A short presentation on History of India. It was rather difficult to fit in 5000 years of recorded history from the Indus Valley Civilization to Independence .. but here it is in about 35 slides! Thanks to the contributors in Google and Wikipedia - I have just amalgamated it.

1. HISTORY OF INDIA

2. PREVIEW
• History of the Indian Sub-continent in chronological
order till independence.
– Human migration and early civilisations.
– Indus Valley Civilisation (3200-1300 BC).
– Aryan invasion and the Vedic Pd (1500-500 BC).
– The Second Urbanisation (500-200 BC).
– The Classical Pd (200 BC-1100 AD).
– Medieval and Early Modern Pds (1206–1858 AD).
• Maj events that shaped Indian history, culture and
philosophy.
• What we learn from our history.

4. STONE AGE
• Earlier hominids
including Homo
Erectus migrated to
the Indian sub
continent from about
500,000 years ago.
• The main centers of
these settlements are
found in the Soan
Valley and in
Pakistan.
• Immigration of the
Homo Sapiens to
South Asia dates to
75,000 to 50,000
years ago.

5. • First major civilization in
South Asia.
• Flourished in the NW
Indian subcontinent.
• Divided into the
o Early Harappan.
o Mature Harappan.
o Late Harappan.
• Collapsed around 1900-
1700 BC. Possibly due
to :-
o Desertification.
o Aryan invasion.
o Floods or climate
change.
o Overpopulation
leading to diseases.
THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILISATION

7. THE FOUR VALLEY CIVILISATIONS

8. ADVENT OF THE ARYANS

9. • Indo-Aryan settled into
Northern India, bringing
with them their religious
tradition.
• Initially a tribal, pastoral
society centered in the NW
India.
• Spread after 1200 BC to
the Gangetic Plain.
• Increasing settled
agriculture, a hierarchy
of four social classes.
• Emergence of monarchical,
state-level polities.
• Vedas were composed
• Core themes of Ramayana
and Mahabharata
originated.
VEDIC PERIOD (1500-500 BC)

10. • Second urbanism in
India after the Indus
Valley Civilisation.
• Mahajanapadas - 16
monarchies and
republics.
• Centered around the
Ganges Plain.
• Magadha later gained
prominence, forming
the base of Mauryan
Empire.
• Shramanic movements
flourished, Jainism
and Buddhism
originated.
• Upanishads written.
SECOND URBANISATION (500-200 BC)

11. PERSIAN AND GREEK CONQUESTS
• NW India came under the
Persian Empire by 520 BC.
• Taxila became a centre where
both Vedic and Iranian learning
mingled.
• By 326 BC, Alexander had
conquered Asia Minor and the
Persian Empire and reached NW
frontiers of the subcontinent.
• He defeated Porus near Jhelum
and conquered most of Punjab.
• His army, exhausted and
frightened by the prospect of
facing larger Indian armies,
mutinied at the Hyphasis (Beas)
and refused to march further
East.

12. ASIA 323 BC

13. • First empire to unify
India into one state.
• The largest on the
Indian subcontinent.
• Established
by Chandragupta in
Magadha when he
overthrew
the Nanda Dynasty.
• Ashoka converted to
Buddhism and
spread the religion.
MAURYAN EMPIRE (322-185 BC)

14. THE CLASSICAL PERIOD (200 BC–1100 AD)

15. THE CLASSICAL PERIOD

16. INDO-ROMAN TRADE
• Roman trade with India started around 1 CE, during the
reign of Augustus and following his conquest of Egypt,
which had been India's biggest trade partner in the West.
• The trade kept increasing, and, by the time of Augustus, up
to 120 ships set sail every year from Myos Hormos on the
Red Sea to India.
• So much gold was used for this trade, and apparently
recycled by the Kushans for their own coinage, that Roman
historian Pliny the Elder complained about the drain of gold
to India:-
“India, China and the Arabian peninsula take one hundred
million sesterces from our empire per annum at a
conservative estimate: that is what our luxuries and women
cost us. For what percentage of these imports is intended
for sacrifices to the gods or the spirits of the dead?”

17. THE SILK ROUTE

18. • The Delhi Sultanate was a Muslim kingdom based mostly in Delhi that stretched
over large parts of the Northern India for 320 years (1206–1526).
• Five dynasties ruled over Delhi Sultanate sequentially, the first four of which
were of Turkish origin and the last one Lodi dynasty was a Ghilzai Afghan
dynasty.
THE DELHI SULTANATE

19. MONGOL INVASIONS INTO INDIA 1224 TO 1327

20. WHY DID MONGOL EMPIRE FAIL TO
TAKE OVER INDIA?
• Mongols launched several invasions into the Indian
Subcontinent from 1221 to 1327, with many of the later raids
made by Afghani tribes of Mongol origin.
• A Mongol attack on India during Genghis’s lifetime was avoided
when Iltumish refused to harbour the Khwarizm Shah being
pursued by Mongols in 1220.
• If Iltumish had not, Ghengis Khan’s greatest general Subutai, or
Genghis himself, may have come marching into Northern India.
• Subotai headed to Europe, and Genghis went back to
slaughtering the Chinese.
• After Genghis' death, the Delhi Sultanate would face continuous
Mongol assaults under Ogedei Khan and Mongke Khan.
• The Mongols subjugated Kashmir from 1235 and occupied
parts of modern Sindh and Punjab for decades.

21. WHY DID MONGOL EMPIRE FAIL TO
TAKE OVER INDIA?
• After the Mongol Empire broke up into various Khanates, the
Chagatai Mongols would lead several attacks on India (in the
1290s and 1300s).
• However, Alauddin Khilji was successful in not just stopping the
Mongols but also pushing them back (although he did lose Delhi
for a brief period to the Mongols).
• The later Sultans including the Tughlaqs were less successful
with military options and resorted to paying ransoms.
• Eventually the Delhi Sultans established friendly ties with the
Mongols.
• Geography and the heat of the Indian subcontinent also played
a part in restricting Mongol invasions.
• Later Timur, a Mongol Turk invaded India in 1398 and pillaged
Delhi. Babur a descendent of Timur and Mongol Khans finally
ruled India.

22. • A theistic devotional trend that
emerged in medieval India.
• Originated in the seventh-
century south India and spread
northwards.
• Swept over east and north India from
the fifteenth-century onwards.
• The movement developed around
different gods and goddesses :-
• Vaishnavism (Vishnu Bhakts).
• Shaivism (Shiv Bhakts).
• Shakti Bhakts (Shakti
goddesses).
• Was a devotional transformation of
medieval Hindu society.
• Vedic rituals or monk-like lifestyle
for moksha gave way to
individualistic loving relationship with
a personally defined God.
• Influenced Islam (Sufism), Sikhism
and Jainism.
BHAKTI MOVEMENT

23. • Babar – 1526-1530
• Humayun – 1530-1540
• Suris – 1540-1554
• Humayun – 1555-1556
• Akbar – 1556-1605
• Jehangir - 1605-1627
• Shah Jehan –1627–1658
• Auranzeb – 1658–1707
• Bahadur Shah I -1707-12
• Jahandar Shah – 1712-13
• Furrukshiyar – 1713-19
• Muhammad Shah – 1719-48
• Ahmad Shah – 1748-54
• Alamgir II – 1754 – 59
• Shah Alam II – 1759-1806
• Akbar Shah II – 1806-1837
• Bahadur Shah – 1837-1857
MUGHAL RULE

24. THE MARATHA EMPIRE 1674 TO 1818
• Existed from 1674 to 1818.
• The Royal Era
• Shivaji
• Sambhaji
• Sahu
• The Peshwa Era
• Balaji Vishwanath
• Baji Rao
• Balaji Baji Rao (Nana
Saheb)
• Madhav Rao
• The Confederacy
• Peshwas of Pune
• Gaekwads of Baroda
• Scindias of Gwalior
• Bhonsales of Nagpur
• Pawars of Dewas & Dhar

25. RISE OF THE BRITISH

26. BRITISH INDIAN EMPIRE - 1909

27. WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM OUR
HISTORY
• The Indian civilisation is one of the oldest in
history.
• Most of the migration/invasions has taken place
from the NW - reason for our continental focus.
• The invaders have by and large amalgamated
into the Indian mainstream – those who did not,
went back.
• This amalgamation is the basis for our multi
cultural and tolerant nation.

28. THE END