Author: Murugan Swaminathan

In 1730, at Khejarli, near Jodhpur, Amrita Devi and 362 fellow villagers of the Bishnoi community laid down their lives to protect the sacred Khejri trees. By embracing the trees to stop them from being cut on the orders of Maharaja Abhay Singh in Rajasthan, they carried out one of the world’s earliest recorded acts… Read more

The Mullaperiyar Dam, situated in Thekkady, Idukki district, Kerala, near the Tamil Nadu border, is operated by the Government of Tamil Nadu under a 999-year lease agreement to irrigate agricultural lands in southern Tamil Nadu. The Mullaperiyar Dam is a masonry gravity dam, designed and constructed to divert the west-flowing Periyar River eastward into the… Read more

Prince Salim, who later ascended the throne as Emperor Jahangir, rebelled against his father, Akbar, and established an independent regime in Allahabad between 1599 and 1604. Abul Fazl, the author of the Akbarnama—a biographical account of Akbar’s life and achievements—and the translator of the Bible into Persian, stood as one of the emperor’s most trusted advisers. However, he was… Read more

Gingee Fort is one of the few surviving forts in Tamil Nadu, India, and it holds a significant place in India’s history. Located in the Villupuram district, the Fort lies about 160 km from Chennai on the Tindivanam–Thiruvannamalai Highway and about 68 km from Pondicherry. Over the centuries, Gingee has been ruled by the Vijayanagara Nayaks, Islamic Sultans, Marathas, the powerful Mughals, as… Read more

The Vijayanagara Empire was founded in 1336 by Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty. Under the leadership of Krishna Deva Raya (r. 1509-1529), the empire reached its pinnacle, marked by territorial expansion, economic prosperity, and the flourishing of arts and culture. During this golden age, the Vijayanagara Empire became a major centre of commerce, with a thriving… Read more