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Nederlands (nl-NL) East India – Geographic and Historical Overview
East India stretches from the coastal plains of the Bay of Bengal to the hilly margins of Assam. It includes West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, and the northeastern states of Tripura, Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, and Assam. The region is defined by major rivers such as the Brahmaputra, Ganges, and Mahanadi, and encompasses diverse landscapes: deltas, mineral plateaus, and forested hills.
Historically, East India has been a transitional space between the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It fostered distinctive ancient cultures shaped by maritime trade and riverine networks. The region played a key role in the spread of Buddhism, Hinduism, and organized tribal traditions. Its linguistic and ethnic diversity make it one of the most culturally dynamic areas of India.
Assam, Jharkand, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Tripura and West Bengal
Power and Religion in Eastern India
In the history of Eastern India, religion was often employed as a tool for authority and cohesion by ruling dynasties. They generally adopted the dominant faith of their time—Hinduism, Buddhism, or Islam—to consolidate their legitimacy and strengthen the unity of territories that were often vast and culturally diverse. This official recognition relied on religious institutions, rituals, and traditions to organize society and support political order.
At the same time, some dynasties sponsored non-official religions for strategic purposes. Such patronage could stimulate trade, secure the loyalty of influential minorities, or enhance the cultural prestige of the court. Hindu rulers, for example, might fund Buddhist monasteries, while Muslim leaders maintained Hindu temples.
Unlike medieval Europe, India did not experience large-scale religious wars. However, tensions arose when certain cults were considered politically undesirable or doctrinally incompatible. These situations could result in the closure, destruction, or conversion of places of worship, often in the context of political rivalries rather than purely theological disputes. This complex relationship between power and religion reflects the cultural diversity of Eastern India and the need for rulers to navigate a plurality of beliefs.
This page organises the dynasties of East India, according to a chronological structure based on millennia and centuries. The associated maps indicate the present-day location of the relevant states and link to the detailed pages.
1st millennium BCE
6th century BCE
Dominant religion: Hinduism
Supported or encouraged religion: Buddhism.
( Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkand )
Dominant religion: Hinduism
Supported or encouraged religions, depending on the period: Buddhism, Jainism.
( Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Jharkand )
5th century BCE
Dominant religion: Hinduism
Supported or encouraged religion: Buddhism.
( Bihar, Delhi (NTC), Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Jharkand )
Dominant religion: Hinduism
Supported or encouraged religions, depending on the period: Buddhism, Jainism.
( Assam, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkand )
4th century BCE
Dominant religions, depending on the period: Hinduism, Buddhism
Supported or encouraged religion: Jainism.
( Assam, Bihar, Delhi (NTC), Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkand, Manipur, Meghalaya and Uttarakhand )
3rd century BCE
Dominant religion: Hinduism
Supported or encouraged religion: Buddhism.
( Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Telangana )
2nd century BCE
Dominant religion: Hinduism
Supported or encouraged religion: Buddhism.
( Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh )
1st millennium
1st century
Dominant religion: Buddhism
Supported or encouraged religions, depending on the period: Hinduism, zoroastrianism.
( Assam, Bihar, Delhi (NTC), Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir and Jharkand )
4th century
Dominant religion: Hinduism
Supported or encouraged religions, depending on the period: Buddhism, Jainism.
( Bihar, Delhi (NTC), Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh )
6th century
Dominant religions, depending on the period: Hinduism, Buddhism
Supported or encouraged religions, depending on the period: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism.
( Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Haryana and Jharkand )
7th century
Dominant religion: Hinduism
Supported or encouraged religion: Buddhism.
( , Assam, West Bengal and Meghalaya )
Dominant religion: Hinduism
Supported or encouraged religions, depending on the period: Buddhism, Jainism.
( Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh )
8th century
9th century
2nd millennium
11th century
13th century
Dominant religion: Islam
Supported or encouraged religions, depending on the period: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism.
( Bihar, Delhi (NTC), Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkand and Uttarakhand )
14th century
15th century
Dominant religion: Hinduism
( Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkand )
16th century
Dominant religion: Islam
Supported or encouraged religions, depending on the period: Hinduism, Jainism, Christianity, zoroastrianism.
( Assam, Bihar, Delhi (NTC), Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Ladakh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkand and Uttarakhand )
18th century
Dominant religion: Hinduism
Supported or encouraged religion: Islam.
( Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Chhattisgarh )
19th century
( Delhi (NTC), Ladakh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Uttarakhand )
20th century
( , Assam, Bihar, Delhi (NTC), Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Ladakh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkand, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura and Uttarakhand )
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