As discussions in the “sharm” thread continue to show, many of us are giving in to frustration and a hopelessness that is insidious. But I think here we are getting so because we have the wrong conception of leadership. We expect others to lead us and then get disappointed.
Why do we get disappointed? Because we do not recognize that there is already an ideal of leadership in our minds, against which the real life ones come up as poor caricatures. We subconsciously feel what the right thing should have been to do, and then we get frustrated that the real life “leader” deviates from it.
The first task is to shed this frustration. We punish ourselves for the crime and fault of others. Let us have confidence in our own analysis and conclusions. Let us have confidence in our ability to think through and think for ourselves. Recognize that leadership exists in each of us. From there we can and should think of looking forward, long term, concrete, on a wide front of efforts. In many respects it will be like the confused, sometimes comical and sometimes tragic early lumbering nationalist awakening moving towards a mass movement. That started from similar darkness and hopelessness, where the “evil” appeared overwhelmingly strong and dominant – controlling all machineries of rashtryia power, having liquidated all viable opposition, controlling all levers of ideological control including education and media.
That was the beginning. Let us look forward towards that brilliant destiny again. All sorts of efforts are needed – cultural, spiritual as well as political, and media or communication. It is important to do whatever we can in whatever way possible to disseminate our thoughts. Many will disagree, many will oppose. But we will see a gradual turnaround as the years go by. Do not give up on our people and the coming generations. Even those now within the Congress or other existing political parties or other organizations should realize the necessity of this eventual transition, and should not resent such efforts. In the end, it will benefit even them.
via Bharat Rakshak • View topic – Strategic leadership for the future of India.
Categories: computer
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If you are planning to have a regular (non-super sensitive or extremely high capacity) website, give Dreamhost a try. Even for non-profit work.
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Do you know about any other webhost that offer good package for free or very low price for non profit organizations?
del.icio.us tags: web hosting, free, dreamhost, nptech, non-profit, 501c
Categories: california · computer · donation · hindu · hinduism · microsoft · software · web hosting · webhost
I don’t find it surprising that India doesn’t even come up in any American’s mind when discussing any relevant ideas. Indians haven’t yet learned the art of media/image management. They are still stuck in the outdated ideas that media doesn’t matter. You just have to watch the American media when an Indian Statesman comes to America, to realize the helpless and mediocrity of Indian officials in getting their message out.
Just check out following section …
Is America Ready for Hillary or Obama? – Newsweek Politics – MSNBC.com
By contrast, African-Americans represent only 13 percent of the American population, and minorities rarely serve as heads of state in any country. Only two blacks—Douglas Wilder of Virginia and, this year, Deval Patrick of Massachusetts—have been elected governor since Reconstruction, and only three have been sent to the Senate—Edward Brooke of Massachusetts, Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois and now Obama.
As a Indian citizen, I strongly disagree with the proposition that “minorities rarely serve as heads of state in any country”. In the largest democracy of the world, India, its President is a Muslim, its Prime Minister is a Sikh and most powerful politician is an Italian Catholic women. However, this will rarely be known outside India & Indians circle, because Indians haven’t mastered the art of selling themselves. They don’t know how to sell their ideas, sell their image and show their abilities to others.
I recently learned that Santa Claus was a marketing invention in 1920s and Diamond’s demand was artificially created by media campaign beginning in 1930-40s in America. To me, this proves beyond doubt the power of engaging media and necessity of creating positive public perception about India and Hinduism in general public all over the world.
Categories: bharat · computer · hindu · hinduism · india · tv
मे केवल येह देख रहा हु कि मै हिन्दी मे लिख सकता हु कि नही ?
Categories: computer
Lately, there has been lot of noise (Rediff, CSM) made by well minded people about the surge of Hinglish or Inglish (Indian English) in the Indian Metros. All you hear on TVs and Radios is combination of Hindi and English.
In addition, on Internet the English script is replacing the Hindi (Devanagri) script as the mode of communication in Indian language. It is just easier to type in English script rather than trying to figure out a way to type in Hindi. Is this another sign of change/mutation in the use of languages? Considering there was no such thing as Hindi 50 years ago, it might be time for another change. Most of youths in India have begun to use Internet and they prefer to type in English rather than Indian script.
Indians Learn to Speak in Two Languages at Once by Philip Reeves on NPR
Morning Edition, December 4, 2006 · India is a country of a billion people, and two official languages. Hindi and English are designated as the languages of government. This situation has led to the spontaneous creation of “Hinglish,” a hybrid language combining elements of Hindi and English.
Don’t forget to listen to the audio clip 
Do you think Hinglish will replace the spoken Hindi and English the script of Hindi?
Categories: bharat · computer · dharma · fonts · india · islam · microsoft · software · tv
Exhibit provides Hinduism refresher by Matthew Artz (http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/localnews/ci_3824436)
FREMONT — Hindus flocked to an exhibit Sunday that sought to remind them and teach others that the Hindu religion — the world's oldest and third largest — has contributed much more to the world than yoga.
"We realized that there are a lot of misconceptions, even among Hindus, about who we are, what we believe in and what we have accomplished," said Khanderao Kand, joint national coordinator for the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, a Hindu educational group, which hosted the exhibit at the Fremont Hindu Temple.
Technorati Tags: hinduism, hindu, india, bharat, america, united states, dharma, religion
Categories: california · dharma · hindu · hinduism · india
The efforts of Hindu Education Foundation and Hindu American Foundation to bring about the changes in textbook of California Education System are bearing fruits. The courts have agreed to speed up the hearing process. Some main excerpts from the articles…
Hindu Press International April 24, 2006
…
The California Superior Court ordered an expedited schedule be
determined in the lawsuit of the Hindu American Foundation against the
California State Board of Education over the adoption of sixth grade
social studies' books for next school year.
…
In his ruling, Superior court Judge Patrick Marlette stated twice that
he was "troubled" by the SBE review process in adopting the books. HAF
had charged that what is supposed to be a documented and transparent
system of review actually progressed through 2005 and 2006 in a
haphazard manner. Parts of the review, HAF contends, were contrary to
California State law.
…
The preliminary injunction was rejected by Marlette in favor of a
speedy schedule to resolve the complex case prior to the school year.
It would be rare for a preliminary injunction to be issued against a
state government. He could have dismissed the case, if he felt it had
no merit, but did not. He has instead ordered the SBE and HAF to confer
and provide a schedule for hearing the case expeditiously, before the
textbooks in question are distributed this fall.
…
Metzenberg, a professor at Northridge University in the California
system argues in his testimony that the Commission did indeed follow
the Board's instructions. … It is my view and opinion that the texts continue to require changes to
make them comply with the Standards imposed by law for textbooks in
California.
…
If, however, HAF prevails at trial, then court-ordered changes to the
books to bring the treatment of Hinduism on par with the other
religious would necessarily be quite extensive, as the court would not
be limited to the relatively small corrections allowed in the Board's
review process.
Technorati Tags: hindu hinduism california HEF HAF america dharma textbook
Categories: K-12 Schools · Legal Issues · california · dharma · hindu · hinduism · india
This is a great post. A must read for anyone who works with Microsoft Word software to edit any document longer than 1 page.
General Disarray » Blog Archive » Ten things every Microsoft Word user should know
Most people use word processors like MS Word like they would use a typewriter — manually making section headers bold and centered, inserting hard breaks between paragraphs, etc. This formatting method is fine for short documents, but for long documents that include multiple sections, figures, tables and other elements that need to be styled consistently throughout the text, it pays to learn Word's advanced features.
These features are easy-to-use, but poorly documented and, in my experience, underused — even by professionals that frequently write long documents. This tutorial presents ten tips to help you start using Word the smart way.
Categories: computer · design · microsoft
Please donate generously to the Hindu American Foundation ’s leagal defense fund! This will go long way in removing the misconceptions about Hinduism from American Textbooks.
Hindu American Foundation Launches Defense and Education Fund Drive – Hindu American Foundation [HAF]
Date: February 4, 2005
The Hindu American Foundation (“HAF”) announces the start of the HAF Legal Defense and Education Fund Drive. Through the month of March, HAF asks Hindus across the U.S. and from around the world to contribute generously to enable its work at this critical juncture in Hindu American history.
The goal of the HAF Legal Defense and Education Fund Drive is to raise $200,000 by the end of March 2006 to meet mounting expenses due to HAF’s legal efforts in ensuring a fair and balanced portrayal of Hinduism in public school textbooks up for adoption in the State of California. The current textbooks accomplish little more than to perpetuate negative stereotypes and promote prejudice against Hindu Americans, despite California law prohibiting the adoption of any textbook that reflects adversely upon persons because of creed or ancestry. The final outcome of this effort is very much in doubt at this time as opponents to the Hindu effort have vast resources and influence.
HAF seeks to raise $1 million by the end of 2006 to be prepared for future legal battles involving textbooks in other states and to continue HAF’s strong track record in taking a Hindu American voice to the Supreme Court and the U.S. Congress in matters involving religious liberty and human rights and to the media in presenting fair and balanced coverage of Hinduism.
HAF has retained a law firm in California to represent the Foundation, and by extension, the Hindu American community at-large in interactions with the California State Board of Education. Proceeds from this drive will be used to support this effort, and all future HAF projects and initiatives seeking to improve textbooks and educate fellow citizens about Hinduism, its practitioners and their concerns and aspirations.
Nothing less than the future of Hindu American children is at stake. Contribute generously. Contribute now.
Categories: K-12 Schools · Legal Issues · california · donation · hindu · hinduism
A very insightful article on the double standards adopted by Californial School System in presenting differnt faiths to the students.
FrontPage magazine.com :: California Schools Proselytize for Allah by Kalavai Venkat
If your child is unfortunate enough to study in California, he or she will be taught Islam is a fountain of modernity, liberty, and feminism. More importantly, he will be taught every aspect of the Islamic faith is historically accurate.
The Houghton-Mifflin textbook, currently in use in many schools, lists one Shabbir Mansuri, Founding Director of Council on Islamic Education, as its consultant. Mansuri is a businessman with a degree in chemical engineering, and not an academic. That did not prevent the California State Board of Education (SBE) from inviting Mansuri to a closed-door meeting, apparently to advise the board on Hindu edits, on January 6, 2006.
Categories: K-12 Schools · california · hindu · hinduism · islam · terrorism
If you use Windows XP, use Internet Explorer (not Firefox) and visit Prarthana and you should be able to see the text in Sanskrit without downloading any font. Isn’t it awesome?? You didn’t have to download any font. The font needed for this web site comes built in Windows XP!
If you want to find out how to create such “fontless” documents and web sites then read on.
We create many resources in Devanagari script (Hindi, Marathi, Gujrati, Sanskrit etc …). However, we use so many different fonts, which breeds incompatibility. Additionally, at present everybody has to download some kind of fonts for each file or each user that sends them text in Devanagari script. However there is a solution to all this mess and it is called Unicode. Visit the linked web site for complete technical details.
What is Unicode? and how does it solves this problem?
Unicode format allows seamless use of any script in your computer. If someone uses Unicode encoding to type in Devanagari script, all you need is any font which has the Devanagari Unicode character support. Windows XP already has this font called “Mangal”. This is much like if someone types “Abhimanyu” using a font called Kid, and even if you don’t have the same font, you can still see the text using Times New Roman. Unicode enables precisely same thing for Devanagari script and countless others.
How do I begin to use other softwares to view and write the Unicode Devanagari?
Step 1: You need to install Complex Script support on your windows operating system.
1.1 Locate Regional and Language Options setting in the Control Panel.
1.2 After launching the “Regional and Language Options” link from the Control Panel, select the Language tab. Enable the option “Install files for complex script and right-to-left languages” and click OK.
1.3 You may be asked to insert the Windows Installation CD to complete the installation.
1.4 Download the Hindi Language Keyboard file. Follow the directions inside the file to begin using typing in the Devanagari Script.
Ask your readers to follow the above steps to view your beautifully typed Devanagari Unicode fonts.
Other Links for more information:
Article: Changing the way we use Indian language on computer
What is Unicode in Hindi
Detailed information about using Devanagari to create websites
More Unicode Devanagari Fonts
Categories: collaboration · computer · design · fonts · microsoft · software
January 25, 2006 · 1 Comment
http://www.indiapost.com/members/story.php?story_id=5264
Many Hindu American parents have been dismayed by the negative and caricaturist description of our heritage that our school children in the United States are subjected to. A few Hindu organizations such as the Hindu Education Foundation (HEF) and the Vedic Foundation (VF), as well as many individual Hindus, have been working with the California Department of Education (CDE) to end the derogatory and discriminatory portrayal of Hinduism in textbooks.
Other ancient traditions such as Jainism are also ignored in textbooks. HEF has received letters of support from Jain groups, as well as Hindu American organizations representing immigrants from Nepal and the Carribbean. More than 100 world-class scholars of archaeology, history and academic study of religion have written to CDE in support of HEF/VF efforts. Keep reading →
Categories: california · hindu · hinduism
Are you ever on a conference call and wish that you could see all the talk typed up in front of you as well? Well there is a free solution for it. Its called Moonedit. This software is basically a glorified group chat. Just like group chat, multiple people (upto 14 in this case) will be able to work on a Notepad style windows simultaneously. This means you could see upto 14 people editing a Notepad file at the same time. Ofcourse, each user’s text is color coded to differenciate between different users.
Check out this demo movie here : http://me.sphere.pl/meditor.mov
Or download it here http://me.sphere.pl/mesetup.exe and try out the tutorial http://me.sphere.pl/tutor.htm
Some potentioal uses scenario during a conference:
- As people think of things they want to talk about, they list it in MoonEdit
- As side-discussion comes up, you table it on MoonEdit for getting back to.
- When someone’s in the middle of explaining something, and you get a question, you table that as well.
- As you talk about things, you note it as a summary point on MoonEdit
When you’re all done, you have a nice summary of everything you talked about, already made.
The OneNote software from Microsoft offers same functionality, but it is better since you can add images, colored text, choose different fonts etc. However, it costs big money
Give Moonedit a try and let me know your experience with it.
Categories: collaboration · computer · software
Download 6 new awesome fonts created by Microsoft. Check out their photos and description at http://blogs.msdn.com/jensenh/archive/2005/12/07/501009.aspx
Go to Download Page and wait for 30 seconds to get the link to download the file. After downloading the file, extract them and copy them to the c:\windows\fonts folder. Restart your word processor to use the fonts.
Categories: computer · design · fonts · microsoft
