MOTHER TERESA (அன்னை தெரேசா)

Mother Teresa:

Mother Teresa was born in 1919 in Skopje, the capital of the Republic of Macedonia. Little is known about her early life, but at a young age, she felt a calling to be a nun and serve through helping the poor. At the age of 18, she was given permission to join a group of nuns in Ireland. After a few months of training, with the Sisters of Loreto, she was then given permission to travel to India. She took her formal religious vows in 1931 and chose to be named after St.Therese of Lisieux – the patron saint of missionaries.

On her arrival in India, she began by working as a teacher; however, the widespread poverty of Calcutta made a deep impression on her, and this led to her starting a new order called “ The Missionaries of Charity”. the primary objective of this mission  was to look after people, who nobody else was prepaid to look after. Mother Teresa felt that serving other was a fundamental principle of the teaching of Jesus Christ. she often mentioned the saying of Jesus,

Calling of Serving Humanity:

Although Mother loved teaching and enjoyed shaping young minds at St. Mary’s she was immensely disturbed by the plight of people around her. The Hindu-Muslim riots of 1946 prior to partition of India tore the nation apart. These two traumatic events drove Mother Teresa to contemplate what she could do to alleviate the sufferings of the people around her.

On 10 September, 1946, while travelling to Darjeeling North-Bengal,for the annual retreat of the convent, Mother heard “the call within call”. She felt as if the Jesus was asking her to come out of the walls and serve the down-trodden of the society. following the Call, on August 17, 1947, Mother left the convent. Out of reverence towards the Indian culture she adopted white sari with a blue border. He applied for Indian Citizenship and took basic medical training from Holy Family Hospital in Patna. For the next few years, Mother Teresa livied among the poor, in the slums of Calcutta. She, along with a few fellow nuns, went door to door, begging for food and financial help. They survived on the bare minimum and used the excess to help people around them. Gradually, her tireless efforts were recognized and help started pouring in from various sources.

Missionaries of Charity:

Mother Teresa quickly translated her calling into concrete actions to help the city’s poor. She began an open-air school and established a home for the dying destitute in a dilapidated buildings she convinced the city government to donate her cause. In October 1950, she won canocical recognition for a new congregation, the Missionaries of Charity, which she founded with only a handful of members- most of them former teacher or pupils from St. Mary’s School.

As the ranks of her congregation swelled and donations poured in from around India and across the globe, the scope of Mother Teresa’s charitable activities expamded exponentially. Over the course of the 1950s and 1960s, she established a leper colony, an orphanage, a nursing home, a family clinic and a string of mobile health clinics.

in 1971, Mother Teresa travelled to New York City to open her first American-Based house of Charity,  and in the summer of 1982, she secretly went to Beirut, Lebanon, where she crossed Christian East Beirut and Muslim west Beirut to aid children of both Faiths. In 1985, Mother Teresa returned to New York and spoke at the 40^th anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly. While there, She also opened Gift of Love, a home to care for those infected with HIV/AIDS.

Mother Teresa’s Award and Recognition:

In February 1965, Pope Paul VI bestowed the Decree of Praise upon the Missionaries of Charity, which prompted Mother Teresa to begin expanding internationally. By the time of her death in 1997, the Missionaries of Charity numbered more than 4,000- in addition to thousand more lay volunteers- with 610 foundations in 123 countries around the world.

Mother Teresa letter:

In2003, the publication of Mother Teresa’s private correspondence caused a wholesale re-evaluation of her life revealing the crisis of faith she suffered for most of the last 50 years of her life.

In one despairing letter to a confidant, she wrote, “Where is my Faith- even deep down right in there is nothing,but emptiness & darkness- My God-how painful is this umknown pain-I have no faith-I dare not utter the words & thoughts that crowd

In one despairing letter to a confidant, She wrote, “Where is my Faith-even deep down right in there is nothing, but emptiness & darkness- My God-how painful is this unknown pain- I have no faith- I dare not utter the words & thoughts that crowd in my heart- & make suffer untold agony”.  While such revelations are shocking considering her public image, they have also made Mother Teresa a more relatable and human figure to all those who experience doubt in their beliefs.

Death :

September 3, 1997 Mother Teresa, the Angel of Calcutta, dies at the age of 87, Mother Teresa, the Macedonian nun who dedicated her life to helping the poorest People of the Indian city of Calcutta and those in need across the world, died on this day in 1997.

JHANSI RANI LAKSHMI BAI (இராணி இலட்சுமிபாய்)

Jhansi Rani Lakshmi Bai:

Jhansi Rani Lakshmi Bai was born to a Maharashtrain family at Kashi (now Varansi) in the year 1828. During her childhood, she was called by the name Manikarnika. Affectionately. her family members called her Manu. At a tender age of four, she lost her mother. As a result, the responsibility of raising her fell upon her father. While pursing studies, she also took formal training in martial arts, which included horse riding, shooting and fencing. to know the complete life history of Rani Lakshmi of Jansi, read on

In the Year 1842, she got married to the Maharaja of Jhansi, Raja Gangadhat Rao Niwalkar. On getting married, She was given the Name Lakshmi Bai. Her wedding ceremony was held at the Ganesh temple, located in the old city of Jhansi. In the year 1851, she gave birth to a son. Unfortunately, the child did not survive more than four months.

In the year 1853, Gangadhar Rao fell sick and became very weak. So, the couple decided to adopt a child. To ensure that the local British representatives. On 21^st November 1853, Maharaja Gangadhar Rao died.

Invasion :

During that period, Lord Dalhousie was the Governor of British India. The adopted Child was named Damodar Rao. As per the Doctrine of Lapse, Lord Dalhousie decided to seize the state of Jhansi. Rani Lakshmi Bai went to a British lawyer and consulted him. Thereafter, she filed an appeal for the hearing of her case in London. But, her plea was rejected. The British authorities confiscated the state jewels. Also an order was passed asking the Rani to leave Jhansi fort and move to the Rani Mahal in Jhansi.

The Battle for Jhansi :

Jhansi became the focal point of the uprising. Rani of Jhansi began to strengthen her position. By seeking the support of others, she formed a volunteer army. The army not just consisted of the men folk, but the women were also actively involved. Women were also given military training to fight a battle. She assembled 14,000 rebels and organized an army for the defense of the city.

Meanwhile, unrest began to spread throughtout India and in May of 1857, the First War of  Indian Independence erupted in numerous pockets across the northern subcontinent. However, Lakshni bai was no match for the British power. After losing Jhansi, she fought from the fort of Gwalior. However, she could not overpower the British forces. But she fought till her last breath and laid down her life for the sake of freedom.

An Ionic woman:

Her bravery, courage, wisdom, her progressive views on women’s empowerment in 19^th century India, and her sacrifices made her an icon of the Indian Independent Movement. The Rani was memorialized in bronze statues at both Jhansi and Gwalior, both of which portray her on horseback. Her story became a beacon for  the upcoming generations of freedom fighters

Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi will always be remembered for her unbreakable patriotism and astonishing courage.

Death:

On June 18^th 1858, Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi, one of the most important figures of India’s first war of Independence, died while fighting against the British in Gwalior.

India’s freedom struggle had seen many freedom fighters over the years, but the name of Rani Lakshmibai (also known as Laxmibai)  stands out among them. Lakshmibai, the Rani of the princely state of Jhansi, was a brave and fearless woman who fought courageously against the Bristish and eventually lost her life in battle on June 18^th in Gwalior.

LAL BAHADUR SHASTRI (லால் பகதூர் சாஸ்திரி)

Lal Bahadur Shastri;

Lal Bhadur Shastri was born on October 2, 1904, to Ramdulari Devi and sharada Prasad shrivastava, in Mughalsarai, United provinces . He shares his birthday with Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation. Lal Bhadur was against the prevailing caste system and therefore decided to drop his surname. the title “Shastri” was given after the completion of his graduation at Kashi Vidyapeeth, Varanasi in 1925. The title “Shastri” refers to a “scholar” or a person, adept in the “Holy Scriptures”.

Pre-independence Activism:

Young Lal Bahadur, inspired with the stories and speeches of national leaders, developed a desire to participate in the Indian nationalist movement. He would also spend time by reading foreign authors like Marx, Russell and Lenin. In 1915, a speech of Mahatma Gandhi changed the course of his life and decided to actively participate in India’s freedom stuuggle.

In order to participate actively in the freedom movement, Lal Bahadur compromised even with his studies. In 1921, during the non-cooperation movement, Lal Bahadur was arrested for demonstrating defiance against the prohibitory  order. Since he was a minor then, the authorities had to release him.

In 1930, Lal Bahadur Shastri became the secretary of local unit of the Congress party and later the president of the Allahabad Congress Committee. He played a crucial role during the Gandhi’s salt Satyagraha. He led a door-todoor campaign, urging people not to land revenue and taxes to the British. shastri was among the prominent Congress leader who were imprisoned by the British Government in 1942. During the Long span in confinement, Lal Bahadur utilized the time in reading the social reformers and western philosophers. In 1937, he was elected to the UP legislative Assembly

.

Post-Independence:

Lal Bahadur Shastri had served in various positions before being elected the prime Minister of India. After Independence, he became the Minister of police in the Ministry of Govind Vallabh Panth in Uttar Pradesh. His recommendations included the directions for using “water-jets” instead of lathis to disperse the unruly mob. Impressed with his efforts in reforming the state police department, Jawaharlal Nehru, invited Shastri to join the Union cabinet as Minister for Railways. He was widely known for his ethics and mortality. In 1956, Lal Bahadur Shastri resigned from his post, following a train accident that killed around 150 passenger near Ariyalur in Tamil Nadu. Nehru, had once said, “No one could wish for better comrade then Lal Bahadur, a man of the highest integrity and devoted to ideas”.

As a prime Minister of India :

Jawaharlal Nehru was succeeded by a mild-mannered and soft-spoken Lal Bahadur Shastri on 9 June, 1964. Shastri emerged as the consensus candidate after the sudden demise of Nehru, even though there were more influential leaders within the ranks of Congress. Shastri was a follower of Nehruvian socialism and displayed exceptional cool under dire situations.

Shastri tackled many elementary problems like food shortage, unemployment and poverty. To overcome the acute food shortage,Shastri asked the experts to devise a long-term strategy. This was the beginning of famous “Green Revolution”. Apart from the Green Revolution, he was also instrumental in promoting the White Revolution. The National Diary Development Board was formed in 1965 during Shastri’s stint as prime Minister.

Death:

Lal Bahadur Shastri, Who had earlier suffered two heart attacks, died of a third cardiac arrest on 11 January, 1966. He is the Only incumbent Indian Prime Minister to have died overseas. Lal Bahadur Shastri was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award posthumously in 1966.

Mystery Surrounding Shastri’s death:

Shastri’s sudden death immediately after signing the Tashkent Pact with Pakistan raised many suspicious. His wife, Lalita Devi, alleged that Shastri was poisoned and the Russian butler serving the Prime Minister was arrested. But he was released later as doctors certified that Shastri died of Cardiac arrest the media circulated a possible conspiracy theory hinting at the involvement of CIA in the death of Shastri. The RTI query posted by author Anuj Dhar was declined by the Prime Minister Office citing a Possible souring of diplomatic relations with the US.

TIPPU SULTAN (திப்பு சுல்தான்)

Tippu Sultan:

Tipu was born in the Bamgalore area of Devanhalli to a military officer. Hyder Ali in the Kingdom of Mysore in the year 1750. Hyder Ali and his wife Fatima Fakhr Un Nisa named their baby as Fatha Ali but often called him as Tipu after the local saint Tipu Mastan Aulia. Tipu Sultan’s full name was Sultan Fateh Ali Khan Shahab. Soon, Hyder ali’s career progressed and in 1761 he became the ruler of mysore. Since, Hyder Ali had a political alliance with the French, Tipu studied military tactics and strategies from the French.

He had some of the best tutors to teach him various subjects like shooting, riding and swordsmanship. Perhaps that is why Tipu at a very young age of 15 with only two to three thousand force could capture the family of the Malabar chief. No wonder, the Malabar ruler surrendered to only Hyder Ali because of Tipu Sultan’s successful invasion of Malabar.

Early military service:

Tipu Sultan was instructed in ,ilitary tactics by French officers in the employment of his father. At age 15, he accompanied his father against the British in the First Mysore War in 1766. He commanded a corps of calvary in the invasion of Carnatic in 1767 at age 16. He also distinguished himself in the First Anglo-Maratha War of  1775-1779. Alexander Beatson, who published a volume on the Fourth Mysore Wae entitled View of the Prigin and Conduct of the War Tippoo Sultaun, described Tipu Sultan as follows: “His stature was about five feet eight inches; he had a short neck, square shoulders, and was rather corpulent: his limbs were small, particularly his feet and hands: he had large full eyes, small arched eyebrows, and an aquiline nose; his aomplexion was fair, and the general expression of his countenance, not void of dignity”.

Second Anglo-mysore War:

In 1779, the British captured the French- Controlled port of Mahe, which Tipu had placed under his protection, providing, some troops for its defence. In response, Hyder Launched an invasion of the Carnatoc, with the aim of driving the British out of Madras. During this campaign in September 1780, Tipu Sultan was dispatched by Hyder Ali with 10,000 men and 18guns to intercept Colonel Baillie whi was on his way to join Sir Hector Munro. In the Battle of Plllilur, Tipu decisively defeated Baillie. Out of 360 Europeans. about 200 wee captyred alive, and te sepoys, who were about 3800 men,suffered very high casualities, Munro was moving south woth a swperate force to join Baillie, but on hearing the news of the defeat he was forced to retreat to Madras, abandoning his artillery in a water tank at Kanchipuram.

Personal Life & Legacy:

Tipu Sultan had several wives and numerous children including Shahzada Hyder Ali Sultan, Shahzada Abdul Khaliq Sultan, Shahzada Muhi-ud-din Sultan, and Shahzada M”izz-ud-din Sultan. A brave warrior, he died on 4 May 1799 while fighting the British forces in the Fourth Amglo-Mysore war. As one of the forst Indian kings to have died on the battlefield while defending his kingdom against the colonial British, he was officially recognized by the Government of India as a freedom fighter.

            While he is revered as a hero of the Indian independence movement in several regions in India and Pakistan, he is also regarded as a tyrannical ruler in certain regions in India.

The British army’s National army Museum ranked Tipu Sultan among the greatest enemy commanders the British Army ever faced.

Death:

After Horatio Nelson had defeated Francosis-paul Brueys D’Aigalliers at the Battle of the Nile in Egypt in 1798, three armies, one from Bombay, and two British ( one of which included Arthur Wellesley), marched into Mysore in 1799 and besieged the capital Srirangapatna in the Fourth Mysore war.

There were over 26,000 soldiers of the British East India Company comprising about 4000 Europeans and the rest Indians. A column was supplied by the Nizam of Hyderabad consisting of ten battalions and over 16,000 cavalry, and many ssolders were sent by the Marathas. Thus the soldiers in the British force numbered over 50,000 soldiers whereas Tipu Sultan had only about 30,000 soldiers. The British broke through the city walls, French Military advisers advised Tipu Sultan to escape from secret passages and live to fight another day but to their astonishment Tipu replied, “Better to live one day as a tiger than a thousand years as a sheep”. Tipu Sultanto escape from secret pass.

Srirangapatnam, the island fortress was the capital of Mysore duringthe 19^th century. It was so well organized with good trade routes that British feared terrible consequences. In addition, the ruler of Mysore, the third had dire consequences- Tipu’s two sons aged 8 and 10 were detained by the British forces. Finally, in the fourth, Tipu Sultan the ruler of Mysore breath had hos last in 1799 at Srirangapatnam.

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA (விவேகானந்தர்)

Swami Vivekanand:

Swami Vivekanand was born on 12 January 1864 Narendranath Datta, a Chief disciple of the 19^th-Centuary Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the introduction of the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western World. and is credited with raising interfaith                     
  awareness, bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion  during the late 19^th century. He was a major force in the revival of Hinduism in India, and contributed to the concept of nationalism in colonial India. Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission. He is perhaps best known for his speech which began, “Sisters and brothers of America, in which he introduced of Hinduism at the Parliament of the World’s Religion in Chicago in 1893.

Born into an aristocratic Bengali family of Calcutta, Vikekananda was inclined towards spirituality. He was influenced by his Guru, Ramakrishna Deva, from whom he learnt that all living beings were an embodiment of the divine self, therefore, service to God couldbe rendered by service to mankind. After Ramakrishna’s death, Vivekananda toured the indian subcontinent extensively and acquired first-hand knowledge of the conditions prevailing in British Indian. He later travelled to the United States, representing India at the 1893 Parliament of the World Religions. Vivekananda conducted hundreds of public and private lectures and classes,disseminating tenets of Hindu philosophy in the United States, England and Europe. in India, Vivekananda is regarded as a patriotic saint and his birthday there as National Youth Day.

Awareness of Life’s Mission:

After establishing the new monastic order, Vivekananda heard the inner call for a greater mission in his life. While most of the followers of Sri Ramakrishna thought of him in relation to India to their and the rest of the world. As the prophet of the present age, what was Sri Ramakrishana’s message to the modern world and to India in particular? This question and the awareness of his own inherent power urged Swamiji to go out alone into trhe wide world. So in the middle of 1890, after receiving the blessings of Sri Sarada Devi, the divine consort of Sri Ramakrishna, known to the world as Holy Mother who was then staying in Kolkata, Swamiji left Baranagar Math and embarked on a long journey of exploration and discovery of India.

Discovery of Real India :

During his travels all over India, Swami Vivekananda was deeply moved to see the appalling poverty and backwardness of the masses. He was the first religious leader in India to understand and openly declare that the real cause of India’s downfall was the neglect of the masses.The immediate need was to provide food and other bare necessities of life to the hungry millions. for this they should be taught improved methods methods of agriculture. village industries, etc. It was in this context that Vivekananda grasped the crux of the problem of poverty in India ( which had escaped the attention of social reformers of his days) : owing to centuries of oppression, the downtrodden masses had lost faith in their capacity to improve their lot. It was first of all necessary to infuse into their minds faith in themselves. For this they needed a life-giving, inspiring message. Swamiji Found this message in the principle of the Atman, the doctrine of the potential divinity of the soul, taught in Vedanta, the ancient system of religious philosophy of India. He saw that, in spite of poverty, the masses clung to religion, but they had never been taught the life-giving,ennobling principle of Vedanta and how to apply them in pratical life.

Need for an organization:

One thing became clear to Swamiji: to carry out his plans for the spread of education and for the uplift of the poor masses, and also of women, an efficient organization of dedicated people was needed. As he said later on, he wanted “to set in motion a machinery which will bring noblest ideas to the doorstep of even the poorest and the meanest. “ It was to serve as this ‘machinery’ that Swamiji founded the Ramakrishna Mission a few years later.

Decision to attend the Parliament of Religions:

            It was when these ideas were taking shape in his mind in the course of his wanderings that swami Vivekananda heard about the World’s Parliament of Religions to be held in Chicago in 1893. His friends and admires in India wanted him to attend the Parliament. He too felt that the Parliament would provide the right forum to present his Master’s message to the world, and so he decided to go to America. Another reason which prompted Swamiji to go to America was to seek financial help for his project of uplifting the masses.

Swamiji, however, wanted to have an inner certitude and divine call regarding his mission. Both of these he got while he sat in deep meditation on the rock-island at Kanyakumari. With the funds partly collected by his Chennai disciples and partly provided by the Raja of Khetri, Swami Vivekananda left for America from Mumbai on 31 May 1893.

Founding of Ramakrishna Mission:

Soon after his return to Kolkatta, Swami Vivekananda accomplished another important task of his mission on earth. He founded on 1 May 1897 a unique type of organization Known as Ramakrishna Mission, in which monks and lay people would jointly undertake propagation of Practical Vedanta, and various forms of social service, such as running hospitals, school, colleges, hostels,rural development centers.

Death:

On 4 July 1902 (the days of his death) Vivekananda awoke early, went to the monastery at Belur Math and meditated for three hours. He taught Sanskrit grammar and the philosophy of yoga to Pupils, later discussing with colleagues a planned Vedic college in the Ramakrishna Math. At 7:00 p.m. Vivekananda went to his room, asking not to be disturbed, he died at 9:10 p.m. while meditating. 

SAROJINI NAIDU (சரோஜினி நாயுடு)

Sarojini Naidu:

Sarojini Naidu was a freedom fighter and poet of modern India. she was in a Bengal family 13, 1879 at Hyderabad and was educated in Chennai Movement, became a follower of Gandhirajulu Naidu and settled down in Hyderabad. Shebecame the President of indian National Congress and later she was appointed the Governor of the United Provinces, now Uttar Pradesh. Known as the “Nightingale of India’, she was also a noted poet. He poetry includes children’s poems, nature poems, patriotic poems and poem of love and death.

Political Career :

Naidu joined the Indian national movement in the wake of partition of Bengal in 1905. She came in contact with Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Rabindranath Tagore, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Annie Besant, C.P. Ramaswami Iyer, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.

In 1915-18, she travelled to different  regions in India delivering lectures on social welfare, women’s vote to the Joint Select Committee.

1 April 1947 she was present at the Asian Relations Conference in Delhi where the Tibeyan Government Representative, Sampho Theiji, said, “In a similar way we are very glad to meet representatives from all the Asian countries in this Conference and we wish to express our sincere gratitude to the great Indian leaders, Mahadma Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Mrs. Saorojini Naidu, and to all the distinguished representatives who have gathered in this Conference.

Congress Party President :

In 1925, Naidu presided over the annual session of Indian National Congress at Cawnpore. In 1929, she  presided over East African indian Congress in South African. She was awarded the Kaisar-i-Hind Medal by the British government for her work during the plague epidemic in India.

In 1931, she participated in the round- table conference with Gandhi and Madan Mohan malaviya.

she played a leading role in the Civil Disobedience Movement was jailed along with Gandhi and other leaders. In 1942, she was arrested during period of “Quit India”.

Sarojini Naidu began writing at the age of twelve. Her Persian play, Maher Muneer, impressed the{Nawab of Hyderabad}.

In 1905, he first collection of poems, named The Golden Threshold was published. The volume bore an introduction by Arthur Symons. Her poems were admired by prominent Indian poloticians like Gopal Krishna Gokhale.

Death of Sarojini Naidu:

Sarojini Naidu died because of a heart attack while working in her office in lucknow on 2 March, 1949. She is commemorated in the names of several institution, including the Sarojini Naidu, the newly elected President of the All- Indian Congress and a women who combines in the most humour. If all Indian Politicians are like Mrs. Naidu, then the country is fortunate indeed.”

DR. AMBEDKAR (டாக்டர் அம்பேத்கார் )

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar :

14 April 1891-6 December 1956), popularly known as Baba Saheb, was an Indian jurist, economist, politician and social reformers who inspired the Dailt Buddhist Movement and Campaigned against social discrimination against Untouchables, while also supporting the rights of women and labour. He was Independent India’s first law minister, the principal architect of the Constitution of India and a founding father of the Republic of India.

            Ambedkar was a prolific student, earning doctorates in economics from both Colombia University and the London School of Economics, and gained a reputation as a scholar for his research in law, economics and political science. In his early career he was an economist, professor, and lawyer. His Later life was marked by his political activities: he became involved in campaigning and negotiations for India’s independence, publishing journals, advocating political rights and social freedom for Dalits, and contributing significantly to the establishment of the state of India. In 1956 he converted to Buddhism, initiating mass conversions of Dalits.

Education:

He cleared his matriculation in 1908 from Elphinestone High School. In 1908, Ambedkar got the opportunity to study at the Elphinstone College and obtained his graduate degree in Economics and Political Science in the year 1912 from Bombay University Besides clearing all; the exams successfully Ambedkar also obtained a scholarship of twenty five rupees a month from the Gaekwad ruler of Baroda, Sahyaji Rao III. Ambedkar decided to use the money for higher studies in the USA. He enrolled in the Columbia University in New York to Study Economics. He completed his Master’s degree in june 1915 after successfully completing his thesis ‘ Ancient Indian Commerce’.

         In 1916, he enrolled in the London School of Economics and started workingon his doctoral thesis titiled “The Problem of the Rupee: its origin and its solution” With the help of the former Bombay Governor Lord Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics in Bombay . In order to continue his further studies, he went to England in 1920 at his own expenses. There he was received the D.Sc by the London University. Ambedkar also spent a few months at the University of Bonn, Germany, study economics. He received his PhD degree in Economics in 1927. On 8 June, 1927, he was awarded a Doctorate by the University of Columbia.

Political Career :

In 1936, Ambedkar founded the Independent Labour Party. In the 1937 elections to the Central Legislative Assembly, his party won 15 seats. Ambedkar oversaw the transformed of his political party into the All India Scheduled Castes Federation, althought it Performed poorly in the elections held in 1946 for the Constituent Assembly of India.

       Ambedkar objected to the decision of the Congress and Mahatma Gandhi to call the Untouchable community as Harijans. He would say that even the members of untouchable community are same as the other members of the society. Ambedkar was appointed on the defence Advisory Committee and the Viceroy’s Executive Council as Minister for Labour.

       His reputation as a scholar led to his appointment as free India’s first Law Minister and chairman of the committee responsible to draft a constitution for independent India.

Framer of the Constitution of India:

Dr. Ambedkar was appointed as the chairman of the constitution drafting committee on august 29, 1947. Ambedkar emphasized on the construction of a vitual bridge between all classes of the society. According to him, it would be difficult to maintain the unity of the country if the difference among the classes were not met. He put particular emphasis on religious, gender and caste equality. He was successfully in receiving support of the assembly to introduce reservation for members of the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in education, government jobs and civil services.

Death :

Since 1954-55 Ambedkar was suffering from serious health problems including diabetes and weak eyesight. On 6 December, 1956 he died at his home in Delhi. Since, Ambedkar adopted Buddhism as his religion, a Buddhist-style cremation was organized for him. The ceremony was attended by hundreds of thousand of supporters. activities and admirers.

BHAGAT SINGH

Bhagat Singh:

         
              Bhagat Singh was born on 27 September 1907 at Banga in Lyallpur district (now Pakistan) to Kishan Singh and vidyavati. At the time of his birth, his father Kishan Singh, uncles Ajit and Swaran Singh were in jail for demonstration against the colonization Bill implementation in 1906. His uncle, Sardar Ajit Singh,was a proponent of the  movement and established the Indian Patriots’ Association. He was well-supported by his friend syed Haidar Raza in organization the peasants against the Chenab Canal Colony Bill. Ajit Singh had 22 cases against him and was forced to flee to Iran. His family was the supporter of the Ghadar party and the political aware environment at home helped incite a sense of patriotism in the heart of young Bhagat Singh.

            Its been nearly 80 years since Bhagat Singh dropped a small bomb onto the floor of parliament House’s Central Assembly Hall to “make the deaf hear”. On August 15, 2008 in New Delhi, India, an important ceremony was held to unveil a huge statue of Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s. This now proudly stands just outside Parliament House in courtyard number 5 New Delhi. TO celebrate India’s day of Independence, a cause to which Bhagat Singh had dedicated his life, the larger than life statue (18 feet/6 metres high) was unveiled by President of India, Pratibha Patil, to a long deserved welcome.

Early Life:

           Bhagat Singh was born into a Jatt Sikh (Sandhu) family in 1907 to Sardar Kishan Sandhu and Sardarni Vidyavati Kaur in the Khatkar Kalan village near Banga in the Jalandhar district, Punjab. As a child, he was deeply affected by the Jallianvala Bagh massacre that took place in Panjab in 1919.

When Mahatma Gandhi started the Non-Cooperative Movement in 1920, he became an active participant at the age of 13. He had great hopes that Gandhi would bring freedom in India from colonial rule by the British. But he was disappointed  when Gandhi called off this movement following the Chauri Chaura riot in 1922. At this point he had openly defied the British and had followed Gandhi’s wishes by burning his government-school books and British imported clothing.

       In 1923, Bhagat famously won an essay competition set by the Punjab Hindhi shahitya Sammelan including its General Secretary Professor Bhim Sen Vidyalankar. At this age, he quoted famous Punjab literature and discussed the Problems of the Punjab. He read a lot of poetry and literature which was written by Punjab writers and his favorite poet was an Indian freedom fighter Allama Iqbal from Sialkot.

           In his teenage years , Bhagat singh started at the National College in Lahore, but ran away from home to escape early marriage, and became a member of the organization Naujawan Bharat Sabha. In the Naujawan Bharat Sabha, Singh and his fellow revolutions grew popular amongst the youth. He also joined the Hindustan Republication Association. The capture and hanging of the main HRA leaders also allowed him and Sukhdev to be quickly promoted to higher ranks in the party.

Lala Lajpat Rai’s death and Saunder’s murder:

            

          The reforms of 1919 had for the appointment of a Commission of Inquiry after a lapse of 10 years to decide about the grant of the next instalment of reforms, but the existing circumstances in India and Britain necessitated an early appointment of Commission. Consequently, in 1927, a commission of 7 members (all Englishmen) and headed by Sir John Simon, was appointed. (which came to be Known as Simon Commission would prove to be an apple of discord and dissipate the national fervor and was, therefore, unanimousley boycotted by all the partied, including the Muslim league.

Death :

         Bhagat Singh was known for his fearlessness of death and his appreciation of martyrdom. His mentor as a young boy was Kartar Sigh Sarabha and he eventually was hanged for avenging the death of martyr Lala Lajpat Rai. In the leaflet he threw in the Central Assembly on 8^th April 1929, he started that it is easy to kill individuals but you cannot kill the ideas. Great empires crumbled while the ideas survived. He hopped his death would inspire the youth of the India to unite and fight the Britsh.

APJ ABDUL KALAM

       

      India celebrates the 86th birth anniversary of India’s 11^th President, Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam. Name as the ‘Missile Man’ for his contribution towards the development of India’s missile Projects.

          He often spoke to children and the country’s youth- inspiring them to think big in life; he

also penned a number of books. Here are some of his most inspiring quotes, Kalam was elected as the 11^th president of India in 2002 with the support of both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the the nopposition  Indian National Congress. Widely referred to as the “People’s president, he returned to his civilian life of education, writing and public service after a single term. He was a recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour.

         While delivering a lecture at the Indian institute of Management Shillong, Kalam collapsed and died from an apparent cardiac arrest on 27 July 2015, Aged 83. Thousands including national- level dignitaries attended the funeral ceremony held in his hometown of Rameshwaram, where he was buried with full state honours.

CAREER AS A SCIENTIST: 

      After graduating from the Madras Institute of Technology in 1960, Kalam joined the Aeronautical Development Establishment of the Defence Research and Development Organisation by Press Information Bureau, Government of India as a scientist after becoming a member of the Defence Research and development Service. He started his career by designing a small hovercraft, but remained unconvinced by his choice of job at( DRDO).

    In 1963 to 1964, he visited NASA’S Langley Research Centre in Hampton, Virginia; Goddard Space Flight in Greenbelt, Maryland and Wallops Flight Facility, Between the 1970s and 1990s, Kalam made an effort to develop the Polar satellite Launch Vehicle(PSLV) and SLV-III projects, both of which proved to be successful.

Death:

     On 27 July 2015, Kalam travelled to Shillong to deliver a lecture on  “Creating a Livable Planet Earth” at India Institute of Management Shillong. While climbing a Flight of stairs, he experienced some discomfort, but was able to enter the auditorium after a brief rest. At around 6:35 p.m. I.S.T, Only five minutes into his lecture, he collapsed. Despite being placed in the intensive care unit, Kalam was confirmed dead of a sudden Cardiac arrest at 7:45 p.m. IST. His last words, to his aide Srijan Pal Singh, were reportedly. “Funny guy! Are you doing well.

     On 30 July 2015, the former president was laid to rest at Rameshwaram’s Pei Karumbu Ground with full state Honour. Over 350,000 people attended the last rites, including the Prime minister, the governor of Tamil Nadu and the chief minister of Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.

JAWAHARLAL NEHRU:

     

 

      Jawaharlal Nehru was born on November 14, 1889, in Allahabad, India. In 1919, he joined the Indian National Congress and joined Indian Nationalist leader Mahatma Gandhi’s independence movement. In 1947, Pakistan was created as a new, independent country for Muslims. The British withdrew and Nehru became independent India’s first prime minister. He died on May 27, 1964, in New Delhi, India.

Pre- political life:

             Jawaharlal Nehru was born in Allahabad, India in 1889. His father was a renowned lawyer and one of Mahatma Gandhi’s notable lieutenants. A series of English governesses and tutors educated Nehru at home until he was 16. He Continued his education in England, first at the Harrow School and then at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he earned an honours degree in natural science. He later studied law at the Inner Temple in London before returning home to India in 1917. Like her father, Indira would later serve as prime minister of India under her married name; Indira Gandhi a family of high achievers, one of Nehru’s sisters, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, later became the first woman president of the UN General Assembly.

World War II:

          At the outbreak of  World War II in September 1939, British Viceroy Lord Linlithgow committed India to the war effort without consulting the now-autonomous provincial ministries. In response, the Congress party withdrew its representatives from the provinces and Gandhi staged a limited civil disobedience movement in which he and Nehru were jailed yet again.

Nehru spent a little over a year in jail and was released with other Congress prisoners three days before Pearl Harbour was bombed by the Japanese. When Japanese troops soon moved near the borders of India in the spring of 1942, the British government decided to enlist India to combat this new threat, but Gandhi who still essentially had the reins of the movement, would accept nothing less than independence and called on the British to leave India. Nehru reluctantly joined for nearly three years.

Legacy:

                Nehru’s four pillars of domestic policies were democracy, Socialism, unity, and secularism, and he largely succeeded in maintaining a strong foundation of all four during his tenure as president. While admired internationally for his idealism and statesmanship. His birthday, November 14, is celebrated 14, is celebrated in India as Baal Divas (“Children’s Day”) in recognition of his lifelong passion and work on behalf of children and young people