On January 27, 2010, American writer JD Salinger died at age 91 of natural causes. He was best known for his book, The Catcher in the Rye (1951), which used humour to portray the sensitive, rebellious adolescent protagonist Holden Caulfield. Salinger's book has had a troubled association, with no fault of his or the contents of the book.
The book was infamously carried by John Lennon's assassin at the time of his murder. The killer went on to claim that he was inspired by the protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye and said that the book drove him to commit the crime. However, literary experts have time and again clarified that the book is far from being a call to violence.
While in the West this day is an 'end of an era' for some, four years later, January 27 would mean the beginning of a new era for many. After Tunisia's former President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali was forced to resign in 2011 owing to intense protests — which would later be termed as the 'Jasmine revolution' — the country's National Constituent Assembly passed a new constitution on January 27, 2014. Of the 216 members, 200 voted to approve the new constitution. The move was made in hopes of increasing stability within the country, which has faced disagreement between various factions ever since the fall of the government in 2011.
The 2014 constitution, as reported by The Guardian, enshrined freedom of religion and women's rights and took two years to finish. During that period, the country had been hit by high unemployment, protests, terrorist attacks and political assassinations.
