09 August - Vinayaka Krishna Gokak birth anniversary

Vinayaka Krishna Gokak was an eminent Indian writer, scholar, and academician, known for his contributions to literature and education in the Kannada language. He was born on 09 August 1909, in Savanur, Karnataka, and passed away on 28 April 1992.

Gokak was a prolific writer in Kannada literature, known for his poetry, plays, essays, and critiques. He played a significant role in the Navodaya movement, which aimed to bring about modernization and progress in Kannada literature. His poetry is known for its lyrical quality, social consciousness, and philosophical depth.

Gokak's notable works include "Bharatha Sindhu Rashmi," an epic poem that celebrates the rich cultural heritage of India, and "Vishwa Kannada," a collection of essays that reflects his vision for the global spread of Kannada language and culture.

Apart from his literary pursuits, Gokak had a distinguished career in academia. He served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Mysore and later as the Chairman of the National Book Trust of India. He was also honored with several awards for his contributions to literature and education, including the Sahitya Akademi Award and the Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian honors.

Vinayaka Krishna Gokak's legacy continues to inspire writers, scholars, and students of Kannada literature, and he is remembered as one of the towering figures in the cultural and intellectual landscape of Karnataka.

08 August - International Cat Day

International Cat Day is a celebration which takes place on 8 August, every year. It was created in 2002 by the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

International Cat Day is also referred to as World Cat Day in some countries and since its inception, it has been growing worldwide.While most countries now observe this unofficial holiday on August 8th, Russia celebrates National Cat Day on 1 March and the U.S. celebrate both International Cat Day and their own National Cat Day on October 29th.

International Cat Day is a day to raise awareness for cats and learn about ways to help and protect them. Cat Day is another unofficial Cat Holiday observed on February 22, that originated in Japan and has become a social media sensation and is growing worldwide as people across the globe share their cat pictures and videos.

In 2020 custodianship of International Cat Day passed to International Cat Care, a not-for-profit (charitable) organisation that has been striving to improve the health and welfare of domestic cats worldwide since 1958.

For International Cat Day 2020 a coalition of NGOs, volunteers and cat professionals will be working together to spread knowledge and build understanding of the individual needs of cats. A dedicated website will host content accessible to cat lovers all over the world where they will be able to learn, get involved and celebrate cats.

#internationalcatday

#cats

#catlovers

#catsofinstagram

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Cat_Day

08 August - Bhisham Sahni born in 1915

Bhisham Sahni (8 August 1915 – 11 July 2003) was an Indian writer, playwright in Hindi and an actor, most famous for his novel and television screenplay Tamas ("Darkness, Ignorance"), a powerful and passionate account of the Partition of India. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan for literature in 1998,and Sahitya Akademi Fellowship in 2002. He was the younger brother of the noted Hindi film actor, Balraj Sahni.

08 August : 1942 The Quit India Movement

The Quit India Movement , also known as the August Movement, was a movement launched at the Bombay session of the All-India Congress Committee by Mahatma Gandhi on 8 August 1942, during World War II, demanding an end to British Rule of India

The Cripps Mission had failed, and on 8 August 1942, Gandhi made a call to Do or Die in his Quit India speech delivered in Bombay at the Gowalia Tank Maidan.The All-India Congress Committee launched a mass protest demanding what Gandhi called "An Orderly British Withdrawal" from India. Even though it was at war, the British were prepared to act. Almost the entire leadership of the Indian National Congress was imprisoned without trial within hours of Gandhi's speech. Most spent the rest of the war in prison and out of contact with the masses. The British had the support of the Viceroy's Council (which had a majority of Indians), of the All India Muslim League, the princely states, the Indian Imperial Police, the British Indian Army, the Hindu Mahasabha and the Indian Civil Service. Many Indian businessmen profiting from heavy wartime spending did not support the Quit India Movement. Many students paid more attention to Subhas Chandra Bose, who was in exile and supporting the Axis Powers. The only outside support came from the Americans, as President Franklin D. Roosevelt pressured Prime Minister Winston Churchill to give in to some of the Indian demands. The Quit India campaign was effectively crushed.The British refused to grant immediate independence, saying it could happen only after the war had ended.

25 October - Shambel Abebe Bikila death anniversary

Shambel Abebe Bikila (August 7, 1932 – October 25, 1973) was an Ethiopian marathon runner who was a back-to-back Olympic marathon champion. He is the first sub-Saharan African Olympic gold medallist, winning his first gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome while running barefoot. At the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, he won his second gold medal. In turn, he became the first athlete to successfully defend an Olympic marathon title. In both victories, he ran in world record time.

07 August : Mata Hari birth anniversary

Margaretha Geertruida "Margreet" MacLeod (7 August 1876 – 15 October 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari, was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I. Despite her admitting under interrogation to taking money to work as a German spy many people still believe she was innocent because the French Army needed a scapegoat. She was executed by firing squad in France.

07 August - National Handloom Day

The National Handloom Day is observed annually on 7th of August to honour the handloom weavers in the country and also highlight the handloom industry.

National Handloom Day seeks to highlight the contribution of handloom to the socioeconomic development of the country and increase income of the weavers.

The Union government had declared 7 the August as the National Handloom Day in July 2015 with the objective to generate awareness about the importance of handloom industry.

August 7 was chosen as the National Handloom Day to commemorate the Swadeshi Movement which was launched on this day in 1905 in the Calcutta Town hall to protest against partition of Bengal by the British Government. The movement had aimed at reviving domestic products and production processes.

The first National Handloom Day was inaugurated on 7 August 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centenary Hall of Madras University in Chennai.

Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani tweeted “On 3rd National Handloom Day, let us pledge our support to weavers by promoting our diverse handloom sector & adopting it in our daily lives."

#NationalHandloomDay

06 August - Hiroshima, Japan is devastated atomic bomb in 1945

On this day - 06 August 1945 – World War II: Hiroshima, Japan is devastated when the atomic bomb "Little Boy" is dropped by the United States B-29 Enola Gay. Around 70,000 people are killed instantly, and some tens of thousands die in subsequent years from burns and radiation poisoning.

The USPS withdrew this stamp from a 1995 series marking the end of World War II after Japanese and American protests.

06 August - Russian Railway Troops Day

Railway Troops of the Russian Armed Forces are a railway troops service in the Logistical Support of the Russian Armed Forces. They are involved in ensuring the defense of Russia. Railway Troops perform the tasks of rail services (preparation, construction, reconstruction and protection of the objects of railways). It is the oldest such force in the world, established in 1851, as a unit in the engineering corps of the Imperial Russian Army. The professional holiday of the Troops is celebrated on August 6.

06 August - Father Jerome D'Souza Birth Anniversary

Father Jerome D'Souza, SJ (6 August 1897, Mangalore, South Canara, British India – 12 August 1977, Madras, India) was an Indian Jesuit priest, educationist, writer and member of the Indian Constituent assembly (1946–50).

In 1997, the Indian government issued a stamp to commemorate his birth centenary.