Ofcourse Mauryan empire expanded through military conquest which meant many deaths. Emperor Ashoka refrained from conquest after seeing the killings his army did in capturing Kalinga. The empire lasted 150 years (similar to how many British lasted). I agree with you that Marathas were still some time away from ruling the entire subcontinent, but if British never came on the scene, they would have sooner or later.Maurya is overrated. The fan maps in Google and Wiki are overexaggerated. Also Mauryans killed more Indians (aka Akhand Bharatis) in human history than any other emperor. You cannot assume continuity with an empire that had no vision of Akhand anything. Also they were extremely short lived.
Maratha was not even close to conquering entire subcontinent. You forget that the subcontinent was full of other powerful states, like Nizam right next to them, or the Sikhs in the North. They were not the only ones filling the vacuum left by Mughals. Maratha also got a very good beating at the hands of Afghans, so British were not the only ones to humiliate them.
Also, why are you people so obsessed about some sort of 'union' with Pakistan? I don't see this obsession with regards to Myanmar or Sri Lanka or Bangladesh. You are too obsessed with Pakistan and Afghanistan. Because you darkies fancy Caucasian people? I think some recent news articles gives us some idea about what you really want:
‘Marry fair Kashmiri women now’: BJP MLA after Article 370 repeal
In a video clip that has gone viral on the social media, the lawmaker from Khatauli was seen speaking at a function organized on Tuesday to celebrate the revoking of the special status to Jammu and Kashmir.www.hindustantimes.comBJP Workers Excited to Marry Fair Girls From Kashmir, Says UP MLA
Vikram Singh Saini echoed the view that several right-wingers have expressed on social media. None of them, though, seemed concerned about what Kashmiri women may want.thewire.in
@PAKISTANFOREVER @Indus Pakistan Hoping you people are aware of this psychology ^^.
I am not talking about a union at all. I am talking about friendship with all our neighbours - Pakistan & Bangladesh included. I want same friendship on our western borders as we have on our eastern borders.
My friend from Bangladesh, I know that BJP and Amit Shah talk shit at times and it is not easy to swallow their words. Hope we can think of friendship as a long term thing and not focus too much on what they say for petty domestic vote bank politics.