World History (हिन्दी)

Weber, Domination and forms of legitimate authority.This is not all encompassing lecture on Max Weber but merely a glimpse of his ideas

Liberal genius, combined enlightenment with romanticism of 19th century. But a reluctant democrat.This is not all encompassing but a glimpse of J. S. Mill and his ideas.

Utilitarianism and Bentham's Opposition to French Revolution and Natural Rights.This is not all encompassing but a glimpse of Jeremy Bentham and some of his ideas.

Epistemology.Categorical Imperative.League of Peace/League of Nations.Democratic Peace Theory.This is not all encompassing but a glimpse of Kant and some of his ideas.

The Two Treatises and Amour Propre. The Social Contract and General Will. He came up with one solution to deal with society and Amour Propre. But in his boom call the social contract he came with a new solution of General WillThis is not all encompassing. Its just a glimpse of Rousseau and his political ideas

A new season is back. This time on Political thinkers and their political philosophy

British reach Kabul through the Bolan pass with their Army of Indus to remove Dost Mohammad and install Shah Shuja. They occupy Afghanistan but that's when the real fight begins. They fail to ensure their control over Afghanistan. The Army of Indus is destroyed and the British send their Army of Retribution to retake Kabul, only to re-install the ruler who ruled before the British intervention. Dost Mohammad is back on the throne of Afghanistan, with British backing.How history rhymed again in 21st century Afghanistan.The Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–1880) was fought as part of the Great Game rivalry between Britain and Russia over influence in Afghanistan. The British invaded Afghanistan with around 40,000 troops in three columns, capturing key locations like Kandahar, the Khyber Pass, and Kabul. Emir Sher Ali fled and died in exile, his son Yaqub Khan signed the Treaty of Gandamak, ceding control over Afghan foreign affairs to the British. However, after the British envoy was killed in Kabul, conflict resumed until British forces defeated Afghan forces led by Ayub Khan at the Battle of Kandahar in 1880, ending the war. Abdur Rahman Khan was installed as a British-backed emir, stabilizing the region as a buffer between Russian and British territories.The Third Anglo-Afghan War occurred in 1919 when Afghan forces under Amanullah Khan sought to reclaim full independence. The brief conflict ended with the Treaty of Rawalpindi, whereby Britain recognized Afghanistan's independence and control over its foreign affairs, ending British influence. This war marked the end of direct British intervention in Afghan sovereignty.

East India Company defends Assam (ruled by Ahoms) from Burmese attacks and plants the seeds for incorporation of Burma to British ruled India in 19th century.Subsequent wars further weakened Burmese sovereignty. The Second Anglo-Burmese War (1852–1853) led to the British annexation of Lower Burma for its valuable resources. The Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885 resulted in the full annexation of Burma, which was formally incorporated as a part of British India by January 1886. The colonial administration ruled Burma as part of British India until 1937, after which Burma was made a separate colony. British rule lasted until Burma’s independence in 1948.

Ranjit Singh was a force in himself. He built the last Indian Empire that fell to the British East India Company.A offered a secular or religiously liberal state where people from many faiths lived and served his empire.

The Peshwa makes a one last attempt to assert Maratha sovereignty. The Peshwa ultimately surrendered in June of 1818. But some of the Maratha leaders kept fighting till 1919. Ex. The fortress of Asirgarh was lost by Maratha commander Jeswant Rao Lar after a long siege and battle from East India Company in April 1819.While Amir Khan had surrendered early on. the Pindari leader, Karim Khan, surrendered after some fights. Chitu Khan ran away into the forests and remained in hiding till he was killed by a tiger. A funny thing to note: after Indian independence Cheetahs went extinct(1947-52) but the Tigers were saved with the Save the Tiger mission (Project Tiger, started in 1973)

In this episode we shall cover the Anglo Nepalese War

Sikhism, the rise of new monotheistic religion in India. Formation of Misls and how one Misldar Ranjit Singh builds the Sikh Empire

HiI am coming up with a new season in English with episodes covering Sikhism-Sikh Empire, Anglo-Nepalese War, Anglo Maratha War III, Anglo-Sikh Wars, Anglo Afghan Wars.

The writing on the wall was clear and the Syrian government fell. it now has a new government with Islamists of HTS in the helm. The new rulers claim to be more moderate than before but time alone shall tell how they govern and behave. This(or the latest episode in the long series of violence in middle -east) all started on October 7, 2023 with the Hamas attack on Israel border communities close to Gaza. The next high point that captured the imagination of global news media was the blasting of pagers of Hezbollah operatives. But who had thought that the Syrian government that had survived the civil war of over 14 years would lead to the fall of the government this winter. This and more on this episode. Keep listening and do offer your feedback on [email protected]. Would appreciate a rating on Spotify

On October 7 Israel came under a surprise attack from Hamas & Co. Ever since there is a new long war that continues till this date. When would the Palestinians get a state and when shall the Israelis get peace? Meanwhile a new phase has begun in the ongoing yearlong War. The northern borders of Israel and the regions of southern Lebanon seem to be on the way to face for more this. Today, minutes (guess it was about 90 to 100 minutes) after Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu(Anglicized version: Benjamin Netanyahu) gave a speech at the UN General Assembly, Israeli planes struck what is considered to be Hezbollah's Head Quarters in Beirut, Lebanon. The neighborhood of Dahiya, where the building is located, is considered a Hezbollah stronghold in the capital. Once upon a time, Beirut was considered as the Paris of the Middle East. At UN, PM Netanyahu took a strong stance. “I have a message for the tyrants of Tehran: If you strike us we will strike you. There is no place in Iran that long arm of Israel cannot reach, and that is true of the entire Middle East.” He referred to Hezbollah as “a terror army perched on our northern border.” Israel has come a long way since its independence 77 years ago, but battles and wars in the long ongoing Middle-East conflict continues. But a lot has changed. Today, Israel faces a different nature of adversaries. The Palestinians meanwhile, seek a nation. Hezbollah remains the single greatest strong foe on Israel's borders. But who is behind it all, today? Many in Israel would say Iran. But its more complicated. After today's attack on Hezbollah Headquarters in Dahiya, Beirut, its still not clear whether the Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah is dead or alive. Let's cover a few more pages from history and the present. --------------------------------------------------- I look forward to any suggestions/criticism/backlash/hate mail at the email address: [email protected] . Feel free to write. Keeping it under 250 words would be appreciated, indeed.

As of posting this episode, Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader has been assassinated in Tehran, Iran on July 31, 2024. So have some top Hezbollah commanders in Lebanon and some Hamas commanders in Gaza. Last night on August 12, 2024 Israel Defense Forces(The Tzahal) went on Peak Alertness with the expectation of an Iranian attack as Iran readied its missiles and drones. As of August 13, this morning 7:47 AM in Jerusalem, this attack has not taken place. Putting into present context of our region of the subcontinent: What have been some recent major political developments in the Indian Subcontinent/South Asia: 1. Fall of Ashraf Ghani led Afghan government and the return of Taliban 2. Muizzu taking power in Maldives 3. Imran Khan being removed from power in Pakistan while Sharifs and Bhuttos(more like Zardaris) agreeing to share power under the overarching system of the military directorship(if not outright dictatorship, the military of Pak has learnt that its better to stay behind curtains and direct the throne). Let's not forget that it was Pak Military that had brought Imran Khan to power in the first place. The Pak Fauj giveth and the Pak Fauj taketh away 4. Sheikh Hasina leaving power amidst agitations/mob violence and Bangladesh Nationalist Party eyeing a return, with Bangladesh military support. The Bangladesh Military has definitely gained more political power than it was able to exercise in the last 14 years. Stability of a state, its politics and the grasp on power of its rulers is NEVER GUARANTEED. There is constant struggle with internal elements and national threats. All we can say is stability can be be very uncertain. Israel's sole goal in some ways has been to ensure a security architecture where its statehood does not come under serious threat. October 7 did not exactly threaten the statehood of Israel but it showed how easy it was to destroy the stability and order that Israel had created. After 1973 this was the single greatest event where Israel came under a surprise attack and over a 1400 Israelis died in 2 days. It was a shock to the body-mass of the state and society. And led to the current conflict in Gaza where Israel is trying to bring back the Israelis taken hostage and destroy Hamas as a military force. Many however disagree with extent of correctness of the earlier statement as Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, is in a tough spot and the events of October 7 showed that the security that he guaranteed had failed and the corruption charges are in cold freezer as long as he remains prime minister. Many of the hostage's families have also sought a change in the approach of the Israeli government What are the key issues in the Israel-Palestine Conflict that render any significant peace move impossible without compromises?

This is in continuation of the previous episode on Israel Palestine Conflict. It brings in a few more perspectives including a comparison of Israel with Pakistan and India with Palestine. In case of India, it understood the stark reality of its partition and the creation of an artificial state of Pakistan from within it along religious lines. India took the path of a secular republic, six years later Pakistan became the first Islamic Republic in the world. Republic of India recognized Pakistan on the first day of its independence on August 15, 1947. Unlike India, the leaders of Arabs of the land of Mandate of Palestine and later Palestine, did not recognize Israel when it became a reality with recognition from many states in 1948. Much later Palestine Liberation Organization(PLO) recognized Israel in 1993. While a State of Palestine exists with observer status at UNGA and recognition from a large number of states(mainly in the non-west, only recently some western states have recognized Palestine), a full fledged Palestinian state with sovereignty remains a work in progress. I look forward to any suggestions/criticism/backlash/hate mail at the email address: [email protected] . Feel free to write. Keeping it under 250 words would be appreciated, indeed.

Urge you to watch this: A Palestinian and an Israeli, Face to Face | Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0juLRi90kRg After the October 7 attacks by Hamas and other groups on Israeli civilians, Israel has embarked on a series of offences that have lasted over 7 months by now. In the October 7 attacks many Israeli lives were lost. In the military actions that have followed many Gazan lives have been lost, over several times. In response International Criminal Court has sought warrants against Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri(Deif), Ismail Haniyeh. You can read about it here: https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/statement-icc-prosecutor-karim-aa-khan-kc-applications-arrest-warrants-situation-state Recently AP published a piece on debunking of some of the claims of Hamas acts: https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-sexual-violence-zaka-ca7905bf9520b1e646f86d72cdf03244 Further, this horrifying video shows the kidnapping of female Israeli soldiers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZRlrWHHRoU&rco=1 There are other points provided by The Hill in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z5GBz4yt2k Thus, we must understand that both sides are waging a war of narrative as well. UN found something as shown here in this video from the highly regarded Guardian News titled "UN finds ‘convincing information’ that Hamas raped and tortured Israeli hostages", almost 2 months before the above two videos. You can watch the UN statement from Guardian here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbs0vQDJ_aQ In this long ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this seems like the latest ongoing episode. But there is more to it. NOTE: This is an informal conversation being offered to listeners with some perspectives in mind. Some of the things being said might not be fully correct but there is context to it that might not have been possible to cover/include/mention in this podcast episode. People have spent their lifetimes to understand the issue at hand and it is a contentious issue involving emotions from both sides. My attempt is to merely scratch the surface and I am sure to have failed at that. But if it helps you in getting some new views, information and ideas, I would have succeeded by some measure. I look forward to any criticism or backlash at the email address: [email protected] . Feel free to write. Keeping it under 250 words would be appreciated, indeed.

Hi Hope you are enjoying this podcast and there are 68 episodes for you to go through and enjoy. There are some upcoming changes to the way we upload our podcasts. From what I understand it is expected that we make them more geared towards video/slides/animation along with the voice. I intend to adapt accordingly and am in the learning process. Meanwhile should you have any suggestions/remarks/information ...feel free to drop an email to [email protected] . You may also send in your questions and recommendations and I shall have episodes where I shall answer them. I might be away and then suddenly reappear with an episode. Till then हम हैं रIही World History के फिर मलेंगे चलते चलते もうすぐ私から連絡があるかもしれません آپ جلد ہی مجھ سے سنیں گے۔ Вы скоро услышите от меня Tendrías noticias mías pronto 곧 내 소식을 듣게 될 거야 Anda akan segera mendengar kabar dari saya በቅርቡ ከእኔ ትሰማለህ

Indo Greeks(Bactrians), Indo-Scythians(Shakas), Indo-Parthians, Kushanas all came and ruled parts of northern India. Kanishka the Great was the most famous among all these rulers. They accepted Indian cultures, beliefs and added it to their own. Many of their rulers are today known for their religious tolerance. In this episode we shall cover the details of the Central Asian rulers(their origins or those of the founders of their dynasty lay in Central Asia) and dynasties that ruled over parts of India in their periods of rule that roughly lay between 300 BC and 300 AD. They mainly ruled over the northern parts of Indian subcontinent and parts of central Asia. We also mention the first two Scythian rulers in India, Maues(the name means "Tiger" in the Scythian/Saka language) and Azes(the name means "Leader" in the Scythian/Saka language). Azes won over Hippostratos, cementing Scythian rule in western India In the present of Israel-Palestine: ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict(mainly Israeli response and military acts in Gaza) after October 7, 2023 attacks many have different persepectives. This April 2024 a TED talk took place in Vancouver, Canada with Maoz(Maoz Inon) and Aziz(Aziz Abu Sarah), two peacemakers from Israel and Palestine respectively. I mentioned this as their names are similar to those of the Scythian rulers mentioned earlier. The name Maoz means "strength" in Hebrew and Aziz means "respected" in Arabic. You can watch them talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0juLRi90kRg We would appreciate you, our listeners, rating us on the platform you are listening this podcast on. Episode 24 would be added later and it shall cover the Mauryan rulers who came after Ashoka. Corrigendum: Saka Era started with Kanishka's rule according to some sources, but we now know it started several decades before Kanishka. In this episode I claimed that it started with the rule of the Scythians. But to my best understanding. The Saka Era calendar probably started when some Indian ruler defeated a Scythian ruler.

Democracies, Politicians and the games they play have been known since ancient times. Remember Theron from the movie 300. Many(maybe not most) politicians are like Theron pretending to be Leonidas. True test of a democracy is whether politicians can be criticised and taken down in verbal duels as any other man/woman. A true democracy is not a place where politicians(or their family) can get away with crimes. As someone once joked: ...an American who tells a Russian that the United States is so free he can stand in front of the White House and yell, ''To hell with Ronald Reagan.'' The Russian replies: ''That's nothing. I can stand in front of the Kremlin and yell, 'To hell with Ronald Reagan,' too.'' Source of the quotation: Roberts, S.V. (1987) Reagan and the Russians: The joke’s on them, The New York Times. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/1987/08/21/us/washington-talk-reagan-and-the-russians-the-joke-s-on-them.html (Last Accessed by us: 20 April 2024).

During the time of the Mauryan Empire in India we see the rise of Qin Shi Huangdi in China after the period of Warring States. In Europe there were the Punic Wars that Roman Empire Won. In India, Mauryan Empire saw further development of the second phase of Urbanisation that started in 6th century BC.

The Mauryan Economy was much ahead of much of rest of the world. They used currency had taxation and the state took it upon itself to build roads and infrastructure. The products from India were seen in Egypt and Vietnam. All this was made possible due to the surplus agricultural wealth made possible by availability of Iron, furnaces and production of better quality Iron.

Administration of Mauryan Empire was complex. Megasthenes and Greek writers have called a it a centralised top down system. But this was probably not centralised when we use the term in the modern sense. It had 4 main administrative regions apart from the capital region. The military was well organised and there was a strong regulated bureaucracy. Senior officials were well paid. There were hierarchies but this also enabled a peaceful time for the people where agriculture, manufacturing and trade could flourish. Do leave us a rating!

The story of Ashoka the Great. The Emperor of the Mauryan Empire of India.

Among the 16 Janapadas, Magadha rose to the level of an empire. It started off as a small Janapada or a state in the southern banks of the mighty life giving Ganges river(Ganga). It had great dynasties like the Brihadratha, Haryanka(Bimbisara), Shishunaga and the Nandas. But it tasted true glory under the Mauryas, who expanded Magadhan Empire to much of modern day Indian subcontinent. Chandra Gupta, the first ruler of Mauryan dynasty, was aided to power by the great strategic thinker Vishnugupta, also known as Chankaya and Kautilya. He was succeeded by Bindusara. Bindusara's death saw a four year long struggle for power that saw Ashoka rise to power.

Do leave us a rating. Rating us on Spotify would help us reach out to more listeners.

Hinduism has been a key identity marker, along with numerous others, of Indian Civilisation. Its more or less seen as a way of life. Its seen as old, ancient and evolving. It has numerous schools of thoughts without any rigid diktat. Different people have followed it in different ways across time and space.

How has India evolved? Today its in a much better economic situation where most people get food to eat and have a place to live. Back in 1991, India opted for economic liberalisation under the leadership of Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao and Finance Minster Manmohan Singh. Dr Manmohan Singh bid farewell to the Parliament and Rajya Sabha today.

Emperor Ashoka had many children. He sent two of them to Sri Lanka to spread the message of non-violence, good governance and the message of Buddha. These were son Mahendra and daughter Sanghamitra.

NOTE: Errors in this episode mentioned at the bottom of the description. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Have we made progress compared to those who preceded us? Are we better than them? Materially, no doubt. We have iPhones, drive EVs, fly in hours to different places on the planet. Socially? The jury isn't out, yet. So was the case for the Mauryan rulers of Magadha compared to other dynasties of Magadha. We could say similar things when we compare Magadha to the Age of Mahajanapadas, Early Vedic Age and the Indus Valley Civilisation. Don't forget to leave a rating and let us know how you gauge our podcast. Do send us your valuable feedback on [email protected] Corrigendum: Ashoka's children who went to Sri Lanka to spread Buddhism were Mahendra and Sanghamitra. Mahendra was incorrectly mentioned as Rahula. In history, Rahula was the son of Siddhartha Gautam(Buddha).

Alexander defeats Persians and reaches India and fights the Battle of Hydaspes/Jhelum in 326 BC. He leads a campaign along India's western lands along the Indus river and the regions to its west in modern day Balochistan. This weakened western India provides the right environment for Chanakya and Chandragupta to raise armies, capture lands and taste power. They would then train their arrows on the Nandas in the next episode and create the Mauryan Empire.

All about Achaemenid Empire, it rise and expansion and how they reached India, captured many kingdoms, washed their feet in the Indus river and left a mark

In this episode we talk about the rise of Achaemenids and how Kourosh/Cyrus II/Cyrus the Great escapes death and is on the verge of taking power. This episode would be all about Persia but is part of the Ancient India series, as we are discussing this to understand the context in which the Achaemenids reach Indus Valley. In the next episode we shall see Cyrus the Great take power in the territories of what had been the Median Empire

War in Indian History, India of Today and Magadh and the challenges ahead. The gap between those on the field and those thinking and formulating the policy. Can it be narrowed down further? The audio content file has been replaced with added background audio.

The second episode dedicated to Magadh/Magadha or may be even the third if we are to include one of the bonus, non-serialised, episodes. The rule of the Shishunagas, Nandas and how Vishnu Gupta(Chanakya) enabled the end of the Nandas as a payback of the humiliation he received in the Nanda court of Dhananand.

In the melee of the sixteen(16) Mahajanapadas, four(4) emerged supreme: Magadh, Avanti, Kosala, Vatsa. These four competed for pre-eminence and Magadh emerged victorious under the leadership of Haryanka dynasty. Haryanka had great kings like Bimbisara, Ajatashatru and Udayin. The Haryankas were related to Vardhaman Mahavir, the 24rth Jain Tirthankara and were patrons of Buddhism. Both Bimbisara and Ajatashatru had met Siddhartha Gautam, The Buddha, in their lifetime. Both were great military leaders and the father was perhaps better than his son, when it came to diplomacy. We shall cover it all in this episode

Chanakya, Mauryas, their strategies...

The rise and spread of Buddhism in India from the Birth of Buddha to the schisms within the religion. #India #AncientIndia

In the intellectual melee of 6th century BC we see the rise of new ideas and beliefs. We have discussed Ajivikas in the previous episode. In this episode we shall talk about Janinism

In the 6th century BC we see the consolidation of the previously existing polities called Janapadas. We now have Mahajanapadas. There were 16 such Mahajanapadas. Some were republics(Ganasanghas) and others were monarchies (Samrajya). This period saw rapid increse of agricultural output aided by iron ploughshare and canal based irrigation. This led to the second urbanisation in India (the Indus Valley Civilisation being the first urbanisation). Thus, the Mahajanapadas were proper states with centralised administration, bureaucracy, policing, taxation, sovereignty, army and a powerful King, who was aided by councils and brahmins. We also note the rise of more than 62 new schools or heterodox belief systems. There were four major schools of thought such as Ajivikism, Materialist schools(Ajita Kesakamilin and Charvaka), Buddhism and Jainism. Of these Buddhism and Jainism, still exist in India and many other countries. The rest, they either disappeared or merged into something else or morphed into something rent. We discuss Ajivikas and the materialists in this episode. Buddhism and Jainism would be covered in the next episode.

Who were the Kalabhras? Where did they come from? We are not clear or sure about the origins of Kalabhras. Their story/history is elusive and their rule has often been compared to a dark age.

While Mauryas, Shungas, Kanvas and Kushanas ruled northern India one after the other over several centuries. Deccan came under the rule of the Satavahanas(Andhras) from 1st century BC to 3rd century AD. From 3rd century BC to 3rd century AD we see the rule of Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas in deep south of Indian Peninsula. But these dynasties were soon taken over by the Kalabhras, whose rule some historians have called a dark age. But soon we see a return of Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas. Were these the same or different? The new Cholas expanded and built a massive empire with many subordinate kingdoms paying obeisance. They were thus called the Imperial Cholas who ruled a vast stretch of islands and land masses in the Indian Ocean stretching from modern day Maldives to Indonesia and even reached Phillipines where a Chola prince laid the foundation of the Kingdom of Cebu (Cebu Rajahnate). While the Imperial Cholas are said to have had their heydays from 850AD to 1279 AD. In 1279, the last Chola Emperor, Rajendra Chola III, was defeated by Kulasekara Pandyan I. Chola members and successors persisted for a few more centuries.

Post the Vedic period we see the rise of Mahajapanpadas. A smaller polity neighbouring the Mahajanapadas in the east, Magadha would end up dominating a significnt land mass of India. Modern India takes many of its symbols from this Magadha. Be it the Ashokan 4 lioned capital as the national emblem or naming India's national diplomatic enclave Chanakyapuri. Modern India shares much more with Ancient India.

When the Aryans or a people came to India(what has been referred to as the subcontinent or Indian subcontinent), they mixed with the locals and created a composite culture. This had many of the local pre-existing element and probably some new elements. But during the British rule over India, orientalist historians presented/created/built the Aryan theory to demonstrate how they were the rightful rulers of India for, according to their words, the Aryans of India had digressed and had to be civilised by his Aryan brothers from Great Britain. This was probably an abuse of the word civilised and civilidsations. Post independence of India we see many marxist historians pitching their support for an Aryan invasion theory, later proven to be not even if not otherwise. Based on todays understanding we can say that some people probably migrated into India and added to the existing culture, this probably led to the Rigvedic civilisation. But it may not be correct to say that everything in it was foreign. Somethings might be. Many Indians such as Bal Gangadhar Tilak, author of Arctic home of the Aryans, also conceded that some peoples, groups might have come into the Indian geographical and cultural sphere and added to it. Today, in west, when a foreigner joins their culture the term used is cultural enrichment. Can't such courtesy be extended to places they once ruled? But what is the truth? Well, we would probably have a better picture in the coming days with newer innovations and scientific advancements and methods to discover the past, our pasts. Or shall we say "Pasts"

How I feel about friends and humans and how they matter. In our podcast we do not give enough credit to individuals but rather reserve those for major actors and historical forces. That could be seen as a flaw but this is how most of the podcast episodes have been designed with a mandate to focus on the major aspects and in the process we end up discounting some others. Parsimony, some might call it. The attempt is to showcase an aspect of history of the many aspects of history and in the process we do end up showcasing one history where there are many histories. But such is the burden of your podcaster. Hope you forgive him for the flaws and appreciate the better aspects of the series. Do let me know how you feel about the episodes on [email protected]

Happiness and and being content matters a lot. Especially in our times. History reading can at times have a calming effect. I personally found reading history very relaxing during my school days. And when I came across different nations, I often wondered how it would have been for the people there. How would they have seen or judged our present? Does it really matter? If Yes, then to what extent? I woke up late today. The thoughts and memories of some of my friends engulfed my mind. So I wrote an email to one and sent messages to few others. I dedicate this episode to my friends*, the people I have had the fortune and honour of coming across in my life. They have been my most patient teachers. ~Jyoti Ranjan Pradhan *(I couldn't write to them all, but I keep them in my memories) [email protected]

The Battle of Hydaspes took place on the southern banks of Jhelum river. The Greek world knew this river by the name of Hydaspes, hence the name of the battle. In an earlier episode of the Ancient India series, the podcaster had erroneously mentioned that this battle took place on the banks of Ravi river. This is incorrect. In its stead the river mentioned should have been Jhelum. The mistake is regretted.

The later Vedic period saw the consolidation of Janas to Janapadas that had territory and the formation of Rashtra. We see iron being used and thus Vedic Civilisation/Culture was an Iron Age. The role of agriculture in the lives of the peolple increased and with surplus wealth and resources we see the rise of different professions and an yearning for knowledge, philosophy and sciences. The people now moved East and discovered many other tribes and groups and also more sources of Iron.

Rise of the Rig Vedic people and formation of early polity with Janas(tribes) in the Sapta-Sindhu region of Ancient India from 1500 BC to 1000 BC