Indian History

There is a divergence of views on how the word Bangla or Bengal came into being. The area that constitutes the present day West Bengal was ruled by various kingdoms in ancient times. West Bengal was part of the Mauryan Empire (BC 321-185), the first and one of the greatest empires to be established in Indian history. The earliest reference to Bengal in foreign accounts has been found in those of the Greeks dating back to the first century BC. According to Mahavamsa, the Sri Lankan Buddhist Chronicle, Vijaya Singha, an obscure Vanga prince, conquered Sri Lanka in 544 BC. After the fall of the Mauryan Empire, the territory of West Bengal came under the control of smaller kingdoms. After an interregnum it once again became part of the great Gupta rule, known as the classical age in Indian history. After the fall of the Gupta empire, several local rulers asserted their independence. Chief among them were Dharmaditya, Gopachandra, and Samacharadeva. The first independent king of substance i

I n ancient times many powerful dynasties held their sway over the territory that constituted the present day Assam which was then known as Kamarupa. Chief among them were the Varmans (c.350-650 AD), the Salstambhas (c.655-900 AD) and the Kamarupa-Palas (c.900-1100 AD). It was during the reign of the Varman king, Bhaskaravarman (c.600–650 AD), that the Chinese traveler Xuan Zang visited the region. After the disintegration of the ancient dynasties, two later kingdoms, the Ahoms and the Koch came to the centrestage of Assam. Of these the first held their sovereignty over Assam for nearly 600 years. The Koch kingdom came into being in c.1510 AD. During the reign of Naranarayana (c.1540-1587 AD), the power of the kingdom reached its pinnacle. The greatest king of the Ahom dynasty was Sukhrungpha or Sworgodeu Rudra Simha (c.1696-1714 AD). Among other kingdoms which held their sway in some parts of Assam at this period were the Chutiyas, the Kacharis. During the reign of  Mughal emperor

The history of Gujarat, the western most state of India, goes back to 2000 B.C. Tradition has it that Lord Krishna left Mathura to settle on the west coast of Saurashtra, which later became famous as Dwarka, a well-known city in the state.  Two important Indus sites in  Gujarat are Lothal and Dholavira. The area that constitutes the present day Gujarat was ruled by various dynasties including Mauryas, Guptas, Pratiharas and others. During the time of Chalukya dynasty, Gujarat saw progress and prosperity. the Chalukya or Solakis ruled in Gujarat and Kathiawar for nearly three centuries and half (950-1300). One of the earliest rulers of this dynsty was Mularaja who consolidated the Chalukya power in Gujarat. The next illustrious king was Bhima I (1022-64), during whose reign Mahmida Ghazni overran Gujarat and plundered the great temple of Somanath. Jayasimha Siddharaja was the greatest Chalukya king who, in commemoration of his victory against the Paramaras, adopted the title of Ava

Haryana is known for being the territory over which were fought some of the decisive and famous battles that changed much of the history of India. Chief among them are the battle of Mahabharata and the three battles of Panipat. The Indus Valley Civilization, or the Harappan Civilization, one of the world's first and oldest civilizations, was located in part of what is now Haryana. Banawali in Hisar District of Haryana was a major city of the Indus Valley Civilization. Rakhigarhi is another city of the Indus Valley Civilization that is situated in the present day Haryana. Haryana was an important centre of Vedic civilization. King Harshavardhana, one of the greatest kings of ancient India made Thanesar near Kurukshetra in the state of Haryana his capital in the 7th century AD. Prithviraj Chauhan, the last Hindu king in Delhi, founded forts at Tarori and Hansi in the 12th century. Haryana came under the control of Muslim ruler after Prithviraj Chauhan was defeated by Muhammad G

Three dynasties, the Karkota, the Utpala and the Loharas, ruled over Kashmir from 800 AD to 1200 AD. Of the Karkota dynasty, Lalitaditya Muktapida (724-760) and Jayapida Vinyaditya (779-810) were the two most famous rulers. The Karkota dynasty was overthrown by the Utpalas in the middle of the ninth century AD. The most illustrious ruler of the Utpala dynasty was Avantivarman (855-83) who devoted more time to internal administration than to conquests. He is credited to have founded new cities including Suyyapura (Sopar) and Avavntipur. The Utpalas were supplanted by the Loharas. Harsha was the last important ruler of the Lohara dynasty. After his death Kashmir faced a quick succession of weak Lohara rulers and finally the dynasty came to an end in 1172 AD. Though Muhammad bin Qasim, the conqueror of Sind, invaded Kashmir, he was not able to subjugate the region. Mahmud of Ghazni’s attempt to conqueror also ended in failure. Shah Mir dynasty was founded in 1339. Alauddin (1343-54) trans

All the great Mughal rulers, with the exception of Auragzeb, were patrons of music. Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan took keen interest in music. Abul Fazal, the court historian of Akbar mentions that thirty six singers enjoyed the patronage of Akbar’s court. Of them, Tansen was the most famous. According to Abul Fazal, the author of Akbarnama, ‘a singer like him has not been in India for the last thousand years.’ Tansen was earlier a court musician of Rama Chandra, a Raja of Bhatta (Rewa). The famous Sufi saint Shaikh Salim Chishti was great admirer of Tansen. Tansen was conferred the title of Kanthabharanvani Vilas by Akbar. Tansen’s son Tantarng also sang in the court of Akbar. Among the thirty six names of musicians in the court of Akbar, most of the singers were Indian and hailed from either Gwalior or Dhar. Ramdas who had been formerly in the court of Islam Shah was second only to Tansen. His son Surdas was also a musician. The musicians enjoying the patronage of the fourth Mug

Five separate Sultanates arose in the Deccan, one after another, on the break-up of the Bahmanai kingdom. Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda was one of them. The founder of this dynasty was Sultan Quli Hamadani who was given the charge of the region of Golconda by the Bahmani ruler in 1494. Sultan Quli Hamadani was given the title of Qutbul Mulk by the Bahmani ruler. Taking advantage of the weakening of the Bahmani kingdom, he declared independce in 1512. His reign was characterized by his constant struggles with the rulers of the Vijayanagar empire. Qutbul Mulk was killed by his son Jamshid in 1543 at the age of ninety-eight. Jamshid ruled for seven years. His rule was characterized by chaos and his boneheaded obstinacy made his unpopular. His brother Ibrahim, fearing his life, went to the protection of Vijayanagar rulers. Jamshid was succeeded by his son Subhan. Taking advantage of the prevailing discontent in the empire, Ibrahim succeeded in becoming the ruler of the Qutb dynasty. Ibrah