((lovely comment to my blog comes from Kat Patil.......
"Do you know when Pune decided to have its first mayor Tilak was stuck as to what word to use for mayor in his Marathi daily 'Kesari'. He decided to trust Veer Savarkar to come with a word. And he did.
-- महापौर (Maha-paur)
The word later accepted in Hindi too.
Savarkar's contribution to Marathi dictionary is unparalleled. Not many oùtside Maharashtra would know this."
- Kat Patil, Pune
Shiv Sena (UBT) is left leaking wounds. As a former NDA constituent it had everything to 'enjoy' about 'Moditva phenomenon', but today the party is split. Most MLAs and die hard soldiers of Bal Thackeray are back with NDA fold. Even likes of Chhagan Bhujbal, who was once a Shiv Sainik and then NCP stalwart, is now with the BJP-led combine !
And worse, NCP chief Sharad Pawar shares stage with PM Narendra Modi and endorses his leadership virtues !! Regretfully, Sena mouthpiece 'Saamna' says Pawar could have avoided attending the function where Modi was awarded Lokmanya Tilak Award for his ’supreme leadership’ and for ‘awakening the feeling of patriotism among citizens’.
During Tuesday’s event, also in attendance were Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, his two deputies – Ajit Pawar, and Devendra Fadnavis – and do not miss out Congress leader Sushilkumar Shinde.
The award to Modi has been conferred to Modi by the Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust and importantly Shinde is the trustee. Shinde is originally a Sharad Pawar discovery from Maharashtra police and paradoxically as Union Home Minister he pushed the phrase 'saffron terror' like none other !!
Does Modi understand journalism? But PM appreciated how Tilak understood the power of print ... those days !!
Modi said Balgangadhar Tilak understood the importance of journalism and newspapers for amplifying the demand for freedom.
“Tilak understood the importance of journalism and newspapers for making the demand for freedom louder. He started the weekly `Mahratta’ in English, and with the help of another freedom fighter, Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, and Vishnu Shastri Chiplunkar he started the Marathi daily ‘Kesari’,” Modi said.
The Kesari is in circulation for 140 years which shows that Tilak laid a strong foundation for the institution, he said.
Pawar said, “In recent days, our Jawans in the armed forces carried out surgical strike" ---- Is it for the first time 'Maratha strongman' (and PM-aspirant as per Mumbai's Kasa Kae club) has endorsed Surgical strike under Modi in 2016 (September) and 2019? But importantly, Pawar also served as Defence Minister under PM PV Narasimha Rao !!
Pawar said, "...it was Shivaji Maharaj who first carried out surgical strike in Lal Mahal against Shaista Khan by cutting his fingers".
In September 2016, the Indian Army had launched surgical strikes against terrorist camps in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir in response to an attack by Pakistan-based terrorists on an army base in Kashmir’s Uri when 19 soldiers were killed. And later in Feb 2019, aerial strike was carried out post-Pulwama.
Pawar, who attended the event as a chief guest despite being urged by other opposition parties not to do so, congratulated Modi for receiving the award. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s name has now been included in the list of these prominent personalities today. I congratulate Modi for his selection for this award,” said NCP leader.
Modi is the 41st recipient of the Lokmanya award. It has previously been presented to luminaries such as Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma, Pranab Mukherjee, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Indira Gandhi, Balasaheb Deoras, Manmohan Singh, N R Narayana Murthy, E Sreedharan, among others.
At the function, Sharad Pawar and Modi were seen exchanging jovial banter, with Pawar even patting Modi’s back!!
CM Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis shook hands with Sharad Pawar even as nephew Ajit Pawar skipped the opportunity to shake hands with his uncle and walked past.
Opposition parties Congress and Shiv Sena expressed displeasure pn Pawar attending the function saying it would send a wrong message to people.
Modi and Sharad Pawar have previously also shared dais on many occasions. Back in 2016, Modi at a programme in Pune had said he has no hesitation in accepting that Pawar saheb held his 'hand and taught him to walk' during his early days in Gujarat. Ting Tong !!
"Do you know when Pune decided to have its first mayor Tilak was stuck as to what word to use for mayor in his Marathi daily 'Kesari'. He decided to trust Veer Savarkar to come with a word. And he did.
ReplyDeleteमहापौर
The word later accepted in hindi too.
Savarkar's contribution to Marathi dictionary is unparalleled. Not many oùtside Maharashtra would know this." - Kat Patil, Pune