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From 1757, the British East India Company had been bringing Indian areas under its rule, and expanding the Indian army. The conditions of service came into conflict. The final spark was the rumoured use of cow and pig fat in the newly introduced rifle cartridges, which the soldiers had to bite before loading into rifles, in 1857. While there has been no conclusive evidence to show that either of these materials was actually used on any of the cartridges in question, the perception gathered enough momentum.

The soldiers were offended and started openly expressing it. Later, sepoys in Meerut refused the cartridges. As a result of this, they were court-martialled and put in jail. This punishment angered their comrades, who rose on May 10, marking the beginning of the mutiny.

The Indian sepoys shot their British officers and marched to Delhi, where the local sepoy garrison joined them. By nightfall they had made old Bahadur Shah II the emperor. The mutiny soon spread to Kanpur, Agra and Lucknow and almost throughout northern India. The Indians, however, lost their battles and British India was taken over by the government.

Did you know?

The Indian Sepoy Mutiny is also referred to as just the Indian Mutiny or the Sepoy Mutiny. It is also called the First War of Independence.

Considering the Indian Sepoy Mutiny purely as a rebellion underestimates the root causes leading to it. It marked the realisation that the British were trying to undermine traditional Indian society.

Indian soldier Mangal Pandey's name is often invoked when speaking about the mutiny, even though he was executed before the event took place. This is because he played a key part in the events immediately leading up to the mutiny.

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Hampi or Hampe, also referred to as the Group of Monuments at Hampi, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in east-central Karnataka, India.

Hampi was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire in the 14th century. Chronicles left by Persian and European travellers, particularly the Portuguese, say that Hampi was a prosperous, wealthy and grand city near the Tungabhadra River, with numerous temples, farms and trading markets. By 1500 CE, Hampi-Vijayanagara was the world's second-largest medieval-era city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at that time, attracting traders from Persia and Portugal. The Vijayanagara Empire was defeated by a coalition of Muslim sultanates; its capital was conquered, pillaged and destroyed by sultanate armies in 1565, after which Hampi remained in ruins.

The Vitthla temple is the most exquisitely ornate structure on the site and represents the culmination of Vijayanagara temple architecture. It is a fully developed temple with associated buildings like Kalyana Mandapa and Utsava Mandapa within a cloistered enclosure pierced with three entrance Gopurams. In addition to the typical spaces present in contemporary temples, it boasts of a Garuda shrine fashioned as a granite ratha and a grand bazaar street. This complex also has a large Pushkarani (stepped tank) with a Vasantotsava mandapa (ceremonial pavilion at the centre), wells and a network of water channels.

Another unique feature of temples at Hampi is the wide Chariot streets flanked by the rows of Pillared Mandapas, introduced when chariot festivals became an integral part of the rituals. The stone chariot in front of the temple is also testimony to its religious ritual. Most of the structures at Hampi are constructed from local granite, burnt bricks and lime mortar. The stone masonry and lantern roofed post and lintel system were the most favoured construction technique. The massive fortification walls have irregular cut size stones with paper joints by filling the core with rubble masonry without any binding material. The gopuras over the entrances and the sanctum proper have been constructed with stone and brick. The roofs have been laid with the heavy thick granite slabs covered with a water proof course of brick jelly and lime mortar.

Vijayanagara architecture is also known for its adoption of elements of Indo Islamic Architecture in secular buildings like the Queen’s Bath and the Elephant Stables, representing a highly evolved multi-religious and multi-ethnic society.Building activity in Hampi continued over a period of 200 years reflecting the evolution in the religious and political scenario as well as the advancements in art and architecture. The city rose to metropolitan proportions and is immortalized in the words of many foreign travellers as one of the most beautiful cities. The Battle of Talikota (1565 CE) led to a massive destruction of its physical fabric.

Credit : Indian Culture

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Annie Besant, a prominent member of the Theosophical Society in Chennai, launched the Home Rule League - a self-government movement-in 1916. Around the same time, Indian nationalist Bal Gangadhar Tilak had founded the Home Rule for India League.

The term Home Rule League, which was borrowed from a similar movement in Ireland, was used to refer to both. The objective was to achieve self-rule from the British Indian government and bolstered the Indian nationalists efforts towards this cause.

The popularity of the Home Rule movement alarmed the British government. Tilak was imprisoned. But the governments harsh measures created great public enthusiasm. The movement forced the British government to allow Indians freedom to rule themselves at certain levels of administration.

Did you know?

The popularity of the Home Rule League led to Annie Besants election as president of the Indian National Congress, becoming the first woman to hold the position.

Besant not only supported self-rule in India, but also supported the cause for the Irish.

Besant became a member of the Theosophical Society and went on to become a prominent speaker on the subject. By 1907, she became the president of the Theosophical Society, whose international headquarters is located in Adyar, Chennai.

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At the Lahore session of Indian National Congress (INC) late in 1929, the INC decided that January 26, 1930 should be observed all over India as the Purna Swaraj Day. A public declaration was made and Indians were urged to celebrate the day as Independence Day.

It was on March 5 1931 that the Gandhi-Irwin Pact was signed between Gandhiji, who served as the leader of the Indian nationalist movement, and Lord Irwin, who was British viceroy of India at that time. The pact marked the end of a period of civil disobedience or satyagraha with the Dandi salt march in 1930.

While the British government agreed to set all political prisoners free in exchange for a pledge to give up the satyagraha campaign in this pact, the revolutionaries were not set free and the death sentence for Bhagat Singh and his two comrades was not taken back.

Congress continued its protest against the government. As Gandhiji’s Civil Disobedience Movement became stronger, the British parliament passed the Government of India Act in August 1935. It proposed a Federation of India – comprising British India, some or all of the princely states. The Federation of India – comprising  British India, some or all of the princely states. The Federation idea failed as many princely states did not join it.

Did you know?

The Lord Irwin of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact refers to Edward Fredrick Lindley Wood.

While Wood was Lord Irwin from 1925 until 1934, he was the Viscount Halifax from 1934 until 1944 and the first Earl of Halifax thereafter.

A senior politician who served in various capacities, Lord Irwin was the British viceroy of India from 1925-31.

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Tenzing Norgay hoisted the Indian national flag on Mount Everest for the first time on 29 May 1953.

Anshu Jamsenpa is a mother of two. She started the climb at 1.45 am on may 13 and reached at the top of the Everest at 9 am on Tuesday to unfurl the Indian national flag. Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama on April 2 this year had  flagged off the Anshu's double ascent expedition from Guwahati in Assam.

The mountaineer scaled the Mount Everest twice in May 2011. Soon after the 2011 one, Anshu scaled the peak again on May 18 in 2013.

If she is successful with her double ascent this time, Anshu Jamsenpa will set a record five climbs of Mt Everest.

Anshu Jamsenpa spoke to officials at the Everest Base Camp and in Kathmandu over satellite phone from the world's tallest peak after unfurling the tricolour and clicking testimonial photos.

Her health is stated to be perfectly fine and she is descending now to the base camp.

She acknowledged the support extended by State Bank of India, North Eastern Council, Numaligarh Refinery Limited, North Eastern Electric Power Corporation, Arunachal Pradesh government and all her previous associates for her success.

Anshu is motivated and energised to try the double ascent if conditions remain favourable.

Credit : India Today

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There were three Round Table Conferences from 1930 to 1932. These were a series of peace meetings organised by the British Government and Indian leaders to discuss constitutional reforms in India.

As Indian leaders continued to demand independence, the British called for a Round Table Conference in 1930 to consider the constitution of India. The Simon Commission, derided in India, had recommended measures from the Government of India Act of 1919. The report was published in 1930. Why was the commission headed by Sir John Simon boycotted in India? Because all its members were English and it had no representative from India which was seen by Indians as a deliberate attempt to undermine their self-respect. In response to the inadequacy of the Simon Report the Labour Government which had come to power under James Ramsay MacDonald in 1929, decided to hold a series of Round Table Conferences in London.

The first Round Table Conference was inaugurated by King George V in the Royal Gallery in the House of Lords, in London (November 1930 to January 1931). It had over 70 representatives from all Indian States and all parties except the Congress, as most of its leaders were in jail for their participation in the civil disobedience campaign.

What was the outcome of the first RTC? Nothing significant emerged from it. The members agreed on a parliamentary form of government for India as a dominion under the British king. Civil disobedience intensified. Hence, the British Government realised the importance of involving the Congress in deciding the future of the country.

The second session (September 7 to December 1, 1931) was attended by Mahatma Gandhi as the Congress representative at Viceroy Lord Irwin's persuasion. Gandhiji rejected communal representation and asked for constitutional reforms for self-rule, which the British did not agree to

Neither the Congress nor the British Labour Party attended the third session (November 17 to December 24, 1932). The Round Table Conferences failed.

Did you know?

B. R. Ambedkar, the father of the Indian Constitution and the leader of the depressed classes, participated in all three Round Table Conferences.

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The Indian electronic voting machine (EVM) were developed in 1989 by Election Commission of India in collaboration with Bharat Electronics Limited and Electronics Corporation of India Limited. The Industrial designers of the EVMs were faculty members at the Industrial Design Centre, IIT Bombay. The EVMs were first used in 1982 in the by-election to North Paravur Assembly Constituency in Kerala for a limited number of polling stations. The EVMs were first time used on an experimental basis in selected constituencies of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. The EVMs were used first time in the general election (entire state) to the assembly of Goa in 1999. In 2003, all by-elections and state elections were held using EVMs, encouraged by this election commission decided to use only EVMs for Lok Sabha elections in 2003.

EVMs are powered by an ordinary 6 volt alkaline battery manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited, Bangalore and Electronics Corporation of India Limited, Hyderabad. This design enables the use of EVMs throughout the country without interruptions because several parts of India do not have the power supply and/or erratic power supply. The two units cannot work without the other. After a poll closes on a particular election day, the units are separated and the control units moved and stored separately in locked and guarded premises.

A candidate can know how many people from a polling station voted for him. This is a significant issue particularly if lop-sided votes for/against a candidate are cast in individual polling stations and the winning candidate might show favoritism or hold a grudge on specific areas. The Election Commission of India has stated that the manufacturers of the EVMs have developed a Totaliser unit which can connect several balloting units and would display only the overall results from an Assembly or a Lok Sabha constituency instead of votes from individual polling stations.

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It's no surprise if the name sounds familiar. Edwin Montagu was the Secretary of State for India between 1917 and 1922 and Lond Chelmsford, the Viceroy between 1916 and 1921. It was this duo who was responsible for the Montagu-Chelmsford (or Mont-Ford) reforms which formed the basis for the Government of India Act of 1919 passed by British Parliament. This Act marked a decisive stage, in India's constitutional development.

As regards Montagu, he was a British Liberal politician who initially served as t secretary to Britain's prime minister and leader of the Liberal Party H. H. Asquith. As parliamentary undersecretary to the India Office from 1910 to 1914, it was his duty to explain India-related matters to the House of Commons. After holding several posts, he led a delegation to the Indian provinces in 1917 when he collaborated with the Indian viceroy, Lord Chelmsford, in preparing the Mont-Ford report. He held talks with Gandhiji and Jinnah.

The year 1919 marked the end of the First World War. Being a British colony, India fought for the Britishers in the war, in the hope of gaining self-rule at the end of it. But the British had other plans. The passage of the Government of India Act of 1919 was the well-known post-war reform in colonial India. The main purpose of the Act was to introduce responsible government in India, expand participation of Indians in it and gradual development of self-governing institutions, but with British supervision. The Act introduced reforms at the Central as well Provincial s of Government. The sweeping reforms levels which came into effect in 1921, gave Indians more representation in the Government and introduced dyarchy (a dual government intro system in which the central and provincial governments were given selected powers). It recommended gradual decentralization of authority by relaxing the hold of the central government over provincial governments, with India continuing o remain an integral part of the British Empire. It clearly demarcated the spheres of the central and provincial governments. The Act provided for a bicameral legislature at the centre with two houses, namely Legislative Assembly and Council of State, similar to the present Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

However, the Indian nationalist leaders felt no responsible government at the all-India level was envisaged in the Act and that it promoted a sense of communalism by advocating separate electorates for different communities.

Did you know?

Under the Government of India Act 1919, a Central Public Service Commission was set up in 1926 for recruiting civil servants.

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We all know that salt is an essential ingredient in our diet. Did you know salt played an important role in the history of India's Freedom Struggle? In January 1930, Mahatma Gandhi demanded the abolition of salt tax imposed by the British. According to the Salt Act of 1882, only the British government in India could manufacture and sell salt. Actually, many Indians living along the coast had long been making salt by evaporating sea water. The British objected to this.

Gandhiji threatened to begin a civil disobedience campaign if the demands were not met. Civil disobedience means non-compliance with certain laws or rules which are considered unjust. With demands not met, on March 12, 1930, Gandhiji along with volunteers started walking from the Sabarmathi Ashram to Dandi, a small coastal village in Gujarat. Besides being a direct action campaign of tax resistance in a non-violent way, the march inspired more people to follow Gandhiji's example. Thousands joined him en route.

On April 6, 1930, Gandhiji reached Dandi, which was then called Navsari, and made salt symbolically by boiling sea water. It meant Indians had the right to make salt and would desist from paying salt tax. This long walk, spanning 240 miles, marked the beginning of the civil disobedience movement. Taking pride in themselves and their culture, Indians swore to disobey British laws and disown British goods. Gandhiji's action led to similar protests in different parts of the country.

After making the salt, Gandhiji had planned to raid the Dharasana Salt Works, 40 km south of Dandi. However, he was arrested on May 5, 1930, days before the planned action. The satyagraha against the salt tax continued for almost a year. Satyagrahis were attacked and arrested, but they never raised an arm. Worried, Gandhiji agreed for negotiations with Viceroy Lord Invin at the second Round Table Conference if political prisoners were released. The Dandi March, which drew worldwide attention to the Indian independence movement, was one of the significant events that led to the downfall of the British rule.

Did you know?

The Salt March is also referred to as the "White Flowing River", as the marchers were all dressed in white khadi.

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When the Second World War broke out in 1939, the then Viceroy of India Lord Linlithgow declared India a party to the war as part of the British Empire without ever consulting the Indians. This angered the nationalist Congress leaders including Gandhiji and led to massive protests.

Needing help with its war effort, the British government sent a delegation to India under Sir Richard Stafford Cripps in March 1942. Cripps was a labour minister in Winston Churchill's coalition government in Britain. Its mission was to secure full cooperation of the Congress and the Indian leaders for the Allied war effort. Britain was already facing pressure from the U.S. and other Allied leaders over its imperial policies in India.

So, what was promised in the event of India extending support to British? In return, Indians would be given more power in elected legislatures. They could make their own constitution. The proposals of the Cripps' mission included setting up of an Indian dominion, freedom to remain with the British Commonwealth or to secede from it, safeguarding the rights of minorities, and provinces unwilling to join the dominion could form a separate union and have a separate constitution. However, Cripps Mission failed.

The proposals were seen as extremely radical by the British and as extremely conservative by the Congress who wanted complete independence. The Mission was rejected by the INC the Muslim League and other groups. Why only dominion-status under British rule, the leaders asked. Where is the timeframe for self-government? Gandhiji made the famous call: Let's "Do or Die".

The Congress moved towards the Quit India movement, which demanded immediate withdrawal of British from India, and refused to cooperate in the war effort in response, the British imprisoned the entire Congress leadership for the duration of the war.

Did you know?

Gandhiji commented on Cripps offer of Dominion Status after the war as a "post-dated cheque drawn on a failing bank".

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The British presence in India began with the establishment of the British East India Company in 1600. By 1617, the Company acquired trading rights when the Mughals were still in power. The Company's influence on the country grew stronger when the Mughal empire slowly faced decline. It established trading posts in Surat, Madras, Bombay and Calcutta.

In the meantime, the Nawab of Bengal Siraj-ud-Daulah was unhappy over the East India Company interfering in political matters in his province. With support from the French in India, the Nawab attacked British-controlled Calcutta. The Bengali army imprisoned British soldiers when it captured Fort William in 1756. What followed was the Battle of Plassey in 1757, led by Major-General Robert Clive against the Nawab of Bengal. The East India Company's victory in this battle enabled the British to gain a decisive political control over India. The Nawab surrendered to the Company. Mir Jafar who served as the commander of the Bengali army under Daulah, betrayed him during the Battle of Plassey and succeeded Daulah after the British victory in 1757.

In 1765, after winning the Battle of Buxar (1764) in Bihar, the Company was granted all rights over Bengal and Bihar. It was empowered to collect revenues. This was the beginning of the enslavement India suffered till it gained freedom in the year 1947.

Did you know?

The East India Company appointed its first Governor-General, Warren Hastings. He was the first Governor-General of Fort William or Governor-General of Bengal and remained in that position from 1773-1785.

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Every year, August 15 is celebrated as Independence Day. It marks the day in 1947 when India gained independence from British rule and became a free nation. We usually think of India's story of Independence from 1857 when Indian sepoys rebelled against the British and history took a major turn. But one of the major milestones in the freedom struggle was the founding of the Indian National Congress. And guess who helped found it? Well, it was Allan Octavian Hume, a retired British official.

Hume served as a member of the Imperial Civil Service (later the Indian Civil Service). Having witnessed the Indian Rebellion of 1857 up-close as Administrator of Etawah, he was quick to respond to the needs of the common man and boldly question British misgovernance.

In the years that followed the rebellion, he introduced reforms and shaped Etawah into a model district. But his criticism of the then Viceroy, Lord Lytton's policies, led to his removal from office.

Hume had an empathetic view of Indians under the British rule. In a letter to students at Calcutta University in 1883, he wrote, "If only fifty men, good and true, can be found to join as founders, the thing can be established and the further development will be comparatively easy....And if even the leaders of thought are all either such poor creatures, or so selfishly wedded to personal concerns that they dare not strike a blow for their country's sake, then justly and rightly are they kept down and trampled on, for they deserve nothing better..."

In the following years, Hume mobilised support from like-minded people in India and in Britain, and the Indian National Congress was founded. The first session of the INC was held in Bombay in December 1885. Social reforms and national emancipation were some of the key areas of focus. But Hume is believed to have become disillusioned by the local supporters and left India in 1894.

Did you know?

A. O. Hume was an ornithologist. His contribution to Indian Ornithology remains unmatched to this day. His journal Stray Feathers recorded details of birds across India. He had built up a huge collection of bird specimens in his home in Shimla. Sadly, he lost most of his papers on birds, but gifted his collection of specimens to the Natural History Museum in London (which still has the largest collection of Indian bird skins).

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Cotton candy has different names such as candy floss, fairy floss and suikerspin around the world, but its main ingredient is sugar everywhere. It is strange that machine-spun cotton candy was actually invented by dentist William Morrison with the help of confectioner John C Wharton in 1897. The sugary treat was first introduced at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. Another dentist named Joseph Lascaux reinvented the machine in 1921. It was he who named it cotton candy.

In 1900, Thomas Patton received a separate patent for his work with caramelized sugar and forming long threads of it with a fork. He later used a gas-fired rotating plate to spin the threads.

In 1949, Gold Metal Products of Cincinnati, Ohio introduced a cotton candy machine with a spring base that helped tremendously. Today, it manufactures almost all cotton candy machines.

Due to the lack of automated machines that could produce enough products for widespread distribution prior to the 1970s, cotton candy was only produced on a small scale. Then, in 1972, a cotton candy machine for automatic manufacture and packaging was patented. It allowed the mass production of cotton candy. Tootsie Roll of Canada Ltd., the world's largest cotton-candy manufacturer, makes a fluffy stuff, fruit-flavored version of cotton candy.

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• At least 841 manatees have died in Florida, the U.S., till this July, surpassing the previous record set in 2013 when 830 manatees died of exposure to an influx of "red tide" neurotoxin-producing algae. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) reports the increase in deaths as extreme and more than twice the number recorded in same period last year, when 354 manatees died (637 over the whole year).
• According to the FWC, most of the deaths have occurred in the Indian River Lagoon, on the eastern side of the Florida Panhandle - a popular winter home for Florida manatees (a subspecies of the West Indian manatee), mostly found along the coast of Florida, but also as far north as Massachusetts or as far west as Texas in the U.S. Indian River Lagoon, once a busy estuary spanning 250 km of seagrass, is now a polluted ecosystem where an estimated 58% of grass has died off since 2009.
• With the arrival of warm summer waters, most manatees have now dispersed from overcrowded areas with low seagrass to more plentiful coastal regions. However, watercraft-related woundings have now replaced starvation as the leading cause of manatee deaths-in a typical year, boat collisions cause around a quarter of all manatee fatalities.
• There were around 7,520 manatees in Florida, before this year's mortality surge, meaning more than 11% of the population has been wiped out in just six months. Manatee experts fear a return to the near-extinction levels of the 1970s, when only a few hundred remained.
• The Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris), affectionately referred to as "sea cow", is a gentle obligate herbivore that can move freely between freshwater and saltwater, predominantly living off a diet of various seagrasses.
• A healthy manatee will consume 10% of its body weight in seagrass every day-for a 450-kg mammal, that means 45 kg of grass per day. Without ample supplies, manatees will overgraze the same areas (preventing seagrass from regrowing), become malnourished, and eventually starve to death.
• Seagrasses will continue to die if sunlight is shaded out by toxic algae blooms that feed off nitrogen and phosphorus from increasing water pollution brought about by neglected septic tanks, municipal drains spewing out raw sewage, and chemical pollutants found in fertilizer - a worsening problem from increasingly active hurricane seasons, which wash huge amounts of it into waterways.

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20TH CENTURY

The 20th century saw more changes in the way people lived their lives than any other century. Among the century’s many new inventions were television, computers, the Internet, and nuclear power. The century began with the first aeroplane flight, lasting just 12 seconds, in 1903. By 1969, US astronauts had flown to the Moon and walked on its surface.

CONFLICTS

World War I (1914-18) left 20 million dead, mostly young soldiers. Military air power during World War II (1939-45) made cities vulnerable to attack. Around 60 million people died, many of them civilians. This was followed by the Cold War, a long stand-off between the USA and communist Russia.

ENTERTAINMENT

Radios were invented at the beginning of the century, and the 1920s saw the arrival of radio broadcasts. In the 1930s and 1940s, going to the cinema was the most popular leisure activity. In the 1950s and 1960s, the popularity of cinemas waned, as people stayed at home to watch the new invention, television.

DOMESTIC LIFE

Many new labour-saving devices were invented for the home, including refrigerators, freezers, washing machines, dishwashers, and vacuum cleaners. The ability to stop food decaying by freezing it enabled food to be transported greater distances and allowed people to buy and store it in bulk. Shortly after, pre-cooked frozen meals emerged, changing mealtimes for ever.

ISSUES

The world’s population rose from 1.65 to 6 billion people during the century, with a widening gap between rich and poor nations. There was inequality between men and women and people of different races.

TRAVEL

The developments in transport in this century allowed people greater freedom to travel. Millions of families bought cars, and new motorways were built to make journeys faster. The air travel industry really took off from the 1930s. Journeys, which before the aeroplane would have taken days by rail or sea, could now be completed in a matter of hours.

WORK

The role of women in the workplace greatly changed during the century. Women had limited career options in the early decades, but gained more employment rights and opportunities as the century progressed. The workplace was also transformed by new methods of communication, including the computer and Internet. New technologies led to automated factories, reducing the need for manual labour.

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