The DMK Party’s youth and students wing in Tamil Nadu has announced a statewide protest against the recommendation of the parliamentary panel to make Hindi as the medium of instruction in central educational institutes.
Udhayanidhi Stalin who is the Youth Wing Secretary of the DMK and Ezhilararsan, the Students Wing Secretary jointly released a protest across Tamil Nadu on October 15 against the imposition of Hindi by the central government.
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu MK Stalin had earlier tweeted that imposition of Hindi on non-Hindi speaking population will make them second-class citizens in their own land and is also against the integrity of the country. The Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan also wrote to Prime Minister Modi conveying the message that efforts to impose Hindi is unacceptable.
Lucy Letby, a neo-natal nurse in a hospital in the UK has been accused of killing 7 children. Police probing the spate of baby deaths found a note in the home of Lucy that says ”I am evil I did this”. The note was written in capital letters.
Lucy Letby is on trial at Manchester Crown Court in northwest England and is accused of seven murders and fifteen attempted murders. These murders are said to have taken place between June 2015 and June 2016. Lucy was arrested in July 2018.
The trial began on Monday this week and is expected to go on for about 6 months. Lucy is said to have used different methods to kill the newborn babies. The prosecution has alleged that she used insulin to poison them and also injected air into their bloodstream which caused the babies to stop breathing. The defence has argued that Lucy is not guilty of intentional harm and that she was a dedicated nurse.
Justice DY Chandrachud is all set to become the next Chief Justice of India. His name has been recommended to the government by the current CJI Justice UU Lalit for appointment as the next CJI.
Justice UU Lalit will retire on November 8 and Justice Chandrachud will take his oath as the 50th CJI on November 9th. It will make Justices YY Chandrachud and DY Chandrachud the first father-son duo to head the Indian judiciary. Justice YY Chandrachud was the Chief Justice of India from February 1978 to July 1985. His son will have a tenure of 2 years and two days as CJI.
Justice DY Chandrachud was appointed a judge of the Bombay High Court in March 2000 and elevated as Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court. He was appointed as a Supreme Court judge in May 2016.
Mulayam Singh Yadav passed away yesterday at a private hospital in Gurugram. He was 82 years old. His mortal remains will be cremated today at his native village in Uttar Pradesh.
His body has been kept at the kothi for people to pay their last respects. A large number of locals, party workers and leaders are visiting Saifai village to pay tributes to the departed soul. A number of VIPs and VVIPs are expected to arrive and so tight security arrangements have been made.
He was a Samajwadi party patriarch who served as defence minister and was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for 3 terms. Traders in the district have decided to keep the markets closed today as a mark of respect to the departed leader. A huge pandal has been set up at the place where his last rites will be performed for people to sit and watch.
Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan is celebrating his 80th birthday today. He is undoubtedly the biggest superstar in Hindi cinema. Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted and wished Amitabh a long and healthy life.
Amitabh’s daughter Shweta penned a heartfelt message on Instagram. She shared pictures of her childhood and also pictures of her father and grandparents. Her daughter Navya also wished her grandfather a very happy birthday on social media and stated that there will never be anyone like him..
Amitabh began his career in 1969 with the film ‘Saat Hindustani’ and established himself as a superstar. He is said to be one of India’s most remarkable film personalities who has entertained the audiences for decades.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin was unanimously elected as the party president at the party’s general council meeting held yesterday in Chennai. He was elected unopposed to the top party post for the second time.
Veterans in the party were elected to the other top party posts. Duraimurugan was elected as general secretary and T R Baalu was elected as treasurer. Stalin earlier held positions of DMK treasurer and the youth wing secretary. He was first elected as party president in 2018 after the death of his father M. Karunanidhi.
It may be noted that the DMK party was founded in 1949 by C N Annadurai who held the post of party general secretary till his demise in 1969. It was former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi who became the first president of the DMK in 1969 when the post was first created by the party. Stalin is the second president of the party.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, visited vegetable shops in South Mada Street in Mylapore area in Chennai. Vegetable vendors were pleasantly surprised to see the VIP in their area. She purchased keerai and some vegetables before leaving for New Delhi on Saturday.
The Minister interacted with the vendors and local residents and posed for selfies during her visit to the market. It was BJP MLA Vanathi Srinivasan who accompanied the Finance Minister. Initially, the vendors were scared as security personnel with guns had accompanied the Minister. Later when they got to know who she was, they even invited her to have a cup of coffee at a nearby hotel but due to paucity of time, she could not oblige the vendors. She stated that she was familiar with the Mylapore area as she spent many summers during her childhood days.
Palam Silks – “Seeker, a closer look”, kick-started with a fashion sequence showcasing seven sarees from their Seeker collection in the presence of Chennai’s most favourite fashionistas.
Mrs Jeyasree Ravi, Founder of Palam Silks said, “Seeker has been different, way different than what we set out to achieve. We wanted to create a collection with a foundation of world art. We didn’t want to be rooted in one place, but rather to experiment and create something that the neo-woman could relate to. We wanted to go with the flow and simply create without any boundaries or following any conventional norms. We began each day with an empty canvas without any plan or agenda. We wanted to remain fearless through the entire process as we created patterns and designs from scratch. We wanted this collection to largely emulate our renewed vision—taking one day at a time and taking inspiration from everywhere”.
Elemental Stories is back with their ‘All Luxury Sustainable Brands from across the country’.
It isnot just an online marketplace for all things sustainable but now one of the best and only pop-up in the city that showcases and features all Big Brands Showcasing for the first time in Chennai
This time Elemental Stories brought in Women of Power who influence the city from many professions to do the campaign not only for the promotion but also to enable this society’s future by coming together and collaborating.
This is the Celebration Edit with 35+ ethical brands. Fabulous Festive Fashion, various Accessory brands to choose from; Decor, Clean Beauty, Food, Kids and More.
Early Bird Festive Dhamaka offer Upto 15% discount across most brands up to 1pm. And a whole day of fun and excitement!
Russian President Vladimir Putin received a gift card for a tractor on his 70th birthday from Belarusian President Alexander Lukahenko. It is not clear how Putin reacted to this unusual gift. It is reported that the tractor is not the only odd gift that Putin received. The President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon presented him with mountains of melons and watermelons
Putin, who celebrated his birthday on Friday, without any pomp, also received wishes from leaders of many countries. Many wished him good health, long life and successes. The Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov sent in a video which had some archived footage and music playing in the background.
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill praised Putin for strengthening the sovereignty of Russia.
Scientists from Australia are working on a project where they can grow plants on the Moon by the year 2025. According to Plant Biologist Brett Williams from the Queensland University, the seeds would be carried by the Beresheet 2 spacecraft- a private Israeli Moon mission.
They would be watered inside the sealed chamber after landing and later monitored for signs of growth and germination. Only those plants like Australian ”resurrection grass” that can survive without water in a dormant state will be chosen.
This project is seen as a step towards growing plants for food, medicine and oxygen production as they are crucial to establish human life on the moon. This project is run by the Lunaria One organisation and involves scientists from Australia and Israel.
Annie Ernaux from France has won this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature. She was born in 1940 and grew up in Normandy. The Nobel Prize in literature is awarded by the Swedish Academy in Stockholm.
Her works include A Woman’s Story, A Man’s Place, Simple Passion, Cleaned Out and L’ occupation. Annie has examined life marked by strong disparities regarding gender, language and class. She bagged the Nobel Prize ”for the courage and clinical faculty with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory.”
In 2021, the Nobel Prize in Literature went to Abdulrazak Gurnah, a Tanzanian novelist for his work on the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugees in the gulf between cultures and continents.
At 6 feet 2 inches, he was asked this question at the UPSC interview – the final round for selection to the Civil Services. “What’s the one challenge that your height poses, if at all?” Pronto came the repartee: “Getting into a Maruti 800 car!” The jocular drift aside, for close to three and a half decades, this 1988 batch IPS officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre, has been even literally standing head and shoulders above his peers.
Ram rod straight and upright to the core, Sanjay Arora’s gait and expertise are not the only outstanding features. The medals that adorn his chest – right from the Chief Minister’s Gallantry Medal for Bravery and Heroic Action, the Police Medal for Meritorious Service, the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service, the Police Special Duty Medal, Antrik Suraksha Padak and UN Peacekeeping Medal bear testimony to his impressive track record.
The B.Tech degree holder in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Malviya National Institute of Technology who hails from Jaipur, hardly had to re-engineer his career moves. Evidently destiny played its part. Post Tamil Nadu, his cadre State to deputation at Chhattisgarh, Kashmir, Indo-Tibetan Border Police and now Delhi, there have been quite a dramatic progression. Just last year, Arora was a frontline contender for the Head of Police Force in Tamil Nadu coinciding with a change of guard in the State. While he missed out on that pick, the sensitive and prestigious Delhi Police Commissionerate came his way, making him only the third non AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram & Union Territories) IPS officer to be made the Delhi Police Commissioner after Ajay Raj Sharma and Rakesh Asthana.
(Pic: Sanjay Arora, IPS, Commissioner of Police, Delhi) Courtesy: PTI
The credo “to set new benchmarks in policing” has taken shape, not merely in terms of what one would imagine is the staple VVIP security cover but also through several measures like Delhi Police’s Community Policing initiative ‘We Care’. Proof of the policing is in the twitter feed with citizens thanking the cops for specific help like a senior television journalist showering encomiums on the department for cracking a cyber crime of which his relative was a victim.
Always known to be a no-nonsense, strict but affable officer, Arora, earned his spurs early in his career. After being trained by the National Security Guard (NSG) Arora was an integral part of the crack team that formed the Special Security Group (SSG) to provide security to the then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Ms.J.Jayalalithaa in the wake of a threat from militants.
An accomplished team player, he was a key member of the Special Task Force (STF) that later eliminated sandalwood brigand Veerappan in the Sathyamangalam forest. It was for his role in the STF that Arora was honoured with the CM’s gallantry award.
Not the sort to talk about his work, Arora was quite media shy during his years in Tamil Nadu. But ask any of his batchmates or seniors or subordinates and just one chorus will emerge – dedication and focus. So, whether during his stints as Superintendent of Police or Deputy Inspector General of Police of ranges like Villupuram or Deputy Director of Vigilance & Anti-Corruption (DVAC) Arora or as Commissioner of Police of the communally sensitive Coimbatore City, Arora made a mark.
Not just at Coimbatore, but also in Chennai, Arora displayed his expertise in City Policing. Having served the Chennai City Police as the Additional Commissioner (Crime & Headquarters) and Additional Commissioner (Traffic) he introduced a slew of people centric initiatives, particularly the E-Challan system for transparency and to obviate corruption in spot fine collection.
After being promoted as Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Arora was posted as ADGP (Operations) and ADGP (Administration) before heading out on deputation.
Arora’s Deputation innings have been eventful, what with the leadership mantle of the top para-military forces – Border Security Force (BSF) the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)
Now in the hot seat, the 57 year old top cop who has three years to go to hang up his boots, is determined to be his natural self – soft spoken, down to earth, non-controversial and professional. Knowing him, retaining those qualities in the rough and tumble of the national capital, is not a tall order.
(Sanjay Pinto is an Advocate practising at the Madras High Court, a Columnist, Author & Former Resident Editor of NDTV 24×7. His 4th book ‘High & Law’ published by Thomson Reuters is available on amazon)
Pratik Sinha and Mohammed Zubair who are co-founders of the fact checking website Alt News are among the favourites to win the Nobel Peace Prize this year according to a report by the TIME Magazine. One more Indian on this list is author Harsh Mander.
The announcement for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize will be made on October 7 in Oslo. Both Sinha and Zubair have been working tirelessly to battle misinformation in India. They have debunked rumours and fake news that has been circulating on social media. In fact Zubair was arrested by the Delhi Police in June for his tweets that allegedly hurt religious sentiments. His arrest was condemned by journalists throughout the world.
Some of the other favourites include Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Russia’s anti-corruption activist Alexy Navalny.
According to media reports, the official coronation ceremony of King Charles III will take place on June 3, 2023. Even though he took the throne two days after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II, his reign as king will officially begin in June next year. His wife Camilla Parker Bowles will be crowned as Queen Consort on that day.
It is reported that the coronation ceremony will take place at Westminster Abbey and be a small and modest celebration. He will become the oldest monarch in British history as he will be 74 years old at the time of his coronation. King Charles will receive the crown of St. Edward after being anointed with oil, blessed and consecrated by senior clergy. He and his wife Camilla will address the country from the balcony of Buckingham Palace. King Charles will sit on the throne known as Edward’s Chair and wield the sovereign’s sceptre, rod and orb that symbolises the Christian world.
