Notice Board
Saturday 22 April 2017
Friday 21 April 2017
Wednesday 19 April 2017
Tuesday 18 April 2017
Monday 17 April 2017
World Hemophila Day
Nicking your finger with a knife while chopping some tomatoes for a
salad is just a nuisance for most of us—we utter a choice word or two,
rinse the cut, apply a disinfectant and maybe a band-aid, and then
proceed to go on with our lives. The same goes for, say, tripping and
falling—most of us will just get up and keep on going, not giving the
situation any more thought and barely noticing the bruise that may
appear afterward. Unfortunately, there are people whose very lives may
be put in danger because of such seemingly minor accidents:
hemophiliacs. Hemophilia affects approximately 400,000 people worldwide,
many of whom are not fully aware of their condition or are not getting
the treatment they need. Because a relatively small percentage of the
world’s population suffers from hemophilia, many people are not aware
just how serious this condition is and how much more difficult and
dangerous it makes the lives of those who have it. And this is where
World Hemophilia Day comes in.
The History of Hemophilia Day
Hemophilia
was first discovered in the 10th century, when physicians started to
take a serious interest in people, especially males, who were bleeding
to death after sustaining only minor injuries. At that time, it was
called Abulcasis. Unfortunately, due to the limited technology of the
day, it was impossible to research the condition properly. Numerous
famous historical figures are thought to have had hemophilia, especially
members of the European royal families, and it was often treated with
aspirin which thinned the blood of the hemophiliac further, causing the
symptoms to worsen. Then, in 1803, Dr. John Conrad Otto of Philadelphia
began to study people he called, “bleeders” more extensively,
recognizing it to be a hereditary illness that was most often passed
onto males from by their healthy mothers. In 1937, hemophilia was
officially divided into two types: A and B. Though no cure for
hemophilia has been invented till this day, the sickness can be
controlled by administering clotting factors on a regular basis in order
to avoid spontaneous bleeding episodes.
World Hemophilia Day was
created by the World Federation of Hemophilia in 1989, and the date it’s
celebrated on, April 17th, was chosen in honor of the founder of the
organization’s birthday, Frank Schnabel. The day’s purpose is to raise
awareness about the disease as well as other bleeding disorders and also
to raise money for the treatment of those who cannot afford it.
How to Celebrate World Hemophilia Day
Numerous
events are organized every year on World Hemophilia day, filled with
educational presentations and other events that promote an awareness of
the disease and those who suffer from it. If you are unable to attend,
you could consider making a donation to the World Federation of
Hemophilia to help support their fight against this debilitating
condition, especially in the poorest parts of the world. Another thing
you could do is find the World Federation of Hemophilia’s Facebook page
and proceed to share some of the many infographics they post in order to
help your Facebook friends become more informed as well. The same goes
for Twitter—follow the World Federation of Hemophilia, and retweet their
tweets about this day. It may not seem like much at first glance, but
social media has proven itself to be incredibly powerful on many
occasions, especially when it comes to getting the word out about an
important cause. Even the smallest of gestures can make a world of
difference!
Thursday 13 April 2017
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre Day
The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (also known as the Amritsar Massacre)
was one of the saddest events, that will likely never fade away from our
memory. It was so horrific and saddening that even today, people are
left wondering if it could have been avoided. Unfortunately, almost a
century later, we haven’t received an apology or had closure.
For those not aware, on 13th
April 1919 (which was also the festival of Baisakhi), people gathered
at the Jallianwala Bagh to peacefully protest the arrest of two leaders
Dr. Satyapal and Dr. Saifuddin, despite a curfew being declared. The
protest, however, was not a non-violent one. On the order of General
Dyer, the troops fired on the crowd for ten minutes resulting in the
death of about 1000 people and injuring an equal number. To save
themselves, people resorted to jumping into a nearby well and it is said
that 120 bodies were recovered from here after the massacre.
Tuesday 11 April 2017
Jyotiba Phule Jayanthi
Jyotiba Phule
Born: 11 April, 1827Place of Birth: Satara, Maharashtra
Parents: Govindrao Phule (father) and Chimnabai (mother)
Spouse: Savitri Phule
Children: Yashwantrao Phule (adopted son)
Education: Scottish Mission's High School, Pune;
Associations: Satyashodhak Samaj
Ideology: Liberal; Egalitarian; Socialism
Religious Beliefs: Hinduism
Publications: Tritiya Ratna (1855); Powada: Chatrapati Shivajiraje Bhosle Yancha (1869); Shetkarayacha Aasud (1881)
Passed Away: 28 November, 1890
Memorial: Phule Wada, Pune, Maharashtra
Jyotirao ‘Jyotiba’ Govindrao Phule was a prominent social reformer
and thinker of the nineteenth century India. He led the movement against
the prevailing caste-restrictions in India. He revolted against the
domination of the Brahmins and struggled for the rights of peasants and
other low-caste people. Mahatma Jyotiba Phule was also a pioneer for
women education in India and fought for education of girls throughout
his life. He is believed to be the first Hindu to start an orphanage for
the unfortunate children.+
Childhood & Early Life
Jyotirao Govindrao Phule was born in Satara district of Maharastra in
1827. His father, Govindrao was a vegetable-vendor at Poona. Jyotirao's
family belonged to 'mali' caste and their original title was ‘Gorhay’.
Malis were considered as an inferior caste by the Brahmins and were
shunned socially. Jyotirao's father and uncles served as florists, so
the family came to be known as `Phule'. Jyotirao's mother passed away
when he was just nine months old.
Jyotirao was an intelligent boy but due to the poor financial
condition at home, he had to stop his studies at an early age. He
started helping his father by working on the family's farm. Recognising
the talent of the child prodigy, a neighbour persuaded his father to
send him to school. In 1841, Jyotirao got admission in the Scottish
Mission's High School, Poona, and completed his education in 1847.
There, he met Sadashiv Ballal Govande, a Brahmin, who remained his close
friend throughout his life. At the age of just thirteen years, Jyotirao
was married to Savitribai.
Social Movements
In 1848, an incident sparked off Jyotiba’s quest against the social
injustice of caste discrimination and incited a social revolution in the
Indian society. Jyotirao was invited to attend the wedding of one of
his friends who belonged to an upper cast Brahmin family. But at the
wedding the relatives of the bridegroom insulted and abused Jyotiba when
they came to know about his origins. Jyotirao left the ceremony and
made up his mind to challenge the prevailing caste-system and social
restrictions. He made it his life’s work to hammer away tirelessly at
the helms of social majoritarian domination and aimed at emancipation of
all human beings that were subjected to this social deprivation.
After reading Thomas Paine's famous book 'The Rights of Man',
Jyotirao was greatly influenced by his ideas. He believed that
enlightenment of the women and lower caste people was the only solution
to combat the social evils.
Efforts Towards Women Education
Jyotiba’s quest for providing women and girls with right to education
was supported by his wife Savitribai Phule. One of the few literate
women of the time, Savitribai was taught to read and write by her
husband Jyotirao.
In 1851, Jyotiba established a girls' school and asked his wife to
teach the girls in the school. Later, he opened two more schools for the
girls and an indigenous school for the lower castes, especially for the
Mahars and Mangs.
Jyotiba realised the pathetic conditions of widows and established an
ashram for young widows and eventually became advocate of the idea of
Widow Remarriage.
Around his time, society was a patriarchal and the position of women
was especially abysmal. Female infanticide was a common occurrence and
so was child marriage, with children sometimes being married to men much
older. These women often became widows before they even hit puberty and
were left without any family support. Jyotiba was pained by their
plight and established an orphanage in 1854 to shelter these unfortunate
souls from perishing at the society’s cruel hands.
Efforts Towards Elimination of Caste Discrimination
Jyotirao attacked the orthodox Brahmins and other upper castes and
termed them as "hypocrites". He campaigned against the authoritarianism
of the upper caste people and urged the "peasants" and "proletariat" to
defy the restrictions imposed upon them.
He opened his home to people from all castes and backgrounds. He was a
believer in gender equality and he exemplified his beliefs by involving
his wife in all his social reform activities. He believed that
religious icons like Rama are implemented by the Brahmin as a means for
subjugating the lower caste.
The orthodox Brahmins of the society were furious at the activities
of Jyotirao. They blamed him for vitiating the norms and regulations of
the society. Many accused him of acting on behalf of the Christian
Missionaries. But Jyotirao was firm and decided to continue the
movement. Interestingly, Jyotirao was supported by some Brahmin friends
who extended their support to make the movement successful.
Satya Shodhak Samaj
In 1873, Jyotiba Phule formed the Satya Shodhak Samaj (Society of
Seekers of Truth). He undertook a systematic deconstruction of existing
beliefs and history, only to reconstruct an equality promoting version.
Jyotirao vehemently condemned the Vedas, the ancient holy scriptures of
the Hindus. He traced the history of Brahmanism through several other
ancient texts and held the Brahmins responsible for framing the
exploitative and inhuman laws in order to maintain their social
superiority by suppressing the "shudras" and “atishudras” in the
society. The purpose of the Satya Shodhak Samaj was to decontaminate the
society from caste discrimination and liberate the oppressed
lower-caste people from the stigmas inflicted by the Brahmins. Jyotirao
Phule was the first person to coin the term ‘Dalits’ to apply to all
people considered lower caste and untouchables by the Brahmins.
Membership to the Samaj was open to all irrespective of caste and class.
Some written records suggest that they even welcomed participation of
Jews as members of the Samaj and by 1876 the 'Satya Shodhak Samaj'
boasted of 316 members. In 1868, Jyotirao decided to construct a common
bathing tank outside his house to exhibit his embracing attitude towards
all human beings and wished to dine with everyone, regardless of their
caste.
Death
Jyotiba Phule devoted his entire life for the liberation of
untouchables from the exploitation of Brahmins. Apart from being a
social activist and reformer, he was also a businessman. He was also a
cultivator and contractor for the Municipal Corporation. He served as
Commissioner of the Poona Municipality between 1876 and 1883.
Jyotiba suffered a stroke in 1888 and was rendered paralyzed. On 28
November, 1890, the great social reformer, Mahatma Jyotirao Phule,
passed away.
Legacy
Perhaps the biggest legacy of Mahatma Jyotirao Phule is the thought
behind his perpetual fight against social stigma that are enormously
relevant still. In the nineteenth century, people were used to accepting
these discriminatory practices as social norm that needed to be
enforced without question but Jyotiba sought to change this
discrimination based on caste, class and colour. He was the harbinger of
unheard ideas for social reforms. He started awareness campaigns that
ultimately inspired the likes of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi,
stalwarts who undertook major initiatives against caste discrimination
later.
Commemoration
A biography of Jyotiba was penned by Dhananjay Keer in 1974 titled,
‘Mahatma Jyotibha Phule: Father of Our Social Revolution’. The Mahatma
Phule Museum in Pune was set-up in honour of the great reformer. The
Government of Maharashtra introduced the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule
Jeevandayeeni Yojana which is a cashless treatment scheme for poor. A
number of statues of the Mahatma have been erected as well as several
street names and educational institutes have been rechristened with his
name – eg. Crawford Market in Mumbai is rechristened as Mahatma Jyotiba
Phule Mandai and the Maharashtra Krishi Vidyapeeth at Rahuri, Maharshtra
was renamed Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth.
Published Works
Jyotiba had penned a number of literary articles and books in his
lifetime and most were based on his ideology of social reforms like the
‘Shetkarayacha Aasud’. He also penned some stories like ‘Tritiya Ratna’,
‘Brahmananche Kasab’, ‘Ishara’. He wrote dramas like ‘Satsar’ Ank 1 and
2, which were enacted under his directives to spread awareness against
social injustice. He also wrote books for the Satyashodhak Samaj that
dealt with history of Brahminism and outlined Puja protocols that the
lower caste people were not allowed to learn.
Saturday 8 April 2017
Scientist of the day - Hugo von Mohl
Hugo von Mohl was a German botanist
who was a major figure in the emerging fields of plant anatomy and
physiology in the mid-19th century. His research on the plant cell, in
particular the cell wall and cell division, paved the way for the
development of the cell theory. His works helped in establishing botany
as a distinct scientific field. Born into a socially respected family as
the son of a statesman, he received a classical education. From an
early age, he displayed a keen interest in botany and mineralogy,
subjects which he pursued in his leisure time. He studied medicine on
growing up, but his deep interest in botany led him to Munich where he
collaborated with a group of distinguished botanists and began his
research. His research covered diverse botanical fields, and he gained
much attention for his description of the behavior of the protoplasm in
cell division. Appointed a professor of botany in Tübingen, he spent his
entire career there, immersing himself in research whenever he was not
teaching. Over the course of his career he made many valuable
contributions to botany, especially on the anatomy of the plant cell. He
was the first to propose that new cells are formed by cell division and
also provided the first clear explanation of the role of osmosis.
Childhood & Early Life
Hugo
von Mohl was born on 8 April 1805, in Stuttgart, Germany. His father,
Benjamin Ferdinand von Mohl, was a Württemberg statesman. Hugo had three
brothers.
Major Works
- Hugo von Mohl made several significant contributions to the study of plant cell. He first described the behavior of the protoplasm in cell division and demonstrated the cellular origin of vessels and of fibrous cells. He also performed important anatomical work on the stems of dicotyledons and gymnosperms.
Awards & Achievements
- He was made a corresponding member of the Institut de France in 1838.
- The Order of the Crown of Württemberg was bestowed upon him in 1843, conferring upon him a title of nobility.
- In 1850, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
- He was elected foreign fellow of the Royal Society in 1868.
Personal Life & Legacy
- Hugo von Mohl never married and dedicated his entire life to scientific pursuits.
- He suffered from ill health during his later years which affected his productivity. He died suddenly on 1 April 1872, at the age of 66.
Friday 7 April 2017
World Health Day
World Health Day
The World Health Day is celebrated by the people all across the world every year on 7th
of April under the leadership of World Health Organization to draw the
mass people attention towards the importance of global health. World
Health Assembly was held first time in the year 1948 in Geneva by the
WHO where it was decided to celebrate the World Health Day annually on 7th
of April. It was first celebrated worldwide in the year 1950 as the
World Health Day. Varieties of events related to the particular theme
are organized on the international and national level by the WHO.
It
is an annual event being celebrated for years to raise the common
public awareness towards the health issues and concerns. A particular
theme is chosen to run the celebration and take care of the health for
whole year. Global Polio Eradication was also one of the special themes
of the year 1995 of world health day. From then, most of the countries
have become free of this fatal disease whereas in other parts of the
world its awareness level has increased.
World Health Day targets
all the health issues on global basis for which several programs are
organized yearly by the WHO and other related health organizations at
various places like schools, colleges and other crowd places. It is
celebrated to remember the establishment of the World health
Organization as well as draw the attention of people towards the major
health issues in the world. WHO is a vast health organization working
under UN for addressing the health issues on a global basis. Since its
establishment it has addressed serious health issues including
chickenpox, polio, smallpox, TB, leprosy and etc from various developing
countries. It has played a significant role aiming to make the world a
healthy world. It has all the statistics about global health reports.
How World Health Day is Celebrated
World
Health Day is celebrated worldwide by the government, non-government,
NGOs including various health organizations at many places by organizing
programmes relating to the public health issues and awareness.
Participated organizations highlight their activities and supports
through the media reports by means of press releases, news and etc.
Health authorities from different country take part in the celebration
with their pledges in order to support on the health issues worldwide.
Varieties
of activities are done in the conference of health workers to encourage
people to maintain their health in the presence of media coverage.
Debates on the related topics, art exhibitions, essay writing,
competitions and award ceremony are organized to fulfill the aim of
world health day.
Why World Health Day is Celebrated
World
Health Day celebration focuses on increasing the life expectancy by
adding good health to the lives of people and promoting healthier living
habits. Youths of the new era are also targeted by this event to
prevent and make them healthy to make the world healthy and free from
AIDS and HIV.
Disease spreading vectors like mosquitoes (malaria,
dengue fever, filaria, chikungunya, yellow fever and etc), ticks, bugs,
sand flies, snails and etc are also spotlighted by the WHO to make the
world free from a wide range of diseases caused by parasites and
pathogens. It provides better prevention and cure from the vector-borne
diseases spread by vectors and travelers from one country to other. WHO
supports various health authorities on global basis to make their own
efforts for the public health problems to enhance better life without
any diseases.
Some of the objectives of why it is being celebrated yearly are listed below:
- To increase the public awareness of various causes and prevention of high blood pressure.
- To provide detail knowledge of getting prevented from various diseases and their complications.
- To encourage most vulnerable group of people to frequently check their blood pressure and follow medications from the professionals.
- To promote self care among people.
- To motivate the worldwide health authorities to make their own efforts in creating the healthy environments in their country.
- To protect families living in the disease vulnerable areas.
- To teach travelers and send them a messages about how to get protected from the vector-borne diseases while travelling.
Themes:
The theme of World Health Day 2016 was “Diabetes:Scale up prevention, strengthen care, and enhance surveillance”.
The theme of World Health Day 2017 is “Depression: Let’s talk”.
Thursday 6 April 2017
Birth anniversary of Babu Jagjivan Ram
Babu
Jagjivan Ram, a Union Minister, freedom fighter and Dalit leader, was
born on 5 April 1908 in Chandwa village, present-day Bhojpur district of
Bihar to a Dalit family. His father, Shobhi Ram, was in the British
army but later resigned, bought farmland in Chandwa, and settled there.
Jagjivan Ram was sent to the village school but soon after, his
father died. His mother, Vasanti Devi, however, made sure that his
education continued.
In 1922 when he joined Arrah Town School, he realised that
discrimination against Dalits was still rife. He protested against the
school’s shocking decision to have separate pitchers of water for
so-called ‘untouchable’ students.
Later, a meeting with the renowned nationalist leader Pandit Madan
Mohan Malviya, who had come to visit the school, inspired him.
He went on to study at the prestigious Banaras Hindu University
(BHU), and later secured a B.Sc. degree from the Calcutta University.
Caste discrimination was unfortunately prevalent in those days in BHU as
well. In 2007, when Jagjivan Ram’s daughter Meira Kumar, the then Union
Minister for social justice and empowerment, was invited to speak about
her father’s days at the BHU — during the inauguration of the Babu
Jagjivan Ram Chair — she said that he was even denied haircuts by local
barbers.
Political rise
Jagjivan Ram’s successful organisation of a workers’ rally in
Calcutta brought him to the attention of leaders like Subhas Chandra
Bose. In 1934 Jagjivan Ram was involved with relief work in the
aftermath of the Bihar earthquake. In 1935 he was nominated to the Bihar
Council. He decided to join the Congress.
His first wife died in 1933. Two years later, he married Indrani Devi, the daughter of a Kanpur-based social worker.
Jagjivan Ram was jailed during the Quit India Movement in the 1940s. A
year before Independence he became a minister in the provisional union
cabinet. Subsequently he was labour minister in independent India’s
first union cabinet under Jawaharlal Nehru.
He later held other cabinet posts such as communications and transport & railways in the Nehru regime.
After Indira Gandhi became Prime Minister, he held several important
posts in successive cabinets led by her, including minister for labour,
employment, and rehabilitation; minister for food and agriculture; and
minister of defence. It was during his tenure as agricultural minister
that the Green Revolution took place. India defeated Pakistan in the
1971 war when he was the defence minister.
The renowned agriculture scientist M.S. Swaminathan, who worked closely with Jagjivan Ram, wrote in The Hindu
in February 2008: “Babuji [Jagjivan Ram] was deeply concerned with
issues of social inclusion in access to new technologies….[He] felt that
small and marginal farmers might not be able to purchase the new seeds
and the fertilisers needed for enabling them to realise the full genetic
potential for yield of the new strains. Therefore, he initiated the
Small and Marginal Farmers and Landless Labour Programmes in order to
provide the needed credit and inputs to those who would have otherwise
been bypassed by new technologies.”
Babuji’s legacy
In 1977 shortly after Indira Gandhi announced elections, signalling
an end to the emergency, Jagjivan Ram, together with a few other
politicians, became part of the Janata coalition by forming the Congress
for Democracy.
As the historian Ramachandra Guha writes in India After Gandhi:
“[Jagjivan] Ram was a lifelong Congressman, a prominent minister in
Nehru’s and Indira Gandhi’s Cabinets and — most crucially — the
acknowledged leader of the Scheduled Castes. . . . It was [Jagjivan] Ram
who had moved the resolution in the Lok Sabha endorsing the emergency.
His resignation came as a shock to the Congress, and as a harbinger of
things to come. For Babuji was renowned for his political acumen; that
he chose to leave the Congress was widely taken as a sign that this ship
was, if not yet sinking, then leaking very badly indeed.”
Between March 1977 and August 1979, Jagjivan Ram was the Deputy Prime
Minister in India’s first non-Congress government. But he didn’t get
the country’s top job. “There is little doubt that Babuji provided the
fatal blow to the Emergency regime. Not surprisingly, he was the
frontrunner to the prime minister’s post,” Ajay Bose wrote in the Outlook
magazine in May 2010. “But he was thwarted at the last moment by a
powerful lobby led by peasant patriarch Charan Singh. . . .”
By the time Jagjivan Ram died (on 6 July 1986), the political
fortunes of another powerful Dalit leader — Kanshi Ram — were on the
rise. But Kanshi Ram’s Bahujan Samaj Party sought to, at least in its
initial years, distance itself from the legacy of the tallest Dalit
leader of the Congress.
As a dedicated Congress member for most of his life and by virtue of
the important ministerial posts he held, Babu Jagjivan Ram occupies a
unique position in the arc of Dalit political mobilisation that spreads
from Ambedkar to Kanshi Ram and Mayawati. But to look at Jagjivan Ram
only through a caste lens would be a disservice to his memory and
achievements.
Tuesday 4 April 2017
Monday 3 April 2017
Scientist of the day - John Harrison
John Harrison
(03 April 1693 To 24 March 1776)
John Harrison, considered to be one of the greatest clockmakers from
England, was the inventor of the marine chronometer, a device that helps
to establish the longitude of a ship at sea and makes long distance sea
travel safer. His invention marked a landmark in sea travel and
revolutionized the way sailors had been sailing on the seas previously.
The problem of accurately establishing the longitude was so acute that
the British Parliament announced an award of ₤20,000 to whosoever would
come up with a practical solution. The son of a carpenter with a deep
fascination for clocks, Harrison set out to solve the problem. He worked
hard for several years designing numerous models of clocks. Several of
his clocks were tested with favorable results by the Royal Society
though none of his initial models fitted the requirements necessary to
win the prize. After working, re-working and improvising his clock
models for almost three decades, he came up with an appropriate
solution—a marine watch that could successfully measure the longitude
during sea travel. The uneducated carpenter was successful in solving a
major problem of sea faring even before scientists and astronomers could
come up with a solution. By designing the accurate marine chronometer,
Harrison had come up with a solution for one of the most puzzling
technological problems of the 18th century.
Major Work
- He invented the marine chronometer—a clock that precisely determines longitude by means of celestial navigation. It was a major technological development of the 18th century that took him more than three decades of hard work to achieve.
Awards & Achievements
- He was never awarded the official Longitude Prize of £20,000 though he was paid £10,000 and £8,750 in separate installments. He was also awarded several grants by the Board of Longitude for continuing his work till the development of the H5.
Personal Life & Legacy
- He married Elizabeth Barrel in 1718. They had a son. His wife died in 1726.
- His second marriage was with a woman, also named Elizabeth. This marriage lasted 50 years and produced two children. His son William assisted his father in designing and developing clocks and watches.
- He died on his 83rd birthday in 1776.
Saturday 1 April 2017
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