Archives: history

West Bengal is the fourth-most populous state in India and the fourteenth-largest state by area. The state borders Nepal and Bhutan in the north and Bangladesh in the east. With Kolkata as its capital, West Bengal also borders the Indian states of Jharkhand, Sikkim, Assam, Bihar and Odisha. Read more to know some interesting facts and stories about West Bengal.

Ancient History

Though the origin of the name Bengal, also known as Bangla and Bango in Bengali, is unknown, it was suggested that the Bengali word ‘Bango’ might have been derived from the ancient kingdom of Vanga or Banga. According to the Indian epic Mahabharata, the region was mentioned as a part of the Vanga Kingdom. Shashanka was the first recorded independent king of Bengal, who reigned in the early 7th century. Following the Ghurid conquests led by Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji and the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate, Islam spread across the Bengal region. During the Islamic Bengal Sultanate, founded in 1352, Bengal was a major world trading nation and was often referred to as the richest country to trade with, by the Europeans. Following the death of Emperor Aurangzeb and the Governor of Bengal Shaista Khan, Mughal Bengal became a semi-independent state under the Nawabs of Bengal. 

Colonial Period

Many European traders like French, Dutch, British and Portuguese reached Bengal in the late 15th century. In 1757, The British East India Company, under the leadership of Major-General Robert Clive, defeated Siraj ud-Daulah, the last Nawab of Bengal, and his French allies in the Battle of Plassey. The outcome of the battle helped the British to gain control over Bengal. In 1765, The company gained the right to collect revenue in Bengal subah (province) and the Bengal Presidency was established. In 1773, Calcutta, the headquarters of the East India Company, was named the capital of British-held territories in India. The Bengal famine of 1770, which claimed millions of lives, had occurred due to tax policies enacted by the British company. Enraged with British rule, the 1857 Indian rebellion started near Calcutta. As a result of the rebellion, the authority of ruling India was transferred from the British East India Company to the British Crown.

Indian Independence Movement

The revolutionaries and youth from Bengal participated actively in the freedom struggle and the region played a vital role in spreading patriotic fervour throughout the nation. Guided by eminent leaders like Chittranjan Das, Bipin Chandra Pal, Renuka Ray and A. K. Fazlul Huq, the people of Bengal were unified in the cause of liberating our nation from the British Raj. Secret Revolutionary groups such as Jugantar (New Era) and Anushilan Samiti (Body Building Society), a fitness club which was used as an underground society for the revolutionaries, were dominant in Bengal during the Independence Movement. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose played a vital role in the independence movement. He formed the Indian National Army which challenged the authority of British rule in India. During this period, the Bengal Renaissance and the Brahmo Samaj, the two socio-cultural reform movements, significantly influenced the economic and cultural identity of Bengal. The colonial-era also produced notable freedom fighters, authors, social reformers and philosophers such as Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Rabindranath Tagore, Girish Chandra Ghosh, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Vivekananda and many others from West Bengal.

Post-Independence and Current times

After India gained independence in 1947, Bengal was partitioned into the western and eastern parts. The western part was named West Bengal and went to the Dominion of India. The eastern part, which went to the Dominion of Pakistan as a province, was named East Bengal, and later became the independent nation of Bangladesh in 1971. After the partition and Indian independence in 1947, West Bengal initially went through many decades of economic stagnation and political unrest. Now, the economy of the state is the fourth-largest in India and also has the 28th-highest ranking among Indian states on the Human Development Index (HDI). West Bengal has two World Heritage sites, i.e. Darjeeling Himalayan Railway and Sundarbans National Park, and is ranked as the seventh-most visited tourist destination in India. In addition to the heritage sites, the state also has cities like Kolkata and Siliguri and hill stations like Darjeeling and Kalimpong, for tourists to explore.

By Srinidhi Murthy

Known for its tea and silk, Assam is located in the northeastern part of India. The state is bordered by Manipur and Nagaland to the east, Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan to the north, West Bengal to the west and Tripura and Mizoram to the south. Read more to know about the history of Assam.

Ancient times

Assam was ruled by several dynasties such as Varman, Koch, Kachari, Chutiya and Pala from the 4th century to the 19th century. The earliest mention of Assam can be found during the formation of the Varman dynasty by Pushyavarman in the Kamarupa kingdom, in the 4th century. Kamarupa was the first historical kingdom of Assam. The Varman dynasty reached its zenith in the 7th century, under the rule of Bhaskaravarman. The rise of individual kingdoms such as Kachari and Chutia or Sadiya, marked the end of the Varman dynasty in the 12th century. The name Assam is derived from the word ‘asama’, meaning ‘peerless’ in the now extinct Ahom language. Ahom was spoken by the Ahoms, the rulers who came to Assam in 1228. The Ahom dynasty ruled the region for nearly 600 years from 1228 to 1826. In the 16th century, the Ahoms annexed the Chutia kingdom and also took over the Kachari kingdom from Central Assam. 

Colonial Era

The region witnessed the Burmese invasion between 1817 and 1826. There were three invasions from 1821 to 1825, during which the Ahom kingdom came under the control of Burma. In 1824, the first Anglo-Burmese war, also known as the First Burma War, was fought between the British and Burmese empires. By 1825, the British emerged victorious and the Burmese empire lost authority in Assam. As per the Treaty of Yandabo, the Burmese monarch, Bagyidaw, renounced his claim to Assam. In 1826, the British started commercial tea cultivation in Assam after they discovered that the region had favourable climatic conditions which could help them rival China in tea production. Cachar (present-day district in Assam) was annexed by the British in 1832 and Jaintia Hills ( present-day West Jaintia Hills district in Meghalaya) in 1835. Soon, Assam became a separate province in 1874, with Shillong as its capital.

The Freedom Struggle

Two years after the Treaty of Yandaboo, Gomdhar Konwar, a prince of the Ahom royal family, revolted against the British in 1828. He was soon suppressed. His followers, Dhananjoy Burhagohain, Jiuram Medhi, and Piyali Phukanrose revolted in 1830. Unfortunately, they were arrested and sentenced to death. In the early 20th century, the anti-colonial Assamese actively supported the Indian National Congress against the British rule in India, with Gopinath Bordoloi emerging as the preeminent nationalist leader in the Assam. Assamese women like Hemanta Kumari Devi Bordoloi, Nalinibala Devi, Bijuli Phukan, and Kiranmayee Agarwalla, also participated in every phase of the freedom movement. They were active participants in the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1920-21, the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1930 and the Quit India Movement in 1942. 

Post Independence

Post Independence, the Naga Hills, renamed Nagaland, became the 16th state of India in 1963. In 1970, the districts containing the Khasi Hills, Jaintia Hills, and Garo Hills were formed into an autonomous state within Assam. In 1972, it became a separate state under the name of Meghalaya. Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh were separated from Assam as union territories in 1972 and both became states in 1986. 

Wildlife, Culture and Tourism 

Assam is a home to the one-horned Indian rhinoceros, along with the wild water buffalo, tiger and various species of Asiatic birds. The state also provides one of the last wild habitats for the Asian elephant. Assam’s economy is aided by wildlife tourism to Kaziranga National Park and Manas National Park, which are World Heritage Sites. Bihu, a series of three harvest festivals, is the most important traditional festival, celebrated three times a year all over Assam. Assam has produced many authors, poets, activists and politicians including Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, who served as the fifth President of India, from 1974 to 1977.

By Srinidhi Murthy

Andhra Pradesh is the seventh-largest Indian state by area. The state is bordered by Tamil Nadu to the south, Chhattisgarh to the north, the Bay of Bengal to the east and Karnataka to the west. It has witnessed the reigns of many dynasties and many freedom fighters from the region sacrificed their lives for our nation.

Early mentions

The earliest mention of Andhra Pradesh was as a name of a tribe found in Sanskrit texts such as Aitareya Brahmana. The region was mentioned as Dakshinapatha and the people by the name Andhras. The other references were found in Indian epics such as Ramayana and Mahabharata. During his exile, Rama, with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana, is said to have lived in the forest, situated in present-day Bhadrachalam, Telangana. In  Mahabharata, Rukmini was the princess of the Vidarbha Kingdom. Vidharbha included the Deccan Plateau, parts of present-day Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Megasthenese, who visited the court of Chandragupta Maurya (322–297), mentioned in his report that Andhras had 30 fortified towns near the Godavari river, 2,000 cavalries, 1,000 elephants and an army of 1,00,000 infantry. 

The Kakatiya dynasty

In the 12th and 13th centuries, Andhras witnessed the rise of the Kakatiya dynasty. The Kakatiya period was considered the golden era of the region. Ganapati Deva of the Kakatiya dynasty, who started his reign in 1199, was considered to be the greatest ruler of Kakatiyas. In 1210, he defeated the Velanati Cholas and forced them to accept his dominance. His daughter Rudhrama Devi succeeded him in 1262. She defended her kingdom against the Cholas and Seuna Yadavas dynasty. Her grandson Prataparudra expanded the kingdom west to Raichur (present-day district in Karnataka) and south to Ongole (present-day city in Prakasam district, Andhra Pradesh)  and to Kanchipuram (present-day city in Tamil Nadu). Unfortunately, the decline of the Kakatiya dynasty began when they were defeated by the Delhi Sultanate in 1323. 

Changing times

After the fall of Kakatiyas, uncertainty prevailed over the region for some time. Several dynasties such as Musunuri Nayakas and the Reddi came and rose to power for the next three centuries. In 1687, Mughal emperor Aurangzeb annexed Golconda and appointed a Nizam (governor). The Mughal Nizams controlled the region for nearly 35 years. In 1707, following the death of Aurangazeb, the Mughal dynasty began to decline. The decline of the Mughal empire paved the way for the British East India Company and the French East India Company in India. 

Under the Colonial Rule 

In 1753, Deccan subedar Asif ad-Dawlah Mir Ali Salabat Jang, surrendered Chicacole (present-day Srikakulam), Ellore and Rajahmundry, to the Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau, who later became the Governor-General of the French colony of Pondicherry. In 1758, the French and English fought at Chandurthi (present-day Gollaprolu town in East Godavari district). The French troops were defeated by the British in the battle. Following the French defeat, the Deccan subedar made a peace treaty with the British and gave them the Northern Circars (also spelt Sarkar, a Mughal term for the province ) in a firman. Firman was a royal mandate issued by a sovereign in an Islamic state. The Northern Circars consisted of the five regions of Chicacole (Srikakulam), Rajahmundry, Eluru, Guntur, and Kondapalli. The Nizams retained control of the interior provinces as a princely state by acknowledging British rule, in return for local autonomy.

Freedom Struggle Movements 

The region was part of the nation’s fight to get freedom from the shackles of foreign rule. Prominent rebellions in the early 19th and 20th centuries were the revolts in Rayalaseema in 1800, by people who had refused to accept the British authority, and the No Tax campaign in the villages of Cherala and Perala in 1919. In 1920, Non-Cooperation Movement was welcomed and had huge support in Andhra Pradesh due to the leaders like Konda Venkatappayya (1866-1948), Ayyadevara Kaleswara Rao (1882-1962), Tanguturi Prakasam (1872-1957), and Pattabhi Sitaramayya (1880-1959). Alluri Seetharama Raju (1897-1924), a freedom fighter, carried out his Rampa Rebellion, a tribal uprising, between the years 1921-1924, against the British Government. He also fought with his followers in Guerrilla warfare to overthrow the rule of the British from the Eastern Ghats region of India. 

Post Independence 

India became independent from the rule of the British Empire in 1947. Though the Nizam of Hyderabad showed his resistance initially, he later surrendered his state to India in 1948. In 1953, Andhra State was separated from the Madras Presidency and became the first state in India to be formed on a linguistic basis. In 1956, Andhra State was merged with Hyderabad State to form the new state, Andhra Pradesh. In 2014, Andhra Pradesh was reorganised again to form a separate state of Telangana. Currently, the state ranks 27th among Indian states in the Human Development Index (HDI) and has the nation’s 17th highest Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) per capita.

Places to Visit

Andhra Pradesh has many tourist sites including beaches, hills and caves that can be explored. Visakhapatnam has the Borra caves, Arasavalli temple, Submarine Museum and the Bheemunipatnam Beach which can be visited. Tirupati is famous for the Tirumala Venkateswara Swamy Temple and Chandragiri fort. Amaravati in Guntur District, has some great architectural sites to explore such as the Dhyan Buddha statue and Amareswara (Siva) temple. Srisailam Dam, Akka Mahadevi Caves and Sri Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple are some of the popular tourist destinations in Srisailam. Vijayawada is popular for having the largest railway junction in South India and the city is known for its mangoes and beautiful spring season. Kondapalli Fort, Mogalarajapuram Caves and St. Mary’s Church are some of the popular tourist destinations in Vijayawada.