Talk:India/Remaining POV Issues in India-History Section

The remaining POV issues in the India#History section. The comments are in boldface.

History

Main articles: History of India and History of the Republic of India

• Stone Age rock shelters with paintings at the Bhimbetka rock shelters in Madhya Pradesh are the earliest known traces of human life in India.
• The first known permanent settlements appeared about 8,500 years ago and gradually developed into the Indus Valley Civilisation, dating back to 3400 BCE in western India.
  • (Note: The neolithic culture of Mehrgarh, the earliest settlement on the subcontinent, is in Western Pakistan. This needs to be said, for example, along the lines of: The first known permanent settlements on the subcontinent appeared about 8,500 years ago in present-day western Pakistan and gradually developed into the Indus Valley Civilization in Pakistan and Western India).
• It was followed by the Vedic period, which laid the foundations of Hinduism and other cultural aspects of early Indian society, and ended in the 500s BCE.
  • (Note: The Period didn't lay the foundations. Needs a reliable reference, not a web site.)
• From around 550 BCE, many independent kingdoms and republics known as the Mahajanapadas were established across the country.

(Note: where is the mention of Buddhism, Jainism? They are mentioned in the lead. Were there really any republics? If so, what source is there?)

• In the 3rd century BCE, most of South Asia was united into the Maurya Empire by Chandragupta Maurya and flourished under Ashoka the Great. (Note: Poor reference. There are much better ones around)
  • Are we using flourished in some precise way, as in fl.? Since, we are likely not, it is better to be more precise.)
• From the 3rd century CE, the Gupta dynasty oversaw the period referred to as ancient "India's Golden Age".
  • (Note: "Golden Age" is an empty characterization. (There were apparently other golden ages. See the title of the book cited below—The Mughal World : Life in India's Last Golden Age.) The link is the same as the one for Gupta dynasty. The references are not the most reliable. What does it mean for an empire to oversee a golden age)
• Empires in southern India included those of the Chalukyas, the Cholas and the Vijayanagara Empire.
  • (Note: The Vijayanagara Empire came much later, in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries.)
• Science, technology, engineering, art, logic, language, literature, mathematics, astronomy, religion and philosophy flourished under the patronage of these kings.
  • Need a source for this statement.
• Following Islamic invasions from Central Asia between the 10th and 12th centuries, much of northern India came under the rule of the Delhi Sultanate and later the Mughal Empire.
  • If you are talking about the subcontinent, this is not accurate. Muslims reached Baluchistan and Sind in the eighth century. Besides Mughals ruled more than just North India

• Under the rule of Akbar the Great, India enjoyed much cultural and economic progress as well as religious harmony.
  • (Note: Poor references. Was it only under Akbar that the economy improved?)
• The Mughals also forged a strategic alliance with several Hindu Rajput kingdoms.
  • Note: This reference is a travel guide. Was these alliances really such an important feature of Mughal rule as to merit inclusion here?

harsha (talk) 21:20, 19 March 2011 (UTC)yes it was important to state that as mughal alliances with the rajput kingdom were the stepping stones of the Mughal Empire otherwise the Mughals would not have managed to rule such a vast country as India.

• However, some Rajput kings, such as Maharana Pratap, continued to pose significant threat to Mughal dominance of northwestern India.
  • Note: This sounds dubious and likely UNDUE. Maharana Pratap is more of a popular hero than historical heavyweight. I have read Ramusack, but since I'm traveling and without my sources, can someone tell me where in the book is this mentioned, and what exactly is said?
• Additionally, regional empires in southern and northeastern India, such as the Ahoms of Assam, successfully resisted Mughal subjugation.
  • Need some sources here to show that this is a notable piece of history.
• The reign of Aurangzeb saw the enforcement of strict Muslim fundamentalism which caused rebellions among the Sikhs and Hindu Rajputs. By early 1700s, the Sikh Empire and the Hindu Marathas had emerged as formidable foes of the Mughals.
  • Note: The reference to "Muslim fundamentalism" sounds like POV. There are many major historians of India Irfan Habib and Romila Thapar who don't regard this to be exactly the case. This is moot now, since the roll-back has taken care of the sentence.)
• Following the death of Aurangzeb, the Mughal Empire entered a period of gradual decline and by mid-18th century, a large portion of the Mughal territory came under the control of the Maratha Empire.
  • Note: Poor reference