India
Images of India
Republic of
India
Some Facts
• 7th largest country in the
world by area (3,287,590
km2)
• 2nd largest by population
(1.1 billion people)
• capital: New Delhi
• biggest city: Mumbai
(former Bombay)
• border to Bangladesh,
Bhutan, Myanmar (Burma),
China, Nepal and Pakistan
Languages: English (most
important for national,
political and commercial
communication), Hindi as the
national language (30%) and
14 other official languages
Religions: Hindu: 81.3%,
Muslim: 12%, Christian:
2.3%, Sikh: 1.9% and
others: 2.5%
History of India (the beginning - 1600)
3300 - 1700 BC
1500 BC
Indus Valley Civilization
Aryan tribes invade and
merge with the Dravidian
inhabitants
712 BC
Islam arrives on subcontinent (several
Islamic invasion between 1000 and 1500)
12th century Turkish invasions
15th century European traders arrive
1526
Babur of Timur establishes the Mughal Empire
by 1600
Mughal Dynasty rules most of the Indian subcontinent
History of India (1600-1857)
31 Dec. 1600 British East India Company founded by Elizabeth I.
1526
British set up first trading post in Surat.
Trade in cotton, silk, indigo, saltpetre, tea
and opium. Monopoly over trade in East
Indies, EIC had own military
1757
Victory in the Battle of Plassey established EIC as a
military and commercial power.
1857
Indian Mutiny is defeated by the British, Mughal
Empire is defeated; all political power is transferred
from the East India Company to the British Crown
The British Raj (1858-1947)
The Raj: British control of the political affairs of the whole of India
After the Indian Rebellion the governance of India was organized
in: imperial government in London, central government in Calcutta
( represented by the viceroy) and the provincial governments
1876
Queen Victoria proclaimed Empress of India
Both the direct administration of India by the British crown and the
technological change brought by the industrial revolution, had the
effect of closely intertwining the economies of India and Great
Britain. Railways, roads, canals, and bridges were rapidly built in
India and telegraph links equally rapidly established in order that
raw materials, such as cotton, from India's hinterland could be
transported more efficiently to ports. Likewise, finished goods from
England were transported back just as efficiently, for sale in the
Indian markets.
1885 Indian National Congress founded to unite all Indians and
strengthen bonds with Britain
1920
Satyagraha (Ghandi‘s Non-Cooperation Movement) founded
Campaigns against British rule
1929
Indian Congress calls for independence
1930
(12 March - 6 April) Ghandi’s Salt March
1942 Quit India Movement initiated by Ghandi
1947
(15 August) Indian Independence
Republic of India
15 Aug. 1947 Independence Day and Partition of India and
Pakistan
Jawaharlal Nehru becomes first Prime Minister of
India, Mohammed Ali Jinnah becomes first
Governor-General
1947
Due to sectarian violence over 1 million people were
killed when 6 million Muslims moved to Pakistan
and 5 million Hindus moved to India.
Ghandi opposed partition but had to cooperate to
achieve Indian independence.
30 Jan. 1948 Ghandi is assassinated by Hindu fundamentalist
1950
India becomes republic based on British model
1956
War between India and Pakistan
1966
1971
Indira Ghandi: first woman to become PM.
2nd Indo-Pakistani war leads to 2nd partition: East
Pakistan becomes Bangladesh
1974
India builds the atomic bomb
1975-1977
The Emergency due to political unrest (highly
controversial)
1984
assassination of Indira Ghandi by Sikh bodyguard
Since independence, India has suffered from religious violence,
caste-related violence and insurgencies in various parts, but has been
able to control them through tolerance and constitutional reforms.
Terrorism in India is also a major security problem, especially in
Jammu and Kashmir, North-east India and recently in major cities
like Delhi and Mumbai, 2001 Indian Parliament attack being the
most prominent one.
Despite impressive gains in economic investment and output, India
faces pressing problems such as significant overpopulation,
environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and ethnic and
religious strife.
The Indian Caste System
The Caste System is a rigid class structure based on Hinduism which is
found in India. It is believed that if one leads a good life, following good
karma and dharma, then they will be rewarded by being reincarnated as a
person belonging to the next highest level in the Caste System. However, if
one is wicked during their life, they will be demoted, and possibly even
removed from the Caste System altogether. Outcasts, or Untouchables,
are members of Hindu society thought to have been removed from the Caste
System, with no hope of returning to it, due to their misdeeds in previous
lives. Work that is deemed unclean for all other Hindus is reserved for these
Outcasts.