Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Time to end poverty

HH Pujya muniji Gives humanitarian message

INDIAN spiritual leader His Holi- ness (HH) Pujya Swami Chidan and Saraswatiji (HH Pujya Muniji) praised the World Bank’s efforts to end extreme poverty as he met its president Dr Jim Yong Kim at the World Humanitarian Summit in Is- tanbul,Turkey last Wednesday (25).


HH Pujya Muniji, who is also the president of Parmarth Niketan (Rishikesh), a

co-chair

of Global Interfaith WASH Alliance (GIWA) and founder of the Ganga Action Parivar and Divine Shakti Founda- tion, also extended an invitation to Dr Kim to visit India and the holy banks of the River Ganga in Rishikesh, north India.

HH Pujya Muniji and president of the Divine Shakti Foundation and secretary general of GIWA, Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswatiji, also took part in various sessions during the summit, including on religious en- gagement, global health, and women and girls. The meeting was attended by leaders from more than 65 countries, including the US, China, Japan, Fiji, Turkey and India.

HH Pujya Muniji said: “We often talk about poverty as being due to a global food or water shortage, but to me it’s really due to a global con- sciousness shortage.We, as spiritual leaders, need to ignite a global con- sciousness that unites all through the recognition we are one family.

“To end poverty, we must work differently – working with and working for all. We must remember that we are all one global family. Humanity first! Family first!”

HH Pujya Muniji also met UN secretary general Ban Ki Moon, heads of state of many countries, and other world leaders. Among them was Irina Bokova, director general of UNESCO. They discussed the urgent need to protect fresh water resources from pollution and

over-extraction,

especially rivers.

More For You

JLR-Tata-Getty

JLR had initially planned to manufacture more than 70,000 electric vehicles at the facility. (Photo: Getty Images)

JLR halts plan to build EVs at Tata’s India plant: Report

JAGUAR LAND ROVER (JLR) has put on hold plans to manufacture electric vehicles at Tata Motors’ upcoming £775 million factory in southern India, according to a news report.

The decision was influenced by challenges in balancing price and quality for locally sourced EV components, three of the sources said. They added that slowing demand for electric vehicles was also a factor.

Keep ReadingShow less
Leicester drug supplier Sarju Khushal jailed for 11 years over £2m operation

Sarju Khushal

Leicester drug supplier Sarju Khushal jailed for 11 years over £2m operation

A MAN who supplied controlled drugs on a ‘wholesale’ scale across Leicestershire has been sentenced to 11 years in prison. Sarju Khushal, 30, was arrested in 2022 after investigations revealed he had been transporting drugs from Lancashire into the area.

Khushal, formerly of Hazeldene Road, Leicester, pleaded guilty to several charges, including the supply and conspiracy to supply class A drugs. He was sentenced at Leicester crown court last Thursday (6).

Keep ReadingShow less
Tamil Nadu Education

Tamil, one of the oldest living languages in the world, is a source of pride for the state’s people

Getty images

Education or imposition? Tamil Nadu battles India government over Hindi in schools

A war of words has erupted between Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister MK Stalin and the federal government over the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which recommends a three-language formula in schools, with two of the three being native to India. Stalin has voiced strong objections, claiming that the policy could lead to the imposition of Hindi, a northern Indian language, in non-Hindi-speaking states like Tamil Nadu. The issue has reignited old tensions between southern states and the central government over the privileging of Hindi.

Historical resistance to Hindi

Tamil Nadu has a deep-rooted history of opposing the promotion of Hindi, dating back to the 1960s. Protests broke out in the state when the federal government attempted to make Hindi the sole official language, leading to a compromise that allowed the continued use of English. Language in Tamil Nadu is not merely a means of communication but a powerful symbol of cultural identity. Tamil, one of the oldest living languages in the world, is a source of pride for the state’s people. As a result, any perceived threat to its prominence is met with strong resistance.

Keep ReadingShow less
Former Bristol MP Thangam Debbonaire enters House of Lords as Baroness

Thangam Debbonaire

Former Bristol MP Thangam Debbonaire enters House of Lords as Baroness

FORMER Bristol MP Thangam Debbonaire has taken her seat in the House of Lords after being awarded a life peerage last month.

The 58-year-old, who represented Bristol West for Labour from 2015 until July’s general election, wore the traditional scarlet robes during her introductory ceremony. She will now be known as Baroness Debbonaire of De Beauvoir Town in the London Borough of Hackney.

Keep ReadingShow less