ASIAN 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Indian Independence Movement, Ethnic Religion, Tirthankara
ASIAN 101 – INDIA, PAKISTAN, NEPAL, BHUTAN, BANGLADESH, MALDIVES
• Regional Profile: India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Maldives
o Indus Valley Civilization (2300-1750 BC)
▪ The world’s 3rd civilization
▪ Uncovered in the 1800s by British colonists in India who were
attempting to build a railroad
▪ No one has been able to decipher the script
▪ At its peak: 5,000,000 people
▪ Planned society (water supply and drainage, city planning)
o Vedic Age (1500-450 BC)
▪ Aryan invasions (move from Central → South Asia)
▪ Dravidian + Aryan (Vedic) culture mix → modern Hinduism
▪ Sanskrit language (can read! Assoc. with Hinduism)
▪ Verdict texts
▪ Hindu = people who live past the Indus River
o Religions of South Asia
▪ Major Religions
• Hinduism
• Islam
• Buddhism
▪ Minor Religions
• Sikhism (15th Century)
o Origin:
▪ Punjab state, North India
▪ Guru Nanak (1st guru)
▪ Guru Granth Sahib (10th and final guru)
• Declared that the book was now the
guru
▪ Golden Temple
• Holiest place
• Amritsar, Punjab
• Sikh temples called Gurdwara
• Treated like a person
o Morning rituals to wake up
o Evening rituals to sleep
• Holy book higher than all
▪ Serious service
• Serve food to anyone who sets food in
their temples
• Golden Temple - 50,000 meals a day
• Jainism (no clear start)
