Gamuts of style have always influenced the native Indian architecture and sculptures from the early days of her civilization. As a result numerous schools of architecture flourished in India. While most of the civilizations evolved from a rural set up and progressed to an urban one, the Indian civilization kick-started with an urban history. The architectural plan of the cities of Indus Valley Civilisation bears testimony to this fact. The brick and mud walls of the Harappa and Mohenjo-daro establish the superiority of Indus Valley Civilisation. The unblemished architectural plans of these early cities remain embedded in history as a lesson that truly needs to be learnt. As most of the planned houses belonged to the Mehrgarh this kind of planning is often classified as the Mehrgarh School of architecture.

As the Indus Valley Civilisaion withered away into the pages of history its architecture was replaced by a style that had more of religious overtures. The Buddhist architecture slowly overtook the well planned buildings and hence the chaityas, pillars, stupa and monasteries came into being. The stupa sculptures truly reflected the features of Buddhist architecture. From 1500 BC to 200 AD also witnessed the flourishing of th rock cut architecture in India. This style continued even later with the Indian kings down south.

Another remarkable school of architecture was the Dravidian architecture that established itself between 200 AD to 1200 AD. Some of the most renowned South Indian kingdoms adapted this mode of architecture for temple building. Thus the Dravidian art and sculpture are widely found in the colossal temples. These mammoth stone or rock buildings belong to Chola, Chalukya, Hoysala, Pandya, Nayaka, Pala or Pallava dynasties. Alongside the South Indian temples a separate style for North Indian temples also evolved. This was known as the Nagara School of architecture. During this same era the architecture of Bengal also established itself as a popular form.

With the onset of the Mughal architecture the entire scenario underwent a huge metamorphosis in Indian architecture. Temples were replaced by a variety of other monuments. The Persian influence slowly submerged into the mainstream to give birth to the remarkable Indo-Islamic school of architecture. The Indo Islamic sculptures found on the famous Muslim monuments bear testimony to the rich cultural heritage of the sub-continent. The history of Indian architecture underwent another change with the arrival of the British. The Indo-Saracenic school of architecture created ripples with its gothic styled buildings. These were later tone down with the help of the native influence as well. The features of Indo-Saracenic sculptures are still to be found on the building belonging to British India.

Today there is no strict idiom for Indian architecture and sculptures. The influence of previous schools of Indian architecture has left an indelible mark on the present. Hence even today several modern architectural plans include these elements from the past.