India India is a massive piece of land

India

• India is a massive piece of land with very different climates, agriculture, and regions • In the north – the Indus river valley - agriculture is made possible by rivers flowing from the Himalayas • Around 3, 000 B. C. E. the Dravidians settled the Indus river valley and built complex societies • There were two major centers: a) Harappa b) Mohenjo-daro • Both cities had walls, market places, temples, residential buildings constructed in a grid

• Harappa depended upon agriculture, but also traded • The wealthy members of society lived in very ornate and luxurious houses with bathrooms and a sewer system • Both societies practiced polytheism and most of the gods were associated with nature • Around 1, 900 B. C. E. the Harappan society started to decline – no one is quite sure why • By 1, 500 B. C. E. Harappa and Mohenjaro-daro had all but disappeared

Aryans • As the Harappa society decline bands of nomads who had migrated south settled in the Indus river valley • They were pastoralists and spoke an Indo. European dialect • They were called Aryans • Over several hundred years the Aryans moved into northern India • They came into conflict with the Dravidians who also lived in the area • Eventually both groups inter-married

• The Aryans used an oral tradition to pass on their history • These stories were called Vedas – collections of hymns, poems, and prayers • There were four Vedas, but the most important was the Rig- Vedas • Historians have called this period the Vedic age • The Aryans were polytheistic and many of their gods reflected the violent nature of their society • The Aryans often attacked each other as well as the Dravidians • The towns were independent – there was no central government

• Between 1, 000 and 500 B. C. E. the Aryans settled down and established small states with political systems • Their political system was build around an hierarchical social order • Place in society was hereditary and this became the foundation of the caste system • The Aryans called the social classes varna, and there were four main varna a. brahmins – priests b. kshatriyas – warriors or aristocrats c. vaishyas – merchants or artisans d. shudras – landless peasants or serfs

• Much later they added another category – the untouchables • Untouchables performed undesirable jobs • The rules for the social order were called jati and the jati dictated what a person could or could not do • The Aryans created a patriarchal society with men controlling all the important positions – women were responsible for the house

Religion • The Aryans were polytheistic, their chief god was Indra, a god of war • The Aryans offered sacrifices to their gods and these sacrifices developed into elaborate ceremonies and rituals • Gradually the people grew dissatisfied with their religion • A group of Aryans formed a community in the Ganges valley to contemplate the meaning of life and the Vedas

• The Dravidians had believed that a spirit returns in another body after death • The Aryans developed this idea and mixed it with their own beliefs to create a new religious philosophy • Around 400 B. C. E. were written in the Upanishads • The Upanishads said that the soul was continually reborn and they placed a great deal of importance upon a person living an ethical life

Mauryan Dynasty • About 520 B. C. E the Persian emperor Darius crossed the Hindu Kush and entered India • He created the kingdom of Gandhara and introduced the Persian system of administrating • In 327 B. C. E. Alexander the Great crossed the Hindu Kush, but was forced to leave when his men mutinied • After Alexander left Chandragupta Maurya started combining the small provinces and consolidating his power • Within a short time he controlled all of northern India

• Chandragupta's chief advisor, Kautalya, wrote down instruction on how to administer the state • These writing are called Arthashastra • When Chandragupta’s grandson Ashoka became empire he was able to extend the empire even further • Ashoka proved good ruler, however he was fortunate to have inherited a large and stable bureaucracy • In 260 B. C. E. he adopted Buddhism • He encouraged agriculture, created irrigation systems and built roads to facilitate trade • However almost as soon as he was dead the empire started to fall apart

Gupta Dynasty • Over the next two centuries various people tried to establish new dynasties in India • The next successful dynasty was the Gupta dynasty • Chandra Gupta created alliances with regional rulers in the Ganges river basin • Gradually he was able to assert control and eventually rule an area that covered most of northern India • They left the decision-making to local officials rather than forcing their authority on others

• But as soon as the empire was threatened it broke apart because there was no central administration • Eventually the Gupta were confronted by the Huns who had migrated from central Asia • Initially the Guptas were able to stop the Huns but eventually the Huns moved across the empire at will

Buddhism • Siddhartha Gautama was the founder of Buddhism • He was born into a fairly wealthy family in roughly 560 B. C. E. • He grew dissatisfied with his lifestyle and set out to find the origin of suffering • At first he meditated but this did not work • According to legend he determined to sit under a bo tree in Bodh Gaya until he understood the meaning of suffering

• After 49 days he became enlightened and realized what humans must do to remove suffering from their lives • Gautama became Buddha – “Enlightened one” • He delivered sermons to his friends and soon attracted disciples from across the region • Buddhism is based on Four Noble Truths, and by living a life according to the Noble Eightfold Path • Humans should reject the luxuries and excesses of life and follow dharma – the doctrine of Buddhism • Personal salvation would allow them to leave the cycle of reincarnation and achieve nirvana – spiritual independence

Hinduism • The doctrine of Hinduism can be found in a poem called Bhagavad Gita • The Gita promised salvation to all classes if they lived honorable lives – unlike the Upanishads • Slowly Hinduism became the most popular religion in India because it was more appealing to the masses • Buddhists tended to avoid the masses and stay in their monasteries contemplating, while Hindus went out among the people

Harsha • After the fall of the Gupta dynasty northern India became a battleground for nomadic groups who had migrated south • King Harsha restored some semblance of centralized authority at the start of the seventh century • Once in control Harsha proved to be a very compassionate ruler • He was a Buddhist but tolerated other religions • He built hospitals and reported distributed his own wealth to the poor

• Regardless of his personal qualities he was not able to stop the decline that had been set in motion • When he was assassinated the empire fell into immediate decline • The new invaders brought with them a new religion – Islam • Merchants took valuable products from India to Asia and Europe and brought back new ideas and philosophies • Muslim traders became an important part of the commercial sphere in India

• Mahmud of Ghazni, from Afghanistan, moved his men south • Mahmud did not want to control he wanted to plunder, especially the beautiful temples • They destroyed Hindu and Buddhist temples and built mosques • By the thirteenth century most of northern India was under Muslim control, while the south remained mostly Hindu • The Sultanate of Delhi was established, with the capital at Delhi • Many Hindus converted to Islam in hopes of ending discrimination

The Age of Exploration • In 1488 Bartolomeu Dias rounded the cape of Good Hope and entered the Indian Ocean • In 1498 Vasco de Gama arrived at Calicut • Europeans were looking for a way to take advantage of the lucrative spice and silk trade between Europe and Asia • Traditionally traders would travel overland but that was costly, time-consuming, and dangerous • What they needed was sea route to Asia • When Columbus arrived in the New World he was searching for the Indies

The Mughal Empire • In 1523 Zahir al-Din Muhammad, also known as Babur arrived in northern India • In 1526 he captured Delhi and founded a dynasty called the Mughal • Babur had little interest in building an empire, but he certainly valued the wealth of India • Babur’s grandson, Akbar extended the empire to the south • The most famous Mughal legacy is the Taj Mahal

The British • British interest in India was through the British East India Company who obtained permission for the Mughal emperors to build fortifications along the coast • When the Mughal declined the East India Company moved forward to take advantage of the situation • So powerful were the East India Company that they used the British army and some Indians troops (sepoys) to enforce their laws

• In 1857 the sepoy rebelled and killed the British officers • Local people joined the rebellion and proclaimed a new Mughal dynasty • The British were better equipped and technological advanced • With the telegram they were able to order more reinforcements • At Lucknow the sepoy massacred all the British people including women and children • When the British gained control they punished the mutineers by blowing them to bits

• In 1858 the British government took direct control of India to stop any more bloodshed • The government was represented by a viceroy who was answerable to Parliament • The viceroy appointed English people to the best positions in the country • The British cleared the jungle, planted crops, built railroads and schools. They constructed canals and created a telegram network to bring India into the twentieth century • Everything the British did was based on the English model

• The children of the wealthy Indians were sent to English schools to learn to be good administrators • The British were tolerant of other religions and did not try to force Christianity upon the Indians • The English did stop the practice of sati – the burning of a widow on her husband’s funeral pyre

Independence • In 1885 the Indian National Congress was founded to unite Hindus and Muslims in an attempt to gain self-rule • In 1906 the Muslim League was formed to ensure that the Muslims would always have a voice and not simply replace British rule with Hindu rule • During World War I Indians of all religions helped Britain against the Central Powers • But after the war they became familiar with Woodrow Wilson’s call for self-determination and Lenin’s call for the freedom of the colonized

Mohandas Gandhi • Gandhi was Hindu who had grown up in a wealthy household, married when he was thirteen, and gone to London to study law • After London he went to South Africa to work for an Indian firm and became invloved in racial issues • He adopted a policy of non-violence and toleration of all others • In 1915 he returned to India and became involved in politics

• Gandhi organized the Non-Cooperation Movement of 1920 -22 and the Civil Disobedience Movement of 1930 • He asked the Indian people to boycott British goods • The British responded with violence • Eventually the British government passed the Government of India Act, which allowed India a certain amount of self-rule – but the Act did not work because the Muslims refused to cooperate • Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the leader of the Muslim League proposed two independent states

• World War II propelled the Indian question back to the headlines • British prime minister Winston Churchill promised never to allow India to gain independence • After the war Churchill was voted out of office and replaced by a Labour government much more willing to negotiate • Still the big issue was what to do with the Hindus and Muslims – one state or two? • In 1946 the Muslim League called for a Day of Direct Action – 6, 000 people were killed in the Great Calcutta Killing

• Gandhi and Congress Party leader Jawaharlal Nehru urged peace and non-violence, but gradually accepted the idea of a separate state for Muslims • In 1947 India and Pakistan gained independence • Millions of people crossed the country to get the state of their own religion • In 1948 Gandhi was assassinated