History

The Balfour Declaration was a letter written by British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Lionel Walter Rothschild, in which he expressed the British government’s support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine. The long-term effects of the Balfour Declaration, and the British government’s involvement in Palestinian affairs, are felt even today.Britain’s acknowledgement and support of Zionism, and … Read more

. Instead of being a radical abrupt change, the American Revolution was a culmination of evolutionary changes that resulted in an evolved way of life. With the social, political and economic spheres, the change occurred gradually and remained largely unnoticed. For example, in Political sphere, the 13 colonies already had a certain degree of independence, … Read more

In reaction to the incipient nationalist movement, represented by the nineteenth century Hindu revivalism, which led to improving the position of the Brahmin caste, the non- Brahmins of Madras Presidency sought to ally with the colonial regime, hoping that foreign rule would protect their position and somewhat neutralize power differences within the population. Mindful of … Read more

a) Chaitya: a Buddhist shrine or prayer hall with a Stupa at one end. In modern texts on Indian architecture, the term chaityagriha is often used to denote an assembly or prayer hall that houses a Stupa. Ex: Karle caves b) Vihar: The Viharas or monasteries were excavated near the chaityas for the residence of … Read more

Mikhail Gorbachev’s reformist policies in the Soviet Union merely served to encourage opposition movements to the Communist regimes in the Soviet bloc countries. Demonstrations became more frequent. Governments were forced to accept measures, recommended, moreover, by Gorbachev, towards liberalisation. However, these measures were not deemed to be sufficient. Hopes of freedom, long suppressed by the … Read more

The 19th century began witnessing a growing discontent against the British rule in India. This gave birth to an organized national movement. Inspired by this movement, there emerged a corpus of literature which in turn contributed to the growth and spread of nationalist sentiments across different regions of the country as well as among the … Read more

The Ibādat Khāna (House of Worship) was a meeting house built in 1575 CE by the Mughal Emperor Akbar (r. 1556–1605) at Fatehpur Sikri to gather spiritual leaders of different religious grounds so as to conduct a discussion on the teachings of the respective religious leaders The construction of ‘Ibadat Khana’ in 1575, where Muslim … Read more

A battle was fought in Bhima Koregaon, a district in Pune with a strong historical Dalit connection, between the Peshwa forces and the British on January 1, 1818. The British army, which comprised mainly of Dalit soldiers, fought the upper caste-dominated Peshwa army. The British troops defeated the Peshwa army. The victory was seen as a … Read more

The Indian handicrafts that had made the country famous, collapsed under the colonial rule. There was a sudden and quick collapse of the urban handicrafts which had for centuries made India’s name a byword in the markets of the entire civilised world. During the first half of 18th century, India was the biggest manufacturing nation … Read more

Zardozi embroidery is beautiful metal embroidery, which once used to embellish the attire of the Kings and the royals in India. It was also used to adorn walls of the royal tents, scabbards, wall hangings and the paraphernalia of regal elephants and horses. Zardozi embroidery work involves making elaborate designs, using gold and silver threads. … Read more