Who is India 1

7/27/2019 Who is India 1

1/7

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, balsamicresins 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 physicalailments 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 theseplants.

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 andattar 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 deciduousgroves 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 thecobra 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 subcontinentwith 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


2/7

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 andCentral 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, theDravidians, 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 andMagadha 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 theGreat 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 theable 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 underAshoka, 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 thedeath 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 ofthe 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 holdprecedence. 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 unstableby 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 raidseffectively 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


3/7

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 ofIndian History.

Babur, Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan, and Aurangzeb were some of the mostprominent 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, whichresulted 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 inestablishing one of the most efficient administrative setups in India. Most noteworthy

being their revenue administration, the characteristics of which form the basics of therevenue and land reform laws in India till date.

The decline of the Mughals saw the corresponding rise of Marathas in Western India. Inother 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 atSurat, 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 thepost 1857 reforms.

Since then uptill independence the history of India is one of constant struggle between thenationalists - 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


4/7

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 Porouscould 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 populationgrowth 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 isfacing 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 theGeneral 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 theperiod 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 andenlightened 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 theireternal 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 manymagnificent 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 influencedby 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.


5/7

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 oreven 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 manyinterpretations, 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 weresome 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, SardarVallabhbhai 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 movementpossible.

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 wasrejoicing 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


6/7

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 theirability 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 societyadministered 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, improvementof 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 thesecond 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 dreamsof 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 NobelPrize, 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.


7/7

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 needof 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 fromdeveloped 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 singlemanagement. 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 gridsfor the transmission and distribution of power.

New areas like oceanography, space, electronics and non-conventional energy sourceswere 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 knowledgeand 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 wholisten 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 inharmony; 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.

Documents

Who is India 1