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Major Events of Modern Indian History Battle of Plassey, 23 June 1757: Victory for the British East India Company in the Battle of Plassey was the start of nearly two centuries of British rule in India. For an event with such momentous consequences, it was a surprisingly unimpressive military encounter, the defeat of the Nawab of Bengal owing much to betrayal. The First Anglo-Mysore War (1767–69): Hyder Ali enjoyed some measure of success against the British, almost capturing Madras. The war ended with the Treaty of Madras. The Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780–84): Witnessed bloodier battles with fortunes fluctuating between the contesting powers. This war saw the rise of Sir Eyre Coote, the British commander who defeated Hyder Ali at the Battle of Porto Novo and Arni. Tipu continued the war following his father's death. Finally, the war ended with the signing of a treaty on 11 March 1784, the Treaty of Mangalore, which restored the status quo ante bellum. The Third Anglo-Mysore War (...

The Sufi, Bhakti and Sikh Movement in India Sufism in India Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti introduced Sufism in India. He came to India from Afghanistan with the army of Shihab-ud-Din Ghuri in 1192 AD and started living permanently in Ajmer from 1195. The original sufis wore simple wool cloaks and in Arabic the word Sufi means "man of wool". Pir in the Sufi tradition means Guru. A khanqah or khangah, also known as ribat, is a building designed specifically for gatherings of a Sufi brotherhood and is a place for spiritual retreat and character reformation in Sufi tradition. The chief orders of Sufis in India are: The Chishti, The Suharwardi, The Firdausi, The Quadri and The Naqshbandi. The Chisti Order: The Chishti order was established by Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer. Other notable disciples were Bakhtiar Kaki (the person to whom the Qutb Minar, Delhi is dedicated), Nizamuddin Auliya, the historian Barani and the poet Amir Khusro. It was popular in Delhi and the Doab region. T...

Major Tribal Movements in British India Cause of Tribal Movements in India: British colonialism faced revolt not only by the civilian population but also by the tribes of various regions throughout colonial India. Exploitative land revenue policies and expansion of agriculture and plantation activities on forested land by outsider non-tribal populations in areas inhabited by the tribal population. Works of numerous Christian missionaries were looked at with suspicion and as interference in social-economic customs of tribal population. The uprisings by the tribal groups were usually reactions against outsiders (dikus), zamindars and rulers, the support provided to the latter by the British administration. Major Tribal Uprisings: The Chuar Uprising (1771-1779): The term Chuar was used for local tribals in Bengal and it was a derogatory word {meaning pig}. Leader of this revolt was Durjan Singh, a displaced Zamindar who along with his 1500 followers created havoc. He established his rule...

Post Independence States Reorganization in India: When India got independence, it had nearly 565 princely states. Apart from problems like abject poverty, extreme hunger, sub-level economy and huge problems of rehabilitation of refugees, consolidation and reorganisation of princely states was a major challenge. Thanks to the leadership quality of Sardar Patel, India stands united today. Post-independence Consolidation and Reorganization of the States: When the British decided to quit India, the Indian National Congress (INC) and the Muslim League did not come to any conclusion and were unable to make a united front for independence. For creating a consensus, Britain sent the Cabinet Mission to India. Muslim League did not agree on the proposals of Cabinet Mission, and Jinnah proclaimed “Direct Action Day” on 16th August 1946. Violence erupted on both sides of the borders. To stop the violence and to avoid a civil war situation, Congress accepted the partition plan. On 14th August 1947,...

Education in British India Individual efforts under company rule: a) Calcutta Madrasah was established by Warren Hastings in 1781 to study Muslim laws and customs. b) Jonathan Duncan established Sanskrit college at Banaras in 1791 for Hindu laws and philosophy. c) Fort William College was set up in 1800 by Wellesley for the training of civil servants of the Company. (It was closed in 1802). The Charter Act (1813): 1 lakh rupees were to be spent by the company for the promotion of education in India. Lord Macaulay’s Minute of (1835) : Amidst Orientalist-Anglicist controversy, Macaulay supported the latter view. The English language was chosen as the sole medium of education. Government decided to spend the limited resources for teaching western sciences and literature. They adopted ‘downward filtration theory’ instead of mass education. Note: ‘Downward filtration theory ’ means teaching a few upper- and middle-class people would produce interpreters which would eventually penetrate to t...