Fighting traditions were always there in Sanatan Dharma. When the Adi Shankaracharya in the 8th century formed the Nagas as a Hindu army, a new martial tradition was born. Of all the Hindu akharas, the Nagas were the most militarily equipped and fierce, and their retreats are still referred toContinue Reading
Kashmiri historian Jonaraja recorded the destruction of temples in Kashmir by Sultan Sikandar Butshikan in the 1390s. There was no city, no town, no village, no wood, where the temples of the gods were unbroken. When Sureshavari, varaha and others were broken, the world trembled, but not so the mindContinue Reading
Excerpts from my book: Swift Horses Sharp Swords with some additions Indian knowledge, specifically Hindu, proved to be a deep ocean of scholarship that was absorbed into Islamic knowledge, either by stealing or by natural adaptation and friendly exchange. The Islamic golden age, if it can be called one, inContinue Reading
During the period of 1315-20, Rinchan, a Buddhist prince from Ladakh, revolted against the ruler of Ladakh who happened to be his uncle also. Rinchan was defeated soundly and was forced to flee to Kashmir. He was subsequently given asylum by Kashmir king Suhadeva and due to his abilities, hadContinue Reading
Among the annals of ignored yet important Sanskrit inscriptions is the “Nagpur Museum Stone inscription” also called as the “Nagpur Prashasti” presently located, as its name suggests in a museum in Nagpur, Maharashtra. The inscription was commissioned by a ruler called Naravarmadeva. At least 20 lines of this inscription areContinue Reading
A general opinion is that the Dalits could never have any sympathy for the Hindus, who were spearheading the First War of Independence in 1857, and they have always sided with the British. The Bhima Koregaon incident is a prime example of a battle between the forces of the PeshwaContinue Reading
If we may start by asking an intriguing question: What is common between Chalukya Pulakeshin II, Pratihara Nagabhata II and the former American president George W Bush? The answer is – the “Al Faw Peninsula” of Iraq. This peninsula is the only outlet to the sea to modern Iraq andContinue Reading
The Sengol or Raja Danda that was handed over to India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharalal Nehru to represent transfer of power from British and will be displayed in the new Parliamentary complex to be inaugurated on 28 may. What is its significance and its origin? Sengol is referred as RajaContinue Reading
An excerpt from my book,” A Never-Ending Conflict”: After the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, Islamic Empire in India went into terminal decline. Peeved by the demeaning status of Muslims who ruled India for five centuries, Syed Ahmed tried to rejuvenate Islam in India in the 1880s. In the late 1910s,Continue Reading
Here is an interesting background story to the origins of Vande Mataram Was it a brawl on the cricket field that led Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay to compose Vande Mataram? About 145 years ago a tiff erupted at the Barrack Square (now Square Field) in Berhampore playground that led Bankim ChandraContinue Reading