Sankardev

Srimanta Sankardev ([ˈʃrɪˌmʌntə ˈʃænkə(r)ˌdeɪv]; 1449–1568) (Assamese: মহাপুৰুষ শ্ৰীমন্ত শঙ্কৰদেৱ Môhapurux Srimôntô Xônkôrdeu) was a 15th–16th century Assamese polymath: a saint-scholar, poet, playwright, social-religious reformer and a figure of importance in the cultural and religious history of Assam, India. He is widely credited with building on past cultural relics and devising new forms of music (Borgeet), theatrical performance (Ankia Naat, Bhaona), dance (Sattriya), literary language (Brajavali). Besides, he has left an extensive literary oeuvre of trans-created scriptures (Bhagavat of Sankardev), poetry and theological works written in Sanskrit, Assamese and Brajavali. The Bhagavatic religious movement he started, Ekasarana Dharma and also called Neo-Vaishnavite movement, influenced two medieval kingdoms---Koch and the Ahom kingdoms—and the assembly of devotees he initiated evolved into Sattras over time, which continue to be important socio-religious institutions in Assam and to a lesser extend in North Bengal. Sankardev inspired the Bhakti movement in Assam just as Guru Nanak, Ramananda, Kabir, Basava and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu inspired it elsewhere in the Indian subcontinent. His influence spread even to some kingdoms as the Matak Kingdom founded by Bharat Singha, and consolidated by Sarbanda Singha in the latter 18th century endorsed his teachings.

Srimanta Sankaradeva Sangha

The Srimanta Sankaradeva Sangha, established in 1930, is the largest socio-religious organization in Assam.

History

The beginning of the twentieth century saw the onset of a different type of movement in Assam. It was a movement of search for truth, where some revolutionary intellectuals took the leadership. These people participated in the freedom movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. In the true Gandhian spirit they initiated a reform movement in this region. They tried to remove superstitions prevalent in the society. They realized that the message of Srimanta Sankaradeva and Madhavadeva, two medieval saints, was the only path to redeem the society from the domination of high caste people as well as regressive practices. Though Srimanta Sankaradeva (1449-1568 AD) had preached an egalitarian ideology in fifteenth century itself, some people with vested interests had infiltrated into the Satra institution and entrenched themselves as sole custodians of the order. They even introduced caste barrier in some places, contrary to the concept preached by their founder. The first person, who took his mighty pen to fight these evils was Lakshminath Bezbarooah, the great litterateur of modern Assam. He had come to know about the life and works of Srimanta Sankaradeva from the hagiography authored by his father Dinanath Bezbarooah. Lakshminath Bezbarooah, the pioneer short story writer, wrote incessantly about the ideology of Srimanta Sankaradeva in his philosophical books and articles. He gave discourses about the saint outside Assam, especially in Baroda.

Annual Conferences of the United Methodist Church

An Annual Conference in the United Methodist Church is a regional body that governs much of the life of the "Connectional Church." Annual conferences are composed primarily of the clergy members and a lay member or members from each charge (a charge is one or more churches served by a minister under appointment by the bishop). Each conference is a geographical division. In general, the smaller states in the United States hold one conference each, while larger states often include two or more conferences. Several annual conferences are held in other nations as well.

Role and composition

The Annual Conference is the primary unit of denominational government. Regional groups of conferences within the United States make up the Jurisdictional Conferences, and outside the United States they make up the Central Conferences. The entire group of all annual conferences makes up the General Conference which meets every four years. Only the General Conference can speak officially for the church.

Narendra Modi

Narendra Damodardas Modi (Gujarati: [nəreːnd̪rə d̪ɑːmoːd̪ərəd̪ɑːs moːd̪iː], born 17 September 1950) is the 15th and current Prime Minister of India, in office since 26 May 2014. Modi, a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament (MP) from Varanasi. He led the BJP in the 2014 general election, which gave the party a majority in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Indian parliament) – a first for any party since 1984 – and was credited for 2014 BJP electoral victories in the states of Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir.

Since taking office as Prime Minister, Modi's administration has focused on reforming and modernising India's infrastructure and government, reducing bureaucracy, encouraging increased foreign direct investment, improving national standards of health and sanitation and improving foreign relations. Modi has been appreciated for starting initiatives like Swachh Bharat Mission, Make in India and Digital India. Earlier, as Chief Minister of Gujarat, Modi's economic policies (credited with encouraging economic growth in Gujarat) have been praised, although his administration has also been criticised for failing to significantly improve the human development in the state and failing to prevent the 2002 Gujarat riots. A Hindu nationalist and a former member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Modi remains a controversial figure domestically and internationally, despite his progressivism. Known for his tech savvy image, he is the second most followed politician on social media after U.S. President Barack Obama.