Indian Civilizations

Indian Civilizations

VARIOUS INDIAN CIVILIZATIONS

Indus Valley Civilization: 

India's first major civilization flourished for 1000 years from around 2500 B.C, along the Indus river valley, which is now in Pakistan. It began to decline around 1700 B.C. The major cities were Mohenjadaro and Harappa and lesser ones were like the city of Lothal, which is now near Ahmedabad, Kalibangan in Rajasthan, Ropar in Punjab. Lothal was specially significant, since it was a port town.

Indian Chronology

Indian Chronology 

KEY YEARS IN THE HISTORY OF INDIA

2500-1500 B.C	:	Indus Valley civilization.
1500-200 B.C	:	Aryan civilization.
2000-1000 B.C	:	Composition of the Upanishads and the great Epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.
600-500 B.C	:	Mahavir and Buddha lay down the principles of Jainism and Buddhism.
326 B.C	:	Alexander, The Great invades India
320 B.C	:	Chandragupta Maurya finds the Mauryan Dynasty.
273 B.C	:	Asoka ascends the throne of Magadha.
261 B.C	:	The Great Kalinga War that transforms Asoka.
60 B.C	:	Rise of the Satavahana Dynasty.
1-100 A.D	:	Jews and Apostle St.Thomas arrive in the Malabar Coast.
78A.D	:	The Saka era begins.
120-144A.D	:	Rule of the Kushan king, Kaniskha.
320A.D	:	Chandragupta 1 finds the Gupta Dynasty
360 A.D	:	Samudragupta establishes a large Empire-the whole of northern India up to the Deccan.
375- 413A.D	:	Reign of Chandragupta 11,the golden age of Indian culture and literature.
405-11A.D	:	Fahien visits India.
1000 A.D	:	Founding of the Chola empire by Rajaraja Chola.
1026 A.D	:	Mahmud of Ghazni ransacks the Somnath temple.
1192 A.D	:	Muhammad Ghori defeats Prithiviraj. Paves way for Muslim rule.
1206 A.D	:	Qutb-ud-din Aibak establishes Slave Dynasty inDelhi.
1288 A.D	:	Marco polo visits India.
1290 A.D	:	Fall of the Slave Dynasty; Beginning of the Khilji Dynasty.
1483-1530 A.D	:	Reign of Mughal emperor Babur.
1498 AD	:	Vascodagama lands at Calicut.
1469-1538 A.D	:	Time of Guru Nanak,the founder of Sikkhism.
1510 A.D	:	Goa captured by Portuguese.
1526 A.D	:	First battle of Panipat.Babar defeats the Lodis and establishes Mughal rule.
1556 A.D	:	Accession of Akbar.
1600 A.D	:	East India Company formed.
1632-1653 A.D	:	Shah Jahan builds the Taj Mahal.
1664 A.D	:	Shivaji becomes king in Delhi.
1739 A.D	:	Nadir Shah invades Delhi.
1742 A.D	:	French rule consolidated in Pondicherry.
1757 A.D	:	Battle of Plassey.
1831 A.D	:	Ranjit Singh mobilizes the power of Sikhs.
1834-35 A.D	:	Lord William Bentick becomes the first Governor General of India.
1853 A.D	:	First Railway between Bombay and Thana.
1857 A.D	:	The Sepoy Mutiny.
1858 A.D	:	Government of India passes from East India Company to the British Crown.
1885 A.D	:	Indian National Congress born.
1906 A.D	:	Founding of the Muslim League.
1911 A.D	:	Capital of India shifted from Calcutta to Delhi.
1920 A.D	:	Non-cooperation movement begins.
1930 A.D	:	Mahatma Gandhi leads the Dandi march in Ahmedabad.
1931A.D	:	Inauguration of New Delhi.
1947 A.D	:	India gets freedom. Nehru is India's new Prime Minister.
1948 A.D	:	Mahatma Gandhi is assassinated in Delhi.
1950 A.D	:	India becomes a Republic.
1965 A.D	:	Hindi proclaimed the National language.
1966-1977 A.D	:	Indira Gandhi is India's Prime Minister.
1965-1971 A.D	:	Indo- Pakistan clashes.
1962 A.D	:	Indo-China war.
1966 A.D	:	Indira Gandhi comes to power.
1975 A.D	:	Emergency declared by Indira Gandhi.
1984 A.D	:	Indira Gandhi assassinated by her bodyguard. Rajiv Gandhi, Indira's son takes over.
1989 A.D	:	General elections, V.P. Singh becomes the Prime Minister.
1991 A.D	:	Rajiv Gandhi assassinated during election campaign, Narasimha Rao becomes the Prime minister.
1992 A.D	:	Babri Masjid brought down. Riots followed in the whole of North India.
1996 A.D	:	National Front comes to power.
1999 A.D	:	BJP wins the elections and are ruling the country till date.
2000 A.D	:	US President Bill Clinton makes groundbreaking visit to India to improve ties.
2001 A.D	:	Massive earthquakes hit western state of Gujarat, leaving at least 30,000 dead.
2002 A.D	:	Retired Scientist and architect of India's missile programme APJ Abdul Kalam elected president.
2003 A.D	:	India, Pakistan agree to resume direct air links and to allow overflights.
2004 A.D	:	Congress wrestles power from the BJP headed by Sonia Gandhi. Manmohan takes in the Prime Minsiters Seat. Former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao dies, aged 83.

RELIGIONS OF INDIA

To an average Indian, religion and philosophy come as handy as weather to the Englishman. An evening does not pass in any town or city without a couple of discourses by pundits on the Vedas or the Gita.