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What are some things every indian should know about Indian history
1. What are some things every Indian
should know about Indian history?
Balaji Viswanathan
Quora.com/Balaji-Viswanathan-2
Text content in:
https://www.quora.com/India/What-are-
some-things-every-Indian-should-know-about-
Indian-history
3. We weren’t always poor – For most of
recorded history India led the world in GDP
4. “India, that is Bharat, shall be a union
of states…” – starts Indian constitution
• Official name in Indian languages is Bharat –
after the mythological emperor of Bharatha
• Vedas use the term Bharatavarsa & Aryavrata
• Japanese called us Tenjiku, Chinese called us
Tianzhu: both meaning heaven
• The name Indu was created by Greeks who
associated us with the river Sindu
• Persians & Arabs called us – Hindustan – from
the root Indu
6. 3000 BC – Start of Indus Valley Civilization: World’s
most planned cities and sanitation systems
7. 2500 BC – Massive cities & invention
of toilets & bathrooms
8. 1500 BCE – Start of Vedic Age – world’s
oldest surviving literature
1. Rig Veda
2. Sama Veda
3. Yajur Veda
4. Atharvana
Veda
9. 800 BC-800 AD: Magadha kingdoms – Birth
of Indian religions – Buddhism & Jainism
10. 500 BC: Takshashila (Taxila) University
– Cambridge of India
The world’s one of the first universities housed 100s of great scholars, including the
master of strategy: Chanakya, Charaka – the master of Ayurvedic medicine and Panini -
master of grammar. All of their works are still used in India. It is near the modern city of
Islamabad, Pakistan.
12. 328 BC: The
unstoppable Alexander
is finally stopped in
Battle of Hydaspes by a
local Indian ruler - King
Purushothama (Porus)
who ruled Purushapura
(Peshawar). Although
he was defeated in the
closely fought war,
Alexander considered
him an equal.
13. 320 BC: Shamed by the lack of support for Porus from
other Indian kings, Kautliya leaves his professor job at
Taxila to become a king maker. His book Arthasastra is a
landmark work in business & military strategy
15. 269 BC: Rise of Emperor Ashoka – the
greatest of Indian kings
Fights a nasty war with Kalinga. The colossal
destruction moves him & becomes a pacifist. He
spread Buddhism throughout Asia (including China
and Sri Lanka).
Gave India its current emblem & the wheel in the flag.
17. 70 BC: Jews fleeing persecution were welcomed. India was the only major region
where Jews faced no anti-semitism. 52 AD: Early Christians were provided asylum.
Later Zorastrians fled Persia in 10th century AD. In modern days, Dalai Lama & Tibetan
Buddhists escaped China in 1959. First civilization to accept in all cases.
18. 320-550 AD: Gupta Age: Golden Age of
India
India produced some of the greatest
thinkers in this period:
1. Aryabhata (left) – Used decimal
system, approximated pi, built
trignometry
2. Kalidasa – master of drama &
theater
3. Vatsayana – wrote Kamasutra
4. Varamihira – a great astronomer
who built important works in
trignometry
19. 6th-13th Century AD: Nalanda
University (modern Bihar)
A great center
of learning for
the ancients
that attracted
students from
Greece, Persia
and China.
20. 3rd century BC –
13th century AD:
Chola dynasty of
South. Built
stunning temples.
Most temples
survive intact
for1000+ years
21. Rajendra Chola (1014 AD): Ruled South east Asia from
South India. Trade & art flourished. Indian culture spread.
22. 12th-15th
Century AD:
Sultanates: Dark
ages in Indian
history. Nation
begins its long
decline
23. 1336-1646 AD: Vijayanagara Empire. Rebuilt
South India after foreign invasions that
destroyed most native temples
South languages – especially Telugu
and Kannada flourished during their
period and Hinduism had its
renaissance. They are famous for the
ruins in Hampi.