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Eminent Malayalam Writer
Sukumar Azhikode Passed Away
Sukumar Azhikode, award-winning Malayalam writer,
scholar and one of the most influential Gandhian
intellectual in Kerala, died on 24 January 2012. As an
intellectual giant, humanist, a cultural guru, a committed
secularist, a champion of human rights and a sentinel of
social values, he gave expression to his ideals through
more than 35 books, thousands of articles and countless
orations – all laced with grace, dignity and humour. As a
literary critic, he upheld the timeless values of the
classics. His range was wide, ranging from Indian
philosophy, Vedas and Upanishads to the subtly
nuanced pure literary criticism. His writings on poetry
gravitated towards sociological and cultural criticism.
Music Legend Anthony Gonsalves
Died
Anthony Prabhu Gonsalves, India’s first music ‘arranger
died on 18 January 2012. He was 84. Born in Majorda, in
Goa, Anthony Gonsalves’ love for music led him to merge
Goan melody with Hindustani music.
Gonsalves began his career with Bombay Talkies in 1943.
He worked alongside musicians which include Anil
Bishwas, Gulam Haidar, Shyam Sundar, Naushad, Sachin
Dev Burman, Ghulam Mohammed, Salil Chowdhary and
Madan Mohan. In the year 1958, he founded a 110-
musician strong Indian Symphony Orchestra featuring
Lata Mangueshkar and Manna Dey as soloists. The
orchestra was successfully premiered in the quadrangle
of St Xavier’s College in erstwhile south Bombay.
Gonsalves, was also a teacher and has taught music
legends that include RD Burman and Pyarelal Ramprasad
Sharma. The famous song ‘My name is Anthony
Gonsalves’, from the film ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’ was
Pyarelal’s tribute to Gonsalves. During the International
Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2010, a documentary titled
“Anthony Gonsalves: The Music Legend” based on his
life and works won the Special Jury Award.
Former Macedonian President
Kiro Gligorov Died
Kiro Gligorov, the first democratically elected president
of Macedonia who served two terms at the helm of the
country in the 1990s as it became independent from
Yugoslavia, has died in Skopje on 1 January 2012. He
was 94.
Gligorov became president of Macedonia in January
1991, when it was still a Yugoslav republic. He led his
countrymen through a referendum, in which they voted
for independence. The territory of 2.1 million people
became the only republic to secede from Yugoslavia
without a war.
Born in the central Macedonian town of Shtip on May 3,
1917, Gligorov served two consecutive presidential terms,
leading the nation from January 1991 to November 1999.
PLACES IN NEWS
The Protests in Guatemala Against
Domestic Violence
Guatemala- The protests against domestic violence took
place. Guatemala is in Central America
Around 12,000 Guatemalans on 22 January 2012 climbed
an extinct volcano in a protest against domestic violence.
The protests were dubbed Walk for Life. The activists
formed the world’s longest human chain all the way to
the peak of the 12,352 feet Volcano de Agua known as
Water Volcano. The protesters are hoping to inspire a
change in attitude to violence in Guatemala. The Central
American country has one of the highest murder rates
in the world.
Union Home Ministry Launched
RICs at Porthrapur Village
Porthrapur village: The first batch of RICs was launched.
UN Resource Centre for the
North-East at Guwahati
Guwahati- United Nations Resource Centre was set up.
In Assam, a United Nations Resource Centre for the
North-East was set up at Guwahati on 2 January 2012.
The centre happens to be the first of its kind in the
country and third in Asia region. The centre was formally
inaugurated by the State Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.
A Massive Forest Fire broke out in
the Torres del Paine National Park
in Chile
Torres del Paine National Park: A forst fire broke out.
The national park is located in Chile.
A massive forest fire broke out in Torres del Paine
National Park in southern Chile on 2 January 2012. Four
of the six areas that caught fire were brought under
control. About 230,000 hectares of forest were affected.
Chile is a nation located in southern hemisphere. This
hemisphere experiences high temperature in November,
December and January, which often causes forest fire.
India Asked Traders To Stay Away
From Yiwu
Yiwu: Major hub for commodities trading in Zhejiang
province in China
India on 3 January 2012 cautioned its businessmen in
dealing with traders in Yiwu, a major hub for commodities
trading in Zhejiang province in China. A trade advisory
posted on the Indian Embassy website stated that all
people who have business with Yiwu, are cautioned
against doing business there and all people who do not
have business with Yiwu, are requested to be careful
that they do not do business with Yiwu. The advisory
asked the Indian businessmen to stay away from Yiwu.
The advisory has been issued in the backdrop of illegal
detention of two Indian businessmen in the locality and
manhandling of an Indian Diplomat.
AWARDS|HONOURS
S.K. Singh Award for Nuclear
Trouble-shooter Venkatesh Varma
D Bala Venkatesh Verma, Joint Secretary Disarmament
in the Ministry of External Affairs was conferred with
the first S K Singh Award for excellence in the Indian
Foreign Service on 6 January 2012. The award was
presented to him by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi in
recognition of his extradordinary efforts to strengthen
India’s position during the Indo-US nuclear deal.
Senior Indian diplomat D. Bala Venkatesh Varma, a key
member of the negotiating team that saw the Indo-U.S.
nuclear deal through from the first agreement of July
2005 to the Additional Protocol in 2010.
Varma, a 1988 batch officer of the Foreign Service, is an
expert in nuclear matters and is currently posted as Joint
Secretary (Disarmament and International Security
Affairs) at the Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi.
He had earlier worked in India’s Permanent Mission in
Geneva and in the Prime Minister’s Office. It was as a
Director in the PMO that he was first associated with
the 2005 nuclear agreement with the U.S. during the tense
and often bitter negotiations with the American side
over the separation plan for India’s nuclear facilities as
well as the bilateral cooperation agreement, his
appropriate advice at key junctures helped secure a deal
that was within the parameters Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh promised parliament.
Following the adoption of the NSG’s decision in
September 2008, Verma played a crucial role in ensuring
that the text of an Additional Protocol was finalised to
India’s satisfaction. Also, Varma’s negotiating skills were
applied in concluding the India-specific Safeguards
Agreement with the IAEA.
Shehan Karunatilaka Awarded the
DSC Prize for South Asian Literature
Singapore-based Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka
was awarded the DSC Prize for South Asia Literature
2012, at the Jaipur Literature Festival in Rajasthan on 21
January 2012. Karunatilka won $50,000 for his book
Chinaman. The novel explores cricket as a metaphor to
uncover a lost life and a lost history.
The title of the novel, published by Random House,
refers to a left-arm unorthodox spinner in cricket, often
described as the chinaman. The legend of a Sri Lankan
bowler Pradeep Sivanathan Mathew and the sport of
cricket form the crux of this book.
The jury for the 2012 $ 50,000 prize included renowned
literary figures Dr Alastair Niven, Dr Fakrul Alam, Faiza
S Khan and Marie Brenner.
DSC Prize for South Asia Literature
The prize was instituted in January 2010 to celebrate
writing that highlights the South Asian region, its people,
culture and Diaspora. Envisioned as a unique and
prestigious award, the award recognizes the literary
works of authors across the globe writing on South Asia.
The DSC Prize for South Asian Literature is one-of-itskind
in the region and aims at recognizing literary work
that is redefining the understanding of South Asia across
the globe. DSC Prize for South Asia Literature 2011 was
given to HM Naqvi for his debut novel Home Boy
(HarperCollins India).
Young Lieutenant Awarded Ashok
Chakra Posthumously
President of India Pratibha Devisingh Patil conferred
the Ashoka Chakra on Lt. Navdeep Singh (posthumous)
on the occasion of the 63rd Republic Day Parade 2012 in
New Delhi. Lt. Navdeep Singh was awarded the Ashoka
Chakra for single-handedly eliminating four infiltrating
terrorists on 20 August 20 2011. Lieutenant Navdeep
Singh was Ghatak Platoon Commander of 15 Maratha
Light Infantry deployed in the High Altitude Area near
the Line of Control.
OTHER GALLANTRY AWARDS
Besides the President also approved the award of three
Kirti Chakra. Lt. Col. Kamaldeep Singh (Rajputana Rifles
/ 18TH Battalion the Rashtriya Rifles), Capt. Ashutosh
Kumar (5th Battalion the Rajputana Rifles) and Lt. Sushil
Khajuria (Army Service Corps / 18th battalion The
Grenadiers) were the three Kirti Chakra awardees. Of the
three, Lt. Khajuria was conferred the award
posthumously for his gallantry during an encounter with
terrorists in the Kupwara region of Jammu and Kashmir.
Sixteen persons were awarded the Shaurya Chakra, the
nation’s third-highest gallantry award in peacetime.
While most of the Shaurya Chakra awardees are
Armymen, the awardees also include a Jammu and
Kashmir Special Police Officer (SPO) Barket Ali, who
was conferred the award posthumously.
President Pratibha Patil approved conferring of 368
gallantry awards, including 28 Param Vishisht Seva
Medals and 45 Ati Vishisht Seva Medals. The Army’s
additional director-general (public information) Maj. Gen.
S.L. Narasimhan was awarded an Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
for his leadership in relief and rescue efforts in the wake
of the Sikkim earthquake in 2010.
Amjad Ali Khan Presented
Mallikarjun Mansur Award
Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan was presented the
Mallikarjun Mansur award in recognition of his
achievements on 3 January 2012. He has enthralled
audience worldwide with his unique style of playing the
instrument with his finger nails.
Khan is the first north Indian artiste to have performed
in honour of saint composer Thyagaraja at his birth place
at Thiruvaiyur in Tamil Nadu.
The award for excellence in the Indian Foreign Service
The home ministry of India launched the first batch of is named after the former foreign secretary and Governor, He is also a recipient of many awards like Sangeet Natak
RICs (Resident Identity Cards) at Porthrapur village in Shailendra Kumar Singh, a diplomat widely respected academy award, Tansen Award, UNESCO Award,
Andaman and Nicobar Islands on 21 January 2012. The within the IFS community for his acumen, UNICEF National Ambassadorship and International
RIC cards were distributed to all persons above the age professionalism and leadership. Varma was selected as Music Forum Award.
of 18 residing in the nine maritime states and four union the first recipient of the prestigious award by a topdrawer
jury consisting of Vice President Hamid Ansari, The award, instituted by the Karnataka government,
territories under the National Population Register (NPR)
scheme. The NPR scheme is aimed to provide valid National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, Foreign carries a cash prize of Rs one lakh and a citation. Vocalist
identity to all people in these areas to strengthen the Secretary Ranjan Mathai, Ms Gandhi and Congress M.P. Kishori Amonkar, Pandit Jasraj and Dr Balamuralikrishna
security along the country’s coastline.
Rahul Gandhi.
were the earlier recipients of the award.
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