Obituaries Current Affairs 2026 for Government Exams

Gujarati music composer, arranger and singer Gaurang Vyas died at the age of 87 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Born on 24 November 1938 in Mumbai, he was the son of the celebrated composer Avinash Vyas and began as his father's assistant on *Jesal Toral* before his independent debut with *Lakho Phulani*. He scored music for over 100 films, including *Bhavni Bhavai*, *Maniyaro* and *Liludi Dharati*, and produced devotional and folk albums such as *Jalaramni Jhumpdi* and *Kahat Kabir*. He won around 11 state-level Best Music Direction awards and the Gujarat government's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022. Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute.

Professor Sumit Sarkar, one of India's most influential historians of modern India, passed away in Delhi on 13 August 2026 aged 87 after a long illness. A former professor at Delhi University, he was associated with the early phase of the Subaltern Studies school and is best known for The Swadeshi Movement in Bengal, 1903-1908 and Modern India: 1885-1947, a standard text for history and civil-services students.

Justice Manmohan Singh Liberhan, former Chief Justice of the Madras and Andhra Pradesh High Courts, passed away at 87 (August 2026). Born 11 November 1938 near Chandigarh, he headed the one-man Liberhan Ayodhya Commission of Inquiry (appointed 16 December 1992 by PM P.V. Narasimha Rao) into the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition; the commission submitted its report on 30 June 2009 after 17 years and 48 extensions.

Dr. Dnyandeo Yashwantrao (D. Y.) Patil, former Governor of Tripura and Bihar and a renowned educationist known as "Dada" and "Shikshanmaharshi", passed away at the age of 90 in Kolhapur, Maharashtra. The Government of India conferred the Padma Shri — India's fourth-highest civilian award — on him in 1991 for his contributions to education and social service. He founded the D. Y. Patil Group in 1983, which grew into a network of over 182 institutions, 7 universities and healthcare systems across India.

Renowned Nepali-British mountaineer Nirmal Purja (Nims) died in an avalanche on Broad Peak, Gilgit-Baltistan (Pakistan), in July 2026. In 2019 he completed Project Possible 14/7, summiting all 14 eight-thousanders (peaks above 8,000 m) in 6 months and 6 days, smashing the earlier record by over seven years. A former Gurkha and the first Gurkha inducted into the UK Royal Navy's Special Boat Service, he was also the first to climb Everest, Lhotse and Makalu within 48 hours and co-led the first winter ascent of K2 (2021). He was appointed MBE (2018) and featured in the Netflix film *14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible*.

Record-setting mountaineer Nirmal Purja MBE (Nimsdai), a Nepal-born British citizen, was killed in an avalanche in the Karakoram range of Pakistan. In 2019 he set a world record by summiting all 14 eight-thousanders (peaks above 8,000 m) in just 6 months and 6 days — a mission called Project Possible — shattering the previous record of over seven years.

General Vishwa Nath Sharma, the 14th Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), passed away in New Delhi on 31 July 2026 at the age of 96 due to natural causes. He served as Army Chief from 1 May 1988 to 30 June 1990 and was commissioned into the 16th Light Cavalry in 1950, making him the first post-Independence commissioned officer to become Army Chief. During his tenure, India conducted Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka (the Indian Peace Keeping Force, IPKF) and oversaw the de-induction of the IPKF. He was decorated with the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM). Prime Minister Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh expressed condolences.

Sir Garfield Sobers, the legendary West Indies cricketer widely regarded as the greatest all-rounder in cricket history, passed away on 17 July 2026 in Saint Michael, Barbados, at the age of 89. He was born on 28 July 1936 in Bridgetown, Barbados. Career: A left-handed batter, versatile left-arm bowler and exceptional fielder, Sobers played 93 Tests (1954-1974) for the West Indies, scoring 8,032 runs at an average of 57.78 and taking 235 wickets. Records: He scored a then-world-record 365 not out against Pakistan in 1958; became the first cricketer to hit six sixes in an over in first-class cricket (1968); and captained the West Indies in 39 Tests between 1965 and 1972. Honours: Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1975; named among Wisden's Five Cricketers of the 20th Century (2000); inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame (2009). The Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy is awarded annually to the ICC Men's Cricketer of the Year.

Renowned Tamil writer Poomani - the pen name of Poolithurai Manickavasagam - passed away on 12 July 2026 at the age of 79 due to age-related illness in Chennai. Born in 1947 at Andipatti near Kovilpatti (Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu), he was one of the most significant voices in Tamil literature, chronicling the lives of people in the state's dryland (karisal) regions. He won the Sahitya Akademi Award (2014) for his novel Anjaadi (Agnaadi), and his novel Vekkai was adapted into the acclaimed 2019 film Asuran (directed by Vetrimaaran, starring Dhanush). Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay announced state honours for his final rites. His novel 'Vekkai' inspired the National Award-winning film 'Asuran'.

King Harald V of Norway died on 28 August 2026 aged 89. Europe's oldest reigning monarch, he had ruled for 35 years after succeeding his father King Olav V in January 1991, and was the first Norwegian-born monarch in over five centuries. A keen sailor, he represented Norway at the 1964, 1968 and 1972 Olympic Games. Crown Prince Haakon, born in 1973, is heir to the throne of Norway, one of Europe's surviving constitutional monarchies. His death follows that of country music legend Dolly Parton days earlier, making late August 2026 a notable week for globally significant obituaries in the exam news cycle.

The industrialist, aviator and former Raymond Group chairman Vijaypat Singhania (Padma Bhushan, 2006) died in Mumbai aged 87. He once held the world record for the highest hot-air-balloon altitude.

Former Jammu & Kashmir MLA Qamar Ali Akhoon, 68, who served multiple terms in the erstwhile state assembly, died in February 2026.

N. Sundaram, 72, a Tamil Nadu politician and former MLA (1996-2001, 2006-11), died following a fall in January 2026.

Kabindra Purkayastha, 94, a long-serving former Member of Parliament (1991-2014) from Assam, passed away in January 2026.

L. Ganesan, 91, a veteran Indian politician and former Member of Parliament (1980-86, 2004-09), passed away in January 2026.

Legendary American singer, songwriter, actress and philanthropist Dolly Rebecca Parton died on 25 August 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, at the age of 80. Known as the 'Queen of Country Music', she was born on 19 January 1946 in Sevier County, Tennessee, and built a seven-decade career on hits such as 'Jolene', 'Coat of Many Colors', 'I Will Always Love You' and '9 to 5'. She won 10 Grammy Awards from 55 nominations and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame (1999) and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (2022). Her Imagination Library has distributed over 270 million free books to children.

Veteran South Indian actress Sankaramanchi Janaki, universally known as Sowcar Janaki, died at 94 in Chennai on 21 August 2026. She worked across Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam cinema over seven decades, taking her screen name from her 1950 debut, the Telugu film Shavukaru, directed by L. V. Prasad. Published filmography totals vary between nearly 400 and over 450 films. Her last screen appearance came in the 2023 Telugu film Anni Manchi Sakunamule, directed by Nandini Reddy, where she played a grandmother. She received the Padma Shri in 2022, the Kalaimamani award in 1969 and multiple Nandi Awards, and is survived by three children.

Sajjan Kumar, a former three-time Congress Lok Sabha MP who was serving life sentences for his role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, died in Delhi on 20 August 2026 at the age of 80, after being rushed to Safdarjung Hospital in a critical condition. Kumar had resigned from the Congress party following his conviction. The Delhi High Court sentenced him to life imprisonment in December 2018 for the killing of five Sikhs and the burning of a gurdwara in Delhi Cantonment during the November 1984 anti-Sikh riots that followed the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In February 2025, a Delhi court handed him a second life sentence for the killing of two more Sikh men during the same riots.

On 15 July 2026, renowned Nokkuvidya Pavakkali exponent Moozhikkal Pankajakshi passed away in Koothattukulam, Kerala, at the age of 90. She was born on 14 March 1936 at Urulikunnath, Pala, in Kottayam district, Kerala. Art form: Nokkuvidya Pavakkali is a rare traditional Kerala puppetry art in which the performer balances and manipulates puppets on a stick held in the mouth. She began learning the art from her mother, Paappiyamma, at the age of 11, and was regarded as its last major exponent. Honours: She was awarded the Padma Shri, India's 4th-highest civilian award, in 2020 for her contribution to Arts. She also received the Kerala Folklore Academy Fellowship in 2012. Legacy: She took the traditional art form from rural Kerala to international platforms, including performances at cultural festivals in Paris, France.

Clive Davis, the legendary Grammy-winning American record producer and music executive who shaped the careers of numerous global artists, died on 22 June 2026 at the age of 94.

Suman Kalyanpur, the legendary Hindi and multilingual playback singer known for her melodious voice across the 1950s-70s, passed away on 31 May 2026 at the age of 89.

Veteran film and television actress Pravina Deshpande passed away, mourned across the Marathi and Hindi entertainment industries.

Film and television producer-director Anand Sagar, associated with popular mythological TV serials, died in Mumbai at the age of 84.

Veteran film music director S.P. Venkatesh, known for his work in Malayalam and Tamil cinema, died at his residence in Chennai.

The renowned Malayalam actor, screenwriter and director, celebrated for his satirical writing, died at Thrippunithura, Kerala.

The veteran Bengali and Hindi film actor died in Kolkata at the age of 83.

The veteran film producer and owner of AVM Studios (India's oldest surviving film studio) died in Chennai at the age of 86.

Sir Garfield "Garry" Sobers, widely regarded as the greatest all-rounder in cricket history, died on 17 July 2026 at the age of 89. Born on 28 July 1936 in Barbados, he represented the West Indies. Across 93 Tests he scored 8,032 runs at an average of 57.78 and took 235 wickets. In 1958 against Pakistan he made 365 not out, then a world-record individual Test score, and was famed for hitting six sixes in a single over in first-class cricket (1968).

C.D. Gopinath, India's oldest living Test cricketer and the last surviving member of the team that secured India's first-ever Test victory (vs England, 1952), passed away in April 2026.

Legendary playback singer S. Janaki (Sistla Sreeramamurthy Janaki), the "Nightingale of South India", passed away at 88 in Mysuru, Karnataka. Born 23 April 1938 in Repalle, Guntur (AP), she recorded over 48,000 songs in nearly 20 languages across a six-decade career (1957–2017). She won 4 National Film Awards for Best Female Playback Singer and 33 State Film Awards, and famously declined the Padma Bhushan in 2013.

The eminent Urdu writer and Padma Shri awardee (2001) Jeelani Bano, known for her social realism depicting Deccan society, died in Hyderabad aged 89.

Indian-origin anesthesiologist Dr Seshagiri Mallampati, 85, known for the globally used 'Mallampati score' for airway assessment, died in February 2026.

Jayashree Kabir, 73, a Bengali actress known for films including 'Pratidwandi' and 'Simana Periye', passed away in January 2026.