How astrology influenced India's Independence date, and Neeraj Chopra's story | #66
Fun facts from Dil Chahta Hai that you DIDN'T know!
"Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.”
With these words, India was an independent nation.. 74 years later, these words still bring a tear down our eye and make the hair on the back of our neck stand up. There are many things to celebrate about our country and this week we decided to look at what happened on August 15th 1947.
Things we learnt this week
When Viceroy Mountbatten announced that the British would leave India on August 15th, he had chosen that specific date as it was the same day as the surrender of the Japanese forces to the Allies. But as the day was approaching, many feared that the date - 15 August 1947 was an inauspicious one astrologically. As a compromise, the function would actually start on August 14th 1947 and then continue into August 15th. As per Hindu calendar a new day starts only with the sunrise. Turns out, independence taurus apart into 2 pisces.
Jawaharlal Nehru was sworn in as our Prime Minister by Lord Mountbatten. After the swearing in ceremony, Nehru handed an envelope to Mountbatten that contained the names in India’s first cabinet. Except that the envelope was empty. By the time, the swearing in ceremony for the cabinet took place the paper was found.. Should say that this one was indeed Nehru’s fault.
As per the Indian Independence Act 1947 - "As from the fifteenth day of August, nineteen forty-seven, two independent Dominions shall be set up in India, to be known respectively as India and Pakistan." So why does Pakistan celebrate their independence on the 14th? Turns out they initially kept their independence day as August 15th, but in 1948 it was found that August 14th coincided with 27 Ramadan of the Islamic Calendar, a sacred day. Hence August 14th is Pakistan’s Independence Day.
From IWTK, with love
August 10, 2001 saw the release of an iconic film - Dil Chahta Hai. Our thread is filled with loads of trivia about how this film got made.
August 7, 2021 will be a red letter day for sports in India as Neeraj Chopra won independent India’s first Olympic athletics medal. Know more about him and check out our other posts about our Olympic heroes.
Only in India
Residents of a certain Satyam Shivam Sundaram housing society in the Borivali suburb of Mumbai painted the 'no kissing zone' sign outside the society and urged couples to 'control their emotions'. No Touching!
Quiz Announcement
The Great India Quiz is back. The 6th edition will be hosted tomorrow on August 15th. A quiz all about India and its great history, culture, tradition, movies, music. Hosted by Sai Ganesh along with panelists Rachel Lopez and Vivek Tejuja.
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