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Introduction - Indian History

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Introduction - Indian History

What is History?

The study of the Past is called ‘History’.

The English word ‘History is derived from the Greek word ‘historia’, meaning research, inquiry or investigation.

The Greek historian Herodotus (484 BC -425 BC) the first real historian of the world. He wrote only one book ‘The Histories' (430 BC).

The Histories' describes the background and events of the Graeco-Persian/Greek-Iranian Wars. It was the Roman philosopher Cicero (106 BC-43 BC) who first of all called Herodotus ‘The Father of History'.

The German historian Leopold von Ranke (1795-1886 AD) is known as 'The Father of Modern History". According to Ranke, the task of a historian is to describe the past as it actually was ['wie es eingentlich gewesen' (German words)-what it (the past) actually was (English translation)].

The German philosopher & propounder of ‘Thesis-Antithesis-Synthesis' theory Hegel (1770-1831 AD) once said 'History repeats itself', later on German economist and philosopher Karl Marx (1818-83 AD) extended the line: "History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce."

According to British historian E. H. Carr (1892-1982 AD): "History is a continuous process of interaction between the Historian and his facts, an unending dialoge between the present and the past".

A System of Dating

BC and AD: BC is the acronym of Before Christ. This is an English phrase meaning 'Before the birth of (Jesus) Christ'.

So, the years before the birth of Jesus Christ is known as 'Before Christ' and it is denoted as BC in short.e.g.: Gautama Buddha was born in 563 BC and died in483 BCAlexander the Great was born in 356 BC and died in 323 BC.

AD is the acronym of Anno Domini. This is a Latin phrase meaning 'In the year of the Lord (Jesus Christ)'.

So, the year beginning with the birth of Jesus Christ is known as 'Anno Domini', and it is denoted as AD in short. e.g.: Jesus Christ was crucified in 30AD. Kushana ruler Kanishka ascended the throne in78 AD. Hazrat Muhammad was born in 570 AD anddied in 632 AD.

Time Line: The line displaying the events of past timeis called 'Time Line'.

From the above-mentioned time line, it is clear that the years before the birth of Christ are counted backward, viz. ... 500 BC ... 5 BC 4 BC 3 BC 2 BC 1 BC.

The meaning of one year before 1 BC is 2 BC, the meaning of one year before 2 BC is 3 BC, the meaning of one year before 3 BC is 4 BC, and the meaning of one year before 4 BC is 5 BC.

In other words, firstly the year of 5 BC passed, after that 4 BC came, after that 3 BC, after that 2 BC and lastly 1 BC appeared. In the mathematical language, it is like backward counting (100,99,98, and so on).

Now if anyone raises a question that which year is the first one and which year is the last one in 500 BC and 2000 BC. Then right answer will be 2000 BC is the first one and 500 BC is the last one. It means firstly 2000 BC passed and after that 500 BC appeared.

From the above-mentioned time line, it is also clear that the years after the birth of Jesus Christ are counted forward.

It implies that the meaning of one year after 1 AD is 2 AD, one year after 2 AD is 3 AD, one year after 3 AD is 4 AD, one year after 4 AD is 5 AD. In the mathematical language, it is like forward counting (1,2,3 and so on).

Now if anyone raises a question that which year is the first one and which year is the last one in 500 AD and 2000 AD then right answer will be 500 AD is the first one and 2000 AD is the last one. It means firstly the year 500 AD passed and after that 2,000 AD appeared.

Time Glossary: The glossary relating to time is known as 'Time Glossary'.

Some important terms associated with time are-

Decade	The period of 10 years
First Half (of a century)	First 50 years of a century i.e. the period from 1st year to 50^th year
Second Half (of a century)	Last 50 years of a century i.e. the period from 51^st year to 100^th year
Century	The period of 100 years
Millenium	The period of 1,000 years
Circa-Ca./C.	If the exact date is not known then the word 'circa' is used with the date. In short, Circa is denoted as Ca. or C. Example: C. 1,500 BC-600 BC: The Vedic Culture Period means that the exact date of Vedic Culture Period is not known but it (C. 1500 BC-600 BC) is somewhere close to that.

First decade of 20^thcentury AD means -- The period from 1901 AD to 1910 AD.

Fifth decade of 20^thcentury AD means -- The period from 1941 AD to 1950 AD.

Eighth decade of 20^thcentury AD means -- The period from 1971 AD to 1980 AD.

Last decade of 20^thcentury AD means -- The period from 1991 AD to 2000 AD.

First half of 20th century AD means — From 1901 AD to 1950 AD.

Second half of 20th century AD means --- From 1951 AD to 2000 AD.

6th century BC means - 600 BC to 501 BC

4th century BC means - 400 BC to 301 BC

16th century AD means - 1501 AD to 1600 AD

20^thcentury AD means - 1901 AD to 2000 AD

Second Millenium BC - 2000 BC-1001 BC

First Millenium BC - 1000 BC-1 BC

First Millenium AD - 1 AD-1000 AD

Second Millenium AD - 1001 AD-2000 AD

Important Eras

Name of the Era	Reckoned from	Remarks
Kali	3102-3101 BC	Began 20 years after the end of Mahabharata War.
Saptarshi / Laukika	3077-3076 BC	Started after the expiry of 25 Kali year.
Vikrama/ Krita / Malawa	58/57 BC	Commenced by Vikramaditya, the local king of Ujjayini (Malawa), to commemorate the victory over the Sakas.
Saka	78 AD	Commenced by Kushan ruler Kanishka, on the occasion of his ascendence to the throne. Saka era is known as Salivahana Sakabda in South India. The Government of India adopted Saka Era along with the Gregorian Calendar (i.e. Julean Calendar/ Christian Calendar) as National alendar on 22 March, 1957 (1st Chaitra 1879 Saka).
Kalchuri	248 AD	Founded by Abhir king Ishwar Sen, later on used by Traikutaka ruler and Kalchuris of Chedi.
Gupta	319-20 AD	Founded by Gupta ruler Chandragupta on the occasion of his ascendance to the throne. After the fall of the Guptas, the Maitrakas of Valabhi used this era with a new name Valabhi Samvata. The beginning of Gupta era was fixed by J.F.Fleet in 1887 AD.
Harsha	606 AD	Founded by Harshavardhana of Kanrtauj, to pronounce his ascendence to the throne.
Hijri	622 AD	Founded by Umar, the second Caliphate of Khilafat empire, to commemorate the hijrat from Macca to Madina by Hazral Muhammad.
Kollam	825 AD	An era that is in use in Malabar (Kerala).
Nevari/Nepali	879 AD	Founded by Jaydeo Mall.
Chalukya-Vikrama	1076 AD	Founded by Vikramaditya—VI, the Chalukya ruler of Kalyani, on the occasion Of his ascedence to the throne.
Lakshmana	1119 AD	Founded by Sen ruler of Bengal Lakshmana Sen.
llahi	1556 AD	Founded by Mughal ruler Akbar in 1584 AD, but in 1658 AD Aurangzeb abolished the use of Ilahi era.
Raj Saka	1674 AD	Founded by Maratha Chhatrapati Shivaji to pronounce his ascendence to the throne.

Note:

Gregorian Calendar is modified form of Christian Calendar and Christian Calendar is modified form of Julian Calendar. It means these Calendars are loosely synonyms to one other.

2. The eras, except Vikrama, Saka and Hijri era, are either vanished in course of time or still in use in specific regions.

3. National Calendar: Saka Samvata is used in some government sectors customarily (officially), where as Gregorian Calendar is used everywhere practically.

Conversion of Eras:

With the help of the above-mentioned table, any era can be converted into other era. Conversion of AD of Christian era in Vikrama era: For conversion of AD era in Vikrama era, 57 is added to AD. e.g. Convert 2013 AD into Vikrama era.

AD Vikrama

2013 + 57 = 2070

Conversion of Vikrama era into AD era: To find AD era from Vikrama era, 57 is subtracted from Vikrama era. e.g. Convert 2070 Vikrama era into AD era.

Vikrama AD

2070 - 57 = 2013

Conversion of AD era into Saka era: To get Saka era from AD era, 78 is subtracted from AD. e.g. Convert 2013 AD into Saka era.

AD Saka

2013 - 78 = 1935

Conversion of Saka era into AD era: To find equivalent AD era from Saka era, 78 is added to Saka era. e.g. Convert 1935 Saka era into AD era.

Saka AD

1935 + 78 = 2013

Conversion of AD of Christian era into Hijri era: To calculate Hijri era from AD of Christian era, the following formula (C - 622) =...H is used.

e.g. Convert 2013 AD of Christian era into Hijri era.

(2013 - 622) =1434 H

Conversion of Hijri era into AD of Christian era: To calculate AD of Christian era from Hijri era, the following formula (H ) = ….C is used. e.g. Convert 1434 Hijri era into AD of Christian era.

(1434 ) = 2013 C

Period

Bipartite Division: History is generally divided into two periods-Pre-Historic and Historic. The period that has no written evidences is called Pre-Historic Period and the period that has written evidences is known as Historic Period. In other words, the period before the beginning of writing is called Pre-Historic Period and the period after the beginning of writing is known as Historic Period. The time period of Pre-Historic Period is accepted as 30,00,000 BC to 600 BC and the time period of Historic Period as 600 BC to till date. Tripartite Division: Tripartite division of History ismore prevalent in practice. According to this, History is divided into three periods-Pre-Historic, ProtoHistoric and Historic.

Name of the Period	Time Period	Definition & Example
Pre-Historic Period	30,00,000 BC-2,500 BC	The period for which no written evidence is available. e.g.: Lithic (Stone) Period
Pre-Historic Period	2,500BC - 600 BC	The period for which written evidence is available but either their script (used in the documents) has not been deciphered or their written documents have not been confirmed with archaeological evidences. e.g. Indus Civilization and Vedic Culture. In the case of Indus Civilization, we have not yet been able to decipher their script, and in the case of Vedic Culture, we have not suffice archaeological evidences to confirm written evidences of that period.
Historic Period	600 BC – till date	The period for which written evidences is available. e.g. Mahajanapada Period to Till Date.

Chronology

German historian Christoph Cellarius (1638-1707 AD) was the first historian who gave us tripartite division of History. He divided history into three periods-Ancient, Medieval and Modern History. After him, this tripartite division became standard (model) for history-writting or reading. For convenience of study, Indian History is divided into four periods-

Ancient India	the beginning-647 AD i.e. from Lithic (Stone) Period to death of Harsha
Medieval India	647-1757 i.e. from death of Harsha to the Battle of Plassey
Modern India	1757-1990 i.e. from the Battle of Plassey to Globlization
Post Modern India	1991-till date i.e. from Globlization to till date

Ancient India: the Beginning-647 AD
Pre- Historic Period	30,00,000 BC-600 BC
Indus Civilization	2,500 BC-1750 BC
Vedic Culture	1,500 BC-600 BC
Mahajanapada Period	600 BC-322 BC
Maurya Period	322 BC-185 BC
Post-Maurya/Pre-Gupta Period	185 BC-319 AD
Gupta Period	319 AD-550 AD
Post-Gupta Period/Vardhana Dynasty	550 AD-647 AD

Note: On the basis of tools, Pre-Historic Period is divided into three sub-periods-Lithic (Stone) Period, Copper Period & Iron Period.

Period

Medieval Period: 647-1757
Early Medieval Period	647-1206
Sultanate Period	1206-1526
Mughal Period	1526-1707

Modern Period : 1757 -1990
Stages of British Colonialism
First Phase	The Mercantile Phase	1757 – 1813	Monopoly of trade & Direct appropriation of revenue
Second Phase	The Industrial Phase	1813-1858	Period of Lasez Fair i.e. Free Trade
Third Phase	The Financial Phase	1860-1947	Finance Imperlism (Period of British capital investment in India)

British Policy towards Native States of India
Ring Fence Policy	1757-1813
Subordinate Isolation Policy	1813-1858
Subordinate Union Policy	1858-1935
Equal Federation Policy	1935-1947

Modern Period : 1757 -1990
Stages of British Colonialism
First Phase of Congress	1885-1905	Moderate Phase
Second Phase Congress	1905-1917	Extremist Phase
Third Phase Congress	1917-1947	Gandhian Era