Indian History Person in News

Ghanshyam Thori Indian History & Culture
Indian History & Culture

Socio-Religious Reforms – Socities
· What was the character of the socio-religious reforms in the 19th century & how did they contribute to
the national awakening in India? (30 Marks).
· Write a note on Theosophical Society (15 Marks).
· How did the movement for liberation of women receive a great stimulus from the rise & growth of the
nationalist movement in India?
· Who established Arya Samaj? What was its goal? (15 Marks).
British Administration:
· What in your opinion are the positive steps taken by the British to modernize India. (30 marks).
· Examine the policy of Subordinate Union towards Princely States. Account for the shift from the
policy of Subordinate Isolation (30 Marks).
· Discuss the major regulations enacted by the British Rulers to curb the freedom of Press in India (30
Marks).
· What administrative changes were introduced after 1858? What were the objectives of these changes?
(30 Marks).
Committees:
· Discuss the main findings of the Hartog Committee (15 Marks).
· What was the Butler Committee Report? Discuss the reactions on the report in India. (30 Marks).
Uprisings:
· Discuss the character of the major tribal uprisings in the British India in the 19th Century. (15 Marks).
Character of the Indian Freedom Movement.

· Characterize the main features of Indian Renaissance. (15 Marks).
· What was the attitude of the Indian Industrialists towards the Indian National Congress in the pre-
independent era?
· The crisis of the colonial order during 1919 & 1939 was directly linked to the constitutional reforms,
disillusionment and militant anti-colonial struggles. Elucidate (30 Marks).
· Why & how did the Congress come to accept the partition of the country (15 Marks).
· Bring out the ideological basis of the Moderate Extremist divide in the Indian National Congress (15
Marks).
· Discuss the main objectives of the Indian National movement upto 1905. What were its basic
weakness during this period? (30 Marks).
Specific Freedom Movements/Events (Pre 1940)

· Do you think Mahatma Gandhi’s support to Khilafat Movement had diluted his secular credentials?
Give your arguemtn based on assessment of events. (15 Marks).
· Form a critical assessment of the Non-Cooperation Movement (30 Marks).
· Who led the Partition of Bengal in 1905 (15 Marks).
· Trace the growth of Indian Home Rule Movement in Britain (15 Marks).
Ghanshyam Thori 1 Indian History & Culture

· Discuss the aims and objects of the Khilafat Movement. To what extent was it successful? (15 Marks).
· Why did Gandhi launch the Salt Satyagraha in 1930 & with what results? (15 Marks).
· Trace the origin of Swadeshi Movement. How did it involve the masses? (30 Marks).
Specific Freedom Movements/Events (Post 1940)

· Evaluate the attitudes of different political parties towards Quit India Movement. (15 Marks)
· Why did Jinnah reject the C.R. Formula? (30 Marks).
· Review the “Dickie Bird Plan”. (15 Marks).
· What was Mountatten Plan? Discuss the reactions of Gandhi & Azad to the plan. (30 Marks).
Various Acts passed under British Rule

· What are the salient feautures of the Government of India Acts of 1858 & 1909? (15 Marks).
· How did the Government of India Act 1935 mark a point of no return in the history of constitutional
development in India? (30 Marks).
· In the Montagu-Chelmsford report communal representation & reservations were not only retained but
considerably extended. Comment. (15 Marks).
· The reforms of 1909 introduced a cardinal problem & ground of controversy at every revision of the
Indian electoral system”. Comment (30 Marks).
· What administrative changes were introduced after 1858? What were the objectives of these changes?
(30 Marks).
Revolutionaries
· Evaluate the contribution of revolutionary terrorism represented by Bhagat Singh to the cause of
India’s struggle for independence.
· Where did tettorist movement gather strength in countries other than India?
Leader Specific Question

· Regardless of distance in time, there were lots of similarities between Lord Curzon and Jawahar Lal
Nehru. Discuss. (30 Marks).
· Critically assess Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru’s view on Indian Nationalism.
· Evaluate Subhash Candra Bose’s Contribution to India’s Freedom.
· The Mainstay of Mahatma Gandhi’s Movement was rural India. Elucidate. (15 Marks).
Post Independence Developments

· Discuss the problems that impeded the integration of the princely states into the Indian Union. How
were these problems tackled? (30 Marks).
· Was Jawahar Lal Nehru Justified in adopting the principle of non alignment as the cornerstone of
India’s foreign policy? (15 Marks).

2 Markers of Previous Years:
2007 2006 2005 2004

Sangam Literature Kalhana Yajnavalkya Smriti Upanishads
Bhakti Panini Sutta Pitaka Canjeevaram Natrajan
Annadurai
Ashtadhyayi of Panini Yakshagana Bhagwati Sutra Vajrayana
Charvakas Natyashastra Gangaikonda Cholapuram Jadong
Ajivikas Tabaqat-i-Nasiri Nizamudin Aulia Kumarasambhava
Gandhara Art Madhura Vijayam Raidas Jadunath Sarkar
Mlechchhas Pandurang Mahatmya Calcutta Madrasa Razmnama
Lingayats Prithviraj Raso Jagat Seth Nazir Hasan
R.C. Dutt “The Insider” Bhawani Mandir Mirza Haidar
Nagarjunakonda Ali Sardar Jafri Baba Ram Chandra Subhash Gupte
Pastoralism Aruna Roy Pandita Ramabai Muhammad Barkatullah
Rudramadevi Dr. J.C. Daniel Sir Thomas Roe Acharya Nirmalya
Sati Balwant Gargi Moplah Rebellion Sohan Singh Bakhna
Ramanuja Dr. Jayant Narlikar Tavernier Jyotirao Phule
Megasthenese Shashi Tharoor Darul-Uloom Alluri Sitaramaraju
2003 2002 2001 2000

Arthashastra Anandmath Aryabhatta Brahmagupta
Sarnath Pillar Keshab Chandra Sen Gopi Krishna Sangam Literature
Jatiya Sarkar of Tamiluk Bismillah Khan D.K. Karve Amir Khusro
Punnapra-Vayalar Nivedita Pupul Jaykar Gandhara School of Art
Sajjad Zahir Chris Evert J. Krishnamurthy Sayyid Ahmad
Al-Hilal Pele Mohammad Iqbal William Jones
Har Dayal Chamber of Princes Prarthana Samaj Granth Sahib
Khudai Khidmatgar Raidasa Jaydeva C.F. Andrews
Mahayana Cult Dharma Sabha Ghadar Party Fort William College
W.W. Hunter Satyagraha T. Prakasam Naryana Guru
Indu Lal Yajnik Divide-et-Impera Satyashodhak Samaj Epsom
Acchut Patwardhan Dandi March Champaran Satyagraha Tantia Tope
Sir William Jones Garry Kasparov Jamnalal Bajaj Lala Amarnath
James Wilson Steffi Graf Ali Brothers Margaret Noble

Ghulam-Giri Theodore Beck Banabhatta Tiger Woods
Cultural Terms
Ajivikas An ascetic sect that emerged in India about the same time as Buddhism and
Jainism. It was founded by Goshala Maskariputra (also called Gosala
Makkhaliputta), a friend of Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara The Ajivikas believed
that transmigration of the human soul was determined by a precise and non-
personal cosmic principle called Niyati (destiny or fate) and was completely
independent of the person's actions. They are believed to have been strict fatalists,
who did not believe in karma or the possibility of free will.
Mahayana Cult The fourth Buddhist council in Kashmir under Kanishka marked the beginning of
Mahayana cult of Buddhism. The arising of the Mahayana school of Buddhism
went together with the adoption of new sutras, and introduced new philosophies
such as the Bodhisattva and having the intention of liberating all sentient beings.
Mahayana itself never groups itself with the previously existing schools, and
groups all the earlier schools together under the name Hinayana.
Pali Canon or The Pali Canon is the standard scripture collection of the Theravada Buddhist
Tipitaka tradition, as preserved in the Pali language. The Canon was written down from oral
tradition at the occasion of the Fourth Buddhist Council (in the usual Theravada
numbering). The Pali Canon falls into three general categories, called pitaka
(piṭaka, basket) in Pali. Because of this, the canon is traditionally known as the
Tipitaka (Tipiṭaka; three baskets).The three pitakas are as follows.
Vinaya Pitaka, dealing with rules for monks and nuns
Sutta Pitaka, discourses, mostly ascribed to the Buddha, but some to disciples
Abhidhamma Pitaka, variously described as philosophy, psychology, metaphysics
etc.
Dhammapada The Dhammapada (Pāli, sometimes translated as Path of the Dharma. Also Prakrit
Dhamapada, Sanskrit Dharmapada) is a Buddhist scripture, containing 423 verses
in 26 categories. According to tradition, these are verses spoken by the Buddha on
various occasions, most of which deal with ethics. A fourth or fifth century
commentary attributed to Buddhaghosa includes 305 stories which give context to
the verses.
The Dhammapada is a popular section of the Pāli Tipitaka and is considered one of
the most important pieces of Theravada literature.

Mahavamsa is a historical poem written in the Pāli language, of the kings of Sri Lanka.
Atthakatha Atthakatha] refers to Pali-language Theravadin Buddhist commentaries to the
canonical Theravadin Tipitaka. These commentaries give the traditional
interpretations of the scriptures.
Jataka Folk tale about 550 births of Buddha before he was finally born as Buddha. The
word most specifically refers to a text division of the Pali Canon of Theravada
Buddhism, included in the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Sutta Pitaka.
Theravada Theravada (literally means “The teaching of the Elders”) is the oldest surviving
Buddhist school and for many centuries has been the predominant religion of Sri
Lanka
Hinayana Literally means the low vehicle" or "the inferior vehicle”. It is a polemical term
coined by Mahāyāna Buddhists to denigrate their opponent. Hīnayāna is sometimes
said to be corresponding solely to the Early Buddhist Schools, and not to the
current Theravada school, while sometimes it is held to be also cognate with the
modern Theravada tradition. Many hold that the term was coined to be purposely
pejorative, while others do not. Hinayana professed Nirvana for the practitioner
while Mahayana believed in salvation of entire human beings.
Vajrayana Vajrayana Buddhism, also known as Tantric, Mantrayana and Esoteric Buddhism,
Buddhism is a school of Buddhism that flourished around the 4th century in Tibet. This new
sect is based on the ancient Vedic Tantric practices of India. The tradition of
Vajrayana started to evolve in eastern India in the 8th century and gained wider
recognition in Bihar and West Bengal. Nalanda University became a center for the
development of Vajrayana movement. At the end of the 13th century, this school
declined in India and merged with Hinduism
Triratna of Right Knowledge, right faith & right action.
Jainism
Digambar Jains under the leadership of Bhadrabahu went to south from protecting them from
Great Famine that lasted for 200 years. Senior Digambar monks wore no clothes,
following the practice of Lord Mahavira.
Shvetrambra Under the leadership of Sthalabahu who stayed back during the great famine.
Svetambara monks usually wear white clothes, maintaining that nudity is no longer
practicable. While there are some differences in some practices, the main principles
like Mahavratas, Anuvratas etc. are the same.
Bhagwati Sutra Sacred book of the Jains. It should be noted that in BHAGWATI SUTRA,
Bhagwaan Mahaveer responds to each question with the statement "subject to
qualification" in view of the Jain principle of relativism (SYAADAVAAD)
Advaita Advaita Philosophy, or Nondualism / Monism is the most popular spiritual path in
Philosophy Hinduism, propounded by most of the Indian sages. It is based on the Vedas, the
oldest and basic Indian scriptures. The core idea of Advaita is that 'God and living-
beings are not two different entities and they are one and the same. It is the actions
or Karma of individuals that unite or separate these two'. Advaita was revived by
Shankaracharya in the eighth century. Advaitic experience or nondualistic
perception is believed to be possible, only by rigorous and conscious sadhana.
Dvaita Dvaita Philosophy is an outshoot of the Vedanta Philosophy of ancient India.

Philosophy Dvaita (meaning dualism) Philosophy was propounded by Madhwacharya in the

13th century. Dvaita Philosophy proclaims that God and souls are different entities.
Dvaita Philosophy is opposed to the Advaita Philosophy of Shankaracharya which
believes in Monism (Non-dualism).
Saguna & Sagun Bhakti is the worshipping of God through the medium of idols. This system
Nirguna Bhakti believes that God has a certain physical form. The followers of Sagun Bhakti
strongly believe in the physical nature of the God. They see God as the one who
comes to each one’s rescue during times of adversity. They believe that society
should be divided on the basis of caste. This system of worship promotes the
concept of reincarnation. Saint Tulsidas and Saint Surdas were prominent saints,
who propagated Sagun Bhakti.
Nirgun Bhakti is the devotion towards a formless, all-encompassing God. A
prominent preacher of Nirgun Bhakti was Saint Kabir, one of the pioneers of the
Bhakti movement.
Dev Deepavali Dev Deepavali is celebrated on the occasion of Kartik Poornima when the Ghats of
Varanasi come alive with thousands of Diyas (earthen lamps). Dev Deepavali,
celebrated on the fifteenth day of Diwali, is a tribute to river Ganga by the people
of Varanasi. Dev Deepavali is held on the full moon day in the month of Kartik
(also known as Kartik Purnima) and is observed with great fanfare and feasts. It is
believed that on the day of Dev Deepavali, the Gods descend on Earth. It is
interesting to note that the Kartik Purnima festival also coincides with the Jain light
festival and Guru Nanak Jayanti.
Gopuram Gopuram or gopura, a prominent feature of the Hindu temple architecture of South
India, is the rising tower at the entrance of a temple. Gopurams are exquisitely
decorated with sculpture and carvings and painted with a variety of themes derived
from the Hindu mythology, particularly those associated with the presiding deity of
the temple of which a particular gopuram is. The Gopuram of the Sri
Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam, Tamilnadu state is the tallest Gopuram in
South India.
Nagara & At the turn of the first millennium CE two major types of temples existed, the
Dravida Style northern or Nagara style and the southern or Dravida type of temple. They are
distinguishable by the shape and decoration of their shikharas.
Nagara style: The tower is tapering roof called Shikhara
Dravida: The tower consists of progressively smaller storeys of pavilions called
Vimana.
Vimana Found in Dravidian Temples & refers to the multi storey pavilions.
Shikhar Found in North Indian temples & refers to the upper tapering structure.
Garbha Griha Inner sanctum of the temple where the idol is placed.
Mandapa Pillared Hall in the temple where the prayers are offered.
Sarnath Pillar The Sarnath pillar, originally with the Lion Capital of Asoka erected atop, marks
the site of the first sermon of the Buddha, where he taught the Dharma to five
monks. The pillar was originally a column surmounted by the "Lion capital of
Asoka" presently at display at the Sarnath Museum, which consists of a canopy
representing an inverted bell-shaped lotus flower, a short cylindrical abacus where

alternate four 24-spoked Dharma wheels with four animals (an elephant, a bull, a
horse, a lion in this order), and four lions facing the four cardinal directions. The
four animals are believed to symbolize different steps of the Gautama Buddha's
life.
Single Lion There exists in Vaishali, Bihar a pillar with a single lion capital erected by Ashoka.
Capital The location of this pillar is contiguous to the site where a Buddhist monastery and
a sacred coronation tank stood.
Gomateshwara Monolithic statue of the Jain Saint, Gomteshwara, standing at 60 feet above a hill
in a place called Shravanabelagola in the Hassan district of Karnataka state, India.
The statue was built by the Ganga minister and commander Chamundaraya in the
honour of Lord Bahubali. This statue is regarded as one of the largest monolithic
statues in the world.
Dhamekh Stupa The oldest known stupa is the Dhamekh Stupa at Sarnath (13 km away from
Varanasi in the state of Uttar Pradesh). It was constructed by the great Mauryan
king, Ashoka.
Bhimbetka Rock Shelters in Madhya Pradesh situated in the Vindhyan Range has more than
500 painted rock shelters. The rock paintings extend from Paleolithic to the
Mesolithic period & in some series upto the recent time.
Gufkral A Neolithic site in the Kashmir province of India, Gufkral dates to between 2800-
1500 BC, and includes evidence for the domestication of cattle, sheep, and birds.
Razmnama Razmnama or The Book of War is the Persian translation of the great Hindu epic,
the Mahabharata. The Mughal Emperor Akbar undertook this project.
Statue of Libery Statue of Liberty is a large statue that was presented to the United States by France
in 1886. It stands at Liberty Island, New York in New York Harbor as a welcome
to all visitors, immigrants, and returning Americans.
Town Planning in The quality of municipal town planning in Indus Valley Civilization suggests
Indus Valley knowledge of urban planning and efficient municipal governments which placed a
Civilization high priority on hygiene. The streets of major cities such as Mohenjo-daro or
Harappa were laid out in perfect grid patterns. As seen in Harappa, Mohenjo-daro
and the recently discovered Rakhigarhi, this urban plan included the world's first
urban sanitation systems. Within the city, individual homes or groups of homes
obtained water from wells. From a room that appears to have been set aside for
bathing, waste water was directed to covered drains, which lined the major streets.
Houses opened only to inner courtyards and smaller lanes. The advanced
architecture of the Harappans is shown by their impressive dockyards, granaries,
warehouses, brick platforms and protective walls. The massive citadels of Indus
cities, which protected the Harappans from floods and attackers, were larger than
most Mesopotamian ziggurats
Yakshagana Yakshagana is a classical folk art form of the state of Karnataka. A Yakshagana
performance begins at the twilight hours with the beating of drums for up to a
couple of hours before the 'actors' get on the stage. The actors wear resplendent
costumes, head-dresses, and painted faces which they paint themselves. A
performance usually depicts a story from the Hindu epics and puranas. It consists
of a narrator who narrates the story in a song-like fashion, backed by musicians

playing on traditional musical instruments as the actors dance to the tune, with
actions that portray the story as it is being narrated. The actors have a limited
dialog during the course of the performance
Indian Classical The origins of Indian classical music can be found from the oldest of scriptures,
Music part of the Hindu tradition, the Vedas. Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, describes
music at length. Indian classical music has its origins as a meditation tool for
attaining self realization. All different forms of these melodies (Ragas) are believed
to affect various "chakras" (energy centers, or "moods") in the path of the
"Kundalini". However, there is little mention of these esoteric beliefs in Bharat's
Natyashastra, the first treatise laying down the fundamental principles of drama,
dance and music. Indian classical music has 7 basic notes (Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha
Ni), with five interspersed half-notes, resulting in a 12-note scale.
The two main streams of Indian classical music are:
1. Hindustani classical music, originally from North India
2. Carnatic music (Karnataka Sangeeth), originally from South India
Hindustani Hindustani Classical Music is a North Indian classical music tradition that has been
Classical Music evolving from the 12th centuries AD onwards. Around the 12th century, Hindustani
classical music diverged from the principle which eventually came to be identified
as Carnatic classical music. The central notions in both these systems is that of a
melodic mode or raga, sung to a rhythmic cycle or tala.
The major vocal forms-cum-styles associated with Hindustani classical music are
dhrupad, khayal, and thumri.
Dhrupad is the Hindu sacred style of singing, traditionally performed by male
singers. Dhrupad music is primarily devotional in theme and content. It contains
recitals in praise of particular deities. Dhrupad compositions begin with a relatively
long and acyclic Alap, where the syllables of the mantra is recited.
Khayal is form of vocal music which is almost entirely improvised and emotive in
nature. A khyal consists of around 4-8 lines of lyrics set to a tune. The singer then
uses these few lines as the basis for improvisation
Thumri is a semiclassical vocal form said to have begun with the court of Nawab
Wajid Ali Shah (847-1856). There are three types of thumri: Punjabi, Lucknavi and
poorab ang thumri. The lyrics are typically in a proto-Hindi language called Braj
bhasha and are usually romantic
Carnatic Music Carnatic music, also known as karṇāṭaka sangītam is one of the two styles of
Indian classical music, the other being Hindustani music. Like Hindustani music,
Carnatic music rests on two main elements: rāga, the modes or melodic formulæ,
and tāḷa, the rhythmic cycles. In contrast to Hindustani Music of the northern part
of India, Carnatic music is taught and learned through compositions, which encode
many intricate musical details, also providing scope for free improvisation. The
most common two forms of composition are:
1. Varnam
2. Kriti
Natyashastra The Nātya Shastra of Bharata is the principal work of dramatic theory,
encompassing dance and music, in classical India. It is attributed to the muni (sage)

Bharata and is believed to have been written during the period between 200 BC and
200 AD).
The text contains a set of precepts on the writing and performance of dance, music
and theatre, and while it primarily deals with stagecraft, it has come to influence
music, dance, and literature as well. Thus, an argument can be made that the
Natyasastra is the foundation of the fine arts in India.
Neo Art Started by Abanindranath Tagore to regenerate the Indian Act, with the discovery
Movement of the best art of the ancient & medieval art. Nand Lal Bose was one of the
exponent of this movement.
Hellenistic Art A type of art introduced by the Greeks in the NW Frontier of India which in not
purely on Greek Pattern but it is the outcome of the Greek contact with non Greeks
after Alexander’s Death. Gandhara Art is the best example of this art.
Six Indian School of Philosophy

Hindu philosophy is divided into six orthodox (Sanskrit āstika ie. Believer of god) schools of thought, or
darshanas, listed below.
Sankhya is the oldest of the orthodox philosophical systems in Hinduism. Samkhya
Sankhya/Samkhya postulates that everything in reality stems from purusha (sanskrit: Self or soul) and
prakriti (Matter, creative agency, energy). Prakriti/Matter consists of three
dispositions: steadiness (sattva), activity (rajas), and dullness (tamas), known as the
three gunas, or qualities.
Yoga In Indian philosophy, Yoga is the name of one of the six orthodox philosophical
schools. The foundational text of the Yoga school is the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali,
who is regarded as the founder of the formal Yoga philosophy. Salvation through:
Yama (self control), Niyama, Asanas, Pranayama, Pratyahara (restrain), Dharana
(steady mind), Dhyana & Samadhi.
Nyaya The Nyaya school is based on the Nyaya Sutras. They were written by Aksapada
Gautama, probably in the second century B.C.E. The most important contribution
made by this school is its methodology. This methodology is based on a system of
logic that has subsequently been adopted by the majority of the Indian schools.
Vaisheshika The Vaisheshika school was founded by Kanada and postulates an atomic pluralism.
All objects in the physical universe are reducible to certain types of atoms, and
Brahman is regarded as the fundamental force that causes consciousness in these
atoms. Five elements – Earth, water, air, fire, Ether. It is very closely related to
Nyaya school.
Mimamsa/Purva The main objective of the Purva Mimamsa school was to establish the authority of
Mimamsa the Vedas. Consequently, this school's most valuable contribution to Hinduism was
its formulation of the rules of Vedic interpretation. Its adherents believe that one
must have unquestionable faith in the Vedas and perform the yajñas, or fire-
sacrifices, regularly. They believe in the power of the mantras and yajñas to sustain
all the activity of the universe.
Vendanta The Vedanta, or later Mimamsa school, concentrates on the philosophical teachings
of the Upanishads rather than the ritualistic injunctions of the Brahmanas. The

Vedanta school separated into six sub-schools, each interpreting the texts in its own
way and producing its own series of sub-commentaries
Advaita
Advaita is probably the best-known of all Vedanta schools. Advaita literally means
"non duality." Its first great consolidator was Adi Shankaracharya. By analysing the
three states of experience—–waking, dreaming, and deep sleep—–he established the
singular reality of Brahman, in which the soul and Brahman are one and the same.
Ultimate reality ‘Brahma’ is one. Highest level of truth is that the whole world that
exists is Maya. Ramanuja (founder of Sri Vaishnavism) differed from Sankara on his
commentaries on Upanishads & Gita.
Visishtadvaita
Ramanujacharya was the foremost proponent of the concept of the Supreme Being
having a definite form, name, and attributes. He saw this form as that of Vishnu, and
taught that reality has three aspects: Vishnu, soul (jiva), and matter (prakrti). Vishnu
is the only independent reality, while souls and matter are dependent on Vishnu for
their existence. Thus, Ramanuja's system is known as qualified non-dualism.
Dvaita
Like Ramanuja, Madhvacharya identified Brahman with Vishnu, but his view of
reality was pluralistic.
Dvaitadvaita (Bhedabheda)
Dvaitadvaita was proposed by Nimbarka, a 13th century Vaishnava Philosopher
from the Andhra region.
Shuddhadvaita
Shuddhadvaita was proposed by Vallabhacharya (1479 - 1531), who came from the
Andhra region but eventually settled in Gujarat.
Acintya Bheda Abheda
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a devotee of Krishna, proposed a synthesis between the
monist and dualist philosophies by stating that the soul is both distinct and non-
distinct from God, whom he identified as Krishna, and that this, although
unthinkable, may be experienced through a process of loving devotion (bhakti).
Nastika Shools of Indian System of Philosophy

Charvaka/Lokayata Believes only in materialism. No life beyond death, no soul no god.
Jaina The names of two tirthankaras, Rishabhanath & Aristhanemia finds mention in
540 BC Rig Veda. Twenty third was Parsva, son of Ishvaku king Asvasena. Said to
have flourished 300 yrs before Mahavira. Mahavira, the last Tirthankara born
in Kundagrama near Vaisali. His father Siddhartha was the head of Jnatrika
clan & mother Trisala was the sister of Chetaka, a Lichchhavi noble. Chetaka’s
dauthter was married to Bimbisara the king of Magadha. Mahavira was married

to Yasoda. Left home at 30 & attained Kaivalya at 42. He accepted 4 doctrines

of Parsava & added celibacy to it. Chandragupta Maurya patronized it. Passed
away at Pawapuri.
Buddha Gautama (known as Siddhartha as prince) was born in Lumbini near Kapilvastu
566 B.C. to Suddhodhana, the king of Sakya republic & Mayadevi who died seven days
after his birth. Gautama was married to Yasodhara from whom he had a son
Rahul. 6 years of meditation led to enlightenment. First sermon in Sarnath
known as ‘Set in motion the wheel of law’. Eight fold paths. Buddhism denies
efficacy of vedic rituals & superiority of brahmanas. Followers were upasakas
& bhikshus. Died at the age of 80 in Kushinagar.
History 2 Markers
Sruti Śruti is a canon of Hindu sacred texts. They do not date to a particular period, but
rather stretch across the entire history of Hinduism, beginning with the some of the
earliest known Hindu texts, spanning into the modern period with the Upanishads.
Śruti has no author; rather, it is divine recording of the "cosmic sounds of truth",
heard by rishis (saints or sages).
The main classification of shruti literature is along the lines of the four Vedas:
1. Rig-Veda (hymns recited by the hotar)
2. Yajur-Veda (hymns recited by the adhvaryu)
3. Sama-Veda (hymns recited by the udgatr)
4. Atharva-Veda (a collection of spells and charms not directly related to
Vedic sacrifice)
Each of these mantra collections was increased by commentaries in various
scholastic branches (shakhas), the Brahmanas, and later by mystical treatises
known as Aranyakas and Upanishads. All these likewise belong to the set of works
labeled as śruti. In addition, the Mahabharata (an Itihasa, or History, also part of
the "friendly scripture" class) is considered by some to be śruti and is sometimes
called the 'fifth' Veda. Sometimes the Bhagavad Gita, a chapter within the
Mahabharata, is separately considered as worthy of the śruti status.
Samhitas The Samhita (Sanskrit saṃhitā, "collection"), are collections of metric texts
("mantras"). There are four "Vedic" Samhitas: the Rig-Veda, Sama-Veda, Yajur-
Veda, and Atharva-Veda. ). In some contexts, the term Veda is used to refer to
these Samhitas. According to Hindu tradition, the Vedas are apauruṣeya "not
human compositions”.
Vedanga The Vedanga ( vedāṅga, "member of the Veda") are six auxiliary disciplines for
the understanding and tradition of the Vedas.
1. Shiksha (śikṣā): phonetics and phonology (sandhi)
2. Chandas (chandas): meter
3. Vyakarana (vyākaraṇa): grammar
4. Nirukta (nirukta): etymology
5. Jyotisha (jyotiṣa): astrology and astronomy, dealing particularly with the
auspicious days for performing sacrifices.
6. Kalpa (kalpa): ritual

The Vedangas are first mentioned in the Mundaka Upanishad as topics to be
observed by students of the Vedas. Later, they developed into independent
disciplines, each with its own corpus of Sutras.
Puranas 18 in number, encyclopedic in content, they provide dynastic history upto the
beginning of the Gupta Period. The Puranas are classified into a Mahā- ("great")
and a Upa- ("lower, additional") corpus. According to Matysa Purana, [5] they are
said to narrate five subjects, called Pancha Lakshana pañcalakṣaṇa ("five
distinguishing marks"):
1. Sarga - The creation of the universe.
2. Pratisarga - Secondary creations, mostly re-creations after dissolution.
3. Vamśa - Genealogy of gods and sages.
4. Manvañtara - The creation of the human race and the first human beings.
5. Vamśānucaritam - Dynastic histories.
Brahmanas They are essentially commentaries of the Vedas, explaining Vedic ritual (Written
between 900 BC to 500 BC). The Brahmanas are originally instructions for the
proper performance of ritual and sacrifice, but they are also the nucleus of later
Hindu philosophy, introducing concepts of Karma and Samsara, the four stages in
the life of a Brahmin, viz., brahmacarya, grihastha, vanaprastha, sannyasi, and
mystical notions presaging Vedanta philosophy.
Aranyakas The Aranyakas are part of the Hindu śruti; these religious scriptures are written in
early Classical Sanskrit, and form part of either the Brahmanas or Upanishads.
"Aranyaka" translates to "the forest books", meaning treatises for sadhus living in
the wilderness.
Upanishad The Upanishads are regarded as part of the Vedas and as such form part of the
Hindu scriptures. They primarily discuss philosophy, meditation, and the nature of
God; they form the core spiritual thought of Vedantic Hinduism. Considered as
mystic or spiritual contemplations of the Vedas, their putative end and essence, the
Upanishads are known as Vedānta ("the end/culmination of the Vedas").
Mahakavya Epics. Ramayana & Mahabharata. Later, during the Chola period, Kamban (12th
century) wrote what is considered one of the greatest Tamil epics — the Kamba
ramayanam of Kamban, based on the Ramayana. The first epic to appear in Hindi
was Tulsidas' (1543-1623) Ramacharitamanasa, also based on the Ramayana. In
modern Hindi literature, Kamayani by Jaishankar Prasad has attained the status of
an epic. It is a story of the great flood and the central characters of the epic poem
are Manu (a male) and Shraddha (a female).
Dharmashastras Dharmaśāstra is a genre of Sanskrit texts and refers to the śāstra, or Hindu branch
of learning, pertaining to dharma, religious and legal duty. They were compiledd
& codified between 500-200 BC & 1st to 6th century AD. Dharmaśāstra is
important within the Hindu tradition--first, as a source of religious law describing
the life of an ideal householder and, second, as symbol of the summation of Hindu
knowledge about religion, law, ethics, etc.
Smritis Next in importance to the Sruti are the Smritis or secondary scriptures. These are
the ancient sacred law-codes of the Hindus dealing with the Sanatana-

Varnashrama-Dharma. They supplement and explain the ritualistic injunctions

called Vidhis in the Vedas. The Smritis or Dharma Sastras are founded on the
Sruti. The Smritis are based on the teachings of the Vedas. The Smriti stands next
in authority to the Sruti. It explains and develops Dharma. It lays down the laws
which regulate Hindu national, social, family and individual obligations. The
works which are expressly called Smritis are the law books, Dharma Sastras.
Smriti, in a broader sense, covers all Hindu Sastras save the Vedas. There are
eighteen main Smritis or Dharma Sastras. The most important are those of Manu,
Yajnavalkya and Parasara. The term “Dharmashastras” & “Smritis” is used
interchangeably sometimes.
Yajnavalkya Smriti The Yajnavalkya Smriti is one of the three main Smritis. It was written by Sage
Yajnavalkya of Mithila.Yājnavalkya Smriti consists 1010 ślokas (verses) which
are divided into three sections, Āchārakānda (religious rites), Vyavahārakānda
(judicial procedures) and Prāyaścittakānda (penance).
Sangam Literature Sangam literature refers to a body of classical Tamil literature created between the
years 200 BCE and 300 CE. The period during which these poems were written is
commonly referred to as the 'Sangam' age, referring to the prevalent Sangam
legends claiming literary academies lasting thousands of years, giving the name to
the corpus of literature. Sangam literature is primarily secular dealing with
everyday themes in a South Indian context. Pathinenmaelkanakku is the
collection of the oldest surviving Tamil Poetry. This collection is considered part
of the Sangam Literature and dated approximately between 100 BCE and 200 CE.
Pattupattu– The ten Idylls is an anthology of ten mid length books and is one of
the oldest surviving Tamil Poetry. This collection is considered part of the Sangam
Literature and dated approximately between 300 BCE and 200 CE.
Agattiyam & Agattiyam, according to mentions in Sangam Literature, was the first known book
Tolkappiyam on Tamil grammar. This was supposedly written by the sage Agastya. No
authentic text from this work has been found so far and hence its existence is a
matter of conjecture. Tolkappiyar, the author of Tolkappiyam, the oldest
surviving book on Tamil grammar, is believed to be a disciple of Agastya.
Epics of Tamil The Five Great Epics of Tamil Literature are Cilappatikaram, Manimegalai,
Literature Civaka Cintamani, Valayaapathi and Kundalakesi. Only the first three are
completely undamaged and readable. The last two are known by fragments and
literary tradition.

Famous Books – Ancient India

Tirumurais Sacred book written in twelfth century considered as fifth veda is the collection of
the works of Naynars (devote of Shiva) in Tamil area between the sixth & ninth
century. The Saiva Tirumurais are twelve in number. The first seven Tirumurais
are the hymns of the three great Saivite saints. These hymns were the best musical
composition of their age.
Abhijnanashakuntala Sanskrit Drama written by Kalidas in which love story of Shakuntala & Dushyant
m is portrayed. It provides the glimpses of the Social & the cultural life of northern 7
central India during the Gupta period.
Meghdoot Meghadūta (literally "cloud messenger") is a lyric poem written by Kālidāsa,
considered to be one of the greatest Sanskrit poets. A short poem, it is one of
Kālidāsa's most famous works. It recounts how a yaksa, or attendant of Kubera
(the God of Wealth) after being exiled for a year to central India for some
unknown transgression, convinces a passing cloud to take a message to his wife on
Mount Kailāsa in the Himālaya mountains. The yakṣa accomplishes this by
describing the many beautiful sights the cloud will see on its northward course to
the city of Alakā, where his wife awaits his return.
Vikramanka- Biography by Bilhana who recounts the achievements of his patron “Vikramaditya
Devacharita VI”, the Chalukya King of Kalyan.
Mudrakshasa Written by Vishakhadatta in which the machinations of Chanakya against
Chandragupta’s enemies are best described in detail.
Madura Vijayam A Sanskrit Work written by Gangadevi the wife of Kampana, describing the battle
between Bukka I & the Sultan of Madura & the subsequent victory by the former.
Mrichhakatika Written by Shudraka which deals with the love story of a poor brahmana with the
beautiful daughter of a Courtesan, considered to be the best works of ancient
drama.
Classical Sanskrit The greatest works of poetry in this period are the six Mahakavyas, or "great
Poetry composition":
1. Kumarasambhavam by Kalidasa (on birth of Kumar Kartikeya, Shiva’s first
son)
2. Raghuvamsham by Kalidasa
3. Kiratarjuniya by Bharavi
4. Shishupala Vadha by Sri Maagha
5. Naishadiya Charitam by Sri Harsha
6. Some would include the Bhattikavya as a seventh Mahakavya.
Other major literary works from this period are Kadambari by Bana Bhatta, the
first Sanskrit novelist (6th-7th centuries), the Kama Sutra by Vatsyayana, and the
shatakas of Bhartrhari. Bhartrhari was a famous grammarian.
Ashthadhyayi Panini is known for his Sanskrit grammar, particularly for his formulation of the
rules of Sanskrit morphology in the grammar known as Ashtadhyayi (meaning

"eight chapters"), the foundational text of the grammatical branch of the Vedanga,
the auxiliary scholarly disciplines of Vedic religion.
Manu Smriti The Manu Smriti is a work of Hindu law and ancient Indian society (manus is the
Sanskrit for "man" or "human"). It is also known as the Laws of Manu. It is one of
the nineteen Dharmasastra, which are part of the Smriti literature. It is considered
the oldest and one of the most important texts of this genre
Svapna- Svapna-Vasavadattam, a drama of six acts composed by Bhasa, is based on the
Vasavadattam Brihatakatha of Gunadhya and is referred to in the Mahabharata. Bhasa stands pre-
eminent for the boldness of his conception, insight into character and for his
homely sparkling style. He has written about thirteen plays of which the Svapna-
vasavadatta is reckoned as a master piece both in ancient Indian and modern
criticism. Based on the well-known love-tale of Udayana and Vasavadatta, Bhasa's
play abounds in dramatic excitement, suspense, surprise and humour
Ratnavali Ratnavali is a famous Sanskrit drama composed in four acts by Sri Harsha. The
play is a comedy of court life, centring round the light-hearted love-intrigue of
king Udayana with a lowly maiden of unknown descent and finally her acceptance
of the situation when the maiden is discovered to be her lost cousin
Geet Govinda depicts the divine love of the Hindu deity Krishna and his consort, Radha. Written
by Jayadeva
Arthashastra The Arthashastra (more precisely Arthaśāstra) is a treatise on statecraft, economic
policy and military strategy which identifies its author by the names Kautilya and
Vishnugupta, who are traditionally identified with Chanakya (c. 350-283 BCE),
who was a professor at Taxila University and later the prime minister of the
Maurya Empire

Ancient Books & Authors – Extra Reference

1. Mudrakshasha (Chandragupta Maurya defeating the Nandas); Vishakhadatta
Devichandraguptam
2. Malavikagnimitram (Pushyamitra Sunga) Kalidas
3. Gudavaho (Yasovarman of Kannauj) Vakpati
4. Vikramanakadevacharita (Chalukya king Vikramaditya) Bilhana
5. Kumarapalacharita Jayasimha
6. Hammirakavya Nyayachandra
7. Dvayashraya Mahakavya; Sapta Sadhana Hemchandra
8. Navashasankacharita Padmagupta
9. Bhojaprabandha Billal
10. Prithvirajcharita Chandrabardai
11. Meghaduta; Raghuvamsa; Kumarasambhava; Vikramorvasiyam Kalidas
Abhijnanashakuntalam (Drama);
12. Mrichakatika Sudraka
13. Uttarama-Charita; Malati Madhava Bhavbhuti
14. Amarakosha Amarasimha
15. Si-yu-Ki Hiuen Tsang
16. Brahmasiddhanta; Khandakhadya Brahmagupta
17. Dasakumaracharita Dandin
18. Astanga-Sangraha; Astanga-Hirdaya-Samhita Vagabhatta
19. Panchsiddhantika; Suryasiddhanta; Brihatsamhita Varahamihira
20. Karpuramanjari; Bala Ramayana; Bala Bharata; Kavyamimamsa; Rajshekhara
Bhuvana Kosha; Haravilasa
21. Adinathacharita (Jaina Narrative) Vardhamana
22. Shantinathacharita (Jaina Narrative) Devachandra
23. Parsvanathacharita (Jaina Narrative) Devabhadra
24. Prithviraja Vijay Jayanka
25. Karnasundari Bilhana
26. Saraswati Kanthabharana Bhoja
27. Dasharupa Dhananjaya
28. Harikeli Nataka Visaladeva
29. Prasannaraghava Jayadeva

30. Siddhanta Shiromani [4 parts – Lilavati, Bijaganita, Grahaganita & Bhaskaracharya
Gola (on Astronomy)]
31. Rajmariganka (On Astronomy) King Bhoja
32. Chikitsakalika or Yogamala Tisata-Vagbhatta’s Son
33. Mitakasara Vijnanaeshvara
34. Nitishastra (On Polity) Mathara
35. Nitisara (On Polity) Kamandaka
36. Sushruta Samhita (encyclopedia on surgery) Sushruta
37. Charaka Samhita (Teachings of Atreya) Charaka
38. Buddhacharita, Vajrasuchi, Suandarananda Asvaghosha
39. Mahabhasya Patanjali
40. Harshacharita, Kadambari Banabhatta
41. Ravan Vadha Bhattin
Famous Books of Medieval India

Padmavat Padmavat (or Padmawat) is a poem written in 1540 by Malik Muhammad Jayasi
in the Awadhi language. It is written in the praise of Padmini – wife of Ratan
Singh, King of Chittor.
Rihlah Written by Ibn Batuta. “A Gift to Those Who Contemplate the Wonders of Cities
and the Marvels of Travelling”, but is often simply referred to as the Rihla or
"Journey". Whilst apparently fictional in places, the Rihla still gives us an account
of some parts of the world in the 14th century.
Tarikh-i-Firuzshahi Tarikh-i-Firuzshahi a historical text by Ziauddin Barani and named after Sultan
firuz shah tughlaq. Among the historical literature produced in Delhi in the
sultanate period this is probably the best. The book is not merely a chronicle, as
many other histories written in India in the medieval period are. In this book one
gets accounts of social developments and agrarian matters. Modern scholars hold
that Barani's history is very definitely a science - the science of the social order
based on observation and experience and not on religion or tradition
Famous Books of Medieval India

1. Taj-ul-Maasir Hasan Nizami
2. Tabaqat-i-Nasiri Minhaj Siraj
3. Tarikh-i-Firuzshahi (Most important work of sultanate period) Ziauddin Barani
Fatwah-i-Jahandari
4. Futuh-us-Salatin (establishment of Bahmani Kingdom) Isami
5. Tarikh-i-Firuzshahi Afif
6. Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi Yahya Sirhindi
7. Akbar Nama Abul Fazal
8. Tabaqat-I-Akbari Nizammudin Ahmad
9. Muntakhab-al-tawarikh Badauni
10. Badshahnama/Padshahnama Abdul Hamid Lahori
11. Muntakhab-ul Lubab (Aurangzeb’s reign) Khafi Khan
12. Mirat-i-Ahmadi Ali Muhammad Khan
13. Padmavat (on Padmini – wife of Ratan Singh, King of Chittor) Malik Mohammad Jaisi
14. Tughluq Nama, Tarik-i-Alai, Nuh Sipihr, Ashiqa Amir Khusro
15. Marwar ra Pargani ri Vigat (Info on Rajasthan) Munhta Nainsi
16. Chandayan Maulana Daud
17. Himayun Nama Gulbadan Begum
18. Bhavartha Dipika Gyaneshwara
19. Safarnama or Rihla Ibn Batuta
20. Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri (Autobiography) Jehangir
21. Tarikh-i-Shershahi Abbas Sarwani
22. Tuzuk-i-Baburi/ Baburnama (in Turkish –Autobiography) Babur
23. Shahjahannama Inayat Khan
24. Dayabhaga Jimuta Vahna
th
25. Periya Puranam (12 book of Tamil Veda called Tirumurai) Shekkilar
26. Sur Sagar (Life of Krishna) Sur Das
Famous Books of Modern India
Bhawani Mandir Bhawani Mandir was written by Sri Aurobindo but it was more Barin's idea than
his. It was not meant to train people for assassination but for revolutionary
preparation of the country. The idea was soon dropped as far as Sri Aurobindo was
concerned, but something of the kind was attempted by Barin in the Manicktala
Garden
Anandamath Anandamath is a political novel by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay which depicts
a Sannyasi (Brahmin ascetic) army fighting Indian Muslims who are in the employ
of the East India Company. The book calls for the rise of Brahmin/Hindu
nationalism but, ironically, concludes with a character accepting British Empire as
a necessity. The novel was also the source of the song "Vande Mataram" (I
worship the Mother) which, set to music by Rabindranath Tagore, was taken up by
many secular nationalists. The novel is loosely based on the time of the Sannyasi
Rebellion, however in the actual rebellion, Hindus sannyasis and Muslim fakirs
both rebelled against the British East India Company.
Books/Articles & Authors (Modern)

Ghulamgiri (challenged superiority of Brahmins) Jyotiba Phule
Bandi Jeevan Sachindranath Sanyal
Tuhfat-ul-Muwahhidin (Gift to Monotheists in Persian) Raja Rammohun Roy
Dharma Tritiya Ratna, Ishvara & Life of Shivaji Jyotiba Phule
New Lamp for the Old (Series of Articles criticizing Congress) Aurobindo Ghosh
Doctrine of Passive Resistance (Articles in Bande Mataram) Aurobindo Ghosh
Indian War of Independence (seized by British) V.D. Savarkar
Loyal Muhammadans of India Sayyid Ahmad Khan
Tahaib-al-Akhlaq Sayyid Ahmad Khan

Asbab-e-Bagawar-e-Hind (Held Bahadur Shah II as fool for revolting) Sayyed Ahmad Khan
Neel Darpan Dinbandhu Mitra
How did America get Freedom Ram Prasad Bismil
The activities of Bolsheviks, The wave of the Mind, Colour of Swadeshi, Ram Prasad Bismil
Revolutionary Life
Systematic History of Ancient India V.A. Smith
The Wonder That was India A.L. Basham
Newspapers/Magazines/Weeklies
Harijan Bandhu, Harijan Sevak Mahatma Gandhi
Samvad Kaumudi, Mirat-al-Akhbar Raja Ram Mohun Roy
Tattvabodhini Patrika Maharishi Devendranath Tagore
Indian Mirror Maharishi Devendranath Tagore
Banga Darshan Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
Maratha (English) & Kesari (Marathi) Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak
The Punjabi, ‘The Pupil’ (English) Lala Lajpat Rai
New India Bipin Chandra Pal
Bande Matram Bipin Chandra Pal (Editing by Aurobindo Ghosh)
Yugantar Barindra Kumar Ghose & Bhupendra Dutta (Anushilan Samiti)
Talwar Verendranath Chattopadhyay
New India Annie Besant (Demanding Home Rule)
Common Will Annie Besant (Demanding Home Rule)
Indian Sociologist (London) Shyamji Krishnaverma
Al-Hilal (UPSC Mains 1996) Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (during Khilafat)
The Comrade Mohammad Ali (during Khilafat movement)
Nation G.K. Gokhale
Karmyogi Aurobindo Ghosh
Prabudha Bharat, Udbodhava Vivekananda
Darpan Bal Shastri Jambekar
Socialist S.A. Dange.
Famous Authors & Personalities of Ancient India

Yajnavalkya is a legendary sage of Vedic India, credited with the authorship of the Shatapatha
Brahmana (including the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad). He is also a major figure in
the Upanishads. Yajnavalkya married two wives. One was Maitreyi and the other
Katyayani. Of the two, Maitreyi was a Brahmavadini ( one who is interested in the
knowledge of Brahman ) .
Panini Panini was an ancient Indian grammarian from Gandhara (fl. 4th century BC). He
is known for his Sanskrit grammar, particularly for his formulation of the rules of
Sanskrit morphology in the grammar known as Ashtadhyayi (meaning "eight
chapters"), the foundational text of the grammatical branch of the Vedanga, the
auxiliary scholarly disciplines of Vedic religion.
Patanjali Patanjali is the compiler of the Yoga Sutra, a major work containing aphorisms on
the philosophical aspects of mind and consciousness
Sushruta Sushruta (c. 6th century BC) was a renowned surgeon of ancient India, and the
author of the book Sushruta Samhita. Because of his seminal and numerous
contributions to the science and art of surgery he is also known by the title "Father
of Surgery."
Charaka Charaka, (born c 300 BC) was one of the founders of Ayurveda, a system of

medicine developed in Ancient India. His most famous work is Charaka Samhita.
Vishakhadatta Vishakhadatta was a poet and playwright of ancient Indian and lived during the
Gupta period. The actual period of his life is not known, but he is believed to have
lived during the time of King Chandragupta-II, around the fifth century AD.
Vishakhadutta wrote two famous historical plays. They are ‘Mudra-Rakshasa’
and ‘Devi Chandra Gupta’. Mudra-Rakshasa, which is still quite popular, is the
story of King Chandragupta Maurya getting the throne of Magadha (set around
305 BC). Devi Chandra Gupta is a historical play dealing with the early life of
King Chandragupta II.
Meghasthenes Meghasthenes was a Greek traveller and geographer. He became an ambassador of
(UPSC 2007) Seleucus I of Syria to the court of Sandrocottus (Chandragupta Maurya) of India,
in Pataliputra. Wrote "Indica".
Amarsimha Amarasimha was one of the ‘Navaratnas' (nine gems) in the court of King
Vikramaditya. This distinguished scholar is renowned as the author of
Amarakosha, a Sanskrit thesaurus.
Aryabhatta Āryabhaṭa (b. 476 AD – 550) is the first in the line of great mathematician-
astronomers from the classical age of Indian mathematics and Indian astronomy.
His most famous works are the Aryabhatiya (499) and Arya-Siddhanta.
Asvaghosa Aśvaghoṣa was an Indian philosopher-poet. He is believed to have been the first
Sanskrit dramatist, and is considered the greatest Indian poet after Kālidāsa. He
was first a student of non-Buddhist teaching, but upon losing an argument with
Parshva converted to Buddhism. He became a religious adviser to the Kushan king
Kanishka. He is said to be the author of the influential Buddhist text Awakening of
Faith in the Mahayana. He also wrote an epic life of the Buddha called
Buddhacarita[1] (Acts of the Buddha) in Sanskrit and the Mahalankara (Book of
Glory). He also wrote Saundaranandakavya, a kavya poem with the theme of
conversion of Nanda, Buddha’s half-brother, so that he might reach salvation.
Brahmagupta Brahmagupta was born in 598 CE in Bhinmal city in the state of Rajasthan. He
was the head of the astronomical observatory at Ujjain, and during his tenure there
wrote four texts on mathematics and astronomy: the Cadamekela, the
Brahmasphutasiddhanta, the Khandakhadyaka, and Durkeamynarda. Undoubtedly,
the Brahmasphutasiddhanta (Corrected Treatise of Brahma) is his most famous
work.
Bhavbhuti Bhavabhuti, who ranks next to Kalidasa in Sanskrit literature, was a Brahmin of
Vidarbha and said to be a court poet of Yasovarman of Kanauj. He was also
famous as Srikantha or ‘throat of eloquence.’ This celebrated dramatist of the 8th
century composed three dramas namely 'Mahavir Charita', 'Uttara Rama Charita',
and 'Malati Madhava'.
Varahamihir
Bhaskara I Bhāskara (commonly called Bhāskara I to avoid confusion with the 12th century
mathematician Bhāskara II) (c. 600 - c. 680) was a 7th century Indian
mathematician, who was apparently the first to write numbers in the Hindu-Arabic
decimal system with a circle for the zero, and who gave a unique and remarkable
rational approximation of the sine function in his commentary on Aryabhata's
work.
Bhaskara II or Bhaskara (1114 – 1185), also known as Bhaskara II and Bhaskara Achārya
Bhaskaracharya ("Bhaskara the teacher"), was an Indian mathematician and astronomer. He was
born near Bijjada Bida (in present day Bijapur district, Karnataka state, South
India) into the Deshastha Brahmin family and became head of the astronomical
observatory at Ujjain, continuing the mathematical tradition of Varahamihira and
Brahmagupta. In many ways, Bhaskara represents the peak of mathematical and
astronomical knowledge in the 12th century. He reached an understanding of
calculus, astronomy, the number systems, and solving equations, which were not
to be achieved anywhere else in the world for several centuries. His main works
were the Lilavati (dealing with arithmetic), Bijaganita (Algebra) and Siddhanta
Shiromani (written in 1150) which consists of two parts: Goladhyaya (sphere)
and Grahaganita (mathematics of the planets).
Nagarjunakonda Nagarjunakonda (meaning Nagarjuna Hill in Telugu) is a historical Buddhist
(UPSC – 2007) town, now an island located near Nagarjuna Sagar in Andhra Pradesh. It was
formed when a hill was submerged in the waters of the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam,
constructed in the 1960s. It is named after Nagarjuna, a southern Indian master of
Mahayana Buddhism who lived in the 2nd century AD.
Authors of Medieval India

Adikavi Pampa Pampa born in 902 C.E., also known as Adikavi Pampa, is one of the greatest
Kannada poets of all time. At the age of 39 he wrote his first masterpiece,
Adipurana and a little later he completed Vikramarjuna Vijaya popularly
known as Pampa Bharata. These two works have remained unparalleled works of
classic Kannada composition.
Amir Khusro was a Persian-writing poet of medieval India and an iconic figure in the cultural
(1253-1325 CE) history of the Indian subcontinent. A Sufi mystic and a spiritual disciple of
Nizamuddin Auliya of Delhi, Amīr Khusrow was not only a notable poet but also
a prolific musician. He has been termed as the "father of qawwali" (the devotional

music of the Indian Sufis) He is also credited with enriching the Hindustani
classical music by introducing Persian and Arabic elements in it, and was the
originator of the tarana style of music. The "classical music tradition in both India
and Pakistan traces its roots" to him, who "composed the earliest ragas, the
traditional rhythmic form." The invention of the Indian Tabla is also traditionally
attributed to Amīr Khusrow. He authored numerous works including
“Tughlaqnama”.
Kalhana Kalhana (c. 12th century) was the celebrated author of Rajatarangini, Kashmir's
history. Kalhana is regarded to be Kashmir's first historian. Rajatarangini is one of
the most valuable sources for Indian history. Kalhana opens his book by
mentioning his views on writing history.
Bana Bhatta Bana Bhatta was the court poet and also a close friend of Harsha. Bana Bhatta,
Harsha’s court poet who authored “Harsha Charita” (his patron’s biography) and
the famous romance “Kadambari”
Chandrabardai Author of Prithviraj Raso based on Prithviraj Chauhan.
Authors of Modern India

Mirza Ghalib Mirza Asadullah Beg Khan - known to posterity as Ghalib, was born in Agra.
Mirza Ghalib is perhaps the most famous Urdu poet of India, a pioneer in the field
of ghazal. His renowned poetic collections are 'Diwan-e-Ghalib' and 'Gul-e-Rana'.
A contemporary of the last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, Ghalib was
also a distinguished writer of letters. His tomb is at Nizamuddin, close to the
tombs of Hazrat Nizamuddin and Amir Khusro.
Sharat Chandra He was one of the the most popular Bengali novelists of early part of the 20th
Chattopadhyay century. His famous works are Devdas, Parineeta (both made into films). His first
published work was “Mandir”.
Michael is a famous 19th century Bengali poet and dramatist. He was born in Jessore
Madhusudan Dutt District, Bengal (now in Bangladesh). He was a pioneer of Bengali drama. His
famous work Meghnadh Bodh Kabya is a grand heroic-tragic ballad.
Kazi Nazrul Islam Kazi Nazrul Islam was a Bengali poet, musician, revolutionary, and philosopher
who pioneered poetic works espousing intense spiritual rebellion against
orthodoxy and oppression. His poetry and nationalist activism earned him the
popular title of Bidrohi Kobi (Rebel Poet). Accomplishing a large body of
acclaimed works through his life, Nazrul is officially recognised as the national
poet of Bangladesh and commemorated in India.
Bankim Chandra was a Bengali poet, novelist, essayist and journalist, most famous as the author of
Chattopadhyay Vande Mataram or Bande Mataram, that inspired the freedom fighters of India,
and was later declared the National Song of India. Anandamath is his most
celbrated work.
Devki Nandan Khatri Chandrakanta, written by Devaki Nandan Khatri, is considered to be the first work
of prose in Hindi. His other famous work is Bhootnath. Both Chandrakanta &
Bhootnath have been made into famous serials.

Munshi Premchand Premchand whose original name was Dhanpat Rai Srivastava, was born in a
village near Varanasi. He was was one of the greatest literary figures of modern
Hindi and Urdu literature. “Shatranj ke Khiladi” is his most famous story.
“Godaan” is his most famous novel. “Sevasadan”, “Karmabhoomi” & ‘Godhuli”
are his other famous novels.
Suryakant Tripathi was one of the most famous figures of the modern Hindi literature. He was a poet,
'Nirala' novelist, essayist and story-writer. He also drew many sketches. Nirala pioneered
the Chhayavaad movement along with Jaishankar Prasad, Sumitranandan Pant and
Mahadevi Varma). Nirala's Parimal and Anaamika are considered as the original
Chhayavaadi Hindi literature.
King & their Famous Courtiers.

Vikramaditya is the name of a legendary king of Ujjain, India, famed for his wisdom, valour and
magnanimity. The title "Vikramaditya" has also been assumed by many kings in Indian history, notably the
Gupta King Chandragupta II.
Pushyamitra Patanjali is the compiler of the Yoga Sutra, a major work containing aphorisms on the
Sunga philosophical aspects of mind and consciousness
Chandragupta II Amarsimha – Wrote Amarkosha.
(Vikramaditya) Vishakhadutta wrote the play “Devi-Chandraguptam” which throws light on the life
Court of King Chandragupta II Vikramaditya.
Kalidas - Three famous plays written by Kalidasa are Mālavikāgnimitram (Mālavikā
and Agnimitra), Vikramorvaśīya (Pertaining to Vikrama and Urvashi) and
Abhijñānaśākuntalam (The Recognition of Sakuntala). Kalidasa's play
Mālavikāgnimitra has as its hero the second Sunga king Agnimitra (Son of
Pushyamitra Sunga who was the military general & usurped power from Sungas). In
addition to his plays, Kalidasa wrote two surviving epic poems Raghuvamsha (Dynasty
of Raghu) and Kumarasambhava (Birth of Kumar Kartikeya, first son of Lord Shiva),
as well as the lyrical Meghaduta (Cloud Messenger) and Ritusamhāra (The Exposition
on the Seasons).
Aryabhatta:
Varamihira
Vikramaditya of The Vikram era, or Vikram samvat is an Indian calendar starting in 57 BCE. The date
Ujjain is supposed to mark the victory of king Vikramaditya over the Sakas, who had invaded
Ujjain.
Kanishka’s Court Kanishka's royal court was adorned by many scholars like Ashvaghosha, Vasumitra,
Nagarjuna and Charak & Sushruta.
Ashvaghosha was a great poet and a master of music. He wrote Buddhacharita, a
biography of the Buddha.

Charak was a great physician and he wrote a book, Charak Samhita, which is based on
the Ayurvedic system of medicine.
Vasumitra headed the fourth Buddhist council held in Kashmir.
Nagarjuna was the propounder of the Madhyamika Buddhism & a great Buddhist
scholar.
Mahendrapala I Rajshekhar was widely known as a witty poet and disciple of Bharat in rhetorical
(Pratihara king) literature. His well-known books include Kavya-Mimangsa (rhetoric literature), Bala-
Ramayana, Bala-Bharata, Karpuramanjari and Biddhashalabhanjika. Kavya-Mimamsa
is a famous and widely discussed book on sanskrit rhetorical literature with in-depth
analysis of verses.
Lakshmansena Jayadeva, Halayudha, Sridharadasa.
Vikramaditya VI Bilhana (Vikramanankadevacharita) Vijnanaeshvara (Mitakshara)
(Chalukya)
Sharqis of Malik Muhammad Jaisi
Jaunpur
Akbar’s 1. Abul Fazl – Author of Akbarnama & Ain-i-Akbari

Navratna 2. Faizi - was Abul Fazl’s brother. He was a poet that wrote verses in Persian. King
Akbar appointed him tutor in mathematics for his son.
3. Tansen - Mian Tansen was a singer for King Akbar, born a Hindu in 1520, who
was a poet himself. He was a student of music from Swami Haridas.
4. Birbal was a poor Brahmin who was appointed to the court of Akbar for his
intelligence, and became a court jester. Born by the name Maheshdas, he was
conferred the name Raja Birbal by the Emperor. He died in a battle.
5. Raja Todar Mal was Akbar’s finance minister, who from 1560 onwards
overhauled the revenue system in the kingdom. He introduced standard weights and
measurements, revenue districts and officers. His systematic approach to revenue
collection became a model for the future Mughals as well as the British.
6. Raja Man Singh, the Kacchwaha rajput raja of Amber
7. Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khan, son of Bariam Khan. Akbar married Bairam Khan’s
wife after the later was killed.
8. Fagir Aziao Din – Akbar’s Advisors
9. Mullan Do Piaza - Akbar's Advisors
Sufism
Silsilas Major Silsilas were: Suhrawadi, Chistiya, Firdausiya, Naqashbandi, Mahadawi,
Shattariyyas, Qadiriyya, Kubrawiyya, Shi’is, Qalandhars, Rudali, Rausaniya.
Abu Ishaq Shami The Chishti order was founded by Abu Ishaq Shami ("the Syrian") who brought
Sufism to the town of Chisht, now Afghanistan. The Chishti Order was first introduced
in India by Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti (1143-1223 AD) and is the oldest known order.
Suhravadi Shaikh Shibabuddin Suhrawadi founded this Silsila. However the main protagonist of
this silsila was Bahauddin Zakariyya
Bakhtiyar Kaki was a renowned Muslim Sufi mystic, saint and scholar in the Chishti Order from Delhi,

India. He was the disciple and khalifa (spiritual successor) of Moinuddin Chishti as
head of the Chishti Order. His most famous disciple and spiritual successor was Baba
Fareed.
Baba Fareed commonly known as Baba Farid was a 12-th century Sufi preacher and saint of Punjab.
He is recognized as the first acclaimed poet of Punjabi language. Baba Farid is
considered one of the most pivot saints in Sikhism. He has been honoured by the Gurus
of Sikhism by his verses being collected and compiled in the Sikh holy Guru Granth
Sahib under the chapter Farid's Sayings by Guru Nanak Dev Ji. He was the spiritual
master of Nizamuddin Auliya
Nizamuddin Hazrat Khawaja Nizamuddin Auliya (1238 - 1325 AD) also known as Hazrat
Auliya Nizamuddin, was a famous Sunni Sufi saint of the Chishti Order in India. He was born
in Badayun (east of Delhi), though he later settled in Delhi, where his shrine
(Nizamuddin Dargah) is still located. He was also the spiritual master of Amir Khusro
Naqshbandi Naqshbandi (Naqshbandiyya) is one of the major Sufi orders (tariqa) of Islam. Formed
Order in 1380, the order is considered by some to be a "sober" order known for its silent dhikr
(remembrance of God) rather than the vocalized forms of dhikr common in other
orders. The Naqshbandi order is also notable as it is the only Sufi order to trace its
spiritual lineage (silsilah) to Muhammad through Abu Bakr, the first caliph.
Religious/Bhakti Movement
Lingayatism Lingayatism or Veerashaivism. This religion represents a reform movement attributed
to Basavanna and others in the 12th century CE. Lingayats believe in a monotheistic
world where Shiva the supreme God and self are one and the same
Adi Shankara Born in a small village in Kerala he was the first philosopher to consolidate the
doctrine of Advaita Vedanta, a sub-school of Vedanta. His teachings are based on the
unity of the soul and Brahman, in which Brahman is viewed as without attributes. Adi
Shankara was disciple of Govinda Bhagvatapada. Adi Shankara founded four Maṭhas
to guide the Hindu religion. These are at Sringeri in Karnataka in the south, Dwaraka in
Gujarat in the west, Puri in Orissa in the east, and Jyotirmath (Joshimath) in
Uttarakhand in the north.
Madhva or He was the chief proponent of Tattvavāda (True Philosophy), popularly known as
Madhvacharya Dvaita or dualistic school of Hindu philosophy. It is one of the three most influential
Vedanta philosophies. Madhva was one of the important philosophers during the
Bhakti movement.
Nimbarka Hailed from present day Andhra Pradesh in South India. He is known for propagating
the Vaishnava Theology of Dvaitadvaita, duality in unity. For Nimbarka the highest
object of worship is Krishna and His consort Radha, attended by thousands of gopi's, or
cowherdesses, of the celestial Vrindavan. Devotion according to Nimbarka, consists in
prapatti, or self-surrender.
Vallabha Sri Vallabhacharya was a devotional philosopher, who founded the Pushti sect in India,
and the philosophy of Shuddha advaita (Pure Non-dualism). He is regarded as an
acharya and guru within the Vaishnava traditions. Within Indian Philosophy he is
known as the writer of sixteen 'stotras' (tracts) and produced several commentaries on
the Bhagavata Purana, which describes the many lilas (pastimes) of the avatar, Krishna.

Vallabha Acharya occupies a unique place in Indian culture as a scholar, a philosopher

and devotional (bhakti) preacher. He is especially known as a lover and a propagator of
Bhagavata Dharma. He was born in Champaran near Raipur in the Indian state of
Chhattisgarh.
Namdev was a prominent Bhakti poet of Maharashtra and among the earliest of those who wrote
in the Marathi language. Renowned as a devotee of Sri Purandara Vitthala of
Pandharpur, Namdev is also important to the Sikh tradition, since several of his
compositions are enshrined in the Guru Granth Sahib.
Tukaram Sant Tukaram was a seventeenth century Marathi poet Sant of India, related to the
Bhakti movement of Maharashtra. Tukaram, was a devotee of Vitthal (a form of Lord
Krishna), the supreme God in Vaishnavism. He is especially revered by the Varkari
community.
Tulsidas Gosvāmī Tulsīdās was an Awadhi poet and philosopher. He was contemporary of
Humayun & born in present day U.P. Tulsidas wrote twelve books and although a
Sanskrit scholar, he is considered the greatest and most famous of Hindi poets. He is
regarded as an incarnation of Valmiki, the author of Ramayana written in Sanskrit. He
wrote Rāmacaritamānasa ("The Lake of the Deeds of Rama"), an epic devoted to Lord
Rama. Vinaya Patrika is another important book written by Tulsidas.
Madhusudan Madhusūdana Sarasvatī (c.1540–1640) was an Indian philosopher in the Advaita
Vedānta tradition. Madhusūdana was born in Bengal, and originally called
Kamalanayana. He became an Advaita sannyāsin, and moved to Varanasi in order to
study Advaita. He gained as a patron the Emperor Akbar, and was a friend of the poet
Tulsīdās.
Chaitanya He was an ascetic Vaishnava monk and social reformer in 16th century Bengal,
Mahaprabhu (present-day West Bengal and Bangladesh) and Orissa in India. Chaitanya was a
notable proponent for the Vaishnava school of Bhakti yoga (meaning loving devotion
to Krishna/God) based on the philosophy of the Bhagavata Purana and Bhagavad Gita.
Specifically he worshipped the forms of Radha and Krishna and popularised the
chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra. His line of followers, known as Gaudiya
Vaishnavas, revere him as an avatar of Krishna in the mood of Radharani.
Vasugupta He was a native of Kashmir and was a great devotee of Lord Shiva. Vasugupta is the
founder of the system of Hindu philosophy known as Kashmir Shaivism, also called
Hindu Tantra.
Ramanuja was a theologian & a great philosopher. He was born in a small village in Tamil Nadu.
Rāmānuja (ācārya), the eleventh century South Indian philosopher, is the chief
proponent of Vishishtādvaita, which is one of the three main forms of the Orthodox
Hindu philosophical school, Vedānta.
Ramananda Ramananda was a vaishnava sant, a Ramayat, a devotee of The Lord Almighty (Ram,
GOD). He lived in Varanasi. Like other sant-poets of northern India, he communicated
in vernacular Hindi, and accepted disciples of all castes. Kabir mentions him as his
guru. Ramananda was a disciple of Raghavananda, an ascetic of the Sri Vaishnava
order, expounded by Ramanuja and was known for his downplaying the role of caste.
Kabir (1440- Kabir was born to a Hindu Brahmin widow and later adopted by childless Muslim
1518) weavers named Niru and Nimma, who found him near Lahara Tala lake, adjacent to the

holy city of Varanasi. Early in life he became a disciple of the celebrated Hindu
ascetic, Râmânanda, who brought to Northern India the religious revival which
Râmânuja, the great twelfth-century reformer of Hinduism had initiated in the South
Surdas Surdas was a Hindu devotional poet, singer, and a saint (sant), who lived during reign
(1479-1586) of king Akbar. He was one of the 8 main disciples of Vallabha. Surdas spent most of
his years in Vrindavan and created the epic literary work Sur Sagar, which originally
contained 100,000 poems. He was the most influential poet of Braj Bhasha and the
'Bhakti movement' after Tulsidas.
Raidasa or Raidasa or Ravidasa was a Bhakti saint hailing from lower caste (Chamar). Mira Bai
Ravidasa considered him to be her guru. Sant Ravidas and other saint-poets restored the right to
(1398-1448) worship by the lower classes, Shudras, artisans and peasants, which impressed Guru
Nanak, the founder of the Sikh tradition in a big way. To pay back Sikh sect has
enriched the nirguna bhakti cult by including their hymns, for recitation, prayers, in
the Adi Granth
Mira Bai (1503- Was married to Prince Bhoj Raj, the eldest son of Rana Sanga of Chittor. She was a
1573) Hindu mystical poetess whose compositions are popular throughout India. Mirabai is
held to have been a disciple of Ravidas (or Raidasa). Mirabai composed between 200
to 1300 prayerful songs called bhajans. These bhajans are in the bhakti tradition, and
most passionately praised Lord Krishna
Dadu Dayal Dadu Dayal was a sant from Rajasthan, India. "Dadu" means brother, and "Dayal"
(1544 - 1603) means "the compassionate one". Dadu Dayal ji Maharaj was found by an affluent
business man floating on the river Sabarmati. He later moved to Amber, the capital of
Rajasthan, where he preached his teachings. He gathered around himself a group of
followers, which became known as the Dadu-panth. His poems are known as Bani.
Prominent Foreign Travellers

1. Marco Polo Venetian Traveller visited Pandya kingdom
2. Ibn Batuta Muhammad bin Tughlaq
3. Nicolo Conti Italian visited Vijayanagar during the reign of Deva Raya I
4. Abdur Razaq Visited the court of Zamorin in Calicut & travelled to Vijaynagar
during the reign of Deva Raya II
5. Nikitin Russian, visited Bahmani kingdom & Gujarat
6. Nuniz Portuguese, stayed at Vijayanagar during Krishna Deva Raya
7. Ralph Fitch British during Akbar’s reign
8. William Hawkins English merchant. Received a mansab from Jehangir
9. Thomas Roe Ambassador of English King James I to Jehangir’s court.
Obtained trade concessions. Wrote “Embassy”.
10. Peter Mundy English traveller during Shah Jahan’s reign.
11. Tavernier French jweller. Aurangzeb’s reign.
12. Bernier French Physician. Most important account of all European.
Aurangzeb’s reign. Wrote ‘Travels in the Mughal Empire’.
13. Nicolo Manucci Italian. Aurangzeb’s reign.
Indian Education System

Macaulay’s Macaulay came to India in 1834. Serving on the Supreme Council of India between
Minute, 1835 1834 and 1838 he was instrumental in convincing the Governor General (Lord William
Bentick, 1828-1835) to adopt English as the medium of instruction for the country.
Minute on Education' of 1835, formulated by Thomas Babington Macaulay, according
to which government funds would be used to support education in English in India, and
the curriculum would be based on that prevalent in schools in England. The Committee
on Public Instruction ...was hopelessly divided between the ``Anglicists" and the
``Orientalists." The former saw the need to train a host of loyal government servants
able to conduct the routine clerical work of the Company. The latter feared that a
Westernizing policy would offend the sensibilities of the Indian upper classes and
possibly lead to their general rebellion. Seeing that a decision was needed, Macaulay
ended the stalemate by supporting the Anglicists with all the weight of his influence
and all the power of his pen.
Woods Dispatch, Wood's Dispatch of 1854 laid the foundation of present system of education in India.
1854 Before the advent of British in India, education system was private one. With the
introduction of Wood's Dispatch known as Magna Carta of Indian education, the whole
scenario changed. The main purpose of it was to prepare Indian Clerks for running
local administration. Under it the means of school educations were the vernacular
languages while the higher education was granted in English only. British government
started giving funds to indigenous schools in need of help and thus slowly some of the
schools became government-aided. Universities under the model of London university
were proposed for Calcutta, Bombay & Madaras which were later estd in 1857.
Hunter Education Commission setup in 1882, under the chairmanship of W.W. Hunter to
Commission review the progress of education in the country since Woods Dispatch of 1854.
Objective was to enquire the present state of elementary education throughout the
Indian Empire. This commission strongly advocated for private participation in the
field of education.
Indian Under Lord Curzon. Its main changes proposed were:
Universities Act 1. Most of the fellows of the university were to be nominated by the government.

1904 2. The Governor control over the universities was further increased by vesting the
Government with powers to veto the regulations passed by the Senate of a
university
3. The Government could also make additions or alterations in the regulations framed
by the Senate
4. The Act increased University control over private colleges by laying down stricter
conditions of affilitations & periodical inspection by the Syndicate.
5. The approval of government was necessary for grant of affiliation or disaffiliation
of colleges.
6. The Governor General-in-Council was empowered to define the territorial limits of
a university.
The nationalists both inside & outside the legislative council opposed the measure.
Sadler In 1917, the government appointed a commission to study & report the problems fo
Commission Calcultta University. Dr. M.E. Sadler, Vice Chancellor of the University of Leeds was
appointed its Chairman. The Commisison included two Indian Members, named Sir
Ashutosh Mukherjee & Dr. Zia-ud-din-Ahmad. The Sadler commission reviewed the
entire field of school education to university education. Its main recommendations
were:
1. A twelve year school course was recommended
2. Duration of the degree course after the Intermediate State should be limited to 3
years. For the abler students, Honours course should be started as different from
Pass Course.
3. It recommended less rigidity in framing the regulations of universities.
4. Old type of Indian universities with its large number of affliated & widely scattered
colleges should be replace by centralized unitary residential teaching autonomous
bodies.
5. It stressed for the extension of facilities for female education.
Hartog The quanitative increase in education inevitably led to deterioration of quality &
Committee, 1929 lowering of standards. The Indian Statutory Commission appointed Hartog Committee
in 1929. . Its main recommendations were:
1. It emphasized national importance of primary education but condemned policy of
hasty expansion
2. The Commission pointed out the weakness of university education & criticized the
policy of indiscriminate admission which led to lowering of Standards.
3. It recommended that after the Middle Stage at students should be diverted to
diversified courses leading to Industrial & Commercial careers.
Wardha Scheme In 1937, Mahatma Gandhi published a series of articles in his paper, The Harijan &
of Basic proposed a scheme of basic education, better Known as Wardha Scheme. The main
Education, 1937 principle of basic education is “learning through Activity”. The Zakir Hussain
Committee worked out the details & prepared detailed syllabi. It envisaged a 7 year
course through the mother tongue of the students. The outbreak of war in 1939 & the
resignation of congress ministries led to the postponement of the scheme. It was left to
the National Government to take up the work after 1947.
Sargent Report, In 1944, the Central Advisory Board of Education drew up a national scheme of

1944 education generally known as the Sargeant Plan. This plan envisaged the establishment
of elementary schools & high schools & introduction of universal free & compulsory
education for children between ages of 6 & 11.
Radhakrishna In 1948, the government of India appointed a commission under the chairmanship of
Commission, 1948 Dr. Radhakrishnan to report on University Education & suggest improvements. Its
recommendations were
1. 12 years of pre-university educational course
2. Higher education should have 3 goals – General Education, Liberal Education &
Occupational Education.
3. A University Grants Commission should be setup to look after university education
Kothari Setup in 1964 to advise government on the National pattern of Education.
Commision, 1964
Commissions on Famine
Cambell The Orissa Famine of 1865 proved to be a turning point in the history of Indian
Committee Report Famines for it was followed by the appointment of Committee under the chairmanship
1867 of Sir Geroge Cambell to report on the matter. The Old doctrine that the public would
be responsible for the relief of the helpless was entirely abandoned. The government
was expected to borrow money in order to afford finance for building of railways &
canals. Further district officers were made responsible for saving all preventable
deaths.
Starchey The great famine of 1876-78 was perhaps the most grevious calamity experienced since
Commission 1880 the beginning of 19th century. It affected Madras, Bombay, Uttar Pradesh & Punjab. In
1880 the government appointed Commission under Sir Richard Starchey. The
commission recommended various measures to deal with famines. Appointed during
Lord Lyton’s tenure.
Lyall A commission under Sir James Lyall, ex Lt. Governor of Punjab was appointed. The
Commmission commission more or less attested to the Starchey Commission recommendation &
1897 added minor alterations to impart greater flexibility.
MacDonnell Curzon appointed a commission under the presidency of Sir Anthony MacDonnell. It
Commission 1901 submitted its report in 1901 in which it summarized accepted principles of relief,
suggesting variations wherever necessary.

Early Uprisings
Early Uprisings in Bengal & Eastern India

Sanyasi Revolt The British rule in Bengal after 1757 brought a new economic order & spelt ruin on
1770-1800 Zamindars, peasants & artisans alike. The famine of 1770 & the callousness on the part
of the Company was considered to be the direct result of the alien rule. The restrictions
imposed on visits to holy places estranged the sanyasis. The sanyasis in retaliation
organized raids on the company’s factories & state treasuries. Warren Hastings could
contain these raids only after prolonged military action.
Chuar Uprising Famine, enhanced land revenue demands & economic distress forced the Chuar
1760 aboriginal tribesman of Midnapur district to take up arms. The revolt lasted from 1760
to 1782 & then again surfaced between 1795 & 1816.
Ahom’s Revolt Company’s Authorities had pledged to withdraw from the territory of Ahoms (Assam)
1826 after the condlucsion of the Burmese War (1824-26). However the English attempted
to incorporate the Ahom’s territory in the Company’s dominion & this sparked of a
rebellion under Gomdhar Konwar but was quelled by the Britishers.
Kol Uprising The Kols of Chhotanagpur resented the transfer of land from Kol headmen (Mundas) to
1831 outsiders like Sikh & Muslim farmers & in 1831 killed or burnt about a thousand
outsiders. Only after large scale military operations order could be restored.
Khasi Rising The East India Company after occupying the hilly region between Jaintia in the east
1833 and Garo hills in the west, planned a military road to link up the Brahmaputra valley
with Sylhet and brought a large number of Englishmen, Bengalis and other labour to
complete the project. This intrusion was resented by Tirat Singh, who was supported
by the Garos, the Khamptis and Singhpos in a bid to drive away the lowland strangers.
The insurrection developed into popular revolt against British rule in the area. The
superior military force suppressed the revolt in 1833.
Pagal Panthis Pagal Panthis. a semi-religious sect founded by Karam Shah, lived in the northern
1830s & 1840s districts of Bengal. Tipu, the son and successor of Karam Shah, took up the cause of
the tenants against the oppressions of the Zamindars. The area remained disturbed in
the 1830s and 1840s.
Khonds Uprising Khonds, the tribal people of Orrisa first revolted in 1846 & then in 1855. They were
1846-1855 led by Chakra Bisoi. They were put down with great difficulty by the British.
Faraizis The Faraizis, followers of a Muslim sect founded by Haji Shariatullah of Faridpur in
1838-1857 Eastern Bengal, advocated radical religious, social and political changes. Shariatullah's
son Dadu Mian (1819-1860) organised Farazais to expel the English intruders from
Bengal. The sect also supported the cause of the tenants against the exactions of
zamindars. The Faraizis disturbances continued in 1838 to 1857. Most of the Faraizis
joined the ranks of Wahabis.
Santhal Uprising The Santhals living in the area between Bhagalpur, Rajmahal hills resented oppression
1855 by the revenue officials, landlords & the money lenders & were determined to expel
the outsiders also called the dikus. In 1855, the Santhals under the leadership of Siddhu
& Kanhu rebelled & declared the end of company rule & set themselves independent.
Extnesive military operations brought the situation under control in 1856. The
Government pacified the Santhals by creating a separate district of Santhal Paraganas.

Pabna Uprising Pabna Peasant Uprising, was a resistance movement against the oppression of the
1870-1880 zamindars. It originated in Pabna which currently lies in Bangladesh. The zamindars
routinely collected money from the peasants by the illegal means of forced levy,
abwabs (cesses), enhanced rent and so on. Peasants were often evicted from land on the
pretext of non-payment of rent. The leader was Ishan Chandra Roy.
Munda Uprising For over three decades the Munda sardars (in present Jharkhand State) had been
1874-1900 struggling against destruction of their system of common land holdings from the
intrusion of jagirdars, thekedars and money lenders. The rebellion (ulgulan) of the
Munda tribesman occurred during 1900 under the leadership of Birsa Munda who
mobilised his followers on religious and political grounds. In 1899, Birsa proclaimed a
rebellion to establish Munda rule in the land by killing thikadars, jagirdars, Rajas and
Hakims and Christians. For this he gathered a force of Mundas. He was, however,
captured in February 1900 & later died.
Eary Uprisings in Western India

Koli & Bhils Bhils revolted in Westnern Ghats with their strongholds in Khandesh in 1817-1819
Uprising Kolis in Gujarat, the neighbours of Bhils also rose in rebellion in 1829, 1839 & from
1844-48.
Kutch Rebellion The British interfered in the internal feuds of the Kutch. In 1819, a British force
defeated and deposed Rao Bharmal in favour of his infant son. The actual
administration of Catch was undertaken by Council of Regency under the
superintendence of the British Resident. The administrative innovations made by the
Regency Council coupled with the excessive land assessment caused deep resentment.
The English reverses in the Burmese war emboldened chiefs to rise in revolt and
demand the restoration of Bharmal. Though extensive military operations brought the
situation under control, the trouble erupted again in 1831. The Company's authorities
were then compelled to follow a conciliatory policy.
Ramosi Uprising The Ramosis, the hill tribes in the Western Ghats, resented British rule and the British
1822 pattern of administration. In 1822. under Chittur Singh, they revolted and plundered
the country around Satara. A superior British force restored order in the area.
Satara Uprising The people of Satara rose in revolt under Dhar Rao in 1840, because the popular ruler
1840 of Satara Pratap Singh was deposed and banished by the British. Narsing Patekar led
revolt in 1844. He was defeated and captured by the British.
Phadke Revolt Vasudeo Balwant Phadke organised an armed rebellion in 1877, after the terrible
1877 famine of the western India. He recruited young peasants of Maharashtra and organized
political dacoities. He was the earliest nationalist to organize the political dacoities. He
was captured later & died in 1883. With him the rebellion also died.
Gadkari Revolt Assumption of direct administration of Kolhapur by the British created resentment
among Gadkaris, who rose in revolt in Kolhapur. This revolt was suppressed finally by
the British.
Uprisings in South India

Revolt of Raja of After acquisition of the Northern Sarkars in, the East India Company demanded a gift
Vizangaram of three lakhs from the Raja apart from ordering him to disband his troops. On Raja's

refusal, his estate was annexed. The Raja with the support of his people and his troops
rose in revolt and lost his life in a battle in 1794. Finally, the Company offered the
estate to the deceased Raja's son and also reduced the demand for presents.
Poligar’s Revolt The poligars of Dindigul and Malabar revolted against the evils of the English land
revenue system. During 1801-1805 the poligars of the ceded districts and North Arcot
revolted against the Company. Sporadic risings of the poligars in the Madras
Presidency continued up to 1856.
Diwan Velu Disgusted with the harsh terms imposed on the State of Travancore under the
Thampi's Revolt subsidiary alliance treaty of Wellesley in 1805, the ruler did not pay the subsidy
resulting into accumulation of arrears. The high-handed attitude of the Company
compelled Diwan Velu Thampi raise the banner of revolt with the support of the Nair
battalion. A large British force restored peace in the area.
Rampa Revolt The hill tribesman of Rampa in coastal Andhra Pradesh revolted in March, 1879
against the depredations of the government-supported mansabdar and the new
restrictive forest regulations. Only a large military operation could suppress the
rebellion in 1880.
Early Uprising in North India

Wahabi Movement The Wahabi movement, basically an Islamic revivalist movement, was founded by
Syed Ahmad of Rae Bareli (1786-1831) who was influenced by the teachings of
Abdul Wahab (1703-1787) of Arabia. Syed Ahmad condemned all accretions to and
innovations in Islam and advocated a return to the pure Islam and society of Arabia of
the Prophet’s times. In India, its important centre was at Patna though it had its
missions in Hyderabad, Madras, Uttar Pradesh and Bombay. Since Dar-ul-Harb (The
world of Kafirs) was to be converted to Dar-ul-Islam (The World of Islam), a Jihad was
declared against the Sikh Kingdom of the Punjab. Syed Ahmad lost his life in action.
After the overthrow of the Sikh ruler & the incorporation of the Punjab into the East
India Company, the sole target of Wahabis attack became the English dominion in
India. The Wahabis played a notable role in spreading Anti-British sentiments &
offering well planned challenge to British Supremacy during from 1830s to 1860s.
Nirankari The Nirankari movement was founded by Dayal Das (died 1855), who belonged to a
Movement half-Sikh, half-Hindu community in Peshawar. He believed that God is formless, or
nirankar (hence the name Nirankari). He saw that Sikhism was being assimiliated into
Hindusim in front of his eyes. His main target was the worship of images against which
he preached vigorously. He re-emphasized the Sikh belief in Nirankar the Formless
One.
Namdhari or Kuka After the fall of kingdom of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, there were several attempts to raise
Movement the old glory of the Khalsa. Several movements to reform the Sikhism were started.
First one being Namdhari movement, which was started by Baba Ram Singh
Namdhari, disciple of Bhai Balak Singh. He was a soldier in Khalsa army. The
objective was to abolish all distinction of caste among Sikhs; advocates indiscriminate
marriage of all classes; marriage of widows; reverence for cows. English education,
mill-made cloth and other imported goods were boycotted. Kukas even avoided use of
the post of fives established by the British and depended upon their own system of

postal communication. The British government started keeping strict vigil on Kukas.
Baba Ram Singh was sent to Andaman islands under Life imprisonment for treason &
he died in 1885.
Bijolia Movement In Bijolia city in Bundi district of Rajasthan from 1915-1927. Led by Vijay Singh
Pathik. It was against the feudal cesses.
Social & Cultural Reform Movements

Rahnumai In 1851 a group of English educated Parsis setup the Rahnumai Mazdayasnan Sabha or
Mazdayasnan Religious Reform Association for the object of “the regeneration of the social
Sabha condition of the parsis & the restoration of the Zoroastrian religion to its pristine
purity”. Naroaj Furdonji, Dadabhai Naroji & K.R. Cama were in the forefront of this
movement. It attacked practices like Purdah system, women education, raising the age
of marriage etc. Gradually the Parsis emerged as the most westernized section of Indian
society.
Young Bengal A radical trend arose among the Bengali intellectuals during the late 1820’s & the
Movement 1830’s. Henry Vivian Derozio, a native of Scotland who taught at Hindu College had
special love for India. Derozio & his followers were known as Derozians & Young
Bengal & were fiery patriots. Derozio was removed from the Hindu College because of
his radicalism & died of Cholera soon after. The Derozians attacked the old & decadent
customs, rites & traditions. They were passionate about women’s rights & demanded
education for them.
Dharma Sabha This was an orthodox society founded in 1830 by Radhakant Deb. Members of the
1830 Sabha defended the socio religious status quo against newspapers. Their objective was
to counter Brahmo Samaj movement & its radical reforms
Atmiya Sabha, Founded by Raja Ram Mohan Roy in 1815 to propogate monotheism & other reforms
1815-1828 in the Hindu Society.
Radha Swami Founded in 1861 with main center at Agra by Tulsi Ram also known as Shiv Dayal
Satsang, 1861 Saheb. It propogated belief in one supreme being, religious unity, emphasis on
simplicity of social life & social service.
Veda Samaj 1864 This society was formed in 1864 by K. Sridharalu Naidu. This movement was inspired
to fight the causes of Brahmo Samaj in South India. In 1871, the name of this society
was changed to Brahmo Samaj of South India. Naidu translated Brahmo Samaj
literature into Telugu and Tamil and tried to carry out social reforms in South India;
however his death in 1874 weakened this reform movement.
Prarthana Samaj, Started by Dr. Atmaram Pandurang in 1867 in Bombay. Its objective was to reform
1867 Hindu religious thoughts & practice in the light of modern knowledge.
Poona Sarvajanik Founded by M.G. Ranade in 1867 alongwith R.G. Bhandarkar & Vishnu Shastri with
Sabha, 1867 the objective of serving as a bridge between the government & the people. Pheroz Shah
Mehta & Tilak were also associated with it. It discussed national issues particulary
issues relating to drain of India’s Wealth.
Lokhitwadi Started by Gopal Hari Deshmukh. Advocated western education and a rational outlook.
He advocated female education for the upliftment of women. As a votary of national
self-reliance, he attended Delhi durbar in 1876, wearing handspun khadi cloth.
Indian Reform Started by Keshab Chandra Sen at Calcutta in 1870. Its objective was to create public
Association, 1870 opinion against child marriage & for legalizing the Brahmo form of Civil marriage.
Promote the intellectual & social status of women was its another objective.
Arya Sama, 1875 By Swami Dayanand Saraswati in 1875 to reform Hindu Religion.
Theosophical Founded in New York by Madam H.P Blavatsky & Col H.S. Olcott to advocate the
Society, 1875 revival & strengthening of ancient religions of Hinduism, Zoroastrianism & Buddhism.
Deccan Started in 1884 by M.G Ranade among others, to contribute to the cause of education
Educational Soc. & culture in Western India. This society founded the Ferguson College, Pune in 1885.
Seva Sadan Founded in 1885 in Bombay by Behramji S Malabari. It campaigned against child
marriages & enforced widowhood & care for socially exploited women.
Ramakrishna In 1887 by Swami Vivekananda.
Mission
Indian National In 1887 by M.G. Ranade & Ragunath Rao. It was the social reform cell of Indian
Social Conference National Congress.
Deva Samaj, 1887 Founded in Lahore by Shiv Narayan Agnihotri in 1887. Its ideas were close to Brahmo
Samaj.
Sharada Sadan, Pandita Ramabai, the youngest daughter of Anant Shastri, was a social reformer, a
1889 champion for the emancipation of women, and a pioneer in education. Left totally
alone by the time she was 23, Ramabai acquired a great reputation as a Sanskrit
scholar. Deeply impressed by her prowess, the Sanskrit scholars of Calcutta University
conferred on her the titles of "Saraswati" and "Pandita". She rebelled against the caste
system and married a shudra advocate, but was widowed at 23, having a baby girl. In
1882, she establishsed the Arya Mahila Samaj for the cause of women’s education in
Pune and different parts of Western India. This led to the formation of the Sharada
Sadan in 1889, a school which blossomed into an umbrella organisation called Pandita
Ramabai Mukti Mission, 40 miles outside Pune.
Madras Hindu Founded in Madras in 1892 by Viresalingam Pantalu. The movment concerned the
Association 1892 plight of widows & combat Devdasi system.
Bharat Dharma Started by Pandit Madan Mohan Malvaviya & Pandit Din Dayal Sharma in 1902. This
Mahamandala mandal was also known as Sanatan Dhamis. In defence of the orthodox Hinduism &
1902 against the teachings of the Arya Samaj, the Rama Krishna Mission etc Orthodox
educated Hindus organized themselves. Among them were Dharma Maha Parishad in
South India, the Dharma Maha Mandali in Bengal etc.
Servants of India Founded in Bombay by Gopal Krishan Gokhale to train “national missionaries” for the
Society, 1905 service of India.
Poona Seva Sadan, Founded by G.K. Devadhar & Ramabai Ranade (Wife of M.G. Ranade) in Pune to
1909 establish institutions for the economic upliftment & useful employment of women
Bharat Stri Started by Sarla Devi Chaudhary in 1910. It was the first women organization which
Mahmandal 1910 promoted equal rights of women.
Social Service Founded in 1911 in Bombay by Narayan Malhar Joshi to improve the condition of the
League, 1911 social masses by opening schools, libraries & dispensaries.
Indian Women’s Founded in Madras in 1917 by Mrs. Annie Besant. It worked for the upliftment of
Association 1917 women.
Muslim Socio-Religious Movemetns & Organizations
Faraizi or Faraidi The Faraizis, followers of a Muslim sect founded by Haji Shariatullah of Faridpur in
Movement, 1804 Eastern Bengal, advocated radical religious, social and political changes. Shariatullah's
son Dudhi Mian organised Farazais to expel the English intruders from Bengal. The
sect also supported the cause of the tenants against the exactions of zamindars. The
Faraizis disturbances continued in 1838 to 1857. Most of the Faraizis joined the ranks
of Wahabis.
Wahabi Movment The Wahabi movement, basically an Islamic revivalist movement, was founded by
1820 Syed Ahmad of Rae Bareli in 1820 at Rohilkhand. Syed Ahmad was influenced by
the teachings of Abdul Wahab of Arabia. Syed Ahmad condemned all accretions to
and innovations in Islam and advocated a return to the pure Islam and society of Arabia
of the Prophet’s times. In India, its important centre was at Patna though it had its
missions in Hyderabad, Madras, Uttar Pradesh and Bombay. Since Dar-ul-Harb (The
world of Kafirs) was to be converted to Dar-ul-Islam (The World of Islam), a Jihad was
declared against the Sikh Kingdom of the Punjab. Syed Ahmad lost his life in action.
After the overthrow of the Sikh ruler & the incorporation of the Punjab into the East
India Company, the sole target of Wahabis attack became the English dominion in
India. The Wahabis played a notable role in spreading Anti-British sentiments &
offering well planned challenge to British Supremacy during from 1830s to 1860s.
Tayyuni Started at Dacca in 1839. It opposed the Faraizi Movment & supported the British
Movement, 1839 Rule. The founder was Karamati Ali Jaunpur
Deoband Started in 1867 at Deoband in Saharanpur district, U.P. The founder of this movement
Movement, 1867 were Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi & Rashid Ahmed Gangohi. Its objective was to
improve the spiritual & moral conditions of Indian Muslim. It supported the INC &
was opposed to the pro-British Aligarh movment.
Aligarh Started by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan by established the Mohammedan Anglo Oriental
Movement, 1875 College in 1875 at Aligarh. This college developed later into Aligarh University. The
Aligarh movement aimed at spreading western education among muslims without
weakening their allegiance to Islam. Sir Syed propogated his ideas through his
magazine Tandhib-ul-Akhlagu (Improvement in manners & morals).
Ahmadiya Founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadiyan in 1889 was more or less on liberal
Movement, 1889 principles. The Ahmadiya movement opposed Jehad or the sacred war against non
muslims. The movement spread western liberal education among the Indian Muslims.
Nadwatal Ulema Started in 1894 in Lucknow by Maulana Shibli Numani to reform the traditional
1894 Islamic Society, to strengthen Hindu-Muslim unity & to arouse nationalism against
Indian Muslims.
Ahrar Movment Started by Riza Khan & Ali Brothers in 1910 against Aligarh Movement
Khudai Started in 1929 in NWFP by Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan. Its objective was the upliftment
Khidmatgar, 1929 of the people of Frontier & to prepare them for attainment of freedom.

Lower Caste Movements & Organizations

Satya Shodhak Founded by Jyotibha Phule in Maharasthra in 1873. It opposed untouchability, priestly
Samaj 1873 domination. It belived in social quality & upliftment of lower castes by education
Aravippuram Started in Aravippuram in Kerala in 1888 by Shri Narayan Guru. It was opposed to
Movement 1888 religious disabilities against lower castes
Shri Narayan Started in 1902-03 in Kerala by Shri Narayan Guru. It attacked Brahmin domination &
Dharma Paripalana worked for the upliftment of lower castes by educating them.
Yogm
Justice (Party) Started in 1915-16 in Madras by C.N. Muralidhar, T.M. Nairy & P. Tyagaraja Chetti. It
Movement 1915 was opposed to Brahmin predominance.
Bahishkrit Also called the Depressed Class Welfare Institute, it was established in Bombay in
Hitkarni Sabha 1924 by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. Its objective was to propogate the gospel of social
1924 equality lower castes & untouchables.
Vaikom Vaikom Satyagraha (1924 - 25) was a satyagraha (movement) in Travancore, India
Satyagraha (now part of Kerala) against untouchability in Hindu society. The movement was
centered at the Shiva temple at Vaikom, near Kottayam.The Satyagraha aimed at
securing freedom of movement for all sections of society through the public roads
leading to the Sri Mahadevar Temple at Vaikom.
Self Respect Started in 1925 in Madras by E.V Ramaswami Naicker Periyar. It was an Anti-
Movment 1925 Brahmin & Hindu Orthodoxy radical movment. It advocated weddings without priests,
forcible temple entry, total defiance of Hindu Social Laws. Ramaswami later changed
the name of the Justice Party to Dravidar Kazhagam (Party of the Dravidians). DMK
was later formed from Dravidar Kazhagam in 1949 under the leadership of C.N.
Annaduari.
Harijan Sevak Started by Mahatma Gandhi in 1932 in Pune. It was an organization for the removal of
Sangh untouchability & social discrimination against untouchables
Later Movements/Parties & Uprisings

Indigo Planters In Bengal the planters were forced by the Britshers to grow Indigo crop under the terms
Revolt 1860 which were least profitable to them. The revolt was directed against British planters
who behaved like feudal lords in their estates.
Deccan Riots 1875 The Deccan peasants uprising was directed mainly against the excesses of the Marwari
& Gujrati moneylenders. Ahmadnagar district was its main center.
Muslim League Nawab Wakar-ul-Mulk presided over a gathering at the invitation of Nawab Salim
1907 Ullah of Dacca. Muslim league was the result. The constitution of the league was
prepared in 1907 at Karachi. The first session of the league was held in 1908 at
Amritsar. The same year Aga Khan became the president. The league supported
partition of Bengal & was a loyalist organization. After 1913 Aga Khan left the league
which led to the emergence of new leaders like Muhammad Ali, Shaukat Ali & M.A.
Ansari.
Tana Bhagat Oraon Movement (1914-1919) a tribal uprising of a section of the Oraons under the
Movment or leadership of Jatra Oraon, a twenty-five year old youth of Gumla, Ranchi, occurring
Oraon Movment during the late colonial period in the Chhotanagpur region. In April 1914 Jatra
proclaimed that he had received a message from Dharmesh, the supreme god of the
Oraons to revive the Oraon Raj. He advocated that Oraon religion should be freed of
evils like ghost hunts and exorcism, belief in bhuts or spirits, animal sacrifice and
liquor drinking and advocated vegetarianism, austerity and restraint. As the movement
progressed, agrarian issues came to the fore. The Tana Bhagat movement (in this name
the Oraon Movement was popularly called) continued to spread throughout 1918. In
1919 Tana activity acquired a new momentum under the leadership of Sibu Oraon and
Maya Oraon. From the 1920s the Tana Bhagat movement developed links with
Gandhian nationalism and lost much of its earlier radical colour. The Congress
propagated that Gandhi Raj would usher in the tribal millennium. The Tana movement
thus became integrated into the political mainstream and the Congress ideology.
Home Rule League Estd by Annie Besant at Madras in September 1916. She was the president & other
1916 members included Arundale, P.C. Ramaswamy Iyer, V.P. Wadia. Balgangadhar Tilak
had estd another Home Rule League in April 1916 at Pune.
Champaran European planters forced the farmers to cultivate Indigo on atleast 3/20 (Tinkathiya)
Satyagraha 1917 parts of their land. Rajendra Prasad, Mazhur-ul-Haq, J.B. Kriplani, Mahadev Desai
accompanied him. An enquiry was set up to alleviate miseries of which even Gandhi
was a member.
Kheda Satyagraha Kheda peasants refused to pay revenue due to failure of crops. After Satyagraha the
1918 government issued instructions to collect revenue only from those who could afford to
pay. Indulal Yagnik & Vallabh Bhai Patel supported Gandhi.
Ahmedabad Mill Mahatma Gandhi considered 35 % increase in salary as just. He undertook a fast unto
Problem 1918 death & the strike came to an end. Ambalal Sarabhai’s sister Anasuya Behn was main
lieutenant of Gandhi here. Ambalal Sarabhai was representing the Mill Owners.
Rowlatt Act In 1917, a committee was formed under the direction of Justice Rowlatt, the purpose of
which was to investigate the revolutionary movement in India. The findings &
recommendations of this committee were issued in the so called Rowlatt report. This
act authorized the Government to imprison any person without trial & conviction of the
court of law. The law also enabled the government to suspend the right of Habeas
Corpus, which had been the foundation of civil liberties in Britain. A nationwide
satyagraha was organized which involved arrest of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr Satyapal, Dr.
Saiffuddin Kitchlew & Arya Samaj leader Swami Shradhananda (shoot if you can
rally).
Jallianwala Bagh Demanded to know the whereabouts of Satyapal and Kitchlew throught the reciting of
Massacre 1919 the poem ‘Fariyad’ on the day of Baisakhi (13th April, 1919). Martial law was
proclaimed later at Lahore, Gujarat & Layal with curfew at Amritsar. An enquiry was
setup under Hunter which was described by Gandhiji as “White Wash”. Rabindranath
Tagore renounced his title.
Khilafat Sultan of Turkey was the Caliph. The allied powers were arrayed against Turkey.
Movement Mulana Abul Kalam Azad, M.A. Ansari, Saiffudin Kitchlew, Maulvi Abdulbari,
Hakim Ajmal Khan & the Ali brothers were prominent leaders. British signed the
Treaty of Tibers, partitioned Turkey & its Sultan was made a prisoner & sent to

Constantinople.
Non Cooperation Approval at Congress session in 1920. Leaders like Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Annie
1920-22 Besant & Bipin Chandra Pal not in agreement & left the congress. Students took their
names off school. Kashi Vidyapeeth, Bihar Vidyapeeth, Jamia Milia Islamia were set
up. No Congress leader contested for elections. Mass demonstrations before Duke of
Connaught & Prince of wales. Tilak Swarajya Fund was established. Moplah rebellion
was the ugly face. Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur, UP incidence led to its recall.
Congress leaders like Motilal Nehru, Chittaranjan Das formed as separate group within
the congress known as Swarajya Party with a purpose not to let the movement lapse.
AITUC Formed in 1920 with Lotvala’s help. M.N Roy, Muzzafarabad Ahmad, S. A Dange &
1920 Shaukat Osmani led the trade unionist movements. The first All-India Trade Union
Congress was, however, inaugurated in Bombay in December 1920 by Swami
Shradhanand and was presided over by Lajpat Rai. The Congress continued to meet
annually and even representatives from abroad attended some of its sessions. The
Britishers leveled the kanpur/Meerut conspiracy against them.
Eka Movmenet In UP (United Province) had begun the Eka Movement of tenants who were fighting
1921-22 against the extortions and oppression of the landlords in 1921-22. Eka Movement
emphasized “Unity among the peasants”.
Moplah Uprsing The Moplah rebellion was a British-Muslim and Hindu-Muslim conflict in Kerala that
1921 occurred in 1921. During the early months of 1921, multiple events including the
Khilafat movement and the Karachi resolution fueled the fires of rebellion. A rumour
spread amongst the Moplahs that the British rule had ended and the Islamic Caliphate
had been re-established at Delhi. According to one view, the reasons for the Moplah
rebellion was religious revivalism among the Muslim Moplahs, and hostility towards
the landlord Hindu Nair community and the British administration that inevitably
supported the latter.
Akali Movement While the Non-Co-operation Movement was still progressing and Gandhiji was in
1921-25 prison, a new wave of discontent spread in the Punjab due to the Akali agitation
(another name of Gurudwara Reform Movment). The religio-political struggle of the
Akalis primarily directed against the priests and the mahants eventually turned against
the British and lasted for over 5 years (1920-1925). About 30,000 men and women
courted arrest, 400 of them died and about 2,000 were wounded. The Congress gave
active support to movement which led to political awakening in the Punjab and
henceforward the Sikhs played a notable role in the country’s struggle for freedom.
Though a martial race, the Sikhs too adopted the Congress creed of non-violent non-
co-operation. In fact, the Akali movement took a turn as a struggle for the liberation of
the country which brought all sections of the people, the Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims
together and it helped them to form a united front against the foreign rulers.
Babbar Akali In the wake of the Akali Movement came the Babbar Akali Movement, an
Movment underground terrorist movement in 1921 mostly in the Jullundur Doab, the territory
1921 between Satluj and the Beas. Its aim was to overthrow the British Government by a
campaign of murders and terrorism in the Punjab. They committed a number of acts of
violence and fought pitched battles against the police. Many of them were killed in
encounters. The movement of the Babbars was short-lived but because of its intensity,

it set a noble examble of supreme sacrifice.

Swarajya Party Suspension of Non Cooperation movement disoriented the leadership. Chittaranjan Das
1923 & Motilal Nehru were called ‘Pro-Changers’ & did not support the non cooperation
movement. The other group was ‘no-changers’ & included C. Rajgopalachari, M.A.
Ansari. In 1923 Das & Nehru formed the Swaraj Party at Allahabad with a view to take
part in the 1923 Council elections with C. R. Das as President and Motilal Nehru as
Secretary. The new party contested the elections; they had some success in so far as
they were able to convince the Government that the system of diarchy introduced in the
Provinces was unworkable. The main objective of wrecking the Councils from within,
however, was not fulfilled and the influence of the Swarajya Party on Indian politics
suffered a decline, especially after the death of C. R. Das in June 1925
Hindustan Established in October 1924 in Kanpur by revolutionaries like Ramprasad Bismil,
Republic Jogesh Chatterjee, Chandrashekhar Azad and Sachindranath Sanyal. The Kakori Train
Associaiton 1924 Action was a notable act of terrorism by this group but trial prooved to be a major
setback.However, the group was reorganized under the leadership of Chandrashekhar
Azad and with members like Bhagat Singh, Bhagwati Charan Vohra and Sukhdev on 9
and 10 September 1928- and the group was now christened Hindustan Socialist
Republican Association (HSRA). Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were hanged in
March 1931.
Communist Party By 1924 the Communist propaganda had made considerable headway. The British
of India 1925 Government felt alarmed and instituted the Cawnpore (Kanpur) Conspiracy case
against some of the prominent leaders including S. A. Dange. Muzaffar Ahmed,
Shaukat Usmani and Nalini Gupta who were all convicted and sent to jail. The
britishers declared the party as illegal in 1934. This ban continued till 1942 when there
was an agreement that the communist will support British in the war effort & sabotage
the quit India movement. In a memorandum to the Cabinet Mission in 1946, they put
forward a plan for the division of India into 17 sovereign states.
All India States Formed in 1926 whose first session was held under the presidentship of the famous
People Conference leader of Ellore, Diwan Bahadur M. Ramachandra Rai. The first session of the
1926 organisation was held in Bombay in 1927. The Conference brought together
representatives from hundreds of Indian princely states, including Baroda, Bhopal,
Travancore and Hyderabad. It was established to encourage political dialogue between
the princely class of India, and the British Raj, upon the issues of governance, political
stability and future of India.
For a long period, the Conference was hostile to the Indian Independence Movement,
and acted often to condemn and counter-act the work of the Indian National Congress
when it was banned by British authorities.
However in 1930’s, National Movement spreated to Princely States. The Congress
supported the State’s People’s struggle & urged the princes to introduce democratic
government & to grant fundamental rights. In 1938 when Congress defined the goal of
Independence it also included the Princely States. Nehru became the President of All
India State’s People Conference in 1939. It helped spreading consciousness among the
people of the States & a feelin go unity all over India.
Simon The purpose was the review the Act of 1919 after a gap of ten years. The 7 member

Commission 1927 commission was labeled ‘White Men Commission’. Huge demonstration under Govind
Vallabh Pant at Lucknow & Lala Lajpat at Lahore. The report of Simon Commission
was published in May 1930. It stated the constitutional experiment with Dyarchy was
unsuccessful & in its place recommended the establishment of autonomous
government. It recommended special powers to governor general & governors to look
after the interest of minorities, strengthening the centre, increasing electorate base on
communal basis, Indianization of defence forces, delink Burma from India & Sindh
from Bombay. The Indians rejected the report as it gave no regard to Dominion Status.
It became a basis for the Govt of India Act 1935.
Bardoli Satyagraha The Bardoli Satyagraha of 1928, in the state of Gujarat, India during the period of the
1928 British Raj, was a major episode of civil disobedience and revolt in the Indian
Independence Movement. Its success gave rise to Vallabhbhai Patel as one of the
greatest leaders of the independence struggle.
Nehru Report, Secretary of State, Lord Birkenhead challenged the Indians to produce a constitution
1928 that would be acceptable to all. A meeting held at Bombay set up a 8 member
committee headed by Motilal Nehru & others included Bose, Tej Bahadur Sapru, Sir
Ali Imam, Shahib Qureshi, Sardar Mangal Singh, MS Anney & G.R Pradhan. The
report was placed before Congress Session in Calcutta in 1928 where it was adopted
unanimously. It recommended reservation for minorities instead of separate electorates.
Jinnah & President of Central Sikh league, Sardar Kharak Singh rejected it. Later
Jinnah convened an All India Conference of Muslims & drew up a list of 14 point.
Jawahar & Bose were not happy with the dominion status.
All Parties In reply to a challenge from the Secretary of State that India could not produce an
Conference 1928 agreed constitution, an All-Parties Conference under the Chairmanship of Pandit
Motilal Nehru, prepared a scheme according to which India should be given Dominion
Status by the end of 1929. The Congress accepted it but as there was no favourable
response from the Government, the Congress at its session held at Lahore in December
1929, under the Presidentship of Jawaharlal Nehru declared that complete
independence was the goal. This led to the lunching of the Civil Disobedience
Movement by Gandhiji in March 1930. However, Gandhi-Irwin Pact led to suspension
of the Movement and Congress participation in the Round Table-Conference in
London.
All-India Muslim To counter the Muslim League programme against the Congress, the nationalist
Nationalist Party Muslims formed a party called the All-India Muslim Nationalist Party on 27 July 1929
1929 with Abul Kalam Azad as President, Dr. Ansari as treasurer and T.A.K. Sherwani as
Secretary. Its objective was to fight communalism and exhort Muslim to take their due
share in India’s struggle for freedom.
Dandi March Reached Dandi after marching with 78 handpicked followers & formally launched the
April 1930 Civil Disobedience Movement by breaking the Salt laws. Many muslims kept
themselves aloof but in the NWFP an organization of Khudai Khidmatgar (Servants of
Gods – Red Shirts) under Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan (Frontier Gandhi) participated in
full.
I Round table The first session of the Round Table Conference was called in London to discuss the
Conference Simon Commission Report. Congress refused to take part in the conference but

Nov 1930 representatives of the Liberals, the Muslim League & the representatives of princely
states assembled in London. Three basic principles were agreed & accepted by British
Government :
1. The form of new Government of India was to be a All India Federation
2. The Federal Government, subject to some reservations would be responsible to
federal legislature.
3. The Provinces were to enjoy their anatomy.
Held under the Chairmanship of Ramsay MacDonald. Failed to resolve any issues as it
was opposed by congress. A Conference on Indian Affairs without the Congress was a
meaningless exercise.
Gandhi Irwin Pact The Government now made attempts to negotiate an agreement with the Congress so
March 1931 that it would participate in the next round of deliberations. The Government madea
gesture of Goodwill by releasing the Congress Leaders including Gandhi. Finally the
Viceroy Lord Irwin & Gandhi neogitated a settlement popularly known as Gandhi-
Irwin Pact. As per it Gandhi agreed to suspend the Civil Disobedience Movement &
participate in the Second Round Table conference but most of the leaders did not like
this pact. The Government also conceded the right to make salt for consumption to
villages along the coast, as also the right to peaceful & non-aggressive picketing.
II Round Table In II Round Table Conference in London, Gandhi was the sole representative of
Conference 1931 Congress. Aga Khan stressed upon the stability of Communal Elections. Gandhi
opposed it & demanded Dominion Status for India. The Government hardly listened to
Gandhi’s demand for immediate & fully responsible government. Mahatma Gandhi
returned to India as no agreement could be reached. In India Lord Irwin had been
replaced with Lord Willingdon who was as rigid as his predecessor had been flexible &
did everything he could to prop up Britain’s tottering empire. In January 1932 the civil
disobedience movement was resumed.
McDonald The British PM Ramsay MacDonald made an announcement according to which the
Communal Award depressed classes were considered as separate community (on the basis of demand
1932 raised by B.R. Ambedkar, the foremost among depressed class leaders). Mahatma
Gandhi went on a fast unto death in Yeravada Jail. An agreement was reached with the
consent of Mahatma Gandhi & Ambedkar which came to be known as ‘Poona Act’.
The British government also approved it. Accordingly 148 seats were reserved in
different provincial legislatures in place of 71 as per communal award.
III Round Table The congress once more didn’t take part in it. From India only State Loyalist &
Conference 1932 Communalists took part in it. None the less the British Government issued a white
paper which became basis for Govt of India Act 1935. Individual Civil Disobedience
was launched in 1933
Ahrar Movement The nationalist Muslims started another organization called the All-India Majlis-i-
1931 Ahrar-i-Islam in 1931 to work for the attamment of independence through
constitutional means. Its followers supported the Congress and worked for the
economic, educational and political advancement of Muslims. The influence of the
Ahrars was, however, mostly confined to the province of Punjab.
Congress Socialist Founded in 1934 by Jai Praksh Narain & Acharya Narendra Deva within the Indian
Party, 1934 National Congress. Its members rejected what they saw as the Communist Party of

India's loyalty to the USSR as well as the anti-rational mysticism of Mohandas Gandhi.
Although a socialist, Jawaharlal Nehru did not join the CSP. After independence, the
CSP broke away from Congress, under the influence of JP Narayan and Basawon
Singh (Sinha), to form the Socialist Party of India.
All India Kisan The All India Kisan Sabha was formed in 1936 at Lucknow with Swami Sahajanand as
Sabha 1936 its President. The All India Kisan Sabha, mainly a peasants’ organization was subject
to the influence of Congress Socialist Party and the Communist Party of India. During
the World War II it followed its programme of no-tax campaign, occupation of Bakasht
land in Bihar; travel in railways without tickets and anti-recruitment drive in the rural
areas. It completely aligned itself with the Forward Bloc and stood for no compromise
with the imperialist British Government and complete independence.
Hindustan Mazdur Gulzarilal Nanda who looked after the Congress interests in the organization
Sevak Sangh announced the formation of the Hindustan Mazdur Sevak Sangh with the concurrence
of Gandhiji, Vallabhbhai Patel was to be the President. Every member was enjoined to
sign a pledge which forbade association with any party which countenanced the use of
violent means or aimed at the establishment of dictatorial or sectional control of the
political or economic life of the country. It clearly excluded the communists who might
have been the ordinary members of the Congress. Thus the Congress had clearly
marked its entry in the labour field. Its leaders now made full use of the pro-war
attitude of the Communists and won over considerable following in the labour circles.
Forward Bloc 1939 Soon after his resignation from the Presidentship of the Indian National Congress on 3
May 1939. Subhas Chandra Bose formed what is known as the Forward Bloc. Its main
objective was attainment of complete independence and establishment of a modern
socialist state. It became a party at its Nagpur session on 18 June, 1940 and attempted a
form a left consolidated front but the Communist Party of India and the Congress
Socialist Party did not join it. However, it collaborated with the All-India Kisan Sabha
and was against any compromise with the British Government. In the then prevailing
situation, it advocated collaboration with Italy, Germany and Japan to get rid of the
imperialists British rule.
Radical A brief reference may be made here to the Radical Democratic Party formed by M. N.
Democratic Party Roy in August 1940 after he left the Congress along with his followers. He believed
1940 that he would be able to convince the British Government to form coalition ministries
by combining the anti Congress elements in the various provinces.
Jatiya Sarkar of Parallel Government during Quit India Movement at Midnapore (West Bengal). It
Tamluk 1942 undertool relief work, sanctioned school, & supplied paddy to needy. Satish Samanta
was the leader & became the first Sarva Adhinayak.
August Offer 1940 The Indian Viceroy Lord Linlithgow in August 1940, issued from Simla a statement
that was intended to break the Constitutional deadlock. The important points were
1. An immediate expansion of Viceroy’s executive council by indicuitng into that
body a number of representative Indians
2. The Establishment of War Advisory Council
3. The promotion of practical steps to arrive at an agreement among Indians on the
form which the post war reprentative body would take.
4. Indian people would help British Government.

The Indian reaction fo August Offer was hostile as it made no commitment of

transferring power.
Individual The Congress Working Committee decided to start individual civil disobedience on
Satyagraha 1940 Oct 11, 1940. In it Vinoba Bhave, Jawahar Nehru & Brahma Dutt were the first 3
satyagrahis.
Cripps Mission Viceroy Lord Linlithgow expanded is Executive council by taking five more Indians
1942 into it. The Indians were dissatisfied as it did not like the rights of the princely states to
join or stay out of the Indian constitution. The demand for Pak also not considered
leading to Muslim league rejecting the plan.
Quit India The fear of an impending Japanese invasion Gandhi launched this campaign. In the
Movement midst the government arrested all Indian leaders – Gandhi at Poona, others at
1942-44 Ahmadnagar fort. Rajendra Prasad was interned in Patna. The Congress Socialist Party
whith its leaders like Ram Manohar Lohia, Achyuta Patwardhan played important role.
Communist Party remained loyal to the British. The Muslims by & large remained
indifferent.
Jatiya Sarkar of Parallel Government during Quit India Movement at Midnapore (West Bengal). It
Tamluk 1942 undertool relief work, sanctioned school, & supplied paddy to needy.
INA Captain Mohan Singh founded it in 1942. In 1943 he reached Singapore & gave a the
cry of ‘Dilli Chalo’. He was made the president of the Indian Independence League.
The name of the brigades were Subhash, Gandhi, Nehru & Rani Lakshmibai. In Nov
1943, Japan handed over Andamans & Nicobar Islands to him. He named them
Shaheed Island & Swaraj Island respectively. The army marched towards imphal after
registering victory over Kohima. But later Japan accepted defeat & Subhas died in a
plain crash after crossing Formosa Island.
C.R. Formula 1944 To resolve the constitutional impasse Rajagopalachari evolved a formula in March
1944.
Formula’s Main points were:
It stipulated, among other things, the following:
(i) “a plebiscite of all the inhabitants held the basis of adult franchise or other
practicable franchise” in “contiguous districts in the north-west and east of India
wherein the Muslim population is in absolute majority... shall ultimately decide the
issue of separation from Hindustan”;
(ii) border districts to be given “the right... to choose to join either state”;
(iii) “mutual agreements... for safeguarding defence, and commerce and
communications and for other essential purposes”; and
(iv) these terms would be binding after complete transfer of power to Indian hands.
v) Muslim League to endorse demand of Independence by Pakistan
vi) League to cooperate with Congress to form an interim government at Centre.
Jinnah’s counter-terms were:

(i) plebiscite of only the Muslims (ie only the Muslims should vote) in the Pakistan
areas since they demand Pakistan on the premise that they constituted a nation by
themselves, and were entitled to the right of self-determination;
(ii) the six existing provinces, with minor alternations, to form the new state;

(iii) it should be sovereign (i.e. Common Centre was unacceptable); and

(iv) the division must precede, and not follow, the transfer of power to Indian hands.
Jinnah also objected to the plethora of pre-conditions, which rendered the Rajaji
Formula almost unfeasible and unworkable.
Desai Liaqat Pact An attempt to resolve the deadlock was made by Bhulabhai Desai. He entered into
1944 negotiations with Liaqat Ali Khan, the leader of Muslim League Parliamentary Party in
the Central Assembly for forming a coalition national government at the centre. When
Jinnah came to know of this secret pact, he violently denounced it. Liaqat also was
quick to deny & maintain that it never concluded.
Wavell Plan & The main provisions were akin to Cripps mission proposals. It essentially dealt with the
Shimla Conference Indian demand of self-rule & reconstitution of viceroy’s executive council giving a
1945 balanced representation to the major communities. Executive council was an interim
arrangement in which all but the Viceory & the Commander in Chief were to be
Indians & all portfolios except defence were to be held by Indian members. Conference
broke down because of Jinnah’s insistence that Muslim league alone represented Indian
Muslims & hence no non league muslim members could be nominated to viceroy’s
council.
Cabinet Mission Pathick Lawrence (secretary of state for India), Stafford Cripps & A.B. Alexander.
1946 Jinnah stuck his demand for Pakistan. It proposed the formation of Union of India
comprising both British India & princely states (only foreign, defence &
communication). A constitutional assembly was to be formed consisting of
representatives of Provincial assemblies & princely states, elected on communal basis
in proportion to the population of each province. Envisaged interim govt & said that
until the constitution is framed & the govt estd British forces will not withdraw. The
Congress & Muslim league accepted it in June 1946.
Elections Following cabinet mission elections were held. Congress secured 205 out of 214
general seats & had support of 4 sikh members. The Muslim league got 73 out of 78
Muslim seats. Jinnah became greatly disturbed by the election results. He demanded
separate constituent assembly & started instigating violent action. Later 16 August
1946 was fixed as direct action day to withdraw its acceptance of cabinet mission
plan. Communal riots broke out in Bengal, United Province, Punjab, Sindh & NWFP.
Interim government was formed with Jawahar Nehru as head & 14 members – 6
congress, 5 League, one each Christian, Sikh & Parsi. However Muslim league kept
out of the Interim government.
INA Trails The new struggle took the form of a massive movement against the trial of soldiers &
officers of INA. Held at Red Fort in Delhi. Nehru, Bhulabhai Desai, Tejbahadur Sapru
fought the case on behalf of three senior INA officers, Shahnawaz khan, P.M. Sehgal
& Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon (who had earlier been officers in the British Indian Army).
Muslim league also joined the country wide protests. The INA officers were found
guilty by the Court Martial, but their sentences were remitted.
RIN Mutiny 1946 Indians serving in the Royal Indian Navy mutined. In 1945 Bombay Raqtings of HMIS
Talwar struck work due to Flagrant racial discrimination, unpalatable food & abuse.
Later HMS Hindustan in Karachi also mutined. Seventy four ships, four flotillas, &
twenty shore establishments in Bombay, Karachi, Cochin, Vizag, Calcutta & Delhi had

come under the command of a Naval Central Strike Committee headed by M.S. Khan.
In Bombay the Mutineers hoisted the tricolor on their shipmasts together with a portrait
of Subhash Chandra Bose & shouted Jai Hind on their Barracks. Their protested
against:
1. INA Trials
2. Racial discrimination (Demanding equal pay for the Indian & White soldiers).
3. Upalatable food.
4. Abuse by White superiors.
5. Arrest of a rating for scrawling “Quit India” on HMIS Talwar
6. Use of Indian troops in Indonesia demanding their withdrawal.
Vallabh Bhai Patel & Jinnah jointly persuaded the ratings to surrender in 1946.
Congress Reaction: The Congress remained largetly indifferent to the revolutionary

situation because of two considerations – that the situation would go out of control &
that disciplined armed forces were vital in a free India. The Congress did not support
the upsurge because of its tactics & timings. Gandhi remarked that the mutiny was
badly advised, if they had any grievances they should have waited for the guidance of
leaders.
British Response
The upsurge prompted the British to extend some concessions
1. Only those INA members accused of murder or brutal treatment of fellow
prisoners would be brought to trial
2. Imprisonment sentences passed against the first batch were remitted.
3. Indian soldiers withdrawn from Indo-China and Indonesia.
4. Finally the decision to send Cabinet Mission to India was taken.
Tebhaga The Tebhaga movement was a militant campaign initiated in Bengal by the Kisan
Movement 1946 Sabha (peasants front of Communist Party of India) in 1946. At that time share-
cropping peasants had to give half of their harvest to landlords, a feudal institution. The
demand of the Tebhaga (sharing by thirds) movement was to reduce the share given to
landlords to one third. In many areas the agitations turned violent, and landlords fled
villages leaving parts of the countryside in the hands of Kisan Sabha.
Mountbatten Plan Mountbatten came to India as Viceroy. He put forth the plan of partition of India in 3
June 1947. Punjab & Bengla would be divided into two parts with muslim & non
muslim majority. Baluchistan had the right to determine which side to join. The power
would be transferred on 15 August 1947. Referendum were to be held in NWFP,
Sylhet (to join Assam or East Bengal). Legislative assembly of Sindh was to decide
whether to join India or not.
Indian The British Parliament passed the Indian Independence act on 18th July 1947. Partition
Independece Act on 15th August. The act provided separate governor generals for the two dominions.
1947 Abolition of the post of secretary of state for India. Pending the adoption of new
constitution, the administration of the two dominions & the provinces would be carried
on in accordance with the provisions of the government of India act 1935 though

special powers of the Governor General & the Provincial governors would be ceased.
Jinnah became the first governor general of Pakistan.
Unification Drive On 5th July 1947, Vallabhbhai Patel appealed to the Indian provinces to handover. He
followed up his appeal with a hurricane tour of 40 days in which he invited all the
native princes to join the Indian union by 5th August. In Kashmir Hari Singh sent his
PM Meharchand Mahajan with the signed papers for the merger. In Hyderabad the
nawab wanted to continue his arbitary rule with the help of Rajakars. Finally after
military action, Rajakars were expelled & the instrument of accession signed.
Important Events of Modern Indian History

Divide et Empera Literally means “Divide & Rule”. It was the british policy of Indian Administration.
Tolstoy Farm Built by Gandhi & his followers in South Africa near Johannesburg. The Tolstoy farm
was meant to house the families of the Satyagrahis & to give them a way to sustain
themselves.
Curzon’s Policy At the time of Curzons arrival in India, the relations with Tibet had reached a point of
towards Tibet deadlock. The Chinese suzerainty of Tibet was ineffective. The Viceroy’s letter to
Dalai Lama were returned unopened. Above all the Russian influence at Lhasa was
increasing & alarmed curzon. A Russian national, Dorjieff had won the confidence of
the Dalai Lama & brought to Tibet Russian Arms & Ammunitions. Curzon who had
tried to forestall Russian Influence towards the NW in Afghanistan could not remain
indifferent to the Russian advances in Tibet. He sent Col Younghusband with a small
Gorkha contingent to “Oblige Tibetans to come to an agreement”. Younghusband
dictated terms which provided that Tibet to pay indemnity of Rs. 75 Lakhs & as
security of the payment India was to occupy Chumbi Valley (between Bhutan &
Sikkim). Howerer Mr. Brodric, the secretary of state charged that Government of India
should drop this.
Policy of From 1905 onwards the British Government followed a policy of cordial cooperation
Subordinate Union towards the Indian States. The authors of Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms favoured the
– The Chamber of formation of a council of princess & made definitive suggestions in the matter. These
the Princess recommendations formed the nucleus for the formation of the Chamber of princess
formally inaugurated in 1921. The Chamber of princes was merely an advisory &
consultative body. It had no concern with the internal affairs of the individual states nor
could it discuss matters concerning the existing rights of states or their freedom of
action.
Delhi-Lahore The Delhi Conspiracy case, also known as the Delhi-Lahore Conspiracy, refers to a
Conspiracy Case conspiracy in 1912 to assassinate the then Viceroy of India, Lord Hardinge, on the
occasion of transferring the capital of British India from Calcutta to New Delhi.
Hatched by the Indian revolutionary underground in Bengal and Punjab and headed by
Rashbehari Bose, the conspiracy culminated on the attempted assassination on 23
December 1912 when a homemade bomb was thrown into the Viceroys's Howdah
when the ceremonial procession moved through the Chandni Chowk suburb of Delhi.
Although wounded in the attempt, the Viceroy escaped with his injuries, along with
Lady Hardinge, but his Mahout was killed in the attack.
In the aftermath of the event, efforts were made to destroy the Bengali and Punabi

revolutionary underground, which came under intense pressure for sometime. Rash
Behari successfully evaded capture for nearly three years, becoming actively involved
in the Ghadar conspiracy before it was uncovered, and fleeing to Japan in 1916. The
investigations in the aftermath of the assassination attempt led to the Delhi Conspiracy
trial. Although Basant Kumar Biswas was convicted of having thrown the bomb and
executed, along with Amir Chand and Avadh Behari for their roles in the conspiracy,
the true identity of the actual person who threw the bomb is not known to this day.
August After the Lucknow Pact, a British policy was announced which aimed at “increasing
Declaration 1917 association of Indians in every branch of the administration for progressive realization
of responsible government in India as an integral part of the British empire”. This came
to be called the August Declaration. In 1917, there was a great change in the policies of
British. It was declared in the month of August that year that Indians will be given the
right to self governance progressively. After 1917, any demand for self-governance
was not to be considered as seditious. This declaration is famous in Indian history as
“August Declaration”. During the same time, British Government appointed
commissions to review and look out possible ways of providing representation to
Indians.
The Liberals or 'The liberals' are those people who broke away from the Indian National Congress for
Liberal Politicians they were not prepared to participate in the Non-Cooperation Movement. This core
value guided him and his comrades who formed the Liberal Party. Prominent Leaders
were C.Y Chintamani, S.N. Banerjee.
Karachi Resolution In the All India Khilafat conference held at Karachi in August 1921, a resolution was
1921 adopted that "British service by any Muslim under the present circumstances is against
the religious edicts".
Select · The first political murder of a European was committed in 1897 at Poona by the
Revolutionary Chapekar brothers, Damodar and Balkishan. Their target was Mr.Rand, President
Activities of the Plague Commission, but Lt.Ayerst was accidentally shot.
· In 1907, Madam Bhikaiji Cama, a Parsi revolutionary unfurled the flag of India at
Stuttgart Congress (of Second international).
· In 1908, Khudiram Bose and Prafulla chaki threw a bomb on the carriage of
kingford, the unpopular judge of Muzaffapur. Khudiram, Kanhaiyalal Dutt and
Satyendranath Bose were hanged. (Alipur Case).
· In 1909, M L Dhingra shot dead Col.William Curzon Whyllie, the political advisor
of “India Office” in London.
· In 1912, Rasbihari Bose and Sachindra Nath Sanyal threw a bomb and Lord
Hardinge at Delhi. (Delhi Conspiracy Case).
· In Oct, 1924, a meeting of revolutionaries from all parts of India was called at
Kanpur. They setup Hindustan Socialist Republic Association/Army (HSRA).
· They carried out a dacoity on the Kakori bound train on the Saharanpur-Lucknow
railway line on Aug. 9, 1925.
· Bhagat Singh, with his colleagues, shot dead Saunders (Asst. S.P. of Lahore, who
ordered lathi charge on Lala Lajpat Rai) on Dec.17, 1928.
· Then Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw a bomb in the Central Assembly
on Apr 8, 1929. Thus, he, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged on March. 23,1931 at
Lahore Jall (Lahore Conspiracy Case) and their bodies cremated at Hussainiwala
near Ferozepur.
· In 1929 only Jatin Das died in Lahore jail after 63 days fast to protest against
horrible conditions in jail.
· Surya Sen, a revolutionary of Bengal, formed the Indian Republic Army in Bengal.
In 1930, he masterminded the raid on Chittagong armoury. He was hanged in 1933.
· In 1931, Chandrashekhar Azad shot himself at Alfred Park in Allahabad.
Butler Committee In 1927, the government appointed the Indian State Committee, popularly known as
the Butler Committee (form the name of its chairma Sir Harcourt Butler) to investigate
the relationship between the Paramount Power (British Government) & the Indian
States. The Butler Committee made the following points:
1. Parmountcy must remain paramount.
2. The states were bound by treaties with the crown & it should not be handed
over without the rulers prior consent to an Indian Government in British India.
3. The Viceroy to be crown agent in dealing with the states.
Conspiracy Cases/ Revolutionary Act

Nasik Conspiracy Case Anant Kanhare & Ganesh Savarkar short dead collector Jackson of Nasik
with the revolver sent by V.D. Savarkar
Muzaffarpur Shooting 1908. Khudi Ram & Prafulla Chaki tried to bomb Kingsford, the District
Judge of Muzaffarpur but instead his wife & daughter died. Khudiram a
minor was hanged & Prafulla Chaki shot himself dead.
Alipore Conspiracy Case Aurbindo Ghosh Arrested
Delhi Conspiracy Case When Lord Hardinge was passing through a procession celebrating the
shifting of Capital to Delhi a bomb was thrown on him. 13 people were
arrested. Master Amir Chand, Awadh Bihari, Bal Mukund & Basant Kumar
Biswas were hanged whereas Ram Bihari Bose succeded in fleeing to Japan.
Gadar Movement 1915 Baba Sohan Singh Bakhna (president) Lala Hardayal (secretary) and Pandit
Kashiram (treasurer) at San Franscisco. A paper by the name of Gadar was
also brought out by this party. Raja Mahendra Pratap even set up a
government in exile for India’s independence at Kabul.
Lahore Conspiracy Case A raid was conducted quash the activities of Gadar revolutionaries. Bhai
1915 Parmanand was arrested. Vishnu Ganesh Pingle & Kartar Singh Sarabha
were also arrested. Baba Sohan Singh Bakhna were transported for life.
Kakori Conspiracy Case Ram Prasad Bismil, Rajendra Lahiri, Roshan Singh & Ashfaqullah Khan
1925 (first Muslim) were hanged. Sachindranath Saynal was sentenced to life
imprisonment. Chandra Sekhar Azad was also involved but he escaped.
Lahore Conspiracy Case
1928
Meerut Conspiracy 1929 Thirty-one Communist leaders arrested for sedition: Trial lasted 4 years
Chittagong Armoury Raid Under the leadership of Suryasen on government armouries at Chittagong,
1930-32 Mymen Singh & Barisal. Ambika Chakraborti, Loknath Bal & Ganesh
Ghose were prominent leaders involved. Among the girls, Kalpana Dutt,
Preetilata Waddekar were in the forefront. A fight took place in Jalalabad
hills where a number of revolutionaries were killed.
Important Governor Generals & Viceroys
Important Governor Generals
Viceroys after Curzon are mentioned only for reference & not for memorizing.
Lord William · Carried out the social reforms like Prohibition of Sati (1829) and elimination of
Bentinck thugs (1830).
(1828 – 1835) · Made English the Medium of higher education in the country (After the
recommendations of Macaulay).
· Suppressed female infanticide and child sacrifice.
· Charter Act of 1833 was passed; made him the first Governor General of India.
Before him, the designation was Governor General of Bengal.
Lord Dalhousie · Opened the first Indian Railway in 1853 (from Bombay to Thane).
(1848 – 1856) · Laid out the telegraph lines in 1853 (First was from Calcutta to Agra).
· Introduced the Doctrine of Lapse and captured Satara (1848), Jaipur and
Sambhalpur (1849), Udaipur (1852), Jhansi (1853) and Nagpur (1854).
· Established the postal system on the modern lines through the length and breadth of
the country, which made communication easier.
· Started the Public Works Department. Many bridges were constructed and the work
on Grand Trunk Road was started. The harbors of Karachi, Bombay and Calcutta
were also developed.
· Made Shimla the summer capital.
· Started Engineering College at Roorkee.
· In 1854, “Wood’s Dispatch’ was passed, which provided for the properly
articulated system of education from the primary school to the university.
· Due to Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar’s efforts, remarriage of widows was legalized
by Widow Remarriage Act, 1856).
Important Viceroys
Lord Canning · The last Governor General and the first Viceroy.
(1856 – 1862) · Mutiny took place in his time.
· On Nov, 1858, the rule passed on to the crown.
· Withdrew Doctrine of Lapse.
· The Universities of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras were established in 1857.
· Indian Councils Act was passed in 1861.
Lord Mayo · Started the process of financial decentralization in India.
(1869 – 1872) · Established the Rajkot college at Kathiarwar and Mayo College at Ajmer for the
Indian princes.
· For the first time in Indian history, a census was held in 1871.
· Organised the Statistical Survey of India.
· Was the only Viceroy to be murdered in office by a Pathan convict in the

Andamans in 1872.
Lord Lytton · Known as the Viceroy to reverse characters.
(1876 – 1880): · Organised the Grand ‘Delhi Durbar’ in 1877 to decorate Queen Victoria with the
title of ‘Kaiser – I – Hind’.
· Arms Act(1878) made it mandatory for Indians to acquire license for arms.
· Passed the infamous Vernacular Press Act (1878).
· Starchey Commission on Famine appointed in 1880.
Lord Ripon · Liberal person, who sympathized with Indians.
(1880 – 1884) · Repealed the Vernacular Press Act (1882)
· Passed the local self – government Act (1882)
· Took steps to improve primary & secondary education (on William Hunter
Commission’s recommendations).
· The I Factory Act, 1881, aimed at prohibiting child labour.
· Passed the Ilbert Bill (1883) which enabled Indian district magistrates to try
European criminals. But this was withdrawn later.
Lord Curzon · Passed the Indian Universities Act (1904) in which official control over the
(1899 – 1905) Universities was increased.
· Partitioned Bengal (October 16, 1905) into two provinces 1, Bengal (proper),
2.East Bengal & Assam.
· Appointed a Police Commission under Sir Andrew Frazer to enquire into the police
administration of every province.
· The risings of the frontier tribes in 1897 – 98 led him to create the North Western
Frontier Province(NWFP).
· Passed the Ancient Monuments Protection Act (1904), to restore India’s cultural
heritage. Thus the Archaeological Survey of India was established.
· Passed the Indian Coinage and Paper Currency Act (1899) and put India on a gold
standard.
· Extended railways to a great extent.
Lord Chelmsford · August Declaration of 1917, whereby control over the Indian government would be
(1916 – 1921)
gradually transferred to the Indian people.
· The government of India Act in 1919 (Montague – Chelmsford reforms) was
passed.
· Rowlatt Act of 1919; Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (April 13, 1919).
· Non – Cooperation Movement.
· An Indian Sir S.P.Sinha was appointed the Governor of Bengal.
· A Women’s university was founded at Poona in 1916.
· Saddler Commission was appointed in 1917 to envisage new educational policy.
Lord Reading · Rowlatt act was repeated along with the Press act of 1910.
(1921 – 1926) · Suppressed non-cooperation movement.
· Prince of Wales visited India in Nov.1921.
· Moplah rebellion (1921) took place in Kerala.

· Ahmedabad session of 1921.

· Formation of Swaraj Party.
· Vishwabharati University started functioning in 1922.
· Communist part was founded in 1921 by M.N.Roy.
· Kakory Train Robbery on Aug 9, 1925.
· Communal riots of 1923 – 25 in Multan, Amritsar, Delhi, etc.
· Swami Shraddhanand, a great nationalist and a leader of the Arya Samajists, was
murdered in communal orgy.
Lord Irwin · Simon Commission visited India in 1928.
(1926 – 1931) · Congress passed the Indian Resolution in 1929.
· Dandi March (Mar 12, 1930).
· Civil Disobedience Movement (1930).
· First Round Table Conference held in England in 1930.
· Gandhi – Irwin Pact (Mar 5, 1931) was signed and Civil Disobediance Movement
was withdrawn.
· Martydorm of Jatin Das after 64 days hunger strike (1929).
Lord Willington · Second Round Table conference in London in 1931.
(1931 – 1936) · On his return Gandhiji was again arrested and Civil Disobedience Movement was
resumed in Jan 1932.
· Communal Awards (Aug 16, 1932) assigned seats to different religious
communities. Gandhiji went on a epic fast in protest against this division.
· Third Round Table conference in 1932.
· Poona Pact was signed.
· Government of India Act (1935) was passed.
Lord Linlithgow · Govt. of India Act enforced in the provinces. Congress ministries formed in 8 out
(1936 – 1944) of 11 provinces. They remained in power for about 2 years till Oct 1939, when they
gave up offices on the issue of India having been dragged into the II World War.
The Muslim League observed the days as ‘Deliverance Say’ (22 December)
· Churchill became the British PM in May, 1940. He declared that the Atlantic
Charter (issued jointly by the UK and US, stating to give sovereign rights to those
who have been forcibly deprived of them) does not apply to India.
· Outbreak of World War II in 1939.
· Cripps Mission in 1942.
· Quit India Movement (August 8, 1942).
Lord Wavell (1944 · Arranged the Shimla Conference on June 25, 1945 with Indian National Congress
– 1947) and Muslim League; failed.
· Cabinet Mission Plan (May 16, 1946).
· Elections to the constituent assembly were held and an Interim Govt. was appointed
under Nehru.
· First meeting of the constituent assembly was held on Dec. 9, 1946.
Lord Mountbatten · Last Viceroy of British India and the first Governor General of free India.
(1947) · Partition of India decided by the June 3 Plan.

· Indian Independence Act passed by the British parliament on July 4, 1947, by

which India became independent on August 15, 1947.
· Retried in June 1948 and was succeeded by C.Rajagopalachari (the first and the last
Indian Governor General of free India).
Select Famous British/Foreign Historical Personalities

William Jones Civil Servant of the East India Company & Founder of Asiatic Society of Bengal in
1784. He Translated the drama Abhijnana Shakuntalam of Kalidas into English &
emphasized on the point that originally European languages were very much similar to
Sanskrit & Iranian language.
Charles Wilkins British Laureate who translated Bhagvad Gita, the most popular of Hindu religious text
into English
Henry Louis Derozio was born in an Eurasian Family & was appointed as teacher at the Hindu
Vivian Derozio College, Calcutta. Soon his ideas had a following. The student followers of Derozio –
Derozians as they were called generated a spirit of rebellion against social unjustice &
unorthodoxy. Later Derozio was forced to resign. He died at the age of twenty two –
but only after arousing young Bengal.
Vincent Arthur Civil Servant of East India Company prepared the first Systematic History of Ancient
Smith India in 1904. His approach was pro-imperialist emphasized the role of Foreigner in
ancient India.
Max Mueller German born scholar who spent most of his time in England & gave greatest push to
Indological studies. Under his editorship massive scale of Ancient Indian scripture got
translated. Altogether 50 volumes were published under the title “Sacred Books of the
East”.
C.F. Andrews Charles Freer Andrews (1871 - 1940) was an English priest who admired the
philosophy of Mohandas Gandhi and worked with him in the Indian civil rights
struggle in South Africa and in the Indian Independence Movement. He was
affectionately known as Christ's Faithful Apostle; the Mahatma and his students at St.
Stephen's College called him Deenabandhu, or 'Friend of the Poor'.
George Yule George Yule (1829-1892) was a Scottish businessman in India who notably became the
fourth President of the Indian National Congress in 1888, the first non-Indian to hold
that office. He was succeeded by Sir William Wedderburn.

James Wilson First Finance member in the executive council of the Viceroy of India. The first budget
of India (1860) was presented by him.
David Hare David Hare played an instrumental role in exposing Indian s to western Education. He
founded many schools & colleges in India.Among the colleges he founded mention can
be made of the Hindu College & the Medical College in Calcutta. He also participated
in Young Bengal Movement of Derozio.
Verrier Elwin Born in a priestly family of England, Elwin studied in Oxford & forsaking a promising
career at home, came to India in 1927. Inspired & guided by Gandhiji he took to social
service & devoted himself to work for the advancement of tribal people. He established
a welfare center & leper asylum in Madhya Pradesh & became Indian National in
1954. Elwin made rich contribution to literature on tribal societies of India.
Theodore Beck Theodore Beck was a British educationalist working for the British Raj in India, who
was invited by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan to serve as the first principal of the
Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in Aligarh, which would later evolve into the
Aligarh Muslim University.
Women in Indian Freedom Struggle

Margaret Margaret Elizabeth Noble (1867-1911), better known as Sister Nivedita, was an Anglo-
Elizabeth Noble Irish social worker, author, teacher and disciple of Swami Vivekananda. She met
(Sister Nivedita) Vivekananda in 1895 in London and travelled to India (Kolkata) in 1898. Swami
Vivekananda gave her the name Nivedita (which means one who is dedicated to God)
In later years, Nivedita took up the cause of Indian independence. She promoted pan-
Indian nationalist views both in her writings and in public meetings.
Mira Alphonse Mira Alphonse, the Mother, was born in Paris in 1978. She had shown depth of vision
and fragrance of expression even in her early childhood. She came to India in 1914 and
met Shri Aurobindo. She was associated with the work of Shri Aurobindo when he
started a philosophical monthly named Arya on August 15, 1914, to express his vision
of man and his divine destiny. She took charge of Ashram in Pondicherry in 1926. She
was the inspirer of Auroville, the international town near Pondicherry. It was to serve
as a meeting place for the followers of Shri Aurobindo.
Madeliene Slade Madeleine Slade known as Mira Behn – the name given by Mahatma Gandhi was a
(Mira Behn) great believer in Gandhian philosophy & an active supporter of the Indian Freedom
Struggle. She was a prolific writer & regular contributor to Young India & Harijan.
She made intensive tours to all over India to promote Khadi & Satyagrah movement.
She left India in 1959 & settled in a village near Vienna. In 1981, she was honoured
with Padma Vibhushan.
Nalini Sen Gupta Nalini Sengupta was one of the few Britisher who pledged her support to the cause of

India’s freedom Born to English parents Naline received her education in England &
later married the great Indian Nationalist Jatindra Mohan Sengupta. She actively fought
for India’s freedom & was arrested many times. She remained member of Bengal
Legislative Assembly from 1940-46.
Anne Besant A strong votary of truth, she came to India in 1893 at the age of 46, impressed as she
was by its great religion and philosophy. As early as 1898 and later in 1902 she urged
Indians to were native dress, use and develop Indian manufacturers and also develop a
national language. Dr. Annie Besant entered active politics in 1914. She demanded
Home Rule for India and suffered internment for it from June to September 1917. By
then she had tried and achieved unification of the Congress and Hindus and Muslims in
1916. She had done ample work to formulate favourable opinion about the Indian
question in outside world. The August declaration of 1917 is attributed to her efforts.
She fittingly became the president of Indian National Congress in 1917.
Anasuya Behn In February 1918, Anasuya Sarabhai, leader of the Textile Union in Ahemdabad, asked
Gandhi to intervene in a labor dispute with the mill owners headed by Anasuya brother
-- Ambalal Sarabhai. Things went from bad to worse for labor, and a worker remarked
that he and his family were starving while Gandhi was eating. This prompted Gandhi to
fast and vow not to eat again until the strike was amicably settled. `The hearts of the
mill-owners were touched," he said. After a few days, the strike was settled. This was
his first and last interference in labor management disputes.
Swarup Rani The mother of Jawaharlal Nehru, Swarup Rani Nehru cheerfully gave her husband and
children to the country’s cause and herself, old and trail entered the pray at its thickest.
Kamla Nehru Jawaharlal’s brave wife, Kamala; kept smiling all through the long years of travail of
her brief life. When her husband joined the Non Cooperation movment she gladly
followed him. With Jawaharlal away in prison, Kamala took to social work to begin
with. She started a dispensary in her house in Allahabad and also started a movement
for women’s education and to get them out of purdah. She was aptly called the “Pride
of Allahabad”.
Sarojini Naidu Born in Family reputed for its scholarly background, Sarojini was educated in England.
She showed a marked flair for literature at an early age which alter found expression in
beautiful English verses & earned her the title “Nightingale of India”. She actively
particapted in the Home Rule League at the call of Mrs. Annie Besant. At the
beginning of Quit India Movement she was arrested & detained with Gandhiji at Aga
Khan Palace, Poona. She was the first lady to become governor of UP in free India.
Vijay Lakshmi Sister of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru also played a great role in the freedom movement.
Pandit She was elected to Uttar Pradesh Assembly in 1936 and in 1946. She was the first
woman in India to hold a ministerial rank. She was imprisoned thrice for taking part in
the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1932. 1941 and 1942. After Independence, she
continued to serve the country. She was the first woman to become president of the
United Nations General Assembly.
Miss Padmaja Sarojini’s daughter Miss Padmaja Naidu devoted herself to the cause of Nation like her
Naidu mother. At the age of 21, she entered the National scene and became the joint founder
of the Indian National Congress of Hyderabad. She spread the message of Khadi and
inspired people to boycott foreign goods. She was jailed for taking part in the “Quit

India” movement in 1942. After Independence, she became the Governor of West
Bengal.
Sucheta The contribution of Sucheta Kripalani in the struggle for freedom is also worthy of
Kripalani note. She courted imprisonment for taking part in freedom struggle. She was elected as
a member of Constituent Assembly in 1946. She was general secretary of Indian
National Congress from 1958 to 1960, and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from 1963
to 1967. Sucheta Kripalani was in the words of Shrimati Indira Gandhi, “a person of
rare courage and character who brought credit to Indian womanhood.”
Select Personalities of Modern India

Pandita Ramabai Pandita Ramabai, the youngest daughter of Anant Shastri, was a social reformer, a
champion for the emancipation of women, and a pioneer in education. Left totally
alone by the time she was 23, Ramabai acquired a great reputation as a Sanskrit
scholar. Deeply impressed by her prowess, the Sanskrit scholars of Calcutta University
conferred on her the titles of "Saraswati" and "Pandita". She rebelled against the caste
system and married a shudra advocate, but was widowed at 23, having a baby girl. In
1882, she establishsed the Arya Mahila Samaj for the cause of women’s education in
Pune and different parts of Western India. This led to the formation of the Sharada
Sadan in 1889 - which school completes a hundred years this year - a school which
blossomed into an umbrella organisation called Pandita Ramabai Mukti Mission, 40
miles outside Pune.
Rajendra Lal Was the makers of Bengal Renaissance. A great lover of ancient heritage took national
Mitra view of ancient society, published some vedic texts & wrote a book entitled “Indo
Aryans”.
Sajjad Zaheer He was a renowned Urdu writer, Marxist thinker and revolutionary. He was one of the
(UPSC 2003) founding members of the Communist Party of India and later in 1948, the Communist
Party of Pakistan
Topics to be Covered from Self Notes Only

Sikander-Jinnah Sikander Hyat-Khan was an Indian Muslim political leader of Punjab, when India was
Pact a part of the British Empire. Sir Sikander led the Unionist Party, an all-Punjab political
party formed to represent the concerns and issues of India's Muslims, Sikhs and
Hindus. In 1937, Jinnah signed the Sikander-Jinnah pact in support of the Lahore
Resolution, written by Sir Sikander, calling for an independent Pakistan. It was a
development of great significance, according to which, all Muslim member of the
Unionist party would join the Muslim league and would follow its policies in all India
matters and would remain independent of Muslim league in the provincial matters. The
Sikander-Jinnah Pact led ultimately to sharp polarization to Punjab politics. It changed
the politics of Punjab because it afflicted shock to the Hindus and the Sikhs of the
Punjab, who considered Sir Sikander, first as a Punjabi and then as a Muslim.
The death of Sikander Khan in 1942, created a leadership vacuum for the Punjab,
which increased Jinnah's popularity, and resulted in the 1946-47 communal riots.

Punjab was partitioned in 1946, creating the Muslim province of West Punjab, which
became the most populated province of Pakistan on August 14, 1947.
Ilbert Bill 1883 The Ilbert Bill was a bill introduced in 1883 for British India by Lord Ripon that
proposed an amendment for existing laws in the country at the time to allow Indian
judges and magistrates the jurisdiction to try British offenders in criminal cases at the
District level, something that was disallowed at the time. However, the introduction of
the bill led to intense opposition in Britain and from British settlers in India that
ultimately played on racial tensions before it was enacted in 1884 in a severely
compromised state. The bitter controversy deepened antagonism between the British
and Indians and was a prelude to the formation of the Indian National Congress the
following year.
Sharda Act 1929. Sarda Act is the popular name of the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929. It was
presented by Rai Sahib Harbilas Sarda to the Imperial Legislature. It raised the age of
consent from 14 for females & 18 for males.
Sabarmati Sabarmati Ashram also known as Gandhi Ashram, Harijan Ashram, or Satyagraha
Ashram Ashram) is located in the Ahmedabad suburb of Sabarmati and on the western banks of
the Sabarmati River. Sabarmati ashram was the scene of many events of the Indian
independence movement. Gandhi made it his home from 1917 to 1930. While at the
Ashram, Gandhi formed a school that focused on manual labour, agriculture, and
literacy to advance his efforts for self-sufficiency.. It was from there that he started the
Dandi March in 1930.
Darul Uloom The Darul Uloom is an Islamic school, where Deobandi Islamic movement was started.
It is located at Deoband, a town in Uttar Pradesh, India. It was founded in 1866 by
several prominent ulema, headed by Al Imam Mohammad Qasim Nanotwi. The other
prominent scholars were Maulana Rashid Ahmed Gangohi
Dickie Bird Plan Dickie bird plan is also known as Plan Balkan.This plan was mooted by Mountbatten
prior to his famous 3rd june plan. In dickie bird plan it was decided that instead of
giving sovereignity to a common center, all the existing states be rendered free.Thus
getting a large no. of sovereign territories in the country of present similar to the
Balkan peninsula where a large no of contries exist which were taken out of the
original countries.
Questions to be done from Previous year solved papers

Gandhi & Nehru - Approach Difference Previous Year Solved Papers
The mainstay of Mahatma Gandhi's movements was rural India Previous Year Solved Papers
Gandhi's concept of Basic education. How did Tagore differ from it. Previous Year Solved Papers
Gandhian Concept of Socialism. How did it differ from Marxian Socialism Previous Year Solved Papers
Differences between Conservative & Liberal Schools of Administrators Previous Year Solved Papers
Nehru's Concept of Socialism Previous Year Solved Papers
Attitude of Indian Industrialists towards Congress in Pre-Independent Era Previous Year Solved Papers
From August Offer to Mountbatten Plan was a logical evolution. Discuss Previous Year Solved Papers
Different Stands of Political Parties on Quit India Movement Previous Year Solved Papers

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Ghanshyam Thori Indian History & Culture

Indian History & Culture

Character of the Indian Freedom Movement.

Specific Freedom Movements/Events (Pre 1940)

Ghanshyam Thori 1 Indian History & Culture

Specific Freedom Movements/Events (Post 1940)

Various Acts passed under British Rule

Leader Specific Question

Post Independence Developments

Ghanshyam Thori 2 Indian History & Culture

2 Markers of Previous Years:

2007 2006 2005 2004

2003 2002 2001 2000

Ghanshyam Thori 3 Indian History & Culture

Ghulam-Giri Theodore Beck Banabhatta Tiger Woods

Ghanshyam Thori 4 Indian History & Culture

Ghanshyam Thori 5 Indian History & Culture

Philosophy Dvaita (meaning dualism) Philosophy was propounded by Madhwacharya in the

Ghanshyam Thori 6 Indian History & Culture

Ghanshyam Thori 7 Indian History & Culture

Ghanshyam Thori 8 Indian History & Culture

Six Indian School of Philosophy

Ghanshyam Thori 9 Indian History & Culture

Nastika Shools of Indian System of Philosophy

Ghanshyam Thori 10 Indian History & Culture

to Yasoda. Left home at 30 & attained Kaivalya at 42. He accepted 4 doctrines

6. Kalpa (kalpa): ritual

Ghanshyam Thori 12 Indian History & Culture

Varnashrama-Dharma. They supplement and explain the ritualistic injunctions

Ghanshyam Thori 13 Indian History & Culture

Famous Books – Ancient India

Ghanshyam Thori 14 Indian History & Culture

Ghanshyam Thori 15 Indian History & Culture

Ancient Books & Authors – Extra Reference

29. Prasannaraghava Jayadeva

Famous Books of Medieval India

Famous Books of Medieval India

Books/Articles & Authors (Modern)

Tahaib-al-Akhlaq Sayyid Ahmad Khan

Famous Authors & Personalities of Ancient India

Ghanshyam Thori 20 Indian History & Culture

Authors of Medieval India

Ghanshyam Thori 22 Indian History & Culture

Authors of Modern India

Bhootnath have been made into famous serials.

King & their Famous Courtiers.

biography of the Buddha.

Akbar’s 1. Abul Fazl – Author of Akbarnama & Ain-i-Akbari

Ghanshyam Thori 25 Indian History & Culture

Ghanshyam Thori 26 Indian History & Culture

Vallabha Acharya occupies a unique place in Indian culture as a scholar, a philosopher

Ghanshyam Thori 27 Indian History & Culture

Prominent Foreign Travellers

13. Nicolo Manucci Italian. Aurangzeb’s reign.

Indian Education System

Ghanshyam Thori 29 Indian History & Culture

Ghanshyam Thori 30 Indian History & Culture

Ghanshyam Thori 31 Indian History & Culture

Early Uprisings in Bengal & Eastern India

Ghanshyam Thori 32 Indian History & Culture

Eary Uprisings in Western India

Uprisings in South India