Page 39 - NIS - English, 01-15 January 2023

Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Nation
VISHNU GANESH PINGLE
USED HIS ENGINEERING
SKILLS TO MAKE BOMBS
Born: 2 January 1888, Died: 16 November 1915
ishnu Ganesh Pingle, the great revolutionary of the
VIndian freedom struggle, sacrificed his life for the
motherland at the tender age of 26. He was born on 2
January 1888 in Talegaon Dhamdhere village of Pune
district. After completing his schooling under adverse
circumstances, he left for Washington to obtain a degree
in electronic engineering.
Pingle was of revolutionary nature since childhood.
He believed that his engineering degree will be of no use
to the country. This will benefit only the British. He was
more inclined to fight for the freedom of the motherland.
During his stay in America, he met revolutionaries like Lala
Hardayal, Kartar Singh Sarabha, and Pandit Kanshi Ram.
He joined the Ghadar party on being mentored by Lala
Hardayal. After his return to India, he got associated with
revolutionary activities in Punjab. During this period, he
not only maintained secret contact with revolutionaries
like Rash Behari Bose and Shachindranath Sanyal but
soon became their close confidant. Pingle used his
engineering skills to make bombs for the party.
During World War I, the Ghadar Party planned an
armed rebellion against the British. All arrangements
were made for the revolution in Punjab, Bengal, and
Uttar Pradesh. But unfortunately British got a whiff of
the plans of the revolutionaries. After this, Pingle was
arrested along with bombs and other explosive material
from the cantonment of Meerut on March 24, 1915, in
a campaign run by the British. Pingle was tried for the
Lahore Conspiracy and sentenced to death. Vishnu
Ganesh Pingle is said to have said when his mother came
to visit him in jail, “Mother, my last wish is to liberate the
motherland. Let me repay the debt of the motherland in
this birth, in the next birth I will take birth again from your
womb and repay your debt. He was hanged along with
Kartar Singh Sarabha and five other revolutionaries in
the Lahore Central Jail on 16 November 1915.
INCREASE IN THE NUMBER
OF INDIAN RAILWAYS
PASSENGERS
Mahatma Gandhi laid the foundation of
Satyagraha after being pushed off a train
in South Africa in 1893. Bapu had a deep
and unique connection with the railways
throughout his life. He used to travel a lot
by train during the freedom struggle. While
railways played an important role in India's
freedom struggle, today it has become an
important link in our lives and connecting
our diverse culture. Not only is the number
of tracks expanding continuously, but the
speed is also increasing. Since 1950-51,
the number of railway passengers has
registered a growth of more than six times.
At the same time, Railways have been able
to achieve phenomenal growth in terms
of infrastructure development, innovation,
expansion of network capacity, freight
traffic, and transparency. In line with Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's mantra of 'Reform,
Perform and Transform', Indian Railways has
initiated path-breaking changes in all areas
of operations and management
80.86
76.51
48.33
36.13 38.58
15.94 24.31
12.84
1950-51 1960-61 1970-71 1980-81 1990-91 2000-01 2010-11 2019-20
(Number of passengers in crores)
VANDE BHARAT EXPRESS - A
shining example of the success of
'Make in India'; Passengers are getting
a completely new kind of travel
experience.
KAVACH – Indigenous Automatic Train
Protection System to enhance safety in
train operations.
New India Samachar January 1-15, 2023 37