Kailash Nath Katju Death Anniversary

 

Kailash Nath Katju, who passed away on 17 February 1968, was a prominent politician of India. He was the Governor of Orissa and West Bengal, the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, the Union Home Minister and the Union Defence Minister. He was also one of India's most prominent lawyers. He was part of some of the most riveting cases of his times, including the famous INA trials. Dr Katju joined the freedom struggle against the British rule in India early on and spent several years incarcerated with fellow freedom fighters.

Karpoori Thakur Death Anniversary

 

Karpoori Thakur, who passed away on 17 February 1988, was an Indian politician from the Bihar state. He was popularly known as Jan Nayak. He served as the Chief Minister of Bihar from December 1970 to June 1971 (Socialist Party/Bharatiya Kranti Dal), and from December 1977 to April 1979 (Janata Party).

Vasudev Balwant Phadke Death Anniversary

 

Vasudev Balwant Phadke, who passed away on 17 February 1883, was an Indian independence activist and revolutionary who sought India's independence from the British Raj. Phadke was moved by the plight of the farming community and believed that Swaraj was the only remedy for their ills. With the help of the Koli, Bhil and Dhangar communities in the region, he formed a revolutionary group of the Ramoshi people. The group started an armed struggle to overthrow the British Raj, launching raids on rich English businessmen to obtain funds for the purpose. Phadke came to prominence when he got control of the city of Pune for a few days after catching British soldiers off-guard during one a surprise attack.

World Pangolin Day

World Pangolin Day is observed on the third Saturday in February and takes place on February 17 this year. The day aims to celebrate pangolins, raise awareness and recommit international N.G.O.s to fight against the global capturing of pangolins in Africa and Asia.

An estimated one million of these animals have been, and continue to be, harvested from the wild in African and Asian countries to meet the high demands for their scale, skin, blood and even fetuses that are believed to have several different uses both in fashion, traditional medicine, and cooking.

Four species live in Africa: Black-belled pangolin (Phataginus tetradactyla), White-bellied pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis), Giant Ground pangolin (Smutsia gigantea) and Temminck's Ground pangolin (Smutsia temminckii).

The four species found in Asia: Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata), Philippine pangolin (Manis culionensis), Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) and the Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla).

All eight pangolin species are protected under national and international laws, and two are listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Tatya Tope Birth Anniversary

 

Tatya Tope, born on 16 February 1814, was a leader of the Indian Mutiny of 1857–58. Although he had no formal military training, he was probably the best and most effective of the rebels’ generals.

Tatya Tope was a Maratha Brahman in the service of the former peshwa  (ruler) of the Maratha confederacy, Baji Rao, and of his adopted son Nana Sahib, who was also prominent in the mutiny. He was present at Nana Sahib’s massacre of the British colony in Kanpur; in early November 1857 he had taken command of the rebel forces of the state of Gwalior and driven Gen. C.A. Windham into his entrenchments at Kanpur on November 27–28. Tatya Tope was defeated by Sir Colin Campbell (later Baron Clyde) on December 6 but remained at Kalpi, the scene of his defeat. In March 1858 he moved to the relief of Jhansi, whose rani (queen) Lakshmi Bai was besieged by British forces. Again defeated, he welcomed the escaping rani at Kalpi and then made a successful dash to Gwalior on June 1. His forces were broken up on June 19, but he continued resistance as a guerrilla fighter in the jungle until he was betrayed the following April. He was tried and executed at Shivpuri.

Meghnad Saha Death Anniversary

 

Meghnad Saha, who passed away on 16 February 1956, was an Indian astrophysicist noted for his development in 1920 of the thermal ionization equation, which, in the form perfected by the British astrophysicist Edward A. Milne, has remained fundamental in all work on stellar atmospheres. This equation has been widely applied to the interpretation of stellar spectra, which are characteristic of the chemical composition of the light source. The Saha equation links the composition and appearance of the spectrum with the temperature of the light source and can thus be used to determine either the temperature of the star or the relative abundance of the chemical elements investigated.

Saha became professor of physics at the University of Allāhābād in 1923 and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1927. He went to the university of Calcutta in 1938, where he was instrumental in the creation of the Calcutta Institute of Nuclear Physics, of which he became honorary director.

In his later years Saha increasingly turned his attention to the social relation of science and founded the outspoken journal Science and Culture in 1935. In 1951 he was elected to the Indian Parliament as an independent. He co-authored A Treatise on Heat (4th ed., 1958) and A Treatise on Modern Physics (1934). One of his most important papers is “Ionization in the Solar Chromosphere,” Phil. Mag. (vol. 40, 1920).

 

Dadasaheb Phalke Death Anniversary

 

Dadasaheb Phalke, who passed away on 16 February 1944, was an Indian motion picture director who is considered the father of the Indian cinema. Phalke was credited with making India’s first indigenous  feature film and spawning the burgeoning Indian film industry today chiefly known through Bollywood productions.

As a child, Phalke displayed great interest in the creative arts. Determined to pursue his dreams, he joined the Sir J.J. School of Art, Bombay (now Mumbai), in 1885. While there he pursued a variety of interests, including photography, Lithography, architecture, and amateur dramatics, and he became adept even at magic. He briefly worked as a painter, a theatrical set designer, and a photographer. While working at the lithography press of celebrated painter Ravi Varma, Phalke was significantly influenced by a series of Varma’s paintings of the Hindu Gods, an impression that was evident in Phalke’s own portrayal of various gods and goddesses in the mythological films he later made.

In 1908 Phalke and a partner established Phalke’s Art Printing and Engraving Works, but the business failed because of differences between them. It was Phalke’s chance viewing of the silent film The Life of Christ (1910) that marked a turning point in his career. Deeply moved by the film, Phalke saw it as his mission to bring all that was Indian to the moving picture screen. He went to London in 1912 to learn the craft from British pioneer filmmaker Cecil Hepworth. In 1913 he released India’s first silent film, Raja Harishchandra, a work based on Hindu mythology. The film, scripted, produced, directed, and distributed by Phalke, was a huge success and an important milestone  in Indian cinematic history. Likewise important, he introduced a female actor in the leading role in his film Bhasmasur Mohini (1913) at a time when professional acting was taboo for women.

Phalke, with the help of several partners, established the Hindustan Film Company in 1917 and went on to produce several films. A talented film technician, Phalke experimented with a variety of special effects. His employment of mythological themes and trick photography delighted his audience. Among his other successful films were Lanka dahan (1917), Shri Krishna janma (1918), Sairandari (1920), and Shakuntala (1920).

With the introduction of sound in cinema and the expansion of the film industry, Phalke’s work lost popularity. He left filmmaking in the 1930s and died lonely, embittered, and sick.