South Asia: Creating Dilemmas of Diversity - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 152

Archives ofTime and Place

is constructed to carry a likeness of Jagannath “Lord
of the World,” a form of Vishnu. T of the clashing of
cymbals and with a covey of chanting priests, the
behemoth is pulled toward the excited throng. As
Jagannath nears, people joyously leap and sing
and chant “ Hari! Hari !” (God! God!). Each creak-
ing and turning of the great wheels speaks of im-
pending change and assures the coming of the
wet monsoon. Participation in this and other
seasonal events reaffirms rebirth and reasserts
one' s union with nature.

Before reading the following discussion, you can look at
Table 6-1, which gives an overview of significant individ-
uals and events involved in the evolution of India and its
subsequent division into India and Pakistan in 1947.
When the British Empire reached its greatest extent
in the nineteenth century , the map of South Asia was
quite different. Pakistan and Bangladesh, for instance,
did not exist. Actually , when ancient Indian empires were
stunning the known world with their spectacular

Table 6-1 Time Line of Selected Historic Events in India

Ruler Dynasty Year Century Important Events

4th-3rd C. BC 3000-2000 BIndus Valley HarappanCities of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa in Indus Valley

Civilization

17th C. BC 1600 BC Aryan Drove away Dravidians. Brought spoken Sanskrit, cows and

invasions horses, use of iron for tools. Expanded settlement on Ganges

plain. Seeds of caste division.

11th C. BC 1000-500 BVedic culture Evolution of traditional Indian culture. One of the holiest scriptures,

the Rig V eda, composed.

8th C. BC 700 BC Beginnings of the caste system with Brahmins at the top.

7th C. BC 600 BC Upanishads composed in Sanskrit.

6th C. BC States form across Ganges plain. Caste divisions multiply to

include jatis and untouchables. Economic specialization.
Emergence of Indo-Aryan culture. Dravidians driven southward
and develop their own languages and civilization.

6th C. BC 527 BC Prince Siddartha Gautama attains enlightenment and becomes

the Buddha.

5th C. BC 500 BC The ascetic prince Mahavira founds Jainism in northern India.

4th C. BC 300 BC Ramayana , a famous epic, is composed.

3rd C. BC Maurya dynastAsoka 259 BC Mauryan ruler Asoka converts to Buddhism. Extends empire from

Hindu Kush to Bengal. Controls the Deccan, major trade routes,
and coastal regions. First expression of political notions of a state.
Wealth accumulates from trade.

3rd C. BC 268-233 BC Mauryans Adopts Buddhism as state religion. Builds hospitals, wells, and

water storage tanks. Inscribes moral principles on stone pillars.
Most famous pillar at Sarnath is 40' tall with 4 lions back-to-back
on top. These become the symbol of India.

Asoka

3rd C. BC 200 BC Mahabharata , another famous epic, is composed.

2nd C. BC 100 BC Bhagavata Gita composed.

1st C. AD 60 AD Thomas, an Apostle of Jesus, visits India. Christian conversions

mainly among low castes and untouchables.

3rd C. AD 200 The Code of Manu puts down the rules of everyday life and

divides Hindus into 4 major castes: priests, warriors,
farmers/traders, and non-Aryans.

( continued )