History and Government Chapter 24 Section 2

Early History Few written records Invaders from the NW established civilizations Influence of these invaders still felt

Indus Valley Began around 2,500 BC Located in the Indus River Valley Established: ◦Writing ◦Central gov’t ◦Overseas trade Cities had plumbing and sanitation systems

World’s First Cities Mohenjo Daro Harappa

The Aryans Invaded the Indus Valley Came from Persia Hunters/ herders Road horses Settled and began farming Writing was called Vedas Very war-like

Vedas Deal with religion and social structure Four groups ◦Priests ◦Warriors/ nobles ◦Artisans/ farmers ◦Slaves At first boundaries were flexible Gave way to the caste system

Who were the Aryans…? Called the Vedic Civilization Very tribal Built no cities or states, and no writing Were only interested in music and poetry (the Vedas) Culture slowly mixed with indigenous Indians Basis of regional cultures in India today Not blue eyed, blonde haired people who settled in Germany! Sorry Hitler…

Hinduism Grew out of Aryan culture and religion Religion and way of life Everyone must carry out a dharma, or way of life Believe in reincarnation Eventually people leave earth and join the eternal being Law of karma dictates life Polytheist

Buddhism Founded by Siddhartha Gautama Born in 563 BC in Nepal Became Buddha, or Awakened One People suffer because they are attached to temporary things Taught people to think clearly, work hard, and show compassion Goal is to achieve nirvana or a state of joy and calm

Siddhartha Gautama

Marriage of Influences Buddha reject the caste system Lower caste members and women embraced his teachings Sri Lanka became a Buddhist kingdom Hinduism eventually absorbed Buddhism

Invasions and Empires Many invaders to India came through the Khyber Pass Mauryan Empire was ruled by Asoka and promoted Buddhism Gupta Empire at its time ( AD) was the most technologically advanced. We get our numbers from them!

Invaders and Empires Con’t Muslims entered in the 700s The Mogul Empire ruled much of S. Asia for centuries Europeans came by boat in the 1500s Britain dominated India until the 20 th century Called their colony the Indian raj India is heavily influenced by Britain today

Fight for Independence Mid-1900s Indians fought for independence Led by Mohandas Gandhi Nonviolent methods and boycotts Britain gave India independence in 1947

Struggle for Independence Britain split India into two ◦India ◦Pakistan India was Hindu Pakistan was Muslim Division split families and war broke out In 1948 Ceylon gained independence and renamed itself Sri Lanka

Others Gain Independence Nepal and Bhutan had always been independent Maldives received independence in 1965 In 1971 East Pakistan revolted against west Established Bangladesh

India + Pakistan + Nukes Jammu and Kashmir are still disputed Both have nukes Hindu and Muslims do not get along Sri Lanka suffers from divisions as well

Modern Governments India is a federal parliamentary republic Pakistan is controlled by military rule Sri Lanka and Bangladesh suffer from ethnic rivalry and military takeovers Bhutan and Nepal are monarchies