indian history – Page 3 – Arunachal Pradesh PCS Free Notes

Medieval India

June 4, 2017October 7, 2024 by PSC Notes


		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 13^th 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 (12^th 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 (1/4^th 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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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)

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.

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

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.

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

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:

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.

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.

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.

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

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).

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.

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).

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

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.

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).

Medieval India

June 5, 2017October 6, 2024 by rawan239


		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 & Karina (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 13^th 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

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 Warina			Claims of Tara Bai settled by granting her Kolhapur
Treaty of Bhalke			Marathas won large parts of Khandesh by invading Karinataka.
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	Safarinama or Rihla	Ibn Batuta
20	Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri (Autobiography)	Jehangir
21	Tarikh-i-Shershahi	Abbas Sarwani
22	Tuzuk-i-Baburi/ Baburinama (in Turkish –Autobiography)	Babur
23	Shahjahannama	Inayat Khan
24	Dayabhaga	Jimuta Vahna
25	Periya Puranam (12^th 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 (1/4^th 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:

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.

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.

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).

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 incarination while Nirguna bhakti (Kabir) worshiped formless aspect of divinity.

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.

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.

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.

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)

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.

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

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.

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

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:

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.

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.

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.

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

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).

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.

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).

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

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.

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).

Other Contemporary States

June 5, 2017October 5, 2024 by rawan239


	Bihar			After Saadat Khan, Safdarjung became the king who was an impartial ruler &
				carried out many reforms & was made the wazir of mughal empire. Shuja-ud-Daula
				succeded him to throne. He was also made the wazir of mughal empire but he sided
				with Ahmad Shah Abdali in the Third Battle of Panipat.
	Bengal			Murshid Quli Khan was an able ruler. Later his son in law Shuja-ud-din & his son
				Sarfaraz came in that order. Sarfaraz was defeated by Alivardi Khan of Bihar. Later
				Alivardi Khan was defeated by Raghuji Bhonsle & forced him to surrender Orissa.
				After the death of Alivardi khan his grandson Siraj-ud-daula tool over who lost to
				Britishers under Lord Clive.
	Hyderabad			Nizam-ul-mulk Asaf Jah founded the state of Hyderabad in 1724.
	Mysore &			Since the downfall of the Vijaynagar empire Wodeyar dynasty was ruling. But in
	Haider Ali			the 18^th century two minister Nanjaraj & Devaraj usurped power early reducing the
				King Krishna Raj to a puppet. Haider Ali rose to become the Commander-in-Chief
				of the Mysore army & became the sultan after Nanjraj’s death. He was defeated by
				Peshwa Madhav Rao.
	Tipu Sultan			He defeated the combined forces of Marathas & Nizam in 1787 & soon after
				claimed himself Padshah at Seringapattam. He attempted to reduce the custom of
				jagirs& hereditary possession of poligars (small chieftans). He was a staunch
				muslim. He donated money to hindus but later got the temples abolished.
	Travancore			Martanda Verma
	Rajput States			Marwar (Ajit Singh), Amer (Sawai Jai Singh)
	Rohilkhand			Area between Agra & Awadh. Muhammad Khan Bangash ruled who was defeated
				by Maharana Chhatrasal of Bundelkhand with the help of Marathas.
	Sikhs			Ruler of one of the 12 Misls called Sukarchakiya. He with the help of his brave
				commander Hari Singh Nalwa won Multan, Kashmir & Peshawar.

Indus Valley Civilization

June 4, 2017October 4, 2024 by PSC Notes

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

Movements/Organizations

June 5, 2017October 3, 2024 by rawan239

Aligarh Movement	Sir Sayyed Ahmad Khan
Deoband	Represented by Mohammad Qasim Nanautavi & Rashid Ahmad Gangohi.
Movement	Nanautavi founded the ‘Dar-ul-Ullema’ madrasa at Deoband. This movement was
	strictly based on Islamic tradition unlike liberal Aligarh movement. The also
	promulgated a fatwa against Sayyid Ahmad’s associations. In 1919, Mufti Liyaqat
	Ullah Sahib founded the, ‘Jamaitul Ulema-i-Hind’ to further work in this
	direction. His role was prominent in the Khilafat movement.
Muslim League	Nawab Wakar-ul-Mulk presided over a gathering at the invitation of Nawab Salim
	Ullah of Dacca. Muslim league was the result. The constitution of the league was
	prepared in 1907 at Karachi. The first session of the league was held in 1908 at
	Amritsar. The same year Aga Khan became the president. The league supported
	partition of Bengal & was a loyalist organization. After 1913 Aga Khan left the
	league which led to the emergence of new leaders like Muhammad Ali, Shaukat
	Ali & M.A. Ansari.
Home Rule League	Estd by Annie Besant at Madras in September 1916. She was the president &
	other members included Arundale, P.C. Ramaswamy Iyer, V.P. Wadia.
	Balgangadhar Tilak had estd another Home Rule League in April 1916 at Pune.
Champaran	European planters forced the farmers to cultivate Indigo on atleast 3/20
Satyagraha 1917	(Tinkathiya) parts of their land. Rajendra Prasad, Mazhur-ul-Haq, J.B. Kriplani,
	Mahadev Desai accompanied him. An enquiry was set up to alleviate miseries of
	which even Gandhi was a member.
Kheda Satyagraha	Kheda peasants refused to pay revenue due to failure of crops. After Satyagraha

1918	the government issued instructions to collect revenue only from those who could
	afford to pay. Indulal Yagnik & Vallabh Bhai Patel supported Gandhi.
Ahmedabad Mill	Mahatma Gandhi considered 35 % increase in salary as just. He undertook a fast
Problem 1918	unto death & the strike came to an end. Ambalal Sarabhai’s sister Anasuya Behn
	was main lieutenant of Gandhi here.
Rowlatt Act	In March 1919, the Britishers passed the Rowlatt Act according to which any
	Indian could be arrested on the basis of suspicion. A nationwide satyagraha was
	organized which involved arrest of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr Satyapal, Dr. Saiffuddin
	Kitchlew & Arya Samaj leader Swami Shradhananda (shoot if you can rally).
Jallianwala Bagh	Demanded to know the whereabouts of Satyapal and Kitchlew throught the
Massacre	reciting of the poem ‘Fariyad’ on the day of Baisakhi (13^th April, 1919). Martial
	law was proclaimed later at Lahore, Gujarat & Layal with curfew at Amritsar. An
	enquiry was setup under Hunter. Rabindranath Tagore renounced his title.
Khilafat Movement	Sultan of Turkey was the Caliph. The allied powers were arrayed against Turkey.
	Mulana Abul Kalam Azad, M.A. Ansari, Saiffudin Kitchlew, Maulvi Abdulbari,
	Hakim Ajmal Khan & the Ali brothers were prominent leaders. British signed the
	Treaty of Tibers, partitioned Turkey & its Sultan was made a prisoner & sent to
	Constantinople.
Non Cooperation	Approval at Congress session in 1920. Leaders like Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Annie
1920-22	Besant & Bipin Chandra Pal not in agreement & left the congress. Students took
	their names off school. Kashi Vidyapeeth, Bihar Vidyapeeth, Jamia Milia Islamia
	were set up. No Congress leader contested for elections. Mass demonstrations
	before Duke of Connaught & Prince of wales. Tilak Swarajya Fund was
	established. Moplah rebellion was the ugly face. Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur, UP
	incidence led to its recall. Congress leaders like Motilal Nehru, Chittaranjan Das
	formed as separate group within the congress known as Swarajya Party with a
	purpose not to let the movement lapse.
AITUC	Formed in 1920 with Lotvala’s help. M.N Roy, Muzzafarabad Ahmad, S. A
1920	Dange & Shaukat Osmani led the trade unionist movements. The Britishers
	leveled the kanpur/Meerut conspiracy against them.
Swaraj Party	Suspension of Non Cooperation movement disoriented the leadership.
	Chittaranjan Das & Motilal Nehru were called ‘Pro-Changers’ & did not support
	the non cooperation movement. The other group was ‘no-changers’ & included C.
	Rajgopalachari, M.A. Ansari. In 1923 Das & Nehru formed the Swaraj Party at
	Allahabad with a view to take part in the 1923 Council elections. The swaraj party
	got clear majority in the Central legislature & Provincial legislatures except
	Bengal. After the passing away of Chittaranjan Das in 1925 the party weakened &
	further some of the leaders became corrupt. Therefore in the election of 1926 it
	suffered miserable defeat in all the provinces except Madras.
Hindustan	Established in October 1924 in Kanpur by revolutionaries like Ramprasad Bismil,
Republic	Jogesh Chatterjee, Chandrashekhar Azad and Sachindranath Sanyal. The Kakori
Associaiton 1924	Train Action was a notable act of terrorism by this group but trial prooved to be a
	major setback.However, the group was reorganized under the leadership of
	Chandrashekhar Azad and with members like Bhagat Singh, Bhagwati Charan
	Vohra and Sukhdev on 9 and 10 September 1928- and the group was now
	christened Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA). Bhagat Singh,
	Sukhdev and Rajguru were hanged in March 1931.
Communist Party	Was declared illegal in 1934. This ban continued till 1942 when there was an

of India 1925	agreement that the communist will support British in the war effort & sabotage the
	quit India movement. In a memorandum to the Cabinet Mission in 1946, they put
	forward a plan for the division of India into 17 sovereign states.
Bardoli Satyagraha	In Bardoli district of Surat under Vallabh Bhai Patel. The government had raised
	the tax rate by 30% despite famine.
All India States	Formed in 1926 whose first session was held under the presidentship of the
People Conference	famous leader of Ellore, Diwan Bahadur M. Ramachandra Rai.
Simon	The purpose was the review the Act of 1919 after a gap of ten years. The 7
Commission	member commission was labeled ‘White Men Commission’. Huge demonstration
	under Govind Vallabh Pant at Lucknow & Lala Lajpat at Lahore. The report of
	Simon Commission was published in May 1930. It stated the constitutional
	experiment with Dyarchy was unsuccessful & in its place recommended the
	establishment of autonomous government. It recommended special powers to
	governor general & governors to look after the interest of minorities,
	strengthening the centre, increasing electorate base on communal basis,
	Indianization of defence forces, delink Burma from India & Sindh from Bombay.
	The Indians rejected the report as it gave no regard to Dominion Status. It became
	a basis for the Govt of India Act 1935.
Nehru Report,	Secretary of State, Lord Birkenhead challenged the Indians to produce a
1928	constitution that would be acceptable to all. A meeting held at Bombay set up a 8
	member committee headed by Motilal Nehru & others included Bose, Tej Bahadur
	Sapru, Sir Ali Imam, Shahib Qureshi, Sardar Mangal Singh, MS Anney & G.R
	Pradhan. The report was placed before Congress Session in Calcutta in 1928
	where it was adopted unanimously. It recommended reservation for minorities
	instead of separate electorates. Jinnah & President of Central Sikh league, Sardar
	Kharak Singh rejected it. Later Jinnah convened an All India Conference of
	Muslims & drew up a list of 14 point. Jawahar & Bose were not happy with the
	dominion status.
Dandi March	Reached Dandi after marching with 78 handpicked followers & formally launched
April 1930	the Civil Disobedience Movement by breaking the Salt laws. Many muslims kept
	themselves aloof but in the NWFP an organization of Khudai Khidmatgar
	(Servants of Gods – Red Shirts) under Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan (Frontier Gandhi)
	participated in full.
I Round table	Held under the Chairmanship of Ramsay MacDonald. Failed to resolve any issues
Conference	as it was opposed by congress.
Nov 1930
Gandhi Irwin Pact	As per it Gandhi agreed to suspend the Civil Disobedience Movement &
March 1931	participate in the Second Round Table conference but most of the leaders did not
	like this pact.
II Round Table	At London. Mahatma Gandhi returned to India as no agreement could be reached.
Conference 1931	In January 1932 the civil disobedience movement was resumed.
McDonald	The British PM Ramsay MacDonald made an announcement according to which
Communal Award	the depressed classes were considered as separate community. Mahatma Gandhi
1932	went on a fast unto death in Yeravada Jail. An agreement was reached with the
	consent of Mahatma Gandhi & Ambedkar which came to be known as ‘Poona
	Act’. The British government also approved it. Accordingly 148 seats were
	reserved in different provincial legislatures in place of 71 as per communal award.
III Round Table	The congress once more didn’t take part in it. None the less the British

Conference 1932	Government issued a white paper which became basis for Govt of India Act 1935.
	Individual Civil Disobedience was launched in 1933
Congress Socialist	founded in 1934 by Jai Praksh Narain & Acharya Narendra Deva within the
Party 1934	Indian National Congress. Its members rejected what they saw as the Communist
	Party of India’s loyalty to the USSR as well as the anti-rational mysticism of
	Mohandas Gandhi. Although a socialist, Jawaharlal Nehru did not join the CSP.
	After independence, the CSP broke away from Congress, under the influence of JP
	Narayan and Basawon Singh (Sinha), to form the Socialist Party of India.

August Offer 1940	Envisaged that after the war a representative body of Indians would be set up to
	frame the new constitution.
Individual	Started in October 1940. In it Vinoba Bhave, Jawahar Nehru & Brahma Dutt were
Satyagraha 1940	the first 3 satyagrahis.
Cripps Mission	Viceroy Lord Linlithgow expanded is Executive council by taking five more
1942	Indians into it. The Indians were dissatisfied as it did not like the rights of the
	princely states to join or stay out of the Indian constitution. The demand for Pak
	also not considered leading to Muslim league rejecting the plan.
Quit India	The fear of an impending Japanese invasion Gandhi launched this campaign. In
Movement	the midst the government arrested all Indian leaders – Gandhi at Poona, others at
1942-44	Ahmadnagar fort. Rajendra Prasad was interned in Patna. The Congress Socialist
	Party whith its leaders like Ram Manohar Lohia, Achyuta Patwardhan played
	important role. Communist Party remained loyal to the British. The Muslims by &
	large remained indifferent.
INA	Captain Mohan Singh founded it in 1942. In 1943 he reached Singapore & gave a
	the cry of ‘Dilli Chalo’. He was made the president of the Indian Independence
	League. The name of the brigades were Subhash, Gandhi, Nehru & Rani
	Lakshmibai. In Nov 1943, Japan handed over Andamans & Nicobar Islands to
	him. He named them Shaheed Island & Swaraj Island respectively. The army
	marched towards imphal after registering victory over Kohima. But later Japan
	accepted defeat & Subhas died in a plain crash after crossing Formosa Island.
C.R. Formula 1944	To resolve the constitutional impasse Rajagopalachari evolved a formula in March
	1944. But it was rejected by Jinnah who would not settle without Pakistan.
Wavell Plan &	The main provisions were akin to Cripps mission proposals. It essentially dealt
Shimla Conference	with the Indian demand of self-rule & reconstitution of viceroy’s executive
1945	council giving a balanced representation to the major communities. Executive
	council was an interim arrangement in which all but the Viceory & the
	Commander in Chief were to be Indians & all portfolios except defence were to be
	held by Indian members. Conference broke down because of Jinnah’s insistence
	that Muslim league alone represented Indian Muslims & hence no non league
	muslim members could be nominated to viceroy’s council.
Cabinet Mission	Pathick Lawrence (secretary of state for India), Stafford Cripps & A.B. Alexander.
1946	Jinnah stuck his demand for Pakistan. It proposed the formation of Union of India
	comprising both British India & princely states (only foreign, defence &
	communication). A constitutional assembly was to be formed consisting of
	representatives of Provincial assemblies & princely states, elected on communal
	basis in proportion to the population of each province. Envisaged interim govt &
	said that until the constitution is framed & the govt estd British forces will not
	withdraw. The Congress & Muslim league accepted it in June 1946.
Elections	Following cabinet mission elections were held. Congress secured 205 out of 214

		general seats & had support of 4 sikh members. The Muslim league got 73 out of
		78 Muslim seats. Jinnah became greatly disturbed by the election results. He
		demanded separate constituent assembly & started instigating violent action. Later
		16 August 1946 was fixed as direct action day to withdraw its acceptance of
		cabinet mission plan. Communal riots broke out in Bengal, United Province,
		Punjab, Sindh & NWFP. Interim government was formed with Jawahar Nehru as
		head& 14 members – 6 congress, 5 League, one each Christian, Sikh & Parsi.
		However Muslim league kept out of the Interim government.
INA Trails		Held at Red Fort in Delhi. Nehru, Bhulabhai Desai, Tejbahadur Sapru fought the
		case on behalf of three senior INA officers, Shahnawaz khan, P.M. Sehgal & G.S.
		Gurudayal Dhillon led to their acquittal.
RIN Mutiny 1946		Indians serving in the Royal Indian Navy mutined. Around 5000 naval ratings put
		up INA badges.
Mountbatten Plan		Mountbatten came to India as Viceroy. He put forth the plan of partition of India
		in 3 June 1947. Punjab & Bengla would be divided into two parts with muslim &
		non muslim majority. Baluchistan had the right to determine which side to join.
		The power would be transferred on 15 August 1947. Referendum were to be held
		in NWFP, Sylhet (to join Assam or East Bengal). Legislative assembly of Sindh
		was to decide whether to join India or not.
Indian Independece		The British Parliament passed the Indian Independence act on 18^th July 1947.
Act 1947		Partition on 15^th August. The act provided separate governor generals for the two
		dominions. Abolition of the post of secretary of state for India. Pending the
		adoption of new constitution, the administration of the two dominions & the
		provinces would be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the
		government of India act 1935 though special powers of the Governor General &
		the Provincial governors would be ceased. Jinnah became the first governor
		general of Pakistan.
Unification Drive		On 5^th July 1947, Vallabhbhai Patel appealed to the Indian provinces to handover.
		He followed up his appeal with a hurricane tour of 40 days in which he invited all
		the native princes to join the Indian union by 5^th August. In Kashmir Hari Singh
		sent his PM Meharchand Mahajan with the signed papers for the merger. In
		Hyderabad the nawab wanted to continue his arbitary rule with the help of
		Rajakars. Finally after military action, Rajakars were expelled & the instrument of
		accession signed.
Pondicherry & Goa		The other French territories were Karaikal, Mahe,Yanam & Chanderinagore.
		Chanderinagore had acceded to India on the basis of a plebiscite. In 1954 all the
		French possession in India were formally handed over to India though the legal
		transfer took place in 1962. Operation ‘Vijay’ was carried out for the liberation of
		Goa when satyagraha failed in 1961. It became a state in 1987.

The Gupta Empire

June 4, 2017October 1, 2024 by PSC Notes

The Gupta Empire stretched across northern, central and parts of southern India between c. 320 and 550 CE. The period is noted for its achievements in the arts, architecture, sciences, religion, and philosophy. Chandragupta I (320 – 335 CE) started a rapid expansion of the Gupta Empire and soon established himself as the first sovereign ruler of the empire. It marked the end of 500 hundred years of domination of the provincial powers and resulting disquiet that began with the fall of the Mauryas. Even more importantly, it began a period of overall prosperity and growth that continued for the next two and half centuries which came to be known as a “Golden Age” in India’s history. But the seed of the empire was sown at least two generations earlier than this when Srigupta, then only a regional monarch, set off the glory days of this mighty dynasty in circa 240 CE.

GUPTA PERIOD – EARLY DAYS TO THE ZENITH

Not much is known about the early days of this Gupta dynasty. The travel diaries and writings of Buddhist monks who frequented this part of the world are the most trustworthy sources of information we have about those days. The travelogues of Fa Hien (Faxian, circa 337 – 422 CE), Hiuen Tsang (Xuanzang, 602 – 664 CE) and Yijing (I Tsing, 635 – 713 CE) prove to be invaluable in this respect. The Gupta Empire during the rule of Srigupta (circa 240 – 280 CE) comprised only Magadha and probably a part of Bengal too. Like the Mauryas and other Magadha kings who preceded him, Srigupta ruled from Pataliputra, close to modern day Patna. Srigupta was succeeded to the throne by his son Ghatotkacha (circa 280 – 319 CE).

CHANDRAGUPTA I

From the Kushans, the Gupta kings learned the benefit of maintaining a cavalry and Chandragupta I, son of Ghatotkacha, made effective use of his strong army. Through his marriage with Licchhavi Princess Kumaradevi, Chandragupta I received the ownership of rich mines full of iron ore adjacent to his kingdom. Metallurgy was already at an advanced stage and forged iron was not only used to meet the internal demands, but also became a valuable trade commodity. The territorial heads ruling over various parts of India could not counter the superior armed forces of Chandragupta I and had to surrender before him. It is conjectured that at the end of his reign, the boundary of the Gupta Empire already extended to Allahabad.

SAMUDRAGUPTA

Samudragupta (circa 335 – 375 CE), Chandragupta I’s son who ascended the throne next, was a military genius and he continued the growth of the kingdom. After conquering the remainder of North India, Samudragupta turned his eyes to South India and added a portion of it to his empire by the end of his Southern Campaign. It is generally believed that during his time the Gupta Empire spanned from the Himalayas in north to the mouth of Krishna and Godavari rivers in the South, from Balkh, Afghanistan in the west to the Brahmaputra River in the east.

Samudragupta was very attentive to rajdharma (duties of a king) and took special care to follow Kautilya’s (350 – 275 BCE) Arthashastra (an economic, social and political treatise that has clear instructions about how a monarchy should be governed) closely. He donated large sums of money for various philanthropic purposes, including the promotion of education. Besides being a courageous king and able administrator, he was a poet and musician. The large number of gold coins circulated by him showcases his multifaceted talent. An inscription, probably commissioned by subsequent Gupta kings, known as the Allahabad Pillar is most eloquent about his humane qualities. Samudragupta also believed in promoting goodwill among various religious communities. He gave, for example, Meghavarna, king of Ceylon, permission and support for the construction of a monastery in Bodh Gaya.

CHANDRAGUPTA II

A short struggle for power appears to have ensued after the reign of Samudragupta. His eldest son Ramagupta became the next Gupta king. This was noted by 7th century CE Sanskrit author Banbhatta in his biographical work, Harshacharita. What followed next forms a part of Sanskrit poet and playwright Visakh Dutta’s drama DeviChandra Guptam. As the story goes, Ramagupta was soon overcome by a Scythian king of Mathura. But the Scythian king, besides the kingdom itself, was interested in Queen Dhruvadevi who was also a renowned scholar. To maintain peace Ramagupta gave up Dhruvadevi to his opponent. It is then Ramagupta’s younger brother Chandragupta II with a few of his close aides went to meet the enemy in disguise. He rescued Dhruvadevi and assassinated the Scythian king. Dhruvadevi publicly condemned her husband for his behaviour. Eventually, Ramagupta was killed by Chandragupta II who also married Dhruvadevi sometime later.

Like Samudragupta, Chandragupta II (circa 380 – 414 CE) was a benevolent king, able leader and skilled administrator. By defeating the satrap of Saurashtra, he further expanded his kingdom to the coastline of the Arabian Sea. His courageous pursuits earned him the title of Vikramaditya. To rule the vast empire more efficiently, Chandragupta II founded his second capital in Ujjain. He also took care to strengthen the navy. The seaports of Tamralipta and Sopara consequently became busy hubs of maritime trade. He was a great patron of art and culture too. Some of the greatest scholars of the day including the navaratna (nine gems) graced his court. Numerous charitable institutions, orphanages and hospitals benefitted from his generosity. Rest houses for travellers were set up by the road side. The Gupta Empire reached its pinnacle during this time and unprecedented progress marked all areas of life.

POLITICS & ADMINISTRATION

Great tact and foresight were shown in the governance of the vast empire. The efficiency of their martial system was well known. The large kingdom was divided into smaller pradesha (provinces) and administrative heads were appointed to take care of them. The kings maintained discipline and transparency in the bureaucratic process. Criminal law was mild, capital punishment was unheard of and judicial torture was not practised. Fa Hien called the cities of Mathura and Pataliputra as picturesque with the latter being described as a city of flowers. People could move around freely. Law and order reigned and, according to Fa Hien, incidents of theft and burglary were rare.

The following also speaks volumes about the prudence of the Gupta kings. Samudragupta acquired a far greater part of southern India than he cared to incorporate into his empire. Therefore, in quite a few cases, he returned the kingdom to the original kings and was satisfied only with collecting taxes from them. He reckoned that the great distance between that part of the country and his capital Pataliputra would hinder the process of good governance.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

People led a simple life. Commodities were affordable and all round prosperity ensured that their requirements were met easily. They preferred vegetarianism and shunned alcoholic beverages. Gold and silver coins were issued in great numbers which is a general indicative of the health of the economy. Trade and commerce flourished both within the country and outside. Silk, cotton, spices, medicine, priceless gemstones, pearl, precious metal and steel were exported by sea. Highly evolved steelcraft led everyone to a belief that Indian iron was not subject to corrosion. The 7 m (23 ft) high Iron Pillar in Qutub complex, Delhi, built around 402 CE, is a testimony to this fact. Trade relations with Middle East improved. Ivory, tortoise shell etc. from Africa, silk and some medicinal plants from China and the Far East were high on the list of imports. Food, grain, spices, salt, gems and gold bullion were primary commodities of inland trade.

RELIGION

Gupta kings knew that the well-being of the empire lie in maintaining a cordial relationship between the various communities. They were devout Vaishnava (Hindus who worship the Supreme Creator as Vishnu) themselves, yet that did not prevent them from being tolerant towards the believers of Buddhism and Jainism. Buddhist monasteries received liberal donations. Yijing observed how the Gupta kings erected inns and rest houses for Buddhist monks and other pilgrims. As a pre-eminent site of education and cultural exchange Nalanda prospered under their patronage. Jainism flourished in northern Bengal, Gorakhpur, Udayagiri and Gujarat. Several Jain establishments existed across the empire and Jain councils were a regular occurrence.

LITERATURE, SCIENCES & EDUCATION

Sanskrit once again attained the status of a lingua franca and managed to scale even greater heights than before. Poet and playwright Kalidasa created such epics as Abhijnanasakuntalam, Malavikagnimitram, Raghuvansha and Kumarsambhaba. Harishena, a renowned poet, panegyrist and flutist, composed Allahabad Prasasti, Sudraka wrote Mricchakatika, Vishakhadatta created Mudrarakshasa and Vishnusharma penned Panchatantra. Vararuchi, Baudhayana, Ishwar Krishna and Bhartrihari contributed to both Sanskrit and Prakrit linguistics, philosophy and science.

Varahamihira wrote Brihatsamhita and also contributed to the fields of astronomy and astrology. Genius mathematician and astronomer Aryabhata wrote Surya Siddhanta which covered several aspects of geometry, trigonometry and cosmology. Shanku devoted himself to creating texts about Geography. Dhanvantri’s discoveries helped the Indian medicinal system of ayurveda become more refined and efficient. Doctors were skilled in surgical practices and inoculation against contagious diseases was performed. Even today, Dhanvantri’s birth anniversary is celebrated on Dhanteras, two days before Diwali. This intellectual surge was not confined to the courts or among the royalty. People were encouraged to learn the nuances of Sanskrit literature, oratory, intellectual debate, music and painting. Several educational institutions were set up and the existing ones received continuous support.

ART, ARCHITECTURE & CULTURE

What philosopher and historian Ananda Coomaraswamy said in The Arts & Crafts of India & Ceylone, about the art of the region must be remembered here,

The Hindus do not regard the religious, aesthetic, and scientific standpoints as necessarily conflicting, and in all their finest work, whether musical, literary, or plastic, these points of view, nowadays so sharply distinguished, are inseparably united.

The finest examples of painting, sculpture and architecture of the period can be found in Ajanta, Ellora, Sarnath, Mathura, Anuradhapura and Sigiriya. The basic tenets of Shilpa Shasrta (Treatise on Art) were followed everywhere including in town planning. Stone studded golden stairways, iron pillars (The iron pillar of Dhar is twice the size of Delhi’s Iron Pillar), intricately designed gold coins, jewellery and metal sculptures speak volumes about the skills of the metalsmiths. Carved ivories, wood and lac-work, brocades and embroidered textile also thrived. Practicing vocal music, dance and seven types of musical instruments including veena (an Indian musical stringed instrument), flute and mridangam (drum) were a norm rather than exception. These were regularly performed in temples as a token of devotion. In classic Indian style, artists and litterateurs were encouraged to meditate on the imagery within and capture its essence in their creations. As Agni Purana suggests, “O thou Lord of all gods, teach me in dreams how to carry out all the work I have in my mind.”

DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE

After the demise of his father Chandragupta II, Kumaragupta I (circa 415 – 455 CE) ruled over the vast empire with skill and ability. He was able to maintain peace and even fend off strong challenges from a tribe known as Pushyamitra. He was helped by his able son Skandagupta (455 – 467 CE) who was the last of the sovereign rulers of the Gupta Dynasty. He also succeeded in preventing the invasion of the Huns (Hephthalites). Skandagupta was a great scholar and wise ruler. For the well being of the denizens he carried out several construction works including the rebuilding of a dam on Sudarshan Lake, Gujarat. But these were the last of the glory days of the empire.

After Skandagupta’s death the dynasty became embroiled with domestic conflicts. The rulers lacked the capabilities of the earlier emperors to rule over such a large kingdom. This resulted in a decline in law and order. They were continuously plagued by the attacks of the Huns and other foreign powers. This put a dent in the economic well-being of the empire. On top of this, the kings remained more occupied with self-indulgence than in preparing to meet with the challenges of their enemies. The inept ministers and administrative heads also followed suit. Notably, after the defeat and capture of Mihirakula, one of the most important Hephthalite emperors of the time, Gupta King Baladitya set him free on the advice of his ministers. The Huns came back to haunt the empire later and finally drew the curtains on this illustrious empire in circa 550. The following lines of King Sudraka’s Mricchakatika (The Little Clay Cart) aptly sum up the rise and fall in the fortune of the Gupta Dynasty.

Modern Period – Later Mughals

June 5, 2017September 29, 2024 by rawan239



1707-12	Bahadur Shah I
1712-13	Jahandar Shah
1713-19	Farukk Siyar
1719-48	Muhammad Shah Rangila
1748-54	Ahmad Shah
1754-59	Alamgir II
1759-1806	Shah Alam II
1806-1837	Akbar Shah II
1837-57	Bahadur Shah II

	Later Mughal Rulers
Bahadur Shah I	After the death of Aurangzeb, prince Muazzam, Azam & Kam Bakhsh fought in
1707-1712	which Mauzzam emerged victorious & assumed the title of Bahadur Shah I. Banda
	Bahadur who killed Wazir khanwas defeated by him. Was referred to as ‘Shah-i-
	Bekhabar’.
Jahandar Shah	Later after Bahadur Shah’s death, his son Jahandar Shah came to power after killing
1712-13	his other brothers with the help of Zulfikar Khan. He made peace with the Jats,
	Shahuji & honoured rajput kings.
Farrukh Siyar	Nephew of Jahandar Shah, Farrukh Siyar killed him with the help of Sayyid
1713-19	brothers – Abdulla Khan (Wazir) & Hussain Ali Khan (Mir Bakshi). Farrukh Siyar
	tried to check the powers of Sayyid brothers but the latter got him killed & crowned
	two princes Raffi-ud-Darajat, Raffi-ud-Daula in quick succession. Later they made
	Muhammad Shah (Grandson of Bahadur Shah I) as the king. After his accession the
	Sayyid brothers fell victim to the intrigue of Turani Amirs.
Muhammad	During his tenure most the independent kingdoms were established: Nizam-ul-Mulk
Shah Rangila	(Deccan), Saadat Khan (Awadh) & Murshid Quli Khan (Bengal). Iranian King
1719-48	Nadir Shah invaded in 1739 on invitation of Saadat Khan (Awadh). The latter was
	imprisoned by Nadir Shah for not able to pay the promised ransom. Nadir Shah
	took the peacock throne & the Kohinoor diamond with him.
Ahmad Shah	Son of Muhammad Shah. During his reign Ahmad Shah Abdali (claimed himself
1748-54	ruler of Kandhar after the assassination of Nadir Shah by Persian in 1747)
	repeatedly attacked. Later Ahmad Shah was killed & deposed by his own Wazir
	Imad-ul-Mulk.
Alamgir II	Actual name Aziz-ud-din. Frequency of Abdali attacks increased. [1754-59]
Shah Alam II	1759-1806
Akbar Shah II	1806-1837
Bahadur Shah II	1837-57

Miscellaneous Facts:

June 5, 2017September 28, 2024 by rawan239

1.The Marathas were Scindia (Gwalior), Holkar (Indore), Gaekwar (Baroda), Bhonsle (Nagpur).

2.Sawai Jai Singh of Amer (Jaipur) had Euclid’s ‘Elements of Geometry) & several works on Trigonometry were translated into Sanskrit. Banda Bairagi was baptised as Banda Singh Bahadur by Guru Gobind Singh.

3.Alfonso d’ Albuquerque came to India as the Portuguese governor & later captured Goa.

4.By a Farman issued in 1717 by Farrukh Siyar the East India company gained many concessions. The first British factory was established in 1651 in Hughli under permission from Shah Shuja, Subedar of Bengal & son of mughal emperor Shah Jahan.

5.Clive introducted the system of dual administration in Bengal under which the company acquired real power while the responsibility of administration – Nizamat as well as Diwani was exercised through Indians. This system was finally terminated by Warren Hastings.

6.Under subsidiary alliance a British resident & army was to be kept at the princely state & a portion of the territory/annual amount was to be given for maintenance. In return the states got British protection.

7.Devasting famine of Bengal in 1770 & 1837 (8 lakhs died). Later there was serious famine in 1896-97 & 1899-1901.

8.The sequence of states which were annexed by doctrine of lapse were Satara (1848), Sambalpur of Orissa, Jaitpur in Bundelkhand (both in 1849), Baghat (1850)Udaipur (1852), Jhansi (1853), Nagpur (1854). Awadh was annexed on the grounds of misrule.

9.First direct translation of a Sanskrit work into English was completed by Charles Wilkins. The book that was translated was the Bhagavad-Gita. The pindaris were a group of irregular horsemen attached to the Maratha army who used to serve without pay but were allowed to plunder. The British suppressed them.

The Britishers stopped the pension of Peshwa Baji Rao II’s adopted son Nana Sahib, the nawab of Carinatic & the Raja of Tanjore.

The army officers in Bengal were paid two times extra allowance in comparison to their counterparts in Madras. Lord Clive stopped this & consequently the British Army Officers rose in revolt which came to be known as the White Revolt.

In 1853 Charles Wood became the Chairman of the board of control. Consequently by the Charter Act of 1853, Indians were allowed entry into the Civil Services. The minimum age was raised to 23 & its centre was England & Enlish was made the medium. The dispatch recommended the establishment of one university each in Calcutta, Bombay & Madras on the model of London University.

Cornwallis was the first Governor General to establish a regular police force on the British pattern in India. Warren Hastings established a fauzdari & Diwani Adalats. The Diwani adalats were presided over by the District collectors whereas Indian Judges assisted by Muftis & Qazis decided cases in Faujdari adalats.

Appeals from these adalats could be made to Sadar Diwani adalat & Sadar Nizamal adalat at Calcutta. Warren Hastings also established a madrasa in Calcutta to encourage study of Muslim laws.

The Sadar Diwani & Sadar Nizamat adalats operated on the basis of Indian laws.

Lord Cornwallis divested the collector of all judicial powers, thereby putting an end to his role as both the collector of revenue & the district magistrate. He created a new post called District judge for the purpose. During his period the system of Zamidari was introduced. The Mahalwari & Ryotwari systems were also devised to maximize revenue collections.

Gradation of criminal courts were – district, circuit, provincial circuit & the highest Sadar Nizamat Adalat. The Governor General enjoyed power of pardon. In case of civil law the gradation was Munsifs, court of registrars, district courts, provincial courts (Calcutta, Dacca, Murshidabad& Patna), Sadar Diwani Adalat & the highest King in Council.

Lord William Bentick established separate Sadar Nizamat Adalat & Sadar Diwan Adalat were set up at Allahabad for convenience of N W Indian population.

The Widow Remarriage Act was passed in 1856. In 1891 though the enactment of the age of consent act the minimum marriageable age for a girl was raised to 12 years. In 1930 though the Sharda Act the minimum age was raised to 14 years. After independence the limit was raised to 15 years (1948) & 18 years (1978).

Railways were introduced during Dalhousie’s period. Dalhousie also passed Religious Disabilities Act. Till 1850 a convert to other religion used to be disinherited from the ancestral property, but now even after adopting Christianity his claims on property remained intact. Lord Caning (1856-62) was the last governor general of the east India company.

In 1852 Inam commission was established. Its objective was to take over the lands on which revenue was not being paid.

Lord Ellenborough discontinued the practice of giving gifts to Bahadur Shah & stuck his name off the coins. Dalhousie asked him to vacate Delhi & shift to Qutab area. Canning announced that the emperor should renounce the title & his status be reduced to that of a prince.

The mode of carrying the revolt of 1857 was chappatis & red lotus. Initally planned on 31^st May but on 29^th March Magal Pandey revolted. Bakht Khan was the actual leader at Delhi, Begum Hazrat Mahal at Lucknow (declared her minor son Bijris Kadar the nawab & rose in revolt), Nana Saheb, Tantya Tope, Azimullah khan at Kanpur, Kunwar Singh of Jagdishpur (Bihar),Ahmadullah at Rohilkhand, Ranga Bapuji Gupte in Maharashtra, Sonaji Pant & Ranga Rao Page of Kolhapur, Radhakrishna Dandsena at Ganjam. Chengalpet (under Annagiri & Krishna) near Madras was also a major centre.

Loyalist included Holkar of Indore, ruler of Gwalior, rulers of Patiala, Jind, Nabha, Nizam of Hyderabad, Gulab Singh of Kashmir, Sikh rulers of Patiala, Nawab of Bhopal, rulers of Tehri & Tikagarh. Big landlords, moneylenders & traders also supported the rule of the company. The English educated classes also remained indifferent. Queen of Bahadur Shah, Rani Jeenat Mahal & her two sons joined hands with the enemy.

Bahadur Shah was sent to Asylum in Rangoon where he died in 1862.

The white soldiers revolted because of their discontent due to shifting of their divisions from the East India Company to the command of British Crown. Due to this Canning had to remove nearly 10,000 soldiers. This was called the ‘Revolt of the whites’.

Following the revolt the army was reorganized. No European was recruited in the local forces. Crucial branches of army like artillery exclusive for British. Except for some loyal regiments the Bengal army was disbanded.

In 1876 the British Parliament passed an Act known as the ‘Royal Titles Act’ by which the Queen Victoria assumed the title of the ‘Empress of India’. The practice of Royal Darbar (1877) during Lytton was introduced to instill loyalty among the Indian princes. Again Royal Durbar at Delhi during Curzon’s period in 1903 to commemorate the coronation of Edward VII.

After 1857, due to the Press Registration Act of 1867, liberty of press which had been given by Metcalf (1835) was finished. The Verinacular Press Act of Lord Lytton of 1878 which empowered the district magistrates to call upon the publisher to enter into a bond undertaking not to publish anything likely to excite feelings of dissatisfaction. English papers were exempted from it. No appeal could be made. Amrita Bazar Patrika started publishing in English instead of Bengali. Indian Arms Act passed by Lytton in 1878 barred Indians from possessing weapons unless considered loyal subjects by Britishers.

Through an act in 1860 the age limit fro Civils was reduced from 23 to 22 & it was further reduced to 21 in 1866 & probation in England extended for a period of 2 years from 1 year before. In 1864 Satyendra Nath Tagore was the first Indian to clear. In 1869, Sri Surendranath Banerjea, Sri Bihari Lal Gupta & R.C Dutt succeded. In 1877 the maximum age was further reduced from 21 to 19. Lytton proposed a plan for Statutory Civil Services in 1879 which was not to have the same status as covenanted services. However an amendment provided that a maximum of 1/6^th of its member should be Indians.

The Hunter Commission (1882) was officially known as the Indian Education Commission, appointed to review the state of education since Wood’s dispatch & headed by William Wilson Hunter.

Ilbert Bill (1883) of Ripon (1880-84) was meant for allowing Indian judges to try Europeans. Lord Ripon repealed the Verinacular Press Act in 1882.

Chief Pre Congress organizations were Land Holders Society (1837), British India Society (1843), British Indian Association (1851) in Bengal, Native Association (1852) in Madras & Bombay Association (1852) in Bombay. In 1866 Dadabhai Naroji (Grand Old Man of India & president of Congress twice) set up the East India Association in London.

The Pune Public Conference (Ganesha Vasudev Joshi, S.H. Sathe, Chiplunkar& MG Ranade) was established in 1870. In Calcutta the Indian league (Editors of ABP- Sisir Kumar Ghosh, Shambhuchand Mukherjee, Kali Mohan Das & J.C. Dutt) was established in 1875

The ‘Indian Association’ was set up in 1876. Its leaders were Anand Mohan Bose & Surendranath Banerjea. The Mahajan Sabha (P. Rangayya Naidu, V. Raghavachari & Anandcharlu) was estd in Madras in 1884. In 1885 Hume spoke of his own party as Indian National Union which later came to be known as Indian national Congress (during Dufferin’s tenure). The actual purpose was to strengthen British rule & act like a safety valve. Under the leadership of William Digby, the congress opened a branch in England in 1888 & started a magazine called ‘India’.

Aurobindo Ghosh (1872-1950) returned to India after 14 years stay in England in January 1893. Annie Besant arrived in India the same year & Mahatma Gandhi went to S.A in connection with the trial of a merchant, Abdulla Seth. Tilak was arrested for seditious writing in his paper “Kesari” & sentenced for six years (1908-14) imprisonment. He asked Jinnah to defend him.

In 1904 the Administrative Secrecy Act was passed which considered breach on official secrets as a criminal offence. The same year the Indian Universities Act was passed which increased the government control on the universities.

In the partition of Bengal, Chittagong, Rajshahi & Dacca were merged with Assam to form new province. Dacca was proposed to be its capital. The remaining part included West Bengal, Bihar & Orissa. Finally Curzon announced the partition of Bengal on October 16, 2005. This was observed as ‘black day’.

In the 1915 session of the Muslim league Mahatma Gandhi, Sarojni Naidu & Madan Mohan Malviya took part which was presided by M.A. Jinnah. The Congress accepted the demand of separate electorates.

Gandhiji wrote in Hind Swaraj, ‘Passive resistance (Satyagraha) is an all sided sword’. He wanted the satyagrahi to observe perfect chastity, adopt poverty, follow truth & cultivate fearlessness.

Under the Morley-Minto reforms of 1909 only 1 percent & under the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms of 1919, two & a half percent, & under Govt of India act 1935, 13 percent population became eligible voters. Elections to provincial legislatures were held in 1937 & the congress virtually swept the polls. The Muslim league could register victory only in 81 seats out of 482 Muslim seats. Viceroy Linlithgow assured Congress of his cooperation. The congress formed government in 7 states. In two states in Sindh & Assam ministries

were formed by congress support. In Punjab the Unionist Party & the Muslim League formed the coalition government & in Bengal the coalition ministry of Krishak Praja Party & the Muslim League came to power.

In 1937, after the elections Mohammad Ali Jinnah Proposed to form a coalition ministry in the United Provinces (as they were in minority) but the congress refused. At this juncture Jinnah proposed his ‘two-nation theory’. The Muslim league celebrated 12 December 1939, the day on which the Congress Ministries resigned from office as the ‘Deliverance Day’. However communal stock flared up in 1940 when the Muslim League accepting the two nation theory in its annual session at Lahore demanded Pakistan creation. The Jamait-ul-Ulema-e-Hind, Khudai Khidmatgar opposed the demand.

In 1939 without consulting the people of India, the British government involved the people in war. Hence the congress ministries resigned.

The Hindu Mahasabha was established in 1915 on the occasion of the Kumbh Mela at Hardwar by Madan Mohan Malaviya. V.D Savarkar, Lala Lajpat Rai participated in it.

On 26^th November 1949, Dr. Rajendra Prasad as the president of the constituent assembly formally signed the constitution, even while expressing his dissent on 20 points. It was primarily written in English & no educational qualification was set for any posts enshrined in it. India was then divided into 562 princely states (accounting for 48 % area & 20 % population) other than British India.

During 1941-45, no sessions of Congress were held due to arrest of all eminent leaders

Manabendra Nath Roy (March 21, 1887 January 25, 1954) was an Indian Communist leader. Roy was

born as Narendranath Bhattacharya. He had a leading role in revolutionary movements in India, Mexico, the Middle East, the Soviet Union, Indonesia and China. Like Marx he was both and activist and a phisopher; in fact Lenin called him “the Oriental Marx”. Roy tried to organize an armed insurrection in India in 1915; founded the Communist Party of Mexico (1919) and the emigre Communist Party of India in Tashkent (1920); rose to occupy the highest offices of the Communist Interinational and led the Commintern’s delegation to China (1927). At the same time he authored such Marxist classics as India in Transition

(1922), The Future of Indian Politics (1926) and Revolution and Counter-revolution in China (1930); and founded the organ of the emigre Communist Party of India, The Vanguard (and later The Masses) and edited it for seven years (1922-28).

Administrative Organization of the British

June 5, 2017September 27, 2024 by rawan239

Army

Army fulfilled four important functions:

Instrument to conquer Indian powers
Defended the British Empire in India against foreign rivals
Safe-guarded against interinal revolt
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:

There was absence of modern nationalism at that time
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:

Prevented organization of a large-scale conspiracy against foreign control
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:

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

Major drawbacks of the English education system:

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.
Almost total neglect of the education of girls. As late as 1921 only 2 percent Indian women could read and write.
Neglect of scientific and technical education.
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

Miscellaneous Facts:

June 4, 2017September 26, 2024 by PSC Notes

1.The Marathas were Scindia (Gwalior), Holkar (Indore), Gaekwar (Baroda), Bhonsle (Nagpur).

3.Alfonso d’ Albuquerque came to India as the Portuguese governor & later captured Goa.

7.Devasting famine of Bengal in 1770 & 1837 (8 lakhs died). Later there was serious famine in 1896-97 & 1899-1901.

The Britishers stopped the pension of Peshwa Baji Rao II’s adopted son Nana Sahib, the nawab of Carnatic & the Raja of Tanjore.

The army officers in Bengal were paid two times extra allowance in comparison to their counterparts in Madras. Lord Clive stopped this & consequently the British Army Officers rose in revolt which came to be known as the White Revolt.

In 1853 Charles Wood became the Chairman of the board of control. Consequently by the Charter Act of 1853, Indians were allowed entry into the Civil Services. The minimum age was raised to 23 & its centre was England & Enlish was made the medium. The dispatch recommended the establishment of one university each in Calcutta, Bombay & Madras on the model of London University.

Cornwallis was the first Governor General to establish a regular police force on the British pattern in India. Warren Hastings established a fauzdari & Diwani Adalats. The Diwani adalats were presided over by the District collectors whereas Indian Judges assisted by Muftis & Qazis decided cases in Faujdari adalats.

Appeals from these adalats could be made to Sadar Diwani adalat & Sadar Nizamal adalat at Calcutta. Warren Hastings also established a madrasa in Calcutta to encourage study of Muslim laws.

The Sadar Diwani & Sadar Nizamat adalats operated on the basis of Indian laws.

Lord Cornwallis divested the collector of all judicial powers, thereby putting an end to his role as both the collector of revenue & the district magistrate. He created a new post called District judge for the purpose. During his period the system of Zamidari was introduced. The Mahalwari & Ryotwari systems were also devised to maximize revenue collections.

Gradation of criminal courts were – district, circuit, provincial circuit & the highest Sadar Nizamat Adalat. The Governor General enjoyed power of pardon. In case of civil law the gradation was Munsifs, court of registrars, district courts, provincial courts (Calcutta, Dacca, Murshidabad& Patna), Sadar Diwani Adalat & the highest King in Council.

Lord William Bentick established separate Sadar Nizamat Adalat & Sadar Diwan Adalat were set up at Allahabad for convenience of N W Indian population.

The Widow Remarriage Act was passed in 1856. In 1891 though the enactment of the age of consent act the minimum marriageable age for a girl was raised to 12 years. In 1930 though the Sharda Act the minimum age was raised to 14 years. After independence the limit was raised to 15 years (1948) & 18 years (1978).

Railways were introduced during Dalhousie’s period. Dalhousie also passed Religious Disabilities Act. Till 1850 a convert to other religion used to be disinherited from the ancestral property, but now even after adopting Christianity his claims on property remained intact. Lord Caning (1856-62) was the last governor general of the east India company.

In 1852 Inam commission was established. Its objective was to take over the lands on which revenue was not being paid.

Lord Ellenborough discontinued the practice of giving gifts to Bahadur Shah & stuck his name off the coins. Dalhousie asked him to vacate Delhi & shift to Qutab area. Canning announced that the emperor should renounce the title & his status be reduced to that of a prince.

The mode of carrying the revolt of 1857 was chappatis & red lotus. Initally planned on 31^st May but on 29^th March Magal Pandey revolted. Bakht Khan was the actual leader at Delhi, Begum Hazrat Mahal at Lucknow (declared her minor son Bijris Kadar the nawab & rose in revolt), Nana Saheb, Tantya Tope, Azimullah khan at Kanpur, Kunwar Singh of Jagdishpur (Bihar),Ahmadullah at Rohilkhand, Ranga Bapuji Gupte in Maharashtra, Sonaji Pant & Ranga Rao Page of Kolhapur, Radhakrishna Dandsena at Ganjam. Chengalpet (under Annagiri & Krishna) near Madras was also a major centre.

Loyalist included Holkar of Indore, ruler of Gwalior, rulers of Patiala, Jind, Nabha, Nizam of Hyderabad, Gulab Singh of Kashmir, Sikh rulers of Patiala, Nawab of Bhopal, rulers of Tehri & Tikagarh. Big landlords, moneylenders & traders also supported the rule of the company. The English educated classes also remained indifferent. Queen of Bahadur Shah, Rani Jeenat Mahal & her two sons joined hands with the enemy.

Bahadur Shah was sent to Asylum in Rangoon where he died in 1862.

The white soldiers revolted because of their discontent due to shifting of their divisions from the East India Company to the command of British Crown. Due to this Canning had to remove nearly 10,000 soldiers. This was called the ‘Revolt of the whites’.

Following the revolt the army was reorganized. No European was recruited in the local forces. Crucial branches of army like artillery exclusive for British. Except for some loyal regiments the Bengal army was disbanded.

In 1876 the British Parliament passed an Act known as the ‘Royal Titles Act’ by which the Queen Victoria assumed the title of the ‘Empress of India’. The practice of Royal Darbar (1877) during Lytton was introduced to instill loyalty among the Indian princes. Again Royal Durbar at Delhi during Curzon’s period in 1903 to commemorate the coronation of Edward VII.

After 1857, due to the Press Registration Act of 1867, liberty of press which had been given by Metcalf (1835) was finished. The Vernacular Press Act of Lord Lytton of 1878 which empowered the district magistrates to call upon the publisher to enter into a bond undertaking not to publish anything likely to excite feelings of dissatisfaction. English papers were exempted from it. No appeal could be made. Amrita Bazar Patrika started publishing in English instead of Bengali. Indian Arms Act passed by Lytton in 1878 barred Indians from possessing weapons unless considered loyal subjects by Britishers.

Through an act in 1860 the age limit fro Civils was reduced from 23 to 22 & it was further reduced to 21 in 1866 & probation in England extended for a period of 2 years from 1 year before. In 1864 Satyendra Nath Tagore was the first Indian to clear. In 1869, Sri Surendranath Banerjea, Sri Bihari Lal Gupta & R.C Dutt succeded. In 1877 the maximum age was further reduced from 21 to 19. Lytton proposed a plan for Statutory Civil Services in 1879 which was not to have the same status as covenanted services. However an amendment provided that a maximum of 1/6^th of its member should be Indians.

The Hunter Commission (1882) was officially known as the Indian Education Commission, appointed to review the state of education since Wood’s dispatch & headed by William Wilson Hunter.

Ilbert Bill (1883) of Ripon (1880-84) was meant for allowing Indian judges to try Europeans. Lord Ripon repealed the Vernacular Press Act in 1882.

Chief Pre Congress organizations were Land Holders Society (1837), British India Society (1843), British Indian Association (1851) in Bengal, Native Association (1852) in Madras & Bombay Association (1852) in Bombay. In 1866 Dadabhai Naroji (Grand Old Man of India & president of Congress twice) set up the East India Association in London.

The Pune Public Conference (Ganesha Vasudev Joshi, S.H. Sathe, Chiplunkar& MG Ranade) was established in 1870. In Calcutta the Indian league (Editors of ABP- Sisir Kumar Ghosh, Shambhuchand Mukherjee, Kali Mohan Das & J.C. Dutt) was established in 1875

The ‘Indian Association’ was set up in 1876. Its leaders were Anand Mohan Bose & Surendranath Banerjea. The Mahajan Sabha (P. Rangayya Naidu, V. Raghavachari & Anandcharlu) was estd in Madras in 1884. In 1885 Hume spoke of his own party as Indian National Union which later came to be known as Indian national Congress (during Dufferin’s tenure). The actual purpose was to strengthen British rule & act like a safety valve. Under the leadership of William Digby, the congress opened a branch in England in 1888 & started a magazine called ‘India’.

Aurobindo Ghosh (1872-1950) returned to India after 14 years stay in England in January 1893. Annie Besant arrived in India the same year & Mahatma Gandhi went to S.A in connection with the trial of a merchant, Abdulla Seth. Tilak was arrested for seditious writing in his paper “Kesari” & sentenced for six years (1908-14) imprisonment. He asked Jinnah to defend him.

In 1904 the Administrative Secrecy Act was passed which considered breach on official secrets as a criminal offence. The same year the Indian Universities Act was passed which increased the government control on the universities.

In the partition of Bengal, Chittagong, Rajshahi & Dacca were merged with Assam to form new province. Dacca was proposed to be its capital. The remaining part included West Bengal, Bihar & Orissa. Finally Curzon announced the partition of Bengal on October 16, 2005. This was observed as ‘black day’.

In the 1915 session of the Muslim league Mahatma Gandhi, Sarojni Naidu & Madan Mohan Malviya took part which was presided by M.A. Jinnah. The Congress accepted the demand of separate electorates.

Gandhiji wrote in Hind Swaraj, ‘Passive resistance (Satyagraha) is an all sided sword’. He wanted the satyagrahi to observe perfect chastity, adopt poverty, follow truth & cultivate fearlessness.

Under the Morley-Minto reforms of 1909 only 1 percent & under the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms of 1919, two & a half percent, & under Govt of India act 1935, 13 percent population became eligible voters. Elections to provincial legislatures were held in 1937 & the congress virtually swept the polls. The Muslim league could register victory only in 81 seats out of 482 Muslim seats. Viceroy Linlithgow assured Congress of his cooperation. The congress formed government in 7 states. In two states in Sindh & Assam ministries

In 1937, after the elections Mohammad Ali Jinnah Proposed to form a coalition ministry in the United Provinces (as they were in minority) but the congress refused. At this juncture Jinnah proposed his ‘two-nation theory’. The Muslim league celebrated 12 December 1939, the day on which the Congress Ministries resigned from office as the ‘Deliverance Day’. However communal stock flared up in 1940 when the Muslim League accepting the two nation theory in its annual session at Lahore demanded Pakistan creation. The Jamait-ul-Ulema-e-Hind, Khudai Khidmatgar opposed the demand.

In 1939 without consulting the people of India, the British government involved the people in war. Hence the congress ministries resigned.

The Hindu Mahasabha was established in 1915 on the occasion of the Kumbh Mela at Hardwar by Madan Mohan Malaviya. V.D Savarkar, Lala Lajpat Rai participated in it.

On 26^th November 1949, Dr. Rajendra Prasad as the president of the constituent assembly formally signed the constitution, even while expressing his dissent on 20 points. It was primarily written in English & no educational qualification was set for any posts enshrined in it. India was then divided into 562 princely states (accounting for 48 % area & 20 % population) other than British India.

During 1941-45, no sessions of Congress were held due to arrest of all eminent leaders

Manabendra Nath Roy (March 21, 1887 January 25, 1954) was an Indian Communist leader. Roy was

born as Narendranath Bhattacharya. He had a leading role in revolutionary movements in India, Mexico, the Middle East, the Soviet Union, Indonesia and China. Like Marx he was both and activist and a phisopher; in fact Lenin called him “the Oriental Marx”. Roy tried to organize an armed insurrection in India in 1915; founded the Communist Party of Mexico (1919) and the emigre Communist Party of India in Tashkent (1920); rose to occupy the highest offices of the Communist International and led the Commintern’s delegation to China (1927). At the same time he authored such Marxist classics as India in Transition

	Important Acts
The Govt. of India Act	Gave assurance that there would be no more territorial possessions. Titles were
1858	bestowed on many princes & the right of adoption was accepted. No

	interference in religious matters.
The Indian Council	Provided that there was no difference between the central & provincial
Act 1861	subjects. The number of additional members in the council was fixed between
	four to eight. The Act also provided the Madras & Bombay governments the
	right to make laws.
Morley Minto	The number of members in the Imperial Legislative Council was raised to 69
Reforms 1909	out of which 37 were to be govt nominees & 32 non-govt. The non-govt
	nominees comprised 5 members nominated by the governor general & 27
	elected members (13 represented Maharajas, 6 land lords, 6 muslims & 2
	Chambers of Commerce in Bengal & Bombay).
Montagu-Chelmsford	Setup a bifurcated legislature consisting of two houses ie the Council of States
Reforms 1919.	& the Central Legislative Assembly, in place of former Imperial Coucil
	consisting of only one house. Some of the functions of the Secretary of State
	were taken from him & given to the high commissioner for Inida who was to
	be appointed & paid by the government of India. For the first time the King’s
	Council was established. The ambit of communal electorates was exapned to
	give representation to the Sikhs, Anglo Indians, Europeans & Christians
	alongwith the Muslims. The representation of Indians was increased in both
	the central as well as provincial legislatures.
Govt of India Act	Contained 451 articles. It was to have two chambers, the council of state & the
1935	federal assembly. The Indian council was abolished. Expanded communal
	representation. Decided to establish a federation of India consisting of
	Governor’s provinces & princely states. It was compulsory for the governor’s
	provinces to accede to the proposed federation, whereas in the case of princely
	states, it was voluntary. All constituent parts of the federation were to have full
	internal autonomy. To implement the act it was proposed to establish a federal
	executive & a federal legislature. Under the act, dyarchy in the provinces
	earlier established by the act of 1919 was replaced by Provincial Autonomy.
	The distinction between reserved subjects & transferred subjects was
	abolished. Burma was separated from India. The governor was not bound to
	accept the advice of council of ministers.