This #thread describes Banda Singh Bahadur's entry into Delhi on February 27th, 1716, taken from from a letter dated March 10, 1716, written by Messrs. John Surman and Edward Stephenson to the Hon'ble Robert Hedges, President and Governor of Fort William, Council in Bengal.

John Surman and Edward Stephenson and their Secretary, Hugh Barker, were then present in the Mughal capital as ambassadors of the East India Company's Council in Bengal to the Court of Emperor Farruk-Siyar.

Under instructions of their principals, the ambassadors maintained a regular diary of the events and transactions at the royal court, and wrote to Calcutta to keep the headquarters informed of the political and other developments there.

🗺️Historical Map of India 1700-1792

The letter can be found in the Madras Diary and Consultation Book for 1715 to 1719, No 87, Range 237 in the India Office (Commonwealth Relations Office), London.

It has been reproduced in C.R Wilson's The Early Annals of the English in Bengal, volume II, part II (Calcutta, 1991), pp. 96-98, it has also been reproduced in J.T Wheeler's Early Records of British India, pp. 180.

Here is the thing about these 2015 conversations that many appear to have refused to move on from.

They should be a teachable moment. Sadly, aren't asking the right asks. Too many people from my neck of the woods (SE/SS) keep insisting on narratives that won't stand scrutiny.

I'll speak for the Igbo side, we are letting ourselves down in what should be a race to advance our agenda within #Nigeria

Yes, it is undeniable that there was an element of ethnic chauvinism in the coalition that came together against GEJ, but to attribute his loss simply to that factor is to completely miss the lessons of 2015, and as a result, set yourself up for another failure.

I'll talk about two of these:

First, Benue. In 2015, Benue state voted for Buhari.

No one within the set of people who keep shouting about ethnic jingoism ever seems to ask themselves why.

There are/were two reasons: first, Gabriel Suswam's government was unbelievably bad.

As of January 2015, Benue owed workers almost a year in salaries, and he never got as much as a reprimand from Abuja.

Instead, Suswam was mollycoddled by the GEJ govt.

*THREAD *
Long before Apple & Google, there were the Siemens brothers

Engineering geniuses from Berlin who, in 1863 moved to London & launched one of the most innovative factories in the world

A miniature Silicone Valley in Charlton

Changing the world

One invention at a time

In 1874 this factory produced thousands of miles of cable.

Using their own cable laying ship, the CS Faraday, they connected the world by laying transatlantic cables

On her maiden voyage, the CS Faraday braves storms and icebergs in order to connect Ireland with New Hampshire.

She went on to lay eight transatlantic cables which is more than any other ship before or since

Michael Faraday was a close friend of the brothers. He'd discovered the principles of electro magnetism in 1830, but it was the Siemens Brothers who allowed for electricity to become economically feasible

Made in Charlton, high voltage cables helped electricity spread like fire

In 1881 in Godalming, Surrey, the first electric street lighting was switched on.

The factory in Charlton manufactured the arc lamps that soon lit factories, public buildings, streets and city squares.

Factory workers produced half a million bulbs every single month

OK Koch heads... bring your hurt.

I’m glad you folks exist as we need people questioning everything.

However, I have found the “virus doesn’t exist” arguments unconvincing.

The virus isn’t the only cause of disease may have some ground.

I remain open to new papers on this.

Set some rules.
This was established in 1884. Watson & Crick discovered DNA structure in 1953.
He did not contemplate unculturable organisms... the vast majority of organisms are not culture-able.

Viruses by definition cannot be cultured. They require a host cell to culture.

This is where the debate gets dirty.

In order to culture the virus you need to find cells/organisms it can infect but not be a pathogen to those cells.

But Koch wants to demonstrate the pathogen creates symptoms of the disease which be counterproductive to culture.

This is like the uncertainty principle.

The cell line/model organism you choose to culture the virus, can’t be extremely affected by the virus or the culture won’t succeed.

Therefore the vector for the disease is unlikely to be the best place to look for the disease symptoms.

As a result we have folks discounting Vero cell (monkey kidney cells) studies for viral isolation.

By this same logic, all animal models are thus insufficient as well.

Any argument that Vero cells are not identical to patients must also reject all animal models.

This remarkable embroidered tent from 19th-century Iran, now in the Cleveland Museum of Art, has been popping up on social media quite a bit over the last few days, so I thought I'd do a thread on it to brighten the twitter feeds this weekend...

It was made for Muhammad Shah, the second ruler of Iran's Qajar dynasty, who reigned from the death of his grandfather, Fath-ʿAli Shah, in 1834, until his own death in 1848.

We know it was made for Muhammad Shah as it bears his name, with the title 'Sultan-i Ghazi'. It also has a second inscription, which has been interpreted in a number of ways, but is likely to give the name of the maker, Fath-ʿAli.

The technique is known as rashti-duzi (Rasht embroidery), named for the city in the NW of Iran where is it used. Rashti-duzi most often consists of chainstitch in silk, done with a hooked needle, and applique, on (often felted or fulled) wool. Details from two V&A pieces here:

It was not only tents that were made using the technique, but all sorts of items, including saddle cloths & even portraits. The 2nd one here depicts Muhammad Shah's successor, Nasir al-Din Shah, which I photographed when it was on display at Louvre Lens. (The other is V&A).

India has always been a paradise of art. Not jus coz i am born here, being an Artist i connect to this land even more. The only thing that saddens my heart is we do not value our own treasures.

#thread
#TalesofIndia

My art leanings has often taken me to many websites of museums abroad where our creativity is taken care of. While casually flipping through websites of art museums this afternoon, i found some amazing collection of combs. Check it out.

☘You must have all heard about Pusyamitra Sunga. Here's a comb from the Sunga Empire featuring a Goddess. You will find it in Creative museum.

☘Another one from the Shunga Empire comes this ivory comb from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Styled like Chandraketugarh, an archeological site 21 miles from Kolkata in Northwest India. The comb features two goddesses and two peacocks on either side of them, facing each other.

☘Another ivory comb from karnataka displaying two peacocks. Arent they so gracefully adorned?

THREAD: TAJ MAHAL REAL HISTORY
In this Thread, I will prove with facts and arguments that Taj Mahal wasn't built by Mughal Emperor Shahjahan
Read it carefully and propagate the information

1) The biggest proof of Shahjahan’s taking this building from another rather than building it himself is
found in Shahjahan’s own official chronicle, Badshahnama (Bibliotheca Indica series of the Asiatic Society of Bengal publication, page 403, Volume I).

Therein he admits that the TajMahal is Raja Mansingh’s mansion which, when taken over for Mumtaz’s burial. This is an obvious proof that the current history of the Taj Mahal as we know it, that it was built by Shahjahan for his wife, is completely false.

2) Had Shahjahan really conceived and built the Taj himself, description of its construction must had to be mentioned in the official chronicle. Such an event would not have been forgotten by anyone.
Furthermore, if a stupendous monument like the Taj is built, there certainty

would be a burial date that would not go unrecorded. However, the burial date is not only unrecorded, but the date of the time in which Mumtaz must have been buried in the Taj varies from six months to nine years of her death!!

Robert Smalls was born into slavery but would go on to become a hero of the Civil War, a successful entrepreneur, and a U.S. congressman.

His journey is one you have to read to believe.

Who's up for a story?

👇👇👇

1/ Robert Smalls was born on April 5, 1839 in Beaufort, South Carolina.

His mother, Lydia Polite, was a house worker enslaved by a man named Henry McKee.

It is widely believed that McKee was Robert's father, which afforded him preferential treatment in his early years.

2/ While she had worked in the McKee household as an adult, Robert's mother had grown up working in the fields.

Not wanting her son to be blind to the plight of the other slaves, Lydia Polite requested that he be exposed to this work.

This experience was formative for Robert.

3/ In 1951, when the McKee family moved to Charleston, Robert and his mother went with them.

The 12-year-old Robert was hired as a laborer in the city, earning a tiny wage for working various jobs.

But it was in Charleston that Robert would discover his first love: the water.

4/ Finding himself attracted to the ocean and life on the water, Robert Smalls took on work at the docks.

He quickly displayed an aptitude for the work.

Starting as a stevedore, he soon became a wheelman on a ship, in charge of navigating through Charleston's complex harbor.

Welcome to the Scarfolk #homeschooling thread...
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So: by popular demand (my mum) a quick guide.

The 25th amendment was ratified- i.e. became part of the US constitution in 1967. The amendment is basically about clarifying the presidential and vice presidential succession.

You see, Article 2 of the Constitution says "In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President"

But this is quite vague.

So when W.H. Harrison was the first president to die in office in 1841, it wasn't really clear what powers his VP, John Tyler, would have, nor what he would be called (president? acting president?)

Tyler took the oath and became president. This set a precedent.

Until the 1960s, convention dictated that if a president died in office, then their VP became president, was called the president, and had the powers of the president. Fine.

But this was not spelled out in law. And there were some outstanding questions:

1. If a VP becomes President, then how is the VP replaced?

2. What if the president is unwell, or unable to perform his role for some other reason? How can that be managed?

A thread of Republican dirtbag history to enlighten those who don't know-
Richard Nixon's administration included:
H.W. Bush- who became director of the CIA for one year in 1976
He later became VP and POTUS
Invaded Panama and started the Gulf War

Dick Cheney
Donald Rumsfeld

Dick Cheney was Nixon's chief of staff, WY Rep. in House of Representatives 1978-1989 when he became HW Bush's Sec. of Def. during the invasion of Panama and Gulf War. He was on the board of Halliburton from 1995-2000 and went on to be VP for GW Bush leading the war on Iraq.

Donald Rumsfeld was a special advisor to President Nixon and became Pres. Ford's chief of staff when Dick Cheney became Sec. of Defense.
When Ford lost he became CEO of Searle pharma and later 1997-2001 Gilead pharma. He was then Sec. of Defense of GW Bush.

It was Rumsfeld's claims of a chemical weapons cache that led to another war, which was headed by his friend and the VP Dick Cheney. He was also a fan of torture and partially responsible for the hiring of mercenaries from Blackwater.

Privatizing prisons started in 1980 and was largely Republican policy. Blackwater didn't just train mercenaries, they also train prison guards and other law enforcement personnel. They do not train deescalation.
John Ashcroft, the former AG for GW Bush is now on the board...

The Wallace Monument was erected in the memory of William Wallace (c. 1270-1305), one of the most important Scottish historical figures. Wallace rose to prominence in 1297 when he defeated an English army at the battle of Stirling Bridge. Although it celebrated a fierce

opponent to English domination, the Wallace Monument, erected by public subscription and built from 1861 to 1869, was designed to stress the qualities that Scotland had brought to the Union of the Parliaments in 1707. Most Scottish newspapers published full descriptions of the

grandiose ceremony that took place on June, 24th 1861 to mark the laying of the foundation stone of the monument.

Glasgow Herald, June 25, 1861.

Mr Sheriff GLASSFORD said—

Sir Archibald Alison, ladies and fellow-countrymen, I have the honour to propose that we avail

ourselves of this opportunity to record a vote of thanks to the subscribers to the Wallace National Monument. They are very numerous—they are composed of every class from the highest to the lowest—they belong to every town and village of Scotland—they are scattered far and

wide through all our colonies, from the frozen north to the burning south. Widely as they are diffused, one electric spark has united them all. To them no country is so dear as Scotland—no virtue more inherent than patriotism—no patriot through all ages more worthy of regard

Did you know the atrocities on Dalits were always high only during DMK time.

31.8.1995
Kodiyakulam village, Tuticorin district more than 300 houses and the valuables of Dalits were attacked and looted by the police.

Dalits were attacked, torture, and the other valuable goods like TV, cycle, vessels, two wheelers were got damaged.

7.3.1996
150 dalit houses were set on fire in Mangalpuram, Virdhunagar district.

26.2.1998.
Brutal Police excess on Dalit residential areas in Gundupatti, Kodaikanal. Around 130 police entered the residential area and damaged the valuables. 25 Dalits including 16 women were arrestedand underwent severe police torture. The houses were severely pulled down .

Kerosene and food material was ransacked and burnt down. TV, Kerosene, cot, vessels, two wheeler were smashed.

1.12.1998
Around 300 police men indulged in brutal attack in Oovalur village, Perambalur district. As a result 80 dalit houses were damaged.
Following this 20 Dalits were arrested by police and meted out torture against them.

Arbitration was created to allow giant companies with equal bargaining power to settle disputes without incurring expensive court battles. So, when IBM and AT&T struck a deal, they'd agree that instead of going to court, they'd hire a neutral person to decide who was right.

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But in the 21st Century, a string of Supreme Court rulings have paved the way for "forced arbitration" - when a company tells its customers or workers that as a condition of doing business, they must give up all the legal protections that come with the right to sue.

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Once you've been bound over to arbitration, a company can maim, cheat or murder you and your only recourse is to ask a corporate judge, on the company's payroll, to decide whether you are entitled to compensation.

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You will not be surprised to learn that arbitrators overwhelmingly find in favor of the companies that pay their invoices.

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We've experienced a quiet epidemic of binding arbitration. Your dentist or physiotherapist probably expects you to sign one. So does your kid's piano teacher. Your ISP. And, of course, your boss.

5/

217 years ago today, on January 1, 1804, Haiti became became the first independent Black republic in the world following a 12 year revolution. It changed the trajectory of world history.

In 1893, Frederick Douglass gave a speech outlining why Haiti's revolution was so important:

"Speaking for the Negro, I can say, we owe much to Walker for his appeal; to John Brown for the blow struck at Harper's Ferry...but we owe incomparably more to Haiti than to them all. I regard her as the original pioneer emancipator of the nineteenth century."

"It was her one brave example that first of all started the Christian world into a sense of the Negro's manhood. I was she who first awoke the Christian world to a sense of 'the danger of goading too far the energy that slumbers in a black man's arm.'"

"Until Haiti struck for freedom, the conscience of the Christian world slept profoundly over slavery. It was scarcely troubled even by a dream of this crime against justice and liberty."

"The Negro was in its estimation a sheep like creature, having no rights which white men were bound to respect, a docile animal, a kind of ass, capable of bearing burdens, and receiving strips from a white master without resentment, and without resistance."

The Greek civilization was the most influential civilization in the history of the world. All of today’s thoughts and ideas can be traced back to the Greeks. They gave us democracy, mathematics, drama, philosophy, Olympics and a whole bunch of Gods.

A THREAD

Here are some interesting facts revolving around Greek mythology.

Hercules gave us the saying “Taking the bull by its horns”:

The saying, “Taking the bull by its horns”, comes from Greek mythology. It was one of the 12 labors of Hercules that he had to perform to repent for..

..killing his own wife and children in a fit of madness caused by Hera. He saved the city of Crete from a raging bull by seizing its horns.

Athena defeated Poseidon to become the guardian of Athens:
Athena and Poseidon both wanted to become the guardian of a certain city so they decided to give a gift each to please the residents of the city. Poseidon gave them water in the form of a spring but the water was salty..

... and of no use. Athena gave them an olive tree which was much more useful as it gave food, oil and wood and so she won and since then that city has been known as Athens.