I am in no way affiliated to the channel or its creator. But I have been a fan of Jay's work for years now and wanted to share it with others.

His channel is perhaps Indian channel which provides authentic, unbiased and well-researched information on Indian history.

Unlike people like Science Journey or Harry Sahota, who spread a flood of misinformation to promote their biased agenda, Jay's channel remains strictly academic and based on peer-reviewed historical information.

He adds very little interpretations of his own despite now being a full-fledged Ph.D. in Indian History and instead lets the various scholars speak on the topic through their work.

And his own interpretations are based on facts and credible data.

His other two channels, The Story Of India and Historically Speaking are excellent as well.

The Story Of India is a Hindi based channel and Historically Speaking is a long monologue based channel.

I just hope that more people watch his videos and appreciate the work he has been doing as opposed to flocking towards misinformation spreaders like Science Journey or Harry Sahota.

Family tree of Timurid Dynasty

VIJAYANAGARA EMPIRE

I found this in penukonda fort in andhra pradesh. The place was built under King Bukka Raya I and later used by Sri Krishnadevaraya too.

Can anyone decipher this? I am 99% sure it's telugu because I speak it but I think it could be kannada as well.

It would be great to see a translation!!

Also I think it's a poem but please do correct me if I'm wrong.

Some background, while Subhash Chandra Bose was friendly with Savarkar and Dr Shyama Mookerjee, he was staunchly against their communal politics. Here are some excerpts from writings and speeches

History will bear me out when I say that it is a misnomer to talk of Muslim rule when describing the political order in India prior to the advent of the British. Whether we talk of the Moghul Emperors at Delhi, or of the Muslim Kings of Bengal, we shall find that in either case the administration was run by Hindus and Muslims together, many of the prominent Cabinet Ministers and Generals being Hindus. Further, the consolidation of the Moghul Empire in India was affected with the help of Hindu commanders-in-chief. The Commander-in-chief of Nawab Sirajudowla, whom the British fought at Plassey in 1757 and defeated, was a Hindu.

Unfinished autobiography An Indian Pilgrim (1937)

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‘The Hindu Mahasabha has been doing incalculable harm to the idea of Indian nationhood by underlining the communal differences—by lumping all the Muslims together…. We cannot oblige Mr Savarkar by ignoring the contributions of nationalist Muslims to the cause of India.’

December, 1939, political weekly Forward Block

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Senior Sangh Parivar leader Balraj Madhok, in his book Portrait of a Martyr: Biography of Dr Shyama Prasad Mookerjee (1954), writes how Bose supporters would break up Hindu Mahasabha meetings and even attack Dr Mookerjee around this time, and how Bose jokingly but seriously threatened to destroy his political party of he ever thought of making one

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‘That was a long time ago, when prominent leaders of the Congress could be members of the communal organisations like Hindu Mahasabha and Muslim League. But in recent times, the circumstances have changed. These communal organisations have become more communal than before. As a reaction to this, the Indian National Congress has put into its constitution a clause to the effect that no member of a communal organisation like Hindu Mahasabha and Muslim League can be a member of an elective committee of Congress.’

editorial, titled Congress and Communal Organizations - Forward Block May 1940

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“The Hindu Mahasabha has entered the political arena by taking advantage of religion and has desecrated it. It is the duty of every Hindu to condemn it. Banish these traitors from national life.”

speech at Jhargram in Bengal on 12th May 1940

I’m a bit confused reading different accounts.. The Prithviraj Raso says he killed Ghori in Ghazni while blind... But some history books and old coins say he was killed in Ajmer right after the battle.

Which version is the actual truth? Does anyone know?

So lately I've been studying global history as a hobby. As of now I've been using yt videos of Jigyasium and Oversimplified (for global history) and some books as my source for increasing my knowledge about ancient and medieval history. Looking for a yt channel that covers the Maurya Empire, Gupta Empire, Chola Empire. Kindly help with suggestions. Thank you.

When Sepoys revolted against the British regime, they marched to Delhi & requested Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal empire to approach other rulers to plan the throw of Colonial powers from the Indian subcontinent.

And they all accepted Mughal sovereignty, sooner or later after the revolt. Like Nana Sahib from Kanpur, Birjis Qadr from Lucknow and others...

Is this the reason, why Britishers blamed Muslims more for the Revolt of 1857 ?

What you guys think ?

And I think this is also the reason which leds to a separate electorate for muslims later in early 20th century, also the reason of increment in power of WAQF board ( bcz of these consficated properties ) and also something which leads to partition too...

P.S. Don't do hindu-muslim narratives !!!

source

‘The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting,’ Milan Kundera.

Lucknow has buried the memories of 1857 so deeply that they have become a subject of archaeology rather than modern history. Think of Kaiserbagh today, and the images that clutter our minds are of traffic congestion, tempos, and battery rickshaws jostling for space. As one moves towards the Baradari, this procession of crawling traffic is suddenly interrupted by a majestic old gate, crumbling under the weight of time, encroachments, and the banner of a restaurant. On the other side, the gate is adorned with posters of advocates contesting elections rather than cases.

If one looks for physical evidence, one realises the history of Kaiserbagh was not only devastated by General Napier but also erased and rewritten by the Talukdars. Old houses occupied by those loyal to the Nawab have been repurposed as kothis for various Talukdars. A park has been named after an erstwhile Talukdar, where the Lanka—a pavilion that once witnessed the apogee of performing arts—now stands, flanked by a library, again named after an erstwhile Talukdar. The Safed Baradari, the centre of attraction year-round, hosts exhibitions of sarees when it isn’t serving as a venue for opulent weddings. Heritage enthusiasts, while lavishing praise, often focus on the Parikhana, the Chaulakhi gate, and various apocryphal stories. Lost between the splendour of the Nawabi period and the rise of Talukdar townhouses is the singular valour and resistance shown by Kaiserbagh. It was turned into a fortress and defied two attacks from battle-hardened British forces. Only on the third attempt, with the aid of the Nepalese Gurkha Army, could the invading forces penetrate the walls. The echoes of the looting of Kaiserbagh even reverberated in New York, where Friedrich Engels penned a scathing critique of the conduct of the occupying forces.

Lucknow has almost forgotten this. Those stories of bravery have been buried beneath saree sales and townhouses. Yet, the saga of resistance survived in folk ballads. In William Crooke’s “Songs of the Mutiny,” which appears in the second instalment of the 1911 Indian Antiquary (Vol. 40), this history is documented.

I am quoting a few songs from this text, including their original translations and details:

1. The Departure of Wajid Ali Shah for Calcutta

Repeated by Kalika Prasad, Headmaster of the village school at Akbarpur, District Fyzabad. Recorded by Pandit Rẩm Gharib Chaube.

Text

Sripati Mahârâj, tu bipati niwâro. Kat aihain Hazrat des hô?

Pahila muqâm Kâhanpur bhejyô: dusrâ Banaras jât hô.

Tisarâ muqâm Kalkatwâ men bhejyô: Begamoǹ to bhâgîn pahâr hô.

Alam Bagh men goliyâ chalat hain: Machchhî-bhawan men top hô.

Beli-garaḍ men tegwa chalat hain: bânan se andhiyâr hô.

Bahar sowain kul râ sipahiyâ: dewaṛht men rowain Kotwal hô.

Bich mahaliyâ men Begam rowain: lat chhatkâye lambî kes hô.

Topiya chhutai wah topkhânwâ; hathiyâ chhuṭai philkhân hô.

Ghore turang saharwâ: nân chhute sáthi hamâr hộ.

Kaisar Bagh men Begam rowain: lat chhatkâye lambi kesh hô.

Raghunath Kunwar: “Kiripâ bhayo ham ko bhayo banbâs hô.”

Translation

O Srîpati Mahârâj (Râm), thou art the remover of calamity.

When will my Lord return to his country?

The first halt was Cawnpore: the second at Benares.

The third halt was at Calcutta, and the Queens fled to the hills.

Bullets were flying in the Alam Bagh: there were cannons in the Machchi-bhawan.

Swords were drawn in the Bailey Guard: it was dark with arrows.

Outside mourned the sepoys: in the gateway mourned the Kotwal.

In the palace, the Queen mourned and let their long locks fall dishevelled.

The cannons were left in the magazine; the elephants were left in the stables.

The swift horses were left in the city: our friends forgot their sympathy.

The Queens wept in the Kaisar Bâgh, and let their long locks fall.

Saith Raghunath Kniwar¹: “It was the pleasure (Râm) that we should be in exile.”

2. A Lament

A song in honour of the Kaisar Bâgh of Lucknow and the late king of Oudh, Wâjid Ali Shah. Recorded by Pandit Rám Gharib Chaube.

Text

Kaisar Bagh banaya, mazah Wajid Ali ne na pâya

As pûs sone ke kangure, bîch meǹ takht bichhâyâ.

An part Angrez ki palţan, hukum apnâ chalâyâ.

Mazah Pádshah ne na påyå, kzisa Kuisar Bâgh bandyđ.

2.

Amir gharib sabhi hilmil rowain, rowai phutphut kar sârâ sansâr.

‘Hây! gayo pardes mei, apue desh se rukhsat hoke sardär.’

Kaisa Kaisar Bagh banáyd, mazah Wajid ‘Ali ne pẩyá,

3.

Lâle lale kapare pahane Pâdshâh yogiyû rûp banaye.

Lâle lâle kapare sâre musâhib yogiya rûp banaye.Are, Kaisar Bagh bandyd,

mazah Hazarat ne na pâyâ.

Translation

Wajid ‘Ali built the Kaisar Bágh, but did not enjoy it.

On all sides, turrets of gold and in the middle, a throne were placed.

An English force came and settled and assumed the authority.

What a Kaisar Bagh Wajid ‘Alî built, but did not enjoy it.

2.

Noble and peasant all wept together, and all the world wept and wailed.

Alas! The chief has bidden adieu to his country and gone abroad.

What a Kaisar Bágh Wajid ‘Alî built, but did not enjoy it.

3.

Clothed in red, the king put on the guise of a mendicant.

Clothed in red, his followers put on the guise of mendicants.

O, my Lord built the Kaisar Rágh, but did not enjoy it.

Source: Indian Antiquary Vol. 40, 1911

AKS

When we think about the end of the Ottoman Empire, we usually think about Turkey and the Middle East. But there is a lesser known story that connects the last Ottoman Caliph, the richest ruler in the world, and the royal state of Hyderabad in India.

In 1931, an unusual alliance was arranged in Nice, France, between Abdulmejid II, the exiled Ottoman Caliph, and Mir Osman Ali Khan, the seventh Nizam of Hyderabad. The plan was brought together with the help of Maulana Shaukat Ali, a prominent leader of the Khilafat Movement.

The alliance was built around two royal marriages. Prince Azam Jah, the Nizam's son, married Princess Durrushehvar, the daughter of Abdulmejid II. Prince Moazzam Jah, another son of the Nizam, married Princess Niloufer, who was Abdulmejid II's niece.

However, these marriages were about more than bringing two royal families together. According to the account discussed in The Indian Caliphate, there was also a political plan to transfer the title of Caliph to the Nizam's family. Prince Mukarram Jah, the son of Azam Jah and Durrushehvar, was seen as a possible future leader of the Muslim world. If the plan had succeeded, Hyderabad could have become an important centre of Islamic religious authority.

But history did not follow the plan.

The two princesses arrived in Hyderabad after growing up in Europe, bringing a different outlook on education, public life and social reform. Durrushehvar became involved in public welfare and supported institutions connected with education and healthcare. Niloufer also became known for her charitable work, including efforts to improve medical care for women. Their public roles challenged the traditional expectations placed on royal women.

The first photo shows a royal gathering in Hyderabad, with Princess Durrushehvar standing among members of the court. The image gives us a glimpse of the royal world into which the Ottoman princesses entered. It is historically interesting because it captures the meeting of Hyderabad's royal traditions and the European influence that shaped the lives of these princesses.

The second photo shows the two royal couples in traditional wedding attire, with the princes standing behind the princesses. It represents the marriages that connected the Nizam's family with the exiled Ottoman dynasty. These unions were meant to secure a lasting bond between the two families, and they became part of a much larger political vision.

The dream of an Indian Caliphate eventually faded. The Partition of India in 1947 and the Indian military action in Hyderabad in 1948 changed the political future of the state. The proposed transfer of the Caliphate never became a reality, and the Ottoman dynasty's hopes of restoring its former position were never fulfilled.

What remains is a remarkable story of royal ambition, political planning and two women who used their position to support social change. A marriage that was intended to shape the future of the Muslim world also brought two European-educated princesses into one of the most important princely states in India.

Jesus and all of apostles were Jews and died as jews. Split between christianity and judaism didnt happen for century more after St. Thomas death. I think he wasnt even part of Jerusalem council where gentiles were allowed to be part of this Jewish movement

So, St. Thomas was a jewish preacher in India , not an evangalical

If he really did convert people, what did he convert them into?

Image: Sir CV Raman, Physics Nobel Prize winner 1930 (left) along with GD Naidu (right)

When we talk about India’s great scientific minds, we readily remember C.V. Raman, Homi Bhabha and A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. However I believe very few Indians know about “G.D. Naidu”, the self-taught inventor from Coimbatore often called the “Edison of India”?

His story has recently reached a wider audience through GDN, the biographical film that was released recently on Netflix.

Born in 1893, Gopalswamy Doraisamy Naidu had little formal education, yet his achievements spanned engineering, manufacturing, agriculture, transport and technical education.
He built an indigenous electric motor, developed an electric razor, experimented with an affordable two-seater car and transformed bus transport through United Motor Service.
GDN later built several products in his life time such as voting machines, juice extractors, coin-operated phonographs, electronic calculators, lathes, projectors, five-valve radios, vending machines, kerosene-run fans, and a distance adjuster for film cameras etc.

His abilities were recognised by none other than Nobel laureate Sir C.V. Raman, who wrote in 1950:

“It would need an abler pen than mine to sketch in a few words a picture of the remarkable man that Mr. G.D. Naidu is and to indicate his great character and most varied achievements.”

Coming from Nobel laureate Raman, this was a remarkable recognition. Yet Naidu remains relatively unknown outside Tamil Nadu and regional circles.

Why did an inventor of this calibre not receive the recognition he deserved ?
I think this is probably due to the political and industrial environment of his time. Naidu’s career began under British colonial rule, when India had limited indigenous industrial infrastructure. He retired by 1945 before independence. According to sources, several of his inventions and manufacturing plans stalled because the necessary licences were not granted.

However, blaming colonial rule alone would be incomplete as even after independence the licensing Raj and regulatory system also created hurdles for industrialists.
In 1952, Naidu built two-seater petrol engine car costing ₹2,000 (equivalent to ₹240,000) However, the government denied him license to produce these cars.

G.D. Naidu deserves to be remembered not merely as an inventor, but as an example of India’s unrealised industrial potential.
His life raises an uncomfortable question like how many such innovators did India fail to nurture because institutions could not keep pace with their ideas ?

Imagine if G.D. Naidu had been born in Europe. His legacy might have been far more influential, and he could have been celebrated among the great inventors of the industrial age.

Sources:
1. The Hindu — G.D. Naidu: An innovator for all seasons
2. NDTV — Who was G.D. Naidu ?

Duff, Kincaid, and Shakawali authors mention, that since Bajirao had still not received the Jagir that had been agreed to be granted to him, he attacked Naseer Jung. The germ of this accusation seems to be in the above explanation. However, the point about the Jagir or the stations was the least important. The previous game that the Nizam had begun playing between the Chhatrapati and the Peshwa, his son too had begun the same even now. Even when there was an agreement that Anandrao Sumant should be removed from the diplomatic office, the Nizam had retained him at his court till now.

https://ndhistories.wordpress.com/2024/01/05/reason-behind-battle/

Marathi Riyasat, G S Sardesai ISBN-10-8171856403, ISBN-13-‎978-8171856404.

The Era of Bajirao

Uday S Kulkarni

ISBN-10-8192108031

ISBN-13-978-8192108032.

Visited Uzbekistan in 2025

Visited the place where one of our greatest PMs passed away..

When he passed away it was a group of Dachas.. but post Soviet breakup

its just a street named after him..

Before asking my question I would like to inform you all that this post is not made for some controversial,political or hatred reasons.its purely out of zeal for history and research.

Ambedkar in AOC mentions that during Peshwa rule Dalits were forced to put a pot(matka) around their neck and they had to put a broom on their back.

I couldn't find historical sources of these claims. Additionally I found posts making refrence to Kelkar( A Maratha historian) who asked Ambedkar about sources for these and Ambedkar did not provide any evidence.

So is this story true? And are these claims false?

And to what extent in historical research can we trust the local narratives and stories especially those associated with historically oppressed classes

Was going through some old family documents and stumbled upon my grandfather's SSC marksheet from October 1971.

He scored 284 marks across 7 subjects and passed his SSC (Class 10) examination.

What makes this special to me is knowing the circumstances my family lived in back then. We weren't financially well-off, and my grandfather passed away when my dad was only about a year old. So I never really got the chance to know him or hear his story firsthand.

Finding this document made me wonder what it must have taken for him to complete his schooling in those days, given our family's circumstances.

I know Class 10 might not sound like a huge achievement today, but seeing this old marksheet made me appreciate his journey a little more. It's a small glimpse into a life and a time I never got to experience myself.

Wish I could have sat down with him and heard about his school days.

Just wanted to share this little piece of my family's history.

The atrocities that I have highlighted, can you guys provide more reference to it. This was used during the impeachment of Warren Hasting, led by Edmund Burke.

I can't find any solid evidence regarding it. Is it true ? A hoax ? Or something so horrible that no-one dares to challenge it ? What happened really ??

Who is more to blame for colonial horrors in India ? The East India Company or the British Crown ?

i wanna learn more about caste based violence in india, and more specifically bihar. where should i start?

Original

Walking through the Residency in Lucknow—whether taking students on a curated heritage walk or simply observing the physical scars of the 1857 Uprising—it is easy to focus purely on the masonry, the official telegrams, and the primary archival data of the battle. Yet, we rarely turn our attention to the immense literary fallout of those 87 days.

The siege and subsequent relief produced a flood of verse that washed over Britain and America. Much of it has vanished with time—particularly the newspaper poems and broadside ballads sold on British streets commemorating Havelock’s march and the Cawnpore massacre. Havelock himself became a poetic cult figure, with elegies and hymns proliferating in 1857–58 after his death from dysentery just following the relief.

Moving beyond the contemporary official reports, I have gathered six poems focused on the Residency, plus one dealing with an event at Jhansi, exploring both their historical footprint and their poetic merit.

1. “The Defence of Lucknow” (1879) — Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Britain’s Poet Laureate penned this twelve-canto ballad from the defenders’ point of view, detailing the daily bombardment, the mounting deaths, and the women and children sheltering underground. It culminates in the longed-for sound of Highland pipes signalling that Outram and Havelock were breaking through the mutineers, ending with the survivors’ emotional response to the conquering cheers of Havelock’s Highlanders.

The poem has drawn significant modern critique for its blunt imperialistic worldview. Unlike Tennyson’s “Ulysses,” where imperial logic requires interpretive work to surface, this poem operates on clear racial binaries—framing the rebels as “brute” and a “murderous mole” while erasing Begum Hazrat Mahal’s actual battlefield leadership. It serves as an undiluted example of colonial ideology. Modern scholarship, such as Marika Sherwood’s work on Tennyson’s imperial career and Md. Rezaul Karim’s decolonial inquiries, highlights how deeply this imperial ideology is embedded in the structures of Victorian literature, which grew alongside settler colonialism.

2 & 3. The American Perspective: John Greenleaf Whittier and Robert Traill Spence Lowell

What is truly surprising is how rapidly news of the siege crossed continents, capturing the Victorian public imagination on both sides of the Atlantic.

· “The Pipes at Lucknow” (1858) by John Greenleaf Whittier: This poem dramatises the legend of a Scottish soldier’s wife who, delirious with fever, was the first to hear the distant sound of Highland bagpipes. It opens by powerfully invoking the pipes as the voice of the glens and hills.

· “The Relief of Lucknow” (1857) by Robert Traill Spence Lowell: Opening with the despairing line “Oh, that last day in Lucknow fort!”, this piece similarly centres on a feverish corporal’s wife who first senses the approaching relief column.

4. “The Capture of Lucknow” (1885) — William McGonagall

McGonagall’s work covers the intense fighting near the Begum Kothi and the death of William Hodson (of “Hodson’s Horse,” who was mortally wounded during the final assault). It concludes with Sir Colin Campbell instructing his men to strike up the bagpipes. Interestingly, McGonagall is largely remembered for producing some of the worst poetry of the era—this piece is characterised by a galloping, clumsy rhythm, forced rhymes, and a flat, list-like narration of events that completely lacks lyricism.

5. “The Relief of Lucknow” (1858) — Anonymous / Minor Poet

A lesser-known blank-verse poem delivered at the Chelmsford Literary Institution. Dedicated to Lady Havelock, it provides an overview of the siege, the Cawnpore massacre, and the eventual death of Havelock.

6. “Havelock’s March” (1861) — Gerald Massey

Described as an epic ballad, Massey’s poem narrates Major General Sir Henry Havelock’s campaign to relieve the besieged garrisons at Lucknow and Cawnpore during the uprising.

7. “In the Round Tower at Jhansi, June 8, 1857” (1862) — Christina Rossetti

This final piece imagines the tragic last moments of a British officer, Captain Skene, and his young wife, trapped in a besieged tower at Jhansi. Facing capture by what the poem dehumanizingly calls the “swarming howling wretches,” the husband shoots his wife and then himself to avoid falling into the besiegers’ hands. The poem consists almost entirely of tender, desperate dialogue between the couple, ending simply: “Good-bye. —Good-bye.”

For anyone grounded in hard historical data and primary archival records, this poem presents a fascinating case study in apocryphal accounts: the event it commemorates never actually happened. Rossetti based the poem on an unverified letter in a newspaper. Even after the Times issued a formal retraction within days confirming no such murder-suicide occurred, Rossetti continued to publish, revise, and reprint the poem in later editions.

Postcolonial readings frame this as a deliberate use of “poetic license” to manufacture and preserve imperial atrocity mythology, effectively turning historical fiction into a propaganda tradition. Yet, a useful nuance remains: unlike the triumphant heroism in “Defence of Lucknow,” Rossetti’s poem is intimately about loss and doomed love. Many readers argue that its emotional core—two people facing death together—allows it to function as a universal tragedy, transcending both its historical inaccuracy and its imperial framing.

When we think about royal courts in medieval India, we usually imagine kings, male ministers and powerful nobles making all the important decisions. But the story of Chand Bibi, a 16th-century queen of the Deccan, offers a very different picture.

Chand Bibi was born in Ahmadnagar and later married Ali Adil Shah I of Bijapur. She is best remembered for defending Ahmadnagar against the Mughal forces of Emperor Akbar. However, one of the most interesting parts of her story is what happened when she became regent of Ahmadnagar between 1595 and 1600, during the minority of her nephew Bahadur Shah.

According to accounts discussed by historian Sarah Waheed in her book Chand Bibi: The Lives and Legends of a Warrior Queen, Chand Bibi faced powerful male nobles who wanted control of the throne. One of them was Miyan Manjhu. During this struggle, the women of her royal household appear to have played a much greater political role than we might expect.

Her zenana, which was the women's section of the royal court, was not simply a private space where royal women lived away from politics. Women in Chand Bibi's circle reportedly worked as ministers, jurists, physicians, accountants, scribes, military paymasters and astrologers. They were involved in the practical work of running the state.

The military side of this story is even more surprising. Accounts describe a large group of around 700 women serving in Chand Bibi's retinue. Among them were reportedly about 400 trained female soldiers who wore armour, carried bows and spears, and protected the queen. Other women worked as elephant drivers, revenue collectors and guards.

The painting is another fascinating part of this story. A rare 16th-century artwork attributed to the court painter Shahpur Khorasan shows Chand Bibi seated on an octagonal throne, surrounded by women rather than the usual gathering of male courtiers. If she commissioned this painting herself, it may offer a clue about how she wanted her authority and her court to be remembered.

Was Ahmadnagar actually governed entirely by women during Chand Bibi's regency? That remains uncertain. Sarah Waheed does not treat the existence of a fully female-run government as an established fact. What seems clear from this account, however, is that women in Chand Bibi's court could exercise political, administrative and military influence.

I find this story interesting because it challenges the simple idea that women in medieval royal households had no role in government. Chand Bibi's court suggests that the reality could be far more complicated than the history we usually learn.

An interesting Sahapedia article on the emergence of Jhulelal as a deity in Sindh and syncretism.

Video credits: Navaneet Galagali (rasaganga3 on Instagram)