Technology in Medieval India (c. 650-1750): Volume 20

by Irfan Habib

This book covers an important aspect of our history, on which no general work or textbook yet exists. It aims at covering the whole range of technology, form the tools and skills of ordinary men and women to the instruments of astronomers and the equipage and weaponry of war. A key element of the study is that it is essentially historical, that is, changes in technology are carefully traced and their consequences examined. Larger questions, such as those of constraints on technological development and the role of the social and economic environment, are also addressed. Much of this may be found by the reader to be very new unless he has kept abreast with the relevant literature of the last thirty or forty years. This volume, in line with the others of A People’s History of India, gives several extracts from texts, containing significant information about specific aspects of pre-modern technology. There are special notes on technical terms, sources of the history of technology, the problem of invention versus diffusion, and the development of medieval technology outside India. There are as many as 41 illustrations, all but five taken from medieval sculpture, painting and book-illustrations.

The volume is addressed to the general reader as well as the student, who would like to read about something on
which conventional textbooks have little to offer. A special effort is made to keep the style non-technical without loss of accuracy. It is hoped that the theme is sufficiently interesting not only for the historian but for any citizen
wanting to know what common people, men and women, did with their hands and tools in earlier times.

111 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Madhulika Liddle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not an academician, and have long mourned the sad fact that too many of the history books written by Indian academicians tend to be dry and too highbrow for the lay reader.

Not this one. Prof Habib's brilliant book on technology in medieval India - encompassing everything from water clocks to metallurgy, weaponry to weaving (and much more) - is excellently written, engrossing, and very suitable for even those who are neither historians nor technical experts. There are lots of illustrations (mostly reproductions of paintings showing medieval technology in use), interesting anecdotes, quotations from translations of contemporary literature describing technology, and notes on technology, explaining terms that might be unfamiliar to the layperson. All in all, an extremely readable book.

[Sanjay Banerjee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of the books in The People’s History of India series. It covers the whole range of technology, from the tools and skills of ordinary people to the instruments of astronomers and the equipment and weaponry of war. Changes is technology are carefully traced and their consequences are examined. Questions such as constraints on technology development and the role of social and economic environment are also addressed.