REPUBLIC DAY CELEBRATIONS DISPLAY INDIA’S MILITARY MIGHT
CELEBRATIONS//The majestic Rajpath saw a fascinating display of India’s military might and resplendent cultural diversity as the country celebrated its 68th Republic Day on January 26, 2017, with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan attending the event as guest of honour. The Parade, held every year at Rajpath in Delhi was concluded earlier. On January 26, 1950, the Constitution of India came into force, and Republic Day is celebrated to honour that day. On this day in 1950, the first President of India, Dr Rajendra Prasad took oath. President Pranab Mukherjee started the ceremony by hoisting the Indian flag, following which the Republic Day Parade began from Rajpath. The parade, started from Rajpath and ended at Red Fort in Delhi. This year’s guest of honour was the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who personally received the Prince at the airport, said that United Arab Emirates is India’s valued partner and close ties between the two countries are important for the entire region. India and UAE have signed 13 agreements, including one on strategic cooperation. Though Republic Day is celebrated on January 26 with the Parade on Rajpath, the celebrations were spread over three days and ended with the Beating Retreat ceremony on January 29.
ANGER OVER JALLIKATTU IN TAMIL NADU
PROTEST// The ancient sport of Jallikattu pits man against beast. But it was humans who came up against other humans as fights over the conduct of the sport disturbed the peace in Tamil Nadu earlier this week. Thousands of protestors who wanted the sport to be practiced freely got into a confrontation with the police across the state. Many were injured, vehicles were damaged and in Chennai, a police station was set on fire. In 2014 the Supreme Court of India banned Jallikattu for the reason that the sport was cruel to bulls. Animal rights organizations like PETA had complained to the court that bulls were being hurt and tortured before being released into the Jallikattu arena, possibly to anger them so that they would put up a fight before being tamed. People who want the sport in Tamil Nadu deny that bulls are hurt in any way. Instead, they argue that Jallikattu bulls are specially taken care of since they are prized possessions of farmers. Plus, they say, the sport is the only way of ensuring that bull species native to Tamil Nadu don’t become extinct as dairy farmers use only cows for milk production. Since early January, large groups of people had been protesting peacefully asking for the sport to be allowed. Huge crowds also gathered at Chennai’s Marina beach. On January 23, the protests turned violent, even as the government made moves to change the law to allow Jallikattu.
TRUMP TAKES OVER AS US PRESIDENT
APPOINTMENT// Donald Trump, the surprise winner in last year’s presidential elections in the United States, has taken over as the President of the United States. He replaces Barack Obama, who led the most powerful country in the world for eight years from 2009 to 2017. His first speech as the 45th President of the United States contained all the aggression that marked his campaign. During it he said, “From this day forward, it’s going to be only America first, America first.” One of the issues that Trump raised during his campaign was that he was going to end the practice of companies taking away jobs from Americans and giving it to those in other countries as it was cheaper to get the work done there. Trump is clear that he wants to end this though it’s not apparent now how he is going to go about it.
CAPTAIN COOL STEPS DOWN
CRICKET// Two years ago when he stepped down as captain of India’s test team, Mahendra Singh Dhoni caught everyone by surprise. Last week when he decided to hand over charge of the One Day International team to Virat Kohli, the change was equally sudden. Done with no fanfare, no noise-typical Dhoni style. And true to a man who keeps a low profile, Dhoni’s last match as captain was as head of the India ‘A’ team for a warm-up match against England. At every stage of his career, Dhoni has been the unlikely hero of the moment. He comes from Jharkhand, a state that is not famous for producing cricket players. In 2007 his selection as captain of the Indian team in the (then) brand new format of T20 cricket was surprising and so was India’s historic win over Pakistan in the final. He led the team to a dream win at the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup and along the way also made India a top test team.
PRIYANKA GANDHI VADRA AMONG CONGRESS’ STAR CAMPAIGNERS
ELECTIONS// The Congress has named Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on its list of 40 star campaigners for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly election. In a desperate bid to resuscitate her party fortunes, Ms Gandhi recently played an active role in weaving an alliance with the ruling Samajwadi party in the state where Congress got 105 seats and the SP 298. After the alliance was announced by the chiefs of the state units of the two parties it was declared that while the Samajwadi Party will have the lion’s share of 298 of 403 seats, Congress will contest the remaining 105.
The first phase of the seven-phased UP assembly elections will begin on February 11 and end on March 8, with counting on March 11. The list also has name of heavyweights like the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee president Raj Babbar, actress- turned-politician Nagma, politicians like Jyotiraditya Scindia, Rajeev Shukla, Sachin Pilot and Salman Khursheed. Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's names also figure among the star campaigners list for UP.
A long time demand within the party workers that Ms Gandhi should play a pivotal role in the functioning of the Congress, it is understood that Ms Gandhi will reach out to the party allies and carry forward her brother and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi's message to the people of Uttar Pradesh but clearly does not want to overshadow Rahul Gandhi's political career. Though she has always been a part and parcel of the party strategy discussions, it is widely believed that she has the knack and ability to take, her grandmother, Ms Indira Gandhi's legacy to greater heights. Sources confirmed CNN News 18 that she will campaign only in the family bastions of Rae Bareli and Amethi. Ms Gandhi is expected to use her communication skills to connect to the masses. She would be the face of the party to do all the negotiations ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in 2019.
EUROPE FREEZES OVER
CLIMATE// The new year dawned cold for Europe as temperatures fell sharply in countries such as Poland, Greece, Turkey and Serbia. Rivers like the Danube have frozen over and cities are carpeted in a layer of snow. This is the coldest time of the year in Europe.
While northern Europe is always extremely cold in winter as it is close to the Arctic Circle, the southern part of the continent is experiencing colder than usual weather this year. The most affected are the poor, homeless and refugees. Over 60 people have already died due to the cold. In Greece, government officials shifted refugees from camps into empty hotel rooms until the cold spell ends. Countries like Romania had halted traffic on the Danube river as the slippery ice is too dangerous for boats. In some parts of Europe, flights also couldn’t take off due to bad weather.
People from 7 countries are barred from entering US for 90 days
BAN// Donald Trump signed a sweeping new executive order to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough new controls on travellers from seven Muslim countries. Making good on one of his most controversial campaign promises, and to the horror of human rights groups, Mr Trump said he was making America safe from “radical Islamic terrorists.”
“This is big stuff,” he declared at the Pentagon, after signing an order entitled: “Protection of the nation from foreign terrorist entry into the United States”. Trump’s decree suspends the entire US refugee resettlement programme for at least 120 days while tough new vetting rules are established. These new protocols will “ensure that those approved for refugee admission do not pose a threat to the security and welfare of the United States.”
In addition, it specifically bars Syrian refugees from the United States indefinitely, or until the president himself decides that they no longer pose a threat.
ainly-Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. During the suspensions of the refugee and visa programmes, new rules will be devised for what Mr Trump as called the "extreme vetting" of applicants’ backgrounds. Some exceptions will be made for members of "religious minorities," which — in the countries targeted by the decree — would imply favourable treatment for Christians. Civil liberties groups and many counterterror experts condemned the measures, declaring it inhumane to lump the victims of conflict in with the extremists who threaten them.