History of India Rise

RISE OF INDIA

The Bay of Bengal is located in Southeast of India, the Indian Ocean is situated in the south and the Arabian Sea is flowing in the Southwest of India. India is the seventh largest country of the world and covers one third of Asia, in terms of area it consists of 3,287,263 square KM. [i] Bhutan lies in its north, China and Nepal lie in its northwest, while Indian border touches to Pakistan from its western border. Bangladesh and Myanmar is on its east. Being a largest country in South Asia, India has a great importance owing to its tactics and geographic location. India is the world’s largest democracy. India is the second largest populous country in the world with about 1.21 billion peoples and continued to increase. [ii] It is the second largest growing economy in the world after China.[iii] It is improving itself on an economic basis in Asia after Japan and China.The Indian mining industry is on the path of development and it is on third number in the world of manufacturing iron and ore. It is the largest creator of sheet mica and is on the fifth number of manufacturing bauxite. Its natural resources enhance its significance, this temptation brought Europeans in the subcontinent with the purpose of trade and ultimately they became the  Qutbuddin Aibak, a former slave to Muhammad of Ghauri, was the first Muslim governor of Delhi who laid the basis of the Slave dynasty in 1209.[iv] Delhi was made capital of the Sultanate. Slave dynasty was the first of the Muslims in the list of five successive development of the Delhi Sultanate. Jalal Uddin came to power after the overthrow of the slave dynasty. He was the founder of Khilji dynasty. He expanded his control over vast areas of the subcontinent. In 1292, he countered a Mongol invasion at the Indus River.[v] Tughlaq dynasty was started in 1321 when Ghazi Tughlaq conquered the throne. He changed the capital from Delhi to Daulatabad and introduced copper coins in the subcontinent. The downfall of the Tughlaq dynasty started after the death of Feroz Shah. This dynasty lasted from 1321 to 1413 in the subcontinent.[vi] The people of the Sayyid dynasty ruled the subcontinent from 1414 to 1450.[vii]The community of this dynasty is known as the offspring of Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W). Sayyid Khizer Khan ruled the subcontinent for 37 years, after his death, his son Mubarrak Khan became the ruler. The last ruler of Sayyid dynasty was Muhammad bin Fari.

Lodhi dynasty ruled in the subcontinent from 1451 to 1526. The first ruler of this dynasty was the Behlul Khan Lodhi. In 1489, after Behlul Khan, his son Nizam Shah succeeded as the king. The Mughal rule started in the Indian Subcontinent in the early sixteen century and controlled most of its parts.[viii]Babar came to India after receiving an invitation from Daulat Khan Lodhi (then the Governor of Punjab). Babar defeated Ibrahim Lodhi in the first battle of Panipat in 1526.[ix]After getting victory in this battle; the Mughal Empire was established in the subcontinent. In the history of the Indian subcontinent, the first battle of Panipat is considered a catalyst that puts an end to Salateen-I-Delhi and brought the Mughals into power. The Mughals maintained their power in India from 1526 to 1858. After invading the subcontinent, Babar divided it into many states. Babar set-up the Mughal Empire but unluckily he died in 1530.[x] After his death, his elder son Humayun took over the reign and ruled the subcontinent from 1530 to 1540. He faced many problems in his reign, he reorganized his army. Before the death of Humayun, the Mughal Empire was extended over almost one million square KM. In the Mughal history, Humayun is entitled as ‘Insan-i-Kamil’ (The Perfect Man) because of his character and tolerance. Humayun was defeated by Sher Shah Suri and took power in 1540. Sher Shah was having remarkable qualities; he brought many modifications, including land revenue, military, currency, police, judicial, and tariff reform. He spent 15 years in exile. Humayun once again came into power and ruled subcontinent from 1555 till his death. On regaining power, he developed a vast communication system throughout the subcontinent and also worked for the improvement of the economic condition for poor people. At the peak time of the Mughal kingdom, many parts of the subcontinent were under the control of Mughal rulers who governed them successfully. The son of Akbar, Jahangir governed the empire from 1605-1627.[xi]In October 1627 the son of Jahangir, Shah Jahan succeeded the throne and ruled the subcontinent. Mughal rulers introduced a glorious example of a government that presented a role model for other Indian rulers. The Mughal Empire was one of the greatest consolidated states in pre-modern history. The decline of Mughal Empire started in 1707 after the death of Aurangzeb Alamgir but it maintained its power in India for another 150 years.The subcontinent officially became the part of the British Empire in 1858, after passing the Government Indian Act by the Parliament of England.[xii] The British entered the subcontinent with the purpose of trade, but when they saw the wealthier condition for doing business in this area they decided to occupy this area. The British ruled the Indian subcontinent from 1858 to 1947.[xiii] The British Raj was started in India when the rule of the British East India Company was shifted to the Queen Victoria.[xiv] The East India Company had helped to improve British interests and political strength in the subcontinent. The arrival of the Britishers in the subcontinent brought a new concept of political attitude. However Britishers failed to combine Muslim and Hindus on one platform. Their views about the nation did not fit in the situation of the subcontinent. They introduced the political system based on democracy, but it did not suit to the subcontinent atmosphere because the people belong to different religions and traditions. Although the Hindus admired the concept of democracy, but the Muslims strongly rejected this idea. Because with the implementation of this new rule their separate identity would be demolished. Under the presence of British rule, cultural and religious differences increased in the Hindu Muslim.  Impressive efforts were shown by Indian people for getting independence from the British rule in the result of Indian nationalism. British rule just served for the interests of Britain’s ruling classes, which became the basic opposition among the British government and the Indian people. The East India Company attained a license to trade in the subcontinent. It started efforts to acquire power and to set-up its own industries in the subcontinent. In the seventeenth century, the company policy changed from economic interest to political interest. European powers, which came in India were Dutch, British, Danish, and France. This made India the most valuable and populous country and soon was known as ‘the jewel in the crown’. A second European power which reached to India in May 1498 was the Portuguese, as traditional trade routes were blocked in Western Asia due to their clash with Italy. The Portugal was in search of another sea route to India. In 1502, the Empire of Portuguese established the first European trading center in Kerala, which marked the beginning of the colonial era in India.[xv]The East India Company established in 1600 and controlled the few parts of the subcontinent; however, it became independent after Lord Robert Clive’s success in the battle of Plessey.[xvi]The victory of Europeans in the Battle of Plassey 1757 was the basic reason to get its entry in India as a colonial power. They established industries in the subcontinent for trade and permanently want to stay in this region. In 1757, the Company’s rule started in India after the surrender of Nawab of Bengal in a battle with East India Company. After the appointment of first Governor General, Warren Hastings the Company gained power to maintain its rules in India. The British ruled the subcontinent nearly 200 years. First 100 years of their rule were full of anarchism and clash.[xvii] The war of independence 1857 was an important event in the history of the subcontinent that brought the British into power declaring India as their colony. Indian forces judged that the British rulers usually failed to take care of their rights, religion, and dignity; they are in the subcontinent just for their own benefit. They were using subcontinent as a gold mine and doing nothing for the progress of the subcontinent and its people. The first uprising was started on 29 March1857, in Bengal at Barrack pore and instantly it expanded to the North. This revolt was not due to any single cause, but it involved many other factors. The first reason of this revolt was the use of greased cartridge demonstrated as the instant reason for rebellion. It was whispered that the cartridges were lubricated with the fat of pig and cow. These circumstances disconcerted the religious spirits of both the Hindu and the Muslims soldiers. The people of the subcontinent realized that the British want to destroy the local industry and to promote their own goods in the subcontinent. Due to this, the local industry was losing its value. The zamindars were obliged to show the documentary proof of their lands and if they failed to show them they were deprived of their lands. Moreover, the tax rate was increased which was difficult for them to pay. In the war of 1857, this class of zamindars was in front against the British. The British did not give any important jobs to Indian people, who created resentment and educated class became frustrated due to unemployment.

The army was based on caste system and the relation of people was on the basis of their castes not on merit or qualification. The army was divided into three categories, first was the Bengal army, which included higher class peoples like the Brahmins and Rajputs. The second class was Madras army and the third was Bombay army based on lower class people. The authority of higher castes in Bengal army has been alleged for a rise of rebellion against the East India Company. Some Indian soldiers came to know that the Company was working on the secret mission to convert the Muslim and Hindus to Christianity. It was a great effort by the people of the subcontinent to demolish the British Empire from their land. But unluckily they failed due to the Indian’s lack of organizations. There was not any planning at national level for fighting this war. The Princes were not taking part in the war because of their good relations with the British government. The administrators of the British government played a diplomatic game and tried to neutralize a large part of the ruling class.  The Hindus and the Muslims faced a terrible defeat at the hands of the British government in the war of 1857. It further complicated the ties and mistrust surfaced on an administrative level. After the 1857, the rule of the East India Company ceased and Sub-continent came under the direct control of the British Crown.  Both Hindus and Muslims communities realized that the Britishers had to leave the subcontinent that they should live peacefully in their homeland. The Muslims demanded for a separate country because they cannot live with Hindus in the same country. The Muslims of the subcontinent were totally different from Hindus in religious, social and cultural contexts. They need a separate nation to spend their lives according to their religion and ideology. They are totally a separate nation having their own history, customs, culture, heritage, festivals, and literature. They cannot be fused with any other nation. According to the philosophy of Islam, it was tough for the Muslims live with Hindus in the same country. The first reason which urges the Muslims to demand a separate nation was Urdu-Hindi controversy. The Hindus were trying that Hindi should be the national language which was not acceptable for the Muslims. It was obligatory for the Muslims to get a separate homeland for them to live peacefully and follow the rules of Islam. Muslims were not allowed to do adoration of Allah; at the prayer time Hindus beat the drums to disturb the Muslims. The Muslims were not allowed to slaughter cows and the killing of Muslims in Balkan war and kaanpore increased the abhorrence. The Muslims thought to get a separate homeland for them because of Hindus extremism against them. The Hindus consider them unclean. They do not connect any relation with the people who does not belong to their religion. Especially the Hindus hate the Muslims, which caused a long gap between both religious groups. The leadership of the Muslim population through that the rights of the Muslim community could not be safe in this part of the land. Muslims demanded for their rights and the protection of the minorities living in the subcontinent. Beside living combine in the subcontinent for many years, they cannot be combined into one nation. After viewing the bad condition of poor people of the subcontinent; a retired British Civil Servant A.O. Hume laid the foundation of a political party in the subcontinent. The purpose of building this party was to generate political awareness among the masses about the situation and activities of their government. India National Congress was established to include local population in the local self government. For this purpose he approached the educated people of the country and convinced them to leave their personal matters and be united to get their basic rights and an effective constitution for the country. After getting encouragement from all the provinces, 72 delegates were gathered in Mumbai and on 27 December1885 the first session of Congress were held and Indian National Congress was established on 28 December1885. [xviii] It was the most prominent organization not only in the pre - partition era, but also played a central role in India’s independence. The subcontinent was divided on religious basis with the struggle of Hindus and Muslims. It was divided into Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Republic of India. Pakistan was made up of two distant sections. The Western Pakistan and the East Pakistan, which is now known as the Bangladesh. In a highly bipolar world after its independence 1947, India came up with its dream of being a dominating state. India associated itself with both the super powers at that time to get its political and strategic interests achieved. Even before its independence, India made its entry into the international community of states by signing UN’s declaration in 1942. Following the same path, when United Nations officially came into existence in 1945, India was among the founding members of the UN despite its status of the British colony. In 1947-48 India actively participated in drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Nehru was the first Prime Minister of India. He was a visionary leader. He wanted to see himself as a leader of South Asia. He did a lot of work for the Indian state to make it secular, socialist, and a democratic republic. He believes in idealism. He performed a great role in making its country towards the way of success. During the struggle for Indian independence the basis of foreign policy was laid down. Nehru was the main architect of Indian foreign policy which he designed to take India to new heights of glory and pride. Among the clauses of Indian foreign policy, one of the important clauses is to maintain cordial relations with all the regional and extra regional powers.  Nehru was the draftsman of the idea of ‘non-alignment.’[xix] Nehru decided to keep India neutral from the disputes of great powers. It was a great diplomatic move which allowed India to gain advantages from both the power blocks of capitalism and socialism. Nehru was greatly inspired by the system of the Soviet Union. The basic aspect of this policy was highlighting peace, removal of fear, and general disarmament. Nehru gave great importance to peace to achieve economic, social, and political interests. Nehru’s policy was aimed not only for the protection of India in interest, but to strengthen international relations. Nehru presented five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, known as Panchseel treaty. On 31 December 1953 and 29 April 1954 meetings were held in Beijing for the negotiations of signing this agreement, at the end of these negotiations both countries signed this treaty. The treaty comprises on five principles:

·                     Mutual non-aggression

·                     Equality and mutual benefit

·                     Mutual respect for each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty

·                     Peaceful co-existence

·                     Mutual non-interference in each other's internal affairs

A primary hypothesis is about the Five Principles was that newly liberated states would be capable to improve a new and extra ethical methodology to international relations. In a meeting at the time of the Asian Prime Ministers Conference at Colombo, Nehru highlighted the principles prior to signing of Sino-Indian treaty in Beijing. Nehru further asserted that recognition of these principles by all states would result in zero conflict. Latter on these principles was adopted as basic features of non-align movement. Wherever these five principles have been adopted, became the foundation of the non-aligned Movement.  Along with the principle of peaceful coexistence, India adopted a hegemonic attitude with its neighbours right from independence. Indo-Pak war of 1948 was the first link in this chain. It gave birth to longstanding Kashmir dispute, which arose from unjust demarcation of boundaries between two states. Following the zero-sum situation both the countries declared the ceasefire on 2 January 1949.[xx] Indian rivalry is not only limited to traditional rival Pakistan, it extends to other neighbours as well. It fought a war with China in 1962, occurred due to the border dispute of Tibet. This issue disturbed the relation of both the states of decades. Consequently an agreement was signed in 1996, and boundary line was marked named Line of Control (LOC). Again in 1965, clashes erupted from the burning issue of Kashmir. Soon it became a full-fledged war termed as second Indo-Pak war. It highlighted the Kashmir issue at the international level and the UN was requested to perform its role to end this conflict. In order to solve this issue with mutual negotiations, the UNSC passed a resolution on 20 September.[xxi]  The SU played the role of mediator and was able to set the dispute between the warring nations at the Tashkent Declaration in 1966. Distant politics between Eastern and Western Pakistan passed through many ups and downs. The general election of 1970, took both the sides on point of no return. Awami League won the majority seats in East Pakistan and government of the People’s Party headed by Zulifiqar Ali Bhutto refused to accept the mandate of Awami League. The situation became worst and military operation started in Eastern Pakistan. India exploited this situation by providing military support and titles it as ‘freedom struggle of East Pakistan.’ This war ended with the fall of Dhaka on 16 December 1971, and East Pakistan emerged as separate independent state ‘Bangladesh.’ An Indian journey to be a nuclear state traces its route from the pre - partition era. Efforts to develop a nuclear program started in Nehru era, because Nehru was the person who set the path of a major power in India. When China entered the nuclear club in 1964, it raised the concerns of India and India declared China as a security threat. In 1974, India became a 6th nuclear power when it successfully tested its nuclear weapons. Indian nuclear program covers its two- edged interests. At first, it enhanced its military might to maintain its superiority over its rivals. On the other hand it supports the Indian stance of a major power, because Indian nuclear capability falls in the list of prerequisites to become a major power.   Nuclear weapons are now just became the symbol of national power, they are not going to be used for any appropriate military purposes. After the independence Nehru started struggling to introduce India as a shining star in the world with the technology of nuclear power. In the history of India, Jawaharlal Nehru was the prominent leader who had a great role in the development of the Indian nuclear program. Nehru was aware that without getting nuclear capability India cannot become a major power in the world. So for this purpose Nehru took great interest in introducing India as a nuclear power country. India decided to attain nuclear power to fulfill its wish as a major power in the world. India did not care about the world’s reaction; weather harsh or angry about its nuclear program. Although there was a great pressure on India to stop the procedure of nuclear retaliation but India continued its efforts. In 1967, Indira Gandhi suggested that the Indian security should be at its best level and authorized the development of a nuclear program. While nuclear weapons cannot be perceived as the solution of India’s countless internal and external problems.