Relations on the subcontinent have been strained in recent months by a coup in Pakistan and skirmishing in Kashmir. Additionally, the repercussions of both India and Pakistan's atomic weapons testing continues to shake the area. To understand why the present troubles between India, Pakistan and China exist, it is necessary to look at the history of the area.

For most of its history, the Indian peninsula has been isolated because of its geography. It is cut-off from the rest of Asia, by the Himalayan Mountain Range, which contains some of the highest mountains in the world, and by the Hindu Kush, another mountain range. The only easy route into India from the north is through the Kyber Pass, which has witnessed many battles and invading armies.

At about the same time as the Mesopotamian city-states were forming, an early civilization was forming along the Indus River. Though all that remains of this civilization are the ruins at Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, historians have concluded that this culture traded with the Sumerians and Babylonians, and was fairly advanced, with a central sewage system and copper weapons. This civilization disappeared around 2000 BCE, for unknown reasons. It is possible that these people migrated south and are the ancestors of the Dravidians, whose language and culture is different from that of the rest of India.

At any rate, the Indus Valley was soon occupied by Indo-Aryans, some of whom were also migrating to Europe and the Middle East. These people established their own governments led by rajahs. The Indo-Aryans also developed the caste system and Hinduism, which began in 1500 BCE. This religion was later spread to Southeast Asia.

In 500 BCE, another religion, Buddhism, was started by a prince named Siddhartha. Over time, many Buddhist beliefs were incorporated into Hinduism. However, Buddhist missionaries spread the religion into China, and the rest of Asia.

In 326 BCE, Alexander the Great, a Macedonian king whose brilliance on the battlefield was only matched by his penchant for mass murder of his conquered subjects, invaded Northern India. Though his invasion was a success, Alexander's empire rapidly disintegrated after his death three years later. However, this contact with the Greeks influenced Buddhist art for many years to come.

Shortly after Alexander, an Indian named Chandragupta Maurya unified Northern India. His grandson, Asoka, consolidated this empire. A convert to Buddhism, he sent monks out across Asia. Later kings of the Mauryan Empire were not as capable as Asoka and the kingdom was gradually reduced until 184 BCE, when the last king of the Mauryan dynasty fell.

For the next 500 years, India was constantly invaded. In 320 CE, the Gupta Empire, which would eventually stretch from the Indus delta to the Ganges delta was established by Chandra Gupta. For the next 200 years, India went through a period called its Golden Age. Science, math and the arts thrived.

By 600 CE, invading Huns had destroyed the Gupta Empire. Though many Huns later left, some stayed behind in Northern India and became part of a warrior class called rajputs. The next several hundred years saw India undergo massive civil wars between its many fiefdoms.

During the early part of the 11th century, the Muslims began to raid the area, particularly under Mahmud of Ghazni. Other Muslims saw Mahmud's success and began raiding India themselves. In 1206 CE, Aibak Kutb-ud-din established a sultanate centered around Delhi, in Northern India. Generally speaking, the Muslims were very cruel to the Hindus.

In the late 14th century, the Mongols swept into India led by Tamerlane. He razed Delhi and killed thousands of people. In the 1520s, one of his descendants, Babur, established the Mogul Empire. The Mogul Empire blossomed under Akbar who ruled during the 17th century. Akbar was an able administrator, and was tolerant of other religions. (He himself was a Muslim.) Akbar's grandson, Shah Jahan had the Taj Mahal built in present day Agra, for his wife. He also began construction of another palace across the river from the Taj Mahal, but he was murdered by his son, Aurangzeb, before its completion. Aurangzeb, who had also killed his many brothers to ensure that he became the king, was very cruel toward the Hindus. They started to revolt, and Aurangzeb lost the support of the rajputs. The Mogul Empire effectively collapsed into hundreds of states and fiefdoms.

In 1498 CE, Vasco de Gama "discovered" a sea route to India. Thereafter Europe began to trade with the area from several coastal cities. As the Empire collapsed, Great Britain and France began to play a larger role in the area, mostly through trading companies, like the British East India Company. During the Seven Year's War, British troops defeated the French, who left India. Thereafter the East India Company became stronger and stronger. In the 1780s, Parliament passed the India Act, which gave the British government greater voice in Indian affairs. Lord Cornwallis was sent over as governor. The British continued to fight against the various Indian kingdoms, and gradually assumed control over the entire subcontinent.

In 1857 CE, sepoys, Indian soldiers for the British mutinied over the introduction of a new bullet that was rumored to be greased with pig fat (which angered Muslims) or cow fat (which angered Hindus). The mutiny was put down, but tensions between Muslims, Hindus and the British continued to simmer. Parliament assumed direct control of the area in 1858 in response to the mutiny, and in 1877, Queen Victoria was declared Empress of India.

The British provided many improvements to India, such as schools, and railroads. However, unemployment was high, and over 30 million Indians starved to death in the 19th Century. Indians also rejected the arrogance the British often showed toward them.

By the early 20th century, Indian nationalists began to advocate independence. This movement became led by Mohandas Gandhi. After helping Britain during WWI, many expected independence. Instead, the British cracked down on the colony.

Gandhi urged his followers to pursuit a policy of non-violence. He led boycotts and sit-ins. The British responded by massacring a group of political protestors at Amrisar. A riot followed and Gandhi was jailed for two years. Upon his release he attracted even more followers and began to draw international attention toward India. He was arrested again in 1929.

In the 1930s, Gandhi was joined by Jawaharlal Nehru. In 1935, the British granted India a degree of self-rule. This intensified divisions between India's Muslims and Hindus. In 1947, India was granted independence, and Nehru became the first Prime Minister. At the same time the state of Pakistan was created on the east and west of India. Immediately tensions between the Muslims and Hindus erupted into violence. Thousands were killed, including Gandhi. Millions more fled their homes, Hindus leaving Pakistan and Muslims leaving India. Most provinces were either given to India or to Pakistan. However, the province of Kashmir, with a substantial Muslim population, was split into three. The boundary was never finalized and several wars have been fought over the issue.

During the Cold War, India pursued a policy of non-alignment. A new constitution was drawn up and under Nehru, the government became more socialist oriented, and the economy was modernized. After his death in 1964, Indira Gandhi, Nehru's daughter was elected Prime Minister. She became involved in the Pakistani civil war in the 1970s. In 1984, Gandhi was assassinated after she put down a revolt by the Sikhs. For the next six years, several prime ministers served, including Gandhi's son, Rajiv. He was assassinated by Tamil separatists after he made an agreement with the Sri Lankan government. (The Tamils were Hindus living in Sri Lanka, which is predominantly Buddhist.)

Pakistan has also experienced turmoil since its independence. West Pakistan was separated by 1,000 miles from East Pakistan. Each area spoke a different language (Urdu and Bengali, respectively.) Each region vied for government funds; the West won, despite the larger population of the East. By 1970, the Awami League, led by Aheikh Mujibur Rahman, won a majority of the seats in the National Assembly. It opposed West Pakistani rule. However, the Assembly was postponed, and the Bengalis declared their independence, which it won with help from India. The new nation, Bangladesh is one of the most populous countries in the world and very poor. Additionally, it is often victim to cyclones (hurricanes) that can flood most of the country.

In Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto came to power. He tried to enact many reforms, but his harsh methods led to a coup. He was eventually executed. His successor was General Mohammed Zia ul-Haq. He supported the Afghani's during the Soviet invasion, and became a staunch U.S. ally. Domestically though, he ruled with an iron fist, and sought to impose Islamic law on the country. In 1988, he was killed when the airplane he was travelling on exploded. In 1988, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's daughter, Benazir Bhutto came to power. She was the first woman to lead a Muslim state, but was dismissed on corruption charges in 1990. She was replaced by Nawaz Sharif. In 1998, Pakistan exploded a nuclear device in response to a similar test by India. In 1999, it once again engaged India in a skirmish over Kashmir. Its defeat led to a coup that overthrew Sharif and led to another military government led by General Pervez Musharraf, who has pledged to clean up the corruption which plagues the country.

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