Skanda Gupta (c 454-467): the Last Great Gupta Ruler

Skandagupta, who ruled between 455 and 467 CE, was the last powerful ruler of the Gupta Empire that ruled Northern and Central India from the 4th to the late 6th century CE. He ascended the throne after the death of his father Kumar Gupta I. Though not the regular claimant to the throne as he was not born of the chief queen, he was chosen due to his superior ability. And he proved equal to the task.

Soon after his accession to the Gupta throne, Skanda Gupta had to deal with the Hunas, the barbaric tribes from Central Asia who after terrorizing parts of the Roman Empire made incursions into Indian plains.

Skanda Gupta succeeded in keeping the Hunas at bay by defeating them. To mark the occasion he justifiably assumed the title of Vikramaditya. His victory over the Hunas has been referred to in the Kathasaritsagara, written by Somadeva in the 11th century AD. Skanda Gupta died in AD 467 and with that the glory of the Guptas began to dwindle.

The Bhitari pillar inscription in the Ghazipur distract of Uttar Pradesh gives a detailed account of his reign.

An inscription in the Girnar hills near Junagarh in Gujarat commemorates the rebuilding of the embankment of the three century old Sudarsana Lake which broke due to heavy rains. The dam was reconstructed by local city governor Chakrapalita, son of Parnadatta, provincial governor of Saurashtra, in the first year of Skandagupta's rule.

Chandra Gupta I: the real founder of the Gupta Empire

Though third in the line of the Gupta rulers, Chandra Gupta I is considered to be the real founder of the Gupta dynasty. Ascending the throne in 320 AD, he was the first Gupta ruler who assumed the title of Maharajadhiraja, "supreme King of great Kings". His marriage with a Lichchhavi princess Kumaradevi went a long way in increasing his power and position. It seems that Lichchhavis of Vaishali was once again a powerful force by now since its defeat by Ajatashatru some eight centuries before. This marriage found prominence in the genealogies of the later Gupta rulers and was commemorated by minting of special coins by them.

After a rule of some fifteen years, Chandra Gupta I died. At that time Gupta empire held sway over large territories including Magadha, Allahabad, Oudh and South Bihar. Chandra Gupta I held an assembly to nominate his son Prince Samudra Gupta, against other claimants, to succeed the Gupta throne. The assembly was participated in by councilors and members of the royal family. After the nomination, Chandra Gupta I abdicated the throne.   

Chandra Gupta I is believed to have founded a new era named Gupta era (320 AD). It was in use by the Maitraka dynasty of Gujarat for some centuries after the Gupta empire fell.  

Kuka Revolt of Punjab

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.  

Popularly known as Sian Saheb, Bhagat Jawahar Mal and his disciple, Balak Singh, gathered around them a band of followers and made Hazro in NWFP their headquarters. The Kuka movement sought to abolish the caste system in the Sikhism and create a society based on equality. It advocated woman’s freedom and abstinence from alcohol and drugs and discouraged non-vegetarianism.

Alarmed at the growing popularity of the movement, the British took several measures to crush the Kuka revolt between 1863-1872. Ram Singh, one of the famous leaders of the Kuka movement, 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 died in 1885.

The Kuka Revolt also came to be known as Namdhari Movement. 

In 2012 Government of India released a commemorative Rs 100 coin on completion of 150 years of Kuka Movement.

Alluri Seetharama Raju: The Brave Son of India

 

Alluri Seetharama Raju is known in Indian history to have led the Rampa rebellion which took place in during 1922-24 against the British. He was born on July 4, 1897 in Pandrangi village in the Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh. He studied at Mrs. AVN College in Visakhapatnam.

 

Rampa rebellion was one of the 70 listed tribal uprisings during the British colonial period from 1778 to 1947.

What makes Rampa rebellion unique that it was the earliest known tribal revolt led by a non-tribal Alluri Seetharama Raju. Though an outsider, he assembled a band of followers who had the support of the people of the surrounding areas of at least 2,500 square miles. He became a folk hero in Andhra Pradesh and came to be known as Manyam Veerudu (Hero of the jungles). Though Mahatma Gandhi’s Non-cooperation Movement inspired him, he advocated violence to win tribal goals. 

The revolt takes it name from the Rampa region north of Godavari, which was the place of action for several uprisings in the 19^th century.

 

The immediate cause for Rampa rebellion was illegal construction of forest roads with unpaid labour by a Tahsildar Bastian of Gumed, who was very unpopular with the local populace. 

 

A master strategist, Alluri Sitarama Raju used guerrilla tactics and was said to have divine and healing powers and claimed to survive the bullet shots. The rebellion was ruthlessly put down by the British who deployed a company of Assam Rifles. Raju was captured and killed in May 1924. The movement failed as a result of this. The entire operation cost Madras government fifteen lakh rupees.

Shivaji: Founder of the Great Maratha Empire

One of the most famous figures of Indian history, Shivaji was the founder of the Maratha kingdom. The rise of Marathas is considered to be a revival of Hinduism in the seventeenth century. A brilliant leader, Shivaji was a just ruler and a statesman of consummate craft. He always respected the religion of his adversaries.

Belonging to the Bhonsle clan, Shivaji was born in the hill-fort of Shivneri near Junnar (in the Pune district of Maharashtra) in 1630. According to one school of thought, he was born in 1627. His grandfather Maloji was employed with the Nizam Shahi rulers of Ahmednagar. Shahji, eldest son of Maloji and father of Shivaji, was initially in the service of the Ahmednagar kingdom as a trooper in the army.

Shahji was married to Jijabai, daughter of a noble in the service of Nizam Shahi Kingdom. Jijabai, who was a virtuous lady and had a profound impact on Shivaji, was the daughter of Lakhuji Jadav Rao, who claimed descent from the Yadavas of Devagiri.

Shahji was soon able to earn fame and occupied a place where he could play an important role in the political and military affairs of Nizam Shahi kingdom. He fought against the Mughals in 1336, the year Ahmednagar was annexed to the Mughal Empire by Shah Jahan, the fifth Mughal emperor. Shahji then entered the service of the Adil Shahi rulers of the Bijapur kingdom. Shahji moved to his new jagir with his second wife after entrusting his paternal jagir of Poona and the care of his young son Shivaji and his mother Jijabai to an able Brahmana, Dadaji Khonddev who was earlier employed in the service of the Adil Shahi rulers.

Shivaji directed his early military campaign against the Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur. He was wise enough not to offend the Mughals now as it would not be a viable proposition to fight on two fronts given his military strength at that time. In 1653 Shivaji captured Kalyan, an important and wealthy Adil Shahi city on the west coast. From 1657 to 1660, Shivaji became successful in plundering several territories belonging to the Bijapur kingdom. This earned the ire of the Adil Shahi ruler. Ali Adil Shah sent in 1659, Afzal Khan, one of the foremost nobles and generals of Adil Shahi, to bring Shivaji back to Bijapur dead or alive. In order to apprehend Shivaji, Afzal Khan proposed a meeting with Shivaji, promising him pardon and grant of territory. In the meeting that ensued Afzal Khan tried to attack Shivaji with a dagger while embracing him. But wily Shivaji was able to kill Afzal with gloves with steel claws (bahgh nakh).

Meanwhile when the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb heard of Shivaji’s depredation, he deputed his maternal uncle Shayista Khan to the Deccan to crush the Maratha. Early in 1660, a joint attack by the Mughals and Adil Shahis was launched against Shivaji, who being a skillful strategist, embarked on a surprise attack at the well-guarded mansion of Shayista Khan in Poona in 1663. In the scuffle Shaista Khan lost his thumb and his son, Abul Fath, was killed. This incident served a body-blow to the Mughal prestige in the Deccan. Aurangzeb recalled Shayista Khan (Shaista Khan) and appointed his own son Shah Alam as Viceroy of the Deccan.

In the following year (1664) Shivaji sacked Surat, the richest port on the west, facing no opposition from the Mughal troops. Thus Shivaji continued to annoy Aurangzeb.

In 1665, Mirza Raja Jai Singh of Amber, Aurangzeb’s Hindu general, and Dilir Khan were entrusted by Aurangzeb with the task of suppressing Shivaji. Jai Singh was able to tactfully put Shivaji in the dock and concluded a treaty with him, known as the treaty of Purandar (1665). Under the terms of the treaty, Shivaji was allowed to retain 12 of his forts, including Raigarh while ceding 23 of his forts to the Mughals.

After the treaty of Purandar, Shivaji visited the Mughal court at Agra. He was humiliated by Aurangzeb there. His great escape from the Mughal court is a famous fact of history.

After returning to the Deccan in 1666 Shivaji for three years shied away from military campaigns and devoted his time reorganizing his internal administration. On the other hand, Shah Alam, the Mughal viceroy in the Deccan, also adopted a conciliatory policy and Aurangzeb granted Shivaji the title of ‘raja’ and his son Shambaji was granted a mansab and jagir in Berar. However, hostilities once again started when Aurangzeb attacked a part of the jagir in Berar. Shivaji sacked Surat for the second time in 1670. He was able to recover almost all the forts ceded to the Mughals.

Shivaji was at his zenith of power and on the 16th June, 1674, he arranged his grand coronation at Raigarh with great pomp and splendour, and assumed the title of Chhatrapati (Lord of the Umbrella, or king of kings). He also introduced a new era of his own, starting from his coronation.

Shivaji died a premature death at the age of fifty-three (or fifty, according to some) on the 14th April, 1680.

Rani Gaidinliu: Revolutionary Woman from Manipur

Described by Jawaharlal Nehru as the Rani of the Nagas, Rani Gaidinliu was a Naga woman revolutionary leader and successor to the political movement launched by the Naga leader Haipou Jadonang (1905-31) to derive away the British from Manipur. She was born in 1915. 
 

After the execution of Jadonang in 1931 by the British, Rani Gaidinliu led a popular rebellion against the British rule at the young age of sixteen. In order to suppress her followers and capture her, the British deployed regular army columns. In 1932, she was arrested by the British government who sentenced her to life imprisonment. She spent fourteen years in different jails of Guwahati, Shillong, Aizawl, Tura and others.

Rani Gaidinliu was finally released from the prison after India’s independence in 1947. She died in 1993.

Rash Behari Ghose: Moderate INC Leader

Born in Khandaghosh village in the Purba Bardhaman district in district of West Bengal in 1845, Rash Behari Ghose was an eminent lawyer, educationist, social worker and philanthropist. His was a brilliant academic career. He proved to be a very successful lawyer.

Rash Behari Ghose was a leading leader of the moderate wing of the Indian National Congress. During the freedom struggle for India there were two divisions in the Indian National Congress (INC)- moderate and extremist. He is said to have called the extremists “irresponsible agitators” and “pestilential demagogues”. He was a believer in the British sense of justice.    

Rash Behari Ghose was elected President of the Indian National Congress at the Surat session of 1907. It was at the Surat session when INC split into two sections: moderate and extremist. He was again elected president of the INC in its subsequent session in 1908.   

Rash Behari Ghose breathed his last on February, 28, 1921.  

The Congress Party which currently rules India at the centre has retained the name Indian National Congress.