1.
Metropolitan City
–
The term is Greek and means the mother city of a colony, that is, the city which sent out settlers. This was later generalized to a city regarded as a center of an activity, or any large. A big city belonging to an urban agglomeration, but which is not the core of that agglomeration, is not generally considered a metropolis. The plural of the word is most commonly metropolises, although the correct plural is metropoles, in the ancient past, metropolis was the designation for a city or state of origin of a colony. Many large cities founded by ancient civilizations have been considered important world metropoles of their times due to their large populations, some of these ancient metropoles survived until the modern days and are among the worlds oldest continuously inhabited cities. This usage equates the province with the diocese or episcopal see, in modern usage the word has come to refer to a metropolitan area, a set of adjacent and interconnected cities clustered around a major urban center. In this sense, metropolitan usually means spanning the whole metropolis or proper of a metropolis, the concept of a global city is of a city that has a direct and tangible effect on global affairs through socioeconomic means. The term has become familiar, because of the rise of globalization. An attempt to define and categorize world cities by financial criteria was made by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, the study ranked cities based on their provision of advanced producer services such as accountancy, advertising, finance and law. The inventory identifies three levels of cities and several sub-ranks. A metropolis is not necessarily a global city—or, being one, it not be among the top-ranking—due to its standards of living, development. A metropolis that is also a city is a global metropolis. Cairo and Alexandria are considered Egypts biggest metropolis, lagos is Nigerias biggest metropolis city. In South Africa, a municipality or Category A municipality is a municipality which executes all the functions of local government for a conurbation. This is by contrast to areas which are rural, where the local government is divided into district municipalities. There are eight municipalities in South Africa. In the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh, there are eleven metropolitan areas, Dhaka North, Dhaka South, Gazipur Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet, Barisal, lands are highly priced and residents are considered to have a better urban lifestyle. Special police departments are allotted for the cities, and there are city corporations for which mayors are elected for five-year regimes
Metropolitan City
–
Tokyo, the world's largest metropolis
Metropolitan City
–
São Paulo, the largest metropolis of the
Southern Hemisphere
Metropolitan City
–
The
Colosseum at night
Metropolitan City
–
A wide angle shot of the Mediterranean coastline of Alexandria.
2.
Taj Mahal
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The Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna river in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The tomb is the centrepiece of a 17-hectare complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, construction of the mausoleum was essentially completed in 1643 but work continued on other phases of the project for another 10 years. The construction project employed some 20,000 artisans under the guidance of a board of architects led by the architect to the emperor. The Taj Mahal was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for being the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the worlds heritage. Described by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore as the tear-drop on the cheek of time, it is regarded by many as the best example of Mughal architecture, the Taj Mahal attracts 7–8 million visitors a year. In 2007, it was declared a winner of the New7Wonders of the World initiative. The Taj Mahal was commissioned by Shah Jahan in 1631, to be built in the memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, construction of the Taj Mahal began in 1632. The imperial court documenting Shah Jahans grief after the death of Mumtaz Mahal illustrate the story held as the inspiration for Taj Mahal. The principal mausoleum was completed in 1643 and the surrounding buildings, the Taj Mahal incorporates and expands on design traditions of Persian and earlier Mughal architecture. Specific inspiration came from successful Timurid and Mughal buildings including the Gur-e Amir, Humayuns Tomb, Itmad-Ud-Daulahs Tomb, while earlier Mughal buildings were primarily constructed of red sandstone, Shah Jahan promoted the use of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones. Buildings under his patronage reached new levels of refinement, the tomb is the central focus of the entire complex of the Taj Mahal. It is a large, white marble standing on a square plinth and consists of a symmetrical building with an iwan topped by a large dome. Like most Mughal tombs, the elements are Persian in origin. The base structure is a large multi-chambered cube with chamfered corners forming an unequal eight-sided structure that is approximately 55 metres on each of the four long sides. Each side of the iwan is framed with a huge pishtaq or vaulted archway with two similarly shaped arched balconies stacked on either side and this motif of stacked pishtaqs is replicated on the chamfered corner areas, making the design completely symmetrical on all sides of the building. Four minarets frame the tomb, one at each corner of the plinth facing the chamfered corners, the main chamber houses the false sarcophagi of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan, the actual graves are at a lower level. The most spectacular feature is the dome that surmounts the tomb
Taj Mahal
–
Southern view of the Taj Mahal.
Taj Mahal
–
"Shah jahan on a globe" from the
Smithsonian Institution
Taj Mahal
–
Artistic depiction of
Mumtaz Mahal
Taj Mahal
3.
Geographic coordinate system
–
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
Geographic coordinate system
–
Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
4.
India
–
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
India
–
Flag
India
–
The granite
tower of
Brihadeeswarar Temple in
Thanjavur was completed in 1010 CE by
Raja Raja Chola I.
India
–
Writing the will and testament of the Mughal king court in Persian, 1590–1595
5.
States and territories of India
–
India is a federal union comprising twenty-nine states and seven union territories. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and further into smaller administrative divisions, the Constitution of India distributes the sovereign executive and legislative powers exercisable with respect to the territory of any State between the Union and that State. The Indian subcontinent has been ruled by different ethnic groups throughout its history. Between 1947 and 1950, the territories of the states were politically integrated into the Indian Union. The new Constitution of India, which came into force on 26 January 1950, the new republic was also declared to be a Union of States. The nine Part A states were Assam, Bihar, Bombay, Madhya Pradesh, Madras, Orissa, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. The eight Part B states were former princely states or groups of states, governed by a rajpramukh, who was usually the ruler of a constituent state. The rajpramukh was appointed by the President of India, the Part B states were Hyderabad, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Bharat, Mysore, Patiala and East Punjab States Union, Rajasthan, Saurashtra, and Travancore-Cochin. The ten Part C states included both the former chief commissioners provinces and some states, and each was governed by a chief commissioner appointed by the President of India. The Part C states were Ajmer, Bhopal, Bilaspur, Coorg, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Cutch, Manipur, Tripura, the only Part D state was the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which were administered by a lieutenant governor appointed by the central government. The Union Territory of Puducherry was created in 1954 comprising the previous French enclaves of Pondichéry, Karaikal, Yanam, Andhra State was created on 1 October 1953 from the Telugu-speaking northern districts of Madras State. The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 reorganised the states based on linguistic lines resulting in the creation of the new states, as a result of this act, Madras State retained its name with Kanyakumari district added to from Travancore-Cochin. Andhra Pradesh was created with the merger of Andhra State with the Telugu-speaking districts of Hyderabad State in 1956, kerala was created with the merger of Malabar district and the Kasaragod taluk of South Canara districts of Madras State with Travancore-Cochin. The Laccadive Islands which were divided between South Canara and Malabar districts of Madras State were united and organised into the territory of Lakshadweep. Bombay State was enlarged by the addition of Saurashtra State and Kutch State, Rajasthan and Punjab gained territories from Ajmer and Patiala and East Punjab States Union respectively and certain territories of Bihar was transferred to West Bengal. Bombay State was split into the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra on 1 May 1960 by the Bombay Reorganisation Act. Nagaland was formed on 1 December 1963, the Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966 resulted in the creation of Haryana on 1 November and the transfer of the northern districts of Punjab to Himachal Pradesh. The act also designated Chandigarh as a territory and the shared capital of Punjab
States and territories of India
–
Hyderabad state in 1909
6.
Uttar Pradesh
–
Uttar Pradesh, abbreviated as UP, is the most populous state in the Republic of India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. The state, located in the region of the Indian subcontinent, has over 200 million inhabitants. It was created on 1 April 1937 as the United Provinces during British rule, Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh. Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Bhadohi, Raebareli, Moradabad, Bareilly, Aligarh, Sonbhadra, on 9 November 2000, a new state, Uttarakhand, was carved out from the Himalayan hill region of Uttar Pradesh. It covers 243,290 square kilometres, equal to 7. 33% of the area of India. Hindi is the official and most widely spoken language in its 75 districts, Uttar Pradesh is the third largest Indian state by economy, with a GDP of ₹9,763 billion. Agriculture and service industries are the largest parts of the states economy, the service sector comprises travel and tourism, hotel industry, real estate, insurance and financial consultancies. Uttar Pradesh was home to powerful empires of ancient and medieval India, the two major rivers of the state, the Ganges and Yamuna, join at Allahabad and then flow as the Ganges further east. Modern human hunter-gatherers have been in Uttar Pradesh since between around 85,000 and 72,000 years ago, the kingdom of Kosala, in the Mahajanapada era, was located within the regional boundaries of modern-day Uttar Pradesh. According to Hindu legend, the divine king Rama of the Ramayana epic reigned in Ayodhya, the aftermath of the Mahabharata yuddh is believed to have taken place in the area between the Upper Doab and Delhi, during the reign of the Pandava king Yudhishthira. The kingdom of the Kurus corresponds to the Black and Red Ware and Painted Gray Ware culture, most of the invaders of south India passed through the Gangetic plains of what is today Uttar Pradesh. Control over this region was of importance to the power and stability of all of Indias major empires, including the Maurya, Kushan, Gupta. Following the Huns invasions that broke the Gupta empire, the Ganges-Yamuna Doab saw the rise of Kannauj, during the reign of Harshavardhana, the Kannauj empire reached its zenith. It spanned from Punjab in the north and Gujarat in the west to Bengal in the east and it included parts of central India, north of the Narmada River and it encompassed the entire Indo-Gangetic plain. Many communities in parts of India claim descent from the migrants of Kannauj. Kannauj was several times invaded by the south Indian Rashtrakuta Dynasty, in the Mughal era, Uttar Pradesh became the heartland of the empire. Mughal emperors Babur and Humayun ruled from Delhi, in 1540 an Afghan, Sher Shah Suri, took over the reins of Uttar Pradesh after defeating the Mughal king Humanyun. Sher Shah and his son Islam Shah ruled Uttar Pradesh from their capital at Gwalior, after the death of Islam Shah Suri, his prime minister Hemu became the de facto ruler of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and the western parts of Bengal
Uttar Pradesh
–
Southern view of the
Taj Mahal
Uttar Pradesh
–
Rama portrayed as exile in the forest, accompanied by his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana
Uttar Pradesh
–
Bisrakh,
UttarPradesh, birthplace of the King
Ravana.
Uttar Pradesh
–
A part of the Gangetic Plain
7.
List of districts of India
–
A district is an administrative division of an Indian state or territory. In some cases districts are subdivided into sub-divisions, and in others directly into tehsils or talukas. As of 2016 there are a total of 707 districts, up from the 640 in the 2011 Census of India, mahe of Puducherry is the smallest district of India by area while Kutch of Gujarat is the largest district of India by area. The majority of districts are named after their administrative centre, some are referred to by two names, a traditional one and one that uses the name of the town that is the headquarters. Since most of the districts are named after a town, the district is appended to distinguish between the town and the district. Official websites very often use District with a capital D in this context, the names of the 687 districts are mostly unique. The following tables list the details of various states
List of districts of India
–
Districts of India
8.
Municipal Corporation
–
A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. Municipal incorporation occurs when such municipalities become self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which they are located, often, this event is marked by the award or declaration of a municipal charter. A city charter or town charter is a document establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages and is considered to be a version of a constitution. Traditionally the granting of a charter gave a settlement and its inhabitants the right to town privileges under the feudal system, townspeople who lived in chartered towns were burghers, as opposed to serfs who lived in villages. Towns were often free, in the sense that they were protected by the king or emperor. Today the process for granting charters is determined by the type of government of the state in question, in monarchies, charters are still often a royal charter given by the Crown or the state authorities acting on behalf of the Crown. In federations, the granting of charters may be within the jurisdiction of the level of government such as a state or province. In Brazil, municipal corporations are called municípios and are created by means of legislation at the state level. All municipal corporations must also abide by a municipal law which is passed and amended at the municipal level. In Canada charters are granted by provincial authorities, in Germany, municipal corporations existed since antiquity and through medieval times, until they became out of favour during the absolutism. In order to strengthen the spirit, the city law of Prussia dated 19 November 1808 picked up this concept. It is the basis of municipal law. In India, a Municipal Corporation is a local government body. This standard varies from state to state, according to laws passed by state legislatures, the Corporation of Chennai was the first Municipal Corporation in India. It was established on 29 September 1688 by the British East India Company, the second was Hyderabad Municipal Corporation established in 1869 by the Nizam rulers of Hyderabad State. The third was the Calcutta Municipal Corporation, established in 1876, the Bombay Municipal Corporation was established in 1888 by the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act. The Delhi Municipal Council was established in 1911 during the Delhi Durbar when New Delhi was proclaimed to be the new Capital of India and it was elevated to Municipal Corporation level on 7 April 1958 by an Act of Parliament which established the Municipal Corporation of Delhi
Municipal Corporation
–
Dhaka City Corporation Building
Municipal Corporation
–
Chennai Corporation headquarters
Municipal Corporation
–
Municipal Corporation Building, Mumbai
Municipal Corporation
–
Municipal Corporation of Delhi Headquarters
9.
Bhartiya Janta Party
–
The Bharatiya Janata Party is one of the two major political parties in India, along with the Indian National Congress. As of 2016, it is the countrys largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament and state assemblies. The BJP is a party, with close ideological and organisational links to the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. The BJPs origins lie in the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, formed in 1951 by Syama Prasad Mookerjee, after the State of Emergency in 1977, the Jana Sangh merged with several other parties to form the Janata Party, it defeated the incumbent Congress party in the 1977 general election. After three years in power, the Janata party dissolved in 1980 with the members of the erstwhile Jana Sangh reconvening to form the BJP. Although initially unsuccessful, winning two seats in the 1984 general election, it grew in strength on the back of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. After the 1998 general election, the BJP-led coalition known as the National Democratic Alliance formed a government under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for a year. Following fresh elections, the NDA government, again headed by Vajpayee, lasted for a term in office. In the 2004 general election, the NDA suffered an unexpected defeat, long time Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi led it to a landslide victory in the 2014 general election. Since that election, Modi leads the NDA government as Prime Minister and as of March 2017, the official ideology of the BJP is integral humanism, first formulated by Deendayal Upadhyaya in 1965. The party expresses a commitment to Hindutva, and its policy has historically reflected Hindu nationalist positions, the BJP advocates social conservatism and a foreign policy centred on nationalist principles. Its key issues have included the abrogation of the status to Jammu and Kashmir, the building of a Ram temple in Ayodhya. However, the 1998–2004 NDA government did not pursue any of these controversial issues and it instead focused on a largely neoliberal economic policy prioritising globalisation and economic growth over social welfare. The BJPs origins lie in the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, popularly known as the Jana Sangh and it was founded in collaboration with the Hindu nationalist volunteer organisation, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, and was widely regarded as the political arm of the RSS. The RSS loaned several of its leading pracharaks, or full-time workers, prominent among these was Deendayal Upadhyaya, who was appointed General Secretary. The Jana Sangh won only three Lok Sabha seats in the first general elections in 1952 and it maintained a minor presence in parliament until 1967. The Jana Sanghs first major campaign, begun in early 1953, centred on a demand for the integration of Jammu. Mookerjee was arrested in May 1953 for violating orders from the state government restraining him from entering Kashmir and he died of a heart attack the following month, while still in jail
Bhartiya Janta Party
–
Syama Prasad Mookerjee, founder of the
Bharatiya Jana Sangh
Bhartiya Janta Party
–
Bharatiya Janata Party भारतीय जनता पार्टी
Bhartiya Janta Party
–
Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the first BJP
prime minister (1998–2004)
Bhartiya Janta Party
–
Lal Krishna Advani,
deputy Prime Minister under Vajpayee and one of the architects of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement
10.
Indian Administrative Service
–
The Indian Administrative Service is the All India administrative civil service. IAS officers hold key and strategic positions in the Union Government, States governments, along with the Indian Police Service and Indian Forest Service, the IAS is one of the three All India Services — its cadre can be employed by both the Union Government and the individual States. On attaining the upper levels of Super Time Scale to Apex Scale, they can go on to head whole departments and subsequently entire Ministries of Governments of India, IAS officers represent Government of India at the international level in bilateral and multilateral negotiations. On deputations they work at Intergovernmental organisations like World Bank and United Nations or its Agencies, IAS officers at various levels of administration play vital roles in conducting free, fair and smooth elections in India under the direction of Election Commission of India and states. The erstwhile Imperial Civil Service was the highest civil service of the British Empire in British India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947, Civil servants were divided into two categories - covenanted and uncovenanted. The covenanted civil service consisted of only white British civil servants occupying the higher posts in the government, the uncovenanted civil service was solely introduced to facilitate the entry of Indians at the lower rung of the administration. With the passing of the Government of India Act 1919, the Imperial Services headed by the Secretary of State for India, were split into two – All India Services and Central Services. At the time of the partition of India and the departure of the British in 1947, the part which went to India was named the Indian Administrative Service, while the part that went to Pakistan was named the Civil Service of Pakistan. IAS officers are recruited from Civil Services Examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission and they are also promoted from State Civil Services and selected from non-state civil service. After getting selected, candidates undergo training at LBSNAA, Mussoorie for IAS, being an All India Service, officers of the IAS are allotted to State cadres at the beginning of their service. They continue to work in that cadre or are deputed to Government of India, there is one cadre for each Indian state, except for three joint cadres, Assam–Meghalaya, Manipur–Tripura, and Arunachal Pradesh–Goa–Mizoram–Union Territories. The insider-outsider ratio is maintained as 1,2, with one-third of the recruits as insiders from the same state. The rest are posted as outsiders according to the roster in states other than their home states, the next year the roster starts from H, for either Haryana or Himachal Pradesh. This highly intricate system, in vogue since the mid-1980s, had ensured that officers from different states are placed all over India, changes of state cadre is permitted on grounds of marriage to an All India Service officer of another state cadre or under other exceptional circumstances. The officer may go to their home state cadre on deputation for a limited period, the centralising effect of cadre system was considered extremely important by the systems framers, but has received increasing criticism over the years. There are also concerns that such reform, the IAS will be unable to move from a command and control strategy to a more interactive. A civil servant is responsible for the law and order and general administration in the area under his work, most IAS officers start their careers in the state administration at the sub-divisional level as a sub divisional magistrate. They are entrusted with the law and order situation of the city along with general administration and they proceed to various posts in the State and Central Governments, and also local-self Governments, and Public Sector Undertakings
Indian Administrative Service
–
Progression of career of IAS officers in State and Centre Government
11.
District Magistrate
–
A District Collector, often abbreviated to Collector, is the foremost Indian Administrative Service officer in charge of revenue collection and administration of a district in India. The Collector is assisted by Deputy Collectors, Assistant Collectors, Sub Collectors, District Administration in India is a legacy of the British Raj. District Collectors were members of the Indian Civil Service, and were charged with supervising general administration in the district, warren Hastings introduced the office of the District Collector in 1772. As District Magistrate, he exercised general supervision over the courts and in particular. The office was meant to achieve the purpose of collecting revenue. The Superintendent of Police, Inspector General of Jails, the Surgeon General, the Divisional Forest Officer, until the later part of the nineteenth century, no native was eligible to become a district collector. But with the introduction of competitive examinations for the Indian Civil Services. The district continued to be the unit of administration after India gained independence in 1947, the role of the District Collector remained largely unchanged, except for separation of most judicial powers to judicial officers of the district. They are appointed by the State government, from among the pool of Indian Administrative Service officers in the state, the members of the IAS are either directly recruited by the Union Public Service Commission or promoted from Provincial Civil Services. A District Magistrate, District Collector, Deputy Commissioner or District Commissioner are transferred from this post by State government, District Collectors are entrusted with a wide range of duties in the jurisdiction of the district. Acts as ex-officio chairman of the District Development Authority in absence of Divisional Commissioner, a District Magistrate/District Collector/Deputy Commissioner/District Commissioner is assisted by some I. A. S and P. C
District Magistrate
–
A District Collector/Magistrate during the weekly administrative meeting in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India.
12.
Inspector General of Police
–
An Inspector General of Police or Inspector-General of Police is a senior officer in the police force or police service of several nations. The rank usually refers to the head of a regional command within a police service. In Bangladesh, the Inspector General of Police heads the Bangladesh Police, in Ghana, Inspector General of Police is the title of the head of the Ghana Police Service. During the British rule in India, in 1861, the British Government introduced the Indian Councils Act of 1861, the act created a new cadre of police, called Superior Police Services, later known as the Indian Imperial Police. The highest rank in the service was the Inspector General, in modern India, an Inspector General of Police is a two-star rank IPS officer. An I. G. holds the second highest rank in hierarchy, just below the Director General of Police or Additional DGP, in Indonesia, an Inspector General of Police holds the second highest rank of the Indonesian National Police. Where Parliament rejects the nominee submitted by the President, the Speaker of the National Assembly communicates its decision to the President, in submitting a new nominee, within seven days the President submits to Parliament a fresh nomination from amongst the persons shortlisted and forwarded by the Commission. Consequently, he reports directly to the President and is also a member of the National Security Council, under the IG are two Deputy Inspector-Generals who command the Kenya Police Service and the Administration Police Service respectively. The Inspector-General is appointed for a single term, and is not eligible for re-appointment. In Malawi, the Inspector General of Police is the head of the Malawi Police Force and it is an appointed position in the gift of the President of Malawi. In Malaysia, the Inspector-General of Police heads the Royal Malaysia Police, in Nepal, the Inspector General of Police is the highest rank of the Nepal Police and Armed Police Force. Dr. An Inspector General of Police is the head of policing in a province of Pakistan, in Sierra Leone the Inspector General of Police is the head of the Sierra Leone Police force. He heads the force, which is one of the oldest continuously operational police services in Africa and he is assisted by a Deputy Inspector General, and several Assistant Inspectors General. In Sri Lanka, the Inspector General of Police heads the Sri Lanka Police Service, the Inspector General of Police is the highest rank in the Uganda Police Force. Since 2001, the position has held by a two-star military general of the Uganda Peoples Defense Force. In Northern Ireland, the officer of the former Royal Ulster Constabulary was titled inspector general until 1970
Inspector General of Police
–
The insignia of an Inspector General of Police in India.
13.
Indian Police Service
–
The Indian Police Service or IPS, is one of the three All India Services of the Government of India. It has replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India gained independence from Britain, the service is not a force itself but provides leaders and commanders to staff the state police and all-India Central Armed Police Forces. Its members are the officers of the police. The Bureau of Police Research and Development is responsible for research, in 1861, the British Government introduced the Indian Councils Act of 1861. The act created the foundation of a modern and professionalised police bureaucracy in India and it introduced, a new cadre of police, called Superior Police Services, later known as the Indian Imperial Police. The highest rank in the service was the Inspector General, in 1902-03, a Police Commission was established for the Police reforms under Sir Andrew Frazer and Lord Curzon. It recommended the appointment of Indians at officer level in the police, Indians could rise only to the ranks of Inspector of Police, the senior N. C. O. However they were not part of Indian Imperial Police, from 1920, Indian Imperial Police was open to Indians and the entrance examination for the service was conducted both in India and England. Prior to Independence, senior police officers belonging to the Imperial Police were appointed by the Secretary of State on the basis of a competitive examination. The first open civil service examination for admission to the service was held in England in June 1893 and it is not possible to pinpoint an exact date on which the Indian Police came formally into being. In this sense,1907 could be regarded as the starting point, in 1948, a year after India gained independence, the Imperial Police was replaced by IPS. In 1972, Kiran Bedi joined the IPS, becoming the first woman police officer, as per media reports in 2016, there is massive shortfall of IPS officers in India, which is nearly 19% to 22% of total strength. Historically, few officers have been awarded United Nations Medal and have participated in Indian Army United Nations peacekeeping missions, the Indian Police Service is not a force itself but a service providing leaders and commanders to staff the state police and all-India Central Armed Police Forces. Its members are the officers of the police. Leading and commanding the Indian Intelligence Agencies like Research and Analysis Wing, Intelligence Bureau, Central Bureau of Investigation, Indian Federal Law Enforcement Agencies, Civil and Armed Police Forces in all the states and union territories. To interact and coordinate closely with the members of other All India Services and with the Indian Revenue Service, to lead and command the force with courage, uprightness, dedication and a strong sense of service to the people. Endeavor to inculcate in the forces under their command such values. IPS officers are recruited from Civil Services Examination and they are also promoted from State Police Services and DANIPS
Indian Police Service
–
Kolkata Police Force.
Indian Police Service
–
Armoured vehicles and personnel of the
Mumbai Police Force.
Indian Police Service
–
Greater Chennai Police patrol car.
Indian Police Service
–
National Police Memorial New Delhi
14.
Superintendent of Police (India)
–
In India, a District Senior Superintendent of Police or Superintendent of Police heads the police force of a district. In metropolitan areas having police commissionerate system, the head of police is called Deputy Commissioner of Police. Superintendents of Police are officers of the Indian Police Service and they are entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining law and order and related issues of a district of a state or a union territory of India. They are assisted by the officers of the State Police Service and their rank badge is the State Emblem above one star, although those selected for higher rank or with fifteen or more years service wear the State Emblem above two stars. The rank of superintendent of police is equivalent to the rank of lieutenant colonel of the Indian army
Superintendent of Police (India)
–
Insignia of an
Indian Police Service officer with rank of Superintendent of Police
15.
Metropolitan area
–
As social, economic and political institutions have changed, metropolitan areas have become key economic and political regions. The Greater São Paulo is a term for one of the multiple definitions the large metropolitan area located in the São Paulo state in Brazil. A metropolitan area combines an urban agglomeration with zones not necessarily urban in character and these outlying zones are sometimes known as a commuter belt, and may extend well beyond the urban zone, to other political entities. For example, El Monte, California is considered part of the Los Angeles metro area in the United States, in practice, the parameters of metropolitan areas, in both official and unofficial usage, are not consistent. Population figures given for one area can vary by millions. A polycentric metropolitan area is one not connected by continuous development or conurbation, in defining a metropolitan area, it is sufficient that a city or cities form a nucleus that other areas have a high degree of integration with. The Australian Bureau of Statistics defines statistical divisions as areas under the influence of one or more major towns or a major city. However, this definition has become obsolete with the conurbation of several statistical divisions into a larger metropolitan areas. In Brazil, metropolitan areas are called metropolitan regions, each State defines its own legislation for the creation, definition and organization of a metropolitan region. The creation of a region is not intended for any statistical purpose, although the Brazilian Institute of Geography. Their main purpose is to allow for a management of public policies of common interest to all cities involved. They dont have political, electoral or jurisdictional power whatsoever, so living in a metropolitan region do not elect representatives for them. Statistics Canada defines a metropolitan area as an area consisting of one or more adjacent municipalities situated around a major urban core. To form a CMA, the area must have a population of at least 100,000. To be included in the CMA, adjacent municipalities must have a degree of integration with the core. As of the Canada 2011 Census, there were 33 CMAs in Canada, including six with a population over one million—Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton. In Denmark the only area is Greater Copenhagen, consisting of the Capital Region of Denmark along with the neighboring regions Region Zealand. Greater Copenhagen has an population of 1.25 million people
Metropolitan area
–
Greater Buenos Aires,
Argentina
Metropolitan area
–
Paris (
France), one of Europe's major centres
Metropolitan area
–
Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area,
Israel
Metropolitan area
–
Perth, Western Australia, an isolated metropolitan area
16.
Indian Standard Time
–
Indian Standard Time is the time observed throughout India and Sri Lanka, with a time offset of UTC+05,30. India does not observe daylight saving time or other seasonal adjustments, in military and aviation time IST is designated E*. Indian Standard Time is calculated on the basis of 82.30 E longitude, in Shankargarh Fort, in the tz database, it is represented by Asia/Kolkata. The Central observatory was moved from Chennai to a location at Shankargarh Fort Allahabad district, daylight Saving Time was used briefly during the China–Indian War of 1962 and the Indo–Pakistani Wars of 1965 and 1971. Inhabitants of the states have to advance their clocks with the early sunrise. In the late 1980s, a team of researchers proposed separating the country two or three time zones to conserve energy. The binary system that they suggested involved a return to British–era time zones, in 2001, the government established a four–member committee under the Ministry of Science and Technology to examine the need for multiple time zones and daylight saving. In Assam, tea gardens follow a separate time zone, known as the Chaibagaan or Bagan time, still Indian Standard Time remains the only officially used time. The filmmaker Jahnu Barua has been campaigning for a time zone for the past 25 years. In 2010, he suggested creating a time zone for the Development of Northeastern Region. In 2014, Chief Minister of Assam Tarun Gogoi started campaigning for another time zone for Assam, however, the proposal would need to be cleared by the Central Government of India. Official time signals are generated by the Time and Frequency Standards Laboratory at the National Physical Laboratory in New Delhi, the signals are based on atomic clocks and are synchronised with the worldwide system of clocks that support the Coordinated Universal Time. IST is taken as the time as it passes through almost the centre of India. To communicate the exact time to the people, the time is broadcast over the state-owned All India Radio. Telephone companies have dedicated phone numbers connected to mirror time servers that also relay the precise time, another increasingly popular means of obtaining the time is through Global Positioning System receivers
Indian Standard Time
–
IST in relation with the bordering nations
17.
Postal Index Number
–
A Postal Index Number or PIN or Pincode is a code in the post office numbering or post code system used by India Post, the Indian postal administration. The code is six digits long, the PIN Code system was introduced on 15 August 1972 by Shriram Bhikaji Velankar, an additional secretary in the Union Ministry of Communications. The system was introduced to simplify the manual sorting and delivery of mail by eliminating confusion over incorrect addresses, similar place names, there are nine PIN zones in India, including eight regional zones and one functional zone. The first digit of the PIN code indicates the region, the second digit indicates the sub-region, and the third digit indicates the sorting district within the region. The final three digits are assigned to individual post offices, a state may have one or more sorting districts depending on the volumes of mail handled. The fourth digit represents the route on which a Delivery office is located in the sorting district and this is 0 for offices in the core area of the sorting district. The last two represent the delivery office within the sorting district starting from 01 which would be the GPO or HO. The numbering of the office is done chronologically with higher numbers assigned to newer delivery offices. If the volume of mails handled at an office is too large, a new delivery office is created. Thus two delivery offices situated next to each other only have the first four digits in common. Each PIN code is mapped to exactly one delivery post office which receives all the mail to be delivered to one or more lower offices within its jurisdiction, all of which share the same code. The delivery office can either be a General Post Office, a Head Office or Sub Office which are located in urban areas. The post from the office is sorted and routed to other delivery offices for a different PIN or to one of the relevant sub offices or branch offices for the same PIN. Branch offices are located in areas and have limited postal services
Postal Index Number
–
A post box with PIN (571120) marked on it
Postal Index Number
–
2-digit postcode areas in India(defined through the first two postcode digits)
18.
Vehicle registration plate
–
A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate or a license plate, is metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric ID that uniquely identifies the owner within the issuing regions database. The first two letters indicate the state to which the vehicle is registered, the next two digit numbers are the sequential number of a district. Due to heavy volume of vehicle registration, the numbers were given to the RTO offices of registration as well, the third part indicates the year of registration of the vehicle and is a 4 digit number unique to each plate. In some countries, the identifier is unique within the entire country, whether the identifier is associated with a vehicle or a person also varies by issuing agency. In the vast majority of jurisdictions, the government holds a monopoly on the manufacturing of vehicle registration plates for that jurisdiction. Thus, it is illegal for private citizens to make and affix their own plates. Alternately, the government will merely assign plate numbers, and it is the owners responsibility to find an approved private supplier to make a plate with that number. In some jurisdictions, plates will be assigned to that particular vehicle for its lifetime. If the vehicle is destroyed or exported to a different country. Other jurisdictions follow a policy, meaning that when a vehicle is sold the seller removes the current plate from the vehicle. Buyers must either obtain new plates or attach plates they already hold, as well as register their vehicles under the buyers name, a person who sells a car and then purchases a new one can apply to have the old plates put onto the new car. One who sells a car and does not buy a new one may, depending on the laws involved, have to turn the old plates in or destroy them. Some jurisdictions permit the registration of the vehicle with personal plates, in some jurisdictions, plates require periodic replacement, often associated with a design change of the plate itself. Vehicle owners may or may not have the option to keep their original plate number, alternately, or additionally, vehicle owners have to replace a small decal on the plate or use a decal on the windshield to indicate the expiration date of the vehicle registration. Plates are usually fixed directly to a vehicle or to a frame that is fixed to the vehicle. Sometimes, the plate frames contain advertisements inserted by the service centre or the dealership from which the vehicle was purchased. Vehicle owners can also purchase customized frames to replace the original frames, in some jurisdictions licence plate frames are illegal
Vehicle registration plate
–
Some
jurisdictions license non-traditional vehicles, such as
golf carts, particularly on on-road vehicles, such as this one in
Put-in-Bay, Ohio.
Vehicle registration plate
–
Burkina passenger plate
Vehicle registration plate
–
Burkina Faso Gendarmerie plate
Vehicle registration plate
–
Botswana plate
19.
Yamuna
–
It is the longest river in India which does not directly flow to the sea. Most importantly it creates the highly fertile alluvial, Yamuna-Ganges Doab region between itself and the Ganges in the Indo-Gangetic plain, nearly 57 million people depend on the Yamuna waters. With an annual flow of about 10,000 cubic billion metres and usage of 4,400 cbm, just like the Ganges, the Yamuna too is highly venerated in Hinduism and worshipped as goddess Yamuna, throughout its course. One official describes the river as a drain with biochemical oxygen demand values ranging from 14 to 28 mg/l. Yamunotri temple, a dedicated to the goddess, Yamuna is one of the holiest shrines in Hinduism. Also standing close to the temple, on its 13-kilometre trek route, that follows the bank of the river, lies the Markendeya Tirtha. Large terraces formed over a period of time can be seen in the lower course of the river. Kalanag is the highest point of the entire Yamuna basin, other tributaries in the region are the Giri, Rishi Ganga, Kunta, Hanuman Ganga and Bata tributaries, which drain the Upper Catchment Area of the vast Yamuna basin. Thereafter the river descends on to the plains of Doon Valley, the Yamuna also creates natural state borders between the Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand states, and further down between the state of Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. The plain itself supports one-third of Indias population through its farming, here pilgrims travel by boats to platforms erected mid stream to offer prayers. During the Kumbh Mela, held every 12 years, the ghats around the Sangam are venue of large congregation of people, the cities of Baghpat, Delhi, Noida, Mathura, Agra, Firozabad, Etawah, Kalpi, Hamirpur, Allahabad lie on its banks. At Etawah, it meets it another important tributary, Chambal, followed by a host of tributaries further down, including, Sindh, the Betwa, and Ken. Tons River, Yamunas largest tributary, rises in the 20,720 ft high Bandarpoonch mountain and it meets Yamuna below Kalsi near Dehradun, Uttarakhand. Sasur Khaderi River, known as Sasur Khaderi is a tributary in Fatehpur district, the name Yamuna seems to be derived from the Sanskrit word yama, meaning twin, and it may have been applied to the river because it runs parallel to the Ganges. The Yamuna is mentioned at many places in the Rig Veda, 1700–1100 BC, and also in the later Atharvaveda, and the Brahmanas including Aitareya Brahmana and Shatapatha Brahmana. In Rig Veda, the story of the Yamuna describes her love for her twin, Yama, who in turn asks her to find a suitable match for herself. It is also said that lord shiva was the reason for the colour of the Yamuna river. After the death of Sati Devi, lord shiva couldnt tolerate the sadness around him, and At last when he went to Yamuna river, it became so black as it absorbed all his sorrow
Yamuna
–
Taj Mahal in
Agra on the banks of Yamuna
Yamuna
–
Map
Yamuna
–
Banderpoonch peak, the source of Yamuna, as seen from
Mussoorie
Yamuna
–
The
Yamunotri temple on the river, dedicated to Goddess Yamuna.
20.
Lucknow
–
Lucknow is the capital of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and is also the administrative headquarters of the eponymous District and Division. It is the largest city in Uttar Pradesh, the eleventh most populous city, in North India, it is the third largest city after Delhi and Jaipur. Lucknow has always known as a multicultural city that flourished as a North Indian cultural and artistic hub. It continues to be an important centre of governance, administration, education, commerce, aerospace, finance, pharmaceuticals, technology, design, culture, tourism, music, the city stands at an elevation of approximately 123 metres above sea level. Lucknow district covers an area of 2,528 square kilometres, bounded on the east by Barabanki, on the west by Unnao, on the south by Raebareli and in the north by Sitapur and Hardoi, Lucknow sits on the northwestern shore of the Gomti River. Hindi is the language of the city and Urdu is also widely spoken. Lucknow is the centre of Shia Islam in India with the highest Shia Muslim population in India, historically, the capital of Awadh was controlled by the Delhi Sultanate which then came under Mughal rule. It was later transferred to the Nawabs of Awadh, in 1856, the British East India Company abolished local rule and took complete control of the city along with the rest of Awadh and, in 1857, transferred it to the British Raj. Along with the rest of India, Lucknow became independent from Britain on 15 August 1947 and it has been listed the 17th fastest growing city in India and 74th in world. Lucknow, along with Agra and Varanasi, is in the Uttar Pradesh Heritage Arc, Lucknow is the anglicised spelling of the local pronunciation lakhnau. According to one legend, the city is named after Lakshmana, the legend states that Lakshmana had a palace or an estate in the area, which was called Lakshmanapuri. However the Dalit movement believes that Lakhan Pasi, a ruler, was the settler of the city and is named after him. The settlement came to be known as Lakhanpur by the 11th century, a similar theory states that the city was known as Lakshmanavati after Lakshmana. The name changed to Lakhanavati, then Lakhnauti and finally Lakhnau, yet another theory states that the citys name is connected with Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth. Over time, the changed to Laksmanauti, Laksmnaut, Lakhsnaut, Lakhsnau and, finally. From 1350 onwards, Lucknow and parts of the Awadh region were ruled by the Delhi Sultanate, Sharqi Sultanate, Mughal Empire, Nawabs of Awadh, the British East India Company and the British Raj. Lucknow was one of the centres of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and actively participated in Indias independence movement. Until 1719, the subah of Awadh was a province of the Mughal Empire administered by a Governor appointed by the Emperor, persian adventurer Saadat Khan, also known as Burhan-ul-Mulk, was appointed nizam of Awadh in 1722 and established his court in Faizabad, near Lucknow
Lucknow
–
Clockwise from top:
Bada Imambara,
Charbagh Railway Station,
Rumi Darwaza,
Hazratganj,
La Martiniere School,
Ambedkar Memorial Park.
Lucknow
–
Panorama of Lucknow taken from Roshan-ud Daula Kothi Qaiserbagh in 1858
Lucknow
–
Nawab Asaf-Ud-Dowlah (1775–1797)
Lucknow
–
Nawab Saadat Khan II (b. bf. 1752 – d. c. 11 July 1814)
21.
Gwalior
–
Gwalior is a major city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located 319 kilometres south of Delhi, the city of India. The city and its fortress have been ruled by several historic northern Indian kingdoms, from the Tomars in the 13th century, it was passed on to the Mughal Empire, then to the Maratha in 1754, followed by the Scindia in 18th century. Besides being the headquarters of Gwalior district and Gwalior division. Several administrative and judicial organisations, commissions and boards have their state, Gwalior was the winter capital of the state of Madhya Bharat which later became a part of the larger state of Madhya Pradesh. Prior to Indian independence on 15 August 1947, Gwalior remained a state of the British Raj with the Scindia as the local rulers. High rocky hills surround the city from all sides, on the north it just forms the border of the Ganga- Yamuna Drainage Basin, the city however is situated in the valley between the hills. Gwaliors metropolitan area includes Lashkar Gwalior, Morar Gwalior, Thatipur, Gwalior was one of the major sites of rebellion during the 1857 uprising. Post-independence, Gwalior has emerged as an important tourist attraction in central India while many industries, before the end of the 20th century it became a million plus agglomeration and now it is a metropolitan city in central India. Gwalior is surrounded by industrial and commercial zones of neighbouring districts on all three main directions, a 2016 report of the World Health Organization found Gwalior to be the second-most air-polluted city in the world and the most polluted city in India. Gwalior has been selected as one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed as a city under PM Narendra Modis flagship Smart Cities Mission. According to local tradition, Gwalior owes its name to a sage of former times, Suraj Sen, a prince of the gurjar-pratihar clan of the eighth century, is said to have lost his way in the forest. On a secluded hill, he met an old man, the sage Gwalipa, upon asking the sage for some drinking water, he was led to a pond, where the waters not only quenched his thirst but cured him of leprosy. Suraj Sen later built a palace inside the fort, which was named Gwalior after the sage, after being founded by Maharaj Suraj Sen, Gwalior Fort saw many different rulers ruling the city and suburbs around it. Gwalior became a prominent place for religious practices, cultures and other disciplines coming up during that time in the country, during the 6th century BC Gwalior was ruled by the Nanda dynasty of Pataliputra. During the first century AD, Gwalior came under Naga Dynasty, from the carving found at Pawaya, it has been discovered that the kushanas ruled the city till the 3rd century AD. After that, it came under the Guptas till 467 AD, during the 5th century, The Kannauj of Gurar-Pratihara Dynasty ruled Gwalior and played a prominent role in shaping its history. From 700–740 AD Gwalior became the capital of Kannauj, a Magnificent Sun Temple was created at the fort hill during that period
Gwalior
–
clockwise from left:Gwalior Fort, Jai Vilas Palace, High Court and Sun Temple
Gwalior
Gwalior
–
The Maharahaj of Gwalior Before His Palace c. 1887
Gwalior
–
Jain statues at Gwalior built by dungar singh
22.
Agra Fort
–
Agra Fort is a historical fort in the city of Agra in India. It was the residence of the emperors of the Mughal Dynasty till 1638. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage site and is about 2.5 km northwest of its famous sister monument. The fort can be accurately described as a walled city. After the First Battle of Panipat in 1526, the victorious Babur stayed in the fort and he later built a baoli in it. The emperor Humayun was crowned in the fort in 1530, Humayun was defeated at Bilgram in 1540 by Sher Shah. The fort remained with the Suris till 1555, when Humayun recaptured it, adil Shah Suris general, Hemu, recaptured Agra in 1556 and pursued its fleeing governor to Delhi where he met the Mughals in the Battle of Tughlaqabad. Realising the importance of its situation, Akbar made it his capital. His historian, Abul-Fazl, recorded that this was a fort known as Badalgarh. It was in a condition and Akbar had it rebuilt with red sandstone from Barauliu area in Rajasthan. Architects laid the foundation and it was built with bricks in the core with sandstone on external surfaces. Some 4,000 builders worked on it daily for eight years and it was only during the reign of Akbars grandson, Shah Jahan, that the site took on its current state. Legend has it that Shah Jahan built the beautiful Taj Mahal in the memory of his wife, unlike his grandfather, Shah Jahan tended to have buildings made from white marble. He destroyed some of the buildings inside the fort to make his own. At the end of his life, Shah Jahan was deposed and restrained by his son, Aurangzeb and it is rumoured that Shah Jahan died in Muasamman Burj, a tower with a marble balcony with a view of the Taj Mahal. The fort was invaded and captured by the Maratha Empire in the early 18th century, thereafter, it changed hands between the Marathas and their foes many times. After their catastrophic defeat at Third Battle of Panipat by Ahmad Shah Abdali in 1761, finally Mahadji Shinde took the fort in 1785. It was lost by the Marathas to the British during the Second Anglo-Maratha War, in 1803
Agra Fort
–
Entry gates of the Agra Fort
Agra Fort
–
Deewan I am
Agra Fort
–
Sheesh Mahal, Agra Fort:The effect produced by lighting candles in Sheesh Mahal, Agra Fort.
Agra Fort
–
Hemu who won Agra in 1553 and again 1556 defeating Akbar's army
23.
Fatehpur Sikri
–
Fatehpur Sikri (Hindi, फ़तेहपुर सीकरी, is a city in the Agra District of Uttar Pradesh, India. The city was founded in 1569 by the Mughal Emperor Akbar, and served as the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1571 to 1585, when it was abandoned. After his military victories over Chittor and Ranthambore, Akbar decided to shift his capital from Agra to a new location 23 miles west south-west and he named the city Fatehabad, with Fateh, a word of Arabic origin in Persian, meaning victorious. It was later called Fatehpur Sikri and it is at Fatehpur Sikri that the legends of Akbar and his famed courtiers, the nine jewels or Navaratnas, were born. Fatehpur Sikri is one of the best preserved examples of Mughal architecture in India, according to contemporary historians, Akbar took a great interest in the building of Fatehpur Sikri and probably also dictated its architectural style. Seeking to revive the splendours of Persian court ceremony made famous by his ancestor Timur, but the influences of his adopted land came through in the typically Indian embellishments. The easy availability of sandstone in the areas of Fatehpur Sikri also meant that all the buildings here were made of the red stone. The Imperial Palace complex consists of a number of independent pavilions arranged in formal geometry on a piece of level ground, a pattern derived from Arab and central Asian tent encampments. In its entirety, the monuments at Fatehpur Sikri thus reflect the genius of Akbar in assimilating diverse regional architectural influences within a holistic style that was uniquely his own, in fact, he never returned to the city except for a brief period in 1601. In later Mughal history it was occupied for a short while by the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah and his regent, Sayyid Hussain Ali Khan Barha, one of the Syed Brothers, was murdered here in 1720. The palaces were occupied by the Marathas after their conquest of Delhi, then transferred to the British army, which used the fortified complex as a headquarters and barracks. Because the palace area has been in continuous use over the centuries. It is still surrounded by a five mile long wall built during its construction on three sides. However apart from the buildings complex and the magnificent mosque. The former site of the city is mostly barren, except of ruins of the bazaars of the old city near the Naubat Khana, the drum-house entrance at Agra Road. The modern town lies at the end of the complex, which was a municipality from 1865 to 1904. For a long time it was known for its masons and stone carvers, though in Akbar time it was known and fabrics of hair. The village of Sikri still exists nearby, the excavations yielded a rich crop of Jain statues, hundreds of them, including the foundation stone of a temple with the date
Fatehpur Sikri
–
Diwan-i-Khas – Hall of Private Audience
Fatehpur Sikri
–
General Plan of Fatehpur Sikri City in 1917
Fatehpur Sikri
–
General plan of buildings at Fatehpur Sikri
Fatehpur Sikri
–
Site plan of Fatehpur Sikri
24.
UNESCO
–
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations based in Paris. It is the heir of the League of Nations International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation, UNESCO has 195 member states and nine associate members. Most of its offices are cluster offices covering three or more countries, national and regional offices also exist. UNESCO pursues its objectives through five major programs, education, natural sciences, social/human sciences, culture and it is also a member of the United Nations Development Group. UNESCO and its mandate for international cooperation can be traced back to a League of Nations resolution on 21 September 1921, on 18 December 1925, the International Bureau of Education began work as a non-governmental organization in the service of international educational development. However, the work of predecessor organizations was largely interrupted by the onset of World War II. On 30 October 1943, the necessity for an organization was expressed in the Moscow Declaration, agreed upon by China, the United Kingdom, the United States. This was followed by the Dumbarton Oaks Conference proposals of 9 October 1944, a prominent figure in the initiative for UNESCO was Rab Butler, the Minister of Education for the United Kingdom. At the ECO/CONF, the Constitution of UNESCO was introduced and signed by 37 countries, the Preparatory Commission operated between 16 November 1945, and 4 November 1946—the date when UNESCOs Constitution came into force with the deposit of the twentieth ratification by a member state. The first General Conference took place between 19 November to 10 December 1946, and elected Dr. Julian Huxley to Director-General and this change in governance distinguished UNESCO from its predecessor, the CICI, in how member states would work together in the organizations fields of competence. In 1956, the Republic of South Africa withdrew from UNESCO claiming that some of the organizations publications amounted to interference in the racial problems. South Africa rejoined the organization in 1994 under the leadership of Nelson Mandela, UNESCOs early work in the field of education included the pilot project on fundamental education in the Marbial Valley, Haiti, started in 1947. This project was followed by missions to other countries, including, for example. In 1948, UNESCO recommended that Member States should make free primary education compulsory, in 1990, the World Conference on Education for All, in Jomtien, Thailand, launched a global movement to provide basic education for all children, youths and adults. Ten years later, the 2000 World Education Forum held in Dakar, Senegal, UNESCOs early activities in culture included, for example, the Nubia Campaign, launched in 1960. The purpose of the campaign was to move the Great Temple of Abu Simbel to keep it from being swamped by the Nile after construction of the Aswan Dam, during the 20-year campaign,22 monuments and architectural complexes were relocated. This was the first and largest in a series of campaigns including Mohenjo-daro, Fes, Kathmandu, Borobudur, the organizations work on heritage led to the adoption, in 1972, of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The World Heritage Committee was established in 1976 and the first sites inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1978, since then important legal instruments on cultural heritage and diversity have been adopted by UNESCO member states in 2003 and 2005
UNESCO
–
UNESCO offices in
Brasília
UNESCO
–
UNESCO
UNESCO
–
UNESCO Institute for Water Education in
Delft
UNESCO
–
The Garden of Peace, UNESCO headquarters, Paris. Donated by the Government of Japan, this garden was designed by American-Japanese sculptor artist Isamu Noguchi in 1958 and installed by Japanese gardener Toemon Sano.
25.
World Heritage Sites
–
A World Heritage Site is a landmark which has been officially recognized by the United Nations, specifically by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Sites are selected on the basis of having cultural, historical, scientific or some form of significance. UNESCO regards these sites as being important to the interests of humanity. The programme catalogues, names, and conserves sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common culture, under certain conditions, listed sites can obtain funds from the World Heritage Fund. The program was founded with the Convention Concerning the Protection of the Worlds Cultural and Natural Heritage, since then,192 state parties have ratified the convention, making it one of the most adhered to international instruments. As of July 2016,1052 sites are listed,814 cultural,203 natural, in 1959, the governments of Egypt and Sudan requested UNESCO to assist their countries to protect and rescue the endangered monuments and sites. In 1960, the Director-General of UNESCO launched an appeal to the Member States for an International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, the campaign, which ended in 1980, was considered a success. The project cost $80 million, about $40 million of which was collected from 50 countries, the projects success led to other safeguarding campaigns, saving Venice and its lagoon in Italy, the ruins of Mohenjo-daro in Pakistan, and the Borobodur Temple Compounds in Indonesia. UNESCO then initiated, with the International Council on Monuments and Sites, the United States initiated the idea of cultural conservation with nature conservation. The International Union for Conservation of Nature developed similar proposals in 1968, the Convention came into force on 17 December 1975. As of June 2016, it has been ratified by 192 states, including 188 UN member states plus the Cook Islands, the Holy See, Niue, a country must first list its significant cultural and natural sites, the result is called the Tentative List. A country may not nominate sites that have not been first included on the Tentative List, next, it can place sites selected from that list into a Nomination File. The Nomination File is evaluated by the International Council on Monuments and Sites and these bodies then make their recommendations to the World Heritage Committee. There are ten selection criteria – a site must meet at least one of them to be included on the list, up to 2004, there were six criteria for cultural heritage and four criteria for natural heritage. In 2005, this was modified so there is now only one set of ten criteria. Nominated sites must be of outstanding value and meet at least one of the ten criteria. Thus, the Geneva Convention treaty promulgates, Article 53, PROTECTION OF CULTURAL OBJECTS AND OF PLACES OF WORSHIP. There are 1,052 World Heritage Sites located in 165 States Party, of these,814 are cultural,203 are natural and 35 are mixed properties
World Heritage Sites
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Site #252:
Taj Mahal, an example of cultural heritage site
World Heritage Sites
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Logo of the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
World Heritage Committee
World Heritage Sites
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Site #156:
Serengeti National Park, an example of natural heritage site
World Heritage Sites
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Site #274:
Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu, an example of mixed heritage site
26.
Delhi
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Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory of Delhi or NCT, is a city and a union territory of India. It is bordered by Haryana on three sides and by Uttar Pradesh to the east, the NCT covers an area of 1,484 square kilometres. According to 2011 census, Delhis city population was about 11 million, Delhis urban area is now considered to extend beyond the NCT boundary to include an estimated population of over 26 million people making it the worlds second largest urban area. As of 2016 recent estimates of the economy of its urban area have ranked Delhi either the top or second most productive metro area of India. Delhi is the second wealthiest city after Mumbai in India, with a wealth of $450 billion. Delhi has been inhabited since the 6th century BC. Through most of its history, Delhi has served as a capital of various kingdoms and it has been captured, ransacked and rebuilt several times, particularly during the medieval period, and modern Delhi is a cluster of a number of cities spread across the metropolitan region. New Delhi is jointly administered by the government of India and the local government of Delhi. Delhi is also the centre of the National Capital Region, which is a unique interstate regional planning area created by the National Capital Region Planning Board Act of 1985, Delhi ranks among the cities with the worst air pollution in the world. There are a number of myths and legends associated with the origin of the name Delhi, one of them is derived from Dhillu or Dilu, a king who built a city at this location in 50 BC and named it after himself. The coins in circulation in the region under the Tomaras were called dehliwal, according to the Bhavishya Purana, King Prithiviraja of Indraprastha built a new fort in the modern-day Purana Qila area for the convenience of all four castes in his kingdom. He ordered the construction of a gateway to the fort and later named the fort dehali, another theory suggests that the citys original name was Dhillika. The people of Delhi are referred to as Delhiites or Dilliwalas, the city is referenced in various idioms of the Northern Indo-Aryan languages. Dilli dilwalon ka shehr or Dilli Dilwalon ki meaning Delhi belongs to the large-hearted/daring, aas-paas barse, Dilli pani tarse, literally meaning it pours all around, while Delhi lies parched. An allusion to the sometimes semi-arid climate of Delhi, it refers to situations of deprivation when one is surrounded by plenty. The area around Delhi was probably inhabited before the second millennium BC, the city is believed to be the site of Indraprastha, the legendary capital of the Pandavas in the Indian epic Mahabharata. According to Mahabharata, this land was initially a huge mass of forests called Khandavaprastha which was burnt down to build the city of Indraprastha, the earliest architectural relics date back to the Maurya period, in 1966, an inscription of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka was discovered near Srinivaspuri. Remains of eight cities have been discovered in Delhi
Delhi
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From top clockwise:
Lotus temple,
Humayun's Tomb,
Connaught Place,
Akshardham temple and
India Gate.
Delhi
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The ancient
Yogmaya Temple, claimed to be one of the five temples of the Mahabharata era in Delhi.
Delhi
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The
iron pillar of Delhi, is said to have been fashioned at the time of
Chandragupta Vikramaditya (375–413) of the
Gupta Empire.
27.
Jaipur
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Jaipur is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan in Northern India. It was founded on 18 November 1726 by Maharaja Jai Singh II, as of 2011, the city has a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known as the Pink City of India, Jaipur is located 260 km from the Indian capital New Delhi. Jaipur forms a part of the west Golden Triangle tourist circuit along with Agra, Jaipur is a popular tourist destination in India and serves as a gateway to other tourist destinations in Rajasthan such as Jodhpur, Jaisalmer Udaipur. and Mount Abu. The city of Jaipur was founded in 1726 by Jai Singh II and he planned to shift his capital from Amer,11 km from Jaipur to accommodate the growing population and increasing scarcity of water. Jai Singh consulted several books on architecture and architects while planning the layout of Jaipur, under the architectural guidance of Vidyadhar Bhattacharya, Jaipur was planned based on the principles of Vastu shastra and Shilpa Shastra. The construction of the city began in 1726 and took four years to complete the major roads, the city was divided into nine blocks, two of which contained the state buildings and palaces, with the remaining seven allotted to the public. Huge ramparts were built, pierced by seven fortified gates, during the rule of Sawai Ram Singh, the city was painted pink to welcome the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, in 1876. Many of the avenues remained painted in pink, giving Jaipur a distinctive appearance, in the 19th century, the city grew rapidly and by 1900 it had a population of 160,000. The wide boulevards were paved and its industries were the working of metals and marble. The city had three colleges, including a Sanskrit college and a school opened during the reign of the Maharaja Ram Singh II. Temperatures remain relatively high during summer from April to early July having average daily temperatures of around 30 °C, during the monsoon there are frequent, heavy rains and thunderstorms, but flooding is not common. The winter months of November to February are mild and pleasant, with temperatures ranging from 10–15 °C and with little or no humidity. The city was planned according to Indian Vastu shastra by Vidyadhar Bhattacharya in 1727, there are three gates facing east, west, and north. The eastern gate is called Suraj pol, the gate is called Chand pol. The city is unusual among pre-modern Indian cities in the regularity of its streets, the urban quarters are further divided by networks of gridded streets. Five quarters wrap around the east, south, and west sides of a central palace quarter, the Palace quarter encloses the Hawa Mahal palace complex, formal gardens, and a small lake. Nahargarh Fort, which was the residence of the King Sawai Jai Singh II, according to provisional report of 2011 census, Jaipur city had a population of 3,073,350
Jaipur
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Clockwise from top:
Jal Mahal,
Lakshmi-Narayan Temple,
Albert Hall Museum,
Hawa Mahal,
Jantar Mantar
Jaipur
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Jai Singh II, the founder of Jaipur
Jaipur
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Vidhan Sabha in Jaipur
28.
Uttar Pradesh Heritage Arc
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The Uttar Pradesh Heritage Arc is a chain of survey triangulations stretching from Agra to Lucknow and Varanasi in India, covering an area of approximately 700 km. The idea was conceived by the Government of Uttar Pradesh in 2014-2015 to boost tourism in the state, the Uttar Pradesh Travel Mart 2015 was a government initiative that had UP Tourism as its face in coordination with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry. The first edition held at Lucknow on 22-24 February looks at the promotion of strategic areas of tourism in a way for the state
Uttar Pradesh Heritage Arc
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The Heritage ARC - Agra (Taj Mahal), Lucknow (Bara Imambara Complex) & Varanasi (Ganga Ghat).
Uttar Pradesh Heritage Arc
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The Heritage ARC - official Logo
29.
Braj
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Brij is a region mainly in Uttar Pradesh of India, around Mathura-Vrindavan. Brij, though never a defined political region in India, is very well demarcated culturally. The area stretches from Mathura, Jalesar, Agra, Hathras and Aligarh right up to Etah, Mainpuri and it is considered to be the land of Krishna and is derived from the Sanskrit word vraja. The main cities in the region are Mathura, Jalesar, Bharatpur, Agra, Hathras, Dholpur, Aligarh, Etawah, Mainpuri, Etah, Kasganj, Brajbhoomi falls right in the middle of the Doab. The area was an important part of the Madhya-desha or Aryavarta or midlands, the region lies well within the golden triangle of Delhi-Jaipur-Agra. The land of Braj starts from Kotban near Hodel and it covers Agra, Aligarh, Hathras Bharatpur bareilly and Dholpur, in broader terms Firozabad Mainpuri Etah kasganj Etawah and Gwalior Morena Bhind area are also part of Brajbhoomi or Braj Pradesh. The residents or natives of Braj are called Brijwasi, Braj bhasha or Brij bhasha, closely related to spoken Hindi with a soft accent, is spoken throughout the region. Braj is famous for its sweets and Chaat, Hathras is also known for its sindoor and heeng. The region is related to the Hindu epic Mahabharata. Krishna is said to have spent his childhood and adolescence in Braj and therefore, Krishna performed his numerous popularly called his lilas in the 137 sacred forests, at the 1000 Kunds, on the numerous holy hills and on the banks of the river Yamuna. In Srimad Bhagawat, he says to his foster father, Nandbaba that Braj is a culture of forests and hills. Nowhere in the history of mankind, can one find such an emphasis on the harmony of life with the environment. Thus, the Brajbhasa, the language of Braj was the language of choice of the Bhakti movement, or the neo-Vaishnavite religions, therefore, most of the literature in this language pertains to Krishna composed in medieval times. Many international Hindu communities and disciplic successions established temples in the heart of Braj, in May of 2014, Braj was added to the lexicon. As The 2014 word had already selected, Braj had an early selection for the 2015 Word of the Day of the Year. It has since become the best received and most welcome Word of the Day of the Year in the 10 year WOTDOTY history, the vast heritage of the region is thought to be deteriorating. Out of the 137 forests, only 3 are left and the rest have been cut down, out of the 27 picturesque ghats on the banks of river Yamuna, only one remains and rest have been encroached upon and smuggled out. Due to the wide scale illegal mining of Braj hills, the spots associated with Krishna are being lost
Braj
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Historical region of North India Braj
Braj
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Sculpture of woman from ancient Mathura ca 325 AD.
30.
Shahi
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They are split into two eras the Buddhist-Shahis and the later Hindu-Shahis with the change-over occurring around 870. These Hindu kings of Kabul and Gandhara may have had links to some ruling families in neighboring Kashmir, the last Shahi emperors Jayapala, Anandapala and Tirlochanpala fought the Muslim Turk Ghaznavids of Ghazna and were gradually defeated. Their remaining army were eventually exiled into northern India, Xuanzang describes the ruler of Kapisa/Kabul, whom he had personally met, as a devout Buddhist and a Kshatriya. Thus the folklore accounts recorded by Alberuni connect the earlier Shahis of Kabul/Kapisa to Turkish extraction, at the same time it is also claimed that their first king Barahatigin had originally come from Tibet and concealed in a narrow cave in Kabul area. One can easily see the account of Shahi origin as totally fanciful. The allegation that the first dynasty of Kabul was Turki is plainly based on the vulgar tradition, which Alberuni himself remarked was clearly absurd. The historian V. A. Smith speculates – based on Alberuni – that the earlier Shahis were a branch of the Kushanas who ruled both over Kabul and Gandhara until the rise of the Saffarids. H. M. Elliot relates the early Kabul Shahis to the Kators, charles Frederick Oldham also traces the Kabul Shahi lineage to the Kators—whom he identifies with the Kathas or Takkhas—Naga worshipping collective groups of Hinduism lineage. He further speaks of the Urasas, Abhisaras, Daradas, Gandharas, Kambojas, pandey traces the affinities of the early Kabul Shahis to the Hunas. Other accounts suggest Punjabi Kshatriya origins for the Shahi dynasty, Xuanzang clearly describes the ruler of Kapisa/Kabul, whom he had personally met, as a devout Buddhist and a Kshatriya and not a Tu-kiue/Tu-kue. Neither the Kushanas, the Hunas/Hephthalites nor the Turks have ever been designated or classified as Kshatriyas in any ancient Indian tradition, therefore, the identification of the first line of Shahi kings of Kapisa/Kabul with the Kushanas, Hunas, or Turks obviously seems to be in gross error. It is very interesting that Alberuni calls the early Shahi rulers Turks, the Shahi rulers of Kapisa/Kabul who ruled Afghanistan from the early 4th century till AD870 were Hindu Kamboj Kshatriyas. The Shahis of Afghanistan were discovered in 1874 to be connected to the Kamboja race by E. Vesey Westmacott, E. Vesey Westmacott, Bishan Singh, K. S. Dardi, et al. connect the Kabul Shahis to the ancient Indian Kshatriya clans of the Kambojas/Gandharas. George Scott Robertson writes that the Kators/Katirs of Kafiristan belong to the well known Siyaposh tribal group of the Kams, but numerous scholars now also agree that the Siyaposh tribes of Hindukush are the modern representatives of the ancient Iranian cis-Hindukush Kambojas. The name of the last king of the so-called first Shahi line of Kabul/Kapisa simply reveals a trace of Tukhara cultural influence in the Kamboja region, as hinted in the above discussion. Thus, the first ruling dynasty of Kapisa and Kabul, designated as a Kshatriya dynasty by Xuanzang had been a Kamboja dynasty from India, the Kambojas and the Tukharas are mentioned as immediate neighbors in north-west as late as the 8th century AD as Rajatarangini of Kalhana demonstrates. Evidence also exists that some medieval Muslim writers have confused the Kamboja clans of Pamirs/Hindukush with the Turks, for example, 10th-century Arab geographer Al-Muqaddasi, refers to the Kumiji tribesmen of Buttaman mountains, on upper Oxus, and calls them of Turkic race. Song Yun, the Chinese Ambassador to the Huna kingdom of Gandhara, the then Yetha ruler was extremely cruel, vindictive, and anti-Buddhist and had engaged in a three years border war with the king of Ki-pin, disputing the boundaries of that country
Shahi
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Coins of the Shahis, 8th century
Shahi
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Coin of Shahi Kings of Kabul & Gandhara: Samanta Deva, c. AD 850–1000. Obv: Rider bearing lance on caparisoned horse facing right. Devnagari Legends: 'bhi '?. Rev: Recumbent bull facing left, trishula on bull's rump, Devnagari Legends: Sri Samanta Deva.
Shahi
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Asia in AD 565, showing the Shahi kingdoms and their neighbours.
Shahi
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Newly
excavated Buddhist stupa at
Mes Aynak in
Logar Province. Similar stupas have been discovered in neighbouring
Ghazni Province, including in the northern
Samangan Province.
31.
Jayapala
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Jayapala, was the ruler of the Kabul Shahi dynasty from 964 to 1001 CE. The Palas are ruling clans originating in Punjab and belonged to Janjua tribe and his kingdom stretched from Laghman to Kashmir and Sirhind to Multan, with Peshawar being in the center. He was the son of Hutpal and the father of Anandapala, epithets from the Bari Kot inscriptions record his full title as Parama Bhattaraka Maharajadhiraja Sri Jayapaladeva. Jayapala is known for his struggles in defending his kingdom against the Ghaznavids in the modern-day eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan region, sebuk Tigin, however, defeated him, and he was forced to pay an indemnity. Jayapala defaulted on the payment and took to the once more. Jayapala, however, lost control of the region between the Kabul Valley and Indus River. Before his struggle began Jayapala had raised an army of Punjabi Hindus. When Jayapala went to the Punjab region, his army was raised to 100,000 horsemen and an innumerable host of foot soldiers. But Subooktugeen considered himself as a wolf about to attack a flock of sheep, calling, therefore, his chiefs together, he encouraged them to glory, however, the army was hopeless in battle against the western forces, particularly against the young Mahmud of Ghazni. After the Battle of Peshawar, he committed suicide by self immolation because his subjects thought he had brought disaster, Jayapala was succeeded by his son Anandapala, who along with other succeeding generations of the Shahiya dynasty took part in various campaigns against the advancing Ghaznvids but were unsuccessful. The Hindu rulers eventually exiled themselves to the Kashmir Siwalik Hills, gandhara Ram Gopal Misra, Indian Resistance to Early Muslim Invaders Up to 1206 A. D. Anu Books, Shivaji Road, Meerut city,1983. The book has been reprinted in 1992, sita Ram Goel, Heroic Hindu Resistance to Muslim Invaders,2001
Jayapala
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Disaster of Jayapala Army due to snow fall
32.
Mahmud of Ghazni
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Yamīn-ud-Dawla Abul-Qāṣim Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegīn, more commonly known as Mahmud of Ghazni, also known as Mahmūd-i Zābulī, was the most prominent ruler of the Ghaznavid Empire. He conquered the eastern Iranian lands, modern Afghanistan, and the northwestern Indian subcontinent from 997 to his death in 1030. He was the first ruler to carry the title Sultan, signifying the extent of his power, during his rule, he invaded and plundered parts of Hindustan 17 times. Mahmud was born on Thursday,10 Muharram,361 AH/ November 2,971 CE in the town of Ghazna in Medieval Khorasan and his father Sabuktigin was a Turkic Mamluk who founded the Ghaznavid dynasty. His mother was the daughter of a Persian aristocrat from Zabulistan, Sultan Mahmud was born on 2 November 971 CE in Ghazni to first Ghaznavid Sultan Sebüktigin, Yusuf Sebüktigin being his younger brother. He was married to a woman named Kausari Jahan and had twin sons Mohammad and Masud, in 994, Mahmud joined his father Sabuktigin in the capture of Khorasan from the rebel Faiq in aid of the Samanid Emir, Nuh II. Mahmud took over his fathers kingdom in 998 after defeating and capturing Ismail at the Battle of Ghazni and he then set out west from Ghazni to take the Kandahar region followed by Bost, where he turned it into a militarised city. Mahmud initiated the first of numerous invasion of North India, on November 28,1001, his army fought and defeated the army of Raja Jayapala of the Kabul Shahis at the battle of Peshawar. In 1002, Mahmud invaded Sistan and dethroned Khalaf ibn Ahmad, from there he decided to focus on Hindustan to the southeast, particularly the highly fertile lands of the Punjab region. At this point, Jayapala attempted to revenge for an earlier military defeat at the hands of Mahmuds father. His son Anandapala succeeded him and continued the struggle to avenge his fathers suicide and he also vowed to raid and loot the wealthy region of northwestern India every year. In 1001 Mahmud of Ghazni had first invaded modern day Afghanistan and Pakistan then parts of India, Mahmud defeated, captured and later released the Shahi ruler Jayapala, who had moved his capital to Peshawar. Jaya Pala killed himself and was succeeded by his son Ananda Pala, in 1013, during Mahmuds 8th expedition into eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Shahi kingdom was overthrown. In 1014 Mahmud led an expedition to Thanesar, the next year he unsuccessfully attacked Kashmir. In 1018, he attacked Mathura and defeated a coalition of rulers there while also killing a ruler called Chandra Pala, in 1021 Mahmud supported the Kannauj king against Chandela Ganda, who was defeated. That same year Shahi Trilochana Pala was killed at Rahib and his son Bhima Pala succeeded him, Mahmud besieged Gwalior, in 1023, where he given tribute. Mahmud attacked Somnath, in 1025, and its ruler Bhima Deva I fled, the next year, he captured Somnath and marched to Kachch against Bhima Deva. That same year Mahmud also attacked the Jat people of Jud, the last four years of Mahmuds life were spent contending with the influx of Oghuz and Seljuk Turks from Central Asia and the Buyid dynasty
Mahmud of Ghazni
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Ferdowsi reads the poem, the
Shahnameh, to Mahmud of Ghazni by painter
Vardges Sureniants
Mahmud of Ghazni
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Sultan Mahmud and his forces attacking the fortress of
Zaranj
Mahmud of Ghazni
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Mahmud of Ghazni last success in India against Jats
Mahmud of Ghazni
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A Painting of the tomb of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni, in 1839–40, with Sandalwood Doors long believed to be plundered from Somnath, which he destroyed in ca 1024, later found to be replicas of the original.
33.
Sikandar Lodi
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Sikander Lodi, born Nizam Khan, was the Sultan of Delhi between 1489 to 1517. He became the ruler of the Lodi dynasty after the death of his father Bahlul Lodi in July 1489. The second and most successful ruler of the Lodi dynasty of the Delhi sultanate, he was also a poet of the Persian language and prepared a diwan of 9000 verses. Of the three Lodi Sultans namely Bahlol Lodi, Sikandar Lodi and Ibrahim Lodi, Sikandar Lodi is regarded as the ablest, the greatest, most of the time of Bahlol Lodi was spent in checking revolts and consolidating his position. There was very little left at his disposal for bringing about administrative reforms, ibram Lodi led to the downfall of the Lodi dynasty. As compared with these two Sultans, Sikandar Lodi gave ample evidence of his qualities as a general, as an administrator, a consolidator of the empire, Sikandar was the son of Sultan Bahlul Khan Lodi and Bibi Ambha, the daughter of a Hindu goldsmith of Sirhind. Sikandar was of Pashtun origin through his father and he became Sultan upon the death of his father on July 17,1489 under the full name Abu Al-Muzzafar Ghazi Sultan Sikandar Lodi. His rise to power was troubled, as his brother, Barbak Shah. However, he was able to ascend to the throne without massive bloodshed and he also settled differences with an uncle, Alam Khan, who was also suspected of seeking to seize power. Sikandar was a ruler who encouraged trade across his territory. He expanded Lodi territory into the regions of Gwalior and Bihar and he made a treaty with Alauddin Hussain Shah and his kingdom of Bengal. In 1503, he commissioned the building of the city of Agra. He has a reputation for religious intolerance, and is said to have burned Bodhan and he wrote poetry in Persian using the pen name Gulrukhi. Among the administrative changes made by Sikandar Lodi was the installation of Persian language as the language for the accountancy in India. Publication of the Iran Pakistan Institute of Persian Studies, serial no, Sikandar Lodi was a great conqueror and a very good administrator. He revived the glory of Delhi Sultanates by expanding the boundaries of his empire and he took effective administrative steps for effective management. He also did a lot for the welfare of the poor people First of all Sikandar Lodi defeated his brother and seized Jaunpur. He afterwards led his attack on Bihar, defeated its ruler and he conquered the states of Dholpur, Bidar, Gwalior, Chanderi and other nearby kingdoms
Sikandar Lodi
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Sikander Lodhi
Sikandar Lodi
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The top two storeys of the
Qutub Minar were reconstructed in marble by Sikander Lodi
Sikandar Lodi
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Coin of Sikandar Lodi
34.
Ibrahim Lodi
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Ibrahim Lodi became the Sultan of Delhi in 1517 after the death of his father Sikandar. He attained the throne upon the death of his father, Sikandar and he faced a number of rebellions. The Mewar ruler Rana Sangram Singh extended his right up to western Uttar Pradesh. There was rebellion in the East also, Ibrahim Lodi also displeased the nobility when he replaced old and senior commanders by younger ones who were loyal to him. His Afghan nobility eventually invited Babur to invade India, in 1526, the Mughal forces of Babur, the king of Kabulistan, defeated Ibrahims much larger army in the Battle of Panipat. Ibrahim was killed during the battle and it is estimated that Baburs forces numbered around 25, 000–30,000 men and had between 20 and 24 pieces of field artillery. Ibrahim Lodi had around 30, 000–40,000 men along with at least 100 elephants, after the end of Lodhi dynasty, the era of Mughal rule commenced. His tomb is often mistaken to be the Shisha Gumbad within Lodi Gardens Delhi, rather Ibrahim Lodis Tomb is actually situated near the tehsil office in Panipat, close to the Dargah of Sufi saint Bu Ali Shah Qalandar. It is a rectangular structure on a high platform approached by a flight of steps. In 1866, the British relocated the tomb during construction of the Grand Trunk Road and renovated it with an inscription highlighting Ibrahim Lodhi’s death in the Battle of Panipat
Ibrahim Lodi
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A modern-day Afghan sketch depicting Sultan Ibrahim Lodi
Ibrahim Lodi
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An awards ceremony in the Sultan Ibrāhīm’s court before being sent on an expedition to Sambhal
Ibrahim Lodi
–
Quarter Tanka Of Ibrahim Lodhi
35.
Battle of Panipat (1526)
–
The First Battle of Panipat, on 21 April 1526, was fought between the invading forces of Babur and the Lodi Empire. It took place in north India and marked the beginning of the Mughal Empire and this was one of the earliest battles involving gunpowder firearms and field artillery in India. After losing Samarkand for the time, Babur gave attention to conquer India as he reached the banks of the Chenab in 1519. Until 1524, his aim was to expand his rule to Punjab, mainly to fulfil his ancestor Timurs legacy. At the time parts of north India were under the rule of Ibrahim Lodi of the Lodi dynasty and he received invitations from Daulat Khan Lodi, Governor of Punjab and Ala-ud-Din, uncle of Ibrahim. He sent an ambassador to Ibrahim, claiming himself the heir to the throne of the country, however the ambassador was detained at Lahore. Babur started for Lahore, Punjab, in 1524 but found that Daulat Khan Lodi had been out by forces sent by Ibrahim Lodi. When Babur arrived at Lahore, the Lodi army marched out, in response, Babur burned Lahore for two days, then marched to Dipalpur, placing Alam Khan, another rebel uncle of Lodis, as governor. Alam Khan was quickly overthrown and fled to Kabul, in response, Babur supplied Alam Khan with troops who later joined up with Daulat Khan Lodi and together with about 30,000 troops, they besieged Ibrahim Lodi at Delhi. He defeated them and drove off Alams army and Babur realized Lodi would not allow him to occupy the Punjab. Hearing of the size of Ibrahims army, Babur secured his right flank against the city of Panipat, in the center, he placed 700 carts tied together with ropes. Between every two carts there were breastworks for his matchlockmen, Babur also ensured there was enough space for his cavalry to charge between these carts. When Ibrahims army arrived, he found the approach to Baburs army too narrow to attack, while Ibrahim redeployed his forces to allow for the narrower front, Babur quickly took advantage of the situation to flank the Lodi army. Many of Ibrahims troops, were unable to get into action and as the battle turned against Ibrahim, faced with musket fire, cannon fire and cavalry attacks from all sides, Ibrahim Lodi fought and died with 6,000 of his remaining troops. New tactics introduced by Babur were the tulghuma and the araba, tulghuma meant dividing the whole army into various units, viz. the Left, the Right and the Centre. The Left and Right divisions were subdivided into Forward and Rear divisions. Through this an army could be used to surround the enemy from all sides. The Centre Forward division was provided with carts which were placed in rows facing the enemy
Battle of Panipat (1526)
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The battle of Panipat and the death of Sultan Ibrāhīm
Battle of Panipat (1526)
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The battle of Panipat between the armies of Babur and Ibrahim Lodi (1526). Babur was invited by Daulat Khan Lodi to enter India and defeat Ibrahim Lodi. An illustration to the Vaqi 'at-i Baburi, by Deo Gujarati, c.1590
Battle of Panipat (1526)
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Babur introduced field guns at panipat, 1526
36.
Sher Shah Suri
–
Sher Shah Suri was the founder of the Sur Empire in North India, with its capital at Delhi. An ethnic Pashtun, Sher Shah took control of the Mughal Empire in 1540, after his accidental death in 1545, his son Islam Shah became his successor. He first served as a private before rising to become a commander in the Mughal army under Babur, in 1537, when Baburs son Humayun was elsewhere on an expedition, Sher Shah overran the state of Bengal and established the Sur dynasty. A brilliant strategist, Sher Shah proved himself as an administrator as well as a capable general. His reorganization of the laid the foundations for the later Mughal emperors, notably Akbar. During his five-year rule from 1540 to 1545, he set up a new civic and military administration, issued the first Rupiya and re-organised the postal system of India. He further developed Humayuns Dina-panah city and named it Shergarh and revived the city of Pataliputra. He extended the Grand Trunk Road from Chittagong in the frontiers of the province of Bengal in northeast India to Kabul in Afghanistan in the far northwest of the country. Sher Shah Suri was born as Farid Khan in the present day place Sasaram in the state of Bihar in India and his surname Suri was taken from his Sur tribe. The name Sher was conferred upon him when, as a young man and his grand father Ibrahim Khan Suri was a land lord in Narnaul area and represented Delhi rulers of that period. Mazar of Ibrahim Khan Suri still stands as a monument in Narnaul, tarikh-i Khan Jahan Lodi. also confirm this fact. However, the online Encyclopædia Britannica states that he was born in Sasaram and he was one of about eight sons of Mian Hassan Khan Suri, a prominent figure in the government of Bahlul Khan Lodi in Narnaul Pargana. Sher Khan belonged to the Pashtun Sur tribe and his grandfather, Ibrahim Khan Suri, was a noble adventurer from Roh who was recruited much earlier by Sultan Bahlul Lodi of Delhi during his long contest with the Jaunpur Sultanate. It is a ridge, a spur of the Sulaimán Mountains, about six or seven kos in length, during his early age, Farid was given a village in Fargana, Delhi by Omar Khan Sarwani, the counselor and courtier of Bahlul Khan Lodi. Farid Khan and his father, a jagirdar of Sasaram in Bihar, jamal Khan had advised Farid to return home but he refused. Farid replied in a letter, If my father wants me back to me in learning, there are in this city many learned men. Farid Khan started his service under Bahar Khan Lohani, the Mughal Governor of Bihar, because of his valour, Bahar Khan rewarded him the title Sher Khan. After the death of Bahar Khan, Sher Khan became the regent ruler of the minor Sultan, later sensing the growth of Sher Shahs power in Bihar, Jalal sought the assistance of Ghiyasuddin Mahmud Shah, the independent Sultan of Bengal
Sher Shah Suri
–
Sketch work of Sher Shah Suri by Afghan artist
Abdul Ghafoor Breshna
Sher Shah Suri
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Rupiya released by Sher Shah Suri, 1540–1545 CE, was the first
Rupee
Sher Shah Suri
–
Sher Shah Suri Tomb at
Sasaram
Sher Shah Suri
–
An inspection of Sher Shah Suri's Great North Road
37.
Mughal Empire
–
The dynasty, though ethnically Turco-Mongol, was Persianate in terms of culture. The Mughal empire extended over parts of the Indian subcontinent. The beginning of the empire is conventionally dated to the victory by its founder Babur over Ibrahim Lodi, the Mughal emperors were Central Asian Turco-Mongols belonging to the Timurid dynasty, who claimed direct descent from both Genghis Khan and Timur. During the reign of Humayun, the successor of Babur, the empire was briefly interrupted by the Sur Empire, the classic period of the Mughal Empire started in 1556 with the ascension of Akbar the Great to the throne. Under the rule of Akbar and his son Jahangir, the region enjoyed economic progress as well as harmony. Akbar was a warrior who also forged alliances with several Hindu Rajput kingdoms. Some Rajput kingdoms continued to pose a significant threat to the Mughal dominance of northwestern India, the reign of Shah Jahan, the fifth emperor, between 1628 and 1658 was the golden age of Mughal architecture. He erected several monuments, the best known of which is the Taj Mahal at Agra, as well as the Moti Masjid, Agra, the Red Fort, the Jama Masjid, Delhi. By the mid-18th century, the Marathas had routed Mughal armies, during the following century Mughal power had become severely limited, and the last emperor, Bahadur Shah II, had authority over only the city of Shahjahanabad. He issued a firman supporting the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and following the defeat was therefore tried by the British East India Company for treason, imprisoned and exiled to Rangoon. Contemporaries referred to the empire founded by Babur as the Timurid empire, which reflected the heritage of his dynasty, another name was Hindustan, which was documented in the Ain-i-Akbari, and which has been described as the closest to an official name for the empire. In the west, the term Mughal was used for the emperor, and by extension, the use of Mughal derived from the Arabic and Persian corruption of Mongol, and it emphasised the Mongol origins of the Timurid dynasty. The term gained currency during the 19th century, but remains disputed by Indologists, similar terms had been used to refer to the empire, including Mogul and Moghul. Nevertheless, Baburs ancestors were sharply distinguished from the classical Mongols insofar as they were oriented towards Persian rather than Turco-Mongol culture, ousted from his ancestral domains in Central Asia, Babur turned to India to satisfy his ambitions. He established himself in Kabul and then pushed steadily southward into India from Afghanistan through the Khyber Pass, Baburs forces occupied much of northern India after his victory at Panipat in 1526. The preoccupation with wars and military campaigns, however, did not allow the new emperor to consolidate the gains he had made in India, the instability of the empire became evident under his son, Humayun, who was driven out of India and into Persia by rebels. Humayuns exile in Persia established diplomatic ties between the Safavid and Mughal Courts, and led to increasing Persian cultural influence in the Mughal Empire, the restoration of Mughal rule began after Humayuns triumphant return from Persia in 1555, but he died from a fatal accident shortly afterwards. Humayuns son, Akbar, succeeded to the throne under a regent, Bairam Khan, through warfare and diplomacy, Akbar was able to extend the empire in all directions and controlled almost the entire Indian subcontinent north of the Godavari River
Mughal Empire
–
Babur, founder of the Mughal Empire.
Mughal Empire
–
Flag
Mughal Empire
–
Mughal Army artillerymen during the reign of
Akbar.
Mughal Empire
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Mughal matchlock rifle.
38.
Climate of Agra
–
The climate of Agra features a semi-arid climate that borders on a humid subtropical climate. The city features mild winters, hot and dry summers and a monsoon season, the monsoon, though substantial in Agra, is not quite as heavy as the monsoon in other parts of India. The average monsoon rainfall during June to September is 628.6 millimeters, Agra has a reputation of being one of the hottest towns in India. In summers the city witnesses a sudden surge in temperature and at times, during summer, the daytime temperature hovers around 46-50°C. Nights are relatively cooler and temperature lowers to a comfortable 30°C, winters are bit chilly but are the best time to visit Agra. The minimum temperature goes as low as 2 or 3°C. The monsoon and the Western Disturbance are the two factors which alter the weather over Agra, otherwise, Continental air prevails for rest of the year. Like most cities of North western India, the weather and climate of Agra is extreme, southwest Monsoon occurs in summer from the month of June till September. Monsoon rains bring much awaited relief from the scorching heat and these monsoon rains are quite heavy by nature and can cause significant flooding. Continental air prevails during the period there is no precipitation in Agra. Like other cities, Agra has four seasons, winter, summer, autumn, the monsoon season occurs in the summer. The following is a summary of climatic conditions in Agra based on data from the India Meteorological Department. January is the coldest month in the city and Western Disturbance also occur in this coming from Northern Pakistan. The highest monthly maximum temperature recorded was 26.1 °C in 1932. The lowest monthly average temperature recorded was 3.1 °C in 1927. Cold conditions continue until the middle of February, after that the weather becomes settled, winter showers also occur in this month. The highest monthly maximum temperature recorded was 29.1 °C in 1993. The lowest monthly average temperature recorded was 5.8 °C in 1925
Climate of Agra
–
Sunset at Taj Mahal
Climate of Agra
–
Mist surrounds the Taj Mahal
39.
Semiarid climate
–
A semi-arid climate or steppe climate is the climate of a region that receives precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not extremely. There are different kinds of climates, depending on such variables as temperature. Semi-arid climates tend to short or scrubby vegetation, with semi-arid areas usually dominated by either grasses or shrubs. To determine if a location has a climate, the precipitation threshold must first be determined. If the areas precipitation is less than the threshold but more than half the threshold. Hot semi-arid climates tend to be located in the tropics and subtropics and these climates tend to have hot, sometimes extremely hot, summers and warm to cool winters, with some to minimal precipitation. Hot semi-arid climates are most commonly found around the fringes of subtropical deserts, hot semi-arid climates are most commonly found in Africa, Australia and South Asia. In Australia, a portion of the Outback surrounding the central desert regions lies within the hot semi-arid climate regime. Hot semi-arid climates can also be found in North America, primarily in Mexico, areas of Texas near Mexico, cold semi-arid climates tend to be located in temperate zones or elevated portions in subtropical zones. They are typically found in continental interiors some distance from bodies of water. Cold semi-arid climates usually feature warm and dry summers, though their summers are not quite as hot as those of hot semi-arid climates. Unlike hot semi-arid climates, areas with cold semi-arid climates tend to have cold winters and these areas usually see some snowfall during the winter, though snowfall is much lower than at locations at similar latitudes with more humid climates. These large diurnal temperature variations are seen in hot semi-arid climates. Cold semi-arid climates are most commonly found in Asia and North America, however, they can also be found in Northern Africa, South Africa, Europe, sections of South America and sections of interior southern Australia and New Zealand. As a result of this, some areas can have climates that are classified as hot or cold depending on the isotherm used. One such location is San Diego, California, which has cool summers for the due to prevailing winds off the ocean. Arid Forest Research Institute Continental climate Dust Bowl Goyders Line Pallisers Triangle Köppen climate classification Wave height Ustic
Semiarid climate
–
The semi-arid terrain of
Machakos
Semiarid climate
–
BSh
Semiarid climate
–
Northeast Caatinga - semiárido brasileño
Semiarid climate
–
Extreme weather at
Atacama Large Millimeter Array.
40.
Humid subtropical climate
–
A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterised by hot, usually humid summers and mild to cool winters. It normally lies on the southeast side of all continents, generally between latitudes 25° and 40° and it tends to be located at coastal or near coastal locations. However, in cases it extends inland, most notably in China. Under the Köppen climate classification, subtropical climates are found in the warmest parts of his Warm Temperate climates or Cfa and this climate features mean temperatures in the coldest month between 0 °C and 18 °C and mean temperatures in the warmest month 22 °C or higher. However, while some climatologists have opted to describe this type as a humid subtropical climate Köppen himself never used this term. The humid subtropical climate classification was created under the Trewartha Climate classification. The Trewartha system was a 1966 update of the Köppen climate classification and this was seen to effectively separate temperate climates like London or New York City from true subtropical locations like Brisbane or Savannah for example. Rainfall often shows a peak, especially where monsoons are well developed, as in Southeast Asia. Most summer rainfall occurs during thunderstorms that build up due to the surface heating and strong subtropical sun angle. Weak tropical lows that move in from adjacent warm tropical oceans, winter rainfall is often associated with large storms in the westerlies that have fronts that reach down into subtropical latitudes. However, many subtropical climates such as southeast Asia or Florida have very dry winters, with frequent brush fires, in Africa, the humid subtropical climates are found in two separate areas on the southern hemisphere of the continent. The Cwa climate is found over a portion of the interior of the Middle. Some lower portions of the Ethiopian Highlands also have this climate, the climate is also found in the narrow coastal sections of southern and eastern South Africa, primarily in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape provinces. South Africas version of this climate features heavy oceanic influences resulting in milder temperatures. This is particularly evident in its winters when temperatures do not drop as low as in other regions within the humid subtropical category. Locations in Asia with a subtropical climate differ from those in other continents in that they often have marked seasonal differences in precipitation. Cities near the boundary of this zone include Hong Kong, Hanoi. At Hainan Island and in Taiwan, the transitions from subtropical into fully tropical
Humid subtropical climate
–
Cfa
41.
Monsoon
–
Usually, the term monsoon is used to refer to the rainy phase of a seasonally changing pattern, although technically there is also a dry phase. The term is sometimes used for locally heavy but short-term rains. The major monsoon systems of the world consist of the West African and Asia-Australian monsoons, the inclusion of the North and South American monsoons with incomplete wind reversal has been debated. The south-west monsoon winds are called Nairutya Maarut in India, the English monsoon came from Portuguese monção, ultimately from Arabic mawsim and/or Hindi mausam, perhaps partly via early modern Dutch monsun. Strengthening of the Asian monsoon has been linked to the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau after the collision of the Indian sub-continent and Asia around 50 million years ago. Because of studies of records from the Arabian Sea and that of the wind-blown dust in the Loess Plateau of China, testing of this hypothesis awaits deep ocean sampling by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program. The monsoon has varied significantly in strength since this time, largely linked to climate change. A study of marine plankton suggested that the Indian Monsoon strengthened around 5 million years ago, then, during ice periods, the sea level fell and the Indonesian Seaway closed. When this happened, cold waters in the Pacific were impeded from flowing into the Indian Ocean and it is believed that the resulting increase in sea surface temperatures in the Indian Ocean increased the intensity of monsoons. Five episodes during the Quaternary at 2.22 Ma,1.83 Ma,0.68 Ma,0.45 Ma and 0.04 Ma were identified which showed a weakening of Leeuwin Current. The weakening of the LC would have an effect on the sea surface temperature field in the Indian Ocean, thus these five intervals could probably be those of considerable lowering of SST in the Indian Ocean and would have influenced Indian monsoon intensity. The impact of monsoon on the weather is different from place to place. In some places there is just a likelihood of having a more or less rain. In other places, quasi semi-deserts are turned into green grasslands where all sorts of plants. The Indian Monsoon turns large parts of India from a kind of semi-desert into green lands, see photos only taken 3 months apart in the Western Ghats. In places like this it is crucial for farmers to have the right timing for putting the seeds on the fields, Monsoons are large-scale sea breezes which occur when the temperature on land is significantly warmer or cooler than the temperature of the ocean. These temperature imbalances happen because oceans and land absorb heat in different ways, in contrast, dirt, sand, and rocks have lower heat capacities, and they can only transmit heat into the earth by conduction and not by convection. Therefore, bodies of water stay at an even temperature
Monsoon
–
Advancing monsoon clouds and showers in Aralvaimozhy, near
Nagercoil,
India
Monsoon
–
Monsoon clouds over
Lucknow,
Uttar Pradesh.
Monsoon
–
Western Ghats on May 28 in dry season, 2010
Monsoon
–
Western Ghats on August 28 in rainy season, 2010
42.
Relative humidity
–
Relative humidity is the ratio of the partial pressure of water vapor to the equilibrium vapor pressure of water at a given temperature. Relative humidity depends on temperature and the pressure of the system of interest and it requires less water vapor to attain high relative humidity at low temperatures, more water vapour is required to attain high relative humidity in warm or hot air. Humans are sensitive to high humidity because the body uses evaporative cooling, enabled by perspiration. Perspiration evaporates from the more slowly under humid conditions than under arid. For example, if the air temperature is 24 °C and the humidity is zero percent. If the relative humidity is 100 percent at the air temperature. In other words, if the air is 24 °C and contains saturated water vapor, then the human body cools itself at the rate as it would if it were 27 °C. The heat index and the humidex are indices that reflect the effect of temperature. In cold climates, the temperature causes lower capacity for water vapour to flow about. Dry cracked skin can result from dry air, low humidity causes tissue lining nasal passages to dry, crack and become more susceptible to penetration of Rhinovirus cold viruses. Low humidity is a cause of nosebleeds. The use of a humidifier in homes, especially bedrooms, can help with these symptoms, indoor relative humidities should be kept above 30% to reduce the likelihood of the occupants nasal passages drying out. Humans can be comfortable within a range of humidities depending on the temperature—from thirty to seventy percent—but ideally between 50% and 60%. Very low humidity can create discomfort, respiratory problems, and aggravate allergies in some individuals, in the winter, it is advisable to maintain relative humidity at 30 percent or above. Extremely low relative humidities may also cause eye irritation, wooden furniture can shrink, causing the paint that covers these surfaces to fracture. When the temperature is low and the humidity is high. When relative humidity approaches 100 percent, condensation can occur on surfaces, leading to problems with mold, corrosion, decay, condensation can pose a safety risk as it can promote the growth of mold and wood rot as well as possibly freezing emergency exits shut. The basic principles for buildings, above, also apply to vehicles, in addition, there may be safety considerations
Relative humidity
–
Humidity and hygrometry
43.
World Meteorological Organization
–
The World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 191 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization, which was founded in 1873 and its current Secretary-General is Petteri Taalas and the President of the World Meteorological Congresss, its supreme body, is David Grimes. The Organization is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Meteorological Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations. WMO has a membership of 191 Member States and Territories as of February 2014, the Convention of the World Meteorological Organization was signed 11 October 1947 and established upon ratification on 23 March 1950. WMO became the agency of the United Nations in 1951 for meteorology, operational hydrology. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization, which was founded in 1873, the WMO hierarchy, The World Meteorological Congress, the supreme body of the Organization, determines policy. Each member state and territory is represented by a Permanent Representative with WMO when Congress meets every four years, Congress elects the President and Vice-Presidents of the Organization and members of the Executive Council, and appoints the Secretary-General. The Executive Council implements Congress decisions, the Executive Council normally hold a session at least once a year. Six Regional Associations are responsible for the coordination of meteorological, hydrological and they meet once every four years, and elect a president and vice-president. The president of regional association is an ex officio member of the Executive Council. Eight Technical Commissions are responsible for studying meteorological and hydrological operational systems, applications and they establish methodology and procedures and make recommendations to Executive Council and the World Meteorological Congress. The Secretariat is headed by the Secretary-General, who is appointed by the World Meteorological Congress for a term with a maximum tenure of 8 years. The Secretary-General appoints all staff, including the Deputy Secretary-General and the Assistant Secretary-General, the Secretariat currently has around 300 staff. Weather, climate and the water cycle shape almost every aspect of our lives and these powerful natural forces do not recognize national borders, thus global and regional cooperation is essential. Even the accuracy of a weather forecast relies on observations from far beyond national borders. These warnings help to save lives and to protect property. They contribute to economic planning and decision-making, and help minimize the harm that weather, climate, the first step in producing weather forecasts is to gather non-stop observations of the environment from around the world. WMO develops the standards for designing these and other observing instruments and for ensuring that the collected data are quality controlled
World Meteorological Organization
–
WMO seat in
Geneva shared with the
GICHD, the
GCSP and the
Group on Earth Observations
World Meteorological Organization
–
World Meteorological Organization
44.
List of cities in Uttar Pradesh
–
The Indian state of Uttar Pradesh borders with Nepal and the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttarakhand and National Capital Territory of Delhi. The Himalayas lies in the north of the state and the Deccan Plateau is at the south, in between them, the river Ganges, Yamuna, Ghaghra flow eastwards. Uttar Pradesh can be divided into two regions, Southern hills and Gangetic plain. Uttar Pradesh is divided into 75 districts under 18 divisions, as of 2011, with an estimated population of 199,581,477. Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state in India, Uttar Pradesh occupies 6.88 percent of the Indias land surface area but is home to 16.49 percent of the Indias population. As of 2011,64 cities in the state had a population of over 100,000 people, Kanpur is the largest city with 1,640 square kilometres area having an approximate population of over 3 million which comes under Kanpur Metropolitan Area. The smallest city with a population over 100,000 people was Kakrala in Badaun district with a population of 100,080 people according to 2011 census figures, the latest population figures are based on data from the 2011 census of India. Uttar Pradesh has both a population and a high population growth rate. During the decade from 1991 to 2001 its population increased by over 17. 8%, the states 2001–2011 decennial growth rate was 20. 09%, higher than 1991–2001 rate of 17. 8% and also higher than the national rate of 17. 64%. As of the 2001 Indian census, about 80% of Uttar Pradeshs population is Hindu, the population density is 828 people per square kilometre, making it one of the densest states in the country. The sex ratio as of 2011, at 908 women to 1000 men, is lower than the figure of 940. Uttar Pradesh has the existing of the system among the Hindus who constitute vast variety of population. The high population of state have resulted in the growth of large settlements caste in compact regions in Uttar Pradesh, it includes Ahirs, Kurmis, scheduled castes and Harijans who also exist in state. Because of both a population and a high population growth rate, Uttar Pradesh figure among the list of states with large number of people living below poverty line. The latest estimates released by the Planning Commission for the year 2004-05 reveals that Uttar Pradesh has the largest BPL population, the total geographical area of Uttar Pradesh is 240,928 square kilometres. As per census data 2011, the population of Uttar Pradesh is,199,581,477. List of urban agglomerations in Uttar Pradesh List of cities in Maharashtra List of states and union territories of India by population
List of cities in Uttar Pradesh
–
Allahabad, Judicial Capital of
Uttar Pradesh
List of cities in Uttar Pradesh
–
Kanpur, Commercial Capital of
Uttar Pradesh
List of cities in Uttar Pradesh
–
Lucknow, Capital of
Uttar Pradesh
45.
Demographics of India
–
India is the second most populated country in the world with nearly a fifth of the worlds population. According to the United Nations in July 2016, the population stood at 1,326,801,576, India is projected to be the worlds most populous country by 2022, surpassing China, its population reaching 1.7 billion by 2050. Thus, India is expected to become the first political entity in history to be home to more than 1.5 billion people and its population growth rate is 1. 2%, ranking 94th in the world in 2013. The Indian population reached the mark in 1998. India has more than 50% of its population below the age of 25 and more than 65% below the age of 35. It is expected that, in 2020, the age of an Indian will be 29 years, compared to 37 for China and 48 for Japan. India has more than two thousand ethnic groups, and every religion is represented, as are four major families of languages as well as two language isolates. Further complexity is lent by the variation that occurs across this population on social parameters such as income. Only the continent of Africa exceeds the linguistic, genetic and cultural diversity of the nation of India, the sex ratio is 944 females for 1000 males. It has been estimated that the population was about 100 million in 1600 and it reached 255 million according to the first census taken in 1881. Mortality rates fell in the period 1920–45, primarily due to biological immunisation, Other factors included rising incomes, better living conditions, improved nutrition, a safer and cleaner environment, and better official health policies and medical care. India occupies 2. 41% of the land area but supports over 18% of the worlds population. At the 2001 census 72. 2% of the lived in about 638,000 villages. Indias population has exceeded that of the continent of Africa by 200 million people. However, because Africas population growth is nearly double that of India, the table below summarises Indias demographics according to religion at the 2011 census in per cent. The data is unadjusted, the 1981 census was not conducted in Assam, the table below represents the infant mortality rate trends in India, based on gender, over the last 15 years. In the urban areas of India, average male infant mortality rates are higher than average female infant mortality rates. They are also similar to sex ratios below 900 girls to 1000 boys observed in mothers of different age groups
Demographics of India
–
Crude
birth rate trends in India (per 1000 people, national average)
Demographics of India
–
Map showing the population density of each district in India.
Demographics of India
–
Infant mortality rate trends in India (per 1000 births, under age 1, national average)
Demographics of India
–
Mumbai Delhi
46.
Moldova
–
Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova (Romanian, Republica Moldova, listen, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. In 1856, southern Bessarabia was returned to Moldavia, but Russian rule was restored over the whole of the region in 1878, Bessarabia remained a province of the Russian Empire until 1917, when during the Russian Revolution it became an autonomous and then nominally independent Moldavian Democratic Republic. In 1918, following a vote of its assembly, Bessarabia united with the Kingdom of Romania, the decision was disputed by Soviet Russia, which in 1924, created within the Ukrainian SSR, on a territory east of Bessarabia, a so-called Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1940, as a consequence of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Romania was compelled to cede Bessarabia to the Soviet Union, the Soviets decided to split the region between a newly established Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Ukrainian SSR. The Moldavian SSR included two-thirds of the territory of Bessarabia, on 27 August 1991, as part of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Moldavian SSR declared independence and took the name Moldova. The current Constitution of Moldova was adopted in 1994, the strip of the Moldovan territory on the east bank of the Dniester river has been under the de facto control of the breakaway government of Transnistria since 1990. Its economy is the poorest in Europe in per capita terms, Moldova is a parliamentary republic with a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of government. The name Moldova derives from the Moldova River, the valley of this served as a political centre at the time of the foundation of the Principality of Moldavia in 1359. The origin of the name of the river remains unclear, the dogs name, given to the river, extended to the Principality. For a short time in the 1990s, at the founding of the Commonwealth of Independent States, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country began to use the Romanian name, Moldova. Officially, the name Republic of Moldova is designated by the United Nations, in 2010, Oldowan flint tools were discovered at Bayraki that are 800, 000–1.2 million years old. This demonstrates that humans were present in Moldova during the early Paleolithic era. The inhabitants of this civilization, which lasted roughly from 5500 to 2750 BC, practiced agriculture, raised livestock, hunted, in antiquity, Moldovas territory was inhabited by Dacian tribes. Between the 1st and 7th centuries AD, the south was intermittently under the Roman, and then Byzantine Empires. The Principality of Moldavia, established in 1359, was bounded by the Carpathian Mountains in the west, the Dniester River in the east, and the Danube River and Black Sea to the south. Its territory comprised the territory of the Republic of Moldova, the eastern eight counties of Romania. Like the present-day republic and Romanias north-eastern region, it was known to the locals as Moldova, Moldavia was invaded repeatedly by Crimean Tatars and, beginning in the 15th century, by the Turks. In 1538, the principality became a tributary to the Ottoman Empire, the title used in the document of 6 July 1600 was The King of the country of Romania, Ardeal and of all of Moldavia
Moldova
–
Stephen the Great, Prince of Moldavia between 1457 and 1504.
Moldova
–
Flag
Moldova
–
Soroca Fort was built on the site of the former
Genoese fortress Polihromia.
Moldova
–
Monument to the villagers who died in
World War II, the village
Cojușna,
Strășeni District
47.
Kentucky
–
Kentucky, officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state located in the east south-central region of the United States. Kentucky is one of four U. S. states constituted as a commonwealth, originally a part of Virginia, in 1792 Kentucky became the 15th state to join the Union. Kentucky is the 37th most extensive and the 26th most populous of the 50 United States, Kentucky is known as the Bluegrass State, a nickname based on the bluegrass found in many of its pastures due to the fertile soil. One of the regions in Kentucky is the Bluegrass Region in central Kentucky. In 1776, the counties of Virginia beyond the Appalachian Mountains became known as Kentucky County, the precise etymology of the name is uncertain, but likely based on an Iroquoian name meaning the meadow or the prairie. Kentucky is situated in the Upland South, a significant portion of eastern Kentucky is part of Appalachia. Kentucky borders seven states, from the Midwest and the Southeast, West Virginia lies to the east, Virginia to the southeast, Tennessee to the south, Missouri to the west, Illinois and Indiana to the northwest, and Ohio to the north and northeast. Only Missouri and Tennessee, both of which border eight states, touch more, Kentuckys northern border is formed by the Ohio River and its western border by the Mississippi River. The official state borders are based on the courses of the rivers as they existed when Kentucky became a state in 1792, for instance, northbound travelers on U. S.41 from Henderson, after crossing the Ohio River, will be in Kentucky for about two miles. Ellis Park, a racetrack, is located in this small piece of Kentucky. Waterworks Road is part of the land border between Indiana and Kentucky. Kentucky has a part known as Kentucky Bend, at the far west corner of the state. It exists as an exclave surrounded completely by Missouri and Tennessee, Road access to this small part of Kentucky on the Mississippi River requires a trip through Tennessee. The epicenter of the powerful 1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes was near this area, much of the outer Bluegrass is in the Eden Shale Hills area, made up of short, steep, and very narrow hills. The Jackson Purchase and western Pennyrile are home to several bald cypress/tupelo swamps, located within the southeastern interior portion of North America, Kentucky has a climate that can best be described as a humid subtropical climate. Temperatures in Kentucky usually range from daytime summer highs of 87 °F to the low of 23 °F. The average precipitation is 46 inches a year, Kentucky experiences four distinct seasons, with substantial variations in the severity of summer and winter. The highest recorded temperature was 114 °F at Greensburg on July 28,1930 while the lowest recorded temperature was −37 °F at Shelbyville on January 19,1994, due to its location, Kentucky has a moderate humid subtropical climate, with abundant rainfall
Kentucky
–
Narrow country roads bounded by stone and wood plank fences are a fixture in the Kentucky
Bluegrass region.
Kentucky
Kentucky
–
Kentucky's regions (click on image for color-coding information.)
Kentucky
–
The
Eastern Kentucky Coalfield is known for its rugged terrain.
48.
Superintendent of police (India)
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In India, a District Senior Superintendent of Police or Superintendent of Police heads the police force of a district. In metropolitan areas having police commissionerate system, the head of police is called Deputy Commissioner of Police. Superintendents of Police are officers of the Indian Police Service and they are entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining law and order and related issues of a district of a state or a union territory of India. They are assisted by the officers of the State Police Service and their rank badge is the State Emblem above one star, although those selected for higher rank or with fifteen or more years service wear the State Emblem above two stars. The rank of superintendent of police is equivalent to the rank of lieutenant colonel of the Indian army
Superintendent of police (India)
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Insignia of an
Indian Police Service officer with rank of Superintendent of Police
India
listen); Āgrā) is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India.[3] It is 378 kilometres (235 mi) west of the state capital, Lucknow, 206 kilometres (128 mi) south of the national capital New Delhi and 125 kilometres (78 mi) north of Gwalior. Agra is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh, and the 24th most populous in India.[4]
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