Today in History (October 7th, 1973)
On October 7, 1973, during the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, Egypt and Syria launched an attack on Israel. Although Israel suffered heavy casualties, its forces successfully fought back, and the war eventually ended without a clear victory for either side.
Summary of Today’s News
Aiming to eradicate child marriage by 2026, says Assam CM
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma aims to eradicate child marriage by 2026. As part of this effort, the Mukha Mantri Nijut Moina scheme was launched, offering monthly payments to girls pursuing higher education, provided they remain unmarried until graduation. With a projected outlay of ₹1,500 crore, it aims to support 10 lakh students. The scheme helps reduce the economic burden on families, promotes higher education, and tackles child marriage, with specific payments for different educational levels.
Muizzu to meet Modi, request India’s support over looming economic crisis.
Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu arrived in India for a four-day visit, set to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the Maldives’ economic crisis and debt repayment. Muizzu hopes for financial assistance, possibly through a currency swap or debt support. India recently helped with a $50 million bond via SBI, and talks may conclude with MoUs on infrastructure and security. Muizzu’s visit follows improved relations after India’s military withdrawal, and he will also visit Agra, Mumbai, and Bengaluru.
Five languages got classical tag after key provision dropped.
The Union Cabinet has granted classical language status to Marathi, Bengali, Assamese, Pali, and Prakrit, removing the previous requirement of an original literary tradition. The Linguistic Expert Committee, led by the Sahitya Akademi President, revised the criteria to focus on verifiable archaeological, historical, and numismatic evidence. This change comes after many requests for classical status and political considerations. The new norms were approved by the Cabinet, with a Gazette notification issued on October 4, following the committee’s meeting on July 25.
Judiciary, legislature have no executive authority, says V-P
Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar asserted that the exercise of executive authority by the judiciary or legislature contradicts democracy and constitutional provisions. He stressed that governance is the exclusive responsibility of the executive, which is accountable to the legislature and subject to judicial review. Emphasizing the separation of powers, Dhankhar urged academia and leaders like Karan Singh to reflect on these issues to enhance democracy. He also voiced concern over internal and external threats to India, advocating for efforts to counter these anti-national narratives.
