Tough task. Here are my picks.
I started this as a single blog but then as it became too long I decided to split into two instalments.
1. The arrival of modern man: 70,000 to 50,000 BCE
An extensive analytical study done on the mutations of the Y-chromosome establish that some 70,000 to 50,000 years ago, the first homo sapiens, or modern man, set his foot on the land that would later be known as India. This marked the beginning of an amazing journey that our nation would make in aeons to come.
2. The coming of the Aryans: 2000-1500 BCE
The next big event would be Aryan migration. Even though the Aryan migration theory is still disputed among some circles there is ample evidence to suggest that Aryans or Indo-Europeans weren't descendants of the earlier tribes that had settled in India ages ago. Rather, they appear to have been a branch of nomadic tribes that originated somewhere in Central Asia and set out in search of lands to inhabit.
3.Battle of ten kings: dates: UNKNOWN
The earliest war that finds mention in Indian literature, the battle of ten kings, as described in the Rigveda was a war fought between the Bharata tribe, lead by King Sudas against a confederacy of ten other tribes somewhere in Punjab; possibly by the banks of river Iravati (Ravi). The Bharatas emerged victorious and their supremacy was established over the greate Punjab region.
4. The earliest composition of Mahabharata: 9th-8th century BCE (?)
A civil war of the Kurus spread all over Northern India and gave rise to one of the greatest epics ever written in human history. The war of Kurukshetra marks the junction of the age of legends and the age of history in the Indian context. The epic, though grows beyond a story of war and emerges as an encyclopaedia of Ancient India itself; and along with the Ramayana constructs the basis of Indian moral values.
5. The spiritual revolution: 6th century BCE
A spiritual revolt against Brahmanian orthodoxy and corruption took shape in the form of some 40 odd Naastika movements, the most prominent of which were Buddhism and Jainism. The authority of the Vedas was challenged vehemently, and the events that unfolded left a deep impact on Indian society in centuries to come.
6. Emergence of Magadha as the Indian superpower under Mahapadma Nanda: 4th century BCE
This would eventually lead to the formation of the first Pan-Indian Empire under the Mauryas. Though it started in Buddha's times with Bimbisara and Ajatashatru; it was Mahapadma Nanda who extended the empire across the Gangetic plains and Central India, vigorously uprooting numerous minor kingdoms. By the time of Alexander's invasion (323 BCE), Magadha under Mahapadma's descendants was already a formidable power which even the Greeks weren't keen on taking on.
7. Kalinga war: 261 BCE
It wasn't Ashoka's coronation (273 BCE), but this war fought in modern day Orissa that gifted the land with perhaps the greatest ruler that it would ever see. Ashoka, once a ruthless ruler, underwent a radical change and started preaching the doctrine of love; establishing a most benevolent system of administration and sending his peace missions to the furthest corners of the known world. Ashoka's territory after the Kalinga war also was the greatest pan-Indian empire ever, in terms of area, extending upto and including modern day Afghanistan.
8. Chandragupta II's reign: 375-413/15 CE
Every culture identifies a golden age in its course of history which marks a culmination of art and literature. For India, the most popular forerunner for this coveted spot is the rule of the Gupta Dynasty, the most prominent part of which is marked by the reign of Chandragupta II. Also known as Vikramaditya, this emperor and his court of poets and artists have attained legendary status.
9. Invention of zero and the decimal system: 5th century AD (?)
Needs no further elaboration as far as its importance is concerned with respect to Science in general. Aryabhat, the scientist generally credited with this invention was also the first person to propose the theory of a heliocentric solar system as opposed to the traditionally accepted geocentric one, about a thousand years before the "Copernican Revolution".
10. Invasion of white Huns: 477 AD
Though the Hun invasion was baulked by the Gupta emperor Kumaragupta, it greatly weakened the Gupta Empire, and lead it to its steady collapse afterwards. The ruthless Huns would however gradually dissolve in the ocean of Indian population and would later be embraced into mainstream Hindu society as Rajput tribes.
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