Amid remembrance and protests, Thursday promises to be politically busy day

While the Nehru Memorial Museum & Library will host the launch of a book at 5 pm, the Congress will at that particular hour kick off the 75th birth anniversary celebrations of Rajiv Gandhi

Busy Thursday

Thursday promises to be a politically busy day in New Delhi. While the Nehru Memorial Museum & Library will host the launch of a book at 5 pm, the Congress will at that particular hour kick off the 75th birth anniversary celebrations of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in another part of the city. Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and a group of party leaders have planned the event at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium. Congress President Sonia Gandhi (pictured) will address the gathering and there will be cultural events to highlight Rajiv's contribution to the country. The DMK plans to organise a protest at Jantar Mantar to demand the release of leaders of Jammu and Kashmir's mainstream political parties. The TMC has said it will join the DMK in the protest. Some other opposition parties are likely to lend support.

Gandhi as a prisoner

The National Archives of India, in collaboration with Oxford University Press, has published The Diary of Manu Gandhi 1943-44. Edited and translated by Tridip Suhrud, currently provost at the CEPT University, Gujarat, the book will be launched on Thursday at 5 pm at New Delhi’s Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. Manu is Mahatma Gandhi’s great-niece. She joined him in 1943 as an aide to the Mahatma's ailing wife, Kasturba, when the couple was in the Aga Khan Palace prison in Pune. Manu remained with Gandhi until his assassination. She wrote 10 diaries, which years after her death were handed over to the National Archives. The first volume of The Diary of Manu Gandhi is a record of her life with Gandhi in 1943 and 1944. Authenticated by Gandhi himself, the entries in the diary throw light on his life as a prisoner and the “spiritual and educational pursuits of an adolescent woman who takes up writing as a mode of self-examination”. It is the subsequent volumes of her diary, which are to be published, that have references to Gandhi’s controversial experiments with celibacy.

Diplomatic mission

The British High Commission in New Delhi wants Indian women between 18 and 23 to apply for its “High Commissioner for a Day” competition. The winner will get to head a diplomatic mission for a day — overseeing the UK's network in India, leading daily briefings, and interacting with important stakeholders and the media. The competition celebrates the International Day of the Girl Child on October 11. This is the third year of the competition. Last year's winner was Esha Bahal. She is pursuing her master’s degree while continuing her work supporting the LGBT community. The 2017 winner, Rudrali Patil, recently finished her master’s in international law at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. A jury at the British High Commission will select the winner.