Indian History

1572   - Maharana Pratap ascended the throne of Mewar kingdom on 1 March, 1572.  Maharana Pratap is known for his valiant and spirited defence against the Mughal Empire under Akbar.  Maharana Pratap died at Chavand on 19th January in 1597.    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. 1776  - The Treaty of Purandar was a doctrine signed on 1 March 1776 by the Peshwa of the Maratha Empire and the British East India Company's Supreme Council of Bengal in Calcutta. Earlier another Treaty of Purandar was signed between Maratha leader  Shivaji  and  Jai Singh,  Mughal viceroy of Deccan, on 11 June 1665.

320 –  Chandragupta I is officially crowned as the first Gupta Emperor on 26 February in 320 AD.   1966  - Death of  Vinayak Damodar Savarka r on 26 February 1966. Popularly known as Veer Savarkar, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was a great revolutionary and later on a leader of the Hindu Mahasabha.  Savarkar was born on 28 May 1883 to a Marathi Hindu Chitpavan Brahmin family to Damodar and Radhabai Savarkar in  Bhagur  in the  Nashik  district in Maharashtra. He had three other siblings: two brothers, Ganesh and Narayan, and a sister named Mainabai.  In 1899 he established the first revolutionary society the  Mitra Mela (Friends Association) , which was named as the Abhinav Bharat Society (New India Society) in 1904.  In 1906  Savarka r  went to England and became a member of the revolutionary group led by  Shyamji Krishna Varma . On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Revolt of 1857, he wrote a famous book in...

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 ...

  1486   - Birth of  Chaitanya Mahaprabhu    on   18th February in 1486 . Considered to be one the greatest saints of Bhakti Movement, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was born on 18th February in 1486 in   Navadwip   (Nadia) in a Brahmin family in West Bengal. Nimai and Gauranga were his other names.  Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gave great impetus to Vaishnavism in Bengal. This greatest religious reformer  laid the foundation of the Gaudiya sect of Vaishnavs. He was an exponent of a new style of Bhajan singing.  1905 - Foundation of the  Indian Home Rule Society  (IHRS) in  1905 . The Indian Home Rule Society (IHRS) was an Indian organisation founded on  18 February  in London in 1905 that sought to promote the cause of self-rule in British India. It was founded by Indian revolutionary leader  Shyamji Krishna Varma .  

  1792-  Birth of  Budhu Bhagat  on  17 February,   1792  in Jharkhand .      Budhu Bhagat was the leader of  Kol  rebellion and  Larka  rebellion in 1831—32 in Chhotanagpur. Born on  17 February 1792  into an Oraon farmer family, Budhu Bhagat had employed tactic of guerrilla warfare against the British. His resistance to the British forces ended when he was killed on  13 February 1832  by them . 

1869  - Death of Mirza Ghalib on 15 February 1869. He was a famous Urdu poet during the Mughal period. Ghalib was buried near the tomb of Nizamuddin Auliya in Hazrat Nizamuddin locality in Delhi Widely regarded as one of the greatest poets in the Urdu language, Mirza Ghalib was patronized by the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar (Zafar ascended the Mughal throne in 1837). He was born in Agra on 27 December 1797.  Ghalib was also well versed in Persian.  1948 - Death of famous Hindi poet Subhadra Kumari Chauhan on 15 February 1948. One of her most popular poems is Jhansi Ki Rani. She was born on 16 August 1904. 

1483 - Birth of Mughal Emperor Babur on   14 February 1483 .  Zahirudding Muhammad Babur ,  better known simply today as  Babur , who defeated   Ibrahim Lodi   of the Lodi Dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate at the   first battle of Panipat   on the 21st April,  1526 , founded the Mughal empire in India.  1556  -  Akbar ascended the Mughal throne at the age of 13 years and 4 months on February 14, 1556. The  brick coronation platform of  Akbar , the known as Takht-i-Akbari, is located at  Kalanaur in  the Gurdaspur district in  Punjab. The brick platform is the place where Akbar’s coronation took place in 1556.  1658  - At the Battle of Bahadurpur near Benares, Shuja, son of  the fifth Mughal emperor  Shah Jahan, was defeated by Sulaiman Shikoh, on 14 February in 1658. Sulaiman Shikoh was the son of Dara Sikoh, eldest son of Shah Jahan.  The Battle of Bahadurpur was part of...

  1742  - Birth of Nana Phadnavis (also spelt as Nana Fadnavis) on 12th February in 1742. Nana Fadnavis was a brilliant Maratha minister and statesman during the Peshwa administration in Pune. He is often referred to as "the Maratha Machiavelli". 1824 - Birth of Dayanand Saraswati, the founder of Arya Samaj, on 12 February 1824. Arya Samaj was founded in 1875. 

1750 - Birth of Tilka Majhi on 11th February  in 1750 . Tilka Majhi was a tribal leader and revolutionary who laid down his life in 1785 some 72 years before the First War of Independence in 1857. His place of birth is Tilakpur in Sultanganj in the Bhagalpur district of Bihar.  He had killed Augustus Cleveland , a British East India Company administrator in Bengal and Collector of Bhagalpur, who was known for his arrogance and hatred towards Indians.  Tilka Majhi was executed by the British on January 13, 1785.  The site where he was hanged from a banyan tree is known as Tilka Manjhi Chowk. The Bhagalpur University is also named after this heroic figure.  1942 - Death of Jamnalal Bajaj on 11th February, 1942. Jamnalal Bajaj was a freedom fighter, businessman, social reformer and a follower of Mahatma Gandhi.

  1757  -  Treaty of Alinaga r was signed on  9 February 1757  between Robert Clive of the British East India Company  and  Siraj ud-Daulah , the Nawab of Bengal,  Alinagar  was the short-lived name given to Calcutta by the Nawab after it was captured by him in June 1756. Under the terms of the treaty, Calcutta was restored to the East India Company. 

1872 - Death of   Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo , the   Viceroy of India  (1869-72), on 8 February 1872. Lord Mayo, after whom   Mayo College   in Ajmer is named, was assassinated by Sher Ali Afridi at Port Blair. Afridi was hanged on March 11, 1872.  1995  - Death of  Kalpana Datta  on 8 February 1995 (27 July 1913 – 8 February 1995), Also known as Kalpana Joshi, Kalpana Datta was a woman revolutionary from Bengal. She was a member of the Chittagong Republican Army, formed by Surya Sen ( also known as “Masterda”). Chittagong Republican Army carried out the Chittagong armoury raid in 1930.

1942 - Death of revolutionary leader   Sachindra Nath Sanyal   who was born on 3rd June 1893 in Benares, then in North-Western Provinces. He died on 7th February 1942.  Sachindra Nath Sanyal / Image Credit-  Wikimedia Commons Jailed for his involvement in the  Kakori  conspiracy, Sanyal was the co-founder of the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA), which after 1928 became the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association).  He had written a book titled  Bandi Jeevan   (A Life of Captivity).

1931 - Death of Pt.  Motilal Nehru  (6 May 1861 –  6 February 1931 ), founder of Swaraj Party or the Congress-Khilafat Swaraj Party which was formed on 1st January, 1923. Motilal Nehru was the father of Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first Prime Minister.  

2008  - Death of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on  5 February 2008 . A self-styled Indian guru, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was the creator of  Transcendental Meditation  (TM), a form of silent meditation. 

1916   - Banaras Hindu University was founded on February 4th, 1916 by  Indian scholar, educational reformer, and political activist   Madan Mohan Malaviya.  1922  -The  Chauri Chaura  Incident took place on 4 February 1922 at Chauri Chaura in the Gorakhpur district of United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) in British India. On that day, a police station in the small town of Chauri Chaura was set on fire that killed 22 policemen, leading to Gandhi suspending his non-cooperation movement.  1948 - RSS was banned  on  4 February, 1948  following the assassination of Gandhi on 30th January, 1948.  1974  – Satyendra Nath Bose, Indian physicist and mathematician, passed away on  4th February, 1974   in Kolkata.

1509-  The Battle of Diu was fought on  3 February 1509  between the  Portuguese  and the combined forces of the  Sultan of Gujarat, the Zamorin of Calicut, the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt  with support from the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire. The Portuguese emerged victorious.  1816 - Birth of Ram Singh , one of the famous leaders of the Kuka movement, on 3rd February, 1816.  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.   The Kuka Revolt also came to be known as Namdhari Movement.  Ram Singh 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...

  1835  - On 2 February 1835, British historian, politician and colonial administrator Thomas Babington Macaulay presented his ‘Minute on Indian Education’ that underscored the need to impart English education to native Indians.  1887 - Birth of Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, the first Health Minister of India in independent India, on 2nd  February. A member of India's Constituent Assembly that was responsible for the framing the Constitution of India, she played an important role in the Indian freedom struggle and was imprisoned by the British on several occasions.  

1681   - Maratha ruler Sambhaji, son of Shivaji, attacks and sacks Burhanpur, then under Mughal dominion, from 31 January to 2 February in 1681.  1689 -  Sambhaji was captured in  Samgamneshwar   by the Mughals on 1st February in 1689 and was executed by Aurangzeb on 11 March. 

1561 - Death of Bairam Khan, the preceptor to Mughal emperor Akbar and Mughal military commander, on 31st January 1561 on his way to Mecca. Bairam Khan was relieved of his post and was ordered by Akbar to go to Mecca.   Bairam Khan was instrumental in establishing the Mughal rule after Humayun's exile from India during the reign of Sur rulers.   

Mahendravarman I Mattavilas-prahasana (the Sport of Drunkards ) is a Sanskrit one-act play which comes lauded as a play to have been enacted for more than 1,300 years.  Mattavilasa-prahasana was written by Mahendravarman I  (590– 630CE) of the Pallava dynasty of south India, according to the Mamandur Cave temple inscription in Tamil Nadu. Mahendravarman I, also known as Mahendravikramavarman, was a contemporary of Harshavardhan of Kanauj . The Pallava ruler is credited with the introduction of the cave style of architecture. He is known for assuming the significant title of Vichitrachitta , “curious minded.”  Mahendravarman I was also the author of the play Bhagavad-Ajjuka Prahasana , or ‘The Farce of the Pious Courtesan.'  One of the masterpieces of Sanskrit literature, Mattavilasa prahasana is full of rollicking satire. Set in the Pallava capital of Kanchipuram , this little farce tells the story of a drunken Shaivite (follower of Shaivism, the cult of the god S...

  1948  - Death of Mahatma Gandhi on 30 January, 1930. Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse on 30 January, 1948. 

1780   - On   29 January 1780 , India's and Asia's first printed newspaper ' Hicky's Bengal Gazette ' began its publication. Started by an Irishman named   James Augustus Hicky , Hicky's Bengal Gazette was a weekly English newspaper which ran for two years from 1780 to 1782. It was published from Kolkata. 1791 -  Lord Cornwallis  had  assumed command of the British troops on 29th January, 1791 during the Third Anglo-Mysore War. 

                          Clive meeting Mir Jafar after the Battle of Plassey, (By Francis Hayman) Ghaseti Begum, originally named Mehar un-Nisa, was the eldest daughter of Alivardi Khan, the Nawab of Bengal. She was married to Nawazish Muhammad Khan. Ghaseti Begum went all out to conspire against her nephew Siraj-ud-Daula who was the last independent Nawab of Bengal. Siraj-ud-Daula was defeated by the British under Lord Clive in the Battle of Plassey in 1757 and was killed on the orders of Miran, the son of Mir Jafar who was now made the Nawab of Bengal by the British.   Ghaseti  Begum was called the Begum of Motijheel  due to her residence at the bend of this reservoir in Murshidabad. Motijheel or Pearl Lake is an oxbow lake in Murshidabad. The lake was created by her husband Nawazish Muhammad Khan. Nawazish Muhammad Khan died of grief when his adopted son Ekram-ud-Daulah succumbed to smallpox at a yo...

1846 - The Battle of Aliwal was fought on 28 January 1846 between the British led by Sir Harry Smith and Sikh forces during the First Anglo-Sikh War. The battle resulted in a decisive British victory. 1865: Birth of Lala Lajpat Rai, great Indian freedom fighter.

An awesome feat of engineering, the Kailash Temple or the Kailashnath Temple , dedicated to Hindu God Shiva, is the most impressive remainder of the Rashtrakuta dynasty of Deccan that held sway for more than two centuries. Under the Rashtrakutas, the rock-cut architecture in India reached its zenith. Carved out of the single rock (monolithic) hewn out of Charanandri hills at Ellora (in Maharashtra) under the instructions Rashtrakuta king Krishna I (756-775), the Kailashnath Temple has been described in glowing terms by Percy Brown , the noted writer on Indian architecture. He says, "The temple of Kailash at Ellora is not only the most stupendous single work of art executed in India, but as an example of rock architecture it is unrivalled…. The Kailash is an illustration of one of those occasions when men's minds, hearts and heads work in unison towards the consummation of a supreme ideal. It was under such conditions of religious and cultural stability that this grand monoli...

1556 - Death of Humayun, the second Mughal ruler, on January 27 in 1556. He died in Delhi from falling down the stairs of his library, known as the "Sher Mandal," within the Purana Qila (Old Fort) in Delhi. After Humayun,  Akbar ascended the Mughal throne on February 14, 1556. The  brick coronation platform of  Akbar , the known as Takht-i-Akbari, is located at  Kalanaur in  the Gurdaspur district in  Punjab. The brick platform is the place where Akbar’s coronation took place in 1556. 

Bharhut Stupa Jataka Tales Jataka is a collection of stories about the Buddha’s previous births as a Bodhisttva . In Hinayana form of Buddhism, Bodhisattva is a previous incarnation of a Buddha. For an orthodox Buddhist Jataka tales are the autographical accounts of Gautama Buddha and hence a part of the Buddhist religious scriptures. One of the earliest and most significant collections of folk tales extant, the Jataka (written in the Prakrit language of Pali) comprises 547 stories. The stories are written in full in a prose commentary which has been credited to Buddhaghosa . The collection contains fables, moral tales, fairy tales, maxims and legends. Incorporated in the Pali canon, the Jataka stories are included in the Sutta Pitaka's Khuddaka Nikaya (“Short Collection”). Tripitaka or Three Baskets (Sutta Pitaka, Vinaya Pitaka and Abhidhamma Pitaka), a traditional term used for various Buddhist scriptures, is known as Pali Canon in English. In Sanskrit Jatakas are known as Jataka...

1620 - Death of Amar Singh, the ruler of Mewar Kingdom and eldest son of Maharana Pratap, on 26th January 1620.  1915 –  Birth of Gaidinliu Pamei (26 January 1915 – 17 February 1993), popularly known as Rani Gaidinliu, who was a Naga woman revolutionary leader and successor to the political movement launched by the Naga leader Haipou Jadonang (1905-31) to drive away the British from Manipur. Born in the present day Tamenglong district of Manipur Rani Gaidinliu led a popular rebellion against the British rule at the young age of sixteen after Jadonang was executed by the British.  In 1932, she was arrested by the British government who sentenced her to life imprisonment. This tribal freedom fighter spent fourteen years in different jails of Guwahati, Shillong, Aizawl, Tura and others between 1932 and 1947 making her one of India’s longest incarcerated political prisoners by the British. Rani Gaidinliu was finally released from the prison after India’s independence in 1947....

Jwalamukhi Temple, Kangra, Himachal Pradesh / Image Credit 25th January 2026 is the 56th Statehood Day of Himachal Pradesh. Read about the history of Himachal Pradesh . After coming into the control of many dynasties including those of Mauryas ,  Guptas and Harshavardhana , the territory of Himachal Pradesh was divided into small principalities headed by chieftains. Some of these small kingdoms were ruled by Rajput chieftains. These principalities were invaded by the Muslim armies at regular intervals. At the beginning of the 11th century, Mahmud Ghaznavi had launched a military campaign against Kangra Fort (now located in the state of Himachal Pradesh) and captured it.  In 1365, Tughlaq Sultan Feroz Shah plundered Nagarkot in Himachal Pradesh compelling the ruler of Nagarkot to pay tributes. During this military campaign, Feroz Shah Tughlaq collected 1300 Sanskrit manuscripts from the Jawalamukhi temple library. Arizuddin Khan translated them into Persian under the ...

Bindusar / AI Generated  After a rule of 24 years, Chandragupta Maurya , the first Mauryan Emperor, was succeeded by his son Bindusara who ruled from around 297 BCE to 273 BCE. According to the 12th century CE Jain text Parishishtaparvan by Hemachandra (court poet of Jayasimha Siddharaja , the Chalukya ruler of Anhilwara ), Bindusara's mother was Durdhara . The Greek historian Athenaeus calls him Amitrochates (Sanskrit Amitraghata “Slayer of Foes” or Amitrakhada “Devourer of Foes”). It is not known how he got the title of Amitrochates.  Bindusara was the father of Asoka, the greatest ruler of India. The Jain scholar Hemachandra and the Tibetan historian Taranatha mention that Chanakya , also known as Kautilya , was also prime minster of Bindusara.  Bindusara maintained friendly relations with the Hellenic world that had been established in the later days of his father. According to Athenaeus, Bindusara requested the Syrian king Antiochus I “to present him sweet wine, ...

AI Generated Sivaga-sindamani or Civaka Cintamani is a famous epic in Tamil. Written in elegant and ornate style, it is third most popular epic after Silappadigaram (the jeweled Anklet) and Manimegalai .  Attributed to the Madurai based Jaina monk Tiruttakkadevar in the 10th century AD, the epic describes the heroics of the hero Sivaga or Jivaka , a superman who excels in every art form from archery to the curing of snake bite. The hero wins a new bride for his harem with every feat. After his many heroic deeds, Jivaka embraces the Jaina faith and becomes an ascetic. Sivaga-sindamani, which means "fabulous gem", is also known as Mana nool or "Book of Marriages". 

Michael Madhusudan Dutt, famous Bengali epic poet and playwright, was born on 25th January in 1824 at Sagardari village in undivided Bengal’s Jessore district. He knew several European languages ─ English, Latin, Greek, French and Italian. He had taught himself Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, and Hebrew. He also knew Persian. Madhusudan Dutt had converted to Christianity.  One of the greatest poets of the Bengali language, Dutt wrote his magnum opus Meghnadbadh Kavya (The Slaying of Meghnada) in 1861. Meghnadbadh Kavya is based on an episode from the Ramayana in which Meghnad (also known as Indrajit), son of Ravana, is killed by Rama's brother Lakshmana.   Dutt introduced in Bengali poetry amitrakshar chanda , or what is known as Blank Verse. The celebrated epic Meghnad Badh Kavya was written in blank verse. In 1860, he had used amitrakshar in his work Padmabati. He also replaced deva mahima , or praise for the divinity, with humanism. He had introduced the sonnet, or chaturdas...

1556-  Second Mughal emperor Humayun died in accident on the 24th January, 1556. 1950- On 24 January 1950, Constituent Assembly in India adopts the Indian national anthem from a song written and composed by Rabindranath Tagore. The first stanza of the song Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India as the National Anthem on 24 January 1950.

In 1311 AD , Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khilji conquered the strategic Jalore Fort in Rajasthan after a long siege, defeating the Chauhan ruler Kanhadadeva . The battle, detailed in the 15th-century epic Kanhadade Prabandha , resulted in the death of Kanhadadeva and his son Viram Dev . 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 the Chahamanas of Naddula who in turn were offshoot s of Chahamanas of Shakambhari to which belonged the famed Chauhan ruler Prithvi Raj Chauhan who was defeated in the Second Battle of Tarain in 1192 . In 1228 or 1229 Iltutmish, the Slave Sultan of Delhi Sultanate, besieged Jalore. The Chauhan ruler Udayasimha was defeated but 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 c...

Rama Raya being killed in the Battle of Talikota “Never perhaps in the history of world has such havoc been wrought and wrought so suddenly, on so splendid a city; teeming with a wealthy and industrious population in the full plenitude of prosperity one day and on the next day seized, pillaged and reduced to ruins amid scenes of savage massacre and horrors beggaring description.” The city mentioned in the above quote is Hampi , capital of the powerful Hindu Kingdom of Vijayanagara . The famous Battle of Talikota , also known as that of Rakkasagi–Tangadagi , was fought between between Vijayanagara empire and the Muslim Sultanates of Deccan on 23 January 1565. Though the origin of the Vijayanagar Empire is in the realm of debate, it can be said with certainty that its foundation in 1336 within a few years of Alauddin Khilji’ s eunuch general Malik Kafur’s raids in south India was a culmination of the political and cultural movement against the Muslim ideas and forces of Delhi Sultanate...

1565 - The Battle of Talikota, also known as that of Rakkasagi–Tangadagi, was fought between between Vijayanagara empire and the Muslim Sultanates of Deccan on 23 January 1565.  It was during the reign of the Taluva (Taluva dynasty was one of the four main dynasties, combination of which is known as the Vijayanagar empire) ruler Sadashiva Raya (1543- 69) that battle of Talikota in 1565 was fought in which Vijayanagar army was defeated by the combined forces of the five Muslim Sultanates of Deccan. This gave body blow to the empire. After this battle the Vijayanagar kingdom lost its grandeur and glory.  1809 -  Birth of Bira Surendra Sai on 23 January 1809. Surendra Sai was an Indian revolutionary and freedom fighter from what is now Odisha. He fought against the British rule in India after they dethroned the rulers of the Sambalpur State. He had  raised a war against the British in 1827, about 30 years before the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. 1897 - Nationalist leader Subha...

Ram Mandir Ayodhya / Image Credit  1666 - Death of Shah Jahan on January 22, 1666 in Agra. He was born on January 5, 1592 in Lahore. Shah Jahān was the Mughal emperor from 1628 to 58. 1760 - Battle of Wandiwash (January 22, 1760) is a confrontation between the French and the British,  part of the Third Carnatic War (1758-1763) fought between the French and British colonial empires, which itself was a part of the global Seven Years' War (1756–63). Fought in Wandiwash in Tamil Nadu, the battle resulted in the defeat of the French.  The Battle of Wandiwash put an end to the French challenge to British supremacy in India. 2024 – Ram Mandir was inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Ayodhya on 22nd January after 500 years of dispute.

1945 - Death of  Ras Bihari Bose , Indian revolutionary leader, on  21 January in 1945  in Tokyo in Japan.  Born  at  Subaldaha  village (in the present day  Purba Bardhaman  district of West Bengal) on  25 May 1886,   Rash Behari Bose played an important role in India's Independence movement. Rash Behari, who had joined Forest Research Institute in Dehradun, underscored the need for an armed struggle for liberating India from British rule. He was involved in the Delhi Conspiracy case, also known as the  Delhi-Lahore Conspiracy . The case refers to an alleged plot to kill the then Viceroy of India, Lord Hardinge, in 1912. After the failed assassination attempt, Bose fled to Imperial Japan in 1915. Rash Behari formed the  Indian National Army (INA)  the reins of which was later on handed over to  Subhas Chandra Bose by him.  His wife Toshiko, whom he married in Japan, died from pneumonia in 1925. Rash Be...

1570 - On 20 January, 1570, Akbar set out on foot on pilgrimage from Agra to Ajmer as thanksgiving for the birth of his first son Salim (later Jahangir)  1949 - Death of Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru (8 December 1875 – 20 January 1949), an Indian freedom fighter,  constitutional expert, and statesman.  Born on 8 December 1875 in Aligarh, Tej Bahadur Sapru was a Kashmiri Pandit who died on 20 January 1949 in Allahabad.  Sapru participated as a delegate at all three Round Table Conferences held by the British Government in London on Indian constitutional reform between 1931 and 1934.  Sapru had pleaded from the side of Indian National Army Officers in their Red Fort trials. Also known as the INA trials, the Red Fort trials took place between November 1945 and May 1946.  1988- Death of Abdul Ghaffar Khan on 20th January, 1988. Also called "Frontier Gandhi," he was a freedom fighter recognised for his commitment to non-violence. He was awarded India's highest civili...

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...

In 1311, Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khalji conquered the strategic Jalore Fort in Rajasthan after a long siege, defeating the Chauhan ruler Kanhadadeva. The battle, detailed in the 15th-century epic Kanhadade Prabandha, resulted in the death of Kanhadadeva and his son Viram Dev.  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 Jalore.  The Chauhan ruler  Udayasimha   was defeated but 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 cotem...

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...