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The martial qualities of the people of Karnataka were well known all over India during ancient and medieval times. When attacked by enemies boiling oil (bisi enne) and other deadly preparations were poured upon them from the top of the forts. It appears that serpents were caught and stored in boxes to be released on the opponents during the siege by the device called havina helige. The Chalukyan army was known as ‘Karnatabala’ and described as invincible (ajeyam). Huien Tsang who visited Karnataka in 641 A.D. describes its people as proud spirited and warlike, grateful for favours and revengeful for wrongs. Speaking of the generals says that when a general loses a battle they do not punish him but present him with women’s clothes so that he is driven to seek death for himself. The soldiers it is said used to go to battlefield intoxicated. The bravery of Kannada people and their Kings was almost proverbial in medieval India. Rajashekara who lived during 9th century in his work Balaramayana Nataka has characterized the people of Karnataka as those possessed of manliness that is unchecked in magnitude. It is said that the rulers of Bengal used to recruit soldiers from Karnataka.
Soldiers and generals used to have the privilege of accepting betel leaf and nuts at the hands of the kings before moving to the fields. People used to erect herostones called viragallu in memory of those who died in battle fields. The Hoysala kings had a corps of special bodyguards called Garudas. They used to commit suicide after the death of their masters as they had sworn their loyalty to him alone. Ferishta speaks of the Vijayanagara army says that the Karnataki infantry “values their lives but little, were quite naked and had their bodies anointed with oil to prevent them from being easily seized”. The famous Karnataki foot musketeers or kalapaidas of Aurangzeb time were the best marksmen among Kannadigas recruited from the beda tribes. The political dominance of the Kannadigas helped them to send out dynasties of Kannada origin to rule outside Karnataka. The Senas of Bengal, the Karnatas of Mithila, the Chindaka Nagas of Central India, the Gangas of Kalinga, the Chalukyas of Gujrat and of Vengi, the Rathods of Jodhpur and Bikaner were descendants of Karnataka rulers. The Gahadwalas of Kanuaj trace their descent from Nandapala, a King of Karnata.

In 1303, the licentious ruler of Delhi, Ala-ud-din Khalji who had killed his own uncle and patron treacherously to ascend the throne besieged Chittor, the capital of Ratna Singh, the ruler of Mewar. It is said that the principle motive was to secure Padmini, the peerless queen of the king Ratna Singh. When his attempt to capture the fort failed, Ala-ud-din sent a word to Ratna Singh that he would raise the siege and retire if Ratna Singh only showed the beautiful face of Padmini in a mirror. Though his request was fulfilled, Ala-ud-din had Ratna Singh arrested as soon as the latter conducted the former out of his fort. But Padmini saw to it that Rajput soldiers dressed in female attire went to the camp of Ala-ud-din as if to present Padmini and rescued Ratna Singh. Ratna Singh and his men fought up to their last while Padmini and other Rajput women committed jauhar.(i.e. jumped into fire) to save their honour. On entering the fort and unable to get Padmini, the exasperated Ala-ud-din ordered for the slaughter of the inhabitants of Chittor and according to Amir Khusrav who was an eye witness about 30,000 Rajputs were killed in one day.

Five times a week, Jahangir, the Mughal ruler used to enjoy his elephants fight before him and while they fought, came or went out many people were killed or grievously hurt. The latter were sometimes thrown into the rivers on the emperor’s order for he believed that people who were maimed and disabled by his elephants would always curse him if they were allowed to live. William Hawkins mentions Jahangir’s delight in seeing men executed and torn to pieces by his elephants. A Pathan who demanded a salary of 1000 rupees a day for his courage and skill in war was compelled to wrestle with a lion. After he was killed by the lion, Jahangir longing for seeing more of action sent for ten men to fight with the lion one after the other. Three of them lost their lives, while the rest were terribly wounded. Once when a officer in charge of Jahangir’s wardrobe broke one of the dishes dearly loved by his master, he was first brought before the emperor and flogged by two men with two great whips made of cords and then by the emperors porters who beat with clubs till he was unconscious. In another instance Jahangir asked his seven year old son, Sahariyar, whether he would accompany him (for an outing). Sahariyar said that all depended on the permission of his father, the emperor (Akbar). Angered by his reply Jahangir gave him a good trashing. Seeing Sahariyar not crying Jahangir asked him the reason for which Sahariyar replied that his nurse had told him not to cry as it was a shame on the part of a prince to weep. Further infuriated Jahangir struck the child again and again thrusting a pointed instrument through his cheek till Sahariyar almost fainted bleeding in the mouth and nose.

“It is an excellent fruit like the flower of a garden, the finest fruit of Hindustan. The eating of the leaf renders the breath agreeable and repasts odorous. It strengthens the gums and makes the hungry satisfied and the satisfied hungry. The Hindus and Muslims were generally very found of chewing betel leaves with nuts and other stimulants substances. Hindus offers betel to one who goes to his place to see him” is what Amir Khusro (1252-1325 A.D.), says in one of his verses about the betel leaves. Abul Fazl (1551-1593 A.D.) writes “The betel leaf is probably speaking a vegetable, but connoisseurs call it an excellent fruit”. The French traveler, Francois Bernier writes “The betel is taken after meals; it is offered when you meet and when you separate. The betel is a leaf which after it has undergone a certain preparation is given as a mark of royal favour and which when masticated sweetens the breadth and renders the lips ruddy. In royal court of Vijayanagar no one except dancing girls were allowed to use betel leaves in the presence of the Kings. In Princely state of Mysore it was a custom to distribute betel leaves and nuts to all the invitees at the end of an official ceremony.

The Sultan of Delhi, Sikandar Lodi (1489-1517) used to give private audiences at night and around midnight meals were served to all those present in the meeting. While the sultan himself went on eating, others present in the meeting were not allowed to take the meals in his presence. They used to take their share home and eat. It is said that in his last moment’s Sikandar Lodi instructed his imam, Sheikh Ladan to calculate the religious penalty that should be paid by him for missing some prayers and fasts, tasting wine occasionally and shaving his beard. This amount he paid from his private purse. The author of Tarikh-i-daudi, Abdullah says that Sikandar was so handsome in his boyhood that Shaikh Hasan, a well known Muslim divine fell in ‘love’ with him. Sikandar who did not like the Shaikh’s visits, one day burnt the formers beard lightly by forcibly holding his face near the fire.

In 1941 the English administrators of India had planned to issue dollar on the American pattern. Everything was finalized and mints were ready with the dies to strike them. The proof of the dollar had the portrait of King George VI on the obverse and reverse and the superincription, Indian 1 dollar 2 Rupee 8 Annas, 1941. In the center was 1 in an Indian script. But Gandhiji vehemently opposed the proposal and the government shelved the idea. Till 1964 there were two types of one rupee coins. The older one rupee was divided into 64 pice while the new one rupee introduced in 1957 was divided into 100 paisa. The old rupee was divided into half rupee consisting of 32 pice and quarter rupee consisting of 16 pice just like the present one rupee which has 50 paisa and 25 paisa denomination.

It was during the British rule that a beginning was made to undertake a census of the Indian population in 1861. But it was conducted on a uniform basis through out India only in 1881. Earlier household census called Khaneshumaris were sporadically taken by local administration with a view to levy tax on traders and professionals. It is said that when the Mughal emperor Jahangir wanted to find out the size of Delhi’s population, he sent the police to count the males gathered at the wrestling grounds on the day of a very popular festival. He also had the number of horses coming into the city for sale counted and on these basis arrived at a rough calculation of the number of people in Delhi.

In India, temples were not merely places of worship, but also a centre for economic and social activities. In fact its construction used to provide employment to scores of people of various caste and creeds. First of all stone cutters used to cut blocks of raw granite from hills which was transported to the place where a temple was supposed to be raised. Then artisans used to chisel the stone and convert it into pillars, columns and idols. The building of the temple also required the assistance of masons and labourers. Once the temple was complete the idol was consecrated by Brahmin priests with full paraphernalia and attended by people of the place. People used to donate lands to the temple for its maintenance and tillers used to till it. The money deposited to the temple for various purposes was used to provide loans for farmers in need. The temple used to feed the devotees and hence was a large consumer of rice, pulses, ghee, jaggery, etc. The premises around the temple were used by people to sell wares like pots, edibles, flowers, incense sticks, coconuts, handicrafts and other items. Temples had halls where artists like singers and dancers used to perform and entertain the audience. Religious discourses used to provide moral lessons to the people and guide them in their daily lives. Temples acted as mediators in local disputes and brought about social solidarity and cohesion among different sections of the populations. During special fairs and ceremonies people of different caste had their role to play. For instance members belonging to barber community had the privilege to play the auspicious music in front of the deity; folk artists used this occasion to display their art. Temples also served as centers of education. In total, a large section of the population including farmers, priests, cooks, menial workers, artists, teachers, etc were benefited by the temple.

In 1891 Swami Vivekananda visited the princely state of Alwar. Its Maharaja who was westernized in his outlook ridiculed the worship of images by Hindus. “They are nothing but figures of stone, clay or metal”, he said. Though Swami Vivekananda tried to explain him that Hindus worshipped God using the images as symbols, the Maharaja was not convinced. Then Swami Vivekananda asked the Maharaja’s Prime Minister to take down a portrait of the Maharaja hanging on the wall and spit on it. Everyone present there were aghast. Swami Vivekananda told the Maharaja that though the picture was not the Maharaja himself in flesh and blood, yet it reminded everyone of his person and thus was held in high esteem. Likewise the image brought to the devotees mind the presence of the almighty and therefore helpful for concentration. The Maharaja apologized Swami Vivekananda for his rudeness and ignorance.