Tomb of Bibi Pari, Dacca

Tomb of Bibi Pari / Image Credit

One of the famous Mughal monuments in Bangladesh, the seventeenth century tomb of Bibi Pari  was built by the Mughal Subahdar of Bengal Shaista Khan for her daughter Iran Dukht Rahmat Banu. She was married to Muhammad Azam Shah, son of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. 

Tomb of Bibi Pari is located within the Lalbagh Fort in Dacca. The construction of Lalbagh Fort, then known as  Aurangabad Qila, was started by Muhammad Azam Shah in 1678, and was being continued by his successor Shaista Khan. 

Mirza Abu Talib, popularly known as Shaista Khan, was appointed Mughal Subahdar of Bengal by his uncle and Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb after the death of Mir Jumla in 1663. 

Mir Jumla was made governor of Bengal in 1659 by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. He died while he was on his way to Dacca and was entombed at Thakurbari on the Assam-Meghalaya border in the westernmost part of West Garo Hills. 

Shaista Khan was sent by Aurangzeb to defeat Shivaji. However, he had to retreat when in 1663 Shivaji embarked on a surprise attack at the well-guarded mansion of Shayista Khan in Poona. In the scuffle Shaista Khan lost his thumb and his son, Abul Fath, was killed. This incident served a body-blow to the Mughal prestige in the Deccan. Aurangzeb recalled Shayista and transferred him to Bengal. 

Raja Man Singh Tomar And Dhrupad Music

Apart from being great warrior and patron of architecture, Raja Man Singh (1486-1517), the Tomar Rajput ruler of Gwalior, was a skilled musician as well as a patron of musicians. He opened the doors of music to laymen. He developed Dhrupad, a Hindustani classical music, into a popular style and made it appealing for the common people. 

Mankutuhal (Man Singh's Curiosities) was the name of a treatise created by the musicians of the court of Raja Man Singh Tomar under his supervision. Manakutuhala was written in Hindi verse around 1488 A.D and is the first work on Indian music written in Hindi.

Though original Manakutuhala is no longer available, it was translated into Persian by Faquirullah Saif Khan in the seventeenth century by the name ‘Raga Darpan’. 

The dhrupads of Man Singh won the admiration of both Hindus and Muslims. 

Firoz Shah Tughlaq Tomb in Pictures

Firuz Shah Tughlaq (1309 – 1388 CE) was the third ruler of the Tughlaq dynasty of the famed Delhi Sultanate. He succeeded to the throne in 1351 after the demise of his cousin Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq who had become second Tughlaq sultan in 1325 AD. 

 

Tomb of Firoz Shah Tughlaq is located in Hauz Khas in Delhi.  Attached to the tomb is a madrasa built by Firoz Shah in 1352–53.

Amboyna Massacre of 1623

Dutch East India Company (VOC) / Image Credit

The Amboyna Massacre, as it came to be called in England, took place in 1623 in Amboyna, an important clove-producing island in modern-day Indonesia. 10 Englishmen, 10 Japanese, and one Portuguese were executed by the local authorities of Dutch East India Company. 

Portuguese were the common enemy of the English and the Dutch when the last two entered the East.  However, the commercial rivalry between the English and the Dutch led to the massacre at Amboyna (currently Amboyna).

Spice trade has been very lucrative throughout the history. In the ‘Age of Discovery’ (a period of European overseas exploration from the 15th to 17th century), the European powers - Dutch, Portuguese, English and Spanish, had been in a fierce struggle for supremacy of the spice trade. 

The English poet and dramatist John Dryden had written a dram called Amboyna, or the Cruelties of the Dutch to the English Merchants in 1673. 

Dalmadal Cannon, Bishnupur

Dalmadal Canon / Image credit

The grandeur of Bishnupur in the Bankura district of West Bengal can be ascertained by the presence of many beautiful temples featuring intricate terracotta ornamentation. Built mostly of brick & at times, of laterite, these magnificent temples are the mute spectator to Bishnupur’s glorious past.

Apart from the terracotta temples, Dalmadal Cannon is another highlight of Bishnupur.  This 3.8 m long wrought iron forge welded cannon has a barrel with a diameter of 28.5 cm. Built by expert artisan Jagannath Karmakar, this historical canon with Persian inscriptions is  located near Chinnamasta temple in Bishnupur and weighs 11,840 kg.

Tradition has it that Dalmadal Cannon was used by the Malla kings of Bishnupur to repulse the ruthless bargis (Maratha troops) under Maratha leader Bhaskar Pundit sent by Raghoji I Bhonsle of Nagpur in the 18th century. The marauding bands of Maratha cavalry came to be called bargis in Bengal.  

Bhaskar Pundit and his twenty two generals were killed by Bengal Nawab Alivardi Khan while the former was plundering the people of Bengal. 

 

2024 Assembly Elections Results of Rania Assembly Constituency

     Contesting Candidates for Rania Assembly Elections 2024     

Party	Candidates	Votes Polled
INLD	Arjun Chautala	43,914
Congress	Sarva Mitra Kamboj	39,723
Independent	Ranjit Singh Chautala	36,401
BJP	Shishpal Kamboj	15,707

                                                                                                                    

Located in the district of Sirsa, Rania assembly constituency is currently being represented

by Arjun Chautala of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) who had defeated his nearest rival Sarva Mitra Kamboj of the Congress by a margin of 4191 votes.

 

2024 Assembly Elections Results of Nuh Assembly Constituency

       Contesting Candidates for Nuh Assembly Elections 2024     

Party	Candidates	Votes Polled
Congress	Aftab Ahmed	91,883
INLD	Tahir Hussain	44,870

Located in the district of Mewat, Nuh assembly seat is currently represented by Aftab Ahmed who had defeated his nearest rival Tahir Hussain of Indian National Lok Dal in 2024 Haryana Assembly elections by a margin of 46,963 votes.

Nuh is one of the nine assembly constituencies that unite to create the parliamentary constituency of Gurgoan. 

Son of former Haryana minister and Congress leader, Khurshid Ahmed, Aftab Ahmed had also won the seat 2009 and 2019.