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Saturday,
July 13, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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POTA for partisan ends New-look BJP team Kingdom of hell |
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The phenomenon called Dhirubhai
Don’t outgrow your size
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POTA for partisan ends THE manner in which Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) leader and Lok Sabha’s MP from Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu, Vaiko, was arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) in Chennai soon after his return from Chicago on Thursday is most unfortunate. He was produced before a magistrate at Madurai in the early hours of Friday and has been lodged in Vellore jail for a 28-day remand. His arrest, coming close on the heels of the incarceration of eight of his partymen on Wednesday under the same Act demonstrates the extent to which POTA can be misused to settle political scores. Clearly, the charges under which Vaiko and his partymen have been booked do not warrant the use of POTA. By no stretch of imagination can Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa brand Vaiko and his partymen as “terrorists” fit to be hauled up under POTA. Vaiko’s concern over the plight of the Tamilians in Sri Lanka is well known. He has been saying that they have been subjected to genocidal attack for well over five decades. As they are being subjugated and treated as second class citizens, Vaiko has been championing their cause in a peaceful and democratic manner at various fora, including Parliament, over the years. Expression of support for Sri Lankan Tamils through peaceful means is a legitimate democratic right of every citizen. Vaiko’s statement at a meeting in Thirumangalam on June 29 should be seen in the overall context in which he has made it and clarified it later. The Tamil Nadu government and those defending the use of POTA against Vaiko and his partymen refer to Section 21 (3) of the Act which says that a person commits an offence if he conducts a meeting supporting a terrorist cause. This section seems to have been blatantly misused by Ms Jayalalithaa as she did not make a dispassionate assessment of Vaiko’s June 29 meeting. Prima facie, there is some ambiguity in the application of this section as several questions remain unanswered: whether the meeting was organised for the purpose of supporting terrorism; what was the agenda of the meeting; and who were the audience. Vaiko’s clarification after Ms Jayalalithaa’s note to the Union Home Ministry should have helped matters rest there. Admittedly, the mere issuance of a statement in the context in which Vaiko has made it and clarified it later without any incontrovertible evidence or accompanying factor does not warrant his arrest under POTA. The arrests reinforce the worst fears voiced by those who had opposed POTA during the debate in Parliament — the potential scope for misuse by chief ministers against political opponents. Just as Vaiko’s arrest ordered by Ms Jayalalithaa, some other opposition leader could be thrown behind bars tomorrow by another chief minister. Consequently, there is every reason to believe that POTA has become an instrument of political repression at the whims and caprices of chief ministers. The Centre seems to be helpless in this regard as law and order is a State subject. Moreover, two of Vaiko’s colleagues — Mr N. Kannappan and Mr Gingee Ramachandran — are Ministers of State at the Centre. Ironically, Vaiko, who had strongly supported POTA in Parliament, has himself become a victim of its misuse. Compared to the infamous Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA), POTA has certain safeguards like the provision for a review committee by a High Court Judge. However, it is a time-consuming process. Obviously, POTA’s relevance and significance to fight terrorism cannot be undermined as India itself became a victim of terrorism. But if it is used as an instrument of political repression, its very purpose will be defeated. A bad law is as good as no law. |
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New-look BJP team RECENT electoral reverses have rattled the BJP good and proper. Waking up, although not at the first ringing of the alarm bell, it has sought to revamp and revitalise the party by bringing in new faces in the organisation wholesale. So sweeping are the changes effected by recently crowned party President Venkaiah Naidu that there are 15 new incumbents on 20 posts. What is all the more noteworthy is that most of these representatives on the central team are from the states going to the polls over the next one year. In the process, many of the known faces have been either ousted or sidelined. No names need to be taken but it is a fact that over the years, the party had accumulated a lot of flotsam and jetsam some of which also became extra-constitutional centres of power. In one fell sweep, Mr Naidu has sought to remove the legacy of his predecessors. Those thrown by the wayside are not going to take it lying down, but this was one risk well worth taking if the party was to be resuscitated. In the process, the average age of office-bearers has come down considerably and it is hoped that the youth brigade (if 50-plus people can be called that) will bring back some life into the decision-making process. But as said earlier, most postings and transfers have been finalised with an eye on the elections. So, considerable representation has been given to Dalits, tribesmen, women and minorities. In fact, this is the first time that the BJP has had a Muslim General Secretary, in Mr Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. There are as many as four women among the office-bearers, again a rarity. The new team has the unmistakable stamp of Mr L.K. Advani, although exceptional care has been taken to ensure that the group does not have a hard Hindutva look. Rather, several incumbents enjoy a liberal image. Perhaps they will fit in better in the current mosaic of coalition politics. Interestingly, Mr Govindacharya has been dropped even from the national executive. That is reported to have been at the prompting of the Prime Minister, who did not see eye to eye with him ever since that “mukhauta” remark became public. Mr Naidu made it a point to mention that Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee is the leader even of Mr Advani. That remark says it all. Also on the downswing are former BJP President Kushabhau Thakre and Dr Murli Manohar Joshi. The core team to be watched is that of the General Secretaries: Mr Rajnath Singh, Mr Arun Jaitley, Mr Naqvi, Mr Sanjay Joshi and Ms Anita Arya. The next few months will reveal whether the new look will also translate into a new orientation which is the need of the hour for the ruling party. |
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Kingdom of hell THE evil deeds of the absconding self-styled head of the Shiv Sena (Rashtriya) Jagdish Tangri would make the work of hardened criminals look like a child’s pranks. What was it that he did not do? He usurped a temple and its land in Ludhiana’s Gur Mandi and from there he ran his evil evil empire. From the material that the police was able to lay its hand on there should be no iota of doubt that the other name of Tangri could have been “danav”. His major source of clout was evidently the lucrative and diabolical business of arms smuggling. During the carnage in Gujarat he had boasted of having supplied arms to the outfits that turned the state into a place as hot as hell. For years he virtually terrorised the residents of Gur Mandi as also other localities of Ludhiana. His henchmen used to collect protection money from petty shopkeepers and rich businessmen. Supplying pornographic material and manufacturing and marketing illicit liquor too was part of his evil enterprise. He used to claim that he was the real Shiv Sena tiger and that he was more powerful than even Bal Thackeray. The most shocking aspect of the tale is that everyone from officials of the district administration to school kids knew about his illegal operations. But the administration chose to look the other way while ordinary citizens did not have the courage to take on Tangri. The better option for them was to fall in line. He even ran his own parallel administration where instant and ruthless “justice” was administered to those defying his illegal writ. The police recovered instruments from what looked like a torture chamber from the Middle Ages. All these years he was able to evade arrest because of his close political and bureaucratic contacts. It is an accepted fact of life anywhere in India that large underworld operations usually enjoy the blessings of the local officials and politicians. Tangri’s case was no different. Had the media remained silent Tangri would have been still operating from his den and innocent and helpless citizens would have been on the run. In any case, the don of Ludhiana did not abscond. He was helped by influential persons in the administration to escape before the police launched the search operations at his den of evil and corruption. It is not difficult to identify the officials and politicians whose support helped Tangri become the most feared criminal in Ludhiana. The instruments of torture recovered from Tangri’s den should be used on his benefactors in high places to make them blurt out the address of Tangri’s hideout. |
The phenomenon called Dhirubhai IT is ironical that while the high priest of capitalism, the USA, has been wrestling with its biggest crisis of confidence in recent times in the mega scandals besmirching famous names, India was bidding good bye to its greatest capitalist. To suggest that Dhirubhai Ambani was a rags to riches story – a petrol pump attendant in Aden making it to the Fortune 500 list in the space of a quarter century – would be to underestimate the man and his place in independent India’s history. Dhirubhai was the people’s billionaire in a country living in the legacy of Jawaharlal Nehru’s “socialistic pattern of society”. Nehru’s emphasis on state-funded and — run major projects on India’s independence was good in many respects, but the concept had long outlived its usefulness. It was Dhirubhai‘s genius that he not merely bent the regime of licence permit raj to his purposes — as many businesses had done less successfully – but brought capitalism to the people. There were reputable business houses – the Tatas above all – who symbolised excellence and ethical practices but they ran a predictable course. In Dhirubhai’s case, not only did he cut corners to survive in India’s business climate, but he converted a whole nation to the virtues of capitalism’s heart, in the trading of shares and the stock exchange. The annual general meetings of Dhirubhai’s companies had to be moved to sports stadia to accommodate shareholders, numbering in the millions. Many humble men and lower middle class families became rich on the strength of the shares they had bought as Dhirubhai, who not only dreamed big but delivered on his promises, guiding his companies on the principles of trust, relationships and excellence. And long before he left the scene, he had put in place two sons who, unlike him, were trained in America’s best business schools and had taken over day-to-day command after he suffered the first cerebral stroke in 1986. He himself was always the street fighter, taking on corporate rivals as avidly as he cut through the bureaucratic maze. His iconic status was revealed in those who joined his funeral procession in Mumbai, apart from the privileged who witnessed his cremation. They ranged from princes to paupers, the powerful and the famous and the men and women from his own business fraternity. It is traditional to be kind and gracious about a person on his death, but in Dhirubhai’s case the outpourings were heartfelt and came from men and women who had never met him but had partaken of the feast he had given them because they had placed their faith in him and his companies. Dhirubhai’s contribution was far greater than that of a phenomenally successful businessman. He accomplished what no one else had achieved in India – converted the people to capitalism in a country traditionally comfortable with the mantras of Fabian socialism filtered by Nehru. In effect, he was both a Henry Ford and an investment guru and converted people by keeping his word and his performance. Dhirubhai’s access to those in authority — whatever their political stripes — was both legendary and controversial. For while he made the poor rich, he also made people who exercised power richer, in the process providing the lubricating oil that made files, decked out with different tags of “urgent” and “confidential”, move at a brisk pace. If he thereby subverted the political system, so be it. Many tried to do what he did, with varying degrees of success; none as brilliantly as he and, in the end, he cut the thicket of archaic and corruption-prone rules to achieve a grand objective. Inevitably, many legends grew up around him and his methods. His reach to those in authority was so sweeping and all-pervasive that politicians and bureaucrats were in awe of him. It was as if the shares of his company Reliance were a magic wand that opened all doors and enriched all who purchased or received them. Dhirubhai had found the key to the hearts of the poor and the rich alike. Dhirubhai was a Gujarati, son of a schoolteacher born in a village in Gujarat, and even for a community famed for its entrepreneurship and business acumen, he blazed a path no one had before him. He had gone to Aden to take up his humble job when he was a mere 17-year-old. He returned home nine years later to start a commodity and trading house and the rest, as they say, is history. The year 1998 saw the world’s largest grassroots refinery commissioned in Jamnagar. I met Dhirubhai in his Mumbai apartment in the mid-80s before his first stroke and before he moved to his more spacious quarters. He advised me on the importance of giving market quotations in commodities in the new newspaper, The Indian Post, I was editing. Looking back, the newspaper field was one arena in which he did not succeed. His paper, The Political and Business Observer, never took off, and it had always puzzled me that a man of his genius did not see the merit of having a steady hand at the helm, a man of integrity who was recognised as such. The explanation I was offered was that his hands were too full to give attention to monitoring the newspaper. Dhirubhai’s place in history is secure and in a political culture where businessmen have traditionally occupied a somewhat less exalted position than professionals or bureaucrats or even politicians, he was ten feet tall, recognised as a genius and that rare individual who made history in his own lifetime. And he did what no propaganda for capitalism could achieve: the conversion of the multitude to the heartbeat of capitalism. In the last years of life, he became an icon not merely to his home country and people, but to others in the world firmament. President Bill Clinton had a private meeting with him during his visit to India, and among his many international callers have been the redoubtable Henry Kissinger, now advising world leaders with his advice through his Kissinger Associates agency. |
Don’t outgrow your size THE Nawab of Hoti, like quite a few other rajas and maharajas of the pre-1947 age, was a British creation. Hoti was a part of Mardan district of NWFP. The nawab who, I suspect, had much in common with Osma bin Laden, had made his mark as a dare-devil knight of the British Empire. He could subdue the Pathans like Hari Singh Nalwa had done it under Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The British wanted to reward him appropriately. More importantly, they wanted to keep him on their side eternally. So they carved Hoti out of Mardan, converted it into a princedom and made the nawab its ruler. Further, they bestowed on him the title of hony. captain. God knows what great strategic significance Hoti had in those days. Of course, NWFP as a whole, situated as it was on this side of Afghanistan, was strategically highly important. There was always the danger that tribal chieftains with their hordes from across the border might anyday descend on it and spread over the rest of India. It had happened numerous times earlier. The Hindukush mountains had scattered here and there crushed bones of old warriors. I saw those crushed bones a number of times while taking strolls on the Khyber Pass in the company of my British teachers and other students of the Islamia College, Peshawar, now elevated as a university. Whatever it was, the British decided to get Hoti back from the nawab. They offered him huge amounts of bribe and a permanent pension. That kind of thing was not unknown in those days. The lovely hill station of Murree, some 50 miles upwards of Rawalpindi, was purchased by them from its erstwhile owner for two twenties (20x2 = Rs. 40). That was quite a big sum in those days. The British wanted Murree very much. Rawalpindi was the HQ of Northern Command. It was O.K. in winter. But for summer, like Shimla, the British wanted some cool place. Murree was the obvious choice. Hoti was not a hill station like Murree or Shimla. Yet the British wanted it back. But the nawab, a self-respecting Pathan feudal lord as he was, refused to oblige them and part with his princedom. The British then played their trump card. The nawab had a young son. The British made him an hony. colonel. Mighty happy and proud, the boy, donning the crown and two stars of a full-fledged colonel, walked into his dad’s room. The dad did not recognise him instantaneously since he had never seen him in uniform. He got up from his seat and mistaking him for a big British officer, saluted him in the right royal manner. The boy saluted back. But as he got close to him and as the Nawab of Hoti discovered who he was, he gave him a resounding slap on the face the sound of which almost brought the Hindukush mountains down on the two of them. I can’t say what happened thereafter. But as I recall that incident, it occurs to me that there is a lesson in it for all of us, including our beloved friend, Pervez Musharraf of Agra fame. And that lesson is: “Don’t Outgrow Your Size, General.” |
Who is a champion? WE have just finished witnessing the “hysterical” World Cup in football. We saw nations uniting behind their country teams and going crazy over their loss or victory. Once their own team lost, the football crazy chased the next team close to their heart. But what I found fascinating was to see how the whole game of football united countries and continents. For the first time Asian continent was in the reckoning for the last four. Later on it became Europe Vs. Latin America. Finally the Samba of Brazil won. Let us analyse why Brazil won. What made them the champions? And what makes a champion? My understanding of sports goes back to my school days when from the age of 14 I was playing competitive tennis. Thereafter till the age of 28, I continued to compete internationally and nationally. I saw and experienced competition but I can say with conviction that I only saw merit win. I never saw an undeserving player win. Even when I lost, I knew that I lost to a better player of that day. If I wanted to be a winner I had to deserve to, by working harder physically and mentally — And whenever I did put in that extra hard work I won — and in fact I knew in advance that I would win because my conscience told me so. The reasons were that I was better prepared. So why did Brazil win? Were the Germans less deserving? Or was Turkey less prepared? Or did South Korea want it less? No—Brazil won because they knew they would win. They played as if the trophy belonged to them. All that they had to do was to continue giving their utmost. And they did. They did not only defend, they attacked. They were not waiting for others to make mistakes but went on to create their own openings to score goals. And it is this vital reason which carried the day against Germany, in the finals, despite the fact that it is the German goal keeper who won the Golden Foot Award but the World Cup went to Brazil. Winning such close fights requires long preparation, sound strategies, in-depth and regular reviews, visionary imagination, unbreakable will, strong determination and perfect team work. And then most important of all, on the D-day a state of mind which responds positively and believes in winning. Mental preparation is, in fact, the biggest cause of victories. And mind training does not become a habit without inculcation of an attitude. So what makes a champion? We have today the 20 years old young Australian the Wimbledon champion. And we have the William family winners women’s in singles and doubles. They won because they prepared the whole year, in a methodical manner, by putting in the right strategies at the right time with the right calibration? And we have seen the results. In fact the world of sports is a fairer ground than the game of life. The sports field is an open ground where you win only if you play the game and only if you are better than your opponent. While the referee is watching you, the spectators are watching both—the players and the referee. Then there are the cameras recording the game, which are neutral and objective. So why not play an easier game and prepare for the tougher one when you are young— and when you have all the energy on your side. Unfortunately, this is not what is happening in numbers it can. The university sports grounds are not crowded. The running tracks are waiting to be run on enough and other sports infrastructure. The tennis courts are under utilised as I see. Perhaps we are under the impression that studies and sports do not combine. And that if a child or student plays, he/she will lose out in academics. On the contrary, a student who plays has the potential of being doubly brilliant for he/she allocates time skillfully between books and the playground. And since both require discipline and concentration, the student or the player can develop doubly — And those who do it in their student life also benefit doubly for they have two parallel streams flowing on their own, all along their lives. A student life which has productive and creative streams going along side is bound to learn to achieve more in life. The same creativity and discipline enters his/her work life and naturally becomes more rewarding compared to others which may not be as versatile or all rounded. All investment of hard work never goes without returns. This is the law of nature. Hence to learn to be a champion requires early training, self-discipline and a burning desire to do more. Once it becomes a habit, continuity of training, including mental attitudes, enables higher achievement. Even when a loss is encountered ..... it is to analyse whether it is a loss or an experience for lessons to be learnt. Champions are born and made. It is identifiable if one is born with and equally if not. But the desire to be a champion can make one in any aspect of life — whenever one so chooses to. All one needs to know is the price tag which goes with it. I recall my small sister Anu Peshawaria who went on to become a national champion in Tennis (thrice) and played at the Wimbledon for India, when she was just about 5 years old, said to my mother, “Mummy what is the need for so much of hard work for a small trophy which Kiran didi gets. We can ‘buy’ it from the market”. But then she was a child and as she grew she realised trophies and medals have to be earned and won by sweat and sacrifice and not “bought”. Being a champion means selffulfillment of all the value investments one makes in one’s life. One does not have to get visible medals or trophies but for innermost sense of achievement that I could be... and that I am... . |
Empowering the disabled THIRTY-ONE summers have gone by since Anuradha Mohit, a Special Rapporteur with the National Human Rights Commission, experienced the rainbow but she has not let her disability affect her life. Anuradha (41), a national awardee, lost her vision in an accident at the tender age of 10. And much to the family’s trauma, the best opthalmological opinion in the world pronounced her condition of 80 per cent sightlessness as irreversible. Helpless in blotting what fate had allotted for their young daughter, Anuradha’s parents left no stone unturned to provide memorable and enriching experiences to her growing years. While her mother took pains to acquaint her with the map, her father read out to her classics cover to cover. Anuradha gave formal shape to her individual experience and institutionalised it in the structure of the National Association for the Blind in 1987. This helped her evolve a teaching methodology for children in the nursery and preparatory school of the National Association for the Blind. Although Anuradha’s marriage lasted only two years due to her husband’s sudden demise (1988 to 1990), she looks back at the time spent with him as the most wonderful experience in life. A rank-holder right from her school days in Kapurthala, Anuradha took her master’s in music (vocal) from GNDU and did her M.Phil in music. At 20, she was the youngest faculty member at Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Jalandhar, where she taught from 1981 to 1987 before coming to Delhi. Anuradha has visited 25 countries. Her interests include reading, music, travelling and spending time with friends. She is the first visually challenged person to join the National Human Rights Commission as Special Rapporteur on April 1 this year. She is leaving for Spain on July 20 to participate in a preparatory meeting for the world summit on information society. Excerpts from an interview: Q:
As a founder member of the Disabled Rights Group and having been involved in the draft bill to provide equal opportunities to persons with disabilities, are you satisfied with the implementation of the Persons with Disabilities, Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Equal Participation Act, 1995? The Act is very comprehensive and has been tried by so many agencies, the government and targeted beneficiaries. It has stood the test of trial in the Supreme Court and the high courts. Whenever any individual has tried to invoke its provisions, the Act has restored his rights. How much a law would work or not depends on the extent of awareness at various levels. All commissions, tribunals and courts at various levels have a very well defined role. The Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (CCPD) is not passing an order to the government. The orders are to ensure that the petitioners’ interests are protected. My response to the implementation are mixed. We have a procedure-bogged system. The Act works to a large extent depending on the intention of the government and the civil society. My experience as Deputy CCPD tells me that of the 3,000 NGOs working in the disability sector, 20 were acting as post offices for forwarding complaints of the disabled and only 10 were vigilant. Some had not even cared to study the Act and were only familiar with its title. On the other hand, organisations of the disabled, for the disabled and by the disabled as the National Federation of the Blind, the All India Confederation of the Deaf and the Federation of Parents Associations of Mentally Handicapped were more active. Q: How do you propose to promote the rights of the disabled in the NHRC? The commission’s own motivation is very high. My response is to adequately respond to this motivation and am making best of my efforts to work with this highly motivated and learned team. The world over persons with disabilities are trying to assert it as a human rights issue. So far, disability has been perceived as an individual pathology and therefore the solutions were left to the individual’s capacity and to his family. The human rights perspective calls for adjustments in the economic, social, political and cultural system which are fundamental to any society. Q: How did the NHRC opportunity come your way? I got associated with the NHRC when I was Deputy Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities. A final year student of medicine who turned blind while pursuing his studies was not allowed to appear in the examination. He moved the NHRC and I went to explain the provisions of the Disabilities Act before the Full Commission. The second time they invited me was to discuss the areas in which the NHRC could initiate some projects for the disabled. We came up with a project to create awareness among legal professionals and practitioners about the rights of the disabled and to get academic law institutes to introduce a module on disability norms and standards. The NHRC offered me the job on March 8 which is observed as Women’s Day. I felt all the more empowered to have been offered a job on such a serious forum. The commission is proposing to adopt a disability policy. Q: How soon do you think barrier-free access for the disabled will be a reality in India? It will not happen unless the disabled themselves take charge of the situation and enforcement agencies focus their attention on the local authority responsible for urban and rural development. Accessibility of built environment, transport system, telecommunication and information cannot happen without adequate budgetary provision and faithful utilisation of available funds. Barrier-free infrastructure can remove disparity in all spheres, be it education, employment, tourism, art and culture. Q: What is impeding the progress of the disabled in our country? A large number of factors are coming in the way of the progress of the disabled in India. We are not a law-abiding society. We are neither sincere nor serious about implementation of the law. The society, including the disabled, need to change its attitude towards the issue of disability. Q: Isn’t there a need to have more sports events or events as Abilympics (Olympics of Abilities) for the disabled? Abilympics is a very good concept and gives persons with disabilities a good opportunity to showcase their talent and skills. It has a good demonstration value and is a very big international event. We have not yet started integrating persons with disabilities in sports-adventure or regular, cinema and politics. Q: Have you faced any unpleasent experiences because of your disability? Life is full of experiences — pleasent and unpleasent, positive and negative. Disability compounded with gender is definitely a disadvantage. There is a tendency to exploit. I have been through rough times in my life but they have been part of the learning process. But I start again with renewed trust in humanity. Q: Is it true that discrimination compelled you to leave the office of the CCPD? By now I’m empowered enough to deal with discrimination. But more disturbing was the tendency to influence the course of justice which demands neutrality and objectivity. The constant reminder by the authorities to tone down directions, particularly for bigger ministries and powerful departments was something I could not live with. I was offered an extension but I did not accept it. |
Scent trade
Scent in Paris is one of the luxury trades which apparently flourishes to an incredible extent. Banks and cinemas have swallowed up most of the restaurants and cafes of the boulevards, but scent is marching westward with the dressmakers. The fashion is for hot house and complicated mixtures, with critic names such as “Will He Come?” or “The Fatigues of Waiting,” or “Does He love me?” |
Sixteen varieties of women are known to be mothers as declared by the Vedas: 1) A foster mother 2) One who holds in the womb 3) One who feeds 4) The wife of the preceptor 5) The consort of one's chosen deity 6) wife of the father 7) A virgin 8) A real sister 9) The wife of the Master 10) Mother-in-law 11) Maternal grandmother 12) Grandmother 13) The wife of the brother 14) The sister of the mother 15) The sister of the father 16) the wife of the maternal uncle. — Brahma Vaivarta Purana
*** Motherhood is the essential fulfilment in a woman's life — bestowed by the Almighty Lord in His divine dispensation. The biological and anatomical peculiarities in a woman's body are not the only manifestations that make a woman complete. It is pure grace in her mind which is instinctive never artificial — that makes her divine. The man has to move heaven and earth to achieve this divine character... A woman may be loved by a man in his individual capacity of being a husband, as a sister by a brother and as a daughter by her parents. But she claims universal respect only for her motherhood. — Ananta Sri Vibhushita Sri Jagadguru Sri Shankaracharya Sri Jayendra Sarasvatiji Maharaj of Sri Kanchi Kama Koti Pitham. The Kalyana Kalpataru
*** A son who fails to protect his widow mother deserves to be condemned. The woman should be guarded against all such occasions which have even the slightest potentiality of weakening the character because unguarded women become the cause of grief to both their families. — Manu Smriti
*** We have prescribed for man kindness towards his parents. His mother bore him with trouble and brought him forth with trouble. — The Quran, sura |
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Who is a champion?
Empowering the disabled
