Capital and Major Cities:

Capital

New Delhi, population 12,800,000

Major Cities

Mumbai, population 16,400,000

Kolkata, population 13,200,000

Chennai, population 6,400,000

Bangalore, population 5,700,000

Hyderabad, population 5,500,000

Ahmedabad, population 5,000,000

Pune, population 4,000,000

India's Government:

India is a parliamentary democracy.

The head of government is the Prime Minister, currently Narendra Modi. Pranab Mukherjee is the current President and head of state. The President serves a five-year term; he or she appoints the Prime Minister.

The Indian Parliament or Sansad is made up of the 245-member Rajya Sabhaor upper house and the 545-member Lok Sabha or lower house. The Rajya Sabha is elected by state legislatures for six-year terms, while the Lok Sabha is elected directly by the people to five-year terms.

The judiciary consists of a Supreme Court, High Courts that hear appeals, and many trial courts.

Population of India:

India is the second most populous nation on Earth, with approximately 1.2 billion citizens. The country's annual population growth rate is 1.55%.

The people of India represent over 2,000 different ethno-linguistic groups. About 24% of the population belongs to one of the Scheduled Castes (the "untouchables") or Scheduled Tribes; these are historically discriminated-against groups given special recognition in the Indian Constitution.

Although the country has at least 35 cities with more than one million residents, the vast majority of Indians live in rural areas - some 72% of the total population.

Languages:

India has two official languages - Hindi and English. However, its citizens speak an array of languages spanning the Indo-European, Dravidian, Austro-Asiatic and Tibeto-Burmic linguistic families. More than 1,500 languages are spoken today in India.

The languages with the most native speakers are: Hindi, 422 million; Bengali, 83 million; Telugu, 74 million; Marthi, 72 million; and Tamil, 61 million.

The diversity of spoken languages is matched by a number of written scripts. Many are unique to India, although some northern Indian languages such as Urdu and Panjabi may be written in a form of Perso-Arabic script.

Religion:

Greater India is the birthplace of a number of religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. Currently, about 80% of the population is Hindu, 13% is Muslim, 2.3% Christian, 1.9% Sikh, and there are smaller populations of Buddhists, Zoroastrians, Jews and Jains.

Historically, two religious branches of thought developed in ancient India. The Shramana led to Buddhism and Jainism, while the Vedic tradition developed into Hinduism. Modern India is a secular state, but religious tensions do flare from time to time, particularly between Hindus and Muslims or Hindus and Sikhs.

Indian Geography:

India covers 1.27 million square miles in area (3.29 million sq km). It is the seventh-largest country on Earth.

It borders on Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east, Bhutan, China and Nepal to the north, and Pakistan to the west.

India includes a high central plain, called the Deccan Plateau, the Himalayas in the north, and desert lands to the west. The highest point is Kanchenjunga at 8,598 meters. The lowest point is sea level.

Rivers are crucial in India, and include the Ganga (Ganges) and Brahmaputra.

Climate of India:

India's climate is strongly monsoonal, and is also influenced by the vast topographical variation between the coastal areas and the Himalaya range.

Thus, the climate ranges from alpine glacial in the mountains to wet and tropical in the southwest, and hot and arid in the northwest. The lowest temperature ever recorded was -34°C (-27.4°F) in Ladakh. The highest was 50.6°C (123°F) in Alwar.

Between June and September, massive amounts of monsoon rainfall pummel much of the country, bringing as much as 5 feet of rain.

Economy:

India has shaken off the doldrums of a socialist command economy, instituted after independence in the 1950s, and is now a rapidly-growing capitalist nation.

Although about 55% of India's work force is in agriculture, the service and software sectors of the economy are expanding quickly, creating an ever-growing urban middle class. Nonetheless, an estimated 22% of Indians live below the poverty level. Per capita GDP is $1070.

India exports textiles, leather goods, jewelry, and refined petroleum. It imports crude oil, gem stones, fertilizer, machinery and chemicals.

As of December 2009, $1 US = 46.5 Indian rupees.

History of India:

Archaeological evidence of early modern humans in what is now India dates back 80,000 years. However, the first recorded civilization in the area appeared just over 5,000 years ago. This was the Indus Valley / Harappan Civilization, c. 3300-1900 BCE, in what is now Pakistan and northwestern India.

After the Indus Valley Civilization fell, perhaps as a result of raiders from the north, India entered the Vedic period (c. 2000 BCE-500 BCE). Philosophies and beliefs that developed during this period influenced the Gautama Buddha, founder of Buddhism, and also led directly to the later development of Hinduism.

In 320 BCE, the powerful new Mauryan Empire conquered most of the subcontinent. Its most famous king was the third ruler, Ashoka the Great (c. 304-232 BCE).

The Mauryan Dynasty fell in 185 BCE, and the country remained fragmented until the rise of the Gupta Empire (c. 320-550 CE). The Gupta era was a golden age in Indian history. However, the Guptas controlled only northern India and the east coast - the Deccan Plateau and southern India remained outside of their ambit. Long after the fall of the Guptas, these regions continued to answer to the rulers of a number of small kingdoms.

Beginning with invasions out of Central Asia in the 900s, north and central India experienced increasing Islamic rule that would last until the nineteenth century.

The first Islamic empire in India was the Delhi Sultanate, originally from Afghanistan, which ruled from 1206 to 1526 CE. It included the Mamluk, Khilji, Tughlaq, Sayyid and Lodi Dynasties, respectively. The Delhi Sultanate received a terrible blow when Timur the Lame invaded in 1398; it fell to his descendant, Babur, in 1526.

Babur then founded the Mughal Empire, which would rule much of India until it fell to the British in 1858. The Mughals were responsible for some of India's most famous architectural wonders, including the Taj Mahal. However, independent Hindu kingdoms coexisted with the Mughals, including the Maratha Empire, the Ahom Kingdom in the Brahmaputra Valley, and the Vijayanagara Empire at the south of the subcontinent.

British influence in India began as trade relations. The British East India Company gradually expanded its control over the subcontinent, until it was able to use the 1757 Battle of Plassey as an excuse to take political power in Bengal. By the mid-1850s, the East India Company controlled not only most of what is now India, but also Pakistan, Bangladesh and Burma.

In 1857, harsh Company rule and religious tensions sparked the Indian Revolt, also known as the "Sepoy Rebellion." Royal British troops moved in to take control of the situation; the British government exiled the last Mughal emperor to Burma, and seized the reins of power from the East India Company. India became an all-out British colony.

Beginning in 1919, a young lawyer named Mohandas Gandhi helped lead increasing calls for Indian independence. The "Quit India" movement gathered momentum throughout the interwar period and World War II, finally resulting in India's declaration of independence on August 15, 1947. (Pakistan declared its own, separate independence the day before.)

Modern India faced several challenges. It had to knit together the 500+ princely domains that had existed under British rule, and try to keep the peace between Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims. India's constitution, which came into effect in 1950, sought to address these problems. It created a federal, secular democracy - the first in Asia.

The first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, organized India with a socialist economy. He led the country until his death in 1964; his daughter, Indira Gandhi, soon took the reins as the third Prime Minister. Under her rule, India tested its first nuclear weapon in 1974.

Since independence, India has fought four full-scale wars with Pakistan, and one with the Chinese over a disputed border in the Himalayas. The fighting in Kashmir continues today, and the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks show that cross-border terrorism remains a serious threat.

Nonetheless, India today is a growing, thriving democracy.

The Hey Telangana Facebook & Blog plans to feature the detailed note on the history and heritage of the famous monuments and other tourist spots in Telangana, the newly emerged state of India. Telangana indubitably begins with Hyderabad, which is delectably called the Pearl City of India, offers a variety of tourist attractions ranging from Heritage monuments, Lakes and Parks, Gardens and Resorts, Museums to delectable cuisine and a delightful shopping experience. To the traveller, Hyderabad offers a fascinating panorama of the past, with a richly mixed cultural and historical tradition spanning 400 colourful years. Today’s feature is on Charminar located in Hyderabad.

What the Taj Mahal is of Agra or the Eiffel Tower is of Paris is the same about the Charminar to Hyderabad. It’s the signature of Hyderabad, the Shan of Telangana. In 1591 at the centre of the original city layout, Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, the founder of Hyderabad, built Charminar.

History reveals the fact that Charminar was built as a charisma to ward off a fatal epidemic intense at that time. Four graceful minarets soar to a height of 48.7 m above the ground. Charminar comprises of 45 prayer spaces and a mosque in it. The landmark has become a global icon of Hyderabad, listed among the most recognized structures of India. The Charminar is situated on the east bank of Musi River. To the northeast lies the Laad Bazaar and in the west end lies the granite-made and richly ornamented Makkah Masjid.

The literal meaning of Charminar is “Four Towers"; the eponymous towers are elaborate minarets attached and supported by four grand arches. Some of the popular legends that are recorded in accord with the monument's architectural appearance are appended below:

According to ASI (The Archaeological Survey of India), the current caretaker of the structure, "There are various theories regarding the purpose for which Charminar was constructed. However, it is widely accepted that Charminar was built at the center of the city, to commemorate the eradication of plague", as Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah had prayed for the end of a plague that was ravaging his city and vowed to build a Mosque at the very place where he prayed. According to Jean de Thévenot, a French traveller of the 17th century whose narration was complemented with the available Persian texts, the Charminar was constructed in the year 1591 CE, to commemorate the beginning of the second Islamic millennium year (1000AH). The event was celebrated far and wide in the Islamic world, thus Qutb Shah founded the city of Hyderabad to celebrate the event and commemorate it with the construction of this building.

As far as historian Masud Hussain Khan is concerned, according to him the construction of Charminar was completed in the year 1592, and that it is the city of Hyderabad which was actually founded in the year 1591. According to the book "Days of the Beloved", Qutb shah constructed the Charminar in the year 1589, on the very spot where he first glimpsed his future queen Bhagmati, and after her conversion to Islam, Qutb Shah renamed the city as "Hyderabad". Though the story was denied by the historians and scholars, it became popular folklore among the locals.

The Charminar is a square structure with each side 20 meters long, with four grand arches each facing a fundamental point that open into four streets. At each corner stands an exquisitely shaped minaret, 56 meters high with a double balcony. Each minaret is crowned by a bulbous dome with dainty petal like designs at the base. Unlike the Taj Mahal, Charminar's four fluted minarets are built into the main structure. There are 149 winding steps to reach the upper floor. The structure is made of granite, limestone, mortar and pulverised marble. Initially the monument with its four arches was so proportionately planned that when the fort was opened one could catch a glimpse of the bustling Hyderabad city as these Charminar arches were facing the most active royal ancestral streets.

There is also a legend of an underground tunnel connecting the Golkonda fort to Charminar, possibly intended as an escape route for the Qutb Shahi rulers in case of a siege, though the location of the tunnel is unknown. A mosque is located at the western end of the open roof and the remaining part of the roof served as a court during the Qutb Shahi times. The actual mosque occupies the top floor of the four-storey structure. A vault that appears from inside like a dome, supports two galleries within the Charminar, one over another, and above those a terrace that serves as a roof, bordered with a stone balcony. The main gallery has 45 covered prayer spaces with a large open space in front to accommodate more people for Friday prayers. The clock on the four cardinal directions was added in 1889 and there is a Vazu (water cistern)in the middle with a small fountain for Ablution before offering prayer in the Charminar Mosque. 

Char Minar - Hyderabad

About Char Minar

A major landmark in the city of Hyderabad, Char Minar was build in 1591 A.D by the founders of the city in memory of the eradication of Plague, reflecting the fighting spirit of human kind. Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah, the founder of Hyderabad, built Charminar in 1591 at the centre of the original city layout. Constructed with granite and lime-mortar, the Charminar is a fine example of the Cazia style of architecture. The conjoined arches and domes are typical of the Islamic architecture.

Charminar is a squarish structure with four towers in the four corners of the square, each of whose sides is 20 metres in length. Every side opens into a plaza through giant arches, which overlook four major thoroughfares and dwarf other features of the building except the minarets. Each arch is 11 metres wide and rises 20 metres to the pinnacle from the plinth. The minarets soar skywards by 24 metres from the roof of Charminar. Each minaret has four storeys, each looking like a delicately carved ring around the minaret. Some Anglophiles call Charminar the Arc de Triomphe of the East. From the ground to the apex, the minarets cover a length of 48.7 metres.

 Gateway Of India - Mumbai

 About Gateway Of India

The foundation stone of “Gateway Of India” was laid on March 31, 1911 and George wittet’s final design sanctioned in August 1914. Between 1915 and 1919 work proceeded on reclamations at Apollo Pier for the land on which the gateway and the new sea wall would be built. The foundations were completed in 1920.

The Gateway is built from yellow Kharodi basalt and reinforced concrete. The central dome is 48 feet in diameter and 83 feet above ground at its highest point. The whole harbour front was realigned in order to come in line with a planned esplanade which would sweep down to the centre of the town. The cost of the construction was Rs. 21 lakhs, borne mainly by the Government of India. For lack of funds, the approach road was never built, and the Gateway now stands at an angle to the road leading up to it.

The construction was completed in 1924, and the Gateway opened on December 4, 1924 by the Viceroy, Earl of Reading.

 India Gate - Delhi

About India Gate

India Gate is constructed as a memorial and was built in the memory of 90,00 soldiers who laid down their lives during world war I. Located at Rajpath, India Gate is 42 m high and is popular relaxation area during the summer evenings. India Gate also act as popular pinic spot during winter. Also known as the All India War Memorial, India Gate was designed and constructed by Lutyens. He was the who is considered the chief proclaimer in designing the New Delhi plans.

The foundation stone was laid by HRH the Duke of Connaught in 1921 and the monument was dedicated to the nation 10 years later by the then Viceroy, Lord Irwin. Another memorial, Amar Jawan Jyoti was added much later after India had said goodbye to its imperial rulers. It is in the form of a flame that burns day and night under the arch to remind the nation of soldiers who perished in the Indo-Pakistan War of December 1971.

Lal Darwaza - Delhi

About Lal Darwaza

Lal Darwaza also referred to as (Khooni Darwaza) is located on the Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg in Delhi, India. It is one of the 13 surviving gates of Delhi.

The Gate was built during Sher Shah Suri's reign as one of the two gateways of Purana Qila. It was known as the Kabuli Darwaza as caravans coming from Afghanistan passed through it. It came to be known as Khooni Darwaza during the Mughal reign due to various tales of bloodshed at the gate, in addition to the practice of displaying criminals' heads there. The gate is 15.5 m high and built with Delhi quartzite stone.

Buland Darwaaza - Fatehpur Sikri

 About Buland Darwaaza

The Buland Darwaza, also known as the Gate of Magnificence, towers above the courtyard of the mosque. It was built by Akbar following his victory in battle in 1573 - when Gujarat fell to him. It is one of the most important monuments built in Akbar's entire reign. Fatehpur Sikri, whether approached from Agra or Bharatpur is dominated by this stupendous structure.

The Darwza rises to a height of 40 metres and is topped by pillars and chhatris. It is the most Islamic structure in Fatehpur Sikri and echoes early Mughal design with simple ornamentation, the carved verses from the Koran and soaring arches. The inscription is not only famous for its calligraphy, but also throws light on Akbar's religious broad - mindedness. The inscription is a message from Jesus Christ advising his followers not to consider this world as their permanent home. On the outside a long flight of steps sweeps down the hill giving the gateway additional height.

Medieval Period

The first Turkish conqueror was Sultan Mahmud of Gazni (997-1030) who led as many as seventeen invasions into India. He who took his forces across the Indus, the formidable barrier to the rich plains of the Hindustan, and eventually his sway extended to the Ganges. The second Turkish invader was Shahabuddin Ghori. In 1190, having advanced to Tarain near Delhi, his outnumbered Army was defeated by King Prithviraj. Prithviraj did not follow up the victory and, after eighteen months Ghori was able to conquer the northern plain of India, thus establishing the Delhi Sultanate. As invaders of the earlier waves settled and became Indians, they in turn were swamped by other succeeding waves. This sequence of invasions and conquests would carry on for eight centuries. The invading Turks were found to have had tremendous energy, alacrity and resilience. They also had faster mobility, being mounted on fast, tough Turkoman and Arabian horses. Their armies were in fact hordes of mounted archers functioning in the old and effective traditions of Parthians, Huns and Mongols. Their composite bow was as good a weapon as any of the defenders, but being good riders they used it to better effect. The long period of anarchy following the invasion and plunder of northern India by Timur in 1392 AD attracted the attention of Babur, a king of Kabul who descendent upon India with his Mughal Army in 1525. He defeated the Sultan of Delhi, Abraham Lodi at Panipat and was the first to use canons in Indian warfare. Babur’s dominions extended from Afghanistan to the frontiers of Bengal, and from the Himalayas to Gwalior in Central India. He laid the foundation of the Mughal Empire that was to be consolidated by this grandson – Akbar (1542 –1605). Akbar is widely considered the greatest of the Mughal emperors. He took two decades to consolidate and bring parts of northern and central India into his realm. During his reign he reduced external military threats from the Afghans, solidified his rule by pursuing diplomacy with the powerful Rajputs, but his most lasting contributions were to the field of arts. He initiated a large collection of literature, including the Akbar-nama and the Ain-i-Akbari, and incorporated art from around the world into the Mughal collections. He also began a series of religious debates after which he founded his version of a common religion - the Din-i-Ilahi, or ‘Divine Faith’. It was during Akbar’s reign that Maharana Pratap (1540- 1597), a Rajput ruler of Mewar, showed his mettle. The Maharana never accepted Akbar as ruler of India, and fought Akbar all his life. The two armies met at Haldighati, near Udaipur, on June 21, 1576. This battle, a historic event in Rajputana, lasted only four hours. In this short period Pratap's men essayed many brave exploits on the field. However, the numerical superiority of the Mughal army and their artillery began to tell. Seeing that the battle was lost, Pratap's generals prevailed upon him to flee so as to be able to fight another day. To facilitate Pratap's escape, one of his lieutenants donned Pratap's distinctive garments and took his place on the battlefield. He was soon killed. Meanwhile, riding his trusty albeit grievously wounded steed Chetak, Pratap escaped to the hills. The empire would now fall into the hands of Jhahangir and Shahjahan, leaving behind great monuments like the Taj Mahal being one of rare, outstanding beauty. After Shahjahan, however, the Mughal Empire had begun to crumble and various Princely States and smaller kingdoms began to assert themselves in various fields. The last of the Mughals was Aurangzeb (1658-1707) who seized the throne by killing all his brothers and imprisoning his own father. During his fifty-year reign, the empire reached its utmost physical limit but also witnessed the unmistakable symptoms of decline. Mughal rule prevailed over India for 300 years, fusing the country in many diverse fields like the arts, craft, music, architecture, literature and culture. The advent of gunpowder based firearms now changed the pattern of warfare, as did the deployment of soldiers. Incendiary substances had long been known in India but not been effectively used or developed. Rockets, for example, was an old Indian weapon and remained in use in the Mughal and Maratha Armies. Though gradually the technique of manufacture of guns greatly improved, the weakness of the invaders persisted in the tactical deployment of troops.

Rise and Expansion of East India Company

The modern Indian Army dates back to the early sixteenth century when Europeans, like the French, Dutch, Portuguese and British, settled in India as traders. In 1600 the East India Company was formed to coordinate all British trading activities. The Mughal Empire, being at its zenith, did not consider these locally recruited and foreign military units to be any threat to its political, military and economic power. The Royal Charter of East India Company was, ostensibly, to trade with India. The British saw India as a vast and unending source of fabulous treasures, and encouraged the Company to enlarge and diversify its operations while tightening its stranglehold on a tottering and decadent Mughal Empire. Since its trading interests needed to be protected, the Company decided raise local levies to protect their trading posts along the coast. These were soon raised on a war footing while European units sailed into India to oversee safety of their expanding trade and allied assets. During the second half of the seventeenth century the Mughal Empire declined rapidly. It was hastened by Nadir Shah’s successful invasion and by the steady advance of Marathas from Deccan into northern India. The Marathas under Shivaji rose against the Muslim principality of Bijapur and established an independent principality there. In 1664 Shivaji captured the important Mughal port of Surat, made temporary peace with the Mughals but, after his subsequent arrest and dramatic escape from Aurangzeb’s prison, Shivaji renewed war and kept the Mughals at bay. By 1674 he established an independent Maratha kingdom and expanded it for thirty years by resorting to guerrilla warfare. In all his operations Shivaji upheld the Hindu chivalric tradition in his treatment of defeated soldiers and non combatants. By the end of the century there were four major powers - the Maratha confederacy, the Afghan Empire of Ahmed Shah, the French and the British, all competing to take over the nearly extinct Mughal Empire. In 1640 AD the British East India Company established its first fortified post -Fort Saint George near Madras which soon became its headquarters. Eleven years later, in 1651, they set up another post in Calcutta on the bank of River Hooghly which they later fortified, and named it Fort William. In 1662 the British received Bombay from the Portuguese. British troops arrived in Bombay in 1665, but it was only in 1668 when Bombay was formally handed over to the Company. Soon Bombay garrison was converted into a strong commercial and military base comprising cavalry, artillery and infantry elements, which later became the Bombay European Regiment. However, local troops were raised as and when required. The first authentic record of the existence of a sort of regular battalion in Indian soil dates back to the year 1741, when such a unit came into being for carrying out garrison duties in Bombay Castle. Seven years later Major Stringer Lawrence, ‘the father of the Indian Army’, was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the East India Company’s field forces in India with its headquarters at Fort St. David, 100 miles south of Madras and only 12 miles from the then French town of Pondicherry. The war with France, which had temporarily ended in 1748, had brought about a substantial increase in the local enrolment of Indian troops, since neither France nor Britain could spare regular troops for India. In 1754, however, a considerable force of King’s troops was sent to India from England, but this again proved to be woefully inadequate to manage the Company’s military affairs in India, and local recruitment continued. In 1757, the reorganisation of the Indian troops into regular, organised battalions was entrusted by Major Lawrence to Robert Clive. That year was also famous for the Battle of Plassey, which gradually reduced French influence and led to an expansion of the Company’s territories in India. With the expansion, the number of troops at its disposal, quite naturally, increased. Thus came into creation the first regular Indian infantry battalions, each with an establishment of one British captain, two lieutenants, several British sergeants, 42 Indian non commissioned officers and 820 Indian ranks and file. Clive was the first British officer in India to have Indian troops fully equipped, at the expense of the East India Company, which was popularly known as ‘Sarkar’. He even dressed them with British ‘Red Coats’, hence the term ‘Lal Paltan’ came into being, which was locally used for such units. In 1759 Bombay Garrison’s Sepoy Companies were re-organized. In 1768 the first two regular Sepoy Battalions were formed, with a third in 1769 and a fourth in 1770. While a graduated albeit similar expansion was taking place in the other Presidencies as well, each now placed under respective Governors who subsequently rose in rank and power to become Governor Generals, by the middle of the century a Commander-in-Chief was provided to the Governors for coordination of military activities. Major Stringer Lawrence filled this post with great verve. This was the first move to integrate the military assets of the three Presidencies in a coordinated manner. In 1784-85 full military powers, including the power to appoint the Commander-in-Chief, were retained by the Board of Directors, which meant the British Government. For the Governor-General, a formal Army Headquarters was created with the Commander-in-Chief as head. To assist him were two Principal Staff Officers, namely the Quartermaster General and the Adjutant General. By1790 the total strength of the combined British-Indian Army was 80,000. The beginning of eighteenth century also saw the rise of Sikhs in Punjab and the Rajputs of Rajputana. The French also established a new base at Calicut in addition to their existing bases at Surat, Pondicherry, Muslipatam, Chandernagar, Balasore and Kasim Bazar. The first invasion by Ahmed Shah in 1774 was halted at Sirhind by a combine Mughal and Rajput force and the invaders were forced to retreat to Afghanistan. Having well established themselves, the Europeans started increasing their influence with the princely States and often resorted to war and intrigue against them. Native soldiers were also raised by them to fight against each other and for taking sides in local wars. During the first, Carnatic War (1744-48) hostilities ensued between the British and the French. The French seized the main British base at Madras after a fierce encounter. The Nawab, who had allied himself with the British, arrived near Madras with a large army. In the battle of St. Thome the French detachment of 230 European and 730 native soldiers attacked and routed a force of 10,000 of the Nawab’s troops near Madras. Commanded by Dupleix, the French tried unsuccessfully for 18 months to take the British base near Madras, but had to raise the siege following the arrival of British reinforcements. In1748 the British tried to take Pondicherry, defended by Dupleix, but were forced to withdraw. After the Treaty in Europe, the French returned Madras to the British. In 1749, Ahmed Shah’s second invasion was a combined raid and reconnaissance in force which led him to believe that he could conquer Punjab and Kashmir. The Dutch exploitation was finally eliminated in 1759 in the battle of Wandiwash, and Portugal’s control was confined to their occupation of Goa, Daman and Diu. Despite formal peace between France and Britain, hostilities between the two continued through their involvement in Indian conflicts. During the Second Carnatic War, the British, under Sir Robert Clive with 500 soldiers and three guns, captured Arcot so as to relieve pressure on a small English garrison at Trichinapolly. They took advantage of native rivalries in an almost continual warfare. The British East India Company had a remarkable organization. It built up its own Army, composed of European adventurers and native troops, under English Commanders. Further military influence was exercised in 1754 by an English regular regiment, the 39 Foot, (later the Dorsetshire Regiment) at Madras, which became the backbone of the British military operations in India. Many of its officers and men were later transferred to the Company’s service. The French under Dupliex and its native allies, however, controlled a great part of Southern India. In Bengal, after Siraj-ud-Daula had seized Calcutta in 1756, Clive recaptured it next year in January. On I March He took Chandernagar from the French so as to clear his line of communication before pursuing Siraj-ud-Daula. Clive found him entrenched near Plassey, north of Calcutta, with 50,000 troops and 53 guns. With 1,100 European and 2,100 native troops, Clive launched a masterly operation and won the decisive and historic battle of Plassey. This gave the British suzerainty over Bengal, Bihar and Orrisa and made them overlords of the vast territory. The British advanced westward, along the Gangetic plain, and occupied areas upto Allahabad to further consolidate the territories they had acquired. Readying for the Deccan Campaign In the south, from 1766 to 1769, Haider Ali fought the British in what came to be known as the First Mysore War, and later conclude a treaty with the East India Company. However, not getting any help in his war with the Marathas, Haider Ali joined the French. He attacked and cut to pieces a small British Force at Perambakam in the Carnatik (modern Karnataka) in 1780, sparking off the Second Mysore War which swept unto the gates of Madras. With 8,000 men sent by sea from Bengal, Sir Eyre Coote attacked and defeated Haider Ali in the battle of Porto Novo on 1 June 1781, thus saving Madras. Artillery for use against French troops In August and September that year, Haider Ali was defeated at Paliburg and Sholingurh. In 1783, owing to the withdrawal of French aid and death of Haider Ali, his son Tippu Sultan succeeded the throne and made peace. In 1789, Tippu attacked Tranvancore and starting the Third Mysore War. In this war the British invaded Mysore, stormed the fortress at Bangalore and drove Tippu into Seringapatam where he was besieged. Tippu made peace in 1792 by ceding half of his dominion to the British. In 1796 the Madras Army consisted of two European Infantry regiments, four native Cavalry regiments, two Artillery battalions, each of five artillery companies, and 15 ‘lascar’ (voluntary tribal) companies and eleven Native Infantry regiments, each of two battalions. Between 1796 and 1824 the Native Infantry was raised to 25 regiments of two battalions each. In 1806 two regiments were disbanded because of the mutiny at Vallore. In 1803 Colonel James Skinner raised a regiment of Irregular Horse from Scindia’s Army and pressed it into Company service. In 1815 three Gorkha battalions were raised as Bengal local battalions, of which only one survived. This became 1st Gorkha Rifles. The British conquest of India thus progressed, as did trade, under the joint efforts of the British Crown and East India Company. Resistance by Native States increased as they received French support, particularly the Marathas in the south who had large armies of well-equipped French-trained soldiers. This led to the Deccan campaign of 1803 under Wellesley, in which Pune and Ahmednagar were captured by the British to support their ally, the Peshwa. Advancing further south the British defeated the Marathas in the Battle of Argaon and stormed Gwalior on 15 December to end the campaign. While peace prevailed for more than a decade, matters came to alarming proportions when the Maratha chieftains lent tacit support of the outlawed Pindari chieftains, which led to the Third Maratha War from 1817 to 1818. While the British took on the Pindaris head-on, clashes took place between the Marathas and British forces at Nagpur and Kirkee, which ended with the surrender of the Marathas in June 1818. It marked the end of Maratha political power. In the north, during three years of warfare between 1799-1802, Maharaja Ranjit Singh united the Sikhs to control most of Punjab. Growing friction between the British and the Maharaja was settled by an agreement at Amritsar in 1809, by which Sutluj was accepted as the boundary between the Sikh territories and those the British had seized from the Marathas. Zorawar Singh       Ranjit Singh Turning to the west, Ranjit Singh conquered the whole of Punjab from the Afghans and local princes. Consolidating his land with the help of French and Italian offices, he developed the most powerful and affective native Army in India. He also conquered Kashmir in 1819. His able general Gulab Singh, who was given the ‘Jagir’ or Kingdom of Jammu to rule in 1822, went on to expand his empire. One of his trustworthy and daring generals Zorawar Singh, with a modest force comprising 5000 Dogras and loyal Ladakhis, ventured into battle in 1841. After subduing Ladakh and Baltistan he conquered large tracts of Tibet upto Mount Kailash, on the banks of Lake Mansorover, and areas as close as 24 miles off Nepal and the Kumaon hills before making the supreme sacrifice. Braving stiff opposition, extreme cold weather conditions and rugged, snow covered mountainous ranges of over 5000 metres, his daring exploits earned him the name of the ‘Mountain Fox’. Punjab Troops In November 1814, while Ranjit Singh was expanding and consolidating his territories, expeditionary forces from British Indian Army were sent to Nepal to stop Gorkha raids into northern India. The ferocity of the Gorkhas repulsed the initial attempts but General Orchterlony campaigned systematically to penetrate the Kathmandu valley and forced peace on the Gorkhas after the battle of the Manlaun in 1816. Ever since, the Gorkhas have been at peace with India and its youth have been joining the Indian Army regularly, albeit on a voluntary basis. Since the death of Ranjit Singh in 1839, friction between the British and Sikhs in the Punjab increased and led to the First Sikh War (1845-46). A Sikh Army of 20,000 crossed the Sutlej and attacked the British at Mudki in December 1845 but were repulsed with heavy losses. In February, having crossed the Sutluj, the British defeated the Sikhs, inflicting heavy casualties. The final coup came in the form of two winter campaigns fought against the Sikhs, with its capital at Lahore, between 1846 and 1849. The battles of Sobraon, on the banks of River Sutlej, and thereafter Chillianwalla were decisive in linking up the Gangetic and Indus basins. With the treaty of Lahore in 1846, Punjab became a British protectorate. The remaining Sikh Empire was thereafter bifurcated into Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, with Gulab Singh becoming the ruler of Jammu and Kashmir. In Rajputana, during the period 1825-26, the British invaded Bharatpur with a large force to settle a disputed succession. Hitherto considered impregnable, after a desperate conflict in January 1826 the town’s defences were assaulted a number of times by British forces which finally emerged triumphant, but the heroic fight put up by the defenders came as a stunning shock to the British, who suffered staggering casualties. Colours-Bengal Presidency In the Bengal Army, which formed part of the Bengal Presidency in 1824, the Native infantry battalions were separated into 68regiments and re-numbered according to their seniority. After the Sikh war, two Sikh infantry regiments were raised. In addition, a Frontier brigade consisting of a corps of guides, four regiments of Sikh infantry and the Punjab Frontier Force, comprising five regiments of irregular cavalry and five regiments of irregular infantry, were raised in 1846. In the Madras Army, coming under the Madras Presidency, there were eight cavalry regiments. 25 regiments of the native infantry were reorganized into 50 single-battalion regiments. Two more regiments were raised in1826 and in 1830 and Madras Rifle Corps was abolished. In the Bombay Army, now part of the Bombay Presidency, four regiment of irregular cavalry were raised between 1839and 1850; a camel corps was raised in 1843 and five infantry battalions were also raised. Bombay also had eight local corps battalions. The Hyderabad contingent, which remained a separate entity, comprised five cavalry and eight infantry battalions. By 1850 the British had overcome all contenders to power and had achieved a territorial definition of India, never achieved before, and which invited a clearer unified identity. The introduction of telegraph and the beginning of the constriction of the railway, also added to this growing sense of awareness. This status of Jammu and Kashmir under Gulab Singh was maintained till India attained independence in 1947, and the state permanently ceded to India following Pakistan’s invasion and attempted annexation of the state.

The Sepoy Revolt or First War of Independence

The British military power in India comprised two elements – the Native Armies of the East India Company and British Army units. The armed forces were controlled by the Governor General, an official of the company, appointed with the approval of the crown. In 1857, the three Presidency Armies of Bengal, Bombay and Madras consisted of 2, 33,000 Indian and 36,000 British troops, who were commanded by British officers. By the middle of the century India had become directly or indirectly subject to British rule. The introduction of a uniform philosophy of jurisprudence, a common civil service and judiciary had generally been welcomed after the chaotic period following the Mughal period. But change had also bred certain reactions and created resentment. The attention of the British had shifted to the outlaying areas of Punjab and beyond, and they were taking their hold on the heartland of Oudh and Bihar a little for granted. The bulk of the troops were recruited from this area, and this shifted attention was resented. The British had grown over confident and complacent about the handling of sensitive issues relating to the Bengal Army, and disaffection in it spread like wildfire. There had been rumours about forcible conversion to Christianity, a deep distrust in the introduction of cartridge having animal fat greasing and a general resentment to stoppage of allowances. The distrust and discontent had grown over some year and the British officer had been unmindful. Progressively, the trend of increasing British officers and NCOs control on Indian troops had grown, ignoring Indian sensitivity in the matter. Besides blocking avenues of promotion to deserving Indians, it bred an atmosphere of shifted honour and failing confidence. The revolt first broke out in the Bengal Army garrison at Meerut on 10 May 1857, after some troops were disgraced and imprisoned. At a time when most British unit personnel were at church, the Indian soldiers released their imprisoned brethren and killed as many British officers, men and family members they could lay hands on. Before the British troops could retaliate, the rebels had fled. Towards the latter part of 1856 the upheaval was centered on Oudh, the principal recruiting area of Bengal Presidency, but later extended to include Delhi and southwards to Indore and Jabalpur. On reaching Delhi the next day, that is 11May, the rebels were joined by many more troops of the native garrison who, with the help of the city rabble, began to kill every European that they chanced upon. The British reaction was delayed, as most of the British unit was spending their summer in the nearby hill stations. The revolt soon spread to Lucknow and Kanpur where British male residents were murdered and their women and children imprisoned. From July 1857, however, the tide turned. The British organised their forces and rushed to the relief of Delhi, Lucknow and Kanpur. The siege and capture of Delhi cost the British in all 3,537 killed and wounded. With the capture of the capital, the trust and belief of the people of India in the ultimate success of the uprising disappeared. After bitter fighting, particularly at Lucknow and Jhansi their equally hard earned victory at Gwalior by June next year ended the revolt. The heroic tales of outstanding valour of Tantia Tope and the Rani of Jhansi are household lore throughout India today. Almost three-fourths of the Bengal Army was involved in the uprising. The British managed to control the spread of the uprising to the Madras and Bombay Army units. This control of spread was carried out by other Indian troops who only some years earlier had been the bitterest enemies of the British, that is the Sikhs, Gorkhas, troops of the Punjab Frontier Force and Punjabi Irregulars. The British were quite ruthless in the suppression of the uprising, and their brutalization lingered on against all Indian nationalist movements – as the event at Jalianwala Bagh in 1919 illustrates. While mopping-up operation continued, very harsh repressive measures were adopted by the British against the rebels and suspects. On 1 September that year the governance of India was transferred to the British Crown, ending the centaury-old rule of East India Company.

India Under the Crown

On 1 November1858, Queen Victoria assumed the governance of India. It was appreciated that the British could no longer function in India purely as a military power. They, therefore, concentrate on improving their system of administration and introducing social reforms. In spite of the large disbandment of ‘disloyal’ units, the British Army soon expanded to about 90,000 strong, and every garrison had a third British troops. The East India Company’s European regiments were transferred to the British Army, and artillery was transferred to the Royal Artillery, except for five mountain batteries of the Punjab irregular force, and four batteries of the Hyderabad contingent. Queen Victoria Between 1860 and 1878, the Presidency Armies were not engaged in any major campaigns. However, there were many expeditions on the North-West Frontier; in Eastern India and the North-Eastern Frontier. As a part of British Government’s policy, during the second half of the nineteenth century the Indian Army was assigned the responsibility and consequently was involved in a number of campaigns in the Far East, Burma and East Africa. These included the second China War (1857-60), North West Frontier (1861-1903), Second Afghan War (1878-80), Egypt (1882),Sudan (1884-85), the Third Burma War (1885-87) and soon after in British East Africa, Punjab Frontier (1897), China (1900) and Tibet (1904). The Indian Army won several battle honours in each of these campaigns. However, the focus of attention was increasingly being drawn towards the North-West Frontier, Afghanistan and Central Asia, fearing a Russian invasion of India from that direction. Britain was, therefore, psychologically and militarily drawn into the so called ‘Great Game’ rivalry with the Russians. As a result, between 1895-1898 the Indian Army was engaged in three major campaign in the North West Frontier, namely Chitral, Malakand and Tirah. In all these fronts they won great honours and accolades. In 1895 the Presidency Armies were abolished and the process commenced of dividing Indian Army into four commands that is Punjab, which included North-West Frontier and Punjab Frontier Force; Bengal; Madras which included Burma, and Bombay which included Sind, Quetta and Aden. Certain units and local corps, however, remained directly under the Government of India. Incidentally, the Frontier Force and the general north-western orientation of the Punjab and Bombay Commands was a fallout of European imperial rivalry. As early as 1840, Britain was firmly resolved to check the expansion of Imperial Russia into South-Central Asia. In addition, the Government of India also comprised the Civil Police; the Volunteer Force recruited from within the British and Anglo-Indian communities; the State Forces and Imperial Services Troops from the princely States. In November 1902, Lord Kitchener became Commander-in-Chief and immediately set to work on further reorganisation and redistribution of the Army in India. Since the recruitment pattern shifted further towards the north-central areas towards the end of 19 Century, in 1903 it again became necessary for Indian battalions to be given new names like Madrassis, Punjabis, Bengal Infantry (with the term ‘native’ dispensed with much earlier), Marathas, Rajputs, Sikhs, Jats, Garhwalis, Moplahs and so on, depending on their recruiting pattern. To cite an example, the initial five battalions of the Madras Presidency were further redesignated as ‘Punjabi’ battalions. By adding a numerical 60 to their Madras Infantry designation, these battalions then became 67, 69, 72, 74, and 87 ‘Punjabis’ respectively. A similar restructuring took place in the other Presidencies. Lord Kitchner completed the unification of Indian Army, which had begun in1895. Further reorganisation to include a centralised command and control was resorted to in 1903. The four commands were reduced to two, that is Northern Army and Southern Army, and all infantry regiments after re-numbering were grouped into brigades and divisions placed under permanent commanders with staff. Troops at the NWFP There existed 39 Cavalry regiments and 129 Infantry battalions of which Bengal comprised 48, Punjab 9, Madras 33, Hyderabad 6 and Bombay 30. Later five of the original Madras battalions were disbanded and 15 were converted to Punjabis. By 1908 the Northern Army comprised five divisions and three brigades; Southern Army of four divisions in addition to the Burma Division, and the Aden Brigade. This made a field army of 1,52,000, including nine divisions, eight cavalry brigades and Internal Security troops of over 80,000. In 1903 an expedition under Colonel Young husband was sent to Tibet to force the Dalai Lama to negotiate a treaty to stabilise the northern frontier of India. When the Tibetans refused to negotiate, the force marched to Lhasa and reached there after some severe engagements. A treaty of trade and friendship was signed on 7 September 1904 which ensured better and more secure relations with Tibet.

World War-1 and Post War Reforms

On 28 June 1914 the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir apparent to the Austrian Empire, at Sarajevo in Bosnia was the main cause of World War-1 (1914-18). Tension between the major European power had, however, been growing for some time, fuelled mainly by Germany’s ambition to be the major power in Europe and as a competitor to Britain in Commerce and trade. This had led to the formation of two power blocks in Europe, the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria and Hungary; and the Triple Entente of England, French and Russia. Few would have imagined that the pistol shots in Sarajevo would lead to a brutal four year war and would draw in most of the world. Last of all did the Indian Army expect to be pulled out of fighting Pathans to fighting Germans and the Turks. During World War-I, 1, 40,000 Indian Army troops were deployed on various fronts oversees. Trench warfare was entirely new to the Indian soldier. These trenches were continuous deep ditches, damp and muddy and prone to collapse under heavy bombardment, a complete contrast to the dry hills and scrub of the North-West Frontier. Though initially they moved into the theatres of war ill trained and ill-equipped, they rose to various challenges with dexterity and fervour, to be fully equipped and trained in due course. While the newly raised I Indian Corps comprising two Infantry Divisions, that is 3 (Lahore) and 7 (Meerut) along with the 4 (Secundrabad) Cavalry Brigade was deployed in France, operations in Mesopotamia and German East Africa were, in the beginning, entrusted to Indian Army aided by troops of Princely States. The first major battle in which Indian troops took part was the First Battle of Ypres, a small market town in Flanders bordering present day Belgium. Troops of the Indian Corps were fully committed there and suffered heavy causalities, as in the case of Festubert in December 1914 and at Loos in September 1915. In this theatre, apart from Ypres, Festubert and Loos, many Indian units also earned laurels at La Basse, Givenchy, Aubers, Armenties, Neuve Chapelle and Somme. It was in these battles that two Indian soldiers-Khudadad Khan and GS Negi earned the coveted Victoria Cross for their valour. In November 1915 the Indian Corps was withdrawn from France and sent to Egypt. The cavalry brigade, however, remained on the western front and took part in the battles of Somme in 1916 and Cambrai in 1917. In the Middle East, units of Indian Army and many of the Princely States were deployed for the defence of Suez Canal and for operations in Gallipoli, Persia, Mesopotamia, Palestine and East Africa. On the Mesopotamia front Indian troops, who were earlier rushed to Bahrain to protect oil refineries, were regrouped to launch an invasion on southern Mesopotamia in October 1914. The local Turkish garrison was driven back, and Basra was captured by the Indian Army in November 1914. They then advanced to Kut-el-Amara and beyond to Ctesiphon, but subsequently withdraw to Kut and put up a stiff resistance there under very difficult conditions till it fell to the Turks. It was, however, recaptured in 1916 and was followed by the capture of Baghdad and Ramadi. Some of the troops remained in Iraq upto 1920. In Egypt and East Africa Indian Army troops were deployed throughout the war for the defence of Suez Canal, operations in Gallipoli and for various campaigns in Africa including that of Kilimanjaro. At the Palestine and Syrian fronts they participated in the battles of Jerusalem, Gaza, Megido, Sharon and Hafia. At the Persian front, where Indian troops were deployed throughout the war, they again performed splendidly. At the outset of the war Russian troops had occupied most of northern Persia, despite their declaration of neutrality. When Turkey entered the war Indian troops were deployed in the north-western coast of Persian Gulf so as to protect British oil interests, contain the Russians and to obtain a base for operations in Mesopotamia. In all these fronts Indian Army troops performed splendidly, much to the surprise of Allied forces and chagrin of opposing forces, and the long list if honours and awards bestowed on Indian units and individuals prove this point. When the war ended the Indian Army was once again reorganised to improve the system of command; achieve better balance between the fighting arms and services; to update arms and equipment and to develop a system of continuous reinforcement and expansion during war. The army was now divided into four commands that is Northern, Eastern, Western and Southern. In 1920 the Indian Territorial Force (ITF) was raised for home defence and garrison duties, while Auxiliary Forces (India AFs) continued to be in charge of internal security. The British government, in June 1918, issued instructions for the selection of Indian cadets for entry into the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. The annual entry was to be ten in two batches of five each. At the same time a school to train Indian cadets for grant of temporary commissions was inaugurated on 1 December 1919, and 33 cadets were granted permanent Kings Commissions with effect from 17 July 1920. Field Marshal Cariappa was an illustrious member of the first batch of Indian Commissioned officers, and during subsequent years vacancies in these institutions also increased proportionately. World War I, however, had shown glaring deficiencies in the organization and administration of the army. Efforts to set these right now started in earnest. One of the greatest deficiencies had been in the system of recruit training and maintenance of reserves. This was sought to be set right by introducing a Regimental system. Therefore, in 1922 the large and unwieldy single-battalion groups were reorganised into various regiments under Lord Rawlinton of Trent, the then Commander - in- Chief. The Regiments thus created, seniority wise, were 1 Punjab, 2 Punjab, 3 Madras, 4 Grenadiers, 5 Maratha Light Infantry, 6 Rajputana Rifles, 7 Rajput, 8 Punjab, 9 Jat, 10 Baluch, 11 Sikh, 12 Frontier Force Regiment, 13 Frontier Force Rifles, 14 Punjab, 15 Punjab, 16 Punjab, 17 Dogra, 18 Garhwal, 19 Hyderabad, Assam, Gurkhas and so on. For instance, 3/2 Punjab represented the third battalion of the 2nd senior most Regiment of Indian Army – 2nd Punjab. However, the ten Gorkha Rifles regiments remained on two-battalion system, without any training battalion. As a result the existing 131 battalions were integrated into the newly created 19 Infantry Regiments. In the cavalry, the 39 pre-war cavalry regiments were reduced to 21, and the Silidar system was abolished. Separate Corps of Signals and Ordnance were raised as also a Veterinary Corps. An Artillery Depot was established and steps were taken to introduce mechanised transport. Thus in 1922 the modern Indian Army came into being in terms of Regiments and Corps. With regards State Forces, prior to the inception of Indian Army based on the British model, most of the Princely States had their own armies to include infantry, artillery and cavalry units amongst other logistic units or sub units. While expanding their influence over India, the British augmented their own armies through local recruitment in order to effectively fight some of these very state armies who dared to oppose their advance. Noteworthy is the fact that state armies like those of Travancore, Cochin, Mysore, Kolhapur, Hyderabad, Berar, Indore, Baroda, Gwalior, Bhopal, Saurashtra, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Faridkot, Patiala, Jind, Nabha, Kapurthala, Cooch Behar and also Kashmir, to name a few, were well-trained and very well organised. Soon after World War-1, frequent small operations were under taken to deal with the raiders and local tribesmen from across the North -West Frontier. The Indian Army, which looked for a period of peace, found it pitted against the Afghan Army which had crossed the border, and thus began the Third Afghan War. The Afghans were soon forced back across the border and the war came to an end on 8 August 1919. However, while the Afghans retreated, the tribes in Waziristan rose in revolt and were joined by the Mashuds. A force designated the Derajat Column, consisting of two brigades, three batteries of mountain artillery and other attached troops, advanced into Mashud territory on 23 December 1919 and soon found themselves entrapped. The Mashuds were well armed; many had been with the Indian Army not too long ago and were in no mood to surrender. On the other hand the Indian troops were tired and looking forward to a period of peace. Most of the veterans had been demobilised and the new recruits still very raw. In four years of trench warfare, the army had forgotten the art of fighting in the North-West Frontier. The column initially met setbacks and suffered fairly heavy casualties. Over a period of time their weight began to tell, troops relearned lessons of frontier warfare and by 1921 the tribes sued for peace. After a period of relative quiet the Frontier again became restive in 1930. Riots in Peshawar led to an uprising by the Afridis but this was soon contained. In 1935 the Mohamands near Peshawar rose in revolt and a force of four brigades was sent to suppress them; among the Brigadiers were Alexander and Auchinleck, both destined for high rank in World War II. In 1936, the Fakir of Ipi gave a call for holy war and fighting against his followers continued into the 1940’s. The Indian Army was also called upon to send troops to Shanghai in 1926 and Burma in 1931.