India - Introduction To Its History (1957)

[Music] India a country stretching nearly 2,000 miles from north to south a giant triangle separated from the rest of the world by vast stretches of ocean and the mountain barrier of the Himalayas across the flat desert land India's early invaders coming down the mountain passes grove the original settlers to the south these Aryan conquerors occupied northern India and ushered in the Hindu period of history as they expanded the Aryan settled in what are today Patna Delhi and other northern cities these ruins stand near Delhi to this day it was near Delhi that according to legend a mighty war was fought between rival forces of Hinduism out of it a unique set of beliefs and rules emerged touching upon all phases of life [Music] these sculptures are ornaments only not images of the religions founder Hinduism has no one founder no one set of doctrines a Hindu may choose his own personal God or an incarnation of it in human or animal form many animals are sacred in the Hindu religion because of association with God's one God whom Hindus honor is Hanuman a monkey who befriended Rama Rama was an incarnation of Vishnu born on earth as a great hero the descendants of Hanuman are sacred they are fed and protected in temples Hinduism teaches discipline and self-denial these holy men practice discipline and self-denial the Hindu believes that life on Earth is temporary and is preceded and followed by an indefinite series of lives only full knowledge can bring release from this cycle of rebirths and lead to unending bliss to achieve it many Hindus believe that the body must be disciplined some use pain and self torture for this purpose staring into the blinding Sun sitting for hours and four days in a difficult posture standing kneeling perching in tortuous positions praying night and day repeating the name of God over and over such are some of the methods of discipline used by the Hindu holy men who concentrates in holy meditation because all living beings are considered to have a soul Hinduism teaches respect for all kinds of life human or animal this is one reason why Hindus are vegetarians [Music] throughout India imposing temples stand witness to the deep religious feeling of the Hindu to Hindus seeking religious knowledge individual well-being and possessions are unimportant and so a great part of the Hindu creative genius has turned to religion each of the many forms of the Supreme Being to whom all Hindus pray has its temples and its worshipers brahma vishnu shiva and the numerous forms and incarnations of these gods are rendered in stone the highest art of India's scene in carvings made during the period of the Gupta dynasty Gupta Kings ruled northern India in the 4th 5th and 6th centuries ad and under the guptas some of the greatest masterpieces of Indian art were created although it lasted less than 300 years it is considered the Classical Age of India's culture after the 8th century new waves of invaders swept down on a plain burning fighting pillaging Arabs Afghans Turks all of them fanatic Muslims littered the Indian country side with ruins among the wreckage stands this wrought iron column of one of the gupta kings as a reminder of the short glory of this proud hindu dynasty not far from it near delhi a [ __ ] tower of victory was erected made of carved red stone and rising 238 feet above the ground it symbolizes the might of the [ __ ] conquerors but they too gave way to a new invader the Mogul descendants of Timor and Genghis Khan to this day the landscape of India is dotted with beautiful mosques palaces and tombs which the moguls and their descendants built in conquered India and as they rule they spread the teachings of Mohammed teachings basically different from those of traditional Hinduism the simplicity of the Mughal architecture stands in vivid contrast to the ornate designs of the Hindu temples a contrast as deep as the division between the Hindu and the Muslim religions several of the Mughal emperors brought unity and stability to India some were tolerant of their Hindu subjects others spread their religion by sword and compulsion one among the great mogul rulers was Shah Jahan who had the famous Taj Mahal built in memory of his Queen his reign was also a period of great literary and artistic activity after him the Moghul Empire gradually weakened Shahs came and went but their monuments survived at the end of the 15th century other outside forces came to India this time by sea as sea routes became safer trading companies from Europe founded outposts on Indian soil by the beginning of the 19th century the British East India Company had established itself as the strongest among supporting local Wars and power disputes of Hindu and Muslim princes the East India Company gradually spread its dominion over the vast Indian Territory selfish and often inefficient the company rule led to mutinies and civil strife in 1858 Queen Victoria proclaimed the transfer of sovereignty from the East India Company to the British crown princes and princely signed treaties Britain whose Queen became Empress of India 200 years of British rule had left an indelible mark on India the English trained large Indian armies in a mixture of Indian and European style Britain governed part of India directly through British governance and the rest from Indian Prince's known as Maharaja Oz or Nawabs now that India is a republic these princes have lost their power the durbar an annual assembly in which the princes chief subjects paid homage to him no longer can be seen in the cities of india here we see the last durbar of the maharaja of alwa [Music] Princes many of whom were descendants of kings and princes of earlier dynasties ruled under British protection guaranteed by treaty their power and position depended entirely on the British Indian Prince's gave allegiance to the British crown just as their own noble subjects gave allegiance to them now all this splendor and pageantry are gone and the Indian door bars are fading into legend the English love of spacious plazas and gardens can be seen in New Delhi for years the home of the British government in India now the capital of the Republic large parts of many Indian cities were developed by the British as residential and administrative areas for their military forces and civil servants but a large part of Indian life was not changed by British rule life went on and still goes on just as it has for centuries most Indians live in small villages like this one here using simple tools that have not changed in hundreds of years they live off the soil the well is the center of village life in a land as hot and dry as India an abundant supply of water is vital eleven million Indians live in the great cities over 345 million Indians live in small villages which as yet have little contact with the outside world the great Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi encouraged the use of the spinning wheel in the small villages of India spinning cloth he believed would keep farmers busy when there was no work to do in the fields Gandhi also saw spinning as a symbol of India's independence from foreign domination the spinning wheel was only part of Gandhi's plans for Indian freedom he believed that independence had to be achieved through a him saw an Indian word meaning non-violence he taught resistance to Britain by nonviolent means in groups small and large Indians of every class discussed and planned their nonviolent fight for freedom in August 1947 India received its independence from Britain almost overnight India emerged as an important area tech power as Muslim and Hindu were divided in Indian life so India was divided into two nations India and Pakistan in order to ensure the progress All India is looking forward to more teachers and schools are needed universities all over India are filled with eager young students anxious to improve the lot of the millions of their fellow citizens who can neither read nor write the new India is confident that it can govern itself combining the best of Western technology and ideas with their own heritage moulding the two together into a new Asiatic democracy which will carry them forward to a position of respect and leadership in the free world women long kept in the home are now taking an active part in the political life of their country the days of colonialism are over but the memory of its power and of its influences are still evident the contrast of west and east is clearly visible in the streets of New Delhi Kipling said East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet these words like an echo from the past no longer ring true the India of Kipling is dead now East and West are meeting every day [Music] India has taken its place as a leader of the Asiatic nations as yet uncommitted to east or west India already has great influence among all the Asiatic peoples built on one of the oldest civilizations on earth India carries with it a promise of greatness for its future [Music]