Today’s Motto: ‘Like diamonds we are cut with our own dust’

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

On this day, 07 Nov ….

1865 – London Gazette, the oldest surviving journal, is founded.

1876 – Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay composed the patriotic song   in a village called Kantal Pada in Bengal which became our  national song  Vande Matram.   

1876 – A patent for the first U.S. cigarette manufacturing machine was issued to Albert Hook of New York City. The Hook machine produced a continuous cigarette of indefinite length, to be cut into individual cigarettes. Tobacco was fed onto a ribbon of paper. The paper passed over a gummed wheel as it was drawn off its spool. According to revenue collection figures, the number of cigarettes manufactured in 1875 was only 50 million.

1918 – Robert Goddard demonstrated a tube-launched solid propellant rocket, using a music stand as his launching platform. Goddard began work for the Army in 1917 to design rockets to aid in the war effort. By Sep 1918, Goddard had presented the Army Signal Corps with several options. The simplest version could be fired from trenches; the largest could carry an 8-lb payload to a distance of about one mile. Many of these rockets were successfully demonstrated at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, on 7 Nov 1918. Goddard presented solid-fuelled 5, 7.5 and 50-pound rockets capable of being launched from a 5.5-foot-long by 2-inch or 3-inch wide tube. (Further development led to the World War II bazooka, a small, hand-held rocket launcher).

1946 – The first U.S. coin-operated television to be publicly exhibited was displayed in New York City. Called  PayTelevision  or Telemeter,  it operated when a 25-cent coin was inserted (pic credit-worthpoint.com).

1971 – India admits our  forces entered to silence artillery.1972 – The North Eastern Council (NEC) was formally inaugurated at Shillong, Meghalaya, marking the beginning of a new chapter of concerted and planned endeavour on the part of the Government of India for the North Eastern Region.

1990 – National Front Government headed by V. P. Singh loses confidence motion in the Lok Sabha (151-356). Singh tenders his resignation and this is the end of 11-month-old National Front Government.

1995 – Lukose Leelamma at Pune sets record for 10,000 m (Women) in 34.33.50 in 1991. (pic credit-Instagram)

1995 – India opens second consulate in UK in Glasgow (first being at  Birmingham).

Born….1858 – Bipin Chandra Pal, India’s freedom fighter considered the ‘father of revolutionary ideas’, whose ideas shook the heart of the British. He was a part of the ‘Lal’ ‘Bal’ ‘Pal’ trio. Apart from being a teacher and journalist, he was also an accomplished speaker and writer. According to historian V.C. Sahu, Bipin Chandra was part of a trio of revolutionary patriots of Congress, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and Vipin Chandra Pal (Lal Bal Pal), who launched a vigorous movement against the partition of Bengal in 1905. He was born in Habibganj District (present-day Bangladesh).

1867 – Marie Curie, a Polish-French chemist and physicist who won two Nobel prizes in 1903 and 1911. (She died of radiation poisoning from her pioneering work before the need for protection was known).

1888 – Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, an Indian physicist whose work was influential in the growth of science in India. He was the recipient of the 1930 Nobel Prize for Physics for the 1928 discovery now called Raman scattering; It is applied in spectrographic chemical analysis and in the determination of molecular structure.

1954 – Kamal Haasan, a one time heart throb of youngsters, romantic  hero of  South Indian cinema. Debuted with  Tamil film Kalathur Kannamma  as child artist and won Rashtrapati Gold Award in 1960, later  Maaravan in 1970 as Hero  and  Ek Duje Ke Liye in Hindi  which was a huge  hit due to its story, dialogues and romantic songs.  His films Kanyakumari won him a  Filmfare in 1974, Moondram Pirai won him  a Filmfare award in 1982.  With Sadma,  Nayakam, Hey Raam, Swathi Muthyam, Zara Si Zindgi,  Raaj Tilak, Chachi 420, Viswaroopam etc. have won him  6 National Films and 20 Filmfare awards apart from Nandi, MGR Awards  and several other state, National and  International Awards.  He was honoured with Padma Bhushan in 2014. He formed a political party MNM in 2019 but failed to win a seat  though  he became   Rajya Sabha member  in 2025  with  DMK  and others outside support. Kamal Haasan’s next film is titled ‘Sandiyar’  (pic credit.wikipediacom)

1969 – Nandita Das, Bengali and Bollywood actor, writer, producer, known for films like  Fire, Earth, Bawandar,  Dhobi Ghat, Kannathil Muthamittal, Azhagi, Kamli,  Before The Rains and Lapata  Ladies (2024). She has done about 40 films and has won a Filmfare, several nominations and  state film awards (pic credit-alchetron.com).   

1970- Rituparna Sengupta. is Indian actress and producer who is known for her work in Bengali, Odia and Hindi cinema. One of the most successful actresses of Bengali cinema, she rode the crest of her box office success in the late 1990s.

1973 – Kiran Rao, is the  former wife  of popular actor  Aamir Khan. Though they broke off their marriage in July 2021.  She has been a  film director, producer of films like Dangal,  Dhobi Ghat, Laapata Ladies, Delhi Belly, Mumbai Daiaries, Secret Superstar etc.  She has promoted  an NGO Paani Foundation (pic credit-Wikipedia).

RIP…. 1862 – Bahadurshah Zafar -II, last Mughal emperor of India.  He was also a popular Urdu poet, writer and led first Freedom Movement of 1857 against the British  for sometime. He was  arrested an  sent to  Rangoon prison  (now  Myanmar) where he died.

2000 – Chidambaram Subramaniam, known as the “Father of the Green Revolution” in India. When India gained independence, the situation of food production in the country was deplorable. There was a famine in many places. In Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa, many people became victims of starvation. When C. Subrahmanyam was made Agriculture Minister at the Centre, he implemented many schemes to make the country self-sufficient in food production. It was because of his better agricultural policies that record foodgrain production in the country happened in 1972. (pic credit-civilindia.com) 

You may have known…. According to the Global Firepower Index for 2025, published in multiple sources in April and May 2025, India has 270 transport aircraft, Pakistan has 64. 

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

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