Khudiram Bose

Khudiram Bose was born in a Bengali Hindu family on 3 December 1889 in the village Habibpur near the town of Midnapur in the Midnapore district of West Bengal.

Revolutionary activities

In 1902 and 1903, when Sri Aurobindo (who was in the earlier stage of his life a revolutionary leader and ideologue) and Sister Nivedita respectively visited Medinipur and held a series of public lectures along with secret planning sessions with the revolutionary groups; Khudiram was among the teenage student community of the town which was fired up with a burning inspiration of revolution. It was from then that Khudiram took his first steps towards choosing the path that would make him a boy-martyr. Khudiram as a student, dared to request a teacher, Hemchandra Kanungo for a revolver.

At the young age of sixteen, Bose planted bombs near police stations and targeted government officials. He was arrested three years later on charges of conducting a series of bomb attacks. The specific bombing for which he was sentenced to death resulted in the deaths of 3 persons.

The Muzaffarpur killing

Khudiram was sent to the region called Motijhil in Muzaffarpur, Bihar. On reaching the town, he took up residence in the 'dharmashala' of Kishorimohan Bandopadhyay. He took on "code names"—Khudiram adopted the name "Haren Sarkar", He gave himself a few days time to closely observe the daily routine, activities and movements of his target, Kingsford—taking note of his timings at the court, the club and his house.

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan

Khān Abdul Ghaffār Khān (1890 – 20 January 1988) also known as Fakhr-e Afghān, and Bāchā Khān, Pāchā Khān or Bādshāh Khān, was an independence activist of Pashtun descent. He was a political and spiritual leader known for his nonviolent opposition to the British Raj in British India, and a lifelong pacifist and devout Muslim. A close friend of Mahatma Gandhi, Bacha Khan has been called the "Frontier Gandhi" by the Indians. In 1910, Bacha Khan opened a mosque school at his hometown Utmanzai, and in 1911 joined the freedom movement of Haji Sahib of Turangzai. However in 1915, the British authorities banned his mosque school. Having witnessed the repeated failure of revolts against the British Raj, Bacha Khan decided that social activism and reform would be more beneficial for the Pashtuns. This led to the formation of Anjuman-e Islāh al-Afghān ("Afghan Reform Society") in 1921, and the youth movement Pax̌tūn Jirga ("Pashtun Assembly") in 1927. After Bacha Khan's return from the Hajj in May 1928, he founded the Pashto language monthly political journal Pax̌tūn. Finally, in November 1929, Bacha Khan founded the Khudai Khidmatgar ("Servants of God") movement, whose success triggered a harsh crackdown by the British Empire against him and his supporters and they suffered some of the most severe repression of the Indian independence movement. In 1962, Bacha Khan was named the Amnesty International Prisoner of Conscience of the Year. In 1987, he became the first non-Indian to be awarded Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award. Bacha Khan was an important freedom fighter, and is a Pashtun national hero and a key figure of Pashtun nationalism.

Gopal Krishna Gokhale

Gopal Krishna Gokhale (9 May 1866 – 19 February 1915) was one of the founding social and political leaders during the Indian Independence Movement against the British Empire in India. Gokhale was a senior leader of the Indian National Congress and founder of the Servants of India Society. Through the Society as well as the Congress and other legislative bodies he served in, Gokhale promoted not only primarily independence from the British Empire but also social reform. To achieve his goals, Gokhale followed two overarching principles: non-violence and reform within existing government institutions.

Background and education

Gopal Krishna Gokhale was born on May 9, 1866 in Kothluk village of Guhagar taluka in Ratnagiri district, in present-day Maharashtra (then part of the Bombay Presidency) in a Chitpavan Brahmin Family. Despite being relatively poor, his family ensured that Gokhale received an English education, which would place Gokhale in a position to obtain employment as a clerk or minor official in the British Raj. Being one of the first generations of Indians to receive a university education, Gokhale graduated from Elphinstone College in 1884. Gokhale’s education tremendously influenced the course of his future career – in addition to learning English, he was exposed to western political thought and became a great admirer of theorists such as John Stuart Mill and Edmund Burke. Although he would come to criticize unhesitatingly many aspects of the English colonial regime, the respect for English political theory and institutions that Gokhale acquired in his college years would remain with him for the rest of his life. Gopal Krishna Gokhale, was one of the founding social and political leaders during the Indian Independence Movement against the British Empire in India. Gokhale was a senior leader of the Indian National Congress and founder of the Servants of India Society. Through the Society as well as the Congress and other legislative bodies he served in, Gokhale promoted not only primarily independence from the British Empire but also social reform. To achieve his goals, Gokhale followed two overarching principles: non-violence and reform within existing government institutions..

Lala Lajpat Rai

Lala Lajpat Rai (28 January 1865 – 17 November 1928) was an Indian author and politician who is chiefly remembered as a leader in the Indian fight for independence from the British Raj. He was popularly known as Punjab Kesari meaning The Lion of Punjab also known as "Sher-E- Punjab" in Hindi. He was part of the Lal Bal Pal trio. He was also associated with activities of Punjab National Bank and Lakshmi Insurance Company in their early stages. He sustained serious injuries by the police when leading a non-violent protest against the Simon Commission and died less than three weeks later. His death anniversary (November 17) is one of several days celebrated as Martyrs' Day in India.

Early life

Lajpat Rai was born in Dhudike (now in Moga district, Punjab) on 28 January 1865. (The word 'Lala' is an honorific, applied to prominent Hindu men of the time.) His grandfather was a Svetambara Jain. Rai had his initial education in Government Higher Secondary School, Rewari (now in Haryana, previously in Punjab), in the late 1870s and early 1880s, where his father, Radha Krishan, was an Urdu teacher. Rai was influenced by Hinduism and created a career of reforming Indian policy through politics and writing. (When studying law in Lahore, he continued to practice Hinduism. He became a large believer in the idea that Hinduism, above nationality, was the pivotal point upon which an Indian lifestyle must be based.) Hinduism, he believed, led to practices of peace to humanity, and the idea that when nationalist ideas were added to this peaceful belief system, a non-secular nation could be formed. His involvement with Hindu Mahasabha leaders gathered criticism from the Bharat Sabha as the Mahasabhas were non-secular, which did not conform with the system laid out by the Indian National Congress. This focus on Hindu practices in the subcontinent would ultimately lead him to the continuation of peaceful movements to create successful demonstrations for Indian independence. He was a devotee of Arya Samaj and was editor of Arya Gazette, which he set up during his student time. After joining Indian National Congress, he took part in political agitation in Punjab, for this he was deported to Mandalay (Burma-Now Myanmar), but after few months Lord Minto allowed him to return India because he has not sufficient evidences to prove Lala Lajpat Rai as guilty.

Gwalior Fort

Gwalior Fort is an 8th century hill fort near Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, central India. The fort consists of a

defensive structure and two palaces, Gurjari Mahal and Man Mandir, built by Man Singh Tomar. The Gurjari Mahal palace was built for Queen Mrignayani, now an archaeological museum. The fort has been controlled by a number of different rulers over time.

Topography

The fort is built on an outcrop of Vindhyan sandstone on a solitary, rocky, long, thin, steep hill called Gopachal. The geology of the Gwalior range rock formations is ochre coloured sandstone covered with basalt. There is a horizontal strata, 342 feet (104 m) at its highest point (length 1.5 miles (2.4 km) and average width 300 yards (270 m)).The stratum forms a near perpendicular precipice. A small river, the Swarnrekha, flows close to the palace.

Rulers

Bhangarh

Bhangarh is a place between Jaipur and Delhi in Rajasthan state of India known for its ruins. Bhangarh is also a pre-historic site. The most remarkable of its buildings are the temples of Gopinath, Shiva (Someshwar), Mangla Devi, Lavina Devi and Keshava Rai. Other buildings include shops along the main road, several havelis, a mosque, and a palace. The palace was protected by two inner fortifications across the valley. The town is separated from the plain by ramparts with five gates.

The town was established in 1573 (VS 1631) during the rule of Bhagwant Das as the residence of his second son Madho Singh, the younger brother of Emperor Akbar’s general, Man Singh I. Madho Singh participated in many campaigns with his father and brother. The next ruler of Bhangarh was his son Chhatr Singh, after whose death in 1630, Bhangarh slowly declined. When the Mughal Empire became weaker after the death of Aurangzeb, Jai Singh II attached Bhangarh to his state by force in 1720. After this Bhangarh diminished in population, and since the famine of 1783 (VS 1840) the town has remained uninhabited.

Entry to Bhangarh is legally prohibited between sunset and sunrise. It's the only 'Legally Haunted' location recognized by the Indian Government. A signboard posted by ASI (Archaeological Survey of India), which is a Government of India organization, specifies the instructions. While the board is written in Hindi, the instructions on it roughly translate into: "Entering the borders of Bhangarh before sunrise and after sunset is strictly prohibited. Legal action would be taken against anybody who does not follow these instructions" .Some other rules are there according to which no one is allowed to graze their animals after sunset.

Causes of the French Revolution

The causes of the French Revolution are those significant factors that led to the French Revolution in 1789.

Although France in 1785 faced economic difficulties, mostly concerning the equitability of taxation, it was one of the richest and most powerful nations of Europe. The French people also enjoyed more political freedom and a lower incidence of arbitrary punishment than any of their fellow Europeans. However, Louis XVI, his ministers, and the widespread French nobility had become immensely unpopular. This was a consequence of the fact that peasants and, to a lesser extent, the poor and those aspiring to be bourgeoisie, were burdened with ruinously high taxes levied to support a wealthy monarchy, along with aristocrats and their sumptuous, often gluttonous lifestyles.

The fall of the ancien régime in France may be blamed, in part, on its own rigidity. Aristocrats were confronted by the rising ambitions of the merchants, tradesmen and prosperous farmers, who were allied with aggrieved peasants, wage-earners and intellectuals influenced by the ideas of Enlightenment philosophers. As the revolution proceeded, power devolved from the monarchy and the privileged-by-birth to more-representative political bodies, like legislative assemblies, but conflicts among the formerly allied republican groups became the source of considerable discord and bloodshed.

American War of Independence

The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War in the United States, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Thirteen Colonies, but gradually grew into a world war between Britain on one side and the newly formed United States, France, Netherlands, Spain, and Mysore on the other. The main result was an American victory and European recognition of the independence of the United States, with mixed results for the other powers.

The war was the result of the political American Revolution. The British Parliament insisted it had the right to tax colonists to finance the colonies' military defense, which had become increasingly expensive due to the French and Indian Wars. The colonies argued that they already spent much through local government to maintain their place in the British Empire, with Benjamin Franklin appearing before the British Parliament testifying "The Colonies raised, clothed, and paid, during the last war, near twenty-five thousand men, and spent many millions." The colonists claimed that, as they were British subjects, imposing laws in Parliament upon the colonists, and particularly taxation without representation, was illegal. The American colonists formed a unifying Continental Congress and a shadow government in each colony, though at first wishing to remain in the Empire and loyal to the Crown.

Queen Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called "The Virgin Queen", "Gloriana" or "Good Queen Bess", Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty. The daughter of Henry VIII, she was born a princess, but her mother, Anne Boleyn, was executed two and a half years after her birth, and Elizabeth was declared illegitimate. Her half-brother, Edward VI, bequeathed the crown to Lady Jane Grey, cutting his two half-sisters, Elizabeth and the Catholic Mary, out of the succession in spite of statute law to the contrary. His will was set aside, Mary became queen, and Lady Jane Grey was executed. In 1558, Elizabeth succeeded her half-sister, during whose reign she had been imprisoned for nearly a year on suspicion of supporting Protestant rebels.

Elizabeth set out to rule by good counsel, and she depended heavily on a group of trusted advisers led by William Cecil, Baron Burghley. One of her first moves as queen was the establishment of an English Protestant church, of which she became the Supreme Governor. This Elizabethan Religious Settlement later evolved into today's Church of England. It was expected that Elizabeth would marry and produce an heir so as to continue the Tudor line. She never did, however, despite numerous courtships. As she grew older, Elizabeth became famous for her virginity, and a cult grew up around her which was celebrated in the portraits, pageants, and literature of the day.

Shahanshah Akbar

Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Akbar also known as Shahanshah Akbar-e-Azam (14 October 1542

 – 27 October 1605), was the third Mughal Emperor. He was of Timurid descent; the son of Emperor Humayun, and the grandson of the Mughal Emperor Zaheeruddin Muhammad Babur, the ruler who founded the Mughal dynasty in India. At the end of his reign in 1605 the Mughal empire covered most of northern and central India. He is most appreciated for having a liberal outlook on all faiths and beliefs and during his era, culture and art reached a zenith as compared to his predecessors.

Akbar was 13 years old when he ascended the Mughal throne in Delhi (February 1556), following the death of his father Humayun. During his reign, he eliminated military threats from the powerful Pashtun descendants of Sher Shah Suri, and at the Second Battle of Panipat he decisively defeated the newly self-declared Hindu king Hemu. It took him nearly two more decades to consolidate his power and bring all the parts of northern and central India into his direct realm. He influenced the whole of the Indian Subcontinent as he ruled a greater part of it as an emperor. As an emperor, Akbar solidified his rule by pursuing diplomacy with the powerful Hindu Rajput caste, and by marrying a Rajput princess.

Akbar's reign significantly influenced art and culture in the country. He was a great patron of art and architecture  He took a great interest in painting, and had the walls of his palaces adorned with murals. Besides encouraging the development of the Mughal school, he also patronised the European style of painting. He was fond of literature, and had several Sanskrit works translated into Persian and Persian scriptures translated in Sanskrit apart from getting many Persian works illustrated by painters from his court. During the early years of his reign, he showed intolerant attitude towards Hindus and other religions, but later exercised tolerance towards non-Islamic faiths by rolling back some of the strict sharia laws. His administration included numerous Hindu landlords, courtiers and military generals. He began a series of religious debates where Muslim scholars would debate religious matters with Hindus, Jains, Zoroastrians and Portuguese Roman Catholic Jesuits. He treated these religious leaders with great consideration, irrespective of their faith, and revered them. He not only granted lands and money for the mosques but the list of the recipients included a huge number Hindu temples in north and central India, Christian churches in Goa.

Tirthankara Mahavira

Vardhamāna Mahāvīra (599–527 BCE) is the name most commonly used to refer to one of the tirthankara of Jainism. Mahavira who was one of the major propagators of Jainism. According to Jain tradition, he was the 24th and the last tirthankara.

Life

The ancient texts refer to Mahavira as Nayaputta (son of Nayas). This referred his clan of origin,

which is translated in sanskrit as jnatra. The acharanga sutra of svetambara describes Mahavira as all-seeing not all-knowing. Sutrakritanga however elaborates the concept as all knowing and provides details of other qualities of Mahavira.

Birth

Mahavira was born in a place called Kuṇḍagrama. It is a place said to be near Vaishali. However, historians cannot yet pinpoint where exactly this place Kundagrama was. He was the son of Siddartha and Trishala. He was born on the 13th day under the rising moon of Chaitra (12 April according to the Gregorian calendar). While still in his mother's womb it is believed he brought wealth and prosperity to the entire kingdom, which is why he was named Vardhaman. An increase of good things, like the abundant bloom of beautiful flowers, was noticed in the kingdom after his conception. Trishala had a number of auspicious dreams before giving birth to Vardhaman (14 according to the Svetambaras and 16 according to the Digambaras), signs foretelling the advent of a great soul. Vardhaman's birthday is celebrated as Mahavir Janma Kalyanak, the most important religious holiday of Jains around the world.

Transfer of embryo

Samudragupta

Samudragupta, ruler of the Gupta Empire (c.AD 335 – 375), and successor to Chandragupta I, is considered to be one of the greatest military geniuses in Indian history according to Historian V.A Smith. His name is taken to be a title acquired by his conquests (Samudra referring to the 'oceans'). Samudragupta the Great is believed to have been his father's chosen successor even though he had several older brothers. Therefore, some believe that after the death of Chandragupta I, there was a struggle for succession in which Samudragupta prevailed.

The Empire

The main source of Samudragupta's history is an inscription engraved on one of the rocks set up by Ashoka the Great in Kausambi ( present day Allahabad). In this inscription Samudragupta details his conquests. This inscription is also important because of the political geography of India that it indicates by naming the different kings and peoples who populated India in the first half of the fourth century AD. The inscription to Samudragupta's martial exploits states that its author is Harishena, who was an important poet of Samudragupta's court.

The beginning of Samudragupta's reign was marked by the defeat of his immediate neighbours, Achyuta, ruler of Ahichchhatra, and Nagasena. Following this Samudragupta began a campaign against the kingdoms to the south. This southern campaign took him south along the Bay of Bengal. He passed through the forest tracts of Madhya Pradesh, crossed the Orissa coast, marched through Ganjam, Vishakapatnam, Godavari, Krishna and Nellore districts and may have reached as far as Kancheepuram. Here however he did not attempt to maintain direct control. After capturing his enemies he reinstated them as tributary kings. This act prevented the Gupta Empire from attaining the almost immediate demise of the Maurya Empire of Ashoka the Great and is a testament to his abilities as a statesman. The details of Samudragupta's campaigns are too numerous to recount here. These can be found in the first reference below. However it is clear that he possessed a powerful navy in addition to his army. In addition to tributary kingdoms, many other rulers of foreign states like the Saka and Kushan kings accepted the suzerainty of Samudragupta and offered him their services.

Chandragupta II

Chandragupta II the Great (very often referred to as Vikramaditya or Chandragupta Vikramaditya) was one of the most powerful emperors of the Gupta empire. His rule spanned 375-413/15 CE, during which the Gupta Empire achieved its zenith. The period of prominence of the Gupta dynasty is very often referred to as the Golden Age of India. Chandragupta II the Great was the son of the previous ruler, Samudragupta the Great. He attained success by pursuing both a favorable marital alliance and an aggressive expansionist policy. In this his father and grandfather set the precedent.

Biography

Not much is known about the personal details of the great king. His mother, Datta Devi, was the chief queen of Samudragupta the Great. After Samudragupta's death, Ramgupta his brother took over the throne and also married Chandragupta's fiance 'Dhruvaswamini by force. The most widely accepted details have been built upon the plot of the play 'Devi-Chandraguptam' of Vishakadatta. The play is now lost but fragments have been preserved in other works (Abhinava-bharati, Sringara-prakasha, Natya-darpana, Nataka-lakshana Ratna-kosha). There even exists an Arabic work Mujmalu-t-Tawarikh which tells a similar tale of a king whose name appears to be a corruption of 'Vikramaditya'.He holds a semi-mythical status in India. The most popular native calendar which happens to be a lunar calendar goes after his name. It is widely believed that the great poet in Sanskrit, Mahakavi Kalidasa was one of the jewels of his royal court.

The fragment from Natya-darpana mentions the king Ramagupta, the elder brother of Chandragupta, surrendering his queen Dhruvaswamini to the Saka king of the Western Kshatrapas Rudrasimha III, after a defeat at the Saka king's hands. To avoid the ignominy the Guptas decide to send Madhavasena, a courtesan and a beloved of Chandragupta, disguised as the queen. Chandragupta changes the plan and himself goes to the Saka King disguised as the queen. He then kills Rudrasimha and later his brother Ramagupta. Dhruvaswamini is then married to Chandragupta.

Chandragupta I

The Gupta dynasty first seems to be in eminence with the accession of Chandra Gupta I, son of Ghatotkacha to the throne of the ancestral Gupta kingdom. While his two ancestors were given the title of Maharaja(king), Chandra Gupta I is described in his inscriptions as Maharajadhiraj(king of kings) signifying a rise in the family fortunes. A series of gold coins issued by the king also testifies to his rising influence. The well known Gupta era which commenced on February 26, 320 AD  is generally attributed to Chandra Gupta I. Hence it is surmised that the Gupta era began on the occasion of the coronation of Chandra Gupta I. According to the Puranas the Guptas ruled over territories (referred to as Janapadas) such as Prayag (Allahabad), Saket(Oudh) and Magadh(south Bihar). This description of the Gupta dominion precedes the reign of Samudragupta and hence must refer to the territories ruled over by Chandragupta I.

The coins issued by Chandra Gupta commemorate his marital union with the Lichchhavi princess. Gupta the Great is always referred to in the genealogical accounts of the imperial Guptas as 'daughter's son of the Lichchhavis'. The maternal genealogy is never mentioned in the records of other kings. V.A. Smith places the Lichchhavi kingdom as that the Lichchhavi dynasty was ruling somewhere in North Bihar, between Nepal and Vaisali. A Lichchavi dynasty was also the rulers of Nepal which points to the Lichchhavi dynastes were playing in the politics of the age in eastern India. It is probable Guptas ruled over Gupta by his marriage with Kumaradevi. This considerably strengthened the position of the Guptas and may have allowed its subsequent rapid expansion under Samudra Gupta.

Most records indicate that Chandragupta reigned in the period c. 319-335 A.D. The Allahabad inscription on Samudra Gupta by Harishen seems to suggest that he publicly announced Samudra Gupta the Great as the heir apparent and may have abdicated the throne in his son's favour.

Kalinga War

The Kalinga War was a war fought between the Mauryan Empire under Ashoka the Great and the state of Kalinga, a feudal republic located on the coast of the present-day Indian state of Orissa. The Kalinga war is one of the major battles in the History of India. Kalinga put up a stiff resistance, but they were no match for Ashoka's brutal strength. The bloodshed of this war is said to have prompted Ashoka to adopt Buddhism.

The main reasons for invading Kalinga were both political and economic. Since the time of Ashoka's father, King Bindusara, the Mauryan Empire based in Magadha was following a policy of territorial expansion. Kalinga was under Magadha control during the Nanda rule, but regained independence with the beginning of the rule of the Mauryas. That was considered a great setback for the traditional policy of territorial expansion of the Magadhan emperors and was considered to be a loss of political prestige for the Mauryas.

Possibly Kalinga was a thorn in the body-politic of his dominions. Andhra, which lay to the south of Kalinga and comprised inter alia the modern Krishna and Godavari districts, was conquered by Bindusara. Thus on one side of the Maurya kingdom was Chola and on the other Kalinga. It is not unreasonable to suppose that in Bindusara's war on Chola and Pandya, Kalinga was an ally of the latter, attacked the Maurya forces from the rear and was thus chiefly instrumental in its ending in failure. It was therefore perhaps supremely imperative to reduce Kalinga to complete subjection. To this task Ashoka must have set himself as soon as he felt he was securely established on the throne.

The overseas activities of Kalinga threatened the economic and commercial interest of Magadha. As Magadha was not an important sea power she had to depend on other friendly states having overseas commerce to sustain her own economic interest. She would face economic collapse if the coasts would be blockaded against her. The hostile attitude of the traders of Kalinga inflicted a serious damage on her which is alluded to by Lama Taranatha. According to Taranatha, the serpents of the eastern seas stole away the jewels of Ashoka at which the emperor became angry and invaded their territory. Thus a war with Kalinga was not only political but also of economic necessity.

The pretext for the start of the war is uncertain. One of Susima's brothers might have fled to Kalinga and found official refuge there. This enraged Ashoka immensely. He was advised by his ministers to attack Kalinga for this act of treachery. Ashoka then asked Kalinga's royalty to submit before his supremacy. When they defied this diktat, Ashoka sent one of his generals to Kalinga to make them submit.The general and his forces were, however, completely routed through the skilled tact of Kalinga's commander-in-chief. Ashoka, baffled at this defeat, attacked with the greatest invasion ever recorded in Indian history until then.

As Ramesh Prasad Mohapatra remarks, "No war in the history of India as important either for its intensity or for its results as the Kalinga war of Ashoka. No wars in the annals of the human history has changed the heart of the victor from one of wanton cruelty to that of an exemplary piety as this one. From its fathomless womb the history of the world may find out only a few wars to its credit which may be equal to this war and not a single one that would be greater than this. The political history of mankind is really a history of wars and no war has ended with so successful a mission of the peace for the entire war-torn humanity as the war of Kalinga." The war began in the 8th year of Ashoka's reign, probably in 261 BC. Ashoka's grandfather Chandragupta had previously attempted to conquer Kalinga, but had been repulsed. After a bloody battle for the throne after Bindusara's death, Ashoka tried to annex Kalinga. Ashoka was successful only after a savage war, whose consequences changed Ashoka's views on war and led him to pledge never to wage a war. It is said that in the aftermath of the Battle of Kalinga the Daya River running next to the battle field turned red with the blood of the slain; about 100,000 Kalinga civilians and more than 100,000 of Ashoka's own warriors were among those slain.

Dhauli hill is presumed to be the area where the Kalinga War was fought. The historically important Dhauli hills are located on the banks of the Daya River of Bhubaneswar in Odisha (India). Dhauli hill, with a vast open space adjoining it, has major Edicts of Ashoka engraved on a mass of rock by the side of the road leading to the summit of the hill.

Ashoka had seen the bloodshed with his own eyes and felt that he was the cause of the destruction. The whole of Kalinga was plundered and destroyed. Ashoka's later edicts state that about 100,000 people were killed on the Kalinga side and 100,000 from Ashoka's army. Thousands of men and women were deported.

Ashoka's response to the Kalinga War is recorded in the Edicts of Ashoka. According to some of these (Rock Edict XIII and Minor Rock Edict I), the Kalinga War prompted Ashoka, already a non-engaged Buddhist, to devote the rest of his life to Ahinsa (non-violence) and to Dhamma-Vijaya (victory through Dhamma). Following the conquest of Kalinga, Ashoka ended the military expansion of the empire, and led the empire through more than 40 years of relative peace, harmony and prosperity.

"Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Priyadarsi, conquered the Kalingas eight years after his coronation. One hundred and fifty thousand were deported, one hundred thousand were killed and many more died (from other causes). After the Kalingas had been conquered, Beloved-of-the-Gods came to feel a strong inclination towards the Dhamma, a love for the Dhamma and for instruction in Dhamma. Now Beloved-of-the-Gods feels deep remorse for having conquered the Kalingas." Rock Edict No.13

Word-of-mouth stories passed down to us from our fore-fathers tells us that after the war was over and Ashoka the Great saw the destruction he had caused, a woman approached him and said, "Your actions have taken from me my father, husband, and son. Now what will I have left to live for?". Moved by these words, it is said, that he accepted/adopted Buddhism. He vowed to never take life again and became one of the most just ruler India has ever seen.

Ashoka

Ashoka popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from ca. 269 BC to 232 BC. One of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over most of present-day India after a number of military conquests. His empire stretched from present-day Pakistan, Afghanistan and eastern parts of Iran in the west, to the present-day Bangladesh and the Indian state of Assam in the east, and as far south as northern Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. He conquered the kingdom named Kalinga, which no one in his dynasty had conquered starting from Chandragupta Maurya. His reign was headquartered in Magadha (present-day Bihar, India). He embraced Buddhism from the prevalent Brahminism tradition after witnessing the mass deaths of the war of Kalinga, which he himself had waged out of a desire for conquest. He was later dedicated to the propagation of Buddhism across Asia and established monuments marking several significant sites in the life of Gautama Buddha. Ashoka was a devotee of ahinsa (nonviolence), love, truth, tolerance and vegetarianism. Ashoka is remembered in history as a philanthropic administrator. In the history of India, Ashoka is referred to as Chakravarti Samraat Ashoka - the Emperor of Emperors Ashoka.

Bindusara

Bindusara was the second Mauryan emperor (c. 320 BC – 272 BC, ruled. 298 BC – c. 272 BC) after Chandragupta Maurya the Great. During his reign, the empire expanded southwards. He had two well-known sons, Susima and Ashoka, who were the viceroys of Taxila and Ujjain. The Greeks called him Amitrochates or Allitrochades - the Greek transliteration for the Sanskrit word 'Amitraghata' (Slayer of enemies). He was also called 'Ajatashatru' (Man with no enemies) in Sanskrit.

Bindusara was the son of the first Mauryan emperor Chandragupta and his queen Durdhara. According to a legend mentioned in the Jain texts, Chandragupta's Guru and advisor Chanakya used to feed the emperor with small doses of poison to build his immunity against possible poisoning attempts by the enemies. One day, Chandragupta not knowing about poison, shared his food with his pregnant wife queen Durdhara who was 7 days away from delivery. The queen not immune to the poison collapsed and died within few minutes. Chanakya entered the room the very time she collapsed, and in order to save the child in the womb, he immediately cut open the dead queen's belly and took the baby out, by that time a drop of poison had already reached the baby and touched its head due to which child got a permanent blueish spot on his forehead. Thus, the newborn was named "Bindusara".

Bindusara inherited a large empire that consisted of what is now, Northern, Central and Eastern parts of India along with parts of Afghanistan and Baluchistan. Bindusara extended this empire to the southern part of India, as far as what is now known as Karnataka. He brought sixteen states under the Mauryan Empire and thus conquered almost all of the Indian peninsula (he is said to have conquered the 'land between the two seas' - the peninsular region between the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea). Bindusara didn't conquer the friendly Dravidian kingdoms of the Cholas, Pandyas, and Cheras. Apart from these southern states, Kalinga (the modern Orissa) was the only kingdom in India that didn't form the part of Bindusara's empire. It was later conquered by his son Ashoka, who served as the viceroy of Ujjaini during his father's reign.

Bindusara's life has not been documented as well as that of his father Chandragupta or of his son Ashoka. Chanakya continued to serve as prime minister during his reign. During his rule, the citizens of Taxila revolted twice. The reason for the first revolt was the maladministration of Suseema, his eldest son. The reason for the second revolt is unknown, but Bindusara could not suppress it in his lifetime. It was crushed by Ashoka after Bindusara's death.

Ambassadors from Seleucid Empire (such as Deimachus) and Egypt visited his courts. He maintained good relations with the Hellenic World. Unlike his father Chandragupta (who was a Jain), he believed in the Ajivika (an ancient Indian sect that preached equality for all people).

Bindusara died in 273 BC (some records say 268 BC) and was succeeded by his son Ashoka the Great.

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564; died 23 April 1616) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His surviving works, including some collaborations, consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children:Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others.

Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886. The statue, a gift to the United States from the people of France, is of a robed female figure representing Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom, who bears a torch and a tabula ansata (a tablet evoking the law) upon which is inscribed the date of the American Declaration of Independence. A broken chain lies at her feet. The statue has become an iconic symbol of freedom and of the United States.

Bartholdi was inspired by French law professor and politician Édouard René de Laboulaye, who commented in 1865 that any monument raised to American independence would properly be a joint project of the French and American peoples. Due to the troubled political situation in France, work on the statue did not commence until the early 1870s. In 1875, Laboulaye proposed that the French finance the statue and the Americans provide the pedestal and the site. Bartholdi completed both the head and the torch-bearing arm before the statue was fully designed, and these pieces were exhibited for publicity at international expositions. The arm was displayed in New York's Madison Square Park from 1876 to 1882. Fundraising proved difficult, especially for the Americans, and by 1885 work on the pedestal was threatened due to lack of funds. Publisher Joseph Pulitzer of the World initiated a drive for donations to complete the project, and the campaign inspired over 120,000 contributors, most of whom gave less than a dollar. The statue was constructed in France, shipped overseas in crates, and assembled on the completed pedestal on what was then called Bedloe's Island. The statue's completion was marked by New York's first ticker-tape parade and a dedication ceremony presided over by President Grover Cleveland.

Chhota Imambara

Chhota Imambara (छोटा इमामबाड़ा), also known as Hussainabad Imambara is an imposing monument located in the city of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. Built by Muhammad Ali Shah, The third Nawab of Avadh in 1838, it was to serve as his own mausoleum. It is also known as the Palace of Lights because of its decorations during special festivals.

The chandeliers used to decorate the interior of this building was brought from Belgium. Thousands of labourers worked on the project to gain famine relief.

It has a gilded white dome and several turrets and minarets. The tombs of Muhammad Ali Shah and other members of his family are inside the imambara. The walls are decorated with Arabic calligraphy.

Outside the imambara is the watch tower called Satkhanda or tower of seven storeys. Though it is called satkhanda, it has only four storeys, as the construction of the tower was abandoned when Ali Shah died. satkhanda is built between 1837-1842 in the time of mohammad ali shah. mohammad ali shah wanted to made it same as kutubmeenaar of delhi and leaning tower of pisa.the main purpose of this construction is moon watching.