In cartoons: The work of P Mahamud, the winner of the inaugural Gauri Lankesh award
Bengaluru : Political cartoonist P Mahamud has won the first edition of an award set up in the memory of journalist Gauri Lankesh, who was assassinated in Bengaluru a year ago. The announcement was made on Wednesday by two India centres of writers’ organisation PEN.
Mahamud has been given the “Gauri Lankesh Award for Democratic Idealism” award for his “exemplary commitment to the advancement of social and economic justice and political democracy”, the award citation said. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh and will be given annually to individuals or organisations whose work “reflects an abiding passion and courage towards advancing democratic culture in India”, said PEN Delhi and PEN South India.
“Mahamud’s cartoons have offered a powerful, non-partisan critique of political corruption, communalism and caste prejudice, among other problems seen in the country in general and in Karnataka in particular,” said the awarding organisations. “The bold and passionate work of Mahamud has contributed richly to nourish a democratic spirit in public discussions.”
Mahmud began his career as a freelance cartoonist with Kannada weekly in 1986 and went on to work with several English and Kannada publications.
The jury for the inaugural award – which was given for work in Kannada – comprised sociologist Chandan Gowda, journalist Sangamesh Menasinakai, and authors Arshia Sattar and Vivek Shanbhag.
Here are a few cartoons he has drawn in recent weeks:
(A cartoon, dated August 30, that takes a jibe at the Centre for the arrest of five human rights activists while bigger problems remain unsolved.)
(A cartoon drawn on July 20, 2018, when a no-confidence motion against the government was discussed in the Lok Sabha. The government won the vote.)
(A cartoon, dated September 5, on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reaction to the declining value of the rupee and rising fuel prices.)
(A cartoon published on August 4 after Imran Khan's party emerged the single-largest party in the Pakistan national elections.)
Gauri Lankesh was shot dead in her home in Bengaluru on the night of September 5, 2017. Unidentified men fired at least four shots at her before escaping by motorbike. A special investigation team of the Karnataka Police is investigating the murder.
courtesy : scroll.in
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4 Indian students among several injured in stabbing attack in Russia
Moscow (PTI): At least six people, including four Indians students, were injured on Saturday in a stabbing attack at a university in Russia's Bashkortostan Republic, media reports and the Indian mission here said.
According to preliminary reports, a teenager armed with a knife entered a dormitory of the State Medical University in Ufa in the Bashkortostan Republic. He attacked the students living there and stabbed several of them, the Interior Ministry said.
“The attacker resisted arrest, during which two police officers were stabbed. Furthermore, the suspect also inflicted bodily harm on himself,” Interior Ministry spokesperson Maj General Irina Volk was quoted as saying by RTVI.com webportal.
Calling it an "unfortunate incident", the Indian Embassy here said, "Several persons including four Indian students have been injured."
The Embassy said it is in touch with the authorities, and officials from the Consulate in Kazan are en route to Ufa to provide assistance to the injured students.
In a release, the Russian Federal Health Ministry said that four people injured in the attack are receiving medical care. One is in serious condition, while three others are in moderate condition, it added.
The attacker, identified as a 15-year-old youth, has also been admitted to a local children's hospital in serious condition, the Baza telegram channel said.
Authorities in Ufa, the capital of the Bashkortostan Republic about 1,200 km east of Moscow, have launched a high-level probe into the incident.
The Baza channel claimed that the attacker belonged to a banned neo-Nazi outfit.
"He belonged to the banned NS/WP neoNazi organisation. During the frenzy of attack, he was shouting nationalist slogans about (the) Holocaust,” it said and shared the photo of a Swastika drawn on a wall with the blood of the victims.
According to eyewitnesses, “there was blood all around,” Ren TV said, showing footage of wounded being taken to hospital by ambulance vans.
