Category: Leaders

** Indian-origin Justice becomes first person of colour to be nominated to Supreme Court of Canada

Justin Trudeau announced Justice Mahmud Jamal’s nomination on Thursday to replace the retiring Rosalie Silberman Abella, the first refugee and first Jewish woman to sit on the top court. 

** How a Quaker from America gained fame and fortune in Ranjit Singh’s court (and was then banished)

Heartbroken and chagrined, the young man set sail again and ended up in Calcutta, where the British East India Company was headquartered. The Company was about to get involved in a war in Burma and needed surgeons.

Lacking a formal medical training, Harlan presented himself to the medical board for examination and through self-study, even managed to pass. He was appointed surgeon to the Calcutta General Hospital and for the next two years, served in Burma until he was injured and sent back.

After he had recovered, Harlan was posted to Karnal, north of Delhi. Restless and eager to make his fortune, he started chafing at the business of taking orders and decided to leave the Company’s employment. Harlan had always had an ambivalent attitude towards his employer; while he had a romantic love for the pomp and ceremony of the British monarchy, which the Company represented, he was fiercely independent and very proud that his country was a republic. Right around this time, he stumbled upon a colourful account of Afghanistan, written by Mountstuart Elphinstone, a representative of the East India Company. Harlan was fascinated by the account of the Afghan court and had a deep desire to observe a real monarchy in operation. The Indian rajas that he had encountered seemed to wield no real power and were effectively puppets of the Company.

** United States Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy donates 1.4 crore worth equipment

United States surgeon general Dr Vivek Murthy has donated Covid related medical equipment to small hospitals in Mandya and Kodagu districts.

Murthy a native of Hallegere in Mandya district contributing through his Scope Foundation.

** Former Anna University Vice-Chancellor M. Anandakrishnan no more

Renowned educationist M. Anandakrishnan died in the city early on May 29, after battling against COVID-19. He was 93.

He served as Vice-Chancellor of Anna University and was chairman of the Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur.

A Padma Shri recipient, he is survived by his wife Jayalakshmi Anandakrishnan and four sons – Ramu, Ravi, Satyan and Sridhar.

** MEA’s first directory of diplomats a record of Nehruvian era

Volume is rare to come across and is found only in limited number of libraries and in personal collections

In 1958, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru decided to publish a ‘Statement of Services of Officers of Branches A and B of the Indian Foreign Service’. The responsibility of editing the volume, which contained the biodata of all the diplomats who joined the ministry in the 1940s and the 1950s, fell on KPS Menon Jr. Finally, what emerged was a slim volume of 95 pages containing the details of careers and interesting developments involving many young officials who would shape India’s diplomacy in the subsequent decades. It also shows how Mr. Nehru planned diplomats to be a mix of diverse backgrounds and skills.

** Indian-origin researcher makes splitters for ventilator

iSAVE re-purposes flow valves to support two patients

A team of researchers in the United States has come up with splitters for ventilators that will address the shortage of the life-saving equipment. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, Bengaluru, recently approved the equipment. IndVentr is the Indian partner making the device.

Earlier this year, Shriya S. Srinivasan and her team were in discussion with Indian health officials. But the interest in their equipment was low.

Dr. Srinivasan, a biomedical engineer, is the daughter of immigrant parents. She visits India frequently to give bharatanatyam performances. She did her Ph.D in medical engineering and medical physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School. She took up Project Prana on the sidelines of her ongoing post-doctoral work.

** Times Group chairperson Indu Jain dies

Indu Jain was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the third highest civilian honour in the country, in 2016.

She set up The Times Foundation in 2000, with sustainable development and transformational change as its key goals. One of India’s most respected non-profits, it provides community services and runs the Times Relief Fund to offer assistance during cyclones, earthquakes, floods, epidemics and other crises.

She was the founder president of FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO), established in 1983 to promote entrepreneurship and professional excellence among women in India. From 1999, she also served as chairperson of Bharatiya Jnanpith Trust, founded in 1944 by Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain, her father-in-law, to promote literature in Indian languages.