Evolution of Towns in India:
Towns flourished since prehistoric times in India. Harappa and Mohanjodaro were the example of towns of Indus Valley civilisation. On the basis of their evolution in different periods, Indian towns are classified into three as follow: Ancient towns, Medieval towns and Modem towns.
• Ancient towns:
(i) There are number of towns in India having historical background spanning over 2000 years.
(ii) Most of the towns developed as religious and cultural centres. Varanasi is one of the important towns among these. Prayag (Allahabad), Patliputra (Patna), Madurai are some other examples of ancient tow ns in the country.
• Ancient towns: About 100 of the existing towns have their roots in the medieval period. Most of them developed as headquarters of principalities and kingdoms. These are Fort towns which came up on the mins of ancient towns. Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Agra are the important examples.
• Modern towns:
(i) The British and other Europeans have developed a number of towns in India – starting their foothold on coastal locations.
(ii) They first developed trading ports, first—Surat, Daman, Goa, etc. Later, British consolidated their hold around three principal nodes-Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. British established their administrative centres, hill towns as summer resorts and added new civil administrative and military areas to them.
