Year: 2020

02 November 2020 –

When journalists are targeted, society as a whole pay the price. Without the ability to protect journalists, our ability to remain informed and contribute to decision-making is severely hampered. Without journalists able to do their jobs in safety, we face the prospect of a world of confusion and disinformation.- “UN Secretary-General António Guterres”

In the past fourteen years (2006-2019), close to 1,200 journalists have been killed for reporting the news and bringing information to the public. In nine out of ten cases the killers go unpunished. Impunity leads to more killings and is often a symptom of worsening conflict and the breakdown of law and judicial systems.

The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2 November as the ‘International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists’ in General Assembly Resolution A/RES/68/163. The Resolution urged Member States to implement definite measures countering the present culture of impunity. The date was chosen in commemoration of the assassination of two French journalists in Mali on 2 November 2013.

01 November 2020 –

Madhya Pradesh, the second largest state in the country in area and sixth-largest in terms of population, was formed on Nov 1, 1956. Madhya Pradesh is also known as the ‘heart of India’. The historical name of Madhya Pradesh is Malwa. After India’s independence, Madhya Pradesh state was created with Nagpur as its capital. Madhya Pradesh will be celebrating its 65th Foundation Day today, November 1, 2020.
Governor – Anandiben Patel

Chief Minister – Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Capital – Bhopal

Animal – Barasingha

Population: 7.33 crores (2012)

31 October 2020 –

National Unity Day or Rashtriya Ekta Diwas is celebrated on 31st October every year since 2014 to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. This year marks the 144th birth anniversary of Sardar Patel, freedom fighter and later a politician who played a major role in the integration of India.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was India’s first deputy Prime Minister and is popularly known as the ‘Iron Man of India’. He played a major role in persuading over 500 princely states to accede to the independent Indian Union. He integrated all princely states into the newly independent India, despite several hurdles.

In 2014, the official statement from the Home Ministry of India stated that National Unity Day “will provide an opportunity to re-affirm the inherent strength and resilience of our nation to withstand the actual and potential threats to the unity, integrity and security of our country.” This year a ‘Run for Unity’ event will be organised in different parts of the country. In Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, CM Yogi Adityanath will flag off the run to encourage Indians to run together.

In Delhi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will flag off the event. The run begins at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium and around 15,000 participants are likely to have participated. In 2018, the ‘Statue of Unity’ that was sculpted in honour of Sardar Patel was inaugurated in Gujarat. The statue stands at a height of 182 m.

On this day, the following pledge is required to be read out at State and Central government offices.

“I solemnly pledge that I dedicate myself to preserve the unity, integrity and security of the nation and also strive hard to spread this message among my fellow countrymen. I take this pledge in the spirit of unification of my country which was made possible by the vision and actions of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. I also solemnly resolve to make my own contribution to ensure internal security of my country.”

15 October 2020 –

Handwashing with soap is the most effective and inexpensive way to prevent diarrhoeal and acute respiratory infections, which take the lives of millions of children in developing countries every year. Together, they are responsible for the majority of all child deaths. Yet, despite its lifesaving potential, handwashing with soap is seldom practised and difficult to promote. The challenge is to transform handwashing with soap from an abstract good idea into an automatic behaviour performed in homes, schools, and communities worldwide. Turning handwashing with soap before eating and after using the toilet into an ingrained habit could save more lives than any single vaccine or medical intervention, cutting deaths from diarrhoea by almost half and deaths from acute respiratory infections by one-quarter. A vast change in handwashing behaviour is critical to meeting the Millennium Development Goal of reducing deaths among children under the age of five by two-thirds by 2019.

Global Handwashing Day is observed every year on 15th October every year in an effort to raise awareness of handwashing with soap as a key approach to disease prevention. As a campaign, it aims to motivate and mobilize millions around the world to wash their hands with soap.

11 October 2020 –

Women, like men, should try to do the impossible. And when they fail, their failure should be a challenge to others. – Amelia Earhart

In ancient times, women were highly respected. But with time, their situation changed drastically. Thinking of people towards girls changed. Conservative practices like child marriage, sati system, dowry system, female foeticide, etc. became prevalent. Due to this, girls were being denied from rights like education, nutrition, legal rights and medicine. But now in this modern era, several efforts are being made to provide girls their rights and to make people aware of it. The Indian government is also working in this direction and is implementing various schemes.

Since 2012, International Day of the Girl Child is being celebrated every year. Its main objective is to empower women and help them to get their rights so that they can face the challenges all over the world and meet their needs. At the same time, spreading awareness about eliminating gender abnormalities against girls around the world.

The Government of India has also implemented several schemes to empower girls, under which “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” is one of them. Apart from this, the central and state governments are also taking initiatives and implementing various schemes. In India too, National Girl Child Day is celebrated every year on 24 January.

10 October 2020 –

World Mental Health Day is on October 10 and as our understanding of mental health grows, we grow along with it. Mental health has come a long way since the early nineties when the World Federation of Mental Health (WFMH) officially established the day. Our self-awareness and sensitivity towards it have changed things for the better. Our language surrounding mental health has improved as words like “crazy” and “lunatic” are used less flippantly and we come to better understand that they can be unintentionally hurtful and stigmatizing. While we’ve learned a lot, there’s still so much more we can do to evolve as a society.

08 October 2020 –

Indian Air Force is also known as “Bhartiya Vayu Sena” and is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. This day is celebrated for the inception of Air Force in India to aid the Army that was fighting on the land. Do you know it is attended by the Chiefs of all the three defence services namely Indian Air Force, Army and Navy.

The celebration of this day was officially started on 8th October in the year 1932 in order to increase the awareness of Indian air force in any organisation of the national security both officially and publicly. The day is celebrated in Air Force bases all across the nation with air shows and parades conducted by air force cadets, as the Indian Air Force (IAF) has its prime responsibility of securing the Indian airspace as well as to carry out the aerial warfare during any clash.

It is known that the Indian Air Force has been a fundamental and crucial part of the defence system of the nation along with the Indian Navy and Army. The IAF’s first flight was formed on 1st April 1933. The first time IAF came into brave action was during the Waziristan war against the tribal. Later IAF got expanded tremendously during the Second World War. IAF has proved to be a great defence force during the war especially in Burma. Its anonymous contribution and achievement made the IAF win the prefix of Royal in 1945 and hence came to be known as the Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF).

As of 1 July 2017, the Indian Air Force has a sanctioned strength of 12,550 officers (12,404 serving with 146 under strength), and 142,529 airmen (127,172 serving with 15,357 under strength). Not only it has the responsibility to safeguard the Indian Territory from all risks, but also provide support during natural calamities to the affected areas. The IAF has been involved in numerous wars: World War II, Sino-Indian War, Operation Cactus, Operation Vijay, Kargil War, Indo-Pakistan War, Congo Crisis, Operation Poomalai, Operation Pawan, and few others.

08 October 2020 –

This year, World Sight Day is to be held on Thursday 8th October 2020. This annual event, which is always held on the second Thursday of October, is aiming to draw attention to a range of issues surrounding blindness and visual impairment. It is seen as one of the most important communication and advocacy events on the eye health calendar.

Initially started by the Lions Club International Foundation as part of the Sight First campaign in the year 2000, World Sight Day is now coordinated by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) under the VISION 2020 global initiative which aims to promote a world in which nobody is needlessly visually impaired.

The main aims of World Sight Day include:
• To Raise public awareness of issues surrounding blindness and visual impairment.
To influence Governments, and in particular Health Ministers to participate in and donate funds to blindness prevention programmes.
To educate about blindness prevention.
To generate support for Vision 2020 programme and activities.

05 October 2020 –

It is much easier to show compassion to animals. They are never wicked. – Haile Selassie

World Animal Day or unofficially world animal lover day is a cause for celebration for anyone who loves animals-irrespective of their national, geographical or religious beliefs. The day was formulated at a convention of ecologists in Florence as a method of highlighting the plight of endangered species. October 4 was thus chosen as World Animal Day and quite appropriately so as it is the Feast Day of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. But this in no way makes it a religious festival, though of course it does speak a religion, the religion of love towards animals.

The day is celebrated variously in different countries of the world. The ease of media and telecommunication has made the spread of the event emphatically faster and with the hope of greater results and changes in world attitude in cruelty towards animals. A great thrust has been the launch of the official website of World Animal Day on the 4th October 2003. The website has been a major conduit in successfully disseminating the philosophy of the event to a greater audience worldwide. Besides the website also lists a conglomerate of countries and events which can be participated in. one important motive of the event is to bring together and harmonize animal welfare movements worldwide and provide a platform to the concerned to take up steps as an individual, as a group or as a community. The main concern as enunciated by the animal welfare day organization is to celebrate and be thankful to the animal life in all its multifarious forms, to value and preserve humankind’s relationship with the animal kingdom and most importantly to acknowledge the various indispensable life-sustaining roles animals play in our lives-of being our pets, our friends and companions. To be conscious and grateful of the precious completeness which animals enrich our life with, to make it a wholesome unit.

The World Animal Day thus works in cooperation with many concerned organization worldwide and is also greatly endorsed and supported by national and international celebrities. Press coverage and media events are also hiking the appeal and sensibility of the event and making a considerably relevant issue to direct attention on in the contemporary times. The World Animal Day website also encourages autonomous initiatives to install the event. For instance interested individuals can log onto the website and get ideas and organizational know-how form expert administrators on the website. Once successfully planned, one can also advertise and publicize the event for free on the web-site, thus gathering a multitude of support for the cause.
To accelerate the process of invoking global concern towards the plight of animals and to unite animal lovers worldwide the Word Animal Day also attempts to appoint a World Animal Day Ambassador in all participating countries of the world. These ambassadors will be instrumental in uniting animal welfare movement the world round, embracing all animals and the unique concerns of each and everyone in every country. This will be a major step forward in coalescing divergent concerns of animal welfare into a single homogenous unit which will greatly improve the work of the organization to galactic heights.

02 October 2020 –

“We must fight for peace bravely as we fought in war.” – Lal Bahadur Shastri Jayanti

Lal Bahadur Shastri born on 2 October 1904 in Mughalsarai, Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. His mother’s name was ‘Ramdulari’ while his father’s name was Sharada Prasad Srivastava, who was a School teacher. His father died of plague when he was only one year six months old.

Shastri Ji got a sense of patriotism from one teacher named ‘Nishkameshwar Prasad Mishra’. He was a very patriotic person and had much influence on Shastri Ji. Shastri Ji had gone to jail when he was only in the 10th standard but was soon released. He completed his degree in Philosophy from Kashi Vidyapith and got the title of ‘Shastri’ which later became his identity.

Shastri Ji joined Indian National Congress and went to jail for two and a half years for participating in various freedom struggles and movements. He always stayed in contact with Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, the two prominent members of Congress.

After the independence of India, Lal Bahadur Shastri Ji became the Minister of Police and Transport in his home state Uttar Pradesh. He brought many revolutionary changes in management like allowing women to work as a conductor, use of water jets to disperse crowd instead of Lathi charge, etc.

Shastri Ji worked as Prime Minister of India from 9 June 1964 to 11 January 1966. He died at Tashkent when he was there for signing the peace treaty to stop India Pakistan war in 1966. The cause of his death is still a mystery for the whole world.