Basic knowledge of Indian History

Indian history/Basic knowledge of Indian History, Ancient and Mordan History OF India

Ancient India Map

If the history of India is called one of the great chapters of world history, then there can be no exaggeration in it. India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru described it as, "full of contradictions but tied together by strong invisible threads". The specialty of Indian history is that it is constantly engaged in a process of self-discovery and keeps growing, hence it seems elusive to those who try to understand it together.

The history of this amazing subcontinent goes back approximately 75,000 years and is evidenced by the human activity of Homo Sapiens. It is surprising that 5,000 years ago the inhabitants of the Indus Valley Civilization had developed an urban culture based on agriculture and trade.

The history of India according to eras is as follows:

 

Prehistoric Period

Stone Age:

The Stone Age began between 500,000 and 200,000 years ago and recent discoveries in Tamil Nadu mark the earliest human presence in the region. Weapons made by humans dating back 200,000 years have also been discovered in the northwestern part of the country.

Bronze Age:

The Bronze Age in the Indian subcontinent began with the Indus Valley Civilization around 3,300 BC. Apart from being a historical part of ancient India, it is one of the world's earliest civilizations, along with Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt. The people of this era developed new technology in metallurgy and handicrafts and produced copper, brass, lead and tin.

Early Historical Period

Vedic Period:

Aryans were the first to attack India. They arrived from the north around 1,500 BC and brought with them a strong cultural tradition. Sanskrit was one of the oldest languages spoken by them and was also used to write the Vedas, which date back to 12th BC and are considered the oldest texts.

The Vedas are considered to be the oldest texts after the Mesopotamian and Egyptian texts. The Vedic period in the subcontinent lasted from about 1,500–500 BCE and laid the foundation of Hinduism and other cultural dimensions of early Indian society. The Aryans spread the Vedic civilization throughout North India, especially in the Gangetic plains.

Mahajanapada:

This period saw the second largest rise of urbanization in India after the Indus Valley Civilization. The word ‘Maha’ means great and ‘Janapad’ means the base of a tribe. By the end of the Vedic era, many small dynasties and kingdoms began to flourish throughout the subcontinent. It is also described in Buddhist and Jain literature dating back to 1,000 BC. By 500 BC, 16 republics or say Mahajanapadas had been established, such as Kasi, Kosala, Anga, Magadha, Vajji or Vraji, Malla, Chedi, Vatsa or Vamsa, Kuru, Panchala, Matsya, Surasena, Asaka, Avanti, Gandhara and Kamboja.

Persian and Greek conquests:

Much of the northwestern region of the subcontinent, in present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan, came under the rule of Darius the Great of the Persian Achaemenid Empire in c. 520 BC and lasted for nearly two centuries. In 326 BC, Alexander conquered Asia Minor and the Achaemenid Empire, then reached the northwestern border of the Indian subcontinent, defeated King Porus and captured most of the area of Punjab.

Maurya Empire:

The Maurya Empire of the Mauryan descendants lasted from 322-185 BC and was a geographically extensive and politically and militarily powerful state in ancient India. Chandragupta Maurya established it in the subcontinent in Magadha, present-day Bihar, and it flourished greatly under the rule of the great king Ashoka.

Events in ancient Indian history

Prehistoric period: 400000 BC-1000 BC : This was the time when humans, who were just gathering food, discovered fire and the wheel.

Indus Valley Civilization: 2500 BC-1500 BC : Its name came from the Indus River and it progressed through agriculture. The people here also worshiped natural resources.

Epic Age: 1000 BC-600 BC : During this period, Vedas were compiled and divisions of classes were formed like Arya and Das.

Hinduism and change: 600 BC-322 BC : During this time the caste system had become very strict and this was the time when Mahavir and Buddha arrived and they rebelled against casteism. During this period, Mahajanapadas were formed and Magadha came under the rule of Bimbisara, Ajata Shatru, Shisunanga and Nanda dynasties were formed.

Maurya period: 322 BC-185 BC : The entire North India was under this empire established by Chandragupta Maurya and Bindusara expanded it further. After the Kalinga war that took place during this period, King Ashoka adopted Buddhism.

Invasions: 185 BC-320 AD: During this period there were invasions by Bactrian, Parthian, Shaka and Kushan. Central Asia opened for trade, gold coins were introduced and the Saka era began.

Deccan and South: 65 BC-250 AD: During this period, the south was ruled by Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas and during this period, Ajanta Ellora caves were built, Sangam literature and Christianity arrived in India.

Gupta Empire: 320 AD-520 AD: During this period, Chandragupta I established the Gupta Empire, the classical era arrived in North India, Samudragupta expanded his dynasty and Chandragupta II fought against Shaka. Shakuntalam and Kama Sutra were composed in this era only. Aryabhata did amazing work in astronomy and Bhakti cult also emerged during this time.

Period of Small Kingdoms: 500 AD-606 AD: This era saw migration into Central Asia and Iran due to the arrival of Huns in North India.

In the North, many small states were formed due to wars between many dynasties.

Harshvardhan: 606 AD-647 AD: During the reign of Harshvardhan, the famous Chinese traveler Hen Tsang traveled to India. Due to the attack of Huns, Harshvardhan's kingdom got divided into many small states.

This was the time when the Deccan and the South became very powerful.

Southern Dynasty: 500 AD-750 AD: During this period, Chalukya, Pallava and Pandya empires flourished and Parsis came to India.

Chola Empire: 9th century AD-13th century AD: The Chola Empire established by Vijayalas adopted a maritime policy.

Now temples started becoming cultural and social centers and the Dravidian language flourished.

Northern Empire: 750 AD-1206 AD: During this time Rashtrakutas became powerful, Pratihara ruled Avanti and Palas ruled Bengal. This period saw the rise of Rajput clans.

Temples were built in Khajuraho, Kanchipuram, Puri and miniature painting started. The Turks invaded during this period.

Medieval Indian History

Mughal Empire: Babur, a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan, from Ferghana Valley in present-day Uzbekistan, crossed the Khyber Pass in 1526 and established the Mughal Empire in what is now Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. The Mughal dynasty ruled most of the Indian subcontinent until 1600. After 1700, this dynasty began to decline and finally ended completely in 1857 during India's first war of independence.

Modern Indian History

Colonial period: In the 16th century, European powers from Portugal, Netherlands, France and Britain established their trade centers in India. Later, taking advantage of internal differences, they established their colonies.

British Raj:

When the British East India Company came to India in 1600, the British rule began here under the rule of Queen Victoria. It ended after the first war of Indian independence in 1857.

Famous people of 1857:

Bahadur Shah Zafar

Most of the Indian rebels elected Bahadur Shah Zafar as the King of India and united under him. Even he could not stand before the British conspiracy. His fall ended the more than three-century-old Mughal rule in India.

Bakht Khan:

Bakht Khan, who was a Subedar in the East India Company, created an army of Rohilla soldiers. After the rebellion of the sepoys in Meerut against the British in May 1857, he became the commander of the sepoy army in Delhi.

Mangal Pandey:

Mangal Pandey, who was part of the 34th Bengal Native Infantry, is known for attacking a senior British officer at Barrackpore on 29 March 1857. This incident is considered to be the beginning of India's freedom struggle.

Nana Sahib: 

Nana Sahib, the adopted son of the exiled Maratha Peshwa Baji Rao II, led the rebellion in Kanpur.

Rani Laxmibai:

Rani Laxmibai along with Tatya Tope fought bravely against the British soldiers. On 17 June 1858, he sacrificed his life while fighting the British near Phool Bagh area of Gwalior.

Tatya Tope:

Nana Sahib's close associate and commander Tatya Tope fought the British along with Rani Lakshmibai.

Veer Kunwar Singh:

The king of Jagdishpur, currently part of Bhojpur district of Bihar, led the armed forces against the British.

Indian Independence Movement and Mahatma Gandhi:

In the 20th century, Mahatma Gandhi led millions of people and launched a non-violent civil disobedience movement for independence in 1947.

Independence and Partition:

Due to the divide and rule policy of the British, religious tension between Hindus and Muslims increased in the last few years, especially in provinces like Punjab and West Bengal. Mahatma Gandhi also appealed to both religious communities to maintain unity. The British, struggling with a weak economy after the Second World War, decided to leave India, paving the way for the formation of an interim government. Eventually, India and Pakistan were partitioned and the region gained independence from British occupation in 1947.

Post-independence period:

Many civilizations such as the Greek, Roman and Egyptian saw rise and fall. Indian civilization and culture remained untouched by this. There were many attacks on this country one after the other, many empires came and ruled different parts, but the indomitable spirit of India was not defeated.

Today India is seen as the world's largest democracy and most vibrant republic. It is an emerging global superpower and an influential country in South Asia.

India is the second largest country in Asia and the seventh largest in the world and the second largest in terms of population. It contains one-third of Asia and one-seventh of the human race.