The History of India

by John McLeod

Descriptions of India are often woefully cliched. Foreigners may preserve old ideas of the exotic East, or reflect the preoccupations of Western media, or view India as a country of violence and disaster. Yet many Indians see their homeland as a modern industrial power, the world's largest democracy, and the country where an ancient civilization thrives alongside state-of-the-art computer technology. This accessible narrative account follows the entire path of Indian history from the Harrapans to today. Readers will encounter the foundation of Buddhism, Hinduism, the Gupta dynasty, Muslim encounters in India, British rule, Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, and much more. A biographical section and an annotated bibliography add reference value to this up-to-date resource on the history of India.

Genres: History, India

223 pages, Hardcover

First published September 5, 2000

About the author

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Professor of Postcolonial and Diaspora Literatures at Leeds University.

Reviews

[Zoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very detailed and well-researched telling of Indian history from thousands of years BCE up until the about 2000 CE. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this for anyone as it basically a textbook (I read it to be better informed about India's history prior to an upcoming trip there).

[teohjitkhiam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A most engaging basic primer on India's history, skimming its surface from Harappa in 3000BCE to the inauguration of Narendra Modi in 2014.