Indian History

1750  - Birth of Tilka Majhi on 11th February 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.  Tilka Majhi was executed by the British on January 13, 1785.  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...

Stone Age rock shelters with paintings at Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh are the earliest known traces of human life in India. The first known permanent settlements appeared 9,000 years ago and developed into the Indus Valley Civilization, which peaked between 2600 BC and 1900 BC. It was followed by the Vedic Civilization.  From around 500 BC onwards, many independent kingdoms came into being. In the north, the Maurya dynasty, which included the emperor Ashoka, contributed greatly to India's cultural landscape. From 180 BC, a series of invasions from Central Asia followed, with the successive establishment in the northern Indian subcontinent of the Indo-Greek, Indo-Scythian and Indo-Parthian kingdoms, and finally the Kushan Empire. From the 3rd century onwards the Gupta dynasty oversaw the period referred to as India's "Golden Age". In the south, several dynasties including the Chalukyas, Cheras, Cholas, Pallavas, Pandyas and Hoysalas prevailed during different periods...

Arjuna Penance / Image Credit  The temple city of Mahabalipuram  in the state of Tamil Nadu   is the site of some of the greatest architectural and sculptural achievements made by the Pallava rulers in ancient India. Located some sixty km from Chennai, the temples of Mahabalipuram represent one of mankind's most amazing and enduring architectural achievements. The structures one sees at Mahabalipuram today, are the surviving remains of a wonderful religious, social and administrative metropolis that once severed the religious capital of the Pallavas,  who held sway over much of south India between the 4th and 9th centuries A.D. . Also known as Mamallapuram,  Mahabalipurum in the state of Tamil Nadu was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. Once-thriving port city of the Pallavas  on the Bay of Bengal,     Mamallapuram was  named after its founder, the great Pallava king,   Narasimhavarman I, or  Mamalla , "the Great ...

  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. 

Battlefield / AI Generated 1399- Mongol leader Amir Timur, also known as Tamerlane, sacks Kangra on 16th January, 1399 during his invasions 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 between the Marathas and Afghan invader Ahmad Shah Abdali on 16 January 1757, at Narela, on the outskirts of Delhi. Ahmad Shah Abdali had defeated the Marathas in the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761.    1761 - The British East India Company captures Pondicherry (Puducherry) from the French on January 16, 1761.  1901- Death of  Mahadev Govind Ranade  (1842-1901) ,  a sc...

Image Credit Located in the Hassan district of Karnataka, Shravanabelagola is a famous pilgrimage site of Jainism. 48 km from the Hassan city, Sravanabelagola is renowned for its imposing statue of Gomateswara , also referred to as Lord Bahubali.  Carved out of monolithic stone, the awesome 17 metre high statue was commissioned by Western Ganga minister Chavundaraya in 981 A.D and can be seen from a distance of 20km. Starkly simple, the beautifully chiselled features of the statue  atop Vindhyagiri hill  embody serenity. His perfect lips are turned out at the corners with a hint of a smile, viewing the world with detachment. Sri Gommateshwara was the son of the first Jain Tirthankara (Ford-Maker)  Rishavdev . The chief festival of Shravanabelagola is called Mahamastakabhisheka , or the 'Head Anointing Ceremony'. The next Mahamastakabhisheka ceremony, which involves bathing of the statue of Lord Gomateswara with bucketfuls of milk and honey, will be held in 20...

Hoysaleswara Temple in Halebidu Hoysaleswara Temple in Halebidu A must see destination in any cultural tour of India, Halebid, previously known as Dwarasamudra (the gateway to the sea), was the capital of the powerful south Indian dynasty of the Hoysalas who were famous temple builders. Halebid was the Hoysala capital before Belur (in Karnataka). Also known as Halebeedu, Halebid ( in Hassan District of Karnataka)  is home to the awe-inspiring Hoysaleswara temple. Places of attraction in Halebid Hoysaleswara Temple Halebid’s claim to fame, Hoysaleswara Temple, is a masterpiece of Hoysala architecture. Hoysaleswara temple is a cultural extravaganza. Dedicated to Lord Shiva, the temple was also built during the reign of King Vishnuvardhana. Its construction started around 1121 CE and was complete in 1160 CE. Its construction was initiated by Ketmalla, a general of Hoysala ruler Vishnuvardhan who ruled for a long period from 1108 AD to  1152AD. The Hoysaleswara Temple, along wi...

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.

That contact between the territory that constitutes the present-day state of Karnataka and the Harappan Civilization existed in earlier times can be ascertained from the fact that gold discovered in Harappa was found to be imported from mines of Karnataka. Before coming under the sway of the Mauryan Empire, Karnataka formed part of the Nanda dynasty whose last ruler Dhana Nanda was dethroned by Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the Mauryan empire. Dhana Nanda is referred to as Xandrames or Aggrammes in ancient Greek accounts. Chandragupta Maurya had breathed his last in Shravanbelgola in Hassan District around 298 BCE where he spent last days of his life as a Jain ascetic. The edicts of Chandragupta Maurya’s grandson and greatest Mauryan emperor Asoka have been found in various places in Karnataka including Maski (Raichur district), Brahmagiri ( Chitradurga district ) , Siddapura (Uttara Kannada district), Jatinga Rameshwara, Udegolam and Nittur in Bellary district, Gavimutt a...