India

India 

Background

India has a unique culture and is one of the oldest and greatest civilizations of the world. India has achieved all-round socio-economic progress since its Independence. India covers an area of 32,87,263 sq. km, extending from the snow-covered Himalayan heights to the tropical rain forests of the south. As the 7th largest country in the world, India stands apart from the rest of Asia, marked off as it is by mountains and the sea, which give the country a distinct geographical entity. Bounded by the Great Himalayas in the north, it stretches southwards and at the Tropic of Cancer, tapers off into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal on the east and the Arabian Sea on the west.

Lying entirely in the northern hemisphere, the mainland extends between latitudes 8° 4' and 37° 6' north, longitudes 68° 7' and 97° 25' east and measures about 3,214 km from north to south between the extreme latitudes and about 2,933 km from east to west between the extreme longitudes. It has a land frontier of about 15,200 km. The total length of the coastline of the mainland, Lakshadweep Islands and Andaman & Nicobar Islands is 7,516.6 km.

Geological Structure

The geological regions broadly follow the physical features, and may be grouped into three regions: the Himalayas and their associated group of mountains, the Indo-Ganga Plain, and the Peninsular Shield.

The Himalayan mountain belt to the north and the Naga-Lushai mountain in the east, are the regions of mountain-building movement. Most of this area, now presenting some of the most magnificent mountain scenery in the world, was under marine conditions about 600 million (60 crore) years ago. In a series of mountain-building movements commencing about 70 million (7 crore) years ago, the sediments and the basement rocks rose to great heights. The weathering and erosive elements worked on these to produce the relief seen today. The Indo-Ganga plains are a great alluvial tract that separates the Himalayas in the north from the Peninsula in the south.

The Peninsula is a region of relative stability and occasional seismic disturbances. Highly metamorphosed rocks of the earliest periods, dating back as far as 380 crore years, occur in the area; the rest being covered by the coastal-bearing Gondwana formations, lava flows belonging to the Deccan Trap formation and younger sediments.

Rivers

The rivers of India can be classified into four groups viz., Himalayan rivers, Deccan rivers, Coastal rivers, and Rivers of the inland drainage basin.

The Himalayan Rivers are formed by melting snow and glaciers and therefore, continuously flow throughout the year. During the monsoon months, Himalayas receive very heavy rainfall and rivers swell, causing frequent floods. The Deccan Rivers on the other hand are rain fed and therefore fluctuate in volume. Many of these are non-perennial. The Coastal streams, especially on the west coast are short in length and have limited catchment areas. Most of them are non-perennial. The streams of inland drainage basin of western Rajasthan are few. Most of them are of an ephemeral character.

The main Himalayan river systems are those of the Indus and the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna system. The Indus, which is one of the great rivers of the world, rises near Mansarovar in Tibet and flows through India, and thereafter through Pakistan, and finally falls in the Arabian Sea near Karachi. Its important tributaries flowing in Indian Territory are the Sutlej (originating in Tibet), the Beas, the Ravi, the Chenab, and the Jhelum. The Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna is another important system of which the principal sub-basins are those of Bhagirathi and the Alaknanda, which join at Dev Prayag to form the Ganga. It traverses through Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal. Below Rajmahal hills, the Bhagirathi, which used to be the main course in the past, takes off, while the Padma continues eastward and enters Bangladesh. The Yamuna, the Ramganga, the Ghaghra, the Gandak, the Kosi, the Mahananda and the Sone are the important tributaries of the Ganga. Rivers Chambal and Betwa are the important sub-tributaries, which join Yamuna before it meets the Ganga. The Padma and the Brahmaputra join inside Bangladesh, and continue to flow as the Padma or Ganga. The Brahmaputra rises in Tibet, where it is known as Tsangpo and runs a long distance till it crosses over into India in Arunachal Pradesh under the name of Dihang. Near Passighat, the Debang and Lohit join the river Brahmaputra and the combined river runs all along the Assam valley. It crosses into Bangladesh downstream of Dhubri.

The principal tributaries of Brahmaputra in India are the Subansiri, Jia Bhareli, Dhansiri, Puthimari, Pagladiya and the Manas. The Brahmaputra in Bangladesh receives the flow of Tista, etc., and finally falls into Ganga. The Barak River, the Head stream of Meghna, rises in the hills in Manipur. The important tributaries of the river are Makku, Trang, Tuivai, Jiri, Sonai, Rukni, Katakhal, Dhaleswari, Langachini, Maduva and Jatinga. Barak continues in Bangladesh till the combined Ganga-Brahmaputra join it near Bhairab Bazar.

In the Deccan region, most of the major river systems flowing generally in east direction fall into Bay of Bengal. The major east flowing rivers are Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery, Mahanadi, etc. Narmada and Tapti are major West flowing rivers.

The Godavari in the southern Peninsula has the second largest river basin covering 10 per cent of the area of India. Next to it is the Krishna basin in the region, while the Mahanadi has the third largest basin. The basin of the Narmada in the uplands of the Deccan, flowing to the Arabian Sea, and of the Cauvery in the south, falling into the Bay of Bengal are about the same size, though with different character and shape.

There are numerous coastal rivers, which are comparatively small. While only handful of such rivers drain into the sea near the delta of east cost, there are as many as 600 such rivers on the west coast.

A few rivers in Rajasthan do not drain into the sea. They drain into salt lakes and get lost in sand with no outlet to sea. Besides these, there are the Desert Rivers which flow for some distance and are lost in the desert. These are Luni and others such as, Machhu, Rupen, Saraswati, Banas, Ghaggar and others.

Length of some important Indian Rivers

River Length (km)

1. Indus 2,900

2. Brahmaputra 2,900

3. Ganga 2,510

4. Godavari 1,450

5. Narmada 1,290

6. Krishna 1,290

7. Mahanadi 890

8. Kaveri 760

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History of India

History of India 

The "Medieval" Period

This period was characterized by the growth of strong regional centers and lack of one overarching political authority in the subcontinent. Sind in present-day Pakistan was integrated into a Muslim polity to the west; invasions by Turkic and Central Asian rulers commenced at the beginning of the second millennium C.E. Centralized powers were established, based at Delhi; independent regional kingdoms, however, continued. By the time Turkish invaders had established their power over the north as sultans, Rajput rulers in present-day Rajasthan and Punjab had established powerful small kingdoms. Regional kingdoms also flourished in the south.

The Mughals

In 1526, the Mughal empire was founded by Babur, a Turkish/Central Asian chieftain whose ancestors included Chingiz Khan an Timur (known in the West as Tamarlane). His son Humayan was driven from India in 1540 and took refuge in the court of Shah Tahmasp in Iran. Mughal rule was reestablished, and under Akbar expanded across the north. Akbar moved against Rajput rulers, who were allowed to retain control over their land in exchange for their loyalty. The Rajput hill-states of the Punjab hills (now Himachal Pradesh) were brought under Mughal influence under the rule of Jahangir, Akbar's son.

British Rule

Although Europeans were present in South Asia as traders from the beginning of the seventeenth century, it was not until the middle of the eighteenth century that the British established rule in the region. As Mughal control waned in the eighteenth century, British power expanded. After the Battle of Plassey in 1757, the British were ceded control of the province of Bengal. By 1857, the time of the First War of Indian Independence (or, as it was known to the British at the time, the "Mutiny"), the British were poised to take control from Mughal hands permanently. Nearly two-fifths of the area, however, was left in the hands of quasi-independent rulers, who nonetheless were forced to contend with British power at the center.

The Modern Nation-States of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal

In 1947, the independent nations of Pakistan (East and West) and India were formed out of the British empire in India; Nepal was never integrated into this empire. The partition of the subcontinent into separate nation-states is accompanied by tremendous violence. In 1971, East and West Pakistan divided into Pakistan and Bangladesh. Although relations among these nation-states are often tense, they share many cultural, as well as historical, ties. South Asians in Europe, the Americas, Africa, and other parts of Asia form a dynamic Diaspora community.

Events in the 19th & 20th Centuries

1846 - 1885 Historians consider India's modern age to have begun sometime during this time period

1917 - Approximately one million Indians served in World War I

1947 - Mountbatten Plan partitions the British Indian Empire into the states of India and Pakistan

1950 - Vital to India's self-image as an independent nation was its constitution which put in place a secular and democratic republic

1971 - A third war between India and Pakistan results in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh

Ancient Empires

2500 -1600 BC Indus Valley Culture

1500 -500 BC Migrations of Aryan-speaking tribes; The Vedic Age

1000 BC Settlement of Bengal by Davidian-speaking peoples

600 BC Territorial states emerge: Magadha, Kosala, Kuru, and Gandhara

500 BC Most of northern India inhabited

563 -483 BC Life of Siddartha Gautama - the Buddha; founding of Buddhism

320 BC −550 AD Gupta Empire: Classical Age of a united India (confined mostly to the north)

326 BC Alexander the Great's Indus Campaign, fusing several Indo-Greek elements

326 -184 BC Mauryan Empire; reign of Ashoka (269-232 BC); spread of Buddhism: First Indian imperial power

180 BC -150 AD Shaka dynastics in Indus Valley

100 BC −300 AD Deccan Indian Kingdoms: Power decentralized in the hands of local chieftains

606 -47 North Indian empire of Harsha

711 Arab invaders conquer Sindh, establish Islamic presence in India

750 -1150 Pala Dynasty

1150 -1202 Sena Dynasty

Growth of Islam

997 -1027 Mahmud of Ghazni raids Indian subcontinent from Afghanistan

1202 Turkish conquerors defeat Sena Dynasty and overrun Bengal

1206 -1398 Delhi Sultanate

1336 −1527 Southern Dynasties in India establish rule

1398 Timur sacks Delhi

1414 -1450 Sayyid Dynasty; renewal of Delhi Sultanate

1451 -1526 Lodi Dynasty

The Mughal Period

1526 Babur lays foundation of Mughal Empire; wins First Battle of Panipat

1556 -1605 Akbar expands and reforms the empire; Mughals win Second Battle of Panipat

1600 East India Company granted British Crown charter with exclusive rights to India

1605 -1627 Reign of Jahangir; in 1612 East India Company opens first trading post (factory)

1619 English East India Company establishes outpost at Surat on the northwestern coast

1628 -1658 Reign of Shah Jahan

1658 -1707 Reign of Aurangzeb, last great Mughal ruler

1707 -1858 Lesser emperors; decline of the Mughal Empire

British Period

Map British Conquest of India 1753 to 1890 at Princeton University

1757 Battle of Plassey - British victory of Mughal forces in Bengal; British rule in India begins

1835 Institution of British education and other reform measures

1857-1858 Revolt of Indian sepoys (soldiers) against East India Company

1858 East India Company abolished and Queen Victoria becomes Empress of India (the British Raj); begins with Government of India Act; formal end of Mughal Empire

1869 The creation of the Suez canal radically reduces journey time from India

1885 Indian National Congress formed

1892 Dadabhai Naoroji first Indian to win a Parliamentary seat in England

1897 Ayah's Home established in Aldgate, London

1916 Congress-League Scheme of Reforms (Lucknow Pact) signed

1935 Government of India Act of 1935

Independent India

1947 Partition of British India; India achieves independence and incorporates West Bengal and Assam;

Jawaharlal Nehru becomes prime minister of India. Pakistan is created and incorporates East Bengal and territory in the northwest.

1962 Commonwealth Immigrants Act limits the migration of South Asians to England

1968 "Rivers of Blood" Speech: Enoch Powell calls for forced return of immigrants settled in England

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