Bharat
Ancient History
India's history and culture is dynamic, spanning back
to the beginning of human civilization. It begins with
a mysterious culture along the Indus River and in farming
communities in the southern lands of India. The history
of India is punctuated by constant integration of migrating
people with the diverse cultures that surround India.
Available evidence suggests that the use of iron, copper
and other metals was widely prevalent in the Indian
sub-continent at a fairly early period, which is indicative
of the progress that this part of the world had made.
By the end of the fourth millennium BC, India had emerged
as a region of highly developed civilization.
The Indus Valley Civilization
The History of India begins with the birth of the Indus
Valley Civilization, more precisely known as Harappan
Civilization. It flourished around 2,500 BC, in the
western part of South Asia, what today is Pakistan and
Western India. The Indus Valley was home to the largest
of the four ancient urban civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia,
India and China. Nothing was known about this civilization
till 1920s when the Archaeological Department of India
carried out excavations in the Indus valley wherein
the ruins of the two old cities, viz. Mohenjodaro and
Harappa were unearthed. The ruins of buildings and other
things like household articles, weapons of war, gold
and silver ornaments, seals, toys, pottery wares, etc.,
show that some four to five thousand years ago a highly
developed Civilization flourished in this region.
The Indus valley civilization was basically an urban
civilization and the people lived in well-planned and
well-built towns, which were also the centers for trade.
The ruins of Mohenjodaro and Harappa show that these
were magnificent merchant cities-well planned, scientifically
laid, and well looked after. They had wide roads and
a well-developed drainage system. The houses were made
of baked bricks and had two or more storeys.
The highly civilized Harappans knew the art of growing
cereals, and wheat and barley constituted their staple
food. They consumed vegetables and fruits and ate mutton,
pork and eggs as well. Evidences also show that they
wore cotton as well as woollen garments. By 1500 BC,
the Harappan culture came to an end. Among various causes
ascribed to the decay of Indus Valley Civilization are
the invasion by the Aryans, the recurrent floods and
other natural causes like earthquake, etc.
Medieval History of India
For a period that has come to be so strongly associated
with the Islamic influence and rule in India, Medieval
Indian history went for almost three whole centuries
under the so-called indigenous rulers, that included
the Chalukyas, the Pallavas, the Pandyas, the Rashtrakutas,
the Muslims rulers and finally the Mughal Empire. The
most important dynasty to emerge in the middle of the
9th century was that of the Cholas.
The Palas
Between 8th and 10th centuries A.D., a number of powerful
empires dominated the eastern and northern parts of
India. The Pala king Dharmpala, son of Gopala reigned
from the late 8th century A.D. to early 9th century
A.D. Nalanda University and Vikramashila University
were founded by Dharmpala.
The Senas
After the decline of the Palas, the Sena dynasty established
its rule in Bengal. The founder of the dynasty was Samantasena.
The greatest ruler of the dynasty was Vijaysena. He
conquered the whole of Bengal and was succeeded by his
son Ballalasena. He reigned peacefully but kept his
dominions intact. He was a great scholar and wrote four
works including one on astronomy. The last ruler of
this dynasty was Lakshamanasena under whose reign the
Muslims invaded Bengal, and the empire fell.
The Pratihara
The greatest ruler of the Pratihara dynasty was Mihir
Bhoja. He recovered Kanauj (Kanyakubja) by 836, and
it remained the capital of the Pratiharas for almost
a century. He built the city Bhojpal (Bhopal). Raja
Bhoja and other valiant Gujara kings faced and defeated
many attacks of the Arabs from west.
Between 915-918 A.D, Kanauj was attacked by a Rashtrakuta
king, who devastated the city leading to the weakening
of the Pratihara Empire. In 1018, Kannauj then ruled
by Rajyapala Pratihara was sacked by Mahmud of Ghazni.
The empire broke into independent Rajput states.
The Rashtrakutas
This dynasty, which ruled from Karnataka, is illustrious
for several reasons. They ruled the territory vaster
than that of any other dynasty. They were great patrons
of art and literature. The encouragement that several
Rashtrakuta kings provided to education and literature
is unique, and the religious tolerance exercised by
them was exemplary.
The Chola Empire of the South
It emerged in the middle of the 9th century A.D., covered
a large part of Indian peninsula, as well as parts of
Sri Lanka and the Maldives Islands.
The first important ruler to emerge from the dynasty
was Rajaraja Chola I and his son and successor Rajendra
Chola. Rajaraja carried forward the annexation policy
of his father. He led armed expedition to distant lands
of Bengal, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh.
The successors of Rajendra I, Rajadhiraj and Rajendra
II were brave rulers who fought fiercely against the
later Chalukya kings, but could not check the decline
of Chola Empire. The later Chola kings were weak and
incompetent rulers. The Chola Empire thus lingered on
for another century and a half, and finally came to
an end with the invasion of Malik Kafur in the early
14th century A.D.
Indian Freedom Struggle (1857-1947)
In ancient times, people from all over the world were
keen to come to India. The Aryans came from Central
Europe and settled down in India.The Persians followed
by the Iranians and Parsis immigrated to India. Then
came the Moghuls and they too settled down permanently
in India. Chengis Khan, the Mongolian, invaded and looted
India many times. Alexander the Great too, came to conquer
India but went back after a battle with Porus. He-en
Tsang from China came in pursuit of knowledge and to
visit the ancient Indian universities of Nalanda and
Takshila. Columbus wanted to come to India, but instead
landed on the shores of America. Vasco da Gama from
Portugal came to trade his country's goods in return
for Indian species. The French came and established
their colonies in India.
Lastly, the Britishers came and ruled over India for
nearly 200 years. After the battle of Plassey in 1757,
the British achieved political power in India. And their
paramountcy was established during the tenure of Lord
Dalhousie, who became the Governor- General in 1848.
He annexed Punjab, Peshawar and the Pathan tribes in
the north-west of India. And by 1856, the British conquest
and its authority were firmly established. And while
the British power gained its heights during the middle
of the 19th century, the discontent of the local rulers,
the peasantry, the intellectuals, common masses as also
of the soldiers who became unemployed due to the disbanding
of the armies of various states that were annexed by
the British, became widespread. This soon broke out
into a revolt which assumed the dimensions of the 1857
Mutiny.
The Indian Mutiny of 1857
The conquest of India, which could be said to have begun
with the Battle of Plassey (1757), was practically completed
by the end of Dalhousie's tenure in 1856. It had been
by no means a smooth affair as the simmering discontent
of the people manifested itself in many localized revolt
during this period. However, the Mutiny of 1857, which
began with a revolt of the military soldiers at Meerut,
soon became widespread and posed a grave challenge to
the British rule. Even though the British succeeded
in crushing it within a year, it was certainly a popular
revolt in which the Indian rulers, the masses and the
militia participated so enthusiastically that it came
to be regarded as the First War of Indian Independence.
Introduction of zamindari system by the British, where
the peasants were ruined through exorbitant charges
made from them by the new class of landlords. The craftsmen
were destroyed by the influx of the British manufactured
goods. The religion and the caste system which formed
the firm foundation of the traditional Indian society
was endangered by the British administration. The Indian
soldiers as well as people in administration could not
rise in hierarchy as the senior jobs were reserved for
the Europeans. Thus, there was all-round discontent
and disgust against the British rule, which burst out
in a revolt by the 'sepoys' at Meerut whose religious
sentiments were offended when they were given new cartridges
greased with cow and pig fat, whose covering had to
be stripped out by biting with the mouth before using
them in rifles. The Hindu as well as the Muslim soldiers,
who refused to use such cartridges, were arrested which
resulted in a revolt by their fellow soldiers on May
9, 1857.
The rebel forces soon captured Delhi and the revolt
spread to a wider area and there was uprising in almost
all parts of the country. The most ferocious battles
were fought in Delhi, Awadh, Rohilkhand, Bundelkhand,
Allahabad, Agra, Meerut and western Bihar. The rebellious
forces under the commands of Kanwar Singh in Bihar and
Bakht Khan in Delhi gave a stunning blow to the British.
In Kanpur, Nana Sahib was proclaimed as the Peshwa and
the brave leader Tantya Tope led his troops. Rani Lakshmibai
was proclaimed the ruler of Jhansi who led her troops
in the heroic battles with the British. The Hindus,
the Muslims, the Sikhs and all the other brave sons
of India fought shoulder to shoulder to throw out the
British. The revolt was controlled by the British within
one year, it began from Meerut on 10 May 1857 and ended
in Gwalior on 20 June 1858.
Source: National Portal Content Management Team Reviewed
on: 22-1-2010
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