India : The Incredible Country

Normally called as India is the seventh largest country by area, the second most populous country, and the largest democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal on the east, Neighboring countries are  Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Bangladesh and Burma to the east. India is the nearest neighbor of Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Indonesia in the Indian Ocean.

India is a perfect place for tours and holidays. There is so much to see that people could spend whole life exploring the different areas .
India has been the richest country culturally and has a heritage which no other country in world can match. History has it that it is the only country which has not invaded any other country in last 1000 years but has ruled many countries for decades culturally. Many countries still follow the religion and culture which originated from India.

India has given so much to the world that no other country in spite of their claims has been able to touch the capability of India.

“Unity in diversity”. It is not just another phrase or quotation. You will not find any other country in world which has so much diversity but still shows merger of different cultures and traditions together.

India that is incredibly rich in culture and heritage. Few quotations or statements cannot describe the pedestal that India holds in the world map because of its colorful and unique culture.

Origin of India

India is the country where the most ancient civilizations in the world, which existed over 5,000 years ago. This civilization originated in the Indus River Valley, hence was called Indus Valley Civilization. This civilization had its main cities Mohenjadaro and Harappa flourished for over eight centuries. Its people thought to be Dravidians, whose descendants still inhabit the far south of India.

Later on India was invaded by the Aryans in 1500 BC. They were the first invaders. Later on the struggle between Aryans and Dravidians started  for supermacy. Where dravidians lost.

Around 500 BC Persia invaded India and conquered Indus Valley. History has it that in 327 BC Alexander of Macedonia crossed the Indus and defeated an Indian king, but returned back without  extending to other parts of India.

After turning back of Alexander India saw the rise of Mauryas,  India’s first imperial dynasty, founded by Chandragupta Maurya of Maurya dynasty which was at peak around 260 BC under the Great Emperor Ashoka, the first emperor who was able to bring whole of indian subcontinent under direct control for the first time in Indian History. But after his death, the Mauryan empire gradually fell apart because his descendants were not as strong rulers as he was.

At the beginning of the fourth century AD, India was fragmented into a lot of small kingdoms and as there was no unity and understanding between them and they were often invaded by stronger neighbors. Subseqyently King Chandragupta II united all of northern India into a great empire again.

The Gupta period was the golden age of Indian history and under their rule in northern India, arts, poetry and literature, flourished. The exquisite Ajanta and Ellora caves were excavated in this period. Gupta period extended from 320AD to 480AD. But in 455 AD the Huns invaded India from the north and destroyed the Guptan Empire. Again India was split into small kingdoms until the Muslim invasions around 1000 AD.

In South India, great empires rose, entirely independently from those of the north. These included the Kalachuris,  Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Yadhavas, Hoysalas, Pallavas, Cholas, Pandyas, Cheras and the Vijayanagar kingdom.