Posts

Showing posts from 2016

Congress satrap Balasaheb Vikhe leaves behind rich legacy

Image
Congress satrap Balasaheb Vikhe leaves behind rich legacy CAMIL PARKHE |  Saturday, 31 December 2016 AT 06:03 PM IST            goo.gl/1olCtO  Balasaheb Vikhe Patil  ,  death ,  Congress ,  Ahmednagar ,  profile , Sakal Times   Eknath Vitthalrao alias Balasaheb Vikhe Patil who died on Friday was a veteran Congressman who steadfastly maintained his fiefdom in Maharashtra and in his Ahmednagar home district for a stretch of over four decades. The change of political tides in the state or the country did not wither away his influence and clout as he skillfully managed to ride over these changes to his own advantages. A seven terms Lok Sabha member from Ahmednagar district, he was one of the senior most members of the lower house of Parliament. He was part of the young, new faces chosen by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1970s after she had succeeded in defying the Congress party's old guards. But when Rajiv Gandhi succeeded his mother in 1984, the young prime minister was

Canonisation of Mother Teresa a prominent event in Church in 2016

Image
Canonisation of Mother Teresa a prominent event in Church this year CAMIL PARKHE |  Friday, 23 December 2016 AT 11:17 AM IST       adieu to 2016 ,  Canonisation ,  Mother Teresa ,  new cardinals ,  Vatican ,  sainthood ,  Indian Catholic Church , Pune ,  Camil Parkhe PUNE:  Canonisation of Mother Teresa in the presence of a huge gathering at the Vatican, appointment of new cardinals including for Bangladesh, Syria, and Malaysia were some of the prominent events that took place in the global church in 2016. As good news to the faithful in India, the pontiff has also announced his intention to visit India along with Bangladesh next year. Declaration of sainthood to Nobel laureate Mother Teresa of Kolkata was one of the most important days for the Indian Catholic Church during the present year. The Mother’s canonisation was also important for the Church as she, besides Pope John Paul, was given the rarest honour of being canonised within a few years after her death. In the h

St Paul Book Centre gets ready for Christmas

Image
St Paul Book Centre gets ready for Christmas CAMIL PARKHE |  Friday, 16 December 2016 AT 03:28 PM IST          sakal Times  goo.gl/bhpbXw Christmas ,  St Paul Book Centre ,  Pune Camp ,  festival ,  Church ,  Christian community ,  Pune ,  Camil Parkhe PUNE:  It is the advent season, the period heralding Christmas, and St Paul Book Centre in Pune Camp is drawing a large number of people for the purchase of various articles essential for the festival celebration. People from various parts of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, belonging to various parishes, have been visiting St Paul Book Centre for the past few days to purchase cribs, Christmas trees, carols audio CDs, calendars with religious themes and various other articles and stationery associated with Christmas. St Paul is also a major centre supplying religious books, stationery and articles to various Catholic Church institutions. Priests, nuns and representatives of various Church institutions visit the shop to make bul

Pope’s emphatic ‘no’ to women priests disappoints feminists

Image
Pope’s emphatic ‘no’ to women priests disappoints feminists and others CAMIL PARKHE |  Wednesday, 16 November 2016 AT 09:49 AM IST         Sakal Times blog ,  in my opinion ,  Pope ,  Francis ,  feminists ,  Catholic Church ,  christian community ,  women priests ,  Camil Parkhe ,      goo.gl/t6OmjQ The emphatic remark ‘never’ by Pope Francis on the issue of sanctioning priesthood for women has disappointed not only the feminists but also a large number of fans of the pontiff all over the world. Almost smashing hopes of the liberals in the Catholic Church, Pope Francis has last week replied that the Catholic Church’s present ban on ordaining women as priests will continue and also stated that he saw no chances of revising this policy even in the future. Since he took over the papacy a few years ago, Pope Francis has won many admirers not only within the church but also outside due to his progressive and liberal views. The pope had shocked the conservatives in the church hie

Two Puneites attending Jesuits’ 36th General Congregation in Rome

Image
Two Puneites attending Jesuits’ 36th General Congregation in Rome  CAMIL PARKHE |  Monday, 17 October 2016 AT 11:01 PM IST       36th General Congregation ,  Jesuits ,  Provincial Fr Bhausaheb Saansare ,  Fr Stan Fernandes ,  Pope Francis ,  Pune ,  Camil Parkhe    goo.gl/t6OmjQ PUNE:  Two Puneites are among the 220 delegates who are presently attending over a month-long 36th General Congregation of the Jesuits in Rome to give shape to the future activities of one of the most powerful and influential religious congregations in the world. The two Puneites are Pune Jesuit Provincial Fr Bhausaheb Sansare and Fr Stan Fernandes, Delhi-based South Asia Director of the Jesuit Refugee Service. The 220 delegates represent 16,376 Jesuits worldwide. Incidentally, Pope Francis is also the first Jesuit elected to the papacy and is also expected to be one of the delegates at the Jesuit conclave. Fr George Pattery, former president of the Pune-based Jnana-Deep Vidyapeeth who is prese

Pope appoints 17 cardinals including for three Asian nations

Image
Pope appoints 17 cardinals including  for three Asian nations   CAMIL PARKHE |  Friday, 14 October 2016 AT 10:53 PM IST          Sakal Times blog ,  Pope Francis ,  cardinals ,  Asian countries ,  Patrick D’Rozario ,  Archbishop ,  Anthony Soter Fernandez , Emeritus Archbishop ,  Mario Zenari ,  Sakal Times ,  Camil Parkhe        goo.gl/orOiu5 Breaking away from past tradition, Pope Francis has appointed 17 new cardinals, some of whom do not belong to the traditional ‘Catholic-centres’ regions. Among the new cardinals, three are from Asian countries namely Bangladesh, Malaysia and Syria. Incidentally, this is for the first time that Bangladesh and Malaysia will have a cardinal. The new Asian cardinals are Patrick D’Rozario, Archbishop of Dhaka in Bangladesh, Anthony Soter Fernandez, Emeritus Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, and Mario Zenari, Apostolic Nuncio in strife-torn Syria. This is also for the first time that the Central African Rep

Pope Francis plans India visit next year

Image
Pope Francis plans India visit next year goo.gl/mvSfqW          CAMIL PARKHE |  Wednesday, 5 October 2016 AT 10:13 AM IST       Pope Fancis ,  India visit ,  CBCI ,  christian community ,  Catholic Church ,  Pune ,  Camil Parkhe PUNE:  Ending speculation on his visit to India, Pope Francis has said that he is planning to visit India next year. The Pontiff spoke of his travel plans while addressing the media persons aboard the papal flight after concluding his visit to Georgia and Azerbaijan on October 2. During the press conference, Pope Francis said that he plans to visit India, Portugal and Bangladesh next year, UCAN, the Union of Catholic Asian News, has reported. The Pope is scheduled to visit Fatima Pilgrimage Centre in Portugal to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the apparition of Mary in May 2017. Speaking on his Asia visit, the Pope said that his visit to India and Bangladesh is ‘quasi-sure’. Earlier this year, the Catholic Bishops’ Confere

Has Maharashtra’s social reform movement failed to end casteism?

Image
Has Maharashtra’s social reform movement failed to end casteism? CAMIL PARKHE |  Tuesday, 27 September 2016 AT 02:07 PM IST       goo.gl/WEzfbe Camil Parkhe ,  Maharashtra ,  social reform ,  Ratnagiri ,  Veer Savarkar ,  casteism When Veer Savarkar was interned at Ratnagiri from 1924 to 1937, being banned from undertaking any political activities, he utilised this period for ushering in social reforms within the Hindu community. One of his major initiatives during this period was building Patit Pavan temple at Ratnagiri with a view to open doors of temples to people even belonging to the then untouchable castes. Savarkar was against the barriers of castes which had divided the Hindu community, banning physical contact with the Shudras, attending meals or entering into matrimonial ties within different castes of the Hindu community. A few decades later, ‘Prabodhankar’ Keshav Sitaram Thackeray, father of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray, too, was a strong proponent o

Ex-Goa RSS leader defiant as BJP struggles to retain Christian vote bank

Image
Ex-Goa RSS leader defiant as BJP struggles to retain Christian vote bank Sakal Times CAMIL PARKHE |  Wednesday, 7 September 2016 AT 09:37 AM IST       blog ,  in my opinion ,  Subhash Velingkar ,  RSS ,  BJP ,  Goa election ,  assembly election ,  Manohar Parrikar , Camil Parkhe ,  Sakal Times Although this is not the first time that an RSS leader has defied the organisation, the gauntlet thrown by ex-Goa RSS chief Subhash Velingkar is indeed unprecedented in many ways. Velingkar’s defiance has put RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and BJP President Amit Shah in a quandary and at the same time, puts a question mark over the fate of Goa’s ruling party BJP in the imminent State Assembly polls. The unrepentant stance of Velingkar and his supporters has placed both Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on a sticky wicket. Soon after he was unceremoniously removed from the post of chief of Goa RSS unit, Velingkar became very vocal on his role in

A day at Mother Teresa’s Home for Destitutes

Image
CAMIL PARKHE | Saturday, 3 September 2016 AT 09:04 PM IST          Mother Teresa , Home for Destitutes , Camil Parkhe Sakal Times Pimpri: The day begins quite early for the 80 inmates of Mother Teresa’s Home for Destitutes at Chinchwad. A nonagenarian inmate, Francis, rings the bell at 5 am and another day begins for the destitutes who are helped and cared by the nuns of the Missionaries of Charity who run the centre.    The inmates belong to various religions and a few of them join the nuns in the chapel in their morning prayers. All inmates then join for breakfast in the dining hall and those who are bedridden or unable to move, are offered the food at the bed in the dormitory. Then, each of the inmates take up different assignments voluntarily, to assist the nuns in carrying out various chores at the home. “Most of these inmates love to volunteer themselves for various jobs like bringing the loaves of bread from the nearby bakery, working

Meet at JDV lauds legacy of Pandita Ramabai

Image
Meet lauds legacy of Pandita Ramabai CAMIL PARKHE |  Sunday, 28 August 2016 AT 09:05 PM IST       goo.gl/LAaO6U      Pandita Ramabai ,  Pt Ramabai ,  women’s emancipation Pune:  Speakers at a seminar on the theme of ‘Reclaiming legacy of Pandita Ramaba’ lauded the contribution of Pandita Ramabai in the fields of social reforms, education, women’s emancipation and said that the scholar activist who created a storm in Maharashtra a century earlier continues to inspire people to this date. The seminar was organised by Streevani in association with Sophia College for Women, Mumbai, and Indian Christian Women’s Movement (ICWM) at Jnana Deepth Vidyapeeth at Ramwadi on Ahmednagar Road on Saturday. The speakers recalled Pandita Ramabai’s contribution at the Indian National Congress session in Mumbai 1885, her deposition before the Hunter Education Commission, her pioneering role in the education of child widows and women, various controversies surrounding her conversion to

Talk of Uniform Civil Code is communal agenda: Flavia Agnes

Image
Talk of Uniform Civil Code is communal agenda: Flavia Agnes goo.gl/RZYQl7    Reporters Name | CAMIL PARKHE |  Sunday, 28 August 2016 AT 09:24 PM IST       Sakal Times,   Flavia Agnes ,  Uniform Civil Code Pune: Social activist and lawyer Flavia Agnes alleged that the ongoing talk of introduction of Uniform Civil Code was the right wing’s communal agenda,  intended for attacking the minorities. Speaking to Sakal Times, the Mumbai-based activist, who was in Pune on Saturday, said that a campaign was launched to create a misconception, especially against the Muslim community. The campaign creates an impression that the present personal laws favoured the minorities while the majority community did not have these privileges. Agnes said it is deliberately spread by the right wing elements that the personal law allowed a minority community member to have as many as four wives and many children. “The question is can we cite a single person belonging to the minority community from o

Political interference in profession, eating habits dangerous

Image
Political interference in profession, eating habits dangerous goo.gl/C8nX87     Reporters Name | CAMIL PARKHE |  Sunday, 28 August 2016 AT 09:39 AM IST Sakal Times One of the first major policy decisions implemented by the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance soon after forming the government in 2014 was to exhume the 19-year-old pending bill on the ban on the slaughter of cow and her progeny and secure the President’s approval for it. Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, who along with other BJP leaders had followed the Bill to its logical end, had then claimed that there is nothing communal about the ban. Soon after this bill became a law, there was a spurt in violent incidents related to the alleged eating or possession of beef in the country. The dubious credit for bringing the cow or beef issue at the Centre of nationwide controversy, therefore, should go to the BJP-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra. Subsequently, tension over the issue of cattle slaughter or beef possession

Lawmakers should desist from being liberal in fending themselves

Lawmakers should desist from being liberal in fending themselves http://goo.gl/lrmsZY     Reporters Name | CAMIL PARKHE |  Sunday, 14 August 2016 AT 03:03 PM IST                       Uttar Pradesh government ,  Mayawati ,  Narayan Dutt Tiwari ,  Rajnath Singh The Supreme Court recently struck down a legislation of the Uttar Pradesh government providing spacious government accommodation for lifetime to former chief ministers of the state. Arguing during the the writ petition hearing, the Uttar Pradesh government counsel had defended the provision but the Supreme Court set aside the legal provision and has asked the former chief ministers to vacate the government accommodation and also pay due fees for the same. Not surprisingly, the beneficiaries of this special provisions belong to all political parties, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati, Congress veteran and former governor Narayan Dutt Tiwa

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar - A Social Reformer

Dr. Ambedkar - A Social Reformer Camil Parkhe The Navhind Times, Panjim, Goa, March 2, 1986 The movements to eradicate the evils of untouchability and caste system which picked up its momentum during the last century has changed its nature and dimension during the course of history. Thanks to the fathers of Indian Constitution, especially Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, who himself hailed from the oppressed classes, the law does not discriminate against any citizen on the basis of cast and punitive action is taken against those violating the principles of nature justice. Among the social reformers who have lion’s share in changing the situation in Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar whose birth anniversary being celebrated all over the country on the 14. Manu, the ancient law maker had denied a respectable position to the shudras and women, Dr. Ambedkar as the chairman of the Drafting Committees of the Constitution Assembly reversed the course of history of the oppressed classes for better