by John Keay
Mahabharata, Sanskrit epic, xxvii, 2, 3, 4, 34, 37–46, 54, 60, 73, 120
Mahadji Scindia, 18th c Maratha leader, 368, 406–9
Maha-janapada, ‘great clan-territories’, embryonic states, 50, 58
Maha-kshtrapa, ‘great satrap’, see esp. Western Satraps
Mahapadma Nanda, 4th C BC king, 70, 78
Maharajadhiraja, ‘great king of kings’, 134, 137, 140, 160, 169, 195, 197
Maharashtra, 118, 125–8, 168, 191, 252–5, 338, 454, 474, 520
Mahasabha, Hindu revivalist party, 454, 481, 504, 598
Maha-samanta, ‘great vassal’, ‘great neighbour’, 160
Mahavira Nataputta, Jain founder, 47, 62, 64, 86
Mahayana school of Buddhism, 115–7, 194
Mahendrapala, 9–10th c Gurjara-Pratihara king, 199
Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh, 407
Mahinda, son of Ashoka & Buddhist missionary to Sri Lanka, 90, 96
Mahipala I, 11th c Pala king of Bengal, 220
Mahmud Gawan, chief minister in Bahmanid sultanate, 284
Mahmud Khalji, 15th c Sultan of Malwa, 286
Mahmud of Ghazni, 11th c invader, 205–12, 213, 235
Mahmud Shah, 15–16th c Bahmanid Sultan, 302
Mahmud Shah Begarha, 15–16th c Sultan of Gujarat, 286–7
Maitrakas, 6–8th c dynasty in Gujarat, 157, 166, 181, 187
Majumdar, Prof R.C., historian, xvi, 28
Makran, coastal region of Baluchistan, 10, 76, 182, 183
Malaviya, Madan Mohan, founder of Hindu mahasabha, 481
Malaya, 104, 123, 124, 152, 176, 222
Malayalam language, 118
Malcolm, Sir John, British administrator, 407, 408, 426–7
Maldive Islands, 215
Malhar Rao Holkar, 18th c Maratha leader, 368, 403, 407
Malik Ambar, 17th c general, 331–2, 348
Malik Sowar, 14th c founder of Sharqi sultanate of Jaunpur, 272–4
Malla, early tribe & republic, 50, 66
Malwa, western half of Madhya Pradesh, 130, 131, 137, 141, 148, 152, 162, 169, 192, 197, 243, 256–7, 283, 284–6, 296, 311–2, 368, 407, see also Avanti
Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu, 156, 174, 176
Man Singh, Kacchwaha ruler of Amber, 313, 318
Man Singh, Tomar rajput ruler of Gwalior, 289, 316
Mandala, concentric diagram of geo-political & cosmic relations, 170–2, 179, 225
Mandelso, Albert de, 17th c German visitor, 231
Mandu, Madhya Pradesh, 227, 279, 285–6, 298, 311, 331
Mangalore, Karnataka, 397
Manjanik, catapult-like siege-engine, 184, 255, 270
Mansabdars, those with a ranking (mansab) in the Mughal hierarchy, 324–5, 327, 347, 353, 355
Mansehra, Panjab, 96, 114
Mansurah, Sind, 185, 187, 202, 234
Manu, royal progenitor & law-giver, 1–2, 27, 49, 103, 164, 169
Manyakheta, Maharashtra, 200, 216
Mao Tse Tung, Chinese leader, 567
Marathas, people, kingdom & confederacy from upland Maharashtra, xxii, 331, 338, 347, 350–59, 363–4, 367–9, 388, 394, 396, 402–13, 521
Marathi language, xxvii, 132, 461, 520
Marco Polo, Venetian traveller, 257–8, 276–7, 278
Marshall, Sir John, archaeologist, 9, 60
Martand, Kashmir, 288
Marwar, rajput kingdom based round Jodhpur, 346
Masud of Ghazni, successor of Mahmud (q.v.), 225
Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, xx, 42, 103, 111, 137, 151, 208, 219, 343, 386
Matsya-nyaya, state of anarchy, 2, 49, 171, 225
Maues, 1st C BC Shaka king, 109, 115, 130
Maukharis, 6–7th c Kanauj dynasty, 159, 162, 163
Mauryas, 4–3rd C BC imperial dynasty of Magadha, 69, 78–100, 101, 104–5, 120, 139–40
Mayawati, Ms, Chief minister of UP, 604
Meds, piratical tribe, 183
Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, 239, 438–9
Megasthenes, Greek ambassador to Magadha, 79, 80, 85, 92–4, 97, 98, 119, 190
Meghalaya, 528
Mehrauli Pillar, ‘Iron pillar’, 142–3, 154
Mehta, Ferozeshah, Congress leader, 461, 468, 474
Meluhha, possible name of Harappan country, 16, 23
Menander, 2nd C BC Bactrian Greek king, 107–8
Mewar, Rajput kingdom based round Chitor & Udaipur, 286, 313–5, 328–30, 345
Mewatis, elusive tribe of Delhi region, 248, 508
Mihirakula, 6th c Hun leader, 158
Mill, James, historian, 429–30
Mill, John Stuart, philosopher & political economist, 429
Minhaju-s Siraj, Muslim chronicler, 244, 245
Minto, Lord, Governor-General, 468, 469
Mir Jafar, 18th c Nawab of Bengal, 390–1
Mir Jumla, 17th c adventurer & general, 338, 339, 341, 386
Mir Qasim (Kasim), 18th c Nawab of Bengal, 391–2
Mirpur, Azad Kashmir, 587
Mirza, Iskander, Pakistani president, 542–4
Mizoram, 557
Mlechha, disparaging name for non-arya peoples, 24, 43, 59, 143, 187–8, 211, 233
Mofussil, hinterland, upcountry provinces, 432, 453, 471
Mohajirs, refugees, 521–2, 528, 567, 586
Mohenjo-daro, Sind, 7, 8, 9, 13, 15, 22–3, 182
Money, J.W.B., businessman & author, 449
Mongols, 239, 242–3, 247–8, 249, 256, 270, 274, 288
Montagu, Edwin, Secretary of State for India, 473
Mont-Ford Reforms (1921), 473, 474, 480, 483
Mookerji, R.K., historian, 92
Moon, Penderel, administrator & historian, 397, 413, 497–8
Moore, Thomas, poet, 514
Morley, John, Secretary of State for India, 468
Mouhot, Henri, French explorer & naturalist, 214
Mount Abu, Rajasthan, 197, 233, 239, 241
Mount Kailas, Tibet, 200–1
Mount Meru, mythical axis of the world, 170–1
Mountbatten, Lord, Viceroy, 57, 468, 501–3, 509
Muazzam, Prince see Bahadur Shah
Mubarak Khalji, son and successor, briefly, of Ala-ud-Din Khalji, 260
Mughal empire, xxviii, 256, 289–363 passim, 382, 385, 387, 391, 439–40
Mughal, M. Rafique, archaeologist, 9
Muhammad Adil Shah, 17th c sultan of Bijapur, 337, 338
Muhammad Ali, 18th c ruler of Arcot, 379, 381
Muhammad Ali, Maulana, 464
Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khalji, 13th c conqueror of Bengal, 243–4
Muhammad bin Tughluq, 14th c sultan of Delhi, 263–71, 281, 319
Muhammad ibn Qasim, 8th c conqueror of Sind, 183–6, 187
Muhammad of Ghor, 12th c invader & conqueror, 213, 226, 233, 234–8, 239–40
Muhammad Shah, 18th c Mughal emperor, 366–7, 385–6
Muhammad, The Prophet, 157, 180
Muizzudin Muhammad bin Sam see Muhammad of Gaur
Mukti Bahini, Bangladeshi ‘Liberation Force’, 558–9
Mujibnagar, Bangladesh, 557, 560
Mujib – ur – Rahman, Bangladeshi patriot, 548, 553–60, 561–5
Muller, Friedrich Max, scholar, 21, 458
Multan, Sind, now Pakistan, 185, 187, 196, 202, 207–8, 234, 275, 420, 424
Mumbai, xxviii, see Bombay
Mumtaz Mahal, wife of Shah Jahan, 333–4, 335, 352
Mundy, Peter, East India Company merchant, 335–6
Munro, Hector, British officer, 392, 397, 437
Munro, Thomas, administrator, 399, 410, 426, 427, 430, 437
Murad Baksh, Mughal prince, son of Shah Jahan, 339, 340
Musharraf, Pervez, Pakistani President, 544, 594, 596, 602
Murshid Quli Khan, Mughal governor of Bengal, 387
Murshidabad, Bengal, 387, 392
Muslim Conquests 180–7, 187–9, 202–12, 232–3, 234–8, 243–4, 354–6, 254–9, 271–2, 295–6, 341–2
Muslim League, 454, 468
–9, 470, 483, 494, 495–7, 500–2, 504, 519–21, 528, 539, 541, 546
Muslim perceptions of India, 188–9, 207–10, 241–3, 244, 275–9, 294, 312
Mussoorie, Uttar Pradesh, 415
Muttra see Mathura
Muzaffar Jang, 18th c Nawab/Nizam of Hyderabad, 381
Mysore, 337, 394–401, 416, 488
Nabobs, British officials & officers personally enriched by their service in India, 384, 390, 428
Nadia, Bengal, 244
Nadir Shah of Persia, 367, 385–6, 553
Nagaland, 528
Nagas, tribe, 40, 557
Nagasena, Buddhist philosopher, 108
Naghabhata II, 8–9th c Gurjara-Pratihara king, 199
Nagpur, Madhya Pradesh, 190, 368, 413, 433
Nahapana, 1st C AD Shaka satrap, 131
Naini Tal, Uttar Pradesh, 415
Naipaul, V.S. 579, 587
Nalanda, Bihar, 167, 169, 176, 193
Namazga Culture of Turkestan, 15
Nana Phadnavis, 18th c minister of several Pune peshwas, 405–6, 407, 408
Nana Sahib, adopted son of peshwa Baji Rao II, 413, 433, 440–2, 444
Nanak, Guru, first Sikh guru, 100, 316
Nandas, 4th C BC dynasty of Magadha, 70, 73, 78–9, 80, 82, 83, 102, 120
Nandangarh, Bengal, 179
Naoroji, Dadabhai, Congress president, 450, 453, 455, 459, 466
Napier, Major-General Sir Charles, British conqueror of Sind, 419–20
Napoleon, 400, 414, 421–2
Narain, Raj, socialist politician, 552, 574, 575
Narasimha Tuluva, 15–16th c Vijayanagar king, 303
Narasimha-varman I, 7th c Pallava king, 172, 174
Narasimha-varman II, 8th c Pallava king, 174
Narayan J.P., Gandhian activist & reformer, 573–5
Narmada River, xxv, 84, 90, 126, 192, 227, 357
Narwar, Madhya Pradesh, 239, 289
Nasik, Maharashtra, 125, 131
Nasir-ud-Din, son of Slave Sultan Iltumish, 244
Natal, S. Africa, 452
Nayaks, military commanders of the Vijayanagar kingdom & later independent rulers, 305, 307, 308, 337
Naxalites, Maoist guerillas, 587
Nazimuddin, Kwaja, Pakistani prime minister, 528, 546
Negapatnam, Tamil Nadu, 223
Nehru, Jawaharlal, Prime Minister, 56–7, 89, 137, 426, 453, 481, 483, 484–6, 491, 494, 498, 501, 502–3, 512, 513, 514–7, 521, 527, 529, 530–6, 551
Nehru, Motilal, President of Congress Party, 477, 482, 486
Nepal, 64, 97, 135, 137, 194, 415, 587
Nicobar Islands, 222
Nikitin, Athanasius, 15th c Russian visitor, 277, 284
Nizam Ali, 18th c Nawab/Nizam of Hyderabad, 395
Nizam-ud-Din Auliya, Delhi Shaikh, 263
Nizam-ul-Mulk, Mughal governor & then Nawab in the Deccan, 363, 368–70, 377, 379, 395
Non-Alignment, 532–4, 566
Northern Areas (Pakistan), 516
Northern Circars, coastal belt in Andhra Pradesh, 381, 393–4
North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan, 462–3, 499, 500, 518, 566, 592, 593, 596
Nuclear weapons, 515, 563–4, 566, 584–5, 592, 602
Nur Jahan, Jahangir’s queen, 332–4
Oc-Eo, Indian site in Vietnam, 124
Odantapuri, Bihar, 244
O’Dwyer, Sir Michael, Lieutenant-Governor of Panjab, 475
Ojhri explosion (1988), 583–4
Omirah, the nobility, the class of amirs, 313
Operation Bluestar (1984), 579–80
Operation Searchlight (1971), 556–7, 565
Opium, 448
Orchha, Madhya Pradesh, 443
Organisation of Islamic countries, 566
Orissa, 50, 70, 91, 106, 166, 170, 176, 220, 271–2, 287–8, 303, 318, 388, 416, 464, 490
Oudh, see Awadh
Oxus River, 10, 71
Paes, Domingo, 16th c Portuguese visitor to Vijayanagar, 304
Pagan, Burma, 194
Paharpur, Bengal, 179, 193
Pahlavas, ‘Parthians’, 109
Paithan, Maharashtra, 127
Pakistan, 7, 56–7, 113–7, 183, 234, 416, 459, 496–7, 499, 500, 502–3, 506, 511–24, 536, 537–49, 551–60, 561, 565–9, 583, 585, 589–96
Pakistan People’s Party, 549, 555–60, 566–9
Pal, Bipin Chandra, radical Bengali journalist, 467
Palas, 8–11th c dynasty in Bengal, 192–4, 199, 220
Pali language, 87
Palkhed, battle of (1728), 368
Pallavas, 5–9th c dynasty of Tamil Nadu, 110, 137, 156, 170, 172–7, 190, 192, 215
Panchala, tribe & territory in the Doab, 108
Pandavas, sons of Pandu, heroes of Mahabharata, 39, 41, 42, 44, 46
Pandyas, long-lasting dynasty of Madurai, 119, 120, 121, 170, 172, 199, 215, 218, 220, 223, 252, 258
Panhala, Maharashtra, 352, 354
Panini, Sanskrit grammarian, 60–1, 71, 103, 153
Panipat, battles of (1526, 1556 & 1761), 292–3, 301, 310, 386, 403–4
Panjab, xxiv, 21, 26, 43, 57–61, 70–7, 82, 84–5, 106–12, 144, 202–5, 225–6, 233–5, 247, 256, 288, 289–90, 316–7, 361, 362, 385, 417, 420–4, 445, 472, 473, 475–7, 492, 499, 505–9, 517–24, 539, 547, 567, 572, 577–80
Panth, the Sikh brotherhood, 317, 360–1
Paramaharajadhiraja, ‘king of all other great kings’, 134
Paramaras, rajput lineage & rulers of Malwa, 201, 226–30, 257 Paramesvara, ‘lord of other [lords]’, 169, 195, 197
Parantaka, 10th c Chola king, 215
Parsees, Zoroastrian community, 455
Parthia, eastern Iran, 102, 109, 110
Partition, of India in 1947 & Pakistan in 1971, 56–7, 502, 506–9, 510–11, 517–24, 526–7, 558, 577, 585
Pataligrama see Pataliputra
Pataliputra, Bihar, xx, 68–9, 79, 80, 82–3, 85, 90, 96, 97, 100, 104–5, 108, 135, 146
Patan see Anhilwara
Patanjali, Sanskrit grammarian, 103, 153
Patel, Vallabhai, Congress leader, 472, 505, 515, 521
Pathans, 514, 566, 587, 593, 595
Patna, Bihar, 69, 386
Pattadakal, Karnataka, 169, 174
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, The, 1st C AD description of Indian Ocean, 121, 126, 127, 130
Persepolis, Iran, 57, 71
Peshawar, North-West Frontier, 26–7, 95, 114, 158, 206, 419, 420, 592
Peshwas of Pune, Maratha ministers & rulers, see Baji Rao, Balaji Vishvanath, etc.
Pindaris, 19th c freebooters, 411–3
Pir Panjal, outer range of Himalayas (q.v.)
Pitt, Thomas, Governor of Madras, 373–4, 376
Plantations, 448–9
Plassey, battle of (1757), 381, 390
Pliny the Elder, Roman author, 121
Plutarch, Greek historian, 78, 79
Polilur, Tamil Nadu, battle of (1780), 172, 396–7
Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu, 121, 377, 379, 393, 394, 467, 533
Poona see Pune
Population, 320, 586
Portuguese, 287, 305–6, 317, 323, 348, 355, 373, 533–4
Porus, king, adversary of Alexander the Great, 72–3, 82
Pottery: Black and Red Ware, 42, 43
Harappan, 8, 12, 13, 14
Northern Black Polished, 51–2
Ochre Glazed, 37
Painted Grey Ware, 42, 43
Roman, 121–3
Prabhakara-Vardhana, father of Harsha, 162
Prabhavati, daughter of Chandra-Gupta II & Vakataka queen, 142
Prambanam, Java, 194
Prasad, Rajendra, President, 472, 482
Prasenajit, 5th C BC King of Koshala, 66, 67
Pratabgarh, Maharashtra, 351
Pratapa-Rudra, 14th c Kakatiya king, 258, 263
Pratihara, ‘gate-keeper’, a rajput dynasty, 202, & see Gurjara-Pratiharas
Prayaga (Allahabad), Uttar Pradesh, 135, 165
President’s/Governor’s Rule, constitutional device, 526, 530, 542, 575, 576–7, 601, 603
Prinsep, James, antiquarian, 87–9, 136
Prithviraj III, 12th c Chahamana ruler of Ajmer, 233–8, 241
Ptolemy, Egyptian geographer, 121
Pudukottai, Tamil Nadu, xxvii
Pulakesin I, founder of Chalukya dynasty, 168
Pulakesin II, 7th c Chalukya king, 168–70, 172
Pundra, Bengal, 165
Pune (Poona), Maharashtra, 86, 338, 352, 354, 368, 402, 405–6, 409, 412, 461
Purana Qila, Delhi, 301
Puranas, ancient Sanskrit texts dealing with genealogies & traditions, 3, 38–9, 42, 46, 79, 89, 135, 148, 152
Purandhar, Treaty of (1665), 353
Puri, Orissa, 213, 219, 271
Purushpura (Peshawar), iii
Pushyamitra of Malwa, 5th c opponent of Guptas, 143
Pushyamitra, 2nd C BC, founder of Shunga dynasty, 105
Quetta, Baluchistan, 181
Quilon, Kerala, 276
Quit India Movement of 1942, 498–9, 504
Qutb Minar, Delhi, 142, 240–1
Qutb-ud-din Aybak, first Delhi sultan, 240, 244
Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque, Delhi, 240–1, 259
Radcliffe, Sir Cyril, judge, 507–8
Rae Bareli, UP 552, 574, 583
Raffles, Thomas Stamford, Lieut-Governor of Java, 415
Raghu, King of Ayodhya, 152, 170
Raghunath Rao, 18th c Maratha peshwa, 403, 405–6, 408
Rai Dynasty of Sind, 182
Rai, Lala Lajpat, Arya Samaj leader, 467
Raichur Doab, between Kistna & Tungabhadra Rivers in Andhra Pradesh, 283, 303
Rajanya, clan leadership, 32, 35, 36, 52
Rajaraja I, 10th c Chola king, 215–9, 220, 222
Rajaram, 17th c Maratha ruler, 356, 357
Rajasthan, 130, 131, 137, 169, 196–7, 231–4, 233, 238, 270, 287, 295, 313–5, 345–6, 360, 411
Rajasuya, royal consecration ritual, 46
Rajendra I, 11th c Chola king, 214, 216–23
Rajgir (Rajagriha), Bihar, 51, 62, 64, 66, 67
rajputs, 53, 196–7, 206, 227–30, 231–4, 237–8, 256–7, 284, 295, 313–5, 329–30, 345–6, 360, 408, 413
Rajya-Sri, sister of Harsha, queen of Maukharis, 162–4
Rajya-vardhana, brother of Harsha, 162
Ralph, Mr, explorer of Ajanta, 149–50
Rant Lila see Ramayana
Rama Raja, 17th c Vijayanagar king, 307
Rama, King of Ayodhya, xxvii, 39, 44, 45, 46, 102, 597–8
Rama-Chandra, 13–14th c Seuna king of Devagiri, 254–5, 257
Rama-Gupta, 4th c Gupta king, 141