Today In Indian History (21nd January)

1945- Death of Ras Bihari Bose, Indian revolutionary leader, on 21 January in 1945 in Tokyo in Japan. 

Born  at Subaldaha village (in the present day Purba Bardhaman district of West Bengal) on 25 May 1886,  Rash Behari Bose played an important role in India's Independence movement.

Rash Behari, who had joined Forest Research Institute in Dehradun, underscored the need for an armed struggle for liberating India from British rule. He was involved in the Delhi Conspiracy case, also known as the Delhi-Lahore Conspiracy. The case refers to an alleged plot to kill the then Viceroy of India, Lord Hardinge, in 1912. After the failed assassination attempt, Bose fled to Imperial Japan in 1915.

Rash Behari formed the Indian National Army (INA) the reins of which was later on handed over to  Subhas Chandra Bose by him. 

His wife Toshiko, whom he married in Japan, died from pneumonia in 1925. Rash Behari died on the January 21, 1945, aged 58.

Today In Indian History (20th January)

1570 - On 20 January, 1570, Akbar set out on foot on pilgrimage from Agra to Ajmer as thanksgiving for the birth of his first son Salim (later Jahangir) 

1949 - Death of Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru (8 December 1875 – 20 January 1949), an Indian freedom fighter,  constitutional expert, and statesman. 

Born on 8 December 1875 in Aligarh, Tej Bahadur Sapru was a Kashmiri Pandit who died on 29 January 1949 in Allahabad. 

Sapru participated as a delegate at all three Round Table Conferences held by the British Government in London on Indian constitutional reform between 1931 and 1934. 

Sapru had pleaded from the side of Indian National Army Officers in their Red Fort trials. Also known as the INA trials, the Red Fort trials took place between November 1945 and May 1946. 

Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi: Naqshbandi Sufi Preacher who did not like Akbar's religious syncretism

Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi was the most prominent saint of Naqshbandi Sufi silsila (order), one of the orders into which Sufis were organized. Chishti, Qadaria, Suhrawardy and Mawlawi are the other silsilas. he was a disciple of Khwaja Baqi Billah, the originator of Naqshbandiah silsilah in India.

Also known as Mujaddid Alif, Shaikh Ahmed Sirhindi was born in 1564 at Sirhind (currently in the Patiala district of the Punjab). He died in 1624 at Sarhind. 

Ahmad Sirhindi disapproved of religious syncretism of Mughal emperor Akbar. Known for his orthodoxy and anti-Shia views, he was opposed to the Akbar’s religious views. 

A notable work of Sirhindi is Maktubat-e-Imam Rabbani in which he has referred to the execution of Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Sikh Guru.  

He had hailed the assassination of Guru Arjan Dev, who was executed by orders of fourth Mughal Emperor Jahangir, who ruled from 1605 to 1627. Guru Arjan Dev was charged with treason because he had given shelter to Prince Khusrau at Tarn Taran, who had rebelled against his father Jahangir for the Mughal throne. 

Sirhindi was sent by Jahangir to the fort of Gwalior in 1619 for a brief period of imprisonment for his arrogance and rudeness.

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first education minister of free India, eulogised Sirhindi as the defender of Islam and criticised Akbar’s religious policy.

Today In Indian History (19th January)

1597- Maharana Pratap, known for his valiant and spirited defence against the Mughal Empire under Akbar, died at Chavand on 19th January in 1597.   

He was the ruler of Mewar kingdom in present day Rajasthan, from 1572 until his death in 1597. He is notable for leading the Rajput resistance against the Mughals in the legendary battle of Haldighati in 1576.

1905- Death anniversary of Debendranath Tagore (born May 15, 1817—died January 19, 1905), a philosopher and religious reformer, who was involved in the creation of the Brahmo Samaj which was founded on 20 August, 1828 in Kolkata by Rammohan Roy.  

His son was Rabindranath Tagore (first Asian to receive Nobel Prize). 

1936 -  First news bulletin was broadcast from All India Radio (Akashvani) on 19th January, 1936.

1990 - 19 January 1990 marks the day of the exodus for Kashmiri Pandits from Kashmir valley.

Today In Indian History (18th January)

1842- Birth of Mahadev Govind Ranade, a scholar and prominent leader of the freedom struggle from Maharashtra. He was born on 18 January in 1842.

Mahadev Govind Ranade founded Poona Sarvajanik Sabha and was a prominent leader of Prarthana Samaj. He comes lauded as the prophet of cultural renaissance in western India. Ranade was the editor of Induprakash. 

Today In Indian History (17th January)

1471 - Birth of Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 – 17 October 1529), an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1509 to 1529. 

Krishnadeva Raya belonged to the Taluva dynasty, one of the four main dynasties, combination of which is known as the Vijayanagar empire. 

One of the greatest kings of India, Krishnadeva Raya raised the Hindu power of Vijayanagar to the zenith of its prosperity and glory. 

An epigraphical reference to the date of death of Krishnadevaraya was discovered at Honnenahalli in Tumakuru district in Karnataka. According to the inscription, Krishnadevaraya died on October 17, 1529. 

Today In Indian History (16th January)

1399- Mongol leader Amir Timur, also known as Tamerlane, sacks Kangra on 16th January, 1399 during his invasion on India in which he massacred thousands of the inhabitants of many cities and places of India including Talamba, Delhi, Firuzabad, Meerut, Jammu and Kangra. 

1680- Shambhiji, the second Chhatrapati of the Maratha Kingdom and son of Shivaji, was coronated at Raigad fort in 1680. He formally ascended the throne on 20 July, 1680, and his coronation ceremony was performed with great splendour on 16 January, 1681.

1757- The Battle of Narela took place on 16 January 1757, at Narela, on the outskirts of Delhi, between the Marathas and Afghans warlord Ahmad Shah Abdali.

1761 - The British East India Company captures Pondicherry (Puducherry) from the French on January 16, 1761.