India: One of the Oldest Civilizations and One of Youngest Countries

The DK Eyewitness Series on India has been a good source of tourist information for this trip.

Of course, Chris's friend, Nari, has put the entire trip together and for this I am grateful. Along the way, we have encountered many friendly smiles and offers to assist. Here, at our last hotel, we were made an edible memento of our trip by one of the kitchen staff. This kind attention has been the norm, not the exception, for the Oberoi Hotel chain we've enjoyed.

A gift in pancakes:

The tiger is from Ranthambhore. We're missing Udaipur, but there's only so much you can squeeze on to a plate!

I have asked Nari for a brief history of India. He laughs.

So I will take the following timeline from the DK book and put it into a column for your reading.

3300 - 1700 BCE (before the Christian Era)

Harappan culture flourishes in the Indus Valley. Krishna was died in 3200 BCE.

1500 BCE

Aryans migrate into northwest India; the next 500 years from the Rigvedic period.

1000 BCE

The use of iron becomes widespread during the Later Vedic Age.

566 BCE

Siddhartha Gautama, who became the Buddha, is born in Lumbini.

467 BCE

Mahavira, the founder of the Jain religion, dies.

329 - 326 BCE

Alexander the Great invades northwestern India.

400 - 300 BCE

The two great Sanskrit epics, the Mahabharata and Ramayana, are compiled, although their origins lie between the 9th and 7th centuries BCE.

322 BCE

Chandragupta Maurya becomes ruler of the Mauryan Empire.

261 BCE

Ashoka completes his violent conquest of Kalinga (now the state of Odisha).

52 CE

Arrival of St. Thomas the Apostle in southern India.

320 - 500

The Gupta Dynasty seizes power from the Kushanas.

476

Birth of Aryabhata, the great astronomer, mathematician and physicist.

608 - 642

Pulakeshin II, king of the Chalukyas, reigns over much of peninsular India.

736

Dhillika (present day Delhi) is founded by Tomar king Anangpal.

740 - 973

The Rashtrakutas rule in central India and the Deccan, a vast plateau spanning southern and western India.

871

The long-ruling Chola Empire is founded, nased in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu.

900

The Western Gangas, builders of Shravana Belagoia, begin their reign; they were later defeated by the Cholas.

916

The Chandelas build Khajuraho and reign until 1203.

1001

Mahmud of Ghazni, an Afghan sultan, invades northern India.

1206

The expansive Delhi Sultanate is founded by Qutbuddian Aibak.

1469

Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, is born.

1556

Akbar the Great becomes emperor of the Mughals.

1498

Portugese explorer Vasco da Gama reaches Calicut in Kerala.

1526

Babur defeats Ibraham Lodi at Panipat.

1661

Bombay (Mumbai) is given as dowry by Portugal to the growing British Empire.

1674

Shivaji Bhonsie is crowned first Maratha king of the new empire.

1690

Calcutta is founded by Englishman Job Charnock

1707

Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, whose rule lasted 49 years, dies.

1757

The British defeat Siraj-uddaulah, Nawab of Bengal, at the Battle of Plassey.

1853

The first commercial railway is built from Bombay to Thane.

1857

The Revolt of 1857 takes place against the British in north India.

1885

The Indian National Congress is founded.

1920

The Non-Cooperation Movement is launched by Mahatma Gandhi.

1947

India becomes independent and Partition takes place; Mahatma Gandhi is assisnated in 1948.

1992

The destruction of the Babri Masjid leads to communal riots.

2007

Pratibha Patil is the first woman to become president of India.

2013

The Mars Orbiter Mission is launched successfully by India.

2019

Narendra Modi and the BJP win a decisive mandate for a second term in government.

2023

India hosts the G20 Leaders' Summit in 2023 as the group president.