Development of Railway and Transport in British India

Development of Railway:- The romance of train travel in India is legendary, but the task of constructing the railways in the first place was daunting. There were huge problems in dealing with such a vast and inhospitable country. The idea of introducing railways to India had been mooted as early as the 1830s. In May … Read more

Ayyankali

Ayyankali Ayyankali was born on August 28, 1863, to Maala and Ayyan at Venganoor, which is now in Thiruvananthapuram district. The caste discrimination he faced as a child turned him into a leader of an anti-caste movement and who later fought for basic rights including access to public spaces and entry to schools. Ayyankali in … Read more

People’s Movement against the Nizam’s Rule

People’s Movement against the Nizam’s Rule The Telangana Rebellion was a peasant rebellion against the feudal lords of the Telangana region and, later, the princely state of Hyderabad, between 1946 and 1951. The communists were as surprised as everyone else to see their efforts culminate in a series of successful attempts at organising the rebellion … Read more

Issue of Gender and Women’s movement

Women Movement The status of women has been the central concern of many reform move­ments before and after independence. Leaders of the Brahmo Samaj and the Arya Samaj were concerned with issues like sati, remarriage, divorce, female education, purdah system, polygamy, and dowry. Justice Ranade criticised child marriages, polygyny, restrictions on remarriage of wid­ows, and … Read more

Factors responsible for the rise of Indian Nationalism

ORIGIN OF NATIONALISM The rise of Nationalism is reflected in the spirit of Renaissance in Europe when freedom from religious restrictions led to the enhancement of national identity. This expression of Nationalism was furthered by the French Revolution. The political changes resulted in the passing of sovereignty from the hands of an absolute monarch to … Read more

Carnatic Wars

Carnatic Wars Political Situation in India on the eve of British-French Rivalry Since the 15th century when Europeans first arrived in India the fight for supremacy between rival factions became a part of the Indian history. But the Anglo-French struggles should get special mentions, as their role in shaping the course of modern India is … Read more

Satvahanas

Satvahanas After the fall of the Mauryan Empire, the history of the Andhras, as a continuous account of political and cultural events, commences with the rise of the Satavahanas as a political power. According to Matsya Purana there were 29 rulers of this dynasty. They ruled over the Andhradesa including Deccan for about 400 years … Read more

Narayana Guru social reforms

Narayana Guru social reforms Sri Narayana Guru was a prophet, sage and Hindu saint and also a social reformer of India. He was born in the family of Ezhavas, in a period when people from backward communities, like, the Ezhavas faced much social injustices in the caste-ridden Kerala society. Gurudevan, as he was fondly known … Read more

The rise and growth of All India Kisan Sabha

The rise and growth of All India Kisan Sabha Discontentment among peasants was inevitably endemic in the twentieth century. As a result, a number of agrarian uprisings took place either to change the system, which the peasants thought to be exploitative, or to seek redress for particular grievances without necessarily aiming at overthrowing the system. … Read more

Growth of a Composite Culture

Growth of a Composite Culture One redeeming feature in this age was the continuity of the process of Hindu-Muslim synthesis and amicable contact between the members of the two communities. Consequently the spirit of synthesis and mutual harmony led to the growth of a new synthesized and mutual harmony led to the growth of a … Read more