GS Paper: GS1-02.Modern Indian History- Mid-18th century – Present (significant events, personalities, issues);

President Ram Nath Kovind is commencing his visit to Maharashtra by visiting the Raigad Fort where he will pay tribute to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

Where is Raigad fort located?

• Raigad is a hill fort situated about 25 km from Mahad in the Raigad district and stands 2,851 feet above sea level.
• The British Gazette states the fort was known to early Europeans as the Gibraltar of the East.
• Its decisive feature is a mile and a half flat top which has adequate room for buildings.
• In its prime, the fort had 300 stone houses and a garrison of 2,000 men.

When was it built?

• The fort, which was earlier called Rairi, was the seat of the Maratha clan Shirke in the 12th century.
• The fort changed hands a number of times from the dynasty of Bahaminis to the Nizamshahis and then the Adilshahis.
• In 1656, Chhatrapati Shivaji captured it from the More’s of Javli who were under the suzerainty of the Adilshahi Sultanate.
• The fort not only helped Shivaji challenge the supremacy of the Adilshahi dynasty but also opened up the routes towards Konkan for the extension of his power.

Significance of the fort in Shivaji’s life

• In 1662, Shivaji formally changed the fort’s name to Raigad and added a number of structures to it.
• By 1664, the fort had emerged as the seat of Shivaji’s government.
• As the Marathas under the leadership of Shivaji gained strength in their struggle against the Mughals, the announcement of a sovereign, independent state was made.
• On June 6, 1674, Shivaji was coronated at Raigad by Gagabhatt where he took on the title of Chhatrapati.
• Six years later, Shivaji passed away in Raigad in 1680 and has been cremated at the fort.

Importance of Raigad Fort in Maharashtra’s polity

• Chhatrapati Shivaji is the tallest and the most revered icon in Maharashtra and there is a constant attempt by political parties of all hues to appropriate his legacy.
• Due to the significance of Raigad in his life, many political leaders make it a point to visit the fort.
• Maharashtra has already announced a mid-sea memorial in the Arabian Sea for the Maratha warrior king.

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The 1817 Paika Rebellion of Odisha would be included as a case study in the Class 8 NCERT history textbook, informed the Union Culture Minister.

Who were the Paiks?

• The Paiks of Odisha were the traditional landed militia and enjoyed rent free land tenures for their military service and policing functions on a hereditary basis.

Paika Rebellion

• When the British started tinkering with the revenue system in 1803, the farming community of Odisha rose in rebellion.
• At that critical juncture, Bakshi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar — the military chief of the King of Khurda — led his army of Paikas forcing the British East India Company forces to retreat.
• The rebellion came to be known as Paika Bidroh (Paika rebellion).

When did it take place?

• The rebellion, by the landed militia of Khurda called Paiks, predates the first war of independence in 1857 but did not get similar recognition.
• It took place when the British East India Company wrested the rent-free land that had been given to the Paiks for their military service to the Kingdom of Khurda.

Try this PYQ from CSP 2020:

Q. With reference to the history of India, ‘ulgulan’ or the great tumult is the description of the which of the following?

(a) The revolt of 1857

(b) The Mappila rebellion of 1921

(c) The Indigo revolt of 1859-1860

(d) Birsa Munda’s revolt of 1899-1900

 

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Union Home Minister has laid the foundation for ‘Rani Gaidinliu Tribal Freedom Fighters Museum’ in Imphal, Manipur.

Rani Gaidinliu

• Gaidinliu (26 January 1915 – 17 February 1993) was a Naga spiritual and political leader who led a revolt against British rule in India.
• At the age of 13, she joined the Heraka religious movement of her cousin Haipou Jadonang.
• The movement later turned into a political movement seeking to drive out the British from Manipur and the surrounding Naga areas.
• Within the Heraka faith, she came to be considered an incarnation of the Goddess Cherachamdinliu.

Meeting with Pt. Nehru

• Gaidinliu was arrested in 1932 at the age of 16, and was sentenced to life imprisonment by the British rulers.
• Jawaharlal Nehru met her at Shillong Jail in 1937 and promised to pursue her release.
• Nehru gave her the title of “Rani” (“Queen”), and she gained local popularity as Rani Gaidinliu.

Her legacy

• She was released in 1947 after India’s independence and continued to work for the upliftment of her people.
• An advocate of the ancestral Naga religious practices, she staunchly resisted the conversion of Nagas to Christianity.
• She was honored as a freedom fighter and was awarded a Padma Bhushan by the Government of India.

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The Union Cabinet has decided to declare November 15 as ‘Janjatiya Gaurav Divas’ to mark the birth anniversary of revered tribal leader and freedom fighter Birsa Munda.

Who was Birsa Munda (1875-1900)?

• Birsa Munda was an Indian tribal freedom fighter, religious leader, and folk hero who belonged to the Munda tribe.
• He spearheaded a tribal religious millenarian movement that arose in the Bengal Presidency (now Jharkhand) in the late 19th century, during the British Raj.

His legacy

(A) Birth and early childhood

• Born on November 15, 1875, Birsa spent much of his childhood moving from one village to another with his parents.
• He belonged to the Munda tribe in the Chhotanagpur Plateau area.
• He received his early education at Salga under the guidance of his teacher Jaipal Nag.
• On the recommendation of Jaipal Nag, Birsa converted to Christianity in order to join the German Mission school.
• He, however, opted out of the school after a few years.

(B) New faith ‘Birsait’ against religious conversion

• The impact of Christianity was felt in the way he came to relate to religion later.
• Having gained awareness of the British colonial ruler and the efforts of the missionaries to convert tribals to Christianity, Birsa started the faith of ‘Birsait’.
• Soon members of the Munda and Oraon community started joining the Birsait sect and it turned into a challenge to British conversion activities.
• The Mundas called him Dharati Aaba, the father of earth.

(C) The Ulgulan

• The Great Tumult or Ulgulan was a movement started by Birsa Munda against the exploitation and discrimination against tribals by the local authorities.
• Although the movement failed, it did result in the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act which forbade tribal lands passing to non-tribals, protecting their land rights for the foreseeable future.

(D) Death

• On March 3, 1900, Birsa Munda was arrested by the British police while he was sleeping with his tribal guerilla army at Jamkopai forest in Chakradharpur.
• He died in Ranchi jail on June 9, 1900, at the young age of 25.

(E) Creation of Jharkhand

• Birsa Munda’s achievements are known to be even more remarkable by virtue of the fact that he came to acquire them before he was 25.
• In recognition of his impact on the national movement, the state of Jharkhand was created on his birth anniversary in 2000.

Try this PYQ from CSP 2020

Q. With reference to the history of India, “Ulgulan” or the Great Tumult is the description of which of the following event?

 

(a) The Revolt of 1857

(b) The Mappila Rebellion of 1921

(c) The Indigo Revolt of 1859-60

(d) Birsa Munda’s Revolt of 1899-1900

 

[wpdiscuz-feedback id=”ok4dlnd0am” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

 

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The new Punjab CM represents the Assembly constituency of Chamkaur Sahib, which is of significance in Sikh history.

For such history-related topics, one must not forget to note the contemporaries of a particular period.

The Battle of Chamkaur

• The coalition forces of Mughals and hill rajas led by Wazir Khan, the Nawab of Sirhind, had laid siege to Anandpur Sahib in the hope of capturing Guru Gobind Singh in May 1704.
• After seven months of fighting and heavy losses, the coalition forces offered a safe passage to the Guru and his followers.
• The heads of the coalition pledged they would not harm the Guru, his family, or his soldiers.
• The peace treaty was sent in the name of Emperor Aurangzeb himself.
• But when Gobind Singh and his followers stepped out of the Anandpur Sahib fort on the night of December 20, they were attacked.
• Historically, this was where that Guru Gobind Singh lost two of his elder sons in a battle with the coalition forces of Mughals and the hill rajas.

What happened at Chamkaur Sahib?

• The Guru, accompanied by panj piaras (the five Sikhs he had initially baptised), his elder sons and around 40 soldiers, regrouped in a fortress-like two-storey house, with high compound walls made of mud.
• They were surrounded by an army commandeered by Wazir Khan and Sher Mohammed Khan, the younger brother of Malerkotla’s chieftain.
• The Guru sent out soldiers in small squads for hand-to-hand combat. Two such attacks were led by his sons, both of whom died fighting.
• Three of the panj piaras — Mohkam Singh, Himmat Singh and Sahib Singh — too died fighting.

How did the battle conclude?

• When very few soldiers were left, they decided the Guru should leave so that he could carry on his mission.
• It was at the Chamkaur fort that panj piaras issued an edict (hukumnama) ordering the Guru to leave.
• This was the first edict issued by panj piaras after the formation of the Khalsa on April 13, 1699.
• Before leaving, the Guru gave his attire and distinguishing kalgi to Sangat Singh, a Mazhabi Sikh who resembled him.
• Three other soldiers too left the fort, and went in separate directions. The following day, the enemy forced their way inside to find only two soldiers who fought till their last breath.
• Five days later, Guru Gobind Singh’s two younger sons, aged nine and seven, were bricked alive for refusing to convert.

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The PM has laid the foundation stone of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh State University in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh.

UPSC is exploring deeper for social reformers involved in the freedom struggle. This is very much visible from the questions based on Rakhmabai, Gopal Baba Walangkar, Sakharam Deuskar etc. in CS Prelims 2020.

Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh (1886-1979)

• Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh was an Indian freedom fighter, journalist, writer and a revolutionary.
• He was President in the Provisional Government of India, which served as the Indian Government in exile during World War I from Kaabul in 1915.
• He also formed the Executive Board of India in Japan in 1940 during the Second World War.
• He also took part in the Balkan War in the year 1911 along with his fellow students of Muhammedan Anglo College.
• In recognition of his services, the government of India issued postage stamps in his honor. He is popularly known as “Aryan Peshwa”.
• He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1932.

Involvement in Swadeshi Movement

• He met several leaders involved in the Swadeshi movement, deciding to promote small industries with indigenous goods and local artisans.
• He was influenced by the speeches of Dadabhai Naoroji, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Maharaja of Baroda, and Bipin Chandra Pal, helping to make him a patriot who turned Swadeshi.

Formation of provisional govt in exile

• On 1 December 1915 during World War I Pratap established the first Provisional Government of India at Kabul in Afghanistan as a government-in-exile of Free Hindustan, with himself as President, Maulavi Barkatullah as Prime Minister, and Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi as Home Minister, declaring jihad on the British.
• Due to his revolutionary ideas Pratap had a good relationship with Lenin, who invited him to Russia after its liberation and welcomed him.
• By this time, the British had noticed his activities, and the British Government of India put a bounty on his head, attached/confiscated his entire estate, and declared him a fugitive, causing him to flee to Japan in 1925.

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This September 12 marks the 124th anniversary of the Battle of Saragarhi that has inspired a host of armies, books and films, both at home and abroad.

What is the Battle of Saragarhi?

• The Battle of Saragarhi is considered one of the finest last stands in the military history of the world.
• Twenty-one soldiers were pitted against over 8,000 Afridi and Orakzai tribals but they managed to hold the fort for seven hours.
• Though heavily outnumbered, the soldiers of 36th Sikhs (now 4 Sikhs), led by Havildar Ishar Singh, fought till their last breath, killing 200 tribals and injuring 600.

What was Saragarhi, and why was it important?

• Saragarhi was the communication tower between Fort Lockhart and Fort Gulistan.
• The two forts in the rugged North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), now in Pakistan. were built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh but renamed by the British.
• Though Saragarhi was usually manned by a platoon of 40 soldiers, on that fateful day, it was being held by only 21 soldiers from 36th Sikh (now 4 Sikh) and a non-combatant called Daad, a Pashtun who did odd jobs for the troops.
• Saragarhi helped to link up the two important forts which housed a large number of British troops in the rugged terrain of NWFP.
• Fort Lockhart was also home to families of British officers.

What transpired on that day?

• Around 9 am that day, the sentry at Saragarhi saw a thick haze of dust and soon realized that it was caused by a large army of tribals marching towards the fort.
• The 8,000 and 15,000 tribals wanted to isolate the two forts by cutting off the lines of communication between them.
• Unfortunately, the Pathans had cut the supply route between Fort Lockhart and Saragarhi.

Who was Havildar Ishar Singh who led the troops?

• Havildar Ishar Singh was born in a village near Jagraon.
• He joined the Punjab Frontier Force in his late teens after which he spent most of his time on various battlefields.
• Soon after it was raised in 1887, Ishar was drafted into the 36th Sikhs.
• He was in his early 40s when he was given independent command of the Saragarhi post.
• Ishar Singh was quite a maverick who dared to disobey his superiors but he was loved by his men for whom he was always ready to go out on a limb.

How was the news of the battle received in Britain?

• Making a departure from the tradition of not giving gallantry medals posthumously, Queen Victoria awarded the 21 dead soldiers — leaving out the non-combatant/
• They were awarded the Indian Order of Merit (comparable with the Victoria Cross) along with two ‘marabas’ (50 acres) and Rs 500 each.

How are the slain soldiers remembered?

• In 2017, the Punjab government decided to observe Saragarhi Day on September 12 as a holiday.
• Even today the Khyber Scouts regiment of the Pakistani army mounts a guard and salutes the Saragarhi memorial close to Fort Lockhart.

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