Today’s Motto: ‘Life is never perfect, but we can make it wonderful’

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

On this day, 29 Jan….

1528 – Battle of Chanderi: The Mughal Emperor Babur captured the Chanderi Fort after defeating the Rajput King Rana Sanga’s forces.

1780 – First Indian Newspaper, James Augustus Hickey’s Bengal Gazette (or Calcutta General Advertiser) began publication, pioneering  journalism in India. He was earlier a worker with East India Company and wanted the newspaper to  help British community and  traders to connect among themselves.

1856 – Britain’s highest military decoration, the Victoria Cross, was founded by Queen Victoria. It is the highest Gallantary award given to  British armed personnel for  showing examplary bravery in defending Britain and its interests. Several Indian soldiers were also awarded this decoration during British rule.

1896 – Émil H. Grubbe, a Chicago researcher, became the first known to administer       X-ray radiation treatment for the recurrent breast cancer of a fifty-five-year-old woman. He later taught over  7,000 doctors  (until his death in  March 1960), how to use X-ray for Cancer treatment. (Though X-rays had been discovered  in the  year 1895 in Germany by  scientist W C Rontgen, who received Nobel Prize for Physics in 1901).

1939 – Subhas  Chandra Bose was elected President of the Indian National Congress, defeating Mohandas  Gandhi’s candidate Sitharamaiyya.  Though  soon  Subhas Bose had to resign  due to differences  with Gandhi and Nehru,  on their ideas and means for obtaining Freedom from the British. Bose later wrote: ” Gandhi’s objectives and  path were not clear,  and  depended mainly on peaceful  negotiations, while Netaji and his followers supported all means, including  violent  methods  to force the British to Quit india.

1953 – Establishment of Sangeet Natak Akademi: The first national academy for the performing arts was established by the Government of India under Ministry of Culture (Rabindra Bhawan, New Delhi).

1979 – Tamil Nadu Express: India’s first double-engine  Superfast  train,  was inaugurated from New Delhi to Madras (now Chennai).  It covers  over 2,000  km  distance in about  32  hours.

1987 – “Physician’s Weekly” announced that the smile on the face of Leonardo DeVinci’s Mona Lisa was caused by a “…facial paralysis resulting from a swollen nerve behind the ear.”

1992 – India and Israel officially agreed to establish full diplomatic relations, leading to the opening of embassies in both nations.

1994 – The Air Corporation Act of 1953 was repealed, ending the monopoly of state-owned carriers and paving the way for private airlines in India.

1999 – Paris prosecutors announced the end of the investigation into the accident that killed Britain’s Princess Diana, the first wife of King Charles-III of England.

2006 – Irfan Pathan becomes first bowler to take a Test cricket hat-trick in the Opening over of a match. He did it in Karachi Test  aginst Pakistan.

2024 – Elon Musk tweets his company Neuralink has implanted a ‘brain-reading’ device into a person for the first time (pic credit-thenews.com.pk).

1896 – Swami Paranabananda Brahamachari, founder of `Bharat Sevashram Sangha’.  Born in  Faridpur  distt. of Bengal  and  took  Sanyas  at an age of 24.

1962 – Gauri Lankesh,  journalist.  She published a  magazine called  Gauri Lankesh Patrike, mainly alleged of  criticising the so-called  ‘right-wing extremisim’. She was reported murdered in 2017 by some unknown opponents.

1970 – Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.  Retired Army Colonel. Indian shooter, Olympian who won a Silver medal in 2004 Olympics. Joined politics later on and served  as a  Minister of State for Sports  in PM Modi Govt. in 2014 and is now Cabinet minister in Rajasthan Govt.

RIP…. 1597 – Maharana Pratap, the legendary Rajput king of Mewar, known for his resistance against the Mughal Empire. He challenged Mughal Emperor Akbar for several decades and even lived on grass/leaves for many months  during the epic  battle of Haldi Ghati and regained control of his Forts and riyasat.

1983 – Piloo Mody, veteran Parliament member and senior leader of Janata Party. Was elected to Lok Sabha twice in 1967, 1972. He  was arrested during Emergency under MISA Act 1975;  became member of  Janata Party and was member of  Rajya Sabha until his death in 1983.

2019 – George Fernandes, former Union Defense Minister under PM AB Vajpayee  and veteran trade union and Railway Union  leader,  a  firce  criticof PM Indira  Gandhi during 1970s,  A major socialist of   JP Narain’s  Movement  against  Emergency.

You may have known….  The game of Snakes & Ladders was created by the 13th century poet saint Gyandev as Saamp Aur Seedhis  of  our life cycle. It was originally called ‘Mokshapath‘. The ladders in the game represented virtues and the snakes indicated vices. The game was played with cowrie shells and dices. In time, the game underwent several modifications, but its meaning remained the same, i.e. good deeds take people to heaven and evil to a cycle of re-births.

2.   In 1901 the Viceroy, Lord Curzon, appointed a Commission chaired by Sir Colin Scott-Moncrieff to draw up a comprehensive irrigation plan for India. In 1903 the Commission’s report recommended irrigation of an additional 2.6 million hectares.                                                                                                                                                                                {Compiled by Lt. Gen. (R)  Raj Kadyan}