A Concise History of Modern India, 3rd Edition

Cambridge Concise Histories

by Barbara D. Metcalf, Thomas R. Metcalf

A Concise History of Modern India, by Barbara D. Metcalf and Thomas R. Metcalf, has become a classic in the field since it was first published in 2001. As a fresh interpretation of Indian history from the Mughals to the present, it has informed students across the world. In the third edition of the book, a final chapter charts the dramatic developments of the last twenty years, from 1990 through the Congress electoral victory of 2009, to the rise of the Indian high-tech industry in a country still troubled by poverty and political unrest. The narrative focuses on the fundamentally political theme of the imaginative and institutional structures that have successively sustained and transformed India, first under British colonial rule and then, after 1947, as an independent country. Woven into the larger political narrative is an account of India's social and economic development, and its rich cultural life. Throughout, the authors argue that despite a powerful historiographical tradition to the contrary, no enduring meaning can be given to categories such as 'caste', 'Hindu', 'Muslim', or even 'India'.

Genres: History, India, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Textbooks, Research, Academic

362 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2001

About the author

Barbara Daly Metcalf is a Professor Emeritus of History at the University of California, Davis. She is a specialist in the history of South Asia, especially the colonial period, and the history of the Muslim population of India and Pakistan. She previously served as the Dean of the College of Letters and Science at the University of California, Davis, and as the Alice Freeman Palmer Professor of History at the University of Michigan (2003-2009). She was the president of the Association for Asian Studies in 1994 and the president of the American Historical Association in 2010-11.

Reviews

[Senthil Kumaran · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book totally captivating. I have followed Indian history through books, and have been witnessed incidents taking shape, like Babri Masjid Demolition, Killing of Rajiv Gandhi, Curfew, Coalition Government, Gujarat Violence and burning of the train, the rise of Cyberabad, etc.

The details provided in this book still captured my attention. The authors do a wonderful job of providing a "concise history of modern India", and trying to present the facts as they are.

If we come across any review that either accuses the book of having some prejudice by labeling it with terms like "British authors", "leftist" or "does not capture greatness" or "congress" etc, we can safely assume that the review-writer was standing in front of the mirror rather than in front of text and words.

Reading history, I often realize that Truth can be stranger than Fiction. This book share ample anecdotes along those fronts.

The first thing I realized was - British East India Company had a much difficult time establishing trade relations in the subcontinent than French or Portuguese who had arrived earlier because India under Mughal had some resistance going on. They established pure trade relations, incurring a loss, buying cows from India, and facing criticism from Britain. The company did not want to give up on the business opportunity with India and incurred losses for decades.

Then we notice how Britain captured the whole of India. Robert Clive and Mir Jafir, a name that has become eponymous with a traitor start the conquer from South to Nawabs of Bengal. The loot and wealth of India were too tempting for the British to give up or lose control to locals.

I came to know through this book that for administering India, British setup "Indian Civil Services", the highest administrative body in India, which trains qualified candidates in both Britain and India through rigorous exams. The motivation was for that administrative body to report directly to the British state. The "Indian Civil Services" served the system very well, continued after Independence, and reporting structure replaced to the democratically elected official instead of the British state.

The book is a whirlwind, each capture captures multiple events in a century or decades.

I came to know that Mohammed Ali Jinnah, had requested Pakistan to be consisting of multiple divergent states in India which had Muslim Majority (like Hyderabad, Kashmir, parts of Punjab, Bengal, etc). He very well knew that having a separate country with interspersed states was never going to be practical, he wanted to use that demand as negotiation tactic. However, Nehru and congress never gave into it. They receded two states of Pakistan on religious identity. Nehru declared during Independence that India was not built on religious identity and is not a religious state, thus keeping the plan for India with all the states in order.

It seems like India had decided that after independence they will have some money for nation-building purposes. Since India got partition, I came to know that, it was Gandhi who, in his just tendencies, requested for 40 million pounds to be given to Pakistan as it's share.

I had known about the factors leading to Independence a little, but I didn't realize that the British were spending roughly 1000 million pounds per year on India after the war (like supporting Indian soldiers, infrastructure), which had proven economically very costly to hold on.

The book also deals with more recent events, and particularly things that struck me was

a. Keezhaldi massacre and how no one was ever brought to justice.
b. No one was brought to justice for the Gujarath train massacre. The chief minister, Modi was let go by the then government in power, BJP under Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

It is often that case that being in political majority determined the outcome of the punishable act, and humanitarian qualities like justice didn't have a say against power.

As an aside, I could relate to the above statement even in the 2020 Delhi Riots. BJP government did not bring anyone to justice. The same argument holds worldwide too wherein, in the USA, cronyism is so prevalent in republican led administration, and bringing someone to justice for the wrongdoing seems also non-applicable if the person has power.

[Ameya Krishna B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eloquently biased. Misleading and politically prejudiced. Not worth the time spent reading this.

As a person familiar with Indian history through several similar books from notable authors, I can clearly see that a "foreign hand" unfamiliar with India and its culture has written the book. Clearly a product of incomplete research. At some point, I could see a political bias too.

I'm surprised to realize how incomplete the research of these "highly qualified" authors while writing this book has been. Several baseless assumptions have been made regarding the character and actions of Subhas Chandra Bose and MK Gandhi, and an unnecessary love towards a certain political organization can be clearly observed. Also, there are clear misunderstandings and incomplete definitions of Indian terms (mostly of Sanskrit), which can evidently be seen in the Glossary.

Disappointed, to say the least.

[Priscilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great resource for South Asian history, which is quite a feat! India has a very complex history and it was very hard for me to crack into it. However, the book provides a great reference point and overview to refer back to. The only setback of this book was the dry writing style.

[Sanchit Mall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure if I'd call it a neutral POV but it's pretty comprehensive nonetheless.

[Tarun Gupta · Rating 4 out of 5]

D. Metcalf has tried well to present the Indian history in a very small book. be concise and sense of completeness is very hard to accomplish. This book is base for awareness building about India.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid survey history of modern India, which does a good job of balancing different perspectives and narrating the longstanding issues and trends that India is still dealing with today. Tensions and relations between Muslims and Hindus are focused on and explored enough to give the reader an understanding of what has been at stake since partition. Also, the enduring legacies of both Mughal and British imperial rule are made clear. The political biographies and broad appeal of major leaders like Nehru, Gandhi, and others are also explained.

That being said, it is a dry read and it took me a long time to get through it. I tackled it in chunks every few days, and for those unfamiliar with Indian history and culture, it definitely took some note taking, backtracking, and reminding myself of names, places, and terms.

[David Randall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this to prep for a trip to the subcontent. It's a bit of whirlwind of dates and timelines, but definitely helped me sketch out a mental framework of key themes and personalities in Indian history from the Muslim occupation to the present. My hope is this will give my subsequent reading about India more context.

[Ahmed Atif Abrar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read only thirty-plus pages (1940s), that is exiguous obviously to rate this three hundred-plus book. But I had to read it under a nonmajor course, and discovered Barbara Metcalf's one an easy-going prose. Keen to cover her less acclaimed books on South Asia.

[Bilal Shakir · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book fell short of its already low expectations. The Metcalf's don't even attempt to couch their pandering to Indian intelligentsia in their framing of historical issues and debates. Far from possessing even a semblance of what might be some version of a definitive history of modern India, the book is not much more than a "take-one" for the uninitiated during events or receptions hosted by the Dehli diaspora or at literature festivals hosted within India. Admittedly, this is precisely the function this book was written to serve.

[Mitch Dubeau · Rating 3 out of 5]

Metcalf and Metcalf put together exactly what the title is with. Very little room for misinterpretation. I was concerned seeing the reviews saying there was political bias. I can definitely see where those are coming from and this is not politically neutral, but I do think there was a earnest attempt from people who are clearly not Indian to put together a history ranging from 1400 to the present day describing India as a political and religiously complicated area featuring people are various different backgrounds and orientations. Can be summarized as India with a complicated but thriving society and then the British happened. While I knew the garage was not a good force, I was unaware to the extent of the abuse. This book also depicts how British rule has affected modern day India. What I was really more concerned about was the ghost of Asia effect or Asian nations are portrayed as either ancient or futuristic with very little in between leaving it for a modern day society. That I did not see as well. Will the political bias is still there? I am left knowing more about India than I have before having his act timeline of events in my head, knowing more about the different ethnic groups of India and having a greater appreciation for Indian culture as well as the works of Indian writers. This book is dry at times is not exactly stellar but it made me appreciate other books, other works and history more. 2.5 out of five rounded up

[Athul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh!

[Rick Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Concise, detailed and thorough work of Indian History"

I have read detailed works on Indian History, I enjoyed going through this work. The work is extensive starting from Mughal Empire to Modern India. The work is mostly top-down narrative of Indian History.

While, there are many ways to narrate Indian history, this is popular among scholars.

One question, that came to the back of my mind about Indian History.
I have not come across a work, "Which focuses on origin stories of people-groups in India?"

That might be a valuable contribution, say about 300-500 people-groups, their occupation, historical accounts from 1500s -- present. This might help to tie up as story of Indians.

Few weeks ago, I went through Modernization of Japan.
In Japanese History, there came a pivotal point when Matthew Perry arrived at shore of Edo Bay (Tokyo), decades later this event, Japanese modernized through chaos, change in social, political, military structure in their country.

In Indian History, I compare and wonder for Why India did not modernize?


Sir Thomas Roe, English MP arrived at court of Jahangir in 1610s, yet India did not modernize like Japan.

Local Kings in India had almost two centuries, to modernize from 1610s to 1857, until India was taken by English Crown, So why could they not push the English away from India?

As per my readings from Mughal Era to India's independence.

-India had many wars among rulers
-War usually pushes rulers to improve or perish
-Most of the Tax revenues went to Military & Emperor
-Majority of the Mughal, Maratha, Sikh, Maharajas even cared to learn from European soil, even during Napoleonic wars
-The English had more affective, military, administrative, trade, financial networks

The English, French, Dutch were in competition, and English took over India at the end.

Even after India's Independence in 1947, nothing like Japan's Meiji Era & Iwakura Mission.
While Congress Party & India's Independence leaders were educated, they missed something?
I am not sure, I wonder?

At Present during 2010s, 2020s BJP Era India, obviously - Not much either.


Deus Vult,
Gottfried

[deek · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book delivered exactly what was promised, in an engaging, story-telling manner: a concise history of modern India. As an Indian born and educated in the United States, I was searching for book that not only provided a general overview of my homeland's history, of which I was deprived of for so long in the states, but to also shed light on current political phenomena, most notably the precipitation of the BJP and Narendra Modi's reign. Upon finishing this book, I believe that India functions best as a plurality, embracing the diverse identities that make up its population. The esteemed leader Akbar, of the Mughal Empire, embraced this theory wholeheartedly, and sustained years of peace and effervescence. When the British Raj eventually ruled over the subcontinent, they failed to thoroughly understand and meet the needs of Indians, and were thus hated deeply by most of the population and created fissures in the subcontinent's plurality. Gandhi, while far from perfect, especially in denouncing the oppressed status of "untouchables" and Muslims, seemed to also value the diversity of the country, and his successor, Jawaharlal Nehru, attempted to bring this vision to life as the first prime minister. However, the Congress party, of which Nehru and Gandhi were part of, failed to meet the needs of the ever-changing population in the following years, which was one of many factors that lead to the modern supremacy of the BJP. I hope that one day, our country can again tap into the strength of its diversity, sustaining a better quality of life for its increasing population.

[Austin Barselau · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Concise History of Modern India is a jaunt through Indian history from the time of the Mughals through the creation of the Republic of India and everything in between. Husband and wife co-authors Barbara and Thomas Metcalf, both emeritus professors of South Asia history at the University of Columbia, touch on all of the major historical developments in recent Indian history: the commercial adventurism of the East Indian Company, British rule and exploration, India’s independence movement spurred by the symbolic non-cooperation of Mahatma Gandhi, religious frictions between Hindus and Muslims leading to Partition and widespread social displacement, the secular statesmanship of the Nehru family, the opening of the country to the world capitalist system in the 1990s, and the emergence of Narendra Modi. Primarily drawing on Western scholarship, the Metcalfs convincingly capture the evolution of the Indian state leading up to the contemporary era.

[Ss · Rating 2 out of 5]

Often one-sided view of things and drawing heavily on Amarthya sen and leftist historian Irfan habeeb. There are several occasions of insufficient research and guess work.
During the Mughal period "It may suggest that there were religious practices like mass conversation,that did not exist"..this is one of the half baked arguments without any corroboration.
The vehement activity of all types and hues of Christian missionaries did find a mention but the author has several pages of "the incessant slander of Christian indians as foreigners, and so less than indians".
There are several instances where this history remains as a one-sided listing of events.
Soon after the book talk about an election victory in Kerala. The authors wax eloquent about the gender equality and literacy rate of Kerala. The Kerala situation is the combination of the work of many social reformers, work of xian missionaries and others.

[Jindřich Zapletal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a brief history of India from the arrival of Babur to most recent times, with emphasis on the social as opposed to military history. It takes a dim view of British Raj and sometimes confuses the unbearable flourishes of Persianate court literature for the actual state of Mughal empire, but in general, it introduces all major historical currents in a coherent narrative. There is a separate bibliography chapter with a great choice of complementary and alternative readings.

Just remember, it is really very brief. There is no introduction to the geography of the subcontinent, many colorful events and characters (beginnings of tea plantation culture in Assam or the affairs of captains Avery and Kidd as related to Aurangzeb for example) are mentioned only in passing or not at all. If you do not have a teacher at hand and do not follow up on further reading, you will probably soon forget what you read in this book.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly useful skim ahead of my trip to India next month. As I read this book I was struck by a thought that comes to me from time to time, which is to remark on how dumb I was when I did my PhD—not literally dumb, but dumb to so many events of the world. I knew so little history! So few things! I am glad that my journey as a learner didn't end when my doctorate did; I feel sometimes like I have spent the last 6 years since finishing that degree atoning for how blind and stupid I managed to be throughout that entire process.

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in a clear and concise style that digests and lays out a very complicated history. Much better on 20th century history than on the Raj or Mughal periods.

The one - and only - problem is the authors’ deep, reflexive antipathy towards all things Hindu and concomitant adoration and excusing of all things Islamic / jihadist. That’s unfortunately the case for almost all Western academics, so, given the paucity of good histories of India, you just have to ignore the authors’ ridiculous, but thankfully obvious, biased takes.

[Muharrem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book is easy to read and having enough information for a starter. Babur's, East India Company, Britain colonial policies, foundation of Pakistan, demolition of the Babri Masjid, Kashmir-Aksai Chin problem, Sikh People, Congress Party, Nehru family, RSS are some of the interesting points from the book.

[Noel Cisneros]

Una suscinta historia de la India, pasando por el Imperio Mogul, su disgregación, la dominación inglesa y la vida independiente. Es interesante que desmonta mitos en torno al imperio mogul, como el de su retresa y realsa su condición cosmópolita y, en la medida de lo posible, su tolerancia para otras fes que no fueran la musulmana.

[Remy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative, but a lot of information for someone with almost zero prior knowledge about India. I suggest for those who want an introduction to India, to read something else first, perhaps even just a quick Wiki scan.

[Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is, as promised, a concise history. It is a useful overview, either for those with a limited interest in the subject or in preparation for more detailed study. The authors' decision to start their text with the Mughals, moving them from "medieval" to "early modern," is useful.

[Reggie Clairville · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful look at the history of India and the greater area (Pakistan, Bangladesh). It was great that the author weaved the history into a story manner. Highly recommended book if you want to start reading about Indic history.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty concise history of India and how it has come to its present configuration. Still sometimes the writing was dry here and there, but overall it helped send me in the directions to learn certain parts more confidently.

[Eric Dye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great preparation for our upcoming trip to India!

[Dr Aneez A · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Must read book

[Andrew Clough · Rating 3 out of 5]

Went a little far out of its way to be charitable to the Mughals but I was looking for a book to put 19th and 20th century India in context and it did a fine job at that.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful in a lot of places - spends a lot of time on the dilemmas of post-Independence India (and the other countries in the Indian subcontinent).

[c. anne ♥]

read this in a day before my exam

[Anna B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great concise history of India, helpful as a textbook on the subject