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Indira Gandhi

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Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi

Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi-Nehru was the fourthPrime Minister of India and a central figure of the Indian National Congress party. Gandhi, who served from 1966 to 1977 and then again from 1980 until her assassination in 1984 is the second-longest-serving Prime Minister of India and the only woman to hold the office.

Indira Gandhi was the only child of Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. She served as the Chief of Staff of her father’s highly centralised administration between 1947 and 1964 and came to wield considerable unofficial influence in government. ElectedCongress President in 1959, she was offered the premiership in succession to her father. Gandhi refused and instead chose to become a cabinet minister in the government. She finally consented to become Prime Minister in succession to Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1966.

Read Also: Indira Gandhi Peace Prize

As Prime Minister, Gandhi became known for her political ruthlessness and unprecedented centralisation of power. She went to war with Pakistan in support of the independence movement and war of independence in East Pakistan, which resulted in an Indian victory and the creation of Bangladesh, as well as increasing India’s influence to the point where it became the regional hegemon of South Asia. Gandhi also presided over a state of emergency from 1975 to 1977 during which she ruled by decree and made lasting changes to the constitution of India. She was assassinated in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star.

In the 1950s, Indira, now Mrs Indira Gandhi after her marriage, served her father unofficially as a personal assistant during his tenure as the first Prime Minister of India. After her father’s death in 1964, she was appointed as a member of the Rajya Sabha (upper house) and became a member of Lal Bahadur Shastri’s cabinet as Minister of Information and Broadcasting.

In 2001, Gandhi was voted the greatest Indian Prime Minister in a poll organised by India Today. She was also named “Woman of the Millennium” in a poll organised by the BBC in 1999.

Indira Gandhi was born Indira Nehru in a Kashmiri Pandit family on 19 November 1917 in Allahabad. Her father, Jawaharlal Nehru, led India’s political struggle for independence from British rule and became the first Prime Minister of the Union of India. She was an only child and grew up with her mother, Kamala Nehru, at the Anand Bhavan; a large family estate in Allahabad.

Must Read: Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM)

When Indira became Prime Minister in 1966, the Congress was split in two factions, the socialists led by Gandhi, and the conservatives led by Morarji Desai. Rammanohar Lohia called her Gungi Gudiya, which means ‘Mute Doll’. The internal problems showed in the 1967 election where the Congress lost nearly 60 seats winning 297 seats in the 545-seat Lok Sabha. She had to accommodate Desai as Deputy Prime Minister of India and Minister of Finance. In 1969, after many disagreements with Desai, the Indian National Congress split. She ruled with support from Socialist and Communist Parties for the next two years. In the same year, in July 1969 she nationalised banks.

The Indira Awaas Yojana, a central government low-cost housing programme for the rural poor, is named after her. The international airport at New Delhi is named Indira Gandhi International Airport in her honour. The Indira Gandhi National Open University, the largest university in the world, is also named after her. Indian National Congress established the annual Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration in 1985, given in her memory on her death anniversary. The Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust also constituted the annual Indira Gandhi Prize.

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How East India Company Established British Empire in India? Explained.

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Syskool
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British Empire in India

Early Activities of the East India Company

16. The arrival of British Empire in India goes back to the early part of the seventeenth century. On December 31, 1600, Queen Elizabeth granted a royal charter to a large body of merchants who formed a new trading Company under the name of ‘The Company of Merchants of London, Trading into the East-Indies’.

 

15. Between 1601 and 1613, merchants of this Company, later known as John Company or more specifically East India Company, made twelve voyages to India.

14. In 1609 Captain William Hawkins came to the court of Jahangir to seek permission to establish a presence British Empire in India but met with failure.

 

13. Sir Thomas Roe, who presented himself before the Mughal Emperor in 1617, was more successful in his mission. In 1619, Roe obtained Jahangir’s permission to build a British factory in Surat, and in 1639, this was followed by the founding of Fort St. George (Madras, now Chennai).

12. Despite some reverses, such as the Company’s utter humiliation at the hands of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, with whom the Company went to war during 1688-91, the Company never really looked back.

Must Read: History of India in a Nutshell

Beginning of Political Domination

11. In 1757, on account of the English-hatched political conspiracy leading to the so-called battle of Plassey, where Robert Clive practically affected a wholesale defection of the forces of the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-daula, the East India Company found itself transformed from an association of traders to rulers exercising political sovereignty over a largely unknown land and people.

10. Within a decade, the Company not only won the hard-fought battle of Buxar against the deposed Mir Qasim of Bengal and his allies in 1764 but also acquired the Diwani, or the right to collect revenues on behalf of the Mughal Emperor, in Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa in 1765.

Must Read: 18 Wars of Medieval India Battles that changed destiny of India

9. The consolidation of British Empire in India after the initial military victories fell to Warren Hastings, who did much to dispense with the fiction that the Mughal Emperor was still the sovereign to whom the Company was responsible.

8. Hastings also set about to make the British more acquainted with Indian history, culture, and social customs. His successors, though fired by the British imperialistic ambitions in India, also had to face the task of governance.

Also Read: Important Battles in the Indian History

Foundation of British Empire in India

7. British rule was sought to be justified, in part, by the claims that the Indians required to be civilized, and the British rule would introduce in place of Oriental despotism and anarchy a reliable system of justice, the rule of law, and the notion of ‘fair play’.

6. Certain Indian social or religious practices that the British found to be detestable were outlawed, such as satiin 1829 by William Bentinck, and an ethic of ‘improvement’ was said to shape British social policies.

 

5. In the late 1840s and early 1850s Dalhousie brought more territories under native rulers were corrupt, inept, and notoriously indifferent about the welfare of their subjects, or that since the native ruler had failed to produce a biological male heir to the throne, the territory was bound to ‘lapse’ into British India upon the death of the ruler.

Also Read: Administrative Structure under the Mughals

4. Such was the fate of several Indian states, such as Satara (1848), Jaitpur and Sambalpur (1849), Baghat (1850), Udayapur (1852), Jhansi (1853), Nagpur (1854), and most tragically Awadh (1956). The Nawab of Awadh or Oudh, Wajid Ali shah, was especially loathed by the British as the worst specimen of the Oriental Despot, more interested in indulgence than in the difficult task of governance.

3. Shortly after the annexation of Awadh, British Empire in India witnessed the so-called ‘Sepoy Mutiny’ to recall the colonial terminology, or the ‘First War of National independence’ as per the nationalist perception, or the ‘Popular Upheaval’ of 1857 to use the politically more correct terminology.

2. This was by far the Greatest threat posed to the British since the beginnings of their acquisition of an empire in India in 1757, and within the space of a few weeks in May large chunks of territory in the Gangetic plains had been taken over by the rebels.

1. Atrocities were committed on both sides, and conventionally the rebellion is perceived as marking the moment when the British would always understand themselves as besieged by hostile natives, just as the Indians understood that they could not forever be held in submission.

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18 Wars of Medieval India – Battles that changed destiny of India

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Syskool
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Some of important Wars of Medieval India that changed the history of India.

Wars of Medieval India (Early)

First Battle of Tarain (1191)

This battle was fought at Tarain near Thaneswar. Prithviraj of Chauhan Dynasty defeated the Mohammad of Ghori.

Second Battle of Tarain(1192)

It was fought at same Tarain battlefield as in the first Tarain battle. This was fought by Mohammad Ghori against Prithvi Raj Chauhan. This time, Prithvi Raj was defeated. Mohammad got the opportunity to enter Indian lands.

Read Also: Important Battles Fought In India

Battle of Chandawar(1194)

In this battle, Jaichandra,King of Kanauj was defeated by Mohammad Ghori. Mohammad further extended his empire in India by defeating a large kingdom.

First Battle of Panipat(21-April-1526)

In this battle, Babur defeated the Army of Afghans and killed their king Ibrahim Lodi.By this victory, Babur got opportunity to expand his small principality into big empire

Battle of Khanwa(17-March-1527)

Rajputs under Rana of Mewar Rana Sanga were defeated by Babur of Ferghana. Rana Sanga was wounded in the battlefield.

Battle of Chanderi(1528)

Medini Rai of Chanderi was defeated by Babur.

Battle of Ghagra or Ghagra(6-May-1529)

Babur defeated and dispersed Afghans in this one of important wars of Medieval India.

Battle of Chausal (7-June-1539)

Sher shah defeated the Mughals, but Humayun, the king escaped by crossing over the river.

Must Read: Important Battles in the Indian History

Battle of Kanauj or Billgram (17-May-1540)

Sher shah won against Humayun. Agra was occupied by Sher shah

Battle for Delhi (7 October 1556)

King ‘Hem Chandra Vikramaditya’ defeated Akbar’s forces in Delhi.

Second Battle of Panipat(5-November-1556)

Hem Chandra Vikramaditya (Hemu) was defeated by Mughals under Akbar. Akbar reoccupied Delhi.

Battle of Bannihatti or Tallikota(23-January-1565)

Unified Army of five Deccan Sultanates(Ali adilshah and four others) defeated the Vijayanagara Army and Vijayanagara General Ramaraju was killed in the battlefield.

Battle of Haldighati(1576)

This was started between Akbar and Rana of Mewar Pratap. Decisive Mughal victory.

Wars of Medieval In

First Carnatic War(1745–48)

This war was fought by British and French armies. French occupied Madras later returned it to British.

Second Carnatic War(1749–54)

French army under the of Duplex fought with British and British won. In 1755 they made a provisional treaty. French loss their expanding opportunities and continued as a trading community in India.

Don’t Miss: Important Wars and Battles

Third Carnatic War(1756–63)

In 1758 French occupied Fort Saint David. But defeated at Wandiwasi(1760). Britishers won.

Battle of Plassey(June-1757)

British Army under the command of Rober Clive fought with Bengal Nawab Siraz-ud-daula and British won and Mir Jafar was made Nawab. Siraz-ud-daula,while he was unarmed was killed mercilessly by Muhammad Beg,a person who was under his assylum. This was one of the most important wars of medieval India.

Battle of Buxar(1764)

British army under the command of Major Manri defeated the combined army of Mir Kasim nawab of Bengal, Shuja-ud-daulah nawab of Awadh, Sha Alam, Mughal emperor

Also, Read:

First Battle of Panipat

Second Battle of Panipat

Immune System, antibodies and vaccines

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Syskool
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immune system

We are surrounded by pathogens of various diseases but we don’t get sick too often. Through the course of evolution, we have got a well-developed immune system to fight with deadly diseases. Our body can differentiate between self and non-self. The foreign agents or technically antigens can be detected and be remembered by our immune system. Let’s divide them into lines of defence.

First, we have a layer of skin with dead cells forming the physical barrier upon which most of the pathogens cannot live or grow. The mucous layer lining the gastrointestinal tract, urinogenital tract, which traps and removes microbes forms another physical barrier.

Secretions like sebum (oily secretion) from the ear, eyes with tears have lysozyme (anti-microbial) which kills the microbes trying to enter. Some parts have acidic pH like the stomach and genital tract which is inhabitable for most microbes. They form the physiological barrier for microbes. These skin, pH, and mucus lining constitute the 1st line of defense.

Although, even if they enter the body or blood, the second and third line of defense comes to rescue. Blood cells like macrophage in tissue and neutrophils, monocytes, and natural killer cells in the bloodstream, interferons secreted by virus-infected cells to protect non-infected cells from viral infection and fever constitute the second line. After them, the third line B-cells (produces antibody) and T-cells cells (a type of lymphocyte) come to play.

Types of Immunity

Innate immunity

The immunity with which we are born or present at the time of birth is innate immunity. They are non-specific means work the same against any pathogen. the physical, physiological, cellular(macrophages, neutrophils), and cytokine (interferons) barriers are included in this.

Acquired immunity

The immunity which we acquire in our life span through encounters with various pathogens. They are pathogen-specific and have memory. They can recognize a diverse variety of micro-organisms.

Active Immunity vs Passive Immunity

Passive immunity

when readymade antibody or antitoxins are given directly against a disease or pathogen. They are administered when a rapid response is required but it is short-lived and less intensified. In this case, there is no role of antigen, no antibody is produced by the body and the body is unable to fight future infection by the same pathogen. No memory of the pathogens is stored there. Used for the treatment of acute infection. The host immune system does not participate.

Active immunity

When pathogens (or antigen) enter our body either deliberately by vaccination or through infection we produce antibodies against it to fight and a memory of the pathogen is developed for future encounters with them. The first or primary response is although the slow and less intensified secondary or anamnestic response is rapid and more violent. This is used as a prophylaxis to increase resistance.

Antigens-antigens are pathogens or their parts, or foreign agents having different antigenic determination sites or epitopes.antigens are multivalent.

Components of Immune System

lymphoid organ

Lymphocytes are originated, matured, and proliferated here.
They are primary and secondary

Primary Lymphoid Organ – They include bone marrow(where all blood cells are produced) and thymus (lobed organ beneath the breast bone). Here immature lymphocytes are made antigen sensitive. They provide a micro-environment for the development and maturation of T-lymphocyte.

Secondary Lymphoid Organ – They are the site for the interaction of lymphocytes with an antigen which then proliferates to become effecter cells. They are the training points of lymphocytes. They include tonsils, Peyer’s patches (in the small intestine), appendix, lymph nodes, spleen.

Lymphoid tissue

They are organised structure which helps in immune response Mucosal associated lymphoid tissue(MALT) lines the respiratory, digestive, urogenital tracts constitute half of the lymphoid tissue.

Cells (lymphocytes)

T cells help in cell-mediated immune response or cellular immunity. There are four types of T-cells i.e. helper T-cells, killer T-cells, suppressor T-cells, and memory T-cells.B-cells plays role in antibody-mediated immunity or humoral immunity.

Antibodies

They are soluble glycoprotein molecules secreted by effecter B-cells in response to antigen invading the body. They are denoted by Ig(immunoglobulin). They are of five types.

IgM- 1st antibody generated at the time of defence and 1st antibody formed by foetus in the 5th month against congenital infection.Largest and heaviest antibody.
IgG- Main role in chronic infection and secondary immune response. They provide immune power to the embryo also.
IgD-Activation of B-lymphocyte.
IgE- Related to allergic reactions.
IgA-Protection of mucous membrane and the outer surface of the body.

How does the immune system work?

When pathogens enter the body first they encounter the macrophages which activate the T-helper cells by releasing cytokines or interleukins and the war begins. Helper T- cells stimulate B-cells to produce antibodies.

T-helper cells stimulate the killer T-cells which can destroy the infected cell or target cell. Killer T-cells secrete lymphokines (messenger molecules) that attract phagocytes at the site of infection. Killer T-cells are responsible for cell-mediated immunity. They kill the transplanted cell, tumor cells, and other foreign cells.

B and T cells after stimulation, begin to clone itself called clonal selection. T-helper cells produce lymphokines that bring WBC to the affected area.

Another cell called memory T-cells retain the memory of each encounter and converts into effecter cells on subsequent encounter by the same pathogen.

If the attack damaging own body suppressor cells suppresses the entire immune system from further harm.

What antibodies do?

Antibody molecule has a site for the antigen on the surface of the pathogen to bind (agglutination) in the lock and key fashion to make antigen-antibody complex and destroys them by breaking them (cell lysis).

The coating (opsonization) of the pathogen with antibody (IgG and IgM) facilitates the phagocytosis of them. The antibody neutralizes the toxin of the pathogen by attaching.

Vaccination and Immunisation

This is mainly based on the power of memory of the immune system. A preparation of antigenic proteins of pathogen or inactivated/weakened pathogen having antigenicity but no pathogenicity (produces no disease) is given. They stimulate antibody production and hence neutralize the pathogens on the actual infection.

Using recombinant DNA technology, antigenic polypeptides can be produced in bacteria or yeast. With this technique, large-scale production of vaccines is possible.

Types of vaccines

Live vaccines

BCG and oral polio vaccine a weakened (attenuated) vaccine and in smallpox, a natural vaccine is given.

Killed vaccine

In influenza, pneumonia, cholera, rabies, whooping cough inactivated vaccine is given.

Toxoid vaccines

In tetanus, Diphtheria, botulism bacterial exotoxin is used as a vaccine.

Recombinant antigen vaccines

This is the 2nd generation vaccine. The hepatitis-B vaccine is produced from transgenic fungus (yeast).

Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya

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Syskool
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Visvesvaraya

MOKSHAGUNDAM VISVESVARAYA: A BORN ENGINEER AND BUILDER OF MODERN INDIA

The present day India is glowing with multi-storeyed buildings, heavy manufacturing industries, huge dams & reservoirs and well planned cities. The pioneer of building this modern Indiais the great engineer SIR MOKSHAGUNDAM VISVESVARAYA, who always dreamed of seeing a technologically advanced and industrialized India with a modern outlook.

In pre independence situation, with inadequate facilities and in adverse conditions M Visvesvaraya created many economically viable constructions and also historical projects like KRISHNARAJA SAGAR dam of Mysore, OSMAN SAGAR of Hyderabad and so on. He always aimed of modernising India and contributed his best for the same.

He served as an Engineer of varios cadres, Diwan of Mysore and Board of Director of TATA group of companies and utilised every single opportunity for the progress of the country. The Government of India celebrates the birthday of VISVESYARAYA, 15th September of every year as THE ENGINEERS DAY.

Visvesvaraya

CHILDHOOD AND EARLY LIFE:

Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya was born into a family of four on 15th September 1860 in a village called MUDDENAHALLI of MYSORE princely state which was now in Karnataka. Even from his childhood, Visvesvaraya showed signs of engineering bent of mind. When Visvesvaraya was at thirteen, his father passed away and his family went into deep financial crisis.

Visvesvaraya, however managed his studies and obtained his bachelor’s degree fromCENTRAL COLLEGE, Bangalore in 1881. During his college, he used to take tuitions in the morning and attend the college afterwards to support his family. He always stood first in his studies and even attained rare scholarships too. At the age of 24, Visvesvaraya completed his engineering from the famous PUNE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING.

CAREER AS AN ENGINEER:

M VISVESVARAYA joined the British Government as an ASSISTANT ENGINEER in Public works department of BOMBAY PRESIDENCY IN 1885. Since then, Visveyaraya started working very hard and always used innovative and novel ideas to solve the problems. In 1909, he joined Mysore state as chief engineer and also woked as diwan. Some of his achievements are:

  • During his early days as an engineer in Bombay presidency he devised new water filtration system in sukkur village where the people were frequently affected by diseases due to unclean drinking water. Then the people of that honoured visvesvaraya very much for his services.
  • He also worked as a freelance engineer in many areas such as Bijapur, Kolhapur, Goa, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Nagpur, Bikaner, Baroda, Bhopal and so on. Everywhere, he applied simple principles of engineering to provide clean drinking water, increase storage capacity of tanks and making the regions free from floods, droughts and diseases.
  • He was solely responsible for transforming mosquito ridden Hyderabad into a beautiful city by constructing OSMAN SAGAR reservoir.
  • He was the inventor of AUTOMATIC SLUICE GATES and BLOCK SYSTEM OFIRRIGATION which are widely used these days.
  • As a chief engineer of Princely state of Mysore, he built the Krishna raja sagar dam, in Mysore which was the largest hydro-electric project at that time. Brundavan Gardens, MYSORE SILK INDUSTRY, SANDAL WOOD SOAP COMPANY and so on were the famous projects dealt by him.
  • As a DIWAN OF MYSORE STATE, Visvesvaraya strived hard for all-round development of the state by setting up universities and industries all over the state.

POST RETIREMENT LIFE:

Even after retirement as DIWAN OF MYSORE in 1919, Visvesvaraya continued his contributions as an engineer.

  • He supervised many government projects and provided his valuable feedbacks
  • He served as a board of director in TATA group of industries for 28 years involving in many historical steel manufacturing and automobile manufacturing industries of the group.
  • He visited many European countries and always wanted India to follow their industrial models. He also given a slogan “INDUSTRIALISE OR PERISH”.

He also received many honorary doctorates, knighthood of the crown of the empire. In 1955, Indian government honoured M Visvesvaraya with the highest honour BHARAT RATNA. Finally, Visvesvaraya died at the age of 101 years in 1962.

CONCLUSION:

The contemporary engineers of India should take MOKSHAGUNDAM VISVESVARAYA’S life as an inspiration and should remember his saying “NATURE NEVER EXCUSES LAPSES”.

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