Today’s Motto: ‘Unlike a boxing bout, in real life no one takes us to a corner….

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

On this day, 29 Oct….

1851 – British Indian Association was established in Bengal with Radha Kanta Dev as president and Devendranath Tagore as the Secretary.

1863 – International Committee of Red Cross forms at a  Geneva held conference (Nobel 1917, 1944, 1963). {The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland and a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signatories) to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 (Protocol I, Protocol II) and2005 have given the ICRC a mandate to protect victims of international and internal armed conflicts. Such victims include war wounded, prisoners,refugees, civilians, and othernon-combatants.

1920 – Jamia Millia Islamia was established in New Delhi.

1945 – First ball point pen goes on sale, 57 years after it is patented.

1960 – Muhammad Ali’s 1st professional boxing fight; beats Tunney Hunsaker in 6 bouts.                                                                                                                                                                           1961 – New All India Muslim League was established.

1964 – Star of India & other jewels are stolen in New York.

1988 – China announces a herbal male contraceptive.                      2005 – Bombings in Delhi killed 67 people and injured over 200.

2019 – Rising seas could endanger 150 million people worldwide, three times more than previously thought, according to a study by Climate Central published in “Nature   Communications”.

Born….  1931 — Vaali , an Indian poet and lyricist whose works were in Tamil, had a five-decade long association with the Tamil film industry, wrote over 15,000 songs. He acted in numerous of films  including Sathya, Hey Ram, Paarthale Paravasam and Poikkal Kudhirai. He was honoured with the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian honour in 2007.  He was born  in Srirangam, Tiruchirappalli District, Madras.

1961 – K Nagendra Rao, popularly known as Nagendra Babu and Naga Babu, is an Indian actor, producer, and politician who works in Telugu cinema. He has received one National Film Award and two Nandi Awards for his work as a produce

1981 – Reema Sen, Kolkara born  model, actor. She acted in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films. She won 2 Filmfare awards and 3 nominations, in addition to South India’s prominent Ananda Viketan Cinema award.

1985 – Vijender Singh, first  Indian boxer,  who won Bronze medal in Beijing Olympics in 2008 apart from Asian and National awards. He was also awarded Arjuna and Padam Shri honors. He joined Congress Party in 2019 and faught Lok Sabha elections from South Delhi and lost to BJPs Ramesh Bidhuri. Joined BJP in 2024 (pic credit -achletron.com).

RIP….  1971 – Cyclone and tidal waves struck Orissa state claiming 10,000 lives.

1988 – Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay.  an Indian social reformer, freedom fighter, and a Gandhian who brought renaissance in the field of Indian handicraft. She was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1955 for social service and the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1966 for community leadership.

1990 – Vinod Mehra, a charming  Bollywood actor, statrted his career as child artist 1950s, later acted as hero in Ek Hi Raasta in 1971 and Sarfira, Prem Pratigya, Pather ke Phool, Ghar, Swarg Narak, Saajan Bina Suhagan,  Anuraag etc. He won 4 nominations to Filmfare award.

You may have known…. In India, about 6.8% of women aged 15–19 were pregnant or had given birth as of 2019–21, a figure that varies significantly by region, with states like West Bengal and  Bihar having high rates. Teenage pregnancies are linked to early marriage, limited education, and lower socio-economic status.                                                                                    Something sweet: Most Indian  communities believe that an infant’s first taste should be something sweet “so that the baby speaks sweetly.” In Islam, this is done by rubbing either a softened date or a bit of honey into the baby’s upper palate. Hindus typically use honey exclusively for the ritual, called ‘Jatakarma’   (pic credit-iStock.com                                         

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