Liked this article, so using it here as it is.
India's extraordinary history is intimately tied to its geography. A meeting ground between the East and the West, it has always been an invader's paradise, while at the same time its natural isolation and magnetic religions allowed it to adapt to and absorb many of the peoples who penetrated its mountain passes. No matter how many Persians, Greeks, Chinese nomads, Arabs, Portuguese, British and other raiders had their way with the land, local Hindu kingdoms invariably survived their depradations, living out their own sagas of conquest and collapse. All the while, these local dynasties built upon the roots of a culture well established since the time of the first invaders, the Aryans. In short, India has always been simply too big, too complicated, and too culturally subtle to let any one empire dominate it for long.
True to the haphazard ambiance of the country, the discovery of India's most ancient civilization literally happened by accident. British engineers in the mid-1800's, busy constructing a railway line between Karachi and Punjab, found ancient, kiln-baked bricks along the path of the track. This discovery was treated at the time as little more than a curiosity, but archaeologists later revisited the site in the 1920's and determined that the bricks were over 5000 years old. Soon afterward, two important cities were discovered: Harappa on the Ravi river, and Mohenjodaro on the Indus.
The civilization that laid the bricks, one of the world's oldest, was known as the Indus. They had a written language and were highly sophisticated. Dating back to 3000 BC, they originated in the south and moved north, building complex, mathematically-planned cities. Some of these towns were almost three miles in diameter and contained as many as 30,000 residents. These ancient municipalities had granaries, citadels, and even household toilets. In Mohenjodaro, a mile-long canal connected the city to the sea, and trading ships sailed as far as Mesopotamia. At its height, the Indus civilization extended over half a million square miles across the Indus river valley, and though it existed at the same time as the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Sumer, it far outlasted them.
The first group to invade India were the Aryans, who came out of the north in about 1500 BC. The Aryans brought with them strong cultural traditions that, miraculously, still remain in force today. They spoke and wrote in a language called Sanskrit, which was later used in the first documentation of the Vedas. Though warriors and conquerors, the Aryans lived alongside Indus, introducing them to the caste system and establishing the basis of the Indian religions. The Aryans inhabited the northern regions for about 700 years, then moved further south and east when they developed iron tools and weapons. They eventually settled the Ganges valley and built large kingdoms throughout much of northern India.
The second great invasion into India occurred around 500 BC, when the Persian kings Cyrus and Darius, pushing their empire eastward, conquered the ever-prized Indus Valley. Compared to the Aryans, the Persian influence was marginal, perhaps because they were only able to occupy the region for a relatively brief period of about 150 years. The Persians were in turn conquered by the Greeks under Alexander the Great, who swept through the country as far as the Beas River, where he defeated king Porus and an army of 200 elephants in 326 BC. The tireless, charismatic conqueror wanted to extend his empire even further eastward, but his own troops (undoubtedly exhausted) refused to continue. Alexander returned home, leaving behind garrisons to keep the trade routes open.
While the Persians and Greeks subdued the Indus Valley and the northwest, Aryan-based kingdoms continued developing in the East. In the 5th century BC, Siddhartha Gautama founded the religion of Buddhism, a profoundly influential work of human thought still espoused by much of the world. As the overextended Hellenistic sphere declined, a king known as Chandragupta swept back through the country from Magadha (Bihar) and conquered his way well into Afghanistan. This was the beginning of one India's greatest dynasties, the Maurya. Under the great king Ashoka (268-31 BC), the Mauryan empire conquered nearly the entire subcontinent, extending itself as far south as Mysore. When Ashoka conquered Orissa, however, his army shed so much blood that the repentant king gave up warfare forever and converted to Buddhism. Proving to be as tireless a missionary as he had been as conqueror, Asoka brought Buddhism to much of central Asia. His rule marked the height of the Maurya empire, and it collapsed only 100 years after his death.
After the demise of the Maurya dynasty, the regions it had conquered fragmented into a mosaic of kingdoms and smaller dynasties. The Greeks returned briefly in 150 BC and conquered the Punjab, and by this time Buddhism was becoming so influential that the Greek king Menander forsook the Hellenistic pantheon and became a Buddhist himself. The local kingdoms enjoyed relative autonomy for the next few hundred years, occasionally fighting (and often losing to) invaders from the north and China, who seemed to come and go like the monsoons. Unlike the Greeks, the Romans never made it to India, preferring to expand west instead.
In AD 319, Chandragupta II founded the Imperial Guptas dynasty, which conquered and consolidated the entire north and extended as far south as the Vindya mountains. When the Guptas diminished, a golden age of six thriving and separate kingdoms ensued, and at this time some of the most incredible temples in India were constructed in Bhubaneshwar, Konarak, and Khahurajo. It was time of relative stability, and cultural developments progressed on all fronts for hundreds of years, until the dawn of the Muslim era.
Arab traders had visited the western coast since 712, but it wasn't until 1001 that the Muslim world began to make itself keenly felt. In that year, Arab armies swept down the Khyber pass and hit like a storm. Led by Mahmud of Ghazi, they raided just about every other year for 26 years straight. They returned home each time, leaving behind them ruined cities, decimated armies, and probably a very edgy native population. Then they more or less vanished behind the mountains again for nearly 150 years, and India once again went on its way.
But the Muslims knew India was still there, waiting with all its riches. They returned in 1192 under Mohammed of Ghor, and this time they meant to stay. Ghor's armies laid waste to the Buddhist temples of Bihar, and by 1202 he had conquered the most powerful Hindu kingdoms along the Ganges. When Ghor died in 1206, one of his generals, Qutb-ud-din, ruled the far north from the Sultanate of Delhi, while the southern majority of India was free from the invaders. Turkish kings ruled the Muslim acquisition until 1397, when the Mongols invaded under Timur Lang (Tamerlane) and ravaged the entire region. One historian wrote that the lightning speed with which Tamerlane's armies struck Delhi was prompted by their desire to escape the stench of rotting corpses they were leaving behind them.
Islamic India fragmented after the brutal devastation Timur Lang left in Delhi, and it was every Muslim strongman for himself. This would change in 1527, however, when the Mughal (Persian for Mongol) monarch Babur came into power. Babur was a complicated, enlightened ruler from Kabul who loved poetry, gardening, and books. He even wrote cultural treatises on the Hindus he conquered, and took notes on local flora and fauna. Afghan princes in India asked for his help in 1526, and he conquered the Punjab and quickly asserted his own claim over them by taking Delhi. This was the foundation of the Mughal dynasty, whose six emperors would comprise most influential of all the Muslim dynasties in India.
Babur died in 1530, leaving behind a harried and ineffective son, Humayun. Humayun's own son, Akbar, however, would be the greatest Mughal ruler of all. Unlike his grandfather, Akbar was more warrior than scholar, and he extended the empire as far south as the Krishna river. Akbar tolerated local religions and married a Hindu princess, establishing a tradition of cultural acceptance that would contribute greatly to the success of the Mughal rule. In 1605, Akbar was succeed by his son Jahangir, who passed the expanding empire along to his own son Shah Jahan in 1627.
Though he spent much of his time subduing Hindu kingdoms to the south, Shah Jahan left behind the colossal monuments of the Mughal empire, including the Taj Majal (his favorite wife's tomb), the Pearl Mosque, the Royal Mosque, and the Red Fort. Jahan's campaigns in the south and his flare for extravagant architecture necessitated increased taxes and distressed his subjects, and under this scenario his son Aurungzebe imprisoned him, seeking power for himself in 1658.
Unlike his predecessors, Aurungzebe wished to eradicate indigenous traditions, and his intolerance prompted fierce local resistance. Though he expanded the empire to include nearly the entire subcontinent, he could never totally subdue the Mahrattas of the Deccan, who resisted him until his death in 1707. Out of the Mahrattas' doggedness arose the legendary figure of Shivagi, a symbol Hindu resistance and nationalism. Aurungzebe's three sons disputed over succession, and the Mughal empire crumbled, just as the Europeans were beginning to flex their own imperialistic muscles.
The Portuguese had traded in Goa as early as 1510, and later founded three other colonies on the west coast in Diu, Bassein, and Mangalore. In 1610, the British chased away a Portuguese naval squadron, and the East India Company created its own outpost at Surat. This small outpost marked the beginning of a remarkable presence that would last over 300 years and eventually dominate the entire subcontinent. Once in India, the British began to compete with the Portuguese, the Dutch, and the French. Through a combination of outright combat and deft alliances with local princes, the East India Company gained control of all European trade in India by 1769.
How a tiny island nation, thousands of miles away, came to administer a huge territory of 300 million people is one of history's great spectacles. A seemingly impossible task, it was done through a highly effective and organized system called the Raj. Treaties and agreements were signed with native princes, and the Company gradually increased its role in local affairs. The Raj helped build infrastructure and trained natives for its own military, though in theory they were for India's own defense. In 1784, after financial scandals in the Company alarmed British politicians, the Crown assumed half-control of the Company, beginning the transfer of power to royal hands.
In 1858, a rumor spread among Hindu soldiers that the British were greasing their bullets with the fat of cows and pigs, the former sacred animals to Hindus and the latter unclean animals to Muslims. A year-long rebellion against the British ensued. Although the Indian Mutiny was unsuccessful, it prompted the British government to seize total control of all British interests in India in 1858, finally establishing a seamless imperialism. Claiming to be only interested in trade, the Raj steadily expanded its influence until the princes ruled in name only.
The Raj's demise was partially a result of its remarkable success. It had gained control of the country by viewing it as a source of profit. Infrastructure had been developed, administration established, and an entire structure of governance erected. India had become a profitable venture, and the British were loath to allow the Indian population any power in a system that they viewed as their own accomplishment. The Indians didn't appreciate this much, and as the 20th century dawned there were increasing movements towards self-rule.
Along with the desire for independence, tensions between Hindus and Muslims had also been developing over the years. The Muslims had always been a minority, and the prospect of an exclusively Hindu government made them wary of independence; they were as inclined to mistrust Hindu rule as they were to resist the Raj. In 1915, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi came onto the scene, calling for unity between the two groups in an astonishing display of leadership that would eventually lead the country to independence.
The profound impact Gandhi had on India and his ability to gain independence through a totally non-violent mass movement made him one of the most remarkable leaders the world has ever known. He led by example, wearing homespun clothes to weaken the British textile industry and orchestrating a march to the sea, where demonstrators proceeded to make their own salt in protest against the British monopoly. Indians gave him the name Mahatma, or Great Soul. The British promised that they would leave India by 1947.
Independence came at great cost. While Gandhi was leading a largely Hindu movement, Mohammed Ali Jinnah was fronting a Muslim one through a group called the Muslim League. Jinnah advocated the division of India into two separate states: Muslim and Hindu, and he was able to achieve his goal. When the British left, they created the separate states of Pakistan and Bangladesh (known at that time as East Pakistan), and violence erupted when stranded Muslims and Hindu minorities in the areas fled in opposite directions. Within a few weeks, half a million people had died in the course of the greatest migration of human beings in the world's history. The aging Gandhi vowed to fast until the violence stopped, which it did when his health was seriously threatened. At the same time, the British returned and helped restore order. Excepting Kashmir, which is still a disputed area (and currently unsafe for tourists), the division reached stability.
India's history since independence has been marked by disunity and intermittent periods of virtual chaos. In 1948, on the eve of independence, Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu fanatic. His right-hand man, Jawarhalal Nehru, became India's first Prime Minister. Nehru was a successful leader, steering the young nation through a period of peace that was contrasted by the rule of Lal Bahadur Shastri, who fought Pakistan after it invaded two regions of India. Shastri died in 1966 after only 20 months in power, and he was succeeded by Nehru's daughter, Indira Gandhi.
With the name Gandhi (though no relation to Mahatma), Indira was a powerful, unchallenged leader, and opposition remained negligible until she abused her power by trying to suppress the press. When the rising opposition began to threaten her power, she called a state of emergency and continued to reform the nation, actually making some positive economic and political changes despite her questionable tactics. Her most unpopular policy was forced sterilization, and she was eventually defeated at the polls in 1977 by Morarji Desai of the Jenata party. She won back power in '79, however, but was later assassinated in 1984 by a Sikh terrorist. Although India's political climate remains divisive, the country has attained apparent stability in recent years. Today, India seems poised to realize its potential as an international economic power.
Reservations Politics and India
Now Indians Divide and Rule India with Reservations
There was a time when the Mughals invaded India and plundered, slaughtered and converted. Thus came about Indian Muslims.
Then the British invaded India and plundered more, slaughtered less and converted too. But what they did best was they divided India along all sorts of lines - religion, caste, language, region etc. But again they introduced Indians to English and Modernisation.
And Indians despised the British Raj for this.
And then they all left, the Mughals got assimilated and the British left India to the dark-skinned wogs. All this we call history.
But what does not seem to have left us is the British policy. Not only in all public spheres as economy, law, education and government do we ape them, but we also seem to have clung on to their very undesirable policy of Divide-and-Rule.
Best seen in the political sphere, which therefore influences everything else, India’s lawmakers are very keen to carve votes out of Bharat Mata by slicing and mutilating her.
Reservations. One thing that the politicians have learnt is to reserve quotas in education and employment for all those communities that stick together to form vote banks. So the communities that are very well-knit such as the tribals, many occupational castes, and the lucrative chunk of Muslims get covered.
So Congress tells Muslims that Hindus are ill-treating them; BSP, RJD, DMK etc. tell the “lower” castes that they have to fight the “higher” castes; regional parties ask their people to fight those from other states such as Shiv Sena is against Biharis; and DMK asks the Tamilians to fight Hindi-speaking North India!
And yet we have the temerity to harp on “Unity in Diversity”. Whither unity? With what in mind are we flooding every page of school textbooks with this meaningless phrase “Unity in Diversity”?
The latest to attack this evanescent unity is the Congress Party’s or Arjun Singh’s pet theme of reservations for Muslims and the so-called “lower” castes in IITs, IIMs and other Central Universities, preceded by the fervent race to give Aligarh Muslim University “minority” status.
How many more Pakistans and Bangladeshs are going to be carved out of India?
There was a time when the Mughals invaded India and plundered, slaughtered and converted. Thus came about Indian Muslims.
Then the British invaded India and plundered more, slaughtered less and converted too. But what they did best was they divided India along all sorts of lines - religion, caste, language, region etc. But again they introduced Indians to English and Modernisation.
And Indians despised the British Raj for this.
And then they all left, the Mughals got assimilated and the British left India to the dark-skinned wogs. All this we call history.
But what does not seem to have left us is the British policy. Not only in all public spheres as economy, law, education and government do we ape them, but we also seem to have clung on to their very undesirable policy of Divide-and-Rule.
Best seen in the political sphere, which therefore influences everything else, India’s lawmakers are very keen to carve votes out of Bharat Mata by slicing and mutilating her.
Reservations. One thing that the politicians have learnt is to reserve quotas in education and employment for all those communities that stick together to form vote banks. So the communities that are very well-knit such as the tribals, many occupational castes, and the lucrative chunk of Muslims get covered.
So Congress tells Muslims that Hindus are ill-treating them; BSP, RJD, DMK etc. tell the “lower” castes that they have to fight the “higher” castes; regional parties ask their people to fight those from other states such as Shiv Sena is against Biharis; and DMK asks the Tamilians to fight Hindi-speaking North India!
And yet we have the temerity to harp on “Unity in Diversity”. Whither unity? With what in mind are we flooding every page of school textbooks with this meaningless phrase “Unity in Diversity”?
The latest to attack this evanescent unity is the Congress Party’s or Arjun Singh’s pet theme of reservations for Muslims and the so-called “lower” castes in IITs, IIMs and other Central Universities, preceded by the fervent race to give Aligarh Muslim University “minority” status.
How many more Pakistans and Bangladeshs are going to be carved out of India?
Global Citizenship
You may well have come across the notion of 'Global Citizenship', but what does it mean? It is a term being used increasingly in educational circles, and consequently there are a variety of views about what it is. These range from the idea that everyone is a citizen of the globe to the standpoint that in a legal sense there is no such thing as a global citizen.
At Oxfam Education, we believe that Global Citizenship is more than the sum of its parts. It goes beyond simply knowing that we are citizens of the globe to an acknowledgement of our responsibilities both to each other and to the Earth itself. Global Citizenship is about understanding the need to tackle injustice and inequality, and having the desire and ability to work actively to do so. It is about valuing the Earth as precious and unique, and safeguarding the future for those coming after us. Global Citizenship is a way of thinking and behaving. It is an outlook on life, a belief that we can make a difference.
We see a Global Citizen as someone who:
is aware of the wider world and has a sense of their own role as a world citizen;
respects and values diversity;
has an understanding of how the world works economically, politically, socially, culturally, technologically and environmentally;
is outraged by social injustice;
participates in and contributes to the community at a range of levels from local to global;
is willing to act to make the world a more sustainable place;
takes responsibility for their actions.
(Oxfam 1997)
This description of a Global Citizen is the ideal. It may feel like rather a tall order, but don't be put off! Everyone has the potential to be a Global Citizen if they wish to, and is somewhere along the path towards that goal. For those willing to take up the challenge, all you need is courage, commitment, and a sense of humour.
To create a world of Global Citizens, education must be a priority. Global Citizenship is not an additional subject - it is an ethos. It can best be implemented through a whole-school approach, involving everyone with a stake in educating children, from the children themselves to those with teaching and non-teaching roles in the school, parents, governors/school board members, and the wider community.
It can also be promoted in class through teaching the existing curriculum in a way that highlights aspects such as social justice, the appreciation of diversity and the importance of sustainable development.
In the wider school setting, Global Citizenship can be reflected in the way you relate to those around you: it is as much to do with how visitors are welcomed as it is about what and how teachers teach. This is because Global Citizenship in schools is based on the following principles.
The importance of reaffirming or developing a sense of identity and self-esteem.
Valuing all pupils and addressing inequality within and outside school.
Acknowledging the importance of relevant values, attitudes, and personal and social education.
Willingness to learn from the experiences of others around the world.
Relevance to young people's interests and needs.
Supporting and increasing young peoples' motivation to effect change.
A holistic approach to Global Citizenship - that it should be an ethos permeating all areas of school life.
(Oxfam 1997)
These principles apply throughout school life, across all subjects and within all age groups. We see them as the foundation on which education should be built: as a basic entitlement for all pupils.
At Oxfam Education, we believe that Global Citizenship is more than the sum of its parts. It goes beyond simply knowing that we are citizens of the globe to an acknowledgement of our responsibilities both to each other and to the Earth itself. Global Citizenship is about understanding the need to tackle injustice and inequality, and having the desire and ability to work actively to do so. It is about valuing the Earth as precious and unique, and safeguarding the future for those coming after us. Global Citizenship is a way of thinking and behaving. It is an outlook on life, a belief that we can make a difference.
We see a Global Citizen as someone who:
is aware of the wider world and has a sense of their own role as a world citizen;
respects and values diversity;
has an understanding of how the world works economically, politically, socially, culturally, technologically and environmentally;
is outraged by social injustice;
participates in and contributes to the community at a range of levels from local to global;
is willing to act to make the world a more sustainable place;
takes responsibility for their actions.
(Oxfam 1997)
This description of a Global Citizen is the ideal. It may feel like rather a tall order, but don't be put off! Everyone has the potential to be a Global Citizen if they wish to, and is somewhere along the path towards that goal. For those willing to take up the challenge, all you need is courage, commitment, and a sense of humour.
To create a world of Global Citizens, education must be a priority. Global Citizenship is not an additional subject - it is an ethos. It can best be implemented through a whole-school approach, involving everyone with a stake in educating children, from the children themselves to those with teaching and non-teaching roles in the school, parents, governors/school board members, and the wider community.
It can also be promoted in class through teaching the existing curriculum in a way that highlights aspects such as social justice, the appreciation of diversity and the importance of sustainable development.
In the wider school setting, Global Citizenship can be reflected in the way you relate to those around you: it is as much to do with how visitors are welcomed as it is about what and how teachers teach. This is because Global Citizenship in schools is based on the following principles.
The importance of reaffirming or developing a sense of identity and self-esteem.
Valuing all pupils and addressing inequality within and outside school.
Acknowledging the importance of relevant values, attitudes, and personal and social education.
Willingness to learn from the experiences of others around the world.
Relevance to young people's interests and needs.
Supporting and increasing young peoples' motivation to effect change.
A holistic approach to Global Citizenship - that it should be an ethos permeating all areas of school life.
(Oxfam 1997)
These principles apply throughout school life, across all subjects and within all age groups. We see them as the foundation on which education should be built: as a basic entitlement for all pupils.
INDIA - A 0 Civic sense country
'Proud to be Indian' is just disappearing in thin air day by day. One just cannot belive this was the land where just 100s / 1000s of years ago one of worlds progressive, liberal and most mannered civilisation has lived.
This is country who worships liberal and human kings like Rama, Ashoka, Dharma, Chandragupta, Moryas, Shalivahans, Vikramaditya.
Its women used to be at epicenter of there world, women is called Maa(mother) Sarvawapi(universe) Shakti(energy).
Its only country where Knowledge Wealth Wisdom is worshiped as Gods from centuries.
Environment was looked upon, respected and protected as part of culture.
21st Century reality
Now lets come to todays India, so called Incredible India. Lets see how worst of todays civilisation we are.
-> Every indian hates other Indian, which is a known fact.
-> Religion, Caste, Subcaste, Languages, Cultural/Regional differences is forcing indians to fight other ones on stupid things.
There are communal violences every now and then.
Many of Indian economic sectors like Agriculture are in utmost chaos, farmers are up in arms here or there.
Due to global warming extreme weather conditions are going to make much of land unfertile and a darth of drinking water in summer months. Which will force further civic unrest over years to come.
And our great politicians talk of solidarity, unity and eqaulity.
-> Worlds most tough country for any common man to survive
-> One of outdates and crumbling Infrastructure
-> Indians are one of most dirty, non environment friendly and just unsensitive people. All over world thats how Indians are treated or seen at also.
-> Go on roads and see how we drive despite of being educated and in cities many people driving have travelled west.
-> Education systems are not ready to modernise
-> Almost any avergae looking to good looking women is looked upon with dirty looks by most of men. education, lived or worked overseas dosent improve this mentality.
-> Traders, middle men looting common man mercilessly.
-> Spitting, Littering, Urinating or Shitting wherever possible is like number one rule for any one to get qualified as Indian.
-> False world where poverty and filthy richness lives together
-> Human life has no value here at all
A country with great potential, natural resources is spoiled and wasted by system and more of its politicians.
Every Indian Parent needs to think of what kind of world they are keeping there childrens to live in. My dear friends come together and start a revolution called "Lets make India a better place for our Childrens'
This is country who worships liberal and human kings like Rama, Ashoka, Dharma, Chandragupta, Moryas, Shalivahans, Vikramaditya.
Its women used to be at epicenter of there world, women is called Maa(mother) Sarvawapi(universe) Shakti(energy).
Its only country where Knowledge Wealth Wisdom is worshiped as Gods from centuries.
Environment was looked upon, respected and protected as part of culture.
21st Century reality
Now lets come to todays India, so called Incredible India. Lets see how worst of todays civilisation we are.
-> Every indian hates other Indian, which is a known fact.
-> Religion, Caste, Subcaste, Languages, Cultural/Regional differences is forcing indians to fight other ones on stupid things.
There are communal violences every now and then.
Many of Indian economic sectors like Agriculture are in utmost chaos, farmers are up in arms here or there.
Due to global warming extreme weather conditions are going to make much of land unfertile and a darth of drinking water in summer months. Which will force further civic unrest over years to come.
And our great politicians talk of solidarity, unity and eqaulity.
-> Worlds most tough country for any common man to survive
-> One of outdates and crumbling Infrastructure
-> Indians are one of most dirty, non environment friendly and just unsensitive people. All over world thats how Indians are treated or seen at also.
-> Go on roads and see how we drive despite of being educated and in cities many people driving have travelled west.
-> Education systems are not ready to modernise
-> Almost any avergae looking to good looking women is looked upon with dirty looks by most of men. education, lived or worked overseas dosent improve this mentality.
-> Traders, middle men looting common man mercilessly.
-> Spitting, Littering, Urinating or Shitting wherever possible is like number one rule for any one to get qualified as Indian.
-> False world where poverty and filthy richness lives together
-> Human life has no value here at all
A country with great potential, natural resources is spoiled and wasted by system and more of its politicians.
Every Indian Parent needs to think of what kind of world they are keeping there childrens to live in. My dear friends come together and start a revolution called "Lets make India a better place for our Childrens'
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