Keeping up with the #ThrowbackThursday trend, FWD Business looks at the significant events that took place throughout the history of the country on May 11
Words: Rochelle D’souza Images: Various sources
160 Years Ago…
May 11 1857 – Indian Rebellion of 1857: Indian rebels seize Delhi from the British.
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major, but ultimately unsuccessful, uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form of a mutiny of sepoys of the East India Company’s army in the garrison town of Meerut, 40 miles northeast of Delhi. On May 11 the rebels seized Delhi. It then erupted into other mutinies and civilian rebellions which posed a considerable threat to British power in that region which was contained only with the rebels’ defeat in Gwalior on 20 June 1858. The rebellion is known by many names, including the Sepoy Mutiny, the Indian Mutiny, the Great Rebellion, the Revolt of 1857, the Indian Insurrection, and India’s First War of Independence.
19 Years Ago…
May 11 1998 – India conducts three underground atomic tests in Pokhran
Pokhran-II was the series of five nuclear bomb test explosions conducted by India at the Indian Army’s Pokhran Test Range in the Jaisalmer district of the Indian state of Rajasthan on May 11 1998. The nuclear tests resulted in a variety of sanctions against India by a number of major states, including Japan and the United States. On this day Operation Shakti (Pokhran-II) was initiated following which the Indian government led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee declare India as a full-fledged nuclear state
Today…
May 11 2017 – National Technology Day
11 May is known for several other technological events, in addition to the Pokhran Nuclear Tests. On the same day, two other events occurred that sealed the future of India’s defense systems. First, Trishul missile test firing was conducted successfully, and second, Hansa-3, the first nationally built aircraft was test flown. These successful tests collectively prompted the then Prime Minister to declare the day as National Technology Day. The day commemorates and celebrates the quest for scientific inquiry, technological creativity and translation of that quest in the integration of Science, Society and Industry.