10 March in Indian and World History

OV Digital Desk

10 March in Indian and World History is celebrated, observed, and remembered for various reasons. 10 March is the birth anniversary of Udupi Ramachandra Rao, Asghar Ali Engineer, Madhavrao Jivajirao Scindia, Ranjit Lal Jetley, Dilbagh Singh, Mangesh Keshav Padgaoankar, Perunchithiranar, and Omar Abdullah.

10 March is also observed as the death anniversary of Savitribai Phule, Inderjeet Singh Johar, Vishnu Vāman Shirwādkar, and Baliram Kashyap.

Birth Anniversary on 10 March

10 March in Indian history is celebrated as the birth anniversary of the following personalities:

Udupi Ramachandra Rao (10 March 1932 – 24 July 2017), is an Indian space scientist and chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation. He was also the Chairman of the Governing Council of the Physical Research Laboratory at Ahmedabad and Nehru Planetarium at Bengaluru and chancellor of the Indian Institute for Space Science and Technology (IIST) at Thiruvananthapuram. He was honored with Padma Bhushan in 1976 and Padma Vibhushan in 2017. U. R. Rao was born on 10 March 1932 in Udupi, Karnataka, India.

Asghar Ali Engineer (10 March 1939 – 14 May 2013) was an Indian reformist-writer and social activist. The focus of his work was on communalism and communal and ethnic violence in India and South Asia. Engineer’s autobiography A Living Faith: My Quest for Peace, Harmony, and Social Change was released in New Delhi on 20 July 2011 by Hamid Ansari. Asghar Ali Engineer was born on 10 March 1939 in Rajasthan, India.

Madhavrao Jivajirao Scindia (10 March 1945 – 30 September 2001), was an Indian politician. He was affiliated with the Indian National Congress (INC). He was elected to the Lok Sabha (in 1971 from Gwalior. He was born on 10 March 1945.

Maj-General Ranjit Lal Jetley (10 March 1923 – 30 March 2018), was an Indian soldier and scientist. He served in World War II and the 1947 Indo-Pakistani War, becoming an artillery regiment commander. He went on to work in armaments research and development, his innovations including an Indian 10mm light field gun and gunning of the Sherman tanks. He also contributed to setting up two major laboratories. Jetley retired in 1979 and moved to the United Kingdom. He was born on 10 March 1923 in Punjab, British India.

Air Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh, PVSM, AVSM, VM (10 March 1926 – 9 February 2001), the head of the Indian Air Force from 1981 to 1984 and acted as Chief of the Air Staff. Dilbagh Singh was commissioned as a pilot in 1944. He was also India’s Ambassador to Brazil from 1985 to 1987. He was born on 10 March 1926 in Rahon, Punjab, British India.

Mangesh Keshav Padgaoankar (10 March 1929 – 30 December 2015), is a poet.  He was known for Marathi poetry. He was honored with Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award, in 2013. He was born on 10 March 1929 in Vengurla, Maharashtra, British India.

Perunchithiranar (10 March 1933 – 11 June 1995), a Tamil professor. He worked for the Thani Tamil Iyakkam, a linguistic purity movement in Tamil literature that attempts to avoid loanwords from Sanskrit. In 1965, he was arrested for anti-Hindi remarks in his magazine. He was a rationalist, which was reflected in his writings. He was imprisoned twice after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi because of his continued support for Tamil Eelam. He was born on 10 March 1933 in Samuthiram, Tamilnadu, British India.

Omar Abdullah is an Indian politician and former Chief Minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. He became the 11th and the youngest Chief Minister of the State of Jammu and Kashmir, after forming a government in coalition with the Congress party. In 1998, at the age of 28, Omar Abdullah was elected to the 12th Lok Sabha, becoming the youngest member. He was also a member of the 14th Lok Sabha, representing the Srinagar constituency. He was the Union Minister of State for External Affairs in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s NDA government, from 23 July 2001 to 23 December 2002. He resigned from the NDA government in October 2002 to concentrate on party work. He was born on 10 March 1970 in Rochford, Essex, United Kingdom.

Read More: 9 March in Indian and World History

Death Anniversary on 10 March

10 March in Indian history is observed as the death anniversary of the following personalities:

Savitribai Phule (3 January 1831 – 10 March 1897), was an Indian social reformer, educationalist, and poet. She is regarded as the first female teacher in India. Along with her husband, Jyotirao Phule, she played an important and vital role in improving women’s rights in India. She is regarded as the mother of Indian feminism. Phule and her husband founded one of the first Indian girls’ schools in Pune. She worked to abolish the discrimination and unfair treatment of people based on caste and gender. She is regarded as an important figure in the social reform movement in Maharashtra. She died on 10 March 1897.

Inderjeet Singh Johar (16 February 1920 – 10 March 1984), was an Indian actor, writer, producer, and director. He excelled in comedic roles. He was also known as I. S. Johar.  Johar acted in numerous Hindi films from the 1950s through to the early 1980s and appeared in international films. I. S. Johar also wrote and directed films, including the partition-based Hindi movie Nastik (1954). I.S. Johar was an older brother of Yash Johar. He died on 10 March 1984 in Mumbai India, at the age of 64.

Darbara Singh (10 February 1916 — 10 March 1990), the Chief Minister of Punjab from 1980 to 1983. He died on 10 October 1983 in Chandigarh, India.

Vishnu Vāman Shirwādkar (27 February 1912 – 10 March 1999), was an eminent Marathi poet, play writer, and novelist. He is also known as Kusumāgraj. He is considered a humanist who wrote for freedom, justice, and the welfare of the deprived and downtrodden people of society. In his long-cherished carrier of almost five decades, he wrote numerous poems, novels, and short stories. His remarkable work was Vishakha and Natsamrat. He was honored with numerous awards including national awards. In 1974, he received the Sahitya Akademi Award in Marathi for Natsamrat. In 1987, he was honored with the Jnanapith Award; Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award was conferred upon him in 1991. He died on 10 March 1999 in Nashik, Maharashtra, India.

Baliram Kashyap (11 March 1936 – 10 March 2011), was an Indian politician. He was a member of the 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th Lok Sabhas. He represented the Bastar constituency of Chhattisgarh and was affiliated with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Kashyap died on 10 March 2011, only one day before his 75th birthday.

Read More: 8 March in Indian and World History

Notable events on 10 March in Indian and World History

10 March 1913 –  Harriet Tubman, an escaped enslaved woman, died.

10 March 1922 – Mahatma Gandhi was arrested and tried for sedition, and sentenced to six years in prison.

10 March 1923 – Val Logsdon Fitch an American nuclear physicist, and Nobel Prize Laureate, was born.

10 March 1930  Misuzu Kaneko, a Japanese poet, known for her poetry for children, died.

10 March 1942  Wilbur Scoville, an American pharmacist best known for creating the “Scoville Organoleptic Test”, died.

10 March 1945 – The U.S. Army Air Force firebombs Tokyo, and the resulting conflagration kills more than 100,000 people, mostly civilians.

10 March 1966 –  Frits Zernike, a Dutch physicist, and Nobel Prize Laureate, died.

10 March 1969 – The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) was established. Currently, it is the Central Armed Police Forces in India.  Among its duties are guarding sensitive governmental buildings, the Delhi Metro, and providing airport security.  The day is also observed as CISF Raising Day.

10 March 2012 – Frank Sherwood Rowland an American chemist, and Nobel Prize Laureate, died.

10 March Historical Significance

March 10 holds historical significance due to several notable events. On this day in 1876, Alexander Graham Bell made the first successful telephone call, saying the famous words to his assistant, “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you.” This event marked a significant milestone in communication technology. Additionally, on March 10, 1959, the Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule began in Lhasa, leading to the Dalai Lama’s eventual flight to India. This uprising had lasting implications for Tibet’s political landscape and international relations. Another notable event is the birth of the legendary soccer player, Diego Maradona, in 1960, who would go on to become one of the most iconic figures in sports history. These events illustrate the diverse historical significance of March 10 across various fields.

Important Days of 10 March in History

Tibetan Uprising Day: 10 March is observed as Tibetan Uprising Day. It commemorates the 1959 Tibetan uprising against the presence of the People’s Republic of China in Tibet. The failure of the armed rebellion ultimately resulted in a violent crackdown on Tibetan independence movements, and the flight of the Dalai Lama into exile.

CISF Raising Day: The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) raising day is observed annually on March 10. It was established by an act of the Indian parliament in 1969. The CISF was created to better protect and secure industrial undertakings in the country. It highlights the importance of security for industries and undertakings that are critical to society. The CISF is needed in industrial places like nuclear installations, airports, power plants, heritage monuments, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, and so many others to maintain easy workflow and secure surroundings for citizens.

International Day of Awesomeness: Celebrated to recognize and appreciate the awesomeness in everyone. It’s a fun and light-hearted day to celebrate and perform awesome acts.

Mario Day: A day dedicated to the popular video game character Mario from the Nintendo franchise. The date, Mar 10, resembles the name “Mario.”

Harriet Tubman Day: Commemorated in the United States to honor Harriet Tubman, an American abolitionist and political activist who escaped from slavery and helped others gain their freedom through the Underground Railroad.