What is the full history of India?
Not just from the time of the early Vedic period up until the present day, but also what India has meant to different other regions and what all it has meant to other countries? How has it played a part in the entire history of humanity?
According to Hindu mythology, India was first settled by the god Manu, who was given the task to create a new civilisation. He lived on the bank of the river Ganges and taught people the Vedic Vedas, the Vedic way of life, and its culture. Many generations of people later, the Indian civilisation spread over the whole world. Today, India stands as the third largest economy in the world, after the US and China. There are several different theories about how the first Indian civilization came into existence. For instance, it is believed that civilisation began in the Indus Valley of South Asia during the ancient period. The Indus Valley civilisation (7000 to 3000 BC), as it is today known, is a series of settlements along the Indus River, in modern-day Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan. It is believed that its first settlers belonged to the Harappan culture, which later gave rise to the two other major civilisation of India – the Vedic and the classical – in the second and third millennia BC. The Harappan culture was most active around 2600 BC. This period is still seen as the Vedic and classical periods in ancient Indian history. The Indus Valley civilisation reached its peak around 1900 BC to 1900 AD. It was, however, followed by the classical period of India, which lasted from approximately 200 BC to 500 AD. This period of Indian history saw the rise of the Mauryan Empire, the most important state to arise in India. This lasted until about 200 AD, when it was followed by the Gupta Empire, the most culturally-influential state during this period. After the Gupta Empire, India came to an end and was overrun by the Hunas and the Arabs. The third Indian period is the Islamic period of India, which lasted from approximately 500 AD to 1200 AD. The earliest Islamic states were kingdoms that followed in the footsteps of the Gupta Empire, but they did not succeed in staying stable and lasting very long. Over time, the rulers of these kingdoms fell into an ever-more oppressive power, and the people of India revolted against their rulers. As soon as the Mongols invaded India, they were able to take the Islamic empire away from the Indian people. However, the invasion of the Mongols did not put an end to the history of India. Instead, the Mughals were established, followed by the British Raj, which is in place until today. The last period of Indian history is the period of the British Raj. The British first came to India in the 18th century and established the East India Company, an organisation that ruled India until 1920. While the British empire started to break up, they still maintained their rule of India, but their grip on the nation and the citizens started to loosen. In 1947, India gained its independence from the British. The nation consisted of three parts at that time. The West Bengal region was separated from India and became a part of the newly established Pakistan. A big part of Northern India became independent, and the nation of East Pakistan became an independent country as well. The third part, or the ‘partition’ of India, was the separation of British India and the Dominion of India into separate nations. This, in effect, created India and Pakistan. The Republic of India was founded in 1950. During the initial years of the Republic, India was governed by a group of people in New Delhi. In the past, the capital of India was in Delhi. As a result of the partition of India, Delhi became the capital of the Dominion of India. After the Republic of India came into being, Delhi lost its capital status, and India was given its current capital – New Delhi. In 1947, India became an independent nation. It gained its independence after nearly a century of British rule. India, together with Pakistan, became part of the United Nations. In 1949, both countries came into their own. Since then, there have been two nations. This is a common, yet often overlooked fact. Many people still forget that Pakistan, Pakistan and India are separate nations, just as the United States, the United Kingdom and Russia are separate nations. The fact that people still do not realise this is simply due to the fact that, over time, people have become so used to seeing different countries as ‘countries’. They only realise this when they are presented with a ‘new’ fact, such as when seeing the name ‘USA’ or when hearing the name ‘Russia’. The same goes for Pakistan. But in this case, this is not a bad thing, as Pakistan is only just now becoming aware that it is indeed a separate nation. The only problem that this can cause, is that Pakistan must change its policy towards India in order to keep relations in the right place. In order to solve this issue, Pakistan must continue to develop its relations with India. They must also continue to emphasise the need to work together and to find solutions for all of their problems, such as the Kashmir issue, their relationship with the US and Iran, and the Taliban issue. In the end, both India and Pakistan will develop strong, harmonious and close relations. In 1948, the two countries held their first elections. The elections were held in order to elect a parliament, which then had to work on drafting the constitution of the nation. The Indian constitution was made in 1950. It was amended in 1966 and 1972. The constitution had many rules and regulations, such as a constitutional court, elections, the system of government and the military. The constitution is divided into parts: the state and federal. The state consists of different governments, which are under the control of a government in New Delhi. The state is mainly in charge of maintaining order. The federal government, which is under the control of the parliament, is mainly in charge of lawmaking, as well as all other issues that lie within the sphere of the federal government. The constitution was amended in 1966 and 1972 in order to create a new system of government in the country. This new system gave the president of the country more power, as well as the power to appoint, dismiss and appoint the heads of the ministries. The first person to hold the position of president was Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who was also a Supreme Court Judge. After him, Dr. Zakir Hussain was the president. India’s first president, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. India is the world’s second