The significance of India's independence

In his "tryst with destiny" speech at midnight on August 14/15, 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru used the phrase "not wholly or in full measure" to describe India's attainment of freedom. "Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny," said the first prime minister of India, "and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge - not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, while the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom." Evidently, to Mahatma Gandhi's first lieutenant and one of the main architects of the freedom movement, the divided India, which the departing British had bequeathed to their successors, was a betrayal of the dream of the nationalists. Even a year earlier, virtually none of them and a vast majority in what is today three nations - India, Pakistan and Bangladesh - could have imagined that the Indian subcontinent will not remain united. Nor could the British if only because they felt that the main achievement of their imperial mission was to unite India as never before since the time of the Mauryan empire in the pre-Christian era. Although their critics believed that the partition of India was the inevitable consequence of the traditional "divide and rule" policy of the British, this sinister strategy was not reflected in the speech of Prime Minister Clement Atlee during the House of Commons debate on the Indian Independence Bill. "For myself", he said, "I earnestly hope that this severance may not endure and that the two new Dominions ... may, in course of time, come together again to form one great member state of the British Commonwealth of Nations." Harold Macmillan, the leader of the opposition, echoed this opinion: "We must hope ... that in this partition are also the seeds of some form of future unity." Nehru too was "convinced that our present decision (on partition) is the right one ... it may be that in this way we shall reach that united India sooner than otherwise and then she will have a stronger and more secure foundation". And the founder of Pakistan, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, had articulated his hope a few years earlier in these words: "Let us, therefore, live as good neighbours; let the Hindus guard the south and western India and let the Muslims guard the north-west and eastern frontiers. We will then stand together and say to the world: Hands off India, India for the Indians." As these unrequited hopes and fervent expectations show, the independence of India was not quite the joyous event because of the end of colonial rule as the later generations have come to believe, but one marked by uncertainty and sadness. The reason is that partition negated the very concept of India, as described in the Vishnu Purana of the Vedic Age: "Uttaram yat samudrasya/Himadreschaiva daskshinam,/Varsham tad Bharatam nama/Bharati yatra santatih." (The country that lies north of the ocean and south of the snowy mountains is called Bharata; for there dwell the descendants of Bharata.) Rajendra Prasad, who was to be India's first president, reflected this idea of India when he said: "India, which was made by god and nature to be one, which culture and tradition and history of millenniums have made one, is divided today ... Let us hope and pray that the day will come when even those who have insisted upon and brought about this division will realise India's essential oneness and we shall be united once again." Little wonder, therefore, that Mahatma Gandhi stayed away from the official celebrations in New Delhi and spent the day fasting and praying in a Calcutta (now Kolkata) suburb that was still recovering from Hindu-Muslim riots, which had devastated the city. And even after winning the biggest prize of his political career, Jinnah described the state he had created as "moth-eaten". But even if the leaders of the two new countries felt that the real fruits of victory they wanted from the long struggle for freedom had eluded them, the significance of the day lay in the fact that it heralded the beginning of the end of centuries of colonial exploitation in Asia and Africa. After India and Pakistan, both Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and Burma (now Myanmar) won their independence in 1948, followed by Indonesia in 1949 and Malaysia in 1957. In Africa too, the "winds of change", as mentioned by then British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in 1960, had started blowing. While South Africa had to wait till the 1990s for the end of apartheid, Ghana became independent in 1957, Nigeria in 1960, Uganda in 1962, Kenya in 1963 and Tanganyika nd Zanzibar (now Tanzania) in 1964. In the West Indies, Jamaica as well as Trinidad and Tobago became independent in 1962. Undeniably, it is the Indian independence movement led by Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru that had inspired people in all the other colonies to fight for and secure their freedom from their European overlords. As a British historian noted, "more than any other single individual, Gandhi brought about the fall of the British Empire". In South Africa, the African National Congress took its name from the Indian National Congress though not the latter's policy of non-violence because, as Nelson Mandela said, "In India, Gandhi had been dealing with a foreign power that ultimately was more realistic and farsighted. That was not the case with the Afrikaners in South Africa." Martin Luther King, however, adopted the Gandhian method to oppose racial prejudice in the US. Inspired by Gandhi's words - "through our pain we will make them see their injustice" - Martin Luther King launched his non-violent civil rights movement, saying that from his background "I gained my Christian ideals: from Gandhi I learned my operational technique". India can be proud, therefore, that it acted as an agent of monumental historical change in the last century. Now, its multicultural democracy can act as a similar source of inspiration to all as a model of governance. Source: Hindustan Times Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst)

True facts about India and to be proud of

Dear All All the below listed statements are all true facts ! Feel proud to be an indian ! Q. Who is the GM of Hewlett Packard (hp) ? A. Rajiv Gupta Q. Who is the creator of Pentium chip (needs no introduction as 90% of the today's computers run on it)? A. Vinod Dahm Q. Who is the third richest man on the world? A. According to the latest report on Fortune Magazine, it is Azim Premji, who is the CEO of Wipro Industries. The Sultan of Brunei is at 6 th position now. Q. Who is the founder and creator of Hotmail (Hotmail is world's No.1 web based email program)? A. Sabeer Bhatia Q. Who is the president of AT & T-Bell Labs (AT & T-Bell Labs is the creator of program languages such as C, C++, Unix to name a few)? A. Arun Netravalli Q. Who is the new MTD (Microsoft Testing Director) of Windows 2000, responsible to iron out all initial problems? A. Sanjay Tejwrika Q. Who are the Chief Executives of CitiBank, Mckensey & Stanchart? A. Victor Menezes, Rajat Gupta, and Rana Talwar. Q. We Indians are the wealthiest among all ethnic groups in America, even faring better than the whites and the natives. There are 3.22 millions of Indians in USA (1.5% of population). YET, 38% of doctors in USA are Indians. * 12% scientists in USA are Indians. * 36% of NASA scientists are Indians. * 34% of Microsoft employees are Indians. * 28% of IBM employees are Indians. * 17% of INTEL scientists are Indians. * 13% of XEROX employees are! Indians. Some of the following facts may be known to you. These facts were recently published in a German magazine, which deals with WORLD HISTORY FACTS ABOUT INDIA. 1. India never invaded any country in her last 1000 years of history. 2. India invented the Number system. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta. 3. The world's first University was established in Takshila in 700BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4 th century BC was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education. 4. According to the Forbes magazine, Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computer software. 5. Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans. 6. Although western media portray modern images of India as poverty striken and underdeveloped through political corruption, India was once the richest empire on earth. 7. The art of navigation was born in the river Sindh 5000 years ago. The very word "Navigation" is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. 8. The value of pi was first calculated by Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is now k! nown as the Pythagorean Theorem. British scholars have last year (1999) officially published that Budhayan's works dates to the 6 th Century which is long before the European mathematicians. 9. Algebra, trigonometry and calculus came from India . Quadratic equations were by Sridharacharya in the 11 th Century; the largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Indians used numbers as big as 10 53. 10. According to the Gemmological Institute of America, up until 1896, India was the only source of diamonds to the world. 11. USA based IEEE has proved what has been a century-old suspicion amongst academics that the pioneer of wireless communication was Professor Jagdeesh Bose and not Marconi. 12. The earliest reservoir and dam for irrigation was built in Saurashtra. 13.Chess was invented in India . 14. Sushruta is the father of surgery. 2600 years ago he and health scientists of his time conducted surgeries like cesareans, cataract, fractures and urinary stones. Usage of anaesthesia was well known in ancient India . 15. When many cultures in the world were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians established Harappan culture in Sindhu Valley ( Indus Valley Civilisation). 16. The place value system, the decimal system was developed in India in 100 BC Quotes about India . We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made. ALBERT ELINSTEIN. India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend and the great grand mother of tradition. Mark Twain If there is one place on the face of earth where all dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India . French scholar Romain Rolland. India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border. Hu Shih (former Chinese ambassador to USA ) ALL OF THE ABOVE IS JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG, THE LIST COULD BE ENDLESS. BUT, if we don't see even a glimpse of that great India in the India that we see today, it clearly means that we are not working up to our potential; and that if we do, we could once again be an evershining and inspiring country setting a bright path for rest of the world to follow. I hope you enjoyed it and work towards the welfare of INDIA .. Say proudly, I AM AN INDIAN. Please forward this email to all known INDIANS................ Kind Regards

Express You B'day Wishes

Language How to say "Happy Birthday" Afrikaans Veels geluk met jou verjaarsdag! Albanian Urime ditelindjen! Alsatian Gueter geburtsdaa! Amharic Melkam lidet! Arabic Eid milaad saeed! or Kul sana wa inta/i tayeb/a! (masculine/feminine) Armenian Taredartzet shnorhavor! or Tsenund shnorhavor! Assyrian Eida D'moladukh Hawee Brikha! Austrian-Viennese Ois guade winsch i dia zum Gbuadsdog! Aymara (Bolivia) Suma Urupnaya Cchuru Uromankja! Azerbaijani Ad gununuz mubarek! -- for people older than youAd gunun mubarek! -- for people younger than you Basque Zorionak! Belauan-Micronesian Ungil el cherellem! Bengali (Bangladesh/India) Shuvo Jonmodin! Bicol (Philippines) Maogmang Pagkamundag! Bislama (Vanuatu) Hapi betde! or Yumi selebretem de blong bon blong yu! Brazil Parabéns a você!Parabéns a você, nesta data querida muitas felicidades e muitos anos de vida. Breton Deiz-ha-bloaz laouen deoc'h! Bulgarian Chestit Rojden Den! Cambodian Som owie nek mein aryouk yrinyu! Catalan Per molts anys! or Bon aniversari! or Moltes Felicitats! Chamorro Biba Kumplianos! Chinese-Cantonese Sun Yat Fai Lok! Chinese Fuzhou San Ni Kuai Lo! Chiness-Hakka Sang Ngit Fai Lok! Chinese-Mandarin qu ni sheng er kuai le Chinese-Shanghaiese San ruit kua lok! Chinese-Tiociu Se Jit khuai lak! Chronia Polla NA ZHSHS Croatian Sretan Rodendan! Czech Vsechno nejlepsi k Tvym narozeninam!! Danish Tillykke med fodselsdagen! Dutch-Antwerps Ne gelukkege verjoardach! Dutch-Bilzers Ne geleukkege verjoardoag! Dutch-Drents Fellisiteert! Dutch-Flemish Gelukkige verjaardag! or Prettige verjaardag! Dutch-Frisian Fan herte lokwinske! Dutch-Limburgs Proficiat! or Perfisia! Dutch-Spouwers Ne geleukkege verjeurdoag! Dutch-Twents Gefeliciteard met oen'n verjoardag! Dutch Hartelijk gefeliciteerd! or Van harte gefeliciteerd met je verjaardag! English Happy Birthday! Esperanto Felichan Naskightagon! Estonian Palju onne sunnipaevaks! Euskera Zorionak zure urtebetetze egunean! Faroes ( Faroe island ) Tillukku vid fodingardegnum! Farsi Tavalodet Mobarak! Finnish Hyvaa syntymapaivaa! French (Canada) Bonne Fete! French Joyeux Anniversaire! Frisian Lokkiche jierdei! Gaelic (Irish) Lá breithe mhaith agat! Gaelic (Scottish) Co` latha breith sona dhuibh! Galician (Spain) Ledicia no teu cumpreanos! Georgian Gilotcav dabadebis dges! German-Badisch Allis Guedi zu dim Fescht! German-Bavarian Ois Guade zu Deim Geburdstog! German-Berlinisch Allet Jute ooch zum Jeburtstach! or Ick wuensch da allet Jute zum Jeburtstach! German-Bernese Es Muentschi zum Geburri! German-Camelottisch Ewllews Gewtew zewm Gewbewrtstewg. Mew! German-Frankonian Allmecht! Iich wuensch Dir aan guuadn Gebuardsdooch! German-Lichtenstein Haerzliche Glueckwuensche zum Geburtstag! German-Moselfraenkisch Haezzlische Glickwunsch zem Gebordsdach! German-Plattdeutsch Ick wuensch Di allns Gode ton Geburtsdach! German-Rhoihessisch Ich gratelier Dir aach zum Geburtstag! German-Ruhr Allet Gute zum Gebuatstach! German-Saarlaendisch Alles Gudde for dei Gebordsdaach! German-Saechsisch Herzlischen Gliggwunsch zum Geburdsdaach! German-Schwaebisch Aelles Guade zom Gebordzdag! German-Wienerisch Ois Guade zum Geburdsdog! German Alles Gute zum Geburtstag! Greek Eytyxismena Genethlia! or Chronia Pola! Greenlandic Inuuinni pilluarit! Gronings (Netherlands) Fielsteerd mit joen verjoardag! Gujarati (India) Janma Divas Mubarak! Gujrati (Pakistan) Saal Mubarak! Guarani (Paraguay Indian)] Vy-Apave Nde Arambotyre! Hawaiian Hau`oli la hanau! Hebrew Yom Huledet Same'ach! Hiligaynon (Philippines) Masadya gid nga adlaw sa imo pagkatawo! Hindi (India) Janam Din ki badhai! or Janam Din ki shubkamnaayein! Hungarian Boldog szuletesnapot! or Isten eltessen! Icelandic Til hamingju med afmaelisdaginn! Indonesian Selamat Ulang Tahun! Irish-gaelic La-breithe mhaith agat! or Co` latha breith sona dhut! Or Breithla Shona Dhuit! Italian Buon Compleanno! Italian (Piedmont) Bun Cumpleani! Italian (Romagna) At faz tent avguri ad bon cumplean! Japanese Otanjou-bi Omedetou Gozaimasu! Javaans-Indonesia Slamet Ulang Taunmoe! Jerriais Bouon Anniversaithe! Kannada (India) Huttida Habba Subashayagalu! Kapangpangan (Philippines) Mayap a Kebaitan Kashmiri (India) Voharvod Mubarak Chuy! Kazakh (Kazakstan) Tughan kuninmen! Klingon Quchjaj qoSlIj! Korean Saeng il chuk ha ham ni da! Kurdish Rojbun a te piroz be! Kyrgyz Tulgan kunum menen! Latin Fortuna dies natalis! Latvian Daudz laimes dzimsanas diena! Lithuanian Sveikinu su gimtadieniu! or Geriausi linkejimaigimtadienio progal Luganda Nkwagaliza amazalibwa go amalungi! Luxembourgeois Vill Gleck fir daei Geburtsdaag! Macedonian Sreken roden den! Malayalam (India) Pirannal Aasamsakal! or Janmadinasamsakal! Malaysian Selamat Hari Jadi! Maltese Nifrahlek ghal gheluq sninek! Maori Kia huritau ki a koe! Marathi (India) Wadhdiwasachya Shubhechha! Mauritian Kreol mo swet u en bonlaniverser! Mbula (Umboi Island, Papua New Guinea) Leleng ambai pa mbeng ku taipet i! Mongolian Torson odriin mend hurgee! Navajo bil hoozho bi'dizhchi-neeji' 'aneilkaah! Niederdeutsch (North Germany) Ick gratuleer di scheun! Nepali Janma dhin ko Subha kamana! Norwegian Gratulerer med dagen! Oriya (India) Janmadina Abhinandan! Papiamento (lower Dutch Antilles) Masha Pabien I hopi aña mas! Pashto (Afganistan) Padayish rawaz day unbaraksha! Persian Tavalodet Mobarak! Pinoy (Philippines) Maligayang kaarawan sa iyo! Polish Wszystkiego Najlepszego! or Wszystkiego najlepszego zokazji urodzin! wszystkiego najlepszego z okazji urodzin Portuguese (Brazil) Parabens pelo seu aniversario! or Parabenspara voce! or Parabens e muitas felicidades! Portuguese Feliz Aniversario! or Parabens! Punjabi (India) Janam din diyan wadhayian! Rajasthani (India) Janam ghaanth ri badhai, khoob jeeyo! Romanian La Multi Ani! Rosarino Basico (Argentina) Feneligiz Cunumplegeanagonos! Russian S dniom razhdjenia! or Pazdravliayu s dniom razhdjenia! Sami/Lappish Lihkos Riegadanbeaivvis! Samoan Manuia lou aso fanau! Sanskrit (India) Ravihi janmadinam aacharati! Sardinian (Italy) Achent'annos! Achent'annos! Schwyzerduetsch (Swiss German) Vill Glück zum Geburri! Serbian Srecan Rodjendan! Slovak Vsetko najlepsie k narodeninam! Slovene Vse najboljse za rojstni dan! Sotho Masego motsatsing la psalo! Spanish Feliz Cumpleaños! Sri Lankan Suba Upan dinayak vewa! Sundanese Wilujeng Tepang Taun! Surinamese Mi fresteri ju! Swahili Hongera! or Heri ya Siku kuu! Swedish Grattis på födelsedagen Syriac Tahnyotho or brigo! Tagalog (Philippines) Maligayang Bati Sa Iyong Kaarawan! Taiwanese San leaz quiet lo! Tamil (India) Piranda naal vaazhthukkal! Telugu (India) Janmadina subha kankshalu! Telugu Puttina Roju Shubakanksalu! Thai Suk San Wan Keut! Tibetan Droonkher Tashi Delek! Tulu(Karnataka - India) Putudina dina saukhya! Turkish Dogum gunun kutlu olsun! Ukrainian Mnohiya lita! or Z dnem narodjennia! Urdu (India) Janam Din Mubarak Urdu (Pakistan) Saalgirah Mubarak! Vietnamese Chuc Mung Sinh Nhat! Visayan (Philippines) Malipayong adlaw nga natawhan! Welsh Penblwydd Hapus i Chi! Xhosa (South Afican) Imini emandi kuwe! Yiddish A Freilekhn Gebortstog! Yoruba (Nigeria) Eku Ojobi! Zulu (South Afican) Ilanga elimndandi kuwe!

Supporters of casteism

a r t i c l e s o n h i n d u i s m Caste and Bhagawat Gita - Contributed to this site By Ambassador O P Gupta Supporters of casteism oftenly quote two slokas viz. (IV.13) and (XVIII.41) of Shrimad Bhagwat Gita to support four castes by birth. Let us examine. In sloka (IV.13) Lord Krishna says: "Chaturvarnyma mayaa sristam gunkarma vibhagsah" i.e. four orders of society created by Me according to their Guna (qualities/behaviour) and Karma (profession/work/efforts). Lord Krishna does not say guna and karma of previous life. In sloka (XVIII.41) Lord Krishna says "Brahmana Kshatriya visham sudranam cha paramtapa, karmani pravibhaktani svabhavaprabhavaigunaih." It means people have been grouped into four classes according to their present life karma (profession/work) and svabhava (behaviour). `The division of labour into four categories - Brahman, Ksatriya, Vaishya and Sudra - is also based on the Gunas inherent in peoples’ nature`. Had this division been based on birth, Lord Krishna would have naturally used phrase 'Janmani pravibhaktani' in the very shloka (XVIII.41). In sloka (XVIII.42), Lord Krishna prescribes duties (karma) which one must do in order to qualify as a Brahman i.e. among other duties (karma), he must have studied Vedas and must teach Vedas to others. Thus, if a person has neither studied Veda, nor teaches Veda to others, he is not a Brahman. Brahman categorisation is an acquirement through efforts like present day degrees of MA, MBBS etc. A teacher’s son cannot be called a teacher by birth, a General’s son is not a general by birth, son of an engineer is not an engineer by birth, son of an IFS officer cannot be called an IFS officer by birth. Can he? Readers may note here Lord Krishna has clearly commanded that Hinduism is a missionary religion as sloka (XVIII.42) casts a duty on Brahmans to teach & propagate Vedas to others. Baba Saheb Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar is the first writer who struck me asserting that Hindusim is a missionary religion (Dr. Ambedkar: Life and Mission, Dhananjay Keer, page 270). In slokas (XVIII.68) and (XVIII.69) Lord Krishna has again cast missionary duties on his devotees to preach His gospel all over the globe. RV (X.191) and AV (III.30) also impose missionary duties on Hindu priests to bring all under harmony i.e.under one flag. Under Islamic law, anyone who attempts to convert a Muslim into a Kafir has to be killed. Feroz Shah Tughlak (1351-88) ordered to burn alive those Brahmans who tried to convert Muslims into Hinduism. In view of this Islamic capital sentence, Hindu priests perhaps permanently gave up missionary zeal. It was restarted by Arya Samaj but during the British rule as 'suddhi.' Following are the two missionary shlokas of Gita: (Gita: XVIII.68) He who, offering the highest love to Me, preaches the most profound gospel of the Gita among My devotees, shall come to Me alone; there is no doubt about it. Gita: XVIII.69: (Among men there is none who does Me a more loving service than he; nor shall anyone be dearer to Me on the entire globe than he.) In sloka (X.20) Lord Krishna says 'ahamatama gudakesa sarvabhutaa sayasthitah' i.e. `Arjuna! I am the universal self seated in the hearts of all beings.` Here, Lord neither excludes sudra from `all beings` nor excludes Himself from being in hearts of sudra. In sloka (XVIII.61) Lord says `eshwarah sarvabhutaanaam hraddesearjuna tisthati` i.e. Arjuna! God abides in the heart of all living beings. Again, sudras are not excluded. In sloka (XIV.4) Lord Krishna says 'of all embodied beings Arjuna, prakrti or nature is the conceiving Mother, while I am the seed giving Father.' Thus, Lord Krishna says that he is as much Father of sudras as he is Father of any other Hindu. In sloka (XVI.18) Lord Krishna says: "Given over to egotism, brute force, arrogance, etc. they hate Me dwelling in their own bodies as well as those of others." Thus, Lord Krishna instructs that a Hindu must not hate others Hindus as he is there in bodies of all Hindus so Gita prohibits untouchability. In sloka (XVI.19) Lord says "These haters, sinful, cruel and vilest among men, I cast (them) again and again into demonical yonies (wombs)." In sloka (XVI.20) Lord again curses Manu supporters that such Hindus never attain Me (i.e. moksha): "Failing to reach Me, Arjuna, these stupid souls are born life after life in demoniac wombs (asura yoni) and then verily sink down to a still lower plane." Gita: XVIII.71: In sloka (XVIII.71), Lord Krishna opens His gates for all Hindus including sudras when he says "The man who hears holy Gita with reverence, he too shall reach happy world (shreshtha ewam shubh lok) of the virtuous (punyatmas). So how can Manusmriti or Gautam sutra or anything ban Sudras from listening to Vedas and Gita? In sloka (V.18) Lord says "The wise (who desire to achieve moksha) look with the same eye (samadarshi) on a Brahmana endowed with learning and culture, a cow and pariah (chandal) too." Therefore, those who look down upon sudra are neither wise nor can they achieve moksha. Shrimad Valmiki Ramayan also says whosoever including sudra reads it will achieve greatness and get rid of all sins. Valmiki Ramayana: 1.1.98-100) Thus, Vedas, Ramayana and Gita confer authority on sudras to possess and read these. In Ramayan, Lord Rama has Himself set following two lessons for all Rambhaktas Hindus which we witness every year in Ramlilas but never follow in our practical lives so we were defeated by foreigners. (For a comparision, see how steadfastly muslims adhere to and follow examples set by Prophet in Sunnah). Ravana was a grandson of risi Pulatsya. He was an expert on Vedas too. So, he was a Brahimin by birth under Manu definition as well as a Brahimin (educated) by qualification (veda-gyata) but he and most of his family members were killed by Lord Rama for their wrong doings. So, the first lesson of Ramayana is that everyone (irrespective of his caste) is equal before law. Lord Rama visited Shabri, called her a mother (mata); ate food from her hands and washed feet of Nisadraj. Lord Rama lived for years among vanvasi (tribals). So, the second lesson of Ramayana is that a true Rambhakta should never discriminate against SC/ST/Dalit Hindus, should never hesitate to visit and dine with them. See, Mahatma Gandhi always followed mansa, vacha and karmana both these two lessons of Ramayana and he became a Yug Purus. Many SC/ST/Dalit Hindus are not even aware of rich contributions made by their ancestors to the three supreme Hindu scriptures. To cite just a few: (i) Risi Kavas Ilusu was revealed Suktas (X.30) (X.31) (X.32) and (X.33) of Rigveda and sloka 453 of Samveda. Risi Ilusu Aksova mojvan was revealed Sukta (X.34) of Rigveda. Both, under current Manusmriti definition were sudra. (ii) In Tandya Brahman (14.66) risi Vatsa has been called a sudra-putra. Revelations to risi Vatsa are there in Rigveda, (VIII.6) (VIII.11), Samveda (8,20,137,143, etc) and Yaj (IV.16-36), (VII.40), (XXVI.15). (iii) Risi Kaksivat was son of risi Dirghatamas by a sudra maid servant (Brihaddevata IV.24.25). Risi Kaksivat was revealed many richas in RV (I.119 to 125). (iv) Maharisi Vedvyas compiled all richas into four Vedas in the format currently available. He also composed Mahabharat, Shrimad Bhagwat Gita and all the Puranas. He was born to Satyawati daughter of a fisherman by risi Parasar. He was of dark complexion (Krishna Dwaipayan). Thus, as per Manusmriti definition, he was a dalit Hindu/Varna-sankar by birth. As we know, Kauravas and Pandavas were descendants of this Satyawati through Vedvyasa. But, Kauravas and Pandavas are accepted as Kshatriyas not on basis of birth but on the basis of their occupations (as rulers/kings). (v) Maharishi Mahidasa Aitereya, a Maharastrian Sudra (perhaps a Mahar), composed Aitereya Brahman and chapters I, II & III of Aitereya Aryanaka. His mother was a maid named Itara. (vi) Maharisi Valmiki who composed Valmiki Ramayan was not a Brahimin by birth. Thus, no one has right to deny free access to SC/ST/Dalit Hindus to what their ancestors have contributed, nor, should one give up or run-away from his ancestral heritage on teasings by others. One does not give up his ancestral properties on false presentations/forged documents. The writer is currently Ambassador of India to Finland. The article are personal views of the author; and, not that of the Govt. of India. http://sify.com/news/othernews/fullstory.php?id=13167991

FACTS - Hypocrisy

A train blast in Mumbai kills approximately 200 Indians and injures hundreds others. The reaction from the apparent Superpower (The great USA) is that India must show restraint in its actions and urges for a political solution to the Kashmir problem. On the other hand of the globe in the same evening 6 Israeli soldiers are killed and 2 captured by Islamic terrorists. Israel prepares for a full front attack on Lebanese settlements and the same superpower says that the terrorists should be dealt with a firm and iron hand. Is it true that just because the population of India is more than 1 billion, the value of a human life in India is that much less as compared to an American, British, Israeli or any other European life? North Korea test fires a missile and the US moves a Battle Carrier group to the Pacific Ocean !!!!!!!!!!!. The right to self defend should lie with every individual and country. It is high time that all of us as patriotic Indians do not take this thing lying down and ensure that each of us in their individual capacity spread this message of injustice across the world. For the death of 45 British citizens in a similar bomb blast last year, it was a world wide tragedy on CNN, while for yesterdays event the quote on CNN was "in their fight over disputed Kashmir" the two countries ( Pakistan & India ) should look for a political solution. May we all ask where was the political solution when the IRA wanted a separate homeland, and closer to the date where is the political solution in Iraq. Kashmir was, Kashmir is and Kashmir will continue to be an integral part of our motherland. Let us all Indians pledge not to be governed by vested interests in US Foreign Policy and take our own destiny in our hands. *Please pass this message to as many Indians as you can across the globe and let the message of injustice spread. Not passing the message will not bring any bad luck or misfortune to any individual, just will speak volumes about your commitment towards the motherland* Jai Hind.

Body language tips for your date

Ever been on a date where you get the feeling you're invisible? It's the feeling you get watching your partner check out every man or woman walking by. It could have been subtle, but you may have noticed anyway. If the lack of interest is obvious, leave. Why invest time and effort in something that isn't going to pan out? interest is obvious, leave. Our everyday interactions are filled with non-verbal signs -- also known as body language. And, in the world of dating, understanding this communication can be a huge asset. Alan D'Souza, a 22-year old psychology major from Pune, relies heavily on these 'vibes'. "If she leans in while having a conversation, you know you're doing something right," he says. "I tend to look at my date and what she does with her hands. This is because the part of the brain that controls the motor skills of your hands is right next to the portion that controls your speech." To help those who do not have Alan's insights, here's what you should watch out for. Reading the senses They say your eyes are windows to your soul. Sounds like a cliché, but it may be true, at least on a date. You can look into your date's eyes and read if they show interest in you, or if they betray a sign that your date is praying for a natural calamity to get out of the situation. Gaurish Korgaonkar, a 25-year old marketing executive based in Mumbai, relies on eye contact. "Of course, someone who is shy will need a little prodding and take time to relax. Once relaxed, however, constant eye contact is vital." Restless eyes are not promising -- the kind that constantly scan surroundings and fail to settle on you. On the other hand, a touch on the arm is a big leap forward -- a sign that your date is comfortable with you. Alan believes that any kind of touch communicates interest. She could be running her hands through her hair, for instance, in a way that says she wants to look appealing and make a good impression. Jaya Bodke, a 28-year old who works at a bank in Mumbai, finds this behaviour common in men as well as women. Men like to draw attention by adjusting their clothing, thus drawing attention to their bodies. A smile can say a lot Next to eye contact, a smile is the most important non-verbal sign we send out or receive on a date. It is our reaction to any pleasurable stimuli and is a no-brainer. A blank face or forced smile in response to your jokes is discouraging. It can make you feel like a performer whose act has fallen flat and is now afraid to step under the spotlight. Silence isn't always golden Pregnant pauses could have two meanings. They are good if combined with a lot of eye contact and smiles. They are bad if your date is constantly fidgeting or keen on finishing dinner and making a run for it. If your attempts at conversation are met with monosyllables, you could be headed for disaster. Jaya believes interest can be judged by participation. A lazy response could mean your personalities don't match. A lively conversation usually involves a lot of emphasising through gestures and facial expressions. In a tearing hurry? Compared to the other signs, this is more subtle. According to Shubham Saraf, 26, who works in Mumbai's hospitality industry, a date's reluctance to leave is one of the most positive signs. Even taking your time to order means you want to prolong your time together. Making impromptu plans to extend your time is also encouraging. Observe and learn While these are some of the signs commonly sent out and interpreted, there are many others that come into play, depending on the situation and persons involved. Moreover, while on a first date, it is unlikely that the two of you will hit it off instantly. You need to give it some time and not let a sign or two discourage you. Alan recollects a date where things were headed downhill. "It was clear we had nothing in common; she kept staring at everything but me," he says. "That is until we began talking about our friends. We soon realised that, although we had no common hobbies, we had similar personalities. As the evening progressed, she started looking me in the eye, smiling, leaning in and using her hands to gesture." A little effort and things certainly clicked for them -- she called Alan the next day! While all these signs are insightful and offer an excellent advantage, exercise caution when drawing your conclusions. Arms crossed over one's chest could be an attempt to warm oneself, rather than a gesture of defensiveness or discomfort. All theories on non-verbal communication clearly advise against using just one sign to judge. Remember to take into account the external environment and other influential factors. However, don't forget to relax and enjoy your time together. The rest will take care of itself.

A chain is no stronger than its weakest link and life after all a chain.

A chain is no stronger than its weakest link and life after all a chain.

PPF vs NSC: What's the difference?

When we carried an earlier piece on PF vs PPF: What's the difference?, we were flooded with mails telling us to do a piece on PPF vs NSC. This is what we attempt to do here. Explain the difference between the Public Provident Fund and the National Savings Certificate. The NSC is a post-office savings scheme while the PPF was established by the central government in 1968. But both are very safe since they are backed by the government. How much goes in? The minimum amount you have to put into your PPF account in a year is Rs 500. The maximum you can put is Rs 70,000 per year. With NSC, the minimum amount is Rs 100. Here, is no upper limit on investment. However, NSC is sold in denominations of Rs 100, Rs 500, Rs 1,000, Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000. So, if you want to invest Rs 30,000, you will have to buy three certificates of Rs 10,000 each. What do I get? On the face of it, both give an identical rate of interest: 8% per annum. Or so it seems. The only difference is in the way it is computed. PPF is compounded annually. NSC is compounded half-yearly (twice a year). Let's say on April 1, 2006, you invested Rs 30,000 in PPF and the same amount in NSC. On April 1, 2007, your PPF account will have Rs 32,400 while your NSC will have Rs 32,448. Are your NSCs maturing? What's the tax impact? The most important issue! Both these investments fall under Section 80C. That means the investments made under this section are eligible for an income deduction upto a maximum Rs 1,00,000. This is as far as your principal investment goes. Let's look at the interest earned. With PPF, you pay no tax on the interest you earn. What about NSC?Till FY 2004-'05, an individual could avail of a deduction under Section 80L of the Income Tax Act. This limit was Rs 12,000 of interest income received during the financial year. This deduction has been done away with from FY 2005-'06. Now, all interest income is taxable at the respective slab rate of the individual. The interest accrued on NSC is taxable. But, it is also eligible for a deduction under Section 80C. Generally, it is advisable to declare accrued interest on NSC on a yearly basis. So, over the period of six years, you could declare the interest income for each year. In such a case, it does not amount to a huge sum. If you do not declare the interest on accrual basis, then the entire interest earned (difference between the amount deposited and the maturity value) would accumulate in the year of maturity. You could then claim it under Section 80C but it would be a huge amount and would be taxable at the current applicable tax rate. How long do I hold it? PPF is for 15 years, but you can extend it for a block of five years. Let's say you open a PPF account when you are 21 years old. It matures when you are in your late 30s, when you may be earning well and may not need the money. In that case, you can continue with the account. Of course, you do have the option of withdrawing the entire balance on maturity, that is, after 15 years of the close of the financial year in which you opened the account. So, if you opened it in FY 2006-07 (this financial year), you will be able to withdraw it 15 years later, starting March 31, 2007 (end of this financial year). That is April 1, 2022. If you extend it for five years after that, you continue to earn the rate of interest and can also make fresh deposits and get the tax benefit. NSC is for a much shorter duration -- just six years from the date of investment. How many can I have? Once you open an NSC, you can't keep adding to it. You will have to buy another. Let's say you buy a NSC of Rs 30,000. In a year's time, you want to add another Rs 30,000. You cannot add it to this amount. You will have to buy another NSC. With PPF, you can have just one account. But this does not matter because you have to make annual additions. Every year, you keep adding to it. However, if you like the safety of the investment and a guaranteed return of 8% per annum, you can open one in your child's name. So you can have one account for yourself and one for your child. But this does not mean the tax benefit is doubled. The limit is the same -- Rs 70,000, irrespective if it all goes in your account or in your account and your child's. Let's say you open an account for your minor child. You can deposit Rs 70,000 in your account and Rs 70,000 in your child's account. But you will only get the tax benefit on Rs 70,000. How is it held? The PPF account cannot be held jointly. You can nominate someone but it cannot be jointly held with someone else. With NSC, you can hold it jointly or you can hold it singly and nominate someone. Where can I open it? To open a PPF account, you can drop by a State Bank of India branch. No, you do not have to have an account with them. You can also ask your nationalised bank where you have an account if they are authorised to open PPF accounts. You can also approach the head post office in your area. If that is inconvenient, ask your local post office (selection grade sub post offices are allowed to do so). To buy an NSC, just approach any post office.

WORDS OF WISDOM

Don't kick a man when he's down unless you're certain he won't get up. Indecision is the key to flexibility.You can't tell which way the train went by looking at the track. Be kind, everyone you meet is fighting a tough battle too. There is no substitute for genuine lack of preparation. This is as bad as it can get...but don't bet on it. By the time you can make ends meet,they move the ends. Nostalgia isn't what it used to be. Sometimes too much drink is not enough. The facts, although interesting, are generally irrelevant. The world gets a little better every day, and worse in the evening. Someone who thinks logically is a nice contrast to the real world. The other line always moves faster...until you get in it. Anything worth fighting for is worth fighting dirty for. Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler. Friends may come and go but enemies accumulate. It's hard to be nostalgic when you can't remember anything good. I have seen the truth and it makes no sense. If you think that there is good in everybody, you haven't met everybody. If you can smile when things go wrong, you have someone in mind to blame. One seventh of your life is spent on Monday. The more you run over a dead cat, the flatter it gets. Happiness is good health and a bad memory. Do unto others. Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity. Plagiarism saves time. Teamwork...means never having to take all the blame yourself. Never underestimate the power of very stupid people in large groups. We waste time, so you don't have to. Go the extra mile. It makes your boss look like an incompetent slacker. The Romans did not create a great empire by having meetings; they didit by killing all those people who opposed them. If you can stay calm while all around you is chaos...then you probablyhaven't completely understood the seriousness of the situation. Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exist elsewhere inthe universe is that none of it has tried to contact us. As you journey through life take a minute every now and then to give athought for the other fellow. He could be plotting something.If you find something you like, buy a lifetime supply, because they will stopmaking it. Always remember you're unique, just like everyone else

Quote of the Day

Any man who takes a job with the idea that it is simply a springboard for something else is a chump. His attention will be more on the other things than on the job at hand and so he will fail.

Charles Edison

Govt scraps new I-T return form

   June 08, 2006 18:58 IST Under severe attack from various quarters, including the Congress party, the United Progressive Alliance government said on Thursday that the new form for filing income tax returns would be dropped from next year. "The new four-page form which replaces the one-page Naya Saral (simple) form is meant for this year alone and will be optional for filing returns," Revenue Secretary K M Chandrasekhar told reporters. The salaried tax assessees have the option of filing income tax returns this year either in the existing Naya Saral form or the new 2F form, he said. The government will come out with another form next year based on the feedback it receives this year, he added. Earlier, the government, while notifying the 2F form, had said it would be optional for this year and mandatory from next year with the withdrawal of Naya Saral form. The new form next year could be a modified one based on the feedback the tax department receives or could be an improved version of either the existing saral form or 2F, he said. Giving a detailed rationale behind the form 2F, he said the new form was really 'simple' and an attempt to make it self-explanatory and do away with all annexures, including Form 16A, providing details of tax deducted at source by the employer. Critical of the attempts to depict the new form in a bad light, Chandrasekhar said the new form was certainly more simpler than the existing Naya Saral form and the additional pages provided only 'worksheets' to make the filing of returns easier for the common man. Under the earlier 'Naya Saral' form, which will cease to exist from July 31, the last day of filing returns, these worksheets were provided by way of annexures, details of which could be worked out only by experts and not by the common man as no instructions were provided. The new form also needed the tax assessees to provide cash flow statement indicating the broad income, expenditure and investments. Providing the cash flow statement was however optional, he said. The basic purpose of cash flow statement is to track if the assessees were concealing income, he said adding unlike in the past, tax authorities have access to a lot of information like annual information return (AIR) to track the lifestyle of tax assessees. "We have collated individual ledgers of tax payers," he said adding whenever income tax returns are filed, the tax authority can access on his computer all details about the tax assessees like Pan and other details including some of the high value purchases and investments.

All the world loves a lover

How Much Text is in a Kilobyte or Megabyte?

A bit is the most basic unit of information. At their most fundamental level, most modern computers operate on binary bits which means that they can have two states, usually specified as a 0 or 1. Long strings of these bits can be used to represent most types of information including text, pictures and music. Most modern computers are binary systems and therefore, they are particularly well suited to working with bits. Pure binary information, however, is of little use to humans. The binary number 11000101110 is equivalent to 1582; it is obvious that we are much more suited to working with digits and text instead of ones and zeros. To help make computers more like our language-based way of thinking, groups of bits are joined into bytes. One byte is comprised of 8 bits. A set of 8 bits was chosen because this provides 256 total possibilities which is sufficient for specifying letters, numbers, spaces, punctuation and other extended characters. This very sentence, for example is composed of 125 bytes because there are 125 letters, digits, spaces and punctuation marks. Keep in mind that we are discussing pure text; some word processing programs, include other sorts of formatting data, and therefore the filesizes will be greater than the number of characters in the file. It is estimated that a kilobyte can accommodate about 1/2 of a typewritten page. Therefore, one full page requires about 2 kilobytes. The chart below illustrates the number of bytes in common terms such as kilobyte and megabyte and how much text could be stored: name number of bytes amount of text kilobyte (kB) 210 or 1,024 1/2 page megabyte (mB) 220 or 1,048,576 500 pages or 1 thick book gigabyte (gB) 230 or 1,073,741,824 500,000 pages or 1,000 thick books terabyte (tB) 240 or 1,099,511,627,776 1,000,000 thick books petabyte 250 or 1,125,899,906,842,624 180 Libraries of Congress exabyte 260 or 1,152,921,504,606,846,976 180 thousand Libraries of Congress zettabyte 270 or 1,180,591,620,717,411,303,424 180 million Libraries of Congress yottabyte 280 or 1,208,925,819,614,629,174,706,176 180 billion Libraries of Congress The Library of Congress in Washington D.C. is said to be the world's largest library with over 28 million volumes. The numbers listed in the chart above are based on the assumption that the average book has 200 pages. Most Compact Discs (CD) can hold approximately 750 megabytes (mB) which is roughly equivalent to 375,000 pages of text! DVDs can store 4.7 gigabytes (gB) or 2.3 million pages. The next generation of optical media, Blu-Ray discs, can hold an astonishing 27 gigabytes or 13.5 million pages which is roughly equivalent to the text contained in 67,500 books! Data Measurement Chart Data Measurement Size Bit Single Binary Digit (1 or 0) Byte 8 bits Kilobyte (KB) 1,024 Bytes or » 8192 bits ------------------- Megabyte (MB) 1,024 Kilobytes or » 1048576 Bytes 8388608 Bits ------------------- Gigabyte (GB) 1,024 Megabytes or » 1048576 KB 1073741824 Bytes 8589934592 Bits ------------------------------------ Terabyte (TB) 1,024 Gigabytes or » 1048576 MB 1073741824 KB 1099511627776 Bytes 8796093022208 Bits --------------------------------------- Petabyte (PB) 1,024 Terabytes or » 1048576 GB 1073741824 MB 1099511627776 KB 1125899906842624 Bytes 9007199254740992 Bits ------------------------------------------ Exabyte (EB) 1,024 Petabytes or » 1048576 TB 1073741824 GB 1099511627776 MB 1125899906842624 KB 11522921504606846976 Bytes 9223372036854775808 Bits ------------------------------------------- Thats all for the day !