ÿþ<html> <head> <title> WHKMLA : Biographies : History of South Asia </title> <!-- copyright Alexander Ganse, 2004-2006 --> </head> <body bgcolor="lightblue" text="black" link="blue" vlink="red" alink="brown"> <style> <!-- A{ font-weight: bold; font-size: 10pt; font-face: arial; } --> </style> <DIV align ="center"> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD align = "center" valign = "center"> <A HREF = "../../index.html"> <img src = "../../whkmla2.jpg" border = "0"></a></TD></TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width = "150" height = "36" align = "center" valign = "center"> <font size = "2" face = "arial"><B> Timeline </b></font></TD> <TD width = "36" height = "36" align = "center" valign = "center"> <A HREF = "../../timelines/wh/tlsasia.html"> <img src = "../../region/arrowleft.gif" width = "36" height = "36" border = "0"> </a></TD> <TD align = "center" valign = "center"> <A HREF = "../../timelines/whchapters.html"> <img src = "../../region/banners/banbiography.jpg" border = "0"> </TD> <TD width = "36" height = "36" align = "center" valign = "center"> <A HREF = "../../histdic/wh/hdsasia.html"> <img src = "../../region/arrowright.gif" width = "36" height = "36" border = "0"> </a></TD> <TD width = "100" height = "36" align = "center" valign = "center"> <font size = "2" face = "arial"><B> Historical Dictionary </b></font></TD></TR></TABLE> <font size = "3" face = "arial"><B><i>First posted on June 3rd 2004 </i></b></font><BR><BR><BR><BR> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD align = "center" valign = "center" width = "900"> <font face = "Times Roman" size = "5"><B> Biographies : History of South Asia </B></font> <BR> <font face = "Times Roman" size = "2"><i> http://www.zum.de/whkmla/biographies/wh/biosasia.html </i></font> </B></font></TD></TR></TABLE> <BR><BR> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD align = "left" valign = "center" width = "150"> <font face = "Times Roman" size = "2"> <A NAME = "aibak">Aibak, Qutbuddin</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "akbar">Akbar</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "albuquerque">Albuquerque, <BR> Afonso de</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "ashoka">Ashoka</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "aurangzeb">Aurangzeb</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "ayubkhan">Ayub Khan, <BR> Muhammad</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "babur">Babur</A> <BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "bandaranaike">Bandaranaike, <BR> Sirimavo</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "bhutto">Bhutto, Zulfiqar Ali</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "birendra">Birendra</A> <BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "bose">Bose, <BR> Subhas Chandra</A> <BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "chandraguptai">Chandragupta I.</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "chandraguptaii">Chandragupta II.</A> <BR><BR> <A NAME = "clive">Clive, Robert</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "cornwallis">Cornwallis, Charles</A> <BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "dupleix">Dupleix, <BR> Joseph Fran&ccedil;ois</A> <BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "dwyer">O'Dwyer, Michael</A> <BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "vascodagama">Gama, Vasco da</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "mgandhi">Gandhi, Mohandas K.</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "igandhi">Gandhi, Indira</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "rgandhi">Gandhi, Rajiv</A> <BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "harsha">Harsha</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "whastings">Hastings, Warren</A> <BR><BR> <A NAME = "jinnah">Jinnah, <BR> Muhammad Ali</A> <BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "aqkhan">Khan, Abdul Qadeer</A> <BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "mahmudofghazni">Mahmud of Ghazni</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "menander">Menander</A> <BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "fmmueller">M&uuml;ller, Friedrich Max</A> <BR><BR> <A NAME = "ghuri">Muhammad <BR> al Ghuri (of Gor) <BR><BR> <A NAME = "mumtazmahal">Mumtaz Mahal</A> <BR><BR> <A NAME = "nehru">Nehru, Jawaharlal</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "mujiburrahman">Rahman, Mujibur</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "samudragupta">Samudragupta</A> <BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "shahjahan">Shah Jehan</A> <BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "shivaji">Shivaji</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "tagore">Tagore, <BR> Rabindranath</A> <BR> <A NAME = "tipusultan">Tipu Sultan</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "vajpayee">Vajpayee, Atal Bihari</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "ziaulhaq">Zia ul-Haq, <BR> Muhammad</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> </font></TD> <TD align = "left" valign = "center" width = "500"> <font face = "Times Roman" size = "2"> born c.1150 in Central Asia; he served Muhammad al Ghuri; was appointed commander <BR> Delhi in 1205. Upon the death of al Ghuri, he found himself in charge of a state. As <BR> Aibak had been a slave of al-Ghuri, the dynasty he founded is called the Mameluk or <BR> Slave Dynasty. Aibak died in 1210; his dynasty lasted until 1290. <BR> full name Jellaladin Muhammad Akbar (Akbar means "the Great" in Arabic; the <BR> expression 'Akbar the Great', frequently used, thus does not make sense). Born in 1542, <BR> he ascended to the throne of the Mughal Empire in 1556, took power in 1560 and ruled <BR> until 1605. He terminated the per-capita-tax which hitherto was collected of Hindu <BR> subjects, and later promoted a synchretistic religion, Kitab-ul-illah (which did not outlive <BR> him). see article from <A HREF = "http://india.asinah.net/en/wikipedia/j/je/jellaladin_mahommed_akbar.html">asinah</A> <BR> 1462-1515, Portuguese conquistador. Sailed to India in 1506 in order to succeed <BR> Francisco de Almeida as Viceroy of India; raided Oman and Hormuz (1507), on arrival <BR> in India he was placed under arrest by Almeida. Another Portuguese fleet in 1509 <BR> confirmed Albuquerque's appointment; he was released and Almeida handed over <BR> command. Under Albuquerque, the Portuguese conquered Goa from Bijapur (1510), <BR> Malacca (1511), Hormuz (1515). He retirned to Goa, now the capital of the Portuguese <BR> Indian Ocean Empire, and died upon arrival. <BR> ruler of the Mauryan Empire in India, born 273 B.C., ruled 269-232 B.C.; pursued a <BR> policy of expansion by conquest; under him the Mauryan Empire covered almost the <BR> entire subcontinent. Then converted to Buddhism and had temples built, in order to <BR> make good for the harm he had caused. sometimes spelled Asoka. <BR> born in 1618, ruled the Mughal Empire in 1658-1707. Under him the M.E. reached its <BR> largest extent (conquest of S. India); he reintroduced the per-capita-tax for Hindus <BR> and thus caused the Marathas to rebel. The rebellion was crushed. A. was the last <BR> Mughal Emperor of significance; after his death, the Marathas rose again; the M.E. <BR> disintegrated rapidly. <BR> born in 1907; career officer, ordered to implement martual law; then became president <BR> of Pakistan (1958-1969). Promoted the industrialization of Pakistan; moved capital from <BR> Karachi to Rawalpindi. During his rule, the Second Indo-Pakistani War was fought <BR> (1965). Also to be blamed for the estrangement of East Pakistan, which seceded in <BR> 1971. Died in 1974. <BR> born c.1483, descendant of Tamerlane (Timur Lenk); Sultan of Ferghana. Expelled <BR> from his ancestral country, he conquered Kabul in 1504. In 1526 he invaded India <BR> and established the Mughal Empire, with capital in Delhi. Babur died in 1530. <BR> Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike; born in 1917, prime minister of Sri Lanka <BR> 1960-1965, 1970-1977, 1994-2000. The world's first female prime minister. Conservative <BR> politician appealing to Singhalese patriotism. Under her, Ceylon was renamed Sri <BR> Lanka (in 1972); she is, in part, to be blamed for the political climate which caused <BR> the Tamil of northern Sri Lanka to take up armed rebellion (in 1983). <BR> born in 1928, Pakistani politician; founded the Pakistan People's Party; propagated <BR> Islamic socialism; President of Pakistan 1971-1973; during the military dictatorship <BR> arrested, tried and executed, for allegedly having orderrd the assassination of a <BR> competitor. His daughter Benazir Bhutto later was pm (1988-1990, 1993-1996). <BR> born in 1945, King of Nepal 1972-2001, and rather popular as such. In 2001 <BR> assassinated by his son and successor, Dipendra, in a killing spree. During the <BR> reign of Birendra, a Maoist rebellion intensified, since 1996. <BR> born in 1897, president of the Congress Party 1938-1939; during WW II he made <BR> his way to Germany and to Japan to appeal for aid; planned an armed rebellion <BR> against the British; organized the (anti-British) Indian National Army, recruited from <BR> P.o.W.s in Singapore. Bose died in 1945. <BR> founder of the Mauryan Empire, ruled between 321 and 296 B.C.; rose to prominence <BR> as a military commander in the army of Magadha. Collected an army of his own, <BR> defeated his former master, established an Empire which covered all of northern <BR> India, including the Indus valley. Married a daughter of Seleucus. <BR> ruler of the Gupta Dynasty; ruled 375-413 A.D., pursued an expansionist policy. <BR> Annexed Gujarat; temporarily ruled as regent over Vakataka (in central India). <BR> born in 1725, employee of the E.I.C. who commanded the E.I.C. forces in the <BR> Battle of Plassey 1757, acquired Bengal for the E.I.C., developed an interest in <BR> languages which would lead to a better understanding of Indian affairs. Died in <BR> 1774. <BR> born in 1738, Lord, career officer, surrendered to Washington at Yorktown in 1781. <BR> Governor-General of India 1786-1793, 1805; died in India in 1805. Fought the Fourth <BR> and final Mysore War 1789-1792. Reorganized E.I.C. forces. <BR> born in 1697; in 1742 appointed Governor-General of the French possessions in <BR> India. 1746-1754 at war with the E.I.C. in India; Dupleix' diplomatic skill brought <BR> many native rulers into the French camp. Acted much on his own initiative; was <BR> compelled to return to France in 1754. Died in 1763. <BR> Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab in 1919; responsible for the Amritsar Massacre <BR> of 1919. An embarrassment to the British administration in India, he was celebrated <BR> by the British Imperialist press. In 1940 assassinated by a Punjabi. <BR> c.1469-1520, Portuguese discoverer, in command of a fleet charged with finding <BR> the sea route to India; departed from Lisbon in 1497, reached Kozhikode (Calicut) <BR> on the Malabar coast in 1498; his ships loaden with spices, he arrived in Lisbon <BR> September 1499. Sailed out again in 1502, visited Sofala, laid siege to Calicut. <BR> Sent to India once again in 1524, where he died of Cholera. <BR> born in 1869, byname Mahatma. Studied law in London, lead a political campaign for the <BR> rights of Indians in South Africa; returned to India during WW I; joined Congress Party. <BR> Began the Satyagraha campaign; became the central figure of India's campaign for <BR> independence. He adopted the lifestyle of a poor Indian peasant, entered into fasting <BR> whenever the movement he lead had violated his principles, criticized not only the colonial <BR> authorities but also flaws within Indian tradition; called on Indians to abolish the status of <BR> the untouchables and integrate them into society. He was widely respected, inside and <BR> outside the Indian subcontinent. He argued for Hindu and Muslim unity and dreamt of an <BR> independent, unpartitioned India. Repeatedly he was imprisoned by the British authorities. <BR> Gandhi was assassinated by a radical Hindu in 1948. He had not held any office (except <BR> for the presidency of the Congress Party he briefly had held 1924-1925); however, his <BR> burial was attended by heads of state respectively their representatives from all over the <BR> world. <BR> born as daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru in 1917; married to Feroze Gandhi (not a relative <BR> of Mohandas K. Gandhi; in fact he had altered his name). Indira Gandhi joined Congress <BR> Party, served as pm 1966-1977 and 1980-1984. Under her, India was victorious in her <BR> third war with Pakistan 1971; India entered into an alliance with the Soviet Union; she <BR> campaigned for voluntary sterilization in order to cut India's population growth figures; <BR> the campaign was not sensed that much voluntary and resulted in her election defeat <BR> in 1977. She returned to power; ordered Operation Bluestar against a dissident Sikh <BR> leader who abused the Golden Temple of Amritsar for a political campaign; was blamed <BR> for the violation of that sanctuary and assassinated by her own (Sikh) bodyguards. <BR> son of Indira Gandhi; succeeded his mother as pm in 1984, was defeated in the <BR> election of 1989. Involved India in the Sri Lanka Civil War by sending so-called peace- <BR> keeping force. Assassinated by a Tamil Tiger in 1991. <BR> or Harsha of Kanauj, born c.590; in 606 he succeeded to the throne of a small state <BR> in the upper Ganges valley; conquered all of northern India (Ganges and Indus valleys) <BR> failed to conquer the Deccan. Capital at Kanauj. Died in 647. First a Hindu, he later <BR> became a devout Buddhist. see article from <A HREF = "http://www.bartleby.com/65/ha/HarshaInd.html">Columbia Encyclopedia</A> <BR> born in 1732, first E.I.C. Governor General of India 1773-1786 (followed by Lord <BR> Cornwallis), died in 1818. <BR> born in 1876; studied Law in England; joined the Muslim League in 1913; temporarily <BR> member of the Congress Party, which he left in 1921. Argued for the partition of India <BR> into a Hindu and a Muslim state; regarded the founder-father of Pakistan. Died in <BR> 1948. <BR> born in 1935; Pakistani, nuclear physicist. Conducted successful nuclear test <BR> explosions in 1998, regarded the 'father' of Pakistan's nuclear bomb. Confessed to <BR> having sold nuclear secrets to other countries. <BR> born in 971; ruler of Ghazni 998-1030; conducted 17 campaigns in which he invaded <BR> India; strict Muslim and iconoclast, had numerous Hindu temples destroyed. Founder <BR> of the Ghaznavid Empire, which lasted until 1186. Began the expansion of Islam into <BR> India (except for Sindh). <BR> King of (Hellenistic) Bactria (the Kabul valley) c.160-c.135 B.C., conquered Gandhara. <BR> Converted to Buddhism; referred to as Milinda in Indian sources. Most of his kingdom <BR> in c.135 was conquered by the Kushan. <BR> born in 1823, died in 1900; German linguist and Indologist who developed the Aryan <BR> Invasion Theory <BR> born in 1160, established control over the state of Ghazni, invaded India in 1191 and <BR> 1192, conquered Delhi, campaigned throughout his life to extend his state; died in <BR> 1206. see article from <A HREF = "http://www.storyofpakistan.com/person.asp?perid=P044">Story of Pakistan</A> <BR> born in 1593; married in 1612 to the future ruler of the Mughal Empire, Shah Jehan; his <BR> favourite wife. She died in 1631; he had the Taj Mahal built in her memory. <BR> born in 1889, studied in England; member of the Congress Party; supporter of <BR> Mohandas K. Gandhi; pm of India since 1946. Opposed the partition of India, which <BR> he could not prevent (1947). Held on to the office of pm until his death in 1964. In <BR> office during the First Indo-Pakistani War in 1948; ordered the occupation of Hyderabad <BR> in 1948, of French India in 1954, of Portuguese India in 1961. In Office during the <BR> Indian-Chinese Border Conflict of 1962. Pursued a protectionist economic policy. <BR> born in 1920, (East) Pakistani politician, founder of the Awami League. In 1970, <BR> after an overwhelming election victory, he campaigned for more political autonomy <BR> for East Pakistan. His suggestion was rejected by the Pakistani authorities, who <BR> introduced Urdu as the sole official language; P. declared martial law; the situation <BR> escalated into the Third Indian-Pakistani War, during which East Pakistan, as <BR> Bangladesh, declared independence. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman became head of <BR> state; in 1975 he was assassinated. <BR> Emperor of the Gupta Dynasty, ruled 335-c.380, son and successor of Chandragupta <BR> II. Fought frequent wars, conquered 20 kingdoms. Under him, the Gupta Empire <BR> reached its greatest extension. <BR> or Shah Jahan, born in 1592, ruler of the Mughal Empire 1627-1658. Following the <BR> death of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, in 1631 he had the Taj Mahal constructed. <BR> In 1658 deposed and imprisoned by his son. Died in 1666. <BR> full name Chatrapati Shivaji, born in 1630; rose in rebellion against the Mughal Empire <BR> when Aurangzeb reintroduced the per-capita-tax in 1674; leader of the Maratha rebels; <BR> Shivaji died in 1680, and the rebellion he began was defeated, to flare up again after <BR> the death of Aurangzeb. <BR> born in 1861, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913; died in 1941. <BR><BR> or Tippoo Sultan, Tipu Sultan, Tipu Sahib; born c. 1750, Muslim ruler of Mysore <BR> 1782-1799. Fought the Fourth and Fifth Mysore Wars against the E.I.C. (1789-1792, <BR> 1799; requested French assistance in the latter (hence citoyen Tipu) which resulted <BR> in Napoleon being dispatched to Egypt. Died in 1799. <BR> born in 1924; Indian politician and statesman, pm 1996, 1998-2004. During his rule, <BR> India proclaimed the status of a nuclear power (1998), a localized war with Kashmiri <BR> separatists was fought. He pursued a policy of rapprochement with Pakistan; with <BR> India's economy experiencing considerable growth, his election defeat in 2004 came <BR> as a surprise. <BR> born in 1924; Pakistani career officer; ousted the democratic government in 1977 in <BR> a coup d'etat; president 1977-1988. Under him, ex-pm Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was tried <BR> and excecuted. Zia ul-Haq permitted elections to be held and democratic <BR> administrations to be formed, but in 1988 dissolved the National Assembly and <BR> dismissed the pm; he died shortly after in a plane accident. During his rule, Afghan <BR> resistance against Soviet occupation was supported from Pakistan territory. <BR> </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <BR><BR> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD align = "left" valign = "center" width = "700"> <font face = "Times Roman" size = "2"> ONLINE REFERENCE : <BR> List of Presidents etc. of <A HREF = "http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Pakistan.htm">Pakistan</A>, of Prime Ministers etc. of <A HREF = "http://www.worldstatesmen.org/India.htm">India</A>, of Presidents etc. of <A HREF = "http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Sri_Lanka.html">Sri Lanka</A>, of Presidents etc. of <A HREF = "http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Bangladesh.html">Bangladesh</A>, of Kings etc. of <A HREF = "http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Nepal.html">Nepal</A>, of Kings etc. of <A HREF = "http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Bhutan.html">Bhutan</A>, of Presidents etc. of the <A HREF = "http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Maldives.htm">Maldives</A>, from World Statesmen, posted by Ben Cahoon </A> <BR> </font></TD></TR></TABLE> <BR><BR> </DIV> </DIV> <DIV align="center"> <A href="mailto:aganse@hotmail.com"> <IMG src="../../email.gif" border="0"></a><BR> </DIV><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <!-- Start of CH Counter --> <script type="text/javascript"> //<!-- // chCounter v2.0.0 // settings: cstatus = "active"; visible = "0"; path_to_counterfile = "http://www.zum.de/whkmla/counter/counter.php"; urlhp = "http://www.zum.de"; //////////////// url = unescape(location.href); file = url.substring(url.lastIndexOf(urlhp) + urlhp.length, url.length); file = (file.charAt(0) != "/") ? 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