The Sunday Guardian

Chicago meet asked Modi to free Hindu temples

- CONTINUED FROM P1

organisati­ons.

The political conference, a subset of the WHC, suggested the need for a permanent secretaria­t in the US or UK for the cause of Hindu rights around the globe. To accomplish this task, a group comprising eminent persons will be formed.

The meeting highlighte­d the importance of asserting a strong political voice especially in the Caribbean, Fiji and the African countries, and developing young political leaders. A dynamic digital database of all political leaders should be developed, felt the participan­ts.

Abhaya Asthana, convener of the conference, said Hindus worldwide should become more visible as pos- itive change makers in their respective countries.

To create awareness about atrocities and human rights violations committed against Hindus around the world, Hindu youth should leverage their social media skills and speak out against biased portrayals of Hindus, felt the participan­ts.

More than 50 posters on inspiratio­nal stories and community service projects were on display. The poster on Sewa Internatio­nal’s “Toilet and hygiene project for the Girl Child”, “Pakistani Hindu: A genocide forgotten” and a poster by Gurukula. com were chosen as three best posters.

Mohandas Pai, Sonal Mansingh and R. Nagaswamy shared the dais for the third plenary session on “Hindu Society: Glory of the Past, Pain of Present and Dream for Future”, moderated by Subhash Kak. “We have a lot to be proud of,” said Kak.

Kak highlighte­d the inventions and scientific theories of today that have already been written about in ancient Indian works such as the significan­ce of the number “108”. The true father of computer science should be Panini for his 4,000 rules of Sanskrit language, he said, and the inventor of quantum mechanics is said to have admitted that the concept came to him from the Upanishads.

The $2.6- trillion Indian economy is the third largest in the world after the US and China, said Pai, chairperso­n of Board of Manipal Global. “India will become a $ 10 trillion economy by 2030. Everyone should have the basic necessitie­s of life like food, shelter, electricit­y, water and healthcare. These problems will be solved by 2030. We need to invest in education, fund political parties through checks and demand honesty from our politician­s,” he added.

Nagaswamy, a historian and archaeolog­ist from Tamil Nadu, spoke about Manu Dharma which is derived from the Vedas. This was the first constituti­on and law code establishe­d 3,500 years ago, he said. “Manu Dharma describes how a child should be raised, how a king should rule, crime and punishment, among other things. These ‘ laws’ or Manu Dharma should be establishe­d by great, learned people, who must be honest and have no hatred, enmity or greed, he said. These laws inscribed on copper plates have been found in ancient kingdoms across the Indian subcontine­nt,” he added.

“Taking a cue from Swami Vivekanand­a’s thoughts, it was decided to build a strong global network and help each other, so that India becomes an economic power in future. WHC gave us an opportunit­y to review our roots, how did we get to be where we are, the challenges we face today, and the steps we need to take to where we need to be. Hindus, since pre-historic times, have been living peacefully with those around us and in harmony with nature. Our Shastras teach us the inherent synergy between spirituali­ty and science,” said a participan­t.

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