FRIDAY 11 OCTOBER 2024 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR State funeral for India's beloved 'Ratan' NIKHIL VYAS NEW DELHI, 10 OCTOBER A large number of people from different walks of life including politicians, industrialists, cinestars, paid their heartfelt tribute to veteran industrialist and philanthropist Ratan Tata whose last rites were performed with full state honours as per Parsi rituals at Worli crematorium in Mumbai on Thursday. Ratan Tata, one of India’s most iconic business leaders, passed away on late Wednesday night, at the age of 86. The chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, a conglomerate synonymous with India’s industrial growth, breathed his last at Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital where he had been admitted following a sudden drop in his blood pressure. Tata, who had been in critical condition in intensive care, leaves behind a legacy that spans over two decades of leadership at Tata Sons. His passing marks the end of an era for the Tata Group and the nation. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and other leaders paid tribute to the veteran industrialist at Worli crematorium on Thursday. Shah had attended the last rituals of the veteran industrialist on behalf of the Government of India. Maha Cabinet urges Centre to confer Bharat Ratna on Tata STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 10 OCTOBER Tata Group staff & people pay their last respects to industrialist Ratan N Tata at his funeral in Mumbai on Thursday. In a post on X, the Union Home Minister said, "Have joined millions of Indians to grieve the sad demise of Ratan Tata Ji. Also laid a wreath on behalf of PM Shri Narendra Modi Ji. Ratan Tata Ji will always be remembered as a beacon of patriotism and integrity. As an industrialist respected across the world, he steered Tata Group into global prominence. His life & commitment to the nation stand as a pole star in India's industrial landscape. He led the Tata group with clean corporate governance, adhering to the rules, and made efforts to build a better society through the Tata Trusts. Ratan Tata Ji's legacy will continue to guide those who lead the industrial sector of the country for a long time to come." Union Minister Piyush Goyal was also present for the last rites of Ratan Tata, in Mumbai. Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, Founder-Chairperson of Reliance Foundation Nita Ambani also paid last tributes to Ratan Tata The Maharashtra Cabinet on Thursday passed a resolution, urging the Centre to confer Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award, on veteran industrialist Ratan Tata, who passed away in Mumbai last night, in recognition of his achievements. A meeting of the state Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, paid rich tributes Ratan Tata for his contribution to the nation. An official statement from Maharashtra Chief Minister Office, the state government has declared one-day of mourning to pay respect to Ratan Tata. Earlier, in a post on X, the chief minister said everyone will always remember the determination shown by Ratan Tata after the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack. "His firm decisions, courageous attitude and social commitment will always be remembered. The last rites of late Ratanji Tata will be performed with full state honours," Mr Shinde said. Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said the demise of Ratan Tata is a "great loss for the country". ANI in Mumbai. Actor Aamir Khan and Director-Screenwriter Kiran Rao pay last tributes to Ratan Tata in Mumbai. Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan also condoled the demise of the veteran industrialist Ratan Tata. Ratan Tata's dog, 'Goa' also paid tribute to veteran industrialist Ratan Tata at the NCPA lawns, in Mumbai. Earlier in the day, the mortal remains of Ratan Tata embarked on its final journey to the Prayer Hall at the Worli Crematorium, Dr E Moses Road, Worli for the final rites. Chronicle of a businessman and philanthropist 1937: Ratan Tata was born on Locomotive Company. December 28 in Mumbai to Naval Tata and Sooni Commissariat. 1963: He moved to Tata Iron and Steel Company for a training pro1955: Ratan left for Cornell gramme. University in Ithaca, New York, to study architecture and 1965: Appointed technical officer engineering. in Tisco's engineering division. 1962: He joined the Tata Group as an assistant in Tata Industries after earning a Bachelor's degree in Architecture. He further underwent training at the Jamshedpur plant of Tata Engineering and WEATHER MAINLY CLEAR SKY. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 35 AND 22 DEGREE CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: Nil RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 86 % TEMPERATURE 1975: Completed the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School. 1981: Appointed Chairman of Tata Industries. 1969: Worked as the Tata Group's resident representative in Aus1986-1989: Served as Chairman tralia. of Air India. 1970: Joined Tata Consultancy Services for a brief stint on his return to India. 1991: Ratan Tata took over as Chairman of Tata Sons and Chairman of the Tata Trusts. Min: 23.1 °C (+2) SUN SETS 17:56 hrs MOON SETS 00:18 hrs THUMBNAILS President Murmu extends Durga Puja greetings to nation: President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday extended Durga Puja greetings to the nation, stating that the festival is an occasion to fully devote ourselves to Goddess Durga and promote unity and understanding among all religions. 28 killed in Israeli airstrike on school in Gaza: At least 28 Palestinians were killed and more than 54 others injured on Thursday afternoon in an Israeli airstrike on a school sheltering displaced persons in the Gaza Strip, said the Palestinian Health Ministry. (p9) 2000: From 2000 onwards, under Ratan Tata's leadership, Tata Group acquired several international brands, including Tetley, Corus, Jaguar Land Rover, General Chemical Industrial Products, and Daewoo. 2008: A game-changing year in the Indian car industry as Ratan Tata launched “Tata Nano” to cater to the aspirations of the rising middle class. He was also awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian honour. 2012: Ratan Tata stepped down as Chairman of Tata Sons, and Cyrus Mistry was appointed as his successor. 2016: Cyrus Mistry was sacked, and Ratan Tata was made interim chairman from October 2016 through February 2017. 2017: Tata Sons named N Chandrasekaran as Chairman. October 2024: The philanthropist breathed his last at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai. Chronicler of human fragility and resilience, Han Kang becomes South Korea's first Nobel Literature laureate AGENCIES STOCKHOLM, 10 OCTOBER Min. 33 % Max: 34.5 °C (0) SUN RISES 06:20 hrs MOON RISES 13:55 hrs 1974: Joined the board of Tata Sons as a director. South Korean author and poet Han Kang, who came to global prominence with her unsettling novel "The Vegetarian" (2015), about a woman seeking to reclaim her agency through her food choices but coming to grief in an insensitive and exploitative patriarchal society, was on Thursday awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature 2024 "for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life". "In her oeuvre, Han Kang confronts historical traumas and invisible sets of rules and, in each of her works, exposes the fragility of human life. She has a unique awareness of the connections between body and soul, the living and the dead, and in her poetic and experimental style has become an innovator in contemporary prose," the Swedish Academy said in the award citation. The choice of Han, who is the 117th recipient overall of the top literary award, the 18th woman winner, and the second South Korean Nobel laureate after President Kim Dae-jung - who won the Peace Prize in 2000, indicates that the selection committee cast its eyes wider this year, after choosing Norwegian literateur Jon Fosse "for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable" last year. Born in Gwangju in 1970, Han made her literary debut in 1993 when five of her poems including "Winter of Seoul" were published by the Korean magazine "Literature and Society", while her first short story "The Scarlet Anchor", which came out a year later, won a literary contest. In 1995, she published her first book, "Love in Yeosu", a collection of stories, but it was "The Vegetarian" (originally published in Korean in 2007), about Yeong-hye, who rebels against her family and friends by eschewing meat, which brought her literary renown. Using the media of three interrelated stories, Han sketches the struggle and inner conflict of the protagonist from different perspectives and her tribulations - her bid to make her own diet choices peremptorily and forcibly rejected by both her husband and her authoritarian father, her erotic and aesthetic exploitation by her brother-in-law, a video artist who becomes obsessed with her passive body, and her ultimate committal to a psychiatric clinic, where in her delusion and self-destruction mode, she becomes a plant. The work won the Man Booker International Prize in 2016, making Han its first South Korean recipient. Han also used her pen to bring sordid episodes from her country's violent past to light. In "Human Acts" (2016), she dwelt on the murder of hundreds of students and unarmed civilians in a massacre carried out by the South Korean army in 1980 in her hometown Gwangju, reflecting her long desire to chronicle the tragedy under the military dictatorship. How to prevent such sickening and traumatic violence from recurring was another motivation. Singling out the work and comparing the motif to ancient Greek playwright Sophocles' "Antigone", the Swedish Academy said that her "style, as visionary as it is succinct, nevertheless deviates from our expectations of that genre, and it is a particular expedient of hers to permit the souls of the dead to be separated from their bodies, thus allowing them to witness their own annihilation". Nadal confirms retirement AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 10 OCTOBER The 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal confirmed his retirement, and said he will retire at the end of the 2024 season. The 38year-old Spaniard, who earlier indicated that 2024 will be his last year in professional tennis, will compete in his final professional event at the Davis Cup Finals, to be held in Malaga from Novem- ber 19-24. Nadal retires as the second-most successful men's singles player of all time, behind only long-time rival Novak Djokovic, who has won 24 majors so far. Nadal in a video message said: "I am here to let you know I am retiring from professional tennis. The reality is that it has been some difficult years, the last two especially. I don't think I have been able to play without limitations. (P12) India-ASEAN friendship crucial in times of global conflict: PM DEEPAK RAZDAN NEW DELHI, 10 OCTOBER P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday participated in the 21st ASEAN-India Summit in Vientiane, Lao PDR, and reviewed the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, observing that “when there is conflict and tension in many parts of the world, the friendship, coordination, dialogue, and cooperation between India and ASEAN hold great promise.” Addressing the Summit, he noted that this was his 11th participation in the meeting. He said that he had announced India’s Act East policy 10 years ago, which has since given new energy, direction, and momentum to the historic relations between India and ASEAN countries. In keeping with the Summit Chair’s theme of "Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience,” the Prime Minister announced a 10-point plan. This included celebrating 2025 as the ASEANIndia Year of Tourism for which India would make available USD 5 million towards joint activities. It also included celebration of a decade of Act East Policy through several people-centric activities, including a Youth Summit, Start-up Festival, Hackathon, Music Festival, ASEAN-India Network of Think Tanks, and a Delhi Dialogue. The meeting agreed to create a new ASEAN-India Plan of Action (2026-2030) that will guide both sides in realising the full potential of the ASEANIndia partnership and adopt two Joint Statements. In the two statements, the leaders recognised the contribution of India’s Act East Policy in advancing the partnership between ASEAN and India. In the other statement, they appreciated India’s leadership in the field of digital transformation and welcomed partnership with India in digital public infrastructure. Mr Modi said focusing on ASEAN centrality, India had launched an Indo-Pacific Ocean Initiative in 2019. This complements ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific, he said. Last year, maritime exercises were started for regional security and stability, he said. "In the past 10 years, India’s trade with the ASEAN region has doubled, exceeding $130 billion. Today, India has direct flight connectivity with seven ASEAN nations, and direct flights to Brunei will commence soon. We have also opened a new embassy in Timor-Leste,” he added. Among ASEAN countries, Singapore was the first country with which India established fintech connectivity and this success is being replicated in other countries. “People-centric approach is the base of our development partnership,” he said. With China in mind, India, ASEAN call for freedom of navigation and overflight ASHOK TUTEJA NEW DELHI, 10 OCTOBER Amid growing Chinese assertiveness on maritime issues, India and the ASEAN on Thursday reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, stability, maritime safety and security, freedom of navigation and overflight in the region. They also called for unimpeded lawful maritime commerce and promotion of peaceful resolutions of disputes, in accordance with universally recognised principles of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the relevant standards and recommended practices by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). ''In this regard, we support the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of the Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in its entirety and look forward to the early conclusion of an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) that is in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS,'' said the two sides in a joint statement on ''Strengthening ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace, Stability and Prosperity in the Region''. The Indian side at the India-ASEAN Summit in Laos was led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to upholding multilateralism, the purposes and principles enshrined in the UN Charter and respect for international law, while recognising ASEAN’s rising global relevance and unique convening power amid the emerging multipolar global architecture and noting the growing and active role of India in major international economic and political affairs. They agreed to strengthen cooperation in maritime security, counter-terrorism, cybersecurity, military medicine, transnational crime, defence industry, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, peacekeeping and demining operations and confidence building measures. ' 'This will be achieved through the exchange of visits, joint military exercise, maritime exercise, port calls by naval ships and defence scholarships,'' the joint statement said.