INDIA TODAY:

Capital: New Delhi

Largest City: Mumbai

Official Language: Hindi, English

Religion: Hindu, Islam, Sikh, Christianity

Government: Constitutional Republic

Population: 1,276,267,000

GDP: $2.308 trillion

Land Area: 3,287,590 km2

First Authenticated records of Human in India: 30,000 years ago

• 1526-1530 - Babur: The Birth of an Empire
  

By the early 16th century the Muslim sultans of Delhi Sultanate (an Afghan dynasty known as Lodi) are much weakened by threats from rebel Muslim principalities and from a Hindu coalition of Rajput rulers. When Babur leads an army through the mountain passes, from his stronghold at Kabul, he at first meets little opposition in the plains of north India.

How Babur created the empire :

1. Babur (25,000 troops) vs Ibrahim Lodi (100,000 troops/ 1000 elephants). This is known as the battle of Panipat.

2. Babur uses tactics over number of troops:

-Prepared: dig holes to position his gunners.

-Uses: only has a few guns but uses with great advantage.

-Uses: 700 carts as a barricade.

-Uses: a mixture of arrows and guns.

3. Claim victory at Panipat, Delhi andAgra.

4. Threaten by Rajputs (Hindu Kingdom) who are allies with Delhi Sultanate.

5. Fought with Rajputs on March 1527 in Khanwa and win using same tactics. This battle of Khanwa saw the Mughal having 25,000 troops fighting a bigger army consisting of 80,000 troops and 500 elephants.

6. Roam for three years and expanding his territory (covering mostly north of india).

• 1556-1605 - Akbar the Great: The Greatest Ruler of Mughal Dynasty
  

The regent Bairam Khan pursued a vigorous policy of expansion on Akbar's behalf. As soon as Akbar came of age, he began to free himself from the influences of overbearing ministers, court factions, and harem intrigues, and demonstrated his own capacity for judgment and leadership. A workaholic who seldom slept more than three hours a night, he personally oversaw the implementation of his administrative policies, which were to form the backbone of the Mughal Empire for more than two hundred years. He continued to conquer, annex, and consolidate a far-flung territory bounded by Kabul in the northwest, Kashmir in the north, Bengal in the east, and beyond the Narmada River in central India—an area comparable in size to the Mauryan territory some 1,800 years earlier.

Akbar built a walled capital called Fatehpur Sikri (Fatehpur means town of victory) near Agra, starting in 1571.The city, however, proved short-lived, with the capital being moved to Lahore (modern day Pakistan) in 1585. In 1599 Akbar shifted his capital back to Agra, from where he reigned until his death.

An astute ruler who genuinely appreciated the challenges of administering so vast an empire, Akbar introduced a policy of reconciliation and assimilation of Hindus (including Maryam al-Zamani, the Hindu Rajput mother of his son and heir, Jahangir), who represented the majority of the population. Religious tolerance was high at this time as Hindus we’re allowed to celebrate religious festival freely and are allowed to keep their religion without force. Jizya tax were also abolished under Akbar’s rule.

By the end of Akbar's reign, the Mughal Empire extended throughout most of India north of the Godavari River. The exceptions were Gondwana in central India, which paid tribute to the Mughals, Assam in the northeast, and large parts of the Deccan.

• 1627-1658 - Shah Jahan: Peak of Mughal Architecture
  

Under him, Mughal art and architecture reached their zenith; constructed the Taj Mahal, who built it as a tomb for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died when giving birth. Amongst other building with architectural and cultural significance are Jama Masjid, Red Fort, Jahangir mausoleum, and Shalimar Gardens in Lahore. Deposed by his son Aurangzeb.

• 1658-1707 – Aurangzeb: The Decline of the Empire:
  

The bureaucracy had grown corrupt, and the huge army demonstrated outdated weaponry and tactics.

Aurangzeb restored Mughal military dominance and expanded power southward, at least for a while.

A zealous Muslim, Aurangzeb reversed the earlier policies that had helped to maintain good relations with Hindus, reinterpret and impose his version of Islamic law to the non-Muslim. He was particularly deal harshly with the Hindus. He destroyed many Temples. Aurangzeb had the khutbah (Friday sermon) proclaimed in his own name, not in that of the Ottoman caliph, A symbolic gesture as it regards the Ottoman caliph as not being the ruler of all Muslims.

This is also the start of the rift between Mughals and European powers, who were originally there for trading. Aurangzeb defeated the British between 1688 and 1691, but their victory over the French at the Battle of Plassey in 1757 soon led to their controlling Bengal. From their original base in Serat, the British built forts and trading stations in Calcutta, Madras and Bombay.

In 1717, Furrukhsiyar would grant them a firman (royal dictate) exempting them from customs duties. The treaty of 1765 gave them the right to collect taxes on behalf of the emperor (the Diwani of Bengal). Before the dissolution of the Mughal Empire in 1857, the British system of District Collectors was firmly established. The District Collector remained the senior regional official throughout British rule.

• 1857 - End of the Mughals Dynasty:
  

By the mid-nineteenth century, the British were controlling vast tracts of the Mughal Empire and other principalities through a series of treaties and alliances. Technically, they still ruled as agents of the Mughal Empire, but were in practice exercising complete power (Puppet state). Between 1848 and 1856 they took over six states, causing considerable unrest.

In March 1854, the British awarded the Rani an annual pension and ordered her to leave the Jhansi fort. Refusing to leave, she organized a volunteer army to oppose the regular Sepoy Army (Army composing of Indians who fought for the British) of the British East India Company.

In 1857 a series of revolts broke out in the Sepoy army, fueled by rumors that the British intended to flood India with Christian missionaries and that pork and beef fat (Against Hindus and Muslim belief) was being used to grease the new Enfield rifle cartridge.

On May 10 the Sepoys revolted at Meerut. They shortly captured Delhi and proclaimed Bahadur Shah II the emperor of all India. Agra was also taken, and the British residents retreated into the Red Fort.

Rani of Jhansi emerged from the Indian side as one of the heroes, fighting the British dressed as a man. She was killed on June 18, 1858.

However, Bahadur Shah II was found guilty of treason because of his support with the rebellion and banished to Burma. Queen Victoria was declared Empress of India, and Britain assumed direct control of its Indian possessions, winding-up the East India Company.

By 1886 Muslims held only nine out of a total of 284 jobs, and it seemed that a long and glorious dynasty came to an inglorious end.

The Mughals ruled in India for around 300 years. The Mughal Emperors built an empire and laid the foundations of administration system upon which the British built further.

The Mughal period is reckoned with reference to the invasion and conquest of India by Babur in 1526, peaked during the rule of Akbar the Great till the death of Aurangzeb in 1707 in which it started to decline. The last ruler of the Mughal Empire was Bahadur Shah who was emperor during the early British years in India. He ended up as an exile in Burma.

Policy-making was retained with the Mughal emperor. Provincial governments were allowed initiative and decision-making in matters of local interest. Mughal Emperors maintained contact with all parts of his kingdom, through systematic touring.

However, the emperor who can lay claim to having attempted and established systems in the executive, judicial and religious spheres, in a conscious and deliberate manner, is Akbar. The long duration of his reign, from 1556 to 1605, contributed to achieving this.

• Centralised government that brought together many smaller kingdoms
• Delegated government with respect for human rights
• Persian art and culture
• Persian language mixed with Arabic and Hindi to create Urdu
• Periods of great religious tolerance
• A style of architecture (e.g. the Taj Mahal)
• A system of education that took account of pupils' needs and culture

The Muslims are mostly from the Hanafi school of thoughts. Many of them are also Sufis.

Religion influence on Tradition:

Since most of the subjects are adherents of Indians religion (Hindus and Sikh), the traditions of Mughal Dynasty have many influences from these religions, although it depends on who rules the empire at the time. Many of this tradition survives even after the Mughal Empire ended all the way to modern time

It symbolizes our recognition of their selfless love for us and the sacrifices that they have done for our welfare. It is a way of humbly acknowledging the greatness of another and creates an environment of mutual love and respect among people ensuring harmony in the family and society.

The lamps are lit and the tray is rotated in a circular motion in front of the deity or the person to be welcomed. At the end of arati, we place our hands over flame and then gently touch our eyes and the top of the head. The purpose of performing arati is to ward off evil effects and the malefic influence of the ‘evil eye’.

Generally, a kolam is drawn with bare fingers using predetermined dots. The dots are either connected together to make a pattern or loops are drawn encircling the dots to complete a design.

It is applied on the spot between the brows which is considered the seat of latent wisdom and mental concentration, daily after a bath and on special occasions, before or after ritualistic worship or a visit to the temple. Married women used to put a kumkum mark on their foreheads all the time.

During this period Akbar brought Persian at the level of state language, which helped in the growth of its literature. Besides, all Mughal emperors, except Akbar, were well-educated and patronized learning. Babur was a scholar.

Akbar himself was not educated but he created those circumstances which helped in the growth of literature during the period of his rule. He gave encouragement to Persian language and famous works of different languages like Sanskrit, Arabic, Turki, Greek, etc., were translated into it. He established a separate department for this purpose. Many scholars rose to eminence under his patronage.

There was large numbers of good books written in Persian were either autobiographies or books on history during the dynasty.

• Sanskrit

Hindu Education:

The Hindus had their primary schools attached to the temples. These schools were maintained by grants or endowments and no fee was charged from the pupils. There were no printed books and the children wrote the alphabets on wooden boards or on dust of the ground with fingers. (The faculty and materials were very limited and poor).

Classes were usually held under the shade of a tree. The students were taught the religious scriptures after they finished their alphabets. The centers of higher learning or universities were scattered all over the country, largely near the places of pilgrimage. 

These were Banaras, Nadia, Mithila, Mathura, Tirhut, Paithan, Karhad, Thatte, Sirhind and Multan.

Prominent school/place of learning:

1. School of Nyaya
2. University of Mithila
3. Mathura

The army had no regimental structure and the soldiers were not directly recruited by the emperor. Instead, individuals, such as nobles or local leaders, would recruit their own troops, referred to as a mansab, and contribute them to the army.

Weaponry:

• BLADES

Shamser, Sirohi - Scimitar (curved blade)

Dhup, Khanda, Gupti - Straight Sword

Pata - Rapier-like sword

• OTHER MELEE

Gurj - Mace

Tahar - Battle Axe

Sinan - Spears, Pike

Khanjar, Peshkaj, Bichuwa - Dagger

• Bows & Arrows
  
• Sherbachah Pistols
  
• Artillery cannon