A country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and ...
9
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3answers
170 views
How severe was the 1943 Bengal Famine?
I read this in a comment to a newspaper article:
By far the largest British empire human loss in the Second World War was the three million Bengalis who perished in a famine in 1943 that Churchill ...
2
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1answer
44 views
What compelled Benjamin Disraeli to label 1857 revolt as a “National Revolt”?
It is still debated whether the Indian Rebellion of 1857 in British India was just a soldiers' mutiny or a National revolt for the independence.
But in July 1857, in House of Commons, Benjamin ...
-5
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0answers
63 views
What is the origin of current indian brahmins [closed]
I know that Brahmins are part of Hindu caste system. Why I asked this is, their physical type is different from the Dravidian(May be natives).
Most of the resources in the net explains the origin of ...
1
vote
1answer
71 views
Was it impossible for the Germans to arrange a plane to East Asia for Subhas Bose?
Bose's journey from Germany to Singapore by submarine was a well-remarked incident of World War II history. But what was the need for the Germans or the Italians to use a submarine to transfer a ...
1
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0answers
51 views
When and by whom was the Tirupati Tirumala temple in India built?
India's second wealthiest temple, Tirupati Tirumala Venkateswara Temple does not seem to have a clear history about its origin. The Wikipedia entry does not provide proper details on who exactly built ...
9
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1answer
173 views
World War 1 Indian propaganda posters
In World War 1, because war broke out between the triple entente and the central powers (and they happened to have a lot of foreign colonies), the allies made posters to recruit soldiers from all ...
17
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8answers
3k views
Why is Dravidian history ignored?
Whenever I read an article on ancient Indian history, I see people only writing about the Indus valley civilization and the Aryans. But what about Dravidians? Didn't they exist even before the Aryans ...
10
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4answers
3k views
What were the main causes of successful take over of India by Britain?
Have you ever heard of any country controlled and ruled by a joint-stock company?
This happened in India. The East India Company ruled an entire country of huge size for 101 years (1757–1858). During ...
5
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1answer
152 views
Alexander's seizure of “Brahmin” towns
While reading, I stumbled upon references to Alexander's seizure of Brahmin towns in what would today be called Pakistan. Googling did not fetch much information, most results are just references to a ...
6
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3answers
3k views
Why are the democracies of France, Israel and India rated “Flawed Democracies”?
What does the term "Flawed Democracy" actually mean?
Why are some of the world's successful democracies like France, Israel and India rated "Flawed Democracies" by the Economist Intelligence Unit?
12
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2answers
210 views
What was the legal framework in Ancient and Medieval India?
We all know the immense contribution ancient Roman, medieval Roman (or Byzantine), and pre-modern HRE cannon law has made to the modern world. These empires relied on a written constitution (or code) ...
1
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1answer
70 views
Could Columbus have suspected the New World lay on his path to India? [closed]
According to most historical textbooks Columbus made mistakes while measuring the size of the Earth. This led him to believe, that he can travel to India westwards in a reasonable time. This is ...
9
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1answer
103 views
How did Islam and Hinduism thrive together in Medieval India?
In countries in the Middle East, Indonesia and many North African countries, the onset of Islamic rulers spread Islam in a rapid manner, eventually wiping off the local religion. However in spite of ...
5
votes
2answers
334 views
Why did the USA take no action to help Pakistan during their 1971 war against India?
In 1971, USA and Pakistan were known to be strong allies or were they?
Why did the USA just pretend to help Pakistan and actually do nothing in the Indo-Pak war of 1971? Why did the 7th fleet not ...
12
votes
3answers
211 views
Were British fears of Russia using Afghanistan as a staging post for an invasion of India unfounded?
I know that "The Great Game" was originally concerned with Russian-British competition in Central Asia, but my question is was this competition and British fear founded on anything? My understanding ...
2
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0answers
59 views
Did the Indo-Greeks play a crucial role in promoting Buddhism?
Did Buddhism become a widespread religion primarily due to the political support of the Indo-Greek rulers of India who favored it in opposition to Jainism?
2
votes
1answer
452 views
What was normal attire for Hindu kings in the 15th century?
I was reading through "A History of India" by John Keay when I came across a few paragraphs which talk about Hindu kings' attire (or the lack of it) in the 15th century. Travellers like Ibn Battuta, ...
9
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5answers
1k views
Was democracy present in India before British colonization?
My friend claims that India had democracy before the British colonized it. I am skeptical and have failed to find any references to democracy in India within the last thousand years. I found one weak ...
2
votes
2answers
133 views
Was India's independence inevitable after Cripps Mission?
In 1942, the British government had sent Sir Stafford Cripps to negotiate with the Congress. According to most sources (though this was not made public at that time), the Cripps Mission had proposed ...
1
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4answers
236 views
What options India had other than getting its independence from Britain? [closed]
When India took its independence, the socioeconomic scenario of the world had already been changed. Britain did not have the resources left to keep control of India any more, Britain was in need of a ...
6
votes
2answers
189 views
Did WWII Delay Indian Independence?
During WWII, Gandhi said that Indians should adopt a compromising attitude towards the British due to the stresses of war. Did this prolong the (near) inactivity of the Indian National Movement? Or ...
8
votes
2answers
147 views
Why M.K. Gandhi preferred Nehru for Prime Minister candidate and not Sardar Patel?
I've heard different stories on why Sardar Patel was not selected for PM post. Some says it was Gandhi who opted Nehru over Patel, whereas some suggests it was Sardar Patel who stepped back from PM ...
1
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1answer
51 views
Fiji and the Indian Community [closed]
What was the original military coup staged by the Fijian officers in the late 1980s to sideline the Indians living in Fiji from the country's political system ?
6
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0answers
77 views
Role of Indian princes and aristocratic landowners under British colonial rule?
I am currently reading Ludwig von Mises' Human Action and find it rewarding in various ways. For instance, von Mises points out the following about volunteers' roles even around autocratic rulers:
...
9
votes
2answers
263 views
Did Hitler really support Subhash Chandra Bose's cause and did he do anything to help Bose?
Bose had come to realize that Gandhi's doctrine of non-violence was not doing much in forcing the British to retreat. He went to Germany to seek Hitler's assistance in India's struggle for freedom.
...
6
votes
3answers
236 views
Why the difference of opinion about the disappearance of Subhas Chandra Bose
A year back, Harvard professor Sugata Bose released a biography of the Indian leader Subhas Chandra Bose which claimed to lay all speculation regarding his death to rest. However, last week, a veteran ...
7
votes
1answer
126 views
Did the British somehow imitate the Greek colonizers in India?
First of all I wonder whether the British headdress in India was somehow designed to resemble the headdress of the Indo-Greeks and Greco-Bactrians? For example, this is the image of Eucratides I, the ...
7
votes
1answer
120 views
What was Gandhi's post-factum view of the Partition?
Gandhi was vehemently opposed to the Partition of India and tried to avoid it. But what was his stance on it once it had happened? Did he accept it as fait accompli or did he envision some scheme for ...
4
votes
3answers
140 views
What was the name of Delhi during the period of Akbar ruling in parts of India?
Jallaudin Akbar ruled some parts of India. During his empire he had Delhi (Modern day state) as his capital, but it was known by some other name.
What was the name that was used for the capital ...
2
votes
3answers
658 views
Why did the the East-Pakistanis oppose Urdu as their national language while Indians accepted Hindi as theirs?
In 1947, Both India and Pakistan were given independence from Britain. India was able to establish Hindi as its national language with minimal problems. Pakistan on the other hand, was created with ...
4
votes
1answer
535 views
When did the first riots between Hindus and Muslims happen in India?
I have studied in school that the British used the Divide and Rule strategy to rule in India. But, for them to think of applying Divide and Rule, I think some sort of communal tension between Hindus ...
15
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4answers
824 views
Who was responsible for the partition of India?
Who was responsible for the partition of India? Did it happen due to Mohammed Ali Jinnah or Mahatma Gandhi? Or were the British of the view that the country needed to be divided?
20
votes
1answer
470 views
Did the end of the British Raj in India create an economic loss for Britain?
I know the economic downturn of the World War and the victory of the Labour Party played some role in Britain deciding to quit India. Did GB have any serious economic implications because of this? ...
9
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5answers
480 views
Military intervention in government in India and Pakistan
Although India and Pakistan became independent states simultaneously, they have been travelling in different paths after that. Many believe that democracy is a major reason for the difference in ...
0
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0answers
164 views
How does Pakistan have more nuclear weapons than India? [closed]
I've been curious about this, as India currently has about 10 less nuclear weapons than Pakistan, based on estimates. However, as India begun testing first, and generally has more resources and ...
4
votes
0answers
60 views
What is the current consensus on the origins of the Brahmi script?
There seem to be two hypotheses about the origin of India's Brahmi script: It developed either from the Aramaic script or the Indus Valley script.
Is there any scholarly consensus regarding which of ...
5
votes
3answers
184 views
From whom did Gandhi learn his protest technique of non-violence?
I know that Gandhi was involved in the civil rights movement in South Africa during he beginning of the 20th century, but was there a specific person, or group, that he learned how to protest through ...
2
votes
1answer
138 views
Where did Bishop Heber meet Bhagwan Swaminarayan?
When Bishop Heber came to know about Bhagwan Swaminarayan, he wanted to have a meeting to discuss various matters. Where did this meeting take place?
5
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0answers
75 views
What is the origin of Indian weekday names?
The days of the week in several Indian languages are named after the same planets/gods as the Graeco-Roman days of the week.
Did these arise from some common source predating both (PIE?), or was the ...
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1answer
107 views
Zoroastrianism and Hinduism [closed]
Zoroastrianism and Hinduism have close resemblances. For example Both the religions worship fire god, Both have religious languages are sound alike. Both Teachings agree that Ahura/Asura and ...
7
votes
3answers
255 views
Which city was attacked by Nazi-German war flights in India during WW2?
Nazi-Germany ran a bombing raid over India, in WW2. Which city was bombed, and what effect did it have? i.e how many casualties, or was transport closed down.
13
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0answers
172 views
When was the concept of “weekly day off” first introduced in Indian Subcontinent?
Did ancient & medieval indians have a weekly day off? Or was there even a generally recognized day as public holiday?
Or did the concept get introduced with Arabs or Europeans?
0
votes
1answer
249 views
Did Gandhi ever make a comment about Islam?
Gandhi famously said about Christians:
I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.
I realise that in his time the Indian subcontinent was being ...
5
votes
2answers
252 views
Are the Ramayana and Mahabharatha exaggerated stories or pure fiction?
I would like to know the opinion of historians on the Ramayana and the Mahabharatha. I can accept that they are excessively exaggerated and glorify people as Gods, but are they totally fiction? Do we ...
2
votes
1answer
149 views
Have atheists ever been persecuted in India?
Have atheists ever been persecuted in India? Wikipedia article on persecution of atheist has nothing about India, and google did not throw up anything useful.
3
votes
1answer
229 views
What was the exact time of announcement of Indian independence?
Unanimously, India achieved its independence on 15th August 1947. Of course, to say the exact time would be a bit difficult. However, there must be some figure for this time; at least, at what time ...
4
votes
1answer
39 views
Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council: Listed by India from when to when?
From when to when has the Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council been on India's list of organizations declared as terrorist organizations?
Wikipedia says it started on 16 November 2000 but the ...
3
votes
1answer
411 views
India without British Rule
What was India like before there was any British rule and it was colonized? Was it united as a single country? Was it among the third world developing countries? What was its economic, social and ...
3
votes
1answer
112 views
In medieval India, was there a distinction between the army and the police?
In medieval India, who was responsible for maintaining law and order? Was it the army or was there a separate arm of the state that was responsible for law and order, something akin to a modern police ...
9
votes
3answers
193 views
What are the most comprehensive historical references for ancient India?
India is referenced in many ancient Greek and Persian sources, but these are often fragmentary. Which sources (if any) exist which describe ancient India in detail?
Since ancient can be interpreted ...
