Meerut: As many as 50 fighters, who challenged the dictatorial misrule of Smt Indira Gandhi during the infamous Emergency (1975-77), were felicitated at a public function by the RSS swayamsevaks. RSS National Executive Member Shri Ashok Beri and Kshetra Sanghachalak Dr Darshan Lal Arora were also present on the occasion.
It was Meerut Prant Sanghachalak Shri Surya Prakash Tonk who took the initiative to contact and honour those who were interned under the dreaded Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) and Defence of India Rules (DIR). After much toil and labour, a list of about 55 surviving Emergency detainees from Meerut City was chalked out. All were contacted but 50 of them graced the occasion.
The largely attended function saw the heroes and heard them sharing their experiences, some of them harrowing and extremely moving. Shri Pradeep Kansal, now retired from Punjab National Bank, was a student of LL.B. when he joined the satyagrah in December 1975 inside the premises of Meerut College where he studied. While he was addressing the students gathered around him, a posse of policemen arrested him and took him to the Lal Kurti Police Station in Meerut Cantt. He was tortured there through the whole night by about a dozen policemen. He was beaten up mercilessly by sticks and boots. Some policemen jumped over his body again and again after laying him on the floor. Twice he vomitted blood and fell unconscious. The Police was asking for the whereabouts of Jyotiji, the then Vibhag Pracharak who was nicknamed Kuldeep or KD in short. Even after 42 years, Pradeepji’s toe is nail-less. Pradeepji recalled that when he was taken to the magistrate”s court the next day, his cloths could not be put on his body as it had swollen so much in response to the beating. He was kept lying in the police jeep outside the court and the magistrate sent him to judicial custody without even seeing him. Shri Ravindra Nadar and Shri Arun Vashishth recalled how their parental property was made subject of attachment proceedings in order to exert pressure on them to desist from underground working and instead get arrested.
Shri Janmejay Chauhan”s residence was a centre of RSS activities during those hard days. He too went to jail after satyagrah. Shri Harishchandra narrated the story of his arrest. Shri Rajendra Agrawal, the present Member of the Lok Sabha from Meerut, said it was not only the satyagrahis who were tortured, even members of their families had sometimes to undergo persecution. Shri Vasudev Sharma (89) had experiences of half a dozen incarcerations beginning from 1948.
Shri Rakesh Jain, organising secretary of the Rashtriya Sewa Bharati, went into the background of Emergency. He said 800 swayamsevaks from Meerut offered satyagrah and were sent to various jails. Shri Ashok Beri said the swayamsevaks were in the forefront of the movement against anti-people, anti-democracy, fascist measure. During the period the RSS kept the moral of it’s swayamsevaks high, whether they were inside or outside the jail.
Dr Darshan Lal Arora, said 78,000 swayamsevaks were imprisoned under the draconian MISA and DIR. They formed more than 75 per cent of the total of detainees throughout the nation. Those felicitated included master Ranjit Singh, now aged 98; two siblings Sudhakar and Padmakar (the latter became a pracharak of the RSS during that challenging period); Amarjeet, Rajesh Gupta, Sarvesh Nandan and Ram Bharose Lal, now a vibhag sanghchalak.
Shri Ashok Beri also inaugurated the official social media (twitter handle, facebook and WhatsApp) platforms of Rashtodaya, a mammoth event to be organised in Meerut on 25 February 2018. —Ajay Mittal
Change the Discourse on J&K
New Delhi: Union Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region Dr Jitendra Singh stressed the need to change the narrative on J&K. “J&K has suffered hugely due to Nehruvian blunders. It is time we put up our own questions and seek their answers,” he said while releasing two books by senior Sangh Pracharak Shri Indresh Kumar. The books, Yaksha Prashanon Ke Uttar and Jammu Kashmir Se Sakshatkar, are based on the articles and speeches of Shri Indresh Kumar and have been published by Prabhat Prakashan. Former Union Minister Dr Subramanian Swamy presided over the function. Vice Chancellor of Central University of Himachal Pradesh Dr Kuldip Chand Agnihotri was also present.
Dr Jitendra Singh said the books written by Shri Indresh Kumar provide sufficient content for raising new questions on J&K and both these books would change the entire narrative on the State. Describing terrorism in Kashmir as an industry, he said if the money wasted on terrorist activities was properly spent on developmental activities, the picture of J&K would have been very beautiful.
Shri Indresh Kumar said to remove Pakistan’s illegal occupation from PoJK should be the national agenda. People of PoJK have adopted nothing of Pakistan. We say it is ours. We should show in action that we care for these people. The surgical strike has proved that we can do it, he said.
Dr Subramanian Swamy also stressed the need to present counter or new agenda on Kashmir and the people must not be defensive on this issue. He also said Article 370 must be repealed. Dr Agnihotri said the book is based on the experiences of Shri Indresh Kumar in J&K.
Felicitation of the Bhamashahs
New Delhi: The Ekal Abhiyan has proved to be a panacea for many ills concerning the society in remote areas where even the Government machineries are not able to reach. To achieve a developed, prosperous, healthy and educated Bharat about 7,000 dedicated workers are working on 55,000 projects dealing with education, health and village development. Naturally, all these activities are being conducted with the generous help of those people who financially contribute with open heart. In order to felicitate some of such people, Bharat Lok Shiksha Parishad organised a function on September 17. The Parishad felicitates the individuals or organisations who adopt 100 Ekal Vidyalays for a year with the view that other people are also motivated to extend help.
Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism Dr Mahesh Sharma joined the function and noted saint Shri Rameshbhai Ojha blessed the gathering. Noted
industrialist Shri Rameshwar Lal Kabra, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Industries Dr Madhukar Gupta, Shri Mangeram Agrawal, inspiration of the Ekal Abhiyan Shri Shyamji Gupt and Shri Laxmi Narain Goel of Essel Group were also present.
Shri Rameshbhai Ojha felicitated the artists of Shri Hari Satsangh Samiti. A large number of distinguished people of Delhi were present on the occasion and offered their help for the Ekal Abhiyan.
Remedy for Global Peace and Prosperity
New Delhi: “If peace has to be restored in the terrorism-affected world, it can be done only through the Indian
culture, which thinks, teaches and practices welfare of every creature of the world. It is good that the world has started accepting and following some aspects of the age old most scientific Indian way of life. Observing International Day of Yoga from June 21, 2015 globally is the beginning of it. Since our traditions are purely scientific, they are the remedy for all,” said Shri Mukul Kanitkar, organising secretary of Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal, while delivering lecture at the Bharat Bodh Lecture Series in the University of Delhi on September 21. The lecture was
jointly organised by the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and the Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal.
Shri Kanitkar said the Indians in their daily prayers pray for the welfare of all—not merely for the Hindus alone or Indians alone, but for every creature in the world. It is only the Indian culture in the world that prays and wishes like this. We not only wish for the welfare of all but think and motivate others to act in the same direction. “Our culture is based on relations and it accepts the entire world as a
family. We even embraced the invaders of different ways of worship,” he said.
Presiding over the function Prof Kuldip Agnihotri, Vice Chancellor of Himachal Central University, said the British changed our education system to ruin our self-respect. But the rulers after Independence also did nothing to change this system. Respect to the nation is not possible without self-respect, he added. Prof Ravindra Kumar, Vice Chancellor of IGNOU, said our family culture is the oldest in the world. Vice Chancellor of Ch. Charan Singh University, Jind, Prof Rajvir Bansal and scholars from
different universities also attended the function. n
Healthy lifestyle for Long Life
Dehradun: “The people living in hilly regions are hard working by nature and their normal life span is longer than the people living in plain areas. What increases the life span of the people there is their healthy lifestyle and maintaining balance with the nature. There is no harm in enjoying facilities but one should never shun hard work,” said RSS Kshetra Pracharak Shri Alok Kumar, while inaugurating a health centre started by Swami Vivekananda Health Mission Society at Barkot on September 25.
Shri Alok Kumar further said the Sangh swayamsevaks conduct various activities for education and health. Since the people in hilly regions are deprived of health facilities Swami Vivekananda Health Mission Society has started a health centre at the base camp of the Chaar Dhams in Barkot. The centre will benefit not only the local people but also the pilgrims.
During the inaugural ceremony, a health camp was conducted where doctors from many other states checked the patients. They included Dr Rajkumar, Dr Ajay, Dr Kapil, Dr Nakul, Dr Ashwani, Dr Tarashri, Dr Prashant, Dr Anuj, Dr Ravindra, Dr Sandip, Dr Nikhil and Dr Ravi.
The patients were also provided free medicines. Vibhag Sanghachalak Shri Jaipal Singh proposed a vote of thanks. Additional District Magistrate Shri Manuj Goel and secretary of the Society Dr Anuj Singhal were also present on the occasion.
Reach All Sections of the Society
Hyderabad: “In order to eradicate discrimination in all forms we will have to reach all sections of the society. That organised society will be a beacon of light to the entire world, which today is struggling hard for harmony,” said RSS Sah Sarkaryavah Dr Krishna Gopal, while addressing the swayamsevaks at the Vijayadashami function in NTR Stadium on September 24. On the occasion of 70th year of its presence in Hyderabad, swayamsevaks from all the shakhas gathered in full uniform. Over 10,000 swayamsevaks participated in 4 km long pathsanchalan. Thousands of local people came to witness the event.
He said the RSS, founded by Dr Hedgewar on Vijayadashami Day in 1925, has been working tirelessly for the last 92 years to consolidate the Hindu society and thereby ushering in the glorious era of prosperity. The RSS activities are conducted at over 80,000 places and the swayamsevaks are involved in more than 1.7 lakh service projects. It is because of the relentless work of the swayamsevaks that we today see nationalist voices from north-eastern states too, which have been in the grip of violence and separatism. “But this journey has not been so easy for the Sangh swayamsevaks. Over 400 swayamsevaks have been killed in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and
Karnataka alone. This year also, 35 swayamsevaks have been killed by anti-national forces in Kerala,” he said. Chief Guest Shri Vinod Agarwal, IAS (Retd), appreciated the disciplined turnout of the swayamsevaks. He lauded the role played by the RSS in bringing positive changes in the society. n
Shaurya Shakti Yatra by Durgavahini
Bhopal: With the objective of displaying the valour of women, Bhopal unit of Durgavahini conducted a Shaurya Shakti Yatra on September 25. It was joined by hundreds of young girls and women of the city. Addressing the
gathering, Prant convener of Durgavahini Dr Pratima Sharma and co-convenor Keerti Dikshit stressed on self-reliance and the swadeshi spirit in practical life. The function began with shastrapujan. It was followed by a grand procession which began from Piplani crossing. Durgavahini organises many activities to generate self-confidence among the women.
Ansari’s Jihadi connection
New Delhi: Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) strongly objected to the participation of former Vice President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansari in a programme organised by terrorist organisation, Popular Front, and demanded thorough investigation into his relations with the such organisations. “The nation should get to know which organisations and ideologies were being encouraged by Shri Ansari when he was Vice President of the country,” said the VHP joint general secretary Dr Surendra Jain. He said the entire nation knows that Popular Front is nothing but an extended avatar of SIMI. Not only it is involved in jihadi activities, but also is involved in dastardly killing of the patriots in Kerala. The fact that Mohammad Hamid Ansari attended a programme of such an organisation, which is a blot on its name, has exposed him, he said.
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