Key M
Macaulay's Minutes: The foundation of modern educational system in India was laid by 'Macaulay's Minutes' of 1835.
Madurai: was the capital of the kingdom of Pandyas.
Maganlal Gandhi: On his suggestion, Mahatma Gandhi adopted the word "Satyagraha" for his struggle in South Africa.
Maghadan Empire: The rise of the Magadhan Empire can be traced back to the Sunga dynasty (185-73B.C.) Pushyamitra Sunga was founder of this dynasty. Their dominions included Magadha and certain neighbouring provinces, extending southwards as far as the Narbada..
Mahabharat: was originally known as Jayahita.
Mahadev Govind Ranade: was a great social and religious reformer who worked unceasingly for the eradication of child marriage and purdah system. To spread his message on a national scale, he inaugurated Indian National Social Conference.
Mahanavami: was the most famous State festival of the Vijayanagar empire.
Mahatarfa and Jakat: In the administrative system of Marathas, custom duties known as Mahatarfa and Jakat were imposed.
Mahavira: was founder of Jainism. He was the twenty-forth and the last of Jain Tirthankaras. He was born at Vaisali, the capital of Videha (modern Bihar). He was a Kashtriya.
Mahavira attained "Kaivalya" at the age of 42.
Mahavira did not believe in the worship of idols.
He died aged 72 at Pavapuri in the Patna district.
Mahavira was far more strict than Buddha in the doctrine of "Non-injury to living creatures".
Mahayana: This Buddhist sect formally came into existence during the reign of Kanishka. Refer Buddhism.
Mahayana:was a form of Buddhism which emerged during the reign of Kanishka.
Mahayana and Hinayana: Refer Buddhism.
Mahendravarman-I: (600-630) was Pallava king known for his architectural skill. He introduced the method pf scooping out entire temples from the solid rock, as at Mamapuram.
Mahmud Ghazni: He started his raids of India from the north-west during 1000-1026 A.D. He attacked India many times, his interest being to plunder India's wealth.
Maitreya: is supposed to be the fifth Buddha who is yet to come.
Malik Kafur: He was Allauddin Khilji's military general who led two campaigns in south India between 1309 and 1311. In 1310, he attacked Hoysala kingdom and sacked their capital Dorasamudra (or Halebid). He was appointed as Malik Naib or Vice-Regent of the empire by Alauddin.
Mansabdari System: was initiated by Akbar in 1577 (in the nineteenth year of his reign) for the purpose of expanding his army as well as organising the nobility to maintain his hold over his rule. Under this system, every officer of the State was assigned a rank (mansab). It was an official appointment of rank and profit. The mansab was bound to supply a number of troops for the military service of the State. The mansabdars formed the official nobility of the country.
The Mansabdari System was thus the "army, the peerage, and the civil administration, rolled into one".
The military system of the Delhi Sultanate was influenced, to some extent, by the Mongol system. .
Manu Smriti: deals with law. (Manu was a Hindu law giver). According to Manu Smriti, a woman after marriage, was required to be under control of her husband.
Maski Rock edict: This minor Rock-edict is the only edict in which Ashoka refers to himself as the king of Magadha.
Material Culture Theory: deals with iron and agricultural implements.
Mathura School of Art: suggests Buddhism as religion.
Mauryas: were the rulers of Magadha.
Mayamata: was a Saiva sect in ancient India.
Meenakshi Temple: is located in Madurai.
Megasthenes: (306-290 B.C.) was Greek Ambassador at the court of Chandragupta Maurya. He visited India and studied at the Nalanda University. In the account of Megasthenes we come across in detail mention of the municipal administration of the Mauryas. Also refer Indica.
Mehrauli "Iron Pillar" (in Delhi): belonged to the reign of Chandragupta-I.
Mehrauli pillar inscription: belongs to the period of the Guptas.
Mesolithic Age: belongs to the period roughly from 9,000 B.C. to 4.000 B.C. It is called the Stone Age.
Metcalfe, Sir Charles: is known as the 'Liberator of the Press'. He was British Governor-General of India (1835-36).
Mimamsa: is one of the six orthodox systems of Hindu philosophy, founded by Jaimini (c. 200 B.C.). Mimamsa holds that knowledge alone cannot give salvation. Without right action , or dharma, knowledge is fruitless and true happiness unattainable.
Miniature Painting: reached its climax during the reign of Jahangir.
Mir Jaffar: He deserted Siraj-ud-Dowlah and joined the English under Lord Clive when the Battle of Plassey (1757) was raging with utmost fury.
Mir Jaffer granted an extra allowance called Double Bhatta to the English troops.
Mira Bai: was contemporary of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Mitakshara: It is a book on Hindu Law of inheritance written by Vijnanesvara who wrote at the Court of Chalukya king Vikramaditya-VI (1075-1127).
Mohammad- bin-Qasim: was the first Muslim invader of India. The Arab conquest of Sind took place in 712 A.D. under his leadership.
Mohd Shah: was the last Mughal emperor to sit on the Peacock throne.
Mohd-bin-Tughlak: was a Turk. Copper coins were started by him.
Mohenjodaro: is known for discovery of remains of Indus Valley Civilization here in 1922 by R.D. Banerjee.
Mohenjadaro is in the Larkana district of Sind (now in Pakistan). An image of dancing girl was also found here.
(Sir John Marshall, Director General of Archaeology, declared in 1924 that a new civilization had been discovered in the Indus Valley by R.D. Banerjee in 1922).
Mongols: attacked India during the reign of Iltumish.
Monogamy : The practice of Monogamy (the custom or condition of marriage to one wife or husband at a time) was in existence during the Rig Vedic period.
Moplah Rebellion: broke out in Malabar in August 1921.
Moplah Rebellion: took place in Malabar in 1921.
Morley-Minto Reforms: were aimed at expansion of the legislature.
Moti Masjid: Shah Jehan built Moti Masjid at Agra Fort and Aurangzeb built another Moti Masjid at Red Fort, Delhi.
Mountbatten Plan : India was partitioned by the Mountbatten Plan of 3rd June, 1947.
Mountbatten, Lord: was Governor-General of India when the country became independent on the 15th August, 1947. He was the last British Viceroy in India (March 1947-August 1947) and the first and the last Englishman to be the Governor General of Free India.
Mughal dynasty: was finally extinguished with Bahadur Shah-II.
Mughal Empire, Cause of downfall: The fundamental cause for the downfall of the Mughal empire was the religious policy of Aurangzeb according to Dr Satish Chandra.
Mughal India: The principal source of State income in Mughal India was land revenue.
Mughal paintings: reached its zenith under Jahangir.
Mughal paintings, Portuguese influence on: In Mughal paintings, one notices the adoption of the principle of foreshortening whereby near and distant people and things could be placed in perspective. This is due to the influence of the Portuguese.
Muin-ud-Din Chisti: Sufi saint who is associated with Ajmer. His dargah is also at Ajmer. He maintained that devotional music was one way of coming closer to God.
Muqti: Ala-ud-din had divided his Sultanate into provinces, each under a governor generally termed muqti who was responsible for the administration.
Museums in India: National Museum, New Delhi, the Indian Museum, Calcutta, the Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad, and the Allahabad Museum, Allahabad.
Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad, named after Salar Jung-III, Mir yousuf Ali Khan, has a very rare and important collection of about 40,000 art objects. It is known the world over as the largest single collection of art objects from different countries.
Indian Museum in Calcutta undertakes acquisition of objects of art and archaeology and carries out educational and cultural activities.
The Allahabad Museum has got a rich collection of early scruptures, terracota seals and modern painting.
Muslim League: was founded in 1906 in Dacca (Dhaka) by a resolution proposed by Nawab Salimullah.
The Muslim League adopted the resolution for creation of Pakistan in 1940.
Mysore War, Second: came to an end by the treaty of Mangalore.
