Dara Shikoh

Dara Shikoh The eldest son and favourite of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz, he

was interested in Sufism and tolerant of all religious faiths. He was with his

father when the latter fell ill in 1756, but his claim to the throne was

contested by his three younger brothers (Shuja, Aurangzeb and Murad) which

resulted in the war of succession (1656–58) among the brothers. Though he

had the backing of his father, he was defeated successively by Aurangzeb in

the three battles of Kharmat, Samugarh and Deorai. Thereafter he became a

fugitive and took shelter with Jiwan Khan. the Afghan chief of Dadar (Sind),

who however betrayed him to the forces of Aurangzeb. He was ultimately

tried on the charge of apostasy ‘and executed by Aurangzeb in August 1659.

Das, Chittaranian An eminent lawyer who first distinguished himself by

successfully defending Aurobindo Ghosh in the famous Alipore Bomb Case.

He gave up his lucrative practice to join the Non-Cooperation Movement. He

presided over the 1922 Session of the INC, but soon realised the futility of

the policy of keeping out of the legislative councils. Along with Motilal

Nehru he formed the Swaraj Party within the INC with the declared policy of

entering tl1e councils and disrupting their functioning (also known as the

policy of ‘responsive cooperation’). His party captured a number of seats in

the legislatures and was implementing its policy when he suddenly passed

away in June, 1925. Because of his great contribution to the cause of the

nation, he came to be called’ Deshbandhu’ (friend of the countrv) by the

people.