing to say on this subject. We have to open our minds to new ideas. We will have to foresee what would be the Chinese plan in the next 20 yrs.

Our response must factor in the basic fact that China’s goals are framed in a time-frame of three decades. We have already lost the first decade to them. They have captured physical areas which we simply can’t regain in the immediate future. The whole of central Asia is within their reach. They are in a position from where they can dictate terms and they will never allow us to gain any ground there.

Our diplomats failed in central Asia. We have been talking big about the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation etc, but we have gained nothing. So also in the case of Afghanistan. All across the Indian Ocean they have entrenched themselves well. As of today, we simply do not have the means to match them in infrastructure or military hardware. We will have to either take risks and call their bluff or allow status quo to continue. With the kind of polity we have, only the status quo will prevail.

The Chinese strategy is not based on immediate requirements. What we are seeing today was planned long back. One can see how incrementally they are building up their technical and scientific capability. Similarly their diplomacy is working according to long-term economic needs. To ensure their economic lines are secure they are building their military might. So first they start with scouting natural resources in far off countries, then they build infrastructure and then to secure infrastructure they deploy force.

India can’t do this, not because of physical incapability, but because we can’t plan and execute with similar dedication. To have a particular military hardware ten years from now requires work to start ten years ago; so Beijing must have planned thirty years back. It takes around ten years to bring together all required know-hows to start developing a cutting edge product. India has been busy outsourcing its defence purchases for kickbacks; what strategic planning can it do?

What we are seeing today is the plan envisaged by Chinese in the 1980s. The aggressive posturing by China, whether in the Sea of Japan or Ladakh, is to put pressure on the nations which have started to stand up to China and may join hands against it.

One must not forget that the new Chinese government with a new generation of leaders will make moves to consolidate its position, and the People’s Liberation Army which of late has become very powerful, will like to deter the new leaders from encroaching on its political space.

China is doing everything to achieve its stated national goals. India lacks a national perspective and objective, so it can’t plan a strategy to achieve it. This is why it will continue to react to situations with shameful impotence.

Border With China Turns Hot

Indeed, the Chinese intrusion this time in the Daulat Beg Oldie area in Ladakh region, close to Aksai Chin, is of much more serious nature than the previous such intrusions, which were brushed aside as the routine affair by the Government of India and the Army alike.

It is different from the days when the Chinese troops would come, write their claim on rocks or shower pamphlets from choppers, dismantle Indian bunkers, saying that Indian shepherds should stay away from the Chinese pastures, and stop work on the roads. This time, it is much more serious than simple posturing.

Now, it seems that during all the previous intrusions and thereafter sending their troops to Gilgit and Baltistan area in Pakistan occupied Kashmir, Chinese were testing the waters: to what extent India would respond and how.

Since the Indian side depended more on toothless diplomacy and refrained from heeding the needs of the Army, what has emerged is that China has overturned the peace and tranquility pacts signed between the two countries. It is a clear design to escalate tensions on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), so that India diverts more of its military power and energy to the eastern borders. That would strategically help the Pakistanis who are on the western borders of the country.

Timing is important. This time around the snow starts melting and the intrusion of militants with weapons, rises from across the Line of Control (LoC) that divides Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan. The Indian Army has dedicated much of its attention toward the western sector, to stop the intrusion because the intruders replenish the pool of militants in the hinterland and thus cause problems for the security forces and the people alike. It is common knowledge that next year when the NATO troops would be saying good bye to Afghanistan, Pakistan Taliban and its off shoots would divert their men and lethal machinery toward Kashmir. It has been declared in no uncertain times by the de-facto Lashkar-e-Toiba chief Hafiz Mohammad Sayeed.

In the aftermath of the recent incident of China having set up its tented post on DOB, the Army has viewed it very seriously and the matter is to be taken up with Beijing, but everyone knows that what the results would be. It has happened in the past too, and it would happen again, because the Indian Army is in the most disadvantageous position-it lacks access to the LAC through paved roads, nor it has the necessary equipment. To quote Gen (Retd) BS Jaswal, when he was the Northern Command chief of the Indian Army, that “India is no match to the logistical and other facilities as compared to China”. The situation has not improved even a bit in the past three years, rather it has worsened, because the state government has denied Indian Army the land to build its operational facilities and dump ammunition, despite the fact that for six months, entire Ladakh region, also known as the cold desert, remains cut off from rest of the world, as all its surface links are shut by heavy snow that rises upto 25 to 30 feet and the temperatures dip to 30 degree Celsius.

On the other side of the LAC, China has sent more than 9,000 Peoples Liberation Army men in Pakistan occupied Kashmir in the garb of engineers and workers, they have also constructed airstrips and world-class roads up to the borderline. The Indian side can only watch it happening helplessly.

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 !!