Indian History

Hampi  and   Mysuru   in Karnataka have been selected for development under   Swadesh Darshan 2.0. scheme .   Mysuru and Hampi are among the 19 places identified across the eight states and UTs in India to be promoted under the Swadesh Darshan 2.0 Scheme. Ministry of Tourism has revamped its Swadesh Darshan scheme as Swadesh Darshan 2.0  with the objective to develop sustainable and responsible tourism destinations, following a tourist and destination-centric approach.  Swadesh Darshan Scheme Swadesh Darshan Scheme aims to promote, develop and harness the potential of tourism and integrated development of theme-based tourist circuits in India. It is a Central sector scheme launched in 2014-15 by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture. Under the scheme, the Ministry of Tourism provides financial assistance to the State government for the infrastructure development of circuits.

Located in the Kerala capital of Thiruvananthapuram, the recently opened Palm Leaf Manuscript Museum is the world’s first of its kind and deals exclusively with both obscure and celebrated tales of the erstwhile Travancore kingdom that comes lauded as Asia's first to defeat any European power on Indian Soil.  The museum houses 187 manuscripts and other artefacts related to the erstwhile kingdom dating back to a period of 650 years till the end of the19th century. It also contains documents from the regions of Kochi and Malabar. Accounts of the famous Battle of Colachel in 1741 AD between Travancore ruler Marthanda Verma (1729-58) and the Dutch East India Company are among the manuscripts of the museum. The battle resulted in the defeat of the European power by the valiant Travancore ruler at Colachel, 20 km northwest of Kanyakumari in present day Tamil Nadu  This battle put an end to the expansionist designs of the Dutch in India and resulted in Travancore becoming Asia's firs

Built by Nur Jahan, wife of fourth Mughal emperor Jahangir, for her father, Itmad-ud- Daulah’s tomb is one of the earliest buildings in which pietra dura, a method of decorating the walls with floral designs studded with semi-precious stones, was used. Pietra dura is also used on a large scale in the Taj Mahal. Also known as mini Taj, the structure is the first Mughal building built entirely from marble. Built between 1622 and 1628 it is also the first tomb to be built on the banks of the Yamuna. Nur Jahan’s father Mirza Ghiyas Beg was given the title of Itmad- ud- Daulah (pillar of the state). He was the wazir (Prime minister) of the Mughal empire under Jehangir. 

Bhatti, the author of Ravanavadha, was the court poet of Dharasena IV (AD 645-650), the Maitraka ruler of Valabhi. Ravanavadha, (the Death of Rāvaṇa), more popularly known as Bhattikavya (Bhatti’s Poems), is a poem on the story of Rama.     Bhattikavya is sometimes included in the list of mahakavya.

Also called Trikanda, Amarakosha is a Sanskrit lexicon compiled in ancient India by Amarasimha who was one of the famous Navaratnas, or Nine Gems who adorned the court of the Gupta ruler Vikramaditya Chandragupta II (c. 376-415).  Most of Amarakosha’s works have been lost to us.   

Illuminated  mausoleum of Rahim in Delhi / Image Credit: Parveen Sharma   Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan, popularly known as Rahim, was a medieval Hindi poet, scholar of Sanskrit and Persian and powerful minister and military commander during Mughal emperor Akbar’s reign.  According to tradition he was one of Akbar’s ‘Navratnas (“Nine Jewels”). The Navratnas were nine individuals of extraordinary ability gracing the court of Akbar.                                                                                            Rahim's Tomb  Rahim was born in 1556 to Bairam Khan, the preceptor to Mughal emperor Akbar. The father-son duo were both titled Khan-i-Khanan. Rahim was four years old when his father was killed in 1561 AD by an Afghan at Patan on his way to Mecca.  On the instruction of Akbar, Baburnamah was translated into Persian in 1589 by Rahim. Rahim died in 1627. He lies buried in the mausoleum built by him for his wife Mah Banu in 1598. The tomb is situated in Nizamuddin East on

                                                                 Malik Maqbool tomb Delhi/ Image source Jahan Khan or Malik Maqbul whose mausoleum in the Nizamuddin Basti in Delhi is the earliest octagonal tomb in India was the Wazir (Prime Minister) of the Delhi Sultanate under Firuz Shah Tughluq ((r. 1351–1388), the third ruler of the Tughlaq dynasty.   Also known as Khan-i-Jahan Maqbul Tilangani, Malik Maqbul was originally a Brahmin from Telangana in the service of the Kakatiya kingdom in eastern Deccan. He converted to Islam when the kingdom under Prataprudra was annexed to the Delhi Sultanate in 1323 during the reign of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq who had sent his son Ulugh Khan (later Muhammad bin Tughlaq) to bring the Hindu kingdom under the Muslim rule. Malik Maqbul was known as Gannama Nayaka or Yugandhar before his conversion.         Malik Maqbul was given the title of Khan-i-Jahan by Firuz Shah Tughluq who had succeeded Muhammad bin Tughlaq in 1351 AD.  Firuz Shah Tughluq appointe