Indian History Archive

  • This is a translation of Pratap Simha’s Kannada Prabha column titled Tippuvannu dweshisabekendalla, satya tiliyali endu, published on 9 March 2013. Comments and criticism welcome as always. Image courtesy: Kannada Prabha “I’ll give you a fresh sample of a lie uttered by a writer. In...

    It’s not to Hate Tipu but to Know the Truth

    This is a translation of Pratap Simha’s Kannada Prabha column titled Tippuvannu dweshisabekendalla, satya tiliyali endu, published on 9 March 2013. Comments and criticism welcome as always. Image courtesy: Kannada Prabha “I’ll give you a fresh sample of a lie uttered by a writer. In...

    Continue Reading...

  • This piece was published on Centre Right India yesterday. Comments and criticism welcome as always. Thank God I am not in Madras. If I were, my hands would’ve gotten dirty the moment I flipped to that bilious page of the Madras Mount Road Marxist Rag....

    Marxist-Sociologist Nutjob Wanks off on the Pages of the Madras Marxist Rag

    This piece was published on Centre Right India yesterday. Comments and criticism welcome as always. Thank God I am not in Madras. If I were, my hands would’ve gotten dirty the moment I flipped to that bilious page of the Madras Mount Road Marxist Rag....

    Continue Reading...

  • My feelings for the multi-headed and ever-reverse-evolving beast called the Indian National Interest alias Takshashila alias…whatever its next avatar…have similarly evolved over the past 5-6 years. In the reverse. Currently, I feel infinite pity. It could change depending on what shape they’ll take tomorrow. From...

    The Case Against Dishonesty

    My feelings for the multi-headed and ever-reverse-evolving beast called the Indian National Interest alias Takshashila alias…whatever its next avatar…have similarly evolved over the past 5-6 years. In the reverse. Currently, I feel infinite pity. It could change depending on what shape they’ll take tomorrow. From...

    Continue Reading...

  • How often have you heard this refrain or its variants: Naah! I don’t go to temples. I don’t like going to temples…I mean, there’s no point…all that noise, meaningless mantras and rituals…some are so unhygienic…I believe in God but I’m spiritual…after all, Hinduism is a...

    On The Need to Revive the Temple Culture

    How often have you heard this refrain or its variants: Naah! I don’t go to temples. I don’t like going to temples…I mean, there’s no point…all that noise, meaningless mantras and rituals…some are so unhygienic…I believe in God but I’m spiritual…after all, Hinduism is a...

    Continue Reading...

  • Exactly one refrain emanating from the 1970s generation encapsulates the significance of Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday: a complaint that October 2nd is a Dry Day. That’s what Gandhi has been reduced to after 65 years: a symbol of Prohibition that middle class India must vocally protest...

    Mahatma Gandhi’s True Legacy

    Exactly one refrain emanating from the 1970s generation encapsulates the significance of Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday: a complaint that October 2nd is a Dry Day. That’s what Gandhi has been reduced to after 65 years: a symbol of Prohibition that middle class India must vocally protest...

    Continue Reading...

  • Note: These are excerpts from D.V. Gundappa’s Kannada book entitled Vrutta Patrike (Newspaper) first published in 1928 then reprinted a few times. The book is a collection of essays derived from D.V. Gundappa’s speeches and writings roughly beginning in 1928. My translation uses the enlarged...

    Disquisition or Publicity?

    Note: These are excerpts from D.V. Gundappa’s Kannada book entitled Vrutta Patrike (Newspaper) first published in 1928 then reprinted a few times. The book is a collection of essays derived from D.V. Gundappa’s speeches and writings roughly beginning in 1928. My translation uses the enlarged...

    Continue Reading...

  • Back to the Beginning Our history of the Madurai Sultanate began with the disintegration of the Pandyan empire for a reason. The death of Maravarman Kulashekara Pandya I in 1308 marks the beginning of the end of any semblance of stability or sustained rule by...

    The Madurai Sultanate: Assessment and Closing Notes

    Back to the Beginning Our history of the Madurai Sultanate began with the disintegration of the Pandyan empire for a reason. The death of Maravarman Kulashekara Pandya I in 1308 marks the beginning of the end of any semblance of stability or sustained rule by...

    Continue Reading...

  • The Rise and Fall of Nasiru-d-din After Ghiyath-ud-din Dhamaghani succumbed to an overdose of aphrodisiac, his nephew, Nasiru-d-din became the Sultan of Madura. Nasiru-d-din bought his way to the throne by splurging lavish quantities of gold on his nobles and the army. Nasiru-d-din was originally...

    The Madurai Sultanate: Decline and Extinction

    The Rise and Fall of Nasiru-d-din After Ghiyath-ud-din Dhamaghani succumbed to an overdose of aphrodisiac, his nephew, Nasiru-d-din became the Sultan of Madura. Nasiru-d-din bought his way to the throne by splurging lavish quantities of gold on his nobles and the army. Nasiru-d-din was originally...

    Continue Reading...

  • The Vacillating Fortunes of Vira Ballala III Vira Ballala III was the last great Hoysala monarch after his more-renowned ancestor, Bittideva or Vishnuvardhana who pre-dated him by more than a century. Vira Ballala III was also the Hoysala king who suffered perennial and severe loss...

    The Madurai Sultanate: Death of Ghiyath-ud-Din Dhamaghani

    The Vacillating Fortunes of Vira Ballala III Vira Ballala III was the last great Hoysala monarch after his more-renowned ancestor, Bittideva or Vishnuvardhana who pre-dated him by more than a century. Vira Ballala III was also the Hoysala king who suffered perennial and severe loss...

    Continue Reading...

  • The Rise of the Madurai Sultanate When Muhammad Bin Tughluq was the Sultan, the region south of the Vindhyas was divided thus: Dekkan with its capital at Devagiri, which had declared independence about four years prior to Tughluq’s death. This was roughly what’s known as...

    The Madurai Sultanate: Establishment of the Madurai Sultanate

    The Rise of the Madurai Sultanate When Muhammad Bin Tughluq was the Sultan, the region south of the Vindhyas was divided thus: Dekkan with its capital at Devagiri, which had declared independence about four years prior to Tughluq’s death. This was roughly what’s known as...

    Continue Reading...

  • The Second Muslim Incursion In February-March 1325, Prince Juna (Jauna) alias Ulugh Khan occupied the throne of Delhi and became Sultan Muhammad Bin Tughluq after the murder or bizarre accident in which his father Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq perished. Tomes have been written about the eccentricity, outlandishness,...

    The Madurai Sultanate: Two Rebellions in Ma’bar

    The Second Muslim Incursion In February-March 1325, Prince Juna (Jauna) alias Ulugh Khan occupied the throne of Delhi and became Sultan Muhammad Bin Tughluq after the murder or bizarre accident in which his father Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq perished. Tomes have been written about the eccentricity, outlandishness,...

    Continue Reading...

  • The Rise and Fall of Malik Kafur The devastating raid of Ma’bar by Malik Kafur is best summed up in R C Majumdar’s words who characterizes it as being more “spectacular than effective…was par excellence as a predatory raid” (THE HISTORY & CULTURE OF THE...

    The Madurai Sultanate: Intrigues & Disruptions in Delhi

    The Rise and Fall of Malik Kafur The devastating raid of Ma’bar by Malik Kafur is best summed up in R C Majumdar’s words who characterizes it as being more “spectacular than effective…was par excellence as a predatory raid” (THE HISTORY & CULTURE OF THE...

    Continue Reading...

Powered By Indic IME