Kaala Prayanam

  The first and the last page of the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by the then-American President Abraham Lincoln on First January 1863 in the White House, Washington DC, America to free slaves in the Confederate States.  Issued by President Abraham Lincoln  during the third year of the US Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation changed the moral tone of the war. It meant that "all persons held as slaves" within rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free."  It also announced the inclusion of black men into the Union army and navy and almost 200,000 joined by the war's end. The document had its limitations; slavery was not outlawed in border states or confederacy states already under Union control. Five pages long, it is kept today in the National Archives in Washington DC.  The Confederate States of America (CSA) was a short-lived Government in the Southern United States during the American Civil War. It comprised eleven U.S. slave states tha...

  Italian Fascist Benito Mussolini issued orders on 31 December 1924 to suppress opposition newspapers. By suppressing, seizing, and ransacking printing houses of opposition newspapers Mussolini stifled freedom of the press and democracy. Police searched the homes of opposition leaders stating that they stored arms. This instilled fear among journalists and the general public. He founded his newspaper 'The People of Italy' during World War I. He doubled the circulation of the official newspaper 'Avanti', which he edited. Mussolini used these newspapers for his propaganda, to promote militarism, and to attack the Italian Socialist Party. He formed the Italian Film Corporation. The logo of this corporation showed him behind a camera writing 'Cinematography is the strongest weapon'. He produced many cinemas to boost his image and to spread fascism. He was fond of his personal photos. Mussolini was impressed by the potential of cinema to gain popular support and use...

  Jose Rizal, a Filipino Nationalist and Novelist, was born on June 19 in Calamba City, Laguna Municipality, in the Philippines. Rizal is remembered as a great hero and the voice of the Filipino people during the Spaniards' colonization in the late 19th century. Through his writings, he fought for peaceful reforms  while exposing the ills that beset the country. A prolific writer, he wrote his novels "Noli Me Tangere" and "El Filibusterismo" to expose the ills of Philippine society; government corruption, abuse; and on a larger scale, the effects of colonization on people's lives. Rizal was arrested and convicted on charges of rebellion, sedition, and conspiracy which led to his execution on December 30, 1896. Now revered as a national hero Rizal's novels are standard texts in Filipino schools.  

  Benjamin Franklin and a page from his highly successful Poor Richard’s Almanack (Calendar) Benjamin Franklin published the first “Poor Richard's Almanack” on 27 December 1732. Franklin is best known as an accomplished inventor and one of the Founding Fathers of America. He rose to fame first as a publisher and printer. He was just 26 when he produced his almanac, which ran for 25 years from 1732 to 1758, selling as many as 10,000 copies annually—a huge number at the time. An “almanac” – in modern spelling – was one of the most popular types of printed material in America during the 18th Century. In those days the main purpose of such a miscellany was to provide year-ahead weather forecasts to help farmers decide when to plant and harvest their crops. Franklin had no scientific basis for his forecasts, but his guess was as good as anybody else’s and many swore by his predictions. Witty phrases, sayings, proverbs, poems, puzzles, games, medical advice, recipes, and trivia made the ...

  Royal Navy ship HMS Beagle set sail from England on 27 December 1831 on a five-year voyage of discovery to South America. The plan was to survey the coastline in detail and chart the harbors, enabling more detailed maps of the region.  However, maps and charts were not Charles Darwin's principal interests on board. He seized the chance to make the trip to study the area’s animals, fossils, rocks,  and plants. Darwin had been recommended for the post of naturalist on the voyage by one of his professors at Cambridge University. Taking full advantage of the opportunity he spent much of the trip on land collecting samples from regions including Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and the Galápagos Islands.  He carefully packed his specimens into crates and sent them to England. When he returned home in 1836   he studied and analyzed the plants and animals that he collected – a task that would take many years. At the end of it, he made the groundbreaking and controversial de...

  In World War II by 1944 Germany suffered heavy losses in Belgium region. Adolf Hitler planned to attack again the Allies in Belgium and Luxembourg. In the larger Battle of the Bulge, the American Army defeated German Forces and sieged the Belgian town of Bastogne. The goal of the German offensive was to the harbor at Antwerp to siege the roadways through eastern Belgium. 28th Infantry Division of the US delayed the German army towards Bastogne. Germany's plan to cross the Clerf River by nightfall on the first day was delayed by 3 days. American units of the Third Army led by General George S. Patton repulsed German Forces and reached Bastogne before the German forces surrounded the town. On 26 December 1944, the American Army opened a corridor to Bastogne. German Army was driven away. This was one of the setbacks to Germany. Finally, it was defeated in World War II. 

  Liu Xiaobo was a  Writer,  Chinese Literary Critic, Philosopher, Human Rights Activist, and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate who called for political reforms .  He was born on December 28, 1955,  in  Changchun City, Jilin Provine, China.   Liu first became prominent in the 1980s as a literary critic outside China.  He eventually became a visiting scholar at several international universities.    Since returning to China to support the Tiananmen Square movement in 1989, he has been imprisoned several times—from 1989 to 1991, from 1995 to 1996, and from 1996 to 1999. All of these have been justified by his alleged involvement in the subversion of the Chinese state. He served as the President of the Independent Chinese PEN Center, from 2003 to 2007. PEN International is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and international cooperation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Intern...

  Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) is the third church to be built on this site of Constantinople, now Istanbul. Byzantine emperor Justinian I (Roman Emperor from 0527 to 0565 Current Era) ordered its reconstruction in 0532 after riots destroyed the earlier church. After five years it was completed and was inaugurated on 27 December 0537. When a dome collapsed he rebuilt it on 07 May 0558. Rededicated on 24 December 0563 when an earthquake destroyed it.  Icon veneration was officially re-instated in Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Constantinople  on 11 March 0843. It was the world's largest building till Seville's Cathedral was built in 1520.   It served as the Greek Orthodox cathedral, where Eastern Emperors were crowned.  Regarded as the height of Byzantine architecture it is famous for its massive dome and mosaic decoration inside. Turkish Ottoman Sultan II also known as  Mehmed the Conqueror converted it into a mosque in 1453. In 1935 Mustafa Kamal Ataturk, Pr...

  Nazi  Germany   right-wing actor Emil Jannings' silent film 'The Last Laugh' was released on 23 December 1924. Emil Jannings was the most sought-after artist with international acclaim and powerful performances in complex characters in both silent and sound films. In Hollywood, Jannings made history as the first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actor. During the Nazi regime, he worked extensively in Nazi propaganda films. Adolf Hitler, in his praise, got produced 80 movies designed to mislead the general public. After the defeat of Nazi Germany, Jannings was made a jobless actor. Born on 23 July 1884 he died of liver cancer at 65 on 2 January 1950. Modi era also produced many films deviating the history in favor of Modism, which purchased some artists with political posts and awards with the intrinsic intention to produce, direct, and act in movies its favor. People should reject these movies and artists also.

  Samurai Ito Hirobumi Hayashi Risuka on 22 December 1885 became the first Prime Minister of Japan during the Meiji era, in which he was a central figure. He was a member of the genro, which was a group of Japanese statesmen that advised the emperor as a council of elders. Prime Minister of Japan for 4 times, Ito came to the fore in the 1880s. He was powerful even when out of office, as he remained a permanent advisor to the emperor. In foreign policy, Ito strengthened ties with the great Western powers. He oversaw the First Sino-Japanese War. Negotiated favorable terms for Japan. Sought to avoid conflict with Russia, but failed ultimately, resulting in the Russo-Japanese War. Born on 16 October 1841 Ito was assassinated by Korean nationalist An Jung-geun in Harbin, China on 26 October 1909.

  Marie Curie                       Pierre Curie   Marie Salomea Sklodowska Curie known simply as Marie Curie, a Polish and naturalized French scientist, was a pioneering physicist and chemist who made groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of radioactivity, a term she coined. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and remains the only person to have won Nobel Prizes in two different scientific fields: Physics and Chemistry. Born in Warsaw, Kingdom of Poland on 7 November 1867, then part of the Russian Empire, Marie moved to Paris for her higher studies where she met and married on 26 July 1895 Pierre Curie, a fellow scientist. In 1903 she shared with him the Nobel Prize in physics. In 1906 she became the first woman professor at the University of Paris. Together, they conducted revolutionary research on radioactive substances. The Curies' discovery of the elements radium and polonium on 21 ...

  Carl Edward Sagan was an American scientist, astronomer, cosmologist, author, and science communicator. He was born on November 9, 1934, in Brooklyn County, New York State. He is best known for his research on extraterrestrial life. He worked as a science popularizer, including his 1980 television series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, which has been watched by over 500 million people in over 60 countries. Sagan also wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, 'The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence', Broca's Brain, and Contact. He co-wrote, with his wife Ann Druyan, the Emmy Award-winning documentary series, 'Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey'. Ann Druyan is an American documentary producer and director specializing in the communication of science.  Carl Sagan died  at  62  on December 20, 1996,  of pneumonia  after suffering from myelodysplasia . 

  Park Geun-hye won the presidential election on 19 December 2012 to become the first female president of South Korea. Park was born on 2.2.1952 in Jung-gu, Taegu Metropolitan, South Korea. She was also the first woman to be popularly elected head of state in East Asia. Her father Park Chung-hee was also President of South Korea from 1963 to 1979. But his presidency began with a military coup. The National Assembly impeached her in 2016 for her top aide's alleged influence peddling. Park was removed from office by a unanimous ruling of the Constitutional Court in 2017 making her the first Korean president to be removed by impeachment. She was sentenced to 24 years in prison. In 2018 her jail term was increased by 7 years. At 72 now she is in the Seoul Detection Centre.  

  Union Cabinet sparing its valuable time witnessed the Sarkari Cinema 'Sabarmati Report'. In this movie, facts and fiction are intentionally interchanged to cover provocations by Narendra Modi, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, and to favor his Government at the center, particularly the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party in general. This movie was released on 15 November 2024, just before the Maharashtra State elections on 23 November 2024, to gain electoral gains.  Sabarmati Report is the variant sequel to Naru (a documentary that depicted Narendra Modi's boyhood and manhood as brave who saved society in dangerous situations), Kashmir Files, Delhi Files, Kerala Story, Emergency, etc. In these movies, history is distorted. Patel (Vithal bhai and Vallabh bhai Patels declared that Muslims were not required to achieve freedom in India. Now this became Gujarat's formula to eliminate Muslims as voters, and members of the legislature.) is elevated. ...

  American Union General Ulysses S. Grant issued Order No. 11 on 17th December 1862 expelling Jews from Tennessee during the American Civil War. Grant's order targeted Jewish people based on their religion. He believed that Jewish cotton speculators were the driving force behind the black market for cotton and were responsible for corruption and speculation. The order expelled all Jews from houses, businesses, and lives from Paducah city, and Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky districts within 24 hours. Grant's decree was the most sweeping anti-Jewish regulation in all American history. It was a dangerous wave of anti-Semitism. By 1860 there were 2 lakh Jewish people in America. Due to poverty and discrimination in Germany and Central Europe Jewish migrated to the USA. President Abraham Lincoln ordered Grant to revoke the order within days on 4th January 1863. 

  President Harry S. Truman signed a proclamation declaring a national emergency on Dec. 16, 1950. The national state of emergency was stated to fight “Communist imperialism,” a reference to Chinese forces fighting against United States-led United Nations forces in the Korean War.  The president signed a proclamation stating that it was necessary “that the military, naval, air and civilian defenses of this country be strengthened as speedily as possible to the end that we may be able to repel any and all threats against our national security.” It called on “all citizens to make a united effort for the security and well-being of our beloved country and our farmers, our workers in industry and our businessmen to make a mighty production effort to meet the nation's defense requirements.”  The emergency proclamation granted the president additional executive powers and allowed him to institute several price and wage controls to strengthen American defense forces.  The Un...

  Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria  born on 29 September 1951 is a Chilean politician who served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018, becoming the first woman to hold the presidency. She was re-elected in December 2013 with over 62% of the vote, having previously received 54% in 2006, making her the first President of Chile to be re-elected since 1932. After her second term, she served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2018 to 2022. Earlier in her career, she was appointed the first executive director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment for Women.   Bachelet, a physician who studied military strategy, served as Health Minister and Defense Minister under President Ricardo Lagos, a Social Democrat President from 2000 to 2016 and opponent of military dictatorship. She is a legally separated (from her husband) mother of three and ide...

  Venkatraman Ramakrishnan is named one of the 25 Greatest Global Living Indians by NDTV Channel, India on 14 December 2013.   Venkatraman   Ramakrishnan is an Indian-born British-American structural biologist best known for his work on the structure and function of ribosomes, which earned him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009. He won this award together with Thomas A. Steitz  an American biochemist  and Ada E. Yonath  an Israeli (lady) Crystallographer  "for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome." Ramakrishnan was born on 01 April 1952 in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India. He studied physics at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda and obtained a Ph.D. in physics from Ohio University in 1976. After a brief period studying biology at the University of California, San Diego, he began research on ribosomes as a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University. From 1983 to 1995, Ramakrishnan worked as a staff scientist at Brookhaven National ...

  Mary Ann Todd Lincoln was the wife of the 16th President of America, Abraham Lincoln, and the First Lady of the United States from 1861 to 1865, until Lincoln's assassination. Mary Ann Todd Lincoln known for her role as First Lady during the US Civil War was born on 13 December1818 in Lexington, Kentucky, to a wealthy family. After education, she moved to Springfield, Illinois, in 1839. There she met and married Abraham Lincoln in 1842. They had four sons. Only one survived to adulthood. Mary supported Lincoln's political career and the Union cause during the Civil War. She gained some infamy for spending on redecorating the White House and hosting social events. She faced personal challenges as some of her family members fought for the Confederacy. Mary suffered from health issues throughout her life. Lincoln was assassinated in 1865. Three of her sons died young. Mary Todd Lincoln died at the age of 63 on 16.7.1882. 

  Phoebe Hessel was a woman soldier in the British Army from 1728 to 1745 for 17 years disguising herself as a man. Phoebe Hessel was born as Phoebe Smith on 13.4.1713 in Stepney near London. Her soldier father took her, as a child, with him. Enlisted her in the 5th Foot Regiment to serve alongside her lover Samuel Golding. Both of them served in the West Indies and Gibraltar. They were wounded in the Fontenoy Battle in 1745. Hessel's sex was revealed when she was undressed for treatment. Through the wife of the Regiment's Colonel, she was pardoned. Both the lovers were discharged and married. After the death of Golding Phoebe married Thomas Hessel a fisherman. Prince Regent in 1808 granted her a pension of half a guinea, then British currency containing a quarter ounce of gold. Phoebe died at 108 on 12.12.1821 in Brighton near London.

  Che Guevara speaking at the 19th General Assembly of the United Nations Organisation in New York City on 11 December 1964. An unknown terrorist fired a mortar shell at the UNO building in which Che was speaking.  Argentine Marxist Leninist Revolutionary Ernesto Rafael Guevara de la Serna (called with love as Che) at the UNO General Assembly on 11.12.1964 called for anti-imperialism and freedom of nations from American and Western imperialism. He compared Belgium's invasion of the Congo to Nazi Germany's invasion of Belgium during World War II. Che warned imperialist powers of the coming anti-imperialist surge. He spoke on behalf of Cuba, which was a constant point of friction with the United States of America. He affirmed that he was Cuban and willing to die for the liberation of any Latin American country. Che clarified, "We want to build socialism. We declared that we support those who strive for peace and the Non-aligned countries though we are Marxist-Leninists"...

  I and my life Vani with the Look Alike of Alfred Bernhard Nobel. A French newspaper wrongly reported that the merchant of death was dead on 10 December 1896. When a newspaper mistakenly published the obituary of Mark Twain , the writer is said to have quipped: “Reports of my death are grossly exaggerated.” When a similar thing happened to Alfred Nobel , the creator of the prestigious Prizes, it became a life-changing event for him.  Alfred’s brother, Ludvig, fell ill in France in 1888 and died. A French newspaper mixed up the two men and published Alfred’s obituary. In it, he was heavily criticized for his invention of dynamite. Headlined "The merchant of death is dead", the obituary said: "Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday."  It was true that Alfred invented the explosive – and made a considerable fortune from it. But he was shocked by what he read and certainly did not want to be remembe...

  Joint session of the American Congress in which 32nd President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered a "Day of Infamy" speech on December 8, 1941. The previous day the Imperial Japanese Navy and Air Force   bombed the American military bases at Pearl Harbor  in the territory of Hawaii and the Philippines. They declared  war on the United States and the British Empire ,   destroying various American ships and aircraft, and killing over 2,400 civilians and military personnel. After consulting with his cabinet, Roosevelt decided to deliver an address before the joint session of the Congress the next day.   President Franklin Roosevelt delivered his famous "Day of Infamy" speech to Congress on December 8, 1941. Behind him are Vice President Henry Wallace (left) and Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn. To the right, in uniform in front of Rayburn, is Roosevelt's son James, who escorted his father to the Capitol.  Roosevelt's speech was worded to reinforce...

  NIGHT AND FOG DECREE   "NACHT UND NEBEL" (NIGHT AND FOG) was the code name given to a secret decree of December 07, 1941, issued by Adolf Hitler and signed by Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, Chief of the German Armed Forces High Command. It allowed German Authorities to abduct individuals alleged to be "endangering German Security" by night so that they effectively vanished in the Concentration Camps without a trace.  It called for imprisonment, execution, disappearance, security forces to act with utter brutality, the complete extermination of "gangs", and immunity for Hitler's men from prosecution for any act committed. The people captured are tried by special courts and killed with death sentences.   The was directed against persons in occupied territories engaging in activities intended to undermine the security of German troops. Upon capture, they were to be brought to Germany "by night and fog" for trial by special courts. This circumve...