Kunwar Singh: Leader of the 1857 Revolt in Bihar

                                    Kunwar Singh: 1857 Rebellion Hero / Image source

A Rajput zamindar, Kunwar Singh is known as a brave leader who unfurled the banner of rebellion against the British in Bihar. At the time of Revolt of 1857, he was eighty years old. However, old age did not deter him from fighting the British with utmost valour.  

Popularly known as Veer Kunwar Singh, he was born at Jagdishpur village (then in the erstwhile Shahabad district) in Bhojpur district in Bihar in 1777. Chivalry, undaunted courage and able generalship had earned him the sobriquet of “Lion of Bihar”. 

He challenged the British authority and established his own government. He marched to Kalpi in Bundelkhand with a view to give helping hand to Nana Saheb, leader of the revolt in Kanpur.

Known for his perfection in guerrilla warfare, he employed this warfare tactic with great effect against the British.

His gallant resistance to the British forces ended when he died on 26 April, 1858 of the wounds he sustained during the fight with them. 

Yahaya bin Ahmed Sirhindi and his Tarikh- i- Mubarak Shahi

Yahiya bin Ahmad bin Abdullah Sarhindi was a contemporary of Mubarak Shah (reigned 1421- 1434 ) and Muhammad Shah (reigned 1434-45), the rulers of the Saiyid dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. It was during Mubarak Shah’s reign that he composed his Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi, dedicated to the Sayyid ruler. 

Written in Persian, Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi begins with the reign of Muizzuddin Muhammad of Ghor and ends at 1434 with the accession of Sultan Muhammad Shah, the third Saiyid ruler. 

Tarikh-i-Rashidi by Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat

Written in Persian, Tarikh-i-Rashidi deals with the history of Central Asia as well as the events in Kashmir. It was written by Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat (1499-1551) who was a ruler of Kashmir. Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat was a cousin of Mughal founder Babur.  

His grave was restored in 2018 in Srinagar by the Kazakh embassy in India in association with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

Hala – The Satavahana king who wrote Saptasataka

Hāla was a Satavahana king who is traditionally assigned the authorship of Saptasataka (Seven Hundred) or Gathasaptashati, the most important literary work in Prakrit. Written in the Arya metre, Saptasataka is a collection of self contained stanzas full of beauty. 

Out of seven hundred poems, some forty-four were penned by Hala, who, according to the Matsya Purana, was the 17th Satavahana ruler. 

Hāla ruled in the Deccan in the 1st century AD.  

The Maharashtri Prakrit work "Lilavati Parinayam" narrates his romance and marriage with Lilavati, a princess of Simhaladvipa (identified with modern Sri Lanka). Lilavati Parinayam was written by  Kuthuhala Koūhala.

Bipin Chandra Pal, Father of Revolutionary Thoughts

One of the famous triumvirate called “Lal-Bal-Pal”, Bipin Chandra Pal is known as "Father of Revolutionary Thoughts" in India. He was born in 1858 in Sylhet (now in Bangladesh).   

Bipin Chandra Pal joined Indian National Congress in 1886.

He started newspapers with a view to educating public opinion. He was the founder editor of Paridarshak, a weekly, and later worked as assistant editor of the Bengal Public Opinion and the Tribune.

Nationalist to the core, Bipin Chandra Pal was an exponent of concept of Indian Swaraj and Swadeshi. He vehemently opposed the partition of Bengal announced in 1905. He was a noted writer and a powerful speaker. His most famous work was Memories and My Life and Times (in two volumes).

He also launched English newspaper Bande Mataram of which the revolutionary and later a mystic Aurobindo Ghose became an editor. In 1907, he was convicted for six months following publication of seditious views in the paper.

Bipin Chandra Pal worked for Association for the Advancement of Scientific and Industrial Education of India which was set up during the Swadeshi Movement for the dissemination of scientific and industrial education.

Critical of Mahatma  Gandhi, he retired from active politics in 1920. He continued to publish in retirement till his death on May 20, 1932. 

Ashtadhyayi of Panini

Ashtadhyayi is a treatise on grammar composed in the 4th century B.C. by Panini. The work is the most detailed and scientific grammar composed before the 19th century in any part of the world. 

Consisting of over 4000 grammatical rules, Panini’s grammar is one of the greatest intellectual achievements of any ancient civilization. 

Later Indian grammars such as Mahabhasya of Patanjali and Kasika Vrtti of Jayaditya and Vamana are commentaries on Panini.

Panini was associated the ancient university of Taxila or Takshashila.  

Reference:

The Wonder that was India by A. L. Basham 

Aihole Prasasti of Ravikirti

                                Aihole inscription of Ravi Kirti/Wikimedia Commons

Aihole Prasasti (Inscription) is a panegyric of Pulakesin II, the greatest king of Chalukya Dynasty, which ruled from Vatapi (now called Badami) in Karnataka. Pulakesin II reigned from 610 to 642 CE. 

Dated A.D. 634, Aihole Inscription was composed by his Jain court poet, Ravikirti, who claimed equal status with poets Kalidasa and Bharavi as a result of his composition. Engraved on the walls of Meguti temple at Aihole, the inscription gives a detailed account of his victories. 

Jain Maguti Temple

Jain Meguti Temple is the only dated architectural monument in Aihole.