More News 25 Jan 2021 | 11:24 PM

Bengaluru, Jan 25(UNI) Karnataka has registered 375 fresh cases of the COVID-19 disease, taking the total number of people infected from the coronavirus so far to 9,36,426 on Monday.

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 25 (UNI) Covid-19 was detected in 6,960 persons in Kerala on Saturday while 5,283 patients have recovered from the disease, Health Minister KK Shailaja said.

Hubballi, 25 Jan (UNI) Former Chief Minister and currently Karnataka Minister for Major and Medium Industries, Mr Jagadish Shettar asked the Farmers in the State to let the recently introduced Agricultural Producers Market Act Test run for Two years and if the results are negative and proved against the interest of the Farmers, the Government will withdraw the legislation.

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 25 (UNI) Kerala Minister for Dairy Development Adv K Raju on Monday said the state government will take necessary steps to safeguard the interests of the youngsters and NRIS, who enter the dairy sector for the first time.

Puducherry, Jan 25 (UNI) Exodus from the Puducherry Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) has started with PWD minister A Namasivayam and legislator E Thepainthan tendering their resignation shaking the stability of the V Narayanasamy government in the union territory.

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Constitutional crisis in AP: Dr Chinta Mohan - United News of India

WASHINGTON Joe Biden and Kamala Harris took their oaths of office on Wednesday using Bibles that are laden with personal meaning, writing new chapters in a long-running American tradition and one that appears nowhere in the law.

The Constitution does not require the use of a specific text for swearing-in ceremonies and specifies only the wording of the presidents oath. That wording does not include the phrase so help me God, but every modern president has appended it to their oaths and most have chosen symbolically significant Bibles for their inaugurations.

That includes Biden, who used the same family Bible he has used twice when swearing in as vice president and seven times as senator from Delaware.

The book, several inches thick, and which his late son Beau also used when swearing in as Delaware attorney general, has been a family heirloom since 1893 and every important date is in there, Biden told late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert last month.

Why is your Bible bigger than mine? Do you have more Jesus than I do? quipped Colbert, who like Biden is a practicing Catholic.

Bidens use of his family Bible underscores the prominent role his faith has played in his personal and professional lives and will continue to do so as he becomes the second Catholic president in U.S. history.

He follows in a tradition of many other presidents who used family-owned scriptures to take their oaths, including Ronald Reagan and Franklin D. Roosevelt, according to the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.

Some have had their Bibles opened to personally relevant passages during their ceremonies. Bill Clinton, for example, chose Isaiah 58:12 which urges the devout to be a repairer of the breach for his second inauguration after a first term marked by political schisms with conservatives.

Others took their oaths on closed Bibles, like John F. Kennedy, the first Catholic president, who in 1961 used his familys century-old tome with a large cross on the front, similar to Bidens.

The tradition of using a Bible dates as far back as the presidency itself, with the holy book used by George Washington later appearing on exhibit at the Smithsonian on loan from the Masonic lodge that provided it in 1789. Washingtons Bible was later used for the oaths by Warren G. Harding, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush.

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But not every president has used a Bible. Theodore Roosevelt took his 1901 oath without one after the death of William McKinley, while John Quincy Adams used a law book in 1825, according to his own account.

Some have employed multiple Bibles during their ceremonies: Both Barack Obama and Donald Trump chose to use, along with others, the copy that Abraham Lincoln was sworn in on in 1861.

Harris did the same for her vice-presidential oath, using a Bible owned by a close family friend and one that belonged to the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Harris has spoken of her admiration of Marshall, a fellow Howard University graduate and trailblazer in government as the high courts first African American justice.

When I raise my right hand and take the oath of office tomorrow, I carry with me two heroes whod speak up for the voiceless and help those in need, Harris tweeted Tuesday, referring to Marshall and friend Regina Shelton, whose Bible she swore on when becoming attorney general of California and later senator.

Harris, who attended both Baptist and Hindu services as a child, worships in the Baptist faith as an adult.

While U.S. lawmakers have typically used Bibles for their oaths, some have chosen alternatives that reflect their religious diversity.

Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, the first Muslim elected to Congress, in 2007 used a Quran that belonged to Thomas Jefferson, prompting objections from some Christian conservatives.

Jeffersons Quran made a return in 2019 at the oath for Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib, one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., chose a Hebrew Bible in 2005 to reflect her Jewish faith. Newly elected Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is also Jewish and who swears in Wednesday, used Hebrew scripture belonging to Rabbi Jacob Rothschild, an ally of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in the civil rights movement.

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, opted for the Bhagavad Gita in 2013 after becoming the first Hindu elected to Congress.

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Biden bible in line with tradition - The Columbian

In my beginning is my end. [1] These words of TS Eliots have a certain resonance when one looks at the career of Bhishma in the Mahabharata. Bhisma had a life before his arrival on earth. The story goes that while returning from Brahmaloka, Ganga came upon the eight heavenly Vasu gods who were all in a terrible state. When she enquired, the gods told her that for a minor offence the maharishi Vashistha had put a curse on them. By this curse, they would have to be born as humans.

They pleaded with Ganga to be their mother. She agreed and said that they would be born out of the union between her and Santanu, the son of Prateep, the king of the Kuru dynasty. The gods agreed and they told Ganga that as soon as they were born, she should throw them into the river to die. But Gangas condition was that one of them would have to live so that her union with Santanu would not be in vain. (Mbh: Adi parva, adhyaya 91: slokas: 18-19).

Ganga thus married Santanu on the condition, agreed to by the latter, that he would not ever stop her from doing anything. Out of this marriage eight sons were born; seven of the sons Ganga drowned in the river much to the dismay of Santanu. When Ganga tried to drown the eighth son, Santanu stopped her. Ganga reminded Santanu of his pledge, and left him. (Mbh: Adi parva: adhyaya 92: slokas: 34-55).

The epic further revealed that this son was Dyaus Vasu and that Vashistha had said that he would be a mahatma, and that there would be no one like him on earth: he would be dharmic, learned in all the shastras, a favourite of his father, and would give up sexual contact with women. (Mbh: Adi parva: adhyaya 93: slokas: 39-40). This son grew up to be called Devavrata and Gangeya. (Mbh: Adi parva: adhyaya 93: sloka: 47).

One day, he found that his father was forlorn and uninterested in everything. On enquiry, he discovered that while out hunting Santanu had been smitten by a fishermans daughter called Satyavati. Santanu had visited her father and sought Satyavatis hand in marriage.

The father agreed in principle but he put forward one condition. He said that Santanu would have to agree to make the son that would be born from this marriage as his successor to the throne. Santanu could not agree to this condition and hence his lovelorn state.

On learning this Devavrata proceeded with an entourage to seek out the fisherman. In the presence of all his companions, he made two promises to the fisherman. One was that he would never ascend the throne; and second that he would take the pledge of brahmacharya, and thus remain celibate all his life so there would be no sons who could claim the throne. On hearing these promises, the fisherman agreed to give his daughter to Santanu as a bride.

The sacrifice that these promises contained impressed even the inhabitants of paradise, who rained flowers and declared that henceforward Devavrata would be known as Bhishma. When Santanu came to know what had transpired he blessed Bhishma with the words, As long as you want to live, you will not die. Death will come to you only with your permission. Bhishma thus acquired the power of ichhamrityu the power to die when he wished to die. (Mbh: Adi parva: adhyaya 94: slokas: 60-103).

Bhishma, even as a young man, was a unique individual. He had agency over death the one thing that is inevitable in life. The power to die only when he wished to die is only a step behind immortality since theoretically Bhishma may not have wanted to die. There is an interplay here between agency and predestination. He had come to earth under the curse and blessing of Vashistha; he had survived because of Gangas wish. All these had been pre-scripted for him. But he had control over what was inevitable for all humans. Death would come to Bhishma only when summoned by Bhishma.

Given his age and his position in the Kuru dynasty as Santanus first born, Bhishma was the eminence grise in the court of Dhritarashtra at Hastinapur. This is an important point because Bhishma had no blood ties with Dhritarashtra. Bhishma is Santanus son; and Dhritarashtra was sired by Vyasa. Because of his position and because he was a warrior par excellence, Bhishma was the natural first choice to lead the Kaurava troops at Kurukshetra.

In the very beginning of this parva in fact even before the description of the battle has begun - a downcast Sanjaya brings to Dhritarashtra the news that Bhishma is nihata. The statement is unequivocal and reiterated in the next sloka with the words, The son of Santanu, Bhishma is nihata. The word nihata is repeated. (Mbh: Bhishma parva: adhyaya 13: slokas: 1-3). This raises two problems.

One, why announce Bhishmas death even before the description of the battle has begun? Kaliprasanna Sinha, who, in the second half of the nineteenth century, translated the epic into Bengali prose taking it sloka by sloka not only recognised this problem but addressed it in a footnote. Sinha wrote that on hearing the news that Bhishma was nihata, a surprised Dhritarashtra asked Sanjaya to narrate to him the details of the battle. Hence the first sloka of the Bhagavad Gita.

Thus, according to Sinha, the announcement anticipates the Gita (Sinha: i: 879). This explanation is plausible as a narrative device since it helps to understand the insertion of the Gita at this juncture Dhritarashtras question about what is going in Kurukshetra, followed by Sanjayas description, which begins with the Gita.

The issue becomes more complicated as the narrative progresses and readers are presented with a graphic description of the battle on the tenth day of the war. The epic says on that day, pierced by arrows all over his body the arrows left a space of only two fingers between them Bhishma contemplated that this was the right moment to die and the rishis and the vasus in the sky concurred with him (Mbh: Bhishma parva: adhyaya:14; slokas: 34-37).

He continued to fight a little longer but soon fell from his chariot. The arrows stuck in his body did not allow his body to touch the ground, and so Bhishma lay on a bed of arrows. He realised that this was that time of the year when the sun was in the south and it was not the best moment to die. He heard the same message from heaven and announced that I am alive and I will wait for the sun to journey to the north. (Mbh: Bhishma parva: adhyaya:14; slokas: 97-102.)

Bhishma asserts that he has the definite freedom to choose the time of his death. (Mbh: Bhishma parva: adhyaya: 14; sloka: 109). But Sanjaya, while reporting this incident to Dhritarashtra, says that after Bhishma had been slain (nihata), the sons of Dhritarashtra did not know what to do (Mbh: Bhishma parva: adhyaya: 14: slokas: 112-114). The word nihata is repeated again in sloka 122; and in adhyaya 15 in slokas 3 and 5. In sloka 6 the verb killed (badh) is used.

Within a space of a few slokas, the Mahabharata is making two different and contradictory statements. According to Bhishma himself he is alive and has chosen his time of death. But the epic is also saying that he is nihata. He is alive since we hear him asking for a pillow, asking for water, advising Duryodhona and counselling Karna.

Later on in the Mahabharata, in the Santi and Anushasana parvas, he instructs Yudhishthira on kingship or rajadharma. So why the repeated use of the word nihata? The word recurs so many times in the context of Bhisma, as recounted above, it cannot be written off as a slip spots on the text as it were.

A simple lexicographical solution offers itself. Apte in his dictionary gives the following meanings of nihata: Struck down, smitten, killed, slain (Apte:1957-59). It is possible to argue that the epic is using the word nihata in the sense of struck down or smitten and not in the sense of killed and slain. Such a reading would solve the puzzle at the cost of diminishing the richness of what the epic is trying to convey.

Slokas 95 and 96 in the 14th adhyaya says that after Bhishma fell from his chariot, he was enveloped by the ambience of heaven (svargia bhava) and that the clouds brought forth rain and there was an earthquake. Such a phenomenon would suggest that this was not just a fall of any very powerful warrior, but more than that it was the fall of an extraordinary figure, maybe even a suprahuman one.

This suggestion is strengthened by Sanjayas report to Dhritarashtra that Bhishma, on the bed of arrows following yoga, began to chant (jap) the maha upanishad (Mbh: Bhishma parva: adhyaya 14: sloka: 125). Moreover, the epic says that after learning that Bhishma would wait to die till the sun began its northward journey, his mother Ganga, the daughter of Himalaya, sent the maharishis, as swans, to Bhishma.

The maharishis asked: why would a mahatma like Bhisma depart for the next life when the sun was in the south? Hearing this, Bhishma looked at them and after some thought told them: As long the sun is in the south I will by no means go to the next life. This is what is in my mind. (Mbh: Bhishma parva: adhyaya:14: slokas: 102-107).

In this context it is worth noting that when Bhishma, lying on his bed of arrows, asked for water, various kinds of food and potable items were brought to him. Seeing all these, Bhishma remarked, Now I am no longer in a position to accept any items belonging to the human world. I have been delivered from the human world, I am on a bed of arrows and waiting for the sun and the moon to alter their movements. I will drink heavenly water, not earthly water. And it is heavenly water that Arjuna provides to Bhishma (Mbh: Bhishma parva: adhyaya:16: slokas: 10-25).

The description that his body did not fall to the ground but was propped up above the ground by arrows is perhaps the epics way of indicating metaphorically that Bhishma was no longer connected with the earth, he was above the earth but he still had not attained paradise. It is possible that the word nihata was used to signify that he was no longer a part of the material world. But the epic could not kill Bhishma because he had agency over his own death.

Bhishmas last moments in the world of humans are narrated at the end of the Anushasana parva. Here we learn that when Yudhishthira saw that the sun was making its way north, he with all his brothers and relatives travelled to where Bhishma lay on his bed of arrows. After exchanging greetings, Bhishma tells Yudhishthira that he had been on the bed of arrows for fifty-eight days and these had seemed like a hundred years to him (Mbh: Anushasana parva: adhyaya: 145: sloka: 27).

It would not be unfair to read this as an admission on Bhishmas part that he had suffered and felt pain as any human being would. A part of him, it would appear, is still anchored in the world of human beings. But the suprahuman dimension of his existence is reiterated in the description of his death or departure from this world. The relevant slokas say that the unshackled wind of Bhishmas life travelled upwards. Everyone, including Vyasa and other rishis who were present, was astonished to witness this.

Then Bhisma began to rid himself of his limbs and through the power of yoga each of his limbs became free of arrows. Within a short time his body became free of arrows, much to the wonder of even Vyasa and Krishna. Then his life spirit broke through his head and flew into the sky and disappeared. Thus, the epic says, the greatest of the Bharata lineage merged with Time. The gods rained flowers and beat drums (Mbh: Anushasana parva: adhyaya: 146: slokas: 2-11).

It is also worth noting that as in the case of all human beings, the passing of a son was mourned by the mother. Ganga, Bhishmas mother, mourned him and was inconsolable. She asked how he could be slain by Shikhandi the word nihata reappears here in the mouth of Ganga. Vyasa and Krishna consoled her and explained to Ganga that it was Arjuna who had slain (again nihata) Bhishma following kshatriyadharma on the battlefield (Mbh: Anushasana parva: adhyaya: 146: slokas: 23-32).

We are thus not free of the conundrum of how a person who is declared to be nihata so many times, including by his own mother, was alive for 58 days and had been able to provide long disquisitions on aspects of ruling, kingship, dharma and so on through two of the longest parvas, save the Adi parva, of the epic the Santi and the Anushasana parvas.

The only plausible explanation seems to accept that Bhishma is not entirely human. He was originally one of the Vasu gods Dyaus Vasu who had come to earth in human form under a curse and a blessing of Vashistha. As a god he cannot die, as a human he is mortal. This paradox is resolved in the epic by bestowing on Bhishma the agency over his own death. Like any human warrior, he is declared to be nihata but this is not followed immediately by his mrityu since he has the boon to choose the time of his own mrityu.

Thus Bhishma, after his fall from the chariot and on the bed of arrows, is not inhabiting the sphere occupied by ordinary mortals. This is a liminal space at the limit of life and death where the ambience is heavenly but Bhishma is able to talk and counsel Yudhishthira and set out the principles of rajadharma. Such a situation, where a universal principle and an exceptional boon that transgresses the universal principle are overlapping is narratively constructed and the Mahabharata invites/expects its readers/listeners to willingly suspend their mundane disbelief.

This situation is obviously unique and therefore a marker of Bhishmas extraordinary and suprahuman status. But Bhishma is not the only character in the Mahabharata who is on the threshold of divinity and humanity. Vyasa and Vidura also straddle the spiritual and the secular worlds with equal ease. [2] Lying on the bed of arrows, Bhishma told the maharishis who had come to him as swans that Where I was before, I will return there, my proper abode, when the sun moves to the north. (Mbh: Bhishma parva: adhyaya:14: sloka:108) Thus at the moment of his mrityu, his life spirit moved skywards where the gods reside. His end was in his beginning.

While bearing sole responsibility for all aspects of this essay, I would like to thank Gopalkrishna Gandhi, Jonathan Katz, Nayanjot Lahiri and Upinder Singh for their comments and suggestions.

References

Notes

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When did Bhishma die? A reading of the Mahabharata reveals a startling possibility - Scroll.in

By S.Ravi New Delhi, Jan 23 : The start of the year-long celebration of Subhas Chandra Boses 125th birth anniversary from Saturday, the Parakram Diwas ought to go beyond the prosaic and verbose speeches, book and stamp launches, statue unveiling and seminars. The need of the hour, is to connect this legendary man of the masses with people of today, especially the youth and millennials. This is possible only by disseminating how this charismatic leader wasnt merely a magician of words but one who had a vision for India, and the ability to translate it into reality. He showed his genius as a socio-economic-political thinker, delving on varied aspects of nation building, be it industrialisation, social reforms, education, women emancipation, among others, and very importantly organising the Indian National Army.

Bose under the guidance and influence of his parents had developed a deeply spiritual and religious conscious. He loved Hindu scriptures and even in the thick of battles, carried a copy of the Bhagavad Gita in the breast pocket of his uniform. Impressed by Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Swami Vivekananda, he would meditate and pray with a rosary. Yet rooted in Hinduism, he was clear that free India would be impartial and free of bias towards all religions, while allowing complete freedom to individuals to profess their faith. Devoid of appeasement, he viewed religion as a private affair which could not be made an affair of the State.

Believing that economic issues cut across communal divide and barriers, Bose pointed out that illiteracy, disease, unemployment, poverty, indebtedness, affected all, including Hindus and Muslims. He saw the cure all these ills in a democratic set-up where people participated directly and had the indirect right to criticise. Going beyond rhetoric, Netaji proved this when his Azad Hind Fauj had soldiers cutting across faith while some of his close confidantes were not Hindus.

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Bose had a grand vision of India where people would be free of hunger and privation. Way back at the 51st session of the Indian National Congress at Haripura, he spelt out that the very first thing which our future National Government will have to do, would be to set up a Commission for drawing up a comprehensive plan of reconstruction. This included rapid industrialisation of heavy, medium and cottage industries, in order to cater to different needs of the economy and society. Such was his forethought, that anticipating foreign aggression and territorial ambitions of Indias neighbouring countries, he wanted the country to be equipped for that.

The moment India is free the most important problem will be the organising of our national defence in order to safeguard our freedom in the future. For that we shall have to build up modern war industries; so that, we may produce the arms that we shall need for self-defence. This will mean a very big programme of industrialisation. Evidently believing in self-sufficiency and independence in defence rather than foreign help, he laid emphasis on Make India.

While more than seven decades have passed since Independence, India is still come to terms with gender disparity what with reservation for women in Parliament still in cold storage, and the induction of women in armed forces in the nascent stage. Believing in female emancipation, he desired them to be free of all chains, economic, political and social. He believed that women should not only serve as nurses in hospitals but also take up arms against enemies. Thus came into being the Rani Jhansi Regiment in INA and appointment of a woman Cabinet Minister in the Provisional Government of Azad Hind, Dr. (Capt.) Lakshmi Sahgal. The regiment named after the heroic queen of the Indias First War of Independence of 1857 had members mostly drawn from Tamil families who worked in Malaya rubber plantations. In those days of orthodoxy, he supported widow remarriage, abolition of purdah and education for girls.

READ: Recoveries remain more than new Covid cases in Karnataka

As a true leader, Bose believed that God is in the detail. Perceiving the power of information, he guided the setting up of the Azad Hind Radio, to exhort the country to join the Independence movement. The station would broadcast news and programmes in seven Indian languages, namely Hindustani, Tamil, Bengali, Gujarati, Telugu, Pushto, Persian besides English, all to avoid the feeling of alienation among the countrymen. Aware of the language barrier in a vast country like he directed the use of Hindustani as the national lingua franca in Roman script.

In order to inculcate the feeling of oneness, he selected Gurudev Rabindranath Tagores Jana Gana Mana and officially inaugurated the 55-second song on September 11, 1942, as the anthem, at the German-Indian Society at Hamburg. Since the anthem was in Bengali, he got it translated to simple Hindustani and the result was Sabh Sukh Chain Ki Barkha. Known as Quami Tarana, its music was set by Captain Ram Singh Thakur.

Wishing for a common form of salutation, he gave his approval for Jai Hindustan Ki, later edited to Jai Hind, used widely by everyone.

(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)

Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from IANS service.

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Subhas Chandra Bose, and the idea of India - The Siasat Daily

Indore

Updated on : Saturday, January 23, 2021, 6:58 PM IST

Chief guests IG Harinarayanachari Mishra, MGM Medical College dean Dr Sanjay Dixit, SAIMS chairman Dr Vinod Bhandari, cardiologist Dr A K Pancholia inaugurating the function at Free Press House on SaturdayFP pic

Indore: Free Press and Sri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Science (SAIMS) felicitated doctors who led the way by getting vaccinated and dispelled the myth surrounding it. About 70 doctors were present at the function organised at Free Press House on Saturday. They shared their views post vaccination and encouraged others for it.

The chief guests at the function were IGP Harinarayanachari Mishra, MGM Medical College dean Dr Sanjay Dixit, SAIMS chairman Dr Vinod Bhandari and cardiologist Dr A K Pancholia.

(To download our E-paper please click here. The publishers permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)

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INDORE: Free Press in association with Sri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Science honours The Corona Warriors - Free Press Journal

New Delhi: Vice President, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu today called upon the youth to take inspiration from the life of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and work for eradication of poverty, illiteracy, social and gender discrimination, corruption, casteism and communalism.

The Vice President made these remarks while addressing the Officer Trainees attending the Foundation Course at MCR HRD Institute, Hyderabad on the occasion of 125th Birth Anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose which is being celebrated as Parakram Diwas across the country.

Noting that 65 percent of our population is below 35 years of age, Shri Naidu said that the youth should lead from the front in building a New India a happy and prosperous India where every citizen gets equal opportunities and where there is no discrimination of any kind.

Terming Parakram or courage as the most defining feature of Netajis persona, the Vice President lauded the Governments decision to celebrate Netajis birthday as PARAKRAM DIWAS to inspire people of the country.

Paying rich tributes to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, he said that Netaji was a charismatic leader and one of the most towering personalities of the freedom movement who believed that for Indias progress, we need to rise above the caste, creed, religion and region and consider ourselves as Indians first.

Referring to the pivotal role played by Subhas Chandra Bose and several freedom fighters, social reformers, including unsung heroes from different regions, he said that many people were not aware of their greatness as the contributions made by them were not properly projected in the history books. We have to celebrate the lives of many of our great leaders. We have to come out of the colonial mindset, he asserted.

Shri Naidu said, It is said that the increasing loyalty of the Indian Armed Forces towards their motherland hastened the process of the British departure from India. Observing that different leaders approached the freedom movement in different ways, the Vice President said the ultimate goal of all them was to achieve Indias freedom from colonial rule.

Highlighting that Netaji wanted abolition of the caste system in India, Shri Naidu said that as far back as in the 1940s, soldiers of all castes, creeds and religions lived together, ate together in common kitchens and fought as Indians first and last. Netaji always used to stress that the progress of India would be possible only with the uplift of the down-trodden and the marginalized sections, he said.

Recalling that Shri Bose stood against injustice in every form right from his school days, the Vice President mentioned about the influence of the teachings of Ramakrishna Paramahansa, Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo on him. Shri Naidu said this spirituality became a source of inner strength.

Noting that Netajis democratic ideals were based on the principles of sacrifice and renunciation, the Vice President said that Shri Bose wanted the citizens to imbibe the values of discipline, responsibility, service and patriotism for democracy to thrive in free India.

Shri Naidu said that the true spirit of Nationalism is about working for the welfare of all the citizens in the country.

The Vice President also said that Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose always took pride in Indias civilizational values and rich cultural heritage, which he felt formed the bedrock of our national pride and collective self-confidence.

Shri Naidu said that Netaji not only wanted emancipation from political bondage but also believed in equal distribution of wealth, abolition of caste barriers and social inequalities.

Listing the qualities of Netajis inspiring leadership, the Vice President said that with his magical presence, he could enthuse and turn the soldiers who were Prisoners of War into Freedom Fighters and they became ready to fight till last breath for their dear leader and for their motherland. Shri Naidu said that Netaji and Azad Hind Fauj captured peoples imagination as was evident in the popular support received by them during the trial of INA prisoners by British authorities. Consequently, the Britishers had to take a lenient view of INA soldiers, he said.

The Vice President underlined that Shri Bose believed in giving equal pedestal to women in every sphere of life- be it social, economic, or political. Progressiveness of Netajis ideas can be gauged from his decision to form a womens corps in INA named Rani of Jhansi Regiment, he said and appreciated the Governments decision to provide Permanent Commission for the women in Armed Forces.

Mentioning Netajis belief that education was essential for character building and all-round development of human life, Shri Naidu called for revamping our methods of teaching and pedagogy for meaningful education and for India to emerge as an education hub and knowledge-based economy.

Shri Harpreet Singh, Director General of MCR HRD Institute, Shri Benhur Mahesh Dutta Ekka, Additional Director General of the Institute, faculty, staff and Officer Trainees were among those present at the event.

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Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu addresses the Officer Trainees attending at MCR HRD Institute, Hyderabad - India Education Diary

Books are the best companion in every situation. They are the gateway to a whole different world. Reading books is like taking a deep dive into authors creative vessels of creations. A creation that churns out from an individuals own life experiences and knowledge. The world is full of such beautiful and interesting works of art. And, it takes a deeper dive to find extraordinary pearls from the ocean.

India is known for its rich and incredible culture. After every ten miles of a journey in India brings to you a different dialect, language, style, and taste. Indian literature in itself is pretty ancient and versatile. However, English Indian literature is not very old as it took off in 1930 with the work of the writers like Henry Louis Vivian Derozio and Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Rabindranath Tagore, and Sri Aurobindo, followed by R. K. Narayan, Mulk Raj Anand, and Raja Rao.

Here we share a list of the works from globally-acclaimed Indian writers, who have lately written in the English language to share their intellectual gifts with the world. This reading may help you in your reading journey by expanding your horizons a little further.

Set in contemporary India, Arvind Adigas Man-Booker-Prize-winning debut novel has humorously captured the unspoken voice of many who live in the darkness. The novel describes Indias class struggle in a darkly humorous perspective through a retrospective narration from Balram Halwai, a village boy. The novel has made it to the New York Times bestseller list. At the age of 33, he was the second youngest writer. Adiga said, his novel attempt to catch the voice of the men you meet as you travel through India the voice of the colossal underclass.

A 1954 novel by Kamala Markandaya, the book is set in India during a period of intense urban development. The title of the novel, Nectar in a Sieve is taken from the 1825 poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Work Without Hope. The novel is narrated by Rukmani, a woman from rural and impoverished India, who gets married to Nathan, a tenant farmer at the age of 12.

In the novel, the author describes the chronicle of her marriage till her husband dies. Rukmani comments, Change I had known before, and it had been gradual. But the change that now came into my life, into all our lives, blasting its way into our village, seemed wrought in the twinkling of an eye.

When a fictional book is written by a renowned scholar, a former international diplomat, who himself is serving as a member of the Indian Parliament since 2009, then surely the outcome must be exciting.

The book, published in 1956 recreates and recasts the Hindu epic, Mahabharata in line with Indias political struggle for independence from Great Britain. The post-independence period has also been discussed with great satire depicting the weaknesses of Indians and the agony of British rulers.

Written by an Indian author, lawyer, diplomat, journalist, and politician. This historical novel was released in 1956. The work highlights the events of the great partition of British India. The book focuses more on the plight of people who had to migrate from Pakistan to India or vis-a-vis.

The events have been described in the light of human loss and its horrors that has been faced by many. The blame cannot be put in ones basket.

Muslims said the Hindus had planned and started the killing. According to the Hindus, the Muslims were to blame. The fact is, both sides were killed. Both shot and stabbed and speared and clubbed. Both tortured. Both raped

The work is led and narrated by a woman character, Draupadi from the Hindu epic, Mahabharata. Booklist, a publication of the American Library Association summarizes the plot as Smart, resilient, and courageous Panchaali, born of fire, marries all five of the famously heroic Pandava brothers, harbors a secret love, endures a long exile in the wilderness, instigates a catastrophic war, and slowly learns the truth about Krishna, her mysterious friend.

Love comes like lightning and disappears the same way. If you are lucky, it strikes you right. If not, youll spend your life yearning for a man you cant have.

Written in 1958, like R.K Narayans other works, the novel is set in a fictional town in South India, Malgudi. The book had been crafted into a Bollywood movie, casting great actor, Dev Anand.

Its a story of a tour guide, who initially was corrupt, with his life experiences and events, he gradually became a spiritual guide and later the greatest holy man. For this work of fiction, Narayan won the 1960 Sahitya Akademi Award for English, by the Sahitya Akademi, Indias National Academy of Letters.

But you are not my wife. You are a woman who will go to bed with anyone who flatters your antics. Thats

A novel released in 1984 was set in Delhi, India, and written by Indian American Author Anita Desai. The novel was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1984 as well. The works main character Devan leads an ordinary mundane life, and how he finds meaning in his life. The book is a sensitive portrayal of human nature. A brilliant story describing the gradual loss of the graduality of culture and tradition in the face of modernity. The work highlights the complexity of human relationships in the quest for individuality.

The Booker Prize winner novel expresses the childhood difficulties of two fraternal twins, along with their parents and their extended family. The book narrates how small things affect our behaviors and lives. Indian writer and activist, Roys first novel expose the caste system and more deep-rooted problems of Indian culture.

Published in 1993, the novel is one of the longest novels published in a single volume. It is one of the acclaimed works of Vikram Seth, set in the post-partition and after-independence era in India. The work details the life of four families and covers various aspects of the time through the lead role of Latta, whose mother is keen to find a suitable boy for her daughter. Her character depicts how women were and even till today are not free to make independent choices.

The novel describes the story of four extraordinary lives. The work has the potential to create an impact that will stay for a longer period of time even when you have finished reading the book. It is Shanghvis debut novel, which can emancipate deep human emotions of the feelings of joy and sorrows in anyones heart.

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Top 10 Must-read Books by Indian authors - The Statesman

Stepping into the South Asian galleries of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (which reopened on Jan. 8 after being closed due to Covid-19), we walk between two large figures that artists in South India carved around 1560. They dont immediately register as pillars, so prominently do the sculptures protrude. One portrays a handsome young man sitting under a tree looking rather pleased with himself. He is Rama, god and hero of the Ramayana epic, flanked by his wife, Sita, and the ever-loyal monkey king, Hanuman, carved in relief on either side of the monolithic pillar. Opposite him stands a bearded man with the haunches of a beast, leaning forward, club raised to do battle. Yet this man-beast, or Purushamirukam, feels more theatrical than menacing with his mound of neatly coiffed hair, delicately arched eyebrows, and loads of jewelry. He isnt about to attack; hes enacting a story.

This feeling of performance intensifies as we take in the pillared temple hallor mandapathat fills the rest of the gallery. Rows of slender columns demarcate three sides of a rectangle within which 10 more life-size figures, bejeweled from headdress to anklet, face one another across a broad space. Above them, lions look down from the capitals and a partial frieze of reliefs illustrates scenes from the Ramayana while, on the slender columns and the sides and backs of the figural pillars, a plethora of mostly smaller reliefs beckon. They include baby Krishna dancing with delight, a ball of butter cupped in each hand; an architect-priest with his measuring stick; musicians, dancers, animals; and, twice, a pregnant woman sitting, head resting in her hand. She is likely Sita in a fraught scene from an addendum to the Ramayana. (Photographs and a video on the museums website cant capture the carvings impact but provide useful aids.)

To 16th-century South Indians, these reliefs and monumental figures conjured verses penned by revered saints and episodes from epics and local folk tales. To gather in a mandapa, then, was to take part in a festival, attend a performance or join a social gathering, all in the company of divine, literary and royal personages. But while the configuration in the museum follows basic conventions for mandapas, it does not replicate a structure that once existed. It cant. Its 60-plus blocks of carved granite were lying in a pile of rubble when Adeline Pepper Gibson, Philadelphia heiress and lover of art, purchased them from a trustee of the Madana Gopala Swamy Temple in Madurai in 1912.

There is no record of when the mandapa was dismantled (most likely to make way for new construction), nor any information about its original configuration. Darielle Mason, the museums curator for South Asian and Himalayan art, knows there was a logic to each element and thought-out relationships among figures, but holds little hope of ever re-creating what an architect-priest was thinking centuries ago. Her research has, however, convinced her that almost everything Pepper purchased was part of a single mandapa; that it was probably open on at least three sides, as suggested by the gallerys sky blue walls; and that Rama and Purushamirukam belong with the others who stand in the center, inviting us to come close.

Nothingno strip along the floor, no pane of glassgets in the way of our admiring the skill it took to carve into hard granite the delicate ridges of a robe, the smooth swell of a belly, the curl of a lip or each graduated bead of a necklace. There is a sense of incipient movement, whether it is a slightly bent knee or the start of a bow. We recognize Hanuman by the long, sinuous tail; a demigod by a small, sharp fang; and the bird-god Garuda by the broken-off quills and feathers of wings. Two of the figures hold gourds, marking them as sages, and four appear to be saints. Then there is the muscular, mustachioed warrior standing atop diminutive pachyderms who, like Purushamirukam, holds a mace poised midair. He is Bhima of the Mahabharata epic, a man with the strength of 10,000 elephants, emerging from stone into our world like a superhero.

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Sanskrit Epics Animated in Stone - The Wall Street Journal

Disposing of a petition that challenged the telecast of Sanskrit news on Doordarshan channel, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court observed that there were matters of greater social concern which had to be addressed and such petty issues should not be looked into by it.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice M.M. Sundresh observed, For one, Doordarshan channel has limited viewership. Secondly, it is a matter for the government to decide. Thirdly, the news read in Sanskrit hardly takes up a fraction of the entire day.

Further, the judges observed that when the writ petitioner did not find Sanskrit to be tasteful or useful, there was no compulsion for him to tune in and it was open to him to switch off the TV when Sanskrit news was read and get some other form of entertainment.

The judges hoped that the petitioner would keep up his public spirit and bring matters involving public interest to the court. The writ petition was disposed of with liberty to the petitioner to make an appropriate representation to authorities concerned.

The court was hearing the petition filed by advocate S. Muthukumar of Madurai who had sought a direction to forbear the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Prasar Bharati and Doordarshan from telecasting Sanskrit news in Doordarshans Tamil language regional channel Podhigai.

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Switch off TV when Sanskrit news is read - The Hindu

New Delhi, January 17

The use of regional languages during Rajya Sabha proceedings has increased more than five times and parliamentarians spoke in 10 of the 22 scheduled languages for the first time during 2018-20 with Sanskrit emerging as the fifth most widely used Indian language in the Upper House.

With 12 interventions in Sanskrit, all during 2019-20, it has emerged as the fifth most widely used language in the Rajya Sabha among the 22 scheduled languages after Hindi, Telugu, Urdu and Tamil.

During 2018-20 with 163 sittings, regional languages were used 135 times, including 66 interventions in debates, 62 Zero Hour and seven Special Mentions. Four of the 22 scheduled languages such as Dogri, Kashmiri, Konkani and Santhali were used for the first time in the Upper House since 1952, further to the introduction of Simultaneous Interpretation Service in these four languages and Sindhi language at the behest of Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu in 2018.

Besides, six languages like Assamese, Bodo, Gujarati, Maithili, Manipuri and Nepali have been used after a long gap, a Rajya Sabha document reveals.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Naidu's efforts yield results with more diversified use of regional languages since he took charge in August 2017 and has been urging the members of the House to speak in their respective mother tongues since then in the spirit of the federal nature of the House.

While announcing the availability of Simultaneous Interpretation Facilities in all the 22 scheduled languages in July 2018, the RS Chairman spoke in 10 languages in the House.

While Hindi and English are the widely used languages during the proceedings of the House, the use of 21 other scheduled Indian languages (other than Hindi) has increased more than five times (512 per cent) per sitting in 2020 over that of the 14-year period between 2004-17.

Rajya Sabha members spoke in 10 scheduled languages (other than Hindi) in the House on 269 occasions during 923 sittings between 2004 and 2017 at the rate of 0.291 per sitting. IANS

Original post:

Sanskrit emerges as 5th most widely used language in Rajya Sabha - The Tribune