Which is the biggest blunder in the Indian history

Biggest blunder ever committed in the Indian history:

Ashoka ruled over the biggest empire in Indian history.

                            Mauryan empire under Ashoka

His empire extended over an area of 5 million sq. km, which is 4.03% total world land area.

The biggest strategic blunder in Indian history was the conversion of Asoka to Buddhism.

The Mauryan dynasty was the first m FLajor empire in India and at its peak the territory occupied by Asoka could rival the future British Indian Empire in size. 

At that point of history most of the contemporary civilizations were graduating from being City States to Empires, with a corresponding increase in wealth and fighting capability, e.g. the Roman Empire and the Chinese Kingdoms (Mongols). 

The Mauryan dynasty and the Magadha Empire, founded under the tutelage of Chanakya was also destined to consolidate the Indian economy and make the country a fighting force to reckon with. 

We had managed to stop the Greeks and driven them off from our western borders (present Afghanistan). 

The Indian economy of that time comprises ~30-40% of the World economy, with a corresponding share in World trade. Our philosophy and way of life had spread far and wide to Indo-china and the Indonesian islands in Indian ocean.

However, the conversion of Asoka to Buddhism and abjuring of further violence and expansion lead to the decline of the Mauryan dynasty and subsequent Indian capabilities. 

The children of Asoka spread out to preach and spread Buddhism rather than continuing the dynasty and consolidating the Empire. 

At the same time Europe was consolidating under the Romans and even though there was subsequent divisions within the various states in Europe, they were able to absorb the unified spirit and laws of the Roman empire and continue forward, leading to their subsequent domination of the World. 

The Indian sub-continent that could have consolidated under the Mauryan rule was however fragmented, and left open for attack.

While the civilizing influence of the Mauryan dynasty lead to a philosophical and scientific revolution in Ancient India, the corresponding military benefits were lost. 

We were never able to regain the consolidating force of the Magadha empire, forever fragmenting the India polity into multiple small states that continued to be small prey for subsequent attackers. 

Whether it was the Slave Dynasty, the Mughals (successors of the Mongols corrupted to Mughals) or the British (successors of the Roman Empire), all of them managed to take over India by dividing us among ourselves as we lost forever the 'Akhand Bharat' spirit espoused by Chanakya.

I would say that while we might have lost many subsequent wars due to technical blunders as has been pointed out by several other answers, this small and disregarded change in the religious persuasion of one person was perhaps our greatest strategic defeat, and changed the entire discourse of Indian history.

 Asoka might won the Kalingan battle but with his conversion to Buddhism, India lost its coming wars with the rest of the world. We were never able to unite against common external enemies.

PS - It can be argued that the Buddhist philosophy had a strong positive impact on the Indian society and significantly increased our world-wide influence, and I will agree with this. 

Perhaps, we are a happier and more tolerant nation as compared to other societies, because of the Buddhist teachings of forgiveness. 

However, the converse is also true that we are repeatedly taken for granted by attackers, terrorists and criminals because of the same principle of forgiveness. 

Further, speaking in militaristic terms and subsequent loot and enslavement of India by repeated invaders, the above blunder was perhaps the biggest historical blunder in India.

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