Important Battles and Wars in India

Battle of Hydaspes - In 326 B.C. when Alexander, the great had to turn back from Hydaspes (Beas) when his troops refused to march into India against the Nanda Empire.

Battle of Kalinga - It was fought in 361 B.C. between Ashoka, the great and the king of Kalinga. The war resulted in considerable loss of life and brought misery and suffering to the people. Its impression on Ashoka was so great that he not only turned a Buddhist, but renounced war and violence.

1st Battle of Tarain (1191 A.D.) - Prithvi Raj defeated Mohd. Gauri.

2nd Battle of Tarain (1192 A.D.) - Mohd. Gauri defeated Prithvi Raj and paved the way for Muslim rule in India.

First Battle of Panipat (1526) - Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi. This laid the foundation of Mughal rule in India.

Second Battle of Panipat (1556) - Akbar defeated Hemu. It ended the Afgan Rule and the way was cleared for Mughal rule.

Battle of Talikota (1565) - The united alliance of Bijapur, Bidar, Ahmednagar and Golkunda under Hussain Nizam Shah defeated Ram Raja of Vijaynagar. It sealed the fate of the Hindu Kingdom of Vijaynagar.

Battle of Haldighati (1576) - Akbar defeated Rana Pratap. The latter had to take refuge in remote fortresses.

Battle of Plassey (1757) - The British under Lord Clive defeated Sirajuddaulah. It laid foundation of the British Rule in India.

Third Battle of Panipat (1761) - Ahmed Shah Abdali defeated the Marahattas. The Marahatta power suffered an irreparable loss.

Battle of Buxer (1764) - The British under Sir Hector Munro defeated the Muslim army under three Mohammadan leaders : Mir Qasim, Shuja-ud-daulha and Shah Alam II. The battle made the British Supreme in India.

The First Sikh War (1845) - The Sikh Army crossed Sutlej in 1845 at which the East India Company declared war. British occupied Lahore and forced the Sikhs to accept humiliating terms of peace.

The Second Sikh War (1849) - A drawn battle was fought between the English and the Sikhs at Chelianwala in which the English appeared to have suffered heavy losses.

Indo-Pak War (1965) - An indecisive war between India and Pakistan. It led to ‘Taskent Pact' between the two countries.

Indo-Pak War (1971) - Indian forces in joint command with Bangladesh Army accepted the surrender of the Pak Army in Bangladesh. War in the western sector came to an end as a result of cease-fire on Dec. 17. Bangladesh was liberated.

Kargil War (1999) - Indian forces scored grand victory over Pakistani army and Pak supported mercenaries in a conflict in the Kargil sector of Jammu & Kashmir. The operation was named ‘Operation Vijaya.' The Indian forces cleared Kargil of all Pakistani elements.

Important Facts of Indian History (Modern India)

Muazzam occupied the Mughal throne as Bahadur Shah after his success in the war of succession.

Muazzam, the son of Aurangzeb was called as the ‘Shah Bekhabar'.

The Mughal King Farrukh Siyar granted concession to the English men to trade in Bengal, Gujarat and Hyderabad.

In 1759 Ali Mohar, the son of Alamgir sat upon the Mughal throne as Shah Alam II.

After the death of Maratha ruler Shahu, the real power of the State came in the hands of Peshwas.

Nawab Murshid Quli Khan of Bengal transferred his capital to Murshidabad from Dacca.

Nawab Mir Qasim of Bengal transferred his capital to Moongher from Murshidabad.

In the middle of the 18th century, the nominal ruler of Mysore was Chika Krishnaraj. The real power of the State lied with the two brothers -Nand Raj and Dev Raj.

In 1761 Hyder Ali captured Nandraj and became the master of Mysore.

In the first Anglo-Mysore war, Hyder Ali badly defeated the English army.

In 1781 Hyder Ali conquered Arcot but in 1781 at Porn Novo Sir Eyerkoot defeated him.

Ali Muhammad Khan established the State of Rohilkhand.

The early capital of Rohilkhand was 'Awala' which later shifted to Rampur.

Guru Har Gobind Singh constructed the Akaal Takht at Amritsar.

Guru Gobind Singh converted the Sikhs into a warring and military group.

In 1721, the two sects of Sikhism 'Bandai' and ‘Tatkhalsa' merged in one sect ‘Khalsa'. This sect became a headache for the Mughals.

The Sikhs were organized in 12 unions or Misls which grew in political significance. Later Ranjeet Singh conquered these Misls and organized them into Punjab State.

The ruler of the Afghanistan conferred the title of Raja upon Ranjeet Singh and appointed him the Subedar of Lahore.

The treaty of Amritsar was signed between the English and Ranjeet Singh in 1809. As a result the English checked the expansion of Ranjeet Singh towards the region of Sutluj.

According to the treaty of Amritsar, the English accepted Ranjeet Singh as an independent ruler.

During first Anglo-Sikh war, the Governor-General of India was Lord Hardinge.

Punjab was ruled by Maharaja Dalip Singh when the Lahore Treaty was signed in 1846 between the Sikhs and the English after the defeat of Sikhs in the first Anglo Sikh war.

During Sirajudaulla's time, the English settlement at Calcutta became a resort for the enemies of Nawab and the traitors.

On 4th June, 1756 Sirajudaulla invaded and captured the Qasim Bazar factory of English near Murshidabad.

The Black hole tragedy as it is known in history, came to light through the letter of Holvell. Some of the historians consider it imaginary.

In the contemporary historical works like Sher-a-Mutkherin and Royas-us-Salatin, there is no reference to the Black hole tragedy.

On 9th February, 1757, the Ali Nagar Treaty was signed between the English and the Nawab.

After the war of Plassey, when Sirajudaulla was running away from Murshidabad towards Patna he was captured and killed.

On 28 June, 1757, the English declared Mir Jafar as the Nawab of Bengal.

After victory in Plassey war, the English Company obtained concessions to trade in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.

On 25 November, 1759, the Bedara war was fought between the English and the Dutch and the Dutch were defeated. The victory helped the English in consolidating their hold on Bengal.

Mir Qasim planned friendship with Vansittart to become the Nawab of Bengal.

Mir Qasim gave to East India Company, the districts of Vardhman, Midnapur and Chittgaon for the expenditure of the English army.

In 1764 the joint army of Mir Qasim, Shujauddaulla and Shah Alam fought with the English—the war of Buxar, the English were victorious in this war.

After the Buxar War, the Allahabad treaty was signed between English and the Mughal King Shah Alam in 1765 AD.

According to Allahabad Treaty, the districts of Kara and Allahabad were taken away from the Nawab of Oudh and given to Mughal King. The East India Company agreed to pay to the king a pension of Rs. 26 lacs. In lieu the English got Diwani rights in Bengal.

After the death of Mir Jafar, his son Nizamuddaula was enthroned as Nawab of Bengal.

K. M. Panikkar holds that from 1765 to 1772, the rule of East India Company in Bengal was the 'rule of dacoits'.

During Warren Hastings period, the Treasury was transferred by the East India Company to Calcutta from Murshidabad and Calcutta was made the capital.

During the Governorship of Warren Hastings, in every district of subjugated India one Civil and one Criminal Court was opened.

The cases up to Rs. 500 were referred to the Civil Court and alone it, the appeal could be made to the Sadar Diwani Adalat.

The District Criminal Court was put in charge of an Indian Officer.

The Regulating Act of 1773 established a Supreme Court at Calcutta.

The Permanent settlement introduced by Cornwallis brought changes in the land system. Most of the land came in the hands of commercial and rich classes of Calcutta.

The Permanent settlement ensured the income of the Government. Besides the cooperation of the new Zamindars was obtained.

In the Mahalwari system, land revenues was fixed either through the local Zamindars or their hereditary tax collectors or the Zamindars of the Mahal. Mahal was the collection of villages. The Mahalwari system was known in Punjab as the village system.

The Raiyyatwari system was introduced during early 19th century in some regions of Madras and Bombay. The Govt. directly obtained a fixed amount from the peasants.

In the Raiyyatwari system, the revenue rate was fixed 45% to 50% of the total produce separately.

The Raiyyatwari system had many defects which the Govt. official accepted at the time of a parliamentary inspection for the renewal of the Company's Charter.

In the Fifth and Sixth decades of 19 century, the English invested in large amount to control Indian economy.

The English invested their capital on roads and communications, Railway, Post and Telegraph, Banks and tea gardens.

In 1830 the Ahoms again rebelled against the English. This time, the English Company adopted a peaceful policy and granted north Assam and some other region to King Purandar Singh.

Raja Teerath Singh of Nanakkalo rebelled against the English with the help of Garo, Khampati and Sinhopo tribes. Soon it took the shape of a mass-movement. In 1833, the English could crust it with superior military force.

In 1825, the Assam Rifles rebelled against the English.

In 1838, the Indian troops stationed at Sholapur rebelled due to non-payment of the full allowances.

In 1850 the Gobind Garh regiment rebelled.

On 1 January, 1857, the use of British made Enfield Rifles was started in India. In the cartridges of this Rifle, the fat of cows and pigs were used.

In March 1857, the soldiers of Bairakpur Cantt refused to use the fat cartridges.

On 2 May, 1857, the Oudh Regiment of Lucknow too refused to use these cartridges. As a result, the Oudh regiment was disbanded.

To the soldiers of Meerut who had refused to use the fat cartridges, an English military officer—Carr Michael Smith issued the jail punishment of 5 years.

On 10 May, 1857, a section of the infantry and cavalry of Merrut rebelled at about 5 P.M.

The rebels marched to Delhi, captured the city and declared Bahadurshah the emperor of India. Bahadurshah assumed the leadership of revolt in Delhi.

During this rebellion, Nana Saheb established his suzerainty over Kanpur and declared himself the Peshwa.

In Bundelkhand Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi assumed the leadership of the revolt.

In Bihar, the Zamindar of Jagdishpur, named Kunwar Singh led the revolt.

On 28 May, 1857, the soldiers of Nasirabad Cantt in Rajasthan, rebelled.

Kota and Adva were the main centers of revolt in Rajasthan.

The Central India, Tantya Tope led the revolt.

In U.P. the Ploughing important centers of revolution were Jhansi, Kanpur, Bareilly, Meerut, Lucknow, Aligarh, Mathura and Agra.

The Bareilly rebellion was led by Batakhs Khan.

The Commissioner of Oudh, Henry Laurrence died of a blast on 4th July, 1857.

While suppressing the revolt, the English officer Neil buried the dead Brahmans and burnt the dead Muslims.

In March 1858, under the leadership of Kunwar Singh, the rebels captured Azamgarh.

While marching towards Benaras from Azamgarh, there was an encounter between Kunwar Singh and the English officer Lord Mark in which Lord Mark had to run away to save his life.

Kunwar Singh of Jagdishpur was the only leader to have died under the banner of freedom.

On 14 December, 1857, the English army blasted Kashmiri Gate of Delhi.

In November 1857 the rebels defeated the English General Windaham near Kanpur.

Vinayak Damodar Saverker was the first to name the rebellion of 1857 as the first war of Indian independence.

According to Sir Seeley, the rebellion of 1857 was fully a national revolt conducted by selfish soldiers.

Sir John Lawrence, P. E. Roberts and V. A. Smith have called it a Sepoy Mutiny.

According to V. A. Smith, the rebellion of 1857 was purely a Sepoy mutiny which fully reflected the indiscipline of Indian soldiers and the foolishness of English military officers.

According to Sir James Outtram, the revolt of 1857 was the result of a conspiracy of the Muslims who desired to fulfill their self-interest on the strength of the Hindus.

Ashok Mehta in his book, ‘The Great Revolt', has attempted to prove that it was a national revolt.

Pattabhi Sita Ramaiyya takes it to be the first war of Indian independence.

After crushing the revolt of 1857, they constituted an India Council and abolished the Board of Directors. There were 15 members in the India Council and a Secretary of State for India.

After the revolt, Lord Canning announced the Declaration of the Queen at a Durbar held at Allahabad. He called it, ‘the Magna Carta of Indian people'.

In the Declaration of the Queen, the policy of expansion of the political limits came to an end.

The rebels responsible for the murder of Englishmen were punished. All others were pardoned.

The objective of Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj, Ramkirshna Mission and the Theosophical society etc. was to herald a renaissance in India.

Brahmo Samaj was founded in Calcutta by Raja Ram Mohan Roy on 20 August, 1828.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy always advocated the appointment of Indians on high govt. posts. He played a major role in the abolition of Sati system.

After the death of Raja Ram Mohan Roy on 20 August, 1833, Devendara Nath Tagore assumed the leadership of the Brahmo Samaj.

Aadi Brahmo Samaj was established by Devendra Nath Thakur.

Bhartiya Brahmo Samaj was founded by Keshav Chandra Sen.

The principles of Brahmo Samaj helped immensely in the birth and Spread Indian nationalism.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy established Vedant College, English School and Hindu College at Calcutta.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy was the advocate of English Education and he thought English to be the vehicle of progress.

It was due to the effort of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, that the restriction upon the newspapers were lifted.

In 1819, at Maharashtra, Prarthna Sabha was founded. It came to an end due to its limited scope.

In 1867 Atma Ram Pandurang established Prarthna Samaj. M. G. Ranade, R. G. Bhandarkar and Narayan Chandrawarkar were the prominent members of this Samaj.

Dayanand Saraswati left his house at the age of 21. As a Brahmachari Sadhu, he Travelled to different places in India.

Dayanand Saraswati started the propagation of his religion from Agra.

In 1874, he wrote his famous book Satyarth Prakash.

On 10 April, 1875 he founded Arya Samaj at Bombay.

Totapuri, a Vedantic Sadhu taught Vedant Sadhna to Dayananda.

Ramkrishna Paramhans was born in 1836 in a poor Brahman family of Hoogly district of Bengal.

Swami Vivekanand was the most devoted disciple of Swami Ramkrishna Paramhans.

Ramkrishna Pramhans did not establish any Ashram or sect.

In 1893 in the All Religion Conference at Chicago Vivekanand impressed everyone, and started a Vedant Samaj there.

In 1896 Vivekanand established Ramkrishna Mission.

In the last years of the third decade of the 19th century, the young Bengal movement was led by an Englishman named Henry William Derozio.

On 7 September, 1875 in New York, U.S.A. Madame H.P. Blatavesky (Russian) and Col. H. S. Alcott (American) founded the Theosophical Society.

Mrs. Annie Besant, an Irish lady was a very active member of Theosophical Society in India.

Due to the efforts of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, in 1856, the Widow Remarriage Act was legislated.

The slogan of ‘Inkalab Zindabad' was given by Mohammad Iqbal.

Sir Saiyyad Ahmad Khan founded the Anglo Oriental College at Aligarh in 1877 which later became known as Aligarh Muslim University.

Haji Shariatullah was the initiator of Faryaz movement.

In Maharashtra the Bharat Sewak Samaj was started by Gopal Krishna Gokhale.

In 1922 Amrit Lal Viththal Das established the Bheel Sewa Mandal.

Jyoti Ba Phule was the champion of widower marriage in Maharashtra.

In 1911 Narayan Maltar Joshi organized the Social Service League, a society to solve the social problems. He was assisted by some educated Indians.

Avanindra Nath Thakur founded the society known as—The Indian Society of Oriental Art.

In the 19th century, the famous Bengali author Bankim Chandra Chatterjee composed the song— Vande Matram.

In 1875, Sisir Kumar Ghose founded the India League.

The Indian Association founded by Surendra Nath Banerjee was replaced by the Indian League in 1876.

The credit for founding the Indian National Congress in 1885 goes to an English officer, Allen Octavian Hume.

The first Conference of the Indian National Congress was held at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College, Bombay under the chairmanship of W. C. Banerjee.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak started Ganesh Mahotsav in 1893 and Shivaji Samaroh in 1895.

Pandit Jugal Kishore published the first newspaper of India—Udant Martand. It was a paper which gave top priority to Indian interests.

During Lord Curzon's time in 1905, Bengal was divided.

In 1911, in Lord Hardinge's time, the partition of Bengal was Cancelled.

Lala Lajpat Rai and Ajeet Singh were exiled to Burma in 1907.

In 1911 the capital of India was shifted to Delhi from Calcutta.

On Nov. 1913, the Ghadar Party was founded at Sanfransisco city of America by the great revolutionary of Punjab named Lala Hardayal.

Kashi Ram and Hardayal were the active members of the Ghadar Party.

In 1906, Agha Khan founded the All India Muslim League.

In 1916, a pact was signed between Muslim League and Congress which is known in history as the Lucknow Pact.

In 1916 Bal Gangadhar Tilak established the Home Rule League of India.

After Lucknow Pact, Congress and League presented the plan of political reforms based on separate electoral regions. This pact led to an increase in Communalism.

In 1914 Annie Besant brought out a newspaper in English named ‘New India'.

Gandhiji established the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad.

On 30 March, 1919, Satyagraha Day was observed in whole of India. The Satyagraha was peaceful at all places except Punjab and Delhi.

Dr. Satyapal and Dr. Saifuddin, the leaders of the Punjab Satyagraha were imprisoned. In protest, a meeting was organized at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar . The people who assembled here were gunned down. This is known as ‘Jalhianwalla Bagh Massacre' of April 1919.

After the world war I, the Indian Muslims were excited due to the treatment meted out to Caliph by the British in Turkey. In 1919 they started the Khilafat movement under the leadership of Maulana Shaukat Ali and Muhammad Ali.

The Congress joined the Muslims in Khilafat movement. On 31 August, 1919, the Khilafat Day was observed.

Mahatma Gandhi launched the Non-cooperation Mass Movement in 1920-21. But violence broke out at Chauri Chaura then in Gorakhpur district which saddened Gandhiji. In February 1922 he announced the closure of the movement.

In March 1922 Motilal Nehru and Deshbandhu Chitranjan Das established the Swaraj Party.

In the elections of 1923 the Swaraj Party scored 40 seats out of 148.

In 1927 the Bardoli Satyagraha was conducted by Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel.

In 1928 under the chairmanship of Sir John Simon a Commission came to India to inspect the administrative work. The Indians boycotted it as no Indian was a member of the Commission. In March 1928 the Commission went back.

In the 1929 Lahore Congress session held under the chairmanship of Jawaharlal Nehru, the meaning of Swaraj was declared as total independence.

In 1930 Gandhiji broke the Salt laws by his Dandi March and he started the Civil Disobedience movement.

In 1930, the Congress boycotted the first Round Table Conference.

In 1931, after Gandhi-Irwin pact Gandhiji went to attend the second Round Table Conference along with the members of Muslim League.

In the third Round table conference in 1932, Congress did not send any representative. Only 46 members went to participate under different categories.

The meeting of the Executive of Congress held on 1 January, 1932 decided to again start the Civil Disobedience Movement due to the completely negative attitude of the Government.

The British Prime Minister Ramsay Macdonald declared the communal award on 16 August, 1932.

On 25 September, 1932, the Poona Pact was signed. Common agreement was made on two conditions for preparing the electoral regions. The representative of the Depressed classes was B.R. Ambedkar.

In 1932 Gandhiji founded the Harijan Sewak Sangh for the uplift of the Harijans.

On 8 May, 1933 Gandhiji declared the programmer of 21 days fast for his self-purification.

Gandhiji began ‘Individual Satyagraha and Civil Disobedience on 1 August, 1933.

The Government of India Act of 1935 had 312 articles and 19 enclosures.

In 1935, the British provinces were 11 e.g., Madras, Bombay, Bengal, Bihar, Punjab, Orissa, Central Provinces, Assam, North West Frontier Provinces, United Provinces and Sindh.

The Government of India Act of 1935, the subjects were divided into three departments—Federal, Provincial and Concurrent.

This Act divided the British provinces of India in two categories. 11 were the provinces under the Governor and 5 provinces were under Lieutenant Commissioners.

The Govt. of India Act, 1935, proposed Federal system and Provincial autonomy. The plan of Federal system could not be implemented. The elections for the Provincial legislative Councils were held in the January-February of 1937.

The Congress won majority in 5 provinces—Madras, United Provinces, Central Provinces, Bihar and Orissa in the general election of 1937.

In Punjab, the Unionist Party and Muslim League jointly formed the Government. This Government worked without any obstruction till 1947.

In Bengal the Krishak Praja Party and the Muslim League jointly formed the Government. Its Cabinet worked till 14 August, 1947. Sikandar Hayaat Khan was the head of this Government.

The Congress Cabinets worked from 1937 to 1939.

In 1934, the members of Congress Executive, Acharya Narendra Dev, Jai Prakash and Achyut Patvardhan organized the Congress Socialist Party.

In the Haripura session of the Congress (1938), S. C. Bose was unanimously elected the President.

Subhash Chandra Bose organized a National Planning Committee.

In 1939 Bose was rejected Congress President defeating Gandhi's candidate P. Sitaramayya.

In April 1939, Subhash Chandra Bose resigned from the post of the President and started a militant party known as Forward Block.

In 1939, Jawaharlal Nehru became the President of the Tribal Conference of Indian States.

In 1933, a Muslim student named Choudhary Rahmat Ali studying in England proposed the formation of a separate Muslim State and called it Pakistan.

On 24th March, 1940, in the Lahore Conference of the Muslim League, the Pakistan proposal was passed.

Lord Linlithgo presented the August proposal before the Congress on 8 August, 1940 for getting cooperation during the war.

The Individual Satyagraha was started from 17 October, 1940. Acharya Vinoba Bhave was the first Satyagrahi. Gandhiji postponed it on 17 December, 1940.

It was restarted on 5 January, 1941. During this period more than 20 thousand people were arrested.

Cripps Mission visited India in 1942. It was one member Commission and only Sir Strafford Cripps was the member.

The Congress and the League, both rejected the Cripps Proposals.

The Quit India movement resolution was passed on 14 July, 1942 in the Executive of the Congress Session held at Wardha. It was reaffirmed on 8 August, 1942.

The interim government of free India was organized on 21 October, 1943 by Subhash Chandra Bose in Singapore.

21 Indian political leaders were invited to attend a Conference at Simla in June 1945. It ended in failure.

In December 1945, the General Elections were held in India. The Congress received the majority in 6 provinces.

On 18 February, 1946, the non Commissioned officers and Naval soldiers of the Royal Indian Navy who were called Rattings, began a militant revolt at Bombay.

In order to remove the Constitutional crisis the British Government sent the Cabinet Mission to India.

It came on 29 March, 1946 to New Delhi and it declared its proposals.

Muslim League observed the Direct Action Day on 16 August 1946.

The Interim Government of India was organized under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru. The Cabinet took oath on 2nd September, 1946.

The Constituent Assembly first met under the chairmanship of Dr. Rajendra Prasad on 6th December, 1946.

Atlee declared on 20 February, 1947 that the English would leave India after transferring the power to responsible people before June 1948.

The Mountbatten Plan of 3 June, 1947 was mainly the Plan of partition. It was agreed upon by the Executive of the Indian National Congress on 14-15 June in a meeting at Delhi.

In July 1947, the Indian Independence Act was passed by the British Parliament.

India became independent on 15 August, 1947.

On 26 January, 1950, the state of Hyderabad merged in the Indian Federation.

On 20 April 1954, the Panchsheel Pact was signed between India and China.

On 20 October, 1962 China invaded upon India. Soon it occupied Assam Valley and Laddakh. On 21 November, 1962, China declared one sided ceasefire.

Important Facts of Indian History (Medieval India)

Made in the times of Bhoj, an idol of ‘Vakdevi’ is at present preserved in the British Museum.

The Jain temples of Dilwara were constructed during the period of Parmars.

In Udaipur Prashasti, Munj is entitled ‘Kavi Vrish’ due to his literary attainments.

Qutubuddin was purchased as a slave in his childhood by Qazi Fakruddin Abdul Aziz Koofi.

Qutubuddin did not issue coins or got ‘Khutba’ read in his name after accession to Delhi throne.

Qutubuddin Aibak was buried at Lahore after his death.

Iltutmish established the Shamsi dynasty.

Iltutmish organized the group of his 40 slaves which is famous in history as Turkan-i-Chahalgami.

Yalduz and Nasiruddin Qubacha were prominent rivals of Iltutmish.

Iltutmish organized the ‘Iqta army’.

Iltutmish issued the coins—‘Taka’ of silver and ‘Jeetal’ of copper.

Iltutmish was the first Sultan who issued pure Arabic coins.

On 18th February, 1229, the representatives of the Caliph of Baghdad came to Delhi and they gave the Investiture of the Caliph to Iltutmish. The Caliph thus accepted him as the Sultan of Delhi. Now Delhi became a free state legitimately.

According to Barni, Balban organized his Court on the Iranian pattern.

Balban started the system of ‘Sijda’ and ‘Paibos’ during his reign.

Balban’s theory of kingship was based upon—Power, Prestige and Justice. His main objective was to maintain his control upon the administrative officials.

The Mongol leader Changez Khan was known as the ‘Curse of God’.

The coronation of Jalaluddin Feroz Shah was done in 1290 at the Kilokhari Apurna Palace built by Kaikubad.

At the time of his accession on the Delhi Sultanate, Alauddin Khalji assumed the title of Abul Mujaffar Sultan Alauddinia and Deen Mohammad Shah Khalji.

Jalaluddin Feroz Shah Khalji granted to Alauddin Khalji, the post of Amir-i-Tujuk.

During Alauddin’s time approximately 75 to 80 per cent of the peasant’s produce was charged as tax.

The main tasks of Diwan-i-Ariz were to recruit the soldiers, to disburse the salary, to well equip the army, to make arrangements for inspection and to proceed with the Commander-in-Chief in times of war.

The main tasks of the Diwan-i-Insha was to draft royal orders and letters and to maintain the govt. records. He also conducted correspondence with the local officers.

Alauddin Khalji introduced market reforms and fixed the prices of various items and goods.

Munhiyan or detectives were appointed to keep a watch over the market and report the Sultan of the same.

Barid-i-Mandi was an employee who informed the Sultan of the quality of the material sold in the market.

‘Khams’ was the war booty. The 4/5 of the loot was submitted to the royal treasury. Only 1/5 was distributed among the soldiers.

Alauddin Khalji established a new department Diwan-i-Mustakharaj in order to check the corruption of Revenue department and to maintain control on the concerned officers.

Qutubuddin Mubarak Shah rejected the rigid rules of Alauddin Khalji and pursued the policy of forgive and forget.

Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq Ghazi was a Qaruna turk.

Mohammad Tughlaq has been called, an unfortunate idealist

Due to shortage of money in the treasury and to meet the expenses of Imperialist policy, Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq issued token currency.

Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq planned invasion of Khurasan and Iraq but did not carry it out.

Diwan-i-Kohi was the name of agriculture department organized by Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq.

Elphinston was the first historian who believed that there was some signs of madness in Mohammad Tughlaq.

Feroz Shah abolished 24 taxes disliked by people.

Feroz Shah Tughlaq following dictum of Quran. levied only 4 taxes named Kharaj, Khums, Zazia and Zakat.

Feroz Shah brought the two Asokan pillars from Khijrabad and Meerut to Delhi.

During the period of Feroz Shah Tughlaq, the two books Fatwa-i-Jahandari and Tarikh-i-Feroz Shahi were written by Barni.

Feroz Shah Tughlaq wrote his autobiography entitled Futuhat-i-Firoz Shahi.

Feroz Shah Tughlaq established a new department of charity at Delhi known as Diwan-i-Khairat.

Feroz Shah’s book ‘Dalayat-i-Feroz Shahi’ was a work translated into Persian.

Taimur invaded India in 1398.

Sikandar Lodhi was the greatest of the Lodhi kings.

In the Sultanate period, the Wazir was the Prime Minister of the Sultan.

The department of the Wazir was known as the Diwan-i-Wizarat.

In the Sultanate period, the Mushrif-i-Mumaliq maintained the account of the income and expenditure of the provinces.

In the Sultanate period, the Chief Auditor of Accounts was called Mustafa-i-Mamaliq. His main work was to inspect the accounts prepared by Mushraf-i-Mamaliq.

The Chief of military department was called, Ariz-i-Mamaliq who was not the Commander-in-Chief of the army.

Dabir-i-Khas was the chairman of the correspondence department.

Department of Diwan-i-Insha worked under Dabir-i-Khas who issued the royal Firmans (orders).

The Treasurer was called Khajij and the Chief Justice was called Qazi-i-Mamaliq.

The Chief of the Construction department was called Mir-i-Imarat.

The Public Hall of the Sultan was called Durbar-i-Azam.

The Sultan divided the empire into Iqtas or provinces.

Iqta was divided into small Shiks or districts.

Jakat was the tax which covered the taxes of ‘Sadpa’ and ‘Tith’.

Qutubuddin Aibak had built the mosque known as Quwwattul-Islam near the Delhi Fort of Rai Pithora.

The famous mosque at Ajmer known as Dhai Din Ka Jhopra was constructed by Qutubuddin Aibak.

Dhai Din Ka Jhopra was earlier a Sanskrit school which was built by Vigrahraj Bisaldeo.

Alai Darwaza which is considered to be the most precious jewel of Islamic architecture was built by Alauddin Khalji.

The new city of Siri and the Hazaar Situn palace in this city were built by Alauddin Khalji.

In the period of Sikander Lodhi, his Wazir built the Moth mosque.

The mosque of Attala is one of the best buildings of Sharqi style.

The Jhajhanri mosque at Jaunpur was built by Ibrahim Sharqi in about 1430.

The most important mosque at Jaunpur known as Jami mosque was built by Hussain Shah Sharqi.

The mosque of Lal Darwaza at Jaunpur, was built in the middle of the 15th century.

The Vijay Nagar kingdom was divided into 6 provinces. The chief of the province was known as Prantpati or Nayak.

The province was divided into Nadu or districts.

The provincial rulers were allowed to issue their coins.

In the Vijay Nagar empire Brahmans were the most respected. The criminal Brahman was exampled from capital punishment.

Women enjoyed honorable status. Many of them learn the art of warfare. They were appointed as bodyguards.

Krishnadeo Ray is designated as the Andhra Pitamah.

Gold coins were used and they were called ‘Barah’.

Mixed metal coins were called Partab.

Kabir who adopted the Gyanashrayi branch of the Nirgun sect, was the disciple of Ramanand.

Namdeo was born in a small village of Satara district in 1220.

Sabad refer to the composition related to Yog Sadhana.

Guru Nanak was born in a small village Talwandi near Lahor.

To reform a society ridden with ritualism and superstitious, he preached the Nirguna sect.

The fifth Sikh Guru Arjundeo systematized the composition of Guru Nanak in ‘Guru Granth Sahib’.

Malik Mohammad Jayasi earned great name and fame for his work Padmavat.

The first invasion of Babar on India was conducted in 1519. During this invasion, he conquered Bajaur and Bhera. He went back from here. When he left these two places were lost to the Moghuls.

Babar again invaded India in 1526, for the fifth time and he did not go back this time. He founded the Moghul empire in India.

He defeated Ibrahim Lodhi by adopting his trusted war tactics of Tulughma.

Babar used Artillery for the first time in the battle of Panipat.

Babar defeated Rana Sanga of Mewar in the battle of Khanva in 1527. He scored a victory over Afghans in battle of ‘Ghaghara’ in 1529.

Babar declared the Chanderi war as Jehad and he constructed a Mina rate of the heads of the dead Rajputs.

Babar wrote his autobiography Tujuk-i-Babri in Turkish language.

Mirza Haider Speaks about numerous qualities of Babar in his book—Tarikh-i-Rashidi.

Babar’s daughter Gulbadan Begum enumerated the qualities of Babar in her book, Humayun Nama.

Babar in his reign abolished the tax Tamagha.

Babar wrote Risala-i-Validiya in Turkish poetry which was originally the work of Khwaja Obei-dullah.

Babar learn the use of artillery from Ustad Ali and Mustafa—his two Turkish officers.

The name of Humayun’s mother was Maham Sultana.

In 1544 Humayun took shelter with Shah Tahmasp, the ruler of Iran.

In July 1555, Humayun again occupied the throne of Delhi.

Humayun died on 27 January, 1556 as a result of a sudden fall from the stairs of the Din-Panah Library.

Shershah was a great conqueror. He fought and won a grim battle against Maldeo of Marwar.

Shershah introduced currency reform, extended transport system by building, roads, most famous being present day G. T. Road and reformed revenue system by classifying agricultural land and introducing measurement of land.

During the administration of Shershah, the Diwan-i-Vizarat looked after the tax system and economy and maintained the accounts of the income and expenditure of the State.

The duty of Diwan-i-Ariz was to recruit the army, supply the food and look after education.

The duty of Diwan-i-Rasalat was to conduct correspondence with other States and to maintain contact with them.

The duty of the Diwan-i-Insha was to write emperor’s orders and records of accounts.

The credit to solve the early difficulties of Akbar and to safeguard the Mughal empire goes to Bairam Khan.

From 1556 to 1560 the reins of Mughal administration remained in the hands to Bairam Khan.

At Tilwara, a war was fought between Bairam Khan and the army of Akbar. Bairam Khan was defeated.

In early days of his rule Akbar was under the influence of Harem particularly his foster another Maham Anga. This is why some historian call the early years of Akbar as ‘Purda-rule’ or Petticoat government.

When Maham Anga died, the so-called short Petticoat government of Akbar’s time ended.

In 1562 Akbar abolished the slavery system.

Akbar was the first Muslim ruler who got maximum success in Rajasthan.

Akbar’s second attack on Gujarat is considered to be not only the fastest invasion of Akbar’s time but the fastest in the history of the world of that age.

In 1595 during Akbar’s time. Muzaffar Hussain was the Persian Governor of Qandahar.

Akbar’s mother Hamida Bano Begum was a religious lady of a Sufi Shia family.

Raja Birbal died fighting on the royal side in the Afghan-Baluchi rebellion during Akbar’s time.

In 1571 was built an Ibadatkhana at Fatehpur Sikri where every Thrusday, religious deliberation were held.

Akbar was also impressed by Jainism. He invited the eminent Jain scholar Heer Vijay Suri from Tam Gachh in Gujarat to know about this religion.

Impressed by Zorastrianism, the holy fire was kept burning in Akbar’s palace.

Following the tradition of Hindu kings, Akbar started appearing for Darshan of his people from the Jharokha of his palace.

In Akbar’s time, the Prime Minister was known Wazir or Vakil-i-Mutlaq.

In Akbar’s time, the Finance Minister was called Wazir or Deewan.

Mujaffar Khan was the first to be appointed as Wazir during Akbar’s time.

The assistants of Deewan, known as Sahib-i-Taujeeh looked after the accounts of the Army.

Another assistant of Deewan, Deewan-i-Bayutoot, looked after the Industries of different kinds.

The officer who managed the royal treasury was known as Mushrif-i-Khazana.

Meer Saman in Akbar’s time, managed the affairs of the royal palace, Haram and kitchen.

In Akbar’s time, Amal Guzar was the officer who collected the revenue from the districts.

Bitikchi prepared the data about the quality of land and its produce. On the same basis, the Amal Guzar fixed the revenue. Bitikchi was the second important officer in the Revenue department.

Amil collected the revenue from the Pargana.

In Akbar’s time, the clerk was called Karkun. His main task was to record the cultivable land in the Pargana and keep an account of the realized and unrealized revenue.

Akabar introduced Mansabdari system with its ranks of Jat and Sawar based on decimal system.

According to Blochman, Zat was the definite number of soldiers, the Mansabdars had to keep with them.

According to Blochman the Sawar meant the definite number of cavalry.

In Akbar’s time, there were four kinds of land—Polaj, Chacher, Parauti and Banjar.

In Akbar’s time, Ibrahim Sarhindi translated the Sanskrit text of Atharva Ved in Persian.

Mulla Shah Mohammad translated in Persian Raj Tarangini of Kalhan.

Maulana Sherry translated Hari Vansh Puran in Persian.

Abul Fazal translated Panch Tantra in Persian.

Faizi translated the story of Nal Damayanti in Persian.

The history of Islam was compiled in Tarikh-i-Alfi. It is a famous book.

Akbar established a separate department of Painting, the chairman of this department was the famous painter Khwaja Abdus Samad.

Abdussamad was an inhabitant of Persia who came to India from Shiraz. He was adorned with the title of Shirin Qalam for his attainments.

Mohammad Hussain, the famous author of Akbar’s Court was adorned with the title of Zari Qalam.

Akbar built the Fort of Allahabad.

The first building of Akbar’s time was Humayun’s tomb at Delhi built under the guidance of his step mother Haji Begum.

The main mason who built Humayun’s tomb belonged to Iran and his name was Mirza Meerak Ghyas.

Akbar was born on Sunday. Hence Jahangir declared Sunday as a pious day.

Nur Jahan was an educated lady. She was specially interested in music, painting and poetry. She composed poetry in Persian.

The first Englishman to come to the Mughal Court was captain Hawkins.

Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khana was the guardian and tutor of Jahangir.

The English ambassador Sir Thomas Roe came to India during Jahangir’s time.

The Jahangir’s autobiography is Tujuk-i-Jahangiri.

Shahjahan was born on 5 January, 1592 at Lahore. The name of his mother was Jagat Gosain.

Two big rebellions broke out during Shahjahan’s time. One was the revolt of the ruler of Bundelkhand named Jujhar Singh and the other was the revolt in south under the leadership of Khan-i-Jahan Lodhi.

The title of Malika-i-Zamani was conferred upon Arjumand Bano Begum.

The first coronation of Aurangzeb was performed on 31 July, 1658 and the second coronation took place on 15 June, 1659.

Aurangzeb passed an order and prohibited the repairs of the temples by the Hindus.

Aurangzeb appointed Subedars and Muhatsibs to check the spread of education and Hinduism.

Aurangzeb again levied Zazia upon Hindus.

Under Aurangzeb, the Hindu traders paid 5% tax on goods while the Muslim traders were free from this tax.

Aurangzeb issued orders to prohibit the celebration of Holi, Diwali and Basant etc. in the Mughal Court.

Gokul and Raja Ram were the leaders of Jat revolt against Aurangzeb. After the death of Rajaram, his brother’s son named Churaman continued the revolt. The Jat rebellion went on till the death of Aurangzeb and the Jats succeeded in establishing a free Jat state of Bharatpur near Mathura.

In 1681, Akbar, the son of Aurangzeb revolted against him.

The 9th Guru of the Sikh order, Guru Tegh Bahadur openly protested against the religious policy of Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb called him to Delhi and asked him to accept Islam. When he refused, he was beheaded.

Shivaji was the founder of Maratha State. He fought against the state of Deccan, as well as the Mughal empire. He was a great administrator.

Shivaji was succeeded by Sambhaji who was captured and put to death by Aurangzeb.

Rajaram ruled only as the representative of Shahu—the son of Shambhaji who was imprisoned by Aurangzeb. Rajaram never occupied the Maratha throne.

After the death of Raja Ram Maratha war of independence was carried on by his wife Tarabai.

VascodeGama came to India as the representative of the ruler of Portugal. He met Zamorin of Calicut and obtained trade facilities.

In 1492 Pope Alexander VI granted the Portuguese the monopoly to trade with the east.

From 1505 to 1509, Almeda remained in India as the first Portuguese Governor.

Albukirk was the successor of Almeda in India. His objective was to establish a Portuguese colony in India by intermarrying with Indians.

After coming to India, the Dutch established their trade centers at Surat, Bharaunch, Cambay, Ahmedabad, Chinsura, Kasim Bazar, Patna, Balasore, Nagapattanam, Kochin, Masulipattanam and Agra.

The main aim of the Dutch was to trade with the Islands of south-east Asia. India was just a passage for them. This is why the Dutch faced no rivalry with other European companies.

In 1608, under the leadership of Captain Hawkins, the English fleet reached India.

In 1717 the Mughal King Farrukh Siyar granted a Firman to the British giving them the trade rights.

In 1692, the Nawab of Bengal issued an order to the French Company and they established a commercial Factory at Chandranagar.

Important Facts of Indian History (Ancient India)

The Harappan Fort in the shape of a parallel square is 460 yards in length (north-south) 215 yards in breadth (east-west) and 15-17 yards in height.

The script of Indus civilization was pictorial in which there were more than 600 picture-letters and 60 original letters.

The excavations of Chanhudaro were carried out in 1925 under the leadership of Earnest M’ckay. This town had no fort.

Naal, Daburkot, Rakhi Garhi, Banawali, Rangpur, Lothal, Des Morasi, Kulli, Rana Ghundai, Anjira, Gumla, Amri, Ghundai, Mundigak, Diplabaga, Sahar-i-Sokhta, Bampur and Queta etc. are famous historical sites where the remains of Indus civilization and pre Indus civilization have been excavated.

Daburkot, Periano, Ghundai, Kulli, Mehi, Chanhudaro, Amri, Lohumjodaro, Alimurad, Ropar, Rangpur, Sutkegender are the prominent (spots) places of Indus Valley civilization.

The excavations of Kalibangan, a historical place in Rajasthan began in 1961 under the direction of B. K. Thapar and B. B. Lal. From the lower layer of the excavation, the remains of pre Indus civilization and from the upper layer of the Indus civilization are discernible. The fortress and the city both were surrounded with walls.

The excavations at Rangpur—an Indus site in Gujarat were carried out in 1953-54 under the leadership of Rangnath Rao. Forts of raw bricks, drainage, terracotta utensils, weights and slabs of stone have been found but the idol of mother Goddess (Matridevi) and coins have not been found.

Lothal was situated at that time near the ocean. In excavations the remains of a dockyard have been found which testify to the trade relations of Indus people with western Asia.

In the district of Kutchh in Gujarat state, 12 kms north-east of Adesar is situated Surkotda which was explored and excavated in 1964 under the guidance of Jagatpati Joshi.

In the excavation of Indus civilization, a very big building has been explored. It is 242 ft long and 112 ft broad. The walls are 5 ft thick.

Some figurines on tables have been found in Indus civilization in the center of which is a round shaped Sun and around it are the pictures of 6 gods arranged in a way that they appear as if they are the Sun beams. This testifies to the worship of Sun in the period.

The proof of the existence of a Man-like being are 1 Crore to 20 lacs years old.

In the Indian population, there are four basic racial sub-difference. These are Negrito, Astro Australians, Kakeshisi and Mongoloids.

In India, skeletons (human body in bones-kankal) have been found in Sarai Nahar Rai near Allahabad, Bataikhor and Lekhania. High in length, flat nose and broad mouth are their characteristics. These belong to Mesolithic age.

The pre stone civilization came to be known in the region of river Sohan a subsidiary of Sindhu. Hence it is called Sohan civilization. The Vatikapoom in the form of (Gandasa) axe and Khandak were its main implements.

In Harappan culture, the worship of Earth as goddess was in vogue. This is indicated by the idol of a woman with a plant growing out of her womb.

Along with the Elephants, Rhinoceros, Buffalos, Lions and Deers, the picture of Yogi engraved on a seal (Muhar) suggests the worship of Shiva in Harappan civilization. This god had three heads and he sat with crossed legs.

The Talismans obtained in large numbers indicate that the people of Harappan culture believed in witchcraft or the dead souls. These talismans were made of bronze and copper in the form of plate.

In Harappan culture the weight (for measuring) were 16 or of its multiplied numbers.

The dogs and cats were the domesticated animals and their foot prints confirm this fact.

The remains of the horses have been found at Surkotda. The existence of the horse is not known from the upper layer of Mohanjodaro excavation. The terracotta small figurines provide knowledge about it.

The people of Lothal used rice in 1800 B.C.

As Sindh was one of the oldest region for cultivating cotton, the Greeks named it as Sedon.

In Harappan culture, silver was obtained from Afghanistan, Iran, South India, Arabia and Baluchistan. Gold was imported from Afghanistan and Persia.

The stone Lajward was brought from Badakshan, Feroza was brought from Iran. Jayumani was brought from Maharashtra, Moonga and Redstone were brought from Saurashtra and Western India and the precious Greenstone (Panna) was brought from Central Asia.

The Ahar culture (Rajasthan) belonged to the Copper age. The houses were built of stone and a mixture of lime and soil. Paddy was cultivated and Metal Work in Bronze were in vogue. All these were the characteristics of this culture which existed about 2000 B.C.

The remains of Malwa stone and Bronze culture have been found in Navdatoli where the houses were built of mud, bamboo and dry grass in a square and round shape. The terracotta utensils and agricultural products of wheat, oil seeds, pulses (Masur) and green and black gram are the characteristics of this culture.

The Rishis (Sages) like Gritsamad, Vishwamitra, Bhardwaj, Atri and Vashishta composed the Suktas or the Vedic Mantras.

The prominent female sages were Lopamudra, Ghosa, Shachi and Poulomi.

Sam Ved is divided into three branches—(1) Kouthum, (2) Ranayaniya, (3) Jaminiya.

Prominent among the Ayurvedacharyas were Acharya Ashwini Kumar, Dhanvantari, Banabhatt, Sushrut, Madhav, Jeevan and Lolimbaraja etc.

Ayur Ved is an ‘Upaved’ of Rig Ved, Dhanur Ved is ‘Upaved’ of Yajur Ved, Gandharva Ved is the ‘Upaved’ of Sam Ved and Shilpa Ved is the ‘Upaved’ of Atharva Ved.

Rig Ved has two Brahmans—(1) Aitereya, (2) Kaushitaki.

Krishna Yajur Ved has the Brahman—Taitteriya and Shukla Yajur Ved has the Shatpath Brahman.

The Brahmans of Sam Ved are Tandav, Panchvish, Sadvish and Chhandogya.

The Aranyakas deal with life, death and other serious themes. These are written and studied in loneliness of the forests.

Aitereya and Kaushitaki are the Aranyakas of Rig Ved. The author of Aitereya was Mahidas Aitereya.

Taitteriya Aranyaka belongs to Krishna Yajur Veda.

Sam Ved and Atharav Ved have no Aranyakas.

Prominent among the Upanishads are Ish, Ken, Kath, Prashn, Mundak, Mandukya, Taitteriya, Aitereya, Chhandogya, Vrihadaranyak, Shwetashwara, Kaushitaki and Mahanarayana.

During the Rigvedic period Nishk was an ornament for the neck; Karnashobhan was an ornament for the ear and Kumbh was the ornament for the head.

In the Rigvedic age, the Aryans domesticated the cow, the buffalo, goat (Ajaa), horse, elephant and camel etc.

Bheeshaj was the person who treated the sick people.

The Rigvedic Aryans Worshipped the Sun as Savita, Mitra, Pooshan and Vishnu. Sun was called the ‘Eye of Gods’; and Agni the ‘Mouth of Gods’. Agni was considered to be the Purohit of the Aryans. They thought that the offering of the Yajna reaches to the gods through Agni. Varun was Worshipped as a spatial god.

In Rig Veda, Usha, Sita, Prithvi, Aranyani, Ratri, Vak are Worshipped as goddesses.

Besides Rig Ved, the reference of Sita as the goddess of agriculture is made in Gomil Grihya Sutra and Paraskar Grihya Sutra.

The ancient idols of Ganesh show his main weapons as Paash and Ankush.

In the Rigvedic age the traders were called ‘Pani’. They stole away the cattle of the Aryans.

Das’ or Dasyas were more hated than the ‘Pani’. They have been referred as black complexioned inauspicious and opposed to Yajnas. They were the Worshippers of Phallus (Shishnadev).

In the Rigvedic age, the cow was the backbone of economy. It was called ‘Aghanya’—not to be killed, war has been referred as Gavisthi, the guest as Mohan and the daughter as Duhiti. One Rik refers to the domestication of sheep.

Vashishtha who replaced Vishwamitra as Purohit of King Sudas, has been mentioned as adopted son of Urvashi, and born of the ‘Virya’ of Mitra and Varun on an earthen pot.

Ballabh and Tarukshadas were chieftains who lavishly donated to the Purohits and through their grace obtained respect and high place in the Aryan society.

Savitri is referred in the famous Gayatri Mantra. In Rig Ved the maximum reference is made of Indra. After him Varun is referred to. In the earlier Richas Varun and Marut have been mentioned as ‘Gan’. Twasta also was a Vedic God.

Prajapati has been referred as the Adi Purush—the first human (male). The gods were his children.

In Rig Ved, the king has been mentioned as the Protector of the clan or the Gopta Janasya. The reference to Sabha, Samiti, Gan, Vidath is made as the Tribal Councils.

No bureaucracy developed in Rigvedic age. Yet the officer of Gochar land were called Vrajpati, the officer of the village was called Gramani. He was the commander. The chief of the family is referred as ‘Kulap’.

The words like Vrat, Gan, Gram and Shardh have also been used for indicating the group of Soldiers.

In Rig Ved Jan is used 275 times, Vish is used 170 times. Sangram is the word which indicates war between the villages.

The God of Vegetation. It was also an intoxicating drink and the method of its preparation is referred in the Rig Ved.

The later Vedic literature was written during 1100 to 600 B.C. The painted grey ware—bowls and plates were used and the tools which they used were made of iron.

The main crop of the later Vedic age was wheat and paddy instead of barley.

In the later Vedic age, the Vidath were extinct but the Sabha and the Samiti existed.

In this period, the King performed the rites of Rajsuya Yajna with a desire to obtain divine power, Ashwamedha Yajna to expand the empire and the Vajpeya Yajna for chariot racing with friends and relatives of his Gotra.

The Gotra system began in the later Vedic age. The custom of marrying outside the Gotra also started.

In the literature of later Vedic age, the first three Ashrams are mentioned—(1) Brahmcharya, (2) Grihastha, (3) Banprastha. The Sanyas Ashram is not mentioned.

In later Vedic period the plant Som could not be obtained easily. As such other drinks were also used.

Gold and Silver were mainly used for making ornaments and utensils. Other metals were used for making many other implements in the later Vedic era.

In later Vedic period, the commercial classes (Traders) organized themselves in ‘Sangh’. The Aryans conducted sea trade. Nisk, Satman and Krishal were used as coins for trade purposes.

In comparison to the religion of Rigvedic period, the later Vedic religion had become very complex. Purohits, Yajna and sacrifice were considered important. Many types of Yajnas were performed.

The Shatpath Brahman refers to the various steps in progress of cultivation—Jutai (Ploughing), Buwai )planting), Lawani (weaning), Mandai (cutting) are the various processes mentioned in it.

Sangam literature is compiled in 8 books. They are—(1) Narune, (2) Kuruntoge, (3) Aigunuru, (4) Padirupyuttu, (5) Paripadal, (6) Karlittorga, (7) Nedultoge, (8) Purnanuru.

In the Sangam age, the Tamil Grammar was written in a detailed book, ‘Tolakappiyam’.

With the songs of the musicians, the dancers known as Panar and Widelier used to dance.

Pedinekilkanku is a famous composition of Sangam literature.

Sangam is a Sanskrit word meaning a Congregation and a Council.

The main theme of the Sangam literature is ‘Romance’ (Shringar) and heroism (Veergatha). Shringar is called as ‘Aham’ and Veergatha has been called as ‘Puram’.

The first Sangam was organized at Madurai under the chairmanship of Rishi Agastya.

The second Sangam was organized at Kapatpuram again under the chairmanship of Rishi Agastya.

The third Sangam was organized at Madurai and it was chaired by ‘Nakkirar’.

Avey was the family of Sangam age which meant Sabha (assembly).

Panchvaram was the assembly of the advisors of the King of Sangam age.

Ur was the institution which looked after the city administration.

The excavation of Arikmedu, provide enough evidence to prove that once upon a time, the cantonments of the Roman traders resided there.

The teachers in the Sangam age were called as Kanakkaters.

The students in the Sangam age were called Bhanwan or Pillai.

Parshvanath arranged for fourfold vows (Chaturvrata) for the Bhikshus (monks)—(1) I shall not kill the living beings, (2) I shall always speak the truth, (3) I shall not steal, (4) I shall not keep any property.

Mahavir Swami has been called Nigashtha, Naatputra and Nirgranth Saatputra.

Mahavir Swami left his mortal frame and attained Nirvana at Pawapuri near Patna in Bihar.

The Triratna in Jainism are described as Samyak Shraddha (veneration), Samyak Gyan (knowledge) and Samyak Acharana (conduct).

According to Jainism, Nirvana (redemption) to free the soul from the physical bondage.

Mahavir Swami has described five vows for the common people which are called as Panchmaha-vrat. These are—Truth, Non-violence, No stealing, No collection of wealth or anything and celibacy (Satya, Ahimsa, Astey, Aparigrah and Brahamacharya). To these was later added, ‘Not to eat at Night’.

Kaivalya is total knowledge which the Nirgranthget.

Buddha was born in the Lumbini forest, 14 km beyond Kapilvastu in Nepal Tarai.

Kaundinya, a Brahmin astrologer, was contemporary of Buddha.

Gautam obtained knowledge at Gaya. Hence the place is called Bodh Gaya.

The first sermon of Buddha is known as ‘Dharma Chakra Pravartan’.

Mahatma Buddha delivered his first sermon at Rishipattan (Sarnath).

The followers of Buddha were divided into four sections—(1) Bhikshu or the monks, (2) Bhik-shuni or lady monks, (3) Upasaks or devotees, (4) Upasikas or lady devotees.

After delivering his teachings for constant 45 years, Mahatma Buddha attained Mahaparinirvan at the age of 80 at Kushinara (Kushinagar).

Tripitaks are—(1) Vinay Pitak, (2) Suttpitak, (3) Abhidhamma Pitak.

Vinay Pitak is divided into 3 sections—(1) Sutta Vibhag, (2) Khandhak, (3) Pariwar.

Suttpitak contains—Diggh Nikay, Majjhim Nikay, Anguttar Nikay and Khuddak Nikay.

In Abhidhamma Pitak, philosophical and spiritual thoughts are contained.

There are seven treatises of Abhidhamma Pitak —(1) Dhamma Sangeeti, (2) Vibhang, (3) Dhatu Katha, (4) Puggal Panjati, (5) Katha Vastu, (6) Yamak, (7) Patthan.

The eightfold paths are—(1) Right belief, (2) Right thought, (3) Right speech, (4) Right action, (5) Right means of livelihood, (6) Right execution, (7) Right remembrance, (8) Right meditation.

In Buddhism, the Astangikmarg (eight fold path) is classified as—(1) Praja Skandh, (2) Sheel Skandh, (3) Samadhi Skandh.

Under Praja Skandh come—Samyak Drishti, Samyak Sankalp and Samyak Vani (speech).

Under Sheel Skandh come—Samyak Karmant, Samyak Aajeev.

Under Samadhi Skandh come—Samyak Vyayam, Samyak Smriti and Samyak Samadhi.

Mahatma Buddha was silent on the existence of God or otherwise but he did not believe in the existence of soul.

The first Buddhist Council was convened after a few years of Buddha’s death under the chairmanship of Mahakassap in Saptparna caves near Rajgrih.

The second Buddhist Council was organized at Vaisali.

The third Buddhist Council was convened at Patliputra during the regime of Asoka.

The fourth Buddhist Council was convened at Kashmir during the regime of Kanishka.

Purans are said to be 18 in number of which Bhagwat Puran is very renowned.

Bhagwatism is mentioned for the first time in the Bhishm Parva of Mahabarat.

The Dravida Vaishnav devotees are known as the Alwars.

A Brahman named Kautilya or Chanakya played a significant role in the establishment of the Mauryan empire.

In the Greek writings, Chandra Gupta Maurya is called Sandrocottus.

Arien and Plutarch have called him Androcottus.

In the Mudra Rakshas written by Vishakhdutt, Chandra Gupta Maurya is called Chandragiri Chandrashree.

In Buddhist literature, Mahavansh Tika is the book which throws ample light on the life of Chandra Gupta Maurya.

‘Indika’ was written by Megasthenese.

In the book Mahavansh, Chandra Gupta Maurya is said to be Kshatriya by caste.

After being defeated in war with Chandra Gupta, Selukose offered him Gadrosia (Baluchistan), Acrosia (Kandahar), Aria (Herat) and a part of Hindukush.

Sudarshan Lake at Junagarh was built by Chandra Gupta Maurya.

The Mahasthan inscription points out Chandra Gupta’s ascendancy over Bengal.

The Rudradaman inscription of Girnar testifies to the suzerainty of Chandra Gupta over Saurashtra.

According to Jain Texts, Chandra Gupta in the last years of his life, accepted Jainism and went to Mysore with the Jain monk Bhadrabahu.

The empire of Chandra Gupta spread from Himalaya in the north to Mysore in the south; and from Bengal in the east to Baluchistan in the west. It covered Punjab, Sindh, Kashmir, Doab of Ganga and Yamuna, Magadh, Bengal, Malwa, Saurashtra and the region of Mysore.

The administrative system of Chandra Gupta Maurya was Monarchy. In order to administer well, Chandra Gupta Maurya appointed a Council of Ministers.

In the Mauryan age, the officer who collected the trade taxes was called Shulkadhyaksha.

The Chairman of the Government services was known as Sutradhyaksha in the Mauryan age.

The officer-in-charge of Weight and Measures was known as Peetadhyaksha in the Mauryan age.

In Mauryan age, the officer who controlled the manufacture of wine, its sale and purchase and its consumption was Suradhyaksha.

The chairman of the agricultural department was called Seetadhyaksha in Mauryan age.

There were many officers such as Ganikadhyaksha,` Mudradhyaksha, Navadhyaksha, Ashwadhyaksha and Devtadhyaksha etc. in the Mauryan Age.

The officer who kept the details of total income and expenditure of the State and decided the economic policy was called Sannidhata. Under him, worked officers like Treasurer and Shulkadhyaksha.

In Mauryan age, the minister of factories and mines was called Karmantirak. His main task was to excavate different metals from the mines and look after the factories.

In Mauryan age the Amatya of Fauzdari (Criminal) Court was called Pradeshta.

The Amatya of the Civil Court was known as Vyavaharik.

The Greek scholars have described the Amatyas as the seventh caste.

The successor of Chandra Gupta Maurya is called name Bindusara in majority of the Puranas. Ceylonese works, Buddhist texts and in Deepvansh and Mahavansh. In Vayu Puran, his name is given as Bhadrasaar. In some of the Purans he is called as Varisaar. In the Chinese text—Fa-Uen-Chu-Lin, he is called as Bindupal. In another book Rajabalikatha, the successor and son of Chandra Gupta is called as Sinhasen.

Ptolemy, the ruler of Egypt sent Dioniyas as his ambassador to the Court of Bindusaar.

In Chandra Gupta Maurya’s time, the chief of the city was called Nagaradhyaksha who worked like the modern District Magistrate.

The smallest unit of the administration was the village. Its chief officer was called Gramik or Gramani.

Gramani was elected by the people of the village.

In every village, there was an officer who was called Gram Bhojak.

In the administration of Chandra Gupta Maurya the department of espionage was well organized. According to Kautilya, there were two sections of the secret service—(1) Sansthan, (2) Sancharan.

In the inscriptions, Asoka is called Devanampriya and Priyadarshi.

The Ceylonese sources and Deepvansh, call him, Priyadarshan and Priyadarshi. Scholars think that these were his titles.

Asoka appointed an officer called Mahamatras in every city and district.

In the 13th year of his reign, he appointed Dharma Mahamatra and Dharmayukta for the first time for the happiness and peace of his people.

Upagupta was a Bauddhist monk of Mathura under his influence, Asoka changed his religion and accepted Buddhism.

Asoka sent his daughter Sanghmitra and son Mahendra to spread Buddhism in Sri Lanka.

In the mini edicts Asoka calls himself a Buddha Shakya.

Asoka sent Majjhantik to propagate Buddhism in Kashmir.

In 1750, it was Teffenthaler who first explored the Asokan pillars.

Asoka’s last edict was found by Beadon in 1915 at Maski.

The small edicts of Asoka are of two types. According to Smith, they were written in 259-232 B.C.

The first kind of Asokan small pillar edicts are available at Roopnath in Jabalpur district, Sahasaram in Shahabad district of Bihar, Maski, in Raichoor district, and Vairat in Rajasthan.

The second type of Asokan edicts have been found at Siddhpur (Chitralahug, Mysore) Jatig, Rameshwar and Brahmagiri.

The Bhabru edict was found at Bairath near Jaipur in Rajasthan. In this edict seven precepts of Buddhism have been given which Asoka liked most and he desired that the people should read them and make their conduct accordingly. This edict is preserved in Kolkata Museum.

Two edicts about Kalinga have been found at Dhauli and Jaugarh. In these, the principles of behavior with he people of Kalinga and with the frontier people have been outlined.

Asokan small edicts have been found at about 15 places.

The Erangudi edict was found in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh at a place known as Erangudi.

The Maski small edict was found from Maski village of Raichoor district of Andhra Pradesh. It contains the name of Asoka.

The Rajul Mandgiri edict was found on a mound 20 miles beyond Erangudi in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh.

The Gurjara edict has been found from a village named Gurjara in Datia district of Madhya Pradesh. It also mentions the name of Asoka.

Ahraura edict was found from a hill of the village Ahraura in Mirzapur district of U.P.

Palgoraria edict was found in 1975.

The Sannati inscription (edict) has been found in the village Sannati in the district of Gulbarga of Karnatic State.

The cave inscription are three in number which have been found in the Barabar hills of Gaya city in Bihar. These refer to the charity performed by the King to the Ajivaks.

The language of the Kandahar edict is Greek and Aramaic.

The Topara pillar edict has been found from a village named Topara in Haryana. In the course of time Firoz Tughlaq brought it to Delhi where it is kept at Feroz Shah Kotla ground.

Rumindei small pillar edict was found from the Tarai of Nepal.

Most of Asokan edicts are written in Prakrit language.

In Gupta age ships and boats were manufactured in large numbers. Gujarat, Bengal and Tamil Nadu were the main centers of cotton industry.

Trade between India and China was carried on before Gupta age, in 2nd century.

India had trade relations with eastern, countries. They were called Swarnabhumi (land of gold).

Peshawar, Bharaunch, Ujjaini, Varanasi, Prayag, Patliputra, Mathura, Vaishali and Tamralipti were trade centers.

In west Bharaunch and in east, Tamralipti were prominent ports.

Gold, silver, bronze, tin, camphor, dates and horses were imported.

The collective unit of the people who worked in various industries, were known as ‘Kuliks’.

‘Kulik Nigam’ and ‘Shreshthi Nigam were the unions of wealthy traders. The Kulik Nigam had its own seal which was used in commercial correspondence and the trade-goods.

In the Gupta age, India maintained trade relations with Arabia. Horses were imported from Arabia and Iran.

The Seals of Kulik have been excavated from the town Meeta near Allahabad.

From Vaishali 274 Seals of Sarthwah Kulik Nigam have been excavated prove that it was a great institution of the Gupta age.

Trade with China, Japan and Sumatra was carried from the port of Tamralipti.

In Gupta age the land tax was known as ‘Udrang’.

Kadur and Charpal were the ports situated in Andhra Pradesh.

Kaveripattanam and Tondai were the ports of Chola State.

Kokai and Saliyur were the ports of Pandya State.

Kottayam and Mujris were the ports of Malwa State.

Sindhu, Orhoth, Kalyan and Mibor were other main ports for trade.

Hiranya was the tax realized in cash. Bhutavat Pratyaya was the tax levied upon the imports from other countries.

Haldand was the tax charged on the Ploughed land.

A definite portion of the produce from agricultural land was charged as the land tax by the State. It was called Bhag tax. Generally it was charged in kind.

In the Gupta age, the land was donated only to the Brahmans.

The land donated to Brahmans was called Brahmdeya.

The tax free villages of the Brahmans were called Agrahara.

In the Gupta age, the Gram Parishads (village councils) were autonomous and free from the State control.

The uncultivated land was the property of the king.

The women who remained unmarried throughout their life and passed their time in studies were called Brahmavadinis.

Taxila, Varanasi and Ujjaini were prominent centers of education.

In the Gupta society, intercaste marriages were performed.

The slave system was practiced in the Gupta age.

The joint family system was in vogue in Gupta society.

In the women though not as much respected as in Vedic period, yet enjoyed important position in the society of Gupta age.

Sheelbhattarika was an educated and worthy woman of the Gupta age.

Widow remarriages were performed in the Gupta age, But some works of the age speak against it. Chandra Gupta II married the widow of Ramgupta, his brother. Her name was Dhruva Swamini.

Prostitutes, expert in music and dance, and perfect in sexology were called ‘Ganikas’.

The traders and commercial professionals had their ‘Shrenis’ in Gupta age. The Patkar, Tailik (oil traders), Pashan Kottak (stone cutters) were important Shrenis.

The author of ‘Swapnavasavaduttam’ was an eminent prose writer.

The author of Bhattikavya or Ravan Vadh, was Bhatti, an eminent poet of Gupta age.

Bhartahari wrote ‘Niti Shatak’, Shringar Shatak and Vairagya Shatak which became very famous. Some scholars believe that Bhartahari is another name for Bhatti.

‘Kuntleshwar Daityam’ is a drama that testifies to the fact that Kalidas belonged to the Gupta age.

‘Abhigyanshakuntalam’ ‘Meghdoot’ ‘Ritusanhar’ are some of the major works of Kalidas.

Kamsutra is a famous book on Sexology written by Vatsyayan.

Vaibhashik and Sanghbhadra were the two Acharyas (teachers) of the Gupta age who wrote the literature of the Vaibhashik sect.