Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Salt Satyagraha or Dandi March started in 1930


 

The Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India led by Mahatma Gandhi. The twenty four day march started from 12 March 1930 to 6 April 1930 as a direct action campaign of tax resistance and nonviolent protest against the British salt monopoly.

Gandhi led a large group of people from Sabarmati Ashram on 12 March 1930 till Dandi, a coastal village in Gujarat, to break the salt law by producing salt from seawater.

Monday, March 11, 2024

Sayajirao Gaekwad III Birth Anniversary

 

Sayajirao Gaekwad III, born Shrimant Gopalrao Gaekwad born on 11 March 1863, was the Maharaja of Baroda State from 1875 to 1939, and is remembered for reforming much of his state during his rule. He belonged to the royal Gaekwad dynasty of the Marathas which ruled parts of present-day Gujarat.

Sunday, March 10, 2024

Mario Day


 

We celebrate Mario Day on March 10 each year, because March 10, written as "Mar10" looks like Mario's name. The friendly mustached Mario character was initially released by Nintendo in 1985 --- doesn't that make you feel old? Since then, Mario has appeared in around 200 different games, and the Mario games have claimed the title of the best selling video game in history, beating out popular competitors like Pokemon.
Mario, his brother Luigi, Princess Peach, and all the other "Super Mario World" are celebrated on Mario Day on March 10. 

Madhavrao Scindia Birth Anniversary


 

Madhavrao Scindia, born on 10 March 1945, was an Indian politician and minister from the Indian National Congress. Earlier in 1961, he had become the titular (having a position, status or title, without any real authority or power) being a descendant of the Scindia dynasty of the Marathas. However, in the 26th amendment to the Constitution of India promulgated in 1971, the Government of India abolished all official symbols of princely India, including titles, privileges and remuneration (privy purses).

Saturday, March 9, 2024

Jhaverchand Meghani Death Anniversary

  

Jhaverchand or Zaverchand Kalidas Meghani, who passed away on 9 March 1947, was an Indian poet, writer, social reformer and freedom fighter. He is a well-known name in the field of Gujarati literature. 

Yuri Gagarian Birth Anniversary


 

Yuri Gagarin, born on 9 March 1934, near Gzhatsk, Russia, U.S.S.R. [now Gagarin, Russia], was a Soviet cosmonaut who in 1961 became the first man to travel into space.

The son of a carpenter on a collective farm. Gagarin graduated as a molder from a trade school near Moscow in 1951. He continued his studies at the industrial college at Saratov and concurrently took a course in flying. On completing this course, he entered the Soviet Air Force cadet school at Orenburg, from which he graduated in 1957.


Gagarin’s 4 3/4-ton Vostok 1 spacecraft  was launched at 9:07 AM Moscow time on April 12, 1961, orbited Earth once in 1 hour 29 minutes at a maximum altitude of 187 miles (301 km), and landed at 10:55 AM in the Soviet Union. His spaceflight brought him immediate worldwide fame. He was awarded the Order of Lenin and given the titles of Hero of the Soviet Union and Pilot Cosmonaut of the Soviet Union. Monuments were raised to him, and streets were renamed in his honour across the Soviet Union.

Gagarin never went into space again but took an active part in training other cosmonauts. He made several tours to other nations following his historic flight, and from 1962 he served as a deputy to the Supreme Soviet. Gagarin was killed with another pilot in the crash of a two-seat jet aircraft while on what was described as a routine training flight. His ashes were placed in a niche in the Kremlin wall. After his death in 1968 the town of Gzhatsk was renamed Gagarin.

Devika Rani Death Anniversary


Devika Rani Chaudhuri,
usually known as Devika Rani, who passed away on 9 March 1994, aged 85, was an actress in Indian films who was active during the 1930s and 1940s. Widely acknowledged as the first lady of Indian cinema, Devika Rani had a successful film career that spanned 10 years.

Her persona, no less than her film roles, were considered socially unconventional. Her awards include the Padma Shri (1958), Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1970) and the Soviet Land Nehru Award (1990).

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