Ancient Indian Civilization History
ANCIENT INDIAN CIVILIZATION
INTRODUCTION
In the 1920s, a huge discovery in South Asia proved that Egypt and Mesopotamia were not the only "early civilizations." In the vast Indus River plains (located in what is today Pakistan and western India), under layers of land and mounds of dirt, archaeologists discovered the remains of a 4,600 year-old city. A thriving, urban civilization had existed at the same time as Egyptian and Mesopotamian states — in an area twice each of their sizes. The Indian civilization is one of the most ancient civilizations of the world. It is known as the Sindhu civilization or the Indus Valley civilization or the Aryan civilization. Sometimes it is also referred to as the Vedic civilization.
The Aryans kindled the light of this civilization on the banks of the river Sindhu (Indus) in the Northern India, thousands of years ago. Later, they helped spread it across some other parts of the country. The historians can not ascertain the precise period when this great civilization flourished. The scholars differ on the period of its development. Even the origin of the Aryan race has been debatable. Some historians believe that the Aryans migrated from the North Central Asia and settled in India. Some other historians contend that the Aryans have been the natives of India.
In the opinion of “Lokmanya Tilak” and other Indian scholars, the Aryan civilization is 4000 to 8000 years old.
The Indus Valley Civilization which flourished from about 2600 BCE to 1900 BC, and included urban centers such as Harappa and Mohenjo-daro (in Pakistan), marked the beginning of the urban civilization on the subcontinent. It was centred on the Indus River and its tributaries, and extended into the Ghaggar-Hakra River valley, the Ganges-Yamuna Doab,Gujarat, and northern Afghanistan.The ruins of Harappa were first described in 1842 by Charles Masson in his Narrative of Various Journeys in Baluchistan, Afghanistan and the Panjab. It was more than half a century
INTRODUCTION
In the 1920s, a huge discovery in South Asia proved that Egypt and Mesopotamia were not the only "early civilizations." In the vast Indus River plains (located in what is today Pakistan and western India), under layers of land and mounds of dirt, archaeologists discovered the remains of a 4,600 year-old city. A thriving, urban civilization had existed at the same time as Egyptian and Mesopotamian states — in an area twice each of their sizes. The Indian civilization is one of the most ancient civilizations of the world. It is known as the Sindhu civilization or the Indus Valley civilization or the Aryan civilization. Sometimes it is also referred to as the Vedic civilization.
The Aryans kindled the light of this civilization on the banks of the river Sindhu (Indus) in the Northern India, thousands of years ago. Later, they helped spread it across some other parts of the country. The historians can not ascertain the precise period when this great civilization flourished. The scholars differ on the period of its development. Even the origin of the Aryan race has been debatable. Some historians believe that the Aryans migrated from the North Central Asia and settled in India. Some other historians contend that the Aryans have been the natives of India.
In the opinion of “Lokmanya Tilak” and other Indian scholars, the Aryan civilization is 4000 to 8000 years old.
The Indus Valley Civilization which flourished from about 2600 BCE to 1900 BC, and included urban centers such as Harappa and Mohenjo-daro (in Pakistan), marked the beginning of the urban civilization on the subcontinent. It was centred on the Indus River and its tributaries, and extended into the Ghaggar-Hakra River valley, the Ganges-Yamuna Doab,Gujarat, and northern Afghanistan.The ruins of Harappa were first described in 1842 by Charles Masson in his Narrative of Various Journeys in Baluchistan, Afghanistan and the Panjab. It was more than half a century