History of India-I( Ancient India )

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

Learners enrolled: 1500

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 :	Ongoing
Course Type :	Core
Duration :	15 weeks
Category :	Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit Points :	5
Level :	Undergraduate
Start Date :	15 Jan 2024
End Date :	28 Apr 2024
Enrollment Ends :	29 Feb 2024
Exam Date :	19 May 2024 IST
Exam Shift :	I

Note: This exam date is subjected to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.

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

5.1) Environmental Interpretation of Indian History

5.2) Historical Interpretation of Environment - II

6) Historical Interpretation of Technology

7.1) Archaeological sources of ancient history

7.2) Archaeological Sources of Ancient History - II

8) Primary and secondary sources of ancient Indian history

WEEK 3

9) Archaeological studies in north-east India

10) Role of Buddhist Literature in the Understanding of Ancient History

11) Role of Brahminic literature in the understanding in Ancient Indian History

12) Palaeolithic Culture Sequence and Distribution

WEEK 4

13) Palaeolithic Industries

14) Palaeolithic Stone Tool making techniques and their technical development

15) Mesolithic Culture of India-Regional and Chronological Distribution

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

WEEK 5

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

18) Economic System of the Mesolithic Culture

19) Rock Art in India

20) Upper Palaeolithic Rock Art in India

WEEK 6

21) Mesolithic Rock Art in India

22.1) Understanding the Origin of Food Production

22.2) Origin of food production - II

23) Chronological Distribution of the Neolithic Culture

24) Agriculture and the Neolithic Revolution

WEEK 7

25) Origin of agriculture in ancient India

26) The Chalcolithic Culture

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

28) Megalithic cultures and its distributions

WEEK 8

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

30) Copper, hoard culture

31) History of Iron age in India

32.1) Origin of the Indus Valley Civilisation

32.2) Origin of the Indus Valley Civilization - II

WEEK 9

33) Settlement Patterns

34) Town Planning and Urbanisation

35.1) Agrarian-Based Economy

35.2) Agrarian Based Economy - II

36) Craft Production

WEEK 10

37) Trade and Commerce

38.1) Social Life of the Indus People

38.2) Social Life of Harrapan Civilisation - II

39) Importance of Harappan civilization

40) Political Organisation

WEEK 11

41) Religious Beliefs and Practices

42) Harappan Art and Architecture

43) The Decline of Urban Life

WEEK 12

44) Late Harappan Phase

45.1) Social Patterns and Culture of Pre-Historic India

45.2) Social Pattern II

46) Gender, Family and household

WEEK 13

47) Political Conflicts and the Growth of the Magadhan Empire

48) Social Stratification

49) The Ganas or Sanghas

WEEK 14

50) The Renunciatory Tradition
51) The Aryan Problem
52) Culture in North India

WEEK 15

53) Social Change in North India and the Deccan
54) Tamilakam
55) 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.