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.
1471 - Birth of Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 – 17 October 1529), an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1509 to 1529.
Krishnadeva Raya belonged to the Taluva dynasty, one of the four main dynasties, combination of which is known as the Vijayanagar empire.
One of the greatest kings of India, Krishnadeva Raya raised the Hindu power of Vijayanagar to the zenith of its prosperity and glory.
An epigraphical reference to the date of death of Krishnadevaraya was discovered at Honnenahalli in Tumakuru district in Karnataka. According to the inscription, Krishnadevaraya died on October 17, 1529.
1399- Mongol leader Amir Timur, also known as Tamerlane, sacks Kangra on 16th January, 1399 during his invasion on India in which he massacred thousands of the inhabitants of many cities and places of India including Talamba, Delhi, Firuzabad, Meerut, Jammu and Kangra.
1680- Shambhiji, the second Chhatrapati of the Maratha Kingdom and son of Shivaji, was coronated at Raigad fort in 1680. He formally ascended the throne on 20 July, 1680, and his coronation ceremony was performed with great splendour on 16 January, 1681.
1757- The Battle of Narela took place on 16 January 1757, at Narela, on the outskirts of Delhi, between the Marathas and Afghans warlord Ahmad Shah Abdali.
1661- Aurangzeb, the sixth Mughal emperor, sends Sulaiman Shikoh, the eldest son of his elder brother Dara Shikoh, for imprisonment in Gwalior Fort on 15th January.
During the course of the fratricidal war of succession among the sons of fifth Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, (Murad, another brother of Aurangzeb) and Sulaiman Shikoh were executed on the orders of Aurangzeb in the Gwalior Fort.
1888- Indian independence activist and Congress leader Saifuddin Kitchlew was born on 15 January 1888.
The infamous Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place on 13 April 1919 when troops of the British colonial power under the command of General Dyer opened fire on thousands of people who had gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh public gardens in Amritsar to protest against the Rowlatt Act and arrest of pro-independence leaders of Amritsar, Saifuddin Kitchlew and Satyapal.
The bloody battle of Chillianwala was fought at Chillianwala (now in Pakistan) between the British and Sikh armies on January 13, 1849 during the Second Anglo-Sikh war. The British and Sikh armies were respectively commanded by Sir Hugh Gough and the Raja Sher Singh Attariwala. Both sides claimed victory. The British won the battle though it was a "pyrrhic victory" for them.
According to the historians, 757 soldiers of British army were killed, 1,651 were wounded and 104 went missing. Sikhs lost near 3,600 soldiers.
Lord Dalhousie was the Governor-General of India during the Battle of Chillianwala.
Chillianwala Battle took place in the same area where King Porus had fought Alexander (r. 336-323 BCE) at the 326 BCE Battle of Hydaspes.
According to the historians, 757 soldiers of British army were killed, 1,651 were wounded and 104 went missing. Sikhs lost near 3,600 soldiers.
Lord Dalhousie was the Governor-General of India during the Battle of Chillianwala.
