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Indian history can be roughly divided into the 6 periods of Ancient India, Medieval India, the years of the Company, colonial times as part of The Raj, the struggle for Independence and finally, post-Independence. India, the geopolitical entity as she stands today is a post-Independence phenomenon. It was as recently as "the stroke of the midnight hour" on 15^th August 1947 when Nehru pronounced her "tryst with destiny" that India woke "to life and freedom".

One of man’s oldest civilizations was the settlement at the Indus Valley. The degree of sophistication that archaeologists found in their settlements almost belies the fact that these people lived almost 4000 years ago. The civilization had meticulously planned cities; streets met at right angles, the sewage system puts present day India to shame, and the tools and large granaries show that they knew more than a thing or two about agriculture. Seals of the Indus Valley have on them the only ancient script that is yet to be deciphered. The most important Indus Valley cities of Harappa and Mohenjodaro are in present day Pakistan.

The civilization died out in the 1500 BC. The reasons are a still a matter of contention and they range from the coming of the central Asian Aryan tribes to the changing of the course of the Indus River. While both these are true, it’s difficult to ascertain that these are what brought the end of the Dravidian civilization in the Indus valley. By 300 BC the previously nomadic Aryans had settled down in the region of north India. They had brought with them Sanskrit, a member of the Indo-European family of languages akin to Latin and Greek. They also brought the spoken literature of the Hindu life-philosophy, horse-driven chariots and a social system of caste differentiation.

The following millennium saw the waxing and waning of empires. In the north the great dynasties were those of the Mauryas (300-200 BC) during which period Buddhism received royal patronage, and the Guptas during whose reign the subcontinent is said to have enjoyed a "golden period" (300-500 AD). The intervening period had new settlers like the Shakas and Kushanas forming lesser kingdoms in the area around the Ganges. The influence of these Aryan kingdoms rarely reached the south. Regional dynasties like the Andhras, Cheras, Pandyas and Cholas ruled kingdoms in the south of the Deccan Plateau and lower down the peninsula. When unable to withstand the pressures of central Asian invaders the Gupta Empire crumbled, the north got divided into strong regional kingdoms (except for a brief period from 606 to 647 under the poet king Harshavardhan). This was the time that the Rajputs grew to prominence in the west.

Within 300 years of being founded in the 7^th century, Islam had reached the western parts. But it wasn’t until the coming of Turkish-Afghan raiders like Mahmud of Ghazni (997 to 1030 AD) and Muhammad Ghauri (in 1192) that Islam made significant inroads to the heart of north India. The first Muslim empire was set up by a general of Ghauri’s, Qutb-ud-din Aibak, which is when the Delhi Sultanate came into being. The temptation of privileges extended to the faithful, and Hinduism’s own severe caste system made many convert.

The Delhi Sultanate was ridden with internal strife and saw no less than 5 dynasties come to power between 1206 and 1526. In 1526 a young Central Asian warlord who had already captured Kabul, set his eyes on the vast land that lay to the south. Tales of riches had reached his ears and Babur, descendent of Genghis Khan and Timurlane made good his ancestral legacy by defeating the Sultanate’s armies in the Battle of Panipat.

In a land of oppressive heat, and such a variety of people that he could hardly make sense of it, Babur founded the Mughal dynasty. Babur began the work of bringing the delicate patterns of Islamic art, the detailed craft of miniature painting, the severe symmetry of formal garden craft to Delhi. Till Aurangzeb, the 6^th king of the dynasty, the Mughals had a liberal policy of religious tolerance and that helped them weave together a largely stable and tight knit kingdom that spanned a larger territory than any previously had. It was a time of plenty and emperors like Jehangir (1605-1627) and Shah Jehan (1628-1657) could focus their attentions on art, architecture and culture. It was the time when the Taj Mahal was built, as was the Red Fort, and the coffers contained the Koh-i-Noor and the ruby and emerald studded Peacock Throne. Aurangzeb’s religious zeal won him widespread resentment. The Mughal Empire began unravelling, unable to withstand the Maratha chieftain Shivaji’s guerrilla warfare. The last really effective Mughal king was Bahadur Shah (1707-1712). After him Mughal power and prestige declined steadily.

The first British East India Company officials landed in India in 1602. Eventually their interests ceased to be purely mercantile as they assumed more political roles. After the Revolt of 1857, the Crown took over the reigns and India officially came to be a part of the vast British Empire. The Raj settled into ruling this vast dominion and did so till in 1947 when the country was handed back to the leaders of the freedom movement. Gandhi and Nehru led the largely non-violent movement from the front with the backing of Congress and the entire nation. However, partly because of the British ‘divide-and-rule’ policy and internal contradictions in the national movement itself, a communal divide came to be. When India finally achieved freedom, it was combined with the trauma of partition and the formation of Pakistan.

Nehru became the first Prime Minister of India on 15^th August 1947 at the head of a Congress government. The Congress hegemony ended in the late 60s, but it came to power intermittently through the 70s and 80s. The Nehru legacy was strong enough to make both his daughter Indira (who declared the infamous internal Emergency), and grandson Rajiv, Prime Minister. In the 90s the era of coalition politics had begun and democracy had come of age.

One of the oldest civilization in the world, India boasts of a rich culture, history and heritage. The history of India dates back to the beginning of the human civilization. Indian History is broadly divided into Ancient, Medieval and the Modern History. Because of its rich culture and civilization, History of North Indian has not only been dynamic but interesting. Tours of North India offers to provide you with online information on History of North India, India.

Ancient History of India has been divided into the Vedic and the pre Vedic period. Vedas date back to the Vedic period and it is during this period that Hinduism first arose. In the 4th and the 5th century BC Asoka of the Maurya dynasty ruled large parts of north India. Whole of India was mainly unified under the Gupta dynasty and this period in the Indian History was also known as the Golden Age. Rajasthan an integral part of North India was ruled by the Rajputana clan from about 700 AD. Rajasthan was ruled by the Pratihars during 750-1000 AD. Between 1000-1200 AD, Chaulkyas, Parmars and Chauhans fought for the Supremacy of Rajasthan.

In the medieval era or around 11th century BC with the invasion of the Turks and Afghans, Delhi Sultanate established its hold in India. Lodhi's, Tughlaq's, Sayyids etc. are the dynasties that ruled the northern part of India during the Delhi Sultanate era. In the early 16th century the descendants of Genghis Khan established the Mughal dynasty. During the Mughal rule the most of India was again politically united as a single entity.

In the medieval period, parts of Rajasthan also came under the Muslim rulers. Ajmer, Nagaur, Ranthambore etc. were some of the areas ruled by them. Mewar emerged as one of the most powerful states of Rajasthan during this time. Rajasthan was politically united during the Mughal Period but with the disintegration of the Mughal Empire, Rajasthan too was politically disintegrated. With the decline of the Mughals, the Marathas established their hold in Rajasthan and with the beginning of the 19th century, Pindaris took control of the area.

In the later part of the 17th century (the modern period), with the disintegration of the Mughal Empire, the British started establishing its hold through the East India Company and by 1850 controlled most of India. In 1857 the rebellious sepoy mutiny in north India caused the British Parliament to transfer all political powers from the east India Company to the crown.

By the end of the 19th century efforts were made towards establishment of self-government in British India and Indian councilors were appointed to advise the British Viceroy. Later the Indians were also given a say in the legislative council.

In 1920 with the coming of the Mahatma Gandhi in the Indian freedom struggle scenario, the class movement was transformed into a mass movement. Non-Cooperation, Civil Disobedience, Quit India etc. were some of the movement that played an important role in the attainment of freedom struggle. On 15th August, India became independent and a dominion within the commonwealth. Jawaharlal Nehru became the first Prime Minister of India and Rajendra Prasad the first President.

At the time of Independence, The Rajputana State of Rajasthan comprised 19 princely states, which were later formed into the present state of Rajasthan after a long process of integration.

Espionage and intelligence appears in the recorded history of the Indus Valley as early as the fifth century. The modern nation of India gained its independence from Britain in 1947. The withdrawal of the British colonial government left India with little governmental infrastructure, and the nation embarked on an ambitious plan to create a new national government. Indian independence, however, also sparked resistance from ethnic groups on the Indian Subcontinent, such as the large Muslim community. As a result of the developing conflict, India quickly established military and intelligence forces.

India's intelligence community is divided into a traditional structure that separates military and civilian, and foreign and domestic intelligence. Though each agency is charged with its own mission, the government has provided a means to facilitate the sharing of information between members of the intelligence community. The Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) processes and analyzes data gathered by both civilian and military intelligence agencies and coordinates joint operations. The National Security Council acts as liaison between the government's executive branch and the intelligence services, advising leadership on intelligence and security issues.

The main civilian intelligence agency in India is the Intelligence Bureau (IB). The IB focuses on domestic intelligence, but the exact structure and operations of the agency are largely unknown. Political espionage is illegal in India, and police gathered wiretapping information is inadmissible as evidence in court proceedings. However, the IB conducts regular electronic monitoring of telephone communications, and mail surveillance, despite occasional admonitions from Parliament. The Central Bureau of Investigations handles most criminal investigations, often acting on initial information provided by one of the IB's many departments. Increasing political tensions with neighboring Pakistan altered the focus of IB operations in recent years, with increasing attention paid to the protection and surveillance of national borders.

The Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) is India's primary agency responsible for foreign intelligence. RAW operations are largely focused on espionage against Pakistan. With the addition of both India and Pakistan to the growing cadre of the world's nuclear powers, India's RAW conducts counter-intelligence operations, as well as technological and remote espionage, against Pakistani defense and military interests. The RAW is not subject to Parliamentary review, and its actions are highly secret. The Indian government also used RAW resources to aid predominantly-Hindu Bangladesh's 1971 quest for independence from Muslim Pakistan. Most recently, the RAW aided international antiterrorism efforts by providing the United States and British governments information on the al-Qaeda terrorist network and its strongholds in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Military intelligence is conducted by the Army Directorate of Military Intelligence. The agency is the weakest of India's intelligence community, but often aids civilian intelligence operations. The Army also maintains the Joint Cipher Bureau, the main code breaking department of Indian intelligence.

To the northwest, the independent Muslim nation of Pakistan claims the Kashmir region of India. The two nations have never resolved the border dispute, and tensions recently reached a climax when both nations declared themselves nuclear powers and began testing weapons of mass destruction. The nuclear programs of India and Pakistan raise interesting questions about the efficacy of current non-proliferation measures and the increasing global prevalence of industrial and scientific espionage. The increasing instability of the region has aroused the concern of the international community and the United Nations Security Council.

The annual Castrol Awards for Cricketing Excellence have honoured the past; present and future of Indian cricket since their inception in 1997-98.

The three main awards presented during the function are:
Castrol Indian Cricketer of the Year
Castrol Junior Cricketer of the Year
Castrol Lifetime Achievement in Cricket Award

Special Awards in different categories have also been given away in the past.

In keeping with their standing in Indian cricket, the awards functions were held in India’s major cricketing centres from 1997-98 to 2003-04. In 2006, the award function was divided into two segments; the first was held in Mumbai and the second in Johannesburg.

• 1997-98 Mumbai
• 1998-99 Delhi
• 1999-00 Mumbai
• 2000-01 Bangalore
• 2001-02 Chennai
• 2002-03 Bangalore
• 2003-04 Kolkata
• 2005-06 Mumbai, Johannesburg (South Africa)

WINNERS DOWN THE YEARS

Castrol Indian Cricketer of the Year

• Rahul Dravid - 1998-99, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04 (shared), 2004-05

• Sachin Tendulkar - 1997-98, 1999-00, 2000-01, 2003-04 (shared)

Castrol Junior Cricketer of the Year:

• 1997-98: Jyoti Yadav (UP)
• 1998-99: Rajesh Pawar (Mumbai)
• 1999-00: Yuvraj Singh (Punjab)*
• 2000-01: Ajay Ratra (Haryana)*
• 2001-02: Parthiv Patel (Gujarat)*
• 2002-03: Ambati Rayudu (Hyderabad)
• 2003-04: Shikhar Dhawan( Delhi)
• 2004-05: Piyush Chawla (UP)*

* - went on to represent India at the highest level

Ambati Rayudu captained the India under-19 team in 2002-03. Rajesh Pawar was part of the Indian Test team that toured Bangladesh in May 2006.

The likes of Mohammed Kaif and Irfan Pathan have been nominated for the award.

Castrol Lifetime Achievement in Cricket Award

• 1999-00: Capt. Vijay Hazare

• 2000-01: P.R. Umrigar

• 2001-02: B.S. Chandrasekhar
• 2002-03: Sunil Gavaskar
• 2003-04: Kapil Dev
• 2004-05: Erapalli Prasanna

Special Awards

• 1999-00: The Mumbai team that won the Ranji Trophy for the 34th time
• 2000-01: The Karnataka team that won the Ranji Trophy in 1973-74
• 2001-02: Diana Edulji and Mithali Raj for their outstanding contribution to women's cricket

• 2002-03: Sourav Ganguly (captain), John Wright (coach),Andrew Leipus (physio) and Adrian Le Roux (trainer) for making a difference to Indian cricket

• 2003-04:
  The Bengal Ranji Trophy team of 1989-90
  Virender Sehwag for becoming India s first triple centurion in Tests
  Anil Kumble for becoming India s highest wicket-taker in Tests

• 2004-05 (Mumbai) Jhulan Goswami for her performances in England in 2006
• 2004-05 (Johannesburg) Sachin Tendulkar for scoring his record 35th Test hundred
  Best Batsman: Gary Kirsten
  Best All-rounder: Shaun Pollock
  Best bowler: Allan Donald

Fisherwomen and Stone goddesses

Although the archipelago which developed into the modern city of Mumbai was inhabited whenever history chanced on it, we are forced to imagine the lives of these early Mumbaikars, because the islands lay outside of the sweep of history and beyond the marches of armies for millennia. Stone age implements have been found at several sites in these islands. Later, around the third century BC, the coastal regions, and presumably the islands, were part of the Magadhan empire ruled by the emperor Ashok. The empire ebbed, leaving behind some Buddhist monks and the deep-sea fishermen called Kolis, whose stone goddess, Mumbadevi, gave her name to the modern metropolis.

Between the 9th and 13th centuries, the Indian ocean, and especially the Arabian Sea, was the world's center of commerce. Deep sea crafts made of wood tied together with ropes transported merchandise between Aden, Calicut, Cambay and cities on the West coast of Africa. Marco Polo, Ibn Batuta and other travelers passed by without ever making a landfall in these islands.

Bombay changed hands many times. The islands belonged to the Silhara dynasty till the middle of the 13th century. The oldest structures in the archipelago--- the caves at Elephanta, and part of the Walkeshwar temple complex probably date from this time. Modern sources identify a 13th century Raja Bhimdev who had his capital in Mahikawati-- present-day Mahim, and Prabhadevi. Presumably the first merchants and agriculturists settled in Mumbai at this time. In 1343 the island of Salsette, and eventually the whole archipelago, passed to the Sultan of Gujarat. The mosque in Mahim dates from this period.

The Slow Turn West

In 1508 Francis Almeida sailed into the deep natural harbour of the island his countrymen came to call Bom Bahia (the Good Bay). Bahadur Shah of Gujarat was forced to cede the main islands to the Portuguese in 1534, before he was murdered by the proselytizing invaders. The Portuguese built a fort in Bassein. They were not interested in the islands, although some fortifications and a few chapels were built for the converted fishermen. The St. Andrew's church in Bandra dates from this period.

For years, the Dutch and the British tried to get information on the sea route to India--- often by spying. Even the reports of such spies never bother to mention Bombay. Eventually, in 1661, Catherine of Braganza brought these islands to Charles II of England as part of her marriage dowry. The British East India Company received it from the crown in 1668, founded the modern city, and shortly thereafter moved their main holdings from Surat to Bombay. George Oxenden was the first governor of a Bombay whose place in history was finally secure.

The web of commerce which had supported the civilisation of the Indian Ocean littoral had died with the coming of the Europeans. The Mughal empire in Delhi was not interested in navies-- despising the Portuguese and the British as ``merchant princes''. The second governor of Bombay, Gerald Aungier, saw the opportunity to develop the islands into a centre of commerce to rival other ports still in the hands of local kingdoms. He offered various inducement to skilled workers and traders to move to this British holding. The opportunities for business attracted many Gujarati communities--- the Parsis, the Bohras, Jews and banias from Surat and Diu. The population of Bombay was estimated to have risen from 10,000 in 1661 to 60,000 in 1675.

Through the 18th century British power and influence grew slowly but at the expense of the local kingdoms. The migration of skilled workers and traders to the safe-haven of Bombay continued. The shipbuilding industry moved to Bombay from Surat with the coming of the Wadias. Artisans from Gujarat, such as goldsmiths, ironsmiths and weavers moved to the islands and coexisted with the slave trade from Madagascar. During this period the first land-use laws were set up in Bombay, segregating the British part of the islands from the black town.

With increasing prosperity and growing political power following the 1817 victory over the Marathas, the British embarked upon reclamations and large scale engineering works in Bombay. The sixty years between the completion of the vellard at Breach Candy (1784) and the construction of the Mahim Causeway (1845) are the heroic period in which the seven islands were merged into one landmass. These immense works, in turn, attracted construction workers, like the Kamathis from Andhra, who began to come to Bombay from 1757 on. A regular civil administration was put in place during this period. In 1853 a 35-km long railway line between Thana and Bombay was inaugurated-- the first in India. Four years later, in 1854, the first cotton mill was founded in Bombay. With the cotton mills came large scale migrations of Marathi workers, and the chawls which accommodated them. The city had found its shape.

Dreams of Power

Following the first war of Independence in 1857, the Company was accused of mismanagement, and Bombay reverted to the British crown. With the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, and the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, exports, specially cotton, from Bombay became a major part of the colonial economy. The Great Indian Peninsular Railway facilitated travel within India. This network of commerce and communication led to an accumulation of wealth. This was channelled into building an Imperial Bombay by a succession of Governors. Many of Bombay's famous landmarks, the Flora Fountain and the Victoria Terminus, date from this time. The water works, including the Hanging Gardens and the lakes were also built at this time. The Bombay Municipal Corporation was founded in 1872. However, this facade of a progressive and well-governed city was belied by the plague epidemics of the 1890s. This dichotomy between the city's symbols of power and prosperity and the living conditions of the people who make it so continues even today.

The construction of Imperial Bombay continued well into the 20th century. Landmarks from this period are the Gateway of India, the General Post Office, the Town Hall (now the Asiatic Library) and the Prince of Wales Museum. Bombay expanded northwards into the first suburbs, before spreading its nightmare tentacles into the the northern suburbs. The nearly 2000 acres reclaimed by the Port Trust depressed the property market for a while, but the Backbay reclamation scandal of the '20s was a testament to the greed for land.

The freedom movement reached a high pitch of activity against this background of developing Indian wealth. Gandhi returned from South Africa and reached Bombay on January 12, 1915. Following many campaigns in the succeeding years, the end of the British imperial rule in India was clearly presaged by the Quit India declaration by the Indian National Congress on August 8, 1942, in Gowalia Tank Maidan, near Kemp's Corner. India became a free country on August 15, 1947. In the meanwhile, Greater Bombay had come into existence through an Act of the British parliament in 1945.

Millennial Mumbai

Already India's main port and commercial centre, the City of Gold lured the poverty stricken rural population and the expanding middle class equally. The population boom of the '50s and '60s was fuelled by the absence of opportunities in the rest of the country. The language riots, the reorganisation of Indian states and the see-saw politics of the country did not seem to affect the city. The glamour industry's flattering portrayal of Bombay seemed to be the reality. However, by the late '80s the other big Indian cities had choked in their own refuse and Bombay's road ahead seemed to be blighted. How this city, renamed Mumbai in the mid 90's copes with the challenge of controlling its political fragmentation, disastrous health problems and load of pollution by utilising its wealth of talent and manpower is a story to be told by future historians.

Lucknow’s foundations were laid in the 13^th century a.d., a fairly recent date as compared to other cities in India. Lakshman Tila, the central part of the city, is believed to have been the site where a fort was built by a clan from Bijnor. By the end of the 13th century a.d., the fort had fallen into the hands of the Sharqi rulers of Jaunpur, who held it till a.d. 1476. In the 1540s, the fort was annexed by the Sultan of Delhi, Sher Shah Sur (reigned a.d. 1540-45).

During the Mughal Emperor Akbar’s reign (a.d. 1556-1605), Oudh, as Lucknow was then called, flourished under imperial patronage. In 1724, the Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah, appointed Nawab Sadat Khan Burhan-ul-Mulk as the Governor of Oudh. Thus began the reign of the Nawabs over Oudh, which continued till the close of the 18th century a.d.


¤ The Process of Modernizing The Town

Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula, who had his capital at Faizabad, was the last Nawab of Oudh. In 1775, he shifted his capital to Lucknow, and proceeded to ‘modernise’ the town by building numerous monuments. When the region was struck by a famine in 1784, Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula offered ‘food for work’.
Under his directions and funding, work began on the Bara Imambara.
The generous Nawab, who employed more than 22,000 people, including nobles, adopted a dual policy of construction. During the day, the Imambara was built, and at night, the workers destroyed parts of what had been built. This was to ensure that no one remained unemployed, and the edifice was not completed too soon.


¤ Lucknow Came Under The Rule of British

By 1854, the British, under Lord Dalhousie, had taken Lucknow. An unconcerned Nawab Wajid Ali Shah played chess while British troops entered and occupied Lucknow. By the time he realised his folly, it was too late. The British had come to stay.

In 1857, India revolted against British dominion. British troops in and around Lucknow retreated to the Residency, with Indian sepoys and civilians laying siege to the complex. When Sir Colin Campbell took on the Indian forces in a bid to rescue his countrymen, the siege lasted 87 days during which cannon and small arms fire ruined the Residency.

After India gained independence from the British in 1947, Lucknow was made the capital of the state of Uttar Pradesh. Today, the city is a busy political centre, and the hometown of India’s current Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee.