Amboyna Massacre of 1623

Dutch East India Company (VOC) / Image Credit

The Amboyna Massacre, as it came to be called in England, took place in 1623 in Amboyna, an important clove-producing island in modern-day Indonesia. 10 Englishmen, 10 Japanese, and one Portuguese were executed by the local authorities of Dutch East India Company. 

Portuguese were the common enemy of the English and the Dutch when the last two entered the East.  However, the commercial rivalry between the English and the Dutch led to the massacre at Amboyna (currently Amboyna).

Spice trade has been very lucrative throughout the history. In the ‘Age of Discovery’ (a period of European overseas exploration from the 15th to 17th century), the European powers - Dutch, Portuguese, English and Spanish, had been in a fierce struggle for supremacy of the spice trade. 

The English poet and dramatist John Dryden had written a dram called Amboyna, or the Cruelties of the Dutch to the English Merchants in 1673. 

Dalmadal Cannon, Bishnupur

Dalmadal Canon / Image credit

The grandeur of Bishnupur in the Bankura district of West Bengal can be ascertained by the presence of many beautiful temples featuring intricate terracotta ornamentation. Built mostly of brick & at times, of laterite, these magnificent temples are the mute spectator to Bishnupur’s glorious past.

Apart from the terracotta temples, Dalmadal Cannon is another highlight of Bishnupur.  This 3.8 m long wrought iron forge welded cannon has a barrel with a diameter of 28.5 cm. Built by expert artisan Jagannath Karmakar, this historical canon with Persian inscriptions is  located near Chinnamasta temple in Bishnupur and weighs 11,840 kg.

Tradition has it that Dalmadal Cannon was used by the Malla kings of Bishnupur to repulse the ruthless bargis (Maratha troops) under Maratha leader Bhaskar Pundit sent by Raghoji I Bhonsle of Nagpur in the 18th century. The marauding bands of Maratha cavalry came to be called bargis in Bengal.  

Bhaskar Pundit and his twenty two generals were killed by Bengal Nawab Alivardi Khan while the former was plundering the people of Bengal. 

 

2024 Assembly Elections Results of Rania Assembly Constituency

     Contesting Candidates for Rania Assembly Elections 2024     

Party	Candidates	Votes Polled
INLD	Arjun Chautala	43,914
Congress	Sarva Mitra Kamboj	39,723
Independent	Ranjit Singh Chautala	36,401
BJP	Shishpal Kamboj	15,707

                                                                                                                    

Located in the district of Sirsa, Rania assembly constituency is currently being represented

by Arjun Chautala of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) who had defeated his nearest rival Sarva Mitra Kamboj of the Congress by a margin of 4191 votes.

 

2024 Assembly Elections Results of Nuh Assembly Constituency

       Contesting Candidates for Nuh Assembly Elections 2024     

Party	Candidates	Votes Polled
Congress	Aftab Ahmed	91,883
INLD	Tahir Hussain	44,870

Located in the district of Mewat, Nuh assembly seat is currently represented by Aftab Ahmed who had defeated his nearest rival Tahir Hussain of Indian National Lok Dal in 2024 Haryana Assembly elections by a margin of 46,963 votes.

Nuh is one of the nine assembly constituencies that unite to create the parliamentary constituency of Gurgoan. 

Son of former Haryana minister and Congress leader, Khurshid Ahmed, Aftab Ahmed had also won the seat 2009 and 2019.

Battle of Thirupurambiyam

Chola ruler Aditya I was the son of Vijayalaya who was a feudatory of the Pallava rulers. 

In 879 CE Aditya I joined a confederacy of Pallavas and Western Gangas to defeat the Pandyan ruler Varagunavarman II in the Battle of Sri Purambiyam or Thirupurambiyam  near Kumbakonam in the  Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu. 

Varagunavarman II lost the battle though Western Ganga king Prithvipati I lost his life in the battle. The confederacy was led by the Pallava king Aparajita. 

Prithivipati I was buried in a pallipadai temple in the village of Thirupurambiyam. 

Not satisfied with remaining subordinate to the Pallava power, Aditya I now embarked on a campaign to altogether extinguish the Pallava power and killed its last ruler Aparajita in c. 897 CE, bringing the Pallava territory under the Chola dominions. 

Battle of Pullalur

The Battle of Pullalur was fought between Chalukya king Pulakesin II (Reigned 610-642)  and the Pallava king Mahendravarman I resulting in the victory of the former. The battle took place at Pullalur (now in the Kanchipuram district in Tamil Nadu) in about 618–19.

This was the beginning of the long-drawn-out struggle between the Pallavas and their sworn enemies the Chalukyas of Vatapi (early western Chalukyas), who ruled north of them. The struggle which became necessary for the mastery of south India, lingered through the generations.

Who won the Battle of Pullalur is in the realm of debate. Both sides claim victories.

It seems that though Pulakeshin II won the Battle of Pullalur was not decisive. 

Pulkesin II (Reigned 610-642), Greatest of The Chalukyas of Badami

Pulakesin II court  / Image Credit

Son of Kirtivarman, Pulkesin II is the greatest ruler of the Chalukya dynasty of Badami. Since Pulkesin II was too young to ascend the throne at the time of Kirtivarman’s death in 597-98, Mangalesa, brother of Kirtivarman, became the regent of the empire. However, when Pulkesin II came of age, Mangalesa refused to surrender the throne and tried to secure the throne for his own son. So there ensued a battle between Mangalesa and Pulkesin II who killed the former and proclaimed himself king in 609-10. 

Aihole Prasasti (Inscription), composed by Pulkesin II‘s court poet Ravikirti, gives a detailed account of his victories. He was a contemporary of North Indian emperor Harsha (Vardhana dynasty) whom he had defeated on the banks of the Narmada river in 618 AD- the only check in the northern ruler’s otherwise victorious career. Pulkesin II subjugated the Latas (Gujarat), Malavas and Gurjaras.  

Pulkesin II considerably extended the bounds of his realm. Leaving his younger brother Kubja Vishnuvardhana in charge of the capital he embarked on an extensive campaign of conquest of Southern Kosala, Kalinga in the eastern Deccan. (Vishnuvardhana was the founder of a separate dynasty known as Eastern Chalukya, also known as the Chalukyas of Vengi.) 

Pulkesin II subjugated Kadamabas by overthrowing their capital Banavasi and compelled Alupas of Southern Karnataka and the Gangas of Mysore to acknowledge his suzerainty. Mauryas of northern Konkan were also compelled to submission when he successfully attacked their capital Puri (on the island of Elephanta). 

During his reign the Battle of Pullalur was fought with the Pallava king Mahendravarman I who was defeated. The battle took place at Pullalur (now in the Kanchipuram district in Tamil Nadu) in about 618–19. This was the beginning of the long-drawn-out struggle between the Pallavas and their sworn enemies the Chalukyas. In 640 AD the battle of Maanimangala was fought between Pallava ruler Narasimhavarman I and Pulakesin II who suffered defeat. The Battle of Vatapi took place in 642 AD between Narasimhavarman I and Pulakesin II near Vatapi.  After the battle which resulted in the defeat and death of Pulakeshin II, Narasimhavarman I took the title of Vatapikonda (Conqueror of Vatapi).

These were the days of crisis for Chalukyan kingdom. The feudatories began to declare independence and the matter was made worse by the dissensions among the sons of the Pulkeshin II.