Number soup

The Sangh Parivar honoured Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Ashok Singhal for "entering his 90th year" last Thursday. Those present on the dais at the event included over a dozen saffron robed sadhus and sadhvis, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Swami Satyamitranand Giri of Haridwar's Bharat Mata Mandir and Singhal himself. Giri said Singhal deserved to be called a 'Mahatma' for his contribution to the cause of Hindutva. There was some mirth when the home minister congratulated Singhal for completing unnyasi years, only to be corrected by many in the audience that it was the VHP leader's navasi or 89th birthday. Singh insisted he was correct - that pronunciation differed from region to region and people from his region used unnyasi to denote 89. Even Bhagwat couldn't resist a laugh. Singh later avoided mentioning the figure in Hindi, preferring to say it in English instead. The home ministry led by Singh has been at the forefront of promoting the use of Hindi in official work.