Purushottam Das Tandon

Author : Deepak      Blog : Indian History      Date : 6/8/2013 10:29:00 AM

'As was only to be hoped that being a British colony India was slowly gearing to the adoption of English as the national language during the pre-Independent era. Even after the attainment of freedom by India in 1947, Hindi has having a tough time in achieving its due place in the country. Against this backdrop, Purushottam Das Tandon, also known as Rajarshi, is remembered for his yeomen’s service in the achievement by Hindi its due place as the National Language.Sometimes his enthusi(...)'

Read full article

Ashvamedha: Royal Horse Sacrifice

Author : Deepak      Blog : Indian History      Date : 6/6/2013 6:17:00 PM

'Ashvamedha, or horse sacrifice, was one of the main royal sacrifices in ancient India, performed to enhance the power and glory of the king. Naturally, it was the ambition of every king to conduct this sacrifice, though it can be performed only by the mighty monarchs. Apart from glorifying the king, the rite also was instrumental in bringing the prosperity and fertility to the kingdom.As the name suggests, a stallion marked with king's name was set free to wander at will for a year.(...)'

Read full article

Ashvins, Vedic Twin Gods

Author : Deepak      Blog : Indian History      Date : 6/2/2013 4:42:00 PM

';;; Ashvins (horsemen) were the twin gods in the Vedic period. Also known as Nasatyas, they are described as driving across the sky in their three-wheeled golden chariot drawn by horses. The chariot was sometimes drawn by birds, buffaloes, deer, birds, or a single ass.The state of AShvins being twins connects them with the Greek Dioscuri and twin gods of pre-Christian Baltic mythology. They are shown as helpers of men in distress. Apart from providing artificial legs for the maimed,(...)'

Read full article

Sunga Dynasty

Author : Deepak      Blog : Indian History      Date : 6/2/2013 10:53:00 AM

';;; The founder of the Sunga dynasty was Pushyamitra, a Brahman general of Brihadratha, the last Mauryan emperor. The ease with which he overthrew Brihadratha by way of a palace revolution in about 183 BC is testimony to the weakness and inefficiency of the later Mauryas who were unable to repulse the foreign invasion. According to the Puranas, religious texts dating from the Gupta period onwards, the event took place in 187 BC. Being a Brahman, Pushyamitra is credited with the rest(...)'

Read full article

Foods in Ancient India

Author : Deepak      Blog : Indian History      Date : 6/1/2013 6:12:00 PM

';;; Today, Indian cooking offers a wide array of foods.  The incredible richness of the Indian foods is the result of thousands of years of cooking, and eating.Foods of ancient India are as popular today but many of them as eaten today and widespread in modern Indian cooking were imported from Americas. Chili, or red pepper, so important part of South Indian cookery arrived in India only by the Portuguese from Americas after the latter’s discovery in the 15th century. Same is t(...)'

Read full article

Swayamvara: Marriage by Choice of the Bride

Author : Deepak      Blog : Indian History      Date : 5/29/2013 4:54:00 PM

';;; In ancient India, Swayamvara was a form of marriage in which the girl after attaining puberty chose her husband from among the assembled suitors. This type of marriage was particularly prevalent among the kshatriyas, the warrior and ruling class. Ancient law books lay down that in the case of parents not been able to marry their daughters, they can choose their own husband. Epic literature is full of instances which show that Swayamvara marriage took place in good numbers i(...)'

Read full article

Gesudaraz Syed Muhamad Husayni (1321 A.D. — 1422A.D): Famous Sufi Saint of Deccan

Author : Deepak      Blog : Indian History      Date : 5/26/2013 2:19:00 PM

';;; A famous Sufi saint of Chisti order, Gesudaraz Syed Muhamad Husayni is credited with the spread of Chisti order in South India. A disciple of Chirag-i-Delhi, he left Delhi in 1398 and went to Gulbarga in Karnataka where he was well received by the Bahmani Sultan Firoz Shah Bahmani. Gulbarga was the capital of the Bahmani kingdom until its transfer to Bidar in 1428. Author of a large number of books on Tasawwuf (mysticism), he was a scholar of great repute and well versed in Qura(...)'

Read full article

Qutb-ud-din Mubarak Shah Khilji, Last Khilji Ruler

Author : Deepak      Blog : Indian History      Date : 5/25/2013 12:19:00 PM

';;; Mubarak was the third son of 'Ala-ud-din Khilji. After the murder of Malik Kafur, who had placed Mubarak in prison in the Hazar Sutun (the palace of a thousand pillars) and tried to blind him, the latter was made by the nobles the regent of his minor brother Shihab-ud-din 'Umar, who was placed on the throne of Delhi Sultanate by Malik Kafur after Khilji Sultan’s death. After serving as the regent for sixty-four days, Mubarak blinded his brother in 1316, and placed himself on the(...)'

Read full article

Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq, Founder of Tughluq Dyansty

Author : Deepak      Blog : Indian History      Date : 5/25/2013 8:37:00 AM

';;; Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq was the founder of the Tughluq dynasty, the third of the five dynasties, the combination of which went on to be called the Delhi Sultanate. Though of a humble origin, he rose in ranks and was appointed Governor of the Punjab by Ala-ud-din Khilji. After successfully bringing the inglorious reign of Khusrau Khan to an end, Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq (called Ghazi Malik before his ascension to the throne of Delhi Sultanate) brought a semblance of liberalizatio(...)'

Read full article

Nasir-ud-din Mahmud of Slave Dynasty

Author : Deepak      Blog : Indian History      Date : 5/24/2013 7:44:00 AM

'Nasir-ud-din Mahmud, a grandson of Iltutmish, was one of the sultans of the Slave Dynasty. He was placed on the throne of Delhi Sultanate by the nobles in 1246 after the incompetent reigns of his predecessors Muiz-ud-din Bahram (1240-42) and Ala-ud-din Masud Shah (1242-46).Nasir-ud-din Mahmud was only sixteen when he ascended the throne. During his twenty year rule, he remained content in surrendering the power of the state to Balban, one of his Turkish minister. In 1249, Nasir-ud-(...)'

Read full article

Muhammad Shah, Third Ruler of Sayyid Dynasty

Author : Deepak      Blog : Indian History      Date : 5/21/2013 6:06:00 PM

';;; After the murder of Mubarak Shah, the second ruler of Sayyid Dynasty, by the Delhi nobles in 1434, Muhammad, a grandson of Khizr Khan, the first ruler of Khizr Khan, was made Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate. Muhammad Shah, a nephew of Mubarak, was latter’s heir-designate.  His inefficiency contributed fast to the weakening of the Sayyid Dynasty. Sarvar-ul-mulk, wazir of the kingdom, enjoyed supreme power. Even after the wazir’s death, he failed in his duty as a ruler. In the (...)'

Read full article

Alauddin Alam Shah, Last Ruler of Sayyid Dynasty

Author : Deepak      Blog : Indian History      Date : 5/21/2013 5:03:00 PM

';;; After the death of Muhammad Shah in A.D. 1445, his son, Alauddin Alam Shah, succeeded him to the throne of the Sayyid Dynasty, the fourth in the line of five dynasties that compromised Delhi Sultanate. This pleasure loving ruler was more inefficient than his father.  Such was his fondness for gratification and aversion to work that he abdicated the throne in favour of Buhlul Khan Lodi, the governor of Lahore and Sirhind, in 1451 and retired to Badaun (now in Uttar Pradesh),(...)'

Read full article

Mubarak Shah: The Second Ruler of the Sayyid Dynasty

Author : Deepak      Blog : Indian History      Date : 5/19/2013 4:10:00 PM

';;; After the death of his father Khizr Khan, the founder of the Sayyid dynasty, Mubarak Shah ascended the throne of Delhi Sultanate. Mubarak Shah, who was nominated as the successor by his father, became the sovereign ruler of Delhi on the very day of the latter's death (20th May, 1421). Unlike his father, he assumed royal title. It was during Mubarak Shah’s reign that Yahiya bin Ahmad Sarhindi composed his Ta'rikh-i-Mubarak Shahi, dedicated to the Sayyid ruler. Like that is his fa(...)'

Read full article

Khizr Khan (1414-1421), Founder of Sayyid Dynasty of Delhi Sultanate

Author : Deepak      Blog : Indian History      Date : 5/19/2013 10:49:00 AM

';;; ;;; Khizr Khan was the founder of the Sayyid Dynasty, the fourth and penultimate dynsty of the Delhi Sultanate. After the death of Sultan Mahmud, the last ruler of the Tughluq dynasty, in 1413, the nobles of Delhi entrusted Daulat Khan Lodi with the task of ruling Delhi. However, In March 1414, Khizr Khan,  who was appointed Governor of Multan, Lahore and Dipalpur by the Mangol leader Timur Lang or Tamerlane who won these places after invading India and sacking Delhi in 139(...)'

Read full article

Skanda Gupta (c 454-467): the Last Great Gupta Ruler

Author : Deepak      Blog : Indian History      Date : 5/19/2013 9:19:00 AM

';;; Skanda Gupta is considered to be the last great Gupta ruler. He ascended the throne after the death of Kumar Gupta I. Though not the regular claimant to the throne as he was not born of the chief queen, he was chosen due to his superior ability. And he proved equal to the task. Soon after his accession to the Gupta throne, Skanda Gupta had to deal with the Hunas the barbaric tribes from Central Asia who after terrorizing parts of the Roman Empire made incursions into Indian plai(...)'

Read full article

Chandra Gupta I

Author : Deepak      Blog : Indian History      Date : 5/17/2013 7:16:00 PM

';;;Though third in the line of the Gupta rulers, Chandra Gupta I is considered to be the real founder of the Gupta dynasty. Ascending the throne in 320 AD, he was the first Gupta ruler who assumed the title of Maharajadhiraja, "supreme King of great Kings". His marriage with a Lichchhavi princess Kumaradevi went a long way in increasing his power and position. It seems that Lichchhavis of Vaishali was once again a powerful force by now since its defeat by Ajatashatru some eight cent(...)'

Read full article

Kuka Revolt of Punjab

Author : Deepak      Blog : Indian History      Date : 5/15/2013 4:35:00 PM

';;;;;; Initially started as a religious movement started with a view to reforming the Sikh religion by purging it of the degenerate features, Kuka movement, founded in 1840 in the Western Punjab, turned into a political struggle against the British. The founder of Kuka movement was  Bhagat Jawahar Mal.  Popularly known as Sian Saheb, Bhagat Jawahar Mal and his disciple, Balak Singh, gathered around them a band of followers and made Hazro in NWFP their headquarters. The Kuk(...)'

Read full article

Alluri Seetharama Raju: The Brave Son of India

Author : Deepak      Blog : Indian History      Date : 5/14/2013 5:13:00 PM

';;; Alluri Seetharama Raju is known in Indian history to have led the Rampa rebellion which took place in during 1922-24 against the British. He was born on July 4, 1897 in Pandrangi village in the Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh. He studied at Mrs. AVN College in Visakhapatnam.Rampa rebellion was one of the 70 listed tribal uprisings during the British colonial period from 1778 to 1947. What makes Rampa rebellion unique that it was the earliest known tribal revolt led by a(...)'

Read full article

Shivaji: Founder of the Great Maratha Empire

Author : Deepak      Blog : Indian History      Date : 5/13/2013 4:38:00 PM

';;;; One of the most famous figures of Indian history, Shivaji was the founder of the Maratha kingdom. The rise of Marathas is considered to be a revival of Hinduism in the seventeenth century. Shivaji was brilliant leader, a just ruler and a statesman of consummate craft. He always respected the religion of his adversaries.Belonging to the Bhonsle clan, Shivaji was born in the hill-fort of Shivneri near Junnar (in the Pune district of Maharashtra) in 1630. According to one school(...)'

Read full article

Rani Gaidinliu: Revolutionary Woman from Manipur

Author : Deepak      Blog : Indian History      Date : 5/12/2013 9:13:00 AM

';;; Described by Jawaharlal Nehru as the Rani of the Nagas, Rani Gaidinliu was a Naga woman revolutionary leader and successor to the political movement launched by the Naga leader Haipou Jadonang to derive away the British from Manipur. She was born in 1915.   After the execution of Jadonang in 1931 by the British Rani Gaidinliu led a popular rebellion against the British rule at the young age of sixteen. In order to suppress her followers and capture her, the British dep(...)'

Read full article