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

WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship

The WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship is one of the annual World Golf Championships. It is a knockout event and is generally staged in late February. It is sponsored by Accenture, the world's largest consulting firm.

The Championship is a single-elimination match play event. The field consists of the top 64 players available from the Official World Golf Rankings, seeded according to the rankings. The prize money for 2012 was $8.5 million, with the winner taking $1.4 million and the Walter Hagen Cup. Prize money is official on the PGA Tour, the European Tour and the Japan Golf Tour.

Since 2011, all matches have been over 18 holes with extra holes played until there is a winner. From 1999 to 2010 the final was played over 36 holes. The losers of the semi-final matches play an 18-hole consolation match for third place. The format is a five-day, six-match tournament starting on a Wednesday. For the first four days (Wednesday through Saturday) a single round of matches are played, with the semi-finals, third-place match and final played on the Sunday. When the final was over 36 holes, the quarter-finals and semi-finals were both played on Saturday.

Weather conditions meant that changes were made to this format in 2005, 2011, and 2013. In 2005 the start was delayed by a day, with both the second and third rounds being played on the following day. In 2011, with the danger of bad weather on the Sunday, the quarter-finals and semi-finals were both played on the Saturday. In 2013, snow meant that the first round was not completed until Friday morning. The second round was played on the Friday while the third and fourth rounds were both played on the Saturday.

Earthquake

An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time.

Earthquakes are measured using observations from seismometers. The moment magnitude is the most common scale on which earthquakes larger than approximately 5 are reported for the entire globe. The more numerous earthquakes smaller than magnitude 5 reported by national seismological observatories are measured mostly on the local magnitude scale, also referred to as the Richter scale. These two scales are numerically similar over their range of validity. Magnitude 3 or lower earthquakes are mostly almost imperceptible or weak and magnitude 7 and over potentially cause serious damage over larger areas, depending on their depth. The largest earthquakes in historic times have been of magnitude slightly over 9, although there is no limit to the possible magnitude. The most recent large earthquake of magnitude 9.0 or larger was a 9.0 magnitude earthquake in Japan in 2011 (as of October 2012), and it was the largest Japanese earthquake since records began. Intensity of shaking is measured on the modified Mercalli scale. The shallower an earthquake, the more damage to structures it causes, all else being equal.

At the Earth's surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by shaking and sometimes displacement of the ground. When the epicenter of a large earthquake is located offshore, the seabed may be displaced sufficiently to cause a tsunami. Earthquakes can also trigger landslides, and occasionally volcanic activity.

In its most general sense, the word earthquake is used to describe any seismic event — whether natural or caused by humans — that generates seismic waves. Earthquakes are caused mostly by rupture of geological faults, but also by other events such as volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, and nuclear tests. An earthquake's point of initial rupture is called its focus or hypo center  The epicenter is the point at ground level directly above the hypo center.

Jotiba Govindrao Phule

Mahatma Jotiba Govindrao Phule (April 11, 1827 — November 28, 1890), also known as Mahatma Jotiba Phule was an activist, thinker, social reformer, writer, philosopher, theologist, scholar, editor and revolutionary from Maharashtra, India in the nineteenth century. Jotiba Phule and his wife Savitribai Phule were the pioneer of women's education in India. His remarkable influence was apparent in fields like education, agriculture, caste system, women and widow upliftment and removal of untouchability. He is most known for his efforts to educate women and the lower castes as well as the masses. He, after educating his wife, opened a school for girls in India in August 1848. This was the second girls school in India. Peary Charan Sarkar, a former student of Hindu College, Calcutta and a member of "Young Bengal" set up the first free school for girls in 1847 in Barasat, a suburb of Calcutta (later the school was named Kalikrishna Girls' High School).

In September, 1873, Jotirao, along with his followers, formed the Satya Shodhak Samaj (Society of Seekers of Truth) with Jotirao with the main objective of the organisation as to liberate the Bahujans, Shudras and Ati-Shudras and to prevent them from exploitations and atrocities . For his fight to attain equal rights for peasants and the lower caste and his contribution to the field of education, he is regarded as one of the most important figures in Social Reform Movement in Maharashtra. Dhananjay Keer, his biographer, rightly notes him as "the father of Indian social revolution".

Allan Octavian Hume

Allan Octavian Hume (6 June 1829 - 31 July 1912) was a civil servant, political reformer and amateur ornithologist in British India. He was one of the founders of the Indian National Congress, a political party that was later to lead the Indian independence movement. A notable ornithologist, Hume has been called "the Father of Indian Ornithology" and, by those who found him dogmatic, "the Pope of Indian ornithology."

Life and career

Hume was born at St Mary Cray, Kent, the son of Joseph Hume, the Radical MP. He was educated at East India Company College, Haileybury, and then at University College Hospital, where he studied medicine and surgery. In 1849 he sailed to India and the following year joined the Bengal Civil Service at Etawah in the North-Western Provinces, in what is now Uttar Pradesh. His career in India included service as a district officer from 1849 to 1867, head of a central department from 1867 to 1870, secretary to the Government from 1870 to 1879.

It was only nine years after his entry to India that Hume faced the uprising of 1857 during which time he was involved in several military actions for which he was created a Companion of the Bath in 1860. Initially it appeared that he was safe in Etawah, which was not far from Meerut where the mutiny began. This however changed and Hume had to take refuge in Agra fort for six months. Nonetheless, all but one Indian official remained loyal and Hume resumed his position in Etawah in January 1858. He built up an irregular force of 650 loyal Indian troops and took part in engagements with them. Hume blamed British ineptitude for the uprising and pursued a policy of ‘mercy and forbearance’.

In his early service as a District Officer in the Indian Civil Service, he began introducing free primary education and creating a local vernacular newspaper, Lokmitra (The People's Friend).

Jay Prakash Narayan

Bharat Ratna Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan (October 11, 1902 - October 8, 1979), widely known as JP orLoknayak (leader of the masses), was an Indian independence activist and political leader, remembered especially for leading the opposition to Indira Gandhi in the 1970s and for giving a call for peaceful Total Revolution. His biography, Jayaprakash, was written by his nationalist friend and an eminent writer of Hindi literature, Ramavriksha Benipuri. In 1998, he was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, in recognition of his social work. Other awards include the Magsaysay award for Public Service in 1965. The airport of Patna is also named after him.

Early life

Jayprakash Narayan was born in a Kayastha Family in Sitabdiara village of Saran in Bihar. When he was a child, he had many pets. One day, his pigeon died and he did not eat food for two days afterward. His father Harsudayal was a junior official in the canal department of the State government and was often touring the region. Jayaprakash, called Baul affectionately, was left with his grandmother to study in Sitabdiara. There was no high school in the village, so Jayaprakash was sent to Patna to study in the Collegiate School. He excelled in school. His essay, "The present state of Hindi in Bihar", won a best essay award. He entered the Patna College on a Government scholarship.Jayaprakash Narayan joined "Bihar Vidyapeeth" founded by Dr. Rajendra Prasad for motivating young meritorious youths and was among the first students of eminent Gandhian Dr. Anugrah Narayan Sinha , a close colleague of M. K. Gandhi who later became first Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar.

JP and Marxism

Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar

Bodhisatva Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956), also known as Babasaheb, was an Indian jurist, political leader, philosopher, thinker, anthropologist, historian, orator, prolific writer, economist, scholar, editor, and a revolutionary. He was also the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of Indian Constitution. Born into a poor Mahar (considered an Untouchable caste) family, Ambedkar spent his whole life fighting against social discrimination, the system of Chaturvarna — the categorization of Hindu society into four varnas — and the Hindu caste system. He converted to Buddhism and is also credited with providing a spark for the conversion of hundreds of thousands of untouchables to Theravada Buddhism. Ambedkar was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, in 1990.

Overcoming numerous social and financial obstacles, Ambedkar became one of the first so called "Outcasts" to obtain a college education in India. Eventually earning law degrees and multiple doctorates for his study and research in law, economics and political science from Columbia University and the London School of Economics, Ambedkar gained a reputation as a scholar and practiced law for a few years, later campaigning by publishing journals advocating political rights and social freedom for India's so-called untouchables. He is regarded as a Bodhisattva by some Indian Buddhists, though he never claimed himself to be a Bodhisattva.

Jawahar Lal Nehru

Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) often referred to affectionately as 'Pandit-ji', was an Indian statesman who was the first and longest-serving Prime Minister of India (1947–1964). One of the leading figures in the Indian independence movement, Nehru was elected by the Indian National Congress to assume office as independent India's first Prime Minister, and re-elected when the Congress Party won India's first general election in 1952. As one of the founders of the Non-Aligned Movement, he was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the 1930s and ’40s. Nehru established parliamentary government and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs.

The son of the wealthy man and politician Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru became a leader of the left wing of the Congress when fairly young. Rising to become Congress President under the mentorship of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Nehru was a charismatic and radical leader, advocating complete independence for India from the British Empire. In the long struggle for Indian independence, Nehru was eventually recognized as Gandhi's political heir. Throughout his life, Nehru was also an advocate for Fabian socialism and the public sector as the means by which long-standing challenges of economic development could be addressed by poorer nations.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement. A pioneer of satyagraha, or resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience — a philosophy firmly founded upon ahinsa, or total nonviolence — Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. Gandhi is often referred to as Mahatma. In India, he is also called Bapu and officially honoured as the Father of the Nation. His birthday, 2 October, is commemorated in India as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday, and worldwide as the International Day of Non-Violence.

Gandhi first employed non-violent civil disobedience as an expatriate lawyer in South Africa, in the resident Indian community's struggle for civil rights. After his return to India in 1915, he set about organising peasants, farmers, and urban labourers in protesting excessive land-tax and discrimination. Assuming leadership of the Indian National Congress in 1921, Gandhi led nationwide campaigns for easing poverty, expanding women's rights, building religious and ethnic amity, ending untouchability, increasing economic self-reliance, but above all for achieving Swaraj — the independence of India from foreign domination. Gandhi famously led Indians in protesting the British-imposed salt tax with the 400 km (250 mi) Dandi Salt March in 1930, and later in calling for the British to Quit India in 1942. He was imprisoned for many years, on many occasions, in both South Africa and India.

Gandhi strove to practice non-violence and truth in all situations, and advocated that others do the same. He lived modestly in a self-sufficient residential community and wore the traditional Indian dhoti and shawl, woven with yarn he had hand spun on a charkha. He ate simple vegetarian food, and also undertook long fasts as means of both self-purification and social protest.