Failed Assassinations Attempts

A desperate disease requires a dangerous remedy. Assassinations have really changed the world because it is a sudden attack by a group of people or an individual who opposes a popular idea or act. If you look back into history you will find that there are many great politicians and visionaries who have been assassinated because their ideas or their believes went against some individuals who decided to step ahead to uproot their ideas at any given cost. In other words, assassinations are nothing but the very last attempt by people who would like to protest against the growing trend and idea by the particular political figure.

The history of assassination is not just hundred years old but in fact it dates back to 586 BC when the first murder on earth was recorded. Since that time, assassination has been used as  a powerful tool to change the course of history. If you take up any old scriptures from any country you will find that there are records of assassinations written by great writers and poets. The father of Alexander and Julius Caesar were one of the popular victims that were assassinated in the early times and than there are scriptures of planned assassination in book by Indian military adviser Chanakya. However, not all assassinations have succeeded because such kind of acts require a lot of planning, strategy and courage because the chances of getting arrested and capital punishment are very likely. Although, there are very few failed assassination attempts let’s go deeper into the world of assassins and know more about some failed assassinations that really shook the world.

1. Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan was the 40th President of the United States and on March 30, 1981 just when President Reagan was leaving a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton Hotel, John Hinkley Jr. fired at President Reagan and other three who were near the President. However, President Reagan survived the assassination attempt and suffered a punctured lung for which he was quickly taken to the hospital where he was provided immediate medical assistance and was saved. However, there was no apparent reason found for the motivation of this assassination as Hinckley was inspired from a Hollywood movie called Taxi Driver where the lead actor tries to assassinate the Senator in order to save a child. However, after that incident President Reagan always preferred to wear a bulletproof jacket and all his meetings and appointments with international ministers were cancelled.

2. George W. Bush

Another American President that survived the assassination attempt is George W. Bush. The incident is also known as the 2001 White House Shooting where Robert Pickett, an accountant from Evanston, Indiana and also an Internal Revenue Service ex-employee attempted to shoot the President with a handgun in the South Lawn of the White House. However, President Bush survived the shooting and Robert Pickett was immediately shot by the Secret Service agents in an attempt to protect the President. Though, Pickett had no criminal record, he had a history of mental illness and therefore he was sentenced to 3 years at Federal Medical Center, followed by  3 years of probation period.

3. Adolf Hitler

If you are into history than you simply cannot forget the most famous character in world history, Adolf Hilter. Though, he was known for his strict behavior there were many Germans who were against his ideas of killing the Jews and the rule of Nazi regime. Hence, Operation Valkyrie was brought into the effect that would kill Hitler in Wolf’s Lair and than the Army plotters would overthrow the Nazi regime by their superbly crafted plan. However, Hitler survived the assassination attempt and all the conspirators were executed. It might sound unbelievable but during his lifetime Hitler survived 42 assassination attempts, out of which 17 attempts were a large scale destruction.

4. Chen Shui-bian

In the year 2004, when President of Taiwan Chen Shui-bian and Vice President Annette Lu were on their way to presidential campaign on March 19. A bullet was fired at the President which had pierced the windshield of the American Jeep and penetrated into the stomach of President Chen. Another bullet that was fired soon after the first shot hit the windshield and hit the knee of Vice President Lu. However, they were immediately taken to the hospital where they received immediate medical attention and by evening both President and Vice President were declared safe and recovering. Though, it was rumored that the assassination attempt was done by China, Taiwan police and intelligence quickly denied any such news. Six months later Taiwan police found the suspects and the case is officially closed.

5. Pope John Paul 2

Next on the list of failed assassination is Pope John Paul 2 who is the only Polish Pope till date who has served the Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church for more than thirty years. However, on 13 May, 1981, as he entered St. Peter’s Square, a trained expert Turkish gunman, Mehmet Ali Agca shot and wounded the Pope. The assassin was a member of miltant fascist group known as Grey Wolves and he used a semi-automatic pistol to fire the Pope in his abdomen and small intestine. However, Pope was rushed to the Vatican complex and then to Gemelli Hospital where he underwent five hours of surgery but was finally declared as safe. Agca received a life imprisonment sentence but was later deported to Turkey in 2000.

6. Benazir Bhutto

In the year 2008, Pakistan was getting ready to fight against the terrorism in the country. Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan after eight years of self-imposed exile in Dubai. However, soon after she arrived in Pakistan she became a victim of failed assassination. On 18 October, 2007 a bomb explosion happened right outside the Jinnah International Airport. The explosion killed 139 people who were eager to meet their new leader. Later it was found that the explosion was a suicide bomb attack by Al-Qaeda militant.

7. Pervez Musharraf

Another Pakistani political figure that escaped the assassination attempt is Pervez Musharraf who is a political and military figure in Pakistan. However, in the year 2000 when Musharraf was the Chief Executive of Pakistan, he survived a failed assassination by Kamran Atif who was  a member of Harkat-ul Mujahideen al-Alami. Atif had planted a powerful bomb near a bridge in Rawalpindi but missed the heavily-guarded convoy and the explosion happen after the car had crossed the bridge. Atif was arrested by the Pakistani police and was sentence to death by an Anti Terrorism Court in the year 2006.

Great Indian Love Stories

Raj Kapoor -- Nargis 

The scene in Bobby when Rishi Kapoor first sets eyes on Dimple (with flour on her hair) is supposed to echo Raj Kapoor's first meeting with Nargis' his favourite heroine. Together they made 16 films' including Andaz' Barsaat' Chori Chori and Shree 420' among others' and made the screen sizzle with their intense physicality. But the affair didn't go a long way in real life. Raj was married to Krishna' with five kids' and opted to remain so. Nargis married her Mother India co-star Sunil Dutt'to create another abiding love story of independent India.






Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru-- Lady Edwina Mountbatten 

This was a menage a trois straight out of Truffaut's Jules et Jim' but minus the angst and the heartbreak. Lord Mountbatten apparently accepted his wife's relationship with Nehru' making them a rather unusual 'happy threesome'. Her daughter Pamela Mountbatten's recent declaration that the relationship was a platonic one won't stem a flood of speculation that has lasted half a century



MGR-- Jayalalitha 


The media called her his mistress' but Jayalalitha has always called mgr her mentor. He handpicked her for films when she was just 16' and he 42' and also groomed her for politics. He is known to have kept her in his grip' even kept tabs on her films. It helped Jayalalitha take off' providing her support and protection in the male-dominated Tamil film industry.




Dharmendra-- Hema Malini

Bollywood's Dream Girl and Punjab da puttar formed one of the most successful screen pairs ever' delivering hits like Charas' Jugnu' Seeta Aur Geeta and Sholay. The on-screen romance spilt over into real life. Dharmendra was already married. Hema had stars Sanjeev Kumar and Jeetendra among her suitors. Eventually they did marry' when Dharmendra converted to Islam.



Sonia Gandhi-- Rajiv Gandhi

It was a love affair that cut across nationalities'she from Italy' he from India. They met as students in England in 1964' fell in love and were married in 1969. For a long while they lived away from the public glare'he an airline pilot' she a housewife. When he joined politics' she was beside him'reluctantly. When he was assassinated' she stayed on to lay claim to the Nehru-Gandhi legacy.



Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi -- Sharmila Tagore


The debonair India cricket captain first met the glamorous film star at a shoot in 1965. He is said to have wooed the Bengali beauty with roses'and an imported refrigerator. After overcoming objections from their families' they married on December 27' 1969. The perfect match between royalty and movie star is still going strong.




R.D. Burman-- Asha Bhonsle


It was an unusual older woman-younger man romance. Asha Bhonsle first met Rahul Dev Burman when she was a mother of two and he a 10th grade drop-out. Their first success together was Teesri Manzil in 1966. She used to call him 'Bubs' and married him in 1980. Their partnership has lasted beyond his death' with Asha still singing his hits



Sanjay Gandhi-- Maneka Gandhi


She was a beauty queen and a Bombay Dyeing model. He was' supposedly' India's most eligible bachelor. After Sanjay's death ended their tumultuous marriage' she decided to enter politics. This led to a falling out with ma-in-law Indira Gandhi' amid a public airing of Dear Mummy letters.



Javed Akhtar-- Shabana Azmi 

One can call them Bollywood's most cerebral couple. Shabana has said recently how her marriage with Javed is like an arranged match'between people with a common intellectual-activist background and shared interests. But the alliance happened in the autumn of their lives. Shabana jokes that the secret of their long-lasting marriage is that they're never together.



Amitabh Bachchan-- Rekha

He was Bollywood's biggest star' married to his sweetheart. She was the sex symbol of the times. In the '80s' the Amitabh-Rekha romance was the biggest buzz in Bollywood. It even inspired Yash Chopra's Silsila' in which real-life characters played the reel roles. In Silsila the wife emerged triumphant. Likewise' Amitabh went to Jaya for comfort after his traumatic accident on the sets of Coolie.




Mohammed Azharuddin-- Sangeeta Bijlani 

Like Pataudi' another India captain' Mohammed Azharuddin' met model-actress Sangeeta Bijlani during the shooting of a commercial. Unlike Tiger' Azhar was married. He divorced his wife and married the former Miss India in the glare of public scrutiny. Their sticking with each other' in the face of crises like the match-fixing scandal' has given dignity to a once-reviled relationship.

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

Born: January 23, 1897
Death: Not known

Contributions
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was a freedom fighter of India. He was the founder of the Indian National Army. During pre-independence period Netaji had visited London to discuss the future of India, with the members of the Labor party. His sudden disappearance from Taiwan, led to surfacing of various theories, concerning the possibilities of his survival.

Life
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was born on 23 January, 1897 in Cuttack (Orissa) to Janakinath Bose and Prabhavati Devi. Subhash was the ninth child among eight brothers and six sisters. His father, Janakinath Bose, was an affluent and successful lawyer in Cuttack and received the title of "Rai Bahadur". He, later became a member of the Bengal Legislative Council.

Subhash Chandra Bose was a very intelligent and sincere student but never had much interest in sports. He passed his B.A. in Philosophy from the Presidency College in Calcutta. He was strongly influenced by Swami Vivekananda's teachings and was known for his patriotic zeal as a student. He also adored Vivekananda as his spiritual Guru.

British Professor Thrashed
After reading so many incidents about the exploitation of the fellow Indians by the British, Subhash decided to take revenge. In 1916, Subhash reportedly beat and thrashed one of his British teachers E F Otten. The professor made a racist remark against the Indian students. As a result, Bose was expelled from the Presidency College and banished from CalcuttaUniversity. The incident brought Subhash in the list of rebel-Indians. In December 1921, Bose was arrested and imprisoned for organizing a boycott of the celebrations to mark the Prince of Wales's visit to India.

Indian Civil Service
His father wanted Netaji to become a civil servant and therefore, sent him to England to appear for the Indian Civil Service Examination. Bose was placed fourth with highest marks in English. But his urge for participating in the freedom movement was intense that in April 1921, Bose resigned from the coveted Indian Civil Service and came back to India. Soon, he left home to become an active member of India's independence movement. He, later joined the Indian National Congress, and also elected as the president of the party.

Subhash with Congress
Initially, Subhash Chandra Bose worked under the leadership of Chittaranjan Das, an active member of Congress in Calcutta. It was Chittaranjan Das, who along with Motilal Nehru, left Congress and founded the Swaraj Party in 1922. Subhash would regard Chittaranjan Das as his political guru.

Mrs Emilie Schenkl-Anita

While Chittaranjan Das was busy in developing the national strategy, Subhash Chandra Bose played a major role in enlightening the students, youths and labors of Calcutta. He was eagerly waiting to see India, as an independent, federal and republic nation.

Dispute in the Congress
People began to recognize Bose by his name and associated him with the freedom movement. Bose had emerged as a popular youth leader. He was admired for his great skills in organization development.

In 1928, during the Guwahati Session of the Congress, a difference in the opinion between the old and new members surfaced. The young leaders, as against the traditional leadership, wanted a "complete self-rule and without any compromise". The senior leaders were in favor of the "dominion status for India within the British rule".

The differences were between moderate Gandhi and aggressive Subhash Chandra Bose was swelling. The state was so intense that Subhash Chandra Bose had to defeat Pattabhi Sitaramayya, a presidential candidate, nominated by Gandhiji himself. Bose had won the election but without any second thought he resigned from the party. He, then formed the Forward Bloc in 1939.

Formation of INA
During the Second World War in September, 1939, Subhash Chandra Bose decided to initiate a mass movement. He started uniting people from all over the country. There was a tremendous response to his call and the British promptly imprisoned him. In jail, he refused to accept food for around two weeks. When his health condition deteriorated, fearing violent reactions across the country, the authority put him under house-arrest.

During his house-arrest, in January, 1941, Subhash made a planned escape. He first went to Gomoh in Bihar and from there he went on to Peshawar (now, Pakistan). He finally reached Germany and met Hitler. Bose had been living together with his wife Emilie Schenkl in Berlin. In 1943, Bose left for south-east Asia and raised the army. The group was later named by Bose, as the Indian National Army (INA).

Visit to England
During his sojourn to England, he met with the leaders of British Labor Party and political thinkers including Clement Attlee, Arthur Greenwood, Harold Laski, G.D.H. Cole, and Sir Stafford Cripps. Bose also discuss with them about the future of India. It must also be noted that it was during the regime of the Labor Party (1945-1951), with Attlee as the Prime Minister, that India gained independence.

Disappearance
Although it was believed that Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose died in a plane crash, his body was never recovered. There have so many theories been put forward regarding his abrupt desertion. The government of India set up a number of committees to investigate the case and come out with truth.

In May 1956, the Shah Nawaz Committee visited Japan to look into the situation of Bose's assumed death. Citing their lack of political relations with Taiwan, the Centre, did not seek for the assistance from their government. The reports of Justice Mukherjee Commission, tabled in Parliament on 17 May, 2006 said, "Bose did not die in the plane crash and the ashes at Renkoji temple are not his". However, the findings were rejected by the government of India.