ra td I EMPIRES @ GANDHI @ BOLLYWOOD @ FAITH & FESTIVALSdia is a world in one country, a nation home to more people than any other on Earth, millions of whom follow different faiths and hail from diverse cultural backgrounds. It is a mesmerising, colourful, chaotic place brimming with life and blessed with wonders both natural and man-made. Its roots reach all the way back to 3300 BCE, and its future promises to unlock the vast potential ofits young populace. But how did the India we know today come to be? Who were the rulers and conquerors that shaped it? What is the story behind landmarks such as the majestic Taj Mahal? And what is life like for the 1.4 billion souls inside its sprawling borders? Prepare to embark on a journey through a fascinating land described as “the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history”CONTEN Cl o10 o16 020 026 [ocr ory Corte) Or) Ort ry 058 INDIA SU ren Vlog Civilisation pecmiecenee ert ere eet ecu C RUT Cy Cr ny See) Ly ce hea concrete riety esr peer eee cet priser India's philosopher king ‘nce a conqueror tent on extending tis empire in time Ashoka would oni leone mek ced pean sent ey ee eea ny Seer poset Seay Duy en perenne Bes eS er Cet eee Peery Seren ay en ater hn roe) erties sa Dee Pete) Peters Firecesrreenpaneerteornntn psec eins DESC SD eee tenn a estore) 062 yz) yi) 7d ty Cry 100 108 ac 120 Pz Due Raced es Ty poetre mere Ty ‘most populous country Oem enemas coe ee eet peal enema sersony Dr erat ten ee ety Poser noel ee] eect) ceed eg Ce ed eee eed crags Seay Peeters perenne aria feu eects pemieerany Sete) Ce nd poeta ennet ad Teoma aay rot ene ery creepiness creer Sut rnunem ono! errant aed Seed Pee ceod rane ern prety Per een Pesaran DOC ae aa te Cee act) reais ry" p.Wer-inleytKanl tants SC Te Bema N BU Ta ETE in the soul of its people” - Mahatma GandhiCloaked in mystery, the Old World's largest civilisation pioneered grid urban planning and sewage systems, only to disappear completely for thousands of years, still waiting to be understood 11626, a rsh East India Company explorer Aiscovered an ancent city, hitherto known only tothe locals, and assumed tobe around 1.500 years ol. However, within 50 years, the ruins had been stripped oftheir fired bricks, witch rail engineers had quarried for ballast. In the ensuing decades archaeologists ‘began to piece together the puzzk, unearthing a lost civilisation far larger and older in scope than previously imagined. “The ty robbed of its bricks was Harappa the powerful capital of the Old Worlds largest cviisaton the Indus Valley “The vast cision Doogan with the bumbiest of roots in around 3300 BCE, ‘when villages sprouted along the ocd plains ofthe parallel nus and Ghaggar Haka rivers. Drawing ‘upon the region’ spectacualy rich hunting and fishing grounds the Incus soon began to amass high yields of wiveat, barley and cotton, building ‘anares to store their sizable surplus, While Drevios cultures traded with Iran. Afghanistan and fen Turkmenistan the Ins Valley Civilisation festablished the fst overseas trade row across the Arabian Sea ~ helping its major urban ‘centres amass power and wealth. tits peak the Cclsatin stretched acoss more than 500.000 square miles, with 1500 settlements clustered throughout northwest india, most of Pakistan and into Afghanistan, ‘By 2500 the Valley's larger settlements ‘came to resemble state level societies, ‘with smaller outyingsetements resembling chiefdoms. ‘While the vast majnty of sts tesders ved in small peripheral villages, the most ‘Powerful ties existed as autonomous ctystates. ‘Though sutounded by enormous mudic and stone walls confit seemed to pla, at most avery minor rle ‘nIndus Valley culture with few arrowheads o spears discovered atnong, the ruins inthe region. On the contrary, Influence seems to have been exuded through the force of culture as homogenised systems of urban planning, economy and soclety eveberated across region that Was twice the sizeof ts counterparts in Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt “The two largest settlements, Harappa and Mohenjodaro, were enormous, housing up to 50000 inhabitants each. Due to Harapa's apparent pre-eminence, the Indus Valley Cilisation soften refered to as the Harappan Civilisation. Such cites Doasted shared principles of urban planning, witha Citadel of large pubic buildings, bull top a mound to the west accompanied bya lower resent tow to the east. Indus tes were bu i foxming parallelograms, with long thoroughfares sunning north to south and east o west -an urban planning first. Uniformity was widespread across Indus settlements, even down to brick ses, ‘Streets were designed in accordance with wind on to establish the Mamluk dynasty and become the first Saltan of Delhi, In 1194, Muhammad of Ghor returned ta India vith a50000-srong army and met the frces of King Jayachanara ofthe Gahadavala dynasty at the Battle of Chandawar. The battle was fought ‘on the banks ofthe Jumna Rive at whats now Frozabad, close to Agra, Jayachandra had the ‘upp: hand unl an arrow struck him in the ee, king um. He fel fom his war elephan and was 0 badly trampled that his corse could only be identi by the gold cans on his teeth. With their commander dead is army turned and an ‘Muhammad of Ghor was now in conta fa vast Portion af northern india. and he and Qutb akan ‘bak moved on though the land, consolidating ther gains. ‘Though some hisorians date the founding of the Delhi Sultanate fom this eres of ates, the majcty instead use th date o 1206, when ‘Muhammad of Ghor was assassinated by Isma Sia Muslims, Qutb al-Din Aibok was crowned suitan on 24 July 1206, marking the oficial birth of the Delhi Sultanate ‘Aslan, Aibak focused on consolidation rather than expansion and was known asa benevolent and generous ruler He died asa result ofa horse riding accident jst four yeas into his reign having appointed no her His successor, Aram Shah, was chosen by powerfl nobles but ruled for just afew ‘months, enduring dissent and rebellion before he \was dethroned by the man wo would become the ‘hired sultan of Del Sst ike Aiba, Shams win tutmish had started life asa slave ad was infact bought by Aiba, swifly rising through the ranks to eventually become the governor of Badaun. ‘rucmish was a respected figure whe had enjoyed a cstnguished recon in the sevice ofthe Sultanate He was particularly clese to (Qutb al-Din Aibak, who used to refer tohimasa son and whose daughter was his consort. For this reason, those who opposed the succession of Aram ‘Shah fel tha lutmish was the better candidate forthe roe. Led by sence riltary officers, they invited im to ‘overthrow Aram Shah and chim the ‘hone himselt ‘rurmish marched on Dethi and seized power Those who protested ‘were punished without hestaton by Irutmish, who consolidate his rle by defeating Shabis army. What happened to Aram ‘Shah imeel snot clean the was crtainly ile Du whether this was in Date or via execution is ‘unknown, With Shahs death rugmish became the ruler of the re Delhi Sukanat. He established his Paice capital ety in Delhi and reigned for aon 25 years, during which time Delhi became recognised as the indian cenie of samsc culture and politcal power. ‘Among ttumis’s most notable avenged himself with the ransacking of Mongol architectural achievements was the construction ofthe Qu Minar tower, which had been by the Khai dynasty, and in 1296 Ala a-Din «came to poweras the Bh sultan. He seized the throne by leading a murderous coup against his uncle a fates in ‘@)@) | '@e@ | ‘ Epes ey, OO. CAwW.® 1 DELHI SULTANA law, Jalal akin, who had himself achieved power by deposing the Mamluks In the ist years of his reign Alzal-Din succesfully fended off repeated attempted invasions by Mongol groups and he later teritory in what is now Afghanistan ‘Though Ala abDin sat atthe head ofan already mighty power he was determined to conquer yet Started bythe fist more kingdoms and bring them under the control sultan for whom tof the Deli Sulanat, Particularly atractive was \snamed, the wealthy region of Gujarat wich was ruled over ‘The Mamluk by the Hindu Vaghela dynasty, Gujarat enjoyed no, yrasty was only fertile agricultural la but also direct arcess succeeded in 1290 tothe ich indian Ocean tade routes. which Ala ain wanted to open up tothe Muslim merchants of north India In erty 1299, Ala al-Din raised an army and marched on Gujarat, aking King Karna uteriy by surprise Gujarat el quickly othe invaders, leaving Karna to flee just days before ala al-Din