Topography

India is blessed with a wide variety of climates and soil types which permit the growing of many unique earthy roots, precious woods, aromatic spices, exotic flowers, balsamic resins and scented grasses. Practitioners of Ayurveda (the traditional Indian system of medicine dating to at least 1000 BC) were well acquainted with the uses to which these plants could be put and prescribed them to treat the emotional, mental and physical ailments of the people. Sandalwood, agarwood, spikenard, vetiver, saffron, cinnamon, jasmine, rose, coriander and ginger were but a few of the aromatic plants recognized by them as being plants possessing pleasing fragrant charm as well as being plants therapeutic value. These plants and many others were used in food preparations, medicinal formulas, massage oils, cosmetics, natural sandalwood-based perfumes called attars, incense, floral wreaths and unguents, each of which served some special function in promoting the well-being of the people. There is hardly any aspect of Indian life, be it political, social, economic or religious that has not been profoundly influenced by these plants. A person interested in Indias botanical treasures will find there are many fascinating worlds to discover throughout the country. Flower markets, ayurvedic pharmacies and hospitals, traditional perfume houses, incense stores and manufacturers, essential oil and attar distilleries, botanical gardens and parks, temples, spice shops and marriage ceremonies are all good places to experience the diverse ways in which the wonderful jewels of the natural world permeate Indian life. From the pine-clad slopes of the Himalayas to the scrub and thornforests of north west and peninsular India and from the semi-arid central forests to the ever-green deciduous groves of Kerala, Bengal, the northeast hills, and the Andaman and Nicobar, Indiasvegetation is tailored to its diverse topography. Some of the major Indian animals which inhabit its forest and green areas are: Bengal tiger, monkeys, elephants, foxes, jackals, mongoose, Indian crocodile, the gharial, and lizards and snakes - including the cobra comprise the indeginous reptile population. Peacock - the Indian national bird joins the ranks of birds from cranes, storks, ibises, hawks, hornbills, parrots, and the common crow. History The spirit of India has thus fascinated the world with its very mystique. A subcontinent with a 5000-year old history. A civilization united by its diversity - India has always been known as a land where history echoes itself with all its wonders in every piece of stone and every particle of dust.

Indias first major civilization flourished around 2500 BC in the Indus river valley much

of which lies within present day India. This civilization, which lasted for 1000 years, and is known as the Harappan culture, appears to have been the culmination of thousands of years of settlement. From around 1500 BC onwards, Aryan tribes from Afghanistan and Central Asia began to filter into northwest India. Despite their martial superiority, their progress was gradual. Eventually though these tribes were able to control the whole of Northern India as far as Vindhya Hills, and many of the original inhabitants, the Dravidians, were pushed into south India. As the Aryan tribes spread out across the Ganges plain, in the seventh century BC, many of them were grouped together into 16 major kingdoms. Gradually these amalgamated into four large states, with Kosala and Magadha emerging to be the most powerful during the fifth century BC. North India however came to be dominated by the Nanda dynasty in about 364 BC. During this period however, North India narrowly avoided two other invasions from the west. The first was by the Persian king, Darius (521- 486 BC) and the second by Alexander the Great who marched into India from Greece in 326 BC. The Mauryas were the first ruling dynasty to control large parts of North India and some parts of South India, as one territorial unit. Fouded by Chandragupta Maurya with the able guidance of Kautilya, the author of the famous treatise - Arthshastra - he was able to set up ahighly centralized administrative setup. The empire reached its peak under Ashoka, who left pillars and rock-carved edicts, which delineate the enormous span of his territory that covered large areas of the Indian subcontinent; these can be seen in Delhi, Gujarat, Orissa, Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh and Sanchi in Madhya pradesh . Following the death of Ashoka, in 232 BC, the empire rapidly disintegrated, finally collapsing in 184 BC. A number of empires rose and fell, especially in North India, following the collapse of the Mauryas. The next dynasty worth a mention is that of the Guptas. Although the Gupta empire was not as large as the Maurya empire, it kept North India politically united for more than a century from AD 335 to 455. Following the decline of the Mauryan Empire a number of powerful kingdoms arose in central and south India, among them Satavahanas, Kalingas and Vakatakas hold precedence. Later on these regions saw the rise of some of the greatest dynasties of South India in the form of the Cholas, Pandyas, Cheras, Chalukyas and Pallavas.

The decline of the Guptas, in North India, and the consequent rise of a large but ineffective number of regional powers made the political situation very fluid and unstable by the ninth century AD. This paved the way for the Muslim invasion into India during the early half of the eleventh century. These were felt in the form of seventeen successive raids to North India, made by Mahmud of Ghazni between 1001 and 1025. These raids effectively shattered the balance of power in North India allowing subsequent invaders to claim the territory for themselves. However the next Muslim ruler to invade India achieved the establishment of foreign rule in India, in its truesense. This Mohammad of Ghur attacked India and after some futile resistance by the local leadership was able to

successfully lay the foundaion of a foreign empire in India. Under him, large parts of India came under Muslim rule and very soon his successor Qutub - ud - Aibak became the first of the sultans of Delhi. His was followed by the rule of the Khaljis and Tughlaq, also known as the rule of the Delhi Sultanate, who ruled over a large portion of North India and parts of South India till uptill the coming in of the Lodis andSayyids and after them the Mughals who established, what came to be known as the most vibrant era of Indian History. Babur, Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan, and Aurangzeb were some of the most prominent rulers of the Mughal dynasty. Although the Mughals heyday was relatively brief, their empire was massive, covering, at its height, almost the entire Indian subcontinent. Its significance was not only in its size, however. The Mughal emperors presided over a golden age of arts and literature and had a passion for building, which resulted in some of the greatest architecture in India. In particular, Shah Jahans Taj Mahal at Agra ranks as one of the wonders of the world. This apart, the large number of forts, palaces, gates, buildings, mosques, baolis (watertank or well) gardens, etc., forms the cultural heritage of the Mughals in India. The Mughals were also instrumental in establishing one of the most efficient administrative setups in India. Most noteworthy being their revenue administration, the characteristics of which form the basics of the revenue and land reform laws in India till date. The decline of the Mughals saw the corresponding rise of Marathas in Western India. In other parts of India, however a new trend of foreign invasion undetr the garb of commercial links had started from the fifteenth century AD onwards - first, with the arrival and gradual takeover of Goa by the Portugese led by Vasco da Gama -between 1498 and 1510 AD; and then with the arrival, and the setting up of the first trading post at Surat, in Gujarat, by the East India Company.

The British and Portugese were not the only Europeans in India. The Danes and Dutch also had trading posts, and in 1672 AD, the French established themselves at Pondicherry, an enclave that they held even after the British had departed. The British represented by the East India Company established their commercial control over vast areas in India, which very soon had an administrative dimension to it. The British rule in India was however formalized by the direct takeover of India by the British Crown, through the post 1857 reforms. Since then uptill independence the history of India is one of constant struggle between the nationalists - who assumed different names, ideologies, backgrounds and methods - and the Britishers and their repressive policies in India. Historians however, use the beginning of mature agriculture in the Indus and Ganges valleys as the starting point of the story of Indian civilization. The calendar reads first millennium BC. By now, iron had been discovered, and even iron implements for clearing of forests and cultivation had been fashioned out. Beginning here, the art or

science of metallurgy developed very rapidly in India. India had many copper, tin, lead, brass and silver reserves, not to mention gold mines. Indian steel was so well known that after the famous battle between Alexander the Great and Porous, the only gift Porous could think of giving Alexander was steel. Today, apart from many steel plants, India has held this thread of continuity even in indigenous research in titanium technology and composites. Modern India At that time when man had just about created the right tools to throw up an agricultural surplus, the population of the area, according to some sources was recorded as one hundred million. No wonder Indian population figures continue to be staggering. While the southern states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu have managed to flatten their population growth curve, the Gangetic plains continue with their upwards-rising graph. Women are being empowered in this traditionally male dominated society with literacy, rural banking systems, and vocational skills. Organized womens movements are gaining ground and this has managed to effect many legislative changes in the country. The Parliament is facing a bill for the reservation of 33% seats for women candidates. Of course, this comes against the backdrop of the many firsts in India history. The first woman president of the General Assembly of the United Nations was Vijaylakshmi Pandit. Indira Gandhi as the nations Prime Minister was one of the first women in the world to lead a nation.

As a matter of fact, the transformation being brought about in the society today, due to both welfare schemes as well as economic liberalization, makes it comparable to the period where our story begins. Historians call the 1st century BC the first axial stage and the 20th century AD the second. The first axial stage set in motion the gigantic transformation of a simple agrarian settlement into one of the most complex and enlightened cultures. By the 5th century AD,there was a wealth of material on every aspect of life-religion, philosophy, medicine, astronomy, mathematics, arts, and crafts, even the art of governance. Today, these treatises are constantly being sourced for their eternal wisdom. Accelerating the evolutionary process in the cultural sphere was the birth of two new religions: Buddhism and Jainism. Hinduism saw a sudden revival of activities and many magnificent temples came into being. Arrival of Islam and interaction with Greece, Arabia, Persia and Central Asia further enriched life, which can be discerned even in aspects like architecture and irrigation technology. Literature was also greatly influenced by these movements. Equally, the process of communication became varied and spread out. Stories, songs, theatre, craft were all vehicles of communicating with the people. India has 325 languages and 25 scripts. Even today, all of them are alive and being used. Tamil is the oldest language using the Dravidian script. The ancient language of Sanskrit continues to be ever charming with its highly developed grammar.

The reason why Indian Languages are not doing the disappearing act as those in many other parts of the world is because Indians, it has been found, are basically bilingual or even trilingual! It is from within this society that the struggle for freedom against the British rule grew. The largest national movement in history took shape. People from every corner of India participated and all of them followed the path set by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, one of the greatest visionaries of this century. Naturally, a movement of this order finds many interpretations, insights and possible causes.

Sustaining a high moral order could not have been easy. History reveals an integrated vision of the leaders where truth and ahimsa or non-violence were held supreme. Strengthening this vision was the newly emerging intelligentsia. Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Bankim Chandra, Rabindranath Tagore, Subramanya Bharati and Abul Kalam Azad were some of those who enthused the people through their soul-stirring writings and songs to reach out to nationalism. There were many who communicated directly with the masses. Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Asaf Ali, C. Rajagopalachari, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Subhas Chandra Bose, and Sarojini Naidu are some of the great names associated with the freedom struggle. Jawaharlal Nehru, of course, was the charismatic leader who later became independent Indias first Prime Minister. Rajendra Prasad became the countrys first President. In addition, a million others made this movement possible. Independent India India moment of glory finally arrived on the midnight of 15 August 1947. People delirious with joy flooded the streets to welcome the dawn of a new era. There was rejoicing everywhere. And within the Assembly Hall, Jawaharlal Nehru rose to make his famous tryst with destiny speech. By the early hours of morning, as the clouds sent a light drizzle to acknowledge the awakening, independent India was all set to transform a colonial society into a liberal polity. A Constitution was drawn up in a matter of four years. It sought to assimilate different linguistic regions and religious communities of India into a cohesive Nation-State while, at the same time, conferring substantial autonomy upon the diverse states of the Indian Union. A concern for the citizens formed the basic principle for the guiding policies for governance laid down by the Constitution. There was foresight in the visualization of the Indian Constitution, at every step. The founding fathers under the leadership of B. R. Ambedkar based governance of the country upon the free choice of its citizens. What is it that made them confident of the

prudence and capabilities of the people from a society with modest social development? It was perhaps the strength of the oral tradition. The other was probably the existence of grass-root governance, a complex system having all the elements of a modern democracy. The Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary functioning long before such systems were recognized by international thinkers.

Their faith was not misplaced. Time and again, the people of India have shown their ability to discern: to be able to match immediate interests with the over-arching interests of the nation. The unfailing mechanism of democracy assured stability for the nation. At another level, the politicization of the popular classes generated political aspirations. These aspirations were reflected in various movements, which helped redefine priorities, or in the formation of new political organizations, which added other dimensions to political thought. And, to the people, it became a source of hope for a better future. India in 1949 was gearing up to face many challenges. She inherited a society administered for over a century by a civil service answerable to no one but itself. Her predominantly agrarian economy was stagnant, registering in fact a decline in production. In two phases, India tackled the situation. In the first phase governmental planning and action addressed land reforms, improvement of agricultural marketing techniques and irrigation facilities. Reducing dependency on the fickle monsoons was a major priority area since most of Indian agriculture is rain fed. All this required, in addition to planning, a good deal of research. This was what the second phase was all about. Moving over to scientific research and development, India raised her agricultural production to a consistent growth rate of three percent per annum. Improved methodology and the spirit of innovation of her farmers are holding out dreams of reaching in far greater strength the markets of Europe, Middle East and Far East in the near future. Contemporary impressions of India sometimes neglect the fact that the country is a great manufacturing nation. Economic charts reveal that many domestic brands of consumer goods, be they potato chips or trucks, computers or textiles are competing vigorously with global brands.

Simultaneously, India was building a scientific foundation for all her programs, be it agricultural research or pure scientific research or product designs for the craftsmen. If C. V. Raman, Chandrashekar Azad and Hargobind Khorana were recipients of the Nobel Prize, there were others with equal capabilities like Homi Bhabha, Bhatnagar, Bose,Saha, Kothari, Krishnan, Sarabhai and Pal, who concentrated their energies on creating the environment and infrastructure for further academic and developmental activities.

The Green Revolution of the sixties and the White Revolution of the seventies brought about amazing results in agriculture and cooperative dairy farming. Industrial Sector Indian industrial policy could be broadly divided into two phases. Before 1991, the need of the moment was seen to be the development of a machinery-producing sector with associated economic skills. The second part concentrated on creating a protected home market. In 1991, India threw open the industrial sector to greater internationaland domestic competition. Financial systems have been strengthened and India are well developed. India in recent years has emerged as one of the leading destinations for investors from developed countries. Supporting infrastructure facilities are also being made available. The country has the largest railway network in Asia and the second largest in the world under a single management. Roads are taking developmental changes to the most remote corners of the country. Nearly 85% of the villages have been electrified and there are nationwide grids for the transmission and distribution of power. New areas like oceanography, space, electronics and non-conventional energy sources were developed. Her large scientific and technological personnel were contributing to research and development all over the world. Inter-university centers and consortia for advanced studies were fast becoming active centers of learning.

Their success, it has been observed, is based on a rare combination: scientific knowledge and the readiness to test and match it to folk wisdom. A large number of wells, for instance, have been dug with the help of space imagery! The Indian remote sensing program, perhaps the best in the world, sends out a special broadcast to fishermen who listen to this broadcast before getting their nets ready to bring home a range of seafood! When science was busy with research and applying its finds to traditional Indian life, artists of all genres were busy discovering new idioms, languages and expressions. Indias newly acquired status as a nuclear power and a booming economy has thus brought under international limelight. Its internal problems notwithstanding, India has stepped into the new millennium with great confidence. India therefore can be defined as a land where humanity has lived since ages; where different religions, societes, cultures, languages have interplayed with each other in harmony; a land which has seen the best and the worst of everything; a land where religion means more than their name; a place where nature has bestowed itself in all its colours to end it all a land which shall remain itself till eternity.