Sanatan Archive

U Tirot Sing Day is a regional public holiday in the Indian state of Meghalaya on July 17th each year. This holiday honours Tirot Singh, a 19th-century freedom fighter from Meghalaya who led a revolt against the British.

New Delhi: On April 2020', the Vice President, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu suggested that Union government should encourage states to research upon and compile the history of local heroes of freedom struggle from across the country. He also emphasized on publishing this history in local languages so as to reach the maximum people.

The desert land of Mewar has produced abundant warriors and their heroic legends. The fables of bravery are infused in this desert soil, every time a son of Mewar is born with his own tale to tell.

Amongst the many flaws in the teaching and writing of Indian history is the fact that we have been obsessed with the exploits of the invaders rather than the deeds of the brave defenders. This is a bit curious, unique and sad, because in most countries one finds that the defenders have been glorified even if they were defeated in war. The problem gets compounded in India by the fact that we tend to ignore the history of the regions far away from Delhi or the big cities.

For any true Hindu and a lover of Bharath Varsh, the study of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s life is awe-inspiring.  Over and above being a great and ferocious warrior and in many ways a fore-runner in counter-Jehadi-terrorism  in 17th century Bharath, Shivaji was a devoted son to his mother Jijau , a devoted Seeker (Bhakt) of Goddess Bhavani, and a champion protector of the weak and innocent. The daring exploits of this proud Maratha warrior king are extra-ordinary.

The history of India is full of rulers -- both men and women -- who combined bravery with a strategy to repulse attacks by foreign invaders down the ages. Members of royal families were known to have shown exemplary courage when the situation demanded.

The antiquity of Assam dates back to several thousand years. Assam finds mention as ‘Pragjyotishpur’ in the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas and other ancient Indian scriptures. Later, the kingdom was named ‘Kamrupa’, which also finds mention in several scriptures. Nidhanpur and Doobi inscriptions talk about the kings of the dynasty of Naraka, Bhagadatta and Vajradatta and their descendants, who ruled for 3000 years. The Allahabad inscription of Samudragupta mentions Kamrupa as a frontier territory.

We have all learned and studied about the shrewd and vicious conqueror Timur Lang (Taimur) who ruled from Samarkand city in (Modern day Uzbekistan) his capital and conquered West Asia, India and Central Asia, in our history books. However, our history books do not mention the courageous, fearless, and warrior girl Rampyari Gurjar Chauhan who was just 20 years old when she with other warriors suppressed the Timur’s army and saved their country from a ruthless conqueror.

The Swadhinata Sangram of Bharat saw the mass participation of women on an unprecedented scale, but unfortunately, several of them remain invisible, unknown and unsung in the heap of our history textbooks that have been written in post-Independent India. Such is the story of Ropuiliani of the Lushai Hills (present-day Mizoram). It goes back to the time when the British were establishing their authority through either territorial annexation or forcible military occupation of one province after the other. It needs to be mentioned here that Mizoram was officially known as Lushai Hills until 1952. Christianity is the predominant religion in Mizoram today. On Sundays, the numerous Churches dotting the enigmatic landscape of Mizoram become all agog with different activities pertaining to a religion that came to be known here only in 1894.