History
Archaeological evidence indicates that the Indian subcontinent was invaded long ago by Dravidian tribes, who subsequently developed an extensive and sophisticated civilization. About the middle of the 3rd millennium BC, Dravidian India was invaded by tribes referred to as Indo-Aryans, who gradually occupied most of the territory north of the Vindhya Range and west of the Yamuna River. The Vedas, a collection of sacred writings dating from about 1200 BC, contain considerable information on Indo-Aryan life (see Veda) and also depict the emergence of Hinduism. During the 1st millennium BC, the Indo-Aryans established autonomous states, of which the most important was Kosala, situated in the region occupied by what is now Oudh. Another kingdom, Magadha, which occupied the territory of what is now Bihâr, became the dominant state of India by the mid-6th century BC.
Beginning in 326 BC Alexander the Great achieved sovereignty over a large section of northwestern and central India, and thereafter Greek influence affected the development of Indian culture. In about 321 BC a native leader named Chandragupta, founder of the Maurya dynasty of Indian kings, successfully rebelled against the Macedonians and within the next decade extended his sovereignty over most of the region.
The Maurya dynasty endured until 184 BC, during which time Buddhism became the dominant religion of the empire. Following the Mauryas, the Sunga ruled for more than a century. This period saw the decline of Buddhism and the triumph of Brahmanism, and the caste system became part of the Indian social structure. From 230 BC to the 3rd century AD various dynasties controlled different parts of the region. In 320 a Magadha raja named Chandragupta I (reigned 320-330?), founded the Gupta dynasty, which eventually conquered all of the subcontinent north of the Narmada River. Under the Gupta dynasty Indian culture reached new heights, and Hinduism experienced a renaissance. Toward the close of the 5th century, Hunnish invaders conquered the Gupta Empire.
At the beginning of the 11th century, a new Islamic power, Khorâsân, gained power under Mahmud of Ghaznė (reigned 999-1030) in western Asia, taking over many western Indian cities. Muhammad of Ghur began his reign in 1173 and eventually controlled all of the Indo-Gangetic plain west of Benares (now Vârânasi). Ala-ud-Din (reigned 1296-1316) of the Khalji dynasty consolidated the Indian realm by conquering the Deccan.
In 1398 the Mongol conqueror Tamerlane destroyed Delhi, massacring its inhabitants, but he left the area of his own accord and the Lodi dynasty of kings took power. In 1526 Babur, a descendant of Tamerlane and the founder of the great Mughal dynasty, defeated the Lodi army, proclaiming himself emperor of the Muslim dominions. The Mughal Empire attained its peak of cultural splendor under the rule of Shah Jahan (reigned 1628-1658). However, under Shah Jahan's son Aurangzeb, the empire declined. In the political chaos of the half-century after the Mughal Empire, petty kingdoms and principalities, such as Hyderâbâd, arose.
Beginning in the late 1490s the Portuguese won a monopoly of the lucrative Indian maritime trade. The Dutch East India Company broke the monopoly early in the 17th century. After negotiations, in 1612 the English founded their first Indian trading post, eventually gaining dominance over the Dutch. In 1773 the East India Company became a semiofficial agency of the British government, which ultimately subjugated the entire subcontinent and contiguous regions using its superior military power, as well as brutality and manipulation. British policy of annexing Indian territories engendered profound hostility. In 1857 the sepoys, native troops employed by the English East India Company, began a general, sometimes bloody, uprising, known as the Sepoy Mutiny. By mid-1858 the rebels had fallen. However, the Sepoy Mutiny resulted in the transfer of the administration of India from the East India Company to the British crown, which implemented important reforms. Regardless, the impoverished condition of the masses, popular resentment over the country's colonial status, and a growing spirit of nationalism remained issues of concern.
At the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century, nationalist associations were formed, the most influential being the Indian National Congress. Hostile demonstrations against British rule became more frequent, and there was a popular boycott of British goods. However, the formation in 1906 of the Muslim League, which was generally pro-British, to some extent diverted attention from nationalism to Hindu-Muslim conflicts. Following the outbreak of World War I (1914-1918) both Hindus and Muslims rallied to the British cause. After the war, Mohandas K. Gandhi, a Hindu social and religious reformer, called for a campaign of passive resistance (Satyagraha) against British repression. In early 1930 Gandhi led a movement against the government salt monopoly, and his subsequent imprisonment resulted in riots. In 1931 the British government arranged a truce with Gandhi, but bitter Hindu-Muslim conflicts and the world economic crisis, which had begun in 1929, completely disrupted the economy of India during the early 1930s.
In 1935 British legislation known as the Government of India Act provided for the establishment of autonomous legislative bodies in the provinces of British India. The plan proved unworkable, however, and a Muslim League proposal for creation of an independent Muslim state (Pakistan) met with violent Hindu opposition.
On the outbreak of World War II (1939-1945), the viceroy of India declared war on Germany without consulting Indian leaders, alienating important sections of the Indian National Congress. Meanwhile, the Muslim League, many of the princely states, and certain members of the Indian National Congress had endorsed the British war effort. After unsuccessful proposals by the British, the civil disobedience movement resumed in 1942, and the National Congress was outlawed. In 1945 and 1946 discussions between India and Great Britain took place. The negotiations were fruitless, but a representative interim executive council, headed by Jawaharlal Nehru, was eventually formed. Nonetheless, strife between Muslims and Hindus increased.
Fear of a Muslim-Hindu civil war led to the 1947 Indian Independence Act, establishing India and Pakistan as independent dominions of the Commonwealth of Nations. For the subsequent history of Pakistan, see Pakistan: History. As a result of partition, areas inhabited predominantly by Hindus were allocated to India, including most of the 562 princely states in existence, as well as other disparate territories.
The first Constituent Assembly, in December 1946, was boycotted by the delegates of the Muslim League, and Nehru became the country's first prime minister. After partition, a mass exodus of Muslims from India into Pakistan and of Sikhs and Hindus from Pakistan into India took place, often accompanied by violence. Hostilities between the two countries grew serious over the status of the princely states, Kashmėr in particular. The status of Kashmėr was a recurring point of conflict and had yet to be settled in the mid-1990s. In 1948 Gandhi was assassinated, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, died as well.
The Indian Constituent Assembly approved a republican constitution for India in late 1949. All-India Congress leader Rajendra Prasad was elected the first president of the republic in 1950. The Constituent Assembly became a provisional parliament, and Jawaharlal Nehru was elected prime minister. Under Nehru a five-year national development plan was announced. The first general elections in the Indian Republic during 1951 and 1952 left the Indian National Congress with a majority in parliament, and Rajendra Prasad remained as president.
Throughout the 1950s India took an active role in the international politics of Asia, attempting to remain neutral in most conflicts. In 1964 Nehru died. He was succeeded as prime minister by Lal Bahadur Shastri. In 1966 Shastri died suddenly, and Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi was chosen to be the new prime minister. After some political disorder, Gandhi and her faction, from that time called the New Congress Party, won the elections of 1971. When civil war erupted in Pakistan later that year, millions of refugees fled to India, and relations between India and Pakistan worsened. Eventually India invaded East Pakistan, forced the surrender of Pakistani forces there, and recognized the new nation of Bangladesh.
Economic conditions in India worsened during the mid-1970s. Gandhi was convicted in 1975 of corruption, and she declared a national state of emergency. The government used mass imprisonment and press censorship to quell political opposition. In the 1977 election the Janata Party, a coalition formed to oppose Ghandi's regime, won a majority, and its head, Morarji R. Desai, was named prime minister. However, in 1978 Gandhi formed Congress-I (I for "Indira"), which became the main opposition party in the House of the People. Elections in early 1980 resulted in a major victory for Gandhi and her Congress-I Party; she resumed the office of prime minister.
Sikhs demanding autonomy for the Indian state of Punjab continued to be a concern, and Gandhi brought Punjab under president's rule in 1983. In 1984 a holy temple was the site of the killing of hundreds of Sikhs by police. Indira Gandhi was shot and killed by Sikh members of her personal guard later that year. Her son Rajiv Gandhi became the new prime minister, and he was reaffirmed by parliamentary elections in 1984. Gandhi agreed to expand the boundaries of Punjab. Allegations of corruption weakened the Congress-I Party, however, as did Gandhi's inability to deal effectively with Punjab and Kashmėr. From 1989 to 1993 there were several quick turnovers in leadership, continued sectarian violence between Hindus and Muslims, and a number of natural disasters. The 1996 elections brought further unrest to India, particularly surrounding the issues of Jammu and Kashmėr. Ultimately the leftist coalition United Front formed a government under Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda.