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Indian trade relations with Thailand goes back atleast 4th century BC (probably much earlier)

W.11

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https://static1.squarespace.com/sta...01ec86e1/1565261412774/Piprahwa+Report-JO.pdf

In 3rd century BC the buddhist histories record third buddhist counsel which included deligation from thailand and myanmar (swarnabhumi), a mauryan ashokan period ring stone has also been discovered from thailand.

a thailand tradiing post which is dated from 4th century BC-1st century BC



Khao Sam Kaeo - Vicipaedia

A Mauryan–Śunga Period Ringstone: 3rd-1st Century BCE, found in Peninsular Thailand


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In October 2014, a finely decorated Śunga ringstone was found by the owner of a sand quarry on the Tha Tapao River on the eastern side of Isthmus region of the Thai peninsula. The ringstone is a characteristic, almost defining object of the Mauryan – Śunga periods of Northern India, where possibly as many as 70 have been recorded from the Punjab, eastwards along the Ganges Valley to Bihar. A few ringstones are held in major museums outside India, including the Victoria & Albert Museum and the British Museum in London, the Asian Art Museum in Berlin, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Los Angeles County Museum. A few are also in private collections. The present example from Peninsular Thailand is the only one known to have been found outside the Indian subcontinent, thus providing yet more clear evidence for ancient contacts and trade between India and Thailand from the early centuries BCE, which long predated the establishment of the later Indian-influenced kingdoms in Southeast Asia. The function of these ringstones has never been clarified, although the author suggests that jewellery moulds remain a likely explanation for the extraordinary level of carved detail. Other suggestions have included that they were ear spools, although this seems improbable, on the practical grounds of their weight. Others have suggested a cult use or use as an apotropaic or physical contraceptive device due to the depiction of the nude mother goddess alternating with the ‘Tree of Life’. This ringstone was found at the same site as at least four very thin and fragmentary gold circular foils, which is the first occurrence of such an association, and lends weight to the hypothesis that the ringstones were perhaps, among other things, moulds for beating thin gold sheet ornaments. One of the gold sheets has an animal decorative motif which is very similar to that on the ringstone itself and the other has a repoussé design of interlinked ‘S’ motifs very similar to the only other known gold sheet, which was found in a burial context in India.
 
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Bottomline: Today's Thailand is entirely different from today's India, with very few similarities. It's nice to celebrate the common cultural links but the reality is very different.

Why are you jumping the gun. At least let someone post about celebrating the common cultural links before making this statement.
 
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Buddhism in Thailand came from India but nothing much is common now. They celebrate Songkran which is similar to Sankranti in India. Thai language shares commonalities with Pali, Prakrit, etc. In some ways, many Thai words have Indian roots. But that don't mean anything to the Thai's.

Thailand underwent a lot of Sinicization in the last 400 years which has made the country very different.

Many Indian posters have been taught the greatness of India at their government schools, and how India influenced all countries from Iran/Afghanistan all the way to Japan. They should know that the India they currently live in is a modern entity created by the British. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru is the founder of India, and Mahatma Gandhi is the Father of India.

Before that, the subcontinent was just a patchwork of territories called Hindostan, no more unified than modern Europe.

Bottomline: Today's Thailand is entirely different from today's India, with very few similarities. It's nice to celebrate the common cultural links but the reality is very different.


im not interested in modern day india or thailand, but ancient trade links.

regards
 
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Nice article but the author, who is an Indian, fails to cover 400 years of Chinese inspired cultural changes in Thailand, which has shaped much of their modern nation. Also, some 150 years of Western inspired changes. Japan is also a very strong influence.

I still consider this cultural legacy irrelevant in today's times. Sure it's good for diplomatic relations, and some cultural centers of Buddhism are important. But few people, Thai or Indians, care about it.

It's like saying India and Britain are very similar because the British cultural legacy still lives on in India...everyone in India drives on the left, plays Cricket, and drinks tea.

Don't believe me, just travel to Thailand find out on your own. Many Indians do travel to Thailand, so they get a dose of reality as soon as they arrive at the airport.
 
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Nice article but the author, who is an Indian, fails to cover 400 years of Chinese inspired cultural changes in Thailand, which has shaped much of their modern nation. Also, some 150 years of Western inspired changes. Japan is also a very strong influence.

I still consider this cultural legacy irrelevant in today's times. Sure it's good for diplomatic relations, and some cultural centers of Buddhism are important. But few people, Thai or Indians, care about it.

It's like saying India and Britain are very similar because the British cultural legacy still lives on in India...everyone in India drives on the left, plays Cricket, and drinks tea.

Don't believe me, just travel to Thailand find out on your own. Many Indians do travel to Thailand, so they get a dose of reality as soon as they arrive at the airport.

I've been there quite often. You see an Indian imprint culturally. Lots of Ganesha temples there - Phra Phikanet is the local name.

But yes, the connection although ancient is pretty much irrelevant.
 
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