History

System of dyarchy was introduced. The dyarchy means a system of double government in which The principle of dyarchy was a division of the executive branch of each provincial government into authoritarian and popularly responsible sections. The first was composed of executive councillors, appointed, as before, by the crown. The second was composed of ministers … Read more

The Nagara style or Prasada style has become quite popular in North India. In this style, it is common to build a temple on a stone platform and unlike South Indian temples, these temples don’t have boundary walls or gateways. Earlier, there was only one shikhara built but as time passed, the complexities also increased … Read more

Arjuna’s Penance Mamallapuram   This magnificent relief, carved in the mid-seventh century, measures approximately 30m (100ft) long by 15m (45ft) high. Its huge size and scale is difficult to imagine just from photographs; a person standing on the ground in front of it could barely touch the elephants’ feet.   The subject is either Arjuna’s … Read more

In 1873, Jyotiba Phule formed the Satya Shodhak Samaj (Society of Seekers of Truth). He undertook a systematic deconstruction of existing beliefs and history, only to reconstruct an equality promoting version. Jyotirao vehemently condemned the Vedas, the ancient holy scriptures of the Hindus. He traced the history of Brahmanism through several other ancient texts and … Read more

The 1919 Amritsar massacre, known alternatively as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre after the Jallianwala Bagh (Garden) in the northern Indian city of Amritsar, was ordered by General R.E.H. Dyer. On Sunday April 13, 1919, which happened to be ‘Baisakhi’, one of Punjab’s largest religious festivals, fifty British Indian Army soldiers, commanded by Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer, … Read more

Din-i-illahi:     Din-i-IIahi proclaimed by Akbar was an order or people with a motto of peace with all (sulehkull), rather than as an eclectic religion. Akbar’s Hindu nobles preferred to remain aloof, with only Birbal consenting to become a member. Raja Todar Mal, Raja Bhagwan Das and Raja Man Singh all declined to associate with … Read more

. Meiji Restoration was the political revolution in 1868 that brought about the final demise of the Tokugawa shogunate (military government)—thus ending the Edo (Tokugawa) period (1603–1867)—and, at least nominally, returned control of the country to direct imperial rule under Mutsuhito (the emperor Meiji). In a wider context, however, the Meiji Restoration of 1868 came … Read more

. The Gandhi-Irwin pact was criticised by radical nationalists, for Gandhiji was unable to  obtain from the Viceroy a commitment to political independence for Indians; he could obtain merely an  assurance of talks towards that possible end. It was organised even as many Congress leaders opposed  the Gandhi-Irwin pact, for the government had not accepted … Read more

A new period in Annie Besant’s life began in 1913 when she became active in Indian politics, and gave a lead by claiming Home Rule for India. She entered politics because she saw that India’s independence was essential for her age-old wisdom to become a beacon for the whole world. The Home Rule movement she … Read more

:  The Doctrine of Lapse was an annexation policy devised by Lord Dalhousie, who was the Governor General of India between 1848 and 1856. There was a widespread custom of adoption among the Indian kings to secure an heir in the absence of a natural successor i.e. son. But as per the doctrine of lapse … Read more