The indigenous civilization of India is the indigenous Indus Valley Civilization (c. 3300-1300 BCE). Its main cities, Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, constituted civil urban planning, sanitation and an extended trade due to their excellent network. The civilization became the origin of early cultural and technological developments in India that came before the Vedic age.
Hinduism, as it is today, was founded during the Vedic Age (c. 1500-500 BCE) as the central beliefs and caste system are documented in the Vedas manuscripts and other related texts and publications such as the Upanishads. During this time there was also the emergence of the Jain and the Buddhist religion created by Mahavira and Gautama Buddha respectively and they are part of the Indian religious scenario.
India was influenced by powerful indigenous empires. In the Mauryan Empire (322-185 BCE), especially under Emperor Ashoka, a measure of territorial unification was accomplished. Later Ashoka preached non-violence and Buddhist teachings. A massive breakthrough was observed in science, math, literature, and art under the Gupta Empire (c. 320-550 CE).
Islamic influence in medieval India was substantial and the Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526) and Mughal Empire (1526-1857) played important parts in India. The period was characterized by some form of conflict, yet it led to great cultural synthesis as is seen in architecture, language, music, and administration. There were also regional kingdoms such as Vijayanagar that thrived.
By the early nineteenth century European trade, controlled by the British East India Company, gave way to formal British imperial rule in 1858. British rule used resources and redesigned the economy. This oppression caused a general anticolonial struggle which resulted in independence after the year 1947.
Conclusion:
To understand India it is important to understand the presence of ancient indigenous civilizations in India, the development of major religious trends, the effects of mighty empires and an intense cultural synthesis that came in the medieval times and the experience of colonial rule. Such a complicated historical course forms the foundation of the Indian nation state as it exists today.
