Obama's Representative Reassures Sikhs in America

No matter what country you go to, the minority usually feels apprehensive about their future, and sense of insecurity looms on them.  Even the minorities who feel secure on the surface, don't feel the same inside, they know, their financial clout can buy them time.
 No matter what society it is, the responsibility to keep peace and harmony falls squarely on the shoulders of the majority or the ones in power.  They have the real ability to shut the squeaky voices from among them for the common good.

President Obama is one of the most sensitive heads of states ever elected, and he knows what to do. His inclusive approach towards people should be a subject of study.  I am glad he delivered the message of assurance to the Sikh Community.

I am pleased to share this with my fellow Indians.

Mike Ghouse, committed to cohesive societies. 
http://MikeGhouseforIndia.blogspot.com 

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Sikh Council on Religion and Education

www.sikhcouncilusa.org

Press Release

For Immediate Release

 

 

Obama's Representative Reassures Sikhs in America

Washington, January 11, 2015: Melissa Rogers, Special Assistant to President Barack Obama and head of the Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships office of the White House, delivered a message of reassurance from the U.S. President to the Sikhs. She also expressed empathy with the Sikh community over the recent incidents of violence against Sikhs and the reported case of vandalism at Los Angeles Gurdwara.

Melissa Rogers came to attend the 349th birth anniversary celebrations of the 10^th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, in Rockville, Maryland. She is the highest ranking representative of Obama Administration's to attend a Sikh gathering in a Gurdwara.  While speaking at Guru Gobind Singh Foundation (GGSF) Gurdwara in front of 350 Sikh men and women, she said, “I bring you greetings from President Barack Obama. It is an honor to bring these greetings to you from him on this special occasion. I want to offer our deepest condolences for some recent violence and attacks against Sikhs and Sikh institutions. These reports are of tremendous concern to us as they are to you. We feel a deep sense of loss for victims of these crimes. When these kinds of things happen there is a feeling of violation and anxiety. We want you to know that we stand by you during these challenging times.”

She added, “These kinds of incidents not only cause great grief among the people who are being attacked and the communities associated with it, but they threaten all of us. Because America draws its strength from the diversity of its people, we want you to know that we stand by you and we will continue to work until we stamp these incidents out. Like you, we believe that an attack on any faith is an attack on every faith. It is essential that all faith communities here and all over the world stand against hate-motivated violence. We will continue to stand with you and we will continue to work to ensure that your security and civil constitutional rights are protected.”

She further said, “The Sikh community has shown tremendous resilience in the face of challenges and I am confident that you will triumph and we will be there with you to triumph over the current challenges that we face together.

Dr. Rajwant Singh, Chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education, said, “We are grateful to President Obama and his administration for their thoughtfulness. We truly applaud the promptness and deliberative actions taken by the White House in the face of rising incidents against the Sikhs in the aftermath of the San Bernardino killings. President Obama has made available all tools of the U.S. Government to send a strong message that hate and violence will not be tolerated against Sikhs or any other community. The highest level of the government is communicating with us to make sure that the community feels safe. That is highly commendable.”

While speaking on the issue of Sikhs in the U.S. Army, Ms. Rogers said, “We will continue to be in touch with you on the issue of Sikhs serving in the United States Armed Forces.”

Inder Paul Singh Gadh, Chairman of GGSF, “We highly appreciate the gesture of President Obama and his message of support to the community through Ms. Rogers. His resolve to stand by the community is critical at this time and it is tremendously assuring to Sikhs across the nation and especially to the Sikh youth."

Rogers also praised the Sikhs, “I want to thank the community for what it has done for religious freedom for all people. You have been at the forefront of the effort to seek freedom not just for yourselves but for everyone and that has meant a great deal to the nation and the world. I also want to thank you for your partnership with our office and the White House generally as well to serve people in need and otherwise promote the common good of this country and the world.”

  

Indian American political Star : Reverse Swing: Nikki of America

Nikki Haley | http://MikeGhouseforIndia.blogspot.com
Indian American political Star : Reverse Swing: Nikki of America

Nikki Haley is a breath of fresh air; she is a moderate Republican representing the mainstream GOP values, that none of the current front line GOP candidates are able to articulate. I have used the word moderate because the right leaning Republicans do not value any one supporting immigration, religious freedom, liberty and freedom.

They are usually anti-immigrants, anti-gays, bomb-every-country, and anti-anyone-who-is-not-a-Christian. They are war mongers and have destroyed America during the Bush years, the Indians may not have felt the pinch, but nearly 43 Million Americans lost their jobs, businesses were shut down, anti-Indian (job taken away) sentiment grew, homes were foreclosed... divorces were on rise. War is an enterprise of evil men.

I sincerely hope, she gets to be nominated as VP, she will change the course of the dialogue and bring some sense on the campaign trail, to set herself up for 2020. The Hannity's and other conservative talk show hosts like her  - for only one reason - she went against Obama in relocating Boeing to her state. Once they hear "whole" of her, they may not like her as much.  If you recall, Chris Christie was a star, just because, simply because he welcomed Obama to help his state during the devastating floods, he was cursed by the Republicans. Rush Limbaugh calls a good Republican is one who hates Obama.

Way back when she was in Dallas to inaugurate Mahatma Gandhi statue, I wrote, " Nikki Haley must be a moderate Republican like me, even though she is billed as a conservative Republican.  She sounds like Obama with inclusiveness, a trait missing among the conservative Republicans and acutely deficit with regular Republicans." More about it at - http://mikeghouseforindia.blogspot.com/2014/05/ground-breaking-ceremony-of-mahatma.html 

Well, I am not a Republican anymore after 30 years of being one, but chose to go independent, because I want to support the candidates who are good for America and my loyalty is to America and American values and not any party.  At one time independents were less than 10%, now it has grown to be a clear third. 

The article says, “Desis have a “Bobby and Nikki problem”, and it goes beyond the peculiar Indian-American rejection of conservatism. Their hatred of Jindal stems largely from his public statements that he is “American”, not “Indian-American”. Thin-skinned Indians misinterpret this as a rejection by Jindal of his Indian-ness, as opposed to seeing it as a pitch for an America that’s free of ethnic pigeonholes.”

Tunku has opened a new window for Indians to consider, that is, “seeing it (Jindal’s approach) as a pitch for an America that’s free of ethnic pigeonholes.”  Most of us did not see it that way, but glad to look at it in that manner.  However, I am still trying to understand Jindal, here we are, proud of him as a fellow Indian and he does not want the Indian in his American descriptor and that is disappointing. He should proudly say, which most of us say, that no one can take the Indian out of me.    

Wonder if the BJP members of Indian Americans are fond of the Republican Party? As both of them have similar attitudes towards society, and those who differ with them. They are conformists and not free thinkers. 

Ms Haley is Indian-American, and Christian, and a political star.

The article concludes, “But let’s remember that Nikki Haley is American and lives in America, and has the right to convert to any faith she fancies. It is no one else’s business but hers. Those who argue otherwise are primitive bigots who need to get a life.”

Yes, every human should be free to believe whatever the hell he or she wants to believe,  and eat, drink and wear what pleases him or her.

Mike Ghouse
www.TheGhouseDiary.com
http://MikeGhouseforIndia.blogspot.com

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Read column at: https://shar.es/16L8yK [ shar.es/16L8yK ]

  

Written by Tunku Varadarajan | Published:January 17, 2016 12:10 am

Nikki Haley

On the night of the State of the Union address last week, when many in America were prepared to swoon over Barack Obama — only to be turned off by a speech that was self-aggrandising — a woman of Indian origin, her tone measured, her teeth as white as a Trump rally, stole the show from the Democratic president.

Nikki Haley, born Nimrata Kaur Randhawa, is the Republican governor of South Carolina, and to her fell the chore of delivering the response to the President, an American tradition in which a hapless opposition politician is picked by his party’s establishment to speak for a handful of minutes after the Big Cheese has finished.

The task is cursed: the nation has had just about enough of politics after the presidential peacock-dance. So it treats what follows either as an opportunity to turn off the TV, or to titter at the short (and usually impotent) speech. The worst in recent memory was the response by Bobby Jindal, governor of Louisiana, to Obama’s first State of the Union in 2009. With the nation on an Obama high, Jindal’s squeaky voice and pedantry made him an object of derision. His decline as a national politician began that very night.

Haley’s response, by contrast, was the finest I’ve heard, and the excited talk after she spoke was all about how she’d make a perfect Republican vice-presidential candidate.

And yet her words didn’t please everyone: Ann Coulter, a conservative pundit who has made a handsome living by being the shrillest woman in America, tweeted that “Trump should deport Nikki Haley.” This was a response to Haley’s measured words on immigration, in which she’d invoked her own immigrant background while lauding America’s tradition of legal immigration. Haley was suitably tough on the subject of illegal entrants to America, but things have come to such a pass on the Republican right wing that support for immigration of any kind is seen as un-American.

The editorial page of The Wall Street Journal came to Haley’s defence, out of a shared belief in the economic and cultural value of immigration. There
was little defence, however, from Indians on Twitter. And their rejection of Haley was, if anything, more ugly than Coulter’s nativist tantrum.

Desis have a “Bobby and Nikki problem”, and it goes beyond the peculiar Indian-American rejection of conservatism. Their hatred of Jindal stems largely from his public statements that he is “American”, not “Indian-American”. Thin-skinned Indians misinterpret this as a rejection by Jindal of his Indian-ness, as opposed to seeing it as a pitch for an America that’s free of ethnic pigeonholes.

Although Haley has never been dogmatic about her self-definition, the desi Haley-hatred comes from many of the same bigots who despise Jindal, accusing her (and Jindal) of converting to Christianity for political gain. This crude objection to conversion is very Indian, born of a general Indian inability to accept that religion can be a matter of personal election.

The idea that one is forever of the faith of one’s ancestors is so embedded in the Indian psyche that many can’t imagine that a person’s conversion could have occurred for a reason (or by a process) that isn’t venal. The hysteria that overwhelms the debate on conversion in India is proof of this.

But let’s remember that Nikki Haley is American and lives in America, and has the right to convert to any faith she fancies. It is no one else’s business but hers. Those who argue otherwise are primitive bigots who need to get a life.

The author is the Virginia Hobbs Carpenter Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. @tunkuv

- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/reverse-swing-nikki-of-america/#sthash.oP0s4g1j.cwaKHjzy.dpuf

Kashmir and its Governance

Kashmir and Governance | MikeGhouseforIndia.blogspot.com

No nation should be formed on the basis of religion anymore.  We have seen the ugly results of it, and any nation that is formed now should be democratic in governance, where all people's rights are protected.

There should never be an Islamic, Christian, Hindu or Jewish state, as religion is practiced by humans, and they may not live up to its highest principles. I would rather have a bad democracy over a theocracy, in a democracy we have a chance of correcting the course, and peacefully replacing the corrupt guys with good guys,  you cannot do that in a theocracy. Then the question is whose theocracy will it be?  

Shia, Ahmadiyya, Hindu, Christian and Sikh minorities live in apprehension in Pakistan, and in Bangladesh, you can add the Buddhist Minorities who are equally harassed.  The current but short-lived Hindutva wave in India is also causing apprehensions among Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and other minorities. 

 The authentic Islam that respects the otherness of others, honors dignity of every human, and believes in living your own life and letting others live theirs is part of the individual Muslim psyche, but it has not reached in governance of many a Muslim nations. As a Muslim, I invite fellow Muslims to stand against the brand of Islam practiced in Pakistan,  Saudi Arabia, Iran, Sudan and.... others. There is no respect for other traditions within Islam in these nations, let alone others.  They claim to follow Islam, but they don't.

Islam is my religion and I love it, most of us want it to remain a personal guidance to continue to make us good humans and good citizens with no political ambitions to rule others, but to serve others as fellow beings.  The idea of ruling others in the name of a religion, corrupts that religion, any religion for that matter.

God honors caring people over religious people who do not care, caring is emphasized here. There are numerous examples - if someone gives water to a thirsty cat, God is willing to forgive his or her shortcomings, and such is the value places on caring for others.  God loves the man who shares his food with hungry fellow being, even if that person has committed sin over a guy who prays all day long. God only knows what is in your heart and you are reminded not to judge other people's faith.  God says in Quran, whether you are Jewish, Christian or Pagan, if you take care of fellow humans, he or she need not worry, as he would earn God’s grace.  Similar thoughts are in Hinduism, Christianity and other faiths – do the followers of all faiths follow their religion to the full? Then, why do we need a religion in governance?

An Independent Kashmir is not good for Kashmiris, Indians or Pakistanis. The extremists loaded with guns will swallow it and terrorize everyone, but most certainly Muslims for not following their brand of Islam. They will be coming from around the world to establish a false Islamic Caliphate in the likes of Islamic state, where they rape women, make them slaves and sell them, completely against the principles of Islam.

Islamic Caliphate should be consistently discouraged, what we need is democracies, which is Islamic in nature, you elect your representative who is trustworthy, but there will be a contest with other trust worthy individuals. That is how it was done during the first four Caliphs of Islam, and after that it was always run by  dictators and kings and together they have messed up what Islam is all about to suit their whims, Islam is a system designed for individuals to create cohesive societies where no human has to live in fear of the other with justice, mercy and equality to all.

Kashmir and Kashmiris are better off with a Pluralistic India, where they can choose who governs them freely. You can fix the problems in a democracy, but not in a theocracy.

Dr. Mike Ghouse is a community consultant, social scientist, thinker, writer, news maker, and a speaker on Pluralism, Interfaith, Islam, politics, terrorism, human rights, India, Israel-Palestine and foreign policy. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. Visit him in 63 links at www.MikeGhouse.net and a bulk of his writings are at TheGhousediary.com and several blogs listed there in.

A self-goal by the RSS - Akhand Bharat

Akhand Bharat and RSS | Mike Ghouse for India

The idea of Akhand Bharat can be understood in cultural terms, indeed, the entire subcontinent is culturally bonded. However, it means different to the Hindutva ideologues than they explain. The conflict props up in intense conversations, and this article is a fine example of such duality.

I distinctly remember the sigh of relief when Vajpayee visited Minar e Pakistan, much was written about it, to the Pakistanis it was an acknowledgement of the sovereign nation of Pakistan and a good sign of relief from the frightening idea of Akhand Bharat; which meant ambitious taking over of Pakistan and Hinduizing it.  That was the time, the concept should have been clarified, that it was not, but the hidden agenda prevented the RSS from expressing it.

The present inclusive sounding rhetoric from the RSS should always be welcomed. However the rhetoric remains empty if it is not matched by actions - like condemning the idea of coercive Ghar Wapsi. Instead they can set up missions and lure people with money, jobs, clothes, dignity and equality, can they offer that? It also means believing and practicing equal rights in housing, education, employment etc, is RSS willing to do that?

Hindu majority believes and practices Pluralism, as is the case with Muslim, Christian or other majorities,  they respect the otherness of others, and have no problem with what others eat, drink, wear or believe,  but do the RSS ideologues believe in that genuine Hindu ethos of Pluralism?      

By the way, RSS members or that mindset in not pervasive, they are a large organization, but their ideals of divisiveness are not bought by the entire community of Hindus.  Indeed, its ideology is anathema to the Hindu majority or any majority anywhere in the world, and the Sangh Parivar is matched by the family of Islamists (Taliban, ISIS, LeT, Shabab, Boko Haram and their likes). Of course the Parivar guys are not as violent as the blood thirsty Islamist guys, which is a blessing and for India and the Indians.

Until RSS becomes inclusive and their talks and acts starts welding together, and the ideals of live and let live becomes the norm, the idea of Akhand Bharat is as bad as the Islamist idea of Islamic nation. Neither will ever happen, as the ideas are not inclusive.
 

Indeed the overwhelming majority of Hindus, Muslims, Christians and others are fine people, and we need to work on getting more people stay in the moderate circles for a stable India.   

Mike Ghouse
http://MikeGhouseforIndia.blogspot.com
www.TheGhousediary.com 

A self-goal by the RSS
The Akhand Bharat controversy exposes the Sangh’s ideological dogmas and difficulties. Written by Sudheendra Kulkarni 

Published:Jan 6, 2016, 1:01  - Courtesy of Indian Express - http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/a-self-goal-by-the-rss/

Ram Madhav, BJP National General Secretary. (Express photo by Ravi Kanojia)

Two things are taboo in the RSS and the BJP. The RSS never admits there’s anything flawed or outdated in its ideology. The BJP, which has allowed itself to be ideologically captured and organisationally controlled by the RSS, never publicly challenges the parent organisation’s core beliefs. However, reality does not respect any organisation’s imagined infallibility. Those who have tried to dictate the world to follow their own dogma have fallen by the wayside. History accommodates, even applauds, those who change with the times. But changing with the times demands honest self-criticism in the public realm. This spirit is in short supply in the RSS and BJP.

The RSS has always claimed that “Hindu Rashtra” and “Akhand Bharat” (the two are inter-related) are its core beliefs, which will not change even if the organisation changes some of its external features. However, at the very first brush with the recently changed reality in the India-Pakistan engagement, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bold visit to Lahore, one of its ideological pillars, Akhand Bharat, has developed embarrassingly huge cracks. These cracks are vainly sought to be covered up with weak explanations and confounding clarifications.

Look how hurriedly the BJP, through its spokesman M.J. Akbar, officially distanced itself from the “Akhand Bharat” remarks of its own national general secretary, Ram Madhav, made in the course of his interview with Al Jazeera. Akbar is capable of penning an entire book to demolish the RSS’s view of “Akhand Bharat”. However, he didn’t even vaguely criticise it. Madhav, a well-known RSS pracharak himself, has tried to wriggle out of the self-created controversy by writing a clarificatory article in this newspaper (‘A people’s idea’, December 29).

Madhav’s self-defence is ineffective. Take, for example, his claim: “Let me reiterate that the Akhand Bharat doctrine is a cultural and people-centric idea. I was not even remotely suggesting that we should redraw the boundaries of our countries.” Now, watch his interview. He was indeed suggesting a redrawing of the boundaries of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. He asked his interviewer, Mehdi Hasan, “If two Germanys can come together, if two Vietnams can come together, what makes you think that India and Pakistan cannot come together?” Madhav surely knows West and East Germany, as also South and North Vietnam, redrew their boundaries when they reunified. Their reunification was a political process, in which the two divided parts lost their sovereignty and separate identities when they became “Akhand Germany” and “Akhand Vietnam”. By using this analogy, Madhav was clearly hinting that Akhand Bharat, in the RSS’s conception, means the political reunion of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

This is what the RSS has always stated: That the Partition of India in 1947 was wrong and unacceptable, and that this wrong would somehow be corrected in future. Madhav candidly describes this as “the generational vision of the RSS”. He even shows his hurt feelings by indirectly questioning his critics within the RSS why his remarks on Akhand Bharat “became an issue” now, when the same thing was “stated and restated several times before by several people in the Parivar”.

To his credit, Madhav made many good points in the interview by giving a more inclusive and tolerant interpretation to the policies and actions of the Modi government. He’s also right in stating that the coming together of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh would not be “through armies or aggression, but through popular goodwill”. Indeed, all should welcome “a people’s reunion at the cultural and societal level” in our subcontinent, which has suffered immensely on account of the artificial walls of separation erected by our governments. 

But will Madhav admit that his praiseworthy statement strikes a blow at the other foundational pillar of RSS ideology — Hindu rashtra? Both before and after Partition, the RSS insisted that Bharat, “Akhand” or “Khandit”, is a Hindu nation. Madhav and other RSS-BJP leaders should explain how they can ever create goodwill among the Muslims of Pakistan and Bangladesh — not to speak of the Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and Buddhists in India — by propagating that today’s Bharat is, and tomorrow’s Akhand Bharat (even in a confederal form, without redrawing boundaries) will be, a Hindu rashtra.

When confronted with this argument, RSS leaders predictably claim its critics don’t understand the real meaning of the word “Hindu”, and that it’s a cultural, and not a religious, concept. They are free to delude themselves. But this, too, is unacceptable to non-Hindus and also to a majority of Hindus. Besides, to equate Indian culture with Hindu culture is to disrespect Article 51 A of the Constitution, which requires us to “value and preserve our composite culture”.

Here’s the supreme paradox: Most RSS-BJP supporters themselves understand “Hindu” only in its religious connotation. Many of them reject the call for Akhand Bharat by saying, often in bigoted ways, that the coming together of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh would reduce the proportion of the Hindu population and increase that of Muslims.

If the RSS genuinely desired the com-ing together of the peoples of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, it had better discard both the Akhand Bharat and Hindu rashtra shibboleths.

The writer was an aide to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpaye.

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Dr. Mike Ghouse is a community consultant, social scientist, thinker, writer, news maker and a speaker on Pluralism, Interfaith, Islam,politics, Terrorism, human rights, India, Israel-Palestine, foreign policy and buildingcohesive societies. Mike offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. More about him in 63 links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at TheGhousediary.com or Just Google Mike Ghouse with the name of any Religion. 

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Who is Shah Rukh Khan?

Shahrukh Khan | http://MikeGhouseforIndia.blogspot.com 

Source unknown, but posted by R. Padmanabhan at DallasIndians@yahoogroups.com

1. He's the grandson of a freedom fighter Gen. Shah Nawaz Khan who was the major general of Indian National Army under Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

2. His father was also a freedom fighter who migrated from Pakistan to Delhi during the time of Partition.He is also a recipient of Tamra Patra from Indian Govt.

3. Only Indian to have a Statue in Grevin Museum, after Gandhiji.

4. Only Indian to be the 2nd Richest Actor in the world, more richer then Hollywood giants like Johnny depp, Tom Cruise (after doing all his Charity).

5. A rare species of orchid, Ascocenda Shah Rukh Khan, was named after him in Singapore.

6. Only Indian who is honoured with the prestigious Brand Laureate Legendary Award for his unmatched contribution to the world Cinema by Malaysian government.

7. Only Indian after amitabh to be crowned by Moroccan king.

8. Only Indian to be invited at Yale University, USA.

9. In 2010 he was invited to ring the opening bell of NASDAQ stock exchange, USA (world's biggest stock exchange) in New York.

10. Only Actor alongwith Dilip Kumar to win most no of Filmfare Awards

11. James Cameron: "I only want to come to Mumbai for an autograph of SRK. "

12. He is the most popular superstar in those places where Indian movies don't even release.

13. He has the most expensive house.......sorry.....Palace in Bollywood, coming from a middle class family with no parents to support him.(he's one of the highest tax payers in the country too)

14. He currently holds record of Longest running movie of Indian Cinema I.e, DDLJ

15. He Donated 2.5 million Indian ruppees to PM, Manmohan Singh for Tsunami Relief camp.

16.In NDTV's Greenathon event of 2009, he adopted 5 villages and Adopted further 12 villages in 2012 event.

17. Government of France awarded him both the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and the Légion d'honneur - The greatest honour of France like Bharat Ratna in India.

18. He was honoured with Rajiv Gandhi Award for "Excellence in the Field of Entertainment" in 2002.

19. He was conferred the honorific Datuk title by the head of state of Malacca in Malaysia in 2007.

20. He was also honoured with an honorary doctorate in arts and culture from Britain's University of Bedfordshire in 2009.

21. In 2008, SRK named by Newsweek as one of the 50 most powerful people in the world.

22. Recently He became 2nd Indian who got awarded with an honorary doctorate by the University of Edinburgh after DR. APJ ABDUL KALAM

23. In 2013 SRK Appointed as goodwill ambassadorby the government of South Korea

24. In 2014 He was Honoured with Global Diversity Award at the State Room of Britain’s House of Commons. Britain’s Parliament honoured the king khan

25. He was awarded Best Indian Citizen Award in 1997 by the government of India

26. And also the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award from the Government of India in 2005

27.In 2007 – His lifelike wax statue was installed in London's Madame Tussauds wax museum. Due to high demand Additional versions were installed at Madame Tussauds museums in Los Angeles, Hong Kong, and New York in 2010.

28. In 2009 He was given a Black Belt Honorary in taekwondo by the South Korean government.

29. Also in same year 2009 He was awarded with an honorary doctorate in arts and culture by the University of Bedfordshire

30. In 2010 He became the first Indian actor to be given the rare honour of signing the guest book at Berlin's Town Hall.

31. In 2011 He became the first Bollywood actor to be featured on the cover page of Los Angeles Times he has also been featured on time Magazine's cover page twice

32.He was also invited to Harvard University for giving a lecture to its students. He is also world’s "first" actor to be invited at Google and Twitter headquarters.

33. He donated all the prize money KKR won in 2014, 15 cr rupees to the childrens hospital in Kolkata nd Mumbai.

34. He is the only Indian to win UNESCO's Pyramide con Marni award for his support of children's education.

35. He saw his father dying in front of him cause he had no money, his father died of cancer. So now He runs a free cancer ward in lilawati hospital,Mumbai and very few people knows about this.
I could have added more but I think it's enough, Shah Rukh Khan never beat the drums of his charity work. He, in an interview with 'Guardian' was Quoted as Saying "I follow Quran which says if you do charity for a reason, it's not a charity".He, in an interview with CNN, said "My friends advice me to have Photoraphs whole doing charity but i don't believe in it".//It's Really important to highlight because People think he's selfish and greedy.

No one can achieve what he has achieved in the last 20 years.He started at zero and reached at top.He was a common man came from a poor background with no parents and one mentally unstable Sister to be taken care of.He achieved everything through dedication and hard work.

He fell in love with a non-Muslim girl and married her without converting her religion.He hasn't even forced his religion into his childrens either and gave them the right to choose their religion once they get matured.

He is the real Indian,Secular and Patriotic Badshah of Bollywood-Shah Rukh Khan.

== Shah Rukh Khan - The Pride of India==
[ Must Share SRK fans & all true INDIANS ]

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Shame on us and some of our customs where we treat our women folks with less than dignity. A widow is still kept away from participating in weddings of even their sisters. This, female foeticide,  triple talaq, and the female genital mutilation are horrible practices we have allowed. We have to start speaking up.

Mike Ghouse

Courtesy - The Guardian

Banished for menstruating: the Indian women isolated while they bleed

Women in parts of India are sent to basic huts outside their villages during their periods, as the stigma of menstruation proves hard to overcome

Poornima Javardhan, 25, felt dread and trepidation as she got ready to spend five days in a gaokor – a hut outside her village where girls and women are banished during menstruation.

“During the rainy season, it is all the more difficult to stay in a gaokor because water comes inside and sometimes the roof leaks,” says Javardhan, who lives in Sitatola, a village in central India’s Maharashtra state. Each month, custom dictates that she must stay in the thatched hut on the edge of a forest, sometimes on her own, or, if she’s lucky, with another woman.

Since the huts are considered public property, no one takes responsibility for their upkeep. Gaokors lack a kitchen as women who are menstruating are not allowed to cook; those staying inside rely on family to bring them food and other items. Women usually sleep on the floor with just a thick sheet for a mattress, which is folded and used as a cushion during the day.

Given the location of the huts, it is not uncommon for wild animals to make an appearance, and there have been reports of women dying from snakebites while staying in gaokors.

“We visited 223 gaokors in tribal areas and nearly 98% lack even a proper bed, leave alone electricity and other basic amenities. Most of the gaokors have temporary bathrooms made with bamboo,” says Dr Dilip Barsagade, the founder of local NGO Society of People’s Action in Rural Services and Health (Sparsh), which recently brought the practice to the attention of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

 'We bleed. Accept it and deal with it': breaking India's taboo on menstruation

Monisha Rajesh

 

Read more

The practice of banishing women and girls is most prevalent among the Gond and Madiya ethnic groups. The Gonds are the largest indigenous group in central India and hail from the states of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa.

Girls miss school while they are in the huts. An estimated 23% of girls in India drop out of school when they start menstruating.“Many times a menstruating girl is unable to take her exams because of this practice. It means that few girls from this region study beyond matriculation [high school],” says Barsagade.

“I don’t like staying in a gaokor … there is nothing to do and I cannot play,” says Sangita Kumra, 14. “Luckily, so far I have never stayed alone, but I am scared that I might have to. My friend once had to stay alone, and the very mention of it would make her cry. My mother tells me that this is our custom and we have to do it.”

Satisheela Haridas, 23, from Sitatola, is resigned to her fate. “I feel extremely bad that for five days I cannot even touch the utensils of my own kitchen. But what can we do? We have to follow our tradition and customs,” she says. “Most of the time we just sit and talk [while in a gaokor] because there is nothing else to do.”

For five days I cannot even touch the utensils of my own kitchen

There are two gaokors in Sitatola, home to about 20 families. Although there have been incidents of harassment, women are generally left alone because they are considered impure while they have their periods. There have been moves to improve the conditions of the gaokors, but not to end the practice.

“We have brought gaokors closer to the village and are planning to put beds in them,” says Haridas Namdev Kumra, 25, a member of the village’s Gram Panchayat, a local self-governing body.

Elsewhere, local administrators have selected 100 gaokors to supply with basic amenities such as water, and cupboards with plates and cups.

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In September, the NHRC instructed the state government to take steps to eradicate the practice of gaokor, whichit described as a “serious violation of the human rights of women”.

“We have a school where we are teaching 350 girls and we try to educate them that menstruation is a natural process. We believe that everything is linked to education,” says Jagan Bhau, from Lok Biradari Prakalp, an organisation that runs social projects in Maharashtra.

Sparsh is also trying to address the problem by increasing women’s awareness of health and hygiene. Barsagade says the organisation has run 12 workshops in remote villages as well as working with local government-sponsored childcare centres; it also visits gaokors to speak to women about menstruation. “Because it is a sensitive topic, we try to educate them about health and hygiene without mentioning gaokor,” he says.

Social media campaigns have been launched to challenge the stigma and taboos around menstruation. In April, the Kachra Project launched the #periodforchange campaign, which encouraged discussion of the topic.

Recently, celebrities joined another campaign – #HappyToBleed, launched in response to a comment from the head of a Hindu temple, who said women would be permitted to enter the temple once there are machines to detect if they are “impure” or “pure”.

The hope is that the campaign will help to change attitudes. Arpita Bhagat, founder of the Kachra Project, says: “An extremely small section of modern Indian men are now open to talking about it [menstruation] in general conversation – otherwise, it remains a taboo and a stigma.”