History

  It was the act of the British Parliament which renewed the charter issued to the British East India Company(EIC) and continued the Company’s rule in India. Company’s trade monopoly was continued for further 20 years. The governor general was given extensive powers over the subordinate presidencies. Salaries for the staff and paid members of … Read more

Indigeneous tradition as well as modern research trace the origin of Indian drama to the Vedas. In the Ramayana we hear of drama troupes of women while Kautilyas Arthshastra mentions musicians, dancers and dramatic shows. Drama is a performing art, which has also been practised since times immemorial. Drama could spring from a child’s play. … Read more

This was the first experiment of novel method adopted by Gandhiji ie. Civil disobedience and passive resistance in the Champaran. This has huge historical significance as it marks the advent of Gandhiji in mainline politics and paved the ground for Gandhi ji popularity as leader. It also gave sanctions to the method adopted by Gandhiji. … Read more

. The Congress had boycotted the first Round Table Conference (1930) which was actively  attended by princely states, Ambedkar and other non-Congress parties. Ambedkar also raised the issue  of separate electorate for Dalits and Jinnah demanded more safeguards for the Muslims (these two demands were reflected in Communal Award of 1932). After Gandhi-Irwin Pact, Gandhi … Read more

Colonialism became a fetter on India’s agricultural and industrial development. Agriculture stagnated in most parts of the country and even deteriorated over the years, resulting in extremely low yields per acre, and sometimes even reaching zero. There was a decline in per capita agricultural production which fell by 14 per cent between 1901 and 1941. … Read more

The Deccan peasants uprising was directed mainly against the excesses of the Marwari and Gujarati money lenders. Social boycott of moneylenders by the peasants was later transformed into armed peasant revolt in the Poona and Ahmadnagar districts of Maharashtra. The peasants attacked the moneylender’s houses, shops and burnt them down. Their chief targets were the … Read more

The most important cause of the downfall of the Mughal Empire was the religious policy of Aurangzeb. The Mughal state in the days of Akbar, Jahangir, and Shahjahan was basically a secular state. Its stability was essentially founded on the policy of non interference with the religious beliefs and customs of the people, fostering of … Read more

M.K Gandhi convinced that the British rulers would not grant independence to India unless and until the Congress and Muslim League reach some conclusion on the future of the Country or the immediate formation of the Interim National Government. Hence, Gandhi directed Bhulabhai Jivanji Desai to make another attempt to appease the league leaders and … Read more

1918-1924: The early trade union phase This period marked the birth of true trade union movement in India. It was organised along the lines of unions in the industrialised world. The deteriorated living conditions caused by the first world war and the exposure with the outside world resulted in heightened class consciousness amongst the workers. … Read more

Mahalwari system was introduced in 1833 during the period of William Bentick. Mahalwari system is the modified version of the Zamindari settlement The revenue settlement was to be made village by village or estate (mahal) by estate with landlords or heads of families who collectively claimed to be the landlords of the village or the … Read more