International Day of Yoga 21 June 2020

The International Day of Yoga has been celebrated annually on 21 June since 2015, following its inception in the United Nations General Assembly in 2014. Yoga is a physical, mental and spiritual practice which originated in India. The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, in his UN address suggested the date of 21 June, as it is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and shares a special significance in many parts of the world

Solar Eclipse 21 June 2020

A solar eclipse occurs when a portion of the Earth is engulfed in a shadow cast by the Moon which fully or partially blocks sunlight. This occurs when the Sun, Moon and Earth are aligned. Such alignment coincides with a new moon (syzygy) indicating the Moon is closest to the ecliptic plane, In a total eclipse, the disk of the Sun is fully obscured by the Moon. In partial and annular eclipses, only part of the Sun is obscured

Reading day pledge

National Reading Day is celebrated in honour of the Father of Library Movement in Kerala - P N Panicker whose death anniversary falls on June 19

Buddha Purnima and Birthday of Rabindranath Tagore Ist Asian to win the Nobel Prize-7May

May 1 is marked as International Labour Day, also referred as May Day. The day celebrates labourers and the working class. Labour Day is an annual public holiday in many countries. In India, Labour Day is referred as Antarrashtriya Shramik Diwas or Kamgar Din. It is also referred as International Workers' Day or just Worker's Day. 

Labour Day has its origins in the labour union movement in the United States.

During industrialization in beginning of the 19th Century, the industrialists used to exploit the labour class and made them work up to 15 hours a day. The workers rose against this exploitation and demanded paid leaves, proper wages and breaks for the workforce.

The eight-hour day labour movement advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest. The Labour Day annually celebrates the achievements of the workers.  

While the day has different story for different countries, the main reason for Labour Day is unfair treatment of the labour class.

May 1 was chosen to be International Workers' Day to commemorate the 1886 Haymarket affair in Chicago. In that year, on May 1, there was a general strike for the eight-hour workday. On May 4, the police acted to disperse a public assembly in support of the strike when an unidentified person threw a bomb. The police responded by firing on the workers. The event lead to several deaths.

The incident is remembered as the Haymarket affair, or the Haymarket massacre. The place in Haymarket Square where the incident happened was designated a Chicago Landmark in 1992.

Labour Day or May Day has been a focal point of protests by various socialist and communist groups and is an important holiday in communist countries like China, North Korea, Cuba and the former Soviet Union countries.

In India, the first Labour day or May Day was celebrated in the year 1923. It was the Labour Kisan Party who had organised the May Day celebrations in Chennai (then Madras). One of these was organised at Triplicane Beach and the other one was arranged at the beach opposite Madras High Court. 

Earth Day 2020