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Índia: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Índia
Modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent no later than 55,000 years ago, making it one of the earliest places outside Africa where Homo sapiens established a permanent foothold. Genetic evidence suggests that these early migrants traveled along the warm and productive coastal lands of the Persian Gulf and northern Indian Ocean, eventually reaching the subcontinent between 75,000 and 35,000 years ago. This ancient migration created a region of profound genetic diversity, second only to Africa itself, as these groups lived in varying forms of isolation as hunter-gatherers for millennia. The earliest known modern human fossils in South Asia date to about 30,000 years ago, yet the genetic legacy of these first arrivals remains embedded in the DNA of the billions who inhabit the land today. Their long occupation laid the foundation for a society that would eventually become the most populous in the world, yet its origins lie in the quiet, nomadic footsteps of people who crossed ancient seas to find a new home.
Cities of the Indus
Settled life emerged on the subcontinent in the western margins of the Indus river basin 9,000 years ago, evolving gradually into the Indus Valley Civilisation of the third millennium BCE. Centred around cities such as Mohenjo-daro, Harappa, Dholavira, Ganweriwala, and Rakhigarhi, this civilisation flourished with standardised weights, steatite seals, a written script, urban planning, and public works. The people of this era domesticated grain-producing plants like barley and animals including humped zebu cattle, creating a new agro-pastoral economy that supported networks of towns and villages. Despite the sophistication of their urban planning, the civilisation left behind no clear record of a single ruler or emperor, suggesting a unique form of social organisation. The characteristic features of their culture included pottery styles, terracotta human figures, and animal statuettes, with the famous Pashupati seal excavated in Mohenjo-daro in 1928, 29 standing as the best-known artifact. This civilisation, which flourished between 2600 BCE and 1900 BCE, represents one of the earliest examples of urban life in human history, yet its script remains undeciphered, leaving many questions about its society and beliefs unanswered.
The Vedic Hymns
Between 1500 BCE and 1200 BCE, an archaic form of Sanskrit diffused into India from the northwest, carried by Indo-Aryan-speaking tribes migrating east from what is today northern Afghanistan and across the Punjab region. The evidence of this migration is found in the Rig Veda, the oldest scripture associated with what later became Hinduism, which consists of 1,028 hymns composed originally for recital during rituals and for the invocation of and communication with the Indo-Aryan gods. These hymns were orally composed and transmitted, without the use of script, in an unbroken line of transmission from teacher to student that was formalised early on, ensuring an impeccable textual transmission superior to the classical texts of other cultures. The Rig Veda, composed before the introduction and massive use of iron, preserved not just the actual words but even the long-lost musical accent, functioning as a tape-recording of the era. This oral tradition established the foundation for what would become Hinduism, with gods like Viśnu and Śiva (under the name Rudra) already present in the Rig Veda, though in roles both lesser than and different from those they would later play. The settling of the Ganges river plain took place during the next millennium, when large swathes of the river system's adjoining regions were deforested, at times by setting fires, or later by employing iron implements, and prepared for agriculture.
When did modern humans first arrive on the Indian subcontinent?
Modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent no later than 55,000 years ago. Genetic evidence suggests these early migrants reached the subcontinent between 75,000 and 35,000 years ago. The earliest known modern human fossils in South Asia date to about 30,000 years ago.
What were the key features of the Indus Valley Civilisation in India?
The Indus Valley Civilisation flourished between 2600 BCE and 1900 BCE with standardised weights, steatite seals, a written script, urban planning, and public works. Cities such as Mohenjo-daro, Harappa, Dholavira, Ganweriwala, and Rakhigarhi served as centres for this civilisation. The Pashupati seal was excavated in Mohenjo-daro in 1928, 29 and remains the best-known artifact from this era.
Who was the founder of the Maurya Empire in India and when did he reign?
The Maurya Empire was founded by Chandragupta Maurya, and his grandson Ashoka reigned from approximately 268 BCE to 232 BCE. Ashoka embraced Buddhism after the Kalinga War and promoted its tenets through edicts scattered across South Asia. His transformation from a conqueror to a proponent of non-violence marked a pivotal moment in the history of the subcontinent.
When was the Mughal Empire established in India and what were its economic policies?
Northern India fell to Central Asian warriors in the early 16th century, resulting in the establishment of the Mughal Empire. The Mughal state derived most revenues from agriculture and mandated that taxes be paid in the well-regulated silver currency. This economic policy caused peasants and artisans to enter larger markets and facilitated economic expansion during the 17th century.
When did India gain independence and when did it become a federal republic?
The British Indian Empire was partitioned into two independent dominions in 1947, creating a Hindu-majority dominion of India and a Muslim-majority dominion of Pakistan. India has been a federal republic since 1950, governed through a democratic parliamentary system. The population grew from 361 million in 1951 to over 1.4 billion in 2023.
How many biodiversity hotspots does India contain and when were national parks first established?
India contains four of the world's 34 biodiversity hotspots and is home to 172 IUCN-designated threatened animal species. The system of national parks and protected areas was first established in 1935 and has been expanded substantially since then. India now hosts more than five hundred wildlife sanctuaries and eighteen biosphere reserves.
The rise of the first loose-knit geographically extensive power in South Asia, the Maurya Empire, was set against the backdrop of two new ethical and social systems: Jainism based on the teachings of Mahavira and Buddhism on those of the Buddha. Both religions stressed non-violence and abjured animal sacrifices conducted in Brahmanism, and birth into a fixed hereditary varna. By living ethically, lay people could rise socially and morally in these religions. During the rule of the founder's grandson, Ashoka, who reigned from approximately 268 BCE to 232 BCE, the empire briefly controlled the major urban hubs and arteries of the subcontinent, except in the deep south. The empire's period was notable for creativity in art, architecture, inscriptions, and produced texts, but also for the declining rights of women in the mainstream Indo-Aryan speaking regions. After the Kalinga War in which his troops visited great violence on the region, Ashoka embraced Buddhism and promoted its tenets in edicts scattered across South Asia. As the edicts forbade both the killing of wild animals and the destruction of forests, Ashoka is seen by some modern environmental historians as an early embodiment of that ethos. His transformation from a conqueror to a proponent of non-violence marked a pivotal moment in the history of the subcontinent, influencing the spread of Buddhism throughout Asia.
The Mughal Synthesis
In the early 16th century, northern India, then under mainly Muslim rulers, fell again to the superior mobility and firepower of a new generation of Central Asian warriors, resulting in the Mughal Empire. The Mughal state's economic policies, deriving most revenues from agriculture and mandating that taxes be paid in the well-regulated silver currency, caused peasants and artisans to enter larger markets. The relative peace maintained by the empire during much of the 17th century was a factor in India's economic expansion, resulting in greater patronage of painting, literary forms, textiles, and architecture. Eschewing tribal bonds and Islamic identity, especially under Akbar, the Mughals united their far-flung realms through loyalty, expressed through a Persianised culture, to an emperor who had near-divine status. Newly coherent social groups in northern and western India, such as the Marathas, the Rajputs, and the Sikhs, gained military and governing ambitions during Mughal rule, which, through collaboration or adversity, gave them both recognition and military experience. Expanding commerce during Mughal rule gave rise to new Indian commercial and political elites along the coasts of southern and eastern India. As the empire disintegrated, many among these elites were able to seek and control their own affairs, setting the stage for the arrival of European trading companies.
The Cost of Freedom
The year 1919 was a watershed in the modern history of India, bringing the repressive Rowlatt bills and the catastrophe of the Amritsar massacre, which led many Indians to choose a novel course of political action, that of 'non-violent non-cooperation', and a new leader, Mohandas K. Gandhi, only recently returned from twenty years in South Africa. Gandhi would endure as a lasting symbol of moral leadership for the entire world community, becoming the leading genius of the later and ultimately successful campaign for India's independence. In 1947, the British Indian Empire was partitioned into two independent dominions, a Hindu-majority dominion of India and a Muslim-majority dominion of Pakistan, accompanied by a large-scale loss of life and an unprecedented migration. India has been a federal republic since 1950, governed through a democratic parliamentary system, and is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society. The population grew from 361 million in 1951 to over 1.4 billion in 2023, while nominal per capita income increased from US$64 annually to US$2,601, and literacy rate from 16.6% to 74%. Despite these achievements, India has been hamstrung by persistent poverty, both rural and urban; religious- and caste-related violence; Maoist-inspired Naxalite insurgencies; and separatism in Jammu and Kashmir and in Northeast India.
The Living Wilderness
India is a megadiverse country, a term employed for 17 countries that display high biological diversity and contain many species exclusively indigenous, or endemic, to them. India is the habitat for 8.6% of all mammals, 13.7% of bird species, 7.9% of reptile species, 6% of amphibian species, 12.2% of fish species, and 6.0% of all flowering plant species. Fully a third of Indian plant species are endemic, and the country contains four of the world's 34 biodiversity hotspots. India's most dense forests, such as the tropical moist forest of the Andaman Islands, the Western Ghats, and Northeast India, occupy approximately 3% of its land area. Among the Indian subcontinent's notable indigenous trees are the astringent Azadirachta indica, or neem, which is widely used in rural Indian herbal medicine, and the luxuriant Ficus religiosa, or peepul, which is displayed on the ancient seals of Mohenjo-daro and under which the Buddha is recorded in the Pali canon to have sought enlightenment. India contains 172 IUCN-designated threatened animal species, or 2.9% of endangered forms, including the endangered Bengal tiger and the Ganges river dolphin. In response to the pervasive and ecologically devastating human encroachment of recent decades, the system of national parks and protected areas, first established in 1935, was expanded substantially, with India hosting more than five hundred wildlife sanctuaries and eighteen biosphere reserves.