A History of India v. 1, Romila Thapur, Penguin, Harmondsworth, 1969
(1966)

Preface (13): This book is for the general reader interested in India
and complements Start Piggott's Prehistoric India.

1 Antecedents (15-27): Western misconceptions of India stretch back to
the ancient Greeks. "The fundamental sanity of Indian civilization has
been due to the absence of Satan." (p. 15) Acquaintance with Indian
history began in the Eighteenth Century, was largely conducted by
British administrators and drew from Brahmanical literature perceived
as portraying the country as static and despotic.

History was divided into Ancient (until Turks c. 1000 CE), Medieval (to
mid Eighteenth Century British arrival) and Modern periods. This book
treats the topic differently stopping at 1526. The large northern plain
and its harvest of agriculturally based empires resonated more with
imperial British experience than geographically induced multiplicity of
more commercially focused southern states. Sociology and archaeology
augment historical study.

2 The Impact of Aryan Culture (28-49): Indo-Europeans entered northern
India c. 1500 BCE, spreading through the area's forests, herding cattle
and clashing in battle with each other and with natives. There emerged:
agriculture, some trade, kings, priestly and military advisers, spies
and messengers. A caste system, initially more vague and fluid, was
used to exclude natives. Harappan culture had been literate; Aryans
became literate by c. 700 BCE. Tribes became contending countries,
republican and monarchical. Some people sought freedom in asceticism.

3 Republics and Kingdoms (50-69):

(to be continued...)

Michael McKenny, September 12, 2008 C.E.


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