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Hyderabad,
the capital of Andhra Pradesh, was once the capital of the fabulous Nizam's
territory. The Andhra's were an Aryan race.
Their language was Telugu
and it has been derived from Trilinga, meaning the three symbols
of Shiva. The region that spreads amidst three famous Shiva shrines, at Kalahasti,
Srisailam and Draksharaman was called Trilinga.
The
most glorious period in the history of the Andhras was the era of Krishnadevaraya
(1509-1529), who ruled over an empire that embraced the whole of South
India, famous as the Vijayanagar Empire. The
Telugu speaking areas were separated from what was the composite Madras
Sate, on 1st October 1953, and Andhra Pradesh came into being. Highly
significant antiques are found in Andhra Pradesh bearing resemblance to various
stages of development from the lower Paleolithic times.
ASSAM
The ancient name of Assam was Kamarupa. According to
legend, Kama, the God of love, once made an effort to arouse passion in
the heart of the supreme, Shiva. The meditative Shiva opened a third eye
in his brow out of which leapt a flame and destroyed Kama. The compassionate
God, however, later let Kama be revived.
The
land where Kama got back his" rupa" or form came to be called Kamarupa.Old
tribes inhabiting the area were swept away or subdued when Ahoms, a tribe
that came from the upper Irravady Valley, defeated their chieftains. The
domination by the Ahoms earned for the land its present name, Assam.
Internal
feuds had weakened them by the early 19th century, when the Burmese overran
them.Then the British began to consolidate here and revolts started against
them. With the suppression of the 1857 country-wise uprising called the
Sepoy Mutiny, the British were able to silence the Assamese rebels.
SANCHI STUPA |
Bihar formed the core of the famous Magadha Empire of the
Mauryan and Gupta dynasties. The name Bihar is derived from Vihara
- the Buddhist monastery. The whole region is dotted with monasteries.
Pataliputra, the modern Patna was the chief city through the ages.
The antiquity of Magadha is established by the fact
that it is referred in the Vedas. The kings of Magadha continued to be
powerful for a along time and it was the awe inspired by them that made
even the Great Alexander, to retreat.
By
the closing years of the 4th century B.C., Magadha had become more powerful
under the Mauryan Kings, founded by Chandragupta Maurya, whose grandson
was Asoka, the Great. Although Asoka's empire was vast, his impact was felt
almost over the whole of Bihar. Now, Bihar is studded with monuments that
bear the memory of Mahavir Jina who resurrected Jainism, and of the Buddha.
BODH GAYA |
Bodhgaya, where the Buddha attained enlightment is also in Bihar. Once famous
all over the world, Nalanda, the University for Buddhist studies was in
Bihar too.
GUJARAT
Before Independence, Gujarat was the State with the
maximum number of princely territories beginning from the large Baroda
to some small villages. The very name of the western part of Gujarat,
Saurastra, means a hundred states. Its various regions were ruled by historic
dynasties: the Gurjaras in the north, the Chalukyas in the south and the
Maitrakas in Saurastra. Civilization had flourished in Gujarat at a very
early time as excavations at Lothal reveal. The land's proximity to sea
and the famous ports Braoch, Cambay, Surat, Somnath, and Dwarka became
highly prosperous trading centers with the Europeans and the Arabs.
Surat is the city where the British first founded their
settlement to claim the whole of India. The term Gujarat comes from the
Gujaras, a tribe that settled down here in the beginning of the 5th century.
GOA
The Mahabharata mentions of Goa as Gomant. Legend says
that once Parasurama, the 6th incarnation of Vishnu shot an arrow from
a peak of the Sahayadri. The arrow endowed with special powers pushed
the sea backwards, making Goa emerge. "Bann-Halli", meaning where the
arrow fell, is the present Banaulim in Goa.
Goa has come under the rule of many historical dynasties.
The Kadambas ruled the land with Chandrapura as the capital. The Bahamanis,
the Mahomedan rulers of Deccan conquered Goa in 1352. Ela , on the river
Mandovi became the capital. It fell in the hands of Yusuf Adil Shah, the
Sultan of Bijapur. In 1510 Alfonso de Albuquerque, the second Governor
of the Portuguese possessions in India, conquered it, killing the Bijapur
soldiers.
In 1809, during the Napoleonic wars the British occupied
Goa, but restored it to Portugal after the treaty of Vienna. In 1961,
after more than 4 centuries of foreign domination, it was liberated by
India.
HARYANA
Haryana is one of the areas of India, which has a rich
cultural heritage. Kurushetra, where on the eve of the Mahabharata War,
Sri Krishna enlightened Arjuna, through the Bhagavad Gita, is situated
in Haryana. Haryana is mentioned in, as old scriptures as the Manusmriti.
In the mythical era, it was the home of the Bharat dynasty. Ghaggar, the
only river that flows in Haryana is believed to be the river Drishadvati
mentioned in the Vedas.
The most important city of the region was Thaneswar.
Towards the end of the 6th century it became the capital of the Pushyabuti
dynasty. In the 8th century, the Huns frequently raided the areas. In
1014 Mahmud of Ghazni, invaded the region and plundered Thaneswar and
many other small cities. Then came Babar, the founder of the Mughal dynasty,
who won the battle of Panipat in Haryana in 1526. Some princely rulers
till 1857, when the Sepoy Mutiny took place, ruled the region. Haryana
was reconstituted as a separate state in 1966.
India's
ancient chronicler Kalhana belonged to Kashmir. In his celebrated work,
the Rajatarangini, he gives an account of the origin of Kashmir. Legend
says that long long ago, Kashmir was a vast stretch of land. A demon called
Jalodbhava lived in it. He went out from time to time and lay waste the
lands around the lake. He had a boon as to nobody can harm unless he lived
in the water.
Kasyapa, a great sage of ancient times, who knew the
secret of the demon, was determined to rid the earth of him. With the
help of the Gods, he had the lake struck by a mighty plough. The water
was drained out and the demon lost his powers and vanished. Then emerged
a wonderful land, which was called Kashyapmir, or Kashyap-mar from which
the name Kashmir came into being.
Hindu Kings ruled Kashmir from the very beginning and
the valley came under the rule of Asoka in the 3rd century B.C. After
Asoka, a number or rulers followed and then Emperor Asoka conquered it
in 1586 and the region became a part of the Mughal Empire. In 1757, Ahmad
Shah Abdali of Afghanisthan conquered it. With popular support Maharaja
Ranjit Singh took it over in 1819. Soon after the death of Ranjit Singh
the British East India Company won a war with the Sikhs but sold it to
the Raja of Jammu, Gulab Singh, for a price of 75 lakh rupees. Then, Jammu
and Kashmir became one state.
The Rashrakutas ruled
Karnataka from the eighth to the tenth century. When the Rashtrakutas
declined, three Kannada dynasties, the Yadavas of Deogiri, Kalachuris
of Kalyani and the Hoysalas of Dwarasamudra became powerful.
Then rose the famous
Vijayanagar Empire, founded by Harihara and Bukka. The Empire was at its
height during the reign of Krishnadevaraya.
Ruins
of Hampi |
Karnataka, also known as Kuntala Desa in ancient times, was
the home of an enterprising people who carried on trade with the Egyptians and
the Sumerians. There was also close communications between the cities of Karnataka
and those of the Indus Valley civilization.
Karnataka became a part
of the Mauryan Empire by the 4th century. A native dynasty, known as the Satavahanas
or the Satakarnis took over from the Mauryans in the 1st century B.C. Simultaneously
and subsequently, the Gangas and the Chalukyas ruled parts of Karnataka. The
Indian music has two great traditions, the North- Indian and the Karnatic School.
Hampi is supposed to be the birthplace of the Karnatic School.
The Empire weakened and
ended in the 16th century. New dynasties, the Nayaks, the Pallegars and the
Wadiyars came up. Haidar Ali subdued the various chieftains and he became the
Sultan in the second half of the 18th century. His conflict with the rising
British power ended in the death, while fighting, of his famous son, Tipu Sultan,
in 1799. The state was restored to the Wadiyar Dynasty, though it remained under
the British control.
Legend
says that Kerala emerged from the sea as a gift for Parasurama, the 6th
incarnation of Vishnu. The length of the land is the distance covered
by his axe when he hurled it.
COCHIN - JEWISH SYNAGOGUE
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In
the 9th century the foundation was laid for a powerful dynasty, the Cheras.
After the fall of the Cheras, the local chiefs established their rule. Vascodagama
arrived at Calicut in 1498. Calicut was then the capital of the Zamorins,
the powerful Hindu rulers. The Dutch arrived in 1663. They outmaneuvered
the Portuguese in business and soon usurped their power and influence. In
the 18th century the British East India Company was able to reduce both
the powerful rulers of the time.
In 1947, the state
of Travancore and Cochin together with the Malabar area directly ruled
by the British , formed a new state. Cranganore, Quilon, Cochin, Calicut,
Kadalundi, Cannanore and Dharmadam were busy trading centers even three
thousand years ago, carrying on trade with Assyrian and Babylonian Empires.
The first batch of
Jews had arrived in Kerala, according to tradition, in King Solomon's
ship. They had their flourishing settlement near Cochin. Kerala was also
the first to welcome the Christians in India, headed by St. Thomas, the
Apostle, who arrived in India within years of the death of Jesus Christ.
MADHYA
PRADESH
Madhya Pradesh had been the cradle of pre-neolithic
and Neolithic civilizations. Asoka, the Great, in his youth, was stationed
at Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh , as the Viceroy of the Maurya dynasty over
the region. Later as the promoter of Buddhism, he laid the foundation
for the Sanchi Stupa, one of the famous Buddhist sites.
Later the legendary king, Vikramaditya of the Gupta
dynasty ruled from Ujjain. King Yasodharaman of Malwa repulsed the Gupta
Empire in the 6th century. Madhya Pradesh has many monuments and sites
of historical importance associated with various dynasties. Apart from
the classical culture, the tribal population also has various varied cultural
strains that are unchanged for several thousand years.
MAHARASTRA
Maharastra can be divided into three regions, Western
Maharastra, Vidarbha and Marathwada. Vidarba was very famous in ancient
times. There are numerous references to this kingdom in the Mahabharata
and several other mythological works as well as in folklore. Rukmini,
married to Krishna, was a princess of Vidarba.
In the 3rd century B.C., Maharastra was a part of the
Mauryan Empire. As the Mauryan Empire declined, Maharastra came under
the rule of various dynasties like the Satavahanas, the Traikutakas, the
Vatakas, the Chalukyas and the Yadavas. Significant cultural activities
continued between 3rd and 9th century A.D., during which the remarkable
frescos of the Ajanta caves were made.
Towards the close of the 13th century, Maharastra came
under Muslim rule. In the first part of the 17th century the great Chatrapati
Shivaji emerged who gave the Marathas a new sense of unity and purpose.
Early in the 19th century, Maharastra came under the British domination.
ORISSA
Orissa was famous as Kalinga, in ancient times. The
Mahabharata describes it as the land inhabited by Rishis and the Brahma
Purana calls it as the land blessed and adorned with all the virtues.
Traces of Neolithic life are found here and the Juang tribe found here
are the last surviving tribes among the vanishing descendants of the Stone
Age.
An enterprising and affluent race inhabited Orissa
and it carried on trade with Sri Lanka, Sumatra, Java, Cambodia and islands
of the Pacific Sea. Asoka, the Great of the Mauryan Empire to take control
of Kalinga, fought a bloody battle. The horrors of the war changed Asoka
and he became a serious Buddhist.
Jainism and Buddhism flourished in Orissa with equal
vigor. Hieun- Tsang, the famous Chinese traveler visited it in the 7th
century. Bhubaneswar, Puri and Cuttack at different times served as the
capitals of the Oriya Kings. The first Westerners to arrive in Orissa
were the Portuguese, in 1514. The Dutch came in 1625. In the first decade
of the 19th century, the British took possession of this state.
PUNJAB
Punjab is believed to be the earliest Aryan settlement
in India. Before the Europeans arrived, all the raiders of India arrived
only through Punjab. Darius I of Persia invaded this area in the 6th century
B.C. and made it a province of his Empire. In the 4th century B.C. , Alexander,
the Great invaded Punjab.
Chandragupta Maurya drove out the Greek Viceroy of
the province. After the decline of the Mauryan Empire, Punjab was successively
raided and occupied by the Graeco-Bactrians, Sakas, Kushans and the Huns.
Mahmud of Ghazni was the first Muslim invader to enter Punjab in the 10th
century. A number of other Muslim invasions followed until Babar established
the Mughal rule.
Towards the later phase of the decadent Mughal power
the two other invaders in whose hands the Punjab suffered were Nadir Shah
and Ahmad Shah Abdali. Punjab entered a new phase of history with Guru
Nanak with whom began the Sikh faith (1469- 1539). Nine Gurus succeeded
him. Under various historical circumstances, the Sikhs became a militant
community.
The conflict between the Sikhs and the Mughals was
a long story with amazing resistance showed by the Sikhs. Punjab was at
its peak when King Ranjit singh ruled during 1780-1839. After his death
the two wars with the rising British power gave a setback to their strength
in Punjab. The British took over the Province in 1849. The whole of Punjab
is strewn with monuments and places bearing the memory of the freedom
struggles.
RAJASTHAN
An older name of Rajasthan is Rajputana, the land of
the Rajputs. Although many other racial groups are there in the state,
the martial Rajputs have dominated its history through the centuries.
They trace their descent to the royal dynasties mentioned in the Ramayana
and the Mahabharata. The Sisodias, the Rathors, and the Kachchwas belong
to the Solar line; The Bhatis and the Tanwars come from the Lunar line.
The Solankis, the Parmars, the Pratihars and the Chauhans are said to
have originated from a Yajna or sacrificial fire.
In the 12th century, the Rajput princes fought and
checked the Muslim invasions for long. In 1526 Babur, the founder of the
Mughal Empire came. Sangram singh of Mewar defied him. Mewar valiantly
resisted till the time of Jahangir. Trouble started because of the religious
intolerance of Aurangazeb. Then, the Mughal power declined and Rajputana
could not enjoy freedom due to the attacks from the Maratha powers. This
made it easy for the British to step in as the protector of the princely
states of Rajasthan, 20 in all and annexed them. The princes allowed the
merger of their states into the Union of India on the nation's achievement
of freedom from the British.
Legend says, that
following some occult sign a celebrated Tibetan Lama came to Sikkim in
1641 and met two other Lamas at Yuk- Sam, meaning, "the meeting place
of the three Lamas" . Together they searched out the man destined to find
a ruling dynasty over the region; he was Phutong Namgyal, the great-grandson
of Guru Tashi. The three Lamas crowned him the ruler of Sikkim.
Later, though Chogyal
was the chief, it was India who appointed the Prime Minister of the state
and was responsible for its defence. In 1975, to fulfill the popular urge
of the people of Sikkim, it was made a regular state, the 22nd of the Republic
of India.
Civilization
flourished in Tamilnadu long before the beginning of the Christian era.
The Cheras, the cholas and the Pandyas ruled parts of the modern Tamilnadu.
Thanjavur and Thiruchirapalli were identified with the Cholas and the
Tirunelveli and Madurai area was identified with the Pandyas. While the
Cholas first ruled from Uraiyur and then from Kaveripattinam, the Pandyas
ruled from Madurai.
A third great dynasty of Tamilnadu was the Pallava
dynasty of Kanchi that came to prominence in the 4th century A.D. Prosperous
ports extended Tamilnadu's commerce to distant countries. The Kural by
Thiruvalluvar, one of the greatest works of Indian literature written
2000 years ago, shows the growth and prosperity of Tamil in ancient times.
PONDICHERRY
Pondicherry, world famous as the seat of Sri Aurobindo
and the Mother, had a mystic heritage rooted in a remote past. Sage Agastya,
who came from the north to South, is believed to have established his
Ashram here. Though the present name comes from "Puddu Cherri", meaning
New Village, it had a more ancient name, Vedapuri, suggesting that the
place was known for Vedic learning.
Excavations at Arikamedu on the outskirts of the city
prove that there was a Roman settlement here and regular commerce was
carried on between the Port of Pondicherry and the Roman cities. The French
came here following the Portuguese and the Danes, and took root here.
In 1693, the Dutch bought the area from the French ruler of Gingee. Four
years later, following a treaty, the French took possession of the city,
with Francois Martin for its administrator.
In the 18th century, in the wake of the wars between
England and France, the English in India tried to dislodge the French
from Pondicherry. The city changed hands several times. Finally, the French
took over in 1816 and continued here till its merger with the rest of
India in 1954.
UTTAR
PRADESH
The antiquity of the civilizations, which had flourished
in this soil, is well established by excavations at places like Hastinapur,
Kanuaj, Kaushambi and Mathura. Many great dynasties ruled the region in
mythical times. The greatest among them were the Ikshvakus. Sri Ramachandra
hailed from this dynasty, ruling from Ayodhya. Historically it was a part
of the Mauryan Empire. After Asoka there were kings like Pushyamitra,
Kaniskha, Samudragupta, Harshavardhana, Yashovarman, Mihirbhoja and Mahipala.
They all belonged to various dynasties.
In 1309, Alauddin Khilji conquered a part of the region.
Muslim rulers then followed. In the 16th century, the Lodi kings made
Agra their capital. Soon Babar arrived and several wars followed, and
then the region became a part of the Mughal Empire. The British through
the East India Company, took over the area in the 18th century. In 1857,
the Sepoy Mutiny took place in a large scale in this region.
WEST
BENGAL
Bengal is the anglicized form of Banga, the ancient
name of a part of the region. The other part was called Gauda. Both were
the kingdoms in the Mauryan and the Gupta Empire. After several dynasties
followed with a lot of uncertainness, the Pala kings ruled the region
from the 8th century to the 12th century in a more peaceful atmosphere.
In early 13th century, a Turkish General Muhammad Bhaktiyar invaded Bengal.
The Buddhists of Bengal persecuted him. Intrigues marked the Muslim rule
over Bengal for a long time with a brief spell of Hindu rule in the area.
In the 15th century, Sri Chaitanya, the great Vaishnav
prophet appeared. In the 16th century Bengal came under the Mughal rule.
In 1757, the young Nawab of Bengal, Sirajuddaula, who was disgusted with
the British rule, clashed with them at the Battle of Plassey. Under Clive's
leadership, the Company won because of the betrayal of Sirajuddaula's
commander- in- chief, Mr. Jaffar's betrayal of his master. Siraj was soon
assassinated. With the company's support, Jaffar occupied the throne of
Bengal. But he was soon deposed and the Company snatched the powers from
the weak successors of Jaffar. At last, Warren Hastings obliged the Nawab
to retire and became the administrator of Bengal and later became the
Governor- General of British India.
The sons of Bengal played a prominent part in the resurrection
of India. The English education in India, started in Bengal and with the
suggestion of Raja Rammohan Roy, the first English College was also set
up in Calcutta in 1817.
CELLULAR JAIL
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In the 16th century, a settlement was gradually established
at Port Blair in 1789. Then the establishment was shifted to the north
in 1792 and then it was closed in 1796. Shipwrecks were recorded between
1796 and 1858 and finally a penal settlement was established in 1858.
The Chinese traveler Marco Polo who passed through
these islands in 1290 calls them the "Angamanian Islands". Friar Odoric
another European traveler in 1322 refers to the people of these islands
as "Cannibals" who ate each other. But Nicolo Conti who arrived at these
islands in 1440, calls these islands as the islands of Gold. 
The colonizing European
powers began coverting these islands from the 18th century. In 1869, they came
to the possession of the British from the Dutch. For the British, the islands
were for a penal settlement. The dreaded Prison was the Cellular Jail, now a
national monument. Once sent there, the prisoners were likely to die than turn
back due to the unhealthy conditions that prevailed there.
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