India is one of the world's oldest continuous living civilizations, with archaeological evidence showing continuity dating back to at least 8000 BCE. Modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent around 55,000 years ago, and settled life began about 9000 years ago, eventually evolving into the Indus Valley Civilization between 2500 BCE and 1900 BCE. This civilization is considered the first urban culture in South Asia. Thus, India's civilization is approximately 10,000 years old or more when considering the continuity of human presence and organized societies.
India as a sovereign political entity dates back roughly to around 2500 BCE according to some historical perspectives on the Indus Valley Civilization era, but culturally the Indian subcontinent holds a much older continuous history spanning tens of thousands of years.
