Obituary - Current Affairs for November, 2015

Well known Japanese historian of South India and South Asia, Noboru Karashima has passed away on 26th November 2015. He is survived by his wife, three sons and three grandchildren. Karashima was professor emeritus of Taisho University and University of Tokyo. He was a focal person in setting up the International Association of Tamil Research.

Well known literary figure and professor Surendra Upadhyay passed away due to cardiac arrest on 25th November 2015 at the age of 74. A former chairperson of the Rajasthan Brijbhasha Academy, he also served as chairman of Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee Intellectual Cell and has authored at least three dozens of books, mainly short fiction, critic and poetry.

Ex undisputed boxing champion O’Neil Bell has been gunned down by Atlanta robbers. The 40 year old Jamaican born ex cruiserweight champion completed his 13 year career with a record 27 wins. Bell held the World Boxing Council, International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Association titles simultaneously after knocking out France's Jean-Marc Mormeck in 2006.

RS MP Khekiho Zhimomi passed away following a cardiac arrest on 26th November 2015. He was 69 at the time of his death. He had served as member of the Legislative Assembly of Nagaland 3 times and started his career as a student leader. He was also the founding member of Nagaland Students Federation.

Noted India origin Nepal businessman Banwari Lal Mittal has passed away on 25th November 2015 at the age of 79. He is survived by a wife, two sons and one daughter. He was the founder and chairman of Shree Airlines in Nepal which is the country’s largest helicopter operator as well. He was chairman of the Nepal Chamber of Commerce as well.

TN football administrator TR Govindrajan passed away on November 24, 2015 following a brief illness at the age of 90. He has been the secretary of the Tamil Nadu Football Association for more than two decades and also occupied the post of Assistant Secretary, Treasurer and Vice President. He was also the first secretary of the Madras Football Association when it was set up in the late 1970s.

Well known Hindi writer, journalist and columnist Mahip Singh passed away on 24th November 2015 at the age of 85. He is survived by his wife, two sons and one daughter. He was known for his collection of short stories. The first collection, Subah Ke Phool was published in the late 1950s. Born in 1930 in Unnao, UP, she was editor of literary magazine Sanchetna and established the Bharatiya Lekhak Sangathan.

Noted labour economist T. S. Papola has passed away at the age of 74 on 23rd November 2015. He is a founder Member and honorary professor at ISID apart from also been chairman of Giri Institute of Development Studies, Lucknow; founder member of the Institute for Human Development (IHD), New Delhi and Chairman of the Fourth State Finance Commission of Uttarakhand. He was also an advisor with the Planning Commission and worked in consultative and advisory capacities with international organisations such as ILO, UNCTAD, UNIDO, UNICEF and UNDP.

Bob Foster, former light heavyweight champion who combated Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali and became a sheriff’s deputy died at the age of 77 on 21st November 2015. Foster was the third greatest light heavyweight champion and had 14 title defences before he retired in the 1970s. He was indicted into International Boxing Hall of Fame’s first class in 1990. He also won the title of the Boxing Writer’s Association of America Fighter of the year in 1968.

Well known Pakistani political leader and senior PPP leader as well s former commerce minister M.A. Fahim passed away on 21st November 2015 at the age of 76 from blood cancer. He hailed from the Southern Sindh province and turned down several offers for top posts from different governments. Fahim was also a spiritual leader of a Sufi sect called Marwari Jamaat in Hala.

Ex president of South Korea, Kim Young-sam who ended decades of military rule in South Korea and accepted a global bailout during the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, has passed away at the age of 87 on 22nd November. He passed away following acute heart failure. He is an important figure in South Korea’s pro-democracy movement and went against military dictators for years. He also laid the foundation for peaceful power transfer in the country. His presidency lasted from 1993 to 1998. He also launched a popular anti-corruption campaign.

Ex Gujarat governor Ram Krishna Trivedi passed away on 19th November 2015 at the age of 94. He was the first CEC to introduce voter ID cards in Indian elections. He also served as Gujarat governor from 1986 to 1990. Trivedi was a former bureaucrat who had also held the post of CVC.

The former chief of Research and Analysis Wing, K. Shankaran Nair from Kerala’s Ottapalam village passed away on November 17 2015. He is credited with the success of the 1971 Bangladesh war and played a crucial role in restructuring the RAW in the 1980s. He wrote his memoir “Inside IB and RAW: The rolling stone that gathered moss” in 2008 and succeeded Kao as RAW chief in the 1970s.

The BJP MLA from Bidar, Karnataka passed away following a heart failure at the age of 74. He had served as a Minister in three Cabinets and was a legislator for six terms from Aurad and Bidar. Nagamarapalli is well known as the leader in the cooperative sector having spearheaded the 92-year-old District Central Cooperative Bank in its most crucial period starting from 1985. He also founded the Naranja Sahakari Sakkare Karakhane cooperative sugar factory in 2000.

Chittoor’s Mayor K. Anuradha was killed and her husband seriously injured in an attack on them by unidentified assailants on November 17 2015. Mohan, her husband is a senior TDP leader and prime accused in the attempt to murder a former Chittoor MLA CK Babu. Assailants are believed to be linked to Babu.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singhal has passed away on November 17th, 2015 following multiple organ dysfunction and sepsis. He has been diagnosed with right lower lobe pneumonia, carbon-dioxide retention, sepsis and drowsiness. He has been suffering from respiratory problems for over a month.

Senior Bollywood actor Saeed Jaffrey has passed away on 15th November 2015 from age related ailments at the age of 86. He has acted in several movies including Gandhi, A Passage to India, My Beautiful Laundrette and more. He also appeared in the critically acclaimed Satyajit Ray directed Shatranj Ke Khiladi. He was the first Indian to receive an OBE and has also attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and went to the United States on a Fulbright scholarship.

He died at the age of 85 and was known for hit singles like “Love Me Do”. He was the fifth Beatles performer. White died following a stroke and he was known for his stellar performances. He was born in Glasgow in the 1930s and had an illustrious musical career following which he started teaching drumming. Pete Best and Stuart Sutcliffe are some of the other Beatles apart from the famous ones.

Ex German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt who guided West Germany through the 1970s and 80s passed away at the age of 96. He oversaw the affairs of Germany during the Cold War and the Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan. He also combated homegrown terrorism in the country. Schmidt was an iconic statesman.

French intellectual and thinker Rene Girard known as the new Darwin passed away on 4th November 2015 after prolonged illness. In the year 2005, he was christened the New Darwin of human sciences by Michael Serres following his election to L’academie francaise. He was also emeritus professor at Stanford University’s French and Italian department for more than 30 years. He has authored over 30 books.

India's former Ambassador to Nepal Bimal Prasad on 4 November 2015 passed away in New Delhi at the age of 92. He was a close aide of Jayaprakash Narayan and worked as professor of history at University of Patna. He also taught South Asian Studies at JNU and the dean of School of International Studies. He has authored numerous books on JP’s philosophy.

Well known Iraqi politician Ahmed Chalabi who had played a central role in the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 died on November 3, 2015 of a heart attack. He was a secular Shia and rose to prominence as leader of exiled Iraqi national congress. Born in 1944, he worked to oppose the Saddam Hussein regime in 2003.

Hero MotoCorp business leader B. L. Munjal passed away at the age of 92 on 1st November 2015 following a brief illness. He is survived by 3 sons and 1 daughter. Hero Group came into being in the 1950s. Munjal was born in 1923 at Kamalia, Pakistan. He was chairman emeritus of the USD 4 billion group since earlier this year and remained on BoD as non executive member. He was also a Padma Bhushan awardee.