From the Origins to AD 1300

Front Cover
University of California Press, 2004 - History - 555 pages
"Romila Thapar is the most eminent Indian historian. This superb book is not only the basic history of how India came to be and an introduction to how the writing of history takes shape, but also, not the least, a deconstruction of the historical myth and inventions on which is based the present intolerant and exclusivist Hindu nationalism. It is essential reading today."—Eric Hobsbawm

"One of the world's most eminent historians of India, Thapar gives us a thoroughly revised edition of her authoritative general history. This one contains the accumulated research of the last thirty years and includes richly textured accounts of life in ancient India. Like its predecessor, this is indispensable reading for anyone interested in India's long and complex history."—Thomas R. Metcalf, Professor of History and Sarah Kailath Professor of Indian Studies, University of California, Berkeley, and co-author of A Concise History of India

"Incorporating newer findings, methods, and interpretations, this thorough and outstandingly written addition to the author's highly acclaimed History of India, Volume One manifests her long and distinguished service to the study of Indian history. Thapar's skillful analysis of how India's past has been interpreted not only brings greater clarity to the understanding of contemporary India, but also contributes usefully to a broader study of history and historiography."—Peter L. Schmitthenner, Associate Professor of History, Virginia Tech
 

Contents

VII
1
VIII
37
IX
69
X
98
XI
137
XII
174
XIII
209
XIV
245
XVII
363
XVIII
405
XIX
442
XX
491
XXI
510
XXII
516
XXIII
542
XXIV
545

XV
280
XVI
326

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About the author (2004)

Romila Thapar is Professor Emeritus in History at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. In 1983 she was elected General President of the Indian History Congress and in 1999 a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy. She is the author of "Asoka and the Decline of the Mauryas; Ancient Indian Social History: Some Interpretations; History and Beyond; Sakuntala: Texts, Readings, Histories; Cultural Pasts: Essays in Early Indian History; "and "Somanatha: the Many Voices of a History" (2004).

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