Free Reading Material

Number of words: 357 Aurangzeb’s big push was into the southern peninsula. He shifted to the Deccan in 1682 and would never see Delhi again. He lived in a constant state of campaigning for the next twenty-six years. Aurangzeb extended the empire but he also destroyed it. The never-ending wars were disastrous—for the Land and … Read more

Number of words: 528 The city of Vijayanagar was established just after the brutal raids of Alauddin Khilji’s general, Malik Kafur. Around 1336, two brothers, Hukka and Bukka, appear to have got together to defeat rival groups and build a fortified new city. This city was called Vijayanagar or City of Victory. At its height … Read more

Number of words: 1,056 Babur was a direct descendent of Ghengis Khan from his mother’s side and Taimur the lame on his father’s side. However, Taimur’s empire had been largely lost by the time Babur was born. At the age of twelve, Babur inherited a tiny kingdom in the beautiful Ferghana valley in Central Asia. … Read more

Number of words: 391 The Turks were eager to gain wealth and spread their religion but there was also another important interest they had in mind—the capture of slaves. Over the next few centuries, hundreds of thousands of Indian slaves—particularly from West Punjab and Sind—were marched into Afghanistan and were then sold in the bazaars … Read more

Number of words: 441 The Cholas were an ancient dynasty and are even mentioned in the Ashokan inscriptions. In the ninth to the eleventh century CE, they created an empire that covered most of peninsular India and briefly extended to the banks of the Ganga. The empire even included Sri Lanka and the Maldives! They … Read more

Number of words: 360 As we have seen, the boom in overseas trade made India an economic and cultural superpower. According to Angus Maddison, a British economist, the country accounted for 33 per cent of the world GDP in the first century CE! India’s share was three times that of western Europe and much larger … Read more

Number of words: 603 According to legend, Chanakya travelled east to Pataliputra (modern Patna), the capital of the powerful kingdom of Magadh to ask for help against Alexander. But he was insulted and thrown out. An angry Chanakya decided to return to Taxila to plot his revenge. On the way he came across a boy … Read more

Number of words: 577 The world of small tribal kingdoms described above went through a major change in the third and fourth centuries BCE. This happened around the same time all over the world. This was not really because of a change in technology but because of a change in political ideas and ambition. Within … Read more

Number of words: 712 We now know that this civilization did not suddenly appear or disappear. Rather, these cities were built gradually, sometimes rebuilt on older sites, and their disintegration too was gradual. But why were these cities abandoned? This did not happen overnight, so it’s clear that it wasn’t because of ‘Aryan’ invasions as … Read more

Number of words: 387 The core of the Harappan Civilization extended over a large area, from Gujarat in the south, across Sindh and Rajasthan and extending into Punjab and Haryana. Many sites have been found outside the core area, including some as far east as Uttar Pradesh and as far west as Sutkagen-dor on the … Read more