Key D
Dadu: was the saint from Gujarat who preached non-sectarianism in medieval times. He founded the "Brahma-Sampardaaya" (the sect of Brahma).
Dalhousie, Lord: is associated with Doctrine of Lapse. He induced English Companies to undertake construction of Railways and Telegraphs.
Dandi March: Dandi is a small village on the sea-shore of Gujarat. It is associated with Mahatma Gandhi's long march on foot from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi. The march started on March 12, 1930 and reached Dandi on April 5. There, he broke the salt laws by picking up salt from the sea. This triggered non-violent civil disobedience movement on a massive scale in the country. Dandi March had no parallel in the history of mankind.
Gandhiji was accompanied among others by Jawahar Lal Nehru and Sarojini Naidu.
Dandin: was Sanskrit prose writer and poet. He is author of Dasa-kumar-charita and Kavyadarsa.
Dara: was one of the sons of Shah Jahan who translated the Upanishads and had great respect for Vedas.
Darius: was the Iranian ruler who penetrated into north-west India and annexed Punjab in 516 B.C.
Dasavatara temple: This Saivite temple is at Deogarh, near Jhansi (U.P.), built in 1510 A.D.
Dass, C.R.: was Indian politician and leader of the Swaraj Paarty in Bengal.
Dastak: was the permit which protected the East India Company (after 1757) from inspection and payment of customs. It was freely used for every kind of transaction.
Dasyus: As mentioned in the Vedic literature, Dasyus were the original inhabitants of India before the coming of Aryans.
Delhi: was made the capital of British rule in India in 1911 during the Viceroylty of Lord Hardinge. The capital was transferred from Calcutta to Delhi.
Delhi Sultans born of Hindu mothers: were Firoz Tughlaq, Sikander Lodi, Nasiruddin Khusrau, and Ghyasuddin Tughlaq.
Devagiri: was the capital of Yadavas in northern Deccan. It was attacked by Ala-ud-din Khilji in 1296. The Yadav king was defeated and had to enter into a treaty by paying a vast amount of gold.
Devaraya-II: was the king of Vijayanagar, who appointed Muslims in his army, granted land to them, built a mosque and kept a copy of the Koran before his throne, so that the Muslims could pay respect to it.
Dhama (of Ashoka): was a superb document of essential humanness. This Mauryan concept was a plea for the recognition of the dignity of man, and for a humanistic spirit in the activities of society.
Dhammapada: was the first major work to say that salvation by means of devotion is open to humans regardless of birth, gender or station in life.
Dhanvantri: was a great physician during the reign of Chandragupta Vikramaditya. He is considered to be the father of Ayurveda.
Dharmachakra: In the Gandhara art, it is the preaching mudra associated with the Buddha's First Sermon at Sarnath.
Dharmapala: was son of Gopala of the famous Pala dynasty . He was one of the greatest kings that ever ruled Bengal. His accession to the throne took place about 780 A.D. In the course of his long reign of at least 32 years, he raised Bengal to the position of the premier state in Northern India and did much to restore the greatness of the old imperial city of Pataliputra.
He was involved in a contest with the Pratiharas and the Rashtrakutas.
Dhillika (Delhi): The city of Dhillika (Delhi), meaning by that term the old town near the Kutb Minar, was founded in 736 A.D. It was held by Rajas of the Tomara Rajput clans who erected numerous temples, which were destroyed by the Muslims. It gained importance during the time of Ananga Pala Tomara. In the 12th century, the city was included in the dominions of Prithviraj Chauhan.
Diadotus: was founder of the Bactrian-Greeks dynasty whose territorial sway extended over Persia and north-west India.
Dili Chalo: was the call given by Subhash Chandra Bose to the soldiers of Azad Hind Fauj..
Dilwara temples: are world famous 11th and 12th century marble temples in Rajasthan. These are being reconstructed and restored to their original splendour.
Dilwara temples are in Mt Abu (Rajasthan).
Din-i-Ilahi: Akbar founded this religion in 1582 which means Divine faith.
Diwan-i-Arz: is associated with Military department.
Diwan-i-Bandagani : is associated with Department of slaves.
Diwani-i-Kohi: is associated with Agricultural department.
Diwan-i-Wazarat: is associated with Finance department.
Do or die: Gandhiji exhorted the people to join the "Quit India" Movement of August 1942 and laid stress upon a number of things, one of which was: Do or Die (Either free India or die in the attempt).
Doctrine of Lapse: Lord Dalhousie (1848-56) laid it as a principle that on the death of a ruling prince without direct descendants, the British Government should refuse to sanction the adoption of an heir and declare the dominions of the deceased as "lapsed to the sovereign power by total failure of heirs natural". This is known as Doctrine of Lapse.
Jhansi, Nagpur and Satara were among the Indian States that were annexed by invoking the Doctrine of Lapse.
Doda Tribes: They are found in India in Garo hills (Meghalaya).
Drain Theory: This term was propounded (advocated) by Dadabhai Naoroji exposing the exploitive nature of the British rule in India resulting in the poverty of the Indians. It stated that the resources of the country were being utilised in the interest of Britain.
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, however, did not believe in the drain theory.
Dupleix: was the first European to initiate the policy of taking part in the quarrels of Indian princes with a view to acquiring territories.
Durgesh Nandini: was a famous historical novel written by Bankim Chander Chatterjee during the latter half of the nineteenth century.
Dwarasamudra: was the capital of Hoysalas.
Dyarchy: Under the Government of India Act, 1919, the system of Dyarchy (double government) was introduced under which provincial governments were given more powers. Some subjects, such as finance and law and order were called 'reserved' subjects and remained under the direct control of the Governor; others such as education, public health, and local self-government, were called 'transferred' subjects and were to be controlled by ministers responsible to the legislatures.
