Independence Day

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Today is Independence Day and India is celebrating 60 years of freedom from British rule! It's a national holiday and many celebrations are underway, including the "Freedom Blast" at my hotel. There's food, music (even louder than usual), and dancing.

Very brief Indian history lesson:


* The Indus Valley of India was well settled with a highly developed culture by 2500 BCE
* Indo-European Aryans arrive from Central Asia around 1500 BCE
* 4th century BCE to 13th century CE, Indian subcontinent united and ruled by a series of empires followed by the establishment by Turko-Afghan rulers of a Muslim sultantate in the north with Delhi as its capital
* India invaded by the Monol leader Timur whose descendants founded the Mogul Empire - the Mogls are remembered for their art and architecture, including the world famous Taj Mahal
* European traders are drawn to the riches of India and begin to establish a foothold in the subcontinent
* Queen Elizabeth I charters the East India Trading Company in 1600, heralding the arrival of the British in India
* British rule was slowly imposed over the country with the French forced out in 1761 after 100 years of conflict over territory
* British East India Compant rule ended in 1857 after the Indian Mutiny (or the First War of Independence, depending on your viewpoint)
* In 1858 the rebellion is crushed and the British government rule India directly as part of the British Empire
* Queen Victoria is crowned "Empress of India" in 1877 and calls India the "jewel in the imperial crown"
* British imperial rule is a mix of paternalism and racism
* The Indian National Congress was founded in Bombay in 1885 to militate aginst the more repressive aspects of British rule
* Mohandas "Mahatma" Ghandi unites the property-owning and business classes into the National Congress Party and in the 1920s begins his civil disobediance and passive resistance campaign for Indian Independence which ultimately culminates in India gaining her freedom at the stroke of midnight on 15 Aug 1947
* India gains independence, but the country is partitioned into two separate states: predominantly Muslim Pakistan and predominantly Hindu India
* The Partition results in the mass migration of 10-15 million people with up to one million people dying in the process and tensions continue between the countries to this day
* In 1950, India declares itself a Republic with Jawaharlal Nehru its fist Prime Minister

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Photos

Party Time!
Dancers at the "Freedom Blast"