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A LITERARY CLASSIC Babur was a very forward thinking ruler. He enjoyed poetry and gardening, and his memoirs, the Baburnama , are regarded as a classic of world literature. As early as the sixteenth century, the European nations of the Netherlands, France, Portugal, and Great Britain had established trading centers in India. When the Mughal Empire fell, these nations jockeyed for position to control European trade with India. Due to the power of Britain’s navy, among other things, the British East India Company vaulted to prominence. Gradually the British government became more and more involved in the affairs of the Company. After an uprising by Hindu soldiers in 1858, the government assumed total control over the country and formally

A painting from the Baburnama in the National Museum, New Delhi.

dissolved the Company. Through a highly coordinated administrative system known as the Raj, Great Britain built up infrastructure in India, though Indi- ans were often treated as second-class citizens. In 1915 a charismatic leader named Mohandas Gandhi began advocating for Indian independence. Through peaceful protests, boycotts , and other nonvi- olent actions, he led millions of Indians to demonstrate against British colonial rule. Finally, in 1947, the British left. To appease both the Hindu and Muslim

This colored lithograph depicts the 1858 uprising by Hindu soldiers against Britain’s East India Company.

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CHAPTER ONE: HISTORY, RELIGION, AND TRADITION