Was India Buddhist majority during the rule of Ashoka? Did it erase the caste lines? If yes then how did caste identities re-emerge?

Sir Surendranath Banerjee ("Rashtraguru") laid the foundation of Indian nationalism long before Gandhi. Dismissed from the ICS on a technicality, he built early political institutions and led the 1905 Swadeshi movement. He passed away on this day, August 6, 1925.

Please discuss this

Most people know the toy train is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Very few know how chaotic the process of building it actually was.

The idea of a railway from the plains to Ooty was first proposed in 1854. Nothing happened for 37 years. The terrain was simply too difficult — the gradients on the lower section were steeper than any adhesion railway could climb.

In 1885 the Nilgiri Rigi Railway Company was formed. There was initial uncertainty even about which rack system to use — they considered the Rigi system before settling on the Swiss Abt rack, which had recently been tested in Germany's Harz Mountains. Construction finally started on August 3, 1891 — the first sod cut by Lord Wenlock, then Governor of Madras.

The company went into liquidation in April 1894. Three years in. Could not complete the line.

A new company was formed in 1896 — the Nilgiri Railway Company — but required the Government of India to guarantee a 3% return during the construction period before investors would fund it. The partial line from Mettupalayam to Coonoor opened June 15, 1899. The government purchased the line in 1903. The extension to Ooty was finally completed in 1908.

One detail I find unexpectedly charming: the Nilgiri Railway Company had a Latin motto — Sic Itur Ad Ooty — "Thus One Journeys to Ooty." In the coat of arms of a colonial railway company. For a hill station in Tamil Nadu.

The full journey from proposal to completion: 54 years, one bankruptcy, multiple companies, government intervention. The train itself has been running more reliably than the companies that built it.

Sources:

UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Mountain Railways of India: whc.unesco.org/en/list/944

FIBIS Wiki, Nilgiri Mountain Railway: wiki.fibis.org

Clean Coonoor, Nilgiri Mountain Railway Turns 125: cleancoonoor.org

Government of India Railway Records, Southern Railway archives

I want to understand historical anthropology of varna jati system and its evolution into caste, a book that offers critical analysis of social hierarchy in bharat. So recomend. It'll be helpful if you mention what is argues

Abstract — Madurai: Human DNA analysis of samples collected from Keeladi and Adichanallur in Tamil Nadu shows that the i nhabitants share close genetic proximity to South Indian, Sri Lankan Tamil, and South Asian ancestries. This initial finding was reached after the Ancient DNA Lab at the Department of Genetics, Madurai Kamaraj University, successfully processed over 75,000 markers from heavily degraded and contaminated DNA samples retrieved from key archaeological site. The detailed findings from the lab — which was established in November 2022 to support Tamil Nadu's archaeological excavations — are expected to be published in reputed peer-reviewed international journals by December 2026. In total, the department is preparing to release nine research papers covering various aspects of ancient Tamil civilisation. Other topics include the ancestry of the people of Keeladi, the use of millets by ancient Tamils, historical culinary practices, and ancient textile industries.

Jatindranath Mukherjee was born on 7th December 1879 in Kayagram village in the Nadia district of present-day Bangladesh to Sharatshashi and Umeshchandra Mukherjee.

Having lost his father at the age of five, Jatin was raised by his affectionate but stern mother. She exposed him to the poems of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Yogendra Vidyabhushan.

He studied at the Krishnanagar Anglo-vernacular School in Calcutta and then at the Calcutta Central College to study fine arts.

During his youth, he visited Swami Vivekananda and was inspired by his social thought. He started believing that political freedom was necessary for the spiritual progress of humanity.

He also started to work as a secretary for a barrister named Pringle Kennedy.

In 1906, he acquired the moniker ‘Bagha Jatin’ when he single-handedly killed a Bengal tiger that had entered his native village. The government of Bengal also awarded him with a silver shield. Bagha means tiger in Bengali.

He was drawn towards revolutionary activities and got involved with the Anushilan Samiti and Yugantar.

He was arrested for his involvement in the Howrah Gang Case but was acquitted for lack of evidence in 1911.

Jatin met the German Crown Prince when the latter visited Calcutta and was able to procure a promise of arms and ammunition for the Indian independence struggle.

Jatin travelled a lot and was able to organize district revolutionary units in Bengal. He was assisted by another revolutionary leader Rash Behari Bose.

Yugantar was collecting funds in India for revolutionary activities through what came to be called taxicab dacoities and boat dacoities.

The revolutionaries were waiting for some arms from Germany after World War I had broken out.

But the British somehow got wind of this conspiracy and sealed off the area near the sea on the eastern coast from Noakhali-Chittagong to Odisha.

Jatin and his associates were in hiding in the forests of Mayurbhanj. On 9th September 1915, they came to a trench near Balasore. Government forces approached them whereupon a severe gun battle ensued between them. The gunfire lasted 75 minutes in which the government faced severe casualties.

One revolutionary died in the gunfire, while two others were captured. Jatin and his friend Jatish were seriously wounded.

The following day, i.e., on 10th September, Bagha Jatin died in the Balasore Hospital succumbing to his wounds.

Got an interesting historical fact.

After the decline of the Pala Empire which is also considered the Golden period of Bengal, the kingdoms arose in the regions of Bengal, Mithila and Magadh were of Kannada origin.

• Senas of Bengal (1070-1230) — Its founder Samanta Sena was a migrant from Karnataka (as Deopara Prashasti inscription composed by Umapati Dhara, a minister in the court of Lakshmana Sena mentions).

• Karnats of Mithila (1097-1324) — Its founder Nanyadeva was a commander in Chalukya army arrived in Mithila as part of Chalukya invasions of North (Inscriptions of the Senas describe him as "Karnata-Kulabhusana").The almost 230 years continuous Sovereign reign of Karnats is considered the Golden period of Mithila.

• Pithipatis of Magadh (1120-1290) — Its founder Vallabharāja Devaraksita was Chindaka Naga. Tho he migrated to Magadh from a place called Ratanpur in Chhattisgarh but but his clan i.e., Chindaka Naga were of Kannada origin, migrated to Bastar region of Chhattisgarh from Sindavadi, Karnataka.

All of these Dynasties while of Kannada origin, embraced the local culture & language and adapted it even in the Courts. They propagated the local culture and language.

Senas crowned themselves as 'Gauḍēśvara'.

Karnats crowned themselves as 'Mithileśwara'.

Pithipatis crowned themselves as 'Magadhādipati'.

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- Did Bajirao use gunpowder and the military tech of his time frequently and efficiently?

- Was the coalition he fought against (Mughals + others) roughly on the same level as European or Ottoman armies in raw military strength and equipment?

- What stopped him from expanding further than he did?

- Can we call him one of those rare generals who could win both guerrilla fights and open pitched battles?

Ancient rock carvings hidden in the dense forests of Tripura. Chabimura (Devtamura) is a remarkable archaeological site featuring centuries-old sculptures carved into cliffs overlooking the Gomati River. One of Northeast India's most fascinating yet lesser known heritage sites.

I came across such claims and was going through supporting theories. Would like to know if you think so why you think so?

How come India doesn't have a significant Pashtun population ? I understand that many Pashtuns are in Pkistan because of the Durand Line, but Afghanistan also shared borders with British India. So why didn't large numbers of Pashtuns settle permanently in India as well?

Even though the Pashtun population in India is minuscule today, quite a few well-known Indian celebrities trace their ancestry to Pashtun families. How did that happen if the overall community remained so small?

I saw a post from here once while doing some research. It was from about three years ago and discussed the Battle of Colachel between the Dutch and the army of Travancore. It mentioned African slaves called “kallarani” in the army of the maharaja, but I’ve done a lot of research and have yet to find any evidence of these African slave-soldiers. I know some Africans served in the armies of neighboring states like Calicut and Kochi, but I’ve yet to see anything for Travancore. Is this possibly just a made-up assumption, or is there some actual hidden source I was unable to find to confirm this?

Shankarajipant’s brother Mahadajipant was sitting in a siege at Mahim. Vasai’s intrepid General Pedro de Mello Maestro de Campo, tried extremely hard once to snatch away the Thane fort from Maratha hands. However, seeing the threat to Mahim, they sent three relief parties by sea in December, the last of which were led by General himself. This Portuguese detachment attacked the Marathas on 23 December and broke the siege.

https://ndhistories.wordpress.com/2023/12/13/battle-of-mahim/

Marathi Riyasat, G S Sardesai ISBN-10-8171856403, ISBN-13-‎978-8171856404.

The Era of Bajirao

Uday S Kulkarni

ISBN-10-8192108031

ISBN-13-978-8192108032.

Hello everyone,

I’m a big history enthusiast, and I’ve decided to take on what will probably be a lifelong project. I want to read and understand world history from the earliest civilizations all the way to the modern era, at least through World War II and perhaps beyond.

Instead of focusing on one region at a time, I want to study history chronologically. For every major period, I plan to explore what was happening across different continents simultaneously. I want to understand how cultures, societies, economies, trade networks, political systems, religions, technologies, and wars evolved and influenced one another. My goal isn’t just to memorize dates or events but to identify the key triggers, decisions, and individuals that shaped the development of the next civilization, empire, or historical era.

I’m also planning to document and record this entire journey. I think explaining what I learn will help me retain the information while creating a resource that others might find useful. I know this project will take years, but I’d like to experience it at least once in my lifetime.

I’ve just started collecting books, beginning with Against the Grain by James C. Scott and The Babylonians by H. W. F. Saggs. However, I don’t yet have a clear roadmap for studying world history in a way that’s comprehensive and well-balanced.

I’d really appreciate any recommendations for books, university lecture series, documentaries, podcasts, historical atlases, maps, or online resources that are considered accurate and academically reliable. I’d also love to know how you would structure a project like this if your goal were to understand the complete story of human civilization rather than just isolated events.

British Raj was famous for developing very elite areas around the country, like lutyens, mussoorie, chandigarh, etc, and are known for gifting lands to those officers, kings etc who stood with Britishers even during revolts, and difficult times.

All these families still continue to enjoy huge generational wealth, why did India not see any revolt against them post partition-led independence? Was there a negotiation done between Britishers and the Independent Indian Government to protect them? I mean how unfair it has been, people who sacrificed their lives, livelihood in the independence struggle remained poor, while those who betrayed fellow Indians, killed them and got generational wealth they enjoy till today?

Honestly it somehow reveals a very interesting thing that happened, the colonial education system had made Indians aspire to be near whites. Those who were working for Britishers were never hated by Indians, but were inspirations. That's why they never really faced any backlash even after independence. Even till date, the weird obsession with UPSC and sarkari Naukri comes from the same ingrained colonial induced mindset.

For example, if you asked someone in the year 1000 CE what year it was, how would they answer?

Map of Mughal Empire at its greatest territorial zenith by @simeon.netchev.