My Science School

1. Took nearly two centuries to build

The Leaning Tower of Pisa was designed to be a bell tower for the Pisa Cathedral. Construction of the tower started in 1173. Workers had almost completed the third storey of the tower by 1178, when war broke out between Italian states. The war halted the construction for nearly a century, and work resumed in 1272. Again after 12 years, another war halted construction. Finally, the third stage of the construction began in the early 14th Century and concluded with the installation of the bell chamber in 1372.

2. The lean is accidental

The Leaning Tower of Pisa was never supposed to lean. It happened accidentally. The reason the tower began to lean is attributed to its weak foundation and the inexperience of the engineers. The tower began to sink when the second floor was being constructed. This was due to a three-metre foundation set in weak, unstable subsoil. The tower would have toppled over as construction progressed, however, the gap of nearly a century owing to the war helped the underlying soil to settle. To compensate for the tilt, engineers built the upper floors with one side taller than the other. Because of this, the tower is curved.

3. Status: Currently stable

The tower continued to tilt nearly 0.05 inches per year, placing the monument in danger of an imminent collapse. By 1990s, the tilt of the tower was almost 5.5 degrees (15 feet) from the perpendicular. This led the government to take urgent measures to protect the monument. The tower was closed to the public and a team of engineers levelled the soil underneath the tower. Engineers also used anchoring mechanisms to rectify its lean. While this helped the monument stabilise, it did not prevent its continued lean. In 2008, engineers again tried to balance the foundational soil and for the first time since it was constructed, the continued tilt of the tower halted. Engineers stated that the tower would be stable for at least the next 200 years.

4. No bells tolling

The Leaning Tower of Pisa has seven giant bells at the top, one for each musical note from the major scale. While the bells are still around, they haven't tolled since the 20th century. This is because restorers and engineers were worried that their movements might make the tower lean more.

5. Not the only leaning tower in Pisa

As a result of Pisa's soft soil, the Leaning Tower of Pisa isn't the only building in the city that leans. The most popular building after the Leaning Tower of Pisa is the Bell Tower of the San Nicola church. Built around the same time as the Leaning Tower, this octangular bell tower also has a slight, but unmistakable tilt. Another popular building is the San Michele degli Scalzi, a 11th Century church, which tilts even more than the Leaning Tower of Pisa!

 

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1. A little history

A popular tourist site today and one of the world's largest sporting arenas, the Colosseum was built between 72 AD and 80 AD by the Roman emperor Vespasian. Though construction started during the time of Vespasian, he did not live to see its completion. His son, Titus opened the arena. The Colosseum is built using stone and concrete and the manpower of tens and thousands of Jewish slaves.

The first-ever games at the Colosseum were held in 80 AD by Titus. It went on for 100 days straight

2. Largest amphitheatre in the world

The oval-shaped Colosseum is the largest amphitheatre in the world. It measures 189m long, 156m wide and 50m high. The arena was so big that it could fit a modern-day football pitch inside. The Colosseum had 80 entrances and could seat approximately 50,000 spectators at a time.

3. Free for all, mostly

Sporting events at the arena included gladiatorial combats, wild animal hunts and naval battles. These games continued to be held for centuries, with gladiatorial combats held till the fifth century, and wild animal hunts till the sixth Most the major events held at the Colosseum, which were often organised and paid for by the emperors, were free for spectators. Sometimes free food was also served to the spectators. Emperors did this to gain popularity and support from the public.

4. What's underground?

There were numerous rooms and passages below the Colosseum. This is where the gladiators and the animals were kept before they were allowed entry into the arena. The Colosseum also had 36 trap doors for special effects during games.

5. A graveyard for animals

Along with other sporting events, Romans staged wild animal fights and hunts at the Colosseum. This left thousands of animals such as elephants, tigers, lions, bears and other exotic creatures wounded or dead.

 

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James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster movie “Titanic” left almost everyone who watched it teary eyed. But not many know that the movie is based on the real-life sinking of a British ship by the same name, RMS Titanic was a luxury liner that hit an iceberg on April 14, 1912, broke apart and sank to the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean by April 15. The liner, operated by the White Star Line, was on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. It was carrying an estimated 2,224 passengers and crew aboard when the mishap occurred, killing more than 1,500 people.

The sinking of the Titanic was one of the biggest disasters in maritime history. It met with worldwide shock and outrage due to the huge loss of life as well as the regulatory and operational failures that led to it. It was the largest ship afloat at the time it entered service.

The aftermath of the disaster initiated public inquiries in Britain and the United States and led to major improvements in maritime safety. One of the important aspects was the establishment of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) in 1914, which still governs maritime safety.

The wreck of the Titanic was discovered in 1985 during a Franco-American expedition and United States Military mission. The ship was split into two and the shipwreck is slowly disintegrating at a depth of about 12,000 feet.

Now, OceanGate, a manned submersibles company, is planning tourist dives to the shipwreck. From May to September 2021, the company plans to dive to the wreck of the ocean liner, allowing three passengers to descend with it in each dive. The firm intends to dive about 18 times in this window using its ‘Titan’ sub which will also carry a pilot and a scientist-researcher apart from the three passengers. During the dive, passengers would be able to survey the wreck and debris field which is scattered across 86 sq km.

The dives will also help OceanGate with its overall objective to scan the entire wreck site – the ultimate goal being to create a photorealistic virtual 3D model of the shipwreck before it’s gone.

 

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The Indian Home Rule movement was a movement in British India on the lines of Irish Home Rule movement and other home rule movements. The movement lasted around two years between 1916–1918 and is believed to have set the stage for the independence movement under the leadership of Annie Besant and Bal Gangadhar Tilak to the educated English speaking upper class Indians. In 1921 All India Home Rule League changed its name to Swarajya Sabha.

Tilak found the first home rule league at the Bombay provincial congress at Belgaum in April 1916. then after this Annie Besant founded second league at Adyar Madras in September 1916.

The government arrested Annie Besant in 1917 and this led to nationwide protests. The movement actually spread out and made its impact in the interior villages of India. Many moderate leaders like Muhammad Ali Jinnah joined the movement. The League spread political awareness in new areas like Sindh, Punjab, Gujarat, United Provinces, Central provinces, Bihar, Orissa and Madras, which all sought an active political movement.

The pressure of the movement, especially after Annie Besant's arrest, led to the Montague's declaration on 20 August 1917 which stated that "progressive realization of responsible government in India" was the policy of the British government.

 

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British raj, period of direct British rule over the Indian subcontinent from 1858 until the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947.  Other historians point out that British rule of India was maintained by the fact that Indian society was so divided that it could not unite against the British. In fact, the British encouraged these divisions. The better-off classes were educated in English schools. They served in the British army or in the civil service. They effectively joined the British to rule their poorer fellow Indians. There are huge arguments about whether the British created or enlarged these divisions in Indian society (British society was deeply divided by class), or whether the British simply took advantage of divisions that were already present in Indian society. For much of the 1800s the average Indian peasant had no more say in the way he or she was ruled than did the average worker in the United Kingdom.

The British view tended to portray British rule as a charitable exercise - they suffered India's environment (e.g. climate, diseases) in order to bring to India good government and economic development (e.g. railways, irrigation, medicine). Modern admirers of British rule also note these benefits.

Other historians point out that ruling India brought huge benefits to Britain. India's huge population made it an attractive market for British industry. In the 1880s, for example, about 20% of Britain's total exports went to India. By 1910 these exports were worth £137 million. India also exported huge quantities of goods to Britain, especially tea, which was drunk or exported on from Britain to other countries. Then there were the human resources. The Indian army was probably Britain's single greatest resource. Around 40% of India's wealth was spent on the army. This army was used by Britain all over the world, including the wars in South Africa in 1899-1902 and the First and Second World Wars. It was the backbone of the power of the British empire. In 1901, for example, the British viceroy (governor) of India, Lord Curzon, said 'As long as we rule India, we are the greatest power in the world. If we lose it we shall straightway drop to a third rate power'.

 

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On 12 March 1930, Gandhi and 78 satyagrahis, among whom were men belonging to almost every region, caste, creed, and religion of India, set out on foot for the coastal village of Dandi, Gujarat, 390 km from their starting point at Sabarmati Ashram. The Salt March was also called the White Flowing River because all the people were joining the procession wearing white khadi.

The news of his progress, his speeches, huge crowds that greeted and followed the marchers, people spinning Charkas to show support, officials resigning from their posts to respond to Gandhiji’s appeal, was carried every day by the newspapers throughout the country. Congress workers also played an important role to spread the news of Dandi march throughout the country. On 6th April 1930, when Gandhiji finally reached Dandi entire nation was expectant and restless about Gandhiji’s final action. Like a ritual beginning of Civil Disobedience movement on 6th April 1930, Gandhiji by picking up a handful of salt inaugurated the movement. A movement which would change the course of freedom movement by the sheer weight of mass participation that it exhibited.

 

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Simon Commission was constituted under the leadership of Sir John Simon to look into the functioning of the constitutional system in India and suggest changes. It was officially known as ‘Indian Statutory Commission’ and consists of four conservative, two Labourites and one liberal member from the British Parliament.

In 1927, the annual session of the congress was held at Madras. It decided to Boycott the commission. The Muslim league also decided to boycott the commission. The commission arrived in India on 3 February 1928. On that day, the entire country observed a hartal. In the afternoon on that day, meeting was held all over the country to condemn the appointment of the commission and to declare that the people of India would have nothing to do with it. There was firing at demonstrators in Madras and lathi charges at many places. The commission faced massive protest demonstrations and hartals wherever it went. The central legislative assembly decided by a majority that it would have nothing to do with the commission. All over the country the cry of ‘Simon Go Back’ was raised.

In December 1928, the congress met at Calcutta under the presidentship of Motilal Nehru. At this session, Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose and many others pressed the congress to demand complete independence. The congress, however, passed a resolution demanding dominion status. This meant less than complete independence. But it was declared that if the dominion status was not granted within one year, the congress would demand complete independence and would launch a mass movement to achieve it. The Indian independence league continued to rally the people behind the demand for complete independence throughout 1929. The mood of the people throughout the country had changed by the time the congress held its next annual session.

 

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Begum Hazrat Mahal also called as Begum of Awadh, was the second wife of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah. Wajid Ali Shah met her in his palace. She rebelled against the British East India Company during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. She finally found asylum in Nepal onto Hallaur where she died in 1879. After her husband had been exiled to Calcutta, she took charge of the affairs in the state of Awadh and seized control of Lucknow. She made her son, Prince Birjis Qadr, the Wali (ruler) of Awadh; However, she was forced to abandon this role after a short reign.

During the [Indian Rebellion of 1857], from 1857 to 1858, Begum Hazrat Mahal's band of supporters, led by Raja Jalal Singh, rebelled against the forces of the British; later, they seized control of Lucknow and she declared her son, Birjis Qadr, as the ruler (Wali) of Awadh.

One of the principal complaints of Begum Hazrat Mahal was that the East India Company had casually demolished Temples and mosques just to make way for roads.

When the forces under the command of the British re-captured Lucknow and most of Oudh, she was forced to retreat. Hazrat Mahal worked in association with Nana Saheb, but later joined the Maulavi of Faizabad in the attack on Shahjahanpur.

 

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Warren Hastings, the first Governor-General of India, made it the seat of the supreme courts of justice and the supreme revenue administration, and Calcutta became the capital of British India in 1772. All important offices were subsequently moved from Murshidabad to Calcutta.

Calcutta at that time was described as a pestilential town. There were few good roads. In 1814 the Lottery Committee was constituted to finance public improvement by means of lotteries, and between 1814 and 1836 it took some effective measures to improve conditions. The municipal corporation was established in 1841. Cyclones in 1864, 1867, and 1870, however, devastated the poorer, low-lying areas.

By successive stages, as British power extended over the subcontinent, the whole of northern India became a hinterland for the port of Calcutta. The abolition of inland customs duties in 1835 created an open market, and the construction of railways (beginning in 1854) further quickened the development of business and industry. It was at this time that the Grand Trunk Road from Calcutta to Peshawar (now in Pakistan) was completed. British mercantile, banking, and insurance interests flourished. The Indian sector of Calcutta also became a busy hub of commerce and was thronged with people from throughout India and many other parts of Asia. Calcutta became the intellectual centre of the subcontinent.

 

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The Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act of 1919, popularly known as the Rowlatt Act, was a legislative council act passed by the Imperial Legislative Council in Delhi on 18 March 1919, indefinitely extending the emergency measures of preventive indefinite detention, incarceration without trial and judicial review enacted in the Defence of India Act 1915 during the First World War. It was enacted in light of a perceived threat from revolutionary nationalists to organisations of re-engaging in similar conspiracies as during the war which the Government felt the lapse of the Defence of India Act would enable.

It is also called as a Black Act by indian . These bills came to be known as "Black Bills". They gave enormous powers to the police to search a place and arrest any person they disapproved of without warrant. Despite much opposition, the Rowlatt Act was passed on 18 March 1919. The purpose of the act was to curb the growing nationalist upsurge in the country.

The Rowlatt Act came into effect on 21 March 1919. In Punjab the protest movement was very strong, and on 10 April two leaders of the congress, Dr. Satyapal and Saifuddin Kitchlew, were arrested and taken secretly to Dharamsala.

The army was called into Punjab, and on 13 April people from neighbouring villages gathered for Baisakhi Day celebrations and to protest against deportation of two important Indian leaders in Amritsar, which led to the infamous Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919.

Accepting the report of the Repressive Laws Committee, the Government of India repealed the Rowlatt Act, the Press Act, and twenty-two other laws in March 1922.

 

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The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place on 13 April 1919, when Acting Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer ordered troops of the British Indian Army to fire their rifles into a crowd of unarmed Indian civilians in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, Punjab, killing at least 379 people and injuring over 1,200 other people.

On the afternoon of April 13, a crowd of at least 10,000 men, women, and children gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh, which was nearly completely enclosed by walls and had only one exit. It is not clear how many people there were protesters who were defying the ban on public meetings and how many had come to the city from the surrounding region to celebrate Baisakhi, a spring festival. Dyer and his soldiers arrived and sealed off the exit. Without warning, the troops opened fire on the crowd, reportedly shooting hundreds of rounds until they ran out of ammunition. It is not certain how many died in the bloodbath, but, according to one official report, an estimated 379 people were killed, and about 1,200 more were wounded. After they ceased firing, the troops immediately withdrew from the place, leaving behind the dead and wounded.

The government of India ordered an investigation of the incident (the Hunter Commission), which in 1920 censured Dyer for his actions and ordered him to resign from the military. Reaction in Britain to the massacre was mixed, however. Many condemned Dyer’s actions—including Sir Winston Churchill, then secretary of war, in a speech to the House of Commons in 1920—but the House of Lords praised Dyer and gave him a sword inscribed with the motto “Saviour of the Punjab.” In addition, a large fund was raised by Dyer’s sympathizers and presented to him. The Jallianwala Bagh site in Amritsar is now a national monument.

 

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"Tryst with Destiny" was a speech(in english) delivered by Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of independent India, to the Indian Constituent Assembly in the Parliament, on the eve of India's Independence, towards midnight on 14 August 1947. It spoke on the aspects that transcend India's history. It is considered to be one of the greatest speeches of the 20th century[1] and to be a landmark oration that captures the essence of the triumphant culmination of the Indian independence struggle against the British Empire in India.

Unlike the prime ministers who came after him, Nehru was generally disinclined towards the idea of his speeches being written by someone else. Though he was compelled to take help in his speeches in his long tenure as prime minister, especially while delivering to a foreign audience (every turn of phrase counts in international relations), many of the speeches were his own.

Nehru’s private secretary MO Mathai would complain that the PM spent too much time “in dictating letters and drafting or dictating statements and speeches”.

The ‘Tryst with destiny’ speech was signature Nehru, crafted by his own hands.

The first prime minister also liked to speak extempore. Another one of his famous speeches – the ‘Light has gone out’ broadcast to the nation on radio when Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated – was extempore.

While this was perhaps the more heartfelt speech given the sadness that had descended on the nation,  ‘Tryst with destiny’ has the power to speak directly to us after all these decades.

 

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1. A king and his love for astronomy

The Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is one among five such observatories built by Rajput king Sawai Jai Singh II, the founder of Jaipur. Jai Singh II was extremely enthusiastic about astronomy and even owned telescopes. He came up with the idea of building the astronomical observatories in India when he noticed that the astronomical tables of the Zij (an islamic astronomical book that tabulates parameters used to calculate the positions of the Sun, Moon, stars, and the planets) were incomplete. He used the observatories to come up with a more accurate zij and new astronomical tables known as the zij-i Muhammad Shahi. These tables were used in India for nearly a century.

2. One among five observatories

The Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is the largest among the five observatories built by Jai Singh II, and the only one among the five to receive the UNESCO World Heritage tag. The other observatories, also called Jantar Mantar, were built in Delhi, Varanasi, Mathura, and Ujjain between 1724 and 1735. However, today only four of these exist. The one in Mathura was destroyed just before the Revolt of 1857.

3. Astronomy with the naked eye

The monument has a collection of 19 astronomical instruments constructed out of local stone and marble. Each of these giant instruments caries an astronomical scale and facilitates calculation of the positions and distances of the celestial bodies with the naked eye.

4. World's largest stone sundial

The Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is home to the largest stone sundial in the world. The Vrihat Samrat Yantra, which stands at the centre of the observatory, is a 27m-tall sundial which can help calculate time accurately down to two seconds.

5. No longer in use

Apart from stone and marble, bronze tablets, bricks and mortar were employed during the construction of the observatory. The Jantar Mantar was in continuous use till about the early 1800s, and then fell into disuse. It was restored several times during the British rule. Today, the observatory serves as a tourist attraction, kindling students interest in astronomy through guided tours, and music and light shows. It was declared a national monument in 1948, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010.

 

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Babar (1526-1530) is the great grandson of Tamerlane and Genghis Khan, was the first Mughal emperor in India. He confronted and defeated Lodhi in 1526 at the first battle of Panipat, and so came to establish the Mughal Empire in India. Babar ruled until 1530, and was succeeded by his son Humayun.

He established himself in Kabul and then pushed steadily southward into India from Afghanistan through the Khyber Pass. Babur's forces occupied much of northern India after his victory at Panipat in 1526. The preoccupation with wars and military campaigns, however, did not allow the new emperor to consolidate the gains he had made in India.

The instability of the empire became evident under his son, Humayun (reigned 1530–1556), who was forced into exile in Persia by rebels. The Sur Empire (1540–1555), founded by Sher Shah Suri (reigned 1540–1545), briefly interrupted Mughal rule. Humayun's exile in Persia established diplomatic ties between the Safavid and Mughal Courts, and led to increasing Persian cultural influence in the Mughal Empire.[citation needed] Humayun's triumphant return from Persia in 1555 restored Mughal rule, but he died in an accident the next year.

 

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Mongol leader Genghis Khan (1162-1227) rose from humble beginnings to establish the largest land empire in history. After uniting the nomadic tribes of the Mongolian plateau, he conquered huge chunks of central Asia and China. His descendants expanded the empire even further, advancing to such far-off places as Poland, Vietnam, Syria and Korea. At their peak, the Mongols controlled between 11 and 12 million contiguous square miles, an area about the size of Africa. Many people were slaughtered in the course of Genghis Khan’s invasions, but he also granted religious freedom to his subjects, abolished torture, encouraged trade and created the first international postal system. Genghis Khan died in 1227 during a military campaign against the Chinese kingdom of Xi Xia. His final resting place remains unknown.

Going against custom, Temujin put competent allies rather than relatives in key positions and executed the leaders of enemy tribes while incorporating the remaining members into his clan. He ordered that all looting wait until after a complete victory had been won, and he organized his warriors into units of 10 without regard to kin. Though Temujin was an animist, his followers included Christians, Muslims and Buddhists. By 1205 he had vanquished all rivals, including his former best friend Jamuka. The following year, he called a meeting of representatives from every part of the territory and established a nation similar in size to modern Mongolia. He was also proclaimed Chinggis Khan, which roughly translates to “Universal Ruler,” a name that became known in the West as Genghis Khan.

 

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