PRIME MINSTER NARENDRA MODI ON LAST EDITION OF HIS MONTHLY RADIO PROGRAMME "MANN KI BAAT"
“On January 26, the arrival of great leaders of 10 nations of the world as a unit is a matter of pride for all Indians”
CELEBRATIONS// Marching contingents, strategic defence weaponry and colourful tableaux were on display Friday as India celebrated its 69th Republic Day with a grand parade watched by thousands along with 10 Asean leaders who attended the event as chief guests. Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the guests after which President Ram Nath Kovind unfurled the tricolour to a 21-gun salute. Cold weather conditions and dense fog failed to dampen the enthusiasm of thousands of spectators who witnessed the nearly one-and-half-hour-long Republic Day parade from the Rajpath to the Red Fort amid an unprecedented security cover. Lt. Gen. Asit Mistry, general officer commanding, headquarters Delhi area, led the march. The Republic Day parade ended with a SU-MKI ‘vertical charlie’. The Rudra Formation, the Hercules Formation, Netra, Globe Formation and several more formations by the Indian Air Force marked the culmination of the Republic Day parade.
The president’s bodyguards have arrived to escort him back to the Rashtrapati Bhavan after the national anthem.
The chief guests on Republic Day of India 2018 were 10 Leaders of 10 nations of the world (Heads of ASEAN states). Below is the list of names of all Chief Guests and their Nations:
Sultan and incumbent Prime Minister Hassanal Bolkiah – Brunei
Prime Minister Hun Sen – Cambodia
President Joko Widodo – Indonesia
Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith – Laos
Prime Minister Najib Razak – Malaysia
President Htin Kyaw – Myanmar
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte – Philippines
President Halimah Yacob – Singapore
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha – Thailand
Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc – Vietnam
DELHI HEADS FOR ELECTIONS?
ELECTIONS// The President of India has disqualified 20 Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Delhi Assembly on the ground that they held an ‘office of profit’ when they worked as Parliamentary Secretaries for 18 months between 2015 and 2016. This may lead to fresh elections in Delhi for these 20 seats. The MLAs are the elected leaders of Delhi, and they together form the Delhi Assembly.
Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had appointed these MLAs as Parliamentary Secretaries to assist its ministers in the running of the government. Although they did not get salaries, a complaint was made against them for holding positions where they were in a position to influence government decisions. Under Indian law, an elected MLA cannot be a part of the team that makes decisions and runs the government. That is the job of the ‘Executive’ while the MLA is part of the ‘Legislature’. Under the Indian Constitution, powers of these branches of government need to stay separate so that no one group can have too much influence.
Acting on the complaint, the Election Commission of India, which runs elections in the country, studied the case and decided that the AAP MLAs had indeed broken the ‘office of profit’ rule. The Commission therefore recommended to the President of India that the MLAs be disqualified. By January 20, President Ram Nath Kovind had given his agreement for the disqualification of the MLAs.
SEASON’S FIRST SNOW
WEATHER// Shimla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh, and other parts of the state received the season’s first snowfall last month. This has been an extremely dry winter for the hill states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, leading to worries about the apple crop and water supply in summer. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has explained that the lack of snow/rain this winter in most parts of northern India is due to the fact that there have been hardly any western disturbances in the region this year. Such western disturbances bring cold, wet winds from Europe and west Asia, bringing down temperatures in the Himalayan states. The absence of snow and rain is worrying apple farmers as a chilly winter is necessary for a good apple crop. Low snowfall means less snow is available to melt in the summer, river volumes could be lower, leading to problems for farmers in the northern states who use the water to grow crops. Water supply to hill towns were also affected.
GOVERNMENT ENDS HAJ SUBSIDY
ANNOUNCEMENT// The Indian Government last week announced that it would be ending the Haj subsidy. The Haj subsidy takes the form of a pilgrimage to Mecca offered to those of the Muslim faith at low rates.
The Haj is a religious pilgrimage that occurs once a year. In 2018 it will take place in the month of August. At least once in their lifetime, Muslims who can physically make the journey and have the money to do so, are required to journey to Mecca for the Haj. Mecca is the holy city of the Muslims. Around two million people now visit Mecca during the Haj each year.
Since 1954, each year the Indian Government has been offering discounted (lower price) air tickets for a certain number of Haj pilgrims, giving them help to get to a city with an air terminal to take the Haj flight, as well meals and places to stay.
In 2012, the Supreme Court of India ordered the Indian government to end the subsidy and instead use the money to help the Muslim community in other ways. With the subsidy ending this year, the government plans to use the money saved (around Rs.700 crore) towards the education of Muslim girls.
PADMAVAT MOVIE: HISTORY IN A TWIST!
PROTESTS// A movie is normally in the news after it has been released. But in the case of ‘Padmavat’, which is based on the story of Rani Padmini of Chittor, the movie has been in the news much before its release in theatres. Several state governments have tried to ban the movie but the Supreme Court recently put an end to all this, saying that the movie could be released throughout India and that it was upto the state governments to protect those who came to see it. So what is the fuss?
The movie tells the story of a Rajput queen named Rani Padmini, also known as Padmavati. Hearing of her beauty, the Sultan of Delhi, Alauddin Khilji set out to conquer Chittor so that he could capture her. Once her husband was killed on the battlefield, Rani Padmini killed herself in order to protect her honour. The problem that modern Rajputs have with the movie is that they believe it is disrespectful to the queen, although it is unlikely that many of them have even seen the movie.
Also, the entire story of Rani Padmini may be just that-a story. The legend of the queen became famous after a poem was written about her around 500 years ago. But the story has no connection to real facts, say historians. There is no historical record of any Rajput queen named Padmini/Padmavati.
The Supreme Court while studying the case said that governments should protect the creative freedom of people. Saying, “when creativity dies, values of civilization corrode”, the court refused to allow a ban on the film.
Now, perhaps those protesting against the movie could use the time to re-read their history!
TENNIS// Wounded 12-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic was sent tumbling out of the Australian Open by Korean giant-killer Chung Hyeon Monday, but ice- cool Roger Federer roared into the quarter-finals. The Serb, who was returning from six months out with a right elbow injury, was clearly in pain as his hopes of a seventh Melbourne Park title were extinguished on Rod Laver Arena 7-6 (7/4), 7-5, 7- 6 (7/3). He was keen not to take away from the glasses-wearing Chung's huge achievement after the 21-year-old followed up his win over fourth seed Alexander Zverev in the last round. “Congratulations. Amazing,” said Djokovic, who also had an apparent hip or groin problem, screeching at times when stretching for the ball. “He was the better player on court today and he deserved to win.”
The 21 year old newcomer is unknown on the international stage and not even famous in his native Korea. Chung is the first South Korean in history to make the quarter-final of a Grand Slam and is being spoken of as one of the greatest players of the next generation. Funnily enough, Chung’s playing style is very similar to Djokovic’s. Djokovic himself has been set back by injury for many months now. Once the world’s top player, he is now ranked at No 14. Meanwhile Djokovic’s peers Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal made it to the quarter-finals of the men’s game. But Nadal too had to retire in the quarter-final with an injury. Djokovic said the injuries started troubling him at the end of the first set and a decision on where he goes from here would be made after talking with his medical team. Chung's reward is a last-eight clash with unheralded American Tennys Sandgren, who upset Austrian fifth seed Dominic Thiem 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (7/9).
PLAYING NATIONAL ANTHEM NOT COMPULSORY IN CINEMAS
SC ORDER// Changing a 2016 order, the Supreme Court of India said on Tuesday that it would no longer be compulsoryfor movie halls to play the national anthem at the start of each movie. Playing it would be a choice left to the cinema hall. In November2016, the Supreme Court had ordered that the national anthem be played at the start of each movie, requiring the audience to stand up. There were even a few cases of people being arrested by the police when they did not stand for the anthem. More than a year later, the Court has changed its mind. This was in response to a request from the government which informed the Court that a group of ministers was looking into all aspects related to singing and screening of the national anthem. In response, the Supreme Court has said that its order making the national anthem optional would remain in operation till the committee came out with final suggestions.
INDIAN WORKERS IN AMERICA CAN RELAX!
VISA// Indian workers in the United States can breathe a little easier now with the US government deciding not to go ahead with an earlier plan to send back those who had already spent six years in the country using a type of visa called H-1B. Many of these workers had filed applications for becoming permanent residents of the US and sending them back now could have caused a lot of difficulties for their families. Companies where the workers were employed, especially technology companies in which a lot of Indians work, would have also been affected. With the US government changing its mind, the workers can continue to stay on using their H1-B visas. India may be looking at upwards of 500,000 of its "skilled" work force returning home from America if a proposal by the Trump administration+ not to extend H-1B visa of those waiting for permanent residency (Green Card) is implemented.
The Department of Homeland Security is said to be considering new regulations that would prevent H-1B visa extensions as part of President Donald Trump's "Buy American, Hire American" initiative promised during the 2016 campaign. Under current law, foreign guest workers are allowed one three-year extension of the H-1B visa of three-year validity. If at the end of those six years the guest worker has a pending Green Card (Permanent Residency) application, then there is an almost indefinite extension of the H-1B visa till such time the applicant's Green Card processing is completed.
American loss is Canada’s gain
Because there is such a huge backlog of Green Card applicants, particularly for countries such as India and China, hundreds of thousands of workers from these countries spend 10-12 years in what is mirthlessly called H-1B hell or limbo. The small 'comfort' they currently have is they can remain in the US while the Green Card is being processed.
A STAR RISES
POLITICS// The state of Tamil Nadu has always been partial to actor turned politicians. It is not surprising then that Tamil movie star Rajnikanth’s announcement that he was entering politics was met with much celebration.
Each one of Tamil Nadu’s Chief Ministers has a connection with the movie industry. Former CMs M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa were both Tamil cinema superstars. Another former CM M Karunanidhi used to write movie scripts until recently. The latest entrant to Tamil Nadu politics from the world of cinema- Rajnikanth-has now set his sights on the CM’s job. In his New Year’s Eve announcement, Rajnikanth said that he would be contesting in the state elections in 2021 and that he would start a new political party for that purpose. Rajnikanth’s entry into politics could completely change the election game in the state. For years, only two political parties-the DMK and AiADMK have managed to win in Tamil Nadu. Given Rajnikanth’s huge popularity in the state, he could change this track record in 2021.
Rajnikanth’s own story reads like a movie plot. Born as Shivaji Rao Gaekwad (which he changed to Rajnikanth for his movie career), the actor used to work as a bus conductor in Bangalore before moving to Chennai to try his luck in the Tamil film industry. He was an extremely successful actor, and to-date has millions of fans in his state. If he can convert his popularity into votes for his political party, then Tamil Nadu state is in for interesting times.
LALU PRASAD GOES TO JAIL
CORRUPTION CASE// The law will catch up with you-no matter how high and mighty you are. That message sums up the state of Lalu Prasad Yadav, who was once Chief Minister of Bihar, but who has now been sent to jail like a common criminal. A special court in Ranchi has sent the Bihari leader to jail for three and a half years in a corruption case.
When Lalu Prasad Yadav was Chief Minister of Bihar between 1990 and 1997, he is said to have mis-used government money. He is believed to have invented the existence of large herds of livestock so that government money could be taken out for their fodder and medicines. Officials investigating the case said that Lalu thus diverted public money for his personal use. This corruption case is referred to as the fodder scam.
In addition to a three and a half year jail term, Lalu will also have to pay a fine of Rs.10 lakh for committing a fraud on the public. Although his family plans to file an appeal in a higher court and get bail for Lalu, for now at least the former Chief Minister has to get used to jail.