India is one of the most magnificent countries in the world. Indian History is as old as the History of Mankind.

India is the site of one of the famous civilizations of the ancient world, the others being the Mesopotamian, Chinese, Egyptian, Greek and the Mayan (Central America). The earliest known civilization in India dates back to about 3000 BC. Discovered in the 1920s, it was largely confined to the valley of the river Indus (which now flows through Pakistan and Ladakh, to name a few places) hence it acquired the name the Indus Valley civilization. This civilization was predominantly an urban concentrated in and around two principal towns, Mohenjodaro and Harappa, the ruins of which still exist.

The History of India begins with the birth of the Indus Valley Civilization in such sites as Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa, and Lothal, and the coming of the Aryans. These two phases are usually described as the pre-Vedic and Vedic periods.

In the fifth century, large parts of India were united under Ashoka. He also converted to Buddhism, and it is in his reign that Buddhism spread to other parts of Asia. It is in the reign of the Mauryas that Hinduism took the shape that fundamentally informs the religion down to the present day. Successor states were more fragmented.

Islam first came to India in the eighth century, and by the 11th century had firmly established itself in India as a political force; the North Indian dynasties of the Lodhis, Tughlaqs, and numerous others, whose remains are visible in Delhi and scattered elsewhere around North India, were finally succeeded by the Mughal empire, under which India once again achieved a large measure of political unity. Babur (1483-1530) is regarded as the founder of the Mughal Empire in India. His dynasty was possibly the most famous political (royal) family, in medieval India.

The European presence in India dates to the seventeenth century and it is in the latter part of this century that the Mughal Empire began to disintegrate, paving the way for regional states. In the contest for supremacy, the English emerged 'victors', their rule marked by the conquests at the battlefields of Plassey and Buxar. The British governed India for a period of about two centuries and brought about revolutionary changes in the social, political and the economic life of the country.

The Rebellion of 1857-58, which sought to restore Indian supremacy, was crushed; and with the subsequent crowning of Victoria as Empress of India, the incorporation of India into the empire was complete. Successive campaigns had the effect of driving the British out of India in 1947.

India earned its independence from the British on 15th August, 1947. But the British army left India ultimately in 1950. The Indians celebrate 26th January, 1950 as the Republic Day of India. On this day the Indian constitution was adopted.