SEctions
Ancient India
2500BC-1500BC
Indus Valley Civilization This civilization was located in present day Pakistan and Western India. The Indus Valley was the largest of the four urban civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, and China. Very little was known about this culture until about the 1920s when two large cities were unearthed by the Archaeological Department of India. The two cities are known as Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. The ruins of the city included four to five-thousand-year-old pottery, weapons, gold, and silver. The towns were incredibly well-built and well-planned while employing sophisticated drainage systems. The houses were made of brick and typically had at least two stories—an incredible architectural feat for 2500 BC. To accompany the sophisticated architecture, it is also believed that this group of people wore clothes made of cotton and wool. The diet of an individual living in the Indus Valley Civilization consisted primarily of wheat, barley, fruits, vegetables, pork, and eggs. This civilization is expected to have collapsed because of natural disasters including floods, earthquakes, etc. |
Avantiputra7 [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Saqib Qayyum [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
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326 BC
Alexander the Great's Invasion Alexander and his troops defeated the Indians despite their use of elephants which Alexander’s troops had never seen before. Alexander captured the rulers of the land he passed through and continued to increase the size of his territory. Upon meeting the Brahmins, Alexander became involved with philosophical issues and discovered a passion for debating these issues. Alexander’s invasion of India was centered around his ultimate goal of taking over the world and the Greeks believed the world ended in India. |
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320 AD-550 AD
Gupta Empire This empire flourished between 320 and 335 AD and was known as the “Golden Age” of Indian history. Leads of the Gupta Empire understood the importance of a strong army and used this tactic to extend the boundaries of the Gupta Empire. The citizens of the Gupta Empire led simple lives due to the affordability and availability of commodities. Alcohol was prohibited in the empire and the people preferred vegetarian diets. Trade and commerce were thriving in the empire and could be seen easily from the abundance of gold and silver coins. Items commonly traded were silk, cotton, spices, medicine, gemstones, pearls, and steel. Relations with the surrounding countries in the middle east, Africa, China, and the far east improved due to the trading. Gupta kings understood the importance of sustaining an amicable relationship between different groups of people. This was not limited to the enhancement of trading, but applied to the acceptance of other religions. The decline of the empire can be attributed to domestic conflicts and the lack of strong leadership. |
1526 AD- 1761 AD
Mughal Empire Once again, trading was critical in the success of this empire. At this point in time, India began trading with European countries, specifically precious metals. The first ruler of the Mughal Empire was Babur and his son, Humayun, assumed the throne in 1530 AD and ruled sporadically until 1556 AD. Following the rule of Humayun, Sher Shah Suri took over control of the empire. Although he only ruled for five years, he was quite productive. Sher Shah Suri’s notable achievements revolve around civil works such as laying roads, planting inns, and the rebuilding of the Grand Trunk road. Abkar took over control when Sher Shah Suri stepped down and was well-known for his religious innovation, land revenue system, and the development of the Mansabdari System. The Mansabdari System is essentially a ranking system for civil and military officers. Abkar was also known for his liberal policies toward non-Muslims. Abkar’s son, Jehangir took over control and handed over administration power to his wife, Nur Jahan. This was a prosperous time for art, literature, and architecture. The architectural feats continued into Shah Jahan’s term when the Taj Mahal was constructed for Shah Jahan’s wife as a mausoleum. The decline of the Mughal Empire can be traced back to Aurangzeb’s decision against teaching his sons in the art of government. The fall of the Mughal Empire left a void so large in the country, practically begging to be filled by the British. This is exactly what happened (“The Mughal Empire”). |
Fjgdh5 [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Santosh.mbahrm [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
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European Powers in India: 1600-1870
Though the British were not the first to extend their reach into India, they certainly had the greatest impact on the country. The Dutch arrived before the British and established a successful trading system in the East Indies in 1500, forcing the British to travel to India instead, where they established the English East India Company. British trade was very different from that of the Dutch, in that they:
1700s: The Conquest of Bengal Bengal, in eastern India, went on to become one of the most successful industrial regions in India, thanks to textile manufacturing and agricultural production. To gain access to Bengali trade, the East India Company acquired a port in Calcutta in 1717. In addition to the port, they acquired a farman, the right to trade duty free. While this was extremely beneficial to the company, it made it impossible for other European powers to compete and deprived Bengali rulers of tax revenue. However, as the French threat grew, the British began to worry about their port in Calcutta and built Fort William. This infuriated the new nawab, Siraj, who insisted that he could protect them himself. He was so furious that he ended up attacking Fort William himself in 1756 and conquered the fort. Siraj took 100 British prisoners and put them in a dark basement that went on to become known as the “Black Hole” of Calcutta. Only 23 survived. Widespread outrage over the deaths of British soldiers enabled Robert Clive, Company colonel, to retake Bengal. He gathered 100 sepoys, 800 British troops, 14 cannons and naval support and prepared for what became the Battle of Plassey. Siraj, backed by 40,000 infantry and the French appeared to have the victory. However, Siraj became concerned about an Afghani attack on the Mughal capital of Delhi and left Calcutta. With him and his support gone, Robert Clive was able to defeat the French. He also was able to get a Bengali general, Mir Jafar, to betray Siraj under the promise that Jafar would become the next nawab. Clive’s plan was a success and Siraj was killed and Jafar was put into power. The conquest of Bengali was seen as the first step in the rise of the British Empire in India. While it was a massive victory for the British, it was a tragedy for Bengal.
1772: Warren Hastings Warren Hastings was appointed as the first governor-general in 1772. Hastings was a lover of Indian culture and cultivated a cultural renaissance during his rule. He wanted to keep European powers confined to Calcutta and leave the collection of revenues and administration of justice to Indian intermediaries. However, there was controversy around some of Hasting’s decisions. During the war of American Independence, he defeated an anti-British coalition between the French, Hindu Marathas, and Muslim warlord Haidar Ali. Hastings would later be accused of crimes against humanity for the way his soldiers fought and what they did to the prisoners, even though it was no more violent than any other war. After the war, Hastings was under financial strain and asked local governments for help. This resulted in him being accused of strong-arming the rulers. The Trial of Warren Hastings lasted for 7 years and was a public spectacle. Despite the allegations, Hastings was acquitted. Despite being acquitted, his trial showed all future governor-generals that they could be called to account by Parliament.. Hastings’ trial showed that the British government would be holding its governor-generals accountable. 1757-1857 The British continued to rule over India without much of a hiccup until 1857 under Lord Dalhousie’s rule. Local rulers, peasantry, intellectuals, common masses and soldiers were all becoming discontent with the government for a number of reasons. The British introduced a Zamindari system in which peasants were ruined through exorbitant charges by a new class of landlords. Craftsmen were destroyed by an influx of British manufactured goods. Their religion and caste system was endangered by the British administration. Lastly, Indian soldiers and administrators could not rise in their respective hierarchy because all of the higher positions were reserved for the British. This discontent turned into a revolt that became the 1857 Mutiny. First, military soldiers revolted at Meerut. Following this, rebel forces captured Delhi, inspiring uprisings in all parts of the country. This became known as the first war of Indian Independence. The war went on for a year until the British were able to quell it in Gwalior on June 20, 1858. |
Gandhi's india: 1915-1948
After his shaping experiences in South Africa, Gandhi returned home to India to continue making an impact in his home country. This section will cover Gandhi’s creation of the Satyagraha Ashram, response to the Amritsar massacre, position in the cloth revolution, salt march, and partition, and finally his death and legacy. Summarily these events capture the key points of Gandhi’s life after returning to India.
When Gandhi arrived back in Bombay, India in 1915, he was greeted as a hero. Word traveled quickly about his impacts abroad on Indian rights. For the next year Gandhi would spend his time riding trains across India, gaining a first-person perspective on the struggles of his homeland. During this year he discovered the poverty, famine, and colonial corruption present throughout the colony, and it would soon become his mission to amend those plagues (“Mohandas” 1). This same year Mohandas created the Satyagraha Ashram. Like his ashram in South Africa, it was another experiment in living as equals and in the model of Gandhi. Here, ashramites would spend their time writing, reading, praying, spinning, fasting, meditating, and planting trees. Causing great controversy, Mohandas invited a family of Harijans to this ashram; this became a memorable catalyst for his campaign for their rights. It was for this lifestyle, pursuing satyagraha, that he would become known as Mahatma: “the great-souled one” (History.com 2). The ashram was originally located in Kochrab, Ahmedabad, Gujarat Province. The site sat just outside of this city, within the province that Mohandas was born. Soon after the ashram’s initial creation, a strike occurred in Ahmedabad, composed of the city’s mill workers. Gandhi recruited their help in further constructing his ashram, ensuring they still had a way to support their families during the strike. In 1917, the ashram was relocated where there was more room to expand, towards the Sabarmati river (“Sabarmati”). Upon this move the ashram was renamed the Sabarmati Ashram, and Mohandas would reside there until 1930. During many of his most politically active years, this served as his headquarters, but he slept elsewhere more often than in his own home. Just two years after the relocation, in 1919, he began his journal Young India, which gave colonial Indians a forum to project their hardships and contentions with the British colonial government. In 1922 he stood at “The Great Trial” for seditious behavior projected through his journal. Gandhi pled guilty to his charges, but he contested that everything he did was in protest of native Indians’ rights. The moving leader was sentenced to six years in jail but was released in 1924 following an appendectomy (Banerjee). Around the same time that Gandhi published Young India, the British colonial government passed the Rowlatt Acts. This legislation was focused on suppressing Indians from protesting; it made it illegal for Indians to have organized protests as well as even be seen in groups as small as four in public places. In cases where this law was not followed, police could fire on Indians without warning. During spring of 1919, General Reginald “Rex” Dyer led a group of police and soldiers through the city of Amritsar. Their purpose was to notify the city’s citizens of the new legislation. It had been a long day of circulating the city when General Dyer and his forces recognized a protest more than a thousand large in the Jallianwala Bagh. Dyer quickly marched his forces to the high ground surrounding the gathering, lined up his forces, and began fire immediately. This tragedy murdered more than 300, and injured over 1000 more, including women and children (Lloyd xxvi). The incident became known as the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, or the Amritsar Massacre. Gandhi responded to the incident with a well-publicized three day fast, which became iconic in his large movement for Indian rights in the colony. Another source of conflict for Mahatma was the Indian economy. British legislation made it such that they would bear the fruits of Indian production. For one, the British imported factory-made textiles to India, which reduced their domestic production of homespun cloth, or khaddar (History.com 2). In response to this, Gandhi advocated for increased production of homespun cloth and the boycott of British textiles. In 1925 he created the All India Spinners Association to advance this agenda. Secondly, British authorities made it illegal for Indians to make use of their salt-rich coasts, claiming it for themselves. Furthermore, they put a heavy tax on the mineral, which was extremely detrimental to India’s poor. Mahatma responded with the salt march, where he left his Sabarmati Ashram and marched over 200 miles to the coast with his ashramites and many other followers. He then picked up salt from the Indian Ocean, thereby breaking the law, and quipped about Indians’ rights to make use of resources found in India. For this he would be arrested, but just like the other times, his movement only grew stronger. Starting in the mid-1930s, Mahatma took a break from politics, but reemerged to the scene at the outbreak of the second world war when Britain forced India’s involvement. This was highly contrary to Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence, and he protested that Indians had no place in the war. In 1942, Gandhi and the Indian National Congress began the “Quit India” movement, demanding independence from Great Britain. Mahatma and the other party leaders were again arrested for sedition; however, Gandhi was soon released to keep the masses at bay (“Mohandas” 4). Following the war’s end in 1945, the Labor Party came to power in Britain and began discussion of independence for India. Sadly for Gandhi, they were not receptive to a unified India, fearing a chaotic state between the Hindu and Muslim populations. Gandhi had spent much of his life protesting Hindu-Muslim unity and wishing all of India’s people could work together peacefully. Mahatma and the INC settled for Partition in 1947, creating two independent countries: India with a largely Hindu population, and Pakistan with a largely Muslim population. Millions were forced to relocate to the country with their respective faiths, and chaos broke out across both countries. Luckily, when Gandhi began another fast, the chaos was quickly assuaged, and a semblance of peace formed between the countries. On January 30th, 1948, Mohandas Gandhi was murdered at gunpoint by a Hindu nationalist Nathuram Godse. Mahatma’s legacy carries on through his impact in India and in nonviolent civil disobedience campaigns. His spirit lives on in powerful movements such as Martin Luther King Jr.’s civil rights campaign and Nelson Mandela’s movement to end Apartheid in South Africa (“Mohandas” 4). Mahatma was a hero to the Indian culture that he personally sculpted. However, some chaotic sentiment continues in the form of Hindu-Muslim disunity in his homeland. On what would have been his 150th birthday, nationalists broke into Gandhi’s memorial, stole his ashes, and graffitied an image of the influential leader by inscribing “traitor” across it (BBC.com). Despite this desecration, Gandhi’s impact stands. As a result of Gandhi’s philosophy and great will in South Africa, satyagraha lives on today in his home and abroad. |
The Sabarmati Ashram via Wikimedia
1924 Fasting, with Indira Gandhi via Wikimedia
Gandhi spinning homespun-cloth via Wikimedia
1930 The Salt March via Wikimedia
1930 Salt March via Wikimedia
1939 Last meal preceding a fast via Wikimedia
1940 Traveling to meet Viceroy of India via Wikimedia
1944, Bombay: Gandhi and Jinnah via Wikimedia
Gandhi statue in Brazil via Wikimedia
Gandhi statue at the US-India Embassy via Wikimedia
Gandhi statue in Amsterdam via Wikimedia
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End Of East India Company
The company was abolished in 1858 after the Great Indian Mutiny Queen Victoria's Proclamation of November 1,1858 declared that India would be governed by and in the name of the British Monarch through a secretary of State. The 24,000 man military force was incorporated into the british army. The end of the East India Company was the start of the British Raj, a period of direct british colonial rule over India until 1947. Viceroys The Indian Councils act of 1861, Viceroys Executive Council was turned into a mniature cabinet. A new and 6th member was let in in 1874, and he was in charge of the Department of Public Works, or today known as "Commerce and industry." A few years later in 1879 Viceroy Lytton overruled his entire council in order to accomodate demands for elimination of government import duties on British cotton manufacturing Economics The Income tax was introduced for 5 years to pay off war deficit but Urban Personal income was not a source of Indian Revenue until 1886. The value of Silver fell so hard on the world market that the government of India was forced to take action even against economic interests of the home country. Forcing the government to add Rupees to the revenue to make end's meet. - Customers duty levied to pay war debt 5%-1875 |
Industry
The Bombay textile industry developed more than 80 power mills, the most famous being the Empress Mill. The mills were suppose to boost the economy but ended up only leading to competition. The mills in Nagpur were competing with Lancashire mills for market. The milliners forced the government of India to impose a 5% excise tax on cloth made in India, which was used as support to the Indian National Congress |
Railroad Network
- 1869= 5,000 miles of steel track completed by British railroad companies
- 1900= 25,000 miles
Bubonic Plague (1896) This plague occurred multiple times however in 1896 it spread from Bombay from infected rats brought from China. The community was already flooding with other diseases such as Malaria,Cholera, and Spanish Influenza so the plague hit extra hard. The hardest hit was Bombay city and western and northern India. The death toll was over 10 million people.
1896 was the first time the disease was acknowledged in Bombay for the first time. Cases of lymphatic swelling had already been observed by local medical practioners in May but nobody acted upon it.
- More then 100,000R was spend on disinfectant by the end of March 1897. These cleansing rituals destroyed slum dwellngs in hopes to stop the spread of the disease. The rigorous implementation of measures led to nearly half of Bombay's 850,000 population to leave the city in only a years time (1896-1897) |
Partition (1947)
A partition is a division of British India into two separate states of India and Pakistan. The main vehicle for this nationalist activity was the Indian National Congress and it had a few prominent members.
- In march 1940 the Muslim Leagues "Pakistan" resolution called for creation of "separate states." |
Great Calcutta Killing
1946 Cabinet Mission to India - The Muslim League had demanded since 1940 for Muslim major areas of India in the northwest and the east to be "independent states" - The partition triggered riots, mass death, and a colossal wave of migration. Millions of people decided to leave and move to safer territory. -The death toll post partition due to these riots ranges from 200,000-2 million people.
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India Today
In India today there is a strong family bond. Most people will live with their families until they are forced to get married. There is still a strong distinction between Muslims and Hindus on society.
-Hindu Marriage= "gift of a maiden" and the men have to pay a dowry
-Muslim marriage= Contractual relationship between the husband and the father
- 1in every 6 people live in India and 67% still live in rural areas
- Mumbai formerly (Bombay) has about 12 million people
In India today there is a strong family bond. Most people will live with their families until they are forced to get married. There is still a strong distinction between Muslims and Hindus on society.
-Hindu Marriage= "gift of a maiden" and the men have to pay a dowry
-Muslim marriage= Contractual relationship between the husband and the father
- Population
- 1in every 6 people live in India and 67% still live in rural areas
- Mumbai formerly (Bombay) has about 12 million people
Works Cited
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BBC.com editors. “Gandhi’s ashes stolen and photo defaced on 150th birthday.” BBC News,
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Bowcott, Owen. "Indian lawyer disbarred from Inner temple a century ago is reinstated." The Guardian, 11 November 2015.
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Popova, Maria. Why we hurt each other: Tolstoy's letters to Gandhi on Love, Violence, and the Truth of the Human Spirit. 2019. 21 October 2019.
South African History Online. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. November 2018. October 2019.
The Gandhi Site. "Chronology of Events: Early Life." 2002. mkgandhi.org. 2019.
“Sabarmati Ashram.” 2002. mkgandhi.org. 2019.
The Swaraj Foundation. What is Swaraj? 2001. 21 October 2019.
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Cambridge University Press, 2012. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=466694&site=eds-live.
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knowindia.gov.in/culture-and-heritage/freedom-struggle.php.
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by the British Governor-General, Warren Hastings. But He Paid a Heavy Personal Price.” History Today, vol. 67, no. 11, Nov. 2017, pp. 64–75. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=khh&AN=125589506&site=eds-live.
Photo used under Creative Commons from Jerry7171