Today’s Motto: ‘Do not bother about competing with contemporaries or predecessors…..

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

On this day, 17 Sep ….

1844 – The first U.S. patent was issued for a printing press with different colours of ink applied in one impression.

1872 -The first U.S. patent for an automatic sprinkler system was issued to Phillip W. Pratt.

1908 – The first U.S. airplane fatality was Thomas Etholen of US. He was a passenger with Orville Wright while demonstrating to the army the Wright Flier airplane when the machine fell 75-ft and crashed into the ground. Wright had installed new, longer, but not flight-tested propellers only the day before. One of the propellers had struck one of the wings’ vibrating guy wires and disintegrated.

1931 – 33 rpm long-playing records were first demonstrated by Radio Corporation of America or RCA. The record players were so expensive that launch  product flopped badly.

1948 – Operation Polo was launched. The Nizam of Hyderabad, in a broadcast, announced ceasefire to his troops and accession into Indian Union, which was settled earlier to the announcement.

1956 – Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC ) established.

1960 – Agreement reached with Pakistan on the distribution of the River Indus and its tributaries. (The Indus Waters Treaty is brokered by the World Bank. According to this agreement, control over the three “eastern” rivers — the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej — was given to India and the three “western” rivers — the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum — to Pakistan). The present govt. has  disputed the agreement on Indus river water as  more favourable fr Pakistan. 

2004 – Tamil is declared the first classical language in India.

2014 – President Xi Jinping of China began a visit to India to discuss strengthening economic relations and potentially resolving disputes regarding segments of the border between the two nations.

2019 – Indonesia raises the female marriage age to 19, in line with males, to curb child marriages.

2022 – Cheetahs are reintroduced from Namibia to India at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh after being extinct for 70 years.

2024 – Handheld pagers belonging to members of the armed group Hezbollah explode across Lebanon, killing nine people and injuring 2,800; Hezbollah holds Israel responsible.

Born…. 1879 – Periyar E. V. Ramasamy, Dravidian   Social Reformer who promoted DMK and anti-Hindi agitations  in Madras (now Tamil Nadu).

1915 – MF Hussain, Indian exotic and controversial painter who initially started as billboard painter for film industry. Later he painted  images of Indian  Gods in nude and  portraying negative sentiments. He was  condemned by Hindu religious and  political leaders and was exiled from India. He also directed film  Gaja Gamini  with  Madhri Dixit and Meenaxi with Tabu in lead exotic roles.  He died in  London in exile (pic credit-ar.inspiredpencil.com ). 

1929 – Air Chief Marshal  Denis A La Fontaine AVSM, PVSM, former Indian Air Chief from 1978-81.

1950 – Narendra Modi, 15th Prime Minister of India. Born to a poor family of  Damodardas Mulchand  and Hiraben Modi,  running a tea shop  at  railway station in Vadnagar (Gujarat). He joined Rashtriya Sewak Sangh at a young age of 8,  served as Pracharak in north Indian states of Himachal, Punjab, Haryana, J&K, then in  Karnataka, West Bengal, Assam, U.P. and Uttrakhand. He was assigned to BJP in 1985 and worked as a ground level worker in Delhi. He was sent as a Chief Minister to Gujarat in 2001  due to ill-health of then CM Keshubhai Patel.  On Feb. 27, 2002 a train carrying back   Hindu devotees from Ayodhya was burnt by anti-Hindu crowd near Godhra leading to communal riots. Modi was blamed for being partial in relief and rehablitaion but he survived criticism due  to his mentor LK Advani (Home Minister and DyPM) and Supreme Court later. He ruled Gujarat until 2014, when he was projected as BJP’s PM candidate. Narendra  Modi as PM is credited with major economic reforms like demonetisation,  GST, Make in India and various popular schemes.  he has raised  India’s prestige globally thru’   G-7, G-20,  BRICS and   SCO  forums  and is the  only non-Congress PM to have won 3 elections as PM and  is in  his 12th year as on date.

Modi has a tremendous clarity and commitment  on executing  his agendas as his accomplishments on Ram Lalla Mandir in Ayodhya, Article 370,  Terror Vs Talk  resolve, Swachhta Abhiyan  and  many  more.  Has been criticised for being pro-Russia,  recently though  he’s  has  close bonding with most world leaders, from  rival  camps. He completes 75 years of life today and commands  tremendous popularity in India and  has been named No. 1 Global Leader several times. He represents Varanasi in Lok Sabha for 3rd time since 2014.

You may have known…. There is no single figure for the exact number of graduates in India today, but reports from mid-2025 indicate that over 10.7 million students graduated in the 2021-22 academic year, according to CBRE Research. However, India faces a significant skill-employment mismatch where many graduates lack the employable skills demanded by the job market, leading to structural unemployment, even as the economy grows.

                                                                                                                                             {Compiled by Lt. Gen. (R)  Raj Kadyan}