Viswa Shanthi Homa & Spiritual Discourses. JANUARY- JOURNALS 2010

IHA Logo HERITAGE-CARTMAN CARTMAN Logo
Vol. 5 No. 11 January 2010


Editorial Photo of NSRCONTENTS
Page No.
Editorial
Responses from Readers
Viswa Shanthi Homa & Spiritual Discourses
Empowering Religions
The Christ We Adore
Environment, Ecology & Ethics
Eleventh Plan & Health Care
Food Security & Poverty Alleviation
Giving Indians an Identity
Governance & Terrorism
Empowerment of Women


We greet “with Namasthe and Pranams” our readers and well wishers on the auspicious Christmas season and wish them all a Happy New Year in 2010 and the next decade. We have included an article
on “The Christ We Adore” by late Swami Ranganathananda of the Ramakrishna Mission. Christmas and New Year are celebrated in India by most groups, transcending religions, castes and creeds. In the Sri Sathya Sai Baba temple, Christmas was observed with fervour like similar Hindu festivals, and special prayers were offered. In the Indian Heritage Academy, special Bhajans were held to mark the birth of Christ. Picture of Jesus Christ was kept by the side of Sri Sathya Sai Baba. We consider that Jesus is also an Avathara, worthy of worship like other Hindu Avataras. All of us pray that the ideals of Jesus Christ, namely love, selfless service, forgiveness and sacrifice and his life should guide man’s attitudes, actions and relationships.

All the twelve major religions were born in Asia. Hinduism, the oldest among them (though not a religion), has 820 million adherents in two countires. 2.4 billion Christians majority in 180, 1.2 billion Muslims majority in 68 and 800 million Buddhists in 10. These four religions together form 5.22 billion, out of the total world population of 7 billion, forming 75 percent. Christianity came to India in 54 AD or so, before it went to Europe. St. Thomas is believed to have come to Kerala to spread Christianity, and he was given all facilities to preach and practice. Today 20% of Keralites are Christians.

There are many versions about the whereabouts of Jesus during the unknown life for 16 years. A few historians, after a great deal of research, have published books that Jesus was in India during those 16 years. One such book is entitled “Jesus in India” by Holger Kersten, published by Penguin. He has stated as follows: “Jesus was in India, Nepal and Tibet during that period and learnt a great deal about Hindu and Buddhist (Tibetan) teachings. Jesus did not die on the Cross. He was in deep meditation (Turia), and security guards thought that Jesus was dead, and they allowed his body to be brought from the Cross. Wounds of Jesus were treated by his friends, after which Jesus came to India through the Silk route. He travelled and taught mostly in Banaras, Gaya, Nepal and Tibet areas. He learnt India based religions from teachers and also learnt the Tibetan version of meditation. He taught for several years. He was known locally as ISSA. Jesus died in Srinagar at the age of 80 plus, and his tomb is still in Srinagar”. Nicolau Notovitch, a Russian historian and scholar, also had written in 1894 about Jesus in India. Swami Abhedananda, of Ramakrishna order, mentioned in his book that he visited his tomb in Srinagar. These books give an analysis of what might have happened in respect of the descriptions in the Bible and other writings on Jesus. However, these versions have not been accepted by the Church. But we are more concerned with the teachings and the life of Jesus, rather than this issue of his being in India for 16 years and his death in Srinagar.

Welfare of Mankind
Since the world is in a deep crisis, the Indian Heritage Academy conducted a Vishwa Shanthi Homa for world peace on December 26th, 2009. SARPV Chaturvedi Swami, Chief Patron of India’s Century Mission, spoke on the great power of religions. Excerpts of his speech, written by Shri S. N. Tekur and Dr. B.V. Venkatakrishna Sastri, have been included in this issue.



Global Warming
An International Conference on Global Warming took place in Copenhagen during December, which was attended by 100 heads of States, including Mr. Barack Obama, US President and our Prime Minister. Among the many factors that contribute to Global Warming is meat eating. We appeal that vegetarianism should be encouraged to reduce Global Warming.

Telengana
The present agitation for Telengana State has opened up
a debate in the country on the desirability of Small States. The UP Chief Minister has expressed the view that UP should be divided into three, while the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has opposed small States. The States were formed based on language. Because of the agitation of Andhra people, spearheaded by Potti Sreeramulu with his hunger strike, linguistic states and the Andhra State were formed. There was an unconfirmed rumour that he was allowed to die, since his request for water was denied in the last few days, which just shows how much politics can degenerate for gaining political end. Now the same Andhra is agitating for a separate Telengana State. I wrote my first set of articles on “Dare we divide our country” during the 60s. I also addressed a Conference in1969 in the Bharatheeya Vidya Bhawan, Mumbai, advocating formation of Small States and City States.
India is a big country, with a huge population, and that too with diverse cultural affiliations. It is difficult to rule a country of India’s size and diversity. We are lucky that we managed to remain as one Nation and that too with a democratic framework. But the possibility of splitting India into about 50 small states still exists, which is good in every respect. We are bringing out a booklet on Political Economy, where we will be describing the present situation, and suggesting alternative political economy system to avert break-up of our country and for retaining political stability.

Heritage-CARTMAN
CARTMAN used to publish a Monthly journal, called CARTMAN, and distribute it free for more than 10 years. But we suspended it since we could not get any subscriber and we were short of funds. We got no feedback regarding the utility of the journal. We started the journal again in 2004, and have been sending it as complimentary copy to prominent citizens and institutions. We were able to improve the quality in the last 5 issues, using a part of the generous donation by Mr. Mukesh Ambani from his Dhirubai Ambani Foundation. In all the issues, we had repeatedly appealed to readers to give their views in order to check whether the journal was of any value to readers. We got only a very few responses. In the last issue, we had specifically stated that we may discontinue the journal, if we do not get views from readers about whether our journal was serving any useful purpose. We were spending our time, effort and scarce funds. We also appealed for Membership of either the IHA or CARTMAN, which entitle Members to get free copy of the journal. Only very few have sent donations or subscriptions. All these years we did not make any special effort to get subscribers using conventional marketing methods. CARTMAN is an NGO with meager resources, which cannot sustain publication of the journal and sending it free to hundreds. Therefore very reluctantly, and with certain amount of sadness, we propose to restrict sending the journal free only to those who subscribe (Rs 200/- per year), or become Member of IHA/CARTMAN (Rs 2000/-), donors as well as to those who have contributed to society (as far as we know) or have the potential / possibility to contribute. We may also send to VIPs in authority who may listen to our views in bringing about change in the political-economical-social system. We appeal to all to subscribe or to become a Member. May be, if financial condition of our institution improves, we may resume the journal.

From the time I joined Bombay University as Professor of Management in 1962, I was involved in a large number of professional and social service activities as I was the President of the Computer Society of India, Institute of Industrial Engineering and such other professional bodies. I also helped in starting the Productivity Council and Management Associations in many parts of India. I improved the efficiency of the Pune Municipal Council in 1952, and the Bombay Municipal Corporation during the 60s. While at NITIE and IIM (from 1958 to 1986), I was deeply engaged in large number of social service organizations. After retiring from the Directorship of the Indian Institute of Management at Bangalore in 1986, I have been working full time in CARTMAN and the Indian Heritage Academy. Both these NGOs are doing excellent work in many areas. Most of our services are being rendered either free or at a subsidized rate. Findings of our research were being published in the earlier journal, called CARTMAN, and subsequently in the present journal, called HERITAGE-CARTMAN. We were hoping that our free services to the society, animal kingdom and nature would receive response from the public by their donations or other kinds of help. Our work is being appreciated all over India. However, we could not raise funds through subscriptions to the journal or donation or as endowments. Citizens have openly expressed their deep appreciation and gratitude to the good work IHA and CARTMAN have been doing during the last 20 years. We wish to continue this service. But we need public support by way of their donations or subscriptions to our journals or to the NGOs for membership. We are still hoping that sensitive citizens would come forward with donations so that we could continue to function as NGOs as well as publish the journals. If we get sufficient support, we will revive the journal as before. With the donation from the Dhirubhai Ambani Foundation, we will be bringing out six more booklets for wide circulation. It may be noted that the work which we do is highly socially relevant. In IHA, we are conducting 40 programmes regularly on Music, Dance, Yoga, Meditation, Painting, Bhajan, Concerts, Senior Citizens Programme, Women’s Programmes, Lectures from Philosophy, Religious Festivals, etc. The Sai Temple is extremely popular with Bhajan being conducted throughout the year. The Saraswathi Temple is very popular. Our 9 Lecture Halls are even free for deserving organizations who cannot afford to pay for conducting their programmes.

CARTMAN developed a 2 acre plot of land into our Educational Eco Park, where we are operating a Veterinary Clinic rendering free service to non-owned animals, particularly Dogs. As a part of the Anganwadi Programme, we give Education and free food to 34 children of the area. Karate Classes are conducted by professionals. 500 varieties of plant species have been planted, out of which 60 are herbal varieties. We are demonstrating Rain Water Harvesting and Solar Devices. The BBMP is helping us in developing the park. The Ministry of Environment and Forests has declared our Education Park as a Centre of Excellence for Animals and Environment. Our request to Central Government to declare our park as a Botanical Garden is under consideration.

We have conducted HRD Training Programmes to 200 Engineering Colleges and Management Institutions during the last 3 years. We have also written and published 150 articles on a wide variety of topics. We are the only Institution conducting HRD Programmes on Ethical and Moral values to Educational Institutions and Corporate Sectors. We have screened documentaries on Environment and Pollution Control in 300 Schools during the last 3 years.

All the above would show the wide range of social service activities which we are engaged in. We appeal for support from sensitive citizens by way of donations, subscription to the journal, membership to IHA and CARTMAN, advertisement to our journal and endowments with which we can carry on our activities.

In addition, we have launched an All Indian Movement called India Century Mission, objective of which is to preserve and promote the unity and culture of our country. We have already conducted a large number of seminars all over the country.

Thus it can be seen that our activities are unique covering a wide range of subjects and issues, which are vital to our economic and social development of our country. We look forward to your support for carrying on our activities on a self sustained basis.

N.S. Ramaswamy - Editor



RESPONSES FROM READERS


Email Message from Shri SARPV Chaturvedi Swami of Sri Ramanuja Mission Trust sent on 31st December 2009:

Dear Ramaswamyji,

Received the November Issue (Vol: 5, No.9) of the Heritage-Cartman magazine. I went through all the articles and would like to mention that the contents are very simple for everyone to read and understand and yet deliver very powerful messages. Beyond any doubt, I would say that this magazine is the crown amongst its peers. At your age, publishing such books that are intended to create a cultural awareness in the society, with very minimal support, is indeed laudable. I have few suggestions to make as well.

1. I feel that such social welfare magazines have to reach the public through electronic publications as well i.e. through the internet. This way, more people would be benefited whose physical reachability is remote.

2. A question and answer (Q/A) portion could be added where various readers may post their questions and we could selectively answer and publish the same. This way, it would attract more ideas and make the magazine more interactive to the readers.

I wish you good luck for more such issues during upcoming years. And I wish you personally have a very successful, healthy, joyful and prosperous new year 2010.

Yours sincerely,

SARPV Chaturvedi



Dear Prof. Ramaswamy: Wednesday, December 30, 2009
I have been a regular reader of your thought-provoking magazine, HERITAGE-CARTMAN, for the past several years. During the past five months or so, I have been finding a significant improvement in quality also. I understand that most of the credit for this improvement goes to you. My heartiest congratulations and good wishes to you.
In the current issue, I particularly liked your article on “Sanathana Dharma and Planet Earth”. I don’t know if you are aware of the definition of Hinduism as “Himsayam yam dooyathe yasmat hindoorityabhiteeyathe”. In other words, according to some scholars, Nonviolence is the essence of Hinduism. This definition was given to me by one of my respected teachers, Shri A.N.Sreenivasa Raghava Iyengar, during my undergraduate days, during the early nineteen forties. It did not occur to me then to ask him for the reference. And you have given all of us who claim to be scientists and who are worried about Climate Change and its control, which are extensively covered in the recent issues of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN India and other similar magazines, some thing to think about.
Wishing you and all others concerned with your valuable magazine a HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010,
Yours Very Sincerely,
Dr. P.G.NAIR, Thrissur

Dear Sri Ramaswamy, 26th December, 2009
Heritage-Cartman, December 2009, is an excellent issue. India has produced many great people. Articles and write-ups touching their lives, expatiating or explaining some facets of their worthy life, is part of the study of our culture. That has been done well there. The cultural opulence of this great country finds expression in it. I was delighted to read it.
With regards and best wishes,
Yours sincerely,
Dr. R. Rabindranath Menon
IAS (Retd), Bangalore










VISWA SHANTHI HOMA AND SPIRITUAL DISCOURSE

The Indian Heritage Academy (IHA) organized a unique traditional ritual, Viswa Shanthi Homa on 26th December. Prof. N.S. Ramaswamy, Chairman, IHA, explained that the Homa is aimed at seeking the blessings of the unknown and invisible forces to bring about peace between man, animal and nature. “Present pursuit of human growth are based on scientific and technological methods while leaders from the field of religion and spirituality, philosophy, mysticism are attempting to tap universal energy through inclusive and secular efforts”, he added.

Scholarly priests in Homa rituals from Melkote conducted the entire event with traditional puja, offering of ‘dhanya’ and ghee to fire and other celestial powers at specially erected Homa Kunda in the presence of a number of devotees, with Prof. N.S. Ramaswamy and Rajam Ramaswamy as Yajamana and Yajamana Patni.

Sri Chaturvedi Swami, renowned speaker on spiritually and Hinduism and head of Sri Ramanuja Mission Trust, graced the occasion visiting the ‘Yagasala’ and spending time sitting along with devotees. Later he delivered a spiritual discourse on “Power Mechanism of Religion” at the IHA Hall.
A summary of talk delivered by Sri Chaturvedi Swamiji is given below:

POWER MECHANISM OF RELIGION

Of late, the role of religion is under serious question. Western writers, notably Darkin have blamed religion for the current strife and bloodshed –jihad and terrorism-as a difference in the God concept can cause irreconcilable differences between large populations. It is necessary to understand the role of religion and how it can provide solutions to current problems of mankind.

Understanding God is only possible through HIS mercy. God is all merciful as well as just. If God is only merciful then there would be no adversity and apparent punishment and all actions and behavior would be condoned. However being just there is also retribution for misdeeds. However within our limited vision and understanding it sometimes appears as though the wicked are rewarded while the innocent are punished-God appears to be very inconsistent in HIS approach. What we are not aware is the actions and misdeeds committed by us in several past lives which find their reward and punishment in this lifetime. God is always consistently just and merciful.

There are varied concepts of God- a God with a particular form, a formless God, A personal God with whom you could have any kind of relationship looking at him as a father, mother, friend, and even lover. Another concept of God is the presence within – your own divinity.

Philosophy, Religion and Spirituality are strongly interconnected. They are synonymous with knowledge, practice and experience.In current thinking philosophy is thought of as theoretical while religion and spirituality are delinked. What needs to be appreciated is that philosophy provides the theory and abstract thought process, while religion is the practice which needs to be performed regularly and only then can one get a spiritual experience. There is a distinct difference between Eastern and Western religions and philosophies. Eastern religions provide a very strong framework for spiritual growth in a systematic manner through a stage by stage process.

Ritual is very important and its significance is not understood. If rituals are performed mechanically the benefits are limited. There are prescribed processes for each of the rituals with varying effects. Many of the rituals involve making offerings to ‘agni’ or the fire God. Physical substance or a ‘dravya’ is consumed by agni and is transformed to a subtle form which is recreated into a desired energy form. The actions are very subtle and impact not only the immediate surroundings but also persons and events physically away. For instance if a person performs a ‘homa’ for improvement in his business, it not only affects him and his immediate associates but also sets up a chain reaction in prospective customers at long distances for improvement of the person’s business at a subtle level due to the interconnectedness of all consciousness. Also the ‘dravya’ or physical matter(such as herbs) to be used in the ritual represents a whole class of matter. Usually the prescribed herbs are ones selected from those representative of a large class and available in abundance. If rituals are performed with proper understanding the results are very effective.

When there is desire for personal benefits and growth God grants these requests immediately but the actual manifestation of the benefits are directly related to your karmic balances. However, if a request is made for others or for the benefit of all mankind or general well being of a large mass of people the effects are immediate because your personal karmic balance does not enter the picture. A ‘Viswa Shanti Homa’ becomes very effective as it is intended for the general benefit and not meant to give personal advantage to the organizer. Such events are specially blessed as is the Indian Heritage Academy which is doing excellent work for the benefit of not only humans but the animal and plant life also.

A formal ‘aashirvadam’ will also be given by the group of priests who have traveled here from Melkote and conducted the homa.
- Compiled by S.N. Tekur
EMPOWERING RELIGIONS – EXPLAINING INDIAN RELIGIOUS RITUAL FOR GOAL OF WORLD PEACE
By
Dr. B V Venkatakrishna Sastry,
Professor, Hindu University of America, Orlando, Florida, USA
The following is the impression based notes from the author in relation to the lecture delivered by Sri SAR Prasanna Venkatachariar Chaturvedi Swami ji at India Heritage Academy on 26 Dec 2009. The theme is related to India Century mission and ‘yajnam’ – the vedic traditional ritual performed with the goal of seeking World Peace and Harmony.
‘Religion’ is a word which is multiply understood in several contexts by the academicians, legal schools, politicians, society and public media. The western academia uses the word ‘religion’ in a specific sense, to identify a set of beliefs and faith-practices of a target society, seen in a practicing context locale, language and historic backdrops. This meaning-frame is adopted to explain rituals, ethics, Prayers and places of worship, God- form and related concepts. This definition provides a limited set of parameters for analyzing how the members of the society connect themselves to a higher force through the design formats of rituals. Western scholars have used this model for analysis of the ‘Indian (Vedic) life styles, society, rituals and culture. This approach yields a very limited and myopic understanding of (i) Vedic ritual yajna and (ii) Components of Vedic rituals of religions in the Indian traditional schools. Therefore, there is a need to (a) clarify the technicality of words: yajna and ritual-components according to Indian traditional schools (b) make a comparative analysis of western views from the native traditions position.
Swami ji, used this as the opening theme to address the topic of ‘Religion in India’ and ‘Vedic ritual for the goal of World Peace-Welfare covering Human-Nature and Animals ’. Swamiji used an introductory analogy linking the themes of Ethics and Religiosity, in the preamble to elaborate further. The technicality of yajna, for which the english word ‘ritual’ is used, is not a good conceptual translation equivalent. Swami ji elaborated the following analogy.
The world societies can be broadly seen in four linked themes as below. The Indian Religion and related ritual needs to be explained in the last column category, according to Swami ji.
Faith-Religion Link Unethical -Irreligious Unethical
Religious Ethical Irreligious Ethical Religious
Analogy for Justice – Ethics linked to Religion No Gun
No Bullet Only Gun
No Bullet No Gun
Only Bullet Gun
with Bullet
Analogy for empowerment –enforcement through Religion Living Homeless Living in a Roofless Home Living in a haunted Home Living in a Good home worthy of living

The members of the society who live in first three blocks need to progress through stages to come to the comfortable level represented by the fourth column. This progression needs a corrective measure of different models for different blocks. The maintenance measure needed for members in the fourth block needs to come through a proper system of education and experience delivery by enlightened masters.
Now, let us see the first column model. A society –congregation which is unethical and irreligious in attitude will not understand the last column model life style. Because, this group is anchored to believe and build their prayer-ritual-worships on the foundation of what is seen and experienced by the senses and instruments. These people see the last group model of rituals analogous to ‘abstract rope or smoke-rope for climbing’ the ladders of spirituality!
In the second column model, which is a society –congregation, unethical and religious in attitude, will also not understand the last column model life style. Because, this group keeps ethics and religion in two isolated blocks. Religion is not to permeate in to the realm of ethics and business. This team builds their prayer-ritual-worship models on the paradigm of: ‘Religion is Given by All Merciful God to the select –chosen one for global administration. Compliance to religion has the power to cleanse all the sins-sufferings-defects of other human endeavors, save the soul, save from the anger –punishment of God. This is analogous to the work of a cleansing agent, an antibiotic to restore health’. The religious authority is firmly rested on ‘belief’ about revelation, which can not be questioned or subjected to verification. Fear is the key factor. Faith rests on non-questioning. Philosophy stays in isolation of religion, ethics and business. These people see the last group model of rituals analogous to ‘an oily rope for climbing’ the ladders of spirituality!
The third group, a society –congregation of the nature in the third column - which is ethical in life style and irreligious in belief, also will not understand the last column model life style. Because, this group sees God as an extraneous postulation to regulate ethics and give directives on religion! For this group, ethical life style is enough to reach what ever is claimed as the goal of spiritual practices. A ‘belief-ritual centric religion’ is not a sine qua non for welfare of human society! This team builds their spiritual welfare model sans any religion centric prayer- God -ritual-worship postulate. Sin and Suffering are consequences of human endeavors. Setting the right endeavors is good enough to bring welfare for society. For this team, God-religion-prayer-ritual is like opium or placebos! The religious authority is replaced by humanitarian legal efficacy for welfare administration. Science takes place of God’s power. Any thing that violates ethics is punishable. These people see the last group practice of rituals analogous to ‘an ash rope, which appears as strong, but has no inner strength for climbing’ the ladders of spirituality!
Now coming to the society–congregation, in the last column model- ethical and religious, we need to explain the relation between religion-ethics and the integral harmony of both. Religion is the faith-glue which bonds humans to ethical behavior, in the name of God. This column represents a large chunk of Indian society and religious traditions. It is true that many ordinary members may not be able to explain the nature of this model satisfactorily. It is for the masters of tradition to keep the right understanding properly permeated and in circulation with updated language. The technical Sanskrit names for this integrated model is Nyaya-Neeti -Dharma, Satya-Dharma, Mata-Shraddhaa. Much of the technical accuracy and clarity of thought emanating from these words is lost in circulation due to inaccurate translation and wrong modeling in explanation.
The western concept of religion may be mapped to five aspects of deliberation related to cosmology in Indian schools of philosophy. The functionality of Supreme Divine (Brahman,Bhagawan, Parama Purusha), which in common parlance is denoted as God explained as follows: 1. Personification (Ways in which Supreme Divine is relationally conceptualized for worship) 2. Manifestation (The logistics and mechanics of Universal getting connected to each unique individual in time – space continuum) 3. Mediation (The practical ritual modeling for the individual to experience the Supreme Divine through the Nature) 4. Stimulation (The way to energize the inherent potential power of Divine in the given format of Nature) 5. Stipulation (The sensitizing and scaling of the activation of inherent potency of Divine for specific benefits sought after). All these are integrated in the yajna through various technicalities of fire, materials, offering, form worship, special materials drawn from nature like vegetation and other ingredients, the human chant vibrations generating flow of consciousness, and sacred stories from religious resources and traitions. The Indian religious ritual models are built around this bigger frame of relation between Individual and Supreme Divine. This big picture is not conceptualized, debated or detailed in the western philosophies or religions. The Devataa concept of Indian religions does not match with the western concept of a regulating God, up above the sky; who ultimately passes judgment and guides through the gates marked a heaven and hell. Therefore the analysis of the fourth column religion team, made in a different frame leads to erroneous outcome and inaccurate understanding of tradition. This is to the detriment of the community which stands by the fourth column.
There are several nuances that were brought out by Swamy ji in the discourse. Out of them, one point is worth noting. Modern science is focused on analyzing and understanding the ‘Matter aspect’ of Manifestation of Supreme Divine. Even Life related studies are parameterized in matter relation-response terms in science studies. On the contrary, the entirety of Indian traditional sciences are built around the holistic response of matter-conscious of one entity with another entity through a specified process of interaction for an intended goal. Yajna is a process where mantra-chanting part of the ritual activates the energy of consciousness in matter. This activation of energy, scaling it up, flowing it for the right benefi through the right channels is the science of Yajna. This is the design of a vedic ritual. The vedic ritual consists of techniques to access the potency of the Supreme Divine as: Presence, Essence, Imminence and compliance. The steps of lighting the fire, use of specified chants, offering of materials from Nature in fire are all steps derived from a subtle science built around the principles related to matter-consciousness interaction in Nature. Failing to see this in this proper perspective and building an inaccurate context of explanation on the lines of tribal ritual by a class – caste - sacerdotal magic of priests parameters, vitiates the right understanding of tradition.
Therefore, there is a critical need for providing the right understanding of the science of vedic ritual for all the communities noted above. And this explanation needs to be built as a continuing dialogue with scientists and sociologists alike to reestablish the right position and pride of Vedic Traditions and Indian religions –rituals-prayers. Only this will help to reduce the current friction amongst the world religions in relation to Indian religions, address the malefic issues of religious conversion, religion linked terrorism and atrocities carried on in the name of religion. India Century mission should aim for the right dissemination and practice of this ancient Science and make it reach the largest audience to restore back the pride of Indian heritage.

THE CHRIST WE ADORE

By
Swami Ranganathananda

We, in India, have learnt through our religion to look upon great teachers with a heart open to the inspiration which, they hold to all humanity. The approach of our people to the lives of all teachers has something refreshingly beautiful about it; it is hard for non-Hindus to understand how we, professing a different religion, can open our hearts, with equal fervour, to receive the inspiration of this great Son of Man, Jesus. India’s approach to religion is experimental and not dogmatic. It is spirituality that India seeks in its religious quest and not a creed or a dogma. This is also the approach of Jesus Christ to religion, as we shall presently see. It is this approach that explains the spiritual hospitality of the Indian mind. This broad, all inclusive approach will be increasingly appreciated and accepted by the thinking people of the world in the coming years. What is now the cherished possession of nation of culture will eventually become an integral part of human culture and civilization. Such a consummation will help to release the Christ-spirit from the shackles of a narrow sectarian creed in which it has been stifled for centuries. This will be the service that the spirit of India will render in this age to the religion of the great master.
BIRTH AND BOYHOOD OF JESUS
We are familiar in our country with the idea that at the birth of divine personalities there is joyous co-operation of man and nature to welcome them for it is an event heralding universal joy. In the words of one of our sacred books: ‘The ancestors rejoice, the gods dance in joy, and this world gets a saviour’ – Modanic pitaro, nrtyanti devatah, sanatha ceyain bhurbhavati (Narada Bhakti-Sutra, V.5 )
Very similar is the account of the birth of Jesus Christ, as given in the various Gospels of the New Testament. Deeply touching is the description of the episode in Luke. The parents, Joseph and Mary, had come to Bethlehem in Judea from Nazareth in Galilee, to be taxed according to the newly promulgated Roman law. Mary was expecting her first child. The couple took shelter in an inn, where Mary gave birth to an infant who was destined to become a great spiritual teacher. For want of accommodation in the inn, the mother wrapped the baby in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger. At this time, a group of shepherds, keeping watch over their sheep near by, received, in the stillness of the night, in an extraordinary way, the intimation of the birth of this wonderful infant.

‘And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which we shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapt in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger’ (Luke, II. 9-12).

The shepherds were amazed. Hardly had they time to recover from this amazement, when they heard a multitude of angels singing, praising God: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men’ (ibid. II.24).

The shepherds proceeded to Bethlehem in search of the babe as indicated, and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger, and they offered him loving worship in and homage.

Next, we get a glimpse, a tender and pleasing glimpse, of him as a boy of twelve. He was accompanying his parents to the holy temple in Jerusalem for the Passover feast. After the ceremonies, the parents started homeward, they expected Jesus to be in the party, but after a day’s journey when the found him missing, they searched for him here and there and, finally, retracing their steps, found him, after three days, in the courtyard of the holy temple discussing with the learned doctors points of law and faith. When his mother, piqued, told him how much she and his father had been worried over his disappearance, he gave a characteristic answer: ‘How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?’ (ibid. II.49). His parents could not make anything of this enigmatic reply, but they were satisfied when they found him willing to return home with them.

We get hardly any account of Jesus during his youth and early manhood. ‘And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man’, says the gospel in a compressed narrative (ibid.II.52).

But we have enough indication to show that Jesus, very early in life, had become aware of the great purpose of his advent and set about it with a thoroughness that nothing could thwart. He must have also spent long hours in silence and loneliness in the near-by mountains and communed with himself. Later, when we meet him next, he is already a young man of about thirty. Moving from place to place, Jesus heard of another teacher who was creating a stir by his way of life and preaching. This was John the Baptist, who went about in the wilderness of Judea, and later in the Jordan area, proclaiming: ‘Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’ (Mathew, III.2).

SEMITIC RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS
Jesus proclaimed a religion of wide and deep horizons; he brought God near to man and bound both with the cord of love; he eliminated fear as medium of their relationship. With love implanted in his heart in place of fear, man emerged as the lover of his fellow men; he learnt to find fulfillment in a life of love for God and service to man, to God in man. This love for God, this intimate communion with Him, is the fulfillment of the righteous life; it is the only means of satisfying the soul’s spiritual hunger. This is essential of religion. It holds that man has a higher dimension which transcends his physical and social personality; he is essentially spiritual, in that inmost being of his lies his intimacy with and closeness to the divine, and his kinship to all creation. Religion is the realization of this spiritual fact and its expression in life and behaviour.


THE COMPASSIONATE JESUS

The compassion of a divine incarnation and his power to redeem shine remarkably through two anecdotes, which also reveal the way purity views sin.

A Pharisee, Simon by name, invited Jesus for a meal one day; Jesus accepted and sat down to eat. A woman in the city, who was a sinner, hearing that Jesus was in the house of the Pharisee, brought an alabaster box of ointment and washing his feet with her tears and wiping them with her hair kissed them and anointed them with the ointment.

Seeing this the Pharisee was angry that Jesus should have allowed a sinner to do all this. Jesus, addressing Simon, said: ‘There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him. Thou has rightly judged. And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet; but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much, but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her,. Thy sins are forgiven. And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves. Who is this that forgiveth sins also? And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace’ (Luke, VII. 41-50).

ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY AND ETHICS
By
T.N.K. Kurup

The relationship between living things and environment is the subject of ecology, a name derived from two Greek words meaning ‘the study of home’. This term is apt, as all living beings have their particular home in Nature to which they are tied by many invisible strands. These include the interaction of all constituents of the environment, viz the soil to walk, crawl or burrow, the air they breathe or fly in, the rainfall or the light intensity they endure. Without the organic matter provided by living organism, there would be no soil other than inert mineral particles. The soil is important to plants, and plants in turn support animals. The carbon dioxide and oxygen both necessary for the existence of plant and animal life; are themselves produced by plants and animals and the cycle of life sustains itself.

Man is the only creature apparently standing aloof from the interaction of living things since he is able to make a home for himself anywhere in the world. But he needs air to breathe, water to drink and food to eat which are provided by nature. Apart from providing food for humans, plants have been the source of medicines in the treatment of various diseases. The diversity of plants and animals have also been the source for the products we use – fibre, leather, paper, to name a few. It also provides us with beautiful and breathtaking landscapes, exotic flora and fauna and natural climate control.

Preserving this diversity that has given us so much, is essential for the continued well being of the earth and its inhabitants. Larger the number of diverse species, the greater will be the resilience of the biosphere and its eco system. This by itself is a reason for protecting the endangered species. The loss of bio-diversity will ultimately make our lives poorer.

Present Scenario

Increasing population, unsustainable development, consumerism, wastage and poor understanding of the interconnected life are causing irrepairable damage to the environment; and unnatural extinction of species. The loss of biodiversity during our own lifetime, accompanied by high levels of pollution of air and water are matters of serious concern, which ultimately pose a danger to our own survival. Humans have advanced technologically over the years, many a time, manipulating the environment to suit their selfish needs. But today as we reach what appears to be a critical threshold of the biosphere, we are realizing that we must change our attitude and habits, to save the planet. What we do today would affect tomorrow and life on earth for future depends on, how we take care of it today.
Cultural and Spiritual Approach
The destruction of the biosphere and the deforestation of the Planet essentially forces us to enter an age of responsibility. This is ushering in a philosophy recognizing the spiritual values of the Plant and Animal kingdoms. Traditional culture of our country has recognized this as we find holy places on every mountain or wherever the rivers meet. Such an approach that embraces nature as part of ourselves is necessary to save the planet for years to come. In this context “Vasudaiva Kudumbakam” meaning that the whole world is my family, assumes great significance. Unfortunately this has yet to take roots where it matters most and is rarely put into practice. Pilgrims go to Gangotri to pay homage and respects to the most sacred of our rivers and we continue to show reverence to places where the mighty river meets smaller ones and take them in her journey covering the great plains of India. The biggest congregation takes place at intervals in Allahabad, Prayag, during the Kumbh Mela and Ardh Kumbh Mela. Millions take bath in the holy river in spite of the fact that the condition of the water is left much to be desired. Ganga in Varanasi where pilgrims flock day in and day out, the holy river, we are told, is not fit even for bathing, because of effluent discharges upstream and by the sewage entry from the city itself. Our late Prime Minister, Sri Rajiv Gandhi had the foresight to launch the ‘Ganga Action Plan’ but the work done subsequently left much to be desired. The subsequent Governments both at the Centre and States, did not take up the work to the logical end as a result of which Ganga Mai remains impure and continues to be so till this day. This is indeed very sad and speaks volumes of the indifferent attitude of the people and the Government. Since the first action plan on Ganga cleaning did not achieve any results, the present UPA Government under the leadership of Prime Minister with the Chief Ministers of the concerned State Governments have initiated a ten year plan (National Ganga River Basin Authority) to clean the Ganga. The outlay is Rs. 15,000 crores. We can only hope that ultimately the sacred river will reach the desired levels of purity. Yamuna at the capital, Delhi, is another example. Some efforts are in hand to partially clean up the river in Delhi before the Common Wealth Games are scheduled this year.

The same callousness and disregard we show to our forest reserves and preservation of our national animal – Tiger. Twenty seven reserves were set up under “Project Tiger” by the late Prime Minister, Smt. Indira Gandhi. Apart from saving the much hunted animals from poachers and encroachers this project was also meant to preserve the forests as tiger needs large tracts of green cover for its survival. But now we see that Sariska in Rajasthan has no tiger and very few in another reserve, Rathambore. If we do not take corrective measures, tigers will have the same fate as Cheetah which had vanished from our country. Many in cities ask “Where are the sparrows and vultures?” Perhaps our living style may provide an answer.

A peep into the amazing family of Bio Diversity.

The National Geographic, Discovery and Animal Planet TV Channels are doing yeoman service for educating the young and old on the wild animals, their habits, habitats and how they take care of their young ones. The coverage on the migration of animals and birds are breathtaking. Every year, during winter, caribous from Arctic Tundra migrate in large herds to greener pastures. But this is small when compared to the migration of a million wildebeests and lesser number of zebras in the African Savannha. They travel from Masai Mara National Park in Kenya to Serengity National Park in Tanzania covering a distance of about 600 miles every year facing the onslaught of predators and crossing the Mara river where crocodiles wait eagerly with their mouths open. A group of scientists follow them and they arrive at the conclusion that such migrations improve the health and reproductive capacity of the wildebeests and nature rejuvenates itself in both the parks.

One of the most fascinating facts of Nature is that of bird migration. When breeding is over and young ones reared, and the long dark nights of the winter accompanied by the Northern Cold Winds blow, migrating instincts of birds are awakened. Of all the migrants, none travels farther than the Arctic Terns. In groups, they cross the Atlantic to reach Europe and continue their flight through the coast of Africa and reach the coast of Antarctica. When the weather changes there, they traverse the same route to return to Arctic covering a total of 20,000 miles. How they navigate and how high they fly assisted by the winds are marvels of nature which are yet to be fully explained. Birds, it seems, are equipped with instincts that may surpass our sophisticated instruments. The beauty, grace and the fluid pulse of the oceans are reflected in the flocking of sea birds, which is an indication of marine wealth living underneath.

The seemingly fragile thumb sized humming bird is a wonder by itself. It can tilt the angle of its wings to any degree by which it can remain steady while sucking out nectar from flowers. It can even fly backwards. Ruby throated humming birds gather in Mexico and after a hearty meal of insects and nectar they launch across the Gulf of Mexico flying nonstop for 20 hours covering a distance of 500 miles to reach their destination! Similarly, butterflies cover long distances to reach Californian Coast to enjoy the warmer climate and exquisite flowers.

Under Water Life: Fifty years back very little was known about life under the seas and oceans. With the advances in breathing apparatus, paddles, swim suits fitted with helmets and equipped with under water high resolution cameras the sea explorers take photographs and give valuable information to us on marine life. Pressurised vessels with inbuilt armoured glass viewing windows are able to go deeper and reach depths where sunlight does not penetrate and water pressures are high. They show photos of self illuminating boneless transparent and colourful marine species never known to us earlier.

Down the South African coast where the gulf stream flows is a veritable treasure house of marine life. Sardines move in millions towards the Indian ocean. Whales gulp many of them in a few mouthfuls and the dolphins scatter them with their onslaught Sea birds fluttering above have a hearty meal of sardines. But these do not deter them. They regroup and continue their journey.

Green back turtles swim great distances to lay eggs on uninhabited islands in mid Atlantic Ocean. Hatchlings in thousands head towards the sea after breaking the shells but many of them are picked up by Pelicans and other sea birds. Few of them only reach the safe havens of the sea.

The coast of Patagonia in South America is the home for Elephant and leopard seals. Penguins in very large numbers, also live there. The leopard seals make a meal of many Penguins. But seals in turn are picked up by killer whales and meet their end. Many a time during low tide killer whales get stuck on sea shore and never return to sea.

Dare devil divers, off the coast of Australia, take pictures of dreaded sharks at very close quarters. They also bring us the colourful pictures of coral reefs, Octopuses and even giant squids. STEVE IRWIN, a famous explorer lost his life while photographing STING RAY, an elusive creature little known to many. Recently, another photographer lived to tell his tale after bitten by a shark.

Master Story Teller: The Visuals, narration and exposition of Dr. David Attenborough, naturalist are the most sought after. “Attenborough narrates” is a regular Saturday feature in Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel shows “PLANET EARTH” periodically. He covers land and marine life from North to South Pole and also the avian species. He takes us to deserts, rain forests, Savannah region and also the Arctic and Antarctic. In one of the episodes he covered the entire Cat family from the South American jaguars to the biggest – SIBERIAN TIGER which are very few in numbers. He travels by Plane, microlight, jeep and many a time by walking and explaining the little known species of rodents, Insects and birds. In one of his masterly strokes he took us to the entire Himalayan range – from the snow clad mountains, to the regions where mountain goats and snow leopards live and lammergeier vultures having a wing span of 3 metres circle round in great heights. We were shown the Nanda Devi bioreserve with the valley of flowers and finally zeroed on the rain forest of Arunachal Pradesh, a land of colourful pheasants, brown coloured Pandas and acrobatic gibbons effortlessly jumping from tree to tree which no other animal can match.

His narration of birds and their flying ability was very educative. He showed the elegance of Swan in water and air, the initial struggles of Albatross to be air borne and its magnificent flight afterwards assisted by winds. Eagles can reach a height upto 20,000 feet and can spot a moving rodent from an incredible height of 10,000 feet. Osprey known as fish hawk picks up a big fish in one sweep by one leg and then transfer it between both the legs so that the speed and balance of flight are not affected. It is a sight to see Pelicans covering long distances in perfect formation and also its superb dive inside water and flight back with its catch in between the beaks.

Curtains down on BIO DIVERSITY

The vibrant life as seen and captured by the Electronic media is in great danger as the spectre of global warming and climate change is looming large on the world at large. With the unlimited increase in the emission of green house gases, ocean temperatures are on the rise and the melting of ice in the Polar Regions and mountain summits are taking place without any respite. The habitats of many species of animals, marine life and birds are in danger of extinction and it is a matter of time before the magnificent animals like polar bear cease to exist. The colourful coral reefs below the surface of the tropical sees are in danger. In our country drought, un-seasonal rains and floods have created havoc. The flowering pattern of trees and the natural periods of bird migration have been altered. Himachal Pradesh famous for apples is unable to take care of the orchards with the rise in temperature. The spawning habit of fish and their movements to safer havens have affected people who depend on them for survival. Maladives, Sunderbans the home of the famous Royal Bengal Tiger and the long coastal lines of our country are in danger of submerging under the rising levels of sea.

Various initiatives taken by the United Nations to reverse the trend by reducing carbon emissions from the developed world and halting the deforestation of Amazon and tropical rain forest of Indonesia are yet to make a dent. In this scenario the world summit at Copenhagen scheduled during this month of December was concluded without any commitment from the countries polluting the planet, the most. The rising temperature continues rising and it is unlikely that the nations with varying interests will come to an agreement and act upon it to halt the rise in global temperature. Until and unless legal bindings on the scale and the exact quantity reductions in emissions are spelt out and taken up by developed nations in intent, spirit and execution, global warming can only increase with the resulting consequences.

One can only hope, that nations of the world take up urgent measures to reverse the trends for saving the planet from disaster. Developed nations have to discard their opulent life styles for the betterment of the have-nots and for the preservation of other species for the overall health of the vibrant planet Earth. The sooner they do the better would be the world.
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ELEVENTH PLAN AND HEALTH CARE

The Eleventh Plan, whose central theme is ‘Inclusive Growth,’ has substantially stepped up the allocation for health.
by
P S Appu

The role of health care in economic development has received increasing attention in recent years. There is a general agreement that economic growth is not merely a function of incremental capital-output ratio. Investment in man – enhanced allocation for education, imparting skills and health care – plays a significant role in fostering economic growth. It is, therefore, in the fitness of things that the Eleventh Five-Year Plan, whose central theme is ‘Inclusive Growth,’ has substantially stepped up the allocation for health.

The Eleventh Plan presents a well thought-out and comprehensive structure for health care in rural areas. The important features of the set-up are:

- 1.75 lakh sub-centres each with two Auxiliary Nurse Midwives at one sub-centre for each panchayat (five or six villages).

- 30,000 PHCs at one for a group of four or five sub-centres. Each PHC will have one Lady Health Visitor and three staff nurses. There will also be an AYUSH physician. (AYUSH is acronym for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy).

- 6500 CHCs each with 30-50 beds. The staff will include seven specialists and nine staff nurses.

- 1800 taluk or sub-divisional hospitals and 600 district hospitals will be fully equipped to provide quality health service.

When this structure is in position, and if it functions reasonably well, we can expect a significant improvement in the quality of medical care in rural India. There will, of course, be an enormous increase in the number of medical graduates, postgraduates and nurses needed to operate the system. The baffling question is how to find the number of personnel needed to fill the vacancies and new posts.

It should be possible to recruit adequate number of doctors and persuade them to stay in the field if the three suggestions given below are adopted and strictly enforced.

- After internship, every medical graduate should be required to work for a minimum of two years in rural areas before he is granted the MBBS degree.

- Only those who have completed three years of rural service should be admitted to any postgraduate course, including the Diplomate of the National Board.

- Every postgraduate student should serve for one year as a specialist in a CHC or sub-divisional hospital before he is awarded the degree or a diploma.

These proposals are not entirely new. Assam has already made rural service compulsory for medical graduates. Some medical colleges have been encouraging fresh graduates to opt for rural service for short periods. The implementation of the proposals, of course, calls for resolute political will. The rationale for making these seemingly harsh suggestions is this. Despite the recent increase in fee, medical education is heavily subsidized by the state. It is manifestly just and fair to stipulate that those who receive medical education should serve the rural society for a short period. Incidentally, the young graduates will benefit a great deal by getting an opportunity to improve their clinical skill. There should, of course, be substantial improvement in the salary of doctors and the amenities available to them.


Shameful State
The proliferation of sub-standard, under staffed and ill-equipped private medical colleges in recent years is an unmitigated menace. A few institutions like the CMC, Vellore; St. John’s, Bangalore; and the Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, are among the country’s best. But many private colleges lack basic facilities and are run as profit centres for garnering huge amounts as capitation fee. I hear that the present capitation fee for an MBBS seat is Rs. 35 lakh-50 lakh and for a postgraduate seat above Rs. 60 lakh. For a discipline like Radiology, the amount could exceed Rs. 1 crore!

Some 15 years ago, a relative of mine had to pay only Rs. 2 lakh through a bank draft and Rs. 2 lakh in cash to get his son admitted to a postgraduate course. The Indian Medical Council has laid down arduous norms in respect of faculty, hospital beds, equipment and so on. Apparently, there is some laxity in the enforcement of the norms. I have heard that while a well-equipped college may run into difficulties, substandard institutions manage to pass muster. I have also heard of cases in which retired teachers and other doctors with postgraduate qualification are shown as visiting faculty for short periods during an inspection by Medical Council teams. No civilized country, not even a soft state like India, can allow such a scandalous state of affairs to continue. It is time the government toll resolute action to stem the rot.

Some reservations
The Prime Minister in the Foreword and the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission in the Preface have highlighted the positive role the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana will play in providing health care to the population below the poverty line. I have serious doubts about the benefits that will actually accrue to the rural poor from health insurance and the option to go to private hospitals. As I have not personally observed the working of the scheme, I would leave it to experts familiar with field conditions to evaluate the Yojana.

Another controversial matter is Public Private Partnership (PPP) in providing health care. I do not share the optimism expressed in the Plan document about the role of private institutions in providing health care in rural India. Nor do I agree with the Commission’s enthusiasm about the role of corporate health care and the benefits flowing from the expansion of medical tourism. These issues deserve to be dealt with by more knowledgeable persons.

I shall conclude reiterating that health care in rural India and school education throughout the country should squarely be the concern of the government. Private initiative can certainly supplement the government’s efforts in these fields, but that will benefit only the affluent.

(P.S. Appu is a former Chief Secretary of Bihar and former Director of the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie) : Source - November 24, 2009 The Hindu.

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FOOD SECURITY AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION

By T N K Kurup

India is home to by far the biggest number of hungry people in the world. According to FAO’s 2008 report, India accounted for 252 of the 873m undernourished people all over the globe in the period 2004-2006. It is a significant increase from the 210 million undernourished people India had at the beginning of the 1990’s. If nothing is done now, this crisis is going to blow into a full-scale catastrophe in the coming decades.

India produces about three tonnes of rice per hectare, China over six tonnes and the U.S nearly eight tonnes. If India could double its output without bringing out any more land under cultivation there is hope for food security for the increase in population. We produce 56 percent of crop from irrigated land of 47 million hectares and the balance 44 percent from 95 million hectares of rain dependent land. This means irrigated land is much more productive than rain fed agriculture. Water is the key for more productivity. The solution lies in rain water harvesting and collected surface water delivered through canals. This would also improve the ground water table for effective use of tube wells. The statistical survey of land holdings indicate that more than 66% of land cultivated are of farmers who own less than 2 hectares of farm land. Therefore it is essential that they get correct inputs on weather, rain, flood etc and also the timely advice from the agricultural scientists for optimizing their crop yields. Lester Brown from the Earth Policy Institute says under investment in agriculture in developing countries is the single biggest cause for low productivity. About 4 percent of national public spending goes into agriculture on economics where more than two thirds of the population is dependent on it. In the 1970’s, at the time of Green Revolution, many countries were spending upto 10 percent.

The Plight of Poor on Bundelkhand
Excerpts from The Times of India in their Crest Edition of Saturday the 19th December.

Comprising 13 contiguous districts; six of them in North Madhya Pradesh and seven in South West Uttar Pradesh, the once prosperous Bundelkhand was a significant source of the regions wheat supply. Warmer winters and shortened monsoons have led to a drastic reduction in the yield. Added to this the drying up of the Sindhu Sagar Lake has led to a completed collapse of the economy of the people around the lake.

“Crippling inflation particularly in the last few months has led to a massive reduction in purchasing power, pushing people to the brink of starvation. The social security safety net such as the National Rural Employment Gaurantee Scheme (NREGS), the mid day meal scheme and the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) are heavily compromised by corruption and violations, leading to serious doubts over whether the recently announced Rs 7,266 crore packages for the region will be effective without a fundamental policy rethink. Sarpanchs and village officials are cornering the funds enriching themselves, without benefiting the poor. According to the survey done by the Bundelkhand Grameen Jayothan Samiti in 71 Panchayats, 42 Sarpanchs have bought Bolero jeeps within the last five years.

Money and material for every Anganwadi on paper have been disbursed but not a single village in the three districts visited by the Times of India team had a functionary Anganwadi mainly because of lack of water and the items for preparing food.

Excerpts from The Hindu dated Sunday the 27th December on Bundlekhand Region

“NREGA wages have not been paid to 200 people of Akauna village in Chattrapur for eight months. Eighty Villages in Seelaun are yet to get remuneration. In village after village inhabitants underline that those who are close to Panchayat leaders get NREGA work or a BPL tag.

Six rivers have gone waterless on Mahobe. So, without food, water and jobs people have no choice but to migrate to Metropolises. The distance between Bundelkhands / the poor and their political leaders are huge. Villagers do not remember when they visited their villages last.

In our Country as a whole, especially the BIMARU states implementation of poverty alleviation, rural health and employment generation schemes is totally muddled in corruption and favouritism and remain so after more than sixty years of our governance.

Increasing Poverty
Devinder Sharma writing in “Deccan Herald” dated 22nd December says that there is something terribly wrong with growth economics. A report of an expert group headed by Suresh Tendulkar former Chairman of PM’s economic advisory council now estimates poverty at 37.2 percent i.e an increase of roughly 10 percent over the centre estimates of 27.5 percent in 2004-05. This means that an additional 110 million people have slipped below the poverty line in just four years. Devender Sharma adds that India’s poverty line that is actually a euphemism for starvation line. The poverty line that is laid on actually becomes the upper limit the government must pledge to feed. Below the poverty line (BPL) category, for which the government has to provide a legal guarantee to provide food. It therefore spells out the government subsidy that is required to distribute food among the poor. More the poverty line more is the food subsidy, estimated to be the order of Rs 47,917.62 crore, a steep rise over the earlier subsidy of Rs 28,890.56 crore required to feed the BPL population with 25 kg of grain. The author concludes by saying that India should therefore have to classify the poor. The starvation line needs direct cash transfers in addition to the basic requirement of food supplies. And a poverty line, needing not only food (in lesser quantities) but also economic necessities like sewing machines, water purifiers, pressure cookers, etc.

Our record of PDS distribution to the needy, leaves much to be desired, as the government stocks during transit are cornered by vested interests and do not reach the PDS distribution centres. Cash payments to the poor do not reach them as they are diverted to the middle men and corrupt local village and government officials. In such circumstances poor needing assistance continue to suffer, even though funds are ear marked for food distribution and poverty alleviation. In this context the creation of the Unique Identification Authority of India with Sri Nanden Nilekani as the CEO assumes great significance as such a facility, if implemented, would make the money transfers easier direct to the beneficiary, without passing through the present corrupt administrative process. A shortened version of Sri Nanden Nilekani’s article published in the Saturday edition of Times of India dated 26th December is reproduced in the next article.

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GIVING INDIANS AN IDENTITY

Nandan Nilekani

The impact of technology on our institutions and markets has been most apparent in the way it has helped disseminate economic power, by bringing information to poor and rural communities. Information asymmetries are quickly vanishing – one NGO worker recently described how at a village self-help group meeting, a farmer checked an SMS on his mobile phone and told the meeting that a Bollywood superstar had taken ill – information he received at the same time it was being broadcast by news channels. The impact of such instant information access cannot be underestimated: by connecting more people to information and knowledge sources, we are creating a cycle of innovation and productivity.

THE CHALLENGE OF IDENTIFY
One piece of technology is turbo-charging electronification in India – the mobile phone. It has dramatically brought down the costs of plugging into the information network. As device costs continue to fall, we can envision the possibility of a smart phone in every village in the next decade and in the hands of every Indian in the next fifteen years. We can expect that in less than this time, connectivity will be pervasive. In the near future, we will have unprecedented, universally accessible computing power, which can tap into information flows across a ubiquitous network.

We have to build the tools to take advantage of this emerging reality. Even though ICT infrastructure has expanded rapidly over the last decade, we are yet to leverage it fully. The impact of telecom access in India for example, has remained limited to the access and delivery of information. Using the mobile phone for transaction and delivery of service such as banking has remained largely untapped.

A challenge we face in such service delivery is tackling risks that have emerged with open access systems. In economies with limited access, transactions depend on organized relationships, face-to-face interaction, identity verification and patronage networks. Anonymity is low, and systemic trust – a prerequisite for transactions – is easier to enforce.

Open access systems, however, come with greater anonymity. Service providers can’t automatically trust individuals, since they have no history of business with them, and poor customers also often lack identify documentation. Remote transactions complicate these challenges further. Consequently, service providers now spend large amounts of money or KYC – know your customer – processes to ensure that the transaction with the customer is a safe one.

POSSIBILITIES OF UID
The UID number, with its ‘anytime, anywhere’ bio-metric authentication, addresses the problem of trust within a transaction for both face-to-face and remote service delivery. Making identity easy to verify brings down the risks associated with enabling open access systems. The UID’s online verification can also make geographical distances irrelevant to delivery of services. The ability of individuals to prove their identity anywhere in the country becomes valuable as migration and urbanizations intensify.

The UID allows agencies across a variety of sectors, such as banking and finance, to provide remote services. Removing the need for multiple verification processes reduces costs for service providers. Additionally, replacing brick and mortar infrastructure with low-cost technology applications will lower transaction costs even further. By facilitating such remote, easy verification of identity, the UID number becomes the glue for service providers to bring together existing technologies and create end-to-end, low-cost, electronified models, where individuals can transact with micro amounts – as small as Rs.10 equipped with little more than a mobile phone.

Such a low-cost, accessible model would be inclusive, bringing millions into India’s burgeoning economy. As the UID network becomes ubiquitous, the applications on top of it will increase, expanding into a variety of services.

The UID opens up a vast array of new possibilities for our technological future, and offers a foundation on which a host of applications can be built. For example, the UID number of each resident can be linked to a bank account through which the government can provide direct services, such as health and education, through digital vouchers and cash benefits. Such service delivery also enables governments to establish relationships directly with individuals, rather than interest groups. The increased negotiating power this enables for individuals will mean fairer, more transparent public delivery systems and stronger, more enforceable rights.

The implementation of UID comes even as demand for electronification in India is increasing. Until the 1980s the infrastructure focus of Indian governments used to be on providing basic necessities – roti, kapda our makan ( food, clothes and house). Since reforms in the 1990s, the emphasis moved to broader, community infrastructure – bijli,sadak,pani (electricity, roads, water). Today, people’s aspirations have shifted to ‘mobile, bank account, UID’. The demand is for infrastructure that empowers the individual, and provides economic opportunity.

The UID is soft infrastructure, much like mobile telephony, internet connectivity and financial access, important to connect individuals to the broader economy, and critical for people to leverage opportunity and access.

IMPLICATIONS OF ACCESS
The impact of the falling transaction and entry costs that accompany electronification and UID has long-term implications for our growth.

Economies become more efficient as transaction and entry costs move towards zero. These falling costs are important drivers for development and equitable growth thanks to the higher impact of every rupee spent in the economy. Additionally, lowering these costs means greater inclusion as more people can afford to participate in our markets and institutions.

Such inclusion will intensify competition, motivating us towards innovation and new ideas. The ‘platform’ nature of UID – where its identity systems enable a variety of applications – can become a potent source of empowerment for the individual, as individuals, businesses and governments build applications suited to local needs and innovation.

I believe that we are now at a transformational moment, where the immense potential of these technologies is becoming clear. Aided by technology, we are moving from an economy that constrains access to goods and services, to one where access is democratized, open and inclusive.

India may be uniquely destined to leverage technology in a multitude of ways. Electronification triggered enormous changes in the US and Europe – countries that saw these technologies emerge late in their development – and intersected with their development are at a time when traditional infrastructure and business models were well entrenched.

In India, the arc of technology is intersecting with the developmental arc at an early stage. India is not yet a ‘settled in’ economy: Our market systems are a little more than a quarter of a century old, and our infrastructure and supply chains are yet to be established. We have the opportunity to leverage technology far more ambitiously and intensively, and build truly inclusive, transformational infrastructure and institutions. Electronification can play a big part in determining the kind of society we are going to be over the next decade.

By courtesy from Times of India dated Dec 26, 2009

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GOVERNANCE AND TERRORISM
BY
Col S Ramaswamy VSM


Primary function of a political system is governance, of which the main responsibility is security, importance of which has been recognized by the present home minister who has expressed the need for a separate Ministry for Internal security. He has indirectly meant that the present machinery for maintaining Internal Security is not adequate. There are many reasons why we have landed in the present dangerous situation. British well wishers of India had warned Gandhiji not to resort to Non-Violent civil disobedience, breaking of the law, organizing mass movements etc. Though the objects may be laudable, the means also are to be such that should not be misused for sectarian and selfish causes. Even during Gandhiji’s time, he himself had to stop an agitation at Chouri Choula as it turned violent. Subsequently, after independence, political parties themselves started resorting to mass agitation, observe hartal, organize bundh, burning public property etc. for political gain. In fact many State Governments themselves declared bundh, thus violating very principle of political propriety. Besides such agitations, mounted by political parties for hundreds of politic gain, our neighbours are engineering terrorist activity, which has now assumed dangerous proportions all over the country, thus making governance difficult. In the name of democracy political activism has itself taken the form of terrorism, though in a mild form in some cases and covert conspiracy in other cases.
- Prof. N. S. Ramaswamy

Since independence we have been victims of insurgency and terrorism of various hues. In almost all cases, be it in NEFA, J & K, Assam, Punjab, Mizoram, Tripura, Maoist/Naxalites affected states etc, it has always been a result of miscalculation or mishandling of events or issues by the government of the day. After each terrorist strike, we have the all too familiar political noises, announcement of compensation, talk shows in the electronic media, a few articles and editorials, political mudslinging, some knee jerk reactions by the police, and very soon everything subsides, and life goes on. The acts of terror are facilitated by poor intelligence and ineffective policing, while apprehending and punishing the perpetrator is hindered by poor investigative mechanism and inadequacies in the legal system.

Faulty governance in most cases, has lead to fermenting of insurgency, separatist movements and terrorism. At the same time it is relevant that effective governance is the cornerstone of any successful action to control and destroy these scourges. It is in this context that we need to understand the recent statement by the home minister, that a separate ministry for ‘Internal security’ is required; to effectively deal with the present situation.

One of the most important factors to counter terrorism is sound and timely intelligence. The basic function of intelligence agencies is to collect, collate, analyse, and disseminate actionable intelligence to the right outfit in the right time. In today’s scenario, there is no one agency focusing on such intelligence. The plethora of intelligence collected by various agencies may not have local significance, but is of great value when it fits into a larger meaningful mosaic at some other place. In our present system we stumble on such intelligence only by chance - if at all. A central federal agency can overcome this problem and we can upgrade our response to terrorism considerably.

The events of 26/11 at Mumbai jolted the Nation out of slumber. It ripped open all institutional responses and actions, and except for a few brave citizens, alert policemen, and the NSG; almost every institution of the state, and in particular their leaders, were exposed for their lack of clarity, calibre, knowledge, logistic management, or focus. There was utter confusion and almost all senior leaders be it politicians, administrators or police, came out as clueless and helpless.

Several experts from various fields, and experienced think tanks have since studied and analysed the events of 26/11, and brought out the shortcomings and lapses at successive levels, and identified what needs to be done. There was nothing very new that emerged; however this time around the home minister came out with several concrete steps including the ‘National investigating act’ to build up an effective institutional response to any future terrorist attack. The broad outline thrust areas being:-
a) A national investigating Agency which can investigate and prosecute all offences under the act that have interstate and international linkages.
b) Multi Agency centres with can interact with similar centres and other intelligence agencies across the country, to achieve a 24x7, two way exchange of information and data.
c) Setting up four NSG hubs for quick reaction.
d) Establishment of counter insurgency/counter terrorism schools across the country to train personnel to function in the various centres, agencies, and as field operators.
e) To upgrade logistics, i.e equipment, weapons, and communication systems etc
f) Review costal security.

There is also an urgent need to define an effective counter terrorist strategy at the national level. The evidence for most terrorist crimes lie across the border, and the normal laws of the land can never ensure conviction. The laws need amendment to deal with crimes of terrorism. At the end of the day the ‘terrorist outfits’ should be clear in their mind that now on, there will be zero tolerance to terrorist black mail, and that the legal system cannot be manipulated as hitherto.

The changes suggested/ planned are all overdue and are in the right direction, but how well they are implemented and how effective they are on the ground is yet to be seen. Any system or organisation will only be as good as the people manning it!!

Thus the next most important step is to implement the much discussed and debated ‘Police reforms’. This is imperative, as we need a professional, well equipped, and motivated police force, as a start point. In spite of excellent human material available, the image of our police is poor, mainly because it has been heavily politicized. Their image needs to be resurrected, so that the common man has confidence and respect for them. Our concept of security has to shift from the lathi wielding, over worked, poorly trained, badly treated, arrogant cop, to a socially aware, well equipped, well trained, smart policeman who would inspire confidence, and have the capability to think and act smarter than the law breaker. This is a yeomen task that has to be done. The public opinion and media have to be proactive and exert constant pressure on the political class to get this process moving.

The man on the street too, has a definite role to play in countering terrorism. We have to create in him a feeling of nationalism, awareness, religious and linguistic tolerance, and a sense of involvement. The indifferent, gullible, and casual attitude of the people is always exploited by terrorists to carry out his task, and vanish. We also need to educate the masses, regarding the psyche, background, aims, and methods of the insurgents and terrorist organization in India and abroad. The media, entertainment industry, and education institutions can play a positive role in this. Our overall concept of security has to change from visible tokenism to a security consciousness, wherein a citizen is alert, inquisitive, and aware of the environment, and learns to identify telltale symptoms of security danger. The media also has to act in a very responsible manner while reporting terrorist incidents, particularly with reference to maintaining communal harmony. The aim should be isolate the terrorist, and make his mission very difficult and risky. The concept of beat constables, who have their ears to the ground, and who can establish a trust and confidence in the local citizens, needs to be put in place.

Besides filling up voids in our organisations and institutions, what is very important is building up a national attitude and security consciousness among the citizens. To begin with the Government must evolve a counter terrorism doctrine, which must have political consensus across party lines. This doesn’t appear to be in place. We as a nation must ensure that ‘Terrorism as a Asymmetric means of warfare is not available, as a cost free option to any of our adversaries’. We need to have a covert and overt game plan to hit the perpetrator where it hurts most. There is also a strong case to carve out a ‘ministry for internal security’ out of the present Home ministry.

We thus need to have a holistic approach towards combating terrorism. It has to be tackled on several fronts. Good governance is the central issue, along with reforms in the police & judiciary, and creating a central federal agency to coordinate intelligence, and the fight against terrorism. The above changes in institutions and public attitudes are absolutely essential if we are to progress, and assume our rightful place as a economic and nuclear super power. Today there are not many options to choose from, and the situation is critical. The silver lining however is the tenacity, patience and tolerance of the Indian people- we cannot take it for granted for too long. The time to pull our act together is here and now.
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EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN
By Naina Lal Kidwai

It’s no longer patronizing to say that women will script the future India. They are already seizing the instruments to write their own. Better access to education and to microfinance, a higher profile in the workplace and mandatory representation in panchayats, have lifted the veil and unlocked the shackles.

Women husband their resources well, put their power and money to more productive use.

No economy can thrive; indeed survive, by ignoring the contributions of women. After all we are talking about half the human population here. As we have witnessed over the last few years, the number of working women has been on the rise. Women’s Income was estimated to be around US$10.5 trillion in 2008, and expected to go up to US$15.6 trillion in 2013, according to a Boston Consultancy Report. This is as compared to US$23.4 trillion in 2008, projected to rise to US$31.1 trillion in 2013 for males. There is still a gap in salaries between what is earned by a man, versus what is earned by a woman for the same job. This must, and will change.

The rising education level of women has contributed towards more women entering the work place. In many regions around the world, girls outnumber boys in higher education (the figure is 111 girls for every 100 boys in Southeast Asia, with Latin America and the Caribbean at 119 girls for 100 boys and developed countries at 129 girls for every 100 boys). This will certainly impact future employment and income patterns as well as number of women rising to senior positions in corporate hierarchies. These facts highlight the increasing empowerment of women around the world.

Again, as is the case with most in the media, I too have focused on women in the corporate sector, or women’s records and statistics in higher education. However, there is a revolution taking place in the smaller towns and villages that is going to be far more important in the bigger scheme of things, as it will impact a larger number of women in society. The number of women in the unorganized sector or in the self-employed sphere is growing rapidly.

The contributions of women in the unorganized sector; self-employed women and even home-makers may not contribute to GDP numbers, but they are no less important. This is evident in Latin America and Asia, where a number of microfinance institutions provide self-employment opportunities for scores of women across the country.

I am a great fan of the microfinance Industry, as it provides people, especially women from deprived sections of society, with opportunities and resources to earn. As much as we are proud of the achievements of girls in higher education, the role played by small institutions ensuring employability and providing livelihood skills to poor and rural women, cannot be emphasized enough.

Research suggests that women are more likely to invest their money on their children, their education, healthcare, and basic needs, thus creating a more positive social impact as opposed to the average man whose priorities may differ.

The law mandating an increased ratio of participation by women in local Government / panchayats has also gone a long way in influencing positive change. For example, it has been observed that female representatives have taken on more water projects than their male counterparts. As the number of elected women representatives rises, so will the spends on health, education, basic infrastructure, and social safety nets.

Women, will also play an increasingly larger role in countries where the working population is on the decline and society remains closed. Thus, women in many developed countries are taking on greater responsibilities.

If the growing self-confidence of women leads to the belief that they deserve their rightful place in the family, community, village, country and the world, then this is the power that will drive change for women from all sections of society.
Extract from an article on Future of Women.

Courtesy the Time of India dated 12th December 2009
N A I N A L A L K I D W A I
Is Group General Manager and Country Head of HSBC in India. She has been recognized in India and abroad with several awards, and repeatedly ranked in the Fortune global list of Top Women in Business, the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times and Time magazine.








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