World History India

The British presence in India lasted for nearly 350 years, but only the last 90 were under the direct rule of the British government. To some, 90 years might seem a short period to write a history book about. However, the time of the British Raj was very influential. It brought change to Indian politics, education, society, infrastructure, industry, and other aspects of Indian life. But while the British Empire brought modernization to its colonies, that modernization came with a price.

When one thinks of the world’s first cities, Sumer, Memphis, and Babylon are some of the first to come to mind. If the focus then shifts to India, then Harappa and Mohenjo Daro will undoubtedly come up, but after that, India’s other ancient cities are often overlooked. This is unfortunate, since India’s oldest civilization, known as the Indus Valley civilization or the Harappa civilization, was contemporary with ancient Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt and had extensive contacts with the former, which makes it one of the most important early world civilizations.

The Gurkha Regiment is without question one of the most storied regiments of the British Army. Somewhat like the French Foreign Legion, however, it has traditionally been a regiment of adventurers and soldiers of fortune, with the simple difference that the Gurkhas represent only a minor ethnicity of the wider Nepalese population, distinguished by a long and august martial tradition. Traditionally, the officer corps of the various Gurkha regiments have been drawn from the regular ranks of the British Army, with fluency in Nepali a basic requirement.

The British East India Company served as one of the key players in the formation of the British Empire. From its origins as a trading company struggling to keep up with its superior Dutch, Portuguese, and Spanish competitors to its tenure as the ruling authority of the Indian subcontinent to its eventual hubristic downfall, the East India Company serves as a lens through which to explore the much larger economic and social forces that shaped the formation of a global British Empire.

Subhas Chandra Bose was a revolutionary who sought Indian independence, but as many would contend, he ended up on the wrong side of history. In order to shake off the British yoke, Bose enlisted aid from Germany and Japan during World War II. This has led some to roundly condemn Bose as nothing more than a fascist cast in the same mold as Adolf Hitler, Hideki Tojo, and Benito Mussolini. But is there more to this complicated figure than meets the eye?

China-Burma-India is one of the most forgotten theaters of World War 2. As the United States entered the war after Pearl Harbor, it looked to China as a source of manpower as well as a base for bombers and a way to eventually invade Japan. The Japanese, British, Americans, and Chinese each had their own motivations and policies in the Pacific that would ultimately lead to the involvement of Burma in the Pacific War. The conflict in Burma was an intricate affair that may be best understood through the story of the first Yunnan Expedition into Burma.

Many associate Mahatma Gandhi with peace, but this should not be confused with passivity. Gandhi was an activist who helped India achieve independence from Britain, advocated for Indian rights in South Africa and at home, and improved the lives of India’s “untouchable” people. He did this all through nonviolent activism and thoughtful reflection on the nature of the injustices he saw around him. This short biography reveals the life experiences that made Gandhi an inspirational peacemaker with an international legacy.

The Dutch East India Company, officially the United East India Company (Dutch: Vereenigde Oost Indische Compagnie; VOC), was a megacorporation created in the early 17th century by a government-directed merger of many competing Dutch trade services. You might think that Amazon or Google is big, but the VOC is still thought to be the world's biggest corporation in documented history.