Manipal: Tonse Mohandas Pai passes away at 89
Manipal: One of the most prominent members of Manipal’s Pai family, Tonse Mohandas Pai passed away on Sunday evening at a hospital in Manipal. He was 89.
He was recently admitted to a hospital in Manipal due to ill health where he breathed his last on Sunday evening.
Tonse Mohandas Pai was associated with several organisations including Dr. TMA Pai Foundation, MGM College’s Trustee, ICDS Limited, Manipal Media Network Limited, and others.
Tonse Mohandas Pai was born on June 20, 1933, and was the eldest son of Dr. TMA Pai. He is an alumnus of MGM College, Udupi having studied in the very first intermediate batch during 1949-51 when the college started on the premises of the Mahatma Gandhi School run by the Udupi Municipal Council. After Intermediate he attended a course in law in Kolhapur (1951-53) securing the First Rank from Poona University and then he decided to become an entrepreneur in Manipal.
He joined the family business in 1953 as the General Manager of Canara Land Investments (which was running the Tile Factory in Manipal) and took additional responsibilities at Manipal Power Press as Managing Partner where he was later joined by Satish Pai in the year 1957.
He has largely been responsible for the safekeeping of Dr. T.M.A. Pai’s belongings in Smrithi Bhavan in Manipal the museum devoted to the memory of Dr. T.M.A. Pai. An upright person in matters of public life he is highly respected for his straightforwardness, and independent decisions. A great lover and connoisseur of art, he is also deeply interested in Indian heritage and is responsible with Vijaynath Shenoy in launching the Hasthashilpa Heritage Village in Manipal a multi-dimensional cultural project which aims at restoration and conservation of the nation’s cultural wealth expressed in the form of traditional buildings and objects of art, craft and other artifacts of aesthetic interest, some dating several hundred years ago.
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UP Cong holds statewide protest seeking probe into FIR against Swami Avimukteshwaranand
Lucknow (PTI): The Uttar Pradesh Congress on Wednesday staged a statewide protest demanding a fair and transparent inquiry into the FIR lodged against Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and those who filed the complaint against him.
In a statement issued here, the party said memorandums addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi were submitted through district magistrates in all districts of the state.
Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Manish Hindvi told PTI that the memorandums were handed over through the district administration in all 75 districts.
In the memorandum, the party alleged that Saraswati and his disciples were "unnecessarily harassed and humiliated" by police on the occasion of Amavasya and were prevented from taking a ritual bath (at the Magh Mela). It further alleged that some disciples were manhandled and taken to a police station.
The memorandum also claimed that an FIR was later registered against Saraswati, his disciple Swami Mukundanand Brahmachari and several unidentified persons in a sexual harassment case. It termed the case a "conspiracy" aimed at tarnishing the seer's reputation.
Citing Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, the memorandum stated that these provisions guarantee religious freedom and the right of religious denominations to manage their own affairs.
It described the position of shankaracharya held by Saraswati as "one of the highest spiritual posts in Sanatan tradition" and alleged that the entire episode appeared to have been "orchestrated in a planned manner".
"We request that the background of the persons who got the FIR registered be investigated in a transparent manner by a retired high court judge and strict action be taken against them," the memorandum said.
It also sought a "fair and transparent probe" into the allegations levelled against Saraswati so that the truth could be established.
Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai had told reporters in Varanasi after meeting Saraswati that the party stood firmly with him.
The Congress said it would continue to press for an impartial inquiry into the entire episode.
On February 21, an FIR was lodged in Prayagraj against Saraswati and his disciple Mukundanand Brahmachari on charges of sexually abusing two persons, including a minor, over the past year at a gurukul and religious congregations, including the recently concluded Magh Mela.
Days after he was booked, Saraswati had said on Monday that he would not oppose his arrest and asserted that the "fabricated story" would be exposed sooner or later.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Saraswati alleged that criminals rule in Uttar Pradesh, level allegations and influence investigations, as he denied having any contact with the two persons for whose alleged sexual abuse he has been booked.
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