Freeing Hindu temples from government control, establishing 20 internships for aspiring politicians and developing scholarship in religious studies were some of the suggestions that emerged from the World Hindu Congress (WHC) held here last week, which witnessed participation from over 2,500 delegates from around 60 countries from across the world.
The participants at the conference urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure that Hindu temples are freed from government control and decided to establish at least 20 internships for youths who aspire to enter politics.
Sharing her thoughts in the women’s conference, entrepreneur and Grammy-nominated artist Chandrika Tandon suggested conducting value-based workshops, seminars and symposiums for young girls as short-term goals. She also favoured setting up of an “angel investor group” for women entrepreneurs and compilation of a global Hindu women business directory.
Finding new ways to open trade, further regulatory reforms in India, skill development, building ecosystems providing capital to start-ups and mentoring programs for young entrepreneurs were the recommendations of the economic conference.
Hindus as a community should become economically more prosperous and viewed as an economic powerhouse, the conference felt. “The immense soft power of Hindu teachings, Vedic knowledge and thought will be limited in its acceptance and reach without the accompanying economic power,” it was felt.
A strategy for developing scholarship in religious studies and a strong international network of Hindu scholars were the outcomes of the education conference. The Congress hosted other parallel sessions on youth, media, education, and Hindu organisations.
The political conference, a subset of the WHC, suggested the need for a permanent secretariat in the US or UK for the cause of Hindu rights around the globe. To accomplish this task, a group comprising eminent persons will be formed.
The meeting highlighted the importance of asserting a strong political voice especially in the Caribbean, Fiji and the African countries, and developing young political leaders. A dynamic digital database of all political leaders should be developed, felt the participants.
Abhaya Asthana, convener of the conference, said Hindus worldwide should become more visible as positive change makers in their respective countries.
To create awareness about atrocities and human rights violations committed against Hindus around the world, Hindu youth should leverage their social media skills and speak out against biased portrayals of Hindus, felt the participants.
More than 50 posters on inspirational stories and community service projects were on display. The poster on Sewa International’s “Toilet and hygiene project for the Girl Child”, “Pakistani Hindu: A genocide forgotten” and a poster by Gurukula.com were chosen as three best posters.
Mohandas Pai, Sonal Mansingh and R. Nagaswamy shared the dais for the third plenary session on “Hindu Society: Glory of the Past, Pain of Present and Dream for Future”, moderated by Subhash Kak. “We have a lot to be proud of,” said Kak.
Kak highlighted the inventions and scientific theories of today that have already been written about in ancient Indian works such as the significance of the number “108”. The true father of computer science should be Panini for his 4,000 rules of Sanskrit language, he said, and the inventor of quantum mechanics is said to have admitted that the concept came to him from the Upanishads.
The $2.6-trillion Indian economy is the third largest in the world after the US and China, said Pai, chairperson of Board of Manipal Global. “India will become a $10 trillion economy by 2030. Everyone should have the basic necessities of life like food, shelter, electricity, water and healthcare. These problems will be solved by 2030. We need to invest in education, fund political parties through checks and demand honesty from our politicians,” he added.
Nagaswamy, a historian and archaeologist from Tamil Nadu, spoke about Manu Dharma which is derived from the Vedas. This was the first constitution and law code established 3,500 years ago, he said. “Manu Dharma describes how a child should be raised, how a king should rule, crime and punishment, among other things. These ‘laws’ or Manu Dharma should be established by great, learned people, who must be honest and have no hatred, enmity or greed, he said. These laws inscribed on copper plates have been found in ancient kingdoms across the Indian subcontinent,” he added.
“Taking a cue from Swami Vivekananda’s thoughts, it was decided to build a strong global network and help each other, so that India becomes an economic power in future. WHC gave us an opportunity to review our roots, how did we get to be where we are, the challenges we face today, and the steps we need to take to where we need to be. Hindus, since pre-historic times, have been living peacefully with those around us and in harmony with nature. Our Shastras teach us the inherent synergy between spirituality and science,” said a participant.