Textbook
Our Pasts I, II & III (Classes 6–8)
The simplest possible start: short, illustrated and the base of countless exam questions.
Raja Ravi Varma
Artist / musician
Travancore
1848 – 1906
Painter of Indian mythological subjects in oils.
Their world
Move along the chart to see their age in any year, who ruled and what happened; click anything to open it.
The map shows Travancore around their lifetime and where the events of their lifetime took place.
Hover a dot for the event; click it to open the full map in that year.
Rulers of the time
Kujula Kadphises
Emperor, Kushan Empire · c. 30 CE – c. 80 CE
Vima Taktu
Emperor, Kushan Empire · c. 80 CE – c. 95 CE
Huvishka
Emperor, Kushan Empire · c. 150 CE – c. 190 CE
Yajna Sri Satakarni
King, Satavahana Empire · c. 170 CE – c. 199 CE
Vasudeva I
Emperor, Kushan Empire · c. 190 CE – c. 230 CE
Sri Gupta
Maharaja, Gupta Empire · c. 240 CE – c. 280 CE
Mahasena
King, Anuradhapura Kingdom · c. 274 CE – c. 301 CE
Ghatotkacha
Maharaja, Gupta Empire · c. 280 CE – c. 319 CE
Chandragupta I
Maharajadhiraja, Gupta Empire · c. 319 CE – c. 335 CE
Samudragupta
Maharajadhiraja, Gupta Empire · c. 335 CE – c. 375 CE
Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya)
Maharajadhiraja, Gupta Empire · c. 375 CE – c. 415 CE
Kumaragupta I
Maharajadhiraja, Gupta Empire · c. 415 CE – c. 455 CE
Skandagupta
Maharajadhiraja, Gupta Empire · c. 455 CE – c. 467 CE
Dhatusena
King, Anuradhapura Kingdom · c. 455 CE – c. 473 CE
Budhagupta
Maharajadhiraja, Gupta Empire · c. 477 CE – c. 495 CE
Kashyapa I
King, Anuradhapura Kingdom · c. 477 CE – c. 495 CE
Pulakeshin I
King, Chalukyas of Badami · c. 543 CE – c. 566 CE
Kirtivarman I
King, Chalukyas of Badami · c. 566 CE – c. 597 CE
Simhavishnu
King, Pallava Dynasty · c. 575 CE – c. 600 CE
Prabhakaravardhana
King, Pushyabhuti (Vardhana) Dynasty · c. 580 CE – c. 605 CE
Mangalesha
King, Chalukyas of Badami · c. 597 CE – c. 609 CE
Mahendravarman I
King, Pallava Dynasty · c. 600 CE – c. 630 CE
Rajyavardhana
King, Pushyabhuti (Vardhana) Dynasty · 605 CE – 606 CE
Harshavardhana
Emperor, Pushyabhuti (Vardhana) Dynasty · 606 CE – 647 CE
Events in their lifetime
| 1848 | Doctrine of Lapse applied to Satara Satara was annexed because its ruler died without a natural heir. |
| 1849 | Punjab annexed The Sikh Empire ended and Maharaja Duleep Singh was pensioned off. |
| 1853 | First passenger railway: Bombay to Thane |
| 1855 | Santhal Hul (rebellion) Suppressed in 1856; the Santhal Parganas district was created. |
| 1856 | Awadh annexed Wajid Ali Shah was deposed on the charge of misgovernance. |
| 1856 | Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act Remarriage of Hindu widows was legalised. |
| 1857 | Revolt of 1857 begins at Meerut The revolt was suppressed by 1858 and Company rule was ended. |
| 1857 | Mangal Pandey's attack at Barrackpore Mangal Pandey was hanged; his regiment was disbanded. |
| 1857 | Rebels proclaim Bahadur Shah Zafar emperor Delhi became the centre of the revolt until retaken in September 1857. |
| 1858 | Government of India Act — Crown rule begins The Crown took over India, governed by a Viceroy and a Secretary of State. |
| 1858 | Rani Lakshmibai falls at Gwalior |
| 1859 | Indigo revolt in Bengal The Indigo Commission of 1860 ended forced indigo cultivation. |
| 1869 | Birth of Mahatma Gandhi |
| 1872 | First census of British India |
| 1875 | Arya Samaj and Aligarh (MAO) College founded |
| 1876 | Indian Association founded |
| 1877 | Delhi Durbar: Victoria proclaimed Empress of India |
| 1878 | Second Anglo-Afghan War |
| 1878 | Vernacular Press Act Indian-language newspapers were curbed; repealed in 1881. |
| 1883 | Ilbert Bill controversy European opposition forced the bill to be diluted, stirring Indian nationalism. |
| 1885 | Indian National Congress founded It became the principal organisation of the freedom movement. |
| 1887 | Maldives becomes a British protectorate |
| 1893 | Durand Line agreed The frontier between British India and Afghanistan was fixed. |
| 1899 | Birsa Munda's Ulgulan Birsa died in custody in 1900; the Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act followed in 1908. |
| 1905 | Swadeshi movement launched Boycott of British goods and promotion of Indian industry. |
| 1905 | Partition of Bengal It triggered the Swadeshi movement and was annulled in 1911. |
| 1906 | All-India Muslim League founded |
Contemporaries
Sorted by how long their lives overlapped. The bar shows when, within Raja Ravi Varma’s life.
Dadabhai Naoroji
Freedom fighter · 1825 – 1917
The 'Grand Old Man of India' who formulated the drain theory
Overlap: 58 years
Allan Octavian Hume
Statesman / administrator · 1829 – 1912
Retired civil servant who helped found the Indian National Congress
Overlap: 58 years
W. C. Bonnerjee
Freedom fighter · 1844 – 1906
First President of the Indian National Congress
Overlap: 58 years
Annie Besant
Freedom fighter · 1847 – 1933
Theosophist who launched a Home Rule League in 1916
Overlap: 58 years
Surendranath Banerjea
Freedom fighter · 1848 – 1925
Founder of the Indian Association in 1876
Overlap: 58 years
Jamsetji Tata
Statesman / administrator · 1839 – 1904
Founder of the Tata Group
Overlap: 56 years
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan
Social reformer · 1817 – 1898
Founder of the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh
Overlap: 50 years
Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Freedom fighter · 1856 – 1920
Declared 'Swaraj is my birthright' and edited the Kesari
Overlap: 50 years
Sree Narayana Guru
Social reformer · 1856 – 1928
Kerala reformer who preached 'One caste, one religion, one God'
Overlap: 50 years
Savitribai Phule
Social reformer · 1831 – 1897
Pioneer of women's education who opened a girls' school in Pune
Overlap: 49 years
Bipin Chandra Pal
Freedom fighter · 1858 – 1932
Swadeshi leader, the 'Pal' of Lal-Bal-Pal
Overlap: 48 years
Pandita Ramabai
Social reformer · 1858 – 1922
Scholar who founded the Mukti Mission for women
Overlap: 48 years
Jagadish Chandra Bose
Scientist / mathematician · 1858 – 1937
Pioneer of radio science and plant physiology
Overlap: 48 years
Nana Sahib
Freedom fighter · born 1824
Adopted heir of Baji Rao II who led the 1857 revolt at Kanpur
Overlap: 46 years
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
Poet / writer · 1838 – 1894
Author of Anandamath, which contains Vande Mataram
Overlap: 46 years
Alexander Cunningham
Scholar / historian · 1814 – 1893
Founder of the Archaeological Survey of India
Overlap: 45 years
Rabindranath Tagore
Poet / writer · 1861 – 1941
First Asian Nobel laureate (Literature, 1913)
Overlap: 45 years
Motilal Nehru
Freedom fighter · 1861 – 1931
Author of the Nehru Report of 1928
Overlap: 45 years
Madan Mohan Malaviya
Freedom fighter · 1861 – 1946
Founder of Banaras Hindu University
Overlap: 45 years
M. Visvesvaraya
Scientist / mathematician · 1861 – 1962
Engineer and Diwan of Mysore whose birthday is Engineers' Day
Overlap: 45 years
Prafulla Chandra Ray
Scientist / mathematician · 1861 – 1944
Chemist who founded Bengal Chemicals
Overlap: 45 years
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
Social reformer · 1820 – 1891
Campaigned for the Widow Remarriage Act of 1856
Overlap: 43 years
Lalon Fakir
Poet / writer · c. 1774 – c. 1890
Baul mystic poet of Bengal
Overlap: 42 years
Jyotirao Phule
Social reformer · 1827 – 1890
Founder of the Satyashodhak Samaj
Overlap: 42 years
📚 Recommended reading
Textbook
Themes in Indian History, Parts I–III (Class 12)
Source-based chapters on Harappa, Vijayanagara, the Mughal court and 1857 — essential for UPSC.
Textbook
India and the Contemporary World I & II (Classes 9–10)
Nationalism in Europe and India, the French Revolution and the making of a global world.
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