Pierre L’enfant - Pierre L’enfant was a French-born American architect and civil engineer. He is credited for designing the layout of the streets of Washington, D.C. The American Planning Association (APA) has named an award in his honour to recognize excellence in international planning.
Vinod Khanna – Veteran actor Vinod Khanna passed away at the age of 70 and was suffering from cancer. Born on 6 October 1946, Khanna has featured in as many as 146 films. Some of his famous films are Mere Apne, Insaaf and Amar, Akbar, Anthony. He was last seen in 2015 in Shah Rukh Khan’s Dilwale. He made his debut in 1968 with Mann Ka Meet. Khanna has also won numerous awards, including the Filmfare award for best supporting actor and the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999. In 1982 Khanna decided to quit the film industry at the peak time of his career to follow his spiritual guru Osho Rajneesh. He has been an active politician after his reel life and joined BJP.
Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar – IPS officer Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar has been appointed as the Director-General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). The appointment has come two days after 25 CRPF personnel were ambushed by Naxals in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district. The CRPF was functioning without a head for the past two months after the retirement of K. Durga Prasad on February 28, 2017.
Dara Shikoh – In news for International Conference on Dara Shikoh. Dara Sikoh was an intellectual, wise and a paragon of harmonious coexistence of various religions. He loved Muslims, Hindus, Sufis and Sikhs all alike. Dara Shikoh dedicated himself to create a bridge of Hindu-Muslim Unity and was so learned that translated 50 Upanishads from Sanskrit to Persian for the Muslim Scholars. This work is called Sirr-i-Akbar, the great mystery. Through his research, he reached a conclusion that a common spiritual basis existed between Hinduism and Islam. He wrote that a great deal of Quranic wisdom existed in Upanishads. He also documented the Quranic terms and their Sanskrit equivalents from Upanishads. He was invited to lay the foundation of the Golden Temple of Amritsar and he befriended with 7thGuru of Sikhs Guru Har Rai.
Astronaut Peggy Whitson – Astronaut Peggy Whitson has set a new space record for most days in space by a US astronaut. She has broken the previous record set by Jeff Williams who had spent a total of 534 days in space. President Trump congratulated her through a video chat between White House and the ISS. Peggy Whitson, at present, is serving as the Space Station Commander of Expedition 51. She was recently launched to the ISS in November 2016 using a Russian Soyuz capsule. At the time of her launch, she had already accumulated 377 total days in space. At the time of her return back to Earth, she would have accumulated more than 600 days in space.