Key R
Radcliffe, Sir Cyril: He was responsible for demarcating the boundary between India and Pakistan in 1947.
Sir Radcliffe was appointed chairman of the two commissions set up by the British Government to effect partition of Punjab and Bengal after announcement of the famous declaration by Lord Mountbatten on June 3, 1947, laying "the method by which power will be transferred from British to Indian hands".
Rajaraja-I Chola: was a great king of the Chola dynasty in the south of India.
During his reign, the Arabs established trade centres on the west coast of India and had the support of the rulers of Kerala.
He was the first Indian ruler who conducted a naval campaign on important Arab trade centres to check their monopoly in trade with India.
Rajasekhara: (c. 920) is author of the play Karpura-manjari.
Rajasuya: This Vedic sacrifice was a royal consecration ceremony.
Rajatarangini: by Kalhana deals with the history of Kashmir. Also refer Kalhana.
Rajendra Prasad: He was President of the Constituent Assembly of India (1946-49) and the first President of the Indian Republic (1950-62).
Rajendra-I: was the Chola king who fought against the Sailendra king of Srivijaya (in Sumatra) and defeated him.
Rajgarh: is the town where Shivaji crowned himself in 1614.
Rajsekhar: was the court-poet of Mahendrapal.
Rajukas: They were responsible for public welfare in Mauryan administration.
Rakshasa: according to Hindu tradition, was the heroic marriage, where a woman carried off as a prize of war, was married without the consent of her father, usually by the captor.
Raktika: was the basic weight (measure) in ancient India.
Ramakrishna Mission: was founded by Swami Vivekanand.
Ramanuja: was the celebrated Vaishnava philosopher and teacher, who converted the Hoysala king and resided at Srirangam near Trichinopoly during the reign of Ahirajendra Chola.
He is regarded as the leading opponent of the views of Sankaracharya.
Ramayana: was written by the Hindu sage Valmiki.
Rana Sanga: belonged to Rajput group.
Ranjit Singh, Maharaja: He united all the Sikhs and founded a kingdom in the Punjab, with Lahore as its capital.
Rashtrakutas: During the early medieval period, they were a party to the tripartite struggle for power with Pratiharas and Palas. In 753 A.D., they brought to an end the first Chaulakya dynasty.
Refer Dharmapala.
Rath Temple: was built by Narasimhavarman-II (Pallav).
Rathas at Mahabalipuram: are monolithic structures. These are five in number.
Ratnakara: denoted the Arabiasn Sea in ancient Indian historical geography.
Ratnavali: or 'Pearl Necklace' is a Sanskrit drama attributed to king Harsha Vardhana & endash;a story of the love of king Udyana of Vatsa for his queen's attendant, who ultimately turns out to be Ratnavali, princess of Ceylon.
Ratnavali: was written by Harsha.
Ravi Dass: belonged to Shudra caste.
Razia: She was the only woman among the Muslim rulers who ever sat on the throne of Delhi and finally became the victim of a conspiracy in 1240 and was assassinated near Kaithal.
Red Shirts: Khudai Khidmatgars of the North-West Frontier Province in pre-partition days were popularly known as Red Shirts. Their leader was Khan Abdul Ghafar Khan.
Redcliffe Line: demarcates boundaries between India and Pakistan.
Regulating Act, 1773: was the first legislative interference by the British Parliament in the affairs of India.
Rig Veda: is the oldest and the most important of the four Vedas. It is collection of old legends, chants and hymns, some of them of great beauty. Gayatri mantra is contained in it.
Rig Veda period: The people of Rig Veda period believed in rituals and sacrifices.
Rippon, Lord: is associated with Local Self Government.
Rishabha: is supposed to be the mythical founder of Jainism
Rock-cut tenples at Mahabalipuram: were built by Pallavas.
Rowlatt Act (1919): Based on the recommendations of Justice Rowlatt, chairman of the committee appointed for curbing seditious movements in India, the Rowlatt Act was passed in 1919 giving unbridled powers to the government to arrest and imprison suspects without trial and crush civil liberties. The Act caused a wave of anger in sections of the people throughout the country.
The Rowlatt Act was popularly known as the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crime Act.
In protest, Gandhiji gave a call for Satyagraha against the Act on April 18, 1919.
Roy, M. N.: He was leader of India' Communists until India's Independence in 1947. He played a notable role in the world communist movement. After India gained Independence, Roy abandoned communism and became founder of radical humanism, a mixture of socialist and liberal humanitarian ideas.
Roy, Raja Ram Mohan : was a great Indian reformer. He prominently fought for and got widow re-marriage legalised. He was instrumental in eradicating social evils like Sati, Purdah and child marriage and stood for women's education.
He was also the founder of Brahmo Samaj.
Royal Asiatic Society: was founded in India during the Governor-Generalship of Warren Hastings.
Rudradaman: His best-known epigraphic inscriptions are at Girnar.
Ryotwari System: was a method of direct settlement with the cultivator, which is associated with the name of Sir Thomas Munro.
The ryotwari system had the advantage of removing the zamindar middleman between the government and the cultivator, who too often acted as a screen behind which oppression could go on undetected.
It was introduced by the British in the Madras and Bombay Presidencies.
