India Chapter
Asoka
(?-232 BCE) King of the Maurya dynasty. He ruled nearly the entire subcontinent of India. He also was instrumental in the spread of Buddhism after his conversion.
British East India Company
A joint stock company that controlled most of India during the period of imperialism. This company controlled the political, social, and economic life in India for more than 200 years.
Hindu Kush
A mountain range along the north-western border of India
Indian National Congress
A movement and political party founded in 1885 to demand greater Indian participation in government. Its membership was middle class, and its demands were modest until World War I. Led after 1920 by Mohandas K. Gandhi, appealing to the poor.
Jainism
A religion that branched off from Hinduism and was founded by Mahavira; its belief is that everything has a soul, and its purpose was to cleanse the soul; rejected power of the Brahmans; emphasized non-violence; vegetarians because didn't want to harm animals
Dalits
AKA "untouchables"
Aishwarya Rai
Indian film actress and model; winner of Miss World in 1994 and runner up in Miss India pageant
Thar Desert
NW India; Great Indian Desert; Natural boundary b/t India and Pakistan; nuclear testing sight
Himalayas
Separates Asia from India; has some of the tallest mountains in the world
Harappa and Mohenjo Daro
a ruined prehistoric city of Pakistan in the Indus River Valley; streets formed with grid-like pattern; contained streets, baths, and public storehouses
Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
advanced construction of the Indus and Ganges valley civilizations shown in these well planned cities
Aryans
caste system, Sanskrit, Vedas (Hindu text, biggest impact)
Indus and Ganges Valley Civilizations
centered around Indus river; flooding brought rich silt for farming
Indus River Valley Civilization
civilization from 2600 BC-1900 BC; entire Indian subcontinent-peninsula; possibly had twin capitals called Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro; well organized government
Ganges river
"Gift from God"; sacred river; 100,000,000 people flock to for festival
Chandragupta Maurya
founder of the Mauryan Empire
Chandragupta Mauryan
founder of the Mauryan Empire and first emperor to unify India into one state; troops conquered much of northern India and Ganges river
Thar Desert
gets enough rain during rainy season to allow plant life to live throughout dry season
Muhammad Ali Jinnah
governor general of Pakistan from independence to his death; Indian Muslim politician who founded the state of Pakistan. A lawyer by training, he joined the Muslim League in 1913. As leader of the League from the 1920s on, he negotiated with the British/INC for Muslim Political Rights
Dalits
handle bodily fluids
Xylo Falls at Deomali
has fresh water that goes into rivers
Brahman
highest level of caste system
sepoy
indian soldier serving under British orders
mauryan
introduced buddhism- Chandragupta and Asoka
Maha Kumbh Mela
large Indian religious festival; people run into Ganges river
Indo-Gangetic Plain
large and fertile plain encompassing most of northern and eastern India, the most populous parts of Pakistan, parts of southern Nepal and virtually all of Bangladesh
Gupta
magnificent sculptures, architecture, and paintings; advanced military tactics; scholars
Vaishya
merchants, artisans, and traders
ancient
modern day indians still practice many of the same customs and traditions from which times?
Sikhism
monotheistic religion which blends Hindu traditions with Islamic monotheistic traditions. Based in India and Pakistan
Western Ghats
mountain range that runs north to south along western edge of Deccan Plateau; on west side of india; a lot of biological diversity; over 5000 species of flowering plants, 139 mammals, 508 birds, and 179 amphibians; UNESCO world heritage site; called Sahyadri mountains
Hindu Kush
mountain ranges which divided the Amu and Indus rivers; present day Pakistan; stretches to China; dividing line between Russian and British territories; supplies fresh water for people; roads used for caravans; 800 km; has the Bolan pass and Khyber passages for trade and travel
Western and Eastern Ghats
mountainous yet lush with vegetation; close to sea level; has tons of settlements due to closeness to coast and the high numbers of rivers that run from high regions of plateaus that run through ghats and into sea; great soil; abundant in fish
Red Fort
mughal palace built by Shah Jahan in Agra
Muslim League
organization formed by muslims in 1906 to protect their interests against British Rule; founded under leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Dalits
people outside caste system (outcasts)
Brahman
priests and scholars
charter act of 1793
renewed charter for BEIC and continued their rule in India; renewed every 20 years
Aryans, Mauryan, and Gupta
what were the indian empires?
Taj Mahal
A beautiful tomb built by the Mughal ruler Shah Jahan to honor his wife.
Partition
A division into parts, like the 1947 division of the British colony of India into nations of India and Pakistan.
Manmohan Singh
13th and current prime minister of India; renowned economist and only PM since Nehru to return to power after completed 5 year term; first sikh to hold office
vedas
Ancient Sanskrit writings that are the earliest sacred texts of Hinduism; A Hindu holy book which is a collection of Aryan hymns that were transmitted orally before being written down in the 6th century BCE.
the Vedas
Books of Knowledge that contain Aryan stories and songs; Hindu holy book
New Dehli
Capital of India
Mughal
Gave trading rights to British- Akbar (The Great), Shah Jahan; biggest impact; unified over written language rather than spoken
Deccan Plateau
Flat land; drier than other coastal plain; has two rivers that flow through it; used for cultivation
Akbar
Great Mughal emperor from 1556-1605; ushered in era of religious tolerance and appreciation for fine arts; ruled Golden era of empire; married a Hindu princess, took away Hindu tax, and gave Hindus gov/t jobs
Indus River
In modern day Pakistan and really helped the development of Indian civilization
Bhagat Singh
Indian socialist considered to be one of the most influential revolutionaries of the Indian Independence Movement; main leader of the Hindustan Socialist Republic Association; involved in murder of british officer and bomb throwing, (1907-1931) A sikh, was a proponent of marxism and anarchism, actively opposed british rule. In 1929 Threw bombs inside Indian assembly meeting which did not go off, which he claimed was intentional and to make a point. Was executed in 1931 for attempted murder.
Sanskrit
Indo-Aryan religious language of Hinduism and literary/scholarly language in Buddhism and Jainism; ancient language of the Vedas
Delhi Sultans
Introduced Persian culture to South Asia; declined after Mongol invasion
Delhi Sultans
Introduced a system of currency, temporary success in warding off the Mongols
Mughal
Islamic architecture that unified all of modern day India and Pakistan
Asoka Mauryan
Last major emperor of Mauryan dynasty of India; vigorous patronage of Buddhism during his reign furthered the expansion of that religion through India; after a bloody and murdersome conquest he renounced armed conquest and set out to rule empire kindly and without force and violence
Rowlatt Act
Laws passed in 1919 that allowed the British government in India to jail anti-British protesters without trial for as long as two years
Tamerlane (Timur the Lame)
Led mongols into India in 1398 who attacked and destroyed Dehli: Mongols killed and enslaved entire population; left to conquer other places and Dehli sultans came back into play until his grandson came and took over and started Mughal empire
Red Fort at New Dehli
Mugal defense fort built to protect royals and important people but in time of need will help/protect anyone
Red Fort at Agra
Mugal defense fort built to protect royals and important people but in time of need will help/protect anyone and also has moats and aqueducts
Shah Jahan
Mughal emperor of India during whose reign the finest monuments of Mogul architecture were built (including the Taj Mahal at Agra) (1592-1666)
Mughal Empire
Muslim state (1526-1857) exercising dominion over most of India in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries., A mixture of Mongol and Turkish people from central Asia, an Islamic imperial power that ruled a large portion of Indian subcontinent which began in 1526, invaded and ruled most of Hindustan (South Asia) by the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and ended in the mid-19th century.
Indian Subcontinent
Southerly region of Asia, mostly situated on the Indian Plate and projecting southward into the Indian Ocean
Mauryan Dynasty
The first united Indian state, founded by Chandragupta in 324 BC, after Alexander's defeat of weakened India; it lasted for more than 100 years, before it declined, and fell in 183 BC
religion and cultural diffusion
The influence of _________ and ___________ ___________ on the development of Ancient India shaped its people
Sepoy Rebellion
The revolt of Indian soldiers in 1857 against certain practices that violated religious customs; angry because rifles greased with pig and cow fats
Delhi Sultans
These rulers did not force their Hindu subjects to adopt Islam; made the Hindus pay a special non-Islam tax and wouldn't allow Hindus to have a gov't job
Southern India
This part of india has a hot and dry climate
Northern India
This part of india has seasonal temperatures with cool winters
Amritsar Massacre
To protest the Rowlatt Act, Indians gathered in Amritsar, where General Dyer British troops fired on the crowd killing several hundred. This sparked further protests
Eastern and Western Ghats
What are coastal mountains on either side of the Deccan plateau?
S
What direction of India is the Deccan Plateau found in?
NW
What direction of India is the Thar desert found in?
Indian Ocean
What large body of water is to the south of India?
Arabian Sea
What large body of water is to the west of India?
Vindhya Mountains
What separates India in the north?
Indo-Gangetic Plain
What splits the Indus and Ganges rivers?
Bay of Bengal
Which bay is to the east of India?
Satyagraha (Civil Disobedience)
a philosophy and practice of nonviolent resistance developed and conceived by Gandhi during the Indian Independence movement
Deccan Plateau
along eastern part of India; high elevations
Muhammad bin Qasim
an Umayyad general who conquered the Sindh and Punjab regions along the Indus river for the Umayyad Caliphate
Sanskrit
an ancient Indic language of India, in which the Hindu scriptures and classical Indian epic poems are written and from which many northern Indian languages are derived
Jammu and Kashmir
an area in southwestern Asia whose sovereignty is disputed between Pakistan and India
Delhi Sultans
around 1200, Muslim rulers set up a capital at Delhi and for 300 years these guys ruled much of northern and central India
Ganges River
begins in the Himalayas and important in development of Indian civilization
permanent settling act of 1793
british instituted a land tax on all indian land owners; taxed people to the point where they couldn't afford it; money taxed went to BEIC
Upanishads
explains the ideas contained in the Vedas, A group of writings sacred in Hinduism concerning the relations of humans, God, and the universe.
Shudra
farmers and laborers
Jawaharlal Nehru
first prime minister of India and central figure in Indian politics; emerged as paramount leader in Indian independence movement
Indus River
flows through Pakistan; origin is in the mountains of Tibet; major indian water source
Kshatriya
rulers and warriors and landowners
Vindyha Mountains
separates North india from south
Vindhya Range
separates n and s india; weather barrier; Narmada flows through it
Mohandas Ghandhi
the leading political and spiritual leader of India. He was in charge of the movement toward Indian Independence who advocated nonviolent methods to effect social change; employed civil dis-obedience movement; led Salt March
mauryan
united northern and southern india under one ruler
