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An Introduction to the Study of Indian History
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An Introduction to the Study of Indian History

Second Edition
January 2019 | 300 pages | SAGE Publications Pvt. Ltd
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The use of scientific methodology, modern techniques of interpretation, and selection and analysis of basic problems make An Introduction to the Study of Indian History a vivid and absorbing read.

The author has thrown open new fields for research through this book, which serves as a critical guide to scientific historical thought. It helps the reader gain profound insight into the past by examining monuments, customs and surviving records. At the same time, the present is shown to be the inevitable result of a steady historical development. Complete grasp of the material and mastery of detail shown in the survey of the development from a pre-historic tribal society to the present machine-age make this volume a unique contribution to contemporary historiography.

This book is the culmination of patient research and mature reflection of a profoundly original mind and has earned universal recognition and honour over the last few decades.

 

 
PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION
 
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION
 
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
 
ABBREVIATIONS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
 
CHRONOLOGICAL OUTLINE
 
SCOPE AND METHODS
 
Special methods needed for Indian history
 
Available materials
 
The underlying philosophy
 
THE HERITAGE OF PRE-CLASS SOCIETY
 
Prehistoric archaeology
 
Tribal society
 
Tribal survivals
 
The Vetala cult
 
Higher local cults
 
Festivals and rites
 
CIVILIZATION AND BARBARISM IN THE INDUS VALLEY
 
The Indus cities
 
Indus trade and religion
 
Maintenance of a class structure
 
Food production
 
THE ARYANS IN THE LAND OF THE SEVEN RIVERS
 
Aryans outside India
 
Rgvedic information
 
Panis and new tribes
 
Origins of caste
 
Brahmin clans
 
THE ARYAN EXPANSION
 
Aryan as a mode of living
 
Study of legend and myth
 
Yajurvedic settlements
 
The eastward drive
 
Tribes and dynasties
 
The mark of primitive tribes
 
The new brahminism
 
Beyond brahminism; ritual, food production and trade
 
The need for a radical change
 
THE RISE OF MAGADHA
 
New institutions and sources
 
Tribes and kingdoms
 
Kosala and Magadha
 
Destruction of tribal power
 
New religions
 
Buddhism
 
Appendix: Punch-marked coins
 
THE FORMATION OF A VILLAGE ECONOMY
 
The first empire
 
Alexander and the Greek accounts of India
 
The Asokan transformation of society
 
Authenticity of the Arthasastra
 
The pre-Asokan state and administration
 
The class structure
 
Productive basis of the state
 
INTERLUDE OF TRADE AND INVASIONS
 
After the Mauryans
 
Superstition in an agrarian society
 
Caste and the village; the Manusmrti
 
Changes in religion
 
The settlement of the Deccan plateau
 
Commodity producers and trade
 
The development of Sanskrit
 
Social functions of Sanskrit literature
 
FEUDALISM FROM ABOVE
 
Early feudal developments
 
Growth of villages and barbarism
 
The India of the Guptas and Harsa
 
Religion and the development of village settlement
 
The concept of property in land
 
Mayurasarman's settlement of the west coast
 
Village craftsmen and artisans
 
FEUDALISM FROM BELOW
 
Difference between Indian and English feudalism
 
The role of trade in feudal society
 
The Muslims
 
Change to feudalism from below; slavery
 
Feudal prince, landlord, and peasant
 
Degeneracy and collapse
 
The bourgeois conques
 
APPENDIX
 
THE MAKING OF HISTORY [ILLUSTRATIONS]
 
COMMENTARY TO THE ILLUSTRATIONS
 
INDEX
Key features

The use of scientific methodology, modern techniques of interpretation, and selection and analysis of basic problems make An Introduction to the Study of Indian History a vivid and absorbing read.

The author has thrown open new fields for research through this book, which serves as a critical guide to scientific historical thought. It helps the reader gain profound insight into the past by examining monuments, customs and surviving records. At the same time, the present is shown to be the inevitable result of a steady historical development. Complete grasp of the material and mastery of detail shown in the survey of the development from a pre-historic tribal society to the present machine-age make this volume a unique contribution to contemporary historiography.

This book is the culmination of patient research and mature reflection of a profoundly original mind and has earned universal recognition and honour over the last few decades.

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