Today’s Motto: ‘Pain of quitting never eases’

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

On this day, 03 Jan….

1496 – Leonardo da Vinci unsuccessfully tests a flying machine.

1921 – First Indian Parliament meets.

1956 – A fire damages the top part of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (pic credit-openart.ai).                            1988 – Margaret Thatcher becomes longest-serving British Prime Minister in 20th century.

2000 – A. B. Vajpayee, Prime Minister, accuses Pakistan for the hijack of an Indian Airlines aircraft. (The crisis had ended on Dec. 31 last with the Vajpayee Government agreeing to free three terrorists in exchange for the passengers).

2001 – Calcutta was renamed as Kolkata to honour the city’s original Bengali name;  “Kolkata,” means “place of Goddess Kali” (Kalikshetra).

Born…. 1831: Savitribai Phule, India’s first female teacher and pioneering social reformer for women’s education.  Her husband Jyotirao Phule taught her and together they opened many schools for teaching poor and  under-privileged children in the state.

1836 – Munshi Naval Kishore, founder of Asia’s oldest printing press, Naval Kishore Press, in Lucknow at an age of 22, contributing immensely to Indian publishing. He started a  weekly Avadh Akhbar   or Oudh Akhbar on  23 Nov. 1858 and published many books in Hindi,  English, Bengali,  Sanskrit, Punjabi, Pashto, Arabi, Persian, and Urdu between 1858-1885.  He was called Caxton of India.

1927 – Janaki Ballabh Patnaik, former Congress Chief Minister of Odisha  (1980-89 and 1995-99) and Governor of Assam.

1938 – Major Jaswant Singh (R) and  BJP politician.  He was one of the founding members of the Bhartiya Janata Party, and was one of India’s longest serving parliamentarians, having been a member of the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha almost continuously between 1980 and 2014. He also served as Defence Minister and External Affairs Minister in AB Vajpayee govts. He played crucial role during Pokharan -II Nuclear Tests in May 1998, Kargil War and  Hijacking of IA-814  airplane on Dec. 24, 1999  by Pakistan supported LeT terrorists.

1941 – Sanjay Khan, veteran  romantic actor known for  his roles Haqeeqat, Dosti, Ek Phool Do Mali, Chandi Sona, Mela, Naagin, Trimurti, Dhundh etc. He won a National Films and a Filmfare and Rajiv Gandhi award.

1979 – Gul Panag, a Chandigarh born model and Bollywood actor. She won Miss Femina in 1999 and represented India in Miss Universe contest. She acted in Turning 30, Ab Tak Chhappan, Ambarsaria, Student of the Year, Bypass Road, 420 IPC, The Ghost etc. Has also won Zee Cine Critics, Stardust awards.

RIP…. 2002 – Satish Dhawan, a renowned aerospace engineer and former chairman of ISRO who played a critical role in the development of India’s space programme.

You may have known…. 1.  Japanese is the fastest language in the world, and its speakers can produce 7.84 syllables per second. Its accelerated rhythm is due to the compactness of its words and its unique syllabic structure. 

2.  India is the second largest producer of rice and wheat after China, with China producing about 40 percent more rice and wheat than India. 

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