Today’s Motto: ‘A leader takes the front line when there is Danger…..

This is Your Day-TODAY:  Take a Determined Step Forward and Make History! 

On this day, 03 Nov….

1838 – The Times of India, the world’s largest circulated English language daily broadsheet newspaper, is founded as The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce. Edited and managed by Raobahadur Narayan Dinanath Velkar, the paper was created to serve the British residents of western India and published on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Today it is large  media empire  called Tomes Group  with several editions,  magazines,  TV  chaanmels  and  Digital  outfits.

1862 – Dr. Richard Gatling patents machine gun (Pic credit_ Britannica).

1892 – The first automatic telephone exchange, using the switching device invented by Almon B. Strowger, opened to the public in LaPorte, Indiana, US, with about seventy-five subscribers. This early system did not use a dial to enter the desired number. Instead, using three keys, one for each digit of a three-digit number, a subscriber pressed each key the appropriate number of times for each digit. ( In the UK, the very first Strowger exchange opened at Epsom in Surrey in 1912. (pic credit-Bridgeman Images)

1906 – “SOS” was specified as the international distress signal, in a document signed by representatives of 27 nations at the second International Wireless Telegraph Convention in Berlin. It would replace the earlier Marconi call sign CQD. By 1904 many transatlantic British ships had wireless equipment. First used in England on landline wires, “CQ” preceded time signals and special notices as a sign for “all stations.” The Marconi company suggested adding the “D” meaning distress. The code “CQD” was established as a distress signal on 1 Feb 1904, but was never chosen from such a phrase as “Come Quick Danger.” The 1906 Conference proceedings do not detail the discussions about the choice of SOS. The likely reason is that it was speedy to tap out (not from “Save Our Souls”).

1911 – Chevrolet officially enters the automobile market in competition with the Ford Model T.

1952 – Clarence Birdseye marketed the first frozen peas in Chester, N.Y. While a U.S. field naturalist near the Arctic, he had learned the technique of flash freezing from Labrador Inuit.

1957 – Sputnik 2 was launched, with the first live animal sent into space – a Siberian husky dog, Laika (“barker” in Russian). By design, the craft was not planned for recovery, and Laika died in orbit. Biological data, the first data of its kind, was transmitted back to Earth while she lived. The data showed scientists how Laika was adapting to space – information important to the imminent planned manned missions (RussianSpaceWeb).

1984 – Body of assassinated Prime Minister Indira Gandhi cremated.

1984 – 3,000 killed  in 3-day riots following Indira Gandhi’s assassination.

1988 – Indian armed forces mounted special operations to help the Indian Ocean archipelago of the Maldives and dealt with the 150 sea-borne invaders who stormed Maldivian Capital, Male and sought to overthrow the democratically elected Government of the Maldives.

1998 – Mamta Banerjee, the TMC leader resigns from Central Coordinating Committee of the BJP and Allies to highlight the issue of spiralling vegetable prices, but Vajpayee refused to accept the resignation.

2014 – One World Trade Centre opens, 13 years after terrorists destroyed the twin towers of the original World Trade Centre; the tower is one of 5 to be built on the same site and, at 1,773 feet high, is now the tallest building in the United States.

Born….

1749 – Daniel Rutherford, Scottish chemist and photographer who discovered the portion of air that does not support combustion, now known to be nitrogen.

1901 – Prithviraj Kapoor, legendary theatre and Bollywood  actor.  Estd. Prithvi Theatres in 1944, Acted in popular films Alam Ara, Sikanadar, Alam Ara, Bidyapati, Anand Math, Mughl-e Azam, Awara Kal Aaj Aur Kal, Raaj Kumar, Teen Bahurania, Nanak Naam Jahaaz Hai, etc. He was awasrded Sangeet Natak Akademy Fellowship in 1954, , Padma Bhushan in 1969  and Dada Saheb Phalke award in 1971. He reamined  nominated  to Rajya Sabha member for 8 years.

1933 – Amartya Kumar Sen, prominent Indian economist, taught in Harvard, Jadhavpur and Delhi School of Economics. Was awarded Nobel Prize in 1994 and Bharat Ratna later..

1937 – Laxmikant Shantaram Kudalkar, (of the popular composer duo Laxmikant Pyarelal fame) was born on the day of Laxmi Puja, on 3 November 1937. Probably, because of the day of his birth, his parents named him as Laxmikant, after the goddess Laxmi (pic credit-The Punch Magazine).

RIP….

1966 – Hurricane strikes Bengal, killing 1,000.

1992 – Premnath (Malhotra), Bollywood actor/director. Acted as Hero and villain  in about 100 films including Barsaat, Baadal, Aan, Naujawan,  Aaram,  Johny Mera Naam, Bobby, Dharmatma, Kal AAj Aur Kal etc. He was awarded Filmfare 3 times,

You may have known….

Polyandry: Polyandry is a form of polygamy in which a woman can have two or more husbands.
Polyandry has been practised in India and is still practised by a minority. The popular Hindu epic, Mahabharatha provides the first striking example of polyandry, Draupadi, daughter of king of Draupad/Panchala being married to five Pandva brothers (though due to mother Kunti’s error of judgment ).
Polyandry was mainly prevalent in the Kinnaur Region, a part of Himachal in India which is close to the Tibet border. As mentioned in the Epic Mahabharata, The Pandavas were banished from their Kingdom for thirteen years and they spent the last year hiding in this hilly terrain of Kinnaur. A minority of the Kinaauri’s still claim to be descendant of the Pandavas and thus justify the practice of Polyandry. However, this is a debatable issue as Kinnauris existed much before the Pandavas as mentioned in the epic.
Apart from Kinnaur, Polyandry was practised by some south Indian tribes, prevalent among the Todas of Nilgiris, Nairs of Travancore and Ezhavas of Malabar. While polyandrous unions have disappeared from the traditions of many of the groups and tribes, it is still practised by some Paharis especially in Jaunsar Bawar region in North India. Some foreign tribes also practice polyandry but little reported (pics credit-Wikipedia and Dreamstime.com).                                                                                                                                

{Compiled by Lt Gen. (R) Raj Kadyan}