How do people today call British Indian Army soldiers "slaves" or "mercenaries"?
Were these not the ancestors of their own countrymen?
Did they not have families, personal honour, duty & allegiance to uphold?
Did they not make the ultimate sacrifice against terrible foes? Are their victories, sacrifices, lives & legacy, less worthy of our praise?
This binary of colonial instrument or not, is flawed & allows no nuance or individuality.
The very principles on which it is based betrays our innate sensibilities.
They were our kin, family, blood.

The Banaras Hindu University was the brainchild of Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya.

Recently people have become interested in the personages whose monetary contributions went towards making the University a reality. This is a thread to show how the money for BHU was raised : Panditji needed to raise atleast ₹1 crore, of that sum, half was to be raised before December 1911, & of that, ₹25 lakhs were to be raised by September 1911.

A 20 member deputation whose names are given below travelled to major cities in Punjab, United Provinces, Bihar & MP.

The Aitareya Brahamana of the Rig Veda describes in full detail the elaborate rituals & ceremonies to be performed by a Vedic king in order to ascend the throne & royal splendour & thus become sovereign of the earth & protector of his realm. The ceremonial day is filled with ritual obligations to be performed by the king, including ablution & "anubandhya" animal sacrifice. The throne upon which the king ascends is made from sacred Udumbara wood & covered in tiger skin, latter representing the "lord of the jungle".

Jemadar Parkash Singh Chib, born Kana Chak, Kathua, Jammu, served in the 14/13th Frontier Force Rifles, was awarded Victoria Cross for his bravery under enemy pressure & display of extraordinary courage in the night of 16-17th Feb, 1945, Burma against the Imperial Japanese Army. During the attack, his company faced hand-to-hand fighting, supported by artillery & mortars. Despite severe wounds to his leg, bleeding profusely, he continued to command his company, encouraging them with the Dogra war cry "Jwala Mata Ki Jai" or "Victory to Goddess Jwala".

Given my recent expected disappointment at the #AadiPurush trailer, I feel obligated to talk today about what I feel is perhaps one of the best adaptations of the Ramayana tale to cinema. That being "Ramayana : The Legend of Prince Rama", an animated, Indo-Japanese production... Any reference of this movie is incomplete without first giving thanks & expressing gratitude to the efforts & passion of two men, Mr. Yugo Sako and Shree Ram Mohan Ji, both of whom are directly responsible for this cherished childhood memory and incredible adaptation...

For the figures on per capita income, the table posted, references Heston, from "Cambridge Economic History of India Vol II", pp. 402, table 4.5. Heston's own figures from the referenced source show otherwise. Cloth production increased, when accounting for Indian mill cloth...

https://twitter.com/prathgodbole/status/1576981010759106568

Production as shown below, it reached as high as 2200 (m. yd.) in 1909 👇. As for life expectancy, It remained low in 1860-1920 (convenient time period) due to multiple famines & endemic diseases, context missing from numbers often used which show the reasons for this decline...

Thread on Mughal logistical problems 👇:

The Mughal army, like the Mughal state, was a product of it's environment, it's society and economy. The many curious aspects of this military force, including those related to it's logistics, are similarly a product of these factors... The North Indian military labour market was nigh saturated [A. Graza]. This meant potential soldiers & especially infantrymen, were cheap. Desertion was not an immediate major concern for the Mughal general/Emperor. Furthermore, the Mughals & their contemporaries in the subcon...