South Asia – History Chapter 16 – Section 2

Why it Matters: South Asia is home to one of the oldest known civilizations. You will learn about the birth of a civilization and the struggle independence by studying its rich history.

Questions you should be able to answer when we’re done: How did South Asia’s early history lay the foundation for modern life in the region? How has conflict in South Asia led to Change?

Vocab: Caste Reincarnation Raj Boycott Civil disobedience Nuclear proliferation

From Text: Days of Raj

Early Civilizations Indus Valley Civilization Aryan Civilization

Indus Valley Civilization 3500 BC Major centers located in modern day Pakistan Written records (never fully deciphered) Cities had streets laid out in grids Brick houses with wells, drains and bathrooms.

Most were farms, but there were also craftsmen Long distance trade Lasted for about 1,000 years

How did the Indus Valley Civilization end? Not really sure Natural disasters like drought or earthquake? Disease or enemy invasion?

Aryan Civilization Arrived about 1500 BC From Russia or central Asia BUT – were they invaders? Migrants? Wandering nomads? No one knows! (Many theories)

Mostly farmers Civilization lasted for about 1,000 years Left TWO important legacies…..

Aryan Legacy #1 Aryans believed that society could be successful only if people followed strict roles and tasks……enter

Caste System Born into a caste Each caste has its own duties and obligations. You can improve your position in the next life by carrying out all the duties in this life. Created much inequality After independence in 1947 the system was outlawed, but some effects are still present

Aryan Legacy #2 Literacy Aryans composed long poetic texts called the Vedas. Written in Sanskrit – the parent language of modern day Hindi. (It also influenced the development of ancient Greek and Latin)

Rig Veda Vedas were religious hymns handed down orally for centuries before being written down. The poems laid the foundation for the growth of Hinduism

Birth of Religions - Hinduism No holy book, founder, or central set of core beliefs. Believe in reincarnation (& Karma) Karma is the belief that actions in this life can affect your next life. The goal is to become an enlightened soul and enter nirvana

Unity with Brahma The final goal if every living thing is unity with Brahma. To reach this, the soul passes through cycles of reincarnation until it becomes pure enough to be united with Brahma

Birth of Religions - Jainism Based on the Hindu principle of ahimsa, or non-injury.

Birth of Religions - Buddhism Siddartha Gautama – a prince who gave up his wealth and traveled in poverty, searching for spiritual truth. Became known as “the Buddha” – “The enlightened one”. Passed on the Four Noble Truths……

The Four Noble Truths Life is full of suffering The cause of suffering is selfish desire Suffering can be stopped by conquering desire Desire can be conquered by following the eightfold path: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right way of living, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration

Three Indian Empires (after the Aryans) The Mauryas Guptas Mughals

The Mauryas Conquered most of south Asia Most famous ruler converted to Buddhism, his conversion influenced many people. Trade and culture thrived

Guptas Unified much of Northern India. Science, medicine, mathematics and the arts flourished. Developed the decimal system we still use today.

Mughals Muslim rather than Hindu. Many south Asians converted. Many of the rulers were tolerant of the other religions Culture, science and arts flourished The Taj Mahal was constructed by the 5 th Mughal emperor.

The British in South Asia Started with trade – ended with India as a colony of Britain after a bloody rebellion in Northern India in 1857 The Raj – the British rule of India “India” included India, Pakistan and Bangladesh

Colonial India The good…. – Ended slavery – Improved schools – Built large rail network The Bad… – Not treated as equals – the Brits held all positions of power

Textiles Indians were among the first to grow cotton. Artisans spun it into unique fabrics like Calico, Cashmere, Chintz and Muslin.

The British wanted India as a market for their machine textiles, so…. – They imported raw cotton from India – Then they shipped the cheaper finished product back to India for sale The result was millions of lost jobs for Indian textile workers.

Change…. Late 1800’s Indians developed a strong sense of nationalism Ideas of individual rights and self- government began to spread among the English speaking middle class (Lawyers, doctors and teachers) Many middle class Indians traveled to England to study

Mohandas Gandhi (Later called Mahatma “great soul”) Studied in England as a young law student, and eventually led India to freedom. Believed that peace and love were more powerful than violence Nonviolent Resistance Won the hearts of the Indian People

Boycott Back to textiles…. Gandhi peacefully resisted British rule by refusing to purchase or use British cloth. He started wearing only clothes made from cloth he had woven himself. Spent 2 hours a day spinning and weaving. Encouraged others to do the same and the spinning wheel became a symbol of national pride.

This boycott led to sharply falling sales of British cloth. Eventually in 1935 The British gave in to mounting pressure from India and international groups and greed to establish provinces that were governed entirely by Indians. India became independent in Picture: Mahatma Gandhi (right) with Jawaharlal Nehru, Nehru would go on to become India's first prime minister in 1947.Mahatma Gandhi Jawaharlal Nehru

Religious Conflict Hindus vs. Muslims Historical conflict between the groups Worked together for a while toward independence As independence grew closer, both groups began to fear being ruled by the other.

1946 Britain offered independence to India on condition that Indian leaders could agree on a form of government. Hindus and Muslims were unable to reach agreement Riots broke out with thousands of people dying.

Gandhi wanted a united India, but violence persisted – British and Indian leaders agree that the only solution is to divide or partition the subcontinent into a Hindu Country and a Muslim country. Part became the Hindu republic of India The northwestern and northeaster parts – where most of the Muslims lived – became the Muslim nation of Pakistan.

August – Independence Brought both Celebration and suffering. 12 MILLION people migrated! Most of the refuges left their possessions along the road or traded them for lifesaving water. Many people died from exhaustion, hunger, thirst, or fighting.

Since independence, India and Pakistan have fought many wars. – Indo-Pakistan War of 1947 Indo-Pakistan War of 1947 – Indo-Pakistan War of 1965 Indo-Pakistan War of 1965 – Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 – Indo-Pakistani War of 1999 Indo-Pakistani War of 1999

Nuclear proliferation Involved in a dispute over the region of Kashmir. In the 1990’s both countries developed nuclear weapons

Bangladesh…. Two regions – West Pakistan and East Pakistan – separated by 1,100 miles. Boundaries only based on the predominance of Islam – no physical boundaries. Islam was the only real connecting thread since the two parts of the county had several different ethnic groups.

East – Agricultural – Paid MORE taxes, but had less money spent by gov’t. – Mostly Bengali West – Factories – Paid LESS taxes, but had MORE money spent by gov’t. who was located there. – Held most military positions and positions of power – Mostly Urdu speaking – which became THE national language

Disaster & Discontent… Many in East Pakistan began to feel their region was being treated merely as a colony of West Pakistan – 300,000 East Pakistanis died in flooding caused by a hurricane and tidal wave. People in the East accused the government of deliberately delaying shipments of food and relief supplies

This disaster touched off fighting between the two regions. India joined on the side of East Pakistan. The West Pakistani forces surrendered, and on December 16, 1971, East Pakistan became the independent country of Bangladesh (“The Bengali nation”).

Question 1 True or False: One of the oldest known civilizations originated near the Indus River

Question 2 True or False: Merchants were the top class in the caste system of the ancient Aryans

Question 3 True or False: Hinduism is the main religion of India

Question 4 True or False: Mughal rulers were Muslim rather than Hindu

Question 5 True or False: Mohandas Gandhi organized violent resistance to British Rule

Question 6 What sign of advanced civilization did the Indus Valley People leave? A)Brick houses with drains and bathrooms B)Long poetic texts known as the Vedas C)An extensive system of aqueducts between cities D)A system of social classes or castes

Question 7 What is “karma”? A)The belief that life is full of suffering B)The belief that a disciplined child makes a better adult C)The belief that actions in this life can affect one’s next life D)The belief that selfish desires will be punished.

Question 8 Which is a true statement about Akbar the Great? A)He was a pious Hindu B)He ignored religious scholars C)He punished Hindus who converted to Islam D)He encouraged freedom of religion

Question 9 What as the British imperialist rule of India called? A)The Vedas B)The Raj C)The Sanskrit D)The Varnas

Question 10 Which two new religions arose in South Asia around 500 b.c.? A)Hinduism and Jainism B)Hinduism and Buddhism C)Jainism and Buddhism D)Jainism and Islam

Question 11 What was the Indus Valley civilization like?

Question 12 Why was the literary legacy of the Aryan civilization important?

Question 13 Who was Buddah?

Question 14 How are the religions of Jainism and Buddhism alike? How are they different?

Question 15 What two important legacies did the Aryans leave behind?

Who were the Guptas and what did they accomplish?

Vocab: Caste Reincarnation Raj Boycott Civil disobedience Nuclear proliferation

Questions you should be able to answer when we’re done: How did South Asia’s early history lay the foundation for modern life in the region? How has conflict in South Asia led to Change?

The End