3/23/2012
Martyrs -Sons Of Soil
3/17/2012
Sir C. V Raman
2/03/2012
Lakshmi Bai, the Rani of Jhansi
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She was one of the leading figures of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and a symbol of resistance to the rule of the British East India Company in the subcontinent.
Because of her father's influence at court, Lakshmibai had more independence than most women, who were normally restricted to the zenana.
She studied self-defence, horsemanship, archery, and even formed her own army out of her female friends at court.
Tatya Tope, who would later come to her rescue during the 1857 Rebellion, was her mentor.
Lakshmibai was married to Raja Gangadhar Rao Newalkar, the Maharaja of Jhansi, in 1842, and thus became the queen of Jhansi. After their marriage, she was given the name Lakshmibai. The Raja was very affectionate towards her.
She gave birth to a son, Damodar Rao, in 1851. However, the child died when he was about four months old. After the death of their son, the Raja and Rani of Jhansi adopted Anand Rao.
Anand Rao was the son of Gangadhar Rao's cousin, and was later renamed as Damodar Rao. However, it is said that the Raja of Jhansi never recovered from his son's death, and he died on 21 November 1853.
Because Damodar Rao was adopted, the British East India Company, under Governor-General Lord Dalhousie, applied the Doctrine of Lapse, rejecting Rao's claim to the throne and annexing the state to its territories. In March 1854, Lakshmibai was given a pension of 60,000 rupees and ordered to leave the palace and the Jhansi fort.
On May 10, 1857 the Indian Rebellion started in Meerut. This began after the rumour that the new bullet casings for the Enfield rifles were coated with pork and beef fat and unrest began to spread throughout India. During this chaotic time, the British were forced to focus their attentions elsewhere, and
Lakshmibai was essentially left to rule Jhansi alone, leading her troops swiftly and efficiently to quell skirmishes initiated by local princes.
Up to this point, Lakshmibai had been hesitant to rebel against the British, and there is still some controversy over her role in the massacre of Company officials, their wives and children on 8 June 1857 at Jokhan Bagh. This was done to reduce her popularity amongst the countrymen and villagers.
Her hesitation finally ended when British troops arrived under Sir Hugh Rose and laid siege to Jhansi on 23 March 1858. An army of 20,000, headed by Tatya Tope, was sent to relieve Jhansi but failed to do so when his forces engaged with the British on 31 March. Along with Sir Hugh Rose there was an Indian deserter who gave ideas to reduce the days of people inside fort. Three days later the besiegers were able to breach the walls and capture the city. The Rani escaped by night with her son, surrounded by her guards, many of them women.
Along with the young Anand Rao, the Rani decamped to Kalpi along with her troops, where she joined other rebel forces, including those of Tatya Tope. The two moved on to Gwalior, where the combined rebel forces defeated the army of the Maharaja of Gwalior after his armies deserted the rebel forces. They then occupied a strategic fort at Gwalior. However, on 17 June 1858, while battling in full warrior regalia against the 8th (King's Royal Irish) Hussars in Kotah-ki Serai near the Phool Bagh area of Gwalior, she was killed and someone burnt her. The British captured Gwalior three days later. In the British report of the battle, General Sir Hugh Rose was reported badly hurt and he commented that the Rani was "remarkable for her beauty, cleverness and perseverance" and had been "the most dangerous of all the rebel leaders".
However, the lack of a corpse to be convincingly identified as that of Lakshmibai convinced Captain Rheese that she had not actually perished in the battle for Gwalior, stating publicly that: "[the] Queen of Jhansi is alive!". It is believed her funeral was arranged on the same day near the spot where she was wounded. Lakshmibai was memorialized in bronze statues at Jhansi and Gwalior, both of which portray her on horseback. Other equestrian statues can be seen in Agra and Pune.
Her father, Moropant Tambey, was captured and hanged a few days after the fall of Jhansi. Her adopted son, Damodar Rao (formerly known as Anand Rao), fled with his mother's aides. Rao was later given a pension by the British Raj and cared for, although he never received his inheritance. Damodar Rao settled down in the city of Indore, and spent most of his life trying to convince the British to restore some of his rights. He and his descendants took on the last name Jhansiwale. He died on 28 May 1906, at the age of 58 years.
Bhagat Singh
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| Bhagat |
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| "My life has been dedicated to the noblest cause, that of the freedom of the country. Therefore, there is no rest or worldly desire that can lure me now..." |
Bhagat Singh( 28 September 1907 – 23 March 1931) was an Indian nationalist considered to be one of the most influential revolutionaries of the Indian independence movement. He is often referred to as Shaheed Bhagat Singh, the Hindi-Urdu word Shaheed meaning "martyr".
Born into a Jat Sikh family which had earlier been involved in revolutionary activities against the British Raj, as a teenager Singh studied European revolutionary movements and was attracted to anarchist and Marxist ideologies. He became involved in numerous revolutionary organizations, and quickly rose through the ranks of the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) to become one of its main leaders, eventually changing its name to the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) in 1928.
Seeking revenge for the death of Lala Lajpat Rai at the hands of the police, Singh was involved in the assassination of British police officer John Saunders. He eluded efforts by the police to capture him. Together with Batukeshwar Dutt, he undertook a successful effort to throw two bombs and leaflets inside the Central Legislative Assembly while shouting slogans of Inquilab Zindabad. Subsequently they volunteered to surrender and be arrested. Held on this charge, he gained widespread national support when he underwent a 116 day fast in jail, demanding equal rights for British and Indian political prisoners. During this time, sufficient evidence was brought against him for a conviction in the Saunders case, after trial by a Special Tribunal and appeal at the Privy Council in England. He was convicted and subsequently hanged for his participation in the murder, aged 23. His legacy prompted youth in India to begin fighting for Indian independence and he continues to be a youth idol in modern India, as well as the inspiration for several films. He is commemorated with a large bronze statue in the Parliament of India, as well as a range of other memorials.
In the words of Subhash Chandra Bose: "Bhagat Singh had become the symbol of the new awakening among the youths ...". Nehru acknowledged that the popularity of Singh was leading to a new national awakening, saying
"He was a clean fighter who faced his enemy in the open field....he was like a spark that became a flame in a short time and spread from one end of the country to the other dispelling the prevailing darkness everywhere."
Four years after Singh's hanging, the Director of the Intelligence Bureau, Sir Horace Williamson, wrote:
"His photograph was on sale in every city and township and for a time rivaled in popularity even that of Mr. Gandhi himself."
Singh was known for his appreciation of the concept of
martyrdom. His mentor as a young boy was Kartar
Singh Sarabha, whose photo he always carried in his pocket. Singh is
himself considered a martyr for acting to avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai. In the leaflet he
threw in the Central Assembly on 9 April 1929, he stated: "It is easy to
kill individuals but you cannot kill the ideas. Great empires crumbled, while
the ideas survived." After
studying the Russian Revolution, he wanted to die so that his death would
inspire the youth of India which in turn will unite them to fight the British
Empire. While in prison, Singh and two others had written a letter to Lord
Irwin, wherein they asked to be treated as prisoners of war and consequently to
be executed by firing squad and not by hanging. Prannath Mehta, Singh's friend, visited him in the jail on 20
March, four days before his execution, with a draft letter for clemency, but he
declined to sign it.
2/02/2012
Louis Braille
A man in the history of mankind had made this thing possible, "Louis Braille (4 January 1809 – 6 January 1852)".
was the inventor of "braille", a system of reading and writing used by people who are blind or visually impaired. As a small child, Braille was blinded in an accident; as a boy he developed a mastery over that blindness; and as a young man – still a student at school – he created a revolutionary form of communication that transcended blindness and transformed the lives of millions. After two centuries, the braille system remains an invaluable tool of learning and communication for the blind, and it has been adapted for languages worldwide.
Cpt. Manoj Kumar Pandey, PVC
Death:-
Fearlessly assaulting the first enemy position, he killed two enemy personnel and destroyed the second position by killing two more. He was injured on the shoulder and legs while clearing the third position. Undaunted and without caring for his grievous injuries, he continued to lead the assault on the fourth position urging his men and destroyed the same with a grenade, even as he got a fatal burst on his forehead.
His last words were “Na chhodnu” (“Don’t Spare Them” in Nepali language). This singular daredevil act of Lieutenant Pandey provided the critical firm base for the companies, which finally led to capture of Khalubar. The officer, however, succumbed to his injuries. Lieutenant Manoj Kumar Pandey, thus, displayed most conspicuous bravery, indomitable courage, outstanding leadership and devotion to duty and made the supreme sacrifice in the highest traditions of the Indian Army.
Legacy:-
Manoj Kumar Pandey was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, India’s highest medal for gallantry, posthumously. His father, Mr. Gopichand Pandey, received the award from the President of India on the 52nd anniversary of Indian independence. Manoj Pandey is considered a martyr for his sacrifice to his country. He remains as a role model to people everywhere.
The Army Welfare Housing Organization (AWHO) designed and constructed an apartment complex for veterans in Ghaziabad district, Uttar Pradesh, and named it for Pandey as Manoj Vihar. The army quarters near the Cardio Thoracic Center(CTC) hospital in Pune is named after Martyr Capt Manoj Pandey as ‘Capt. Manoj Pandey Enclave’ The National Defence Academy named the science block as the ‘Manoj Pandey Block’.
His Diary:-
Manoj used to maintain a personal dairy, where he penned down everything he learnt. In his personal diary he wrote “Some goals are so worthy, it’s glorious even to fail”. On several instances, he poured his heart out. The poetry he wrote in the memory of his doting mother read: “She is the star which shines brightly in the darkness, some one who will always give and bless.”
Just below the poem, are the four lines written in bold letters, which shows the metal, out of which Lt Manoj Kumar Pandey’s Param Vir Chakra was carved: “If death strikes before I prove my blood, I promise (swear), I will kill death.”
In Film:-
He was portrayed by Ajay Devgan in the film LOC Kargil.
Om Prakash Yadav
On September 4, 2010, Om Prakash was going to school along with other students in a Maruti van. But all of a sudden, the van caught fire because of a short circuit in the gas kit.
The driver immediately opened his door and fled. But not Om Prakash.
He broke open the van door and pulled out the others, caring little about the flames that had spread to his face, back and arms.
He saved eight children. For his bravery, he has won the Sanjay Chopra Award.
Dr. APJ Abdulkalam
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