Modern Indian Historical Figures

Commodore Barnet was the British naval commander who arrived in India with a fleet during the First Carnatic War (1746). Dupleix was the French Governor, and Lally arrived during the Third Carnatic War.

Though a state of war did not exist in Europe, the proxy war continued in India. On one side was Nasir Jung, the Nizam and his protege Muhammad Ali, supported by the English, and on the other was Chanda Sahib and Muzaffar Jung, supported by the French, vying for the Nawabship of Arcot. Muzaffar Jung and Chanda Sahib were able to capture Arcot while Nasir Jung's subsequent death allowed Muzaffar Jung to take control of Hyderabad. Muzaffar's reign was short as he was soon killed, and Salabat Jung became Nawab. In 1751, however, Robert Clive led British troops to capture Arcot, and successfully defend it.

On 3 August 1749, the allied forces of Dupleix, Chanda Sahib and Muzaffar Jung met those of Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan at Ambur. Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan's forces managed to create a formidable stance by gathering around their howdahs despite being outnumbered 3 to 1, but it was the disciplined French infantry forces led by De Bussy that completely reversed the course of the battle against Khan.

Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan was shot and killed in a fierce confrontation while commanding his forces from a howdah. The next day Muzaffar Jang and Chanda Sahib victoriously entered Arcot and Chanda Sahib became the next Nawab of the Carnatic. Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan's son, Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah, fled south to Trichinopoly, where he hid and sought the assistance of the British.

The First Carnatic War (1744-48) was triggered by the War of the Austrian Succession. Dupleix was the french Governor-General of Pondicherry during the war. In September 1746, the French captured the Madras almost without any opposition and the British were made prisoners of war. The war finally ended in 1748 with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.

Lord Curzon ordered partition of Bengal for the first time. The order was made public in 1903 and the official reason given was that Bengal with a population of 78 million had become too big to be administered. The reason was true to an extent but the real motive was to weaken the nerve centre of the movement by dividing it on the lines of religion. The decision met with wide opposition in the form of Swadeshi movement. It was decided to annul the partition of Bengal in 1911 mainly to control the danger of revolutionary terrorism.

Edwin Samuel Montagu served as Secretary of State for India between 1917 and 1922. After becoming Secretary of State, he began work on a British policy to provide for “progressive realization of responsible government” in India. He played an important role in introducing the Government of India Act of 1919, a legislative measure that marked a decisive stage in India’s constitutional development. 

• Lord Curzon was the viceroy of India between 1898-1905
• Announcement of partition of Bengal was made by British in 1903
• On October 16, 1905 Bengal was partitioned into West Bengal and East Bengal.
• This partition of Bengal was done during Curzon period.
  

Tilak was charged with the seditious writings and was deported to Mandalay prison in Burma. After Tilak's deportation, Lala Lajpat Rai was deported to Mandalay, Burma (now Myanmar) without trial in May 1907. Along with him, Bipin Chandra Pal was also sent to Mandalay.

Guru Nanak renamed him as Angad, and installed him as his successor on 13 June 1539. Guru Angad born as Bhai Lehna the second of the ten Sikh gurus. His discipleship was subjected to various tests by Guru Nanak Sahib after which he came to be known as the the symbol of obedience and service to humanity which earned him the position of second Guru of the Sikh faith.

The Indian Defense Force, incorporating Europeans and Indians in separate sections, was formed by the British on 9 October 1917.

William Huskisson, a Member of Parliament, was struck and killed by the Rocket locomotive during the opening ceremony of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1830.

The Cabinet Mission of 1946 consisted of Lord Pethick-Lawrence, Sir Stafford Cripps, and A.V. Alexander. Hugh Gaitskell was not a member of this mission.

The partition involved the division of three provinces, Assam, Bengal, and Punjab, based on district-wide Hindu or Muslim majorities. The boundary demarcating India and Pakistan became known as the Radcliffe Line. It was named after its architect, Sir Cyril Radcliffe, who, as the joint chairman of the two boundary commissions for the two provinces, received the responsibility to equitably divide 450,000 km of territory with 88 million people.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the leader of the Sukarchakya Misal, which eventually became the foundation of the Sikh Empire in Punjab.

Banda Bahadur was a Sikh military commander who established a Sikh state with capital at Lohgarh. He led a revolt against the Mughals after the assassination of Guru Gobind Singh. He was captured and executed during the reign of Farrukh Siyar on 9th June 1716.