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Vellore

(Encyclopedia)Vellore vĕlôrˈ [key], city (1991 pop. 310,776), Tamil Nadu state, SE India, on the Palar River. It is a district administrative center and an agricultural market town. In the 18th cent. Vellore was...

Harijans

(Encyclopedia)Harijans hârˈĭjănzˌ [key] [children of God], in India, individuals who are at the bottom of or outside the Hindu caste system. They were traditionally sweepers, washers of clothes, leatherworkers...

Chittagong

(Encyclopedia)Chittagong chĭtˈəgŏng [key], city, capital of Chittagong division, SE Bangladesh, on the ...

Kashmir

(Encyclopedia)Kashmir kăshmērˈ, kăshˈmēr [key], region and former princely state, 85,714 sq mi (222,236 sq km), NW India, NE Pakistan, and SW China. Kashmir is bordered on the west by Pakistan, on the south b...

Shrirangapattana

(Encyclopedia)Shrirangapattana srēˌrŭngˌgəpŭtˈnə [key], town (1991 pop. 21,905), Karnataka state, S India, on an island in the Kaveri River. There are Hindu monuments, some built in the 13th cent. Most of t...

Banerjea, Sir Surendranath

(Encyclopedia)Banerjea, Sir Surendranath so͝orĕnˈdrənät bäˈnərjē [key], 1848–1926, Indian nationalist. One of the first Indians to join the Indian civil service, he was dismissed (1874) for a minor error...

avatara

(Encyclopedia)avatara ăvˌətârə [key] [Skt.,=descent], incarnations of Hindu gods, especially Vishnu. The doctrine of avatara first occurs in the Bhagavad-Gita, where Krishna declares: “For the preservation o...

Vivekananda

(Encyclopedia)Vivekananda vēˌvəkənŭnˈdə [key], 1863–1902, Hindu mystic, major exponent of Vedanta philosophy. He was born of a well-to-do family in Calcutta (now Kolkata), and his given name was Narendra N...

Indian art and architecture

(Encyclopedia)Indian art and architecture, works of art and architecture produced on the Indian subcontinent, which is now divided among India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. In the Western world, notable collections of...

Mahmud of Ghazna

(Encyclopedia)Mahmud of Ghazna mämo͞odˈ, gŭzˈna [key], 971?–1030, Afghan emperor and conqueror. He defeated (c.999) his elder brother to gain control of Khorasan (in Iran) and of Afghanistan. In his raids ag...