Cartoonist P Mahamud Wins the First PEN-Gauri Lankesh Award for Democratic Idealism
Bengaluru : Cartoonist P Mahamud was awarded the first PEN-Gauri Lankesh Award for Democratic Idealism today in Bengaluru on the first anniversary of journalist Gauri Lankesh's assassination. The prize money for the award is one lakh rupees.
The award celebrates what Gauri Lankesh stood for — a life of commitment to equality and justice, fearlessness and above all, a strong connection with the idea of an India where diverse voices can speak with freedom. That the first award has gone to a cartoonist is significant. Cartoonists such as G Bala and Satish Acharya have been arrested or lost their jobs because of their cartoons. The award does more. In the face of multiple attacks on freedom of expression in India today, it insists that voices like Gauri Lankesh, and her counterparts in journalism, art, cartooning, film, literature and activism must be allowed to speak up, loud and clear.
P Mahamud has always been very vocal about the advancement of social and economic justice through his work. In the past, he worked as a freelance cartoonist with Taranga, the Kannada weekly, The Guardian of Business and Politics, the English newspaper, Andhra Pradesh Times and the Kannada newspapers Mungaaru, Jana Vahini, Prajavani and Vijaya Karnataka. His works have always offered a non-partisan critique of political corruption, communalism and caste prejudice, in the country in general, and in Karnataka in particular. He has also published a book of his cartoons around the Ayodhya controversy, an anthology of his political cartoons titled Vyanga (Vi)chitra, and participated in the Sahmat workshop, “Cartoonists Against Communalism” in 1993.
PEN was founded in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers. PEN defends the rights of writers internationally. PEN has three centres in India – Delhi, Bombay and South India. PEN South India was founded in 2017 and is based out of a different city each year.
This annual award has been instituted by PEN South India and Delhi. A jury will be established each year, to identify the recipient of the annual award. The first award is being given to an individual or an organisation who has worked in Kannada, and the jury consists of Chandan Gowda, Sangamesh Menasinakai, Arshia Sattar, and Vivek Shanbhag.
courtesy : newsclick.in
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
