A Brief History Of India

by Judith E. Walsh

Looks at the history of India from 1000 B.C. to the present, discussing the caste system, religions, civilization, British colonialism, independence movements, and the creation of an independent republic.

Genres: History, India, Nonfiction

348 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2005

Reviews

[Bettie]

http://bettie.booklikes.com/blog

[Stuart Woolf]

This is the third book I have read in this series. The first, A Brief History of Mexico, was not terrific but did suit my needs at the time, while the second, A Brief History of Russia, was pretty mediocre. Fortunately, the latter was the aberration, as this book, A Brief History of India, had more in common with the first; in each case, the ancient history of each country is presented in a breezy, chronological fashion, whereas the modern histories are presented in slightly more depth, providing readers with the necessary context to understand ongoing events. (In this case, much ink is spilled on the strengths and weaknesses of India's democracy, the challenges of pluralism and regionalism, and Hindu nationalism as an ongoing political phenomenon.)

This book probably won't suit every reader. Truth is, writing about India is hard in ways writing about other countries is not. India is not a country in the same way Czech Republic is. India is huge, multilingual, religiously and ethnically diverse, and shaped by caste. (Similarly, Hinduism is not a religion in the same way Roman Catholicism is.) As a political entity it has more in common with the European Union than it has with any of its member states (and roughly twice the population). At best, the story of India is a fragmented one, a collection of regional histories without many unifying themes - not for lack of good historians, but because that's the way it really happened.

[Andrew Daniels]

Not a hard read, but really weak on the facts
Said Lahore was Pakistan's capital (it never was)
Said India's defense spending rose 28% in 2000 - actually 16%

I have a feeling if I looked up more of what she said, that I would find a tonne of it is wrong or misleading.

[PranaB Hait]

By reading this u will get to understand that the main reason for india's backwardness still today is RELIGION.

[James]

A history of India focused mostly on modern times, I was hoping for more early history. A decent read, if a bit dry.

[Zulfiqar]

"By The 15th century elite Muslims who claimed Arab ancestry were called sayyids; from Central Asian ancestry, Mughals; and Afghan ancestry, Pathans." (Walsh, Judith. "A brief History of India" Pg 86)

[April]

Dense in places for a book that uses the word brief in the title. Some of the initial chapters are slow moving but it picks up well midway through. Positions the reader to ask a lot of questions about colonialism, post-colonialism and globalization. All in all, worth the read.

[Sazuru]

It seems like a book you would have in a course that covered all of Asia...

[Arjun]

An excellent book which exudes an intelligent understanding of India! One of the best I have read :-)

[Robert Tune]

A wide ranging introduction to a fascinating country. Most informative.

[Sairam Bade]

Excellent book! A must for learning about the pre independence india not so much about post independence india, slow at start but picks up midway.