1.
India
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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
2.
Mount Everest
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Mount Everest, also known in Nepal as Sagarmāthā and in China as Chomolungma/珠穆朗玛峰, is Earths highest mountain. Its peak is 8,848 metres above sea level, Mount Everest is in the Mahalangur Range. The international border between China and Nepal runs across Everests summit point and its massif includes neighbouring peaks Lhotse,8,516 m, Nuptse,7,855 m, and Changtse,7,580 m. In 1856, the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India established the first published height of Everest, then known as Peak XV, at 8,840 m. The current official height of 8,848 m as recognised by China and Nepal was established by a 1955 Indian survey, in 2005, China remeasured the height of the mountain and got a result of 8844.43 m. An argument regarding the height between China and Nepal lasted five years from 2005 to 2010, China argued it should be measured by its rock height which is 8,844 m but Nepal said it should be measured by its snow height 8,848 m. In 2010, an agreement was reached by both sides that the height of Everest is 8,848 m and Nepal recognises Chinas claim that the rock height of Everest is 8,844 m. In 1865, Everest was given its official English name by the Royal Geographical Society upon a recommendation by Andrew Waugh, the British Surveyor General of India. As there appeared to be several different local names, Waugh chose to name the mountain after his predecessor in the post, Sir George Everest, Mount Everest attracts many climbers, some of them highly experienced mountaineers. There are two main climbing routes, one approaching the summit from the southeast in Nepal and the other from the north in Tibet, as of 2016 there are well over 200 corpses on the mountain, with some of them even serving as landmarks. The first recorded efforts to reach Everests summit were made by British mountaineers, with Nepal not allowing foreigners into the country at the time, the British made several attempts on the north ridge route from the Tibetan side. Tragedy struck on the descent from the North Col when seven porters were killed in an avalanche. They had been spotted high on the mountain that day but disappeared in the clouds, never to be seen again, Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary made the first official ascent of Everest in 1953 using the southeast ridge route. Tenzing had reached 8,595 m the previous year as a member of the 1952 Swiss expedition, the Chinese mountaineering team of Wang Fuzhou, Gonpo, and Qu Yinhua made the first reported ascent of the peak from the north ridge on 25 May 1960. In 1802, the British began the Great Trigonometric Survey of India to fix the locations, heights, starting in southern India, the survey teams moved northward using giant theodolites, each weighing 500 kg and requiring 12 men to carry, to measure heights as accurately as possible. They reached the Himalayan foothills by the 1830s, but Nepal was unwilling to allow the British to enter the country due to suspicions of political aggression, several requests by the surveyors to enter Nepal were turned down. The British were forced to continue their observations from Terai, a region south of Nepal which is parallel to the Himalayas, conditions in Terai were difficult because of torrential rains and malaria. Three survey officers died from malaria while two others had to retire because of failing health, nonetheless, in 1847, the British continued the survey and began detailed observations of the Himalayan peaks from observation stations up to 240 km distant
3.
Maharashtra
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Four Maharashtra is a state in the western region of India and is Indias second-most populous state and third-largest state by area. It is the wealthiest Indian state and it is also the worlds second-most populous sub-national entity. It has over 112 million inhabitants and its capital, Mumbai, has a population of approximately 18 million, Nagpur is Maharashtras second capital as well as its winter capital. Maharashtras business opportunities along with its potential to offer a standard of living attract migrants from all over India. Ancient and medieval Maharashtra included the empires of the Satavahana dynasty, Rashtrakuta dynasty, Western Chalukyas, Mughals, the major rivers of the state are Godavari, and Krishna. The Narmada and Tapti Rivers flow near the border between Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, Maharashtra is the second most urbanised state in India. The state has several popular Hindu places of pilgrimage including Pandharpur, Dehu and Alandi, other places that attract pilgrims from other parts of India and beyond include Hazur Sahib Gurudwara at Nanded, Sai Baba shrine at Shirdi and Dikshabhumi at Nagpur. Maharashtra is the wealthiest and one of the most developed states in India, as of 2011, the state had a per capita income of ₹1.0035 lakh, more than the national average of ₹0.73 lakh. Its GDP per capita crossed the ₹1.20 lakh threshold for the first time in 2013, however, as of 2014, the GDP per capita reduced to ₹1.03 lakh Agriculture and industries are the largest parts of the states economy. Major industries include chemical products, electrical and non-electrical machinery, textiles, petroleum, Jai Maharashtra The modern Marathi language developed from the Maharashtri Prakrit, and the word Mahratta is found in the Jain Maharashtri literature. The terms Maharashtra, Maharashtri, Marathi and Maratha may have derived from the same root, however, their exact etymology is uncertain. But the Marathas as a people do not seem to be mentioned before the thirteenth or fourteenth century, the most widely accepted theory among the linguistic scholars is that the words Maratha and Maharashtra ultimately derived from a combination of Maha and rashtrika. The word rashtrika is a Sanskritized form of Ratta, the name of a tribe or dynasty of petty chiefs ruling in the Deccan region. Another theory is that the term is derived from Maha and ratha / rathi, an alternative theory states that the term derives from the word Maha and Rashtra. However, this theory has not found acceptance among scholars who believe it to be the Sanskritised interpretation of later writers. Maharashtra was ruled by the Maurya Empire in the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE, around 230 BCE Maharashtra came under the rule of the Satavahana dynasty for 400 years. The greatest ruler of the Satavahana Dynasty was Gautamiputra Satakarni, in 90 CE Vedishri, son of the Satavahana king Satakarni, the Lord of Dakshinapatha, wielder of the unchecked wheel of Sovereignty, made Junnar, thirty miles north of Pune, the capital of his kingdom. The state was ruled by Western Satraps, Gupta Empire, Gurjara-Pratihara, Vakataka, Kadambas, Chalukya Empire, Rashtrakuta Dynasty, and Western Chalukya before finally
4.
Lhotse
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Lhotse is the fourth highest mountain in the world at 8,516 metres, after Mount Everest, K2, and Kangchenjunga. Part of the Everest massif, Lhotse is connected to the peak via the South Col. Lhotse means “South Peak” in Tibetan. In addition to the summit at 8,516 metres above sea level, the mountain comprises the smaller peaks Lhotse Middle at 8,414 m. The summit is on the border between the Tibet region of China and the Khumbu region of Nepal, an early attempt on Lhotse was by the 1955 International Himalayan Expedition, headed by Norman Dyhrenfurth. It also included two Austrians and two Swiss, and was the first expedition in the Everest area to include Americans, the Nepalese liaison officer was Gaya Nanda Vaidya. They were accompanied by 200 local porters and several climbing Sherpas and they were beaten back by unexpectedly strong wind and cold temperatures. Under Schneiders direction they completed the first map of the Everest area, the expedition also made several short films covering local cultural topics, and made a number of first ascents of smaller peaks in the Khumbu region. The main summit of Lhotse was first climbed on May 18,1956 by the Swiss team of Ernst Reiss, on May 12,1970, Sepp Mayerl and Rolf Walter of Austria made the first ascent of Lhotse Shar. The Lhotse standard climbing route follows the path as Everests South Col route up to the Yellow Band beyond Camp 3. After the Yellow Band the routes diverge with climbers bound for Everest taking a left over the Geneva Spur up to the South Col, the last part to the summit leads through the narrow Reiss couloir until the Lhotse main peak is reached. As of December 2008,371 climbers have summitted Lhotse and 20 have died,1955 Attempt by the International Himalayan Expedition. 1956 May 18 First ascent of the summit, Fritz Luchsinger. 1965 First attempt on Lhotse Shar by a Japanese expedition - reached 8,100 m.1970 May 12 First ascent of Lhotse Shar by an Austrian expedition, Sepp Mayerl,1973 First attempt on the South Face by a Japanese expedition led by Royei Uchida. 1974 Polish expedition on Lhotse that way from Polish to Nepal defeated the car Jelcz 316 and it was to be a trip autumn but because of many problems delayed the trip and the trip became autumn-winter. So it was an expedition, for the first time. December 25 Andrzej Zawada and Andrzej Heinrich reached a height of 8250 meters which was the first in the history of ascent the height of 8000 meters in the winter,1975 Attempt on the South Face by Reinhold Messner. 1977 Second ascent of the summit by a German expedition led by Dr. G. Schmatz. 1979 Ascent of the summit by Jerzy Kukuczka without the use of supplemental oxygen
5.
Manaslu
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Manaslu is the eighth highest mountain in the world at 8,163 metres above sea level. It is located in the Mansiri Himal, part of the Nepalese Himalayas and its name, which means mountain of the spirit, comes from the Sanskrit word manasa, meaning intellect or soul. Manaslu was first climbed on May 9,1956 by Toshio Imanishi and Gyalzen Norbu and it is said that just as the British consider Everest their mountain, Manaslu has always been a Japanese mountain. Manaslu is the highest peak in the Gorkha District and is located about 64 km east of Annapurna, the Manaslu region offers a variety of trekking options. The popular Manaslu trekking route of 177 kilometres, skirts the Manaslu massif over the pass down to Annapurna, the Nepalese Government only permitted trekking of this circuit in 1991. The trekking trail follows an ancient salt-trading route along the Burhi Gandak River, en route,10 peaks over 6,500 metres are visible, including a few over 7,000 metres. The highest point reached along the route is the Larkya La at an elevation of 5,106 metres. As of May 2008, the mountain has been climbed 297 times with 53 fatalities, the Manaslu Conservation Area has been established with the primary objective of achieving conservation and sustainable management of the delimited area, which includes Manaslu. Set in the northern Himalayan range in the Gorkha District of Nepal, Manaslu is a wall of snow. The three sides of the fall in steps to terraces down below, which are sparsely inhabited with agricultural operations practiced on the land. Apart from climbing Manaslu, trekking is popular in mountain region, as part of the Manaslu Circuit. The Manaslu Conservation Area, declared as such in December 1998 under the National Parks and Wild Life Conservation Act, the area covered under the conservation zone is 1,663 square kilometres and is managed by the National Trust for Nature Conservation of Nepal. The trekking route is through mountainous terrain prone to the consequences of monsoon rainfall, land slides, encounters with passing yaks, and hypothermia and altitude sickness, are common. Trekking to Manaslu is thus a test of endurance, the region, which is also termed the Manaslu Conservation Area, comprises sub-tropical Himalayan foothills to arid Trans-Himalayan high pastures bordering Tibet. The zones coalesce with the variation of the altitude from about 600 metres in the zone to the 8,156 metres summit of Manaslu in the arctic zone. Manaslu is known in the Tibetan language as Kutan l, in which means the Tibetan word for a flat place. It is a large peak with an elevation of 8,156 metres. In view of its topography of long ridges and glacial valleys
6.
Makalu
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Makalu is the fifth highest mountain in the world at 8,485 metres. It is located in the Mahalangur Himalayas 19 km southeast of Mount Everest, one of the eight-thousanders, Makalu is an isolated peak whose shape is a four-sided pyramid. Makalu has two subsidiary peaks. Kangchungtse, or Makalu II lies about 3 km north-northwest of the main summit, rising about 5 km north-northeast of the main summit across a broad plateau, and connected to Kangchungtse by a narrow,7,200 m saddle, is Chomo Lonzo. The first climb on Makalu was made by an American team led by William Siri in the spring of 1954, the expedition was composed of Sierra Club members including Allen Steck, and was called the California Himalayan Expedition to Makalu. They attempted the southeast ridge but were turned back at 7,100 m by a constant barrage of storms, a New Zealand team including Sir Edmund Hillary was also active in the spring, but did not get very high due to injury and illness. In the fall of 1954, a French reconnaissance expedition made the first ascents of the subsidiary summits Kangchungtse, Makalu was first climbed on May 15,1955 by Lionel Terray and Jean Couzy of a French expedition led by Jean Franco. Franco, G. Magnone and Sardar Gyaltsen Norbu summitted the next day, followed by Bouvier, S. Coupe, Leroux and this was an amazing achievement at the time to have the vast majority of expedition members summit, especially on such a difficult peak. Prior to this time, summits were reached by 1-2 people at most with the rest of teams providing logistical support before turning around, the French team climbed Makalu by the north face and northeast ridge, via the saddle between Makalu and Kangchungtse, establishing the standard route. 1955 North Face to Northeast Ridge FA by Lionel Terray and Jean Couzy of France,1970, Southeast Ridge FA of ridge attempted by the Americans in 1954, was made by Y. Ozaki and A. Tanaka from Japan on May 23,1971, The very technical West Pillar route was climbed in May by Frenchmen B. 1975, South Face - an expedition led by Aleš Kunaver reached the top of Makalu up its steep southern side, the first amongst them was Stane Belak. This was the ascent of an eight-thousand meter peak by a great mountain face. 1976 – South pillar route completed by Czechoslovak expedition, route goes via south butress to Makalu South and then via southeast ridge. Makalu South was climbed by 11 expedition members, two of them - Karel Schubert and Milan Kriššák summited main summit together with Jorge Camprubi from Spanish expedition which climbed southeast ridge. Karel Schubert died after bivouac near the summit, the route wasnt repeated till today. 1980, The second ascent of the West Pillar was completed in May by John Roskelley, Chris Kopczynski, James States and Kim Momb, without Sherpa support and without bottled oxygen. 1981, On 15 October renowned Polish climber Jerzy Kukuczka ascended Makalu via a new route up the north-western side, Kukuczka climbed solo, in Alpine style, without supplemental oxygen
7.
President of India
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The President of the Republic of India is the Head of State of India and the Commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. The oath of the President is taken in the presence of the Chief Justice of India, the President resides in an estate known as the Rashtrapati Bhavan situated in Raisina Hill in New Delhi. The presidential retreats are The Retreat in Chharabra, Shimla and Rashtrapati Nilayam in Hyderabad, the 13th and current President is Pranab Mukherjee, who was elected on 22 July 2012, and sworn in on 25 July 2012. He is also the first Bengali to be elected as President, India achieved independence from the British on 15 August 1947, initially as a Dominion within the Commonwealth of Nations with George VI as king, represented in the country by a governor-general. Still, following this, the Constituent Assembly of India, under the leadership of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the Constitution of India was eventually enacted on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950, making India a republic. The offices of monarch and governor-general were replaced by the new office of President of India, the constitution of the Republic of India gave the President the responsibility and authority to defend and protect the constitution of India and its rule of law. Invariably, any action taken by the executive or legislature entities of the constitution shall become law only after Presidents assent, the president shall not accept any actions of the executive or legislature which are unconstitutional. The president is the foremost, most empowered and prompt defender of the constitution, the primary duty of the President is to preserve, protect and defend the constitution and the law of India as made part of his oath. The President is the head of all independent constitutional entities. All his actions, recommendations and supervisory powers over the executive and legislative entities of India shall be used in accordance to uphold the constitution, there is no bar on the actions of the President to contest in the court of law. Legislative power is vested by the Parliament of India of which the president is the head. The President of the Republic summons both the Houses of the Parliament and prorogues them and he can dissolve the Lok Sabha. The President inaugurates Parliament by addressing it after the general elections, the Presidential address on these occasions is generally meant to outline the new policies of the government. All bills passed by the Parliament can become laws only after receiving the assent of the President per Article 111, after a bill is presented to him, the President shall declare either that he assents to the Bill, or that he withholds his assent from it. As a third option, he can return a bill to Parliament, if it is not a money bill, when, after reconsideration, the bill is passed accordingly and presented to the President, with or without amendments, the President cannot withhold his assent from it. Article 143 gave power to the president to consult the Supreme Court about the validity of any issue. These are in the nature of interim or temporary legislation and their continuance is subject to parliamentary approval, ordinances remain valid for no more than six weeks from the date the Parliament is convened unless approved by it earlier. Re-promulgation of ordinances after failing to get approval within stipulated time of the houses of parliament is unconstitutional act by the President
8.
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
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Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam better known as A. P. J. Abdul Kalam /ˈæbdʊl kəˈlɑːm/, was the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007, a career scientist turned statesman, Kalam was born and raised in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, and studied physics and aerospace engineering. He thus came to be known as the Missile Man of India for his work on the development of ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology. He also played a pivotal organisational, technical, and political role in Indias Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998, Kalam was elected as the 11th President of India in 2002 with the support of both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the then-opposition Indian National Congress. Widely referred to as the Peoples President, he returned to his life of education, writing. He was a recipient of prestigious awards, including the Bharat Ratna. While delivering a lecture at the Indian Institute of Management Shillong, Kalam collapsed and died from an apparent cardiac arrest on 27 July 2015, thousands including national-level dignitaries attended the funeral ceremony held in his hometown of Rameshwaram, where he was buried with full state honours. His father Jainulabudeen was an owner and imam of a local mosque. His father owned a ferry that took Hindu pilgrims back and forth between Rameswaram and the now uninhabited Dhanushkodi, Kalam was the youngest of four brothers and one sister in his family. His ancestors had been traders and landowners, with numerous properties. Their business had involved trading groceries between the mainland and the island and to and from Sri Lanka, as well as ferrying pilgrims between the mainland and Pamban. As a result, the acquired the title of Mara Kalam iyakkivar. With the opening of the Pamban Bridge to the mainland in 1914, however, the businesses failed, by his early childhood, Kalams family had become poor, at an early age, he sold newspapers to supplement his familys income. In his school years, Kalam had average grades but was described as a bright and he spent hours on his studies, especially mathematics. He moved to Madras in 1955 to study engineering in Madras Institute of Technology. Kalam met the deadline, impressing the Dean, who said to him, I was putting you under stress. He narrowly missed achieving his dream of becoming a pilot, as he placed ninth in qualifiers. After graduating from the Madras Institute of Technology in 1960, Kalam joined the Aeronautical Development Establishment of the Defence Research and he started his career by designing a small hovercraft, but remained unconvinced by his choice of a job at DRDO
9.
Kangchenjunga
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Kangchenjunga, also spelled Kanchenjunga, is the third highest mountain in the world, and lies partly in Nepal and partly in Sikkim, India. Mount Kangchenjunga lies about 125 km east-south-east of Mount Everest and it is the second highest mountain of the Himalayas. Three of the five peaks – Main, Central and South – are on the border between North Sikkim and Nepal, two peaks are in Nepals Taplejung District. Kangchenjunga Main is the highest mountain in India, and the easternmost of the higher than 8,000 m. It is called Five Treasures of Snow after its five high peaks, allowing for further verification of all calculations, it was officially announced in 1856 that Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain in the world. Kangchenjunga was first climbed on 25 May 1955 by Joe Brown and George Band and they stopped short of the summit as per the promise given to the Chogyal that the top of the mountain would remain inviolate. Every climber or climbing group that has reached the summit has followed this tradition, other members of this expedition included John Angelo Jackson and Tom Mackinon. Kangchenjunga is the spelling adopted by Douglas Freshfield, Alexander Mitchell Kellas. Freshfield referred to the used by the Indian Government since the late 19th century. There are a number of spellings including Kangchendzönga, Khangchendzonga. It means The Five repositories or ledges of great snow and is descriptive of its five peaks. Kangchenjungas name in the Limbu language is Senjelungma or Seseylungma, and is believed to be an abode of the omnipotent goddess Yuma Sammang. The Kangchenjunga transboundary landscape is shared by Bhutan, China, India and Nepal, the Kangchenjunga Himal section of the Himalayas lies both in Nepal and India, and encompasses 16 peaks over 7,000 m. In the north, it is limited by the Lhonak Chu, Goma Chu and Jongsang La, the western limit runs from the Jongsang La down the Gingsang and Kangchenjunga glaciers and the rivers of Ghunsa and Tamur. Kanchenjunga rises about 20 km south of the alignment of the Great Himalayan range about 125 km east-south-east of Mount Everest as the crow flies. South of the face of Kanchenjunga runs the 3, 000–3,500 m high Singalila Ridge that separates Sikkim from Nepal. Kangchenjunga and its satellite peaks form a mountain massif. The massifs five highest peaks are listed in the following table, the main ridge of the massif runs from north-north-east to south-south-west and forms a watershed to several rivers
10.
Indian people
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Indian people are citizens of India, the second most populous nation containing 17. 50% of the worlds population. Indian refers to nationality, but not ethnicity or language, the Indian nationality consists of many regional ethno-linguistic groups, reflecting the rich and complex history of India. India hosts all major ethnic groups found in the Indian Subcontinent, population estimates vary from a conservative 12 million to 20 million diaspora. The name Bhārata has been used as a name by people of the Indian subcontinent. The designation Bhārata appears in the official Sanskrit name of the country, the name is derived from the ancient Vedic and Puranas, which refer to the land that comprises India as Bhārata varṣam and uses this term to distinguish it from other varṣas or continents. The Bhāratas were a tribe mentioned in the Rigveda, notably participating in the Battle of the Ten Kings. India is named after legendary Emperor Bharata who was a descendant of the Bhāratas tribe, in early Vedic literature, the term Āryāvarta was in popular use before Bhārata. The Manusmṛti gives the name Āryāvarta to the tract between the Himalaya and the Vindhya ranges, from the Eastern to the Western Sea, while the word Indian and India is derived from Greek Ἰνδία, via Latin India. The name is derived ultimately from Sindhu, the Sanskrit name of the river Indus, the next great ancient Empire of the Indian people was the Gupta Empire. This period, witnessing a Hindu religious and intellectual resurgence, is known as the classical or Golden Age of India, the ancient Indian mathematicians Aryabhata, Bhāskara I and Brahmagupta invented the concept of zero and the Hindu decimal system during this period. During this period Indian cultural influence spread over parts of Southeast Asia which led to the establishment of Indianized kingdoms in Southeast Asia. During the early period the great Rashtrakuta dynasty dominated the major part of the Indian subcontinent. From the 8th to 10th century and the Indian Emperor Amoghavarsha of the Rashtrakuta Dynasty was described by the Arab traveller Sulaiman as one of the four kings of the world. The greatest maritime Empire of the medieval Indians was the Chola dynasty, under the great Indian Emperors Rajaraja Chola I and his successor Rajendra Chola I the Chola dynasty became a military, economic and cultural power in South Asia and South-East Asia. The Mughal Empire unified much of Indian sub-continent under one realm, under the Mughals India developed a strong and stable economy, leading to commercial expansion and greater patronage of culture. This marked a huge influence in the Indian society, the Mughal Empire balanced and pacified local societies through new administrative practices and had diverse and inclusive ruling elites, leading to more systematic, centralised, and uniform rule. The Marathas and Sikhs emerged in the 17th century and established the Maratha Empire, the Maratha Empire is credited to a large extent for ending the Mughal rule in India. The empire at its peak stretched from Tamil Nadu in the south, to Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the north and Bengal, India is one of the worlds oldest civilisations
11.
Mountaineering
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The term mountaineering describes the sport of mountain climbing, including ski mountaineering. Hiking in the mountains can also be a form of mountaineering when it involves scrambling, or short stretches of the more basic grades of rock climbing. All require experience, athletic ability, and technical knowledge to maintain safety, mountaineering is often called Alpinism, especially in European languages, which implies climbing with difficulty such high and often snow and ice-covered mountains as the Alps. A mountaineer with such great skill is called an Alpinist, historically, many cultures have harbored superstitions about mountains, which they often regarded as sacred due to their proximity with heaven, such as Mount Olympus for the Ancient Greeks. In 1492 Antoine de Ville, lord of Domjulien and Beaupré, was the first to ascend the Mont Aiguille, in France, with a team, using ladders. It appears to be the first recorded climb of any technical difficulty, in 1573 Francesco De Marchi and Francesco Di Domenico ascended Corno Grande, the highest peak in the Apennine Mountains. During the Enlightenment, as a product of the new spirit of curiosity for the natural world, in 1741 Richard Pococke and William Windham made a historic visit to Chamonix. By the early 19th century many of the peaks were reached, including the Grossglockner in 1800, the Ortler in 1804, the Jungfrau in 1811, the Finsteraarhorn in 1812. In 1808 Marie Paradis became the first female to climb Mont Blanc and this inaugurated what became known as the Golden age of alpinism, with the first mountaineering club - the Alpine Club - being founded in 1857. Well-known guides of the era include Christian Almer, Jakob Anderegg, Melchior Anderegg, J. J. Bennen, Michel Croz, in the early years of the golden age, scientific pursuits were intermixed with the sport, such as by the physicist John Tyndall. In the later years, it shifted to a more competitive orientation as pure sportsmen came to dominate the London-based Alpine Club and this ascent is generally regarded as marking the end of the mountaineering golden age. By this point the sport of mountaineering had largely reached its modern form, with a body of professional guides, equipment, mountaineering in the Americas became popular in the 1800s. In North America, Pikes Peak in the Colorado Rockies was first climbed by Edwin James, though lower than Pikes Peak, the heavily glaciated Fremont Peak in Wyoming was thought to be the tallest mountain in the Rockies when it was first climbed by John C. Frémont and two others in 1842, pico de Orizaba, the tallest peak in Mexico and third tallest in North America, was first climbed by U. S. military personnel which included William F. Raynolds and a half dozen other climbers in 1848. Heavily glaciated and more technical climbs in North American were not achieved until the late 19th, in 1897 Mount Saint Elias on the Alaska-Yukon border was summitted by the Duke of the Abruzzi and party. But it was not until 1913 that Mount Mckinley, the tallest peak in North America was successfully climbed by Hudson Stuck, Mount Logan, the tallest peak in Canada was first summitted by a half dozen climbers in 1925 in an expedition that took more than two months. In 1879-1880 the exploration of the highest Andes in South America began when English mountaineer Edward Whymper climbed Chimborazo, the summit of Aconcagua was finally reached on January 14,1897 by Swiss mountaineer Matthias Zurbriggen during an expedition led by Edward FitzGerald that began in December 1896. The Andes of Bolivia were first explored by Sir William Martin Conway in 1898 and it took until the late 19th century for European explorers to penetrate Africa
12.
H. P. S. Ahluwalia
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Major Hari Pal Singh Ahluwalia is an Indian mountaineer. During his career of 45 years, he has made contributions in the fields of adventure, sports, environment, disability and social work. Following his advanced training at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling, he climbed extensively in Sikkim, Nepal, during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, he suffered a bullet injury which resulted in his confinement to a wheelchair. Presently, he is the Chairman of Indian Spinal Injuries Centre and he has written thirteen books which includes his autobiography Higher than Everest, which ran into several editions and languages. He has also produced a serial, Beyond Himalaya, which has been telecast all over the world on Discovery. He is the first Indian to climb Mount Everest and he also served as an IOFS officer. Hari Pal Singh Ahluwalia was born on 6 November 1936 and brought up in Shimla along with his two sisters and two younger brothers and his father was employed as a Civil Engineer in the Indian Central Public Works Department. For his academic career he went to St. Josephs Academy and St. Georges College, there, he discovered his interest in photography and rock climbing. Along with graduation, his interest in rock-climbing increased, some of the places where Ahluwalia did his rock climbing are Garhwal, Sikkim, Nepal, Ladakh, and of course Mount Everest. After his graduation Ahluwalia joined the Indian Army as an officer, along with time most of the people changed and so do their hobbies and interests. But Ahluwalias love for mountaineering never went in tandem with his professional life, Ahluwalia has also been the President of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation and Delhi Mountaineering Association. Realizing the needs of persons with spinal injury, Ahluwalia, with the support of his friends, set up the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre in Vasant Kunj, New Delhi, Chairman – Indian Spinal Injuries Centre. Chairman – Planning Committee of Persons with Disability of 12 five-year plan and Chairman of the committee of drafting country report, former president – Indian Mountaineering Foundation. Former president – Delhi Mountaineering Association, former chairman – Special Ability Trust. Former chairman – Youth Exploring Society, former chairman – Rehabilitation Council of India. Member – Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust, member – Planning Commission – Steering committee of the Social Welfare and other special groups. Member – National Consultation on National Policy for PwD, member – CII Core Group on Disability. Member – National Finance and Revenue Committee constituted by Ministry of Finance, member – CBR, in collaboration with AISPO-ITALY
Indian