Now that India is giving birth to its twenty-ninth State, Telengana, it is worth remembering that ancient India had fifty-six kingdoms. Some of them are quite large and were Empires, some small like the Chera Kingdom in Tamil Nadu. It is interesting to note that these small kingdoms were as prosperous if not more than the large kingdoms’ say in the period of Ramayana, Mahabharata. The Tamil Chera King, Perunchotru Udiyan Cheralathan fed both the armies of the Epic battle of Mahabharata. He used to liaise with both the warring groups, such was the respect he commanded and so was his states prosperity. Even During Ramayana period the prosperity of the smaller states were in evidence.

What I have gleaned from these and other historical facts, in India, Austrian Empire, is that a State is prosperous if the Government is good and there are development activities. The academic discussion that large Sates have more resources at their disposal, smaller easy to administer …are mere arm-chair discussions. I was curious to find how ancient Map of India looked like. Here are some Maps of ancient India from the Ramayana, Mahabharata days.

Timeline.

Bharatvarsha, India Timeline.

• Prehistoric
  Human habitation of India.
• c. 5000 BCE – c. 1900 BCE
  The Indus Valley (or Harappan) Civilization.
• c. 4000 BCE
  Indian village of Balathal inhabited.
• c. 3000 BCE – c. 2600 BCE
  The rise of the great Indian cities of Mohenjo Daro and Harappa.
• 2000 BCE
  Pepper is widely used in Indian cooking.
• c. 1700 BCE – c. 1500 BCE