Canberra, 21 June 2021 Shivaji was born in April–May 1627, with 6th/10th April being generally accepted as the actual date, at the fort of Shivner near Junnar. Some accounts give the date as Monday, 10 February 1630, which is the one accepted by Sir Jadunath Sarkar, a well-known historian and an acknowledged authority on medieval […]
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Tag Archives: Hinduism
The Marathas Prelude: The Indian Sub-continent in the 16th Century – Politics & Religion
May 26, 2021 
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Canberra, 26 May 2021 Geographically, the 16th century Indian sub-continent was similar to modern India, with the inclusion of Afghanistan and Baluchistan within its borders. [In this series of books ‘From Indus to Independence: A Trek through Indian History’ that narrate the history of the Indian sub-continent, the countries of Pakistan created in 1947 and […]
Continue readingThe Marathas Part 2: Framing the Maratha Identity
May 21, 2021 1 Comment
Canberra, 21 May 2021 By late 13th century, the Hindu revolt in Peninsular India against the invading Muslim forces was bitter and widespread. Even the learned heads of various Hindu ‘Maths’, monasteries, were involved in attempting to repel the Muslim invaders. Shankaracharya Madhav Vidyaranya, the head of the famous and powerful Sringeri Math, was one […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 61 The Dance of Religions; Section IV The Medieval Hindu Revival
January 2, 2018 0 Comments
Udaipur, India 2 January 2017 REFORM THROUGH BHAKTI At the time when the Islamic conquest of the sub-continent began in earnest, Hindu Brahmanism was fully established in India. All religious questioning and competition that had been posed by Buddhism and Jainism had been comprehensively removed. The most important socio-cultural event of the 14th and 15th […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 61 Section III: The Mingling Mysticism
December 18, 2017 0 Comments
Mumbai, 18 December 2017 In early 14th century the religious make up of India was gradually altering. Buddhism had almost vanished from the land of its birth; Jainism was confined to a narrow area in the west of the sub-continent; and Islam was in its infancy, spread across scattered settlements in North India and […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 61 The Dance of the Religions Section I: The Assiduous Power of Hinduism
December 10, 2017 0 Comments
Canberra, 10 December 2017 From the earliest times, Indian civilisation has flourished within the confines of a great social and religious system called Hinduism. Although Hinduism is now equated to a religion, it has always been, and continues to be, a system as old and unique as the civilisation that it nurtured. The initiation, […]
Continue readingPart 55 KHILJI MILITARISM Section III Ala ud-Din Khilji – Military Conquests
March 12, 2017 0 Comments
Canberra, 12 March 2017 In medieval times a kingdom’s foreign policy was inextricably intertwined with both offensive and defensive military expeditions. This was the universal truth. Ala ud-Din was one of the most ambitious rulers to have sat on the throne of Delhi. Therefore, it is not surprising that after successfully establishing himself as […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 45 ISLAM IN INDIA: AN OVERVIEW OF THE EARLY DAYS
October 28, 2015 0 Comments
Canberra, 28 October 2015 Analysing and explaining the arrival of Islam and its deepening thrust into the Indian sub-continent is an endeavour in Indian historiography that is fraught with difficulty, primarily because of the confrontational rhetoric associated with any discussion of the religion in the 21st century, both in India and elsewhere in the world. […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 23: THE INDIAN APPROACH TO PHILOSOPHY
January 2, 2014 1 Comment
Canberra, 2 January 2014 Indian philosophy has its roots in the Vedic period and was initially an attempt by the great sages of that era to find answers to the fundamental questions of human existence: What is the world? If it is a creation, then who was the creator? What is life? What is ‘truth’? […]
Continue readingFROM INDUS TO INDEPENDENCE: A TREK THROUGH INDIAN HISTORY Part 6
January 19, 2013 0 Comments
Canberra, 19 January 2013 OF HINDUISM, THE CONCEPT OF TIME, AND THE VARNA SYSTEM The Vedic form of belief and worship is the precursor to modern Hinduism. The Vedic mode of worship consisted of the performance of sacrifices (yajna) to the accompaniment of the chanting of Rig Vedic verses and other songs. The word […]
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