On this Day in History

Pandit Ravi Shankar, one of the greatest sitar players of post-Independence India and the country’s best-known classical musician in the West, was born on 7 April 1920. He did more than any other person to popularise Indian classical music in the West.  Born Ravindra Shankar Chowdhury in Benares (Varanasi) to a family of Bengali Brahmins originally from East Bengal (now... Read More →

Shankar Abaji Bhise, an Indian scientist has developed about 200 inventions, for about 40 of which he took patents. He died on 7 April 1935. Some of his popular inventions include Bhise type caster, Rotary multiple type-caster, Automatic weighing and packing machine for railways, Shella or Rola soap, An automatic machine capable of composing 3000 characters per minute, Automatic bicycle... Read More →

Suchitra Sen, a superstar of Bengali cinema who became a recluse for over three decades after she quit acting, was born Rama Dasgupta on 6 April 1931 in East Bengal (now Bangladesh). Her father, Karunamoy Dasgupta, was the headmaster of a school in what is now the Pabna district of Bangladesh. She was the fifth child of Karunamoy and his... Read More →

Popularly known as BTR, Bhalchandra Trimbak Ranadive was an Indian communist politician and trade union leader. He left for his heavenly abode on 6 April 1990. After completing his studies in 1927, BTR obtained an M.A. degree with distinction. Later, in the year 1928, he joined the Communist Party of India and also became a major leader of the All... Read More →

Babu Jagjivan Ram, a Union Minister, freedom fighter and Dalit leader, was born on 5 April 1908 in Chandwa village, present-day Bhojpur district of Bihar to a Dalit family. His father, Shobhi Ram, was in the British army but later resigned, bought farmland in Chandwa, and settled there. Jagjivan Ram was sent to the village school but soon after, his... Read More →

The Battle of Kohima, a turning point in the Second World War that halted Japan’s advance into Asia, started on 4 April 1944. Sometimes called the “Stalingrad of the East”, it ended on 22 June 1944 with the defeat and retreat of Japanese forces. The twin victories of British and Indian forces in Imphal-Kohima over the Japanese in Northeast India... Read More →

Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, who as the 8th Chief of Army Staff led the Indian Army to a decisive victory against Pakistan in the 1971 war, was born on 3 April 1914 in Amritsar (British Punjab) in a Parsi family. His parents, Hormusji, a doctor, and Heerabai had moved from Gujarat to Punjab. Manekshaw went to school in Punjab and... Read More →

“When he batted, a strange light was seen for the first time on English fields, a light of the East. The leg-glance was Ranji’s own stroke. He is today a legend. We can feel the spell yet, we can go back in our minds to hot days in an England of forgotten peace and plenty, during which Ranji did not... Read More →

Orissa, a state of Oriya speakers, was established as a province of British India on 1 April 1936. The English name Orissa was changed to Odisha on 4 November 2011. Odisha’s history is at least 5,000 years old. The Kalinga War of the 3rd century BC, which made emperor Ashoka embrace non-violence and adopt the teachings of Buddha, was fought in... Read More →

S.M. Joshi was a brilliant student during his academic years and displayed an outstanding oratory skill while participating at various contests. All his regular article contributions reflected his literary excellence to the fullest. Being inclined towards politics from the very beginning, S.M. Joshi participated at various Gujarat festivals along with the Tilak processions. He also entered the Indian independence movement... Read More →