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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 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

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