Rashtradharma institutes Hindi Sewa Samman
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Rashtradharma, a leading nationalist Hindi monthly from Lucknow, has set up a Hindi Sewa Samman in the memory of its late director and veteran Sangh Pracharak, Shrikrishan Das Maheshwari. Under the Samman at least two Hindi writers from non-Hindi speaking states would be awarded with the cash prize of Rs 21,000, who strengthen Hindu dharma and culture through their writings. This year the awardees will be selected from West Bengal, Orissa, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland and Sikkim. Rashtradharma has invited entries from the Hindi writers of these states for the award.
600 Christians return to Hindu fold
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About 335 Christians belonging to 55 families returned to their original roots at a function held at Soharpat village of Gumla district in Bihar. Before the home-coming ceremony, joint worship of Sarana Mata was performed by priests from 102 villages. Shri Sudarshan Bhagat, former minister, Shri Samir Oraon, MLA, Shri Mahirang Oraon, state organising secretary of Vanvasi Kalyan Kendra, welcomed them by washing their feet. They were also offered Gangajal before the ceremony. Speaking at the ceremony, Shri Sudarshan Bhagat demanded the state government to put a complete ban on conversion. He said the Christian missionaries had been trapping local gullible Vanvasis and converting them to Christianity. Shri Samir Oraon said the missionaries took unfair advantage of the famine of 1967 by launching at that time work for dharma campaign. He appealed to all people of the community who have somehow adopted Christianity to come back to their original roots. Meanwhile, in another function held at Bhojpur village of Etah district in Uttar Pradesh, over 300 Christians returned to Hindu fold. They also converted the local church into a temple. The father of the church himself installed the pictures of goddess Durga, Vaishno Devi and Hanuman in the new temple. After returning to Hindu fold, he also said the missionaries took unfair advantage of his poverty and used him for conversion in the area.
Annual function of Sewa Bharati, Ranchi
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Ranchi unit of Sewa Bharati organised its annual function on February 5 in which over 3000 children from downtrodden section of the society, about 300 women members of Self-Help Group and about 250 trainees from Swavlamban Kendra participated. Speaking at the function, Shri Hastimal, Akhil Bharatiya Sampark Pramukh of RSS, said the society did not lack talented children but efforts should be made to find the talent. He said the Sewa Bharati was working in that direction. Speaking at the concluding ceremony, Shri Arjun Munda, Jharkhand Chief Minister, stressed the need to spread education. He said special efforts should be made by all to make everyone literate. Shri Pradip Yadav, Minister for Human Resource Development, Jharkhand, was also present on the occasion. Children from various centres run by Sewa Bharati also presented various cultural activities at the function.
Orissa gears up for grand Hindu summit
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A grand Hindu summit is scheduled to be organised in Orissa as part of Shri Guruji'sbirth-centenary year celebration. As part of its nationwide programme, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is organising this three-day event on April 8, 9 and 10 at Chakapad in Phulbani district. About 10 lakh people are expected to participate in the event. The event titled as Sapta Mahajagnya, intends for unification of Hindus of Orissa and to protect them from conversion and other internal, external attacks. The preparations of the event are in full swing. Village-to-village campaigns are going on to unite people against all the hazards and anti-national forces responsible for degradation of Hindu society, said Shri Ajit Prasad Mohapatra, Prant Pracharak. RSS Sarsanghachalak Shri K.S. Sudarshan, Sarkaryavah Shri Mohan Bhagwat and other stalwarts of the Sangh family will attend the function.
Tribute to a kala sadhak FOC
Dr Shailendra Shrivastava, national president of Sanskar Bharati, passed away in Patna on February 12. He was 70 and had been suffering from cardiac disorders for the last sometime. He is survived by two daughters, a son and wife Dr Veena Rani Karna. He was a leading educationist, politician and an art scholar. He was born in 1935 in Buxer district of Bihar. His father Shri Murlidhar Shrivastava was principal of famous Rajendra College of Chhapra. After completing his post-graduation in Hindi from Patna University in 1958, Dr Shrivastava started teaching. He worked as head of the department of Hindi in B.N. College of Patna, and became president of Teachers Front in Patna University and vice chancellor of Bhagalpur University. Apart from being an educationist he also worked as a politician. He started his political career as an ordinary worker of Jana Sangh. He was also vice president of Bihar BJP. He was elected an MLA in 1977 and an MP in 1981 from Patna. For the last few years he was totally dedicated to the Sanskar Bharati. His contribution in encouraging folk artists will always be remembered.
