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History of IndiaFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the history of the Indian subcontinent prior to the partition of India in 1947. For the

modern Republic of India, see History of the Republic of India. For Pakistan and Bangladesh,

see History of Pakistan and History of Bangladesh.

"Indian history" redirects here. For other uses, see Native American history.

Part of a series on the

History of India

Chronology of Indian history

Ancient India

 Prehistoric India and Vedic India 

Religions, Society, Mahajanapadas

Mauryan Period

Economy, Spread of Buddhism,

Chanakya, Satavahana Empire

The Golden Age

Discoveries, Aryabhata,

Ramayana, Mahabharata

Medieval India

The Classical Age

Gurjara-Pratihara

Pala Empire

Rashtrakuta Empire

Art, Philosophy, Literature

Islam in India

Delhi Sultanate, Vijayanagara Empire,

Music, Guru Nanak

Mughal India

Architecture,

Maratha Confederacy

Modern India

Company Rule

Zamindari system, Warren Hastings,

Mangal Pandey, 1857

British Indian Empire

Hindu reforms, Bengal Renaissance,

Independence struggle, Mahatma Gandhi

V

 

T

 

E

Outline of South Asian

history

History of Indian subcontinent

Stone age (7000–3000 BC)[show]

Bronze age (3000–1300 BC)[show]

Iron age (1200–26 BC)[show]

Classical period (1–1279 AD)[show]

Late medieval age (1206–1596 AD)[show]

Early modern period (1526–1858 AD)[show]

Other states (1102–1947 AD)[show]

Colonial period (1505–1961 AD)[show]

Kingdoms of Sri Lanka[show]

Nation histories[show]

Regional histories[show]

Specialised histories[show]

V

 

T

 

E

The history of India begins with evidence of human activity of Homo sapiens as long as 75,000 years

ago, or with earlier hominids including Homo erectusfrom about 500,000 years ago.[1] The Indus Valley

Civilization, which spread and flourished in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent from c.

3300 to 1300 BCE in present-day Pakistan and northwest India, was the first major civilization in South

Asia.[2] A sophisticated and technologically advanced urban culture developed in the Mature

Harappan period, from 2600 to 1900 BCE.[3] This Bronze Age civilization collapsed before the end of

the second millennium BCE and was followed by the Iron Age Vedic Civilization, which extended over

much of the Indo-Gangetic plain and which witnessed the rise of major polities known as

the Mahajanapadas. In one of these kingdoms, Magadha, Mahavira and Gautama Buddha were born

in the 6th or 5th century BCE and propagated their śramanic philosophies.

Most of the subcontinent was conquered by the Maurya Empire during the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE.

It became fragmented, with various parts ruled by numerous Middle kingdoms for the next 1,500

years. This is known as the classical period of Indian history, during which time India has sometimes

been estimated to have had the largest economy of the ancient and medieval world, with its huge

population generating between one fourth and one third of the world's income up to the 18th century.

Much of northern and central India was united in the 4th century CE, and remained so for two

centuries, under theGupta Empire. This period, witnessing a Hindu religious and intellectual

resurgence, is known as the "Golden Age of India". From this time, and for several centuries

afterwards, southern India, under the rule of the Chalukyas, Cholas, Pallavas, and Pandyas,

experienced its own golden age. During this period, aspects of Indian civilization, administration,

culture, and religion (Hinduism and Buddhism) spread to much of Asia.

Kingdoms in southern India had maritime business links with the Roman Empire from around 77 CE.

Muslim rule in the subcontinent began in 8th century CE when the Arab general Muhammad bin

Qasim conquered Sindh and Multan in southern Punjab in modern day Pakistan,[4] setting the stage for

several successive invasions from Central Asia between the 10th and 15th centuries CE, leading to

the formation of Muslim empires in the Indian subcontinent such as the Delhi Sultanate and

the Mughal Empire. Mughal rule came from Central Asia to cover most of the northern parts of the

subcontinent. Mughal rulers introduced Central Asian art and architecture to India. In addition to the

Mughals and various Rajput kingdoms, several independent Hindu states, such as theVijayanagara

Empire, the Maratha Empire, Eastern Ganga Empire and the Ahom Kingdom, flourished

contemporaneously in southern, western, eastern and northeastern India respectively. The Mughal

Empire suffered a gradual decline in the early 18th century, which provided opportunities for

the Afghans,Balochis, Sikhs, and Marathas to exercise control over large areas in the northwest of the

subcontinent until the British East India Company gained ascendancy over South Asia.[5]

Beginning in the mid-18th century and over the next century, large areas of India were annexed by the

British East India Company. Dissatisfaction with Company rule led to the Indian Rebellion of 1857,

after which the British provinces of India were directly administered by the British Crown and

witnessed a period of both rapid development of infrastructure and economic decline. During the first

half of the 20th century, a nationwide struggle for independence was launched by the Indian National

Congress and later joined by the Muslim League. The subcontinent gained independence from the

United Kingdom in 1947, after the British provinces were partitioned into the dominions of India and

Pakistan and the princely states all acceded to one of the new states.

Contents

  [hide] 

1   Prehistoric era

o 1.1   Stone Age

o 1.2   Bronze Age

2   Early historic period

o 2.1   Vedic period

o 2.2   Mahajanapadas

o 2.3   Persian and Greek conquests

o 2.4   Maurya Empire

3   Early Middle Kingdoms — The Golden Age

o 3.1   Northwestern hybrid cultures

o 3.2   Kushan Empire

o 3.3   Roman trade with India

o 3.4   Gupta rule

4   Late Middle Kingdoms — The Late-Classical Age

5   The Islamic Sultanates

o 5.1   Delhi Sultanate

6   Early modern period

o 6.1   Mughal Empire

o 6.2   Post-Mughal period

6.2.1   Maratha Empire

6.2.2   Sikh Empire (North-west)

6.2.3   Other kingdoms

7   Colonial era

o 7.1   Company rule in India

o 7.2   The rebellion of 1857 and its consequences

8   British Raj

o 8.1   Reforms

o 8.2   Famines

o 8.3   The Indian independence movement

9   Independence and partition

10   Historiography

11   See also

12   References

13   Sources

14   Further reading

o 14.1   Historiography

15   Online sources

16   External links

Prehistoric era

Stone Age

Main article: South Asian Stone Age

Further information: Mehrgarh, Bhimbetka rock shelters, and Edakkal Caves

Bhimbetka rock painting, Madhya Pradesh, India (c. 30,000 years old)

Stone age (5000 BC) writings ofEdakkal Caves in Kerala, India.

Isolated remains of Homo erectus in Hathnora in the Narmada Valley in central India indicate that India

might have been inhabited since at least the Middle Pleistocene era, somewhere between 500,000

and 200,000 years ago.[6][7] Tools crafted by proto-humans that have been dated back two million years

have been discovered in the northwestern part of the subcontinent.[8][9] The ancient history of the region

includes some of South Asia's oldest settlements[10]and some of its major civilizations.[11][12] The earliest

archaeological site in the subcontinent is the palaeolithic hominid site in the Soan River valley.

[13]Soanian sites are found in the Sivalik region across what are now India, Pakistan, and Nepal.[14]

The Mesolithic period in the Indian subcontinent was followed by the Neolithic period, when more

extensive settlement of the subcontinent occurred after the end of the last Ice Age approximately

12,000 years ago. The first confirmed semipermanent settlements appeared 9,000 years ago in

the Bhimbetka rock shelters in modern Madhya Pradesh, India. Early Neolithic culture in South Asia is

represented by the Bhirrana findings (7500 BCE)in Haryana, India & Mehrgarh findings (7000 BCE

onwards) in Balochistan, Pakistan.[15][16] Traces of a Neolithic culture have been alleged to be

submerged in the Gulf of Khambat in India, radiocarbon dated to 7500 BCE.[17] However, the one

dredged piece of wood in question was found in an area of strong ocean currents. Neolithic agriculture

cultures sprang up in the Indus Valley region around 5000 BCE, in the lower Gangetic valley around

3000 BCE, and in later South India, spreading southwards and also northwards into Malwa around

1800 BCE. The first urban civilization of the region began with the Indus Valley Civilization.[18]

Bronze Age

Main article: Indus Valley Civilization

See also: Economic history of India and Timeline of the economy of India

The docks of ancient Lothal as they appear today.

"Priest King" ofIndus Valley Civilization

The Bronze Age in the Indian subcontinent began around 3300 BCE with the early Indus Valley

Civilization. It was centered on the Indus River and its tributaries which extended into the Ghaggar-

Hakra River valley,[11] the Ganges-Yamuna Doab,[19] Gujarat,[20] and southeasternAfghanistan.[21]

The civilization is primarily located in modern-day India

(Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan provinces) and Pakistan (Sindh, Punjab,

and Balochistan provinces). Historically part of Ancient India, it is one of the world's earliest urban

civilizations, along with Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt.[22] Inhabitants of the ancient Indus river

valley, the Harappans, developed new techniques in metallurgy and handicraft (carneol products, seal

carving), and produced copper, bronze, lead, and tin.

The Mature Indus civilization flourished from about 2600 to 1900 BCE, marking the beginning of urban

civilization on the subcontinent. The civilization included urban centers such

as Dholavira, Kalibangan, Rupar, Rakhigarhi, andLothal in modern-day India,

and Harappa, Ganeriwala, and Mohenjo-daro in modern-day Pakistan. The civilization is noted for its

cities built of brick, roadside drainage system, and multistoried houses.

Early historic period

Vedic period

Main article: Vedic Civilization

See also: Vedas and Indo-Aryans

Map of North India in the late Vedic period.

The Vedic period is characterized by Indo-Aryan culture associated with the texts of Vedas, sacred to

Hindus, which were orally composed inVedic Sanskrit. The Vedas are some of the oldest extant texts

in India[23] and next to some writings in Egypt and Mesopotamia are the oldest in the world. The Vedic

period lasted from about 1500 to 500 BCE,[24] laying the foundations of Hinduism and other cultural

aspects of early Indian society. In terms of culture, many regions of the subcontinent transitioned from

the Chalcolithic to the Iron Age in this period.[25] Historians have analysed the Vedas to posit a Vedic

culture in the Punjab region and the upper Gangetic Plain.[25] Most historians also consider this period

to have encompassed several waves of Indo-Aryan migration into the subcontinent from the north-

west.[26][27] Vedic people believed in the transmigration of the soul, and the peepul tree and cow were

sanctified by the time of the Atharva Veda.[28] Many of the concepts of Indian philosophy espoused

later like Dharma, Karma etc. trace their root to the Vedas.[29]

The swastika is a major element of Hindu iconography.

Early Vedic society consisted of largely pastoral groups, with late Harappan urbanization having been

abandoned.[30] After the time of the Rigveda, Aryan society became increasingly agricultural and was

socially organized around the four varnas, or social classes. In addition to the Vedas, the principal

texts of Hinduism, the core themes of the Sanskrit epics Ramayana and Mahabharata are said to have

their ultimate origins during this period.[31] The Mahabharata remains, today, the longest single poem in

the world.[32] The events described in the Ramayana are from a later period of history than the events

of the Mahabharata.[33] The early Indo-Aryan presence probably corresponds, in part, to the Ochre

Coloured Pottery culture in archaeological contexts.[34]

The Kuru kingdom [35]  corresponds to the Black and Red Ware and Painted Grey Ware cultures and to

the beginning of the Iron Age in northwestern India, around 1000 BCE, as well as with the composition

of the Atharvaveda, the first Indian text to mention iron, as śyāma ayas, literally "black metal." The

Painted Grey Ware culture spanned much of northern India from about 1100 to 600 BCE.[34] The Vedic

Period also established republics such as Vaishali, which existed as early as the 6th century BCE and

persisted in some areas until the 4th century CE. The later part of this period corresponds with an

increasing movement away from the previous tribal system towards the establishment of kingdoms,

called mahajanapadas.

Mahajanapadas

Gautama Buddha undertaking extreme ascetic practices before his enlightenment on the bank of

riverPhalgu in Bodh Gaya, Bihar.

Detail of a leaf with, The Birth ofMahavira (the 24th Tirthankara ofJainism), from the Kalpa Sutra, c.1375-1400.

The Mahajanapadas were the sixteen most powerful kingdoms and republics of the era, located mainly across the

fertile Indo-Gangetic plains, however there were a number of smaller kingdoms stretching the length and breadth

of Ancient India.

Nalanda is considered one of the first great universities in recorded history. It was the center of Buddhist learning

and research in the world from 450 to 1193 CE.

Main articles: Mahajanapadas and Haryanka dynasty

Main articles: History of Hinduism, History of Buddhism, and History of Jainism

See also: Adi Shankara, Gautama Buddha, and Mahavira

Further information: Upanishads, Indian Religions, Indian philosophy, and Ancient universities of India

In the later Vedic Age, a number of small kingdoms or city states had covered the subcontinent, many

mentioned in Vedic, early Buddhist and Jaina literature as far back as 1000 BCE. By 500 BCE, sixteen

monarchies and "republics" known as the Mahajanapadas—Kasi, Kosala, Anga, Magadha, Vajji (or

Vriji), Malla, Chedi, Vatsa (or Vamsa), Kuru, Panchala, Matsya (or

Machcha), Surasena, Assaka, Avanti, Gandhara, and Kamboja—stretched across the Indo-Gangetic

Plain from modern-day Afghanistan to Bengal and Maharastra. This period saw the second major rise

of urbanism in India after the Indus Valley Civilization. Many smaller clans mentioned within early

literature seem to have been present across the rest of the subcontinent. Some of these kings were

hereditary; other states elected their rulers. The educated speech at that time was Sanskrit, while the

languages of the general population of northern India are referred to as Prakrits. Many of the sixteen

kingdoms had coalesced to four major ones by 500/400 BCE, by the time of Gautama Buddha. These

four were Vatsa, Avanti, Kosala, and Magadha.[36]

The 9th and 8th centuries BCE witnessed the composition of the earliest Upanishads.[37]:183 Upanishads

form the theoretical basis of classical Hinduism and are known as Vedanta (conclusion of the Vedas).

[38] The older Upanishads launched attacks of increasing intensity on the ritual. Anyone who worships a

divinity other than the Self is called a domestic animal of the gods in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.

The Mundaka launches the most scathing attack on the ritual by comparing those who value sacrifice

with an unsafe boat that is endlessly overtaken by old age and death.[39]

Increasing urbanization of India in 7th and 6th centuries BCE led to the rise of new ascetic or

shramana movements which challenged the orthodoxy of rituals.[40] Mahavira (c. 549–477 BCE),

proponent of Jainism, and Buddha (c. 563-483), founder of Buddhism were the most prominent icons

of this movement. Shramana gave rise to the concept of the cycle of birth and death, the concept

of samsara, and the concept of liberation.[41] Buddha found aMiddle Way that ameliorated the

extreme asceticism found in the Sramana religions.[42] Around the same time,Mahavira (the

24th Tirthankara in Jainism) propagated a theology that was to later become Jainism.[43] However, Jain

orthodoxy believes the teachings of the Tirthankaras predates all known time and scholars

believe Parshva, accorded status as the 23rd Tirthankara, was a historical figure. The Vedas are

believed to have documented a few Tirthankaras and an ascetic order similar to

the shramana movement.[44]

Persian and Greek conquests

See also: Achaemenid Empire, Greco-Buddhism, Indo-Greek Kingdom, Alexander the Great, Nanda

Empire, and Gangaridai

Asia in 323 BCE, the Nanda Empire and Gangaridai Empirein relation to Alexander's Empire and neighbors.

In 530 BCE Cyrus, King of the Persian Achaemenid Empire crossed the Hindu-Kush mountains to

seek tribute from the tribes of Kamboja, Gandhara and the trans-India region.[45] By 520 BCE, during

the reign of Darius I of Persia, much of the northwestern subcontinent (present-day eastern

Afghanistan and Pakistan) came under the rule of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. The area

remained under Persian control for two centuries.[46] During this time India supplied mercenaries to the

Persian army then fighting in Greece.[45]Under Persian rule the famous city of Takshashila became a

center where both Vedic and Iranian learning were mingled.[47] The impact of Persian ideas was felt in

many areas of Indian life. Persian coinage and rock inscriptions were copied by India. However,

Persian ascendency in northern India ended with Alexander the Great's conquest of Persia in 327

BCE.[48]

By 326 BCE, Alexander the Great had conquered Asia Minor and the Achaemenid Empire and had

reached the northwest frontiers of the Indian subcontinent. There he defeated King Porus in the Battle

of the Hydaspes (near modern-day Jhelum, Pakistan) and conquered much of the Punjab.

[49] Alexander's march east put him in confrontation with the Nanda Empire of Magadha and

the Gangaridai Empire ofBengal. His army, exhausted and frightened by the prospect of facing larger

Indian armies at the Ganges River, mutinied at the Hyphasis (modern Beas River) and refused to

march further East. Alexander, after the meeting with his officer, Coenus, and learning about the might

of Nanda Empire, was convinced that it was better to return.

The Persian and Greek invasions had important repercussions on Indian civilization. The political

systems of the Persians were to influence future forms of governance on the subcontinent, including

the administration of the Mauryan dynasty. In addition, the region of Gandhara, or present-day eastern

Afghanistan and northwest Pakistan, became a melting pot of Indian, Persian, Central Asian, and

Greek cultures and gave rise to a hybrid culture, Greco-Buddhism, which lasted until the 5th century

CE and influenced the artistic development of Mahayana Buddhism.

Maurya Empire

Main article: Maurya Empire

Further information: Chandragupta Maurya, Bindusara, and Ashoka the Great

Maurya Empire under Ashoka the Great

Ashokan pillar at Vaishali, 3rd century BCE.

The Maurya Empire (322–185 BCE), ruled by the Mauryan dynasty, was a geographically extensive

and powerful political and military empire in ancient India. The empire was established

by Chandragupta Maurya in Magadha what is now Bihar.[50] The empire flourished under the reign

of Ashoka the Great.[51] At its greatest extent, it stretched to the north to the natural boundaries of

the Himalayas and to the east into what is now Assam. To the west, it reached beyond modern

Pakistan, annexing Balochistan and much of what is now Afghanistan, including the

modern Heratand Kandahar provinces. The empire was expanded into India's central and southern

regions by the emperors Chandragupta and Bindusara, but it excluded extensive unexplored tribal and

forested regions near Kalinga which were subsequently taken by Ashoka. Like every state, the Maurya

Empire needed to have a unified administrative apparatus. Ashoka ruled the Maurya Empire for 37

years from 268 BCE until he died in 232 BCE.[52] During that time, Ashoka pursued an active foreign

policy aimed at setting up a unified state.[53] However, Ashoka became involved in a war with the state

of Kalinga which is located on the western shore of the Bay of Bengal.[54]This war forced Ashoka to

abandon his attempt at a foreign policy which would unify the Maurya Empire.[55]

During the Mauryan Empire slavery developed rapidly and significant amount of written records on

slavery are found.[56] The Mauryan Empire was based on a modern and efficient economy and society.

However, the sale of merchandise was closely regulated by the government.[57] Although there was no

banking in the Mauryan society, usury was customary with loans made at the recognized interest rate

of 15% per annum.

Ashoka's reign propagated Buddhism. In this regard Ashoka established many Buddhist monuments.

Indeed, Ashoka put a strain on the economy and the government by his strong support of Buddhism.

towards the end of his reign he "bled the state coffers white with his generous gifts to promote the

promulation of Buddha's teaching.[58] As might be expected, this policy caused considerable opposition

within the government. This opposition rallied around Sampadi, Ashoka's grandson and heir to the

throne.[59] Religious opposition to Ashoka also arose among the orthodox Brahmanists and the

adherents of Jainism.[60]

Chandragupta's minister Chanakya wrote the Arthashastra, one of the greatest treatises on

economics, politics, foreign affairs, administration, military arts, war, and religion produced in Asia.

Archaeologically, the period of Mauryan rule in South Asia falls into the era of Northern Black Polished

Ware (NBPW). The Arthashastra and the Edicts of Ashoka are primary written records of the Mauryan

times. The Lion Capital of Asoka at Sarnath, is the national emblem of India.

Early Middle Kingdoms — The Golden Age

Main article: Middle Kingdoms of India

Ancient India during the rise of theSunga andSatavahana empires.

 

The Kharavela Empire, now in Odisha.

 

Kushan Empire andWestern Satraps ofAncient India in the north along with Pandyans andEarly

Cholas in southern India.

 

Gupta Empire

The middle period was a time of cultural development. The Satavahana dynasty, also known as the

Andhras, ruled in southern and central India after around 230 BCE. Satakarni, the sixth ruler of the

Satvahana dynasty, defeated the Sunga Empire of north India. Afterwards, Kharavela, the warrior king

of Kalinga,[61] ruled a vast empire and was responsible for the propagation of Jainism in the Indian

subcontinent.[61] The Kharavelan Jain empire included a maritime empire with trading routes linking it

to Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Borneo, Bali, Sumatra, andJava. Colonists from

Kalinga settled in Sri Lanka, Burma, as well as the Maldives and Maritime Southeast Asia.

The Kuninda Kingdom was a small Himalayan state that survived from around the 2nd century BCE to

the 3rd century CE. The Kushanas migrated from Central Asia into northwestern India in the middle of

the 1st century CE and founded an empire that stretched from Tajikistanto the middle Ganges.

The Western Satraps (35-405 CE) were Saka rulers of the western and central part of India. They

were the successors of the Indo-Scythians and contemporaries of the Kushans who ruled the northern

part of the Indian subcontinent and the Satavahana (Andhra) who ruled in central and southern India.

Different dynasties such as the Pandyans, Cholas, Cheras,Kadambas, Western Gangas, Pallavas,

and Chalukyas, dominated the southern part of the Indian peninsula at different periods of time.

Several southern kingdoms formed overseas empires that stretched into Southeast Asia. The

kingdoms warred with each other and the Deccan states for domination of the south. The Kalabras, a

Buddhist dynasty, briefly interrupted the usual domination of the Cholas, Cheras, and Pandyas in the

south.

Northwestern hybrid cultures

The founder of theIndo-Greek Kingdom,Demetrius I "the Invincible" (205–171 BCE).

See also: Indo-Greek kingdom, Indo-Scythians, Indo-Parthian Kingdom, and Indo-Sassanids

The northwestern hybrid cultures of the subcontinent included the Indo-Greeks, the Indo-Scythians,

the Indo-Parthians, and the Indo-Sassinids. The first of these, theIndo-Greek Kingdom, was founded

when the Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius invaded the region in 180 BCE, extending his rule over

various parts of present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan. Lasting for almost two centuries, the kingdom

was ruled by a succession of more than 30 Greek kings, who were often in conflict with each other.

The Indo-Scythians were a branch of the Indo-European Sakas (Scythians) who migrated from

southern Siberia, first into Bactria, subsequently into Sogdiana,Kashmir, Arachosia, and Gandhara,

and finally into India. Their kingdom lasted from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century

BCE. Yet another kingdom, theIndo-Parthians (also known as the Pahlavas), came to control most of

present-day Afghanistan and northern Pakistan, after fighting many local rulers such as

theKushan ruler Kujula Kadphises, in the Gandhara region. The Sassanid empire of Persia, who was

contemporaneous with the Gupta Empire, expanded into the region of present-day Balochistan in

Pakistan, where the mingling of Indian culture and the culture of Iran gave birth to a hybrid culture

under the Indo-Sassanids.

Kushan Empire

Main article: Kushan Empire

The Kushan Empire expanded out of what is now Afghanistan into the northwest of the subcontinent

under the leadership of their first emperor, Kujula Kadphises, about the middle of the 1st century CE.

By the time of his grandson, Kanishka, (whose era is thought to have begun c. 127 CE), they had

conquered most of northern India, at least as far as Saketa and Pataliputra, in the middle Ganges

Valley, and probably as far as the Bay of Bengal.[62] They played an important role in the establishment

of Buddhism in India and its spread to Central Asia and China. By the 3rd century, their empire in India

was disintegrating; their last known great emperor being Vasudeva I (c. 190-225 CE).

Roman trade with India

Main article: Roman trade with India

Coin of the Roman emperor Augustusfound at the Pudukottai,South India.

Roman trade with India started around 1 CE, during the reign of Augustus and following his

conquest of Egypt, which had been India's biggest trade partner in the West.

The trade started by Eudoxus of Cyzicus in 130 BCE kept increasing, and according to Strabo (II.5.12.

[63]), by the time of Augustus, up to 120 ships set sail every year from Myos Hormos on the Red Sea to

India. So much gold was used for this trade, and apparently recycled by the Kushans for their own

coinage, that Pliny the Elder(NH VI.101) complained about the drain of specie to India:

"India, China and the Arabian peninsula take one hundred million sesterces from our empire per

annum at a conservative estimate: that is what our luxuries and women cost us. For what percentage

of these imports is intended for sacrifices to the gods or the spirits of the dead?"—Pliny, Historia Naturae 12.41.84.[64]

The maritime (but not the overland) trade routes, harbours, and trade items are described in detail in

the 1st century CE Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.

Gupta rule

Main article: Gupta Empire

See also: Chandra Gupta I, Samudragupta, Chandra Gupta II, Kumaragupta I, and Skandagupta

Further information: Kalidasa, Aryabhata, Varahamihira, Vishnu Sharma, and Vatsyayana

Further

information: Meghadūta, Abhijñānaśākuntala, Kumārasambhava, Panchatantra, Aryabhatiya, Indian

numerals, and Kama Sutra

Queen Kumaradevi and KingChandragupta I, depicted on a coin of their son Samudragupta, 335–380 CE.

The Classical Age refers to the period when much of the Indian subcontinent was reunited under

the Gupta Empire (c. 320–550 CE).[65][66] This period has been called the Golden Age of India [67]  and

was marked by extensive achievements in science,

technology, engineering, art, dialectic, literature,logic, mathematics, astronomy, religion,

and philosophy that crystallized the elements of what is generally known as Hindu culture.

[68] The decimal numeral system, including the concept of zero, was invented in India during this period.

[69] The peace and prosperity created under leadership of Guptas enabled the pursuit of scientific and

artistic endeavors in India.[70]

The high points of this cultural creativity are magnificent architecture, sculpture, and painting.[71] The

Gupta period produced scholars such as Kalidasa,Aryabhata, Varahamihira, Vishnu Sharma,

and Vatsyayana who made great advancements in many academic fields.[72] Science and political

administration reached new heights during the Gupta era. Strong trade ties also made the region an

important cultural center and established it as a base that would influence nearby kingdoms and

regions in Burma, Sri Lanka, Maritime Southeast Asia, and Indochina.

The Gupta period marked a watershed of Indian culture: the Guptas performed Vedic sacrifices to

legitimize their rule, but they also patronized Buddhism, which continued to provide an alternative to

Brahmanical orthodoxy. The military exploits of the first three rulers—Chandragupta I (c. 319–

335),Samudragupta (c. 335–376), and Chandragupta II (c. 376–415) —brought much of India under

their leadership.[73] They successfully resisted the northwestern kingdoms until the arrival of the Hunas,

who established themselves in Afghanistan by the first half of the 5th century, with their capital

atBamiyan.[74] However, much of the Deccan and southern India were largely unaffected by these

events in the north.[75][76]

Late Middle Kingdoms — The Late-Classical Age

Main articles: Middle Kingdoms of India, Badami Chalukyas, Rashtrakuta, Eastern Ganga

dynasty, Western Chalukyas, Rajput kingdoms, and Vijayanagara Empire

Pala Empire under Dharmapala Pala Empire under Devapala

Chola Empire under Rajendra Chola c. 1030 C.E.

Badami Chalukya Empire

The Kanauj Triangle was the focal point of empires - the Rashtrakutas ofDeccan, the Gurjara Pratiharas ofMalwa,

and the Palas of Bengal.

The "Late-Classical Age"[77] in India began after the end of the Gupta Empire [77]  and the

collapse Harsha Empire in the 7th century CE[77], and ended with the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire in

the south in the 13th century, due to pressure from Islamic invaders[78] to the north. This period

produced some of India's finest art, considered the epitome of classical development, and the

development of the main spiritual and philosophical systems which continued to be in Hinduism,

Buddhism and Jainism. King Harsha of Kannauj succeeded in reuniting northern India during his reign

in the 7th century, after the collapse of the Gupta dynasty. His kingdom collapsed after his death.

Central Asian and North Western Indian Buddhism weakened in the 6th century after the White

Hun invasion, who followed their own religions such as Tengri, and Manichaeism. Muhammad bin

Qasim's invasion of Sindh in 711 CE witnessed further decline of Buddhism. The Chach Nama records

many instances of conversion of stupas to mosques such as at Nerun [79]  In 7th century CE, Kumārila

Bhaṭṭa formulated his school of Mimamsa philosophy and defended the position on Vedic rituals

against Buddhist attacks. Scholars note Bhaṭṭa's contribution to the decline of Buddhism.[80] His

dialectical success against the Buddhists is confirmed by Buddhist historian Tathagata, who reports

that Kumārila defeated disciples of Buddhapalkita, Bhavya, Dharmadasa, Dignaga and others.

[81] Ronald Inden writes that by 8th century BCE symbols of Hindu gods "replaced the Buddha at the

imperial centre and pinnacle of the cosmo-political system, the image or symbol of the Hindu god

comes to be housed in a monumental temple and given increasingly elaborate imperial-style puja

worship".[82] Although Buddhism did not disappear from India for several centuries after the eighth,

royal proclivities for the cults of Vishnu and Shiva weakened Buddhism's position within the

sociopolitical context and helped make possible its decline.[83]

From the 7th to the 9th century, three dynasties contested for control of northern India: the Gurjara

Pratiharas ofMalwa,the Eastern Ganga dynasty of Odisha, the Palas of Bengal, and

the Rashtrakutas of the Deccan. The Sena dynasty would later assume control of the Pala Empire,

and the Gurjara Pratiharas fragmented into various states. These were the first of the Rajput states, a

series of kingdoms which managed to survive in some form for almost a millennium, until Indian

independence from the British. The first recorded Rajput kingdoms emerged in Rajasthan in the 6th

century, and small Rajput dynasties later ruled much of northern India. One Gurjar [84] [85]  Rajput of

theChauhan clan, Prithvi Raj Chauhan, was known for bloody conflicts against the advancing Islamic

sultanates. TheShahi dynasty ruled portions of eastern Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, and Kashmir

from the mid-7th century to the early 11th century.

The Chalukya dynasty ruled parts of southern and central India from Badami in Karnataka between

550 and 750, and then again from Kalyani between 970 and 1190. The Pallavas of Kanchipuram were

their contemporaries further to the south. With the decline of the Chalukya empire, their feudatories,

the Hoysalas of Halebidu, Kakatiyas ofWarangal, Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri, and a southern branch

of the Kalachuri, divided the vast Chalukya empire amongst themselves around the middle of 12th

century.

The Chola Empire at its peak covered much of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Rajaraja

Chola I conquered all of peninsular south India and parts of Sri Lanka. Rajendra Chola I's navies went

even further, occupying coasts from Burma to Vietnam,[86] the Andaman and Nicobar Islands,

theLakshadweep (Laccadive) islands, Sumatra, and the Malay Peninsula in Southeast Asia and the

Pegu islands. Later during the middle period, the Pandyan Empire emerged in Tamil Nadu, as well as

the Chera Kingdom in parts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. By 1343, last of these dynasties had ceased to

exist, giving rise to the Vijayanagar empire.

The ports of south India were engaged in the Indian Ocean trade, chiefly involving spices, with

the Roman Empire to the west and Southeast Asia to the east.[87][88] Literature in local vernaculars and

spectacular architecture flourished until about the beginning of the 14th century, when southern

expeditions of the sultan of Delhi took their toll on these kingdoms. The Hindu Vijayanagar

Empire came into conflict with the Islamic Bahmani Sultanate, and the clashing of the two systems

caused a mingling of the indigenous and foreign cultures that left lasting cultural influences on each

other.

The Islamic Sultanates

Main articles: Muslim conquest of India, Islamic Empires in India, Bahmani Sultanate, and Deccan

Sultanates

See also: Rajput resistance to Muslim invasions and Growth of Muslim Population in Medieval India

Gol Gumbaz at Bijapur, has the second largest pre-modern dome in the world after the Byzantine Hagia Sophia.

After conquering Persia, the Arab Umayyad Caliphate incorporated parts of what is now Pakistan

around 720. The Muslim rulers were keen to invade India,[89] a rich region with a flourishing

international trade and the only known diamond mines in the world.[90] In 712, Arab Muslim

general Muhammad bin Qasim conquered most of the Indus region in modern day Pakistan for the

Umayyad empire, incorporating it as the "As-Sindh" province with its capital at Al-Mansurah, 72 km

(45 mi) north of modern Hyderabad in Sindh, Pakistan. After several wars, the Hindu Rajput clans

defeated the Arabs at the Battle of Rajasthan, halting their expansion and containing them at Sindh in

Pakistan.[91] Many short-lived Islamic kingdoms (sultanates) under foreign rulers were established

across the north western subcontinent over a period of a few centuries. Additionally, Muslim trading

communities flourished throughout coastal south India, particularly on the western coast where Muslim

traders arrived in small numbers, mainly from the Arabian peninsula. This marked the introduction of a

third Abrahamic Middle Eastern religion, following Judaism and Christianity, often in puritanical form.

Later, the Bahmani Sultanate andDeccan sultanates, founded by Turkic rulers, flourished in the south.

The Vijayanagara Empire rose to prominence by the end of the 13th century as a culmination of

attempts by the southern powers to ward off Islamic invasions. The empire dominated all of Southern

India and fought off invasions from the five established Deccan Sultanates.[92] The empire reached its

peak during the rule of Krishnadevaraya when Vijayanagara armies were consistently victorious.

[93] The empire annexed areas formerly under the Sultanates in the northern Deccan and the territories

in the eastern Deccan, including Kalinga, while simultaneously maintaining control over all its

subordinates in the south.[94] It lasted until 1646, though its power declined after a major military defeat

in 1565 by the Deccan sultanates. As a result, much of the territory of the former Vijaynagar

Empire were captured by Deccan Sultanates, and the remainder was divided into many states ruled by

Hindu rulers.

Delhi Sultanate

Qutub Minar is the world's tallest brick minaret, commenced by Qutb-ud-din Aybak of the Slave dynasty.

Main article: Delhi Sultanate

In the 12th and 13th centuries, Turks and Afghans invaded parts of northern India and established

the Delhi Sultanate in the former Rajput holdings.[95] The subsequent Slave dynasty of Delhi managed

to conquer large areas of northern India, approximately equal in extent to the ancient Gupta Empire,

while theKhilji dynasty conquered most of central India but were ultimately unsuccessful in conquering

and uniting the subcontinent. The Sultanate ushered in a period of Indian cultural renaissance. The

resulting "Indo-Muslim" fusion of cultures left lasting syncretic monuments in architecture, music,

literature, religion, and clothing. It is surmised that the language of Urdu (literally meaning "horde" or

"camp" in various Turkic dialects) was born during the Delhi Sultanate period as a result of the

intermingling of the local speakers of Sanskritic Prakrits with immigrants speaking Persian, Turkic,

and Arabic under the Muslim rulers. The Delhi Sultanate is the only Indo-Islamic empire to enthrone

one of the few female rulers in India, Razia Sultana (1236–1240).

A Turco-Mongol conqueror in Central Asia, Timur (Tamerlane), attacked the reigning Sultan Nasir-u

Din Mehmud of the Tughlaq Dynasty in the north Indian city of Delhi.[96] The Sultan's army was

defeated on 17 December 1398. Timur entered Delhi and the city was sacked, destroyed, and left in

ruins, after Timur's army had killed and plundered for three days and nights. He ordered the whole city

to be sacked except for the sayyids, scholars, and the other Muslims; 100,000 war prisoners were put

to death in one day.[97]

Early modern period

Extent of the Mughal Empire in 1700.

Taj Mahal, built by the Mughals

Mughal Empire

Main article: Mughal Empire

In 1526, Babur, a Timurid descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan from Fergana Valley (modern

dayUzbekistan), swept across the Khyber Pass and established the Mughal Empire, covering modern

dayAfghanistan, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.[98] However, his son Humayun was defeated by the

Afghan warrior Sher Shah Suri in the year 1540, and Humayun was forced to retreat to Kabul. After

Sher Shah's death, his son Islam Shah Suri and the Hindu king Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya,

who had won 22 battles against Afghan rebels and forces of Akbar, from Punjab to Bengal and had

established a secularHindu rule in North India from Delhi till 1556. Akbar's forces defeated and

killed Hemu in the Second Battle of Panipat on 6 November 1556.

The Mughal dynasty ruled most of the Indian subcontinent by 1600; it went into a slow decline after

1707. The Mughals suffered sever blow due to invasions from Marathas and Afghans due to which

the Mughal dynasty were reduced to puppet rulers by 1757. The remnants of the Mughal dynasty were

finally defeated during the Indian Rebellion of 1857, also called the 1857 War of Independence. This

period marked vast social change in the subcontinent as the Hindu majority were ruled over by the

Mughal emperors, most of whom showed religious tolerance, liberally patronising Hindu culture. The

famous emperor Akbar, who was the grandson of Babar, tried to establish a good relationship with the

Hindus. However, later emperors such as Aurangazeb tried to establish complete Muslim dominance,

and as a result several historical temples were destroyed during this period and taxes imposed on

non-Muslims. During the decline of the Mughal Empire, several smaller states rose to fill the power

vacuum and themselves were contributing factors to the decline. In 1739, Nader Shah, emperor of

Iran, defeated the Mughal army at the huge Battle of Karnal. After this victory, Nader captured and

sacked Delhi, carrying away many treasures, including the Peacock Throne.[99]

The Mughals were perhaps the richest single dynasty to have ever existed. During the Mughal era, the

dominant political forces consisted of the Mughal Empire and its tributaries and, later on, the rising

successor states - including the Maratha Empire - which fought an increasingly weak Mughal dynasty.

The Mughals, while often employing brutal tactics to subjugate their empire, had a policy of integration

with Indian culture, which is what made them successful where the short-lived Sultanates of Delhi had

failed. Akbar the Great was particularly famed for this. Akbar declared "Amari" or non-killing of animals

in the holy days of Jainism. He rolled back the jizya tax for non-Muslims. The Mughal emperors

married local royalty, allied themselves with local maharajas, and attempted to fuse their Turko-

Persian culture with ancient Indian styles, creating a unique Indo-Saracenic architecture. It was the

erosion of this tradition coupled with increased brutality and centralization that played a large part in

the dynasty's downfall after Aurangzeb, who unlike previous emperors, imposed relatively non-

pluralistic policies on the general population, which often inflamed the majority Hindu population.

Post-Mughal period

Main articles: Maratha Empire, Kingdom of Mysore, Hyderabad State, Nawab of Bengal, Sikh

Empire, Rajputs, and Durrani Empire

Further information: Shivaji, Tipu Sultan, Nizam, Nawab of Oudh, Ranjit Singh, and Ahmad Shah

Abdali

Political map of Indian subcontinent in 1758. The Maratha Empire (orange)was the last Hindu empire of India.

Maratha Empire

Main article: Maratha Empire

The post-Mughal era was dominated by the rise of the Maratha suzerainty as other small regional

states (mostly late Mughal tributary states) emerged, and also by the increasing activities of European

powers (see colonial era below). There is no doubt that the single most important power to emerge in

the long twilight of the Mughal dynasty was the Maratha Empire.[100] The Maratha kingdom was

founded and consolidated by Shivaji, a Maratha aristocrat of theBhonsle clan who was determined to

establish Hindavi Swarajya (self-rule of Hindu people). By the 18th century, it had transformed itself

into the Maratha Empire under the rule of the Peshwas (prime ministers). Gordon explains how the

Maratha systematically took control over the Malwa plateau in 1720-1760. They started with annual

raids, collecting ransom from villages and towns while the declining Mughal Empire retained nominal

control. However in 1737, the Marathas defeated a Mughal army in their capital, Delhi inteslf, and as a

result, the Mughal emperor ceded Malwa to them. The Marathas continued their military

campaigns against Mughals, Nizam, Nawab of Bengal and Durrani Empire to further extend their

boundaries. They built an efficient system of public administration known for its attention to detail. It

succeeded in raising revenue in districts that recovered from years of raids, up to levels previously

enjoyed by the Mughals. The cornerstone of the Maratha rule in Malwa rested on the 60 or so local tax

collectors (kamavisdars) who advanced the Maratha ruler '(Peshwa)' a portion of their district revenues

at interest.[101] By 1760, the domain of the Marathas stretched across practically the entire

subcontinent.[102] The defeat of Marathas by British in three Anglo-Maratha Wars brought end to the

empire by 1820. The last peshwa, Baji Rao II, was defeated by the British in the Third Anglo-Maratha

War.

Sikh Empire (North-west)

Harmandir Sahib or The Golden Temple is culturally the most significant place of worship for the Sikhs.

Main article: Sikh Empire

See also: History of Sikhism

The Punjabi kingdom, ruled by members of the Sikh religion, was a political entity that governed the

region of modern-day Punjab. The empire, based around the Punjab region, existed from 1799 to

1849. It was forged, on the foundations of the Khalsa, under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit

Singh (1780–1839) from an array of autonomous Punjabi Misls. He consolidated many parts of

northern India into a kingdom. He primarily used his highly disciplined Sikh army that he trained and

equipped to be the equal of a European force. Ranjit Singh proved himself to be a master strategist

and selected well qualified generals for his army. In stages, he added the central Punjab, the

provinces of Multan and Kashmir, the Peshawar Valley, and the Derajat to his kingdom. His came in

the face of the powerful British East India Company.[103][104] At its peak, in the 19th century, the empire

extended from the Khyber Pass in the west, to Kashmir in the north, to Sindh in the south,

and Himachal in the east. This was among the last areas of the subcontinent to be conquered by the

British. The first and second Anglo-Sikh war marked the downfall of the Sikh Empire.

Other kingdoms

There were several other kingdoms which ruled over parts of India in the later medieval period prior to

the British occupation. However, most of them were bound to pay regular tribute to theMarathas.

[102] The rule of Wodeyar dynasty which established the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India in around

1400 CE by was interrupted by Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan in the later half of 18th century.

Under their rule, Mysore fought a series of wars sometimes against the combined forces of the British

and Marathas, but mostly against the British, with Mysore receiving some aid or promise of aid from

the French.

The Nawabs of Bengal had become the de facto rulers of Bengal following the decline of Mughal

Empire. However, their rule was interrupted by Marathas who carried six expeditions in Bengalfrom

1741 to 1748 as a result of which Bengal became a vassal state of Marathas.

Hyderabad was founded by the Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda in 1591. Following a brief Mughal

rule, Asif Jah, a Mughal official, seized control of Hyderabad and declared himself Nizam-al-Mulk of

Hyderabad in 1724. It was ruled by a hereditary Nizam from 1724 until 1948. Both Mysore and

Hyderabad became princely states in British India.

Around the 18th century, the modern state of Nepal was formed by Gurkha rulers.

Colonial era

Main article: Colonial India

In 1498, Vasco da Gama successfully discovered a new sea route from Europe to India, which paved

the way for direct Indo-European commerce.[105] The Portuguese soon set up trading posts

inGoa, Daman, Diu and Bombay. The next to arrive were the Dutch, the British—who set up a trading

post in the west coast port of Surat [106]  in 1619—and the French. The internal conflicts among Indian

kingdoms gave opportunities to the European traders to gradually establish political influence and

appropriate lands. Although these continental European powers controlled various coastal regions of

southern and eastern India during the ensuing century, they eventually lost all their territories in India

to the British islanders, with the exception of the French outposts of Pondichéryand Chandernagore,

the Dutch port of Travancore, and the Portuguese colonies of Goa, Daman and Diu.

Company rule in India

Main articles: East India Company and Company rule in India

Map of India in 1857 at the end of Company rule.

In 1617 the British East India Company was given permission by Mughal Emperor Jahangir to trade in

India.[107] Gradually their increasing influence led the de jure Mughal emperor Farrukh Siyar to grant

them dastaks or permits for duty free trade in Bengal in 1717.[108] The Nawab of Bengal Siraj Ud

Daulah, the de facto ruler of the Bengal province, opposed British attempts to use these permits.

The First Carnatic War extended from 1746 until 1748 and was the result of colonial competition

between France and Britain, two of the countries involved in the War of Austrian Succession. Following

the capture of a few French ships by the British fleet in India, French troops attacked and captured the

British city of Madras located on the east coast of India on 21 September 1746. Among the prisoners

captured at Madras was Robert Clivehimself. The war was eventually ended by the Treaty of Aix-la-

Chapelle which ended the War of Austrian Succession in 1748.

In 1749, the Second Carnatic War broke out as the result of a war between a son, Nasir Jung, and a

grandson, Muzaffer Jung, of the deceased Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad to take over Nizam's thone in

Hyderabad. The French supported Muzaffer Jung in this civil war. Consequently, the British supported

Nasir Jung in this conflict.

Meanwhile, however, the conflict in Hyderabad provided Chanda Sahib with an opportunity to take

power as the new Nawab of the territory of Arcot. In this conflict, the French supported Chandra Sahib

in his attempt to become the new Nawab of Arcot. The British supported the son of the deposed

incumbent Nawab, Anwaruddin Muhammad Khan, against Chanda Sahib. In 1751, Robert Clive led a

British armed force and captured Arcot to reinstate the incumbent Nawab. The Second Carnatic War

finally came to an end in 1754 with the Treaty of Pondicherry.

In 1756, the Seven Years War broke out between the great powers of Europe, and India became a

theatre of action, where it was called the Third Carnatic War. Early in this war, armed forces under the

French East India Company captured the British base of Calcutta in north-eastern India. However,

armed forces under Robert Clive later recaptured Calcutta and then pressed on to capture the French

settlement of Chandannagar in 1757. This led to the Battle of Plassey on 23 June 1757, in which

the Bengal Army of the East India Company, led by Robert Clive, defeated the French-supported

Nawab's forces. This was the first real political foothold with territorial implications that the British

acquired in India. Clive was appointed by the company as its first 'Governor of Bengal' in 1757.[109] This

was combined with British victories over the French at Madras, Wandiwash andPondichéry that, along

with wider British successes during the Seven Years War, reduced French influence in India. Thus as

a result of the three Carnatic Wars, the British East India Company gained exclusive control over the

entire Carnatic region of India.[110] The British East India Company extended its control over the whole

of Bengal. After the Battle of Buxar in 1764, the company acquired the rights of administration in

Bengal from Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II; this marked the beginning of its formal rule, which within

the next century engulfed most of India and extinguished the Moghul rule and dynasty.[111] The East

India Company monopolized the trade of Bengal. They introduced a land taxation system called

thePermanent Settlement which introduced a feudal-like structure in Bengal, often with zamindars set

in place. By the 1850s, the East India Company controlled most of the Indian sub-continent, which

included present-day Pakistan and Bangladesh. Their policy was sometimes summed up as Divide

and Rule, taking advantage of the enmity festering between various princely states and social and

religious groups.[112]

The Hindu Ahom Kingdom of North-east India first fell to Burmese invasion and then to British

after Treaty of Yandabo in 1826.

The rebellion of 1857 and its consequences

Main article: Indian rebellion of 1857

The Indian rebellion of 1857 was a large-scale rebellion by soldiers employed by the British East India

in northern and central India against the Company's rule. The rebels were disorganized, had differing

goals, and were poorly equipped, led, and trained, and had no outside support or funding. They were

brutally suppressed and the British government took control of the Company and eliminated many of

the grievances that caused it. The government also was determined to keep full control so that no

rebellion of such size would ever happen again. It favoured the princely states (that helped suppress

the rebellion), and tended to favour Muslims (who were less rebellious) against the Hindus who

dominated the rebellion.[113]

In the aftermath, all power was transferred from the East India Company to the British Crown, which

began to administer most of India as a number of provinces; the John Company's lands were

controlled directly, while it had considerable indirect influence over the rest of India, which consisted of

the Princely states ruled by local royal families. There were officially 565 princely states in 1947, but

only 21 had actual state governments, and only three were large (Mysore, Hyderabad and Kashmir).

They were absorbed into the independent nation in 1947-48.[114]

British Raj

Main article: British Raj

The British Indian Empire at its greatest extent (in a map of 1909). The princely states under British suzerainty are

in yellow.

Reforms

When the Lord Curzon (Viceroy 1899-1905) took control of higher education and then split the large

province of Bengal into a largely Hindu western half and "Eastern Bengal and Assam," a largely

Muslim eastern half. The British goal was efficient administration but Hindus were outraged at the

apparent "divide and rule" strategy." When the Liberal party in Britain came to power in 1906 he was

removed. The new Viceroy Gilbert Minto and the new Secretary of State for India John

Morley consulted with Congress leader Gopal Krishna Gokhale. The Morley-Minto reforms of

1909 provided for Indian membership of the provincial executive councils as well as the Viceroy's

executive council. The Imperial Legislative Council was enlarged from 25 to 60 members and separate

communal representation for Muslims was established in a dramatic step towards representative and

responsible government. Bengal was reunified in 1911.[115] Meanwhile the Muslims for the first time

began to organize, setting up the All India Muslim League in 1906. It was not a mass party but was

designed to protect the interests of the aristocratic Muslims, especially in the north west. It was

internally divided by conflicting loyalties to Islam, the British, and India, and by distrust of Hindus.[116]

Famines

During the British Raj, famines in India, often attributed to failed government policies, were some of the

worst ever recorded, including the Great Famine of 1876–78 in which 6.1 million to 10.3 million people

died[117] and the Indian famine of 1899–1900 in which 1.25 to 10 million people died.[117] The Third

Plague Pandemic started in China in the middle of the 19th century, spreading plague to all inhabited

continents and killing 10 million people in India alone.[118] Despite persistent diseases and famines, the

population of the Indian subcontinent, which stood at about 125 million in 1750, had reached 389

million by 1941.[119]

The Indian independence movement

Main articles: Indian independence movement and Pakistan Movement

See also: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Indian independence activists

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi andMuhammad Ali Jinnah, Bombay, 1944.

The numbers of British in India were small, yet they were able to rule two-thirds of the subcontinent

directly and exercise considerable leverage over theprincely states that accounted for the remaining

one-third of the area. There were 674 of the these states in 1900, with a population of 73 million, or

one person in five. In general, the princely states were strong supporters of the British regime, and the

Raj left them alone. They were finally closed down in 1947-48.[120]

The first step toward Indian self-rule was the appointment of councillors to advise the British viceroy, in

1861; the first Indian was appointed in 1909. Provincial Councils with Indian members were also set

up. The councillors' participation was subsequently widened into legislative councils. The British built a

large British Indian Army, with the senior officers all British, and many of the troops from small minority

groups such as Gurkhas from Nepal andSikhs. The civil service was increasingly filled with natives at

the lower levels, with the British holding the more senior positions.[121]

From 1920 leaders such as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi began highly popular mass movements to

campaign against the British Raj using largely peaceful methods. Some others adopted a militant

approach that sought to overthrow British rule by armed struggle; revolutionary activities against the

British rule took place throughout the Indian sub-continent. The Gandhi-led independence movement

opposed the British rule using non-violent methods like non-cooperation, civil

disobedience and economic resistance. These movements succeeded in bringing independence to the

new dominions of India and Pakistan in 1947.

Independence and partition

Main articles: Partition of India, History of the Republic of India, History of Pakistan, and History of

Bangladesh

Along with the desire for independence, tensions between Hindus and Muslims had also been

developing over the years. The Muslims had always been a minority within the subcontinent, and the

prospect of an exclusively Hindu government made them wary of independence; they were as inclined

to mistrust Hindu rule as they were to resist the foreign Raj, although Gandhi called for unity between

the two groups in an astonishing display of leadership. The British, extremely weakened by

the Second World War, promised that they would leave and participated in the formation of aninterim

government. The British Indian territories gained independence in 1947, after being partitioned into

the Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. Following the controversial division of pre-

partition Punjab and Bengal, rioting broke out between Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims in these provinces

and spread to several other parts of India, leaving some 500,000 dead.[122] Also, this period saw one of

the largest mass migrations ever recorded in modern history, with a total of 12 million Hindus, Sikhs

and Muslims moving between the newly created nations of India and Pakistan (which gained

independence on 15 and 14 August 1947 respectively).[122] In 1971, Bangladesh, formerly East

Pakistan and East Bengal, seceded from Pakistan.

Historiography

In recent decades there have been four main schools of historiography regarding India: Cambridge,

Nationalist, Marxist, and subaltern. The once common "Orientalist" approach, with its the image of a

sensuous, inscrutable, and wholly spiritual India, has died out in serious scholarship.[123]

The "Cambridge School," led by Anil Seal,[124] Gordon Johnson,[125] Richard Gordon, and David A.

Washbrook,[126] downplays ideology.[127]

The Nationalist school has focused on Congress, Gandhi, Nehru and high level politics. It highlighted

the Mutiny of 1857 as a war of liberation, and Gandhi's 'Quit India' begun in 1942, as defining historical

events. More recently, Hindu nationalists have created a version of history for the schools to support

their demands for "Hindutva" ("Hinduness") in Indian society.[128]

The Marxists have focused on studies of economic development, landownership, and class conflict in

precolonial India and of deindustrialization during the colonial period. The Marxists portrayed Gandhi's

movement as a device for the bourgeois elite to harness popular, potentially revolutionary forces for its

own ends.[129]

The "subaltern school," was begun in the 1980s by Ranajit Guha and Gyan Prakash.[130] It focuses

attention away from the elites and politicians to "history from below," looking at the peasants using

folklore, poetry, riddles, proverbs, songs, oral history and methods inspired by anthropology. It focuses

on the colonial era before 1947 and typically emphasizes caste and downplays class, to the

annoyance of the Marxist school.[131]

See also

History portal

India portal

History of the Republic of India

Postage stamps and postal history of India

Economic history of India

Indian maritime history

Military history of India

Linguistic history of the Indian subcontinent

Chronology of Indian history

Rajamandala , a concept of friendly and enemy neighbor states mentioned in Arthashastra

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Press

Further reading

Bandyopadhyay, Sekhar. From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India (2010)

Basham, A. L. , ed. The Illustrated Cultural History of India (Oxford University Press, 2007)

Brown, Judith M. Modern India: The Origins of an Asian Democracy (2nd ed. 1994) online

Daniélou, Alain  (2003). A Brief History of India ISBN 0-89281-923-5

Guha, Ramachandra. India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest

Democracy (2007), 890pp; since 1947

James, Lawrence. Raj: The Making and Unmaking of British India (2000)

Keay, John  (2000). India: A History. New York, USA: Grove Press. ISBN 0-8021-3797-0.

Kulke, Hermann and Dietmar Rothermund. A History of India. (4th ed 2004) online

Mcleod, John. The History of India] (2002) excerpt and text search

Mansingh, Surjit The A to Z of India (2010), a concise historical encyclopedia

Metcalf, Barbara D. and Thomas R. Metcalf. A Concise History of Modern

India (2006) excerpt and text search

Peers, Douglas M. India under Colonial Rule: 1700-1885 (2006), 192pp

Richards, John F. The Mughal Empire (The New Cambridge History of India) (1996) excerpt

and text search

Rothermund, Dietmar. An Economic History of India: From Pre-Colonial Times to 1991 (1993)

Sharma, R.S. , India's Ancient Past, (Oxford University Press, 2005)

Sarkar, Sumit. Modern India, 1885-1947 (2002)

Singhal, D.P. A History of the Indian People. (1983)

Smith, Vincent. The Oxford History of India (3rd ed. 1958), old-fashioned

Spear, Percival. The History of India (1958 and later editions) online edition

Stein, Burton. A History of India (1998) excerpt and text search

Tapan, Habib, and Irfan Raychaudhuri, eds. The Cambridge Economic History of India;

Volume 1: c. 1200 - c. 1750 (1984), essays by scholars

Dharma Kumar and Meghnad Desai, eds. The Cambridge Economic History of India:

Volume 2, c.1751-c.1970 (2nd ed. 2010), 1114pp of scholarly articles

Thapar, Romila. Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300 (2004) excerpt and text search

Thompson, Edward, and G.T. Garratt. Rise and Fulfilment of British Rule in India (1934) 690

pages; scholarly survey, 1599-1933 excerpt and text search

Tomlinson, B. R. The Economy of Modern India, 1860-1970 (The New Cambridge History of

India) (1996) excerpt and text search

Wolpert, Stanley. A New History of India. (6th ed. 1999)

Historiography

Bannerjee, Dr. Gauranganath (1921). India as known to the ancient world. Humphrey Milford,

Oxford University Press, London.

Bayly, C. A. "State and Economy in India over Seven Hundred Years," Economic History

Review, (Nov 1985), 38#4 pp 583–596, online

Bose, Mihir. "India's Missing Historians: Mihir Bose Discusses the Paradox That India, a Land

of History, Has a Surprisingly Weak Tradition of Historiography," History Today 57#9 (2007) pp

34+. online

Elliot, Henry Miers; John Dowson (1867–77). The History of India, as told by its own

historians. The Muhammadan Period. London: Trübner and Co.

Online sources

The Imperial Gazetteer of India (26 vol, 1908–31), highly detailed description of all of India in

1901. online edition

External links

History of India  at the Open Directory Project

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