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#TodayInHistory Pakistani Army massacres more than 200 Bengali Hindus at Bagbati in Sirajganj sub-division of Pabna district. Another of the ghastly massacres of East Pakistan in 1971. 
When Pakistan Army occupied Sirajganj under Operation Searchlight, the Bengali Hindus took refuge in the nearby villages of which Bagbati was one. Just one day before a meeting was held between the Razakars and the Peace Comittee
The so called Peace Committee or the Nagorik Shanti Comittee, was a front of the Pakistani Army, to crush the revolt in East Pakistan, and act against the Mukti Bahini. Along with the Razakars, they were one of the most dreaded units during the occupation.
On May 21/22 1809, the French are defeated by the Austrians under Archduke Charles at Aspern-Essling near Vienna.
It marks the 1st serious military defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte in his career.
( Some French history books refer to the battle as a a draw.) #TodayInHistory
It marks the 1st serious military defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte in his career.
( Some French history books refer to the battle as a a draw.) #TodayInHistory
The Austrians would be crushed a few weeks later at the Battle of Wagram. The 1809 campaign launched by Austria shows the dangers of going to war with an army in the middle of org./tact. reforms & disagreements among senior political/military leaders at the grand strategy level.
Archduke Charles was initially against the war, but overruled. 1809 would mark the end of Austria as a an independent actor/great power until 1813.
The Austrians at Aspern-Essling also caused the first fatality among Napoleon's marshals: Jean Lannes.
The Austrians at Aspern-Essling also caused the first fatality among Napoleon's marshals: Jean Lannes.
#TodayinHistory Operation Shakti, when the India Govt under AB Vajpayee, conducts 5 nuclear explosions in 1998 at Pokhran over two days, the second such, after Operation Smiling Buddha in 1974.
Of the 5 detonations at Pokhran II, the first was a fusion bomb, while the rest were fission ones. While there were 3 explosions on May 11, 1998, the other two were on May 15. The operation came to be known as Shakti or Pokhran II.
India's nuclear program started way back in 1945, when Homi Jehangir Bhabha, established the TIFR, for harnessing nuclear energy. However post the 1962 War, and death of Bhabha, the program slowed down.
#TodayinHistory 16 sadhus and a sadhvi of Ananda Marg are lynched and burnt alive in broad daylight by Leftist goons in Kolkata in 1982. The Bijon Setu massacre was one of the worst instances of Leftist terror during it's reign. #LestWeForgetIndia
NSFW: Disturbing images.
NSFW: Disturbing images.
The 16 Sadhus and one sadhvi were dragged out of their cabs when they were enroute to a conference at Bijon Sethu, Ballygunge, Kolkata. They were lynched to death by the Leftist goons, set on fire all in full public view.
The media, especially the Statesman, tried to whitewash the incident saying the Ananda Margi Sadhus were beaten up by a mob on the suspicion that they were child lifters, sounds very similiar to what happened in Palghar.
#TodayInHistory India's first ever satellite Aryabhatta is launched in 1975. Assembled at Peenya near Bangalore, it was launched from Kapustin Yar in Russia, using a Kosmos 3M launch vehicle. It was based on an agreement between ISRO and Soviet Union in 1972.
The person behind launch of Aryabhatta was U.R. Rao who succeeded Satish Dhawan as ISRO chairman. Hailing from Udupi, Rao did his MSc from BHU, and his PhD under Dr. Vikram Sarabhai at PRL, Ahmedabad. He later taught at MIT and University of Texas, Dallas.
It was UR Rao who did the design for Aryabhatta, as well as Bhaskara, Rohini, APPLE, and the entire INSAT-1,2 as well as the IRS-1A, 1B remote sensing satellites. In a sense he was India's own Satellite Man, and first Indian to be inducted into Satellite Hall of Fame, 2013.
#TodayInHistory Anant Kanhere is hanged to death in 1910 for his assasination of Collector Jackson in Nashik.
Thread on another not so well known revolutionary who gave up his life for freedom at a young age.
Thread on another not so well known revolutionary who gave up his life for freedom at a young age.
Arthur Jackson was the collector of Nashik since 1907, a mild mannered man, proficient in Sanskrit and Marathi. Also a learned Indologist, who wrote many papers on Indian history and culture, affectionately called as Pandit Jackson by the locals.
Fond of the beauty of the Godavari, and the richness of Sanskrit, he often felt that he must have been a Shastri at Nashik in his earlier life.
#TodayInHistory Operation Meghdoot, the Indian Army operation to secure Siachen glacier in 1984, one of the most significant one ever, takes place.
Siachen, which ironically means “Rose Garden” in local Balti language, located in Eastern Karakoram, is 75 km long, and is the highest battlefield in the world. The 110 KM line beyond NJ9842 is called the Actual Position Ground Line.
The genesis of the Siachen conflict lay in Partition, after the first Indo-Pak war, the 2 nations agreed on the ceasefire line. The problem is that the line was not demarcated beyond a point NJ9842, as it was an inhospitable area
#TodayInHistory More than 1000 killed and countless injured at #JallianwalaBagh on Baisakhi in 1919 under the orders of Gen Reginald O Dyer. #LestWeForget #JallianwalaBaghMassacre
Jallianwala Bagh,a name that evokes painful memories in our history, a reminder of the brutality of the British rule. It was a place I actually visited in 2001, walked through the narrow entrance, stood on the ground stained with the blood of Indians.
The backdrop to Jallianwala Bagh was the Ghadr mutiny, which planned for a large scaled armed uprising against the British that was crushed by the British. #JallianwalaBaghMassacre
#OTD in 1861 Confederate Vice President Alexander Stevens delivered what became known as the Cornerstone Speech. Stevens stated plainly that the sole purpose of the Confederacy was to create a slave republic and that any threat the institution of slavery justified secession.
He professed, "Our new government['s]...foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests upon the great truth, that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery—subordination to the superior race—is his natural and normal condition."
#thecivilwardoc #thecivilwar #civilwar
#thecivilwardoc #thecivilwar #civilwar
Stevens continued, "This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth."
Confederates fired on Ft. Sumter approximately three weeks later.
#OnThisDay #onthisdayinhistory #todayinhistory
Confederates fired on Ft. Sumter approximately three weeks later.
#OnThisDay #onthisdayinhistory #todayinhistory
Harriet Beecher Stowe's influential book Uncle Tom's Cabin was published #OTD in 1852. Stowe's anti-slavery novel was a huge success and pushed many Americans to reassess their attitudes toward slavery. Only the Bible sold more copies than Uncle Tom's Cabin during the 19 century.
Although Uncle Tom's Cabin had a profound effect on the anti-slavery movement, it did have flaws. For instance, Stowe developed the characters around negative Black stereotypes that eventually became standard talking points for proslavery supporters and white supremacists.
You can read Uncle Tom's Cabin for free here:
gutenberg.org/ebooks/203
#history #OnThisDay #onthisdayinhistory #TodayinHistory #WomensHistoryMonth #womenshistory #WomensHistoryMonth2023 #uncletomscabin #harrietbeecherstowe #thecivilwardoc
gutenberg.org/ebooks/203
#history #OnThisDay #onthisdayinhistory #TodayinHistory #WomensHistoryMonth #womenshistory #WomensHistoryMonth2023 #uncletomscabin #harrietbeecherstowe #thecivilwardoc
#TodayinHistory in 1986, Marines broke thru Camp Aguinaldo's east wall, but hesitated due to civilian buffer. Soon, PH Air Force's 15th Strike Wing hovered. Crowd expected an attack but the airmen joined the crowd. Marcos issued kill order but it was not obeyed. THREAD. #EDSA37
Radyo Veritas provided a blow-by-blow account of #EDSA even as its transmission tower was compromised by the PH Constabulary attack, limiting its airing to Luzon. However, a mysterious radio station appeared at 12mn calling itself "Radyo Bandido."
Listeners tuned in, as Radyo Bandido (@DZRJ810AM) station played the Mambo Magsaysay jingle, making people realize that it was really Radyo Veritas gone rogue. soundcloud.com/podcast-ph/cla…
#TodayinHistory in 1986, #Marcos Sr. sent 12 tanks to #EDSA led by Gen. Artemio Tadiar in an attempt to arrest the defectors & disperse the crowd. But the human barricades across the intersection of Ortigas & EDSA forced the marines to pull back. THREAD. #EDSA37 #PH #history
The day prior, as news of Ramos and Enrile’s defection reached Cory Aquino, she was staying for the night in secret at the Carmelite monastery in Cebu. The sisters saw it their moral duty to protect her, w/ conviction that they’re protecting the legitimately elected president.
At dawn, via Radyo Veritas, Enrile & Ramos began calling again for Marcos' ouster. At 5:30am, PH Constabulary attacked Radyo Veritas limiting its airing to Luzon only. A few hours later, men began cutting down trees & used these as barricade on roads near Camps Crame & Aguinaldo.
#TodayinHistory in 1986, after a plot to assault Malacañang was foiled, Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile & AFP Vice Chief-of-Staff Fidel V. Ramos held a press con announcing defection from Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
Jaime Cardinal Sin urged people to protect them. #EDSA37 #History
Jaime Cardinal Sin urged people to protect them. #EDSA37 #History
In 1985, to placate the growing concern of the int'l community on #PH under Marcos, Marcos agreed to a Snap Elections on 7 Feb 1986. Corazon Aquino & Salvador Laurel ran as opposition.
On election day, & days that followed for tally & canvassing of votes, int'l observers note widespread fraud & violence threatening the integrity of the elections. Upon announcement in Batasan that Marcos won, majority of people boycotted crony companies.
#TodayInHistory The Naval Ratings Mutiny begins in 1946, as Indian naval officers, sailors revolt against the British, in one of the biggest challenges ever they faced. A forgotten mutiny that deserves to be known more about.
Royal Naval Ratings Mutiny, or what is often called the forgotten mutiny in India’s history, an event which unlike the 1857 revolt or the Quit India movement, does not really strike much resonance, except among hard core historians.
Like the 1857 Revolt, the 1946 Royal Naval ratings mutiny had a rather mundane beginning. It was not an overnight event however, the resentment was building up among the naval ratings, and other Indian members of the Army.
#TodayInHistory The Allies launch an offensive on Monte Cassino in 1944, as the mountain top town is bombed to rubble, including the renowned Saint Benedict Abbey , inviting criticism from the Pope. One of the bloodiest battles of the War, that included a series of assaults.
The objective of the assault on Monte Cassino, was to break through the Winter Line in Italy held by the Axis forces, that was acting like a barrier to Rome. In a 6 month long offensive, the Allies launched a series of assaults on the town, facing stiff resistance.
The first and second assaults failed, with the Allies suffering heavy casualties. It was the final assault on May 16, primarily by Polish II Corps, that ultimately helped them to secure the town, as the Senger Line was breached.
#TodayInHistory Singapore falls to the Japanese forces in 1942, as the British General Arthur Percival surrenders in one of the Allies worst defeat ever. Around 80,000 British, Indian and Australian soldiers become POWs, which is one of the largest surrender ever.
Why did Singapore end up becoming one of the darkest hours for the Allies during WWII along with Dunkirk, as Churchill put it?
Couple of reasons out here.
Couple of reasons out here.
Thailand was looking for an opportunity to avenge its humiliation by France in 1893,1904, when the boundaries were redrawn by a series of treaties. After France fell to the Nazis, the Thai government sought the assistance of the Japanese in its war with now Vichy France.
11:00am, February 11, 1940
The main Soviet offensive of the Winter War against the Mannerheim Line on the Karelian Isthmus begins.
The attack was preceded by a 10 day bombardment with more than 300,000 shells raining down on 🇫🇮defenses in the 1st 24 hours.
#TodayInHistory
The main Soviet offensive of the Winter War against the Mannerheim Line on the Karelian Isthmus begins.
The attack was preceded by a 10 day bombardment with more than 300,000 shells raining down on 🇫🇮defenses in the 1st 24 hours.
#TodayInHistory
Army Commander 1st Class Timoshenko's offensive tasked the Soviet 100th Rifle Division with taking Summa while 123rd Division was tasked with seized the 'Millionaire' & 'Poppius' bunkers of the Mannerheim Line.
The Soviet suffered heavy losses, but eventually managed to break through forcing the Finns to abandon the Mannerheim Line. Good 🧵👇
#TodayinHistory in 1890, poet, nationalist, political thinker, jurist, & statesman, Claro M. Recto, was born in Tiaong, Quezon Province. Recto reshaped modern #PH political thought, pushing for nationalist policies when the U.S. heavily influenced post-war PH affairs. THREAD.
Born to Don Claro Recto Sr. of Rosario Batangas & Doña Micaela Mayo of Lipa, among 5 other siblings, 3 of whom died, Claro lived in a generation of great awakening. In 6 years time after his birth, #PH Revolution vs. Spain broke out.
Recto studied Latin at Instituto de Rizal in Lipa, Batangas from 1900 to 1901 & pursued Bachelor og Arts in 1905 at @ateneodemanilau, achieving the highest grade—maxima cum laude. He pursued Law in 1909 at @UST1611official & wrote for several newspapers to support his education.
#TodayinHistory in 1986, the consequential Snap Elections began. The 2 contenders for the presidency were Ferdinand Marcos Sr. & Corazon C. Aquino. It is one of the landmark events that led to the EDSA People Power Revolution 3 weeks later. THREAD. #history #kasaysayan
After the assassination of Ninoy Aquino in 1983, int'l support on Marcos Sr. waned. It was in Nov 1985 that Marcos Sr. was interviewed in the David Brinkley's show & said: "... all these childish claims to popularity on both sides have to be settled, then I think...
"... we better settle it by calling an election... And we will invite the members of the American Congress to please come and see what is happening here. All this talk about fraud... that's sourgrapes."
Corazon Aquino, after much thought and consultation accepted the challenge.
Corazon Aquino, after much thought and consultation accepted the challenge.
#TodayinHistory in 1964, Emilio Aguinaldo, president of La republica filipina, & first President of the Philippines in the official roster, died #of coronary thrombosis at the Veterans Memorial Hospital in Quezon City. He was 94. THREAD. #kasaysayan #history
Born on 22 March 1869, at Cavite El Viejo (now Kawit) to gobernadorcillo Carlos Aguinaldo & Trinidad Famy, Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy was seventh of 8 children, and the youngest of 4 boys. He was manager of the family's farms when his father died, & was into interisland trading.
Aguinaldo served as cabeza de barangay of Binakayan, Kawit, then capitan municipal of Kawit, & was involved in the Katipunan. Upon the coordinated open revolt in Aug 1896, he led the Katipuneros in Kawit as revo general.
#TodayInHistory King Leopold II of Belgium establishes the Congo Free State in 1885, effectively making it his personal fiefdom, that would begin a reign of Terror, where natives were massacred, tortured, starved to death,and it's resources looted.
Leopold ran Congo using his own military force, to oversee the large rubber plantations. Workers who failed to meet the specific rubber quota, were either killed or had their hands chopped off. The precious ivory was looted in large numbers.
Leopold enriched his personal fortune, looting the Congo dry of it's resources, first it was ivory, and later rubber. The cultivation was done using forced labor, the rubber plantation atrocities were as terrible as those of the slaves on US plantations.
#TodayInHistory The epic battle of Sinhagad, takes place in 1670, when Tanaji Malusare, and his Maval army capture the fort from the Mughals, in one of the most daring assaults ever in history. #JaiBhavani #JaiShivaji
When you walk around Pune , and the surrounding areas, you feel the valor of the Marathas at every step. Pune itself home of the Peshwas, Raigad where Shivaji was coronated, Purandhar, Pratapgarh , all those names resonate with the glory of one of India’s greatest sons.
But it is Sinhagad , which takes your breath away, with it’s sheer grandeur, originally called as Kondhana, around 25 km northwest of Pune, located at an altitude of around 4400 m above sea level.
#TodayInHistory Shivaji Maharaj defeats the Mughal army under Kartalab Khan in a narrow gorge at the Battle of Umberkhind in 1661, a decisive victorythat further consolidated his position and strengthened the Marathas.
Around 4 km from Khemabari village in the Khalapur taluk of Raigad district, on the Khapoli-Poli road, is located a small tri junction at Chavani. The Amba river here originates from the foot of a small cone, near to Kurnawade village in the Maval Taluka.
The river passes by Umarkhandi along the Garmal valley, and merging with the Nagothane creek, before it merges into the sea.Umberkhind is one of the many ghats in the Nain-Maval area, located right below Kurnawade Ghat.
#OTD in 1871 the US Senate passed a resolution creating the Select Committee to Investigate Alleged Outrages in the Southern States. The select committee investigated white supremacist violence in North Carolina and was pivotal to the passing of the Second Enforcement act.
The select committee was made up of five Republicans and two Democrats and held hearings in Washington D.C. to investigate Klan violence in North Carolina during the Kirk-Holden War.
The two Democrats concluded that the racial violence in NC was carried out by Northern "carpetbaggers" while the five Republicans rightfully determined that the Klan “sought to carry out its purpose by murders, whippings, intimidations, and violence, against its opponents.”
