🗡️ @Evening: When Shivaji Killed Afzal Khan

1. 📰 Catch Up

• BJP announced 160 names for Gujarat elections; Hardik Patel, Morbi saviour and Ravindra Jadeja's wife in the list.

• India lost by 10 wickets against England in T20 World Cup semi-final.

• Indian Army to deploy the first Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) squadron near China border in Missamari of Assam by the end of November.

• Elgar Parishad-Maoist link case accused Gautam Navlakha allowed to be under house arrest by the Supreme Court.

• Russia ordered retreat from Ukraines' Kherson after eight months of its capture.

2. ✋ Congress an anti-Sikh party?

Jagadish Tytler has been chosen as a member of Pradesh Election Committee by Congress for the upcoming elections to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

• Tytler, a former MP and a former Minister of State, is one of the main accused in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

• Nanavati Commission had noted that he "very probably" had a hand in organising attacks on the Sikh community in Delhi.

MCD elections are scheduled to be held on 4 December and votes will be counted on 7 December.

• The Delhi BJP issued a 'Wachan Patra' today promising to provide EWS flats to every slum dweller in the city.

• The AAP has launched its war room for the elections and the Congress has formed a 40-member committee.

• The BJP has been ruling in the MCD for the last 15 years, while the AAP managed to replace Congress as the second-largest party in the MCD.

3. 📘 An attempt to demystify Devi

Devi for Millenials demystifies Devi’s mantras, tantra, yantras and worship, often perceived to be esoteric.

• It narrates the stories of Devi and describes in a simple manner the Shakti Peethas and their significance.

• It also includes translations of verses both familiar and obscure across a wide spectrum of texts, one of them being the Devi Gita.

• It remains close and faithful to original Sanskrit texts and introduces Devi worshipping without any distortion or interpretation.

Bibek Debroy is the author of this book and is currently serving as the chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the PM.

• He has written dozens of books and Devi for Millenials is his most recent one.

• On similar lines, he had earlier written The Bhagvad Gita for Millenials.

4. ✈️ Bengaluru Airport's Terminal 2

Terminal 2 of Kempegowda International Airport at Bengaluru will be inaugurated tomorrow by PM Narendra Modi.

• It has been at a cost of around Rs 5,000 crore.

• The passenger handling capacity of the airport is doubled now from 2.5 crore to 5-6 crore passengers per annum.

PM Modi's visit will also witness flaging off of Vande Bharat Express and Bharat Gaurav Kashi Darshan Train at KSR railway station.

• He will unveil the 108 feet bronze statue of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda who is the founder of Bengaluru city.

• The statue is on a 23-acre space at the airport and has been built using 98 tonnes of bronze and 120 tonnes of steel.

5. ⚔️ On this day: Battle of Pratapgarh

Afzal Khan was a leading figure in the court of Adil Shah.

• He desecrated Hindu religious places to induce Shivaji to come out of the Pratapgarh fort.

• A meeting was fixed on 10 November 1659 between him and Shivaji to end the stalemate.

• Shivaji was prepared for deception and injured Khan using a waghnakh (tiger claw) in his clenched fist and a thin dagger called the bichawa when Khan tried to kill him.

The battle: Afzal Khan was decapitated by Sambhaji Kavji when he was trying to escape after the injury.

• Meanwhile, Shivaji launched a full-fledged assault on the Bijapur forces.

• Shivaji's forces took control over 23 of the Sultanate’s forts and expanded the Maratha domain like never before.

Video recommendation to celebrate 'Sher Shivraj'- Watch this!