Indian History

  Panch Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri About 39 km from the touristy  site of Agra, Fatehpur Sikri is considered as an architectural marvel of medieval India. Today the ghost town of Fatehpur Sikri astonishes visitors and history buffs with its majesty and scope. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986, the city-palace complex of Fatehpur Sikri is home to tombs, royal palaces and courts. Built by the greatest Mughal emperor Akbar, Fatehpur Sikri was the seat of his government from 1571 to 1585. The English traveler Ralph Fitch , who has left an eyewitness account of the social life and economic condition of the Mughal India, visited the Mughal court of Akbar at Fatehpur Sikri in 1585 and wrote, 'Agra and Fatepore are two very great cities, either of them much greater than London and very populous.’ However, the capital was abandoned in 1585 by Akbar. Scarcity of water is the popular explanation for this abandonment. The Mughal emperor made Lahore his new capital, which remained so til

                                                              Image Credit Birbal Bhavan is beautiful architectural wonder in the Mughal emperor Akbar’s abandoned capital of Fatehpur Sikri . 39 km from Agra, Fathehpur Sikri was was built by Akbar. Fatehpur Sikri was the seat of his government from 1571 to 1585. Believed to have been built for Akbar’s courtier Birbal, this enticing building in Fatehpur Sikri has been described by Victorian era French author Victor Hugo as 'either a very small palace or a very large jewelry box’.  Though small in size, the palace is known for its intricate designs. Its double dome structure makes it possible to keep its interiors cool during summers. 

                              Maitrakas of Valllabhi Family Tree / Image Tree Vallabhi, a famous centre of learning rivalling Nalanda in ancient India, once served as the capital of the Maitraka Dynasty which arose in Gujarat and Saurashtra in western India in the late 5th century AD on the debris of the Gupta Empire.  Vallabhi was a  port city which was of substantial commercial significance. The Maitraka dynasty ruled from approximately 475 to 776 CE.  Vallabhi has been described as famous centre of learning and trade in Somadeva’s Kathasaritsagara (Ocean of the Streams of Stories), a commentary written in the 11th century AD on the extinct Brihatkatha by Guṇaḍhya.  Maitraka dynasty was founded in 475 CE by Bhatarka , who was a military governor of Saurashtra under Gupta Empire. He was a commander of Skandagupta, the last great Gupta ruler. Bhatarka did not assume the royal titles and continued to style himself as Senapati (General). He was responsible for setting up the famed univ

                                                            Phuti Masjid / Image Source Situated in Murshidabad in West Bengal, Phuti Masjid is a mosque built by Sarfaraz Khan who had held the role of Nawab of Bengal for only one year (1739- 1740.)  Sarfaraz Khan had succeeded his father Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan who had become Bengal Nawab after the death of latter's father-in-law Murshid Quli Khan, the first Nawab of Bengal and the founder of Murshidabad and the Nasiri dynasty which  ruled Bengal from  1717 until 1740.  

Born on September 2, 1885, TK Madhavan was a prominent social reformer who played a dominant role in the famed Vaikom Satyagraha , a movement for temple entry and abolition of untouchability. He was a follower of Sri Narayana Guru and in 1927 he was elected as the Organizing Secretary of the Shree Narayan Dharma Paripalana Yogam .  Vaikom Satyagraha, which lasted for 18 months during 1924–25, was a movement to allow temple entry for the avarnas or lower castes at Vaikom (a part of the then princely state of Travancore) in the Kottayam district of Kerala.  TK Madhavan was arrested in 1924 for participating in the Vaikom Satyagraha. He sought the help of Mahatma Gandhi who arrived at Vaikom on March 7, 1925 and camped there with TK Madhavan, helping in the successful completion of Satyagraha. TK Madhavan made his contribution in the field of journalism. From 1917 onwards he was the editor of the Malayalam daily Deshabhimani which he started to educate the people of their rights.    He h

                                                                                     Behramji Malabari. Image Source An associate of Dadabhai Naoroji , M. G. Ranade, Dinshaw Wacha and other contemporary political leaders and social reformers, Behramji Merwanji Malabari was a Parsi social reformer who vigorously championed the cause of women. He was against casteism and child marriage, advocated widow remarriage. He was in favour of equality of sexes and uplift of the status of the women, particularly the widows.  Born in Vadodara in 1853, Behramji Malabari had participated in the first session of the Indian National Congress held in Mumbai in 1885. In 1908 he founded a social service organization Seva Sadan Society for the education and empowerment of women. The branches of Seva Sadan Society, which he founded with another social reformer Dayaram Gidumal, were also set up in Ahmedabad and Surat. In 1875, he published a collection of Gujarati poems, Nitivinod (Pleasure of Morality) in w

Yesterday Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of a university in Aligarh named after Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh who is known for establishing a Provisional Government of Free India in Kabul in 1915 with himself as the President and Maulana Barkatullah of Bhopal as the President.  Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh was a freedom fighter, revolutionary and journalist. Born in a royal family in 1886 in Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, Mahendra Pratap Singh was one of the few royals who actively participated in the India’s struggle for freedom. From 1914 to 1945 he lived abroad in the USA, Austria, Germany, China, Afghanistan, Japan and Turkey working for India’s freedom from British colonialism.  Mahendra Pratap Singh worked closely with the Hindustan Ghadar Party in the USA. In 1926 the Ghadar Part sent him to Tibet to organize a rebellion against the British. He started an Indian League in Japan. Mahendra Pratap Singh supported technical and vocational education to students by estab