The Story of India

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India is the world's oldest surviving civilization which even today remains connected to its ancient past.

The Story of India is a six part BBC documentary series by historian Michael Wood which traces the history of India from the time the first humans migrated out of Africa and settled in South India until India's freedom from the British colonial rule.

The series was aired at BBC Two in August and September of 2007 to mark the 60th year of independence of India from the British rule.

Written and Presented by Michael Wood
Produced by Rebecca Dobbs
Editor was Gerry Branigan
Music by Howard Davidson & The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Filmed and Directed by Jeremy Jeffs

Episode 1 – "Beginnings (60,000 BCE–500 BCE)"
Episode 2 – "The Power of Ideas (500 BCE–200 BCE)"
Episode 3 – "Spice Routes and Silk Roads (200 BCE–300 CE)"
Episode 4 – "Ages of Gold (300 CE–1000 CE)"
Episode 5 – "The Meeting of Two Oceans (1000 CE–1700 CE)"
Episode 6 – "Freedom (1700 CE–2009 CE)"
Episode 7 – "Extras"
(click above links to see the video)

The timeline...
60,000–50,000 BCE: First humans migrate to India
3300-1600 BCE: Harappa arises in the Indus Valley Civilization
2000–1500 BCE: Migrations of Indo-European Speakers into India
1800 BCE: Climate change began to affect Indus Valley Civilizations
1500–500 BCE: Vedic Period (Bronze Age - Iron Age in north India)
1500–1000 BCE: Earliest hymns of Rig-Veda composed
1000–300 BCE: Iron Age culture in South India
599–527 BCE: Mahavira
563–486 BCE: Prince Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha)
518 BCE: Darius of Persia conquers Indus Valley
500 BCE: Jainism founded
500 BCE: Universities at Taxila and Nalanda founded
500 BCE–200 CE: Mahabharata and Ramayana composed
400 BCE: Classical dance form Bharatanatyam developed
326 BCE: Alexander the Great invades Northern India
324–298 BCE: Chandragupta Maurya rules
324–185 BCE: Mauryan Empire
300 BCE: Greek ambassador Megasthenes sent to Mauryan Empire
300 BCE: Earliest surviving Tamil literature
269–233 BCE: Ashoka rules
261 BCE: Battle of Kalinga
200 BCE: Earliest Tamil literature
200–100 BCE: Trade routes established between Mediterranean and South India
200–100 BCE: Jews settled in Kochi
150 BCE: Greek sailor Hippalus identifies monsoon winds
100 BCE: Silk Road trade route established
100 BCE–100 CE: Tamil poetic collections, the Purananuru, composed
21 BCE: Tamil emissary sent from Madurai to Rome
50 CE: St. Thomas said to have reached Kerala coast
70 CE: Port of Muziris described in The Periplus,a Greek merchant's guidebook
100 CE: Indian spice trade with Rome reached height
100–200 CE: First Indian Buddhist missions to China
100–300 CE: Kushan Empire
100–500 CE: Gandharan art flourished in north India and Afghanistan
100–500 CE: Buddhism split into Mahayana and Hinayana sects
127–147 CE: Kanishka rules
200 CE: Anicut Dam built
300–550: Gupta Empire
319–335: Chandragupta I ("King of Kings") rules
300–400: Kalidasa writes plays and poetry
375–413: Chandragupta II rules
400–411: Chinese Buddhist monk Fa Hsien visits India
400: Kama Sutra composed
454: Huns defeated in NW India
500: Aryabhata describes the orbits of the planets
600–700: Islam introduced to India by Muslim traders
871–907: Rise of the Cholan Empire
900: Cholan bronze sculpture period begins
981: Mahamastak Abhishek festival first celebrated
985–1014: Rajaraja rules in south
997–1030: Mahmud of Ghazni rules in north
1193–1386: Construction of Qutub Minar
1200: King Kulasekara builds Meenakshi-Sundaresvara Temple
1206–1526: Delhi Sultanate
1400–1500: Sikhism founded
1498: Vasco da Gama arrives in Calicut
1526–1858: Mughal Empire
1526–1530: Babur rules
1550–1800: Mughal miniatures period
1556–1605: Akbar ("The Great") rules
1600: British East India Company founded
1609: Guru Hargobind builds the Akal Takht
1615–1659: Dara Shikoh
1627–1658: Shah Jahan rules
1630–1680: Shivaji Bhosle, founder of the Marathan Empire
1632–1654: Taj Majal constructed
1650–1656: Jama Masjid constructed
1658–1707: Aurangzeb rules
784: Asiatic Society founded
1786: William Jones discovers Sanskrit's relationship to Latin and Greek
1828–1858: Rani of Jhansi, heroine of "the Mutiny"
1829–1912: A.O. Hume
1850–1853: Scientists discover first evidence of Indus Valley Civilization
1857: First Indian Rebellion, "The Mutiny"
1858–1947: British Raj
1869–1948: Mohandas Gandhi
1876–1948: Mohammad Ali Jinnah
1885: Indian National Congress founded
1889–1964: Jawaharlal Nehru
1906: Muslim League founded
1918: Gandhi holds first satyagraha in Bihar
1919: Amritsar Massacre
August 14/15, 1947: India and Pakistan gain independence from Britain
1949–1950: India adopts its constitution and the Lion of Ashoka as official emblem
1966–1984: Indira Gandhi serves as Prime Minister

References:
https://www.pbs.org/thestoryofindia/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Indias