India: A Short History

by Andrew Robinson

Overview

Now available in paperback, this concise history tells India’s unfolding story, from the ancient Hindu dynasties to the coming of Islam, from the Mughal Empire to the present day.

Throughout its long history, India has signified many things. To pilgrims from ancient China, India was the birthplace of the Buddha. To Alexander the Great, it was a land of philosophers and armies mounted on elephants. To ancient Rome, it was a source of luxuries. At the height of the Mughal Empire in 1700, India meant wealth, boasting nearly 25 percent of the world economy, but then, under British rule, its economy declined.

India’s identity continued changing in the nineteenth century as colonial India was known for its extremes of wealth and poverty—epitomized by the Taj Mahal and famines, maharajas and untouchables—as well as for its spirituality: many- armed Hindu gods, Sufi saints and Buddhist philosophy, Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore.

This short history of India places as much emphasis on individuals, ideas, and cultures as on the rise and fall of kingdoms, political parties, and economies, telling a new story on a different scale.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780500295168
Publisher:	Thames & Hudson
Publication date:	09/17/2019
Series:	A Short History , #2
Edition description:	Updated
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Andrew Robinson has written more than twenty-five books on the arts and sciences. They include Lost Languages: The Enigma of the World's Undeciphered Scripts, India: A Short History, and Earthshock, which won the Association of Earth Science Editors Outstanding Publication Award. He is also a regular contributor to magazines, such as Current World Archaeology, History Today, The Lancet, Nature, and Science. A former literary editor of The Times Higher Education Supplement, he was also a visiting fellow at the University of Cambridge.

 

Table of Contents

Preface 6

Introduction 11

1 The Indus Valley Civilization 28

2 Vedas, Aryans and the Origins of Hinduism 46

3 Buddha, Alexander and Asoka 62

4 Hindu Dynasties 82

5 The Coming of Islam 100

6 The Mughal Empire 118

7 European Incursions and East India Companies 132

8 The 'Jewel in the Crown' 150

9 End of Empire 168

10 The World's Largest Democracy 186

Postscript 204

Map 212

Chronology 214

Further Reading 219

Acknowledgments 235

List of Illustrations 236

Index 237

Editorial Reviews

"Robinson aims to navigate the middle passage between polarities, negative and positive, while promoting better understanding of the Indian civilization."

Protoview

"Pithy, admirable. . . . Robinson is at his best when dealing with India's earlier history. Compressing 4,000 years into 200 pages proves a tall order and leads him to reserve nearly half the book for the BC(E) millennia.  But he here picks his way with assurance and insight."

The Times Literary Supplement - John Keay

"Andrew Robinson tackles this country of incredible depth with a primer that stylishly takes readers from the roots of Indian civilization up through today. . . . India provides travelers with an essential introduction to the land and its people."

Virtuoso Life

"Materials from the author’s own prolific earlier work on the yet undeciphered Indus valley writing system, on Rabindranath Tagore, and on the life and films of Satyajit Ray add depth to this overview."

Choice