A Brief History Of Modern India

by Rajiv Ahir, Kalpana Rajaram (Editor)

This book is one of our bestsellers and is an effort to bring together various aspects of the turbulent period—from arrival of Europeans to India’s freedom from colonial rule—in a concise, all-inclusive, and systematic manner. It offers a chronological narrative of the period to make the development of historical events easy to understand and grasp. It effectively discusses important and major milestones as well as several relevant but little-known details of modern history, and also presents analytical comments on the historical events.

Readers will also find a brief evaluation of the challenges faced by the country immediately after independence and the notable developments that took place under the various democratically elected governments. The important developments of the Nehruvian era as well as the post-Nehruvian time post-1964 are, thus, covered. Each chapter ends with a summary for an easy and quick revision.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, India, Academic, Textbooks, Academics

1008 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Piyush Bhatia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compendious and crisp

A little bigger than a pocket-sized book, this book provides a concise, yet comprehensive account of the history of modern India. Written in simple language, perfect not just for UPSC candidates but for anyone interested to read a precise account of modern India's history.

5/5 without any doubt.

[Poonam Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Book deals with the various events starting from the advent of Europeans in India to the journey of freedom struggle. Description is precise and chronological and one could consider reading it to know about the background of India's struggle for independence.

[Akshat Verma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crisp, concise, tackles every topic of history of modern India, completely unbiased and calls out each and every historical personality for their faults and bad decisions.
Truly a single book to tackle modern India Nothing even comes close.

[Bidisha Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

rare fun upsc find.

[Anurag Vaishnav · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Concise.

[Nikhil · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you want to read notes on the history of the journey of India's independence then it's a good one but for detailed analysis one can still refer to other authors

[Tarun Bahuguna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is brief infact its brief of brief (please don't get confused). It covers India's political and independent struggle from 1857-1950. The writing is quite dry just like a textbook. It might work as a reference for someone who is well aware of that era but if you are new to the topic then you might get overwhelm with so many things and little descriptions.

[Kumar Sourav · Rating 5 out of 5]

Attention to UPSC Aspirants and those whi want to know about history of Indian freedom during British rule:
1. Content of this book took from various history author sources like bipin Chandra,Grover.. But content is arranged specifically for upsc preparation.
2. Most of us likes to make notes from books according to our taste.. this book has common format which makes little bit usefull in saving time for making notes. So, this is a book with common format for easy preparation.
3. To have deep insights and different perspectives on modern india.. This book is not sufficient. It can be supplemented by other author books.

[Omnish Singhal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why India is like the way it is today ? The answer lies in the past.. not much.. from 1600, the time when britishers came to India till the time they left out country..! Everything, from bureaucracy to existing system of government, Contributions of National leaders in the freedom struggle.. and more importantly, why Gandhi ji is considered the Father of Nation and not any other leader even after their significant contributions..! The answer lies in the past.

[Pk · Rating 5 out of 5]

must read for prelims UPSC aspirants
completely factual summary of events after the revolt of 1857
Give a factual know-how of Modern history of India
It is a very well documented book giving different changes like administrative, economical

[Saketh Ch · Rating 3 out of 5]

A strictly exam-centered book for UPSC aspirants that condenses content from various sources into one. A more comprehensive coverage is ensured to complement Bipin Chandra's "History of Modern India".

[Harshit Mishra · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book presents facts and an unbiased view of the, rise, fall and rise of India, Its accession to British Crown and the struggle to win over Independence. It also presents a brief account of philosophy adopted by the new born independent nation.

[Samaksh Malhotra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A detailed description of how India gained Independence and how every freedom fighter played a major role in handing us, free India. It's a detailed account of all the events that took place right from the first major war of Independence till 1947 and even ahead.

[Shubham Chopade · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent with an exam perspective.
the only issue with this book is a beginner with no knowledge of history can't figure out the timeline of events happening.
otherwise excellent presentation and strictly in a spirit of making the student ready for an examination.

[Harsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by far the best book to learn modern history for civil services. It is very crisp and to the point plus after each chapter their are pointers available to easy revision. At the end their is a chart of all the congress sessions, their presidents locations. All the viceroys of india.

[Aniket Patil · Rating 4 out of 5]

very concise , fast read if you have already read bipin chandra. Quick revision tool. Even if you havent read other books this one is sufficient for the UPSC prelims

[Ankit Agarwal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crisp understanding of India during the British rule.

[Alok · Rating 3 out of 5]

Serves its intended purpose. Crisp, concise and covers a whole lot of ground, with curous tidbits thrown in between.

[Suvo Choudhury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book for cse preparation

[Atul Verma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. A comprehensive coverage of History with a civil services syllabus point of view.

[Lalit Singh Tomar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in 2009 ..... its are a very pleasant read ..... gave a good gist of Modern History

[hareesh · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are using this for UPSC or other competitive exams then it is good but it fares badly when we look from a historian's perspective.

[Nishad · Rating 2 out of 5]

A brief history means a very concise one. This books just lists the important events of Indian history. Don't read if you want to explore various aspects of the freedom struggle.

[Kanwal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good want to read again

[Tanushree · Rating 5 out of 5]

For UPSE PRELIMS. Must read.

[Rohit Kumar Gautam · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the only book you can rely on for Upsc preparation, good, concise and simple language made it easy to read and understand.

[Sreelakshmi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend. This will make your study of Modern India History for UPSC easier.

[Dhaval Agrawal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Explained everything about history of India. I liked time of Britishers.

[Mami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it for my exam preparation. Small book with tons of info.

[Tarun Ranjan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most comprehensive book to cover Modern history for any competitive examination.

Makes a good leisure read too, if one has such interests