1. Home
  2. Javed Akhtar becomes first Indian to receive Richard Dawkins Award

Javed Akhtar becomes first Indian to receive Richard Dawkins Award

News Network
June 8, 2020

Mumbai, Jun 8: Veteran writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar has won the 2020 Richard Dawkins Award for critical thinking, holding religious dogma up to scrutiny, advancing human progress and humanist values.

Akhtar has become the first Indian to be given the honour, which recognises a distinguished individual from the field of science, scholarship, education, or entertainment, who publicly proclaims the values of secularism and rationalism and upholding scientific truth.

Akhtar's wife, veteran actor Shabana Azmi said the award's relevance becomes more prominent especially in the current times when secularism is under attack.

"I am thrilled. I know what a hero Richard Dawkins has been for Javed. The award gains all the more significant because in today’s time when secularism is being attacked by religious fundamentalists of all hues, this award comes as a validation of Javed’s long service to rational thinking," Azmi told PTI.

The award is named after world-renowned English evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. Actor-comedian Ricky Gervais received the honour last year.

Bollywood celebrities Anil Kapoor and Dia Mirza took to Twitter to congratulate the 75-year-old writer for the recognition.

"Knowing that Richard Dawkins has been your hero since you read 'The Selfish Gene', the prestigious Richard Dawkins Award must be extra special for you @Javedakhtarjadu Saab! It's a truly incredible honour! Congratulations!" Kapoor tweeted.

Dia said Akhtar's win is a proud moment for rhe country.

"Javed Akhtar Saab has won the prestigious Richard Dawkins Award 2020 for critical thinking, holding religious dogma upto scrutiny, advancing human progress and humanist values. He is the only Indian to have won this award! @Javedakhtarjadu Congratulations! You make us proud," Dia wrote.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 23,2020

Washington, Mar 23: Disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, US media reported Sunday.

Harvey Weinstein, 68, is in prison in northern New York state after being sentenced to 23 years in jail for rape and sexual assault.

The fallen film producer's diagnosis was first reported Sunday evening by local paper the Niagara Gazette.

Harvey Weinstein's spokespeople have declined to comment to US media on the subject.

The New York state Department of Corrections did not respond when contacted by AFP for confirmation of the reports.

Harvey Weinstein was transferred Wednesday to a prison near Buffalo, 350 miles (560 kilometers) northwest of New York City.

Prior to his transfer, he stayed at Rikers Island prison and a Manhattan hospital, where he was treated for chest pains.

Crowded US prisons have the potential to become hotbeds for coronavirus infections. Last week, guards at Rikers and New York's Sing Sing prison tested positive for the virus, local media reported.

As of Sunday, the virus has killed 417 people in the US out of more than 33,000 cases, according to a tracker managed by Johns Hopkins University.

Harvey Weinstein was convicted in February of a criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape in the third degree, while being cleared of predatory sexual assault charges.

He was convicted of raping ex-actress Jessica Mann in 2013 and of forcibly performing oral sex on former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006.

Nearly 90 women, including Angelina Jolie and Salma Hayek, have leveled sexual misconduct allegations against Harvey Weinstein, the Oscar-winning producer of "Shakespeare in Love" and numerous other critical and box office hits.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
August 6,2020

Mumbai, Aug 6: Taking over the case of the controversial death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, the CBI on Thursday registered a case naming six persons, including his actress-girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty and her family members.

Besides Rhea, others named in the FIR are her family members Indrajit Chakraborty, Sandya Chakraborty and Showik Chakraborty as well as his house manager Samuel Miranda and the actress' manager and publicist Shruti Modi.

The registration of the case came a day after the Centre informed the Supreme Court that it has asked the CBI to take over the case following a reference from the Bihar government.

The entry of the CBI will not be to the liking of Maharashtra government, as it has already raised objection to the move, saying Bihar does not have any jurisdiction for a probe, as the incident happened in Mumbai.

The CBI has invoked charges related to criminal conspiracy, abetment of suicide, wrongful restrain, wrongful confinement, theft, criminal breach of trust, cheating and criminal intimidation against those named in the FIR.

The case will be probed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the Superintendent of Police Nupur Prasad. DIG Gagandeep Gambhir and Joint Director Manoj Shashidhar will supervise the investigations.

The CBI FIR is based on a case registered by Patna Police on a complaint filed by the actor's father Krishna Kishore Singh, who accused Rhea and others of abetting Sushant's suicide and misappropriating his assets. The Patna Police had invoked sections related to criminal conspiracy, cheating, and abetment to suicide among others.

The 34-year-old actor hailing from Bihar, known for his stellar performance in Kai Poche and MS Dhoni: The Untold Story among others, died by suicide on June 14 in his apartment in Bandra in Mumbai on June 14. Mumbai Police has registered a case and had been investigating various angles when Sushant's father also registered a case in Patna against Rhea and others.

The case ran into controversy as Mumbai Police and the state government questioned the locus standi of their Patna counterparts with one of the senior Bihar Police officers who landed in Mumbai was sent to quarantine by state authorities.

Sushant's death had raised shackles with several actors and others questioning the nepotism in Bollywood after it emerged that he was under depression as he was not getting his due in the film industry.

It also assumed political colours with a section alleging that top Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's son Aditya Thackeray, also a Minister, has links to the incident. Aditya has denied any links.

BJP leaders, including former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, had demanded CBI inquiry in the case.

The Bihar government acted fast in referring the case to the CBI, as the state was going to Assembly elections later this year and there was anguish among people over the state.

So far, Mumbai Police have recorded statements of 56 people, including Rajput's sisters, Rhea, and others from the film industry, after registering an Accidental Death Report (ADR).

The Enforcement Directorate has earlier registered a money laundering case against Rhea and others on the basis of the FIR filed by Patna Police. The agency on Thursday quizzed Miranda while it summoned Rhea for questioning on Friday.

Earlier, Rhea had approached the Supreme Court seeking transfer of the case registered by Patna Police to Maharashtra. In her plea, she had said that she was in a live-in relationship with Sushant from a year up till June 8 when the petitioner had temporarily shifted to her own residence in Mumbai. She has been in deep trauma due the death of the actor and moreover getting rape and death threats.

stm88 info live rtp slot

slot auto scatter hitam

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
May 20,2020

Mumbai, May 20: Doing his bit to help people in need during the ongoing coronavirus crisis, and the lockdown 4.0 phase, Bollywood actor Salman Khan has initiated ''Being Haangryy''- food truck facility to distribute, provide ration to needy.

To feed the affected people in Mumbai, the food truck with the words ''Being Haangryy'' written on it, was seen in Mumbai roads on Wednesday, where volunteers are providing huge bags of ration. A long queue of people was standing near the truck to get the essentials.

Many videos of the truck moving around the city providing ration kits to the people in need, surfaced on the internet from earlier this month.

However, the Bajrangi Bhaijaan actor has not announced this initiative himself on his personal social media accounts.

The Sultan actor is staying at his Panvel farmhouse with his nephew Nirvaan Khan and other family members ever since the lockdown was announced.

Earlier, the 54-year-old actor urged people to take up the ''Anna Daan'' challenge and donate to the underprivileged ones who are worst affected by the COVID-19 lockdown.

After urging people to take up the ''Anna Daan'' challenge, the actor posted a video on Twitter, that features him and Iulia Vantur, Jacqueline Fernandez among others loading the bags filled with ration on to a truck.

Khan actively posts videos on his social media handles to raise awareness about the importance of social distancing during COVID-19.

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

@jacquelinef143 @vanturiulia @rahulnarainkanal @imkamaalkhan @niketan_m @waluschaa @abhiraj88

A post shared by Salman Khan (@beingsalmankhan) on

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.