Today in Indian History (24th December)

Vasco da Gama lands at Calicut, May 20, 1498

• On 24th December, 1524, renowned Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama died in Cochin (now Kochi), a major port in India.
• Pattabhi Sitaramayya, freedom fighter and president of Indian National Congress in 1948, was born in Andhra Pradesh on 24th December, 1880. He was defeated by Subhash Chandra Bose for the post of Congress President in Tripura Session of 1939. Mahatma Gandhi termed Sitaramayya’s defeat as ‘his own’.
• On 24th December, 1924, famous playback singer Mohammed Rafi was born.
• Periyar E.V.Ramasami, prominent social worker and freedom fighter, passes away on 24th December in 1973 at the age of 94. He started the Self-Respect Movement, one of the several social movements for the uplift of the society.
• Melakkath Gopalan Ramachandran, popularly known as MGR, dies on 24th December in 1987.  A very popular politician, he was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. The crowd that gathered in his funeral was one of the largest in Independent India. He was posthumously awarded India’s top civilian award Bharat Ratna.
• On 24th December in 1999, Indian Airlines Airbus 300 en route from Kathmandu to Delhi with 186 people on board was hijacked shortly after take-off.