is nursing a blue collar or white collar job

The term "pink-collar" was popularized in the late 1970s by writer and social critic Louise Kapp Howe to denote women working as nurses, secretaries, and elementary school teachers.[1] Its origins, however, go back to the early 1970s, to when the equal rights amendment, ERA, was placed before the states for ratification (March 1972). At that time, the term was used to denote secretarial and steno-pool staff as well as non-professional office staff, all of which were largely held by women. De rigueur, these positions were not white-collar jobs, but neither were they blue-collar manual labor. Hence, the creation of the term "pink collar," which indicated it was not white-collar but was nonetheless an office job, one that was overwhelmingly filled by women.

Pink-collar worker

In the United States, a pink-collar worker performs jobs in the service industry. In contrast, blue-collar workers are working-class people who perform skilled or unskilled manual labor, and white-collar workers typically perform professional, managerial, or administrative work in an office environment.

Companies may sometimes blend blue, white, and pink industry categorizations.

Pink-collar occupations tend to be personal-service-oriented worker working in retail, nursing, and teaching (depending on the level), are part of the service sector, and are among the most common occupations in the United States. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that, as of May 2008, there were over 2.2 million persons employed as servers in the United States.[2] Furthermore, the World Health Organization's 2011 World Health Statistics Report states that there are 19.3 million nurses in the world today.[3] In the United States, women comprise 92.1% of the registered nurses that are currently employed.[4]

Pink-collar occupations include:[5][6]

Historically, women were responsible for the running of a household.[7] Their financial security was often dependent upon a male patriarch. Widowed or divorced women struggled to support themselves and their children.[8]

Women began to develop more opportunities when they moved into the paid workplace, formerly of the male domain. In the 20th century women aimed to be treated like the equals of their male counterparts. In 1920 American women won the right to vote, marking a turning point in their roles in life.[9]

Many single women traveled to cities like New York where they found work in factories and sweatshops, working for low pay operating sewing machines, sorting feathers, rolling tobacco and so on.[10]

These factories were dirty, noisy, dark and dangerous. Workers frequently breathed dangerous fumes and worked with flammable materials.[11] Women lost fingers and hands in accidents because in order to save money they were required to clean and adjust the machines while they were running.[11] Unfortunately, most women who worked in the factories did not earn enough money to live on and lived in poverty.

Throughout the 20th century certain women helped change women's roles in America. Emily Balch, Jane Addams, and Lillian Wald are among the most notable.[12] They created settlement houses and launched missions in crowded, unsanitary neighborhoods where immigrants lived.[12] Balch, Addams, and Wald offered social services to the women and children, often inviting them into their homes and classrooms.[12]

Women took on leadership roles starting in the church. Women became involved with the church activities, a few went on to become president of the societies. The women who joined these societies worked with their members some of whom were full-time teachers, nurses, missionaries, and social workers to accomplish their leadership tasks and make a difference.[13] The Association for the Sociology of Religion was the first to elect a woman president in 1938.[13]

World War I was the beginning of "pink-collar jobs" as the military needed personnel to type letters, answer phones, and perform other tasks. One thousand women worked for the U.S. Navy as stenographers, clerks, and telephone operators.[14]

The field of nursing also became "feminized" and was an accepted profession for women. In 1917, Louisa Lee Schuyler opened the Bellevue Hospital School of Nursing, the first to train women as professional nurses.[15] After completing training, some female nurses worked in hospitals, but most worked in field tents.

World War II marked the first time women began working in high-paying industrial jobs. They worked in factories and some even joined the armed forces. These women were segregated from men in separate groups. Although women joined the workforce they still encountered discrimination in and out of the workplace, which persisted despite anti-discrimination laws passed in the 1960s.[16]

Women who joined the armed forces participated in every military field except combat. One thousand female pilots joined the Women Airforce Service Pilots, one hundred and forty thousand women joined the Women's Army Corps and one hundred thousand women joined the U.S. Navy as nurses and administrative staff.[17]

Two million women held office jobs during World War II, which offered job security because they had become "feminized".[18]

A typical job sought by working women was that of a telephone operator or Hello Girl. The workers would sit on stools facing a wall with hundreds of outlets and tiny blinking lights; they had to work quickly when a light flashed plugging the cord into the proper outlet. Despite the hassles many women wanted this job because it paid five dollars a week and provided a rest lounge for the employees to take a break.[19]

Female secretaries were also popular; they were instructed to be efficient, tough and hardworking but to appear soft, accommodating and subservient.[20] They were instructed to be the protector and partner to their boss behind closed doors and a helpmate in public. These women were encouraged to go to charm schools and express their personality through fashion instead of furthering their education.[20]

Social work became a female-dominated profession in the 1930s, emphasizing a group professional identity and the casework method.[21] Social workers gave crucial expertise for the expansion of federal, state and local government, as well as services to meet the needs of the Depression.[21]

Teachers in primary and secondary schools remained female, although as the war progressed women began to move on to better employment and higher salaries.[22] In 1940 teaching positions paid less than $1,500 a year and fell to $800 in rural areas.[22]

Women scientists found it hard to gain appointments at universities; they were forced to take positions in high schools, state or women's colleges, governmental agencies and alternative institutions such as libraries or museums.[23] Women who took jobs at such places often did clerical duties and though some held professional positions, these boundaries were blurred.[23]

Women were hired as librarians who had been professionalized and feminized, in 1920 women accounted for 88% of librarians in the United States.[23]

Two-thirds of the American Geographical Society (AGS)'s employees were women, who served as librarians, editorial personal in the publishing programs, secretaries, research editors, copy editors, proofreaders, research assistants and sales staff. These women came with credentials from well-known colleges and universities and many were overqualified for their positions, but later were promoted to more prestigious positions.

Although female employees did not receive equal pay, they did get sabbaticals to attend university and to travel for their professions all at the cost of the AGS.[23] Male co-workers portrayed their women counterparts as dedicated and self-effacing.[23] Those women working managerial and library or museums positions made an impact on women in the work force, but still encountered discrimination when they tried to advance.

In the 1940s clerical work expanded to occupy the largest number of women employees, this field diversified as it moved into commercial service.[24] The average worker in the 1940s was over 35 years old, married, and needed to work to keep their families afloat.[25]

During the 1950s women were taught that marriage and domesticity were more important than a career. Most women followed this path because of the uncertainty of the post war years.[26] The suburban housewife was encouraged to have hobbies like bread making and sewing. The 1950s housewife was in conflict between being "just a housewife" because their upbringing taught them competition and achievement, many had furthered their education deriving a sense of self-worth.[27]

A single woman working in a factory in the early 20th century earned less than $8 a week. If the woman was absent or was late, employers penalized them by docking their pay.[19] These women would live in boarding houses costing $1.50 a week, waking at 5:30Â a.m. to start their ten-hour work day.

When women entered the paid workforce in the 1920s they were paid less than men because employers thought the women's jobs were temporary. Employers also paid women less than men because they believed in the "Pin Money Theory", which said that women's earnings were secondary to that of their male counterparts.

Women took typical jobs that were "considerably less substantial than their husbands' in terms of both the average number of hours worked per week as well as continuity over time".[28] However, working women still experienced stress and overload because they were still responsible for the majority of the housework and taking care of the children. This left women isolated and subjected them to their husband's control.[28]

In the early 1900s women's pay was one to three dollars a week and much of that went to living expenses.[29] In the 1900s female tobacco strippers earned five dollars a week, half of what their male coworkers made and seamstresses made six to seven dollars a week compared to a cutter's salary of $16.[30]

The early 1900s women working in factories were paid by the piece, not receiving a fixed weekly wage.[31] Those that were pinching pennies pushed themselves to produce more product so that they earned more money.[31]

The women who earned enough to live on found it impossible to keep their salary rate from being reduced because bosses often made "mistakes" in computing a worker's piece rate.[32] Women who received this kind of treatment did not disagree for fear of losing their jobs. Employers would frequently deduct pay for work they deemed imperfect and for simply trying to lighten the mood by laughing or talking while they worked.[32]

In 1937 a woman's average yearly salary was $525 compared to a man's salary of $1,027.[30] Women in 1991 only earned seventy percent of what men earned regardless of their education.[16]

In the 1940s two-thirds of the women who were in the labor force suffered a decrease in earnings; the average weekly paychecks fell from $50 to $37.[16]

During the 1970s and 1980s women began to fight for equality, they fought against discrimination in jobs where women worked and the educational institutions that would lead to those jobs.[16]

In 1973 the average salaries for women were 57% compared to those of men, but this gender earnings gap was especially noticeable in pink-collar jobs where the largest number of women were employed.[33] Women were given routine, less responsible jobs available and often with a lower pay than men. These jobs were monotonous and mechanical often with assembly-line procedures.[34]

Women entering the workforce had difficulty finding a satisfactory job without references or an education.[35] However, opportunities for higher education expanded as women were admitted to all-male schools like the United States service academies and Ivy League strongholds.[36] Education became a way for society to shape women into its ideal housewife, in the 1950s authorities and educators encouraged college because they found new value in vocational training for domesticity.[37] College prepared women for future roles, while men and women were taught together they were groomed for different paths after they graduated.[38] Education started out as a way to teach women how to be a good wife, but it also allowed them to broaden their minds because of it women earned better jobs and salaries.

Being educated was an expectation for women entering the paying workforce even though male equivalents did not need a high school diploma.[39] While in college a woman would experience extracurricular activities like a sorority that offered a separate space for the woman to practice types of social service work that was expected from her.[40]

Not all of a woman's education was done in the classroom, but rather among their peers through "dating". No longer did men and women have to be supervised when alone together. Dating allowed men and women to practice the paired activities that would later become a way of life.[40]

New women's organizations sprouted up working to reform and protect women in the workplace. The General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC) was the largest and most prestigious organization; the members were conservative middle-class housewives.[41] The International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) was formed after women shirtwaist makers went on strike in New York City in 1909.[42] It started as a small walkout, with a handful of members from one shop and grew to a force of ten of thousands, changing the course of the labor movement forever.[42] In 1910 women allied themselves with the Progressive Party who sought to reform social issues.

Another organization that grew out of women in the workforce was the Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor. The Women's Bureau regulated conditions for women employees. As female labor became a crucial part of the economy, efforts by the Women's Bureau increased. The Bureau pushed for employers to take advantage of "women-power" and persuaded women to enter the employment market.[43]

In 1913 the ILGWU signed the well-known "protocol in the Dress and Waist Industry" which was the first contract between labor and management settled by outside negotiators.[44] The contract formalized the trade's division of labor by gender.[44]

Another win for women came in 1921 when congress passed the Sheppard-Towner Act, a welfare measure intended to reduce infant and maternal mortality; it was the first federally funded healthcare act.[45] The act provided federal funds to establish health centers for prenatal and child care.[45] Expectant mothers and children could receive health checkups and health advice.[45]

In 1963 the Equal Pay Act was passed making it the first federal law against sex discrimination, equal pay for equal work, and made employers hire women workers if they qualified from the start.[46]

Unions also became a major outlet for women to fight against the unfair treatment they experienced. Women who joined these types of unions stayed before and after work to talk about the benefits of the union, collect dues, obtain charters, and form bargaining committees.[42]

The National Recovery Administration (NRA) was approved in May 1933. The NRA negotiated codes designed to rekindle production.[47] It raised wages, shortened workers' hours, and increased employment for the first time maximizing hour and minimizing wage provisions benefiting female workers.[47] The NRA had its flaws however, it only covered half of the women in the workforce particularly manufacturing and trade.[47] The NRA regulated working conditions only for women with a job and did not offer any relief for the two million unemployed women who desperately needed it.[48]

The 1930s proved successful for women in the workplace thanks to federal relief programs and the growth of unions. For the first time women were not completely dependent on themselves, in 1933 the federal government expanded in its responsibility to female workers. In 1938 the Fair Labor Standards Act grew out of several successful strikes. Two million women joined the workforce during the Great Depression despite negative public opinion.[49]

Pink ghetto is a term used to refer to jobs dominated by women. The term was coined in 1983 to describe the limits women have in furthering their careers, since the jobs are often dead-end, stressful and underpaid.

Pink ghetto can also describe the placement of female managers into positions that will not lead them to the board room, thus perpetuating the "glass ceiling". This includes managing areas such as human resources, customer service, and other areas that do not contribute to the corporate "bottom line". While this allows women to rise in ranks as a manager, their career eventually stalls out and they're excluded from the upper echelons.[50][51][52]

Scholars such as Judy Wajcman argue that technology has long been monopolized by men and is a great source of their power historically. [53] However, more millennial men are doing pink collar work because technology is affecting blue collar work. Machines are able to perform many of the tasks that were typically gendered male within factories. In a 1990 study conducted by Allan H. Hunt and Timothy L. Hunt, examines how industrial robots would impact both the creation of jobs as well as job displacement among unskilled workers in the United States. It was concluded that that the impact of unemployment due to the spread of robotics would be felt the greatest by uneducated, unskilled blue-collar workers. New technology in the form of robotics eliminates many semi or unskilled jobs. [54] Judy Wajman maintains that skills involving machines and strength are associated with masculinity.[55] This means that the least technical jobs (pink-collar) jobs are associated with women. These machines designed by men, using the technology they have always monopolized, are now displacing them and forcing them into feminized pink-collar work.


which indian city's name literally means 'land of the thunderbolt'

Darjeeling is a hill station (a hill town) in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of Darjeeling district, situated in the Shiwalik Hills (or Lower Himalaya) at an average elevation of 2,134 m above sea level. Once ruled by the Kingdom of Sikkim, the Darjeeling region was converted into a hill station by the British East India Company in the 1800s, and came to be known as the "Queen of the Hills." It remained as a part of the state of West Bengal in independent India. The name Darjeeling is a composition of two Tibetan words – Dorje ("thunderbolt") and ling ("place"). Hence, darjeeling translates as "Land of the Thunderbolt".

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Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay) is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the most populous  Indian city. Mumbai is located on an island off the west coast of India. The city, which has a deep natural harbour, is also the largest port in western India, handling over half of India's passenger traffic. Mumbai is the commercial capital of India, and houses important financial institutions such as the Reserve Bank of India, the Bombay Stock Exchange and the corporate headquarters of many Indian companies. Owing to the immense business opportunities available in Mumbai and relatively high standard of living, it has attracted migrants from all over India and South Asia, making the city a potpourri of various communities and cultures. Within Mumbai is located Bollywood, the epicentre of the country's Hindi film and television industry, producing the world's highest number of films annually. Mumbai is also one of the rare cities to accommodate a National Park within its municipal limits.  (more...)

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The economy of India is the fourth-largest in the world as measured by purchasing power parity (PPP), with a GDP of $3.3 trillion.  When measured in USD exchange rates it is the tenth largest in the world, with a GDP of $691.8 billion. However India's huge population results in a relatively low per capita income ($3,100 at PPP). Services are the major source of economic growth in India today, though two-thirds of Indian workforce earn their livelihood directly or indirectly through agriculture. In recent times, India has also capitalised on its large number of highly-educated populace fluent in the English language to become a major exporter of software services, financial services and software engineers. For most of India's independent history, a socialist inspired approach was adhered to, with strict government control and regulation on private sector participation, foreign trade and foreign direct investment. Since the early 1990s, India has gradually opened up its markets through economic reforms by reducing government controls on foreign trade and investment. The socio-economic problems India faces are the burgeoning population, growing inequality, lack of infrastructure, growing unemployment and growing poverty. (more...)

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The Indian Institutes of Technology (Hindi: भारतीय प्रौद्योगिकी संस्थान), or IITs, are a group of seven autonomous engineering and technology-oriented institutes of higher education established and declared as Institutes of National Importance by the Government of India. These institutes were created to train scientists and engineers to develop a skilled workforce with the aim of bolstering India's economic and social development after independence in 1947. The students and alumni of IITs are colloquially referred to as IITians. The first IIT was established at Kharagpur in 1951, followed by similar establishments at Mumbai, Chennai, Kanpur, Delhi, Guwahati and Roorkee. Although each IIT is an autonomous university, they are linked  through a common IIT Council to oversee their administration. They have a common admission process, using the Joint Entrance Examination (popularly known as IIT-JEE) to select around 4,000 candidates. About 15,500 undergraduate and 12,000 graduate students study in the seven IITs in addition to research scholars. Many IITians have achieved success in a variety of professions, resulting in the establishment of the widely recognised IIT Brand. The success of the IITs has led to the creation of similar institutes in other fields, such as the National Institutes of Technology, the Indian Institutes of Management and the Indian Institute of Information Technology.  (more...)

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Kolkata is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal and was capital of British India until 1912. The city's name was officially changed from  Calcutta to Kolkata in January 2001. The urban agglomeration of Kolkata covers several municipal corporations, municipalities, city boards and villages and is the third largest urban agglomeration in India after Mumbai and Delhi. As per the census of 2001, the urban agglomeration's population was 13,216,546 while that of the city was 4,580,544. Kolkata city's population growth has been pretty low in the last decade. The city is situated on the banks of the Hoogli River (a distributary of the Ganges). Some of the renowned engineering marvels associated with Kolkata include the bridges like, Howrah Bridge, Vivekananda Setu and Vidyasagar Setu. Kolkata is the main business, commercial and financial hub of eastern India. The city's economic fortunes turned the tide as the early nineties economic liberalization in India reached Kolkata's shores during late nineties.  (more...)

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The Tamil people are an ethnic group from South Asia with a recorded history going back almost two millennia. The oldest Tamil communities are those of southern India and north-eastern Sri Lanka. Unlike many ethnic groups, the Tamils have at no time been governed by a single political entity; TamilÌ²akam, the traditional name for the Tamil lands, has always been under the rule of more than one kingdom or state. Despite this, the Tamil cultural identity has always been strong. Historically, this identity has been primarily linguistic, with Tamils being those whose first language was Tamil. In recent times, however, the definition has been broadened to also include emigrants of Tamil descent who maintain Tamil traditions, even when they no longer speak the language. Tamils are ethnically, linguistically and culturally related to the other Dravidian peoples of South Asia. There are an estimated 74 million Tamils around the world. Most Indian Tamils live in the state of Tamil Nadu, which includes the major part of the former Madras Presidency. Morover, Tamils are in a clear majority in the union territory of Puducherry, a former French colony which is a subnational enclave situated geographically within Tamil Nadu. (more...).

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Norman Borlaug is an American agricultural scientist, humanitarian, Nobel laureate, and the father of the Green Revolution. During the mid-20th century, Borlaug led the introduction of his grain and modern agricultural production techniques to Mexico, Pakistan, and India. As a result, Mexico became a net exporter of wheat by 1963. Between 1965 and 1970, wheat yields nearly doubled in Pakistan and India, greatly improving the food security in those nations. These collective increases in yield have been labeled the Green Revolution, and Borlaug is often credited with saving over a billion people from starvation. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 in recognition of his contributions to world peace through increasing food supply. More recently, he has helped apply these methods of increasing food production to Asia and Africa. Borlaug has continually advocated the use of his methods and biotechnology to decrease world famine;  although his work has faced environmental and socioeconomic criticisms, he has repudiated most of those accusations. In 1986, he established the World Food Prize to recognize individuals who have improved the quality, quantity or availability of food around the globe.  (more...)

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Sikkim is a landlocked  Indian state nestled in the Himalayas. It is the least populous state in India, and the second smallest.  Sikkim was an independent state  ruled by the Chogyal monarchy until 1975, when a referendum to make it India's twenty-second state succeeded. The thumb-shaped state borders Nepal in the west, Tibet to the north and east, and Bhutan in the south-east. The Indian state of West Bengal borders Sikkim to its south. The official language is  Nepali, and the predominant religions are Hinduism and Vajrayana Buddhism. Gangtok is the capital and largest town. Despite its small size, Sikkim is geographically diverse, owing to its location at the Himalayan foothills. Terrain ranges from tropical in the south to tundra in the north.  Kanchenjunga, the world's third highest peak, is located in Sikkim, straddling its northern border with Nepal. Sikkim has become one of India's most visited states owing to its reputation for untouched scenic beauty and political stability. (more...)

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Bengali or Bangla (বাংলা, Bengali pronunciation: [ˈbaŋla]) is an Indo-Aryan language of East South Asia, evolved from Prakrit, Pāli and Sanskrit. Bengali is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal. With nearly 200 million native speakers, Bengali is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world (it is ranked between fourth and seventh). Bengali is the main language spoken in Bangladesh; in India, Bengali is ranked as either the second or third most spoken language. Along with Assamese, it is geographically the most eastern of the Indo-European languages.  (more...)

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Mahatma Gandhi(Gujarati: મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી; Hindi: मोहनदास करमचंद गांधी was the charismatic intellectual and mass-movement leader who brought the cause of independence for British colonial India to world attention.  His ideas, especially the satyagraha model of non-violent protest, have influenced both nationalist and internal movements throughout the world. By means of non-violent civil disobedience, Gandhi helped bring about India's independence from British rule, inspiring other colonial peoples to work for their own independence and ultimately dismantle the British Empire and replace it with the Commonwealth of Nations. Gandhi's principle of satyagraha ('"truth force"), often roughly translated as "way of truth" or "pursuit of truth," has inspired other democratic activists, including Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela. He often stated his values were simple, drawn from traditional Hindu beliefs: truth (satya), and non-violence (ahimsa).  (more...)

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Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. Black pepper is native to southern India and is extensively cultivated there and elsewhere in tropical regions. The fruit is a small drupe five millimetres in diameter, dark red when fully mature, containing a single seed. Dried and ground pepper is one of the most common spices in European cuisine and its descendants, having been known and prized since antiquity for both its flavour and its use as a medicine. The spiciness of black pepper is due to the chemical piperine. Ground black peppercorn, usually referred to simply as "pepper", may be found on nearly every dinner table in some parts of the world, often alongside its frequent companion, table salt. (more...)

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Darjeeling is famous for its tea industry, which produces blends considered among the world's finest. Once used as a sanitarium for British troops and administrators, the town is now a popular tourist destination. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway connecting the town with the plains was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. Darjeeling is noted for several western-style public schools attracting students from all over India and neighbouring countries. The town was a major centre of Gorkhaland separatism in the 1980s, resulting in a decrease in tourism-related commerce. Darjeeling has continued to grow in the recent years and the region's fragile ecology is threatened by a rising demand for environmental resources stemming from growing tourist traffic and rapid urbanisation.  (more...)

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The political integration of India established a united nation for the first time in thousands of years from a plethora of princely states, colonial provinces and possessions. Despite partition, a new India arose above demographic distinctions to unite peoples of various geographic, economic, ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds. India was transformed after independence through political upheaval and ethnic discontent, and continues to evolve as a federal republic natural to its diversity. The process is defined by sensitive religious conflicts between Hindus and Muslims, diverse ethnic populations, as well as by geo-political rivalry and military conflicts with Pakistan and China. When the Indian independence movement succeeded in ending British Raj on August 15, 1947, India's leaders faced the prospect of inheriting a nation fragmented between medieval-era kingdoms and provinces organized by colonial powers. Under the leadership of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, one of India's most respected freedom fighters and the Minister of Home Affairs, the new Government of India employed frank political negotiations backed with the option of military action to weld a nation. (more...)

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Nathu La Pass is a mountain pass in the Himalayas mountain ranges. It is located on the Indo-China border connecting the Indian state of Sikkim with Yadong County in Tibet Autonomous Region of People's Republic of China. The pass, at 4,508 m (14,790 ft) above mean sea level, forms part of an offshoot of the ancient Silk Road. The name Nathu literally means "listening ears", and La means "Pass" in Tibetan. It can also spelled Ntula, Natu La, Nathula, or Natula.

Nathu La is one of the three trading border posts shared between China and India. Closed after the 1962 Sino-Indian War, the pass was re-opened in 2006 following numerous bilateral trade agreements. The opening bolstered the economy of the region and is expected to play key role in the Sino-Indian trade. The pass is used for export of 29 goods from Indian side and 15 goods from Chinese side. The opening of the pass also shortens the travel distance to important Hindu and Buddhist pilgrimage sites.  (more...)

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The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, also known as the Second Kashmir War, was the culmination of a series of skirmishes that occurred between April 1965 and September 1965 between India and Pakistan. The war was the second fought between India and Pakistan over the region of Kashmir, the first having been fought in 1947. The war lasted five weeks, resulted in thousands of casualties on both sides and ended in a United Nations (UN) mandated ceasefire. It is generally accepted that the war began following the failure of Pakistan's "Operation Gibraltar" which was designed to infiltrate and invade Jammu and Kashmir.

Much of the war was fought by the countries' land forces in the region of Kashmir and along the International Border (IB) between India and Pakistan. The war also involved a limited participation from the countries' respective air forces. This war saw the largest amassing of troops in Kashmir, a number that was overshadowed only during the 2001-2002 military standoff between India and Pakistan. Most of the war was fought on land by each country's infantry and armored units, with substantial backing from their air forces. Many details of this war, like those of most Indo-Pakistani Wars, remain unclear and riddled with media biases.  (more...)

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Lage Raho Munna Bhai is a 2006  Bollywood comedy directed by Rajkumar Hirani and produced by Vinod Chopra Productions. It is the second film of the Munna Bhai series, preceded by Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. Apart from having the same main characters, the film bears little relation to the previous edition and does not continue the plot in a sequel format. It stars Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Vidya Balan, Boman Irani, Dilip Prabhavalkar, and Dia Mirza.

In this movie, Munna Bhai (a bhai or a Tapori, a leader in the Mumbai underworld) meets the ghost of Mahatma Gandhi who teaches him the principles of Gandhian philosophy. Inspired by these ideals, he and his sidekick, Circuit are start promoting Gandhism, which Munna Bhai calls "Gandhigiri". This particular use of an underlying moral is a tradmark of Vidhu Vinod Chopra and has distinguished it from other Bollywood films. The movie was a major hit in India and was ranked #1 on the box office for a period of eight weeks since its release.  (more...)

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West Bengal (Bengali: পশ্চিমবঙ্গ, Poshchimbôŋgo) is a state in eastern India. With Bangladesh, which lies on its eastern border, the state forms the ethno-linguistic region of Bengal. To its northeast lie the states of Assam and Sikkim and the country Bhutan, and to its southwest, the state of Orissa. To the west it borders the state of Jharkhand and Bihar, and to the northwest, Nepal.

The region that is now West Bengal was a part of a number of empires and kingdoms during the past two millennia. The British East India Company cemented their hold on the region following the Battle of Plassey in 1757 CE, and the city of Kolkata, then Calcutta, served for many years as the capital of British India. A hotbed of the Indian independence movement through the early 20th century, Bengal was divided in 1947 into two separate entities, West Bengal - a state of India, and East Pakistan belonging to the new nation of Pakistan.

Following India's independence in 1947, West Bengal's economic and political theatres were dominated for many decades by intellectual Marxism, Naxalite movements and trade unionism. From late 1990s, economic rejuvenation led to a spurt in the state's economic and industrial growth. An agriculture-dependent state, West Bengal occupies only 2.7% of the India's land area, though it supports over 7.8% of Indian population, and is the most densely populated state in India. West Bengal has been ruled by the CPI(M)-led Left Front for three decades, making it the world's longest-running democratically-elected communist government. Many notable poets, writers, artists and performers are native to West Bengal.  (more...)

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The Chola dynasty (Tamil: சோழர் குலம்) was a Tamil dynasty that ruled primarily in southern India until the 13th century CE. The dynasty originated in the fertile valley of the Kaveri River. Territories under their domain stretched from the islands of Maldives in the south to as far north as the banks of the river Ganges in Bengal. The dynasty was at the height of its power during the tenth and the eleventh centuries. Under Rajaraja Chola I (Rajaraja the Great) and his son Rajendra Chola, the dynasty rose as a military, economic and cultural power in Asia. The legacy of Chola rule has lasted in the region through modern times. Their patronage of Tamil literature and their zeal in building temples have resulted in some great works of Tamil architecture and poetry. The Chola kings were avid builders and envisioned the temples in their kingdoms not only as places of worship, but also as centres of economic activity, benefiting their entire community. They pioneered a centralised form of government and established a disciplined bureaucracy.  (more...)

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Rabindranath Tagore (May 7, 1861 â€“ August 7, 1941), also known by the sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali poet, Brahmo (syncretic Hindu monotheist) philosopher, visual artist, playwright, composer, and novelist whose avant-garde works reshaped Bengali literature and music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A celebrated cultural icon of Bengal, he became Asia's first Nobel laureate when he won the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature.

A Calcuttan Pirali Brahmin by birth, Tagore began writing poems at the age of eight; he published his first substantial poetry — using the pseudonym "Bhānusiṃha" ("Sun Lion") — in 1877 and wrote his first short stories and dramas at age sixteen. His home schooling, life in Shelidah, and extensive travels made Tagore an iconoclastic pragmatist; however, growing disillusionment with the British Raj caused the internationalist Tagore to back the Indian Independence Movement and befriend Mahatma Gandhi. Despite the loss of virtually his entire family and his regrets regarding Bengal's decline, his life's work — Visva-Bharati University — endured.  (more...)

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Goa is India's smallest state in terms of area and the second smallest in terms of population after Sikkim. It is located on the west coast of India, in the region known as the Konkan, and is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the east and south. The Arabian Sea makes up the state's west coast. Panaji is the state's capital, and Margao the largest town. A former colony of Portugal, Goa was ruled by the Portuguese for almost 450 years until 1961, when it was forcibly taken, after demands for a merger with India failed. Internationally renowned for its beaches, Goa is visited by thousands of foreign and domestic tourists each year. Besides beaches, Goa is also known for its world heritage architecture including the Bom Jesus Basilica. Goa also has rich flora and fauna, owing to its location on the Western Ghats range, which are classified as a biodiversity hotspot, one of only three among the ecoregions of India. (more...).

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Tamil is a classical language and one of the major languages belonging to the Dravidian language family. It is predominantly spoken in South India and Sri Lanka, with smaller communities of speakers in many other countries.  As of 1996, it was the 18th most spoken language in the world with over 74 million speakers worldwide.

As one of the few living classical languages, Tamil has an unbroken literary tradition of over two millennia. The written language has changed little during this period, with the result that classical literature is as much a part of everyday Tamil as modern literature.  Tamil schoolchildren, for example, are still taught the alphabet using the átticúdi, an alphabet rhyme written around the first century CE.

The name 'Tamil' is an anglicised form of the native name தமிழ் (IPA /tæmɪɻ/).  The final letter of the name, usually transcribed as the lowercase l or zh, is a retroflex r believed to only exist in Tamil and Malayalam. In phonetic transcriptions, it is usually represented by the retroflex approximant.  (more...)

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K. R. Narayanan (4 February 1921 â€” 9 November 2005) was the tenth President of the Republic of India. He is the only Dalit and the only Malayali to have held the Presidency. Born in the southern state of Kerala, and after a brief stint with journalism and studying political science at the London School of Economics with the assistance of a scholarship, Narayanan began his political career in India as a member of the Indian Foreign Service under the Nehru administration. He has served as ambassador to Japan, United Kingdom, Thailand, Turkey, People's Republic of China and United States of America and was referred by Nehru as "the best diplomat of the country". He entered politics at Indira Gandhi's request and won three successive general elections to the Lok Sabha and has served as a Minister of state in the Union cabinet under Rajiv Gandhi. Elected as Vice-President in 1992, Narayanan went on to become the President of India in 1997.

In India, where the office of the President is largely ceremonial without executive  powers, Narayanan was regarded as an independent and assertive President who set several precedents and enlarged the scope of the highest constitutional office. He described himself as a "working President" who worked "within the four corners of the Constitution"; something midway between an "executive President" who has direct power and a "rubber-stamp President" who endorses government decisions without question or deliberation. He used his discretionary powers as a President and deviated from conventions and precedents in many a situation including but not limited toâ€” the  appointment of the Prime Minister in a hung Parliament situation, in dismissing a state government and imposition of President's rule there at the suggestion of the Union Cabinet, and the Kargil conflict. He set a new precent in the country's general election of 1998 by becoming the first Indian President to vote.  (more...)

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Greco-Buddhism is the cultural syncretism between the culture of Classical Greece and Buddhism, which developed over a period of close to 800 years in Central Asia in the area corresponding to modern-day Afghanistan and Pakistan, between the 4th century BCE and the 5th century CE. Greco-Buddhism influenced the artistic (and, possibly, conceptual) development of Buddhism, and in particular Mahayana Buddhism, before it was adopted by Central and Northeastern Asia from the 1st century CE, ultimately spreading to China, Korea and Japan. Numerous Greco-Buddhist works of art display the intermixing of Greek and Buddhist influences, around such creation centers as Gandhara.  The subject matter of Gandharan art was definitely Buddhist, while most motifs were of Western Asiatic or Hellenistic origin. The interaction between Hellenistic Greece and Buddhism started when Alexander the Great conquered Asia Minor and Central Asia in 334 BCE, going as far as the Indus, thus establishing direct contact with India, the birthplace of Buddhism.  (more...)

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The Flag of India, sometimes also known as the Tiranga, which means tricolour in Hindi, was adopted as the national flag of the Republic of India on July 22, 1947, during an ad hoc meeting of the Constituent Assembly just before India's independence on August 15 1947. In India, the term "tricolour" almost always refers to the Indian national flag. The flag is a horizontal tricolour of saffron at the top, white in the middle and green at the bottom. In the centre is a navy blue wheel with twenty-four spokes, known as the Ashoka Chakra, taken from the Ashoka pillar at Sarnath. The flag is also the Indian army's war flag, hoisted daily on military installations. The Indian National Flag was designed by Pingali Venkayya. Official flag specification requires that the flag be made only of khadiâ€“a special type of hand-spun yarn. The display and use of the flag are strictly enforced by the Indian Flag Code. A few days before India gained its freedom in August 1947, the Constituent Assembly set up an ad hoc committee headed by Rajendra Prasad. The Flag Committee was constituted on 1947-06-23 and after three weeks they came to a decision on 1947-07-14, being that the flag of the Indian National Congress should be adopted as the National Flag of India with suitable modifications. The "Dharma Chakra" which appears on the abacus of Sarnath was adopted in the place of the "Charkha". (more...).

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Rudyard Kipling was a British author and poet, born in India. He is best known for the children's story The Jungle Book (1894), the Indian spy novel Kim (1901), the poems "Gunga Din" (1892) and "If—" (1895), and his many short stories. He was also an outspoken defender of Western imperialism, and coined the phrase "The White Man's Burden." The height of his popularity was the first decade of the 20th century; in 1907 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. In his own lifetime he was primarily considered a poet, and was even offered a knighthood and the post of British Poet Laureate—though he turned them both down.  (more...)

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Indian Railways is the state-owned railway company of India; it has a complete monopoly over the country's rail transport. Indian Railways (IR) has one of the largest and busiest rail networks in the world, transporting over 5 billion passengers and over 350 million tonnes of freight annually. IR is also the world's largest commercial or utility employer, having more than 1.6 million regular employees on its payroll. Railways were first introduced to India in 1853, and by 1947, the year of India's independence, it had grown to forty-two rail systems. In 1951 the systems were nationalised as one unit, to become one of the largest networks in the world. Indian Railways operates both long distance, as well as suburban rail systems. It operates 8,702 passenger trains and transports around five billion annually across twenty-seven states and three union territories (Delhi, Puducherry and Chandigarh). Sikkim is the only state not connected. The Railway Budget deals with the induction and improvement of existing trains and routes, the modernisation and most importantly the tariff for freight and passenger travel. (more...)

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Delhi is a metropolis in northern India. The name Delhi also refers to the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT), which is a special union territory jointly administered by the Central government, the NCT elected government and three municipal corporations. The metropolis of Delhi and the National Capital Territory of Delhi are coextensive and for most practical purposes they are considered to be the same entity. New Delhi, an urban area within the metropolis of Delhi, is the seat of the Government of India. Delhi is the sixth most populous metropolis in the world with a population of 15.3 million (2005 figure). Delhi's metropolitan area, informally known as the National Capital Region (NCR), comprises the NCT and the neighbouring satellite towns of Faridabad and Gurgaon in Haryana, and Noida and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh making it the sixth most populous agglomeration in the world, with an estimated population of 19.7 million.

Delhi has the most vibrant history among prominent cities or towns of India. Delhi was the capital of several empires in ancient India and has over 60,000 recognized monuments built over several millennia. It is believed to be the site of Indraprastha, founded by the Pandavas of the Mahabharata around 5000 BC. Delhi derives its historic importance from its position in northern India between the Aravalli Hills to the southwest and the Yamuna river on whose western banks it stands. This enabled it to dominate the old trade routes from northwest India to the plains of the Ganges. As a result, it has always been an important cultural and intellectual centre. Due to high migration rate, Delhi registers as one of the fastest growing cities in Asia. As a consequence, it faces key issues like environmental degradation, air and water pollution, traffic congestion and acute power and water shortage.  (more...)

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The Ramayana (Devanagari: रामायण) is an ancient Sanskrit epic attributed to the poet Valmiki and is an important part of the Hindu canon (smṛti). The name Ramayana is a tatpurusha compound of  Rama and ayana "going, advancing", translating to "the travels of Rama". The Ramayana consists of 24,000 verses in seven cantos (kandas) and tells the story of a prince, Rama of Ayodhya, whose wife Sita is abducted by the demon (Rakshasa) king of Lanka, Ravana. The Ramayana had an important influence on later Sanskrit poetry, primarily through its establishment of the Sloka meter.

One of the most important literary works on ancient India, the Ramayana has had a profound impact on art and culture in the Indian subcontinent. Starting from the 8th century, the colonisation of Southeast Asia by Indians began. Because of this, the Ramayana became popular in Southeast Asia and manifested itself in text, temple architecture and performance, particularly in Indonesia (Java, Sumatra and Borneo),  Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Laos.  (more...)

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South India is a region of India that traditionally includes the entire Indian Peninsula, south of the Vindhya ranges. The Narmada and Mahanadi rivers form the northern boundaries of the region, while the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal form the region's western, southern and eastern boundaries respectively. The southernmost point of the region, and therefore of mainland India, is Kanyakumari. South India as a cultural and linguistic entity, comprises the four southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry, whose inhabitants are referred to as South Indians. Ethnically, South Indians are primarily linked by the Dravidian origin of their languages, although some communities such as the Konkani-speaking population of Karnataka retain distinct identities.

South India is a geographically diverse region, encompassing two mountain ranges — the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats and a plateau heartland. The Tungabhadra, Kaveri, Krishna and Godavari rivers are important non-perennial sources of water. Historically, a number of dynasties including the Cholas, Pandyas, Cheras, Hoysalas and Vijayanagara ruled over different parts of South India prior to the British conquest of India. Agriculture is the single largest contributor to the regional net domestic product. Information technology (IT) is a rapidly growing industry in South India, whose main cities constitute some of India’s major IT hubs. South India's diverse culture varies from the cultures of other parts of India. Politically, South India is dominated by regional political parties rather than by the larger national political parties.  (more...)

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Ahmedabad is the largest city of the Indian state of Gujarat and seventh largest of India with a population of 5.2 million. Ahmedabad is located in north-central Gujarat on the banks of River Sabarmati. It once served as the capital of Gujarat and now is the administrative center of Ahmedabad district. Founded by Sultan Ahmed Shah of the Muzaffarid dynasty, Ahmedabad has been under the control of the Mughals, Marathas and then the British. Ahmeadabad was at the forefront of the Independence movement with the famous Dandi March led by Mahatma Gandhi starting from the city. The textile industry is the main industry of Ahmedabad due to which it was once called the Manchester of India. Recently endowed with the official title of "mega-city", Ahmedabad is one of the fastest growing cities of India. The various mosques built in the Indo-Saracenic style are a major attraction of the city. (more...)

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The Indian cricket team is an international cricket team representing India.  It is governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the main cricketing governing body in India.  Cricket is the de facto national sport of India, with a huge fan base.

The Indian cricket team made its debut in Test cricket, the highest level of international cricket, on June 25, 1932 at Lord's, England, becoming the sixth Test team.  For nearly fifty years, the India was weaker than most of the other Test cricket teams, such as Australia and England. The team gained strength in the 1970s with the emergence of players such as Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev and the Indian spin quartet, and the Indian team has continued to be highly ranked since then in both Test cricket and One-day Internationals.  The team won the Cricket World Cup in 1983 and were runners-up in 2003. The current team contains many of the world's leading players, including Sachin Tendulkar.  As of 9 April 2006, the team is ranked third in the ICC Test Championship and third in the ICC ODI Championship.  (more...)

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Kerala is a state on the southwestern tropical Malabar Coast of India. To its east and northeast, Kerala borders Tamil Nadu and Karnataka; to its west and south lie the Indian Ocean islands of Lakshadweep and the Maldives, respectively. Kerala also envelops Mahé, a coastal exclave of the Union Territory of Puducherry. In prehistory, Kerala's rainforests and wetlands — then thick with malaria-bearing mosquitoes and man-eating tigers — were largely avoided by Neolithic humans. More than a millennium of overseas contact and trade culminated in four centuries of struggle between and among multiple colonial powers and native Keralite states. Kerala was granted statehood on November 1, 1956. Radical social reforms begun in the 19th century by the kingdoms of Kochi and Travancore — and spurred by such leaders as Narayana Guru and Chattampi Swamikal — were continued by post-Independence governments, making Kerala among the Third World's longest-lived, healthiest, and most literate regions. Kerala's 31.8 million people now live under a stable democratic socialist political system and exhibit unusually equitable gender relations.  (more...)

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(Today is Monday, 13 August2018; it is now 17:02 UTC)


when did sunderland last win the fa cup

Sunderland Association Football Club (/ˈsʌndərlənd/ ( listen), locally /ˈsʊndlən/) is an English professional football club based in the city of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. Sunderland currently plays in League One, the third tier of English football. Since its formation in 1879,[2] the club has won six top-flight (First Division, now the Premier League) titles (1892, 1893, 1895, 1902, 1913 and 1936), a total only bettered by five other clubs, and has finished runners-up five times. The club has also won the FA Cup twice (1937 and 1973) and been runners-up twice (1913 and 1992), as well as winning the FA Community Shield in 1936 and being finalists the following year. Sunderland have also been Football League Cup finalists in 1985 and 2014.

Sunderland A.F.C.

Sunderland won their first FA Cup in 1937 with a 3–1 victory over Preston North End, and remained in the top league for 68 successive seasons until they were relegated for the first time in 1958. Sunderland's most notable trophy after the Second World War was their second FA Cup in 1973, when the club secured a 1–0 victory over Leeds United. The team has won the second tier title five times in that period and the third tier title once.

Sunderland play their home games at the 49,000-capacity all-seater Stadium of Light having moved from Roker Park in 1997. The original ground capacity was 42,000 which was increased to 49,000 following expansion in 2000. Sunderland have a long-standing rivalry with their neighbouring club Newcastle United, with whom they have contested the Tyne–Wear derby since 1898.

Founded 17 October 1879 as 'Sunderland and District Teachers A.F.C.' by schoolmaster James Allan,[3] Sunderland joined The Football League for the 1890–91 season.[4] They replaced Stoke, who had failed to be re-elected, becoming the first new club to join the league since its inauguration in 1888.[5] During the late 19th century, they were declared the "Team of All Talents" by William McGregor,[6] the founder of the league, after a 7–2 win against Aston Villa.[6] Sunderland won the league championship in the 1891–92 season, one season after joining The Football League. The club's 42 points were five clear of nearest rivals Preston North End, and this performance led The Times to describe the players as "a wonderfully fine team".[7] Sunderland successfully defended the title the following season, aided by centre forward Johnny Campbell, who broke the 30-goal mark for the second time in consecutive seasons. In the process, they became the first team to score 100 goals in a season, a feat not matched until 1919–20, when West Bromwich Albion set a new record.[8]

Sunderland came close to winning a third successive league championship in the 1893–94 season, finishing second behind Aston Villa. However, they regained the title in the 1894–95 season, ending the season five points ahead of Everton. After winning the English League Championship, Sunderland played against Heart of Midlothian, the champions of the Scottish League, in a game described as the Championship of the World title match.[9] Sunderland won the game 5–3 and were announced "Champions of the world".[10] Sunderland came close to winning another league title in the 1897–98 season, when they finished as runners-up to Sheffield United.[11] That season was their last at Newcastle Road, as they moved to Roker Park the following season.[12] After coming second in 1900–01, the club won their fourth league title in the 1901–02 season, beating Everton by a three-point margin.[13]

In 1904, Sunderland's management was embroiled in a payment scandal involving player Andrew McCombie. The club was said to have given the player £100 (£9.9 thousand today) to help him start his own business, on the understanding that he would repay the money after his benefit game.[14] However, McCombie refused to repay the money, claiming it had been a gift. An investigation conducted by the Football Association concluded that the money given to McCombie was part of a "re-signing/win/draw bonus", which violated the Association's rules. Sunderland were fined £250 (£24.7 thousand today), and six directors were suspended for two and a half years for not showing a true record of the club's financial dealings. Sunderland manager Alex Mackie was also suspended for three months for his involvement in the affair.[14][15]

On 5 December 1908, Sunderland achieved their highest ever league win, against north-east rivals Newcastle United. They won the game 9–1; Billy Hogg and George Holley each scored hat-tricks.[16] The club won the league again in 1913,[17] but lost their first FA Cup final 1–0 to Aston Villa, in a very tough loss.[18] This was the closest the club has come to winning the league title and the FA Cup in the same season.[19] Two seasons later the First World War brought the league to a halt. After the league's resumption, Sunderland came close to winning another championship in the 1922–23 season, when they were runners-up to Liverpool.[20] They also came close the following season, finishing third, four points from the top of the league.[21] The club escaped relegation from the First Division by one point in the 1927–28 season despite 35 goals from Dave Halliday.

The point was won in a match against Middlesbrough, and they finished in fifteenth place.[22] Halliday improved his goal scoring to 43 goals in 42 games the following season,[23] an all-time Sunderland record for goals scored in a single season.[4]

The club's sixth league championship came in the 1935–36 season,[24] and they won the FA Cup the following season, after a 3–1 victory against Preston North End at Wembley Stadium.[25] The remainder of the decade saw mid-table finishes, until the league and FA Cup were suspended for the duration of the Second World War. Some football was still played as a morale boosting exercise, in the form of the Football League War Cup. Sunderland were finalists in the tournament in 1942, but were beaten by Wolverhampton Wanderers.[26]

For Sunderland, the immediate post-war years were characterised by significant spending; the club paid £18,000 (£584 thousand today) for Carlisle United's Ivor Broadis in January 1949.[14] Broadis was also Carlisle's manager at the time, and this is the first instance of a player transferring himself to another club.[27] This, along with record-breaking transfer fees to secure the services of Len Shackleton and Welsh international Trevor Ford, led to a contemporary nickname, the "Bank of England club".[28] The club finished third in the First Division in 1950,[29] their highest finish since the 1936 championship.

The late 1950s saw a sharp downturn in Sunderland's fortunes, and the club was once again implicated in a major financial scandal in 1957.[15] Found guilty of making payments to players in excess of the maximum wage, they were fined £5,000 (£111,000 today), and their chairman and three directors were suspended.[14][30][31] The following year, Sunderland were relegated from the highest division for the first time in their 68-year league history.[32]

Sunderland's absence from the top flight lasted six years. The club came within one game of promotion back to the First Division in the 1962–63 season. Sunderland required only a draw in their final game against promotion rivals Chelsea, who had another game left to play after this match, to secure promotion. However, they were defeated,[33] and Chelsea won their last game 7–0 to clinch promotion, finishing ahead of Sunderland on goal average.[34] After the close call in the previous season, the club was promoted to Division One in 1964 after finishing in second place. Sunderland beat Charlton Athletic in the final stages of the season, where they clinched promotion with a game to spare.[35] At the end of the decade, they were again relegated to the Second Division after finishing 21st.[36]

Sunderland won their last major trophy in 1973, in a 1â€“0 victory over Don Revie's Leeds United in the FA Cup Final.[37] A Second Division club at the time, Sunderland won the game thanks mostly to the efforts of their goalkeeper Jimmy Montgomery, who saved two of Leeds shots at goal in quick succession, one being from hot-shot Peter Lorimer.[38] Ian Porterfield scored a volley in the 30th minute to beat Leeds and take the trophy.[38] Since 1973 only two other clubs, Southampton in 1976,[39] and West Ham United in 1980,[40] have equalled Sunderland's achievement of lifting the FA Cup while playing outside the top tier of English football.

By winning the 1973 FA Cup Final, Sunderland qualified for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, the club's only appearance in European competition to date.[41] Sunderland beat Vasas Budapest 3–0 on aggregate, and were drawn against Lisbon club Sporting in the second round.[41] They won the first leg at Roker Park 2–1 but were defeated 2–0 in the away leg, and were knocked out of the competition 3–2 on aggregate.[41] After spending six seasons in the Second Division, Sunderland were promoted to Division One in the 1975–76 season; they topped the table over Bristol City by three points.[42] However, Sunderland were relegated the following season back into Division Two, without their FA Cup Final winning manager Bob Stokoe, who had resigned because of health problems at the start of the season.[43] The club celebrated its 100-year centenary in the 1979–80 season with a testimonial against an England XI side, which they lost 2–0.[44]

Sunderland appeared in their first League Cup final in 1985, but lost 1â€“0 to Norwich City.[45] In 1987, Sunderland saw one of the lowest points in their history, when they were relegated to the Third Division of the English league for the first time.[46] Under new chairman Bob Murray and new manager Denis Smith, the club was promoted the following season.[47] In 1990, they were promoted back to the top flight in unusual circumstances. Sunderland lost to Swindon Town in the play-off final, but Swindon's promotion was revoked after the club was found guilty of financial irregularities and Sunderland were promoted instead.[48] They stayed up for one year before being relegated on the final day of the following season.[49]

Sunderland's next outing in a major final came in 1992 when, as a Second Division club, they returned to the FA Cup final. There was to be no repeat of the heroics of 1973, as Sunderland lost 2â€“0 to Liverpool.[50]

In 1995, they faced the prospect of a return to the third-tier of English football.[51] Peter Reid was brought in as manager, and quickly turned things around. Reid's time in charge had a stabilising effect; he remained manager for seven years.[52] After promotion from Division One in the 1995–96 season,[53] Sunderland began their first season in the Premier League, but finished third from the bottom and were relegated back to the First Division.[54] In 1997, Sunderland left Roker Park, their home for 99 years. Bearing fond memories of the stadium, former Sunderland player Len Shackleton said, "There will never be another place like Roker".[55] The club moved to the Stadium of Light, a 42,000-seat arena that, at the time, was the largest stadium built in England after the Second World War.[56] The capacity was later increased to 49,000.[57] Sunderland returned to the Premier League as First Division champions in 1999 with a then-record 105 points.[58] Sunderland's 1999–2000 season started at Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea beat them 4–0.[59] However, in the return match later in the season Sunderland turned the tables on Chelsea, avenging their 4–0 defeat with a 4–1 win at the Stadium of Light.[60] Sunderland also achieved a 2–1 victory over rivals Newcastle United at St. James' Park,[61] a result which helped bring about the resignation of Newcastle's manager, Ruud Gullit.[62] At the end of the season Sunderland finished seventh, with Kevin Phillips winning the European Golden Shoe in his first top-flight season, scoring 30 goals.[63]

Another seventh-place finish in the 2000–01 season was followed by two less successful seasons, and they were relegated to the second-tier with a then-record low 19 points in 2003.[4][64] Former Ireland manager Mick McCarthy took over at the club, and, in 2005, he took Sunderland up as champions for the third time in less than 10 years.[4] However, the club's stay in the top flight was short-lived as Sunderland were once again relegated, this time with a new record-low total of 15 points. McCarthy left the club in mid-season, and he was replaced temporarily by former Sunderland player Kevin Ball.[65] The record-low 15-point performance was surpassed in the 2007–08 season by Derby County, who finished on 11 points.[66]

Following Sunderland's relegation from the Premier League, the club was taken over by the Irish Drumaville Consortium,[4] headed by ex-player Niall Quinn, who appointed former Manchester United captain Roy Keane as the new manager.[67] Under Keane, the club rose steadily up the table with an unbeaten run of 17 games[68] to win promotion to the Premier League,[69] and were named winners of the Championship after beating Luton Town 5–0 at Kenilworth Road on 6 May 2007.[70] Following an inconsistent start to the 2008–09 season, Keane resigned.[71] Before the start of the following campaign, Irish-American businessman Ellis Short completed a full takeover of the club,[72] and Steve Bruce was announced as the next manager on 3 June.[73] One of Bruce's first signings, Darren Bent, cost a club record fee of £10 million, broken a year later when they bought Ghana international Asamoah Gyan for around £13 million.[74] Sunderland started the 2010–11 season strongly, but after Bent left for Aston Villa in January 2011 in a deal potentially worth £24 million, a record transfer fee received for the club,[75] they eventually finished 10th — which was still their highest top-flight finish for 10 years.[76]

Short replaced Quinn as chairman in October 2011, with Quinn becoming Director of International Development.[77] Bruce was sacked in November 2011,[78][79] and replaced by Martin O'Neill.[80][81] In February 2012, Quinn left the club with immediate effect.[82] O'Neill was sacked in March 2013[83] and Italian Paolo Di Canio was announced as his replacement the following day.[84] The appointment prompted the immediate resignation of club Vice Chairman David Miliband due to Di Canio's "past political statements".[85] Sunderland went on to avoid relegation with one game to go. Di Canio was sacked after a poor start to the 2013–14 season, and reports of a complete breakdown in relations with his players.[86] Gus Poyet was announced as his replacement,[87] and led Sunderland to the 2014 Football League Cup Final, where they were defeated 3–1 by Manchester City.[88] In March 2015 Poyet was sacked,[89] and veteran Dutchman Dick Advocaat was appointed as the club's new head coach,[90] saving the club from relegation.[91] Eight games into the 2015–16 season he resigned from the position.[92] Sam Allardyce was appointed the next manager in October 2015, and the club was again saved from relegation at the end of the season.[93]

In July 2016, Allardyce left the club to be announced as manager for the English national team,[94] and former Everton and Manchester United manager David Moyes was appointed as his replacement.[95] Under Moyes, Sunderland made the worst ever start to a Premier League season, taking just two points from their opening 10 matches.[96] The club was relegated to the second tier for the first time in 10 years at the end of the 2016–17 season, finishing bottom of the table with 24 points,[97] and Moyes resigned as manager.[98] In June 2017, goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, a product of Sunderland's academy who joined the club aged eight, was transferred to Everton for a fee of £25 million, rising to a possible £30 million, a record for a British goalkeeper.[99]

Following a poor run of form in the 2017–18 EFL Championship season, manager Simon Grayson was sacked,[100] and Wales head coach Chris Coleman replaced him in November 2017.[101] In April 2018 after a second consecutive relegation, this time to League One,[102] Coleman was sacked and the club sold to a group led by Stewart Donald, chairman of Eastleigh F.C.[103]

Sunderland played in an all blue strip from their formation until 1884,[4] when they adopted a red and white halved strip.[104] They assumed the current strip of red and white stripes in the 1887–88 season.[105] Their badge included a ship, the upper part of the Sunderland coat of arms, a black cat, and a football in front of Sunderland's red and white stripes.[106] In 1977 the badge was changed, but still included the ship, football and the background of red and white stripes.[107]

This badge was used until the relocation from Roker Park to the Stadium of Light.[108] To coincide with the move, Sunderland released a new crest divided into four quarters; the upper right and lower left featured their traditional red and white colours, but the ship was omitted. The upper left section features the Penshaw Monument and the lower right section shows the Wearmouth Bridge.[108] A colliery wheel at the top of the crest commemorates County Durham's mining history, and the land the Stadium of Light was built on, formerly the Monkwearmouth Colliery. The crest also contains two lions, the black cats of Sunderland, and a banner displaying the club's motto, Consectatio Excellentiae, which means "In pursuit of excellence".[108]

Sunderland have had seven stadiums throughout their history; the first was at Blue House Field in Hendon in 1879. The ground was close to the place where Sunderland formed, at Hendon Board School; at that time the rent for use of the ground was £10 (£900 today).[14][109] The club then used a number of fields, one of which was near The Cedars road,[110] before relocating to Groves Field in Ashbrooke in 1882 for one season.[111] The club's third stadium was Horatio Street in Roker, the first Sunderland stadium north of the River Wear; the club played a single season there before another move,[112] this time to Abbs Field in Fulwell for two seasons. Abbs Field was notable for being the first Sunderland ground to which they charged admission.[113]

Sunderland moved to Newcastle Road in 1886. By 1898, the ground reached a capacity of 15,000 after renovations, and its rent had risen to £100 (£10.2 thousand today) a year.[14][114] Near the turn of the 20th century, Sunderland needed a bigger stadium. They returned to Roker and set up home in Roker Park. It was opened on 10 September 1898, and the home team played a match the same day against Liverpool,[115] which they won. The stadium's capacity increased to 50,000 after redevelopment with architect Archibald Leitch in 1913. Sunderland were nearly bankrupted by the cost of renovating the Main Stand, and Roker Park was put up for sale but no further action was taken. On 8 March 1933, an overcrowded Roker Park recorded the highest ever attendance at a Sunderland match, 75,118 against Derby County in a FA Cup sixth round replay.[4] Roker Park suffered a bombing in 1943, in which one corner of the stadium was destroyed. A special constable was killed while patrolling the stadium. By the 1990s, the stadium was no longer large enough, and had no room for possible expansion.[116] In January 1990, the Taylor Report was released after overcrowding at the Hillsborough Stadium resulted in 96 deaths, an incident known as the Hillsborough Disaster.[117] The report recommended that all major stadiums must be converted to an all-seater design.[118] As a result, Roker Park's capacity was reduced. It was demolished in 1997 and a housing estate built in its place.[115]

In 1997, Sunderland moved to their present ground, Stadium of Light in Monkwearmouth, which was opened by Prince Andrew, Duke of York. Built with an original capacity of 42,000, it hosted its first game against Dutch team Ajax.[56] The stadium bears a similar name to the Portuguese club Benfica's ground Estádio da Luz, albeit in a different language. Stadium expansion in 2000 saw the capacity increase to 49,000. A Davy lamp monument stands outside the stadium, and a miners banner was presented to the club by the Durham Miners' Association,[119][120] as a reminder of the Monkwearmouth Colliery pit the stadium was built on.

Sunderland held the seventh highest average home attendance out of the 20 clubs in the Premier League at the end of the 2013–14 season with an average of 41,089,[121] and held the sixth highest average attendance in the 2014–15 season with an average of over 43,000.[122] Sunderland fans often sell out allocations for away games: in the 2013–14 season, 9,000[123] Sunderland fans attended Old Trafford for the second leg of the Football League Cup semi-final, which they won to go through to the final. At Wembley, London was taken over by thousands of Mackems, the sights of Covent Garden and Leicester Square were awash with red and white, local shops completely sold out of alcohol but only one arrest was reported by the police.[124] Support is drawn from across the North East, in particular County Durham,[125] and beyond. The club has many supporter branches across the world, including the United States, Australia, Canada, Cambodia, and Greece.[126] According to YouGov statistics, supporters of Sunderland predominantly lean to the political left,[127] and often sing "The Red Flag" during games.[128] Former chairman Bob Murray described Sunderland as a "Labour Club".[120][129]

Traditionally, Sunderland's main rivals are Newcastle United, with whom they contest the Tyne–Wear derby. The club shared a rivalry with the now defunct Sunderland Albion in the 1880s and 1890s, a breakaway club formed by Sunderland's founder James Allan.[130] Sections of fans share a mutual friendship with Dutch club Feyenoord; this was developed after Wearside shipbuilders found jobs in Rotterdam during the 1970s and 80s.[131]

The club has an official quarterly magazine, called the Legion of Light, which season ticket holders receive at no cost.[132] One of the club's current fanzines is A Love Supreme.[133] Others in the past have been It's The Hope I Can't Stand, It's An Easy One For Norman/It's An Easy One For Given, Sex and Chocolate, Wise Men Say and The Roker Roar (later The Wearside Roar).[134] A charity, the Foundation of Light, is affiliated with the club and helps recruit new players into professional football.[135]

Sunderland have recently created affiliations with several African clubs including Ghana's Asante Kotoko,[136] Eqypt's El-Ittihad El-Iskandary [137] and South Africa's Bidvest Wits. Sunderland also have an affiliation with Belgian side Lierse S.K., allowing the possibility for young African players who would not qualify for a UK work permit to spend three years with Lierse to gain a Belgian passport.[138] In August 2014, Sunderland announced a commercial partnership with Washington D.C. based MLS club D.C. United.[139]

Sunderland's official nickname is 'The Black Cats'. The previous nickname, 'The Rokerites', was made redundant after the club left Roker Park for the Stadium of Light in 1997.[140] The new name was decided upon in a public vote that year.[1]

Despite the nickname being made official only relatively recently, the black cat has been used as an emblem of the club throughout most of its history. Photographs exist of players holding a black cat which made Roker Park its home in the 1900s and 1910s, and which was fed and watered by the football club.[141] A Sunderland supporter, Billy Morris, took a black cat in his top pocket as a good luck charm to the 1937 FA Cup final in which Sunderland brought home the trophy for the first time.[140][140] Since the 1960s the emblem of the Sunderland A.F.C. Supporters Association has been a black cat.[142] Reference has also been made to a "Black Cat Battery", an Artillery battery based on the River Wear during the Napoleonic Wars.[140]

As well as club nicknames, names have been used to define memorable periods in the club's history. The "Team of All Talents" moniker was used during Sunderland's successful period in the 1890s,[4] and Sunderland were known as the "Bank of England club" during the 1950s. This was in reference to the club's spending in the transfer market at the time, which saw the transfer-record broken twice.[4]

The holder of the record for the most league appearances is Jimmy Montgomery, having made 527 first team appearances between 1961 and 1976.[143] The club's top league goal scorer is Charlie Buchan, who scored 209 goals from 1911–1925;[144] Bobby Gurney is the record goalscorer over all competitions with 227 goals between 1926 and 1939.[145] Dave Halliday holds the record for the most goals scored in a season: 43 in the 1928–29 season in the Football League First Division.[144] As of October 2014 John O'Shea is the most capped player for the club, making 100 appearances for the Republic of Ireland.[144]

The club's widest victory margin in the league was in the 9–1 win against Newcastle United in the First Division in 1908. Sunderland's biggest ever win in the FA cup was against Fair field (a non-league team) and the final score was 11–1.[146] Their heaviest defeats in the league were 8–0 against Sheffield Wednesday in 1911, West Ham United in 1968, Watford in 1982 and Southampton in 2014[146] Sunderland joined the top division in England, The Football League, in the 1890–91 season and were not relegated until 1957–58 (a span of 67 seasons). In October 2015, Sunderland defeated rivals Newcastle United for the sixth consecutive time, a new record.

Sunderland's record home attendance is 75,200 for a sixth round replay FA Cup match against Derby County on 8 March 1933.[147]

The biggest transfer fee Sunderland have ever received for one of their players is £30 million for Jordan Pickford who moved to Everton on 1 July 2017. The biggest fee Sunderland have received for a player produced by the Sunderland academy is £30 million for Jordan Pickford, who moved to Everton on 1 July 2017. The biggest transfer fee paid by Sunderland is the eventual £17.1 million for Didier Ndong, who was bought from FC Lorient in August 2016.

As of the 2017–18 season

The first sponsor to appear on Sunderland kits was Cowie's, the business group of then chairman Tom Cowie, between 1983–85.[148][149] The club was sponsored by the Vaux Breweries between 1985 and 1999, with drink brands such as Lambtons sometimes appearing on kits. Subsequently, the club were sponsored by Sunderland car dealership company Reg Vardy from 1999 to 2007.[148] Sunderland were sponsored by the Irish bookmaker Boylesports, who signed a four-year contract with the club in 2007 worth up to £12 million.[150] In April 2010, Sunderland signed a two-year shirt sponsorship deal with tombola, a local online bingo company.[151] On 25 June 2012, Sunderland announced the strengthening of their partnership with the Invest in Africa initiative, with the initiative becoming the club's shirt sponsor for two years. The project is closely linked with Tullow Oil.[152] However, after a year the club announced a new sponsorship deal with South African company Bidvest. On 1 June 2015 Sunderland announced a new sponsorship with Dafabet to appear on the kits for the following season.[153]

The first kit manufacturer to appear on Sunderland kits was Umbro, between 1975–81. French brand Le Coq Sportif produced kits between 1981–83. Nike's first stint as kit manufacturer came between 1983–86, before kits from Patrick (1986–88), Hummel (1988–94), Avec (1994–97) and Asics (1997–00). Nike returned between 2000–04. Diadora produced kits for a solitary season, 2004–05, and Lonsdale made kits between 2005–07. Umbro returned for five seasons between 2007–12, before Adidas became the club's kit manufacturer for the first time in 2012.[154]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Information correct as of 8 May 2018 [156]

The following are the honours Sunderland have achieved since their foundation in 1879.[157][158][159]