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1 Exploring India

The Story of India

W hat comes to mind when you think of India? The beautiful Taj Mahal (see page 31)? Huge elephants, ferocious tigers, shimmering peacocks and agile monkeys? Exotic plants like banyan trees, and mangroves? Cool cotton and spicy food? India is all these things and many others. Its sights, smells, sounds, wealth and poverty have fascinated visitors and explorers for thousands of years. The history of India’s exploration is also a history of trading and invasion— from the Aryans (see pages 8-9) to the Mughals (see pages 26-31) to the British (see pages 36-41). Each power left its mark, adding to India’s diversity. Exploring People of Yesterday and Today Very little is known about the first inhabitants of India. It is thought that two hundred to four hundred thousand years ago originally there were two distinct groups of peoples who spoke different languages and used tools either made of solid stone or flakes of stone. This indistinct period gave way to the great Indus Valley Civilization (3000 bce ) that lasted for four thousand years. Many different types, tribes and groups of people live in India today. Several of these tribal peoples, such as the Nagas of the northeastern hilltracts, have their own homelands within India. Exploring This Book This book is divided into six chapters. After this chapter on Ancient India there is a chapter that covers the Muslim invasion up until 1001. Chapter three looks at India under Muslim rule, while chapter four deals with the arrival of the first European travelers and traders. Chapter five explores India under British rule, with the final chapter looking at India today.

Religion in India Three-quarters of all Indians are Hindus. They believe in a supreme being, called Brahman, whose various characters are represented by three main gods—Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the preserver) and Shiva (the destroyer). There are thousands of other gods and goddesses. Some people worship in temples; others in small shrines at home. But Hinduism is an extremely flexible religion—some Hindus do not perform any formal worship. Hindus believe in reincarnation. For them, the ultimate goal is moksha, or salvation from the cycle of birth and rebirth. Other major Indian religions include Islam (see page 19), Buddhism (see page 13) and Sikhism (see page 35). V ishnu the preserver, one of the major gods of the Hindu religion. Here he visits the Earth in the guise of a fish, to save mankind.

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