(Current Affairs) Person in News | March: 2014

Person in News

APPOINTED

DEATH

ACCUSED/RESIGNED/CONTROVERSY

HONOUR

BOOKS/AUTHORS

VARIOUS

APPOINTED

Jamila Bayaz

Jamila Bayaz was appointed as the police chief of District One of Kabul province on 15 January 2014. She is the first woman in Afghanistan to be appointed as police chief of an entire district. She joined Afghan police force more than three decades ago and at present serving as Colonel in Kabul’s police force. The appointment of Jamila Bayaz is significant in more than one sense. Firstly, the appointment will pave the way for more Afghani women to rise through the ranks.

Secondly, her appointment as police chief to one of the core districts of Kabul testifies that women position in Afghan society is improving since the Taliban were driven out from power in 2001. District One of Kabul province houses the presidential palace and numerous ministries. Besides it houses the Central Bank of Afghanistan and is the main money and gold market of Afghanistan. Kabul province is divided into 22 districts. Each
number specifies the name of the district and is organized in ascending order in order of importance.

Bikram Singh

Army chief General Bikram Singh took over as the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) on 30 December 2013. He received the baton of Chairman, COSC from outgoing Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal N.K.Browne. General Singh will have a brief tenure of around seven months as the CoSC, as he is expected to retire in July 2014. Browne was a member of the COSC, since 1 August 2011 and its Chairman
from 1 September 2012.

The COSC is the senior-most officer of the three Services and is incharge for looking after the joint issues related to them. The senior-most of the three Services chiefs takes over the post. General Singh was also shortlisted for appointed as the Permanent Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee — a post which has been recommended by the Naresh Chandra Committee for reforms in the higher defence management.

The National Security Council Secretariat is expected to prepare proposals for the appointment of a four-star general to head the triservices organisation, after the government consensus.

DEATH

Sunanda Pushkar

Sunanda Pushkar, the wife of the Union Minister Sashi Tharoor on 17 January 2014 was found dead in a luxury Leela Palace hotel room in Delhi. Her body was found by Tharoor after his return from the AICC meet.
As per the police, the dead body of the 52-year-old Pushkar was found in suspicious circumstances in the room and believes that it is a case of suicide. The private secretary of the Minister said that Tharoor and Pushkar were staying in the hotel from 16 January 2014 following the ongoing painting work at their home.

About Sunanda Pushkar

  • She was an entrepreneur
  • She married Shashi Tharoor in 2010
  • She was a sales director in the Dubai-based TECOM Investments, and a co-owner of Rendezvous Sports World

The inquest proceedings has been initiated by the sub-divisional magistrate of the area, as any death within seven years of marriage is legally required to be investigated by the sub-divisional magistrate. Earlier, reports emerged about the text and tweet messages between Tharoor and a Pakistani journalist. This raised a controversy over an alleged extramarital affair of Tharoor with the Pakistani journalist. This controversy was a burning hot topic on the social media, whereas, Sunanda tweeted two days back that everything between Tharoor and her was fine and the death came after a day of the tweet.

Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin

Dr Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin spiritual head of the Dawoodi Bohra community died of cardiac arrest in Mumbai on 17 January 2014. He was 102. He was the 52nd Dai al-Mutlaq or spiritual head of the Dawoodi Bohras community for more than 50 years. He was credited with having built several institutions. One among them is the Raudat Tahera, the mausoleum of his father Syedna Taher Saifuddin, near Saifee Mosque. The mausoleum has the entire Quran inscribed in letters of gold on its walls. He also started community kitchens across the world so as to provide hygienic and nutritious food to members of his community. He had received the numerous honours, the memorable being the Star of Jordan and Order of the Nile from the governments of Jordan and Egypt respectively. He was also given honorary doctorates by renowned institutions like Cairo’s Al-Azhar University, the Aligarh Muslim University and the University of Karachi. In October 1999, he was elected chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University.

ACCUSED/RESIGNED/CONTROVERSY

Mykola Azarov

Ukraine’s Prime Minister Mykola Azarov resigned on 28 January 2014 in order to facilitate peaceful settlement of the political crisis. President Viktor Yanukovych accepted the resignation of the Prime Minister. The move came after the Ukrainian parliament voted overwhelmingly to annul a controversial anti-protest law. The Parliament voted by 361 to two to repeal the protest legislation which among other measures banned the wearing of helmets by protesters and the blockading of public buildings. The resignation of the Prime Minister will not change anything because under the current power sharing system the President has total control of the government. The Ukrainian cabinet can remain in their posts for 60 days until a new government is formed. Deputy Prime Minister Serhiy Arbuzov will assume temporary leadership of the cabinet.

Mr Azarov was unpopular with the opposition, who accused him of mismanaging the economy and failing to tackle corruption. The opposition’s antipathy towards him grew after the protests started in November
2013 when he described demonstrators as extremists and was also seen as being responsible for the use of force by police. Besides, Mr Yanukovych pulled out of a planned trade deal with the European Union in favour of 15 billion dollars bailout from Russia to bolster the ailing public finances. Ukraine’s protest movement against President Yanukovych’s government will not end suddenly due to the repeal of the controversial anti-protest law or Prime Minister’s resignation.

HONOUR

Richard Quest

UNWTO awarded CNN’s Richard Quest the 2013 UNWTO Award for Lifetime Achievement on 22 January 2014. The award was given in recognition of his work as a business journalist reporting on the tourism industry. The UNWTO Award for Lifetime Achievement was presented during the UNWTO Awards Ceremony held in Madrid, Spain. The Award recognizes Mr. Quest’s reporting across the globe on CNN, which has showcased the challenges and successes of the tourism industry - raising it into the mainstream of the international agenda. Richard Quest is the presenter of CNN’s flagship daily business programme Quest Means Business and the monthly CNN Business Traveller, regularly covering business affairs from around the world.

BOOKS/AUTHORS

Enoch, I am a British Indian

Sarinder Joshua Duroch has written a book entitled Enoch, I am a British Indian. The Indian-origin teacher has written the book of the complex issues of mounting immigration fears in Britain and has expressed his views against the European Union’s open borders policy.

VARIOUS

Alone Yet Not Alone

Organisers of Oscars withdrew the song Alone Yet Not Alone from the Best Song Nomination category on 30 January 2014. The rare and historical move came following the composer Bruce Broughton emailing voting members to highlight his candidacy, which is strictly banned for Academy executives. Alone Yet Not Alone, from the film of the same name, was a surprise inclusion in the five-strong short list for best original song unveiled by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on 16 January 2014. Broughton had written the song with lyricist Dennis Spiegel. Broughton is a former Academy governor and current member of its music branch
executive committee. Alone Yet Not Alone is a historical drama set in 1760s America. The Academy did not replace the song on its short list, leaving only four best original song nominees for Oscar Awards. The Oscar Awards are scheduled to be held on 2 March 2014. Earlier also Oscar Academy withdrew the nomination. In 1953 it withdrew the song Variety noted whereas in 1973 it withdrew the nomination for the score for The Godfather because parts of it had been used in an earlier movie.

Losar

The festival of Losar is being celebrated across Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir with traditional and religious fervor. The 15 daylong celebration of Losar festival, mark the beginning of the New Year. The centuries- ld tradition of celebrating Losar continued to strengthen the existing community bond and add joy to the lives of inhabitants of the landlocked Himalayan territory of Ladakh. Losar is a community-based socio-religious festival celebrated by the Buddhists of Ladakh, which has 19 major monasteries celebrating 18 monastic festivals every year. The Losar celebrations begin with prayers to the god and goddess common to a group of families, known as Faspun. They exchange wishes and greetings for the New Year. On the eve of Losar, family ancestors are remembered by offering delicious food and lighting the traditional lamp in front of the graveyard. Lardaak is responsible for offering prayers to the village god and goddess during Losar celebrations and carrying out rituals to purify the individual, who perform the traditional role of the three Lama Jogis and grandparents. Lardaak heads the Karoks, the dancers of the grand celebrations. Karoks have to complete the dance 360 times before the deadline set by the village astrologer. Considered pilgrims of Kailash Mansarovar and well- ishers of New Year, Lama Jogis visit each house of the village, wishing prosperity. Children and youngsters also join the grand celebrations by covering their faces and dressing up in animal skin jackets. They visit houses to wish a prosperous New Year.

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