February, 24, 1568. FALL OF CHITOD AND SLAUGHTER OF 30,000 CAPTIVE HINDU PEASANTS
Despite nearly five centuries of Muslim occupation of India, Rajasthan in 1567 CE was still almost entirely Hindu. Akbar infiltrated the area by marrying into Rajasthan’s ruling houses and by steadily capturing various forts on the eastern fringe of Rajputana. But the senior house of Rajasthan, Rana of Mewar proudly refused any alliance with Mughals.
Akbar’s army started a campaign for Chitod in 1567. Rana of Mewar, Uday Singh left his capital, the great fort of Chitod to be defended by 8,000 Rajputs under an excellent commander,Jai Mal, and took himself and his family to the safety of the hills. Akbar arrived on October 24, 1567 and laid a siege of Chitod. Akbar’s huge army’s camp stretched for almost ten miles . Akbar planned two methods of assault -mining and building a ‘sabat’, a structure which provides the invading army a cover of a high wall as it progresses ‘infinitely slowly’ towards the fort wall and tightens the noose around the fort. The mining proved disastrous since an explosion of a mistimed second mine claimed Akbar’s nearly 200 men including some leading nobles.
As the noose of ‘sabat’tightened, Akbar forces lost nearly 200 men a day to musket fire from the fort. Almost four months after the siege, on February 23, 1567, a musket shot fired from the Mughal army killed Jai Mal.
Some chroniclers claim that this shot was fired by Akbar himself. With the death of their leader Jai Mal, the Rajputs for a while lost heart. That night flames leapt to the sky as THOUSANDS OF RAJPUT WOMEN PERFORMED JAUHAR (act of self-immolation, the term is a corruption of Jay Har – meaning Hail Shiva). They preferred jumping into a roaring fire, to being captured by Mughal Akbar. Later events do lend credit to their astute judgement. This was the THIRD JAUHAR IN THE HISTORY OF CHITOD.
Next day the Rajputs under a new young leader Patta Singh donned on the saffron robes – Kesariya, in preparation for a fight to death, flung open the gates of the fort and charged on to the Mughal army.
Patta Singh, his mother and his wife duly died in the ensuing battle as did many Rajput warriors. Later, the victorious Mughal army entered the fort of Chitod. At the time there were 40,000 Hindu peasants and artisans residing on the fort besides the Rajput army.
AKBAR THEN ORDERED A MASSACRE OF ALL THE CAPTURED UNARMED 40,000 HINDUS, some artisans indeed were spared and taken away but THE SLAIN AMOUNTED TO ATLEAST 30,000, Akbar was particularly keen to avenge himself on the thousand musketeers who had done much damage to his troops, but they escaped by the boldest of the tricks. Binding their own women and children, and shoving them roughly along like new captives, the Rajput musketeers successfully passed themselves off as a detachment of the victorious Mughals and so made their way out of the fort
The MASSACRE OF 30,000 CAPTIVE HINDUS AT CHITOD BY AKBAR has left an indelible blot on his name. No such horrors were perpetrated by even the brutal Ala-ud-din Khilji who had captured the fort in 1303 CE. Abul Fazl, Akbar’s court chronicler is at pains in trying to justify this slaughter. In the later period of his rule, Akbar later had statues of Patta and Jai Mal, riding on elephants, installed at the gate of his imperial palace at Agra. Although probably intended as a compliment for their heroism, it was open to misconstruction since in the earlier
history Jai Chand had placed a similar statue of Prithvi Raj Chauhan at the gate of his palace (as a Dwarpal) at the Swayamvar of his daughter Sanyogita.
Sir Thomas Roe, an Englishman who visited Chitod some fifty yearsl ater, found the fort deserted. In fact, it remained a firm tenet of Mughal policy throughout the next century that fortifications of Chitod, which till then was the capital of the then strongest Hindu Rana, should remain unrepaired, perhaps as a lesson to Hindus who dared to take on the Mughals
Rana Pratap Singh of Mewar, son of Rana Uday Singh, kept the Rajput resistance to Akbar alive and tried to reclaim the glory of Chitod.
The Battle of Karnal was a decisive victory for Nader Shah the emperor of Persia during his invasion of India. Shah’s forces defeated the army of Muhammad Shah, the Mughal emperor, paving the way for the sack of Delhi by the Persians.
The battle took place at Karnal, 110 km (70 miles) north of Delhi, India. Muhammad and his army were defeated soundly. Nadir’s army consisted of about 55,000 troops, and Muhammad’s army is said to have numbered approximately 150,000 and not 15,000 as noted by several modern revisionists. This is because of the large number of military losses that was greater than the latter number. It is said that Indians were using war elephants in battle which had long blades on their trunk and were taught to wave them at enemy.
When Nadir Shah was told about this he ordered some camels to be put in front of the Iranian Army with pots full of oil on them. When the battle started he ordered to the pots to be lit aflame, and after some period of time the heat annoyed the camels who began baying and sprinting towards the enemy, which frightened the war elephants whom turned around and charged back at their own army killing many while running away. The camels themselves when brought down lit up the ground and burned many Indian troops as well further depleting the already crippled Indian army
Within three hours, clearly outmanoeuvred by the Iranians the great Mughal forces had suffered heavy losses and over 20,000 combatants had been killed or wounded but the Persian army lost very few combatants. The rest of the Mughal Indian army was scattered. Muhammad Shah was captured and taken hostage.
On 11 March Nadir Shah entered with him into Delhi, two weeks after the battle, and massacred its inhabitants seizing amongst other treasures the famous Peacock Throne of Shah Jahan and the Koh-i-noor diamond
KOH-I-NOOR “Mountain of Light”
First mentioned in 1304, it weighed 186 carats and was an oval cut stone. is the longest of all famous diamonds. It was captured by the Rajahs of Malwa in the sixteenth century by the Mogul, Sultan Babur and remained in the possession of later Mogul emperors. It may have been set in the famous Peacock Throne made for Shah Jehan. After the break-up of the Persian empire the diamond found its way to India. It may have traveled to Afghanistan with a bodyguard of Nadir Shah, who fled with the stone when the Shah was murdered, to be later offered to Ranjit Singh of the Punjab in exchange for military help (which was never delivered). After fighting broke out between the Sikhs and the British, The East India Company claimed the diamond as a partial indemnity, and then presented it to Queen Victoria in 1850. When the stone came from India, it weighed l986 carats; it was later recut to l08.93 carats. It was first worn by the Queen in a brooch. It was later set in the State Crown, worn by Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary, and 1937 was worn for by Queen Elizabeth for her coronation. It is kept in the Tower of London, with the other Crown Jewels.
February 24 1945 – Egyptian Premier Ahmed Maher Pasha is killed in Parliament after reading a decree.
Ahmed Maher Pasha was the Prime Minister of Egypt from October 10, 1944 to February 24, 1945. He was a member of the Saadist Institutional Party and was appointed Prime Minister following the removal of Mustafa an-Nahhas Pasha by King Farouk.
After assuming power he called for new elections and opposed the candidacies of members of the Muslim Brotherhood, against whom he had declared a fatwa. All Muslim Brotherhood members were defeated in what were widely considered to be unfair elections.* Maher then declared war against the Axis Powers in World War II, primarily to gain a diplomatic advantage at the end of the war (which was seen as imminent).* Immediately after his announcement, Maher was assassinated at parliament by 28-year-old Mustafa Essawy. Although it was assumed that Essawy was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, he later confessed that he was actually a member of the Wafd Party instead.
Maher then declared war against the Axis Powers in World War II, primarily to gain a diplomatic advantage at the end of the war which was seen as imminenT
Now thats a slimey move
Although Egypt was technically neutral, Cairo soon became a major military base for the British forces leading up to World War II. This was because of a 1936 treaty by which the United Kingdom maintained that it had the right to station troops on Egyptian soil in order to protect the Suez Canal.
At this time Egypt was ruled by King Farouk of Egypt, from 1936 until 1952. During the hardships of World War II, criticism was leveled at Farouk for his lavish lifestyle. His decision to keep all the lights burning at his palace in Alexandria, during a time when the city was under blackout due to Italian bombing, particularly angered some. The royal Italian servants of Farouk were not interned and there is an unconfirmed story that Farouk had told Sir Miles Lampson, “I’ll get rid of my Italians, when you get rid of yours.” This remark was a reference to the ambassador’s Italian wife.
After the war, King Farouk brought large numbers of German military and intelligence personnel and ranking ex-Nazis to Egypt as “advisors”. The Germans realized Farouk’s political weakness and began conspiring with Nasser and the Free Officers Movement who were also working closely with the Muslim Brotherhood, to overthrow Farouk, which finally happened in 1952. This move infuriated the British, who had been training and assisting the Egyptian Army since the creation of the Kingdom of Egypt in 1922. In 1943, the British Army surrounded the Abdeen Palace and threatened to overthrow the government after there were reports that King Farouk openly supported the German Army.
February 24, 1981: Four people were wounded by Islamic jihadists who fired into a group of passengers at the Fiumicino airport in Rome. Security forces arrested a Libyan and three Algerian Muslims. The Libyan told police, “I am a fighter in the Libyan Revolution and our action was directed against an enemy of Colonel Qadhafi.” He added that the target of the shooting was a Libyan doctor, Ada Garief, but airport officials said he was listed on the flight from Algeria.
One of the wounded who was a Lebanese citizen was in critical condition. The other three victims were Libyans.
February 24, 1986: A Muslim man parked an explosives-laden car next to a truck belonging to French members of a UN observation team monitoring the truce in Beirut. The jihadist walked away and within minutes the car exploded killing five people and injuring 20 more. The ensuing blast destroyed 15 vehicles in the Sin Fil district.
February 24, 1989 – Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini offers a USD $3 million bounty for the death of The Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie.
February 24, 1991: One person was wounded when a bomb exploded at a Swedish humanitarian agency in Peshawar, Pakistan.
February 24, 1998: Muslim militants associated with Osama Bin Laden issued a fatwa, or Islamic religious edict, that justified attacks on U.S. civilians anywhere in the world.
February 24,1999: Lawrence report blasts ‘racist’ police
Mr Straw’s response “The publication of today’s report on the killing of Stephen Lawrence is a very important day in the history of our country,”
Mr Blair said. “It will certainly lead to new laws but more than that it will bring a new era of race relations.
February 24, 2001: Shots were fired at an Israeli bus in Neve Deqalim. It was the second attack in as many days.
February 24, 2001: In Turkey, a pipe bomb was thrown at the ATM of a Finansbank in the Levent neighborhood of Istanbul. It was one of many such attacks at this time.
On This Day Since 9/11
February 24, 2002: Gombi, Nigeria. A young Christian woman is kidnapped by four Muslim men, who slit her throat and leave her to die.February 24, 2003: Rai Sehot, India. Four civilians are gunned down by the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen in their village.
February 24, 2003: Ghulam Hussain, Pakistan. Muslim militants are suspected in the murder of two tribesmen on a road.February 24, 2004: Yala, Thailand. Two Buddhist monks are hacked to death while begging for food in a Muslim neighborhood. Another is seriously injured in the machete attack.
February 24, 2004: Khatoun Abad, Iran. Two mine workers are cut down by government troops at a peaceful demonstration.
February 24, 2004: Khaldiya, Iraq. Car bombing kills three U.S. soldiers and injures six others. Two other soldiers were killed in a separate bombing west of Fallujah.
February 24, 2004: Samarrah, Iraq. Roadside bombing in the Sunni Triangle kills four Iraqi civilians and injures another thirty-six people..February 24, 2005: Dagestan, Untsukul. Two men sitting in a car are machine-gunned to death by Islamic separatists.
February 24, 2005: Tikrit, Iraq. Islamic suicide bomber drives an explosive-packed vehicle into a police compound, killing fifteen and leaving another two dozen in various stages of agony.
February 24, 2005: Iskandariya, Iraq. A young girl is among the three people killed by a Sunni car bombing. Eight others are injured, two critically.
February 24, 2005: Yala, Thailand. Muslim terrorists kill seven people over a two day stretch that includes a Buddhist grocery store owner and a village chief.
February 24, 2005: Chakul, Afghanistan. The Taliban ambush and murder nine Afghan police officers.
February 24, 2005: Srinagar, India. The Mujahideen kill five people and injure at least two others in a suicide assault on a government building in the region’s capital.
Slumped in grief, a Muslim cleric leads funeral prayers for his son—militant leader Shariq Bakshi—killed by Indian security troops. Some call Kashmir’s insurgents mujahidin, holy warriors for Islam. Other call them criminals, whose victims—of kidnapping, extortion, and rape—are often other Kashmiris. 
February 24, 2006: Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia. Two oil refinery guards are killed defending the plant against suicide bombers.
February 24, 2006: Girishk, Afghanistan. Taliban fundamentalists ambush and kill four Afghan soldiers
February 24, 2006: Kontagora, Nigeria. Machete-wielding Muslims hack nine Christians apart and set fire to four churches.
February 24, 2006: Potiskum, Nigeria. At least four Christians are clubbed to death by a Muslim mob, and five churches burned.
February 24, 2007: Pattani, Thailand. A 28-year-old civilian is gunned down by Muslim militants in front of his home.
February 24, 2006: Baghdad, Iraq. Multiple Jihad attacks leave about two dozen people dead.
Febuary 24 2007 BAGHDAD- A suicide truck bomber sent a deadly storm of metal, stone and jagged plaster through worshippers leaving a Sunni mosque Saturday, killing at least 39 in a possible sign of escalating internal Sunni battles between insurgents and those who oppose them.
The motive for the attack was not immediately clear. But it carried the hallmarks of an increasingly bloody struggle for control of Anbar province ¡ª a hotbed of anti-U.S. guerrillas since the uprising in Fallujah in 2004 that galvanized the insurgency.
U.S. military envoys and pro-government leaders have worked hard to sway clan chiefs and other influential Anbar figures to turn against the militants, who include foreign jihadists fighting under the banner of al-Qaida in Iraq. The extremists have fought back with targeted killings and bombings against fellow Sunnis.
The blast in Habbaniyah in the heart of insurgent territory about 50 miles west of Baghdad was among the deadliest against civilians in Anbar.
The imam of the mosque had spoken out against extremists most recently in this Friday’s sermon, residents said. Many people in the neighborhood work for the Iraqi military and police forces, who frequently come under militant attack.
The truck, filled with building materials such as stone and plaster board, was blown apart as worshippers left following mid-afternoon prayers.
Febuary 24 2008: Baghdad, Iraq, Three Shia pilgrims are killed when Sunni gunmen attack their procession
Febuary 24 2008: Garmabak, Afghanistan. The Taliban are suspected in an assassination attempt on a local official that leaves three people dead.
Febuary 24 2008: Mosul, Iraq. Two electrical workers are blown apart in an IED attack on their vehicle.
Febuary 24 2008: Dinsoor, Somalia. Islamic militias attack a small town, killing eighteen local defenders.
Febuary 24 2008: Iskandariyah, Iraq. A suicidal Sunni blasts more than sixty Shia pilgrims to death as they are resting from their journey in a tent
Febuary 24 2008: Tablat, Algeria. A village guard is gunned down by Islamic fundamentalists.
Febuary 24 2008: Qadirabad, Pakistan. Islamic militants attack a group of local police, killing three.Febuary 24 2009: Mogadishu, SomaliAt least 15 people have been killed and 90 injured during the fiercest fighting in the Somali capital Mogadishu since a new president was elected last month.The battle focused on the south of the city, with rebels firing mortars at the presidential palace and a base for African Union and government troops.
It came as Eritrea said all foreign troops must leave Somalia if national reconciliation was to be achieved. Meanwhile Burundi vowed to send more peacekeepers to the AU mission
Burundian Defence Minister Lt Gen Germain Niyoyankana told Radio France Internationale they planned to reinforce their presence with a battalion of 850 men as soon as possible. The minister said his government would not be deterred by Sunday’s suicide attack – claimed by the radical al-Shabab group – which left 11 Burundian peacekeepers dead at a barracks in Mogadishu.
Febuary 24 2009: Mindanao (restive south), Philippines. Philippine troops have killed at least 11 rebels and wounded dozens in running battles in the restive south of the country, a military spokesman said.Five soldiers also died in the fighting in Bukidnon province on the island of Mindanao, the official said. A base belonging to the guerrilla, group the New People’s Army (NPA) was captured, said Maj Michelle Anayron
The NPA is one of several armed groups battling government troops in the south of the country. “Our troops fought hard to gain control of the communist rebel base,” Maj Anayron was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying.
ILLUSTRATED P.I.G TO ISLAM 