India - brief history

The "Indus Valley" civilization is one of the oldest in the world, and dates back at least 5,000 years.  Aryan tribes from the northwest invaded India at around 1500 B.C., and their merger with the earlier inhabitants of India was responsible for the creation of the classical Indian culture. Arab incursions beginning around the 8th Century AD and Turkish incursions beginning around the 12th Century AD were followed in the 15h Century AD by European traders.  By the 19th Century, Britain had assumed political control of virtually all Indian lands.  Indian armed forces played a vital role in both World War 1 and World War II.  Nonviolent resistance to British Colonialism under Mohandas Ghandi and Jawaharlal Nehru led to India's independence in 1947.  The Indian subcontinent was divided into the secular state of India and the smaller Muslim state of Pakistan.  A third war between these two countries in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan becoming the nation of Bangladesh.  Today's India suffers from overpopulation, environmental degradation, poverty and ethnic / religious issues.  India has made impressive gains in economic investment and output and is today especially well placed to capitalise on computer technology.

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