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Subject: History

  • Langa-Manganiyar Folk Music

    Considered the repository of the Thar region’s rich history and traditional knowledge, the ballads, folklore and songs of the Langa-Manganiyar artistes are being preserved through an initiative for documentation and digitisation.

    Who are the Langa-Manganiyar?

    • The Langas and Manganiyars are hereditary communities of Muslim musicians residing mostly in western Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer and Barmer districts and in Pakistan’s Tharparkar and Sanghar districts in Sindh.
    • The music of the two marginalised communities, who were supported by wealthy landlords and merchants before Independence, forms a vital part of Thar desert’s cultural landscape.
    • The performances are in multiple languages and dialects including Marwari, Sindhi, Saraiki, Dhatti and Thareli.
    • The romantic tales revolving around legendary lovers such as Umar-Marvi, Heer-Ranjha, Sohni-Mahiwal, Moomal-Rana and Sorath-Rao Khangar have traditionally captivated audiences.

    Instruments used

    • The Langa’s main traditional instrument is the sindhi sarangi; Manganiyar’s is the kamaicha.
    • Both are bowed stringed instruments with skin membrane sounding boards and many sympathetic strings.
    • Both Langas and Manganiyars sing and play the dholak (double-headed barrel drum), the kartal(wooded clappers), the morchan (jaws harp), and the ubiquitous harmonium.

    Try answering this PYQ:

    Q. Consider the following pairs:

    Tradition: State

    1. Chapchar Kut: festival Mizoram
    2. Khongjom Parba ballad: Manipur
    3. Thang Ta dance: Sikkim

    Which of the pairs given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 1 and 2

    (c) 3 only

    (d) 2 and 3

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”8rnk88wj84″ question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

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  • National Mission on Cultural Mapping

    Having made little progress since its launch in 2017, the National Mission on Cultural Mapping has now been handed over to the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA).

    About the National Mission on Cultural Mapping

    • The NMCM is a mission mode project of the Ministry of Culture. It was incepted in 2015.
    • It is aimed to address the necessity of preserving the threads of rich Indian Art and Cultural Heritage, convert vast and widespread cultural canvas of India into an objective Cultural Mapping while creating a strong “Cultural Vibrancy” throughout the nation.
    • It will identify, collect and record cultural assets and resources. It correlates this to planning and strategizing.
    • A portal and a database listing organisations, spaces, facilities, festivals and events will be created.
    • This database can be used to preserve culture and provide or ameliorate livelihoods.

    Objectives of the Mission

    Under this Mission, at broad-level, there are three important objectives as follows:

    1. National Cultural Awareness Abhiyan: Hamari Sanskriti Hamari Pahchan Abhiyan (Our Culture Our Identity)
    2. Nationwide Artist Talent Hunt/Scouting Programme: Sanskritik Pratibha Khoj Abhiyan
    3. National Cultural Workplace: Centralised Transactional Web Portal with database and demography of cultural assets and resources including all art forms and artists.

    Significance of the mission

    • Revival and safeguarding of oral traditions
    • Fostering Cultural Awareness
    • Cultural Preservation
    • Sustainable Employment to creative industries
    • Optimal Resource Allocation and Utilization:
    • Creation of objective Database for inclusive growth of cultural heritage

     

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  • In news: Battle of Chamkaur (1704)

    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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  • Gupta Era Temple uncovered in UP

    Last week, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) discovered remains of an ancient temple dating back to the Gupta period (5th century) in a village in Uttar Pradesh’s Etah district.

    Findings of the excavation

    • The Bilsarh site was declared ‘protected’ in 1928.
    • Every year, the ASI undertakes scrubbing work at the protected sites.
    • This year, the team discovered two decorative pillars close to one another, with human figurines resembling an ancient temple.
    • The stairs of the temple had ‘shankhalipi’ inscriptions, which were deciphered by the archaeologists as saying, ‘Sri Mahendraditya’, the title of Kumaragupta I of the Gupta dynasty.

    You will find tons of PYQs on Gupta Period. Try this recent one:

    Q. With reference to the period of Gupta dynasty in ancient India, the towns Ghantasala, Kadura and Chaula were well known as:

    (a) ports handling foreign trade

    (b) capitals of powerful kingdoms

    (c) places of exquisite stone art and architecture

    (d) important Buddhist pilgrimage centres

     

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    Who was Kumaragupta I?

    • Kumaragupta I was an emperor of the Gupta Empire of Ancient India.
    • A son of the Gupta emperor Chandragupta II and queen Dhruvadevi, he seems to have maintained control of his inherited territory, which extended from Gujarat in the west to Bengal region in the east.
    • In the 5th century, Kumaragupta I ruled for 40 years over north-central India.
    • Skandagupta, son and successor of Kumaragupta I is generally considered to be the last of the great Gupta rulers.
    • He assumed the titles of Vikramaditya and Kramaditya.

    What is the Shankhalipi script?

    • Shankhalipi or “shell-script” is a term used by scholars to describe ornate spiral characters assumed to be Brahmi derivatives that look like conch shells or shankhas.
    • They are found in inscriptions across north-central India and date to between the 4th and 8th centuries.
    • Both Shankhalipi and Brahmi are stylised scripts used primarily for names and signatures.
    • The inscriptions consist of a small number of characters, suggesting that the shell inscriptions are names or auspicious symbols or a combination of the two.

    Chronology and meaning

    • The script was discovered in 1836 on a brass trident in Uttarakhand’s Barahat by English scholar James Prinsep, who was the founding editor of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
    • A year later, he came across two more similar scripts at Nagarjuna group of caves in the Barabar Hills near Gaya.
    • Prominent sites with shell inscriptions include the Mundeshwari Temple in Bihar, the Udayagiri Caves in Madhya Pradesh, Mansar in Maharashtra and some of the cave sites of Gujarat and Maharashtra.
    • In fact, shell inscriptions are also reported in Indonesia’s Java and Borneo.
    • Scholars have tried to decipher shell script but have not been successful.

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    Back2Basics: Gupta Empire

    • The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE.
    • This period is considered as the Golden Age of India by historians.
    • The ruling dynasty of the empire was founded by the king Sri Gupta; the most notable rulers of the dynasty were Chandragupta I, Samudragupta, and Chandragupta II alias Vikramaditya.
    • The 5th-century CE Sanskrit poet Kalidasa credits the Guptas with having conquered about twenty-one kingdoms, both in and outside India, including the kingdoms of Parasikas, the Hunas, the Kambojas, tribes located in the west and east Oxus valleys, the Kinnaras, Kiratas, and others.
    • Many of the literary sources, such as Mahabharata and Ramayana, were canonized during this period.
    • The Gupta period produced scholars such as Kalidasa, Aryabhata, Varahamihira, and Vatsyayana who made great advancements in many academic fields.

  • [pib] Who was Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh?

    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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  • 124 years of the Battle of Saragarhi

    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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  • Thamirabarani Civilization is 3200 years old

     

    A carbon dating analysis of rice with soil, found in a burial urn at Sivakalai in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu has yielded the date of 1155 BC, indicating that the Thamirabarani civilization dates back to 3,200 years.

    About Thamirabarani River

    • The Thamirabarani or Tamraparni or Porunai is a perennial river that originates from the Agastyarkoodam peak of the Pothigai hills of the Western Ghats.
    • It flows through the Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts of the Tamil Nadu state of southern India into the Gulf of Mannar.
    • It was called the Tamraparni River in the pre-classical period, a name it lent to the island of Sri Lanka.
    • The old Tamil name of the river is Porunai.

    Its history

    • Its many name derivations of Tan Porunai include Tampraparani, Tamirabarni, Tamiravaruni.
    • Tan Porunai nathi finds mention by classical Tamil poets in ancient Sangam Tamil literature Purananuru.
    • Recognised as a holy river in Sanskrit literature Puranas, Mahabharata and Ramayana, the river was famed in the Early Pandyan Kingdom for its pearl and conch fisheries and trade.
    • The movement of people, including the faithful, trade merchants and toddy tapers from Tamraparni river to northwestern Sri Lanka led to the shared appellation of the name for the closely connected region.
    • One important historical document on the river is the treatise Tamraparni Mahatmyam.
    • It has many ancient temples along its banks. A hamlet known as Appankoil is located on the northern side of the river.

    Significance of the carbon dating

    • This has provided evidence that there was a city civilisation in south India as long back as 3,200 years ago, the later part of the Indus Valley Civilisation.
    • Vicinity to the ancient port of Muziris, now known as Pattanam, in Kerala add another significance to the trade history of this site.
    • Now, research would be conducted at Quseir al-Qadim and Pernica Anekke in Egypt, which were once part of the Roman empire, as well as in Khor Rori in Oman, to establish the Tamils’ trade relations with these countries.
    • Potsherds bearing Tamil scripts have been found in these countries.
    • Studies would also be conducted in Southeast Asian countries, such as Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, where King Rajendra Chola had established supremacy.

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    Also read

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/sangam-era-older-than-previously-thought-finds-study/

  • Visva-Bharati University

    The Calcutta High Court has directed that there can be no protest by the students within 50 meters of academic buildings at Visva-Bharati University.

    Visva-Bharati

    • Visva-Bharati is a central research university and an Institution of National Importance located in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, India.
    • It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it Visva-Bharati, which means the communion of the world with India.
    • Until independence, it was a college.
    • Soon after independence, the institution was given the status of a central university in 1951 by an act of the Parliament.

    Its history

    • The origins of the institution date back to 1863 when Debendranath Tagore was given a tract of land by the zamindar of Raipur, zamindar of Kirnahar.
    • He set up an ashram at the spot that has now come to be called chatim tala at the heart of the town.
    • The ashram was initially called Brahmacharya Ashram, which was later renamed Brahmacharya Vidyalaya.
    • It was established with a view to encouraging people from all walks of life to come to the spot and meditate.
    • In 1901 his youngest son Rabindranath Tagore established a co-educational school inside the premises of the ashram.
    • From 1901 onwards, Tagore used the ashram to organize the Hindu Mela, which soon became a center of nationalist activity.

  • PM inaugurates Jallianwala Bagh Memorial

    Prime Minister has virtually inaugurated the renovated Jallianwala Bagh complex in Amritsar.

    What led to Jallianwala Bagh Massacre?

    Protesting the contentious Rowlatt Act

    • The act officially known as the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act, 1919 was passed in 1919 by the Imperial Legislative Council.
    • It had authorized the British government to arrest anybody suspected of terrorist activities.
    • It also authorized the government to detain such people arrested for up to 2 years without trial.
    • It empowered the police to search a place without a warrant. It also placed severe restrictions on the freedom of the press.
    • The primary intention of colonial govt. was to repress the growing nationalist movement in the country.
    • The British were also afraid of a Ghadarite revolution in Punjab and the rest of the country.

    The day

    • The massacre took place on 13 April 1919 when troops of the British Indian Army under the command of Col. Reginald Dyer fired rifles into a crowd of Indians.
    • The civilians had assembled for a peaceful protest to condemn the arrest and deportation of two national leaders, Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew.
    • Dyer without warning ordered his troops to fire at the unarmed crowd which included children as well.
    • The indiscriminate firing went on for about 10 minutes which resulted in the deaths of at least 1000 people and injured more than 1500 people.

    Aftermath

    • In protest against the massacre, Rabindranath Tagore gave up his knighthood.
    • Gandhiji relinquished his title ‘Kaiser-e-hind’ bestowed on him by the British for his services during the Boer War in South Africa.
    • Michael O’Dwyer, the then Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab, who had approved the actions of Dyer, was assassinated by Udham Singh in London in 1940 as revenge against the massacre.
    • The heroic treatment of Dyer’s heinous act again set a benchmark of colonial arrogance.

    Hunter Commission for inquiry

    • In October 1919 the Secretary of State for India, Edwin Montagu, ordered the formation of a committee of inquiry into the events in Punjab.
    • Referred to as the Disorders Inquiry Committee, it was later more widely known as the Hunter Commission (Not to be confused with Hunter Education Commission).
    • Still, there are long-standing demands in India that Britain should apologize for the massacre.

  • Saroop of the Sikh Holy Book

    A union minister has received one of the Saroops of the holy Guru Granth Sahib flown in from Afghanistan.

    What is Saroop?

    • Saroop is a physical copy of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, also called Bir in Punjabi.
    • Every Bir has 1,430 pages, which are referred to as Ang. The verses on every page remain the same.
    • The Sikhs consider the Saroop of Guru Granth Sahib a living guru and treat it with utmost respect.
    • They believe that all the 10 Gurus were the same spirit in different bodies, and the Guru Granth Sahib is their eternal physical and spiritual form.

    Compilation of Sri Guru Granth Sahib

    • It was the fifth Sikh master, Guru Arjan Dev, who compiled the first Bir of the Guru Granth Sahib in 1604, and installed it at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
    • Later, the tenth Sikh master, Guru Gobind Singh, added verses penned by the ninth master, his father Guru Tegh Bahadur, and compiled the Bir for the second and last time.
    • It was in 1708 that Guru Gobind Singh declared the Guru Granth Sahib the living Guru of the Sikhs.
    • Guru Granth Sahib is a compendium of hymns written by six Sikh gurus,15 saints, including Bhagat Kabir, Bhagat Ravidas, Sheikh Farid and Bhagat Namdev, 11 Bhatts (balladeers) and four Sikhs.
    • The verses are composed in 31 ragas.

    What does the act of carrying the saroop on one’s head signify?

    • The installation and transportation of Guru Granth Sahib is governed by a strict code of conduct called rehat maryada.
    • As a mark of respect, the Bir of the Guru Granth Sahib is carried on the head, and the person walks barefoot.
    • Whenever a devout sees the Bir of Guru Granth Sahib passing by, s/he removes her shoes and bows.
    • A ceremonial whisk is waved high over the Guru Granth Sahib either on the move or while reading from it.
    • Gurdwaras have a separate resting place for the Saroop, called ‘Sukh Asan Sthan’ or ‘Sachkhand’ where the Guru rests at night.
    • This takes place at the end of the day when the holy book is ceremoniously shut and rested. In the morning, the saroop is again installed in a ceremony called ‘prakash’.
    • Many tourists specially come to watch the prakash and sukha asan ceremony of the Guru Granth Sahib at the Golden Temple.

    Where are copies of the Guru Granth Sahib published?

    • There was a tradition among Punjabis, both Sikhs and Hindus, to copy the Guru Granth Sahib by hand and produce multiple copies.
    • The Udasi and Nirmla sects also played a role in making handwritten copies of the Birs until the British introduced the printing press.
    • Nowadays, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has the sole rights to publish the Birs of the Guru Granth Sahib, and this is done at Amritsar.

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    Try answering this PYQ:

    Consider the following Bhakti Saints:

    1. Dadu Dayal
    2. Guru Nanak
    3. Tyagaraja

    Who among the above was/were preaching when the Lodi dynasty fell and Babur took over? (CSP 2018)

    (a) 1 and 3

    (b) 2 only

    (c) 2 and 3

    (d) 1 and 2

     

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