ON THIS DAY

 29th December 1949: Indian Cricketer and Wicket-Keeper Syed Kirmani were Born Syed Mujtaba Hussain Kirmani was born on 29 December 1949. He played cricket for India and Karnataka as a wicket-keeper. In 2016, he was awarded the Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award for Cricket in India.  He started off as an understudy to Farokh Engineer in the tours of England in 1971 and 1974 and to the 1975 World Cup. Kirmani made his debut against New Zealand and in his second Test equalled the world record of six victims in an innings.  When New Zealand toured India the next year, he topped the batting averages with 65.33 and scored 305 runs in the tour of Australia. He did not have a very good time behind the stumps against Pakistan and West Indies in 1978–79.  He was dropped in favour of Bharath Reddy for the 1979 Cricket World Cup and the subsequent series against England. Sunil Gavaskar was also sacked as the captain. Though Kirmani was dropped ostensibly for performance,...

28th December 1885: The First Session Of The Indian National Congress Was Held On The first session of the Indian National Congress was held on 28 December 1885 in Bombay. The initial name of the organization was Indian National Union.  From its foundation on 28 December 1885 by A.O. Hume, a retired British officer, until the time India gained its independence on 15 August 1947, the Indian National Congress was the central and defining influence of the long Indian Independence Movement.  Retired British Indian Civil Service (ICS) officer Allan Octavian Hume founded the Indian National Congress. To form a platform for civil and political dialogue among educated Indians. After the Indian Rebellion of 1857, control of India was transferred from East India Company to the British Empire. British-controlled India, known as the British Raj, or just the Raj, worked to try to support and justify its governance of India with the aid of English-educated Indians, who tended to be more fam...

27th December: National Fruitcake Day   Across the United States, fruitcake lovers young and old, commemorate National Fruitcake Day each year on December 27th. Made with chopped candied or dried fruit, nuts, and spices and sometimes soaked in spirits, fruitcake has been a holiday gift-giving tradition for many years. Dating back to ancient Rome, one of the earliest known recipes lists pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, and raisins mixed into barley mash. Records indicate that in the Middle Ages, makers added honey, spices, and preserved fruits. Recipes for fruitcakes vary from country to country, depending on available ingredients and tradition. In the 16th century, two achievements crystallized to make fruitcakes more affordable and accessible. First, sugar from the American Colonies became abundant. Second, it was discovered that high concentrations of sugar could preserve fruits. These two actions resulted in excess candied fruit. Consequently, fruitcake making grew.

 26th December 2004 Tsunami: 16 years on  As per the official count, 10,136 people died in India with the majority of the casualties reported from Tamil Nadu.  On the night of December 26, 2004, a massive quake of magnitude 9.1-9.3 — with its epicentre in the Bay of Bengal — triggered one of the biggest Tsunamis the world had ever witnessed. The massive waves, measuring up to 30 meters, created havoc in 15 different countries killing more than 2,00,000 people. More than half of those who perished in the calamity belonged to Indonesia.  In India, over 10,000 people were killed in the disaster, which is considered to be one of the deadliest in recorded history. The extent of damage it caused was attributed to several reasons, mainly poor infrastructure and warning systems and the large population living in coastal areas.  The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami or Christmas Tsunami, caused fatalities among a large number of tourists because of the holiday season. Today mark...

 25th December: Christmas Day  Christmas is celebrated to remember the birth of Jesus Christ, who Christians believe is the Son of God.  The name 'Christmas' comes from the Mass of Christ (or Jesus). A Mass service (which is sometimes called Communion or Eucharist) is where Christians remember that Jesus died for us and then came back to life. The 'Christ-Mass' service was the only one that was allowed to take place after sunset (and before sunrise the next day), so people had it at Midnight! So we get the name Christ-Mass, shortened to  Christmas. Christmas is now celebrated by people around the world, whether they are Christians or not. It's a time when family and friends come together and remember the good things they have. People, and especially children, also like Christmas as it's a time when you give and receive presents!  Jesus was a Jew, so this could be another reason that helped the early Church choose December the 25th for the date of Christmas!...

24th December 1986: National Consumer Day Every year the 24th of December is observed as “National Consumer Day” and the significance of this day is that on 24th December in the year 1986, the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, had received the assent of the President of India.  The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 is considered to be a historic milestone in the consumer movement in the country. Every year the observance of this day provides an opportunity for highlighting the importance of the consumer movement and the need to make the consumer more aware of their rights and responsibilities.  The awareness of consumer rights and duties is more important in rural areas and the responsibility of this rests with all of us, and more particularly with the government agencies. The state government has to play a vital role in promoting the welfare of consumers and protection of their rights. As a week-long observance of National Consumer Day, the Nagaland Voluntary Consumers’ Organisation...