Events
of the day
Kisan
Divas
23
December is celebrated as Kisan Divas or Farmers’
Day to commemorate the memory of Chaudhary Charan
Singh, whose life reflected his peasantry background
and he understood problems of the farmer and did
his best to help them.
The
plight of farmers in India has been very miserable
in present-day India and they have always been
at the receiving end since Independence. Their
hard toil fetches them nothing except fake assurances
from the dispensations at the helm. It’s sad and
unfortunate that people who are indispensable
for the growth of nation have been left to their
fate. This is quite evident from the suicide cases
in Maharashtra, Andhra and other parts of the
country including West Bengal. In state like UP
middlemen and Mandi officials ensure that the
farmers turn into object of grief. The need of
the hour is implementation of schemes introduced
by the government. This can take place effectively
if the village panchayts are provided more power
to execute them in smooth manner.
There
is a need to equip farmers with latest technological
accessories that augment the prospects of better
output and thus make their contribution more prominent
in the global economy. Better results could be
attained if information centers having state-of-the
-art facilities are set-up inside each village
that shed light on issues related with farmers.
Let’s not forget that they form the backbone of
the nation and so it becomes imperative for us
to be conscious of their needs. Both the Central
and state governments should come out with plans,
which prevent the farmers from being swayed by
negative market forces.
484
– Huneric dies and is succeeded by his nephew
Gunthamund, who becomes king of the Vandals. During
his reign the Catholics are free from persecutions.
962 – Byzantine-Arab Wars: Under the future Emperor
Nicephorus Phocas, Byzantine troops stormed the
city of Aleppo.
1572 – Theologian Johann Sylvan executed in Heidelberg
for his heretical Antitrinitarian beliefs.
1688 – As part of the Glorious Revolution, King
James II of England flees England to Paris after
being deposed in favour of his nephew, William
of Orange and his daughter Mary.
1783 – George Washington resigns as commander-in-chief
of the Continental Army at the Maryland State
House in Annapolis, Maryland.
1793 – The Battle of Savenay, decisive defeat
of the royalist counter-revolutionaries in Revolt
in the Vendée during the French Revolution.
1823 – A Visit from St. Nicholas, also known as
The Night Before Christmas, is published anonymously.
1893 – The opera Hänsel und Gretel by Engelbert
Humperdinck is first performed.
1913 – The Federal Reserve Act is signed into
law by President Woodrow Wilson, creating the
Federal Reserve.
1914 – World War I: Australian and New Zealand
troops arrive in Cairo, Egypt.
1916 – World War I: Battle of Magdhaba – Allied
forces defeat Turkish forces in Egypt's Sinai
peninsula.
1919 – Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919
becomes law in the UK.
1921 – Visva-Bharati University is inaugurated.
1936 – Colombia becomes a signatory to the Buenos
Aires copyright treaty.
1936 – First flight of the Vickers Wellington
bomber.
1938 – Discovery of the first modern coelacanth
in South Africa.
1940 – World War II: Greek submarine Papanikolis
(Υ-2) sinks the Italian motor ship Antonietta.
1941 – World War II: After 15 days of fighting,
the Japanese Imperial Army occupies Wake Island.
1947 – The transistor is first demonstrated at
Bell Laboratories.
1948 – Seven Japanese convicted of war crimes
by the International Military Tribunal for the
Far East are executed at Sugamo Prison in Tokyo.
1958 – Dedication of Tokyo Tower, the world's
highest self-supporting iron tower.
1968 – The 82 sailors from the USS Pueblo are
released after eleven months of internment in
North Korea.
1970 – The North Tower of the World Trade Center
in Manhattan, New York City is topped out at 1,368
feet (417 m), making it the tallest building in
the world.
1972 – A 6.5 magnitude earthquake strikes the
Nicaraguan capital of Managua killing more than
10,000.
1972 – The 16 survivors of the Andes flight disaster
are rescued after 73 days, having survived by
cannibalism.
1979 – Soviet war in Afghanistan: Soviet forces
occupy Kabul, the Afghan capital.
1982 – The United States Environmental Protection
Agency announces it has identified dangerous levels
of dioxin in the soil of Times Beach, Missouri.
1986 – Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana
Yeager, lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California
becoming the first aircraft to fly non-stop around
the world without aerial or ground refueling.
1990 – History of Slovenia: In a referendum, 88.5%
of Slovenia's overall electorate vote for independence
from Yugoslavia.
2002 – A MQ-1 Predator is shot down by an Iraqi
MiG-25, making it the first time in history that
an aircraft and an unmanned drone had engaged
in combat.
2003 – PetroChina Chuandongbei natural gas field
explosion, Guoqiao, Kai County, Chongqing, China,
killing at least 234.
2007 – An agreement is made for the monarchy of
Nepal to be abolished and the country to become
a federal republic with the Prime Minister becoming
head of state.
Holidays
and observances
Birthday
of the Queen Silvia, an official flag day (Sweden)
Christian Feast Day:
Abassad (Coptic Church)
John Cantius
O Emmanuel
Psote (Coptic Church)
Thorlac Thorhallsson, patron saint of Iceland;
The last day of preparations before Christmas.
Festivus, a holiday made popular by the sitcom
Seinfeld
HumanLight (Secular humanism in United States)
Larentalia, in honor of Larenta. (Roman empire)
Night of the Radishes (Oaxaca, Mexico)
The Emperor's Birthday, birthday of Akihito, the
current Emperor of Japan. (Japan)
For details, contact Datacentre
