Things to Know for South Asia (DVHS)

Siddhartha Gautama & Buddhism:

• Born a prince and kept in a castle by his father because of a prophecy that said the family would lose their kingdom if he left

• Snuck out of the palace and encountered human suffering (an old man, a dying man, and a corpse)

• Renounced the crown and sought out holy men to find out how life could come to such a terrible end

• Became an ascetic and meditated and fasted for days at a time

• Reached enlightenment after meditating for about a month under a tree

• Understood the meaning of life and began teaching it to people who would become his disciples

  • Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path

The Noble Eightfold Path:

• Right understanding: Our actions and beliefs have consequences that persist after death

• Right aspiration (“right thought”): Avoid violence and hateful conduct

• Right speech: No lying, rude speech, or gossiping to inflict harm

• Right action: No killing, injuring, stealing, sexual misconduct, or material desires

• Right livelihood: No trading in weapons, living beings (trafficking), meat, liquor, or poisons

• Right effort: Generate wholesome states and prevent the rise of the five hindrances

  • Sensory desire: seeking pleasure

  • Ill will: resentment, hate, or bitterness

  • Sloth: doing things halfheartedly

  • Restlessness and worry: not being able to calm the mind and focus one’s energy

  • Doubt: lack of conviction or trust in one’s ability

• Right mindfulness: be aware of the present moment, never absentminded

• Right concentration: “right meditation” aiming for insight

Hinduism:

• The word “Hinduism” is thought to come from the Persian word “hindu” meaning river, used to refer to the Indus River Valley

• Oldest existing major religion

• No specific founder

• Most Hindus follow Shiva or Vishnu as the true god or look inward to the divine self, atman

  • Despite their differences in belief, most Hindus recognize the authority of the Brahmin and the Vedas

Vedas:

• Sacred texts dating back to 2500 BCE

• Included the caste system

  • When Purusha, a spirit, was divided into parts, his mouth became the Brahmin, his arms the Kshatriyas, his thighs the Vaisyas, and his feet the Sudras

  • Untouchables were outside the system altogether and considered the lowest rank

    • This group was eliminated in the Indian constitution

• “Ritual sacrifices associated with numerous gods who represented the forces of nature”

  • I do not know what this means

Ramadan:

• One of the five pillars of Islam

• Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset every day for a month

  • Seen as a way to cleanse the soul and have empathy for those less fortunate

• Ninth month of the Islamic lunar-based calendar, meaning it starts on a different date every year in the Gregorian calendar

• Also meant to avoid drinking, smoking, sexual activity, and unkind or impure thoughts, words, or behavior

• Ends with a three-day celebration called Eid al-Fitr

• A time for self-reflection and self-restraint

Indus Valley Civilization

• Very few weapons and no evidence of an army has been discovered

  • Buildings and excavated human bones show no signs of battle

• Didn’t devote many resources as offerings to the dead, instead keeping them in circulation

• Stone seal discovered in Harappa may have the world’s first language system

• Settlements built on giant platforms and elevated ground for protection from floods and polluted waters

• Bricks used to construct buildings

• All houses were connected to sophisticated drainage systems, carrying sewage and dirty water out of living spaces

• Organized roads in patterns with straight lines and right angles

• Craftsmanship and trade evidenced by pottery, textiles, and beads

  • Bartering and trade spread Indus culture

• Religion was important, shown by (i.e.) clay figurines of goddesses and more

• Lasted from circa 2500 BCE to around 1900 BCE

  • Became fragmented into smaller regional cultures

  • Many believe the civilization declined due to Aryan invasions from the north, but since there’s little evidence of fighting or violence, many historians claim that changes in river patterns disrupted farming and trading systems and led to irreparable flooding

Kashmir:

• Princely state of Jammu & Kashmir given the choice to join either Pakistan or India during partition

• Hindu monarch chose to stay neutral despite Muslim majority population

• Kashmiri citizens rebelled, helped by armed tribesmen from Pakistan

  • Monarch asked India for military help, agreeing to join India in return

  • First Indo-Pakistani War, 1947

• UN classified Kashmir as Indian-administered, meaning it was officially temporarily under Indian control

• UN Security Council brokered a ceasefire agreement in 1949 that split Kashmir between India and Pakistan and ordered both to withdraw troops

  • Allowed people to vote for which country they wanted to be part of

  • No vote was held and neither country withdrew

• The area of Jammu & Kashmir got some autonomy from Article 370 in the Indian constitution, allowing it its own flag, prime minister, constitution, and more

  • Article 370 was revoked in 2019, apparently because it prevented Kashmir and India from becoming unified

    • Prime minister Narendra Modi promised to strip Kashmir of its privileges while running for reelection in early 2019

• Pakistan argues Muslim majority population means they should control Kashmir, India argues the state was given to them and added it to their constitution

• Second Indo-Pakistani War in 1965

  • War ended with another ceasefire, but no change in “borders”

• Pakistan lost East Pakistan in Third Indo-Pakistani War in 1971

  • Kashmir became more important and one of the most militarized places on Earth

• Separatist (people who believe Kashmir should be granted independence) groups started challenging pro-India political groups

• Armed groups were formed in the 80s; some say they’re fighting for independence and some for a Pakistan-controlled Kashmir

• India allegedly rigged an election in Kashmir in 1987 in favor of a pro-India candidate

  • Thousands of Kashmiris felt they were denied the chance to vote and took to the streets in protest of the Indian occupation

    • India met the protest with resistance, leading to more violence

• Hindu residents in Kashmir known as Kashmiri Pandits were targeted

  • Hundreds were killed and thousands had to leave the area

• Kashmiri militias started recruiting Muslim youth to help them fight for independence and attacks on the Indian military increased

  • Pakistan used this as an opportunity to introduce radical Islamic groups that would fight for pro-Pakistan Kashmir

    • Dominated insurgency by mid-1990s

• India deployed 500,000 troops in response and cracked down on militants and protestors

  • Unarmed civilians were killed and many had to flee

• Both India and Pakistan had developed nuclear weapons by 1998, raising the stakes

• Fourth Indo-Pakistani War started in 1999 and ended with another ceasefire

• Pakistan militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba’s members bombed India’s parliament building in New Delhi in 2001, resulting in 14 deaths

  • 10 members of the same group killed 174 and wounded 300 people in Mumbai in 2008

• India’s military cracked down on protestors, firing on unarmed civilians with bullets and pellets

• India uses the armed separatist uprising to justify its estimated 700,000 troops, nearly half its active military, in Kashmir

  • India accuses Pakistan of supporting the uprising

  • India has said there are only 200-300 militants

• According to a report in 2018, out of 160 civilians killed, 71 died because of Indian security forces

• Continuous cycle of India’s crackdown incentivizing Kashmiris to join Pakistan-backed militant groups, which carry out attacks on India’s military, prompting them to respond even more harshly against civilians and unarmed protestors

Gupta Empire:

• Defined by creativity: arts and literature, rather than wealth or trade

• Small states warred in India for almost 500 years after the collapse of the Mauryan Empire in 185 BCE after the assassination of its last king(s? The article was not clear)

• Chandragupta I ascended the throne and gave rise to a new empire

  • Revived many Mauryan principles

  • Paved the way for his son to develop and extensive empire

• Samudragupta, son of Chandragupta I, was passionate about conquest and a great warrior

  • Sought to unite India under his rule

  • Waged wars across much of the Indian subcontinent

  • Many people hoped for mercy if they offered tribute and presents to Samudragupta as he passed

    • This did not work very well

  • Defeated nine kings in the north and twelve in the south

  • Many horses were killed to celebrate his victories

  • Often compared to Alexander the Great and Napoleon

  • Gupta villages had local squads consisting of an elephant, a chariot, three armed cavalrymen, and five foot soldiers, which protected them from raids and revolts

    • These squads would join together in times of war to form a powerful royal army

• Samudragupta was also a lover and supporter of the arts, evidenced by engraved coins and inscribed pillars from the time of his reign

• Samudragupta set the stage for the emergence of classical art, under the reign of his son, Chandragupta II

• Artists were paid for their work under Chandragupta II’s rule, which may have been one reason as to why so much progress was made in literature and science in that period

  • Most literature during this time was drama and poetry

    • Lyric poetry, narrative history, religious and meditative writing emerged to educate and entertain people

      • Kalidasa was a famous playwright of the time; his plays had humor and epic heroism

    • Formal essays were composed on grammar, math, astronomy, and more

      • The Kamasutra is the best-known essay of the period, talking about the rules of love and marriage according to Hindu laws

      • Aryabhatta was a famous scientist who proposed that Earth had been a rotating sphere centuries before Columbus’ famous journey and calculated that a solar year was 365.358 days long, which is only three hours off from modern-day calculations

  • Much notable architecture, sculpture, and paintings also emerged, including the paintings illustrating the various lives of the Buddha found on the walls of the Ajanta Caves in southern India

    • An 18-foot statue of Hindu god Shiva was found in a Gupta-dynasty rock temple near Mumbai

• Evidence of a Buddhist university suggests there was religious freedom and peace between Buddhists and Hindus

• Gupta dynasty weakened during the rule of the two successors to Chandragupta II

• Starting in 480 CE, the Huns launched a wave of invasions

• Gupta kings had little territory under their control by 500 CE, and the empire had completely perished by 550 CE

Mughal Empire:

• A Muslim dynasty of Turkic-Mongol origin that ruled much of India from the early 1500s to mid-1700s

  • Continued to exist afterwards as a considerably reduced and increasingly weak entity until the mid-1800s

• Notable for its more than 200 years of effective rule over India, its capable rulers, who maintained a record of unusual talent, and its administrative organization

• Founded by Chagatai Turkic prince Babur, who reigned from 1526-30

  • Descended from Turkic conqueror Tamerlane on his father’s side and the second son of Genghis Khan on his mother’s side

  • Secured control of the Punjab region from his base in Kabul, Afghanistan

  • Routed the forces of Delhi sultan Ibrahim Lodi in 1526 at the First Battle of Panipat

  • Overwhelmed the Rajput confederacy under Rana Sanga of Mewar in 1527

  • Defeated the Afghans of modern-day eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar states in 1529

  • By his death in 1530, he controlled all of northern India from the Indus River to Bihar (near Nepal) and the Himalayas to Gwalior (around New Delhi) in the south

• Afghan rebels took control of the empire from Babur’s son Humayun, who ruled from 1530-40

• Humayun’s son Akbar defeated Hindu usurper Hemu at the Second Battle of Panipat in 1556 and reestablished Humayun’s dynasty in the territory

• Akbar, greatest of the rulers of the Mughal Empire, conquered and annexed all of northern and part of central India

  • Adopted conciliatory policies towards his Hindu subjects, looking to enlist them in his armies and government service

  • Created political, administrative, and military structures that were the chief factor behind its continued survival for more than 150 years afterwards

  • By Akbar’s death in 1605, the empire extended from Afghanistan to the Bay of Bengal and from southward to the modern-day Gujurat state and the northern Deccan region (Deccan Plateau)

• Akbar’s son, Jahangir, was a relatively successful ruler from 1605-27

  • Continued Akbar’s policy of tolerance towards Hindus and administrative systems

• Jahangir’s son, Shah Jahan, reigned from 1628-58 and had a passion for building

  • The Taj Mahal and Great Mosque of Delhi were build under his rule

  • Reign marked the cultural peak of the Mughal Empire

  • Military expeditions brought the empire to near bankruptcy

• Shah Jahan’s successor, Aurangzeb, ruled from 1658-1707 and was more orthodox (following a doctrine) than his predecessors

  • Annexed the Muslim Deccan kingdoms of Vijayapura (Bijapur) and Golconda, bringing the empire to its greatest extent

  • Politically and religiously intolerant

  • Excluded Hindus from office and destroyed their schools and temples

  • Persecuted Sikhs in Punjab, turning that sect against Muslim rule

    • Sparked rebellions among Rajputs, Sikhs, and Marathas

  • Levied heavy taxes, impoverishing the farming population

  • Mughal government quality declined, resulting in an economic decline

  • Died having failed to quash the Marathas of the Deccan and his authority disputed throughout the empire

• Empire began breaking up during the reign of Muhammad Shah, who ruled from 1719-48

  • Process was sped up by dynastic warfare, factional rivalries, and a brief yet disruptive invasion of northern India by Iranian conqueror Nadir Shah in 1739

• Marathas overran almost all of northern India after Muhammad Shah’s death in 1748

• Mughal rule reduced to a small area around Delhi, which was controlled by the Marathas and then the British

• Bahadur Shah II, the last Mughal, was exiled to Yangon for involvement in the Indian Mutiny of 1857-58