There have been several attempts in the past to tarnish Maharaj’s image, when certain elements of the society tried to misuse his name for their personal benefits. The extremists portrayed him as a Hindu saviour and used his name for their Hindutva agenda, even though the term Hindutva was coined posthumously. On the other hand Muslim extremists portrayed him as a Muslim mass killer, which he was not. Despite being such an important part of India’s history, he is mentioned just once in CBSE syllabus, because of his “not-so-secular” image.

This is a story that we came across on web, we don’t know how authentic it is, but even if it’s fiction, it does give a real image of the great Maratha king, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

“There was a Hindu-Muslim riot in Mumbai after the demolition of the disputed land in Ayodhya. Few people from Muslim community started rioting; they attacked and burned Hindu houses. Outraged Hindus in retaliation wanted to take revenge so they started killing Muslim families by entering their houses. During the riots, few men tried raping a young Muslim girl but by God’s grace she managed to escape from their clutches, so the goons started chasing her. She was very scared and ran for her life when she saw a house and entered it. It belonged to a young Hindu guy who saw her entering his house and questioned her. The girl explained him the whole situation. The young Hindu guy asked her to stay calm and relax. The goons were searching her and somehow happened to reach near the house, they asked the Hindu guy if he had seen any Muslim girl around. The guy denied.

The next morning when the situation became a bit calm, she planned on leaving when the guy asked her “When you entered my house did you know that this house belongs to a Hindu?” She said “Yes, i saw some God’s photos on your wall from the window.” He furthered exclaimed “and you still dared to enter thinking that I won’t harm you!” She replied, “At first I wasn’t sure, but later when I saw the photo of Shivaji Maharaj hanging on your wall, I became sure that there is no place for injustice when Shivaji is there.”

To eradicate the misconception of Shivaji being anti-muslim, few facts that prove Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was one of the most secular king ever are mentioned below:

• He fought against the Mughal Empire for the welfare of his people. It is very important to note that any King will fight against an invader, especially a foreign invader. The invaders just happened to be Muslims, if they had been of any other religion even then Shivaji would had fought against them for the protection of his people which also included Muslims.
• He was kind towards people of all religions and supported their religious beliefs. This is a very extraordinary fact as all his opposing thrones were of other religion and they were harassing Hindus. He still persisted that all religions are good.
• His portrayal as a Hindu king who fought against the Muslims is far from the truth. There were several Muslim soldiers and generals in his army, and many of his rivals were Hindus. Also, he was on friendly terms with few Bijapuri generals.Shivaji was a staunch Hindu. Most of his empire’s neighbouring states were ruled by Mughal leaders.  Shivaji had to fight with all of them  for survival of his state.  But all the conflicts and battles were political in nature and not religious.  Muslims actively participated Shivaji Maharaj’s army.  In fact, the highest chief of his Navy was a Muslim.  On the other hand, a large part of his opposition armies were Hindus.  In the battles between Shivaji and Mughals, Hindus and Muslims fought against other Hindus and Muslims, however it was never a religious war.  They were purely political wars fought only for the expansion of their respective territories.
• On the other hand, Shivaji had fought many battles against many of the Hindu Maratha Zamindars. Chandrarao More of Javli, himself a Maratha, was one of the very first enemies that Shivaji defeated.
• Renowned historian, Jadunath Sarkar mentions in his notes “Shivaji and His Times”: Shivaji’s religious policy was very liberal. He respected the holy places of all creeds in his raids and made endowments for Hindu temples and Muslim saints’ tombs and mosques alike.  He not only granted pensions to Brahman scholars versed in the Vedas, astronomers and anchorites, but also built hermitage and provided subsistence at his own cost for the holy men of Islam, notably Baba Yakut of Kelshi.”
• Khafi Khan, the historian from Aurangzeb’s time, mentions that he never invaded the mosques, and if he ever found a copy of the holy Quran during his raids, he would respectfully hand it over to some of his Muslim soldiers also he maintained the honour of Muslim women.
• He had all the might and power to convert people to the faith in which he believed but he never did that, but at the same time he was kind enough to welcome back all the converted people without any bias.
• French traveller, Francois Bernier wrote “The Marathas led by Shivaji chopped the hands of 24 prisoners during the first raid of Surat, after a murder attempt was made on his life. During the same raid, Shivaji ordered his men not to harm the Christian missionaries, saying that The Frankish Padres are good men“.

Today lots of people across every caste, creed, and religion still consider him as their king and so he is conferred with the title of “जाणता राजा” i.e. King of the people.  Happy Shivaji Jayanti!

#जयभवानीजयशिवाजी

The post Few Facts That Prove Shivaji Maharaj Was One Of The Most Secular Kings appeared first on Youngisthan.in.

Today I want to announce to the world that “ Mein beti paida nahi karunga ” and I also request the society to call for #saynowomensday. I have seen many cases where girls are raped, I have seen many candle rallies, and I have seen it all but I know that this is never going to stop. Many people have expressed their condolences, many political parties have assured me but I know that society will never change.

‘देख तेरे संसार कि हालत क्या हो गयी भगवान, कितना बदल गया इंसान’

I know that there have been several attempts made by NGOs, Government etc. for asking people to save the girl child, beti bachao beti padhao etc. but it makes no sense to me and I don’t want to even talk about the facts or case studies or anything. When I expressed this to my wife, she instantly expressed her displeasure; I think she was unable to understand my logic. It is said that Samaaj (society) har waqt sahi hota hai and that’s why I just want to ask the society, you tell me why should I have a girl child?

Isiliye taki jab mein usse school bheju tab mujhe dar sataye ki kahin woh bus ka conductor ya driver, uss masoom ko apni havas ka shikar na bana le! Arre woh masoom hai usse kuch bhi nahi pata usse to baksh do

Ya isiliye taki jab who college ke bahar bus stop par khadi ho to kuch kaminey uska aankho se balatkar kare!

Ya isiliye taki jab tak who ghar na aaye, mein so na saku, yehi darr se ki kahin nirbhaya ki tarah iska bhi gang rape na ho jaye!

Ya isiliye taki jab wo apne ladke doston ke sath sabhyata purna khadi ho, phir bhi log usse kalankit nazron se dekhe!

Ya ilsiliye taki mujhe use bachpan se samjhana padhe ki kuch kism ke kapde mat pehen na, warna jo tere sath kuch galat hua, to samajh culprit ko nahi balki tere kapdo ko doshi manega,

Ya isiliye taki kuch aaware ladke bhare bazaar mein us par acid fekne ki dhamki de, aur pura bazaar napunsak ki tarah wahi khada dekhta rahe!

Ya isiliye taki jab woh Holi ke din bahar rang khelne jaye, tab kuch ginhone log rango ke bahano se usse shoshit kare

Ya isiliye taki jab who pregnant ho to mujhe usse batana pade ki “beti, beti paida mat karna”

I have seen VHP asking me to produce 4 children, and I will do that but do you guarantee me that she will be unharmed. I have seen Moral Police protesting against Valentine’s Day, or the pub culture, in this democratic country you have every right to protest, but has any moral police come up openly announcing that if any one behaves indecently with any women then you will have to face severe consequences. At one hand we worship Shakti during the Navratri but what about it during the rest 356 days! I am not the only one who is worried about this, but almost every parent I know thinks about this.

I have learned that it’s wrong to expect from anyone to do anything, because finally she will be just my daughter, and not the society’s, and I know that I won’t be able to protect her from the anti-social elements or the society as a whole. So, I urge to all my fellow Indian parents (son and daughter of the great Maa Bharati) to not give birth to any girl child.

Every year in India, we have 15 lakh female infanticide cases, and we the parents are not the only one to be responsible, somewhere it’s your mistake too.

Soon we will not have any girl child and any women.

No girl child, no women, #saynowomensday  

The post Main Beti Paida Nahin Karunga appeared first on Youngisthan.in.

When the whole world is talking about #UnionBudget2015, #SuperBudget #Budget4MII and you are still clueless, then this is a must read for you. No, we won’t discuss fiscal deficits, GDP, GST, or any other Economical terms but we are just trying to simplify the most complex steps. Understanding the Union Budget is now no more a rocket science, read the simplest Budget review in 10 points. #UnionBudget simplified for YOUth!

Budget-2015-16

Now it’s clear that the #Modisarkar is taking bold steps and moving away from populism to practicality. 2 days ago we saw Hon. Minister of Railways Sh. Suresh Prabhu doing this and now even the FM has done that.

“कुछ तो फूल खिलाएं है हमने, कुछ और खिलाने हैं’

दिक्कत यह है की राहों में, कई कांटें पुराने हैं?”

• What top economists say?
• More than Expectations
• Welcome the Black Money Law
• Arun Jaitely gets a distinction; top economists rate his budget 8/10.
• Highest boost ever for Investment and Infrastructure.
• India welcomes the Union Annual Budget presented by Hon. Minister of Finance, Sh. Arun Jaitely.
• What Critics say?
• Pro-Corporate and Not So Pro-Poor
• No extension to Tax limit
• Nothing new
• Vision:
• Amrumahotsav: 75^th Anniversary of Indian Independence will be celebrated with ‘Roof for All’
• 2 crore house in urban areas and 4 crore in rural.
• 24 hrs power, water facilities, toilets connection, at least 1 member from each family to be employed.
• Electricity by Solar energy.
• Connecting the unconnected with 2,00,000 kms. of roads
• What does it have for YOUth?
• Focus on Quality Education: We have always complained that despite of being educated it does not give you any major edge as the quality of education is useless. Reading our minds FM has announced measure for it.
• Facility in Health care
• Centre for Film Production, Gaming in Arunachal Pradesh: Yes you heard it right, great news for Film Making and Adventure Sports enthusiasts.
• 80,000 secondary schools will be upgraded so that they are within 5 km reach for students
• According to the FM, Skill development should start from class XI for those who are not that bright academically.
• A fully IT based student financial authority to monitor scholarships. Ensure no student misses out on higher education for lack of funds.
• Young people have to be educated and employable. PM has explained how Skill India needs to coordinate with Make In India. FM will launch national skills mission.
• Propose to start working to support heritage sites. Churches in Goa, Hampi in Karnataka, Elephanta Caves in Mumbai, Rajasthan, rani ka Waav, Leh Palace, varanasi temple Town, Jallinagwallah and Tombs in Hyderabad.
• Another Rs 1000 crore for Nirbhaya fund

Details of Budget

• Education:
• IIT in Karnataka & Dhanbad
• IIMs in Jammu & Kashmir, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, & Andhra Pradesh
• Healthcare:
• AIIMS in 5 new states
• Entrepreneur:
• If you are planning to have your own startup or aspire to start after few years then here’s great news for you. FM has given a lot of importance on startups; he gives 1000 crore push for it. FM says that within few years we will move from Job Seekers to Job movers.
• Tax Exemption:
• 100% tax exemption in Corporate Social Responsibility activities for contributions to Swachh Bharat and Clean Ganga.
• Good news:
• Rates increased for Cigarette and Tobacco products
• 3,31,000 crore for Health Sector
• 2,46,727 crore for Defense sector
• Reduction in Corporate tax from 30% to 25%
• More importance to Make in India and Swachh Bharat
• 2000 crore for Child welfare scheme
• Increase MNREGA by 5,000 crore
• Visa on Arrival increased to 150 countries from 43, this will ease doing business in India
• Transport allowance at Rs 800 per month exemption increased Rs 1600 a month
• Yoga: include in charitable ambit of IT act
• To provide social security net, additional deduction of Rs 50,000
• Increase in limit of deduction of health insurance premium from 15,000 to 25,000 and 30,000 for senior citizen
• Yoga to come under charitable organization
• Corporate tax reduced from 30% to 25% over next 4 years
• Stringent Black Money Tax: New structure is being put in place. Tracking black money and bringing it back is top priority. Enact a comprehensive law on black money to deal with money stashed abroad. Bill to be introduced in current session.
• Large portion of population is without insurance of any kind. Young will also be pension-less as they age. Propose to create universal social security system. Rs 2 lakh for premium of Rs 12 per year for accidental death for poor.
• Not-So-Good News:
• Service Tax increased from 12.36% to 14% (To be replaced by GST from 1^st April 2015)
• Hotels, Restaurants, Bars etc. to be costlier

The post Budget Review Meant For Those With Jawaani Ka Josh! appeared first on Youngisthan.in.

A letter from a Mumabikar to another Mumbaikar Suresh Prabhu on what Mumbaikars expect from #RailwayBudget

It’s time for the ‘kadvi dawa’ as mentioned by PM Modi post May 16. The second annual rail budget will be presented on 26^th February, Thursday 2015 by the debutant Minister of Railway, Shri Suresh Prabhu. Mr. Prabhu is a Mumbaikar, so we presume that he is well acquainted with the importance of local trains in a Mumbaikar’s life and all the difficulties that we have to face.

No we are not listing our expectations from the Railway Budget 2015 but we are just naming few things that we wish to have, if not this year then may be 2016, or any time during your tenure. We completely understand that you have minimum resources and lot of things to do and prioritize.

• A/C train coaches in Mumbai’s local:

We are hearing about this since 2007, but the problem is that we are just listening about promises like these, but are unable to witness the change. Earlier Mumbaikars demanded special A/C trains but we later realized that we were expecting too much from Railway Budget 2015. Lots of Mumbaikars abide by the basic Indian etiquette to spit the ‘paan’ from train window, and it will be difficult for us to do so if the windows are locked because of AC. It hurts our cultural sentiments. So, for the smaller section of uncultured and uncivilized people who do not spit ‘paan’ while travelling, we request you to give them maximum 2 A/C coaches in each local. (Pun intended)

A/C train coaches in Mumbai’s local

• Dustbins:

PM Modi in his pet project of “Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan” nominated a lot of people from various sectors but we are sorry, he forgot to nominate you sir.  We hope that you understand that he is super busy, so sir, we the people who voted for him have the honours to nominate you for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Kindly provide us with a dustbin in every train in the Railway Budget 2015. We intend to celebrate Mahatma Gandhi’s 150^th birthday by giving him a clean India, a cleaner Mumbai, and cleanest Mumbai locals.

Dustbins

• Electronic Doors:

A leading newspaper report says that on an average, 10 railway commuters die in Mumbai every day. You must have seen the overcrowded trains; no, it’s not just because of the less frequency of trains, but because some people are very passionate about gymnastics and adventure. They try all that they can, but sometimes like just once in 5 times, they fail and eventually end up on the tracks. So we pray that you order for electronic doors in the Railway Budget 2015 like the one we have in Mumbai’s Metro.

Electronic doors

• Duranto:

We are impressed by Momata didi’s Duranto express. Sir it will be nice if we can have a non-stop train to and for Virar-Churchgate and Borivali-Churchgate. Churchgate to Virar is an 89 kms journey and Borivali to Churchgate is 44 kms, so probably it takes some 2 hours and 1.15 hours respectively by Mumbai local. Out of the 3.5 million daily commuters, a large chunk of Mumbaikars travel in long distance routes. We know it is difficult to convert all local trains into Durantos but certainly we can have few trains in Railway Budget 2015 that would run twice during peak hours.

Duranto

• Escalators:

We heard that 31 escalators are planned for Mumbai Suburban railways, and we expect the plan to be executed soon. “Platform kramank 4 pe aane wali train ab platform kramank 2 par aayegi”, we hear this daily.  Sir you know that we are very punctual (no pun intended), we reach the station after lots of trouble like queues for BEST buses, queues for sharing rickshaws, handling the paucity of rickshaws, parking problems, etc. , and ultimately after this tiring journey we reach the platform to hear such announcements. So, we urge you to do something for bringing this promise to action for at least the elderly Mumbaikars.

Escalators

• CCTV:

“Eight out of every 10 women in the city are subjected to some form of harassment in public places every day. Maximum cases of verbal and physical harassments take place in crowded areas such as trains and railway platforms,” said another newspaper report. We know it is difficult to stop this especially when the people are so busy that they turn a deaf ear to the atrocities. So sir, as we cannot stop it at least we should have some measure to trace the culprits. We request you to install 1 CCTV in every coach of the Mumbai locals in Railway Budget 2015.

CCTV

• Penalty on Motormen for delays:

We are irritated and disturbed because of the delays in trains, we don’t know why does it happen, but all that we know is that this happens daily. We have seen some strikes as well and it is annoying. Kindly do something to check this; we think imposing penalty will be a great option. Also this penalty will boost your income as you will get penalty amount from almost all motormen. At least Motormen will have lesser penalties then the reckless BEST drivers who might have to pay double fine because of the delays and the accidents caused by their reckless driving, and the later won’t be the case with motormen as they drive on the tracks.

Penalty on Motormen for delays

• Radios or TVs:

The BEST busses have TVs so why can’t the railways have it? The train journeys are so long and TVs/ Radios can add to the entertainment part. You know that we are news savvy people, even useless news become breaking news for us, so at least you can allow AIR and DD on the Radio and TV respectively. It will help the government run media houses; ‘Mann Ki Baat’ is so successful that you earned 25,000 from radio spots. Mark our words; it will generate good advertisement revenues as the trains have a remarkable reach, maybe even more than Star TV and Colors. Also, through these entertainment mediums, you can show all the public awareness campaigns, like H1N1 Prevention, Anti-Tobacco Campaign, Women Safety Campaign, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, etc. At least these mediums would be surely more entertaining than the ads and posters on Godmen and ‘Baba Pasha Bangali’ that we have to bear looking at throughout our train journey!

Radios or TVs

• No BOMBS please:

No Puns, no satire but just harsh reality. Till today when we travel by train our family members call us daily, not to tell us about the lunch menu but to ask the candid question “You reached na?” No wonder the announcers scream at the top of their voices to check for any suspicious objects, we won’t as we are busy playing candy crush, or chatting or criticizing the work you do. We have so many metal detectors, we daily pass through it carrying our luggage and it beeps but there is no one to check. The same might happen when there will be explosives in luggage. So sir, it is your duty to not allow any more 11/7 to take place, we beg!

No BOMBS please

• Frequency:

We are listing this as No.10 not because it’s not our top priority but because it’s an all-time demand. Does not matter how many more trains you arrange for us, we will still keep demanding few more. Zyada hai to behtar hai!

Despite the rail fare hike last year we did not do much hue and cry, because we believe that good facilities come at a better cost. So sir please do all that you can, and we are confident that you will do. We have all faith on you for Railway Budget 2015, your colleague and our Honourable Finance Minister Shri. Arun Jaitely for 28^th Feb, and of course our beloved PM Modiji.

Frequency

Best of Luck!

The post Railway Budget 2015: A Letter From A Mumbaikar To Another Mumbaikar Suresh Prabhu On What Mumbaikars Expect From #RailwayBudget appeared first on Youngisthan.in.

#जयहिन्द

India has the third largest twitter population in world, but ‘this’ has never happened before. In India, 17% of social media users use twitter and there are 243 million internet users but never has ‘this’ happened before.

Total twitter users in India are 33 million but never has this happened before.

No, we are not exaggerating but we are genuinely overwhelmed, overjoyed, it’s a moment for pride and honour that for the first time ever in history of micro-blogging site twitter, a Hindi hashtag has become a trending topic. The hashtag #जयहिन्द (#JaiHind) has become viral and is still trending.

Well,  history has happened, did you witness it?

But if you haven’t, then just to give you a glimpse. India is a cricket savvy country and 15^th Feb was one of the most auspicious day, it was #INDIAVSPAKISTAN. Following Team India’s amazing victory in the opening match of the World Cup 2015 on Sunday, 15 February, all social media platforms in India were flooded with congratulatory messages for the team, which defeated arch- rival Pakistan. India defeated Pakistan for the 6^th time in world cup and it was well acknowledged by the hindi hashtag. #जयहिन्द is still trending since some 48 hours of its inception and now another hindi Hashtag #हरहरमहादेव is also trending.

Most importantly it wasn’t done by the right wingers or the left wingers, the Marxists or communists, the seculars or pseudo seculars, BJP or AAP and #Namobhakts or #Aaptards, but by all the Indians who still feel and believe in #Nationfirst. We don’t know who started it and how many people have lent their support for this hashtag but from the bottom of our heart we want to thank you all. We hope that this is just a start and soon we will have many Devnagiri script trending. Many more Indians can happily embrace Twitter, considering that Twitter hashtags are now possible in Devanagari, Bengali and Tamil scripts.

#जयहिन्द

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