4000 year-old skeleton discovered at Balathal in 2009 CE
provides the oldest evidence of leprosy in India. Prior to this find,
leprosy was considered a much younger disease thought to have been
carried from Africa to India at some point and then from India to Europe
by the army of
Alexander
the Great following his death in 323 BCE. It is now understood that
significant human activity was underway in India by the Holocene Period
(10,000 years ago) and that many historical assumptions based upon
earlier work in Egypt and Mesopotamia, need to be reviewed and revised.
The beginnings of the Vedic tradition in India, still practiced today,
can now be dated, at least in part, to the indigenous people of ancient
sites such as Balathal rather than, as often claimed, wholly to the
Aryan invasion of c. 1500 BCE.
The Indus Valley Civilization dates to 5000 BCE and grew steadily
throughout the lower Ganetic Valley region southwards and northwards to
Malwa. The
cities of
this period were larger than contemporary settlements in other
countries, were situated according to cardinal points, and were built of
mud bricks, often kiln-fired. Houses were constructed with a large
courtyard opening from the front door, a kitchen/work room for the
preparation of food, and smaller bedrooms. Family activities seem to
have centred on the front of the house, particularly the courtyard and,
in this, are similar to what has been inferred from sites in
Rome, Egypt,
Greece, and Mesopotamia.
The most famous sites of this period are the great cities of
Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa both located in present-day Pakistan
(Mohenjo-Daro in the Sindh province and Harappa in Punjab) which was
part of India until the 1947 CE partition of the country which created
the separate nation. Harappa has given its name to the Harappan
Civilization (another name for the Indus Valley Civilization) which is
usually divided into Early, Middle, and Mature periods corresponding
roughly to 5000-4000 BCE (Early), 4000-2900 BCE (Middle), and 2900-1900
BCE (Mature). Harappa dates from the Middle period (c. 3000 BCE) while
Mohenjo-Daro was built in the Mature period (c. 2600 BCE). Harappa was
largely destroyed in the 19th century when British workers carried away
much of the city for use as ballast in constructing the railroad and
many buildings had already been dismantled by citizens of the local
village of Harappa (which gives the site its name) for use in their own
projects. It is therefore now difficult to determine the historical
significance of Harappa save that it is clear it was once a significant
Bronze
Age community with a population of as many as 30,000 people.
Mohenjo-Daro, on the other hand, is much better preserved as it lay
mostly buried until 1922 CE. The name `Mohenjo-Daro’ means `mound of the
dead’ in Sindhi. The original name of the city is unknown although
various possibilities have been suggested by finds in the region, among
them, the Dravidian name `Kukkutarma’, the city of the cock, a possible
allusion to the site as a center of ritual cock-fighting or, perhaps, as
a breeding centre for cocks.
Mohenjo-Daro was an elaborately constructed city with streets laid out
evenly at right angles and a sophisticated drainage system. The Great
Bath, a central structure at the site, was heated and seems to have been
a focal point for the community. The citizens were skilled in the use
of metals such as copper, bronze, lead and tin (as evidenced by art
works such as the bronze statue of the Dancing Girl and by individual
seals) and cultivated barley, wheat, peas, sesame, and cotton.
Trade
was an important source of commerce and it is thought that ancient
Mesopotamian texts which mention Magan and Meluhha refer to India
generally or, perhaps, Mohenjo-Daro specifically. Artifacts from the
Indus Valley region have been found at sites in Mesopotamia though their
precise point of origin in India is not always clear.
The people of the Harappan Civilization worshipped many gods and
engaged in ritual worship. Statues of various deities (such as,
Indra, the god of storm and
war)
have been found at many sites and, chief among them, terracotta pieces
depicting the Shakti (the Mother Goddess) suggesting a popular, common
worship of the feminine principle. In about 1500 BCE it is thought
another race, known as the Aryans, migrated into India through the
Khyber Pass and assimilated into the existing culture, perhaps bringing
their gods with them. While it is widely accepted that the Aryans
brought the horse to India, there is some debate as to whether they
introduced new deities to the region or simply influenced the existing
belief structure. The Aryans are thought to have been pantheists (nature
worshippers) with a special devotion to the sun and it seems uncertain
they would have had anthropomorphic gods.
At about this same time (c. 1700-1500 BCE) the Harappan culture began
to decline. Scholars cite climate change as one possible reason. The
Indus River is thought to have begun flooding the region more regularly
(as evidenced by approximately 30 feet or 9 metres of silt at
Mohenjo-Daro) and the great cities were abandoned. Other scholars cite
the Aryan migration as more of an invasion of the land which brought
about a vast displacement of the populace. Among the most mysterious
aspects of Mohenjo-Daro is the vitrification of parts of the site as
though it had been exposed to intense heat which melted the brick and
stone. This same phenomenon has been observed at sites such as Traprain
Law in
Scotland and attributed to the results of
warfare.
Speculation regarding the destruction of the city by some kind of
ancient atomic blast (possibly the work of aliens from other planets) is
not generally regarded as credible.
The Aryan influence gave rise to what is known as the Vedic Period in
India (c. 1700- 150 BCE) characterized by a pastoral lifestyle and
adherence to the religious texts known as The
Vedas. Society became divided into four classes (the
Varnas) popularly known as `the caste system’ which were comprised of the
Brahmana at the top (priests and scholars), the
Kshatriya next (the warriors), the
Vaishya (farmers and merchants), and the
Shudra (labourers). The lowest caste was the
Dalits,
the untouchables, who handled meat and waste, though there is some
debate over whether this class existed in antiquity. At first, it seems
this caste system was merely a reflection of one’s occupation but, in
time, it became more rigidly interpreted to be determined by one’s birth
and one was not allowed to change castes nor to marry into a caste
other than one’s own. This understanding was a reflection of the belief
in an eternal order to human life dictated by a supreme deity.
While the religious beliefs which characterized the Vedic Period are
considered much older, it was during this time that they became
systematized as the
religion of Sanatan Dharma (which means `Eternal Order’) known today as
Hinduism
(this name deriving from the Indus (or Sindus) River where worshippers
were known to gather, hence, `Sindus’, and then `Hindus’). The
underlying tenet of Sanatan Dharma is that there is an order and a
purpose to the universe and human life and, by accepting this order and
living in accordance with it, one will experience life as it is meant to
be properly lived. While Sanatan Dharma is considered by many a
polytheistic religion consisting of many gods, it is actually
monotheistic in that it holds there is one god, Brahma (the Self), who,
because of his greatness, cannot be fully apprehended save through the
many aspects which are revealed as the different gods of the
Hindu pantheon.
It is Brahma who decrees the eternal order and maintains the universe
through it. This belief in an order to the universe reflects the
stability of the society in which it grew and flourished as, during the
Vedic Period, governments became centralized and social customs
integrated fully into daily life across the region. Besides
The Vedas, the great religious and literary works of The
Upanishads, The Puranas, The Mahabharata, and The Ramayana all come from this period.
In the 6th century BCE, the religious reformers Vardhaman
Mahavira (549-477 BCE) and
Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 BCE) broke away from mainstream Sanatan Dharma to eventually create their own religions of
Jainism and
Buddhism. These changes in religion were a part of a wider pattern of social and cultural upheaval which resulted in the formation of
city states and the rise of powerful kingdoms (such as the Kingdom of Magadha under the ruler Bimbisara). Increased
urbanization and wealth attracted the attention of Cyrus, ruler of the
Persian Empire, who invaded India in 530 BCE and initiated a campaign of
conquest in the region. Ten years later, under the reign of his son,
Darius I,
northern India was firmly under Persian control (the regions
corresponding to Afghanistan and Pakistan today) and the inhabitants of
that area subject to Persian laws and customs. One consequence of this,
possibly, was an assimilation of Persian and Indian religious beliefs
which some scholars point to as an explanation for further religious and
cultural reforms.
Persia held dominance in northern India until the conquest of
Alexander the Great in 327 BCE. One year later, Alexander had defeated the
Achaemenid
Empire and firmly conquered the Indian subcontinent. Again, foreign
influences were brought to bear on the region giving rise to the
Greco-Buddhist culture which impacted all areas of culture in northern
India from art to religion to dress. Statues and reliefs from this
period depict
Buddha,
and other figures, as distinctly Hellenic in dress and pose (known as
the Gandhara School of Art). Following Alexander’s departure from India,
the Maurya Empire (322-185 BCE) rose under the reign of Chandragupta
Maurya (322-298) until, by the end of the third century BCE, it ruled
over almost all of northern India.
Chandragupta’s son, Bindusara reigned between 298-272 BCE and extended
the empire throughout the whole of India. His son was Ashoka the Great
(lived 304-232, reigned 269-232 BCE) under whose rule the empire
flourished at its height. Eight years into his reign, Ashoka conquered
the eastern
city-state
of Kalinga which resulted in a death toll numbering over 100,000.
Shocked at the destruction and death, Ashoka embraced the teachings of
the Buddha and embarked on a systematic programme advocating Buddhist
thought and principles. He established many monasteries and gave
lavishly to Buddhist communities. His ardent support of Buddhist values
eventually caused a strain on the government both financially and
politically as even his grandson, Sampadi, heir to the throne, opposed
his policies. By the end of Ashoka’s reign the government treasury was
severely depleted through his regular religious donations and, after his
death, the empire declined rapidly.
The country splintered into many small kingdoms and empires (such as
the Kushan Empire) in what has come to be called the Middle Period. This
era saw the increase of trade with Rome (which had begun c. 130 BCE)
following
Augustus
Caesar’s conquest of Egypt in 30 BCE (Egypt had been India’s most
constant partner in trade in the past). This was a time of individual
and cultural development in the various kingdoms which finally
flourished in what is considered the Golden Age of India under the reign
of the Gupta Empire (320-550 CE).
The Gupta Empire is thought to have been founded by one Sri Gupta
(`Sri’ means `Lord’) who probably ruled between 240-280 CE. As Sri Gupta
is thought to have been of the
Vaishya (merchant) class, his
rise to power in defiance of the caste system is unprecedented. He laid
the foundation for the government which would so stabilize India that
virtually every aspect of culture reached its height under the reign of
the Guptas.
Philosophy,
literature,
science,
mathematics, architecture, astronomy, technology, art, engineering,
religion, and astronomy, among other fields, all flourished during this
period, resulting in some of the greatest of human achievements. The
Puranas of Vyasa
were compiled during this period and the famous caves of Ajanta and
Ellora, with their elaborate carvings and vaulted rooms, were also
begun. Kalidasa the poet and playwright wrote his masterpiece
Shakuntala and the
Kamasutra was
also written, or compiled from earlier works, by Vatsyayana.
Varahamihira explored astronomy at the same time as Aryabhatta, the
mathematician, made his own discoveries in the field and also recognized
the importance of the concept of zero, which he is credited with
inventing. As the founder of the Gupta Empire defied orthodox Hindu
thought, it is not surprising that the Gupta rulers advocated and
propagated Buddhism as the national belief and this is the reason for
the plentitude of Buddhist works of art, as opposed to Hindu, at sites
such as Ajanta and Ellora.
The empire declined slowly under a succession of weak rulers until it
collapsed around 550 CE. The Gupta Empire was then replaced by the rule
of Harshavardhan (590-647) who ruled the region for 42 years. A literary
man of considerable accomplishments (he authored three plays in
addition to other works) Harshavardhan was a patron of the arts and a
devout Buddhist who forbade the killing of animals in his kingdom but
recognized the necessity to sometimes kill humans in battle.
He was a highly skilled military tactician who was only defeated in the
field once in his life. Under his reign, the north of India flourished
but his kingdom collapsed following his death. The invasion of the Huns
had been repeatedly repelled by the Guptas and then by Harshavardhan
but, with the fall of his kingdom, India fell into chaos and fragmented
into small kingdoms lacking the unity necessary to fight off invading
forces.
In 712 CE the Muslim general Muhammed bin Quasim conquered northern
India, establishing himself in the region of modern-day Pakistan. The
Muslim invasion saw an end to the indigenous empires of India and, from
then on, independent city states or communities under the control of a
city would be the standard model of government. The Islamic Sultanates
rose in the region of modern-day Pakistan and spread north-west. The
disparate world views of the religions which now contested each other
for acceptance in the region and the diversity of languages spoken,
made the unity and cultural advances, such as were seen in the time of
the Guptas, difficult to reproduce. Consequently, the region was easily
conquered by the Islamic Mughal Empire. India would then remain subject
to various foreign influences and powers (among them the Portuguese,
the French, and the British) until finally winning its independence in
1947 CE.
