(Current Affairs) Person in News | January: 2014

Person in News

APPOINTED

DEATH

ACCUSED/RESIGNED/CONTROVERSY

BOOKS/AUTHORS

HONOUR

VARIOUS

APPOINTED

Imomali Rakhmon

Central Election Commission (CEC) of Tajikistan on 6 November 2013 declared that Imomali Rakhmon was re-elected as the President of Tajikistan.

Imomali Rakhmon belongs to People’s Democratic Party of Tajikistan (PDPT). The President of Tajikistan is elected by popular vote. The term of the office is 7 years. The term of the President of Tajikistan is limited to not more than two terms. However, a constitutional amendment passed in 2003 allows President Imomali Rakhmon to run for a third term which, if he prevails, would keep him in office until 2020.

Justice Ajit Prakash Shah

Union Government on 22 November 2013 appointed Justice Ajit Prakash Shah as the new Chairman of the 20th Law Commission of India. Justice Ajit Prakash Shah succeeded Justice D. K. Jain who resigned in October 2013 to take over as the President of National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. Justice Ajit Prakash Shah was born on 13 February, 1948 at Solapur, Maharashtra. He started practice at Solapur district Court and shifted to the Bombay High Court in the year 1977. He was Chief Justice of the High Court of Delhi from May 2008 till his retirement in February 2010. He is known for his bold judgments, especially concerning social issues, including the world-headliner July 2009 ruling that found India‘s 150- year-old statute prohibiting homosexual acts (Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code) as discriminatory and, therefore, a “violation of fundamental rights”.

20th Law Commission of India

The 20th Law Commission of India was constituted with the Order of the Government of India with effect from 1 September 2012. It has a three-year term ending on 31st August, 2015. The commission would be responsible for identification of obsolete laws and suggest measures suitable for quick grievance handling and redressal of the citizens. It would also be examining the laws that effects poor and suggest measures which would help in harnessing the law and the legal process for the economically weaker and poor section of the society.

DEATH

Reshma

Legendary Pakistani folk singer Reshma passed away in Lahore, Pakistan on 3 November 2013 after a long battle with throat cancer. She was 66 years old. She is known for her popular songs such as Lambi Judai and Dama Dam Mast Kalandar. She is survived by a son and a daughter. Reshma was born in 1947 in Bikaner, Rajasthan, in a Banjara family. She has no formal education in music, but at the age of just 12 years, she was seen singing at the Shahbaz Qalander’s shrine. Thereafter, her iconic song Laal Meri was recorded on the state-run Pakistan Radio. With this, she became the most popular folk singer of Pakistan. She appeared on the
television in the year 1960 and recorded songs for not just Pakistani film industry, but also the Indian cinema. Some of her most popular songs also include Hai O Rabba nahion lagda dil mera and Ankhiyan no rehen de ankhyan de kol kol. She won various national awards such a s Sitara-i-Imtiaz as well a s Legends of Pakistan , by the President of Pakistan. She performed in India during 1980s when exchange of artists was allowed between India and Pakistan. Indian filmmaker Subhash Ghai used her voice in Hero which also featured her most famous song Lambi Judai.

Omprakash Valmiki

Noted Dalit writer Omprakash Valmiki passed away on 17 November 2013 at Dehradun, Uttarakhand. He died at the age of 63 after prolonged illness due to cancer.

Omprakash Valmiki is one of the most famous Dalit litterateurs in Hindi and he portrayed the life of Dalits with an authentically Dalit voice. He was born in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh in 1950. He worked with Government Ordnance Factory Dehradun. Valmiki’s autobiography Joothan is one of his famous works. In his autobiography Joothan (1997) he spoke in detail about the caste discrimination, persecution and humiliation tha he faced, whe he is growing up. Joothan is regarded as a milestone in Hindi literature. Valmiki’s other works also include three collections of poetry (in Hindi): Sadiyon ka santap (The centuries-old anguish, 1989), Bas!
bahut ho chuka (Stop it! That’s enough, 1997) and Ab aur nahin (Not any more, 2009).

ACCUSED/RESIGNED/CONTROVERSY

Shoma Chaudhury

Shoma Chaudhury, managing editor of Tehelka, on 27 November 2013 announced her resignation from the Tehelka, an investigative magazine.

This resignation came in the wake of the sexual harassment case in which a young Tehelka reporter alleged that the magazine’s editor in chief Tarun Tejpal had sexually assaulted her during an event the magazine’s group conducted in Goa. Shoma Chaudhury’s resignation came after six other senior journalists quit the magazine after the alleged sexual assault came to light.

Writers including Jay Mazoomdaar, Ayesha Siddiqa, Revati Laul and Rana Ayyub put in their papers following the incident. Tehelka magazine’s editor in chief Tarun Tejpal also stepped down as editor following allegations of sexual assault on 21 November 2013.

BOOKS/AUTHORS

Birth of Cinema

The book entitled Birth of Cinema written by N. Gopal Krishna was released at ICFFI media centre by a Journalist T. Udayawarluon 18 November 2013. The book comprises of details related to the advanced cinematic technologies like the 3D shootings and Voice enhancements and others, which were popularized by the Hollywood directors.

He is a film maker of Andhra Pradesh. During the launch, he said that the Government patronization of the children films, which should be in the form of providing cinema halls, publicity and lower entertainment tax.

HONOUR

150th birth celebrations of Swami Vivekananda

Jitin Prasada, the Union Minister of State for Human Resources Development on 28 November 2013 released a music album to commemorate 150th birth celebrations of Swami Vivekananda. The released album contains original poem of Swami Vivekananda among others. The poems have been sung by Akshayaa Vibho and Amrutaa Vibho – 11 year old twin sisters from Delhi. Akshayaa Vibho has rendered the song and Amrutaa Vibho has accompanied on the acoustic drums. Akshayaa learns Hindustani classical vocal from Pandit Sitangshu Chaudhary of Rampur Sehaswan Gharana. She also specializes in rendering of patriotic songs and film songs of Lata Mangeshkar. Whereas, Amrutaa is being trained under the legendary mridanga vidwan Dr. T. K. Murthy, international drum star Shri Sivamani and Shri Chandrakant Mohanti of Bollywood fame. Amrutaa
is the only the youngest female drum player in India.

VARIOUS

Wipha

A powerful typhoon Wipha on 16 October 2013 caused landslides and flooding on Izu Oshima Island, South of Tokyo. The storm brought strong winds and record rainfall - 122mm (4.8 inches) in one hour to Izu Oshima Island, which lies some 120km (75 miles) south of Tokyo. It caused damage to property and human lives. Wipha is the equivalent of a category 3 hurricane. Wipha is the 12th typhoon and 26th named storm of the west Pacific typhoon season.

It was the strongest storm to impact the region since Typhoon Tokage in October, 2004.

44th International Film Festival of India

The 44th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) began at Panaji in Goa on 20 November 2013 with great fanfare. Academy award winning actress Suasan Sarandon inaugurated the 11- day cinematic extravaganza by lighting the traditional lamp in the distinguished presence of Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Manish Tewari, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parriker and a galaxy of cine stars. The 44th International Film Festival of  India (from 20 to 30 November 2013) is organized by the IFFI Secretariat under the aegis of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, in collaboration with the Government of Goa. A variety of film screening programmes, academic sessions and cultural exchange programmes will mark the occasion. Around 160 foreign films are to be showcased in this edition under various categories.

44th edition of IFFI is unique on several accounts. The festival would highlight for the first time Cinema from the North Eastern states of India. A package of 19 films from the North-East will explore the immense ethnic, traditional and cultural diversity in the 8 states of North- East. The Lifetime Achievement Award is being conferred on the legendary Czech film director Jiri Menzel whose films have been acknowledged as the Czech New
Wave Cinema. Renowned actress Waheeda Rehamn will be conferred with the first Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality of the Year.

The 44th IFFI will showcase Japanese films in the country focus section. Czech comedy THE DON JUANS directed by Jiri Menzel will open the 44th International Film Festival of India. Indian Panorama category comprises of 26 feature films and 16 non-feature films from contemporary Indian cinema.

About IFFI

The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia, held every year. It aims at providing a common platform for the cinemas of the world to project the excellence of the film art,
contributing to the understanding and appreciation of film cultures of different nations in the context of their social and cultural ethos, and promoting friendship and cooperation among people of the world. The first edition of IFFI was organized by the Films Division, Government of India at Mumbai 1952.

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