Today’s Motto: ‘A leader is a generator of hope’

This is Your Day-TODAY: Take a Determined Step Forward and Make History ! 

On this day, 27 Jan….
1888 – National Geographic Society was established.

1926 – Scottish inventor John Logie Baird gave the first public demonstration of a true television system in London. (The BBC started the first public broadcasts in London in 1936. Regular television broadcasts began in the United States in 1939).

1944 – After 872 days of the siege of Leningrad by German forces under Hitler,  allowing no food or medical supplies to enter which caused the death of hundreds of thousands of German/Russian lives, The Siege was finally broken.

1921 – Establishment of the Imperial Bank of India,  in Bombay on 27 January 1921  by J.M. Keynes. Later it  became the State Bank of India (SBI), the largest  public sector bank under  Govt. of India  controls and regulations.

1959 – Foundation stone for the first Engineering and Technology college in New Delhi was laid.                                                                                                                                                                        1963 – Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar sang “Ae Mere Watan Ke Logo” for the first time at National Stadium  New Delhi, moving PM Jawaharlal Nehru and the nation to tears following the Sino-Indian War.

1973 – The Vietnam war formally ended when ministers from the United States, North and South Vietnam and the Viet Cong signed an agreement in Paris.

1987 – P. T. Usha nominated the Asian Athlete of 1986 by the US Sports Academy. India’s ace athlete  PT Usha, called Piyyoli Express  has won  4 Gold, 7  Silver at  Asian Athletic Games,  Commonwealth and World from 1978  to 1989.  She missed a medal in Los Angeles Olympics.  She was nominated at Rajya Sabha in 2022  and is incumbent President of Indian Olympic Association.

1974 – President V.V. Giri dedicated the Nehru Memorial Museum at Teen Murti, New Delhi, to the nation.  It was the residence of Viceroy of India and later became residence of PM  Jawaharlal Nehru in 1947. The Chowk outside is called Haifa Chowk in memory of 44 Indian soldiers who saved  Istraeli City of Haiffa on 23rd Sept. 1918 (World War-I).

1984 – The first unit of nuclear power began operations in Kalpakkam, marking a critical advancement in India’s energy self-sufficiency.

Born….1922 – Ajit (Hamid Ali Khan),  veteran Bollywood actor, born in Golconda,  Hyderabad, played mostly villain and police or military roles in about  200 popular films like Nastik, Baradari, Naya Daur, Kallicharan, Zanjeer, Yadon Ki Baraat, Tower House, Shikari, Mr.  Natwarlal, Mughl-e-Azam, Ram Balram, Desh Pardesh etc. He was nominated for Filmfare once  and  won  several other prizes.

1926 – General Arunkumar Vaidya, PVSM, MVC & Bar, AVSM, ADC. was the 12th  Army Chief  of India between  August 01, 1983- Jan. 31, 1986.  He commanded the Army in Blue Star operation, was assassinated by millitants after retirement on August 10, 1986 in Pune.

1967 – Bobby Deol, younger son  of veteran and  legendary actor  Dharmendra.  He has acted in about 55  films like Dharam Veer,  Barsaat, Mere Apne,  Yamla Pagla Deevana, Ghayal, Bichchoo, Slodier, Ashram, Class of ’83,  Animal etc. He has won 3 Filmfare, one IIFA, Zee cine awards each.

1969 – Vikram Bhatt, Bollywood Screenwriter, producer/director and son of veteran cinematographer  Pravin Bhatt. He directed and produced Ghulaam, horror  film  series Raaz 1-3, Creature 3D, 1920-Evil Returns, Bloody Ishq etc.  He was nominated for Filmfare awards and won a StarDust and many other film awards (pic credit-IMDb).

RIP…. 1972 – Vinayak  Sitaram Sarvate (Tatya Saheb), great revolutionary writer from Indore. He contributed largely to the formation of Indian Constitution in the Constituent Assembly. He wrote several books on Sanatan and Hindu subjects,  spme philonthropic  organisations  and acted as RSS Sarsanghchalak in 1940. He was  honored with Padma Bhushan in 1966.

2009 – Ramaswamy Venkataraman. 8th President of India (1987-92),   was an Indian lawyer, independence activist and politician who served as  state minister under K Kamraj  in Tamil Nadu, later Union Finance Minister  under India Gandhi and later as Defence Minister.  Was  elected  Vice President of India  (August 1984) and then President of India in 1987.

You may have known…. The widely circulated claim that “India never invaded any country in her last 100,000 years of history” is historically inaccurate and often disputed by experts. Various Indian empires, such as  the Cholas, carried out naval expeditions, including the 11th-century raid on the Srivijaya kingdom in modern-day Indonesia. However, it is true that India has not, historically, invaded other nations for colonisation or territorial expansion in the same manner as many European powers did.                                                              India  (the Bharat) has been invaded by several invaders  for looting  its riches  and occupying  the fertile, mostly rain-irrigated  land , from ancient ages.  The  land held  ancient civilizations  (from 10,000  BCE  300 AD ) Yugas like Satya  Yug, Treta Yug,  Dwapar,  Kaliyug  (from 1,300,000  to  300 BCE)  and  Mesolithis, Indus Valley,  Harappan -Mohanjo Daro  sttlements,  Vedic  periods, Jainism,  Buddhism , all  home-grown civilizations.    Among the early  invaders  were Aryans  (replacing Dravids), then  Turks, Monglolians, Moghals,  Portugese, French and British  (who came as traders for  buying Indian Spices, Silk etc.)  and then  took control of  smaller mutually fighting kingdoms…leading to occupation untill 1947…!                                                                                                                                                                                         {Compiled by Lt. Gen. (R)  Raj Kadyan}