Born in 265 B. C, the great king Ashoka was the grandson of the famous ruler Chandragupta Maurya. As a young lad, Ashoka excelled in whatever he was taught.
Be it the art of warfare or reading the Holy Scriptures, Asoka excelled in whatever he did. Ashoka had many half brothers and he was loved by one and all. Thus, after his father died, he was crowned as the king of Magadha around 268 B. C.
After being crowned as the king, he proved himself by smoothly administrating his territory and performing all his duties as an able and courageous king.The Mauryan Empire reached its peak under the rule of Ashoka. He undertook military campaign against Kalinga and, after defeating it in a bloody war, annexed it. However, the sight of the large-scale carnage moved Ashoka, and he embraced Buddhism.
The war of Kalinga was the turning point in the life of Ashoka to the extent that he shunned all forms of violence and became a strict vegetarian. For the rest of his life, Ashoka preached the principles of Buddhism not only in his vast empire, but also sent missions abroad. Ashoka built a number of rock edicts and pillars to spread the gospel of Buddhism.Before the Kalinga war, the Mauryan administration under Ashoka was not different from that of his predecessors. Ashoka, like previous Mauryan kings, was at the head of the centralized administrative system.
He was helped by a council of ministers that was in charge of different ministries like taxation, army, agriculture, justice, etc. The empire was divided into administrative zones, each one having its hierarchy of officials. The top most officers at the zonal level had to keep in touch with the king. These officers took care of all aspects of administration (social welfare, economy, law and order, military) in the different zones.The official ladder went down to the village level. The war with Kalinga transformed Ashoka both on a personal as well as public level.
He made a number of changes in the administration. Ashoka introduced a new cadre of officials, by the name of Dhamma Mahamatta, who were sent across the empire to spread the message of Ashoka's Dhamma (dharma). As Ashoka became a devout Buddhist, he began to spread the teachings of Buddha by issuing edicts, which not only propagated religion but also his ideas on society and governance.These edicts were sent to different parts of the empire, where they were engraved on rocks or pillars, for the common people to see and read them. These edicts were written in different scripts.
Most of them were in Brahmi, which was common in most parts of the empire. The language was generally Prakrit (ancient language), as it was spoken by the common people, whereas Sanskrit was spoken by educated upper caste people. Some inscriptions were also written in Greek and Aramaic (an Indo-Persian language). As Ashoka wanted his message to reach all his subjects, he used the language they understood.Ashoka believed in high ideals, which, according to him, could lead people to be virtuous, and peace loving. This he called Dhamma (which is a Prakrit form of the Sanskrit word Dharma).
His rock edicts and pillar inscriptions propagated the true essence of Dhamma. Ashoka asked the different religious groups (Brahmins, Buddhist and Jain) to live in peace. His lofty ideals also included shunning violence and war, stopping animal sacrifice, respect for elders, respect of slaves by their masters, vegetarianism, etc. Above all, Ashoka wanted peace in his empire.Ashoka believed that the King should look upon his subjects as a father treats his children.
He took care of his subjects in various ways and was responsible for carrying out a lot of welfare activities during his reign like building of roads, planting of trees along these roads, wells, rest houses for travelers, hospitals for the sick, etc. The Dhamma Mahamattas (officers responsible for promoting the policy of Dhamma) looked after these welfare activities across the empire. Ashoka had a friendly relation with his neighbors and sent and received envoys to/from them. He sent his son Mahendra to Sri Lanka to preach Buddhism there.He also propagated Buddhism to Chola and Pandya kingdoms, which were at the extreme southern part of the Indian peninsula.
He also sent Buddhist missions to Burma and other Southeast Asian countries. Akbar "The Great" [1542-1605], was one of the greatest rulers in Indian history. He was born when Humayun and his first wife, Hamida Bano, were fugitives escaping towards Iran. It was during these wanderings that Akbar was born in Umerkot, Sindh, on November 23, 1542. Legend has it that Humayun prophesied a bright future for his son, and thus accordingly, named him Akbar.
Akbar came to throne in 1556, after the death of his father, Humayun. At that time, Akbar was only 13 years old. Akbar was the only Mughal king to ascend to the throne without the customary war of succession; as his brother Muhammad Hakim was too feeble to offer any resistance. Akbar made the Mughal empire not only the strongest state in India but also one of the best administered state of his times, innovated certain policies which proved liberal, far sighted and successful which added a new chapter in Indian medieval history and established the Mughal empire firmly in India.Therefore, he has been justly described as ‘the Great’ among the Mughal emperors of India. Akbar was the greatest among all the Mughal emperors, one of the greatest rules of India and also one among the most reputed and powerful rulers of the world.
He possessed many humane virtues because of which he accepted the welfare of his subjects as one of his primary responsibilities and was most generous towards the poor and weaker sections in the society. Akbar was proficient of hard labour and was extraordinary courageous to face difficulties and even to risk his life in battles.He had absolute faith in god but was tolerant to all other religions. As regards religion, he was pioneer of a new policy. Akbar had taken several measures to improve the general condition of his subjects. In 1563, the Pilgrim Tax, which was a great burden on the Hindus, was abolished.
In 1564, Jaziya, a tax which was imposed on non-Muslims, was also abolished. Akbar tried to stop the practice of Sati. Child marriage was discouraged and female-infanticide was forbidden. Widow-marriage was encouraged.
Akbar proved himself as an innovator in many fields of administration.Besides, he possessed practical wisdom to implement those innovations successfully. The administration which he established survived successfully during the reigns of his powerful descendents and needed no change on principles. The duties and responsibilities of the emperor, the central and the provincial administration, the revenue system, the coinage, the Mansabdari system etc. As defined and established by him were taken over and carried on by his successors. It was Akbar who provided the administration which was universally applied throughout the territories of the Mughal Empire and provided same treatment to his all subjects.
As a ruler and statesman, the religious and the Rajput policy of Akbar were not only novel but extremely successful. These provided a firm base and a new direction to the Mughal Empire and were largely responsible for power and glory of the Mughal Empire. Akbar also attempted for the literary and artistic growth among his subjects led to a uniform Indian style in different fields and provided incentive to the progress of literature and fine arts. From the above account it is quite clear that Akbar was a great administrator and the administrative machinery that he set up continued to function throughout the Mughul period.The British rule over India changed the course of history in India. The British came to India at the start of the seventeenth century.
This was the time when the British East India Company was established in India to break the Dutch monopoly over spice trade. With time the East India Company increased its powers and started to administer the country. However its policies were disliked by Indians and together they revolted against the company. This led to the downfall of the company and the administration of India went directly under the Queen.
The British annexed many princely states and formed laws and policies of their own.Slowly but rapidly the entire Indian sub continent came under the British rule. By mid nineteenth century, the British introduced the railways, telegraph and postal service in India. This was a move to establish their rule permanently in India. The first railway line was from Howrah in Calcutta to Raniganj in Bihar. The introduction of telegraph and postal services simplified communication all over the country.
Education Under British Raj With the arrival of the British Raj in India a class of Westernized elite was versed in the Western system of education which the British had introduced.This system soon became solidified in India as a number of primary, secondary, and tertiary centres for education cropped up during the colonial era. Between 1867 and 1941 the British increased the percentage of the population in Primary and Secondary Education from around 0. 6% of the population in 1867 to over 3.
5% of the population in 1941. However this was much lower than the equivalent figures for Europe where in 1911 between 8 and 18% of the population were in Primary and Secondary education. Additionally literacy was also improved. In 1901 the literacy rate in India was only about 5% though by Independence it was nearly 20%.Referencehttp://www.iloveindia.com/history/ancient-india/maurya-dynasty/ashoka.html
