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Zoroastrianism in India

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Zoroastrianism , an Iranian religion , has been present in India for thousands of years. Though it split into a separate branch, it shares a common origin with Hinduism and other Indian religions , having been derived from the Indo-Iranian religion . Though it was once the majority and official religion of the Iranian nation, Zoroastrianism eventually shifted to the Indian subcontinent in light of the Muslim conquest of Iran , which saw the Rashidun Caliphate annex the Sasanian Empire by 651 CE. Owing to the persecution of Zoroastrians in the post-Sasanian period, a large wave of Iranian migrants fled to India, where they became known as the Parsi people , who now represent India's oldest Zoroastrian community. Later waves of Zoroastrian immigration to India took place over the following centuries, with a spike in the number of these refugees occurring during the Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam and again during the reign of the Qajar dynasty , whose persecution of Zoroastrians prompted many to flee to British India , where they became known as the Irani people . Though Zoroastrian, the Parsis and the Iranis are culturally, linguistically, and socially distinct from each other due to their inception in separate periods of migration.

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101-497: The comparatively liberal atmosphere of India and the protection provided by historical Indian kingdoms to their Zoroastrian subjects enabled the religion to flourish outside of the Iranian plateau . Today, India is home to the largest Zoroastrian population in the world, and despite their overall low population number, Indian Zoroastrians have had a significant impact on India's economy , culture , politics and military , and also played

202-606: A subsidiary alliance . The Company subsequently seized control of regions ruled by the Maratha Empire , after defeating them in a series of wars. Much of Punjab was annexed in the year 1849, after the defeat of Sikh armies in the First (1845–46) and Second (1848–49) Anglo-Sikh Wars. Maveeran Alagumuthu Kone was an early revolutionary against the British presence in Tamil Nadu. He became

303-684: A century later, the Dutch and English established trading outposts on the Indian subcontinent, with the first English trading post set up at Surat in 1613. Over the next two centuries, the British defeated the Portuguese and Dutch but remained in conflict with the French. The decline of the Mughal Empire in the first half of the eighteenth century allowed the British to establish a foothold in Indian politics. During

404-549: A combined religious school and bomb factory at a garden house in Maniktala suburb of Calcutta . However, the attempted murder of district Judge Kingsford of Muzaffarpur by Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki (30 April 1908) initiated a police investigation that led to the arrest of many of the revolutionaries. Bagha Jatin was one of the senior leaders in Jugantar. He was arrested, along with several other leaders, in connection with

505-654: A common alliance against the British. After Rajguru's death, Bakshi Jagabandhu launched an armed revolution against the East India Company's rule in Odisha. This is now known as the Paik Rebellion , the first uprising against the British East India Company. The Indian war of independence of 1857 was a large uprising in northern and central India against the East India Company. The conditions of service in

606-714: A major role in the Indian independence movement . By 632 CE, Yazdgird III came to power in Persia but the Arab/Muslim army had already begun invading Persia . The Muslims defeated them at Nahavand and Yazdgird was slain by a miller in Merv in 652, bringing an end to the Sasanian dynasty and with it Zoroastrianism's history as the official religion of Iran. While losing their religion and script along with some Sasanian historiographical literature,

707-550: A major role in the expansion of modern humans after the Out of Africa migration , serving as 'population hub' for 'Common Eurasians', where they subsequently diverged into ' Ancient East Eurasians ' and 'Ancient West Eurasians' at c. 50,000 years ago, and from where they expanded in two waves during the Initial Upper Paleolithic (c. 45kya) and Upper Paleolithic (c. 38kya) periods respectively. Ancient and modern populations in

808-521: A military leader in the town of Ettayapuram and was defeated in battle against the British and Maruthanayagam's forces. He was executed in 1757. Puli Thevar opposed the Nawab of Arcot , who was supported by the British. Maruthanayagam Pillai was a commandant of the British East India Company's Madras Army . He was born in a Tamil Vellalar caste family in a village called Panaiyur in British India , what

909-634: A more radical approach towards self-rule. The stages of the independence struggle in the 1920s were characterised by the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi and Congress's adoption of Gandhi's policy of non-violence and civil disobedience . Some of the leading followers of Gandhi's ideology were Jawaharlal Nehru , Vallabhbhai Patel , Abdul Ghaffar Khan , Maulana Azad , and others. Intellectuals such as Rabindranath Tagore , Subramania Bharati , and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay spread patriotic awareness. Female leaders like Sarojini Naidu , Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit , Pritilata Waddedar , and Kasturba Gandhi promoted

1010-581: A number of attacks of figureheads of the Raj, culminating in the attempt on the life of a British judge in Muzaffarpur. This precipitated the Alipore bomb case , whilst a number of revolutionaries were killed, or captured and put on trial. Revolutionaries like Khudiram Bose , Prafulla Chaki , Kanailal Dutt who were either killed or hanged became household names. The British newspaper, The Empire , wrote: Khudiram Bose

1111-516: A religious persecution by invading Muslims. According to the account, the Zoroastrians suffered at their hands and in order to protect themselves and safeguard their religion, fled first to northern Iran, then to the island of Hormuz and finally to India. This generally accepted narrative of migration emphasises Muslim persecution while identifying Parsis as religious refugees. Recently, scholars have questioned this explanation of Iranian origins. There

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1212-668: A working committee with M. Rahnasamy of Andhra University serving as president and B.L. Rallia Ram of Lahore serving as general secretary. In its meeting on 16 and 17 April 1947, the joint committee prepared a 13-point memorandum that was sent to the Constituent Assembly of India , which asked for religious freedom for both organisations and individuals; this came to be reflected in the Constitution of India . The temperance movement in India became aligned with Indian nationalism under

1313-627: Is Noshaq in the Hindu Kush at 7,492 metres (24,580 ft), and its lowest point is the Lut Desert to the east of Kerman , Iran, at below 300 metres (980 ft). In geology, the plateau region of Iran primarily formed from the accretionary Gondwanan terranes between the Turan platform to the north and the Main Zagros Thrust; the suture zone between the northward moving Arabian plate and

1414-461: Is Gujarati. The Zoroastrian community in India remains one of the most recognized groups, playing a part in various commercial sectors such as industry, movies, and politics. There are two major Zoroastrian communities in India. The word Parsi in the Persian language literally means "Persian". Persian is the official language of modern Iran , which is also known as Persia . The language ( Parsi )

1515-406: Is a scarcity of sources about the migration. Historians are forced to rely exclusively on Qissa-i Sanjan written in 1599 by a Parsi Priest and Qissah-ye Zartushtian-e Hindustan written more than 200 years later. This is complicated by the fact that there were already Zoroastrians in India in the Sasanian period. Iranian Zoroastrians are known to have been trading with India for centuries before

1616-643: Is commonly referred to as Farsi , because, after the Arab invasion of Persia , because of the absence of the "P / G / Zh / Ch" sounds in the Arabic language , Parsi became Farsi . Similarly, Babak Khorramdin 's first name, originally Papak (Papa + Kuchak = Papak), "Young Father", became Babak . The long presence of the Parsis in the Gujarat and Sindh areas of India is supported by a genetic study and it also distinguishes them from

1717-508: Is fed mainly to horses . Sesame is grown and made into sesame oil . Mushrooms and manna were also seen in the plateau area as of 1920. Caraway is grown in the Kerman Province . Indian independence movement The Indian Independence Movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British colonial rule . It lasted until 1947, when

1818-779: Is now in Nainarkoil Taluk, Ramanathapuram District of Tamil Nadu , India. He converted to Islam and was named Muhammad Yusuf Khan. He was popularly known as Khan Sahib when he became a ruler of Madurai. He became a warrior in the Arcot troops, and later a commandant for the British East India Company troops. The British and the Arcot Nawab employed him to suppress the Polygar (a.k.a. Palayakkarar) uprising in South India . Later he

1919-704: Is rugged country with higher elevations, a more severe climate, and greater precipitation than are found on the Anatolian sub-plateau . The region is known as the Anti-Taurus , and the average elevation of its peaks exceeds 3,000 m (9,800 ft). Mount Ararat , at 5,137 meters (16,854 ft) the highest point in Turkey , is located in the Anti-Taurus. Lake Van is situated in the mountains at an elevation of 1,546 meters (5,072 ft). The headwaters of major rivers arise in

2020-874: Is wedged between the Arabian plate and the Indian plate . The plateau is situated between the Zagros Mountains to the west, the Caspian Sea and the Köpet Dag to the north, the Armenian Highlands and the Caucasus Mountains to the northwest, the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf to the south, and the Indian subcontinent to the southeast. As a historical region, it includes Parthia , Media , Persis , and some of

2121-660: The Baluchistan region and along the slopes of the Elburz and Zagros mountains. 200 varieties of fish live in the Persian Gulf. Thirty species of the most important commercial fish Sturgeon is found in the Caspian Sea. The Iranian plateau harvests trees for making doors, ploughs, and baskets. Fruit is grown also. Pears , apples , apricots , quince , plums , nectarines , cherries , mulberries , and peaches were commonly seen in

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2222-553: The Battle of Plassey , the East India Company's Army defeated Siraj ud-Daulah , the Nawab of Bengal , and the company established itself as a major player in Indian affairs. After the Battle of Buxar of 1764, it gained administrative rights over Bengal , Bihar and the Midnapur part of Odisha . After the defeat of Tipu Sultan , most of southern India came either under the company's direct rule, or under its indirect political control in

2323-628: The Chuar Rebellions in these regions from 1771 to 1809. Syed Mir Nisar Ali Titumir was an Islamic preacher who led a peasant uprising against the Hindu Zamindars of Bengal and the British during the 19th century. Along with his followers, he built a bamboo fort ( Bansher Kella in Bengali) in Narkelberia Village, which gained a prominent place into Bengali folk legend. After the storming of

2424-587: The Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan . On 26 January 1950, the Constitution of India established the Republic of India. Pakistan adopted its first constitution in 1956. In 1971, East Pakistan declared its own independence as Bangladesh . The first European to reach India via the Atlantic Ocean was the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama , who reached Calicut in 1498 in search of spice. Just over

2525-778: The East India Association in 1866 and Surendranath Banerjee founded the Indian National Association in 1876. Inspired by a suggestion made by A.O. Hume , a retired Scottish civil servant, seventy-two Indian delegates met in Bombay in 1885 and founded the Indian National Congress. They were mostly members of the upwardly mobile and successful western-educated provincial elites, engaged in professions such as law, teaching and journalism. At its inception, Congress had no well-defined ideology and commanded few of

2626-506: The Eurasian continent is the Iranian plateau. It is a geologically well-studied area because of general interest in continental collision zones, and because of Iran's long history of research in geology , particularly in economic geology . The Iranian plateau in geology refers to a geographical area north of the great folded mountain belts resulting from the collision of the Arabian plate with

2727-594: The Eurasian plate . In this definition, the Iranian plateau does not cover southwestern Iran. The plateau extends from East Azerbaijan Province in northwest of Iran (Persia) all the way to Afghanistan and Pakistan west of the Indus River . It also includes smaller parts of the Republic of Azerbaijan , Iraqi Kurdistan , and Turkmenistan . The northwestern Iranian plateau, where the Pontic and Taurus Mountains converge,

2828-467: The Guangzhou massacre . The immigration of Zoroastrians to India continued, and by 1477 they had lost all contact with Persia. Not until three hundred years had passed would they come into contact. Zoroastrians also played a notable role during the freedom movements of India. There were also subsequent migrations, especially resulting from attempts of Safavids ' to convert their subjects to Shia Islam in

2929-669: The Howrah-Sibpur Conspiracy case . They were tried for treason, the charge being that they had incited various regiments of the army against the ruler. Several leaders of the Jugantar party including Aurobindo Ghosh were arrested in connection with bomb-making activities in Kolkata . Several of the activists were deported to the Andaman Cellular Jail . The Delhi-Lahore Conspiracy , hatched in 1912, planned to assassinate

3030-581: The Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic movement for Indian independence emerged in the Province of Bengal . It later took root in the newly formed Indian National Congress with prominent moderate leaders seeking the right to appear for Indian Civil Service examinations in British India, as well as more economic rights for natives. The first half of the 20th century saw

3131-594: The Indian rebellion of 1857 . His defiance to his British superiors and later his execution ignited the fire for 1857 Indian Rebellion . On 10 May 1857, the sepoys at Meerut broke ranks and turned on their commanding officers, killing some of them. They reached Delhi on 11 May, set the company's toll house on fire, and marched into the Red Fort, where they asked the Mughal emperor , Bahadur Shah II , to become their leader and reclaim his throne. The emperor eventually agreed and

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3232-673: The Kingdom of Mysore on the one hand, and the British East India Company (represented chiefly by the Madras Presidency ), and Maratha Confederacy and the Nizam of Hyderabad on the other. Hyder Ali and his successor Tipu Sultan fought a war on four fronts with the British attacking from the west, south, and east, while the Marathas and the Nizam's forces attacked from the north. The fourth war resulted in

3333-617: The Zoroastrians of Iran , in particular to the Zoroastrians of Yazd and Kerman . Consequently, the Dari dialect of the Zoroastrians of those provinces may be heard among the Iranis. Iranian Plateau The Iranian plateau or Persian plateau is a geological feature spanning parts of the Caucasus , Central Asia , South Asia , and West Asia . It makes up part of the Eurasian plate , and

3434-523: The 20th century. Almonds and pistachios are common in warmer areas. Dates , oranges , grapes , melon , and limes are also grown. Other edibles include potatoes and cauliflower , which were hard to grow until European settlement brought irrigation improvements. Other vegetables include cabbage , tomatoes , artichokes , cucumbers , spinach , radishes , lettuce , and eggplants . The plateau also produces wheat , barley , millet , beans , opium , cotton , lucerne , and tobacco . The barley

3535-410: The Anti-Taurus: the east-flowing Aras River flows into the Caspian Sea , and the south-flowing Euphrates and Tigris join in Iraq before flowing into the Persian Gulf . Several small streams that flow into the Black Sea or landlocked Lake Van also originate in these mountains. The Indus River begins in the highlands of Tibet and flows the length of Pakistan almost tracing the eastern edge of

3636-420: The British Empire and the abandonment of all British goods. This movement gained traction and huge following of the masses in the western and eastern parts of India. The moderates , led by leaders like Dadabhai Naoroji and Gopal Krishna Gokhale , on the other hand, wanted reform within the framework of British rule. Tilak was backed by rising public leaders like Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai , who held

3737-408: The British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli proclaimed Queen Victoria the Empress of India . The British Liberals objected as the title was foreign to British traditions. The decades following the Rebellion were a period of growing political awareness, the manifestation of Indian public opinion and the emergence of Indian leadership at both national and provincial levels. Dadabhai Naoroji formed

3838-402: The British forces. Chinnamalai engaged in guerrilla warfare and defeated the British in battles at Cauvery in 1801, Odanilai in 1802 and Arachalur in 1804. In 1804 the King of Khordha , Kalinga was deprived of his traditional rights to the Jagannath Temple. In retaliation, a group of armed Paiks attacked the British at Pipili . Jayee Rajguru , the chief of Army of Kalinga requested

3939-466: The British, they aggressively set out to search for Birsa Munda, even setting up a reward for him. They brutally attacked the Dombari Hills where Birsa had repaired a water tank and made his revolutionary headquarters between 7–9 January 1900, murdering a minimum of 400 of the Munda warriors who had congregated there, akin to the attacks on the people at Jallianwallah Bagh , however, receiving much less attention. The hills are known as "Topped Buru" today –

4040-415: The Congress's early gains were slight. "Despite its claim to represent all India, the Congress voiced the interests of urban elites; the number of participants from other social and economic backgrounds remained negligible. However, this period of history is still crucial because it represented the first political mobilisation of Indians, coming from all parts of the subcontinent and the first articulation of

4141-447: The Empire. This trend was personified by Dadabhai Naoroji , who went as far as contesting, successfully, an election to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom , becoming its first Indian member. Dadabhai Naoroji was the first Indian nationalist to embrace Swaraj as the destiny of the nation. Bal Gangadhar Tilak deeply opposed a British education system that ignored and defamed India's culture, history, and values. He resented

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4242-433: The Hindu-dominated Congress, as the voice of a "nation within a nation". The Ghadar Party was formed overseas in 1913 to fight for the Independence of India with members coming from the United States and Canada, as well as Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Members of the party aimed for Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim unity against the British. In colonial India, the All India Conference of Indian Christians (AICIC), which

4343-413: The Iranian Plateau extends for close to 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi). It encompasses a large part of Iran , all of Afghanistan , and the parts of Pakistan that are situated to the west of the Indus River , covering an area of some 3,700,000 square kilometres (1,400,000 sq mi) In spite of being called a plateau , it is far from flat, and contains several mountain ranges; its highest point

4444-468: The Iranian plateau have a similar genetic component to the Ancient West Eurasian lineage which stayed in the 'population hub' (WEC2), but also display some ancestry from Basal Eurasians and Ancient East Eurasians via contact events starting in the Paleolithic . In the Bronze Age, Elam stretched across the Zagros mountains, connecting Mesopotamia and the Iranian plateau. The kingdoms of Aratta , known from cuneiform sources, may have been located in

4545-485: The Iranian plateau. Southeast Anatolia lies south of the Anti-Taurus Mountains. It is a region of rolling hills and a broad plateau surface that extends into Syria. Elevations decrease gradually, from about 800 meters (2,600 ft) in the north to about 500 meters (1,600 ft) in the south. Traditionally, wheat and barley are the main crops of the region. The plateau's mountain ranges can be divided into five major subregions : The Iranian plateau may have played

4646-445: The Muslim conquest of Iran, were primarily merchants, since evidence suggests it was only some time after their arrival that religious experts and priests were sent for to join them. He argues that the competition over trade routes with Muslims may also have contributed to their immigration. Although historically unsubstantiated, the story of how Zoroastrians gained permission to step on the shores of Gujarat continues to be critical to

4747-400: The Nawab feared Yusuf Khan would come back to life and so had his body dismembered and buried in different locations around Tamil Nadu. In Eastern India and across the country, Indigenous communities organised numerous uprising against the British and their fellow members, especially landlords and moneylenders. One of the earliest of these on record was led by Binsu Manki around 1771 over

4848-439: The Nizam's earlier handover of his estate to them on similar grounds. Narayan Deo II fought the British at Jelmur fort on 4 April 1768 and was defeated due to superior firepower of the British. He fled to the tribal hinterlands of his estate and continued his efforts against the British until his natural death on the Fifth of December 1771. Rani Velu Nachiyar (1730–1796), was a queen of Sivaganga from 1760 to 1790. Rani Nachiyar

4949-455: The Scots–Irish Sister Nivedita , spread the passion for rejuvenation and freedom. The rediscovery of India's indigenous history by several European and Indian scholars also fed into the rise of nationalism among Indians. The triumvirate also is known as Lal Bal Pal ( Bal Gangadhar Tilak , Bipin Chandra Pal , Lala Lajpat Rai ), along with V. O. Chidambaram Pillai , Sri Aurobindo , Surendranath Banerjee , and Rabindranath Tagore were some of

5050-441: The Swadeshi movement changed the entire texture of Indian social and domestic life. The songs composed by Rabindranath Tagore, Rajanikanta Sen and Syed Abu Mohd became the moving spirit for the nationalists. The movement soon spread to the rest of the country and the partition of Bengal had to be firmly inhaled on the first of April 1912. By 1900, although the Congress had emerged as an all-India political organisation, it did not have

5151-430: The aim of attacking the British, whom she successfully challenged in 1780. When the inventories of the Britishers were discovered, she is said to have arranged a suicide attack by a faithful follower, Kuyili , dousing herself in oil and setting herself alight and walking into the storehouse. Rani formed a women's army named "Udaiyaal" in honour of her adopted daughter, who had died detonating a British arsenal. Rani Nachiyar

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5252-503: The boycott of British goods and the people of India pledged to use only swadeshi or Indian goods and to wear only Indian cloth. Imported garments were viewed with hate. At many places, public burnings of foreign cloth were organised. Shops selling foreign cloths were closed. The cotton textile industry is rightly described as the Swadeshi industry. The period witnessed the growth of swadeshi textile mills . Swadeshi factories came into existence everywhere. According to Surendranath Banerji,

5353-594: The central Iranian plateau. In classical antiquity the region was known as Persia , due to the Persian Achaemenid dynasty originating in Fars . The Middle Persian Erān (whence Modern Persian Irān ) began to be used in reference to the state (rather than as an ethnic designator) from the Sassanid period (see Etymology of Iran ). Archaeological sites and cultures of the Iranian plateau include: The plateau has historical oak and poplar forests. Oak forests are found around Shiraz . Aspen , elm , ash , willow , walnut , pine , and cypress are also found, though

5454-596: The coin, no one would be able to see that they were there but they would enrich the milk nonetheless. In another version, he added sugar instead and claimed that like it, they would sweeten lands of Sanjan. In both of them their settlement is approved by the Rajah who addresses certain conditions for it: they would explain their religion, promise not to proselytise, adopt Gujarati speech and dress, surrender their weapons and only conduct their rituals after nightfall. During this period, Zoroastrian traders faced execution outside India, including in China where many were killed during

5555-416: The company's army and cantonments had increasingly come into conflict with the religious beliefs and prejudices of the sepoys . The predominance of members from the upper castes in the army, perceived loss of caste due to overseas deployment, and rumours of secret designs of the government to convert them to Christianity led to growing discontent. The sepoys were also disillusioned by their low salaries and

5656-507: The dates calculated for arrival of Parsis per Qissa-i Sanjan . Ruksana Nanji and Homi Dhalla while discussing archaeological evidence for 'The Landing of Zoroastrians at Sanjan', conclude that the most likely date for the migration at the start of the middle phase of their chronology, namely the early-to-mid-eighth century. Nevertheless, they express their general skepticism about the Qissa-i Sanjan account. Scholar Andre Wink has theorized that Zoroastrian immigrants to India, both before and after

5757-471: The denial of freedom of expression for nationalists, and the lack of any voice or role for ordinary Indians in the affairs of their nation. For these reasons, he considered Swaraj as the natural and only solution. His popular sentence "Swaraj is my birthright, and I shall have it" became the source of inspiration for Indians. In 1907, Congress was split into two factions: The radicals , led by Tilak , advocated civil agitation and direct revolution to overthrow

5858-547: The direction of Mahatma Gandhi , who saw alcohol as a foreign importation to the culture of the subcontinent. In July 1905, Lord Curzon , the Viceroy and Governor-General (1899–1905), ordered the partition of the province of Bengal . The stated aim was to improve administration. However, this was seen as an attempt to quench nationalistic sentiment through divide and rule . The Bengali Hindu intelligentsia exerted considerable influence on local and national politics. The partition outraged Bengalis. Widespread agitation ensued in

5959-410: The emancipation of Indian women and their participation in the freedom struggle. Few leaders followed a more violent approach, which became especially popular after the Rowlatt Act , which permitted indefinite detention . The Act sparked protests across India, especially in the Punjab Province , where they were violently suppressed in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre . The Indian independence movement

6060-473: The fort by British soldiers, Titumir died of his wounds on 19 November 1831. These rebellions lead to larger regional movements in Jharkhand and beyond such as the Kol Insurrection led by Singhray and Binray Manki, where the Kol ( Munda , Oraon , Bhumij and Ho communities) united to rebel against the "outsiders" from 1830 -1833. The Santhal Hul was a movement of over 60,000 Santhals that happened from 1855 to 1857 (but started as early as 1784) and

6161-551: The idea of India as one nation, rather than a collection of independent princely states. Religious groups played a role in reforming Indian society. These were of several religions from Hindu groups such as the Arya Samaj , the Brahmo Samaj , to other religions, such as the Namdhari (or Kuka ) sect of Sikhism . The work of men like Swami Vivekananda , Ramakrishna , Sri Aurobindo , V. O. Chidambaram Pillai , Subramanya Bharathy , Bankim Chandra Chatterjee , Rabindranath Tagore and Dadabhai Naoroji , as well as women such as

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6262-410: The language and culture essentially survived. Between the seventh and thirteenth century, political and social pressures resulted in ascendancy of Iranian Muslim over the Zoroastrians. With the conquests, Iranians gradually lost their predominant religion. The Zoroastrians moved to India in successive migrations in the Islamic period. The initial migration following the conquest has been characterized as

6363-524: The latter two are rare. As of 1920, poplar was harvested for making doors . Elm was used for ploughs . Other trees like acacia , cypress, and Turkestan elm were used for decorative purposes. Flower wise, the plateau can grow lilac , jasmine , and roses . Hawthorn and Cercis siliquastrum are common, which are both used for basket weaving . The plateau is abundant with wildlife including leopards , bears , hyenas , wild boars , ibex , gazelles , and mouflons . These animals are mostly found in

6464-425: The leadership Bundu and Konta. The Ho Rebellion took place when the Ho community first came in contact with the British, from 1820 to 1821 near Chaibasa on the Roro River in West Singhbhum , but were defeated by the technologically enhanced colonial cavalry. A larger Bhumij Revolt occurred near Midnapur in Bengal, under the leadership of Ganga Narain Singh who had previously also been involved in co-leading

6565-499: The leadership of Birsa Munda . Birsa Munda belonged to the Munda community and lead thousands of people from Munda, Oraon , and Kharia communities in "Ulgulaan" (revolt) against British political expansion and those who advanced it, against forceful conversions of Indigenous peoples into Christianity (even creating a Birsaite movement), and against the displacement of Indigenous peoples from their lands. To subdue these rising tensions which were getting increasingly out of control of

6666-438: The legitimacy of British rule in India in publications such as Jugantar and Sandhya , and were charged with sedition. The Partition also precipitated increasing activity from the then still Nascent militant nationalist revolutionary movement , which was particularly gaining strength in Bengal and Maharashtra from the last decade of the 1800s. In Bengal, Anushilan Samiti , led by brothers Aurobindo and Barin Ghosh organised

6767-406: The mound of the dead. Birsa was ultimately captured in the Jamkopai forest in Singhbhum , and assassinated by the British in jail in 1900, with a rushed cremation/burial conducted to ensure his movement was subdued. The toughest resistance the Company experienced was offered by Mysore. The Anglo-Mysore Wars were a series of wars fought in over the last three decades of the 18th century between

6868-422: The overthrow of the house of Hyder Ali and Tipu (who was killed in the final war, in 1799), and the dismantlement of Mysore to the benefit of the East India Company, which won and took control of much of India. Pazhassi Raja was the prince regent of the princely state of Cotiote in North Malabar, near Kannur , India between 1774 and 1805. He fought a guerrilla war with tribal people from Wynad supporting him. He

6969-425: The people. A Muslim deputation met with the Viceroy, Minto (1905–10), seeking concessions from the impending constitutional reforms, including special considerations in government service and electorates. The British recognised some of the Muslim League 's petitions by increasing the number of elective offices reserved for Muslims in the Indian Councils Act 1909 . The Muslim League insisted on its separateness from

7070-409: The previous territories of Greater Iran . The Zagros form the plateau's western boundary, and its eastern slopes may also be included in the term. The Encyclopædia Britannica excludes "lowland Khuzestan " explicitly and characterizes Elam as spanning "the region from the Mesopotamian plain to the Iranian Plateau". From the Caspian in the northwest to the Suleiman mountains in the southeast,

7171-411: The prominent leaders of movements in the early 20th century. The Swadeshi movement was the most successful. The name of Lokmanya began spreading around and people started following him in all parts of the country. The Indian textile industry also played an important role in the freedom struggle of India. The merchandise of the textile industry pioneered the Industrial Revolution in India and soon England

7272-461: The racial discrimination practised by British officers in matters of promotion and privileges. The indifference of the British towards native Indian rulers and the annexation of Oudh furthered dissent. The Marquess of Dalhousie 's policy of annexation, the doctrine of lapse and the projected removal of the Mughals from their ancestral palace at Red Fort also led to popular anger. The final spark

7373-466: The rebels, coupled with the military superiority of the British, brought an end to the rebellion. The British fought the main army of the rebels near Delhi, and after prolonged fighting and a siege, defeated them and reclaimed the city on 20 September 1857. Subsequently, revolts in other centres were also crushed. The last significant battle was fought in Gwalior on 17 June 1858, during which Rani Lakshmibai

7474-473: The resources essential to a political organisation. Instead, it functioned more as a debating society that met annually to express its loyalty to the British and passed numerous resolutions on less controversial issues such as civil rights or opportunities in government (especially in the civil service). These resolutions were submitted to the Indian government and occasionally to the British Parliament, but

7575-399: The rights of native princes. The British stopped the policy of seizing land from the princes, decreed religious tolerance and began to admit Indians into the civil service. However, they also increased the number of British soldiers in relation to native Indian ones, and allowed only British soldiers to handle artillery. Bahadur Shah II was exiled to Rangoon where he died in 1862. In 1876

7676-535: The same point of view. Under them, India's three great states – Maharashtra , Bengal and Punjab shaped the demand of the people and India's nationalism. Gokhale criticised Tilak for encouraging acts of violence and armed resistance. But the Congress of 1906 did not have public membership, and thus Tilak and his supporters were forced to leave the party. But with Tilak's arrest, all hopes for an Indian offensive were stalled. The Indian National Congress lost credibility with

7777-449: The self-identity of the group. Per the commonly told narrative, the Rajah of Sanjan , summoned them and demanded to know how they would not be a burden on or a threat to the local communities. Replying to their request of practising their religion and till the land, he showed them a jug full of milk, saying Sanjan like it was full. In one version, a dastur added a coin to the milk, saying like

7878-530: The sixteenth century. This added to the Parsi population and cemented their close association with Iran. According to the 2011 Census of India , there are 57,264 Parsis in India, and the 2014 figures indicate there are now 69,000. The previous figure of Zoroastrians in the diaspora , and on the results of the Indian census of 1981, which counted over 71,630 Zoroastrians. Independent estimates are that there are at least 100,000 Zoroastrians in India. Parsis' mother tongue

7979-503: The smaller Zoroastrian Indian community of Iranis , who are more recent arrivals. Although the term 'Irani' is first attested during the Mughal era , most Iranis are immigrants who arrived on the subcontinent during the 19th and early 20th centuries, that is, when Iran was ruled by the Qajars and when religious persecution of non-Muslims was rampant. The descendants of the immigrants of those times remain culturally and linguistically closer to

8080-768: The streets and in the press, and the Congress advocated boycotting British products under the banner of swadeshi , or indigenous industries. A growing movement emerged, focussing on indigenous Indian industries, finance, and education, which saw the founding of National Council of Education , the birth of Indian financial institutions and banks, as well as an interest in Indian culture and achievements in science and literature. Hindus showed unity by tying Rakhi on each other's wrists and observing Arandhan (not cooking any food). During this time, Bengali Hindu nationalists like Sri Aurobindo , Bhupendranath Datta , and Bipin Chandra Pal began writing virulent newspaper articles challenging

8181-595: The support of most Indian Muslims. Attacks by Hindu reformers against religious conversion, cow slaughter, and the preservation of Urdu in Arabic script deepened their concerns of minority status and denial of rights if the Congress alone were to represent the people of India. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan launched a movement for Muslim regeneration that culminated in the founding in 1875 of the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh , Uttar Pradesh (renamed Aligarh Muslim University in 1920). Its objective

8282-635: The then Viceroy of India , Lord Hardinge , on the occasion of transferring the capital of British India from Calcutta to New Delhi. Involving revolutionary underground in Bengal and headed by Rash Behari Bose along with Sachin Sanyal , the conspiracy culminated on the attempted assassination on 23 December 1912, when the ceremonial procession moved through the Chandni Chowk suburb of Delhi . The Viceroy escaped with his injuries, along with Lady Hardinge, although

8383-851: The transfer of Jharkhand to the East India Company . The Rangpur Dhing took place from 1782 to 1783 in nearby Rangpur, Bengal . Following the Binsu Manki's revolt in Jharkhand, numerous uprising across the region took place including the Bhumij Revolt of Manbhum from 1798 to 1799; the Chero Uprising of Palamu in 1800 under the leadership of Bhukan Singh, and two uprising of the Munda community in Tamar region, during 1807 led by Dukan Mank, and 1819–20 under

8484-535: The wooded mountains of the plateau. The shores of the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf house aquatic birds such as seagulls , ducks , and geese . Deer, hedgehogs, foxes, and 22 species of rodents are found in semidesert, and palm squirrels and Asiatic black bears live in Baluchistan. Wide variety of amphibians and reptiles such as toads, frogs , tortoises , lizards , salamanders , racers, rat snakes ( Ptyas ), cat snakes ( Tarbophis fallax ), and vipers live

8585-421: Was a Kongu Nadu chieftain and Palayakkarar from Tamil Nadu who fought against the East India Company. After Kattabomman and Tipu Sultan's deaths, Chinnamalai sought the help of Marathas and Maruthu Pandiyar to attack the British at Coimbatore in 1800. The British forces managed to stop the armies of the allies, forcing Chinnamalai to attack Coimbatore on his own. His army was defeated and he escaped from

8686-519: Was captured by the British and his fort was razed to the ground. In 1766 the Nizam of Hyderabad transferred the Northern Circars to the British authority. The independent king Jagannatha Gajapati Narayan Deo II of Paralakhemundi estate situated in today's Odisha and in the northernmost region of the then political division was continuously revolting against the French occupants since 1753 as per

8787-607: Was entrusted to administer the Madurai country when the Madurai Nayak rule ended. He later fought war against the British and the Arcot Nawab. A dispute arose with the British and Arcot Nawab, and three of Khan's associates were bribed to capture him. He was captured during his morning prayer (Thozhugai) and hanged on 15 October 1764 at Sammatipuram near Madurai. Local legends state that he survived two earlier attempts at hanging, and that

8888-547: Was executed this morning;... it is alleged that he mounted the scaffold with his body erect. He was cheerful and smiling. Jugantar was a paramilitary organisation. Led by Barindra Ghosh , with 21 revolutionaries, including Bagha Jatin , started to collect arms and explosives and manufactured bombs. Some senior members of the group were sent abroad for political and military training. One of them, Hemchandra Kanungo obtained his training in Paris. After returning to Kolkata he set up

8989-472: Was founded in 1914, played a role in the Indian independence movement, advocating for swaraj and opposing the partition of India . The AICIC also was opposed to separate electorates for Christians, believing that the faithful "should participate as common citizens in the one common, national political system". The All India Conference of Indian Christians and the All India Catholic Union formed

9090-440: Was imported to India and sold at very high prices. This was draining India's economy, causing the textile industry of India to suffer greatly. This led to great resentment among cotton cultivators and traders. After Lord Curzon announced the partition of Bengal in 1905, there was massive opposition from the people of Bengal. Initially, the partition plan was opposed through press campaign. The total follower of such techniques led to

9191-411: Was in constant ideological evolution. Essentially anti-colonial , it was supplemented by visions of independent, economic development with a secular, democratic, republican, and civil-libertarian political structure. After the 1930s, the movement took on a strong socialist orientation. It culminated in the Indian Independence Act 1947 , which ended Crown suzerainty and partitioned British India into

9292-473: Was killed. Sporadic fighting and guerrilla warfare , led by Tatya Tope , continued until spring 1859, but most of the rebels were eventually subdued. The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a turning point. While affirming the military and political power of the British, it led to a significant change in how India was to be controlled by them. Under the Government of India Act 1858 , the East India Company's territory

9393-494: Was one of the few rulers who regained her kingdom, and ruled it for a decade more. Veerapandiya Kattabomman was an eighteenth-century Polygar and chieftain from Panchalankurichi in Tamil Nadu , India who waged the Polygar war against the East India Company. He was captured by the British and hanged in 1799 CE. Kattabomman refused to accept the sovereignty of East India Company, and fought against them. Dheeran Chinnamalai

9494-550: Was particularly led by siblings – brothers Sidhu, Kanhu , Chand and Bhairav and their sisters Phulo and Jhano from the Murmu clan in its most fervent years that lead up to the Revolt of 1857 . More than 100 years of such escalating rebellions created grounds for a large, impactful, millenarian movement in Eastern India that again shook the foundations of British rule in the region, under

9595-640: Was proclaimed Shahenshah-e-Hindustan by the rebels. The rebels also murdered much of the European, Eurasian , and Christian population of the city, including natives who had converted to Christianity. Revolts broke out in other parts of Oudh and the North-Western Provinces as well, where civil rebellion followed the mutinies, leading to popular uprisings. The British were initially caught off-guard and were thus slow to react, but eventually responded with force. The lack of effective organisation among

9696-501: Was producing cotton cloth in such great quantities that the domestic market was saturated, and the products had to be sold in foreign markets. On the other hand, India was rich in cotton production and was in a position to supply British mills with the raw material they required. This was the time when India was under British rule and the East India Company had already established its roots in India. Raw materials were exported to England at very low rates while cotton cloth of refined quality

9797-402: Was provided by the rumoured use of tallow (from cows) and lard (pig fat) in the newly introduced Pattern 1853 Enfield rifle cartridges. Soldiers had to bite the cartridges with their teeth before loading them into their rifles, ingesting the fat. This was sacrilegious to both Hindus and Muslims. Mangal Pandey was sepoy who played a key part in the events immediately preceding the outbreak of

9898-420: Was the inspiration, political mentor and role model of Mahatma Gandhi and inspired several other freedom activists. Nationalistic sentiments among Congress members led to a push to be represented in the bodies of government, as well as to have a say in the legislation and administration of India. Congressmen saw themselves as loyalists, but wanted an active role in governing their own country, albeit as part of

9999-507: Was to educate students by emphasising the compatibility of Islam with modern western knowledge. The diversity among India's Muslims, however, made it impossible to bring about uniform cultural and intellectual regeneration. The Hindu faction of the Independence movement was led by Nationalist leader Lokmanya Tilak , who was regarded as the "father of Indian Unrest" by the British. Along with Tilak were leaders like Gopal Krishna Gokhale , who

10100-479: Was trained in war match weapons usage, martial arts like Valari, Silambam (fighting using stick), horse riding and archery. She was a scholar in many languages and she had proficiency with languages like French, English, and Urdu. When her husband, Muthuvaduganathaperiya Udaiyathevar, was killed in battle with British soldiers and the forces of the Nawab of Arcot , she was drawn into battle. She formed an army and sought an alliance with Gopala Nayaker and Hyder Ali with

10201-591: Was transferred to the British government. At the apex of the new system was a Cabinet minister , the Secretary of State for India , who was to be formally advised by a statutory council ; the Governor-General of India (Viceroy) was made responsible to him, while he in turn was responsible to the government. In a royal proclamation made to the people of India, Queen Victoria promised equal opportunity of public service under British law, and also pledged to respect

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