Congress veteran Mallikarjun Kharge became the first non-Gandhi President after 24 years by defeating his opponent Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor by a margin of over 6,000 votes.
Out of the 9,385 votes polled in the Congress presidential polls, Mallikarjun Kharge got 7,897 votes, Shashi Tharoor secured 1,072 votes, and 416 votes were declared invalid, the party’s Central Election Authority (CEA) chairman Madhusudan Mistry said.
Kharge won with eight times more votes.
Soon after the election results were announced, Tharoor congratulated Kharge in a letter and termed the election as a ‘true celebration of inner-party democracy.’ “The revival of the party has begun today,” Tharoor said.
Kharge will replace Sonia Gandhi, the longest-serving party president who has been at the helm since 1998, barring the two years between 2017 and 2019 when Rahul Gandhi had taken over.
With no Gandhi family members in the fray, the election came three years after Rahul Gandhi resigned from the top post citing the Lok Sabha poll debacle in 2019.
Kharge will take charge on October 26.
MP Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the president was the ‘supreme authority’ in the Congress and whoever got elected to the post would decide on the way forward (for the party). “President is the supreme authority in the Congress and everyone reports to him. My role – I am very clear – Congress president will decide what my role is and how I will be deployed,” he remarked as Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Andhra Pradesh.
Congress central election authority chairman Mistry on Monday expressed satisfaction with the party’s presidential polls process, saying it was “free, fair and transparent”. He also said it was a secret ballot and no one would get to know who voted for whom.
The election is significant for the party as an internal election to the top post is taking place after nearly two decades.
The last election for the post of Congress chief was held in 2000 when Sonia Gandhi defeated her opponent Jitendra Prasada by an overwhelming majority.
Meanwhile, congratulations poured in for Kharge from many senior leaders and celebrations erupted outside AICC headquarters in the capital.
Earlier in the day, after the counting of votes began, the Tharoor camp alleged extremely serious irregularities in the poll process.
In a letter to CEC Madhusudan Mistry, Tharoor’s campaign team member Salman Soz said, “The facts are damning and the election process in UP is devoid of credibility and integrity.”
He also alleged the use of unofficial seals for ballot boxes and the presence of unofficial persons in polling booths.
Later in a tweet, Soz said that the CEA has assured fair inquiry into the allegations. “After discussions with CEA, we have agreed for the counting to continue and our team looks forward to the results,” he tweeted.
However, in reply to media queries, Mistry said that the CEC has prepared a point-by-point reply to the complaints raised by the Tharoor camp. He also said that the letter shouldn’t have been made available to the public.
Even during the campaign, Tharoor raised allegations of preferential treatment by his senior colleagues several times and approached the CEA on the same.
80-year-old Kharge with more than 50 years of experience in politics was largely seen as the candidate backed by the top leadership in the Presidential election. While Tharoor rooted for reforms in the party, Kharge promised to follow the Udaipur Chintan Shivir resolutions to bring changes in the party.
Kharge, a senior Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka, is seen as a hardcore loyalist of the Gandhi family. He resigned as the leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, on October 1, 2022, to contest for the President post of Congress.
Though many senior leaders hailed the election as the beginning of inner party democracy, they also expressed apprehension about the elections to the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and cast doubts that the President would act as a rubber stamp. The immediate challenge for Kharge will be the performance of the party in the upcoming Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat, said a leader
Of the total 9,915 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates that formed the electoral college to pick the party chief in a secret ballot, over 9,500 cast their ballot at PCC offices and the AICC headquarters, Mistry had said at a press conference after the polling ended on Monday.
Electors in the Congress presidential polls had been asked to put a tick mark against their candidate in the ballot paper after Tharoor’s team took up with the party’s top poll body the issue of its earlier directive that voters write “1” to reflect their preference. This, the team said, might lead to confusion.
Ahead of the polling, Kharge had said he would have no shame in taking the advice and support of the Gandhi family in running the party affairs, if he becomes its president. Tharoor, meanwhile, said that some colleagues were telling party workers that they know who Sonia Gandhi wants elected”.
Perhaps October 1, 2022, turned out to be a red-letter-day for the Mangalurean community in Canada when Canada’s Prime Minister thanked Dr Dorothy Rego BSc, MSc, PhD, MPH in his letter and when she received a prestigious Yeomen Service Award 2022 from the Canadian Canara Vision Inc (CCVI) in recognition of her remarkable contribution in the field of Scientific Research, Public Health and Social Science in India, Africa, and Canada.
Dr Dorothy Rego, an immunologist, microbiologist, and public health professional has worked in the field of science for over 15 years. Enormously passionate about science, Dr Rego is especially committed to focusing on the needs and health of others and the most vulnerable.
Message from Prime Minister of Canada
Originally from Gurpur-Kaikamba in the suburbs of Mangaluru, she currently resides in Brampton with her husband, Ronald Rego and two children, Seneca and Roysten. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Botany, Zoology and Chemistry from St Agnes College, Mangaluru in 1991 and Master of Science in Microbiology from Kasturba Medical College, Mangaluru in 1994. Dorothy also successfully completed her Master’s cum Doctorate (PhD) in Microbiology/Immunology from the University of Ottawa in 2008 and MPH (Master of Public Health) from the University of Guelph in 2017.
Dr Rego’s areas of expertise includes disease surveillance, vaccine implementation, gender equality, tobacco control, women’s empowerment, maternal child health, cancer research, HIV prevention, food fortification, anaemia reduction and more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. She has 7 peer reviewed publications in highly influential American, British, and Indian journals and an impressive 5 scientific reports and 21abstracts published to add to her already remarkable portfolio. As a scientific researcher, she has worked for Health Canada, Peel Public Health, Global Affairs of Canada, and the Gates Foundation.
Dr Rego was part of the leadership team of Peel Public Health’s response to COVID-19 pandemic. She played a crucial role in conducting high quality synthesis of evidence which focused on reviewing the existing evidence and disseminating the evidence to decision makers in the implementation of public health interventions and policies.
Pre-pandemic, Dr Rego worked with WHO (World Health Organization) where she conducted a comprehensive review addressing policy recommendations for anaemia reduction strategies among women of reproduction age in low- and middle-income countries at a global level. Deployed to Africa for HIV work, she took great pride in working closely with the Kenyan Ministry of Health in implementing HIV self testing program among homosexual men to enhance timely diagnosis of HIV and linkage to care.
Prior to her migration to Canada, Dr Rego worked for reputed institutions in India such as CMC Vellore and JIPMER Hospital in Puducherry. Her work with children under 10yrs for a vaccine implementation study at JIPMER Hospital was the impetus for her increasing passion in public health.
An amazing and highly intellectual personality like Dr Dorothy Rego does not need any further introduction. After the Award ceremony, I had the unique opportunity to toss a few questions at her as the representative of Daijiworld.com.
Excerpts from the interview:
Q. On behalf of Daijiworld.com, I am privileged to interact with you. Tell me how it feels to bag a prestigious Award from a renowned non-profit organization like CCVI for your remarkable contribution to the field of Scientific Research, Public Health, and Social Science.
A. First and the foremost, I thank God for blessing me with wisdom, humility, and grace. These blessings have enabled me to scale mountains and face challenges. I also thank the CCVI for recognizing my work and bestowing me with the Yeomen Service Award. I am humbled and deeply appreciative of this prestigious award. I admit that my contributions to the field of Scientific Research, Public health and Social Science are still on a small scale; however, I view the award as a way forward to do and be more. This recognition has spurred and inspired me to learn and implement more in my fields of expertise.
Q. Can you please tell us something about your parents, siblings, and your childhood days in the picturesque town Gurpur-Kaikamba in Mangaluru, India?
A. I was raised by my father, late Dominic R J D’Lima. My grandmother, late Lucy D’Lima along with my paternal aunt, Leena D’Lima gave me an amazing childhood. I have only one younger sibling, Don John D’Lima who is an Advocate in Mumbai. My weekend nature walks in the lush greenery of Kaikamba along with my dad in the picturesque Gurpur aroused my curiosity about all things related to science. I still cherish the joys of playing some country games like lagory, kutti donne, jibli and mane aata along with 4 other kids in the neighborhood. It was an unforgettable childhood filled with setbacks, love, adventure, mystery, tragedy, loss, and joy.
Q. Can you please tell us something about your early schooling?
A. My journey into my professional development began from the century old Pompei higher primary school in Gurpur under the leadership of the late Sr Patricia. With great pride, I say that I learnt my first alphabets in this Kannada medium school. With immense gratitude, I mention that Sr.Laetita Bath from the Bethany congregation held my tiny hand and hovered it around the cement doodle to make the correct impression of my first Kannada alphabet. My heartfelt appreciation to Sr.Laetita Bath for her dedication and patience. From 1976 to 1983, I made a lifetime of memories from throwing stones at mango trees, picking Sapodilla aka chikoo’s during recess, chasing snakes in the lush green landscape, drawing well water using a bucket and rope to care for school garden and shedding tears to ‘Punya Koti’ narrative by Lucy teacher. An even more historic memory was walking as a class to meet Mother Teresa at Rosa Mystica grounds in 1980. I was awed by that meeting and inspired by Mother Teresa’s selfless work to do the same in my capacity and give back to the community and people amongst who I grew up. Among all, I did not want to attend classes. My beloved Lucy teacher would narrate this well to the readers in this platform. My teachers (the two Jacintha’s, Lucy, Gracy, Jerry, Jayanthi, Sr Jonett, Sr Shanthi, Sr Selma, the late Stella and Late Natalia,) put heart and soul in imbibing me with wisdom and knowledge. Even though this school’s structure was in a dilapidated condition in the mid 70’s, it did not deter me in carving a niche in building my career.
My next journey began in the Bethany run Rosa Mystica High School (RMHS) in Gurpur under the leadership of the late Sr Mediatrice. RMHS gave me an outstanding education with the best teachers, and they were: Sukanya, Leena, Agatha, Josephine, Yuvaraja, Sunder, Shabaraya, Felix, Shreedhar, Sr Wilma, Sr Helmina, Sr Afflicta, Sr Metilda, the late Sr Olivia and the late Sr Mediatrice. My science teachers inspired me with their extra ordinary teaching skills in Pythagoras Theorem derivation and taxonomical classifications which helped me to further refine my passion to progress in the field of biological sciences.
Q. Can you please tell me how your pre-university / university studies at India’s renowned St Agnes Institutions helped you to achieve the success that you are enjoying today?
A. In 1986, I entered the gates of St Agnes College as a PUC student in the science stream with absolutely zero English speaking skills. St Agnes College under the leadership of Sr Aloysius welcomed me with open arms, making me feel like her own as I came from a background different from most English-speaking students. St Agnes College was so open, welcoming, and reassuring that soon after my first term, I forgot about the past and plunged into new challenges. Over the next 5 years, I grew up intellectually both in wisdom and knowledge. I made friends who remain close to my heart today. I met teachers who shaped me in many ways, and as friendly and accommodating as they were, they always had best the interests for me. I bow with respect to all the signatures of my teachers (Maria, Noeline, Usha Nalini, Leela, Sr Beatrice, Saramma, Bhasker, Nagaveni, the late Kamala Devi, Sr Prem, Leo, Prema, Ronald, Saraswathi, and the late Mohan) imprinted on my lab records which I call my personal treasures. These lab records are maintained in mint condition in my ancestral home. The memories of my education such as the dissection tables of Zoology, the color reactions in chemistry labs, the Botany herbariums followed by robust record work where I tried to grab as many experiences and opportunities as I could are still fresh in my mind. The gallery style classrooms, where curriculum was intense, and marks were earned not handed out. It was here that I was introduced to the art and science of Biology which later metamorphosed me into a microbiologist, immunologist and public health professional with several degrees, awards, and accomplishments with exciting work experiences.
Q. Say something about your family and what motivated you to upgrade your educational credentials in Canada? Did you receive any inspiration from anyone or did anyone play a key role in your professional development?
A. My husband Ronald Rego migrated to Canada in 1996 from Dubai in search of greener pastures. I married Ronald in 1998 and joined him later that year in Canada. When we got married, it was my plan to upgrade my educational credentials. We are blessed with two children, 19-year-old daughter, Seneca and 16-year-old son, Roysten. Both children were born in Ottawa and these children were products of my graduate school in addition to my thesis. We currently reside in Brampton.
In my professional development, I credit my dad as being my single greatest influencer followed by my husband. They are both my heroes. My dad had only my best interest at heart. While growing up I had too many why questions to my dad, most of them were related to science. He was like an encyclopedia for me in an era when technology was absolutely zero. My dad reiterated to me several times what it meant to be a woman in the society and the vulnerability associated with being a woman. My dad insisted that women needed to be empowered with highest level education, dream an exciting career, and reach out to others.
My other hero stepped into my life after marriage but when I expressed my desire to upgrade my educational credentials, my husband whole heartedly not only encouraged and supported me but also accepted me as his student wife. He worked extremely hard to make ends meet while I took my backpack and went to the University as a student. In the late 90’s to early 00’s, there were not many options to specialize in public health in Canada, therefore I was left with specializing in basic sciences with an MSc/PhD in Microbiology/Immunology from the University of Ottawa. When Canada opened doors for public health in 2003 after the SARS crisis, I was already halfway through my MSc/PhD programme and I did not want to make a detour to public health. A few years later, it was a turning point in my life, which I call falling in love but with global public health. I decided to make 3-point turn into international public health and wanted another degree, Master’s in Public Health. When I expressed my desire, my husband whole heartedly supported me again. I became his student wife again in my mid 40’s. I am indebted to these two men and will forever be grateful to their selfless love and support.
Q. Because of your outstanding intellectual and service-oriented qualities, we look up to you as the most successful contributor in the field of Scientific Research, Public Health, and Social Science in India, Africa, and Canada. Could you tell us the secret behind your success?
A. This entire journey is akin to sailing through a storm and finally surviving the storm to reap the fruits in different continents. There have been turbulent times in this entire journey, but I persevered through all the challenges and triumphed. If I reflect on the journey, I can’t answer how I managed to endure and conquer. Sometimes, I worked too hard and sacrificed my sleep. There were times I stood up to myself to alter the challenges into enriching, rewarding and gratifying experiences. I always believed in myself and had immense confidence in my abilities. Overall, I was vibrant, full of energy, determined with a strong will power, courageous, focused, and confident. These qualities are the secrets behind my success.
Q. Dr Rego you were part of the leadership team of Canada’s Peel Public Health’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Could you please tell us what was your role in the implementation of public health interventions?
A. COVID-19 pandemic was a rapidly evolving science and the public health professionals must always be current with science to deliver best interventions for the betterment of the community. It was quite a challenge for us. In the first phase of the pandemic, my role included genomic surveillance to conduct a landscape analysis to identify the emerging variants of concerns circulating in the community. I worked extremely hard with 12-hour rotational shifts consistently to keep the Peel community safe. I quickly transitioned to Mass vaccination Program (MVP) in phase 2 of the pandemic. In MVP, I provided high quality synthesis of evidence which focused on reviewing the existing evidence and disseminating the evidence to decision makers in the implementation of public health interventions and policies. My efforts on identifying knowledge gaps in evidence led to the prioritization of COVID-19 vaccine to high-risk occupational groups in some settings in the Peel region. Also, I provided evidence-based guidance documents to the process management team which facilitated the smooth execution of mass vaccinations in the Peel region. In addition, I closely monitored the reported Adverse Effects Following Immunization (AEFI) that occurred from COVID-19 vaccination and reported these incidents to the regulatory bodies for further follow up.
Q: I learned from various media reports about your unique contribution to the field of Public Health and Social Science in India, Africa, and Canada. Can you please share some of them with a few details?
A. I will use one each example from India, Africa, and Canada to answer this question.
In 1995, I started a very challenging job at the JIPMER hospital in Puducherry, India. JIPMER is the pride of India. It is a government of India enterprise with a state-of-the-art facility and provides free health care. I was appointed to work with children under 10yrs for a vaccine implementation study in Pondicherry. It is so unfortunate that many of these kids in this coastal belt did not even live to celebrate their 10th birthday. They would succumb to some respiratory infections. Therefore, the goal was to visit the schools, collect throat swabs samples from kids to identify the culprit and then determine the next steps. My work began with calling out the tenders, purchases, school visits, sample collections, lab research and report writing. I saw high rates of vaccine preventable diseases among children, lack of advocacy among the public, low vaccine uptake and extreme poverty. This realization ignited a fire in me to give my best to the betterment of health through scientific research. My mentor, Dr Reba Kanungo did an excellent job of mentoring me from onboarding to recharging me whenever I was distracted and unfocused. Her motivational words included, “You are a perfect fit for public health, you work very well in the community, take it forward”. That is where it all began, the passion for public health. My pranam to Dr Kanungo, ‘Guru Devo Bhava’ – teacher is God.
In 2018, I was deployed to Africa. I took great pride in working closely with the Kenyan Ministry of Health in implementing HIV self testing program among homosexual men to enhance the timely diagnosis of HIV and linkage to care. This project was truly the best time of my life. My responsibilities were to assess implementation of HIV self-testing program among Men having Sex with Men (MSM) in Kenya. The stakeholders included MSM community, peer educators, outreach workers, health promoters, Kenyan Ministry of Health officials and scientists (infectious disease specialists, mathematical modelers, epidemiologists, and medical anthropologists). The key tasks were to perform an evidence review, administer focus group discussions and quantitative data collection in three counties called Kisumu, Kiambu and Mombasa in Kenya. This data was used in conducting a research design workshop in Nairobi, Kenya which highlighted the planning, organizing, designing, and delivering HIV self-testing program in Kenya. At the end of the research design workshop, I took the lead in the preparation of scientific reports, evidence briefs, research ethics submissions, grant application and a publication in British Medical Journal. It was a very time sensitive programme with numerous complex deliverables, but I was successful in meeting all the deliverables.
During pre-pandemic time, when I was working with Nutritional International in Ottawa, I had a stint with World Health Organization (WHO) in conducting a commissioned review. Our team addressed policy recommendations for anaemia reduction strategies among women of reproduction age in low- and middle-income countries around the world. This 78-page review included an emphasis on nutritional and non-nutritional causes and contributing factors for anaemia. I conducted a secondary data analysis on micronutrient supplements, iron deficiency, anti-natal care, iron folic acid supplements, dietary diversity, food security, deworming, access to water and sanitation to reduce transmission of helminthic infections and use of insecticide treated nets for malaria vector control using data from complex databases. My experience felt as if I was travelling through the 132 countries and conducting landscape analysis to summarize the key issues related to anemia. In this review, we addressed many gaps in and problems with anaemia reduction efforts, identified and described various components required for successful evidence-informed anaemia reduction programmes, and included recommendations for programme implementers and decision-makers, with links to multiple resources and tools that can be contextualized to each country’s situation. This work is published in WHO website. This is my biggest triumph in my contributions to public health.
Q. That’s incredible! Now you have achieved yet another milestone. The Prime Minister has a special mention of you in his letter to CCVI. If I’m correct you are the first Mangalurean to receive such an honor. Don’t you feel so proud to receive such recognition from the Prime Minister of Canada?
A. I was delighted to learn that our Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, having learned of my enormous and valuable input into various areas of science has sent an eloquent and wonderfully written appreciation letter to me. This letter will always be treasured by me. A classmate who I am very close to and now residing south of the border joked, “I love your Prime Minister Trudeau but now I envy that you have his letter”. I am humbled to receive this letter of appreciation from our dear Prime Minister Trudeau. And this is yet another incentive to carry forward my plans and goals.
Q. What are your future plans in the sector of Scientific Research, Public Health, and Social Science?
A. I owe a great debt of gratitude to my roots and my birthplace. My childhood, hometown, the schools I attended nurtured me. These are my greatest treasures in life. As I said in the beginning, this award is a way forward. I am looking for avenues and opportunities to give back to the community such as implementing some public health programmes which can benefit the most vulnerable women and children in Mangaluru. My focus will be mostly concentrated on maternal child health. I am currently putting together the resources and doing the groundwork to bring on board the stakeholders to take a deep dive into the program. I want to leave a strong legacy behind. This is my dream, and I am excited to realize these dreams.
Q. What is your message to the younger generation, especially to our community youth?
A. I reiterate the same words of wisdom imparted to me by my dad. Empower yourself with highest level of education, harmonize your available resources, align your goals, build a network, envision an exciting career, and help others. Apart from your core skills, find a hobby or hobbies that motivate you and help you grow as these should be your natural therapeutic release. In my own life, gardening in the summer and cooking authentic Mangalurean food are my natural remedies to relieve my stress. In a nutshell – always dream high, stay ambitious, seek opportunities, work hard, do your due diligence, be honest, do not lose hope and always pray. When you excel in life, stay humble and down to earth, but don’t forget your roots. Give back to the community when you get an opportunity to do so. This is my message to the youth of our community.
Q. What is your message for the people of the west coast in India who are settled in Canada?
A. We should be thankful that we are living in a beautiful multicultural country called Canada. We, the people of the west coast of India, should take pride in keeping our mother tongue, heritage, tradition, and our culture alive. We all have inherited rich traditions that we grew up with, whether they are daily habits, festivities, music, sports, celebrations, or food. We must preserve our traditions by continuously practicing them in the country where we currently reside while adopting new traditions and habits.
A huge heartfelt thanks to you Gerry baab and to Daijiworld for giving me an opportunity to go down the memory.
The first round of the 2020 Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) held in Itanagar saw a young new talent blitzing her way through the competition to secure an overall top 10 finish on her debut. That day, motorsports veterans and enthusiasts felt that the newcomer was a future talent.
Within just two years, they were proved right when Bengaluru’s Pragathi Gowda won the Asia-Pacific final of the FIA Rally Star programme held at the Madras International Circuit early last week, beating 26 other drivers, from seven different national motorsport clubs across the continent.
Gowda says she developed her interest in motorsports driving in the city, along with some big encouragement coming from her father and brother. Having to travel often for races, Gowda explains that coming back home helps her re-energise. “Bengaluru is such a wonderful place to live; I adore it! When I’m away, I genuinely miss the city, and I cannot wait to return home,” she says, adding that her favourite way to unwind is with a cup of coffee.
Having started her motorsports career very recently in 2019, Gowda says that getting an opportunity to represent India in an international event has been a dream come true. “I made my country proud with that win, and I will always cherish that achievement,” she says. After a impressive debut in INRC in 2020, she has emerged as one of the most promising racers in the country. However, she says that her experience in INRC was of little to no use during the Rally Star final.
“It was a completely different challenge. The car was radically different compared to the ones I’m used to. It was tricky to drive, as I had no prior experience with a rear-wheel-driven car. Adjusting to the car was a difficult process and it took me a while to get the best times out of it,” shares Gowda, who is self-taught. Despite her struggles to adjust to the car, she says that her comfort with gravel stages gave her the upper hand. “I’m a gravel girl, I always loved driving on dirt.
And I’m hoping that it’ll give me an advantage during the finals next year,” she quips. Despite her achievements, Gowda says the environment in Bengaluru and the wider region are not very supportive of motorsports aspirants. Drawing on her own experiences, she felt that most people view motorsports as dangerous, despite the recent advances in driver safety. “The negative perception acts as a barrier to entry, especially to women,” she says.
“If we had more top-tier international sporting events such as Formula 1, and World Rally Championship happening in the country, it would probably help change people’s perception, while giving motorsports wider exposure.” One day, she hopes to land a seat in the FIA World Rally Championship. And as she prepares for the all-important Rally Star finals in Peru next year, Gowda says the process hasn’t been straightforward as she lacks access to a suitable practice car.
“All this while, it was just me alone trying to make the country proud. But now, I’ll need the country’s help to give me the best possible chance at the next stage. I definitely cannot do it alone,” concludes Gowda.
Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Dr. Veerendra Heggade, who is also a Rajya Sabha MP, formally launched the four-day Maha Kumbha Mela at Triveni Sangama near Ambigarahalli-Sangapura-Pura cluster villages in Akkihebbal Hobli of K.R. Pet taluk yesterday.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Heggade said that water is the lifeline of everyone and as such it is essential for all to conserve it. Pointing out that we offer puja to weapons, equipment, articles and vehicles during Ayudha Puja, Dr. Heggade said that likewise water too should be worshipped as it is very much essential in our daily life and we cannot survive without it.
Noting that the Triveni Sangama here is the confluence of Cauvery-Hemavathi-Lakshmanatheertha rivers, he called upon the people to take a holy dip at the Sangama.
Minister for Silk and Youth Empowerment and Sports and K.R. Pet MLA K.C. Narayanagowda, who presided, said that the Maha Kumbha Mela is being held at Triveni Sangama in the presence of a number of Seers and Saints, after a gap of nine years. Underlining the significance of ‘Punya Snana’ (holy dip) at the Sangama, he said that devotees seek the blessings of Lord Mahadeshwara at this holy shrine.
Adichunchanagiri Mutt Seer Sri Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji, Suttur Mutt Seer Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Swamiji, Mysuru Ramakrishna Ashram President Swami Muktidanandaji, Kaginele Mutt Seer Sri Shivanandapuri Swamiji, Bebi Mutt Seer Sri Trinetra Mahanta Shivayogi Swamiji, M.M.Hills Salur Mutt Seer Shanthamallikarjuna Swamiji and a host of other Seers graced the occasion.
Mandya District Minister K. Gopalaiah, Mandya Deputy Commissioner S. Aswathi, Additional Deputy Commissioner H.L. Nagaraju, ZP CEO Shantha Hulmani, SP N. Yatish, Pandavapura Sub-division Assistant Commissioner B.C. Shivanandamurthy, Tahsildar Roopa, Kumbha Mela Co-ordinator Sannaswamygowda, Mandya Urban Development Authority Chairman Srinivas and a host of other officials and leaders attended the event.
Jayachandra Raju, Chairman and Founder of Global Education Trust – Daksha College, Mysuru, received the prestigious Mahatma Award-2022 for Social Good and Impact in the event held at India International Centre, New Delhi, on Oct. 1.
Jayachandra Raju has served the United Nations in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations for more than 25 years in various regions of the world.
The Mahatma Award is supported by Aditya Birla Group and Eternal Gandhi Initiative as a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi to spread his message of selfless services and love across the world.
Mahatma Award honours individuals and organisations addressing incredibly complex and equally severe problems spanning global peace, poverty and hunger, disease, education, climate change, disaster response and preparedness, health care accessibility, environment protection and sustainable development.
Jury Members and Dignitaries on stage who bestowed the award included Lt. Gen. Rajender Singh, former UN Force Commander, Peacekeeping Forces Ethiopia & Eritrea; Dr. Yogendra Saxena, Senior Vice-President, Ambuja Cement; Amit Sachdeva, CSR Man of India; Radhika Bharath Ram, Board Member of CARE, Helpage India and CII National Education Council and Dr. Sankar Kumar Sanyal, a staunch Gandhian and Member of Gandhi Smriti & Darshan Samiti, Rajghat.
This week brought to this city its infamous dampness. Cloudy skies, busy roads and cold weather. However, unlike most days during the wet season, the weekend carried a certain warmth to Bengaluru’s air as the Cubbon Park Walkers Association and Cubbon Park Walkers Forum hosted the International Women Achievers Awards 2022 on Sunday at Ravindra Kala Kshethra.
The Young Star Award 2022 took place as well.
The mission behind this event was to empower, inspire and promote the works of women achievers and young talents, who have left a positive impact to the society and excelled in their fields of interest.
Some of the awardees from this year include Dr Pratima Murthy, director of the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Alyia Krumbiegel, famed landscaper and social worker, esteemed classical singer Archana Udupa, who also performed at the function, and beloved actor Bhavana Ramanna, among others.
Ashwath Narayan, Minister for Higher Education; IT & BT, Science & Technology, and Mysuru maharaja Yaddu veer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar were the chief guests of the event.
Starting in 2019, this is the second time this award show is being organised in South India. Besides our country, Australia and the United Kingdom have also taken part in the event.
“We started this to recognise women achievers and young talents, who have done substantially good work for our society’s wellbeing. There are so many examples of award shows where money is the key factor. People from the upper echelons of the social hierarchy just give money and take awards. That’s not good at all. Many deserving people don’t get recognised due to not being very affluent.
We wanted to create an award show that is purely for celebrating good work done by folks who gave their all for the rest of us,” says Dr Umesh Kumar, president of Cubbon Park Walkers Association and Cubbon Park Walkers Forum, who adds that the event, including the lunch, was free for all attendees.
The event, which was six months in the making, features multiple attractions, which include a Kuchupudi dance performance and a musical programme by film music director Srisuresh.
“In the maiden year of this event, in 2019, more than 21 countries participated. We had about 800 attendees then, but this year our footfall has increased to more than twofold with almost 2000 people attending the award function. We plan on doing this every year as the Bengaluru crowd has been very supportive of our initiative,” concludes Dr Kumar.
Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, announced distinguished alumni awards felicitating five IISc scientists and engineers for their contributions to the society and the institution.
Prof Bharat Kumar Bhargava, professor of Computer Science at Purdue University, USA, Dr Krishnan Nandabalan, president and CEO of InveniAI LLC, IISc prof M Narasimha Murty, Col (retd) HS Shankar, Chairman and MD, Alpha Design Technologies Pvt Ltd, Bengaluru, Dr Krishna Mohan Vadrevu, Executive Director, Bharat Biotech International Ltd, IISc prof M Narasimha Murty, will be felicitated in December 2022.
Prof Bhargava has developed a system to assist visually-challenged people in navigating their environment and social interactions, using mobile phones and cloud computing. Dr Vadrevu contributed to the development of a typhoid conjugate vaccine, a novel low-dose rotavirus vaccine, and Covaxin.
