April 6th 2003 The Iraq War of 2003 is a continuation of what used to be called “The Great Game (1) (2)”. In the 19th Century India was the prize, the UK lead actor or hero while Russia was seen as the villain. Oil has supplanted India and the UK is no longer lead actor.… Continue reading The Great Game Continues
15th June 2003 “Pratap” is a name redolent with glory and the aura of greatness. Maharana Pratap of Mewar (Udaipur) was a doughty warrior, resolutely independent, who never submitted to the might of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. This unswerving resistance has made him a victim for the RSS attempt to rewrite history in as anti-Muslim… Continue reading Rana Pratap of Mewar
August 28th, 2002 Stanley Lane Poole, the most popular historian of the British period bestowed individual titles upon each one of the Mughal rulers considered ‘Great Mughal’. Babur was called ‘the Brave’. His son Humayun was given the title ‘the Kind’. Akbar could not be given a –limited- to- a- specific area title and therefore… Continue reading Time to proclaim Shah Jahan A Versatile Genius
[Note: incomplete] April 2nd, 2002 With the death of Queen Mother Elizabeth, half a century after that of her husband George VI, the last person to use the ‘Imperial’ title for India has passed on. Her husband ceased to be Emperor in 1947 when India and Pakistan became independent of Britain. The inscript ‘Ind. Imp.’… Continue reading Death of the Last British Empress of India
August 10th, 2001 [Date could be earlier, 1997] The Editor [possibly New York Times or San Jose Mercury News], In your “Books” feature of 10th August, Page two you have published a picture of Mahatma Gandhi. The caption is wrong and needs to be corrected as it diminishes the lifework and the mission of the… Continue reading Letter to the Editor correcting Gandhi prayer meetings not just Hindu
October 21, 2001 The fabled jewels of the Nizams of Hyderabad are on display at the National Museum New Delhi. The family who collected them were not known for their wealth in the city of their origin, Samarqand. The treasures were collected in India. They were of such magnitude that the last Nizam, 9th in… Continue reading Khwaja A’abid, First of the Nizam Family to serve in India
September 21st, 2001 Afghanistan is attracting the attention of the world as never before. This is because it is deemed to be the source of the attack on the manifest symbols of the military and economic power of the only superpower left in the world. The alleged mastermind Osama bin Laden and the actual hijackers… Continue reading How difficult is it to rule Afghanistan?
October 24, 2001 An immigrant from Samarqand, Mir Shahabuddin, rose to high rank and won the title Ghaziuddin Khan Bahadur Firoz Jung. (The warrior for the Faith and victorious in battle commanding general.) Despite becoming blind he retained command his service ended only at his death. What was the cause of this remarkable success?
October 23rd, 2001 Up until the 18th Century India was the desired destination of those with talent skills ambition and courage. We talk of an immigrant from Samarqand who rose to high rank and made such a mark that he continued to command an army an administer a province although he became blind in an… Continue reading Awrungzeyb’s Blind General (Aurangzeb)
August 31st, 2001 Itihaas : In Mughal times, 1526-1857, being a person of note, [this applied to, both men and women], meant sporting the identity given to the individual by the reigning Emperor as specified in the title bestowed. The name given at birth became a matter of no consequence.
