💥Join UPSC 2027,2028 Mentorship (July Batch) + XFactor Notes & Microthemes PDF
Talk to Mentor

Civilsdaily

Login

Subject: History

  • Person in news: Jyotirao Phule (1827 –1890)

    The Prime Minister has paid tribute to the great social reformer, thinker, philosopher and writer Mahatma Jyotiba Phule on his birth anniversary.

    Mahatma Phule

    • Jotirao Govindrao Phule was an Indian social activist, thinker, anti-caste social reformer and writer from Maharashtra.
    • His work extended to many fields, including the eradication of untouchability and the caste system and for his efforts in educating women and exploited caste people.
    • He and his wife, Savitribai Phule, were pioneers of women’s education in India. Phule started his first school for girls in 1848 in Pune at Tatyasaheb Bhide’s residence or Bhidewada.
    • He, along with his followers, formed the Satyashodhak Samaj (Society of Truth Seekers) to attain equal rights for people from exploited castes.
    • People from all religions and castes could become a part of this association which worked for the upliftment of the oppressed classes.
    • Phule is regarded as an important figure in the social reform movement in Maharashtra. He was bestowed with an honorific Mahātmā title by Maharashtrian social activist Vithalrao Krishnaji Vandekar in 1888.

    His social work

    Phule’s social activism included many fields, including the eradication of untouchability and the caste system, education of women and the Dalits, and welfare of downtrodden women.

    1. Education
    • In 1848, aged 21, Phule visited a girls’ school in Ahmadnagar, run by Christian missionaries.
    • He realized that exploited castes and women were at a disadvantage in Indian society, and also that education of these sections was vital to their emancipation
    • Phule first taught reading and writing to his wife, Savitribai, and then the couple started the first indigenously run school for girls in Pune.
    • The conservative upper caste society of Pune didn’t approve of his work. But many Indians and Europeans helped him generously.
    1. Women’s welfare
    • Phule watched how untouchables were not permitted to pollute anyone with their shadows and that they had to attach a broom to their backs to wipe the path on which they had travelled.
    • He saw young widows shaving their heads, refraining from any sort of joy in their life. He saw how untouchable women had been forced to dance naked.
    • He made the decision to educate women by witnessing all these social evils that encouraged inequality.
    • He championed widow remarriage and started a home for dominant caste pregnant widows to give birth in a safe and secure place in 1863.
    • His orphanage was established in an attempt to reduce the rate of infanticide.
    • Along with his longtime friend Sadashiv Ballal Govande and Savitribai, he started an infanticide prevention centre.
    • Phule tried to eliminate the stigma of social untouchability surrounding the exploited castes by opening his house and the use of his water-well to the members of the exploited castes.
    1. Views on religion and caste
    • Phule recast Aryan invasion theory, proposing that the Aryan conquerors of India, were in fact barbaric suppressors of the indigenous people.
    • He believed that they had instituted the caste system as a framework for subjugation and social division that ensured the pre-eminence of their Brahmin successors.
    • He saw the subsequent Muslim conquests of the Indian subcontinent as more of the same sort of thing, being a repressive alien regime.
    • But he considered the British to be relatively enlightened and not supportive of the varnashrama dharma system instigated and then perpetuated by those previous invaders.
    • In his book, Gulamgiri, he thanked Christian missionaries and the British colonists for making the exploited castes realise that they are worthy of all human rights.
    • His critique of the caste system began with an attack on the Vedas, the most fundamental texts of Hindus. He considered them to be a form of false consciousness.
    • He is credited with introducing the Marathi word ‘Dalit’ (broken, crushed) as a descriptor for those people who were outside the traditional varna system.
    • He advocated making primary education compulsory in villages. He also asked for special incentives to get more lower-caste people in high schools and colleges.

    Satyashodhak Samaj

    • On 24 September 1873, Phule formed Satyashodhak Samaj to focus on the rights of depressed groups such as women, the Shudra, and the Dalit.
    • Through this the samaj opposed idolatry and denounced the caste system.
    • Satyashodhak Samaj campaigned for the spread of rational thinking and rejected the need for priests.
    • Phule established Satyashodhak Samaj with the ideals of human well-being, happiness, unity, equality, and easy religious principles and rituals.
    • A Pune-based newspaper, Deenbandhu, provided the voice for the views of the Samaj.
    • The membership of the samaj included Muslims, Brahmins and government officials. Phule’s own Mali caste provided the leading members and financial supporters for the organization.

    Published works

    • Tritiya Ratna, 1855
    • Manav Mahammand (Muhammad) (Abhang)
    • Gulamgiri, 1873
    • Sarvajanik Satya Dharma Poostak, April 1889
    • Sarvajanic Satya Dharmapustak, 1891

  • Shigmo Festival of Goa

    The Shigmo or the Goan Carnival celebrations may be terminated this year due to rising covid cases.

    Try this PYQ from CSP 2017:

    Q.Consider the following pairs:

    Traditions                                            Communities

    1. Chaliha Sahib Festival              —          Sindhis
    2. Nanda Raj Jaat Yatra                —          Gonds
    3. Wari-Warkari                            —          Santhals

    Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) None of the above

    What is Shigmo or Shigmotsav?

    • Shigmo is the celebration of a ‘rich, golden harvest of paddy’ by the tribal communities of Goa.
    • Agricultural communities including the Kunbis, Gawdas and Velips celebrate the festival that also marks the onset of spring.
    • Shigmo celebrations last over a fortnight in the months of Phalgun-Chaitra months of the Hindu calendar that correspond with March-April every year.

    Various activities in celebrations

    • The festival begins with ‘Naman’ that is the invocation of the local folk deities on the village ‘maand’ or the village stage.
    • It is held to the beats of percussion instruments like the Ghumat, Dhol, Mhadle and Tashe by the male folk.
    • This is called the ‘romta mell’ that moves from one village to another.
    • The celebration is replete with traditional, colourful costumes, mythological installations, painted faces and costumes of various hues.
    • Folk dances like Ghodemodini (a dance of equestrian warriors), Gopha and Phugadi are among the many dances performed by the participating communities.

  • Who was Lachit Borphukan?

    The Prime Minister (in an election campaign) has called 17th-century Ahom General Lachit Borphukan a symbol of India’s “atmanirbhar” military might.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.What was the immediate cause for Ahmad Shah Abdali to invade and fight the Third Battle of Panipat:

    (a) He wanted to avenge the expulsion by Marathas of his viceroy Timur Shah from Lahore

    (b) The frustrated governor of Jullundhar Adina Beg khan invited him to invade Punjab

    (c) He wanted to punish Mughal administration for non-payment of the revenues of the Chahar Mahal (Gujrat Aurangabad, Sialkot and Pasrur)

    (d) He wanted to annex all the fertile plains of Punjab upto borders of Delhi to his kingdom

    Who was Lachit Borphukan?

    • The year was 1671 and the decisive Battle of Saraighat was fought on the raging waters of the Brahmaputra.
    • On one side was Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb’s army headed by Ram Singh of Amer (Jaipur) and on the other was the Ahom General Lachit Borphukan.
    • He was a commander in the Ahom kingdom, located in present-day Assam.
    • Ram Singh failed to make any advance against the Assamese army during the first phase of the war.
    • Lachit Borphukan emerged victorious in the war and the Mughals were forced to retreat from Guwahati.

    Lachit Diwas

    • On 24 November each year, Lachit Divas is celebrated statewide in Assam to commemorate the heroism of Lachit Borphukan.
    • On this day, Borphukan has defeated the Mughal army on the banks of the Brahmaputra in the Battle of Saraighat in 1671.
    • The best passing out cadet of National Defence Academy has conferred the Lachit gold medal every year since 1999 commemorating his valour.

  • Tomar king Anangpal II and his connection with Delhi

    The Union government has recently formed a committee to popularize the legacy of 11th-century Tomar king, Anangpal II.

    Revision: Delhi Sultanate and their contemporaries

    Who was Anangpal II?

    • Anangpal II, popularly known as Anangpal Tomar, belonged to the Tomar dynasty that ruled parts of present-day Delhi and Haryana between the 8th and 12th centuries.
    • The capital of Tomars changed many times from being initially at Anangpur (near Faridabad) during the reign of Anangpal I (who founded the Tomar dynasty in the 8th century), to Dhillikapuri (Delhi) during the reign of Anangpal II.
    • The Tomar rule over the region is attested by multiple inscriptions and coins, and their ancestry can be traced to the Pandavas (of the Mahabharata).
    • Anangpal Tomar II was succeeded by his grandson Prithviraj Chauhan, who was defeated by the Ghurid forces in the Battle of Tarain (present-day Haryana) after which the Delhi Sultanate was established in 1192.

    His connection with Delhi

    • Anangpal II is credited to have established and populated Delhi during his reign in the 11th century.
    • He was instrumental in populating Indraprastha and giving it its present name, Delhi.
    • The region was in ruins when he ascended the throne in the 11th century, it was he who built Lal Kot fort and Anangtal Baoli.
    • He was the founder of Dhillikapuri, which eventually became Delhi.

  • Jaapi, Xorai and Gamosa in Assam

    As the polling date draws closer, decorative jaapis (field hats), hand-woven gamosas and bell-metal xorais are making frequent appearances in Assam.

    Primarily used to felicitate important people and guests, these important symbols of Assamese identity and culture are abundantly seen in political campaigns across the state.

    Jaapi

    • The jaapi is a conical hat made of bamboo and covered with dried tokou (a palm tree found in rainforests of Upper Assam) leaves.
    • It is most often used in official functions to felicitate guests.
    • The landscape of rural Assam features a more utilitarian version, which farmers wear to protect themselves from the harsh weather, both sun and rain, while working in the fields.
    • The first possible recorded use of jaapi dates back to the Ahom-era buranjis, or chronicles. Kings and ministers would wear them then.

    Gamosa

    • The Gamosa, which literally translates to a cloth to wipe one’s body, is omnipresent in Assam, with wide-ranging uses.
    • It can be used at home as a towel (uka gamosa) or in public functions (phulam/floral gamosa) to felicitate dignitaries or celebrities.
    • The popularity of the gamosa has now traveled beyond Assam and is often used by a number of public figures.
    • It was during the anti-foreigner Assam Agitation of the early 1980s, when Assamese nationalism reached its crescendo, that the gamosa assumed a new role.

    Xorai

    • Made of bell-metal, the xorai — essentially a tray with a stand at the bottom, with or without a cover — can be found in every Assamese household.
    • While it is primarily used as an offering tray during prayers, or to serve tamale-paan (betel-nut) to guests, a xorai is also presented along with the jaapi and gamosa while felicitating someone.
    • The bulk of xorais in Assam are made in the state’s bell metal hub Sarthebari in Bajali district.

  • Places on PM Modi’s Bangladesh Visit

    PM Modi will be on a two-day visit to Bangladesh where he will take part in commemorations of some epochal events there.

    Bangabandhu shrine in Tungipara

    • Located about 420 kilometres from Dhaka, Tungipara was the place of birth of Rahman, the architect of the 1971 Bangladesh War of Independence.
    • This is also the place where he lies buried inside a grand tomb called the ‘Bangabandhu mausoleum’.
    • Millions of people gather here every year on August 15, to observe the day when Rahman was assassinated by a group of disgruntled army officers.

    Harichand Thakur’s shrine in Orakandi

    • Thakur was the founder of the Matua Mahasangha, which was a religious reformation movement that originated in Orakandi in about 1860 CE.
    • At a very early age, Thakur experienced spiritual revelation, following which he founded a sect of Vaishnava Hinduism called Matua.
    • Members of the sect were the namasudras who were considered to be untouchables.
    • The objective of Thakur’s religious reform was to uplift the community through educational and other social initiatives.
    • Members of the community consider Thakur as God and an avatar of Vishnu or Krishna.
    • After the 1947 Partition, many of the Matuas migrated to West Bengal.

    ‘Sugandha Shaktipith’ (Satipith) temple in Shikarpur

    • Modi is also scheduled to visit the Sugandha Shaktipeeth which is located in Shikarpur, close to Barisal.
    • The temple, dedicated to Goddess Sunanda is of immense religious significance to Hinduism.
    • It is one of the 51 Shakti Pith temples.
    • The Shakti Pith shrines are pilgrimage destinations associated with the Shakti (Goddess worship) sect of Hinduism.

    Rabindra Kuthi Bari in Kushtia

    • The Kuthi Bari is a country house built by Dwarkanath Tagore, the grandfather of Nobel laureate and Bengali poetic giant Rabindranath Tagore.
    • The latter stayed in the house for over a decade in irregular intervals between 1891 and 1901.
    • In this house Tagore composed some of his masterpieces like Sonar Tari, Katha o Kahini, Chaitali etc. He also wrote a large number of songs and poems for Gitanjali here.
    • It was also in this house that Tagore began translating the Gitanjali to English in 1912, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

    Ancestral home of Bagha Jatin in Kushtia

    • Jatindranath Mukherjee, better known as ‘Bagha Jatin’ (tiger Jatin) was a revolutionary freedom fighter.
    • He was born in Kayagram, a village in Kushtia district, where his ancestral home is located.
    • Jatin acquired the epithet ‘Bagha’ after he fought a Royal Bengal Tiger all by himself and killed it with a dagger.
    • Jatin was the first commander-in-chief of the ‘Jugantar Party’ which was formed in 1906 as a central association dedicated to train revolutionary freedom fighters in Bengal.
    • This was the period when Bengal was seething with nationalist furore against Lord Curzon’s declaration of Partition of the province.
    • Inspired by Jatin’s clarion call, “amra morbo, jagat jagbe” (we shall die to awaken the nation), many young revolutionaries joined the brand of the freedom struggle that the Jugantar Party represented.

    His legend:

    • Jatin is most remembered for an armed encounter he engaged in with the British police at Balasore in Orissa.
    • They were expecting a consignment of arms and funds from Germany to lead an armed struggle when the British found out about the plot and raided the spot where the revolutionaries were hiding. A
    • lthough Jatin lost his life in the Battle of Balasore, his activities did have an impact on the British forces.
    • The colonial police officer Charles Augustus Tegart wrote about Jatin: “If Bagha Jatin was an Englishman, then the English people would have built his statue next to Nelson’s at Trafalgar Square.”

  • [pib] Development of Rakhi Garhi Archaeological Site

    Rakhi Garhi is being developed as one of the five Identified Iconic Archaeological Sites, informed the Minister of Culture and Tourism.

    Rakhi Garhi

    • The ancient site of Rakhi-Khas and Rakhi-Shahpur are collectively known as Rakhigarhi, located on the right bank of the now dried up Palaeo-channel of Drishadvati.
    • It is located in the Ghaggar-Hakra river plain in the Hissar district of Haryana.
    • Seven mounds are located here.
    • The site has yielded various stages of Harappan culture and is by far one of the largest Harappan sites in India.
    • The site shows the sequential development of the Indus culture in the now dried up Saraswati basin.

    Try this question from our AWE initiative

    Ancient Indian sculptural art is highly rich in its traditions. Trace the development ancient Indian sculpture that go back to the Indus Valley civilisation. 10 marks

    Major findings at Rakhi Garhi

    • Findings confirm both early and mature Harappan phases and include 4,600-year-old human skeletons, fortification and bricks.
    • Digging so far reveals a well-planned city with 1.92 m wide roads, a bit wider than in Kalibangan.
    • The pottery is similar to Kalibangan and Banawali.
    • Pits surrounded by walls have been found, which are thought to be for sacrificial or some religious ceremonies.
    • There are brick-lined drains to handle sewage from the houses.
    • Terracotta statues, weights, bronze artefacts, comb, copper fish hooks, needles and terracotta seals have also been found.
    • A bronze vessel has been found which is decorated with gold and silver.
    • A granary belonging to the mature Harappan phase has been found here.
    • Fire altars structures were revealed in Rakhigarhi.

    Back2Basics: Five Iconic Archaeological Sites

    The government has proposed to develop five archaeological sites as “iconic sites” with onsite museums in Rakhigarhi (Haryana), Hastinapur (Uttar Pradesh), Sivsagar (Assam), Dholavira (Gujarat) and Adichanallur (Tamil Nadu) in the Union Budget 2020-21.

    (1) Rakhigarhi

    *discussed above*

    (2) Hastinapur

    Hastinapur in the Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh finds mention in the Mahabharata and the Puranas. One of the most significant discoveries made at this site was of the “new ceramic industry”, which was named the Painted Grey Ware, which as per the report represented the relics of the early Indo-Aryans.

    (3) Sivasagar

    In Sivasagar (Assam), excavations at the Karenghar (Talatalghar) complex between 2000 and 2003 led to the discovery of buried structures in the north-western and north-eastern side of the complex. Among the structural remains found at the site were ceramic assemblages including vases, vessels, dishes, and bowls, etc. Terracotta smoking pipes were also found.

    (4) Dholavira

    Dholavira in Gujarat is located in the Khadir island of the Rann of Kutch, and like Rakhigarhi is one of the sites where the remains of the Harappan civilization have been found. It is unique because the remains of a complete water system have been found here.

    (5) Adichnallur

    Adichnallur lies in the Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu. The urn-burial site was first brought to light during a “haphazard excavation” by a German archaeologist in 1876. Following this, an Englishman Alexander Rae excavated the site between 1889 and 1905.

  • [pib] Conservation of Ancient Folk Cultures

    To protect, preserve & promote various forms of folk art and ancient folk cultures throughout the country including Jharkhand, Bihar and Kerala, the GoI has set up seven Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs) with headquarters at Patiala, Nagpur, Udaipur, Prayagraj, Kolkata, Dimapur and Thanjavur.

    What is the news?

    • Jharkhand is the member state of Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC), Kolkata.
    • Bihar is the member state of North Central Zone Cultural Centre (NCZCC), Prayagraj and
    • Kerala is the member state of South Zone Cultural Centre (SZCC), Thanjavur.

    Note the various folk arts mentioned and their respective states:

    What are the various folk arts covered?

    There is no dedicated scheme to preserve these particular folk art forms-

    Jharkhand

    • Ancient folk cultures being preserved in Jharkhand are Faguwa Nritya, Turi Nritya, Faguwa Nritya, Turi Nritya, Paika Nritya, Hodopathy, Tribal dance (Karam Nritya).

    Bihar

    • Ancient folk cultures being preserved in Bihar are Lok Gatha “Reshma Chuharmal” (Begusarai), Lok Gatha, Godana Painting (Madhubani), Lok Natya “Hirni-Birni” (Magadh region) etc.

    Kerala

    • Ancient folk cultures being preserved in Kerala are: Poorakali, Malayankettu & Kannerpattu (Kannur), Daffumuttu (Malabar), Kanyarkali (Thrissur) and Arabanaumuttu (Kozhikode).

  • Govt. reconstitutes panel for studying mythical Sarasvati River

    The Centre has reconstituted an advisory committee to chalk out a plan for studying the mythical Sarasvati River for the next two years after the earlier panel’s term ended in 2019.

    Do you know?

    Rigveda describes India as a land of Sapta Sindhavah.

    There is a verse in Nadistuti sukta of Rigveda , hymn of praise of rivers which mentions the following 10 rivers: Ganga, Yamuna, Sarasvati, Sutudri, Parusni, Asikni, Marudvrdha , Vitasta , Arjikiya , Susoma.

    The Shutudri was Sutlej, Parushni was Ravi, Asikni was Chenab and Vitasta was Jhelum.

    Sarasvati River

    • The Sarasvati River is an extinct river mentioned in the Rig Veda and later Vedic and post-Vedic texts.
    • As a physical river, it is described as a small river ending in “a terminal lake (Samudra).
    • As the goddess Sarasvati, the main referent for the term “Sarasvati” which developed into an independent identity in post-Vedic times, she is described as a powerful river and mighty flood.
    • The Sarasvati is also considered by Hindus to exist in a metaphysical form, in which it formed a confluence with the sacred rivers Ganges and Yamuna, at the Triveni Sangam.

    Vedic reference of the river

    • Rigvedic and later Vedic texts have been used to propose identification with present-day rivers, or ancient riverbeds.
    • The Nadistuti hymn in the Rigveda (10.75) mentions the Sarasvati between the Yamuna in the east and the Sutlej in the west.
    • Later Vedic texts like the Tandya and Jaiminiya Brahmanas, as well as the Mahabharata, mention that the Sarasvati dried up in a desert.

    What led to its extinction?

    • Since the late 19th-century, scholars have proposed to identify the Rig Vedic Saraswati river with the Ghaggar-Hakra river system.
    • This flows through northwestern India and eastern Pakistan, between the Yamuna and the Sutlej.
    • Recent geophysical research suggests that the Ghaggar-Hakra system was glacier-fed until 8,000 years ago, and then became a system of monsoon-fed rivers.
    • ISRO has observed that major Indus Valley Civilization sites at Kalibangan (Rajasthan), Banawali and Rakhigarhi (Haryana), Dholavira and Lothal (Gujarat) lay along this course.
    • The Indus Valley Civilisation may have declined as a result of climatic change when the monsoons that fed the rivers diminished at around the time civilisation diminished some 4,000 years ago.

  • The legacy and return of the Bamiyan Buddhas

    Two decades later after its destruction, the Bamiyan Buddhas have been brought back to life in the form of 3D projections in an event called “A Night with Buddha”.

    Bamiyan Buddhas

    • In their Roman draperies and with two different mudras, the Bamiyan Buddhas were great examples of a confluence of Gupta, Sassanian and Hellenistic artistic styles.
    • They are said to date back to the 5th century AD and were once the tallest standing Buddhas in the world.
    • Salsal and Shamama, as they were called by the locals, rose to heights of 55 and 38 metres respectively, and were said to be male and female.
    • Salsal means “the light shines through the universe”; Shamama is “Queen Mother”.
    • The statues were set in niches on either end of a cliffside and hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs.

    Try this PYQ from CSP 2014:

    Q.Lord Buddha’s image is sometimes shown with a hand gesture called ‘Bhumisparsha Mudra’. It symbolizes-

    a) Buddha’s calling of the Earth to watch over Mara and to prevent Mara from disturbing his meditation

    b) Buddha’s calling of the Earth to witness his purity and chastity despite the temptations of Mara

    c) Buddha’s reminder to his followers that they all arise from the Earth and finally dissolve into the Earth and thus this life is transitory

    d) Both the statements ‘a’ and ‘b’ are correct in this context

    The significance of Bamiyan

    • Bamiyan is situated in the high mountains of the Hindu Kush in the central highlands of Afghanistan.
    • The valley, which is set along the line of the Bamiyan River, was once integral to the early days of the Silk Roads, providing passage for not just merchants, but also culture, religion and language.
    • When the Buddhist Kushan Empire spread, acting as a crucible of sorts, Bamiyan became a major trade, cultural and religious centre.
    • As China, India and Rome sought passage through Bamiyan, the Kushans were able to develop a syncretic (mix) culture.
    • In the rapid spread of Buddhism between the 1st to 5th centuries AD, Bamiyan’s landscape reflected the faith, especially its monastic qualities.

    Taliban’s destruction of the Buddhas

    • The hardline Taliban movement, which emerged in the early 1990s, was in control of almost 90 per cent of Afghanistan by the end of the decade.
    • The destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas was part of this extremist culture.
    • In February 2001, the Taliban declared its intention to destroy the statues, despite condemnation and protest from governments and cultural ambassadors’ world over.

    The aftermath of the destruction

    • The Taliban’s destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas met with global criticism, many of whom saw it as a cultural crime not just against Afghanistan but also against the idea of global syncretism.
    • Following the fall, UNESCO included the remains in its list of world heritage sites in 2003, with subsequent efforts made to restore and reconstruct.