India Of The Indus Valley Civilization

. One factor that creates cultural difference is India’s nine religions. Ancient India consisted of three religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. All three ancient religions are part of the nine religions today. Statistics have shown that 827 million (80.5%) have returned themselves as followers of Hindu religion, 138 million (13.4%) as Muslims or the followers of Islam, 24 million (2.3%) as Christians, 19 million (1.9%) as Sikh, 8 million (0.80%) as Buddhists and 4 million (0.4%) are Jain (Religion). I don’t

As a first generation Indian-American, I am no stranger to being a part of a distinct community while observing two unique cultures. Traveling to India exposed me to a dynamic population with rich diversity comprising of numerous languages and differing religions. Though these individuals may have had differing customs from their neighbors, there were similar ambitions to conquer grinding poverty. This poverty can be clearly noticed by seeing citizens sleeping on floors of a railway station, or the lack of air conditioning in searing hot weather. The frailty and mortality of the human condition was starkly visible in India. As a fellow human, I was humbled not only by the lack of privilege and opportunity of many citizens, but also by their

The modern India demonstrates unity in diversity in which history can provide no parallel, (India Culture, 2009).

Use your packets and other sources from the unit to help you complete your study guide, then use it to study of the test.

In many ways, the pre-imperialism India is somewhat similar to today’s India. Take for example how diverse both are when it comes to cultures and religion. This can be attributed to all of the trades, invasions and immigrants bringing in their own beliefs to the mix. These exchanges brought in many new languages, clothing, food, music and so much more. It truly was - and still is - a bit of a melting pot. (William, n.d.)

Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus River Valley were all civilizations situated near rivers. In Mesopotamia, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers rose annually but were prone to flooding. In Egypt, on the other hand, the Nile River had predictable flooding and was and still is the longest river in the world. It was also easy to traverse due to southern wind patterns and northern currents. In the Indus Valley, people lived near the Indus River, hence the name. Also, they were isolated, surrounded by the Himalayas, just as Egypt was isolated, surrounded by deserts, mountains, seas, and cataracts. On the other hand, Mesopotamia was more open and vulnerable to invasion.

Census, India is the second most populous country in the world with 1.2 billion people. Many

India is a country located in South Asia bordered by the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Bangladesh. Since India is located in the southern part of Asia, they racially can identify as Asian; however, Asia as a whole consists of a wide variety of ethnicities. The U.S. Census Bureau

Spain and the Balkans came under a long period of Muslim rule as did Iran and the middle eastern countries, which were completely subsumed. Indian culture showed remarkable vitality and survived. Perhaps this was a positive aspect of the rigid codification of laws and the caste system. China and Japan were geographically isolated and never faced large scale invasion from Islam, which anyway spread in Indonesia , the Philippines and malaysis, with the waning of Indian power. East Asia was in fact an important sphere of Indian cultural export, with the Srivijaya Empire, the Majpahit Empire and so on ruling for long. Here as Indian power fragmented and declined. Islam and then European commercialist colonialism stepped in. And yet much of Indian culture survived, in Indochina and Indonesia among other places, and Bali is still Hindu. Indeed India did expand as a culture, via Buddhism all over East Asia and Ceylon, where Indian sages spread the word of Buddha. Asoka was a self conscious cultural proselytizer. The terms like Bhumiputra as well as names show the persistence of india cultural forms even in the 20th

The history of the nation of India is a long and interesting one but most westernizes lack any true understanding of it. Like any long standing culture there have been good and bad periods in their history but one period has been identified as the "Golden Age of India (Dehejia, 1993)." This period, which lasted over a hundred years (322 BCE 185 BCE), began when an exiled general by the name of Chandragupta Maurya overthrew the reigning king Dhana Nanda. Once Chandragupta Maurya had established his new government in the Eastern area of India he began expanding his power westward across Central and Western India and, in the process, the religions of Hinduism and Buddhism also began to spread throughout India (Avari, 2007).

Vedas are are old oral epics that were written down long after the Aryan Invasion

As said by Jawaharlal Nehru in a letter dated 20 September 1953, “India is a composite country, composite in many ways, in religion, in customs, in languages, in ways of life”. It is a community which is known for its cultural diversity across the world. With having 29 states and 7 Union territories, India also has 22 different languages and 11 different religions practiced by a diverse group of people. It is a community where holidays and festivals are celebrated on a wide scale, irrespective of caste, and beliefs. Where on one hand the community celebrates Eid ul- Fitr, Bakr- Id, Buddha Jayanti, and Baisakhi, there on the other, it also enthusiastically participates in the festivals like Diwali, Holi, Ganesh Chaturthi, and Christmas. Not only the community shares different festivals but also share diverse places of worship. Where on one side there is a Temple and Gurudwara, there on the other is Mosque and Church. This brings an admirable combination of languages, rituals, festivals, cuisines, clothes, and principles in one diverse community, India. The above facts prove the fact that India has a very rich cultural heritage and the diversity in culture has been one of the strengths for development in

The Indus valley civilizations was an intriguing and sophisticated ancient culture and also a major contributor in the development of what later came to be known as “Hinduism” . The civilization was founded “accidentally” in the 19th century when the British engineers were searching for ballast for a railway line in north-western India (which is now modern day Pakistan) and found the remains of what seemed to be an ancient city which was only known only to locals until then. In the early 20th century, when other similar sites were uncovered, archaeologists realized the significance of the discovery, which turned out to be one of the most prospering civilizations of the ancient world. It is called The Indus Valley Civilization because most of its settlements are situated along the banks of the Indus River .The largest and most important of this civilization were its two prospering cities known as Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. These names are of post–Indus origin as they were given with reference to the towns built much later on the ruins of these ancient cities. During their prosperous period,, Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa had a population of around 40-50 thousand, which was a lot by ancient standards. Both of these cities were highly organized and strategically planned, and displayed remarkably similar features during their excavation. Given the structure of the cities, archaeologists suggest that there may have been a central authority for code enforcement and the Harappan

     India was an ancient civilization that had many rulers and empires. The first rulers were the Harappans. They ruled from 3500 BC through 1500 BC. The Aryans took over the Harappan empire around 1500 BC. Then, Alexander the Great came and took over control of India. After ruling for only a couple of years, he died. A few years later the Mauryan Empire took over. Next was the Ashoka. Finally, the Guptas ruled from 320 BC through 535 AD.     

A few disadvantages of India’s social system are that Religion, caste, and language are major determinants of social organizations. According to the US Department of State-Background Notes website, even though the government has declared the caste system as illegal, it still has a presence in occupational and societal hierarchies (The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs, 2010).