Chhatrapati Shivaji 1974 India Stamp

Chhatrapati Shivaji was crowned on this day in 1674: Remembering the Maratha king

A fierce warrior, the unifier of the Hindus, and the Mughals' worst enemy, Chhatrapati Shivaji was a valiant king and a secular ruler who respected all religions equally. Shivaji was crowned on this day in 1674.

Shivaji Bhonsle, venerated in Maharashtra as the father of “the Maratha nation”, was born in 1627 into a family of Maratha bureaucrats. His father, Shahji, was the jagirdar of the Sultan of Ahmadnagar2 in Pune, but he shifted his allegiance to the Sultan of Bijapur; Shivaji’s mother, Jiji Bai, was devoted to her son, particularly after her husband took a second wife. This was not the only time that Shahji shifted his loyalties: when the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan decided to lead his forces into the Deccan, then rest all history 

Shivaji’s coronation in 1674 as Chhatrapati, or “Lord of the Universe”, constitutes the next pivotal chapter in his biography. It was in part to mark his independence from the Mughals, and to repudiate his formal relation to them of a feudatory, that Shivaji had himself crowned, but the very gesture of defiance points to the fact that he recognized the overwhelming power of the Mughals. Moreover, as a Shudra or low-caste person, Shivaji had perforce to enact some ceremony by means of which he could be raised to the status of a kshatriya or traditional ruler.

To this end, he enlisted the services of Gagga Bhatta, a famous Brahmin from Benares, who did the Brahminical thing in falsely certifying that Shivaji’s ancestors were kshatriyas descended from the solar dynasty of Mewar. 11,000 Brahmins are reported to have chanted the Vedas, and another 50,000 men are said to have been present at the investiture ceremony, which concluded with chants of, “Shivaji Maharaj-ki-jai!”

The greater majority of the historians of previous generations and other scholars who have written on Shivaji have supposed that his battles with Aurangzeb, as well as his coronation, cannot be read as other than clear signs of his unrelenting hatred for Muslims and his desire to be considered a great Hindu monarch. But it is not at all transparent, as some recent work suggests, that his conflicts with Aurangzeb should be read through the lens of a communalist-minded history, where all conflicts are construed as the inevitable battle between Islam and Hinduism.

It is precisely to thwart the communalist interpretations of Shivaji that Nehru made the pointed remark, in his Discovery of India, that “Shivaji, though he fought Aurangzeb, freely employed Muslims”. The first Pathan unit joined Shivaji’s forces in 1658, and one of his trusted commanders who was present at Shivaji’s encounter with Afzal Khan was a Muslim, Didi Ibrahim. There is nothing to suggest that the animosity between the Shia rulers of Bijapur and the Sunni Mughal Emperors was of a different order than the conflict between the Hindu Shivaji and Aurangzeb, who were locked in battle over political power and economic resources. It is also a telling fact that, after the coronation, Shivaji struck a military alliance with the Muslim leader Abul Hasan, the Qutb Shah Sultan, and together they waged a campaign against Shivaji’s own half-brother, Vyankoji Bhonsle.

Department of Posts released a commemorative postage stamp during the  celebrations of 300th Anniversary of Coronation

Issued Date : 02. 06.1974
Denomination : 25 Paise

Tipu Sultan 1974 India Stamp

Tipu Sultan was a A brave warrior and  ruler of Mysore, Commonly  know  Tiger  of  Mysore. He was the most powerful of all the native princes of India and the greatest threat to the English position in southern India.

Tipu was born at Devanhalli, the son of Haidar Ali. Himself illiterate, Haidar was very particular in giving his eldest son a prince's education and a very early exposure to military and political affairs. From the age of 17 Tipu was given independent charge of important diplomatic and military missions. He was his father's right arm in the wars from which Haidar emerged as the most powerful ruler of southern India.

But People in Malabar, Mangalore and Coorg loved to hate him to such an extent that they joined hands with the British for his doom. This helped the British in winning the fourth Anglo Mysore War. He lost his sons in the third war and his own life in the fourth one.

A brave warrior, breathed  his last  on 4 May 1799 (aged 48) Srirangapatna,  present-day Mandya, Karnataka while fighting the British forces in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War. Tipu himself fought bravely, dressed in his finest, loading and firing muskets handed him by his servants as if he was at a sporting shoot, but the odds were too great. He was wounded and his staff tried to hurry him away in a palanquin, but he was killed for his jewellery by an unidentified British soldier. 

The British Army's National Army Museum ranked Tipu Sultan among the greatest enemy commanders the British Army ever faced.

Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, the former President of India, called Tipu Sultan the innovator of the world's first war rocket.

Department of Posts honoured him by releasing a commemorative postage stamp on tiger of Mysore

Issued Date : 15.07.1974
Denomination :50 Paise

Sri Utkal Gourav Madhusudan Das 1974 India Stamp

The pride of Orissa Sri Madhusudan Das was born on 28th April in the year 1848 in Satyabhamapur which is about just 20 km from Cuttack of Orissa. The main thing about him that he was the first graduate of Orissa and the first advocate of Orissa. So he was awarded with a prestigious name that "Utkal Gourav". So the name of Madhusudan Das became Utkal Gourav Madhusudan Das
Choudhury Raghunath Das is the father of Madhusudan Das. Parbati Debi is the mother of Madhusudan Das. The childhood name of Madhusudan Das was "Gobindaballabh". But after some years his father and mother changed his name and his name became Madhusudan Das.

Madhusudan Das started his primary school career from his village school. After the completion of his primary school career he started his High School career in Cuttack High School which is known as Ravenshaw Collegiate School now in the year 1864. After the completion of his high school career he gave an entrance and started his higher secondary education in Kolkata University of Kolkata. He stayed there about fifteen years. In the year 1870 he became the first graduate of Orissa. After getting the bachelor degree he continued his study to complete his master degree and also his B.L. degrees. So he was a scholar student of Orissa.

After the completion of his B.L. degrees he returned to his birth place Orissa in the year 1881 and started his legal practice.

He became a popular person among Oriyapeoples. Many common people of Orissa called his as "Madhu Babu". He was not only a lawyer but he was also a social reformer and a patriot. He was the founder of "Utkal Sammilani" which brought the revolution in the social development of Orissa.

He was also the first Oriya who was the member of Legislative Council and also in Central Legislative Assembly. He was the first Oriya to sail overseas and also the first Indian Minister. 

He is also the founder of "Utkal Tannery" which was a production industry of shoes and other leather products which was built in the year 1905. 

He was also a best Oriya writer who have been written many famous articles and poems in both Oriya and English language. The famous poems of Madhusudan Das are : Jati Itihash, Utkal Santan, Jananira Ukti etc.

On 4th February 1934 he breathed  his  last but  his  writings are still motivation for the young writers 

Department of Posts honoured him by releasing a commemorative postage stamp

Issued Date : 03.07.1974
Denomination : 25 Paise