Obituary - Current Affairs for November, 2017

Czech tennis player Jana Novotna, a Wimbledon champion in 1998 and 16-time Grand Slam winner in doubles and mixed doubles, has died at the age of 49 after a long battle with cancer, the Women's Tennis Association announced on 20^th Nov 2017. Novotna entered the tennis Hall of Fame in 2005. In a career spanning 14 years on the professional circuit that included 24 WTA singles titles and 76 doubles titles, Novotna finally won her only singles Grand Slam at Wimbledon in 1998 after losing in the final in 1993 and 1997. She won the hearts of fans around the world when she burst into tears after throwing away what looked like a certain victory against Steffi Graf in the 1993 final when on the verge of winning and was consoled afterwards by a British duchess. Novotna was a three-time Olympic medalist and a member of Czechoslovakia's 1988 Fed Cup championship team.

Malcolm Young, the rhythm guitarist and guiding force behind the hard rock band AC/DC who helped create such head-banging anthems as "Highway to Hell," "Hells Bells" and "Back in Black," has died. He was 64. AC/DC were remarkably consistent for over 40 years with its mix of driving hard rock, lyrics and bluesy shuffles, selling over 200 million albums, surviving the loss of its first singer and creating one of the greatest rock records ever in "Back in Black," the world's second best-selling album behind Michael Jackson's "Thriller." The group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland in 2003. The Glasgow-born Young brothers who moved to Sydney, Australia, with their parents, sister and five older brothers in 1963 formed the band in 1973. They were inspired to choose the high-energy name AC/DC from the back of a sewing machine owned by their sister, Margaret. By 1980, the band was on a roll, known for its high energy performances and predictably hard-charging songs. The band continued with a studio or live album every few years, blending their huge guitar riffs with rebellious and often sophomoric lyrics song titles include "Big Balls," "Beating Around the Bush," "Let Me Put My Love Into You" and "Stiff Upper Lip." AC/DC won a Grammy Award, for best hard rock performance in 2009 for "War Machine."

Former state health minister Dr Digamber Singh, who was fighting a battle against a fatal aliment for the past three years, passed away in Oct 2017. Demise of the 67-year-old leader from Bharatpur sent shock waves within the state BJP. A former health and industry minister; he was the vice-chairman of the state government's Twenty Point Programme since June 2015. Senior members of the state BJP including CM Vasundhara Raje and cabinet members rushed to the hospital on the news of his demise. The state cabinet, which in a meeting expressed grief on his death, also announced a day-long official mourning in Bharatpur, where Singh will be cremated. Digambar Singh: Know More

• Singh represented the Deeg-Kumher constituency for two terms between 2003 and 2013.
• However, he lost the 2013 assembly on the same seat at a time when the state BJP went to create a history winning 162 of the 200 seats in the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly.
• The second-blow to his political career came within a year to that when he contested and lost the by-poll on Surajgarh seat in September 2014.
• Singh, a former state health minister, was a two-time MLA from Deeg-Kumher Assembly constituency in Bharatpur.
• He was appointed as the vice chairman of the 20-point programme in June 2015 and was given the status of a cabinet rank minister.
• The government’s 20-point programme, which is under the planning department, is aimed at eradicating poverty and bringing improvement in the life of the common man.
• He was born in Barkheda Faujdar village in Bhartpur and was a practising doctor before joining politics in 1993.