Indonesia in Focus: Unfinished journey (56)

Floods in Jammu and Kashmir

Unfinished journey (56)

(Part fifty-six, Depok, West Java, Indonesia, 10 September 2014, 3:41 pm)

The function of social media such as Twitter and Facebook is quite important, not only fellow friends open relationships relationships or find new friends, but in India the rescue services, especially the Indian Army uses social media to search for victims of the flooding that occurred in Jammu and Kashmir recently.

Army reaches out to flood victims through social media

The Army is using social media applications such as Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp to reach out to the flood-affected people of Jammu and Kashmir. The BSNL is working on a war footing to restore the telecommunications network in the State. The Army headquarters is forwarding all distress messages on its website, Facebook page and Twitter handle to a WhatsApp group that includes senior commanders of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps and the Nagrota-based 16 Corps, along with the units in field areas.

Hundreds have logged on to the social networking sites to share pictures and information of the affected areas, and rescue efforts being undertaken by the Central and State authorities.

The telecom sector in the State suffered a double whammy when flood waters inundated some exchanges. This was followed by a general power failure.

While most of the population in the State remains incommunicado, the Centre is hoping things will improve with the despatch of 15 high-frequency wireless sets that will bolster the communication facilities. http://www.thehindu.com/

India intensified rescue operations in Kashmir, where thousands of people remain missing in deadly floods that have become the first major natural disaster faced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

Modi said he’ll provide an additional 10 billion rupees ($166 million) of aid after an aerial survey Sunday of the inundation, which has killed 116 people so far. He also wrote to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to offer help for relief efforts in areas of the disputed region of Kashmir controlled by Pakistan.

“It is a matter of great distress that the retreating monsoon rains have played havoc in many parts of our two countries,” Modi wrote, according to an Indian government statement. “The devastation caused by the record rains and the consequent flooding is unprecedented.”

The deadly flooding has for now overshadowed rising tension in Kashmir, which the two nations have fought over for more than six decades. India last month called off the first formal talks with its neighbor in two years, citing the Pakistan high commissioner’s decision to meet with Kashmiri separatist groups. Pakistan said the meeting followed “a longstanding practice.”

Modi in his letter offered “any assistance that you may need in the relief efforts that will be undertaken by the government of Pakistan,” adding “our resources are at your disposal wherever you need them.” Pakistan will respond to Modi’s letter and offer after deliberations, foreign ministry spokeswoman Tasneem Aslam said by phone from Islamabad Monday.

Television pictures showed many areas of the northern state under water, including the main city of Srinagar. The Jhelum river that flows through the city has burst its banks, according to India’s National Disaster Management Authority.

K.S. Dhatwalia, an Indian Home Ministry spokesman, put the death toll at 116 Sunday, adding thousands remain missing. The government said more than 14,800 people have been rescued. About three dozen aircraft, 130 army columns, 50 army medical teams and emergency boats are involved in relief efforts.

Some 205 people have been killed by the flooding in Pakistan, its disaster agency’s spokesman Ahmed Kamal said today.

Water has begun receding in some areas of Kashmir and no heavy rains are expected in the next four days, S.N. Mohanty, a secretary at India’s National Disaster Management Authority, said Sunday. It’s hard to predict when the flood will begin dissipating in Srinagar, he said.

Provincial elections, due in the flood-hit state later this year, shouldn’t be delayed, the Press Trust of India reported Sunday, citing Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Abdullah’s party ended its alliance with the Congress party after the latter was ousted by Modi in federal elections in May.

India’s monsoon rains from June through September bring with them the risk of floods. More than 5,000 people were feared killed in flash floods last year in the north, according to Indian authorities.

History of India

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the history of the Indian subcontinent with India in focus prior to the partition of India in 1947. For the modern Republic of India(post 1947), see History of the Republic of India. For Pakistan and Bangladesh in focus, 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

Ajanta Padmapani.jpg

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, Subhas Chandra Bose

v t e

Outline of South Asian history

History of Indian subcontinent

7000–3000 BC: Stone Age[show]

3000–1300 BC: Bronze Age[show]

1200–26 BC: Iron Age[show]

21–1279 AD: Middle Kingdoms[show]

1206–1596: Late medieval period[show]

1526–1858: Early modern period[show]

1510–1961: Colonial period[show]

Other states (1102–1947)[show]

Kingdoms of Sri Lanka[show]

Nation histories[show]

Regional histories[show]

Specialised histories[show]

v t e

The history of the Indian subcontinent begins with evidence of human activity of Homo sapiens, as long as 75,000 years ago, or with earlier hominids including Homo erectus from 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 civilization collapsed at the start of the second millennium BCE and was later followed by the Iron Age Vedic Civilization, which extended over much of the Indo-Gangetic plain and which witness 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 Shramanic philosophies.

Most of the subcontinent was conquered by the Maurya Empire during the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE. Various parts of India were ruled by numerous Middle kingdoms for the next 1,500 years, among which the Gupta Empire stands out. This period, witnessing a Hindu religious and intellectual resurgence, is known as the classical or "Golden Age of India". During this period, aspects of Indian civilization, administration, culture, and religion (Hinduism and Buddhism) spread to much of Asia, while kingdoms in southern India had maritime business links with the Roman Empire from around 77 CE. During this period Indian cultural influence spread over many parts of Southeast Asia which led to the establishment of Indianized kingdoms in Southeast Asia.[4]

7th-11th centuries saw the Tripartite struggle between the Pala Empire, Rashtrakuta Empire, and Gurjara Pratihara Empire centered around Kannauj. Southern India saw the rule of the Chalukya Empire, Chola Empire, Pallava Empire, Pandyan Empire, and Western Chalukya Empire. The Chola dynasty conquered southern India and successfully invaded parts of Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka in the 11th century.[5][6] The early medieval period Indian mathematics influenced the development of mathematics and astronomy in the Arab world and the Hindu numerals were introduced.[7]

Muslim rule started in some parts of north India in the 13th century when the Delhi Sultanate was established in 1206 CE.[8] The Delhi Sultanate ruled the major part of northern India in the early 14th century, but declined in the late 14th century, which saw the emergence of several powerful Hindu states like the Vijayanagara Empire, Gajapati Kingdom, Ahom Kingdom and Mewar dynasty. In the 16th century Mughal rule came from Central Asia to cover most of the northern parts of India. The Mughal Empire suffered a gradual decline in the early 18th century, which provided opportunities for the Maratha Empire, Sikh Empire and Mysore Kingdom to exercise control over large areas in the subcontinent.[9][10]

Beginning in the late 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 stagnation. During the first half of the 20th century, a nationwide struggle for independence was launched with the leading party involved being the Indian National Congress which was later joined by Muslim League as well.

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.

Stone Age[edit]Main article: South Asian Stone Age

Further information: Peopling of India, Mehrgarh, Bhimbetka rock shelters and Edakkal Cave

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

Stone age (5000 BCE) writings of Edakkal 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.[11][12] Tools crafted by proto-humans that have been dated back two million years have been discovered in the northwestern part of the subcontinent.[13][14] The ancient history of the region includes some of South Asia's oldest settlements[15] and some of its major civilisations.[16][17] The earliest archaeological site in the subcontinent is the palaeolithic hominid site in the Soan River valley.[18] Soanian sites are found in the Sivalik region across what are now India, Pakistan, and Nepal.[19]

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.[20][21]

Traces of a Neolithic culture have been alleged to be submerged in the Gulf of Khambat in India, radiocarbon dated to 7500 BCE.[22] 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 civilisation of the region began with the Indus Valley Civilisation.[23]

Bronze Age[edit]

Main article: Indus Valley Civilisation

"Priest King" of Indus Valley Civilisation

The Bronze Age in the Indian subcontinent began around 3300 BCE with the early Indus Valley Civilisation. It was centred on the Indus River and its tributaries which extended into the Ghaggar-Hakra River valley,[16] the Ganges-Yamuna Doab,[24] Gujarat,[25] and southeastern Afghanistan.[26]

The civilisation 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 civilisations, along with Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt.[27] 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 civilisation flourished from about 2600 to 1900 BCE, marking the beginning of urban civilisation on the subcontinent. The civilisation included urban centres such as Dholavira, Kalibangan, Ropar, Rakhigarhi, and Lothal in modern-day India, and Harappa, Ganeriwala, and Mohenjo-daro in modern-day Pakistan. The civilisation is noted for its cities built of brick, roadside drainage system, and multistoried houses.

During the late period of this civilisation, signs of a gradual decline began to emerge, and by around 1700 BCE, most of the cities were abandoned. However, the Indus Valley Civilisation did not disappear suddenly, and some elements of the Indus Civilization may have survived, especially in the smaller villages and isolated farms. The Indian Copper Hoard Culture is attributed to this time, associated in the Doab region with the Ochre Coloured Pottery.

Vedic period (1750 BCE - 500 BCE)[edit]

Scheme of Indo-European migrations from ca. 4000 to 1000 BCE according to the Kurgan hypothesis.[note 1]

Archaeological cultures associated with Indo-Iranian migrations (after EIEC).[note 2]

A map of North India in the late Vedic period.

Main articles: Indo-Aryans, Indo-Aryan migration, Vedic period, Vedic Civilisation and Historical Vedic religion

See also: Proto-Indo-Europeans, Proto-Indo-European religion, Indo-Iranians and Proto-Indo-Iranian religion

The Vedic period is characterised by Indo-Aryan culture associated with the texts of Vedas, sacred to Hindus, which were orally composed in Vedic Sanskrit. The Vedas are some of the oldest extant texts in India.[28] The Vedic period, lasting from about 1750 to 500 BCE,[29][30] contributed the foundations of Hinduism and other cultural aspects of Indian subcontinent. In terms of culture, many regions of the subcontinent transitioned from the Chalcolithic to the Iron Age in this period.[31]

Vedic society[edit]

Historians have analysed the Vedas to posit a Vedic culture in the Punjab region and the upper Gangetic Plain.[31] Most historians also consider this period to have encompassed several waves of Indo-Aryan migration into the subcontinent from the north-west.[32][33] Vedic people believed in the transmigration of the soul, and the peepal tree and cow were sanctified by the time of the Atharva Veda.[34] Many of the concepts of Indian philosophy espoused later like Dharma, Karma etc. trace their root to the Vedas.[35]

The swastika is a major element of Hindu iconography.

Early Vedic society is described in the Rigveda, the oldest Vedic text, believed to have been composed c. 1500–1200 BCE in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent.[36] At this time, Aryan society consisted of largely tribal and pastoral groups, distinct from the Harappan urbanisation which had been abandoned.[37] The early Indo-Aryan presence probably corresponds, in part, to the Ochre Coloured Pottery culture in archaeological contexts.[38][39]

At the end of the Rigvedic period, the Aryan society began to expand from the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, into the western Ganges plain. It became increasingly agricultural and was socially organised around the hierarchy of the four varnas, or social classes. This social structure was characterized both by syncretising with the native cultures of northern India,[40] but also eventually by the excluding of indigenous peoples by labelling their occupations impure.[41] During this period, many of the previous small tribal units and chiefdoms began to coalesce into monarchical, state-level polities.[42]

Sanskritization[edit]

Main article: Sanskritization

Since Vedic times, "people from many strata of society throughout the subcontinent tended to adapt their religious and social life to Brahmanic norms", a process sometimes called Sanskritization.[43] It is reflected in the tendency to identify local deities with the gods of the Sanskrit texts.[43]

The Kuru kingdom was the first state-level society of the Vedic period, corresponding 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").[44] The Kuru state organized the Vedic hymns into collections, and developed the orthodox srauta ritual to uphold the social order.[45] When the Kuru kingdom declined, the center of Vedic culture shifted to their eastern neighbours, the Panchala kingdom.[45] The archaeological Painted Grey Ware culture, which flourished in the Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh regions of northern India from about 1100 to 600 BCE,[38] is believed to correspond to the Kuru and Panchala kingdoms.[45][46]

During the Late Vedic Period, the kingdom of Videha emerged as a new center of Vedic culture, situated even farther to the East (in what is today Nepal and Bihar state in India).[47] The later part of this period corresponds with a consolidation of increasingly large states and kingdoms, called mahajanapadas, all across Northern India.

Sanskrit Epics[edit]

Main articles: Mahabharata and Ramayana

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.[48] The Mahabharata remains, today, the longest single poem in the world.[49] Historians formerly postulated an "epic age" as the milieu of these two epic poems, but now recognize that the texts (which are both familiar with each other) went through multiple stages of development over centuries. For instance, the Mahabharata may have been based on a small-scale conflict (possibly about 1000 BCE) which was eventually "transformed into a gigantic epic war by bards and poets."[50] The existing texts of these epics are believed to belong to the post-Vedic age, between c. 400 BCE and 400 CE.[50][51] There is no conclusive proof from archaeology as to whether the specific events described therein have any historical basis.[50]

"Second urbanisation" (800-200 BCE)[edit]

During the time between 800 and 200 BCE the Shramana-movement formed, from which originated Jainism and Buddhism. In the same period the first Upanishads were written. After 500 BCE, the so-called "Second urbanisation" started, with new urban settlements arising at the Ganges plain, especially the Central Ganges plain.[52] The Central Ganges Plain, where Magadha gained prominence, forming the base of the Mauryan Empire, was a distinct cultural area,[53] with new states arising after 500 BCE[web 1] during the so-called "Second urbanisation".[54][note 3] It was influenced by the Vedic culture,[55] but differed markedly from the Kuru-Panchala region.[53] It "was the area of the earliest known cultivation of rice in South Asia and by 1800 BCE was the location of an advanced neolithic population associated with the sites of Chirand and Chechar".[56] In this region the Shramanic movements flourished, and Jainism and Buddhism originated.[52]

===Mahajanapadas (600-300 B.C.E

The Mahajanapadas were the sixteen most powerful kingdoms and republics of the era, located mainly across the fertile Indo-Gangetic plains, there were a number of smaller kingdoms stretching the length and breadth of Ancient India.

Main articles: Mahajanapadas and Haryanka dynasty

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 500 BCE. sixteen monarchies and "republics" known as the Mahajanapadas—Kashi, Kosala, Anga, Magadha, Vajji (or Vriji), Malla, Chedi, Vatsa (or Vamsa), Kuru, Panchala, Matsya (or Machcha), Shurasena, 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 Civilisation.[57]

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. Early "republics" such as the Vajji (or Vriji) confederation centered in the city of Vaishali, existed as early as the 6th century BCE and persisted in some areas until the 4th century CE. 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.The Life of Gautam Budhha was mainly associated with these four kingdoms.[57]

This period corresponds in an archaeological context to the Northern Black Polished Ware culture.

Upanishads and Shramana movements[edit]

Nalanda is considered one of the first great universities in recorded history. It was the centre of Buddhist learning and research in the world from 450 to 1193 CE.

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

See also: Gautama Buddha and Mahavira

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

The 7th and 6th centuries BCE witnessed the composition of the earliest Upanishads.[58][59] Upanishads form the theoretical basis of classical Hinduism and are known as Vedanta (conclusion of the Vedas).[60] 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.[61]

Increasing urbanisation of India in 7th and 6th centuries BCE led to the rise of new ascetic or shramana movements which challenged the orthodoxy of rituals.[58] 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.[62] Buddha found a Middle Way that ameliorated the extreme asceticism found in the Sramana religions.[63]

Around the same time, Mahavira (the 24th Tirthankara in Jainism) propagated a theology that was to later become Jainism.[64] 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.[65]

Magadha Empire[edit]

Main article: Magadha

Magadha (Sanskrit: मगध) formed one of the sixteen Mahā-Janapadas (Sanskrit: "Great Countries") or kingdoms in ancient India. The core of the kingdom was the area of Bihar south of the Ganges; its first capital was Rajagriha (modern Rajgir) then Pataliputra (modern Patna). Magadha expanded to include most of Bihar and Bengal with the conquest of Licchavi and Anga respectively,[66] followed by much of eastern Uttar Pradesh and Orissa. The ancient kingdom of Magadha is heavily mentioned in Jain and Buddhist texts. It is also mentioned in the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas.[67] A state of Magadha, possibly a tribal kingdom, is recorded in Vedic texts much earlier in time than 600BCE.

The earliest reference to the Magadha people occurs in the Atharva-Veda where they are found listed along with the Angas, Gandharis, and Mujavats. Magadha played an important role in the development of Jainism and Buddhism, and two of India's greatest empires, the Maurya Empire and Gupta Empire, originated from Magadha. These empires saw advancements in ancient India's science, mathematics, astronomy, religion, and philosophy and were considered the Indian "Golden Age". The Magadha kingdom included republican communities such as the community of Rajakumara. Villages had their own assemblies under their local chiefs called Gramakas. Their administrations were divided into executive, judicial, and military functions.

Persian and Greek conquests[edit]

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

Floods in Jammu and Kashmir

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

In 530 BCE Cyrus the Great, 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 (modern Afghanistan and Pakistan).[68] 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.[69] During this time India supplied mercenaries to the Persian army then fighting in Greece.[68]

Under Persian rule the famous city of Takshashila became a centre where both Vedic and Iranian learning were mingled.[70] The impact of Persian ideas was felt in many areas of Indian life. Persian coinage and rock inscriptions were adopted by India. However, Persian ascendency in northern India ended with Alexander the Great's conquest of Persia in 327 BCE.[71]

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.[72] Alexander's march east put him in confrontation with the Nanda Empire of Magadha and the Gangaridai of Bengal. 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 civilisation. 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 (322–185 BCE)[edit]

Main article: Maurya Empire

Further information: Chandragupta Maurya, Bindusara and Ashoka the Great

The Maurya Empire under Ashoka the Great.

Ashokan pillar at Vaishali, 3rd century BCE.

The Maurya Empire (322–185 BCE), ruled by the Maurya dynasty, was a geographically extensive and powerful political and military empire in ancient India. It was the first empire to unify India into one state, and the largest on the Indian subcontinent. The empire was established by Chandragupta Maurya in Magadha (in modern Bihar) when he overthrew the Nanda Dynasty.[73] He went on to conquer the northwestern parts of the subcontinent that had been conquered by Alexander the Great. The empire flourished under the reign of Chandragupta's grandson, Ashoka the Great.[74]

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, to the Hindu Kush mountains in what is now Afghanistan. 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.[75]

Ashoka ruled the Maurya Empire for 37 years from 268 BCE until he died in 232 BCE.[75] During that time, Ashoka pursued an active foreign policy aimed at setting up a unified state.[76] However, Ashoka became involved in a war with the state of Kalinga which is located on the western shore of the Bay of Bengal.[77] This war forced Ashoka to abandon his attempt at a foreign policy which would unify the Maurya Empire.[76]

During the Mauryan Empire slavery developed rapidly and a significant amount of written records on slavery are found.[78] The Mauryan Empire was based on a modern and efficient economy and society. However, the sale of merchandise was closely regulated by the government.[79] 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 promulgation of Buddha's teaching.[76] 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.[80] Religious opposition to Ashoka also arose among the orthodox Brahmanists and the adherents of Jainism.[81]

Chandragupta's minister Chanakya is traditionally credited with authorship of the Arthashastra, a treatise on economics, politics, foreign affairs, administration, military arts, war, and religion. 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.

During this period the high quality steel called Wootz steel was developed in south India and was later exported to China and Arabia.[82]

Epic and Early Puranic Period - Early Classical Period & Golden Age (ca. 200 BCE–700 CE)[edit]

Main article: Middle Kingdoms of India

Ancient India during the rise of the Sunga and Satavahana empires.

The Kharavela Empire, now in Odisha.

Kushan Empire and Western Satraps of Ancient India in the north along with Pandyans and Early Cholas in southern India.

Gupta Empire

The time between 200 BCE and ca. 1100 CE is the "Classical Age" of India. It can be divided in various sub-periods, depending on the chosen periodisation. The Gupta Empire (4th-6th century) is regarded as the "Golden Age" of Hinduism, although a host of kingdoms ruled over India in these centuries.

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,[83] ruled a vast empire and was responsible for the propagation of Jainism in the Indian subcontinent.[83]

The Kharavelan Jain empire included a maritime empire with trading routes linking it to Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Borneo, Bali, Sumatra, and Java. 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 Tajikistan to 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.

Southern India[edit]

During this period the southern peninsular of India was at first ruled by the Satavahana dynasty and by the 3 Tamil kingdoms the Chola dynasty, Pandyan Dynasty and Chera dynasty. The Tamil Sangam literature flourished during this period. After the collapse of the Satavahana Dynasty in the 3rd century the Vakataka dynasty, the Pallava dynasty, the Western Ganga dynasty and the Kadamba dynasty emerged and dominated the major part of southern peninsular of India until the 6th century. In the 6th century the famous Chalukya dynasty was established and dominated the major part of southern India until the 8th century.

Sunga Empire[edit]

Main article: Sunga Empire

The Sunga Empire(Sanskrit: शुंग राजवंश) or Shunga Empire was an ancient Indian dynasty from Magadha that controlled vast areas of the Indian Subcontinent from around 187 to 78 BCE. The dynasty was established by Pusyamitra Sunga, after the fall of the Maurya Empire. Its capital was Pataliputra, but later emperors such as Bhagabhadra also held court at Besnagar, modern Vidisha in Eastern Malwa.[84] Pushyamitra Sunga ruled for 36 years and was succeeded by his son Agnimitra. There were ten Sunga rulers. The empire is noted for its numerous wars with both foreign and indigenous powers. They fought battles with the Kalingas, Satavahanas, the Indo-Greeks, and possibly the Panchalas and Mathuras. Art, education, philosophy, and other forms of learning flowered during this period including small terracotta images, larger stone sculptures, and architectural monuments such as the Stupa at Bharhut, and the renowned Great Stupa at Sanchi. The Sunga rulers helped to establish the tradition of royal sponsorship of learning and art. The script used by the empire was a variant of Brahmi and was used to write the Sanskrit language. The Sunga Empire played an imperative role in patronizing Indian culture at a time when some of the most important developments in Hindu thought were taking place.

Northwestern hybrid cultures[edit]

The founder of the Indo-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, the Indo-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, the Indo-Parthians (also known as the Pahlavas), came to control most of present-day Afghanistan and northern Pakistan, after fighting many local rulers such as the Kushan 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.

Satavahana Dynasty[edit]

Main article: Satavahana Dynasty

The Śātavāhana Empire (Telugu: శాతవాహన సామ్రాజ్యము, Śātavāhana Sāmrājyaṁ ?, Maharashtri: शालिवाहन, Śālivāhana[85]) was a royal Indian dynasty based from Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh as well as Junnar (Pune) and Prathisthan (Paithan) in Maharashtra. The territory of the empire covered much of India from 230 BCE onward. Sātavāhanas started out as feudatories to the Mauryan dynasty, but declared independence with its decline. They are known for their patronage of Hinduism and Buddhism which resulted in Buddhist monuments from Ellora (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) to Amaravati. The Sātavāhanas were one of the first Indian states to issue coins struck with their rulers embossed. They formed a cultural bridge and played a vital role in trade as well as the transfer of ideas and culture to and from the Indo-Gangetic Plain to the southern tip of India. They had to compete with the Sunga Empire and then the Kanva dynasty of Magadha to establish their rule. Later, they played a crucial role to protect a huge part of India against foreign invaders like the Sakas, Yavanas and Pahlavas. In particular their struggles with the Western Kshatrapas went on for a long time. The great rulers of the Satavahana Dynasty Gautamiputra Satakarni and Sri Yajna Sātakarni were able to defeat the foreign invaders like the Western Kshatrapas and to stop their expansion. In the 3rd century CE the empire was split into smaller states.

Kushan Empire[edit]

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.[86]

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[edit]

Main article: Roman trade with India

Coin of the Roman emperor Augustus found 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.[87]), 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.[88]

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 - Golden Age[edit]

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 King Chandragupta I, depicted on a coin of their son Samudragupta, 335–380 CE.

Classical India refers to the period when much of the Indian subcontinent was reunited under the Gupta Empire (c. 320–550 CE).[89][90] This period has been called the Golden Age of India[91] 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.[92] The Hindu-Arabic numerals, a positional numeral system, originated in India and was later transmitted to the West through the Arabs. Early Hindu numerals had only nine symbols, until 600 to 800 CE, when a symbol for zero was developed for the numeral system.[93] The peace and prosperity created under leadership of Guptas enabled the pursuit of scientific and artistic endeavors in India.[94]

The high points of this cultural creativity are magnificent architecture, sculpture, and painting.[95] The Gupta period produced scholars such as Kalidasa, Aryabhata, Varahamihira, Vishnu Sharma, and Vatsyayana who made great advancements in many academic fields.[96] Science and political administration reached new heights during the Gupta era. Strong trade ties also made the region an important cultural centre 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.[97] 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 at Bamiyan.[98] However, much of the Deccan and southern India were largely unaffected by these events in the north.[99][100]

Vakataka Dynasty[edit]

Main article: Vakataka Dynasty

The Vākāṭaka Empire(Marathi: वाकाटक) was a royal Indian dynasty that originated from the Deccan in the mid-third century CE. Their state is believed to have extended from the southern edges of Malwa and Gujarat in the north to the Tungabhadra River in the south as well as from the Arabian Sea in the western to the edges of Chhattisgarh in the east. They were the most important successors of the Satavahanas in the Deccan and contemporaneous with the Guptas in northern India.

Empire of Harsha[edit]

Main article: Empire of Harsha

Harsha Vardhana (Sanskrit: हर्षवर्धन) (c. 590–647), commonly called Harsha, was an Indian emperor who ruled northern India from 606 to 647 from his capital Kannauj. He was the son of Prabhakara Vardhana and the younger brother of Rajya Vardhana, a king of Thanesar, Haryana. At the height of his power his kingdom spanned the Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bengal, Odisha and the entire Indo-Gangetic plain north of the Narmada River.

After the downfall of the prior Gupta Empire in the middle of the 6th century, North India reverted to small republics and small monarchical states ruled by Gupta rulers. Harsha was a convert to Buddhism.[101] He united the small republics from Punjab to central India, and their representatives crowned Harsha king at an assembly in April 606 giving him the title of Maharaja when he was merely 16 years old. Harsha belonged to Kanojia.[102] He brought all of northern India under his control.[103] The peace and prosperity that prevailed made his court a center of cosmopolitanism, attracting scholars, artists and religious visitors from far and wide.[103] The Chinese traveler Xuan Zang visited the court of Harsha and wrote a very favorable account of him, praising his justice and generosity.[103]

Chalukya Empire[edit]

Main article: Chalukya dynasty

The Chalukya Empire (Kannada: ಚಾಲುಕ್ಯರು [tʃaːɭukjə]) was an Indian royal dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynasty, known as the "Badami Chalukyas", ruled from Vatapi (modern Badami) from the middle of the 6th century. The Badami Chalukyas began to assert their independence at the decline of the Kadamba kingdom of Banavasi and rapidly rose to prominence during the reign of Pulakesi II. The rule of the Chalukyas marks an important milestone in the history of South India and a golden age in the history of Karnataka. The political atmosphere in South India shifted from smaller kingdoms to large empires with the ascendancy of Badami Chalukyas. A Southern India based kingdom took control and consolidated the entire region between the Kaveri and the Narmada rivers. The rise of this empire saw the birth of efficient administration, overseas trade and commerce and the development of new style of architecture called "Chalukyan architecture".

Medieval and Late Puranic Period - Late-Classical Age (500–1500 CE)[edit]

Main articles: Middle Kingdoms of India, Badami Chalukyas, Rashtrakuta, Eastern Ganga dynasty, Western Chalukyas, Rajput kingdoms and Vijayanagara Empire

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

The Kanauj Triangle was the focal point of empires - the Rashtrakutas of Deccan, the Gurjara Pratiharas of Malwa, and the Palas of Bengal.

The "Late-Classical Age"[104] in India began after the end of the Gupta Empire[104] and the collapse of the Harsha Empire in the 7th century CE,[104] and ended with the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire in the south in the 16th century, due to pressure from Islamic invaders[105] 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.

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(modern Pakistan) in 711 CE witnessed further decline of Buddhism. The Chach Nama records many instances of conversion of stupas to mosques such as at Nerun[106]

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.[107] 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.[108]

Ronald Inden writes that by 8th century CE 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".[109] 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.[110]

Northern India[edit]

From the 8th to the 10th century, three dynasties contested for control of northern India: the Gurjara Pratiharas of Malwa, the Palas of Bengal, and the Rashtrakutas of the Deccan. During this period, Indian rulers in spite for internal struggle, were able to avert the Islamic conquest of India, for example: In Battle of Rajasthan, alliance of Gurjar Emperor Nagabhata I of the Pratihara Dynasty with the south Indian Emperor Vikramaditya II of the Chalukya dynasty and many small kingdoms defeated armies of Umayyad Caliphate, thus maintaining kingdom of Hindu rulers till the end of millennium in India

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[111][112] Rajput of the Chauhan clan, Prithvi Raj Chauhan, was known for bloody conflicts against the advancing Islamic sultanates. The Shahi dynasty ruled portions of eastern Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, and Kashmir from the mid-7th century to the early 11th century.

Southern India[edit]

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 of Warangal, 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 in the 11th century. Rajendra Chola I's navies went even further, occupying coasts from Burma to Vietnam,[113] the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Lakshadweep (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.[114][115] 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.

Rashtrakuta Empire (8th-10th century)[edit]

Main article: Rashtrakuta dynasty

At its peak the Rashtrakuta Empire ruled from the Ganges River and Yamuna River doab in the north to Cape Comorin in the south, a fruitful time of political expansion, architectural achievements and famous literary contributions.[116] The early kings of this dynasty were Hindu but the later kings were strongly influenced by Jainism.[117] During their rule, Jain mathematicians and scholars contributed important works in Kannada and Sanskrit.[118] Amoghavarsha was the most famous king of this dynasty and wrote Kavirajamarga, a landmark literary work in the Kannada language.[118] Architecture reached a milestone in the Dravidian style, the finest example of which is seen in the Kailasanath Temple at Ellora. Other important contributions are the sculptures of Elephanta Caves in modern Maharashtra as well as the Kashivishvanatha temple and the Jain Narayana temple at Pattadakal in modern Karnataka, all of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Arab traveler Suleiman described the Rashtrakuta Empire as one of the four great Empires of the world.[119] The Rashtrakuta period marked the beginning of the golden age of southern Indian mathematics. The great south Indian mathematician Mahāvīra (mathematician) lived in the Rashtrakuta Empire and his text had a huge impact on the medieval south Indian mathematicians who lived after him.[120]

Pala Empire (8th-12th century)[edit]

Main article: Pala Empire

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The Pala Empire (Bengali: পাল সাম্রাজ্য Pal Samrajyô) was an Indian imperial power, during the Classical period of India, that existed from 750–1174 CE. It was ruled by a Buddhist dynasty from Bengal in the eastern region of the Indian subcontinent, all the rulers bearing names ending with the suffix Pala (Modern Bengali: পাল pāl), which means protector. The Palas were often described by opponents as the Lords of Gauda. The Palas were followers of the Mahayana and Tantric schools of Buddhism. Gopala was the first ruler from the dynasty. The empire reached its peak under Dharmapala and Devapala. Dharmapala extended the empire into the northern parts of the Indian Subcontinent. The Pala Empire can be considered as the golden era of Bengal. Never had the Bengali people reached such height of power and glory to that extent. The rulers of the Pala Empire supported the Universities of Vikramashila and Nalanda which became the premier seats of learning in Asia. The Nalanda University which is considered one of the first great universities in recorded history, reached its height under the patronage of the Pala Empire.

Chola Empire (9th-13th century)[edit]

Main article: Chola dynasty

Medieval Cholas rose to prominence during the middle of the 9th century C.E. and established the greatest empire South India had seen.[121] They successfully united the South India under their rule and through their naval strength extended their influence in the Southeast Asian countries such as Srivijaya.[122] Under Rajaraja Chola I and his successors Rajendra Chola I, Rajadhiraja Chola, Virarajendra Chola and Kulothunga Chola I the dynasty became a military, economic and cultural power in South Asia and South-East Asia.[123][124] The power of the new empire was proclaimed to the eastern world by the expedition to the Ganges which Rajendra Chola I undertook and by the occupation of cities of the maritime empire of Srivijaya in Southeast Asia, as well as by the repeated embassies to China.[125] They dominated the political affairs of Lanka for over two centuries through repeated invasions and occupation. They also had continuing trade contacts with the Arabs in the west and with the Chinese empire in the east.[126]Rajaraja Chola I and his equally distinguished son Rajendra Chola I gave political unity to the whole of Southern India and established the Chola Empire as a respected sea power.[127] Under the Cholas, the South India reached new heights of excellence in art, religion and literature. In all of these spheres, the Chola period marked the culmination of movements that had begun in an earlier age under the Pallavas. Monumental architecture in the form of majestic temples and sculpture in stone and bronze reached a finesse never before achieved in India.[128]

Modi, PM India

Western Chalukya Empire[edit]

Main article: Western Chalukya Empire

The Western Chalukya Empire (Kannada:ಪಶ್ಚಿಮ ಚಾಲುಕ್ಯ ಸಾಮ್ರಾಜ್ಯ paśchima chālukya sāmrājya) ruled most of the western Deccan, South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries.[129] Vast areas between the Narmada River in the north and Kaveri River in the south came under Chalukya control.[129] During this period the other major ruling families of the Deccan, the Hoysalas, the Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri, the Kakatiya dynasty and the Southern Kalachuri, were subordinates of the Western Chalukyas and gained their independence only when the power of the Chalukya waned during the later half of the 12th century.[130] The Western Chalukyas developed an architectural style known today as a transitional style, an architectural link between the style of the early Chalukya dynasty and that of the later Hoysala empire. Most of its monuments are in the districts bordering the Tungabhadra River in central Karnataka. Well known examples are the Kasivisvesvara Temple at Lakkundi, the Mallikarjuna Temple at Kuruvatti, the Kallesvara Temple at Bagali and the Mahadeva Temple at Itagi.[131] This was an important period in the development of fine arts in Southern India, especially in literature as the Western Chalukya kings encouraged writers in the native language of Kannada, and Sanskrit like the philosopher and statesman Basava and the great mathematician Bhāskara II.[132][133]

The Islamic Sultanates[edit]

Main articles: Muslim conquests on the Indian subcontinent, Islamic rulers in the Indian subcontinent, Bahmani Sultanate and Deccan Sultanates

See also: Rajput resistance to Muslim conquests 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 Afghanistan and Pakistan around 720. The Muslim rulers were keen to invade India,[134] a rich region with a flourishing international trade and the only known diamond mines in the world.[135] 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 Rajas defeated the Arabs at the Battle of Rajasthan, halting their expansion and containing them at Sindh in Pakistan.[136] The north Indian Emperor Nagabhata of the Pratihara Dynasty and the south Indian Emperor Vikramaditya II of the Chalukya dynasty defeated the Arab invaders in the early 8th century and protected whole India. Many short-lived Islamic kingdoms (sultanates) under foreign rulers were established across the north western subcontinent (Afghanistan and Pakistan) 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. Mahmud of Ghazni of Afghanistan in the early 11th century raided mainly the north-western parts of the Indian sub-continent 17 times, but he did not seek to establish “permanent dominion” in those areas.[137] Later, the Bahmani Sultanate and Deccan 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.[138] The empire reached its peak during the rule of Krishnadevaraya when Vijayanagara armies were consistently victorious.[139] 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.[140] 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[edit]

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 Hindu holdings.[141] The subsequent Slave dynasty of Delhi managed to conquer large areas of northern India, approximately equal in extent to the ancient Gupta Empire, while the Khilji 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).

Timur defeats the Sultan of Delhi, Nasir Al-Din Mahmum Tughluq, in the winter of 1397-1398

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.[142] 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.[143]

Vijayanagara Empire (14th-16th century)[edit]

Main articles: Vijayanagara Empire

The Empire was established in 1336 by Harihara I and his brother Bukka Raya I of Sangama Dynasty.[144] The empire rose to prominence as a culmination of attempts by the southern powers to ward off Islamic invasions by the end of the 13th century.[145] The empire is named after its capital city of Vijayanagara, whose ruins surround present day Hampi, now a World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India.[146] The empire's legacy includes many monuments spread over South India, the best known of which is the group at Hampi. The previous temple building traditions in South India came together in the Vijayanagara Architecture style. The mingling of all faiths and vernaculars inspired architectural innovation of Hindu temple construction, first in the Deccan and later in the Dravidian idioms using the local granite. South Indian mathematics flourished under the protection of the Vijayanagara Empire in Kerala. The south Indian mathematician Madhava of Sangamagrama founded the famous Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics in the 14th century which produced a lot of great south Indian mathematicians like Parameshvara, Nilakantha Somayaji and Jyeṣṭhadeva in medieval south India.[147] Efficient administration and vigorous overseas trade brought new technologies such as water management systems for irrigation.[148] The empire's patronage enabled fine arts and literature to reach new heights in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Sanskrit, while Carnatic music evolved into its current form.[149] The Vijayanagara Empire created an epoch in South Indian history that transcended regionalism by promoting Hinduism as a unifying factor. The empire reached its peak during the rule of Sri Krishnadevaraya when Vijayanagara armies were consistently victorious. 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.[150] Many important monuments were either completed or commissioned during the time of Krishna Deva Raya.

Taj Mahal, built by the Mughals

Mughal Empire[edit]

Main article: Mughal Empire

In 1526, Babur, a Timurid descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan from Fergana Valley (modern day Uzbekistan), swept across the Khyber Pass and established the Mughal Empire, covering modern day Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.[151] 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 secular Hindu 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 Maharana of Mewar submitting to Prince Khurram, later known as Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, c. 1615.

The Mughal dynasty ruled most of the Indian subcontinent by 1600; it went into a slow decline after 1707. The Mughals suffered several blows due to invasions from Marathas and Afghans, causing the Mughal dynasty to be 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 1737, the Maratha general Bajirao of the Maratha Empire invaded and plundered Delhi. Under the general Amir Khan Umrao Al Udat, the Mughal Emperor sent 8,000 troops to drive away the 5,000 Maratha cavalry soldiers. Baji Rao, however, easily routed the novice Mughal general and the rest of the imperial Mughal army fled. In 1737, in the final defeat of Mughal Empire, the commander-in-chief of the Mughal Army, Nizam-ul-mulk, was routed at Bhopal by the Maratha army. This essentially brought an end to the Mughal Empire. 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.[152]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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 confederacy.[153] The Maratha kingdom was founded and consolidated by Shivaji, a Maratha aristocrat of the Bhonsle 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 itself, 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.[154] By 1760, the domain of the Marathas stretched across practically the entire subcontinent.[155] The north-western expansion of the Marathas was stopped after the Third Battle of Panipat(1761). However, the Maratha authority in the north was re-established within a decade under Peshwa Madhavrao I.[156] 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.

Muslim Women in Kashmir

Sikh Empire (North-west)[edit]

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

Main article: Sikh Empire

See also[edit]

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Ancient India

Chronology of Indian history

Economic history of India

History of the Republic of India

Indian maritime history

Linguistic history of the Indian subcontinent

Military history of India

The Cambridge History of India

Economic history of India

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Outline of South Asian history

History of Indian subcontinent

7000–3000 BC: Stone Age[show]

3000–1300 BC: Bronze Age[show]

1200–26 BC: Iron Age[show]

21–1279 AD: Middle Kingdoms[show]

1206–1596: Late medieval period[show]

1526–1858: Early modern period[show]

1510–1961: Colonial period[show]

Other states (1102–1947)[show]

Kingdoms of Sri Lanka[show]

Nation histories[show]

Regional histories[show]

Specialised histories[show]

v t e

The known Economic history of India begins with the Indus Valley civilization. The Indus civilization's economy appears to have depended significantly on trade, which was facilitated by advances in transport. Around 600 BC, the Mahajanapadas minted punch-marked silver coins. The period was marked by intensive trade activity and urban development. By 300 B.C., the Maurya Empire united most of the Indian subcontinent. The political unity and military security allowed for a common economic system and enhanced trade and commerce, with increased agricultural productivity.

For the next 1500 years, India produced its classical civilisations such as the Rashtrakutas, Hoysalas and Western Gangas. During this period India is estimated to have had the largest economy of the ancient and medieval world between until 17th century AD, controlling between one third and one fourth of the world's wealth up to the time of Maratha Empire, from whence it rapidly declined during European colonization.

According to economic historian Angus Maddison in his book The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective, India was the richest country in the world and had the world's largest economy until the 17th century AD.[1][2]

India has followed central planning for most of its independent history, which have included extensive public ownership, regulation, red tape, and trade barriers.[3][4] After the 1991 economic crisis, the central government launched economic liberalisation. India has turned towards a more capitalist system and has emerged as one of the fastest growing large economies of the world.[3][5]

Indus Valley civilisation[edit]

Indus Valley civilisation, the first known permanent and predominantly urban settlement that flourished between 3500 BC to 1800 BC boasted of an advanced and thriving economic system. Its citizens practised agriculture, domesticated animals, made sharp tools and weapons from copper, bronze and tin and traded with other cities.[6] Evidence of well laid streets, layouts, drainage system and water supply in the valley's major cities, Harappa, Lothal, Mohenjo-daro and Rakhigarhi reveals their knowledge of urban planning.

Ancient and medieval characteristics[edit]

Though ancient India had a significant urban population, much of India's population resided in villages, whose economy was largely isolated and self-sustaining. Agriculture was the predominant occupation of the populace and satisfied a village's food requirements besides providing raw materials for hand based industries like textile, food processing and crafts. Besides farmers, other classes of people were barbers, carpenters, doctors (Ayurvedic practitioners), goldsmiths, weavers etc.[7]

Religion[edit]

Religion, especially Hinduism and Jainism, played an influential role in shaping economic activities.

Pilgrimage towns like Allahabad, Benares, Nasik and Puri, mostly centred around rivers, developed into centres of trade and commerce. Religious functions, festivals and the practice of taking a pilgrimage resulted in a flourishing pilgrimage economy.[8]

Economics in Jainism is influenced by Mahavira and his principles and philosophies. His philosophies have been used to explain the economics behind it. He was the last of the 24 Tirthankars, who spread Jainism. In the Economics context he explains the importance of the concept of 'anekanta'(non-absolutism).[9]

Family business[edit]

In the joint family system, members of a family pooled their resources to maintain the family and invest in business ventures. The system ensured younger members were trained and employed in the family business and the older and disabled persons would be supported by the family. The system, by preventing the agricultural land from being split ensured higher yield because of the benefits of scale. Such sanctions curbed the spirit of rivality in junior members and made a peculiar sense of obedience.[10]

Organizational entities[edit]

Along with the family-run business and individually owned business enterprises, ancient India possessed a number of other forms of engaging in business or collective activity, including the gana, pani, puga, vrata, sangha, nigama and sreni. Nigama, pani and sreni refer most often to economic organisations of merchants, craftspeople and artisans, and perhaps even para-military entities. In particular, the sreni was a complex organizational entity that shares many similarities with modern corporations, which were being used in India from around the 8th century BC until around the 10th century AD. The use of such entities in ancient India was widespread including virtually every kind of business, political and municipal activity.[11]

Jammu and Kashmir Maps

The sreni was a separate legal entity which had the ability to hold property separately from its owners, construct its own rules for governing the behaviour of its members, and for it to contract, sue and be sued in its own name. Some ancient sources such as Laws of Manu VIII and Chanakya's Arthashastra have rules for lawsuits between two or more sreni and some sources make reference to a government official (Bhandagarika) who worked as an arbitrator for disputes amongst sreni from at least the 6th century BC onwards.[12] There were between 18 to 150 sreni at various times in ancient India covering both trading and craft activities. This level of specialisation of occupations is indicative of a developed economy in which the sreni played a critical role. Some sreni could have over 1000 members as there were apparently no upper limits on the number of members.

The sreni had a considerable degree of centralised management. The headman of the sreni represented the interests of the sreni in the king's court and in many official business matters. The headman could also bind the sreni in contracts, set the conditions of work within the sreni, often received a higher salary, and was the administrative authority within the sreni. The headman was often selected via an election by the members of the sreni, who could also be removed from power by the general assembly. The headman often ran the enterprise with two to five executive officers, who were also elected by the assembly.[citation needed]

Coinage[edit]

Punch marked silver ingots, in circulation around the 5th century BC and the first metallic coins were minted around 6th century BC by the Mahajanapadas of the Gangetic plains were the earliest traces of coinage in India. While India's many kingdoms and rulers issued coins, barter was still widely prevalent.[13][not in citation given] Villages paid a portion of their agricultural produce as revenue while its craftsmen received a stipend out of the crops at harvest time for their services. Each village, as an economic unit, was mostly self-sufficient.[14]

GDP estimate[edit]

According to economic historian Angus Maddison in his book Contours of the world economy, 1–2030 AD: essays in macro-economic history, India had the world's largest economy during the years 1 AD and 1000 AD.[15]

During the Maurya Empire (c. 321–185 BC), there were a number of important changes and developments to the Indian economy. It was the first time most of India was unified under one ruler. With an empire in place, the trade routes throughout India became more secure thereby reducing the risk associated with the transportation of goods. The empire spent considerable resources building roads and maintaining them throughout India. The improved infrastructure combined with increased security, greater uniformity in measurements, and increasing usage of coins as currency enhanced trade.[16]

Mughal Empire[edit]

During the Mughal period (1526–1858) in the 16th century, the gross domestic product of India was estimated at about 25.1% of the world economy.

An estimate of India's pre-colonial economy puts the annual revenue of Emperor Akbar's treasury in 1600 at £17.5 million (in contrast to the entire treasury of Great Britain two hundred years later in 1800, which totaled £16 million). The gross domestic product of Mughal India in 1600 was estimated at about 24.3% the world economy, the second largest in the world.[17]

By the late 17th century, the Mughal Empire was as its peak and had expanded to include almost 90 per cent of South Asia, and enforced a uniform customs and tax-administration system. In 1700 the exchequer of the Emperor Aurangzeb reported an annual revenue of more than £100 million.

In the 18th century, Mughals were replaced by the Marathas as the dominant power in much of Indian, while the other small regional kingdoms who were mostly late Mughal tributaries such as the Nawabs in the north and the Nizams in the south, declared an autonomy. However, the efficient Mughal tax administration system was left largely intact.

By this time, India had fallen from the top rank to become the second-largest economy in the world.[17] A devastating famine broke out in the eastern coast in early 1770s killing 5 per cent of the national population.[18]

Economic historians in the 21st century have found that in the 18th century real wages were falling in India, and were "far below European levels."[19]

British rule[edit]

Main articles: Economy of India under Company rule and Economy of India under the British Raj

Ads by OffersWizard×After gaining the right to collect revenue in Bengal in 1765, the East India Company largely ceased importing gold and silver, which it had hitherto used to pay for goods shipped back to Britain.[20] In addition, as under Mughal rule, land revenue collected in the Bengal Presidency helped finance the Company's wars in other part of India.[20] Consequently, in the period 1760–1800, Bengal's money supply was greatly diminished; furthermore, the closing of some local mints and close supervision of the rest, the fixing of exchange rates, and the standardization of coinage, paradoxically, added to the economic downturn.[20] During the period, 1780–1860, India changed from being an exporter of processed goods for which it received payment in bullion, to being an exporter of raw materials and a buyer of manufactured goods.[20] More specifically, in the 1750s, mostly fine cotton and silk was exported from India to markets in Europe, Asia, and Africa; by the second quarter of the 19th century, raw materials, which chiefly consisted of raw cotton, opium, and indigo, accounted for most of India's exports.[21] Also, from the late 18th century British cotton mill industry began to lobby the government to both tax Indian imports and allow them access to markets in India.[21] Starting in the 1830s, British textiles began to appear in—and soon to inundate—the Indian markets, with the value of the textile imports growing from £5.2 million 1850 to £18.4 million in 1896.[22]

The British colonial rule created an institutional environment that did stabilise the law and order situation to a large extent. The British foreign policies however stifled the trade with rest of the world. They created a well-developed system of railways, telegraphs and a modern legal system. The infrastructure the British created was mainly geared towards the exploitation of resources in the world and totally stagnant, with industrial development stalled, agriculture unable to feed a rapidly accelerating population. They were subject to frequent famines, had one of the world's lowest life expectancies, suffered from pervasive malnutrition and were largely illiterate.

Declining Share of World GDP[edit]

The global contribution to world's GDP by major economies from 1 AD to 2003 AD according to Angus Maddison's estimates.[23] Before 18th century, China and India were the two largest economies by GDP output.

British economist, Angus Maddison argues that India's share of the world income went from 27% in 1700 (compared to Europe's share of 23%) to 3% in 1950.[17] Modern economic historians have blamed the colonial rule for the dismal state of India's economy, investment in Indian industries was limited since it was a colony.[24][25]

Price of Silver – Rate of Exchange: 1871–72 to 1892–93

Period Price of Silver (in pence per Troy ounce) Rupee exchange rate (in pence)

1871–1872 60½ 23 ⅛

1875–1876 56¾ 21⅝

1879–1880 51¼ 20

1883–1884 50½ 19½

1887–1888 44⅝ 18⅞

1890–1951 47 11/16 18⅛

1891–1892 45 16¾

1892–1893 39 15

Source: B.E. Dadachanji. History of Indian Currency and Exchange, 3rd enlarged ed.

(Bombay: D.B. Taraporevala Sons & Co, 1934), p. 15

The fall of the Rupee[edit]

See also: The crisis of silver currency and bank notes (1750–1870)

After its victory in the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71), Germany extracted a huge indemnity from France of £200,000,000, and then moved to join Britain on a gold standard for currency. France, the US and other industrialising countries followed Germany in adopting a gold standard throughout the 1870s. At the same time, countries, such as Japan, which did not have the necessary access to gold or those, such as India, which were subject to imperial policies that determined that they did not move to a gold standard, remained mostly on a silver standard. A huge divide between silver-based and gold-based economies resulted. The worst affected were economies with a silver standard that traded mainly with economies with a gold standard. With discovery of more and more silver reserves, those currencies based on gold continued to rise in value and those based on silver were declining due to demonetisation of silver. For India which carried out most of its trade with gold based countries, especially Britain, the impact of this shift was profound. As the price of silver continued to fall, so too did the exchange value of the rupee, when measured against sterling.

British East India Company rule[edit]

During this period, the East India Company began tax administration reforms in a fast expanding empire spread over 250 million acres (1,000,000 km2), or 35 per cent of Indian domain. Indirect rule was also established on protectorates and buffer states.

Ray (2009) raises three basic questions about the 19th-century cotton textile industry in Bengal: when did the industry begin to decay, what was the extent of its decay during the early 19th century, and what were the factors that led to this? Since there is no data on production, Ray uses the industry's market performance and its consumption of raw materials. Ray challenges the prevailing belief that the industry's permanent decline started in the late 18th century or the early 19th century. The decline actually started in the mid-1820s. The pace of its decline was, however, slow though steady at the beginning, but reached crisis point by 1860, when 563,000 workers lost their jobs. Ray estimates that the industry shrank by about 28% by 1850. However, it survived in the high-end and low-end domestic markets. Ray agrees that British discriminatory policies undoubtedly depressed the industry's export outlet, but suggests its decay is better explained by technological innovations in Britain.[26]

Mosque in New Delhi

The absence of industrialisation during the colonial period[edit]

Historians have questioned why India did not undergo industrialisation in the nineteenth century in the way that Britain did. In the seventeenth century, India was a relatively urbanised and commercialised nation with a buoyant export trade, devoted largely to cotton textiles, but also including silk, spices, and rice. By the end of the century, India was the world’s main producer of cotton textiles and had a substantial export trade to Britain, as well as many other European countries, via the East India Company. Yet as British cotton industry underwent a technological revolution in the late eighteenth century, the Indian industry stagnated, and industrialisation in India was delayed until the twentieth century. Historians have suggested that this was because India was still a largely agricultural nation with low wages levels. In Britain, wages were high, so cotton producers had the incentive to invent and purchase expensive new labour-saving technologies. In India, by contrast, wages levels were low, so producers preferred to increase output by hiring more workers rather than investing in technology.[27]

British Raj[edit]

Main article: British Raj

The formal dissolution of the declining Mughal Dynasty heralded a change in British treatment of Indian subjects. During the British Raj, massive railway projects were begun in earnest and government jobs and guaranteed pensions attracted a large number of upper caste Hindus into the civil service for the first time. British cotton exports reach 55 per cent of the Indian market by 1875.[28] Industrial production as it developed in European factories was unknown in India until the 1850s when the first cotton mills were opened in Bombay, posing a challenge to the cottage-based home production system based on family labour.[29]

The worldwide Great Depression of 1929 had a small direct impact on traditional India, with relatively little impact on the modern secondary sector. The government did little to alleviate distress, and was focused mostly on shipping gold to Britain.[30] The worst consequences involved deflation, which increased the burden of the debt on villagers while lowering the cost of living.[31] In terms of volume of total economic output, there was no decline between 1929 and 1934. Falling prices for jute (and also wheat) hurt larger growers. The worst hit sector was jute, based in Bengal, which was an important element in overseas trade; it had prospered in the 1920s but was hard hit in the 1930s.[32] In terms of employment, there was some decline, while agriculture and small-scale industry also exhibited gains.[33] The most successful new industry was sugar, which had meteoric growth in the 1930s.[34][35]

The newly independent but weak Union government's treasury reported annual revenue of £334 million in 1950. In contrast, Nizam Asaf Jah VII of south India was widely reported to have a fortune of almost £668 million then.[36] About one-sixth of the national population were urban by 1950.[37] A US Dollar was exchanged at 4.79 Rupees.

Railways[edit]

Main article: History of rail transport in India

British investors built a modern railway system in the late 19th century—it was the fourth largest in the world and was renowned for quality of construction and service.[38] The government was supportive, realising its value for military use in case of another rebellion, as well as its value for economic growth. All the funding and management came from private British companies. The railways at first were privately owned and operated, and run by British administrators, engineers and skilled craftsmen. At first, only the unskilled workers were Indians.[39]

Extent of Great Indian Peninsular Railway network in 1870. The GIPR was one of the largest rail companies at that time.

A plan for a rail system in India was first put forward in 1832. A few short lines were built in the 1830s, but they did not interconnect. 1844, Governor-General Lord Hardinge allowed private entrepreneurs to set up a rail system in India. The John Company (and later the colonial government) encouraged new railway companies backed by private investors under a scheme that would provide land and guarantee an annual return of up to five percent during the initial years of operation. The companies were to build and operate the lines under a 99-year lease, with the government having the option to buy them earlier.[40]

Two new railway companies, Great Indian Peninsular Railway (GIPR) and East Indian Railway (EIR) began in 1853–54 to construct and operate lines near Bombay and Calcutta.[40] In 1853, the first passenger train service was inaugurated between Bori Bunder in Bombay and Thane. Covering a distance of 34 kilometres (21 mi).[41] The first passenger railway line in North India between Allahabad and Kanpur opened in 1859.

The railway network in 1909, when it was the fourth largest railway network in the world.

In 1854 Governor-General Lord Dalhousie formulated a plan to construct a network of trunk lines connecting the principal regions of India. Encouraged by the government guarantees, investment flowed in and a series of new rail companies were established, leading to rapid expansion of the rail system in India.[42] Soon several large princely states built their own rail systems and the network spread to the regions that became the modern-day states of Assam, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. The route mileage of this network increased from 1,349 kilometres (838 mi) in 1860 to 25,495 kilometres (15,842 mi) in 1880 – mostly radiating inland from the three major port cities of Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta.[43] Most of the railway construction was done by Indian companies supervised by British engineers. The system was heavily built, in terms of sturdy tracks and strong bridges. By 1900 India had a full range of rail services with diverse ownership and management, operating on broad, metre and narrow gauge networks.[44] In 1900 the government took over the GIPR network, while the company continued to manage it.

In the First World War, the railways were used to transport troops and grains to the ports of Bombay and Karachi en route to Britain, Mesopotamia, and East Africa. With shipments of equipment and parts from Britain curtailed, maintenance became much more difficult; critical workers entered the army; workshops were converted to making artillery; some locomotives and cars were shipped to the Middle East. The railways could barely keep up with the increased demand.[45] By the end of the war, the railways had deteriorated badly.[46] In 1923, both GIPR and EIR were nationalised.[44]

"The most magnificent railway station in the world." Victoria Terminus, Bombay, was completed in 1888.

Headrick argues that until the 1930s, both the Raj lines and the private companies hired only European supervisors, civil engineers, and even operating personnel, such as locomotive engineers. The government's Stores Policy required that bids on railway contracts be made to the India Office in London, shutting out most Indian firms. The railway companies purchased most of their hardware and parts in Britain. There were railway maintenance workshops in India, but they were rarely allowed to manufacture or repair locomotives. TISCO steel could not obtain orders for rails until the 1920s.[47]

The Second World War severely crippled the railways as rolling stock was diverted to the Middle East, and the railway workshops were converted into munitions workshops.[48]

India provides an example of the British Empire pouring its money and expertise into a very well built system designed for military purposes after the Mutiny of 1857, and with the hope that it would stimulate industry. The system was overbuilt and too expensive for the small amount of freight traffic it carried. However, it did capture the imagination of the Indians, who saw their railways as the symbol of an industrial modernity—but one that was not realised until after Independence. Christensen (1996) looks at of colonial purpose, local needs, capital, service, and private-versus-public interests. He concludes that making the railways a creature of the state hindered success because railway expenses had to go through the same time-consuming and political budgeting process as did all other state expenses. Railway costs could therefore not be tailored to the timely needs of the railways or their passengers.[49]

After independence in 1947, forty-two separate railway systems, including thirty-two lines owned by the former Indian princely states, were amalgamated to form a single unit named the Indian Railways. The existing rail networks were abandoned in favour of zones in 1951 and a total of six zones came into being in 1952.[44]

Agriculture and industry[edit]

The Indian economy grew at about 1% per year from 1880 to 1920, and the population also grew at 1%.[50] The result was, on average. no long-term change in income levels. Agriculture was still dominant, with most peasants at the subsistence level. Extensive irrigation systems were built, providing an impetus for growing cash crops for export and for raw materials for Indian industry, especially jute, cotton, sugarcane, coffee and tea.[51]

The entrepreneur Jamsetji Tata (1839–1904) began his industrial career in 1877 with the Central India Spinning, Weaving, and Manufacturing Company in Bombay. While other Indian mills produced cheap coarse yarn (and later cloth) using local short-staple cotton and cheap machinery imported from Britain, Tata did much better by importing expensive longer-stapled cotton from Egypt and buying more complex ring-spindle machinery from the United States to spin finer yarn that could compete with imports from Britain.[52]

In the 1890s, Tata launched plans to expand into heavy industry using Indian funding. The Raj did not provide capital, but aware of Britain's declining position against the U.S. and Germany in the steel industry, it wanted steel mills in India so it is did promise to purchase any surplus steel Tata could not otherwise sell.[53] The Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO), now headed by his son Dorabji Tata (1859–1932), opened its plant at Jamshedpur in Bihar in 1908. It became the leading iron and steel producer in India, with 120,000 employees in 1945.[54] TISCO became an India's proud symbol of technical skill, managerial competence, entrepreneurial flair, and high pay for industrial workers.[55]

Economic impact of British imperialism[edit]

Debate continues about the economic impact of British imperialism on India. The issue was actually raised by conservative British politician Edmund Burke who in the 1780s vehemently attacked the East India Company, claiming that Warren Hastings and other top officials had ruined the Indian economy and society. Indian historian Rajat Kanta Ray (1998) continues this line of reasoning, saying the new economy brought by the British in the 18th century was a form of plunder and a catastrophe for the traditional economy of Mughal India. (Economic Drain Theory) Ray believes that British depleted the food and money stocks and imposed high taxes that helped cause the terrible famine of 1770, which killed a third of the people of Bengal.[56]

P. J. Marshall, a British historian known for his work on the British empire, has a reinterpretation of the view that the prosperity of the formerly being Mughal rule gave way to poverty and anarchy. Marshall argues the British takeover did not make any sharp break with the past. British control was delegated largely through regional rulers and was sustained by a generally prosperous economy for the rest of the 18th century, except the frequent famines with very high fatality rate (Famine in India). Marshall notes the British raised revenue through local tax administrators and kept the old Mughal rates of taxation. Instead of the Indian nationalist account of the British as alien aggressors, seizing power by brute force and impoverishing all of India, Marshall presents a British nationalist interpretation in which the British were not in full control but instead were controllers in what was primarily an Indian play and in which their ability to keep power depended upon excellent cooperation with Indian elites. Marshall admits that much of his interpretation is still rejected by almost all historians.[57]

Republic of India[edit]

Indonesia in Focus

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