Ex-ISRO chairman A S Kiran Kumar gets France's highest civilian award
New Delhi, May 3: Former ISRO chairman A S Kiran Kumar was Thursday conferred with France's highest civilian award - Chevalier de l'Ordre national de la L gion d'Honneur - for his contribution to India-France space cooperation.
According to an official statement, on behalf of the President of France, Ambassador of France to India, Alexandre Ziegler conferred Kumar with the highest civilian honour of France.
Jean-Yves Le Gall, Chairman of CNES, the French space agency, was present at the special investiture ceremony held at the Residence of France here, it said.
"France's highest civilian honour comes in recognition of A S Kiran Kumar's invaluable contribution to the development of India-France space cooperation," the statement said.
Throughout his career at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), including as its chairman from 2015 to 2018, Kumar fostered the historic and ambitious space cooperation between India and France.
He directly contributed to making it a cooperation of peoples as well as one of the cornerstones of Indo-French strategic partnership, it said.
Created in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, the Ordre national de la L gion d'Honneur (National Order of the Legion of Honour) is the highest civilian award given by the French for outstanding service to France, regardless of the nationality of the recipient.
The President of the French Republic is the Grand Master of the Ordre national de la L gion d'Honneur.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
