India - History

The history of India is as colorful and glorious as the country itself. The country has witnessed some of the most deep impacting events in the past and each event has left a mark of its own on the culture, lifestyle, religion, economy, philosophy and every conceivable aspect of the country.

The first conceivable civilization was set up nearly five thousand years back along the Indus River valley. The twin cities of Mohenjodaro and Harappa, which are now in Pakistan were governed by priests and held the fundamentals of Hinduism. They had maintained a sophisticated lifestyle, a highly developed aesthetic sense, town planning skills and the knowledge of a mysterious script language. The Indus civilization was once upon a time extended nearly a million square kilometers across the Indus river valley. It was there at the same time as the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Sumer but far survived them. Surviving for nearly a thousand years the Indus valley civilization was demolished in the tectonic disturbances in about 1700 BC, which caused a series of floods.
 
The final downfall of the Indus Valley Civilization came with the Aryans around 1500 BC. At the onset of Vedic ages the Aryans came in from the North and spread through large parts of India bringing with them their culture and religious beliefs. This period is significant for the birth of the Vedas.
In 567 B.C. saw the birth of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism and Mahavira, who founded the Jain Religion. The entire Indian subcontinent is full of caves and monuments devoted to these religions and are big tourist attraction today.
 
In the 4th century B.C., Emperor Ashoka, one of the greatest King of Indian history, led the Mauryan Empire to take over almost all of what is now modern India. He became an eminent follower of Buddhism and built the group of monuments at Sanchi (a UNESCO world heritage site). The Ashoka pillar located at Sarnath is the national emblem and the Dharma Chakra on the Ashoka Pillar decorates the National Flag.
 
After the Mauraya’s the Guptas ruled the northern territories of the country whereas the Cholas, the Pandayas and the Cheras grew in the southern territories, where they conducted business deals with Europe and other Asian countries.
 
Christianity came to India at about the same time from Europe. Legend has it that St. Thomas the missionary came to India in 52 A.D. Even earlier than that people of the Jewish religion arrived on Indian shores.
 
In approximately the 7th century A.D. a group of Parsees, landed in Gujarat and became a part of the huge mix of religions in India today, each of which adds its important and distinctive flavor.

In the 15th century Guru Nanak laid the base of the Sikh religion in Punjab.
In 1192, Mohammed of Ghori, a ruler from Afghanistan, came to India and conquered several places in the north including Delhi. He went back but left a general from his army here in India who became the first sultan and during this time Islam was introduced in India. The Dehli Sultanate steadily took control of more and more of North India over the next 200 years, till Timur, who was called "Timur the Lame" or "Tamberlane" came from Turkey in 1398. His invasions were barbaric and he stole some of the most valuable possessions and left the Delhi Sultanate weak. Soon the Mughals, who were from Iran, came in and took control of the north. Southern territories were not far from hassles and in 1336, the Hindu Vijayanagar Empire was established. With the passage of time various European powers came and ruled India for varied amount of time. But it was the British who eventually ruled most of India and finally made it one of their colonies. In 1947 India eventually gained independence but for the cost of being divided into two countries. Since its independence India has progressed in each and every field and today it is the largest democracy in the world.

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