CM Mehbooba Mufti intervene in re-opening of Sharda Peeth Pilgrimage in POK

Save Sharda Committee Kashmir (Regd.) meets J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti- seeks her immediate intervention in re-opening of Sharda Peeth Pilgrimage in POK

Save Sharda Committee Kashmir (Regd.) called on J&K Chief Minister Ms Mehbooba Mufti and briefed her about the recent developments on re-opening of Sharda Pilgrimage in Muzaffarabad, POK, particularly in the wake of Supreme Court of POK (AJK) order on preservation of Sharda peeth. Recently Chief Justice of POK Hon'ble Chief Justice Jenab Chaudhary Mohammad Ibrahim Zia gave the historical judgement on preservation of Sharda Peeth in Muzaffarabad district of  POK. This landmark judgement dated 2^nd. January’2018 was addressed to Ravinder Pandita, founder of the committee . A memorandum was presented to the Chief Minister asking her indulgence for reopening of pilgrimage that has not been held since last 70 years. Earlier She was presented with the soil and flowers received from PoK civil society and the photographs depicting recent developments & efforts by the committee on the pilgrimage.

The delegation was led by Sh. Ravinder Pandita, Head of the committee, who stressed the need for an amendment to LOC permit rules to include annual pilgrimages besides meeting relatives as contained in the permit rules, presently. The meeting lasted 45 minutes and the issue was thoroughly discussed with regard to Cross LOC heritage & religious tourism. The Chief minister was briefed about the strategic importance of the site by former Lt. Gen. (Retd) Ata Hasnain, who is also the founder member of the committee. Other members included Adv. Vinod Trisal, member of the committee,Sh. Vijay Vaishnavi from KP Sabha Chandigarh, Smt. Kusum Pandita , Shrawan Pandita and others.The Chief Minister while appreciating the efforts of the committee assured the committee members that she will be personally taking up the matter with Prime Minister earnestly.

In a press release the founder Head of committee Sh. Ravinder Pandita has said  that these temples like Sharda and other shrines and not only of religious but historical & archeological importance too. We have been striving for the Re-opening of Sharda pilgrimage on the lines of Nankana sahib Lahore annual yatra by sikhs. Though we have LOC permit in place for J&K state subjects, but it is meant for meeting relatives only living across Loc hence we are deprived of visiting Sharda - the basic seat of learning. The last yatra undertaken was by our Guru Swami Nand Lal Ji, a great saint of Kashmir during partition in 1947. His followers included the then sarpanch of Sharda village namely Zaman Khan.

Although we have formed a committee and pressing our government for a dialogue with Pakistani Government, yet much needs to be done at people to people contact as well. Last year  we got a breakthrough when a few friends of ours living in Muzaffarabad called Civil society in POK laid flowers on our behalf in the temple and sent us sacred soil & these flowers to India. we all Kashmiris in particular hail the great and kind act and later in March this year we had sent a photo of Goddess Sharda at their address in AJK which was installed inside the temple, but the same is not seen there now in their recent visit in October. “ I have received lot of visiting pilgrim delegations from POK here in New Delhi and these people have shown absolute willingness and have invited us for pilgrimage to Sharda and the restoration of same thereof”, Ravinder Pandita said..

As far as restoration of these religious sites is concerned, our committee is willing and undertakes the restoration work and any assistance thereof. The Hon'ble court may take suo-moto cognizance of our undertaking especially for Sharda temple in POK, which is our heritage. This may bridge lot of differences between kashmiris separated by LOC at the moment. Temples & shrines are being restored and reclaimed by our sister organization APMCC in Kashmir valley as well, though we are out of valley for the last 28 years. The struggle for re-opening of Sharda pilgrimage and setting up of Sharda University in J&K cannot be undermined. Save Sharda committee Kashmir (Regd.) had earlier written a letter to Chief Justice of Pakistan undertaking to work on the restoration work of temples & shrines in Pakistan and Sharda in POK, in particular. Earlier the committee founder Ravinder Pandita met Sh. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi MOS minorities in Govt. of India recently in New Delhi along with a delegation and discussed steps for preserving religious shrines in Pakistan. The minister assured  the committee that Govt. will take all possible steps and give financial assistance also in consultation with his counterpart in Pakistan for preservation of minorities shrines in Pakistan.

Living consciously, giving back to society is a business skill: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

“The purpose of wealth is to create wellness. Finding balance and inner peace is essential for entrepreneurs as well as citizens. Both are a pre-requisite for growth and development,” said Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Founder, The Art of Living. Speaking on the third and final day of the CII Partnership Summit 2018 in a session titled “Special plenary with a social icon” in Visakhapatnam on Monday, the spiritual guru said, “Wealth means health. Not just an absence of ill-health but a soul functioning at the highest level of one’s consciousness.”

“You cannot squander half of your health to earn wealth and then squander half of your wealth to regain health. It just doesn’t make business or economic sense”, the Gurudev pointed out.

Pointing out to the problems that a blind resort to development can produce, he said that the “UK government had now to create a department solely to tackle the problem of loneliness in society.”

He said that “sewa” or giving back to society should be an important mark of an entrepreneur’s mental makeup as that will giving him “the greatest satisfaction” and the best use of the wealth that he has created.

Mr N Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, said that the “only way to leads one’s life is by adopting integrity and ethics as a life skill. Creation of ill-gotten wealth will create problems.” Mr Naidu explained that one of his government’s aim was to make a “happy society” even while maximising growth and development and that he had announced a “happy Sunday” to encourage citizens and their families to come outdoors and mix with the community as “human interaction was a critical ingredient in upping the happiness quotient of the people.”

On the prevailing quest for “instant gratification” by both citizens and businesses, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said that while that was a “normal human instinct”, developing an attitude of “patience” was a necessity. “We need passion but not feverishness, need dispassion but not apathy. We need dynamism infused with patience and consciousness,“ he cautioned.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar outlined three mantras for success for in the Indian situation today. One, trust in oneself; two, trust in the Indian system; and three, trust in the resilience and dynamism of the Indian people.

Asked about today’s increasing resort to the gadgets like the smartphone as a constant and demanding companion, he said, “Sometimes we need be in the airplane mode. Keep the devices aside for some part of the day and try to connect with nature, the community and experience silence. It can be therapeutic and remove some of the imbalances in your mental and spiritual makeup. Most of all, invest in yourself. Shift the context of your universe”.

The session was moderated by Pranjal Sharma, Author, Kranti Nation: India and the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Bollywood at UP Investors Summit

   Bollywood biggies attend the UP Investors Summit. TheWell known names from the film industry including producers Boney Kapoor & Rahul Mittra, actor & Bhojpuri superstar Ravi Kishan, directors Subhash Ghai & Anurag Kashyap attended the second day of the Uttar Pradesh Investors Summit held in Lucknow on a mega scale which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Speaking at this special session on Media & entertainment, ace director Subhash Ghai urged the local talent to come forward with scripts having local flavour while Boney Kapoor emphasised on the need of having more cinema halls in the state.

          

   Noted filmmaker Rahul Mittra spoke on the enormous scope of digital content consumption & urged fellow filmmakers to create original & crisp content. Group CEO Viacom Sudhanshu Vats, Madhu Mantena, Principal Secretary Information Awanish Awasthi & Minister Information Dr Neelkanth Tiwari were also present at the summit. 

   The two-day event is was attended by more than 5,000 delegates from around the world and as many as 25 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) worth Thousands of crores were signed during this mega summit. 

Cosmetic surgery is not the only reason of superstar Sridevi's death: Dr. Monica Kapoor

The untimely death of megastar Sridevi due to a cardiac arrest took everyone into a shock. The 54-year old actress, who dominated the cinema in the 80s, went to Dubai to be a part of a family wedding. There have been widespread speculations about the unexpected death, with many experts and doctors alleging innumerable cosmetic surgeries that she underwent.

Toxic doses of local anesthetic that are administered during the surgery are said to be the major cause behind sudden cardiac arrests. However, Dr. Monika Kapoor holds contradictory views about the same. Condemning the ideology that completely blames the surgery and medical treatments as the cause behind, Dr. Monika - who is a cosmetic surgeon herself, says, “Cosmetic surgeries could not be the only reason for someone’s sudden death. We can't blame medical procedures for such disaster, but the reason behind getting these cosmetic surgeries, i. e constant mental and social stress to look at their best could be blamed to an extent.”

Dr. Monica Kapoor,

Elaborating further, she said, “If cosmetic surgeries were responsible for such death then, this could have happened long back in the past. Sridevi had undergone such surgeries in her early 40s as well.”

Citing the example of Michael Jackson, Monika explained, “Prominent personalities like MJ underwent different cosmetic procedures and surgeries but nowhere in the world, surgical societies / medical societies blamed the cause of sudden death to these surgeries.”

Dr. Monica also gave reference of other surgeries people undergo, and which are neither harmful. “People sometimes need multiple surgeries for tumour removal or for a complete cure, but that doesn't kill them. The constant social and mental stress to look picture perfect is the main culprit behind it and not these surgeries. So I believe the reason behind the surgeries I.e society or family pressure to maintain the status and profile, might have caused the sad demise of our the most iconic stars of all times

BJp concillor & corruption

24 Feb 2018, Page No.10, Punjab Kesari

Move from “ease” of doing business to “please” of doing business: Suresh Prabhu

 

Saying that India should now move from ‘ease of doing business” to “please of doing business”, Mr Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, said that it was critical that the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country was “nurtured and allowed to flourish” . Mr Prabhu was addressing the session entitled “The reform calculus: Promoting ease of doing business” at the CII Partnership Summit 2018 being organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in association with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, and the State Government of Andhra Pradesh in Visakhapatnam. He said that dynamic chief ministers like Chandrababu Naidu “have made my job as federal minster for commerce and industry easier as I can bask in his glory.”
 

He said that what was unique about Andhra Pradesh was that “not only had it made its investing processes totally transparent but also offered customised solutions to individual businesses which is a paradigm shift in the way business was being done in the state.”
 

Mr Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, said that if “Andhra Pradesh were a country, it would rank 88th in the World Bank’s ease of doing business index” . He said that his goal was to take his state to “64^th rank in the first phase and reach 40^th rank in the second phase, with the ultimate goal of being among the top 5 investment destinations by 2050 globally.”
 

“I am benchmarking my goals with the top countries of the world in the ease of doing business rankings,” Mr Naidu said, pointing out that already “30% of business proposals are given approvals on the spot and the rest of the 70% are only taking a maximum of 21days.”
 

Ms Shobana Kamineni, President, CII, said that while the ease of doing business was important and critical, it was time that the Indian industry “doubled-down” on the “business of doing business” . She said that the Indian industry bodies should come together and raise their voice to enable the growth and development of Indian business.  The CII President also pointed to the criticality of ensuring that the parameters of measuring ease of doing business should also include the criteria of friendliness of government policies towards the growth of MSMEs.
 

Ms Kamineni also said that it was time that India started producing “large world class companies” through the easing of doing business by encouraging and facilitating participation by “anchor investors, even from abroad.”
 

Mr Sameer Garde, President-India & SAARC, Cisco Systems Inc said that it was important to link the efforts to enhance the ease of doing business with the ‘livability index” so that the needs of “bottom of the pyramid are also addressed through the use of technology and processes.”
 

While appreciating the quest for ‘Make in India’ and launching of defense-corridors in south India, Mr Phil Shaw, Chief Executive-India, Lockheed Martin, wanted India to also consider the imperative for creating a larger ecosystem in the defense and aerospace sector by “moving beyond the adoption of the lowest-cost technical solutions paradigm.” He also called for “predictability in procurement” by the Indian government.
 

Saying that he “believed in India” , Mr Myron Brilliant, Executive Vice President and Head of International Affairs, USIBC US Chamber of Commerce, emphasised that any country that is projected to grow from a $2.5 trillion economy today to a $10 trillion economy in 15 years cannot be ignored.”
 

Praising the vision and execution prowess demonstrated by the CM, he said, “May be (US) President (Donald) Trump can learn something from him.” He called on Andhra Pradesh to mark its presence in the US by opening an office in the US. “While 15 US states have offices in India, there is no presence of Indian states in the US,” Mr Brilliant said.
 

Mr Jamal Saif Al Jarwan, Secretary General, International Investor Council, UAE, pointed to the “similarities in vision” between what was happening in India and Andhra Pradesh to what was being done in his own country.
 

He said that UAE was “moving from an oil-based economy to knowledge-based economy as innovation is the key to success.”
 

Giving an overview of the history of economic development of Spain after its joined the European Union, Mr Jose Luis Kaiser, Director General, International Trade and Investments, Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, Spain said, “It is important that the reforms that were happening in states like Andhra Pradesh must be replicated all over India which would lead to rapid and dramatic rise in the Indian economy.”
 

Inspired by India’s success in raising its rank in ease of doing business, Mr U Aung Htoo, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Commerce, Myanmar, said that his country had “committed to raise its own ranking from a lowly 170 at present to 100 within three years.”
 

Mr Soumitra Dutta, Founding Dean, Cornell SC Johnsons College of Business, USA, who moderated the session said that the potential for India to move up the ease of doing business rankings was “immense”. “Just one insolvency legislation witnessed moving from 131 to 100. So, imagine what other reforms could do to out rankings. Just think of the potential”, he asked.
 

The session concluded with the inauguration of plaques signifying the foundation for setting up an Indian Institute of Foreign Trade campus and an Indian Institute of Packaging campus in Kakinada. Also, enrolment cards were distributed to aquaculture farmers.

23 feb 2018, page no.5, Punjab Kesari