29 March

Mangal Pandey and Mohamed Bouazizi. These two people are connected by 29 March and for being sources of rebellion in their respective countries. Read more...

27 March

27 March, 1973.

Marlon Brando's performance in The Godfather won him the Academy Awards for best actor.
A dedicated participant in the African-American civil right movement and a supporter of the Native American cause,Marlon Brando refused to accept the Oscar.

Sacheen Littlefeather appeared in front of the audience in the award ceremony on behalf of Brando. She was a Native American Activist. She explained that owing to the "poor treatment of the Native Americans in the film industry" Brando had denied accepting the award.
This happened on the backdrop of the recent events at "Wounded Knee" .The place "Wounded Knee" was taken over by Native Americans which resulted in a stand-off between them and US authorities.
Marlon Brando's refusal gave media attention to the Native American issue in US and worldwide and was considered a major event in the Native American Movement.

-Swapnil

26 March

Chipko Andolan

March 26, 1974.

Chipko movement did not start today.Well, not technically. But the landmark moment in the movement's history came on this day in 1974 when a group of local peasant women in Chamoli, Uttarakhand, India prevented the felling of trees by hugging them. At a time when there was hardly any environmental movement going on India or any other developing nation, for that matter, this movement captured the attention of the world.

Among the pioneers of the movement were Chandi Prasad Bhatt (who was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay award for the same) and Sundarlal Bahuguna (who first 'politely' refused the Padma  Shree in 1989 but was recently awarded the Padma  Bhushan in 2009.)

The movement was a great success as it resulted in bans on commercial felling of trees in the Himalayan forests. It is regarded as a socio-economic revolution since it brought the control of the forests and its resources to the local people from the hands of a babu who did not care anyway.

Read the wiki link for more about Sundarlal Bahuguna:

During the Anti- Tehri Dam protests he said:

"We in Himalaya are facing a crisis of survival due to the suicidal activities being carried out in the name of development... The monstrous Tehri dam is a symbol of this... There is need for a new and long-term policy to protect the dying Himalaya. I do not want to see the death of the most sacred river of the world - the Ganga - for short-term economic gains."

--Sunderlal Bahuguna

The dam was completed in 2006.

-- Post by Khanderao

24 March

24 March 1906. The census of the British Empire shows that England rules a fifth of the world population.  The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom.

They went on to control a fourth of the world population in 1922 in all the continents.

The night of 24 March 1943,76 Allied prisoners of war attempt an intelligent plan to escape the POW camp at Stalag Luft III. After well thought and planned contruction of tunnels 76 crawled out that night. The 77'th prisoner was seen crawling out and the guards were alerted. Of the 76 escapees 73 were recaptured.The Gestapo executed 50 of the captured POW's.

"The Great Escape" released in 1963, reproduces the brave and intelligent mass escape.

23 March

Bhagat Singh,Rajguru and Sukhdev, revolutionaries of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association were executed by the British Indian Government on 23 March 1931.

They were sentenced to be hanged till death for their involvement in the Suanders murder case.

Apart from the murder case, Bhagat Singh was also involved in the bombing in the Central  Assembly.

Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt had planned to explode a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly where the Defence of India Act was going to be passed. The purpose of the act was mainly to curb revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh and gave large power to the police.

The bomb was prepared to have no substantial power which could cause injury.It was just to create a loud noise,which would figuratively "open the ears of the deaf government".

Bhagat Singh and Dutt threw leaflets stating these reasons and gave themeselves up for the arrest. Shouting "Inquilab Zindabad" as police handcuffed them.

Getting arrested was part of the plan to spread the revolution and connect with the people during the hearings. Due to British propaganda Hindustan Socialist Republican party members were more like terrorists for the common people. The hearings acted as podium for Bhagat to share their fundamentals and motives with Indians.

As a protest against unequal treatment in the prison Bhagat and his comrades went on hunger strike for 63 days. The government had to give in to their demands,but Bhagat's motives were successful,people had started understanding his ideals. The strike made him popular outside Punjab for the first time.

The 1931 Irwin pact was a truce between Congress and British government. The pact resulted in freeing thousands of political prisoners involved in Non-cooperation movement. Gandhi,a very open admirer of Bhagat Singh's patriotism did plead for the commutation of the death sentences but was not successful.

The executions were preponed fearing backlash.But they did infact cause a stir in the region.The executions were protested in assembly and Indian politicians criticised government for not carrying out the sentence.They feared the events could jeopardise the peaceful atmosphere in the country.

Some of the snippets of the news articles published aftewards give an account of the consequences of the executions.

Sukhdev,Rajguru Bhagat Singh,who always believed in martyrdom became examples of fierce patriotism for many Indian generations to follow.

- Swapnil,Khanderao.

P.S. : The authors feel they have not been able to express the significance and importance of the martyrdom of the great revolutionaries completely with their words. But the dedication and patriotism of Bhagat, Sukhdev and Rajguru  was unparalleled and we should always remember the hard-work and sufferings of all those who fought for independent India. 

22 March

#

Nguyen Thi Ly, 9, who suffers from Agent Orange disabilities. Award winning and renowed photographer Ed Kashi took her photograph during his July 2010 trip as a Vietnam Reporting Project fellow.

The photograph won him World Press Photo's 2'nd prize in Contemprary issues.

On 22 March 1965* US government confirmed that they used chemical weapons against North Vietnamese army during the Vietnam war. 

The Vietnam war was one of the toughest war fought by US. They were up against guerrilla forces taking cover in the dense forests of Vietnam.

A chemical code-named Agent Orange was basically used as herbicide and defoliant by US military. US government initially stated that the herbicide was used over crop fields as those crops would feed the enemy North Vietnamese. This was also an effort to move peasants to US dominated cities,depriving guerillas the rural support.Further,the defoliants would destroy the cover of forest over the enemy.

Later it was found that Agent Orange was contaminated with an extremely toxic dioxin compound. 

The Agent Orange was found to cause severe health effects on people getting in contact with it. In Vietnam,about 40000 were killed or severely effected due to Agent Orange. The effects were carried over to the next generation with about 500000 children born with congenital defects.

The spraying of these chemicals caused severe ecological disturbances too. Erosion, as result of loss of forest cover,soil losing fertile meant difficult reforestation. 

US veteran who fought in Vietnam couldnt escape the damages done by it either. Many of them suffered from skin problems,cancer,digestive and respiratory disorders.

US military was again suspected of using "unusual" weapons,though not Agent Orange, in Iraq. Especially,the abnormal conditions of the dead bodies of armed enemies and civilians killed in Battle of Fallujah raised doubts and questions against US military once again.

Read more about Chemical Warfare, Agent Orange, Battle of Fallujah:Unsual Weapon.  

-Swapnil

*- The date given here is taken from a website which maintains list of events that took place on a given date. The date couldn't be confirmed from secondary sources.Neverthless the events under consideration are the more important aspects.

#- The photograph shown is World Press Photo Award winning phorograph by Ed Kashi.

The authors do not intend to violate the copyrights. The authors thought that the issue at hand can not be more effectively justified by any other image.

20 March

20 March 1977

Indira Gandhi loses her seat and general elections.

After the dissolution of LokSabha on 18 January earlier that year,elections were held between 16 to 20 March.

The elections in 1977 were the first after Indira Gandhi announced emergency in India.

This is the clip of a news article that appeared in a US daily with a rather strong point of view.

ABC news report on the evening of 20 March can be seen in this video on ABC's website.

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=4492485

Khanderao has more to share on this issue...

Indira Gandhi was the first woman prime minister of India. Atal Bihari Vajpayee called her Durgaa Ma after the war of 1971 that saw the liberation of Bangladesh. But the admiration was not to continue for long. Indira, fondly called Priyadarshini by Pt Nehru, was to become arguably the most controversial person in India’s Democracy during 1975-1977.

It was during this period that she advised then President of India Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed to impose a state of emergency. (There is actually a provision in the Indian Constitution for this. Article 352.[Wikipedia]) . see the Article here : http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/1018568/

What was the reason for the emergency to be imposed? It had become impossible for Indira Gandhi to continue as the Prime Minister of India after the Allahabad High Court found Indira Gandhi guilty of electoral malpractices in the preceding elections which had seen her coming to power for the second time. It was famously termed firing the prime minister for a driving ticket by The Times. Another reason, is believed to be the railway strike brought about by George Fernandes - a socialist leader- and the events that followed. The emergency lasted for 21 months. Indira declared general elections after that. The Congress contested at more than 450 seats but could manage to win only 189 that too mainly because of the success in the southern states. Indira Gandhi had been rejected by the people of India. It was on this day in history that emergency came to an end.

In spite of all her shortcomings, she will also be noted for playing an important role in reviving India's nuclear program after Pandit Nehru, Green revolution and nationalization of banks.

-Khanderao

19 March-II

19 March 2003

       United States, Britain, Australia and Poland invade Iraq without United Nations sanction.

At 5:30 UTC US bombers started bombing a farm suspected of being visited by Saddam Hussein.

       Soon Baghdad was in the main target. US president G.W.Bush gave the following speech when people of Baghdad ran to save their lives amidst the bombings.

       The operation was called Operation Iraqi freedom.

        To know more: Watch

HBO miniseries, "Generation Kill",

the Academy award winning movie "The Hurt Locker" and

an award winning documentary to explore the faults in US post-war plans..."No end in sight"

"Like" us on Facebook: Today in History

The Bombings

19 March

19 March 1998.
 Atal Bihari Vaajpayee sworn in as 16'th Prime Minister of India.
More important thing to note in this appointment was the national agenda of BJP.
They declared they would keep the "nuclear options open."
Pakistan foreign ministry said National agenda of BJP led government is a "worrisome" document.
They also said that this could start a deadly nuclear arms race in the Indian sub-continent.
As we all know India did conduct 5 nuclear tests at Pokharan later in May and Pakistan followed.
More on that on 12'th May.

18 March

March 1922.

The non-cooperation movement  did what thousands of petitions and resolutions could not do. It made the British authorities take notice.  It brought the common Indian into the freedom struggle.  The plan was simple. Do not do or use anything that was British. At the backdrop of this movement was the Rowlatt Act, Jallianwala Bagh Massacre and the Khilafat movement. This movement propelled Mohandas K. Gandhi to the forefront of the freedom struggle. The British saw him as an immediate threat. And though, he called off the movement after Chouri Chowra incident, he was arrested on 10'th March and later on 18 March he was sentenced to 2 years in prison by the magistrate.

-Khanderao

Note: The blog welcomes its new writer Shri. Khanderao. He is a more knowledgeable lover of politics and history. Hoping for him to bring more good stuff into our venture. 

17 March

The Dalai Lama greets reporters as he reaches the foot of the Himalayas after escaping from Tibet in 1959.File photo/Reuters/Peter Jackson/India

17 March 1959. 14'th Dalai Lama of Tibet dressed as a layman and sat on horseback. He slung a rifle on his shoulder. He got out,unrecognized, from his palace.

The Dalai Lama and his officials, who had also escaped from the palace, rode out of the city on horses to join his family for the trek to India.

Two days later, the Chinese discovered he had escaped. They closed the borders with India and Bhutan and sent troops to catch him. None of that was known to the outside world.

Dalai Lama escaped to India with the help of CIA's Special Activities Division. This is the same division which  worked in Somalia. (Remember Black Hawk Down,though their work is not specifically shown in the movie). This CIA division also co-ordinated the Mujahideen training and armaments against Red army in Afghanistan (Remember Charlie Wilson's War) and was responsible for the propaganda for almost every war USA fought in foreign land. This division also is behind the drone attacks in Pakistan's Taliban dominated regions.

Note: Started thinking how USA always features in so many countries' politics? Well here are some things to refresh your memory about our own ventures http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_intervention_in_the_Sri_Lankan_Civil_War

Dalai Lama with Jawaharlal Nehru after his escape from Tibet to India.

Sunil Gawaskar ends his test career with 96 runs innings against Pakistan on 17 March 1987.

With 10122 runs,34 hundreds and 45 fifties with an average of 51.12.

14 March

I.

14 March 1931. First Indian film which had sound,music and songs, "Alam Ara" was released in Majestic Theater in Mumbai.

II.

14 March 1965,Amir Khan's Birthday.

Watch the all time favorite comedy "Andaz Apna Apna" today at this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M_jHUawccI

III. Albert Einstein was also born on 14 March 1879.

Apart from his many contributions in the field of science there is one more interesting fact about his life. In early years of the modern state of Israel,he was offered the Presidency and was offered to be funded for all his  research while serving as the President !!

This is the letter he received from the state of Israel.

12 March

12 March 1930. Mahatma Gandhi started his 390 km March with 78 other Satyagrahis on foot from Sabarmati Ashram towards coastal village Dandi. The March was part of the Salt Satyagraha. Salt symbolises every commoner in India,an item used daily resonates with all classes in India. "Next to air and water,salt perhaps is the greatest necessity of life."

Read the speech made by Mahatma gandhi on the even of the Dandi March here.

And I strongly recommend everyone to watch "Gandhi" in the light of current events where citizens in various parts of the world are rising against injustice.

Cheering crowds greet the Germans in Vienna.

On the morning of 12 March 1938, the 8th Army of the German Wehrmacht crossed the German–Austrian border. The German troops were greeted by cheering Austrians with Hitler salutes, Nazi flags and flowers.Austria was annexed to the German Reich without any armed resistance.This is known as Anschluss.

Some of the events leading upto Anschluss are part of the classic "Sound of Music".It is a dramatised version of actual events .The story is based on the memoirs of Maria von Trapp.

Anne Frank,probably the most well know Holocaust victims died of typhus in Belsen concentration camp on 12 march 1945. Her accounts of life hiding from Nazi are one of the most widely read books and has been translated in several languages.

In events fuelled by Inter-Services Intelligence,ISI of Pakistan on the backdrop of Communal violence in Mumbai...12 March 1993, 13 bombings shook the economical capital of India-Mumbai.

A smuggler from Mumbai,Tiger Memom supported by Dawood Ibrahim and in collaboration with ISI planned to take "revenge" of the communal violence.

Zaveru Bazar,Hotel Juhu Centaur,Century bazaar,Air India Building, Mumbai Stock Exchange,Lucky Petrol pump near Shiv Sena Bhavan,Passport office were the targets with few more.257 citizens were killed and about 1400 were injured.

Hundreds were arrested following the bombings and of the 129 accused 100 were found guilty in 2006.

Anurag Kashyap made "Black Friday" which covered the bombings,the plottings and the aftermath.

12 March 2006. I don't think I need to talk anymore.

11 March

11 March 1915 is the birth-date of Vijay Hazare. A renowned batsman of his times and the Indian captain who led India to it's first test match victory while playing against England.

11 March 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev takes office as the General Secretary of the Communist party of the Soviet Union. His policies of Glasnost and Perestroika gave new freedoms to Soviet citizens. He made efforts to end the cold war between western countries and Soviet Union. He reoriented the strategic aims of Soviet Union which resulted in the end of the cold war and disassociation of Soviet Union. He was later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990. 

10 March

“Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you.”

10 March 1876. The first bi-directional transmission of clear speech by Bell and Watson over telephone.The snapshot is of Bell's lab notebook entry on the day.

Savitribai Phule.

A social reformer,first female teacher ,a champion for the cause of dalits,widows and women's social status. She passed away due to plague on 10 March 1897,nursing a sick child with the same disease and while she was feeding thousands of victims daily.

"Exactly what did you have in mind, Mr. Correli?"                                                         The temptress celebrates her birthday today.(March 10, 1958)

10 March 1985.India beat Pakistan to win the "World Championship of cricket". It was a ODI tournament sponsored by Benson and Hedges commemorating 150'th anniversary of white settlements in Victoria. All the 7 test-playing nations paticipated. Krish Srikkanth leaded the runs tally and Laxman Shivaramakrishnan lead the wickets department.

Except for a few series in Pakistan and the 1983 World Cup final, the World Championship of Cricket in Australia was the first time overseas cricket matches were shown live in India.

For his 182 runs and 8 wickets, Ravi Shastri was chosen as the man of the series which in this tournament was called 'The Champion of Champions'. He won an Audi 100 car for his efforts.By the special order of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Indian customs waived the heavy duty its import would have normally entailed.

9 march

9 March 2005. This strange miracle happened. My sources from Amaravati explain it as a phenomenon when the morning dew froze to form the layer of ice at Badnera during early summer.

8 March

8 March,International Women's day.

8 March 1957. The Suez Canal reopens for small vessels after the Suez crisis of 1956. The Suez crisis was the chain of events triggered after Egypt's President Gamaal Abdul Nasser nationalized the canal triggering a clash with Egypt on one side and UK,France and  Israel on the other.

Friends,this place has a special place in my life. This was the first piece of land I stepped foot on having left Chaptraati Shivaji Terminus on the dawn of 8 August 2010..

The Charles de Gaulle Airport,Paris,France,was inaugurated on 8 March 1974. Named after the man who lead the Free French forces in WW 2,Paris-CDG is the 6'th busiest airport in the world.

And French girls are goddesses.Period.

7 March

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,on 7 March 1971 addressed a large gathering of people at the race course in Dhaka. He called upon the people of East Pakistan for civil disobedience and organised armed resistance.

"The struggle now is the struggle for our emancipation; the struggle now is the struggle for our independence. Joy Bangla!..Since we have given blood, we will give more blood. God-willing, the people of this country will be liberated...Turn every house into a fort. Face (the enemy) with whatever you have"

Academy award winning English actress Rachel Weisz celebrates her birthday today. (7 March 1970)

5 March

Mahatma Gandhi and Lord Irwin signed the Gandhi-Irwin pact on 5 March 1931.

Cuban photographer Alberto Corda took this cult famous photograph "Guerrillero Heroico"of Cuban revolutionary Che Guevera on 5'th March 1960.

4 March

First Asian games were inaugurated on 4 March 1951 in New Delhi India. 11 Asian countries participated with 489 participants. Japan topped the medal list followed by India.

Indian Naval Ship (INS) Vikrant was the first aircraft carrier of Indian Navy. It was commissioned on 4 March 1961. It served a major role in the Indo-Pakistan war in 1971.It was decommissioned in 1997 and is preserved as a floating museum at Mumbai.

3 March

3 March 78 AD marks the beginning of Saka era (शक). The Satavahana king Shalivahana (Gautamiputra Satkarni) is credited with the initiation of the era also know as Shalivahana Saka era. It marked the victory of Shalivahana over the Sakas of west.

After independence, Indian government adopted the Saka calender in 1956.

Note: 3 March 78 is the date according to Gregorian Calender. That means Gudhi Padwa (चैत्र शुक्ल प्रतिपदा) fell on 3 March 78. I used this for cross-referencing. http://www.cc.kyoto-su.ac.jp/~yanom/pancanga/index.html

The picture shows de Haviiland Comet. World's first commercial jet-airliner. A comet airplane of Canadian Pacific Airline was to be delivered to Australia. It took off from Karachi,Pakistan on 3 March 1953. But it failed to get airborne and crashed. All 5 crew members and 6 passengers were killed. This was world's first fatal crash of a commercial jet-airliner.

Inzamam-ul-Haq, the famous Pakistani cricketer and former captain was born in Multan,Pakistan on 3 March 1970. He was handpicked by Pakistani captain Imran Khan for being a lad who could hit pacers all over the place without moving an inch.
A great cricket and a fun to watch guy at the post-match ceremony,he retired from international cricket in 2007.
Read his ESPN-Crickinfo profile here.

2 March

2 March 1930.In Nashik, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar starts the Kalaram MandirPravesh Satyagrah. Dalit samaj was not allowed to enter the temple.

Dr. Ambedkar said ……

I started temple entry Satyagraha only because I felt that was the best way of energizing th Depressed Classes and making them conscious of their position. As I believe I have achieved that purpose I have no more use for temple entry. I want the Depressed Classes to concentrate their energy and resource on politics and education and I hope that they will realise the importance of both.

1 March

1 March 1985. Pentagon agrees that nuclear warfare can lead to a "Nuclear Winter" for extended period of time. The nuclear explosions would generate enough dust and smoke to block out the sun thus bringing down the temperature on earth by almost 75°.

Read the wikipedia article about Nuclear Winter here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_winter

Reference to the New York Times news Article is here.