Swayamvara: Marriage by Choice of the Bride

In ancient India, Swayamvara was a form of marriage in which the girl after attaining puberty chose her husband from among the assembled suitors. This type of marriage was particularly prevalent among the kshatriyas, the warrior and ruling class. Ancient law books lay down that in the case of parents not been able to marry their daughters, they can choose their own husband. 

Epic literature is full of instances which show that Swayamvara marriage took place in good numbers in ancient times. Though this marriage by choice used to be conducted at a chosen venue, sometimes other means were also taken recourse to choose the partner. In order to find her soul mate, Princess Savitri toured the country in chariot, until she found Satyavan, the son of a king turned woodcutter.

In the longest narrative episode in the Mahabharata it has been described how Princess Damayanti chose her husband Nala at a grand ceremony. Nala , who has long parted from his wife, is reunited with her only when Damayanti plans to hold a second Swayamvara.

While Princes Draupady was won by Arjuna, one of the five Pandavas, Rama won the hands of Sita at a Swayamvara, at which she chose him because he won the contest in which he was the only contestant who was able to lift the Shivа Dhanushа (Lord Shiva's Bow).

Swayamvara marriage had been conducted in ancient India as late as the 11^th century. Vikramaditya VI (c. 1075- 1127), the great Chalukyan king, is said to have won the hands of his brides by this method.

Gesudaraz Syed Muhamad Husayni (1321 A.D. - 1422A.D): Famous Sufi Saint of Deccan

A famous Sufi saint of Chisti order, Gesudaraz Syed Muhamad Husayni is credited with the spread of Chisti order in South India. A disciple of Chirag-i-Delhi, he left Delhi in 1398 and went to Gulbarga in Karnataka where he was well received by the Bahmani Sultan Firoz Shah Bahmani. Gulbarga was the capital of the Bahmani kingdom until its transfer to Bidar in 1428. 

Author of a large number of books on Tasawwuf (mysticism), he was a scholar of great repute and well versed in Quranic verses. Popular with the masses, he had deep compassion for the poor and the impoverished and this earned him the title of Bandanawaz (benefactor of the creatures of God).

A linguist with extensive knowledge of several languages, Gesudaraz was one of the early poets and writers who wrote in Urdu that came into being as a result of the mingling the Persian, Turkish and Arabic words accompanied by concepts of Sanskritic origin.

In the later years, the relation between Gesudaraz and Firoz Bahmani became strained as Sufi saint threw his weight to Bahmani Sultan's brother Ahmad to succeed the throne.

Gesudaraz died at Gulbarga and is buried there.

Qutb-ud-din Mubarak Shah Khilji, Last Khilji Ruler

Mubarak was the third son of 'Ala-ud-din Khilji. After the murder of Malik Kafur, who had placed Mubarak in prison in the Hazar Sutun (the palace of a thousand pillars) and tried to blind him, the latter was made by the nobles the regent of his minor brother Shihab-ud-din 'Umar, who was placed on the throne of Delhi Sultanate by Malik Kafur after Khilji Sultan’s death.

After serving as the regent for sixty-four days, Mubarak blinded his brother in 1316, and placed himself on the throne and took the title of Qutb-ud-din Mubarak Shah.

After become the Sultan, Mubarak set himself to the task of rescinding the harsher administrative policies and economic regulations of his father. As he had himself suffered the agony of imprisonment, he set the political prisoners free. As corollary, chaos, confusion and bankruptcy began to rule the roost in the Sultanate. Added to this, he indulged in indolence and pleasure immersing himself in drinking. This resulted in the disappearance of "all fear and awe of royal authority.

Mubarak Khilji was under the influence of Khusrav Khan, a low-caste (Parwari) Hindu convert from Gujarat, whom he raised to the status of wazir, maik naib and commander in chief.

During the reign of Mubarak Shah, the rebellion in Gujarat was suppressed by his father-in law Ain-ul-Mulk, who was given the title of Zafar Khan and made governor of Gujarat. The Sultan led a military campaign against the Yadavas of Devagiri ruled by Harapala Deva who was killed. Malik Yaklaki was appointed governor of Devagiri. Mubarak Khilji Shah constructed a mosque at Devagiri. A military campaign under the leadership of Khusrav Khan was sent to Telingana, which fell in the hands of the invaders. These expeditions had been described in Amir Khusro in his Nuh Sipihr which was composed during the reign of Mubarak Khilji.

These military successes went into Mubarak’s head and he ordered the killings of several members of the royal family. The Sultan proclaimed himself “the supreme head of the religion of Islam, the Khalifah of the Lord of Heaven and Earth". He took the pontifical title of al-Wasiq-billah.

However, Mubarak was not destined to rule more. He was murdered by one of Khusrav’s Parwari associates in 1320. Thus came the end of the Khilji dynasty after a rule of thirty years.

Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq, Founder of Tughluq Dyansty

Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq was the founder of the Tughluq dynasty, the third of the five dynasties, the combination of which went on to be called the Delhi Sultanate. Though of a humble origin, he rose in ranks and was appointed Governor of the Punjab by the Khilji Sultan Ala-ud-din Khilji. 

After successfully bringing the inglorious reign of Khusrau Khan to an end, Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq (called Ghazi Malik before his ascension to the throne of Delhi Sultanate) brought a semblance of liberalization to the administration which was severe in the times of his predecessors, especially Ala-ud-din Khilji. The mismanagement of the state affairs under Mubarak Khilji and Khusrav had resulted in a situation where financial condition of the Sultanate was in a mess. Ghiyas-ud-din tried his honest best to retrieve the situation.

Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq is credited with the construction of the fortified city of Tughlaqabad, located on the Mehrauli-Badarpur Road. He has been hailed by the contemporary historians as a wise statesman and able administrator. Amir Khusrav, his poet laureate, describes him in glowing terms:

"He never did anything that was not replete with wisdom and sense.

He might be said to wear a hundred doctors' hoods under his crown.”

Ghiyas-ud-din died in 1325 from the collapse of the pavilion which was constructed by his son Juna Khan. He was buried in the tomb which he had built for himself at Tughlaqabad.

Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq was succeeded by Juna Khan who assumed the title of Muhammad bin Tughlaq whose reign marked the highest point of territorial expansion of the Delhi Sultanate.  

Nasir-ud-din Mahmud of Slave Dynasty

Nasir-ud-din Mahmud, a grandson of Iltutmish, was one of the sultans of the Slave Dynasty. He was placed on the throne of Delhi Sultanate by the nobles in 1246 after the incompetent reigns of his predecessors Muiz-ud-din Bahram (1240-42) and Ala-ud-din Masud Shah (1242-46).

Nasir-ud-din Mahmud was only sixteen when he ascended the throne. During his twenty year rule, he remained content in surrendering the power of the state to Balban, one of his Turkish minister.

In 1249, Nasir-ud-din Mahmud married the daughter of Balban. This increased the power of Balban who was made his deputy (naib-i-mamalakat) and given the title of Ulugh Khan (premier ‘Khan’).

Balban, de facto ruler of Delhi, managed the affairs of the sate competently. Internal rebellions were suppressed. Mongol invasions were successfully repulsed. This aroused the jealousy of the other nobles. This led to his exile from 1253 to 1255. But as they created a mess of the administration, he was once again recalled by the Sultan. 
 

Nothing can be said with certainty about the last years of Nasir-ud-din Mahmud who died on in 1266. If the accounts of the fourteenth century historian Isami and African traveler Ibn Batutah are to be believed, the Salve Sultan was murdered by Balban. Since Nasir-ud-din Mahmud had no male heir behind him, Balban ascended the throne of Delhi Sultanate. According to some authorities, the Sultan had nominated him as his successor before his death.

 

An intensely religious-minded person, Nasir-ud-din spent his leisure times in copying the Quran. Himself an expert calligraphist, he patronized Minhaj-us-Siraj who wrote Tabaqat-i-Nasiri and dedicated it to the Sultan.

 

 

Muhammad Shah, Third Ruler of Sayyid Dynasty

             Tomb of Muhammad Shah Sayyid

After the murder of Mubarak Shah, the second ruler of Sayyid Dynasty, by the Delhi nobles in 1434, Muhammad, a grandson of Khizr Khan, the first ruler of Sayyid Dynasty, was made Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate. Muhammad Shah, a nephew of Mubarak, was latter’s heir-designate. His inefficiency contributed fast to the weakening of the Sayyid Dynasty. Sarvar-ul-mulk, wazir of the kingdom, enjoyed supreme power. Even after the wazir’s death, he failed in his duty as a ruler.

In the meantime, Mahmud Shah Khalji of Malwa showed his gumption to raid Delhi. However, Buhlul Khan Lodi, the governor of Lahore and Sirhind, frustrated the designs of the Malwa ruler. All these led to the decline of the Sayyid Dynasty and it was only a matter of time that dynasty, founded by Khizr Khan, was doomed to annihilation.

 

Muhammad Shah died in 1445. He lies buried in a tomb, located in the Lodhi Gardens in Delhi.

Alauddin Alam Shah, Last Ruler of Sayyid Dynasty

After the death of Muhammad Shah in A.D. 1445, his son, Alauddin Alam Shah, succeeded him to the throne of the Sayyid Dynasty, the fourth in the line of five dynasties that comprised Delhi Sultanate.

This pleasure loving ruler was more inefficient than his father. Such was his fondness for gratification and aversion to work that he abdicated the throne in favour of Buhlul Khan Lodi, the governor of Lahore and Sirhind, in 1451 and retired to Badaun (now in Uttar Pradesh), where he died in 1478. 

Alam Shah’s only claim to fame lies in the field of architecture. He constructed his father’s tomb which is located in the Lodhi Gardens in central Delhi.

He lies buried in a tomb in Badaun in Uttar Pradesh where his mother was also buried.

Mubarak Shah: The Second Ruler of the Sayyid Dynasty

                                        Mubarak Shah's tomb / Image Credit

After the death of his father Khizr Khan, the founder of the Sayyid dynasty, Mubarak Shah ascended the throne of Delhi Sultanate. Mubarak Shah, who was nominated as the successor by his father, became the sovereign ruler of Delhi on the very day of the latter's death (20th May, 1421). Unlike his father, he assumed royal title.

It was during Mubarak Shah’s reign that Yahiya bin Ahmad Sarhindi composed his Ta'rikh-i-Mubarak Shahi, dedicated to the Sayyid ruler. Like that of his father, his reign is also not marked by any important event. He suppressed the rebellions at Bhatinda and in the Doab. Khokars under Jasrat tired to pose challenge to the authority of Delhi Sultanate. Mubarak’s reign saw the ascendancy of the Hindu nobles in the court.

Mubarak Shah fell prey to a conspiracy hatched by the Delhi nobles, both Muslims and Hindus, under the leadership of the disgruntled and unscrupulous wazir Sarvar-ul-mulk, He was murdered on the 19th February, 1434, when he was on his way to monitor the construction of Mubarakabad, a newly planned city by the Sayyid ruler on the banks of the Jamuna river. 

Mubarak Shah lies buried in a tomb in Delhi at Kotla Mubarakpur, named after him. He was succeeded on the throne by Muhammad Shah.

Khizr Khan (1414-1421), Founder of Sayyid Dynasty of Delhi Sultanate

Khizr Khan was the founder of the Sayyid dynasty, the fourth and penultimate dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. After the death of Sultan Mahmud, the last ruler of the Tughluq dynasty, in 1413, the nobles of Delhi entrusted Daulat Khan Lodi with the task of ruling Delhi. However, in March 1414, Khizr Khan, who was appointed Governor of Multan, Lahore and Dipalpur by the Mangol leader Timur Lang or Tamerlane who won these places after invading India and sacking Delhi in 1398-99, defeated Daulat Khan who was sent to Hissar Firuza as a prisoner.

According to some historians, Khizr Khan traced his descent to the Prophet. However, this view has been contested by other authorities. It seems probable that his ancestors might have belonged to Arabia.

Instead of assuming sovereign title, Khizr Khan choose to rule as viceroy of Timur's fourth son and successor, Shah Rukh. His reign of seven years was devoid of any important event. Delhi Sultanate was reduced to the extent of a small principality and Khizr Khan held sway over only a few districts adjoining the capital and his authority was challenged even in these places by the Hindu zamindars.

Khizr Khan died in 1421. He was succeeded to the throne by his son Mubarak Shah. 

Khizr Khan has been described by the medieval historian Ferishta as "a just, generous and a benevolent prince". However he was not a strong ruler.

The Sayyids put on a pointed cap ( Kulah ) and they were known as Kulah – Daran.

Skanda Gupta (c 454-467): the Last Great Gupta Ruler

Skandagupta, who ruled between 455 and 467 CE, was the last powerful ruler of the Gupta Empire that ruled Northern and Central India from the 4th to the late 6th century CE. He ascended the throne after the death of his father Kumar Gupta I. Though not the regular claimant to the throne as he was not born of the chief queen, he was chosen due to his superior ability. And he proved equal to the task.

Soon after his accession to the Gupta throne, Skanda Gupta had to deal with the Hunas, the barbaric tribes from Central Asia who after terrorizing parts of the Roman Empire made incursions into Indian plains.

Skanda Gupta succeeded in keeping the Hunas at bay by defeating them. To mark the occasion he justifiably assumed the title of Vikramaditya. His victory over the Hunas has been referred to in the Kathasaritsagara, written by Somadeva in the 11th century AD. Skanda Gupta died in AD 467 and with that the glory of the Guptas began to dwindle.

The Bhitari pillar inscription in the Ghazipur distract of Uttar Pradesh gives a detailed account of his reign.

An inscription in the Girnar hills near Junagarh in Gujarat commemorates the rebuilding of the embankment of the three century old Sudarsana Lake which broke due to heavy rains. The dam was reconstructed by local city governor Chakrapalita, son of Parnadatta, provincial governor of Saurashtra, in the first year of Skandagupta's rule.

Chandra Gupta I: the real founder of the Gupta Empire

Though third in the line of the Gupta rulers, Chandra Gupta I is considered to be the real founder of the Gupta dynasty. Ascending the throne in 320 AD, he was the first Gupta ruler who assumed the title of Maharajadhiraja, "supreme King of great Kings". His marriage with a Lichchhavi princess Kumaradevi went a long way in increasing his power and position. It seems that Lichchhavis of Vaishali was once again a powerful force by now since its defeat by Ajatashatru some eight centuries before. This marriage found prominence in the genealogies of the later Gupta rulers and was commemorated by minting of special coins by them.

After a rule of some fifteen years, Chandra Gupta I died. At that time Gupta empire held sway over large territories including Magadha, Allahabad, Oudh and South Bihar. Chandra Gupta I held an assembly to nominate his son Prince Samudra Gupta, against other claimants, to succeed the Gupta throne. The assembly was participated in by councilors and members of the royal family. After the nomination, Chandra Gupta I abdicated the throne.   

Chandra Gupta I is believed to have founded a new era named Gupta era (320 AD). It was in use by the Maitraka dynasty of Gujarat for some centuries after the Gupta empire fell.  

Kuka Revolt of Punjab

Initially started as a religious movement with a view to reforming the Sikh religion by purging it of the degenerate features, Kuka movement, founded in 1840 in the Western Punjab, turned into a political struggle against the British. The founder of Kuka movement was Bhagat Jawahar Mal.  

Popularly known as Sian Saheb, Bhagat Jawahar Mal and his disciple, Balak Singh, gathered around them a band of followers and made Hazro in NWFP their headquarters. The Kuka movement sought to abolish the caste system in the Sikhism and create a society based on equality. It advocated woman’s freedom and abstinence from alcohol and drugs and discouraged non-vegetarianism.

Alarmed at the growing popularity of the movement, the British took several measures to crush the Kuka revolt between 1863-1872. Ram Singh, one of the famous leaders of the Kuka movement, gave a call to his followers for boycott of British goods, government schools and government posts. Known to his followers as Satguru, he was deported by the British to Burma where he died in 1885.

The Kuka Revolt also came to be known as Namdhari Movement. 

In 2012 Government of India released a commemorative Rs 100 coin on completion of 150 years of Kuka Movement.

Alluri Seetharama Raju: The Brave Son of India

 

Alluri Seetharama Raju is known in Indian history to have led the Rampa rebellion which took place in during 1922-24 against the British. He was born on July 4, 1897 in Pandrangi village in the Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh. He studied at Mrs. AVN College in Visakhapatnam.

 

Rampa rebellion was one of the 70 listed tribal uprisings during the British colonial period from 1778 to 1947.

What makes Rampa rebellion unique that it was the earliest known tribal revolt led by a non-tribal Alluri Seetharama Raju. Though an outsider, he assembled a band of followers who had the support of the people of the surrounding areas of at least 2,500 square miles. He became a folk hero in Andhra Pradesh and came to be known as Manyam Veerudu (Hero of the jungles). Though Mahatma Gandhi’s Non-cooperation Movement inspired him, he advocated violence to win tribal goals. 

The revolt takes it name from the Rampa region north of Godavari, which was the place of action for several uprisings in the 19^th century.

 

The immediate cause for Rampa rebellion was illegal construction of forest roads with unpaid labour by a Tahsildar Bastian of Gumed, who was very unpopular with the local populace. 

 

A master strategist, Alluri Sitarama Raju used guerrilla tactics and was said to have divine and healing powers and claimed to survive the bullet shots. The rebellion was ruthlessly put down by the British who deployed a company of Assam Rifles. Raju was captured and killed in May 1924. The movement failed as a result of this. The entire operation cost Madras government fifteen lakh rupees.

Shivaji: Founder of the Great Maratha Empire

One of the most famous figures of Indian history, Shivaji was the founder of the Maratha kingdom. The rise of Marathas is considered to be a revival of Hinduism in the seventeenth century. A brilliant leader, Shivaji was a just ruler and a statesman of consummate craft. He always respected the religion of his adversaries.

Belonging to the Bhonsle clan, Shivaji was born in the hill-fort of Shivneri near Junnar (in the Pune district of Maharashtra) in 1630. According to one school of thought, he was born in 1627. His grandfather Maloji was employed with the Nizam Shahi rulers of Ahmednagar. Shahji, eldest son of Maloji and father of Shivaji, was initially in the service of the Ahmednagar kingdom as a trooper in the army.

Shahji was married to Jijabai, daughter of a noble in the service of Nizam Shahi Kingdom. Jijabai, who was a virtuous lady and had a profound impact on Shivaji, was the daughter of Lakhuji Jadav Rao, who claimed descent from the Yadavas of Devagiri.

Shahji was soon able to earn fame and occupied a place where he could play an important role in the political and military affairs of Nizam Shahi kingdom. He fought against the Mughals in 1336, the year Ahmednagar was annexed to the Mughal Empire by Shah Jahan, the fifth Mughal emperor. Shahji then entered the service of the Adil Shahi rulers of the Bijapur kingdom. Shahji moved to his new jagir with his second wife after entrusting his paternal jagir of Poona and the care of his young son Shivaji and his mother Jijabai to an able Brahmana, Dadaji Khonddev who was earlier employed in the service of the Adil Shahi rulers.

Shivaji directed his early military campaign against the Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur. He was wise enough not to offend the Mughals now as it would not be a viable proposition to fight on two fronts given his military strength at that time. In 1653 Shivaji captured Kalyan, an important and wealthy Adil Shahi city on the west coast. From 1657 to 1660, Shivaji became successful in plundering several territories belonging to the Bijapur kingdom. This earned the ire of the Adil Shahi ruler. Ali Adil Shah sent in 1659, Afzal Khan, one of the foremost nobles and generals of Adil Shahi, to bring Shivaji back to Bijapur dead or alive. In order to apprehend Shivaji, Afzal Khan proposed a meeting with Shivaji, promising him pardon and grant of territory. In the meeting that ensued Afzal Khan tried to attack Shivaji with a dagger while embracing him. But wily Shivaji was able to kill Afzal with gloves with steel claws (bahgh nakh).

Meanwhile when the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb heard of Shivaji’s depredation, he deputed his maternal uncle Shayista Khan to the Deccan to crush the Maratha. Early in 1660, a joint attack by the Mughals and Adil Shahis was launched against Shivaji, who being a skillful strategist, embarked on a surprise attack at the well-guarded mansion of Shayista Khan in Poona in 1663. In the scuffle Shaista Khan lost his thumb and his son, Abul Fath, was killed. This incident served a body-blow to the Mughal prestige in the Deccan. Aurangzeb recalled Shayista Khan (Shaista Khan) and appointed his own son Shah Alam as Viceroy of the Deccan.

In the following year (1664) Shivaji sacked Surat, the richest port on the west, facing no opposition from the Mughal troops. Thus Shivaji continued to annoy Aurangzeb.

In 1665, Mirza Raja Jai Singh of Amber, Aurangzeb’s Hindu general, and Dilir Khan were entrusted by Aurangzeb with the task of suppressing Shivaji. Jai Singh was able to tactfully put Shivaji in the dock and concluded a treaty with him, known as the treaty of Purandar (1665). Under the terms of the treaty, Shivaji was allowed to retain 12 of his forts, including Raigarh while ceding 23 of his forts to the Mughals.

After the treaty of Purandar, Shivaji visited the Mughal court at Agra. He was humiliated by Aurangzeb there. His great escape from the Mughal court is a famous fact of history.

After returning to the Deccan in 1666 Shivaji for three years shied away from military campaigns and devoted his time reorganizing his internal administration. On the other hand, Shah Alam, the Mughal viceroy in the Deccan, also adopted a conciliatory policy and Aurangzeb granted Shivaji the title of ‘raja’ and his son Shambaji was granted a mansab and jagir in Berar. However, hostilities once again started when Aurangzeb attacked a part of the jagir in Berar. Shivaji sacked Surat for the second time in 1670. He was able to recover almost all the forts ceded to the Mughals.

Shivaji was at his zenith of power and on the 16th June, 1674, he arranged his grand coronation at Raigarh with great pomp and splendour, and assumed the title of Chhatrapati (Lord of the Umbrella, or king of kings). He also introduced a new era of his own, starting from his coronation.

Shivaji died a premature death at the age of fifty-three (or fifty, according to some) on the 14th April, 1680.

Rani Gaidinliu: Revolutionary Woman from Manipur

Described by Jawaharlal Nehru as the Rani of the Nagas, Rani Gaidinliu was a Naga woman revolutionary leader and successor to the political movement launched by the Naga leader Haipou Jadonang (1905-31) to derive away the British from Manipur. She was born in 1915. 
 

After the execution of Jadonang in 1931 by the British, Rani Gaidinliu led a popular rebellion against the British rule at the young age of sixteen. In order to suppress her followers and capture her, the British deployed regular army columns. In 1932, she was arrested by the British government who sentenced her to life imprisonment. She spent fourteen years in different jails of Guwahati, Shillong, Aizawl, Tura and others.

Rani Gaidinliu was finally released from the prison after India’s independence in 1947. She died in 1993.

Rash Behari Ghose: Moderate INC Leader

Born in Khandaghosh village in the Purba Bardhaman district in district of West Bengal in 1845, Rash Behari Ghose was an eminent lawyer, educationist, social worker and philanthropist. His was a brilliant academic career. He proved to be a very successful lawyer.

Rash Behari Ghose was a leading leader of the moderate wing of the Indian National Congress. During the freedom struggle for India there were two divisions in the Indian National Congress (INC)- moderate and extremist. He is said to have called the extremists “irresponsible agitators” and “pestilential demagogues”. He was a believer in the British sense of justice.    

Rash Behari Ghose was elected President of the Indian National Congress at the Surat session of 1907. It was at the Surat session when INC split into two sections: moderate and extremist. He was again elected president of the INC in its subsequent session in 1908.   

Rash Behari Ghose breathed his last on February, 28, 1921.  

The Congress Party which currently rules India at the centre has retained the name Indian National Congress.