JANUARY

DAYS & DATES

Ø  28 January 2018: World Leprosy Day

Ø  The World Leprosy Day is observed internationally every year on last Sunday of January month to raise global awareness of Leprosy. This year it was observed on 28 January. Observance of the day focuses on target of zero cases of leprosy-related disabilities in children. The day was initiated by French philanthropist and writer, Raoul Follereau in 1954 as way to raise global awareness of this deadly ancient disease and call attention to the fact that it can be prevented, treated and cured.

Ø  25th January 2018: National Voters Day

Ø  The Election Commission of India celebrated the 8th National Voters’ Day across the country on 25th January for enhanced participation of citizens in the electoral process. The National level function was held in New Delhi. President Ram Nath Kovind gave away awards for best electoral practices to District Collectors, Superintendents of Police and other functionaries involved in election management.

Ø  15th January 2018: 70th Army Day

Ø  The 70th Army Day is being celebrated on 15th January 2018. The day is celebrated to pay homage and salute to the courageous and brave Indian soldiers who have been sacrificing their lives for protecting the country. Every year on this day, the ‘Army Day’ is celebrated to commemorate the day when General (later Field Marshal) K.M Carriappa took over the command of Army from General Sir F.R.R Bucher, the last British Commander-in-Chief in 1949 and became the first Commander-in-Chief of Indian Army post Independence.

Ø  12 January: National Youth Festival

Ø  The National Youth Day celebrated every year on 12 January. This is the day when Swami Vivekananda, one of the greatest social reformers, thinkers, and philosophers of India, was born. The Indian government had declared back in 1984 that Swamiji’s birthday would be celebrated as the National Youth Day. The main aim behind this is to make sure that the students across the country can be encouraged to learn about the life, the ideas and philosophy of Swami Vivekananda and apply them in their lives. The Theme of the Festival is ‘Sankalp Se Siddhi’.

Ø  9 January: Pravasi Bharatiya Divas

Ø  The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is celebrated every year on January 9 to mark the contribution of Overseas Indian community in the development of India. This year’s PBD celebrated ASEAN-Indian partnership and was themed Ancient Route, New Journey: Diaspora in the Dynamic ASEAN INDIA Partnership. This year marks 25 years of ASEAN-Indian Partnership which is based on centuries-old cultural, religious and human links, forged on an ancient route of commerce.

Ø  4 January: World Braille Day

Ø  World Braille Day is celebrated every year on January 4th to commemorate the contribution of Louis Braille for blind people of the world. He invented a reading and writing system which helped blind people in learning and reading. The day marks the importance of teaching and providing equal opportunity to blind people and highlights the problems faced by them. The Braille system is a representation of letters and symbols within a grid in rows. The inventor, Louis Braille created the system after he went blind at the age of five due to an accident.