SS8 – Asia01
- India
India
India is a large country that occupies most of a peninsula
called the Indian subcontinent, sometimes called “South
Asia”
India has been home to civilizations for over 3000 years
and today is one of the world’s most populated countries.
Buddism is an Indian religion derived from Hinduism
India has a long history of conquerors and kings
Each conqueror of India has left its mark on its people
and civilizations
It was the Aryans conquerors who introduce the caste
social ranking system which is still used today
Greeks, Persians, Chinese and British have all ruled over
part or all of the Indian subcontinent at one time.
SS8 – Asia01
- India
India
Directions: Read the attached article “India – A Brief History” by Bill Trickey and answer
the following questions on a separate piece of paper.
1. Provide definitions for the following vocabulary words;
Caste System
Convert
Legacy
Civil Disobedience
2. Answer the following questions using COMPLETE SENTENCES;
a.
What was the name of the Greek that invaded India in 325 B.C. and how did he
influence India? (2mks for quality of response and inclusion of details)
b. In your own words, describe the differences between the Hindu religion and
Buddism. (2mks for quality of response and inclusion of details)
c.
Where did the Muslims come from and what is their legacy? (2mks for quality of
response and inclusion of details)
d. Who is Mohandis Gandhi and what did he do for the people of India and the rest
of the world? (2mks for quality of response and inclusion of details)
3. Use the map found on page 341 of your text or the internet to help you
complete the attached map.
You will be marked out of 10 for your ability to label all of the major
countries and water bodies of the Indian subcontinent, and for the quality
of your work.
Total: ____/22
3. On the map provided, label the following countries and major water bodies. You will be
marked out of ten for accuracy and quality of work
Afghanistan
Nepal
Arabian Sea
Indian Subcontinent Countries
Pakistan
China
Bangladesh
India
Major Water Bodies
Indian Ocean
SS8 – Asia01
-
India – A Brief History
India – A Brief History
The modern day country of India lies on
the Indian subcontinent. India’s
neighbours on the subcontinent include
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and
off the southern tip of India is Sri Lanka.
India has been home to people and
civilizations since 3000 B.C.. The first
civilization on the subcontinent was called
the Harappan Civilization and it lasted until
around 2000 B.C.. The Harappans were
mainly farmers, but created large cites,
used a form of hieroglyphic writing and used bronze as a tool and for weapons.
It was the Aryans
After the Harappan
would introduced the
civilization ended, India was
caste system to India
invaded by land by first the
that still persists
Aryans in 1500 B.C. and then
today. The caste
most notably by the
system is a class based
Macedonian/Greek,
social order where your
Alexander the Great in 325
standing in society is
B.C.. Alexander didn’t stay
Alexander the Great
determined by your
very long though, he stayed
wealth or family status.
a couple of years and then left for home, dying along the way in
Babylon. Alexander did however, have a lasting effect on India.
Alexander had left several thousand soldiers to keep an eye on the Indians and a number of
these soldiers were educated scholars, writers, artists and sculptors. They built cities in
Afghanistan and in the Indus Valley in India . Both the Greeks and Indians learned a lot
about each other’s cultures during this time.
Buddism is a religion that
branched off from Hinduism.
Hindus believed that a
person’s life was a series of
reincarnations (coming back to
life as another being after
your death). A young prince
named Budda believed that a
person could get off the
reincarnation wheel if you lead
a life that was good and pure.
Buddism thrives today in many
parts of Asia.
After Alexander, a man called Chandragupta, and his son
created the Mauryan Empire. Chandragupta’s grandson
Ashkota eventually inherited the empire, and it was Ashkota
who is credited with converting the majority of Indians and
others throughout South Asia at that time, to the ancient
religion of Buddism. Although most Indians would turn back
to Hinduism after Ashkota’s death and the collapse of the
Mauryan Empire, Buddism is still followed by millions in Asia.
For the next 1000 years India was divided and ruled by a
number of smaller kingdoms. The Guptan Kingdom was the
largest and had the most influence at this time
until the Muslims invaded in 1100 A.D.
The Muslims took control of most of northern
India. Often when a conqueror comes to a new
land, they often also bring their religion. History
is also full of examples of how rulers enforced or
try to convert the local
Convert – is to
people to their religious
change ones
belief. This was perhaps one
religious beliefs
of the longest lasting legacies of the Persian Muslim invasion of the
Indian subcontinent, the entrenchment of the Islamic faith. Modern
Legacy – An
influence that
day Islamic countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan can trace their
remains after the
roots back to the Muslim invasion of the Indian sub-continent in 1100
person or person’s
A.D..
are gone.
The Muslims were to have the greatest influence in the Indian
subcontinent until the arrival of the Europeans. First, with the Portuguese in 1502 and then
eventually by the British who took controlling influence over India from the Portuguese in
1612. It was the British who would claim India as part of
the British Empire and would control most of its peoples
either directly or through smaller, regional kings.
Gandhi
India gained its full independence from foreign rule in
1947. Under pressure from the spiritual and political
leadership of Mohandas Gandhi, the British surrendered
control of both India and Pakistan. The British influence
on India and Pakistan can still be seen today in their
adoption of parliamentary
democracy and by still being part of
Civil disobedience –
the British Commonwealth of
when citizens of a
country or state
Nations, along with Canada,
knowingly and willingly
Australia and New Zealand.
Mohandas Gandhi was a great leader. Originally trained in London as
a lawyer, Ghandhi eventually returned to India and through a
philosophy of non-violence, won independence for India and its
peoples. Today, Ghandi’s teachings of non-violence are followed by
many and set the standard for peaceful civil disobedience around the
world.
break a law that they
belief to be unjust,
fully accepting any
punishment that may
occur as a result, in
an attempt to get the
government to change
that law.