History of India-I( Ancient India )

By Dr. Bhabananda Singh T | Associate Professor, Department of History, Modern College, Manipur

Learners enrolled: 953

The course History of India- I (Ancient India), covers an interesting part of the early Ancient Indian History. The course begins with how the History of early Ancient India was reconstructed, from the early notion or the understanding of history, the tools and sources for reconstructing ancient Indian history and historical interpretations with special reference to gender, environment, technology and regions. The second portion of the course deals with the evolution of the prehistoric cultures of Palaeolithic and Neolithic India, and hunter-gatherer was predominantly the way of life.

With the passage of time, men began to lead a settled life with the advent of food production with the beginning of agriculture and domestication of animals. The Harappan Civilization covers an important topic where students will get acquainted with the first civilization that emerged in the Indian subcontinent along the banks of River Indus and its tributaries covering parts of modern day Pakistan, Northwestern parts of India and some areas of Afghanistan. The last topic Cultures in Transition covers roughly from 1500 BC to 300 BC, and will cover the social, economic and political history starting from North India, the Sapta-Sindhu Region, passing through Central and the Deccan areas to Deep South, and the Tamilakam.

The objectives of the course are to acquaint the students about Ancient India’s past and to develop an understanding which will enable them to comprehend all the history of early Ancient India.

It also aims to make the students understand how the transition from the culture of hunter-gatherers to the beginning of settled life in the Indian sub-continent ultimately gave birth to one of the most advanced civilisations in the contemporary world. Further, the civilization also developed, influencing the length and breadth in India’s culture, society, economy and polity, which is visible till today.

After completion of the course, the students will be able to understand the gradual development of political, economic, social and cultural transformation that took place in India. The students will grasp the contemporary issues in Indian society, economy and polity.

The course will be covered in 40 modules. This course is divided into 7 units comprising 40 modules. Each module will include descriptive videos, text materials, glossary, FAQs, reading references, quizzes, and assignments.

Course Coordinator
Dr. Bhabananda Singh T
Associate Professor, Department Of History, Modern College, Manipur

List of resource persons
1. Dr. Manjil Hazarika, Assistant Professor, Department of Archaeology, Cotton University, Assam
2. Lokesh Kumar Durga, Faculty, Department of History, NCWEB, University of Delhi, Delhi
3. N. Bimolkumar Singh, Assistant Professor, Department of History, Naorem Birahari College, Manipur

Summary

Course Status :	Completed
Course Type :	Core
Language for course content :	English
Duration :	15 weeks
Category :	Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit Points :	5
Level :	Undergraduate
Start Date :	31 Jul 2023
End Date :
Enrollment Ends :	31 Aug 2023
Exam Date :

Page Visits

Course layout

WEEK 1

1) Early Indian Notions of History

2) Sources and Tools of Historical Reconstruction

3) Historical Interpretation of Gender

4) Historical interpretation of Religion in Ancient India

WEEK 2

5) Environmental Interpretation of Indian History

6) Historical Interpretation of Technology

7) Archaeological sources of ancient history

8) Primary and secondary sources of ancient Indian history

WEEK 3

9) Palaeolithic Culture Sequence and Distribution

10) Palaeolithic Industries

11) Palaeolithic Stone Tool making techniques and their technical development

12) Mesolithic Culture of India-Regional and Chronological Distribution

WEEK 4

13) Technical Development of Stone Age Cultural Periods: The Mesolithic Knapping Techniques

14) Technical Development of Stone Age Cultural Periods: The Neolithic Knapping Techniques

15) Economic System of the Mesolithic Culture

16) Rock Art in India

WEEK 5

17) Upper Palaeolithic Rock Art in India

18) Mesolithic Rock Art in India

19) Understanding the Origin of Food Production

20) Chronological Distribution of the Neolithic Culture

WEEK 6

21) Agriculture and the Neolithic Revolution

22) The Chalcolithic Culture

23) Technology, Material culture and pattern of exchange during Neolithic and Chalcolithic Periods in India

WEEK 7

24) Megalithic cultures and its distributions

25) Megalithic cultures – its settlement patterns and subsistence economy (c.1000 B.C. – 300 B.C.)

26) Copper, hoard culture

WEEK 8

27) History of Iron age in India

28) Origin of the Indus Valley Civilisation

29) Settlement Patterns

30) Town Planning and Urbanisation

31) Agrarian-Based Economy

WEEK 9

32) Craft Production

33) Trade and Commerce

34) Social Life of the Indus People

35) Political Organisation

36) Religious Beliefs and Practices

WEEK 10

37) Harappan Art and Architecture

38) The Decline of Urban Life

39) Late Harappan Phase

40) Social Patterns and Culture of Pre-Historic India

41) Gender, Family and household

WEEK 11

42) Political Conflicts and the Growth of the Magadhan Empire

43) Social Stratification

44) The Ganas or Sanghas

45) The Renunciatory Tradition

46) The Aryan Problem

WEEK 12

47) Culture in North India

48) Social Change in North India and the Deccan

49) Tamilakam
50) Urban processes in early medieval India

Instructor bio

Dr. Bhabananda Singh T

Associate Professor, Department of History, Modern College, Manipur

Dr. Bhabananda Singh T. is an Associate Professor in the Department of History Modern College, Manipur. He has graduated in History (Hons) Modern India from Hansraj College, Delhi University. He has completed M. Phil. from the Department of East Asian Studies, Delhi University and Ph. D. from Manipur University on the topic, ‘Movement for Greater China from 1949’. He has published various articles in newspapers, journals, and edited several books. He has attended many seminars both at the national and international level. He was awarded Scholar of Peace Fellow from Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, (WISCOMP), New Delhi. He is also a recipient of the South Asia Regional Fellowship program, from the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), New York.

At present, he is supervising two Ph. D. scholars.