India before the British

“India was the motherland of our race and Sanskrit was the mother of Europe’s languages. India was the mother of our philosophy, of much of our mathematics, of all the ideals embodied in Christianity, of self government and democracy. In many ways, Mother India was mother of us all.”- Will Durant (American Durant)

India is best known for its cultural diversity. Every region in India possess different climatic conditions, different language, and different culture of people. Other than 18 official languages, it has a lot of other spoken languages used by people in different part of the country. Agriculture is the back bone of our country. We are not aware of the exact history of India before the rule of English; it is also said that they destroyed all the evidences of Indian history. A beautiful country had a nightmare of 20 decades which turned the economy of the country upside down.

India was ruled by Mauryan dynasty between 321 to 184 BCE, followed by Gupta and Mughal dynasty until the British slaved India. Southern regions were ruled by Chera, Chola and Pandyas from ancient period until the conquering of British. India had more wealth than any of the European countries at that time. This attracted the British who stepped in to trade and later took over the leadership of the country.

Almost 80% of people followed Hinduism, but it also had other religions such as Christianity, Islam, Jainism, and Buddhism. Official language of the country was Hindi; Sanskrit was also accepted since holy book of Hinduism was written with it. Mughal emperors communicated in Persian language. Mughal emperors tolerated all the religions, but the last emperor who increased taxes on Hindu peasants which lead to the collapse of Mughal dynasty and made it easier for British to take over the leadership of India.

Agriculture was the main occupation of most of the Indians. People respected agriculture more than their life. Not all the people owned a land, but they worked in the land of landlords and paid taxes. Cotton, Indigo, rice, and spices were the major products exported to the Muslim traders of nearby countries. Peasants were satisfied with their earnings and lead a decent life.

Everyone was educated and skilled in their own field. Sculptures, buildings, martial arts, literature, and agriculture were the major fields. Even after the development of technologies, we aren't able to carve sculptures as perfect as ancient Indians. Poets and scholars held a respectful position in the society. Almost everyone had knowledge about agriculture.

“Many of the advances in the sciences that we consider today to have been made in Europe were in fact made in India centuries ago.”- GRANT DUFF (British historian)

In India, each language has its own style of songs and dances. Festivals were celebrated in a grand manner. People of nearby villages get organised in one place and celebrate festivals for weeks. Marriages were celebrated as a biggest festival which unites the people and culture of two villages. Harvesting days of agricultural products were celebrated with songs.  Entertaining art and dramas always gave an awareness to people about social responsibility.

When it comes to infrastructure, India is best known for its palaces, temples, caves, sculptures,etc. Houses were made of straws and clay bricks. Roads were constructed of red sand and stones. Temples were given greater importance and constructed by the finest arthritics.

As a home for yoga and many other physically beneficial arts, India had the most strongest and fittest people. In every physical posture of an Indian, lies an exercise that makes him fit unwittingly. Every village had its own gurus who prescribe natural remedy for almost all the diseases, right from a snake bite to any other deadly disease.

“There has been no more revolutionary contribution than the one which the Indians made when they invented zero.” - Lancelot Hogben (English mathematician)

We aren't aware of our history because most of the evidences are destroyed. British broke the culture of our country and made us live like nomads in our own country. India has the people who feels ashamed to talk their own mother tongue in front of a stranger. Since our history is lost, we are trying to adopt ourself with the culture of other countries. We feel proud about being a citizen of foreign country but not for our own. 

I'm not discouraging people who has their own will to adopt to foreign cultures. I just want to convey that we have the most fantastic history to be proud of. Learning a foreign language is appreciable, but always feel proud to talk your own language. Feel proud to follow your culture. Wherever you go, wherever you live, always feel proud to say that you are an Indian.