Tag: IndianHistory

The Hyderabad Saga: Part One

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August 1947 – India attains Independence, but at a cost. Three princely states are still posing fight, maintaining their sovereignity, refusing accession. One of these is situated in the heart of the Indian Union – Hyderabad.

There are several characters at play in this saga. The Nizam of Hyderabad, the head of an amataeur militant faction – Kasim Razvi, and the Indian Government led by Nehru and Sardar Patel. Who will prevail? How does Hyderabad ultimately accede to India and at what cost?

This is a tale of high-octane drama, theatrics, brutal politics and raging violence. The Hyderabad Saga narrates the on-ground realities and behind-the-scene politics that ultimately shaped India as the Independent Union it is today. Split in two parts, the first article traces the build-up to the violence that exploded in the months of August and Septembet 1948.

Click to know more! … Continue readingThe Hyderabad Saga: Part One

A Royal Riot – The Mystery of the ‘Royal’ Family of Awadh

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The decade is sometime in the early 1970s. A woman arrives at the New Delhi railway station and shakes up the atmosphere by proclaiming herself as Wilayat, the Begum of Awadh. Along with her, she brought an entire household to the platform and unloaded sets of royal crockery, carpets, two Great Danes and two young children. She settled in the V.I.P room and would stay there for almost a decade before the government finally gave into their demands.

But the story was about to get more and more twisted. As the decades passed by and the family’s demands to be handed over possession of all the properties held by the Awadhi Royal Kingdom grew dimmer and faded away, one journalist’s frenzy would soon bring them back into the limelight.

This is the fascinating story of the ‘Royal’ Family of Awadh. The article contains intricate details , photographs and videos about them and the truth that had so long been hidden in this mess of a Royal Riot. … Continue readingA Royal Riot – The Mystery of the ‘Royal’ Family of Awadh

Rajkumari Amrit Kaur – A Princess Like No Other

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Rajkumari Amrit Kaur – ‘A Princess like no other’.

Born in a royal family, Amrit Kaur changed the course of her life when she chose to involve herself in the fight against the British. An exceptional woman, with a list of achievements beside her name, Amrit Kaur became India’s First Female Cabinet Minister, holding the portfolio of the Ministry of Health.

But that is not it. Kaur’s life was an exceptional one, and very unlike a princess’s .

Click on the title above to know more about this ‘One of a kind Woman’ … Continue readingRajkumari Amrit Kaur – A Princess Like No Other

SPECIAL ISSUE: KASHMIR – The Scarred Beauty

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Kashmir – probably the most
beautiful yet the most disturbed region in the Indian subcontinent.

Why? Well, the answer to that question has a lot of variations.

Even before the Partition of India in 1947, the state of Jammu and Kashmir continued to remain a centre of conflict.

This article will explore Kashmir’s history right from 304 BCE, when Ashoka came to power, till the 1949 UN resolution. 

Click on the title above to delve into the rich, yet lesser-known history of Kashmir … Continue readingSPECIAL ISSUE: KASHMIR – The Scarred Beauty

Durga Devi Vohra – The Forgotten Revolutionary

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Date: 19th December 1928;
Location: Lahore Railway Station, British India.
A man is seen boarding a train with his wife and son, along with their servant trudging along behind. Nothing seems out of the picture, does it? Not if you knew the back story. This ‘couple’ was actually the freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Durgawati Devi and her son, along with Rajguru. Never heard the name Durgawati Devi before, have you?
She too, just like Bhagat Singh, was a freedom fighter. Click on the title above to know more about this remarkable woman, and her difficult journey as a child, mother, wife and above all, a revolutionary. … Continue readingDurga Devi Vohra – The Forgotten Revolutionary

Subhash Chandra Bose – Dead or Alive?

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23rd August 1945, news of Bose’s sudden death breaks out in British India. However, the Viceroy of India, along with a lot of other Indians, refuses to believe it. Questions and theories start floating across the entire country. Why would the great Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose fake his own death? What was he hiding? What really happened to him on the fateful afternoon of 17th August 1945?
This continues to be one of the biggest questions that haunts India till date. Click on the title above to read more about the theories surrounding Subhash Chandra Bose’s death, as I attempt to unravel this mystery … Continue readingSubhash Chandra Bose – Dead or Alive?

‘Man of peace’ – Lal Bahadur Shastri

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When someone asks you what’s so special about the 2nd of October, what would your answer be? Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday. But most of tend to forget about another extremely significant figure who was born on this very day – Lal Bahadur Shastri. Independent India’s Second Prime Minister, was born on this day in 1904 in Mughalsarai, Uttar Pradesh. Unfortunately, in less than 2 years, he passed away due to a supposed ‘heart attack’, a theory which his wife and family refused to believe in, giving rise to a lot of suspicion and subsequently – several controversial theories. Even today, his death remains clouded in mystery. But, what is even sadder, is that while everybody celebrates Gandhi Ji on the 2nd of October, very few remember this exceptional man.
Click on the title above to read more about the ‘Man of Peace’ – Lal Bahadur Shastri and to access a rare unseen footage from his funeral … Continue reading‘Man of peace’ – Lal Bahadur Shastri

Bhagat Singh – The Young Revolutionary

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On 28th September, 1907, in a small village in Punjab, British India, Bhagat Singh was born to a family of revolutionaries, who inculcated in him, from the very start, the spirit to fight and revolt.

As fate would have it, Bhagat Singh went on to become one of the youngest martyrs of the Indian Independence Movement, who was hung alongside his comrades – Sukhdev and Rajguru, on this day – 23rd March, 1931.

On account of ‘Shaheed Diwas’ which marks the 90th death anniversary of these young martyrs, I present to you – ‘Bhagat Singh – The Young Revolutionary’.

Click on the title above to read more about the lives of these great men and their accomplices … Continue readingBhagat Singh – The Young Revolutionary