History of India

Indian history dates back to 3000 BC. Many excavations in Punjab and Gujarat reveal that the Indus Valley civilization was a highly developed urban civilization. Similarly, the two cities of Harappa and Mohenjodaro, situated on two sides of the river Ravi, are known to have been built on a similar plan. This has been recorded in the Rig Veda - the earliest known literary source composed in this period that sheds light on India's past. India's history can be traced under the following grounds:

The Great Dynasties

It is reported that the Magadh rulers dominated the Northern plains during the 6th century. In the mean time, a new wave of thinking emerged in the form of Buddhism and Jainism to challenge Hindu orthodoxy. The Magadh rule was followed by the rule of Chandragupta Maurya, one of India's greatest emperors. The reign of Maurya sumited under the reign of Ashoka the Great who extended his empire from the Kashmir and Peshawar in the North to Mysore in the South and Orissa in the East. Ashoka was not only a great ruler but also one of the most successful propagators of Buddhism in India. After Ashoka's death in 232 B.C., the empire began to disintegrate and the country was repeatedly raided and plundered by foreign invaders, leaving India disunited and weak for the next 400 years. Stability returned with the reign of Chandra Gupta I (380-412 A.D.). His rule is considered as the golden period in Indian history when art and culture flourished far and wide and the country prospered.
There had been little impact of invasions on life in Southern India unlike the North of India. Under the various rulers, arts and craft in the South also saw the emergence of various styles of architecture and some of the excellent architectural accomplishments in the South - the most famous being the exquisitely crafted Chola bronzes. These were followed by the Hoysala and the Vijaynagar empires - among the greatest Hindu empires.

The Muslim Invasions

It was between 1001 and 1025 A.D. that the first Muslim invasions of the country started with the Mahmud of Gazni, who plundered the sub-continent for its riches. In the later days, Mohamed Ghori defeated Prithviraj Chauhan, the Tomar ruler of Delhi and left it in charge of his deputy, Qutub-ud-din, the man who built the Qutub Minar in Delhi. His rule was followed by that of the Khilji, Tughlaq, Sayyid and Lodi dynasties respectively. It was during the period of Sultanate of Delhi that the Muslim rulers introduced Islamic concepts of society and governance at max, however, the South remained largely untouched. Mughal empire was established in 1525 A.D. when Babur, a descendant of Timur, as well as Genghis Khan invaded Punjab. The rule of Babur  was followed by that of his son Humayun. He was ousted by Afghan chieftain Sher Shah however, resumed power after Sher Shah's death. Sher Shah is, however, remembered as the builder of Grand Trunk road spanning from Peshawar to Howrah. Later, Akbar, the son of Humayun started to reign who actually consolidated power and extended the empire across North India and parts of South India. Akbar is remembered as one of India's wisest rulers and most able administrators. He was succeeded by Jahangir, followed by his son Shah Jahan - best known as the builder of the Taj Mahal, the Red Fort and the Jama Masjid. Shah Jahan's reign was followed by Aurangzeb's. The rule of Mughal declined after the death of Aurangzeb in India.

British Rule
It is a matter of fact that over the centuries India had always been attractive to traders. It was Vasco da Gama, the first European to come to India who landed at Calicut, sailing via the Cape of Good Hope in 1498. Later in the 16th century, the Portuguese established their colony and ruled till 1961 A.D. India offered liberal interests of commerce, as a result, the Portuguese, the French, the Dutch and the English, all of whom were lured. The English established themselves as the powerful ruler in India introducing revolutionary changes in social, political and economic life of the general people by the last quarter of the 18th century.

Towards Independence

The seeds of British establishment in India were the disintegration of the Mughal empire, fighting among the Maratha rulers and inability of the various rulers across the country to unite against a common enemy, etc. However, with the wake of the 19th century, the country witnessed a revival of national pride and social reform and the revolt against the suppressive British rule. It was in the second half of the 19th century when the first war of independence in 1857 broke out in Meerut, people of all walks of life united for freedom.The anti-British sentiment became a mass movement with the arrival of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi who devised a unique strategy for India's freedom struggle based on non-violence and civil disobedience. Gandhi, the father of Indian independence, conceived and led the non-cooperation movement in 1922, the Salt Satyagraha in 1930 and the Quit India Movement in 1942. Finally, the British government was compelled to transfer power on August 15, 1947 to the sovereign Indian people. Today, India stands as the world's largest democracy with a federal form of government.