The valley of Kashmir has its ancient history and civilization. As Biscoe (2005: 67) confessed “Kashmir fortunately possesses an ancient history and a civilization more ancient than our own”. The land of the valley is very fertile and was known as seat of learning in the past. In fact, scholars came from different parts of the world in order to acquire knowledge from the ancient Kashmiri teachers and scholars.
The history of the valley is divided into different periods – the first period was of Hindu rulers, the second was of Buddhism, the third was of Muslim rulers, the fourth was of Mughal rulers, the fifth was of Pathans and the sixth was of Dogra rulers. From the very first period, the valley was known for its Sanskrit learning. Sanskrit was the then court language and flourished in the valley like anything. Students and scholars of this language came from different parts of India to the valley to study under the great Sanskrit- scholars.
Kashmir has been the home of Sanskrit learning and from this small valley have issued masterpieces of history, poetry, romance, fable and philosophy. Kashmiris are proud and justly proud of the literary glories of their land. For centuries it (Kashmir) was the home of the greatest Sanskrit Scholars and at least one great Indian religion, Saivism, has found some of its most eloquent teachers on the banks of the Vitasta. Some of the greatest Sanskrit poets were born and wrote in the valley, and from it has issued in the Sanskrit language a world – famous collections of folk- lore.
(Grierson, vol-II, part 2, 21)
The Sanskrit period of Kashmir has produced a number of dramatists and poets who w...
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...place in the valley. Further, it is the language of administration, commerce, court and even it continues as the medium of instruction in the educational institutions at all levels except the primary level. Thus, it has essentially become an integral component of education in the State.
Works Cited
Bamzai, P.N.K. A History of Kashmir. New Delhi: Metropolitan Books, 1962.
Biscoe, Tyndale C.E. Kashmir in Sunlight and Shade. Srinagar: Gulshan Publishers, 2005.
Dewan, Parviz. Kashmir. Delhi: Manas Publications, 2004.
Ferguson, James P. Kashmir- An Historical Introduction. London: Hurst & Blackett Ltd, 1961.
Grierson, G.A. Linguistic Survey of India (Vol-II, part-2). Delhi: Motilal Banarasidas Publishers, 1919.
Khan, Ishaq Mohammad. History of Srinagar. Srinagar: Aamir Publications, 1978.
Soufi, G.M.D. Kashmir (2 Volumes). New Delhi: Capital Publishing House, 1974.
...ng religion and foreign to the people of India, yet there is a defied truth that Islam’s spread peacefully throughout India with the alliances formed between the Indian people, the Turks, and the Mongols. The encounters that the ancient Indian people had to endure with the Turks, Mongols, and Islam have had the most memorable impact and impression on Indian culture and other societies throughout the east. Ancient Indian history is often overlooked within our society, but perhaps there should be a second look at how the Indian people have became who they are today, what attributes that have given society, and what pandemonium they have overcame as a civilization to stay in existence and stand against the test of time.
This paper discusses two post-classical regions/societies (the post-classical Islamic and Indian society), and will draw upon the class lectures and readings to discuss the similarities and differences between the Islamic World and the Indian region during the post-classical era. The post-classical era refers to the historical period after the Iron Age, and falls between 200 CE and 1500 CE (Stearns, 79). During this period, there existed no enduring imperial authority, but the Indian society came to have a profound influence on the southern Asian cultures. During this time, it was also the norm to have regional kingdoms, and as a result, there were Indian forms of politics, economies and, religion all over the region, which was made possible by the extensive trade network within the Indian Ocean basin. As such, by the 13th c. C.E., there existed flourishing Muslim communities and emerging Sultanates from the Southern region of India to the Western Pacific Rim (Lecture 16).
As our nation shifts towards a more culturally diverse population both educators and families have to find a common ground to ensure that English Language Learners are academically successful. All stakeholders must carefully consider the social cultural impact on an ELL education. The process of raising bilingual learners take more than a language a school and a language learned at home. The transition must have a purpose and a goal.
India; one place; many cultures. Two poems describing two cultures with the effect affected by the environment. I will be investigating the poems “Blessing” by Imtiaz Dharker and “Night of the Scorpion” by Nissim Ezekiel and how the environment of the country affects the writing of the poems. I will be considering the climate and environment, the people in both environments, the culture, religion and superstitions of the people and the sounds, images and styles that the poets use to express their ideas.
Asani, Ali. “In Praise of Muhammad: Sindhi and Urdu Poems.” Religions of India in Practice. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995.
Recent years have witnessed a large number of Indian English fiction writers who have stunned the literary world with their works. The topics dealt with are contemporary and populist and the English is functional, communicative and unpretentious. Novels have always served as a guide, a beacon in a conflicting, chaotic world and continue to do so. A careful study of Indian English fiction writers show that there are two kinds of writers who contribute to the genre of novels: The first group of writers include those who are global Indians, the diasporic writers, who are Indians by birth but have lived abroad, so they see Indian problems and reality objectively. The second group of writers are those born and brought up in India, exposed to the attitudes, morale and values of the society. Hence their works focus on the various social problems of India like the plight of women, unemployment, poverty, class discrimination, social dogmas, rigid religious norms, inter caste marriages, breakdown of relationships etc.
Pandey, T. N., 2014. Lecture 1/9/14: Culture of India: Aryan and Indigenous Population. Cultures of India. U.C. Santa Cruz.
There was an unwritten law that nothing in India could be a greater antiquity than the civilization of Greece. This statement is problematic as it perpetuates a Eurocentric perception of Ancient Indian history. Europeans considered ancient historical books present in the Indian subcontinent as exaggerative and superstitious texts but this is very one sided. The other side of the story was never given a chance to be explored or understood. This essay will try to challenge the Eurocentric view of perceiving ancient historical texts such as the Vedas and Puranas as nothing more that superstitious and useless books.
This paper explores life at Mehrgarh and its importance as one of the major cities of the Indus valley civilization. Mehrgarh represents long chronological sequence from the 7th millennium to the 3rd millennium B.C. which has been divided into seven main periods from the Pre-Ceramic Neolithic to the Bronze Age. The third period belongs to the farming society (agriculture and animal husbandry).
The Indus Valley is located in northern India and is an important site concerning the early beginnings of agriculture in the old world. The geography, environment, and timeframe of the Indus Valley are distinct to the area and different from other sites of agricultural origin. Many plants and animals were domesticated in the Indus Valley, and due to the areas susceptibility to flooding, technological innovations had to take place. The Indus Valley is important to understanding the beginnings of agriculture and early civilization.
... Kashmir is the finest place to start, and not merely because it is the core of the Indo-Pakistan conflict. Our histories, cultures and religions have converged in Kashmir. Our rivers begin there, mountains meet there, and our dreams rest there.”
Allen, Charles. Kipling Sahib: India and the Making of Rudyard Kipling. New York: Pegasus Books, 2009. Print.
Writing by women has given a new dimension to the Indian literature. In the 20th century, women’s writing has been considered a powerful medium of modernism and feminist statements. The last two decades have witnessed phenomenal success in feminist writings of Indian English literature. Women writers comprise a sizeable segment of Indo-English writers. They present the age-old problems of Indian womanhood. As Indo-English literature has absorbed the new trends from the western literature, its theoretical foundation ranges between Greco-Roman theories of literature and Marxist, existentialist, psycho-analytic and other avant-garde movements in the world literature. The English language
As English governed the India , they used an efficient way to destroy the revolt from the Indian . They taught Indian English instead of their original language. Hindi is the traditional language in India, and it has thousands of the years ’ history. English gives Indian more opportunities on global business and makes Indian have higher status in the world, however, at the same time, it causes many problems. With Indian use English to communicate with foreigners, they forgot the original language. Most young people recognize that English is more fashionable. Our educational policies systematically discourage the teaching of Sanskrit, and one wonders again whether that is in deference to Macaulay, who found that great language (though he confessed ...
If you were to look on a map of the Eastern world, you would see a distinctly shaped country at the bottom of Asia. This country, known as India, is one whose history goes back almost as far as civilization itself. It started out as many other countries did during the rise of civilization, by tribes inhabiting areas around sources of water, or in the case of India, the Indus River Valley. When the first tribes settled, they chose the area for several reasons. It promoted agriculture development and would allow them to grow. The different characteristics of the land also impacted how the tribes grew into a nation as well as influencing their society.