Pakistani Religious Scholar Dies

Prominent Pakistani religious scholar Qazi Hussain Ahmed has died at the age of 74.

He was the chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan's leading religious group, for 22 years before stepping down in 2009.

In November, Ahmed escaped unhurt from an assassination attempt when a suicide bomber detonated explosives near him.

He was a strong critic of the U.S.-NATO participation in the civil war in neighboring Afghanistan.

Ahmed died Sunday morning in Islamabad. He had suffered from heart disease for years.

Indian Sitarist Ravi Shankar Dies

Indian composer and sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar has died in a California hospital. He was 92.

A statement released by his family, late Tuesday, said Shankar had been in “fragile health” for several years. The statement says he underwent surgery last week and never recovered.

Shankar was one of India's best known performers. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh released a message on “Twitter” Wednesday reacting to his death. The prime minister called Shankar a “national treasure” and a “global ambassador of India's cultural heritage.”

The late Beatle George Harrison called Shankar “the godfather” of world music. The two collaborated on several projects, including a 1971 relief concert for Bangladesh. Shankar also worked with violinist Yehudi Menuhin.

Shankar was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor, and also won three Grammy awards. He has been nominated for the 2013 Grammy for his album, “The Living Room Sessions, Part 1.”

He was the father of American singer Norah Jones and performer Anoushka Shankar.

(Photo by Alephalpha, 1988)

Mother of Late Pakistani PM Bhutto Dies

Nusrat Bhutto (in middle) is seen standing as Zulfiqar Bhutto meets with a little girl, 1975. Photo by Anne1965.

Begum Nusrat Bhutto, the wife of one Pakistani prime minister and the mother of another, has died at the age of 82 after a long illness.

Nusrat Bhutto's life mirrored much of the turmoil in Pakistan's politics. Her husband, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was the founder of the Pakistan People's Party and served as Pakistani prime minister from 1973 until 1977.

The first lady took over as head of the party after Mr. Bhutto was executed in 1979, and also served in parliament.

Later, Nusrat Bhutto's daughter, Benazir, took over as head of the party and served two separate terms as Pakistan's prime minister.

Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in 2007 addressing a campaign rally. Her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, is now Pakistan's president.

Nusrat Bhutto spent her final years in Dubai, where she died Sunday. Her body is being returned to Pakistan to be buried in a family graveyard.

Slain Former Afghan President Led Peace Efforts

As head of Afghanistan's High Peace Council, former President Burhannudin Rabbani was tasked with leading efforts to find a political solution to the ten-year war with the Taliban.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai appointed the council in October of 2010. The 68-member body made up of tribal elders, religious leaders, and politicians was set up to facilitate contacts with insurgents willing to lay down their arms and join the government.

Born in 1940 in the northeastern Afghan province of Badakhshan, Mr. Rabbani studied in Kabul and then at Cairo's Al-Azhar University.

In 1971, he took over the leadership of an Islamist party, Jamiat-e-Isami, which later formed one of the mujahedeen groups that fought Soviet forces following the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.

Mr. Rabbani became president of a shaky mujahedeen coalition government in 1992 after the collapse of the country's Soviet-backed communist government.

The struggle for power among mujahedeen groups sparked a civil war that resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people. Mr. Rabbani's presidency ended in 1996, with the rise of the Taliban.

An ethnic Tajik, he then became the nominal head of the Northern Alliance, which joined with international forces in ousting the Taliban from power in 2001.

Mr. Rabbani was killed Tuesday in a suicide attack at his home in the Afghan capital.

Northern Alliance military commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, was killed by al-Qaida suicide bombers posing as journalists on September 9, 2001, just two days before the September 11 attacks on the United States.

Bollywood Actor Kapoor Dead at 79

Indian actor Shammi Kapoor has died. He was 79.

Kapoor is best known as the gyrating, swivel-hipped, handsome actor who helped to transform Bollywood's song and dance sequences into a more modern style.

His bio on his fan website says his “special way” with songs was his “most readily identifiable trademark.”

He made his film debut in 1953 and became the leading Bollywood heart-throb of the late 1950s and early 1960s. He continued acting long after his “heart-throb” days were finished.

Kapoor was born into an acting dynasty. His father was a well-known theater personality and his brothers were also successful actors.

Shammi Kapoor died from renal failure Sunday.

(Photo of Shamsher Raj Kapoor, courtesy of Hasnainsikandar.)

Indian Spiritual Leader Dies After Months of Fasting

Tuesday, 14 June 2011

Indian spiritual leader Swami Nigamanand, who was on a hunger strike for 115 days to protest environmental abuses in the country, died late Monday at the age of 36 in a hospital in Uttarakhand state.

Nigamanand was fasting to bring attention to pollution of India's revered Ganga River, also known as the Ganges.

Nigamanand, who began his fast in February and had slipped into a coma last month, died in relative obscurity, compared to the fast of a celebrity yoga guru Baba Ramdev to protest corruption. Ramdev is very much alive and in the spotlight.

Sociology Professor Mala Kapur Shankardass says Ramdev's fast became a media frenzy because anything which has an impact on politics or on socio-economic aspects gets much more attention.

Shankardass said environmental protests like Nigamanand's tend to be limited to the affected regions. He said environmental issues are not yet on the public agenda like corruption.

India's government has been beleaguered by a series of recent corruption scandals. The largest involves the sale of telecom licenses at below market rates, allegedly causing the loss of up to $40 billion to the government.

The hunger strike is a traditional form of protest in India and was used as part of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi's non-violence movement.

India's "Picasso" Dies at 95

Thursday, 9 June 2011

India's most eminent artist, Maqbool Fida Husain, sometimes called “the Indian Picasso,” died Thursday in London at the age of 95.

Indian President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and artists and ordinary Indians paid tribute to Husain after news of his death spread across the country.

Husain began his career in India as a Bollywood poster artist and later developed a style combining Indian traditions with a Western-influenced Cubist style. He was also known for avoiding shoes, preferring to go barefoot.

But in 2006, the Muslim artist went into self-imposed exile in Dubai after being targeted by Hindu hardliners angered by his depiction of Hindu deities in the nude and India as a nude woman. Angry Hindu radical groups called the paintings an insult to their religion and offered a reward for his death.

Husain's decision to leave his homeland raised a debate about artistic freedom and tolerance in India. He refused to comment on the controversy, saying he remained deeply rooted to India and was living abroad only to do his work.

Among those who spoke up in Husain's defense was the Supreme Court, which said nudity is common in Indian art and should not be regarded as an obscenity.

Photo: M.F. Hussain, 2010. (Photographer: Ayaz360)

Indian Guru Dies

Indian Guru Dies
Sunday, 24 April 2011

Sathya Sai Baba, one of India's most famous holy men, has died.

He died of heart failure Sunday morning in a hospital near his ashram in Puttaparti village in southern Andhra Pradesh state. He had been hospitalized since late last month.

The 85-year-old Hindu guru, who always dressed in orange robes with his afro-style hairdo, was considered a living god by his worldwide followers.

India has ordered a heavy police deployment to Puttaparti for the hundreds of thousands of devotees expected to make the pilgrimage there for Sai Baba's funeral.

Sai Baba claimed to be the reincarnation of another holy man, Sai Baba of Shirdi, who died in 1918.

From his ashram in Puttaparti, Sai Baba built an empire of schools and health centers that helped to spread his influence.

While his charitable work and teachings brought Sai Baba public respectability, his showman antics in which he would miraculously produce gold coins or watches on stage at public events also brought him critics and notoriety.

Former Nepal Prime Minister Dies

Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Nepali congress leader (Photo: Krish Dulal)

Former Nepal Prime Minister Dies
Saturday, 5 March 2011

Nepal's former Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, a founding member of the Nepali Congress, has died.

Nepali officials say Mr. Bhattarai died Friday in a hospital in the capital, Katmandu.

Mr. Bhattarai served as prime minister of the Himalayan nation twice.

After democracy was restored in Nepal in 1990, Mr. Bhattarai became prime minister of the interim government, in charge of making a new constitution and holding the first election.

He served as prime minister again in 1999.

He spent nearly 14 years in prison for opposing Nepal's autocratic system.

Mr. Bhattarai was 87 years old.