Historical Personalities of India

Vishakhadatta - Vishakhadatta was a luminary literary figure of Sanskrit literature in the Gupta period. He mentions his Lather's name as Maharaja Bhaskaradatta in his great historical drama named 'Mudrarakshasa' which is the only surviving literary work by him. Vishakhadatta's Mudrarakshasa is a masterpiece in Sanskrit divided into seven Acts. It gives a vivid description of the bravery and struggle of Mauryan King Chandragupta and a detailed account of his life and Kingdom. 

Devichandraguptam was another literary marvel by Vishakhadatta. It is about Chandragupta, the great Gupta king. Devichandraguptam exists only in fragments in the Natyadarpana of Ramachandra and Gunachandra. It can be seen in the form of questions in the Natakalakshana Ratnakosha of Sagarnandi and King Bhoj's the Shringara prakasha and the Sarasvatikanthabharana. In this book Vishakhadatta gives a vivid description of Chandra gupta's greatness as a king and a military genius. In brief, Vishakhadatta was a prominent name in Sanskrit litera ture in that age.

Dadu Dayal - Dadu Dayal was a prominent saint of the Bhakti movement in the 16th century India. He was born in 1544 AD in Ahmedabad. He was blessed with a spiritual and pious mind and started composing hymns in Braj bhasha, a Hindi dialect. He settled in Jaipur, Rajasthan and started preaching his simple teachings through songs among common people. He promoted love, truth, unity, brotherhood and other human values among people. He strongly rejected idol worship, caste system and religious dogma in his teachings. He laid emphasis on the pure ideas and dedication to God as the true religion and struck hard on baseless beliefs and artificiality in religion. In brief, as a saint he presented a simple and pure form of bhakti and religion in his teachings. He passed away in 1603 AD.

• About 5000 verses and songs composed by Dadu were compiled by Rajjab, his disciple under the name of 'Dadu Anubhav Vani'. 
• Dadu also launched a movement named 'Nipakh'. He also founded Brahma sect in Rajasthan.

Rajendra Chola First - Rajendra Chola first was one of the greatest emperors of South India. During his reign the Chola power and prestige reached its peak and the Chola empire expanded its political authority even beyond the boundaries of South India. Rajendra First became the King of the Cholas in 1012 AD after his father and King Rajaraja who was also a great ruler.

Rajendra Chola first took forward his father's policy of conquest and annexations to expand the territorial boundaries of the Chola empire. He successfully launched military expeditions against the Pandya and the Chera kingdoms in the extreme South and annexed many parts of these kingdoms in the Chola empire. Rajendra Chola brought Ceylon under his control; however in 1029 South Ceylon got liberated from his authority. He also remained at loggerheads with the Chalukya Kings Jaya Singha and Someshvara first and forced the Western Chalukyas to accept the river Tungabhadra as the boundary between the Chola and the Chalukya kingdoms. He launched an onslaught on Eastern India and inflicted a decisive drubbing on Pala king Mahipala first of Bengal. This military expedition of Rajendra Chola first was for the sake of prestige and glory and left no major political outcomes in Bengal. King Rajendra Chola brought holy water of the Ganges and put it into the Cholagangam, a large water tank excavated near the new Chola capital developed by Rajendra Chola. He also developed a formidable navy of the Cholas to carry the Chola power beyond the maritime boundaries of South India and largely succeeded in it. He forced the Srivijaya kingdom in South-East Asia to accept political authority and suzerainty of the Cholas after a massive naval expedition by his navy. He not only secured the maritime boundaries of the Chola Kingdom but also ensured safe trade routes for his kingdom in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea through a massive naval power. He ruled a vast empire with great military and administrative skills till 1044AD. After him his son Rajadhiraja first became the Chola King.

• Rajendra Chola first adopted many titles as a king like 'Uttama chola", "Mudikonda' and 'Gangaikonda. He adopted Gangaikonda title to mark his successful campaign against Bengal and bringing holy water of the Ganges to his kingdom.
• Being a top diplomat, he developed friendly ties with the ruler of China and sent his envoy twice there, first in 1016 and second in 1033 AD.
• He also founded the city of 'Gangaikondacholapuram' with a big irrigation tank, a temple and a palace in it. He later declared it the Chola capital

He was contemporary of Mahmud Ghazni who created political upheaval and devastation in North India through a series of attacks. On the other hand South India was witnessing a golden era of political unity, power, glory and development in all spheres of life under the rule of Rajendra Chola first.

Bhagat Singh - Sadar Bhagat Singh, whose inspiring revolutionary acts and youthful martyrdom infused the spirit of nationalism and patriotism among Indians, was born on September 27, 1907 in a Sikh family at Lyallpur district in Punjab (Now in Pakistan). Sardar Kishan Singh was his father and his mother's name was Vidyavati. Sardar Kishan Singh himself was a member of the Ghadar Party and Bhagat Singh inherited the patriotism and deep desire to do something for his country from his father.

Bhagat Singh received his early education from Dayanand Anglo Vedic High School and later he joined the National College in Lahore. He took part in the Non-cooperation Movement as a young lad. But the Jallianwala Bagh massacre unveiled the cruel, colonial and horrible face of the British rule in India and Bhagat Singh decided to eliminate it at any cost and by any means. Bhagat Singh formed the Naujawan Bharat Sabha in 1925 AD and became its secretary. He also joined the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) as its member. He along with his fellow revolutionaries like Sukhdev and Chandra shekhar Azad rechristened HRA as the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) but the aim and objective remained the same, the end of the British rule from India.

When the Simon Commission came to India Bhagat Singh and his fellow revolutionaries opposed his visit to India and he took part in an anti-Simon march led by Punjab Kesari Lala Lajpat Rai who suffered deadly blows and fatal head injuries in brutal police lathicharge during the anti-Simon protests in Lahore. Scott, an officer who was believed to be responsible for brutal police lathicharge killing Lalaji. But Bhagat Singh and his fellow revolutionaries killed Assistant Superintendent Saunders as a case of mistaken identity, Bhagat Singh wanted to employ every possible means to unveil the cruel face of British rule in India before his fellow Indians. He wrote many articles and pamphlets to spread awareness among Indians. He is also remembered for the Central Legislative Assembly Bomb case. Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw bombs onto the Central Legislative Assembly in Delhi on April 8, 1929. The aim of this act was not to harm anyone but to make the cruel British government realize the misery and plight of Indians in their rule. This is why the bombs were thrown in an empty place in the assembly. Both the Indian heroes were arrested but they largely succeeded in their aim. Bhagat Singh got life term behind bars for his violent anti-British activities. But unfortunately the British police got the clues for the Saunders murder case and Bhagat Singh had to face it.

Bhagat Singh continued to raise voice against the British rule even in Jail and he along with his friends launched a hunger strike in protest against the discrimination against Indian prisoners. In this hunger strike Jatindra Nath Das died after 63 days long hunger strike. During this period Bhagat Singh and his fellow revolutionaries won a great popularity among Indians. Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were held guilty in the Saunders murder case, popularly known as Lahore Conspiracy case. They were hanged in Lahore Jail on March 23, 1931.

• It was Bhagat Singh who gave immense popularity to the slogan 'Inquilab Zindabad'.
• 'Why I am An Atheist' was a book written by Bhagat Singh. In this book he backed the ideology of socialism.

Tatya Tope - Tatya Tope, originally known as Ramchandra Pandurang Tope, was a prominent hero of the 1857 Revolt, often referred to as the India's first war of independence. Tatya Tope was born in 1814 AD in the present day Nashik district of Maharashtra. His father Pandurang Rao Tope was a noble in the court of Peshwa Baji Rao Second. At a very young age he developed a close and friendly relations with Nana Saheb, the adopted son of Peshwa. Tatya openly opposed the British for the injustice done to Nana Saheb. Tatya Tope served as the major army general of Nana Saheb during the 1857 Revolt. He got some success at the initial stage of revolt at Kanpur. But Indian forces could not maintain the momentum and the British forces led by General Havelock regained the lost grounds and forced Nana Saheb and Taya Tope to leave the city.

But Tatya Tope didn't lose hope and continued his fight against the British. He again developed an army with his supporters and many rebel soldiers from Gwalior to challenge the British forces at Kanpur. But British General Colin Campbell unfortunately defeated the Indians in the second battle of Kanpur in the great Revolt. Tatya remained free from the British and continued. His fight. He joined Rani Laxmi Bai, an icon of Indian bravery and resistance in the 1857 Revolt. The British again emerged winner in the battlefield as Rani Laxmi Bai met her martyrdom in the battlefield. But Tatya Tope continued his relentless fight against the British forces. His resistance could not survive too long as the British forces finally crushed the Revolt and he was killed in April 1859 AD. In brief, he fought against the British till his last breath. He was undoubtedly the great Indian hero of the 1857 Revolt.

Historical Personalities of India

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