Today In Indian History (3rd March)

1575 -  On 3 March 1575, the Battle of Tukaroi was fought between the Mughals army and the Sultanate of Bengal . 

The Battle of Tukaroi, also known as the Battle of Bajhaura or the Battle of Mughulmari, took place near the village of Tukaroi in present-day Balasore district of Odisha. It resulted in a Mughal victory and led to the weakening of the Bengal Sultanate which was annexed to the Mughal empire after their victory in the Battle of Rajmahal in 1576.  

1707 - Death of Aurangzeb, the sixth Mughal emperor, on 3rd March.  He ascended the throne after imprisoning his father Shah Jehan, the fifth Mughal emperor in 1658. Shah Jahan passed the remaining years of his life in captivity until he died at the age of seventy-four in 1966.

A ruthless and intolerant ruler known for his military prowess, Aurangzeb ruled from 1658 to 1707. Mughal Empire was at its most expansive during the reign of Aurangzeb.   

Aurangzeb who came out victorious in the terrible war of succession that took place among the sons of Shah Jahan. The war for succession continued till 1661 and in between 1658 and 1661 all the remaining sons of Shah Jahan were killed or executed. 

Today In Indian History (2nd March)

1700  - Death of Rajaram, the third king (Chhatrapati) of the Maratha Kingdom, on 2nd March in 1700. He was the third king (Chhatrapati) of the Maratha Kingdom, who ruled from 1689 to 1700. 

Born on 24 February in 1670,  Rajaram was the son Shivaji. He ascended the throne in 1689 after the death of his (half) brother Sambhaji who was brutally put to death by Aurangzeb.  

Rajaram died on 2 March 1700 in Sinhgad fort (in Pune district) at the age of 30. 

1949 - Death of Sarojini Naidu on 2nd March in 1949.  Sarojini Naidu was born on 13 February in 1879. She was the president of the Indian National Congress in the Kanpur session held in 1925. She became the second woman to preside over the Congress after Annie Besant. She was given the title of "Nightingale of India". 

Sarojini Naidu had participated in the Second Round Table Conference in 1931. Round Table Conferences were convened by the British government between 1930 and 1932 to discuss constitutional reforms in India. 

Sarojini Naidu became the first Governor of United Provinces  in 1947 after Indian Independence and died in office on 2nd March in 1949.  

Today In Indian History (1st March)

1572 - Maharana Pratap ascended the throne of Mewar kingdom on 1 March, 1572.  Maharana Pratap is known for his valiant and spirited defence against the Mughal Empire under Akbar. 

Maharana Pratap died at Chavand on 19th January in 1597.   

Maharana Pratap 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.

1776 - The Treaty of Purandar was a doctrine signed on 1 March 1776 by the Peshwa of the Maratha Empire and the British East India Company's Supreme Council of Bengal in Calcutta. Earlier another Treaty of Purandar was signed between Maratha leader Shivaji and Jai Singh, Mughal viceroy of Deccan, on 11 June 1665.

Today In Indian History (28th February)

1572 - Death of Udai Singh on 28 February in 1572. Son of Rana Sanga, Udai Singh was the father of Maharana Pratap.  Rana Sanga was a valiant soldier endowed with extraordinary military prowess.

Born on 4th August in 1522  Udai Singh ascended the  throne of Mewar Kingdom after killing Banvir, also known as Banbeer (nephew of Rana Sanga), in 1540. 

Udai Singh had founded the city of Udaipur.

1580 - The first Jesuit mission from Goa arrived at Fatehpur Sikri on February 28, 1580. The Jesuit delegation consisted of Anthony Monserrate, Rudolf Acquaviva and Francis Henrique. In 1578 the Mughal emperor Akbar sent a delegation to Goa, requesting the Portuguese Viceroy to send a team of learned Catholic priests to his Ibadat Khana in Fatehpur-Sikri, where he held discussions on religious matters. 

Today In Indian History (27th February)

1712  - Death of Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah I on 27 February 1712. Born Muazzam, Bahadur Shah I and Shah Alam I ascended the Mughal throne at an advanced age of 67.  

Also known as 'Heedless king' (Shah-i-bekhabar) due to his indifference to administration, Bahadur Shah I was not a great administrator. By his conciliatory attitude he managed to retain the support of most of the factions and groups in the Mughal court.

Second son of 6th Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, Bahadur Shah I pursued a conciliatory policy towards the Rajputs and the Marathas. 

Sahu, son of Sambhaji, who had been in Mughal captivity since the fall of Raigarh, was released. Jeziah, imposed by Aurangzeb, was withdrawn. He acknowledged the independence of Mewar and Marwar. Bahadur Shah I died in 1712 during the course of his campaign against the powerful Sikh leader Banda Bahadur.

Bahadur Shah I was succeeded to the Mughal throne by his son Jahandar Shah. 

1931 - Death of Chandra Shekhar Azad on 27 February in 1931. Chandra Shekhar Azad, was an Indian revolutionary who reorganised the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) under its new name of Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) after the death of its founder, Ram Prasad Bismil, and three other prominent party leaders, Roshan Singh, Rajendra Nath Lahiri and Ashfaqulla Khan. 

Chandra Shekhar Azad was born on 23 July in 1906 in Alfred Park in Allahabad. 

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Today In Indian History (26th February)

320 – Chandragupta I is officially crowned as the first Gupta Emperor on 26 February in 320 AD. 

1966 - Death of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar on 26 February 1966. Popularly known as Veer Savarkar, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was a great revolutionary and later on a leader of the Hindu Mahasabha. 

Savarkar was born on 28 May 1883 to a Marathi Hindu Chitpavan Brahmin family to Damodar and Radhabai Savarkar in Bhagur in the Nashik district in Maharashtra. He had three other siblings: two brothers, Ganesh and Narayan, and a sister named Mainabai. 

In 1899 he established the first revolutionary society the Mitra Mela (Friends Association), which was named as the Abhinav Bharat Society (New India Society) in 1904. 

In 1906 Savarkar went to England and became a member of the revolutionary group led by Shyamji Krishna Varma. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Revolt of 1857, he wrote a famous book in which he called the Revolt the First war of Indian Independence. In 1907, Savarkar organized the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 in London. 

In London he was a close associate of Madan Lal Dhingra who murdered Curzon Wyllie with a bomb.

In 1910 he was arrested in London, brought to India and tried in the Nashik Conspiracy case. He was sentenced to two consecutive life transportations, which meant fifty years. He spent ten years in the Andaman jail-from 1911 to 1921 and three years in other prisons. After his early release from prison in 1924 he organised a movement of social reforms and also joined the Hindu Mahasabha. He was elected president of the Hindu Mahasabha for five consecutive years, 1937-42.

Veer Savarkar was tried for his role in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi but he was acquitted by the court for lack of evidence.

Born in 1883 in Bhagur village to father Damodarpant and mother Radhabai, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar had two brothers, Ganesh and Narayan, and a sister, Mainabai. 

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.