PIB Summary- 9th May, 2021 | PIB (Press Information Bureau) Summary - UPSC PDF Download

Gopal Krishna Gokhale

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• Gopal Krishna Gokhale was a social reformer and a member of the moderate faction of the Indian National Congress.
• Read more about his life and contributions to the freedom movement and Indian society in This Day in History dated May 9.

Maharana Pratap

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Maharana Pratap

Early Life of Maharana Pratap

• Maharana Pratap belonged to the Sisodia clan of the Rajputs of Mewar. He was born on 9th May 1540 to Udai Singh II and Jaiwanta Bai. His younger brothers were Shakti Singh, Vikram Singh and Jagmal Singh. Maharana Pratap was married to Ajabde Punwar of Bijolia.
• Upon the death of Udai Singh in 1572 there was a brief tussle on who would succeed the throne of Mewar. Maharana Pratap had other stepbrothers who were also vying for the throne of Mewar. However, the senior nobles in his father’s court wanted Pratap Singh to succeed as he was the eldest son of Udai Singh II, thus he ascended to the throne of Mewar on 1st March 1572.

Battle of Haldighati

• During the reign of Udai Singh II, the siege of Chittorgarh had led to the loss of the fertile eastern half of Mewar to the expansionist Mughal Empire. Yet the western half of Mewar which consisted of the wooded and hilly terrain near the Aravalli range was firmly under the control of the Sisodia Rajputs.
• Mughal Emperor Akbar was intent on securing the rest of Mewar in order to secure a stable route to the economic powerhouse of Gujarat. Upon the ascension of Maharana Pratap in 1572, Mughal Emperor Akbar sent many diplomatic missions to convince him to become a vassal of the Mughal Empire like the other Rajput rulers in the region had done so as Maharana Pratap refused to submit in person to Akbar, thus ensuring that war would be inevitable.
• The forces of Mewar and the Mughal Empire met at the narrow mountain passes of Haldighati near modern-day Rajsamand in Rajasthan. As per the contemporary historians, the Army of Mewar of 3000 cavalry and 400 Bhil archers faced a Mughal Army numbering between 5000 and 1000 consisting of elephants and musketeers. The Battle of Haldighati lasted for six hours which led to the defeat of Maharana Pratap. However, he beat a tactical retreat due to the sacrifice of his commanders and lived to fight another day.

The battle of Haldighati was a futile victory for the Mughals as they were unable to capture Maharana Pratap or his immediate family members. When the Mughal Army shifted its focus towards the North-Western regions of India, Maharana Pratap launched a campaign to take back the western regions of Mewar.

Reconquest of Mewar

• Due to rebellions in Bengal and Punjab, the Mughal Army had shifted its focus towards these regions. In 1582, Maharana Pratap attacked and took the Mughal post at Dawer. This led to a lightning campaign which saw the fall of all 36 Mughal outposts in Mewar. As a result, Emperor Akbar suspended any further campaigns against Mewar for the time being as he felt the Mughal Army was better put to better use elsewhere. The Emperor moved to Lahore and remained there for the next 12 years in order to maintain the situation in the north-western borders of his empire.
• Since no further expeditions were carried out in Mewar by the Mughals, Maharana Pratap undertook further campaigns of reconquest which saw the recovery of Kumbalgarh, Udaipur and Gogunda. He constructed a new capital, Chavand, near modern Dungarpur.

Legacy of Maharana Pratap 

• Maharana Pratap passed away on 19 January 1597 aged 56. He was succeeded by his eldest son Amar Singh I. Notable historian such as Satish Chandra have said that Maharana Pratap’s struggle against the Mughal empire almost alone and unaided by other Rajput states signify the best of Rajput valour and the spirit of self-sacrifice. Furthermore, his method of guerrilla warfare would be further improved and emulated by none other than Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (Born on February 16, 1509) himself.

Tagore Jayanti

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• Rabindranath Tagore, the ‘Bard of Bengal’ was born on 7 May 1861. However, his birth anniversary is observed on the 25th day of the Bengali month of Boishakh, or Pochishe Boishakh, as per the Hindu calendar. In 2021, Tagore Jayanti or Rabindra Jayanti falls on 9 May.

Rabindranath Tagore Biography

• Rabindranath Tagore was born on 7 May 1861 to an upper-class Bengali family in his ancestral home in Calcutta.
• He became the most influential writer, poet and artist in Bengal and also India in the early 20th century
• He was a polymath and his mastery spread over many arenas like art, literature, poetry, drama, music and learning.
• He became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize for Literature when he won the award in 1913 for his translation of his own work in Bengali, Gitanjali. He was the first non-white person to win a Nobel Prize.
• Tagore is said to have composed over 2000 songs and his songs and music are called ‘Rabindrasangeet’ with its own distinct lyrical and fluid style.
• The national anthems of both India and Bangladesh were composed by Tagore. (India’s Jana Gana Mana and Bangladesh’s Amar Shonar Bangla.)
• The Sri Lankan national anthem is also said to have been inspired by him.
• Tagore had composed Amar Shonar Bangla in 1905 in the wake of the Bengal partition to foster a spirit of unity and patriotism among Bengalis. He also used the Raksha Bandhan festival to bring about a feeling of brotherhood among Bengal’s Hindus and Muslims during the partition of 1905. He was fiercely opposed to the partition.
• His poems and songs infuse people with a feeling of patriotism and love for the motherland. His novels, dances, dramas, essays, dance-dramas and stories cover a wide range of topics from personal to political.
• He was knighted by the British government in 1915. But he later renounced it protesting against the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (Read more on this massacre on ‘This Day in History’ dated 13 April 1919).
• Tagore wrote his first poetry aged 8. He published his first poems aged 16 under the pen name ‘Bhanusimha’.
• Tagore is responsible for modernising Bengali prose and poetry. His notable works include Gitanjali, Ghare-Baire, Gora, Manasi, Balaka, Sonar Tori, He is also remembered for his song ‘Ekla Chalo Re’.
• He was also called the ‘Bard of Bengal’.
• In 1921, he founded the Vishwabharati University at Santiniketan. He was staunchly against the classroom kind of education. He believed it stifled creativity. He conceived of an educational system where the students’ curiosity was kindled and learning became more natural.
• He was a widely travelled person and had been to over 30 countries in 5 different continents. He met many other eminent personalities like Albert Einstein, Romain Rolland, Robert Frost, G B Shaw, Thomas Mann, etc.
• He had spoken at the World Parliament for Religions in the years 1929 and 1937.
• His stories and songs continue to inspire many Indians even today.
• Tagore’s birth anniversary is celebrated by Bengalis all over the word as Rabindra Jayanti. It is marked on the 25^th day of the Bengali month of Boisakh (falls in early May in the Gregorian calendar). It is celebrated in Bangladesh also.
• Tagore has given beautiful quotes which are relevant even today. Some of them are given below:
  (i) “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.”
  (ii) “You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.”
  (iii) “Don’t limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time.”
  (iv) “If you shut the door to all errors, truth will be shut out.”