Current Affairs August 2018 - Deaths
1 - Veteran political leader and former Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee passed away
Veteran Political leader, prolific writer and former Prime Minster of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee passed away at the age of 93. He was Prime Minister thrice in 1996 (13 days), 1998-1999 and 1999-2004 (making him first non-Congress leader to have completed full term as Prime Minister. He was amongst founder members of erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh (and was its president in 1968 upon death of Deendayal Upadhyaya) which later became Bharatiya Janata Party.
He was a parliamentarian for over 47 years elected to Lok Sabha for 10 times (elected for first time in 1957 from Balrampur constituency in Uttar Pradesh) and 2 times to Rajya Sabha.
2 - DMK Chief M Karunanidhi passed away
DMK Chief and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi passed away at the age of 94 years. He was popularly known as “Kalaignar” which literally translates to “artist”. Karunanidhi first wrote for a film – Rajakumari – in 1947, while his last script titled ‘Illaingan’ came in 2010.
Karunanidhi became Tamil Nadu’s CM in 1969 for the first time and had held the position in the state five times, with the last tenure being in 2006.
3 - Eminent Bengali Writer Ramapada Chowdhury passed away
Eminent Bengali Writer Ramapada Chowdhury passed away at the age of 95 years. The Sahitya Academy awardee Bengali writer had authored famous novels like 'Kharij', 'Bari Badle Jay' and 'Abhimanyu'. Chowdhury's novel 'Abhimanyu' was based on the life and work of Dr. Subhas Mukhopadhyay who created India's first and the world's second test-tube baby in 1978.
Chowdhury had penned several famous literary works such as 'Pratham Prahar' (1954), 'Banpalashir Padabali' (1960), 'Ekhoni' (1969) and many more.
4 - Australian professional golfer Jarrod Lyle died
Veteran Australian professional golfer Jarrod Lyle died at age of 36 due to cancer. He was a great player who won twice on the feeder Web.com tour in 2008 at the Mexican Open and the Knoxville Open. He played 121 US PGA Tour tournaments during his professional career.
He scored 4th position in 2012 Northern Trust Open. He was runner-up twice, in the Macau Open and the Brunei Open and at the 2006 ING New Zealand PGA Championship.
5 - Asian Games gold medalist athlete Hakam Singh passed away
Asian Games gold medalist athlete Hakam Singh passed away at the age of 64 years. Singh won gold in 20 km race walk event during the 1978 ASIAD at Bangkok. He had also served as Havaldar in the 6 Sikh regiment.
Hakam had won gold at Asian track and field championship held at Tokyo in 1979. He was conferred the Dhyan Chand Award in 2008.
6 - Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee passed away
Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee passed away at the age of 89 years. Chatterjee was the Speaker in the first five-year term (2004-2009) of the United Progressive Alliance government.
Chatterjee was elected to Parliament’s Lower House for ten times since 1971. He won the Outstanding Parliamentarian award in 1994. It was during his term as the speaker of the 14th Lok Sabha, that DD Lok Sabha was replaced by Lok Sabha TV.
7 - Chhattisgarh Governor Balram Das Tandon passed away
Chhattisgarh Governor Balramjidas Tandon passed away at the age of 91 years. He was a six time MLA. He was one of the founding members of the Jan Sangh which later became the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He also served as the Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab.
Balramji das Tandon had assumed the office of Governor in Chhattisgarh on July, 2014. He was recently in news in June when he decided not to accept the raise in salary.
8 - Nobel Prize winning author V.S. Naipaul passed away
Nobel Prize winning author V.S. Naipaul passed away at the age of 85 years. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001. He won the Booker prize in 1971 and a knighthood in 1989.
Naipaul's first published novel was “The Mystic Masseur”. In 1959, he won the Somerset Maugham Award with the story collection “Miguel Street.” “The Mimic Men” won the W.H. Smith Award in 1967.
9 - Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan passed away
Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan died in Switzerland. He was 80. He was the first black African to become UN secretary-general. Mr. Annan served two terms as UN Chief from 1997 to 2006. He later served as the UN special envoy for Syria, leading efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 for helping to revitalise the international body, during a period that coincided with the Iraq War and the HIV/Aids pandemic.
10 - US singer Aretha Franklin died at 76
US singer Aretha Franklin has died at the age of 76. She received the Grammy Award 18 times and was the first female vocalist to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Aretha’s style on hits such as "Respect" and "Natural Woman" attracted fans all over the world and influenced Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and other pop divas. Franklin performed at the inaugurations of three US Presidents -- Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.
11 - Israeli Journalist Uri Avnery died
Veteran Israeli journalist and peace activist Uri Avnery died at the age of 94. He was peace-making and known as a symbol of the Israeli peace camp. He worked as a publisher, parliament member, author and activist. He worked as an activist in advocating for a Palestinian state and 1982 Lebanon War.
Uri Avnery, as a journalist always published and favoured that Palestinian state was the only way to secure peace for a democratic Israel with a Jewish majority.
12 - Veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar passed away
Veteran journalist and former Rajya Sabha member Kuldip Nayar passed away at the age of 95 years. Nayar began his career with an Urdu newspaper called Anjam.
Nayar, a former editor of The Indian Express, was also the author of 15 books including “Beyond the Lines”, “India after Nehru” and “Emergency Retold”. He was honoured with ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ for his contribution to journalism at the eighth edition of the Ramnath Goenka Excellence awards in 2015.
13 - US Senator John McCain died at 81
US senator John McCain, a celebrated Vietnam war hero, died after losing a battle to brain cancer. He was 81. The six-term senator, McCain was also a Republican presidential nominee in 2008. McCain had been battling glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer discovered in July 2017.
A fighter pilot during the Vietnam War, he spent more than five years as a prisoner of war after his plane was shot down. While in the custody he suffered torture that left him with lasting disabilities.
14 - Former India captain Ajit Wadekar passed away
Former India cricket captain Ajit Wadekar passed away. He was a leader in Indian cricket despite a mere 37 Test appearances, leading India to triumphs in England and the West Indies in 1971.
Wadekar scored 2,113 runs in his Test career, including one hundred, and was also the country's first ODI captain. The left-hander ended his Test career with 14 half centuries, four of those being 90-plus scores. The Mumbaikar went on to serve as India's manager in the '90s during Mohammed Azharuddin's captaincy. He was bestowed the Arjuna Award in 1967 and Padmashri in 1972.
