11 January in Indian and World History is celebrated, observed, and remembered for various reasons. 11 January is the birth anniversary of Shridhar Pathak, Saraswathi Rajamani, Rahul Dravid, and Ankita Ravinderkrishan Raina.
11 January is also observed as the death anniversary of Lal Bahadur Shastri, Pandit Ram Chatur Mallik, and Rekha Kamat.
Birth Anniversary
11 January in Indian history is celebrated as the birth anniversary of the following personalities:
Shridhar Pathak (11 January 1860 – 13 September 1928) was one of the famous poets of India. He was a poet of Swadesh love, natural beauty, and sentiments of social reform. He was the chairman of the fifth session of ‘Hindi Sahitya Sammelan’ (1915, Lucknow). He was honored with the title of ‘Kavibhushan’. Sridhar Pathak had equal authority over Hindi, Sanskrit, and English. Pathak was born on 11 January 1860 in Agra, Uttar Pradesh.
Saraswathi Rajamani (11 January 1927 – 13 January 2018) was India’s youngest female spy. Coming from a wealthy family, she joined the Azad Hind Fauj in Singapore. At the age of 16, she was inspired by the powerful words of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and jumped into the freedom struggle. Saraswati Rajamani entered the camp of British soldiers along with her partner Durga. She had cut her hair for the mission. She stayed in the camp as a boy. She washed the clothes of the British soldiers and polished their shoes, and while doing this, she gathered much important information. Saraswathi Rajamani was born on 11 January 1927 in Myanmar
Rahul Dravid is the Coach of the Indian cricket team and was the former captain of the team. He is one of the best batsmen in the world. In October 2005, he was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team and in September 2007, he resigned from his post. Dravid was honored as one of five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2000. Dravid was awarded the ICC Player of the Year and Test Player of the Year awards at the 2004 inaugural awards ceremony. He was born on 11 January 1973 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
Ankita Ravinderkrishan Raina is an Indian tennis player and the current Indian number one in women’s singles. She has won 8 singles and 14 doubles titles on the ITF women’s circuit. In April 2018, he entered the top 200 of the singles rankings. She became the fifth player from India to achieve this feat. Ankita also won gold medals in women’s singles and mixed doubles at the 2016 South Asian Games. She was born on 11 January 1993 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
Read More: 10 January in Indian and World History
Death Anniversary
11 January in Indian history is observed as the death anniversary of the following personalities:
Lal Bahadur Shastri (2 October 1904 – 11 January 1966) was a famous Indian politician, great freedom fighter, and the second Prime Minister of India after Jawaharlal Nehru. He was such a personality, who as the Prime Minister not only gifted the country with military glory but also showed the path of green revolution and industrialization. While Shastri ji considered the farmers as the breadwinners of the country, he also had deep love for the border guards of the country due to which he gave the slogan ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’. He died on 11 January 1966 in Tashkent, Russia (now Uzbekistan).
Pandit Ram Chatur Mallik (5 October 1902 – 11 January 1990) was a famous singer of the Dhrupad-Dhamara style of ‘Indian classical music’. He gained fame in Dhrupad-Dhamar’s style of singing not only in India but also abroad and made the country famous. Mallikji was a unique singer of Dhrupad, Khayal, Thumri and Maithili folk songs. He died on 11 January 1990.
Rekha Kamat (1932 – 11 January 2022) was a well-known Indian film actress. She was mainly active in Marathi and Hindi cinema. She worked with Ajay Devgan and Urmila Matondkar in the 2003 Bollywood film ‘Bhoot‘. She also appeared in many commercials. She died on 11 January 2022 in Mumbai.
Read More: 9 January in Indian and World History
Notable events on 11 January in Indian and World History
11 January 1638 – Nicolas Steno, known as the father of stratigraphy and geology, was born.
11 January 1779 – Ching-Thang Khomba was crowned King of Manipur
11 January 1954 – Kailash Satyarthi, an Indian social reformer, and Nobel Prize Laureate, was born.
11 January 1988 – Phil Simmons makes his test debut against India in Madras
11 January 1994 – Ranji Trophy, Hyderabad scored 6 for 944 against Andhra Pradesh
11 January 1005 – Theodora is crowned Empress of the Byzantine Empire
11 January 1158 – Vladislav II of Bohemia becomes king
11 January: National Human Trafficking Awareness Day
11 January 1991: Carl David Anderson, an American physicist, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate.
Human trafficking is a persistent issue, so it is commemorated on 11 January to spread awareness.