History of Today in India – 31 December

Important Events in 1600

• 1600: Royal Charter forms the East India Company, setting in motion a process that ultimately results in the subjugation of India under British rule.
• 1600: Queen Elizabeth I granted its Royal Charter to the 218 Knights and merchants of the City of London who formed the East India Company. The venture failed to achieve its stated objectives — it made little impression on the Dutch control of the spice trade and could not establish a lasting outpost in the East Indies.

Important Events in 1706

• 1706: Francois Martin, founder of Pondicherry and was its first Governor General, died. He founded Pondicherry, the future capital of French India in 1674.

Important Events in 1738

• 1738: Lord Charles Cornvalis, Governor General of India (1786-1793), was born.

Important Events in 1802

• 1802: Peshwa Baji Rao-II, after being defeated by Yashwant Rao Holkar, signed the treaty of Subsidiary Allowance and accepted security of British Government.

Important Events in 1861

• 1861: Cherrapunji in Assam received rainfall of 22,990 mm in 1861. This was a world record in itself as no other country or place had received rains to such an extent.

Important Events in 1900

• 1900: Krishna Narayan Ratanjankar, famous musician and writer of Tan Sangrah in three parts and Abhinav Geet Mangari, was born in Bombay.

Important Events in 1902

• 1902: Dr. Raghuvir, dictionary creator, having knowledge of Vedic Sanskrit, Tebiti, Chinese and Mongolian, was born.

Important Events in 1910

• 1910: Mallikarjun Bhimramaiya Mansoor, famous singer of “Jaipur Gharana”, was born.

Important Events in 1923

• 1923: Vishnu Dayal Jhunjhunwala, great industrialist, was born at Kanpur.

Important Events in 1929

• 1929: At the Lahore session, under the Presidentship of Jawaharlal Nehru, the Congress adopted a resolution of ‘Poorna Swaraj’ (Complete Independence), the slogan given by Gandhiji. The tricolour flag of freedom was unfurled and 26th January 1930 was decided to be celebrated as Independence day every year. This session led to Civil Disobedience Movement, Dandi March to break the Salt Law, etc.

Important Events in 1941

• 1941: Milkha Singh Govindsingh Amritsar, cricketer (brother of Kripal Singh, Indian batsman in 4 Tests), was born in Madras.

Important Events in 1943

• 1943: Ben Kingsley Scarborough, English actor (Gandhi, Betrayal, Maurice), was born.

Important Events in 1956

• 1956: Pandit Ravishankar Shukla, former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, lawyer, politician and social worker, died at the age of 80.

Important Events in 1961

• 1961: 99 Infantry Brigade Group, under Brigadier K S Raja, launched operations in Katanga province and regained full control of Katanga amidst stiff resistance offered by a break away faction (Katangese gendarmerie).

Important Events in 1965

• 1965: Sivaramakrishan Laxman, right-hand batsman and leg break bowler, was born in Madras.

Important Events in 1966

• 1966: Bishen Singh Bedi made his Test Cricket debut vs West Indies at Calcutta.

Important Events in 1984

• 1984: Rajiv Gandhi was sworn is as the 6th Prime Minister of India. He succeeded his mother Indira Gandhi. He became the Prime Minister of India for a second time and first time after elections.

Important Events in 1988

• 1988: Nuclear Fuel Complex was established in Hyderabad.
• 1988: Treaty signed between India and Pakistan for not to target nuclear sites of each other.

Important Events in 1993

• 1993: Manipur placed under President’s rule; Bangarappa launches Karnataka Congress Party.

Important Events in 1995

• 1995: Air Chief Marshal Satish Kumar Sareen PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC., became the Air Officer Commanding, Indian Air Force. He was in this office till 31/Dec/1998.
• 1995: K.P.S. Gill, DGP of Punjab, retires from service.

Important Events in 1996

• 1996: Gold import policy liberalised.

Important Events in 1998

• 1998: Air Chief Marshal Anil Yashwant Tipnis, PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC., became the Air Officer Commanding, India Command. He is the 18th Air Chief Marshal.
• 1998: Air Chief Marshal Satish Kumar Sareen PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC, retired as the Air Officer Commanding, India Command.

Important Events in 1999

• 1999: This Indian Railway, carries more than 11 million passengers in a day, runs on more than 62,000 route kilometers and more than 1,07,000 track kilometers daily. This is the largest Railway System under Single Management.