Indian History

Date : June 23rd, 1757 Place: Plassey (present day Palashi ) on the Ganga in Nadia district of West Bengal Image source: commons.wikimedia.org / The battle of Plassey was fought between the army of Siraj-ud-Doula , the last independent Nawab of Bengal and the troops of the British East India Company under Robert Clive . Clive had 1100 Europeans and 200 sepoys whereas Siraj-ud-doula’s army composed of about 50,000 men strengthened by a train of heavy artillery. However about 45000 of the Nawab’s troops were under command of three traitors Mir Jafar , Yar Latif khan and Rai Durlabhram . Mir Jafar was the general of Siraj-ud-doula. A small force under Mohanlal and Mir Madan joined the battle. After Mir Madan ’s death from a stray shot, Siraj-ud-doula suspended the fight for the day on Mir Jafar’s treacherous advice. The withdrawal result in the complete disaster for the nawab’s army. Fearing his life Siraj fled from the battle. The chaos reigned supreme. The casualty on Englis

Born at Nadiad in the present-day Kheda district of Gujarat, Indulal Yajnik was one of the finest editors. A freedom fighter, social worker and peasant leader from Gujarat he was a gifted journalist. He was associated with the home rule movement started by Annie Besant. Yajnik actively participated in the Kaira Satyagraha organized by Gandhi to secure exemption for the peasants from payment of land tax for the crops that had failed. He launched two Gujarati monthlies – Navjivan Ame Saty and Yugadharm and a daily Nutnan Gujarat . Indulal Yajnik established schools for the Bhil children and was the secretary of the Antyaj Sava Mandal , with Thakkar Bapa as its president. He was actively associated with the Kisan Sabha work and organsied the cooperative movement among the peasants of Gujarat. In 1942 he presided over the annual session of Akhil Hind Kisan Sabha . He was a founder of the Gujarat Vidyapeeth. In 1956 he took lead in the Maha Gujarat Movement for a separate state and beca

Born in a Brahmin family in 1608 Ramdasa was the spiritual guru of the great Maratha ruler Shivaji . He travelled throughout India for twelve years and finally settled at Chaphal on the banks of the Krishna where he built a temple. During the political upheaval Ramdasa regarded the realization of God as primary aim. Samarth Ramdasa established monasteries in different parts of Maharashtra. These monasteries served as centres of spirituality. He emphasized the need of physical yoga exercises as well as meditation. In his magnum opus Dasabodha , Samarth Ramdasa combines his vast knowledge of various sciences and arts with the synthesizing principle of spiritual life. He is credited to have written several abhangas which deals with the ways to realize God.

The emergence of Bangladesh as a sovereign country in 1971 is an important event in the world history. At the time of Indian independence in 1947 Bangladesh was a part of newly created nation of Pakistan. Since then, ( it is still the case) Pakistan had been carrying their hate India campaign since its creation. It was nor ready (is still not ready) to understand that the future of India and Pakistan depends on peace and cooperation between these two countries. Before its independence in 1971 Bangladesh was described as Eastern Pakistan . Due to the high handedness of the West Pakistan (present Pakistan) over the people of Eastern Pakistan, the situation came to such a pass that the people of the eastern Pakistan were in no mood to submit to the reckless dictates of the Western Pakistani authorities. The first elections in Pakistan were held in 1970. The Awami League of eastern Pakistan, under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman , got an absolute majority winning 160 out of

There is a divergence of views on how the word Bangla or Bengal came into being. The area that constitutes the present day West Bengal was ruled by various kingdoms in ancient times. West Bengal was part of the Mauryan Empire (BC 321-185), the first and one of the greatest empires to be established in Indian history. The earliest reference to Bengal in foreign accounts has been found in those of the Greeks dating back to the first century BC. According to Mahavamsa, the Sri Lankan Buddhist Chronicle, Vijaya Singha, an obscure Vanga prince, conquered Sri Lanka in 544 BC. After the fall of the Mauryan Empire, the territory of West Bengal came under the control of smaller kingdoms. After an interregnum it once again became part of the great Gupta rule, known as the classical age in Indian history. After the fall of the Gupta empire, several local rulers asserted their independence. Chief among them were Dharmaditya, Gopachandra, and Samacharadeva. The first independent king of substance i

I n ancient times many powerful dynasties held their sway over the territory that constituted the present day Assam which was then known as Kamarupa. Chief among them were the Varmans (c.350-650 AD), the Salstambhas (c.655-900 AD) and the Kamarupa-Palas (c.900-1100 AD). It was during the reign of the Varman king, Bhaskaravarman (c.600–650 AD), that the Chinese traveler Xuan Zang visited the region. After the disintegration of the ancient dynasties, two later kingdoms, the Ahoms and the Koch came to the centrestage of Assam. Of these the first held their sovereignty over Assam for nearly 600 years. The Koch kingdom came into being in c.1510 AD. During the reign of Naranarayana (c.1540-1587 AD), the power of the kingdom reached its pinnacle. The greatest king of the Ahom dynasty was Sukhrungpha or Sworgodeu Rudra Simha (c.1696-1714 AD). Among other kingdoms which held their sway in some parts of Assam at this period were the Chutiyas, the Kacharis. During the reign of  Mughal emperor

The history of Gujarat, the western most state of India, goes back to 2000 B.C. Tradition has it that Lord Krishna left Mathura to settle on the west coast of Saurashtra, which later became famous as Dwarka, a well-known city in the state.  Two important Indus sites in  Gujarat are Lothal and Dholavira. The area that constitutes the present day Gujarat was ruled by various dynasties including Mauryas, Guptas, Pratiharas and others. During the time of Chalukya dynasty, Gujarat saw progress and prosperity. the Chalukya or Solakis ruled in Gujarat and Kathiawar for nearly three centuries and half (950-1300). One of the earliest rulers of this dynsty was Mularaja who consolidated the Chalukya power in Gujarat. The next illustrious king was Bhima I (1022-64), during whose reign Mahmida Ghazni overran Gujarat and plundered the great temple of Somanath. Jayasimha Siddharaja was the greatest Chalukya king who, in commemoration of his victory against the Paramaras, adopted the title of Ava

Haryana is known for being the territory over which were fought some of the decisive and famous battles that changed much of the history of India. Chief among them are the battle of Mahabharata and the three battles of Panipat. The Indus Valley Civilization, or the Harappan Civilization, one of the world's first and oldest civilizations, was located in part of what is now Haryana. Banawali in Hisar District of Haryana was a major city of the Indus Valley Civilization. Rakhigarhi is another city of the Indus Valley Civilization that is situated in the present day Haryana. Haryana was an important centre of Vedic civilization. King Harshavardhana, one of the greatest kings of ancient India made Thanesar near Kurukshetra in the state of Haryana his capital in the 7th century AD. Prithviraj Chauhan, the last Hindu king in Delhi, founded forts at Tarori and Hansi in the 12th century. Haryana came under the control of Muslim ruler after Prithviraj Chauhan was defeated by Muhammad G

Three dynasties, the Karkota, the Utpala and the Loharas, ruled over Kashmir from 800 AD to 1200 AD. Of the Karkota dynasty, Lalitaditya Muktapida (724-760) and Jayapida Vinyaditya (779-810) were the two most famous rulers. The Karkota dynasty was overthrown by the Utpalas in the middle of the ninth century AD. The most illustrious ruler of the Utpala dynasty was Avantivarman (855-83) who devoted more time to internal administration than to conquests. He is credited to have founded new cities including Suyyapura (Sopar) and Avavntipur. The Utpalas were supplanted by the Loharas. Harsha was the last important ruler of the Lohara dynasty. After his death Kashmir faced a quick succession of weak Lohara rulers and finally the dynasty came to an end in 1172 AD. Though Muhammad bin Qasim, the conqueror of Sind, invaded Kashmir, he was not able to subjugate the region. Mahmud of Ghazni’s attempt to conqueror also ended in failure. Shah Mir dynasty was founded in 1339. Alauddin (1343-54) trans

All the great Mughal rulers, with the exception of Auragzeb, were patrons of music. Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan took keen interest in music. Abul Fazal, the court historian of Akbar mentions that thirty six singers enjoyed the patronage of Akbar’s court. Of them, Tansen was the most famous. According to Abul Fazal, the author of Akbarnama, ‘a singer like him has not been in India for the last thousand years.’ Tansen was earlier a court musician of Rama Chandra, a Raja of Bhatta (Rewa). The famous Sufi saint Shaikh Salim Chishti was great admirer of Tansen. Tansen was conferred the title of Kanthabharanvani Vilas by Akbar. Tansen’s son Tantarng also sang in the court of Akbar. Among the thirty six names of musicians in the court of Akbar, most of the singers were Indian and hailed from either Gwalior or Dhar. Ramdas who had been formerly in the court of Islam Shah was second only to Tansen. His son Surdas was also a musician. The musicians enjoying the patronage of the fourth Mug

Five separate Sultanates arose in the Deccan, one after another, on the break-up of the Bahmanai kingdom. Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda was one of them. The founder of this dynasty was Sultan Quli Hamadani who was given the charge of the region of Golconda by the Bahmani ruler in 1494. Sultan Quli Hamadani was given the title of Qutbul Mulk by the Bahmani ruler. Taking advantage of the weakening of the Bahmani kingdom, he declared independce in 1512. His reign was characterized by his constant struggles with the rulers of the Vijayanagar empire. Qutbul Mulk was killed by his son Jamshid in 1543 at the age of ninety-eight. Jamshid ruled for seven years. His rule was characterized by chaos and his boneheaded obstinacy made his unpopular. His brother Ibrahim, fearing his life, went to the protection of Vijayanagar rulers. Jamshid was succeeded by his son Subhan. Taking advantage of the prevailing discontent in the empire, Ibrahim succeeded in becoming the ruler of the Qutb dynasty. Ibrah

A 17th century life-size portrait of fourth Mughal emperor Jahangir was sold for a record Rs 10 crore at Bonhams Indian and Islamic Sale in London. The painting is attributed to Abul Hasan or Nadir al-Zaman or " wonder of the age " as he was called by Jahangir, who was the Mughal Emperor from 1605-1627. Abul Hasan and his father Aga Reza of Herat were the famous painters of the court of Jahangir. Jahangir was an excellent connoisseur of paintings. The emperor was also an art critic who could tell the names of the individual painters in a composite piece.  Other important painters of his court were Muhammad Nadir and Muhammad Murad from Samarqand, Ustad Mansur , Bishan Das , Manohar and Govardhan . Most of the subjects of Mughal paintings were inspired by the court life and the natural life.