INDIAN

CIVILIZATION
(MODERN
INDIA)
Module 7-
 INTENDED LEARNING
OUTCOMES
• At the end of the lesson the student should have:
• Discussed and analyzed the historical development and evolution of Indian
civilization and socio-cultural, political, and economic factors that shaped Modern
India.
• Evaluated the political evolution of Modern India, from the struggle for independence
to the establishment of the Republic.
• Explored the rich cultural heritage of Modern India, encompassing literature, arts,
religion, and philosophy.
• Assessed the influence of cultural movements and expressions on national identity.
• Examined the economic changes in Modern India, including the impact of colonial
policies, post-independence economic planning, and globalization.
• Identified and analyzed contemporary issues facing Modern India, such as socio-
economic disparities, environmental challenges, and regional conflicts.
 TAKE OFF

• How did Indian civilization emerge?

South Asia
• Land and People. South Asia is the southern peninsula of the Asian
continent, or the Indian subcontinent with these countries India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Nepal , Himalayan kingdoms, and Indian Ocean islands.
• The subcontinent is a huge triangular peninsula in South Asia, surrounded
by China and the Himalayan mountain range on the north, the Indian
Ocean south, the Middle East to the west, and Southeast Asia to the east.
The Indian subcontinent get its name from the Indus valley civilization,
one of the world's oldest civilizations.
• Geography and climate have influenced the rise and fall of civilization in
Southern Asia. The three geographical factors are the Himalayas, the
rivers, and the Khyber Pass. The Himalayas isolate the Indian
subcontinent from the rest of Asia, keeping out hostile forces. The great
rivers of the Ganges and Indus shaped the foundations of early Indian
civilization, and make their land livable. The Khyber Pass and the Indian
Ocean are the passageways for contact with the outside world.
• Climate is another important influence in Indian life. Monsoon winds and
rains are a life-giving or life-threatening part of life in South and
Southeast Asia. The monsoon marks the seasons, wet or dry, hot or cold,
planting and harvesting, feast or famine.
• South Asia is home to over one-fourth of world population (over 1.5
million people), making it the most densely populated region in the world.
It has the highest child malnutrition rate: and half of child deaths every
year. According to the Global Hunger Index Report, the low status of
women results in the prevalence of malnourished children and child
deaths. Huge gaps between rich and poor condemn most (70%) of the
people to poverty, yet it has the 4th largest economic market, due to a
huge population
• Strangely, the countries do not trade with each much due to ethnic and
religious animosities, border disputes, and lack of interest.
• Early History. From 5500 to 1300 BC an early neolithic to bronze age
civilization developed around the Indus River in what is now Pakistan,
West India, and parts of Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Iran. Ruins of
ancient cities such as Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa show that these ancient
people-built brick homes of many stories, with sewers and drainage. They
developed part, writing, and counting, and irrigation for their farms. They
grew cereal cereal crops, lived in tall houses and had a distinct civilization
that faded away.
• The Indus Valley people were among the first to develop a system of time
and uniform weights and measures, they carried on mostly caravan trade
with Central Asia and the Iranian plateau through the Khyber Pass.
• Early clay seals show the swastika, a symbol as iconic in later religions,
such as Hinduism and Jainism, and German Nazi myths.
• Along with neighboring areas of Asia, they abandoned their cities around
1700 BC due to climate change. A weakening of the monsoon rains
brought a drier, hotter climate, and their rivers dried up. It is believed
that the Dravidians today are descendants of the Indus valley. About 200
million dark- skinned Dravidians live in Tamil areas of India, Pakistan, and
Sri Lanka. The Indus valley civilization lived on throughout the region in
some form or other, yet they are not well regarded, as seen in the three-
decade civil war in Sri Lanka.
• Aryan Vedic Era. The collapse of the bronze age Indus valley was
followed by the Aryan Vedic iron aye period (1500-500 BC), which
extended over much of the north Ganges. About 2,000 BC, fair- skinned
Aryans invaded the Indus Valley. They spoke Sanskrit and founded
Kingdoms in the fertile plains of North India. They gave the Vedas (text
sacred to Hinduism), Sanskrit language, and caste system. Prewar
Germany Nazis adopted the cult of superiority of the Aryan race to suit
them, but with tragic consequences.
• This era laid the foundation of three religions – Hinduism, Jainism,
Buddhism – as well as cultural traits of early Indian peninsula society.
• Hinduism. Early Aryans laid the foundation of Hinduism, India’s main religion.
Hinduism is one of the world's oldest religion. Hindus believe that 300 million gods
represent natural forces and personified gods, with the chief god being Brahman, the
creator. Lesser gods are Vishnu (preserver) and Shiva (destroyer), nine versions of a
divine mother, an elephant god, a sun god, earth god, rat god, monkey god, etc.
Other beliefs concern herbal medicine (Ayurveda), yoga (physical exercises),
meditation, karma (destiny), reincarnation ( a cycle of births and deaths); with the
perfected soul being absorbed into Brahma, the creator and source of true happiness.
• Some elements have entered the stream of modern civilization as "new age" practices
by a guru (teacher), yogi (holy sage), swami, self-motivational speaker, or other
groups.
• A Hindu believes there are many paths to God. None is better than any other; all are
equal. The Rig Veda, the most ancient of Hindu scripture says this: "Truth is one, but
the sages speak of it by many names." By contrast, Christians and Muslims believe
that their religion is true, and others are false.
• The Vedas. Vedic literature reflects the life and culture of the ancient Aryans of India,
but it greatly affected Indian life. The Vedas consist of four literary works: Vedas,
Brahmas, Arankayas, and Upanishads handing down hymns, prayers, rituals, poetry,
and stories. Written around 1000 BC, the Vedas are the earliest sacred books of
Hinduism, and they are to the Hindu as the Bible is to the Christian.
• Sanskrit Epics. The two Sanskrit epics were the Mahabharata and the Ramayana; they
are also classics of world Literature. The Mahabharata (ca. 500 BC) is the longest epic
poem in the world. It tells the story of live brothers' battle to recover the kingdom,
with the help of a god, Krishna. The Hindu god Krishna helps them win the bloody
battle. The epic also contains the lofty philosophical poem, Bhagavad Gita (god's
song) between Krishna and Arjuna.
• The Ramayana is shorter and tells the story of Prince Rama, the seventh reincarnation
of the Hindu god Vishnu. When his beautiful wife Siva is abducted by the demon god
of Ceylon, Rama invades Ceylon with an army of monkeys and rescues his wife.
• Caste System divided people into caste class system, as follows:
•  Brahman or Brahmin, the highest class of priests, scholars,
lawmakers, aristocrats, educators;
•  Kshatriyas, Soldiers, merchants, artists, farmers,
•  Vaishyas, Workers and slaves;
•  "Untouchables, "inferior to others and condemned to do the dirtiest
work; also called dalit, from which the Filipino word for "poor" comes
from.
• The Dravidians suffered untouchability in early India, due to Aryan
feelings of superiority. The caste is only a memory, because modern
South Asian constitutions banned it after independence.
• Jainism and Buddhism. These two religions have similarities and shared
traditions. But Jainism is largely limited within India, and Buddhism has
flourished outside India. The founders of these religions, Shri Mahavira
and Gautama Buddha, lived around the same era. Jainism started around
the 6th century BC, with many ascetics, notably Shri ("Sir") Mahavira, Its
beliefs were spread by Buddhism, namely non-violence, truth, honesty,
piety, detachment, vegetarianism. Although believers are only a small
number today (around 4 million), they maintain a tradition of scholarship,
discipline, and influence. Jainism founded non-violent resistance, which
Gandhi adopted to bring down the mighty British in India
• Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama, a prince of Nepal. While
meditating under a banyan tree, he is said to have attained
enlightenment in 537 BC, and preached his beliefs as the first "Buddha"
(enlightened one).
• Buddha taught four "Noble Truths," as follows: (1) man's life is filled with
suffering; (2) man's suffering is caused by his selfish desires; (3) man can
end his suffering by conquering his selfish desires; and (4) holy man may
attain a state of Nirvana (perfect happiness). To reach Nirvana, a person
must follow the "Eight-Fold Path," namely: right belief, right aspiration,
right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right thought,
and right meditation.
• Buddha taught these to the aristocracy and masses, and won many
converts: After death, he was buried in Nepal around 486. Like Confucius,
Buddha intended his teachings to be a code of life to improve human
relations. Mainly, he wanted to reform Hinduism, with its cruel division
into castes and human sacrifices. However, his followers worshiped him
and built monasteries, temples and statues in his honor, Buddhist nuns
and monks spread the religion to Afghanistan, Central Asia, East Asia,
Tibet, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, Two hundred years later, Buddhism
briefly became the state religion of the subcontinent during the Maurya
empire, until it was driven out by Islam and Hinduism.
• Persian and Greek Invasions. Much of Eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan
today came under the rule of Darius the Great and Alexander the Great. At the
end of the 6 century BC. Darius I of Persia conquered the Aryan kingdoms of the
Indus valley. The Persians introduced Persian administration to the next (Maurya)
empire, Aramaic writing, purdah (the practice of secluding women at home and
women wearing a veil in public), and Zoroastrianism, the religion of the Parsees
in modern-day Mumbai, India.
• In 326 BC, another invader Alexander the Great of Macedonia, reached the
northwest frontiers of the subcontinent unto present-day Pakistan. But his army
was frightened by the Indian armies, especially the elephants, and refused to
fight on, so Alexander returned to Persia. When he left in 324 BC, Alexander
made a deep impression on Indian history, and vice versa. Trade opened to the
West through the Khyber Pass, and Alexander, indirectly paved the way for
Indian unity.
• Maurya Empire. The first truly subcontinental empire was the Maurya
Empire (322-185 BC), founded by Chandragupta Maurya. He united the
whole Indian subcontinent (including Afghanistan and Pakistan), except
south India.
• Asoka, his grandson, became the greatest Maurya emperor (273-232 BC).
Tired of military conquest, he turned to religion and, briefly made
Buddhism the state religion. He sent missionaries to other Asian
countries, built inns, orphanages, and hospitals, and led an exemplary
life. However, his reign was followed by five centuries of foreign invasions
and internal disunity
• Gupta Empire, the Golden Age. During the Gupta Empire (320-647 AD), the
subcontinent returned to Hinduism and glowed with cultural achievements; hence it was
called the "Golden Age of Hindu Renaissance." The Gupta empire extended north from
Pakistan to Afghanistan, Southern Tajikistan, and as far as the Bay of Bengal in south
India. The Gupta empire was founded by Chandragupta I, raja of Magadha, around 320
AD. He reintroduced Hinduism and his heirs conquered all of north and central India and
encouraged a galaxy of artists at court. Among them were Kalidasa (ca. 4th century BC),
greatest Sanskrit poet and dramatist, the equal of European playwrights like
Shakespeare. His masterpiece, Sakuniala, charmed Goethe, the greatest German
dramatist.
• About the middle of the 6 century AD, the Gupta empire declined, and once again, the
subcontinent was plunged into anarchy and foreign invasion At this time, Southern Indian
kingdoms in the subcontinent expanded their influence as far as Indonesia, controlling
vast empires in Southeast Asia. The ports of South India became busy with Indian Ocean
trade, chiefly in spices, with the Roman empire west and Southeast Asia east.
• Islam and the Mughal (Mogul) Empire. From Persia again came invaders, this
time as the Muslims known as Mughal (Mogul). They coveted the subcontinent's
richest classical civilization and only known diamond mines in the world at the time.
In 1526, Babur, a descendant of Tamerlane and Genghis Khan, swept across the
Khyber Pass and established the Mughal (Mogul) empire. He took Islam into the heart
of India up to Delhi. By the 14h century, Islamic kings ruled over a kingdom as large
as Asoka's Maurya Empire. The Mughal ruled most of the subcontinent for 200 years
until its defeat during the War of Independence (Indian Rebellion) of 1857.
• The Mughal rulers introduced Islam, the religion of modern Pakistan, Bangladesh,
Afghanistan and Iran. The interaction between Islam and Hindi brought a new
language (Hindustani) and literature, and a new religion Sikhism, which is practiced
by 23 million Sikhs today, mostly in India and Pakistan's Punjabi regions. Male Sikh
believers are identified by their cloth turban and hairy beards. The Golden Temple of
Amritsar is their holy place.
• Akbar the Great (1556-1605) was the grandson of Babur. Babur laid the
basis for the dynasty, but Akbar pushed the empire into south India, and
integrated Islam into the subcontinent. Akbar showed political genius by
adopting a policy of reconciliation toward the Hindus. Being a benevolent
and wise ruler, he promoted arts and literature, encouraged industries
and trade, and tolerated all religions.
• His grandson, Shah Jahan, gained fame by building in 1653 the Taj Mahal
at Agra in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj is a marble
mausoleum, Mumtaz mahal known as the jewel of Muslim art in India and
one of the world's heritage sites. It combines architectural elements of
Persian, Indian and Islamic styles and is acclaimed as the world’s most
beautiful tomb.
• British Empire in South Asia
• Britain became the most powerful empire in the 19th century. At its peak,
the British had the largest empire in history, and made Britain the
foremost world power for over a century. The song, "Rule Britannia,
Britannia roles the waves," said it all. They could boast that the sun never
set on the British empire" because it spanned the globe from Asia to
Africa, Europe, North and South America and also Australia
• In Southern Asia, the British “raj” (rulers) extended over all the present
"a" milers) extended over all of present day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh,
Sri Lanka Nepal Bhutan Sikkim, Maldives, Burma, Malaya, Aden and the
Persian Guf. Until today, six small islands in the Indian Ocean remain
British territory, including the important military base at Diego Garcia.
• The relations between the British and the Indians, though never amicable,
nevertheless remained strong even after independence. Today, Southern
Indians in Britain comprise one of the largest minority groups in Europe
and the British carry many Indian influences in their culture not to
mention that the biggest jewel in the British monarch's crown is the
Kohinoor diamond from India. Vice versa, the British influence on all India
pervades to this day, especially among the elites
• To the proud and cultured lndian people, Britain was an unwelcome
interruption in their history and development. Jawaharlal Nehru said,”I
know why the sun never set on British soil - -God doesn't trust an
Englishman in the dark!"
• The West Goes to the Indies. In the 15TH century, European explorers
came in search of the riches of the East, which they called " Indies ". Indeed,
when Columbus landed in the New World of America, he thought he had
reached the Indies, and called the natives " Indios" ( Indians). It was only
later that they concluded they were in different continents, and Western
colonies were called "West Indies in America, and "East Indies in Asia.
• After planting the flag came trade, and then conquest. The first Europeans
to arrive in India were the Portuguese. In 1498, Vasco de Gama rounded the
Cape of Good Hope and reached India. A few years later, in 1503, the
Portuguese empire-builder Albuquerque captured Goa in 1503 and made it
the capital of the Portuguese empire in Asia. Hence, Indians from Goa still
bear Portuguese-sounding names, da Pinto, da Silva, etc. Soon, the Dutch,
the French and the British also established ports in India.
• British Rajs. The British were Latecomers to the Indies, but they certainly got
the best prize. Through agents in the British East India Company they obtained
concessions from Mughal kings to trade in Agra and other cities. In 1639 Francis
Day, a company agent, developed Madras, and eventually acquired more ports.
The British successfully played one local rajs (ruler) against another, and the
policy of "divide- and-rule," cleverly supplanted them as the new rajs themselves.
• After the loss of the American colonies in 1777, the British looked elsewhere for
"the second empire". Soon, the spice trade in the East created an economic
boom, and the wars of kings in Europe came to the East Indies.
• Eventually, the British under Sir Robert Clive ousted the French and other powers
to take over most of the subcontinent in 1793. The era produced the infamous
atrocity of the "Black Hole of Kolkata," when over a hundred men, women and
children were left by the French to die in a small room.
• At first, Britain ruled the subcontinent through the British East India
Company, but this proved to be a failure. Adam Smith, the British
economist, admitted that the East Indies had the misfortune of being
ruled by a government in search of commercial riches only. The officials of
the British East India Company were merchants. Their aim was to enrich
themselves and the company, not to learn the culture, not to educate the
natives, and certainly not to spread Christianity. They shamelessly
monopolized rich natural resources, trade, industries, and treasures of the
Indies. Later British factories during the Industrial Revolution would be
served by raw products from British India (cotton, textiles).
• The British empire's glory however began to end when native Indian
("sepoy")soldiers in the British Army mutinied in 1857. The “Sepoy
Mutiny" was put down, but the British East India Company was blamed for
it.
• In 1858, India was placed under direct rule from London. Direct rule by
Britain brought Improvements which contributed to the making of modern
India, as follows:
•  The Indian subcontinent was unified under a centralized
government. New legal codes replaced customary law and put in end to
cruel practices like the caste system, seclusion of women (purdah), and
burning of widows at the husband's funeral (settee).
•  Transportation and communications were modernized by a network
of railways, highways, telephones, telegraph, and a postal system
•  Introduction of printed books and newspapers, better Farming
methods, irrigation systems, sanitation and medical care.
•  Finally, Western style of education produced a new middle class,
trained in the English language and familiar with Western values and
practices. Out of these Western-educated graduates would later come the
social reformers who stirred the independence movements in India,
Pakistan, Burma and Malaya.
• Gandhi and Indian Nationalism. The Indians hated colonial bondage
and yearned to be free. They resented the loss of their independence and
the arrogance of the British, who treated them as an inferior race in their
own country. The best jobs, railway seats, hotels and clubs were off-limits
to native Indians. Britain reserved the best for themselves, and the
Indians felt like second- class citizens in their own land.
• In 1885 educated Indians formed the Indian National Congress as a forum
to
• express their grievances and demands. They advocated a representative
government and other political and economic reforms.
• During the First World War, a great patriot-lawyer named Mohandas K. Gandhi
• ("father of Indian independence“) emerged as leader of the subcontinent struggle for
freedom Although he came from an affluent Hindu family and trained as a lawyer in
London and South Africa, he abandoned Western habits and dressed in simple robe,
eating frugal vegetarian meals and weaving his own cloth. Because of his saintly
virtues, he was called "Mahatma" (great soul) and beloved by the masses.
• From 1920 until his death in 1948, Gandhi was the undisputed leader of Indian
nationalism. The doctrine he championed was satyagraha - civil disobedience
through non-violent resistance. During World War Il, Gandhi and some followers were
jailed, but were released after riots, particularly the bloody massacre of protesters at
Amritsar.
• His great civil disobedience campaign mobilized the Indian masses to action in the
1920's and 1930's and convinced the British to leave. Faced with the pressure of
• "people power" in India, the British made one concession after another
• Indian Independence. The winds of change blew over the British
empire after WWII, and a new British government agreed to grant
independence to the Indian subcontinent and other colonies. Ironically,
just as their wish was to be granted, the unity of Hindus and Muslims in
the independence movement began to unravel Mohammed Ali Jinnah of
the Muslim League made it clear that the Indian Muslims desired an
independent state of their own. Sadly, Gandhi failed to reconcile the
Hindus and the Muslims, and the result was the partition of India and
Pakistan,
• On August 15, 1947, the British empire in India was partitioned into two
separate dominion states, the Union of India (later Republic of India), and
the Dominion of Pakistan (later the Islamic Republic of Pakistan), the
eastern half of which later became the People's Republic of Bangladesh
• After independence, the subcontinent was convulsed by violent Hindu-
Muslim riots, as millions of Muslims migrated to Pakistan and millions of
Hindus moved down to India. It was the largest mass migration in the world
history. Despite this mass migration, some 40 million Muslims remained in
India and 10 million Hindus remained in Pakistan.
• As bloody clashes reached greater fury, Gandhi toured the country in a
mission of peace. On January 30, 1948, he was shot during a public rally in
New Delhi by a crazy Indian anarchist. His death was deeply mourned by
his people and the entire world.
• Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) was the preeminent political and spiritual leader of
the Indian independence movement. He pioneered satyagraha, resistance to
tyranny through civil disobedience and ahimsa non-violence. His tactics succeeded
in forcing the British out of India, and inspired movements for freedom and civil
rights around the world. "Ninoy" Aquino, hero of the People Power Revolution in the
Philippines (1986) cited Gandhi as a role model. Martin Luther King, leader of the
American black civil rights movement in the 1960s, also cited him thus, Christ gave
as the goals and Mahatma Gandhi the tactics.
• Gandhi's role cannot be understimated in the relatively peaceful transition to
independence for the Indian subcontinent for without him, the end of British rule
would surely have been as ugly as the departure of the Dutch from Indonesia, and
that of the French in Indochina, and the subcontinent may have tipped to
communism or anarchy. He was assassinated in 1948, just as he was about to be
awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace. His birthday, October 2, is a national and
international holiday.
• Classic Indian Contributions to Civilization. Like China. India is a cradle of
civilization and one of the world's greatest storehouse of art, literature,
religion, and science. Among the Indian classical contributions to
civilization are:
• • India gave the world two major religions-Hinduism and Buddhism; and
two minor religion Jainism and Sikhism.
• • India developed philosophy ahead of the West. Long before the Greeks
and Romans, Indian thinkers had founded several philosophical systems,
including yoga, the discipline of the mind and the body by spiritual
training, meditation, and ahimsa (non-violence), which Gandhi applied to
civil disobedience against tyranny and oppression (satyagraha).
• • India enriched world literature with the first fable (Panchatantra); the first
dramatic masterpieces The Clay Care by Sudakra and Sakuntala by Kalidasa, the
great epics Mahabarata and Ramayana: and the world's greatest philosophical
poem, and Bhagavad Gita. It was a part of this poem which was cited at the first
atomic bomb explosion, "I am become death, the destroyer of worlds."
• • Indian arts and architecture are both graphic and sacred, portraying gods, and
various motifs which spread across the world (swastika, lotus, elephants); in
architecture, India gave the stupa dome and pagoda spire (also claimed by
China), also found in Cambodia, Thailand, Burma; architectural wonders as the
Taj Mahal, and other palaces and temples.
•  In music and dance, the Indian influence is seen in classical dance styles
that exist not only in India, but also Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, etc. as well
as the European waltz and foxtrots ; in music, the guitar, flute, violin and temple
bells are of Indian origin.
• • The Indians produced commodities like cotton cloth, spices, sugar, palm
oil, coconut oil, tamarind, camphor, sandalwood, lemon, oranges (naranja).
butter, smelted metals and alloys (gold, iron, brass, tin, copper), dyes and
pigments (indigo, ochre), scents, perfumes, ointment, precious gems and
diamonds.
• India originated numerals, mathematics, astronomy, algebra and algorithm,
geometry, and invented the concept of zero, square root and cube root. The
numerals were spread by the Arabs; hence they became known as “Arabic
Numerals”, but they were originally Indian. The first books on arithmetic and
algebra were written by Indian mathematicians between 1000 BC and 2000 AD.
• • Classical India anticipated modern concepts of physics ( the atom,
relativity), and knew five basic elements of earth, fire, air, water, and ether, as
well as organic and inorganic chemistry, alchemy and metallurgy.
• • Classical India did cataract and plastic surgery, dental surgery, as
well as Ayurveda, the science or longevity" Ayurvedic medical practice
the still popular today, as in herbal medicine and yoga exercises. It is also
significant that low cost production of generic medicine production is
highly developed in the Indian world today.
• • Falls, ancient Indian games are still widely played such as chess also
claimed by China). snakes and ladders, playing cards, dice and polo
• The start of the modern period in India is generally considered to be
around 1757, with the Battle of Plassey marking the beginning of British
colonial rule in India.
 MODERN INDIA

• Land and People. India's name came from the Indus River, the origin of
their classic civilization. India is a triangular peninsula, the largest and
most populated country in South Asia, surrounded by Pakistan and
Bangladesh, China, the Himalayas. Together with Pakistan and
Bangladesh, it is the subcontinent facing, on the south, the Indian Ocean,
Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. The huge area of 3.185,019 sq km makes
it larger than Western Europe.
• It has three distinct landscapes: Hindustan in the north lies on the slope
of the Himalayas, in the center the Decca plateau is bounded by the
Gnats (mountains) on the east and west, and in the south, the Tamil
includes coastal plains that lead to the sea.
• India has great variations in elevation, land forms, and climate. About
23% is covered with forests, where fierce jungle animals (leopards, tigers,
etc.) roam. Only 57% of the land is arable, and agricultural productivity is
poor due to social problems and uneven rainfall. In the whole of South
Asia, the annual monsoon rains control the water supply for farms and
villages.
• There are rich deposits of coal, iron, manganese, mica and limestone.
Because of government planning, India is self- sufficient in basic supplies,
except oil and heavy equipment. It is the world' 7th largest industrial
nation, the 2nd largest textile producer in the world, and the largest
exporter of jewelry. However, due to overpopulation and other social
problems, it is also one of the poorest and most crowded countries in the
world.
• The capital is New Delhi in the north, with Mumbai (formerly Bombay),
Madras, and Kolkata (Calcutta) as other large cities. The most famous river is
the Ganges (Ganga Mama) on whose banks lay the Hindu holy City of Benares,
where devout Hindus wash themselves and scatter the ashes of their dead.
• India has a population of more than billion people, second only to China. Its
population growth however would make it exceed China's population in a few
years time. Unlike China it is a democracy, in fact India is the world's largest
democracy, where parliamentary elections take a month to complete.
• The racial majority is of Indo-Aryan (Caucasian) origin: the rest are Mongoloid
or Negroid. The dominant religion is Hinduism (85%) the rest are Muslim
(11%), Buddhist, Sikh, Jain Christian, and Parsee. There are 14 languages and
831 dialects. Hindi is the official language, but English is widely spoken among
the educated.
• Third Largest Army and Nuclear Power. India is a nuclear power with
missile capability, and maintains the third largest armed forces in the
world. Its military strength is related to its border problems with China
and Pakistan, and its aspirations for great power status.
• Birth of the Republic of India. When India gained independence on
August 15,1947, it temporarily became dominion of the British
Commonwealth, pending completion of the constitution. The
constitutional assembly finished its work three years later, and put the
new Indian constitution into effect on January 26, 1950. It established
the Republic of India, a parliamentary democracy with a president as
ceremonial head of state and a prime minister as the real head of
government.
• The Indian constitution is the longest written constitution in the world,
with 444 articles and 94 amendments. The constitution declares India to
be a sovereign democratic republic, assuring its citizens of justice,
equality and liberty. The words "socialist," "secular" and "integrity" were
added in 1976.
• By becoming a republic, India chose not to have the British monarch as
head of state, as many former British colonies. India's resentment against
British colonialism runs deeper than the Philippines, to its former
colonizers, Spain and America.
• Indo-Pakistan Wars. The partition of the Indian subcontinent left a heritage of
hatred between India and Pakistan, due to religion, ethnicity, and politics. The
Hindu Indians and the Muslim Pakistanis began their separate nationhood in
1947 with bitter feelings left over from a century of British rule and internal
strife during the partition. Their ill feelings exploded into three bloody wars over
the territory of Kashmir in 1947, 1965, and 1971, and last till today,
• The First Indo-Pakistan War of 1947 was caused by territorial dispute over
Kashmir, a rich and enchanting land on the Himalayan foothills, which gives the
name to the world's finest woolen wear (cashmere, pashmina). Kashmir has a
Muslim majority, but was ruled by a Hindu maharaja; and it was the ancestral
land of the Nehrus, leaders of India. Due to an invasion by Muslims after
independence, the Hindu maharaja hurriedly ceded it to India, but the Muslim
majority resented the cession and bloody riots erupted, Pakistani troops invaded
the territory to protect Muslims.
• United Nations peace negotiations brought a ceasefire on December 31,
1949 and called for a plebiscite to ascertain the people's will. Knowing it
would lose, India never allowed the plebiscite to be held. Meanwhile, India
occupies two-thirds of Kashmir, and Pakistan one-third, and their troops
guard against the other.
• In August 1965, Pakistan renewed its claim to Kashmir and sent armed
terrorists to Kashmir and fighting erupted again in the Second India-
Pakistan War of 1965. After UN and Russian intervention, both India and
Pakistan evacuated their forces.
• Several armed clashes occurred between Indian and Pakistani border guards
on the salt flats near the Arabian Sea. The border dispute over this narrow
territory was finally settled on February 19, 1968 by an International
Arbitration Commission which awarded 90% of the flats to India and 10% to
Pakistan.
• The Third Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 was caused by India's support of the
revolution of the Bengali people of East Pakistan against West Pakistan. The
war lasted from December 3-16, 1971 and resulted in the creation of the
new state of Bangladesh, east of Pakistan. Pakistan accused India of
meddling into an internal matter. But the Bengalis were grateful for Indian
military aid. Due to the maxim “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” India
benefited from the separation of East Pakistan into a new nation.
• War with China. In 1962 a brief but bloody border war with China
unused India great humiliation and poses a source of war in Asia. On
October 20, 1962. Chinese troops, after conquering Tibet poured over and
pushed the then ill prepared Indian army to retreat A month later, the
unchallenged Chinese army, pulled back behind the Himalayas, but held
on to 36,000 sq km of territory in the western sector.
• India claims the 1914 McMahon Line as its boundary with China, but
Chinese maps show its boundary as the Brahmaputra River. Beijing still
claims 83,000 sq km of land occupied by India, mostly the sparsely
populated Arunachal Pradesh, which became a new Indian state in
December 1986.
• The two sides have met since 1981 to settle the disputed area, but with
no results so far. Both have accused the other of nibbling at each other's
territory, and both countries have amassed troops at their borders.
• Meanwhile, India protects the Dalai Lama, Tibetan spiritual and political
leader of a government-in-exile in Dharmasala. The Dalai Lama fled to
India on May 15, 1973, and has been joined by 80,000 followers.
• Nehru and the Gandhi’s, India's Nation-builders. The "Father of the
Indian Nation," Jawaharlal Nehru (1998-1964) became India's first and
longest serving prime minister. As Mahatma Gandhi's friend and ally in
obtaining Indian independence, Nehru inherited the mantle of leadership
to securely lay the foundation of the new state. He chose a neutral or
non-aligned foreign policy, accepting aid from both communist and
democratic powers, and helped establish the Afro-Asian Conference of
Non-Aligned Nations, which first met in Bandung, Indonesia in 1955. As
the world's largest democracy and a leader of the Third World (group of
developing countries that were previously colonies), Nehru became a
champion of decolonization. He recovered Pondicherry and other French
enclaves from France in 1952-54, and Goa from Portugal in 1961.
• After Nehru’s death (1964), and a caretaker government his formidable daughter,
and later still, grandson became the next nation - builders. Thus, the Nehru’s built
India, with the Indian National Congress Party as their political base, in a 38-year
time span, with only a three-year break (when another party briefly took over the
Indian parliament).
• From 1966-77 and 1980-84, India had its first female ruler -Mrs. Indira Gandhi,
Nehru’s talented daughter and widow of a Parsee lawyer (no relation to Mahatma
Gandhi). Mrs. Gandhi introduced a stronger grip on Indian politics and formed a
separate faction of the Congress Party, which had dominated Indian government
since independence. Her dictatorial style of leadership, in fact, caused her to lose the
1977 elections although the people reelected her in 1980. She began an unpopular
mass sterilization of males to solve the population problem in India. India became a
nuclear power by exploding its first atomic bomb in 1974, and decreased illiteracy.
She also prepared a political dynasty which was briefly derailed when her first heir,
son Sanjay Gandhi, died in an airplane crash in 1980.
• Indira failed to bring peace to the communal fighting between Sikhs and the Hindus which
erupted in 1984. On October 31. 1984, she was assassinated by two Sikh bodyguards as she
crossed the garden to her office. Her second son, Rajiv Gandhi (44 in 1988) succeeded her and
met more success.
• Rajiv Gandhi's political style was less authoritarian as his late mother. He proved a worthy
successor to the Nehru political dynasty, and made the following achievements:
•  Gandhi forcd the pace of Indian development by sponsoring high technology and
computers, thus ushering India into the new information age." Computers were installed
throughout India to boost the efficiency of local bureaucrats and public services. His more liberal
policies spurred Indian economy, and Indian scientists, like the Chinese and Japanese, began to
develop technology which revolutionized energy, transport, and information.
•  In December 1985, he made a peace pact with Pakistan never to invade each other's
territory again.
•  In 1987, he intervened to bring truce in the Sri Lanka civil war with Tamil
• separatists.
• Due to massive rioting when many died in religious, ethnic and political
conflicts in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Rajiv was swept out of office.
He was killed by a Tamil female suicide bomber in 1991, during a political
campaign to regain office.
• After India's monumental problems could not be handled by another
political party, the people turned once again to the Nehru family. Rajiv
Gandhi's Italian-born widow Mrs. Sonia Gandhi led the Congress Party to
win parliamentary elections in 2004. When Hindu nationalists objected to
her candidacy, she wisely chose not to become prime minister, and her
ally Manmohan Singh, a Sikh economist, took over instead.
• Robust economic growth followed since the 1990s, and India became an
economic and nuclear power.
• India's Problems. India's problems remain somewhat unchanged after
independence. They are:
• (1) overpopulation,
• (2) mass poverty,
• (3) border disputes,
• (4)racial and religious militancy, and
• (5)natural disasters.
•  Overpopulation. Because of resistance of Hindus to population control,
experts predict that at its current rate of growth Indian population will more than
double in size in the next 35 years -- to 2.6 billion - surpassing China as the
world's most populous nation. It is a terrible prospect for a country whose
people are poor and whose most productive areas are already crowded.
•  Mass Poverty. Although there are many rich Indians, the vast
majority of the masses are some of the poorest folk in the world, earning
less than $2 a day, even poorer than the Chinese. The bleak life of poor
Indians in urban slums was portrayed in the Oscar-winning film, “Slumdog
Millionaire, in 2009. Illiteracy is still high (66%). Religion and custom keep
the people backward.
•  India's borders with Pakistan and China pose potential sources of
war with these countries.
•  Racial and religious militancy and terrorism pose serious problems
for India still. The partition with Pakistan created wounds that cost the
world's worst mass migration, over a million lives in religious slaughter,
Mahatma Gandhi's life, and several wars. Sikh civil unrest in 1984 cost
Indira Gandhi's life. A Tamil suicide bomber killed Rajiv Gandhi in 1991
• Terrorists have attacked state buildings and national parliament, as well
as the cities of Delhi and Mumbai in separate incidents, resulting in
casualties and horror; linguistic divisions have for India apart since
independence. Bitter divisions still haunt the nation. Thousands have
been killed in bloody clashes of recent years between Sikhs, Muslims
Gurkhas, and Hindus.
•  Natural disasters. Earthquakes, monsoons and even a tsunami
have caused serious damage to people and property in India. The 2004
Indian Ocean tsunami left more than 10.700 people dead, some 5.600
missing, and over 647,000 persons displaced. Monsoon floods in 2007
killed thousands of people, and damaged half a million homes. Some
areas of India prone to more flooding, and even complete disappearance
due to global warming.
• Another Asian Economic Giant. Today, India has become another economic
success story in Asia due to the change of its economic system from socialism to
capitalism. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, an economics professor and former
finance minister, and his government has determined to solve the serious
economic problems of India.
• Forty years of socialist control of the economy only produced an inefficient and
poor economy. When the socialist model collapsed in Eastern Europe and China,
India overhauled its economy.
• Prime Minister Singh started reforms that completely transformed the Indian
economy into an open and free capitalist one. He reduced taxes, cut red tape,
and welcomed foreign investors. In response to criticism that women in India yet
face discrimination, despite Mrs. Indira Gandhi's becoming one of the first female
prime ministers, he appointed the first female president (head of state), Mrs.
Pratibha Patil, a scientist and architect of the country's missile system.
• The freedom for the economy proved very effective. Today , India is the
12th largest economy in the world, and fourth largest market. By 2009,
India was the world's fastest growing economy next to China. India's
phenomenal 7.5% growth rate a year would double average income
within a decade. In three years since 1991, foreign investments alone
grew 14 times from $175 million to $2.5 billion Exports rose by 21%
• Its "Bollywood" movie industry alone earns $1 billion annually, and cranks
out more films than Hollywood or other Western movie industry. Finally,
India is a debt-free country, and no longer needs to borrow; it paid all its
loans ahead of time.
• Present population - 1,437,161,421 (February 24, 2024)
 GROUP ACTIVITY
• • Historical Timeline Collage: Tracing Modern India's Evolution
 ASSESSMENT
• • Current Events Analysis: Contemporary Issues in India