India History

It is known that at least the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent along the Indus Valley was already settled by people seven thousand years ago, who left behind houses and farm-houses in settlements such as Mohenjo-daro (in the province of Sind in Pakistan) and Harappa (in Punjab, Pakistan), and evidence of use of written scripts.  
 
Around three thousand years ago, the Aryans invaded the subcontinent from Afghanistan, replaced the original settlers, and spread to the south down the west Indian coast and east along the Ganges.  Gradually, local custom, culture and social classes were developed, and religious practices established worshipping various deities.  Different dialects and languages also evolved; among others things, holy texts and hymns in Sankrit were left behind.  Out of all these emerged the caste system and Hinduism.  Like the people before them, the Aryans created many states, often raiding each other; the largest of the states were Kosala and Magadha.
 
In 326 BC, Alexander the Great’s army reached the Indus Valley , setting up the city of Bucephala.  He stayed for only two years because of a threatened mutiny by his troops.  In 305 BC, a local king, Chandragupta Maurya, who ruled the nearby Magadha dynasty, induced Alexander’s general who succeeded him, Seleucus, to retreat through the Khyber Pass with a gift of 500 elephants.  
 
Maurya’s grandson, Asoka, expanded the kingdom to include eastern India, introduced a system of administration, promoted Buddhism and build temples and monuments, some of which have remained to this day in places like Ajanta.   His kingdom lasted another 50 years after his death in 232 BC. 
 
Other foreign invasions followed, by some Greeks from Bactria , a Greek outpost in ancient Persia left from the days of Alexander.   Next came the Kushans, also from Persia .  

However, by the 4 th century, a native kingdom was founded by Chandra Gupta, which lasted for more than two centuries.   During this period, ancient Aryan culture, and Sankrit as a language developed further.

From the 5 th century AD onwards, Buddhism was replaced by Hinduism which had never disappeared.   The next 1,000 years can be summarised as a period when Muslim invaders came from the northwest into India to seize territories and treasures, and brought Islam into the region.   They either fought against Hindu rulers or fought among themselves, and sometimes fought against other groups such as the Tamils.

The Muslims’ initial stronghold was Punjab , but later they managed to spread elsewhere.   The first sultanate of Delhi , called Mamluk Dynasty, was formed in 1211; other Muslim dynasties followed until the sultanate ended in 1526 although their rule was disrupted in 1398 when the Mongol Khan Timur (who enhanced his credentials by claiming to be a descendant of Genghis Khan) sacked the Delhi Sultanate in 1398. 
  
Elsewhere in the sub-continent, in 1336, the powerful Hindu Vijayanagara Empire was founded in the south below the Krishna River , which runs across the middle of the triangular-shaped peninsula, where beautiful palaces and temples still remain in its capital Hampi; but it was defeated by nearby Muslim states in 1565.   The Muslims were also periodically harassed by the fierce warriors from the Rajasthan deserts.

In the 16 th century, the Mughals from Central Asia took advantage of the fractious conditions and conquered most of India .   The first move was made by Babur (great, great, great grandson of Timur) from Kabul , who captured Delhi in 1526 and later other regions in the north.   His son, and then his grandson, Akbar, continued to expand the territories.   Akbar was able to use war, marriage and political skills to gain the allegiance of the Hindu majority.   He married a Hindu Rajput princess, who bore him his heir, Janhangir.   He removed inequitable tax burdens on Hindus.   He also subdued Hindus and Muslim states, bringing him money for this treasury and women for his harem.   By 1605, most of the subcontinent north of Augangabad was in his empire.   The next century saw Akbar’s heirs squander away the empire.   While his grandson, Shah Jahan, was famous for building the Taj Mahal for his wife, and his son was well-known for imprisonment of his aging father in the Red Fort in Agra in full view of the Taj, they antagonised the Hindu majority by restricting the rights of Hindus and breaking with Hindu allies.

During their rule, the Mughals made significant contributions to the Indian culture by patronising art and literture, and built impressive palaces, fortresses and mosques.

The appearance of the Europeans hastened the decline of the Mughals.   First the Portuguese came in 1498, but they lost to the British by 1612 and managed to keep enclaves such as Goa.   The British formed the British East India Company in 1600, and the French created the French East India Company in 1664.   The two companies clashed in the next 100 years, usually with the aid of local rulers and hired Indian soldiers.   Eventually the British East India Company prevailed and French presence disappeared from India after 1760.

Meanwhile, the Mughal empire was severely shaken after its invasion by the Persians in 1740 who captured Delhi, massacred the population and took away the Mughal’s precious Peacock Throne; but the Persians left.   The weakened empire broke up into states which paid nominal allegiance to the emperor.   The British colonised India over time by defeating local rulers or playing off rival rulers and then setting up compliant regimes.   In addition, the British established strongholds in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras .  

British domination led to resentment of foreign oppression.   This was manifest in 1858, when the Sepoys (Indian soldiers recruited by the British East India Company) rebelled against their British commanding officers throughout India .   The British were nearly defeated, but regained control.   In 1859, the British Government took direct control of India from the British East India Company and proclaimed Queen Victoria the Empress of India.

The late 19 th century saw the emergence of Indian nationalism, prompted by the desire to regain control of the country’s own destiny, and championed by legendary leaders like Mahatma Gandhi.   The issue was complicated by the difference in views of the Hindu and Muslim politicians about the future of a post-British India .   Essentially, the Muslims did not want to stay in a new nation dominated by the Hindu majority.

This split eventually led to the partition of the Indian sub-continent into India and Pakistan in 1947, the subsequent assassination of Gandhi by a Hindu extremist, and the dispute between the two new countries over Kashmir which has lasted to this day.