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Bana Singh : a hero of our times

Bana Singh : a hero of our times

Bana Singh was born on 6 January 1949 and now lives in R.S.Pura near Jammu. He joined Indian Army's Jammu & Kashmir Light Infantry (JAK LI) on 6 January 1969 After training at the High Altitude Training School along with his battalion at Gulmarg, he was posted in Siachen in April 1987. Pakistan had already occupied a vantage point called Quaid Post named after Mohammad Ali Jinnah. This is the most important and highest post in the area. From the top of this post the
entire Saltoro range is visible, including other posts like the Amar and Sonam which get food and other materials by Indian helicopters. On April 18, 1987, the Pakistan army at Quaid post began
firing at the Indian troops. A Junior commissioned Officer and five soldiers were killed at Sonam. It became necessary to gain control over the post for the safety of the men and supporting helicopters. It was therefore decided to recapture Quaid Post.
On 26th June 1987, Bana Singh got the green light to lead his platoon up the 90° slope with iced walls, after two previous attempts failed with heavy casualties. This is how he remembers it:
"Though it was day time, because of the heavy snowing we could not say if it was day or night. The Pakistanis must have been knowing that something was going on because our troops were firing at them from the base camp (to divert their attention). When we reached the top, there was a single bunker. We had been trained for such a fight. I threw a grenade inside and closed the door. At the end, a total of six Pakistanis were killed. We brought back their bodies which were later handed over to the Pakistanis authorities during a flag meeting in Kargil. Some must
have escaped towards the Pakistani side, perhaps over the cliff. I think that I have bayoneted three or four persons, I don't remember now."

For this act of valor Bana Singh was awarded Param Vir Chakra.and was presented the Param Vir Chakra on January 26 1988.The Quaid Post was renamed as Bana Post after its liberation by Bana Singh. Today some twenty years after liberating Quiad Post and earning a PVC, Bana Singh
is sad man, because of the indifferent attitude of the J&K government who pays him paltry Rs 166 per month whereas neighboring state of Panjab, HP and Haryana pay much higher amounts to PVC winners. (in Punjab a PVC winner gets Rs 12,500 every month, in Haryana it is Rs
10,400 and in Himachal Pradesh it is Rs 10,000).
How can a nation retain its independence if it does not reward its defenders suitably? Does it behove a great country like India to treat one of its greatest present day heroes, one of the
three living PVC recipients, so shabbily? This is why we have decided to bestow our
first Shivaji-FACT award of Courage to Captain Bana Singh and are trying to raise money to hand him over as well a substantial prize money. the Shivaji-FACT award of Courage, which will be handed over by HH Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on 12th March 2008 in Mumbai on the occasion of the opening of the Shivaji exhibition (see below), " A Hero for Modern India".

François Gautier
SHIVAJI EXHIBITION
Venue P.L. Deshpande, Maharashtra Kala Academy, Prabhadevi, Mumbai
Date 12th March 2008.
Time: 4.30 pm.
PROGRAM SCHEDULE
4.30 pm - Arrival of Chief Guests His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Chief Minister Gujarat Shri Narendra Modiji, Shri Uddhav Thackerayji, Shri Gopinath Mundeji
4.40pm – His Holiness chants a mantra at the venue
4.45pm – His Holiness and Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modiji, Shri Uddhav Thackerayji and Shri Gopinath Mundeji light the lamp in turns to inaugurate the exhibition
4.45 to 5.00pm - the Chief guests view the exhibition.
5.00pm - Chief guests proceed to auditorium
5.05pm - Vande Mataram
5.10pm – Francois Gautier gives the welcome address
5.15pm- Film 'Heros of Kargil' to be screened
5.20 pm- All the Chief guests are requested to sit on the stage.
5.25pm- Shri Gopinath Munde will address the audience.
5.35pm – Shri Uddhav Thackerayji will address the audience
5.55pm- Hon Chief Minister Gujarat Shri Narendra Modiji will address
the audience. Topic " Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj- a Hero for Modern India"
6.10pm - His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji will address the audience
Session will end with a guided meditation by His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji

Foot soldiers of Jaipur

Foot soldiers of Jaipur
Author: Rohit Parihar
Publication: India Today
Date: February 25, 2008
URL:
http://indiatoday. digitaltoday. in/index. php?option= com_content& Itemid=1& task=view& id=4605&sectioni d=24&issueid= 41&latn=2

Introduction: An organization working for the handicapped takes the
science of artificial limbs forward

It is probably the only city in the world to have lent its name to a
prosthetic, but now limbs other than foot-like a Jaipur knee or
wheelchair-may soon be associated with the pink city.

The leader of the team that invented the Jaipur foot, Dr P.K. Sethi,
died recently but the organisation which helped make it a reality, the
Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti, is still working to take this
legacy forward.

The Samiti, founded in 1975 by retired IAS officer D.R. Mehta runs
institutes in its endeavour to provide low-cost limbs and tools to the
physically challenged.

In January, Steve Goldband, director of private sector initiatives,
Centre on Longevity, Stanford University, US, visited the Samiti to
assess its functioning. Also on the agenda was development of low-cost
above-knee limb replacement. "Our major challenge is to create a cheaper
version of an above-knee limb," says Goldband.

Work on this project is proceeding at a brisk pace. The needy will be
identified in Jaipur through video conferencing and trials of the
prototype will take place here. "It may turn out to be as revolutionary
as the invention of the Jaipur foot," says Mehta.

In what could be a major diversification project for the Samiti,
production of low-cost, high quality wheelchairs is also set to begin
soon in collaboration with Whirlwind Wheelchair International, US, a
non-profit organisation.

The initial numbers to be produced, within a year if everything goes on
schedule, are slated to be 500 chairs a month. The Samiti will donate
150 chairs to Iraq through the Joint Iraqi Development and Unity
Foundation which provides chairs for exports.

At present the Samiti procures and donates 100 wheelchairs every month.
Mehta says last year the organisation donated 20,000 limbs compared to
8,800 by an international agency like the Red Cross.

Besides providing the Jaipur foot and wheelchairs, the Samiti caters to
the needs of the handicapped by giving them calipers and hearing aids
also.

As the number of the Samiti's beneficiaries crosses a million mark, a
retired Mehta-who also headed the Securities and Exchange Board of
India- has reason to smile. Having been conferred the Padma Vibhushan on
Republic Day this year, Mehta says "it is crucial for us to move ahead
and tie up with the best in the world to improve upon technology."

He nearly lost a limb in an accident in Jaisalmer decades ago. But that
miraculous escape seems to have become a source of inspiration for him
to do the same for others.

Mystery Factor Gives Ganges a Clean Reputation

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17134270

DELHI, INDIA, FEBRUARY 17, 2008: Hindus have always believed that water from India's Ganges River has extraordinary powers. The Indian emperor Akbar called it the "water of immortality" and always traveled with a supply. The British East India Co. used only Ganges water on its ships during the three-month journey back to England, because it stayed "sweet and fresh."

Indians have always claimed it prevents diseases, but are the claims wives' tales or do they have scientific substance?

Independent producer Julian Crandall Hollick searched for the "mysterious X factor" that gives Ganges water its mythical reputation.

He starts his investigation looking for the water's special properties at the river's source in the Himalayas. There, wild plants, radioactive rocks, and unusually cold, fast-running water combine to form the river. But since 1854, almost all of the Ganges' water has been siphoned off for irrigation as it leaves the Himalayas.

Hollick speaks with DS Bhargava, a retired professor of hydrology, who has spent a lifetime performing experiments up and down Ganges in the plains of India. In most rivers, Bhargava says, organic material usually exhausts a river's available oxygen and starts putrefying. But in the Ganges, an unknown substance acts on organic materials and bacteria and kills them. Bhargava says that the Ganges' self-purifying quality leads to oxygen levels higher than any other river in the world.

The best answer for the Ganges' mysterious substance may come from Jay Ramachandran, a molecular biologist and entrepreneur in Bangalore. In a short science lesson, Ramachandran explains that benign microorganisms fight the harmful bacteria found in the water. But even the scholar can't, however, explain why the river alone has this extraordinary ability to retain oxygen.

Jagannath temple in Gaya takes a step forward

http://www.thaindia n.com/newsportal /india-news/ jagannath- temple-in- gaya-has- a-low-caste- priest_10017603. html

Jagannath temple in Gaya has a low caste priest

February 14th, 2008 - 6:29 pm ICT by admin - Email This Post
Gaya, Feb 14 (ANI): Jagannath temple in Bihar took a bold initiative
by anointing a low-caste to perform temple rituals, considered a
strict prerogative of the Brahmins.

In a path-breaking reconciliatory gesture, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
(RSS) Chief K.S. Sudarshan graced the ceremony kicking off the
renovation of the temple under the guidance of the new head priest
Deepak Das, a low-caste person.

"We are all children of god. Nobody is a low-caste (dalit). That is
the reason why the word dalit is not mentioned in our Constitution, "
said Sudarshan.

Buddhist monks from the Mahabodhi temple, who attended the ceremony,
said the move would go a long way in the betterment of the Hindu
society.

"It is done as an experiment. I think if it is continued, it will lead
to the betterment of the society," said Pragyadeep, General Secretary
of the All-India Monks Union.
At present, non-Brahmin priests perform rituals in just a few temples
of certain sects.

In 2002, the Supreme Court had ruled that members of the so-called
dalit could also be appointed as priests in temples as long as they
were qualified to conduct the rituals. (ANI)

Doctor's initiative saves thousands of patients

Pathologist Dr. Himmatrao Bhavaskar hails from Jalna, Maharashtra (Bharat). He worked in Bhiwandi near Mumbai, where 30 % deaths were caused by scorpion bite. He discovered that the PRAZOSIN tablet available in medical stores is a cure. He saved many with this tablet. He used to sleep in the night outside his house in Mahad under a net so that patients were not sent back. His workload increased. He traveled from village to village explaining the treatment to doctors, treated more than 4,000 patients and brought down deaths due to scorpion bite to less than 2%. In 1986, in a single month, 65 patients survived. It was published in LANCET, the renowned medical journal. Prazosin is used today on scorpion bites and snake bites. Countries like Israel, Peru and Brazil use it.

From an interview of the doctor in FROZEN THOUGHT, April, 2007.

NOVEL WAY OF PONGAL CELEBRATIONS

NOVEL WAY OF PONGAL CELEBRATIONS

Dharmapuri, (VSK) --

Jan 2008
Swayamsevaks of Kurinjipuram village in Dharmapuri district (Tamilnadu) celebrated the Makar Sankranti (Pongal) this year in a novel way. They gathered the youngsters of the village and explained to them the harm done to human beings and the cattle by plastic bags and other wastes. It was rightly understood by the villagers and they immediately swung into action. With the guidence and support of Swayamsevaks numbering 21, the entire village was completly rid of plastic waste. The celebration of Sankranthi thus got tuned to a neighbourhood cause. A couple of villages nearby quickly followed the example and became plastic-free