Pre-historic period

By 1500 B.C., there emerged the invasion of the Aryan people into the northwestern India. The Aryans also brought with them political system, a patriarchal family system, caste system, and pantheism into the region. They spoke and wrote Sanskrit which was a language later used in the Vedas, the basis of an early Hinduism. The Aryans later extended their power and culture further south and east, and eventually settled in the Ganges Valley where they, among themselves, established various small kingdoms throughout much of northern India. The culture and religious belief set up by the Aryans are considered as the basis of Hindu society and remains strong in present-day India.

The Great Dynasties
Owing to prosperity from both riverine and inland trades in the Ganges Valley, by 600 B.C., Magadh the most predominant kingdom among 16 others came into power, stretching across the North Indian Plains from modern-day Afghanistan to Bangladesh. In the time, Buddhism founded by Siddhartha Gautama and Jainism of the founder Mahavira also came into emergence to challenge Hinduism.

The Magadh rule was followed by the rule of Mauryan Dynasty (326-184 B.C.), founded by Chandragupta Maurya, one of India's greatest rulers. The Mauryan rule marked the first Indian imperial power which oversaw the nation's expansion and cultural diffusion throughout the sub-continent and overseas. Under the reign of the Great Emperor Asoka (269-232 B.C.), the Mauryan Empire with its center in the east of India (the modern-day Bihar) conquered nearly the entire sub-continent, and Indian religious traditions, especially Buddhism were introduced into Central Asia, Sri Lanka, and many countries in Southeast Asia, allowing then the diplomatic, and at the same time, commercial relations between India and foreign countries. However, after Asoka's death, India came into disintegration with small kingdoms, and for centuries, had been plagued with constant raids and plunders of the northern invaders. Stability did not come until the 4th century when the Gupta Dynasty could unify the fragmented northern India. During this period, considered as India's Golden Age, Hindu arts, culture, and political administration reached their zenith. In the southern part of India, foreign invasions had a little impact on people's life. However, there are also a number of southern kingdoms which had faced rise and decline, paralleling with the northern Indian dynasties; the most dominant among them was Chola Kingdom which spread its power to Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.

The Muslim Invasions
The sub-continent undertook the other great invasion of Muslims in the10th and the 11th centuries. The Muslims invaded and established sultanates in Delhi. During this period, Muslim rulers introduced Islamic concepts of society and governance to most of the region though the southern kingdoms still enjoyed their autonomy. In the 16th century, descendents of Gengis Khan invaded Punjab and finally founded the Mughal Dynasty which lasted for 200 years. Under the reign of Mughal, two currents, the Islamic culture of the northern India and the Hindu in the south, mingled together, leaving enduring influences on each other.

British Rule
The British began its influence in India firstly by establishing the trade outpost in South Asia in the 17th century, and later in the century, East India Company opened permanent trading stations in three major port cities of India, Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta. With its expansion from these bases, by 1850, the British controlled most of present-day India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The 1857 rebellion in north India prompted a direct control from the Great Britain whereby Indian councilors were appointed to advise the British viceroy. During the British Rule, India has faced the revolutionary changes in society, politics, and economy of the country.

Independence
The total seize of administration as well as all interests in India by the British provoke an increasing discontentment among the Indians. The anti-British sentiment became the mass movement with the advent of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi) who adopted the non-violence and non-cooperation to resist the British rule, leading to the nation's independence on August 15, 1947, the day that is now celebrated as India's Independence Day. Today, India is the world's largest democracy with a federal form of government. The head of the state is the president while the executive power is asserted by the prime minister through bicameral parliament and cabinet of ministers. India's present-day President is Abdul Kalam and the Prime Minister is Atal Behari Vajpayee.