Indian History - The Facts by Ashish Joshi

Incongruity of 'Veer' epithet with Vinayak Damodar Savarkar ******************************** Savarkar was chargesheeted in the assassination of Gandhi but exonerated, largely because no corroborative evidence of his involvement was furnished. Next month on May 28, India will commemorate birth anniversary of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, who was born on this day in 1883. How veer, or brave, was Veer Savarkar? Savarkar died in 1966. During his 83 years, he was involved in the political murder of three British officials. From the nationalist perspective, these murders have been cited as examples of Savarkar’s revolutionary zeal to violently uproot British rule, unmindful of the consequences. Savarkar was also chargesheeted in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi but was subsequently exonerated, largely because no corroborative evidence of his involvement was furnished. It has helped perpetuate the myth of Savarkar the brave. But this myth has been shattered becau...

The Petitions of Bhagat Singh & Savarkar to the British -- Read, to know the difference *********************** "Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s Last Petition Lahore Jail, 1931 To: The Punjab Governor Sir, With due respect we beg to bring to your kind notice the following:That we were sentenced to death on 7th October 1930 by a British Court, L.C.C Tribunal, constituted under the Sp. Lahore Conspiracy Case Ordinance, promulgated by the H.E. The Viceroy, the Head of the British Government of India, and that the main charge against us was that of having waged war against H.M. King George, the King of England. The above-mentioned finding of the Court pre-supposed two things: Firstly, that there exists a state of war between the British Nation and the Indian Nation and, secondly, that we had actually participated in that war and were therefore war prisoners. The second pre-supposition seems to be a little bit flattering, but nevertheless it is too tempting to resist...

Sher Shah Suri: No Ruler of India before & after 1947  achieved so much as him, in a period of 5 years  {1540-45} **************************************** शेर शाह सूरी: 1947 के पहले और बाद में भारत के किसी भी शासक ने 5 वर्षों की अवधि  (1540-45)  इतना हासिल किया {Do watch the video made by St Xavier's College in Collaboration with Presidency College, Kolkata --From 8:00 of  the video. Video is in English} 1. पूरे राज्य में ज़मीन के सर्वे और मपाई का सिस्टम शुरू किया. *खेती की ज़मीन को नापने के लिए 39 इंच के लोहे की छड़ का स्टैंडर्ड तय किया, जिसे गज़ कहा गया.* *(सिकंदर गज़ नाम की इस छड़ का सिस्टम आज तक  इस्तेमाल होता है)* 2.ज़मीन की ख़रीद फ़रोख़्त के लिए ‘पट्टा’ सिस्टम शुरू किया. 3. रुपया शुरू किया, जो 178 रत्ती का चाँदी का सिक्का था. एक रुपया 64 दाम का था. इसी दाम को बाद में ‘आना’ कहा गया. 4. करेन्सी के लिए तय स्टैंडर्ड के सोने, चाँदी और काँसे के सिक्के शुरू किए. 5. 47 जिले बनाए, जिन्हें सरकार कहा जाता था. हर जिले यानि सरकार में एक फ़ौजी ...

Jinnah as a personality evolved over years from a person with liberal approach to a communal approach. In 1930s was a liberal in his approach like his friend Tej Bahadur Sapru. Jinnah strongly believed in constitutionalism, reposing faith in the institutions of Empire such as legislatures, courts and even the British Parliament to deliver progress to India. On the other hand Bhagat Singh was a socialist in his ideology . Bhagat Singh was jailed in 1929 for throwing bombs in Central Legislative Assembly . Bhagat Singh went on hunger strike in the jail ,which made it difficult to hold trial. So the British got a bill introduced whereby the a judgement could be given if a trial took place without hearing the accused. In September 1929, Jinnah representing Bombay city in the Assembly, spoke powerfully, opposing this bill. Calling the trial a “farce” and a “travesty of justice”, he said that if the trial continued in the absence of the accused he “stands already condemned”. He also ...

Ancient  India was not a Golden age as portrayed by some ******* Mr  DN Jha’s , a noted historian in his book  ‘Against the Grain :  Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History" challenges the Hindutva depiction of Indian history. The book  challenges the depiction of the “ancient period of Indian history as a golden age marked by social harmony devoid of any religious violence”. There is no doubt that religious sects in ancient India were accommodative of each other. But it is just as true that Brahminical sects “bore huge animosity towards the two heterodox religions, Buddhism and Jainism”, Jha writes. This rancour occasionally erupted into attacks and appropriation of Buddhist and Jain sacred places. A history of religious violence Jha details examples to show the enormous scale of religious violence in ancient India. For example, in the 7th century, King Shashanka cut the down Bodhi tree, under which Buddha gained enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, and ...