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In
Jain mythology, it is believed that Anga |
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Ang Desh (Champa) in 250 B.C.
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Introduction The roots of Indian civilisation stretch back in time to pre-recorded history. The earliest human activity in the Indian sub-continent can be traced back to the Early, Middle and Late Stone Ages (400,000-200,000 BC). Implements from all three periods have been found from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar, parts of what is now Pakistan and the southern most tip of the Indian Peninsula. These Paleolithic people were semi-nomadic hunters and gatherers for many millennia. Five main races of people were in existence when the move to an agricultural lifestyle took place, in the middle of the 9th millennium BC. These were the Negrito race, the Proto-Australoid; the Mediterranean race, the Mongloids and the Alpine people. The
first evidence of agricultural settlements on the western plains
of the Indus is roughly contemporaneous with similar developments
in Egypt, Mesopotamia and Persia. These settlements gradually grew
and the inhabitants started to use copper and bronze, domesticated
animals, made pottery and began trade activities. |
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The
Indus Valley Civilisation Settlements This earliest known civilisation in India, the starting point in its history, dates back to about 3000 BC. Discovered in the 1920s, it was thought to have been confined to the valley of the river Indus, hence the name given to it was Indus Valley civilisation. This civilisation was a highly developed urban one and two of its towns, Mohenjodaro and Harappa, represent the high watermark of the settlements. Subsequent archaeological excavations established that the contours of this civilisation were not restricted to the Indus valley but spread to a wide area in northwestern and western India. Thus this civilisation is now better known as the Harappan civilisation. Mohenjodaro and Harappa are now in Pakistan and the principal sites in India include Ropar in Punjab, Lothal in Gujarat and Kalibangan in Rajasthan. Urban
Development Occupations Society
and Religion By
about 1700 BC, the Harappan culture was on the decline, due to repeated
flooding of towns located on the river banks and due to ecological
changes which forced agriculture to yield to the spreading desert.
Some historians do not rule out invasions by barbarian tribes of
the northwest as the cause of the decline of the Harappan civilisation.
When the initial migrations of the Aryan people into India began
about 1500 BC, the developed Harappan culture had already been practically
wiped out. |
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The
Aryans and the Vedic Age |
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Plan of Angkorwat Temple, Combodia
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Mahajanpadas
Era of Indian History and Rise of Ang Mahajanpad |
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The
Gupta Age
The greatest empire in the fourth century AD was the Gupta empire, which ushered in the golden age of Indian history. This empire lasted for more than two centuries. It covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, but its administration was more decentralised than that of the Mauryas. Alternately waging war and entering into matrimonial alliances with the smaller kingdoms in its neighbourhood, the empire's boundaries kept fluctuating with each ruler. The Gupta rulers patronised the Hindu religious tradition and orthodox Hinduism reasserted itself in this era. However, this period also saw the peaceful coexistence of Brahmins and Buddhists and visits by Chinese travellers like Fa Hien. The exquisite Ajanta and Ellora caves were created in this period. This era saw the emergence of the classical art forms and development of various aspects of Indian culture and civilisation. Erudite treatises were written on a multiplicity of subjects ranging from grammar, mathematics, astronomy and medicine, to the Kamasutra, the famous treatise on the art of love. This age registered considerable progress in literature and science, particularly in astronomy and mathematics. The most outstanding literary figure of the Gupta period was Kalidasa whose choice of words and imagery brought Sanskrit drama to new heights. Aryabhatta, who lived during this age, was the first Indian who made a significant contribution to astronomy. The invasions of the White Huns signalled the end of this era of history, although at first, they were defeated by the Guptas. After the decline of the Gupta empire, north India broke into a number of separate Hindu kingdoms and was not really unified again until the coming of the Muslims. |
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Muslim Invasions (The Delhi Sultanate,Impact of Islam,Kabir and Nanak,The Great Mughals) The Delhi Sultanate An event of immense and lasting impact in Indian history was the advent of the Muslims in the north-west. Lured by tales of the fertile plains of the Punjab and the fabulous wealth of Hindu temples, Mahmud of Ghazni first attacked India in 1000 AD. Other raiders from Central Asia followed him, but these invasions were no more than banditry. It was only in 1192 that Muslim power arrived in India on a permanent basis. In that year, Mohammed of Ghori, who had been expanding his power all across the Punjab broke into India and took Ajmer. The following year his general Qutb-ud-din Aibak took Varanasi and Delhi and after Mohammed Ghori's death in 1206, he became the first of the Sultans of Delhi. Qutb-ud-din Aibak founded the so called Slave Dynasty in India at Delhi, setting up the nucleus of the Delhi Sultanate, or the rule of Turkish and Afghan sultans, the Khiljis, the Tughlaqs and the Lodis. Impact of Islam The impact of Islam on Indian culture has been inestimable. It permanently influenced the development of all areas of human endeavour - language, dress, cuisine, all the art forms, architecture and urban design, and social customs and values. Conversely, the languages of the Muslim invaders were modified by contact with local languages, to Urdu, which uses the Arabic script, and the more colloquial Hindustani, which uses the Devnagri script. Both are major Indian languages today. Kabir and Nanak The synthesis of Hinduism and Islam is exemplified by the emergence, at this time, of the ideas of two great saints, Kabir and Nanak. Drawing on the devotional Hindu Bhakti and the mystical Islamic Sufi cults, the tolerance of Hinduism and the ideas of equality in Islam, they preached religions that advocated simple living and practical common sense. Kabir emphasised the oneness of the Divine in memorable couplets - "Hari is in the east, Allah in the west; look within your heart for there you will find both Karim and Ram." The followers of Guru Nanak founded the Sikh religion, which has a large following. The Great Mughals (Babur, Akbar, Jehangir, Shahjahan) The most important Islamic empire was that of the Mughals, a Central Asian dynasty founded by Babur early in the sixteenth century. Babur was succeeded by his son Humayun and under the reign of Humayun's son , Akbar the Great (1562-1605), Indo-Islamic culture attained a peak of tolerance, harmony and a spirit of enquiry.The nobles of his court belonged to both the Hindu and the Muslim faiths, and Akbar himself married a Hindu princess. Leaders of all the faiths were invited to his court at Fatehpur Sikri to debate religious issues at the specially built 'Ibadat Khana'. Akbar tried to consolidate religious tolerance by founding the Din-e-Ilahi religion, an amalgam of the Hindu and the Muslim faiths. Mughal culture reached its zenith during the reign of Akbar's grandson Shahjehan, a great builder and patron of the arts. Shahjehan moved his capital to Delhi and built the incomparable Taj Mahal at Agra. Aurangzeb, the last major Mughal, extended his empire over all but the southern tip of India, though he was constantly harried by Rajput and Maratha clans. |
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Coming of the Europeans The next arrival of overwhelming political importance was that of the Europeans. The great seafarers of north-west Europe, the British, French, Dutch and Portuguese, arrived early in the seventeenth century and established trading outposts along the coasts. The spices of Malabar (in Kerala) had attracted the Portuguese as early as the end of the 15th century when, in 1498, Vasco da Gama had landed at Calicut, sailing via the Cape of Good Hope. Early in the 16th Century, the Portuguese had already established their colony in Goa; but their territorial and commercial hold in India remained rather limited. During the late 16th and 17th century they remained unrivalled as pirates on the high seas; but inland the other European companies were making their presence felt, though entirely in commercial terms. The Years of 'The Raj' The newcomers soon developed rivalries among themselves and allied with local rulers to consolidate their positions against each other militarily. In time they developed territorial and political ambitions of their own and manipulated local rivalries and enmities to their own advantage. The ultimate victors were the British, who established political supremacy over eastern India after the Battle of Plassey in 1757. They gradually extended their rule over the entire subcontinent, either by direct annexation, or by exercising suzerainty over local rajas and nawabs. Unlike all former rulers, the British did not settle in India to form a new local empire. The English East India Company continued its commercial activities and India became 'the Jewel in the Crown' of the British empire, giving an enormous boost to the nascent Industrial Revolution by providing cheap raw materials, capital and a large captive market for British industry. The land was reorganised under the harsh Zamindari system to facilitate the collection of taxes to enrich British coffers. In certain areas farmers were forced to switch from subsistence farming to commercial crops such as indigo, jute, coffee and tea. This resulted in several famines of unprecedented scale. In the first half of the 19th century, the British extended their hold over many Indian territories. A large part of the subcontinent was brought under the Company's direct administration; in some parts local rulers were retained as subsidiaries of the Company, militarily and administratively completely at its mercy and yilelding to it an overwhelming portion of the revenues. By 1857, "the British empire in India had become the British empire of India." The means employed to achieve this were unrestrained and no scruple was allowed to interfere with the imperial ambition. |
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The Struggle for Independence (The First War of Indpendence,The Freedom Struggle,Mohandas Karmachand Gandhi,Independence - August 15, 1947) The First War of Independence A century of accumulated grievances erupted in the Indian mutiny of sepoys in the British army, in 1857. This was the signal for a spontaneous conflagration, in which the princely rulers, landed aristocarcy and peasantry rallied against the British around the person of the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah. The uprising, however, was eventually brutally supressed. By the end of 1859, the "emperor" had been deported to Burma where he died a lonely death, bringing to a formal end the era of Mughal rule in India. The Mutiny, even in its failure, produced many heroes and heroines of epic character. Above all, it produced a sense of unity between the Hindus and the Muslims of India that was to be witnessed in later years. The rebellion also saw the end of the East India Company's rule in India. Power was transferred to the British Crown in 1858 by an Act of British Parliament. The Crown's viceroy in India was to be the chief executive. The Freedom Struggle The British empire contained within itself the seeds of its own destruction. The British constructed a vast railway network across the entire land in order to facilitate the transport of raw materials to the ports for export. This gave intangible form to the idea of Indian unity by physically bringing all the peoples of the subcontinent within easy reach of each other. Since it was impossible for a small handful of foreigners to administer such a vast country, they set out to create a local elite to help them in this task; to this end they set up a system of education that familiarised the local intelligentsia with the intellectual and social values of the West. Ideas of democracy, individual freedom and equality were the antithesis of the empire and led to the genesis of the freedom movement among thinkers like Raja Rammohan Roy, Bankim Chandra and Vidyasagar. With the failure of the 1857 mutiny, the leadership of the freedom movement passed into the hands of this class and crystallised in the formation of the Indian National Congress in 1885. The binding psychological concept of National Unity was also forged in the fire of the struggle against a common foreign oppressor. At the turn of the century, the freedom movement reached out to the common unlettered man through the launching of the Swadeshi movement by leaders such as Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Aurobindo Ghose. But the full mobilisation of the masses into an invincible force only occured with the apperance on the scene of one of the most remarkable and charismatic leaders of the twentieth century, perhaps in history. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was a British trained lawyer of Indian origin from South Africa. He had won his political spurs organising the Indian community there against the vicious system of apartheid. During this struggle, he had developed the novel technique of non-violent agitation which he called 'satyagraha', loosely translated as moral domination. He was thus heir to the ancient traditions of Gautama Buddha, Mahavir Jain and emperor Ashoka, and was later given the title of Mahatma, or Great Soul. Gandhi, himself a devout Hindu, also espoused a total moral philosophy of tolerance, brotherhood of all religions, non-violence (ahimsa) and of simple living. He adopted an austere traditional Indian style of living, which won him wide popularity and transformed him into the undisputed leader of the Congress. As Jawaharlal Nehru said, "He was a powerful current of fresh air that made us stretch ourselves and take a deep breath" and revitalised the Freedom Movement. Under his leadership, the Congress launched a series of mass movements - the Non Cooperation Movement of 1920 -1922 and the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1930. The latter was triggered by the famous Salt March, when Gandhi captured the imagination of the nation by leading a band of followers from his ashram at Sabarmati, on a 200 mile trek to the remote village of Dandi on the west coast, there to prepare salt in symbolic violation of British law. These were populist movements in which people from all classes and all parts of India participated with great fervour. Women too, played an active role in the struggle. Sarojini Naidu, Aruna Asaf Ali and Bhikaji Cama, to name but a few, inspired millions of others to take the first step on the road to emancipation and equality. In August 1942, the Quit India movement was launched. "I want freedom immediately, this very night before dawn if it can be had.'.. we shall free India or die in the attempt, we shall not live to see the perpetuation of our slavery", declared the Mahatma, as the British resorted to brutal repression against non-violent satyagrahis. It became evident that the British could maintain the empire only at enormous cost. At the end of the Second World War, they saw the writing on the wall, and initiated a number of constitutional moves to effect the transfer of power to the sovereign State of India. For the first and perhaps the only time in history, the power of a mighty global empire 'on which the sun never set', had been challenged and overcome by the moral might of a people armed only with ideals and courage. Independence India achieved independence on August 15,1947. Giving voice to the sentiments of the nation, the country's first prime minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru said, "Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we will redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance .... We end today a period of ill fortune, and India discovers herself again." The progress and triumph of the Indian Freedom movement was one of the most significant historical processes of the twentieth century. Its repercussions extended far beyond its immediate political consequences. Within the country, it initiated the reordering of political, social and economic power. In the international context, it sounded the death knell of British Imperialism, and changed the political face of the globe. |
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The New State Throughout history, India has absorbed and modified to suit its needs, the best from all the civilisations with which it has come into contact. Once again the fledgling nation demonstrated the maturity and wisdom of its ancient traditions, and the truth of its claim that it was opposed, not to the people or the civilisation of Britain and the West, only to its imperial domination. India chose to remain within the British Commonwealth of Nations. It also adopted the British system of Parliamentary Democracy, and retained the judicial, administrative, defence and educational structures and institutions set up by the British. India is today the largest and most populous democracy on earth, with universal adult suffrage. The Indian Constitution, adopted when India became a Republic on January 26, 1950, safeguards all its people from all forms of discrimination on grounds of race, religion, creed or sex. It guarantees freedom of speech, expression and belief, assembly and association, migration, acquisition of property and choice of occupation or trade. The Indian Parliament consists of two houses: The Rajya Sabha or Council of States, and the Lok Sabha or House of Representatives. The former consists of 250 members, mainly elected and some nominated by the President, and is presided over by the Vice-President. The Lok Sabha is made up of 543 members elected from the States and Union Territories. All legislation requires the approval of both Houses. The President is the Head of State, and is appointed through the votes of an electoral college drawn from both Houses and from the Legislature of the constituent States. The Prime Minister is the head of the Government, and is the leader of the majority party in the Lok Sabha. The President appoints ministers on his advice. Members of the State Legislative Assemblies or Vidhan Sabhas are elected through universal adult franchise. Each State has a Chief Minister who is the leader of the majority party of the Assembly. Elections are supervised by the Election Commission, an independent body. An independent judiciary is the guardian and interpreter of the Constitution, and the Supreme Court is the highest tribunal in the land, at the apex of the state High Courts. The Civil Services implement government policies freely and fairly. Entrance to these Services is by annual public examinations open to all. The achievement of independence was but the first step towards creating a modern nation. Jawaharlal Nehru spelt it out very clearly, "We talk of freedom, but today political freedom does not take us very far unless there is economic freedom. Indeed, there is no such thing as freedom for a man who is starving or for a country that is poor." Today, economic development and social justice are the priorities of the Indian government. India Today India's vanguard role in the international anti-colonial struggle has given her natural moral leadership of the Third World in its quest for international peace, equality and justice. Refusing to be drawn into the dangerous confrontationalist politics of super power rivalries, India was a moving force behind the formation of the Nonaligned Movement (NAM) in 1961. Nonalignment does not mean neutrality, it means a principled approach to international issues. In consonance with the spirit of the movement, India has always sought close bilateral relations and cooperation at all levels with countries of both the Western and Socialist blocs, as well as with other nonaligned nations. The relevance of nonalignment has not diminished in the post USSR era, but the movement has had to redefine its perspective in the context of increasing polarity between the affluent, developed nations of the North, and the economically developing nations of the South. The main thrust of the movement now is to assert the independence of the South against the hegemony of the North, and to resist the interventionist political pressures of aid conditionalities. At the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, India strongly asserted the position of the countries of the South that environmental problems cannot be tackled in isolation from economic and developmental issues. Pointing out that the affluent nations consume a disproportionately enormous share of the earth's resources and create most of its industrial pollution, India joined the developing countries in insisting on complete national sovereignty over natural resources, and demanded that they be suitably compensated for restraining economic growth in order to preserve these assets in the interests of global survival. The international prestige enjoyed by the country has enabled India to take a leading role in multilateral initiatives toward finding solutions to some of the critical issues of the day, such as nuclear disarmament, apartheid, the rights of the Palestinian people, protection of the environment and the evolution of a more just international economic order. Mutual respect and cooperation have also been the basis of India's relationship with her neighbours. The South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), established in December 1985, provides a valuable forum for the promotion of regional cooperation among its seven member states - Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. SAARC is based on the principles of sovereign equality, territorial integrity, political independence, mutual benefit and non interference in the internal affairs of other states. The U.N. Declaration of the Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace, which India has consistently supported, is another step in the direction of peace and stability in the area. The moral authority vested in India as a legacy of its anticolonial stand, has enabled it to play a vigorous and principled role in all international fora, including the United Nations, in efforts to banish all forms of exploitation from the world. |
Map of Ang - Pradesh (Angika Speaking Area) (Click on image to see clear & detailed view) |
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