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Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhail Gorbachev was the ruler of Soviet Union (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics – USSR) when it got disintegrated in 1991. Thus, he was the last ruler of united Soviet Union.

He was born on 2 March 1931. He completed the Law Degree from the Moscow State University. While studying for law he became the member of Communist Party of Soviet Union. Subsequently he went on to climb the ladder in the Communist Party.

In 1971 he became the member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. The Central Committee was considered as one of the topmost bodies of the Communist Party of Soviet Union. Later on he also looked after agriculture department. He was appointed as the member of Politburo of the Communist Party in the year 1979. Politburo was the highest level outfit within the Communist Party which made decisions about the policies of the Soviet Union. The Politburo had a ttremendous control over the political system of Soviet Union. After the disintegration of Soviet Union in 1991 the Politburo ceased to exist automatically.

On 11 March 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev became the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Soviet Union. He succeeded Konstantin Chernenko who died on 10 March 1985.

Gorbachev as mentioned above was a highly qualified person and trained in law. He sincerely wanted to rejuvenate the economy of Soviet Union. He had realised that in order to strengthen the Communist regime in Soviet Union it was necessary to bring economic and political reforms. By bringing economic reforms he wanted to achieve the development and economic growth which would have brought positive changes in the overall life of the people of Soviet Union. Out of this thinking the policies of Glasnost and Perestroika originated.

Glasnost meant more political freedom and openness. People and press was given the freedom of expression and even the criticism of the Party and government was tolerated. The political power and control of the Communist Party was brought down as a part of policy of Glasnost. Due to it the amount of criticism of the wrongdoings of Communist rule was so high that the policy of Glasnost boomeranged on the government. It definitely led to the loosening of the grip of Communist Party on overall polity of Soviet Union and played an important role in the collapse of Communist regime and disintegration of Soviet Union.

Perestroika envisaged the economic growth which would make Soviet Union to compete with the developed economies of United States of America, Japan and other such economies. The grip of the Party and government on economy was loosened and even the private enterprise was allowed on certain extent. Unfortunately, the Perestroika did not result into bringing change in the economy which was expected. There were tremendous economic problems and shortage of many consumer goods in Soviet Union.

The failure of well intentioned policies of Glasnost and Perestroika played crucial role in the collapse of Communist rule and disintegration of Soviet Union.

Apart from the above mentioned domestic problems, one more reason was responsible for Soviet Union becoming history. This factor was that Soviet Union lost control over its Eastern European Communist followers such as East Germany, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, etc. Not only so, Gorbachev helped the Communist East Germany and Democratic West Germany to get unified again. Thus, in 1990 the East and West Germany got united. In other words the Communist regime in East Germany collapsed and United Germany embraced the Democracy. The unification of Germany in the year 1990 can be considered as the prelude to the collapse of Soviet Union.

The weakened Communist Party and central government emboldened many minorities and provinces such as Georgia, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Lithuania and many more to ask for independence. Political figures like Boris Yeltsin from Russia took advantage of the unstable political conditions in Soviet Union and pushed for more reforms and even for granting independence to the provinces and ethnic groups who wanted so. Ultimately on 25 December 1991 Mikhail Gorbachev resigned from the high profile posts of Soviet Union which was nothing but the end of Soviet Union. This was also the collapse of Communist system in Soviet Union. Provinces like Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan declared their independence and Soviet Union, which had emerged as the Superpower after Second World War and competing with the United States of America became a history. With the end of Soviet Union even the Cold War ended and United States of America remained the only Superpower in the world.

In 1996 Mikhail Gorbachev contested the election for the Presidency of Russia but lost it. Nevertheless he was active in the public life after that as well. He can be considered as an unlucky person and politician whose sincere efforts to strengthen Communist system and Soviet Union resulted into exactly opposite outcome. Mikhail Gorbachev died on 30 August 2022 in Moscow at the age ninety one.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most important Civil Rights Movement leaders in United States of America (USA) from 20^th century. He fought for the rights of Blacks or African Americans in USA. He was very much inspired from the philosophy and ideology of Mahatma Gandhi. Hence, adhered to the principle of non violence during his fight for the Blacks.

He was born on 15 January 1929 in Atlanta city of Georgia. He came from highly educated family which was associated with the Ebenezer Baptist Church from Atlanta city. He and his family used to live in plush area of the city where Black people used to dwell.

Since his childhood Martin Luther King Jr. experienced the racism. When Martin Luther King Jr. was a child his white friend told him that his parents would not allow him to play with him due to racism and segregation. It is said that he was very much attached to his maternal grandmother, hence, when she died he was shattered.

When he went to Connecticut, a northern state around the age of fifteen he came to know that in northern states of United States there was quite liberal atmosphere as far as racism was concerned. He saw that over there white and black people talk to each other freely and could be seen together on many occasions. Not only so, even they prayed in the same church. All these things were a taboo in southern states of United States.

He became graduate from Morehouse College in the year 1948. It was one of the important Colleges attended by the Black men from Atlanta. He also studied at Boston University and completed Doctoral study in theology.

In the year 1953 he married Coretta Scott. She was born on 27 April 1927 in Marion city of southern state of Alabama. Martin Luther King Jr. was a good orator. He visited different parts of the United States and gave speeches emphasizing the need to end racism, segregation and giving more civil rights and equal treatment to Black people.

He had visited India in 1959. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India had given a great welcome to Martin Luther King Jr. and his companions during their India visit. He was very much inspired by the concept of struggle in a non violent manner and overall ideology of Mahatma Gandhi. He was also watching the fight of African countries against their White European colonial masters. He participated in the protests against segregation at various places. The meaning of segregation is to have separate facilities for Blacks and Whites and they should not be attending schools, colleges and other public facilities together. Even the Blacks could not buy a house in White localities.

Martin Luther King Jr. was able to get support from Blacks as well as liberal Whites thanks to his peaceful methods like marches, organising meetings and creating awareness and attracting attention of the government authorities through his speeches. He was jailed on quite a few occasions when he was protesting against segregation.

In 1963 he organised a rally at Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. in which thousands of people had participated. Here only he gave his famous speech ‘I have a dream’.

It was mainly due to the efforts made by Martin Luther King Jr. that a comprehensive Civil Rights Act was passed in the year 1964. One of the important features of this law was that it gave powers to the Federal Government to intervene and take action against segregation and discrimination. In the same year Martin Luther King Jr. was given the world famous Nobel Peace Prize for peace.

On 4 April 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by a white fanatic in Memphis city of Tennessee State and America lost one of its great sons who believed in humanity and universal principles of equality, freedom and love.

Ashok Row Kavi and LGBTQ+ Movement in India

Ashok Row Kavi is one of the prominent LGBTQ+ activists in India. He is a crusader for the rights of LGBTQ+ community.

He was born in the city of Bombay, (now Mumbai ) on 1^st June 1947 . He is a chemistry graduate of the University of Mumbai. Later on he studied Journalism from International institute for Journalism, Berlin and worked as Journalist for leading newspapers like The Daily, The Indian Express and The Free Press Journal. Later on in the year 1990 he started Bombay Dost, a magazine dealing with the various issues and problems of LGBTQ+ community .

It was the first magazine covering different areas related to LGBTQ+ community.

Ashok Row Kavi also worked for creating awareness about HIV AIDS among LGBTQ+ people.

He also formed The Humsafar Trust. The Humsafar Trust promoted an unique project called “LIKHO” in order to make the new generation persons from LGBTQ+ community to express their views about Homosexuality and HIV. He also started the ‘Likho Awards’ with the ‘Blued’ which is world’s largest Gay social network app.

Famous film personalities such as Imran khan , Kalki Koechlin and Manoj Bajpayee have appeared on the cover of ‘Bombay Dost’.

Ashok Row Kavi has worked very closely with Mumbai District Aids Control Society (MDACS).

Ashok Row Kavi could be considered the first famous person belonging to LGBTQ+ community from India.

One more important LGBTQ+ activist from India fighting especially for queer rights is Pavan Dhall . He lives in Kolkata. He is the founder member of ‘Varta Trust’ which works for the LGBTQ+ community. He was inspired to work for LGBTQ+ persons after reading a book titled ‘The World of Homosexuals’ written by Shakuntana Devi. He realised that he was Gay when he was seventeen years old . After the completion of graduation he worked as a journalist for a leading business daily, Business Standard . He worked closely with Ashok Row Kavi.

Due to his efforts mainly the council club was started in Kolkata in 1993 . Through council club LGBTQ+ persons were asked to write about their problems and even advice stations were organised for them. There is no doubt that after Ashok Row Kavi , Pavan Dhall is the most important LGBTQ+ leader or activists from India.

There is a need to sensitise the society about the LGBTQ+ community and their problems. They are also part of Human society and hence should be treated with dignity. We should accept them as equal citizens of the world and should not be looked down upon . They need help , cooperation and love e and affection from society at large.

Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton served as the forty second President of the United States of America (USA) from 1993 to 2001. His original name is William Jefferson Blythe III but he takes the name of William Jefferson Clinton and popularly known as Bill Clinton.

He is originally from the state of Arkansas. Before becoming the President of the United States he had served as the Governor of Arkansas. He belongs to the Democratic Party in United States of America. The symbol of Democratic Party is donkey. The Democratic Party has given Presidents like Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR,), John F. Kennedy among others.

According to historians the Presidency of Bill Clinton witnessed good economic growth and it was one of the reasons for his popularity in America. He was born on 19 August 1946 in Hope city of Arkansas. Bill Clinton’s father died in an accident. Bill Clinton’s mother was pregnant when his father died. After the death of his father his mother got married with Roger Clinton. Thus, Bill took the Clinton surname of his stepfather. His mother’s name was Virginia Dell Blythe. Bill Clinton’s step father was an alcoholic. Hence, the young Bill was mostly taken care by his maternal grandfather.

Bill Clinton has an opportunity to meet and shook hands with John F. Kennedy in the year 1963. John F. Kennedy popularly known as JFK, was the President of the United States of America at that point of time. This incident was very inspiring for young Bill who was around seventeen years old then. It can be said that since that time he started seriously thinking to join the politics.

He studied at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. and completed a Degree in International Affairs. Later on he also studied at Oxford University in United Kingdom. In 1973 he received a Law Degree from Yale University, one of the prestigious Universities in the United States. At Yale University he met his future wife Hillary Clinton. They got married in the year 1975 and have one daughter viz. Chelsea Clinton.

He started his political career from the state of Arkansas. In the beginning he became Attorney General of Arkansas and in 1978 went on to become the Governor at the age of thirty two. He lost the Governor’s election held in 1980. But in 1982 he was again elected as the Governor of Arkansas as the nominee of Democratic Party. He went on to win subsequent elections of the Governor of Arkansas.

In 1992 Bill Clinton entered the fray to get the ticket of Democratic Party for Presidential elections. He was the Governor of Arkansas at that point of time. Against all odds he went on to win the nomination of Democratic Party and picked Al Gore as his running mate i.e. Vice Presidential candidate. Al Gore was the Senator from the state of Tennessee when he became the running mate of Bill Clinton in 1992 Presidential elections.

Bill Clinton was having a formidable opponent in the form of George Bush Sr. who had served as the Vice President of Ronald Reagan and subsequently became the President in 1988. George Bush Senior’s popularity had gone up due to American invasion of Iraq. But, Bill Clinton was able to defeat his Republican opponent and went on to become the President of the United States.

Some of the important decisions taken during the first administration of Bill Clinton were- North American Free Trade Agreement, enactment of Family and Medical Leave Act, Violence against Women Act among others. When Republican Party got majority in Senate and House of Representatives they started non-cooperating with the President. It helped Bill Clinton to get the sympathy of Americans.

One of the prominent features of Clinton Presidency was that he appointed women and persons from minority communities to key positions.

In foreign policy arena he brought Yitzhak Rabin, the then Prime Minister of Israel and Yasser Arafat, the leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation together. He intervened and convinced these two to sign an agreement which would give some solace to Palestinians in Israel.

In 1996 Bill Clinton was re-elected to the White House. In spite of big criticism from his political opponents Bill Clinton managed to win the Presidency for second tenure, thanks to the strong economic growth witnessed by America under his leadership. This time around Bill Clinton defeated his Republican opponent Bob Dole.

One of the major problems faced by Bill Clinton during his second tenure was the Monica Lewinsky scandal. His affair with Monica Lewinsky, an young intern working in White House became the international issue. Kenneth Starr, an independent counsel conducted enquiry in this matter and prepared the Starr Report. In the year 1999 Bill Clinton’s career was saved when the United States Senate decided to acquit him.

Some of the important foreign decisions and initiatives during his second tenure were- bombing of Iraq in 1998, NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 and visits to Ireland and Vietnam.

After completing the second term of Presidency, Bill Clinton formed the William J. Clinton Foundation and involved himself in social and philanthropic work. He also supported the political ambitions and career of his wife Hillary Clinton. He wrote his autobiography titled ‘My Life’ which was published by the Knof Publishing Group. His autobiography became one of the best selling books.

If one has to judge the Presidency of Bill Clinton then it has to be said that he was one of the highly successful and popular Presidents of the United States of America in spite of several controversies.

Yashwantrao Chavan

Yashwantrao Chavan was one of the most important and towering political leaders from Maharashtra. He served as the first Chief Minister of modern state of Maharashtra when it was created on 1^st May 1960. Later on he also became the Defence Minister of India in the cabinet of Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

He was born on 12 March 1913. The name of his birthplace is Devrashtre in Khanapur Taluka of Sangli district. He had completed Bachelor’s Degree in Arts and went on to obtain LLB Degree. He had a liking for reading, writing, contacting people and traveling. Some of the books written by Yashwantrao Chavan are- Runanubandh, Bhumika, Videsh Darshan and Krishnakath. These books are written in Marathi language.

Yashwantrao Chavan came from poor family background. His father Balwantrao was an ordinary farmer. He was working as a peon in one of the government offices. His father died of Plague in the year 1918. It was a major negative thing happened to him. Thus, at the age of barely five years Yashwantrao Chavan lost his father.

Since his childhood his mother Vithabai imbibed healthy habits and good principles on his mind. He used to listen to the stories from Hindu Puranas and Epics like Mahabharat and Ramayan. He also had gone in a Vaari in order to take the darshan of Lord Vithoba of Pandharpur.

He used to read newspapers and used to listen to the speeches of great personalities. He knew about the work done by social reformers and freedom fighters like Mahatma Phule, Savitribai Phule, Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, Mahatma Gandhi, etc.

He got married with Venu More on 2 June 1942. She was from Faltan taluka of Satara district. Yashwantrao Chavan used to practice law at Karad in Satara district.

In the general elections of 1952 the Congress Party got success in Maharashtra thanks to Yashwantrao Chavan. He himself was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Bi-lingual state. At that time Morarji Dessi was the Chief Minister and Yashwantrao Chavan became the Minister of Civil Supplies and Social Welfare Departments.

As mentioned above when the state of Maharashtra was created on 1^st May 1960 Yashwantrao Chavan became the first Chief Minister. He remained the Chief Minister till 19 November 1962. In 1962 when China invaded India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India invited Yashwantrao Chavan to join the Central Government as the Defence Minister.

As the Chief Minister of Maharashtra he promoted the industrial development. He made efforts to promote and strengthen the cooperative sector. He gave due attention towards providing education to the children of masses. During his time a bridge on Thane creek was built. He was a well read person and hence encouraged and helped the development of literature and different types of Arts in the state of Maharashtra. He had proper understanding of the problems of farmers.

Some of the foremost works done during his tenure was the writing of encyclopedia in Marathi language called the ‘Vishwakosh’, implementation of ‘Panchayat Raj Yojana’, establishment of eighteen sugar mills, official language status to Marathi, etc.

Yashwantrao Chavan was a truly cultured Chief Minister who contributed towards building the foundation of progressive Maharashtra.

His contributions have been duly acknowledged by the successive governments of Maharashtra by establishing the Yashwantrao Chavan Pratishthan in Mumbai, naming an Open University in Nashik as Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (in Marathi- Yashwantrao Chavan Mukta Vidyapeeth) and Mumbai-Pune Express Way as Yashwantrao Chavan Mumbai-Pune Express Way (in Marathi – Yashwantrao Chavan Drutagati Marg) among others.

Yashwantrao Chavan died on 25 November 1984 in New Delhi. He has certainly left the everlasting mark on the polity, society, economy and cultural life of Maharashtra in particular and that of India in general.

Mahatma Phule

Mahatma Jyotirao Phule was one of the most influential and revolutionary social reformers of 19^th century Maharashtra. He was regarded as one of his Guru’s by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar.

Mahatma Phule was born in the year 1827. His father’s name was Govindrao Phule and his mother’s name was Chimnabai. He belonged to the caste of Gardeners which is called as Mali in Marathi language. The original surname of this family was Gorhe. The family of Mahatma Phule was in the business of flowers. Hence, their surname became Phule, meaning of Marathi word Phule is Flowers in English.

Mahatma Phule was great intellectual. He had command on both Marathi and English languages. He believed in the principle of strong body and sound mind. Hence, he used to exercise and also learnt the martial art and wrestling from a wrestler and expert named Lahujibuwa Mang.

Mahatma Phule got married with Savitribai in 1840. Savitribai was from Satara district. The name of her village was Naigaon. Her father’s name was Khandoji Nevase Patil. Mahatma Phule firmly believed in promoting the women’s education. After marriage Mahatma Phule taught Savitribai to read and write. and educated her.

One can say that reading played an important role in shaping the views and personality of Mahatma Phule. He had a command on both Marathi as well as English languages. He had not only read but thoroughly studied the history of the world and India.

He was immensely influenced by the writings of American thinker Thomas Pain. One of the books of Thomas Pain which had lasting impact on Mahatma Phule was ‘The Rights of Man’. He thoroughly believed in the principles of human equality and freedom.

He had also studied the Hindu religious sacred books such as Vedas, Smrutis and Puranas. He was very much disturbed by the precarious condition of Shudra and Atishudra castes, the so called lower castes. He was moved by the condition of untouchables or Dalits and women.

He firmly decided to devote his life for the upliftment of downtrodden and women. He was the one who started the first school for erstwhile untouchables. He realised that modern education will be the key for the upliftment of downtrodden people. Mahatma Phule started the first school for girls in 1848. The Atishudras were not allowed to fetch water from the common wells or other water sources used by higher caste people. Hence, he opened the well from his own house yard for them.

He supported the cause of widow remarriage. In 1863 he started an orphanage in order to prevent the killings of infants and give refuge to the widows.

He promoted the belief among the Shudras and Atishudras that mythological king Bali was their real king and hero. He also rejected the incarnations of Lord Vishnu. He called the God as Nirmik i.e. Creator. He did not believe in idol worship.

In order to promote the cause of social and religious reforms Mahatma Phule started the Satyashodhak Samaj. He championed the cause of equality, freedom, education for women and downtrodden.

Some of the path breaking books of Mahatma Phule are Gulamgiri (Slavery) and Shetkaryacha Asud (Cultivator’s Whipcord), Tritiya Ratna, Brahmananche Kasab, Chhatrapati Shivajiraje Bhosle Yancha Powada, etc.

He asked the Shudras and Atishudras to keep away from drinking alcohol and wasting money during the marriages. He saw that these people were becoming debt ridden due to spending too much money on marriages and alcohol.

Mahatma Phule inspired the coming generations for involving themselves in the work of social reforms. We have already mentioned that Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar also drew inspiration from Mahatma Phule and considered him as his Mentor.

Mahatma Phule has left the everlasting impression on the social reform movement of Maharashtra. Many scholars have written his Biographies and have done Doctoral research on him.

The country and Maharashtra has duly acknowledged the contributions of this great social revolutionary by naming many places after him. Plays have been written on the life and contributions of Mahatma Phule as well as Savitribai Phule. Acharya Pralhad Keshav Atre made a film titled ‘Mahatma Phule’ on his life and times. The Postal Department of Government of India issued a stamp in the name of Mahatma Phule in 1977.

Judged by any measure Mahatma Phule surely remains the revolutionary social reformer of modern times. His contributions really helped the downtrodden and women to break the shackles of slavery and exploitation. Let us salute this great son of India.

Bombay Presidency

Bombay islands were given to Great Britain by the Portuguese royal family in 1661. The British king Charles II had married the Portuguese Princess viz. Catherine of Braganza. Due to this royal marriage the Bombay islands were handed over to the British royalty as a dowry. Hence, in 1661 the British established Bombay Presidency.

In 1668 these islands were given to the British East Company by the British monarch. The East India Company was the British Trading Company which was established on 31^st December 1600. The East India Company had an interest to have trade with eastern countries like India.

The British East India Company established its factories at places like Masulipatnam and Surat. Subsequently it entered Bengal and also built factory at Madras. In Bengal the British traders developed Calcutta city. After the Battle of Plassey of 1757 British started the process of conquest of Bengal and logically concluded it after the Regulating Act of 1773. Warren Hastings became the first Governor General of Bengal.

In respect with Bombay islands even though British East India Company got the control of it in 1668, it was only in 1703 it became the centre of British East India Company’s activities on Western coast of India. Before that it was a subordinate territory to Surat, where British East India Company had established a trading post or factory with the permission of Jehangir, the then Mughal Emperor.

In 1818 the British defeated Baji Rao II, the last Maratha Peshwa. Subsequently, Marathi speaking areas were added to Bombay Presidency. The Bombay Presidency included the parts of Western Maharashtra, Northern Karnataka and Coastal Karnataka, Maharashtra Konkan, parts of Gujarat, Sindh (in present day Pakistan). It also included the city of Aden in present day Yemen (an Arabian country).

It included the twenty six districts such as Bombay City, Bombay Island, Ahmedabad, Bharuch, Kaira, Panch Mahal, Surat, Thana, Ahmednagar, East Khandesh, West Khandesh, Nasik, Poona, Satara, Solapur, Belgaum, Bijapur, Dharwad, North Kanara, Kolaba, Ratnagiri, Karachi, Hyderabad, Shikarpur, Thar and Parkar and Upper Sind Frontier.

Karachi was the main city in Sindh area, Ahmedabad was the main city in Gujarati speaking districts, Poona was the centre of Marathi speaking areas and Belgaum was an important city in Kannada speaking districts. Bombay City was the capital or headquarters of Bombay Presidency .

The overall administration of Bombay Presidency was looked after by the Governor. Mountstuart Elphinstone was one of the popular Governors of Bombay Presidency.

The first train in India ran in Bombay Presidency between the cities of Bombay and Thana on 16 April 1853. Bombay City was the major textile town in India. There were several textile mills in Bombay City by the beginning of 20^th century. Some of the major reasons for the development of textile mills in Bombay were humid climate, major cotton producing areas in interior parts of Bombay Presidency and connectivity of Bombay City with these parts by railways and road. The big cotton bazzar in Bombay City was located at a place called as Cotton Green. Bombay was also developed as one of the major ports in Western India during British period.

Bombay Presidency had major educational institutes, especially in Bombay City and even in Poona. As far Bombay City was concerned it had Elphinstone College, Government Law College, Sydenham College, Wilson College, St. Xavier’s College and University of Bombay (now University of Mumbai). The University of Bombay was established in the year1857. Even the first feature film in India was made in Bombay City or Bombay Presidency. Dadasaheb Phalke is considered as the first film maker in India. Dadasaheb Phalke made the first film in India titled ‘Raja Harishchandra’.

As mentioned above Mountstuart Elphinstone was one of the prominent Governors of Bombay Presidency. When the first train tan between Bombay City to Thana the Governor of Bombay Presidency was Lord Falkland and Sir John Colville was the last British Governor of Bombay Presidency.

After the independence of India from British rule in 1947 Sindh became part of present day Pakistan. And Marathi, Gujarati and Kannada speaking areas became the parts of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka States respectively in due course of time.

Pralhad Keshav Atre (Acharya Atre)

Pralhad Keshav Atre

(Acharya Atre)

Pralhad Keshav Atre also famous as Acharya Atre is one of the most influential personalities from 20^th century Maharashtra. He has left his imprints and lasting impression in various fields such as literature, education, film-making, journalism, politics and oratory.

He was born on 13 August 1898 in Saswad. Saswad is a place in Pune district. Acharya Atre has written his Autobiography titled ‘Karheche Paani’. Karha is a river which flowed from the birth village of Acharya Atre.

Acharya Atre was a highly qualified person. He completed his education from Saswad, Pune City, Bombay and London. He had worked as a teacher and headmaster in the schools in Pune before migrating to Bombay. In Bombay city he was mainly associated with the fields of journalism and theatre.

We have already mentioned that Acharya Atre has contributed in the filed of literature. He was a playwright, poet, biographer. He had also written the travelogues and obituaries.

Some of the famous plays written by him are- Gharabaher, Udyacha Sansar, Brhamacha Bhopla, Lagnachi Bedi, To Mi Navhech, etc.

Few other famous books written by Acharya Atre are- Hasha Aani Talya, Kelyane Deshatan, Samadhivaril Ashru, Atre Uvach, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehrunvaril Suryast, Mahatma Phule, etc.

There are many other literary works created by Acharya Atre. He is considered as one of the most influential writers of all time in Marathi language. As mentioned above he handled various genres of literature very easily. He has influenced generations of writers and orators with his writings and oratory.

He started and edited a newspaper in Marathi language titled ‘Maratha’. This newspaper played an important role in Samyukta Maharashtra Movement.

His many plays were staged and performed which became very popular among the audience. He produced films titled ‘Shyamchi Aai’ and ‘Mahatma Phule’. Both these films won the President’s Medal (The President of India).

He had presided over the Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, Natya Sammelan, Marathi Patrakar Sammelan among others.

Acharya Atre had greatly contributed in the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement. It was the Movement for the creation of state of Maharashtra for Marathi speaking people with Bombay as its capital.

In order to achieve the goal of creation of state of Maharashtra an organisation called as the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti. It was established in 1956. Acharya Atre was one of the members of this organisation. The other prominent members of Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti were S.M. Joshi, S. A. Dange, N. G. Gore, Uddhavrao Patil, Madhavrao Bagal, Jayantrao Tilak, Prabodhankar Thackeray among others. The Marathi Shahirs viz. Shahir Sable, Shahir Annabhau Sathe, etc. had also played a vital role in the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement.

The opposition parties from Maharashtra such as Indian Communist Party, Praja Samajwadi Party, Socialist Party, Hindu Mahasabha and Jan Sangha were part of Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti. The Scheduled Caste Federation formed by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar also joined this organisation. The Scheduled Caste Federation later on became the Republican Party of India.

The central government created the Bi-lingual state consisting Gujarat and Maharashtra on 1 November 1956. Yashwantrao Chavan became the Chief Minister of it.

Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti contested the elections of 1957 against the Congress party. It gave a tough fight to Congress. Though Congress got the majority by winning 222 seats out of 395, it lost ground to Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti in Western Maharashtra. In Western Maharashtra the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti got 96 seats.

Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti organised protests at various places in Maharashtra as well as Delhi. In one of the protests organised in Bombay city as many as 105 Marathi persons died due to the police firing in Bombay city (today’s Mumbai City). In the memory of these martyrs a memorial is built near Flora Fountain in Mumbai which is called as ‘Hutatma Chowk’.

The efforts of Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti and leaders like S.M. Joshi, S. A. Dange, Acharya Atre, Prabodhankar Thackeray, etc. and the common man from Marathi speaking community became successful when the central government declared the creation of state of Maharashtra with Bombay (today’s Mumbai) as its capital. 1^st May 1960 is the day on which the present day state of Maharashtra was created. Since then 1^st May is celebrated as Maharashtra Day in the state of Maharashtra.

Cold War

Cold War was a very unique kind of chain of events going on roughly from the end of Second World War to 1991. It was a sort of rivalry between the two Super Powers viz. United States of America (USA) and Soviet Union. It was not just a rivalry between these two giants but also between the group of countries which followed and accepted the leadership of USA and Soviet Union. Most of the Western European countries like United Kingdom, France, West Germany, etc. were the allies of USA. In case of most of the Eastern European countries, they were the followers of Soviet Union.

It can be seen that rivalry between United States of America and Soviet Union began in post Second World War era. During the Second World War America and Soviet Union were fighting hand-in-hand against Germany. But, after the defeat of Germany and Japan in Second World War the pre Second World War differences between the USA and USSR came out openly. The friendship of Second World War years gave way to rivalry between USA and Soviet Union and their respective allies. This rivalry itself is called as the Cold War.

Cold War resulted into many situations wherein entire world was put under tremendous pressure. Some of such events of Cold War were Korean War, Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam War, etc. It also led to the formation and signing of various Security Pacts such as North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), South East Asia Treaty Organisation (SEATO), Central Treaty Organisation (CENTO), ANZUS (Australia, New Zealand, United States), Pact, Warsaw Pact, etc. Out of these Security Pacts Warsaw Pact was signed between the Soviet Union and her communist allies and remaining were signed between United States and her friends.

One of the important features of Cold War was that American allies and Soviet Union and her friends were involved in spying each other. The American Spy Agency Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), British Spy Agency Military Intelligence 6 (MI6), Soviet Spy Agency KGB and even Israeli Spy Agency Mossad were at the foremost in the spying incidents.

According to experts refusal of Soviet Union to withdraw her forces from Eastern Germany and establish Communist Governments in East Germany and Eastern European countries was one of the most important reasons for the beginning of Cold War rivalry.

Due to Cold War Germany suffered a lot. The most important direct effect of Cold War was the division of Germany into East Germany and West Germany. East Germany with its capital Berlin became the follower of Soviet Union. In East Germany the Russians played an important role in the establishment of Communist form of government. West Germany remained friendly with Western allies led by USA. West Germany had democratic form of government and its capital was Bonn. Germany had to wait till 1990 for its re-unification.

Soviet Union had tried to install its missiles in Cuba. This move of USSR resulted into tremendous tensions between Soviet Union and USA. Cuba is a Caribbean country located very near to USA. When Fidel Castro, Cuba’s then ruler started going close to Soviet Union and allowed Russians to install missiles in Cuba, naturally America got angered. It was a great set back to the greater scheme of Americans to contain the spread of Communism. America was trying to stop the Communism in different parts of the world that is why it was humiliating to her when her close neighbour Cuba had gone in the group of Soviets. America gave daring response to this so called Cuban Missile Crisis. John F. Kennedy, the then President of USA ordered US Navy to blockade the Soviet Ships carrying missiles to Cuba. During Cuban Missile Crisis entire world had come to the brink of Nuclear War between these two Super Powers. But, good sense prevailed on both the sides and the tension was defused and war was avoided. Russians agreed to withdraw missiles from Cuba and America also accepted to withdraw its Jupiter Missiles from Turkey.

Due to Cold War Berlin city was also divided into East Berlin and West Berlin. West Berliners were friendly towards America and her allies and East Berlin was under the influence of Soviet Union.

When Soviet Union was under the control of Stalin, Khrushchev and Brezhnev the Cold War was at its highest peak. But with the arrival of Mikhail Gorbachev at the helm of the affairs in Soviet Union situation started changing. Gorbachev was a lawyer by training and moderate leader. He really wanted to bring positive political and economic changes in Soviet Union and peaceful relations with Western Powers. For achieving his goals he introduced the policies of Glasnost and Perestroika. Under these policies the political and economic freedom was given to Russian people which ultimately resulted into the disintegration of Soviet Union in 1991. It is a classic example from history wherein one sees that the policies with good intentions instead of yielding positive results ruined the things and there was a downfall of Gorbachev as well as mighty Soviet Union.

In 1991 the Communist regime established by Lenin after October 1917 Russian Revolution became a history. Various provinces like Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan declared their independence from Soviet Union and became independent and sovereign countries.

After the disintegration of Soviet Union USA remained the only Super Power in the world. With the arrival of twenty first century many changes are taking place in international scenario. At present countries like India and China have become important players in the global political and economic developments. China is making rapid economic progress but at the same time creating nuisance to its neighbouring countries. India is the largest democracy in the world and its goal is to achieve an inclusive and sustainable development by spreading the message of peace to the world. It is definite that India will play a major role at the global level in the years to come.

In 20^th century the World as a whole had experienced First World War, Second World War and Cold War. There were other wars also fought in different parts of the world during previous century and twenty four years of 21^st century that is ongoing century. Let us pray that there shouldn’t be a Third World War or yet another Cold War in the years to come. There should be only peace, cooperation, universal brotherhood, harmony and spread of love, humanity and smile in the world.

European Union

European Union is an important world level organisation mainly consisting the European countries. It aims at working together in respect with social, security and mainly economic policies related to the member nations.

The origins of the formation of European Union can be traced back to the days of Second World War. In 1944 the representatives of three European countries viz. Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg signed a treaty called as London Customs Convention. This treaty resulted into the formation of Benelux Customs Union. These countries had lost ground to Germany during World War II, hence the exiled representatives of these countries took the lead in the formation of Benelux Customs Convention which subsequently came to be called as Benelux Economic Union.

According to experts this Benelux Economic Union was sort of a precursor and inspiration for the formation of European Union after a period of almost four decades.

In 1952 European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was formed. The countries which took lead in the formation of European Coal and Steel Community were West Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, France, Italy and Belgium. The Treaty of Paris signed by these countries in the year 1951 culminated into the formation of European Coal and Steel Community. United Kingdom did not join ECSC, perhaps to maintain her economic freedom.

Another important milestone in the journey of establishment of future European Union was the signing of Treaty of Rome on 25 March 1957. This Treaty resulted into the establishment of European Economic Community (EEC). In fact, two treaties were signed in this year in Rome one out of it gave birth to European Economic Community (EEC) and the other one to European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). EEC made the important provisions such as free mobility of trade, capital, labour, goods, etc. across the member countries. It also envisaged the establishment of common market, common agricultural policy and trade with other countries. It also resulted into one of the fantastic decisions of raising the European Social Fund in order to increase jobs.

Later on European Economic Community became the European Community. The European Community could be considered as the immediate predecessor of European Union. The European Community came to be called as the European Union (EU) as per the Treaty of Maastricht. Maastricht is a city located in Netherlands. The Maastricht Treaty was signed in the year 1992.

Today European Union has its own currency called as Euro. There are no restrictions on travel from one country to other. The official Identity Card or Passport is enough for travelling from one country to other. Even one can study and work in member countries of European Union with the help of Identity Card or Passport. There is no need of visa or work permits.

At present most of the countries of Europe are the members of European Union. In 2017 the government of United Kingdom held a referendum and decided to leave European Union. The exit of United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland is called as Brexit. But, one can say that European Union is one of the famous successful stories of post Second World times. It member nations of European Union are definitely reaping and enjoying the economic benefits and fruits of European Union.