8 December in Indian and World History is celebrated, observed, and remembered for various reasons. 8 December is the birth anniversary of Balaji Bajirao, Narayan Shastri Marathe, Balkrishna Sharma Naveen, and Uday Shankar.
8 December is also observed as the death anniversary of Bhai Parmanand, and Ramashankar Yadav.
Birth Anniversary
8 December in Indian history is celebrated as the birth anniversary of the following personalities:
Balaji Bajirao (8 December 1721 – 23 June 1761), the eldest son of Bajirao I. He became Peshwa after the death of his father. It was during the time of Balaji Vishwanath that the post of Peshwa had become paternal. After the ‘Sangoli Treaty’ in 1750 AD, all the rights were secured in the hands of the Peshwa. Now the ‘Chhatrapati’ (the position of the king) was just a pretense. Balaji Bajirao expanded the Maratha power both in the north and south India. Thus, during that time Maratha Dudumbhi started ringing from Cuttack to Attock. Balaji also won the Tanjore region while maintaining the authority of the Marathas in Malwa and Bundelkhand. Balaji Bajirao defeated the Nizam of Hyderabad in a battle and concluded the ‘Treaty of Bhalki’ in 1752 AD, under which the Nizam gave half of Berar to the Marathas. As a result of the invasion of Bengal, Alivardi Khan was forced to leave Orissa and had to accept an annual payment of 12 lakh rupees from Bengal and Bihar as Chauth. In 1760 AD, the Nizam suffered a crushing defeat in the battle of Udgiri. He was born on 8 December 1721.
Narayan Shastri Marathe (8 December 1877 – 18 March 1956), a noted Marathi scholar. Narayan Shastri left home to study the Sanskrit language and Dharmashastras. He was born on 8 December 1877.
Balkrishna Sharma Naveen (8 December 1897 – 29 April 1960), a poet, prose writer, and unique speaker of the Hindi world. He was born on 8 December 1897.
Uday Shankar (8 December 1900 – 26 September 1977) was an Indian dancer, choreographer, and ballet producer. He is also known as the ‘Father of Modern Dance’ in India. Uday Shankar introduced Europe and America to Indian dance and culture and effectively placed Indian dance on the world map. He composed new dances named Tandava Nritya, Shiva-Parvati, Lanka Dahan, Rhythm of Life, Shram and Yantra, Ramlila, and Lord Buddha. In the year 1971, the Government of India honored him with ‘Padma Vibhushan’ and in 1975 by Visva-Bharati ‘Deshikottam Samman’. He was born on 8 December 1900.
Read More: 7 December in Indian and World History
Death Anniversary
8 December in Indian history is observed as the death anniversary of the following personalities:
Bhai Parmanand (4 November 1876 – 8 December 1947), a great revolutionary of India’s freedom struggle. He was a multi-faceted personality and a great man. While Parmanand ji was a true propagator of Arya Samaj and Vedic religion, on the other hand, he had earned fame as a historian, litterateur, and famous educationist. Many patriotic youths like Sardar Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Ramprasad Bismil, and Kartar Singh, who played the main role in the independence of India, got inspiration from him. He died on 8 December 1947.
Ramashankar Yadav (3 December 1957 – 8 December 2015), a popular poet among the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Nitin Pamnani has made a documentary based on the life struggle of Vidrohi ji (I am your poet) in Hindi and Bhojpuri. The documentary won the Golden Conch Award for Best Documentary in the International Competition category at the Mumbai International Film Festival. He died on 8 December 2015.
Read More: 6 December in Indian and World History
Notable events on 8 December in Indian and World history
8 December 1931 – Gertrude Jekyll a trailblazing figure in the world of horticulture and garden design, renowned for her influential work during the Arts and Crafts Movement in Britain.
8 December 1963 – a fire broke out in a Jesuit church in Santiago, the capital of Chile, killing two and a half thousand people.
8 December 1881 – a theatre fire in Vienna, the capital of the European country Austria, killed more than 800 people.
8 December 1923 – The Treaty of Friendship was signed between Germany and America.
8 December 1941 – America and Britain declared war on Japan.
8 December 1945 – John Banville, an Irish novelist, and Booker Prize Winner, was born.
8 December 1954 – Claude Cahun a French photographer, writer, and performance artist born as Lucy Schwob in 1894 – died.
8 December 1956 – The 16th Olympic Games conclude in Melbourne, Australia.
8 December 1976 – The US conducted a nuclear test in Nevada.
8 December 1980 – John Lennon, a member of the music band Beatle, was shot by an unidentified gunman outside his New York apartment on the same day.
8 December 1983 – The British upper house, the House of Lords, voted to televise live proceedings of the House.
8 December 1987 – The leaders of the world’s two superpowers, the US and the Soviet Union, signed the first such treaty, in which there was a provision to reduce the stockpile of land-based nuclear weapons.
8 December 1994 – Tom Jobim , a Brazilian composer, pianist, guitarist, songwriter, died.
8 December 1998 – Former Lieutenant Colonel Hugo Chavez became the new President of Venezuela.
8 December 1998 – Women’s ice hockey was included for the first time in Olympic history. Finland defeated Sweden 6-0 in the first match.
8 December 2000 – Defense agreement between Britain and Russia was concluded, French scientists discovered a new treatment of Alzheimer’s ‘Golnetamine’.
8 December 2002 – Cow urine was patented by the United States of America, after India’s traditional bio-rich neem, turmeric, and Jamun.
8 December 2003 – Vasundhara Raje Scindia became the Chief Minister of Rajasthan.
8 December 2003 – Uma Bharti became the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.
8 December 2005 – The Red Cross and Red Crescent Society accepted a red diamond-shaped crystal on a white background as an additional symbol.
8 December 2007 – US-led coalition forces and NATO forces launched attacks on Taliban militants in the Musa Kala district of southern Afghanistan.