CULTURAL QA 01-2024-03 All the BELOW THREE QA arefrom Quora digest to me on 03-01-2024.
Quora answers need not be 100% correct answers .Compiled and posted byR. Gopala krishnan, on 03-01-2024 Q1 What are some facts about India thatIndians are generally unaware of? A1 Naman Chakraborty, Regular Indian Updated6y Unfortunately,most of the Indian history in our Text Books, comes from our invaders. A biggertragedy is the continued propagation of it by our lazy historians. There’s more to Indian Historythan Morley Minto reforms and the Razia Sultan’s horse. Here are afew facts that many Indians are generally unaware of: 1.) That howMartial Arts and Zen buddhism were foundedin China by an Indian? - Bodhidharma, a Pallava princefrom Kanchipuram in Southern India[1] , went on to become the first patriarchof the Chan Buddhism[2] in China, who established what we now know as the Shaolin temple and Kung-Fu[3]. He arrivedin China after 382 AD and is identified as the 28th Patriarch of Buddhism[4]. Today, there are major templesand sites dedicated to Bodhidharma all over China, Tibet, Malaysia and Japan.Many movies and documentaries have been made in China and Japan on his life andtimes[5]. The onlypeople perhaps who have forgotten him are we, Indians. 2.) That how theBritishers took away the control of India from the Marathas and not the Mughals - Can you name the war that the Mughals foughtagainst the British? You cannot becausethere was none. When Robert Clive defeated the Nawab of Bengal in the Battle ofPlassey[6]to put the foundation stone of the British Empire, the Mughal EmperorAlamgir II, was a 58 year old puppet[7], put to the throne by the MightyMarathas and kingmaker Imad-ul-Mulk[8] Yes, Marathasand not Mughals were the dominant power, when the British entered India.Marathas ruled over an Empire larger than that of Akbar, dominating India forover 75 years, and we wouldn’t even have known about Bajirao, had there notbeen that Bollywood Movie by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. There was a famous saying (Kahawat) for theMughal Emperor Shah Alam II who reigned soon after Alamgir II - Sultanat-e-ShahAlam, Az Dilli ta Palam, meaning, 'The kingdom of Shah Alam is from Delhi to Palam', Palam beinga suburb of Delhi. TheMughal kings that came after Shah Alam were mere pensioners under the Britishrule and weren’t the dominating force they are pictured to be. The Britishhad to face the Mighty Marathas and not the Mughals in the first major war forthe control of the Indian Sub-continent - The Anglo Maratha War in 1775–82,which ended up in the Surrender of the British Troops[9]It took the conceit,treachery, manipulation and 44 long years of war against the Marathas forBritishers to finally consolidate the British Empire in India. 3.) That why wasthere a 150 year gap between Md. Ghazni and Md Ghori’s invasion into India? - Because of the Great Battle of Bahraich[10] (nearpresent day Lucknow) where the huge and undefeated invading armies of Ghaznavidgeneral Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masud facedthe much smaller army lead by Dalit King Suhal Dev Pasi on 1033–34 AD. It was aclean sweep for Suhal Dev, with almost every member of the invading turk armykilled or captured. Salar Masud himself was killed and buried along with hishorses near the battlefield, where his Mazar stands till this day. The defeatleft the invaders shell shocked and ensured that no one dared come back toIndia for the next 150 years. The Indian History might not have given importanceto King Suhal Dev Pasi, but the invaders did 300 years ago and the folk songsof the Pasi community still do to this day, singing the events of the GreatBattle of Bahraich. 4.) That how theAhoms of present day Assam were responsible for the downfall of the MightyMughals? - If you’renot from the North-East of India, it is highly possible that you’ve never heard about the famous Battleof Saraighat[11]. Itwas a battle fought in 1671 between the Powerful Mughal army of EmperorAurangzeb and a much smaller army of the Kingdom of Ahom, led by the inspiringand tactful commander Lachit Borphukan Knowing verywell that he was facing a much larger army, Lachit Borphukan devised aningenious plan which involved drawing the attackers to Saraighat, where Brahmaputra was narrow, andthe river bank was surrounded by Hills. The approaching Mughal army onboats was completely decimated by the Ahom army with Archers hidden in the hillsand just 7 war boats in the waters. The Battle ofSaraighat became the first major defeat for the Mughals since Humayun’sbanishment to Persia and led to the eventual downfall of the MughaliaSultanate. Every year,the best passing out cadet of National Defence Academy is conferred the LachitBorphukan gold medal during the Antim Pag ceremony. 5.) That howMarthanda Varma of Travancore, defeated the mightiest empire of the day, and isthe reason why I am not writing this article in Dutch language today? - We’venever been taught in our history text books about the Battle of Colachel, which taught the DutchEast India Company, the mightiest power of the time, a lesson so hard, that itnever dared to return to India again. When theDutch governor of Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Gustaff Willem Van Imhoff met Varma andthreatened to invade Travancore, Marthanda Varma responded in the following words - “I have beenthinking of invading Europe some day as well." On February4, 1741, the Dutch forces launched an assault hoping to unseat Varma. Inresponse, Marthanda Varma’s army surrounded the attackers and laid a siegecutting down their supply lines. The siege ended on August 5, 1741, with an unconditional surrender[12] ofall the Dutch forces. The Dutch East India Company commander and hislieutenant were captured and later employed to train and modernise the Army ofTravancore and build forts. The Dutch signedthe treaty of Mavellikara, formalising their defeat. Note: The Dutchtrained Travancore Army was later absorbed into the Indian Army and formed the9th Battalion of the Madras Regiment.The battalion still celebrates July 31 every year as Colachel Day[13] My note- DutchEast India company and the dutch trained Travancore are new information to methough Kolachel battle was learnt in middle school. 6.) That howthere is almost no evidence of Ashoka becoming a pacifist after the Kalingawar? - Accordingto the famous Sri lankanchronicle, Ashokavadana[14] , which is the basis for most historians andliterary figures writing on him, Ashoka accepted buddhism much beforethe start of the Kalinga War and went on with major massacres of Jains andAjivikas even after the said War. In fact the Ashokan edicts and decrees[15] thatare the only official evidence of his renunciation actually start with adescription of his sorry heart for killing so many Kalingans but goes on tothreaten anyone who dares to go against him with the same violent retribution. Ashoka wenton to see the decline of his Empire within his lifetime[16] and was almostforgotten by the Indian History and folklore until the advent of the British. 7.) That how theIndian Navy is also responsible for theIndependance of India - Following theend of World War II, the returning sailors of the Indian Navy, angry with thecolonial power, revolted and took control of the Bombay city[17] . They werebattle hardened professionals in control of some of the most sophisticatednaval weaponry and organised themselves using the radio wireless system undertheir control. The revolting sailors elected M.S. Khan[18] as their presidentand Madan Singh the vice-president of their struggle. The ever dependableGorkhas called in to control the mutiny refused to shoot their comrades. The Flagofficer J.H. Godfrey (The Inspiration behind the ‘M’ character in the JamesBond series by Ian Fleming - Thank you K Sivaram for the correction) threatenedthe revolting officers with the then famous line, “Submit or perish”![19] British PrimeMinister Clement Attlee’s Labour Cabinet went into deliberations and concludedthat a colonial control of India was not sustainable any more. The Britishhad to offer incentives and make promises to convince the Revolting Navy men,to surrender. Clement Attlee was forced to immediately announcethe Cabinet Mission to India and hastened the process of independence[20] The membersof the ‘Bombay Mutiny’ (as it was officially called) were not taken back intothe Indian Navy even after the Indian Independence the next year[21] A GaneshChaturthi Idol being taken for Visarjan after the Royal Indian Navy mutiny,1946, Bombay, India. In the end, Iwould like to leave you with 5 questions here below.If you’ve liked what you’ve read so far, a little googling on these questionsmay open your eyes to a completely new dimension in Indian History. Hope youenjoy and share. That how India and not Saudi Arabia has thesecond oldest Mosque in the world? That how theOdias and a few Bengalis ended up colonising Sri lanka? That how Alexander the great and not King Poruslost in the battle? That how theoldest continuously inhabited Christian, Jewish, and Zoroastrian community inthe world, is right here in India? That how India and not the west gave the Irontechnology to the world? Update 1: Acouple of comments suggested appending a video by Mr. Sanjeev Sanyal as thesource. I am afraid, it is not the videos but the Books by Sanjeev Sanyal whichinspired me to work further and do my own research :) All the sources used for the facts used have alreadybeen marked and mentioned. The flow and the write-up is my own. Hope thishelps. Footnotes [1]ZENBUDDHISM | Famous Zen Masters | Bodhidharma [2]Bodhidharmaand Zen [3]TheShaolin Monastery [4]Lineage(Buddhism) - Wikipedia [5]Why HasBodhi-Dharma Left for the East? (1989) [6]Battle ofPlassey: All you should know about this crucial event in the history of India [7]AlamgirII | Mughal emperor [8]"AlamgirII" on Revolvy.com [9]The FirstAnglo-Maratha War, 1774-1783 [10]CriminalGods and Demon Devotees [11]MartialTraditions of North East India [12]By Sweatand Sword [13]- IndianArmy Magazine, Indian Navy Magazine, Indian Air Force Magazine [14]Ashoka |World Library [15]http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/edicts-asoka6.pdf [16]Thisexcerpt from a book demolishes Ashoka’s reputation as pacifist [17] Freedom on the Waves: The IndianNaval Mutiny, 70 Years Later [18]TheSunday Tribune - Spectrum [19]Blueprintto Bluewater, the Indian Navy, 1951-65 [20]Aforgotten mutiny by the navy - The Express Tribune [21]TheSailor Song Of Rebellion My note- Ihave included the twenty one reference books inanswering this question for the satisfaction of one member in the group,condemning the Quora and write personal mails to me MrAPS Mani. Q2 What are some amazing facts of Leonardoda Vinci? A2 Sangram Sagar, Blogger, ContentWriter1y 1 – Da Vinci was the first person to explain why thesky is blue, you know? 2 – The guywas so genius that he could write with one hand while drawing with the other! 3 – In 1508, he was the first person to have the ideaof what we know today as contact lenses; 4 – BillGates bought the Codex Hammer, which is a compilation of texts and drawingsmade by Da Vinci, in 1994, for US$ 30 million. Some of its pages were used as Windows 95 screen savers; 5 – His studieson river erosion convinced him that the Earth was older than the Bible claimedto be; 6 – A facialrecognition software found that Mona Lisa is 83% happy, 9% annoyed, 6% scaredand 2% angry; 7 – Da Vinci is a famous left-hander, besides himwe have Napoleon, Michelangelo, Einstein, Newton, Bill Gates, Oprah and JimiHendrix; Q3 There are 2 possible combinations ofchromosomes: XX and XY. Why is nobody ever born with YY chromosomes? What wouldhappen? Would they be scarily ultra-masculine? If it can't happen, then whynot? A3 Fred Civish, Lifelong Truth Seeker(2020–present)Updated Nov 9( A medical doctor with higher qualifications. Actually, thereare more than two possibilities, although the other possibilities areconsidered to be genetic errors. First off, YY byitself, without an X, never works. There are genes on the X chromosome that are NOT carried onthe Y chromosome and which are absolutely essential for normal function anddevelopment. The X chromosome in men is fully functional and they cannot livewithout it. Inparticular, of the other possibilities, medicine often recognizes: X or X0 (Where the 0 is blank. In other words theydidn’t get the second X chromosome.) This is called TURNER’S SYNDROME. The people with this arrangementare women. It happens to 1 in 2000 to 1 in 5000 women. Physically theyare often just a bit shorter. May have a slightly webbed neck and low set ears.Generally do not menstruate andusually cannot reproduce. XXY This is called Klinefelter’s Syndrome.The people with this are male,though sometimes with slightly feminizing characteristics. Also might bea bit taller and tend to be abit weaker. Usually have smaller, poorly functioningtesticles and are usually infertile. Happensto 1 in 500 to 1 in 1000 men and most of them never know it. XYY Called Jacob’s Syndrome.The people with this are male. Sometimes a bit taller than usual, but mostlyappear normal, and havefairly normal function and fertility. Generally goes unrecognized. XXX Triple X Syndrome.The people with this are female. Often have marginally lower IQs of around 85 to 90 on anaverage. About 1 woman out of every thousand have this and most never know. XY But still female.The people with this carry the Y chromosome but they have a genetic resistance totestosterone, so they develop as females. These fall under the headings ofANDROGEN INSENSITIVITYSYNDROME, and there are a number of variations on this, but one of themost striking is Testicular Feminization Syndrome. TFS is a rare variant, perhaps one women in 50,000,and it often produces girls/women who are strikingly beautiful, and appearphenotypically as female, but fail to develop a uterus or functioning ovaries,so the vagina ends in a blind pouch, without a cervix. Since they don’t have a uterus theynever menstruate, and it is when they reach their mid teen years and are notmenstruating that it is most often discovered. Usually, they have testicles that remain internal, and even though thetesticles are not functioning they are removed through abdominal surgery sincethey have a high tendency to turn cancerous. Here is a picture ofvarious women with different types of Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome. Thesewomen are all XY. 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