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Today In Indian History (5th February)

2008  - Death of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on  5 February 2008 . A self-styled Indian guru, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was the creator of  Transcendental Meditation  (TM), a form of silent meditation. 
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Today In Indian History (4th February)

1916   - Banaras Hindu University was founded on February 4th, 1916 by  Indian scholar, educational reformer, and political activist   Madan Mohan Malaviya.  1922  -The  Chauri Chaura  Incident took place on 4 February 1922 at Chauri Chaura in the Gorakhpur district of United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) in British India. On that day, a police station in the small town of Chauri Chaura was set on fire that killed 22 policemen, leading to Gandhi suspending his non-cooperation movement.  1948 - RSS was banned  on  4 February, 1948  following the assassination of Gandhi on 30th January, 1948.  1974  – Satyendra Nath Bose, Indian physicist and mathematician, passed away on  4th February, 1974   in Kolkata.

Today In Indian History (3rd February)

1509-  The Battle of Diu was fought on  3 February 1509  between the  Portuguese  and the combined forces of the  Sultan of Gujarat, the Zamorin of Calicut, the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt  with support from the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire. The Portuguese emerged victorious.  1816 - Birth of Ram Singh , one of the famous leaders of the Kuka movement, on 3rd February, 1816.  Initially started as a religious movement with a view to reforming the Sikh religion by purging it of the degenerate features, Kuka movement, founded in 1840 in the Western Punjab, turned into a political struggle against the British. The founder of Kuka movement was Bhagat Jawahar Mal.   The Kuka Revolt also came to be known as Namdhari Movement.  Ram Singh gave a call to his followers for boycott of British goods, government schools and government posts. Known to his followers as  Satguru , he was deported by the British to Burma where he...

Today In Indian History (2nd February)

  1835  - On 2 February 1835, British historian, politician and colonial administrator Thomas Babington Macaulay presented his ‘Minute on Indian Education’ that underscored the need to impart English education to native Indians.  1887 - Birth of Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, the first Health Minister of India in independent India, on 2nd  February. A member of India's Constituent Assembly that was responsible for the framing the Constitution of India, she played an important role in the Indian freedom struggle and was imprisoned by the British on several occasions.  

Today In Indian History (1st February)

1681   - Maratha ruler Sambhaji, son of Shivaji, attacks and sacks Burhanpur, then under Mughal dominion, from 31 January to 2 February in 1681.  1689 -  Sambhaji was captured in  Samgamneshwar   by the Mughals on 1st February in 1689 and was executed by Aurangzeb on 11 March. 

Today In Indian History (31st January)

1561 - Death of Bairam Khan, the preceptor to Mughal emperor Akbar and Mughal military commander, on 31st January 1561 on his way to Mecca. Bairam Khan was relieved of his post and was ordered by Akbar to go to Mecca.   Bairam Khan was instrumental in establishing the Mughal rule after Humayun's exile from India during the reign of Sur rulers.   

Mattavilas-prahasana: Masterpiece of Sanskrit Literature

Mahendravarman I Mattavilas-prahasana (the Sport of Drunkards ) is a Sanskrit one-act play which comes lauded as a play to have been enacted for more than 1,300 years.  Mattavilasa-prahasana was written by Mahendravarman I  (590– 630CE) of the Pallava dynasty of south India, according to the Mamandur Cave temple inscription in Tamil Nadu. Mahendravarman I, also known as Mahendravikramavarman, was a contemporary of Harshavardhan of Kanauj . The Pallava ruler is credited with the introduction of the cave style of architecture. He is known for assuming the significant title of Vichitrachitta , “curious minded.”  Mahendravarman I was also the author of the play Bhagavad-Ajjuka Prahasana , or ‘The Farce of the Pious Courtesan.'  One of the masterpieces of Sanskrit literature, Mattavilasa prahasana is full of rollicking satire. Set in the Pallava capital of Kanchipuram , this little farce tells the story of a drunken Shaivite (follower of Shaivism, the cult of the god S...