Pandharpur (Maharashtra), Nov 17 (IANS) In a gesture of brotherhood with fellow Hindus, Muslims here deferred the traditional goat sacrifice on Eid-ul-Azha as the Hindu festival of Kartiki Ekadashi also fall Wednesday. The Muslims of Pandharpur in Solapur district postponed the goat sacrifice till Friday at the behest of their community elders.
Nearly half a million pilgrims from all over Maharashtra and other parts of the country have converged in Pandharpur for Kartiki Ekadashi. Muslim community elders said they did not want to hurt the religious sentiments of Hindu pilgrims during the festival.
If you had not heard of Narayanan Krishnan, as I had not, it is a collective failure. This is one of the most incredible stories of personal commitment.Narayanan Krishnan, all of 29 years old now, does what he was professionally trained to do as a chef. Feed people. Only Krishnan does not do this in the swanky confines of a 5-star hotel. Every day, he wakes up at 4 am, cooks a simple hot meal and then, along with his team, loads it in a van and travels about 200 km feeding the homeless in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
Krishnan feeds, often with his hands, almost 400 destitute people every day. And for those who need it, he provides a free haircut too.
According to CNN, eight years ago, this award-winning chef with a five-star hotel chain was all set to go to Switzerland for a high-profile posting. On a visit to a Madurai temple, he came across a homeless, old man eating his own human waste. That stark sight changed Krishnan's life.
Much to the dismay of his parents, CNN says, Krishnan abandoned his career plans and decided to spend his life and his professional training in looking after those who could not care for themselves. He has provided more than 1.2 million hot meals through his nonprofit organisation Akshaya Trust, and now hopes to extend this to shelter for the homeless too.
Krishnan is the only Indian in a list of 10 heroes that CNN has picked worldwide to honour. One of them will be chosen CNN Hero of the Year, selected by the public through an online poll. If many Indians get together to vote for this inspiring man, he can win by a long mile.
If Krishnan wins he will get $100,000 in addition to the $25,000 that he gets for being shortlisted for the Top 10. Akshaya Trust needs all the monetary support it can get to build on Krishnan's dream. Let's help him get there.
A very good article by another blogger which highlights how Indian media thinks it is above the law and nation and how it has the exclusive right to judge what is correct and what is wrong. Contains exact quotes from some shameless reporters and how their irresponsible and TRP hungry acts have put the nation in danger or have caused embarrassment to people.
READ HERE
New Delhi: The Opposition has cornered the Congress-led UPA Government on not one but three scams, including the controversy over the allocation of 2G spectrum. A CAG report accessed by CNN-IBN clearly indicts Telecom Minister A Raja.The CAG report on the 2G spectrum scandal has clearly indicted Raja as well as the telecom regulator TRAI. The report says Raja ignored the advice of the Finance Ministry, the Law Ministry and the Telecom Commission while allocating the spectrum, which was done in an arbitrary manner without giving any logic or reasons.
The report states that the eligibility criteria were changes to suit a few operators. The loss to the exchequer is between Rs 90,000 to Rs 1,40,000 crore.
The CAG report also slams TRAI for being a 'helpless spectator'. It also indicts the Department of Telecom for flouting eligibility guidelines and says of the 122 licences issued, 85 were illegal.
The DoT, the report says, sold off precious natural assets cheaply.
"Action has been initiated against the lieutenants of corruption but the raja of corruption has escaped. The Congress has disassociated itself and made a statement that the enquiry against Raja is the prerogative of the Prime Minister. So the onus is on the Prime Minister," says AIADMK leader Dr V Maitreyan.
"The matter of A Raja has been in focus for many months now and matter is now sub judice and is pending in the court. So until the court takes a view on the matter, it will be difficult for us to comment or take any action," says Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan.
The AIADMK is planning to disrupt Parliament over the Raja issue by putting the heat on the Congress. With the exit of Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan over a scam that runs into a few crores, the Congress will be hard pressed to explain why it cannot take action in a scam that is worth at least Rs 1,40,000 crore. The fig leaf of coalition compulsions is something the UPA can no longer hide behind.
The style of functioning and political leanings of the two young Gandhi cousins may be different but their concern for the Dalits is the same. While one shows concern for this section of society in full media glare, (And still does nothing-Read-
1.) When Rahul gandhi met Kalavati
2.) Yahan koi Rahul gandhi nahi rehta!!
3.) Gandhi villagers complain of 'betrayal'
the other expresses his sympathies and offers a helping hand in his own way, sans publicity. In one such gesture, the saffron Gandhi -- BJP national secretary Varun Gandhi -- sent drafts of one lakh rupees each to the families of the two Dalit girls who committed suicide after being gang-raped.
The BJP Member of Parliament from Pilibhit recently visited the families of the two Dalit girls who were raped and subsequently committed suicide as they could net bear the trauma. While 15-year-old Vandana, daughter of Ashok Diwakar, committed suicide at Ramabai Nagar in Ghatampur, 20-year-old Kavita Rawat, daughter of Kiran Rawat of Shukla Ganj in Unnao, who also ended her life after being gang-raped.
Varun visited the families of both Dalit girls and mounted pressure on police to nab the rapist who were absconding because of laxity of the local police.
According to BJP's state media in-charge Narendra Singh Rana, Varun Gandhi handed over the drafts to former MP Shyam Bihari Mishra and former Legilsative Council Chairman Manvendra Singh to delive them to the families of the victims.
It may be recalled that some time back, Varun had visited some ailing old timers of the BJP and had promised monetary help to them for better treatment. The BJP national secretary had assigned this task to BJP state secretary Ashutosh Tandon Gopalji, who handed over the drafts to the ailing BJP old timers on Varun's behalf.
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CBI slammed by Supreme Court over alleged 2G scam
Many times people may have come across situations where they saw something wrong happening but couldn't do anything because the enemy was too strong or had better weapons. But the incident mentioned below shows that sometimes its intent and inner strength what matters instead of power or weapons. Hats off to Salim Ahmed because what he did many others wouldn't have done!Rs 25k reward for rickshawpuller
