Today’s Motto: ‘Solitude is the mother of creativity’

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

On this day, 14 Jan….

1641 – United East Indian Company conquers city of Malakka, 7,000 people of local  Malay tribes were killed.
1690 – Clarinet invented, in Nurnberg, Germany.

1760 – Eyree Coote, British Army Captain, captured Pondicherry. French General Lally, burdened by a lack of naval support and funds, unsuccessfully attempted to regain the fort at Vandavasi, now in Tamil Nadu. Wandiwash is the Anglicised pronunciation of Vandavasi.

1898 – Australian team Captain Joe Darling hits the 1st six in Tests (out of the ground).

1914 – Henry Ford announced the new continuous motion method that reduced assembly time of a car from over 12 hours to 93 minutes.

1914 – The Gandhi-Smuts Agreement is reached between Gen. J.C. Smuts and  Advocate MK Gandhi, regarding voluntary registration, poll tax, recognition of Indian marriages and other matters.

1969 – The State of Madras was officially renamed Tamil Nadu under the leadership of Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai. It reflected a significant linguistic and cultural shift.

1980 – Shakuntala Devi, mentally multiplies 2 13-digit #s in 28 sec.

1994 – Marathwada University was renamed Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University. 1995 – Ban on VHP re-imposed.

1998: Legendary Carnatic singer M.S. Subbulakshmi was awarded the Bharat Ratna.

2011 – A stampede near Sabarimala in Kerala kills 104 devotees and  more than 100 injured.                                                                              The Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple, is a Hindu temple dedicated to the God Dharma Sastha where the deity is worshipped as Lord Ayyappan, the son of the deities Shiva and Mohini, and is situated atop the Sabarimala hill in Ranni-Perunad village, Kerala.

2014 – Armed Forces Veterans’ Day was established. This day was chosen to honour the retirement of Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa, the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army, who retired on January 14, 1953.

2024 .. Mahakumbh begins at Prayaraj  on Makar Sankranti,  after 144 years,  the day Uttrayan paksh  also begins !   It  is the congregation of Hindu  devotees on the beginning of Uttrayan Paksha  in Triveni Sangam  (merging point of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati rivers) when Sun  enters Makar Rashi, and believed to  start its journey northwords, and new Hindu month Magh also starts today leading to Maghi Snan and Maghin Mela in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal , J&K and Delhi.  Kumbh is held every year on  Makar Sankranti day in most parts of North India. In other parts of India also, this pious day is called Bihu (Assam, North-East), Pongal (Kerala and  Southern  states) and  Makar Sankranti  (Maharashtra, Karnataka Andhra etc.) but  Mahakumbh is celebrated every 12 years).  Lakhs of of Shiva Divotees , Saints, Hermits, Ascetics and  Sadhus of 12 different Naga Akharas (Clans) reach Prayagraj to take  a pious dip in  the Triveni Sangam.  

Last year over 66  crores devotees  came   to  take dip at Prayagraj Sangam in about 45 days beginning tJan. 14  and upto Feb. 26. 2024.  Union and State Govts.  made  arrangments by road-rail-air transportation, health,  security and other logistics including   wide coverage.  It is estimated that about Rs. 3 lakh crores of  revenue  business was done during this period.

Born….  1882 – Maharshi Raghunath Dhondo Karve, father of Family Planning and Sex Education. He was a social reformer, advocated widows’ education, remarriage and their rights in society. He was honoured with D. Lit by Benaras Univ. in 19+42, Pune Univ. in 1951 and SNDT  Univ. Also Padam Vibhushan and Bharat Ratna in 1958.

1905 – Durga Khote, veteran Marathi stage artist and Bollywood actress, did very famous roles in about 200 films over 50 years. Her prominent  films were Ayodhyecha Raja, Amar Jyoti, Prithvi Vallabh, Shikast, Mughale-Azam, Bidai, Ham Ek Hain, Parivar etc. She was awarded BFJA, Filmfare, Masharashtra State and Dadasaheb Phalke award (1983).

1965 – Seema Biswas, Bollywood actor who played Bandit Queen and  other films, and won one National and Filmfare awards.

1977 – Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan,  is a renowned Indian Formula 1 Racer who had a fascination with motor racing from an early age. Karthikeyan was born in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, and attended Stanes Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School. His father was a former Indian National Rally Champion who won the South India Rally seven times. Narain won several Car races including British Formula Ford Winter series in 1994, Formula Asia in 1996, Korea Super Prix in 2000, Modulo Nakajima Racing in 2019 and several others. He was honoured with Padma Shri in 2010.

RIP…. 1851 – Peshwa Bajirao Raghunath, last Peshwa of Marathas.

1991 – Chitragupta, legendary  film music director who gave several memorable songs to Indian cine industry, like Bhabhi, Main Chup Rahoongi, Barkha, Oonche Log, Ganga Ki Lehren, Patang, Opera House etc. He won several awards and accolades

You may have known…. The name `India’ is derived from the River Indus. The Persian invaders converted it into Hindu. The name `Hindustan’ combines Sindhu and Hindu and thus refers to the land of the Hindus. Sindh was a Cradle of civilization, in  the Bronze Age, Indus Valley Civilisation that flourished from about 3000 BC and declined rapidly 1,000 years later, following the Indo-Aryan migrations that overran the region in waves between 1500 and 500 BC.  The migrating Indo-Aryan tribes gave rise to the Iron Age vedic civilization, which lasted until 500 BC. During this era, the Vedas were composed. In 518 BC, the Achaemenid Empire conquered Indus valley and established Hindush satrapy in Sindh. Post Alexander ‘s invasion, Sindh became part of the Mauryan Empire. After its decline, Indo-Greeks, Indo-Scythians and Indo-Parthians ruled in Sindh.                                                                               Sindh is sometimes referred to as the Bab-ul Islam (Gateway of Islam), a s it was one of the first regions of the Indian subcontinent to fall under Islamic rule. (info credit-wikipedia.com; pic-saavari.com).                                     

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