Today In Indian History (25th February)

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 He was superseded.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.

Today In Indian History (24th February)

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.

 

Baz Bahadur, the Musician Ruler of Malwa

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, the palace's unique features are its spacious courtyards surrounded by halls and high terraces which afford a superb view of the surrounding countryside.  The palace is famous for acoustics 

Baz Bahadur was the eldest son of Shuja'at or Shujawal Khan, who ruled Malwa independent as the viceroy of the Sur dynasty during the reign of Islam Shah. After his father Baz Bahadur became its next governor who later asserted his independence and became the ruler of the province. Shujawal Khan died in 1556, the year in which Akbar became Mughal emperor.

Contemporary writer, Nizamu-d din, author of Tabakat-i-Akbari, writes about Baz Bahadur, “Baz Bahadur was the most accomplished man of his day in the science of music and in Hindi song. He spent much of his time in the society of musicians and singers.” His love for his Hindu wife Rupmati, who was proficient in reciting poetry, is still remembered by the bards of Mandu. 

As a result of the above, the affairs of the state came to a standstill. This was used as a pretext to invade Malwa by Akbar, an imperialist by instinct. He sent his nobles Adham Khan, son of Maham Anaga (Akbar’s foster mother) and Pir Muhammad to conquer Malwa in 1961. According to some school of though, one of the causes for the invasion was Adham Khan’s infatuation for Baz Bahadur’s queen, Rupmati, who was of exquisite beauty. 

Soon after ascending to the throne in 1556, Baz invaded Garah Katanga (a territory, abounding in hills and jungles in the Gondwana region presently forming parts of the northern districts of the state of Madhya Pradesh) which was ruled by a valiant lady Rani Durgavati, a Chandela Princesses of Mahoba and regent of  her son Vir Narayan. Baz was repulsed by the forces of Durgavati. 

Baz Bahadur, who had hitherto neglected the administration of his kingdom, awoke from his slumber and faced the enemies but was defeated in the battle of Sarangpur (now in Rajgarh district in Madhya Pradesh), fought on March 29, 1561 and fled to Khandesh and Burhanpur. All his treasure and several other wives fell into the hands of Adham Khan and Pir Muhammad whose methods to conquer Malwa and their oppression in the Malwa kingdom have been described by the contemporary historian Badauni, who had accompanied the Mughal army.

When it was found that Rupmati ran the risk of being captured by Adham Khan, a eunuch of Baz Bahadur's harem caused wound to her with a sword. She later consumed poison and killed herself.

Baz Bahadur however, managed to recover Malwa soon. Akbar sent his general Abdulla Khan Uzbek once again to incorporate the province to Mughal empire. Baz Bahadur was once again defeated in 1562 and fled to Mewar where he was sheltered by Rana Udai Singh, son of Rana Sanga and ruler of Mewar. Thereafter, Baz Bahadur fled to Gujarat. After living a life of a wanderer he finally submitted to Akbar and according to according to Faizi, he was granted a Mughal mansab. Badauni, however says, he was imprisoned for some time when he surrendered to the Mughal court. He says that he died soon after his release.

According to Abul Fazal, the court historian of Akbar,  mentions that thirty six singers enjoyed the patronage of Akbar’s court. Baz Bahadur was one of these thirty six singers and has been described as 'a singer  without  rival ' by Abul Fazal. 

 

Today In Indian History (23th February)

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.

Today In Indian History (22th February)

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 took lead in the Maha Gujarat Movement for a separate state and became founder president of the Maha Gujarat Janta Parishad.

1958 - Death of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, an important Indian leader. He was the first Education Minister in Independent India. Born in Mecca (now in Saudi Arabia) in 1888 on 22 February, Abul Kalam Azad was an Islamic theologian and a great scholar of Arabic, Persian and Urdu. He adopted the pen-name of Azad at the age of 16. He published a number of papers such as Al-Nadwah, the Vakil, Al-Hilal (“The Crescent”) and Al-Balagh. 

He was 35 when he was elected President of the Indian National Congress in its Delhi session in 1923, becoming the youngest to hold that office. He was again elected to the presidentship of Congress in 1940 and continued to hold that position until 1946.

After Indian independence in 1947, he became the Education Minister in Jawahar Lal Nehru’s cabinet. He had written autobiographical narrative, 'India Wins Freedom' which holds that religion politics was responsible for the partition of the country. Ghubar-e-Khatir is his another important work. 

Azad died in 1958. In 1992, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award.

  

Today In Indian History (21th February)

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.  

Today In Indian History (20th February)

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.