The development of education is a continum,which gathers its past history into a living stream, flowing through the present into future. It is essential to see the historical background of educational development understanding the present and visualize the future. The history of education in the Indian subcontinent began with teaching of traditional elements such as Indian religions, Indian mathematics, Indian logic at early Hindu and Buddhist centres of learning such as Taxila and Nalanda before the Islamic era. Islamic education became ingrained with the establishment of the Islamic empires in the Indian subcontinent in the Middle Ages while the coming of the Europeans later brought western education to colonial India. A series of measures continuing throughout the early half of the 20th century ultimately laid the foundation of education in the Republic of India. Hence, the present paper aims to briefly look at educational developments from the ancient 2nd millennium BC to the modern period. The development of the education system in India can be broadly divided into four periods. While discussing about the periods, a brief attempt has been made to see the evolution of education from 2nd millenium BC to the modern period, focus is made on the movements of education, the phases of National Education Movements, the role of state (king), religiousheads, institutions and people and its accessibility to the larger community.