Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam trip June 2015

Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam were short listed for our summer vacation and as usual all booking and arrangements were done by Ranjan in   no time. 

18 to 20^th June 2015:  Bangkok:

Kids were already there at Bangkok with their cousin Ranjan.  Arpit was doing internship at American Red Cross and younger Kshitij was taking lessons from brother.  We joined them on 18^th morning.  It was my forth visit to Bangkok. Therefore, the idea was to see something new. 

Bangkok offers vast opportunity to explore new things.  This time we opted for Siam Niramit.  Siam Niramit can be described as exhibition cum show of Thai’s rich cultural heritage.  The group folk dances, village environment, handi craft making, village cooking and rituals are all well displayed at this centre.  It uses special techniques integrated with drama to depict the history of each region of Thailand including depictions of hell, the forest of Himmaphan, heavens, and lands beyond imagination from Thai literature. There is also a spectacular performance of Thailand's arts and cultural heritage. The show is staged by more than 150 performers in a luxurious theater with a capacity of more than 2,000 seats.

We also took opportunity to visit new IKEA store.  It is a huge store created in around 1.5 lacs  sqft of space and you have everything which you can think for your house.  They suggest very standard design of furnishing.  You simply select the design and IKEA people will create samething at your door step.

Another location worth mentioning is Mall-21 Terminal, a place which always fascinates us.

On 20^th morning, we flew to Siam Reap, a historical town in Cambodia and checked in Hotel Crown Plaza.  The day was meant for City Tour and visit to villages located on bank of river.  The Town is a cluster of small villages along the Siem Reap River. These villages were originally developed around Buddhist pagodas (Wat) which are almost evenly spaced along the river from Wat Preah En Kau Sei in the north to Wat Phnom Krom in the south, where the Siem Reap River meets the great Tonle Sap Lake. There are three floating villages around Siem Reap - Kompong Khleang, Kompong Phluk, Chong Kneas, with Kompong Khleang considered the most authentic. 

In the afternoon we all went to see the floating village.  The boat negotiates through a shallow muddy river for about 45 minutes to takes us to middle of the lake and where you can see village life in midst of water.  We being vegetarian could only drink coconut water and nothing else was meant for us.

The main town of Siam Reap is concentrated around Sivutha Street and the Psar Chas area (Old Market area) where there are old colonial buildings, shopping and commercial districts. We took opportunity to visit this market in the evening and enjoyed some shopping experience.   

The next day morning, we went to Angkor wat (temple) at around 5 am to see the first glimpse of temple in Lake with rising sun.  The morning ambiance was awesome.  These temples were built in the 12^th Century by King Suryavarman and have gone through many turmoil over  last 900 years.  These temples are proof  that Hinduism spread not only in India but other part of east Asia and they left indelible mark for ever.  Angkor Wat (Wat temple) is the central feature of the Angkor UNESCO World Heritage Site containing the magnificent remains of the Khmer civilization. Thousands of feet of wall space are covered with intricate carving depicting scenes from Hindu mythology including Ramayana.   I feel international tourists come to Siam Reap mainly to see the glimpse of Angkor Wat.

21^st June was International Yoga Day and our women folk Beenu and Anju joined the yoga group near temple site attended by a few hundred people.

Despite  weather being hot and humid, we went to  Cambodian Cultural Village in the afternoon.  Though the village offers full day programmes, we  went to a Theatre where Show of Cambodian traditional Marriage was in progress.  The show was magnificent with both bride and bridegroom looked like real and all rituals were performed in the presence of parents of bride (of course parents were chosen from among the audience only). Opened on September 24, 2003, this village assembles all the miniatures of famous historical buildings and structures of Cambodia. There are 11 unique villages, which represent different culture heritages, local customs and characteristics of 21 multi races.

On 22^nd  morning, we planned for visit to an ancient village called Kulen where thousands of Shivlingam are carved on stone in the flowing river.  Besides this, one could enjoy the mesmerizing bath and natural massages from water falls.  The river negotiates through deep ravines and forest but we were not allowed to go beyond a point as our guide told us that there are still unexploded mines  there in that area. This is part of  Phnom Kulen National Park and is about 48 km from Siem Reap.

On 23^rd we  reached  Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia by night bus.   Located on the banks of the Tonlé Sap and Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since French colonization of Cambodia,. Once known as the "Pearl of Asia," it was considered one of the loveliest French-built cities in Indochina^[4] in the 1920s. There are a number of surviving French colonial buildings scattered along the grand boulevards.

Phnom Pehn is a relatively modern city and is famous of its Russian Market and Genocide Museum.    Thousands of Skeltons of men, women and children are housed here which tell us horrifying stories of atrocities committed by Khmer Rouge  on their fellow countrymen during 1975 to 1979.  During Khmer Rouge regime, all  of its residents, including those who were wealthy and educated, were evacuated from the city and forced to do labour on rural farms as "new people"^. Tuol Sleng High School was taken over by Pol Pot's forces and was turned into the S-21 prison camp, where people were detained and tortured. Pol Pot sought a return to an agrarian economy and therefore killed many people perceived as educated, "lazy", or political enemies. Choeung Ek (The Killing Fields), 15 kilometers  away, where the Khmer Rouge marched prisoners from Tuol Sleng to be murdered and buried in shallow pits, is also now a memorial to those who were killed by the regime. The Khmer Rouge were driven out of Phnom Penh by the Vietnamese in 1979 and people began to return to the city.

One of the most popular areas in Phnom Penh for tourists is Sisowath Quay, alongside the Tonle Sap River. Sisowath Quay is a 3-mile strip of road that includes restaurants, bars, and hotels.

We stayed here at Hotel Queen.  Yes, we enjoyed our morning and evening walk at War Memorial and at the bank of river Mekong.  The Mekong is a trans-boundary river in  South East Asia and runs through China, Mynmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

On 24^th morning, we took bus and set for Vietnam.  Though the distance between Phnopehn and Ho Chi Minh city is hardly 287 km, it takes nearly 8 hours to reach as bus runs on a regulated speed and also they keep a margin of two hours for immigration clearance at the border of Vietnam. 

Ho Chi Minh city was earlier known as Saigon City, but renamed after the first leader of  North Vietnam  Ho Chi Minh.   It is a metro city having population of around 15 million.  We had our stay arrangement at Somerset Serviced Apartments.    This city was earlier part of South Vietnam and has seen much of the action.  America was ally of South Vietnam and continuously fought with North Vietnam for over 20 years and finally back tracked without any result.  The important feature of this war is that USA used extensively chemical war fare, while it always preach the world war without chemical weapons.  The capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese Army in April 1975 marked the end of the war, and North and South Vietnam were reunified the following year.  It is estimated that around 3 million people lost their lives in this bloody war. 

Today, the city's core is still adorned with wide elegant boulevards and historic French colonial buildings. The majority of these tourist spots are located in District 1 and are a short leisurely distance from each other. The most prominent structures in the city centre are the Reunification Palace, City Hall, Municipal Theatre  also known as the Opera House, City Post Office,  State Bank Office,  and Notre-Dame Cathedral. 

The city has various museums including the Ho Chi Minh City Museum, Museum of Vietnamese History, the Revolutionary Museum, the Museum of Southeastern Armed Forces, the War Remnants Museum, the Museum of Southern Women, the Museum of Fine Art, the Nha Rong Memorial House, and the Ben Duoc Relic of Underground Tunnels. The Củ Chi tunnels are northwest of the city in Củ Chi District.

Backpacking travelers most often frequent the "Western Quarter" on  District 1.

The night freak out is very special in this city.  The Central city is totally illuminated with modern shopping complexes and star hotels.  The morning walk was very special near Siagon River.  The city Admnistration has created open Gym for the benefit of people.  One can see old and young alike working out at the park.

One day was planned for tour to Cu Chi Tunnels.  These tunnels are located around 60 km from Ho Chin Min City.   During Vietnam War people created tunnel in jungle to escape from the American atrocities.  The tunnels are very very narrow and at a time only one person can crawl  in the cave.  However, at different locations they made provisions for Kitchens, medical care, sleeping rooms and other facility.  The tunnels were designed in such a way that enemy couldn’t dare to enter into it.  However, American spread millions of litres Chemical in this area, making the whole vegetation poisonous. 

Our next destination was Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.   We flew from Ho Chi Minh city to Hanoi on 27^th June by Air Vietnam and stayed at Hotel Sun Vill in Old Quarter Area.

Hanoi is the second most populous  city with population of around 6.5 million.  The main attraction   in Hanoi is its old charm.  Though city is quite old, but it is planned.  So you can see well laid roads and lanes with same kind of shops in each zone.

Hanoi is located in northern region of Vietnam, situated in the Vietnam’s Red River delta, nearly 90 km  away from the coastal area. Hanoi contains three basic kind of terrain, which are the delta area, the midland area and mountainous zone. As the capital of Vietnam for almost a thousand years, Hanoi is considered one of the main cultural centres of Vietnam, where most Vietnamese dynasties have left their imprint.

Hoan Keim lake and its surrounding of Shopping Complexes, restaurants, hotels is a major place of tourist attraction.  During morning the place is crowded by the health conscious locals as well as tourists.  And in the evening this is one of the most happening areas where lot of music, dances, and cultural events remain in vogue.  Happiness on the face of general Viatnami is very usual here.  And if you want to see something more, go to Water Puppet Show.  We spent most of our time in this area.  Even the night market is at a walking distance. 

Some other prominent places are: The Temple of Literature,  One Pillar Pagoda,  Flag Tower of Hanoi.

The Lake Garden and Central Market were just at walking distance from our Hotel Sun Villa, a very beautiful boutique hotel.  We were initially sceptical about the quality of service in the hotel, but we were amazed at the hospitality of the hotel staff.  They were simply superb. 

On 28^th morning, we moved out to see the ancient capital of Hoa Lư which located in a flat valley between small but steep limestone mountains that created virtually impenetrable barriers to human traffic. Even today, many of the mountains are accessible only to the mountain goats that roam the area.   The boat ride in the river while crossing huge caves in between the major part of our excitement.  We also took opportunity to have cycle tour of village near Hoa Lu interspersed between line stone mountains and rocks. 

We planned one day Cruise stay and to see Halong Bay, a world heritage site.  We booked Bhaiya Cruise and alongwith other co travellers, we headed for Halong Bay on 30^th June, 2015.  

Hạ Long Bay,  literally: "descending dragon bay" is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a popular travel destination, in Quảng Ninh Province, Vietnam

Hạ Long Bay has an area of around 1,553 km², including 1,960–2,000 islets, most of which are limestone. The core of the bay has an area of 334 km² with a high density of 775 islets.^[]The limestone in this bay has gone through 500 million years of formation in different conditions and environments. In 1994, the core zone of Hạ Long Bay was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

The bay consists of a dense cluster of some 1,600  limestone monolithic islands each topped with thick jungle vegetation, rising spectacularly from the ocean. Several of the islands are hollow, with enormous caves. Hang Đầu Gỗ (Wooden stakes cave) is the largest grotto in the Hạ Long area.  

We returned to our hotel on afternoon of 1^st July, 2015.  This was last day and we kept it reserved for buying some souvenirs.

On 2^nd July, we boarded Thai Air and returned to Delhi in the late evening loaded with lot of sweet memories.  

 

Fall and rise of Shri Arvind Kejriwal

 

Within 12 months of resigning from the Government Mr. Arvind Kejriwal returned to power with thumping majority, a mandate which neither he himself nor his worst detractors have ever thought.  In fact, he was completely down played by media when he terribly lost Lok Sabha elections barring three seats of Punjab.   The Psephologists on all important TV channels were amazed that they were nowhere close to their estimates.

Prime Minister Mr. Modi and BJP President Mr. Amit Shah must be in shock and pondering what went wrong.  Ruling party at centre must be in Chintan mode so that they can correct themselves and such situation might not repeat in upcoming Elections in Bihar and other States. 

Let us understand what factors contributed for defeat of BJP and astounding win of Kejriwal in Delhi Assembly Election in 2015.

Just after coming into power at Centre, BJP should have recommended for fresh election, but it was busy to form Government by hook or by crook, but it didn’t happen  and it lost precious  time to its opponents to raise issues,  Delhi was facing.

A period of  eight months was enough for Central Government to work for Delhi and give relief to the common man, particularly on corruption issue, but just immediately after fall of Kejriwal Government,  corruption again become rampant  that affected common man who were able to distinguish between those 49 days and period thereafter.  While Prime Minister was busy in improving relations with international community, he failed to focus on plights of Delhiites.   If you talk to any Rickshaw Puller or a daily wage earner, he will narrate you the tale.  BJP kept on  highlighting the PM’s success in taking India to the world stage and promising rapid development of the country, as a vision. But people care about immediate matters that touch their lives. High prices of food, high cost of living, lack of drinking water, lack of electricity, lack of sanitation, etc, all mattered. BJP offered no immediate solutions on these, while Kejriwal along with his party workers only focused on his promise to solve these. His message ran home

 

Prime Minister Modi couldn’t effectively handles Babas and Sadhvis who unleashed uncontrolled words against a few communities, which was totally against the professed Slogan of Prime Minister, “Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas”.  Apparently, this led to vote against Modi en masse by Muslims and other minority communities.    A Fatwa issued by Imam of Jama Masjid Sayed Ahmed Bukhari a day before Delhi went to poll on 7^th Feb 2015  to Muslims to vote to AAP went totally against BJP.

While Kejriwal was busy in preparation of Assembly election from ground level from day  he dethroned office, BJP was complacent of winning and it failed to connect with masses because of over optimism or euphoria of Lok Sabha and Haryana polls.  By the time it realised, it was too late and Ms Kiran Bedi was helicoptered as their Chief Ministerial Candidate.  This alienated the local leaders and grass root level party workers.  The strategy of campaigning by Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers and other  State Leaders failed miserably.  This, adding to the fact that a rank outsider was chosen over old party loyalists, did not go down well with the faction-ridden members of the party’s Delhi unit.  Amit Shah’s problem was that he brought her in too quickly and gave her too much too soon. He needed to get a ‘buy-in’ from his party cadres before forcing Kiran Bedi on them. The move backfired

 

While BJP failed to bring out any manifesto, Kejriwal made a list of  promises in his manifesto.  Chief among them is to reduce power tariff by half, free wi fi, free water, thousands of schools, Lokpal Bill, corruption free regime and so on and so forth, though only time will test how he will fulfil a stream of free supply.

Perhaps BJP become fearful about Kejriwal as the Elections come closer and closer and instead of highlighting on issue based politics, BJP started attacking personally to Kejriwal, perhaps that didn’t go well with the voters.  Kejriwal, infact realising his past mistakes, didn’t utter a single word against opposition parties or for that matter industrialists and was much focused on needs of the people.

Ironically, it was the BJP’s repeated attacks on Kejriwal that brought him back into the limelight and he seized the opportunity to his advantage.

BJP has to take a moment and reflect on what the people expect from the party and what it has delivered so far.

With Narendra Modi at the helm, the industry has been waiting for decisive steps towards reform. That has not happened as yet. The coming budget will unveil the direction on the reforms process. BJP has to realize that without actionable reforms, progressive ideas like ‘Swacch Bharat’, ‘Jan Dhan’ and ‘Make in India’ will not be sustainable.

On the political front, BJP has to emerge from the shadows of the RSS and be decisive in putting down polarizing forces that threaten all the good work the party has done until now. The Prime Minister’s silence on this very vital issue is intriguing and going forward may undo the progressive image that he has managed to cultivate so far.

A trip to Kumaon Region of Uttarakhand

May 24 to May 30th 2014


The idea of a week long trip was floated by my father in law Shri GS Bhandari around third week of April, 2014. My sister in law Taru didi wanted a quiet place without any hustle and bustle. And through a quick google search we found Uttarakhand as a perfect place for holiday relaxation. All transportation and hotel arrangements were done in no time.





On 24th May, 2014, the Shatabdi Express from Anand Vihar Railway station to Kathgodom made our journey very comfortable though the seats were scattered for a 10 member family. Finding that majority of the travellers were students, our excitement knew no bounds. It was summer vacation and ideal time for students for tracking and adventure activity.



We reached Kathgodam at around 12 noon and boarded waiting Tempo Traveller for onward journey to Kausani. The temperature was rising so we wanted to reach on higher peaks as early as possible. We crossed Bhimtal, Bhawali and Almorah and finally reached our destination at around 6.30 pm at Himalaya Darshan Resorts, Kausani. Of course we had short breaks for tea and lunch at very serene locations.

Kausani is located 52 km north of Almora. There are very few places in the Himalayas that can compare with the beauty of Kausani - a picturesque hill station famous for its scenic splendor and its spectacular 300 km-wide panoramic view of Himalayan peaks like Trisul, Nanda Devi and Panchchuli. Kausani lies atop a ridge at an altitude of around 1890 m amidst dense pine trees overlooking Someshwar valley on one side and Garur and Baijnath Katyuri valley on the other on Almora-Bageshwar-Didihat Highway. Mahatma Gandhi called this place the 'Switzerland of India', due to similarity in landscape.



We settled down very quickly with the hospitality of the owners Shri Manoj Arora.    The Resort is having a combination of Luxury and Bamboo cottages, quite clean and comfortable. But the atmosphere outside rooms was very fascinating. The grand view of the majestic Himalayas was crystal clear. The Resort itself has been nestled in the lap of deep fruits and other trees. While you are busy in watching the beauty of nature, the birds were singing hymn in your welcome. We played card games in the evening while enjoying the cool weather.

On 25th morning, we got up sharp at 5 am. You should be ready to see the awesome view of the rising Sun. Chirping of the birds will wake you up otherwise you can sleep in peace as long as you wish. You get completely mesmerised when you see glimpses of sun from the behind the Himalayas. A completely mystic atmosphere will take you to the new world.
Nothing can be more enjoyable then playing in divine beauty of nature.  

 Mahendra jijaji, Beenu, Taru Didi and me tried to move around the forest and explore charms of jungle and trees. 

Afternoon was meant for ore exploration and excursion. We went to Bageshwar Town,  a place with lot of historical and archaeological importance having small and big temples. Among them are the Baijnath temple and Bagnath temple; the latter is situated in the middle of the town just across the confluence of Saryu and Gomti. The weather was turning cloudy and become very pleasant. We had lunch in a restaurant and went straight to Sangam (confluence) of three rivers.   Though it was raining, we went to close to river to capture the nature in Camera and play in river. What can be more pleasurable than finding Tea Stall in the midst of farm fields and at the bank of river. Just imagine you are soaked in drizzling in a cool weather and see the pleasure of hot tea and refreshments.

We returned to hotel by 7 pm and after a scrumptious dinner we had sound sleep.

On 27th morning, we had our breakfast and shifted to a new hotel known as Himalaya Study Centre Resort, a beautiful new property created by Shri Threes Kapoor an avid photographer of national repute. We settled down here by 11 am. Of course Big Cars don’t have access to this hotel so you should be ready to walk down to the valley for around 250 meters or wait for a Jeep to take you to the destination.

 
The afternoon was meant for local sightseeing and intermingling with the locals. We went to Gandhi Ashram and saw some of the astonishing Himalaya peaks from there. Anashakti Ashram is a quiet and revered place where Mahatma Gandhi spent some days and wrote his commentary of Anashkti Yog. Pant Museum is another place of importance, this being the place where the famous poet of Hindi literature, Sumitranandan Pant was born. 





On 28th May, we went for tracking to villages surrounding our hotel while crossing small canals and fruits trees and bushes. The innocent villagers were busy in their morning chores, plucking fodders for their animals, cultivation of farm land, plucking vegetables, and so on and so forth. A real India indeed stays in our villages only. We had the most beautiful experience interacting with villagers, went to Tea Garden, took a few snaps and came back by 9 am, a perfect time for breakfast. Surprisingly, though in tough hilly terrain, almost all houses in the village were made of brick and mortar “pucca” houses. The villagers have small needs, but very happy with whatever belonging they have.


The owner of the Resort, Mr. Threes Kapoor takes personal care of each guest and feel very proud to show his Art Galleries which are coming up within the complex of hotel. He has chosen his life mission to promote budding artists and has created enough space for them to show their talent in his hotel cum Art Gallery. 













Now our second round of tracking took place immediately after that. We went for hiking to a temple location known as Rudhradhari temple about 15 kms from our Hotel. While Papa mummy found solace in a small shop cum dhaba at the foothills of mountain, all other members Arpit, Kshitij, Prachi, Sarita bhabhi, Beenu, Taru didi, Mahendra Jijaji and I, set for tracking. Rudradhari Falls and Caves in Kasauni are located at a place with terraced fields, lush green paddy fields and dense green pine forests. The Rudhadhari falls is a natural attraction here and many ancient caves are explored nearby areas.

Our evening was full fun games like Dumb Sherar in Hotel. The hotel lobby was having brilliant wi fi signal so one can see almost all of us busy texting messages and photos to friends and relatives post dinner. 

We had early breakfast on 29th May, 2014 at Cafetaria of the Hotel and set for Ranikhet, a beautiful hill station  cum Army Cantonment about 50 km away from Kausani. The Hotel West View, a heritage hotel was waiting for our welcome. We reached there by 1.30 pm and by 2 pm we all settled in our respective room. The Hotel dates back to charms of twenties with architecture of English time, wooden flooring, big rooms, big bath rooms and big lobby. Sometimes you are in illusion to decide whether you are in India or in Europe.  The hotel was beautifully decorated with multi coloured hanging flower pots and artificial birds much envious to the real birds.

Ranikhet is a hill station and cantonment town in Almora district. It is the home for the Military Hospital, Kumaon Regiment(KRC) and Naga Regiment and is maintained by the Indian Army.

Ranikhet is at an altitude of 1869 metres above sea level and within sight of the western peaks of the Himalalays.

Evening was meant for local sightseeing. We went to Golf Course, Ram temple and Hotel Windsor Palace. The other note worthy places are Jhula Devi temple and Army museum which has a wide collection ranging from stories of the heroics of the First World War till date.


The next day 29th was meant for a trip to Apple Orchards known as Chaubatia Gardens, a huge area spread over more than 500 acres being maintained by Local Administration. Though named as Apple Orchard you can see almost all kind of fruits here, apricots, peaches, plums, almond and of course apples. The noteworthy part of this jungle cum orchard was that there were different fruits like apricot and almond on same tree. We took opportunity to buy a few kgs of fruits to give a new taste to our tongue. Evening was meant for lot of fun games.


On 30th we started early for Sattall (Seven lakes), a picturesque place with interconnected group of seven freshwater lakes situated in the Lower Himalayan Range near Bhimtal, a town of the Nainital district.    The lakes sit at an altitude of 1370 metres below lush orchards in the Mehragaon valley. Set amongst dense forests of oak and pine trees, Sattal is one of the few unspoiled and unpolluted freshwater biomes in India. These lakes are a paradise for migratory birds. We had privileges of pedal boating while some members simply chose to appreciate beauty of surroundings.  Lemon water drinks was our favourite drink here.


We had lunch at a South Indian Restaurant at Kathgodam and bade goodbye to Uttarakhand and boarded Shatabadi Express for Delhi  at 4 pm.

We all thanked Mummy Papa for encouraging and guiding us.

Anybody interested to visit these sites, yes, I am there to help.

Thanks and Jai hind.

PS  :  Just to mentioned that 26th May 2014 was special one when all members glued on TV to see new government of India into formation.  What a splendour ceremony was it!!!  We felt proud on our mature democracy and everybody had moist eyes with ecstasy to see galaxy of world leaders giving tribute to our great nation.

Independence Day, 15th August, 2013 : My Speech

Dear Brothers,

I congratulate you on 67^th Anniversary of Independence of our great country India. 

For us this is very special, pious and great day.   We enjoy freedom of expression,  freedom of work, freedom of career.  We sing the way we want, there is no restrictions, no inferiority complex.  We always boast the self pride, self-confidence, the joy of celebration of Holi or Diwali or the pleasure of Eid or Christmas or Baishaki as a free  nation.  The great patriotic leaders like Subhash Chandra Bose, Chandra Shekhar Ajazad, Shahid Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Veer Savarkar, Mahatama Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Nehruji and so many other known and unknown  warriors sacrificed their life to see the light of the day.  Perhaps we might not be able to understand its importance today because we born after Independence, but ask a country like Tibet how suffocating is to remain a country without freedom of its own. 

We have done remarkable progress in these 67 years after independence.  We built  big dams, big highways, created nuclear bomb,  run big factories, opened new technical colleges, put latest satellite into orbit, created largest network of railways in the world.  Our doctors, scientists, engineers, professionals went to every part of the wold and made the nation proud with their achievement.    Recently we launched INS Vikrant a defence aircraft carrier which raised hackles of the hostile countries. 

But is it enough?  Should we be contended with the progress we have achieved so far?   Or we need to do something more?

Our country is plagued with so many disease that we need to cure them.  In the name of religion or cast we will fight immediately. We shirk the responsibility in office work.  The Indiscipline, corruption and lack of character is eating away the very foundation of the nation like pests.  For past few years, our media is dominantly occupied by the stories of corruption like 2G Scams, Coal Blocks, Common Wealth Games, defence deals, land allotment and so on and so forth.  There is hardly any place for positive and constructive news.  There is somewhere something is lacking.  The enemies of the nation are bent upon creating trouble in  our country.   On pious occasion of Eid in Jammu some anti-social elements raised anti country slogans which disturbed the peace of the country.      We might have difference of opinions, but this does not give you permit to indulgence in violence, burn the nation’s properties, and damage the shops and houses of other faiths. 

This is matter of shame.  This is matter of great concern.  We have to fill up this gap.    We cannot tolerate such intolerances.  Nobody is above supremacy of nation.

China is bent upon incursion in our Leh Ladhak area, Pakistan is free to enter our country and kill our soldiers.  Are we so meek and weak that we can’t rebuke these rogue nations in the fittest way?

We have to think over these.  We have to remain united at any cost.  We have to live a simple but great life.  We have to teach our children the importance of honesty and uprightness.  We have to give example by our conduct.  We should be brave and our children should learn to remain brave.

At least those who are present here can pledge today that we shall never compromise on our integrity.  We shall play our role dutifully.  Nation does not require more than this.

Jain Hind. 

 Pradeep kumbhat