What's in mind?

India is the land of many religions, languages and customs. Many philosophers are born here. Many religions started here. Modern India is the result of a division based on religious lines. The partition was succeeded by one of the worst human tragedies in world history. Mass migration and communal violence left millions dead. It also made scars in the minds of the people and even after half a century the wound are not healed. Religion and spirituality are very important for the Indians. From the history we can see that the successful rulers of the past understand the importance of tolerance among different sects and communities with different faith and customs. Emperor Ashoka (273 BC-232 BC) had been ruled a large centralized empire that ran from present day Afghanistan to Mysore in South India . Diverse communities, regions, cultures and sects inhabited in his empire had differences of opinion expressed in direct and antagonistic ways amongst the various religious sect...

Even though colonialism and British barbarianism are the major reasons for the decline of India ’s wealth, prosperity and technological advancement, there are some socio-cultural issues made it easier for the colonialists and accelerated its impact. Religious customs and social framework made possible the independent self-sufficient communal villages of ancient India . But the restrictions on travel, education, division of labor and social customs restricts people from acquiring skills necessary for the self improvement and social advancement. Division of labor among the members is necessary for a self-sufficient independent community. But this division should be based on skills and experience rather than color of the skin or family. The possibility to change labor and class will allow competition to acquire skills and further advance technological achievements. In ancient Indian society the system of social stratification and social restrictions was mainly based on labor alone...

Some people still have the illusion that the British Raj was not all that bad. But in reality is that the British Colonial rule as against the interests of the common people of the Indian sub-continent and it destroyed the education system, economy, ancient monuments and livelihood of the people. One can trace the education system in India to third century B.C. Ancient days, the sages and scholars imparted education orally. After the development of letters it took the form of writing. Palm leaves and bark of trees were used for education. Temples and community centers often took the role of schools. When Buddhism spread in India , education became available to everyone and this led to the establishment of some world famous educational institutions Nalanda, Vikramshila and Takshashila. These educational institutes in fact arose from the monasteries. History has taken special care to give Nalanda University , which flourished from the fifth to 13th century AD, full credit for its e...

Geographical region in ancient India is divided into multiple countries now. Sri Lanka ( Ceylon ) was part of the South Indian kingdoms and part of the Madras presidency of British India . In 1798 it become a separate crown colony and granted independence on February 4, 1948 . Myanmar (old Burma ) was annexed by the British in 1826 and governed as part of the British Indian administration until 1937. There after directly administrated by the British until it granted independence on January 4, 1948 . The countries Nepal and Bhutan had singed treaties with the British designating them as independent states and they were never a part of British India . End of British Raj led to the creation of Dominion of Pakistan (now Islamic Republic of Pakistan) on August 14, 1947 and Union of India (now Republic of India ) on August 15, 1947 . The actual division between the two new dominions was done according to what has come to be known as the Mountbatten Plan . The border between...

After many years of struggle and resolutions, Indian National Congress finally passed a resolution which asks for complete independence for India . On August 8, 1942 the Quit India Resolution was passed at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee which demands complete independence from Britain . It proposed that if the British did not accede to the demands, massive civil disobedience would be launched. At Gowalia Tank, Bombay , Gandhi urged Indians to follow non-violent civil disobedience. He told the masses to act as an independent nation and not to follow the orders of the British. His call found support among a large number of Indians. It also found support among Indian revolutionaries who were not necessarily agree to Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence. Within the Indian independence movement there was a concept of an armed force fighting its way into India to overthrow the British Raj. During the Second World War, this plan found revival, with a number...

India ’s struggle for swaraj continues under the leadership of Gandhi, commonly known as "Mahatma" (or Great Soul). He had been educated in Britain he didn’t have much success as a lawyer while he was in India . He had accepted an invitation in 1893 to represent indentured Indian laborers in South Africa . He stayed on for more than twenty years and been a prominent leader of the anti-Apartheid movement. He had been a vocal opponent of basic discrimination and abusive labor treatment as well as suppressive police control. He returned to India in 1915 and joins the national movement. Gopal Krishna Gokhale, a veteran Congressman and Indian leader became Gandhi's mentor. Gandhi's ideas and strategies of nonviolent civil disobedience (Satyagraha) appeared impractical to many educated Indians at the beginning. Observers realized Gandhi's political potential when he used the Satyagraha during the anti-Rowlett Acts protests in Punjab . In 1920, under Gandhi's l...

The first nationalistic sentiment among the members of the Indian National Congress was to representation in the government bodies. Dadabhai Naoroji successfully contested in an election and become the first Indian member in the British House of Commons. Aware of the economic devastation that British rule had brought on the country, India 's broad masses were responding eagerly to the nationalist message. But the nationalist movement was also becoming exceedingly divided between two poles representing radically different currents and tendencies. Whereas one side attempted to restrict the national movement to a struggle for political reforms, the other side sees the aspirations of the general public and called for the complete liberation from colonial rule. Bal Gangadhar Tilak eloquently and succinctly summarized the sentiments of the new and increasingly militant national movement. He spoke of British rule as having ruined trade, caused the collapse of industry, and destroyed...