  The inward bound path of discovery unravelling the mysteries of matter and
the forces that hold it together has culminated at the end of the twentieth
century in a theory of the Fundamental Forces of Nature based on Nonabelian
Gauge Fields, called the Standard Model of High Energy Physics. In this article
we trace the historical development of the ideas and the experimental
discoveries on which this theory is based. We also mark significant Indian
contributions wherever possible. Finally we have a glimpse at future
developments. An Appendix on more Indian contributions is added at the end.
