Today’s Motto: ‘When your life story is being written, don’t let anyone else hold the pen’

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

On this day, 24 Feb….

1739 – The army of Iranian ruler Nadir Shah defeats the forces of the Mughal emperor of India, Muhammad Shah.

1871 – Charles Darwin’s Descent of Man was published in London.

1924 – U.S. Navy officials and the media witnessed the 95-sec flight of the latest design of a helicopter built by Henry Berliner. It reached a height of 15-ft and could manoeuvre in a radius of 150-ft, at a speed up to about 40 mph.

1931 – The Fields Medal was established to recognise outstanding contributions to mathematics. It was conceived since there was no Nobel Prize for mathematicians.

1938 – DuPont began commercial production of nylon toothbrush bristles for the so-called “Miracle Tuft Toothbrush.” (Before 1938, the world relied on toothbrush bristles of neck hairs from wild swine from Siberia, Poland and China).

1948 – The State of Junagarh, whose accession to India was protested by Pakistan in the UN Security Council, voted in favour of India in a popular referendum held on 20 February 1948.

1949 – “The first recorded man-made object (two-stage rocket) to reach extraterrestrial or outer space” was launched from New Mexico.

1961 – Government of Madras province was renamed as Tamil Nadu.

1974 – Pakistan officially recognises Bangladesh.

1989 – 150-million-year-old fossil egg (oldest dinosaur embryo) found.

2000 – The Subrahmanyam Committee report  on Kargil  war tabled in the Lok Sabha. The panel concluded that the Pakistan intrusion in Kargil took the Indian security establishment by surprise.
2010 – India’s master-blaster Sachin Tendulkar scored the first double century (200 off 147 balls) in One Day International cricketagainst South Africa in Gwalior. (pic credit-ICC/X.com).

2014 – A 4.4 billion-year-old Crystal is discovered to be the oldest known fragment from the earth’s crust.

2022 – Russian leader Vladimir Putin announces the start of a three day “special military operation” in Ukraine to “demilitarize” the country. Moments before Russia launched a full-scale pre-dawn and invasion by land, air and sea, with bombings in several cities. Putin claimed he wouldn’t like Ukraine to join NATO alliance.

Born…. 1924 – Talat Mehmood -Most popular  Ghazal singer and  known for evergreen   tragedy songs of Haqeeqat, Sujata, Devdas, Baaz, Sone ki Chidiya, Ek Gaon ki Kahani, Dile-Nadaan, Waris  etc. He was awasrded Padma Bhushan in 1972 and a Filmfare (video credit-Shemaroo Filmi Gaane). 

1948 – Jayaram Jayalalitha,  popular Tamil  heroine, politician  and  former chief minister of Tamil Nadu. She co-founded the AIADMK alongwith  legendary actor and CM of Tamil Nadu MG Ramachandran.  She was CM for about 14 years and is one of the richest politicians of the country. 27 Kg of Gold and ornaments, 1,116 kg silver were found from her possession and 1,526 acres of land in her name on Bengaluru court orders. More properties are reported to be in possession of her longtime secretary Sasikala.

1963 – Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Popular Bollywood  film and theatre person known  for epic romantic and historic drama films such as Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devdas, and Bajirao Mastani etc.  Bhansali is a screen scriptwriter, producer and  director recognized for his signature opulent sets and star-studded casts. He has won National Film Award 5 times and  a Padma Shri  award.

1972 – Pooja Bhatt. Elder daughter of  famous  film director/producer  Mahesh Bhatt and  former Bollywood actor. She’s known for roles in  Sadak, Paap, Jakham, Paap, Tamanna etc. She won Filmfare award on debut in Dil Hai ki Maanta Nahin and has 2 National Film  awards, Zee Cine (1), Screen Award and Bengal film award in her kitty (pic credit-Filmfare.com).

RIP…. 1986 – Rukmini Devi Arundale, dancer and choreographer of the Indian classical dance form of Bharat Natyam. She travelled across the globe to popularise Bharatnatyam as a mode of Bhakti instead of  Shringara  in the West and choreographed  dance sequences  on epics Ramayana,  Shri Krishna  and other Hindu  folklores. She married a British educator and theosophist George Arundale in 1920  and established a Bharat Natyam school  under Kalakshetra Foundation. she was honoured with  Padam Bhushan in 1956 and Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 1957.   (pic credit-punjabibio.com).

You may have known….Jute and cotton industries suffered the most as a result of partition. India also suffered losses in terms of markets as well as skilled labour that migrated to  East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).

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