Stories that touched India
Global chapters that met India — and changed both.
The Silk Road
Long ago, camels walked in long lines across mountains and deserts carrying silk, spices, ivory and stories. India sat right in the middle of this great criss-cross of roads, sharing its cotton, gems and ideas with the whole world.
Alexander the Great in India
A young king from Macedonia named Alexander marched all the way to the river Indus. There, on a rainy day, he met King Porus on a war elephant. Alexander won, but was so impressed by Porus's courage that he let him keep his kingdom.
The British East India Company
A group of London traders got a royal paper allowing them to sail east and buy spices. Slowly, quietly, they built forts, hired soldiers, and ended up ruling most of India for a hundred years before the British Crown took over.
India in the Second World War
Over two million Indian soldiers — the largest volunteer army in history — served in a war that wasn't really theirs, in deserts, jungles and mountains far from home. When the war ended, India was too tired, and too changed, for empire to continue.
The Non-Aligned Movement
After the Second World War, the world split into two big teams — the American one and the Soviet one. India said: we don't want to join either. We want to be friends with everyone. That idea became a whole movement of countries called the Non-Aligned Movement.
The Global Space Race
Once, only two countries — America and the Soviet Union — sent rockets to space. India watched, learned, and then built its own. Now Indian satellites help farmers, sailors and even other countries' Moon missions.