Belur: Showcase of Hoysala Architecture

                                Chennakesava Temple at Belur / Image Source

An absolute must see destination in any cultural tour of India, Belur in the Hassan district of Karnataka was the capital of the powerful south Indian dynasty of the Hoysalas which ruled from 11th to 14th century AD

Situated on the banks of the river Yagachi, Belur is also known as the Banaras of the South, “Dakshin Varanasi”. The place is home to the awe-inspiring Chennakesava Temple. This Vishnu temple is a fine specimen of Hoysala architecture. 

Commissioned by Hoysala ruler Vishnuvardhana in 1117 AD, the Chennakesava temple took 103 years to complete. The Chennakesava temple has three entrances and is intricately carved with sculptures and pillars.

                                Chennakesava Temple at Belur /Image source

History Medieval India - MCQs – Set 6

Q.1. The actual name of Later Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II was

(a) Alamgir

(b) Aziz-ud-Din

(c) Ali Gauhar 

(d) Muhammad Kam Bakhsh

Q.2. Name the Mughal Queen whose name was inscribed on the coins and all royal firmans.

(a) Mumtaz Mahal

(b) Nur Jahan

(c) Ladli Begum

(d) Mariam uz-Zamani 

Q.3. How did the Mughal Emperor Jahandar Shah's reign come to an early and?

(a) He was addicted to drinking and died of too much consumption.

(b) He was deposed by his Wazir

(c) He died due to a slip while descending from the staircase

(d) He was defeated by his nephew Farrukhsiyar in a battle

Q.4. Who was the Mughal Emperor when the Battle of Plassey was fought in 1757 between Siraj ud Daula, the Nawab of Bengal and the English East India Company?

(a) Muhammad Shah

(b) Ahmad Shah

(c) Aziz-ud-Din Alamgir II

(d) Shah Alam II

Q.5. Who was the last Mughal Emperor to sit on the peacock throne?

(a) Aurangzeb 

(b) Muhammad Shah Rangila 

(c) Bahadur Shah I

(d) Farrukhsiyar

Q.6. Who is the author of the famous 11th century literary work Tahqiq- I- Hind?

(a) Al-Beruni

(b) Badauni

(c) Minhaj-us-Siraj

(d) Shams Siraj Afif

Q.7. The famous Arab traveller Alberuni came to India with

(a) Mahmud of Ghazni 

(b) Muhamamd Ghori

(c) Babur

(d) Amir Timur

Q.8. Who had built the Badshahi Masjid at Lahore?

(a) Babar

(b) Akbar

(c) Shah Jahan

(d) Aurangzeb 

Q.9. In which of the following places is Shah Jahan Mosque located in Pakistan?

(a) Thatta

(b) Karachi

(c) Lahore

(d) Jacobabad

Q. 10. Who among the following had organized Turkan-i-Chahalgani, the Group of Forty ?

(a) Qutbuddin Aibak

(b) Aram Shah 

(c) Razia Sultan 

(d) Iltutmish

Answers

1-c 

Notes: The actual name of Shah Alam II was Ali Gauhar. After his defeat in the Battle of Buxar in 1764,  Shah Alam II was forced to grant the diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa to the English East India Company in 1765. 

2- b

Notes: Wife of Mughal emperor Jahangir, Nur Jahan was the first Mughal queen in whose name coins were struck. She had deep influence on the Jahangir who took pride in saying that he had handed her the country in lieu of a cup of wine and few pieces of mutton.

3- d

Notes: Jahandar Shah was defeated by his nephew Farrukhsiyar outside the city of Agra on 10th January, 1713. Jahandar Shah fled to Delhi in a bullock cart where he was strangled to death in prison on Farrukhsiyar’s orders. 

4- c

Notes: Known as Aziz-ud-Din before he ascended the Mughal throne, Alamgir II ruled from 1754 to 59. 

5-b

Notes: It was during the reign of Muhamamd Shah that Nadir Shah, the ‘Napolean of Iran’ invaded India in 1739. Nadir Shah took with him the peacock throne.

6-a

Notes: Al-Beruni’s book Tahkik-i-Hind (reality of Hindustan or Enquiry into India) is a mirror of the eleventh century India.

7-a:

Notes: One of the most famous Arab travellers to India, Alberuni visited India when Mahmud of Ghazni invaded Somnath, the famous shrine in Gujarat dedicated to Lord Shiva. Between 1001 and 1027 Mahmud made seventeen great raids on India.

 

8-d: 

Notes: Badshahi Masjid was built at Lahore by Aurangzeb. The mosque was built under the supervision of his foster brother Fidai Khan Koka. 

9-a: 

Notes: The 17th-century Shah Jahan Mosque was built in Thatta during the reign of 5th Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.

10-d: 

Notes: Iltutmish had organised the turkan-i-chahalgani, also known as Amir-i-Chahalgani. Turkan-i-chahalgani was a group of 40 faithful slaves which came into existence with the task of protecting Shamsuddin Iltutmish 

Tai Khamti-British War of 1839

Tai Khampti diorama / Image Credit

Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein has urged the Centre to declare Tai Khamti-British War of 1839 as the first war of India’s independence against the British. 

80 British soldiers, including the British agent Colonel Adam White, were killed by the Tai Khamtis in Tai Khamti-British War that took place in 1839. 

Recently the Centre has refused to accept Odisha’s demand to declare Paika rebellion as the First War of Independence. Paika Rebellion took place from 1817 to 1825 in Odisha. Currently, the Revolt of 1857, known variously as First War of Independence and Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 is called the first war of independence against British Rule. The Revolt of 1857 shook the very foundation of the British Empire in India.

About Tai Khamti-British War of 1839

The Arunachal Deputy CM Chowna Mein also underscored the need to recognize battles between other communities of Arunachal Pradesh and the British. They include four Anglo-Abor wars fought by the Adis in 1858, 1859, 1894 and 1911 and the Wancho-British war, also known as ‘Ninu Massacre’, at Ninu in Tirap district in Arunachal Pradesh in 1875.

The Abors, now called Adis, live in the central part of the state, while the Wanchos inhabit the southern Arunachal Pradesh. 

Today the population of Tai Khamti people is a little more than 1,00,000. They live in areas straddling Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. They follow Theravada Buddhism. 

Khairul Manzil Mosque, Delhi

                                    Khairul Manazil, opposite Purana Qila, Delhi. Image credit 

Located opposite the Purana Qila in Delhi, Khairul Manzil mosque was built in 1561 by Maham Anga, the foster mother of the Mughal emperor Akabr. She was the mother of powerful Mughal noble Adham Khan who was killed by Akbar in Agra in 1562.

Meaning ‘the most auspicious of houses’ in Persian, Khair-ul-Manazil mosque on the Mathura road is Delhi’s first mosque built by the Mughals. 

The arch in the middle of the prayer chamber contains the inscription that says that the mosque was built by Maham Anga.

Fifth Siddha Day celebrated

Fifth Siddha Day was celebrated by Union Ministry of Ayush on 23rd December. 

Siddha system of medicine is one of the oldest codified traditions of healthcare originated in the Indian sub-continent with many intricate, novel therapeutic interventions and treatment modalities. 

Siddha system of medicine is one of the oldest codified traditions of healthcare originated in the Indian sub-continent.

The Siddha system is still being practised in the southern parts of India.

Ayush Ministry observes Siddha Day on eve of Siddhar Agathiya’s  birthday every year. Siddhar Agathiya is the father of Siddha Medicine. The day is observed in the Tamil month of Margazhi. 

Hindi translation of Sangam text Tolkappiyam released

Union Minister of State for Education, Dr. Subhas Sarkar has released the Hindi translation of Tolkāppiyam, a unique work on grammar and poetics. 

A part of the corpus of Sangam literature, Tolkappiyam is the most ancient extant Tamil grammar text and the oldest extant long work of Tamil literature.

Tolkappiyam was written by Tolkappiyar during the Sangam period. According to some Tamil tradition places Tolkappiyam in the mythical second Sangam (great literary assembly), variously in 1st millennium BCE or earlier.

Tamil writing systems dates back to 250 BCE and Tamil Sangam poetry contains 2381 poems in Tamil composed by 473 poets, some 102 anonymous. Most scholars suggest the historical Sangam literature era spanned from c. 300 BCE to 600 CE to be among the finest of world literature.

Though it is reasonable to believe that the ancient Tamil itself had a long poetic tradition and a large body of literature, only a grammatical treatise in verse called Tolkāppiyam, the eight anthologies (Ettuttokai) and Ten Songs (Pattuppattu) have survived the ravages of time.

Ettuttokai consists of Nattrinai, Kuruntokai, Aignkurunuru, Pathittrupattu, Paripādal, Kalittokai, Akananuru and Purananuru.

A unique work on grammar and poetics, Tolkappiyam deals with Ezhuttu (letter), Col (word) and Porul (subject matter).

Almost all levels of the human language from the spoken to the most poetic lie within the purview of Tolkappiyar’s analysis as he treats in exquisitely poetic and epigrammatic statements on phonology, morphology, syntax, rhetoric, prosody and poetics.

Kolkata’s Durga Puja Gets UNESCO heritage status

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has added Kolkata's Durga Puja to its 'Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.' 

The decision was taken during the sixteenth session of the of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, chaired by Punchi Nilame Meegaswatte, Secretary General of the Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO.

Durga Puja is an annual festival marks the ten-day worship of the Hindu mother-goddess Durga. In West Bengal Bengal the festival is celebrated in honour of Goddess Durga’s killing of demon Mahishasur and is called the Durga Puja. Huge pandals are set-up housing the idols of Goddess Durga and her four children - Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha and Kartikeya. 

India now has 14 intangible cultural heritage elements on the UNESCO list. Other Indian entries that were previously inscribed include Ramlila (2008), Yoga (2016) and Kumbh Mela (2017).

In 2017, the Kumbh Mela was accorded this recognition. Yoga was added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2016, traditional brass and copper craft of Punjab in 2014, Manipur's Sankirtana ritual singing in 2013 and the dance forms of Chhau, Kalbelia and Mudiyettu in 2010.

The preparations for Durga Puja start well in advance but things really hot up when the idols of Goddess Durga and her four children - Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha and Kartikeya finally arrives and are installed in the pandals.

The worship of Goddess Durga starts on the inaugural day of Mahalaya. The next ten days are marked by prayers, dancing, merrymaking, ethnic clothing and meeting the neighbours. The Vijayadasmi day marks the end of the puja festivities. The beautifully decorated deities being carried in splendid processions with attractive backdrops, and the frenzied processions dancing to the beat of drums and music are a treat to watch.