The urban history of India is complex and there are spatial discontinuities. For the sake of convenience it could be divided into the following time period:

• The prehistoric period — 2500 to 1800 BCE


• The early historical period — 600 BCE to 500 CE


• The medieval period — 600 CE to 1800 CE


• The British period — 1800 CE to 1947 CE

Sources : Ramachandran 2010 (1989)