Arrival of European traders

Indian trade links with Europe started in through sea route only after the arrival of Vasco

da Gama in Calicut, India on May 20, 1498. The Portuguese had traded in Goa as early

as 1510, and later founded three other colonies on the west coast in Diu, Bassein, and

Mangalore. In 1601 the East India Company was chartered, and the English began their

first inroads into the Indian Ocean. At first they were little interested in India, but rather,

like the Portuguese and Dutch before them, with the Spice Islands. But the English were

unable to dislodge the Dutch from Spice Islands. In 1610, the British chased away a

Portuguese naval squadron, and the East India Company created its own outpost at

Surat. This small outpost marked the beginning of a remarkable presence that would last

over 300 years and eventually dominate the entire subcontinent. In 1612 British

established a trading post in Gujarat. As a result of English disappointments with

dislodging the Dutch from the Spice Islands, they turned instead to India. In 1614 Sir

Thomas Roe was instructed by James I to visit the court of Jahangir, the Mughal emperor

of Hindustan. Sir Thomas was to arrange a commercial treaty and to secure for the East

India Company sites for commercial agencies, -"factories" as they were called. Sir

Thomas was successful in getting permission from Jahangir for setting up factories. East

India Company set up factories at Ahmedabad, Broach and Agra. In 1640 East India

Company established an outpost at Madras. In 1661 the company obtained Bombay from

Charles II and converted it to a flourishing center of trade by 1668. English settlements

rose in Orissa and Bengal. In 1633, in the Mahanadi delta of Hariharpur at Balasore in

Orissa, factories were set up. In 1650 Gabriel Boughton an employee of the Company

obtained a license for trade in Bengal. An English factory was set up in 1651 at Hugli.  In

1690 Job Charnock established a factory. In 1698 the factory was fortified and called Fort

William. The villages of Sutanati, Kalikata and Gobindpore were developed into a single

area called Calcutta. Calcutta became a trading center for East India Company. Once in

India, the British began to compete with the Portuguese, the Dutch, and the French.

Through a combination of outright combat and deft alliances with local princes, the East

India Company gained control of all European trade in India by 1769. In 1672 the French

established themselves at Pondicherry and stage was set for a rivalry between the British

and French for control of Indian trade.

Battle of Plassey - On June 23rd, 1757 at Plassey, between Calcutta and Murshidabad,

the forces of the East India Company under Robert Clive met the army of Siraj-ud-Doula,

the Nawab of Bengal. Clive had 800 Europeans and 2200 Indians whereas Siraj-ud-doula

in his entrenched camp at Plassey was said to have about 50,000 men with a train of

heavy artillery. The aspirant to the Nawab's throne, Mir Jafar, was induced to throw in his

lot with Clive, and by far the greater number of the Nawab's soldiers were bribed to throw

away their weapons, surrender prematurely, and even turn their arms against their own

army. Siraj-ud-Doula was defeated. Battle of Plassey marked the first major military

success for British East India Company.

Battle of Wandiwash 1760:  From 1744, the French and English fought a series of

battles for supremacy in the Carnatic region. In the third Carnatic war, the British East

India Company defeated the French forces at the battle of Wandiwash ending almost a

century of conflict over supremacy in India. This battle gave the British trading company

a far superior position in India compared to the other Europeans.

Battle of Buxar:  In June 1763 under Major Adams British army defeated Mir Kasim the

Nawab of Bengal. Though they with a smaller army against Mir Kasim, the English had

victories at Katwah, Giria, Sooty, Udaynala and Monghyr. Mir Kasim fled to Patna and took

help from Nawab Shujauddaulah and the Emperor Shah Alam II.  But the English under

the General Major Hector Munro at Buxar defeated the confederate army on 22 October,

1764. Mir Kasim fled again fled and died in 1777.  After winning the Battle of Buxar, the

British had earned the right to collect land revenue in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. This

development set the foundations of British political rule in India. After the victory of

the English in Buxar Robert Clive was appointed the governor and commander in chief of

the English army in Bengal in 1765. He is claimed as the founder of the British political

dominion in India. Robert Clive also brought reforms in the administration of the company

and the organization of the army.

Warren Hastings was appointed the Governor of Bengal in 1772. Under the Regulating

Act of 1773 passed by British parliament, a Council of four members was appointed, and

Warren Hastings (Governor-General 1774-85) was empowered to conduct the Company's

affairs with the Council's advice. His task was to consolidate the Company's rule in

Bengal. He brought about several administrative and judicial changes. Warren Hasting

faced an uphill task in dealing with the Indian rulers. He faced stiff resistance from the

Marathas in the north and Hyder Ali in the south. In 1773 he concluded the treaty of

Banaras with the Nawab of Avadh appeasing the emperor and getting financial gains thus

blocking alliances between the Marathas and the Nawab of Avadh. Under Warren

Hastings English army took part in the Rohilla War in 1774 that brought Rohilkhand in the

company's jurisdiction.

The First Anglo-Mysore War (1767-69)

After the death of the Raja of Mysore in 1760, Hyder Ali, became the ruler of Mysore. He

extended his territories by conquering Bednore, Sundra, Sera, Canara and Guti and

subjugated the poligars of south India. With easy success in Bengal, the English concluded a

treaty with Nizam Ali of Hyderabad and committed the Company to help the Nizam with the

troops in his war against Hyder Ali. In 1767, - the Nizam, the Marathas and the English made

an alliance against Hyder. But Hyder was brave and diplomatic. He beat the English at their

own game by making peace with the Marathas and alluring the Nizam with territorial gains

and together with the latter launched an attack on Arcot. The fight continued for a year and

half and the British suffered heavy losses. The panic-stricken British had to sue for peace. A

treaty was signed on April 4, 1769, on the basis of restitution of each other's territories. 

1769–70 there was ‘Great famine in Bengal’ in which nearly 10 million people perished.

Later several other famines hit different parts of Indian killing millions of people during East

India companies rule. During the period 1772-1785 the territory of the East India Company

included Bengal. Bihar, Orissa, Banaras and Ghazipur. It also included the Northern Sarkars,

port of Salsette and the harbours of Madras, Bombay and other minor ports. The Mughal

territory included Delhi and other surrounding areas. The territory of Avadh, which was

autonomous, was bound in an offensive-defensive alliance with the East India Company

since 1765. The North Western part of India was under the Sikh clans, who controlled region

around the Sultej. The Muslim chiefs ruled in North western Punjab, Multan, Sindh and

Kashmir. The Marathas dominated over western India, parts of Central India from Delhi to

Hyderabad and Gujarat to Cuttak. The Deccan was ruled by Nizam of  Hyderabad. Hyder Ali

ruled over Mysore. Tanjore and Travancore were under the Hindu rulers.

British and Marathas  

First Anglo Maratha war (1775 –1782): Narayan Rao became the fifth Peshwa of the

Marathas. Narayan Rao killed by his uncle Raghunath Rao, who declared himself as the

Peshwa. The Maratha chieftains under the leadership of Nana Phadnis opposed him.

Raghunath Rao sought help from the English. The English agreed to help him and

concluded with him the Treaty of Surat on March 7, 1775. According to the treaty the

English were to provide 2,500 men and Raghunath was to cede Salsette and Bassein to

the English with part of the revenues from Broach and Surat districts.

Maratha army and chiefs proclaimed Madhav Rao Narayan as the Peshwa and on January

9 1779, the British troops met a large Maratha army at Talegon and were defeated. This

shattered the prestige of the British so low that they had to enter into a humiliating

Treaty of Wadgaon. British had to surrender all the territories acquired by the

Company since 1773.

Warren Hastings, the Governor-General, sent a strong force under Colonel Goddard who

took possession of Ahmedabad on February 15 and captured Bassein on December 11,

1780. Warren Hastings sent another force against Mahadaji Sindhia. Captain Popham

captured Gwalior on August 3 1780 and on February 16, 1781, General Camac defeated

Sindhia at Sipri. These victories increased the prestige of the English, who gained Sindhia

as an ally to conclude the the Treaty of Salbai on 17 May 1782. As per this treaty

Company recognised Madhav Rao Narayan as the Peshwa and returned to the Sindhia all

his territories west of Yamuna. The treaty of Salbai assured mutual restitution of each

other's territories and guaranteed peace for twenty years.

Second Mysore war

In 1780 when the English wanted to attack the French at Mahe, situated on the west

coast of Mysore, Hyder Ali did not permit it. Therefore the English declared war against

Hyder Ali. Hyder Ali arranged a joint front with the Nizam and the Marathas. In July 1780,

Hyder Ali with 80,000 men and 100 guns attacked Carnatic. In October 1780 he captured

Arcot, defeating an English army under Colonel Braille. Meanwhile British managed to

break the alliance between the Raja of Berar, Mahadji Sindhia,  Nizam and Hyder Ali.

Hyder Ali continued the war with the British. But in November 1781, Sir Eyre Coote

defeated Hyder Ali at Porto Nova. In January 1782, English captured Trincomali. In 1782,

Hyder Ali inflicted a humiliating defeat on the British troops under Colonel Braithwaite. On

December 7, 1782, Hyder Ali died. His son Tipu Sultan bravely fought against Britishers.

Tipu captured brigadier Mathews, in 1783. Then in November 1783, Colonel Fullarton

captured Coimbatore. Tired of the war, the two sides concluded the Treaty of

Mangalore in 1784. According to the treaty, both the parties decided to restore each

other's conquered territories and free all the prisoners.

Pitt's India Act - 1784 - British Parliament under Pitt’s India Bill of 1784 appointed a

Board of Control. It provided for a joint government of the Company (represented by the

Directors), and the Crown (represented by the Board of Control). In 1786, trough a

supplementary bill, Lord Cornwallis was appointed as the first Governor-General, and he

became the effective ruler of British India under the authority of the Board of Control and

the Court of Directors.

Third Mysore War - The immediate cause of the war was Tipu's attack on Travancore

on December 29, 1789 over aq dispute over Cochin. The Raja of Travancore was entitled

to the protection of the English. Thus taking advantage of the situation, the English,

making a triple alliance with the Nizams and the Marathas, attacked Tipu Sultan.

The war between Tipu and the alliance lasted for nearly two years. British under Major-

General Medows, could not win against Tipu. On January 29, 1791, Cornwallis himself

took over the command of the British troops. He captured Bangalore in 1791 and

approached Seringapatnam, Tipu's capital. Tipu displayed great skill in defending and his

tactics forced Cornwallis to retreat.  Tipu captured Coimbatore on November 3. Lord

Cornwallis soon returned and occupied all the forts in his path to Seringapatnam. On

February 5, 1792 Cornwallis arrived at Serinapatnam. Tipu had to sue for peace and the

Treaty of Seringapatnam concluded in March 1792. The treaty resulted in the surrender

of nearly half of the Mysorean territory to the victorious allies. Tipu also had to pay a

huge war indemnity of and his two sons were taken as hostages.

Fourth Mysore war - Lord Wellesley became the governor general of India in 1798. 

Tipu Sultan tried to secure an alliance with the French against the English in India.

Wellesley questioned Tipu’s relationship with the French and attacked Mysore in 1799.

The fourth Anglo-Mysore War was of short duration and decisive and ended with Tipu’s

death on May 4, 1799  who was killed fighting to save his capital.

Second Anglo-Maratha war, 1803:  

After death of Nana Phadnavis in 1800, there was infighting between Holkar and Sindhia

chiefs. The new Peshwa Baji Rao murdered Vithuji Holkar, brother of Jaswant Rao Holkar

in April 1801. Holkar defeated the combined armies of Sindhias and the Peshwas at

Poona and captured the city. The new Peshwa Baji Rao II,  was weak and sought the

protection of British through treaty of Bassein in 1802. Baji Rao II was restored to

Peshwarship under the protection of the East India Company. However, the treaty was

not acceptable to both the Marathas chieftains - the Shindia and Bhosales. This directly

resulted in the Second Anglo-Maratha war in 1803.

Sindhia and Bhosale tried to win over Holkar but he did not join them and retired to

Malwa and Gaekwad chose to remain neutral. Even at this point of time, the Marathas

chiefs were not able to unify themselves and thus the challenge to the authority of the

Company brought disasters for both the Sindhias and Bhosales. The war began in August

1803. British under General Wellesley  (brother of Lord Wellesley) defeated Bhosales at

Argain on November 29 and the British captured the strong fortress of Gawilgrah on

December 15, 1803. In the north, General Lake captured Delhi and Agra. The army of

Sindhia was completely destroyed at the battle of Delhi in September and at Laswari in

Alwar State in November. The British further won in Gujarat, Budelkhand and Orissa.

By the Treaty of Deogaon signed on December 17, 1803, the Bhosale surrendered to the

Company the province of Cuttack and the entire region in the west of the rivers Wards.

Similarly, the Sindhia signed the Treaty of Surji-Arjanaon on December 30, 1803 and

ceded to the Company all their territories between the Ganga and the Yamuna. British

forces were stationed in the territories of the Sindhia and Bhosale. With these victories

Britishers became the dominant power in India.

In 1804 Holkar army successfully defeated British army in Kota and forced them out from

Agra. British somehow managed to defend Delhi. However in November 1804 British

army managed to defeat a contingent of Holkar army but Holkar again defeated British in

Bharatpur in 1805. Ultimately Treaty of Rajpurghat" was signed on December 25, 1805

between Holkar and British.

Third Marataha War (1817-1818):  Marathas were ultimately defeated and Maratha

power destroyed by British in several wars during 1817- 1818. Holkar's forces were

routed at Mahidpur December 21, 1817 and Baji Rao II, who was trying to consolidate

Marathas, finally surrendered in June 1818. British abolished the position of Peshwa and

Marathas were limited to the small kingdom of Satara. Thus ended the mighty Maratha

power.

Between 1814 to 1826 British had to fight many wars against Gurkhas in the North and

Burmese in the North East. After several losses and some gains British signed peace

treaties with Gurkhas of Nepal and Burmese. During the period of 1817-1818 British had

to fight against non-traditional armies of Pindaris, who used to plunder British territory.

British finally managed to crush Pindaris.

During this period in the North West region of Punjab the Sikh power was growing and

Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839) of Punjab became very powerful. British already

had their hands full with problems in different part of India. They were afraid of Ranjit

Singh’s power. So in 1838 they made a peace treaty with Ranjit Singh. During the same

year there was a big famine in north-west India that killed nearly a million people. But

after Ranjit Singh’s death there was infighting amongst Sikhs. British tried to take

advantage of this and First Anglo - Sikh war started in 1845. Battle of Mudki and

Ferozshah (1845) saw heavy fighting between British and Sikhs. Sikhs were defeated due

to the treachery of their generals. The final battle of Sobraon on February 10, 1846

proved decisive where Sikhs again lost due to the betrayal of their generals. The British

were able to capture most of India after defeating Sikhs in 1849 in Second Anglo - Sikh

War.

The year 1853 stands out to be a landmark year in modern Indian history as the first

Railway opened from Bombay to Thane and first Telegraph line from Calcutta to Agra

was started. This was one of the first major positive contributions that British made in

India. Although the initial purpose of these was to improve the mobility and

communication of the British troops but much later they became very useful for common

people. 

India’s First War of Independence 1857

Many historians called this First War of Independence as a ‘Sepoy Mutiny’ of 1857. For

them it was just a bunch of Indian sepoys (soldiers) who had mutinied. They largely failed

to recognize the involvement of a vast section of Indian society that took part in this

struggle. Peasants and nobles all were involved. Lack of planning and co-ordination

amongst people who took part in this struggle resulted in defeat of Indians. Many

innocent people were killed on both sides. Karl Marx wrote about the attitude of British

media in 1857 - ‘And then it should not be forgotten that while the cruelties of the English

are related as acts of martial vigor, told simply, rapidly, without dwelling on disgusting

details, the outrages of the natives, shocking as they are, are still deliberately

exaggerated.’

Period just before the beginning of India’s First War of Independence

British had little respite from fighting against Indians as they tried to strengthen their grip

on India. Sometimes by design, sometimes almost by accident the area controlled by the

British increased, until by 1857 everything from the borders of Afghanistan in the west to

the jungles of Burma in the east, from the Himalayas in north, to the beaches of Sri Lanka

in south were under British East India companies control. In 1857 the total number of

soldiers in India was 260,000 amongst them there were just around fourteen percent

(34,000) European soldiers.

Less then ten years after the last Anglo-Sikh war there was great unrest in India, specially

the northern part. Somewhere along the way the British seemed to lose touch with their

Indian subject. By 1857 there was a big gulf between Indians and British.

Factors responsible for unrest amongst Indian masses

The arrival of missionaries had also caused great unease among the Indians.

Evangelical Christians had little understanding of, or respect for, India's ancient

faiths.The attitude of scrupulous non-interference in religious affairs that had

characterized British rule in the 18th century was forgotten. Native populace

started to believe that the British wished to convert them. The passing of Act XXI

of 1850, which enabled converts to inherit ancestral property, confirmed this

belief; the new law was naturally interpreted as a concession to Christian

converts. Hindus and Muslims were forced into Christianity. The British were rude

and arrogant towards the Indians who they described as barbarians without any

culture. The European judges hardly ever convicted British for their crimes.

 Thousands of soldiers and nobles got unemployed when Lord Dalhousie annexed

Avadh. Under his 'Doctrine of Lapse' the princes were denied the long-cherished

right of adoption; in this way Dalhousie annexed the Maratha States of Satara,

Nagpur and Jhansi and several minor principalities. On the death of the ex-

Peshwa, Baji Rao II, the pension granted to him was abolished and the claims of

his adopted son, Nana Sahib, were disregarded.

British administrative laws ruined both the peasants and landlords. Indian

handicrafts completely collapsed and the craftsmen were impoverished. India

became a market place for finished goods from England. Poverty increased and

the discontent among the masses motivated the Indians to join the revolt in large

numbers. Thus, the British drained India of her wealth and all her natural

resources.

Beginning of First War of Independence (1857)

 People whispered of the old prophecy, which stated that 100 years after the battle of

Plassey, the rule of 'John Company' would end. Plassey had been in 1757 and in the

hundredth year after the battle it seemed everyone was awaiting a spark. The cartridge

of Enfield rifle used by British-Indian Army was heavily greased with animal fat. Indian

soldiers heard and quickly passed on the news that the grease was a mixture of cow

(sacred to Hindus) and pig (abhorrent to Muslims) fat.

It began at Barrackpore on 29th March 1857. Mangel Pande, a young soldier of the

34th Native Infantry, shot at his sergeant major on the parade ground. When the British

adjutant rode over, Pande shot the horse and severely wounded the officer with a sword.

He was later arrested and hanged. As a collective punishment the 34th Native Infantry

was disbanded. Mangal Pande became a martyr and an icon representing the beginning

of Indian War of Independence.

A few weeks later on 24th of April 1857, eighty-five soldiers of the 3rd Light Cavalry in

Meerut refused orders to handle the new cartridges. They were arrested, court-

martialled and sentenced to ten years hard labor each. On 9th May 1857, at an

appalling ceremony in the parade ground of Meerut, they were publicly humiliated:

stripped of their uniform, shackled and sent to prison. The following day (10th May 1857)

was a Sunday and as Britons prepared for church, Meerut exploded. Enraged soldiers

broke open the town jail and released their comrades. A mob from the bazaar and Indian

soldiers poured into the cantonment where the Britishers lived and killed many of them.

Then these soldiers marched towards Delhi. There were three regiments of native

infantry in Delhi.

On the morning of 11th May the soldiers from Meerut reached Delhi. Gathering below

the walls of the Red Fort, the mutineers called for last Mughal King Bahadur Shah. A

British officer, Captain Douglas, commanded Bahadur Shah’s personal guard. From the

walls high above Captain Douglas ordered them to disperse. Soldiers accompanied by a

mob burst into the palace, killed Douglas and asked Bahadur Shah to reclaim his throne.

The 38th, 54th, and 74th regiments of infantry and native artillery under Bahkt Khan

(1797- 1859) joined the rebel army at Delhi in May. The loss of Delhi was a crushing blow

to British prestige and the symbolic associations of the capital of the Moghuls becomming

the center of the mutiny was something the British could not ignore. It took British nearly

two months to regroup and then they set out to reclaim Delhi. From Meerut and Simla

two British columns set out for the capital. Hampered by lack of transport, it was weeks

before they joined forces at Ambala. Punishing disloyal villages as they advanced, one

could have charted their course by the scores of corpses they left hanging from trees as

the British army moved towards Delhi. At Badli-ke-Serai, five miles from Delhi, they met

the main army of the Indian soldiers. British won there but most of the Indian soldiers fled

back to the protection of the walls of Delhi. The British established themselves on Delhi

ridge, a thin spur of high ground to the north of the city. In September 1857, under the

command of Major Nicholson and with support of Sikh and Gurkha army were able to

reclaim Delhi, breaching the walls with heavy guns and after a bitter street-to-street

fight. In the attack on the Kashmiri gate Nicholson had been hit by a bullet and died soon

after. One last atrocity was yet to happen. British officer Hodson arrested the old King

Bahadur Shah and killed his three sons in cold blood. Bahadur Shah was tried for

complicity to murder and other offences, found guilty and sent into exile in Rangoon. The

last of the Moghuls, Bahadur Shah died there in 1862. Hodson was never punished for his

summary executions of the princes. He died in the retaking of Lucknow in 1858.

Battle of Kanpur

Kanpur was an important junction where the Grand Trunk Road and the road from Jhansi

to Lucknow crossed. One of the leaders of the First War of Independence, Nana Saheb

of Bithur was born in 1824. Nana Saheb was well educated. He studied Sanskrit and

was known for his deep religious nature. On the death of the last Peshwa, Baji Rao-II, in

1851 the Company's Government stopped the annual pension and the title. Nana Saheb's

appeal to the Court of Directors was not accepted. This made him hostile towards the

British rulers. In 1857 Kanpur was garrisoned by four regiments of native infantry and a

European battery of artillery and was commanded by General Sir Hugh Wheeler. After a

fierce battle at Kanpur, General Sir Hugh Wheeler surrendered on June 27, 1857.

The English men, women and children who fell into the hands of Nana Sahib were assured

of safe conduct to Allahabad. However the inhuman treatment meted out to the Indians

by General James O'Neil at Allahabad and Banaras made the crowd angry who retaliated

by murdering British men, women and children. Many innocent lives were lost at

‘Massacre Ghat’ and ‘Bibi ka Ghar’ in Kanpur.

After seizing Kanpur, Nana Saheb proclaimed himself the Peshwa. Tantia Tope, Jwala

Prasad and Azimullah Khan were the loyal followers of Nana Sahib, and are

remembered for their valiant fight against the British. In June 1857 the British defeated

Nana Sahib. Though Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope recaptured Kanpur in November 1857,

they could not hold it for long as General Campbell reoccupied it on 6th December 1857.

Nana Sahib escaped to Nepal and his whereabouts afterwards were unknown. Tantia

Tope escaped and joined the Rani of Jhansi.

Jhansi and Gwalior

Rani Laxmibai was born in 1830 at Banaras in a wealthy family and was named

Manukarnika at birth. She got married to King Gangadhar Rao of Jhansi. Gangadhar Rao

did not have any children and he adopted one of his relatives Damodar Rao as his heir.

After Gangadhar Rao's death in 1853 the British refused to accept Damodar Rao as the

legal heir of Jhansi and wanted to annex the kingdom into their rule. In 1857 at Jhansi, the

army rebelled and killed the British Army officers. Rani Laxmibai, the widow of the late

Raja Gangadhar Rao, was proclaimed the ruler of the state. In 1858 the British army once

again marched towards Jhansi. Not willing to let the British takeover her kingdom the

Rani built an army of 14,000 volunteers to fight the British. The soldiers of Jhansi fought

very bravely for 2 weeks and the Rani led the forces in this battle. Sir Hugh Rose

recaptured Jhansi on 3rd April 1858. The English could not capture Rani of Jhansi as she

escaped to Kalpi (near Gwalior) where Tantia Tope joined her. Both marched to Gwalior.

Sir Hugh Rose also advanced towards Gwalior and captured it in June 1858. Rani Laxmi

Bai died fighting bravely. Rani Laxmibai (Rani Jhansi) became immortal in Indian

history for her bravery and struggle against British rule. Tantia Tope escaped

southward, but was betrayed by one of his friends Man Singh and was finally hanged in

1859.

Arrah Bihar

Kunwar Singh, zamindar of Jagdishpur near Arrah in the state of Bihar, was the chief

organizer of the fight against British. He assumed command of the soldiers who had

revolted at Danapur on 5th July. Two days later he occupied Arrah, the district

headquarter. Major Vincent Eyre relieved the town on 3rd August, defeated Kunwar

Singh's force and destroyed Jagdishpur. Kunwar Singh left his ancestral village and

reached Lucknow in December 1857. In March 1858 he occupied Azamgarh. However, he

had to leave the place soon. Pursued by Brigadier Douglas, he retreated towards his

home in Bihar. On 23 April, Kunwar Singh had a victory near Jagdishpur over the force led

by Captain Le Grand, but the following day he died in his village. The mantle of the old

chief now fell on his brother Amar Singh who, despite heavy odds, continued the struggle

and for a considerable time ran a parallel government in the district of Shahabad. In

October 1859 Amar Singh joined the rebel leaders in the Nepal Terai.

Lucknow

At Lucknow War against British was led by the Begum of Awadh Hazrat Mehal who

proclaimed her young son Nawab. Hazrat Begum felicitated her troops in person in

Alambagh and when Dilkusha was taken and the soldiers of freedom fought with

desperate courage for the defense of Luknow. Musabagh, which was defended, by a

valiant band of revolutionaries under the leadership of the heroic Begum herself till March

1858, when she left Lucknow for the north with her troops followed by Ahmad Shah. Both

of them fell upon Shahjehanpur and tried to drive out the British from Rohilkhand. She

failed to capture Rohilkhand and she marched on along with other revolutionary leaders

towards Nepal where she found asylum till her death.

India’s First War of Independence carried on as late as 1859 in some instances

before it was finally over. A number of heroes and heroines of the India’s First war of

Independence have been immortalized for their fight in against British rule.

Aftermath of First war of Independence

In the early months of the British recovery, few Indian soldiers were left alive after their

positions were overrun. The British soldiers seemed to have made a collective decision

not to take prisoners and most actions ended with a frenzied use of the bayonet. Whole

villages were sometimes hanged for some real or imagined sympathy for the mutineers.

Looting was endemic and neither the sanctity of holy places nor the rank of Indian

aristocrats could prevent the wholesale theft of their possessions. Many a British family

saw its fortune made during the pacification of northern India. Later, when prisoners

started to be taken and trials held, those convicted of mutiny were lashed to the muzzles

of cannon and fired through their body. For more than a year the people of northern India

trembled with fear as the British sated their thirst for revenge. The Indians called it 'the

Devil's Wind'.

A hundred years after battle of Plassey the rule of the East India Company finally did

come to an end. In 1858, British parliament passed a law through which the power for

governance of India was transferred from the East India Company to the British crown. In

1858, the Queen issued a proclamation saying that all were her subjects and that there

would be no discrimination, appointments would be made on the basis of merit, and that

there would be no interference in religious matters. It became evident in the succeeding

years that the British government did not honor the Queen's promises. After 1857, the

nationalist movement started to expand in the hearts of more and more Indians. 

British colonial period - Colonial Rule (1858 – August 1918)  

After 1858, India became officially a British colony as British crown took control of India from

East India Company. The British crown put a Secretary of State for India in change of India.

Indian Council who had only advisory powers aided him. India was divided into three

administrative zones (Bengal, Madras and Bombay). A number of administrative and legal

changes were introduced. In1861 Indian Councils Act, High Courts Act and Penal code were

passed. British continued to expand the railways and telegraphic network and in 1868 new

Ambala – Delhi railway line was started.

A combination of administrative failures and natural factors resulted in large number of

famines in India that killed millions of people -

1861 Famine in North West

1866 Famine in Bengal and Orissa – 1 million perished

1869 Intense famine in Rajasthan – 1.5 million perished

1874 Famine in Bihar

1876–78 Famine in Bombay, Madras and Mysore – 5 million perished.

During this time, India was forced to produce cash crop, which were to be sold by the British.

India was also forced to accept British goods that destroyed cottage industries. Many

peasants had to borrow money to pay the extremely high taxes imposed on them. 

1st January 1877, Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India at a Durbar

(assembly of notables and princes), in Delhi. The Viceroy Lord Lytton represented the

Sovereign, who incidentally never visited her Indian Empire. In1878 Vernacular Press act

was introduced in India that imposed severe limitations on the rights of the press. In the

same year there was ‘Rendition of Mysore’ and Mysore was returned to its original Wodeyar

rulers. In 1883 the Ilbert Bill Act was passed which allowed Indian magistrates to try

Europeans. This angered the Europeans and the bill was withdrawn. Indians suffered from

growing unemployment while most well paying jobs were reserved for the British.  Racial

discrimination against Indian’s forced the Indian nationalists into organizing themselves for

getting their demands accepted.

Hindu renaissance movement – During this period several great saints and religious

leaders were responsible for revival of Hinduism in different parts of India. Ramkrishna

Paramhansa (1836-1886), Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) and Ishwar Chandra

Vidyasagar (1820-1891) led the Hinduism renaissance in Bengal that later spread to other

parts of India. Swami Dayananda Saraswati (1824-1883) formed Arya Samaj, which

became a major religious movement in north India. 

Formation of Indian National Congress

Allen Octavian Hume finally formed the Indian National Congress. The First meeting was

in December 1885 in Bombay. Womesh Chandra Banerjee became the first president of

Indian National Congress. It met every year in December in different parts of the country. In

the early years, the congress used only Petition, Prayer and Protest to try to get their needs

met. In 1891 Indian factory Act was passed and in 1892 Indian Councils Act was changed to

include new provisions for administrating India. 

Bubonic Plague in Bombay, 1896 -1914 and Indian Famine 1897 -1901:

The epidemic spread from Bombay City, western and northern India, was hardest hit. Around

200,000 people died of plague in Bombay alone. Between October 1896 and February 1897,

nearly half of Bombay's estimated 850,000 populations left the city resulting in great loss to

commerce and industrial life and helped the disease to spread in countryside and other

parts of India. Along with plague many parts of India were devastated by famine during

1897-1901 that killed around 2 million people. 

First partition of Bengal  

Following the ‘divide and rule’ policy Bengal was divided by the British, on October 16,

1905, into Hindu and Muslim areas. By doing this British had hoped to increase tensions

between the Hindus and the Muslims. Lord Curzon was the British governor general at

this time. The following excerpts from Curzon’s letter of 2nd February 1905 to St. John

Brodrick, Secretary of State for India, give an idea of his aims in partitioning Bengal.

“ CALCUTTA is the center from which the Congress Party is manipulated throughout the

whole of Bengal, and indeed the whole of India. Its best wire pullers and its most frothy

orators all reside here. The perfection of their machinery, and the tyranny which it

enables them to exercise are truly remarkable. They dominate public opinion in Calcutta;

they affect the High Court; they frighten the local Government, and they are sometimes

not without serious influence on the Government of India. The whole of their activity is

directed to creating an agency so powerful that they may one day be able to force a

weak government to give them what they desire. Any measure in consequence that

would divide the Bengali-speaking population; that would permit independent centres of

activity and influence to grow up; that would dethrone Calcutta from its place as the

center of successful intrigue, or that would weaken the influence of the lawyer class, who

have the entire organization in their hands, is intensely and hotly resented by them. The

outcry will be loud and very fierce, but as a native gentleman said to me – ‘my

countrymen always howl until a thing is settled; then they accept it’.” 

Protest meetings against the partition were organized in all parts of the country on and after

16 October 1905. Partition of Bengal also saw a strong polarization in Indian National

Congress between ‘moderates’ and ‘hardliners’. Moderates such as Gopal Krishan

Gokhale believed in making "loyal" representations to the government for small reforms,

while hardliners like Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak complete freedom or ‘purna

swarajya’. Tilak announced his slogan "Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it" in

his newspaper and became the speaker for the new group of nationalists.  The primary

leaders of the nationalist movement were Lala Lajpat Rai (1865-1928) from Punjab,

Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1856-1920) from Maharashtra and Bipin Chandra Pal

from Bengal. Together, they were called Lal-Bal-Pal. Ajit Singh in Punjab and

Chidambaram Pillay in Tamil Nadu were other important leaders of the Nationalistic

Movement. In 1906, Tilak set forth a program of passive resistance, known as the Tenets of

the New Party, that he hoped would destroy the hypnotic influence of British rule and

prepare the people for sacrifice in order to gain independence. Mahatma Gandhi later

adopted these forms of political action initiated by Tilak - the boycotting of goods and

passive resistance - in his program of non-cooperation with the British. The Nationalistic

movement adopted the slogan of "Swadeshi and Swaraj". Swadeshi means our country and

promoted the use of Indian products and the boycott of foreign goods. Swaraj means self-

government. Tilak aimed at Swarajya (Independence), not piecemeal reforms, and

attempted to persuade the Congress to adopt his purna swarajya program. On this issue, he

clashed with the moderates at the Surat session of the Congress in 1907. Taking advantage

of the split in the nationalist forces, the government again prosecuted Tilak on a charge of

sedition and inciting terrorism and deported him to Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar), to serve a

sentence of six years' imprisonment.  

Formation of Muslim League (1906) 

Many of the Indian Muslims were taken in by British divisive policy of ‘divide and rule’.

Although Muslims had a fair representation in Congress some of them wanted a separate

platform for Indian Muslims. In 1906 Muslim League was formed to represent Indian

Muslims. 

By the partition of Bengal in 1905 British successfully sowed the seeds of division

between Hindus and Muslims that lead ultimately to the partition of India in 1947. Ghosts

of the British ‘divide and rule’ policy, continue to haunt independent India and Pakistan in

present times with continuing tensions and border disputes.

  Early revolutionary movement  

Partition of Bengal created a massive outburst of public anger against British rule.

Intellectual people as well as common man took part in mass agitation. Poet

Rabindranath Tagore actively supported the movement. Bankim Chandra

Chatterjee’s ‘Bande Matram’ was taken up as the soul-stirring slogan. Several groups of

revolutionaries started operating in Bengal. Aurobindo Ghosh (later known as Sri

Aurobindo), Rasbihari Bose and Jatindranath Mukherjee (Bagha Jatin) were some of

the important leaders of these revolutionary groups.

Alipore Bomb case

On 30th April, 1908 in Muzzafarpur Bihar, Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki tried to

kill the Chief Presidency Magistrate Kingsford who was notorious for passing out stiff

sentences against the nationalist activists Kingsford escaped the bomb attack which

unfortunately killed two innocent British ladies died in the bomb attack. Following a

massive manhunt, Khudiram was arrested on 1st May 1908; Prafulla evaded arrest by

shooting himself. On 11th August 1908, eighteen-year-old Khudiram Bose was hanged

and became a martyr. Aurobindo Ghosh was arrested on charges of masterminding the

attacks on Kingsford but a young lawyer Chittaranjan Das ably defended him.

Aurobindo later left politics and became a Yogi and philosopher and became famous as

Maharishi Aurobindo or Sri Aurobindo.

A Durbar was held in Delhi on December 12, 1911, to celebrate the visit of King George V.

King was welcomed with great pomp and show and given numerous priceless gifts. In

1911 British government under pressure from increasing agitations in Bengal and other

parts of India modified the ‘partition of Bengal’ to make again a united Presidency of

Bengal.

Hardinge Bomb case

British shifted the imperial capital from Calcutta to Delhi in 1912. On December 23, 1912

to mark the entry of the Governor-general of India into the new Capital, an imperial

procession was taken out in Delhi, with Lord Hardinge seated on a caparisoned elephant.

As the procession was passed through Chandni Chowk, a bomb was thrown on the

elephant, killing the mahawat. Lord Hardinge escaped with injuries. Many persons

including Master Amir Chand, a school teacher of Delhi, Bhai Balmukand, Master

Awadh Behari, Basant Kumar Biswas, Ganeshilal Khasta,Vishnu Ganesh Pingley,

Charan Das, Balraj, Lachhmi Narain Sharma and Lala Hanwant Sahey, and many

others were arrested. L.N Sharma and G. Khasta were taken to Varanasi and sentenced to

life imprisonment. V.G Pingley was taken to Lahore and was hanged. Master Amir Chand,

Bhai Balmukand and Master Awadh Behari were executed on May 8, 1915 in Delhi Jail and

Basant Kumar Biswas was executed the next day on May 9, 1915 in Ambala Central Jail.

Ras Bihari Bose, who masterminded the Chandni Chowk incident, escaped to Japan and

continued the struggle against British rule from abroad. He was the President of Indian

Independence League and head of the first Indian National Army (INA) founded by

General Mohan Singh.

In 1914 Britain became engaged in World War I. Shortly after declaration of war, two

infantry divisions and a cavalry brigade of the Indian Army were sent to Europe. In all

140,000 men served on the Western Front, 90,000 in the Indian Corps and 50,000 in the

Labor Companies. Indian troops also played important role in operations in Mesopotamia,

Palestine, and Gallipoli. They also served in the West and East African campaigns and in

China.

On 16th June 1914, Bal Gangadhar Tilak was released after serving a prison sentence of 6

years, most of which he had spent in Mandalay in Burma. In 1915-1916, under the

leadership of Tilak, Annie Besant and Subramaniya Iyer, the Home Rule League

was started. January 9, 1915, saw the beginning of a new phase in India’s struggle for

independence with arrival of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi to Bombay from South

Africa. Two major events took place at the Lucknow session of the Indian Nation Congress

in 1916. First, the moderate and hardliner groups were united. Second, the Muslim

League put aside old differences and joined hands with the Indian National Congress. 

 Responding to Gandhi’s call for helping British in World War I, a large number of Indians

joined British Indian Army during 1916-1917. By the end of the World War I in 1918, the

numerical strength of Indians in British Indian Army had increased to nearly 600,000.

Jalianwala Bagh Massacre 1919

British responded to the Indian help in World War I by enacting in 1919, The Rowlatt

Act. This allowed the government to imprison anyone without a trial or a conviction.

There were widespread protests to this law. On April 13, 1919, thousands of people

gathered peacefully in protest against this law in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar Punjab.

British troops marched to the park accompanied by an armored vehicle on which machine

guns were mounted. The vehicle was unable to enter the park compound due to the

narrow entrance. The troops were under the command of General Reginald Edward

Harry Dyer. He ordered his men to open fire on the peaceful gathering. Since there was

no other exit but the one already manned by the troops, people desperately tried to exit

the park by trying to climb the walls of the park. Some people also jumped into a well to

escape the bullets. More than a thousands people including women and children were

massacred. Sir Michael O’Dwyer, who was The Governor of the Punjab region,

supported the massacre. The event was condemned worldwide and General Dyer was

summoned to London the Hunter Commission in 1920, found him guilty. However, the

British Parliament cleared his name and even praised his ruthlessness. Many Britons

raised a fund in his honor.

‘Jalianwala Bagh Massacre’ catalyzed the militant movement against British rule and

paved the way for Gandhi’s Non-Cooperation Movement against the British in 1920.

After the end of World War I Turkish Khalifa was removed, which led to a worldwide

protest by Muslims. Under the leadership of the Ali Brothers, Maulana Muhammad Ali and

Maulana Shaukat Ali, the Muslims of South Asia launched the historic Khilafat

Movement. Gandhi linked the issue of Swaraj with the Khilafat issue to bring Hindus and

Muslim together in one movement. The Civil Disobedience or Non-cooperation

movement was started. The ensuing movement was the first countrywide popular

movement. It began with returning of honorary titles given by the British and then

continued to a boycott of the legislatures, elections and government works. Foreign

clothes were burned and Khadi (home woven cloth) became a symbol of freedom. By the

end of 1921, all of the important leaders, except Gandhi were in jail. In February 1922, at

Chaurichaura, Uttar Pradesh, violence erupted and Gandhi called off the movement. He

was then arrested and the movement ended.

Deshbandhu Chitt Ranjan Das, along with Motilal Nehru, founded the Swaraj Party

in 1923 for maintaining of continued participation in legislative councils. The party was

soon recognized as the parliamentary wing of the Congress. In Bengal many of the

candidates fielded by the Swaraj Party were elected to office. The Governor invited C.R.

Das to form a government but he declined. The party came to be a powerful opposition in

the Bengal Legislative Council and inflicted defeats on three ministries. The Calcutta

Municipal Act of 1923 was a major landmark in the history of local self-government in

India. The Swarajists were elected to the Calcutta Corporation in a majority in 1924.

Deshbandhu was elected mayor and Subash Chandra Bose was appointed Chief

Executive Officer. The leaders of Swaraj Party began to advocate for dominion status to

India. Many of the elected deputies soon forgot about obstruction and began cooperating

with the government (tariff autonomy bill passed, 1923). In 1924 Gandhi was released

from prison due to poor health and was elected President of the Indian National Congress.

1925 saw the first woman becoming the president of Indian National Congress when

Sarojini Naidu was elected President for the Kanpur session.

Revolutionary Movement in India during 1920s and 1930s

The revolutionaries in northern India organized under the leadership of the old veterans,

Ramprasad Bismil, Jogesh Chatterjee, Chandrashekhar Azad and Sachindranath

Sanyal whose ‘Bandi Jiwani’ served as a textbook to the revolutionary movement. They

met in Kanpur in October 1924 and founded the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA)

to organize armed revolution to overthrow colonial rule and establish in its place a

Federal Republic of the United States of India.

Gopinath Saha in January 1924 tried to assassinate Charles Tegart, the hated Police

Commissioner of Calcutta. By an error, another Englishman named Day was killed.

Gopinath Saha was arrested and executed despite large-scale protests. The most

important action of the HRA was the Kakori train episode. On 9 August. 1925, ten men up

the 8-Down train at Kakori, an obscure village near Lucknow, looted its official railway

treasury. The Government reaction was quick and hard. It arrested a large number of

young men and tried them in the Kakori case, Ashfaqullah Khan, Ramprasad Bismil,

Roshan Singh, Rajendra Lahiri were hanged, four others were sent to the Andaman

for life and seventeen others were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment.

Chandrashekhar Azad remained at large. In 1927, the Simon Commission was

appointed by the British Government to suggest political reforms in India. Sir John Simon

and six other members of the commission were British. At the Congress meeting in

Madras in 1927, it was decided to boycott the commission. Formation of Simon

Commission led to large-scale protests all over India.

The Kakori case was a major setback to the revolutionaries of northern India. But soon

young men such as Bejoy Kumar Sinha, Shiv Varma and Jaidev Kapur in U.P.,

Bhagat Singh, Bhagwati Charan Vohra and Sukhdev in Punjab set out to reorganize

the HRA under the overall leadership of Chandrashekhar Azad. Finally nearly all the

major young revolutionaries of northern India met a Ferozeshah Kotla Ground at Delhi on

9 and 10 September 1928, created a new collective leadership adopted socialism as their

official goal and changed the name of the party to the Hindustan Socialist Republican

Association (HRSA).

Lala Lajpat Rai's died, as the result of a brutal lathi-charge when he was leading an

anti-Simon Commission demonstration at Lahore on 30 October 1928. The romantic

youthful leadership of the HSRA saw the death of this great Punjabi leader, popularly

known as Sher-e-Punjab, as a direct challenge. And so, on 17 December 1928, Bhagat

Singh, Azad and Rajguru assassinated, at Lahore, Saunders, a police official involved

in deadly lathi-charge on Lala Lajpat Rai.

Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw a bomb in the Central Legislative

Assembly on 8 April 1929 protesting against the passage of the Public Safety Bill and the

Trade Disputes Bill that would reduce the civil liberties of citizens. The aim was not to kill,

for the bombs were relatively harmless.The leaflet they threw into the Assembly hall said

“If the deaf are to hear, the sound has to be very loud’. The objective was to get arrested

and to use trial court as a forum for propaganda so that people would become familiar

with their movement and ideology. Bhagat Singh and B.K. Dutt were tried in the

Assembly Bomb Case.

Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru and many other revolutionaries were tried in a series of

conspiracy cases. During the trial they said - “When we dropped the bomb, it was

not our intention to kill anybody. We have bombed the British Government. The

British must quit India and make her free." Their fearless and defiant attitude in the

courts and their slogans 'Inquilab Zindabad,' songs such as 'Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab

hamare dil mein hain' and 'Mera rang de basanti chola' became very popular all over

India.

Bhagat Singh, Rajguru & Sukhdev became symbols for Indian struggle against British

rule. They became an inspiration for many youths who wanted to see India independent.

Sukhdev and Rajguru were executed on 23rd March 1931 and Bhagat Singh on 24th

March 1931. Millions of people in India wept and refused to eat food, attend schools, or

carry on their daily work, when they heard of their hanging.

Chandrashekhar Azad had escaped from getting arrested and he continued to organize

the revolutionary youths. But on 27th February 1931 Azad was betrayed by an informer

and was encircled by a huge posse of British troops in the Alfred Park, Allahabad. He was

asked to surrender but Azad refused. For several hours he alone fought against hundreds

of policemen. He kept on fighting till the last bullet. Finding no other alternative, except

surrender, Azad shot himself.

A large number of revolutionaries were convicted in the Lahore conspiracy Case and

other similar cases and sentenced to long terms of imprisonment many of them were

sent to the Andamans. The revolutionary under-trials went on hunger strike protesting

against the horrible conditions in jails. They demanded that they be treated as political

prisoners and not as criminals. On 13th September, after 64 days of an epic hunger strike

Jatin Das, the iron willed young man from Bengal died. The entire nation rallied behind

the hunger strikers. Thousands came to pay homage at every station passed by the train

carrying his body from Lahore to Calcutta. At Calcutta, a two-mile-long procession of

more than half a million people carried his coffin to the cremation ground.

Satyagraha Movement of Gandhi and rise of Sardar Patel and Jawaharlal Nehru

 Vallabhbhai Patel, qualified as a barrister in 1913 and returned to India to a lucrative

practice in Ahmedabad. But soon following Gandhi’s footsteps, Vallabhbhai took to

spinning the charkha, boycotted foreign goods and clothes and burned his foreign

possessions on public bonfires. He even discarded the western dresses he once so

coveted. The relationship between Gandhiji and Vallabhbhai was concretely defined when

Gandhiji was elected the President of the Gujarat Sabha and Vallabhbhai the Secretary, in

1917. He participated in the Nagpur flag satyagraha from May to August in 1923 in

protest against the stopping of a procession which carried the national flag. In 1928,

Vallabhbhai once again came to the rescue of the farmers, this time it was in Bardoli,

which was then a part of Surat district. The Government increased the tax on the land.

Those who were not able to pay the high taxes, their lands were confiscated. Vallabhbhai

urged the farmers not to pay, declaring the hike unjust. He prepared the farmers for

satyagraha. The Satyagraha continued for six months. Finally the government agreed to

hold an inquiry into the justification of the tax hike, released the satyagrahis and returned

all confiscated items back to the farmers. So pleased was Gandhiji with Vallabhbhai's

effort that he gave him the title of "Sardar" or leader.

In 1929 Lord Irwin promises Dominion Status for India. This year also saw the rise of

Jawaharlal Nehru, who was destined to become the first prime minister of free India.

Jawaharlal Nehru was son of congress leader Motilal Nehru. Jawaharlal was educated in

Britain from where he graduated as a barrister. After the Jalianwala Bagh massacre in

1919, he joined the freedom struggle. In the Lahore session of Congress in 1929, under

President Jawaharlal Nehru, the resolution of "Poorna Swaraj", Complete Independence,

was adopted. On December 21, 1929, the Trianga (tricolor) flag was unfurled. On January

26, 1930, the first Independence Day was celebrated. The Civil disobedience movement

was started as well as the movement to no longer submit to British Rule. Nehru spent

most of the period from 1930 to 1936 in jail for conducting civil disobedience campaigns.

On March 12, 1930, Gandhi marched from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi, to protest

against ‘state monopoly on salt’ often called the Dandi march. The march was 375 km

and took 26 days. As a result of this march, all of India joined the campaign to boycott

foreign goods and refused to pay taxes. Sardar Patel left for Dandi to prepare for

Gandhiji's Salt satyagraha. He went to villages to organize for the food and lodging of the

marchers. In every village he went, he made stirring speeches, rousing the people to join

the march to Dandi. The Government swooped down and arrested him while he was in

the village of Ras. This was Sardar Patel's first prison sentence.

Khan Abdul Ghafar Khan started the Khudai Kidmatgar movement in the NorthWest of

India. The government imprisoned 90,000 people that were participating in the

movement in the first year.

Round Table Conferences and Gandhi Irwin Pact

First Round Table Conferences was held in November 1930 was attended by eighty-

nine delegates from different religious, political groups and princely states. The Indian

National Congress, then engaged in civil disobedience, was not represented. Lacking

representation from the Congress and preoccupied with problems of federation, the first

conference adjourned in January 1931, without having made appreciable progress on the

issue of communal representation. Sardar Patel, was released after the Gandhi-Irwin

pact of March 1931. Gandhi signed the Pact on behalf of the Congress and by Lord

Irwin on behalf of the Government. The terms of the agreement included the immediate

release of all political prisoners not convicted for violence, the remission of all fines not

yet collected, the return of confiscated lands not yet sold to third parties, and lenient

treatment for those government employees who had resigned. British Government also

conceded the right to make salt for consumption to villages long the coast, as also the

right to peaceful and non-aggressive picketing. That year Sardar Patel presided over the

Congress session in Karachi.

The second round table conference opened in London on September 7, 1931. Two

committees were formed during the conference - committees on federal structure and

minorities. Gandhi was a member of both and he claimed that he represented all India

and dismissed other Indian delegates as non-representative because they did not belong

to the Congress. There was serious disagreement on communal representation issue

between Congress and other minority groups. Gandhi returned from the conference and

continued the civil disobedience movement and was arrested again. The third round

table conference began on November 17, 1932. It was short and unimportant. The

Congress, and the Labor opposition in the British Parliament were both absent. Reports of

the various committees were scrutinized. The conference ended on December 25, 1932.

Continuing revolutionary struggle and role of women revolutionaries Most

historians write about the dominant role of Gandhi and Congress during the Indian

freedom movement of 1930s but only a few mention the revolutionary movement that

continued in different parts of India. Some of these revolutionary leaders worked in

congress but later got disillusioned by Gandhi’s non-violent satyagraha. Among the new

'Revolutionary Groups', the most active and famous was the Chittagong group led by

Surya Sen. He actively participated in the non-cooperation movement and was popularly

known as ‘Masterda’. Arrested and imprisoned for two years, from 1926 to 1928, for

revolutionary activities, he continued to work in the Congress. On 18th April 1930, a

group of fivety-six revolutionaries under the leader ship of Surya Sen, Ganesh Ghosh

and Loknath Baul captured two police armories in Chittagong. They hoisted the National

Flag among shouts of Bande Mataram and Inquilab Zindabad and proclaimed

Provisional Revolutionary Government. It was on the Jalalabad Hill that over a

thousand British government troops surrounded them on the afternoon of 22 April. After

a fierce fight, in which over eighty British troops and twelve revolutionaries died, Surya

Sen decided to disperse to the neighbouring village there they formed into small groups

and conducted raids on Government personnel and property. They continued their fight

against British army for over 3 years. Surya Sen was finally arrested on 16 February

1933, tried and hanged on 12th January 1934.

Large-scale participation of young women in freedom struggle under Surya Sen's

leadership characterized this phase of revolutionary movement. These women provided

shelters, acted as messengers and fought guns in hand. Preetilata Waddekar died

while conducting a raid, while Kalpana Dutt was arrested and tried along with Surya Sen

and given a life sentence. In December 1931, two schoolgirls of Kummilla in Bengal,

Shanti Ghosh and Suneeti Chaudhary, shot dead the district magistrates. In

December 1932, Beena Das fired point blank at the Governor while receiving her degree

at the convocation. In Nagaland, Rani Gaidilita, a 13-year girl raised a flag against the

British and was put into prison for life in 1932.

Government of India Act 1935 and formation of Provincial Legislative

Government

In 1935, the Government of India Act was passed in the British Parliament. This created

an All-Indian Federation based on provincial autonomy. The Congress swept 7 out of 11 of

the provinces in July 1937. The Muslim League which claimed to represent Indian

Muslims, secured less then a quarter of the seats reserved for Muslims. While, political

prisoners were released and civil liberties promoted, the limitations on the Act of 1935

few real achievements were made. The Muslim League fared poorly in the elections.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the permanent president of the Muslim League, began rumors

that the Muslim minority was in danger under the Hindu majority and promoted a two

separate nation plan. In 1940, the Muslim League passed a resolution demanding

Pakistan after as a separate country after Independence.

Rise of Subhash Chandra Bose in Indian freedom movement

Subhash Chandra Bose was born in 1897. He was selected for Indian civil services but

resigned from it and returned to India in 1921. He joined Swarjya Party of C.R. Das in

Gaya Congress in 1922. In 1930 he was elected Mayor of Calcutta and became a

prominent leader of Indian freedom movement. During 1933-36 Subhash Bose met

several prominent European leaders and tried to persuade them to help India in its

freedom struggle against British colonialism. Many people questioned Gandhi’s

leadership. Subhash Chandra Bose and Vithalbhai Patel (brother of Sardar Patel) in a

strong statement had said in 1933 that 'Mr. Gandhi as a political leader has failed' and

called for 'a radical reorganization of the Congress on a new principle with a new method,

for which a new leader is essential.' Subhash returned to India in 1936 and was arrested.

In 1938 he was elected as the President of Indian Congress and made the historic speech

in Haripura convention. Subhash brought new ideas to the Congress and wanted a quick

move towards launching a freedom struggle. Gandhi and Nehru were in favor of helping

British during World War II and against any serious movement that could harm British

War efforts. Subhash Bose strongly opposed this idea. Sardar Patel, Rajendra Prasad, J.B.

Kripalani, Jawaharlal Nehru and Gandhi supported Pattabhi Sitaramayya as a candidate

for the post of Congress president against Subhash in 1939. Subhas Bose was elected on

29th January by 1580 votes against 1377. Gandhi declared that 'Pattabhi's defeat is

my defeat'. Not wanting to embarrass these leaders and due to strong policy differences

with Gandhi and Nehru, Subhash resigned and formed the new organization Forward

Block. Subhash later became President of Indian National Army, which played a crucial

role during last part of Indian freedom movement.

British Involvement in World War II and Quit India Movement

On September 1st., 1939, German troops invaded Poland. Britain and France declared

war against Germany on September 3rd 1939. Beginning of World War II hastened the

end of British rule in India. During World War II, Congress stated that if it wanted India's

cooperation, it must give India the right of self-determination. The British refused and in

1939 Congress led provincial ministries resigned. Role of Gandhi during this period was

again controversial. In October 1940, Gandhi called for limited Satyagraha so the

movement did not seriously harm the British war effort. Many of his closest colleagues

and the rank and file in the Indian National Congress could not bring themselves to

accept the feasibility of defending the country against aggression without resort to arms.

During the war whenever there was a possibility of a rapprochement between the

Congress and the Government for a united war effort, Gandhi stepped aside.

Udham Singh had witnessed his brother being killed in the Jalianwala massacre as a

child. Twenty-one years later he took the revenge for that massacre by killing Sir Michael

O'Dwyer on 13th March 1940. Sir Michael O'Dwyer was the governor of Punjab at the

time of Jalianwala Bagh massacre and had strongly supported the massacre. Udham

Singh was captured and executed On July 31, 1940.

In 1942, Stafford Cripps lead the Cripps Mission, promised Dominion Status with the

right of secession but refused to allow immediate transfer of power. The Indian leaders

refused to accept promises. Under tremendous pressure from his colleagues in Congress

Gandhi agreed for a mass independent movement. The Quit India resolution was

passed in 1942, Bombay session of Congress. Gandhi stressed, "We shall either free India

or die in the attempt. We shall not live to see the perpetuation of our slavery". This is

famously known as "Do or Die". This was declared illegal by British government and all of

the prominent leaders were arrested. There were revolts all around India with the slogan

of "British Quit India".

Role of Indian National Army (INA)

Mohan Singh, an Indian officer of the British Indian Army who did not join the retreating

British army in Malaya first conceived the idea of the Indian National Army and asked for

Japanese help. Indian prisoners of war were handed over by the Japanese to Mohan Singh

who then tried to recruit them into an Indian National Army. On 1 September 1942, the

first division of the INA was formed with 16,300 men. But later due to differences with

Japanese Mohan Singh was arrested. Accompanied by Rashbehari Bose, Netaji arrived at

Singapore from Tokyo on 27 June. He was given a tumultuous welcome by the resident

Indians and was profusely 'garlanded' wherever he went. His speeches kept the listeners

spellbound. By now, a legend had grown around him, and its magic infected his

audiences. He went to Tokyo and Prime Minister Tojo declared that Japan had no

territorial designs on India. The Provisional Government of Free India was formed on 21

October 1943. INA was now known as Azad Hind Fauz (Free India Army) It was

reorganized with the creation of a second INA division and even a women’s regiment

known as Rani Jhansi regiment was created. Subhash Chandra Bose was popularly called

‘Netaji’ by his followers. His call of ‘ Tum mujhe Khun dou mai tumhe Azadi dunga’(I

promise you freedom, if you are ready to spill your blood) encouraged thousands youths

to join the freedom movement.

The Provisional Government of free India formed under ‘Netaji’ declared war on Britain. In

March - April 1944 INA set its foot inside India and captured large parts of Manipur. On

April 6th 1944 Kohima, a major city was captured. Indian tricolor (flag) was raised inside

free India. But soon the balance of power in World War II shifted in favor of British and

allied forces. With defeat of Japan and German forces the INA was forced to retreat from

Kohima. Thousands of INA soldiers died fighting British and many were captured. Despite

the defeat Subhas Chandra Bose and his INA became household names throughout the

country as the British prosecuted the returning soldiers. Subhash Chandra Bose escaped

to Japan and some reports say he died in an air-crash while others say he survived the

air-crash. His ultimate fate remains unknown till date.

Events leading to partition and independence of India

Gandhi- Jinnah talks

First partition of Bengal in 1905 had sowed the seeds of division of India. Many Muslim

leaders had started entertaining the idea of a separate Muslim dominated country.

Gandhi’s initial stand was that India should not be partitioned into two nations after

Independence. Muhammad Ali Jinnah was the leader of Muslim League, a self-proclaimed

champion of Muslim cause. Although Muslim League never had popular support amongst

Indian Muslims, British always supported Muslim League. The Muslim League adopted the

Pakistan demand in its Lahore resolution in 1940. The demand stated that the

geographically contiguous regions of India where the Muslims are a majority like the

North West and the Eastern side of India should be constituted as independent states.

On September 19, 1944, Gandhi-Jinnah talks began in Bombay over partition of India and

creation of Pakistan. Gandhi insisted that he came in his personal capacity and was not

representing Hindus or Congress. During the talks Jinaah insisted on the need for a

separate Muslim state (Pakistan) while Gandhi tried to impress that India needs to remain

a united one country. Talks ended on September 24, 1944 without any conclusion.

On the 21st of February 1946, mutiny broke out on board the Royal Indian Navy. Mutiny

in Royal Indian Navy was quickly controlled. Mutiny in Royal Indian Navy only

highlighted the amount of discontent amongst the Indian troops who were serving British

Raj. As a result of the Indian National Army’s exploits in World War II, British had already

started doubting the loyalty of the British Indian soldiers who formed the bulk of troops in

India. Afraid of further revolts in armed forces British planned to quickly hand over power

to Indian political establishment. Events like INA’s capture of Kohima in World War II and

Indian Navy mutiny were probably not significant militarily but were a psychological blow

to the confidence of British government, which hastened Indian Independence.

Cabinet Mission plan (1946) - To end the dead lock between Congress and Muslim

League on the issue of creation of Pakistan, British Government sent a group of ministers.

The mission consisted of Lord Pethic Lawrence, the Secretary of State for India, Sir

Stafford Cripps, President of the Board of Trade, and A. V. Alexander, the First Lord of the

Admiralty.

The main points of the plan were:

1. There would be a union of India comprising both British India and the Indian States that

would deal with foreign affairs, defense and communications. The union would have an

Executive and a Legislature.

2. All residuary powers would belong to the provinces.

3. All provinces would be divided into three sections. Provinces could opt out of any group

after the first general elections.

4. There would also be an interim government having the support of the major political

parties.

Both Congress and Muslim League agreed to the Cabinet mission plan. But Jawaharlal

Nehru made an astonishing statement while addressing a press conference on July 10. He

said that the Congress had agreed to join the constituent assembly, but it would be free

to make changes in the Cabinet Mission Plan.

Jinnah and Muslim League who were forced to accept the Cabinet Mission Plan earlier

now pounced on the blunder made by Jawaharlal Nehru. Muslim League disassociated

itself from the Cabinet Plan and resorted to "Direct Action" to achieve Pakistan.

Viceroy Wavell invited the Congress to join the interim government.

On 16th August 1946, mob violence and rioting erupted in Calcutta and many people

died. On October 14, 1946, to reduce the increasing communal tension Lord Wavell,

invited Muslim League participate in the interim Government led by Congress.

Second blunder made by Nehru was to give the post of Finance Minister to Muslim

League nominee Liaquat Ali Khan who tried to win the favor of Indian Muslims by

presenting a budget that favored Muslims.

On December 9, 1946 the Congress started framing the Indian Constitution. On March

22, 1947, Lord Mountbatten arrived as the last Viceroy. It was announced that power

would be transferred from British to Indian hands by June 1948. Lord Mountbatten

entered into a series of talks with the Congress and the Muslim League leaders. Jinnah

insisted on creation of Pakistan as a separate country for Indian Muslims. Congress also

agreed to the partition of India. Gandhi who had previously said that India would be

partitioned over my ‘dead body’ now agreed to the partition plan. Mountbatten now

prepared for the partition of the Sub-continent and announced it on June 3, 1947. The

Congress and the Muslem League agreed that India would become free on August 15,

1947. The country would be partitioned under the guidance of the Red Cliff Mission.

Independent India

On 15th August 1947 India became an independent country and Pakistan was also

formed. Jawaharlal Nehru took oath as the first Prime Minister of Independent India.

Massive exodus of population from Islamic Pakistan to India took place. Nearly the whole

Hindu population living in Pakistan’s Punjab and Sindh and East Bengal migrated to India.

Large numbers of Hindus were killed in the riots in Pakistan and many others were

forcibly converted to Islam. Only a few Hindus survived in Islamic republic of Pakistan.

Muslims from Independent India also migrated to Pakistan and many Muslims were killed

in riots that took place in India. But majority of Muslims preferred to stay in India and

were given equal rights in secular India. The Muslim population of Independent India was

much bigger than that of Independent Pakistan. Indian independence was scarred by the

trauma and bloodshed of partition.

The Partition of India

Sentiments of Indian nationalism were expressed as early as 1885 at the Indian National Congress, which was predominantly Hindu. In 1906 the All-India Muslim League formed with favorable relations towards British rule, but by 1913 that changed when the League shifted its focus and began to view Indian self-government as its goal. It continued to favor Hindu-Muslim unity towards that end for several decades but in 1940 the League began to call for a separate Muslim state from the projected independent India. The league was concerned that a united independent India would be dominated by Hindus. In the winter of 1945-46 Mohammed Ali Jinnah's Muslim League members won all thirty seats reserved for Muslims in the Central Legislative Assembly and most of the reserved provincial seats as well.

In an effort to resolve deadlock between Congress and the Muslim League in order to transfer British power "to a single Indian administration", a three-man Cabinet Mission formed in 1946 which drafted plans for a "three-tier federation for India." According to those

plans, the region would be divided into three groups of provinces, with Group A including the Hindu-populated provinces that would eventually comprise the majority of the independent India. Groups B and C were comprised of largely Muslim-populated provinces. Each group would be governed separately with a great degree of autonomy except for the handling of "foreign affairs, communications, defense, and only those finances required for such nationwide matters." These issues would be addressed by a minimal central government located in Dehli.

The plan, however, did not take into account the fate of a large Sikh population living in Punjab, part of the B-group of provinces. Mughal emperors' persecution of Sikh gurus in the 17th century had infused the Sikh culture with a lasting anti-Muslim element that promised to erupt if the Punjab Sikhs were to be partitioned off as part of a Muslim-dominated province group. Although they did not make up more than two per cent of the Indian population, the Sikhs had since 1942 been moving for a separate Azad Punjab of their own, and by 1946 they were demanding a free Sikh nation-state.

As leader of the Muslim League, Jinnah accepted the Cabinet Mission's proposal. However, when Nehru announced at his first press conference as the reelected president of Congress that "no constituent assembly could be bound by any prearranged constitutional formula," Jinnah took this to be a repudiation of the plan, which was necessarily a case of all or nothing. The Muslim League�s Working Committee withdrew its consent and called upon the Muslim nation to launch direct action in mid-August 1946. A frenzy of rioting between Hindus and Muslims ensued.

In March of 1947 Lord Mountbatten was sent to take over the viceroy, and encountered a situation in which he feared a forced evacuation of British troops. He recommended a partition of Punjab and Bengal in the face of raging civil war. Gandhi was very opposed to the idea of partition, and urged Mountbatten to offer Jinnah leadership of a united India instead of the creation of a separate Muslim state. However, Nehru would not agree to that suggestion. In July Britain's Parliament passed the Indian Independence Act, which set a deadline of midnight on August 14-15, 1947 for "demarcation of the dominions of India." As a result, at least 10 million Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs fled their homes to seek sanctuary on whichever side of the line was favorable to them. The ensuing communal massacres left at least one million dead, with the brunt of the suffering borne by the Sikhs who had been caught in the middle. Most of them eventually settled in Punjab.

Jinnah presided as the governor-general of Pakistan, which was geographically divided into East Pakistan and West Pakistan and separated by Indian territory (including half of Punjab and half of Bengal). However, ownership of Kashmir remained in dispute until it came to a head and war broke out once again in 1965. The unrest did not end there; in 1971 tensions between East and West Pakistan over Bengali autonomy developed into another civil war, with the result that Bangladesh became an independent country in 1972 and West Pakistan remained Pakistan.

Indian Independence

Between 1940 and 1942, the Congress launched two abortive agitations against the British, and 60,000 Congress members were arrested, including Gandhi and Nehru. Unlike the uncooperative and belligerent Congress, the Muslim League supported the British during World War II. Belated but perhaps sincere British attempts to accommodate the demands of the two rival parties, while preserving the unitary state in India, seemed unacceptable to both as they alternately rejected whatever proposal was put forward during the war years. As a result, a three-way impasse settled in: the Congress and the Muslim League doubted British motives in handing over power to Indians, while the British struggled to retain some hold on India while offering to give greater autonomy.

The Congress wasted precious time denouncing the British rather than allaying Muslim fears during the highly charged election campaign of 1946. Even the more mature Congress leaders, especially Gandhi and Nehru, failed to see how genuinely afraid the Muslims were and how exhausted and weak the British had become in the aftermath of the war. When it appeared that the Congress had no desire to share power with the Muslim League at the center, Jinnah declared August 16, 1946, Direct Action Day, which brought communal rioting and massacre in many places in the north. Partition seemed preferable to civil war. On June 3, 1947, Viscount Louis Mountbatten, the viceroy (1947) and governor-general (1947-48), announced plans for partition of the British Indian Empire into the nations of India and Pakistan, which itself was divided into east and west wings on either side of India. At midnight, on August 15, 1947, India strode to freedom amidst ecstatic shouting of "Jai Hind" , when Nehru delivered a memorable and moving speech on India's "tryst with destiny."

Jawaharlal Nehru : Speech On the Granting of Indian Independence, August 14, 1947

Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long supressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to the service of Inida and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity.

At the dawn of history India started on her unending quest, and trackless centuries are filled with her striving and the grandeur of her success and her failures. Through good and ill fortune alike she has never lost sight of that quest or forgotten the ideals, which gave her strength. We end today a period of ill fortune and India discovers herself again. The achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of opportunity, to the greater triumphs and achievements that await us. Are we brave enough and wise enough to grasp this opportunity and accept the challenge of the future?

Freedom and power bring responsibility. The responsibility rests upon this Assembly, a sovereign body representing the sovereign people of India. Before the birth of freedom we have endured all the pains of labour and our hearts are heavy with the memory of this sorrow. Some of those pains continue even now. Nevertheless, the past is over and it is the future that beckons to us now.

That future is not one of ease or resting but of incessant striving so that we may fulfil the pledges we have so often taken and the one we shall take today. The service of India means the service of the millions who suffer. It means the ending of poverty and ignorance and disease and inequality of opportunity. The ambition of the greatest man of our generation

has been to wipe every tear from every eye. That may be beyond us, but as long as there are tears and suffering, so long our work will not be over.

And so we have to labour and to work, and work hard, to give reality to our dreams. Those dreams are for India, but they are also for the world, for all the nations and peoples are too closely knit together today for any one of them to imagine that it can live apart Peace has been said to be indivisible; so is freedom, so is prosperity now, and so also is disaster in this One World that can no longer be split into isolated fragments.

To the people of India, whose representatives we are, we make an appeal to join us with faith and confidence in this great adventure. This is no time for petty and destructive criticism, no time for ill-will or blaming others. We have to build the noble mansion of free India where all her children may dwell.

II

The appointed day has come-the day appointed by destiny-and India stands forth again, after long slumber and struggle, awake, vital, free and independent. The past clings on to us still in some measure and we have to do much before we redeem the pledges we have so often taken. Yet the turning-point is past, and history begins anew for us, the history which we shall live and act and others will write about.

It is a fateful moment for us in India, for all Asia and for the world. A new star rises, the star of freedom in the East, a new hope comes into being, a vision long cherished materializes. May the star never set and that hope never be betrayed!

We rejoice in that freedom, even though clouds surround us, and many of our people are sorrowstricken and difficult problems encompass us. But freedom brings responsibilities and burdens and we have to face them in the spirit of a free and disciplined people.

On this day our first thoughts go to the architect of this freedom, the Father of our Nation [Gandhi], who, embodying the old spirit of India, held aloft the torch of freedom and lighted up the darkness that surrounded us. We have often been unworthy followers of his and have strayed from his message, but not only we but also succeeding generations will remember this message and bear the imprint in their hearts of this great son of India, magnificent in his faith and strength and courage and humility. We shall never allow that torch of freedom to be blown out, however high the wind or stormy the tempest.

Our next thoughts must be of the unknown volunteers and soldiers of freedom who, without praise or reward, have served India even unto death.

We think also of our brothers and sisters who have been cut off from us by political boundaries and who unhappily cannot share at present in the freedom that has come. They are of us and will remain of us whatever may happen, and we shall be sharers in their good [or] ill fortune alike.

The future beckons to us. Whither do we go and what shall be our endeavour? To bring freedom and opportunity to the common man, to the peasants and workers of India; to fight and end poverty and ignorance and disease; to build up a prosperous, democratic and progressive nation, and to create social, economic and political institutions which will ensure justice and fullness of life to every man and woman.

We have hard work ahead. There is no resting for any one of us till we redeem our pledge in full, till we make all the people of India what destiny intended them to be. We are citizens of a great country on the verge of bold advance, and we have to live up to that high standard. All of us, to whatever religion we may belong, are equally the children of India with equal rights, privileges and obligations. We cannot encourage communalism or narrow-mindedness, for no nation can be great whose people are narrow in thought or in action.

To the nations and peoples of the world we send greetings and pledge ourselves to cooperate with them in furthering peace, freedom and democracy.

And to India, our much-loved motherland, the ancient, the eternal and the ever-new, we pay our reverent homage and we bind ourselves afresh to her service.

JAI HIND.

Indian History

History of India and its civilization dates back to at least 6500 BC which perhaps makes

the oldest surviving civilization in the world. India has been a meeting ground between

the East and the West. Through out its history many invaders have come to India but

Indian religions allowed it to adapt to and absorb all of them. All the while, these local

dynasties built upon the roots of a culture well established. India has always been simply

too big, too complicated, and too culturally subtle to let any one empire dominate it for

long. Based on archeological findings, Indian history can be broadly divided into five

phases:

1.Saraswati (Harappan) civilization: 6500 BC - 1000 BC or also called 'Vedic period'

in history of India.

2. Golden period of Indian History:  500 BC - 800 AD

3. Muslim influence in India:  1000 AD- 1700 AD

4. British period in India:  1700 AD - 1947 AD

5. Modern India: 1947 - till date

Vedic period and Golden Period of Indian History

Ancient Indian History

Buddha and Mahavira

Mauryan Empire

Kushan Dynasty

Gupta Empire

Harsha Vardhana

Pala and Sena

Pratiharas

Rashtrakutas

South Indian dynasties

Satvahana Dynasty

Pandya

Chalukya

Yadava

Kakatiyas

Hoysalas

Ancient Indian History (Vedic Period)

Earliest historical evidence from Mehargarh  (north-west Indian sub-continent) shows

beginning of civilization in India at around 6500 B.C. It is the earliest and largest urban

site of the period in the world. This site has yielded evidence for the earliest

domestication of animals, evolution of agriculture, as well as arts and crafts. The horse

was first domesticated here in 6500 B.C. There is a progressive process of the

domestication of animals, particularly cattle, the development of agriculture, beginning

with barley and then later wheat and rice, and the use of metal, beginning with copper

and culminating in iron, along with the development villages and towns. It has been 

suggested by some historians that an 'Aryan Invasion' of Indian subcontinent took place

around 1500-1000 B.C. However, current archeological data do not support the existence

of an Indo Aryan or European invasion into South Asia at any time in the pre or proto-

historic periods (David Frawley). The people in this tradition were the same basic ethnic

groups as in India today, with their same basic types of languages.

Two important cities were discovered: Harappa on the Ravi river, and Mohenjodaro on

the Indus during excavations in 1920. The remains of these two cities were part of a large

civilization and well developed ancient civilization, which is now called by historians as

'Indus Valley Civilization', or 'Saraswati Civilization'. Later Harappan (Sarasvati)

civilization 3100-1900 BC shows massive cities, complex agriculture and metallurgy,

sophistication of arts and crafts, and precision in weights and measures. They built large

buildings, which were mathematically-planned. The city planning in those ancient cities is

comparable to the best of our modern cities. This civilization had a written language and

was highly sophisticated.  Some of these towns were almost three miles in diameter with

thousands of residents. These ancient municipalities had granaries, citadels, and even

household toilets. In Mohenjodaro, a mile-long canal connected the city to the sea, and

trading ships sailed as far as Mesopotamia. At its height, the Indus civilization extended

over half a million square miles across the Indus river valley, and though it existed at the

same time as the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Sumer, it far outlasted them. This

Sarasvati civilization was a center of trading and for the diffusion of civilization

throughout south and west Asia, which often dominated the Mesopotamian region. 

Mehrgarh, Harappa, Mohenjodaro, Kalibangan and Lothal are peripheral cities of

the great Sarasvati civilization with more than 500 sites along its banks awaiting

excavation.

The year 4500 B.C. marks Mandhatr's defeat of Druhyus, driving them to the west into

Iran. 4000-3700 B.C. was the Rig Veda period. In 3730 B.C. the 'Battle of Ten' Kings -

occurred. That was the age of Sudas and his sage advisors, Vasistha and Visvamitra.

From 3600 to 3100 B.C. was the late Vedic age during which Yajur, Sama, and Atharva

Vedas were composed. 3100 B.C. is the probable date of the Mahabharata, composed by

Vyasa. At this time, a tectonic plate shift resulted in river Yamuna which was a tributary

of river Saraswati shifted its course and Saraswati became smaller. It was the beginning

of 'Kali Yuga'. In 1900 B.C., another tectonic plate shift made Saraswati lose Sutlej. This

dried up Sarasvati, causing massive exodus of people towards the Ganga valley in east,

whence arose the classical civilization of India. Post-Harappan civilization 1900-1000 BC

shows the abandonment of the Harappan towns owing to ecological and river changes

but without a real break in the continuity of the culture. There is a decentralization and

relocation in which the same basic agricultural and artistic traditions continue, along with

a few significant urban sites like Dwaraka. This gradually develops into the Gangetic

civilization of the first millennium BC, which is the classical civilization of ancient India,

which retains its memory of its origin in the Saraswati region through the Vedas.

David Frawley and other modern scholars propose:

1. 6500-3100 BC, Pre-Harappan, early Rig Vedic 

2. 3100-1900 BC, Mature Harappan 3100-1900, period of the Four Vedas.

3. 1900-1000 BC, Late Harappan, late Vedic and Brahmana period 

Buddha and Mahavira : 

The sequence of development in the literature does not parallel a migration into India but

the historical development of civilization in India from the Sarasvati to the Ganges'. In the

5th century BC, Siddhartha Gautama founded the religion of Buddhism, a profoundly

influential work of human thought still espoused by much of the world. In the same

another religion called Jainism was founded by Mahavira.

Around 500 BC, when the Persian kings Cyrus and Darius, pushing their empire eastward,

conquered the ever-prized Indus Valley. The Persians were in turn conquered by the

Greeks under Alexander the Great, who came as far as the Beas River, where he

defeated king Porus and an army of 200 elephants in 326 BC. The tireless, charismatic

conqueror wanted to extend his empire even further eastward, but his own troops

(undoubtedly exhausted) refused to continue. Alexander returned home, leaving behind

garrisons to keep the trade routes open.

Golden period of Indian History

The Mauryan Empire :

Although Indian accounts to a large extent ignored Alexander the Great's Indus campaign

in 326 B.C., Greek writers recorded their impressions of the general conditions prevailing

in South Asia during this period. A two-way cultural fusion between several Indo-Greek

elements-especially in art, architecture, and coinage--occurred in the next several

hundred years. North India's political landscape was transformed by the emergence of

Magadha in the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plain.

As the overextended Hellenistic sphere declined, a king known as Chandragupta swept

back through the country from Magadha (Bihar) and conquered his way well into

Afghanistan. This was the beginning of one India's greatest dynasties, the Maurya. In 322

B.C., Magadha, under the rule of Chandragupta Maurya, began to assert its hegemony

over neighboring areas. Chandragupta, who ruled from 324 to 301 B.C., was the architect

of the first Indian imperial power-the Mauryan Empire (326-184 B.C.)--whose capital was

Pataliputra, near modern-day Patna, in Bihar.

Situated on rich alluvial soil and near mineral deposits, especially iron, Magadha was at

the center of bustling commerce and trade. The capital was a city of magnificent palaces,

temples, a university, a library, gardens, and parks, as reported by Megasthenes, the

third-century B.C. Greek historian and ambassador to the Mauryan court. Legend states

that Chandragupta's success was due in large measure to his adviser Kautilya, the

Brahman author of the Arthashastra (Science of Material Gain), a textbook that outlined

governmental administration and political strategy. There was a highly centralized and

hierarchical government with a large staff, which regulated tax collection, trade and

commerce, industrial arts, mining, vital statistics, welfare of foreigners, maintenance of

public places including markets and temples, and prostitutes. A large standing army and

a well-developed espionage system were maintained. The empire was divided into

provinces, districts, and villages governed by a host of centrally appointed local officials,

who replicated the functions of the central administration.

Ashoka, was the most trusted son of Bindusara and grandson of Chandragupta . During

his father's reign, he was the governor of Ujjain and Taxila. Having sidelined all claims to

the throne from his brothers, Ashoka was coroneted as an emperor. He ruled from 269 to

232 B.C. and was one of India's most illustrious rulers. Under the great king Ashoka the

Mauryan empire conquered nearly the entire subcontinent, Ashoka extended the Maurya

Empire to the whole of India except the deep south and the south-east, reaching out even

into Central Asia.

 Ashoka's inscriptions chiseled on rocks and stone pillars located at strategic locations

throughout his empire--such as Lampaka (Laghman in modern Afghanistan), Mahastan (in

modern Bangladesh), and Brahmagiri (in Karnataka)--constitute the second set of datable

historical records. According to some of the inscriptions, in the aftermath of the carnage

resulting from his campaign against the powerful kingdom of Kalinga (modern Orissa),

Ashoka renounced bloodshed and pursued a policy of nonviolence or ahimsa, espousing a

theory of rule by righteousness. His toleration for different religious beliefs and languages

reflected the realities of India's regional pluralism although he personally seems to have

followed Buddhism. Early Buddhist stories assert that he convened a Buddhist council at

his capital, regularly undertook tours within his realm, and sent Buddhist missionary

ambassadors to Sri Lanka. His rule marked the height of the Maurya empire, and it

collapsed only 100 years after his death.

Under his reign Buddhism spread to Syria, Egypt, Macedonia, Central Asia, Burma. For

propagation of Buddhism, he started inscribing edicts on rocks and pillars at places where

people could easily read them. These pillars and rocks are still found in India, spreading

their message of love and peace for the last two thousand years. To his ideas he gave the

name Dharma. Ashoka died in 232 BC. The capital of Ashoka pillar at Sarnath is adopted

by India as its national emblem. The "Dharma Chakra" on the Ashoka Pillar adorns our

National Flag. 

Kushan Dynasty :

After the disintegration of the Mauryan Empire in the second century B.C., South Asia

became a collage of regional powers with overlapping boundaries. India's unguarded

northwestern border again attracted a series of invaders between 200 B.C. and A.D. 300.

The invaders became "Indianized" in the process of their conquest and settlement. Also,

this period witnessed remarkable intellectual and artistic achievements inspired by

cultural diffusion and syncretism. The Indo-Greeks, or the Bactrians, of the northwest

contributed to the development of numismatics; they were followed by another group,

the Shakas (or Scythians), from the steppes of Central Asia, who settled in western India.

Still other nomadic people, the Yuezhi, who were forced out of the Inner Asian steppes of

Mongolia, drove the Shakas out of northwestern India and established the Kushana

Kingdom (first century B.C.-third century A.D.). The Kushana Kingdom controlled parts of

Afghanistan and Iran, and in India the realm stretched from Purushapura (modern

Peshawar, Pakistan) in the northwest, to Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) in the east, and to

Sanchi (Madhya Pradesh) in the south. For a short period, the kingdom reached still

farther east, to Pataliputra. The Kushana Kingdom was the crucible of trade among the

Indian, Persian, Chinese, and Roman empires and controlled a critical part of the

legendary Silk Road. Kanishka, who reigned for two decades starting around A.D. 78,

was the most noteworthy Kushana ruler. He converted to Buddhism and convened a

great Buddhist council in Kashmir. The Kushanas were patrons of Gandharan art, a

synthesis between Greek and Indian styles, and Sanskrit literature. They initiated a new

era called Shaka in A.D. 78, and their calendar, which was formally recognized by India

for civil purposes starting on March 22, 1957, is still in use.

The Classical Age - Gupta Empire and Harsha :

Gupta age - Under Chandragupta I (320-335), empire was revived in the north. Like

Chandragupta Maurya, he first conquered Magadha, set up his capital where the Mauryan

capital had stood (Patna), and from this base consolidated a kingdom over the eastern

portion of northern India. In addition, Chandragupta revived many of Asoka's principles of

government. It was his son, however, Samudragupta (335-376), and later his grandson,

Chandragupta II (376-415), who extended the kingdom into an empire over the whole

of the north and the western Deccan. Chandragupta II was the greatest of the Gupta

kings and called Vikramaditya. He presided over the greatest cultural age in India. From

Pataliputra, their capital, he sought to retain political preeminence as much by

pragmatism and judicious marriage alliances as by military strength. The greatest writer

of the time was Kalidasa. Poetry in the Gupta age tended towards a few genres:

religious and meditative poetry, lyric poetry, narrative histories (the most popular of the

secular literatures), and drama. Kalidasa excelled at lyric poetry, but he is best known for

his dramas. The Indian numeral system--sometimes erroneously attributed to the Arabs,

who took it from India to Europe where it replaced the Roman system--and the decimal

system are Indian inventions of this period. Aryabhatta's expositions on astronomy in 499

A.D. gave calculations of the solar year and the shape and movement of astral bodies

with remarkable accuracy. In medicine, Charaka and Sushruta wrote about a fully evolved

medical system. Indian physicians excelled in pharmacopoeia, caesarean section, bone

setting, and plastic surgery including skin grafting.

The Guptas fell prey, however, to a wave of migrations by the Huns, a people who

originally lived north of China. Beginning in the 400's, the Huns began to put pressure on

the Guptas. In 480 AD they conquered the Guptas and took over northern India. Western

India was overrun by 500 A.D., and the last of the Gupta kings, presiding over a vastly

diminished kingdom, perished in 550 A.D. Over the decades Huns gradually assimilated

into the indigenous population and their state weakened.

Harsha Vardhana :

The northern and western regions of India passed into the hands of a dozen or more

feudatories. Gradually, one of them, Prabhakar Vardhana, the ruler of Thanesar, who

belonged to the Pushabhukti family, extended his control over all other feudatories.

Prabhakar Vardhan was the first king of the Vardhan dynasty with his capital at Thanesar

now a small town in the vicinity of Kurukshetra in the state of Haryana. After the death of

Prabahakar Vardhan in 606 A.D., his eldest son, RajyaVardhan, became king of Kananuj.

Harsha ascended the throne at the age of 16 after his brother Rajya Vardhana was killed

in a battle against Malwa King Devigupta and Gauda King Sasanka..

 Harsha, quickly re-established an Indian empire. From 606-647 AD, he ruled over an

empire in northern India. Harsha was perhaps one of the greatest conquerors of Indian

history, and unlike all of his conquering predecessors, he was a brilliant administrator. He

was also a great patron of culture. His capital city, Kanauj, extended for four or five miles

along the Ganges River and was filled with magnificent buildings. Only one fourth of the

taxes he collected went to administration of the government. The remainder went to

charity, rewards, and especially to culture: art, literature, music, and religion.

The most significant achievements of this period, however, were in religion, education,

mathematics, art, and Sanskrit literature and drama. The religion that later developed

into modern Hinduism witnessed a crystallization of its components: major sectarian

deities, image worship, bhakti (devotion), and the importance of the temple. Education

included grammar, composition, logic, metaphysics, mathematics, medicine, and

astronomy. These subjects became highly specialized and reached an advanced level.

Because of extensive trade, the culture of India became the dominant culture around the

Bay of Bengal, profoundly and deeply influencing the cultures of Burma, Cambodia, and

Sri Lanka. In many ways, the period during and following the Gupta dynasty was the

period of "Greater India," a period of cultural activity in India and surrounding countries

building off of the base of Indian culture.

The history of the Kingdom of Kanauj after the death of Harshavardhana can be said to have

been uncertain till the year 730 AD, when Yashovarman is said to have ruled till 752 AD. This

was followed by the Ayudha dynasty which comprised three kings. The first was Yajrayudha

who is said to have ruled in about 770 AD. After Ayudhs, Prathihara King Nagabhatta II

annexed Kannauj. North and north west part of India after Harsha Vardhana was mostly

controlled by Pratihara Kings while Central India and part of South was mostly under

Rashtrakutas dynasty (753-973 AD ). Pala Kings (750-1161 AD) ruled the Eastern part of

India (present Bengal and Bihar).

Pala and Sena: 730-1197 A.D.

The Pala empire was founded in 730 AD. They ruled over parts of Bengal and Bihar.

Dharmapala (780-812 AD) was one of the greatest kings of the Pala dynasty. He did much

to restore the greatness of Pataliputra. The Nalanda university was revived under their

rule. The Palas had close trade contacts and cultural links with South-East Asia.

In the early twelfth century, they were replaced by the Sena dynasty. In early 13th

century, Tughan Khan defeated the Sena king, Laxman. After this defeat the Nalanda

University was destroyed.

Pratiharas 750-920 AD

The greatest ruler of the Pratihara dynasty was Mihir Bhoja. He recovered Kanauj

(Kanyakubja) by 836, and it remained the capital of the Pratiharas for almost a century.

He built the city Bhojpal (Bhopal). Raja Bhoja and other valiant Gujara kings, faced and

defeated many attacks of the Arabs from west. Between 915-918AD, attack by a

Rashtrakuta king, to the weakening of the Pratihara Empire and also who devastated the

city of Kannauj. In 1018 AD, Mahmud of Gazni sacked Kannauj then ruled by Rajyapala

Pratihara. The empire broke into independent Rajput states.

Rashtrakutas 753-973 A.D.

Dantidurga laid the foundation of Rashtrakuta empire. The Rashtrakuta's empire was the

most powerful of the time. They ruled from Lattaluru (Latur), and later shifted the capital

to Manyaketa (Malkhed).

Amoghavarsha (814-880 A.D) is the most famous Rashtrakuta kings. His long reign was

distinguished for its royal patronage of Jainism and the flourishing of regional literature.

Indra III, great-grandson of Amoghvarsha defeated the Pratihar king Mahipala. Krishana III

was the last great king of Rashtrakuta dynasty. Rashtrakutas were great patrons of art

and architecture. Krishana I, built the Kailasa Temple at Ellora. The caves at Gharapuri

(Elephanta near Mumbai) were also built by this dynasty.

 The South Indian Rulers

During the Kushana Dynasty, an indigenous power, the Satavahana Kingdom (first

century B.C.-third century A.D), rose in the Deccan in southern India. The Satavahana, or

Andhra, Kingdom was considerably influenced by the Mauryan political model, although

power was decentralized in the hands of local chieftains, who used the symbols of Vedic

religion and upheld the varnashramadharma. The rulers, however, were eclectic and

patronized Buddhist monuments, such as those in Ellora (Maharashtra) and Amaravati

(Andhra Pradesh). Thus, the Deccan served as a bridge through which politics, trade, and

religious ideas could spread from the north to the south. Further south were three ancient

Tamil kingdoms- Chera (on the west), Chola (on the east), and Pandya (in the south)--

frequently involved in internecine warfare to gain regional supremacy. They are

mentioned in Greek and Ashokan sources as lying at the fringes of the Mauryan Empire.

Peninsular India was involved in an eighth-century tripartite power struggle among the

Chalukyas (556-757) of Vatapi, the Pallavas (300-888) of Kanchipuram, and the Pandyas

(seventh through the tenth centuries) of Madurai. Their subordinates, the Rashtrakutas,

who ruled from 753 - 973 AD, overthrew the Chalukya rulers. Although both the Pallava

and Pandya kingdoms were enemies, the real struggle for political domination was

between the Pallava and Chalukya realms.

The Satvahana Dynasty :

The Satvahanas (also known as Andhras) established their kingdom in the Deccan after

the decline of Maurya Empire. The kingdom was in the present Maharashtra state. The

founder of the Satvahana dynasty was Simuka in 40 B.C. Satakarni I was the most

distinguished ruler of this dynasty. Satakarni I allied with powerful Marathi chieftain and

signaled his accession to power by performing ashvamedhas (horse-sacrifice). After his

death, the Satvahana power slowly disintegrated under a wave of Scythian invasion. The

Satvahana dynasty lasted until the 3rd century AD.

Pallava dynasty:

They established a capital at Kanchipuram (Tamil Nadu state) and came to hold sway in

the south. They were defeated by the Guptas in about 360 AD but continued to rule until

the Cholas finally conquered their lands. They ruled from the 4th century to the 9th

century although some remnants survived till 13th century. The dynasty was at its peak

under Mahendra-Varman I (600-630 AD), when architecture flourished, notably in temples

such as Mahabalipuram. During the 7th and the 8th centuries, this dynasty ruled over a

region extending from center of Andhra Pradesh far to the Kaveri River; Later, in the 9th

century, the Pallava themselves were definitely conquered by the Chola from Tanjore

and became their vassals.

Pandya (around 200s B.C to 1378 AD):

 They were the longest ruling dynasty of Indian history. They ruled the southern most

part of India and the capital of the Pandya kings was Madurai (Tamil Nadu). First Indian

Ambassador from Pandya Dynasty is sent to Rome. (26 BC). The dynasty extended its

power into Kerala (southwestern India) and Sri Lanka during the reigns of kings Kadungon

(ruled 590- 620 A.D), Arikesar Maravarman (670-700 A.D), Varagunamaharaja I (765-

815A.D), and Srimara Srivallabha (815-862 A.D). Pandya influence peaked in Jatavarman

Sundara's reign 1251-1268 A.D. After forces from the Delhi sultanate invaded Madurai in

1311, the Pandyas declined into merely local rulers.

Chalukya Dynasty 425 - 753 AD and 973 - 1190 AD:

  After Satvahan, the next great empire in the Deccan was the Chalukya empire.

Pulakesin I, first ruler of the Chalukya dynasty. Pulakesin II was the greatest ruler of the

Chalukya dynasty. He consolidated his authority in Maharashtra and conquered large

parts of the Deccan. His greatest achievement was his victory against Harshvardhan in

620. However, Pulakesin II was defeated and killed by the Pallava king Narasimhavarman

in 642. His capital Vatapi was completely destroyed. His son Vikramaditya was also as

great a ruler. He renewed the struggle against Pallavas and recovered the former glory of

the Chalukyas. In 753A.D, his great grandson Vikramaditya II was overthrown by a chief

named Dantidurga. Chalukyas constructed many temples at Aihole. Some Ajantha caves

were also built during this period.

During Rashtrakutas rule, the Chalukyas were a minor power. For 200 years, they

survived the Rashtrakutas. In 973 AD Tailap Chalukya of the Kalyani branch gained power

and restored the Chalukyan rule. They gained supremacy for about 200 years to be

partitioned into: Yadavs of Deogiri, Kaktiyas of Warangal and Hoysalas of Belur.

Yadavas of Devagiri :

Yadavas extended their authority over a large territory. Their capital was situated at

Chandor (Nasik district). They built the Deogiri fort in 11th century. Marathi language

received the status of a court language in Yadava rule. The Yadava king Singhana was

great patron of learning Sant Dnyaneshwar belonged to this age. In 1294, Alla-ud-din

Khilji laid four sieges to Deogiri. Finally, the Yadavas were defeated and the strong fort

of Deogiri fell into the hands of Muslim rulers. The riches of Deogiri were looted. By 1310

the Yadav rule came to an end.

Kakatiyas of Warangal :

Telgu language and literature flourished under Kakatiyas. They also built many forts . The

last king Prataprudra defeated Allaudin Khilji when he was first attacked in 1303. In

1310, after another war, he agreed to pay heavy tributes to Malik Kafur (Alladin's

general.) In 1321 Ghias-ud-din Tughlaq marched with a large army, and took

Prataprudra as a prisoner to Delhi. Prataprudra died on the way to Delhi. Thus ended the

glorious rule of Kaktiyas.

Hoysalas of Belur-Halebid :

King Sala was the founder of Hoysala dynasty. Hoysalas built as many as 1500 temples.

The style of their architecture became famous as the Hoysala style. Most famous are the

temples of Belur and Halebid with intricate carvings. Allaudin Khilji, defeated this

kingdom between 1308-1312.

The Muslim Period in Indian History

Early Muslim Invasions

The Slave Dynasty

The Khilji Dynasty

The Tughlaq Dynasty

The Saiyyid

The Lodhi dynasty

Mughal dynasty

Babur

Sher Shah and the Sur Dynasty  

Return of Humayun

Akbar

Jahangir

Shah Jahan

Aurangzeb

Medieval History in South of India

Vijaynagar Kingdom

The Nizam Shahi Dynasty of

Ahmadnagar

The Adil Shahi Shahi Dynasty of Bijapur

The Qutab Shahi Shahi Dynasty of

Golkanda

Bahamani Kingdom of Deccan

The Imad Shahi Dynasty of Berar

The Barid Shahi Dynasty of Bidar

Policy of Muslim rulers in India

There were many causes for Muslim conquest but the major reason was the spread of

Islam.  The Muslim dominated Kabul, the Punjab, and Sind, before intruding in to India.

The wealth in India lured the Muslim rulers. Further the inter-rivalry between the

kingdoms in India paved the way for their entry in to India.

Early Muslim Invasions

The very first Muslim attack on India in Sindh in the year 715 A.D was by Arabs led by

Mohammad Bin Qasim. They displaced Raja Dahir who ruled Sindh from his capital

Deval (near modern Karachi). Arabs even unsuccessfully tried to attack Malwa. After this

invasion, which was limited to Sindh, for a period of 300 years, kings like Raja Bhoja and

other Gurjara Kings thwarted further Muslim attacks. The next invasion was by Turk

Sabuktagin. He had established himself in Khorasan and extended his kingdom to Kabul

and Ghazni. In 986 AD he came into conflict with Raja Jaipal of Bathinda. In 991 A.D. Raja

Jaipal allied with other Hindu king including Rajyapala the Prathira king of Kannauj and

Dhanga the ruler of the distant Chandela kingdom but they too were defeated.

Mahmud of Ghazni : The elder son of Sabuktagin, Mahmud of Ghazni assumed the

throne in 997 AD. He was very conscious of the wealth he could achieve from further

conquests into India. He was also a religious fanatic who aimed to spread Islam. Mahmud

is said to have invaded India seventeen times between 1001 -1027 AD. King Jaipal and

later his son Anandpal resisted Mahmud but were defeated. Between 1009 A.D and 1026

A.D he invaded Kangra, Thaneshwar, Kanauj, Mathura, Gwalior, Kashmir and Punjab. In

1025 A.D Mahmud invaded Somnath and looted its temple on the coast of Saurashtra or

Kathiwar. Enormous treasure of the fortified temple was looted. His last invasion was in

about 1027 AD. He died in 1030 AD.

Mohammad Ghori : The next important Muslim ruler who had made his influence in

Indian history known was Muhammad Ghori. Muhammad Ghori is said to have invaded

India seven times. Mohammad Ghori invaded Multan in about 1175-76AD.  In 1178 A.D he

attempted the conquest of Gujarat. He was strongly resisted by Bhimdev II who inflicted a

crushing defeat on him. In 1191 AD Mohammad Ghori met Prithvi Raj Chauhan in the

first battle of Tarain. Mohammad Ghori was severely wounded and outnumbered. He was

defeated and left the battlefield. In the very next year in 1192 AD both the armies met

again at Tarain. This time Mohammad defeated Prithvi Raj Chauhan. In 1194 AD

Mohammad Ghori invaded defeated and killed the ruler of Kannauj Jaichand and also

captured Benares. Gwallior, Gujarat and Ajmer were also occupied by 1197 AD.

Mohammad Ghori died in 1206AD.

The Slave Dynasty

Mohammad Ghori had left Qutab-ud-din Aibek who was a slave from Turkistan in

charge of the Indian affairs. Qutab-ud-din's general Muhammad Khilji successfully

plundered and conquered the fort of Bihar in 1193 AD. In about 1199-1202AD

Muhammad Khilji brought Bengal under his authority. Qutab-ud-din died in 1210AD. He

had laid the foundation of a new dynasty called the Slave dynasty in 1206AD. In 1211

A.D. Iltumish (son in law of Qutub-ud-din) ascended the throne. He spent his days in

retrieving the lost territories of Qutab-ud-din, and also added Malwa and Sind. He

defeated Rajput rulers of Ranthambor, Ajmer, Jalor, Nagor, Gwalior. Kannauj, Banaras and

Badaun were under his dominion. During his period Qutab Minar in Delhi was completed.

 Iltutmish's daughter Razia Begum came to power 1236 AD after a brief power struggle

and ruled till 1240 AD when she was killed. Nasir-uddin Mahmud the youngest son of

Iltumish came into power after another power struggle. He ruled for twenty-five years.

The affairs of the state were left to his father-in-law and minister Ulugh Khan Balban.

After the death of Nasir-ud-din Mahmud in 1226 AD the power was taken over by Balban

who was an able administrator. He maintained a strict attitude towards the Hindus and

kept them under strong suppression with the help of his military power. He was one of

the greatest military rulers of the Slave dynasty. Balban died in 1287 AD.

The Khilji Dynasty

Following the death of Balban the Sultanate became weak and there were number of

revolts. This was the period when the nobles placed Jalaluddin Khilji on the throne. This

marked the beginning of Khilji dynasty. The rule of this dynasty started in 1290 AD.

Alauddin Khilji a nephew of Jalaluddin Khilji hatched a conspiracy and got Sultan Jala-lud

din killed and proclaimed himself as the Sultan in 1296. In 1297 AD Alauddin Khilji set off

for conquering Gujarat. In 1301 A.D. Ramthambhor was captured and the Rajput Hamir

Deva was murdered. In 1303 A.D. he conquered Chittor killing Rana Rattan Singh. His

queen Rani Padmini with the other women committed Jauhar. In 1305 A.D. Alauddin Khilji

captured Malwa, Ujjain, Mandu, Dhar and Chanderi but failed to capture Bengal.  By 1311

A.D. he captured nearly the whole of North India. His General Malik Kafur captured a

large part of south India.  During his reign Mongols invaded the country several times but

were successfully repulsed. From these invasion Allauddin Khilji learnt the lessons of

keeping himself prepared, by fortifying and organizing his armed forces.  Allaudin Khilji

died in 1316 A.D.

 There was lot of infighting after Alauddin Khiljis death and Mubarak Khan the third son of

Alauddin Khilji ascended the throne as Qutb-ud-din Mubarak in the year 1316 AD. The

rule of Qutb-ud-din Mubarak was an utter failure. Ultimately Qutb-ud-din Mubarak was

murdered by Khusru Khan and Khilji dynasty ended.

The Tughlaq Dynasty

In 1320, Ghazi Tughlaq, the governor of the northwestern provinces took the throne

under the title Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq after killing Khusru Khan. In 1325 the Sultan met an

accidental death and was succeeded by his son Muhammad bin Tughlaq. During his

reign, the territorial expansion of Delhi Sultanate reached its farthest limits. His empire

covered the regions from Peshawar in the north and Madurai in the South, and from

Sindh in the west to Assam in the east. The capital was transferred from Delhi to

Devagiri. However, it had to be shifted back within two years, as there were no adequate

arrangements in the new capital. Muhammad also introduced copper and brass coins as

"token coins" and ordered that these coins should be considered at par with the silver

and gold coins in value. This resulted in forged coins and as a result token currency was

withdrawn. The Sultan's ambitions plan of invading Himachal and the devastation of his

army owing to inhospitable climate was another blunder by Mohammed-bin -Tughlaq.  

Administrative blunders, military failures and revolts weakened Muhammad bin

Tughlaq. He died in 1351 of illness while trying to suppress revolt in Gujrat.

His cousin Feroz Tughlug who became Sultan in the year 1351 AD succeeded

Muhammed-bin- Tughlaq. Feroz Tughlak did not contribute much to expand the territories

of the empire, which he inherited. In 1360 he invaded Jajnagar to destroy the Jagan nath

Puri temple. In 1326 AD he met with success in his expedition to Sindh, before this he

had led an invasion Nagarkot with an idea to destroy the Jwalamukhi temples. The Sultan

was not tolerant towards people with different religion. Feroz Tughluq also introduced

reforms in the field of irrigation and also constructed buildings with architectural skill. He

reformed the currency system. After him the dynasty began to disintegrate. The last

Tughluq ruler Mahmud Nasir-uddin ruled from 1395-1413 AD. The invasion of Mongol

ruler Timur in1398 A.D. sealed the fate of the Tughluq dynasty. Muhammad fled and

Timur captured the city and destroyed many temples in north India. Thousands of people

were killed and Delhi was plundered for fifteen days, Timur returned to Samarkhand

carrying away a large amount of wealth with him. Muhammad Tughlaq re-occupied Delhi

and ruled till 1413 A.D.

 The Saiyyid

 Then came the Saiyyid dynasty founded by Khizr Khan. The Sayyids ruled from about 1414

AD to 1450 AD. At a time when the provinces were declaring themselves independent the

first task of Khizr Khan was the suppression of the revolts. Last in Saiyyid dynasty was

Muhammad-bin-Farid. During his reign there was confusion and revolts. The empire came to

an end in 1451 AD with his death.

 The Lodhi dynasty

Behlol Lodhi who was in service during Khizr Khan rule founded the Lodhi dynasty. Behlol

Lodhi an Afghan was proclaimed the Sultan in 1451AD. After his death his son Sikandar

Lodi proved to be a capable ruler who brought back the lost prestige of the Sultan. He

maintained friendly relations with the neighboring states. He brought Gwalior and Bihar

under his rule. He was a religious fanatic but encouraged education and trade. His military

skill helped him in bringing the Afghan nobles under his control.

Sikandar Lodi was succeeded by Ibrahim Lodi who is said to have been the last great ruler

of the Lodi dynasty. Ibrahim Lodi came to the throne in 1517 AD. He conquered Gwalior,

and came into conflict with Rana Sanga the ruler of Mewar who defeated him twice. His

relations with the Afghan nobles became worse and this led to several conflicts with him.

The discontented Afghan chiefs invited Babur the ruler of Kabul to India. Babur with an army

of 10,000 defeated Ibrahim Lodi who had an army of 100,000 in the first battle of Panipat

in 1526. Ibrahim Lodhi was killed in a fierce fight. With this defeat the Delhi Sultanate was

laid to rest. The History of India added a new outlook with the coming of Babur. This was the

beginning of the Mughal dynasty in Indian History

Mughal dynasty (1526 - 1707 A.D):

Mughal dynasty started with Babur ascending the throne of Agra in 1526 A.D. In the

beginning his rule in India Babur had to face the problems of the Rajputs and the Afghan

chiefs. He battled Rana Sanga of Mewar in 1527 A.D. in the battle of Kanwah. Rana lost the

battle. The defeat of Rana Sanga shook the power of the Rajputs. Babur's Empire extended

from Bhera and Lahore to Bahraich and Bihar and from Sialkot to Ranthambhor. Like his

predecessor Muslim Sultans Babur continued with policy of plundering and destroying Hindu

temples and killing people.  Babur died in 1530 AD. Humayun the eldest of his four sons

succeeded him and ascended the throne of Agra in 1530. Humayun was faced with

numerous difficulties. He had to reorganize his army that comprised of mixed races. He

faced problems from his brothers, and nobles.

 The Afghans though defeated by Babur were not vanquished. Sher Khan the King of Bengal

defeated Humayun in the battle of Chausa in 1539 A.D. In 1540 A.D., he again defeated

Humayun at Kanauj, and went on to capture Delhi and Agra. Thus Sher Khan re-established

the Afghans rule in Delhi. Humayun was compelled to flee from India.

Sher Shah and the Sur Dynasty 

Sher Shah’s reign barely spanned five years (1540 - 1545), but is a landmark in the

history of the Sub-continent. Sher Shah was a capable military and civilian administrator. He

set up reforms in various areas including those of army and revenue administration.

Numerous civil works were carried out during his short reign. After the death of Sher Shah in

1545 his son Islam Shah ruled up to 1553 A.D. Then Muhammad Adil Shah came to power.

Muhammad Adil was not a capable ruler. His minister Hemu became important and virtually

controlled the kingdom. As a result of the onslaught by Ibrahim Shah and Sikander Shah the

Sur Empire was broken up.

Return of Humayun (1555 A.D.)

In the mean time Humayun took support of Persian Shah. He managed to win over Kabul

and Kandhar after a power struggle with his brother Kamran in 1949. He occupied Lahore

and Dipalpur in 1555.A.D. By July 1555 Humayun reached Delhi where he spend his time in

administration of his kingdom. In 1556 Humayun died in an accidental fall.

After the death of Humayun the history of India saw the rule of greatest of the Mughal rulers

- Akbar the great (1556-1605). Akbar inherited the throne of the Mughal Empire at the age

of 14 years after the death of Humayun. His uncle Bairam Khan advised him. In 1556 Akbar

met Hemu on the battlefield of Panipat (second battle of Panipat) and defeated his large

army. With the defeat of Hemu, the Mughals had established their sway over Delhi and Agra.

Akbar followed a policy of reconciliation with the Rajputs and won their support by

establishing matrimonial alliances. In 1562 he married the eldest daughter of Raja Bihal mal

of Jaipur. In 1584 his son Salim was married to the daughter of Raja Bhagwan Das. In 1567

he marched against Chittor. In 1568 the Mughals captured Chittor. By 1569 Ranthambhor

and Kalinjar was also captured.

He met the Rajput ruler Maharana Pratap in the battle of Haldighati in 1576. After a

fierce battle Akbar defeated Maharana Pratap. Akbar conquered Bengal, Gujrat, Kashmir,

Kabul by 1589 A.D. and Sind and Kandhar  by 1595 A.D. Moving towards the Deccan Akbar

attacked Ahmednagar. Chand Bibi bravely defended this but she could not hold on longer

and Ahmednagar fell in 1596.

It is said that Akbar followed generally a tolerant policy towards Hindus. But Encyclopaedia

Britannica mentions that Mughal emperor Akbar 'ordered the massacre of about

30,000 captured Rajput Hindus on February  24, 1568 AD, after the battle for Chittod,

a number confirmed by Abul Fazl,  Akbar's court historian. 

He tried to establish a national religion called Din-i-illahi that was to be pleasing both the

Hindus and Muslims. This was politically motivated and Din-i-illahi failed miserably. Akbar

introduced the Mansabdari system that systematized the civil and military administration.

He was also a patron of art and literature and Nav Ratans (Nine Gems) in his court are

famous. They included great singer Tansen, poet Mulla-do- pyaja, and Ministers like Birbal

and Todarmal. Akbar was not only a conqueror by an able administrator and was the

greatest of the Mughal emperors.

 His son Muhammad Salim also called Jahangir succeeded Akbar. In 1605 Akbar proclaimed

him as the ruler. Salim was deeply influenced by the charms of his queen Nur Jahan whom

he married 1611 and left the task of administration entirely on her at times. Jahangir won

several wars but could not reach the glory of his father Akbar.

Jahangir died in 1627 A.D and was succeed by Shah Jahan was ruled from 1627 to 1658

A.D. Shahjhan's period is best known for construction of Taj Mahal and other great

monuments. His love for his queen Mumtaz Mahal was immense. After her death in 1631,

he built the Taj Mahal in memory of her. In the years 1631-32 he was involved in wars with

the Portuguese. He shared the Kingdom of Ahmednagar with the Sultan of Bijapur in 1636.

After settling the problems he faced in the Deccan he retired to Agra in 1636 where he was

later imprisoned by his son and successor Aurangzeb. In 1657 a war of succession started

owing to the illness of Shah Jahan between Dara, Shah Suja, Aurangzeb, and Murad.

Aurangzeb being the ablest of the three sons succeeded Shah Jahan. He ruled from 1658-

1707. Aurangzeb was the last great Mughal ruler who took the Mughal Empire to its

greatest glory. Aurangzeb possessed an empire that extended from Ghazni to Bengal and

from Kashmir to the Deccan. But he was a religious fanatic and destroyed large number of

temples and forcefully converted thousands of Hindus to Islam giving them a choice

between Islam and death.

The imposition of Jizya on the Hindus in 1679, which was an anti Hindu policy, resulted in the

rise of the Rajput in a revolt in 1769. This struggle continued till 1681 when Aurangzeb made

peace with the Rajputs. The other sect affected by the Anti-Hindu policy of Aurangzeb was

the Satnamis. Aurangzeb crushed their revolt. Next was the revolt of the Jats of Mathura,

which was an opposition to the policy and oppression under Aurangzeb. Though they were

suppressed in the early period they carried on the struggle till the death of Aurangzeb. The

revolt of the Bundela Rajputs and the Sikhs were other significant effects of Aurangzeb's anti

Hindu policy. The Sikhs whose temples were destroyed were hurt. The killing of Guru Teg

Bahadur their 9th guru was more hurting. They swore the destruction of the Mughals.

Under the 10th Guru Govind Singh, and after his death in 1708 A.D the struggle was

carried on.

Aurangzeb faced stiff resistance from the Marathas under Shivaji and remained

unsuccessful in subduing the Marathas. It was in about 1600 that the Mughals established

contacts witht the English ever since the visit of Sir Thomas Roe. In 1616 the English were

permitted to build a factory at Masulipattam.  Aurangzeb died in 1707. Bahadur Shah I who

was the eldest of the three surviving sons of Aurangzeb succeeded him. The vast Mughal

Empire, which the biggest of all the empires existing then, was divided among the three

sons. Bahadurr Shah I who was known, as Prince Muazzam had to face the problems from

the Marathas, Rajputs and the Sikhs.  Mughal rule in Delhi continued under a number of

weak rulers after death of Bahadur Shah I in 1712 A.D. and the great Mughal Empire

disintegrated. The Mughal rule in Delhi while under Muhammad Shah witnessed the invasion

of Nadir Shah in 1739. This invasion sealed the fate of Muhammad Shah. This was followed

by the invasion of Ahmad Shah Abdali, the general of Nadir Shah.

As the Mughal Emipre broke down there was rise of great Maratha power, Sikhs and arrival

of British East India Company.  Last of the titular Mughal King Bahadur Shah II took part in

the revolt of 1857 against the English. After the failure of this revolt he was imprisoned and

deported to Rangoon where he died in 1862. This marked the end of the Mughal dynasty.

Medieval History in South of India

Vijaynagar Kingdom

 In order to check the progress of Islam in the south Harihar and Bukka founded an

independent kingdom in the region between the river Krishna and Tungabhadra in 1336. The

capital of this kingdom was at Vijayanagar on the banks of the river Tungabhadra. The

kingdom was known as the Kingdom of Vijayanagar. Harihar was the first ruler of the

kingdom. After his death, his brother Bukka succeeded. He died in 1379 and was succeeded

by his son Harihar II.

Harihar II was given the title of Maharajadhiraja. During his reign, the whole of Southern

Deccan came under the authority of Vijayanagar. This also included present Karnataka,

Tamil Nadu and Kerala states. Harihar II died in 1404 A.D. This dynasty was known as

Sangama dynasty. The dynasty ruled for about 150 years till 1486, when one of their chiefs

Narasimha Saluva deposed the last ruler of Sangama dynasty and seized the throne.

The ruler of Saluva dynasty did not last long. His two sons succeeded Narasimha Saluva.

During the reign of the second son Immadi Narasimha in 1505 A.D, the Taluva chief Vira

Narasimha usurped the throne and thus laid the foundation of the Taluva dynasty.

Krishnadeva Raya (1509-1529): Vira Narasimha ruled for four years and in 1509 A.D. was

succeeded by his younger brother Krishnadeva Raya. The Vijayanagar kingdom reached the

pinnacle of its glory during the reign of Krishnadeva Raya. He was successful in all the wars

he waged. He defeated the king of Orissa and annexed Vijaywada and Rajmahendri. He

defeated the Sultan of Bijapur in 1512 and took the possession of the Raichur Doab. The

Vijayanagar kingdom extended from Cuttak in east to Goa in the west and from the Raichur

Doab in the north to the Indian Ocean in the south.

Krishnadeva Raya encouraged trade with the western countries. He was not only a great

warrior, but was also a playwright and a great patron of learning. Telugu literature flourished

under him. Painting, sculpture, dance and music were greatly encouraged by him and his

successors. He endeared himself to the people by his personal charm, kindness, and an ideal

administration.

The decline of the Vijayanagar kingdom began with the death of Krishnadeva Raya in 1529.

The kingdom came to an end in 1565, when Ramrai was defeated at Talikota by the joint

efforts of Adilshahi, Nizamshahi, Qutubshahi and Baridshahi. After this, the kingdom broke

into small states.

 Muslim rulers in Deccan - South India

The Nizam Shahi Dynasty of Ahmadnagar

Nizam-ul-Mulk Bahri founded the Nizam Shahi dynasty. In 1490 AD his son Malik Ahmad

defeated the army of Mahmud Bahmani and established himself independent. He assumed

the title of Ahmad Nizam Shah and after him the dynasty was named Nizam Shahi dynasty.

The next ruler was Burhan Nizam Shah was the next ruler who ruled for forty-five years. The

state was later annexed in Mughal Empire in 1637 during the reign of Shah Jahan.

The Adil Shahi Shahi Dynasty of Bijapur

Yusuf Adil Khan, the governor of Bijapur who declared his independence in 1489, founded

the Adil Shahi dynasty. Ismail Shah succeeded Adil shah but being a minor he was helped by

Kamal Khan. He lost his life in a conspiracy and was succeeded by Ibrahim Adil Shah and

ruled till 1557 AD. Ali Adil Shah succeeded Ibrahim Adil Shah. Following a policy of alliance

he married Chand Bibi the daughter of Hussain NIzam Shah of Ahamadnagar. In the year

1564 - 1565 AD the four sultans allied at Talikota against the Vijayanagar Empire and

defeated and annexed it. Adil shah was killed in 1579 AD. The throne was passed on to

Ibrahim Adil Shah II who was a minor. His mother Chand Bibi looked after him while

ministers ruled the kingdom. In 1595 AD the Ahmadnagar monarch was killed in a fight

between Bijapur and Ahmednagar. In 1680 AD Aurangzeb annexed Bijapur. 

The Qutab Shahi Shahi Dynasty of Golkanda

The Qutab Shahi dynasty was a part of the Bahmani Empire that was called Golkonda.

Sultan Quli Qutab Shah who was formerly the governor of the eastern province declared his

independence in 1518 AD. And started the The Qutab Shahi dynasty. Qutab Shah met with

his death in 1543 AD and his son Jamshed ruled till 1550 AD. The throne was held by Ibrahim

till 1580 AD and later his son Muhammad Quli ruled till 1611 AD. Aurangzeb finally annexed

the state in 1687 AD.

Bahamani Kingdom of Deccan

During the region of Muhammad-bin-Tughluq a series of revolts between the periods

1343 - 1351 AD helped in formation of numerous independent provinces. An officer of the

Delhi Sultan named Hassan assumed the title of Bahman Shah and after occupation of

Daulatbad in the Deccan proclaimed independence. He was also known as Alauddin I, the

founder of the Bahmani dynasty.  Alauddin I was succeeded by Muhammad Shah I. He

waged wars against the Hindu rulers of Vijayanagar and Warangal. With his policy of

subjugation he subdued countless number of rival Hindu rulers, and accumulated vast

treasures. A number of successful Sultans followed him till 1482 A.D. Shihab-ud-din

Mahmud succeeded to the throne in 1482 AD and ruled till 1518 AD. During his reign the

provincial governors declared their independence and Bahmani Kingdom started to break

up. Kalim-ullah Shah  (1526 - 1538 AD) was the last ruler of Bahamani Kingdom.  

List of Bahmani Kingdom Rulers  

 Gulbarga as capital - 75 years

1. Ala-ud-din Hasan Bahman Shah 1347 - 1358 AD

2. Muhammad I 1358 - 1375 AD

3. Ala-ud-din Mujahid Shah 1375 - 1378 AD

4. Daud Shah I 1378 - 1378 AD

5. Muhammad II 1378 - 1397 AD

6. Ghiyas-ud-din Tahmatan Shah 1397 - 1397 AD

7. Shams-ud-din Daud Shah II 1397 - 1397 AD

8. Taj-ud-din Firoz Shah 1397 - 1422 AD 

Bidar as capital - 116 years

1. Shihab-ud-din Ahmad Shah I 1422 - 1436 AD

2. Ala-ud-din Ahmad Shah II 1436 - 1458 AD

3. Ala-ud-din Humayun Shah 1458 - 1461 AD

4. Nizam-ud-din Ahmad Shah III 1461 - 1463 AD

5. Shams-ud-din Muhammad Shah III 1463 - 1482 AD

6. Shihab-ud-din Mahmud 1482 - 1518 AD

7. Ahmad Shah IV 1518 - 1520 AD

8. Ala-ud-din Shah 1520 - 1523 AD

9. Wai-ullah Shah 1523 - 1526 AD

10. Kalim-ullah Shah 1526 - 1538 AD 

The Imad Shahi Dynasty of Berar

This consisted of the northern part of the Bahamani Kingdom. The Imad Shahi Dynasty of

Berar lasted for four generations till 1574 AD.

The Barid Shahi Dynasty of Bidar

The Barid Shahi Sultans governed the Barid Shahi dynasty. Qasim Barid the minister of

Mahmud Shah Bahamani established it in 1492 AD. This dynasty lasted till 1619 AD when

Bijapur annexed it.

Policy of Muslim rulers in India - The general policy of most of the rulers during the

700 years of Muslim occupation of India was to systematically replace the fabric of Hindu

society and culture with a Muslim culture. They tried to destroy Indian religions language,

places of knowledge (universities e.g Nalanda were totally destroyed by Muslims). They

destroyed and desecrated places of thousands of temples including Somnath, Mathura,

Benaras, Ayodhaya, Kannauj, Thaneswar and in other places. There was wholesale

slaughter of the monks and priests and innocent Hindus with the aim to wipe out the

intellectual bedrock of the people they overran.

The Muslims could not subjugate India with ease and were never able to rule it entirely.

There was a valiant and ceaseless struggle for independence by Hindus to deliver India

from Muslim tyranny. The Rajputs, Jats, Marathas and Sikhs led this struggle in North

India. In the South this struggle was embodied in the Vijayanagar Empire. This struggle

culminated when the Marathas ended the Muslim domination of India.

MARATHAS AND SIKHS   The Marathas

Shivaji Bhonsle Peshwa dynasty 1712 to 1818

The Sikhs

 The Marathas

The Marathas' rise to power was a dramatic turning point that accelerated the demise of

Muslim dominance in India. Maratha chieftains were originally in the service of Bijapur

sultans in the western Deccan, which was under siege by the Mughals. Shivaji Bhonsle

(1630-80 A.D) is recognized as the "father of the Maratha nation." Shivaji Bhosle,

founder of the Maratha Empire, was born in 1630 AD, in the fort of Shivneri, 40 miles

north of Pune. By 1647, Shivaji had captured two forts and had the complete charge of

Pune. He slowly started capturing forts in the region, Purandar, Rajgad, Torna. In 1659

Shivaji succeeded in killing of famous Adilshahi general Afzal Khan and demoralizing his

army. He took advantage of this conflict and laid the foundation of Maratha Kingdom near

Pune, which later became the Maratha capital. Shivaji used guerilla tactics and brilliant

military strategies to lead a series of successful assaults in the 1660s against Mughal

strongholds, including the major port of Surat. He lost to Aurangzeb's General Jai Singh

and was arrested in 1666. He made a daring escape and regained his lost territory and

glory. By 1673, he had control over most of western Maharashtra and had made 'Raigad'

capital. In 1674 he assumed the title of "Chhatrapati" at his elaborate coronation.  At the

time of his death in 1680, nearly whole of the Deccan belonged to his kingdom. He had

developed an efficient administration and a powerful army.

His son Sambhaji succeeded Shivaji. He was taken prisoner and executed by Aurangzeb,

in 1689. Rajaram, Shivaji's second son then took the throne. After the death of Rajaram in

1700 Tarabai, the widow of Rajaram, put her young son Sambhaji II on the throne, at the

tender age of ten, and continued the struggle against Aurangzeb. Tarabai continued to

fight against the Mughals and captured Rajgad, the former capital of the Maratha's. The

fight against the Mughals ended with the death of Aurangzeb in 1707. Balance of

power shifted towards Marathas, which was soon to be controlled by Peshwas.

Shivaji's grandson and Sambhaji's son Sahuji was released from Mughals captivity in 1707. He

challenged Tarabai and Sambhaji II for the Maratha leadership and with the help of his Peshwa Balaji

Vishwanath, Sahuji became the Maratha Empror. Though as a Maratha Emperor Shahuji had a huge

territory in his possession but he was mostly a titular head of the Maratha emipre. He kept

away from regular politics and settled down at Satara. Maratha Empire was virtually 

governed by the Peshwas of Pune. After Shahuji's death in 1749 his adopted son,

Rajaram II succeeded him.  

Peshwa dynasty 1713 to 1818

Balaji Vishwanath - (1713 to 1721) - In 1713,  Peshwa, Balaji Vishwanath was appointed

a Peshwa (Prime Minister) by Sahuji. Balaji Vishwanath assisted a young Shahu to

consolidate his grip on an empire.  In 1717 a Mughal emissary signed a treaty with the

Marathas confirming their claims to rule in the Deccan. 1718 marked the beginning of the

Maratha influence in Delhi. Balaji Vishwanath's died in 1721.

Bajirao Peshwa I  (1721 to 1740) - After death of Balaji Vishwanath, his elder son

Bajirao, became the Peshwa . Pune had regained its status as capital of Maratha Kingdom

from Rajgad. In 1734, Bajirao captured the Malwa territory in the north, and in 1739, he

drove out the Portuguese from nearly all their possessions in the Western Ghats. Bajirao

died in 1740. Baji Rao's son, Balaji Bajirao (Nanasaheb) succeeded as the Peshwa. He

defeated Ahmad Shah Abdalli in 1756 near Delhi. But in Third Battle of Panipat (1761),

between Marathas and Ahmad Shah Abdalli, Marathas lost the war. This war destroyed

both Abdalli and Peshwas. Balaji Bajirao died soon after the war shattered by the death of

his older son and brother.

His second son Madhav Rao assumed the title of Peshwa in 1761. He achieved many

remarkable victories and restored the glory of Maratha kingdom to a large extent. His

outstanding achievements included defeat of Nizam of Hyderabad, Hyder Ali of Mysore

and Bhosle of Nagpur. In 1769, Marathas lead by Mahadaji Shinde, headed the North

India campaign. They defeated the Jats and took hold of Agra and Mathura. Madhav Rao

died in 1772 at an early age of 27 years.

Narayanrao Peshwa (1772 to 1773) just ruled for one year and was murdered in a

palace conspiracy. Raghunathrao was proclaimed the next Peshwa, although he was

not heir to the title. He was displaced from power by a clever plot by twelve Maratha

chiefs and infant son of Madhav Rao called Sawai Madhavrao was then declared the next

Peshwa. The chief administrator was Nana Phadnis. He handled the Peshwai well and

with great unity among Maratha chiefs. They defeated the rising British power in 1784,

near Pune and halted their advancements, temporarily till the premature death of Sawai

Madhavrao in 1795. In 1796 Baji Rao II, son of Raghunath Rao became the Peshwa.  Nana

Phadanis looked after the Maratha kingdom well until his death in 1800 A.D. After that

Baji Rao II signed a treaty with the British in 1802, which weakened the Peshwa

power. His son, Nanasaheb Peshwa opposed the British with whatever support he could

muster. By 1818 the Peshwa power came to an end. Nanasaheb Peshwa's fight still

continued. But the failure of 1857 war put an end to any lingering hopes. (Anglo

Maratha Wars click here)

The Sikhs

Rooted in the bhakti movements that swept across North India during the fifteenth and

sixteenth centuries, the Sikh religion appealed to the hard-working peasants. Guru

Nanak Dev born in 1469 was the first Sikh guru. The Sikh khalsa (army of the pure)

under tenth Guru - Guru Gobind Singh rose up against the economic and political

repressions in Punjab toward the end of Aurangzeb's rule. By the 1770s, Sikh hegemony

extended from the Indus in the west to the Yamuna in the east, from Multan in the south

to Jammu in the north. But the Sikhs were a loose, disunited, and quarrelsome

conglomerate of twelve kin-groups. Ranjit Singh (1780-1839) became King of Punjab in

In his kingdom Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims lived together in comparative equality and

increasing prosperity. Ranjit Singh employed European officers and introduced strict

military discipline into his army before expanding into Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Ladakh.

British signed a peace treaty with him. His rule was called as the 'golden period of

Punjab'. After his death there was a power vacuum and infighting amongst the

successors of Ranjit Singh. In 1846, the first Anglo-Sikh war commenced at Mudki where

Sikh forces were defeated because of treachery of their generals. There after the British

power became dominant in politics of Punjab and in 1849 after another Anglo-Sikh war

Punjab was formally annexed to British Empire.