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[1] President Patil conveys greetings on Milad-un-Nabi New Delhi, March 21: Nation is celebrating Milad-un-Nabi, the birthday of Prophet Mohammad Friday. President Pratibha Patil in her message to all countrymen has said: “On the auspicious occasion of the birthday of Prophet Mohammad, I convey my greetings to all my countrymen. The message of Prophet Mohammad Sahib has great relevance in today's world. May his teachings of universal love, service to humanity and compassion inspire us to lead righteous lives." Vice-President, Hamid Ansari has also greeted the people on the sacred occasion saying, that Milad-Un-Nabi is an occasion for remembering the life, teachings and example of Prophet Mohammad who showed us the glorious path of righteousness, compassion, brotherhood and tolerance. “Let us pray that God bestows his blessings on all of us for good health, progress and prosperity and inspire us to work for the welfare of the poor and the downtrodden,” he added. Bureau Report http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp? aid=431796&sid=NAT -------------------- Tight security in Bangalore for Id Milad procession Bangalore, March 21: Elaborate security arrangements have been made in the city in view of the Id Milad procession to prevent any untoward incidents, a top police official said. "Heavy police bandobast has been made in the city in view of the procession. Two companies of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), 30 Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP), 30 City Armed Reserve (CAR) and 8,000 civil police personnel have been deployed all over the city", Additional Commissioner of Police, law & order, Bipin Gopal Krishna told today. The procession which begins after the noon namaz will culminate at around 8 pm. Over 25,000 people are expected to participate in the procession, he said. Bureau Report http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp? aid=431825&sid=REG -------------------------------- http://www.onlinenews.com.pk/details.php? id=125860 Meanwhile the Rawalpindi Police have finalized security plan for Eid Milad-un-Nabi central procession and congregations . Police Personnel in large number would be deployed at procession and congregations of Eid Milad-un-Nabi while Police Personnel in plainclothes would also be deployed. Walkthrough gates and closed circuit cameras at entry and exit points of the central procession’s route would be installed. According to the sources, the policemen equipped with metal detectors would also conduct body search of people partaking in the procession. Reserved police force would be deployed outside mosques and imambargahs. The police would also check misuse of loudspeakers to prevent sectarian violence. The sources said Bomb Disposal Squad personnel would search the procession route with metal detectors and would issue clearance certificate. The sources said the policemen had also been asked to ensure security of shops, petrol pumps and important buildings located on the procession’s route. On the other hand, the hospitals including Rawalpindi General Hospital, Holy Family and District Headquarter Hospital would remain on high alert on the day. -------------------- [2] North India begins celebrating spring fest Holi with gusto Jaipur/Varanasi, Mar. 20 :The vibrant spring festival of Holi maybe just two days away, but people in Jaipur have began traditional festivities on Thursday and danced with abandon, while in Varanasi, the spirits were equally high. Holi, which falls in the month of Phagun, marks the spirit of rebirth and rejuvenation, as it is the harbinger of spring and new life. People of Rajasthan's Shekhawati region celebrated Holi with Geendar, a vibrant traditional folk dance. Small and medium sized groups dance through the night to the lilting tunes of the Nagada and the flute. Like any traditional dance, the Geendar also has special attires for men and women. Dancers of all age groups, right from five years to 60 years participate in the event. The Geendar is particularly famous in the districts of Churu, Sikar and Jhunjhunu. In every village or town of the Shekhawati region, there are hundreds of Geendar dancers who dance the entire night for seven days at a stretch. "It is performed during Holi in the rural areas. When spring arrives, Holi festivties begin and continue through the whole night. It starts very much in advance before Holi and continues till Gangor," said Sohanlal, a group leader. The Geendar dance is steeped in hoary tradition and is performed in the streets with people of all ages participating with zest Meanwhile, in Varanasi, the lively and colourful festival was celebrated on the banks of the River Ganges by youngsters with matchless exuberance with huge quantities of Bhang (a traditional Indian intoxicating drink) being consumed. Moreover, the event reverberated with melodious local Bhojpuri songs sung by locals who dance to these tunes. "Holi is a time of fun and verve in Kashi, located on the banks of the River Ganges and believed to be the abode of Lord Shiva. On this auspicious occasion, we get the feeling that Lord Shiva plays Holi with the Goddess Parvati and the divine pair is present among us steeped in the spirit of Holi. There is immense bonhomie and Bhang and 'Thandai' are consumed, even as all animus is shed," said Amlesh, a local resident. The festival is celebrated with immense bonhomie and dissolves all enmity and differences. ANI http://www.newkerala.com/one.php? action=fullnews&id=37765 ------ [3] Prayers, fasting mark Good Friday in Delhi New Delhi, March 21: Remembering the sacrifice of Lord Jesus on Good Friday, the day he was crucified, Christians observed fast and offered prayers in the capital on Friday. The main prayers were held in Sacred Heart Cathedral (Gole Dakkhana) and Mary's Orthodox Cathedral (Hauz Khas), where thousands of believers from Delhi and nearby areas assembled. Morning prayers with community get together and common lunch were also organised in different churches in the city. On this day, Christians shun all earthly pleasures and spend their day in churches, praying and reading the passages from the Bible related to the final hours of Christ. The believers also enact the final march of the Christ to the crucifixion spot by taking out a procession wearing the crown-of-thorns and cross which Jesus was forced to wear before he died. It is believed that on the third day of Good Friday which is Sunday, Jesus resurrected and it is celebrated as Easter Day world over. On Saturday, prayer and special remembrances would be organised for the departed, martyrs and leaders of the community. The 'Passion Week' by Christians all over the country which began on Palm Sunday ends with early morning prayers on the Easter Day. On this day, youths and children distribute coloured eggs which represent the new life and signify the resurrection of the Christ. Bureau Report http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp? aid=431846&sid=REG ----- [4] Today, in India, Jamshedi Navroz is celebrated as a seasonal and historical festival, to commemorate the coronation of King Jamshed, even though it is not their New Year’s day. The Parsis in India connected the seasonal Navroz to King Jamshed and referred to it as Jamshedi Navroz. For most Zoroastrians in India, Jamshedi Navroz is not a religious festival, as it does not synchronise with any day of the Shahenshahi Calendar. However, Zoroastrians who follow the Fasali Calendar, celebrate this day as their New Year day. The day of Jamshedi Navroz coincides with 21st March, the day of Vernal equinox, when the day and night are of equal duration. On this day the sun completes its sojourn across the 12 constellations, and re-enters the first house of Aries. Even, according to Albiruni, the day of Navroz coincides with the sun entering the sign of Aries, which is the beginning of spring. http://www.change.godrej.com/marapr/jamshedi.htm ---------- [5] From: "Sukla Sen" <sukla.sen@gmail.com Date: Fri Mar 21, 2008 10:58 am Subject: Peace and Its Symbol http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7292252.stm World's best-known protest symbol turns 50 By Kathryn Westcott BBC News *It started life as the emblem of the British anti-nuclear movement but it has become an international sign for peace, and arguably the most widely used protest symbol in the world. It has also been adapted, attacked and commercialised. * It had its first public outing 50 years ago on a chilly Good Friday as thousands of British anti-nuclear campaigners set off from London's Trafalgar Square on a 50-mile march to the weapons factory at Aldermaston. The demonstration had been organised by the Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War (DAC) and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) joined in. *I drew myself: the representative of an individual in despair, with hands palm outstretched outwards and downwards in the manner of Goya's peasant before the firing squad * Gerald Holtom Gerald Holtom, a designer and former World War II conscientious objector from West London, persuaded DAC that their aims would have greater impact if they were conveyed in a visual image. The "Ban the Bomb" symbol was born. He considered using a Christian cross motif but, instead, settled on using letters from the semaphore - or flag-signalling - alphabet, super-imposing N (uclear) on D (isarmament) and placing them within a circle symbolising Earth. The sign was quickly adopted by CND. Holtom later explained that the design was "to mean a human being in despair" with arms outstretched downwards. *US peace symbol * American pacifist Ken Kolsbun, who corresponded with Mr Holtom until his death in 1985, says the designer came to regret the connotation of despair and had wanted the sign inverted. "He thought peace was something that should be celebrated," says Mr Kolsbun, who has spent decades documenting the use of the sign. "In fact, the semaphore sign for U in 'unilateral' depicts flags pointing upwards. Mr Holtom was all for unilateral disarmament." In a book to commemorate the symbol's 50th birthday, Mr Kolsbun charts how it was transported across the Atlantic and took on additional meanings for the Civil Rights movement, the counter-culture of the 1960s and 70s including the anti-Vietnam protests, and the environmental, women's and gay rights movements. He also argues that groups opposed to those tendencies tried to use the symbol against them by distorting its message. How the sign migrated to the US is explained in various ways. Some say it was brought back from the Aldermaston protest by civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, a black pacifist who had studied Gandhi's techniques of non-violence. *Vietnam * In Peace: The biography of a symbol, Mr Kolsbun describes how in just over a decade, the sign had been carried by civil rights "freedom" marchers, painted on psychedelic Volkswagens in San Francisco, and on the helmets of US soldiers on the ground in Vietnam. "The sign really got going over here during the 1960s and 70s, when it became associated with anti-Vietnam protests," he told the BBC News website. As the combat escalated, he says, so did the anti-war protests and the presence of the symbol. "This, of course, led some people to condemn it as a communist sign," says Mr Kolsbun. "There has always been a lot of misconception and disinformation about it." As the sign became a badge of the burgeoning hippie movement of the late 1960s, the hippies' critics scornfully compared it to a chicken footprint, and drew parallels with the runic letter indicating death. In 1970, the conservative John Birch Society published pamphlets likening the sign to a Satanic symbol of an upside-down, "broken" cross. While it remained a key symbol of the counter-culture movement throughout the 1970s, it returned to its origins in the 1980s, when it became the banner of the international grassroots anti-nuclear movement. *Power * The real power of the sign, its supporters say, is the reaction that it provokes - both from fans and from detractors. The South African government, for one, tried to ban its use by opponents of apartheid in 1973. And, in 2006, a couple in suburban Denver found themselves embroiled in a dispute over their use of a giant peace sign as a Christmas wreath. The homeowners' association threatened them with a daily fine if they didn't remove it. The association eventually backed down because of public pressure, but a member told a local newspaper it was clearly an "anti-Christ sign" with "a lot of negativity associated with it.". *Commercial * CND has never registered the sign as a trademark, arguing that "a symbol of freedom, it is free for all". It has now appeared on millions of mugs, T-shirts, rings and nose-studs. Bizarrely, it has also made an appearance on packets of Lucky Strike cigarettes. A decade ago, the sign was chosen during a public vote to appear on a US commemorative postage stamp saluting the 1960s. The symbol that helped define a generation of baby boomers may not be as widely used today as in the past. It is in danger of becoming to many people a retro fashion item, although the Iraq war has seen it re-emerge with something like its original purpose. "It is still the dominant peace sign," argues Lawrence Wittner, an expert on peace movements at the University at Albany in New York. "Part of that is down to its simplicity. It can be used as a shorthand for many causes because it can be reproduced really quickly - on walls on floors, which is important, in say, repressive societies." And can its success be measured? Fifty years on, wars have continued to be waged and the list of nuclear-armed states has steadily lengthened. But the cup is half-full as well as half empty. "There are many ways in which nuclear war has been prevented," says Mr Wittner. "The hawks say that the reason nuclear weapons have not been used is because of the deterrent. But I believe popular pressure has restrained powers from using them and helped curbed the arms race. And the symbol of and inspiration for that popular pressure, says Mr Wittner, is Mr Holtom's graphic. *Peace: A biography of a symbol is published by National Geographic Books in April. * *Add your comments on this story, using the form below. * It is amazing how we sometimes take an iconic symbol for granted without questioning how it came to be! Reading this story gives a greater insight into what the symbol represents and also makes me ponder on how often we are 'blind' to the most frequently seen objects around us! *Ashit Desai, Mumbai, India * The peace sign is actually a Hopi Indian sign for unification between tribes, derived from the footprint of a crane, the Bird of Heaven. Here in the San Luis Valley , where I live the Cranes migrate every spring in March. *Christine Chandler, Crestone Colorado * The logo was in use long before 1958 - as an SS regimental symbol, for instance. *John, London * What a nice story. Unfortunately the sign was in use rather earlier, notably on the graves of SS soldiers in WW2. Presumably Holton was not a very aware designer. *Di, Bristol, England * In 1968, we painted a bright white in colour peace sign on a mountain in the Las Vegas valley. With a diameter of 110 feet is was visible from miles away. It is still visible (barely) when viewed on Google earth. *Glenn, Las Vegas USA * It is fascinating to know the meaning and history behind the symbol. As a Vietnam veteran, I never wore it during the war, only afterwards, next to my badges and medals, a peace sign. Only a soldier knows the true cost of peace. Every citizen of the world should live in peace. Every person in the world must play their part. In the words of the late, great John Lennon, "Give peace a chance"! *Conrad, Atlanta, Georgia - USA * [image: CND logo] ---------------------------------------------------- NAVROZ ,HOLI AND MILAD UN NABI GREETINGS india thinkers net |
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| << March20, 2008 - [India Thinkers Net] Sarabjit's wife,relgious freedom in India etc |
March23, 2008 - [India Thinkers Net] Water problem ,Christian woman killed ,Mashraqi >> |
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