Indian History

Q.1.  The Sungas were succeeded by  (A) Mauryas   (B) Kanvas  (C) Satavahanas  (D) Kushanas Q.2. The author of Buddhacharita was  (A) Nagarjuna  (B) Asvagosha  (C) Vasumitra  (D) Nagasena  Q.3. Pattini Cult in Tamil Nadu was introduced by  (A) Pandyan Neduncheliyan  (B) Cheran Senguttuvan  (C) Elango Adigal  (D) Mudathirumaran  The greatest of the early Chera kings was Pirakotiya Senguttuvan, also known as Red Chera, who was a contemporary of the poet Paranar, one of the most famous and long-lived poets of the Sangam Period. Paranar credits Senaguttuvan with a number of conquests. He also made a campaign to North India to get a Himalayan stone to make an idol of Goddess Kannagi (the Goddess of Chastity). According to early Tamil epic Silappadikaram, the ruler was the founder of the famous Pattini cult related to the worship of the Goddess of Chastity, which after became common in South India and Sri Lanka. Q...

1942 – During the World War II Japanese air forces bombed Calcutta on the night of December 20, 1942. Bombs were dropped all over the city. Dalhousie Square  (B.B.D. Bagh), Mangoe lane and Hatibagan were some of the areas that were directly affected by the attack.

1927 - Three Indian revolutionaries, Ram Prasad Bismil , Roshan Singh and Ashfaqulla Khan , were executed by the British colonial power for participation in the Kakori conspiracy carried out on August 9th, 1925. Ram Prasad Bismil, Roshan Singh and Ashfaqulla Khan were hanged in Gorakhpur, Allahabad and Faizabad- all in the current state of Uttar Pradesh.  1961 - Goa, Daman and Diu were liberated from Portuguese rule and incorporated into India on 19th December in 1961. 

1887 - Birth of Bhikhari Thaku r on December 18, 1887 . Bhikhari Thakur (1887-1971) was one of the greatest writers in Bhojpuri and most popular folk writer of Bihar. Called the 'Shakespeare of Bhojpuri, Bhikhari Thakur was a playwright, actor, folk singer and a social reformer.  ‘Bidesiya’ was his most famous play .   He was born on December 18, 1887 in a barber family in Kutubpur (Diyara) village of Saran district.

Rajendra Lahiri 1927- Revolutionary Rajendra Lahiri was hanged to death on 17th December 1927 in Gonda District Jail, now in Uttar Pradesh. After a long trial he was found guilty of taking part in the Kakori conspiracy carried out on August 9th, 1925. On this day a train carrying government money was passing Kakori near Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, Lahiri pulled the chain resulting in the stopping of the train. The money was looted, but an Indian passenger named Ahmad Ali got killed by mistake. Rajendra Lahiri, Ram Prasad Bismil, Roshan Singh and Ashfaqullah Khan were sentenced to death. Rajendra Lahiri was hanged two days before the other three. Rajendra Lahiri was an active member of the Hindustan Republican Association.  Lahiri was also prosecuted for his role in the Dakshineswar bombing.  On December 17, 1927 , Indian revolutionaries Bhagat Singh and Shivaram Rajguru  shot dead JP Saunders, assistant superintendent of police, in Lahore. They mistook Saunders for their in...

Celebrated annually on 16 December, Vijay Diwas or Victory Day commemorates India’s decisive victory over Pakistan Armed Forces in Indo-Pakistani war of 1971. The day marks the surrender of 93,000 Pakistani soldiers to the forces of the Indian Army n December 16, 1971, paving the way for the emergence of Bangladesh as an independent nation. 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 situat...

1872 - Famous Hindu nationalist leader Dr Balakrishna Shivram Moonje, popularly known as B. S. Moonje, was born on 12 December in 1872. The place of his birth is Bilaspur in the present day in Chhattisgarh.  Moonje was the All India President of the Hindu Mahasabha. He attended the Round Table Conferences in London in 1930 and 1931 as a representative of Hindu Mahasabha much to the chagrin of the Indian National Congress.  Moonje died on 3 March 1948, aged 75.

1946 - Rajendra Prasad   was elected as the President of Constituent Assembly on  11 December 1946 .  Constituent Assembly had drafted the Indian constitution . 

The Battles of Tarain (1191, 1192) were two military engagements between Ghurid ruler Muhammad Ghori and Chauhan King Prithviraj Chauhan at Tarain in the  present-day Haryana state of India.  Battles of Tarain (1191-92) were fought between Prithviraj Chauhan and Shihabuddin, popularly known as Muhammad Ghori.  Prithviraj, known as Rai Pithaura to the Muslim historians, was the greatest ruler of the Chauhan dynasty, whose kings also came to be known as Chahamanas of Sakambhari. Also known as Muizuddin Muhammad bin Sam, Muhammad Ghori was a Turkish invader who made his first Indian expedition in 1175 AD. After subjugating some of the Indian rulers, this governor of Ghazni met Prithviraj, the powerful Rajput ruler of Delhi and Ajmer, at Tarain near Thanesar in present-day Haryana in 1191 AD. According to the Persian historian Ferishta, Prithviraj, with an army of 200,00 horses and 3, 000 elephants, inflicted a terrible defeat on Muhammad Ghori whose army was completely overp...

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO ) has added Deepavali, India’s spectacular festival of lights, to its 'Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.'  Deepavali, also known as Diwali, is the most widely celebrated Hindu festival in India.  The decision was taken during the twentieth session of the of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, chaired by Vishal V Sharma, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of India to UNESCO. The session of the panel is underway from December 8 to 13 at the Red Fort in Delhi. This is the first time that India is hosting a session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). India currently has 15 elements inscribed on the UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and these include the Kumbh Mela (2017), Durga Puja of Kolkata, Garba dance of Gujarat ...

Q.1. Which Indian President participated in the Irish Freedom  Struggle? (A) Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (B) V. V. Giri  (C) S. Radhakrishnan (D) Gulzarilal Nanda Q.2. Which of these battles involved the British? (A) Wandiwash (B) Plaseey  (C) Battle of Chinsurah (D) All the Above  Q.3. Which book was written by Bhavabhuti? (A) Malati Madhava (B) Mṛcchakatika  (C) Mahabhasya (D) Janakiharana  Answer:  1. B. V.V. Giri, India’s president from 1969 to 1974, studied in Dublin, Ireland, where he became involved in the movement to free Ireland from British rule. 2. D 3. A Malati and Madhava; The Deeds of the Great Hero (Mahavircharita); and “The Later Deeds of Rama” (Uttararamcharita) and Mahaviracharita were written by Bhavabhuti

1799 -  Death of Hyder Ali, the  de facto ruler of Mysore. He died on December 7, 1782 during the course of Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780-84).

Q.1. Which of these places was once called Madras? (A) Chennai (B) Mumbai (C) Kolkata (D) Bengaluru Q.2. Which ancient city of Uttar Pradesh was called "Saketa" in early Buddhist and Jain texts? (A) Ayodhya (B) Shravasti (C) Sarnath (D) Sankassiya  Q.3. Which of these places was once called Wandiwash? (A) Warangal (B) Virudhunagar (C) Vandavasi  (D) Bhongir Q.4. Which of these places was once called Prayagjyotishpura? (A) Sravasti (B) Ayodhya (C) Guwahati (D) Ujjain Q.5. Which of these places was once called Gulbarga? (A) Vijayapura (B) Kulbargi (C) Hubballi (D) Hospet Q.6. Which of these places was once called Quilon? (A) Kollam (B) Jaysimhanadu  (C) Desinganadu (D) All of the above Q.7. Which of these places was once called Trichinopoly? (A) Tinnevelly (B) Tiruchirapalli (C) Tuticorin (D) None of the above  Q.8. Which of these places was once called Bombay? (A) Kolkata (B)  Bengaluru (C) Mumbai (D) Delhi Q. 9. Which of these places was once called Avantika? (A...

Located on the southern banks of the Bhagirathi in West Bengal, Murshidabad is a place that seems to exist suspended in time somewhere between the medieval and the modern. A great centre of trade in the Mughal era, Murshidabad is closely associated with events that ultimately changed the course of modern Indian history. Once the seat of government of the Nawabs of Bengal, this historical place is located on the southern banks of the Bhagirathi in West Bengal.  The Bengal Nawab Siraj-ud-daula was defeated by Robert Clive, the architect of the British power in India, in the Battle of Plassey (now Palashi) in Murshidabad in 1757, laying the foundation of the British Empire in India. Today known more for its silk, Murshidabad is a district town that seems to exist suspended in time somewhere between the medieval and the modern. Named after Murshid Quli Khan, the Diwan of Bengal under Aurangzeb, Murshidabad came to the forefront of attention in 1704 when he transferred his capit...

1956 - Death of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar on 6th December in 1956. Ambedkar was one of the chief authors of the Indian Constitution which came into effect on January 26, 1950. He died in 1956. 1992 – The disputed structure of the Babri Masjid, mosque in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, was demolished by Hindu mob on 6th December in 1992. The mosque was built on the order of the first Mughal emperor Babur (reigned from 1526 - 1530) on the site the Hindus believe to be the birthplace of Lord Rama.    The disputed structure was a bone of contention between Muslims and Hindus for a long time.

1950 - Death of famous nationalist, poet, philosopher and spiritual yogi Aurobindo Ghosh on 5th December, 1950 at Pondicherry.  Aurobindo Ghosh was charged with “waging war against the King” in the famous Alipur Bomb Conspiracy case. The Alipore Bomb case trail, also known as the Manicktolla bomb conspiracy or Muraripukar conspiracy, was a criminal trial that took place in 1908.    

1661 - Murad Baksh, son of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, was  executed on the 4th December, 1661 on the orders of Aurangzeb for murdering Ali Naqi who was Murad’s one time Divan. Murad has sided with his brother Aurangzeb in the deadly w ar of succession in which all the brothers were killed.  1829 - On 4th December in 1829 Sati practice was banned in all jurisdictions of British India by Governor-General Lord William Bentick under the Bengal Sati Regulation. Sati (written Suttee by older English writers) was the practice of self-immolation by a widow on her husband's funeral pyre.  Sati was never a widespread practice. It has been sporadically been referred to in history.  The first datable reference to sati is found in the Greek accounts of Alexander invasions and the first memorial, dated 510 AD to the custom is found at Eran near Sagar in the state of Madhya Pradesh. In medieval India, the practice became very common. The practice of sati was disapproved of by Ban...

The Battle of Amroha was fought between the armies of the Delhi Sultanate of India and the Mongols of Central Asia. The battle took place on 20 December in 1305 during the reign of Alauddin Khilji , second ruler of the Khilji dynasty (1290-1320), the second of the five dynasties, the combination of which went on to be called the Delhi Sultanate. Mongol invasion of Delhi Sultanate was a recurrent feature from 1221 to 1327.   Fought in what is now in the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, the Battle of Amroha resulted in the defeat of the Mongol forces who were led by Ali Beg who was trampled under the feet of the elephants on the order of Khilji Sultan. Other prisoners were put to death and their skulls were embedded into the walls of the fortress of Siri which was commissioned by Allaudin Khilji in Delhi.