short history of india

short history of india

The History of India begins with the Indus Valley Civilization, which spread through in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent, from 3300 BC to 1300 BC. This Bronze Age civilization collapsed at the beginning of the second millennium BC and was followed by the Iron Age Vedic period, which extended over much of the Indo-Gangetic plains and which witnessed the rise of kingdoms known as the Mahajanapadas.

In the fifth century, large parts of India were united under Ashoka. He also converted to Buddhism, and it is in his reign that Buddhism spread to other parts of the Asia. In the reign of Mauryas, Hinduism took shape fundamentally.

In the eight century Islam came to India and by the 11th century it firmly established itself in India. The North Indian dynasties of the Lodhis, Tughlaqs, and numerous others, whose remains are visible in Delhi and scattered elsewhere around North India, were finally succeeded by the Mughal empire, under which India once again achieved a large measure of political unity.

The European presence in India date to the seventeenth century, and it is in the latter part of this century that the Mughal empire began to disintegrate, paving the way for regional states. 

During the first half of the 20th century, a natiowide struggle for independence was launched by the Indian National Congress, and later joined by the Muslim League. The subcontinent gained independence from Great Britain in 1947, after being partitioned into the dominions of India and Pakistan. 


The History of India can be broadly divided into following three categories. 

• Ancient India
• Starting from Harappa Civilization in 3000 BC till Chola Dynasty in 985 AD.
• Medieval India
• Starting from Ghazni sacks Somnath Temple in 1026 AD till Siraj-ud-daulah captures Calcutta (Now Kolkatta) in 1756 AD.
• Modern India
• Starting from Battle of Plassy in 1757 Till Partition of India and Independence on 15 August 1947.

Geography of India

Geography of INDIA

 Location

• The Union of India is the seventh largest country in the world covering an area of 32,87,590 square kilometers and it is an important country of south Asia.
• South Asia has a total area of about 4.488 million sq. km out of which India has the largest area (3.287 sq. km). It occupies 73.2 % of total area.
• It is 4 times largest than Pakistan which is second largest in South Asia. India is 12 times largest that UK and 8 times largest than Japan.
• The mainland stretches from latitude 8^o4' north to 37^o6' north and from longitude 68^o7' east to 97^o25' east of Greenwhich. The latitudinal and longitudinal extent of the country is almost same in degrees i.e. about 30 degrees.
• The southernmost point in Indian Territory, (in Great Nicobar Islands) is the Indira Point (6^o45’ ), while Kanyakumari, also known as Cape Comorin, is the southernmost point of Indian mainland. The country thus lies wholly in the northern and eastern hemispheres.
• The 82^o30' E longitude is taken as Standard Time Meridian of India, as it passes through the middle of India (from Naini, near Allahabad.) Hence Naini, Near Allahabad is the Standard Time of India.
• The country is of a vast size and measures about 3,214 kilometers from north to south and about 2,933 kilometers from west to east.
• Indian Standard Time:- GMT +05:30
• Telephone Country Code:- +91
• Coastline:- 7,516.6 km encompassing the mainland, Lakshadweep Islands, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

India lies midway between the Far East and the Middle East. The trans-Indian Ocean routes connecting the industrially developed countries of Europe in the west and the underdeveloped countries of east Asia pass close by. India being centrally located in South Asia, she enjoys an advantageous-position for doing trade with Australia and the countries of Africa, the Middle East and the Far East. Thus, India dominates the Indian Ocean and commands an important strategic position. Her land frontier is 15,200 kilometers long. Her northern borderland, being mountainous, is very difficult to cross and it offers very few transport facilities for trade with the arid, almost barren and very sparsely populated regions of Central Asia. India has a coastline of 6,100 kilometers in the main land and she depends on the Indian Ocean for bulk of her foreign trade. The total length of the coastline of the mainland, Lakshadweep group of Islands and Andaman and Nicobar group of Islands is 7,519.5 km.

Ocean

India Facts
Territorial Sea	12 nm (nautical miles)
Contiguous Zone	24 nm
Exclusive economic Zone	200 nm
Continental Shelf	200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Longest River	Ganga
Largest Lake	Lake Chilka
Highest Point	Mt. K2 (8611 m)
Highest Point of Himalaya	Kanchan Junga (8,598 m)
Lowest Point	Kuttanad (-2.2 m)
Northernmost Point	Siachen Glacier near Karakoram
Southernmost Point	Indira Point, Great Nicobar, Andaman & Nicobar Islands
Southernmost Point of India (Mainland)	Cape Comorin (Kanya Kumari)
Westernmost Point	West of Ghuar Mota, Gujarat
Easternmost Point	Kibithu, Arunachal Pradesh
Highest Altitude	Kanchenjunga, Sikkim
Lowest Altitude	Kuttanad (Kerala)

Physical Boundaries :- The sub-continent is isolated in a remarkable way from the rest of Asia, making it a geographical unit. For example, barring the plateau of Baluchistan the two great ranges, namely, the Sulaiman and the Kirthar, cut it off from the west. Along the North the great mountains wall formed by the Hindu Kush, Karakoram and the Himalayas, cut it off the countries that lie beyond as the mountains are very high and difficult to cross. Similarly, the Southward offshoots of the Eastern Himalayas separate it from Burma.

Locational Advantage:- India is a unique country as it is easily accessible to other parts of Asia, Africa, Europe and Americas. Its cultural influences have crossed its border from time immemorial and reached far off lands. It acts as a bridge head between developed and developing countries of the world and between the East and the West. India's strength lies in its geography as much as in its culture. Since the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, distance between India and Europe has been reduced by 7000 kms. India enjoys a favourable ocean routes from East and South-East Asia and Australia to Africa and Europe pass through Indian Ocean. India is connected with the Cape of Good Hope and the Suez Canal. India can also reach Canada and the USA through the Strait of Malacca after crossing the Pacific Ocean.The Himalayas and other lofty mountains- Muztagh Ata, Aghil Kunlun Mountains to the north of Kashmir and south eastern portion of Zaskar mountains to east of Himachal Pradesh - from India's northern boundary, except in the Nepal region. She is adjoined in the north by China, Nepal and Bhutan. A series of mountain ranges in the east separate India from Burma. Also, in the east, lies Bangladesh bounded by Indian States of West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. In the north-west, Afghanistan and Pakistan border on India. The Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait separate India from Srilanka.

About India - general

India is a country in South Asia. It is the Seventh-Largest country by area and second-largest by population and most populous democracy in the world. 

About India. 

 

Home to the Indus Valley Civilization and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four major world religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated there, while Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam arrived in the first millennium CE and shaped the region's diverse culture. 

India got its independence on August 15th, 1947. It was the day when the Indians got liberated from the rule of the British. 

Agriculture is not only the dominant occupations of the people of India but is also one of the most important economic sectors for the country. 

THE GREAT NATION - INDIA

The official Sanskrit name for India is Bharat.

INDIA has been called Bharat even in Satya yuga 

( Golden Age )

More INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT India

• The name `India’ is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were the home of the early settlers. The Aryan worshippers referred to the river Indus as the Sindhu.
• The Persian invaders converted it into Hindu. The name `Hindustan’ combines Sindhu and Hindu and thus refers to the land of the Hindus.
• The number system was invented by India. Aryabhatta was the scientist who invented the digit zero.
• Sanskrit is considered as the mother of all higher languages. This is because it is the most precise, and therefore suitable language for computer software. ( a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987 ).
• Chess was invented in India.
• Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus are studies which originated in India.
• The' place value system' and the 'decimal system' were developed in 100 BC in India.
• The first six  Mogul Emperor's of India ruled in an unbroken succession from father to son for two hundred years, from 1526 to 1707.

• The World's First Granite Temple is the Brihadeswara temple at Tanjavur in Tamil Nadu. The shikhara is made from a single ' 80-tonne ' piece of granite. Also, this magnificient temple was built in just five years, (between 1004 AD and 1009 AD)  during the reign of Rajaraja Chola
• India is.......the Largest democracy in the world, the 6th largest country in the world AND one of the most ancient and living civilizations (at least 10, 000 years old). 
• The game of snakes & ladders was created by the 13th century poet saint Gyandev. It was originally called  'Mokshapat.' The ladders in the game represented virtues and the snakes indicated vices. The game was played with cowrie shells and dices. Later through time,  the game underwent several modifications but the meaning is the same i.e good deeds take us to heaven and evil to a cycle of re-births.
• The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh. Built in 1893 after levelling a hilltop, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level. 
• India has the most post offices in the world !
• The largest employer in the world is the Indian railway system, employing over a million people !.   
• The World's first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.

• Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to mankind. The father of medicine, Charaka, consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago.
• Although modern images & descriptions of India often show poverty, India was one of the richest countries till the time of British in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus was attracted by India's wealth and was looking for route to India when he discovered America by mistake.
• The art of Navigation & Navigating was born in the river Sindh 6000 over years ago. The very word 'Navigation' is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from the Sanskrit word 'Nou'.
• Bhaskaracharya rightly calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. His calculations was - Time taken by earth to orbit the sun: ( 5th century ) 365.258756484 days.
• The value of "pi" was first calculated by the Indian Mathematician Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century, which was long before the European mathematicians.
• Algebra, trigonometry and calculus also orignated from India.  Quadratic equations were used by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10*53 ( i.e 10 to the power of 53 ) with specific names as early as 5000 B.C.  during the Vedic period.  Even today, the largest used number is Tera: 10*12( 10 to the power of 12 ).
•  Until 1896, India was the only source for diamonds to the world. ( Source . Gemological Institute of America )
• The Baily Bridge is the highest bridge in the world. It is located in the Ladakh valley between the Dras and Suru rivers in the Himalayan mountains. It was built by the Indian Army in August 1982.
• Sushruta is regarded as the father of surgery. Over  2600 years ago Sushrata & his team  conducted complicated surgeries like  cataract, artificial limbs, cesareans, fractures, urinary stones and also plastic surgery and brain surgeries.
• Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India medicine. Detailed knowledge of anatomy, embryology, digestion, metabolism,  physiology, etiology, genetics and immunity is also found in many ancient Indian texts.