Indian History

Alauddin Khilji The second ruler of the Khilji dynasty of the famed Delhi Sultanate, Alauddin Khilji was a militarist and imperialist to the core. He was very ambitious. In a haste to be the Khilji Sultan, he usurped the throne for himself by killing treacherously his loving uncle and father-in-law Jalaluddin Firuz Khilji, the founder of the Khilji Dynasty. It is natural for a self-willed and ambitious ruler to embark on the path of annexation of new territories to his kingdom. Alauddin, whose original name was Ali Gurshap, loved to style himself “the Second Alexander” (Sikander-i-Sani). As a matter of fact, with the assumption of power at Delhi begins ‘the imperial phase of the Sultanate’. Conquest of Gujarat The kingdom of Gujarat was then ruled by king Karna Dev of the Vaghelas who were feudatories of the Solanki Rajput rulers also called Chalukyas. The Gujarat kingdom was famed for vast fortunes which it acquired from sea-borne trade with Arabs and Persians. In 1

Vikram Samvat or the Vikrama Era is the most important of the India’s many systems of dating that were or are in use in India. It was traditionally introduced by the legendary King Vikramaditya of Ujjaini who drove the Sakas out of Ujjain and thus founded the era to mark his victory. Since Chandra Gupta II (c. 376-415) of the Gupta Dynasty is the only king who assumed the title of Vikramaditya and drove the Sakas out of Ujjain, he cannot be person who introduced the Vikrama Era which began in 58 BC. It is so because the Gupta King lived some 400 years after the beginning of this era. So the legend is certainly incorrect.   There is a school of thought which says that Era of Vikram was founded by the Malava tribe identified with the Malloi referred to by the Greek historians. It was after the Malavas that the region around Ujjaini, north of the Narmada River, got its name and came to be known as Malwa.  Some scholars credit Azes, an early Indo-Scythian king, for founding the Vikram

British library is organizing an exhibition in London where more than 200 exquisite objects of art belonging to the Mughal period from 16 th to 19 th century have the potential of overwhelm the visitors. The exhibition, which will run until 2 April 2013, is showcasing historical accounts, paintings and portraits of the Mughal emperors who were equally adept in imperialism and promotion of art and culture. A portrait of Prince Dara Shikoh [1615-59], the liberal son of Emperor Shah Jahan and brother of orthodox Aurangzeb is one of the highlights of the exhibition. The portrait depicts Dara listening to a debate between two persons of different persuasions. A portrait of later Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah depicting him in a love making act is one of the works of art displayed at the exhibition, titled the 'Mughal India: Art, Culture and Empire'. The visitor can find here a photograph of Bahadur Shah II , the last Mughal Emperor who was sentenced by the British to exi

The Goddess Durga (Mahishasuramardini) destorying the Buffalo Demon, Mahisha, Mamallapuram. 7th century / Image Credit Today, the seaside village of Mamallapuram in Chengalpattu district of Tamil Nadu is witness to some of brilliant works of architecture by the Pallavas who ruled from A.D. 300-900 in the region south of Krishna-Tungbhadra rivers. Kanchi (modern Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu) was the capital of their Kingdom. Pallava dynasty was one of the most powerful and famous kingdoms of South India. The rulers of this dynasty are known to be the creators of one of most exquisite pieces of temple architecture in India. During the rule of the Pallavas, Hinduism was in a state of flourish and they are responsible for introducing Aryan institutions in South India to a great measure. Early Pallavas Nothing much can be said with certainty about the early history of the Pallavas.  We learn that in about the middle of the 4 th century AD a Pallava king named Vishnugopa was c

image source: incredibleindia.org The Great Rashtrakuta emperor Amoghavarsha I cut off the fingers of his left hand as a sacrifice to the Goddesses Mahalakshmi of Kolhapur to avert the calamites being faced his kingdom.

Image Source: Wikipedia An ancient rishi (sage), Jamadagni was the father of Parashurama (Rama with the axe), the sixth Avatar (“Descent”) or Incarnation of Vishnu. Once Jamadagni was robbed by the wicked King Kartavirya, the most famous of the Haihaya kings. As a result, Parashurama killed Kartavirya. Jamadagni was in turn killed by the sons of Kartavirya. This enraged Parashurama who exterminated all the males of the Kshatriya caste with the axe given to him by Shiva twenty-one times in succession. Some accounts say that Jamadagni was killed by Kartavirya himself. Jamadagni’s wife was Renuka who is known for her wifely fidelity.

Year Location of Session President 1885 Bombay Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee 1886 Calcutta Dadabhai Naoroji 1887 Madras Badruddin Tyabji 1888 Allahabad George Yule 1889 Bombay William Wedderburn 1890 Calcutta Pherozeshah Mehta 1891 Nagpur P. Ananda Charlu 1892 Allahabad Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee 1893 Lahore Dadabhai Naoroji 1894 Madras Alfred Webb 1895 Poona Surendranath Banerjea 1896 Calcutta Rahimtulla M. Sayani 1897 Amraoti C. Sankaran Nair 1898 Madras Ananda Mohan Bose 1899 Lucknow Romesh Chunder Dutt 1900 Lahore Narayan Ganesh Chandavarkar 1901 Calcutta Dinshaw Edulji Wacha 1902 Ahmedabad Surendranath Banerjea 1903 Madras Lalmohan Ghosh 1904 Bombay Henry Cotton 1905 Benares Gopal Krishna Gokhale 1906 Calcutta Dadabhai Naoroji 1907 Surat Rashbihari Ghosh 1908 Madras Rashbihari Ghosh 1909 Lahore Madan Mohan Malaviya 1910 Allahabad William Wedderburn