Today’s Motto: ‘When valour preys on reasons, it eats the sword it fights with’

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

On this day, 21 Apr….

53 BC – Rome was founded. Also called The Vatican  or  City of Seven Hills, became  centre of Catholic Church,  the Head Quarters of  Pope. It faced many wars and  struggles for control by  invaders later.

1526 – First Battle at Panipat: Central Asian conqueror Babur defeats Sultan Ibrahim Lodi, establishing the Mughal Empire in North India.

1820 – Danish scientist Hans Christian Ørsted is the first to identify electromagnetism, when he observes a compass needle.

1720 – Baji Rao I succeeded Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath as the new Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. During his reign, he conquered several territories, including Malwa, Gujarat, and Bundelkhand. He also defeated the Nizam of Hyderabad in the Battle of Palkhed in 1728.

1820 – Danish scientist Hans Christian Ørsted is the first to identify electromagnetism, when he observes a compass needle.

1878 – The first U.S. firehouse pole was installed in New York City, by Capt. David B. Kenyon to reduce the time for men to travel to the ground floor from the second floor at Engine Company 21 . Fire stations had added a second floor for a sleeping and relaxation area. Although some stations had sliding chutes, Kenyon thought a pole would be faster. With the chief’s permission, a hole was cut in the floor for a 3-inch diameter wooden pole, which Kenyon had sanded carefully and oiled.(Following its success, in 1880, the first brass pole was installed in Worchester by Charles Allen of Engine Company).

1967 – Svetlana Alliluyeva ( USSR  President Josef Stalin’s daughter) defects in New York City. Died in Nov. 2011 . (pic credit-Wikipedia)

1975 – Farakka Barrage dedicated to Indian nation (pic credit-Shutterstock).

1989 – 100,000 students gather at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square to commemorate Hu Yaobang the deposed reform-minded leader of the Chinese Communist Party and voice their discontent with China’s authoritative communist government. This was the beginning of the mass demonstrations in Tiananmen Square, Beijing prior to the Chinese Government declaring martial law in May of the same year which led  to the June Massacres by Chinese troops killing hundreds of demonstrators and arresting thousands of protesters and other suspected dissidents (pic credit-dailysignal.com).

1990 – The first indigenously built Indian missile cruiser boat, ‘Vibhuti’, was inaugurated and launched.

1993 – India announces establishing proof in Pakistan’s complicity in Bombay bomb blasts.

1997 – I. K. Gujral sworn in as  12th  Prime Minister of India as replacement of HD Deve Gowda  due to Congress Party withdrawing its support. He was supported by UF  factions of  Lalu Prasada Yadav (RJD), Mulayam Singh Yadav (SP), HKS Surjeet (CPI-M),  CB Naidu (TDP) and  Sharad Yadav (JD). But  Congress again withdrew support on Nov. 28 and snap elections to Lok Sabha in  Jan.- Feb. 1998 paving way for  third  BJP  Govt. under AB Vajpayee.

1996 – Sanjay Thapar, a Squadron Leader of the Indian Air Force, made history by becoming the first Indian to land on the North Pole via parachute. Thapar, along with five other adventurers, embarked on a daring expedition to the top of the world. His achievement was a testament to the bravery, skill, and determination of the Indian Air Force, and it remains a source of pride for the people of India to this day.

2014 – Kraft Foods issued a voluntary recall of 96,000 pounds of Oscar-Meyer hot dogs that had been mislabelled. The company stated that some of their “Classic Cheese Dogs” had been placed in regular hot dog packaging, which could be dangerous for people with dairy allergies.

2006 – King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah  of Nepal made a historic announcement, in which he declared that he would hand over power to the elected government. This was a significant development in Nepal’s political history, as it marked the end of the King’s direct rule, which had been in place since February 2005.

Born…. 1924 – Maharaja Karni Singh (Maharaja of Bikaner), considered the father of competitive shooting. He had a variety of hobbies. Raja Karni Singh had many achievements. His personality and attitude were absolutely royal. He was the first shooter to be honoured with the ‘Arjuna Award’ in 1961.

1946 – Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan, cricket (Indian off-spinner). He received Arjun Award in 1971. One of the famous Spin Quartet of Indian cricket, alongwith Bishan S Bedi, BS Chandrasekhar, EAS Prasanna   who ruled the game during 1970-90s. They brought many collapses in Opp. teams and won many matches/series. He played 57 Tests (156 Wkts) and 15  ODIs (5 Wkts) and captained 1975, 1979 World Cups and was later appointed an Umpire. He was the first spinner to have taken all 10 wickets in a Test against  New Zealand in Feb. 1965.

RIP…. 1720 – Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath passed away and was succeeded by his son Peshwa Baji Rao I. He was a great soldier and General.

1938 – Mohammad Iqbal, a modern Indian famous Muslim poet. Iqbal composed most of his works in Persian. This famous song “Saare Jahan Se Achcha Hindostan Hamara” is written by Iqbal. Mohammad Iqbal was of the opinion that Islam is the embodiment of the spirit of the struggle for spiritual freedom, and the essence of all kinds of religious experiences. It is a living principle of heroism, which makes life purposeful.

2013 – Shakuntala Devi, commonly known as the “Human-Computer“, was a scientific calculator from childhood. Seeing her talent, her name was also included in the ‘Guinness Book of World Records in 1982. Shakuntala Devi had the ability to tell in a moment the day of any date of the last century. She had not received any formal education. She was an arithmetical prodigy in public performances (beginning at age 6 years old), rapidly computing answers to addition of several up to 13-digit numbers. She was also an astrologer. On her 84th birthday, on 4 November 2013, Google dedicated a Google Doodle in her honour.

You may have known…. ‘Mizoram State has the most honest people in the world.’
(‘Nghah lou dawr’ – mainly shops along the highway in Mizoram where groceries and flowers collected by the shopkeepers from nearby forests are kept on display with the rates and a money box. The astonishing thing being that there is no shopkeeper around the shop. If you want to buy some vegetables, it’s as simple as weighing it and paying the amount according to the rate, and that’s it. Pick up the balance from the money box and continue with your daily routine).                                                                                                                                                             {Compiled by Lt. Gen. (R)  Raj Kadyan}