Babur (1526-30)

Babur victory in the first Battle of Panipat made him the Emperor of Delhi and the Founder of Mughal Empire in India. Before his death in December 1530 he defeated Rana Sanga in the Battle of Khanva fought in 1527.

Humayun (1530-40 & 1555-56)

Humayun succeeded his father Babur in 1530. Having been twice defeated by Sher Shah Suri, the Afghan leader, first in the Battle of Chausa and then in the Battle of Kannauj in 1540, Humayun fled away to Persia. After a lapse of 15 years, he restored his lost empire in 1555 with the help of Persian Emperor and died in 1556.

Sher Shah Suri (1540-45 A.D.): He ruled from 1540 to 1545. Grand Trunk Road was built by him. He died in 1545. Mohammed Ali Shah was the last ruler of this dynasty.

AKBAR (1556-1603)

Akbar (1556-1603) succeeded his father Humayun at the young age of 13 years. The emperor being minor, Bairam Khan worked as his regent. Hemu, the leader of Sur Afghans, who had captured Delhi and Agra, immediately after Akbar’s accession, was defeated by the Mughal army in the Second Battle of Panipat in 1556 and was subsequently slain by Bairam Khan. In 1560 he assumed personally the reins of government and dismissed Bairam Khan.

Akbar, by his diplomacy, won over all the Rajput princes except Rana Udai Singh of Mewar whose son Rana Pratap Singh like his father continued to defy the Mughal authority till his death in 1597 despite his defeat in 1567 in Battle of Haldighati. In pursuance of his policy of befriending Hindus, he married Jodhabai, the daughter of Raja BihariMaloi Jaipur who gave birth in 1569 to Salim, Akbar’s only son and heir.

A Sufi saint Salim Shah Chisti is believed to have blessed Akbar with the son In honour of the saint, he shifted his capital from Agra to Fatehpur Sikri where the saint lived. The imperial court remained there from 1570 to 1585. In 1581 he proclaimed a new religion named Din-e-llahi which although represented the good points of all religions, could not succeed. Birbal was the only Hindu who joined it. Akbar died in 1605 at Agra and was buried in a tomb built by the Emperor himself at Sikandra near Agra.

Jahangir (1605-1627)

Akbar’s son Salim succeed his father in 1605 as Jahangir. Guru Arjun of Sikhs who was an accomplice of Prince Khusro who revolted against Jahangir in 1606 was sentenced to death. In May 1611 Jahangir married Mirh-un-nisa, the widow of Sher Afghan, a Persian nobleman of Bengal. She was titled Nur-Jahan.

Shahjahan (1628-1659)

Shahjahan  ascended the throne in 1628 after suppressing his brothers. Three years after his accession, Shahjahan  beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal died. To perpetuate the memory of Mumtaz Mahal, Shahjahan built Taj Mahal at Agra in 1632-53. In 1636 the Emperor appointed his son Aurangzeb as the Viceroy of Deccan. Aurangzeb seized Agra in 1658 and later defeated all his brothers and imprisoned Shahjahan in 1659 who died in 1666 in the captivity of his son.

Aurangzeb (1659-1707)

Aurangzeb was crowned in 1659 as Alamgir. Religiously, he was most intolerant. He imposed Jaziya on non-Muslims. Jaziya was a coercive tax imposed on non-Muslims as a penalty for not embracing Islam.

Sikh revolt: Aurangzeb executed Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru of Sikhs in 1675 on his refusing to embrace Islam. His son Guru Govind Singh organised Sikhs in a militant band called Khalsa to avenge the murder of his father. Two of his own sons were put to death. Guru Govind Singh was murdered in 1708 by an Afghan in Deccan.

Relations of Aurangzeb with Marathas: Shivaji, the Maratha leader was another powerful enemy of Aurangzebs. Shivaji, seduced by Rajput ruler Jai Singh, went on the assurance of honourable peace terms to meet the Emperor at Agra in 1665 but was imprisoned. In 1666 Shivaji, however, managed to escape from the prison. In 1674 Shivaji was proclaimed a monarch. He died in 1680. He was succeeded by his son Sambhaji who was captured and executed by Aurangzeb and his son Sahu detained in the Mughal court.

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As all human advancement is distinguished by some kind of revolution, that is a fundamental change in an established system, the Chinese Revolution reflects the same characteristic. A social revolution, for instance, establishes a new social order; a political revolution results in a new political system; and a technological revolution caters to us new lifestyles.

People become revolutionaries after many years of suffering under an established system. Upheavals, led by these people, do not regard any existing values and usually becomes violent.

Chinese revolution was not a single event, but a series of upheavals, uprisings and rebellions, mostly leading to violence. To understand the nature of Chinese Revolution it is important here to go through the famous definition of Revolution provided by Mao Zedong under whom CCP (Chinese Communist Party) made the government by formally establishing the People ’s Republic of China. He said, “Revolution is not a dinner party, nor an essay, nor a painting, nor a piece of embroidery; cannot be advanced softly, gradually, carefully, considerately, respectfully, politely and modestly. A revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another.”

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Events leading to the Chinese Revolution

A series of political upheavals took place in China, between 1911 and 1949, that consequentially led to the Chinese Revolution. First, in 1911 the imperial dynasty ruling over China at that time was overthrown.

The Chinese revolution of 1911, a nationalist revolt, was led by two men, Dr. Sun Yat Sen and General Chiang-kai-Shek. There were ten attempts in all at Chinese revolution mostly in the southwest provinces.The revolution in fact started with the rebellion in Szechwan.

The imperial government took over the railways and the students took to streets on 24 August 1911, demanding a delay in takeover . A violent conflict between troops and the protesters broke out in which thirty two people were killed.

The revolution of 1911, as an ingredient to the Chinese Revolution, was unusual because it was initiated by the conservative and wealthy gentry, and not by the poor. The leaders of the uprising did not want to dislodge the imperial government; they rather wanted their financial concerns fulfilled. When they realized that the imperial government was not ready to even negotiate with them, they rebelled.

It was from the very beginning the desire of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, who later was honoured by getting the most prestigious designation, a leader of a Chinese revolution gets, of the founding father of the Republic of China, to overthrow the Manchu dynasty. After ten unsuccessful attempts he finally emerged successful in 1912 when Emperor Pu Yi was dethroned.

Sun Yat Sen, who believed in strong ideals, joined hands with general Chiang Kai-Shek, a military leader, and formed a new party namely the Nationalist Party which in 1913 won a majority of seats in the national Assembly.

After the death of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen in 1925, Chiang Kai-Shek took the charge and became commander in chief of the new Nationalist Army and led the Chinese National Party, that was also called Kuomintang, for almost five decades. He functioned as the head of State of the Chinese Nationalist Government between 1928 and 1949.

Chiang Kai-Shek led an expedition known in history as the Northern Expedition that resulted in the reunification of most of China under a National Government based in Nanjing. Although, Kai-Shek presided over a modest programme of reform in China, almost all resources of the government were employed on fighting internal opononents, including the Communist.

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Kuomintang Party or National People’s Party

It was established in 1912 by Sun Yat-Sen. In 1913 when the party got suppressed, Sun Yat-Sen and his military commander, Chiang Kai-Shek, eloped to Japan. With the assistance Soviet Union’s advisers the Kuomintang gradually enhanced its power in China. Chiang Kai-Shek became head of the Kuomintang, the party got engaged in a bitter civil war with the communists.

Warlord Period

The period from 1916 to 1930 s is famously known as the Warlord Period in the history of the republic of China. It was a period when the country was divided among military rulers. The Warlord Era, true to its name, was characterized by constant warfare, dragged China into an interminable economic and political instability. The Warlords maintained total control over their regions by their personalaemies. Although they dominated Chinese politics during the early years of the Republic of China, their rule ended rather abruptly of 1928.

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May 4^th Movement of 1919

In the modern Chinese history, this movement as a part of the Chinese Revolution, deserves special mention because it was the first mass movement. It began as a patriotic eruption against foreign imperialists and warlords. On 4^th May 1919, about 5,000 University students protested the Versailler Agreement that awarded the former German leasehold of Jiaozhou to Japan.

The Chinese Civil War

From 1927-1949 the Chinese Civil War continued between the Communist and the Nationalists. Communists wanted to make China like Soviet Union, for which they had the support of many poor people, and the Nationalists wanted to make China like the United States of America in which they had got the support of not only USA and UK but  also the support of the richer people and the Chinese who lived in Urban areas. The Communists were led Mao Zedong and the leader of the nationalists  was Chiang-Kai-Shek.

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People’s Republic of China Established

The People’s Republic of China was formally established on 1 October, 1949 with its national capital at Beijing. The creation of a people’s democratic dictatorship, to be led by the CCP (Chinese Communist Part), was announced by Mao Zedong.

The Cultural Revolution and its background

The Cultural Revolution, the parallel revolution of the Chinese Revolution, was in fact a struggle for power within the Communist Party of China. It transformed into a widespread social, political and economic violence. A large section of society fell into chaos that eventually dragged the entire country to the brink of Civil War.

The political changes after the communist takeover in 1949 resulted in sweeping social changes. In the process of the consolidation of the power and authority of the Communists, the houses of the former ruling classes were confiscated, and any items that did not comply to Mao’s values were destroyed.

In 1957, Mao Zedong proposed an increase in the industrial growth and to accomplish it he began the ‘great leap forward’ by setting up special communes, that were units of administration, in the countryside. These communes used collective labour and mass mobilization of peasants to enhance the production of steel and to increase agricultural production. However this did not work and the ‘great leap forward’ failed.

The Cultural Revolution, proving to be an offshoot of Chinese Revolution, of all other things, was a method to regain control of the party after the disastrous ‘great leap forward’ that led to a significant loss of Mao’s power to his rival Liu Shaoqi.

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The Age of Indian Textile

Before the age of machine industries, silk and cotton goods from India dominated the international market in textile. Coarser cotton was produced in many countries, but the finer varieties often come from India. Armenian and Persian merchants took the goods from Punjab to Afghanistan, eastern Persia and Central Asia. Bales of fine textiles were carried on camel back via the north-west frontier, through mountain passes, and across deserts. A vibrant sea trade operated through the main pre-colonial ports. Surat on the Gujarat coast connected India to the Gulf and Red Sea Ports; Masulipatanam on the Coromandel coast and Hooghly in Bengal had trade links with Southeast Asian ports.

A variety of Indian merchants and bankers were involved in this network of export trade – financing production, carrying goods and supplying exporters. Supply merchants linked the port towns to the inland regions. They gave advances to weavers, procured the woven cloth from weaving villages, and carried the supply to the ports. At the port, the big shippers and export merchants had brokers who negotiated the price and bought goods from supply merchants operating inland.

By the 1750s, this network, controlled by Indian merchants, was breaking down.

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The European companies gradually gained power – first securing a variety of concessions from local courts, then the monopoly rights to trade. This resulted in a decline of old ports of Surat and Hooghly through which local merchants had operated. Exports from these ports fell dramatically, the credit that had financed the earlier trade began drying up and the local bankers slowly went bankrupt. In the last years of the seventeenth century, the gross values of trade that passed through Surat had been Rs 16 million. By the 1740s, it had slumped to Rs 3 million.

While Surat and Hoogly decayed, Bombay and Calcutta grew. This shift from the old ports to the new ones was an indicator of the growth of colonial power. Trade through the new ports came to be controlled by European companies and was carried in European ships. While many of the old tradings collapsed, that wanted to survive had to now operate within a network shaped by European trading companies.

Weavers in Indian Textile Industry

The consolidation of East India Company power after the 1760s did not initially lead to the decline in textile exports from India. British cotton industries had not yet expanded and Indian fine textiles were in great demand in Europe. So the company was keen on expanding textile exports from India.

Before establishing political power in Bengal and Carnatic in the 1760s and 1770s, the East India Company had found it difficult to ensure a regular supply of goods for export. The French, Dutch, Portuguese as well as the local traders, competed in the market to secure woven cloth. So weaver and supply merchants could bargain and try selling the produce to the best buyer. In their letters back to London, Company officials continuously complained of difficulties of supply and high price.

However, once the East India Company established political power, it could assert monopoly rights to trade. It proceeded to develop a system of management and control that would eliminate competition, control costs, and ensure regular supplies of cotton and silk goods. This it did through a series of steps.

First

The company tried to eliminate the existing traders and brokers connected with the cloth trade and establish a more direct control over the weaver. It appointed a paid servants called the gomastha to supervise weavers, collect supplies, and examine the quality of cloth.

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Second

It prevented Company weavers from dealing with other buyers. One way of doing this was through the system of advances. One an order was placed; the weavers were given loans to purchase the raw material for their production. Those who took loans had to hand over the cloth they produced to the gomastha. They could not take it to any other trader.

As loans flowed in and the demand for fine textile expanded, weavers eagerly took the advances, hoping to earn more. Many weavers had small plots of land which they had earlier cultivated along with weaving, and the produce from this took care of their family needs. No, they had to lease out the land and devote all their time to weaving. Weaving, in fact, required the labour of the entire family, with children and women all engaged in different stages of the process.

Soon, however, in many weaving villages, there were reports of clashes between weavers and gomasthas. Earlier supply merchants had very often lived in the weaving villages, and had a close relationship with the weavers, looking after their needs and helping them in the time of crisis. The new gomasthas were outsiders, with no long-term social links with the village. They acted arrogantly, marched into villages with sepoys and peons, and punished weavers for delays in supply – often beating and flogging them. The weavers lost the space to bargain for the price and sell to different buyers; the price they received from Company was miserably low and the loans they had accepted tied them to the Company.

In many places in Carnatic and Bengal, weavers deserted villages and migrated, setting up looms in other villages where they had some family relation. Elsewhere, weavers along with the village traders revolted opposing the company and its officials. Over time many weavers began refusing loans, losing down their workshops and taking to agricultural labour.

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Food

The principal diet of the Vedic Aryans comprised of barley flour, rice and other cereals, milk, clarified butter, curd and other preparations of milk and meat of different types. Rig Veda frequently mention Yava (barley) and dhanya (rice).

In later Samhita (Vedic texts) rice (Vrihi) is mentioned along with various species of Yava. Beans (mudga), sesamum (tila) and many other grains such as wheat (godhuma) and wild rice (nivara) are mentioned quite often.

There is no doubt that vegetables and fruits formed a large portion of the diet; however, it cannot be denied flatly that the Vedic Indians were also meat-eaters. But, meat-eating was strictly prohibited to men who were under some oath/vow.

Mansaudana (meat cooked with rice), in the Vedic Age was quite a favourite item, even a delicacy. The growing sanctity of cow certainly indicates that eating of its flesh was tabooed. The Rig Veda describes cow as aghnyai, meaning not to be be killed. However, the meat of oxen, sheep and goat was not forbidden and even Brahmans had to eat them when it were offered as a sacrifice. It was only at Horse-sacrifice ceremony that the horse-flesh was eaten.

Milk, undoubtedly, was the favourite drink of the pastorial Aryans. Its main products consisted of curds (amiksha), sour milk (dadhi), fresh-butter (navanita) and different kinds mixtures, hot or cold. Apupa was a mixture of rice or barley prepared with ghee or clarified butter; and adana was a savoury mess generally of grain cooked with milk. The later Vedic texts also talks of fried grains of rice and barley gruel (Yavagu).

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Drinks

Soma and Sura, intoxicating drinks, were quite popular with the Vedic Aryans. Since Soma was treated as a sacrificial drinks, its praise has been sung in the whole of the ninth of book of the Rig Veda. The Soma plant grew on the mountains; the mountain Mujavant was specially for it from where the Soma plants were obtained with great difficulty. The substitutes of thisplant were permitted in the Brahmana period.

In order to prepare it for use the plant Soma was pounded with stones or in a mortar; after that it was offered in a vessel, termed as Chamu, to the gods. This offerings were in turn, poured into vessels called Kalasa and Chamasa from which priests took it.

It was pur as well as mixed with milk (gavasir), or curd or Sour milk (dadhyasir) or grain (Yavasir) and sometimes with honey, Sura (win)- a popular drink distilled from grain. This drink was extremely intoxicating and was not approved by the priests. Its use caused people to be arrogant to the extent of slandering the gods and incurring sins.

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Pastimes and Amusement of Vedic Aryans

As Aryan were horse-loving and chivalrous people, the most popular and prominent amusement of the Vedic Aryans comprised of the chariot race.

Although frequently a cause of lament, the dicing was also a favourite pastime. The Rig Veda does not provide detail of this game; however, several passages of the later Samhitas and Brahmanas provide lists several expressions linked with dicing.

There is no evidence of boards to be used for the purpose of dicing, but a depression was made in the ground into which the dice (aksha) was thrown. There is also the reference to the stake termed vij. Serious losses could be met in the gam, comprising that of property and even the loser’s wife. With all its fateful consequences, the game of dicing continued for a long time as we find reference of its judge (akshedaisaka) in later times too.

The favourite pastimes of Vedic Aryans were music and dancing. The Rig Veda’s frog-hymn refers to the musical chating of Brahmanas engaged in the extraction of Soma.

There remain references of three kinds of musical instruments- dundhubi (drum) used both in war and peace; Karkari (something like a flute); and Kshoni (Vina).

Both women and men danced in Rig Vedic times. The make dancer was called nrita and the female nritu. Swinging was also a popular pastime. One can also find the references to fairs (Samana) people showed off their talents archery, sport, etc, and they (the fairs) served the purpose of establishing social contacts.

As, with the time, social life pastimes and amusements also increased.

Professional Musicians were quite in demand as there were various types of musical instruments. These instruments consisted of aghati (cymbal), drums, flutes and lutes of various types, and the harp having hundred strings.

The Yajurveda talks of acrobats or pole dancers (Vainsanartin). Chariot racing and horse racing continued to be famous pastimes and the chariot racing was closely linked to the Vajapeya ceremony. Dicing was restricted but as a game was nevertheless allowed.

It can be summed up that the Vedic Aryans, as pastoral, people were fond off rearing their cattle, especially cows that were probably looked after even to the extent of invoking divine sanction for their protection. The cows were kept in shed during the night and in the heat of the day, but were allowed free movement in pasture lands.

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