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Nearly a year after Potti Sriramulu died while fasting for the creation of Andhra Pradesh, the state came into existence. The inauguration at the capital Kurnool was attended by C. Rajagopalachari and Jawaharlal Nehru—the two people who opposed the creation of the state in the first place. T. Prakasam became the first chief minister and Kurnool remained the capital until November 1, 1956 when it shifted to Hyderabad. It was the creation of this southern state that spurred the movement for the reorganization of states.
“HOW I WISHED I HAD MADE IT…”
That’s what Raj Kapoor said on watching Bimal Roy’s Do Bigha Zameen, which won a special mention at Cannes and the Social Progress Award at Karlovy Vary. The deeply neo-realist film of a poor farmer during the Bengal famine had Balraj Sahni playing rickshaw-puller, who whoked day and night to pay off a loan. Roy created unforgettable scenes in this film—a memorable one being that of a rickshaw race. While preparing for the role, Sahni pulled rickshaws barefoot through the streets of Calcutta for a fortnight.
FIRST CUT
- Sangeet Natak Akademi was opened for the survey of and research into the different art forms of the country.
- Archbishop Valerian Gracias of Bombay was made the first Indian cardinal.
- Marathi film Shyamchi Aai (right won the first best feature film award after the National Film Awards were instituted.
WOMAN OF THE YEAR
Vijayalakshmi Pandit became the first woman and first Asian to be elected President of United Nations General Assembly. `
“NEHRU BOWS BEFORE FORCE, BUT NOT BEFORE REASON.”
Shyama Prasad Mookerjee
Founder of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh and one-time member of the Union Cabinet, Shyama Prasad Mookerjee was a staunch supporter of the Praja Parishad, a party formed to support jammu Hindus. He organised protest marches while trying to force Jawaharlal Nehru into coming to a solution for the Jammu-Kashmir issue on communal lines. He died in Srinagar jail on June 22 of a heart attack and his death sparked off anger in Delhi and Jammu. Nehru wrote to a friend in Madras that “we are having a great deal of trouble as a result of Dr Mookherjee’s death. The atmosphere in Delhi is bad. It is worse in Calcutta.” The popular movement led by him planted the seed of independence in Sheikh Abdullah’s mind, says historian Ramachandra Guha.
D.F. KARAKA Journalist on Jawaharlal Nehru
“He wants to be a Picasso hung up in the Royal Academy, looking upon classical forms with a supercilious air.”
£5 million was the amount World Bank offered for the Damodar Valley Corporation and steel projects.
Star Trek in Venice
Actor Kirk Douglas and the Indian actor Mehtab rest at the Lido beach during the Venice film Festival. Wife of director Sohrab Modi, Mehtab acted in Jhansi ki Rani, India’s first technicolour film, which released that year
ELSEWHERE…
· Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, on the 1692 Salem witch trials, opened on Broadway.
· Egypt was declared a republic, and monarchy abolished.
· An armistice ended the three-year Korean War and was signed by representatives of the United Nations, Korea and China in Panmunjom.
· Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tensing Norgay (above), a Nepalese sherpe. Scaled Mount Everest, becoming the first climbers to reach the summit.
DID YOU KNOW
Eight airlines were merged to form Indian Airlines that inherited 99 aircraft. The airlines, along with Air India, was set up after the Air Corporation Act was passed.
Courtesy By India Today
