Hindus condemn the beheading of Sikhs in Pakistan

Posted: 21 Feb 2010 09:01 PM PST

Hindu groups today expressed deep anguish at the beheading of two Sikhs in Pakistan. The condemnation come in the wake of reports that two Sikh businessmen Jaspal Singh and Mahan Singh were kidnapped from Tira Valley, in Khyber agency and Darra Adamkheil, in Orakzai agency. It has been reported that the heads of the two victims have been sent to the Gurudwara.

 "This is inhuman and barbaric. The Sikhs and other religious minorities live in constant fear and intimidation in Pakistan." a Hindu human rights activist in India was quoted as saying.  The miniscule Sikh community in NWFP and Afghanistan has been under pressure from the Taliban to embrace Islam, official sources said. The Taliban, during their reign in Afghanistan, had imposed jiziya -- a religious tax -- on all minorities, mostly Hindus and Sikhs. They were made to wear a piece of yellow cloth on their breast pocket to identify themselves.  

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party, the main opposition in India on Monday strongly condemned the beheading of Sikhs by Taliban in North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan and termed the attitude of Indian government in the matter as "callous" for not putting diplomatic pressure in time to get the abducted Sikhs released.

"BJP strongly condemns this dastardly massacre of minority Sikh community in Pakistan. This shows how minorities are treated with contempt in Pakistan. They were not given any security," BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
He also criticised the Indian government, alleging it was being soft towards Pakistan while dealing with such matters.
"What is truly worrisome is the callous attitude of the Government of India. These Sikhs were abducted for sometime. What kind of diplomatic pressure did India bring on Pakistan to secure their release," Prasad said.

Empty Words

Posted: 21 Feb 2010 03:26 AM PST

Despite Pune bomb blast having caught us napping again, India continues to play chess with Pakistan. 

By Sunita Vakil 

Hope, as they say, is a pathological belief in the occurrence of the impossible. The same can be said of India-Pakistan relations which are caught in the cusp between hope and despair. The decision to press ahead with the Indo-Pak talks even after the dastardly attack in Pune has once again led to the soaring of expectations on both sides of the border. Despite extreme provocation, the Centre has held firm when it comes to continuing talks proving India’s compulsive fascination for a dialogue whose outcome is hopelessly predictable. For over six decades, India has shown patience in dealing with Pakistan, hoping for reciprocatory. But noises coming from across the border have never suggested that Islamabad sincerely wants peace between the two neighbours. With Pakistan rudely mocking India’s security concerns, it surely is a case of misplaced optimism for India to establish good relations with the former. One wonders what is being achieved by such a meaningless, futile exercise when innocent Indians are being sacrificed?

      Regrettably, terrorism is raising its head at periodic intervals reminding us that it is here to stay and had never gone anywhere. Indeed, the Pune bombings did not actually come as a surprise especially when a number of terrorist outfits had recently met in Pakistan occupied Kashmir, reaffirming their commitment to
”Jehad”. It has been a year since the terror attacks on Mumbai stunned India as well as the whole world. The Pune bomb blast which claimed nine lives and injured over 50 people is once again a reminder that the threat of terrorism still looms large over the nation. The attack is a testimony to the fact that Pakistan sponsored terrorism continues to pose a great threat to India. And yet, we do not seem to have learnt any lessons from 26/11. The government’s responses have been far from reassuring. The painful fact is that our inept leadership is clueless about what steps to take next to deal with another terrorist blitzkrieg.

      By relentlessly backing engagement with Pakistan despite repeated terror attacks, the PM Manmohan Singh chose to take a more nuanced view to signal that his regime is keen to appease Islamabad even at the cost of ignoring India’s interests. Despite the fact that his drumbeaters continue to slam BJP for extending the hand of friendship notwithstanding Kargil, Kandahar and Parliament attacks, the UPA government has sent the worst signal to Pakistan that no matter how many times Islamabad stabs us in the back, it will be business as usual with the terror sponsoring country.

      However, this is not the first time that India has capitulated to Pakistan in such a shameful manner. It was, in the first place, crazy to regard India and Pakistan as equal victims of Jehadi terrorism and set up a joint anti-terror mechanism. Till date, our Islamic neighbour has never acted on our evidence against criminals like Dawood Ibraham and others. This was followed by the surrender at Sharam-el-Sheikh. Now, in keeping with its bizzare policy of resuming dialogue at any cost, the congress led UPA government did not desist from pleading with the terror exporting state to go ahead with the talks. Is it any wonder then that Pakistan is crying itself hoarse that it is indeed India which has been forced to bend? Naturally, the message that has gone out is that India always comes around. Even the trial of Azmal Kasab, the lone terrorist caught alive during the Mumbai attack, is still dragging on despite all the evidence. Our government has not initiated any procedure to punish him. On the other hand, it has spent huge amount of money on conducting his trial and keeping him hale and hearty. Terror attacks, meanwhile, continue with alarming regularity. Given Pakistan’s rejection of several volumes of proof that India provided concerning 26/11, it will not serve any purpose to identify the perpetrators of the German bakery blast. In which case, what can India do other than condemn the group or the country that hosts it?

      The German bakery attack in Pune carries a stark message: the security forces have to remain vigilant as the terrorists have proved that they can still strike at will. As Mr Chidambaram announced that the government would take aggressive action in case of another attack, one can only hope that instead of wasting time and effort talking to Pakistan, the government undertakes result oriented action. The terrorist infrastructure on the other side of the border has not yet been dismantled. Nor has Pakistan provided any proof  of having scrapped its policy of using terrorism as an instrument of state policy. Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani’s statement that his country is willing to share intelligence with India to thwart Pune like attacks, can be taken with a pinch of salt. For, if there was even an iota of sincerity in such statements, Islamabad should have shut down terrorist camps operating from its soil by now. It needs no reiteration that the neighbouring country has been always high on rhetoric and low on action. Therefore it would be a fatal miscalculation to trust Pakistan and bank on it to improve relations with India.

      It goes without saying that acts of terror like the recent one have become routine in India with our reactions following predictable patterns. After the initial flurry of activity, there  a constant buzz of pronouncements which range from military threats to Pakistan to intelligence failure to the usual guesswork. After every attack the PM condemns it, opposition starts the blame game and victims are provided ex-gratead. There are also promises to spruce up the intelligence agencies to prevent such attacks in future. We also witness a spate of useless naka-bandis, spot checks etc. as a knee jerk reaction. Soon, the incident is forgotten till the next blast jolts us back to reality.

      Having said that, Pune blast has exposed failures at all levels. It has invariably laid bare the lack of preparation as well as chinks in the country’s intelligence network. Our security agencies do not seem to have learnt any valuable lessons from 26/11. It is very unfortunate that despite intelligence inputs indicating an attack on Pune by Jehadis, the blast took place. This clearly signifies that we need to bring about a radical improvement in our intelligence services. Also, there has to be a proper coordination between central and state security agencies so that such tragedies are never repeated. The almost indefinite trial of terrorists and failure to punish guilty have wrought havoc with the country. The natural outcome of such a flawed process is that criminals are ruling the roost. There is an urgent need to fix a time frame for completing the cases of terrorism.

      Due to our lax attitude to security and frequent intelligence failure, we have become soft targets for terrorists. It was indeed perplexing to hear a Maharashtra Cabinet Minister  State that they received intelligence inputs but they were not specific or actionable. One wonders when will our leaders understand that intelligence is always vague and needs to be filtered to make it more specific. The Government, instead of being in a defensive mode, needs to seriously revisit its policy towards Pakistan and the terrorism sponsored by it.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

      Adding a new twist to UPA’s limp-wristed approach to dealing with Pakistan, J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Home Minister P.Chidambaram are making every effort to facilitate the return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri youth from Pakistan. It is unfortunate that they have not factored in the long term implications of such a move at a time when the country is facing a serious threat of terrorism. All political parties should realize that their divisive politics is giving terrorists ample space to execute their evil agendas. It is high time politicians of all shades stop distracting the Government’s attention with their antics as such issues put a strain on our security apparatus and personnel. The need of the hour is for all parties to unite and formulate a foolproof security policy to prevent terror attacks in future. The PM has to be applauded for calling the Chief Minister’s conference on internal security so that a consensus exists to defeat the challenges of terrorism.   

The author is a Delhi based journalist and can be reached at sampost@nda.vsnl.net.in

Prant Sanghik : Online live telecaste portal launched!

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 07:22 AM PST

God’s own country Kerala is ready to welcome Dr Mohan Bhagwat, the patriarch of the world’s largest cultural organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
He will address the public function held on Feb 24 at the Ashram ground in Kollam. Over one lakh swayam sevaks (RSS volunteers) in uniform are expected to attend the meeting.

 

If you are staying away and can not come for this great function, don't worry, Online live streaming will be available on

    www.rsskerala.com  &  www.pranthasanghik10.com

 

A huge number of overseas Malayalis are expected to be present to view the RSS ‘Pranth Saankhik’. The organizing committee of the 'pranth saankhik’ has been informed that all the NRI Malayali visitors have finalized their travel arrangements. The 'pranth sankhik’ will also be a display of strength of Malayali swayamsevaks spread over many countries. Those arriving for the ‘pranth saankhik’ are Malayalis who had gone abroad in search of employment and who are playing leadership roles in the ‘shakhas’ they run where they live. Reports received until now indicate that a total of 4,000 (four thousand) vehicles are expected to arrive in Kollam for the ‘pranth saankhik’ from all the districts of Kerala and from Bangalore, Mumbai and Chennai.

Auditoriums surrounding the ground, where the ‘pranth saankhik’ is to be held, and about 70 (seventy) nearby houses have already been booked for RSS officials and guests arriving from outside. A team led by A.G. Shreekumar is in charge of arranging accommodation for all visitors. Arrangements for parking vehicles have been made after discussions with police officers.

 

Mohan Bhagwat’s first official visit to Kerala is going to be a crucial one as the state has become a hub of religious extremism. The Sangh Parivar in Kerala is all set to welcome the head of their family.

Is Left-wing Fascism the gravest threat to democrasy in India?

Posted: 16 Feb 2010 09:46 PM PST

The barbaric attack on the security personnel by Maoists in West Bengal has brought to the fore the discussion on the threat of Left-wing extremists to the democracy in India. Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh referring to Maoists in particular, has described the Leftist extremist movements, the  gravest threat to India's internal security[a]. These militant movements are seen to be the single biggest threat to both the democracy and human rights in India. It should be noted that other leaders of the country including Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajapayee, Leader of Opposition L K Advani and RSS Sarasanghachalak Mohan Bhagwat have been constantly warning the Government of the designs of Left-wing extremists in India. In a welcome change in the Government’s approach, the Home Minister P Chidambaram has targeted the hypocrisy of the sympathizers of the Left-wing extremists who otherwise make all the noises about human rights violations but maintain a deafening silence when innocent civilians are massacred by Left-wing extremists. This article provides a brief on the phenomena of Left-wing Fascists movement in India.

An Introduction

Left-wing Fascist groups in India are a set of groups based on Left ideology that have shown militant tendencies and have been part of violent incidents of massacres and sabotage in India.  These groups have been characterized by their authoritarianism, intolerance and terrorism^[1].

The groups can be categorized based on those who have chosen to remain outside the democratic process and have led the armed rebellions and those who although have not actively proclaimed violent methods but have been involved in acts of violent suppressions and other human rights violations such as in Nandigram. Many of the former have been listed as the Anti-revisionist left parties of the world^[2] and include Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), Communist Party of India (Maoist).

Maoists

Incidents of violence by the Leftist groups have often been labeled as "Red terror" or "Red terrorism^"[3]. The Left-wing extremist groups have also been compared with the [[Taliban]] with respect to their violent means^[4], guerilla ideology, anti democratic movements^[5] and kangaroo justice.

Violent Means

Most Leftist groups in India have proclaimed that violent struggles form the core to their ideology^[6]. Prominent among them are the Maoists, who have claimed responsibility for the killings of numerous civilians and security personnel.

 Figures computed by the Ministry of Home Affairs and presented before the Parliament indicate that 4067 civilians had been killed between 2000-07 by the Leftist Extremist violence in India.

 The victims include unarmed civilians, tribal^[7] women, children^[8], senior citizens^[9], security personnel and democratically elected representatives.

     Year              Victims of Left terror

     2000                     550

     2001                      564

     2002                      482

     2003                      513

     2004                      566

     2005                      677

     2006                      678

     2007                        37
(to 31 January 2007)

Source: computed from Ministry of Home affairs (MHA) annual reports (various years), and statement by the union minister for home affairs, Shivraj Patil, in the Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament) on 6 March 2007.

Disruption of Democracy

Maoists have been known for boycotting elections and also unleashing violence to disrupt elections in many parts across India.  They have also attacked civilians who have defied the boycott calls given by them ^[10].

 The Maoists have claimed responsibility for killings of prominent political leaders in Central and Southern India, most of them democratically elected. Prominent among the killings are tribal leaders Sunil Mahato^[11] in Jharkhand Anup Marandi^[12] . They have also routinely been involved in massacre of civilians and policemen^[13]

The Asian Center for Human Rights in its report on the Maoists has reported crimes such as kidnapping and extortion by the Maoists. The Left-wing extremists are also known to use "Kangaroo Justice" trials and order the killing of captured politicians and their comrades who surrender to the security personnel^[14].

Marxists

 While the Maoist groups have chosen to remain outside the democratic setup in their attempts to overthrow it, there are many other groups who have transformed into political parties and contested elections. But they too have been part of perpetrators of massacres of innocent civilians and comrades of other Leftist groups. Prominent among them are the Marxists constituted by CPI(M)

Nandigram Massacre

The Nandigram controversy started when the Marxist led Government of West Bengal decided that the Salim Group of Indonesia would set up a chemical hub under the SEZ policy at Nandigram, a rural area in the district of Purba Medinipur. The villagers and farmers whose land was to be acquired for the project resisted these attempts by the West Bengal Government. A massive attack with thousands of policeman and ruling party workers was launched by the Marxist Government to clear off the resistance. Police shooting killed 14 and injured at least 70, which included women and children. This "state sponsored" attack on the "unarmed civilians" came in for criticism as being "Fascist"^[15].  

Gopal Krishna Gandhi, the then Governor of West Bengal and grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, criticized the state government over its handling of the Nandigram incident, speaking of the incident as "cold horror" in a press statement^[16]

After the incident, the Government and the administration were allegedly seen openly supporting the "private army" of the ruling party and the cadre of CPI(M), in leading atrocities on the people who resisted the land acquisition. The ruling party workers are also alleged to have taken the help of local criminals mostly involved in dacoity cases for their "operation".    The Times of India reported "criminals were given money in advance and given a free-hand to bring whatever they could from the empty homes once the operation is complete. Sources said one such group that has returned to Onda came with motorcycles" looted from the resisting villagers.^[17]   

Criticism also has come in from their own colleagues when Dr. Ashok Mitra, long time Finance Minister of the Government of West Bengal (and a veteran CPI(M) leader) criticized the government and his party stating that till death he will remain guilty to his conscience if he keeps mum on the happenings in Nandigram. He stated that the CPI(M) leadership was “blind of hubris and the party has turned into a wide open field of flatterers and court jesters dominated by 'anti-socials'”^[18]

The Intellectual support for the violence

The divisions in the Left-wing with respect to the violence have been reflected in the intellectual circle too. Left intellectuals around the world have been known for their selective criticisms of the violence by different Leftist groups. Some have been seen openly justifying one or other form of violence.

In an article coauthored by Vijay Parshad, the George and Martha Kellner Chair of South Asian History and Director of International Studies at Trinity College, he puts the blame of the incidents squarely on the opposition parties and also calls the protest by the peasants, an  agitation derived from the "neo-rural rich"^[19]

Naom Chomsky's letter

 A letter authored by Naom Chomsky, Vijay Parshad and other Marxist scholars from various Universities in the US, addressed to "Our Friends in Bengal" , at the peak of Nandigram violence read “We hear from people on both sides of this chasm, and we are trying to make some sense of the events and the dynamics. Obviously, our distance prevents us from saying anything definitive. We continue to trust that the people of Bengal will not allow their differences on some issues to tear apart the important experiments in the state (land reforms, local self-government)”.^[20]

Ironically, it never bothered to condemn the massacre and also ended up creating a huge rift between the left factions. The letter was seen by many rival Left factions as a justification of the violence and support to the Neo-liberalism propounded by Buddadeb Bhattacharya. Naom Chomsky among others was criticized for his hypocrisy of not condemning the violence and for siding with its perpetrators. It was also seen by many as an attempt to admonish those who had taken to streets protesting the Left front Government over the Nandigram massacare^[21].

A strong response was issued by Mahashweta Devi, Arundhati Roy, Sumit Sarkar, Uma Chakravarty, Swapan Chakravorty and other Leftists activists based in India belonging to the rival group of Leftists, mostly the sympathizers of Marxists. They felt that Chomsky et al, given "their distance from events in India," had fallen prey "to a CPM public relations coup". After criticism of the letter, one of the signatories of the letter, Susan George, withdrew her signature from the letter ^[22], splitting wide open the divisions within the Left intellectuals.    

Support for Maoists

But ironically, many Leftist academicians and activists who have been critical about the violence in Nandigram have supported the militant movements of the Maoists and other Leftist groups.

 Arundhati Roy, a Leftist intellectual and activist, who has been critical about democracy in India, while admitting that the Maoists have been guilty of "unspeakable atrocities", views the militant movements as leading a protest with popular support and that they are fighting injustice of the Government. She says "''I have no doubt that the Maoists can be agents of terror and coercion too. I have no doubt they have committed unspeakable atrocities. I have no doubt they cannot lay claim to undisputed support from local people — but who can? Still, no guerrilla army can survive without local support. That's a logistical impossibility."^[24]

The author of this white paper can be reached for feedback and comments on paramavaibhavam@gmail.com 

 References

[1]  India's Naxalites: A spectre haunting India, http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7799247. These organizations include the different Maoist groups and some Marxists and the Marxist- Leninist groups.

[2] Leftist Parties of the World: Anti-Revisionists http://www.broadleft.org/antirevi.htm

[3] Red Terror: Six cops killed in Landmine blast in Jharkhand http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Red_terror_Six_cops_killed_in_landmine_blast_in_Jharkhand/articleshow/3994905.cms

[4]  M.S.N. Menon : Maoists deserve Taliban fate http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/blog/eyeonasia/archives/2007/11/indias_communis.html

[5] Manjeet Kripalani : India's Communists and the Nuclear Deal http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20011207/edit.htm

[6] Left-wing Extremist group: Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist)

[7] Massacre of the innocent [http://www.hindu.com/2006/07/19/stories/2006071904991000.htm],

[8] Maoists Kill Eight in Jharkhand http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/maoists-kill-eight-in-jha...

[9] Naxals kill senior citizen in Gadchiroli http://news.indiainfo.com/2009/01/30/0901302034_naxals_kill_senior_citizen_in_gadchiroli.html

[10] Ehtasham Khan, In Chatra, democracy wails under Naxalism http://in.rediff.com/election/2005/feb/03khan.htm

[11] JMM MP Mahato shot dead by naxals http://www.hindu.com/2007/03/05/stories/2007030513330100.htm,

[12] Naxal attack kills Marandi's son http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070030852

[13] Maoists claim responsibility for Chhattisgarh massacre http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/mar/26maoist.htm

[14] The Naxal conflict in India: Killings down, armament up http://www.achrweb.org/Review/2006/135-06.htm

[15] Maoists own responsibility for attack on Buddhadeb http:\\www.ibnlive.in.com/news/maoists-own-responsibility-for-attack-on-buddhadeb/77713-3.html?from=rssfeed

[16] Sense of cold horror: Governor http://www.screenindia.com/news/sense-of-cold-horror-governor/25728/

[17] How CPM recaptured Nandigram  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/How_CPM_recaptured_Nandigram/articleshow/2533801.cms

[18] You are not what you were - Ashok Mitra http://sanhati.com/articles/446/

[19] Sudhanva Deshpande and Vijay Parshad, Communism in Bengal, The Political Economy of a Crisis, [http://www.counterpunch.org/prashad05232007.html

[20]   Chomsky and other intellectuals on Nandigram, http://www.hindu.com/2007/11/22/stories/2007112255861300.htm

[21] The hypocrisy of Chomsky over Nandigram, http://indiainteracts.com/columnist/2007/11/24/The-hypocrisy-of-Chomsky-over-Nandigram/

[22] The Left is Right http://www.tehelka.com/story_main36.asp?filename=Ne081207The_Left_Is.asp

[23]  It's outright war and both sides are choosing their weapons, Arundhati Roy in conversation with Shoma Chaudhury  http://www.tehelka.com/story_main28.asp?filename=Ne310307Its_outright_CS.asp

RSS says no to Bt brinjal

RSS says no to Bt brinjal

Posted: 07 Feb 2010 07:18 PM PST

A PTI news agency report quoted RSS Sarasanghchalak Shri Mohan Bhagwat rejecting "BT Brinjal". The participants of the NGO meet organised by RSS said that Shri Bhagwat raised a strong apperhension to genetically modified foods. He has expressed support to the agitation by environmentalists and farmers against the "BT Brinjal" and has said that the move by the Central Government compromises the independence of the farmers and also the bio-diversity of India.
The RSS chief opposed move to commercialise Bt brinjal likening the genetically modified crops to infiltration of terrorists. He sought to draw a parallel between infiltration of terrorists and entry of Bt brinjal in the country.
"Bt brinjal has to be clearly rejected", RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat told 'Seva Sangama' programme of Rashtriya Seva Bharathi here.
"People are being consulted only now", he said, and alleged that brinjal had been taken out of the bio-diversity list to facilitate introduction of its genetically modified variety.
"Farmers in India have been into traditional farming for 10,000 years", Bhagwat said.
Meanwhile, 'The Business Standard' has reported that the Madhya Pradesh Government has joined the environmentalists in calling for not allowing BT Brinjal. Madhya Pradesh’s Agriculture Minister Ramkrishna Kusumaria today said that there was no place for BT brinjal in Madhya Pradesh. 
In a welcome initiatie by the Government has decided to make Madhya Pradesh "country’s first model organic farming state". Tha Agriculture Minister said that the state government had prepared a detailed organic farming policy and it would be announced in a week or two. Organic farming was being carried out in 425,000 hectares, he said adding that there was a need to increase this area. Kusumaria said the chemical fertilisers and pesticides had affected the agriculture land in the last 30-40 years.

West Bengal announces reservation for Muslims in govt jobs

West Bengal announces reservation for Muslims in govt jobs

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 07:29 AM PST

KOLKATA: On a day when the Andhra Pradesh High Court struck down job reservation for Muslims, the West Bengal government on Monday announced 10 per cent quota in employment for the community under the OBC category.
The state government declared the quota for the Muslims who were educationally, socially and economically backward in the state.
"We have decided to accept the recommendations of the Ranganath Mishra Commission and will take steps to implement it," chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee told newsmen at the state secretariat without waiting for the Centre's decision on the report.
He said like other states there was reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs in the state. The government, he said, had begun the process of identifying Muslims who were educationally, socially and economically backward. There was 7 per cent reservation for OBCs in the state.
"After identification, we will provide reservation to them under the OBC category," the chief minister said.
Earlier in the day, a Constitution bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court struck down a state law providing 4 per cent reservation in educational institutions and jobs to 15 groups belonging to the Muslim community.
Soon after the court's order, Andhra chief minister K Rosaiah directed the state advocate general D S R Murthy to file a special leave petition in the Supreme Court challenging the verdict.

RSS moves with times, goes the Orkut way

RSS moves with times, goes the Orkut way

Posted: 30 Jan 2010 09:57 AM PST

Mumbai: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is changing its ways. Well, on the technology front. Once shy of state-of-the-art technology, the Sangh on Tuesday celebrated its annual Bharat mata pujan function in Lower Parel taking help of the social networking website, Orkut. 

Insiders believe that the organisation has started transforming itself into a technology savvy outfit as a number of IT professionals have associated themselves with it in the past five years or so.
The Bharat mata pujan function is organised on January 26 every year. The swayamsevaks garland a photograph of Bharat mata and then officials deliver bouddhik (lecture).
“We have a community on Orkut. We invited members of the community for the function through the network. A member of this community is not necessarily a swayamsevak. In fact, more than 30 people present for the function came in touch with RSS for the first time on Tuesday,” said Praful Nikam, organiser of the function.
“Traditionally, RSS workers invite the people for its functions personally. But due to shortage of time and with availability of modern communication tools, the tradition has been left out in some way,” said an RSS official.
He added that the Sangh has adopted new technology to cope up with the changing times. “Our pracharaks (full time workers) now carry cell phones and many of them have their personal email addresses. These amenities were far away from their reach till a few years ago,” he said.
According to another official, the young pracharaks are well versed with modern technology. “It helps the organisation in many ways. Now, we are looking to start online shakhas so that we can easily get in touch with the young audience,” he said.
The Orkut community is popularly known in the RSS as Orkut Shakha. The organisation has also developed a website,www.rss.org, to keep the workers updated with the issues before the country and the organisation’s stand.
However, Indresh Kumar, an RSS official, appealed to swayamsevaks not to depend on technology too much. “If we give up our cultural values and go only for development, then such development will destroy us. The rise in pollution, imbalance in the eco system, global warming, corruption, inflation and terrorism is the result of giving up cultural values,” he said.