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The Indian country is
very old and complex. According to a popular estimate, it has
covered a span of five thousand years since the period of its first known
civilization. During this period, several strains of immigrants,
representing different ethnic families and linguistic ones have merged
into it and have contributed to its diversity and vitality.It is very
difficult to identify the earliest inhabitants of India. There are no
written records about them, since writing was not invented then. The
orally told history is not much reliable. Many minute details could not
withstand the ravages of time. Early human activity in India goes back to
the second Inter- Glacial period, between 400,000 and 200,000 B.C. Stone
tools found and cave paintings unearthed in many places in the country
prove this point very clearly.
The Indus Valley civilization, one of
the oldest in the world, goes back at least 5,000 years. Aryan tribes from
the northwest invaded about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier
inhabitants created classical Indian culture. Arab incursions starting in
the 8th century and Turkish in 12th were followed by European traders
beginning in the late 15th century. By the 19th century, Britain had
assumed political control of virtually all Indian lands. Nonviolent
resistance to British colonialism under Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal
NEHRU led to independence in 1947.
The subcontinent was divided into the
secular state of India and the smaller Muslim state of Pakistan. A third
war between the two countries in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan becoming
the separate nation of Bangladesh. Fundamental concerns in India include
the ongoing dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir, massive overpopulation,
environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and ethnic strife, all this
despite impressive gains in economic investment and output.
Over the millennia
various invasions have added great diversity and complexity to
the cultures of the Indian subcontinent; yet many ancient and unique
features have remained recognizable throughout its history. Diversity is
particularly evident in the 20th-century political division of the
subcontinent into three nations: India (Bharat), Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
However, the gradual incorporation of various cultural elements into its
own complex civilization has been a continuing feature of India's history.
India has a rich history and the palaces, temples and great cities of its
ancient cultures cannot fail to grip the imagination. In the spring
particularly, the big cities come alive with concerts, plays, parties and
exhibitions. Among the most spectacular hill stations (mountain resorts
which make ideal destinations in summer) are Shimla (once the Imperial
summer capital), Mussoorie, Ranikhet and Nainital (within reach of Delhi),
and West Bengal's magnificent resort, Darjeeling, which offers a
breathtaking view of the whole Kanchenjunga range. Along the fabled coasts
of Malabar and Coromandel, unspoiled sandy beaches stretch for miles.
Delhi, the capital
of India, is an amalgam of the old and the new. The ancient and
the modern times are in juxtaposition here, not only in the remains of a
succession of empires, but equally in present social structure and
lifestyles. The name Delhi, Dehali, or Dilli is derived from Dhillika, the
name of the first medieval township of Delhi, located on the southwestern
border of the present Delhi, in Mehrauli. This was the first in the series
of seven medieval cities. It is also known as Yoginipura, that is, the
fortress of the yoginis (female divinities). There was, however, an
ancient urban settlement in Delhi known as Indraprastha on the banks of
the Yamuna which is traditionally believed to have been founded by the
Pandava brothers, the mythical heroes of Mahabharata, the national epic of
India. Excavations at the site of the township inside Purana Kila or the
Old Fort show that the date of the oldest habitation in Delhi is around
the 3rd or 4th century B.C. Delhi is divided into two parts. The old Delhi
or Delhi was one of the capitals of Muslim India between the 12th and 19th
centuries. Old forts, mosques and monuments related to India's Muslim
history are located here. New Delhi is the imperial city which was created
as the capital by the British. It is spread over a wide area and is lined
with imposing boulevards. Delhi is a major travel gateway into India. It
is one of India's busiest entry points for overseas airlines and is on the
overland route access across Asia.
Several different levels of social evolution
co-exist in India; like the hunters, the cultivators, the
nomads, the itinerant traders, professionals and different artisans.
Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Buddhism are found here, along with a
bewildering number of sects and cults , each with its own rituals and
beliefs. Add to this the modern academic, bureaucratic, industrial and
scientific elites and one can find the past, the present and the future
living together.
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