George V, who passed
away on 20 January 1936, was the was
King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from
6 May 1910 until his death.
George's
reign saw the rise of socialism,
communism, fascism, Irish republicanism, and the Indian independence movement, all of which radically changed the political landscape of
the British Empire, which itself reached its territorial peak by the beginning
of the 1920s.
Karam Singh, PVC, MM, who
passed away on 20 January 1993, an Indian soldier, was a recipient of the Param
Vir Chakra (PVC), India's highest award for gallantry. Singh joined the army in
1941, and took part in the Burma Campaign of World War II, receiving the
Military Medal for his actions during the Battle of the Admin Box in 1944. He
also fought in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, and was awarded the PVC for his
role in saving a forward post at Richhmar Gali, south of Tithwal. He was also one of the five soldiers
chosen to raise the Indian flag for the first time after independence in 1947.
Singh later rose to the rank of subedar, and was conferred the rank
of honorary captain before his retirement in September 1969.
Abdul Ghaffār Khān, who passed
away on 20 January 1988, was a Pashtun independence activist who worked to end
the rule of the British Raj in India. He was a political and spiritual leader
known for his nonviolent opposition; he was a lifelong pacifist and devout
Muslim. A close friend of Mohandas Gandhi, Bacha Khan was nicknamed the
"Frontier Gandhi" in British India by his close associate Amir Chand
Bombwal. Bacha Khan founded the Khudai Khidmatgar ("Servants of
God") movement in 1929. Its success triggered a harsh crackdown by the
British Raj against him and his supporters, and they suffered some of the most
severe repression of the Indian independence movement.
Amritlal Vithaldas Thakkar,
also known as Thakkar Bapa, who passed away on 20 January 1951, was an Indian social worker who worked
for upliftment of tribal people in Gujarat state in India.
Since his younger days, Thakkar Bapa was involved in activities
that would free the marginalized communities of social evils. He founded a
school for the children of sweepers and implemented a scheme for making them
debt-free. In 1915, Thakkar Bapa was introduced to Gandhiji, who convinced him
to join the Indian Independence Movement. He was arrested by the British
government for leading a group of volunteers who were participating in the
picketing of liquor shops. He also played a crucial role during the negotiations
of the Poona Pact. At Gandhiji’s request, he became one of the General
Secretaries of the Harijan
Sevak Sang, an organization founded by Gandhiji that focused on the
rights of the marginalized sections of society. In 1918, Thakkar Bapa played a
crucial role in presenting the Compulsory Primary Education Bill to the Bombay
Legislative Council.
Thakkar Bapa authored the book, Tribes of India, published in 1950. He spent his
entire life working towards the upliftment of the marginalized. On 29 November
1929, Sardar Patel presented him with a Commemoration Volume. In 1969, the
Government of India issued a commemorative stamp in his honour.
Jagdish Chandra Jain, born
on 20 January 1909, was a scholar, indologist, educationist, writer, and
freedom fighter during the freedom struggle of India. He authored over 80 books
on a variety of subjects, including Jain philosophy, Prakrit literature, and
Hindi textbooks for children. Jain was the chief prosecution witness in
Gandhi's murder trial. He repeatedly tried to warn the government of the
conspiracy to assassinate Mahatma Gandhi, which became known to him after Madan
Lal Pahwa, a Punjabi refugee and one of the conspirators of the murder of
Mahatma Gandhi, confided to him of their plan. Jain's attempts to warn the
government met deaf ears. He recounted his personal experiences in two books: I
Could Not Save Bapu and The Forgotten Mahatma.
Penguin
Awareness Day is observed annually on January 20. There are 18 penguin species, 13 of
which have declining populations. Five of these species are endangered and face
extinction. There are only about 5,000 of the rarest species, the yellow-eyed
penguin.
The word
"penguin" first appeared in print in 1500s, and was originally
applied to a black and white seabird called an auk that is now extinct. Some
believe the name comes from the Welsh words "pen" and
"gwyn" that mean "head" and "white". Penguins are
non-flying birds that are native to the Southern Hemisphere. They are found in
Antarctica, South America, South Africa Australia and New Zealand, and on small
islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. The northernmost penguins are Galapagos
penguins, which fittingly live on the Galapagos Islands, which are near the
equator. The birds cross into the Northern Hemisphere while swimming to feed.
