History of Maharashtra

The area that constitutes the present day state of Maharashtra was the scene of the flourishing of many dynasties. After coming into the control of the Mauryan Empire, Satavahana kingdom held its sway over the territory. Junnar, thirty miles north of Pune, was the capital of the Satavahanas at one point of time.

During the Satavahana period, Maharashtra became a great centre of culture and learning. The official language of Satavahana was Maharashtri, which later developed into Marathi. The greatest ruler of the Satavahana dynasty was Gautamiputra Satkarni, who took pride in calling himself the destroyer of the Sakas (Scythians), Yavanas (Greeks) and Pahlavas (Parthians). He is credited to have started the Shalivahana era, a new calendar, still used by the Maharashtrians. Sri Yajna Satkarni was the last great king of the Satavahana kingdom. According to some Puranas, 19 kings of this dynasty ruled for 300 years, while according to others, 30 kings ruled for 465 years. The dynasty came to an end about the middle of the third century A.D.

After the fall of the Satavahana dynasty, the eastern part of Maharashtra came under the control of Vakatakas. Among other dynasties that ruled over the territory the Rashtrakutas, and the Yadavas of Deogiri find special mention.

The invading armies of the Delhi Sultanate rulers Ala-ud-din Khalji, and later Muhammad bin Tughluq took control of the territory of Maharashtra. After the collapse of the Delhi Sultanate, the area became part of the Bahmani Sultanate.

The greatest name in the history of Maharashtra was that of Shivaji who by dint of his hard work and sheer tenacity succeeded in creating a kingdom covering most of Maharashtra and nearly half of India in a short span of his life. He was the nemesis of Aurangzeb, the sixth Mughal emperor. Shivaji was born in the fort of Shivaner in 1627 and deied on April, 1680.

Shivaji's death was followed by internal dissensions in the newly created Maratha Kingdom. There was a dispute about succession between the two sons of Shivaji. Finally Sambhaji ascended the throne in 1680. He was captured, and after cruel torture for more than three weeks, he was brutally put to death by Aurangzeb.

Rajaram's nephew & Sambhaji's son, Shahu Bhosale (born May 18, 1682) who had been in Mughal captivity since November 3, 1689, was liberated on May 8, 1707. He was recognized as the king of the Marathas. This was resented by Rajaram’s wife Tara Bai. However, Shahu ultimately came out victorious, manly with the help and advice of a Chitpavan Brahmana from Konkan, named Balaji Viswanath.

Balaji’s character and capacity and the peculiar circumstances of the country favoured the rise of the Peshwas to power and renown. He has been rightly called the second founder of the Maratha state.

After the death of Balaji Viswanath, his eldest son Bajiroa, a young man of hardly twenty, was appointed the Peshwa by Sahu. Under him the Maratha power reached its zenith.

Maharashtra played an important role in India’s freedom struggle. Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Mahadev Govind Ranade, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Pherozeshah Mehta and Dadabhai Naoroji were some of the prominent leaders of the freedom struggle.

Maharashtra became a full fledged state on May 1, 1960, when Bombay Presidency State was bifurcated into the new linguistic states of Gujarat and Maharashtra.

History of Madhya Pradesh

Various dynasties held their sway over the territory that constitutes the present day state of Madhya Pradesh. Many places in the state find mention in the ancient scriptures such as Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Khajuraho

The city of Ujjain, earlier known as Avanti, made its mark as a major center of power and learning in the sixth century BC. The whole area came under the control of the Maurya Empire (321 to 185 BCE). After the downfall of the Mauryan Empire, the territory was ruled by various dynasties including the Satavahana and the Sakas.

The Gupta dynasty which ruled over the state is considered to be golden period of the Indian history. The medieval period witnessed the emergence of several dynasties including the Paramaras of Malwa and the Chandelas of Bundelkhand. The world heritage site of Khajuraho temples were built by the Chandelas of Bundelkhand.

The territory came under the control of the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire. The present day Madhya Pradesh came into being on 1 November 2000, following its bifurcation to create a new state of Chhattisgarh.

History of Dadra and Nagar Haveli

One of the few Portuguese colonies, Dadra and Nagar Haveli is currently a Union Territory in western India. The territory came under the rule of the Portuguese dominion in India in 1779 and remained under their control till 1954.

India’s independence in 1947 instilled a sense of patriotism and confidence in the residents of Dadra and Nagar Haveli who were now filled with the desire of throwing of the yoke of foreign rule. As a result, a movement was started under the aegis of the United Front of Goans (UFG) and the National Movement Liberation Organisation (NMLO) resulting in the independence of Dadra and Nagar Haveli from the Portuguese rule. The movement was ably supported by the Azad Gomantak Dal and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

Dadra and Nagar Haveli, thus, became a free nation. The residents of the territory sought help from the Government of India. From 1954 to 1961 Dadra and Nagar Haveli was administered by a body called the Varishta Panchayat of Free Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

In 1961, when Goa, Daman, and Diu were annexed into India, Dadra and Nagar Haveli formally joined the Republic of India.

Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy of India

Lord Mountbatten, a member of the British Royal family, assumed office as Viceroy on March 24, 1947 and was the last Viceroy of India. His administration in India witnessed the creation of the independent states of India and Pakistan, Mountbatten , after meeting various warring groups, came to the conclusion that only solution to the constitutional impasse was partition of the country and he won over the congress leaders to that viewpoint.

On June 3, 1947 (June 3rd Plan) the plan to partition India was announced. On July 4, 1947, the Indian independence act was introduced in the House of Commons by British Prime Minister Clement Attlee. Two boundary commissions were set up- one for the partition of Bengal and other for the partition of Punjab. Sir Cyril Radcliffe was appointed the chairman of both commissions. On August 7 Jinnah left India for Karachi and the constituent assembly of Pakistan elected him as its president.

The constituent assembly of the Indian union met in Delhi on the night of August 14. In an atmosphere charged with excitement, Nehru addressed the members. The events of the partition ad its aftermath led to the largest migration of population in the world history.

Lord Mountbatten was killed by IRA guerillas while on holiday in the Irish republic.

Bilhana: the Great Kashmiri Poet

A famous 11th-century Kashmiri poet, Bilhana ‘s claim to fame is his love poem, Caurapancasika (Fifty Stanzas of the Thief’). In a class of its own, Caurapancasika describes the secret love of a bold housebreaker and a princess and is full of intense emotion. Born in Kashmir, Bilhana left his native place to seek employment in the court of Later Chalukyas.

Bilhana is known for composing a eulogy of the great Western Chalukyan ruler Vikramaditya VI titled Vikramankadevacharita (“Deeds of Vikramaditya). It is stated in Vikramankadevacharita that Vikramaditya VI was asked by Shiva to replace his elder brother who was the reigning Chalukya monarch.

Sharqi Dynasty of Jaunpur

The efforts of rulers of the Delhi Sultanate to assert their rule over the conquered territories became unsuccessful. As a result several provincial dynasties came into being and wielded substantial sovereign power and contributed to the growth of art, architecture and literature. 

One such dynasty was the Sharqi dynasty of Jaunpur, north of Varanasi in the present Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Sharqi dynasty of Jaunpur was founded by Malik Sarwar, a eunuch belonging to Sultan Firuz Tughluq. Malik Sarwar’s astonishingly fast rise to power can be attributed to the chaos that ruled supreme after the death of Firuz in 1388. He was made wazir of the Delhi sultanate by Firuz’s younger son, Muhammad Shah (1390-93) who conferred on him the title of Sultanush-Sharq (Ruler of the Eastern Kingdom). 

Malik Sarwar’s rise continued and in 1394 was appointed governor of Jaunpur, where he successfully repulsed the uprisings by the Hindu chiefs of Bihar and Avadh. The chiefs of Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Champaran and Tirhut were forced to accept his suzerainty. When Timur, the terrible Mongol leader of Central Asia, left Delhi in 1399 after his invasion of India, Sarwar proclaimed himself the independent ruler of Jaunpur. At the time of his death in 1399, his kingdom extended to Kol (modern Aligarh), Rapri (Mainpuri district) and Sambhal (Muradabad). The eastern boundaries of Sharqi kingdom ran along Tirhut and Bihar. 

Malik Sarwar was succeeded to the throne by his adopted son Malik Mubarak Qaranfal (1399-1401). His reign was not eventful. After him, Ibrahim Shah Sharqi (1401-40), the younger brother of Malik Sarwar, became the ruler of Jaunpur and was the greatest of the Sharqi rulers. He entered into an alliance with Kirti Singh of Tirhut. He sent his forces to help the ruler of Tirhut when the latter was invaded by a Muslim army. Another military expedition of Ibrahim Shah Sharqi was the invasion of Bengal to remove the Hindu ruler Ganesha from the throne. The small independent sultanate of Kalpi was also annexed to his kingdom. His military ambition did not stop. He invaded the Delhi sultanate which was being ruled by the Saiyid ruler Muhammad Shah (1435-46). The Saiyid ruler was forced to make an alliance which was sealed with a marriage between Ibrahim’s son and the Sultan’s daughter. 

Ibrahim was succeeded by his son, Muhmud Shah Sharqi (1440-57), who was also an ambitious ruler. After Mahmud’s death, Muhmmad became the next Sharqi ruler, who was deposed after a few months because of his excessive cruelty. Muhmmad was succeeded by Husain Shah Sharqi, who concluded peace with Bahlul Lodi, the founder of the Lodi dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. He is credited to have strengthening his army, and compelled Gwalior and Orissa to submit to his rule. The Lodi rulers of Delhi Sultanate were keen to extend their rule and as result invaded the Sharqi kingdom of Jaunpur. In 1494, Husain Shah Sharqi suffered another crushing defeat at the hands of Bahlul's successor, Sultan Sikandar Lodi, and was unable to withstand the forces of Delhi Sultanate and as a result the Sharqi kingdom of Jaunpur was annexed into the Delhi Sultanate. 

Husain Shah died in 1505. Husayn Shah Sharqi was a musical expert and creator of many ragas. He is credited with making improvements to Khayal, a genre of Hindustani classical music. 

Gopal Ganesh Agarkar

One of the pioneers of social reforms in British India, Gopal Ganesh Agarkar (1856-1895) was born at Tembhu in Satara district of Maharashtra. He was one of the founders of the Deccan Education Society in 1884, with Lokmanya Tilak, Vishnushastri Chipalunkar and Madhavrao Namjoshi being the other members. Agarkar was also one of the founder members of the Fergusson College in Pune in 1885. In 1891 he became the Principal of the Fergusson College in 1892 and held that office till his unexpected death in 1895.

Agarkar was the first editor of Marathi weekly the Kesari and English weekly the Mahratta started by Lokmanya Tilak. Following his differences with Tilak, he started his own weekly the Sudharak In 1888. Gopal Krishna Gokhale used to contribute to this weekly.

Throughout his life, Agarkar fought to raise the age of marriage for boys and girls.