Today’s Motto: ‘One who looks for a friend without faults, will have none’

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

On this day, 1 March….
(Celebrated globally as Zero Discrimination Day, to promote  equality and World Civil Defence Day !

1640 – Britishers were allowed to do comme rcial activities in Madras, called Presidency of Fort St. George until 1939 (pic credit-rmg.co.uk).

1776 – Following the first Anglo-Maratha War, the British East India Company and Nana Fadnavis signed the Treaty of Purandhar.                                                                                                        1818 – Singhgadh won by the British army  after the end of Peshwa Kingdom.

1896 – Henri Becquerel accidentally discovered radioactivity when he developed a photographic plate he left in a desk drawer with crystals of a uranium compound upon it. He was awarded Nobel Prize in Physics in along with Pierre and Marrie Curie in 1903.

1912 – Captain Albert Berry performed the first parachute jump from an airplane over Jefferson , U.S.A. Previously, Berry had many times parachuted from a balloon. (Leonardo da Vinci drew a parachute in 1485. With two very large umbrellas, Frenchman Louis-Sébastien Lenormand tested the concept by jumping from a tree in 1783. The first parachute jump from a hydrogen ballon was made by Frenchman André-Jacques Garnerin on 22 Oct 1797).

1909 – The Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO), India’s first major private steel plant, was established by Jamsetji Tata in Jamshedpur.

1919 – Mahatma Gandhi formally announced his intent to launch a Satyagraha (non-violent resistance) against the repressive Rowlatt Act, which allowed for indefinite detention without trial.

1932 – Pro-independence revolutionaries involved in the Chittagong armoury raid were sentenced to life imprisonment.

1947 – Partition Plan: Lord Mountbatten finalized the partition plan for India, with the Boundary Commission under Sir Radcliffe established to divide Punjab and Bengal.                 1962 – K-Mart opens. (Kmart is an American chain of discount department stores headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, US. The chain purchased Sears for $11 billion in 2005, forming a new corporation under the name Sears Holdings Corporation).

1966 – Mizo Uprising: The Mizo National Front (MNF) launched “Operation Jericho,” an armed rebellion against the Indian government to demand an independent Mizo state.

1969 – India’s first superfast train, the Rajdhani Express, began its maiden journey between New Delhi and Howrah, revolutionising long-distance rail travel in the country.  Later on trains were started connecting most state capitals with the National Capital, Delhi.

1978 – Charlie Chaplin’s coffin and remains are stolen from a Swiss cemetery. Chalie was British but  biggest comedian of early  silent cinema  worldover.  Brilliant storyteller, director, producer known for characters  The Tramp, Goldrush, Monsieur Verdoux, Limelight,  Citylights, The Great Dictator etc. He married 4 times and had 11 children (features image credit-pixels.com).

1997 – P. Gopi Chand and P.V.V. Lakshmi retain individual titles and India takes team titles in SAARC Badminton Tournament in Colombo (pic credit-alchetron.com).                                             2000 – P. Harikrishna becomes India’s youngest International Master in the Sangli International Chess Tournament. He was ranked  International Chess No. 10  (and Elo score 2770) in 2016..

Born…. 1939 – Air Chief Marshal Satish Kumar Sareen PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC, former Air Chief. He was IAF chief from Dec. 31, 1995 to  Dec. 31, 1998. Born in Rawalpindi (now in Pakistan), his family moved to Delhi  during Partition of India, ACM Sareen had  important assignments in Gauhati, Srinagar and Bareili commanding  Hawker Hunter and MiG-21 squadrons during 1965 and 1971 wars and having flown over 1000 instruction sorties. He was also Air Attache in London in 1980s before returing to HQs in Delhi.

1969 – Javier Angel Encinas Bardem, is a legendary Spanish actor, popular for over three decades. He has won several awards and accolades in acting and direction. Started as a child artist in 1974. with TV serial El Picaro,  has  successful  films like Biutiful, Loving Pablo, The Sea Inside, Pirates of Caribean, Dead Men Tell No Tales,  No Country for Old Men, Skyfall, Thy Kingdom Come etc.   He has won an Academy, a Golden  Globe, 7 Goya and a BAFTA award during his cine career. His net worth is $ 30 million as in 2024.

1994 – Justin Bieber. Canada born music legend  pop  star,  who topped charts for several years and won 2  Grammy awards in 23 nimonations. One Latin Grammy award, 8 Juno, 2 Brit, 26 Billboard Music, 22 ASCAP and many other nominations.  His net worth was  $ 264 million  in 2024.

2006 – Curly Head Monty-Talennted  American dancer, model,  actor, social media influencer who  has  1.8 million  followers on Instgram. He has featured  in  Top 10 Best Dance videos on YouTube as well (pic credit-thefamouspeople.com).

RIP…. 1994 – Manmohan Desai, a film producer and director. He was one of the most successful filmmakers of the 70s and 80s. Desai was an influential and sought-after film director of Bollywood and a pioneer of making Masala films.   His major films are Janam Janam Ke Phere, Chhalia, Chacha Bhateeja, Dharamveer,  Coolie, Mard, Parvarish, Suaag, Nadseeb,  Kismat, Bluff Master, Amar Akbar Anthony etc. 4 of hos films celebrated Golden Jubilee and 7 Silver Jubilee.                                                                                       2020 – Jack Welch. American businessman, was  CEO of General Electric Co. between 1981 -2001 and tranformed the company from electric appliances to Media,  Finance and multiproduct/services conglomerate.  He raised the net worth of GE from  $14 Billion to 600 B during his tenure. His  own net worth was  estimated at  $ 720 Million.                                                                                                                                                                  2024- Akira Toriyama was a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He came to be regarded as one of the most influential  authors in the history of Manga, authoring highly  popular series, particularly Dragon Ball Z, Resurrection F,  Nattle of Gods, etc. He had a net worth of $ 50 million  as in 2024 (pic credit-cbr.com).

You may have known…. Broader estimates suggest around 26.4% of the Indian population still lives below a higher, recalculated poverty line that accounts for basic needs like housing and healthcare. India’s 100 richest  individuals have a wealth  of  over $  1 trillion and   Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has been  the Richest Indian for over 14 years (10th in World).  Population of high net worth Indians is about  85,698 as of March 31, 2025.                                                                                                                                                                                          {Compiled by Lt. Gen. (R)  Raj Kadyan}