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HISTORY/ GEOGRAPHY/CULTURE (OCT. 2019)

The Union Water Ministry has excavated an old, dried-up river in Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad)
that linked the Ganga and Yamuna rivers. The aim is to develop it as a potential groundwater
recharge source.
This “ancient buried river” is around 4 km wide, 45 km long and consisted of a 15-metre-thick layer
buried under soil.
The newly discovered river was a “buried palaeochannels that joins the Yamuna river at Durgapur village,
about 26 km south of the current Ganga-Yamuna confluence at Prayagraj.
Evidence from palaeochannels suggested that the mythological Saraswati river did indeed exist.
The discovery was made last December by a team of scientists from the CSIR-NGRI (National
Geophysical Research Institute) and the Central Groundwater Board.
palaeochannel is a remnant of an inactive river or stream channel that has been filled or buried by younger
sediment. A palaeochannel is distinct from the overbank deposits of currently-active river channels,
including ephemeral water courses that do not regularly flow.

Lal Bahadur Shastri, India's second Prime Minister's birth anniversary is being celebrated on
October 2, coinciding with Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary.
Lal Bahadur Shastri (1904 – 1966) was the 2nd Prime Minister of India and a senior leader of the Indian
National Congress political party.

He held several portfolios in the Union Cabinet – Minister for Railways; Minister for Transport and
Communications; Minister for Commerce and Industry; Home Minister; and during Nehru’s illness
Minister without portfolio.

He resigned his post as Minister for Railways because he felt responsible for a railway accident in which
many lives were lost. The unprecedented gesture was greatly appreciated by Parliament and the country.

It was during his tenure as the Prime Minister that the posts of Sadar-e-Riyasat and Wazir in J&K were
abolished and replaced with the positions of Governor and the Chief Minister.

In 1965, a plutonium reprocessing plant was started in India. He gave the go-ahead for the production of
nuclear explosives, which led to the launch of the Nuclear Explosive Design Group and the Study of
Nuclear Explosions for Peaceful Purpose (SNEPP).

The 1964 Shastri-Bandarnaike Agreement played an important role in improving India's strained relations
with Sri Lanka due to issues related to the Tamil community in that country.

He promoted the White Revolution – a national campaign to increase the production and supply of milk –
by supporting the Amul milk co-operative of Anand, Gujarat and creating the National Dairy
Development Board.

He led the country during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965. His slogan of "Jai Jawan Jai Kisan" ("Hail the
soldier, Hail the farmer") became very popular during the war. The war formally ended with the Tashkent
Agreement on 10 January 1966; he died the following day, still in Tashkent.

The new monsoon model, called the Coupled Forecast Model (CFS), deployed by the IMD under the
National Monsoon Mission (NMM) has failed to forecast the excess rainfall received during August -
September 2019.
Bodies involved: Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Government of India has launched 'National
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Monsoon Mission' (NMM). MoES has bestowed the responsibility of execution and coordination of this
mission to the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune.

Mission Objective: To build an ocean atmospheric model for –

improved prediction of monsoon rainfall on extended range to seasonal time scale (16 days to one season)
and improved prediction of temperature, rainfall and extreme weather events on short to medium range
time scale (up to 15 days).

Mauritius is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about 2,000 kilometres off the southeast coast of the
African continent. The country includes the islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues and the outer islands of
Agaléga and St. Brandon.
The islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues form part of the Mascarene Islands, along with nearby Réunion, a
French overseas department.
The sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago is disputed between Mauritius and the United Kingdom.
The capital and largest city is Port Louis.

Congregation of the Holy Family has thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his appreciation
of the Canonization of Mother Mariam Thresia, the patroness of families through his programme
‘Mann Ki Baat’.
Marth Mariam Thresia (1876 – 1926) was an Indian Syro-Malabar Catholic professed religious and the
founder of the Congregation of the Holy Family.

Thresia Mankidiyan became known for receiving frequent visions and ecstasies as well as even receiving
the stigmata which she kept well-guarded. She had been involved in apostolic work her entire life.

Pope John Paul II beatified the late nun in 2000. Pope Francis approved a second miracle attributed to her
at the beginning of 2019 and she is to be canonized on 13 October 2019.

Canonization is the act by which a Christian church declares that a person who has died was a saint, upon
which declaration the person is included in the list of recognized saints, called the "canon".

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu addressed the valedictory ceremony of 39th World Congress of
Poets at Bhubaneswar.
39th WCP was held from the 2nd to 5th of October 2019 at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology and
Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KIIT & KISS) in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

It was held in English, Spanish and Chinese.

This year’s theme was “Compassion through Poetry.”

The eligibility criteria for poets to be participating in the Congress are as follows:
The poet should have minimum of one book published with an ISBN

The poet should have a recommendation letter from a poetry society that is legally established and has a
legal existence.

The World Congress of Poets (WCP) was founded in 1969 by Amado M.Yuzon, Kri shna Srinivas, Lou
Lutour and Tin-Wen Chung and held for the first time in Manila in 1969.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) will collaborate with meteorological agencies in China
and Pakistan to provide climate forecast services to countries in the Hindu-Kush-Himalayan (HKH)
region.
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The Hindu-Kush-Himalayan (HKH) region spans Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India,
Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

The HKH region is considered the Third Pole [after the North and South Poles] and has significant
implications for climate.

The Third Pole, which contains vast cryospheric zones, is also the world’s largest store of snow and ice
outside the polar region, and the source of 10 major rivers, and, therefore, particularly sensitive to climate
change.

Regional climate centre in HKH region:

Earlier this month, the IMD organised a workshop to discuss ways to establish a regional climate centre
that will provide forecasting services and climate analyses.

It will be under the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and take a few years to take shape.

Alongside forecasting weather over long periods, the regional centres would provide data services,
training and capacity-building, research and development.

When Norwegian Ambassador Hans Jacob Frydenlund went to Rashtrapati Bhavan to present his
credentials to President Ram Nath Kovind recently, he was wearing a “bunad.”
Bunad is Norway's traditional folk costume.

Bunad is not a single kind of costume but an umbrella term with several regional variations. There are 400
different variations that come in different styles for men and women.

A bunad often includes an apron, a headdress, and a scarf or shawl, and is embroidered and embellished
with buckles, ornaments, jewellery and at times, blades.

Bunads are expensive and typically worn on festive occasions.

Recently Punjab University, Chandigarh, had proposed to merge Department of Urdu language
with school of foreign languages. The move earned huge criticism with Punjab Chief Minister
Captain Amarinder Singh also saying that Urdu is an Indian language like any other Indian
language.
According to the Urdu Language experts, all the historical references indicate that origin of Urdu had
taken place in Punjab state of India several centuries back.

Historians said that it had developed and flourished in Delhi during the period of ‘Delhi Sultanate’ from
12th to 16th century and then during the period of ‘Mughal Empire’ in Delhi from 16th century to 19th
century

Before it is called Urdu, it was familiar with other names including Hindustani, Hindavi, Dehlavi and
Rekhta.

Similarity with Punjabi Shahmukhi language:

We write it from right to left but the same was the case of Punjabi Shahmukhi language which was also
written right to left.
Despite its Persian script, Urdu is an Indian language because several Indian languages like Punjabi
Shahmukhi language is also written in Persian Script.
Urdu’s official status in India:
It is one of the officials languages under the Constitution of India, it is among the 15 Indian Languages
written on the Indian Currency notes.
It is one of the official languages in states like Kashmir, Telangana, UP, Bihar, New Delhi and West
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Bengal.
The National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL) is an autonomous body under the
Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD), Government of India. Set up to promote, develop and
propagate Urdu language, Council started its operation in Delhi in 1996.

Google Doodle celebrated the 155th birth anniversary of women’s rights activist Kamini Roy.
Kamini Roy (1864 – 1933) was a leading Bengali poet, social worker and feminist in British India.

She was the first woman honours graduate in British India.

She published her first collection of verses Alo Chhaya in 1889, and two more books after that. She was
president of the Bengali Literary Conference in 1930.

In 1921, she was one of the leaders of the Bangiya Nari Samaj, an organization formed to fight for
woman's suffrage. The Bengal Legislative Council granted limited suffrage to women in 1925, allowing
Bengali women to exercise their right for the first time in the 1926 Indian general election.

She was a member of the Female Labour Investigation Commission (1922–23).

Kadri Gopalnath, the famous saxophone player passed away in Mangaluru, Karnataka. He was 69.
Kadri Gopalnath (1949 – 2019), also known as Saxophone Charkravarthy, was an Indian saxophonist and
one of the pioneers of Carnatic music on the saxophone.

He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2004. he was presented with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for
Carnatic Music - Instrumental (Saxophone), by the President Abdul Kalam, in 2004.

He had the distinction of being the first Carnatic musician to be invited in the BBC Promenade concert in
the Royal Albert Hall at London in 1994.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared in the traditional south Indian attire of a white veshti
(dhoti), half-sleeved spotless white shirt and an angavastram (upper cloth) while hosting Chinese
President Xi Jinping in Mamallapuram.
Attired in a Tamil traditional 'karai veshti' (dhoti with a border in green), angavastram (a shawl), and a
half sleeve white shirt, the Prime Minister Modi met with Xi

About 500 Tamil folk artistes performed "tappattam," and "poi kal kuthirai" while a group of women
presented a Bharatanatyam programme to the accompaniment of 'thavil' and 'nadaswaram' (traditional
percussion and wind instruments respectively) music.

A three day long festival of Baul songs named Indo-Bangla Baul Music Festival concluded in Dhaka
with performances by Bauls from India and Bangladesh. The program was organised to observe the
129th death anniversary of Baul saint Fakir Lalon Shah.
Baul Music is a form of folk music, unique to Bangladesh and West Bengal of India.

The word Baul means “afflicted with the wind disease” and the Baul singers are traditionally wandering
minstrels singing their particular form of folk music.

The lyrics and music are soul searching, quite comparable to the genre of Sufi music. The lyrics in Baul
music urge man to search for God within himself and decry the role of mosques and temples in the quest
of God.

Lalon Shah is regarded as the most celebrated Baul saint in history.

Baul singers usually traveled alone and had their characteristic musical accompaniments.
They usually carried either a khamak, a string instrument with one or two strings attached to the head of a
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small drum or an ektara, a plucked single string drone.

Other instruments were a khanjani, a tambourine without jangles, mandira or kartal which are small bell-
shaped cymbals or ramchaki, a pair of wooden clappers with jangles.

In 2005, the Baul tradition of Bangladesh was included in the list of Masterpieces of the Oral and
Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

Ministry of Culture, Government of India is organising the 10th edition of Rashtriya Sanskriti
Mahotsav under the Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat initiative in Madhya Pradesh from 14th to 21st
October 2019.
RSM was conceived by the Ministry of Culture in the year 2015.

Its objective is to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the Country in all dimensions, viz Handicrafts,
Cuisine, Painting, Sculpture, Photography, Documentation and Performing Arts-Folk, Tribal, Classical
and Contemporary- all in one place.

So far, this Ministry has organised 9 RSM’s i.e. 2 each in Delhi and 2 in Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, RSM
North East , Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakahnd.

The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, graced and addressed the birth centenary celebrations of
Maharaja Jayachamaraja Wadiyar of Mysore in Mysuru.
Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar (1919 – 1974), was the 25th maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore
from 1940 to 1971, ruling from 1940 until the monarchy was abolished in 1950 and continuing to hold the
title of maharaja until princely titles were abolished in 1971.

He was a noted philosopher, musicologist, political thinker, and philanthropist.

As the ruler of the Mysore state, he actively encouraged the establishment of an industrial facility in
Bengaluru by a company called Hindustan Aircraft in 1940 which become Hindustan Aeronautics.

His donations helped the government set up the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) in
Mysore, the National Tuberculosis Institute in Bangalore and the All India Institute of Speech and Hearing
at Mysore.

He was the first president of the Philharmonia Concert Society, London in 1948.
He was the Fellow and president of Sangeet Natak Academy, New Delhi, 1966.
He was the First Chairman of the Indian Wild Life Board.
He was the Founder-president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

Ecuador’s president, Lenín Moreno, has said he has moved his government from the capital in
Quito to the coastal city of Guayaquil amid violent protests over the end of fuel subsidies.
Ecuador is a country in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south,
and the Pacific Ocean on the west.
Ecuador also includes the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific.
The capital city is Quito.

Guayaquil is a city in Ecuador.

It is located on the west bank of the Guayas River, which flows into the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of
Guayaquil.
Guayaquil is constantly facing tsunami and major earthquake threats due to its soil stratigraphy and
location near the Gulf of Guayaquil and the south of North-Andean subduction zone.
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In 2019, India and the Netherlands will commemorate Rembrandt’s 350th death anniversary with a
showcase that will celebrate the two countries’ culture and heritage. The art on display will feature
some of Rembrandt’s original works.
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606 – 1669) was a Dutch draughtsman, painter and printmaker. he is
generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in the history of art and the most important in Dutch
art history.

The Night Watch is a 1642 painting by Rembrandt van Rijn. It is one of the most famous Dutch Golden
Age paintings.

Rembrandt's foremost contribution in the history of printmaking was his transformation of the etching
process from a relatively new reproductive technique into a true art form. He is regarded as the greatest
etcher in the history of the medium.

Indian Miniatures:
Rembrandt was interested in Mughal miniatures, especially around the 1650s. He made 25 drawings based
on Mughal miniatures from India during 1656 to 1661, at the height of his career. This is in spite of the
fact that the Dutch artist never set foot on Indian soil. These miniatures include paintings of Shah Jahan,
Akbar, Jahangir and Dara Shikoh. They may also have influenced the costumes and other aspects of his
works.

The Culture Department of Uttar Pradesh government is going to organise the country’s first
training and performance programme of world famous KHON Ramlila in collaboration with
Thailand government.
Region: KHON Ramlila is a masked form of Ramlila art of Thailand.

Features: it’s a form of masked dance depicting the scenes of Ramlila. It has no dialogues and background
voices narrate the whole story of Ramayana. It is also famous for its beautiful attire and golden masks.

Recognition: It is included in the list of UNESCO’s Intangible cultural heritage.

North Korea/Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) state news agency KCNA released a
series of photographs showing Kim Jong Un riding a white horse to the sacred mountain called
Paektu.
Paektu Mountain is also known as Baekdu Mountain, and in China as Changbai Mountain.

it is an active stratovolcano. The volcanic mountain last erupted over 1,000 years ago.
It is situated at the border between North Korea and China.
At a height of 2,744 m (9,003 ft), it is the highest peak in the Korean peninsula.
A large crater lake, called Heaven Lake, is in the caldera atop the mountain.

It is considered sacred by the Koreans since they treat it to be the spiritual origin of the Korean kingdom,
where the founder was born.

The Kim family legitimises their rule over DPRK by referring to the “Mount Baekdu Bloodline” (the
mountain is also referred to as Baekdusan). A reference to the mountain is made in the South Korean
national anthem as well.

Sirumugai in Coimbatore famous for silk saree production shot to instant fame following the
informal summit between China and India held at Mamallapuram.

Sirumugai is a town in Coimbatore district in Tamil Nadu. Sirumugai is well known for Silk Sarees
Bazaars. The portrait of Chinese President Xi Jinping – knitted in a bright red coloured shawl woven in
gold zari in the centre – that Modi gifted Xi during the informal summit at Mamallapuram was weaved at
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Sirumugai.

Union home minister Amit Shah inaugurated a two-day international seminar on the role of Gupta
dynasty emperor Skandagupta at Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi.

Skandagupta was a Gupta Emperor of northern India. Skandagupta was a son of the Gupta emperor
Kumaragupta I. He ascended the throne in 455 AD and ruled till 467 AD.

By defeating Pushyamitras during his initial years of ascendancy, Skandagupta proved his ability to rule
and took upon himself the title of Vikramaditya.

During the 12 year rule, he not only defended the great culture of India but also from external aggression
and defeated the Huns, who had invaded India from the north west. He is generally considered the last of
the great Gupta Emperors.
Bali Yatra, one of the biggest trade fairs of Odisha, is scheduled to begin on November 12. The trade
fair will continue for eight days.
Bali Jatra (also known as Bali Yatra and Boita Bandaṇa) literally means A Voyage to Bali. This festival is
held in Odisha, in the city of Cuttack at Gadagadia Ghata of the Mahanadi river.

The festival is celebrated every year from the day of Kartika Purnima according to the Odia Calendar,
which comes around the end of October and November.

It is celebrated to mark the day when ancient Sadhabas (Odia mariners) would set sail to distant lands of
Bali, as well as Java , Sumatra and Sri Lanka for trade and cultural expansion.

People of Odisha gather near banks of Mahanadi, Brahmani river, other river banks, ponds to float
miniature toy boats, made of colored paper as a symbolic gesture of their ancestors' voyage.

In Cuttack, Bali Jatra is celebrated annually as a large open fair near the Barabati Fort area with several
cultural programs, toy stalls, different games and food stalls selling Odia delicacies.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated Col. Chewang Rinchen Setu in Ladakh.
Chewang Rinchen Setu which has been constructed at an altitude of 14650 feet in the forward area of
Ladakh region.

This bridge has been built by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO). Colonel Chewang Rinchen (1931 –
1997) was a highly decorated officer in the Indian Army from the Ladakh region. He was one of only six
Indian service personnel to have twice won the Maha Vir Chakra (MVC), the second highest Indian
gallantry decoration.

Furqan Ali, a headmaster of a government primary school in Uttar Pradesh was suspended after his
students recited a poem written by Muhammad Iqbal in 1902 titled, “Lab pe aati hai dua”. This
happened after a complaint was filed by local Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) workers who alleged
that asking students to recite it in a government school is “anti-national”.
Muhammad Iqbal (1877 – 1938), widely known as Allama Iqbal was a poet-philosopher whose work
promoted the philosophy of self-hood and dealt with the intellectual and cultural reconstruction of the
Islamic world.

His best known Urdu works are The Call of the Marching Bell, Gabriel's Wing, The Rod of Moses and a
part of Gift from Hijaz.

"Sare Jahan se Accha", formally known as "Tarānah-e-Hindi", is an Urdu language patriotic song for
children written by poet Muhammad Iqbal in the ghazal style of Urdu poetry. The poem was published in
1904.
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He is widely regarded as having inspired the Pakistan Movement. He is called the "Spiritual Father of
Pakistan."

In 1930, during the 25th Session of the All-India Muslim League in Allahabad, he delivered his most
famous presidential speech known as the Allahabad Address in which he pushed for the creation of a
Muslim state in north-west India.

Iqbal is considered to have given the vision for the creation of Pakistan, whereas Jinnah is considered to
be the one who shaped this vision. The Pakistan government officially named him "National Poet of
Pakistan".

Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn shared the first look of his upcoming period drama film, Tanhaji: Th e
unsung warrior. It is being said that the film is based on Subedar Taanaji Malusare, a Maratha
military leader and a close aide of Chhatrapati Shivaji.
Taanaji Malusare was a Maratha military leader and a close aide of Chhatrapati Shivaji. Taanaji is
popularly remembered for the Battle of Singhagad that took place in the year 1670.

In the year 1665, the Treaty of Purandar was signed between Jai Singh and Shivaji, which required the
Maratha ruler to give up Fort Kandhana (later named Singhagad) to the Mughals.

Later, Shivaji entrusted Taanaji the task of reconquering the fort Kondhana at any cost. In the battle,
Taanaji fought against Udaybhan Rathore, a formidable Rajput warrior, who was put in charge of Fort
Kandhana by Jai Singh.

According to legend, Shivaji, upon hearing the news of Tanaji’s demise during the battle, said Gad ala pan
Sinha gela (Although the fort was captured, a lion was lost). The fort was renamed as Singhagad (lion’s
fort) by Shivaji to honour Tanaji.

MARAWAH Iceland
The oldest known natural pearl in the world has been discovered by Abu Dhabi archaeologists working at
a Neolithic site on Marawah Island, just off the coast of Abu Dhabi.

Dubbed the ‘Abu Dhabi Pearl’, it was found in layers that have been radiocarbon dated to 5,800 -5,600
BCE, during the Neolithic period.

the discovery is a proof that pearls and oysters were being used in the UAE nearly 8,000 years ago, and
represents the earliest known evidence for pearling yet discovered anywhere in the world.

Marawah Island: Marawah is a low-lying island off the coast of Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab
Emirates. The island is a key center of archaeology. Archeologists have identified various sites dating
from the Neolithic to the Islamic Period (12-13 AD).

Union Minister for Culture & Tourism (IC) launched the E-Portal of CCRT ‘Digital Bharat Digital
Sanskriti' and CCRT YouTube Channel in New Delhi.
This will enable dissemination of cultural education through digital interactive medium into the
classrooms all over the country.

For this initiative, CCRT has tied up with Routes 2 Roots, an NGO, for connecting seamlessly all the
CCRT Regional Centres i.e., Guwahati, Udaipur and Hyderabad.

The Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT) is autonomous organisation under Ministry of
Culture of Government of India. it was established in 1979 to support cultural education.
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Indian Railways has installed the most advanced Electronic Interlocking System on the Grand
Chord route. The measure is towards reducing the travel time between Delhi and Howrah to about
12 hours from the existing 17 to 19 hours.
Grand Chord is part of the Howrah-Gaya-Delhi line and Howrah-Allahabad-Mumbai line. It acts as a link
between Sitarampur in West Bengal and Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction, Uttar Pradesh, and covers a
stretch of 450 kilometres falling in North Central Railway Zone.

The new Electronic system has replaced outdated 65-year old mechanical signalling system at Tundla
Junction in Uttar Pradesh on the route. This interlocking system at Tundla is the second largest in the
country after Kharagpur Station in South Eastern Railway.

Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa inaugurated Kittur Utsav in Kittur. The three-day
festivities included sports, cultural programmes and lectures on the kingdom of Rani Channamma.
Kittur Chennamma (1778 – 1829) was an Indian freedom fighter and Rani of the Kittur, a former princely
state in Karnataka. She is one of the first women freedom fighters to have fought against the British rule
in India.

She led an armed force against the British East India Company in 1824 in defiance of the doctrine of lapse
in an attempt to maintain Indian control over the region. She was defeated in the third war and was
imprisoned at Bailhongal Fort where she died in 1829.

Chennamma's legacy and first victory are still commemorated in Kittur, during the Kittur Utsava annually
held on 22–24 October. in 2007 a statue of Rani Chennamma was unveiled at the Indian Parliament
Complex by Pratibha Patil, the first woman President of India.

Doctrine of Lapse: The doctrine of lapse was an annexation policy applied by the British East India
Company in India until 1859. The doctrine was based on the idea that in case the ruler of an independent
state died childless, the right of ruling the State reverted or ‘lapsed’ to the sovereign.

Dalhousie applied the doctrine of lapse vigorously for annexing Indian princely states between 1848 and
1856, but the policy was not solely his invention. the East India Company annexed Kittur in 1824, Mandvi
in 1839, Kolaba and Jalaun in 1840 and Surat in 1842 by imposing a 'doctrine of lapse'.

Iconic conductor Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharonic Orchestra's ‘Music Director for Life’
retired after a 50-year-tenure.
Zubin Mehta (born 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western and Eastern classical music. He is the music
director for Life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and Conductor Emeritus of the Los Angeles
Philharmonic.

He is one of the greatest music conductors in the world who built a reputation for himself by interpreting
the music of Romantic-era titans such as Mahler, Tchaikovsky, Brahms and Beethoven. A permanent
resident of the United States, Mehta retains his Indian citizenship.

Honours: The Government of India honoured Mehta in 1966 with the Padma Bhushan and in 2001 with
the Padma Vibhushan. He is an honorary citizen of both Florence and Tel Aviv. In 2013, President of
India Pranab Mukherjee awarded him the Tagore Award 2013 for his outstanding contribution towards
cultural harmony.

India has signed the Agreement with Pakistan on the modalities for operationalisation of the
Kartarpur Sahib Corridor to facilitate pilgrims to visit Gurudwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur
through Kartarpur Sahib Corridor.
Location: Gurdwara Darbar Sahib is located at Kartarpur in Pakistan’s Narowal district. It stands on the
bank of the River Ravi, about 120 km northeast of Lahore.
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Significance: It was here that the First Sikh Guru (Nanak Dev) assembled a Sikh community and lived for
18 years until his death in 1539. It is the final resting place of Guru Nanak.

The Union Cabinet passed a resolution in November 2018 to celebrate the historic occasion of 550th Birth
Anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak Devji. It also approved the development of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor
from Dera Baba Nanak to the International Boundary, to facilitate pilgrims from India to visit Gurdwara
Darbar Sahib Kartarpur.

The highlights of the Agreement are: -

1. Indian pilgrims of all faiths and persons of Indian origin can use the corridor
2. The travel will be Visa Free; Pilgrims need to carry only a valid passport;
3. Persons of Indian Origin need to carry OCI card along with the passport of their country;
4. The Corridor is open from dawn to dusk. Pilgrims travelling in the morning will have to return on
the same day;
5. The Corridor will be operational throughout the year, except on notified days, to be informed in
advance;
The Pakistan side has assured India to make sufficient provision for ‘Langar’ and distribution of ‘Prasad’.
However, there has been no progress on resolving the disagreement over a $20 fee that Pakistan intends to
levy on each traveller.

Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways announced renaming of Chenani Nashri Tunnel on
NH 44 in Jammu & Kashmir as Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Tunnel.
This 9 km tunnel is the longest such state of art tunnel in the country, connecting Udhampur to Ramban in
Jammu. it cuts down 31 km of travel distance and reduces the travel time between the two points by about
two hours, in addition to substantial saving in fuel cost.

Syama Prasad Mukherjee: Syama Prasad Mukherjee (1901 – 1953) was an Indian politician who served
as the Minister for Industry and Supply in Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet.

He quit Congress because of differences of opinion with Nehru led government on the issue of Jammu &
Kashmir. He founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the predecessor to the Bharatiya Janata Party, in 1951.

About 66 years ago, Dr Mookerjee was arrested illegally from Lakhanpur, and was taken to Srinagar
through Chenani Nashari. Dr Mookerjee was a sitting member of Lok Sabha at that time.
In a unique gesture to mark 550th birth anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji, Air India has
depicted Sikh religious symbol 'Ik Onkar' on the tail of one of its aircraft.
Ik Onkar is the symbol that represents the unity of God in Sikhism, meaning God is One or One God.

It is a central tenet of Sikh religious philosophy. It is the opening phrase of the Mul Mantar and
theopening words of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. It is consequently also part of the Sikh morning prayer,
Japji Sahib.

It is found in the Gurmukhi script and is found in all religious scriptures and places such as gurdwaras. It
is a combination of two characters, the numeral ੧, Ikk (one) and the first letter of the word Onkar
(Constant taken to mean God).

From October 26, 2019, climbing Uluru, Australia’s famous desert rock, considered sacred by the
local Anangu people, has been banned.
Uluru is also known as Ayers Rock. It is a large sandstone rock formation. It is dominantly composed of
coarse-grained arkose (a type of sandstone characterised by an abundance of feldspar) and some
conglomerate. Average composition is 50% feldspar, 25–35% quartz and up to 25% rock fragments.
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It is located in central Australia. It is sacred to the Anangu people, the Aboriginal people of the area. It is
listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is notable for appearing to change colour at different times of
the day and year, most notably when it glows red at dawn and sunset.
Uluru is an inselberg, literally "island mountain". An inselberg is a prominent isolated residual knob or
hill that rises abruptly from and is surrounded by extensive and relatively flat erosion lowlands in a hot,
dry region.