Shashwat Shukla

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[Shashwat Shukla @stallion_44]

@mrsinha What’s the difference between WB and B.desh? You may as well call Mamata the chief advisor of bdesh or yonus the chief ministers of WB. It’s the same deal.

[Shashwat Shukla @stallion_44]

Direct Action Day remains an important and tragic chapter in the final years of British rule. It continues to be studied for its role in the deepening of communal divisions and the political path that led to partition.

[Shashwat Shukla @stallion_44]

Direct Action Day | 16 August 1946
A detailed historical #thread 🧵
On 16 August 1946, the All-India Muslim League under Muhammad Ali Jinnah called for a nationwide general strike and public demonstrations. The day came to be known as Direct Action Day. Its stated purpose was to assert the League’s demand for a separate Muslim homeland in the context of growing political disagreement over the future of British India. #directactionday #jaihind #PKMKB

[Shashwat Shukla @stallion_44]

The events of August 1946 formed part of a broader sequence of political developments that culminated in the partition of British India in August 1947 and the creation of the independent states of India and Pakistan.

[Shashwat Shukla @stallion_44]

A reminder that even a “battle that barely was” could shape a young king’s image and that the French, with characteristic wit, later called it simply the “Day of the Spurs.”

[Shashwat Shukla @stallion_44]

On this day in 1513, the Battle of the Spurs (also called the Battle of Guinegate) took place near Enguinegatte in northern France.
King Henry VIII of England and Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I were besieging the French town of Thérouanne. French heavy cavalry under Jacques de La Palice rode out to cover an attempt to resupply the garrison. A #thread 🧵 #history

[Shashwat Shukla @stallion_44]

Though more of a skirmish than a major set-piece battle, the victory was loudly trumpeted by Henry VIII. It burnished his martial reputation on the European stage and paved the way for the fall of Thérouanne, followed by the capture of Tournai.

[Shashwat Shukla @stallion_44]

Vande Mataram moved from a literary poem rooted in Bengal’s cultural and historical imagination to a pan-Indian symbol of patriotism and resistance. It remains deeply evocative for many, while the debates over its full text and religious imagery have periodically resurfaced in political and cultural discussions (including around its 150th anniversary commemorations in 2025). The first two stanzas continue to be sung at official and national occasions alongside the anthem. #vandemataram #jaihind #JaiBharat #india #independenceday

[Shashwat Shukla @stallion_44]

In 1937, the Congress Working Committee (under Jawaharlal Nehru, with input from leaders including Mahatma Gandhi, Subhas Chandra Bose, and others, and advice from Tagore) resolved that only the first two stanzas should be used at national gatherings. These stanzas were seen as focusing on the motherland’s natural beauty without the more explicitly religious elements. #vandemataram #jaihind #JaiBharat #india #independenceday

[Shashwat Shukla @stallion_44]

On 24 January 1950, the Constituent Assembly of India, through a statement by President Rajendra Prasad, formally recognised Vande Mataram as the National Song, to be honoured equally with the National Anthem Jana Gana Mana (also by Tagore). Only the first two stanzas are the official national song. #vandemataram #jaihind #JaiBharat #india #independenceday

[Shashwat Shukla @stallion_44]

As the independence movement sought broader Hindu–Muslim unity, objections arose—particularly from some Muslim leaders and the Muslim League—to the later stanzas’ idolatrous and goddess-related imagery, and to the novel’s broader historical framing. #vandemataram #jaihind #JaiBharat #india #independenceday

[Shashwat Shukla @stallion_44]

It was sung or shouted by freedom fighters across movements, including during later phases of the independence struggle. Early recordings and translations helped spread it beyond Bengal. #vandemataram #jaihind #JaiBharat #india #independenceday

[Shashwat Shukla @stallion_44]

1905 onward: It became a powerful rallying cry and slogan during the agitation against the Partition of Bengal and the Swadeshi movement. Processions, students, and nationalists chanted “Vande Mataram,” and it appeared on early nationalist flags (including those raised abroad, such as by Bhikaji Cama). The British colonial government restricted or banned its public singing in various places, which only increased its emotional force. #vandemataram #jaihind #JaiBharat #india #independenceday