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History of Ancient India

Foundations of Indian Culture and Tradition

Paleolithic Age: (340000 BC- 38000 BC)

• Used stone tools made of Quartz

• Also known as Quartzite Culture
• The earliest stone hand axes of Paleolithic age are found at Attirampakkam near Chennai

Mesolithic Age (20000 BC- 10000BC)

• Microliths (small stone tools) were made in this period

• Practice of covering the body with animal skins, burials and practice of hunting started

Neolithic Age (10000 BC- 4500BC)

• Cultivation of Wheat and Barley entered India from Nile valley

• Pottery Started
• Settled village life started

Metal Ages

a. Chalcolithic Age (6000 BC- 2500BC)

• First metal used by man was Copper
• Indus Valley Civilization started
b. Bronze Age (2500 BC- 750 BC)
• Indus Valley Civilization reached the highest stage of development and declined in the
same period
c. Iron Age (1000 BC onwards)
• Iron was the last metal to be discovered.
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Indus Valley Civilization

Charles Masson, the British engineer was the first person to notice the remains of Indus Valley
Civilization at Mohenjo-Daro

Alexander Cunningham, the first Director General of Archeological Survey of India, is called as
the father of Indian Archeology

Indus Valley Sites

1. HARAPPA
• Located on the bank of river Ravi in the West Punjab
• The site was excavated by Daya Ram Sahni in 1921
• The city was called Hariyupiya by Aryans in Rigveda
• There are 12 granaries and it is also known as the City of Granaries
• It was the first site to be excavated and the civilization is also known as Harappan
Civilization
2. MOHENJO-DARO (Mount of Dead)
• Located on the bank of river Indus
• it was excavated by RD Banerjee
• It is called the model city
• Great Bath, a temple like construction, the great granary and assembly hall are the
important constructions here.
• Buildings ae constructed on mud-brick platforms
• Citadel and the lower town were separated by a wall
• It seems that settlement was first planned and then implemented accordingly (Planned
City)
• A total number of 700 wells are found in Mohenjo-Daro. It shows that all houses in the
city had a well
• Most of the houses had staircases
• Seal of Pashupati/ Proto Shiva seal is found here
• Animals found on the Pashupati seal are buffalo, tiger, rhino, deer and elephant
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• Bronze image of dancing girl is also found here.

• A piece of cloth and a scale for measuring the distance are other objects found here
3. CHANHU DARO
• Located on the bank of river Indus
• Excavated by Nani Gopal (NG) Majumdar
• it is the only site without citadel (Fort like construction)
• Ink-Pot for storing writing materials is found here
• Stone image of a male dancer looking like Siva is also found
• The city was flooded three times
4. KALIBANGAN
• On the banks of river Ghaghar in Rajasthan
• The city was excavated by DR. GHOSH
• It is the only site without the traces of mother Goddess and bathrooms
• Largest ploughing field in the pre-historic era is found here
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• Camel skeleton is also found here

• Evidences of a ploughed field was found here
5. LOTHAL
• On the shores of Cambay in Gujarat
• It was excavated by SR Rao
• It was a major center of export and import trading
• An artificially built naval dockyard is found here
• The people of Lothal were first to cultivate rice around 1800 BC
• A big jar was found here with a painting depicting the story of cunning fox as mentioned
by Vishnu Sharma in his Panchatantra stories
• The seals of Persia are found here suggesting the Indo Persian Trade
6. SURKOTADA
• On the bank of river Bhoguva in Gujarath
• It was excavated by Jagapath Joshi
• Horse skeletons found here suggest that the people of Surkotada were using horse
7. BANAWALI
• On the banks of Saraswati in Hariyana
• It was excavated by RS Bisht
• They cultivated Barley extensively
• Terracotta model of plough found here indicates their agriculture practice
8. DHOLAVIRA
• It located in Rann of Katcch in Gujarath
• Excavated by Rvindra Singh Bisht
• Excavated by Jagapath Joshi and Bist
• It was excavated in 1990
• It is the biggest site in the present India
• It is the only city developed in circular form
• Oldest stadium in the pre-historic world is found here
• A water reservoir was also found here
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Rakhigarhi Site of Indus Valley Civilization

• After finishing excavation of Rakhigarhi in 2014, ASI has declared it as the largest site
of Indus Valley Civilization (350 hectares)
• Now, Mohenjedaro comes second (300 hectares)
• The site is located in the Ghaggar-Hakra river plain in present day Haryana
• It is the industrial centre of Indus valley civilisation.
• A seal and a potsherd, both inscribed with the Harappan script have been found here
• Previously, Archaeologists believed that Early Harappan civilization phase begin from
3500 BC
• But new sites from Haryana are as old as 5000 BC
• Now Experts think that Harappan civilization originated from Ghagagar basin in Hesar
district of Haryana and then spread towards Indus Valley civilization in Western India
and Pakistan.
• Rakhigarhi is best example for the expert to prove above concept
• Clay toys, mud pots and a beautifully made granary are the major artefacts found
here

General Facts on Indus Valley Civilization

• Grains found in Indus Valley sites include wheat, barely, lentil, chickpea and sesame
• Millets are found from sites in Gujarat
• Rice was found, but it was used rarely by the people
• Animals bones of cattle, sheep, goat, buffalo and pig were found from Indus Valley
sites
• It is believed that they domesticated all these animals
• Bones of wild species like boar, deer and gharial are also found here
• Bones of fish and fowl are also found
• It is believed that oxen were used for ploughing in agriculture
• Jewellery and pottery are found in burials of both men and women
• Some items like querns pottery, needles, body scrubbers are found in all the settlements
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• Gold was also found from different sites, but it was not a popular item used by the people
• Metals like copper, bronze and gold were found here
• Gold was exported to Indus Valley area from South India, especially Kolar in
Karnataka
• Copper was transported from Khetri region of Rajasthan and Oman in the West Asia
• Script of Indus Valley was written from Right to Left
• By 1800 BC, Indus Valley Civilization started coming to an end
• Different opinions are there among archeologists on the reasons of the decay of Indus
Valley
• They are climate change, deforestation, excessive floods, shifting or drying of rivers and
overuse of landscape.

Vedic And Later Vedic Age

• The word Veda means sacred and spiritual knowledge

• Vedas were considered infallible
• Period of Rig Veda is known as the early Vedic era and the period of other Vedic
literatures like Brahmans, Aranyakas and Upanishads are known as later Vedic era

Society in Rig Vedic Age

• Society was patriarchal (male dominant)

• However, women were treated with honor
• Family (Kula) was the basic unit of society
• Large number of families forms a village (Grama)
• A group of villages formed a tribe or Jana which was ruled by a chief called Rajan
• Main functions of Rajan was to protect the tribe against external attack and maintain law
and order
• The post Rajan was hereditary, but he can be removed by the people if he is found
weak
• He was assisted by two councils called Sabha and Samiti
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• Purohita was the person in charge of religious functions and Senani was the chief of
military
• Four-fold Varana System was absent
• But three-fold varna system developed without much discrimination
In the first stage of development there were two varnas ie, the white skinned Aryans (Sweta
Varna) and the black sinned non-Aryans (Krishna varna)
Later it got identified with occupation dividing the society into 3 varnas; Brahmina,
Kshatriya and Vaishya
Sudras were Aryans without varna status
Dasas were the Non-Aryan slaves
• No system of Sati
• Polygamy was allowed but monogamy was preferred
• There were no social evils like child marriages, dowry or untouchability

Later Vedic Age

• Four-fold division of society with Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Sudras started
• Initially, it was based on the professions, but later became hereditary and rigid
• Religious teachers were called as Brahmins, the ruling class were called Kshatriyas,
farmers, merchants and bankers were called Vaishyas and artisans, craftsmen and
labourers were called as Sudras
• Shifting from one occupation to other became completely impossible
• The concept of Dwija (twice born) appeared for first time for 3 upper castes
• Anuloma (upper caste man and lower caste women) and Paratiloma (Upper caste
womanan and lower caste man) marriages were witnessed
• Bratya were children born in Anuloma marriage and were considered as half polluted
• Chandelas were children born under Pratiloma marriage and were considered as full
polluted
• The custom of Niyoga (Cohabitation of a wife with husband’s brother until she
becomes mother) started for first time in India
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• Chaturashrama or dividing the life-span into four categories was another social
institution in this time
• They were Brahmacharya (Period of celibacy, education and disciplined life in Guru’s
Ashram)
• Grihastha (Period of Family Life)
• Vanaprastha (a stage of gradual detachment)
• Sanyasa (a life dedicated to spiritual pursuit away from worldly life)
• These stages were not applicable to women and or to the people of lower varnas
• Women were often free to choose their partner through swayamvara
• Sati was there, but it was not prevalent
• Small tribal states called Janas earlier was replaced by territorial states called as
Janapathas
• Office of King became divine and absolute

Religion in Rig Vedic Age

• Primitive Animism was followed which is worship of natural forces like wind, rain etc.
• Indra was the most popular God
• Rig Veda contains 250 hymns in praise of Indra
• He was the God of celestial sphere, war and victory
• Varun was the God of Aerial sphere, ethics, values and prosperity
• Agni is the second most important God
• He is the messenger between God of heavens and people of earth
• Rig Veda has 200 hymns praising Agni
• It was called as Havya Vahana (God with smoke as vehicle)
• Surya Mitra or Savitri and Pushau are the Gods of cosmic energy (Solar Energy)
• The most sacted mantra Gayatri is addressed to Savitri
• Soma (moon God) is the God of nourishment
• 9th mandala (Chapter) of Rigveda is dedicated to Soma
• Ashwins is the God of herbs and medicines
• Saraswati, Usha, Aditi and Prithvi were some of the Goddesses
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Later Vedic Age

• Indra, Agni, Varun and Saraswati lost importance

• Trinity (Brahma, Vishnu and Siva) became popular
• Pushan: God of agriculture, cattle population and marriages
• Kuber: God of richness and prosperity appeared first time
• The religion became extremely ritualistic
• Sanskrit Mantras became essential part of all religious functions
• This made Brahmins very powerful and yajnas very expensive
• Kings performed Ashvamedha, Rajasuya and Vajpeya sacrifices to establish their
position
• The religious unrest and rigid caste system led to the emergence of Buddhism and
Jainism.

Economic Conditions in Rig Vedic Period

• Economy was mainly pastoral

• They domesticated animals like cows, horses, sheep, goats and dogs
• They were eating simple food consisting of cereals, pulses, fruits, vegetables, milk and
various milk products
• Cattle was the chief measure of wealth and Gomat was the title given to a rich man
• They cultivated wheat, barely and rice
• Exchange was barter system
• Gold and silver were used by the people
• Games of chess and chariot racing were their modes of entertainment
• There was no money transaction or taxes
• Bali or voluntary donation was prevalent

Later Vedic Age

• Iron resulted to clearing lands by cutting trees and extensive agriculture

• Agriculture became main occupation
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• Iron plough, manure and individual properties came into usage

• Iron tools resulted in varied crafts and technology
• Use of iron weapons and horses enabled them to fight wars and defend themselves
• High Quality earthenware called as Pained Grey Ware and Northern Black Polished
Ware have been found in these areas
• Trade was carried out through over land and waterways
• Urbanization was also well developed

Vedic Literature

• The Vedic literature is broadly divided into two categories viz. Shruti and Smriti.
• Shruti is “that which has been heard” and is canonical, consisting of revelation and
unquestionable truth, and is considered eternal. Shruti describes the sacred texts
comprising the central canon of Hinduism viz. Vedas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, &
Upanishads.
• Smiriti literally means “that which is remembered, supplementary and may change over
time”. It is authoritative only to the extent that it conforms to the bedrock of Shruti and it
is entire body of the post Vedic Classical Sanskrit literature. It comprises Vedanga, Shad
darsana, Puranas, Itihasa, Upveda, Tantras, Agamas, Upangas.

Shruti Literature
Four Vedas
Rig Veda
• It is the first literature in Indo European language
• It is full of prayers addressed to different Gods
• It is recited by a priest called Hotri
Samavada
• It is the basis of Indian Sangeeta shastra
• It is recited by a priest called Udgatar
Yajur Veda
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• It is the earliest source on the discovery of iron

• It deals with ceremonies and rituals
• It is divided into two parts
• Sukla Yajur Veda with rituals of Aryans
• Krishna Yajurveda with rituals of non-Aryans
Atharva Veda
• Deals with magic, witchcraft and evil spirits
• It is the only Veda without priest
• Ganita Shastra, Ayurveda and Rekha Ganita were parts of Atharva Veda
Brahmanas:
• Explanations of the hymns of Vedas. Way of salvation is Karma Marga
• Examples are Aitreya Brajmana of Rig Veda, Taitriya Brahmana of Yajur Veda,
Jaiminiya Brahmana of Sam Veda and Gopath Brahmana of Atharva Veda
Aranyakas:
• It is also called forest book and discusses the forests for hermits. It bridges between
Karma Marga and Gyana Maraga
Upanishads
• Specify philosophical knowledge and spiritual learning. Way of salvation is Gyana
Marga
• They are called as Vedanta
• The Natioanal Slogan of India Styameva Jayate is taken from Mundagopanishads
• Svetasvatara Upanishad describes Siva for first time

Smriti Literature
Six Vedangas
• They are six auxiliary disciplines associated with Vedas
1. Shiksha is study of Phonetics or pronounciation
2. Chhandas is prosody or rhythmic structure of a verse
3. Vyakarana is the study of grammar
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4. Nrukta is the etymology or explanations of words

5. Kalpa is ritual instructions
6. Jyotisha is the astrology
Epics (Ithihasa)
Ramayana
• Created by Maharishi Valmiki.
• Consists of 24,000 verses in seven books (Kandas) and 500 sargas) and tells the story
of Rama.
• Valmiki is also regarded as India’s First Poet.
Mahabharta
• The Mahabharta is attributed to Maharishi Vyas and the tale known as Bharta is a
shorter version of 24,000 verses, while the Mahabharta contains 1 Lakh verses and 1.8
million words which makes it 10 times longer than “Iliad and Odyssey combined” and
4 times of Ramayana
• It is the story of Kauravs and Pandavs
Puranas
• They are late descriptions of ancient legends and consist of history of the universe from
creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and descriptions
of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography.
• They are colored with superstitions and also represent a corrupt form of Hindu Philosophy.
There are 18 major Puranas.
Four Upavedas
1. Danurveda is the science of warfare or archery
2. Gandharvaveda is the study of music, dance, poetry and sculpture
3. Ayurveda is the science of health and life
4. Arthashastra deals with public administration, economy and polity
• Some schools have the opinion that Sthapathyaveda (Study of engineering and
architecture is the 4th Upaveda instead of Arthashastra
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Religious Reform Movements

Buddhism

• Founder: Gautama or Sidhartha Buddha.

• Born in 623BC in Lumbini to Suddodana and Maya
• Budha was born in a small tribe called as Sakya Jana and was a Kshatriya
• Principle: Dharma
• Sangha was the association of those who left home to follow Budhism
• Rules and regulations to be followed by the members of Sangha was written in a book
called as Vinaya Pitaka
• Members of Sanhga were called as Bhikkhus because they lived by begging for food
• Left home at the age of 29 after being disturbed by the sight of an old man, a sick man,
a dead body and an ascetic.
• He meditated under a peepal tree at Bodh Gaya in Bihar
• At the age of 35, on Vaishakha Purnima day, he attained Enlightenment and came to be
called Buddha.
• Buddha delivered his maximum number of sermons at Sravati
• His first sermon was on the topic Dharma chakra parivarthana delivered at Saranath
near Varanasi
• Budha taught in the language of ordinary people that is Prakrit so that everybody can
understand his lectures
• Budha lived as a traveler by going on foot from one place to another teaching people and
finally passed away at Kusinara or Kusinagar in present day Uttar Pradesh

Buddhist Philosophy
• Buddha teaches the Middle Path renouncing extreme step like indulgence and strict
abstinence.

• The four noble truths (Arya Satya) in Buddhism are:

1. The world is full of sorrow.
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2. Desire is the root cause of all sorrow.

3. Sorrow can be conquered by conquering desire.
4. Desire can be conquered by following the eight-fold paths (Ashtangika
Marga).
Eight-Fold Path of Gautama Budha

• He believed that desire is the reason of sorrow in this world

• Desire can be conquered by following 8-fold path or Ashtangika Marga
• The eight-fold path comprises the following
1. Right Understanding
2. Right Thought
3. Right Speech
4. Right Action
5. Right Livelihood
6. Right Effort
7. Right Mindfulness
8. Right Concentration
• Buddhism also teaches about the Tri Ratnas.
• They are: Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha
➢ Buddha: highest spiritual potential in everyone.
➢ Dhamma: the teachings of Buddha
➢ Sangha: Order of monks who follow Buddhism.
• Buddha did not believe in God or soul.
• Stressed on Karma and Ahimsa.
• He was against the varna system.
• Buddha taught in Pali.
Five Symbols attached with Buddha’s life

Birth - Lotus

Great Renunciation - Horse

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Nirvana - Bodhi Tree

First Session - Wheel

Death - Stupa

Buddhist Councils

First Buddhist council (400 BC)

• Held soon after the death of the Buddha

• Held at Sattapanni caves Rajgriha (now Rajgir) in Nalanda district of Bihar (it was the
capital of Magadha kingdom)
• Under the patronage of the king Ajatashatru (He was a King of Magadha Dysnsty)
• Monk Mahakasyapa was presiding over the session
• Its objective was to preserve the Buddha's sayings (suttas) and the monastic discipline
or rules (Vinaya)
• The Suttas were recited by Ananda, and the Vinaya was recited by Upali
• Then two literatures of Budhism, Sutta Pitaka and Vinaya Pitaka developed

Second Buddhist council(383BC)

• It was held at Vaishali under the patronage of King Kalasoka of Shaishunaga dyanasty
• President of the Council was monk Sabakami.
• This council was to settle a dispute on Vinaya Pitaka, the code of discipline
• The dispute was on 10 Points such as storing salt in horn, eating after midday, eating
once and going to villages for alms, eating sour milk after one’s meal
• It was not settled, and Buddhism sects appeared for the first time

Third Buddhist Council: 250 BC

• Third Buddhist council was held in 250 BC at Pataliputra under the patronage of King
Asoka
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• President of the Council was Moggaliputta Tissa.

• The teachings of Buddha were now classified in 3 baskets as Abhidhamma Pitaka was
established in this council
• They were known as “Tripitaka”. It also tried to settle all the disputes of Vinaya Pitaka.

Fourth Buddhist Council: 72AD

• The Fourth Buddhist Council was held at Kundalvana, Kashmir in 72 AD

• It was held under the patronage of Kushan king Kanishka of Kushan Dynasty
• The president of this council was Vasumitra, with Aśvaghosa as his deputy.
• This council distinctly divided the Buddhism into 2 sects Mahayan & Hinayan.
• Another Fourth Buddhist Council was held at Tambapanni (one name of Sri Lanka) under
the patronage of Vattagamani-Abaya.
• However, most scholars agree that this was not eligible to be called a Council as it was not
under a king but a local chieftain.

Fifth Buddhist Council: 1871

• Fifth Buddhist Council took place in 1871 under the patronage of King Mindon in
Mandalay, Burma.
• It was presided by Jagarabhivamsa, Narindabhidhaja, and Sumangalasami.
• The idea was to recite all the teachings of the Buddha and examine them systematically if
any of them was dropped or altered.

Sixth Buddhist Council: 1954

• The Sixth Buddhist Council was held in 1954 in Burma at Kaba Aye, in Yangoon under
the patronage of Burmese Government led by Prime Minister U Nu.
• Construction of Maha Passana Guha, which is very much similar to India’s Sattapanni
Cave where the first Buddhist Council had been held, was authorized by the government.
• It held under the presidency of Mahasi Sayadaw and Bhadanta Vicittasarabhivamsa.
• 500 Buddhist scholars from 8 countries participated in this council.
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Split of Buddhism

In the fourth Buddhist council which was held in Srinagar Buddhism was split into two:

Mahayanism:
• It believes in the heavenliness of Buddha and Idol worship of Buddhas
• Mahayana believed in universal liberation from suffering for all beings
• Ultimate aim of Mahayana is “spiritual upliftment
• Acharya Nagarjuna was the founder of Mahayanism
• For them, Budha was a God, would born again to liberate the mankind.
• They preferred Sanskrit over Pal

Hineyanism
• It believes in the original teaching of Buddha or Doctrine of Elders.
• Does not believe in Idol worship and tries to attain individual salvation through self-discipline
and meditation.
• Ultimate aim of Hinayana is thus Nirvana
• Ashoka patronized Hinayana Buddhism
• For them Budha was a philosopher and he would not born again
• Pali should remain the official medium of instructions
Expansion of Budhism

• Kumarajeeva was the first to introduce Buddhism in China

• Acharya Nagarjuna founded first Buddhist university at Sriparvata (Vijayapuri) near
Nagarjuna Konda
• Kumaragupta founded Nalanda university
• Harshavardhana, the last great king of ancient India was a follower of Buddhism
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Buddhist Architecture

Stupas
• A Stupa is a dome-shaped sacred burial mound of brick which was used to house
Buddha's relics or to commemorate significant facts and events related to Buddhism.
• The oldest Stupa is Pipriwaha at Lumbini in Nepal
• In India, Sanchi, Sarnath, Amaravati and Bharhut are among the oldest known stupas.
Chaityas
• A chaitya is a Buddhist shrine or prayer hall with a stupa at one end for congregational
worship by the monks.
• At the centre of the Chitya’s central hall, there would be a rock stupa or a large figure of
Buddha, sitting or standing
• The later Buddhist temples at Buddhagaya (Bodhgaya), Nalanda, Ellora, Ajanta are
examples of Chitya
The Viharas
• They are the resting places of Buddhist monks
• These monastic buildings carved out of rocks or built of bricks were self-contained
units and had a Chaitya hall attached to it with a stupa - the chief object of worship.
• Some of the important Buddhist viharas are those at Ajanta, Ellora, Nasik, Karle,
Kanheri, Bagh and Badami
• Twenty-five of the rock-cut caves of Ajanta is the finest of monasteries.

Stambhas (Pillars)
• A large number of stone pillars were erected during the Mauryan empire with inscriptions
engraved on them.
• The Mauryan pillar capital found at Sarnath popularly known as the Lion Capital is
the finest example of Mauryan sculptural tradition.
• It is also our national emblem.
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• This pillar capital symbolizes Dhammachakrapravartana (the first sermon by the

Buddha) and it has become a standard symbol of this great historical event in the life of
the Buddha.

Nalanda University
• The monastic university of Nalanda is a complex of several monasteries of various sizes.
• Till date, only a small portion of this ancient learning centre has been excavated as most of
it lies buried under contemporary civilization, making further excavations almost
impossible.
• Most of the information about Nalanda is based on the records of Xuan Zang which states
that the foundation of a monastery was laid by Kumargupta I in the fifth century CE.

Jainism

• Sthanakas are the order of Jainism

• Rishaghnath was the first among 24 theerthankars (Guide to salvation)
• Parswanatha was the 23rd and he founded the 4 principles; Satya, Ahimsa, Asteya (Non-
stealing) and Aparigrha (Non- Property)
• Barhamacharya (Celibacy) was added to these principles by Mahavira
• Chandra Gupta Maurya was a follower of Jainism

Vardhamana Mahavira

• He is the 24th theerthankar born at Kunda village in Vaisali district, Bihar

• At the age of 30, he renounced the world
• At the age of 43, on the 10th day of Vaisakha masa (15th April to 15th May) he got
enlightenment
• He was also a Kshatriya prince
• For him enlightenment was Kaivalya (Supreme Knowledge)
• He declared himself Jain (Conqueror)

Teachings of Mahavira
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• He was a champion of Ahimsa

• He also used prakrit language

• Mahavira rejected Vedic principles and authority of Vedas

• He agreed the Existence of God, but there is no creator Deity
• According to him, the universe is a product of the natural phenomenon of cause and
effect.
• Believed in dualistic philosophy and held the matter and soul are the ever-existing
elements

• He believed in Karma and transmigration of the soul. The body dies but the soul does
not.
• One will be punished or rewarded as per one’s karma.
• Advocated a life of austerity and non-violence.
• Stressed on equality but did not reject the caste system, unlike Buddhism.
• But he also said that man may be ‘good’ or ‘bad’ as per his actions and not birth.
• Asceticism was taken to a great length.
• Starvation, nudity and self-mortification were expounded.
• Two elements of the world: Jiva (conscious) and Atma (unconscious).

Triratnas of Jainism

1. Right faith
2. Right knowledge
3. Right conduct (observance of five vows)
1. Ahimsa (non-violence)
2. Satya (truth)
3. Asteya (no stealing)
4. Parigraha (no acquiring property)
5. Brahmacharya (abstinence)
• Parswanatha was the 23rd Theertanka founded the 4 principles; Satya, Ahimsa, Asteya
(Non- stealing) and Aparigrha (Non- Property)
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• Barhamacharya (Celibacy) was added to these principles by Mahavira

Split in Jainism

• In the course of time, Jainism was divided into two

1. Shvetembaras (White Clothed): they followed 12 Angas, the original text of
Jainism
2. Digambaras (Naked): they followed Kalpasutras composed by Badrabhahu

Differences between Buddha and Mahavira

• For Buddha, Salvation was freedom from desire and followed karma marga for that
• For Mahavir, Salvation was acquiring supreme knowledge and he followed Gyana marga
• For Budha, Non- violence was a virtue and violence inevitable
• For Mahavira, Violence was not to be compromised with
• On the existence of God, Buddha remained silent; Whereas Mahavira emphatically declared
that God exists. However, creation evolved on its own

Bagvathism

• It was founded by Vasudeva krishana

• Centred around the worship of Krishna cult
• Three Principles of Bagvathism are:
1. Bakthi (devotion )
2. Prapatti (Total surrender)
3. Nishkama Karma (Selfless act)
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Mauryan Dynasty

Sources of Mauryan History

• Arthasasthra of Kaudilya or Chanakya who was a minister of Chandra Gupta is the

most important source on Mauryan state crown
• Archeological findings, especially sculptures are another important source of history
• The dynasty existed in iron age
• Account of Meganstanese, a Greek ambassador to the court of Chandra Gupta Maurya is
another source
• Ashoka inscriptions are also best source for Mauryan history
• Ashoka was the first ruler who inscribed his messages to his subjects and officials on stone
surfaces including pillars
• He used inscriptions to write down whatever he believed as Dhamma
• It includes respect of elders, generosity towards Brahmins and those who renounced
the world, treating slaves and servants kindly and respect for religion and traditions
of others
Foundation of the Empire

• The Maurya Empire was founded by Chandragupta Maurya, with help from Chanakya,
at Takshashila.
• Chanakya encouraged Chandragupta Maurya and his army to take over the throne of
Magadha.
• Chandragupta gathered many young men from across Magadha and other provinces who
were upset over the corrupt and oppressive rule of king Dhana Nanda
• Before invading Pataliputra, Maurya announced a battle with Magadha army at a distant
place and the whole army was drawn from the city to a distant battlefield
• He also managed to create an atmosphere of civil war in the kingdom
• Ultimately Nanda resigned, handing power to Chandragupta, and went into exile and
was never heard of again.
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• Chanakya contacted the prime minister, Rakshasa and insisted him to continue in
office.
• Rakshasa accepted Chanakya's reasoning, and Chandragupta Maurya was legitimately
installed as the new King of Magadha.
• Rakshasa became Chandragupta's chief advisor, and Chanakya assumed the position
of an elder statesman.

Chandra Gupta Maurya

• He was the founder of the dynasty

• He raised an army with the help of Chanakya ad overthrew Nanda Empire
• He rapidly expanded his power westwards across central and western India, taking
advantage of the disruptions caused by the withdrawal of Alexander the Great's armies.
• Chandragupta then defeated the invasion led by Seleucus I, a Macedonian general from
Alexander's army, gaining additional territory west of the Indus River
• The treaty between Chandra Gupta and Seleucus I, (in 305 BC) was the first treaty
between a native king and a foreigner.
• Diplomatic relations were established and several Greeks historians Megasthenes,
Deimakos and Dionysius resided at the Mauryan court.
• Chandragupta established a strong centralized state with an administration at
Pataliputra
• According to Megasthenes, the city was surrounded by a wooden wall pierced by 64
gates and 570 towers
• The architecture of the city seems to have had many similarities with Persian cities of
the period

Bindusara

• He was the son of Chandra Gupta

• Bindusara extended the rule of the Mauryan empire towards southern India.
• He sent a delegation to the king of Syria asking him to send wine, figs (a kind of tobacco)
and a philosopher
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• The original name of Bindusara was Simhasena.

• He was just 22 years old when inherited the large empire
• He is said to have conquered the 'land between the two seas' – the peninsular region
between the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea
• Bindusara believed in the Ajivika sect.
• Bindusara died in 272 BC and was succeeded by his son Ashoka

Ashoka

• He killed all his brothers except Tisya and came to power with the support of his minister
Radhagupta (Chanda Ashoka)
• Ashok was Converted to Buddhism By Upa Gupt Or Magaliputra Tissa
• He conquired Kalinga (Odisha) and it was his most important achievement
• In the Kalinga war, an estimated 100,000 soldiers and civilians were killed in the furious
warfare, including over 10,000 of Ashoka's own men.
• When Ashoka personally witnessed the devastation, Ashoka began feeling remorse.
and embraced the teachings of Buddhism and renounced war and violence
• He sent out missionaries to travel around Asia and spread Buddhism to other countries
• Ashoka implemented principles of ahimsa by banning hunting and violent sports activity
and ending indentured and forced labour
• The Edicts of Ashoka, set in stone, are found throughout the Subcontinent.
Brihadrad was the last of Mauryas and was killed by the chief of commander

Characteristics of Mauryan Dynasty

Geographic Extension of the Empire

• The empire was the largest to have ever existed in the Indian subcontinent, spanning
over 5 million square kilometres (1.9 million square miles) at its zenith under Ashoka.
• The Mauryan Empire was one of the largest empires of the world in its time.
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• At its greatest extent, the empire stretched to the north along the natural boundaries of
the Himalayas, to the east into Assam, to the west into Balochistan and the Hindu Kush
mountains of present Afghanistan.
• The Empire was expanded into India's central and southern regions by the emperors
Chandragupta and Bindusara.
• It expanded into Kalinga (Present Odisha) under Ashoka
• The population of the empire has been estimated to be about 50–60 million, making the
Mauryan Empire one of the most populous empires of antiquity.
Administration of the Empire
• There were five major political centres
• Pataliputra (Modern Patna) was the capital
• Taxila, Ujjayini, Tosali and Suvarnagiri are the four provinces
• The empire was vast extending between North West Frontier Provinces and Andhra
Pradesh and Odisha in the present-day India
• The head of the provincial administration was the Kumara (royal prince), who governed
the provinces as king's representative.
• A sophisticated civil service governed everything from municipal hygiene to international
trade.
Economy and Trade under Mauryan

• Under Chandragupta Maurya and his successors, internal and external trade,
agriculture, and economic activities all thrived and expanded across India thanks to the
creation of a single and efficient system of finance, administration, and security
• One nationally administered and strict-but-fair system of taxation was implemented
as advised by the principles in the Arthashastra.
• Farmers were freed of tax and crop collection burdens from regional kings
• Chandragupta Maurya established a single currency across India
• They were first to introduce the punch- marked coins. Pana was the silver coin, Tola was
the gold coin and Krash pana was the mixed metal coin
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• Most of the coins were imageless and only 3 images are found on coins. They are Peacock
(Buddhas), Crescent (Ajvikas) and the hill (Jains)
• Ashoka also sponsored the construction of thousands of roads, waterways, canals,
hospitals, rest-houses and other public works.

Social Harmony and Peace

• After the Kalinga War, the Empire experienced nearly half a century of peace and
security under Ashoka.
• Mauryan India also enjoyed an era of social harmony, religious transformation, and
expansion of the sciences and of knowledge.
Architecture

• During the Ashokan period, stonework was of a highly diversified order and comprised
lofty free-standing pillars, railings of stupas, lion thrones and other alarge figures.
• Ashoka was responsible for the construction of several stupas, which were large domes
and bearing symbols of Buddha.
• The most important ones are located at Sanchi, Bharhut, Amaravati, Bodhgaya and
Nagarjunakonda.
• The most widespread examples of Mauryan architecture are the Ashoka pillars and
carved edicts of Ashoka, often exquisitely decorated, with more than 40 spread
throughout the Indian subcontinent.
• The peacock was a dynastic symbol of Mauryans, as depicted by Ashoka's pillars at
Nandangarh and Sanchi Stupa

Religion

Hinduism

• Hinduism was the major religion at the time of inception of the empire
• Hindu priests and ministers such as Chanakya used to be an important part of the
emperor's court.
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• There were devotees of Narayana (Vishnu) and Shiva

• Even after embracing Buddhism, Ashoka retained the membership of Hindu Brahmana
priests and ministers in his court.
• Caste system was discouraged after Mauryan embraced Buddhism

Buddhism

• The stupa, which contained the relics of Buddha, at the centre of the Sanchi complex was
built by the Maurya Empire
• The Dharmarajika stupa in Taxila, modern Pakistan, is also thought to have been
established by Emperor Asoka.
• Ashoka sent a mission led by his son Mahinda and daughter Sanghamitta to Sri Lanka
to spread Buddhism
• He is believed to have built as many as 84,000 stupas across India, such as Sanchi and
Mahabodhi Temple
• He increased the popularity of Buddhism in Afghanistan, Thailand and North Asia
including Siberia.
• Ashoka helped convene the Third Buddhist Council

Jainism

• Chandragupta Maurya embraced Jainism after retiring, when he renounced his throne
and material possessions to join a wandering group of Jain monks.
• Chandragupta was a disciple of the Jain monk Bhadrabahu.
• It is said that in his last days, he observed the rigorous but self-purifying Jain ritual of
santhara (fast unto death), at Shravana Belgola in Karnataka
• Samprati, the grandson of Ashoka, also embraced Jainism.
• It is also said that just like Ashoka, Samprati sent messengers and preachers to Greece,
Persia and the Middle East for the spread of Jainism

Decline of the Mauryan Empire

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• Ashoka was followed for 50 years by a succession of weaker kings.

• Brihadratha, the last ruler of the Mauryan dynasty, held territories that had shrunk
considerably from the time of emperor Ashoka.
• Brihadratha was assassinated in 185 BC during a military parade by the Brahmin general
Pushyamitra Shunga, commander-in-chief of his guard, who then took over the throne and
established the Shunga dynasty.
• It led to religious persecution for Buddhists and a resurgence of Hinduism.

Major Reasons of Decline

The religious policy of Ashoka

• The religious policy of Ashoka antagonized the Brahmins of his empire.

• Since Ashoka banned animal sacrifice it stopped the income of Brahmins who received
gifts in form of various kinds of sacrifices made to them.
• The capture of power by Pushyamitra Sunga shows the triumph of Brahmins.

Huge Expenditure on army and bureaucracy

• During Mauryan age a huge expenditure was done on maintaining army and
bureaucracy.
• Moreover, Ashoka during his reign made large grants to the Buddhist monks which
made the royal treasury empty.
• The Mauryan kings who succeeded Ashoka faced the financial crunch.

Oppressive rule in provinces

• The provincial rulers in Magadhan Empire were often corrupt and oppressive.
• This led to frequent rebellions against the empire.
• During the reign of Bindusara, the citizens of Taxila complained against the misrule of
wicked bureaucrats.
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• Although Bindusara and Ashoka took measures to control the bureaucrats, this failed
to check the oppression in provinces.

Neglect of North-West frontier

• Ashoka was so busy in carrying our religious activities that he seldom paid attention
to north-west frontier of Mauryan Empire.
• The Greeks took advantage of this and set up a kingdom in north Afghanistan which
was known as Bactria.
• This was followed by a series of foreign invasion which weakened the empire.

Gupta Dynasty

General Features

• Founded by Sri Gupta.

• The empire existed at its zenith from approximately 315 to 551 AD and covered much
of the Indian subcontinent
• This period is called the Golden Age of India
• Guptas are believed to be originated from Jat tribe
• Chandragupta I, Samudragupta, and Chandragupta II were the most notable rulers of
the Gupta dynasty.
• All literary sources, such as Mahabharata and Ramayana, were developed during this
period
• The Gupta period produced scholars such as Kalidasa, Aryabhata, Varahamihira,
Vishnu Sharma and Vatsyayana who made great advancements in many academic fields.
• The empire gradually declined because of many factors such as substantial loss of
territory and imperial authority caused by their own erstwhile feudatories, as well as the
invasion by the Huns peoples from Central Asia
• After the collapse of the Gupta Empire in the 6th century, India was again ruled by
numerous regional kingdoms.
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• A minor line of the Gupta clan continued to rule Magadha after the disintegration of
the empire.
• These Guptas were ultimately ousted by the Vardhana ruler Harsha, who established his
empire in the first half of the 7th century

Emperors

Srigupta and Ghatotkacha

• He can be considered the first person of Gupta dynasty, but not the founder of the empire.
• His son and successor Ghatotkacha ruled after him
• He challenged other feudal lords and conquered their lands.

Chandragupta I

• Chandra Gupta I was the real founder and he founded the Gupta era
• Chandragupta set about expanding his power, conquering much of Magadha, Prayaga
(Allahabad), and Saketa (Ayodya)
• He established a realm stretching from the Ganges River to Prayaga (modern-day
Allahabad)
• He assumed the imperial title of Maharajadhiraja.
• He expanded his empire through marriage alliances

Samudragupta

• Samudra Gupta was the first great king

• He incorporated over twenty kingdoms into Gupta dynasty and his rule extended from
the Himalayas to the river Narmada and from the Brahmaputra to the Yamuna.
• He gave himself the titles King of Kings and World Monarch.
• He has also described him as the "Indian Napoleon"
• He performed Ashwamedha Yajna in which a horse with an army is sent to all the nearby
territories of friends and foes.
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• These territorial kings on arrival either accept the king's alliance, who is performing
this Yajna, or fight if they do not.
• The stone replica of the horse, then prepared, is in the Lucknow Museum.
• Samudragupta was also a great patron of art and literature.
• He conquered what is now Kashmir and Afghanistan, enlarging the empire.
• He was a poet and musician himself.
• He was a firm believer in Hinduism and is known to have worshipped Lord Vishnu

Ramagupta

• He is also mentioned as the Maharajadhiraja

• He was dethroned because of being considered unfit to rule, and his younger brother
Chandragupta II took over.

Chandragupta II "Vikramaditya"

• Chandragupta Vikramaditya II, son of Samudra Gupta was the greatest

• Chandragupta II expanded his realm westwards conquering Malwa, Gujarat and
Saurashtra
• Despite the creation of the empire through war, the reign is remembered for its very
influential style of Hindu art, literature, culture and science
• Some excellent works of Hindu art such as the Dashavatara Temple in Deogarh (In UP)
serve to illustrate the magnificence of Gupta art.
• The court of Chandragupta was made more illustrious by Navaratna (Nine Jewels), a
group of nine who excelled in the literary arts.
• Kalidasa was one amongst them
• Kalidasa was mainly known for his shringara (romantic) element in his verse.
• Faxian (or Fa Hsien), a Chinese Buddhist, visited India during the reign of Chandragupta
II

Kumaragupta
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• Towards the end of his reign a tribe in the Narmada valley, the Pushyamitras, rose in
power to threaten the empire.
• He was the founder of Nalanda University which is a UNESCO world heritage site.

Skandagupta

• Skandagupta, is generally considered to be the last of the great Gupta rulers.

• He defeated the Pushyamitra threat, but then was faced with invading Kidarites
(described as the "White Huns or Sweta Huna) from the Central Asia.
• The wars drained the empire's resources and contributed to its decline.

Vishnu Gupta was the real last of the dynasty

Religion

• The Guptas orthodox Hindus, but did not force their beliefs on the rest of the population,
as Buddhism and Jainism also were encouraged
• Sanchi remained an important centre of Buddhism
• Kumaragupta I founded Nalanda University.

Gupta Golden Age

Literature
• In literature Kavyas reached perfection with Kalidas who wrote Kumara Sambahavam,
Reghuvamsham, Meghasandesham, Abhignana Shakunthalam and Riti Samharam
• Short stories started with Panchatantra of Vishnu Sharma
• Vimala, a Jain monk wrote Jain Ramayana in which Sita was the sister of Rama
Art and Architecture
• In Architecture, Guptas were first to construct temples in north India
• 3 types of temple architecture evolved
1. Nagaram; Gopura model of North India
2. Sikhara: Dravidian model of south
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3. Vesara: In Deccan Region

• The Ajantha, Yellora paintings and Bagh cave paintings in MP were developed by
Guptas
• The best copper ever manufactured in Indian history belongs to Gupta age. The standing
Buddha statue of Sulthan Ganj is the example of high-quality copper
• The best iron ever manufactured is used in Mehrauli pillar
Science and Rational Thinking
Medical Science
• In medicine, Palakpya wrote Hastya Ayurveda, a text on vetinary sciences
• Navaneetaka wrote Navaneethakam, a text on Ayurveda
• The Sushruta Samhita, which is a Sanskrit text on all of the major concepts of ayurvedic
medicine with innovative chapters on surgery, dates to the Gupta period
• Doctors also invented several medical instruments, and even performed operations
• The Indian numerals which were the first positional base 10 numeral systems in the
world originated from Gupta India
• The ancient Gupta text Kama Sutra by the Indian scholar Vatsyayana is widely
considered to be the standard work on human sexual behaviour in Sanskrit literature
Astronomy and Mathematics
• Aryabhat, the greatest mathematician of his time lived in this era
• He was first to measure the radius of the earth and to explain the formation of solar and
lunar eclipses. He wrote the famous Aryabhatiyam and Surya Sidhandha
• He postulated the theory that the Earth moves round the Sun, and studied solar and
lunar eclipses.
• He also discovered that the Moon and planets shine by reflected sunlight
• The use of zero was discovered by an unknown Indian in this era (There are opinions that
Aryabhatta discovered zero)
• Brahmagupta was first to form theory of gravitation, even before Newton.
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History of Medieval India

Regional Kingdoms of Medieval India

1. Rashtrakudas -Ellichippuram (Ellora) in preset day Maharashtra

2. Solankis- Gujarath
3. Guhadwalas- Kanoj in Uttar Pradesh
4. Chawhans- Ajmer
5. Tomars- Hariyana
6. Pratihars- Madhya Pradesh
7. Senas- Bihar and Parts of Bengal
8. Palas- Bengal
9. Chendelas- Buddelkhand in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh
10. The Eastern Gangs- Orissa
11. Paramars- Malwa
12. The Cholas – South India
• Raja Raja Chola, the greatest of Chola kings constructed Brihadeeshwara temple
(otherwise called Raja Rajeshwara Temple) at Tanjoor
• It is the biggest temple complex in India
• The image of Marcopolo, an Italian traveler has been found inside the temple
• Raja Raja was first to introduce social auditing in India
• Rajendra Chola, He defeated Palas of Bangal and got the title “Gangai Konda
Chola”
• Again, he destroyed the capital city of Indonesia (Kadaram). Hence, he got the title
Kodaram Konda Chola.
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• He was also known as Pandita Chola

• The Cholas commanded the most powerful navy in the Indian history
• The main purpose behind the naval expedition was to establish monopoly in the silk
trade route with China.
• Maldives was the main center for their ship building industry
• They were first to start decentralized village administration in India. (Earlier form of
Panchayats)
• They were first to install the images of the Kings in the temple
• The Custom of Veeragal also started (Veeras were the royal body guards who killed
themselves when the king dies)
• Sanskritisation started during this time (Lower caste people imitating upper caste in
their culture with the aim of changing the caste status
• Devadasi system started for first time (Temple dancing girl which was later converted
to temple prostitution)

Earlier Muslim Invasions in India

• Muhammed bin Qasim was the first Muslim to invade India in AD 712 at Sindh
• He was 17 years old at that time
• In AD 1014, Mahmud Ghazni (ruler of Ghazna in Present Afghanistan) attacked
India and burnt the temple at Mathura
• He sacked Kanauj (In UP now), Gwalior and destroyed Somanath Temple
• Alberuni was the court historian of Mahmud Gazni and he wrote the famous book
“Kitab ul Hind” along with Firdousi (Author of the epic poem on Persian empire
Shahnama)
• Muhammed Ghori earlier made attempts to attack India, but he was defeated by
Raja of Gujarath Mulraja II
• Later he came again at Bhatinda and faced Prithviraj Chauhan and Ghori was
defeated in First Battle of Terain (1191AD)
• In the second battle of Terain Rajaput army of Pritihviraj was defeated by Ghori
in 1192 AD
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• Qutubudheen Aibak was the slave of Ghori who was instrumental in in

conquering different parts of India
• After the assassination of Ghori in Afghanistan, he founded slave dynasty in India

Delhi Sultanate

There were five dynasties under Delhi Sultanate

1. The Slave Dynasty (1206-1290) – It had maximum number of Sultans: 10

2. Khilgis (1290-1320)- Ruled for the shortest Period
3. Tuglaks (1320- 1414)- Ruled for the longest period
4. Sayyids (1414- 1451)
5. The Lodis (1451-1526)- It had least number of Sultans: 3
• The first three were Turks. Sayyids were Perisians and the Lodis were Afghans

Slave Dynasty/ Mamluk Dynasty

• Founded by Kutubudheen Aibak

• He laid the foundation of Qutub Minar
• Iltumish, son in law of Aibak was the real founder
• He introduced silver coins (Tankas) and copper coins (Jittas)
• He completed the construction of Qutub Minar
• Rasiya Sultana, daughter of Iltutmish was the only woman ruler in the history of
Delhi
• She came to throne after killing her brother Rhukh ud Dheen

Gayasudheen Balban

• He was the greatest of Slave dynasty

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• He introduced divine origin theory of Kingship. Declared himself Zille Ilahi (Shadow
of God)
• He called himself Amir ul Muamineen
• Founded separate department Diwan-i-Araz for military administration and to control the
attack of Mangols
• The celebration of Persian new year, Naoroz started
• He showed special favour to Urdu poet Amir Khusru
• Recognized Iqta System (Land grants to Surdars)

Khilgi Dynasty

Jalaludheen Khilgi

• He was the most democratic of all Delhi Sultans and first to rule according to the public
opinion
• Mangols attacked India under the leadership of Ulagu and he defeated them and
converted into Islam

Alaudheen Khilgi

• He took the title Sikander- i- Sani (2nd Alexander)

• Malik Kafur was his most trusted commander who led expeditions in South India
• He appointed Munhis (Royal censor officers as spies on court nobles)
• Barids were the news reporters of Alaudheen Khilji
• Banned consumption of liquor in public
• Matrimonial alliance among the families of nobles were brought under the supervision
of the state
• He was first Suthan to go for permanent standing army
• He started to pay salaries in cash (Itlaq system)
• Controlling the market prices was Alauddin’s most important reforms known as one of
the wonders in the history
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• Land revenue was fixed at 1/5th of the production in the initial period and increased
gradually
• The land tax collected was 50%, the highest ever by any Indian ruler. (the highest,
however, was 55% under the East Indian Company in the Royatwari System)
• Ghari (house tax) an Charai (Grazing Tax) were levied
• He was first to collect tax in cash
• For revenue collection, the new department of Diwan i- Mustakhraj was created
• Religion was separated from the state. He was the first Sultan to oppose the over
lordship of Khalifa
• He constructed Alai Darwaza, an entrance to the Qutub Minar
• Dagh was the system of branding military horses and Chehra was the system of division
of labour for soldiers

Tuglak Dynasty

Ghiyasudheen Tuglak

• He was the founder of the dynasty

• The city Tuglacauabad was constructed
• He was first to start Irrigation system in India

Muhammed bn Tuglak

• Great scholar in Persian, Arabic, mathematics, natural sciences and theology

• He made some controversial acts as follows:
• Increased land tax by 40% in the Ganga- Yanuna
• Shifted the capital city from Delhi to Daulatabad (Devagiri) in present day
Maharashtra to punish the people of Delhi
• Other motives for shifting the capital were:
• 1. To get access to ports in South and West
• 2. To protect the capital from attacks of Mangos in North West Region
• 3. Establish control over Deccan region
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• He issued token currency of bronze coins to fill the gap in gold and silver reserves
• He was first to conduct census in Delhi
• First Sulthan to visit Hindu temples and celebrate Diwali
• Banned custom of Sati and was known for his justice
• Ibn Batoota, a traveler from Morocco visited his court and was made Khazi (Judge)
• Introduced postal system between Delhi and Daulatabad

Foroz Shah Tuglak

• Collected taxes as prescribed by Qur’an

• Collected Jizya from Non-Muslims and Zakat from Muslims
• He destroyed Jagannath Temple at Puri, Jwlamukhi temple at Nagarcott (In Himachal
Pradesh) and Lingaraja temple Bhuwaneswar
• Founded a separate department for the welfare of slaves called Bandagan
• Founded public hospitals (Darul Shafas) in Delhi
• Established Diwn-i-Kairat for the welfare of the poor
• Delhi was beautiful with 1200 gardens
• Constructed four canals between Sutluj and Yamuna and collected irrigation tax
• He wrote the book “Futuhat -i-Firoz Shahi (Conquests of Firoz)

Muhammed Shah Tuglak

• The last of the dynasty

Lodi Dynasty

• Bahlul Lodhi was the first of the dynasty

• Sekinder Lodi, the greatest founded the city Agra
• Ibrahim Lodi was the last whom Babar defeated in first battle of Panipat him and
established Mughal Dynasty
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Mughal Empire

• It was founded in 1526

Babur

• Actual name was Zahirudheen Muhammed Babur

• In 1526, defeated Ibrahim Lodi in the Battle of Panipat I and established the empire
• Tuzuk- i- Babari or Babrnama is his autobiography

Humayun

• The Sur Empire (1540–1555) from Afghanistan, founded by Sher Shah Suri (reigned
1540–1545), briefly interrupted Mughal rule

• She shah Suri extended Grand Trunk Road from Chittagong to Kabul

• Humayun was in asylum for this 15 years period

• He died falling from the top of his library
• His tomb was built by his widow, Haji Beegum, a proto- type of Tajmahal
• It was first structure constructed in India in pure Persian style

Akbar

• He abolished pilgrim taxes and Jizya

• Constructed the Ibadat Khana (Hall of worship) and later converted Ibadat Khana into
parliament of religions where religious discussions were held.
• He enunciated the order known as ‘Din –i- Iahi with the aim of universal harmony
• He synchronized native Hindu, Buddhist, Rajput and Islamic styles of architecture
• He completed Red fort in Agra
• He founded the city Fatehpur Sikhri
• Buland Darwaza, constructed by Akbar is biggest entry point in India
• In his Mahal constructions, he was influenced by Buddhist Stupas

Jahanghir
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• Actual name Salim

• He executed the 5th Sikh Guru Arjun Singh for supporting his son Khusrau who
revolted against father
• The British landed in Machlipattanam during his time
• He constructed his own tomb in Lahore
• He also constructed Shalimar Bagh in Srinagar
• He supported painting a lot and he could tell the name of individual artist in a composite
piece of painting
• Ustad Mansur was the greatest painter of his time and was called Refel of East.
• He was expert in painting birds and animals

Shahjahan

• His actual name was Khurram

• Became ruler after killing all possible contenders to the throne
• He constructed Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Moti Masjid in Agra Fort, Rang Mahal in Red
Fort and Delhi Jama Masjid
• Ustad Isa was the chief architect of Taj Mahal

Aurangazib

• He issued ordinances to restore the Muslim law of conduct based on the teachings of
Qur’an.
• Discontinued inscribing Kalima on the coins
• Abolish Nauroz celebrations
• Jeziah was re- imposed
• Astronomers and astrologers were dismissed
• He arrested his father Shajahan and imprisoned him for wasting public money

Indo Islamic Culture

Bakti Movement
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• Started with Adi Shankara in Kerala. He founded the philosophy Advita

• Kabir was the most popular of all Bakti saints
• He was the first to preach Hidu Muslim Unity
• His sayings are popular as Dohas
• Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism was influenced by Kabir and preached
Nirgunabhakti
• Birbal also preached Nirguna bhakti and founded a sect called Satnamis

Sufism

• Chishti Order: Introduced in India by Khwaja Mueenudheen Chisti of Ajmer

• Qutubudheen Bhaktiyar Ka’ki was his chief discipline and Qutub Minar was
dedicated by Iltumish for his memory
• Shaikh Nizamudhheen was the most famous Sufi saint of this order
• Amir Khusru was the poet of Nizamudheen and followed Chisti order
• Akbar respected sheikh Saleem Chisti and constructed his Dargah at Fatehpur Sikhri
• Aurangazib followed Naqshabandhi order
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History of Modern India

The Beginning of European Settlement and British Conquest of

India

The Europeans who came to India in the chronological order were:

1. The Portuguese
2. The Dutch
3. The English
4. The Danes
5. The French

The Portuguese

• Vasco da Gama discovered the sea trade route to India

• He was received by the Zamorin (Manu Vikrama Varman) of Calicut on May, 18, 1498.
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• Gama died and buried at Cochin

• Francisco de Almeda became first Portuguese Governor and introduced Blue Water
Policy (Control over Sea instead of making fortes on land)
• He Established their headquarters at Cochin
• During the time of Almeda, there were several wars between Zamorin and Portuguese
• Second governor Alphonso de Albuquerque founded Portuguese Empire in India
• He conquered Goa from Sultan of Bijapur in 1510AD
• He encouraged conversions and forced marriages in India
• Third Portuguese Governor Nuno de Cunha shifted capital city from Cochin to Goa
• During his time, famous Christian missionary leader, Francis Xavier visited Goa
• Portuguese traded maximum in spices
• Portuguese were first to issue naval trade licenses called ‘Cartazes’
• The "cartazes" licensing system was created in 1502 to control and enforce the
Portuguese trade monopoly over a wide area in the Indian Ocean

Centers of Portuguese Trade and their Decline

• Surat: In 1612, Captain Best of English defeated Portuguese in the Battle of Swally/
Battle of Suvali and they lost Surat.
• Ormuz (in Present Iran) and Cochin: Portuguese lost Hormuz and Cochin to Dutch
in 1622 and 1663 respectively
• Bombay: It was given as dowry to Prince Charles II of England when he got married
with a princess of Portugal.
• Salasetti (In Maharashtra) and Bessein (Vasai in Maharastra): In 1739, Peshwa Baj
Rao I occupied Salasetti and Bessain
• Portuguese were left with Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Goa, Daman and Diu
• Dadra and Nagar Haveli: National Movement Liberation Organisation (NMLO),
and the Azad Gomantak Dal conquered the territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli from
Portuguese India in 1954
• Goa, Daman and Diu were occupied by Government of India through Operation Vijay in
1961
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The Dutch

• Dutch East India Company was established in 1602 in Netherlands

• It was the most powerful of all the European companies
• The only company authorized to declare war and conclude peace and mint the coins
• Founded their first factory at Masulipattanam in 1605
• Other centers were: Pulicat, Nagapattinam, (Both in Tamil Nadu) Dhaka
(Banglaadesh), Cossimbazar, Hooghly, Chinsurah (All 3 in West Bengal) and Patna
in the East coast and Cochin (Kerala), Cambay (Gujrath), Ormuz, Surat and Broach
(Present name Bharuch in Gujrat) on the west coast and Agra in the North
• The Dutch traded maximum in indigo and textiles
• Dutch trade was called Intra-Asian and Euro-Asian trade (From Indian to Indonesia and
from there to Europe)
• Bettavia in Indonesia was a main center of Dutch trade. Hence, it was also known as
Bettavian trade.
• 1622: Amboyna massacre happened (23 English officers were killed by Dutch army at
Amboyna in Indonesia). It is the Present-day Maluku island in Indonesia
• Dutch were defeated by English in the Battle of Biderra/ Battle of Chinsurah/Battle of
Hoogly when Mir Jafar was the Nawab of Bengal in 1759
• The Dutch vacated India for English and English vacated Indonesia for Dutch

The English

• John Mindan Hall was the first English to visit India in 1599 in the court of Akbar in
Agra
• The English East India Company was established on 31st December 1600
• The Charter of the company was granted by Queen Elizebath I
• John Watts and George White are two founders of the company
• Masulipattanam became the first settlement of British
• Fort St. George was constructed in Madras in 1644
47 | P a g e

• In 1684, Madras was once again elevated to the status of a Presidency and William
Gyfford appointed as the first President.
• The city of Madras was the winter capital of the Presidency and Ootacamund or Ooty,
the summer capital.
• Hariharpur was the first English settlement in Bengal
• Shuja (2nd Son of Shajahan and Governor of Bengal) was treated by Dr. George Boughton
when he had fallen sick
• In return, he granted permission for English to settle anywhere in Bengal
• Dhaka, Kasim Bazar, Chinsura Murshidabad became British settlements
• Job Charnock fortified 3 villages Satanauti, Kalikkatta and Govindpur and city
Calcutta was formed
• In 1700, Fort Willian was constructed in Kolkata.
• Bengal Presidency was formed with Charles Eyre as first official president
• The English traded maximum in printed textiles (Calicoes)

Anglo-Mughal Relations

• Captain Hockings, Captain Edward and Thomas Roe were the Ambassadors to the
court of Jahanghir
• Jahangir granted Farman to settle at Surat
• 1690 Aurangzeb declared war upon the English
• Immediate Reason: Governor of Bombay Jessa and Jotia Child (Child Brothers) were
teasing the Muslim pilgrims to Mecca
• Another Reason: English sacked Hugli and declared war on Mughal.
• Aurangzeb defeated English and driven them out of Bengal and besieged fort at Bombay
• He stopped war only after British submitted a humble petition to forgive their crimes
48 | P a g e

• Aurangzeb charged 1.5 lakh rupees as war compensation and then permitted them to
continue trade
• He has given pardon due to following reasons
1. He believed that foreign trade carried by the company would benefit Indian artisans
and draw a lot of revenue to the treasury
2. English, through their strong naval presence, were capable of ruining Indian trade and
shipping
• Mughal king Farukh Siyar granted Golden Farman exempting English from customs
duties in Gujarat and Deccan
• It was after Dr. William Hamilton treated him when he had fallen sick.

The Danes

• Danish East India Company was founded in 1616

• First settlement was in Tranquver near Chennai
• Among all Europeans, they were more committed for promoting Christianity
• They disposed of their settlements to English

The French

• French East India Company was founded in 1664 by Jean Colbert (Financial Wizard of
France
• First settlement of French East India Company was in Surat
• Other settlements were Masulipattanam, Yanam, Karaikal, Pondichery and Mahe
• In Bengal, they fortified at Chandranagore

Anglo-French War/ Carnatic War

First Anglo-French War (1744–1748)

• Started with Austrian Succession War in Europe between England and France
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• Dupleix, the French Governor, defeated the English and captured Fort St. George
• British took shelter in the court of Anwarudheen, Nawab of Carnatic
• The Battle of Saint Thome between French Army and Anwarudheen (nawab of Carnatic)
was the first battle between native and European armies.
• Dupleix defeated the large troop of Anwarudheen
• The war ended with Aix-La-Chapple treaty (Paris Treaty)
• Madras was given back to the British in exchange for the French fortress of
Louisbourg in North America, which the British had captured

Second Anglo-French War (1749–1754)

• Started with civil war in Hyderabad after the death of Asaf Jha Nizamul Mulk
• English supported Nasir Jung (Son of Nizamul Mulk)
• French supported Muzaffar Jung (Grandson of Nizamul Mulk)
• In Carnatic, Nawab Anwarudeheen was challenged by his son-in-law Chanda Sahib who
was supported by the French
• In the Battle of Amber, Dupleix defeated the allied forces of English and Anwarudheen
• Nasir Jung (British Candidate) was killed in the war
• Muzaffar Jung was appointed as Nawab
• However, Muzaffar Jung died in an accident while marching to the palace after victory
• Then French declared Salabat Jung as the Nawab
• As a gift, Salabat gave four districts of Northern Sarkars to French Company (Mustafa
Nagar, Rajmundary, Eluru and Srikakulan)
• Anwarudheen was killed in a battle at Ambur and Chanda Sahib was made Nawab in
Carnatic
• In 1751 Robert Clive captured Arcot (Capital of Carnatic) and besieged it for 49 days
with 51 soldiers
• French was badly defeated
• Dupleix was suspended as a part of Pondichery treaty between English and French

Third Anglo-French War (1756–1763)

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• Started with 7 years’ war in Europe between English and French

• Bussi, French Governor in Hyderabad was defeated by Col.Ford of English in the Battle
of Chandurthi
• French lost Hyderabad
• 1760: Most decisive battle was fought at Wadavish (Vandavasi)
• Entire French Navy was defeated
• Paris treaty was signed
• It ended the fortunes of France in India

Conquest of India by British Imperialism

Bengal

• Bengal was the richest Suba under the Mughals founded by Murshid Quli Khan
• He granted Taccavi loans to the cultivators and renovated Port Calcutta
• Nullified goldern faraman of Faruukh Siyar and forced English to pay tax
• He added Orissa to Bengal
• His son Shujaudheen added Bihar to Bengal
• Sarfaras Khan (Son of Shujaudheen) was killed by Alivardhi Khan (deputy governor /
Deputy Subahdar of Bihar)
• Alivardi renovated Port Kolkata and encouraged the settlement of Baniyas and Lucknow
Muslims and hence population of Calcutta increased

Siraj-ud- Dawla

• He is the grandson of Alivardi Khan

• He declared war on English in 1756 when they refused to pay tax as done during the time
of Murshid Kuli Khan
• He asked them to stop fortification in Calcutta and the English refused
• He defeated English and made Manik Chand governor of Kolkata
• Siraj seized English factories at Kasim Bazar and occupied Fort Williams
• Then, the alleged Blackhole incident happened
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• British officer Holwell has written that large number of British soldiers who were
imprisoned by Siraj in Fort Williams died of suffocation
• Alinagar treaty was signed between Siraj and defeated English
• Defeated English took shelter in Fulta island

Battle of Plassey

• Admiral Watson and Robert Clive were sent by Madras government to capture Bengal
• Clive conspired with court nobles of Siraj like Mir Jafar, Manik Chand (governor of
Calcutta), Rai Durlab (Zamindar of Burdwan), Jagat Seths (the richest bankers) Kadim
Khan (Commander of troop) and Omichund (richest Sindhi merchant).
• In Battle of Plassey a small contingent of French army supported Siraj against British
• Battle of Plessey took place in 1757 on the banks river Bhagirathi
• Siraj was killed by Myran son of Mir Jafar
• The battle was called first Revolution for its consequences
• Mir Jafar was appointed as Nawab
• During his time, Dutch were defeated by English in the battle of Bedara
• In 1760, British deposed Mir Jafar and appointed Mir Qasim as the Nawab

Battle of Buxar

• Misuse of Dastak, the passes for doing trade in Bengal for English Company, was the
main cause of conflict between Mir Qasim and the Company
• Mir Qasim joined with Mughal Emporer Shah Alam and Nawab of Awadh (Ayodhya)
Shuja ud Dawla agaist British
• The allied forces were defeated at Buxar, Kara and Allahabad
• Battle of Buxar is called second revolution
• Allahabad treaty was signed
• Mir Qasim was deposed and Mir Jafar was brought back
• Shujauddawla paid 40 lakh rupees and surrendered Allahabad and Kara districts to
Engish
• The same districts were transferred to Mugahal Emporer Sha Alam
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• In return, Mugahal Emporor granted Diwani (Tax collection) rights to English in Bengal,
Bihar and Orissa
• Robert Clive introduced Dual Government in Bengal with Nawab Nazam ud Dawla
(second son of Mir Jafar)
• Diwani was for English and Nazamat (Administration) was for the Nawab
• Warren Hastings nullified Dual Government and annexed Bengal

Mysore

• Hyder was an ordinary sepoy in the army of Mysore ruled by Vodayars

• Later he was made Faujdar of Dindigal
• Defended Dindigal against Marathas and was given the title Fath Jung Haider
• At Dindigal, he established the first modern arms factory in India
• Hyder introduced Mughal administrative and revenue system in Mysore

1st Anglo Mysore War 1767–69

• General Warren Hastings made an alliance of Marathas and Nizam against Mysore
• Hyder defeated English and the war ended with Madras treaty
• Hyder had distinction of the treaty getting ratified by Queen

Second Anglo Mysore War 1780–84

• Causes: Against the spirit of Madras treaty, the English did not support Hyder when
Marathas attacked him
• English attacked Mahe, the French port used by Hyder for importing war technology
• Hyder defeated the English several times and many British soldiers surrendered in front
of him
• However, most decisive battle was fought at Portonovo and Hyder was defeated
• During this Hyder died of cancer and his son Tipu continued the war and was defeated by
British.
• The war ended with Mangalore Treaty and Tipu and the English exchanged the territories
captured during the war
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• Warren Hastings was the Governor General of Bengal during this time

3rd Anglo Mysore War 1790–92

• Immediate cause was Tipu’s attack on Travancore (friendly state of English)

• Tipu was defeated once again and the war ended with Srirangapattanam treaty
• According to the treaty, Tipu ceded half of the territory to the British
• Tipu also paid a war compensation of 1 crore rupees to the company
• Till he paid this amount, two of his sons were imprisoned by the company
• Cornwallis was the Governor General of Bengal

4th Anglo Mysore War 1799

• Cause was that Tipu refused to sign Subsidiary Alliance of Wellesley

• Tipu was shoot at Srirangapattanam and he died
• Mysore was given back to Vodayars
• William Bentick suspended the administration of Vodayars and annexed Mysore

Tipu Sulthan

• Tipu had a best personal library among all Indian Kings

• He was first to identify the importance of merchant navy and banking system
• He organized his army on European lines
• He was influenced by French Revolution and went to Paris and became member of
radical Jacobean club
• He planted a tree of liberty at Sreeranga Pattanam. It was later removed by Cornwallis
• He was first to use missile technology in modern India
• First Indian to send delegation to Muslim countries
• Invited Nepolean to fight against British
• He made liberal land grant tools to Ragannatha temple and held Jagatguru of Sungeri
mat at high respect

Maratha
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• Marathas were in Five Confederacies

1. Peshwa : Poona
2. Gaekwad : Baroda
3. Sindhia : Gwalior
4. Holkar : Indore
5. Bhonsle : Nagpur
• There was strong internal fight among them
• Wellesley offered Subsidiary Alliance to Peshwa and Sindhia
• But far-sighted Nana Phandis refused to fall in trap
• In between, Holkar defeated combined armies of Peshwa and Sindhia
• Terrified Peshwa Baji Rao II rushed to the British for help and signed Subsidiary
Alliance
• In Different wars, all other confederacies were defeated, and Maratha region was annexed
• A small state of Satara was formed and given to heirs of Sivaji to protect the Maratha
prestige

Punjab

• Guru Nanak founded Sikhism

• Guru Angad introduced Gurumukhi Script and wrote Janam Sakhi on the life and
teachings of Nanak
• Guru Granth Sahib is the holy text of Sikhism

Raja Ranjit Singh

• Most powerful ruler of Punjab

• He maintained good relationship with Zaman Shah of Persia
• With Persian support, he maintained the mighty Punjab province extending up to
Peshawar and Sindh.

Anglo-Sikh Relations

• British sent Yusuf Ali mission seeking friendship with Ranjith Singh
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• Reasons for friendship:

1. He was a good friend of Persia
2. He commanded one of the best armies in Asia called Fauj Khas trained by
German, Italian and French war experts
3. He had the most sophisticated canon (Jamjama)
• Charles Metcalfe was also sent to Lahore for negotiating with Ranjith Singh
• British sent Dr. Murray to attend Ranjith Sing
• 1809 Amritsar treaty was signed between Ranjith Singh and the English recognizing
Sutlej as the border
• In 1832, Governor General Willian Betick and Ranjith Singh helped Shuja to come to
power in Persia
• Shah Shuja Durrani of Afghanistan gifted Kohinoor diamond to Ranjith Sing

First Anglo Sikh War 1845–46

• After Ranjith Singh, his minor son Dalip Singh came to power
• He was the youngest son of Maharaja Ranjith Singh and the only son in his wife Jind Kaur
or Rani Jindan
• The immediate reason was that Sikh army crossed Sutlej in 1845
• British declared Amritsar treaty null and void
• Sikhs were defeated, and the war ended with Lahore Treaty
• A war compensation of 1 crore was charged from Punjab by British East India
company
• As Sikhs were unable to pay the amount, they surrendered Kashmir and it was sold over
by the English to Raja Gulab Sing of Dogra Dynasty for 75 lakh rupees
• As per the treaty, a British resident was established in Lahore under Henry
Lawrance
• Later, Rani Jindan was removed as regent by another treaty, Treaty of Bhairowal in
1846
• She was sent to Benares as pensioner

Second Anglo-Sikh War 1848–49

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• Mulraj, the Sikh governor of Multan was removed by the British

• As a revenge, 2 British officers were killed by Mulraj
• Dalhousie declared war and Mulraj was defeated
• Three decisive battles were fought during second Anglo Sikh ware
• They are battle of Ramnagar, Battle of Chillhanwala and battle of Gujarat (It is small
town on the bank of river Jhelum
• Duleep Singh left for London and followed Christianity
• Sir John Lawrence was made the Commissioner of Punjab
• Under his ablest administration Punjab became the richest province in British India

The Impact of Colonialism on Indian Economy

The Impact of European Trade on Indian Economy

• Ship Building was the first industry destroyed by the Europeans (the English)
• Baniyas of Gujarat and Vohras of Konkan coast were experts in constructing large
ships called Dhows and Zankars
• Dutch introduced Bills of Exchange or Hundi System
• English introduced advances to the Indian merchants for procuring certain
commodities
• It was called Dadni System
• In Indigo, it was called Tinkathia system
• Commercialization of agriculture started
Indigo : Dutch
Tobacco : Portuguese
Cotton, Oil seeds, Tea and Opium : English
• Imperial Preference was given for importing British products
• It means special tariff protection to British Imports to India

British Economic Policies and their Impact on Indian Economy

Three types of revenue system

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1. Zamindari system/ Permenant settlement

Drafted by Sir John Shore Committee appointed by Court of Directors of the
Company
Introduced in Bengal, Varanasi and North Cauvery Delta by Cornwallis
Zamindars who have auctioned the authority to collect taxes were given the power
to collect taxes as much they wish
Out of the total revenue collected, 10/11 was the share of the company
1/11 was the commission of the Zamindar
Zamindars were given magisterial powers
Zamindars were made owners of the land
The ownership of the land was made hereditary and transferable
Land was made saleable, mortgageable and alienable
Cultivator was left to the status of tenant at the mercy of zamindars or government
Tenet’s land can be taken away if he fails to pay tax
Zamindari system was not extended to other areas due to increasing price of
agricultural commodities
Then policy makers found it more comfortable to deal directly with the peasants
as found in Ryotwari system
Economic theories of British Political economist David Ricardo also opposed
Zamindari System
2. Ryotwari System
Introduced by Thomas Munro and Col. Reed
Introduced in Madras and later extended to Bombay and Assam
Peasant was recognized as the owner of the soil and given the title “Deed” called
“Patta”
It established a direct relationship between the peasants and the government
The highest rate of tax in Indian history (55%) was under this system
Rate of tax was periodically revised
In this system government directly collected the tax without any mediator
The peasants were gradually impoverished due to high rate of tax
3. Mahalwari system
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Introduced by Col. Bird in Gujarath, Agra, Central Provinces, Punjab, Ganga

Valley and North-Western Provinces
In this system, the responsibility of collecting taxes was with the village or Mahal.
Rate of tax was periodically revised

Drain of Wealth

• It was a theory put forward by Dadabai Naoroji while addressing the parliament on
what British owe to India.
• It is the migration of the resources of one country to the other.
• Before 1857 revolt, it was military expenditure
• After 1857, it was home charges (salaries of Governor General and his staff in India
and that of Secretary of state and his staff in London.
• He used the word drain for first time in his book Poverty and un-British rule in
India
• MG Ranade was another supporter of this theory
• RC Dutt made drain as the major theme of his book The Economic History of India
• Sachidanand Sinha called British Colonialism as White man’s Burden
• Mahadev Govind Ranade has written Essay on Indian Economics
• Prithwis Chandra Ray is the author of The Poverty Problem in India
• Vasudeo Balwant Phadke, GV Joshi, G Subrahmanya Iyer and GK Gokhale
were other scholars influenced by Theory of Drain of Wealth
• They realized that the aim of colonialism is to convert India into a source of raw
materials and market for finished metropolitan goods of different European factories

Development of Communication System under British Rule

• Grand Trunk Road between Kolkata and Delhi started in 1839

• Steam Engine was introduced in 1852
• Railways by 1853. First Railway from Bombay to Thana.
• Posts and Telegraph by 1853. First telegraph line was from Calcutta to Agra
• Dalhousie introduced the postal stamp in India.
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• He made uniform rates of half an anna for a letter all over India.
• Underground cable network between Kolkata and Delhi in 1857

Administrative Organizations of the British in India

• Civil Services was introduced by Cornwallis. He is known as the father of Indian Civil
Services
• Wellesley established College of Fort Williams at Calcutta for training young civil
servants
• Indian Police was also established by Cornwallis even before the police system came
into existence in England
• Warren Hastings started civil and criminal courts in India
• However, Cornwallis established it by setting up a Diwani Adalat in each district
• British made a law commission headed by Macaulay to codify Indian laws
• He formed the Indian Penal Code
• William Bentick banned Sati at the instance of Raja Ram Mohan Roy in 1829
• William Bentick and Harding banned the custom of female infanticide among some
Rajaput clans
• 1856 Hindu Widow Remarriage Act was passed after the demand from Ishwar
Chandra Vidyasagar
• 1781: Warren Hastings set up Calcutta Madrasa for study of Muslim laws
• 1791: Jonathan Duncan started Sanskrit College at Varanasi for study of Hindu law
and philosophy
• Macaulay introduced English Education in India

19th Century Indian Renaissance

Hindu Reform Movements

Atmiya Sabha
• Founded by Rajaram Mohan Roy in 1815
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• It was the first reform movement in India

• Main theme was to promote studies on Indian Philosophy (Upanishads)
• The association intended to promote free and collective thinking

Young Bengal Movement by Henry Vivian Derozio

• First to start writing Pamphlets

• He inspired Iswar Chandra Vidya sagar and Kesab Chandra Sen
• Advocated for the rights of women and their education
• They did not take up the issues of peasants.
• They demanded revision of company’s charter, freedom of press and better treatment for
Indian labour in British colonies abroad
• They were inspired by the French Revolution
• Derozio is known as the first nationalist poet of modern India

Brahmo Samaj

• Founded by Rajaram Mohan Roy in Kolkata in 1828

• Main theme was Nirgunosapna (Formless worship) and opposed idol worship
• Samaj propagated worshipping a single God without the mediation of priest
Social Programmes of Sabha:

➢ Eradication of social evils like sati

➢ Emancipation of women
➢ Progressive education
➢ Generate awareness on socio economic issues
➢ To reform the prevailing Brahminism in Bengal
• It was at the instance of Rajaram Mohan Roy, Sati was abolished in 1829.
• Macualay introduced English education at his instance
• 1866: Brahmo Samaj Split into two:
1. All India Brahmo Samaj under Kesab Chandra Sen, Anand Mohan Bose and
Shivanarayan Shastri
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2. Adi Brahmo Samaj under Devendranath Tagore

• In 1878, Second Split happened in Brahmo Samaj
• Suharmo Brahma Samaj was founded by Anand Mohan Bose and Sivanarayan
Shastri
• Revolted against Kesab Chandra Sen for promoting hero worship and performing child
marriage for his daughter
• Raja Radhakant Deo founded Dharmo Sabha to oppose Brahmo Samaj

Tatwabodini Sabha 1839

• It was by Debendranath Tagore for promoting Indian Philosophy

• It was formed as a splinter group of the Brahmo Samaj
• The movement helped to spread national outlook among the intellectuals
• Tatwabodini Patrika, the official journal of the organization promoted a systematic
study on India’s past in the Bengali Language

Prarthana Samaj

• Established by Atmaranag Pandurang in Bombay with the help of Keshab Chandra Sen
• MG Ranede is known as the architect of the movement
• Veerasalingam was responsible for spreading the movement in Tamil Nadu
• The programmes of the movement include education to women and downtrodden,
Widow remarriage and development of lower caste people.
• Major aim of the movement was to make people believe in one God and worship one God

Arya Samaj

• Founded by Swami Dayananda Sarswati

Works Done:
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• Promoted Studies on Vedas

• Opposed domination of priestly classes
• Opposed Child marriage and suggested minimum age of 25 for boys and 16 for
girls for marriage
• Promoted widow remarriages
• Founded schools, hospitals and colleges
• Sudhi Movement of reconverting people to Hinduism
• Cow Protection movement against cow slaughtering (Gaurakshini Sabha)
• Dayananda emphasized Brhmacharya for priests
• Main centre was Punjab. Spread to UP, Rajasthan and Gujrat also

Split in the movement after Dayananda Saraswati

1. Swami Shradhananda founded Gurukula section at Haridwar and supported Sanskrit

as a medium of lecture
2. Lala Hansraj and Lala Lajapat Rai established Oriental College at Lahore and
supported English medium
• Another Major reason for split was the difference between Meat Eating and Vegetarianism
• This difference happened mainly among the members of Samaj from Punjab
• The group which refrained from eating meat were called Mahatma
• The other group was called Cultured Party

Theosophical Society

• Established in New York by Madam HP Blavadsky and Col. Olcott

• Later shifted from New York to Adayar in Chennai
• Madam Annie Besant was the promoter of this in India
• It advocated for universal brotherhood
• It tried to revive ancient religions in different parts of the world
• Its philosophy agreed the transmigration of the soul of human beings

Servants of India Society by Gopala Krishna Gokhale

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• Founded by Gopala Krishna Gokhale

• Other leaders of the movement are Natesh Appaji Dravid, Gopal Krishna Deodhar and
Anant Patwardhan
• The Society fight the social evils of untouchability and discrimination

Ramakrishna Mat

Run by Swami Vivekananda at Belur

Promoted Universal religion
1897 he founded Ramakrishna Mission

Islamic Reform Movements

Aligarh Movement

• founded by Sir Syed Ahamad Khan

• He established the Anglo- Mohammadan School which was later upgraded to AMU

Ahrar Movement

• Founded by Muhammed Ali and Hakim Ajmal Khan

• Worked against Sir Syed’s loyalty towards British

Sikh Reform Movement

Akali Movement

• The movement worked against the misuse of Gurudwaras by priestly class called Mohants.
• In 1920, Sikh leader Karthar Singh Jhabbar started this movement demanding lower caste
Sikh’s entry into Golden Temple
• He formed a movement named as Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhandhak Committee
• The movement ended with Sikh Gurudwara Act, 1925

Parsi Reform Movements

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Rahnumai Mazdayasnan Sabah

• established by Dadabai naoroji, Naoroji Furonji and SS Bengali

• Worked for male- female equality
• Madam BR Cama, the Mother of Indian Revolution, was a product of this movement

Lower Caste Movements

Self-Respect Movement

• By EV Rama Swami Naikar known as Periyar

• It was first to start the practice of burning Manusmriti
• Founded the journal Kudiarasu

Satya Shodak Sabah

• Founded by Mahamtma Jyotibha Phule

• Jyotibha championed the cause of untouchable Mali community
• Wrote the books “Gulamgiri” and Sarvajanik sathyadharmadha Pustak
• Jyotibha established a girls’ school in Pune

DR. BR Ambedkar

• Submitted his thesis on Indian Rupee

• Founded the Journals: Mukhanyak (Dump Man), Bahishkrtha Bharath (Ex-
communicated India)
• Founded All Indian Depressed Class Association and Organized Mahat satyagraha
• Participated in all 3 round table conferences
• According to his demand for separate communal electorate for Depressed classes, Ramsay
Mac Donald announced Communal Award (1932)
• Poona Pact was signed between caste Hindus and Depressed classes

Thinkers of Modern India

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Rajaram Mohan Roy

• Known as Father of Modern Indian renaissance

• First to conduct political agitation in India
• First to plead for English Education in India
• He translated Vedas and Upanishads to Bengali language
• He was a good scholar in Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, English, Latin, Greek and
Hebrew languages
• Father of modern Indian journalism
• His journals: Bengal Gazatte, Bangaduta, Sambandha Kaumudi (1st jounal to discuss
politics) Miratul Akbar (first journal in Persian Language)
• He demanded Indianization of civil services and separation of judiciary and
executive
• He wrote two pamphlets
Some Princeps of Jesus Christ
Tuhfatul Muwahhideen (gift of monotheists)
• Given the tile Raja by Mugahal Emporer Akbar II and sent to Landon to plead his
pension case

Devendranath Tagore

• Journal: Tatwa Bodini Patrika

• Head of Adi Brahmo Samaj after the first split

Kesab Chandra Sen

• Founded Indian Reforms Association in 1870

• Responsible for Indian native marriage Act (Age of Consent Act) against child marriages
• Many orthodox leaders like Bal Gangadhar Tilak Opposed it

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

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• Father of Modern Bengali Prose

• Founded 18 schools for promoting women education
• Responsible Widow Remarriage Act 1856
• Started Bethune schools for the education of girls

Ramakrishna Paramahansa

• Actual name is Gadadar Chatopadya

• Popular as saint of Dakshineswar
• He was the spiritual leader of Kali temple in Dakshineswar near Calcutta

Swami Vivekananda

• Actual name is Narendara Dutta

• Title Vivekananda was given by Maharaja of Khetri (In Rajasthan)
• Popular as spiritual ambassador of India
• Participated in the world parliament on Religion in Chicago and the Congress on the
History of World Religions in Paris

Swami Dayananda Saraswati

• Actual name Mul Shankar

• Book: Sathyartha Prakash
• Journals: Veda Bhashya and Veda Bhashya Bhumika
• Arya Samaj has given the slogan Swaraj for first time

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan

• Founding father of Aligarh Muslim University

• Journal: Taj-ul-Akhlaq
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Civil Rebellions of 19th Century India

Tribal Rebellions

Chuar Rebellion of Bengal 1799

• First tribe to revolt against British land revenue policy and famine
• Durjan Singh was the leader of the movement
• He established his rule over 30 villages and attacked the East India Company
establishments
• Around 200 people were executed by the British
• Chuar is a derogatory world which means pig
• Hence, some historians call it as the Freedom struggle of Jangal Mahal

Khasis of Assam and Meghalaya 1833

• Revolted under the leadership of Tirot Singh and Darmanik

• Against the presence of army in their area and the land revenue policy

Ahom Revolt 1828

• British had pledged to withdraw from Assam after first Burmese War (1824-26)
• On Contrary, they tried to annex Assam to British India
• Gomadhar Konwar led a revolt against Britsh
• British handed over Upper Assam Maharaja Purandar Singh Narendra
• Parts of the Ahom Kingdom was given back to the dynasty

Singhphos Rebellion 1830

• Nirang Phidu was the leader of the revolt

• He attacked British Garrison and killed several British soldiers
• Another leader Khasma Singhphos attacked British village in Assam and was captured
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Khonds Uprising of Orissa 1846 and 1855

• Revolted under Chakra Besai against stopping the Mariah System (Traditional
Human Sacrifice practiced by the Khonds), by Hardinge I
• Another reason of the revolt were British revenue system and Zamindari system
• The Khonds in Orissa played a vital role in preparing the revolt of 1857

Kachanaga of Cachar district in Assam 1882

• Revolted under Sambu Dan against the British land revenue policy

Koya of Godavari area in Andhra Pradesh 1879-80

• Under the leadership Alluri Seetharama Raju

• Raju is known as "Manyam Veerudu" ("Hero of the Jungles")
• Against British revenue policy and exploitation of the tribal people by the tribal chiefs
• Another reasons were British opposition to Podu Cultivation (Shifting cultivation)
• He attacked Chintapalli police station and killed notorious officer Bastian
• Raju was eventually trapped by the British in the forests of Chintapalli, then tied to a
tree and was executed by gunfire in Kayyuru village

Munda Uprising 1899-1900

• Birsa Munda was the leader

• Revolted against Christian missionary activities
• Started sons of soil movement called Ulgulan
• Singbonga was the chief god, as well as the creatorof the Mundas

Oraons of Chota Nagpur 1914-19

• Leaders were Jatra Bhagat and Turia Bhagat

• Formed a movement Tanabhagat Movement and preached monotheism
• Fought against British for freedom
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• They staged Satyagraha even before Gandhi

Santhal Rebellion at Rajmahal Hills in Bihar (1855-56)

• The Rebellion is also known as Santhal Hool

• Revolted against British land revenue policy
• The rebellion was led by the four Murmu Brothers – Sidhu, Kanhu, Chand and
Bhairav
• They stood against leasing out the tribal lands to outsiders
• Defeated British armies under Gneral Borrough and declared the formation of first
Independent Kingdom in modern India between Bahagalpur and Patna or
Rajmahal
• Large number of Zamindars, money lenders and their operatives were put to death
• The uprising aimed to remove the outsiders and the British from the Santhal areas
• The revolt had direct impact on the 1857 revolt
• Dikus were the term used for outsiders which included money lenders, British officials
and not tribal
• As a result of the revolt, Santhal inhabited areas were constituted into separate
administrative units called Santhal parganas.

Naga Uprising

• Led by Rani Gaidinliu and her cousin Zodanang

• Heraka religious movement was the name of the movement organized by Rani Gidilinu
against the British
• At the age of 16, she was arrested by the British and was sentenced to life
imprisonment by the then British India Government
• In 1937, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had met her at Shillong Jail and promised to
pursue her release. During this time, Nehru gave her title of Rani (Queen)
• Imprisoned Rani Gidilinu was released in 1947 and called Daughter of Indian
Independence by PM Nehru
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• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched commemorative coin of 100 rupees and
circulation coin of 5 rupees of Rani Gidinliu in 2015 to mark her birth centenary
celebrations

Zamindari Revolt

Sambalpur Uprising (1827-1840)

• Maharaj Sai, the king of Sambalpur died without an heir

• British interfered and declared his queen Mahan Kumari as the ruler of Sambalpur
• The revolt was led by Surendra Sai, the illegitimate son of Maharaj Sai
• He was deported to Burma as political prisoner

Ramosi Rebellion 1825-26

• The peasant tribe around Poona lost their land holdings during Anglo-Maratha wars
• They revolted under Chittor Singh and Umaji
• British agreed to give them job in the British Army and the revolt ended

Satara Outbreak 1840

• Pratab Singh, the King of Satara was deposed by the British

• In his support, Dhar Rao, Narsing and Powar organized the revolt
• The state was restored. However, later, it became the first state to be annexed under
doctrine of lapse of Dalhousie

Civil Rebellions

Sanyasi/Fakir Rebellion

• It was the first civil rebellion in modern India by Sanyasis of Naga and Giri order
• Founded by Adi Shankara when Warran Hastings barred the movement of Sanyasis in
naked form
• Displaced peasants, and demobilized soldiers in Bengal participated in the rebellion
71 | P a g e

• Dispossessed Zamindars also joined

• It was made famous by the novel Anand Mat written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee

Wahabi Movement 1830-1857

• Founded by Abdul Wahab in West Punjab

• Syed Ahmed Bareilley of UP was a prominent leader
• Opposed Sikhs in Punjab and English in the rest of India
• Preached Hindu- Muslim unity against the British
• Played a commendable role in 1857 revolt

Namdhari and Kuka Movement 1872

• First started by Bhagat Jawhar Mal and Baba Balak Singh as a social reform movement
among the Sikhs
• Opposed consumption of liquor and demanded male-female equality
• Under Ram Singh, it became Kuka Movement
• They agreed only 10th Sikh Guru Guru Gobind as real Sikh Guru
• Opposed the presence of Muslims in the Punjab
• Rams Singh captured Amritsar and declared the formation of Kuka government
• 49 supporters of him were blown up by a canon and killed
• Ram Singh was deported to Burma and the movement came to an end

Peasant Uprisings

Indigo Revolution 1859

• Against Tikatiya System

• Native peasants of Champaran (Bihar) were forced to cultivate 3 kathaa Indigo out of
every 20 kathaa of land.
• Indigo cultivators of Bengal and Bihar revolted under Biswas brothers
• Bishnucharan Biswas and Digambar Biswas
72 | P a g e

• Bengali intellectual Din Bandhu Mitra wrote the popular play Nildarpan on the plight of
Indigo cultivators
• Nildarpan was translated to English by Micheal Madusudan Dutta
• Rioters attacked many factories and police officers when they tried to arrest the rioters
• They adopted the method of non-payment of increased rent
• Used legal machinery to enforce their rights
• Movement ended with the appointment of First Indigo Inquiry Commission
• It was first Satyagraha movement in Modern India
• Govindpur was the first place of revolt

Pabna Uprising

• Against revenue policy and collecting tax in cash when the price of agricultural products
was going down
• Agrarian League was formed to resist the exploitation by Zamindars
• Organized Rent Strike (Not Paying enhanced rent)
• Ended with government assurance on the property rights of the peasants under Bengal
Tenancy Act

Deccan Riots of 1875

• Riots happened in Ahmad Nagar and Pune due to famine

• Peasants in Deccan region rioted against the British due to their indebtedness
• Vasudeo Bulwant Phadke was the major leader who inspired the people to demand
freedom from British who are responsible for famine in Deccan Region
• He also tried to revive Hindu Community
• Government of Bombay constituted Deccan riots commission to study the reasons of the
riot

Revolt of 1857

Background Reasons for the Revolt

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Economic Causes of the Revolt

• British Revenue System

• Zamindari System and Ryotwari system impoverished the peasantry
• Impoverished Zamindars and unemployed youth participated in large numbers
• Peasants became unable to return the debt dues to moneylenders
• 12 major famines happened in British India between 1770 and 1857
• British annexation resulted in loss of patronage for Indian artisans and they also lost their
source of livelihood
• British promoted British goods and discouraged goods of Indian artisans
• Zamindars who lost their land also joined the revolt to revenge the British East India
Company
• Quo Warranto writs were issued by the company to remove Zamindars

Political Causes of the Revolt

• British Policy of Expansion

Warren Hastings: Ring Fencing Policy

Wellesley: Subsidiary Alliance
Dalhousie: Doctrine of Lapse
• The annexation of Awadh by Dalhousie had a direct impact on the revolt
More than 75000 of the sepoys were from Awadh region
Nana Sahib, Rani Laxmi of Jhansi and Bahadursha became the staunch enemies of
British because of the annexation policy
Nana Sahib was the adopted son of last Peshwa Bajirao II
Rani Laxmi also wanted her adopted son Manohar Rao to inherit her husband
Gangadhar Rao
Dalhousie announced that after Bahadur Shah, Mughals must surrender Red Fort to
the British
Canning removed the title of Zille Ilahi (Shadow of God) from Mughal Emperors
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• Dalhousie abolished the titles of the native kings and refused the pension to Nana Sahib
(Adopted Son of last Peshwa Bajirao II)

Socio Religious Causes of the Revolt

• Progressive legislation of the British made suspicion among Hindus and Muslims that
the English are going to convert India, gradually, into Christianity
• Wellesley abolished female infanticide among Rajaputs
• William Bentick abolished Sati
• Dalhousie passed Widow Remarriage Act
• In 1856, British passed Religious Disabilities Act (Indian inheritance Act) which
retained property right for those converted against the spirit of Dharma Shastra
• It is also known as Lex Loci Act and was passed it 1856
• Company has given grants and aid to the Christian missionaries for promoting Christianity
in India
• Company historian William Grant declared that it is the divinely ordained duty to
transform Indian into Christianity
• Imposed taxes on temples and mosques

Grievances of Sepoys

• Sepoys were originally from agricultural families. They were disturbed with the sufferings
of their families. They were peasants in uniform
• British maintained Christian chaplains in the army camp to preach Christianity
• No Indian sepoy was promoted beyond Subedar
• Additional Allowance (Batta) for foreign travel was not granted to Indian sepoys
• Service Enlistment Act, 1856 passed by Canning prohibited sepoys from performing
religious rituals in the military camps
• New recruits in the Bengal army were forced to sign an agreement that they would wage
war even going abroad by crossing the sea. It was prohibited for upper caste
• Sepoys refused to use a new Enfield Gun on the suspicion that cartridge was made of cow
and pig fat
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Other Causes of the Revolt

• Wide spread corruption among British officers motivated Indians to start a mutiny
• Influence of outside events like defeat of British in Afghanistan motivated Indian sepoys

Beginning of the Revolt

• Reports about mixing bone dust in atta (flour) and introduction of Royal Enfield Gun
enhanced dissatisfaction of Sepoys
• On March 29, 1857, Mangal Pandey and his cousin Iswar Pandey of Barackpore
regiment started the revolt. They were immediately hanged by the British officers
• The communication for organizing the revolt was made by distributing chappatis and
lotuses and by disguised sanyasis and faqirs
• On May 10, Captain Bhakt Khan of Meerut regiment organized the revolt
• They released imprisoned soldiers in Meerut and killed British officers
• Many soldiers in Meerut were imprisoned for refusing to use Enfield Rifle
• The sepoys entered Delhi and occupied it. Declared Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of
India and head of the revolt
• Bhadur Shah wrote letters to all chiefs and rulers of India urging them to for an Indian
confederacy and replace British administration
• Civilians also participated in the revolt in large numbers. It is estimated that out of the
total 1.5 lakh people who lost the life in Awadh, more than 1 lakh were civilians

Major Regions of the Revolt

Arrah in Bihar
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• led by Kunwar Sing and his brother Amar Singh (Zamindars of Jagadishpur)

Bareilly in UP

• Khan Bhadur Khan (the head of Rohillas) led the revolt

• He organized an army of 40000 members and revolted against the British

Delhi

• Bahadurshah was the titular head of the revolt. Captain Bakt Khan was the real head

Faisabad

• Maulavi Ahmadullah (head of Wahabi Sect) led the revolt in support of Begam Hazrath
Mahal (Wife of deposed Nawab Wajid Ali)
He was basically from Madras
It was a brilliant example of communal harmony and united resistance of Muslims
and Hindus
The Muslims handed over the disputed territories to Hindus

Jhansi

• Laxmi Bhai, the widow of Gangadhar Rao, revolted for her adopted son Manohar Rao
• Tantia Tope also assisted her in revolting against the British

Kanpur

• Nana Sahib (adopted son of last Peshwa Baji RaoII)

• Nana Sahib expelled British from Kanpur and Perpetuated atrocities on all Europeans
in Kanpur
• Sir Hugh Wheeler, British station commander, surrendered in front of Nana Sahib
• Anna Sahib, Azimullah, Tantia Tope, were other leaders of the revolt in Kanpur
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Lucknow

• Begum Hazrath Mahal led the revolt for her son Birjis Qadir
• Princely states, the Indian intelligentsia and Sikhs supported British during the
revolt

Assam

• Maniram planned the revolt in Assam

• British intelligence got the information before the revolt starts
• Maniram was hanged in 1858 in Jorhat
• It brought national consciousness among the people in Assam

Suppression of the Revolt

• Canning was the Governor General

• Collin Campbell was the Chief Commander of Operations
• Sir John Nicholson got back Delhi, but he died during the fight
• Bahadur Shah was imprisoned and sent to Mandalay jail in Myanmar
• His two sons were killed by shooting by British army officer Hudson
• Willian Tylor and Vincent Eyre defeated Kunwar Singh in Arrah
• Collin Campbell recaptured Kanpur
• Nana Sahib escaped to Nepal and there is no information on him after that
• Lucknow was also regained by Collin Campbell with the help of Gorkha army
• Sir Hug Rose defeated Rani Lakshmi Bhai of Jhansi after a severe fight
• Begum Hazrat Mahal took asylum in Nepal
• Maualavi Ahmadullah was killed by the Raja of Puwain, a Hindu fanatic
• Tantia Tope offered severe Guarilla warfare and captured by the Britush through
cheating and was executed
• By 1859, British authority was completely reestablished over India

Results of the Revolt

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• Canning read out the Queen’s Proclamation in Allahabad Durbar

• It promised to stop the conquest of India
• Declared no further interference in the internal affairs of Indians
• Indians would be promoted in decision making
• Passed Indian Councils Act, Indian Judiciary Act and Indian Executive Act in 1861
• Administration of the Company ended and Court of Directors and Board of Control
were abolished with Government of India Act, 1858.
• Governor General also became viceroy (Governor general when administers British
India and Viceroy when administers Princely States)
• Indian Council (15 memebrs) was established in London under Secretary of State to
monitor administration in India
• Stanley was the first Secretary of State for India
• British started divide and rule policy to destroy the Hindu Muslim unity in India
• They divided Indian Army on regional, racial and communal grounds
• Income tax was levied to cover up the losses of revolt

Opinions on the Revolt

• Sir John Seely (British Historian) called it Sepoy Mutiny

• Canning called it a Revolution
• VD Savarkar introduced it as Planned War of India Independence in his bool First War
of Indian Independence
• For Dr. K Datta , it was the last attempt of the medieval order to regain the lost power,
prestige and privileges
• For Dr.SN Sen, revolt has begun as a fight for religion but ended as a war of
Independence
• He explained it in his book “Eighteen Fifty-Seven”
• The Mutiny was not Indian because it only covered North India
• Sikhs, Gorkhas, intellectuals and princely states supported British

Freedom Struggle of India

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Unique Features of Freedom Struggle

• Largest mass based struggle in the history of man-kind

• Only struggle with satyagraha and non-violence as method
• Indian Nationalism grew partly as a result of colonial policies and partly as a reaction to
colonial policies

Background Reasons

• Following are the major background reasons for the growth of the concept of Indian
Nationalism
1. Worldwide upsurge of the growth of nationalism and right of self-determination
started by French Revolution
2. 19th Century Indian renaissance and reform movements
3. Modernization initiated by the British in India
4. Strong reaction to British imperialist policies in India
5. Rediscovery of India’s past by the British anthropologists and archeologists had
given psychological pride for Indians
6. Rise of Middle class intelligentsia
7. Impact of contemporary movements in different parts of world like the ruins of
Spanish and Portuguese empires in South America
• People of India started realizing that British colonialism is the major reason behind the
economic backwardness of India
• Political Unification of India by the British
British policies helped to bring political unification among different regions and
communities in India
A professional All India Civil Service, unified judiciary and codified civil and criminal
laws throughout the length and breadth of the country brought a national feeling among
Indians
Development of new communication systems like railway, roads, post and telegram also
played a key role in unifying India against the British
• Western Thought and Education
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The western education among the Indian class brought the ideas of democracy freedom
into their thought
English language helped Indian leaders from different linguistic background to
communicate each other

• Repressive and reactionary policies of Lytton (1876-1880)

He held grand Imperial Durbar in Delhi (1877) wasting public money when Deccan
was under severe famine to declare queen Victoria as the empress of India (first
time queen has been declared as the empress of India)
Introduced Vernacular Press Act, 1878 and Arms Act, 1878 curbing the freedom of
Indian journalism and the people to carry arms without license respectively
Reduced the upper age limit for statutory civil services from 21 to 19
Introduced Statutory Civil Services reserving 1/6 of the seats for the Indian princely
families and landed aristocracy

• Progressive Policies of Ripon (1880-1884)

Indian Factory Act was passed regulating the working hours for women and
children
Statutory Civil Services was abolished
Introduced Indian Famine Code (1883) and appointed first Indian Famine
Commission under Richard Starchy
He formed Indian Education Commission also known as Hunter Commission
Ripon introduced Illbert Bill giving effect to Equality before Law and Rule of Law
Illbert Bill is also called as White Mutiny 1883 because of its impact on white
Europeans
Under this Bill, Indian members in the judiciary were given freedom to trial a
European citizen also
The bill was severely opposed by the European community and Ripon had to modify
that

Role of Journals and Newspapers in Spreading the Idea of Freedom Struggle

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In the second half of 19th Century, large number of English and vernacular journals started being
published by Indians
In 1877, there were about 169 Newspapers published in vernacular languages in India
Press also played a key role in spreading the idea of freedom among the common people in India
• Bengal Gazette published by James Augustus Hickey was the first journal in modern
India
Started publishing in 1780 form Kolkata and stopped 1782
• Bengal Gazette established by Harish Chandra Roy was the first journal by an Indian
publisher
• Rast Goftar (The truth teller) was the first journal in Anglo Gujrati Language
Established by Dadabai Naoroji
• Amrit Bazar Patrika (1868) was published by Sisir Kumar Gosh (It is still being
published from Bangladesh)
• Hindoo Patriot was founded by Madhusudahn Ray and Gisrish Chandra Gosh
• Bangadarshan was published by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
• Kesari in Marathi language and Maratha (In English) were founded by Bal Gangadar
Tilak
Both were edited by Narasimha Chintaman Kelkar
• The Hindu was established by GS Ayer and Veeraraghavachari
• Swedeshi Mitran was also published by GS Ayer
• Journals published by Mahatma Gandhi: Young India, Satyagrahi, Navjivan and
Harijan
• Nation was the journal published by Gopala Krishna Gokhale
• Prabudha Bharat and Udbodana were published by Swami Vivekananda
• Punjabi was the journal of Lala Lajpat Rai
• Al Hilal and Al Balagh were the journals published by Abul Kalam Azad
• New India and Common Weal were the journals of Anne Besant
• Motitlal Nehru published a journal named Independent
• The Leader is the journal published Madan Mohan Malaviya
• Hindustan Times was founded by KM Panikkar
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• National Herald was the journal of Jawahrlal Nehru

Pre- Congress Political Organizations

• The Bengal Land Holders’ Society

Founded by Dwaraknath Tagore (Grandfather of Rabindara Nath Tagore)
First Political party in Modern India
It is also known as The Zamindari Association
• Madras Native Association
First political party in the Madras Presidency
Founded by Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty
• Bombay Native Association
Founded by Jagannath Shankar Seth
First political party in Bombay Presidency
• The Indian League
It was started by Sisir Kumar Ghosh to stimulate the feeling of nationalism among Indian
people
• East India Association in London
Founded by Dadabai Naoroji
First Indian political organization outside India
• National Indian Association in London
Established by Mary Carpenter (Biographer of Rajaram Mohan Roy)
• Poona Sarvajaik Sabha
Founded by MG Ranade, and GV Joshi
Bal Gangadar Tilak was a prominent leader of the movement
• Indian Society
Formed by Anand Mohan Bose in Kolkata
Under the leadership of Surendranath Banerji, the name was changed into Indian
Association
It was the most dynamic political party before the India National Congress
Other leaders were Anand Mohan Bose and Dwaraknath Ganguly
• Madras Mahajanasabha
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Founded by GS Iyer, Veeraraghachari and P Anandacharyalu

• Bombay Presidency Association
Founded by Pheroz Shah Mehta, Badrudheen Tayyibji and KT Talang

Formation of Congress

• In December 1885, AO Hume (A retired British civil servant) met 72 delegates from
different political parties at Sir Tejpal Sanskrit College in Bombay
• This meeting was presided over by the first Womesh Chandra Bannerjee (the First
President of Indian National Congress)
• After this Congress Party met every year in December
• The name Indian National Congress for the new party was suggested by Dadabai Naoroji
• AO Hume was the first General Secretary and he is known as the founder father of INC
• Safety Valve Theory is a criticism against Hume
• It argued that Congress was formed as a safe outlet to satisfy the educated Indian who started
expressing their opposition to the British government
• It means that Congress was formed as a safety valve for releasing the growing discontent
among Indians
• Lala Lajpat Rai and Lala Hansraj were the critics of Hume
• AO Hume has written two pamphlets
A Rising Star in the East
Old Man’s Dream
• In 1890, Kadambini Ganguly, the first woman graduate of Calcutta University addressed
the Congress Session
• In 1899, Indian National Congress was established in Landon

Indian National Movement

Age of Moderates (1885-1905)

• Congress dominated by educated middle class, the landed aristocracy and the capitalist
classes
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Ideology of Moderates

• British colonialism and Indian nationalism are not contradictory rather complimentary
• Development of the England is also the development of India
• A political cooperation with the English could better secure India’s interests
• They wanted to persuade British to introduce reforms in India
• Indians would remain loyal to the English because the English would set up
parliamentary democratic institutions in India
• Moderates believed in creating common public opinion on political issues and educating
and uniting the public

The Moderate Method of Struggle

• Constitutional means of Struggle was the method of struggle

• Anything except popular means of agitation and sedition can be adopted for struggle
• Petition, Prayer and Protest are the three methods of struggle

Political Demands of the Moderates

• Expansion of Legislative Councils

• Meaningful representation for Indian members
• Separation of judiciary and executive
• Increasing the upper age limit for Indian Civil Service aspirants
• 50 percent reduction in rent, export duties and military expenditure
• Dufferin, the Governor General and Gross the secretary of the State welcomed the formation
of INC

Moderate Politics

• Relationship between Congress and the English was strained fist time When the President
of Madras session of INC Badrudheen Tayyibji (First Muslim President of INC)
demanded self-governance.
• Duffrine criticized INC as a microscopic minority
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• In 1888, INC was presided over (Allahabad Session) by George Yule, the first Englishman
to be the president of INC

Achievements of the Moderates

• Duffrin appointed Aitchison Committee to recommend on the reforms needed in Indian

Civil Service on the demand of the moderates
• Based on the recommendations of the committee, upper age limit for appearing in civil
services examination was increased to 22
• Indian Councils Act was passed in 1892 expanding the legislative council including more
number of Indian Non-official members
• Calcutta University Act and Calcutta Municipal Act, 1904 were revoked by Curzon on
the request of moderates
• Both these acts were criticized by Indians for curbing the autonomy of local bodies
• Most important achievement of the moderates were the formation of the theory of drain of
wealth by the moderate leader Dadabai Naoraoji

Failure of Moderates

• Restricted the social base of the congress only for elites

• Failed to understand the clash of interest between colonialism and nationalism
• They failed in stopping the partition of Bengal

Age of Extremists (1905-1915)

• British did not address most of the demands of moderate leaders

• British administration created different types of difficulties for Indians
• Severe famines killed about 90 lakh people between 1896 and 1900
• Viceroy Curzon tried to humiliate Indian nationalists and intelligentsia in different
occasions by describing their activities as “letting off of gas”
• He enacted Indian University Act and Calcutta Corporation Act and many other
derogatory acts in India
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• All these created extremists thought among some political leaders in India who are
dissatisfied with moderate leaders
• Following persons were the extremist leaders in different parts of India
Bengal: Raj Narain Bose, Ashwin Kumar Dutta, Aurobindo Ghosh and Bipin
Chandra Pal
Maharashtra: Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Vishnu Shastri Chiplunkar
Punjab: Lala Lajpat Rai
• Aurobindo Ghosh is known as the founder father of extremist thought in the Indian
politics
• His pamphlet New Lamps for Old is considered as the bible of extremist thought in India
• He wrote series of articles in Bangadarshan (Journal of Bankim Chandra Chaterjee)
criticizing the moderate method of struggle
• He portrayed India as Mother and appealed to the emotional aspects of Indian nationalism
• Vishnu Shastri Chiplunkar wrote Nibandhamala, a collection of poems with extremist
thought
• Lokmanya Balgangadar Tilak was the most important extremist inside congress
• He was called as the Father of Indian unrest by Valentine Chirole (British historian)
• Organized Ganesh festival in 1893
• Organized no tax campaigns in famine affected Bombay presidency in 1894
• Organised Shivaji festival 1895
• He was sentenced for 18 months’ imprisonment for supporting the Chapeakar
Brothers who killed British officers Iryst and Rand
• He authored a book Gita Rahasya with extremist ideas
• Lala Lajpat Rai (Punjab Kesari) wrote the book Unhappy India
• Bipin Chandra Pal editor of Bengali Opinion and founder of the journal New India was
another important extremist leader
• The extremist leaders were influenced by Swami Dayananda Saraswati and Swami
Vivekananda
• Extremist idea of swaraj was first presented by Arya Samaj

Vande Mataram Movement/ Swadeshi and Boycott Movement

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• The Government’s decision to partition Bengal was made public in December 1903
• Then Congress started a protest under the moderate leadership from1903 to 1905
• Early leaders of anti-Bengal partition movement under the congress was led by Surendra
Nath Banerjee, Prithwish Chandra Ray and KK Mitra from 1903 to 1905
• They made public meetings, petitions, and propaganda through newspapers and pamphlets
to oppose partition of Bengal
• Ignoring the public opinion, Lord Curzon announced officially the partition of Bengal on
July 4, 1905
• On August 7, 1905 a resolution to boycott British was declared in a massive meeting
held in Calcutta townhall and it was the official beginning of the movement
• Partition came into existence on October 16, 1905.
• On this day, people made a holy protest fasting, taking bath in Ganga and walking
barefoot singing Vande Matram
• The movement highlighted Swaraj as a national demand
• During this movement, British authorities banned singing Vande Matram in public
• Official explanation for the partition was the administrative convenience and the real
motive was to divide Hidus and Muslisms and Moderates and Extremists inside INC
• Bipin Chandra Pal started the movement with Kali Puja
• He became the first leader to tour India before Gandhi
• Ravindra Nath Tagore, Rajnikant Sen, Dwijendralal Ray, Mukunda Das, Syed Abu
Mohammed and Nabakrishna Chakravarty composed patriotic songs
• Tagore’s Amar Sonar Bangla written in this occasion later inspired liberation struggle of
Bangladesh and was adopted as the national anthem of Bangladesh
• Slogan of the movement was Swedeshi and Swaraj
• Boycott of foreign goods including English schools was a part of the movement
• Labour strikes were used for mobilization of the workers to the movement
• Corps of volunteers (or samitis as they were called) were another major form of mass
mobilization widely used by the Swadeshi Movement.
• The Swadesh Bandhab Samiti set up by Ashwini Kumar Dutt, a school teacher, in Barisal
was the most well-known volunteer organization of them all.
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• Under the idea of Swadeshi, Ravindranath Tagore founded Shanti Niketan and Satish
Mukharjee founded Dawn Society for imparting native education
• Bengal National College was established with Aurobindo Ghosh as principal
• Tagore gave call for Rakhi Bandhan as a token of Hindu - Muslim unity
• He wrote articles under the title Atma Shakti
• Suddenly the movement spread into other parts of the country
• In Poona and Bombay, the movement was led by Tilak
• Lala Lajpat Rai and Ajit Singh organized the movement in Punjab
• Syed Haidar Raza was the leader of Swadeshi movement in Delhi
• In Madras, Chidambaram Pillai has given the leadership for the movement
• In 1906 Culcutta session of INC, differences started between extremists and moderates on
the issues of the area of the movement.
• Extremists wanted to make it a National Movement while moderates wanted to confine it
only in Bengal
• Extremists wanted Tilak to be the president of INC
• However, Dadabai Naoroji became president as a compromise candidate
• Calcutta Session of 1906 was a victory for extremists because of 3 reasons
1. Extremist ideas of Swedeshi and Swaraj were accepted by INC for first time
2. Congress condemned the decision of partition
3. Tilak became the chairman of reception committee
4. Swaraj for India was declared as the goal of Indian National Congress
• In 1906, All India Muslim League was formed by Salimullah, the Nawab of Dakha and
Aga Khan
• IN 1907 Surat session of INC, the first split happened
• Extremist candidate Tilak was defeated by moderate candidate Rash Bihari Gosh
• Moderates expelled Extremists from INC
• Extremists founded Liberal Party and called themselves Neo- Nationalists
• Tilak was charged on disturbing public order and was sent to Mandalay Jail in Rangoon
for six years
• Bipin Chandra Pal withdrew from active politics
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• Lala Lajapat Rai was also sentenced for imprisonment

• By this extremist movement got a setback.
• The Vande madaram movement ended with Minto- Morely Reforms of 1909.
• In 1911, Lord Hardinge, annulled partition of Bengal
• In 1911, Imperial Capital City was shifted from Calcutta to Delhi
• In 1914, World War I started and Turkey (the centre of Islamic world) supported
Germany against England
• In 1915, Gandhi returned to India from South Africa on the invitation of his guru Gokhale
• Tilak returned form Mandalay Jail
• Madam Anne Besant declared her entry to the Indian politics

Differences between Moderates and Extremists

• Moderates believed in cooperation and Extremists believed in confrontation

• For Moderates colonialism and Indian nationalism were complementary and for
extremists they were contradictory and the clash between them is mandatory
• Moderates were videshi in their views and outlook and extremists were swadeshi
• Moderates believed in gradual course of change while extremists wanted revolutionary
changes
• Moderates followed constitutional means of agitation (Petition, prayer and protest) while
extremists followed popular means (Strike and disobedience)
• For Moderates, the solution for the problems of the people lies within the framework of
the constitution and extremists wanted to do away with constitution

Morley- Minto Reforms

• Minto was Viceroy and Morley was Secretary of State for India
• Increased the size of Central and Provincial Legislative Councils (Central from 16 to 60 and
provincial was not uniform in number)
• Official members were majority in Central LA
• Non-Official members were majority in Provincial LA
• Power to ask supplementary questions were given to the members
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• For first time, Indians were allowed to be in the executive council of the viceroy
Satyendra Prasad Sinha was the first person included as law minster
• Separate communal electorate was given to Muslims
Hence, Minto is called as the father of communal electorate in India

Home Rule Movement (1916-1917)

• Madam Anne Besant suggested the idea “Home Rule” for first time in 1915 Bombay
Session presided over by SP Sinha
• However, Tilak was first to form Home Rule League in April 1916
• Anne Besant started her Home Rule League in Madras in September 1916
• During this movement, Tilak has given the statement “Swaraj is my birth right”
• Anne Besant was supported by George Arundale, Indulal Yagnik and BP Wadia
• Anne Besant started 2 journals named “New India and Common Weal” for promoting
the ideas of Home Rule Movement
• Home Rule movement focused on intellectual development of the followers and did not
resort to any violence like picketing, strike and Boycott.
• They spread the idea of Home Rule through group discussions and pamphlets
• The movement demanded self-governance and native education
• Anne Besant encouraged to found national colleges and schools especially at
Madanappalli in Andhra
• She was instrumental in establishing Varanasi Sanskrit Vidyapith in association with
Madan Mohan Malawya
• The movement attracted Jinnah and Motilal Nehru
• Sindhi community entered politics with Home Rule Movement
• The movement ended with August declaration of 1917 which promised self-governance
after World War I (Chelmsford made the declaration)

Lucknow Pact- 1916

• Extremists came back to Congress

• The session was presided over by AC Mujumdar.
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• At the insistence of Anne Besant, Lucknow pact was signed between Muslim League and
the Congress
• INC was represented by Dr. Rajendra Prasad and League by Jinnah
• In 1917, Anne Besant became the first woman President of INC in the Calcutta session

Gandhian Era (1915 Onwards)

• Gandhi left for South Africa to plead for Abdullah and Company
• Fought against the racial discrimination against Indian labourers
• Gandhi was influenced by some books:
Leo Tolstoy’s The Kingdom of God is within you
John Ruskin’s unto this Last
Edwin Arnold’s Song Celestial (Commentary on Bhagavat Gita)
French philosopher Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience
• Near Durban, Gandhi founded Phoenix Ashram (Tolstoy Ashram)
• Founded the journals Indian opinion and Hind Swaraj
• In India he founded Sabarmati Ashram near Ahamedabad
• Gandhi was called as Bapu, Mahatma and Father of Nation by Subhash Chandra Bose
• C Rajagoplachari is known as the conscience keeper of Mahatma Gandhi
• First Satyagraha by Gandhi was in Champaran for the cause of Indigo cultivators
• He was requested by Raj Kumar Sukla to consider the problems of indigo cultivators in
Champaran
• He was accompanied by Rajendra Prasad, Mazhar ul Haq, Mahadeo Desai, Narhari
Parekh, and JB Kripalani.
• British planters in Champaran forced the farmers to cultivate indigo for long time against
their wishes.
• It resulted in long standing conflict between the planters and Indian farmers
• 2nd Satyagraha was Kheda Satyagraha in Gujarath against hike in land revenue
• 3rd was Ahmedabad mill workers’ strike in 1918
• Gandhi used the method of Hunger Strike for first time for Ahmedabad Mill Workers
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• Gandhi ended the strike only when mill owners agreed to increase the salary of workers
by 35 percent
• With these 3 movements, he emerged as the messiah of the working classes

Montegue Chelmsford Reforms

• Separate list of Central and Provincial Functions were introduced

• Provincial functions were further divided into 2
Transferred Subjects: Administered by Governor with the aid of ministers
responsible to legislative council
Reserved Subjects: Administered by Governor General without being
responsible to legislative council
The system is known as diarchy
• Bicameralism started in India
Upper House: Council of States
Lower House: Legislative Assembly
• 3 out 6 executive members in Viceroy’s council should be Indians
• Separate Communal electorate for Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo Indians and
Europeans were introduced
• Granted Franchise to certain classes based on property, tax and education
• New office of High Commission of India was started in London
• Established Central Public Service Commission which was set up in 1926
• Separated between Central budget and Provincial budget
• There would be a statutory commission to inquire into the implementation of this act after 10
years

Non- Cooperation Movement

• Gandhi supported British in WW I and was given the title Kaiser- I- Hind (Tiger of India)
and nicknamed recruiting Sergeant

Background Reasons
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Black Act

• In 1917, Sedition committee was set up under Justice Rawlatt (Rawlatt Committee) to
find out the ways to deal with terrorism. They recommended 4 Black Act which curbed
many civil liberties
• It was opposed by all Indian members in the central legislative council
• This act authorized the government to imprison any person without trial and conviction
• Justice Shankaran Nair, the Indian member in the committee and the member of
Viceroy’s executive council resigned in protest the act
• Gandhi gave a call for national protest day on April 6, 1919

Jalianwala Bagh incident

• IN 1919, Jalianwala Bagh incident happened on Baisakhi festival day. General Dyer
ordered indiscriminate firing.
• The people gathered to protest the arrest of their leaders Saifuddhin Kitchlew and Satyapal
• About 1000 people died and several people were injured
• Rabindranath Tagore surrendered his Knighthood as a protest

Montegue - Chelmsord reforms

• 1919, Montegue - Chelmsord reforms didn’t give self-governance. Instead of that

Diarchy was given.

Khilafat Issue

• After World War I, in the Paris peace conference, England threatened to abolish the
office of Turkish Caliph.
• In protest, Maulana Muhammed Ali and Maulana Shoukat Ali founded All India
Kkilafat Committee
• It held the first session in Lucknow in 1919 and Seth Chotani of Bombay as its president
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• The 1920 Delhi session of Khilafat committee was addressed by Shankarajarya of Puri
extending the support of Hindus
• Gandhi was made president of Khilafat Committee in this session
• 3 demands of NCM was meaningful constitutional reforms, to punish the guilty of
Punjab and protecting Khilafat
• Gandhi’s proposal for the movement was accepted by the Congress working committee
met under Lala Lajapat Rai in Calcutta
• The Nagpur session in 1920 presided over by Veeraraghavachari accepted the
resolution for the movement and made Gandhi the sole leader of the movement

Course of the Movement

• Slgans: Swedeshi, Satyagraha and Total Boycott

• No tax campaign was a method of passive resistance used in this movement
• Charkas became the symbol of the movement
• Under the idea of Swedeshi, Jamia Millia Islamia was founded in Delhi by Ali brothers
• British announced a goodwill mission of Prince of Wales to discourage the movement
• Anti- Non-Cooperation movement was started by Thakur Singh with the support of the
British
• On February 5, Chauri Chaura incident happened. In Gorakhpur, 22 police constables
were burnt alive by protesters and Gandhi called off the movement.

Results of the Movement

• The movement failed to achieve the objectives

• The Hunter committee appointed to inquire Jalianwalabagh Exonerated Dyer
• The Khilafat was abolished by the people of Turkey under Mustafa Kamal Pasha
• No constitutional reform was introduced
• In Congress two groups were formed:
• CR Das (President of Gaya Session 1922) criticized Gandhian method of struggle and
suggested contesting in 1923 election under Montegue Chelmsford reforms
• Followers of him were called pro Changers because they demanded council entry
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• Pro- Changers; CR Das, Mothilal Nehru and Vittal Bhai Pattel and Subash Chandra Bose
• Those who opposed council entry were known as No-Changers
• No- Changers: Gandhi, J. Nehru and Vallabhbhai Pattel and Rajendra Prasad.
• Pro-Changers formed the Congress Khilafat Swaraj Party under CR Das and contested
the election
• Swaraj Party emerged as the largest party in the central legislative assembly
• Motilal Nehru became the first Indian opposition leader
• Vittalbhai Pattel became the first Indian elected speaker
• CR Das became the first elected chairman of Calcutta Municipal Cooperation
• With the sudden death of CR Das, Swaraj Party completely merged with INC

Other Political Developments during this time

• In 1924, Alexander Muddyman Committee was appointed to review diarchy

implemented in 1919
• In 1924, Gandhi presided over the Belgaum session of INC (Only one session Gandhi
presided over)
• He reduced the membership fee of INC into 4 annas or 25 paise
• In 1925, All Indian Hidu Maha Sabha officialy declared its formation (Actually formed
by MM Malavya and Manooji in 1915)
• In 1925, Kanpur Session of the INC was presided over by Sarojini Naidu, the first
Indian woman president of the INC
• In the same year, CPI officially declared its formation in the Kanpur session. (Actually
formed by MN Roy in 1920 in Tashkant)
• In 1926, the Congress session was held in Guwahati. It was presided over by Srinivasa
Ayenger
• In 1927, Harcourt Butler Committee was formed by the British to study the ways to
improve the relationship between British government and princely states in India
• In 1927, British government announced Simon Commission to study about the
developments of 1919 reforms.
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• All parties except Justice Party and Depressed Class Federation of Ambedkar opposed
Simon Commission.
• Lala Lajapat Rai was lathe- charged during the movement and died of that injury

Motilal Nehru Committee 1928

• Secretary of State Birkenhead challenged all political parties in India to draft a constitution
• Then an all-party meeting appointed Mothilal Nehru to draft the constitution
• Recommendations:
1. Abolish Diarchy
2. Federal Government at center with British India and Princely states
3. Elected govt. in provinces with complete autonomy
4. Civil Liberties
5. It denied communal electorate for Muslims. Instead, it provided a reservation of 1/3
of the seats for the Muslims in the general electorate
• Jinnah rejected this report and brought his 14-point formula for the development of
minorities.
• Congress fixed December 1929 as a deadline for implementation of the constitution
• Deepwani declaration was made by Governor General Irwin inviting all political parties
to participate in round table conference for considering the recommendations of Simon
Commission
• In 1929, Lahore session, INC demanded “Poorna Swaraj” (Jawaharlal Nehru Presided
over this session)
• The session also decided to celebrate January 26 every year as Independence Day
• Tri-Clour flag designed by P. Venkaiah was hoisted for first time in this session
• In 1930, Gandhi met Irwin with his 11 demands which included right to make salt, 50%
reduction in taxes, military expenditure and better exchange rate between Sterling and
Rupee. The demands were rejected.

Civil Disobedience Movement

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• On March 12, 1930, Gandhi started his Dandi March from Sabarmati Ashram followed
by 78 people.
• Covered 240 miles in 25 days
• Sarojini Naidu was the leader of women’s wing. She is also known as the dictator of salt
satyagraha
• Gandhi broke the salt law at Dandi at 6.30am on 6th April 1930
• The movement was widely covered by American and European press
• In Madras presidency, Rajaji organized the salt marches from Trichy to Tindivanam
• B. Gopal Reddy organized famous Mypadu salt satyagraha
• Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan (Known as Frontier Gandhi and Badshah Khan) organized
the movement with his followers called as Red Shirts
• He published first journal in Pushthoo language named as Pukhtoon
• He founded an organization called as Khudai Khidmatgars (Servants of the God Society)
• Gandhi was imprisoned in Agha Khan Palace in Pune and about 90000 civilians were
also imprisoned during the movement

Round Table Conferences

• It was organized to discuss the suggestions proposed by Simon Commission

• All the three round table conferences were held in London
• First Round Table Conference was between 1st November 1930 and January 1931
• Second was held from 2nd September 1931 to December 1931
• Third was between November and December 1932.
• All were presided over by British PM Ramsey Macdonald
• Muslim League was represented by Muhammed Ali, Muhammed Shafi and Jinnah
• Jinnah participated in all 3 Round Table Conferences
• The Depressed classes were represented by Dr. Ambedkar and MC Raja
• First round table conference failed in the absence of INC
• Taj Bahadur Sapru and MR Jayekar mediated between Gandhi and Irwin
• In 1931, Gandhi Irwin pact was signed
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Gandhi-Irwin Pact/Delhi Pact (5th March 1931)

• Gandhi and Irwin had eight meetings to finalize the pact after Gandhi wrote a letter seeking
interview with Viceroy Irwin
• Irwin agreed to release all political prisoners except those found guilty of violence
(Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev) and restore property of the prisoners to them
• Salt law was revoked
• Withdrew all ordinances issued by the British Government imposing restrictions on the
activities of INC
• Permitted Peaceful Picketing of liquor shops and British cloth shops
• Restored confiscated properties of Satyagrahis
• Gandhi agreed to discontinue Civil Disobedience Movement and participate in 2 nd Round
Table Conference
• He left for London as the sole representative of INC in thebBritish ship SS Rajputana
assisted by Sarojini Naidu
• In the 2nd Round Table Conference, communal parties criticized congress and could not
reach in any agreement on the form of the government
• Dejected Gandhi blamed Ramsay Mac Donald for the failure and returned India
• He threatened to revive the movement and was imprisoned
• In 1931 Karachi session of the INC, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was the president (the
only session Patel presided over)
• In this session, Karachi Resolution on Fundamental rights and economic policy was
presented.
• The resolution was drafted by Jawaharlal Nehru
• In August 1932, PM Ramsay Mac Donald announced communal award providing
separate communal electorate for the depressed classes
• Gandhi protested with fast unto death
• In September 1932, Poona pact was signed between caste Hindus and depressed classes
• In 1933, British parliament published White Paper disclosing the discussions taken place
in all the three round table conferences
• It was the basis of Government of India Act, 1935
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Congress Socialist Party

• It was formed in the 1934 Bombay Session of INC

• Founded by Rambriksh Benipuri, Ram Manohar Lohia, Aacharya Narendra Dev, Jai
Prakash Narayan, Achuta Patwardhan, Aruna Asaf Ali and Minoo Masani
• Congress Socialist Party continued to remain within congress
• The purpose of CSP was to transform Indian National Congress gradually into
socialism

Election of 1937

• The Government of India Act came into effect from April 1937
• All parties including congress contested the 1937 election
• Election result is as follows
• Congress got absolute majority in 5 Provinces. They are United Provinces, Bihar, Madras,
Central Provinces and Orissa and formed the government
• Congress became single largest party in 4 provinces. They are Bengal, North West Frontier
Provinces, Assam and Bombay.
• Out of these provinces, Congress formed governments North West Frontier Provinces and
Bombay with the support of regional parties
• In Assam Leader of the Assam Valley Muslim Party Muhammed Sadullah formed the
government with Congress support
• The league participated in governments in Punjab and Bengal
• In Punjab Unionist Party leader Sikandar Hayat Khan formed government along with
Muslim League
• In Bengal Krishak Party of Fazlul Haque formed the government with Muslim League
• In Sindh, two regional leaders Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah and Allah Baksh
formed governments between 1937-1947

Difference between Subhash Chandra Bose and Gandhi inside INC

• Following were the issues on which difference started between Gandhi and Bose
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• Implementation of Land reforms. Gandhi wanted that to be implemented based on

trusteeship and voluntarily from the land owners
• Bose was elected as the president of 1938 Haripura session of INC and decided to contest
for second time in the 1939 Tripuri session
• Bose defeated Gandhi’s candidate Pattabi Sitaramiah (The author of the book The
History of Congress)
• Third matter of difference was on the strategy of the Congress in the wake of World War
II
• Bose wanted to start a mass movement at this time
• Gandhi objected it on the basis of ethics. According to him, enemy could not be attacked
when he is weak
• There was difference of opinion in the constitution of Congress Working Committee
• Bose resigned from the Congress and founded Forward Block Party in 1940

Communal Politics

• A Cambridge University law graduate, Chaudari Rahmat Ali was the first to draw the
map of Pakistan in 1933
• The league’s proposal for a coalition government in UP was rejected by Congress in the
1937 election
• League appointed Raja of Pirpur committee to inquire into the atrocities perpetuated on
minorities under Congress governments
• In 1930 Allhahbad session of Muslim League, Muhammed Iqbal (the author of Sare
Jahan se Acha) proposed the idea of Pakistan
• In 1939 when the congress governments resigned as a protest against involving India in the
World War II, Muslim league celebrated it as Day of Deliverance or Thanks giving Day
on December 22, 1939
• In the Lahore session of Muslim League in 1940 Jinnah came out with the Two Nation
Theory providing ideological basis for the demand of Pakistan
• The resolution on Pakistan was passed on March 21, 1940
• It is called as Lahore Resolution
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August Offer 1940

• Viceroy Linlithgow made some offers if Indians support in WWII

• Offers were:
• War Cabinet with all portfolios under the Indians except defense
• Dominion Status after war
• Constituent Assembly after war
• INC rejected the offer as the proposals were not time bound
• Gave call for individual Satyagraha
• Vinobha Bhave was first to perform individual Satyagraha on behalf of INC.
• Jawaharlal Nehru was the second and brahma Dutt was third individual satyagrahees
• They were followed by a total number of 25000 individual satyagrahees

Cripps Mission Plan

• In 1942, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill announced the Cripps Mission Plan
• In March 1942, Cripps came to India and made the proposals just the same as August
Offer
• Cripps offered the right for self determination
• Cripps came to India and proposed same offers of August Offer
• Jawaharlal Nehru and Moulana Abul Klam Azad were the representatives of the
Congress to Cripps Mission
• Gandhi called it post-dated check on a crumbling ban

Quit India Movement

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• In the Congress Working Committee met in Bombay in August 1942, Gandhi drafted Quit
India Resolution
• In Quit India Speech delivered by Mahatma Gandhi in Bombay, the slogan of Quit India
movement DO OR DIE was declared
• The struggle in the movement was leaderless one.
• The peasant communities founded parallel governments called Praja Sarkars under
different leaders in different cities and villages and committed wide spread attacks on
government establishments.
• Leaders of Congress Socialist Party like Jayaprakash Narayan and Aruna Asaf Ali have
given underground leadership to the movement and conducted strikes in urban areas
• The Communist Party of India (CPI) played a controversial role by supporting the British
during this movement
• Hindu nationalist parties like the Hindu Mahasabha openly opposed the call for the Quit
India Movement and boycotted it officially
• Congress Radio was a underground radio station which was running for 3 months during
this movement
• It was run by Usha Mehta from Bombay (She passed away in 2000)
• Gandhi was imprisoned in Yarwada Jail.
• Under the charges of sedition, Gandhi observed fast unto death.
• While he was in prison, his wife Kasturba passed away
• In 1944, Gandhi was released on health grounds
• In Karnataka, the method of Quit Indian Movement was unique. Students and Labourers
went on a strike for about two weeks.
• Jayaprakash Narayan praised this as Karnataka Pattern of Struggle

Indian National Army

• INA was actually founded by Capt. Mohan Singh consisting about 40000 Indian war
prisoners captured by Japan
• Subhash Chandra Bose escaped from house imprisonment, first he went to Russia and
asked Russian leaders for help against the British in India
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• When in June 1941 the Soviet Union joined the war as a member of Allies, Bose went to
Germany
• In February 1943, he reached Japan and met the Japan Prime Minister Hideki Tojo
• After Bose has taken over the charge of INA, he changed the name into Azad Hind Fauj
• He divided it to four regiments: Mahatma, Azad, Jawahar and Netaji
• He gave the slogans like Unto Delhi and Jai Hind
• Chief commanders of INA were Captain Shahnawaz Khan, Prem Seghal, Captain
Dhillion and Captain Laxmi
• He came to Singapore in July 1943 where he was assisted by Rashbehari Bose and
others
• In October 1943, INA founded first Provisional government of free India at
Singapore with headquarters at Rangoon
• The government was named as Azad Hind Government
• During this time, he has given the famous quote “Give me blood, I will give you
freedom”
• This provisional government was recognized by Axis Powers
• In the provisional government, HC Chaterjee was Finance Mnister, MA Aiyar was
Broadcasting Minister and Captain Lakashmi Seghal was the Women’s Minister
• INA Battallion under Shahnawaz Khan made the notorious Imphal campaign with
the support of Japanese Army but failed due to sudden retreat of Japan
• INA commanders were imprisoned in the Red Fort
• INA trials were held in the Red Fort
• Congress constituted a defense council under Bhulabhai Desai, Asaf Ali, Jawaharlal
Nehru, Tej Bahadur Sapru and Kailash Nath Katju

Subhash Chandra Bose

• In 1920, Bose qualified Indian Civil Services Examination with 4th Rank
• In 1921, he resigned from ICS and joined the Congress under the influence of Mahatma
Gandhi and CR Das
• In 1927, he formed an organization named as Independence League
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• In 1938, President of INC Haripura Session

• In 1939, President of INC Tripuri Session defeating Gandhi’s Candidate Pattabhi
Sitaramayya
• In 1939, founded Forward Bloc
• In 1944, Bose addressed Mahatma Gandhi as father of Nation (First person to call
Mahatma Gandhi as father of Nation) from Azad Hind Radio in Singapore
• There is no information about him after August 18, 1945
• He is suspected to be died mysteriously in an air crash at Taipei (Taiwan)
• He was awarded Posthumous Bharat Ratna Award in 1992
• But, due to Supreme Court judgment, his Bharat Ratna was cancelled in 1997

Partition of India

CR Formula or Rajagopalajari Formula (1944)

• It was prepared by C. R jagopalachari or Rajaji to realize League- Congress

cooperation
• The formula was supported by Mahatma Gandhi
• It was an attempt to avoid the partition of India
• It demanded Muslim League to cooperate with Congress in forming a provisional
government at centre till the end of second World War
• After the end of the war, a plebiscite in Muslim majority provinces of India would be
conducted for deciding the issue of Pakistan
• If plebiscite favors Pakistan, Pakistan would be granted
• If Pakistan becomes reality, there will be joint control of In3dia and Pakistan on
commerce, communication and Defense
• Jinnah rejected that as he was not confident of the support from majority Muslims
• Jinnah wanted only Muslims of North East and North West to vote in the plebiscite
and not entire Muslims
• In September 1944, Gandhi Jinnah talks were held but it failed as Jinnah insisted that
he should be recognized as the sole leader of Muslims
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• Hindu leaders led by Vir Savarkar condemned CR Formula

Desai-Liaqat Pact

• Bulabhai Desai, leader of Congress in central legislative assembly met Liaqat Ali
Khan, the leader of Muslim League in the central assembly to sort out the deadlock
in forming the government
• They came up with following proposal for forming interim government
1. Equal number of members to be nominated by Congress and League in the
central assembly
2. 20 percent reserved seats for minorities
• No settlement was finalized between Congress and League on this pact

Wavell Plan and Shimla Conference

• In June 1945 (after the end of war in Europe), Wavell, Governor General organized
a conference in Shimla as per the suggestion of British Government under
Churchill
• As the election was going to be held in England in this year, Churchill wanted to
solve the freedom of India

Proposals

• All members in the central executive council except Governor General and
Commander in Chief would be Indians
• Governor general can exercise his veto power only on the advice of ministers
• The new council has to function as per the provisions of Government of India Act,
1935
• Proposed a tentative arrangement at centre with league and Congress sharing the power
on the basis of Principle of parity
• It means that representatives of different political parties have to submit a joint list
to the Viceroy for nomination to the executive council
• Caste Hindus and Muslims will have equal representation
106 | P a g e

• In the Shimla conference Congress was represented by Nehru and League was
represented by Jinnah
• Jinnah initially agreed to share the power with Congress
• Jinnah agreed initially, but the conference failed when he insisted congress not to
nominate any Muslim member without his consent
• League also demanded a veto power in the council with decisions opposed to Muslims
needing a 2/3 majority for the approval

Other Developments during this Time

• In 1945, Elections were held in Britain after World War II

• Conservative party under Churchill lost the election
• Labour party under Clement Attlee came to power
• Pethick Lawrance was the Secretary of State
• In India, Congress was victorious in the elections
• Congress formed government in 8 provinces and League in Sindh and Bengal
• In Punjab A Unionist-Congress-Aklai coalition assumed power under Khizer Hayat
Khan
• Congress secured 59 out of 102 seats in Central Legislative Assembly
• Muslim League got 30 seats
• Atlee declared that an all-party delegation would come to India to decide the
nature of the transfer of power
• In February 1945, the All-party delegation visited India and favoured the transfer
of power
• In February 1945, the Indian navy officers in Bombay, Cochin, Karachi and kandla
and HMIS Talwar in Colaba (Bombay), revolted at a time against the racial
discrimination by the British
• HMIS Talwar in Colaba is the shore establishment of Royal Indian Navy
• It is known as Bombay Naval Ratings or Royal Indian Naval Mutiny
• Naval officers observed Hunger Strike as a part of this movement
• It was the last act of protest in the freedom struggle of India
107 | P a g e

• In March, PM Atlee declared that a cabinet mission would visit India to decide the
mode of transfer of Power

Cabinet Mission Plan

• PM Atlee sent a mission to solve the problems in India

• AV Alaxander, Pethik Lawrance and Sir Stafford Crips were the members of the
mission.
• British wanted a united India as it will bring an active partner in commonwealth
defense
• It conducted prolonged discussion with Indian leaders on interim government and
new constitution of India
• Suggestions:
➢ Union Government of India to be constituted
➢ It rejected the idea of Pakistan as a separate State for Muslims
➢ Centre with limited subjects of power: Defense, currency and communication
➢ Provinces with Complete Autonomy
➢ Made all the states into 3 Groups
Group A: Madras, Bombay, Central Provinces, United Provinces, Bihar
and Orissa (Hindu Majority Regions)
Group B: Punjab, Sindh and NWFP (Muslim Majority)
Group C: Bengal and Assam (Muslim Majority Provinces)
➢ Three tier executive and legislature at provincial and Union levels
➢ A Constituent Assembly to be elected by provincial assemblies by proportional
representation (Voting in three groups: General, Muslims and Sikhs). This
constituent assembly had 389 members
➢ In the constituent assembly, members from groups A, B and C were to sit separately
to decide constitution for provinces
➢ They will sit together to discuss Union Constitution
➢ A common centre would control defence, communication and external affairs
➢ Communal questions in the central legislature were to be decided by a simple
majority of both communities present and voting
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➢ Provinces were to have full autonomy and residual powers

➢ After the first general elections, a province was to be free to come out of a group
and after 10 years a province was to be free to call for reconsideration of the
group or union constitution
• Both Congress and Muslim League accepted these recommendations initially
• Congress was against making groups compulsory and League was in favour of that
• In July 1946, elections were held to constituent assembly (Congress; 205 and Leaue:
73) as per the guidelines of the cabinet mission plan
• On July 29, 1946, Muslim League rejected the cabinet mission plan
• August 16, 1946 was observed as Direct-Action Day for Pakistan by ML
• Communal riots started in Kolkata and spread to different parts and more than 5000
people lost their life
• Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, the chief minister of Bengal directly supported direct
action day
• In September 1946 Governor General, Wavell formed interim government with
himself as president, and Nehru as vice President and Patel was home minister.
• When League joined ministry in October 1946, Liaqat Ali was given finance ministry.
• Later, Liaqat Ali started creating troubles for other ministries
• In December 9, 1946 constituent assembly met for first time under the chairmanship of
Dr. Sachidanad Sinha,
• Elected Rajendra Prasad as president of CA and Ambdekar as the chairman of
drafting committee.
• Muslim League boycotted this meeting
• The Prime Minister of Britain Clement Atlee declared on February 20, 1947 in the
House of Commons that the British would quit India after transferring power into the
responsible hand not later than June 1948.
• Lord Wavell advocated for withdrawal from India before 31st March 1948.
• In March 1947, Mount Baton came to India. In April, he drafted plan for partition
• It is called as Balkan Plan, Dickie Bird Plan.
109 | P a g e

• The plan offered that Punjab and Bengal legislative assemblies would meet and in wo
groups (Hindus and Muslims) to vote for partition.
• If a simple majority of either groups voted in favour of partition, the states would
be divided between India and Pakistan
• In case of partition, two dominions and two constituent assemblies would be created
• Plebiscite was held in the Muslim majority provinces in NWFP in the West and Sylhet
district in Assam on the question of joining India or Pakistan (Sylhet went to Pakistan)
• Boundary Commission was headed Radcliffe. Hence, the boundary between India
and Pakistan is known as Radcliffe line
• In July, British parliament passed Indian independence Act, 1947 fixing the deadline
for transfer of power as August 15.
• Indian Independence Act was approved by the British parliament on July 18.
• It also provided 2 governor generals for India and Pakistan
• Mountbatton continued as the Governor General of free India till March 1948
• Rajaji was first Indian governor general of free India and Jinnah became that of
Pakistan
• Liaqat Ali became first PM of Pakistan
• The Man Who Divided India is a book written by Congress leader Rafiq Zakaria
on Jinnah

Revolutionary Activities

Bombay Presidency

• First revolutionary activity in India was assassination of 2 British officers Ayerst and
WC Rand (The British plague commissioner) by Chapeakar Brothers (Balakrishna
Hari Chapeakar, Damodar Hari Chapeakar and Vasudeo Hari Chapeakar)
• The reason was their indifference during the Cholera operations
• During Cholera operations in Pune, British officers forcefully entered homes and made
examinations by stripping dress of even women
110 | P a g e

• Both were assassinated on June 22, 1897 while returning from the diamond jubilee
(60th Anniversary) celebrations of the coronation of Queen Victoria
• In 1899, Savarkar Brothers (Vinayak and Ganesh Savarkar) founded Abhinav
Bharat society (1st Revolutionary Organization in India)
• Original name was Mitra Mela and the name was changed in 1904
• A. M. T. Jackson, the district magistrate of Nasik, was assassinated in India by Anant
Laxman Kanhare in 1909 in the historic "Nasik Conspiracy Case
• Vinayak Savarkar was charged in the Jackson murder
• Savarkar's revolutionary propaganda led to the assassination of Lt. Col. William
Curzon-Wyllie, the aide-de-camp at the India House in London
• Savarkar also made large protest against Minto-Morley Reforms 1909
• In March 1910, British police arrested Savarkar for anti-British activities at London's
Victoria railway station as soon as his train reached there from Paris.
• They sent him back to India by ship to prosecute
• Savarkar escaped by jumping to sea and swam ashore, but he was re-arrested
• He was sentenced to "transportation" for life. Savarkar was imprisoned in the Cellular
Jail in the Andaman Islands in 1910
• Savarkar submitted 4 mercy petitions to the British Government for and apologized for
his mistakes with British Government
• In 1920, the Indian National Congress and leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi,
Vithalbhai Patel and Bal Gangadhar Tilak demanded his unconditional release
• He was finally released on 6 January 1924 under stringent restrictions on movement
outside Ratnagiri District and was to refrain from political activities for the next five
years

Bengal Presidency

• Anushilan Samiti was the first revolutionary organization in Bengal

• Leaders were Barindra Kumar Ghosh, Bhupendranath Dutta, Prafulla Chaki,
Kudiram Bose and Pramotarak Mitra
• Aurobindo Gosh was the prominent leader of the Samiti
111 | P a g e

• The member of Samiti Prafulla Chaki and Kudiram Bose attempted on the life of
Kingsford (District Magistrate of Muzaffarpur)
• They bombed a carriage they mistook for Kingsford's, killing two Englishwomen. In the
aftermath of the bombing, Bose was arrested while attempting to flee and Chaki
committed suicide
• All members except Aurobindo were deported for life in this case
• Aurobindo settled at Pondichery and founded Krishna Ashram
• He led a spiritual life after that

United Provinces

• Roorkee Engineering College was the main center of the activities

• In 1912, Rashbehari Bose attempted on the life of Viceroy Hardinge II when he was
entering the new capital city Delhi
• It is called Delhi or Lahore Conspiracy case
• In 1924, Sachindra Nath Sanyal and Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee, Narendra Mohan
Sen and Pratul Ganguly founded Hindustan People’s republican Association (First
revolutionary organization at all India level)
• The idea attracted the young champions; some immediately joined the organization were
Bhagat Singh, ChandraShekhar Azad, Sukhdev, Ram Prasad Bismil, Roshan Singh,
Ashfaqulla Khan, Rajendra Lahiri and many others
• Bhagat Singh changed the name of it to Socialist Party
• On 9th August 1925, Ram Prasad Bismal and Ashwaqullah Khan of the party conducted
Kakori Train Robbery (In the train from Saharanpur to Lucknow)
• In 1927, Bhagat Singh and Rajguru killed Saunders (Who lathi charged Lala Lajapat
Rai to death)
• However, their original target was not Saunders but superintendent of police James
Scott who ordered to lathi-charge Lala Lajpat Rai.
• In 1929, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Bathukeshwar Dutt and Vijay Kumar hurled Bombs at
Central Legislative Assembly in protest against Public Safety Bill and Indian Trade
Disputes Bill
112 | P a g e

• Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdeve were executed on 23rd March 1931 in in the
Lahore jail and the jail authorities cremated them secretely and the ashes were thrown to
river Sutlej

Terrorism Abroad

• BR Cama (Mother of Indian Revolution) started Vande Mataram movement in Paris

• She also founded the journal Vande Mataram
• She was first to hoist tricolor outside India (In Germany)
• In 1940 Uddam Singh killed Micheal O’ Dwyer in London to revenge Jalianwalabagh
Massacre

Gadhar Party

• In 1913, Sohan Singh Bhakna, Kartar Singh Sarabha, Abdul Hafiz Mohamed
Barakatullah, Rashbehari Bose and Gulab Kaur, and Lala Hansraj, founded
Gahdhar party at San Francisco in the US
• However, Lal Hardyal was the main ‘brain’ behind the organisation
• The party also published the weekly paper The Ghadar
• The first issue of The Ghadar, was published from San Francisco on November 1, 1913
• Rashbehari Bose of Gadhar party founded Indian Independence League in Tokyo and
mobilized resources for INA
• Famous Komagatamaru incident was associated Gadhar Party

Sessions of The Indian National Congress

Year Name of The President Important Events

72 delegates from different political

1st 1885
W.C Banerjee parties gathered together for the
Bombay formation of Congress under AO
Hume to from a civil and political
113 | P a g e

dialogue of educated Indian with the

British raj

2nd Session
1886 Dadabhai Naoroji First Parsi President
Calcutta

3rd Session First Muslim President

1887 Badruddin Tayyibji Lord Dufferin, the viceroy criticized
Madras INC as microscopic entity

1888
George Yule First English President
Allahabad

1889
Sir William Wedderburn
Bombay

1890
Sir Feroze Mehta
Calcutta

1895 Patna S.N. Banarjee

1896
Rahimtulla M. Sayani
Calcutta

Partition of Bengal for

G.K. Gokhale administrative efficiency but the real

motive was to divide the Hindus and
1905 The Vande Matram Movement Muslims and extremists and
Banaras Also Started Under Bipin Chandra moderates inside the INC. As a
Pal (First Person to Tour India result, Muslim League came into
Before Gandhi. existence at Dhaka under nawab of
Dhaka Aga Khan in 1906.
114 | P a g e

The INC split into two, one

consisting of moderates led by
Gokhale and the other the extremists
led by Bal Gangadhara Tilak (The
father of Indian unrest). The
1907. Surat Rasbehari Ghosh imminent split in congress had their
seeds in Vande Matram movement
in which the moderates wanted to
restrict the movement to Bengal
only but the extremists wanted it to
engulf the whole nation.

Morley Minto Act,1909

Madan Mohan Malviya
1909 Lahore Communal electorate for Muslims
Vande Matram Movement Ended
was introduced

The National Anthem ‘Jana Gana

Mana’ was sung for the first time.

1911 Partition of Bengal was annulled by

Pandit Bishan Narayan Das
Calcutta Harding II

Imperial City Was Shifted from

Calcutta To Delhi.

1915 Annie Besant gave the concept of

SP Sinha
Bombay ‘Home Rule Movement.
115 | P a g e

Joint session with Muslim League in

which the historic Lucknow pact
was signed at the insistence of
Annie Besant

INC was represented by Rajendra

Prasad and League was represented
by Jinnah

1916 A.C. Mujumdar Tilak started the Home Rule

Lucknow Movement in April.

Annie Besant started the Home Rule

Movement in October from Madras.

Re-Union of The Congress between

extremists and moderates.

Tilak gave his famous statement

“Swaraj is my birth right and I shall
have it”

1917
Annie Besant First woman president of INC
Calcutta

Montagu Chelmsford Reforms.

Jalian Wala Bagh Massacre

1919 Motilal Nehru (Prominent Lawyer)

Amritsar Khilafat Issue

Provincial Status for Assam
Non- Cooperation Movement
started.
116 | P a g e

1920.
Nagpur
Veerarghavacharya Made Gandhi the sole leader of
Special
Lala Lajpat Rai. Non- Cooperation Movement
Session
Calcutta

1921 Gandhi visited Assam

Cr. Das
Ahmedabad Assam Association merged into INC

Non-Cooperation Movement ended

with Chauri Chaura incident.

Khilafat Movement was abolished

Congress split into two groups:

1. Pro-Changers: They
demanded to participate
1922 Gaya in the election of 1923
Cr. Das (CR Das, Motilal Nehru
Special
and Vittalbhai Patel)
Session Abul Kalam Azad.
2. No Changers: Those who
Delhi
opposed the empty into
council. (Gandhi,
Jawaharlal Nehru,
Vallabh Bhai Patel)

Split happened in Congress with

Pro-Changers forming the Swaraj
Party.
117 | P a g e

Alexander Muddyman Committee

was appointed to review diarchy
1924 Mk Gandhi, Only Session He
Belgaum Presided Over. INC became a common man’s party
with reduction in membership fee 4
annas which is equal to 25 paisa

Sarojini Naidu CPI declared its formation

1925
Kanpur The First Indian Woman to All Indian Hindu Mahasabha
Preside Over an INC Session. officially declared its formation.

First INC Session in Assam. It was

an eye opener for the people of
1926
Srinivas Ayengar Assam as it served as a medium for
Guwahati
helping the voice of freedom reach
every nook and corner of Assam.

1928 First All Indian Youth National

Motilal Nehru
Calcutta Congress was formed

Poorna Swaraj (Complete

Independence was demanded for the
Jawaharlal Nehru first time.
1929 Lahore
Civil Disobedience Movement Was The National Flag was hoisted for
Session
Beginning to Take Shape the first time.

January 26 was decided to be

celebrated as ‘Independence Day’.
118 | P a g e

Resolutions on Fundamental Rights

and National Economic Programme
were launched.

Socialism was declared as the

1931
highest goals of the Indian National
Karachi Sardar Vallabh Bahai Patel
Congress.
Session
Gandhi Irwin Pact was signed

As A Result of it, Gandhi agreed to

participate in 2nd Round Table
Conference in London.

British PM Ramsay Mc Donald

announced the communal awards
1932 Delhi for the depressed class.
M.M. Malviya Was Elected as
(Session Gandhi protested by fast unto death.
President
Banned) Poona Pact was signed between
Congress (Rajendra Prasad) and
depressed class (Ambedkar)

1933. British Parliament published ‘White

Calcutta M.M. Malviya Was Elected as Paper ‘disclosing the discussions of
(Session President the Three Round Table
Banned) Conferences.

1934 Congress Socialist Partly was

Dr Rajendra Prasad
Bombay formed within the Congress
119 | P a g e

1937
Faizpur Elections were held under
(First Government of India Act, 1937
Jawaharlal Nehru
Session to Congress formed government in 8
Be Held In Provinces
A Village)

A National Planning Committee was

1938
set up under Jawaharlal Nehru
Haripura S.C. Bose
Session Clash between Gandhi and Bose
started.

S.C. Bose was re-elected after

defecting Dr. Pattabi Sitaramayah
S.C. Bose And Rajendra Prasad (Candidate of Gandhi)
1939 Tripuri
Session Lahore Session of Muslims League However, owning to differences
Proposed the Idea of Pakistan with Gandhi, S.C. Bose resigned
and formed a new a party named
Forward Block In 1940.

August Offer was declared by

1940
Viceroy Linlithgow
Ramagarh Abul Kalam Azad
Session Congress called for individual
satyagraha against August Offer.

1946 Meerut Last pre-independence session of

JB Kripalani
Session INC
120 | P a g e

First session of Congress after

1948 Jaipur Dr Pattabi Sitaramaya
independence.

Governor Generals of Bengal

Name Period Happenings

1. Warren Hastings 20th October 1773- 1st ➢ Regulating act of 1773

February, 1785 ➢ Supreme court at
He was dismissed for
Calcutta
allegation of
➢ Asiatic society in Bengal
corruption
in 1784
➢ English translation of
Bhagwat Gita
2 Cornwallis 12th September,1786 to 28th ➢ Establish lower courts
October 1793 and appellate courts
➢ Sanskrit college
established by Jonathan
Duncan
➢ Permanent settlement in
Bengal and Bihar in
1793
➢ Introduction of
Cornwallis code
➢ Introduction of civil
service in India.
121 | P a g e

3. John Shore 28th October 1793 to 18th ➢ Policy of non-

March 1798 intervention
➢ Charter act of 1793
4. Wellesley 18th March 1798 to 30th ➢ Introduction of
July 1805 subsidiary alliance
➢ Fourth Anglo Mysore
war (1799)
➢ Fort William college at
Calcutta
➢ Formation of madras
presidency 1801.
5. Minto I 31st July 1807 to 4th ➢ Charter act, 1813
October 1813 ➢ Treaty of Amritsar with
maharaja Ranjit Singh
(1809)
6. Hasting 4th October 1813 to 9th ➢ Ended the policy of non-
January 1823 intervention
➢ Third Anglo Maratha
war (1816-1818)
➢ Creation of Bombay
presidency in 1818
➢ Establishment of
ryotwari system in
madras
7. William Bentinck 4th July 1828 to 1833 ➢ Prohibition of sati
(1829)
➢ Charter act, 1833.

Governor Generals of India (1833-1858)

122 | P a g e

1 William Bentick 1833 to 20th ➢ Suppressed female

March 1835 infanticide
➢ On Macaulay’s
recommendations English
was made the medium of
higher education

2 Charles Metcalfe 20th March 1835 ➢ Liberalized press in India

to 4th March
1836

3 Henry Hardinge 23rd July 1844 to ➢ Treaty of Lahore (1846)

12th January
1848

4 Dalhousie 12th January ➢ Doctrine of lapse and

1848 to 28th annexation of satara,
February 1856 Jaipur, Udaipur, Jhansi,
Nagpur and Awadh
➢ 1st railway line between
Bombay and Thane
(1853)
➢ Telegraph line between
Calcutta and Agra
➢ Introduction postal stamp
➢ Widow Remarriage Act
1856
➢ Charter Act 1853
selection of Indians to
civil service
➢ Started engineering
college at Roorkee
123 | P a g e

➢ Established public work

department.

5. Canning 28th February ➢ University of Bombay

1856 to 1st Calcutta and Madras were
November 1858 set up in 1857
➢ The revolt of 1857
➢ Government of India Act
1858
➢ Withdrew doctrine of
lapse

Governor General and Viceroys of India (1858-1947)

1 Canning 1st November ➢ Indian Penal Code 1859 was passed

1858 to 21st ➢ Indian Council Act 1861 was passed
March 1862

2 Elgin I 21st March 1862 ➢ Wahhabi movement was started

to 20th
November 1863

3 John Lawrence 12th January ➢ Telegraph communication was

1864 to 12th opened with Europe
January 1869 ➢ High courts were established at
Calcutta, Bombay and Madras in
1865
➢ Created the Indian forest department
124 | P a g e

4 Mayo 12th January ➢ Started the process of financial

1869 to 8th decentralization in India
February 1872 ➢ For the first time in Indian history
census was held in 1871.
➢ Organised the statistical survey of
India
➢ Was the only viceroy to be murdered
office by a Pathan convict named as
Sher Ali Afridi in the Andamans in
1872

5 Lytton 12th April,1876 ➢ Known as viceroy of reverse

to 8th June 1880 character
➢ Royal titles act of 1876 and the
assumption of the title of ‘empress of
India
➢ The Delhi durbar in January 1877
➢ Vernacular press act and the arms act
of 1878

6 Ripon 8th June 1880 to ➢ Liberal person who sympathized with

13th December Indians
1884 ➢ Repealed the vernacular press act
1882
➢ Passed the local self-government
act,1882
➢ Took steps to improve primary and
secondary education (on William
Hunter commission
recommendations)
➢ First factory act was passed 1881
125 | P a g e

➢ Passed Ilbert Bill (1883) which

enabled Indian district magistrate to
trial European criminals but, this was
withdraw later

7. Dufferin 13th December ➢ Third Burmese was (1885-86)

1884 to 10th ➢ Establishment of the Indian National
December 1888 Congress

8. Lansdowne 10th December ➢ Factory Act 1891 granted weekly

1888 to 11th holiday and stipulated working hours
October 1894 for women and children
➢ Civil service was divided into
imperial provincial and subordinate
service
➢ Indians council act, 1892
➢ Appointment of Durand commission
to define the line between British
India and Afghanistan

9 Elgin II 11th October ➢ Great famine of (1896-1897) and

1894 to 6th commission on famine was
January 1899 constituted

10 Curzon 6th January 1899 ➢ Passed the Indian universities act

to 18th Nov 1904 in which official control over
1905 the universities was increased
➢ Partition of Bengal (oct 16 ,1905)
➢ The rising of north west frontier tribes
in 1897-98 led him to create the
126 | P a g e

North-West Frontier Provinces

(NWFP)
➢ Passed the Indian coinage and paper
currency act 1899 and put Indian
currency on a gold standard

11 Minto II 18th November ➢ Swadeshi movement (1905-1908)

1905 to 23rd ➢ Foundation of Muslims league (1906)
November 1910 Surat session and split in the congress
(1907)
➢ Extremists like Lala Lajpat Rai and
Ajith Singh (in May 1907) and Bal
Gangadhara Ttilak (in July 1908)
were sent o Mandalay jail in Burma
➢ Morley Minto reforms 1909

12 Harding 23rd November ➢ Partition of Bengal was cancelled in

1910 to 4th April 1911
1916 ➢ Capital shifted from Calcutta to Delhi
➢ A bomb was thrown at him be he
escaped unhunt (1912)
➢ Gandhi came back to India from
South Africa (1915)
➢ Annie Besant announced the home
rule movement

13 Chelmsford 4th April 1916 to ➢ August declaration 1917 whereby

2nd April 1921 control over the Indian government
would be gradually transferred to the
Indian people
➢ Gandhi founded Sabarmati ashram
(1916)
127 | P a g e

➢ The government of India act 1919

Rowlett Act (March 1919)
➢ Jallianwala Bagh massacre (13th April
1919)
➢ Non- cooperation movement
➢ A women’s university was founded at
Poona in 1916

14 Reading 2nd April 1921 ➢ Repeal of the Rowlett act

to 3rd April ➢ Suppressed non-cooperation
1926 movement
➢ Formation of swaraj party
➢ Moplah rebellion (1921) took place in
Kerala
➢ Kakori train robbery in 1925
➢ Prince of wales visited India in
November 1921
➢ Communists party was formed in
1921 by MN Roy
➢ Communal riots of 1923-25 in
Multan, Amritsar Delhi etc
➢ Swami Shraddhanad, a great
nationalist and a leader of the Arya
Samaj was murdered
128 | P a g e

15 Irwin 3rd April 1926 ➢ Simon commission visited India in

to 18th April 1927
1931 ➢ Congress passed the Indian resolution
in 1929
➢ Lahore session of congress and
Poorna Swaraj declaration (1929)
➢ Dandi march (March 12, 1930)
➢ Civil disobedience movement (1930)
➢ First round table conference held in
England in 1930.
➢ Gandhi Irwin pact (March 5 ,1931)
was signed and civil disobedience
movement was withdrawn

16. Willingdon 18th April ,1931 ➢ Second round table conference in

to 18th April London in 1931 and third in 1932
1936 ➢ Communal award (august 16, 1932)
assigned seats to the lower caste
people
Gandhi went on fast unto death in
protest to this division
➢ Poona pact was signed
➢ Government of India act 1935
129 | P a g e

17 Linlithgow 18th April 1936 ➢ Government of India act enforced in

to 1st October the provinces
1943 ➢ Congress ministries formed in 8 out
of 11 provinces, they remained in
power for about 2 years till October
1939 when they gave up offices on
the issue of India having seen dragged
into the world war ii
➢ The ml observed the days as
“deliverance day”
➢ Cripps mission in 1942
➢ Quit India movement (august 8, 1942)

18 Wavell 1st October,1943 ➢ Arranged the Shimla conference on

to 21st February, June 25, 1945 with Indian national
1947 congress and Muslim League failed.
➢ Cabinet mission plan (May 16, 1946)
➢ Election to the constituent assembly
were held and interim government
was appointment under Nehru.
➢ First meeting of the constituent
assembly was held on December 9,
1946.
130 | P a g e

19 Mountbatten 21st February ➢ Last viceroy of British India and the

1947 to 15th first governor of free India
August 1947 ➢ Partition of India decided by the June
plan
➢ Indian independence act passed by
British parliament on July 4,1947 by
which India became independent on
august 15, 1947.

Governor General of The Dominion Of India (1947-1950)

1 Mountbatten 15th August 1947 Retired in June 1948 and was

to 21st June, 1948 succeeded by c. Rajagopalachari (the
first and the last Indian governor
general of free India)

2 C. Rajagopalachari 21st June 1948 to

26th January,1950
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INDIAN ART AND ARCHITECTURE

INDUS VALLEY ARCHITECTURE

• Pashupati Seal- A steatite seal discovered at Mohenjodaro depicts a human figure or a

deity seating cross-legged. An elephant and a tiger are there on the right side of the figure
while a rhinoceros and a buffalo are seen on the left side.
• Unicorn Seal- The unicorn is the most common motif on Indus seals and appears to
represent a mythical animal that Greek and Roman sources trace back to the Indian
subcontinent. The seal was found in Mohenjo-Daro
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Pottery

• Two types of pottery are found at the excavation sites: Plain Pottery and Painted
Pottery.
• The Painted Pottery is also known as Red and Black Pottery.
• The potteries were used for three main purposes: -
1) Plain pottery was used for household purposes.
2) Miniature vessels, generally less than half an inch in size, were used for
decorative purposes.
3) Some of the potteries were perforated and might have been used for straining
liquor.

Ornaments

• Bearded Priest- It is the figure of a bearded man, draped in a shawl with trefoil
patterns. The figure has an armlet on the right hand and a plain woven fillet across the
head.
• It was also found in Mohenjo-Daro

•
• Male Torso- The Male torso is a red sandstone figure, which has socket holes in the
neck and shoulders for the attachment of head and arms.
• It was found in Harappa

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•
MAURYAN ART AND ARCHITECTURE
Pillars: -
• Ashokan Pillars
➢ The pillars were usually made of chunar sandstone and comprised of four
parts.
➢ A long shaft formed the base and was made of single piece of stone or
monolith.
➢ On top lay the capital, which was either lotus shaped, or bell shaped.
➢ The bell-shaped capitals were influenced by the Iranian Pillars.
➢ Above the capital there was a circular or rectangular base known as abacus
on which the animal figure was placed.
➢ E.g- Lauria Nandangarh pillar in Champaran, Sarnath pillar in Varanasi.
➢ The Allahabad pillar is an Ashoka Stambha, is particularly notable for
containing later inscriptions attributed to
the Gupta emperor Samudragupta (4th century CE). Also engraved on the
stone are inscriptions by the Mughal emperor Jahangir, from the 17th
century.

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Stupas
• They were prevalent in India from the Vedic period.
• During Ashoka’s period, almost 84000 stupas were erected.
• After the death of Buddha, immediately 9 stupas were erected.
• Sanchi Stupa in Madhya Pradesh is the most famous Ashokan stupa.
• Piprawah Stupa in Uttar Pradesh is the oldest one.
Cave Architecture:-
• Viharas:- They are living quarters by the Jain and Buddhist monks. E.g Barabar
and Nagarjuni caves in Bihar were formed during the time of Dasharath, son of
Ashoka.
Sculptures:-
• They were used for the decoration of stupas, in the torana and medhi.
• Two famous sculptures are- Yaksh and Yakshini.
• The Yaksha image from Parkam in the UP and Yakshini Image from Besnagar in
Madhya Pradesh are examples of popular art.
• Yakshini can be found in Silappatikaram, a tamil text.

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Lion Capital
• Lion Capital at Sarnath The Mauryan pillar capital found at Sarnath popularly known
as the Lion Capital, which is now our national symbol, is considered to be the finest
example of Mauryan sculptural tradition.
• The capital originally consisted of five component parts:
• The shaft, which is broken in many parts now
• A lotus bell base
• A drum on the bell base with four animals proceeding clockwise
• The figures of four majestic lions
• The crowning element, Dhammachakra, a large wheel, was also a part of this pillar.
However, this wheel is lying in a broken condition and is displayed in the site
museum at Sarnath. Chakras were also made on the circular drum under the feet
of the lions

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POST MAURYAN ART

Sculpture
• Three prominent schools of sculpture are:
➢ Gandhara school- Also known as Greco-Indian School of Art. It
flourished in two stages during 50 B.C to 500 A.D. The former school was
known for its bluish-grey sandstone and the later used mud and stucco (Fine
Plaster)
➢ Mathura school- It flourished in the banks of river Yamuna in 1st and 3rd
centuries B.C. They were influenced by all the three religions Hinduism,
Buddhism and Jainism. Images were modelled on the earlier Yaksha images
of Mauryan period. It also showed a striking use of symbolism in the images.
E.g Shiva is shown through Linga and Mukhalinga.
➢ Amaravati school- It develop on the banks of river Krishna under the
patronage of Satvahana rulers. The other two schools focused on the use of
single images while Amaravati school emphasized on the use of dynamic
images or narrative art. Sculpture that is mainly used is Tribhanga posture
(tri-bent standing posture.
GUPTA AGE
Gupta Empire in 4th century A.D is often known as “Golden period of Indian
Architecture”.
Caves
• Mural paintings are the main feature of the caves during Gupta Age.
• Some of the examples of mural paintings are Ajanta and Ellora.
Ajanta Caves
➢ Found near Aurangabad in Maharashtra.
➢ Total 29 caves of which 25 were used as Viharas while 4 caves were used as Chaitya
or prayer halls.
➢ Caves were developed between 200 B.C to 650 A.D.
➢ Caves were inscribed by the Buddhist monks under the patronage of Vataka kings-
Harishena.
➢ Fresco painting (painting on dry plaster) were used

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➢ Colours were obtained from local vegetation and minerals.

➢ Outlines of the painting were done in red colour.
➢ Striking feature is absence of blue colour in the paintings.
➢ Paintings were themed around Buddhism.
➢ Out of 29 caves, 5 were developed during Hinayana phase and 24 were developed
during Mahayana phase of Buddhism.
➢ Reference can be found in the travel accounts of Chinese Buddhist travelers Fa Hien
and Hieun Tsang.
Ellora Caves
➢ Located near Aurangabad in Maharashtra.
➢ Developed during 5th and 11th centuries A.D by various guilds from Vidarbha,
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
➢ It is a group of 34 caves- 17 Brahmanical, 12 Buddhist and 5 Jain.

Bagh Caves:
➢ Located on the bank of the Bagh river in Madhya Pradesh.
➢ These are also Buddhist caves with a number of Viharas and Chaityas
• Junagadh Caves:
➢ Located in Gujarat. It is also related to Buddhism
• Nasik Caves:
➢ It is a group of 23 Buddhist caves in Maharashtra, also known as “Pandav Leni”.
➢ Belonged to Hinayana period.
• Mandapeshwar Caves:
➢ Located near Mount Poinsur in Borivali, a suburb of Mumbai in Maharashtra.
➢ They were originally Buddhist Viharas
Sultanganj Buddha-
➢ The Sultanganj Buddha is a Gupta-Pala transitional period sculpture, the largest
substantially complete copper Buddha figure known from the time. It was found in the
North Indian town of Sultanganj, Bhagalpur district, Bihar.
➢ It is now held by Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery in England

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DELHI SULTANATE ARCHITECTURE

• Slave dynasty
➢ Qutub Minar is the prime example. Initiated by Qutub-ud-din Aibak but
completed by Iltutmish.
• Khilji dynasty: -
➢ Established Seljuk style of Architecture and made use of red sandstone. E.g
Alai Darwaja by Ala-ud-din Khilji and Siri fort in New Delhi, was built
during the rule of Alauddin Khilji.

• Tughlaq dynasty:-
➢ Made use of grey sandstone. E.g. Cities of Tughlaqabad, Jahaanpanah(Delhi)
and Ferozabad.
• Lodi dynasty:-
➢ Only tombs were built during this period. E.g Lodi gardens, the city of Agra
was established by Sikandar Lodi.
MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE
• Humayun- Persian style became prominent in his period.
• Led the foundation of the city Dinpanah in Uttar Pradesh.
• Humayun Tomb constructed by his widom Haji Beegum was the first pure Persian
style architecture in India
• Sher Shah- Constructed Grand Trunk Road and his tomb at Sarsaram in Bihar
• Akbar
➢ Agra Fort was built during his reign. Some of the prominent buildings here
are:-
❖ Moti Masjid by Shah Jahan.
❖ Diwan-i-aam by Shan Jahan.
❖ Diwan-i-khas by Shah Jahan.
❖ Jahangiri Mahal by Akbar.
❖ Sheesh Mahal by Shah Jahan.
The gardens are built using the Charbagh style.
➢ Fatehpur Sikhri by Akbar is a new capital city.

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➢ Buildings represent a unique blend of Hindu and Persian styles.

➢ Important architecture inside the city are:-
❖ Buland Darwaza
❖ Panch Mahal
❖ Jodha Bai’s palace
❖ Salim Chisti’s tomb.
❖ Ibadat Khana.
➢ Akbar also built a temple of Govind Dev in Vrindavan.
• Jahangir:-
➢ He focused more on paintings.
➢ Notable monuments are-
❖ Akbar’s tomb in Sikandar in UP
❖ Own tomb at Lahore
❖ Shalimar Bagh in Kashmir
❖ Moti Masjid at Lahore
➢ His wife Noor Jahan also undertook some constructions like the tomb of Itmad-
ud-daulah in Agra
➢ It is known as Baby Taj
➢ HE was Jahangir’s Wazir or minister
➢ Noorjahan was his daughter
• Shah Jahan
➢ His major constructions were:-
❖ Taj Mahal
❖ Red Fort in Delhi
❖ Jama Masjid in Delhi
❖ Shalimar Bagh in Lahore
❖ City of Shahjahanabad or old Delhi
• Muhammad Azam Shah:
➢ He built Biwi-ka-Maqbara in memory of his mother Begum Rabia Durani in
Aurangabad.

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SIKH STYLE
• Influenced by Mughal style of architecture.
• E.g Harminder Sahib or Golden Temple. Initiated by Guru Ram Das and completed
by Arjun Dev
MODERN ARCHITECTURE
➢ PORTUGESE INFLUENCE: -
• The Portuguese brought with them the Iberian style of architecture.
• They also introduced the concept of ‘patio houses’ and ‘Baroque churches’.
• E.g. St. Cathedral in Goa and Castella de Aguanda in Mumbai.
➢ BRITISH INFLUENCE: -
• The British brought with them the Gothic style of architecture.
• A new style, Neo-Roman architecture emerged.
• E.g Victoria Memorial in Kolkata , Gateway of India in Mumbai.
Differences between Iberian architecture and Gothic architecture: -
1) Iberian Architecture: Brick was the main material used by the Portuguese. The
Portuguese continued with their western traditions.
2) Gothic Architecture: Red sandstone and coarse limestone were primarily used.
The British adopted Indian motifs and styles.
➢ NEO-ROMAN STYLE:-
• Architecture of New Delhi were done by Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker.
• Concept of upturned dome can be seen in the top of Supreme Court and
Rashtrapati Bhavan.

PAINTINGS
EARLY MUGHAL PAINTERS
➢ Akbar-
❖ Established an entire department devoted to paintings.
❖ Also established Karkhanas or workshops.
❖ Indian influence started in Mughal paintings.
❖ The artists encouraged the use of calligraphy.

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❖ Famous painters are Daswant, Basawan and Kesu.

➢ Jahangir-
❖ He was a naturalist by nature and preferred the paintings of flora
and fauna.
❖ Emphasized on bringing naturalism to portrait painting.
❖ Use of decorated margins around the paintings.
❖ The Zebra, the Turkey and the Cock are the famous naturalistic
paintings.
❖ Ustad Mansur was the most famous artist of his period.
➢ Shah Jahan
❖ Created artificial elements in the paintings.
❖ Inspired by European influence in his court.
❖ He made the use of charcoal to draw and emphasized the artists to
draw and sketch using a pencil.
He also used gold and silver in his paintings.
FOLK PAINTINGS IN INDIA
• Madhubani paintings-
❖ Also called Mithila paintings and are found in the Madhubani town of Bihar.
❖ Paintings are symbolic for e.g. fish depicts good luck and fertility.
❖ There is ritual content for particular occasions like birth, marriage and
festivals like Holi, Kali Puja and Durga Puja
❖ Originally, the painting was created by women of different communities in
Madhubani
❖ Jagadamba Devi was the first artist form Mithila to receive national award
for painting in Madhubani art
❖ Sita Devi is another famous artist who got the Bihar state award in 1969
• Pattachitra-
❖ Traditional painting from Odisha and West Bengal .
❖ It is a cloth based painting
❖ The paintings in Odisha are based on Hindu Mythology and specially
inspired by Jagannath and Vaishnava Sects
• Patua art- Art from West Bengal.

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❖ Patuas are mostly converts from Hinduism to Islam.

❖ Hence, their paintings are mis of both Hindus and Muslims of Bengal
• Kalighat painting- The paintings were done by the rural migrants who settled around
the Kalighat temple in the then British capital (Calcutta).
As British supported this painting, it emerged to be a unique blend of oriental and
occidental painting
• Paitkar painting- Practiced by the tribal people of Jharkhand. The common theme is
“What happens to human life post death”.
• Kalamkari painting- Main centres for this art are Srikalahasti and Machilipatam in
Andhra Pradesh. Inspiration comes from Hindu mythology.
• Warli paintings- They are tribal people who occupy mainly the Gujarat-
Maharashtra border.
• Thangka painting- Belong to Sikkim. Also evoked the highest ideals of Buddhism.
The painting is in the style of Chinese scroll painting with a silk or cotton cover in
the front
• Manjusha painting- Belongs to Bhagalpur region of Bihar. Also known as Angika
art or Snake painting.
• The painting is done on temple shaped boxes comprising eight pillars
• These boxes are used in Bishahari Puja, a festival dedicated to Snake God

INDIAN MUSIC
HINDUSTANI MUSIC
• It is the traditional music of the northern regions of India
• Its main instruments are Sitar and Sarod
• In medieval times, the melodic systems were fused with ideas from Persian music,
particularly through the influence of Sufi composers like Amir Khusro, and later in
the Mughal courts.
• Noted composers such as Tansen flourished, along with religious groups like
the Vaishnavites.

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• There are ten styles of singing in Hindustani music. They are: Dhrupad, Dhamar,
Hori, Khayal, Tappa, Chaturang, Ragasagar, Tarana, Sargam nad Thumri.
• Dhrupad
➢ It is a classical form of music in the 13th century.
➢ It reached its zenith in the court of emperor Akbar.
➢ Famous musical masters of this form are Gopal Das, Swami Haridas and
Tansen.
➢ Baiju bawra sang in the court of Akbar.
• Khayal
➢ The word ‘Khayal’ means “idea or imagination”.
➢ Origin of this style was attributed to Amir Khusrau.
• Thumri
➢ It is based on mixed ragas and is semi-classical Indian music.
➢ Compositions are either romantic or devotional.
➢ Inspired by Bhakti movement.
➢ Language of the composition is usually Hindi or Awadhi dialect or the Braj
Bhasha dialect.
➢ The compositions are usually sung in a female voice.
➢ The main Gharanas (group of musicians) of Thumri are based in Banaras
and Lucknow.
➢ One of the timeless voices to singing Thumri is Begum Akhtar.

• Ghazal
➢ It is a poetic form that consists of rhyming couplets.
➢ Amir khusrau, Galib and Mir Taqi Mir were the prominent experts in GazaL
CARNATIC MUSIC
• It is a system of music commonly associated with southern India, including the modern
Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, as
well as Sri Lanka
• The music is Kriti or Kirtanam based and focuses more on the sahitya or the lyric
quality of the musical piece. Parts of Carnatic style are
1) Pallavi
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2) Anu Pallavi
3) Varnam
4) Ragamalika

Differences between Hindustani and Carnatic music

1) Hindustani music- Arab, Persian and Afghan.
Carnatic music- Indigenous.
2) Hindustani- Scope for artists to improvise.
Carnatic- No freedom to improvise.
3) Hindustani-6 major ragas
Carnatic- 72 ragas
4) Hindustani- Tabla, Sarangi, Sitar and Santoor.
Carnatic- Veena, Mrindangum and Mandolin.
5) Hindustani- Flute and Violin
Carnatic- Flute and Violin
FOLK MUSICS OF INDIA
• Baul- It is a Bengali form of music.
Bauls are a very heterogeneous group, with many sects, but their membership mainly
consists of Vaishnava Hindus and Sufi Muslims.
• Wanawan- Music from Kashmir
Usually performed by women on certain important occasions like marriage and other
functions and also in cultural activities
• Pandwani- It is Songs and Stories of the Pandavas) is a folk singing style involving
narration of tales from the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata.
• Alha- Music from Madhya Pradesh
• Paani Hari- Music from Rajasthan.
• Ovi- Music from Maharashtra
• Lavani- Dance from Maharashtra
• Maand- Dance from Rajasthan
• Dandiya- Dance from Gujarat
• Powada- Music from Maharashtra
• Khongjom Parva- Music from Manipur
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• Bhagawati- Music from Karnataka and Maharashtra

FUSION OF CLASSICAL AND FOLK
• Sugam Sangeet- This is the genre of devotional music, which brings classical and folk
together.
➢ BHAJAN- It owes its origin to Bhakti movement.
It is found in the various traditions of Hinduism but particularly in Vaishnavism.
It is also found in Jainism
➢ SHABAD- Songs were sung in the Gurudwara.
It is taken from Guru Granth Sahib, the official text of Sikhism
➢ QAWWALI- The lyrics are in the praise of prophet Muhammad.
➢ Amir Khusrau has its origin in qawwali.
• Rabindra Sangeet- This is one of the most famous forms of compromising music in
Bengal. It recreates the music produced by the Nobel Laureate Rabindranth Tagore.
• Gana Sangeet- These are sung in chorus or groups. Most common form of Gana
Sangeet is to sing about the patriotic feelings. They also include songs of protest.
• Haveli Sangeet- This genre of music developed in Rajasthan and Gujarat.

INDIAN CLASSICAL DANCE FORMS

• Bharatnatyam- The solo dance performance of temple dancers or ‘devadasis’ in Tamil
Nadu.
• Kuchipudi- Dance form of Andhra Pradesh.
• Kathakali- Dance form of Kerela.
• Mohiniattam- Solo dance form of Kerela
• Odissi- Practiced by ‘maharis’ and patronized by Jain king Kheravela.
• Manipuri- Dance form of Manipur. Gained prominence with the advent of
Vaishnavism. In the modern times it was revived by Rabindranath Tagore.
• Kathak- Dance form of Uttar Pradesh. Influenced by Persian costumes. Revived by
Lady Leela Sokhey in 20th century.
• Sattriya- Introduced by Vaishnava saint Shankardeva.

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UNESCO’s CULTURAL HERITAGE

• Koodiyattam
➢ Included in 2008.
➢ Conducted by the Chakkiyars (a sub-caste among Hindus).
➢ Theatre from Kerela.
• Ramlila
➢ Included in 2008
➢ Enactment of Ramayana using songs, dances and dialogues mainly during the
period of Dusshera.
➢ Popular folk theatre of Uttar Pradesh
• Tradition in Vedic Chanting
➢ Included in 2008
• Ramman
➢ Ramman is a religious festival and ritual theatre of the Garhwal
region in India.
It is a festival of the Hindu community in the in Uttarakhand, India.
➢ Included in 2009

• Navroz
➢ Included in 2009
➢ Marks the beginning of the New Year of the Parsis
• Mudiyettu
➢ Included in 2010
➢ A traditional ritual theatre, Mudiyettu is a folk dance and drama performed
in the state of Kerela.
• Kalbelia
➢ Included in 2010
➢ Dance form of Rajasthan
➢ The dance movements resemble that of a serpent.
• Chhau
➢ Included in 2010
➢ Tribal martial art dance of Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal
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• Buddhist chanting of Ladakh

➢ Included in 2012
➢ Recitation of sacred Buddhist texts from Jammu & Kashmir
• Sankirtana
➢ Included in 2013
➢ Dancing art form of Manipur

INDIAN LITERATURE
Explain the Snrithi and Shruti Classification of Vedic Literature

• The Vedic literature is broadly divided into two categories viz. Shruti and Smriti.
• Shruti is “that which has been heard” and is canonical, consisting of revelation and
unquestionable truth, and is considered eternal. Shruti describes the sacred texts
comprising the central canon of Hinduism viz. Vedas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, &
Upanishads.
• Smiriti literally means “that which is remembered, supplementary and may change
over time”. It is authoritative only to the extent that it conforms to the bedrock of Shruti
and it is entire body of the post Vedic Classical Sanskrit literature. It comprises
Vedanga, Shad darsana, Puranas, Itihasa, Upveda, Tantras, Agamas, Upangas.

Shruti Literature

Four Vedas

Rig Veda

• It is the first literature in Indo European language

• It is full of prayers addressed to different Gods
• It is recited by a priest called Hotri

Samavada

• It is the basis of Indian Sangeeta shastra

• It is recited by a priest called Udgatar

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Yajur Veda

• It is the earliest source on the discovery of iron

• It deals with ceremonies and rituals
• It is divided into two parts
• Sukla Yajur Veda with rituals of Aryans
• Krishna Yajurveda with rituals of non-Aryans

Atharva Veda

• Deals with magic, witchcraft and evil spirits

• It is the only Veda without priest
• Ganita Shastra, Ayurveda and Rekha Ganita were parts of Atharva Veda

Brahmanas:

• Explanations of the hymns of Vedas. Way of salvation is Karma Marga

• Examples are Aitreya Brajmana of Rig Veda, Taitriya Brahmana of Yajur Veda,
Jaiminiya Brahmana of Sam Veda and Gopath Brahmana of Atharva Veda

Aranyakas:

• It is also called forest book and discusses the forests for hermits. It bridges between
Karma Marga and Gyana Maraga

Upanishads

• Specify philosophical knowledge and spiritual learning. Way of salvation is Gyana

Marga
• They are called as Vedanta
• The Natioanal Slogan of India Styameva Jayate is taken from Mundagopanishads
• Svetasvatara Upanishad describes Siva for first time

Smriti Literature

Six Vedangas

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• They are six auxiliary disciplines associated with Vedas

7. Shiksha is study of Phonetics or pronounciation
8. Chhandas is prosody or rhythmic structure of a verse
9. Vyakarana is the study of grammar
10. Nrukta is the etymology or explanations of words
11. Kalpa is ritual instructions
12. Jyotisha is the astrology

Epics (Ithihasa)

These two great epics Ramayana and Mahabharata are also called Mahakavya.
Ramayana

• The most famous recension of Ramayana is by the sage Valmiki, also called as Adikav
• It was first compiled around 1500 B.C.
• Consists of 24,000 verses in seven books (Kandas) and 500 Sargas) and tells the story
of Rama.
• Valmiki is also regarded as India’s First Poet.

Mahabharta

• Mahabharata
➢ The most popular version was penned by Ved Vyas.
➢ It was written in Sanskrit and had 8800 verses.
➢ This version was called ‘Jaya’ or the story of ‘victory’.
➢ The number of verses increased to 24000 and it was renamed as ‘Bharata’.
➢ The current form consists of 1,00,000 verses and is divided into 10 Parvas
which are called Itihas Purana.
➢ The story is based on the conflict between the Kauravas and the Pandavas
over the throne of Hastinapur.
➢ The sutradhar of the story is Lord Krishna.
➢ Mahabharata also consists of a didactical text of Hindus i.e the Bhagwata Gita.

Puranas
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• They are late descriptions of ancient legends and consist of history of the universe from
creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and
descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography.
• They are colored with superstitions and also represent a corrupt form of Hindu
Philosophy. There are 18 major Puranas.

Four Upavedas

5. Danurveda is the science of warfare or archery

6. Gandharvaveda is the study of music, dance, poetry and sculpture
7. Ayurveda is the science of health and life
8. Arthashastra deals with public administration, economy and polity
• Some schools have the opinion that Sthapathyaveda (Study of engineering and
architecture is the 4th Upaveda instead of Arthashastra

THE MAHABHARATA AND RAMAYANA

➢
LITERATURE IN PALI AND SANSKRIT
• These languages gained prominence when religious literature of the Buddhists and
Jains were composed in this language.
• Lord Buddha used the Pali language to give his sermons.
• The Buddhist literature can be divided into Canonical and Non-canonical works.
• The Canonical literature consists of ‘Tripitakas’. The three Tripitakas are:-
1) Vinaya Pitaka
2) Sutta Pitaka
3) Abhidhamma Pitaka
• The Jatakas are the example of Buddhist non-canonical literature.
• These are the compilation of the stories from the previous births of Buddha.
• The story of Bodhi-Sattva or the future would-be Buddha are also discussed in these
Jatakas.

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• The great epic Buddhacharita by Aswaghosha(78 A.D.) is another example of

Buddhist literature in Sanskrit.
• Another major religion, Jainism produced texts in Prakrit.
• They form the basis of Jain canonical literature.
• The most important Jain texts written in Prakrit are Angas, the Upangas
• Upamitibhava Prapancha Katha by Siddharasi(906 A.D.) was a Jain text written
in Sanskrit.
• Chhedab Sutra and the Malasutra are also considered to be sacred by the Jains.
• Secular Jain writer Hemachandra wrote a treatise on lexicography (dictionary
science) and grammar.
• Haribhadra Suri, another Jain writer wrote in the 8th century.
MEDIEVAL LITERATURE
• Persian
➢ Persian language came to India with the coming of Turks and Mongols in the
12th century.
➢ One of the finest Persian poets is Amir Khusrau Dehlawi.
➢ Apart from his Diwan (collection of poetry in Persian), he also wrote Nuh
Siphir and the Masnavi Duwal Rani Khizr Khan.
➢ Zia-ud din Barani is amongst the top historians of that period and he wrote
Tarikh-e-Firuz Shahi.
➢ Ibn Batuta wrote several travel accounts that explain the socio-political
scenario of the period.
➢ Mughal emperor Babar wrote Tuzuk-i-Babari in Turkish.
➢ One of the greatest sources about the period of Jahangir was his autobiography
Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri. It was written in Persian
➢ Another important work is Humayun-nama, written by half-sister of
Humayun, Gulbadan begum.
➢ Abul Fazl,the court historian of Akbar wrote Ain-e-Akbari and Akbarnama
➢ He ordered several translations of Sanskrit texts like Ramayana, Bhagwata
Gita and several Upanishads into Persian.

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➢ Mahabharata when translated into Persian was called Razmnama.

➢ One of the highly illustrated works of this period is called Hamzanama, which
depicts the story of the mythical Persian hero, Amir Hamza.
➢ Malik Muhammad Jayasi, famous Sufi saint, composed his epic poem
Padmavat in this period.
➢ Badauni, another major writer of this period wrote on ethics of political rule.
➢ Faizi was considered a master of Persian poetry.
➢ Shah Jahan-Nama of Abdul Hameed Lahori was produced during the period
of Shah Jahan.
➢ Mir Jafar Zatalli wrote their Kulliyat (collection of verses) during
Aurangzeb’s period.
➢ Tabqat-i-Alamgiri gives us a good idea about the period of the 18th century.
• Urdu
➢ One of the greatest Urdu poets is Mirza Ghalib who composed Diwan
(collection of poetry) in Urdu.
➢ In the 20th century a major figure in Urdu literary writing was Iqbal who
wrote Bang-i-Dara. He is famous for writing ‘Saare Jahan se Achcha’.
• Hindi and its Dialects
➢ Hindi evolved between 7th and 14th century from Apabhramsa, which was
evolved from Prakrit.
➢ The language got its biggest boost with the Bhakti movement.
➢ Prithviraj Raso was the first Hindi book and it documents the life and
challenges faced by Prithviraj Chauhan.
➢ Kabir is famous for his ‘dohas’ that are used by common people of India even
today.
➢ Tulsidas produced couplets or verses in Braj and was peppered by Persian.

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SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

MATHEMATICS
Aryabhatta

➢ He wrote Aryabhattiya in 499 A.D.

➢ Astronomy was also called ‘khagol shastra’ in those days.
➢ The aims of studying astronomy were
❖ To get the accuracy of Calendars.
❖ To know about the climate and rainfall patterns.
❖ Navigation
❖ To look at the horoscope
❖ To have the knowledge about the tides and stars.
➢ Aryabhatta in his book stated that the earth is round and rotates in its own
axis.
➢ The Jyotisa part of Aryabhattiya also deals with astronomical definitions,
method of determining the true position of planets, movement of the sun
and the mood and the calculation of the eclipses.
➢ Arabs called mathematics “Hindisat” or the Indian Art.

Brahmagupta

➢ He in his book Brahmasputa Siddhantika mentioned Zero for the first time
as a number.
➢ In his book he introduced negative numbers.
➢ In the 9th century A.D. Mahaviracharya wrote Ganit Sara Sangraha which
is the first textbook on arithmetic.
➢ In his book he introduced lowest common multiple.
➢ He talked about the gravitation

Bhaskaracharya

➢ He is one of the leading mathematicians in the 12th century A.D.

➢ His book Siddhanta Shiromani is divided into 4 sections
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a) Lilavati (book on arithmetic)

b) Beejganita (dealing with algebra)
c) Goladhyaya (about spheres)
d) Grahaganita (mathematics of planets)
➢ A chakrawat method or the cyclic method to solve algebraic equations was
introduced by him in his book Lilavati.
➢ In the 19th century James Taylor translated Lilavati and made it popular
across the globe.
➢ Lilavati was translated into Persian by Faizi.
➢ Akbar ordered to make mathematics a part of education system in those times.

Other Astronomy Developments

➢ In the field of astronomy, Feroz shah Tughlaq established an observatory

in Delhi and Feroz Shah Bahamani at Daulatabad.
➢ Sawai Jai Singh set up 5 astronomical observatories at Delhi, Jaipur,
Varanasi, Ujjain and Mathura.

MEDICINE

• During the Vedic times, Ashwini Kumars were the practitioners of medicine and
were given the divine status.
• Dhanvantari was the God of medicine.
• Atharva Veda was the first book where we find the mention about the diseases, its
cure and medicines.
• The two important treatises during this time were
1) Charak Samhita (deals with Ayurveda) by Charak.
2) Sushruta Samhita (deals with Surgery) by Sushruta.
➢ Charka Samhita
❖ It mainly deals with the use of plants and herbs for medicinal purposes.
❖ In Charak Samhita, extensive note on digestion, metabolism and immune
system is written.

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❖ Charak emphaises that the functioning of a human body depends on three

Doshas:
a) Bile
b) Phlegm
c) Wind
➢ Sushruta Samhita
❖ It deals with practical problems of Surgery and Obstetrics or cesarean
❖ Sushruta Samhita studied anatomy with the aid of a human dead body. His
expertise was mainly: -
a) Rhinoplasty (plastic surgery)
b) Ophthalmology (Eye Treatment)

FESTIVALS OF INDIA

FESTIVALS OF NORTH-EAST INDIA

• Losar Festival- It is celebrated across Arunachal Pradesh and it marks the Tibetan
New Year.
• Saga Dawa- It is celebrated in the Buddhist communities living in the state of
Sikkim.
• Loosong Festival- It is celebrated in the honour of the Sikkimese New Year.
• Hornbill festival- It is one of the major agricultural festivals celebrated in Nagaland.
It is also called the 'Festival of Festivals'.
• Kharchi Puja- It is celebrated in Tripura.
• Cheiraoba Festival- It is celebrated in Manipur as it marks the New Year of the
Manipuri tribes.
• Wangala Festival- It is celebrated in Meghalaya by the Garo tribe and it indicates
the beginning of winter.
• Kang Chingba- It is celebrated in Manipur.
• Ambubachi Mela- It is held in the premises of Kamakhya temple in Guwahati in
Assam. It is known as the “Mahakumbh of the East”.
• Sekrenyi festival- It is celebrated by the Angami tribe of Nagaland.

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• Majuli festival- It is celebrated in the state of Assam.

• Lui-Ngai-Ni festival- It is celebrated in Nagaland by the Naga tribes and it
celebrates the end of the harvest season.
• Dree Festival- It is celebrated in Arunachal Pradesh by the Apatami tribe.

MARTIAL ARTS IN INDIA

• Kalaripayattu- Kerela

• Silambam- Tamil Nadu

• Thang-ta and Sarit Sarak- Manipur

• Cheibi- Manipur

• Pari-khanda- Bihar, created by Rajputs.

• Thoda- Himachal Pradesh

• Gatka- Sikhs of Punbjab

• Mardani Khel- Maharashtra

• Lathi- Punjab and Bengal

• Inbuan Wrestling- Mizoram

• Musti Yuddha- Varanasi

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