December
23
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.
Events
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
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