Civilisation of Bharat

The value of an idea lies in its use, and the value of a civilisation lies in its contribution to the world. However, the proof of a civilisation’s truth lies in its longevity. Indian civilisation dates back thousands of years. There are clear descriptions of Nakshatra positions (Celestial Constellations), which date back more than 80,000 years. The reason for this conclusion is that nothing can survive against nature, and if a civilisation survives and flourishes, that means it is able to understand the reality and align with it.

India’s survival as a civilisation, unlike Sumeria, Egypt, Babylon, Maya, and Inca, reflects a unique blend of resilience, innovation, and adaptability. William Dalrymple praises India’s role as an intellectual and cultural exporter, while AL Basham underscores its social stability and philosophical depth. Together, factors like geographical positioning, a robust social structure, tolerant religious traditions, economic prowess, political adaptability, cultural diversity, and intellectual achievements enabled India to thrive through millennia, leaving an indelible mark on world civilisation.

Indian civilisation has made significant contributions to the world across various fields since ancient times. From the Indus Valley civilisation through the classical and medieval periods, the Indian subcontinent has been a cradle of innovation and culture. India's contributions to mathematics have fundamentally shaped the modern world.

The most transformative contribution is the development of the decimal system and the concept of zero as a number. This innovation, first evidenced in the Bakhshali Manuscript, enabled efficient arithmetic and underpins all modern mathematics, science, and technology. Indian mathematician Brahmagupta advanced algebra by providing solutions to linear and quadratic equations and introducing negative numbers in his work, Brahmasphutasiddhanta. Aryabhata developed sine and cosine functions, compiling tables that remain foundational to trigonometry, as detailed in his Aryabhatiya. He proposed the Earth’s rotation on its axis and a heliocentric model, predating Western models, and accurately explained eclipses. The sequence inaccurately known as the Fibonacci sequence is accredited to the Indian mathematician Pingala, who explored similar patterns in prosody.

Indian philosophy has profoundly influenced global thought, offering diverse schools and ethical frameworks. Indian concepts of Karma and Dharma have shaped spiritual dialogues and practices beyond India. Vedanta is in the Upanishads and systematised in texts like the Brahma Sutras, explores the unity of the individual soul (Atman) and the universal soul (Brahman), influencing metaphysical discourse worldwide. Yoga provides a practical and philosophical path to self-realisation. Buddhism’s concepts of impermanence, suffering, and enlightenment spread across Asia and beyond, shaping global ethics and spirituality. Jain philosophy has contributed to ethical systems emphasising non-violence (Ahimsa) and asceticism.

India’s medical advancements, particularly in holistic and surgical practices, have left a lasting mark. Charaka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita (circa 1000 BCE–500 CE) emphasise balance through diet, herbs, and lifestyle, influencing alternative medicine globally. Sushruta, often called the father of surgery, documented advanced techniques, including plastic surgery, in the Sushruta Samhita, showcasing India’s early medical sophistication. Techniques for producing dyes, medicines, and alloys, as described in texts like Nagarjuna’s Rasaratnakara. India’s Wootz Steel has been produced since at least the 4th century BCE. This high-quality steel was renowned for its strength and sharpness. Exported widely, it contributed to the fame of Damascus swords, showcasing India’s metallurgical expertise.

India’s role in ancient trade networks facilitated economic and cultural exchange. As a key player in the Silk Road, India exported textiles, spices, and gems, connecting with Central Asia, China, and Europe, and spreading its culture and knowledge. Indian merchants established extensive maritime networks with Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and East Africa, fostering economic prosperity and cultural diffusion.

There is a saying that all roads of the world lead to Rome. Before Rome, they led to Egypt. Both these places in the West have seen cultural and economic splendour. However, in the East, India has been a magnet for travellers throughout history, drawing scholars, explorers, and adventurers from across the globe. Probably the best account of a country is the descriptions and assessments by its visitors. Some notable figures visited India in ancient and medieval times.

Fa-Hien, a Chinese Buddhist monk who visited during the reign of Chandragupta II. He documented his observations in "Records of Buddhist Kingdoms," highlighting India's religious practices and societal structure. Hiuen-Tsang, another Chinese Buddhist monk, travelled during Harshavardhana's reign. His work "Si-Yu-Ki" provides detailed accounts of India's culture, education, and governance. Megasthenes (302-298 BCE), a Greek ambassador to Sandrokotus's (Xandranese or Sadachanda Chandramaas and not Chadragupta) court, authored "Indika," offering insights into the Empire's administration and society. Al-Biruni (1024-1030 CE) was A Persian scholar who accompanied Mahmud of Ghazni. His book "Tahqiq-i-Hind" is a comprehensive study of India's religion, science, and culture. Marco Polo (1292-1294 CE), the Venetian traveller, visited South India during the Pandya dynasty and wrote about India's economic and cultural richness.

Ibn Battuta (1333-1347 CE), a Moroccan explorer who travelled during Muhammad bin Tughlaq's reign. His travelogue "Rehla" describes India's urban life and administration. Sir Thomas Roe’s accounts offer insights into Mughal India, particularly the court of Jehangir. He noted the emperor’s opulence, describing lavish ceremonies and Jahangir’s interest in European goods, such as clocks and paintings. Roe was impressed by Indian craftsmanship, especially textiles, stating, “The silks of Gujarat are as fine as any in the world,” and noted the diversity of trade in Surat, a major port. He also observed court politics, mentioning the influence of nobles like Asaf Khan and the emperor’s love for hunting and drinking. However, Roe criticised what he saw as a lack of discipline, writing, “The people are ingenious, but want order and government as we understand it.”

All these travellers often marvelled at India's spirituality and highlighted the prevalence of religious practices and philosophical traditions, the diversity in art, architecture, and literature, flourishing trade networks and advanced urban centres, contributions in astronomy, mathematics, and medicine, and societal organisation. Their accounts collectively paint a picture of a vibrant and dynamic civilisation that was both deeply spiritual and materially prosperous.

William Dalrymple, in The Golden Road, reflects on how Ancient India transformed the World. Portrays India as a cultural and intellectual powerhouse. He describes India as a "confident exporter of its diverse civilisation," creating an "Indosphere" that influenced regions from the Red Sea to the Pacific.

In South America and North America, the term used for native people is ‘Native Indians’, ‘red Indians’, or simply ‘Indians’. This is because they found these places when they were extensively searching for a sea route to India. European powers likely began attempts to find a sea route to India in the early 15th century. The quest for a sea route to India by European powers is rooted in the Age of Discovery, a period marked by increased maritime exploration in the 15th and 16th centuries. The desire for direct access to Asian markets, particularly for spices, was intensified by the fall of Constantinople in 1453, which disrupted traditional land routes controlled by the Ottoman Empire.

Portugal began seeking a sea route to India around the early 15th century, driven by Prince Henry the Navigator’s sponsorship of African coastal explorations. More direct attempts, such as Bartolomeu Dias’s 1487-1488 expedition, occurred in the late 15th century under King John II, aiming to circumnavigate Africa.

The main goal was economic, as the desire for spices like pepper, cinnamon, and cloves, highly valued in Europe for culinary, medicinal, and preservative uses, drove the search for a direct route. King John II’s plan was “a cost-saving measure in the trade with Asia and also an attempt to monopolise the spice trade.”

Religious motivations were also significant, aiming to spread Christianity. King Manuel I’s letter to Ferdinand and Isabella in July 1499 further elaborates, “to discover new lands and to find a way by the Ocean Sea to the regions where spices grow” and “to bring back many souls to the holy Catholic faith,” reflecting both trade and religious goals.

Vasco da Gama landed at Kappad Beach, near Kozhikode (Calicut), in Kerala, on May 20, 1498. Let’s take this as a time marker in India’s destiny because it marks the beginning of the confluence of two civilisations. Before this, another civilizational impact that occurred was from muslim invaders. The first major Muslim invasion of India was led by Muhammad ibn al-Qasim in 712 CE, annexing Sindh. This is a dark chapter in India’s history, however, it could not shake India’s soul. The impact of European culture is continuous and long-lasting, and it burdens Indian minds with fake wisdom and woke ideas.

India’s share of world GDP in 1498-1500 CE, as per economic historian Angus Maddison, provides widely accepted estimates for historical economies. In his book The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective (2001), Maddison estimates that in 1500 CE, the Indian subcontinent contributed approximately 24.5% of global GDP. This figure is based on purchasing power parity (PPP) and reflects India’s wealth from agriculture, textiles, and trade before widespread colonial disruption.

One of the main onslaughts on the soul of India was from the new education system. Thomas Babington Macaulay, a British historian and politician or Lord Macaulay, addressing the British Parliament in 1885, as he passed away in 1859. It appears the user meant his 1835 Minute on Education, presented to the Governor-General’s Council in India, where he argued for introducing English education, stating that “a single shelf of a good European library was worth more than the whole native literature of India and Arabia” (Minute on Education 1835). He believed this would create a class of Indians who were “Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and intellect.”

British rule, starting in the 18th century, disrupted traditional industries through policies like de-industrialisation (e.g., destruction of Indian textile manufacturing) and extraction of resources. India’s economy was reoriented to supply raw materials (e.g., cotton, indigo) to Britain, while industrial growth was stifled. Meanwhile, Europe and North America industrialised during the Industrial Revolution, significantly increasing their GDP shares. By 1947, India’s relative economic position had weakened, dropping to ~4% of world GDP. When the British left India in August 1947, the country’s economy had undergone centuries of colonial rule. Maddison’s data For 1950, the closest year post-independence with comprehensive estimates, shows India’s share of world GDP at 4.2%, updated dataset.

The East India Company was established in 1600 and began trading in India, but its significant economic exploitation started after gaining political control, particularly following the Battle of Plassey in 1757 and the grant of Diwani rights in Bengal in 1765. The most widely cited estimate of wealth drained from India during British colonial rule comes from the work of economist Utsa Patnaik. She calculates that Britain extracted approximately $45 trillion (in 2016 USD) from India between 1765 and 1938. This figure is derived by measuring India’s export surplus earnings, which were appropriated by Britain, and compounding them at a 5% interest rate over time.

While Patnaik’s estimate covers 1765–1938, the period from 1600 to 1765 saw limited direct drain, as the East India Company initially operated as a trading entity without territorial control. Significant extraction began post-1765, and from 1938 to 1947, the drain continued, though at a reduced scale due to global economic shifts and World War II. Some sources, like Oxfam’s 2025 report, suggest a higher figure of $64.82 trillion for the full colonial period, but this is less detailed and often attributed to Patnaik’s methodology with broader assumptions.

Estimating deaths due to suppression, impoverishment, and poverty under British colonial rule is complex due to incomplete records and varying methodologies. However, given below are the key figures from scholarly studies. A balanced estimate, considering famines, suppression (e.g., 1857 reprisals), and chronic poverty, ranges from 500 million to 1.8 billion deaths, with the lower end reflecting verifiable famine and census data, and the higher end including broader deprivation effects.

There is no justification in the British constitution for the colonial loot. The British constitution had no provisions for colonialism as a national policy or objective. It is uncodified, meaning it is not a single, written document with a specific implementation date. Instead, it has evolved over centuries through a combination of statutes, conventions, judicial decisions, and treaties. Its development can be traced through Magna Carta (1215), which limited the power of the king and established rights for the nobility, the Bill of Rights (1689), which strengthened parliamentary sovereignty and individual rights and the Act of Settlement (1701) which clarified the succession to the throne and judicial independence. Acts of Parliament, such as the Navigation Acts (1651–1849), which regulated colonial trade, and the India Act (1784), which increased government oversight of British India.

The colonial loot carried on, interrupted, devoid of emotions and without any respect for human dignity, that means the true constitution is not only the acts of parliament but a nation's moral philosophy as a whole.

In 1947, India had just become free from more than 500 years of Muslim rule and 200 years of Colonial exploitation, however, it kept employing the same thought process of the European Civilisation, and its further decline from ~4% to ~2.4% reflects post-independence challenges and global growth. India adopted inward-looking policies (e.g., import substitution, heavy regulation), which limited economic growth compared to export-driven economies like Japan or South Korea. Partition and infrastructure deficits also hindered progress. The world economy expanded rapidly, especially with the rise of industrialised nations and emerging markets, outpacing India’s growth in relative terms. Since 2014, India’s share has risen (e.g., ~3.3% in 2023 per IMF estimates), reflecting its ongoing economic resurgence.

We can only offer to the world what we have. What India shared with the world without any patent or selfish intellectual property rights was its wisdom, knowledge, culture, arts, crafts and produce. What it received in return was the colonial loot, greed, complexity and a constitution based on the principles of European civilisation. This book is not about the criticism of European Civilisation but about the criticism of the ideas that are not rooted in India. The ideas also have an organic life in terms of the circumstances they originate, grow and sustain through the happy and difficult times of a region.