Today’s Motto: ‘Gentleness nurtures true greatness’

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

On this day, 03 Feb….

1661 – Battle of Umberkhind: Maratha forces led by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj defeated the Mughals in the Sahyadri mountain range.

1690 – 1st paper money issued in  America.

1919 – The first meeting of the League of Nations was held in Geneva, Switzerland . It was promoted by the US President Woodrow Wilson , Britain and its dominions,  France and had 63 countries as members.  This organisation failed to stop World War II,  so was later replaced by the present-day United Nations (UN) after WW- II in 1945 (pic courtsey-Library and Archives, Canada

1925 – India’s First Electric Train (1925): The first electric passenger train service in India was inaugurated between Mumbai VT (now CSMT) and Kurla.

1928 – Simon Commission comes to India. It was a group of seven British Members ofParliament of United Kingdom that had been dispatched to India to study constitutional reform in Britain’s most important colonial dependency. (Almost immediately with its arrival in Bombay, the Simon Commission was confronted by throngs of protesters. A strike began and many people turned out to greet the Commission with black flags. Similar protests occurred in every major Indian city that the seven British MPs visited. One protest against the Simon Commission became infamous. On 30 October 1928, the Commission arrived in Lahore where it was met by protesters waving black flags. The protest was led by Indian nationalist Lala Lajpat Rai (one  of the popular  freedom fighter trio Lal-Bal-Gopal), who had moved a resolution against the Commission in the Legislative Assembly of Punjab in February 1928. Local  police force began beating protestors with heavy sticks to fright away thye protesters. The police were particularly brutal towards Lala Lajpat Rai, who died later on 17 November 1928. His death was  caused by the mental trauma of the beating).

1966 – Soviet Luna 9 spacecraft made the first ever soft landing on moon. the surface was an unsafe dusty quicksand.

1998 – The BJP releases its election manifesto promising to make India a nuclear state; build a Ram temple at Ayodha and work for a Uniform Civil Code.

1986 – The Pope meets Mother Teresa, and visited her refuge for the sick and dying. Her Missionaries of Charity order, now had 4,500 sisters in 133 countries providing food and shelter and hospices for the dying.

1988 – India officially joined the elite group of nations operating nuclear-powered submarines with the induction of INS Chakra, leased from the Soviet Union (pic credit-bharatshakti.in).

1988 – First Jumbo Passenger Train: The Tamil Nadu Express, India’s first jumbo passenger train, was inaugurated, running from New Delhi to Madras.

1992 – Kapil Dev becomes the second highest wicket-taker in Test Cricket when he took his 400th wicket.                                                                                                2009 – Harry Potter character author J.K. Rowling was made a knight of the Légion d’Honneur, which is France’s highest civilian award. The best-selling author’s great-grandfather was French (pic cr5edit-cbr.com).

Born…. 1905 – Sir Padampat Singhania, great industrialist. He was also a member of Constituent Assembly,  and  founded JK Group, manufacturing  paper from Straw, cement and fabrics etc.  Raymond Textiles is the major brand of the group. His son Vijaypat  is one of the famous aviators, who won the around the World Race  Federation Aeronautique Internationale in 1994,  starting and finishing  in Montreal, Canada.

1938 – Waheeda Rahman, one of  the most  greatest  Indian actresses of  Hindi,  cinema, she has appeared in more than 90 feature films, in a career spanning over five decades. She  is known for her roles in  Chaudhvin Ka Chand, Teesri Kasam, Neel Kamal, Pyaasa, Saheb Biwi Aur Ghulam, Reshma Aur Shera, Guide,  Kaagaz Ke Phool,  Delhi-6, Rang De Basanti etc. She has won 3 Filmfares, 1 National Film Award, Lifetime Achievement Award, Chicago International Film Festival, BFJA and Dadasaheb Phalke award in 2021.  (pic credit-thefederal.com).

1996 – Dutee Chand, professional sprinter and the current national record holder in the women’s 100m event.  She  is an Indian former sprinter who specialized in the women’s 100 m and 200 m events.  She is the third Indian woman  to qualify for the  women’s 100 m event at the Olympics, and represented India at the 2016 and 2020 Olympic  Games.

1976 – Daddy Yankee,  Puerto Rican  lyricist,  singer,  rapper and  actor.

RIP…. 1924 – Woodrow Wilson.  28th American President (1913-21), who  played important role in world politics during  World War I  and  formation League of Nations. He’s also known for bringing social reforms like 19th Amendment for   Women’s  right to Vote in 1919.

RIP….1969 – Thiru Conjeevaram Natrajan Annadurai “Anna”, a great patriot, writer, editor, orator, former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and the commencer of Dravid Movement. He co-founded  the  political  party  DMK  in 1949 alongwith Periyar EVS Ramaswamy  which was later split into AIDMK by his followers  including  MGR.

2000 – Ustad Alla Rakha Khan (Qureshi), legendary Tabla maestro  who specialised in Hindustani classical music. Widely revered as one of history’s most iconic players of the tabla, he was a frequent accompanist of sitar player Pandit Ravi Shankar and was largely responsible for introducing tabla to the Western audience. His son Zakir Hussain was also one of the fine Table players who won sevetral music awards and accolades  globally.

You may have known….  Suśhruta (‘well heard’) was an ancient Indian physician and surgeon,  known as the Father of Ancient Indian Surgery. He made significant contributions to the field of plastic and cataract surgery. He was the author of the Suśruta Saṃhitā (Suśruta’s Compendium), considered to be one of the most important surviving ancient treatises on medicine. It is also considered a foundational text of Ayurveda.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 {Compiled by Lt. Gen. (R)  Raj Kadyan}