Today’s Motto: ‘Learn to change your wounds into wisdom’

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

On this day, 10 Feb….

(National Deworming Day: Focused on improving child health across India).

1818 – The final battle between the British and Marathas took place in Rampur.                                                                            1837 – Russian Alexander Pushkin, poet, playwright and novelist of the romantic era, was fatally injured in a duel with French officer Georges-Charles de Heeckeren d’Anthès. Reportedly, the French officer had attempted to seduce the poet’s wife, Natalya Pushkina. He wrote The Captain’s Daughter, Eugene DoOnegin, the Moor of the Peter the Great, A Journey To Arjurm, The Eagle, Metel, Florence Foster Jenkins, the great Performances of the Met etc. (also covered in our yesterday’s issue-by mistake).

1846 – The British registered a major victory over the Sikhs in the Battle of Sobraon during the First Sikh War.

1921 – The foundation stone for India Gate was laid by the Duke of Connaught to honour soldiers who died in World War I.  Erected as an All India  War Memorial to pay tributes to 17,187  Indian soldiers martyred  in WW-I between  1914 and 1921 (fighting  under British Flag), on Rajpath (renamed Kartavya Path) with names of 13,000 soldiers inscripted on its walls. An Amar Jawan Jyoti was lit under it in 1971, after Indo Pak war for liberration of Bangladesh.  India Gate is one the famous memorials  globally and among the largest monuments.

1921: Mahatma Gandhi established the Kashi Vidyapeeth in Varanasi (Mahatma Gandhi prefixed in 1995).  It is one of the prominent Universities of U.P. and India, offereing  graduation, PG courses, research fellowships  in variety of subjects to thosands of students from India and abroad.

1927: JRD Tata became the first Indian to obtain a pilot’s license. He strarted Tata Airlines in 1932, later renamed as Air India.  He piloted the first commercial flight in 1932  from  Karachi to Madras. He was decorated with Air Commodore  rank in 1948 and later as Air Vice Marshal on April 01,  1974. He was honoured with Bharat Ratna in 1992 for his contribution to Indian aviation.

1931 – New Delhi becomes capital of India.

1952 – India holds its first general election: Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru remains in power.

1979 – Itanagar was declared as capital of Arunachal Pradesh. The city gets its name  from Ita Fort, the ‘Fort of Bricks’ situated in the heart of Itanagar. The fort is  built mainly with bricks dating back to the 14th-15th century of Mayapur of Ramachandra, a king of the Jitari Dynasty.

1992 – Andaman and Nicobar Islands opened for foreign travellers.

2009 – Classical singer Pandit Bhimsen Joshi was conferred with the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour.

2013: A stampede during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad (now Prayagraj) killed 36 people.

Born today…...1930-Robert John Wagner Jr. is an American actor. He is known for starring in the television shows It Takes a Thief, Switch, and Hart to Hart. He later had recurring roles on Two and a Half Men and NCIS. Also  films like Dragon: the Bruce Lee Story, The Pink Panther, The Curse of Pink Panther, What Price Glory, A Kiss Before Dying, The Hunters, Titanik, the Longest Day  etc. He won many nominations and film awards. 1970 – Kumar Vishwas is an Indian Hindi poet, a lecturer and former politician. He was one of the founding members of the Aam Aadmi Party and a member of its National Executive. He later fell out with its national convener Arvind Kejriwal and  now supports BJP and NDA. He  now addresses religious and cultural discourses in India and overseas.

You may have known….    AAM  (Mango), known as the “King of Fruits,” is the National fruit of India, representing the country’s prosperity and agricultural heritage. Cultivated for over 4,000 years, it is deeply rooted in Indian culture, with references in ancient Sanskrit literature and sacred texts. India is the world’s leading producer  (41%) and exporter, with states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar leading  its  production. The most famous varietes of  Aam  are Dussehri, Langda, Alfonso, Ratnagiri, Totapuri, Malda, Suvernrekha, Rajapuri  etc. It is now  produced in  Pakistan, Sri Lanka,  Brazil,  China, and WestIndies etc.

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