Indian History

Buddha Statue at Mindrolling Monastery / Incredibleindia Situated in Clement Town near Dehradun in Uttarakhand, Mindrolling Monastery is the centre of spiritual activity for the Tibetan Buddhist community. Set up in 1965, the monastery enshrines 60m high Great Stupa and is adorned with beautiful murals and paintings. In Tibetan, Mindrolling means 'Place of Perfect Emancipation'. Mindrolling Monastery, which follows the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, was founded by Khochhen Rinpoche who escaped to India during the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1959. The monastery has a 35m-high gold statue of the Buddha. The Mindrolling Monastery also houses Ngagyur Nyingma College, which promotes literary studies of Tibetan Buddhism.

1597-  Maharana Pratap, known for his valiant and spirited defence against the Mughal Empire under Akbar, died at Chavand, located in the Udaipur district of Rajasthan, on 19th January in 1597.  Chavand was one of the capitals of Mewar.   Maharana Pratap was the ruler of Mewar kingdom in present day Rajasthan, from 1572 until his death in 1597. He is notable for leading the Rajput resistance against the Mughals in the legendary battle of Haldighati in 1576. 1905-  Death anniversary of Debendranath Tagore (born May 15, 1817—died January 19, 1905), a philosopher and religious reformer, who was involved in the creation of the Brahmo Samaj which was founded on 20 August, 1828 in Kolkata by Rammohan Roy.   His son was Rabindranath Tagore (first Asian to receive Nobel Prize).  1936 -    First news bulletin was broadcast from All India Radio (Akashvani)  on 19th January, 1936 . 1990  -  19 January 1990 marks the day of the exodus...

Founded by Kirtipala in 1181, Chahamanas (Chauhans) of Jalore was an Indian dynasty which ruled the area around Javalipura (present-day Jalore in Rajasthan). Chahamanas (Chauhans) of Jalore were the offshoots of t he  Chahamanas of Naddula who in turn were offshoot s of  Chahamanas of Shakambhari to which belonged the famed Chauhan ruler Prithvi Raj Chauhan. In 1228 or 1229 Iltutmish, the  Slave Sultan of Delhi Sultanate,  besieged Jalor.  The Chauhan ruler  Udayasimha   was defeated but was was allowed to continue as a  ruler of Jalor on agreeing to pay a tribute.  The most powerful king of the dynasty was Kanhadadeva (reigned 1304-1311). He was the cotemporary of second Khilji Sultan Alauddin Khilji. Kanhadadeva's boastful claims led the Khilji Sultan's to annex his kingdom to the Delhi SUltanate. Kanhadadeva was defeated and killed in an attack led by Alauddin's general Malik Kamaluddin.

1842- Birth of Mahadev Govind Ranade , a scholar and prominent leader of the freedom struggle from Maharashtra. He was born on 18 January in 1842 . Mahadev Govind Ranade founded Poona Sarvajanik Sabha and was a prominent leader of Prarthana Samaj . He comes lauded as the prophet of cultural renaissance in western India. Ranade was the editor of Induprakash . 

Mount Road, Madras / Image Credit Early Chennai  The region currently around Chennai has served as an important administrative, military, and economic centre from dating back to the 1st century when it was ruled by several South Indian kingdoms, notably the Pallava, the Chola, the Pandya and Vijaynagar empires. The town of Mylapore, now part of the metropolis was once a major port of the Pallava kingdom. The Kapaleeshwarar Temple in Mylapore was built by the Pallava kings in the 7th century. The 6th century Parthasarathy Temple at  Triplicane (Tiruvellikeni)  in Chennai was built by the Pallavas.  The apostle St. Thomas is believed to have preached here between the years 52 and 70 AD. With the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century, they built a port known as San Thome or Sao Thome in 1522. The region then passed under the hands of the Dutch, who established themselves near Pulicat just north of the city in 1612. In 1639, the British East India Company wa...

Stone Age rock shelters with paintings at Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh are the earliest known traces of human life in India. The first known permanent settlements appeared 9,000 years ago and developed into the Indus Valley Civilization, which peaked between 2600 BC and 1900 BC. It was followed by the Vedic Civilization.  From around 500 BC onwards, many independent kingdoms came into being. In the north, the Maurya dynasty, which included the emperor Ashoka, contributed greatly to India's cultural landscape. From 180 BC, a series of invasions from Central Asia followed, with the successive establishment in the northern Indian subcontinent of the Indo-Greek, Indo-Scythian and Indo-Parthian kingdoms, and finally the Kushan Empire. From the 3rd century onwards the Gupta dynasty oversaw the period referred to as India's "Golden Age". In the south, several dynasties including the Chalukyas, Cheras, Cholas, Pallavas, Pandyas and Hoysalas prevailed during different periods...