Personalities in News

Source: The post is based on the article “Ministry of Culture organized “TirangaUtsav” to celebrate the contribution of Pingali Venkayya to the nation on the occasion of his 146th Birth Anniversary” published in PIB on 2nd August 2022.

What is the News?

The Ministry of Culture organized “TirangaUtsav” to celebrate the contributions of Pingali Venkayya to the nation on the occasion of his 146th Birth Anniversary.

The commemorative Postal Stamp in the honor of Pingali Venkayya was also released during the event.

Who was Pingali Venkayya?

Pingali Venkayya was a freedom fighter, designer of India’s National Flag and a follower of Gandhian principles.

He was born on 2nd August 1876 into a Telugu Brahmin family in Bhatlapenumarru, Madras Presidency, British India (today’s Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh).

He was also known as Patti Venkayya because of his research into Cambodia Cotton. Patti means ‘cotton’, which was very important for Machilipatnam, a former port city that became famous for its Kalamkari handloom weaves.

Contribution to National Flag

Venkayya designed several models of national flag starting from the one designed in 1921 which was approved by Mahatma Gandhi at a Congress meeting in Vijayawada. 

This version consisted of two red and green bands; the two bands represented the two major religious communities — the Hindus and the Muslims. The flag also had a charkha which represented Swaraj. On the advice of Mahatma Gandhi, Venkayya added a white band which represented peace. 

In 1931, concerns were raised about the religious aspect of the flag. Keeping that in mind, a Flag Committee was set up. The committee replaced the red with saffron and changed the order of the colours with saffron on top followed by white and then green. The charkha was placed on the white band in the middle.

The colours now stood for qualities and not communities; the saffron for courage and sacrifice, white for truth and peace and green for faith and strength. The charkha stood for the welfare of the masses.

Post-Independence, a national flag committee under President Rajendra Prasad replaced the charkha with the Ashok Chakra.

Source: The post is based on the article “19th-century painting of Raja Serfoji, son stolen from Thanjavur Saraswathi Mahal traced to U.S. museum” published in The Hindu on 23rd July 2022.

What is the News?

A rare 19th-century painting of Raja Serfoji and his son Sivaji, which was stolen from Saraswathi Mahal, Thanjavur has been traced to the US Museum.

Who was Maharaja Serfoji?

Maharaja Serfoji was the last of the Bhonsle Rajas of Thanjavur. He was born in 1777 and died in 1832. 

His only son Shivaji ruled until 1855. However, he had no male successor.

Due to this, Thanjavur became a casualty of Lord Dalhousie’s infamous ‘Doctrine of Lapse’ and it got absorbed into British Ruled Indian provinces.

Contributions of Maharaja Serfoji

Library: The Sarasvati Mahal Library was founded as a Palace Library by the Nayak Kings of Thanjavur (1535–1675), it was however Serfoji who enriched it with priceless works, maps, dictionaries, coins and artwork.

Educational Reforms: Serfoji founded a school called Navavidhya Kalanidhi Sala where languages, literature, the sciences and arts and crafts were taught in addition to the Vedas and shastras. 

– Serfoji is also credited with installing a hand press with Devanagari type in 1805, the first of its kind in South India. He also established a stone-type press called “Nava Vidhya Kalanidhi Varnayanthra Sala“.

Medicine: Serfoji established the Dhanavantari Mahal, a research institution that produced herbal (indigenous medicine) medicine for humans and animals.

What is the Doctrine of Lapse?

The Doctrine of Lapse was an annexation policy followed widely by Lord Dalhousie when he was India’s Governor-General from 1848 to 1856.

The doctrine declared that if an Indian ruler died without a male heir his kingdom would “lapse”, that is, become part of Company territory. 

One kingdom after another was annexed simply by applying this doctrine: Satara (1848), Sambalpur (1850), Udaipur (1852), Nagpur (1853), Jhansi (1854) among others.

Source: The post is based on the article “PM launches year-long 125th birth anniversary celebration of legendary freedom fighter Alluri Sitarama Raju in Bhimavaram, Andhra Pradesh” published in PIB on 4th July 2022.

What is the News?

The Prime Minister has launched the year-long 125th birth anniversary celebration of legendary freedom fighter Alluri Sitarama Raju in Bhimavaram,Andhra Pradesh.

Who is Alluri Sitarama Raju?

Alluri Sitarama Raju was born on 4th July 1897. He is remembered for his fight against the British, in order to safeguard the interests of the tribal communities in the Eastern Ghats region. 

He is referred to as “Manyam Veerudu” (Hero of the Jungles) by the local people.

He had led the Rampa rebellion which was launched in 1922. 

He laid down his life for the freedom of the motherland in 1924 at the young age of just 27 years.

What was the Rampa Rebellion?

The Rampa Rebellion is also known as the Manyam Rebellion. It was a tribal uprising, led by Alluri Sitarama Raju in Godavari Agency of Madras Presidency, British India. 

Cause: The Rampa administrative area was home to about 28,000 tribes. These tribes followed the ‘Podu’ system of cultivation whereby every year some amounts of forest tracts were cleared for cultivation, as it was their only source of food. 

While for the tribes, the forests were essential for their survival, the Britishers wanted to evict them so that they could plunder these areas for wood, which would eventually help in building their railways and ships. 

To get the forests cleared, ‘The Madras Forest Act, 1882’ was passed, thereby restricting the free movement of the tribal communities and prohibiting them from engaging in their traditional Podu agricultural system. This oppressive order was the beginning of the Rampa Rebellion.

Ended in: The rebellion began in August 1922 and lasted until the capture and killing of Raju in May 1924.

Steps taken by Government to remember Alluri Sitarama Raju

Every year, the Government of Andhra Pradesh commemorates his birth date, the 4th of July, as a state festival

The birthplace of Alluri Sitarama Raju at Pandrangi in Vizianagaram district and Chintapalli Police Station (to mark 100 years of Rampa Rebellion – the attack on this police station marked the beginning of Rampa Rebellion) will be restored. 

The government has also approved the construction of Alluri Dhyana Mandir at Mogallu with a statue of Alluri Sitarama Raju in Dhyana Mudra, depicting the life story of the freedom fighter through mural paintings and AI-enabled interactive systems.

What is the News?

The first Tamil translation of the Bible which was reportedly stolen from Saraswathi Mahal Library, Thanjavur, has been traced by Idol Wing CID Police to London.

First Tamil Translation of Bible

The first Tamil translation of the Bible was printed in 1715 by Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg, a missionary. 

It was presented to Tulaji Rajah Serfoji by Schwartz, another missionary and a close friend of the King. 

After the takeover by the Tamil Nadu government, the antiquarian book became an exhibit in the Saraswati Mahal Museum for public viewing. 

Who was Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg?

Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg was born in Saxony in 1682. He was a Danish missionary. 

In 1706, he arrived in Tranquebar (Tharangambadi), a tiny Danish colony on the east coast, close to Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu, on the southeast coast of India, as the first Protestant missionaries in that country.

He soon set up a printing press and published studies of the Tamil language and Indian religion and culture. He died in 1719, at age 37. 

He left behind a Tamil translation of the Bible, many brief writings in Tamil, two church buildings, the seminary and baptized Christians.

Source: The post is based on the article “First copy of Tamil Bible stolen from Saraswathi Mahal Library traced to London” published in The Hindu on 2nd July 2022.

What is the News?

June 29, is national ‘Statistics Day’, in ‘recognition of the contributions made by Prof. Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis’, the ‘Plan Man’ of India; it is also his birthday.

What are the contributions of P.C. Mahalanobis?

P.C. Mahalanobis is referred to as the chief architect of the Indian statistical system as well as the father of statistical science in India.

Believed in Data: Mahalanobis clearly believed data to be instrumental in efficient planning for national and human development. Planning in the newly independent nation in the 1950s was largely based on the data obtained from various surveys.

Contribution to Statistics:

-Mahalanobis established the Statistical Laboratory within the Baker Laboratory at Presidency College.

-In 1931, he established the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) in Kolkata.

-In 1933, Mahalanobis founded Sankhyā, the Indian Journal of Statistics.

Other contributions:

-Mahalanobis helped in the establishment of the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO), the National Sample Survey (NSS) and the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI).

-Mahalanobis also served as the Chairman of the United Nations Sub-Commission on Statistical Sampling.

-In 1936, he introduced a statistical measure named the Mahalanobis distance. It is widely used in cluster analysis and classification techniques.

-He also devised a statistical method called ‘Fractile Graphical Analysis’. This method is used to compare the socio-economic conditions of varied groups.

-The Mahalanobis model was employed in the Second Five Year Plan. The model laid the blueprint for industrialisation and development in India.

Honours: In 1968, he was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan.

P.C. Mahalanobis’s Friendship with Rabindranath Tagore

Tagore treated Mahalanobis as a close confidant, despite an age gap of 32 years. Mahalanobis first met Tagore at Santiniketan in 1910.

Accompanied Tagore on multiple occasions: Mahalanobis accompanied Tagore on many of his international visits, mostly in the 1920s.

When Tagore met Einstein in 1930, Mahalanobis was also with him. In fact, Einstein asked Tagore about a young scientist named Bose. Mahalanobis then informed Tagore about Satyendra Nath Bose, who would be ever-remembered for Boson.

Mahalanobis’s literary works about Tagore: He wrote a series of essays titled ‘Rabindra Parichay’ (‘Introduction to Rabindra’) for the prestigious Bengali magazine, Probashi. He also wrote a book, Rabindranath Tagore’s Visit to Canada in 1929.

Helped in Tagore’s dream project: Mahalanobis helped Tagore immensely in his dream project — the founding of Visva Bharati. He also served as a joint secretary of Visva Bharati for 10 years from the beginning.

Tagore’s dance drama, ‘Basanta’ (meaning ‘Spring’), had a premier at the Calcutta University institute auditorium on Mahalanobis’ marriage day. Tagore attended the marriage ceremony and presented them with the manuscript of ‘Basanta’.

Source: The post is based on the article “Remembering the ‘Plan Man’ of India” published in “The Hindu” on 29^th June 2022.

What is the News?

The National Monuments Authority has observed the Martyrdom Day of the great warrior Baba Banda Singh Bahadur at Red Fort in New Delhi.

Who was Baba Banda Singh Bahadur?

Baba Banda Singh Bahadur was a great Sikh warrior.

Contributions: He was a commander of the Khalsa army who defeated the Mughals and liberated a large part of North India from the oppressive Mughal rule and established the Khalsa rule in Punjab. 

He abolished the Zamindari system and granted property rights to the tillers of the land. 

He introduced the Nanak Shahi coins. 

Death: He was captured by Mughal ruler Farrukhsiyar and his martyrdom took place in Mehrauli where a monument stands in his memory.

Click Here to read more about him

Source: The post is based on the article “National Monuments Authority observes Martyrdom Day of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur at Red Fort” published in PIB on 25th June 2022.