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

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

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