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India went to the polls for the second time even as the second Five Year Plan was also put into motion. Inspired by Nehru’s vision of an industrialized nation, P.C. Mahalanobis prioritized the development of public sector and paid attention to domestic production of industrial products. He traveled to different parts of the world in 1954m researching economic models, before presenting what came to be called the Mahalanobis model where qualitative problems found quantitative solution. The honeymoon lasted till 1966, when a “Plan holiday” was declared till 1969 and decision-making moved to the Finance Ministry.
CINEMATIC CROSSING
Indian films were on a global roll. Jaagte Raho won the main prize at Karlovy Vary and Pather Panchali was declared Best Picture at San Francisco. Mother India had a rare preview at a mainstream New York theatre and was India’s entry to the Oscars. Do Aankhen Bara Haath was a hit at the Bewlin film fest.
FIRST CUT
- The Indian Air Force got its first jet bomber, the Canberra. It was the only bomber till the 1970s.
- MV Andaman became the first passenger-cum-cargo vessel built by Hindustan Shipyard in Visakhapatnam.
An Elephant Named Indira
As his daughter, his official hostess at Teen Murti, Indira Gandhi looks on, Jawaharlal Nehru feeds an elephant which be gifted to Japanese children in 1949, during a visit to Tokyo. It was named Indira. This became a reference point in future ties between the two countries.
“A GOVERNMENT IS BEST THAT TULES THE LEAST.”
E.M.S. Namboodiripad
India and the world got its first-ever elected Communist leader when cpi’s Namboodiripad took over as chief minister of Kerala. The party first commuted the sentences of all death-row prisoners. Fair price shops were opened and labour dispute cases withdrawn. Whether this was Red Terror or a New Dawn, the world was divided. But in the first few months in office, the first Communist government of the country invited the Birlas to set up a factory in the state. The business house was offered bamboo at Re 1 a tonne, though the market price was a thousand times more. During the two years EMS was in charge of Kerala, he initiated educational reforms.
GO, GOA, GO
On August 26, Portuguese troops fired in the direction of the Tarak Pardi post inside India. No casualties were reported and the fire was returned. Portugal filed a complaint before the International Court of Justice protesting that it was being denied the right to pass through Indian territory to get to the Portuguese enclaves, Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
- The Indian polo team won the title at the World Polo Cup in France.
- Archaeologist V.S. Wankaner discovered one of the world’s largest collections of rock paintings at Bhimbetka caves, that chronicled history right from the stone Age.
ELSEWHERE…
- There was a revolution in Iran as the king was overthrown and a republican government established.
- France sent its troops to Algeria to crush a rebel movement. This later came to be called The Battle for Algiers.
- France fashion magnate Christian Dior died and was succeeded by his assistant Yves Saint Laurent.
- USSR launched Sputnik 2 with Laika, a dog, on board.
- Alec Guinness, William Holden and Jack Hawkins starred in Bridge on the River Kwai (above).
80,544
number of foreign tourists, excluding Pakistanis, who visited India in 1957.
1,216
postal offices across the country handled telegrams in the Devnagri script.
Courtesy By India Today
