This Day In History- August 11

1908 – The first Indian hero to hurl a bomb at the British, one of the youngest Indian revolutionaries Khudiram Bose embraced martyrdom. In 1908, Khudiram Bose along with Profulla Chaki had decided to assassinate Magistrate Kingsford who was known for giving cruel verdicts against Indian revolutionaries in order to crush uprisings against the British. On the evening of 30th April 1908,Bose and Chaki waited in front of the gate of European Club in Muzzafarpur for a carriage that carried Kingsford.When the carriage emerged out of the compound Khudiram Bose hurled the bomb in its direction which blew up the carriage.However, Kingsford was not among the occupants of the carriage. Instead the daughter and wife of Barrister Pringle Kennedy,a leading pleader in Muzzafarpur bar, were killed. Bose and Chaki were full of regret when they realized that not Kingsford but two innocent women were killed. Khudiram Bose was later arrested at a railway station called ‘Oyaini’ while Profulla Chaki chose to end his life when the police cornered him at the Samastipur Railway Station.Bose,just 18 years and 7 months old, was tried and sentenced to death. It was the sacrifices that the two brave men made which ignited the ‘Agni Yuga’ or the ‘fiery-age’ of revolution.

 Khudiram Bose

Here’s a short animated film on the life of Khudiram Bose: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L22a_yNf83E

1932 – India won the Gold in 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles when they beat the United States 24-1. It is the biggest score recorded in an international hockey match in which Captain Roop Singh netted 10 goals.

1954 – Former Test Cricketer Yashpal Sharma was born. Sharma was a part of the World Cup winning squad that lifted the Cricket World Cup 1983(the Prudential Cup). Sharma contributed in India’s World Cup triumph with a fine knock of 89 in the opening match against the West Indies and 61 runs in the semi-final against England.

Fredom fighter Ushabehn Mehta

2000 – Great freedom fighter and Gandhian Dr. Ushabehn Mehta passed away. She is remembered for organising the ‘Secret Congress Radio’, an underground radio station of the Indian National Congress that informed the masses about underground activities and the freedom struggle in a bid to sustain the movement for Independence that had become leaderless after major leaders were put behind bars on account of the ‘Quit India’ movement. Dr.Mehta was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan in 1998.

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