Kamala Nehru Death Anniversary

 

Kamala Nehru, who passed away on 28 February 1936, at the age of 36, was an Indian independence activist and the wife of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India Their daughter Indira Gandhi was the first female prime minister of India.

Kamala Nehru was involved with Harilal Gandhi in the national movement, and quickly emerged to the forefront. In the Non Cooperation movement of 1921, she organized groups of women in Allahabad and picketed shops selling foreign cloth and liquor. When her husband was arrested to prevent him delivering a "seditious" public speech, she decided to go in his place and read it out to a large crowd of onlookers (filled with her supporters). The British soon realized the threat that Kamala Nehru posed to them and how popular she had become with women's groups all over India. She was arrested on two additional occasions for her involvement in Independence struggle activities, along with Sarojini Naidu, Kamala Nehru's mother, and many other women of the Indian freedom struggle. During this period she started a dispensary in her house Swaraj Bhavan, converting few rooms into a Congress Dispensary to treat wounded activists, their families, and other residents of Allahabad(now Prayagraj). After her death, Mahatma Gandhi with the help of other prominent leaders converted this dispensary into a proper hospital known as Kamala Nehru Memorial Hospital in her memory.

Kamala Nehru spent some time at Gandhi's ashram with Kasturba Gandhi where she built a close friendship with Prabhavati Devi – the wife of freedom fighter Jayaprakash Narayan. They were also freedom fighters for Indian freedom from the British.

Rajendra Prasad Death Anniversary

 

Rajendra Prasad, who passed away on 28 February 1963, at the age of 78, was the first Indian politician, lawyer, and journalist who was the first president of the Republic of India (1950–62). He also was a comrade of Mahatma Gandhi early in the non-cooperation movement for independence and was president of the Indian National Congress (1934, 1939, and 1947).

Raised in a landowning family of modest means, Prasad was a graduate of the Calcutta Law College. He practiced at the Calcutta High Court and in 1916 transferred to the Patna High Court and founded the Bihar Law Weekly. In 1917 he was recruited by Gandhi to help in a campaign to improve conditions for peasants exploited by British indigo planters in Bihar. He gave up his law practice in 1920 to join the noncooperation movement. Becoming an active journalist in the nationalist interest, he wrote for Searchlight in English, founded and edited the Hindi weekly Desh (“Country”), and started his lifelong campaign to establish Hindi as the national language. Imprisoned several times by the British for noncooperation activities, he served nearly three years (August 1942–June 1945) in jail with the Congress Party’s Working Committee.

In September 1946 Prasad was sworn in as minister for food and agriculture in the interim government preceding full independence. From 1946 to 1949 he presided over the Indian Constituent Assembly and helped to shape the constitution. He was unanimously elected president in 1950 and, after the first general election (1952), was chosen by an overwhelming majority of the new electoral college; in 1957 he was elected to a third term.

Prasad retired from public life in 1962 because of his deteriorating health. That same year he was honoured with the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award. His autobiography, Atmakatha, was published in 1946. He is also the author of India Divided (1946), Mahatma Gandhi and Bihar, Some Reminiscences (1949), and other books.

National Science Day (India)

 

National Science Day is celebrated across India on February 28 to honour the discovery of the Raman Effect by physicist Sir CV Raman in 1928. The Raman Effect is the inelastic scattering of light by molecules, a discovery that earned Raman the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930, making him the first Asian to receive the prestigious award in any branch of science.

History of National Science Day

In 1986, the National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC) proposed to the Government of India that February 28 be designated as National Science Day. Since 1987, this day has been celebrated to commemorate the discovery of the Raman Effect and to promote scientific temper in the country.

Significance and Celebrations

National Science Day aims to promote scientific thinking and highlight the importance of science in everyday life. Educational institutions, scientific organizations, and various other institutions across India organize events such as seminars, workshops, and exhibitions to celebrate the occasion. The day serves as a reminder of India's rich scientific heritage and encourages scientific research and innovation.