Opinion View from the RIGHT

Kamath goes on: “There are some things he has to act upon at his earliest. One of them is to make an extensive tour of the country to make his position felt. But then what would he be speaking about? Hindutva? Is that relevant in today’s context? Corruption? With the BJP supporting Shibu Soren as chief minister of Jharkhand,a man with a not-so-happy reputation,Gadkari has to be doubly careful. Does the BJP have any clear idea concerning re-organisation of states?… There are three candidates who could — and ultimately may — challenge him. Narendra Modi for one,Arun Jaitley for another,and last but not least,Sushma Swaraj. And from the Congress he will have to reckon with Rahul Gandhi who is fast maturing and can offer him stiff competition at the hustings. Rahul,indeed,is showing himself as one who can think out-of-the box and he can prove to be a man to watch. Gadkari has to bear this in mind.”

Facebook generation

A news report titled “Facebook generation and digital divide” in the latest issue of RSS mouthpiece Organiser says: “Dattatreya Hosabale,sahsarkaryavah of RSS,delivered the fourth Lakshmanrao Bhide Memorial Lecture on ‘Facebook generation’s face-off with global challenges’ in Mumbai on January 15. He said there is a digital divide between the youth. All the youth of present day do not have access to primary education leave alone access to internet,he said. Of every 100 students who enrol for primary education only 30 manage to reach up to the 10th standard,he said. More than governments the youth alone have the potential to reverse this trend and achieve 100 per cent literacy by spreading education”.

The news item adds: “Hosabale listed the global challenges facing the ‘Facebook’ generation of today — climate change,poverty,corruption,terrorism,etc. The youth have a lot to speak on these topics,he said. The Facebook generation is disillusioned with the system in most parts of the world. Youth have expectations from society but when their expectations are not met there is anger amid the youth. It was the youth power,he reminded,that toppled the corrupt Sukarno government in Indonesia in 1968. The Facebook generation does not want to turn its face from global challenges,said Hosabale,referring to the 45-minute interaction he had with about 50 students mostly from IIT and Kalina Campus before the main programme.”

Rescue Yamuna

The editorial in the latest issue of Organiser titled “Rescue Yamuna so that we rescue ourselves” says: “The decline and slow death of the sacred river Yamuna is one of the major ecological tragedies of modern India. Yamuna,the capital city Delhi’s lifeline is but a flowing mass of faeces,according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)… Both the Ganga Action Plan and the Yamuna Action Plan are monumental failures. Delhi is built on the banks of the river Yamuna. The legendary river has inspired,for thousands of years,the civilisational saga of the people of this land. This river was and still is integral to our cultural ethos and emotional history. Only a major citizens’ initiative can save the river and restore it to its pristine glory. If a conscious,inspired and concerted effort of the people who love and worship Yamuna is not immediately initiated,Yamuna will soon become history,with its incalculable loss to modern Indian habitat.”