Indian History

Going by the number of hymns addressed to the deities in the Vedic period, the atmospheric god Indra is the clear winner. Apart from weather god, he was also war god. Sharing several characteristics of the Greek Zeus and the Germanic Thor, Indra has been variously described as a winner (jitendra), efficient car warrior (rathestha), Shatakratu (possessing a hundred powers) and meghavahana (rider of cloud), and  a Somadrinker (Somapa).  Indra’s father is Dyaus (heaven). Indrani or Sachi (energy) is his wife. He destroyed the forts ( pura ) of his enemies, and was accordingly known as Purandara (the breaker of forts). He killed the evil cloud demon Vritra and therefore, is called Varitrahan (slayer of Vrita). Indra is called by the name Śakra in Buddhist scriptures. Indra is associated with thunderstorms . Like Zeus and Thor, his hand bore the thunderbolt (Vajra), which was used by him to destroy his enemies. Another interesting facet to Indra’s personality is his fondness f

Madarasa of Mahmud-Gawan Mahmud Gawan, who had served the Bahmani kingdom of South India in different posts in the reigns of three successive rulers, was an erudite scholar, statesman and a great administrator. A trader by profession, he was born in Iran and came to Bidar in 1453 A.D. Mahmud Gawan was synonymous with honesty, loyalty and simplicity. He was given the title of Mallik-Ul-Tujjar. A skillful military leader, he brought the Bahmani kingdom to its greatest extent. A strong proponent of literacy among the people, Mahmud Gawan is credited with the establishment of many schools and colleges. Chief among them is the college which he got built in Bidar. This three storied building, known as Mahmud Gawan's Madarasa, with its massive walls and grand minarets is one of the chief attractions in Bidar (in Karnataka) today. Mahmud Gawan fell prey to the intrigues of the Decanni nobles who were jealous of his rise and instigated the Bahmani Sultan Muhammad Shah II

Ahmadnagar Sultanate, known more famously as the Nizam Shahi Dynasty, was one of the five independent states that arose on the debris of the Bahmani Sultanate. The Sultanate derives its name from Ahmadnagar, the seat of the power, which is 120 km northeast of Pune and located in the state of Maharashtra. Nizam Shahi dynasty was founded by Malik Ahmad, son of Hasan Nizamul Mulk, (wazir) Prime Minister of the Bahmani kingdom after Mahmud Gawan’s execution in 1481. Mahmud Gawan was a renowned Islamic scholar who rose in ranks to become the wazir of the Bahmani kingdom. Malik Ahmad, who was appointed to the governorship of Junnar, asserted his independence in 1490. He transferred his seat of government from Junnar to Ahmadnagar which he founded in 1494. During his rule Daulatabad became part of the Ahmadnagar kingdom in 1499. After Ahmad’s death in 1510, he was succeeded by his son Burhan, a lad of seven years at that time. Burhan, the first of the Nizam Shahis to assume the title

According to some historians  Kankwari Fort  within the Sariska National Park in Alwar is the place where  Dara Shikoh was held captive by Aurangzeb  As soon as the fifth Mughal emperor Shah Jahan fell ill in September, 1657, it sparked a deadly war of succession among his four sons – Dara Shikoh , Shuja, Aurangzeb and Murad. In this fratricidal war of succession, his two daughters Jahanara and Raushanara sided with Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb respectively.  At the time of the emperor’s sickness, his eldest son Dara was at his bedside in Agra where he resided at the court. Shah Jahan was very fond of Dara and in normal circumstances the latter would have been his successor. Dara was a man of liberal persuasions and spent time in scholarly pursuits. This made him the adversary of the orthodox elements in Islam. Though intelligent and brave, Shuja, then governor of Bengal, loved the life of ease and was pleasure seeking. The youngest, Murad, was the governor of Gujarat. He was somewh

Mumtaz Mahal ("Jewel of the Palace") is the woman whose mausoleum is popularly known as Taj Mahal, arguably the most famous symbol to royal love in the world. Located in Agra in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Taj Mahal was built by her husband Shah Jahan, the fifth Mughal Emperor. Originally named Arjumand Bano Begum, Mumtaz Mahal (name given to her by Shah Jahan) was the daughter of Asaf Khan, elder brother of Nur Jehan, wife of Mughal emperor Jehangir, father of Shah Jahan. Apart from her stunning beauty, Mumtaz was a kind hearted lady, also known as a patron of men of letters. In 1612, Shah Jahan married Arjumand Bano who was his third wife, but his favorite. She bore him 14 children, though most of them died in infancy. Mumtaz died on June 17, 1631 in Burhanpur in childbirth at the age of 39. In order to immortalize the name of Mumtaz Mahal, Shah Jahan ordered the building of Taj Mahal.

Alauddin Khilji the second Sultan of Khilji dynasty of Delhi Sultanate, died in 1316. His general Malik Kafur, who unleashed a reign of terror by persecuting the sons and family members of the late Sultan , was in turn killed by another son of Alauddin Khilji, Mubarak Shah, who became the next Khilji sultan under the title of Qutb ud din Mubarak Shah . Like his father, who was under the influence of Malik Kafur, Mubarak Shah was infatuated with Khusrav Khan, a low-caste (Hindu) Baradu convert from Gujarat who was made the wazir, malik naib   and Commander in Chief of the Khilji dynasty by the Sultan against the advice of his nobles. In April 1320, Mubarak Shah was murdered by Khusrav Khan bringing the Khilji dynasty to an end. Khusrav Khan ascended the throne of Delhi under the title of Nasir-ud-din Khusrav Shah and tried to strike a veritable reign of terror by murdering the relatives, friends and those loyal to the Khilji Sultan. If historians like Barni, Yahiya Bin Ahmand Sirh

As with case with many ancient and medieval cultures, in addition to their legal wives, the rulers have also kept concubines as well. And Mughal rulers were no exceptions. In most cases, these concubines’ served the same purposes as wives. However, they could not legally the men that they served. These concubines also became the mothers of children of the Mughal monarchs. The children born of these concubines were treated on par with those born of the legal wives. Akbar was a famous keeper of many concubines some of whom bore children to him. Two of Akbar’s three sons, Murad and Daniyal were born of concubines. According to English traveller William Finch, Anarkali who have been portrayed in films and books as the valentine of Saleem (Later Jahangir the fourth Mughal Emperor) was the mother of Daniyal. The concubines lived in an area which is known in Muslim culture as harem. The harem was not accessible for the male members.

The ‘Black Hole’ was a tragic incident that happened in the run-up to the Battle of Plassey that took place in 1757. The incident served as casus belli for the invasion by the British on Murshidabad. Siraj ud Daulah, the then Nawab of Bengal, resented to the interference by the East India Company in his province. He was also livid with the company’s abuse of the commercial privileges which was granted by the Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar under the firman of 1717. Though inexperienced and devoid of taking decisions, Siraj ud Daula set out to begin a military campaign against the English. During his military campaigns he captured Calcutta on 20 th June, 1756. Consequently, John Zephaniah Holwell, a narrator of the ‘Black Hole’ tragedy and a number of Europeans were taken prisoners who were confined in a chamber 18 feet by 14 inches, with only on window, throughout the hot and humid night of June in Calcutta. According to Holwell, they numbered about 165 or 170, and the nex

William Brydon riding into Jalalabad/ Wikipedia Commons The First Anglo-Afghan War (1839-1842) caused the greatest misfortune that ever befell the British army and dealt a severe blow to their prestige in India.   With the fall of Napoleonic France in 1814, Russia had emerged as Britain’s potential rival by 1830s. India was the prized possession of the British Empire at that time. Russia has made its Asiatic ambitions clear. But to realize its ambition it would have to gain a diplomatic and military foothold in Afghanistan, an insignificant and impoverished tribal society in the early 19th century. Instead of entering into an alliance with Afghanistan’s ruler, Dost Mohammad, Britain chose to back Shah Shuja, the deposed ruler of Afghanistan, who had been living in exile in India for three decades. In 1837, Alexander Burnes, an envoy sent by    George Eden (Lord Auckland) , the then Governor-General of India, reached Afghanistan. The Afghanistan’s ruler Dost Mohammad was willing to have

Born on 26th December in Sunam Village in Sangrur district of the north-western state of Punjab, Udham Singh was a great revolutionary. He avenged the infamous Jalianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar by murdering Michael O’Dwyer, who was the  Lieutenant Governor of Punjab in 1919 when  Brigadier General Reginald Dyer, the military commander of Amritsar   had ordered the firing on the innocent people who have gathered here to protest the arrest of Congress leaders Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr. Satya Pal under Rowlatt Act. Udham Singh killed O’Dwyer in London on 13th March 1940. He was arrested on the spot and sentenced to death on 21st July in the same year.

Aurangzeb, the last great Mughal emperor, died in 1707.  Muhammad Shah became Mughal emperor in 1719.  During the interregnum, Bahadur Shah I , Jahandar Shah, Farrukhsiyar, Rafi-ud-Darajat and Rafi-ud-Daula ascended the Mughal throne. Jahandar Shah was murdered on the orders of Farrukhsiyar who had the support of the two powerful Mughal nobles Sayyid Abdullah and his brother Sayyid Husain Ali at that time. They are famous in history as Sayyid brothers, the King-makers. In 1719, Farrukhsiyar were murdered in utter disregard of a Mughal emperor by Sayyid brothers. Rafi-ud-Darajat died of consumption in a few months. Rafi-ud-Daula was addicted to opium and died in 4 months. Sayyid brothers now chose Raushan Akhtar, a son of Jahan Shah (the fourth son of Bahadur Shah I), to be the emperor. Raushan Akhtar ascended the throne under the title of Muhamamd Shah in September 1719. In the beginning Muhammad Shah was a puppet in the hands of Sayyid brothers who soon began to lose their g