Canberra, 7 January 2022 On the untimely death of Baji Rao, the Deccan faction in the Maratha court once again attempted to stop the hereditary appointment of the Chitpavan Brahmin Bhat family as Peshwas. This faction was led by Raghuji Bhonsle, who was also one of King Shahu’s favourite nobles. Raghuji had been at loggerheads […]
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Tag Archives: Rajputs
The Marathas Part 6 Shivaji Bhonsle Section IV Dealing with the Mughals 1. Shayista Khan and After
August 1, 2021 
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Canberra, 1 August 2021 Busy with settling his newly captured throne, Aurangzeb deputed Shayista Khan as the viceroy of the Mughal Deccan. Shayista Khan was Aurangzeb’s maternal uncle, a highly regarded noble of the court, and a veteran soldier who had knowledge of the Deccan since he had been part of the force that had […]
Continue readingIndian History The Marathas Part 1 Origins – The Fundamentals
May 16, 2021 0 Comments
Canberra, 16 May 2021 The Southern Peninsula of the Indian sub-continent, lying to the south of the Rivers Narmada and Mahanadi can be divided into five principal parts—Dravid, Carnatic, Telangana, Gondwana and Maharashtra. The territorial extent of each of these parts is normally defined based on the spread of the language that is spoken in […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 84 Aurangzeb Section III: Continuing Alienation of the Hindus – The Rajput War
February 2, 2021 0 Comments
Canberra, 2 February 2021 The Hindu Rajput princes were major allies of Mughal emperors, starting with Akbar and into the beginning of Aurangzeb’s reign, providing large military forces and unstinting, loyal and heroic leadership to the imperial Mughal army. In the chronicles of the day, the glorification of the military exploits of the Rajput princes […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 84 Aurangzeb Section II Alienation of the Hindus 1. The Jat Rebellion
January 20, 2021 0 Comments
Canberra, 20 January 2021 BACKGROUND Aurangzeb had won the Mughal throne as the champion of Sunni Muslim orthodoxy against the liberal-minded Dara, who had claimed the mantle of religious tolerance of his predecessors. On being defeated, Dara had been tried and convicted of being a heretic and subsequently executed, or more correctly, murdered. In the […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 84 Aurangzeb Section I: Settling In – The First Two Decades
January 12, 2021 0 Comments
Canberra, 12 January 2021 On 5th June 1659 (or on 15th June, according to some historians), Aurangzeb celebrated his coronation for the second time, after two decisive victories, over Shuja at Khajuha and Dara at Deorai. Unlike the earlier crowning, grand banquets and dazzling illumination enlivened these functions with many loyal officers and nobles promoted […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 81 Akbar Section IV The Conquering Emperor 2. Rajputana – Triumph and Tragedy
July 12, 2020 0 Comments
Canberra, 12 July 2020 Akbar was now reasonably comfortable, the north-west was secure and the eastern borders were without any serious disturbances, although Bihar and Bengal remained outside his ambit. He now turned his attention to Rajputana, also referred to as Rajasthan, the largest part of Western India. (Although the exact geographical boundary of Rajputana […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 79 Babur – First of the Great Mughals Section V: A Dynasty is Established
April 6, 2020 0 Comments
Canberra, 6 April 2020 On arrival at Agra, Babur was presented a magnificent diamond by Humayun his son, who had taken charge of the Lodi capital. The stone had been given to Humayun by the family of the Raja of Gwalior who had taken shelter in the Agra fort, since the Raja had died in […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 50: The Ghurids
June 1, 2016 0 Comments
Canberra, 1 June 2016 The Sansabani clan of Ghur (also known as Ghor) were of Tajik Iranian origin as can be derived from their original name Al e-Sansab in Persian, which in the colloquial language of Afghanistan became Sansabani. There are recent claims that the Ghurids were Pashtuns, which is an incorrect assertion not […]
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. […]
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Sanu Kainikara 
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