INDIA - HISTORY AND CULTURE , AN OVERVIEW
Jamie - this page conceals more than it reveals !
GENERAL
India is home to one of the greatest civilizations and oldest cultures. The social fabric , language structure , values and ethics are a result of a few thousand years of evolvement. Indian culture and civilization is older than most if not all European cultures. It is thus fascinating to travel in this country.
Ca. 2500 BC the Indus River Valley civilization was a highly evolved one. The script they used is still to be deciphered. Excavations have revealed the civilization and the great sites are Mohenjodaro and Harappa. The civilization demonstrated ca 2500 BC highly advanced engineering concepts, ideas and a sophisticated drainage as well as organized garbage collection system.
ARYAN INVASIONS AND FIRST EMPIRE
The Aryan invasions came in early 1500 BC in the Northern Plains. Under Darius, Punjab and Sind became part of the Persian Empire. Alexander reached Punjab in 326 BC but returned from the banks of the river Beas - the first contact with Europe. The storry of the fight between Alexander and Porus is legendary.
Maurya Empire ca. 321 BC – King Chandragupta Maurya and the legendary prime minister Kautilya are towering figures in this Empire. King Ashoka was the next king after Chandragupta and he became famous for his conversion to Buddhism and spread of Buddhism to Sri Lanka, Japan and Nepal. The Maurya Empire ended in the year 232 BC. Largely all of North India
The Gupta II Empire lasted between 319 AD to 455 AD. The arts flourished in this period. Golden Age of Renaissance. Ajanta Ellora, Sarnath and Sanchi emerged in this period.
SOUTH INDIA
In the South there were many great empires and the dominant religion was and remains Hinduism. Strong trading links with the rest of the world – Malyasia , Egypt , Persia , Iran and even Europe led to growth and prosperity. Calicut and Cochin are legendary ports for spice trading.
The Chalukyas ruled over the Deccan region from 550 to 753 AD before falling to the Rashtrakutas only to rise again in 972 through 1190. Their seat of power is Badami ( near Hampi ).
In 850 AD Cholas rose to power and their seat was the Thanjavur region which shines today with the fine temples, Carnatic music and the Thanjavur school of painting.
EARLY MUSLIM INVASIONS
Muslim invasions – Mahmud of Ghazni invaded North India till 1033 looting all the temples of their wealth – sculptures , gold and jewellery. These were guerilla raids. In 1192 Mohammed of Ghori captured Ajmer. In 1206 the first Sultan of Delhi was established. In 1297 Alauddin Khilji pushed into Gujarat. Timur from Samarkand raided India in 1398.
During this period of Muslim domination in the North, South India witnessed the Vijaynagar Empire with its capital at Hampi in Karnataka.
MOGHUL RULE
Moghul Empires were established in the North BY Babur ( descendant of Timur), ca.1527 AD. Humayun , Akbar , Jehangir, Shah Jehan ( Taj Mahahl) , Aurangzeb ( died 1707). These were powerful empires and each of these kings barring Aurangzeb were patrons of art and literature which flourished in their time.
The Maratha Empire, founded by the great king Shivaji ruled over Central India during this period and extended their empire upto Panipat where they had to halt after losing to Babar in the epic battle of Panipat in 1761. The empire at one time extended south upto Thanjavur near Madras. The British subjugated the Marathas.
THE MERCENARY BRITISH RULE
The marauding and mercenary British arrived ca. 1612 and left in 1947 with varying degrees of influence over India. By 1800 their domination was complete. For about 250 years they had absolute control and they mercilessly looted the country to lay the foundation of a prosperity that flourishes even today in UK.
They destroyed the local industry to find a market for their goods being mass produced post Industrial Revolution in Britain. The British and ruthlessly stamped out the arts, music and dance of the region. Mercenary in nature and mercantile in character ( The East India Company) their sole motive was profit. The British created efficient clerks , a railway system to transport goods from the ports and often claim that this was their contribution to India. 250 years of systematic loot, thuggee and destruction are conveniently forgotten in the process.
Mahatma Gandhi put an end to the British rule, but not before the civilized folks left behind a divided subcontinent that witnessed massacres.
TODAY
Today India is a modern sovereign republic. It is the largest democracy in the world , the third largest economy in the world in terms of purchasing parity. Self sufficient in agriculture , it has surplus foodgrains to export. It has industries in all sectors of the economy producing most machine made items that it needs. The liberalization of the economy which took place in 1990 is helping tremendously in creating a free economy. The India today is a far cry from the India of 1990.
RELIGIONS
Home to two of the oldest religions – Hindu (ageless and undated and Buddhism ( 500 BC) Buddha was born Hindu. The Vedas were written ca. 1500 to 1200 BC.
The other religions in the country are
Jainism ( Mahavir) ca 200 BC
Sikhism ( Guru Nanak)
Christianity ( result of the tireless efforts of missionaries) – Thomas landed in Calicut ca 52 AD and the Portuguese were ruthless converts. Some of the Desais from Goa are today Christians.
Islam came into the country with the invasion by the Moghuls ca. 1500 AD onwards. The country is ca. 80 percent Hindu and about 14 percent Muslim – with 140m Muslims it has a greater number of Muslims than Pakistan !
DANCES
India has a centuries old tradition in dance. The major dances are based on mythology, religion and temples. The motions of the hands and feet are exquisitely graceful, divine and enthralling to watch.
Bharat Natyam
Kathak
Kathakali
Kuchipudi
Mohini Attam
Numerous folk dances – Bhangra , Koli being the most popular exist and these dances celebrate life - weddings,harvest,full moon, festivals among others.
PAINTING, SCULPTURE AND ARCHITECTURE
The arts in India have flourished under most kings and empires , especially the Hindu empires. The Muslim empires did not lag behind with the legendary Tansen musician reigning supreme in the court of Akbar. India has many fine temples , buildings, paintings and sculpture. The Roman or Egyptian cultures are neither so diverse nor so rich. India is a very large country and the people were extremely creative and civilizations flourished.
MUSIC
Western classical and Indian classical music are the only two schools of classical music in the world. The Indian system is a function of rhythm and melody while the western system is a function of harmony and melody.
A solitary Indian musician accompanied by one tabla player ( to maintain rhythm) and one tanpura player ( to maintain pitch) can keep an audience enthralled for hours ! Attend that classical music performance in your city – both vocal and instrumental.
WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO SOME RESEARCH ON THE TOPICS OF YOUR INTEREST USING INTERNET; IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PROVIDE THE VAST ARRAY OF MATERIAL HERE. - www.123india.com is a good search engine for India ; www.google.com also gives good results.
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