India: A History. Revised and Updated

by John Keay

Overview

Fully revised with forty thousand new words that take the reader up to present-day India, John Keay’s India: A History spans five millennia in a sweeping narrative that tells the story of the peoples of the subcontinent, from their ancient beginnings in the valley of the Indus to the events in the region today.

In charting the evolution of the rich tapestry of cultures, religions, and peoples that comprise the modern nations of Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, Keay weaves together insights from a variety of scholarly fields to create a rich historical narrative. Wide-ranging and authoritative, India: A History is a compelling epic portrait of one of the world’s oldest and most richly diverse civilizations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802145581
Publisher:	Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
Publication date:	04/12/2011
Pages:	640
Sales rank:	362,317
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

John Keay is a historian, writer, and world-renowned South Asia expert. He is the author of nineteen books, including Into India, India Discovered and China: A History.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations vii

List of Maps xi

List of Charts and Tables xiii

Author's note to the Second Edition xvi

Introduction xvii

1 The Harappan World: C3000-1700 B C 1

2 Vedic Values: C1700-900 B C 19

3 The Epic Age: C900-520 B C 37

4 Out of the Myth-Smoke: C520-C320 B C 56

5 Gloria Maurya: C320-200 B C 78

6 An Age of Paradox: C200 B C-C300 ad 101

7 Gupta Gold: C300-500 A D 129

8 Lords of the Universe: C500-700 155

9 Dharma and Defiance: C700-C900 180

10 Natraj, the Rule of the Dance: C950-1180 202

11 The Triumph of the Sultans: C1180-1320 231

12 Other Indias: 1320-1525 262

13 The Making of the Mughal Empire: 1500-1605 289

14 Mughal Pomp, Indian Circumstance: 1605-1682 320

15 From Taj to Raj: 1682-1750 348

16 The British Conquest: 1750-1820 383

17 Pax Britannica: 1820-1880 414

18 Awake the Nation: 1880-1930 448

19 At the Stroke of the Midnight Hour: 1930-1948 484

20 Surgical Procedures: 1948-1965 510

21 The Spectre of Separatism: 1962-1972 537

22 'Demockery': 1972-1984 561

23 Midnight's Grandchildren: 1984- 582

Source Notes 607

Bibliography 619

Index (incorporating Glossary) 633

Editorial Reviews

“Keay’s panoramic vision and multidisciplinary approach serves the function of all great historical writing. It illuminates the present.” —Thrity Umrigar, The Boston Globe

“A handsomely published book with over sixty wonderful relevant maps, charts, and tables, and a plethora of beautiful illustrations, many of them in color. . . . Keay deals well with India’s long and intricate history. . . . Keay’s treatment of early India is often sprinkled with his passionate eloquence, which is also evident in the rest of the book. . . . One of the best to be published in the field for some time and could be read to great advantage by students of Indian history and by those who enjoy history in general.” —Bawa Satinder Singh, The Journal of Asian Studies

“A superb one-volume history of a land that defies reduction into simple narrative . . . Without peer among general studies, a history that is intelligent, incisive, and eminently readable.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Ambitious . . . [Keay] carefully uncovers India’s prehistory—a great challenge given that the ancient Indians left no texts—and skillfully describes the evolving Indian concepts of kingship, statecraft, and military strategy.” —Lucian W. Pye, Foreign Affairs

“A comprehensive account . . . A robust book.” —Amit Roy, India Today

“It is hard to imagine anyone succeeding more gracefully in producing a balanced overview than John Keay has done. . . . One can only hope that Keay’s India will be widely read, and its lessons taken to heart.” —William Dalrymple, The Guardian (London)

“Sweeping from the ancient brick cities of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, built in the Indus Valley around 2000 b.c., to modern India’s urban middle class armed with computers and cell phones, this erudite, panoramic history captures the flow of Indian civilization. . . . A banquet for connoisseurs and serious students of India.” —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher