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Petition Filed With President Of India Seeking Withdrawal Of Unwarranted Remarks Made by Supreme Court Judge Surya Kant

The Supreme Court of India, while dismissing the petition filed by ex-BJP leader Nupur Sharma for the transfer all FIRs registered against her to Delhi, made adverse oral remarks pinning the blame on her for the violence and killings happening in the country over alleged blasphemy of Prophet Mohammad.

“What is her business to make these remarks? The way she has ignited emotions across the country. This lady is single handedly responsible for what is happening in the country.”, Supreme Court judge Surya Kant said in light of Kanhaiya Lal’s murder adding that her comments over the Prophet were ‘disturbing’.

“We saw the debate on how she was incited. But they way she said all this and later says she was a lawyer it is shameful. She should apologise to the whole country.”, he further added.

“Her outburst is responsible for the unfortunate incident at Udaipur, where a tailor was murdered.”, the two-judge bench comprising of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Pardiwala noted.

However these remarks were not mentioned in the judgement.

The oral observations made by Justice Surya Kant has not gone down well with many. Retired Delhi High Court Judge SN Dhingra slammed the court saying “The court should listen to her, punish her if she is guilty, and send her to jail. But why the court is delivering a public speech? Who has asked the judges to give the speech? They should become politicians if at all they want to deliver such speeches. Why are you still a Supreme Court judge?”

A petition has been filed by Ajay Gautham, a Delhi-based social activist, with the Chief Justice of India asking to expunge the remarks made by Justice Surya Kant.

Apart from that, another petition has been filed by the Legal Right Protection Forum (LRPF) with the President of India seeking withdrawal of the judge’s adverse comments.

“Through this letter, we request you to get the unjust and careless remarks made by Justice Surya Kant of the Supreme Court of India in the petition of Ms. Nupur Sharma asking for consolidation of all FIRs registered against her and arrange for a hearing at a single place.”, the letter by LRPF to the President read.

“The Hon’ble Judges have made oral observations in the course of hearing Ms. Nupur Sharma’s petition holding her responsible for the brutal murder of Sri Kannayya Lal in Udaypur, Rajasthan, and being responsible for large-scale strife across the country. In contrast, Ms. Nupur Sharma has merely exercised her freedom of expression that too in a heated TV debate. If the observations of the learned judges are to be accepted, it will become a precedent in support of those who agitate across the country, indulge in arson and wanton destruction of public property, and hold ordinary citizens to ransom, thus causing incalculable damage to the entire nation. This action of the learned judge Justice Surya Kant has stirred the conscience of the entire nation and has severely shaken the people’s faith in the Supreme Court of India.”, the petition said.

Nupur Sharma has been made the villain by the leftist media while completely ignoring that it was Alt News’ Mohammed Zubair who had cunningly shared an edited clip.

Mohammad Zubair had cropped the part when the Maulvi had made objectionable remarks on Siva Linga which was the reason for Nupur Sharma losing her cool. This was amplified by the usual suspects masquerading as journalists.

It was after Mohammad Zubair tweeted a clip of Nupur Sharma’s remarks about Prophet Mohammad that the issue exploded.

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Self-Proclaimed Film Critics Complain About Nambi Being Shown A Patriot & Hindu In Rocketry Film

Rocketry: The Nambi Effect, the ambitious project of actor Madhavan who has written, directed, produced and also acted in the film released in Indian theatres on July 1, 2022.

The film is based on the life of Nambi Narayanan, a former ISRO scientist who was falsely accused of espionage and later exonerated by the Supreme Court of India.

The film has received good reception from the audience with people filling theatres based on word of mouth reviews.

However, a few film critics known for their predisposition towards anything Indian and Hindu have expressed displeasure in the portrayal of the rocket scientist.

Anupama Chopra, the founder and editor of the cinema-related digital platform Film Companion, has written a review in which she insinuated the film to be too patriotic and too Hindu.

“It’s admirable that the film has brought Narayanan’s many accomplishments into the spotlight, but the screenplay repeatedly underlines his patriotism and also leans pointedly into his religion. Our first visual of Narayanan is in the puja room at his home. At crucial moments, he prays. Narayanan is a true-blue Hindu patriot.”, Anupama Chopra wrote.

Another self-proclaimed film critic Sowmya Rajendran of The News Minute, a card-carrying leftist known for her explicit anti-Hindu venom wrote “The film begins with the heavens above and the earth below, Vedic chants in the background. It is difficult to sit through it without being reminded of Madhavan’s disastrous claim that ISRO scientists had used the ancient geocentric panchangam for their Mars mission, and that Indians already knew everything that was to be known about space a thousand years ago. We meet Nambi’s family, and his daughter casually remarks that she’s unsure if her husband – who also works at ISRO – is a scientist or astrologer because he’s always holding on to the panchangam in bed. My heart, which was already sinking, reached my feet at this point. Was the whole movie going to be on WhatsApp University territory? To my relief, it does take off. Somewhat.”.

The film opens with the chants of Sri Venkatesa Suprabhatam, the sacred hymn dedicated to Lord Venkateshwara which is what the Hindumisic film critic of the The News Minute refers to in her review.

Contrary to popular perception, Nambi Narayanan is not a Brahmin from Kerala but hails from the Tamil Hindu community called Senai Thalaivar.

Madhavan, who plays the real-life character of Nambi Narayanan in the film is portrayed as a devout Hindu sporting vermilion, doing pooja in his house and offering oblations to the sacred Tulsi plant.

Many on social media lashed out at Anupama Chopra for her averseness to the Hindu faith.

“If it was a Muslim character doing Namaz, would Anupama have a problem with it? No.”, anonymous Twitter handle @cogitoiam wrote.

https://twitter.com/cogitoiam/status/1543111122311872512

It is to be noted that these critics had poured adulations on actor Suriya’s Soorari Pottru, a mischievous distortion of the real-life story of Air Deccan’s G.R. Gopinath who is a Brahmin and a capitalist. However, he is shown as a follower of anti-Hindu bigot ‘Periyar’ E.V. Ramasamy Naicker and a ‘socialist’ capitalist in the film. They did not even mention about this blatant unwarranted distortion in their reviews.

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The Maha Saga: Reading Between The Lines

Most of us including me were expecting Devendra Fadnavis to become the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra but BJP being BJP took a very different and unthinkable route. Eknath Shinde became the Chief Minister and we were told first that Fadnavis will not be in the government at all. Suddenly, things again changed with BJP National President JP Nadda appealing to Devendra Fadnavis to be a part of the government and within a half hour or so, Devendra Fadnavis swore in as the Deputy CM.

This was like a political thriller movie with lot of twists and turns where the director threw the audience off with an unexpected climax at the very end. This story started with the hero, Devendra Fadnavis, being unceremoniously ousted from his house by his partner who betrays him and join hands with two others. He vows to come back and patiently works towards to it. A day finally comes when he ousts the three people from his house using saam, daam, dhand, bhed and takes his revenge. When the audience expects him to take over the house, he surprisingly gives it to someone else. The whole village hails the hero and everyone lives happily ever after.

On a more serious note, if we have to look deep into these events, we will realize the super political acumen that the BJP top brass has. Only a selected few knew the plan and executed it to the tee along with Eknath Shinde. The million dollar question is why Fadnavis was not made the CM immediately. There seems to be a strategy behind it. By giving Eknath Shinde the CM post, BJP has shown the Marathi manus that it cares for Maharashtra more than their party interests. It has shown that it will do what is right and is not power hungry. With this one action, BJP won the hearts of the Shiv Sainiks. It has almost made the elite families, Thackerays irrelevant, Gandhis a non-entity and Pawars powerless striking a death blow to parivarvaad in Maharashtra.

The internal Shiv Sena power struggle will be sorted between themselves and Eknath Shinde now has the power to sort that out. With a Shiv Sainik as CM now, Uddhav Thackeray and Sanjay Raut can’t do any politics around that. This will greatly help BJP in the upcoming BMC and Lok Sabha elections. The other parties will struggle to put across a stronger narrative that will influence the voters. Deputy CM Fadnavis can still influence the government decisions so that they are in line with the Central Government. It will be almost a double engine Sarkar in Maharashtra.

Internally within Shiv Sena, Uddhav Thackeray will have the role of just a brand ambassador as the real power will be with Eknath Shinde. Uddhav Thackeray will no more have the followers he had in Shiv Sena although he will continue to have sympathizers outside the party including some Bollywood actors. Eknath Shinde will give him all the respect that he deserves as the son of the great Sri Balasaheb Thackeray.  The legacy of Balasaheb will continue and Shiv Sena will continue.

Devendra Fadnavis would have personally wanted to come back as CM but a professional that he is, he understood the strategy of his party and graciously agreed to become the Deputy. With this move, a point will come in Maharashtra politics where BJP will on its own get a majority in the Assembly and can form its own government without depending on anyone although Shinde Sena will continue to give their support. Fadnavis will eventually get his due or if things don’t pan out as expected, the party will give him a plum post at the centre given his proven skillsets as a next generation leader in BJP. The only thing that BJP could have avoided is the public appeal to Devendra Fadnavis to become the Deputy CM which is so much not like BJP who don’t issue internal appeals in public but they might have done it just to further strengthen Devendra Fadnavis’s image as a selfless leader who only looks at Maharashtra’s interests and the interests of the party. It was still avoidable.

BJP has done a ‘Swacch Maharashtra Abhiyaan’ of sorts and have emerged decisive winners. This is also a great turning point in Maharashtra politics with an auto driver becoming a CM that will inspire youngsters to aspire for great heights by working hard to serve the people of Maharashtra.  Politics will never be the same in Maharashtra. Very importantly, Maharashtra has won!

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The Rocket Scientist Who Was Wronged

ISRO spy case Nambi Narayanan

I would like to emphasize that security can be endangered not only from outside but also from within. That is why we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and the society – Dr Vikram Sarabhai

These ominous words of the father of the Indian space program Vikram Sarabhai came true on 30th Nov 1994. It was on this day Indian space ambition suffered one of its massive setbacks when Nambi Narayanan, the top scientist in the field of cryogenic engine technology which would have enabled India to launch heavier satellites into orbit, was falsely implicated. The sad irony was Narayanan and his team were very close to perfecting the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) that could hoist payloads to the geosynchronous transfer orbit.

Recently, there has been a spate of films made in India based on real-life events as the nation is now tired of movies that lack substance. The film on Dr Nambi Narayanan hits the theaters at a time when many false charges made against individuals seem to have fallen by the wayside. However, it remains to be seen if this film ‘Rocketry: The Nambi Effect’ starring R Madhavan as Dr Nambi Narayanan will end up being another creative overreach. This author back in April 2020, had written an article on India’s space program and how some foreign powers with the support of their Indian pawns/sellout managed to sabotage our progress. This was done to ensure we were never to become independent in rocket technology and always remain dependent.

To ensure that India continues to remain dependent, India’s top rocket Scientist of India Nambi Narayan who was working in ISRO was falsely implicated on the charges of espionage and was arrested by the Intelligence Bureau and Kerala Police for selling important drawings and documents related to the cryogenic engine to Pakistan nuclear scientist Mohammad Aslam via two Maldivian women. After his arrest, Narayanan along with fellow scientist D Sasi Kumaran, who was serving as the Deputy Director of the cryogenic technology division of the ISRO with the responsibility of technology transfer from Russia was interrogated by now disgraced Kerala IB Director RB Srikumar and Director General of Kerala Police Sibi Mathews.

What transpired after their arrest was a nightmare as both these scientists were physically tortured by intelligence agencies. On the outside, the media was calling him anti-national and his effigies were burned. Overnight this scientist who had dedicated his life to space research became the most hated person in India.

Men like Nambi Narayanan are one of the rare breeds who believe in nation-building having been inspired by the likes of Vikram Sarabhai, Homi Baba, and Dr Satish Dhawan who helped India become a nuclear power.

The torture was so intense that even when he pleaded that how can someone make a cryogenic engine just by drawings, it fell on deaf ears. Both the scientists were kept in jail without bail for 50 days during which time they were physically and mentally tortured and the police did everything to rob them of their dignity and rights. The police beat him mercilessly and Nambi was forced to stand for days without any food. If that was not enough he was deprived of sleep and was further humiliated by being kept naked. To elucidate his confession, the police put chili powder into his anus.

Later the police arrested two Maldivian women who were forced to confess the crime that Nambi sold drawings of the engine to Pakistan. Ironically, Pakistan which created its own space agency the Pakistan Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission a few years before ISRO was formed has never managed to put even one Satellite in orbit by its own rocket. Most Indians who are academically gifted make a beeline for the West and maybe one cannot blame them for doing that since they received better opportunities there. However, men like Nambi Narayanan are one of the rare breeds who believe in nation-building having been inspired by the likes of Vikram Sarabhai, Homi Baba, and Dr Satish Dhawan who helped India become a nuclear power.

Nambi Narayanan could have been one of the stars of NASA, but he chose Ma Bharati. After completing his master’s from Princeton University in chemical rocket propulsion he returned to India with expertise in liquid propulsion when India was still using solid propellants. The fact is that Narayanan introduced the liquid fuel rocket technology in India as early as the 1970s. There is a theory that the whole ISRO spy episode was due to political infighting between two Congress politicians. Then there is also the hand of the United States, which had just won the cold war against the Soviet Union in the 1990s.

When the Soviet Union disintegrated, India was negotiating a deal to purchase its cryogenic engines. In 1992, India signed an agreement with Russia for the transfer of technology to develop cryogenic fuel-based engines. However, US President George H. W. Bush put pressure on Russia against the transfer of technology and threatened to blacklist an economically weak Russia. Consequently, its leader Boris Yeltsin relented to the pressure and denied the transfer of technology to India.

Nambi Narayanan wanted India to be ‘Atmanirbhar’ when it came to rocket technology and the history of Indian space exploration would have been a lot different if not for politicians orchestrating a conspiracy that took India decades behind in this race and an important technology got delayed and our progress was denied.

The reality was that the US wanted to sell India the same cryogenic engine for a much higher amount with a rider that there will be no transfer of technology. This implied that India will always be dependent on the US. It cannot be ruled out that the US did everything in its power to deny and delay India’s quest for a cryogenic rocket engine. Many people may not know that Namabi Narayanan was forced to name APJ Abdul Kalam to create a perfect link with Pakistan but he never named anyone. Brian Harvey, in his book “Russia in Space: A Failed Frontier” writes: “India objected strongly to the American actions, pointing out that high-powered hydrogen-fuelled upper stages which took a long time to prepare were of little military value”.

Nambi Narayanan wanted to carry forward the dream of Vikram Sarabhai who said, “Our space program was built in measure and not due to the glamour associated with space activities. We do not have the fantasy of competing with the economically advanced nations in the exploration of the Moon or the planets or manned space flight. But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society, which we find in our country.”

Nambi Narayanan wanted India to be ‘Atmanirbhar’ when it came to rocket technology and the history of Indian space exploration would have been a lot different if not for politicians orchestrating a conspiracy that took India decades behind in this race and an important technology got delayed and our progress was denied.

Greek Philosopher Plutarch said, “It is part of a good man to do great and noble deeds, though he risks everything”. Nambi Narayanan spent every living moment for the betterment of his country but was betrayed by those who took thirty pieces of silver.

This article was originally published in Samvada World and has been republished here with permission.

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Zubair’s Hands Are Drenched In Blood, His Horde Is Helping Washing It Off

Two bearded men – Mohammad Ghous and Mohammad Riyaz – walk in to a tailor’s shop under the pretext of getting their clothes stitched. The unsuspecting tailor goes about taking measurements when suddenly one of the bearded man twists the arm of the tailor and starts hitting him. He is later stabbed multiple times as he cries in excruciating pain. Finally, his head is severed and his headless body is put in full public dispaly to strike terror in the hearts of people.

Yet another Hindu life succumbs to the menace of terrorism which apparently has no religion despite the world seeing attacks after attacks by this horde.

And Kanhaiya Lal wasn’t the only Hindu to be butchered in the aftermath of the Nupur Sharma episode.

A similar incident happened on June 21, 2022 in Maharashtra’s Amaravati where one Dr. Umesh Kolhe was decapitated for reportedly coming out in support of Nupur Sharma. Abdul (24), Shoaib Khan (22), Mudassir Ahmed Sheikh Ibrahim (22) and Shah Rukh Pathan Hidayat Khan (24) were arrested. I repeat, terrorism has no religion.

Kanhaiya Lal’s killing made news because of the spine-chilling video that went viral. It wasn’t the case for Umesh Kolhe.

These cold-blooded murders comes just weeks after ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ reverberated in different parts of the country with mobs baying for Nupur Sharma’s blood.

Effigy of Nupur Sharma found hanging in Belagavi, Karnataka

The Secular Gymnastics Of Leftist Media

A section of the media keep driving the point that these incidents are a fallout of the Nupur Sharma episode through their secular gymnastics. They attribute it to rising ‘Hindutva’ putting Hindus on the defendant dock while covering the elephant in the room with a big sheet of secularism.

This will be evident from how the identities of the killers are brushed under the carpet and how the name of Nupur Sharma is consciously highlighted portraying her as a bigot.

The Quint in its coverage of the incident made sure that the identity of the perpetrators is not immediately known so that the average reader can pass it off as a nondescript news.

The News Minute, another leftist outlet carefully worded its headline without mentioning the identities of the perpetrators.

Similarly, other leftists portals like The Wire, Scroll.in, Newslaundry and a few mainstream publishing houses secularized the incident with a careful crafting of headlines. .

In fact, Newslaundry has even published a report ridiculing those who called the act a ‘Taliban’ and ‘ISIS’ style crime.

This is nothing surprising as it has been the norm for these media houses to tread soft when the victims are Hindus and the perpetrators belong to the so-called minority community.

On the other hand, the international media houses like CNN have watered down the terror act with the usage of ‘alleged’ in their reports.

BBC on the other hand used a feature image with men wearing saffron shawls and not the image of the Muslim men.

Note how in all these coverages, the name of Nupur Sharma is drilled into the heads of the readers as if she was the only person responsible for all the violence. Also, these reports end stating that Muslim organizations have condemned the murder in an attempt to portray it as an isolated incident when infact these organizations are involved in fomenting hate against non-believers day-in and day-out.

Why Zubair Is The Culprit

In the popular rhetoric, Nupur Sharma has been made the villain by the leftist media while completely ignoring that it was Alt News’ Mohammed Zubair who had cunningly shared an edited clip.

Mohammad Zubair had cropped the part when the Maulvi had made objectionable remarks on Siva Linga which was the reason for Nupur Sharma losing her cool. This was amplified by the usual suspects masquerading as journalists.

It was after Mohammad Zubair tweeted a clip of Nupur Sharma’s remarks about Prophet Mohammad that the issue exploded.

In essence, it was Mohammad Zubair who dogwhistled and unleashed a campaign against Nupur Sharma which led the fanatic Muslims to hit the streets creating a communal frenzy.

It is the tweet of Mohammad Zubair which has cost two Hindu lives. Thus, it is prima facie clear that the blood of Kanhaiya Lal and Dr. Umesh Kolha is on Zubair’s hands.

The jihadi inside Zubair got exposed when his old social media posts mocking Hindu Gods went viral.

None of the champions of free speech or defenders of religious rights took to condemning the vicious tweets of Mohammad Zubair where he had derogated Hindu Gods.

How The Coterie Is Washing Off Blood From Zubair’s Hands

The leftist media outlets who have organized themselves under the banner of “DIGIPUB News India Foundation” have been on an overdrive since the arrest of Mohammad Zubair, the co-founder of propaganda outlet Alt News, which is also part of the outfit.

They’ve been portraying him as some kind of a hero who has been wronged for speaking ‘truth to power’.

This alleged ‘fact-checker’ has been accused of peddling fake news and inciting communal hatred several times.

In fact, all the violence and killings that has unfolded have to be pinned on this vile Islamist propagandist Mohammad Zubair.

This being the case, the coterie of Zubair which is today condemning his arrest as an assault on press is busy doing the dirty job of washing the blood off his hands.

When news of Kanhaiya Lal’s gruesome murder had started hitting the news, The News Minute hosted a space called ‘Online Vigil For Press Freedom’ in support of Zubair in which these alleged ‘journalists’ cried foul calling his arrest a communal act spewing the usual gaslighting terms like ‘Hindutva’, ‘fascism’ and so on.

This cabal which is talking about ‘online vigil for press freedom’ stood as mute spectators when non-BJP Chief Minister incarcerated individuals for harmless social media posts criticizing them.

What Will Happen Now

The killers of Kanhaiya had the impudence to put out a video claiming responsibility for the attack and issuing threats to Prime Minister Narendra Modi – so much for all the rhetorics peddled about a “daraa hua Musalmaan” (Muslims in fear). That impudence is the manifestation of the confidence that they have on the legal systems in the country which has for long been taken for granted.

Zubair and the killers of Kanhaiya will eventually walk free.

Because they know that the secular folks in the country are there to insulate them and act as their frontline warriors.

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Leftist Journos Who Kept Mum Over Ketaki Chitale’s Arrest Cry Foul Over Islamist Zubair’s Arrest

Mohammed Zubair, the co-founder of propaganda website AltNews, was arrested by the Delhi Police on the night of 27 June 2022 over charges of inciting riots and creating ill will between communities.

His arrest comes in the light of his old social media posts mocking Hindu Gods going viral.

Many leftist journalists have been coming out in support of the rabid Islamist.

Dhanya Rajendran, the Editor-in-Chief of The News Minute in a tweet condemned the Delhi Police and implied that it was wrong to arrest Zubair for a tweet.

However, neither her nor her news portal had condemned the arrest of Maharashtra actress Ketaki Chitale who had just shared an alleged ‘defamatory’ post written by another man on her Facebook.

 

The entire coterie of leftist portals and journalists under the banner of ‘DIGIPUB News India Foundation’ had issued a statement condemning the Islamist’s arrest in the ‘strongest possible terms’ which had looked the other way when states ruled by Opposition parties had hunted down on critics over social media posts.

Another woman named ‘Rohini Mohan’, who identifies herself as an independent journalist said that ‘hunting down of critics’ is expanding in the country.

Arfa Khanum Sherwani, another Islamist journalist working with The Wire had condemned the arrest saying that he was only doing his job by exposing the lies of the rulers (read BJP).

Many other leftist and Islamist ‘journalists’ who claim themselves to be champions of free speech have come out in support of Zubair.

There have been numerous cases where parties like the Shiv Sena and NCP in Maharashtra, DMK in Tamil Nadu, TMC in West Bengal had hunted down on critics and opposition parties in the respective states.

But none of them had spoken ‘truth to power’ in those instances.

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Rabid Islamist And Alt News Co-Founder Zubair Arrested For Disturbing Communal Harmony

Mohammed Zubair, Co-Founder of propaganda website AltNews, has been arrested by the Delhi Police for inciting violence.

He has been detained under sections 153 and 295 of the IPC.

“When Delhi Police was alerted by a Twitter handle that Mohd Zubair had earlier made objectionable tweet & his followers/social media entities had amplified & created a series of debates/hate mongering, he was examined & his role was found objectionable”, senior official of Delhi Police were quoted by ANI.

The police also noted that Zubair was evasive and did not cooperate with the investigation.

“During investigation, conduct of Mohammad Zubair was found questionable, which warranted his custodial interrogation to unravel conspiracy in this matter. Accordingly, he has been arrested & is being produced before court for seeking police custody remand.”, police officials reportedly said.

Mohammad Zubair’s arrest comes in the light of his old social media posts mocking Hindu Gods going viral. He had deleted his Facebook account and deleted some of his old controversial tweets that had come across as hurting Hindu sentiments.

It is to be noted that it was after Mohammad Zubair tweeted a clip of Nupur Sharma’s remarks about Prophet Mohammad that the issue exploded.

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Isha celebrates 23rd Anniversary of Dhyanalinga Consecration

The 23rd Annual Dhyanalinga Consecration Day was observed today at Isha Yoga Center, Coimbatore. The Consecration Day event began at 6 a.m. at the Dhyanalinga with the magical chanting of ‘Aum Namah Shivaya’ by Isha Brahmacharis. As in previous years, Hindu and Buddhist chants and Christian and Sufi hymns were offered to the Dhyanalinga.

‘Sounds of Isha’ offered Buddhist chants such as ‘Buddham Saranam Gacchami’, & ‘Om Tara Tu Tara Tu
Ray Swaha’’, and & ‘Namo Ratna Trayaya.

Native American songs, South African chants, and Sufi hymns were also offered.

The two powerful mantras composed by Adi Shankara ‘Nirvana Shatakam’ and ‘Guru Paduka Stotram’ as well as Thevaram songs completed the musical offerings made to Dhyanalinga.

Residents of Isha Yoga Center participated in the event. At 6:10 p.m., the chanting concluded with
the ‘Nadha Aradhana’.

The Dhyanalinga was consecrated on June 24, 1999 by Sadhguru after about 3 years of intense
spiritual sadhana. It is the only Linga with all seven chakras energized to their peak. The Dhyanalinga
is a live energy form that can have transformative impact on those who seek its Grace. It is the
largest Linga consecrated with mercury.

(This is an official press release from Isha Foundation. The Commune was not involved in creating this content.)

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Khelo India: Isha Samskriti brings home 2 bronze medals

Isha Samskriti students won 2 bronze medals at the national level Khelo India Games bringing pride
to Tamil Nadu. Inba Tamilan won bronze in the Chuvadukal while Padmeshraj achieved the feat in
Meypayattu in the Martial Arts category. Around 180 athletes from all over the country competed in
25 different sports in the category.

Isha Samskriti in Coimbatore offers students a wide range of traditional arts including Yoga,
Bharatanatyam and Carnatic music among others. Isha Samskriti alumni, who have undergone many
years of rigorous training in the traditional arts, are now offering the arts worldwide under the
banner of Project Samskriti.

Khelo India Games aim to revive the culture of sports at the grassroots in India to find and promote
talented young athletes. The 2021 edition of the Games was held this month in Panchkula, Haryana.

(This is an official press release from Isha Foundation. The Commune was not involved in creating this content.)

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The Story Of India’s First Modern Astronomical Observatory

Madras was the city where India’s first modern astronomical observatory was located. William Petrie, an officer of East India company set up an observatory with his own instruments at his residence in Egmore in 1786. He employed a Dane, John Goldingham to help him.

Michael Topping, another senior company employee, took up navigation survey along the Coromandel coast for studying weather conditions so that ships can sail smoothly to and fro to Calcutta. He did it in 1788.

He was impressed with Petrie’s work and both pleaded with the company to take over the observatory and run it. The company accepted and the observatory was set up in Nungambakkam in 1791. The Observatory was given telescopes, clocks and quadrants to pursue research.

For over 100 years, Madras Observatory was the only such institution in the entire country to research on stars. Goldingham was the Chief Astronomer for 38 years.

Thomas Glanville, an astronomer who worked here from 1830-48 prepared a detailed catalogue on 11015 fixed stars. It is heralded as one of the greatest catalogue of modern times.

There are more such intellectual works from different astronomers across the world.

Normal R Pogson, an astronomer here discovered an asteroid on 17th August 1861. Being the first asteroid to be discovered by someone working from eastern part of globe it was named Asia. So many more such asteroids were discovered here. Sappho, Sylvia, Camilla, Reticuli, Capriconi, to name a few.

First modern astronomical siscovery by an Indian happened here. CR Raghunathachary, a son of class 4 employee, whose passion for astronomy helped him move up the ranks and he discovered the light variation of an asteroid R Reticuli. Pogson recommended him as a Fellow of Royal Astronomical Society. Raghunathachary wrote a masterpiece Jyothisha Chintamani on Astronomy. His other work was the Thriganitha Panchanka or the Nautical Almanac is known to many.

So many eclipses were observed here in this Observatory. This observatory laid the foundation for Astronomical observations and study in India.

In late 19th century, it moved to Kodaikanal. You might have seen the Solar Observatory there. This became that! Guess what observatory is present at this Nungambakkam premises now?

IMD, Chennai from where our popular Ramanan used to forecast rains and we as kids were waiting for him to speak for a rain holiday!

And the pillar at the Observatory is nothing but the point where Madras Standard Time is calculated.

The Madras Meridian is this pillar.

(With inputs from Madras, Tracing The Growth Of The City Since 1639 by KRA Narasiah)

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