1909 – Great revolutionary and freedom fighter Madanlal Dhingra embraced martyrdom. Madan Lal was influenced by the movement for use of ‘Swadeshi’ goods and right from his college days was involved in nationalist activities. In 1904,during his stay at Government College Lahore he organized a student protest to oppose the Principal’s order for introduction of blazer made out of imported cloth from England. This led to his expulsion from the college. However this did not break Madan Lal Dhingra who then worked as a clerk, pulled ‘Tonga’ in Shimla and toiled hard as a labourer in a factory before he got sacked when he attempted to organize a union.Upon the advice of one of his elder brothers,Madan Lal went to England to study Mechanical Engineering where he came in contact with some patriots and revolutionaries at ‘India House’, a student hostel and a base for political activities. At India House, Shyamji Krishna Verma and Vinayak Damodar Sawarkar,impressed with Dhingra’s patriotism guided him to the freedom struggle. Sawarkar trained him to use arms and also made him a member of ‘Abhinav Bharat’, a secret society. During this period, student activists were enraged by the execution of freedom fighters and had resolved to avenge their deaths.Besides they firmly believed that only an armed struggle to could free the country. Thus,Madan Lal decided to attend the annual celebration of the National Indian Association and assassinate Sir Curzon Wyllie, an official of the British Indian Government who was to attend this function along with his wife. On July 1, 1909 Madan Lal Dhingra assassinated Sir Curzon Wyllie by firing five shots at him of which four hit his face. He was indicted of murder and sentenced to death.
Madanlal Dhingra
When asked if he had anything to say in his defense, Madan Lal Dhingra replied:
“I do not want to say anything in defence of myself, but simply to prove the justice of my deed. As for myself, no English law court has got any authority to arrest and detain me in prison, or pass sentence of death on me. That is the reason I did not have any counsel to defend me.”
“I have told you over and over again that I do not acknowledge the authority of the Court. You can do whatever you like. I do not mind at all. You can pass sentence of death on me. I do not care. You white people are all-powerful now, but, remember, we shall have our turn in the time to come, when we can do what we like.”
When the verdict was announced and Dhingra was being taken away-
“Thank you, my Lord. I don’t care. I am proud to have the honour of laying down my life for the cause of my motherland.”
1909 – Architect of modern Indian football, Syed Abdul Rahim or ‘Rahim Saab’ was born.It was during Rahim Saab’s stint as manager of the national team that Indian football lived its ‘Golden days’. It started during the first Asian Games in 1951 held in Delhi when India beat Iran by 1-0 in the final and won the Gold medal. Under Rahim Saab India won 4 Quadrangular tournaments from 1952 to 1955, reached the semi-finals of 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games and again won the Gold in 1962 at the Asian Games at Jakarta, Indonesia when they beat South Korea 2-1. The decline of Indian football, it is said,began with his death.
1925 – Hazrat Tajuddin Baba left His physical form.
1932 – Popular adventure story writer for children, Dasari Subrahmanyam was born. Dasari, a telugu writer, worked for more than 50 years for ‘Chandamama’, a popular children’s magazine during which he created 12 Classic serials. These were fantasies with a backdrop of ancient India. Following is a list of his creations:
– The Comet (Hindi: Dhumketu, Telugu:Toka chukka)
– Crocodile Lord (Hindi: Makar Devta, Telugu:Makara Devatha)
– Three Wizards (Hindi: Teen Mantrik, Telugu:Mugguru Mantrikulu)
– The Bronze Castle (Hindi: Qila, Telugu:Kanchu Kota)
– Fire Island (Hindi: Agni Dweep, Telugu:Jwalaa Deepam)
– The Monster Valley (Hindi: Bhayankar Ghati, Telugu:Rakaasi Loya)
– The Underworld Fort (Hindi: Patal Qila, Telugu:Paatala Durgam)
– Temple in Ruins (Sithilaalayam)
– The Yaksha Mountain (Hindi: Yaksha Parvat, Telugu:Yaksha Parvatham)
– The Chariot (Raathi Ratham)
– The Enchanted Pond (Hindi: Maya Sarovar, Telugu:Maya Sarovaram)
– The Bear Wizard (Hindi: Bhalluk Mantrik, Telugu:Bhalluuka Mantrikudu)
V S Naipaul
1932 – Considered as the ‘Greatest Living writer of the English prose’, Sir V.S. Naipaul was born. His novels mostly revolve around the legacy of British colonialism. His notable works include ‘A House for Mr. Biswas’, ‘A Bend in the River’, ‘The Enigma of Arrival’, ‘In a Free State’ etc. He is also into non-fiction like essays and travel writing. He received the Man Booker Prize in 1971 for the short story ‘In a free state’ and was awarded the Nobel prize for literature in 2001. He appeared at 7th position in the ’50 greatest british authors since 1945′ list by The Times.
1939 – Renowned biologist Dr.Modadugu Gupta was born. Dr.Gupta is credited with developing innovative methods in aquaculture-freshwater fish farming that helped boost food yields especially in rural areas. He received the ‘World Food Prize’ in 2005 for his contribution in this field.
1909 – Great revolutionary and freedom fighter Madanlal Dhingra embraced martyrdom. Madan Lal was influenced by the movement for use of ‘Swadeshi’ goods and right from his college days was involved in nationalist activities. In 1904,during his stay at Government College Lahore he organized a student protest to oppose the Principal’s order for introduction of blazer made out of imported cloth from England. This led to his expulsion from the college. However this did not break Madan Lal Dhingra who then worked as a clerk, pulled ‘Tonga’ in Shimla and toiled hard as a labourer in a factory before he got sacked when he attempted to organize a union.Upon the advice of one of his elder brothers,Madan Lal went to England to study Mechanical Engineering where he came in contact with some patriots and revolutionaries at ‘India House’, a student hostel and a base for political activities. At India House, Shyamji Krishna Verma and Vinayak Damodar Sawarkar,impressed with Dhingra’s patriotism guided him to the freedom struggle. Sawarkar trained him to use arms and also made him a member of ‘Abhinav Bharat’, a secret society. During this period, student activists were enraged by the execution of freedom fighters and had resolved to avenge their deaths.Besides they firmly believed that only an armed struggle to could free the country. Thus,Madan Lal decided to attend the annual celebration of the National Indian Association and assassinate Sir Curzon Wyllie, an official of the British Indian Government who was to attend this function along with his wife. On July 1, 1909 Madan Lal Dhingra assassinated Sir Curzon Wyllie by firing five shots at him of which four hit his face. He was indicted of murder and sentenced to death.
Madanlal Dhingra
When asked if he had anything to say in his defense, Madan Lal Dhingra replied:
“I do not want to say anything in defence of myself, but simply to prove the justice of my deed. As for myself, no English law court has got any authority to arrest and detain me in prison, or pass sentence of death on me. That is the reason I did not have any counsel to defend me.” “I have told you over and over again that I do not acknowledge the authority of the Court. You can do whatever you like. I do not mind at all. You can pass sentence of death on me. I do not care. You white people are all-powerful now, but, remember, we shall have our turn in the time to come, when we can do what we like.” When the verdict was announced and Dhingra was being taken away-“Thank you, my Lord. I don’t care. I am proud to have the honour of laying down my life for the cause of my motherland.”
1909 – Architect of modern Indian football, Syed Abdul Rahim or ‘Rahim Saab’ was born.It was during Rahim Saab’s stint as manager of the national team that Indian football lived its ‘Golden days’. It started during the first Asian Games in 1951 held in Delhi when India beat Iran by 1-0 in the final and won the Gold medal. Under Rahim Saab India won 4 Quadrangular tournaments from 1952 to 1955, reached the semi-finals of 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games and again won the Gold in 1962 at the Asian Games at Jakarta, Indonesia when they beat South Korea 2-1. The decline of Indian football, it is said,began with his death.
1925 – Hazrat Tajuddin Baba left His physical form.
1932 – Popular adventure story writer for children, Dasari Subrahmanyam was born. Dasari, a telugu writer, worked for more than 50 years for ‘Chandamama’, a popular children’s magazine during which he created 12 Classic serials. These were fantasies with a backdrop of ancient India. Following is a list of his creations:
– The Comet (Hindi: Dhumketu, Telugu:Toka chukka)– Crocodile Lord (Hindi: Makar Devta, Telugu:Makara Devatha)
– Three Wizards (Hindi: Teen Mantrik, Telugu:Mugguru Mantrikulu)
– The Bronze Castle (Hindi: Qila, Telugu:Kanchu Kota)
– Fire Island (Hindi: Agni Dweep, Telugu:Jwalaa Deepam)
– The Monster Valley (Hindi: Bhayankar Ghati, Telugu:Rakaasi Loya)
– The Underworld Fort (Hindi: Patal Qila, Telugu:Paatala Durgam)
– Temple in Ruins (Sithilaalayam)
– The Yaksha Mountain (Hindi: Yaksha Parvat, Telugu:Yaksha Parvatham)
– The Chariot (Raathi Ratham)
– The Enchanted Pond (Hindi: Maya Sarovar, Telugu:Maya Sarovaram)
– The Bear Wizard (Hindi: Bhalluk Mantrik, Telugu:Bhalluuka Mantrikudu)
V S Naipaul
1932 – Considered as the ‘Greatest Living writer of the English prose’, Sir V.S. Naipaul was born. His novels mostly revolve around the legacy of British colonialism. His notable works include ‘A House for Mr. Biswas’, ‘A Bend in the River’, ‘The Enigma of Arrival’, ‘In a Free State’ etc. He is also into non-fiction like essays and travel writing. He received the Man Booker Prize in 1971 for the short story ‘In a free state’ and was awarded the Nobel prize for literature in 2001. He appeared at 7th position in the ’50 greatest british authors since 1945′ list by The Times.
1939 – Renowned biologist Dr.Modadugu Gupta was born. Dr.Gupta is credited with developing innovative methods in aquaculture-freshwater fish farming that helped boost food yields especially in rural areas. He received the ‘World Food Prize’ in 2005 for his contribution in this field.