Indian Civilization

 In this Unit, we shall study about the civilization of the Indian subcontinent.
 When we say “Indian” here, we mean the culture and civilization that spread from
present-day Pakistan to the rest of South Asia, and even to Southeast Asia.
 Indian civilization spread across the world
o Cambodia
o Java
o Sumatra
 Indian traders established settlements in;
o Southern China
o Malayan Peninsula
o Arabia
o Egypt
o Persia
 Through Persis and the Arabs, the Indians became known to the West.
o Religious
o Ethnic conflicts
o High levels of corruption
o Border disputes
o Huge gaps between rich and poor

South Asia
Land and People
 South Asia is the Southern peninsula of the Asian continent, or the Indian
subcontinent with the countries;
o India
o Pakistan
o Bangladesh
o Nepal
o Himalayan Kingdoms
o Indian Ocean Islands
 The Indian subcontinent got its name from the Indus valley civilization, one of the
world's oldest civilizations.
 Geography and climate have influenced the rise and fill of civilization in Southern
Asia:
 3 Geographical Factors
o Himalayas
o River
o Khyber Pass
 Climate is another important influence in Indian life Monsoon winds and rains are
a life-giving or life-threatening part of life in South and Southeast Asia.
 South Asia is home to over one-fourth of world nutation Cover 1.5 million people
South Asia and East Asia
Why the East Asian civilizations of China and Japan, especially the continuing empire of
China, had little or no contact with the Indian civilization considering the antiquity of
both?
 Maurya dynasty welded the first subcontinental empire in India close to the time
that the Qin empire unified China
 Buddhism reached China and Japan not through South India, but through Central
Asia.
Why did India and China and Japan not know each other in antiquity?
Reasons:
 The isolation of the Indian peninsula by the Himalayas mountain range and the
expanse of the Indian.
 The Indian civilization was not notable for maritime adventures, unlike the
Chinese and Japanese admirals of the sea
 Tn ancient India, there existed a strange belief that if any Hindu crossed the
seas, he would lose his religion

Early History
 Civilization developed around the Indus River.
 Ruins of ancient cities such as Mohendro-Daro and Harappa.
 They developed art, writing and counting, and irrigation for their farms.
 The Indus Valley people were among the first to develop a system of time and
uniform weights and measures.

Aryan Vedic Era

 The collapse of the bronze age Indus valley was followed by the Aryan Vedic iron
age period
 They spoke Sanskrit and founded kingdoms in the fertile plains of North India.
 They gave the Vedas
 Prewar Germany Nazis adopted the cult of superiority of the Aryan race to suit
them
 This era laid the foundation of three religions;
o Hinduism
o Jainism
o Buddhism

Hinduism
  India’s main religion
 Hinduism is one of the world’s oldest religion.
 Hindus believe that;
o 300 million gods represent natural forces and personified gods, with the
child Brahma, the creator.
o Lesser gods are (preserver)
o Shiva (destroyer)
o Nine versions of a divine mother, an elephant god, earth and sun god,
earth god, monkey God
Other beliefs;
o Herbal medicine (ayurveda)
o You (physical exercises)
o Meditation
o Karma (destiny)
o Reincarnation (a cycle of births and deaths)
o The creator and source of true happiness
 The Rig Veda

The Vedas
 Vedic literature reflects the life and culture of the ancient Aryans of India, but it
greatly affected Indian life.
 The Vedas are the earliest sacred books of Hinduism, and they are to the Hindu
as the Bible is to the Christian.
 4 Literary works of Vedas
o Vedas
o Brahmas
o Arankayas
o Upanishads

Sanskrit Epics
 The 2 Sanskrit Epics are;
o Mahabarata
o Ramayana

Caste System
The people are being categorized as;
 Brahaman or Brahmin
 Soldiers, Merchants, Artists, Farmers
  Workers and Slaves
 Untouchables

Jainism and Buddhism

 Jainism is largely limited within India, and Buddhism has flourished outside India.
 The founders of these religions;
o Shri Mahavira
o Gautama Buddha
 Jainism started around the 6th century BC, with many ascetics, notably Shari CS
Mahavira
 Jainism founded non-violent resistance, which Gandhi adopted to bring down the
nighty British in India.
 Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama, a prince of Nepal
 Buddha taught four “Noble Truths,”
o (1) man’s life is filled with suffering
o (2) man’s suffering is caused by his selfish desires
o (3) man can end his suffering by conquering his selfish desires
o (4) holy man may attain a state of Nirvana (perfect happiness)
How to reach Nirvana?
 Follow the “Eight-Fold Path”
o right belief
o right aspiration
o right speech
o right conduct
o right livelihood
o right effort
o right thought
o right meditation

Persian and Greek Invasions

 Darius I of Persia conquered the Aryan kingdoms of the Indus valley
 Alexander the Great of Macedonia, reached the northwest frontiers of the
subcontinent unto present-day Pakistan

Maurya Empire
 Chandragupta Maurya unites the whole Indian subcontinent including
Afghanistan and Pakistan, except south India
 Asoka (his grandson) became the greatest Maurya emperor
Gupta Empire
 The Gupta empire was founded by Chandragupta 1, raja of Magadha, around
320 AD.
 The Golden Age
 The subcontinent returned to Hinduism and glowed with cultural achievements;
hence it was called the “Golden Age of Hindu Renaissance.”
 Extended north from Pakistan to Afghanistan, Southern Tajikistan, and as far as
the Bay of Bengal in south India.
 About the middle of the 6 century AD, the Gupta empire declined, and once
again, the subcontinent was plunged into anarchy and foreign invasion.

Islam and the Mughal (Mogul) Empire

 The Muslims known as Mughal (Mogul).
 They coveted the subcontinent's richest classical civilization and only known
diamond mines in the world at the time.
 Babur and Genghis Khan swept across the Khyber Pass and established the
Mughal (Mogul) empire
 The Mughal rulers introduced Islam, the religion of modern Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Iran.
 The interaction between Islam and Hindi brought a new language (Hindustani)
and literature, and a new religion-Sikhism, which is practiced by 23 million Sikhs
today, mostly in India and Pakistan’s Punjabi regions
 Akbar pushed the empire into south India, and integrated Islam into the
subcontinent. Akbar showed political genius by adopting a policy of reconciliation
toward the Hindus.
 His grandson, Shah Jahan, gained fame by building in 1653 the Taj Mahal at
Agra in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal

British Empire
 In Southern Asia, the British "raj" (rulers) extended over all of present-day India,
Pakistan. Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan. Sikkim, Maldives, Burma,
Malaya, Aden and the Persian Gulf.
 Today, Southern Indians in Britain comprise one of the largest minority groups in
Europe, and the British carry many Indian influences in their culture, not to
mention that the biggest jewel in the British monarch's crown is the Kohinoor
diamond from India.

The West Goes to the Indies

  European explorers came in search of the riches of the East, which they called
"Indies"
 Columbus called the natives "Indios" (Indians).
 Western colonies were called "West Indies" in America, and "East Indies" in Asia.

British Rajs
 In 1639 Francis Day, a company agent, developed Madras, and eventually
acquired more ports. The British successfully played one local rajs (ruler) against
another, and the policy of divide and-rule." cleverly supplanted them as the new
rajs themselves.
 In 1777, the British looked elsewhere for the second empire”. Soon, the spice
trade in the East created an economic boom, and the wars of kings in Europe
came to the East Indies.
 In 1793, the British under Sir Robert Chive ousted the French and other powers
to take over most of the subcontinent
 In 1858, India was placed under direct rule from London. Direct rule by Britain
brought many improvements which contributed to the making of modern India.

Gandhi and Indian Nationalism

 In 1885 educated Indians formed the Indian National Congress as a forum to
express their grievances and demands. They advocated a representative
government and other political and economic reforms.
 Mohandas K. Gandhi, (father of Indian independence) emerged as leader of the
subcontinent struggle for freedom.
 From 1920 until his death in 1948, Gandhi was the undisputed leader of Indian
nationalism. The doctrine he championed was satyagraha- civil disobedience
through non-violent resistance During World War II.
 His great civil disobedience campaign mobilized the Indian masses to action in
the 1920’s and 1930’s and convinced the British to leave.

Indian Independence
 On August 15, 1947, the British empire in India was partitioned into two separate
dominion states
 After independence, the subcontinent was convulsed by violent Hindu-Muslim
riots.
 On January 30, 1948, he was shot during a public rally in New Delhi by a crazy
Indian anarchist. His death was deeply mourned by his people and the entire
world.
 Mahatma Gandhi (1869 1948) was the preeminent political and Spiritual leader of
the Indian Independence Movement.
  Gandhi’s role cannot be underestimated in the relatively peaceful transition to
independence for the Indian subcontinent.

Classic Contributions to Civilization

Science among the Indian classical contributions to civilization are:
 Two major religions-Hinduism and Buddhism. Two minor religions Jainism and
Sikhism.
 India developed philosophy ahead of the West
 India enriched world literature with the first fable
 Indian arts and architecture
 In music and dance
 Indians produced commodities like cotton cloth
 India originated numerals, mathematics, astronomy, algebra and algorithm,
geometry.
 India anticipated modern concepts of physics
 Classical India did cataract and plastic surgery, dental surgery, as well as
ayurveda, the “science of longevity”
 Ancient Indian games are still widely played