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India An Introduction
India: An Introduction is a highly readable and rewarding initiation into a complex, ancient civilization, by one of India's most widely read writers and journalists. Khushwant Singh tells the story of the land and its people from the earliest time to the present day. Through broad, vivid strokes he recounts the saga of the upheavals of a subcontinent over five millennia, and how their interplay over the centuries has molded the India of today. Moreover, Khushwant Singh offers perceptive insights into everything Indian that may catch one's eye or arouse one's curiosity: its ethnic diversity, religions, customs, philosophy, art and culture, political currents and the galaxy of men and women who have helped shape its intricately inlaid mosaic. He is also an enlightening guide to much else: India's extensive and varied architectural splendors, its art and classical literature.
270 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1990
21 people are currently reading
187 people want to read
About the author
Khushwant Singh
298 books1,421 followersKhushwant Singh, (Punjabi: ਖ਼ੁਸ਼ਵੰਤ ਸਿੰਘ, Hindi: खुशवंत सिंह) born on 2 February 1915 in Hadali, Undivided India, (now a part of Pakistan), was a prominent Indian novelist and journalist. Singh's weekly column, "With Malice towards One and All", carried by several Indian newspapers, was among the most widely-read columns in the country.
An important post-colonial novelist writing in English, Singh is best known for his trenchant secularism, his humor, and an abiding love of poetry. His comparisons of social and behavioral characteristics of Westerners and Indians are laced with acid wit.
An important post-colonial novelist writing in English, Singh is best known for his trenchant secularism, his humor, and an abiding love of poetry. His comparisons of social and behavioral characteristics of Westerners and Indians are laced with acid wit.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
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May 20, 2015I am not giving this a rating because I have not read this book properly. Instead I ducked and dived, taking titbits from here and there, and skim reading large tracts of it.
The scope of the book is vast - the history, religions, geography and politics of India, yet it is a slim volume at a mere 215 pages.
But.....but, I think it is excellent. I am someone who has got rather fed up with wading through the dense and lengthy explanations to be found on Wikipedia - and in many ways this book is the perfect alternative. An easy to access, easy to read guidebook for anyone interested in getting a broad picture of India. Want to know more about the Sikhs, or the period of British rule, or Nehru? It is all there as a series of synopses that are easy to read and understand.
My one complaint? The author dwells far too long on religion for my tastes - there are 70 pages describing the various religions of India. This may be because they are intrinsic to the identity of the people of India, a bedrock upon which different Indian cultures emerge, but it was for me rather onerous reading.
Nevertheless I am going to keep this book, and I speak as someone who rarely keeps books. I think it will make a simple reference source that I can dip into time and time again.
I wondered about the credentials of the author. The paperback I have is rather crudely produced, and the cover looks more like the cover of a cheap school textbook rather than one which is a serious authority on its subject. The dreaded Wikipedia tells me he was a novelist, lawyer, politician and journalist - editor of several literary and news magazines, and two newspapers. He lived from 1915 - 2014. He was also the recipient of Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian award in India. I found all of this reassuring, certainly the book suggests he knew what he was talking about.
So, all in all - for me - this is an excellent reference book, rather than something I would recommend to be read all of a piece from beginning to end.
The scope of the book is vast - the history, religions, geography and politics of India, yet it is a slim volume at a mere 215 pages.
But.....but, I think it is excellent. I am someone who has got rather fed up with wading through the dense and lengthy explanations to be found on Wikipedia - and in many ways this book is the perfect alternative. An easy to access, easy to read guidebook for anyone interested in getting a broad picture of India. Want to know more about the Sikhs, or the period of British rule, or Nehru? It is all there as a series of synopses that are easy to read and understand.
My one complaint? The author dwells far too long on religion for my tastes - there are 70 pages describing the various religions of India. This may be because they are intrinsic to the identity of the people of India, a bedrock upon which different Indian cultures emerge, but it was for me rather onerous reading.
Nevertheless I am going to keep this book, and I speak as someone who rarely keeps books. I think it will make a simple reference source that I can dip into time and time again.
I wondered about the credentials of the author. The paperback I have is rather crudely produced, and the cover looks more like the cover of a cheap school textbook rather than one which is a serious authority on its subject. The dreaded Wikipedia tells me he was a novelist, lawyer, politician and journalist - editor of several literary and news magazines, and two newspapers. He lived from 1915 - 2014. He was also the recipient of Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian award in India. I found all of this reassuring, certainly the book suggests he knew what he was talking about.
So, all in all - for me - this is an excellent reference book, rather than something I would recommend to be read all of a piece from beginning to end.
May 12, 2019
great introduction to the history of this amazing land. clever.
February 28, 2015
One of India's greatest authors wrote this fascinating and concise book on the expansive subject of India. This book gives excellent insight into India's history and essence.
Aha moments for me -
1. Excellent explanation of Jain theology. Our landlord is a Jain, and we have several business dealings with Jains. I've never understood their theology before, so this was helpful.
2. The difference between the Western and Hindu mind - "The Judaic family of religions lay greater emphasis on man's relationship to his fellow man; the Hindu family of religions stress man's relationship to himself" (p.26) Singh goes on to describe the Hindu's cul-de-sac of the self, an interesting phrase.
3. How the British slowly took over India - "The European traders soon found that carrying a musket on the shoulder produced a better bargain" (p.201)
4. The positives of British rule - "Under British rule India was for the first time administered by one government. The idea of an India with a common destiny was born" (p.210)
5. Life expectancy in 1950 was 27 years. (p.283)
6. The fascinating and formidable Prime minister Indira Gandhi (1966-1977, 1980-1984) - "No woman in the history of the world held the destinies of so many millions of people in her hands as did Mrs. Indira Gandhi" (p.306)
Aha moments for me -
1. Excellent explanation of Jain theology. Our landlord is a Jain, and we have several business dealings with Jains. I've never understood their theology before, so this was helpful.
2. The difference between the Western and Hindu mind - "The Judaic family of religions lay greater emphasis on man's relationship to his fellow man; the Hindu family of religions stress man's relationship to himself" (p.26) Singh goes on to describe the Hindu's cul-de-sac of the self, an interesting phrase.
3. How the British slowly took over India - "The European traders soon found that carrying a musket on the shoulder produced a better bargain" (p.201)
4. The positives of British rule - "Under British rule India was for the first time administered by one government. The idea of an India with a common destiny was born" (p.210)
5. Life expectancy in 1950 was 27 years. (p.283)
6. The fascinating and formidable Prime minister Indira Gandhi (1966-1977, 1980-1984) - "No woman in the history of the world held the destinies of so many millions of people in her hands as did Mrs. Indira Gandhi" (p.306)
July 26, 2016
The book, as the name suggests is just a brief introduction. Some points are misleading, as it only touches the surface. Please make sure to do error check with some aspects. Many points related to south India are skipped or the book is written only from the perspective of North India. India is vast, remember.
July 7, 2022
A brief but detailed account of the history of India right from the Indus valley civilization up to Indira Gandhi. What happened in between these periods is given in vivid details along with an account of the different people of this vast country.a very good read for those who want to know about this country in a short space of time.
November 8, 2022
The book is really well written and captivating in explaining the philosophies and history in India. For it’s time (which I believe is around 1980s), it is unbiased and progressive. For today’s time however, the narrative can be considered to be pretty euro-centric especially in its coverage of Indo-Aryan theory and British rule.
July 25, 2019
I am already in love with Khushwant Singh's writing.. the best part of the book is India during Muslims' Rule, then India under Nehru and India during Indira Gandhi's Rule.. easily digestible history of India..
June 18, 2019
If you want to Kno what India is, and how it have evolved and developed over the years. Then this book has your all you answers.
September 17, 2025
Having read Freedom at Midnight, I will say that this book is no novel and is not scintillating. That said, in its boringness it professorially fills in gaps. Thank you Mister Singh!
December 6, 2018
India : The land of contradictions
India an introduction by Sardar khushwant singh, is a short and very concise biography of india/hindustan/Bharat, and this book is written especially for students or any layman who wants to read a Short and quick story about India.
India is the seventh largest country of the world, and it is the land where people of almost every religion of the world i.e Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Judaism, zoroastrianism & Sikhism are living peacefully and practicing their faith for several centuries without any fear.
Religion plays a very important role in the life of almost every Indian, uncountable number of festivals are celebrated every Year in India like Diwali, Holi, eid And, Baisakhi etc with great pomp and full of joy.
As people of various races and cultures came and settled in India, this mingling of various ethnicities produced variety of Languages, and at present there are 22 official languages of India and more than 1600 dialects. And we can divide these Languages in basically two groups, those of sanskrit origin, spoken in the northern half of India, and those of Dravidian origin, spoken in the southern part of India.
Other than the little information about hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, islam, Christianity and islam, the Author also talked about the various dynasties who previously ruled India, like the Mauryas, Gupta's, slave dyansty, Khiljis, tughlaqs and the great mughals, and also how British occupied and enslaved India and it's people for almost 200 years.
The language of the book is very easy to read, and anyone can complete this book in a very short span of time, again I am saying this book is not for scholars, but mostly for students and layman.
My Ratings : 🌟🌟🌟🌟 ( 4/5 )
I hope you like the Review, thanks for reading, Jai Hind.
Table of contents :-
1. The land and the people
2. Hinduism-1
3. Hinduism-2
4. Hinduism-3
5. Jainism and Buddhism
6. Islam and Indian Muslims
7. Indian Christians
8. The sikhs
9. The parsis
10. The hindu period
11. Advent of islam
12. The mughals
13. British India
14. Freedom movement-1
15. Freedom movement-2
16. Nehru
17. Nehru as prime minister
18. Indira Gandhi
India an introduction by Sardar khushwant singh, is a short and very concise biography of india/hindustan/Bharat, and this book is written especially for students or any layman who wants to read a Short and quick story about India.
India is the seventh largest country of the world, and it is the land where people of almost every religion of the world i.e Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Judaism, zoroastrianism & Sikhism are living peacefully and practicing their faith for several centuries without any fear.
Religion plays a very important role in the life of almost every Indian, uncountable number of festivals are celebrated every Year in India like Diwali, Holi, eid And, Baisakhi etc with great pomp and full of joy.
As people of various races and cultures came and settled in India, this mingling of various ethnicities produced variety of Languages, and at present there are 22 official languages of India and more than 1600 dialects. And we can divide these Languages in basically two groups, those of sanskrit origin, spoken in the northern half of India, and those of Dravidian origin, spoken in the southern part of India.
Other than the little information about hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, islam, Christianity and islam, the Author also talked about the various dynasties who previously ruled India, like the Mauryas, Gupta's, slave dyansty, Khiljis, tughlaqs and the great mughals, and also how British occupied and enslaved India and it's people for almost 200 years.
The language of the book is very easy to read, and anyone can complete this book in a very short span of time, again I am saying this book is not for scholars, but mostly for students and layman.
My Ratings : 🌟🌟🌟🌟 ( 4/5 )
I hope you like the Review, thanks for reading, Jai Hind.
Table of contents :-
1. The land and the people
2. Hinduism-1
3. Hinduism-2
4. Hinduism-3
5. Jainism and Buddhism
6. Islam and Indian Muslims
7. Indian Christians
8. The sikhs
9. The parsis
10. The hindu period
11. Advent of islam
12. The mughals
13. British India
14. Freedom movement-1
15. Freedom movement-2
16. Nehru
17. Nehru as prime minister
18. Indira Gandhi
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December 28, 2016Old edition, India: Mirror for its Monsters and Monstrosities
August 10, 2011
Just what the title says, this book is an informative, lively account of India, from a few paragraphs on the Indus Valley civilization to the final chapter on Indira Gandhi. I learned a lot from reading it, and perhaps not only what Singh intended. Through his writing, I gleaned some information on how Indians feel about politics and so on: for example, he calls the leaking of information that a public official had not paid income tax in ten years a "personal attack." A very different mind-set from the typical American's. Singh is objective and fair in describing even hot topics like British rule and Pakistan, and so is probably trustworthy as a historian. An interesting, rarely dull summary of history.
May 10, 2014
Hard to provide an overview of a culture as old and complex as this one, but the author manages the task well, with broad strokes of both the major religions and historical periods. Think of it as an insider's lessons with some insider's biases. Because that is exactly what it is.
Lots to dispute. For examples he subsumes Buddhism under Hinduism, a choice a Buddhist might not accept. But, like I said, the strokes are broad. And have to be. If you are going to India I would pick this over a travel guide if you don't have much time—but you still wouldn't know what to order off the menu.
Lots to dispute. For examples he subsumes Buddhism under Hinduism, a choice a Buddhist might not accept. But, like I said, the strokes are broad. And have to be. If you are going to India I would pick this over a travel guide if you don't have much time—but you still wouldn't know what to order off the menu.
September 6, 2012
True to its name. Those who have more than passing interest in history of India but dont have time and courage to open thick books. Khushwant Singh never fail to amuse, the book starts from earliest of time till times Indira Gandhi. it tells about not-so-great things about Great leaders of India. A Must read.
April 9, 2015
An extremely informative books which sneaks into the history of advent and development of different culture and religions on its soil and thus evolving into a country which truly is a face of secular in nature and is called INDIA.
June 30, 2014
informative book...
Readers can open up with their own views after having factual information about India.
Readers can open up with their own views after having factual information about India.
July 6, 2015
Rating : 3 stars
October 30, 2021
Everyone should read this simple little book.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews