Annexation of Kabul by Akbar

In  1581, Akbar was faced with one of the most critical periods of his reign when Mirza Muhammad Hakim, the governor of Kabul, advanced to Lahore.  Muhammad Hakim, Akbar’s half brother, was an orthodox and ambitious ruler who was planning to seize the Mughal throne for himself.  He was supported in his bid by some discontented officers of the Mughal court such as Khwaja Mansur.

Thereupon Akbar proceeded to Kabul from his capital on 8^th February, 1581 with about 50, 000 cavalry, 500 elephants and great number of infantry.  He reached Kabul on 9^th August and defeated Mirza Muhammad Hakim and compelled him to submit. Hakim, however, was reinstated on vow of loyalty to the emperor. After the death of Muhammad Hakim in July 1586, the province of Kabul was formally annexed to the Mughal Empire.

According to Smith, Akbar’s victory of Kabul “may be regarded as the climax of his career”. 

Akbar's Mausoleum

Akbar’s tomb is at Sikandara, situated on the outskirts of the Agra City. Housing his mortal remains, the mausoleum was built by the emperor himself during his lifetime. The mausoleum was finished in 1613 during the reign of Jahangir. 

Indo-Sino War 1962: A Retrospect

October 20 marks the 50th anniversary of China's invasion on the Indian forces over the Himalayan frontier in 1962. During the war the Chinese forces advanced as far as the plains of Assam in India.

Since then the border between these tow Asian giants has been a bone of contention between these two countries. Fourteen rounds of talks have not been able to yield any significant results. Though another war seems unlikely, friction on the border is frequent and it will take time that complete normalcy is restored in the relations between two countries.

Below is a look at what happened during the Indo-Sino war in 1962.

When India became independent in 1947, its relation with the Communist China was on friendly terms. But it was not to be so for long due to Chinese attitude towards Tibet, then an autonomous state under the suzerainty of China. India, on the other had, had a friendly relation with Tibet.  However, when China invaded Tibet in 1950 and latter’s autonomy came to an end. This created a sense of apprehension in India as China was showing signs of its expansionist policy.

Indian troops during a military training drill in  Assam - Indo-Sino War 1962

All was well till Panch Sheel  (Five Principles as the basis of their friendly relations) was signed between these two countries on 20^th April, 1954. All these changed when China, in utter disregard of the Panch Sheel, published maps where 132, 090 square kilometers of Indian territory were included wrongly. The situation came to a head when China overran Tibet in 1959 and Dalai Lama, the spiritual head of Tibet, and a large number of Tibetans were forced to take refuge in India. Meanwhile China occupied approximately 31,000 square kilometers of Indian territory.

Chinese troops during the Indo-Sino War 1962.

On 20^th October, 1962, China embarked on an attack on Ladakh and NEFA (North East Frontier Agency), to the north of Assam. Indian soldiers fought bravely but were vastly outnumbered. As a result they were not able to offer a significant resistance in NEFA (Now Arunachal Pradesh). Chinese captured Bomdi La in Arunachal Pradesh and also occupied portions of Ladakh claimed by them.   

However, on 21^st November, China declared a unilateral ceasefire and thus the war came to an end.   

Mattavilasa Prahasana, The Delightful Farce

Mattavilasa Prahasana (the Sport of Drunkards) was written by the versatile Pallava ruler and scholar Mahendravikramavarman or Mahendravarman I, a contemporary of Harsha.

Set in the Pallava capital of Kanchipuram, this little farce treats of a drunken Shaivite ascetic named Kapali or Satysoma, who loses the skull which he uses as begging bowl and accuses a Buddhist monk Nagasena of stealing it. After a drawn -out argument involving satirical dialogue, in which other dissolute mendicants of various persuasions and both sexes are involved, it is found that the skull has been stolen by a dog. Replete with Rabelaisian humour, this short one-act play in Sanskrit throws a flood of light on the life of the 7^th century India.

Last Days of Chandragupta Maurya

                                        Chandragiri Hills, Karnataka

If Jaina tradition is to believed, Chandragupta Maurya, founder of the large Mauryan empire, in his old age, abdicated the throne and became a Jaina monk. 

He retired to Shravanabelagola (presently in the Hasan district of Karnataka), with his teacher the Jaina Saint, Bhadrabahu. In accordance with the beliefs of Jainism, he fasted to death there and today the place is a famous religious destination for the Jain pilgrims. 

The hill where Chandragupta spent his last days is still known as Chandragiri.

Farrukhsiyar

It does not seem improbable that the Mughal Empire, which was at its most expansive during the reign of Aurangzeb, was soon to be disintegrated after his death. The reason for this is the accession of the weak rulers after his death in 1707. One such ruler was Farrukhsiyar who was feeble and fickle minded.

Farrukhsiyar was the son of Azim-ush-shan and grandson of Bahadur Shah I, son and successor of Aurangzeb.  He succeeded to the Mughal throne in 1713 with the help of powerful Saiyid Brothers.

Historian Khafi khan writes about him. He “had no will of his own. He was young, inexperienced and inattentive to the business of the state”.

Farrukhsiyar was a weak ruler and suffered from a sense of insecurity. He ordered the murder of Zulfiqr Khan, who became the most powerful noble during the reign of Bahadur Shah I and Jahandar Shah, the successor of Bahadur Shah I. In order to thwart any plans by Saiyid Brothers to displace him, prominent members of the imperial family, who were kept in prisons, were blinded on the emperor’s orders. Another important event of his rule was the execution of the Sikh leader Banda Bahadur who was tortured to death by the Mughals in 1716.

However, Farrukhsiyar was no able to check the growing power of the Saiyid Brothers who, with the help of Ajay Singh of Marwar, who had married his daughter to the emperor, deposed and murdered him in 1719.

Alberuni, the celebrated traveller to India and a Great Scholar

One of the most famous Arab travellers to India, Alberuni (Al-Biruni) visited India when Mahmud of Ghazni invaded Somnath, the famous shrine in Gujarat dedicated to Lord Shiva. Between 1001 and 1027 Mahmud made seventeen raids on India. One of the main objects of his raids was to acquire the wealth of India. Naturally so, the temples and towns were his main targets because they were repositories of immense wealth. As a result of his campaigns, many temples were looted and desecrated. Enormous caravan of booty and slaves were taken to Ghazni. Mathura and Kanyakubja, the great cites of India at that time, were plundered.

Also called Abu Raithan, Alberuni spent his years in India in the study of astronomy, medicine, chemistry, etc,. His book Tahkik-i-Hind (reality of Hindustan or Enquiry into India), a voluminous work divided into 80 chapters, is a mirror of the eleventh century India. The magnum opus gives a good graphic description of India as the great scholar saw the country. In fact, the book is “a magic island of quite impartial research in the midst of a world of clashing swords, burning towns and plundered temples.”   

Alberuni writes about Indians. He says, “They are haughty, foolish, vain, self-conceited, stolid. They are by nature niggardly in communicating that which they known…According to their belief, no other created beings besides them have any knowledge of science whatsoever.”