 The Indian country is very old and complex. According to a
popular estimate, it has covered a span of five thousand years since the
period of its first known civilization. During this period, several
strains of immigrants, representing different ethnic families and
linguistic ones have merged into it and have contributed to its
diversity and vitality.It is very difficult to identify the earliest inhabitants of India.
There are no written records about them, since writing was not invented
then. The orally told history is not much reliable. Many minute details
could not withstand the ravages of time. Early human activity in India
goes back to the second Inter- Glacial period, between 400,000 and
200,000 B.C. Stone tools found and cave paintings unearthed in many
places in the country prove this point very clearly.
The Indus Valley civilization, one of the
oldest in the world, goes back at least 5,000 years. Aryan tribes from
the northwest invaded about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier
inhabitants created classical Indian culture. Arab incursions starting
in the 8th century and Turkish in 12th were followed by European traders
beginning in the late 15th century. By the 19th century, Britain had
assumed political control of virtually all Indian lands. Nonviolent
resistance to British colonialism under Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal
NEHRU led to independence in 1947. The subcontinent was divided into the
secular state of India and the smaller Muslim state of Pakistan. A third
war between the two countries in 1971 resulted in East
 Pakistan becoming
the separate nation of Bangladesh. Fundamental concerns in India include
the ongoing dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir, massive overpopulation,
environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and ethnic strife, all
this despite impressive gains in economic investment and output.
Over the millennia various invasions have added great diversity and
complexity to the cultures of the Indian subcontinent; yet many ancient
and unique features have remained recognizable throughout its history.
Diversity is particularly evident in the 20th-century political division
of the subcontinent into three nations: India (Bharat), Pakistan, and
Bangladesh. However, the gradual incorporation of various cultural
elements into its own complex civilization has been a continuing feature
of India's history. India has a rich history and the palaces, temples
and great cities of its ancient cultures cannot fail to grip the
imagination. In the spring particularly, the big cities come alive with
concerts, plays, parties and exhibitions. Among the most spectacular
hill stations (mountain resorts which make ideal destinations in summer)
are Shimla (once the Imperial summer capital), Mussoorie, Ranikhet and
Nainital (within reach of Delhi), and West Bengal's magnificent resort,
Darjeeling, which offers a breathtaking view of the whole Kanchenjunga
range. Along the fabled coasts of Malabar and Coromandel, unspoiled
sandy beaches stretch for miles.
 Delhi, the capital of India, is an amalgam of the old and the new.
The ancient and the modern times are in juxtaposition here, not only in
the remains of a succession of empires, but equally in present social
structure and lifestyles. The name Delhi, Dehali, or Dilli is derived
from Dhillika, the name of the first medieval township of Delhi, located
on the southwestern border of the present Delhi, in Mehrauli. This was
the first in the series of seven medieval cities. It is also known as
Yoginipura, that is, the fortress of the yoginis (female divinities).
There was, however, an ancient urban settlement in Delhi known as
Indraprastha on the banks of the Yamuna which is traditionally believed
to have been founded by the Pandava brothers, the mythical heroes of
Mahabharata, the national epic of India. Excavations at the site of the
township inside Purana Kila or the Old Fort show that the date of the
oldest habitation in Delhi is around the 3rd or 4th century B.C. Delhi
is divided into two parts. The old Delhi or Delhi was one of the
capitals of Muslim India between the 12th and 19th centuries. Old forts,
mosques and monuments related to India's Muslim history are located
here. New Delhi is the imperial city which was created as the capital by
the British. It is spread over a wide area and is lined with imposing
boulevards. Delhi is a major travel gateway into India. It is one of
India's busiest entry points for overseas airlines and is on the
overland route access across Asia.
Several different levels of social evolution co-exist in India; like the
hunters, the cultivators, the nomads, the itinerant traders,
professionals and different artisans. Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and
Buddhism are found here, along with a bewildering number of sects and
cults , each with its own rituals and beliefs. Add to this the modern
academic, bureaucratic, industrial and scientific elites and one can
find the past, the present and the future living together.
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