Indian History

Clay utensils of Harappan Civilization

A contemporary of north Indian ruler Harshavardhan in the seventh century AD, Mahendravarman was one of the prominent kings of Pallava dynasty which had been ruling the region south of Krishna-Tungabhadra in South India since fourth century AD.  Mahendravarman was an individual of versatile genius:  an author, an architect, a painter, a musician and a soldier.  Mahendravarman is known for introducing the cave style of temple architecture for which Pallavas are known all over the world. Mahendravarman was the son of Simhavishnu who ascended the throne in the latter half of the sixth century AD; or   to be more precise, 575 AD. From Simhavishnu’s time the history of Pallavas emerges from legend and dubious tradition and becomes more definite. Mahendravarman’s accession to the throne signaled the growing strength of the Pallavas. It was the reign of Mahendravarman which saw the beginning of that famous struggle between the Pallavas and their sworn enemies, the...

                                        Mir Jafar and Robert Clive after the Battle of Plassey by Francis Hayman After the death of Aurangzeb, the disintegration of the Mughal Empire was rapid.  Delhi, the seat of power of the Mughals, gave way to Bengal as the centre of political importance in India. It can be ascertained from the fact that the British win over Siraj ud Daula in the Battle of Plassey in 1757, which took place just 50 years after death of Aurangzeb, laid the foundation of the British Empire in India. During the period, Bengal was ruled by the Nawabs with their capital at Murshidabad. Though nominally governors or viceroys of the Mughals, the Nawabs were independent heads of state for all practical purposes.  Siraj ud Daula became the Nawab of Bengal after the death of his grandfather Alivardi Khan who died in 1756. He was the son of latter's...

Lord Wellesley was appointed Governor General of Bengal in 1798 at the age of 37.   One of the top British rulers in India, he devised strategies to establish British paramountcy in India. He ranks among the highs of Lord Clive, Lord Dalhousie and Warren Hastings. When it comes to achievements, he is a cut above the rest of the British rulers in India. During his tenure of seven years, Lord Wellesley became successful in defeating the adversaries of the English Company. Jettisoning the non-intervention policy, he applied the system of Subsidiary Alliance with a missionary zeal. Under the Subsidiary Alliance system, the Indian ruler, who entered into this alliance, was to surrender a part of his territories or give money for the maintenance of a subsidiary force of the British needed for the defence of the state. The subsidiary state had also to surrender its external relations to the Company and accept a British resident at the capital. The Indian states and rulers who ente...

Bihar, which boasts of being home to the ancient universities of Nalanda and Vikramshila, can now add another laurel to its past glory. The architectural remains of another university have been found at the Buddhist monastery site of Telhara in Nalanda district of the state.  Telhara has been referred to by the 7th century AD Chinese traveller Heuen Tsang who visited India to obtain the copies of Buddhist scriptures. He has mentioned Telhara as "Teleadaka" in his account.  The archeologists are of the opinion that Teleadaka, also known as "Tiladhak" university, was established in 5th century during the Gupta period.

The historical importance of the Battle of Buxar lies in that it firmly established the position of the British East India Company as the new and prominent power. It was fought on 22nd October in 1764 between the English and the combined armies of Mir Qasim ( the nawab of Bengal), Shuja-ud-Daula ( the nawab of Awadh) and the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II. The battle resulted in the defeat of the allied forces. The Battle of Buxur confirmed the position of the English as the virtual masters of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. Awadh was placed at the mercy of the British.   With the passage of time the British became the masters of whole of India. Ramsay Muir remarks, "Buxar finally riveted the shackles of Company's rule upon Bengal." In the opinion of Sir James Stephen, “The battle of Buxar deserves far more credit than the battle of Plassey as the origin of the British power in India.”

Alamgir II, the second son of former Mughal emperor Jahandar Shah (reigned 1712–13), was raised to the throne in 1754 by his wazir Ghazi-ud-Din Imad-ul-Mulk after dethroning his predecessor Ahmad Shah. Known as Aziz-ud-Din before he ascended the throne at the age of 55 years, Alamgir II had had practically no experience of administration and warfare as he had spent almost all his life in jail. Such a ruler cannot be expected to exert his independence and he became a virtual prisoner in the hands of his wazir Ghazi-ud-Din who was now donning the mantle of Sayyid brothers who raised and dethroned some Mughal emperors at their will. An unprincipled Ghazi-ud-Din unsuccessfully tried to form an anti-Maratha coalition. During Alamgir’s reign the Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah Abdali invaded India for the fourth time in 1756. Delhi was "slandered and its unhappy people again subjected to pillage". Alamgir II’s tried to free himself from the control of Imad-ul-Mulk. T...