logo
Educationists highlight Savarkar's persona in Sindh Mukti Sangathan programme

Educationists highlight Savarkar's persona in Sindh Mukti Sangathan programme

Time of India6 days ago

Nagpur: Sindh Mukti Sangathan organised a programme on the occasion of Swatantra Veer Savarkar's birth anniversary. The programme was presided over by Prof Vijay Kewalramani (national president of Sindh Mukti Sangathan) and was attended by Kailash Kewalramani (national general secretary, SMS), principal Neelam Ahuja (president, SMS, Vidarbha Province), Rashmi Wadhwani (secretary, SMS, Vidarbha Province), Jaya Tahalramani, Richa Kewalramani (vice-president, SMS, Vidarbha Province), Yash Kewalramani (youth leader of Sindhi community).
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
Addressing the gathering, Prof Vijay Kewalramani said that Savarkar was not only a revolutionary but also a social reformer, philosopher, visionary, poet and historian. These qualities put him on a high pedestal in the category of the greatest people.
"In fact, Savarkar was the first Indian student who refused to take the oath of loyalty to the Queen of England. As a result, he was barred from practicing law," he said, adding, "Savarkar always strived for unified India."
Principal Neelam Ahuja said that Savarkar wrote poems without pen and paper on the walls of the prison, he was lodged in, with pieces of stone. We salute such a true patriot."
Kailash Kewalaramani, Yash Kewalaramani and Rashmi Wadhwani also spoke on the occasion. The program was hosted by Preeti Tibude while vote of thanks was proposed by Richa Kewalaramani.
Pankaj Hemnani, Vidhika Wadhwani, Snehal Kubhalkar, Preeti Tibude, Kajal Radhwani, Geeta Tejwani, Nisha Gangwani and Bhavana Gajbhe were also present in the programme.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Empowering women in green business
Empowering women in green business

The Hindu

time18 minutes ago

  • The Hindu

Empowering women in green business

Union Minister Piyush Goyal's recent call for greater innovation among Indian start-ups highlights an important challenge — and opportunity — that often gets overlooked: the need to support green innovation and increase the number of women-led green businesses in a world with an increasingly erratic climate. Green enterprises are rapidly becoming an economic force. A study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) shows that Odisha's green economy alone has a market potential of $23 billion. Imagine scaling that across India, not only in renewable energy but also in sectors such as circular economy, bio-packaging, engineered bamboo, e-waste recycling, and battery manufacturing. Yet, women currently lead just 18% of all start-ups in 2024, limiting the pace and scale at which India can realise this green potential. On this Environment Day, it is critical to recognise that empowering more women entrepreneurs in the green economy is not only a matter of equity but also essential for building a sustainable and prosperous India by 2047. What needs to be done First, finance needs to be unbiased. All start-ups need to solve the wicked problem of raising funds, but it is a tad bit tougher when the green technology is new and you are a woman. For Rashi Gupta, the founder of Vision Mechatronics, which operates in lithium-ion batteries, finance had been a bottleneck since 2015. 'Banks would ask who is the man behind the scenes. But now I see more women in climate tech,' she said. While the situation has improved, financiers still perceive higher risks when investing in women. If a woman-owned business has a male co-founder, her ability to access credit significantly improves. This, despite global evidence that women make better borrowers. A 2014 Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation report on the latest publicly available economic censu s revealed that 79% of women entrepreneurs in India were self-financed, with only 1.1% borrowing from financial institutions. The government recognises this gap. The 2025 Budget announcement of term loans of up to ₹2 crore to first-time SC and ST women entrepreneurs sets a good precedent in its willingness to offer credit upwards of a crore. More schemes that offer credit or term loans upwards of ₹1 crore are needed, since several green solutions are capital-intensive. Mahi Singh, the Jaipur-based co-founder of Cancrie that converts waste into advanced nano-material for battery efficiency, revealed that there is a need to demystify and simplify access to these schemes for women to consider the government as a lender. Enabling end-to-end online access is one way. For private lending, boards of banks and investment firms can earmark a percentage of their portfolio towards green innovations and must include reporting on the percentage of credit offered to women-run green businesses in their annual reviews. Second, women in green businesses need better-quality mentorship tailored to their specific challenges. Mentorship needs to be tangible. 'Who do we look at as role models,' asks Vanita Prasad of Revy Environmental Solutions. Women entrepreneurs highlighted initiatives such as the BRICS bootcamp, the Women Entrepreneurship Platform initiated by the NITI Aayog as useful mentorship platforms. We need more large corporations to devote corporate social responsibility to intensive training and offer boot camps to help women reach the medium-to-large enterprise bracket. We also need more collaborations, such as the IIM-Bangalore and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women, that offer management training, mentoring, networking, and access to capital for greater women's contribution to a green economy. Third, tip the poor ratio of women in engineering, currently at 19.2%, by updating the engineering curricula with significant automation advances and offering scholarships. Automation means more women can now train in erstwhile literal heavy-lifting engineering roles. Renewable energy, circular economy, and biotechnology, in particular, require technology-driven solutions, and more women engineers are the foundational step. 'Women of Mettle' by Tata Steel offers scholarships to women engineers in the manufacturing sector. Large manufacturing corporations and dedicated funds are required to provide such scholarships. To unlock India's green growth potential, we must address the barriers that women entrepreneurs face in the green economy. By fostering targeted mentorship, improving access to finance, and building trust in women-led businesses, we can ensure that more women take the lead in shaping a sustainable future. Empowering women is not just about inclusion — it is essential for achieving India's vision of a sustainable, developed nation by 2047. Gunjan Jhunjhunwala is Programme Lead at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW). Views are personal.

BSF jawan dragged into B'desh, returned hrs later
BSF jawan dragged into B'desh, returned hrs later

Time of India

time32 minutes ago

  • Time of India

BSF jawan dragged into B'desh, returned hrs later

Berhampore: A Border Security Force (BSF) jawan was forcibly dragged into Bangladesh by a group of Bangladeshi nationals while he was questioning them near the Chandni Chowk border outpost in Suti Police Station area at the Malda-Murshidabad border on Wednesday morning. The jawan — Shri Ganesh of the 71st Battalion — returned after a flag meeting between the BSF and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) around four hours later. Initially, it was alleged that the BSF jawan inadvertently crossed into Bangladesh while chasing suspected infiltrators. But a BSF enquiry later found that the jawan was in Indian territory when he was forcibly dragged to Bangladesh. BSF sources said the jawan was detained by locals at Satrashiya village in the Chanpai-Nawabganj district of Bangladesh . A video showed the jawan being tied to a banana tree and being verbally abused by a group of people. Some of them allegedly physically assaulted him, though others intervened to prevent further harm and handed him over to the BGB. BSF officials, however, denied that the jawan was assaulted. A BSF official said: "The jawan was trying to maintain a humane approach and had thus allowed the Bangladeshi nationals to come closer to him considering them normal villagers. But they turned out to be criminals and they overpowered him and took him inside. We will take stern measures to prevent such incidents in the future." BSF officials said the jawan is unhurt.

We were up against Pak propaganda but armed with satellite images, proof, says Vadodara MP who was part of all-party delegation
We were up against Pak propaganda but armed with satellite images, proof, says Vadodara MP who was part of all-party delegation

Indian Express

time36 minutes ago

  • Indian Express

We were up against Pak propaganda but armed with satellite images, proof, says Vadodara MP who was part of all-party delegation

Vadodara BJP MP Hemang Joshi, who was part of an all-party delegation that travelled to Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore to convey India's position on the April 22 Pahalgam attack and the subsequent Operation Sindoor, on Wednesday said that the delegation was faced with questions related to nuclear power, referendum in Kashmir, besides 'indirect attempts' by Pakistan to derail India's diplomatic mission. Which countries did your delegation travel to and whom did you meet? We first travelled to Japan and, thereafter, to South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. In South Korea, we were in a bit of a tricky situation as the country was in election mode. We went with a briefing of the Indian Embassy that had indicated imminent change of power. We met the then incumbent government as well as the party that is the incoming government, as per the results declared just a day ago. Since South Korea is a strategic business country, we met business leaders such as Hyundai. Which of these countries were the most receptive to India's message on Operation Sindoor? Japan and South Korea. In South Korea, the shared sentiment is that due to their conflict with North Korea, they also understand the anguish of also had extremely enriching interactions in Singapore and Indonesia. Incidentally, the mastermind of Pahalgam attacks, Saifullah Kasuri of The Resistance Front, which has claimed responsibility, was seen at a victory rally in Pakistan during our visit to one of the countries. He was flanked by a Pakistan Cabinet Minister as well as the speaker of Punjab province. In the rally, he even said that the Pahalgam attack has made the TRF famous… It was another example to drive our point that Pakistan's proxy war against India is terror as it cannot overtake us on development and progress. Even the GDP of Tamil Nadu is more than that of Pakistan. Which was the trickiest part of the tour? In Malaysia, we learnt that Pakistan tried to derail our appointments through indirect influence. We learnt through insiders that Pakistan actively tried to sabotage our meetings with the think tanks in Malaysia and even handed out questionnaires to influencers to pick holes… We learnt that they were playing the card of being a fellow Islamic country. The think tanks in Malaysia…wanted to know who won, whose jets were brought down, and how many air base camps were destroyed in India. The questions were based on narratives spun by Pakistan but because we were armed with proofs, we ruled out the confusion. Later, the Pakistan High Commission in Malaysia also issued a public statement reacting to our visit and claiming that they were victims of terror. Meanwhile, Malaysia officially changed its stand and extended cooperation to India. In Malaysia, we have also given proof of military atrocity in PoK and Balochistan… We said if you need a referendum, it should be in PoK and Balochistan… In Kashmir, since the abrogation of Article 370, tourism has flourished and a democratic system is in place, which even saw a 62% voter turnout in the elections. In South Korea, people condemned terrorism in all forms but the country had been much under the influence of Western narrative thus far, which was a narrative also driven by (defence) commercial interests. How did the delegation arm itself to counter questions from the countries? We were up against the Western narrative and also the constant propaganda of Pakistan. But, we were armed with satellite images as well as previous antecedents where India, despite submitting dossiers and proofs, did not receive any positive response from Pakistan in the form of action against terror. Even when proof was given when Ajmal Kasab was caught alive (after Mumbai 2008 attacks), Pakistan did nothing. There was a lot of propaganda on how much destruction the Pakistani forces had caused to India during the attacks, but we refuted the claims with evidence. Several unilateral narratives of the West were forced to change after we put forth the proofs. That also led Pakistan to dispatch a copy-cat delegation. We also reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pledge to explain why India has decided to consider all acts of terror as acts of war by Pakistan because it has been using these terror attacks as proxy war. We emphasised that Pakistan should be kept on the grey list of the FATF (Financial Action Task Force). What were the questions of concern raised by the countries? We did not have any specific questions about the terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack but we did detail the action taken under Operation Sindoor. It is pertinent to note that the Pahalgam terror attack was not just an attack in isolation but it was designed with an evil plan to sow hatred across India and fan wider internal conflict between communities, which is why there was an explicit use of religion in the attack. The concerns about nuclear power possessed by both countries was also addressed… We categorically reiterated that India will not bow down to nuclear blackmail. What was the cultural interaction like during the visit to the countries? We visited the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) centres in Korea, Malaysia and Japan. We also interacted with the Indian diaspora and I, particularly, interacted with the Gujarati population that will continue to take forward our message. We had some touching interactions in Indonesia, where we met leaders who are Muslims but their names have Hindu roots, such as Agrasen, due to the influence of Indic civilisation. Members of the Nahdlatul-Ulama, which is the prominent Islamic organisation with lot of influence in ruling party, the way Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has in India, told us that they are not ashamed of accepting Indic civilisation roots and for them, Hinduism is a culture more than a religion. They even told us they do not subscribe to terror as part of Islam and extended support to India. What was the experience like sharing the limelight with leaders of other parties? We went as a team from India. We did not feel even one bit that we belong to different parties… We went with one message and we all believed in it. Rahul Gandhi has taken a jibe that a phone call from US President Donald Trump made PM Modi surrender… With his demeaning comments, Rahul Gandhi is not only lowering the morale of the Indian Army but also of all Indians. He is attempting to make a place in the hearts of Pakistani militants and the government by making such ridiculous statements… If he indeed intends to contest in the next polls, he must watch his words.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store