Today’s Motto: ‘Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant’

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

On this day, 28 Feb….
(Celebrated as National Science Day, marking Sir C.V. Raman’s 1928 discovery of the ‘Raman Effect’.                          Also observed as De-addiction Day, to coincide with the birthday of former PM Morarji Desai, born on February 29 but celebrated on the 28th in non-leap years).

1580 – The first Christian missionary from Goa arrived at the Mughal Emperor Akbar’s court in Fatehpur Sikri.                                                                                                                                          1774 – Chamaraja Wadeyar, the  21st king of Mysore who ruled for 22 years  from Feb. 28, 1774 to April 17, 1796. Chamaraja Wadiyar X’s son and successor Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV  earned great fame as a saintly king, and his kingdom was hailed as Ramarajya by Mahatma Gandhi–as an ideal kingdom comparable to the one ruled by Lord Rama.He also established Mysore  Representative Assembly.

1928 – Sir C.V. Raman discovered the scattering of light, an achievement that earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930.

1943 – Howrah Bridge, the famous cantilever bridge over the Hooghly River in Calcutta, (West Bengal), also known as Rabindra Setu, was opened to the public.

1948 – Roughly six months after Independence, the last contingent of British troops left India from Mumbai.

1953 – DNA structure discovered by James Watson.

1996 – In the Jain Hawala case, non-bailable  arrest warrants were  issued against 10 leading politicians including LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, VC Shukla, Madhav Rao Scindia and Surendra Kumar Jain and others.   The case  involved bribery worth  $ 18 million by Jain Bros, Anwar Alvi of  Hizbul Mujahideen  and it was  unearthed by Dainik Jansatta correspondents Ram Bahadur Rai and Rajesh Joshi joined by Vineet Narain.   The case however could not stand in Supreme Court and all were aquitted in  1997-98.                                                                                                           2014 – Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra plans selling the e2o, an electric car, in Bhutan for about $11,300. Reports say  vehicle exhaust is causing air pollution problems in Bhutan that threaten the country’s tourist-dependent economy.

2019 – Summit between North Korean President   Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump collapses without any  agreement.                                                                                                                               2021 – Myanmar security forces open fire on protests around the country, killing at least 18, in bloodiest day since the military coup

Born…. 1897- K M Cherian. Kerala’s  veteran journalist, editor of Malayala Manorama. During  his times the  publication became No. 1 in Malayalam, No. 4 in India and No. 11 world over.                                                                                                                                                              1900 – Gen. KM (Kondedera Madappa) Cariappa, first Idian  Commander-in-Chief of Indian  independent between Jan. 1949- Jan. 1953.  He was later decorated as Field Marshal in January 1986. He belonged to Dogra Regiment and 1/7 Rajput  Rifles. He had commanded Western Front during 1947 Indo-Pak war.  After retirement he was appointed High Commissioner in Australia.                                                                                                                                                    1909 – Jayant Desai. Veteran Indian  film director,  producer who is known for Do Badmash,  Char Chakram , Bhutio Mahal,  Toofan Mail, Tansen, Har Har Mahadev, Amber,  Tadbir etc. He directed  about 75 films and won several awards.

1944 – Ravindra Jain, music composer, lyricist and playback singer. He composed  music for several hit movies despite his struggle with blindness. His famous films were Chor Machaye Shor, Geet Gata Chal, Chitchor, Ram Terti Ganga Maili,  Akhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se, Vivah, Mera Rakshak, He also composed music for Ramanand Sagar’s epic Ramayan (1987), which became iconic. He was awarded Padma Shri in 2015, Filmfare award in 1985 and many other music awards.

1947 – Digvijaya Singh, senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. Scion of Raghogarh state under Gwalior kingdom,   became a minister in  CM Arjun Singh govt. in 1980. He was also Lok Sabha MP since 1988 and Union Minister in Rajiv Gandhi and  succeeding Congress  govts. He has been alleged to have figured in Vyapam and other scams, yet survives in politics and is currently Rajya Sabha  MP.  He also married a Rajya Sabha TV anchor Amrita Rao in August 2015, following  death of his first  wife in  2013.

RIP…. 1936 – Kamla Nehru, freedom fighter and wife of first PM  Jawaharlal Nehru and mother of PM Indira Gandhi. She died due to tuberculosis.

1963 – Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of independent India and a prominent leader of the Indian independence movement. Dr. Rajendra Prasad, passed away in Patna. He was a lawyer, journalist, freedom fighter and scholar  statesman. He headed the Contituent Assembly of India between 1946-50. Dr. Prasad was awarded Bharat Ratna in 1962.

2018 – Jayendra Saraswathi, the 69th Shankaracharya and Peethadhipati   of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham. He was a Vedic scholar, social reformer and supporter of J Jayalalitha, the former  CM of Tamil Nadu.

You may have known….  The oldest European church, St. Francis Church (built 1503), and the oldest active synagogue, the Paradesi Synagogue (built 1568), are located in Fort Kochi, Cochin (Kochi), Kerala. St. Francis Church is renowned as the original burial site of explorer Vasco da Gama, while the Paradesi Synagogue is famous for its 18th-century hand-painted Chinese floor tiles and Belgian chandeliers (pic credit-au.pinterest.com).                                         

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