The Wonder That Was India: A Survey of the History and Culture of the Indian Sub-Continent from the Coming of the Muslims to the British Conquest 1200-1700 Volume-2.

Sidgwick & Jackson Great Civilizations Series

by Saiyid Athar Abbas Rizvi

S. A. A. Rizvi’s The Wonder That Was India (Volume Two) is a groundbreaking enquiry into the history of India during the period of Islamic political dominance in the subcontinent. Through meticulous research and painstaking study, Rizvi pieces together a comprehensive account of the five hundred years between the thirteenth and eighteenth centuries, detailing the political histories of the Arabs, Turks, Afghans and Mughals. From his exploration of the social and economic conditions, the state, religion and the fine arts, a vibrant picture emerges of a massive and fertile exchange that would influence the destiny of more than a billion people.

This volume, along with A. L. Basham’s classic The Wonder That Was India (Volume One), offers an extensive and engrossing view of the pre-colonial history of India.

Genres: History, India, Nonfiction, Indian Literature

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Chandra Deepa · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is full of factual inaccuracies. I was not expecting this from the second part of the series as the first part covering ancient India was a better read.

Just the introduction part of this book reveals what next should be expected, no citation from original sources and pure opinion. For example a line from the text read:

"Kabir declared that God was to be found equally in both temple and Mosque"
cited

https://archive.org/details/wondertha...

A basic understanding of Islamic theology would tell us that mosque is just a place of worship , not the residence of Islamic God whereas a temple is residence of a Hindu diety. With this absurd equivalency attributed to Kabir, I went further digging on the Kabir's writings and found which is complete opposite of what the author has attributed to him.

If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
then who is there to know what happens without?
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.

— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore

I leave further reading of this book to the judgement of the other readers. For me this was what seemed like the end of the read.

[Nishu Thakur · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was recently written and added just to ride on the fame of the first part.

[Palak Mathur · Rating 5 out of 5]

#Cross-posted from my blog.

Read the book named Wonder That Was India Vol 2 by SAA Rizvi second time since 2008. It is the second volume of the series of which the first volume is famously known by the name of its author A.L.Basham. Second Volume is famous for the coverage of Medieval Indian History.

This book is a fantastic enquiry into the history of India during the period of Islamic political dominance in the subcontinent. S A A Rizvi arranges the pieces of history together and gives a comprehensive account of the five hundred years between the thirteenth and eighteenth centuries, detailing the political histories of the Arbas.

From social and economic conditions to the state, religion and the fine arts, a vibrant picture emerges of a massive and fertile exchange that would influence the destiny of more than billion people.

It is wonderfully written book divided into VII units. The first unit takes you to the foundation of Islam, how it institutionalized and what led to the rivalry between Shia and Sunni. It is such greatly written that you feel part of the story watching everything in history happening in front of you. This is the level of vibrancy of the book.

I, II and III unit cover the Indian political history of the Medieval Period. Part IV deals with State where it deals with Theory of Kingships and methods of administration. Part V deals with Social and Economic Conditions in the period which covers social structure, women, slavery, trade, etc in a comprehensive way. Religion is dealt in Part VI and here you will learn about philosophical movements, Sufi movements, etc. It comprehensively covers the Hindu impact on Sufism. Finally in part VII the author deals with Fine Arts and explains the architecture, paintings and music.

It is one of the most comprehensive and well-written book on history by an Indian Author.

Note for UPSC aspirants: If someone is preparing for civil services, then I would suggest to go through it, but one needs to take care that he/she doesn’t gets entrapped in the story and read selectively from Part I, II and III. Other parts aptly cover the syllabus and the book can be a good reference book or a supplementary book with other books like Satish Chandra.

[Arvind Sharma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Firstly I would like to mention that in my honest opinion the title of the book is misleading. An apt title for the content should clearly convey the core subject of Muslim Rule in India and how their beliefs evolved during that period. Though Mughals dominated most of the Northern part of India during mentioned period, their historical survey by no means is representative of the entire India history during that period. Therefore usage of title Wonder that was India, was not appropriate for the content.

Coming to the book content, a very good short introduction of Muslim emergence and their arrival to India sets up the stage for Historical commentary on famous Muslim rulers and their respective associates in form of Ministers, Slaves and advisors etc settled in India. Most of the prominent rulers from Afgans and Mughals decent are covered. It was very difficult for a non-Muslim or non-Urdu speaker to remember all the important books, works/events and individuals which are extensively surveyed under each prominent ruler. Anyone who has interest in learning Muslim cultural evolution in India under different rulers might find this book informative. In the end, a very crisp survey of Arts and Literature evolution was informative. Since most part of the book(for me) was very difficult to retain, I am rating it 2.5 stars.

[Abhijeet]

Read the book. Author has written it in simple lucid language, has given insight into Islamic law, state, religion, society. Though at times author seem to be biased to me. Nevertheless it is good book for those who wish to know more about Islamic rule in medieval India & its impacts on indian society. Maps are missing so read it with a historical atlas.

[Linda Umstead · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very well written and engaging history - however the maps leave something to be desired. Major reference points are not included which forces one to go elsewhere for geographic information, v. frustrating.

[Vivek Vats विवेक वत्स · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly researched, incomplete, and badly written. I ordered both volumes of the series and soon realized that this just tries to ride on the coattails of the first one. The description says: "Based on thorough research and exploration into the past..." which is pure rubbish as this book was written just as a glorification of islam, no more and no less.

S.A.A Rizvi is an islamic apologist and spares no effort to whitewash the crimes of his co-religionists, as opposed to Arthur L. Basham who is a highly decorated historian and an Indologist proper and cites his work with archaeological and/or epigraphical evidence. Don't get me wrong, I think each individual is entitled to his/her opinion but to present opinions as a "thoroughly researched" work is just plain misleading. I also take issue with the book's title, there's nothing 'wondrous' about these 450 or so odd years where the indigenous people were subjected to genocidal murders, methodical mass rapes, and heinous forms of brutality and torture; which Rizvi in his infinite muslim wisdom describes as "fertile exchange that changed the lives of a billion people".

[Alex Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Wonder that Was India Vol. I by A.L. Basham was a perfect example of a comprehensive survey written for the interested layperson. I'm happy someone decided to pick up where the first left off, covering the politics, culture, and religion following the Muslim invasions. Unfortunately Volume II, by S.A.A. Rizvi, shares little of the eloquence and readability of the first. This book is a real slog, grinding through an endless lists of sultans, Sufi saints, and Mughal officials with little memorable commentary to distinguish them. If you're looking for that accessible single volume history of the Muslim period in India, you may need to look further...

[Satyam Saxena · Rating 4 out of 5]

An elaborate and focussed study of cultural aspects and long term relationship of the Islamic rule in India with the modern day with lots of instantiations in forms of figures and images.

[Iqra Tasmiae]

A Mohan Guruswamy post
"a History if the Vanquished" - https://m.facebook.com/story.php?stor...

[Paras · Rating 1 out of 5]

Completely biased and personal views of author on impact of Muslim rulers on Indian culture. Better not to read this book. One can read works of RC Majumdar and John Keay

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is very good as a primer, but its rather abridged view of history of a highly controversial and "loaded" period eventually gets in its way of becoming a classic.

[Satyajeet · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best chronicles about medieval India

[Karn Satyarthi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had high hopes after the excellent first volume, this one leaves me slightly disappointed.

[Saravana Sastha Kumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant read without any biased views