From Coimbatore to Maha Kumbh – A Journey of 2061 kms for the Divine Snan

 

Tamil Nadu is a land of temples, with many of them having a very long and unique history. Even in small villages, one could see many temples. When people begin to settle in a new place, temple comes up there automatically. Tamilians believe that going to Kashi and offering prayers to Lord Shiva at least once in their life time is their duty. They usually undertake this holy pilgrimage after attaining the age of 60 years. When they take up such exercise, they visit a few other prominent temples in the region such as Ayodhya. In the recent periods, many of them undertake visits covering major holy shrines in the northern states of India. The local voluntary groups from different centres of Tamil Nadu organize such trips in association the tour operators. But going to the Kumbh is not common in the state.

After coming to know the significance of Kumbh, I wanted to participate during the previous occasion itself. But by the time I decided it was already over. So I was planning to visit this time since November 2024 and it happened to be the Maha Kumbh also. Also I desired to take the Holy Snan during Brahma Muhurtham. Since I could not find suitable friends in Coimbatore, I consulted my friends in U.P. and Delhi. It was decided not to take up the pilgrimage during the important snan days due to large crowds and during the visits of the top-most leaders as there would be huge restrictions. Hence after deliberations, we decided to take the snan in the early hours of February 10^th 2025.

What started off as a team of 3-4 close friends, the tally reached 12 by word of mouth, including ladies and children, representing the northern and southern parts of Bharat, namely Delhi, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. As the train tickets were not possible for all of us within a few days, my friends chose travel by road in a convenient vehicle. We left Delhi on February 8^th by 10.30 am hoping to reach Prayagraj the next day morning as the distance is around 670 kms.

But we could reach our place of stay, a village on the banks of the mighty river Ganges, about 3 kms near the Kumbh sthan only by 7.30 pm on February 9^th after about 21 hours of travel. During the course of our visit we learnt that it was due to the heavy traffic that prevailed for 3-4 days during that time. On the way we took breakfast in a decent road-side hotel and later lunch at a Dhaba.  There were crowds in these places, particularly during lunch as we were nearing Prayagraj.

More than a week before our departure for the holy trip, we had rented a house in the village for two days of stay through Sangh friends. The house owner received all of us and after getting refreshed we were provided with dinner. Soon we went to sleep, as we had to get up very early next day. On 10^th Feb. we got up from bed at 3.30 am and after completing our daily morning routine, we left the place for the holy Sanagmam  by 4.15 am. After walking for about 3 kms. we could reach the Triveni Sangamam area by around 4.45 am.

On the way we could witness a sea of pilgrims entering the banks and leaving them after the bath. There were people from diverse backgrounds - men, women, elderly and children. One could see people from the very ordinary sections of the society, with women carrying bags on their heads, entering the holy place with pure devotion. It was a rare sight where we saw the faith uniting millions of people on a daily basis. It is this faith that unites the largest number of people anywhere on the earth since the ancient periods.

We entered the sacred place, slowly stepped into the river and took the holy dip at around 5 am with prayers. It was a very divine experience and once in a life-time opportunity. Immediately I could realize the greatness of Sanatana Dharma as a way of life and feel proud to be a part of our great civilization with thousands of years of proud history. It is very difficult to put the experience in a few words, as several thoughts crossed the mind. The water flowing in the mighty rivers made us realize the continuous flow of time and the temporary nature of human life.

After coming out of the holy waters, the pandits over there applied sandals on our foreheads with the image of Lord Shiva. Then our friends took a few photos and we changed our clothes. Soon we walked towards the Hanuman ji temple. On the way I stood over a bridge- like structure and saw a sea of humanity over the entire region. It was a sight that I have never witnessed in my life time, sea of humanity along the banks of the river as far as I could see.

We offered prayers at the Hanuman Ji temple, thanking Him for giving us an opportunity to visit the place.  From there, we went to a hotel inside and took food. While returning we went around the Kumbh area and saw the fine arrangements made by the state administration. Kudos to the Yogi Government. As a citizen from Tamil Nadu, ruled by the notorious anti-Hindu DMK party, I could understand the difference in attitudes and approach of the state machinery, and witness what a nationalistic double-engine Government could do.

Then we went around the Akharas, got blessings from the Naga Sadhus and saw the pilgrims who were staying there on the banks of the river for ten days to two weeks, taking regular baths in the holy river and offering prayers while observing strict rules. One of them said that his family members usually take part and stay for two weeks during every Kumbh. How lucky they are.

For many of us, this was the first time that we saw Naga Sadhus directly. There was an interesting incident with one of them during our return. Three of us went to seek the blessings of one Naga Sadhu sitting by the side. The Sadhu told one of my friends, who is rich and earning good money through different businesses, to start donating a part of his income regularly to the poor and the needy. We were really surprised, as it would not be possible for anyone to find out my friend’s backgrounds from his appearance and approach.  During my turn, the Sadhu said that I would be meeting him again after six years.

Then we visited few pandals and stalls and interacted with a few people to understand what was going on. On the way we saw the pictures of Lord Muruga, the important God of Tamilians, displayed prominently in many posters. When enquired about it we were informed that Lord Muruga has a prime place in a major Akhara in North India. I felt that this should be informed to the people of Tamil Nadu, particularly the Dravidian elements. In their attempt to create false narratives in Tamil Nadu, the Dravidian groups even divide Gods. For them Lord Ram is a North Indian. As Lord Muruga is the most popular deity, no one can deny His place; hence they accept Him as Tamil God, little knowing that He is prayed in other parts of the country as Karthikeya. 

After hours of walking and interacting, we returned to our place by about 3.30 pm in the evening. The house owner brought one Mr David, a U.S. citizen who was staying in the opposite house. He said that he has been frequently touring India for the past several years particularly visiting the holy places. He informed us that he was there for the last three days and would be staying there for the next few days also, visiting Kumbh every day. We saw many from the foreign countries, both men and women, in Kumbh. It is learnt that several lakhs of them from different countries took part in Kumbh this year.

Our original plan was to start early on Feb 8^th and go to Ayodhya, pray Lord Ram and then go to Prayagraj. But we were informed a day in advance that the Ayodhya visit was not possible due to heavy crowd. And after the Kumbh, we were planning to go to Kashi and offer prayers to Lord Shiva. We were told that vehicles to the city of Varanasi were not allowed. We tried our best to see whether there was any possibility of visiting Kashi till 10^th evening through our friends and contacts. We came to know from multiple sources that it was not possible to enter the city in the vehicles.

Hence we started our return journey to Delhi by around 7. 30 p.m in the evening. The traffic was very heavy and we had to move very slowly for about three hours. We could go to a restaurant only during late night. There was heavy crowd, but we took the easily available items for dinner and left. Again there were traffic jams in a few places. On 11^th February, the next day, we stopped the vehicle in a road side dabha and took breakfast. On the way the ladies and children in our team were signing bhajans and we also listened to devotional songs. In between we had snacks, biscuits and fruits that were carefully brought by the Haryana families. Some of us took short naps, while the children were playing.

It was already 1.30 pm, when I reached my place. It was a highly memorable trip, a life-time opportunity that we were able to get, as this Maha Kumbh takes place once in 144 years. The experiences that I got during this visit and the holy snan are highly memorable and are going to be with me during my entire life.

We are all lucky to be born in this ancient land of Bharat, the land of Hindu Dharma, that is sustaining us our great civilization, and the one that continues to teach each one of us the lessons that we need. It is our duty to preserve nurture and preserve our Dharma for the emergence of Bharath as a powerful nation, for the humanity to survive and flourish.

(The Nationalist, SPMRF, New Delhi, Jan- Mar 2025 Issue)

 

 

 

Historic Transition From Women Development to Women-led Development Under PM Modi

 

On the occasion of the 77^th Independence day on Aug.15, 2023, Honourable PM Shri Narendra Modi emphasized that women- led development is essential to take the nation forward. Since 2014, the Government has been continuously taking multiple steps for the welfare of women and launching several initiatives to make them the major participants in the development process. Women-led development has become the mantra and a top priority agenda for the Government during the last nine years.

To achieve the objective, the Government has introduced many new and innovative schemes in different fields. From construction of toilets, to providing tapped water at homes, constructing houses in their names, providing gas connections, getting them into the banking system, making them fly fighter plans and facilitating them to be part of the decision- making process, we have been   witnessing different types of initiatives being implemented with a mission- mode.   

As a result, women have become the major beneficiaries of various Government welfare programmes and incentives. There are several schemes to build their capacities in different fields such as nutrition, health and education. When we take nutrition for example, POSHAN Abhiyan is improving the key nutrition parameters of women and children, while the PM Matru Vandana Yojana is enhancing the nutritional needs of pregnant women and lactating mothers.

There are special schemes for women to make them employable and get into entrepreneurship. Self-employment of women is promoted through STEP scheme. Stand Up India facilitates loans up to one crore for at least one woman in every bank branch of all scheduled banks for setting up green field projects.

As a result, we are witnessing a historic change in the lives of women in the country. A study undertaken by Ministry of Jal Sakthi in collaboration with UNICEF and others on the performance of Swachh Bharat Mission revealed how the lives of women have transformed drastically after the construction of toilets in their homes. The study titled ‘Access to Toilets and the Safety, Convenience and Self-respect of Women in Rural India’ (2020) states after six years of implementation of the scheme, 91 percent of the women reported that they were able to save up to one hour and do not have to travel up to a kilometer for defecation. Besides 88 percent of them reported that having a toilet at home has increased their pride, besides improving health and increasing safety. 

Moreover, there is a huge transformation in empowering women, which had never happened earlier. Now girls constitute 43 percent of STEM education stream of students. A record number of 28.29 crore women have become the beneficiaries through Jan Dhan Yojana for the first time in their lives. This number is more than 55 percent of the total beneficiaries. Among the beneficiaries of the MUDRA Yojana around 70 percent are women, enabling them to become entrepreneurs.

 The importance that the PM gives to women-led development could be understood from the fact that he underlined his Government’s approach even at the international level. In his video message at the G-20 Ministerial Conference on Women Empowerment, PM noted that ‘Women-led development in India is our main priority’ and mentioned that when women prosper, the World prospers. Besides, the economic empowerment of women was at the heart of India’s G-20 Agenda.

Since the ancient periods, Indian civilization has always nurtured and respected women power. That is the reason why we have had scholars and leaders of exceptional expertise in different parts of the country over several centuries. Field studies reveal that in the contemporary India, women play the critical role in driving the cultural and economic systems, apart from being the backbone of our family system.

Our PM’s initiatives to give the mothers, sisters and daughters of India the required impetus are not just make the development process more inclusive, but to make it complete, besides enabling it to move at a much faster pace. With the sustained efforts of the Government over the last nine years, the results are there before us to see. Surely a historic transformation is taking place before our us in Independent India. Let us all celebrate it.

(Editorial, The Nationalist, Sept-Oct, 2023, New Delhi)

 

 

India On The Moon – Triumph of New India Under Modi

 

More than a century ago, the well-known national poet from Tamil Nadu Subramania Bharathi wrote: “வானை அளப்போம்; கடல் மீனை அளப்போம்; சந்திர மண்டலத்து இயல் கண்டு தெளிவோம்” (We will measure the sky and harvest the seas; will find out the nature of the lunar region). Bharat, under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has fulfilled the dream of Bharathi on Aug. 23,2023, when Chandrayaan-3 landed on the Lunar south pole. Thus, we became the first nation in the World to land on the hitherto unexplored south pole, besides being the fourth nation to land on the moon.

 

After the successful landing, the PM noted: “This moment is unforgettable. This moment is unprecedented. This moment is the victory cry of a developed India. This moment is the triumph of the new India. This moment is about crossing the ocean of difficulties. This moment is about walking on the path of victory. This moment holds the capability of 1.4 billion heartbeats. This moment signifies new energy, new belief, and new consciousness in India. This moment is the call of India’s ascending destiny,” and called it the “first light of success in the dawn of Amrit Kaal”.

 

On this historic achievement, PM said: “We took a pledge on Earth, and we fulfilled it on the Moon…. Today, we have witnessed the new flight of New India in space.”  Besides, he noted: “When we see such a history being made before our eyes, life becomes blessed. Such historical events become the eternal consciousness of a nation’s life.”  

 

Thanks to the dedication and commitment of the scientists and engineers at ISRO, the success of Chandrayaan- 3 was remarkable in many ways. This mission was built and launched at an estimated cost of Rs.615 crores, far less than the budgets of films like Adipurush. Moreover, this is one of India’s most cost effective space missions, cheaper than its predecessor Chandrayaan -2.  The use of indigenous technology and components and the higher participation of women add more value to it.

 

The success has resulted in India being recognized at the global as the nation with a high potential in space science and technology. Over the past nine years, our Prime Minister has been taking several steps to encourage science, technology and innovation at all levels. In the field of space, the establishment of IN-SPACe as an autonomous body under the Department of Space in 2020 to create an eco-system of industry, academia and start-ups and to attract higher share in the global space economy was a significant step. Now it has become a vehicle for enhancing India’s performance in space.

 

Chandrayaan – 3 has so far sent us several details which have to be analyzed by the experts. Besides giving us very valuable scientific insights, there is going to be opportunities for home-grown start-ups and MSMEs, leading to creation of lakhs of jobs and paving ways for new inventions. The naming of the two historic points on the moon as Tiranga Point (foot-print of Chandrayaan-2) and ShivShakti Point (landing spot of Chandrayaan-3) connects our civilizational heritage with the New India emerging at the global level.

 

Our civilization has taught us look at the whole world as one family. Hence, the PM has pointed that India’s moon-mission is based on a human-centric approach and noted that the “success belongs to all of humanity”.

 

This success has enabled us to realize the potential of our nation in the field of space and “propel India’s journey beyond the moon’s orbit” To quote PM: “We will test the limits of our solar system, and we must work to realize the infinite possibilities of the universe for humans.”

 

The entire nation feels proud of Chandrayaan-3 and the achievements of ISRO. Surely it heralds the beginning of a New India in the world of space.  

 

(The Nationalist - Editorial, July-August, 2023 Issue, Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation, New Delhi)

 

 

 

NITI Aayog for Bharathiya Approaches to Development: Much awaited change

One of the most significant economic decisions of the present government was to replace the Planning Commission with a new institution. Accordingly NITI Aayog, which would serve as a Think Tank of the Government, was announced on Jan. 1, 2015.

During the last sixty five years after the formation of the Planning Commission in 1950, lots of economic developments have taken place. As a result, the replacement has become a necessity.

The economic discourse has been dominated by the Western ideologies for a long time. The capitalist ideology was put forth during the late eighteenth century in Europe when there was large scale discontent in the society. The industrial revolution too could not fulfill the expectations of people; it rather created more problems for the working classes. In response to this the communist ideology was placed as the alternative during the second half of the nineteenth century.

After about seven decades of experiments, communism collapsed in Soviet Russia during the late 1980s. The other bastion of the communist ideology namely China, had already abandoned it during the previous decade. As a result, the United States claimed that its market centric ideology was the most suitable one for progress. But the countries that followed the policies advanced by the US have been failing in different places. Soon the global economic crisis in 2008 proved that the US model would no longer work in its own place.  

As a result, many economists including those from the US admitted that their theories have failed to capture the realities and the ‘one size fits for all approach’ would not be suitable to all the countries. Even the multilateral agencies accept that different models might be suitable for different countries. Meanwhile, the performance of different economies during the recent years show that China and India have been growing faster than the others.

Meanwhile studies undertaken by western scholars during the last three decades point out the predominant role of India and China during the earlier centuries. Angus Maddison notes that India was dominating the global economy with a share of 32.9 per cent during 0 CE, followed by China. India and China continued to dominate the world economy for the next eighteen centuries, with India remaining at the top, most of the time. India lost her position and ultimately became a poor country due to the colonial policies. 

  

India and China could not have become the two most prosperous nations without their own native economic models.   Besides, they remained the most sustainable economies for the longest period in the history. Such a performance would not have been possible without well-functioning systems in place.

Even before Independence, Gandhiji wanted to have wider discussions on the right kind of approach in free India, but the Congress leadership did not listen to him. After independence, the policy makers opted for the socialistic ideas to guide them in decision making. It was during that time that the Planning Commission was established based on the Soviet experience.

After more than three decades of socialistic experiments, the Government went in for a change in approach during the early 1990s. It chose to follow the western market ideology, again without much discussion. The consequences have been severe with the domestic markets being opened up without the required preparations and the basic sectors facing serious difficulties.

It is unfortunate that India, with a very long history of superior economic performance, has been guided by one or the other of western ideologies during all these years. Hence we have not been able to realize our full potential, based on our strengths. But in spite of confusions and contradictions at the policy making levels, the nation continues to move forward due to the strong fundamentals and the innate abilities of our people. 

John Kenneth Galbraith, an economist, was the US Ambassador to India during the early 1960s. When he visited India during 2001, he noted: “I wanted to emphasize the point, which would be widely accepted, that the success of India did not depend on the government. … We have seen many years of Indian progress, and that is attributable to the energy and genius of the Indian people and Indian culture.”

Field level studies in different parts of the country indicate that India has her own unique models functioning at different levels. It is these models that are pushing the economy to continuously move forward, despite the lack of clarity at the top levels. Hence there is little use of adopting the models of other countries.

In this connection, the Cabinet resolution passed to establish NITI Aayog notes that “   …..  the institution must adhere to the tenet that while incorporating positive influences from world, no single model can be transplanted from outside into India.”  Besides, the resolution states:  “We need to find our own strategy for growth. The new institution has to zero in on what will work in and for India.”  

The resolution is very clear when it mentions: “It will be a Bharatiya approach to development.”  This is a historic statement for all of us, as the functioning India has been longing for nation-centric approaches. It has taken six and half decades for the Government to state boldly that we would follow our own native approaches. Only a truly nationalistic and self-confident Government can do this.

Family base, higher savings, social capital, high level of entrepreneurship, non-corporate sector, native pool of local resources and the cultural backgrounds of our age-old civilization remain the fundamental strengths of our economy. The Government has for the first time identified the core strengths of our society and initiated steps to nurture and utilize them for economic development.

Social capital is recognized as a critical asset for economic progress and is given the required importance in many countries. Studies show that we have high social capital due to our cultural ethos and that is helping our economy as a major factor. The Government acknowledges its significance and notes that it “needs to be leveraged through appropriate policy initiatives.”

The non-corporate sector remains the backbone of our economy, contributing the highest share to the GDP and providing 92 per cent of employment. There are more than 50 million small businesses, playing a very important role in the economy. Most of them are promoted by the ordinary sections of the society through their own initiatives, in distant parts of the country.

They have a huge potential and the ability to transform the lives of large sections of people, yet they are unable to perform to the full extent as they remain neglected. The cabinet resolution notes that “policy making must focus on providing necessary support to this sector in terms of skill and knowledge upgrades and access to financial capital and relevant technology.”

The modern discourse has contempt for villages and neglects them in the policy making process. The resolution notes that “villages continue to be the bedrock of our ethos, culture and sustenance”. Hence they “need to be integrated in the development process so that we draw from their vitality and energy.”  So the think tank would “develop mechanisms to formulate credible plans to the village levels and aggregate these progressively at higher levels of government.” 

The resolution notes that “the pool of entrepreneurial, scientific and intellectual human capital is a source of strength waiting to be unleashed to help attain unprecedented heights of success”. Besides it says that the think tank has to ensure that India’s unique middle class “remains engaged and its potential fully realized”. Moreover it is stated that steps would be taken “to broaden the participation” of the non-resident Indians living abroad.

In the centralized policy making system, there was only one way of flow of policy from the centre to the states. It is “sought to be replaced by a genuine and continuing partnership of states”.  It is made clear that only strong states could make a strong India. Hence the new institution is “designed to evolve a shared vision of national development priorities, and foster cooperative federalism.”  

 NITI Aayog would enable the country to face challenges by leveraging India’s demographic dividend and realizing the potential of the youth. Besides, it would “provide chance to every Indian to live a life of dignity and self-respect”.

India is a unique country with diverse backgrounds and hence a uniform model will not be suitable to all the states. The new body is expected to “embrace the specific demands of states, regions and localities”. A resource centre is planned as a repository of research on good governance and best practices for dissemination to all those who require it. So far India did   not have much of a role to play in the deliberations at the global level. The new body is expected to change it.

NITI Aayog aims to make India well developed economy utilizing all our potential with the involvement of different sections of the society through Bharatiya approaches. We hope that India would regain her glory and emerge as an economic powerhouse at the global level. 

( The Nationalist, Issue:2, Feb.16, 2015, New Delhi)