HISTORY

North Indian Society sprang from the wide plains of the Indus and Ganges rivers, sites of continuous human settlement since about 2500 BC, when a sophisticated urban culture flourished along the Indus Valley . After 600 BC, powerful empires such as the Mauryas, Kushanas and Guptas presided over the rise of Buddhism and Hinduism, two major religions that emerged from North India .

Overland trade with Central Asia and the Far East invited conquest and settlement as well. Interestingly, India is a derivative of “Indoi”, a Greek word given to people who lived across the River Sindhu, or Indus. From 1500 BC on, North India was home to immigrants. These included the Aryans, Greeks and Parthians, Scythians, Huns and Mongols.

An important development took place in AD 1192 when Muhammad Ghori displaced the Rajputs from Delhi to found the first major Islamic kingdom in the region. Later, with the coming of the Mughals in 1526, North India underwent a process of social and political change that lasted nearly 300 years, as a vibrant Indo-Islamic cultural fusion took place. Imperial centralization under the Mughals brought peace and prosperity in its wake, while art and architecture scaled new heights of excellence.

The rise of the British East India Company in the 18 th century, after the decline of the Mughals, was the start of 200 years of British rule in India . The colonial period, which also marks the political unification of the subcontinent, ended in 1947 when India became independent. Today a mature democracy, India is trying to tackle poverty and illiteracy with economic and political reforms in the new millennium.

Early Civilizations Indian civilization first flourished between 2500 and 1500 BC in the Harappan settlements along the River Indus. These sophisticated urban settlements, with an underground drainage system and well laid out streets, were spread over an area much larger than either ancient Egypt or Mesopotamia . The reasons for the decline of this early civilization are still unclear, but by 1500 BC, the Aryans, who had entered India through the passes of the Hindu Kush, had settled down in Northwest India . Sacred texts such as the Rig Veda record aspects of their culture. By 600 BC with the gradual adoption of widespread crop cultivation, several new urban sites had emerged in the Ganges Valley . Many of these were capitals of independent kingdoms, and some cities of that age, such as Mathura , Patna and Varanasi , still exist.

Ancient Empires Under the Mauryan emperor Ashoka, North India saw its first large-scale empire. Contact with Central Asia, which began around 200 BC, determined crucial political alliances after the Mauryas, and by the 1 st century AD, the Kushanas from Central Asia had an empire that extended up to the Ganges Valley . This period also saw the rise and spread of Buddhism. In the 4 th century, the Gupta kings presided over the flowering of classical Sanskrit at the hands of writers such as Kalidasa, the emergence of the Holy Trinity and temple worship also date from the Gupta Age.

Rajput Dynasties Rajput clans rose to prominence in North India from the late 7 th century. Claiming a high caste warrior status (kshatriya), they traced their lineage to the sun and moon to firmly establish their legitimacy, and ruled over North, West and Central India . After losing Delhi and Kannauj to the Muslims, they confined their activities to the western region, now Rajasthan, where rival clans fought for supremacy. Widely renowned for their loyalty and valor, most Rajput clans were welcomed as allies by Mughal rulers.

The Delhi Sultans The fabulous wealth of India attracted Arab traders and raiders, such as Mahmud of Ghazni. A slave general of Muhammad Ghori, called Qubuddin Aibak, established himself in North India and founded the Mamluk (Slave) Dynasty. Followed by the Khiljis, Tughlaqs, Sayyids and Lodis, these Muslim rulers, called the Sultans of Delhi, established an empire that survived into the early 16 th century and changed the cultural and urban milieu of much of the subcontinent by introducing new technologies and customs.

The Great Mughals The Mughals, like the Ottomans of Turkey , the Safavids of Iran and the Tudors of England, were one of the greatest medieval dynasties. For over 200 years they held firm political control over the subcontinent, establishing a stable administrative system and a rich pluralistic culture blending the best of Hindu and Islamic traditions. Great patrons of art and architecture, they also encouraged the translation of Sanskrit texts into Persian. Markets and cities flourished under them, making India famous.

European Traders, Colonizers and Mercenaries Crippled by the sack of Delhi in 1739 by Nadir Shah of Persia , Mughal power declined rapidly. This was exploited by petty rulers, European mercenaries, and the British East India Company, set up in the 1690s to trade in spices and cotton. Its commercial success led to the rise of the Company as a political power, which ushered in some social reforms and new power equations. Yet, the social instability engendered by the Company's unpopular trade and political practices erupted in the Indian Mutiny or Great Revolt of 1857.

Pax Britannica The Foundation of British Rule, or the Raj, was laid only after the Indian Mutiny, which truly revealed the unpopularity of the East India Company. And Act of Parliament in 1858 brought its rule to a close and its Indian territories became part of Britain 's empire. India was now ruled directly by the Crown through a viceroy. Though the Raj was unabashedly Victorian and conservative, and its raison d'être was economic profit and political control, its abiding legacy was the political unification of the subcontinent, and the introduction of modern Western education, a centralized civil administration and judicial system, along with a wide network of railways and postal services.

The Freedom Movement The founding of the Indian National Congress in 1885 gave Indians a platform from which to demand freedom from foreign rule. Their ideology was provided by Gandhi, whose message of non-violence and economic self-reliance gave them moral confidence, and united castes and communities under a common cause. At first the movement for freedom was ruthlessly suppressed, but by the 1930s it became too large for the British to handle. Finally, weakened by World War II and under growing international pressure, England granted India formal independence in 1947.

India Today India celebrated 50 years of independence in 1997. Nehru, the first prime minister, laid the foundations for a modern nation state with a democratic, secular polity, a strong industrial base and a planned economy, with non-alignment as the keystone of its foreign policy. India 's one billion people speak 18 languages, and though many of them are illiterate and unemployed, a vigorous and free press and electoral system ensure that their interests and rights are safeguarded and well represented. The two major national political parties are the Congress, and the more right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party.