India - Dr Anderson

 Harappa

ancient civilization in India; Advancements were remarkable for their time; city center shows distinguished classes, buildings made from mud-brick, no royalty, sacred bathrooms, cities, neighborhoods, sewage system, weaving, domesticated chickens for food, artistic achievements (pottery), architectural achievement, writing in engraved stamps, and cities tied by a government system

Mohenjo-Daro

 largest city of Indus valley civilization; trade hub; urban planning and agriculture; mud bricks, sewage system, very similar to Harappa with achievements; had an administrative system with less fortification compared to other civilizations; harappa less fortification as well

Caste system and its legacies today

 Brahmins (priest and teachers who can teach the Veda and perform religious sacrifices), Kshatriyas (soldiers, generals, kings who could learn, but not teach), Vaishyas (teachers and landowners who could learn, but not teach), and Sudras (servants to other members of the system, not allowed to even learn Vedas). Untouchables, also known as Dalits, are outside the caste system, “Polluted work,” no social interaction, if you are touched by them, you must “cleanse yourself from pollution” by performing religious ceremonies.

Ganges River and significance

The Ganges River, also known as the Ganga, holds immense significance in Hinduism and is considered the most sacred and holiest river. 

Hinduism—

Beliefs

Divinity of the Vedas (religious texts); one, all pervasive god; Endless cycles of creation; Karma; soul reincarnation; Divine beings exist (Brahman); Guru is essential; all life is sacred; respect for all religions; cow is sacred 

4 stages of life- hindu

Student Stage- study w/teacher (guru), practicing yoga, understanding gods

Housholder stage- live a normal life. Necessary to survival. 

Going to the forest- when your children grow up and you turn away from the materialistic life. Finish Dharma, Work to achieve moksha

Wandering holy man- person wandering and meditating. Showing how moksha is possible

Cardinal virtues hindu

Purity; truth; self-control; detachment; non-violence

Practice hindu

 Yoga (union of individual soul w/Brahman) 

 Founder hindu

none

 virtues hindu

Concept of Brahman; Goal moksha; Atman

brahman

 Idea of creator of the world like a force; creator of the world and every living thing created has an essence of Brahman; Brahman is not worshiped 

atman

 Soul’s divine essence

Moksha

ultimate goal of Hinduism; to be one with Brahman and to not care about material parts of life/self center (no ego)

Dharma

To live up to your purpose given at birth through the caste system; duty of law, religion, virtue, morality, and custom.

karma

 measure of one’s action (Good vs bad Karma) that affects your afterlife

 reincarnation

if do good stuff in this life, better next life till eventually reaching salvation. If doing bad, bad next life reinforces the caste system.

ShriVedas

religious text

Buddhism—

Beliefs-

reincarnation, nirvana (goal to leave the cycle), eightfold path; doesn’t support caste

Practices

 meditation

Founder

Siddhartha Guatama

 Nirvana

final goal of Buddhism, extinguishment of attachments to this material world, detaching from one’s own desires; not good not bad; no happiness but no suffering

Four Noble Truths

 Life is sorrow. Sorrow is a result of selfish desire. Selfish desire can be destroyed. Can be destroyed by following an eightfold path.

Eightfold Path

 eightfold path. The Eightfold Path is a system of rules. Right… understanding, aspiration, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, absorption; four noble truths:Right understanding, aspiration

 Sikhism—beliefs

Mix of Hinduism and Islam; monotheistic; equal access; less rigid social structure

core values- keep God in heart and mind; treat everyone equal; be generous to the less fortunate; serve others.

Sikhs seek to defend

 Sikhism founder-

Guru Nanak

Mauryan Empire-

not a ton is known about it; center in ganges river (capital also located there); empire is subdivided; legal code and courts; professional army (lasted long) had men chariots and elephants; government controls economic life and society; agriculture was booming 

Chandragupta Maurya

 the founder of the Mauryan Empire

Asoka

- Chandragupta Maurya’s grandson; one of the greatest rulers in Indian history; peaceful; made Buddhism the state religion; converts to Buddhism and changes the way he rules; religious toleration and peaceful rule; made stone pillars with Buddhism edicts on it, 

Rock Edicts

 written for common people, expressed his remorse for the suffering he caused of the people of Kalinga.

Gupta Empire

 Golden age; started by Chandragupta Maurya; thriving trade; had literature, music, architecture, medicine, institutions of educations and made the concept of zero

Chandragupta II

Expansion of Guptan empire, took over most of northern india,  patronage of arts

 Shah Jahan

 built the Taj Mahal for his wife who died from trying to have their 13th child at 39 years of age,

Akbar

 religiously tolerant & abolished jizya (a tax on the non muslims), patron of arts 

Suhl-i-kul

universal religious tolerance

Din-i-ilahi

all major religions in 1

Zamindar

 tax collectors collecting money from land owners for the gov’t

Mansabdar-

soldiers assisting Akbar with executing the rules of his empire

Aurangzeb

religiously intolerant, devout Muslim, reinstall jizya, cared more about financials; looked upon today as the mean one – 

The British East Company and dual control

 After a Dutch company made tremendous profits trading with spice Islands, eighty English merchants joined together to form the British East India Company. They were focused on avoiding conflict and amassing wealth. In 1698, the Mughal Empire allowed the company a new settlement in India because the Mughal empire recognized EIC’s power. By granting a settlement, the Mughal empire aimed to maintain a favorable economic relationship with EIC. EIC began to expand its territorial control in Bengal and other regions.

Battle of Plassey

 During wars between France and Great Britain, the French company of indies challenged the east india company’s position in india. Francois Dupewix initially had success by manipulating the local rulers, but ultimately Robert Clive defeated the french. At the Battle of Plassey in 1757 between the EIC and the Nawab of Bengal, Clive bribed the uncle of his enemy to stay out of the battle, which allowed the British to win and Clive made the uncle the new ruler of Bengal and Bihar. 

Indirect rule after battle of plassey

The new Nawab became Clive’s puppet, giving the EIC the right to collect taxes and the British drained the province of its wealth. Clive grew super wealthy, but the company itself began to go bankrupt. As a result, the British government began to supervise the company more closely. Warren Hastings became India’s first Governor General. He used military force and clever diplomacy to bring more territory either directly or indirectly through local rulers under British control. By the mid 19th century, the British not only controlled the Indian subcontinent politically, but they exerted a great cultural influence. 

The great revolt

Ex. Sati was banned (the custom by which a widow was burned to death on the funeral pyre of her head husband); Eglish became offical language for education, tried to ban female infanticide (killing female babies because they didn’t bring title/power) and female seclusion, brought english infrastructure and technology (telegraphs), unity across continent and more wealth distributed. Although these changes seemed great, these policies angered Muslims and Hindus. The Indian army consisted mostly of sepoys (native soldiers) was known for its loyalty, but British insensitivity often caused incidents of unrest and small mutinies. In 1857, the new Enfield rifle was introduced to British troops. The carriages, which had to be bitten open, were greased with pig and cow fat. Pig forbidden to be eaten by Muslims and cow forbidden to be eaten by Hindus. This caused a mutiny against the British. The mutiny grew into a large-scale rebellion. This is seen as a threat from India and ends dual-control/indirect control.

Government of India Act 1838

After this great revolt, the British enacted a series of laws to protect their authority in India and prevent rebellions. Ex-  The British recruited more loyal soldiers and banned sepoys from top military positions. Used sepoys to suppress protests; the British banned publication of articles criticizing the government; the British used the caste system to organize and rule the indians. This period was known as the British Raj, where Britain directly ruled over India. Also no Indians were granted top political positions. The British continued to implement many changes in India. Ex- british law, court systems, instituting english. The British railway systems to import military and export goods. Indians faced severe hardships including famine. The British governed India only to benefit themselves. 

Partition of Bengal

The British wanted to partition Bengal into two along religious lines to maintain control. Members of the Indian National Congress in Bengal believed the purpose of the partition plan was to suppress their activities and divide a unified political front. (some muslims in Bengal supported it). 

The Swadeshi movement-

Those who opposed the British partition boycotting british goods and only buying indian made goods. Spread throughout India; later gained the goal of greater political representation for Indians everywhere; swadeshi activities included bonfires of foreign goods, public rallies and labor strikes; british responded by banning printing presses; shutting down demonstrations, prohibiting the movement’s anthem, and arresting participants. Not all Indians supported the movement. Some couldn't afford Indian made goods, and other didn’t like the ties to violence; the british reversed the partition; Swadeshi and other forms of political unrest laid the foundation for new organizations and resistance movements across the subcontinent

Creation of Muslim League-

a group of wealthy muslim landowners did not share congresses excitement about Indians gaining more representation in the government. They feared that Congress (largest political party at the time) would win all of the legislative seats open for Indians. (viewed congress as an organization with a larger number of Hindus and they would not be concerned with the muslim’s interests). A delegation from this group requested that Viceroy Minto reserve seats for muslims. This delegation founded the political party known as the muslim league.

Minto-Morley reforms (India Councils Act 1909

added reserved legislative seats and separate elections for muslim indians

Mohammad Ali-Jinnah

demanded a separate muslim state

WWI

Indians supported Britain's decision to enter the war in return for their support, both the congress and the muslim league hoped Britain would offer political change in India. (participation in politics) 

Government of India Act, 1919

goal was to Indian participation in governance of British India; introduced a new dual form of government; The British decided to give Indians more control over education, health and agriculture in the provinces, but most politically active Indians felt the promised reforms were inadequate. Towards the end of WW1 the ideas of self-determination began to circulate throughout the Indian press and political pamphlets. When WW1 ended, the British refused to grant Indians independence. The British claimed they were too “unfit” to govern themselves. Indians were outraged.

Rowlatt Satyagraha

 The British enacted the Rowlatt Bills, which allowed Indians to be detained and tried without a jury. Mohandas Gandhi, a well known activist, seized the moment to launch a public campaign against the British government and Rowlatt Bills. Gandhi urged the public to  adopt satyagraha, a strategy of nonviolent resistance; Gandhi hoped that the satyagraha would bring about self-rule for India. This included street demonstrations, boycotting imported goods, and risked arrests by provoking officers.

Amritsar Massacre 1919

(also known as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre)

Despite Gandhi’s urge for non-violent strikes and boycotts, violent riots broke out. One day, a crowd of villagers met in the square of Jallianwala Bagh = without realizing that a ban on public gatherings had gone into effect the previous day. (no intention of violence) The British responded by  firing upon the crowd. As the news of this riot spread, Indians launched strikes and riots, this led Gandhi to call off the campaign because he felt that he couldn’t control the swell of violence.

Non-cooperation movement

 Gandhi launched a new campaign known as the non-cooperation movement; the campaign rallied over three main issues- the Amritsar massacre, harsh peace treaty the British and its allies imposed on the ottomans, and the injustices of colonial rule. Gandhi intensified these three “wrongs” to unite diverse groups under one movement. Using the same violent-free tactics as the Rowlatt Satyagraha. Campaign ended when violence broke out and Gandhi was arrested.

Civil Disobedience

The great depression affected not only the U.S, but India too. Even during the Great Depression, Britain continued to tax India. Recently released from jail, Gandhi pulled up to the Viceroy at the time(Lord Irwin) with a list of 11 demands. The Viceroy refused to compromise which set off another campaign. This one was called Civil Disobedience. Civil Disobedience was conducted with similar non-violent boycotts and demonstrations. 

Salt Tax

Gandhi organized a mass demonstration protesting the salt tax. The salt tax didn’t allow Indians to gather and sell salt, which caused Indians to be banned from that source of income and caused salt to become expensive. Gandhi decided to protest salt because it was important to all Indians and he hoped to unite India. (one ex of when protests didn’t unite indians was the rent campaigns that pitted the poor and wealthy against each other); did a march for this demonstration; started with a few dozen people but thousands joined; then Gandhi was arrested again; british responded with mass arrests and force; Gandhi made agreement with British, Gandhi would call of the civil disobedience if the british released the political prisoners and removed the salt tax; growing numbers of radicals in congress felt that gandhi's approach was too moderate; India became united against the British, but divided by muslim league vs congress. Congress wanted a single nation represented by one government but because congress was hindu majority the muslim league didn’t support this goal.

1940 Muslim League Declaration-

while congress was boycotting legislatures, the muslim league (specifically jinnah) saw this as a great opportunity to assert what the Muslim league stood for. This is where the Muslim league stated that they deserved their own “homelands” . became known as lahore declaration.

The promise of self-determination

After Japan was victorious in nearby British colonies, India became threatened. So British Prime Minister Winstin Churchill decided to seek cooperation with Indian leaders. (Cripps Mission) There, self-determination was promised to Indians at the end of the war with Japan. Congress and Muslim league had to sign an agreement pledging to protect bRitain's wartime interests. Both parties disagreed. Muslim League felt that the idea of an Indian Union ignored their demand for Pakistan, and COngress didn’t want to wait until the end of the war to gain independence. Because of this the Quit India campaign arose. The Quit India movement became the greatest threat to Britain's rule since the Great Revolt.

Simla Conference

at the end of WWII, the British could no longer support its global empire, and the British was also receiving criticism from the United Nations over its colonial empire. So Britain knew it was time to step out of india. Simla conference was where the British discussed how independence would go. Muslim League didnt like it. Revolts and violence broke out over the issue.

Direct action day

when the muslim league withdrew from its acceptionance of congress's plan to create a central government w limited power to allow provinces to form groups. Resulted in a ton of violence between muslims and Hindus because supporters led rallies which turned violent. 

Viceroy Mountbatten

decided to create pakistan; he feared that if he didn’t, a civil war would occur