SOUTH AMERICA PART-2

South America is the fourth largest continent in size and the fifth largest in population. It is located primarily in the southern hemisphere. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. The geography of South America is dominated by the Andes Mountain Range and the Amazon River (second longest river in the world). 

Prior to European colonization, the Incan Civilization was a dominant force in South America. In the 1500's, Spain and Portugal colonized much of South America. The colonies gained independence in the 1800's with the help of leaders such as Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin. Much of South America still speaks Spanish or Portuguese as their primary language. 

Population: 387,489,196 (Source: 2010 United Nations)

Area: 6,890,000 square miles 

Ranking: It is the fourth largest and fifth most populous continent 

Major Biomes: rainforest, savanna, grassland 

Major cities:

• Sao Paulo, Brazil
• Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Santiago, Chile
• Brasilia, Brazil
• Lima, Peru
• Bogota, Colombia
• Caracas, Venezuela
• Belo Horizonte, Brazil
• Medellin, Colombia

Bordering Bodies of Water: Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea 

Major Rivers and Lakes: Amazon River, Parana River, Orinoco River, Tocantins River, Strait of Magellan, Lake Titicaca, Lake Maracaibo 

Major Geographical Features: Andes Mountains, Amazon Basin and Rainforest, Brazilian Highlands, Pampas plain, Patagonia, Guiana Highlands, Pantanal wetlands

States and Union Territories

States and Capitals

• Andhra Pradesh (Hyderabad)
• Arunachal Pradesh (Itanagar)
• Assam (Dispur)
• Bihar (Patna)
• Chhattisgarh (Raipur)
• Goa (Panaji)
• Gujarat (Gandhinagar)
• Haryana (Chandigarh)
• Himachal Pradesh (Shimla)
• Jammu & Kashmir (Srinagar{S*}, Jammu{W*})
• Jharkhand (Ranchi)
• Karnataka (Bangalore)
• Kerala (Thiruvananthapuram)
• Madhya Pradesh (Bhopal)
• Maharashtra (Mumbai)
• Manipur (Imphal)
• Meghalaya (Shillong)
• Mizoram (Aizawl)
• Nagaland (Kohima)
• Odisha (Bhubaneshwar)
• Punjab (Chandigarh)
• Rajasthan (Jaipur)
• Sikkim (Gangtok)
• Tamil Nadu (Chennai)
• Telangana (Hyderabad)(External website that opens in a new window)
• Tripura (Agartala)
• Uttarakhand (Dehradun)
• Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow)
• West Bengal (Kolkata)

Union Territories and Capitals

• Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Port Blair)
• Chandigarh (Chandigarh)
• The Government of NCT of Delhi (Delhi)
• Dadra and Nagar Haveli (Silvassa)

Interesting Facts about India

• India never invaded any country in her last 100000 years of history.
• When many cultures were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians established Harappan culture in Sindhu Valley (Indus Valley Civilization)
• The name 'India' is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were the home of the early settlers. The Aryan worshippers referred to the river Indus as the Sindhu.
• The Persian invaders converted it into Hindu. The name 'Hindustan' combines Sindhu and Hindu and thus refers to the land of the Hindus.
• Chess was invented in India.
• Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus are studies, which originated in India.
• The 'Place Value System' and the 'Decimal System' were developed in India in 100 B.C.
• The World's First Granite Temple is the Brihadeswara Temple at Tanjavur, Tamil Nadu. The shikhara of the temple is made from a single 80-tonne piece of granite. This magnificent temple was built in just five years, (between 1004 AD and 1009 AD) during the reign of Rajaraja Chola.
• India is the largest democracy in the world, the 7^th largest Country in the world, and one of the most ancient civilizations.
• The game of Snakes & Ladders was created by the 13th century poet saint Gyandev. It was originally called 'Mokshapat'. The ladders in the game represented virtues and the snakes indicated vices. The game was played with cowrie shells and dices. In time, the game underwent several modifications, but its meaning remained the same, i.e. good deeds take people to heaven and evil to a cycle of re-births.
• The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh. Built in 1893 after leveling a hilltop, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level.
• India has the largest number of Post Offices in the world.
• The largest employer in India is the Indian Railways, employing over a million people.
• The world's first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
• Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to mankind. The Father of Medicine, Charaka, consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago.
• India was one of the richest countries till the time of British rule in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus, attracted by India's wealth, had come looking for a sea route to India when he discovered America by mistake.
• The Art of Navigation & Navigating was born in the river Sindh over 6000 years ago. The very word Navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word 'NAVGATIH'. The word navy is also derived from the Sanskrit word 'Nou'.
• Bhaskaracharya rightly calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the Sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. According to his calculation, the time taken by the Earth to orbit the Sun was 365.258756484 days.
• The value of "pi" was first calculated by the Indian Mathematician Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century, long before the European mathematicians.
• Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus also originated in India.Quadratic Equations were used by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10*53 (i.e. 10 to the power of 53) with specific names as early as 5000 B.C.during the Vedic period.Even today, the largest used number is Terra: 10*12(10 to the power of 12).
• Until 1896, India was the only source of diamonds in the world 
• (Source: Gemological Institute of America).
• The Baily Bridge is the highest bridge in the world. It is located in the Ladakh valley between the Dras and Suru rivers in the Himalayan mountains. It was built by the Indian Army in August 1982.
• Sushruta is regarded as the Father of Surgery. Over2600 years ago Sushrata & his team conducted complicated surgeries like cataract, artificial limbs, cesareans, fractures, urinary stones, plastic surgery and brain surgeries.
• Usage of anaesthesia was well known in ancient Indian medicine. Detailed knowledge of anatomy, embryology, digestion, metabolism,physiology, etiology, genetics and immunity is also found in many ancient Indian texts.
• India exports software to 90 countries.
• The four religions born in India - Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, are followed by 25% of the world's population.
• Jainism and Buddhism were founded in India in 600 B.C. and 500 B.C. respectively.
• Islam is India's and the world's second largest religion.
• There are 300,000 active mosques in India, more than in any other country, including the Muslim world.
• The oldest European church and synagogue in India are in the city of Cochin. They were built in 1503 and 1568 respectively.
• Jews and Christians have lived continuously in India since 200 B.C. and 52 A.D. respectively
• The largest religious building in the world is Angkor Wat, a Hindu Temple in Cambodia built at the end of the 11th century.
• The Vishnu Temple in the city of Tirupathi built in the 10th century, is the world's largest religious pilgrimage destination. Larger than either Rome or Mecca, an average of 30,000 visitors donate $6 million (US) to the temple everyday.
• Sikhism originated in the Holy city of Amritsar in Punjab. Famous for housing the Golden Temple, the city was founded in 1577.
• Varanasi, also known as Benaras, was called "the Ancient City" when Lord Buddha visited it in 500 B.C., and is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world today.
• India provides safety for more than 300,000 refugees originally from Sri Lanka, Tibet, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who escaped to flee religious and political persecution.
• His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, runs his government in exile from Dharmashala in northern India.
• Martial Arts were first created in India, and later spread to Asia by Buddhist missionaries.
• Yoga has its origins in India and has existed for over 5,000 years.

Panama Canal 1914 to 2014

By August 15, 1914 the Panama Canal was officially opened by the passing of the SS Ancon. At the time, no single effort in American history had exacted such a price in dollars or in human life. The American expenditures from 1904 to 1914 totaled $352,000,000, far more than the cost of anything built by the United States Government up to that time. Together the French and American expenditures totaled $639,000,000. It took 34 years from the initial effort in 1880 to actually open the Canal in 1914. It is estimated that over 80,000 persons took part in the construction and that over 30,000 lives were lost in both French and American efforts. This Year 2014 we celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Panama Canal with a new section of old and new images.

This website is dedicated to all men and women who have and will work at or for the Panama Canal and made the heroic dream of over 400 years come true. Honoring the past by building the future.By August 15, 1914 the Panama Canal was officially opened by the passing of the SS Ancon. At the time, no single effort in American history had exacted such a price in dollars or in human life. The American expenditures from 1904 to 1914 totaled $352,000,000, far more than the cost of anything built by the United States Government up to that time. Together the French and American expenditures totaled $639,000,000. It took 34 years from the initial effort in 1880 to actually open the Canal in 1914. It is estimated that over 80,000 persons took part in the construction and that over 30,000 lives were lost in both French and American efforts. This Year 2014 we celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Panama Canal with a new section of old and new images.

This website is dedicated to all men and women who have and will work at or for the Panama Canal and made the heroic dream of over 400 years come true. Honoring the past by building the future.

Story of Somnath Temple -Gujarat

 Somnath Temple is situated in the Junagadh district of Gujarat. It is a famous temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple is one of the twelve jyotirlingas in India. The most interesting fact about the Somanth temple is that it has been built and destroyed six times. The present structure was rebuilt the seventh time. There a number of legends attached to the Somnath Temple of India. It is said that the Moon God, Chandra was married to 27 daughters of Daksh Prajapati, but he favored Rohini.

This enraged the Prajapati and he cursed Moon to wane. In order to recover, he prayed to Lord Shiva at the Prabhas Tirtha. Lord Shiva was pleased with his devotion and cured him. Then, on the advice of Brahma, Moon God built the temple in the honor of the Lord and to show his gratitude. It is said that the first temple was built by Moon God in gold, followed by Ravana in silver, Lord Krishna in Sandalwood and King Bhimdev in Stone. The Somnath temple has a magnificent sprawling complex and is a great pilgrim site for the Hindus.

The present temple is built in Chalukya style and has been constructed in such a manner that there is no land between the temple shore and the South Pole. The summit of the temple rises to a height of 155 feet. There is a Kalash (pot vessel) on the top, which measures 10 tons. The flag mast on the peak is 37 feet long and is changed three times during the day. The construction of the present Somnath temple started in 1950. The jyotirlingam pratishthapan ceremony was done by the first president of India, Dr, Rajendra Prasad. All these facts reveal the majesty of the temple and its importance for the devotees.

Story of Black Taj Mahal

Many people believe that corresponding to this sparkling white Taj, Shah Jehan had planned to build another Taj Mahal in black marble, which was to be his own tomb on the opposite bank of the River Yamuna and connect the two by a bridge. This legend further got wings in form of the records of a contemporary traveler who noted that Shah Jehan began to build his own tomb on the other side of the river but because of the war with his sons, his plan was interrupted. Later, Aurangzeb was unwilling to complete it. These people also cite irregular positioning of the cenotaph of Shah Jehan as compared to the central positioning of that of Mumtaz Mahal as a proof to their theory. They further attach the Mehtab Burj opposite the Taj Mahal and its adjoining wall as actually the foundations and remnants of the abandoned plan.
 

Black Taj

However, most of these theories are only rumors as there is no logical base to substantiate them. While there are records that prove that the Mehtab Burj and the adjoining wall were just the part of the enclosing wall and the remains of a garden laid by the first Mughal emperor Babur much before Taj Mahal was constructed, the irregular positioning of Shah Jehan's cenotaph to that of Mumtaz Mahal's, is not of much significance either as this pattern can also be seen at the tomb of Itmad-ud-Daulah and was only done to conform to the Islamic law stating that bodies of the departed should be buried with their head towards Mecca and legs towards south and also that the husband should always be placed on the right hand side of his wife. So all these assumptions are baseless and are even scoffed at by some other historians.

Salt March 12th march,1930

 

salt satyagrah

The Salt March or the Dandi March, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, began on 12 March 1930 and was an important part of the Indian independence movement. It was a direct action campaign of tax resistance and nonviolent protest against the British salt monopoly in colonial India, and triggered the wider Civil Disobedience Movement. This was the most significant organised challenge to British authority since the Non-cooperation movement of 1920–22, and directly followed the Purna Swaraj declaration of independence by the Indian National Congress on 26 January 1930.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (commonly called Mahatma Gandhi) led the Dandi march from his base, Sabarmati Ashram near Ahmedabad, to the coastal village of Dandi, located at a small town called Navsari, in the state of Gujarat. As he continued on this 24-day, 240-mile (390 km) march to Dandi to produce salt without paying the tax, growing numbers of Indians joined him along the way. When Gandhi broke the salt laws at 6:30 am on 6 April 1930, it sparked large scale acts of civil disobedience against the British Raj salt laws by millions of Indians. The campaign had a significant effect on changing world and British attitude towards Indian independence and caused large numbers of Indians to join the fight for the first time.

After making salt at Dandi, Gandhi continued southward along the coast, producing salt and addressing meetings on the way. The Congress Party planned to stage a satyagraha at the Dharasana Salt Works, 25 miles south of Dandi. However, Gandhi was arrested on the midnight of 4–5 May 1930, just days before the planned action at Dharasana. The Dandi March and the ensuing Dharasana Satyagraha drew worldwide attention to the Indian independence movement through extensive newspaper and newsreel coverage. The satyagraha against the salt tax continued for almost a year, ending with Gandhi's release from jail and negotiations with Viceroy Lord Irwin at the Second Round Table Conference. Over 80,000 Indians were jailed as a result of the Salt Satyagraha. However, it failed to result in major concessions from the British.

The Salt Satyagraha campaign was based upon Gandhi's principles of nonviolent protest called satyagraha, which he loosely translated as "truth-force." Literally, it is formed from the Sanskrit words satya, "truth", and agraha, "force." In early 1930 the Indian National Congress chose satyagraha as their main tactic for winning Indian independence from British rule and appointed Gandhi to organise the campaign. Gandhi chose the 1882 British Salt Act as the first target of satyagraha. The Salt March to Dandi, and the beating by British police of hundreds of nonviolent protesters in Dharasana, which received worldwide news coverage, demonstrated the effective use of civil disobedience as a technique for fighting social and political injustice. The satyagraha teachings of Gandhi and the March to Dandi had a significant influence on American activists Martin Luther King, Jr., James Bevel, and others during the movement for civil rights for blacks and other minority groups in the 1960s

Adalaj ni Vav -Real Story

Adalaj vav Built in 1499 by Queen Rudabai, wife of the Vaghela chief, Veersinh, this five-storey stepwell was not just a cultural and utilitarian space, but also a spiritual refuge.first create in patan rani ki vav and than after built adalaj vav. The designs on its walls and pillars include, leaves, flowers, birds, fish and other breathtaking ornamental designs very beautiful and nice. It is believed that villagers would come everyday in the morning to fill water, offer prayers to the deities carved into the walls and interact with each other in the cool shade of the adalaj vav.Adalaj vav was four-level well is dug directly into the water table, exposing fresh and clean water that rose and fell according the seasons and the amount of rainfall. this area around Adlaj was known as Dandai Desh and was ruled by Rana Veer Singh of the Vaghela dynasty. Around this time, Mohammed Begda, a Muslim ruler of a neighboring state attacked Dandai Desh and killed Rana Veer Singh. The beauty of the slain king’s widow, Rani Roopba, enamored Mohammed Begda who sent her a proposal of marriage. The heartbroken but determined queen agreed to the proposal on the condition that he complete a five-storied step-well (vav) for her. The Muslim ruler, enticed by the charm of the queen, readily agreed

South America part-1

South America, the fourth-largest continent, extends from the Gulf of Darién in the northwest to the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in the south.

South America’s physical geography, environment and resources, and human geography can be considered separately.

South America has diverse agricultural products, vast mineral wealth, and plentiful freshwater. It also has rich fisheries and ports on three bodies of water: the Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. The continent’s economy is centered on the export of natural resources.

Know More 

 Largest Urban Area
Sao Paulo, Brazil (11,016,703 people)

 Highest Elevation
Aconcagua, Argentina (6,962 meters/22,841 feet)

Population Density
22 people per square kilometer 

Amount of Renewable Electricity Produced
52% (top producer of renewable energy: Paraguay, 100%)

Easter Island

 

Moai are the enormous "Easter Island heads" that have come to symbolize the ancient traditions of Rapa Nui, the native culture of Easter Island. Now a part of Chile, Easter Island is the most isolated, western point of the Polynesian Triangle of the South Pacific. Rapa Nui civilization flourished on Easter Island between 1250 and 1500.

Moai are called "Easter Island heads" for two reasons. First, the statues' heads are disproportionately large: the average head-to-body ratio is 3/5. Second, many moai are buried to their shoulders, making them appear as only heads

Modhera Sun Temple

Modhera Sun Temple

Dedicated to the Sun God, the Sun Temple in Modhera is a relic of the Solanki Dynasty. It was built in the 1026 CE by Raja Bhimdeva I. It is famous for its magnificent architecture, which is still awe-inspiring after so many centuries. It is thought to be one of the best constructed devotional places in western India. Though, it no longer serves any religious purpose, it attracts a huge number of tourists. Presently it is under the supervision of the Archaeology Survey of India.

Night view of Sun Temple

The entrance with carved arches leads to the grounds that houses 108 shrines, a breathtaking sanctum and beautiful carvings on the walls. The temple is built such that the first rays of the sun fall on the Sun God during the equinoxes. The nritya mandap (dancing hall) and the Sabha Mandap are beautifully carved, with 12 niches showcasing the different aspects of the Sun God during each month. Special mention needs to be made of the symmetrical stepped-tank, the Surya Kund, which is the finest example of geometry. The carved stone steps are interspersed with 108 miniature idols.

Carved Pillar at Sun Temple 

The temple can broadly be divided into three sections--the garbhagriha with an ambulatory and an octagonal gudhamandapa, a sabha mandapa with a torana in front and a large tank which is decorated with several miniature shrines. The gudhamandapa contains embellished images of twelve adityas and the sabhamandapa has a grand set of pillars which are adorned with triangular and semicircular arches. The main temple is based on an inverted lotus-base plinth--lotus being the flower of the Sun God. The Solankis had also built an idol of the Sun God made entirely of gold. Unfortunately, the temple was attacked by Mahmood Ghazni and all its riches were looted. Much of the damages have been restored during reconstruction.

Taj 10 fact

10  Facts about TajMahal

The Taj Mahal reigns supreme as one of the most recognisable and iconic images of India. Its delicate minarets, gracefully curved archways and ice cream scoop domes have led many to make the pilgrimage to stand at its entrance and wonder at its grandeur. The wonder isn’t only found in its construction. Here stands a building that is as rich in history as it is in opulent marble. To help better appreciate this history, we have compiled a list of the 10 most interesting facts about Taj Mahal.

It is estimated to have taken more than 22,000 people to build this impressive building including labourers, painters, stonecutters, embroidery artists, and many others.

According to legend it is believed that Emperor Shah Jahan had planned to construct another Taj Mahal in black marble on the other side of the river but the war with his sons interrupted his plans.
The Taj Mahal takes on different colouring at different times of the day, from a pinkish hue in the morning, milky white in the evening and golden at night when lit by the moon. They say the changing colour resembles the changing mood of females - in particular the Emperor's queen.
Built in memory of the Emperors third and most favourite wife Mumtāz Mahal, the Taj Mahal took 17 years to be completed.
It is said that the death so crushed the Emperor that all his hair and beard were said to have grown snow white within just a few months.
The four sides of the Taj Mahal are perfectly identical creating an astonishingly mirrored image on each side. It uses the principles of self-replicating geometry and symmetry of architectural elements.
The Taj Mahal is surrounded by significant gardens and a number of other buildings including  a mosque and guest houses which make up the 17 hectares of land within the complex walls.
The full height of the Taj Mahal is 171 metres (561 feet).
More than 1,000 elephants were employed to transport the construction materials used to build the Taj.
Many precious stones were ripped off from its walls by the British during the Indian rebellion of 1857.

The Mughal time

01. Babur (1526-1530)
02. Humayun (1530-1540,55-56)
03. Akbar (1556-1605)
04. Jahangir (1605-1627)
05. Shah Jahan (1627-1658)
06. Aurang Zeb (1658-1707)
07. Bahadur Shah 1 (1707-1712)
08. Jahandar Shah (1712-1713)
09. Furrukhsiyar (1713-1719)
10. Rafi-ul-Darjat (1719)
11. Rafi-ud-Daulat (1719)
12. Nikusiyar (1719)
13. Muhammad Ibrahim (1720)
14. Muhammad Shah (1719-1748)
15. Ahmad Shah Bahadur (1748-54)
16. Alamgir || (1754-1759)
17. Shah Jahan ||| (1759)
18. Shah Alam || (1759-1806)
19. Akbar Shah || (1806-1837)
20. Bahadur Shah Zafar (1837-57)

Padmanabhaswamy temple

Country:	India
State:	Kerala
Location:	Thiruvananthapuram

Padmanabhaswamy temple  is located in the centre of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala. Rather unusually for Kerala, the temple was built in the Dravidian style, mostly associated with the temples located in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu, featuring high walls and a 16th-century Gopuram. The temple is a replica of the Adikesava Perumal temple located in Kanyakumari.
The principal deity Vishnu is enshrined in the "Anantha-Sayanam" posture – the eternal yogic sleep on the serpent Anantha. Sree Padmanabhaswamy is the Tutelary Deity of the Royal Family of Travancore. The titular Maharaja of Travancore Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma is the trustee of the temple as Sree Padmanabhadasa, the "Slave of Lord Padmanabha". In line with the Temple Entry Proclamation, only those who profess the Hindu faith are permitted entry to the temple. Devotees have to strictly follow the dress code.^[5]

Gupta Empire

 Gupta Empire

The Gupta Empire (Sanskrit: गुप्तसाम्राज्य, Gupta Sāmrājya) was an ancient Indian empire, founded by Maharaja Sri Gupta, which existed from approximately 320 to 550 CE and covered much of the Indian Subcontinent. The peace and prosperity created under the leadership of the Guptas enabled the pursuit of scientific and artistic endeavours. This period is called the Golden Age of India and was marked by extensive inventions and discoveries in science, technology, engineering, art, dialectic, literature, logic, mathematics, astronomy, religion and philosophy that crystallized the elements of what is generally known as Hindu culture. Chandra Gupta I, Samudra Gupta, and Chandra Gupta II were the most notable rulers of the Gupta dynasty. The 4th century CE Sanskrit poet Kalidasa credits Guptas with having conquered about twenty one kingdoms, both in and outside India, including the kingdoms of Parasikas, the Hunas, the Kambojas, tribes located in the west and east Oxus valleys, the Kinnaras, Kiratas etc.

The high points of this cultural creativity are magnificent architecture, sculptures and paintings. The Gupta period produced scholars such as Kalidasa, Aryabhata, Varahamihira, Vishnu Sharma and Vatsyayana who made great advancements in many academic fields. Science and political administration reached new heights during the Gupta era. Strong trade ties also made the region an important cultural center and set the region up as a base that would influence nearby kingdoms and regions in Burma, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia. The earliest available Indian epics are also thought to have been written around this period.

The empire gradually declined because of many factors such as substantial loss of territory and imperial authority caused by their own erstwhile feudatories and the invasion by the Huna peoples from Central Asia. After the collapse of the Gupta Empire in the 6th century, India was again ruled by numerous regional kingdoms. A minor line of the Gupta clan continued to rule Magadha after the disintegration of the empire. These Guptas were ultimately ousted by Vardhana ruler Harsha Vardhana, who established an empire in the first half of the 7th century.

Maharana Pratap

Born: May 9, 1540 in Kumbhalgarh, Rajasthan 

Father's Name: Maharana Udai Singh II

Mother's Name: Rani Jeevant Kanwar

Died: January 29, 1597 in Chavand 

Maharana Pratap was born on May 9th 1540 in Kumbhalgarh, Rajasthan. His father was Maharana Udai Singh II and his mother was Rani Jeevant Kanwar. Maharana Udai Singh II ruled the kingdom of Mewar, with his capital at Chittor. Maharana Pratap was the eldest of twenty-five sons and hence given the title of Crown Prince. He was destined to be the 54th ruler of Mewar, in the line of the Sisodiya Rajputs.

In 1567, when Crown Prince Pratap Singh was only 27, Chittor was surrounded by the Mughal forces of Emperor Akbar. Maharana Udai Singh II decided to leave Chittor and move his family to Gogunda, rather than capitulate to the Mughals. The young Pratap Singh wanted to stay back and fight the Mughals but the elders intervened and convinced him to leave Chittor, oblivious of the fact that this move from Chittor was going to create history for all times to come.

In Gogunda, Maharana Udai Singh II and his nobles set up a temporary government of the kindom of Mewar. In 1572, the Maharana passed away, leaving the way for Crown Prince Pratap Singh to become the Maharana. However, in his later years, the late Maharana Udai Singh II had fallen under the influence of his favorite queen, Rani Bhatiyani, and had willed that her son Jagmal should ascend to the throne. As the late Maharana's body was being taken to the cremation grounds, Pratap Singh, the Crown Prince decided to accompany the dead body of the Maharana. This was a departure from tradition as the Crown Prince did not accompany the body of the departed Maharana but instead prepared to ascend the throne, such that the line of succession remained unbroken. Pratap Singh, in deference to his father's wishes, decided to let his half-brother Jagmal become the next king. However, knowing this to be disastrous for Mewar, the late Maharana's nobles, especially the Chundawat Rajputs, forced Jagmal to leave the throne to Pratap Singh. Unlike Bharat, Jagmal did not willingly give up the throne. He swore revenge and left for Ajmer, to join the armies of Akbar, where he was offered a jagir - the town of Jahazpur - in return for his help. Meanwhile, Crown Prince Pratap Singh became Maha Rana Pratap Singh I, 54th ruler of Mewar in the line of the Sisodiya Rajputs.

The year was 1572. Pratap Singh had just become the Maharana of Mewar and he had not been back in Chittor since 1567. His old fort and his home beckoned to him. The pain of his father's death, and the fact that his father had not been able to see Chittor again, troubled the young Maharana deeply. But he was not the only one troubled at this time. Akbar had control of Chittor but not the kingdom of Mewar. So long as the people of Mewar swore by their Maharana, Akbar could not realize his ambition of being the Jahanpanah of Hindustan. He had sent several emissaries to Mewar to get Rana Pratap to agree to sign a treaty but the letter was only willing to sign a peace treaty whereby the sovereignty of Mewar would be intact. In the course of the year 1573, Akbar sent six diplomatic missions to Mewar to get Rana Pratap to agree to the former's suzerainty but Rana Pratap turned down each one of them. The last of these missions was headed by Raja Man Singh, the brother-in-law of Akbar himself. Maharana Pratap, angered that his fellow Rajput was aligned with someone who had forced the submission of all Rajputs, refused to sup with Raja Man Singh. The lines were completely drawn now - Akbar understood that Maharana Pratap would never submit and he would have to use his troops against Mewar.

With the failure of efforts to negotiate a peace treaty in 1573, Akbar blockaded Mewar from the rest of the world and alienated Mewar's traditional allies, some of whom were Maharana Pratap's own kith and kin. Akbar then tried to turn the people of the all-important Chittor district against their king so they would not help Pratap. He appointed Kunwar Sagar Singh, a younger brother of Pratap, to rule the conquered territory, However, Sagar, regretting his own treachery, soon returned from Chittor, and committed suicide with a dagger in the Mughal Court. Shakti Singh, Pratap's younger brother now with the Mughal army, is said to have fled the Mughal court temporarily and warned his brother of Akbar's actions.

In preparation for the inevitable war with the Mughals, Maharana Pratap altered his administration. He moved his capital to Kumbhalgarh, where he was born. He commanded his subjects to leave for the Aravali mountains and leave behind nothing for the approaching enemy - the war would be fought in a mountain terrain which the Mewar army was used to but not the Mughals. It is a testament to the young king's respect amongst his subjects that they obeyed him and left for the mountains. The Bhils of the Aravalis were completely behind him. The army of Mewar now raided Mughal trade caravans going from Delhi to Surat. A section of his army guarded the all important Haldighati Pass, the only way to get into Udaipur from the North. Maharana Pratap himself undertook several penances, not because his finances forced him to do so, but because he wished to remind himself, and all his subjects, why they were undertaking this pain - to win back their freedom, their right to exist as they wished. He foreswore that he would eat from leaf-plates, would sleep on the floor and would not shave. In his self-inflicted state of penury, the Maharana lived in mud-huts made from mud and bamboo.

In 1576, the famous battle of Haldighati was fought with 20,000 Rajputs against a Mughal army of 80,000 men commanded by Raja Man Singh. The battle was fierce though indecisive, to the Mughal army's astonishment. Maharana Pratap's army was not defeated but Maharana Pratap was surrounded by Mughal soldiers. It is said that at this point, his estranged brother, Shakti Singh, appeared and saved the Rana's life. Another casualty of this war was Maharana Pratap's famous, and loyal, horse Chetak, who gave up his life trying to save his Maharana.

After this war, Akbar tried several times to take over Mewar, failing each time. Maharana Pratap himself was keeping up his quest for taking Chittor back. However, the relentless attacks of the Mughal army had left his army weaker, and he barely had enough money to keep it going. It is said that at this time, one of his ministers, Bhama Shah, came and offered him all this wealth - a sum enabling Maharana Pratap to support an army of 25,000 for 12 years. It is said that before this generous gift from Bhama Shah, Maharana Pratap, anguished at the state of his subjects, was beginning to lose his spirit in fighting Akbar.

In one incident that caused him extreme pain, his children's meal - bread made from grass - was stolen by a dog. It is said that this cut into Maharana Pratap's heart deeply. He began to have doubts about his resolute refusal to submit to the Mughals. Perhaps in one of these moments of self doubt - something each and every human being goes through - Maharana Pratap wrote to Akbar demanding "a mitigation of his hardship". Overjoyed at this indication of his valiant foe's submission, Akbar commanded public rejoicing, and showed the letter to a literate Rajput at his Court, Prince Prithiraj. He was the younger brother of Rai Singh, the ruler of Bikaner, a State established some eighty years earlier by the Rathores of Marwar. He had been compelled to serve Akbar because of his kingdom's submission to the Mughals. An award-winning poet, Prithiraj was also a gallant warrior and a longtime admirer of the brave Maharana Pratap Singh. He was astonished and grieved by Maharana Pratap's decision, and told Akbar the note was the forgery of some foe to defame the Mewar king. "I know him well," he explained, "and he would never submit to your terms." He requested and obtained Akbar's permission to send a letter to Pratap, ostensibly to ascertain the fact of his submission, but really with a view to prevent it. He composed the couplets that have become famous in the annals of patriotism:

The hopes of the Hindu rest on the Hindu; yet the Rana forsakes them. But for Pratap, all would be placed on the same level by Akbar; for our chiefs have lost their valour and our females their honour. Akbar is the broker in the market of our race: he has purchased all but the son of Udai (Singh II of Mewar); he is beyond his price. What true Rajput would part with honour for nine days (nauroza); yet how many have bartered it away? Will Chittor come to this market ...? Though Patta (an affectionate name for Pratap Singh) has squandered away wealth (on warfare), yet he has preserved this treasure. Despair has driven man to this market, to witness their dishonour: from such infamy the descendant of Hamir (Hamir Singh) alone has been preserved. The world asks, from where does the concealed aid of Pratap emanate? None but the soul of manliness and his sword ... The broker in the market of men (Akbar) will one day be surpassed; he cannot live forever. Then will our race come to Pratap, for the seed of the Rajput to sow in our desolate lands. To him all look for its preservation, that its purity may again become resplendent.

The now-famous letter led to Pratap reversing his decision and not submitting to the Mughals, as was his initial but reluctant intention. After 1587, Akbar relinquished his obsessive pursuit of Maharana Pratap and took his battles into Punjab and India's Northwest Frontier. Thus for the last ten years of his life, Maharana Pratap ruled in relative peace and eventually freed most of Mewar, including Udaipur and Kumbhalgarh, but not Chittor. Bhagwat Singh Mewar: "Maharana Pratap Singh (was) called the light and life of the Hindu community. There were times when he and his family and children ate bread made of grass." Maharana Pratap became a patron of the Arts. During his reign Padmavat Charita and the poems of Dursa Ahada were written. Palaces at Ubheshwar, Kamal Nath and Chavand bear testimony to his love of architecture. These buildings, built in the dense hilly forest have walls adorned with military-style architecture. But Pratap's broken spirit overpowered him in the twilight of his years. His last moments were an appropriate commentary on his life, when he swore his successor, Crown Prince Amar Singh to eternal conflict against the foes of his country's independence. Maharana Pratap was never able to win back Chittor but he never gave up fighting to win it back.

In January 1597, Rana Pratap Singh I, Mewar's greatest hero, was seriously injured in a hunting accident. He left his body at Chavand, aged 56, on January 29, 1597. He died fighting for his nation, for his people, and most importantly for his honor.

United Nations

The United Nations (UN; French: les Nations unies) is an intergovernmental organization established 24 October 1945, to promote international co-operation. A replacement for the ineffective League of Nations, the organization was created following the Second World War to prevent another such conflict. At its founding, the UN had 51 member states; there are now 193. The headquarters of the United Nations is situated in Manhattan, New York City, and enjoys extraterritoriality. Further main offices are situated in Geneva, Nairobi and Vienna. The organization is financed by assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states. Its objectives include maintaining international peace and security, promoting human rights, fostering social and economic development, protecting the environment, and providing humanitarian aid in cases of famine, natural disaster, and armed conflict.

During the Second World War, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt initiated talks on a successor agency to the League of Nations, and the United Nations Charter was drafted at a conference in April–June 1945; this charter took effect 24 October 1945, and the UN began operation. The UN's mission to preserve world peace was complicated in its early decades by the Cold War between the US and Soviet Union and their respective allies. The organization participated in major actions in Korea and the Congo, as well as approving the creation of the state of Israel in 1947. The organization's membership grew significantly following widespread decolonization in the 1960s, and by the 1970s its budget for economic and social development programmes far outstripped its spending on peacekeeping. After the end of the Cold War, the UN took on major military and peacekeeping missions across the world with varying degrees of success.

Headquarter		New York City (International territory)
Membership		193 member states,2 observer states
Leaders		-  Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon  -  Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson  -  General Assembly President Sam Kutesa  -  Economic and Social Council President Martin Sajdik  -  Security Council President Gary Quinlan

TAJ MAHAL

In 1631, Shah Jahan, emperor during the Mughal empire's period of greatest prosperity, was grief-stricken when his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, a Persian princess, died during the birth of their 14th child, Gauhara Begum. Construction of the Taj Mahal began in 1632. The court chronicles of Shah Jahan's grief illustrate the love story traditionally held as an inspiration for Taj Mahal. The principal mausoleum was completed in 1648 and the surrounding buildings and garden were finished five years later. Emperor Shah Jahan himself described the Taj in these words

Should guilty seek asylum here,Like one pardoned, he becomes free from sin.Should a sinner make his way to this mansion,All his past sins are to be washed away.The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs;And the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes.In this world this edifice has been made;To display thereby the creator's glory.

The Taj Mahal incorporates and expands on design traditions of Persian architecture and earlier Mughal architecture. Specific inspiration came from successful Timurid and Mughal buildings including; the Gur-e Amir (the tomb of Timur, progenitor of the Mughal dynasty, in Samarkand), Humayun's Tomb, Itmad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb (sometimes called the Baby Taj), and Shah Jahan's own Jama Masjid in Delhi. While earlier Mughal buildings were primarily constructed of red sandstone, Shah Jahan promoted the use of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones, and buildings under his patronage reached new levels of refinement.

Aurangzeb

(1658 - 1707)

Abul Muzaffar Muhi-ud-Din Mohammad Aurangzeb, (14 October 1618 – 3 March 1707) commonly known as Aurangzeb Alamgir and by his imperial title Alamgir ("world-seizer or universe-seizer") was the sixth Mughal Emperor and ruled over most of the Indian subcontinent. His reign lasted for 49 years from 1658 until his death in 1707.
Aurangzeb was a notable expansionist and during his reign, the Mughal Empire reached its greatest extent. During his lifetime, victories in the south expanded the Mughal Empire to more than 3.2 million square kilometres and he ruled over a population estimated as being in the range of 100–150 million subjects. With an annual yearly tribute of £38,624,680 in 1690 (the highest in the world at that time).
Aurangzeb's policies partly abandoned the legacy of pluralism, which remains a very controversial aspect of his reign. Rebellions and wars led to the exhaustion of the imperial Mughal treasury and army. He was a strong and effective ruler, but with his death the great period of the Mughal Empire came to an end, and centralized control of the empire declined rapidly