indian history

I wish for a peaceful term of India. I cannot forget that in the sky of India ,			Lord Canning
serene as it is, a small cloud may arise ………..threaten to burst & overwhelm.
‘a battle of blacks against the whites’ (on 1857 revolt)			J.W. Kaye
The war which began for religion ended up as a war for independence			Surendranath Sen
‘India has lost her most eminent son’ (on death of Keshav Chandr Sen)			Max Mueller
‘If somebody wants to understand India he should study Vivekananda’			Rabindranath Tagore
So long as millions live in hunger & ignorance I hold every man a traitor			Swami Vivekananda
The objective of founding the congress was to save British ruler from danger			Lala Lajpat Rai
It is my firm belief that the congress….I should help it in its peaceful demise			Lord Curzon
I am very happy that the congress is continuously going downhill			Lord Elgin
Out life & religion are useless without the attainment of Swaraj			Lokmanya Tilak
The long night is going to end now…..most powerful goddess has arisen			Vivekananda
When in hundred years lip agitataion & paper agitation failed, in these six			Lala Lajpat Rai
months right work has succeeded (on Bengal Partition Movement)
A charter of slavery (on govt of India act 1935)			Jawahar Nehru
Thoroughly rotten, fundamentally bad & totally unacceptable (Act 1935)			Mohammad Jinnah
The choice today is accepting the statement of June 3 or commiting suicide (on			Govind Vallabh Pant
Mountbatten plan of India’s partition)
We would not have had one Pakistan but several (On partition plan acceptance)			Sardar Vallabh Patel

Rajaram Mohun		Laid stress on the study of English & established the Hindu College in Calcutta
Roy		alongwith David Hare.
Maharishi		The grandfather of Rabindranath Tagore. He inspired a number of thinkers like
Devendranath		Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar & Akshay Kumar Datta who became Brahmo Samaj
Tagore		members.  He  din’t  perform  his  fathers  antyeshti  samskara  as  it  involved  idol
		worship.
Keshav Chandra		He was greatly inspired with the lives of John the Baptist, Jesus Christ & hence he

 

 

 

Sen	came in confrontation with Devendranath Tagore. Consequently the Brahmo Samaj
	was split into the Brahmo Samaj of India under him & Adi Brahmo Samaj under
	Devendranath. He opposed child marriage but married her own minor daughter to
	Maharaja of Cooch-Behar. Hence there was a further split into Neo Brahmo Samaj
	under him & Sadharan Brahmo Samaj
Ishwar Chandra	Became principal of Sanskrit college in Calcutta. Opened the Sanskrit college for
Vidyasagar	non  Brahmin  students.  He  founded  ‘Bethune  School  at  Calcutta’  to  encourage
	female education.
Bankim Chandra	First graduate of Calcutta University which was estd in 1857 based on the lines of
	Macaulay Minute. He became a deputy collector. Wrote the famous Bande Matram
	(Anand Math) & published Banga Darshan magazine.
Ramakrishna	Became a priest in the temple of Goddess Kali at Dakshineshwar.
Paramhamsa	(1836-86)
Swami	In 1893 he attened the Parliament of Religions at Chicago. In 1897 he established
Vivekanand	the  Ramakrishna  Mission.  His  disciple,  Sister  Nivedita  even  helped  many
(1863-1902)	revolutionaries from Bengal directly.
Swami Dayananda	Known in early life as Mul Shankar & born in Gujarat. Received his education at
1824-83	the feet of Swami Virajananda at Mathura. Founded Arya Samaj in 1875 based on
	a set of 28 principles (later 10). He estd the HQ of Arya Samaj at Lahore. Passed
	away on Diwali at Jodhpur following the mixing of glass powder in his drink.
	Through his Satyartha Prakasha he emphasized Vedas. He laid emphasis on the
	worship  of  a  formless  god  &  abandonment  of  idolatory.  He  emphasized  on
	Ashrama system of education. He stressed on swadeshi, swadharma, swabhasha &
	swarajya. He considered Vedas as infallible.
Jyotibha Phule	In  1873  he  founded  Satya  Shodhak  Samaj.  Gave  testimony  before  Hunter
	Commission against Christian missionaries. Later given the title ‘Mahatma’.
Sayyid Ahmad	In 1875 founded the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh which later
Khan	became Aligarh University. Opposed polygamy, purdah, abolition of the practice of
	easy divorce, reform in madrasa.
	Freedom Fighters
Lokmanya Tilak	Introduced the celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi & Shivaji festivals. Paticipated in
1856-1920	Home Rule Movement in 1916. Called by Britishers as ‘Biggest Traitor’ & ‘Father
	of Indian dissatisfaction’
Lala Lajpat Rai	Sher-e-Punjab. Was sent to Jail at Mandey on the charges of seditious activities.
Sri Aurobindo	His development of National education & editing of Bande Mataram (started by
Ghosh	Bipin Chandra Pal) gave momentum to Bengal partition movement. Left Baroda to
	work in the National College in Calcutta.
Chapekar Brothers	Chapekar Brothers – Damodar & Balakrishna. Killed two British officials Rand &
	Aryst. Celcbrated Shivaji & Ganesh Utsavs.
Savarkar Brothers	Ganesh  Savarkar,  Vinayak  Damodar  Savarkar  &  Narayana  Savarkar.  V.D.
	Savarkar organized the New India Association in London. Organizing lectures at
	the  India  House  founded  by  Shyamji  Krishna  Verma.  He  was  linked  to  the
	assassination  of  Jackson  at  Aurangabad.  Sentenced  to  imprisonment  in  the
	Andamans from 1911-24.
Shyamji Krishna	India  House  had  become  centre  of  V.D  Savarkar,  Sardar  Singh  Rana,  Madam
Verma	Bhikaji kama & Madan Lal Dhingra.
Madam Kama	Represented India in the Interinational Conference at Stutteguard in Germany.

 

 

 

Madan Lal	He short dead the assistant of the Secretary of State Curzon Wyllie. Gopal Krishna
Dhingra	Gokhale clled it as a heinous act meant to spoil the name of India.
Chandra Shekhar	Involved in the assassination of Saunders (officer who ordered the Lathi Charge in
Azad	which Lala Lajpat was killed), alongwith Bhagat Singh & Rajguru. He had chalked
	out a plan to blow up the train in which the Viceroy Lord Irwin was traveling. He
	was killed in a police encounter  at Alfred Park in Allahabad.
Harkishen Talwar	Shot  the  Governor  of  Punjab  but  the  latter  escaped  with  injuries  only  Later
	Harkishen was hanged.
Bhagat Singh	In association with Chhabil Das & Yashpal he had founded the Punjab Naujavan
	Bharat Sabha.
Rani Gaidinliu	Lead the Nagas in the revolt. Yadunaga was the other leader.
Subhas Chandra	Passed  the Civils  in  1920 but  preferred to  serve  the  nationalist  cause. He  was
Bose	elected  the  Mayor  of  Calcutta  in  1923  but  soon  arrested  &  sent  to  Mandalay.
	Elected President at the Haripura session of Congress in 1938. He left for Kabul
	along with his friend Bhagat Ram. From there he went to Germany & met Hitler.
	He was first addressed as Netaji in Germany.
Udham Singh	Whilst living in England in 1940, Singh shot dead Sir Michael O’Dwyer, former
	Governor General of the Punjab.

 

 

The Lichchhavis (also Lichchavi, Licchavi) were an important member of the Vajjian confederacy. The early Indian traditions describe the Lichchhavis as Kshatriyas. Scholars reject the theory of foreign origin of the Lichchhavis on the strength of these traditions. But they were degraded to the status of fallen Kshatriyas due to their championship of non-Brahmanical creeds like Jainism and Buddhism.

Rise of the Licchavi Power

In the 6th century B.C. the Licchavi power was firmly established. Though the Lichchhavis belonged to the Vajji confederacy, they had autonomous status. Their capital was Vaisali.

Originally, they seem to have an independent status. The Buddhist records preserve the names of important Licchavi leaders among whom the name of Chetaka deserves special mention. Chetaka’s sister Trisala was the mother of Mahavira, the preacher of Jainism. Chetaka’s daughter Chellana was married to king Bimbisara of Magadha. The Lichchhavis thus appear to be highly connected.

The Magadha-Licchavi Struggle-fall of the Licchavis

The Licchavis turned to be great rivals of Magadhan monarchy. In the reign of Bimbisara of Magadha, they invaded the Magadhan kingdom. In the reign of Ajatasatru, a protracted war began between Magadha and the Lichchhavis. The latter were united with the Vajjis in a confederacy. In the struggle that followed the Lichchhavis and the Vajjis were destroyed.

The causes of the Magadha-Lichchavi war were many. Ajatasatru wanted to take revenge on the Lichchhavis, as their chief Chetaka had refused to extradite Ajatasatru’s step brothers. They had escaped to Vaisali (Licchavi capital) with the royal elephant and family jewels and were granted political asylum. The real cause of the Magadha-Licchavi war was the aggressive imperialism of Magadha against the neighboring republic. The war continued for sixteen years. The Lichchhavis built a mighty alliance with the Vajjis and the other thirty six Ganarajas and also with the kingdom of Kasi-Kosala against Magadha. But the ministers of Ajatasatru sowed seeds of discord among the members of the anti-Magadhan confederacy and destroyed their unity. Ultimately the Vajjian confederacy was destroyed by Ajatasatru. The Vajji territory was annexed to Magadha.

The Licchavi’s republican constitution

There were two Systems of government in the Eastern region. The states of Anga, Magadha, Vatsa etc. were monarchies. Those of Kasf, Kaulala, Videha etc. on the other band were republics. Two of these republics were quite well known, the Republics of the Vajjis or Licchavis and that of the Mallas. Republics were later developments of monarchies and the precursors of democracies. The Licchavis founded their Republic with a view to consolidating their political power. The credit for its foundation goes to Cetaka, who was a wise and valorous king of Videha. He was also the President of the whole Republic. This Republic was the union of eighteen political units, nine of which belonged to the Licchavis and the remaining nine to the Mallas.

The Kings of each unit comprising the Vajji Republic were called Gananayakas. The council of the Gananayakas was called Gana Sabha or Republican Council. It made the constitution and the laws. The individual units were governed in accordance with the constitution of the Gana or the Union. The Vajji Republic was rich and well developed in the fields of Politics, Economics, Society and Religion. The monarchists were highly jealous of this powerful Republic. They were bent upon destroying it. But they were helpless in the face of the powerful Vajjian army.

Videha with its capital at Vaisali was the biggest unit. Vaisali was divided into three zones. The first zone consisted of seven thousand residential houses with golden domes. The middle of the town consisted of fourteen thousand houses with silver domes. The third zone consisted of twenty-one thousand houses with copper domes.

These zones were inhabited by the high, middle and lower classes respectively. Vaisali was not only the capital of the Licchavis, it was the capital of the entire Vajji Republic. It was enclosed within four city walls, each at a distance of two miles from the others. It had several ramparts and entrance-gates. The Republic was a confederation of six clans viz. the Ugras, the Bhojas, the Rajanyas, ihe Iksvakus (the Licchavis), the Jnatasand the Kauravas.

			North India
Ghadvalas			Chandradeva*. Jaichandra fought Muhammad Ghur
Chandellas of Jejakabhukti/Bundelkhand			*Vidyadhara* & Yashovarman
Paramaras of Malwa			Vakpati Munjal & *Bhoja*
Chahamanas/Chauhans of Sakambhari			Vigraharaja IV Visaladeva, *Prithviraj III* (Chauhan)
Kalachuris of Tripuri			Kokalla, Gangeyadeva & *Karna* (Rajshekhara)
Chalukyas/Solankis of Gujarat			Bhima I & *Jayasimha Siddharaja*
Kashmir			Avantivarman (supplanted Karkota dynasty to which
			belonged Lalitaditya Muktapida.
	East & the North East
Bengal (Sena dynasty)			Lakshmanasena (last Hindu ruler of Bengal)
Orissa			Avantavarman Chodaganga (Mother daughter of Rajendra
			Chola) of Eastern Gangas & Narsimha I (sun temple)
Assam (Ahoms)			Ahoms, a Shan tribe settled in mid 13th Century.
	Deccan & the South
Chalukyas of Kalyani			*Vikramaditya VI* (Introduced Chalukya-Vikram era)
			Bilhana’s Vikramanankadevacharita is based on him
Yadavas of Devagiri			Bhillama V*, *Simhana*
Kakatiyas of Warangal			Ganapati (ruled for 60 years)
Cholas			Vijayalaya*, Rajaraja the Great, *Rajendra I*, Rajadhiraja,
			Rajendra II, Kulottunga I
Hoysalas of Dwarasamudra			Nrpakama*, Vishnuvardhan, Ballala II & Ballala III
Pandyas			*Jatavarman Sundara.Pandya I*
	Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526 AD)
Slave Dynasty				Sayyid Dynasty
1206-10	Qutubuddin Aibak.			1412-20		Khizr Khan
1210-36	Shamsuddin Iltutmish			1420-33		Mubarak Shah
1237-41	Razia Sultana			1433-43		Muhammad Shah
1241-46	Bahram Shah & Masud Shah			1443-51		Alauddin Alam Shah
1246-66	Nasirruddin Mahmud			Lodhi Dynasty
1266-86	Balban			1451-89		Bahlul Lodhi
1286-90	Kaikhusrau, Kaiquabad & Kaimur			1489-1517		Sikander Lodhi
Khalji Dynasty				1517-26		Ibrahim Lodhi
1290-96	Jallaluddin Khalji
1296-1316	Allauddin Khalji
1316-20	Mubarak Shah & Khusrau khan
Tughlaq Dynasty
1320-25	Ghiasuddin Tughlaq
1325-51	Muhammad bin Tughlaq
1351-88	Firuz Shah Tughlaq
1388-94	Mohammad Khan, Ghiasuddin Tughlaq Shah II,
	Abu Baqr, Nasiruddin Muhammad, Humayun
1394-12	Nasirrudin Mahmud Tughlaq

 

		Delhi Sultanate
Slave	Qutbuddin	Died while playing Chaugan. Aram Shah (short period)
	Aibak
	Shamsuddin	He defeated Yalduz of Ghazni & Qubacha of Multan. Captured the
	Iltutmish	fort  of  Ranthambor,  Lakhnauti.  Organized  the  iqta  system  (land
		assignment) & currency (introduced copper tanka & silver jital).
	Razia Sultana	Married  Malik  Altunia  (Governor  of  Bhatinda).  Turkish  Aamirs
		played  the dominant  role  &  after Razia,  they enthroned  Bahram
		Shah, Masud Shah & Nasiruddin Mahmud in that order.
	Balban (Ulugh	Balban  was  Turkish  slave  of  Iltutmish.  He  poisoned  his  master
	Khan)	Nasiruddin Mahmud. Killed the rebel governor of Bengal, Tughril
		Khan.  He  revived  the  practice  of  sijda  (prostration)  &  paibos
		(kissing monarch’s feet).
		Kaikhusrau, Kaiquabad & Kaimurs had short duration.
Khalji	Jalaluddin Khalji	Descended at the age of seventy. Later Alauddin murdered his uncle
		& father in law Jalaluddin & seized the throne.
	Alauddin Khalji	Lay  seige  to  Ranthambor  which  was  under  redoubtable  Hammir
		Deva  which  continued  till  one  year.  Later  Chittor  under  Ratan
		Singh (wife Padmini) fell & was renamed Kizhrabad. Malik Kafur
		campaigned	against	Kaktiyas	(Warangal),	Hoysalas
		(Dwarasamudra) & Pandyas. Mubarak Shah (son) & Khusrau khan
		had short rule.
		Kharaj  (land  tax  –  50%),  Charai,  Gharii  (dwelling  tax).  First  to
		introduce permanent standing army, dagh &   chehra. Afghans &
		Sultan’s Indian officers rose to prominence.
Tughlaq	Ghiyasuddin	Earlier called Ghazi Malik. Ghiasuddin had repelled mongol attack
	Tughlaq	under khaljis before ascending throne. Attaked Kaktiyas & Bengal
		succesfully. Founded third city of Delhi – Tughlaqabad.
	Muhammad bin	Open consorting with Hindus & Jogis. Killed Ulemas, qazis who
	Tughlaq	rose in rebellion. Shifted capital to Devagiri (renamed Daulatabad),
		token currency (bronze coin-jittal). Shifted to Swargadwari during
		famine. At his death Barani commented, ‘at last the people got rid
		of him & he got rid of the people’. First sultan to visit the shrine of
		Moinuddin Chisti. Disciple of Shaikh Alauddin & Jinaprabha Suri.
	Firuz Shah	Not a military leader. Conqured Thatta, Orissa (uprooted Jagannath
	Tughlaq	idol),  Nagarkot.  Distributed  iqtas, made  them heritable increased
		salaries.   Founded   Fatehabad,   Hissar,   Firuzpur,   Jaunpur   &
		Firuzabad. Built canals. Influence of Ulema revived. First muslim
		ruler to impose Jaziya on Brahmins but abolished Ghari & Charai.
		Visited  the  shrine  of  Salar  Masud  Ghazi  &  became  fanatical.
		Removed   paintings   from   palace.   Got   many   sanskirt   works
		translated in Persian

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

		South India
Vijaynagar	Harihara &	These brothers were released by Muhammad Tughlaq & they laid
	Bukka	the foundation of Vijaynagar empire (Sangama dynasty)
	Deva Raya I	Succeded  his  father  Harihara  II.  Lead  a  crushing  defeat  against
		Sultan  Firuz  Shah  Bahmani.  Constuction  of  dam  across  the
		Tungabhadra. Italian, Nicolo de Conti came during his period.
	Deva Raya II	Sometimes called Immadi Deva Raya. One of the greatest Sultan.
Bahamani	Firuz Shah	Great king. Lost to Deva Raya I & abdicated throne in favour of his
	Bahman	brother Ahmad Shah I who transferred Bahmani Kingdom capital
		from  Gulbarga  to  Bidar.  Later  with  the  help  of  Iranian  prime
		minister Mahmud Gawan, Ahmad Shah I expanded considerably.
		Later Bhahmani kingdom got divied into five regions – Golconda,
		Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, Berar & Bidar.
Tuluva	*Kishna Deva	After Deva Raya II came Suluva dyansty, which was replaced by
	Raya*	Tuluva dynasty whose geatest ruler was Krishna Deva Raya. Ablest
		of Vijaynagar soverigns. After him Rama Raja succeded.
		Delhi Sultanate Continued
Timur	Timur 1398 AD	During the reign of Mahmud Tughlaq who fled the city. He
Invastion		assigned Delhi to Khizr Khan & hence Sayyid dynasty was born.
Sayyids	Khizr Khan	Khizr Khan’s reign as well as that of his successors, Mubarak Shah,
		Muhammad Shah & Alauddin Alam Shah was spent trying to
		control the rebellious leaders (esp. Khokhars led by Jasrath).
Lodis	Bahlul Lodi	First dynasty to be headed by Afghans. Principal event of Bahlul
		Lodi’s life was the annexation of Juanpur kingdom.
	Sikander Lodi	Contemporary of Mahmud Begarha of Gujarat & Rana Sanga of
		Mewar. The rent rolls of his reign formed the basis during Sher
		Shah Suri period. Imposed the Jaziya. The Bahluli coin remained in
		circulation till Akbar’s rule. He was the only sultan to be killed in
		the battle field.
		Smaller States
Assam	Ahoms – Greatest ruler during this peiod was Suhungmung
Gujarat	Muzaffar’s Shah grandson, Ahmad Shah I founded new capital Ahmedabad. Was the
	first sultan to levy Jaziya on hindus of Gujarat. *Mahmud Begarha* was the greatest
Mewar	Rana Kumbha. His grandson was Rana Sanga.
Amber	Under Prithviraj who fought under Rana Sanga at Khanua
Jaunpur	Under Sharquis. Jaunpur is in eastern U.P.
Kashmir	*Zianul Abidin*. Abolished Jaziya. Got Ramayana & Mahabharata translated into
	Persian. Allowed Kashmiri pandits to return to the state.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

	Mughal Empire
Babur	Zahiruddin  Muhammad  Babur.  Ascended  throne  of  Farghana.  Daulat  Khan  Lodi,
1526-30	govenror of Punjab invited him to dethrone Ibrahim Lodi but later retracted. Ibrahim Lodi
	perished in 1526 at Panipat. Battle of Khanua in 1527 against Rana Sanga in which Babur
	won by effective use of artillery & mounted archers. Died around 1529 & burried at
	Kabul. Introduced Char Bagh (symmetric gardens).
Himayun	His early fight was with Bahadur Shah of Gujarat whom he defeated but did not depose.
1530-56	In  Bihar  the  Afghans  rallied  under  Sher  Shah  Suri.  At  the  battle  of  Chausa  in  1939
	Himayun was defeated by Sher Shah. He finally left India in 1544 for the Safavid court. A
	decade after the death of Sher Shah, Himayun occupied back Delhi but died within seven
	months after a fall from the steps of his library.
Sher Shah	Son of a small Jagirdar from Jaunpur. Defeated Raja Maldeo of Marwar in the battle of
1540-45	Samel in 1544 & also won Chittor. He realized Jaziya from Hindus. Revived system of
	Dagh & Chehra. Introduced a system of crop rates form the first time. Introduced uniform
	standard gold, silver & copper coins replacing the debased coins & introduced uniform
	weights. Maintained army through Sawars. Died in 1545 (5 years rule).
Akbar	Born  in  Amarkot.  Bairam  Khan  invited  Hemu  (Afhan  assumed  title  of  Hemchandra
1556-1605	Vikramaditya) in 1556 at the second battle of Panipat in which Hemu was slained. Later
	Akbar discharged Bairam Khan & married his widow. Akbar’s foster mothers son Adam
	Khan  won  Malwa  defeating  Baz  Bahadur.  Won  at  Gondwana,  Chittor  (Udai  Sing),
	Ranthambor & Marwar. Rana Pratap ascended Mewar after the death of Udai Singh. In
	1576 the Haldi ghati war between Man Singh (grandson of Bhara Mal of Amber who
	entered imperial services) & Rana Pratap. In 1571 Akbar shifted his capital to Fatehpur
	Sikri.  Later  marched  against  Ahmedabad,  Kabul  (deposed  Mirza  Hakim).  In  1585  he
	trasnferred his capital to Lahore. Later won Baluchistan, Qandhar, Ahmadnagar (Chand
	Bibi), Khandesh (Akbar’s last major miliary campaign). In 1579 he abolished Jaziya. He
	issued Mahzar which entitle him to choose one of the interpretations of Muslim law. Only
	Raja Birbal accepted Din-i-Ilahi. Todar Mal, Bhagwan das, Man Singh declined it. He
	abolished the position of wazir after Bairam khan. Revived chehra & dagh.
Jehangir	Jehangir’s elder brother Khusrau revolted thrice against Akbar & was blinded. He became
1605-27	the  first  ruler  to  conquer  Kangra.  Amar  Singh,  Son  of  Rana  Pratap  at  Ajmer  also
	surrendered. The Persians got control of Qandhar back in their second attempt. Deccan
	(ruled by Malik Ambar of Ahmadnagar) was subdued again by prince Khurram. Jehangir
	ordered the murder of fifth sikh guru Arjun Dev (the first to be murdered by Mughals).
	Visited dargah of Moinuddin Chisti several times. Married Iranian widow (Mehrunisa),
	who was given the title Nur Jahan.  Nur Jahan’s brother was Asaf khan whose daughter
	Mumtaz Mahal (Arjumand Banu) was married to Shah Jahan.
Shah	Sent his two sons Dara  Shukoh& Aurangzeb as hostages to his fathers court. He was
Jahan	helped in his throne capture by his father in law, Asaf Khan. Ordered execution of his
1628-58	brothers  &  their  sons  after  accession.  Increased  control  over  Bundelkhand  (Ruled  by
	Jehangir’s hard core friend Bir Singh Deo’s son Jujhar Singh). Qandhar was capture for a
	brief period but lost back to the Safavids. His Peacock throne & capital Shahjahanabad are
	remembered. Reformed the zat & sawar system. Iranis & Turanis dominated the nobility.
	Instituted month scales on the basis of difference between official estimate of income
	(Jama) & actual amount collected (hasil).
Aurangzeb	War of succession between Dara, Shah Shuja, Auranzeb & Murad – all sons of Mumtaz
1658-1707	Mahal. Mir Jumla was deputed by Aurangzeb to restore authority in Bengal, Bihar, Orissa.
	Later in Assam Ahom king agreed to be a vassal of Mughals. He banned Nauroz, the

 

Persian new year, banned painters, musicians, drinking & women pilgrimage. Pilgrimage tax on Hindu abolished by Akbar reinstated. Destroyed the Keshava Rai Temple at Mathura built by Bir Singh Bundela.Reimposed Jaziya tax. His son prince Akbar revolted

 

• was sheltered by Maratha ruler Sambhaji. Aurangzeb lay seize on Bijapur & Golconda

 

• He was also known as Alamgir.

 

Shivaji	Shivaji tutor was Dadaji Kond-deva. Shivaji killed Afzal Khan (general of Ali Adil Shah
	II) while meeting. Later he almost defeated the governor of the Deccan, Shaista Khan who
	was replaced by Prince Mauzzam on orders of Aurangzeb. Raja Jai Singh was given the
	responsibility of tackling Shivaji who won & conducted the treaty of Purandhar. Later
	Shivaji visited mughal court & was captured but escaped.
Later	Shivaji – Sambhaji – Rajaram (Sambhaji’s brother). In the meanwhile Sambhaji’s son
Marathas	Shahu was taken to the Mughal household. Later when Rajaram died, his widow Tara Bai
	declared her four year old son Shivaji II, king & herself the regent. Later Shahu was
	released by Bahadur Shah I who appointed Balaji Vishwanath as Peshwa. Baji Rao I
	succeded  who  was  the  most  charismatic  leader  in  Maratha  history  after  Shivaji.He
	conquered Malwa, Bundelkhand & even raided Delhi. He was succeded by his son  Balaji
	Baji Rao (Nana Saheb – different from the later Nana Saheb, adopted son of Baji Rao II)
	who defeated the Nizam of Hyderabad. The Maratha however received a terrible blow at
	the hands of Ahmad Shah Abdali in 1761 at Panipat.

				Selective Treaties & Battles
Treaty of Purandhar				Jai Singh defeated Shivaji. Shivaji had to surrender 23 out of the thirty
				five forts held by him.
Treaty of Palkhed				Nizam of Hyderabad was forced to recognize Maratha claimsto chauth
				& sardeshmuhi in the Deccan (durin Baji Rao I’s tenure).
Treaty of Warna				Claims of Tara Bai settled by granting her Kolhapur
Treaty of Bhalke				Marathas won large parts of Khandesh by invading Karnataka.
Battle of Talikota (1565)				Between Vijayanagara Empire (Rama Raya, son of Achutya Raya) and
				Deccan sultanates, resulted in Vijayanagar’s defeat.
				Books of Medieval Period
	1.	Taj-ul-Maasir			Hasan Nizami
	2.	Tabaqat-i-Nasiri			Minhaj Siraj
	3.	Tarikh-i-Firuzshahi (Most important work of sultanate period)			Ziauddin Barani
		Fatwah-i-Jahandari
	4.	Futuh-us-Salatin (establishment of Bahmani Kingdom)			Isami
	5.	Tarikh-i-Firuzshahi			Afif
	6.	Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi			Yahya Sirhindi
	7.	Akbar Nama			Abul Fazal
	8.	Tabaqat-I-Akbari			Nizammudin Ahmad
	9.	Muntakhab-al-tawarikh			Badauni
	10	Badshahnama/Padshahnama			Abdul Hamid Lahori
	11	Muntakhab-ul Lubab (Aurangzeb’s reign)			Khafi Khan
	12	Mirat-i-Ahmadi			Ali Muhammad Khan
	13	Padmavat (on Padmini – wife of Ratan Singh, King of Chittor)			Malik Mohammad Jaisi
	14	Tughluq Nama, Tarik-i-Alai, Nuh Sipihr, Ashiqa			Amir Khusro
	15	Marwar ra Pargani ri Vigat (Info on Rajasthan)			Munhta Nainsi

 

16	Chandayan	Maulana Daud
17	Himayun Nama	Gulbadan Begum
18	Bhavartha Dipika	Gyaneshwara
19	Safarnama or Rihla	Ibn Batuta
20	Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri (Autobiography)	Jehangir
21	Tarikh-i-Shershahi	Abbas Sarwani
22	Tuzuk-i-Baburi/ Baburnama (in Turkish –Autobiography)	Babur
23	Shahjahannama	Inayat Khan
24	Dayabhaga	Jimuta Vahna
25	Periya Puranam (12th book of Tamil Veda called Tirumurai)	Shekkilar
26	Sur Sagar (Life of Krishna)	Sur Das
27	History of Aurangzeb, The fall of the Mughal Empire	Jadunath Sarkar
28	Mahmud of Ghazni	Mohammad Habib
29	The Administration of the Delhi Sultanate	I.H. Qureshi
30	Foundation of Muslim Rule in India	A.B.M. Habibullah
31	Agrarian System of Mughal India	Irfan Habib

 

Monuments of Medieval Period
College of Ajmer (Converted to Adhai din ka Jhompra)	Vigraharaja IV Visaladeva
Rudra Mahakala temple, Siddhapura	Jayasimha Siddharaja
Jagannath Temple at Puri	Anantavarman Chodaganga
Sun Temple, Konark	Narasimha I ( E. Gangas)
Brihadesvara/Rajarajeswara temple at Thanjavur	Rajaraja the Great
Quwwat-al-Islam mosque, Delhi	Qutbuddin Aibak
Adhai din ka Jhompra	Qutbuddin Aibak
Himayun’s Tomb	Akbar’s step mother Haji Begum
Tomb of Sher Shah at Sasaram	Sher Shah
Agra Fort	Akbar
Buland Darwarza (commemorate Gujarat victory)	Akbar
Shalimar Garden	Shah Jahan
Badshahi Mosque at Lahore (largest in subcontinent)	Aurgangzeb
Man Mandir, Gwalior	Man Singh
Hauz Khas	Alauddin Khalji
Akbar’s Mausoleum at Sikandara	Akbar. Completed by Jehangir.
Madrasa at Bidar	Mahmud Gawan

 

		Kings & their Court Jewels
1.	Lakshmansena	Jayadeva, Halayudha, Sridharadasa.
2.	Vikramaditya VI (Chalukya)	Bilhana (Vikramanankadevacharita) Vijnanaeshvara (Mitakshara)
3.	Sharqis of Jaunpur	Malik Muhammad Jaisi
4.	Akbar	Tansen, Todar Mal, Tulsidas (just contemporary)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

					Prominent Foreign Travellers
	1.		Marco Polo			Venetian Traveller visited Pandya kingdom
	2.		Ibn Batuta			Muhammad bin Tughlaq
	3.		Nicolo Conti			Italian visited Vijayanagar during the reign of Deva Raya I
	4.		Abdur Razaq			Visited the court of Zamorin in Calicut & travelled to Vijaynagar
						during the reign of Deva Raya II
	5.		Nikitin			Russian, visited Bahmani kingdom & Gujarat
	6.		Nuniz			Portuguese, stayed at Vijayanagar during Krishna Deva Raya
	7.		Ralph Fitch			British during Akbar’s reign
	8.		William Hawkins			English merchant. Received a mansab from Jehangir
	9.		Thomas Roe			Ambassador of English King James I to Jehangir’s court.
						Obtained trade concessions. Wrote “Embassy”.
	10.		Peter Mundy			English traveller during Shah Jahan’s reign.
	11.		Tavernier			French jweller. Aurangzeb’s reign.
	12.		Bernier			French Physician. Most important account of all European.
						Aurangzeb’s reign. Wrote ‘Travels in the Mughal Empire’.
	13.		Nicolo Manucci			Italian. Aurangzeb’s reign.
						Jargon of Medieval Period
	Mamluk			White slaves			Ur	Common village assembly (Chola  period)
	Muqaddam			Village head			Nagaram	Assembly of merchants (Chola  period)
	Sondhar			loans			Sabha	Assembly of Brahmins (Chola  period)
	Khots			Village head			Khutba	A sermon made in Friday mosque
	Sharia			Muslim law			Madad-i-Maash	Tax free grants of land
	Subas			Provinces			Waqf	Grants to muslim religious establishment
	Mir Bakshi			Military department			Pargana	Around Hundred villages.
	Ummah			Muslim believers			Sadr us sadur	Ecclesiastical affairs
	Mir Saman			Supply department			Qanungos	Keeper of revenue records
	Shiqdar			Headed Pargana.			Zabt	Revenue based on land measurement
	Amils			Revenue officer			Ibadat Khana	House of worship (Fatehpur Sikri)
	Hundis			Bills of Exchange			Diwan	Function of finance (Akbar’s time)
	Dhimmis			Non-Muslim people			Wujuhat	Taxes on cattle,grazing,orchards.
	Vimans			Towers of temple			Shaikhzadas	Indian Muslims nobility
	Din			Religion			Peshwa	Prime minister (Shivaji)
	Ganj			A grain market			Amatya	Revenue minister (Shivaji)
	Gomashta			Commercial agent			Sumant	Foreign minister (Shivaji)
	Hun			A gold coin			Bargir	Cavalrymen (horse belonged to leader)
	Dam			Coin (1/4th of rupee)			Nankar	Portion of revenue given to Zamidar
	Sarkar			A number of Paragana			Diwan-i-Arz	Ministry of Military Affairs
	Khums			Tax on plunder			Diwan-i-Insha	Ministry of Royal Correspondences
	Zawabit			Non Shariat state laws			Diwan-i-Risalat	Religiour affairs
	Faujdar			Incharge of Sarkar			Diwan-i-Kul	Wazir or chief imperial fiscal minister.
	Malfuzat			Sayings of sufi saint			Diwan-i-Wizarat	Department of finance
	Tankah			Silver coin			Khalisa	Land revenue directly for imperial treasury
	Kanqah			Sufi lodging			Wilayat	Spiritual territory of a sufi
	Misl			Sikh Regions  (12)			Umra	Collective term for nobility
							Watandar	Desais & Deshmukh (collective term)

 

Extent of Mughal Empire at Akbar’s Death

Miscellaneous Facts:

 

1.Muhammad was born in Mecca in 570 AD. The Quran alongwith the Hadith (sayings of the prophet) is venerated as supreme sources of authority in Islam. Muhammad’s migration from Mecca to Medina is known as Hijra & the muslim calendar commences from this year. At the battle of Badr Muhammad first wielded sword to assert his prophethood. Quibla the direction to be faced during prayer changed from Jerusalem to Mecca.

 

2.Prophet’s son-in-law Ali was regarded as lawful immediate by some section (shiis) while other group considered his close followers Abu Bakr, Umar & Uthman as legal heir (came to be known as Sunnis).

 

3.Mahmud of Ghazni was the son of Subuktigin (founder of Ghaznavid dynasty). Subuktgin had defeated the Hindhshahi ruler Jaipal. Utbi was the court historian of Ghazni. Mahmud raided 17 times which

 

 

 

 

 

included Nagarkot, Mathura, Kanauj & Somanath temple (1025 AD when Chalukya king Bhima I was ruling Gujarat). He patronized Al-Beruni.

 

4.Muhammad Ghur first invasion was against Multan which he won easily. His invasion of Gujarat ended in a crushing defeat at the hands of the Chalukyan forces. Then followed Battle of Tarain I & II, invasion of Ghadavala ruled by Jaichandra. After Ghur’s death his senior slave Tajuddin Yalduz occupied Ghazni, Qubacha occupied Multan, Ali Mardan took Lakhnauti (Bihar-Bengal) while Aibak took Delhi. At the same time Bhaktiyar Khalji, another slave raided province of Bihar destroying monasteries of Nalanda & Vikramshila & even attacked the Bengal ruler Lakshmanasena. Eastern Chalukyas ruled at Vengi.

 

5.Chola king Rajendra I captured whole of Sri Lanka & reasserted Chola soverignity over Kerala & Pandyan country. He conquered north upto Ganga & assumed the title of Gangaikonda. Marco Polo visited the Pandyan Kingdom around 1293 AD.

 

6.Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s reign saw the rise of two independent states in south – Vijaynagar & Bahamani. The Tungabhadra doab had been a source of conflict between the Cholas & the western Chalukyas, between Yadavas & Hoysalas as well as between the Vijaynagar & the Bahmani Kindom.

 

7.The largest indigenous industry during the Delhi sultanate period was that of textiles. During Firuz Shah the slaves rose to an all time high. While India’s indigenous architecture is trabeate (space spanned by beams laid horizontally), the Islamic form is arcuate (arches are used to bridge a space).

 

8.All the Lodi rulers were buried on the Bagh-i-Jud known today as Lodi Garden. The coins of Mahmud Ghazni, Iltutmish, Nasirudin Mahmud, Balban, Alauddin Khalji bear the name of Abbasid Caliph.

 

9. Mansabdars had dual ranks – zat (personal rank & expenses) & sawar (cavalry rank). Land revenue systems were batai (crop divided between state & the peasant), hast-o-bud (official inspection for estimation), kankut system (estimation of land & yield), nasaq system (based on previous estimates).

 

10. The sants of the Vithoba cult & their followers called Varkari emphasized annual pilgrimage to Pandharpur (Mahrashtra). The most important saint was Jnaneshvar. Saguna Bhakti (Tulsi Das, Chaitanya, Surdas, Mirabai, Nimbarka& Vallabha) believed in doctrine of incarnation while Nirguna bhakti (Kabir) worshiped formless aspect of divinity.

 

11. Guru Angad developed the Gurmukhi script. Guru Arjun Dev completed Adi Granth. Guru Hargobind constructed the Akal Takht at the Golden Temple & asked his followers to built the fort of Lohgarh. Enraged Jehangir had the Guru imprisoned for 2 years.

 

12. Of the various Sufi orders in India the Chishti (founder was Moinuddin Chisti) & Suharawadi (Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya whose Khanqah at Multan became an important pilgrimage centre) orders (silsilas)

 

 

 

 

 

were the most prominent. Other prominent saints were Shaikh Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki & Nizamuddin

 

Auliya. Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi (Naqshbandi order) was contemporary of Jehangir.

 

13. There was no Maratha in Akbar’s nobility & only one in that of Jehangirs. In Aurangzeb’s time the Marathas increased considerably & foreign nobility declined. Dara Shukoh brother of Auranzeb got 52 Upanishads converted into Persian, the collective work being known as the Sirr-i-Akbar. Murshid Quli Khan was a talented revenue officer during the time of Shah Jahan who helped prince Aurangzegb streamline the revenues in Deccan.

 

14. Uprisings during Aurangzeb period were Jats (Gokula, Rajaram, Churaman & Surajmal-the adopted son of Badan Singh), Satnami, Sikhs (Guru Harkishan summoned to Delhi – Bangla Sahib is the site where he resided; Guru Teg Bahadur was beheaded at present Sis Ganj Gurudwara site; Guru Gobind Singh born in Patna), Bundelas of Ochha (under Chhatrasal)

 

15. On Baisakhi day in 1699, Guru Gobind Singh established the Khalsa panth. In the succession that followed after Aurangzeb, Govind Singh supported Bahadur Shah in the hope of getting justice against Wazir Khan (who killed Guru’s son) but all in vain. Gobind Singh appointed Banda Bahadur (later kille Wazir khan) to wage war against the mughals but he failed & was humiliated before being executed.

 

16. Shivaji assumed titles of Chhatrapati, Gobrahmance Pratipalak (protector of cows & Brahmins). His consecration marked the commencement of a new era, the Rajyabhisheka saka.

 

17. Bengal was the main silk centre. Land owner ship was Khudkhasta (Owner & land in the same village), Pahikashta (different village) & Muqarari raiya (He leased his spare land to tenants called muzarin). During mughal period there is no evidence of joint ownership of land. Slave trade focus shifted from Multan to Kabul. Freshly minted coins had a greater value than those minted in previous regimes.

 

18. Thomas Roe went to Jehangirs court to get concessions for operation. Dutch obtained a farman from the Sultan of Golconda to operate at Masulipatnam.

 

19. The Mughal school of painting began with Himayun & reached its pinnacle during Jehangir. Himayun also started the Mina Bazar for royal ladies.

 

 

Miscellaneous Facts from Mocks:

 

1. Qutbuddin Aibak was not recognized by the Caliph of Baghdad. Kashmir was never a part of sultanate of Delhi. ‘Janam Sakhis’ are the biographical writings abouth the Sikh gurus. The utterances of Namdev, Kabir, Ravidas, Shaikh Fariduddin Masud (Sufi Saint), Dhanna have been included in Adi Granth. Printing press was introduced in India by the Portuguese.

 

 

 

 

 

2. The most important system of land revenue was the Zabti system. The term ‘Urs’ referred to the death anniversary of a Sufi saint. The Sisodiyas of Mewar did not submit to Akbar during his reign. Shahjahan did not write his autobiography. Bairagis in India were a Vaishnavite sect.

 

3. Portuguese-Dutch-English-French was the correct sequence of foreigners coming to India. In medieval period Polaj was the most fertile land & banjar the least fertile.

 

4. Bijapur (Adil Shahi Dynasty), Ahmadnagar (Nizamshahi dynasty), Golkonda (Qutbshahi dynasty), Bidar (Barid Shahi dynasty).

 

5. Delhi Sultanate reached its maximum limit during Muhammad bin Tughlaq. Invasion of Chengiz Khan (Iltutmish reign), Invations of Tarmahirin (Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s reign), Invasion of Nadir Shah (Muhammad Shah) & Invasion of Timur (Nasiruddin Mahmud Tughlaq).

 

6. Mir Syed Ali, Daswant & Khwaja Abdus Samad were famous painters at the court of Himayun & Akbar. Mansur & Bishan Das were leading court painters under Jehangir. The translation of Mahabharata in Persian (Razmnama) was carried out during the reign of Akbar by Faizi. Gol Gumbaz at Bijapur s built over the tomb of Muhammad Adil Shah.

 

7. The dominant form of decoration employed in the buildings of the sultanate period is called arabesque. Various regional languages of medieval India arose out of Apabhramsa. The pushtimarg was the philosophy of Guru Vallabhacharya (Surdas was his disciple).

 

8. Moinuddin Chisti (Ajmer), Nizamuddin Auliya (Delhi), Farduddin Masud (Pak Patan, Pakistan) & Khwaja Syed Mudammad Gesu Daraz (Gulbarga) are the famous sufi shrines.

 

9. Krittivasa translated Ramayana into Bengali. Kabir, Ravidas, Dhanna & other low cast bhakti saints were belived to be disciples of Ramananda. Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah of Golconda founded the city of Hyderabad. Arabs were not a part of Mughal nobility. Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khanan was a mughal noble & poet under Akbar.

 

10. The sufi silisilas were Suhrawadi, Firdausi, Shattari, Chisti, Qadiri & Naqshbandi. Amer was Jaipur, Marwar (Jodhpur), Mewar (present-day districts of Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand and Udaipur).

 

 

 

 

Harsh Vardhan

Emperor Harshavardhana, better known as Harsha, lived from 590 to 647 CE and was the third ruler of the Vardhana Empire, the last great empire in ancient India before the Islamic Invasion. He ruled from 606 CE to 647 CE. After Harshavardhana’s death, however, the Vardhana dynasty came to an end and its empire dissolved.

India, the land beyond the Indus river, has seen many rulers who dreamt of conquering the vast country and rule from the Himalayas in the north to Deccan in south, from the mountains of Kandhar in the west to Assam in the east, yet very few have been able to subdue history according to their will. Harshavardhana was one such ruler. His empire may not be as large as the great Mauryan’s, yet he deserves special mention. After the fall of great Gupta Empire in the middle of the 6th century CE, under whom India saw its own golden age, it was Harshavardhana who unified most of northern India and ruled for four decades from his capital Kannauj.

RISE TO POWER & MILITARY CAMPAIGNS

The Vardhana dynasty was started by Prabhakarana Vardhana who ruled the kingdom of Thaneshwar, modern-day Haryana. Prabhakarana’s queen Yasovati gave birth to two sons Rajyavardhana and Harshawardhana and a daughter named Rajyashri who was later married to king Grahvarmana of Kanyakubja, modern-day Kannauj. This was a period of tension as India had to frequently deal with the invasion of the Huns of Central Asia. Once, emperor Skandagupta of the Gupta Empire laid a crushing defeat on these barbaric tribes, yet these constant fights were so costly that they weakened the empire to the core, and this eventually led to the downfall of the Gupta Empire. As the western frontiers of India and areas adjoining the Indus river were under the occupation of Huns, skirmishes between Huns and Thaneshwar were regular. While Harsha and his brother were busy dealing with the Huns in the west, king Prabhakarana died in Thaneshwar. He was succeeded by his elder son, Rajyavardhana.

AFTER HIS BROTHER’S DEATH, AT THE AGE OF 16, HARSHAVARDHANA BECAME THE UNDISPUTED RULER OF THANESHWAR AND DECLARED WAR ON SASAKA TO AVENGE HIS BROTHER AND EMBARKED UPON A CAMPAIGN OF DIGVIJAY, I.E. TO CONQUER THE WORLD.

Meanwhile, in the east far greater events were happening which altered the course of history. Sasaka, king of Gauda, modern-day Bengal, marched and killed king Grahvarmana, Rajyashri’s husband, and then kidnapped her. The kidnapping of his sister forced the elder Vardhana brother to march east and confront Sasaka. Sasaka then invited Rajyavardhana for a meeting and treacherously killed him. After his brother’s death, at the age of 16, Harshavardhana became the undisputed ruler of Thaneshwar and declared war on Sasaka to avenge his brother and embarked upon a campaign of Digvijay, i.e. to conquer the world (which in this context means conquering whole India). Yet, his foremost enemy was now Sasaka who had to face an angry brother’s wrath. Harsha issued a proclamation to all kings known to either declare allegiance to him or face him on the battlefield. As Sasaka’s enemies responded to Harsha’s call, he marched on to Kannuaj.

Although there is no evidence, a story in Harshacharitra claims that Rajyashri, when released from prison, took refuge in the forest of Vindhyas. Hearing this, Harsha hurriedly went into the forest to save her and found her just when she was about to commit suicide by throwing herself in a fire. Rescuing his sister, he rejoined his army at the bank of Ganges. After this, Harsha easily conquered Kannauj as Sasaka went back to Bengal, and thus began a long enmity. It was only after Sasaka’s death that Harsha was able to control entire eastern India including Magadha, Bengal and Kalinga.

Harsha’s Digvijay, or the conquest of the world had now begun. After Kannauj, he turned his attention towards Gujarat. He defeated the local Valabhi kingdom and expanded his empire. Yet, this rapid expansion led to tensions between him and the Chalukya king Pulakesin II. It was now that the most powerful kingdoms of northern and southern India came face-to-face on the battlefield on the banks of river Narmada. In the end, the southerners under the able leadership of Pulakesin II prevailed leaving the ambitious northern ruler, Harsha, defeated. They say Harsha lost his cheer when he saw his elephants dying in the battle.

Harsha entered a peace treaty with the Chalukya king, which established Narmada river as the southern boundary of his empire and after that he never advanced south again. Yet, this did not halt his conquest of the north. He took the title of sakal uttara patha natha (lord of northern India). Hieun Tsang tells us that:

He waged incessant warfare, until in six years he had fought thr five Indians(referring to  five largest kingdoms). Then, having enlarges his territory, he increased his army, bringing the elephant corps upto 60,000 and the cavalry upto 100,000, and reigned in peace for thirty years without raising a weapon (Majumdar, 252).

Yet many historians believe his claim may be exaggerated. Still, this gives a glimpse of his military prowess.

The Vardhana Empire consisted of two distinctive types of territories: areas directly under Harsha’s rule such as Central Provinces, Gujarat, Bengal, Kalinga, Rajputana, and the states and kingdoms which had become feudatories under him including Jalandhar, Kashmir, Nepal, Sind, Kamarupa (modern-day Assam). Thus, many historians do not find the title justified as he was never able to bring the entire north under a single command. Yet, this does not mean his power was not felt beyond the limits of his direct rule. His writ ran across entire north India. Under his command, King of Jalandhar escorted the Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang to the frontiers of India. Another time, king of Kashmir had to submit a tooth relic of Buddha to Harsha. The Chinese source suggests that the King of Kamarupa could not dare to detain a Chinese pilgrim in his capital against the wishes of Harsha.

ART & EDUCATION

Harsha was a patron of both art and education. He himself was an author and wrote three Sanskrit plays, Nagananda, Ratnavali, Priyadarshika. One-fourth of his revenue went for patronizing scholars. Hiuen Tsang gives a quite vivid description of the famous Nalanda University which was at its zenith during Harsha’s reign. He described how the regularly laid-out towers, forests of pavilions, temples seemed to “soar above the mists in the sky” so that from their cells the monks “might witness the birth of the winds and clouds”.
The pilgrim states:

An azure pool winds around the monasteries, adorned with the full-blown cups of the blue lotus; the dazzling red flowers of the lovely kanaka hang here and there, and outside groves of mango trees offer the inhabitants their dense and protective shade (Grousset,158,159).

In its heyday, Nalanda had around 10,000 students and 2,000 teachers. The admission process was very strict. Records say there was a rigorous oral examination conducted by gatekeepers, and many used to be rejected. The curriculum included Vedas, Buddhism, philosophy, logic, urban planning, medicine, law, astronomy, etc.

SOCIETY & RELIGION

Caste system was prevalent among Hindus. They were divided into four castes or varna: Brahmana, Vaishya,Kshariya and Shudra, which among them had their own subcastes. The untouchables, who came at the lowest in the hierarchy, led a miserable life. The status of women declined as compared to the liberal era of earlier times. Satipratha (widow immolation) was common, and widow remarriage was not allowed in higher castes.

Harsha was a worshiper of Shiva in the beginning but later became a Mahayana Buddhist. Yet, he was tolerant of other faiths. With a view to popularize and propagate the doctrines of Mahayana Buddhism, Harsha arranged at Kannauj a great assembly which was presided over by Hiuen Tsang. Hiuen Tsang took a lot of manuscripts to China and translated more than 600 of them from Sanskrit. Another great ceremony was held for 75 days at Prayag (Allahabad). The images of Buddha, Sun and Siva were worshiped, and gifts of valuable articles and clothing were distributed in charity. Every five years religious ceremonies were celebrated at the ancient city of Allahabad. Here, he held the ceremony of Dana, or giving, which lasted for three months. During this, most of the wealth accumulated in the last five years was exhausted. Once, he even gave his clothes and jewellery and begged his sister for an ordinary garment to wear.

DEATH & LEGACY

Harsha’s empire marked the beginning of feudalism in India. Land was granted in villages, which made the local landlords powerful. This led to the weakening of the empire and gave rise to local feuds. Harsha had to be in constant movement to keep things in order.

Harsha died in 647 AD, and the empire with him. The death of Harshavardhana is not well documented. It is said that he was married to Durgavati and had two sons named Vagyavardhana and Kalyanvardhana. The story goes that they were killed by a minister in his court, even before the death of Harsha himself. Therefore, Harsha died without any heir. As a result, Arjuna, one of the chief ministers took up the thrones. Later in 648 CE, Arjuna was captured and held prisoner in an attack by the Tibetians.

 

Indus Valley Civilization was the first major civilization in south Asia, which spread across a vast area of land in present day India and Pakistan (around 12 lakh sq.km). The time period of mature Indus Valley Civilization is estimated between BC. 2700- BC.1900 i.e. for 800 years. But early Indus Valley Civilization had existed even before BC.2700.

 

Features of Indus Valley Civilization

• 2700- BC.1900 i.e. for 800 years.
• On the valleys of river Indus.
• Also known as Harappan Civilization.
• Beginning of city life.
• Harappan Sites discovered by – Dayaram Sahni (1921) – Montgomori district, Punjab, Pakistan.
• Mohenjo-Daro discovered by – R. D. Banerji – Larkana district, Sind, Pakistan.
• City was divided into Citadel (west) and Lower Town(east).
• Red pottery painted with designs in black.
• Stone weights, seals, special beads, copper tools, long stone blades etc.
• Copper, bronze, silver, gold present.
• Artificially produced – Faience.
• Specialists for handicrafts.
• Import of raw materials.
• Plough was used.
• Bodies were buried in wooden coffins, but during the later stages ‘H symmetry culture’ evolved where bodies were buried in painted burial urns.
• Sugar cane not cultivated, horse, iron not used.

 

 

Indus Valley Sites and Specialties

Harappa

• Seals out of stones
• Citadel outside on banks of river Ravi

Mohenjodaro

• Great Bath, Great Granary, Dancing Girl, Man with Beard, Cotton, Assembly hall
• Term means ” Mount of the dead”
• On the bank of river Indus
• Believed to have been destructed by flood or invasion (Destruction was not gradual).

Chanhudaro

• Bank of Indus River. – discovered by Gopal Majumdar and Mackey (1931)
• Pre-harappan culture – Jhangar Culture and Jhukar Culture
• Only cite without citadel.

Kalibangan

• At Rajastan on the banks of river Ghaggar, discovered by A.Ghosh (1953)
• Fire Altars
• Bones of camel
• Evidence of furrows
• Horse remains ( even though Indus valley people didn’t use horses).
• Known as third capital of Indus Empire.

Lothal

• At Gujarat near Bhogava river, discovered by S.R. Rao (1957)
• Fire Altars
• Beside the tributary of Sabarmati
• Store house
• Dockyard and earliest port
• double burial
• Rice husk
• House had front entrance (exception).

Ropar

• Punjab, on the banks of river Sutlej. Discovered by Y.D Sharma (1955)
• Dog buried with humans.

 

Banawali

• Haryana
• On banks of lost river Saraswathi
• Barley Cultivation.

 

Dholavira

• Biggest site in India, until the discovery of Rakhigarhi.
• Located in Khadir Beyt, Rann of Kutch, Gujarat. Discovered by J.P Joshi/Rabindra Singh (1990)
• 3 parts + large open area for ceremonies
• Large letters of the Harappan script (sign boards).

Religion of Indus Valley People

• Pashupathi Mahadev (Proto Siva)
• Mother goddess
• Nature/ Animal worship
• Unicorn, Dove, Peepal Tree, Fire
• Amulets
• Idol worship was practiced ( not a feature of Aryans)
• Did not construct temples.
• Similarity to Hindu religious practices. (Hinduism in its present form originated later)
• No Caste system.

Indus Valley Society and Culture

• Systematic method of weights and measures ( 16 and its multiples).
• Pictographic Script, Boustrophedon script – Deciphering efforts by I. Mahadevan
• Equal status to men and women
• Economic Inequality, not an egalitarian society
• Textiles – Spinning and weaving
• 3 types – burial, cremation and post cremation were there, though burial was common.
• Majority of people Proto-australoids and Mediterraneans (Dravidians), though Mongoloids, Nordics etc were present in the city culture.

 

Artifacts for Posterity

The most numerous of the surviving artifacts are a series of steatite (soapstone) seals, of which the best known are those of the Humped Brahmani Bull and Pashupati. Apart from this, there are some carved figurines – the bronze Dancing Girl and the statues of a priest and a male torso, again in steatite.

Reasons for Decline of Indus Valley Civilization

Though there are various theories, the exact reason is still unknown. As per a recent study by IIT Kharagpur and Archaeological Survey of India, a weaker monsoon might have been the cause of decline of Indus Valley Civilization. Environmental changes, coupled with loss of power of rulers (central administration) of Indus valley to sustain the city life might be the cause (Fariservis Theory). There might be resource shortage to sustain the population, and then people moved towards south India. Another theory by Dr Gwen Robbins Schug states that inter-personal violence, infectious diseases and climate change had played a major role in the demise of the Indus Valley Civilization

Rajaram Mohun		Laid stress on the study of English & established the Hindu College in Calcutta
Roy		alongwith David Hare.
Maharishi		The grandfather of Rabindranath Tagore. He inspired a number of thinkers like
Devendranath		Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar & Akshay Kumar Datta who became Brahmo Samaj
Tagore		members.  He  din’t  perform  his  fathers  antyeshti  samskara  as  it  involved  idol
		worship.
Keshav Chandra		He was greatly inspired with the lives of John the Baptist, Jesus Christ & hence he

 

Sen	came in confrontation with Devendranath Tagore. Consequently the Brahmo Samaj
	was split into the Brahmo Samaj of India under him & Adi Brahmo Samaj under
	Devendranath. He opposed child marriage but married her own minor daughter to
	Maharaja of Cooch-Behar. Hence there was a further split into Neo Brahmo Samaj
	under him & Sadharan Brahmo Samaj
Ishwar Chandra	Became principal of Sanskrit college in Calcutta. Opened the Sanskrit college for
Vidyasagar	non  Brahmin  students.  He  founded  ‘Bethune  School  at  Calcutta’  to  encourage
	female education.
Bankim Chandra	First graduate of Calcutta University which was estd in 1857 based on the lines of
	Macaulay Minute. He became a deputy collector. Wrote the famous Bande Matram
	(Anand Math) & published Banga Darshan magazine.
Ramakrishna	Became a priest in the temple of Goddess Kali at Dakshineshwar.
Paramhamsa	(1836-86)
Swami	In 1893 he attened the Parliament of Religions at Chicago. In 1897 he established
Vivekanand	the  Ramakrishna  Mission.  His  disciple,  Sister  Nivedita  even  helped  many
(1863-1902)	revolutionaries from Bengal directly.
Swami Dayananda	Known in early life as Mul Shankar & born in Gujarat. Received his education at
1824-83	the feet of Swami Virajananda at Mathura. Founded Arya Samaj in 1875 based on
	a set of 28 principles (later 10). He estd the HQ of Arya Samaj at Lahore. Passed
	away on Diwali at Jodhpur following the mixing of glass powder in his drink.
	Through his Satyartha Prakasha he emphasized Vedas. He laid emphasis on the
	worship  of  a  formless  god  &  abandonment  of  idolatory.  He  emphasized  on
	Ashrama system of education. He stressed on swadeshi, swadharma, swabhasha &
	swarajya. He considered Vedas as infallible.
Jyotibha Phule	In  1873  he  founded  Satya  Shodhak  Samaj.  Gave  testimony  before  Hunter
	Commission against Christian missionaries. Later given the title ‘Mahatma’.
Sayyid Ahmad	In 1875 founded the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh which later
Khan	became Aligarh University. Opposed polygamy, purdah, abolition of the practice of
	easy divorce, reform in madrasa.
	Freedom Fighters
Lokmanya Tilak	Introduced the celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi & Shivaji festivals. Paticipated in
1856-1920	Home Rule Movement in 1916. Called by Britishers as ‘Biggest Traitor’ & ‘Father
	of Indian dissatisfaction’
Lala Lajpat Rai	Sher-e-Punjab. Was sent to Jail at Mandey on the charges of seditious activities.
Sri Aurobindo	His development of National education & editing of Bande Mataram (started by
Ghosh	Bipin Chandra Pal) gave momentum to Bengal partition movement. Left Baroda to
	work in the National College in Calcutta.
Chapekar Brothers	Chapekar Brothers – Damodar & Balakrishna. Killed two British officials Rand &
	Aryst. Celcbrated Shivaji & Ganesh Utsavs.
Savarkar Brothers	Ganesh  Savarkar,  Vinayak  Damodar  Savarkar  &  Narayana  Savarkar.  V.D.
	Savarkar organized the New India Association in London. Organizing lectures at
	the  India  House  founded  by  Shyamji  Krishna  Verma.  He  was  linked  to  the
	assassination  of  Jackson  at  Aurangabad.  Sentenced  to  imprisonment  in  the
	Andamans from 1911-24.
Shyamji Krishna	India  House  had  become  centre  of  V.D  Savarkar,  Sardar  Singh  Rana,  Madam
Verma	Bhikaji kama & Madan Lal Dhingra.
Madam Kama	Represented India in the International Conference at Stutteguard in Germany.

 

 

 

Madan Lal	He short dead the assistant of the Secretary of State Curzon Wyllie. Gopal Krishna
Dhingra	Gokhale clled it as a heinous act meant to spoil the name of India.
Chandra Shekhar	Involved in the assassination of Saunders (officer who ordered the Lathi Charge in
Azad	which Lala Lajpat was killed), alongwith Bhagat Singh & Rajguru. He had chalked
	out a plan to blow up the train in which the Viceroy Lord Irwin was traveling. He
	was killed in a police encounter  at Alfred Park in Allahabad.
Harkishen Talwar	Shot  the  Governor  of  Punjab  but  the  latter  escaped  with  injuries  only  Later
	Harkishen was hanged.
Bhagat Singh	In association with Chhabil Das & Yashpal he had founded the Punjab Naujavan
	Bharat Sabha.
Rani Gaidinliu	Lead the Nagas in the revolt. Yadunaga was the other leader.
Subhas Chandra	Passed  the Civils  in  1920 but  preferred to  serve  the  nationalist  cause. He  was
Bose	elected  the  Mayor  of  Calcutta  in  1923  but  soon  arrested  &  sent  to  Mandalay.
	Elected President at the Haripura session of Congress in 1938. He left for Kabul
	along with his friend Bhagat Ram. From there he went to Germany & met Hitler.
	He was first addressed as Netaji in Germany.
Udham Singh	Whilst living in England in 1940, Singh shot dead Sir Michael O’Dwyer, former
	Governor General of the Punjab.

 

Army

Army fulfilled four important functions:

1. Instrument to conquer Indian powers
2. Defended the British Empire in India against foreign rivals
3. Safe-guarded against interinal revolt
4. Chief instrument for extending and defending the British Empire in Asia and Africa.

Bulk of the army consisted of Indians. In 1857, of the total strength of 311400, about 265900 were Indians. Highest Indian rank was that of Subedar.

British could conquer and control India through a predominantly Indian army because:

1. There was absence of modern nationalism at that time
2. The company paid its soldiers regularly and well, as opposed to the Indian rulers and chieftains.

Police

Cornwallis was responsible for the creation of a modern police system in India. He established a system of Thanas (or circles) headed by a daroga. The police:

1. Prevented organization of a large-scale conspiracy against foreign control
2. Was used to suppress the national movement.

Judiciary

Though started by Hastings, the system was stabilized by Cornwallis.

Civil Cases

District: Diwani Adalat (civil court) presided over by the District Judge

Provincial Court: Appeal from civil court

Sardar Diwani Adalat: Highest appeal

There were also, below the District Court, Registrar’s Court (headed by Europeans) and subordinate courts headed by Indians known as munsifs or amins.

Criminal Cases

4 divisions of Bengal presidency. Each had a Court of Circuit presided over by the civil servants. Appeals could be made to Sardar Nizamat Adalat.

William Bentinck:

• Abolished the provincial courts of appeal and circuit
• Their work was assigned to District Collectors
• Raised the status and power of Indians in the Judicial service.

In 1865, High Courts were established at Madras, Calcutta and Bombay.

British brought about  uniformity in the system of law. In 1833, the government appointed Law Commission headed by Macaulay to codify Indian Laws. This eventually resulted in the Indian Penal Code, Code of Civil and Criminal Procedures and other codes of laws.

Spread of Modern Education

1781: Hastings set up the Calcutta Madrasah for the study and teaching of Muslim law and related subjects

1791: Jonathan Duncan started a Sanskrit College at Varanasi for the study of Hindu law and philosophy.

1813: Charter of 1813 directed the Company to spend Rs. 1 lakh for promoting modern sciences in the country. This sum was however made available only in 1823.

1835: Macaulay’s minute.

English was made the medium of instruction in schools. Education of masses was however neglected. British advocated the ‘downward filtration theory’ for education. As per this theory, since the allocated funds could educate only a handful of Indians, it was decided to spend them in educating a few persons from the upper and middle classes who were expected to assume the task of educating the masses and spreading modern ideas among them.

1844: Compulsion for applicants for government employment to possess knowledge of English. This made the English medium schools more popular.

1854: Wood’s Dispatch asked the government of India to assume responsibility for the education of the masses. It thus repudiated the ‘downward filtration theory’. As a result, Departments of Education were instituted in all provinces and universities were setup in 1857 at Madras, Calcutta and Bombay.

The main reason why British adopted some measures towards education in India was because:

1. They needed educated people to man their system of administration. It was not possible to get enough Englishmen to man all the posts.
2. Another important motive was the belief that educated Indians would help expand the market for British manufactures in India.
3.  Lastly, it was expected to reconcile the people of India to British rule.

Major drawbacks of the English education system:

1. Neglect of mass education. Mass literacy in India was hardly better in 1921 than in 1821. High fees in schools and colleges led to the education becoming a monopoly of the rich.
2. Almost total neglect of the education of girls. As late as 1921 only 2 percent Indian women could read and write.
3. Neglect of scientific and technical education.
4. The government was never willing to spend more than a scanty sum on education.

Development of Education

 

• Charter act of 1813
  • Sanctioned 1 lakh rupees annually for promoting education and modern sciences
  • Not made available till 1823
• Orientalist-Anglicist Controversy
• Lord Macaulay’s minute (1835)
• Wood’s Despatch (1854)
  • Rejected the downward filtration theory
  • Asked the government of India to assume the responsibility of education of the masses
  • English as medium for higher studies and verinaculars at school level
• 1857: University of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras
• Hunter Commission (1882-83)
  • State care required for promotion and spread of primary and secondary education
  • Transfer control of primary education to district and municipal boards
• Raleigh Commission, 1902
• Universities Act 1904
• Saddler Education Commission (1917-19)
  • School course should cover 12 years
  • Less rigidity in framing university regulations
• Hartog Committee (1929)
  • No hasty expansion or compulsion of education
• Wardha Scheme of basic education (1937)
  • Vocation based education

Nasik Conspiracy Case	Anant Kanhare & Ganesh Savarkar short dead collector Jackson of Nasik
	with the revolver sent by V.D. Savarkar
Muzaffarpur Shooting	1908. Khudi Ram & Prafulla Chaki tried to bomb Kingsford, the District
	Judge of Muzaffarpur but instead his wife & daughter died.  Khudiram a
	minor was hanged & Prafulla Chaki shot himself dead.
Delhi Conspiracy Case	When Lord Hardinge was passing through a procession celebrating the
	shifting of Capital to Delhi a bomb was thrown on him. 13 people were
	arrested. Master Amir Chand, Awadh Bihari, Bal Mukund & Basant Kumar
	Biswas were hanged whereas Ram Bihari Bose succeded in fleeing to Japan.
Gadar Movement 1915	Baba Sohan Singh Bakhna (president) Lala Hardayal (secretary) and Pandit
	Kashiram (treasurer) at San Franscisco. A paper by the name of Gadar was
	also brought out by this party. Raja Mahendra Pratap even set up a
	government in exile for India’s independence at Kabul.
Lahore Conspiracy Case	A raid was conducted quash the activities of Gadar revolutionaries. Bhai
1915	Parmanand was arrested. Vishnu Ganesh Pingle & Kartar Singh Sarabha
	were also arrested. Baba Sohan Singh Bakhna were transported for life.
Kakori Conspiracy Case	Ram Prasad Bismil, Rajendra Lahiri, Roshan Singh & Ashfaqullah Khan
1925	(first Muslim) were hanged. Sachindranath Saynal was sentenced to life
	imprisonment. Chandra Sekhar Azad was also involved but he escaped.
Meerut Conspiracy 1929	Thirty-one Communist leaders arrested for sedition: Trial lasted 4 years
Chittagong Armoury Raid	Under the leadership of Suryasen on government armouries at Chittagong,
1930-32	Mymen Singh & Barisal. Ambika Chakraborti, Loknath Bal & Ganesh
	Ghose were prominent leaders involved. Among the girls, Kalpana Dutt,
	Preetilata Waddekar were in the forefront. A fight took place in Jalalabad
	hills where a number of revolutionaries were killed.

1885	W.C. Bannerjee	Bombay
1886	Dadabhai Naroji	Calcutta
1887	Badruddin Tyabji	Madras
1888	George Yule	Allahabad
1889	William Weederburn	Bombay
1905	G.K. Gokhale	Banaras – Issues like welcoming the prince of wales led to feud
1906	Dadabhai Naoroji	Calcutta – Approval of issues of swadesi & national education.
		Dadabhai Naoroji was chosen as compromise president. He
		declared swaraj as the objective.
1907	Rashbihari Bose	Surat – split
1912	R.N. Madholkar	Bankipur. Shortest session as the efforts to make Aga Khan
		preside over proved futile.
1916	Ambika Charan	Lucknow.
	Mazumdar
1920		Calcuttta. Approval of Non cooperation Movement
1921		Ahmedabad – intensify Non Copperation Movement.
1924	Mahatma Gandhi	Belgaun
1928	Motilal Nehru	Calcutta. Adopted the Nehru Report – Constitution.
1929	Jawahar Nehru	Lahore. The resolution demanding complete independence was
		passed on the banks of river Ravi.
1930		No session but Independence Day Pledge adopted on 26th January
1938	S.C. Bose	Haripura.
1939	S.C. Bose	Tripuri. Formed ‘Forward Bloc’.