Swamiji and Tagore

 The 1930s decade was a period in which Tagore perceived Swamiji and his Guru in a parlance that was altogether different from his perception about them before. In 1935, he gave a message in the form of a poem to Ramakrishna Mission, paying obeisance to Sri Ramakrishna on the occasion of his birth centenary celebration. On 3 March 1937 he famously participated in the concluding function of the celebration  

“So far as I can make out, Vivekananda’s idea was that we must accept the facts of life. We must rise higher in our spiritual experience in the domain where neither good nor evil exists. It was because Vivekananda tried to go beyond good and evil that he could tolerate many religious habits and customs which have nothing spiritual about them. My attitude towards truth is different. Truth cannot afford to be tolerant where it faces positive evil; it is like sunlight which makes the existence of evil germs impossible.”

Tagore said this to the French Nobel laureate Romain Rolland in Geneva on 28 August 1930 in the course of a dialogue between them regarding the question of intolerance prevailing the world over. In the same year Rolland published his famous biography of Swamiji, entitled The Life of Swami Vivekananda and the Universal Gospel. The title itself tells us how Rolland was influenced by Swamiji’s works. Each word of this book reflects the tremendous inspiration its author had assiduously drawn from Swamiji. It simultaneously hints at the fact that the impact of Swamiji’s life and thought on many a renowned thinker abroad was already powerful like it was on numerous thinkers at home.

In order to mark his exceptional estimation of Swamiji, Rolland wrote in the Prelude “nobody ever came near him (Swamiji) either in India or America without paying homage to his majesty.” Similarly, he also wrote, “He was energy personified, and action was his message to men”, and “Battle and life for him were synonymous.”

Incidentally, he had brought out a biography of Swamiji’s Guru, Sri Ramakrishna, the previous year, that is in 1929. Therefore, it could be legitimately presumed that his mind being fully charged with Swamiji’s ideas at that moment, he must have had enough to say about him to Tagore. More so, it was because Tagore, too, by then, knew considerably well about Swamiji, after getting over his initial reticence about him.

Tagore was a follower of Romanticism. Accordingly, his love for Nature (Prakriti) was legendary which found expression through his innumerable poems. On the other hand, Swamiji was a Vedantic Transcendentalist who went above Nature and realised the Truth. Tagore never liked to go beyond Nature while Swamiji was bent upon breaking the bondage of Nature upon him. Swamiji said, “Religion is the science which learns the transcendental in nature through the transcendental in man.”

Tagore was talking about relative truth which, by its diverse character, is obviously different from the immutable Absolute Truth. Transcendental experience of the Absolute Truth, which is beyond all senses of opposites (Dwanda), couldn’t be identical with the relative truth of the empirical world fraught with dualities such as good and evil.

Swamiji was a realised soul of the highest order. In the consummation of his spiritual attainment, he experienced the Absolute Truth of Oneness, as a result of his rigorous non-dualistic sadhana. It was indeed his subjective spiritual accomplishment of Nirvikalpa Samadhi, in which annihilation of the senses of duality takes place. But then, in his normal state of mind he wasn’t at all defiant of the empirical phenomenon which was very real to his senses, comprising the feelings of pain and pleasure. He rather spent his whole life for the alleviation of the suffering of man caused by evil, empathising with the pains of all and sundry. An extraordinary spiritual depth alone helps to understand Swamiji in the right perspective.

Whether Tagore’s perception about Swamiji’s attitude towards tolerance was then right or not is beside the point, for he also had his spiritually elevated personal experience. The point is that, in order to be able to understand his thoughts and ideology, he was, evidently, sincerely studying Swamiji’s works at the time. Although he had passed away almost three decades earlier, Swamiji was nevertheless quite important to him which at least didn’t seem the case during Swamiji’s lifetime.

This implies that Tagore could not ultimately ignore and remain silent regarding Swamiji in spite of his differences on various accounts born of the Brahmo obduracy in him, like his stout reservation against Swamiji’s Kali, Guru and Incarnation worship. A few years before Swamiji’s demise, Sister Nivedita, who had a close friendship with Tagore, tried hard to bring them together to speak but her endeavour proved futile. They indeed participated at a tea party arranged by her for that purpose. However, ironically, there wasn’t a single word said between them. She could well observe that the silence among them was sedulous though they knew each other very well from their early boyhood. Besides, it was well known in the Tagore household that Swamiji was highly reverential to Tagore’s father who also used to love him dearly. There is a need here to remember the fact that Swamiji once had an intimate link with the Brahmo movement, of which Devendranath was a frontline leader and his son Rabindranath was now the torch bearer who had induced nuances in the movement. Swamiji severed his connection with it because he was disillusioned with its superficial spiritual culture, God-realization being his chief concern and he was then resolutely in search of God. Interestingly, in Tagore’s belief, Swamiji’s association with Brahmo Samaj wasn’t a problem in his subsequent spiritual life. In Tattwabodhini (Agrahayan, 1318) he wrote: “That Vivekananda was once an enthusiastic Brahmo wasn’t a hindrance to his subsequent transition to another path.” Perhaps in the year 1930, Tagore first, paradoxically, started saying things seriously about Swamiji in public and he was mostly in full praise of him. Maybe, he couldn’t stay quiet after witnessing the unprecedented excitement regarding Swamiji’s message amidst the youth of the country. He significantly wrote in Pravasi (Jaishtha, 1335) around this time: “In India of modern times, it was Vivekananda alone who preached the great message which is not tied to any dos and don’ts. Addressing one and all in the nation he said: in every one of you there is the power of Brahman; the God in the poor desires you to serve Him. This message has roused the hearts of the youths in a most pervasive way. That is why this message has borne fruits in the service of the nation in diverse ways and in diverse forms of sacrifice. This message has at one and the same time imparted dignity and respect to man along with energy and power. The strength that this message has imparted to man is not confined to a particular point; nor is it limited to repetitions of some physical movements. It has, indeed, invested his life with a wonderful dynamism in various spheres. There at the source of the adventurous activities of today’s youth of Bengal is the message of Vivekananda ~ which calls the soul of man…”

A few years later he wrote in Udbodhan (Ashwin, 1348): “Some time ago Vivekananda said that there was the power of Brahman in every man, that Narayana wanted to have our service through the poor. This is what I call real gospel. This gospel showed the path of infinite freedom from man’s tiny egocentric self beyond the limits of all selfishness. This was no sermon relating to a particular ritual, nor was it a narrow injunction to be imposed upon one’s external life. This naturally contained in it protest against untouchability ~ not because that would make for political freedom, but because that would do away with the humiliation of man – a curse which in fact puts to shame the self of us all.

“Vivekananda’s gospel marked the awakening of man in his fullness and that is why it inspired our youth to the diverse courses of liberation through work and sacrifice.”

Actually, the 1930s decade was a period in which Tagore perceived Swamiji and his Guru in a parlance that was altogether different from his perception about them before. In 1935 he gave a message in the form of a poem to Ramakrishna Mission, making obeisance to Sri Ramakrishna on the occasion of his birth centenary celebration.

On 3 March 1937 he famously participated in the concluding function of the celebration and read a carefully written paper, offering glowing tributes to Sri Ramakrishna, before a huge, pindrop silent, gathering at the University Institute Hall of Calcutta, remaining seated on the stage for the next three hours of the meeting notwithstanding his poor health. He was amazed to see such a well managed function with perfect discipline. On the following day when its convener Swami Sambudhananda accompanied by Ramananda Chattopadhaya (editor of Pravasi) went to enquire about his health he said: “I am quite well. Swamiji, many thanks to you. It was the first time in my life that I had experienced such a peaceful meeting in spite of the presence of such a large audience. Truly, I have exceptionally enjoyed this meeting. I am overwhelmed by seeing the organizing ability of Ramakrishna Mission. You are really doing a big work.”

That was not the only occasion that he praised the activity of the Mission established by Swamiji. In his perception Swamiji’s work was of a very high quality. He never shied away from appreciating it amply whenever opportunity came.

Above all, he was visibly influenced by its modus operandi to apply it in various ways in his work at Viswa Bharati. Beginning from the plan of establishing and accomplishing the “Brahmo Vidyalaya” of Bolpur, next by his instruction from it to “Brahmacharya Vidyalaya” for all students irrespective of race or religion, and then its transformation into “Viswa Bharati” with a clean and liberal environment of harmony (samanwaya) among different indigenous cultures is its clear implication.

Incidentally, he had brought out a biography of Swamiji’s Guru, Sri Ramakrishna, the previous year, that is in 1929. Therefore, it could be legitimately presumed that his mind being fully charged with Swamiji’s ideas at that moment, he must have had enough to say about him to Tagore. More so, it was because Tagore, too, by then, knew considerably well about Swamiji, after getting over his initial reticence about him.

Tagore was a follower of Romanticism. Accordingly, his love for Nature (Prakriti) was legendary which found expression through his innumerable poems. On the other hand, Swamiji was a Vedantic Transcendentalist who went above Nature and realised the Truth. Tagore never liked to go beyond Nature while Swamiji was bent upon breaking the bondage of Nature upon him. Swamiji said, “Religion is the science which learns the transcendental in nature through the transcendental in man.”

Tagore was talking about relative truth which, by its diverse character, is obviously different from the immutable Absolute Truth. Transcendental experience of the Absolute Truth, which is beyond all senses of opposites (Dwanda), couldn’t be identical with the relative truth of the empirical world fraught with dualities such as good and evil.

Swamiji was a realised soul of the highest order. In the consummation of his spiritual attainment, he experienced the Absolute Truth of Oneness, as a result of his rigorous non-dualistic sadhana. It was indeed his subjective spiritual accomplishment of Nirvikalpa Samadhi, in which annihilation of the senses of duality takes place. But then, in his normal state of mind he wasn’t at all defiant of the empirical phenomenon which was very real to his senses, comprising the feelings of pain and pleasure. He rather spent his whole life for the alleviation of the suffering of man caused by evil, empathising with the pains of all and sundry. An extraordinary spiritual depth alone helps to understand Swamiji in the right perspective.

Whether Tagore’s perception about Swamiji’s attitude towards tolerance was then right or not is beside the point, for he also had his spiritually elevated personal experience. The point is that, in order to be able to understand his thoughts and ideology, he was, evidently, sincerely studying Swamiji’s works at the time. Although he had passed away almost three decades earlier, Swamiji was nevertheless quite important to him which at least didn’t seem the case during Swamiji’s lifetime.

This implies that Tagore could not ultimately ignore and remain silent regarding Swamiji in spite of his differences on various accounts born of the Brahmo obduracy in him, like his stout reservation against Swamiji’s Kali, Guru and Incarnation worship. A few years before Swamiji’s demise, Sister Nivedita, who had a close friendship with Tagore, tried hard to bring them together to speak but her endeavour proved futile. They indeed participated at a tea party arranged by her for that purpose. However, ironically, there wasn’t a single word said between them. She could well observe that the silence among them was sedulous though they knew each other very well from their early boyhood. Besides, it was well known in the Tagore household that Swamiji was highly reverential to Tagore’s father who also used to love him dearly. There is a need here to remember the fact that Swamiji once had an intimate link with the Brahmo movement, of which Devendranath was a frontline leader and his son Rabindranath was now the torch bearer who had induced nuances in the movement. Swamiji severed his connection with it because he was disillusioned with its superficial spiritual culture, God-realization being his chief concern and he was then resolutely in search of God. Interestingly, in Tagore’s belief, Swamiji’s association with Brahmo Samaj wasn’t a problem in his subsequent spiritual life. In Tattwabodhini (Agrahayan, 1318) he wrote: “That Vivekananda was once an enthusiastic Brahmo wasn’t a hindrance to his subsequent transition to another path.” Perhaps in the year 1930, Tagore first, paradoxically, started saying things seriously about Swamiji in public and he was mostly in full praise of him. Maybe, he couldn’t stay quiet after witnessing the unprecedented excitement regarding Swamiji’s message amidst the youth of the country. He significantly wrote in Pravasi (Jaishtha, 1335) around this time: “In India of modern times, it was Vivekananda alone who preached the great message which is not tied to any dos and don’ts. Addressing one and all in the nation he said: in every one of you there is the power of Brahman; the God in the poor desires you to serve Him. This message has roused the hearts of the youths in a most pervasive way. That is why this message has borne fruits in the service of the nation in diverse ways and in diverse forms of sacrifice. This message has at one and the same time imparted dignity and respect to man along with energy and power. The strength that this message has imparted to man is not confined to a particular point; nor is it limited to repetitions of some physical movements. It has, indeed, invested his life with a wonderful dynamism in various spheres. There at the source of the adventurous activities of today’s youth of Bengal is the message of Vivekananda ~ which calls the soul of man…”

A few years later he wrote in Udbodhan (Ashwin, 1348): “Some time ago Vivekananda said that there was the power of Brahman in every man, that Narayana wanted to have our service through the poor. This is what I call real gospel. This gospel showed the path of infinite freedom from man’s tiny egocentric self beyond the limits of all selfishness. This was no sermon relating to a particular ritual, nor was it a narrow injunction to be imposed upon one’s external life. This naturally contained in it protest against untouchability ~ not because that would make for political freedom, but because that would do away with the humiliation of man – a curse which in fact puts to shame the self of us all.

“Vivekananda’s gospel marked the awakening of man in his fullness and that is why it inspired our youth to the diverse courses of liberation through work and sacrifice.”

Actually, the 1930s decade was a period in which Tagore perceived Swamiji and his Guru in a parlance that was altogether different from his perception about them before. In 1935 he gave a message in the form of a poem to Ramakrishna Mission, making obeisance to Sri Ramakrishna on the occasion of his birth centenary celebration.

On 3 March 1937 he famously participated in the concluding function of the celebration and read a carefully written paper, offering glowing tributes to Sri Ramakrishna, before a huge, pindrop silent, gathering at the University Institute Hall of Calcutta, remaining seated on the stage for the next three hours of the meeting notwithstanding his poor health. He was amazed to see such a well managed function with perfect discipline. On the following day when its convener Swami Sambudhananda accompanied by Ramananda Chattopadhaya (editor of Pravasi) went to enquire about his health he said: “I am quite well. Swamiji, many thanks to you. It was the first time in my life that I had experienced such a peaceful meeting in spite of the presence of such a large audience. Truly, I have exceptionally enjoyed this meeting. I am overwhelmed by seeing the organizing ability of Ramakrishna Mission. You are really doing a big work.”

That was not the only occasion that he praised the activity of the Mission established by Swamiji. In his perception Swamiji’s work was of a very high quality. He never shied away from appreciating it amply whenever opportunity came.

Above all, he was visibly influenced by its modus operandi to apply it in various ways in his work at Viswa Bharati. Beginning from the plan of establishing and accomplishing the “Brahmo Vidyalaya” of Bolpur, next by his instruction from it to “Brahmacharya Vidyalaya” for all students irrespective of race or religion, and then its transformation into “Viswa Bharati” with a clean and liberal environment of harmony (samanwaya) among different indigenous cultures is its clear implication.

SWAMI SANDARSHANANANDA

(The writer is associated with Ramakrishna Mission, Narendrapur)  

Source: The Statesman, 19/03/23

The Vedic Way

I n Rig-vedadi-bhashya-bhumika or ‘Introduction to the commentaries of the Rigveda’, Swami Dayanand interpreted Vedic verses in the light of burning issues of the day, namely colonial exploitation. He underscored the fundamental unity of the Indian people despite the plurality of languages, religious sects, social mores, and customs which were bewildering. Through its quest for political independence, however fierce that struggle may be, he wanted India to reveal a new spiritual light for all of humanity 

Forerunners of a divine multitude, / Out of the paths of the morning star they came / Into the little room of mortal life. / I saw them cross the twilight of an age / The sun-eyed children of a marvellous dawn…” Sri Aurobindo’s verses from the epic Savitri (Book III, Canto 4) present a metaphysical poetic context to the age that gave us Raja Rammohun Roy, Mahatma Rajnarain Basu, Bankimchandra Chatterjee, Keshub Chandra Sen, Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, and Swami Dayanand Saraswati, all of whom, Sri Aurobindo included, contributed to the intellectual foundations of the freedom struggle.

With the commencement of the 200th birth anniversary celebrations of Swami Dayanand, the militant monk born in Kathiawad in 1824, it is time to realize how these giants stood on each other’s shoulders and contributed to the genesis and development of nationalism in the 19th and 20th century.

The story begins with Raja Rammohun Roy who remains the pioneer from Bengal; his 250th birth anniversary commemorations began in 2022. Historians go so far as to say modern India owes to Raja Rammohun Roy the vision and the general orientation of her social, political and spiritual evolution. This powerfully sweeping statement is tagged with Rabindranath Tagore’s description that Roy was “the man who is to represent in his life the complete significance of the spirit and the mission of the land to which he belonged.”

The key to the pioneering work of Rammohun Roy lay in his restoration of the traditional spiritual teachings of the Vedanta. From the age of 11, when he was in Benaras studying Sanskrit and sacred texts, Roy began his journey to absorb the principles of Vedanta. It was not merely a philosophical or scholarly quest; it was a life-transforming and life-affirming journey which culminated in the formation of the Brahma Sabha in 1828, which gave back to the Brahmanical order a pure and pristine vision of the Vedas. The Sabha evolved into the Brahmo Samaj by 1830.

Raja Rammohun Roy was acutely aware of global events and their revolutionary impact. In the aftermath of the American and French revolutions, the clarion calls for equality and liberty made him a global thinker-activist ready to denounce social injustices perpetuated by Hindu orthodoxy. In his philosophical bearings and his activism, he was able to join these dots which were spread across historical time and geographical space. His ideals, ideas and ideology reveal a unique synchronicity for he remained up-to-date with British and French texts on philosophy and politics, yet never lost sight of Vedantic principles of the unity of God and a rejection of social-religious injustices and impurities.

Roy’s passion for education exemplified this achievement. While he worked to endow the country with Western education, knowing that English was the language for opening the doors of modernism, he undertook the translation of Sanskrit texts in English and Bangla for the use of the common man. In Roy’s patriotism, we discern the fundamental principles of justice and security for the individual and the community which he considered sacrosanct.

Often hailed as a Maharishi or Mahatma, it was Rajnarain Basu who now upheld the patriotic mission of Roy. His father, Nandakishore Basu had been a disciple and secretary of Rammohun Roy. The flaming torch of patriotism, learning and reform was now in equally strong hands. Maharishi Rajnarain and Devendranath Tagore in the 1840s and 1850s set about structuring the Brahmo religion, highlighting the spiritual essence of Hinduism in Brahmo Samaj.

“Religion is not an occasional handling of the feelings, it is life itself,” said Rajnarain Basu, adding “Live constantly in an ambience of love, since religion is nothing but love.” These quotes of Mahatma Rajnarain, from a biography in Bangla, were heard once again, more than half a century later, when the other Mahatma from Kathiawad gave a similar message of love, peace, and nonviolence to ultimately become the ‘Father of the Nation’.

Swami Dayanand Saraswati, like Rammohun Roy, was disillusioned by the abuse of power in the name of religion, and social practices based on ignorance and exploitation. He sought the true spiritual life from Hindu scriptures and set about reviving Vedic teachings. His mission was to solve contemporary problems, be they religious, social, political, or cultural through Vedic principles. Swami Dayanand worked to regenerate the Indian nation, just as the Brahmo Samaj had begun in Bengal.

In Rig-vedadi-bhashya-bhumika or ‘Introduction to the commentaries of the Rigveda’, Swami Dayanand interpreted Vedic verses in the light of burning issues of the day, namely colonial exploitation. He underscored the fundamental unity of the Indian people despite the plurality of languages, religious sects, social mores, and customs which were bewildering. Through its quest for political independence, however fierce that struggle may be, he wanted India to reveal a new spiritual light for all of humanity.

Once again, education came to the fore. There was an arduous programme of intellectual studies that Swamiji recommended. Spread over 22 years, as an obligatory educational system for all children based on the Vedic model of gurukula, it included:
1) Phonetics; the grammar of Panini and Mahabhashya of Patanjali for 3 years;

2) Study of Nirukta or Vedic lexicon for 8 months;

3) Pingala and mathematical studies for 4 months;

4) The Laws of Manu and the Epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata for 1 year;

5) The six darshana of Indian philosophy and the ten main Upanishads for 2 years;

6) All the four Vedas and the supplementary Brahmanas for 6 years;

7) Ayurveda, including medical and surgical treatises for 4 years;

8) Music, arithmetic, algebra, geometry, geography, geology, and astronomy for 3 years;

9) Economics, civil policies and military protections for 2 years.

Swami Dayanand was convinced that as physical activities of students in the Gurukuls grow, the intellect becomes subtle and is able understand the nuances of Vedic thought and philosophy. He foresaw students having access to the highest knowledge before they found a man or woman of their choice and began a family to emerge as responsible citizens. The personal integrity, character and health of the teachers was equally, if not more, important. They should have the truthfulness in words, in acts and thoughts, decorum, the selfcontrol, sweetness of conduct, he said.

Historians and chroniclers have seen in Swamiji’s Gurukula educational system the seeds of the educational community founded by Mahatma Gandhi at Sabarmati; at Santiniketan and Visvabharati, the school and university founded by Tagore; and at Pondicherry, the International Centre of Education founded by the Mother based on Sri Aurobindo’s teachings.

Swami Dayanand, after journeys across the length and breadth of India, emphasized on Hindi as the national language to be accepted by all; and the Vedas as the source of people’s religious life.

These convictions went hand in hand with his anti-colonial, anti-establishment campaigns. However powerful the sovereign power, he was not ready to face their humiliation. It was the people who were sovereign; and their president or head had to be elected by universal suffrage.

Leaders, or heads of the people, should demonstrate their learning and knowledge, besides their human qualities, he preached in public meetings. Three colleges, comprising elected citizens, would form the State: the legislative college, the religious college, and the college of fine arts and sciences. Swamiji presented the Vedic guidelines and the movement for national emancipation.

On 10 April 1875 was established the Society of the Men with Higher Principles (the Arya Samaj) by Swami Dayanand in Bombay. In its first Charter, Swami Dayanand declared the well-being of the whole humanity will be the objective of the Samaja. The objective was to improve the physical, spiritual, and social conditions of humanity.

In Satyartha Prakash (The Light of the Truth), Swami Dayanand wrote: “I believe in a religion based on all-embracing universal principles, that have always been accepted as truths by mankind and will continue to be obeyed down the ages to come. I call this the Eternal Primitive Religion: because it is above the hostility of all human beliefs…”

Years later Sri Aurobindo evaluated Swami Dayanand’s contributions and said that he was the personification of pure energy, the highest clarity, the discerning perspicacity, a master and a dominant figure in one word, herald of the Vedic World. Swamiji became the very symbol of the Extremist ideal for militant patriots of the future.

Raju Mansukhani

Source: The Statesman, 17/03/23

Oct 17 2014 : Mirror (Pune)

MY BAD - How shameful nobody knew Kailash Satyapati!





In which Aakar Patel locates his `humerus'Likedhated his column? Write to
Aakar Patel at aakar.patel@gmail.com aakar.patel@gmail.com

The thing that shocked me most about the Nobel Peace Prize for Kailash Satyarthi was how unknown he was in his own country.Journalists, politicians, filmstars, nobody knew about him.
Why do we not appreciate our own talent? Why should it require the outside world to tell us about our hidden gems? It has always been like this, I am sorry to say. We are ignorant of their work and their quality and even of their name till a foreigner tells us they are good.
The whole Bachpan Bachao Andolan name was a total secret till it was pronounced in foreign accents. How awful Kailash Satyapati would have felt, just think, on the most important day of his life with nobody even recognising his name. His own relatives were like “Who?“ when they heard the announcement on Times Now.
I was, of course, always familiar with Shailesh's work. I have long followed closely the doings of the Bachchan Bachao Andolan (I think it has to do with rescuing Abhishek's career, though frankly I do not know if it was worth a prize). But the rest of the media? What can I say? Shameful. Where I think the committee was spot on was Kamlesh’s work in illegal trafficking. If there is one problem we have in India it is trafficking and, as anyone who has driven on our roads will know, most of it is illegal.
The other field he has spent a lot of time on was bonded labour, which, the ignoramus media has doubtless not informed you, is about Fevicol and carpenters. There is no respect for labour in this country and it is shocking that a global prize should be needed to inform people about this sticky issue.
Anyway, so I am totally delighted that Kailash Kher should have been finally recognised. He was only the second Indian to get this particular prize after Teresa, who you will remember from her modeling days when she posed for Raghu Rai and M F Husain.
And finally, it is not just about the individual. It is the noble cause that the Nobel prize has made everyone aware of. Definitely the Narmada Bachao Andolan is going to benefit from being associated with this award.
I would be remiss at the end in not mentioning the other awardee, merely because she is a citizen of the enemy nation.
It was a joint prize and not only was Puttaparthi’s work honoured but also that of Malai Yousufzai (is she that Amul girl? She’s very cute). Anyway they said she was campaigning against the Tali-ban and I have always been on her side. What is wrong with that part of the world that they should even prohibit applause?

Oct 13 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

Q&A - `I don't visit temples - i worship children, true faces of God'





Kailash Satyarthi has won 2014's Nobel peace prize with Pakistan's Malala Yousafzai.Speaking with Nalin Mehta, Satyarthi discussed his spiritual motivation, his mother's fears, his expectations from PM Modi ­ and how he was almost murdered by Pakistani soldiers:Congratulations on this honour ­ but in India, do we only recognise people after they're honoured overseas?
Well, when i gave up my engineering career, my mother was crying because she'd spent a lot of money and had high expectations. My father died early and she was frightened about my future ­ i told her, one day you will be proud of me.
Pride, honours and awards don't matter much to me personally. I am not a saint but i'm driven by spiritualism, not political theories or mere emotions.
Please explain your spiri tualism?
I am not a religious person.I've not gone to a temple or mosque in the last 40 years. I don't worship in temples because i worship children ­ by giving them freedom and childhood. They are the true faces of God and that is my strength.
When i started talking about the rights of children in 1981, the UN convention on children's rights hadn't yet been born. The notion of child rights came only in 1989. Perhaps the Nobel Committee researched all those things and asked, who is this crazy guy who could see the future?

Some suggest child labour can't be eradicated without eradicating poverty ­ your view?
People say poverty creates and perpetuates child labour. This is a half truth.
The full truth is ­ child labour creates and perpetuates poverty . If you allow child labour, you allow poverty and illiteracy to continue.
How supportive has the government government been of your efforts?
This is a new government, so let's see, but we expect a great deal. I requested the PM on the very first day , saying now that a tea boy has become India's PM, it is his turn to ensure no child becomes a child labourer.
Every child cannot become PM ­ but every child can attend school and get a good education.
How will you spend the Nobel prize money?
I don't know. Such decisions are taken by an elected group of children in my organisa tion. In a Bal Mahapan ion. In a Bal Mahapan chayat, children from 400 villages will meet and decide democratically what we should do with this money ­ but every single penny will be spent on the mission to end child la bour and child slavery.

What did you say to Malala Yousafzai when you both spoke?
I invited her to join a new `Peace for Children' initiative.Let every child live in peace, in my country, in Pakistan and everywhere in the world. Children shouldn't be compelled to grow up amidst war and conflict. Let's begin with India and Pakistan.
She thought it was a brilliant idea but she has her own constraints and cannot go to Pakistan. We'll talk again. I have a lot of respect for her.
She wasn't even born when i helped start Pakistan's antichild labour movement, when Pakistan's army wanted to kill me outside Lahore in 1987. I was addressing brick-kiln workers there when soldiers came and put a dozen guns on my head.
I smiled and said, please kill me but only after 10-15 minutes when i've finished talking to these people.

Oct 11 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

Satyarthi braved bullets to save kids

Swati Mathur

Lucknow





As an engineering student in Vidhisha, Kailash Satyarthi once came across a cobbler, whose son, who was less than 10 years' old, was helping him instead of going to school. Satyarthi asked why .The response was unassuming: “We're poor. Extra hands mean extra money .“Satyarthi, then 26, walked away unable to help, but convinced there was need for an initiative to rescue poor children being exploited for financial gains.Education, he thought, would be their road to emancipation. That led to the birth of Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) in 1980.
Satyarthi started BBA to rescue children from bondage. In 34 years, the organization has conducted thousands of raids, reintegrating rescued children into society, ensuring they get an education. In states like Haryana, he led rescue missions for kids and families of bonded labourers in mining and manufacturing, braving murderous attacks.
He gave up a career in electrical engineering. For a while before launching BBA, he was a professor in Bhopal. Then he moved to Delhi and began his advocacy against child labour.
Scaling up BBA's work wasn't easy . Though the yearning for freedom existed in every family or child he rescued, Satyarthi -popularly known as bhai saab -faced resistance.
Some of those he wanted to rescue were scared to break free of their shackles, others like the cobbler Satyarthi was too poor to afford sacrificing an extra hand.
BBA continues to operate in Meerut and Lakhimpur districts, adopting nearly 130 villages, convert ing them into child-friendly zones. IPS officer Amitabh Thakur recalls: “I met Satyarthi in June 2004 at Karnailganj, Gonda. He had been beaten up by owners of the Great Roman Circus while attempting to rescue Nepalese girls. He was bleeding profusely . Police pulled him out from a rather precarious situation and helped rescue a dozen girls.“ Thakur was Gonda police chief then.
Satyarthi created the South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude (SACCS), a group of more than 750 civil society organizations.In 1994, he launched Goodweave, South Asia's first voluntary labelling and certification system for child labour-free rugs. In 1998, he organised the global march against child labour with more than 50 lakh people in attendance from across the globe. He is member of several other organizations.
For his endeavours in BBA and SACCS, Satyarthi has received global recognition and has been in the Peace Nobel reckoning for nearly five years. He won the US state department's Heroes Acting to End Mod ern Slavery Award, 2007, for creating child-friendly villages. The BBA network runs in nearly 350 villages across 11 states.
Last year, through Satyarthi's initiative in Meerut, 15-year-old Raziya Sultana, a child labourer BBA rescued and rehabilitated, won the UN Special Envoy for Global Education Award.

Government publisher removes chapter on anti-dam activist 

Government-funded National Book Trust (NBT) has dropped a chapter on Narmada Bachao Andolan activist Medha Patkar from a children’s book after an NGO objected saying she was a political person after she joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and therefore should not be included.

Ahmedabad-based National Council for Civil Liberties founder VK Saxena had filed a written compalint to the Ministry of Human Resources (MHRD), which in turn referred it to NBT, who dropped the chapter.

Written by Thangamani, the children’s book, Children Who Made It Big, traces the childhood of 12 famous personalities, including sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan, chess player Vishwanathan Anand and author Ruskin Bond and is part of the school curriculum in many states.

Reacting to the news, Medha Patkar said VK Saxena was a supporter of the Sardar Sarovar dam and opposed the Narmada Bachao Andolan, the movement that opposed the construction of the dam.

NBT director MA Sikandar defended the action, saying,“The NGO has been writing to us about it. After we received the letter from the ministry, we re-examined the issue and under changed circumstance we decided to drop the chapter”.

- See more at: http://digitallearning.eletsonline.com/2014/09/government-publisher-removes-chapter-on-anti-dam-activist/#sthash.YXAwse0L.dpuf