Today’s Motto: ‘Doing uncomfortable things is gym training for life’

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

On this day, 14 Nov ….
(Celebrated as Bal Diwas,  advocating children’s rights, education, and well-being, reflecting PM  Jawaharlal Nehru’s Love for  Children).

1666 – The English physician Samuel Pepys successfully tried blood transfusion between dogs. It later proved very useful for humans.

1681 – East India Company declared Bengal as a separate Presidency.

1896 – Power plant at Niagara Falls begins operation. Located on the borders between  Canada (Ontario) and America (NewYork.), it’s  a big  tourist  attraction  and  gets about  40 million  tourists  annually  from worldover. and big  tourism revenue.

1910 – The first airplane flight from a ship was made.

1996 – Competition Post Card’, a new category of postcard, priced Rs. 2 introduced in India.

2018 – Attempt to move 720,000 Rohingya back to Myanmar from Bangladesh refugee camps amid international criticism. They refuse to go back.

2022 – Earliest evidence of fire used to cook by humans found in study of fish remains 780,000 years ago at Gesher Benot Ya’aqov in northern Israel.

Born…. 1889 – Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first PM.  Lawyer,  freedom fighter and statesman, son of  prominent lawyer Motilal Nehru who had migrated to  Allahabad     (renamed Prayagraj) from Kashmir.  Nehru  was an associate of MK Gandhi  and  supported the  ideals of Ahimsa  opposing violent  retaliation  to British govt’s attrocities on Indian freedomfighters,  citizens and exploitation.  This helped him get  Congress’  top  leader Mahatma Gandhi’s backing for PM’s post in 1947. He ruled India till his death in  1964.  He also professed  Non-alignment and  peaceful living- offered Panchsheel  to China  but  got betrayal by Chinese, incursions on Indian borders  in Kashmir and Arunachal in  1958-63  and annexing some rehions including Aksai Chin. This day is commemorated  ‘Children’s Day‘  since  1957 was called Chacha Nehru.  His family members Indira Gandhi, Rajiv, Sonia have ruled India for almost 60  out of  78 years. He also wrote Discovery of India during his jail days.  (pic credit-youngisthan.in). 

1907 – Harivanshrai Bachchan, a renowned poet, bureaucrat and father of legendary  actor Amitabh Bachchan. He wrote the famous poetary collection Madhushala, Silsila, Alaap, Badnam Basti atc.  Some of his works were used in films. He was awarded Padma Bhushan  in 1976.  He was close to Nehru family and  was also nominated to  Rajya Dabha in 1966.

1944 – Aditya Vikarm Birla, Business magnate scion of leading business/industrial  family of Birlas,  son of Basant  Kumar Birla, the diversification of his group into textiles, petrochemicals and telecommunications. He set up plants in Phillipines, South  East Asia and Egypt. His net worth was about Pounds 250 million  in1995, when he died in  the USA.                                                                                                                              1948 – King Charles III of Britain. Rose to the throne  on May 6, 2023 at the age of 73  after  death of his  mother Queen Elizabeth II. Head of 14 Commonwealth countries,  animal care activist. He married Diana Frances Spenser in 1981, couple has 2 sons  and  Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005 (pic credit-Marca.com). 

1971 – Adam  Craig Gilchrist. Australian attacking left hand batsman wicket-keeper, who played   Also played for Deccan Chargers,  Hyderabad  and Punjab Kings in IPL. Also does cricket

commentary in tournaments  (P ic credit -Hamish Blair/Getty Images)

RIP…. 1967 – Kanakaiya Nayudu Colonel Cottari   dashing batsaman and bowler, populary called  Col. Nayudu, the first Test captain of the Indian cricket team. He played  7 Tests but 207  First Class matches and scored 11,835 runs from 1916 to 1963.  He was Vice President of BCCI  and National Selector. He was  awarded with Padma Bhushan in 1956, being the first cricketer.  C K Nayudu Trophy for Under-25 Cricketers  was started in 1973-74 as a tyribute to him.

1977 – Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada , born as Abhay Charan De, in Calcutta,  was an Indian spiritual teacher and the founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), commonly known as the “Hare Krishna movement”.

You may have known….    In the 1960s, the CIA tried to spy on the Kremlin and Russian embassies by turning cats into listening devices. The programme, called Acoustic Kitty, involved surgically implanting batteries, microphones and   antennae inside cats (pic credit-Etsy).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            {Compiled by Lt. Gen. (R)  Raj Kadyan}