Story of India

Lindsay Leaver
December 21, 2009
Story of India Assignment
20 questions

1. Why has boat building been such an important part of India’s history?
On the Southwest coast of India, they still build ocean-going ships with designs that were brought by the Romans over 2000 years ago, when trade first began in India. They build them completely by eye, with no written or drawn sketch. They Greeks and Romans developed a special way of making ships, creating the skin first. They are particularly strong for heavy seas. This enabled the trade routes to India to really open up and thus changed the course of the Indian trade market forever.

2. What does the connection between Sanskrit and other Indo-European languages imply? Why was this a significant historical development in the 18th century?
The connection between the Sanskrit and Indo-European languages implies that the Aryans who spoke Greek/Latin brought the Sanskrit language to India. It implies that all three languages originated in the same place, Turkey, and then traveled through Central Asia with the Aryans. It was a major historical development because it connects the origin of language.

3. India’s history is full of migrations and invasions from outside the subcontinent. How did the Aryan migration into India impact the region’s culture?
The Aryan’s did not influence the genes of the Indian people, but it did influence the language and the culture. The Aryans imposed their speech and values on the people of India. Mahabharata is the greatest myth ever told in India. It is the story of Aryan tribes fighting each other and has become the story of India. It binds all of India together and has become their own history.

4. How are Hinduism and the caste system connected? While India outlawed the caste system at independence, why do problems persist?
The caste system is built into the Hindu religion. The people are born into, marry within, and die within their caste. It divides people from birth. Problems persist because it is a mutually sustaining system that is interconnected with the religion. Everyone has a place and everyone needs someone else from the other castes.

5. What did the Romans trade with Tamil Nadu?
The Romans traded gold for spices.

6. What purpose did the Ashokan pillars play during Asoka’s rule? Why do you think they would have been effective?
The pillars contained Ashoka’s ideas on reason and morality. It took politics away from religion and magic and made it more concrete and this worldly. He spread his ideas on animal rights, the environment, and moral codes. They were effective because they allowed this information to be public and obtainable to all people. It also acted as a presence of the law even when he wasn’t there.

7. How did the possible meeting between Alexander the Great and a young Chandragupta influence the development of the Mauryan Empire?
When Alexander the Great arrived in India Chandragupta was a small boy. Chandra was wildly impressed with Alexander the Great and approached him without fear. Chandra eventually pushed out Alexander and conquered, for the first time, what is known as modern India. His kingdom became a template for modern India and he served with secular authority, as a universal king.

8. What teachings of the Buddha are most relevant in today’s world?
Buddha’s main teaching is that suffering is the nature of the human condition. It is caused by human desire and attachment. In order to free ourselves and reach enlightenment, we must detach from all desires. I believe this is relevant today because now, perhaps more than ever in history, material possessions and consumerism have become a major part of our culture. People judge happiness on money and success rather than from within.

9. Why has India been an important center of trade?
Simply put because of food. India had spices native to South India and the spices craze was all about food. Sharing meals and tasty food is important to all cultures.

10. How did Indians preserve their literature and customs over the centuries? In modern times, how do we ensure our records will be preserved for years to come?
Indians preserved their literature, customs, stories, and songs all through spoken word. It was memorized and passed down from teacher to pupil and father to son. In modern times we no longer use spoken word, but rather written word to preserve history. Even more modern, things are now being done electronically.

11. What impressive lineage did Babur bring with him to India?
Babur was a descendent of Ganges Kahn.

12. Why did so much gold flow into India during trade with the Roman Empire? How did the Indian use of gold differ from the Roman use?
Although it was mainly about spices, the Indians had many things the Romans wanted. They took gemstones, peacocks, and silk. They gave gold in exchange for these items, however little of the gold made it into circulation. The Indians decorated themselves and made jewelry out of the coins.

13. How has art of the Kushan Empire influenced some modern representations of the Buddha?
The Kushan Empire was rich on profits from the Silk Road. They sponsored the flowering of the arts and put a lot of money into it. When they got to India, they adopted Buddhism as their religion and therefore fostered Buddhist culture and art.

14. Why is a secular constitution so important to the stability of India? Do you think that Indian stability would have been threatened with a religion-based government?
Secularism is important in India because there are so many religions that have a strong presence in India. All these religions have been there for thousands, or at least hundreds of years and no one religion has more claims to the land than the other. It must be a place where they can all exist equally and worship freely. Stability would have been threatened if it were a religious government because many different groups would have been left out and angry, possibly leading to revolts.

15. Why were India’s advancements in mathematics important? What aspects of math taught today in school originated in India?
The math of the Gupta scientists was way ahead of the world at that time. They pioneered the use of the value zero, which is the foundation for all modern mathematics. They also came up with the concept of pie (3.14…), which is used in math taught today. Lastly, they predicted the earth’s circumference almost exactly accurately, which is just cool!

16. What traits does Sikhism draw from Hinduism? Islam?
Sikhism draws their ideas about charity from Hinduism and one god from Islam.

17. What was the Taj Mahal built to represent?
The common belief is that it was built as a monument for love. King Jahan built it as a tomb for his favorite wife as a teardrop on the face of time. However, more recent findings believe that it could be a mystic map of the judgment day build by Sufi saints. On one side are the fields of paradise and on the other, the path to get there.

18. In wanting to create a secular constitution, what deep challenges did Jawaharlal Nehru and the Indian National Congress face?
Nehru and Gandhi wanted one great secular nation, but there was a belief that Hindu and Muslim people could not live together. This religious conflict went much deeper than modern politics.

19. Why did Jinnah fight for an independent Pakistan? Based upon the violent history between India and Pakistan since independence, were Jinnah’s fears justified or did the partition help create the tensions?
They tried to have separate Hindu/Muslim states under one overall ruler, but it didn’t work because neither side trusted each other. Jinnah pushed for a separate Muslim state with the idea that after the dust settled, the two nations could come together. There was always tension between the two religions, but now it is worse with the two countries. Even if the people and religions forgive each other, there is a whole added element of political conflict.

20. Why are pilgrimages important in India? What is the importance of the pilgrimage sites in Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism?
Pilgrimage is important in India because it gave a sense of cultural identity to India, long before it achieved its political independence. It created a sense of India as a holy land. The sites in each of the religions are places where the leaders went and prayed themselves. The tree where Buddha sat to reach enlightenment is still preserved and used for meditation today.