OCTOBER 2020 TEACHER REFERENCE PRESENTATION CLASS 5 & 6 OCTOBER 2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS CLASS 5 & 6 Pick of the Month Gap Profiles Global Updates ❖ Indian Air Force ❖ Manasi Joshi ❖ Remembering Pranab Mukherjee ❖ Fastest Human Discover India Did you Know Calculator ❖ Cheraw Dance ❖ Baby Jumping Snippets Festival ❖ Joe Ruby no more Around the World Born This Month ❖ S.S Kalpana Chawla ❖ Ahmedabad Gappenings Indian Air Force Pick of the Month The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air wing of the Armed Forces of India. Also known as ‘Bharatiya Vayu Sena’, the IAF is among the largest air forces in the world. Its motto is ‘Touch the Sky with Glory. The headquarters of the Indian Air Force is located in New Delhi. The Chief of Air Staff, an Air Chief Marshal, commands the Indian Air Force. Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria is the current Chief of the Air Staff. IAF Flag The IAF flag is blue in colour, containing the Indian National Flag in the first quadrant and a roundel, consisting of the colours of the Indian National Flag. A roundel is a circular logo on the Indian Air Force planes and flag. Indian Air Force Pick of the Month Brief History of IAF The Indian Air Force was officially established on 8 October, 1932, during the British rule in India. King George VI conferred the prefix ‘Royal’, in 1945. Thereafter, the IAF was referred to as the Royal Indian Air Force. However, when India became Republic in 1950, the prefix ‘Royal’ was removed. IAF’s Role The IAF, which is one of the most powerful armed forces in the world, has gone through extreme modernisation and expansion over the decades. The IAF has fought numerous wars shielding India against its neighbouring countries and safeguarding the country and its people from all threats, along with the support of the other branches of the armed forces, the Indian Army and the Indian Navy. The IAF’s key role is to keep the Indian aerospace resistant to attacks and manage aerial warfare during conflict. IAF role during natural disasters The Indian Air Force plays a pivotal role during natural calamities like earthquakes, floods, etc. Their duties include evacuation by airlifting, search and rescue operations and airdropping relief supplies such as food and medicines. Indian Air Force Pick of the Month IAF’s Fleet The IAF aircraft fleet consists of combat aircraft, transport carriers and choppers. Some of the current fighter aircraft are Rafale, Sukhoi 30MKI, Mirage 2000, Jaguar, LCA Tejas, MiG-21, and MiG-27, to name a few. IAF’s Aerobatic teams The ‘Surya Kiran’ (meaning ‘Sun Rays’) is an aerobatics demonstration team of the IAF, that is known for its dazzling and thrilling air formations. The ‘Sarang’ meaning ‘peacock’, is the helicopter display team of the IAF. Indian Air Force Pick of the Month Did You Know: Indian Air Force ❖ Indian Air Force Day is observed on 8 October, annually. It is celebrated at various airbases across India and showcases air display by various aircrafts during the Air Force Day Parade. ❖ Its motto, ‘Nabham Sparsham Deeptam’ has been taken from You could start this topic by asking the eleventh chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, the discourse given students to name the branches of the by Lord Krishna to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, Indian Armed Forces and then divert during the Great War of Mahabharata. the topic to the Indian Air Force that ❖ The IAF’s ‘Operation Rahat’, was a rescue operation mission to was formed on 8 October 1932. evacuate civilians affected by the 2013 North India floods. It is Highlight on some points about the believed to be the biggest civilian rescue operation in the world IAF such as its role, the current chief, carried out by any air force using helicopters. the fighter aircrafts and so on. ❖ Apart from conflicts, the IAF has been an active participant in United Nations Peacekeeping missions. ❖ The IAF has a base in Tajikistan named Farkhor Air Base. This is IAF’s first air base outside India. Indian Air Force Pick of the Month ❖ The ‘Marshal of the Indian Air Force’ is the highest achievable rank in the IAF and is conferred as an honorary recognition. ❖ The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Air Force. What is the ‘Garud Commando Force’ of the Indian Air Force? It is saidThe that ‘ Garudthe nameCommando 'Amazon' Force’, was givenalso by knownSpanish as explorer‘Garud’, isnamed a special Francisco forces unitOrellana, of the who Indianwas the Air firstForce. European Founded to in sail 2004, down it has the the Amazon longest trainingRiver. In course 1542, amongwhile on all histhe expedition, other Indian he special and his men ran into a tribe of enormous fierce women forces. The Garud personnels are trained warriors in the area. He compared them to the airfields from enemy and terrorist attacks, carry out Amazons, the warrior women from Greek hostagemythology rescue operations, and named providing it after aid them. during natural calamities and special military operations. The unit derives its name from ‘Garuda’, a divine bird-like creature from Hindu Mythology. Manasi Joshi Gap Profiles Manasi Joshi is an Indian para-badminton player, who has brought laurels to the country. She has challenged all odds to pursue her dream. Today, her life is inspiring to many physically challenged athletes. Early Life Manasi Joshi was born in 1989. Her father, a scientist with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai, originally hailed from Rajkot in Rajasthan. Growing up in Mumbai, Manasi was academically inclined. She was also good in extracurricular activities, including sports. Among all the activities, badminton was her favourite. She was initially trained by her father, who was also a sportsman. She went on to represent her school, college and district in various badminton tournaments. She graduated in Electronics Engineering from K. J. Somaiya College in Mumbai and began a career as a software engineer. She continued playing badminton as a hobby and to keep fit, while working full-time. Manasi Joshi Gap Profiles The Tragic Event Manasi's life took a tragic turn in 2011, when she met with an accident on her way to work. She lost one of her legs and had to take aid of an artificial leg (prosthetic leg). However, the tragedy did not deter her from confining herself to her home and with a lot of support from her family, she came back strong. After several months, she learnt to walk all over again with the help of crutches. After her accident, Manasi was looking for something to do as part of her rehabilitation and turned to one of her childhood passions- badminton, to help her regain mobility. Little did she know that she would find her dream and calling through it. As a Para-Badminton player After the accident, she remained optimistic and continued to chase her dreams with more determination. In 2012, she participated in a corporate tournament and won the women’s singles by defeating able-bodied competitors. This gave her the confidence and opened up a whole new world of opportunities eventually gaining entry to the Indian Para- Badminton Team. This was the beginning of her journey as a para-badminton player. Manasi Joshi Gap Profiles As a professional player While still continuing to work at a firm to support her financially, she began her para-badminton career in 2014, playing for India. Since then she has played various national and international matches winning several silver and bronze medals. In 2016, she quit her job to play full-time. Becoming a world champion In 2018, she moved to Hyderabad and enrolled into the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy to be trained under the legendary Indian coach Pullela Gopichand, a former international badminton champion. A separate team was formed there to improve the fitness of Manasi Joshi. In 2019, all her sacrifices paid off when she created history in Basel, Switzerland. She bagged the first-ever Para-Badminton World Championship gold for India. Currently, Manasi is training for the upcoming Tokyo Paralympic Games, in which para-badminton event will be making its debut. The event is scheduled to be held in 2021. Manasi Joshi Gap Profiles Did You Know ❖ She never thought that her childhood passion for badminton would one day turn into a career option. You can ask the kids to name ❖ She credits her father for supporting and inspiring her in all some Indian badminton players her achievements. who have made the country ❖ She is a trained scuba diver. proud by winning international ❖ She is currently employed with Bharat Petroleum Corporation matches. They would come up Limited (BPCL). with names such as Saina Nehwal ❖ As a world champion, she is using her fame to highlight on and P. V. Sindhu. topics such as the plight of para-athletes and road safety, in You can later introduce them to India. Para-badminton player Manasi ❖ She also delivers motivational speeches and spreads Joshi and read out about her awareness about para-sports. inspiring journey so far. Remembering Global Update Pranab Mukherjee Former Indian President Pranab Mukherjee died recently after being ill for a long period of time. He was aged 84. Life in brief Pranab Mukherjee was born in 1935, in a village in West Bengal. His father was a freedom fighter and active in politics. As a child, Pranab Mukherjee preferred outdoor games to being confined in a classroom. He spent his childhood in the village playing games, climbing trees, or running along with grazing herds of cows. In 1946, however, he was enrolled at a school which was around 2.5 km from his house.