Today’s Motto: ‘A person without confidence is …..

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

On this day, 02 Apr….

1679 – Aurangzeb reimposed Jizya Tax to finance the spread of Islam on the Hindus.This Jeziya tax was abolished by Akbar.

1827 – Lead pencils were first manufactured by Joseph Dixon.

1935 – Scottish physicist, Sir Robert Watson-Watt was granted a patent for the RADAR RAdio Detection And Ranging (pic credit-Medium.com).

1970 – Meghalaya, an autonomous hilly state, was established after dividing the hilly areas of Assam.

1970 – Privy purses and special privileges of former Indian rulers abolished.

1978 – Velcro, the hook-and-loop fastener patent expired, releasing the design to manufacture of imitations.( It was developed by Swiss engineer Georges de Mestral, who noticed how thistle burrs clung to his clothing during a hike in the mountains).

2012 -Three widows and two daughters of Osama bin Laden were charged with illegally living in Pakistan; they were sentenced with 45 days in jail and fined $114 each. Osama Bin Laden was also spotted in Pakistan and killed by American drones in 2014.  (images credit-ar.inspiredpencil.com).

2020 – New study shows western Antarctica once swampy with temperate forests 93-83 million years ago during Cretaceous period, according to Alfred Wegener Institute.

2023 – Footage of deepest living fish ever recorded, the snailfish, released caught on camera at depth of 27,349 feet (8,336 meters) in the Izu-Ogasawara Trench, south of Japan (pic credit-mashable.com).

Born…. 1902 – Gulam Ali Khan, (Ustad Bade Khan), Indian vocalist belonged to Kasur Patiala Gharana of Indian classic music. a Thumri  raga exponent was also called Tansen of last century. He was  honored with Sangeet Natak Akademy award and Padma Bhushan.

1942 – Roshan Seth, British  Indian actor, known for playing PM Nehru’s role in Richard Attenborrow’s  award winning film  Gandhi  in 1980s. Born in Patna to  a Hindu father and muslim father family,  Roshan later went to England to learn theatre in Shakespeare Society and London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 1965, worked in  British  theatre, TV shows. He started  in Peter Brook’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and  Richard Lester’s Juggarnaught in 1970s. He also acted in A Passage to India, Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom, My Beautiful Laundrette. He was honoured with OBE and  BFTA awards.

1969 – Ajay Devgan,  veteran Bollywood film actor. He debuted in the industry with Phool Bane Angare and gopt Filmare on debut. Also acted in Shaheed Bhagat Singh by Rajkumar Santoshi, Naam, Son of Sardar, Singham, RRR, Gangajal, Gangubai Kathiawadi, Drishyam, Chankya, Tanaji, etc. He has won 4 National Films and 4 Filmare awards.

1981 – Kapil Sharma, stand-up comedian and actor. He hosts  the Kapil Sharma Show on TV Channels, Great Indian Laughter Show, Comedy Nights with Kapil etc.  and has worked  in  Ghazni, Firangi, Jagga  Jasoos,  Kiss Kissko Pyar Karoon, Vikram Vadha etc. He has  won  NDTV  and  some other awards.

RIP…. 1933 – Sir Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji “Ranji”, Maharaj, Jamsaheb of Nawanagar and noted cricketer. He was referred as “The prince of a little state, but the King of a great game”. He captained British  teams  before partition against Australia.  A prolific scorer, he  crossed 1000 runs a year, 10 times and  3000 in 1899 , again in 1900.

Titbits….  1997 – Sumita Sinha of Dhanbad, (18 years college girl) became a World Record holder when a 3,200 kg Ambassador car   passed over her.

           You may have known….

Buttons  for shirts and  coats  were invented in India. An  essential accessory for dresses, these were earlier made of animal bones.

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