 SECTION-I

1. INDIA - MY MOTHERLAND

"If we are going to build the house of India future strong, secure and beautiful, then we would have to dig deep for the foundations.

"Awake my mind gently awake in this holy place of pilgrimage on the shore of this vast sea of humanity that is India.

Here I stand with arms outstretched to hail man, man divine in his own image and sing to his glory in notes glad and free,

These mountains rapt in meditation, these plains with rivers winding like rosaries, behold this earth that is very holy on the shore of this vast sea of humanity that is India."

From `A Hymn to India' by Rabindra Nath Tagore

India with its vast territory and huge Population is crowned by the Great Himalayas in the north, washed by the Indian Ocean in the South, and flanked by Bay of Bengal in the east and Arabian. Sea in the west. The land is bestowed with a bewildering climatic variety-cold winters, hot summers and the rainy season; varying in intensity in the north, south, east and west. It is unique in its bio-diversity. About 45,000 species of plants and herbs are estimated to exist in this country, and there is a variety of fauna numbering about 75,000 known species, of which 2,500 are fish, 150 amphibians, 450 reptiles, 2,000 birds and 850 mammals.

The large population of India (89 crores in 1993)-16% of the World's population-is characterised by tremendous diversity. People-of India differ in physical stature, food and clothing habits, speak different languages and belong to multiple religious faiths. But, at the same time, they have more or less the same virtues and feelings, and through ages have been distinctively Indian with largely a similar set of endowments; intellectual, moral and cultural.

A common heritage has bound Indians together from ancient times. To quote Jawaharlal Nehru*, "There was something living and dynamic about this heritage which showed itself in ways of living and a philosophical attitude to life and its problems."

"Ancient India, like ancient China, was a world in itself; a culture and civilisation which gave shape to all things. Foreign influences poured in and often influenced the culture and were absorbed. Disruptive tendencies gave rise immediately to an attempt to find a synthesis ................. Differences, big or small, can always be noticed even within a national group, however closely knit, it may be. The essential unity of that group becomes apparent when it is compared to another national group, though often the differences between two adjoining groups fade out or intermingle near the frontiers, and modern developments are tending to produce certain uni- formity everywhere. In ancient and medieval times, the idea of the modern nation was non- existent and feudal, religious, racial or cultural bonds had more importance. Yet, I think almost at any time in recorded history, an Indian would have felt as a stranger and alien in any other country. He would certainly have felt less of a stranger in countries which had partly adopted his culture or religion. Those who professed religion of non-Indian origin and coming to India had settled down there, became distinctively Indian, in the course of a few generations, such as Christians, Jews. Parsis, Moslems. Indian converts to some of these religions never ceased to be Indians inspite of a change of faith. All these were looked upon in other countries as Indian and foreigners, even though there might have been a community of faith between them".

"To-day, when the conception of nationalism has developed much More, Indians in foreign countries inevitably form a national group and hang together for various, purposes, inspite of their internal differences. An Indian Christian is looked upon as an Indian wherever he may go. An Indian moslem is considered an Indian in Turkey or Arabia or Iran or any other country where Islam is the dominant religion."

From the far distant period six to seven thousand years ago, when the Indus Valley civilisation probably began, till to-day, many things of course happened and innumerable changes have

* Source -- The Discovery of India by Jawahar Lal Nehru. p 61; Edn. 1974.

taken place in India. There is an unbroken chain and continuity of persistent traditions and habits, though several historical, geological, social changes had taken place. A spirit of unity has bound the people which leaves an indelible mark of Indianness on every tiling that comes within the fold of territorial limits of India. That spirit is dynamic and synthetic. File long history of India has shown that its people possess the strength and spirit to absorb varied Cultural influences and adapt to changing circumstances. The same spirit is a part and parcel of Indian ethos and its philosophical attitude.

This is India - India of each one of us.

2. INDIA - A PERPETUAL CONTINUITY

"Whatever happens in the life of a nation or people in general is not instantaneous. It is in continuity of the past and extends over time into the future."

INDIA has a rich national heritage symbolising the common approach to life inspite of the overwhelming diversities found therein.

The earliest picture that we have. to India's past is derived from the remains discovered at Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, and is known as the Indus Valley civilisation. Remains of this civilisation have been found as far apart as Kathiawar and Ambala, and there are reasons to believe that it spread even to the Gangetic Valley. According to Sir John Marshall, who was himself responsible for the excavations at Mohenjo-daro and Harappa," One thing that stands out clear and unmistakable ... is that the civilisation ... is not an incipient civilisation, but one already age-old and stereotyped on Indian soil, with many millennia of human endeavour behind it." "It was, surprisingly enough, a predominantly secular civilisation, and the religious element, though present did not dominate the scene. It was clearly also the precursor of later cultural periods in India." (Nehru : Discovery of India)

* "When the Aryans came to India supposedly about a millenia after the Indus Valley period, the first great cultural synthesis and fusion may be said to have taken place between the incoming Aryans and the Dravidians, who were probably the representatives of the Indus Valley civilisation. When the Greeks invaded the north-west towards the end of the 4th century B.C., Indians had already worked out a national culture of their own, unaffected by foreign influences. And inspite of successive waves of invasion and conquests by Persians, Greeks, Scythians. Muhammedans, the national development of the life of Indo-Aryans remained prac- tically unchecked and unmodified from without down to the advent era of the British occupa- tion". This three or four thousand years of cultural growth and continuity is all the more noteworthy, for India was not isolated during the period but had living contacts wit Iranians, Greeks, Chinese, Central Asians and others.

The interaction between the Aryans and Dravidians initially raised racial and political conflicts. The Dravidians had a long background of civilisation behind them, while the Aryans believed in racial superiority. These differences as a result of interaction gradually galvanised into the caste system. The division originally intended to distinguish Aryans from non-Aryans, ended into division of functions and growing specialisation giving rise to a stratified class system. It was a major attempt at social engineering which ultimately brought social degradation.

During the 5th century B.C., Jainism and Buddhism spread in India as breakaways from the Vedic religion and its offshoots, though in a sense they had grown out of it. Under the spell of Buddhism particularly, popular religious practices, superstition, priestcraft and the vested interests that clung to them came under attack. During the following two centuries, processes

------------------------------------------------------- * Source : (Macdonnel) : History of Sanskrit Literature

of change which were long at work to bring about racial fusion and to unite the small states and Kingdoms led to the emergence of an Empire under the Mauryas in North India. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya, the Empire flourished under his son, Bindusara, and grandson, Ashoka, who-became an ardent follower of Buddhism and spread it by peaceful missionary efforts in India and foreign countries. Though an ardent Buddhist, Ashoka showed respect and consideration for all other faiths. He proclaimed in one of his edicts: "All sects deserve reverance for one reason or another. By thus acting a man exalts his own sect and at the same time does service to the sects of other people."

The Maurya Empire faded away after Ashoka who died in 232 B.C. and was successed by the Sunga dynasty which ruled over a much smaller area. Thereafter came the Shakas from Central Asia, who became converts to Hindu- ism and Buddhism. The Kushans defeated the Shakas, who were pushed to the South. The supremacy of Kushans extended over the whole of North India. Most of them became Buddhists and some became Hindus. There are records in Buddhist legend of the great deeds and public works of Kanishka, the famous Kushan king. The Kushans had Indianised themselves and became patrons of Indian Culture. However as other tribes powered in to India, a nationalist

movement emerged at the beginning of the 4th century A.D. when Chandragupta overpowered Others and established a powerful empire around 320 A.D.

For about 150 years, the Guptas ruled over a prosperous State in the North. The age of the Guptas was enlightened, highly cultured and full of vitality. The composite faith and philoso- phy, essentially founded on Hindustan, were tolerant to various racial and religious elements in India and continued to absorb them into their fold. During the next century and half, the Gupta empire shrank and became smaller with the attacks of invaders from Central Asia, the Huns. Early in the 7th century A.D., Harshavardhana, the king of Kanauj, crushed them and built a powerful State across northern and central India. Harshavardhana was an ardent Mahayana Buddhist and encouraged both Buddhism and Hinduism.

Meanwhile great States flourished in South India-the Andhras, Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas, and further south the Pallavas, built and consolidated their rules for more than a thousand years alter the Maurya Empire faded in the North. Later the Chola Empire spread right across the peninsula. The repeated invasions of North India did not affect the South, and these migrants included builders, craftsmen and artisans.

The notable feature of the Indian ethos which evolved during the period extending over a thousand years and more is not of repeated invasions and succession of empires in the North

and South, but one of long stretches of peaceful and orderly government. Each of the empires lasted for two or three hundred years. The ruling dynasties were indigenous, or like the Kushans, who adapted themselves to the cultural traditions of India, and they took pride in encouraging special artistic and cultural activities. And even when there were wars between the states, there was relatively little interference with the activities of the mass of the people.

While the ancient period was full of change, growth and decay, the medieval period brought other types of changes. The Afghans who came to India at the end of the 12th century, were an Indo-Aryan race closly allied to the people of India, but-they differed in many ways from the people of the Indians plains. They were warriors, with distinct intellectual or spiritual pursuits. And yet India became their home. The process of their Indianisation was quite rapid. The Subsequent rulers-Qutb-Ud-Din, Sultana Razia and Iltutmish were racially turks, but the nobility continued to be mainly Afghan. The Delhi Sultanate spread southwards where the Chola kingdon was succeeded by the Pandya kingdom. After Timur defeated the Delhi Sultan- ate late in the fourteenth century, North India and the empire ruled from Delhi got divided into a number of States. Long before this, the Bahmani kingdom and the Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar had risen in the South. The former later split up into five States.

In 1526, Babar defeated the Delhi Sultanate at the battle of Panipat, and with his occupation of the throne of Delhi began the Moghul rule in India. It may be noted at this stage that throughout the medieval period, while a few strands of the Aryan culture drifted to the South, the process of synthesis continued between the old and the new. India was so to speak in a

ferment, reacting to the new situation. Out of this ferment there emerged several reformers who preached synthesis of the new and old-Hindu Ramanand in the South and his disciple Kabir of Benares, and Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. The influence of these reformers was of a far reaching nature. The new ideas made a deep impact on Hinduism, while Muslims in India too acquired certain characteristics and life styles different from what obtained else- where. A significant indication of the new ethos was the use of Hindi and local dialects by Moslem writers who composed popular songs in the spoken dialect of Hindi. Amir Khusrau, was a first rank poet in Persian, and knew Sanskrit as well.

It was Akbar, grandson of Babar who consolidated the Moghul empire. He not only con- quered large parts of India, but throughout his long reign of the nearly 50 years, he endeavoured to win over the hearts of the people. His court was a meeting place of men of all faiths, and his encouragement to all kinds of beliefs, and faiths even angered the more orthodox Moslems. One may say that it was during the rule of Akbar that the cultural amalgamation of Hindu and Moslem in North India took a long step forward.

The Moghul empire of which the edifice was built so well by Akbar lasted for another hundred years after him. The processes which were helping the evolution of a common nationality and a synthesis of various elements in the country got a set back when Aurangzeb occupied the throne and started to function more as fundamentalist than an Indian ruler. The empire began to break up, After the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, there followed a struggle for power over India in which the protagonists mainly were Marathas, Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan in the South, the British and the French. The Marathas would perhaps have come to power in Delhi but for the raid of Delhi by Nadir Shah of Persia in 1739, and their defeat in 1761 at Panipat from Ahmad Shah Durrani. The Maratha dominions were divided thereafter into a number of States -(Gwalior (under Scindhias), Indore (under Holkar) and Baroda (under Gaekwar) being the

bigger among the States. By 1818, the Maratha power succumbed to the British. In the South, Tipu Sultan of Mysore was defeated by the British in 1799. The French power in the South was also eliminated by the British.

Early in the 17th century, the East India Company was permitted by the Moghul Emperor to start a factory in Surat, soon after they founded Madras. They got the island of Bombay in 1662, and in 1690 Calcutta was founded. Thereafter they slowly spread inland. After the battle of Plassey in 1757, Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and the coastal areas in the east came under their control. While the fate of the Marathas was sealed in 1818, the kingdom of Punjab founded by Maharaja Ranjit Singh continued to hold on against the British till 1849 when the Sikh wars ended and completed the British advance.

About two hundred years of British rule in India brought about many changes-social, economic and political. Bengal witnessed and experienced agrarian, technical, educational and intellectual changes long before many other parts of India. In the eighteenth century a towering personality appeared in Bengal. He was Raja Ram Mohan Roy, who was product of the mixed Hindu-Moslem culture that was then dominant among the cultured classes in India. He learnt not only English but also Greek, Latin and Hebrew to discover the sources of the religion and culture of the West. And