Indian History

After his death on the 27th February, 1712, Bahadur Shah I, son and successor of Aurangzeb, was succeeded by his son Jahandar Shah. Jahandar’s accession to the Mughal throne was not a smooth affair. In the war of succession that followed Bahadur Shah I’s death, he killed his brother Azim-us-Shan. His other brothers Jahan Shah and Rafi-us-Shan were also killed during the war of succession. Jahandar Shah owed his accession to the throne to Zulfiqar Khan, son of Asad Khan. The father son duo was the important members of the Irani party of the later Mughal nobility. Zulfiqar Khan was made the chief minister and became supreme in the state. Slave to the charms of his favourite mistress Lal Kunwar, Jahandar Shah became oblivious of his duties to the state. His brief reign was the heydays of the merrymakers. "In the brief reign of Jahandar", observes contemporary historian Khafi Khan, "violence and debauchery had full sway. It was a fine time for minstrels and singers and all t

In l564 Akbar sent Khwaja Abdu-Majid, better known as Asaf Khan, the governor of the Mughal province of Kara, to make a conquest of the kingdom of Garah Katanga, a territory, abounding in hills and jungles in the Gondwana region presently forming parts of the northern districts of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It had remained unconquered since the advent of Islam in India. At this time the kingdom of Garah Katanga was being governed by a valiant lady of noble character Rani Durgavati, as the regent for her minor son, Bir Narayan. Durgavati was a princess of the famous Chandela kingdom of Mahoba, a powerful dynasty of India some five centuries earlier. Equipped with about 500 elephants and 20,000 horses this gallant Rajput lady met the Mughal forces between Garah and Mandala (now in the Jabalpur district). During the battle an arrow struck her. When she saw that she might be taken prisoner, she plunged a dagger into her stomach and died. The young ruler, Bir Narayan, fought bravely

Babur, the first Mughal ruler, wrote his autobiography Baburnamah or Tuzuk-i-baburi in Turki or Turkish language which was his native tongue. Baburnamah, Wakai or Wakiat-i-Baburi, or Tuzak-i-Baburi as Babur's Memoirs are variously known, is the main source of information about his life and career. According to Lane-Poole, "If ever there were a case when the testimony of a single historical document, unsupported by other evidence, should be accepted as sufficient proof, it is the case with Babur's Memoirs. No reader of this prince of autobiographers can doubt his honesty or his competence as witness and chronicler."  On the instruction of Akbar, Baburnamah was translated into Persian in 1589 by one of his nobles, Mirza Abdur-Rahim, who was also Bairam Khan's son. Bairam Khan was the preceptor to Mughal emperor Akbar. It was translated into English for the first time by Leyden and Erskine in 1826. The second English translation was made in 1905 by Mr

One of the greatest kings of India, Krishnadeva Raya raised the Hindu power of Vijayanagar to the zenith of its prosperity and glory. He belonged to the Taluva dynasty, one of the four main dynasties, combination of which is known as the Vijayanagar empire. A valiant and active warrior, he successfully fought all the wars he waged throughout his reign. It is said that had he lived longer, he might have driven the Muslims from the Deccan altogether.  Krishnadeva Raya ruled from 1509 to 29.  Of him, the Portuguese traveller Domingo Paes, who visited the Vijayanagar kingdom, writes in terms rarely used by a European traveller of an oriental king,: "He is the most learned and perfect king that could possibly be, cheerful of disposition and very merry; he is one that seeks to honour foreigners and receives them kindly; asking all about their affairs whatever their condition may be. He is a great ruler and a man of much justice, but subject to certain fits of rage . . . he is by rank

Before the emergence of the Muslim rulers on the political landscape of Kashmir, the province was a famous centre of Shaivism. Maumud of Ghazni made unsuccessful attempts to conquer the vale of Kashmir. With the passage of time, the area began to attract Muslim settles, many of whom entered the service of its Hindu rulers. One such Muslim adventurer was Shah Mir, who after the death of his Hindu ruler seized the throne for himself and became the king in 1339 under the title of Shamsuddin Shah. Thus was founded the Shah Mir dynasty of Kashmir. After his death in A.D. 1349, Shamsuddin Shah was succeeded by his sons, Jamshid, Alauddin, Shihabuddin, and Qutb-ud-din. Alauddin transferred his capital from Indrakot to Alauddinpur (Srinagar).  Qutb-ud-din was succeeded by his son Sikandar who ascended the throne of Kashmir in 1394 after his father’s death. It was during Sikandar’s reign that Mangol leader Timur Lang or Tamerlane invaded India in 1398. He, however, by way of exchanging

1. Babur–namah or Tuzuk –i-Baburi is the Wakai or Memoirs (autobiography) of the first Mughal emperor Babur. In which language was it written? (a) Arabic (b) Persian (c) Turkish or Turki (d) Pushto 2. Who among the following foreigners was not impressed with the state of public security in Mughal Empire during the reign of Shah Jahan? (a) Nicholas Withington (b) Peter Mundy (c) William Hawkins (d) William Finch 3. Who among the following foreign traveler was eyewitness to the Dara Sikhoh’s public humiliation in Delhi by his brother Aurangzeb after war of succession? (a) Travernier (b) Munucci (c) Francois Bernier (d) Dr. Gemelli-Carreri 4. Sir Thomas Roe was sent as accredited ambassador of the King of England, James I to the Mughal court of (a) Akbar (b) Jahangir (c) Shah Jahan (d) Aurangzeb 5. In the war of succession Dara Shikoh was finally defeated by Aurangzeb in the battle of (a) Deorai (b) Samugarh (c) Dharmat (d) Khajwah 6. Which of the following

Theosophical Society was founded in 1875 in New York in the USA by Madame H. P. Blavatsky and Colonel H. S. Olcott. They came to India in January 1879 and set up the headquarters of the society at Adyar, presently a suburb of Chennai in Tamil Nadu. It was however with the joining of the society by Annie Besant in 1888 in England that the movement began to gain momentum. Theosophical society owes its success in India to Annie Besant who arrived in India in 1893 at the age of forty six and made permanent residence in the country. Fundamental teachings of the Theosophical Society ·          The spiritual hierarchy of God ·          The unity of God and three-fold emanation of God ·          Universal brotherhood Though Theosophical society had several branches all across India, it exerted a compelling influence on the social and religious life of South India to a good measure. Its role in “the awakening and self-respect of the Indians” has been acknowledged by everyone. Ho