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True religion can't be the basis of hatred, says PM True religion can't be che basis of hatred and ilivision, Prime l'vf.i.niscer Manmohan Singh said recently in New Delhi, urging every cicizen co imbibe lessons from Swami V ivekananda and learn co be colerant.

"Let us , in all humility, imbibe lessons from Swam i Vivekananda. Let us learn to be colerant of one another, have respect for all religions and dedicate ourselves to the deve lopment of our people and our country," the prime minister said at the closing ceremony of the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda at Vigyan Bhavan in the capital.

"There is no use celebrating Swamij i's life, paying our respeccs to h is ideas and teachings and honouring hi s memory if we do not also imbibe the val ues that he advocated."

"His true message for us was that true religion and true religiosity can't be the b asis of hatred and ilivis ion, bm of mutual respect and tolerance for the faiths and beliefs of all," he said.

The prim e mini.seer said be sincerely be liev ed that the "best tribuce" co Swami Vivekanan da "would be to recognise the relevance of hi s teachings and his tboughts to the 2 1st century, for coday's India and tomorrow's Inilia".

Con gress pres ident Sonia Gandh i, Defence Minister AK. An cony a nd Cultu re Minister Chandresh Kumari Katocb also paid tribmes to Swami Vivekananda.

The prim e minister said Swami

Vivekananda's pluralist a nd syncre tic view of religion was a real "religious experie nce".

"I h ave personaliy been inspired by Swamijii's syncretic views. This view of religion is one of the great contributions of Hindu.ism and of che civilisations that rook root in this ru1cient land of ours," Manmohan Singh said.

" T he idea that the whole world is one family has inspired millions of people aroLU1cl the world. But, I also believe it is an idea that defines India and the 1ndian view of the world," he added

Sonia Gandhi described Swrun i Vivekananda's life as that of magnificent achievem ent.

" Several of our great l eaders drew inspiration from Swami Vivekanand a in nation building," s he said.

Vi vekananda recognised the importance of gen der equality and lived to il1uminate the life o f others, she said.

The prime minister also mentioned how Swami Vivekananda's speech ar Chicago in 1893 instilled courage and faith amo ng people.

"One striking feature that I fi n d in Swami Vivekananda is t he amount o f courage and faitb he.instils in the reade r s thtougb his stirring speeches," he said.

"Let us be hm11ble en o ugh co recognise that there is much that we can learn from the world and therefore be open to new ideas, new oppormnities and new chaUe nges," he added.

Manmohan Singh also Luged young5tets to be inspired by ' ' t his courageous man "

"l urge eve r y yoLU1g lnilian , irrespective of faith and religion , to be insp ired by such a man as t hey build their own future," the 'Prime Minister's Office tweeted, q u oting J\fanmohan Singh's speech.

"Inilia's true liberation wo uld come when every lodian feels liberated from the scourge of poverty, ignorance and disease. Inilia, this great m otherland of ours, has much to learn from the world around us and, equall y, much to teach the world," he said.

Diaspora meet sees greater footfal I, but little communication

People who came from across the worl d co atten d tbe 12th Pravas i Bharati ya D ivas (PBD), the annual gathering of the loilian diaspora that con cl uded in ew Delhi rece n tly, say, though tl1e even t is gaining steam every yea r, they found a lack of communication among the participants.

A number of people from various corners of the world stated that t he y have fel t the ev ent somewhat chaotic with a lack of communication and the purpose of their visi c was not really fa.lfiJled.

However, people, who have atte nded past years' programmes as well, say footfall at the annual even t is increasin g every )7ear.

Kushagra Bhatnagar, an Australia- based finan cial analyse and active m ember of the Ove rseas Friends of BJP, sai d he came co Delhi to attend tl1e programme but he ilid nor fu1d anything inte resting, and the refore, was leaving for Australia without atten ding the third day's prog ramme.

Ravi nder Singh, chair of the lndo Comnwnwealth Ex-Arm y Heritage, who came from Canada, said tliat tl1ere was a Jack of communication in the event.

" People of Indi an origin from across the wo rld are finiling it djfficult to interact with each other, which is the putpose of the event," Singh said

Singh, who has anended the annual dias p ora meet since its inception in 2003 every year, however, feels diac d1e programme is getting more participative and eac h year the number of people attending the event is growing.

Shihab Kottukad, consultant to the Non- Resident Kerali tes Affairs (NORKA) department of the Kerala government and a volunteer at the loilian embassy in Sauili Arab ia, too h as actended the programme every year He said he found the programme very interesting and gees the chance co meet a lot of people from dj fferem p a rts of the world here.

Vinod Daniel, chairman of AusHeritage, an Amtralian government organisation, said this was the first PBD he has ,mend ed and he found it very imp ressive and nseful. "R eally appreciated hearing Erst hand from senior 11.linisters and bureaucrats o n where they see In d ia going I per sonally am very posi tive abom India and this congress has made me more exc ited about India's future," he said.

Accoriling to Rrunesh Agarwal, a delegate from d1e US, the event could have been organised better "Had a goo d time here, met so many people but the event could have been more organ ised," Agarwal , a professor at Was hington University, said.

Subramaniam Kandsamy, a del egate from Malaysia, sa id the event was yet co gain the full attention of lndians abroad. " Diaspora meets are a good move taken up by the government of India, I appreciate it," he said. "Still tbe event has not yet gained d1e full attention of non- resident Indians bur with e..xperience it will became a good p latform for Indians living outside India," he added.

According to official sources, of the around 900 delegates from 60 countries who attended the event iliis year, around 200 we.re from Malaysia.

PBD is celebrated Jan 9 eve r y year to mark the contribucion of 0\7 erseas Indian community in the devel o pment of Jan 9 was chosen as it was on chis day in 1915 that Mahatma Gandhi returned to lndia from South Africa.

African footballers flock to India for greener pastures

Far awar from their homes, African footballers are Aocking co India for greener pastures. They have not only won a million lndian hearts in the las t two decades but have also been a source of inspiration for young Indian footballers While som e 400 Africans are playing in various clubs in India, around 25 feature in the top clubs in the elite I -League football tourname n t.

They come from Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and South Sudan, the world's newest nation that is engul fed in civil strife.

Ac a time when Indian football is taking time to catch up with the world's best, African footballers have given a new face co the game in the country. Their raw speed and power remain a challenge for d1e Indian p la yers who are tr)'ing co mal<e their way co foreign leagues in Europe and America.

Be it in Kolkaca, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune or in Goa, African footballers a re finding their way into the top sides in lndian football. And why not? After all top clubs are spending an.ything between $100,000 to $400,000 each on African imports for a season.

Mohun Bagan skipper Odafe Onyeka

Okolie is now the highest paid professional footballer in India with a pay package of approximatel y $400,U00 His compatriot Ranry Martins, w ho p lays for United SC, is also not far behind.

The fact that in the last six seasons, t\vo Nigerians, Odafe and Ramy, have e m erged as the cop goal score r s in I -League shows the impact African footballers are having on lndian football.

" lndia made me famous. Had I stayed back in Nigeria, 1 wouldn't have achieved all d1is name and fame. India is speci al as they have good players and playing w ith them has been a great experience," Oda.Ee said in an interview.

Right from the days of Nigerians Emeka Ezugo, who recently convened co Is lam, and Cheema Okerie, who used to be the star attraction in. Kolkata teams during the 80's, African footballers were always in great demand.

Emeka, who played fo r both Ease "Bengal and Mohtm Bagan, also represented igeria in tl1e 1994 World Cup and is now a coach with professional side Abia Warriors in t he Nigerian Premier League.

Emeka will always be remembered as d1e fil'st World Cupper to play in India. He

A Sikh martial arts expert applies kohl to his eyes with a sword while participating in a religious procession in Amritsar India, 06 January 2014. The religious event was held to mark the 348th birth was adjudged the best p layer in the 1990 Nehru C lub Cup, scoring eight goals to take Kollrnca's Mohaum1edan Sporting into tbe semi -Enals.

The fast Africa n name to strike a chord in India was David Williams wbo represented T amil Nadu in Santosh Trophy in the 70's before being recru ited by East Bengal.

But the way Emeka and Cbeema dazzled and enthralled rhe fans wirb their skiJJ and power, opened the window of opportunity for other African footballers as well.

Even d1e youngest country in the world, South Sudan, which is in the midst of an armed conflict, has a player in James Moga who plays for East Bengal.

Former India captain and Olymp ian P.K. Banerjee feels Emeka a.ad Cheema have had a great impact on Indian football.

"Of all the overseas footballers, Cheema and Emeka we re a class apan and no wo nd er they played Wor ld Cup. Ir is not easy co get such quality players all coo freque n tly," he says

Former India coach Sukhwinder Singh feels players lil,e Odafe a.re crqwd pullers and good advertisement fo.r the gan1e.

"In the past, peop le used to come co see Cheema and Emeka. There was a dip in between, but now Odafe is creating waves in the I - League," says Sukhwinder, a former nacional coach.

But Brazilian Jose Barretto, w ho remains the most successful overseas player in recent tin1es, feels that th e quality of .African footballers bas gone d own in the last four tO five years.

"\'<le had some good African footballers in India , bur I feel in the la st four- five years the quality has gone down. The cwo main reasons are cash cnu1ch and lack of proper scouting. I alsq feel the clubs are to also blame for it. Had they been more professional in their approach, the quality of foreigners could have improved," Barretto, who now pl ays for Kolkata's Bhowanipore FC in second division I -League, said.

Barretto feels Martins l'emains the best African player in the last five years adding that it is discipline that sets Brazilia n players apart from a.LI other overseas imports India encouraging oil exploration through policies : PM

India is encouraging d o m estic and global companies ro explore pocentiaJJ y hydrocarbon-rich areas through stable and enabling polic ies towards achieving its goal of se lf-sufficiency in h ydrocarbons by 2030, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said recently

He was inaugurating the 11 tl1 Internacional O il and Gas Conference and Exhib ition " Petrotech-2014" at rh e India Exposicion 1-lart in Greater Noida, organised by state- run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp.

"\'<,7e are encouraging domestic and global companies to explore potentiall y hydrocarbon- rich areas in the framework of a stab le and enab ling policy environment," Manmohan Singh said. "We have made a numbe.r of cha.ages in our energy po lic y regime in the past few months and 1 am sure you would be aware of them," he added.

The governme n t will offer a t lease 56 oil and gas b lod,s in the 10th round o f bidding tmder its ew Exploratio n Licensing Policy (NELP). This is d1e largest offering of blocks since the start of NELP in 1999 in an effort to attract more invesunents into die exploration and production se ctor.

Partnerships an1ong various stakeholders were essencial for meeting the emerging challenges of d1e oil and gas se ctor, he said "Such partnerships could result in outcomes like improved recovery from m an1re fields, exp loitation of ultra- deep ,vacer energy reserves and progress in complex frontier areas. They could also h elp in exploitation of uncouvenciona l forms of energy, apart from addressing concerns about environmental degradation and climate change," the prime minister said.

Singh said as a responsible rnember of the g lobal community, India i s committed to reducing its carbon footprint.

"The challenge of achieving high economic growtl1 and yet reducing emissions is a formidable one indeed, but we are determined to meet chis challenge full y," he said

"This entails work in several areas like demand management, e.nergy conservation, energy efficienc)' and renewab le energy technology. It also requires focused research and development iniri;itives," he added.

Development should not hit fragile tribals : President

Marginal and highl y fragile tribal communities should not be disturbed in the name of development, President Pranab Mukherjee said in Pore Blair recentlr.

"The marginal and hi ghly fragile tribal communities should not be disturbed in the name of development, lest they gee destroyed as has happened in the past as a resu lt of attempts to ass imilate them ," Mukherjee said, inaugurating the Andaman and Nicobar Tribal Research Instin1te (ANTRI)

''Any assimilation should come from wiiliin, not be imposed from outside," he said.

Mukherjee said instinaions like ANTRl should g uid e policy makers on how to avoid dec isions which are contrary to the natural inscinccs and practices of the tribals.

"Policy should not be static but ad justed as per developments;' he said. He also appreciated ANTRI's plans to create a 11011convencional museum.

"Such a museum should not be for tourism or commercial exploitation of artefacts and handicrafts of tribals. Instead, it should encourage the cribals co tell their own sto ries and through d1is pro cess help d1em idencify d1eir needs as well as shortcomings It should empower them to ad dress deficiencies on theil' own," he said.

Tbe president also said ANTRI should sn1dy how tribal practices have evolved over d1e centuries and how such practices are suited to d1em and provide relevant inputs for policy-making.

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