Nov 5: Maulana Ghosi Shah's birth anniversary and key events on this date in history

Today is the birth anniversary of Alhaj Maulana Ghosi Shah (Rahmatullah Alaih), a highly respected Sufi saint, theosophist and scholar of India. He devoted his whole life to spreading Sufism, spiritual knowledge and the welfare of people.

He wrote several important books on Islamic philosophy, spirituality and Sufi thought, and in doing so did major work to awaken society. His thoughts and teachings brought people of all faiths together and promoted brotherhood. He has many disciples in Hyderabad and across the country, and the Sufi tradition he began still has an influence today. Unity, peace and service to humanity have been the main message of Maulana Ghosi Shah's life and teaching.

Here are the major events of November 5 in the history of India and the world. In 1896, the Deccan Sabha was founded in Pune. In 1918, during the First World War, Austria and Hungary surrendered to Italy. In 1921, Japanese Prime Minister Hara Takashi was assassinated in Tokyo. In 1922, the main entrance to the tomb of King Tutankhamun in the famed pyramids was discovered.

In 1948, the Constituent Assembly, chaired by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, was presented with the draft Constitution. In 1980, Ronald Reagan defeated incumbent President Jimmy Carter to be elected the 40th President of the United States. In 1996, Dr Shriram Lagoo and Satyadev Dubey were honoured with the Natyagaurav Award by the Kala Gaurav Pratishthan. In 2000, singer Pt Bhimsen Joshi was announced as the recipient of the Aditya Vikram Birla Kalashikhar Award for exceptional work in Hindustani classical music. In 2001, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone premiered in London, and in 2008 Barack Obama became the first Black President of the United States.

The list of people born on this date is also long. Mughal emperor Aurangzeb was born in 1618 (died March 3, 1707). In 1845, Vasudeo Balwant Phadke, one of the early proponents of armed revolution in India's freedom struggle, was born (died February 17, 1883). Anthropologist Sarat Chandra Roy was born in 1871. In 1884, Jamnalal Bajaj, a Gandhian activist, freedom fighter and founder of the Bajaj group of industries, was born (died February 11, 1942). Harry Ferguson, the tractor maker, was born the same year (died October 25, 1960). In 1894, Appasaheb Patwardhan, known as the Gandhi of Konkan, was born (died March 10, 1971). Indian botanist Janaki Ammal was born in 1897 (died February 4, 1984). Ruth Handler, creator of the Barbie doll, was born in 1916 (died April 27, 2002). Filmmaker and screenwriter Ritwik Ghatak was born in 1925 (died February 6, 1976).

In 1929, Jaikishan Dahyabhai Panchal of the music composer duo Shankar-Jaikishan was born (died October 6, 1971). The same year saw the birth of Shakuntala Devi, the Indian mathematician, astrologer and extremely fast calculator (died April 21, 2013). Indian pharmacologist Ranjit Roy Chaudhury was born in 1930 (died October 27, 2015). Director Vijaya Mehta was born in 1934, and Indian civil servant and diplomat Gopalkrishna Gandhi in 1945. Also in 1945, Ekkadu Srinivasan Lakshminarasimhan, the first Governor of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, was born. Nik Powell, co-founder of the Virgin Group, was born in 1950; Indian writer, poet and scholar Alhaj Maulana Ghosi Shah in 1955; actor Milind Soman in 1965; actress Tabu in 1971; and entrepreneur Suhas Gopinath in 1986.

Several notable figures also died on this date. Lucknow gharana Kathak dancer Pt Shambhu Maharaj died in 1970. In 1991, Purushottam Vishwanath Bapat, a researcher of Oriental studies, an internationally known authority on the Pali language and an expert in Sinhalese, Brahmi and Thai, died (born June 12, 1894). George Klein, maker of the motorised wheelchair, died in 1992 (born August 15, 1904). In 1995, Yitzhak Rabin, Israel's fifth Prime Minister, Defence Minister and Nobel laureate, died (born March 1, 1922). Hindi poet Nagarjun died in 1998; West Indies cricketer Malcolm Marshall in 1999 (born April 18, 1958); historian, journalist and lexicographer S M Garge in Pune in 2005; and playwright and litterateur Dilip Pardeshi in 2011.