Local
2019: Two new police stations were inaugurated in New Town on November 27. One is near the Eiffel Tower replica at Eco Park and the second, called Technocity, is at a rented space near the Sukhobrishti complex of Action Area III. The older thana opposite Tata Medical Center remains.
National
1962: Social reformer Maharshi Karve dies on November 9, at the age of 104. This math professor of Maharashtra is best known for his efforts to promote women’s welfare, particularly widow remarriage. He married a widow himself. In 1958, in his centenary year, Karve was awarded the Bharat Ratna.
Maharshi Karve Sourced by the correspondent
1996: The world’s deadliest mid-air collision occurs when Saudi Arabian Airlines Flight 763 (en route from Delhi to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia) and Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907 (en route from Chimkent, Kazakhstan, to Delhi) collide. The November 12 accident occurs west of Delhi and kills all 349 people on board both the planes.
2000: A long-standing demand of residents is fulfiled when Chhattisgarh is carved out of Madhya Pradesh to form the 26th state of India. The resource-rich state decides on Raipur as its capital and Ajit Jogi becomes the first chief minister. The state comes into being on November 1.
Global
1970: About 5 lakh people die due to a tropical cyclone that hits East Pakistan and West Bengal on November 11. Named Bhola, the cyclone wind speed reaches 185km/hr and is the deadliest tropical cyclone ever recorded and one of the world’s deadliest natural disasters. The Pakistani government delays relief work and the opposition, Awami League led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, wins a landslide victory in the affected province in the election that takes place a month later. This leads to unrest with the central government and eventually leads to the Bangladesh Liberation War.2005: Donald Watson, who coined the term ‘vegan’ and was one of the founders of the The Vegan Society in 1944, dies on November 16, aged 95. As a child, Watson was horrified to see the slaughtering of a pig on his uncle’s farm and became a vegetarian at the age of 14. Believing dairy products to also be unethical, he gave them up four years later and dedicated his life to stop the exploitation of animals.
Sports & entertainment
1859: The first ever trapeze routine (representative picture above) is performed at Cirque Napoleon winter circus, Paris, by Jules Leotard on 12 November. Leotard was the son of a gymnastics instructor who ran a swimming pool and the man would practise his routines over the pool. He also introduced a one-piece knitted garment suitable for the trapeze that came to be known as the ‘leotard’, after himself.
2019: Fifteen-year-old Shafali Verma breaks Sachin Tendulkar’s 30-year record of becoming youngest Indian to score a 50 in international cricket. Tendulkar was 16 when he scored his half-century against Pakistan; Verma was 15 years and 285 days when she smashed 73 off 49 balls in her first T20 International against West Indies on November 13. The Haryana-born teenager’s innings included six fours and four sixes and helped India win the match by 84 runs.
Shafali Verma File picture
2001: After a string of successful books, the first film under the Harry Potter banner, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone releases on November 4. Directed by Chris Columbus, it is based on the first book of the series by author J.K. Rowling. The film becomes the highest-grosser of the year and makes stars of the actors playing the leads like Daniel Radcliffe as Harry and Emma Watson as Hermione etc.
