Indian History

Delhi 's dark history, with tales of  persecution,  punishment,  incarceration  and execution, has been lived out over the centuries within the confines of  Salimgarh Fort in Delhi,  lying adjacent to the Red Fort built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, the builder of Taj Mahal in Agra. Built by Jalal Khan who ascended the Sur throne in 1545 with the title of Islam Shah after the death of his father and founder of the Sur dynasty Sher Shah Suri, the fort he built in Delhi is known as Salimgarh Fort. This is because Islam Shah was popularly known as Salim Shah.  The  Salimgarh Fort was first used as a prison by the sixth Mughal emperor Aurangzeb to imprison his brother Murad Baksh who sided with the former in the deadly w ar of succession as soon as the fifth Mughal emperor Shah Jahan fell ill in September, 1657.  Murad was later removed to the Gwalior Fort and was  executed on the 4th December, 1661 on the charge of murder...

Kesaria Stupa Bihar /  Wikimedia Commons A famous Buddhists sites in the East Champaran district of Bihar, Kesaria (Kesariya) is home to a imposing Stupa, excavated here in 1998 by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).   This striking architectural remain of ancient India is hailed as the largest stupa in the world. Stupa is generally a mound commemorating the Buddha’s death. These stupas are revered by the Buddhists. Several stupas were raised by the great 3nd BC Mauryan emperor Ashoka throughout India. Kesaria stupa / Wikimedia Commons With a circumference of almost 400 feet and height of 104 feet, this colossal structure eclipses Indonesia's Borobodur stupa in size. Located in a serene ambience, the largest Buddhist Stupa is a testimony to the greatness of the ancient Buddhist architecture and stands out as a worthy emblem of a great religion.

Located at an altitude of 2000 feet, the fortress town of Mandu in Madhya Pradesh is perched on the southwestern edge of the Malwa Plateau.  The place boasts an exciting array of architectural wonders such as Jahaz Mahal, Hindola Mahal and Hoshang Shah’s Tomb. Baz Bahadur’s Palace, Roopmati’s Pavilion. An ancient place, Mandu came under the control of Rajput Paramara dynasty. It was included in the Delhi Sultanate by the Khilji Sutan Alauddin Khilji.  Later it was made capital of the Malwa Sultanate by its ruler Hoshang Shah (ruled 1405–34).                                                  Hoshang Shah's Tomb Mandu | Wikimedia Commons Mandu was annexed by Mughal emperor Humayun (1534), Shēr Shah of Sūr Dynasty (1542) and Akbar (1561). Nahar Jharokha Mandu / Wikimedia Commons It came under the Marathas suzerainty in 1732 under Peshwa Baji Rao I.

Oriel Window, Chunar Fort  / Image Credit   Chunar, about 25 miles south-west of Varanasi, is in Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh. History weighs on this place.  Many of the monolithic columns of the Mauryan period in the 3rd century BC bear Ashoka’s inscriptions . These columns were made of the sandstone from the same quarry at Chunar. The 10 meter long fifth century AD statue of the reclining Buddha  housed in the Mahaparinirvana Temple at Kushinagar (where the Buddha breathed his last) is made of the sandstone of Chunar.  Chunar has an immense fort perched on a high rock overlooking the Ganga. This place has been the scene of many battles between Mughals and Afghan ruler Sher Shah. Second Mughal emperor Humayun’s treaty with the Sher Shah in 1533 allowed the latter to retain the Chunar Fort. The third Mughal ruler Akbar recaptured it in 1575. Chunar is home to a magnificent tomb of Iftikhar Khan, an official under the reign of the Mughal emperor Jahang...

                                                                                     Baidyanath Dham  The Baidyanath Temple, situated in  Deoghar in Jharkhand , is a famous Hindu shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, considered the most sacred Shiva temples in India.  The legend of Baidyanath Dham goes something like this. Ravana, the demon king of Lanka (Ceylon), was performing penance in the Himalayan region to appease Shiva. He requested him to come over to Sri Lanka, so  that his capital may become invincible.  Pleased with  Ravana’s devotion and penance,  Lord  Shiva asked what boon he desired. Ravana,    a devout follower of Shiva,  expressed hi...

Image Credit   Located in south-west of Deoghar, Satsang Ashram is one of the most frequented pilgrimage destinations in Jharkhand. Established by Shri Shri Thakur Anukulchandra in 1946, the Ashram is a sanctuary of peace and serenity for his followers. It is visited by people from across the world.      

Also known as Baba Dham , Baidyanath Dham and by various other names, Deoghar is home toone of the holiest Hindu places. Travel to this district town in Jharkhand and you will be confronted by a symbol of Hindu India in the spiritually important Baidyanath Dham Temple, the number-one attraction of this place that draws large number of pilgrims daily. The temple is one of the Dwadasa Jyotirlinga shrines or the 12 shrines enshrining Shiva in the form of a Jyotirlingam in the country. The Dwadasa Jyotirlinga shrines   have been revered since time immemorial in the Indian system of beliefs. The southernmost of these shrines is located at Rameswaram, while the northernmost is located in the Himalayas at Kedarnath in Uttrakhand. Closely linked with legends from the Puranas (the sacred texts of Hinduism) these temples are rich in history and tradition. Baidyanath Dham becomes one of India’s busiest pilgrimage sites during the month of Shravan, the fifth month of Hindu calendar. De...

Pazhassi tomb at Mananthavady in Wayanad Known as Kerala Simham  (Lion of Kerala)  Pazhassi Raja was  a prince of the Kottayam Kingdom. He is known for his armed resistance against the Kingdom of Mysore and the British East India Company in the late 18th century. He adopted guerilla warfare against the British East India Company. His memorial is situated at Mananthavady, 32 km northeast of Kalpetta, headquarters of the Wayanad district.

Dancing Girl is a fabled bronze statue which was excavated from Moenjodaro in 1926 by Ernest Mackay, one of the archaeologists who excavated Mohenjo-Daro. Currently in the National Museum, New Delhi, dancing girl statue is 10.5 centimetres (4.1 in) tall.  The figurine depicts a nude young woman, with pony tail and bangles adorning her arms. The statuette was sculpted using the lost wax technique. Apart from its aesthetic value, the Dancing Girl figurine is also famous for its craftsmanship.

Guru Arjan, the fifth Sikh Guru, was executed by orders of fourth Mughal Emperor Jahangir, who ruled from 1605 to 1627. He was charged with treason because he had given shelter to Prince Khusrau at Tarn Taran, who had rebelled against his father Jahangir for the Mughal throne.  Khusrau was captured, confined and subsequently killed by Shah Jahan (fifth Mughal emperor) in 1622.  Guru Arjan was at first fined by the Imperial Mughal power, but as he refused to pay the fine he was sentenced to death. However, famous Sufi saint of Chistiyya order, Shaikh Nizam Thaneswari, was banished by the emperor to Mecca for the same offence. This was an unwise political decision by Jahangir because this sowed the seeds of acrimonious relations between the Mughals and the Sikhs. Ceremony for Guru Arjan Dev Ji’s death anniversary takes place in Lahore (Pakistan) at Gurdwara Dera Sahib which commemorates the spot where he died in 1606.  

The Tarikh-i-Alfi (History of a Thousand Years) is a historical work chronicling the first thousand years of Islamic world history. Commissioned by Mughal emperor Akbar, the chronicle was written by a board of compilers headed by a Shia theologian Mulla Ahmad of Thatta. Mulla Ahmad had written a large part of the text.  Due to the animosity between Shias and Sunnis, Mulla Ahmad was murdered in 1588 in the street of Lahore by a Sunni nobleman, Mirza Fawlad, who lured him out of his house on the pretext that the emperor had asked for his presence in the court.  Mirza Fawlad was condemned to death causing resentment among the Sunnis who exhumed Mulla Ahmad's body and burnt it. After the death of Mulla Ahmad, Asaf Khan Jafar Beg completed the rest of the work around 1592.   Mughal Court historian Badauni was selected by Akbar to revise the manuscript and compare it with other histories. Tarikh-i-Alfi was written in the Persian language. 

Known as Khuda-e-Sukhan' (God of poetry), Mir Taqi Mir, also spelled Meer Taqi Meer, was born in Agra in 1723 and died in 1810 in Lucknow. He moved to Delhi at the age of 11 after his father's death. Known by his mononym ‘Mir’, Mir Taqi Mir was one of the greatest Urdu poets. When the prestige of the Mughal Empire began to wane and chaos began to reign supreme due to the constant invasions from the foreign powers including Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah Abdali, Mir moved to the court of Asaf-ud-Daula Nawab of Oudh in Lucknow in 1782, where he breathed his last on September 21, 1810 at the age of 87. His autobiography is Zikr-i-Mir, originally penned in Persian.