Historical Background
- Before 2000 B.C.E. Existence of Harappa culture in Indus River valley
- c. 1500 B.C.E. Beginning of creation of the Vedas --- Vedas are ancient scriptures of India and give information about gods and worship during the Vedic Period.
- c. 800-500 B.C.E. Beginning of creation of Upanishads; Axis Age ---"Upanishads express philosophical and religious ideas that arose in introspective and meditative traditions." Written in dialogue form.
- c. 200 B.C.E.- 2000 C.E. Creation of the Bhagavad Gita --- Part of a long poem called Mahabharata written in dialogue form.
- c. 1200 Muslim entry into northern India
- 1498 Portuguese entry into India
- c. 1750-1947 British domination of India
- 1869-1948 Life of political activist Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi
- 1947 Acquisition of Indian political Independence
- 1965-Present Periodic religion-related acts of violence involving India and Pakistan
- 1998 Victory of Hindu nationalist party (BJP) in Indian national elections
Molly, Michael. (2010). Experiencing the World’s Religions (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. pg.79