Shamshad Begum's Birth Anniversary

Shamshad Begum, born on 14 April 1919 in Lahore, British India (present-day Pakistan. was an Indian singer who was one of the first playback singers in the Hindi film industry. Notable for her distinctive voice and range, she sang over 6,000 songs in Hindustani, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil and Punjabi languages, among which 1287 were Hindi film songs. She worked with renowned composers of the time, such as Naushad Ali and O.P. Nayyar, for whom she was one of their favourites. Her songs from the 1940s to the early 1970s remain popular and continue to be remixed.

Ali Akbar Khan's Birth Aniversary

 

Ali Akbar Khan, born on 14 April 1922, in Shibpur, Bengal, India [now in Bangladesh], was a composer, virtuoso sarod player, and teacher, active in presenting classical Indian music to Western audiences. Khan’s music is rooted in the Hindustani (northern) tradition of Indian music.

Khan was trained by his father, the master Alauddin Khan, and began performing at age 13, soon becoming the court musician to the maharaja of Jodhpur. He remained in that position for seven years, until the death of the maharaja, at which time the state conferred on him the title of master musician (ustad). In 1955 the violinist Yehudi Menuhin invited him to New York City, and thereafter he often performed and recorded in the West, frequently in collaboration with his brother-in-law, the composer and sitarist Ravi Shankar. As a composer, Khan is known for his film scores—notably for Satyajit Ray’s Devi (1960) and the Ismail Merchant–James Ivory production The Householder (1963)—and as the creator of many ragas. Khan was the first Indian musician to record the long, elaborate manifestations of Indian music performances; among his many albums are The Forty-Minute Raga (1968) and Journey (1990). He founded music schools in Kolkata (Calcutta; 1956); San Rafael, Calif. (1967); and Basel, Switz. (1985). In 1991 he received a MacArthur Foundation fellowship.

 

 

Dr B.R. Ambedkar's Birth Anniversary

 

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, born on 14 April 1891, in Mhow, India, was a leader of the Dalits (Scheduled Castes; formerly called untouchables) and law minister of the government of India (1947–51).

Born of a Dalit Mahar family of western India, he was as a boy humiliated by his high-caste schoolfellows. His father was an officer in the Indian army. Awarded a scholarship by the Gaekwar (ruler) of Baroda (now Vadodara), he studied at universities in the United States, Britain, and Germany. He entered the Baroda Public Service at the Gaekwar’s request, but again ill-treated by his high-caste colleagues, he turned to legal practice and to teaching. He soon established his leadership among Dalits, founded several journals on their behalf, and succeeded in obtaining special representation for them in the legislative councils of the government. Contesting Mahatma Gandhi’s claim to speak for Dalits (or Harijans, as Gandhi called them), he wrote What Congress and Gandhi Have Done to the Untouchables (1945).

In 1947 Ambedkar became the law minister of the government of India. He took a leading part in the framing of the Indian constitution, outlawing discrimination against untouchables, and skilfully helped to steer it through the assembly; the adoption of the constitution on January 26, 1950, is today celebrated as Republic Day, a national holiday. He resigned in 1951, disappointed at his lack of influence in the government. In October 1956, in despair because of the perpetuation of untouchability in Hindu doctrine, he renounced Hinduism and became a Buddhist, together with about 200,000 fellow Dalits, at a ceremony in Nagpur. Ambedkar’s book The Buddha and His Dhamma appeared posthumously in 1957, and it was republished as The Buddha and His Dhamma: A Critical Edition in 2011, edited, introduced, and annotated by Aakash Singh Rathore and Ajay Verma.

Thomas Jefferson's Birth Anniversary

Thomas Jefferson, born on 13 April 1743, in Shadwell, Virginia [U.S.], was a draftsman of the Declaration of Independence of the United States and the nation’s first secretary of state (1789–94) and second vice president (1797–1801) and, as the third president (1801–09), the statesman responsible for the Louisiana Purchase. An early advocate of total separation of church and state, he also was the founder and architect of the University of Virginia and most eloquent American proponent of individual freedom as the core meaning of the American Revolution.

Long regarded as America’s most distinguished “apostle of liberty,” Jefferson has come under increasingly critical scrutiny within the scholarly world. At the popular level, both in the United States and abroad, he remains an incandescent icon, an inspirational symbol for both major U.S. political parties, as well as for dissenters in communist China, liberal reformers in central and eastern Europe, and aspiring democrats in Africa and Latin America. His image has suffered, however, as the focus on racial equality has prompted a more negative reappraisal of his dependence upon slavery and his conviction that American society remain a white man’s domain. Especially disturbing to many were the DNA results of the 1998 study revealing that Jefferson had almost certainly fathered a child with his slave Sally Hemings, thirty years his junior. The huge gap between his lyrical expression of liberal ideals and the more attenuated reality of his own life has transformed Jefferson into America’s most problematic and paradoxical hero. The Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., was dedicated to him on 13 April 1943, the 200th anniversary of his birth.

Balraj Sahni's Death Anniversary

 

Balraj Sahni (born Yudhishthir Sahni), who passed away on 13 April 1973, aged 59, in Mumbai, was an acclaimed Indian film and stage actor. Known for his powerful and impactful performances, Balraj Sahni became a prominent figure in the golden era of Indian cinema.

Balraj Sahni initially pursued a career in the civil service but eventually found his true calling in acting. He became associated with the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA), a leftist cultural organization, where he honed his skills and passion for acting. His association with IPTA marked the beginning of his journey in theatre.

Balraj Sahni made his film debut in 1946 with the film "Insaaf," but he gained widespread recognition and acclaim for his role in the film "Do Bigha Zamin" (1953), directed by Bimal Roy. His portrayal of Shambhu Mahato, a poor farmer struggling to save his land, showcased his acting prowess and earned him accolades. The film won the International Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1954.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Balraj Sahni delivered memorable performances in films such as "Kabuliwala" (1961), "Waqt" (1965), and "Neel Kamal" (1968). He often played roles that reflected the socio-economic realities of the time, and his ability to bring depth and authenticity to his characters set him apart as one of the finest actors in Indian cinema.

Balraj Sahni's filmography includes a diverse range of roles, from intense and dramatic characters to light-hearted and comedic ones. He collaborated with renowned filmmakers like Bimal Roy, Guru Dutt, and Yash Chopra, leaving an indelible mark on Indian cinema.

Apart from his acting career, Balraj Sahni was also a noted writer and penned several books, including his autobiography "Meri Filmi Aatmakatha" (My Filmy Autobiography).

Balraj Sahni's contribution to Indian cinema was not only recognized within the industry but also by the government. He received the Padma Shri, one of the highest civilian awards in India, in 1969.

 

 

 

 

The Creation of Khalsa

Khalsa, the purified and reconstituted Sikh community instituted by Guru Gobind Singh on March 30, 1699 (Baisakhi Day; Khalsa Sikhs celebrate the birth of the order on April 13 of each year). His declaration had three dimensions: it redefined the concept of authority within the Sikh community; it introduced a new initiation ceremony and code of conduct; and it provided the community with a new religious and political vision. Khalsa is used to denote both the body of initiated Sikhs and the community of all Sikhs.

The early Sikh community had been shaped by three levels of authority: the masands (“Guru’s deputies”) were responsible for local congregations; the Guru was the active central authority; and the revealed word as recorded in Sikh scriptural text served as the symbolic base. With the establishment of the Khalsa, the authority of the masands was eliminated. They were expected either to become members of the community on a par with all others or to leave the fold.

Gobind Singh also introduced a new initiation rite. More commonly called amrit pahul (“the nectar ceremony”) but also known as khande ki pahul (literally, “ceremony of the double-edged sword”), it was centred on a belief in the transformative power of the revealed word. The word was recited while water for initiation was stirred with a double-edged sword. Every Sikh who underwent the ceremony became a member of the Khalsa, was assigned the name Singh (“Lion”), and was expected to observe a rigorous code of conduct (rahit) symbolized by the wearing of five items: kes (long hair), kangha (a comb), kachha (a pair of shorts), karha (a steel bracelet), and kirpan (a sword). The names of these items begin with the Punjabi letter k and thus came to be known as the five Ks. The Singhs were also expected to forswear tobacco, alcohol, and certain types of meat.

In its third aspect the Khalsa embodied a concrete political agenda: the pledge to realize the rule of the Sikh community (Khalsa Raj, “kingdom of God”) in the Punjab. These three interlocking dimensions have made the institution of the Khalsa perhaps the most powerful force in shaping Sikh identity during the past three centuries. Initially a male institution, it is now open to women (who take the name Kaur [“Princess]) as well, though Khalsa authority remains firmly in male hands.

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in 1919

 

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, incident on April 13, 1919, in which British troops fired on a large crowd of unarmed Indians in an open space known as Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar in the Punjab region (now in Punjab state) of India, killing several hundred people and wounding many hundreds more. It marked a turning point in India's modern history, in that it left a permanent scar on Indo-British relations and was the prelude to Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi's full commitment to the cause of Indian nationalism and independence from Britain.

During World War I (1914–18) the British government of India enacted a series of repressive emergency powers that were intended to combat subversive activities. By the war’s end, expectations were high among the Indian populace that those measures would be eased and that India would be given more political autonomy. The Montagu-Chelmsford Report, presented to the British Parliament in 1918, did in fact recommend limited local self-government. Instead, however, the government of India passed what became known as the Rowlatt Acts in early 1919, which essentially extended the repressive wartime measures.

The acts were met by widespread anger and discontent among Indians, notably in the Punjab region. Gandhi in early April called for a one-day general strike throughout the country. In Amritsar the news that prominent Indian leaders had been arrested and banished from that city sparked violent protests on April 10, in which soldiers fired upon civilians, buildings were looted and burned, and angry mobs killed several foreign nationals and severely beat a Christian missionary. A force of several dozen troops commanded by Brig. Gen. Reginald Edward Harry Dyer was given the task of restoring order. Among the measures taken was a ban on public gatherings.

On the afternoon of April 13, a crowd of at least 10,000 men, women, and children gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh, which was nearly completely enclosed by walls and had only one exit. It is not clear how many people there were protesters who were defying the ban on public meetings and how many had come to the city from the surrounding region to celebrate Baisakhi, a spring festival. Dyer and his soldiers arrived and sealed off the exit. Without warning, the troops opened fire on the crowd, reportedly shooting hundreds of rounds until they ran out of ammunition. It is not certain how many died in the bloodbath, but, according to one official report, an estimated 379 people were killed, and about 1,200 more were wounded. After they ceased firing, the troops immediately withdrew from the place, leaving behind the dead and wounded.

The shooting was followed by the proclamation of martial law in the Punjab that included public floggings and other humiliations. Indian outrage grew as news of the shooting and subsequent British actions spread throughout the subcontinent. The Bengali poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore renounced the knighthood that he had received in 1915. Gandhi was initially hesitant to act, but he soon began organizing his first large-scale and sustained nonviolent protest (satyagraha) campaign, the non-cooperation movement (1920-22), which thrust him to prominence in the Indian nationalist struggle.

The government of India ordered an investigation of the incident (the Hunter Commission), which in 1920 censured Dyer for his actions and ordered him to resign from the military. Reaction in Britain to the massacre was mixed, however. Many condemned Dyer’s actions—including Sir Winston Churchill, then secretary of war, in a speech to the House of Commons in 1920—but the House of Lords praised Dyer and gave him a sword inscribed with the motto “Saviour of the Punjab.” In addition, a large fund was raised by Dyer’s sympathizers and presented to him. The Jallianwala Bagh site in Amritsar is now a national monument.