Indian History

Tomb of Hazrat Data Ganj Baksh /  Image source Also known as Data Ganj Baksh (Distributor of Unlimited Power), Khwaja Ali Hujjwiri lived in 11th century AD and is considered to be the earliest Sufi Saint of repute who made India his home.  Born in Ghazni in Afghanistan, he died in Lahore and his tomb, known popularly as Data Darbar, is an important place of pilgrimage in the city. Also called Shaykh al-Hujwiri, Khwaja Ali Hujjwiri was a scholar and is known for compiling Kashf-ul-Mahjoob or Kashf al-Mahjub (Revelation of Mystery), a Persian treatise on Sufism, which was translated into English by British Orientalist and scholar Reynold Alleyne Nicholson. The work gives the biographies of Sufis from Prophet Muhammad's days to his own time.  Hujwiri died in 1073 and was buried in Lahore. His shrine was visited by famous Chisti saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti who paid his homage to him by hailing him as 'Ganj Baksh' , the perfect pir.  The grandson of Sultan Mahmud of Gha...

In the 12th century AD a new movement came to emerge in Karnataka. This movement known as Veerashaivism or Lingayatism was led by Basava, a Brahmana minister of King Bijala Kalchuri who had founded a new dynasty after usurping the throne of the Chalukyas of Kalyani in A. D. 1156.  The followers of Basava were known as Virashaivas (heroes of Shiva) or Lingayats (wearers of the linga). This Shaivite sect is famous more for its cult and social doctrines than for its theology, which is a “qualified monism”. Basava opposed idolatry. In Lingayatism the only scared symbol is the linga of Shiva, a specimen of which is always carried on the person of the believer. Those who are revered include the Jangama or wandering monks.  Radical in his view, Basava completely rejected the Vedas and authority of the Brahmin class, and priesthood.   Apart from opposing pilgrimage and sacrifice he instituted complete equality among his followers, even to the equality of women who were per...

2013 - Death of Lotika Sarkar on 23 February 2013. She was a famous Indian feminist, social worker, educator, teacher, and lawyer. Born in 1923, Lotika died in New Delhi on 23 February 2013, at the age of 90.

February 22 is the birth anniversary of Swami Shraddhanand , a pioneer of Indian culture and nationalism. Swami Shraddhanand was a leading member of the famous reform movement Arya Samaj and tried his best to propagate the ideals and teachings of Swami Dayanand Saraswati , who founded the movement in 1875. A nationalist leader from Punjab, he strove hard to reform Hinduism of purging it all later degenerate features that had crept into it.  Born as Munshi Ram Vij on February 22, 1856 at Talwan village in Jalandhar district in Punjab province, Shraddhanand has left an indelible mark on India’s culture which will continue to inspire future generations. Shraddhanand was a courageous social reformer who opposed illiteracy, the prevailing caste system, untouchability, and advocated widow remarriage, national unity and integrity. On 4th April, 1919, he delivered a speech on the Hindu Muslim unity from the pulpit of Jama Masjid in Delhi. To B R Ambedkar , Shraddhanand was ‘the greatest...

1 892 -  Birth of  Indulal Yajnik  on  22 February 1892 . Born at  Nadiad  in the present-day  Kheda  district of Gujarat, Indulal Yajnik was a freedom fighter and one of the finest editors. A social worker and peasant leader from Gujarat he was a gifted journalist. He was associated with the home rule movement started by  Annie Besant . Yajnik actively participated in the  Kheda Satyagraha  organized by Gandhi to secure exemption for the peasants from payment of land tax for the crops that had failed. He launched two Gujarati monthlies –  Navjivan Ame Saty  and  Yugadharm  and a daily  Nutan Gujarat . Indulal Yajnik  established schools for the Bhil children and was the secretary of the Antyaj Seva Mandal, with Thakkar Bapa as its president. He was actively associated with the Kisan Sabha work and organsied the cooperative movement among the peasants of Gujarat. In 1942 he presided over the annual ses...

1630 -  Birth of Shivaji. Founder of the Maratha kingdom in 17th-century, Shivaji was born in the hill-fort of Shivneri near Junnar (in the Pune district of Maharashtra) on February 19, 1630. However, according to one school of thought, he was born in 1627. 1915 -   Death of Gopal Krishna Gokhale on   19 February in 1915 . Born on   9 May in 1866 , Gopal Krishna Gokhale was an Indian freedom fighter and political guru of Mahatma Gandhi. He was the president of the Benares session of Indian National Congress in 1905. In that year he had founded Servants of India Society. Ridiculing the idea of Swaraj in 1903, Gopal Krishna Gokhale had said "Only mad men outside lunatic asylums could think or talk of independence" In  1907 , the Congress had been divided into two factions in the Surat session. While the moderate faction was headed by Gopal Krishna Gokhale,  Bal Gangadhar Tilak  was the leader of the extremist group. Gopal Krishna Gokhale was also a ...