Today in India History (26th December)

• Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur Shah or Babur, as he is generally called, died on 26^th December at the age of 47 in 1530 in Agra. Babur was the founder of the Mughal dynasty in India in 1526. The Mughal rule in India came to an end in 1857 when it last ruler Bahadur Shah Zafar was exiled to Burma by the British.

• Henry Louis Vivian Derozio, founder of Young Bengal Movement, passes away on 26^th December 1831 at a young age of 22 in Calcutta.

Today in India History (25th December)

Leading nationalist and patriot Madan Mohan Malaviya was born on 25^th December 1961 in Allahabad. He is the founder of Banaras Hindu University in 1916 and remained its vice-chancellor from 1919 to 1938.

Adil Shahi Dynasty of Bijapur

Photographer: Martin Hürlimann
Source: ebay.com

Adil Shahi Dynasty of Bijapur was one of the five succession states that came into existence after disintegration of the Bahmani Sultanate of Deccan. Yusuf Adil Khan was the founder of the Adil Shahi kingdom whose rulers ruled Bijapur from until 1686 when Bijapur was annexed into the Mughal Empire by the last great Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.

Yusuf Adil Khan
A protégé of the wazir of Bahmani Sultanate, Mahmud Gawan, Yusuf Adil Khan was a descendant of a scion of the Ottoman dynasty. A prominent figure in the declining years of the Bahmani Sultanate, he was appointed governor of the Bijapur province of the Sultanate. 

Yusuf Adil was married to a Babuji Khanam, sister of a Maratha warrior. After a reign of twenty two years Yusuf died in 1510. He was buried in Gogi, a town in Yadgir district of Karnataka. The first three rulers of Bijapur Sultanate (excluding Mallu Adil Shahi who was deposed within six months) were buried in Gogi. Today Gogi is known for being home to reserves of uranium. 

Himself a scholar and accomplished musician, Yusuf Adil was a great patron of art and literature.

Ismail Adil Khan
Yusuf Adil Khan was succeeded by his 13-year old son Ismail. As soon as he took the reigns of the kingdom, he has to cede Goa to the Portuguese under their governor Afonso de Albuquerque. Ismail Adil Shah defeated the Barid Shahi ruler and occupied Bidar for some time. However, he proved unsuccessful in withstanding the invasion of the Vijayanagar army under Krishnadeva Raya and as a result Raichur, bone of contention between Vijayanagar and Bahmani Sultanate, passed into the hands of Krishnadeva Raya.

Ibrahim Adil Shah
Ismail died in 1534 and was succeeded by his son Mallu. Mallu Adil Shah was an incapable ruler and was deposed only sixth months after becoming Bijapur ruler. He was replaced by his younger brother Ibrahim. Ibrahim Adil Shah was the first Bijapur ruler to assume the title of Shah. During his reign Persian was replaced by “Hindvi’ (Dakhini Urdu ) as the official language of Bijapur. Tolerant of other religions, Ibrahim Adil Shah employed the Hindus in the kingdom. Though Ibrahim Adil Shah was defeated by Rama Raya, the de facto ruler of Vijayanagar, he was able to occupy Adoni in 1535.

Ali Adil Shah

Ali Adil Shah's Tomb known as Bara Kaman

Ibrahim Adil Shah died in 1558 and was succeeded by his son Ali Adil Shah. He was in constant quarrel with the Nizam Shahis of Ahmadnagar for the occupation of Sholapur. He entered into an alliance with Rama Raya and the Golconda Sultan Ibrahim Qutb Shah and invaded Ahmadnagar. Hussein Nizam Shah I was forced to flee to Junnar. Ibrahim Adil Shah died in 1558.  

After Ibrahim Adil Shah's death  Ali Adil Shah became Bijapur ruler in 1558. Ali Adil Shah entered into a matrimonial alliance with Nizam Shahis by marrying daughter of Hussein Nizam Shah I, Chand Bibi, in 1564. 

The haughty conduct of the Vijayanagar army instilled a sense of bitterness among the Bahmani succession states including Bijapur. 

Thus was formed the Muslim Confederacy which dismantled the mighty Vijayanagar empire in 1565 at the Battle of Talikota, also known as that of Rakkasagi–Tangadag.

Ibrahim Adil Shah II

Ali Adil Shah was murdered in 1580, and since he had no sons, his nephew Ibrahim II ascended the throne. Ibrahim Adil Shah II, who ruled for 47 years till 1627, was a great patron of art and culture. He was tolerant of other religions and affectionately called Jagadguru by his Hindu subjects. During his first twenty years of reign his aunt Chand Bibi ran the show. Chand Bibi was known for her intrepidity. When Mughal army were advancing to Ahmadnagar to annex it,  Chand Bibi returned to her place of birth and it was during her battle with the Mughals under Akbar that she was killed in 1600. Her death proved to be a blow to Ibrahim Adil Shah II who gave his daughter in marriage to Mughal Prince Daniyal. 

A man of learning, Ibrahim Ail Shah II wrote the famous book of Hindi songs, Nawras-Namah. During his reign the Tarikh- i- Ferishta was completed. He also constructed several works of architecture including the magnificent tomb he built for his wife Chand Sultana.

Muhamamd Adil Shah
Ibrahim Adil Shah II was succeeded by his son Muhamamd Adil Shah in 1627. He was able to extend the territories of Bijapur by capturing those of Ahmadnagar and Vijayanagar, and helped the Mughals in annexing the former in 1636. Muhammad Adil Shah II died in 1657 and was buried in the magnificent tomb the Gol Gumbaz, which is an architectural marvel.

Ali Adil Shah II
Muhammad Adil Shah II was succeeded to the Bijapur throne by Ali II in 1657. He ruled till 1672. Fifth Mughal emperor Shah Jahan refused to recognize Ali II as the legitimate ruler of Bijapur and sent Prince Aurangzeb to lay siege on Bijapur. However, Ali was saved from the fact that Aurangzeb had to return to the North to fight the war of succession amongst the sons of Shah Jahan. This prolonged the longevity of Bijapur kingdom to an extent. Meanwhile Shivaji came into prominence in the south. Like his predecessors, Ali was also a patron of art and literature. His half-finished mausoleum bears testimony to his fondness for art.

Sikander Adil Shah
Ali II was succeeded by Sikander, the last ruler of the Adil Shahi Dynasty of Bijapur. In 1674, Shivaji was crowned as Chhatrapati at Raigarh. In 1681, Aurangzeb moved to South India never tor return till his death and Bijapur was incorporated into the Mughal Empire on 12 September 1686. Thus the independence of Bijapur was extinguished.  Sikander Adil Shah died in 1700. at the time of his death he was just 32 years old. 

Today in Indian History (24th December)

Vasco da Gama lands at Calicut, May 20, 1498

• On 24th December, 1524, renowned Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama died in Cochin (now Kochi), a major port in India.
• Pattabhi Sitaramayya, freedom fighter and president of Indian National Congress in 1948, was born in Andhra Pradesh on 24th December, 1880. He was defeated by Subhash Chandra Bose for the post of Congress President in Tripura Session of 1939. Mahatma Gandhi termed Sitaramayya’s defeat as ‘his own’.
• On 24th December, 1924, famous playback singer Mohammed Rafi was born.
• Periyar E.V.Ramasami, prominent social worker and freedom fighter, passes away on 24th December in 1973 at the age of 94. He started the Self-Respect Movement, one of the several social movements for the uplift of the society.
• Melakkath Gopalan Ramachandran, popularly known as MGR, dies on 24th December in 1987.  A very popular politician, he was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. The crowd that gathered in his funeral was one of the largest in Independent India. He was posthumously awarded India’s top civilian award Bharat Ratna.
• On 24th December in 1999, Indian Airlines Airbus 300 en route from Kathmandu to Delhi with 186 people on board was hijacked shortly after take-off.

Did Aurangzeb ban Music?

An 18th-century miniature in gouache and gold leaf of Aurangzeb seated on a throne  Photo: Bridgeman Art Library 

The sixth and last great Mughal emperor Aurangzeb banned music in the tenth year of his reign, i.e. 1668, even though he personally enjoyed it.

The contemporary Italian historian Niccolao Manucci writes about Aurangzeb's order to an official to stop all music: "If in any house or elsewhere he heard the sound of singing and instruments, he should forthwith hasten there and arrest as many as he could, breaking the instruments. Thus was caused a great destruction of musical instruments. Finding themselves in this difficulty, their large earnings likely to cease, without there being any other mode of seeking a livelihood, the musicians took counsel together and tried to appease the king in the following way. About one thousand of them assembled on a Friday when Aurangzeb was going to the mosque. They came out with more than 20 highly ornamented biers, as is the custom of the country, crying aloud with great grief and many signs of feeling, as if they were escorting to the grave the body of some distinguished person."

To this incident, Aurangzeb is recorded to have said, "Bury [music] so deep under the earth that no sound or echo of it may rise again.”

However, in spite of this, Manucci writes, the Mughal nobles continued to listen to music in secret. He also writes that Aurangzeb did not ban music for the ladies in the harem for their entertainment.

Khushal Khan, the great-grandson of legendary musician Tansen, was given the title of Gun Samundar by Aurangzeb. During his reign, Fakirullah (Saif Khan) wrote  the Rag-darpan (The Mirror of Music) to dedicate it to Aurangzeb. The work is a translation of Man-Kauthal, written at the court of Raja Man Singh of Gwalior.

 

Lord Ellenborough: 1842-1844

Lord Ellenborough served as the Governor General of India from 28 February 1842 to 15 June 1844. He is credited with bringing the Afghan War to an end.  His tenure of office was marked by a successful expedition to Kabul which went a long way in enhancing the prestige of the British in India which suffered a lot due to mismanagement of the Afghan War by his predecessor Lord Auckland.

During Ellenborough’s governor generalship, Sindh was annexed to the British government. This act has been condemned as high-handed by most writers.  Ellenborough also coerced Sindhia to enter into a humiliating treaty with the British.

Ellenborough was recalled in 1844 owing to his defiance of the orders of the Court of Directors of East India Company.

Battles of Tarain

Battles of Tarain (1191-92) were fought between Prithviraj Chauhan and Shihabuddin, popularly known as Muhammad Ghori.  Prithviraj, known as Rai Pithaura to the Muslim historians, was the greatest ruler of the Chauhan dynasty, whose kings also came to be known as Chahamanas of Sakambhari.

Also known as Muizuddin Muhammad bin Sam, Muhammad Ghori was a Turkish invader who made his first Indian expedition in 1175 AD. After subjugating some of the Indian rulers, this governor of Ghazni met Prithviraj, the powerful Rajput ruler of Delhi and Ajmer, at Tarain near Thanesar in present-day Haryana in 1191 AD.

According to the Persian historian Ferishta, Prithviraj, with an army of 200,00 horses and 3, 000 elephants, inflicted a terrible defeat on Muhammad Ghori whose army was completely overpowered.  Muhammad Ghori saved his life with difficulty and retired to Ghazni. This is famously known as the First battle of Tarain in history.

The defeat however did not deter Muhammad Ghori from carrying another military campaign against Prithviraj in the next year, in 1192 AD.  Prithviraj appealed the neighboring rulers to join the campaign against the Sultan. Almost everyone, except the powerful Gahadvala king Jaichand, supported him. According to Tod, Jaichand, father-in-law of Prithviraj, felt a sense of jealousy of latter’s exalted position among the Indian rulers.

In this battle, known as the Second Battle of Tarain, fortune favoured Muhammad Ghori. The Turkish army dealt a body blow to the Hindu ranks. Prithviraj was captured and killed.