Indian History

  Kumbhalgarh Fort. Photo Credit: Pexels Located 84 km north of Udaipur, the imposing and awe-inspiring Kumbhalgarh Fort in Rajasthan is a World Heritage Site. The most famous of the forts built by Mewar Rajput ruler and statesman Rana Kumbha (reigned 1433 to 1468 CE), Kumbhalgarh Fort is nestled in the rugged Aravalli Hills. Rana Kumbha was a great patron of learning and was himself an erudite scholar.  Kumbhalgarh Fort also comes lauded as the birthplace of Rajput ruler Maharana Pratap.  Within the confines of the Kumbhalgarh fort, the walls of which are impenetrable, you can find beautiful palaces including the Palace of Rana Kumbha and Badal Mahal, which translates into the 'Palace of Clouds'.  Rana Kumbha is also credited with the construction of Kirti Stambh . Nine storeys Kirti Stambh, populary knoewn as Vijaya Stambha (Tower of Victory),  was built in Chittor to commemorate his victory over Mahmud Khalji (reign 1436-1469), the Sultan of Malwa. While at K...

  Party Candidates Votes BJP      Dr. Ajay Kumar Poddar 96605  TMC                                        ABHIJIT GHATAK 73171  Once a bastion of the Forward Block, one of the constituents of the Left Front which ruled west Bengal well-nigh for 34 years prior to the installation of the Trinamool Government in the state in 2011, Kuti assembly constituency is currently represented by Dr. Ajay Kumar Poddar of BJP. In the last assembly elections in 2021 Ajay Poddar had defeated the then incumbent TMC legistor Ujjal Chatterjee who had represented the seat from 2026.  Forward Block's Maniklal Acharya had won the seat three times consecutively (1991, 1996 and 2001). Ujjal Chatterjee was also a Forwa...

  Party Candidates Votes BJP      Arijit Roy 72840 TMC                                        Bidhan Upadhyay 64303

S amudragupta  was greatest ruler of the Gupta dynasty. He was son and successor of Chadragupta I . He succeeded to the throne in c. 335 AD. He ruled till 375 AD. A skillful military leader and administrator as well as a patron of learning, Samudragupta is called   Indian Napolean . His court poet Harishena composed an eloquent eulogy of him which is contained in the   Allahabad pillar inscription  (API). Samudragupta is credited to have uprooted Nagasena , Achyuta and Ganapatinaga , (identified with the rulers of Padmavati , Ahichchhatra and Mathura respectively). He is said to have captured the prince of the Kota family (Bulandshahr region) and besieged the city of ‘Pushpa’(probably Kanyakubja). Apart from these conquests, Samudragupta brought under his control a large number of kings and vassals. According to eminent historian K. P. Jaiswal, Samudragupta forced Rudrasena I of the Vakatava dynasty to cede his North Indian possession to the Gupta Empire. To commemo...

Contesting Candidates for Jamuria Assembly constituency Assembly Elections 2026    Party Candidates Votes TMC HARERAM SINGH 29537 BJP                                             DR. BIJAN MUKHERJEE 38435   The incumbent TMC MLA Hareram Singh is once again contesting the Jamuria assembly seat in the 2026 assembly elections. Dr. Bijan Mukherjee is in the fray as a BJP candidate.  CPIM has been winning the Jamuria seat since 1977 till 2021. In 2016, Jahanara Khan emerged victorious for second time. CPI(M)'s Bikash Chowdhury who was later elected to the Lok Sabha from Asansol four times, had represented the Jamuria assembly seat for successive four terms from 1977.  One of the ...

Located in the Paschim Bardhaman district in West Bengal, Pandaveswar  is one of the seven assembly segments under the Asansol parliamentary constituency. Pandaveswar seat, which came into existence in place of erstwhile Ukhara assembly constituency before 2011 following the recommendations of the delimitation commission,  is marked by mix population of coal miners, factory workers, Hindi speaking and Muslim voters. There is also a substantial rural population. Contesting Candidates for Pandabeswar Assembly constituency Assembly Elections 2026       Party Candidates Votes TMC Narendranath Chakraborty   79103  BJP                                             Jiten...

Mahabodhi Temple, Bodhgaya, Bihar Buddha Purnima, commemorating the birth anniversary of Lord Buddha, is an auspicious occasion for the followers of Buddhism.  The festival, which actually celebrates the birth, enlightenment and death (Mahaparinirvana) of the Buddha, falls on the full moon night in the month of Vaisakha (in April/ May) and is celebrated with great gusto and devotion in several prominent Buddhist places in India particularly at Bodhgaya and Sarnath.  2026 Buddha Jayanti falls on Friday, May 1. During the Buddha Purnima, also known as Buddha Jayanti, prayers meets are held in shrines or temples all over the country and Buddhist saints deliver the sermons on the life of Gautam Buddha.  On the Buddha Purnima day, Bodh Gaya teems with devotees who come from almost all parts of the world and participate in the religious activities at the Mahabodhi Temple which begin at dawn and continue till late in the evening.

                                                                Contesting Candidates for Mekliganj  Assembly constituency Assembly Elections 2026       Party Candidates Votes BJP      Dadhiram Ray 54690 TMC                                        Paresh Chandra Adhikary 45180     Electoral History  Mekliganj is currently represented in the West Bengal legislative assembly by Paresh Chandra Adhikary who won the seat in 2021 on the ticket of Trinamool Congress. In that election while 99,338 votes were polle...

Andal Railway Station  Contesting Candidates for Raniganj Assembly constituency Assembly Elections 2026       Party Candidates Votes TMC KALOBARAN MONDAL 27065 BJP                                             PARTHA GHOSH 37932   One of the 9 assembly constituencies located in the Paschim Bardhaman district of West Bengal, Raniganj assembly is composed of the geographical areas covered by Ward nos. 33–37, 88-93 of Asansol Municipal Corporation and Andal community development block.  Asansol Uttar, Asansol Dakshin, Barabani, Durgapur Purba, Durgapur Paschim, Jamuria, Kulti, Pandabeswar are the other eight assembly seats in the district....

Panch Mandir premises at Bhatpara / Image Credit Located in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, Bhatpara assembly constituency is formed by the areas covered by  Ward Nos.1 to 17 in  Bhatpara municipality. Bhatpara is one of the seven assembly segments falling under the parliamentary seat of Barrackpore. Barrackpore Lok Sabha is currently represented by TMC MP Partha Bhowmick. Other six assembly segments in the Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat are Barrackpore, Bijpur, Noapara, Jagatdal, Naihati and Amdanga.   Electoral History: Bhatpara is currently held by Pawan Singh who won it in 2021 as a candidate of BJP. Earlier   Arjun Singh had won the seat four times in a row (2001, 2006, 2011 and 2016.)   Earlier Arjun Singh had won the seat in 2001 and 2006. Bidyut Ganguly of CPI(M) emerged victorious from the seat 1991 and 1996. CPM(I)’s Sitaram Gupta was elected in 1957, 1969, 1977 and 1982. 

Shyama Sundara at Bhagabanpur / Image Credit One of the sixteen assembly constituencies in the Purbi Medinipur district of West Bengal, Bhagabanpur covers Bhagabanpur, Kotbarh, Kajlagarh and Shimulia gram panchayats of Bhagabanpur- 1 block, Basudevberia, Arjunnagar, Baroj, Jukhia, Itaberia, Mugberia and Radhapur gram panchayats of Bhagabanpur-2 block, and Mathura and Argoyal gram panchayats of Patashpur- 2 block.  Bhagabanpur is one of the seven assembly constituency falling under Kanthi Lok Sabha constituency. Electoral History Rabindranath Maity is the sitting BJP MLA of Bhagabanpur which was won by him in 2021 by defeating his nearest TMC candidate and incumbent MLA Ardhendu Maity. In that election while  Rabindranath Maity polled 121,480 votes, the TMC nominee 93,931 received votes and was distantly followed by Congress’s Shiu Maiti who secured 5,274 votes. Earlier Ardhendu Maity was elected from Bhagabanpur seat for the fourth time in a row in 2016.  CPM had won the ...

Ichamati River_View_from_Basirhat_Bridge/ Image Credit Polling Date: 29th April, 2026 Located in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal,  Basirhat South constituency came into being on the recommendations of delimitation commission in 2008.       Basirhat South, one of the seven assembly segments in the Basirhat parliamentary constituency,  is home to Basirhat and Taki municipalities, in addition to the block of Basirhat. Saptarshi Banerjee is the sitting TMC MLA of Basirhat South Assembly which he won in 2021 by defeating his nearest rival of the BJP by 24,468 votes. In that election, Saptarshi Banerjee polled 115,873 votes,  Footballer   Dipendu Biswas of the TMC had won the seat in 2016 by defeating Samik Bhattacharya, now West bengal BJP President. Dipendu Biswas had lost to Samik Bhattacharya in 2014 in a by-poll, necessitated by the death of sitting CPM legislator Niranjan Mu...

Reserved for the candidates belonging to the scheduled castes, Baruipur Purba is located in the South 24-Parganas district of West Bengal.  The constituency is formed by the areas covered by Bamangachhi, Dhosa Chandaneswar, Chaltaberia, Jangalia, Narayanitala and Khakurdaha gram panchayats of Jaynagar block and Belegachhi, Begumpur, Brindakhali, Hardhah, Champahati, Nabagram, Ramnagar I, Ramnagar II and South Garia gram panchayats of Baruipur block. Baruipur Purba, which came into being before 2011, is one of the seven assembly segments falling under the parliamentary constituency of Jadavpur.  Electoral History  Currently, Baruipur Purba is held TMC’s  Bivas Sardar  who won the seat in 2021 by defeating his nearest BJP rival  Chandan Mondal  by an impressive margin votes  49,641  in a bipolar contest. In that election while    Bivas Sardar   secured  123,243  votes, the BJP candidate polled  73,602 ...

Barrackpore Railway Station / Image Credit TMC’s Raj Chakraborty is the sitting legislator of Barrackpore assembly constituency which was won by him in 2021 by virtue of his victory over Chandramani Shukla of BJP. TMC’s Silbhadra Dutta had won the seat in 2016 and 2011. Barrackpore assembly constituency, which came into being in 2011 in place of erstwhile Titagarh, is located in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. Barrackpore assembly constituency is formed by the areas covered by the municipalities of Titagarh and Barrackpore. Barrackpore is one of the seven assembly segments falling under the parliamentary seat of the same name.  

Elephant herd near Barjora Forest / Image Credit: https://bankuraforest.in Barjora is one of the 12 assembly constituencies located in the Bankura district of West Bengal. The constituency is constituted by areas covered by Barjora block and Gangajalghati, Bhaktabandh, Gobindadham, Nityanandapur, Kapista and Piraboni gram panchayats of Gangajalghati block. One of the seven assembly segments that combine to create the Bishnupur Lok Sabha seat, Barjora  assembly seat is currently held by the TMC MLA Alok Mukherjee  who won it by defeating his nearest BJP rival  Supriti Chatterjee by  3,269  votes in 2021. Sujit Chakraborty, the then incumbent CPI(M) legisltor,  came third. Sujit Chakraborty had emerged victorius in 2016. Asutosh Mukherjee of TMC won it by defeating his nearest CPIM rival and then sitting legislator Susmita Biswas by 8491 votes in 2011.  Susmita Biswas had won the Barjora seat in 1996, 2001 and 2006. While CPM’s Jayas...

An orientation of Mumbai is best begun from the Gateway of India , the most recognisable landmark of the financial capital of India. Though completed in 1924 the yellow basalt monument was supposed to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to India in 1911.   George V is the only British king to travel to India before country's Independence.   This famous colonial landmark of Mumbai was designed by George Wittet. This 25 mtrs. high stone archway has an imposing gateway arch in the Indo-Saracenic style with Gujarati and Islamic elements such as wooden carvings. The foundations were laid on March 31, 1913 and between 1915 and 1919, the land on which this yellow basalt monument was to be built was reclaimed from the sea. The Gateway, however, was formally opened by the then Viceroy, the Earl of Reading, on December 4, 1924.  The constitutional head of any foreign country on an official visit to India was officially received at the Gateway of India,...

  Electoral History Manoranjan Byapari  is the sitting TMC MLA of Balagarh which he won in 2021. Earlier  Ashim Maji of TMC had wrested the seat from the CPM by defeating its candidate and sitting MLA Bhuban Pramink by a margin of 21583 votes in 2011. Ashim Maji went to win the seat in 2016.  Earlier Bhuban Pramink was elected from the Balagarh seat in a by-election held in 2008. The bye-poll was necessitated due to the death of then sitting CPM legislator Dibakanta Routh who had won in 1996, 2001 and 2006. Abimnash Pramanik of the CPM was the winner of the seat in 1969, 1971, 1977, 1982, 1987 and 1991.   Background One of the seven assembly segments that fall under the Hooghly Lok Sabha constituency, Balagarh is formed by the areas covered by Balagarh block as well as Chandrahati I, Digsui, Chandrahati II and Mogra I gram panchayats of Chinsurah-Mogra block. Located in  Hooghly district of West Bengal, Balagarh is an assembly segment in the...

Ajodhya Hill, a poplar tourist place, is located within the Baghmundi Assembly Constituency  Baghmundi is one of the nine assembly constituencies located in the Purulia district of West Bengal. Jhalda municipality is covered by the Baghmundi assembly constituency, which also contains the blocks of Jhalda-1 and Baghmundi as well as Sirkabad and Hetgugui gram panchayats of Arsha block. Baghmundi is one of the seven assembly segments falling under Purulia parliamentary constituency. Balarampur, Joypur, Purulia, Manbazar, Kashipur and Para are other six assembly constituencies.  Baghmundi came into being before 2011 on the recommendations of the Delimitation Commission.  Electoral History Sushanta Mahato is the sitting TMC MLA of Baghmundi which he won by defeating AJSU nominee Asutosh Mahato by a margin of 13,969 votes in the last assembly polls in 2021.  Nepal Mahato had won the seat in 2009 and 2016 as Congress MLA.  

The rural constituency of Baduria covers Baduria municipality, and Aturia, Bajitpur, Bagjola, Chandipur, Chhatra, North Jadurhati, South Jadurhati, Jagannathpur, Jasikati Atghara, Raghunathpur, Nayabastia Milani and Sayesta Nagar II gram panchayats of Baduria block. Located the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, Baduria is one of the seven assembly segments falling under the Basirhat parliamentary constituency. Electoral History  Currently, Baduria is held by Abdur Rahim Quazi who is contesting the 2026 assembly seat on Congress ticket.  He had won the seat in 2021 on the ticket of TMC.  Congress legislator Quazi Abdul Gaffar was elected for the eighth term in 2011 by defeating then sitting CPM MLA Mohammad Shelim.  Apart from 2011, Quazi Abdul Gaffar had won the seat in 1967, 1971, 1972, 1982, 1991, 1996 and 2001. Mohammad Shelim emerged victorious in 1987 and 2006. CPI(M)'s Mustafa Quassem, who committed suicide in 2011 just months after winning the Basirha...

The rock-cut Buddhist viharas and chaityas of Ajanta Caves were built under the patronage of Vakataka king, Harishena  Q.1. What was the capital of the Vakataka dynasty in ancient India? [A] Nandivardhana  [B] Ujjain [C] Pataliputra [D] Thaneswar Q.2. Who was founder of Vakataka dynasty ? [A] Pravarasena I [B] Prithivishena I [C] Vindhyashakti [D] Sarvasena Q.3. Which ruler of the Vakataka dynasty is said to have performed several sacrifices including  Agnishtoma, Aptoryama, Ukthya, Shodasin, Atiratra, Vajapeya, Brihaspatisava, Sadyaskra and four Asvamedhas? [A] Pravarasena I [B] Rudrasena-I [C] Prithvisena-I [D] Narendrasena-I Q.4. Which Vakataka ruler was married to Prabhavatigupta, the daughter of the Gupta emperor Chandragupta II. [A] Vindhyashakti [B] Rudrasena II [C] Pravarasena I [D] Prithivishena I Q.5. Which Vakataka king had written “The Building of the Causeway” (Setubandha or Ravanavaho), a famous work in Prakrit language.  [A] Rudrasena II [B] Pravarasen...