In short, India had a long unbroken history of over 12000 years, plus being ruled by great Hindu Kings and Emperors who followed the mighty Arya Dharma and ruled their kingdoms nobly in the light of Sanatana Dharma. There were no doubts, battles and wars, including the great Mahabharata War, but the basic way of life was still governed by the nobler ideals.
This continued almost 3000 years after Sri Krishna until Mayavada and strong Buddhist influence began to weaken Bharat, which became a land of knowledge alone, but knowledge divorced from Power, Shakti.
Then, foreign invaders tried to enter India out of greed to plunder a rich country. The invasions were from central and Western Asia, Huns and Shakas, Europe (Greeks), Persians, Iranians and finally the Moghuls. None succeeded in completely conquering India, but the Moghuls spread the most like locusts. It was resisted by great Hindu kings in Kashmir, Punjab, Assam, Andhra, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Rajasthan. Within 300 years, it was overthrown as well as overrun by the British, who governed for another 200 years. There were, of course, the French and the Portuguese.
All these challenges from alien cultures did create a dent in the fabric of Indian culture and life, but as always, the vast and resilient Indian culture absorbed the shocks and is beginning to rise again.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
(Follow-up Question:)
For how many years have we been ruled by the outer invaders, and what are the spiritual drawbacks of that !!
We were never ruled completely. There were always parts that remained free and resisted. The invasions started because we became spiritually weak due to the idea that the world is an illusion and that one should escape from it. The period of actual rule over large parts would be roughly 500 to 700 years. It forced us to awaken and gave rise to bhakti movements, as well as reawakening us to the message of the Gita. So all in all, the invasions came as a shake-up call to wake us up out of an escapist mindset and ritualistic approach seeking personal benefits from God to a true dynamic spiritual life that Sri Krishna stood for.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
