India Culture, Map, Flag, Tourist Places

India's history and culture is ancient and dynamic, spanning back to the beginning of human civilization. Beginning with a mysterious culture along the Indus River and in farming communities in the southern lands of India. The history of india is one puncuated by constant integration with migrating peoples and with the diverse cultures that surround India. Placed in the center of Asia, history in india is a crossroads of cultures from China to Europe, and the most significant Asian connection with the cultures of Africa.

India's history is more than just a set of unique developments in a definable process; it is, in many ways, a microcosm of human history itself, a diversity of cultures all impinging on a great people and being reforged into new, syncretic forms. IndHistory.com brings you the india's history starting from ancient history of india to modern indian history. Shown below is the india timeline starting from 3000 BC of ancient indus valley civilization and harappa civilization to 1000 AD of Chola Dynasty of ancient history of india.

The History of India begins with the birth of the Indus Valley Civilization in such sites as Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa, and Lothal, and the coming of the Aryans. These two phases are usually described as the pre-Vedic and Vedic perio ds. It is in the Vedic period that Hinduism first arose: this is the time to which the Vedas are dated.

In the fifth century, large parts of India were united under Ashoka. He also converted to Buddhism, and it is in his reign that Buddhism spread to o ther parts of Asia. It is in the reign of the Mauryas that Hinduism took the shape that fundamentally informs the religion down to the present day. Successor states were more fragmented.

Islam first came to India in the eighth century, and by the 11th century had firmly established itself in India as a political force; the North Indian dynasties of the Lodhis, Tughlaqs, and numerous others, whose remains are visible in Delhi and scattered elsewhere around North India, were finally succeeded by the Mughal empire, under which India once again achieved a large measure of political unity.

The European presence in India dates to the seventeenth century, and it is in the latter part of this century that the Mughal empire began to disintegrate, paving the way for regional states. In the contest for supremacy, the English emerged 'victors', their rule marked by the conquests at the battlefields of Plassey and Buxar.

The Rebellion of 1857-58, which sought to restore Indian supremacy, was crushed; and with the subsequent crowning of Victoria as Empress of India, the incorporation of India into the empire was complete. Successive campaigns had the effect of driving the British out of India in 1947.

Indian Culture is one of the oldest cultures in the world. In modern India, there is remarkable cultural diversity throughout the country. The South, North, and Northeast have their own distinct cultures and almost every state has carved out its own cultural niche. In spite of the diversity, it's bound by a common a thread as one civilization perhaps because of its common history and transfer of age old knowledge in the geographies. Indian culture and religions had great impacts on South East Asia and this is evident in the legacy it left. Indian influences are still very strong in Thai, Malay, Indonesian, Laotian, Khmer, Burmese cultures and many more.

India offers a number of classical dance forms, each of which can be traced to different parts of the country. Each form represents the culture and ethos of a particular region or a group of people. The seven main styles are Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Odissi, Kuchipudi, Mohiniattam, Manipuri and Kathakali.

There are many types of dance in India, from those which are deeply religious in content, often based on old Vedic or Hindu folk traditions, to those which are danced on lighter occasions.

Indian drama and theatre is perhaps as old as its music and dance. Kalidas' plays like Shakuntala and Meghadoot are some of the oldest plays from literary traditions. The tradition of folk theatre is alive in nearly all the linguistic regions of the country. In addition, there is a rich tradition of puppet theatre in rural India. Bollywood is the place to be for drama (often, the melodrama of Bollywood seems to mirror 17th century masnavi).

India has traditionally been a land of faith and spirituality it is home to the adherents of all the major religions of the world. Out of these, four were born in India while the others came with invaders, travellers and missionaries from abroad. While India is the cradle of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, Islam can be compared to an adopted child as it has been part of our social and cultural fabric for centuries. Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Baha’ism also have their followers in India but they are very small in number. Despite the multitude of faiths prevalent in India, the country has by and large, been free of any internecine strife. Hindus constitute an overwhelming majority in the country and it is a creed which is renowned for its catholicity of outlook.

Republic of India
National name: Bharat
Area: 1,269,338 sq mi (3,287,590 sq km)
Population (2005 est.): 1,080,264,388 (growth rate: 1.4%); birth rate: 22.3/1000
Capital : New Delhi
Other Popular cities: Bombay (Mumbai),Calcutta (Kolkata),Madras (Chennai), Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Kanpur, Bangalore
Currency : Rupee
Languages: Hindi (official), English (official), Bengali, Gujarati, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Kannada, Assamese, Sanskrit, Sindhi (all recognized by the constitution). Dialects, 1,600+
Ethnicity: Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000)
Religions: Hindu 81.3%, Islam 12%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other (including Buddhists, Jains, and Parsis) 2.5%
Literacy: 60% (2003 est.)

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