The first invaders, in 1500 BC, were the Aryans fair skinned people from Central Asia. They spread their culture and their language (sanskrit) and they introduced  Hindusm and its caste system

The second great invasion took place in 500 BC when the Persian Kings Cyrus and Darius were struggling to obtain the control of the Indua Valley and their influence  lasted until the Greeks' arrival.While Greeks and Persians were struggling to conquer the Indus Valley, the Aryans continued developing in the East. In the 5th century BC Buddhism was founded.

A king known as Chandragupta took advantage of the Greek decline and his kingdom marked the beginning of one of the most important Indian dynasties, the Maurya one. During the next 3000 years, many great empires rose and fell.

In the course of the 16th century, several European countries established trading posts along the coast of India. The Portoguese traded in Goa, Ui, and Guptas and in 1610 the East India Company [S1] [S2] [I1] from London established its own outpost at Surat by marking the beginning of a meaningful presence which lasted 300 years. Indeed, it started as a normal business company, but gradually became the ruler of large parts of the country. The company even had an army and took part in Indian Affairs. While the East India Company became richer by signing agreements with the local authorities; Indian people faced poverty and bitterness. After a financial scandal involving the company, the Crown assumed control of half of it.
In 1857, under the pretext of repressing a rebellion, the British government took control of the country by marking the beginning of the Imperialism. A British Viceroy was placed at the head of the Indian Government and Queen Victoria was declared Empress of India. The next fifty years were a time of relative peace and prosperity, but, after the first world war, the struggle for independence began. Gandhi [E1][I1][S1] [S2] [F1], Nehru [I1]o co-operation and the British reacted with violence and repression. It was only after the second world war, that the British government agreed to independence. Gandhi's greatest merit is just gaining independence through a totally non violent mass movement.
Along with the desire for Independence, the fighting between Hindus and Muslims bathed India in blood and the conflict soon reached such a point that Indian political leaders agreed to divide the country into two separate states, India for the Hindus and Pakistan for the Muslims. Millions of Hindu and Muslims refugees had to move from one country to the other. The tragic result was the killing of 200,000 people.
Since independence in 1947, things have not been easy. There have been various wars between India and Pakistan, one of which led to the creation of the state of Bangladesh, in 1971. Tensions among ethnic and religious groups have caused the deaths of many people including two prime ministers: Indira Gandhi[E1] in 1984 and Raija Gandhi in 1991.

Cultural Studies Focus
a. What do these dates refer to?
2500 BC.............................
1500 BC............................
500 BC....................................
1610................................
1857.......................................
1947...............................
1971...............................
1984...............................
b. Who were the Dravidians? What did they look like?
c. Who introduced Hinduism? How did the introduction of this religion affect Indian social system?
d. What was the East India Company? What political role did it play in Indian history?
e. Why was India divided into two different states?

Role Play

Student A identifies himself with a journalist who wants to interview the Indian President, while student B plays the President's role.
Student B is given the text about the President [E1] and Student A has to ask him for pieces of information following the given pattern.

• Place and Date of birth
• School carreer
• Past achievements
• Future Plans
• Publications
• Awards

Then students swap
Student B identifies himself with a  journalist who wants to write an article about Gandhi[E1]  and he interviews Gandhi's nephew.

What do you think about ..?
Read these touching Gandhi's quotations [E1]. Which one do you prefer and why?

Grammar Focus. Simple past.
Underline in the text all the verbs at the simple past.
List them and write their infinitive form.
If you want to do more practice [E1] ....

I think that....
the language used in the text  is .....
easy;
quite complex;
difficult.
the language used in the web sites is....
easy
quite complex;
difficult.
I found difficult...
I liked....