India has been one of the most populous centres since the dawn of civilization. It also had only of the most fertile deltas in the world. The ganga-yamuna feeds to the largest area in the world. So agriculture was never a problem. It also had developed suffosticafed forms of poetry, literature and artwork a while back. Writings had transitioned from religious to scientific enquiries and those of academic rigous, albeit always put together with religious expositions. How is that even after having such a big advantage to themselves that any Indian kingdom could not forray outside of the Indian subcontinent (minus the Cholas). With that kind of an advantage they should have captured a sizable chunk of Asia, atleast from Iran in West to Kazakhsthan in North to Vietnam/Thailand in East. Also, even though the initial Muslim conquests were defeated conclusively, they lost the final battle, why couldn't they counter-attack the Caliphate? Why did they always play on the defensive? They have also never expanded north of Himalayas. Was Geographical barrier such a huge logistical problem back then? They were first subdued by the Muslims and then also by the British, even though while fighting the latter, Maratha empire had gained traction. Also, if it is true, they accounted for the largest economy under the Mughals, why then didn't they expand then?
Hey there,
Just to let you know, your question is fine, and we're letting it stand. However, you should be aware that questions framed as 'Why didn't X do Y' relatively often don't get an answer that meets our standards (in our experience as moderators). There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, it often can be difficult to prove the counterfactual: historians know much more about what happened than what might have happened. Secondly, 'why didn't X do Y' questions are sometimes phrased in an ahistorical way. It's worth remembering that people in the past couldn't see into the future, and they generally didn't have all the information we now have about their situations; things that look obvious now didn't necessarily look that way at the time.
If you end up not getting a response after a day or two, consider asking a new question focusing instead on why what happened did happen (rather than why what didn't happen didn't happen) - this kind of question is more likely to get a response in our experience. Hope this helps!