Indian History

Image Credit  Manyakheta was the capital of the Rashtrakuta dynasty which ruled large parts of southern India from 753 to 973. The capital city was founded by Rashtrakuta ruler Amoghavarsha I (Nrupatunga Amoghavarsha) who transferred regnal capital from Mayurkhandi (in the Bidar district of Karnataka)  to Manyakheta. He had embellished the new capital with beautiful buildings in order to "match the city of Indra's heaven, Amaravati."  Today Manyakheta is modern Malkhed village in Sedam taluk in Gulbarga (modern Kalaburagi) district in Karnataka. In 972-73 Manyakheta was sacked by Harsha Siyaka of the Paramara dynasty. After the downfall of the Rashtrakuta dynasty in 973, it became the capital of the Kalyani Chalukyas who had supplanted the Rashtrakutas. During the rule of Satyasraya belonging to the Chalukyas of Kalyani , Manyakheta was sacked in 1008 by Rajendra Chola I (reigned 1014–1044) during the reign of  Raja Raja Chola  .  Someshvara I Aha...

  The Piprahwa relics of Lord Buddha have returned to India after 127 years. The holy remains were discovered by British civil engineer and landowner William Claxton Peppé in 1898 from Piprahwa, the ancient site of Kapilavastu in the Siddharthnagar district of Uttar Pradesh. Piprahwa is just south of Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha in Nepal.  The Piprahwa site contained a massive sandstone coffer housing the relics, including sacred bones and ashes, precious gemstones and soapstone as well as crystal reliquaries.  Five caskets, including a crystal casket believed to be over 2,300 years old, were unearthed during excavations. Buried 18 feet underground these caskets contained sacred relics associated with Lord Buddha. Inscribed in early Brahmi script, one of the oldest known in any Indian language, an urn identified the depositors as members of the Buddha’s own Shakya clan, who had enshrined here the relics of the Buddha. William Claxton Peppé’s excavation of the Pip...

Today on July 27, 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the ancient capital of the imperial Cholas built by emperor Rajendra Chola - I (regnal years 1012-1044 CE). Participating in the valedictory function of ‘ Aadi Thiruvathirai ’ festival marking the birth anniversary of Rajendra Chola, Mr Modi released a commemorative coin to celebrate the 1000 years of naval expedition of Rajendra Chola - I.  To commemorate his successful military expedition to the Gangetic plains, Rajendra Chola founded a new capital and called it Gangaikonda Cholapuram , identified with modern  Gangaikonda Cholapuram   in the Ariyalur district of Tamil Nadu.  Brihadisvara Temple  Gangaikonda Cholapuram / Image Credit Rajendra Chola  also built the Shiva temple in Gangaikonda Cholapuram. Known as Brihadisvara Temple , this temple has a similar name as the one built by his father Raja Raja I in Thanjavur. A UNESCO World Heritage site, this temple is adorned with exquisite granite...

Writer's Buildings / Image Credit Showing exemplary courage three Bengali revolutionaries – Benoy Krishna Basu, Badal Gupta , and Dinesh Chandra Gupta - barged into the historic Writer's Buildings in Calcutta on 8th December 1930 and shot dead the then Bengal's IG (Prisons) Lt Col N S Simpson who was notorious for his atrocities and physical torture of Indian freedom fighters. In the gun battle that ensued the trio seriously wounded several European high officials. Members of the Bengal Volunteers , a group set up by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress in 1928 , these revolutionaries had worn western suits to gain access to the Writer's Building, the seat of the government of undivided Bengal.  Refusing to surrender to the British, Badal Gupta immediately took potassium cyanide and died instantly, while Benoy and Dinesh shot themselves with their firearms. Benoy died in a hospital on December 13, 1930, while Dinesh surviv...

Bal Gangadhar Tilak Today India is celebrating the 169th birth anniversary of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a leading light of Indian freedom struggle.  Of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Edwin Samuel Montagu, British Secretary of State for India between 1917 and 1922, said, "Tilak is at the moment probably the most powerful man in India". One of the famous triumvirate called “Lal-Bal-Pal”, Bal Gangadhar Tilak was born on July 23, 1856 in Ratnagiri district in the Konkan region of Maharashtra.  Bal Gangadhar Tilak was educated in Poona where had co-founded Fergusson College, a landmark educational institution in Maharashtra. A scholar in mathematics, law and Sanskrit, Tilak was one of the founders of the Deccan Education Society in 1884, with Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, Madhavrao Namjoshi  and Vishnushastri Chipalunkar being the other members.  During Home Rule movement which he started in 1914 Bal Gangadhar was given the epithet of Lokamanya (Universally Respected).  Tilak was imprison...

Cellular Jail Andaman / Image Credit One of the main attractions of Port Blair, the capital of the Union Territory of Andaman & Nicobar Islands in India, is Cellular Jail, where Indian freedom fighters and revolutionaries were imprisoned during the Indian struggle for Independence.  The jail was also known as Kālā Pānī, translating literally as “black waters”.  The three-storied massive structure bears testimony to the inhumane atrocities on them by the British. Built in 1906, this colossal monument, now declared a National Memorial, features a unique sound and light show taking you right back in time, when Indian people were engaged in fierce struggle with the British for the achievement of their freedom from the colonial rule. The jail was originally built with seven wings which had rows of single iron-gated cells – 693 in total, specially built for the solitary confinement of the prisoners.  Notable inmates  of the Cellular Jail also, known as Kala Pani, were...

Western Chalukya Temple Galaganatha Temple, Haveri district, Karnataka Akkadevi (1010 CE- 1064 CE) was a Kalyani Chalukya princess who governed parts of present-day Karnataka in the 11th century CE. She was a governor of an area known as Kishukadu , situated in the present-day districts of Bidar, Bagalkot, and Vijayapura in the state. Akkadevi was the sister of Jayasimha II (1015-1042), the Kalyani Chalukya ruler. There were many Chalukya dynasties. Of them, the four most important were: the Chalukyas of Badami or Vatapi (also known as early western Chalukyas) , the Chalukyas of Vengi (also known as eastern Chalukyas ), the Chalukyas of Kalyani (also known as western Chalukyas ) and the Chalukyas of Gujarat . The Chalukyas of Kalyani ruled from 957 to 1200.  Akkadevi had supressed many rebellions displaying great valour and courage which led her to be called Bhairavi . Early this year two gold  coins of Akkadevi were found near Madugula village in the Mahbubnagar distr...