History of India

History of India
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Great stupa of Sanchi , repository of the relics of Gautama Buddha . Built by Ashoka the Great of the
Mauryan Empire in the 3rd century BC, its extension and balustrade were in the Shunga period and the
torana in the Satavahana period.
The history of India in the era before 1950 is inseparable from the history of the
Indian subcontinent , to which this nation belongs. It includes the prehistoric
settlements and societies in the region, the advanced Indus Valley civilization and
the fusion of Indo-Aryan culture to form the Vedic civilization ; 1 the origin of
Hinduism , Jainism and Buddhism ; 2 3 the succession of powerful dynasties and
empires for more than three millennia in various areas of the subcontinent that
includes the growth of Muslim domains interconnected with Hindu powers; 4 5 the
arrival of European traders that resulted in the establishment of British India , and
the subsequent independence movement that led to the partition of India and the
creation of the Indian republic . 6
The Indus Valley Civilization, considered an original civilization, 7 which spread and
flourished in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent between 3300 and 1300 BC.
C., it was the first great civilization in South Asia. 8 During the Harappense period,
between 2600 and 1900, 9 they developed a technologically advanced urban
culture. That civilization collapsed at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. C.
and was succeeded by the Vedic civilization of the Iron Age . In that era, the Vedas
, seminal texts of Hinduism, were composed, the janapadas (monarchical political
entities) and caste- based stratification were formed. The late Vedic civilization
spread over the Indo-Gangetic plain and much of the subcontinent, and witnessed
the rise of larger states known as mahajanapadas . In Magadha , one of these
kingdoms, Gautama Buddha and Mahavira propagated their shramanic
philosophies during the 5th and 6th centuries BC. c.
Much of the subcontinent was conquered by the Mauryan Empire during the 4th
and 3rd centuries BC. C. Since the 3rd century BC. C. Prakrit and Pali literature in
the north and Sangam literature in the south began to flourish. 10 11 Wootz steel
originated in southern India in the 3rd century BC. C. and was exported abroad. 12
13 14
During the classical period, various parts of India were ruled by numerous
dynasties for 1,500 years, most notably the Gupta Empire . This period, witness to
a Hindu religious and intellectual revival, is known as the "golden age of India." In
this period various aspects of Indian civilization, administration, culture and religion
(Hinduism and Buddhism) expanded to much of Asia, while the southern Indian
kingdoms maintained maritime ties with the Middle East and the Mediterranean.
Indian cultural influence spread to many parts of Southeast Asia, leading to the
establishment of Indianized kingdoms in that region. 15 16
The most important event between the 7th and 11th centuries was the tripartite
struggle centered at Kannauj , which lasted more than two centuries, between the
Pala Empire , the Rashtrakuta Empire and Gurjara Pratihara . Multiple imperial
powers emerged in southern India from the mid-5th century onwards, most notably
the Chalukya , Chola , Pallava , Chera , Pandya and Western Chalukya empires.
The Chola dynasty conquered southern India and invaded parts of Southeast Asia,
Sri Lanka , Maldives and Bengal in the 11th century. 17 18 19 In the early Middle
Ages, Indian mathematicians influenced the development of mathematics and
astronomy in the Arab world and introduced Hindu numbers. 20
Muslim rule began in parts of northern India in the 13th century, when the Delhi
Sultanate was founded in 1206 by Turkic invaders from central Asia, 21 although
Muslims had already made limited conquest raids in the area. territory of what are
now Afghanistan and Pakistan from as early as the 8th century. 22 The Delhi
Sultanate ruled most of northern India in the early 14th century, but fell into decline
at the end of the 14th century. Several powerful Hindu states also emerged in that
period, notably Vijayanagara , Gajapati , Ahom and several Rashput states such as
Mewar . In the 15th century Sikhism emerged. The modern period began in the
16th century, when the Mughal Empire conquered most of the Indian subcontinent.
23
The Mughal Empire suffered a gradual decline in the early 18th century, which
was an opportunity for the Maratha Empire , the Sikh Empire and the Mysore
Kingdom to exert their control over vast areas of the subcontinent. 24 25
From the late 18th century to the mid-19th century, large areas of India were
annexed by the British East India Company . Discontent with Company rule led to
the Indian Rebellion of 1857 , after which the British Indian provinces were
administered directly by the British Crown and would experience a period of rapid
infrastructure development, economic decline, and major famines. 26 27 28 29 30
During the first half of the 20th century, the fight for independence began led by the
Indian National Congress , which was later joined by other organizations. The
subcontinent gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, after the
British provinces were divided into the dominions of India and Pakistan and the
princely states were integrated into one of the new states.

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