6373
1 Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah during a visit to the Somnath Temple in Gujarat s Gir-Somnath district . PTI file
Aditi Tandon
New Delhi, January 18
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Monday unanimously named chairman of the Somnath Trust which manages the globally famous Somnath Temple located in Gujarat’s Gir Somnath district.
The position had fallen vacant in October 2020 after the demise of veteran BJP leader and former Gujarat chief minister Keshubhai Patel.
“The decision to appoint PM Narendra Modi as the Temple Trust chairman was unanimous,” said Trust Secretary P K Laheri.
This could well be the first time in the history of independent India that a sitting prime minister would head a famous temple trust.
Cultural nationalism takes a foothold in India
16 Jan 2021
Indo-Asian News Service
On Friday, when Indian President Ramnath Kovind donated Rs 5 lakh in personal capacity for the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya to the trust, life came a full circle for the Indian Republic. In 1951, when Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Patel wanted the Somnath temple to be renovated by the Congress, it was opposed tooth and nail by Pandit Nehru, who wanted the new state to be at arm’s length from the renovation of the Somnath temple in Gujarat.
It led to a terse exchange of letters between Sardar Patel and India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. The context was Somnath temple but the fight was over the idea of India and how the state will deal with religion in future. Nehru wanted distance but many in the Congress felt that Hinduism cannot be dealt with the European model of separating the state and the church.
Article 35A, which provides special rights and privileges to the citizens of Jammu & Kashmir, was incorporated in the Constitution of India in 1954 by an order of then President Rajendra Prasad, on the advice of the Jawaharlal Nehru Cabinet. It gives the J&K legislature full discretionary powers to decide who permanent residents of the state are. It also gives them special rights and privileges in employment with the state government, acquisition of property in the state, settling in the state, and the right to scholarships and other forms of aid that the state government provides. It also allows the state legislature to impose any restrictions upon persons other than the permanent residents regarding the above.
Dilip Kumar in Devdas (1955) | Bimal Roy Productions
On the heels of the film awards came an announcement from the Government of India regarding The National Awards for cinema. The ceremony had been conceived by the government to honour films made across India, on a national scale, to further the cause of Indian art and culture. The Ministry of Information and Broadcast would directly send invites to winners to attend the ceremony that would take place at the Vigyan Bhavan in Delhi, and President Rajendra Prasad was to present the awards. It separated itself from the Clare Awards by considering films made in all languages, not just Hindi. Zoravar was certain he would receive an invite. As the date came closer, and he did not receive one, he began to abuse the institutions of awards itself.
Apathy leads to infiltration in Wardha ashram Call to reclaim Gandhian institutions from socialists and Sanghis A legacy allowed to slip away, and a flicker of light in Wardha Ashram
The Indian National Congress, which celebrates its 136th foundation day on Monday, is struggling to preserve its legacy at a time it is getting battered every day even on the question of its patriotism despite being born out of the freedom movement.
The Congress leadership’s indifference to the party’s legacy is best reflected in its failure to prevent the systemic infiltration of Gandhian institutions by the RSS over the decades.