Portal:India/Did you know 12

This is a selection of articles on Wikipedia that appeared on the India Portal's Did you know section. (Archives are in sets of approximately 50 items each)

Did you know...

 * 1) ... that although the Siddhesvara Temple in Karnataka, India, is currently a temple of Shiva, historians are unsure of its original faith?
 * 2) ... that Bangladesh declined to renew its 1972 Friendship Treaty with India, criticizing it as unequal and an imposition of excessive Indian influence?
 * 3) ... that Mukti Bahini guerrillas were absorbed into the ranks of regular military officers and personnel upon the formation of Bangladesh's armed forces?
 * 4) ... that a 2007 treaty significantly modified Indo-Bhutanese relations by reducing India's guiding role over Bhutan's foreign policy?
 * 5) ... that the 9th century Navalinga temple in Karnataka, India, is a cluster of nine Hindu temples, each containing a Shiva linga?
 * 6) ... that the Jabalpur and the Mandla districts in Madhya Pradesh were the worst affected districts in the 1997 Jabalpur earthquake?
 * 7) ... that Maharajbagh zoo in Nagpur, India, has been built on the garden of Bhonsle, Maratha rulers of the Nagpur kingdom?
 * 8) ... that caste-based communal reservations in Tamil Nadu were introduced by the government of the Raja of Panagal in August 1921?
 * 9) ... that the famine of 1873–74 in Bihar, India was less severe than had originally been anticipated, and 100,000 tons of grain was left unused at the end of the relief efforts?
 * 10) ... that 1944 film Haridas was the last completed work of Kollywood icon M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar prior to his arrest in the Lakshmikanthan Murder Case?
 * 11) ... that Radha Ramana is the only image of Krishna that remained in Vrindavana during the 17th-century raids by Islamic king Aurangzeb?
 * 12) ... that Oladevi, a deity whose worship may have originated in the Indus Valley Civilization, was honoured and feared as the goddess of cholera in rural Bengal?
 * 13) ... that a 12th-century epigraph styles the Mahadeva temple (pictured) in Karnataka, India, as "the emperor among temples"?
 * 14) ... that Indo-Iraqi relations improved considerably after Iraq supported India's 1998 nuclear tests and its stand on the Kashmir dispute?
 * 15) ... that the town of Melattur in Tamil Nadu, India is famous for its Bharatanatyam, a classic South Indian dance?
 * 16) ... that the 1948 Tamil film Chandralekha had the longest sword-fight sequence in any Indian film?
 * 17) ... that erotic sculptures (example pictured) found in the 11th century Tripurantaka Temple in Karnataka state, India, are miniatures?
 * 18) ... that international airport project MIHAN in Nagpur is the biggest economical development project currently underway in India in terms of investment?
 * 19) ... that the new Maoist-led government seeks to scrap Nepal's 1950 treaty with India, which sought to build strong Indo-Nepal relations to counter perceived threats from China?
 * 20) ... that a year after conducting rival nuclear tests, India and Pakistan issued the 1999 Lahore Declaration, committing to develop safeguards to prevent nuclear conflict?
 * 21) ... that the 12th century Doddabasappa Temple (pictured) in Karnataka state, India, has a 24-pointed star-shaped plan?
 * 22) ... that the 1999 Chamoli earthquake in India, in which 103 people died, was also felt in the Baitadi, Dadeldhura and Kanchanpur districts in Nepal?
 * 23) ... that the Harihareshwara temple in Karnataka, India, was consecrated in 1224 CE, in dedication to Harihara (pictured), a fusion of the Hindu gods Shiva and Vishnu?
 * 24) ... that the Tamilfilm Nam Iruvar featured songs written by Indian nationalist Subramania Bharati?
 * 25) ... that railway transport in Nagpur started in 1867 when the Nagpur railway station was constructed using locally found pink sandstone?
 * 26) ... that S.A. Swaminatha Iyer protested the British salt tax in India at the first session of the Indian National Congress in 1885?
 * 27) ... that Lakshmisha's 16th century Kannada writing, the Jaimini Bharata, focuses on the horse sacrifice chapter of the Hindu epic Mahabharata?
 * 28) ...that the footprints of the Buddha (pictured) often bear distinguishing marks, such as a Dharmachakra or the 32, 108 or 132 auspicious signs of the Buddha?
 * 29) ... that the last old-Kannada grammar, authored by Bhattakalanka Deva in circa 1604 CE, followed the model of Sanskrit grammar?
 * 30) ... that publisher Gopal Raju, considered a pioneer of ethnic media in the United States, founded India Abroad, which claims to be the oldest Indian American newspaper in North America?
 * 31) ... that Rajah Sir Muthiah Chettiar was the first Mayor of Chennai Corporation, after the mayoralty was reinstated in 1933?
 * 32) ... that Indian film director Nitin Bose, who directed the blockbuster Ganga Jamuna in 1961, had introduced playback singing in Indian cinema in 1935?
 * 33) ... that a story in Janna ' s 13th-century Kannada classic Yashodhara Charite deals with sadomasochism and transmigration of the soul?
 * 34) ... that the Indian Coast Guard estimates more than 100 fishing boats and an unknown number of fishermen annually stray across the territorial waters of India and Pakistan?
 * 35) ... that the Tamil film Thyagabhoomi is the only Indian film banned by the British Raj for propagating the cause of India's freedom struggle?
 * 36) ... that the forthcoming Tamil film, Guru En Aalu, starring Madhavan and Mamta Mohandas is a remake of the 1997 film, Yes Boss?
 * 37) ... that inscriptions found on a stone pillar in the village of Talagunda in India describe the rise of the Kadamba dynasty?
 * 38) ... that Andayya's 13th century Kannada work Kabbigara Kava is considered important for its strict adherence to the indigenous Kannada language?
 * 39) ... that a majority of the 114 killed in the 1994 Gowari stampede at Nagpur were women and children crushed to death under the crowd’s feet?
 * 40) ... that Shabdamanidarpana, a comprehensive and authoritative work on the Kannada grammar, was written in the 13th century by the Indian linguist and poet Kesiraja?
 * 41) ... that the 12th century Kannada poet Harihara was initially an accountant in the Hoysala court?
 * 42) ... that Kisan Kanya made by Ardeshir Irani in 1937 is India's first indigenously made color film?
 * 43) ... that Tamil politician E. V. K. Sampath, nephew of Periyar, co-founded the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party?
 * 44) ... that Raghavanka, a 12th century writer of Kannada literature, penned five classics just to expiate a sin his guru felt he had committed?
 * 45) ... that the annual Chembuduppu festival at St. George Orthodox Church, Chandanapally is held in commemoration of non-Christians bringing rice to feed hundreds of voluntary labourers during its construction?
 * 46) ... that within the Special Economic Zone SEEPZ, Mumbai lies an abandoned Portuguese church built in 1579?
 * 47) ... that the dialogues for the Tamil film Parasakthi were penned by M. Karunanidhi who later became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu?
 * 48) ...that the British colonials employed Indian agents called gomasthas to obtain goods from local weavers and fix their prices?
 * 49) ... that the Abyssinian slave Jamal-ud-Din Yaqut was a close adviser and speculated to be the lover of Razia Sultana, the first and only female Sultan of Delhi?
 * 50) ... that Ratnakaravarni, the noted 16th century Kannada poet of the Vijayanagara times, was an expert on erotic writings?