Indian History

2008 - Death of Hans Raj Khanna (H R Khanna) on 25 February in 2008.  Born on 3 July 1912 Hans Raj Khanna was an Indian judge, jurist and advocate who propounded the basic structure doctrine in 1973 and attempted to uphold civil liberties during the time of Emergency in India in a lone dissenting judgement in 1976.  He paid the price for it. He was superseded. The government appointed MH Beg as the CJI. After resigning from the Supreme Court, H R Khanna served as the central minister of law and justice for a very short period of three days in the Charan Singh Ministry after the fall of the Indira Gandhi Government, and was later made a combined opposition-sponsored candidate for election as President in 1982, losing to Zail Singh.

1739 - The Battle of Karnal was fought on February 24 in 1739 between Persian invader Nadir Shah and Raushan Akhtar who had ascended the Mughal throne under the title of Muhammad Shah in 1719. Muhammad Shah Rangila reigned from 1719 to 1748. (Muhammad Shah had earned the nickname of Rangila (merrymaker). This is because Muhammad Shah was given to pleasure. He loved to spend his time in the company of eunuchs and ladies of the harem.) Defeat of the Mughal forces in the Battle of Karnal (presently in Haryana) paved the way for the Nadir Shah's sack of Delhi. The famed Peacock Throne of Shah Jahan was taken to Persia by Nadir Shah.    1986 - Death of Rukmini Devi Arundale on 24 February in 1986. A dancer and choreographer of the Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam, Rukmini Devi was born on 29 February in 1904 in Madurai. An active member of Theosophical movement, Rukmini Devi Arundale was the first women nominated to Rajya Sabha in 1952.  

Rewa Kund (A reservoir, built by Baz Bahadur with an aqueduct to provide Roopmati's palace with water) Image Credit   Baz Bahadur, a contemporary of greatest Mughal emperor Akbar, was the ruler of Muslim kingdom of Malwa with his capital at Mandu which is home to an impressive array of architectural marvels. Mandu is presently in the Dhar district of the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Perched on the southwestern edge of the Malwa Plateau at an altitude of 2000 feet the fortress town of Mandu commands panoramic views of the Nimar Plains below.  As Baz Bahadur was given to  pleasure, wine, women, and  music, Baz Bahadur loved to spend his time in the company of musicians and singers and used to indulge in sensual pursuits. He is known in history more for his love-life rather than the administrative skills and military exploits. Baz Bahadur's Palace / Image Credit Built by Baz Bahadur, ...

2013  - Death of  Lotika Sarkar  on  23 February 2013. She was a famous Indian feminist, social worker, educator, teacher, and lawyer.  Born in 1923,  Lotika  died in New Delhi on 23 February 2013, at the age of 90.

1892 -  Birth of Indulal Yajnik on 22 February 1892 . Born at Nadiad in the present-day Kheda district of Gujarat, Indulal Yajnik was a freedom fighter and one of the finest editors. A social worker and peasant leader from Gujarat he was a gifted journalist. He was associated with the home rule movement started by Annie Besant . Yajnik actively participated in the Kheda Satyagraha organized by Gandhi to secure exemption for the peasants from payment of land tax for the crops that had failed. He launched two Gujarati monthlies – Navjivan Ame Saty and Yugadharm and a daily Nutan Gujarat . Indulal Yajnik established schools for the Bhil children and was the secretary of the Antyaj Seva Mandal, with Thakkar Bapa as its president. He was actively associated with the Kisan Sabha work and organsied the cooperative movement among the peasants of Gujarat. In 1942 he presided over the annual session of Akhil Hind Kisan Sabha . He was a founder of the Gujarat Vidyapeeth . In 1956 he too...

1685 - On 21st February in 1685 a Maratha contingent under Shambhaji's lieutenant Melgiri Pandit reached Bijapur to give a helping hand to the Sikandar Adil Shah , the last sultan of the Bijapur sultanate, against the Mughals under Aurangzeb.  

1948  - Clement Attlee, the then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, announced on  20 February 1947  that the British Government would grant full self-government to British India by 3 June 1948 at the latest.  Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, thought that waiting until June 1948 might be too late. So he moved the date for India's independence to August 1947.