History of India - Middle School and High School

Study this vocabulary list to learn all about the history, culture, and religious traditions of India. You'll explore British colonialism in India, the caste system, and key aspects of Hinduism, such as karma and reincarnation.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. agriculture
    the practice of cultivating the land or raising stock
  2. ahimsa
    spiritual doctrine of nonviolence toward all living things
  3. Arjuna
    (Hindu mythology) the warrior prince in the Bhagavad-Gita to whom Krishna explains the nature of being and of God and how humans can come to know God
  4. Aryan
    a member of the prehistoric people who spoke Proto-Indo European
  5. asceticism
    the doctrine of renunciation of worldly pleasures
  6. avatar
    the manifestation of a Hindu deity in human or animal form
  7. Bengal
    a region whose eastern part is now Bangladesh and whose western part is included in India
  8. Bhagavad-Gita
    (Hinduism) the sacred `song of God' composed about 200 BC and incorporated into the Mahabharata (a Sanskrit epic); contains a discussion between Krishna and the Indian hero Arjuna on human nature and the purpose of life
  9. bhakti
    loving devotion to a deity leading to salvation and nirvana
  10. Bombay
    a city in western India just off the coast of the Arabian Sea; India's 2nd largest city (after Calcutta); has the only natural deep-water harbor in western India
  11. boycott
    refusal to have commercial dealings with some organization
  12. brahman
    the highest of the four varnas: the priestly or sacerdotal category
  13. brahmin
    the highest of the four Hindu varnas
  14. Buddhism
    a religion represented by the many groups (especially in Asia) that profess various forms of the Buddhist doctrine and that venerate Buddha
  15. Calcutta
    the largest city in India and one of the largest cities in the world; located in eastern India; suffers from poverty and overcrowding
  16. cash crop
    a cultivated plant that is grown to be sold for profit
  17. caste
    a hereditary social class among Hindus
  18. caste system
    social structure in which classes are determined by heredity
  19. cenotaph
    monument to honor those whose remains are interred elsewhere
  20. citadel
    a stronghold for shelter during a battle
  21. city planning
    the act of drawing up plans for a future community's physical arrangement
  22. civil disobedience
    refusal to comply with a law as a form of political protest
  23. civilization
    a society in an advanced state of social development
  24. colonialism
    exploitation by a stronger country of a weaker one
  25. colony
    a geographical area controlled by a distant country
  26. commerce
    transactions supplying goods and services
  27. communalism
    the practice of communal living and common ownership
  28. craftsman
    a skilled worker who practices some trade or handicraft
  29. decimal system
    a positional system of numeration that uses decimal digits and a base of ten
  30. Delhi
    a city in north central India
  31. democracy
    a political system in which power lies in a body of citizens
  32. Devi
    Hindu mother goddess
  33. Dravidian
    a member of one of the aboriginal races of India
  34. drought
    a shortage of rainfall
  35. East India Company
    an English company formed in 1600 to develop trade with the new British colonies in India and southeastern Asia; in the 18th century it assumed administrative control of Bengal and held it until the British army took over in 1858 after the Indian Mutiny
  36. edict
    a legally binding command or decision
  37. enlightenment
    the beatitude that transcends the cycle of reincarnation
  38. epic
    a long narrative poem telling of a hero's deeds
  39. famine
    a severe shortage of food resulting in starvation and death
  40. Ganges River
    an Asian river
  41. guru
    a Hindu or Buddhist religious leader and spiritual teacher
  42. Himalayas
    a mountain range extending 1500 miles on the border between India and Tibet; this range contains the world's highest mountain
  43. Hindi
    the most widely spoken of modern Indic vernaculars
  44. Hinduism
    a body of religious and philosophical beliefs and cultural practices native to India and based on a caste system; it is characterized by a belief in reincarnation, by a belief in a supreme being of many forms and natures, by the view that opposing theories are aspects of one eternal truth, and by a desire for liberation from earthly evils
  45. Hindu Kush Mountains
    a mountain range extending to the west of the Himalayas
  46. imperialism
    a policy of extending your rule over foreign countries
  47. independence
    freedom from control or influence of another or others
  48. Indira Gandhi
    daughter of Nehru who served as prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 (1917-1984)
  49. Indo-European
    the family of languages that by 1000 BC were spoken throughout Europe and in parts of southwestern and southern Asia
  50. Indus River
    an Asian river that rises in Tibet and flows through northern India and then southwest through Kashmir and Pakistan to the Arabian Sea
  51. irrigation
    the act of supplying dry land with water by artificial means
  52. Jainism
    religion founded in the 6th century BC as a revolt against Hinduism; emphasizes asceticism and immortality and transmigration of the soul; denies existence of a perfect or supreme being
  53. jati
    a Hindu caste or distinctive social group
  54. Jawaharlal Nehru
    Indian statesman and leader with Gandhi in the struggle for home rule; was the first prime minister of the Republic of India from 1947 to 1964 (1889-1964)
  55. Kali
    wife of Siva and malevolent form of Devi
  56. karma
    effects of one's actions that determine his or her destiny
  57. Kashmir
    an area in southwestern Asia whose sovereignty is disputed between Pakistan and India
  58. kingdom
    the domain ruled by a monarch
  59. Krishna
    8th and most important avatar of Vishnu
  60. Kshatriya
    a member of the royal or warrior Hindu caste
  61. levee
    an embankment built to prevent a river from overflowing
  62. Lucknow
    the British residents of Lucknow were besieged by Indian insurgents during the Indian Mutiny (1857)
  63. Mahabharata
    (Hinduism) a sacred epic Sanskrit poem of India dealing in many episodes with the struggle between two rival families
  64. maharaja
    a great raja
  65. mahatma
    (Hinduism) term of respect for a brahmin sage
  66. Mahatma Gandhi
    political and spiritual leader during India's struggle with Great Britain for home rule; an advocate of passive resistance (1869-1948)
  67. Mahayana
    one of two great schools of Buddhist doctrine emphasizing a common search for universal salvation especially through faith alone; the dominant religion of China and Tibet and Japan
  68. mandala
    any of various geometric designs symbolizing the universe
  69. matriarchal
    having a woman or women as the head or ruler
  70. meditation
    contemplation of spiritual matters
  71. middleman
    someone who buys large quantities of goods and resells to merchants rather than to the ultimate customers
  72. minaret
    a slender tower with balconies, especially on a mosque
  73. miniature
    painting or drawing included in a book
  74. modernization
    the act of making up-to-date in appearance or behavior
  75. Moghul
    a member of the Muslim dynasty that ruled India until 1857
  76. monsoon
    a seasonal wind in southern Asia
  77. Muhammad Ali Jinnah
    Indian statesman who was the founder of Pakistan as a Muslim state (1876-1948)
  78. Mumbai
    a city in western India just off the coast of the Arabian Sea; India's 2nd largest city (after Calcutta); has the only natural deep-water harbor in western India
  79. nationalism
    the doctrine that your country's interests are superior
  80. nirvana
    the beatitude that transcends the cycle of reincarnation
  81. Pakistan
    a Muslim republic that occupies the heartland of ancient south Asian civilization in the Indus River valley; formerly part of India; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1947
  82. pariah
    a person who is rejected from society or home
  83. partition
    divide into parts, pieces, or sections
  84. passive resistance
    peaceful resistance to a government by fasting or refusing to cooperate
  85. patriarchal
    of a social organization with the male as the head
  86. peasant
    one of a class of agricultural laborers
  87. polytheism
    belief in multiple gods
  88. priest
    a person who performs religious duties and ceremonies
  89. prime minister
    head of government, especially of a parliamentary democracy
  90. province
    the territory in an administrative district of a nation
  91. Punjab
    a historical region on northwestern India and northern Pakistan
  92. railroad
    the commercial organization responsible for operating trains
  93. raj
    British dominion over India (1757-1947)
  94. raja
    a prince or king in India
  95. rajanya
    the second highest of the four varnas: the noble or warrior category
  96. Rajput
    a member of the dominant Hindu military caste in northern India
  97. Rama
    avatar of Vishnu whose name is synonymous with God
  98. Ramayana
    one of two classical Hindu epics telling of the banishment of Rama from his kingdom and the abduction of his wife by a demon and Rama's restoration to the throne
  99. reincarnation
    the doctrine that a person may be reborn successively
  100. Rig-Veda
    a Veda consisting of a collection of Hindu poems dating from before 2000 BC
  101. samsara
    (Hinduism and Buddhism) the endless cycle of birth and suffering and death and rebirth
  102. Sanskrit
    an ancient language of India
  103. sari
    a draped dress worn primarily by Hindu women
  104. self-government
    government by a country's own people rather than by an outside power
  105. Sepoy Mutiny
    discontent with British administration in India led to numerous mutinies in 1857 and 1858; the revolt was put down after several battles and sieges (notably the siege at Lucknow)
  106. Shah Jahan
    Mogul emperor of India during whose reign the finest monuments of Mogul architecture were built (including the Taj Mahal at Agra) (1592-1666)
  107. Shiva
    the destroyer
  108. shudra
    the lowest of the four varnas: the servants and workers of low status
  109. Siddhartha
    founder of Buddhism; worshipped as a god (c 563-483 BC)
  110. Sikh
    an adherent of Sikhism
  111. Sikhism
    the doctrines of a monotheistic religion founded in northern India in the 16th century by Guru Nanak and combining elements of Hinduism and Islam
  112. silt
    mud or clay or small rocks deposited by a river or lake
  113. Sita
    wife of the Hindu god Rama
  114. strike
    refusal to work in protest against low pay or bad conditions
  115. stupa
    a dome-shaped Buddhist shrine
  116. subcontinent
    a large, distinct landmass that is part of a larger landmass
  117. sultan
    the ruler of a Muslim country
  118. suttee
    the act of a Hindu widow willingly cremating herself on the funeral pyre of her dead husband
  119. Taj Mahal
    beautiful mausoleum at Agra built by the Mogul emperor Shah Jahan (completed in 1649) in memory of his favorite wife
  120. Tamil
    a member of the mixed Dravidian and Caucasian people of southern India and Sri Lanka
  121. taxation
    charge against a citizen's person or property or activity
  122. Theravada
    one of two great schools of Buddhist doctrine emphasizing personal salvation through your own efforts; a conservative form of Buddhism that adheres to Pali scriptures and the non-theistic ideal of self purification to nirvana; the dominant religion of Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand and Laos and Cambodia
  123. tolerance
    willingness to respect the beliefs or practices of others
  124. untouchable
    belongs to lowest social and ritual class in India
  125. Upanishad
    a later sacred text of Hinduism of a mystical nature dealing with metaphysical questions
  126. Urdu
    the official literary language of Pakistan, closely related to Hindi; widely used in India (mostly by Moslems); written in Arabic script
  127. vaisya
    the third of the four varnas: the commoners or yeoman farmers or mercantile and professional category
  128. varna
    one of four traditional social divisions in Hindu society
  129. Veda
    (from the Sanskrit word for `knowledge') any of the most ancient sacred writings of Hinduism written in early Sanskrit; traditionally believed to comprise the Samhitas, the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas, and the Upanishads
  130. Vishnu
    the sustainer
  131. warrior
    someone engaged in or experienced in warfare
  132. Westernization
    assimilation of Western culture
Created on Wed Feb 15 09:12:37 EST 2017 (updated Fri Mar 31 11:38:17 EDT 2017)

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