British colonial period - Colonial Rule (1858 – August 1918)

After 1858, India became officially a British colony as British crown took control of India from East India Company. The British crown put a Secretary of State for India in change of India. Indian Council who had only advisory powers aided him. India was divided into three administrative zones (Bengal, Madras and Bombay). A number of administrative and legal changes were introduced. In1861 Indian Councils Act, High Courts Act and Penal code were passed. British continued to expand the railways and telegraphic network and in 1868 new Ambala – Delhi railway line was started.

A combination of administrative failures and natural factors resulted in large number of famines in India that killed millions of people -

1861 Famine in North West

1866 Famine in Bengal and Orissa – 1 million perished

1869 Intense famine in Rajasthan – 1.5 million perished

1874 Famine in Bihar

1876–78 Famine in Bombay, Madras and Mysore – 5 million perished.

During this time, India was forced to produce cash crop, which were to be sold by the British. India was also forced to accept British goods that destroyed cottage industries. Many peasants had to borrow money to pay the extremely high taxes imposed on them. 

1st January 1877, Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India at a Durbar (assembly of notables and princes), in Delhi. The Viceroy Lord Lytton represented the Sovereign, who incidentally never visited her Indian Empire. In1878 Vernacular Press act was introduced in India that imposed severe limitations on the rights of the press. In the same year there was ‘Rendition of Mysore’ and Mysore was returned to its original Wodeyarrulers. In 1883 the Ilbert Bill Act was passed which allowed Indian magistrates to try Europeans. This angered the Europeans and the bill was withdrawn. Indians suffered from growing unemployment while most well paying jobs were reserved for the British.  Racial discrimination against Indian’s forced the Indian nationalists into organizing themselves for getting their demands accepted.

Hindu renaissance movement – During this period several great saints and religious leaders were responsible for revival of Hinduism in different parts of India. Ramkrishna Paramhansa (1836-1886), Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820-1891) led the Hinduism renaissance in Bengal that later spread to other parts of India. Swami Dayananda Saraswati (1824-1883) formed Arya Samaj, which became a major religious movement in north India. 

Formation of Indian National Congress

Allen Octavian Hume finally formed the Indian National Congress. The First meeting was in December 1885 in Bombay. Womesh Chandra Banerjee became the first president of Indian National Congress. It met every year in December in different parts of the country. In the early years, the congress used only Petition, Prayer and Protest to try to get their needs met. In 1891 Indian factory Act was passed and in 1892 Indian Councils Act was changed to include new provisions for administrating India. 

Bubonic Plague in Bombay, 1896 -1914 and Indian Famine 1897 -1901:

The epidemic spread from Bombay City, western and northern India, was hardest hit. Around 200,000 people died of plague in Bombay alone. Between October 1896 and February 1897, nearly half of Bombay's estimated 850,000 populations left the city resulting in great loss to commerce and industrial life and helped the disease to spread in countryside and other parts of India. Along with plague many parts of India were devastated by famine during 1897-1901 that killed around 2 million people. 

First partition of Bengal  

Following the ‘divide and rule’ policy Bengal was divided by the British, on October 16, 1905, into Hindu and Muslim areas. By doing this British had hoped to increase tensions between the Hindus and the Muslims. Lord Curzon was the British governor general at this time. The following excerpts from Curzon’s letter of 2nd February 1905 to St. John Brodrick, Secretary of State for India, give an idea of his aims in partitioning Bengal.

“ CALCUTTA is the center from which the Congress Party is manipulated throughout the whole of Bengal, and indeed the whole of India. Its best wire pullers and its most frothy orators all reside here. The perfection of their machinery, and the tyranny which it enables them to exercise are truly remarkable. They dominate public opinion in Calcutta; they affect the High Court; they frighten the local Government, and they are sometimes not without serious influence on the Government of India. The whole of their activity is directed to creating an agency so powerful that they may one day be able to force a weak government to give them what they desire. Any measure in consequence that would divide the Bengali-speaking population; that would permit independent centres of activity and influence to grow up; that would dethrone Calcutta from its place as the center of successful intrigue, or that would weaken the influence of the lawyer class, who have the entire organization in their hands, is intensely and hotly resented by them. The outcry will be loud and very fierce, but as a native gentleman said to me – ‘my countrymen always howl until a thing is settled; then they accept it’.” 

Protest meetings against the partition were organized in all parts of the country on and after 16 October 1905. Partition of Bengal also saw a strong polarization in Indian National Congress between ‘moderates’ and ‘hardliners’. Moderates such as Gopal Krishan Gokhale believed in making "loyal" representations to the government for small reforms, while hardliners likeLokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak complete freedom or ‘purna swarajya’.Tilak announced his slogan "Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it"in his newspaper and became the speaker for the new group of nationalists. The primary leaders of the nationalist movement were Lala Lajpat Rai(1865-1928) from Punjab, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1856-1920) from Maharashtra and Bipin Chandra Pal from Bengal. Together, they were called Lal-Bal-Pal. Ajit Singh in Punjab and Chidambaram Pillay in Tamil Nadu were other important leaders of the Nationalistic Movement. In 1906, Tilak set forth a program of passive resistance, known as the Tenets of the New Party, that he hoped would destroy the hypnotic influence of British rule and prepare the people for sacrifice in order to gain independence. Mahatma Gandhi later adopted these forms of political action initiated by Tilak - the boycotting of goods and passive resistance - in his program of non-cooperation with the British. The Nationalistic movement adopted the slogan of "Swadeshi and Swaraj". Swadeshi means our country and promoted the use of Indian products and the boycott of foreign goods. Swaraj means self-government. Tilak aimed at Swarajya (Independence), not piecemeal reforms, and attempted to persuade the Congress to adopt his purna swarajya program. On this issue, he clashed with the moderates at the Surat session of the Congress in 1907. Taking advantage of the split in the nationalist forces, the government again prosecuted Tilak on a charge of sedition and inciting terrorism and deported him to Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar), to serve a sentence of six years' imprisonment.  

Formation of Muslim League (1906) 

Many of the Indian Muslims were taken in by British divisive policy of ‘divide and rule’. Although Muslims had a fair representation in Congress some of them wanted a separate platform for Indian Muslims. In 1906 Muslim League was formed to represent Indian Muslims. 

By the partition of Bengal in 1905 British successfully sowed the seeds of division between Hindus and Muslims that lead ultimately to the partition of India in 1947. Ghosts of the British ‘divide and rule’ policy, continue to haunt independent India and Pakistan in present times with continuing tensions and border disputes.

 Early revolutionary movement  

Partition of Bengal created a massive outburst of public anger against British rule. Intellectual people as well as common man took part in mass agitation. Poet Rabindranath Tagore actively supported the movement. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s ‘Bande Matram’ was taken up as the soul-stirring slogan. Several groups of revolutionaries started operating in Bengal.Aurobindo Ghosh (later known as Sri Aurobindo), Rasbihari Bose andJatindranath Mukherjee (Bagha Jatin) were some of the important leaders of these revolutionary groups.

Alipore Bomb case

On 30th April, 1908 in Muzzafarpur Bihar, Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki tried to kill the Chief Presidency Magistrate Kingsford who was notorious for passing out stiff sentences against the nationalist activists Kingsford escaped the bomb attack which unfortunately killed two innocent British ladies died in the bomb attack. Following a massive manhunt, Khudiram was arrested on 1st May 1908; Prafulla evaded arrest by shooting himself. On 11th August 1908, eighteen-year-old Khudiram Bose was hanged and became a martyr. Aurobindo Ghosh was arrested on charges of masterminding the attacks on Kingsford but a young lawyer Chittaranjan Das ably defended him. Aurobindo later left politics and became a Yogi and philosopher and became famous as Maharishi Aurobindo or Sri Aurobindo.

A Durbar was held in Delhi on December 12, 1911, to celebrate the visit of King George V. King was welcomed with great pomp and show and given numerous priceless gifts. In 1911 British government under pressure from increasing agitations in Bengal and other parts of India modified the ‘partition of Bengal’ to make again a united Presidency of Bengal.

Hardinge Bomb case

British shifted the imperial capital from Calcutta to Delhi in 1912. On December 23, 1912 to mark the entry of the Governor-general of India into the new Capital, an imperial procession was taken out in Delhi, with Lord Hardinge seated on a caparisoned elephant. As the procession was passed through Chandni Chowk, a bomb was thrown on the elephant, killing themahawat. Lord Hardinge escaped with injuries. Many persons includingMaster Amir Chand, a school teacher of Delhi, Bhai Balmukand, Master Awadh Behari, Basant Kumar Biswas, Ganeshilal Khasta,Vishnu Ganesh Pingley, Charan Das, Balraj, Lachhmi Narain Sharma andLala Hanwant Sahey, and many others were arrested. L.N Sharma and G. Khasta were taken to Varanasi and sentenced to life imprisonment. V.G Pingley was taken to Lahore and was hanged. Master Amir Chand, Bhai Balmukand and Master Awadh Behari were executed on May 8, 1915 in Delhi Jail and Basant Kumar Biswas was executed the next day on May 9, 1915 in Ambala Central Jail.

Ras Bihari Bose, who masterminded the Chandni Chowk incident, escaped to Japan and continued the struggle against British rule from abroad. He was the President of Indian Independence League and head of the first Indian National Army (INA) founded by General Mohan Singh.

In 1914 Britain became engaged in World War I. Shortly after declaration of war, two infantry divisions and a cavalry brigade of the Indian Army were sent to Europe. In all 140,000 men served on the Western Front, 90,000 in the Indian Corps and 50,000 in the Labor Companies. Indian troops also played important role in operations in Mesopotamia, Palestine, and Gallipoli. They also served in the West and East African campaigns and in China.

On 16^th June 1914, Bal Gangadhar Tilak was released after serving a prison sentence of 6 years, most of which he had spent in Mandalay in Burma. In 1915-1916, under the leadership of Tilak, Annie Besant and Subramaniya Iyer, the Home Rule League was started. January 9, 1915, saw the beginning of a new phase in India’s struggle for independence with arrival ofMohandas Karamchand Gandhi to Bombay from South Africa. Two major events took place at the Lucknow session of the Indian Nation Congress in 1916. First, the moderate and hardliner groups were united. Second, the Muslim League put aside old differences and joined hands with the Indian National Congress. 

 Responding to Gandhi’s call for helping British in World War I, a large number of Indians joined British Indian Army during 1916-1917. By the end of the World War I in 1918, the numerical strength of Indians in British Indian Army had increased to nearly 600,000.

History Books

Books on Indian History as Optional subject for IAS Exam are as Follows:

Ancient India

1. Ancient India (NCERT) Prof. R.S. Sharma
2. The Wonder That was India A.L. Basham
3. Ancient India - An Introductory Outline D.N. Jha
4. History of India, Vol. I Romila Thapar
5. Aspects of Political Ideas and Institutions in Ancient India R.S. Sharma (only Conclusion)
6. Material culture & Social Formation in Ancient India R.S. Sharma
7. Indian Feudalism- R.S. Sharma
8. Ashoka & Decline of the Maurya Romila Thapar
9. A History of South India K.A. Nilkantha Sastri
10. Ancient India and Indian Archaeology Archaeological Survey of India
11. Ancient India Social and Culture - Luniya
12. An Advanced History of India - R.C. Majumda, H.C. Raychaudhurai, - Kalikinkar Datta
13. Ancient India - L.Mukherjee
14. The rise of civilization of India and Pakistan - Bridget and Raymond Allchin
15. Mauryan : Ashoka and the decline of mouryan empire - Romila Thapar
16. NCERT (11th)
17. Indus Civilization - (a) IGNOU booklet no. 2

Medieval India

1. Medieval India (NCERT) Satish Chandra
2. Medieval India (Macmillan) Satish Chandra
3. The Wonder That was India (Vol.2) S.A.A. Rizvi
4. The Agrarian System of Mughal India 1556-1707 Irfan Habib
5. The Mughal Empire J.F. Richards
6. Urban Dynamics H.C. Verma
7. The Marathas - Gordon
8. Advanced study in the History of Medival India - Volume I, II, III J.L. Mehta
9. Medival India - Volume I & II Satish Chandra
10. Medival India - L. Mukherjee
11. The Advanced History of India - Majumdar, Raychaudhuri & Datta
12. Social life and cultural life of both Delhi Sultanate and Mughal India - J.L. Mehta
13. A history of South India - K. A. Nilakanta Shastri
14. IGNOU material (especially on agriculture and agrarian relations and culture)
15. NCERT (11th)

Modern India

1. Modern India (NCERT) Bipan Chandra
2. Modern India (Macmillan) Sumit Sarkar
3. Anatomy of the Raj (PPH) Suhash Chakravarty
4. The Raj Syndrome (Penguins) Suhash Chakravarty
5. VAID's Fundamentals of History Series
1. Administrative History Pravin Kumar
2. Constitutional History Pravin Kumar
3. Social History Pravin Kumar
4. Freedom Struggle Pravin Kumar
6. Peasant Movements in India D.N. Dhanagare
7. India's Struggle for Independence Bipan Chandra and others
8. Gandhi -B.R. Nanda
9. Gandhi -Judith Brown
10. Freedom Struggle (NBT) - Bipan Chandra & others
11. Modern Indian History - Groover & Grooover.
12. A struggle for Independence - Bipin Chandra
13. Freedom Struggle - Bipinchandra
14. Modern India - L. Mukherjee
15. A new look into the modern Indian history - B.L Grover
16. Freedom struggle - Bipin Chandra, Varun Dey and Amlesh Tripathy (NBT)
17. India's struggle for independence - Bipin Chandra
18. Modern India - Sumit Sarkar
19. IGNOU material (esspecially on freedom struggle)

World History

1. The story of Civilization, Vol. 2 (NCERT) Arjun Dev
2. Contemporary World History (NCERT) Arjun Dev & others
3. The Mainstream of Civilization Strayer, Gatzke & Harbison
4. Western Civilizations Burns & others
5. Industry & Empire E.J. Hobsbawm
6. Age of Revolution E.J. Hobsbawm
7. Age of Capital E.J. Hobsbawm
8. Age of Empires E.J. Hobsbawm
9. Social basis of Democracy & Dictatorship B.J. Moore
10. Europe Since Napoleon David Thompson
11. Europe Since 1815 W.C. Craig
12. Europe Since 1870 James Joll.

Others: For concepts and knowledge:

1. What is History E.H. Carr
2. Historian's Craft Marc Block
3. The Past and the present Lawrence Stone

NCERT BOOKS
VIII, IX, X,XI,XII History

HISTORY BOOKS GUIDE

1. Indian History - Krishna Reddy
2. Indian History - Agnihotri
3. Competition Wizard Workbook.
4. IGNOU Material
5. Y.D.Mishra

India’s First War of Independence 1857

Many historians called this First War of Independence as a ‘Sepoy Mutiny’ of 1857. For them it was just a bunch of Indian sepoys (soldiers) who had mutinied. They largely failed to recognize the involvement of a vast section of Indian society that took part in this struggle. Peasants and nobles all were involved. Lack of planning and co-ordination amongst people who took part in this struggle resulted in defeat of Indians. Many innocent people were killed on both sides. Karl Marx wrote about the attitude of British media in 1857 - ‘And then it should not be forgotten that while the cruelties of the English are related as acts of martial vigor, told simply, rapidly, without dwelling on disgusting details, the outrages of the natives, shocking as they are, are still deliberately exaggerated.’

Period just before the beginning of India’s First War of Independence

British had little respite from fighting against Indians as they tried to strengthen their grip on India. Sometimes by design, sometimes almost by accident the area controlled by the British increased, until by 1857 everything from the borders of Afghanistan in the west to the jungles of Burma in the east, from the Himalayas in north, to the beaches of Sri Lanka in south were under British East India companies control. In 1857 the total number of soldiers in India was 260,000 amongst them there were just around fourteen percent (34,000) European soldiers.

Less then ten years after the last Anglo-Sikh war there was great unrest in India, specially the northern part. Somewhere along the way the British seemed to lose touch with their Indian subject. By 1857 there was a big gulf between Indians and British.

Factors responsible for unrest amongst Indian masses

• The arrival of missionaries had also caused great unease among the Indians. Evangelical Christians had little understanding of, or respect for, India's ancient faiths.The attitude of scrupulous non-interference in religious affairs that had characterized British rule in the 18th century was forgotten. Native populace started to believe that the British wished to convert them. The passing of Act XXI of 1850, which enabled converts to inherit ancestral property, confirmed this belief; the new law was naturally interpreted as a concession to Christian converts. Hindus and Muslims were forced into Christianity. The British were rude and arrogant towards the Indians who they described as barbarians without any culture. The European judges hardly ever convicted British for their crimes.
•  Thousands of soldiers and nobles got unemployed when Lord Dalhousie annexed Avadh. Under his 'Doctrine of Lapse' the princes were denied the long-cherished right of adoption; in this way Dalhousie annexed the Maratha States of Satara, Nagpur and Jhansi and several minor principalities. On the death of the ex-Peshwa, Baji Rao II, the pension granted to him was abolished and the claims of his adopted son, Nana Sahib, were disregarded.
• British administrative laws ruined both the peasants and landlords. Indian handicrafts completely collapsed and the craftsmen were impoverished. India became a market place for finished goods from England. Poverty increased and the discontent among the masses motivated the Indians to join the revolt in large numbers. Thus, the British drained India of her wealth and all her natural resources.

Beginning of First War of Independence (1857)

 People whispered of the old prophecy, which stated that 100 years after the battle of Plassey, the rule of 'John Company' would end. Plassey had been in 1757 and in the hundredth year after the battle it seemed everyone was awaiting a spark. The cartridge of Enfield rifle used by British-Indian Army was heavily greased with animal fat. Indian soldiers heard and quickly passed on the news that the grease was a mixture of cow (sacred to Hindus) and pig (abhorrent to Muslims) fat.

It began at Barrackpore on 29th March 1857. Mangel Pande, a young soldier of the 34th Native Infantry, shot at his sergeant major on the parade ground. When the British adjutant rode over, Pande shot the horse and severely wounded the officer with a sword. He was later arrested and hanged. As a collective punishment the 34th Native Infantry was disbanded. Mangal Pande became a martyr and an icon representing the beginning of Indian War of Independence.

A few weeks later on 24th of April 1857, eighty-five soldiers of the 3rd Light Cavalry in Meerut refused orders to handle the new cartridges. They were arrested, court-martialled and sentenced to ten years hard labor each. On9th May 1857, at an appalling ceremony in the parade ground of Meerut, they were publicly humiliated: stripped of their uniform, shackled and sent to prison. The following day (10^th May 1857) was a Sunday and as Britons prepared for church, Meerut exploded. Enraged soldiers broke open the town jail and released their comrades. A mob from the bazaar and Indian soldiers poured into the cantonment where the Britishers lived and killed many of them. Then these soldiers marched towards Delhi. There were three regiments of native infantry in Delhi.

On the morning of 11th May the soldiers from Meerut reached Delhi. Gathering below the walls of the Red Fort, the mutineers called for last Mughal King Bahadur Shah. A British officer, Captain Douglas, commanded Bahadur Shah’s personal guard. From the walls high above Captain Douglas ordered them to disperse. Soldiers accompanied by a mob burst into the palace, killed Douglas and asked Bahadur Shah to reclaim his throne. The 38th, 54th, and 74th regiments of infantry and native artillery under Bahkt Khan (1797- 1859) joined the rebel army at Delhi in May. The loss of Delhi was a crushing blow to British prestige and the symbolic associations of the capital of the Moghuls becomming the center of the mutiny was something the British could not ignore. It took British nearly two months to regroup and then they set out to reclaim Delhi. From Meerut and Simla two British columns set out for the capital. Hampered by lack of transport, it was weeks before they joined forces at Ambala. Punishing disloyal villages as they advanced, one could have charted their course by the scores of corpses they left hanging from trees as the British army moved towards Delhi. At Badli-ke-Serai, five miles from Delhi, they met the main army of the Indian soldiers. British won there but most of the Indian soldiers fled back to the protection of the walls of Delhi. The British established themselves on Delhi ridge, a thin spur of high ground to the north of the city. In September 1857, under the command of Major Nicholson and with support of Sikh and Gurkha army were able to reclaim Delhi, breaching the walls with heavy guns and after a bitter street-to-street fight. In the attack on the Kashmiri gate Nicholson had been hit by a bullet and died soon after. One last atrocity was yet to happen. British officer Hodson arrested the old King Bahadur Shah and killed his three sons in cold blood. Bahadur Shah was tried for complicity to murder and other offences, found guilty and sent into exile in Rangoon. The last of the Moghuls, Bahadur Shah died there in 1862. Hodson was never punished for his summary executions of the princes. He died in the retaking of Lucknow in 1858.

Battle of Kanpur

Kanpur was an important junction where the Grand Trunk Road and the road from Jhansi to Lucknow crossed. One of the leaders of the First War of Independence, Nana Saheb of Bithur was born in 1824. Nana Sahebwas well educated. He studied Sanskrit and was known for his deep religious nature. On the death of the last Peshwa, Baji Rao-II, in 1851 the Company's Government stopped the annual pension and the title. Nana Saheb's appeal to the Court of Directors was not accepted. This made him hostile towards the British rulers. In 1857 Kanpur was garrisoned by four regiments of native infantry and a European battery of artillery and was commanded by General Sir Hugh Wheeler. After a fierce battle at Kanpur, General Sir Hugh Wheeler surrendered on June 27, 1857.

The English men, women and children who fell into the hands of Nana Sahib were assured of safe conduct to Allahabad. However the inhuman treatment meted out to the Indians by General James O'Neil at Allahabad and Banaras made the crowd angry who retaliated by murdering British men, women and children. Many innocent lives were lost at ‘Massacre Ghat’ and ‘Bibi ka Ghar’ in Kanpur.

After seizing Kanpur, Nana Saheb proclaimed himself the Peshwa. Tantia Tope, Jwala Prasad and Azimullah Khan were the loyal followers of Nana Sahib, and are remembered for their valiant fight against the British. In June 1857 the British defeated Nana Sahib. Though Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope recaptured Kanpur in November 1857, they could not hold it for long as General Campbell reoccupied it on 6th December 1857. Nana Sahib escaped to Nepal and his whereabouts afterwards were unknown. Tantia Tope escaped and joined the Rani of Jhansi.

Jhansi and Gwalior

Rani Laxmibai was born in 1830 at Banaras in a wealthy family and was named Manukarnika at birth. She got married to King Gangadhar Rao of Jhansi. Gangadhar Rao did not have any children and he adopted one of his relatives Damodar Rao as his heir. After Gangadhar Rao's death in 1853 the British refused to accept Damodar Rao as the legal heir of Jhansi and wanted to annex the kingdom into their rule. In 1857 at Jhansi, the army rebelled and killed the British Army officers. Rani Laxmibai, the widow of the late Raja Gangadhar Rao, was proclaimed the ruler of the state. In 1858 the British army once again marched towards Jhansi. Not willing to let the British takeover her kingdom the Rani built an army of 14,000 volunteers to fight the British. The soldiers of Jhansi fought very bravely for 2 weeks and the Rani led the forces in this battle. Sir Hugh Rose recaptured Jhansi on 3rd April 1858. The English could not capture Rani of Jhansi as she escaped to Kalpi (near Gwalior) where Tantia Tope joined her. Both marched to Gwalior. Sir Hugh Rose also advanced towards Gwalior and captured it in June 1858.Rani Laxmi Bai died fighting bravely. Rani Laxmibai (Rani Jhansi)became immortal in Indian history for her bravery and struggle against British rule. Tantia Tope escaped southward, but was betrayed by one of his friends Man Singh and was finally hanged in 1859.

Arrah Bihar

Kunwar Singh, zamindar of Jagdishpur near Arrah in the state of Bihar, was the chief organizer of the fight against British. He assumed command of the soldiers who had revolted at Danapur on 5th July. Two days later he occupied Arrah, the district headquarter. Major Vincent Eyre relieved the town on 3rd August, defeated Kunwar Singh's force and destroyed Jagdishpur. Kunwar Singh left his ancestral village and reached Lucknow in December 1857. In March 1858 he occupied Azamgarh. However, he had to leave the place soon. Pursued by Brigadier Douglas, he retreated towards his home in Bihar. On 23 April, Kunwar Singh had a victory near Jagdishpur over the force led by Captain Le Grand, but the following day he died in his village. The mantle of the old chief now fell on his brother Amar Singh who, despite heavy odds, continued the struggle and for a considerable time ran a parallel government in the district of Shahabad. In October 1859 Amar Singh joined the rebel leaders in the Nepal Terai.

Lucknow

At Lucknow War against British was led by the Begum of Awadh Hazrat Mehal who proclaimed her young son Nawab. Hazrat Begum felicitated her troops in person in Alambagh and when Dilkusha was taken and the soldiers of freedom fought with desperate courage for the defense of Luknow. Musabagh, which was defended, by a valiant band of revolutionaries under the leadership of the heroic Begum herself till March 1858, when she left Lucknow for the north with her troops followed by Ahmad Shah. Both of them fell upon Shahjehanpur and tried to drive out the British from Rohilkhand. She failed to capture Rohilkhand and she marched on along with other revolutionary leaders towards Nepal where she found asylum till her death.

India’s First War of Independence carried on as late as 1859 in some instances before it was finally over. A number of heroes and heroines of the India’s First war of Independence have been immortalized for their fight in against British rule.

Aftermath of First war of Independence

In the early months of the British recovery, few Indian soldiers were left alive after their positions were overrun. The British soldiers seemed to have made a collective decision not to take prisoners and most actions ended with a frenzied use of the bayonet. Whole villages were sometimes hanged for some real or imagined sympathy for the mutineers. Looting was endemic and neither the sanctity of holy places nor the rank of Indian aristocrats could prevent the wholesale theft of their possessions. Many a British family saw its fortune made during the pacification of northern India. Later, when prisoners started to be taken and trials held, those convicted of mutiny were lashed to the muzzles of cannon and fired through their body. For more than a year the people of northern India trembled with fear as the British sated their thirst for revenge. The Indians called it 'the Devil's Wind'.

A hundred years after battle of Plassey the rule of the East India Company finally did come to an end. In 1858, British parliament passed a law through which the power for governance of India was transferred from the East India Company to the British crown. In 1858, the Queen issued a proclamation saying that all were her subjects and that there would be no discrimination, appointments would be made on the basis of merit, and that there would be no interference in religious matters. It became evident in the succeeding years that the British government did not honor the Queen's promises. After 1857, the nationalist movement started to expand in the hearts of more and more Indians. 

Arrival of European traders

Arrival of European traders                                                                                                                  Indian trade links with Europe started in through sea route only after the arrival of Vasco da Gama in Calicut, India on May 20, 1498. The Portuguese had traded in Goa as early as 1510, and later founded three other colonies on the west coast in Diu, Bassein, and Mangalore. In 1601 the East India Company was chartered, and the English began their first inroads into the Indian Ocean. At first they were little interested in India, but rather, like the Portuguese and Dutch before them, with the Spice Islands. But the English were unable to dislodge the Dutch from Spice Islands. In 1610, the British chased away a Portuguese naval squadron, and the East India Company created its own outpost at Surat. This small outpost marked the beginning of a remarkable presence that would last over 300 years and eventually dominate the entire subcontinent. In 1612 British established a trading post in Gujarat. As a result of English disappointments with dislodging the Dutch from the Spice Islands, they turned instead to India. In 1614 Sir Thomas Roe was instructed by James I to visit the court of Jahangir, the Mughal emperor of Hindustan. Sir Thomas was to arrange a commercial treaty and to secure for the East India Company sites for commercial agencies, -"factories" as they were called. Sir Thomas was successful in getting permission from Jahangir for setting up factories. East India Company set up factories at Ahmedabad, Broach and Agra. In 1640 East India Company established an outpost at Madras. In 1661 the company obtained Bombay from Charles II and converted it to a flourishing center of trade by 1668. English settlements rose in Orissa and Bengal. In 1633, in the Mahanadi delta of Hariharpur at Balasore in Orissa, factories were set up. In 1650 Gabriel Boughton an employee of the Company obtained a license for trade in Bengal. An English factory was set up in 1651 at Hugli.  In 1690 Job Charnock established a factory. In 1698 the factory was fortified and called Fort William. The villages of Sutanati, Kalikata and Gobindpore were developed into a single area called Calcutta. Calcutta became a trading center for East India Company. Once in India, the British began to compete with the Portuguese, the Dutch, and the French. Through a combination of outright combat and deft alliances with local princes, the East India Company gained control of all European trade in India by 1769. In 1672 the French established themselves at Pondicherry and stage was set for a rivalry between the British and French for control of Indian trade.

Battle of Plassey - On June 23rd, 1757 at Plassey, between Calcutta and Murshidabad, the forces of the East India Company under Robert Clive met the army of Siraj-ud-Doula, the Nawab of Bengal. Clive had 800 Europeans and 2200 Indians whereas Siraj-ud-doula in his entrenched camp at Plassey was said to have about 50,000 men with a train of heavy artillery. The aspirant to the Nawab's throne, Mir Jafar, was induced to throw in his lot with Clive, and by far the greater number of the Nawab's soldiers were bribed to throw away their weapons, surrender prematurely, and even turn their arms against their own army. Siraj-ud-Doula was defeated. Battle of Plassey marked the first major military success for British East India Company.

Battle of Wandiwash 1760:  From 1744, the French and English fought a series of battles for supremacy in the Carnatic region. In the third Carnatic war, the British East India Company defeated the French forces at the battle of Wandiwash ending almost a century of conflict over supremacy in India. This battle gave the British trading company a far superior position in India compared to the other Europeans.

Battle of Buxar:  In June 1763 under Major Adams British army defeated Mir Kasim the Nawab of Bengal. Though they with a smaller army against Mir Kasim, the English had victories at Katwah, Giria, Sooty, Udaynala and Monghyr. Mir Kasim fled to Patna and took help from Nawab Shujauddaulah and the Emperor Shah Alam II.  But the English under the General Major Hector Munro at Buxar defeated the confederate army on 22 October, 1764. Mir Kasim fled again fled and died in 1777.  After winning the Battle of Buxar, the British had earned the right to collect land revenue in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. This development set the foundations of British political rule in India. After the victory of the English in Buxar Robert Clive was appointed the governor and commander in chief of the English army in Bengal in 1765. He is claimed as the founder of the British political dominion in India. Robert Clive also brought reforms in the administration of the company and the organization of the army.

Warren Hastings was appointed the Governor of Bengal in 1772. Under the Regulating Act of 1773 passed by British parliament, a Council of four members was appointed, and Warren Hastings (Governor-General 1774-85) was empowered to conduct the Company's affairs with the Council's advice. His task was to consolidate the Company's rule in Bengal. He brought about several administrative and judicial changes. Warren Hasting faced an uphill task in dealing with the Indian rulers. He faced stiff resistance from the Marathas in the north and Hyder Ali in the south. In 1773 he concluded the treaty of Banaras with the Nawab of Avadh appeasing the emperor and getting financial gains thus blocking alliances between the Marathas and the Nawab of Avadh. Under Warren Hastings English army took part in the Rohilla War in 1774 that brought Rohilkhand in the company's jurisdiction.

The First Anglo-Mysore War (1767-69)

After the death of the Raja of Mysore in 1760, Hyder Ali, became the ruler of Mysore. He extended his territories by conquering Bednore, Sundra, Sera, Canara and Guti and subjugated the poligars of south India. With easy success in Bengal, the English concluded a treaty with Nizam Ali of Hyderabad and committed the Company to help the Nizam with the troops in his war against Hyder Ali. In 1767, - the Nizam, the Marathas and the English made an alliance against Hyder. But Hyder was brave and diplomatic. He beat the English at their own game by making peace with the Marathas and alluring the Nizam with territorial gains and together with the latter launched an attack on Arcot. The fight continued for a year and half and the British suffered heavy losses. The panic-stricken British had to sue for peace. A treaty was signed on April 4, 1769, on the basis of restitution of each other's territories. 

1769–70 there was ‘Great famine in Bengal’ in which nearly 10 million people perished. Later several other famines hit different parts of Indian killing millions of people during East India companies rule. During the period 1772-1785 the territory of the East India Company included Bengal. Bihar, Orissa, Banaras and Ghazipur. It also included the Northern Sarkars, port of Salsette and the harbours of Madras, Bombay and other minor ports. The Mughal territory included Delhi and other surrounding areas. The territory of Avadh, which was autonomous, was bound in an offensive-defensive alliance with the East India Company since 1765. The North Western part of India was under the Sikh clans, who controlled region around the Sultej. The Muslim chiefs ruled in North western Punjab, Multan, Sindh and Kashmir. The Marathas dominated over western India, parts of Central India from Delhi to Hyderabad and Gujarat to Cuttak. The Deccan was ruled by Nizam of  Hyderabad. Hyder Ali ruled over Mysore. Tanjore and Travancore were under the Hindu rulers.

British and Marathas  

First Anglo Maratha war (1775 –1782): Narayan Rao became the fifth Peshwa of the Marathas. Narayan Rao killed by his uncle Raghunath Rao, who declared himself as the Peshwa. The Maratha chieftains under the leadership of Nana Phadnis opposed him. Raghunath Rao sought help from the English. The English agreed to help him and concluded with him the Treaty of Surat on March 7, 1775. According to the treaty the English were to provide 2,500 men and Raghunath was to cede Salsette and Bassein to the English with part of the revenues from Broach and Surat districts.

Maratha army and chiefs proclaimed Madhav Rao Narayan as the Peshwa and on January 9 1779, the British troops met a large Maratha army at Talegon and were defeated. This shattered the prestige of the British so low that they had to enter into a humiliating Treaty of Wadgaon. British had to surrender all the territories acquired by the Company since 1773.

Warren Hastings, the Governor-General, sent a strong force under Colonel Goddard who took possession of Ahmedabad on February 15 and captured Bassein on December 11, 1780. Warren Hastings sent another force against Mahadaji Sindhia. Captain Popham captured Gwalior on August 3 1780 and on February 16, 1781, General Camac defeated Sindhia at Sipri. These victories increased the prestige of the English, who gained Sindhia as an ally to conclude the the Treaty of Salbai on 17 May 1782. As per this treaty Company recognised Madhav Rao Narayan as the Peshwa and returned to the Sindhia all his territories west of Yamuna. The treaty of Salbai assured mutual restitution of each other's territories and guaranteed peace for twenty years.

Second Mysore war

In 1780 when the English wanted to attack the French at Mahe, situated on the west coast of Mysore, Hyder Ali did not permit it. Therefore the English declared war against Hyder Ali. Hyder Ali arranged a joint front with the Nizam and the Marathas. In July 1780, Hyder Ali with 80,000 men and 100 guns attacked Carnatic. In October 1780 he captured Arcot, defeating an English army under Colonel Braille. Meanwhile British managed to break the alliance between the Raja of Berar, Mahadji Sindhia,  Nizam and Hyder Ali.

Hyder Ali continued the war with the British. But in November 1781, Sir Eyre Coote defeated Hyder Ali at Porto Nova. In January 1782, English captured Trincomali. In 1782, Hyder Ali inflicted a humiliating defeat on the British troops under Colonel Braithwaite. On December 7, 1782, Hyder Ali died. His son Tipu Sultan bravely fought against Britishers. Tipu captured brigadier Mathews, in 1783. Then in November 1783, Colonel Fullarton captured Coimbatore. Tired of the war, the two sides concluded the Treaty of Mangalore in 1784. According to the treaty, both the parties decided to restore each other's conquered territories and free all the prisoners.

Pitt's India Act - 1784 - British Parliament under Pitt’s India Bill of 1784 appointed a Board of Control. It provided for a joint government of the Company (represented by the Directors), and the Crown (represented by the Board of Control). In 1786, trough a supplementary bill, Lord Cornwallis was appointed as the first Governor-General, and he became the effective ruler of British India under the authority of the Board of Control and the Court of Directors.

Third Mysore War - The immediate cause of the war was Tipu's attack on Travancore on December 29, 1789 over aq dispute over Cochin. The Raja of Travancore was entitled to the protection of the English. Thus taking advantage of the situation, the English, making a triple alliance with the Nizams and the Marathas, attacked Tipu Sultan.

The war between Tipu and the alliance lasted for nearly two years. British under Major-General Medows, could not win against Tipu. On January 29, 1791, Cornwallis himself took over the command of the British troops. He captured Bangalore in 1791 and approached Seringapatnam, Tipu's capital. Tipu displayed great skill in defending and his tactics forced Cornwallis to retreat.  Tipu captured Coimbatore on November 3. Lord Cornwallis soon returned and occupied all the forts in his path to Seringapatnam. On February 5, 1792 Cornwallis arrived at Serinapatnam. Tipu had to sue for peace and the Treaty of Seringapatnam concluded in March 1792. The treaty resulted in the surrender of nearly half of the Mysorean territory to the victorious allies. Tipu also had to pay a huge war indemnity of and his two sons were taken as hostages.

Fourth Mysore war - Lord Wellesley became the governor general of India in 1798.  Tipu Sultan tried to secure an alliance with the French against the English in India. Wellesley questioned Tipu’s relationship with the French and attacked Mysore in 1799. The fourth Anglo-Mysore War was of short duration and decisive and ended with Tipu’s death on May 4, 1799  who was killed fighting to save his capital.

Second Anglo-Maratha war, 1803:  

After death of Nana Phadnavis in 1800, there was infighting between Holkar and Sindhia chiefs. The new Peshwa Baji Rao murdered Vithuji Holkar, brother of Jaswant Rao Holkar in April 1801. Holkar defeated the combined armies of Sindhias and the Peshwas at Poona and captured the city. The new Peshwa Baji Rao II,  was weak and sought the protection of British through treaty of Bassein in 1802. Baji Rao II was restored to Peshwarship under the protection of the East India Company. However, the treaty was not acceptable to both the Marathas chieftains - the Shindia and Bhosales. This directly resulted in the Second Anglo-Maratha war in 1803.

Sindhia and Bhosale tried to win over Holkar but he did not join them and retired to Malwa and Gaekwad chose to remain neutral. Even at this point of time, the Marathas chiefs were not able to unify themselves and thus the challenge to the authority of the Company brought disasters for both the Sindhias and Bhosales. The war began in August 1803. British under General Wellesley  (brother of Lord Wellesley) defeated Bhosales at Argain on November 29 and the British captured the strong fortress of Gawilgrah on December 15, 1803. In the north, General Lake captured Delhi and Agra. The army of Sindhia was completely destroyed at the battle of Delhi in September and at Laswari in Alwar State in November. The British further won in Gujarat, Budelkhand and Orissa.

By the Treaty of Deogaon signed on December 17, 1803, the Bhosale surrendered to the Company the province of Cuttack and the entire region in the west of the rivers Wards.

Similarly, the Sindhia signed the Treaty of Surji-Arjanaon on December 30, 1803 and ceded to the Company all their territories between the Ganga and the Yamuna. British forces were stationed in the territories of the Sindhia and Bhosale. With these victories Britishers became the dominant power in India.

In 1804 Holkar army successfully defeated British army in Kota and forced them out from Agra. British somehow managed to defend Delhi. However in November 1804 British army managed to defeat a contingent of Holkar army but Holkar again defeated British in Bharatpur in 1805. Ultimately Treaty of Rajpurghat" was signed on December 25, 1805 between Holkar and British.

Third Marataha War (1817-1818):  Marathas were ultimately defeated and Maratha power destroyed by British in several wars during 1817- 1818. Holkar's forces were routed at Mahidpur December 21, 1817 and Baji Rao II, who was trying to consolidate Marathas, finally surrendered in June 1818. British abolished the position of Peshwa and Marathas were limited to the small kingdom of Satara. Thus ended the mighty Maratha power.

Between 1814 to 1826 British had to fight many wars against Gurkhas in the North and Burmese in the North East. After several losses and some gains British signed peace treaties with Gurkhas of Nepal and Burmese. During the period of 1817-1818 British had to fight against non-traditional armies of Pindaris, who used to plunder British territory. British finally managed to crush Pindaris.

During this period in the North West region of Punjab the Sikh power was growing and Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839) of Punjab became very powerful. British already had their hands full with problems in different part of India. They were afraid of Ranjit Singh’s power. So in 1838 they made a peace treaty with Ranjit Singh. During the same year there was a big famine in north-west India that killed nearly a million people. But after Ranjit Singh’s death there was infighting amongst Sikhs. British tried to take advantage of this and First Anglo - Sikh war started in 1845. Battle of Mudki and Ferozshah (1845) saw heavy fighting between British and Sikhs. Sikhs were defeated due to the treachery of their generals. The final battle of Sobraon on February 10, 1846 proved decisive where Sikhs again lost due to the betrayal of their generals. The British were able to capture most of India after defeating Sikhs in 1849 in Second Anglo - Sikh War.

The year 1853 stands out to be a landmark year in modern Indian history as the first Railway opened from Bombay to Thane and first Telegraph line from Calcutta to Agra was started. This was one of the first major positive contributions that British made in India. Although the initial purpose of these was to improve the mobility and communication of the British troops but much later they became very useful for common people. 

Ancient Indian History (Vedic Period)

Vedic Period

Earliest historical evidence from Mehargarh  (north-west Indian sub-continent) shows beginning of civilization in India at around 6500 B.C. It is the earliest and largest urban site of the period in the world. This site has yielded evidence for the earliest domestication of animals, evolution of agriculture, as well as arts and crafts. The horse was first domesticated here in 6500 B.C. There is a progressive process of the domestication of animals, particularly cattle, the development of agriculture, beginning with barley and then later wheat and rice, and the use of metal, beginning with copper and culminating in iron, along with the development villages and towns. It has been  suggested by some historians that an 'Aryan Invasion' of Indian subcontinent took place around 1500-1000 B.C. However, current archeological data do not support the existence of an Indo Aryan or European invasion into South Asia at any time in the pre or proto-historic periods (David Frawley). The people in this tradition were the same basic ethnic groups as in India today, with their same basic types of languages.

Two important cities were discovered: Harappa on the Ravi river, andMohenjodaro on the Indus during excavations in 1920. The remains of these two cities were part of a large civilization and well developed ancient civilization, which is now called by historians as 'Indus Valley Civilization', or 'Saraswati Civilization'. Later Harappan (Sarasvati) civilization 3100-1900 BC shows massive cities, complex agriculture and metallurgy, sophistication of arts and crafts, and precision in weights and measures. They built large buildings, which were mathematically-planned. The city planning in those ancient cities is comparable to the best of our modern cities. This civilization had a written language and was highly sophisticated.  Some of these towns were almost three miles in diameter with thousands of residents. These ancient municipalities had granaries, citadels, and even household toilets. In Mohenjodaro, a mile-long canal connected the city to the sea, and trading ships sailed as far as Mesopotamia. At its height, the Indus civilization extended over half a million square miles across the Indus river valley, and though it existed at the same time as the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Sumer, it far outlasted them. This Sarasvati civilization was a center of trading and for the diffusion of civilization throughout south and west Asia, which often dominated the Mesopotamian region.
Mehrgarh, Harappa, Mohenjodaro, Kalibangan and Lothal are peripheral cities of the great Sarasvati civilization with more than 500 sites along its banks awaiting excavation.

The year 4500 B.C. marks Mandhatr's defeat of Druhyus, driving them to the west into Iran. 4000-3700 B.C. was the Rig Veda period. In 3730 B.C. the 'Battle of Ten' Kings - occurred. That was the age of Sudas and his sage advisors, Vasistha and Visvamitra. From 3600 to 3100 B.C. was the late Vedic age during which Yajur, Sama, and Atharva Vedas were composed. 3100 B.C. is the probable date of the Mahabharata, composed by Vyasa. At this time, a tectonic plate shift resulted in river Yamuna which was a tributary of river Saraswati shifted its course and Saraswati became smaller. It was the beginning of 'Kali Yuga'. In 1900 B.C., another tectonic plate shift made Saraswati lose Sutlej. This dried up Sarasvati, causing massive exodus of people towards the Ganga valley in east, whence arose the classical civilization of India. Post-Harappan civilization 1900-1000 BC shows the abandonment of the Harappan towns owing to ecological and river changes but without a real break in the continuity of the culture. There is a decentralization and relocation in which the same basic agricultural and artistic traditions continue, along with a few significant urban sites like Dwaraka. This gradually develops into the Gangetic civilization of the first millennium BC, which is the classical civilization of ancient India, which retains its memory of its origin in the Saraswati region through the Vedas.

David Frawley and other modern scholars propose:

1. 6500-3100 BC, Pre-Harappan, early Rig Vedic
2. 3100-1900 BC, Mature Harappan 3100-1900, period of the Four Vedas.
3. 1900-1000 BC, Late Harappan, late Vedic and Brahmana period
Buddha and Mahavira :  
The sequence of development in the literature does not parallel a migration into India but the historical development of civilization in India from the Sarasvati to the Ganges'. In the 5th century BC, Siddhartha Gautama founded the religion of Buddhism, a profoundly influential work of human thought still espoused by much of the world. In the same another religion called Jainism was founded byMahavira.

Around 500 BC, when the Persian kings Cyrus and Darius, pushing their empire eastward, conquered the ever-prized Indus Valley. The Persians were in turn conquered by the Greeks under Alexander the Great, who came as far as the Beas River, where he defeated king Porus and an army of 200 elephants in 326 BC. The tireless, charismatic conqueror wanted to extend his empire even further eastward, but his own troops (undoubtedly exhausted) refused to continue. Alexander returned home, leaving behind garrisons to keep the trade routes open.

Golden period of Indian History

The Mauryan Empire :

Although Indian accounts to a large extent ignored Alexander the Great's Indus campaign in 326 B.C., Greek writers recorded their impressions of the general conditions prevailing in South Asia during this period. A two-way cultural fusion between several Indo-Greek elements-especially in art, architecture, and coinage--occurred in the next several hundred years. North India's political landscape was transformed by the emergence of Magadha in the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plain.

As the overextended Hellenistic sphere declined, a king known as Chandragupta swept back through the country from Magadha (Bihar) and conquered his way well into Afghanistan. This was the beginning of one India's greatest dynasties, the Maurya. In 322 B.C., Magadha, under the rule of Chandragupta Maurya, began to assert its hegemony over neighboring areas. Chandragupta, who ruled from 324 to 301 B.C., was the architect of the first Indian imperial power-the Mauryan Empire (326-184 B.C.)--whose capital was Pataliputra, near modern-day Patna, in Bihar.

Situated on rich alluvial soil and near mineral deposits, especially iron, Magadha was at the center of bustling commerce and trade. The capital was a city of magnificent palaces, temples, a university, a library, gardens, and parks, as reported by Megasthenes, the third-century B.C. Greek historian and ambassador to the Mauryan court. Legend states that Chandragupta's success was due in large measure to his adviser Kautilya, the Brahman author of the Arthashastra(Science of Material Gain), a textbook that outlined governmental administration and political strategy. There was a highly centralized and hierarchical government with a large staff, which regulated tax collection, trade and commerce, industrial arts, mining, vital statistics, welfare of foreigners, maintenance of public places including markets and temples, and prostitutes. A large standing army and a well-developed espionage system were maintained. The empire was divided into provinces, districts, and villages governed by a host of centrally appointed local officials, who replicated the functions of the central administration.

Ashoka, was the most trusted son of Bindusara and grandson of Chandragupta . During his father's reign, he was the governor of Ujjain and Taxila. Having sidelined all claims to the throne from his brothers, Ashoka was coroneted as an emperor. He ruled from 269 to 232 B.C. and was one of India's most illustrious rulers. Under the great king Ashoka the Mauryan empire conquered nearly the entire subcontinent, Ashoka extended the Maurya Empire to the whole of India except the deep south and the south-east, reaching out even into Central Asia.

 Ashoka's inscriptions chiseled on rocks and stone pillars located at strategic locations throughout his empire--such as Lampaka (Laghman in modern Afghanistan), Mahastan (in modern Bangladesh), and Brahmagiri (in Karnataka)--constitute the second set of datable historical records. According to some of the inscriptions, in the aftermath of the carnage resulting from his campaign against the powerful kingdom of Kalinga (modern Orissa), Ashoka renounced bloodshed and pursued a policy of nonviolence or ahimsa, espousing a theory of rule by righteousness. His toleration for different religious beliefs and languages reflected the realities of India's regional pluralism although he personally seems to have followed Buddhism. Early Buddhist stories assert that he convened a Buddhist council at his capital, regularly undertook tours within his realm, and sent Buddhist missionary ambassadors to Sri Lanka. His rule marked the height of the Maurya empire, and it collapsed only 100 years after his death.

Under his reign Buddhism spread to Syria, Egypt, Macedonia, Central Asia, Burma. For propagation of Buddhism, he started inscribing edicts on rocks and pillars at places where people could easily read them. These pillars and rocks are still found in India, spreading their message of love and peace for the last two thousand years. To his ideas he gave the name Dharma. Ashoka died in 232 BC. The capital of Ashoka pillar at Sarnath is adopted by India as its national emblem. The "Dharma Chakra" on the Ashoka Pillar adorns our National Flag. 

Kushan Dynasty :

After the disintegration of the Mauryan Empire in the second century B.C., South Asia became a collage of regional powers with overlapping boundaries. India's unguarded northwestern border again attracted a series of invaders between 200 B.C. and A.D. 300. The invaders became "Indianized" in the process of their conquest and settlement. Also, this period witnessed remarkable intellectual and artistic achievements inspired by cultural diffusion and syncretism. The Indo-Greeks, or the Bactrians, of the northwest contributed to the development of numismatics; they were followed by another group, the Shakas (or Scythians), from the steppes of Central Asia, who settled in western India. Still other nomadic people, the Yuezhi, who were forced out of the Inner Asian steppes of Mongolia, drove the Shakas out of northwestern India and established the Kushana Kingdom (first century B.C.-third century A.D.). The Kushana Kingdom controlled parts of Afghanistan and Iran, and in India the realm stretched from Purushapura (modern Peshawar, Pakistan) in the northwest, to Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) in the east, and to Sanchi (Madhya Pradesh) in the south. For a short period, the kingdom reached still farther east, to Pataliputra. The Kushana Kingdom was the crucible of trade among the Indian, Persian, Chinese, and Roman empires and controlled a critical part of the legendary Silk Road. Kanishka, who reigned for two decades starting around A.D. 78, was the most noteworthy Kushana ruler. He converted to Buddhism and convened a great Buddhist council in Kashmir. The Kushanas were patrons of Gandharan art, a synthesis between Greek and Indian styles, and Sanskrit literature. They initiated a new era called Shaka in A.D. 78, and their calendar, which was formally recognized by India for civil purposes starting on March 22, 1957, is still in use.

The Classical Age - Gupta Empire and Harsha :

Gupta age - Under Chandragupta I (320-335), empire was revived in the north. Like Chandragupta Maurya, he first conquered Magadha, set up his capital where the Mauryan capital had stood (Patna), and from this base consolidated a kingdom over the eastern portion of northern India. In addition, Chandragupta revived many of Asoka's principles of government. It was his son, however,Samudragupta (335-376), and later his grandson, Chandragupta II (376-415), who extended the kingdom into an empire over the whole of the north and the western Deccan. Chandragupta II was the greatest of the Gupta kings and called Vikramaditya. He presided over the greatest cultural age in India. From Pataliputra, their capital, he sought to retain political preeminence as much by pragmatism and judicious marriage alliances as by military strength. The greatest writer of the time was Kalidasa. Poetry in the Gupta age tended towards a few genres: religious and meditative poetry, lyric poetry, narrative histories (the most popular of the secular literatures), and drama. Kalidasa excelled at lyric poetry, but he is best known for his dramas. The Indian numeral system--sometimes erroneously attributed to the Arabs, who took it from India to Europe where it replaced the Roman system--and the decimal system are Indian inventions of this period. Aryabhatta's expositions on astronomy in 499 A.D. gave calculations of the solar year and the shape and movement of astral bodies with remarkable accuracy. In medicine, Charaka and Sushruta wrote about a fully evolved medical system. Indian physicians excelled in pharmacopoeia, caesarean section, bone setting, and plastic surgery including skin grafting.

The Guptas fell prey, however, to a wave of migrations by the Huns, a people who originally lived north of China. Beginning in the 400's, the Huns began to put pressure on the Guptas. In 480 AD they conquered the Guptas and took over northern India. Western India was overrun by 500 A.D., and the last of the Gupta kings, presiding over a vastly diminished kingdom, perished in 550 A.D. Over the decades Huns gradually assimilated into the indigenous population and their state weakened.

Harsha Vardhana :

The northern and western regions of India passed into the hands of a dozen or more feudatories. Gradually, one of them, Prabhakar Vardhana, the ruler of Thanesar, who belonged to the Pushabhukti family, extended his control over all other feudatories. Prabhakar Vardhan was the first king of the Vardhan dynasty with his capital at Thanesar now a small town in the vicinity of Kurukshetra in the state of Haryana. After the death of Prabahakar Vardhan in 606 A.D., his eldest son, RajyaVardhan, became king of Kananuj. Harsha ascended the throne at the age of 16 after his brother Rajya Vardhana was killed in a battle against Malwa King Devigupta and Gauda King Sasanka..

 Harsha, quickly re-established an Indian empire. From 606-647 AD, he ruled over an empire in northern India. Harsha was perhaps one of the greatest conquerors of Indian history, and unlike all of his conquering predecessors, he was a brilliant administrator. He was also a great patron of culture. His capital city, Kanauj, extended for four or five miles along the Ganges River and was filled with magnificent buildings. Only one fourth of the taxes he collected went to administration of the government. The remainder went to charity, rewards, and especially to culture: art, literature, music, and religion.
The most significant achievements of this period, however, were in religion, education, mathematics, art, and Sanskrit literature and drama. The religion that later developed into modern Hinduism witnessed a crystallization of its components: major sectarian deities, image worship, bhakti (devotion), and the importance of the temple. Education included grammar, composition, logic, metaphysics, mathematics, medicine, and astronomy. These subjects became highly specialized and reached an advanced level.

Because of extensive trade, the culture of India became the dominant culture around the Bay of Bengal, profoundly and deeply influencing the cultures of Burma, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka. In many ways, the period during and following the Gupta dynasty was the period of "Greater India," a period of cultural activity in India and surrounding countries building off of the base of Indian culture.

The history of the Kingdom of Kanauj after the death of Harshavardhana can be said to have been uncertain till the year 730 AD, when Yashovarman is said to have ruled till 752 AD. This was followed by the Ayudha dynasty which comprised three kings. The first was Yajrayudha who is said to have ruled in about 770 AD. After Ayudhs, Prathihara King Nagabhatta II annexed Kannauj. North and north west part of India after Harsha Vardhana was mostly controlled by Pratihara Kings while Central India and part of South was mostly under Rashtrakutas dynasty (753-973 AD ). Pala Kings (750-1161 AD) ruled the Eastern part of India (present Bengal and Bihar).

Pala and Sena: 730-1197 A.D.

The Pala empire was founded in 730 AD. They ruled over parts of Bengal and Bihar. Dharmapala (780-812 AD) was one of the greatest kings of the Pala dynasty. He did much to restore the greatness of Pataliputra. The Nalanda university was revived under their rule. The Palas had close trade contacts and cultural links with South-East Asia.

In the early twelfth century, they were replaced by the Sena dynasty. In early 13th century, Tughan Khan defeated the Sena king, Laxman. After this defeat the Nalanda University was destroyed.

Pratiharas 750-920 AD

The greatest ruler of the Pratihara dynasty was Mihir Bhoja. He recovered Kanauj (Kanyakubja) by 836, and it remained the capital of the Pratiharas for almost a century. He built the city Bhojpal (Bhopal). Raja Bhoja and other valiant Gujara kings, faced and defeated many attacks of the Arabs from west. Between 915-918AD, attack by a Rashtrakuta king, to the weakening of the Pratihara Empire and also who devastated the city of Kannauj. In 1018 AD, Mahmud of Gazni sacked Kannauj then ruled by Rajyapala Pratihara. The empire broke into independent Rajput states.

Rashtrakutas 753-973 A.D.

Dantidurga laid the foundation of Rashtrakuta empire. The Rashtrakuta's empire was the most powerful of the time. They ruled from Lattaluru (Latur), and later shifted the capital to Manyaketa (Malkhed).

Amoghavarsha (814-880 A.D) is the most famous Rashtrakuta kings. His long reign was distinguished for its royal patronage of Jainism and the flourishing of regional literature. Indra III, great-grandson of Amoghvarsha defeated the Pratihar king Mahipala. Krishana III was the last great king of Rashtrakuta dynasty. Rashtrakutas were great patrons of art and architecture. Krishana I, built the Kailasa Temple at Ellora. The caves at Gharapuri (Elephanta near Mumbai) were also built by this dynasty.

 The South Indian Rulers

During the Kushana Dynasty, an indigenous power, the Satavahana Kingdom (first century B.C.-third century A.D), rose in the Deccan in southern India. The Satavahana, or Andhra, Kingdom was considerably influenced by the Mauryan political model, although power was decentralized in the hands of local chieftains, who used the symbols of Vedic religion and upheld the varnashramadharma. The rulers, however, were eclectic and patronized Buddhist monuments, such as those in Ellora (Maharashtra) and Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh). Thus, the Deccan served as a bridge through which politics, trade, and religious ideas could spread from the north to the south. Further south were three ancient Tamil kingdoms- Chera (on the west), Chola (on the east), and Pandya (in the south)--frequently involved in internecine warfare to gain regional supremacy. They are mentioned in Greek and Ashokan sources as lying at the fringes of the Mauryan Empire.

Peninsular India was involved in an eighth-century tripartite power struggle among the Chalukyas (556-757) of Vatapi, the Pallavas (300-888) of Kanchipuram, and the Pandyas (seventh through the tenth centuries) of Madurai. Their subordinates, the Rashtrakutas, who ruled from 753 - 973 AD, overthrew the Chalukya rulers. Although both the Pallava and Pandya kingdoms were enemies, the real struggle for political domination was between the Pallava and Chalukya realms.

The Satvahana Dynasty :

The Satvahanas (also known as Andhras) established their kingdom in the Deccan after the decline of Maurya Empire. The kingdom was in the present Maharashtra state. The founder of the Satvahana dynasty was Simuka in 40 B.C. Satakarni I was the most distinguished ruler of this dynasty. Satakarni I allied with powerful Marathi chieftain and signaled his accession to power by performing ashvamedhas (horse-sacrifice). After his death, the Satvahana power slowly disintegrated under a wave of Scythian invasion. The Satvahana dynasty lasted until the 3rd century AD.

Pallava dynasty:

They established a capital at Kanchipuram (Tamil Nadu state) and came to hold sway in the south. They were defeated by the Guptas in about 360 AD but continued to rule until the Cholas finally conquered their lands. They ruled from the 4th century to the 9th century although some remnants survived till 13th century. The dynasty was at its peak under Mahendra-Varman I (600-630 AD), when architecture flourished, notably in temples such as Mahabalipuram. During the 7th and the 8th centuries, this dynasty ruled over a region extending from center of Andhra Pradesh far to the Kaveri River; Later, in the 9th century, the Pallava themselves were definitely conquered by the Chola from Tanjore and became their vassals.

Pandya (around 200s B.C to 1378 AD):

 They were the longest ruling dynasty of Indian history. They ruled the southern most part of India and the capital of the Pandya kings was Madurai (Tamil Nadu). First Indian Ambassador from Pandya Dynasty is sent to Rome. (26 BC). The dynasty extended its power into Kerala (southwestern India) and Sri Lanka during the reigns of kings Kadungon (ruled 590- 620 A.D), Arikesar Maravarman (670-700 A.D), Varagunamaharaja I (765-815A.D), and Srimara Srivallabha (815-862 A.D). Pandya influence peaked in Jatavarman Sundara's reign 1251-1268 A.D. After forces from the Delhi sultanate invaded Madurai in 1311, the Pandyas declined into merely local rulers.

Chalukya Dynasty 425 - 753 AD and 973 - 1190 AD:

  After Satvahan, the next great empire in the Deccan was the Chalukya empire. Pulakesin I, first ruler of the Chalukya dynasty. Pulakesin II was the greatest ruler of the Chalukya dynasty. He consolidated his authority in Maharashtra and conquered large parts of the Deccan. His greatest achievement was his victory against Harshvardhan in 620. However, Pulakesin II was defeated and killed by the Pallava king Narasimhavarman in 642. His capital Vatapi was completely destroyed. His son Vikramaditya was also as great a ruler. He renewed the struggle against Pallavas and recovered the former glory of the Chalukyas. In 753A.D, his great grandson Vikramaditya II was overthrown by a chief named Dantidurga. Chalukyas constructed many temples at Aihole. Some Ajantha caves were also built during this period.

During Rashtrakutas rule, the Chalukyas were a minor power. For 200 years, they survived the Rashtrakutas. In 973 AD Tailap Chalukya of the Kalyani branch gained power and restored the Chalukyan rule. They gained supremacy for about 200 years to be partitioned into: Yadavs of Deogiri, Kaktiyas of Warangal and Hoysalas of Belur.

Yadavas of Devagiri :

Yadavas extended their authority over a large territory. Their capital was situated at Chandor (Nasik district). They built the Deogiri fort in 11th century. Marathi language received the status of a court language in Yadava rule. The Yadava king Singhana was great patron of learning Sant Dnyaneshwar belonged to this age. In 1294, Alla-ud-din Khilji laid four sieges to Deogiri. Finally, the Yadavas were defeated and the strong fort of Deogiri fell into the hands of Muslim rulers. The riches of Deogiri were looted. By 1310 the Yadav rule came to an end.

Kakatiyas of Warangal :

Telgu language and literature flourished under Kakatiyas. They also built many forts . The last king Prataprudra defeated Allaudin Khilji when he was first attacked in 1303. In 1310, after another war, he agreed to pay heavy tributes to Malik Kafur (Alladin's general.) In 1321 Ghias-ud-din Tughlaq marched with a large army, and took Prataprudra as a prisoner to Delhi. Prataprudra died on the way to Delhi. Thus ended the glorious rule of Kaktiyas.

Hoysalas of Belur-Halebid :

King Sala was the founder of Hoysala dynasty. Hoysalas built as many as 1500 temples. The style of their architecture became famous as the Hoysala style. Most famous are the temples of Belur and Halebid with intricate carvings. Allaudin Khilji, defeated this kingdom between 1308-1312.