India is one of the most famous countries of the world and the reason for this is the culture and heritage. Early civilization dates back to about 4,000 BC, although most early settlements appear to start about 2,000 BC. Early India was not a single nation, but many independent kingdoms. The Aryans ruled northern India from 2,000 BC to 1000 BC. The Aryan philosophy eventually evolved into the Hindu religion. The Aryan social system created the caste system in which people became members of a rigid social structure. The caste system preserved strong social divisions and slavery. The Hindu religion and priests helped to enforce the caste system. In 600 B.C., Magedha was the major Aryan state with religious reforms founding Buddhism and Jainism.

Aryan tribes from the northwest infiltrated onto the Indian subcontinent about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. The Maurya Empire of the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. - which reached its zenith under ASHOKA - united much of South Asia. The Golden Age ushered in by the Gupta dynasty (4th to 6th centuries A.D.) saw a flowering of Indian science, art,

In the late 7th century A.D., Muslims began to invade India. By the 11th century, the Muslims took control of India, but the Muslim and Hindu religions continued to clash.

In the early 1500s, the Mughal Empire emerged to control India. In the 1600s, the Mughals established trading with the Britain and the France. When the Mughal empire began to decline, in the 1700s, the British and French fought to gain power. In 1858, Britain gained control of India and ruled for about 100 years. During this time, there were constant demands for India's independence. In 1947, after World War II had ended, Britain could no longer afford India. India became an independent country.