This Day In History- October 15

1916 – Lala Lajpat Rai established the Indian Home Rule League in the United States.

Shirdi Sai baba samadhi

1918 – Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi attained Mahasamadhi.

J R D Tata

1932 – J.R.D Tata flew a De Havilland Puss Moth aircraft from Drigh Road Aerodrome, Karachi in Pakistan to Juhu Airstrip in Mumbai via Ahmedabad, carrying mail for Imperial Airways. Thus, officially Air India operated for the first time in history.

1936 – One of the greatest Indian footballers ever, Pradip Kumar Banerjee also called as PK Banerjee was born. PK first started playing for Bihar competing in the prestigious Santosh Trophy. In 1954, he became a part of Mohun Bagan Club in Kolkata.
He made his international debut for India at Dhaka in the Quadrangular tournament in 1955. He was a part of the Indian contingent at Melbourne during the 1956 Summer Olympics representing the national football team. PK also represented India in three Asiads viz 1958 Tokyo Games, 1962 Jakarta Games and 1966 Bangkok Games. He captained India at the Summer Olympics in 1960 at Rome, Italy. He is remembered for the famous goal that held mighty France to a 1-1 draw in this Olympiad. Though he retired from the internatinal arena in 1967 he continued to render his services to Indian football. He coached East Bengal FC from 1970 to 1975 a period during which the club performed exceptionally. In 1977 Mohun Bagan FC, under PK, achieved triple-crown glory as they clinched the IFA Shield, Rovers Cup and the Durand Cup all in one season. He shouldered the responsibility of guiding the Indian National Team in 1972. In 2005 World Soccer Body FIFA awarded him the Player of the Millenium. He also became the only Indian footballer to receive the International Fair Play Award from the International Olympic Committee. In 1961 the Government of India bestowed the Arjuna Award on him while in he was given the Padma Shri in 1990.

Mira Nair, Director of The Namesake and The Reluctant Fundamentalist

1957 – Celebrated filmmaker Mira Nair was born. Her debut film Salaam Bombay brought home the Golden Camera award at Cannes Film Festival, and was even nominated for Academy Awards under the Best Foreign Language Film category. Her other works include Vanity Fair, The Namesake, Amelia, and her The Reluctant Fundamentalist based on a book by the same name shall hit the screens early 2013.

1961 – Eminent poet, essayist and novelist and a prominent figure of Hindi literature, Suryakant Tripathi ‘Nirala’ passed away.

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