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Swift Horses Sharp Swords: Medieval battles which shook India
The book is an unprejudiced insider view of one of the bloodiest conquests of the world. While many Indian history books are written to suit the agenda of invaders, this is an honest attempt to present history as it actually happened, bereft of any bias or animosity.
The book presents a comprehensive integration of history with engineering, mathematical and management fundamentals. It relates the historical events with contemporary knowledge of game theory, chaos, scatter/randomness, network theory etc. and their correlation and causation is a key takeaway for this unique version of history. The inverse relationship between ethnic diversity and economic and social progress is clearly established. Further, how polytheistic societies recognizes other gods without any malaise and why concept of Karma is built in every such society is thoroughly explored.
Till 700 CE in ancient India , its citizens were basking through the golden period making stupendous progress in science, astronomy, Literature and architecture with the whole world looking up to India . It was a cradle of the human race. Then mayhem began. First by Arabs and then Turks invaded. After that Afghans came. Then some others. There was virtually a stampede to have their pie of India. The attacks that changed the trajectory of a country. India got reduced to a vassal state in no time and became a source for never ending supply of slaves and wealth, reducing the Hindu population by 80 million at one count within a few centuries.
This is also the story of the brave Hindu warriors who resisted them heroically. Because of them, India is the only ancient civilization to have its culture and religion intact.
Raja Dahir. Lalitaditya. Pulakeshin. Nayaki Devi. Jaipal. Suhel Dev. Prithvi Raj.
And the list goes on.
The book presents a comprehensive integration of history with engineering, mathematical and management fundamentals. It relates the historical events with contemporary knowledge of game theory, chaos, scatter/randomness, network theory etc. and their correlation and causation is a key takeaway for this unique version of history. The inverse relationship between ethnic diversity and economic and social progress is clearly established. Further, how polytheistic societies recognizes other gods without any malaise and why concept of Karma is built in every such society is thoroughly explored.
Till 700 CE in ancient India , its citizens were basking through the golden period making stupendous progress in science, astronomy, Literature and architecture with the whole world looking up to India . It was a cradle of the human race. Then mayhem began. First by Arabs and then Turks invaded. After that Afghans came. Then some others. There was virtually a stampede to have their pie of India. The attacks that changed the trajectory of a country. India got reduced to a vassal state in no time and became a source for never ending supply of slaves and wealth, reducing the Hindu population by 80 million at one count within a few centuries.
This is also the story of the brave Hindu warriors who resisted them heroically. Because of them, India is the only ancient civilization to have its culture and religion intact.
Raja Dahir. Lalitaditya. Pulakeshin. Nayaki Devi. Jaipal. Suhel Dev. Prithvi Raj.
And the list goes on.
- GenresIndia
461 pages, Hardcover
Published October 28, 2021
4 people are currently reading
125 people want to read
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April 24, 2021
“There was a time till around 600 CE when India was basking through the Golden Period making stupendous progress in Science, Astronomy, Literature and Architecture with the whole world looking up to it. But by 1200 CE, the same India was reduced to a vassal state…”
What had gone wrong in these five or six centuries? Amit Agarwal, a history aficionado and a first time author has made an attempt to study the time period in question and chart out the reasons in his book Swift Horses Sharp Swords. It is my third book from Indic Academy under their initiative 1000 Reviewers Club.
The book starts with the Indus Valley Civilization and talks about the Silk Route to give a context of the vast land that was identified as Bharat of that time, its early civilization, its high agrarian productivity, its contribution to trade, knowledge, religion, etc. to showcase how developed and rich India was, how it always attracted people from various regions who came to trade, study or migrate and get assimilated into its fold. But all of that changed in increments with persistent Islamic invasions over decades and centuries. The change was not overnight as many would have us believed but it caught us unawares nevertheless.
The author traces the change from the initial days when the first invader came, with a book in one hand and the sword in the other. He compares and contrasts their war strategy, rules of engagement, battle formation, weapons, armory, spy network and most of all what they were fighting for; and where each of our successive kings went wrong. The learnings the invaders took from the battles they lost and the teachings we never managed to imbibe from our losses.
Amit talks in a neutral tone and did not mince words when he mentions the apathy of some key figures which had the power to change history as we know it. But he also gives stories of the heroes like Bappa Rawal, Suheldev, Nayaka Devi, etc., who won the day for us at critical moments and delayed a complete annihilation of Bharat; and whom sadly we never knew. He gives us sad anecdotes of how over the year we have been conditioned to revere the ones as great Sufis, saints, and secular Kings who killed millions of people because of their fanaticism and intolerance of people of other faith.
Positives of the book –
Though the book is around 500 pages, it is bucketed into small chapters which makes reading easy and the writing style ensures that it does not get tedious.
The last few chapters conclude the major sections of the book into reasons, lessons and repercussions of the 5-6 centuries of medieval wars rounding the book very nicely.
The book is based on deep research and the author has liberally used references to back up his writing. The references are not limited to any single school of thought, it covers a range of Historians from India, Islamic and Western firmament who hold diverging viewpoint on the subject.
He not only talks about who invaded when and the outcome of the war but in few important places he even talked about the battle formation and their strategy to paint a live picture of how a battle was fought and won or lost
The artwork is very impressive and meaningful. Especially at the beginning of each chapter.
Negatives –
The author mentions that Aryans came from Europe and settled into India from Indus Valley to Gangetic planes pushing the indigenous Dravidian race into the southern part of Indian geographic landscape. This reinforces the Aryan-Dravidian divide when AIT has been debunked few years back.
In one of the initial chapters, Amit mentions that Hitler used Swastik for his demonic use which demonized the Hindu holy iconograph for all ages. This is a bit contentious line of argument. I know that it is maintained as a “fact”. But there is a second school of thought which suggests that it was a different cross and when Hitler’s intentions started to become apparent the Church removed the cross from the imagery to ensure no backlash happen against it.
He also got his Sati and Jauhar incorrect. In the initial chapters he uses the term Sati when he meant Jauhar and vice versa. Both these are two distinct ritual and should not be mistaken
There were quite a lot of repetition which could have been avoided. Proper editing would have removed the fat and reduced some 40-50 pages. However, since, it is the first book I am sure that his writing style will evolve over time.
There were contradictory statements to certain facts. For example – wrt AIT, in few places as well like in some place the author says Aryans invaded India with their Vedas, however, their invasion was inherently peaceful, and they got assimilated with the indigenous populace. But in other places he says that this story is repudiated and there is still discussions happening on its veracity.
However, on the whole it is a good read. I enjoyed reading the book and brushing up my knowledge and learning newer facts about the Islamic invasions and the medieval battles that India fought to save it from total annihilation. This is a good book for people who would like to read about History but avoid it because of its heaviness. Go pick it up, don’t get discouraged by the number of pages.
What had gone wrong in these five or six centuries? Amit Agarwal, a history aficionado and a first time author has made an attempt to study the time period in question and chart out the reasons in his book Swift Horses Sharp Swords. It is my third book from Indic Academy under their initiative 1000 Reviewers Club.
The book starts with the Indus Valley Civilization and talks about the Silk Route to give a context of the vast land that was identified as Bharat of that time, its early civilization, its high agrarian productivity, its contribution to trade, knowledge, religion, etc. to showcase how developed and rich India was, how it always attracted people from various regions who came to trade, study or migrate and get assimilated into its fold. But all of that changed in increments with persistent Islamic invasions over decades and centuries. The change was not overnight as many would have us believed but it caught us unawares nevertheless.
The author traces the change from the initial days when the first invader came, with a book in one hand and the sword in the other. He compares and contrasts their war strategy, rules of engagement, battle formation, weapons, armory, spy network and most of all what they were fighting for; and where each of our successive kings went wrong. The learnings the invaders took from the battles they lost and the teachings we never managed to imbibe from our losses.
Amit talks in a neutral tone and did not mince words when he mentions the apathy of some key figures which had the power to change history as we know it. But he also gives stories of the heroes like Bappa Rawal, Suheldev, Nayaka Devi, etc., who won the day for us at critical moments and delayed a complete annihilation of Bharat; and whom sadly we never knew. He gives us sad anecdotes of how over the year we have been conditioned to revere the ones as great Sufis, saints, and secular Kings who killed millions of people because of their fanaticism and intolerance of people of other faith.
Positives of the book –
Though the book is around 500 pages, it is bucketed into small chapters which makes reading easy and the writing style ensures that it does not get tedious.
The last few chapters conclude the major sections of the book into reasons, lessons and repercussions of the 5-6 centuries of medieval wars rounding the book very nicely.
The book is based on deep research and the author has liberally used references to back up his writing. The references are not limited to any single school of thought, it covers a range of Historians from India, Islamic and Western firmament who hold diverging viewpoint on the subject.
He not only talks about who invaded when and the outcome of the war but in few important places he even talked about the battle formation and their strategy to paint a live picture of how a battle was fought and won or lost
The artwork is very impressive and meaningful. Especially at the beginning of each chapter.
Negatives –
The author mentions that Aryans came from Europe and settled into India from Indus Valley to Gangetic planes pushing the indigenous Dravidian race into the southern part of Indian geographic landscape. This reinforces the Aryan-Dravidian divide when AIT has been debunked few years back.
In one of the initial chapters, Amit mentions that Hitler used Swastik for his demonic use which demonized the Hindu holy iconograph for all ages. This is a bit contentious line of argument. I know that it is maintained as a “fact”. But there is a second school of thought which suggests that it was a different cross and when Hitler’s intentions started to become apparent the Church removed the cross from the imagery to ensure no backlash happen against it.
He also got his Sati and Jauhar incorrect. In the initial chapters he uses the term Sati when he meant Jauhar and vice versa. Both these are two distinct ritual and should not be mistaken
There were quite a lot of repetition which could have been avoided. Proper editing would have removed the fat and reduced some 40-50 pages. However, since, it is the first book I am sure that his writing style will evolve over time.
There were contradictory statements to certain facts. For example – wrt AIT, in few places as well like in some place the author says Aryans invaded India with their Vedas, however, their invasion was inherently peaceful, and they got assimilated with the indigenous populace. But in other places he says that this story is repudiated and there is still discussions happening on its veracity.
However, on the whole it is a good read. I enjoyed reading the book and brushing up my knowledge and learning newer facts about the Islamic invasions and the medieval battles that India fought to save it from total annihilation. This is a good book for people who would like to read about History but avoid it because of its heaviness. Go pick it up, don’t get discouraged by the number of pages.
April 14, 2021
First of all, I'll start by saying that this book is the most through and in-depth book that I've read on Islamic Invasions in India. The author has done a fantastic job and you can see the amount of research and hardwork gone into writing this book.
Things I liked about this book:
1. Well researched and in-depth written book. You'll learn more about the history of India through this book than any of the academic books.
2. Systematically written timeline right from pre - islamic time to current times.
3. Both cause and effect has been well researched behind every invasion.
Things I didn't like about this book:
1. Didn't like the usage of the term Aryan invasion and the aryan - dravidan divide, because there's practically no evidence to support that theory and recent findings have proven them completely wrong.
2. There's also repetition in a lot of chapters, for eg. "The Hindu kings lost because they didn't examine their enemy and upgraded their army”.
3. Very little information about the Mughal, Afghan and Persian invasions
i.e. Abdali and Nader Shah.
All in all the author has done a commendable job by writing a well researched book.
Highly recommended!
Things I liked about this book:
1. Well researched and in-depth written book. You'll learn more about the history of India through this book than any of the academic books.
2. Systematically written timeline right from pre - islamic time to current times.
3. Both cause and effect has been well researched behind every invasion.
Things I didn't like about this book:
1. Didn't like the usage of the term Aryan invasion and the aryan - dravidan divide, because there's practically no evidence to support that theory and recent findings have proven them completely wrong.
2. There's also repetition in a lot of chapters, for eg. "The Hindu kings lost because they didn't examine their enemy and upgraded their army”.
3. Very little information about the Mughal, Afghan and Persian invasions
i.e. Abdali and Nader Shah.
All in all the author has done a commendable job by writing a well researched book.
Highly recommended!
November 21, 2020
I love how deep and rich this book is😍! This is worth the purchase guys.
November 24, 2020
You are encouraged to view the Indian history in a completely new way with this fascinating book. Great
May 13, 2021
So deep and very lucid description of complicated things. Loved the book.
April 11, 2021
This book is the outcome of a journey taken by the author to understand why Indians, responded to initial Islamic invasions in the manner they did. He seeks to understand why a country which had the most advanced and rich civilizations fell into a centuries long state of decay and rot. How come the original Indians were not able to organize themselves to offer resistance. He looks into why lessons have not been learnt so far and what makes them always end on the losing side. One of the reasons is that Hindus never had a rich history of chroniclers. For the land which gave the world Itihasas like Ramayan and Mahabharata, which give the lineage of the Ikshvaku and Kuru clan respectively, we do not have any piece of work which we can cite as a primary source from the Hindu point of view.
He points to a spectrum of known and unknown causes for the decline and rot, some of which are evident and visible, even today, like the inability to work together as a team. The caste factor played a decisive role in ensuring that people placed narrow loyalties above that of their nation state. Though he points out that the Vedas talked about Varna-ashram, but the subsequent centuries saw the vocation based Varna metamorphose into birth based caste with absolute no options for upward mobility or individualistic expression also . This ensured that castes at the bottom of the pecking order saw conversion as a way of escaping the alleged unfairness of Hinduism .
Focus remained on yoga,medicine, law, epics, etc. no book on military strategies and warfare.Also at that point in time, the rulers did not have any collective memory of outsiders staying on for centuries but not getting assimilated in the Indic way of life. There were conquests from the Hunas, the Sakas, but they all gave up their earlier leanings and started identifying themselves. They were subsumed into India and into Indian thought and reverence. The Arab invasions were ‘ Na Bhuto Na Bhavishyati’ and there was no precedence and maybe the rulers thought that the dust will still settle down and they will synthesize and assimilate. Nothing could prepare them for the depravity of what lay in store.
They were engrossed in Dharmayuddha concept- just conduct in war- unable to accept this change and kept defending their kingdoms on the principles of Dharmayuddha. Little did they know the concept of Jihad and how Whoever wins becomes the truth (Satya). The invaders had no principle.Little time and effort was spent in innovating warcraft, war strategies, war equipments, cavalry formations, swords,etc.
War was imposed on Hindus and time and place was not of their choosing. He goes through various strategies adopted by the invaders to ensure that the local Hindus stay under their control.difficult to comprehend, why even today Indians have not only record , but even take cognizance of centuries of humiliations and servility imposed on them by foreigners. The once sone ki chidiya was reduced to a vassal state and a source for unending supply of slaves, wealth and women and which resulted in reduction of the Hindu population by 80 Million at one count.
The author bemoans that the genocide scale culling of Hindus does not find a mention in any written world history and
He points out that even though the invaders had an upper hand, there were many sparks of resistance. Prominent figures like Raja Dahir of Sindh, Lalitaditya Muktapida of Kashmir, Pulakeshin of Deccan, Suhel Dev’s battle of Bahraich, Chhatrapati Shivaji, Prithviraj are mentioned .
In all, this book is a good reading delving into the root cause of why India's history shaped up the way it did, after invading armies started to invade her, after the 7th century. This is indeed the author's labor of love, which should be applauded.
He points to a spectrum of known and unknown causes for the decline and rot, some of which are evident and visible, even today, like the inability to work together as a team. The caste factor played a decisive role in ensuring that people placed narrow loyalties above that of their nation state. Though he points out that the Vedas talked about Varna-ashram, but the subsequent centuries saw the vocation based Varna metamorphose into birth based caste with absolute no options for upward mobility or individualistic expression also . This ensured that castes at the bottom of the pecking order saw conversion as a way of escaping the alleged unfairness of Hinduism .
Focus remained on yoga,medicine, law, epics, etc. no book on military strategies and warfare.Also at that point in time, the rulers did not have any collective memory of outsiders staying on for centuries but not getting assimilated in the Indic way of life. There were conquests from the Hunas, the Sakas, but they all gave up their earlier leanings and started identifying themselves. They were subsumed into India and into Indian thought and reverence. The Arab invasions were ‘ Na Bhuto Na Bhavishyati’ and there was no precedence and maybe the rulers thought that the dust will still settle down and they will synthesize and assimilate. Nothing could prepare them for the depravity of what lay in store.
They were engrossed in Dharmayuddha concept- just conduct in war- unable to accept this change and kept defending their kingdoms on the principles of Dharmayuddha. Little did they know the concept of Jihad and how Whoever wins becomes the truth (Satya). The invaders had no principle.Little time and effort was spent in innovating warcraft, war strategies, war equipments, cavalry formations, swords,etc.
War was imposed on Hindus and time and place was not of their choosing. He goes through various strategies adopted by the invaders to ensure that the local Hindus stay under their control.difficult to comprehend, why even today Indians have not only record , but even take cognizance of centuries of humiliations and servility imposed on them by foreigners. The once sone ki chidiya was reduced to a vassal state and a source for unending supply of slaves, wealth and women and which resulted in reduction of the Hindu population by 80 Million at one count.
The author bemoans that the genocide scale culling of Hindus does not find a mention in any written world history and
He points out that even though the invaders had an upper hand, there were many sparks of resistance. Prominent figures like Raja Dahir of Sindh, Lalitaditya Muktapida of Kashmir, Pulakeshin of Deccan, Suhel Dev’s battle of Bahraich, Chhatrapati Shivaji, Prithviraj are mentioned .
In all, this book is a good reading delving into the root cause of why India's history shaped up the way it did, after invading armies started to invade her, after the 7th century. This is indeed the author's labor of love, which should be applauded.
March 31, 2021
t is currently listed only on Amazon and it has a 4.6 star rating (out of 5) with more than 100 praiseworthy reviews.
Indian history has so far been intentionally depicted with its fulcrum on the Arabs, Turks and Mughals in the medieval period. Incidentally, this has become a very controversial topic of late. It was always portrayed as if invasion was a cakewalk for them but after reading the book, it seems that warriors of that time were not an easy prey. The book deals with the same historical time zone from the 7th century till the 13th century and analyse the conditions encompassing all the social, economic, religious, technological and geographical factors of that era and their interplay. The book has microscopically analysed the history without overlooking the larger world view. Consequently, it is now an historical compilation of intense bravery, hardly remembered and told before.
The book has an unusual chapter which clearly describes that homogeneous societies excel on the most parameters. Hence, all the advanced and rich countries like Japan, China, European nations and the USA to some extent are homogenous, while the heterogeneous countries including India remain slacker. Author has suitably strengthened this fact with the authentic tabulated data.
The book is full of such heroes who fought bravely against them but lack of technological prowess had done them in. The book brings out nicely about this aspect of technology by which sturdy Chainmail armour, solid tree saddle and the metallic stirrup were designed and developed in Central Asia. Due to this Turks could accurately fire 6 arrows per minute while galloping on the horse. Few other facts are also eye-opening like Turks could travel 100 Kms per day which meant they could come in a flat 10 days from Ghazni in Afghanistan.
The book has also brought out the follies committed by the Indian warriors in that period. Despite being super rich, somehow technological innovation could not keep pace with that of Turks. The overemphasis of Dharamyuddha was another huge factor in the recurring defeats. Just to quote an example: Ghori was lying on the battlefield unconscious with injuries and Rajputs had all the time to kill him. Yet they did not find it morally right to kill an injured and unarmed warrior. Consequently His soldiers managed to take him back to Ghazni. He then practised with the dummy mud elephants as the Indian elephants were his chief nemesis in the battle. Within a year, Ghori came back to rule over India for centuries.
The book is an exhaustive study, written in simple English fathomable to all Indians. Strongly recommended for the reading.
Indian history has so far been intentionally depicted with its fulcrum on the Arabs, Turks and Mughals in the medieval period. Incidentally, this has become a very controversial topic of late. It was always portrayed as if invasion was a cakewalk for them but after reading the book, it seems that warriors of that time were not an easy prey. The book deals with the same historical time zone from the 7th century till the 13th century and analyse the conditions encompassing all the social, economic, religious, technological and geographical factors of that era and their interplay. The book has microscopically analysed the history without overlooking the larger world view. Consequently, it is now an historical compilation of intense bravery, hardly remembered and told before.
The book has an unusual chapter which clearly describes that homogeneous societies excel on the most parameters. Hence, all the advanced and rich countries like Japan, China, European nations and the USA to some extent are homogenous, while the heterogeneous countries including India remain slacker. Author has suitably strengthened this fact with the authentic tabulated data.
The book is full of such heroes who fought bravely against them but lack of technological prowess had done them in. The book brings out nicely about this aspect of technology by which sturdy Chainmail armour, solid tree saddle and the metallic stirrup were designed and developed in Central Asia. Due to this Turks could accurately fire 6 arrows per minute while galloping on the horse. Few other facts are also eye-opening like Turks could travel 100 Kms per day which meant they could come in a flat 10 days from Ghazni in Afghanistan.
The book has also brought out the follies committed by the Indian warriors in that period. Despite being super rich, somehow technological innovation could not keep pace with that of Turks. The overemphasis of Dharamyuddha was another huge factor in the recurring defeats. Just to quote an example: Ghori was lying on the battlefield unconscious with injuries and Rajputs had all the time to kill him. Yet they did not find it morally right to kill an injured and unarmed warrior. Consequently His soldiers managed to take him back to Ghazni. He then practised with the dummy mud elephants as the Indian elephants were his chief nemesis in the battle. Within a year, Ghori came back to rule over India for centuries.
The book is an exhaustive study, written in simple English fathomable to all Indians. Strongly recommended for the reading.
March 17, 2021
This book is very well researched and authentic compendium of relevant history summarised splendidly. It is written in simple and flowing style that anyone will find it very easy to comprehend. The starting chapter is why everyone should read history which is elaborately spelt out. He succinctly stated that the future lies in history. The author has further listed out Dharamyuddha as one of the main reasons for our defeat afterwards the book graduates to the medieval period and numerous battles are beautifully picturised. In between, the glorious struggle of the Indian warriors have been given due recognition.The book is full of such heroes who fought bravely against them but lack of technological prowess had done them in. The book has explained beautifully about how polytheism has always been epitome of tolerance in contrast to monotheism. How monotheism came to dominate other polytheistic beliefs is also elaborately explained. Another chapter "In praise of Idolatry" is also unique and deals with images of deities and why all Abrahmic religions abhor them. The book also transacts with follies of Hindu religion especially about casteism which has been such a menace in Indian society which prevented people from unifying under one national umbrella. Last chapters of this book also provides you the data of no. of people killed and made into slave,the amount of wealth looted and temples destroyed by the invaders. Overall its a very interesting,insightful and a must read book.
March 10, 2021
Swift horses... Sharp Swords.. a self published book by Amit Agarwal is a detailed, extensive account of Medieval India. As I completed the book, I was left with a feeling of sadness for how Indian Hindu kings could not unite against the Islamic Invasions. There was no Kautilya (Chanakya) or Chandragupta Maurya to unite India against external aggressions. This book is an impassioned and unbiased analysis on the mistakes by Hindu Kings who allowed the carnage upon themselves.
This book is easy to read with simple language. I did not feel bored at any point.
This book is a must read for all those who have read biased Indian History in schools. This book opens the readers eyes towards the barbaric invaders which are glorified in Indian History books like Mahmud Ghazni, Ghori, Aibak, Sikandar, Bakhtiar Khalji, Allauddin Khalji etc. Our History books do not mention the valour of Raja Dahir, Lalitaditya, Nayaki Devi, Suhel Dev and Prithvi Raj Chauhan.
India was witness to the desecration and destruction of thousands of Indian temples prominent among them - Somnath, Martand Sun Temple, etc.
I thank Indic Books Academy for sending me this book for review. I hope the book is read by maximum people and appreciate the author for coming up with such an extensive account.
This book is easy to read with simple language. I did not feel bored at any point.
This book is a must read for all those who have read biased Indian History in schools. This book opens the readers eyes towards the barbaric invaders which are glorified in Indian History books like Mahmud Ghazni, Ghori, Aibak, Sikandar, Bakhtiar Khalji, Allauddin Khalji etc. Our History books do not mention the valour of Raja Dahir, Lalitaditya, Nayaki Devi, Suhel Dev and Prithvi Raj Chauhan.
India was witness to the desecration and destruction of thousands of Indian temples prominent among them - Somnath, Martand Sun Temple, etc.
I thank Indic Books Academy for sending me this book for review. I hope the book is read by maximum people and appreciate the author for coming up with such an extensive account.
May 3, 2021
Book speaks about a history never taught. Greatness of a civilization never spoken about. Writer, aptly highlights the fall and rise of an empire. Also, the follies of civilization and something which should never be repeated.
Best quote
"Where goods can travel, so can soldiers."
Best quote
"Where goods can travel, so can soldiers."
March 31, 2021
The Author's maiden literary endeavour, “Swift Horses Sharp Swords- Medieval Battles Which Shook India” is based on India’s turbulent medieval past.
Although there are several books on this subject some of which are serious and historical in nature, this one stands out for its wide coverage of the topics of economy, geography, polity and social structures so as to make us better appreciate how our present is derived from this period. Most history textbooks of older times were generally mostly about Mughals and various slave sultans, wherein an obscure sultan like Feroz Shah Tughlaq was allotted a full chapter. Indigenous kings, apart from Ashoka or Samudragupta or Harsha, were by and large, ignored and overlooked from the collective consciousness of the nation. The book is written from this different perspective and propelled with passion.
The author has touched briefly on the advancement and richness of ancient India and the underlying factors for its progress to attain the numero uno status in various areas. However when the invasions started in the 8th century, the decline was equally swift. The book then tries to contextually introspect on the finer points about the religion, geography, economy, military strategy, and culture while dwelling on the strengths, weaknesses and follies to give a 360-degree vision to it.
The author has also combined the fundamentals of game theory, Maslow's hierarchy and bell curve to emphasize the reason for survival of Indians with their culture largely intact, despite the brutal onslaughts. He also throws light on the local kings, chieftains and warriors who valiantly defended their motherland against the invaders. He also points out the enormity of Indian wealth during the ancient and medieval period which is estimated to have constituted 25% of the world's GDP in those times. There are some unique chapters like how geometric mean is used while counting the dead and why all the battlefields were in Haryana. The book is full of such interesting anecdotes which make it a worthy read.
The fact that once Indians ruled all over Asia without even lifting a sword and that Cholas built their empire all over South East Asia and their emphasis on building intricate Hindu temples which survive even to this date, makes every Indian feel proud. Every scientific invention is either credited to Europeans of the modern era or Arabs in the medieval era. Even the present numeral system (0, 1, 2 … 9) is credited to Arabs and commonly known as Arabic numeral system the world over. However, it was the Arabs who imported the system from India after they come across it after their invasion of Sindh in 8th century, a fact nicely brought out by the author.
Overall, a fantastic read.
Although there are several books on this subject some of which are serious and historical in nature, this one stands out for its wide coverage of the topics of economy, geography, polity and social structures so as to make us better appreciate how our present is derived from this period. Most history textbooks of older times were generally mostly about Mughals and various slave sultans, wherein an obscure sultan like Feroz Shah Tughlaq was allotted a full chapter. Indigenous kings, apart from Ashoka or Samudragupta or Harsha, were by and large, ignored and overlooked from the collective consciousness of the nation. The book is written from this different perspective and propelled with passion.
The author has touched briefly on the advancement and richness of ancient India and the underlying factors for its progress to attain the numero uno status in various areas. However when the invasions started in the 8th century, the decline was equally swift. The book then tries to contextually introspect on the finer points about the religion, geography, economy, military strategy, and culture while dwelling on the strengths, weaknesses and follies to give a 360-degree vision to it.
The author has also combined the fundamentals of game theory, Maslow's hierarchy and bell curve to emphasize the reason for survival of Indians with their culture largely intact, despite the brutal onslaughts. He also throws light on the local kings, chieftains and warriors who valiantly defended their motherland against the invaders. He also points out the enormity of Indian wealth during the ancient and medieval period which is estimated to have constituted 25% of the world's GDP in those times. There are some unique chapters like how geometric mean is used while counting the dead and why all the battlefields were in Haryana. The book is full of such interesting anecdotes which make it a worthy read.
The fact that once Indians ruled all over Asia without even lifting a sword and that Cholas built their empire all over South East Asia and their emphasis on building intricate Hindu temples which survive even to this date, makes every Indian feel proud. Every scientific invention is either credited to Europeans of the modern era or Arabs in the medieval era. Even the present numeral system (0, 1, 2 … 9) is credited to Arabs and commonly known as Arabic numeral system the world over. However, it was the Arabs who imported the system from India after they come across it after their invasion of Sindh in 8th century, a fact nicely brought out by the author.
Overall, a fantastic read.
August 16, 2021
While the premise of the book is interesting and it starts off well, somewhere towards the middle it started getting repetitive. Plus it has too many diagrams and tables scattered throughout the book. I didn't enjoy reading the book as much as I had hoped to.
The author has tried to detail the various conquests India had to go through since time immemorial, including Ghazni, Babur, Abdali, etc. It attempts to give a good historical and geographical perspective of the Silk Route, the Indus Valley Civilization, Afghanistan, etc., along with the various kings and kingdoms in India including the Guptas, the Mauryas, Prithviraj Chauhan, etc.
Somehow I got the feeling that the author is blaming some of the Hindu kings for not fighting back strongly against the invaders or for giving up too soon. History is often contextual; what seems simple today may not have been so at that point in time. Also, there's a lot of mention of 'mythology' in places as opposed to 'history'/'ithihasa'.
It's painful and distressing to read about how the invaders looted and plundered our mandirs and broke our idols. The repeated plunder of the Somnath Mandir is most tragic; it has been detailed in the book. After the complete pillage, the mandir was set on fire and destroyed completely. After Independence, it was rebuilt; President Rajendra Prasad attended its inauguration.
Some of the key points:
Hindu kings were more interested in establishing the hegemony rather than territorial annexation and extermination of the rival king.
In the absence of a caste system, the conversion would have been far less and the partition of the country may have been avoided.
Buddhism was egalitarian by nature, eliminating the ill effects of the caste system of Hindus.
Algebra was supposed to be invented in Persia sometime in 820 CE.
Hindus believed in an absurd concept of honour and fought in a chivalrous yet foolish way.
The author has tried to detail the various conquests India had to go through since time immemorial, including Ghazni, Babur, Abdali, etc. It attempts to give a good historical and geographical perspective of the Silk Route, the Indus Valley Civilization, Afghanistan, etc., along with the various kings and kingdoms in India including the Guptas, the Mauryas, Prithviraj Chauhan, etc.
Somehow I got the feeling that the author is blaming some of the Hindu kings for not fighting back strongly against the invaders or for giving up too soon. History is often contextual; what seems simple today may not have been so at that point in time. Also, there's a lot of mention of 'mythology' in places as opposed to 'history'/'ithihasa'.
It's painful and distressing to read about how the invaders looted and plundered our mandirs and broke our idols. The repeated plunder of the Somnath Mandir is most tragic; it has been detailed in the book. After the complete pillage, the mandir was set on fire and destroyed completely. After Independence, it was rebuilt; President Rajendra Prasad attended its inauguration.
Some of the key points:
Hindu kings were more interested in establishing the hegemony rather than territorial annexation and extermination of the rival king.
In the absence of a caste system, the conversion would have been far less and the partition of the country may have been avoided.
Buddhism was egalitarian by nature, eliminating the ill effects of the caste system of Hindus.
Algebra was supposed to be invented in Persia sometime in 820 CE.
Hindus believed in an absurd concept of honour and fought in a chivalrous yet foolish way.
June 10, 2021
The book titled “Swift Horses Sharp Swords: Medieval Battles which Shook India”, written by Amit Agrawal presents history for layman readers. It’s a good researched book covering ancient India to the current timeline and gives an overview to understand basic concepts behind all the events. This book consists of nearly 55 chapters discussing the Vedic era, different Indic religions, the evolution of Islam, afterward effects due to Islamic invasion, and decline of Hinduism.
It feels good when we read about transformation felt by the author from his early history reading to now which motivated him to write and present another view on those topics. The author does not shy away from mentioning and quoting the atrocities done to Hindus/Indians by invaders. He has tried with proper proofs to clear the veil behind which leftist historians have hidden Islam and Sufism and made it look pious. He also gives details of the monetary loss and slaughter of Hindus by the hands of Invaders during the Islamic invasion of India.
Our current history book does not mention many Indian brave hearts who fought valiantly to invaders, many of them till their death. The author’s attempt to present their stories to new readers is praiseworthy.
During the discussion on the caste system, author looks a little confused in comparing it with the varna system mentioned in Vedas and Manusmriti. It feels like he is influenced by the current caste system narrative and its bad effects on overall society. He explains with much clarity the effects of the caste system during the medieval period and later during British rule and how it made Hindus of that time week and Hinduism suffer.
Hindu way of life made the temples a center of spiritual, educational, cultural, social, and economic awakening and growth. The wealth accumulated at temples attracted invaders too. The demography of India and the decentralized nature of the Hindu religion kept it surviving and even flourishing during the brutalities of Islamic rulers and even in British rule.
This book has tried to scan through ancient India and focuses on medieval history, clears many myths by presenting facts but the majority of references mentioned are secondary sources. In short, this book is introductory, covered a vast timeline, explained many topics which are not visible in current history books, an eye-opener for many, and a great read for layman reader.
It feels good when we read about transformation felt by the author from his early history reading to now which motivated him to write and present another view on those topics. The author does not shy away from mentioning and quoting the atrocities done to Hindus/Indians by invaders. He has tried with proper proofs to clear the veil behind which leftist historians have hidden Islam and Sufism and made it look pious. He also gives details of the monetary loss and slaughter of Hindus by the hands of Invaders during the Islamic invasion of India.
Our current history book does not mention many Indian brave hearts who fought valiantly to invaders, many of them till their death. The author’s attempt to present their stories to new readers is praiseworthy.
During the discussion on the caste system, author looks a little confused in comparing it with the varna system mentioned in Vedas and Manusmriti. It feels like he is influenced by the current caste system narrative and its bad effects on overall society. He explains with much clarity the effects of the caste system during the medieval period and later during British rule and how it made Hindus of that time week and Hinduism suffer.
Hindu way of life made the temples a center of spiritual, educational, cultural, social, and economic awakening and growth. The wealth accumulated at temples attracted invaders too. The demography of India and the decentralized nature of the Hindu religion kept it surviving and even flourishing during the brutalities of Islamic rulers and even in British rule.
This book has tried to scan through ancient India and focuses on medieval history, clears many myths by presenting facts but the majority of references mentioned are secondary sources. In short, this book is introductory, covered a vast timeline, explained many topics which are not visible in current history books, an eye-opener for many, and a great read for layman reader.
July 23, 2021
“Swift Horses Sharp swords” by amit Agarwal is a must read for all.
I am thankful to Indic Today and Indic book club to give me opportunity to read and review this book.
To be honest, I have always been reading suspense, romance, drama and history was never my choice. Hence at first when I got this book in hands It felt challenging. I also took very long to read this book, not because of time issues- but as I had to read-reread and process what I read.
Yes! This Book is going to be the best decision of yours to learn real Indian history. It is breaking all the myths about Indian history-we are taught in schools. It don’t just talk about events, It explains events, its reasons, outcomes, relative events and lot more. You can visualize it happening around you!
It starts with explaining – importance of history. It narrates how Indians have been poor in keeping, celebrating and cherishing own history- for what all reasons. It talks about Indus valley civilization and other civilizations in same time frame. It adds up reasons why brave Indian kings could not win over invaders and how following principles of DharmYudhdh made them suffer. It explains the timelines of rise of Hinduism and explains hierarchy of caste system and its roots in Hinduism. it covers – Buddhism, foreign invaders-migrants, history of Indian Temples, Islam-rise-inequality-expansion, Indian geography and periodic changes with reasons and events, political and military strategies of Hindus and Arabs-how and why, Mughal sultan and their timelines, Prithviraj Chauhan and other Indian kings, decline of Buddhism-Hinduism, Growth of Muslim population, Lessons from defeats, Hindu survival and game theory, Changing map of India- every thing and more with details and images. Everything that you need to know about Indian History- you get to read in this book with logic, reasoning and references.
I have not just took time to read, re-read this book but even discussed most of its parts with my teenage daughter. Its very important to know our correct history and make our kids also aware of it.
This book is real treasure and the author has really worked hard with story telling, research and references- to present the real history of India.
“A must read book to learn Indian history.”
I am thankful to Indic Today and Indic book club to give me opportunity to read and review this book.
To be honest, I have always been reading suspense, romance, drama and history was never my choice. Hence at first when I got this book in hands It felt challenging. I also took very long to read this book, not because of time issues- but as I had to read-reread and process what I read.
Yes! This Book is going to be the best decision of yours to learn real Indian history. It is breaking all the myths about Indian history-we are taught in schools. It don’t just talk about events, It explains events, its reasons, outcomes, relative events and lot more. You can visualize it happening around you!
It starts with explaining – importance of history. It narrates how Indians have been poor in keeping, celebrating and cherishing own history- for what all reasons. It talks about Indus valley civilization and other civilizations in same time frame. It adds up reasons why brave Indian kings could not win over invaders and how following principles of DharmYudhdh made them suffer. It explains the timelines of rise of Hinduism and explains hierarchy of caste system and its roots in Hinduism. it covers – Buddhism, foreign invaders-migrants, history of Indian Temples, Islam-rise-inequality-expansion, Indian geography and periodic changes with reasons and events, political and military strategies of Hindus and Arabs-how and why, Mughal sultan and their timelines, Prithviraj Chauhan and other Indian kings, decline of Buddhism-Hinduism, Growth of Muslim population, Lessons from defeats, Hindu survival and game theory, Changing map of India- every thing and more with details and images. Everything that you need to know about Indian History- you get to read in this book with logic, reasoning and references.
I have not just took time to read, re-read this book but even discussed most of its parts with my teenage daughter. Its very important to know our correct history and make our kids also aware of it.
This book is real treasure and the author has really worked hard with story telling, research and references- to present the real history of India.
“A must read book to learn Indian history.”
June 11, 2021
I would like to thank the Indic Book Club for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. While I really enjoyed the book and the immense research it contains, I did not agree with many analogies and conclusions that it drew. Perhaps this is because I expected it to contain an Indic perspective - which it arguably does - but it is far more laden with dominant left/Marxist discourse on Indian history, which I have read many times before picking up this book.
For me, the value in this book lies in its depth of historical research and the author's honesty to not shy away from the brutality that was Islamic rule in medieval India. It also discussed some topics like temple economy, ethnic fractionalisation and Buddhist connections to the silk route, which were new to me. For these reasons alone, I give it three stars, perhaps because as a learner, for now, I will value knowledge given by the book over its analytical ideology.
When the author draws upon leftist theories, he is not engaging in a purva paksha (as Indic scholars do) but rather presents them as fact and uses them to make arguments. He makes rhetorical statements that may appeal generally to Indic readers (such as referring to Hinduism as Santana Dharma on various occasions) but the work as a whole is intellectually misplaced.
My main issues with this book come during the first part itself (which is probably why it took me longer to finish this book) I quite enjoyed the latter half which moved away from left-wing moral posturing/ psycho-analysis of the Hindu society and went to the historical facts.
My first issue with this book is its deep reliance on the Aryan migration theory, which is not only colonial and racist in its origin, but seeks to subvert Indic voices in its present articulation (see for instance Srikant Talegari's critique of Tony Joseph's book on AIT). Even at its best, the Aryan migration theory is no better proved than the Saraswati civilisation theory and to choose the dominant (and frankly harming) discourse and then market the book as Indic is contradictory. Moreover, there was no such need to delve so far back into ancient Indian history if the book's purpose is to illustrate the battles fought between dharmic India and foreign invaders. Nowhere in the book did the author connect the happenings in AIT (which are frankly more mythological than Ramayana) to analyse the happenings in medieval India. The reason I particularly call this positioning "intellectually misplaced" is because there is no argument for indigenous dharmic revivalism if dharmic religions like Hinduism and its offshoots are themselves considered foreign to India.
This left/Marxist posturing of the author effectively renders dharmic or Indic thought as 'violent' in its past (like for when the author himself says Hinduism was born in midst of the state of war, typifies early Hinduism as inherently violent as even the "gods fight", gives the so-called separate Indus Valley civilisation credit for teaching Hindus the value of arts and sculptures, positions Ram as a furtherer of 'Brahminical' ideology, equates the Swastika of 'violent Aryans' to the Hitler's haken kruez or hooked cross - pages 28, 50, 54, 56) and 'stateless' in the present (no dharmic tradition exists in the Steppes today). The author also engages in 'Hindu/Indian exceptionalism' which is to say that he tries to psychoanalyse the socio-economic conditions of India as if nowhere else society as unequal, oppressive and hypocritical existed. This is also something that is deeply rooted in imperialism and is still used to justify foreign rule/conversion/subjugation over Indic people and their knowledge systems. It is also incredibly false, which the author would have known if he had engaged more with modern Indic thought.
For instance, take the case of the unnecessary moral commentary on hierarchies among food-eating patterns, I well understand why that's a problem when it becomes a tool for caste subjugation and exclusion, but that is not the line that the author takes. Rather, he berates Hindus who value vegetarianism and sattvic diet by terming it as an "absurd" level of hierarchy. In doing so, commits a twofold disservice. Firstly, Hindus as not the only community that differentiate desirable food diets; Muslims differentiate food as halal and haram, as do Jains object to meat, fish, eggs and underground vegetables and Buddhists steer away from consumption of karmically negative food. To an extent, Christianity also prescribes dietary laws on methods of slaughter. All of these religions which exist as living traditions in India today, treat certain diets as more preferable and certainly, they all cannot be called "absurd". Secondly, he fails to give any credit or acknowledgement of the fact that a people had the foresight to develop and encourage an organic food diet at a very early stage of human history, and that Hindu concepts of valuing even the smallest lifeform or jiva as sentient beings with consciousness are only today being recognised as valuable by more people in other parts of the world. I think that scholarship needs to present both the positive and negative stories on vegetarianism in India because although they may appear contradictory, a common thread of valuing life (of all humans and all living beings) and nature runs through both of them.
I also believe that a large part of my disappointment with this book comes from the fact that it was marketed (at least from my point of view) as an alternate view to the predominant thought of Hindu kingdoms posing no resistance to the superior military might of the Arabs. But it merely regurgitated the same narrative, for which there may exist undeniable historical facts, but anyone would tell you that there is more than facts to history, there is also the skill of telling a story. It is this story of sustained Indian resistance to outside powers that the author fails to depict.
And he often engages in tropes that have been weaponised against the Hindu community - such as calling them fatalistic, less charitable than missionaries (even the temples when suprise surprise Hindus do not even own their temples, the secular liberal political class does), calling the Vedas, Puranas, Ramayana and Mahabharata 'mythological' (perhaps nowhere else would a living civilisation come to this conclusion that when the geography, astrology and ecology in text is so accurately defined that the actual socio-political events of the text must be false) and citing openly biased authors like Irfan Habib or Wendy Doniger with only minuscule reference to Indic authors who have also written on the subject and are otherwise institutionally buried by the dominant discourse.
The entire work is a form of rationalization by a well-read history buff who is sympathetic to the Indic cause in so far as he shows concern for its medieval subordination but is otherwise lost about the narrative and the intellectual groundings of this thought.
Edit: I do feel that I should clarify that this work is still valuable in so far of the breadth and depth of its meticulous research. While I have spent more space critiquing it, the same should not dissuade you from reading if you are interested in a good primer on Indian medieval history. The issues I spoke of are those that I believe must however be kept in mind while reading the book.
For me, the value in this book lies in its depth of historical research and the author's honesty to not shy away from the brutality that was Islamic rule in medieval India. It also discussed some topics like temple economy, ethnic fractionalisation and Buddhist connections to the silk route, which were new to me. For these reasons alone, I give it three stars, perhaps because as a learner, for now, I will value knowledge given by the book over its analytical ideology.
When the author draws upon leftist theories, he is not engaging in a purva paksha (as Indic scholars do) but rather presents them as fact and uses them to make arguments. He makes rhetorical statements that may appeal generally to Indic readers (such as referring to Hinduism as Santana Dharma on various occasions) but the work as a whole is intellectually misplaced.
My main issues with this book come during the first part itself (which is probably why it took me longer to finish this book) I quite enjoyed the latter half which moved away from left-wing moral posturing/ psycho-analysis of the Hindu society and went to the historical facts.
My first issue with this book is its deep reliance on the Aryan migration theory, which is not only colonial and racist in its origin, but seeks to subvert Indic voices in its present articulation (see for instance Srikant Talegari's critique of Tony Joseph's book on AIT). Even at its best, the Aryan migration theory is no better proved than the Saraswati civilisation theory and to choose the dominant (and frankly harming) discourse and then market the book as Indic is contradictory. Moreover, there was no such need to delve so far back into ancient Indian history if the book's purpose is to illustrate the battles fought between dharmic India and foreign invaders. Nowhere in the book did the author connect the happenings in AIT (which are frankly more mythological than Ramayana) to analyse the happenings in medieval India. The reason I particularly call this positioning "intellectually misplaced" is because there is no argument for indigenous dharmic revivalism if dharmic religions like Hinduism and its offshoots are themselves considered foreign to India.
This left/Marxist posturing of the author effectively renders dharmic or Indic thought as 'violent' in its past (like for when the author himself says Hinduism was born in midst of the state of war, typifies early Hinduism as inherently violent as even the "gods fight", gives the so-called separate Indus Valley civilisation credit for teaching Hindus the value of arts and sculptures, positions Ram as a furtherer of 'Brahminical' ideology, equates the Swastika of 'violent Aryans' to the Hitler's haken kruez or hooked cross - pages 28, 50, 54, 56) and 'stateless' in the present (no dharmic tradition exists in the Steppes today). The author also engages in 'Hindu/Indian exceptionalism' which is to say that he tries to psychoanalyse the socio-economic conditions of India as if nowhere else society as unequal, oppressive and hypocritical existed. This is also something that is deeply rooted in imperialism and is still used to justify foreign rule/conversion/subjugation over Indic people and their knowledge systems. It is also incredibly false, which the author would have known if he had engaged more with modern Indic thought.
For instance, take the case of the unnecessary moral commentary on hierarchies among food-eating patterns, I well understand why that's a problem when it becomes a tool for caste subjugation and exclusion, but that is not the line that the author takes. Rather, he berates Hindus who value vegetarianism and sattvic diet by terming it as an "absurd" level of hierarchy. In doing so, commits a twofold disservice. Firstly, Hindus as not the only community that differentiate desirable food diets; Muslims differentiate food as halal and haram, as do Jains object to meat, fish, eggs and underground vegetables and Buddhists steer away from consumption of karmically negative food. To an extent, Christianity also prescribes dietary laws on methods of slaughter. All of these religions which exist as living traditions in India today, treat certain diets as more preferable and certainly, they all cannot be called "absurd". Secondly, he fails to give any credit or acknowledgement of the fact that a people had the foresight to develop and encourage an organic food diet at a very early stage of human history, and that Hindu concepts of valuing even the smallest lifeform or jiva as sentient beings with consciousness are only today being recognised as valuable by more people in other parts of the world. I think that scholarship needs to present both the positive and negative stories on vegetarianism in India because although they may appear contradictory, a common thread of valuing life (of all humans and all living beings) and nature runs through both of them.
I also believe that a large part of my disappointment with this book comes from the fact that it was marketed (at least from my point of view) as an alternate view to the predominant thought of Hindu kingdoms posing no resistance to the superior military might of the Arabs. But it merely regurgitated the same narrative, for which there may exist undeniable historical facts, but anyone would tell you that there is more than facts to history, there is also the skill of telling a story. It is this story of sustained Indian resistance to outside powers that the author fails to depict.
And he often engages in tropes that have been weaponised against the Hindu community - such as calling them fatalistic, less charitable than missionaries (even the temples when suprise surprise Hindus do not even own their temples, the secular liberal political class does), calling the Vedas, Puranas, Ramayana and Mahabharata 'mythological' (perhaps nowhere else would a living civilisation come to this conclusion that when the geography, astrology and ecology in text is so accurately defined that the actual socio-political events of the text must be false) and citing openly biased authors like Irfan Habib or Wendy Doniger with only minuscule reference to Indic authors who have also written on the subject and are otherwise institutionally buried by the dominant discourse.
The entire work is a form of rationalization by a well-read history buff who is sympathetic to the Indic cause in so far as he shows concern for its medieval subordination but is otherwise lost about the narrative and the intellectual groundings of this thought.
Edit: I do feel that I should clarify that this work is still valuable in so far of the breadth and depth of its meticulous research. While I have spent more space critiquing it, the same should not dissuade you from reading if you are interested in a good primer on Indian medieval history. The issues I spoke of are those that I believe must however be kept in mind while reading the book.
April 27, 2021
Swift Horses Sharp Swords by Amit Agarwal is well researched book that traces India's history through various invasions that ravaged India in the medieval times. How India changed from the Golden Sparrow that was rich in culture and resources; a land that every traveler, merchant and historian wanted to visit to the state that it was in the 19th century. the wars and the invasions are discussed ; some wars well known and others not so much. The battles are logically analysed ; the causes and effects are discussed.
The book is a not a essay but kind of told in anecdotes that makes reading easy. Nor it preaches what could have been done right. The author explores the facts which are deeply researched. The depth of research is shown in the credits and endnotes. Though there are few chapters and facts that many people wouldn't agree with and some well known histories and people omitted. Also a many paragraphs reduce the effect of the narrative because of repetitiveness I would highly recommend this book not only to History Buffs but everyone in general. I especially like the fact some not so well known heroic contributions are also discussed and analyzed
Thanks Indic Book Club for this great piece of history
The book is a not a essay but kind of told in anecdotes that makes reading easy. Nor it preaches what could have been done right. The author explores the facts which are deeply researched. The depth of research is shown in the credits and endnotes. Though there are few chapters and facts that many people wouldn't agree with and some well known histories and people omitted. Also a many paragraphs reduce the effect of the narrative because of repetitiveness I would highly recommend this book not only to History Buffs but everyone in general. I especially like the fact some not so well known heroic contributions are also discussed and analyzed
Thanks Indic Book Club for this great piece of history
June 11, 2021
This is probably the most detailed, researched book on Islam Invasion I have ever read to date. The author talks about India as early as the 6th century, giving us a glimpse of how India was during the Indus Valley civilization, how Hinduism and Buddhism flourished in that time period, and how it was considered the richest civilization in the world until Islam religion invaded India. The author gave detailed information on what made India gradually fall, its weakness, the strategy used by the invaders, war style, the weapon used, the caste system (which was another reason for the downfall), and many more. The author does praise the good aspect of Islam and its egalitarian society. But with that, it also mentions the damages it did to the country.
Many might not agree with the detailed truth been shown or pointed out in the book. But the high-end research work and credit notes at the end of the book prove it all.
Thank you Indic club for this book.
Many might not agree with the detailed truth been shown or pointed out in the book. But the high-end research work and credit notes at the end of the book prove it all.
Thank you Indic club for this book.
June 16, 2021
Amit Agarwal ji has compiled a wonderful book with lots of facts and figures too. The theory of swift horses, warfare techniques are indeed relevant in discussing the medieval era history of Bharat.
The book has been professionally written and researched. It covers many aspects of Indian medieval and ancient history with facts, figures, and events. However, I found a few things which have been incorrectly added to the book. Maybe in a next revision you could correct them?
The Aryan invasion myth. That has been propagated by the British and has been promoted by certain groups, Darbari historians in the India post-independence. You need to understand that the “Indus script” has not been deciphered as yet, despite many attempts. There are no traces of any war destruction in the Indus sites in present day neighborhood. You can check out some of the books below to build the context of native Indian population with different color complexions (which is primarily based on melanin)
Forced food habits being brought in on the native population by the savage invaders. People who thrived in meat culture and associated that with strength. The references and use towards so called Mughlai cuisine is a prime example of it. Eating brain, liver and what not is not certainly part of human evolution
The status of women in a period during invasions and thereafter. Their identity, subjugation, slavery and what not at the hands of savage invaders in the ancient and medieval Bharat. One prime example of this could be a check on how the Jats and Gurjars survived and what happened to the education, liberty of their women in northern India, living in vicinity of savage Turks, Mughal kingdoms in Delhi. That impact led to the womenfolk being forced behind veil, their freedom taken away from them
The looting, destruction of temples, specially in northern and western India is well known. However, a little detail in terms of current status and stories would have been great.
o Linking it to the fact that every river was worshipped, and there were small and large temples next to them. Which were destroyed and pillaged
o An incident happened some years back in a fort temple in Rajasthan I believe. There was a stampede that resulted in the death of many people. Primary reason was that the alley leading to the temple was narrow. It was built this way plausibly to not let invaders pillage and loot the temple easily. And to keep it hidden from their eyes. But its impact was not positive
o The fact that there are hardly any big temples in northern and western parts of modern Bharat which pre-date 17th century. What happened to them?
The reference to “Reconquista” in Spain is incorrect. Reconquista was done by Christian fighters in Spain to convert all the people to Christian faith. Which is the foundation of a modern Spanish state currently
The book has been professionally written and researched. It covers many aspects of Indian medieval and ancient history with facts, figures, and events. However, I found a few things which have been incorrectly added to the book. Maybe in a next revision you could correct them?
The Aryan invasion myth. That has been propagated by the British and has been promoted by certain groups, Darbari historians in the India post-independence. You need to understand that the “Indus script” has not been deciphered as yet, despite many attempts. There are no traces of any war destruction in the Indus sites in present day neighborhood. You can check out some of the books below to build the context of native Indian population with different color complexions (which is primarily based on melanin)
Forced food habits being brought in on the native population by the savage invaders. People who thrived in meat culture and associated that with strength. The references and use towards so called Mughlai cuisine is a prime example of it. Eating brain, liver and what not is not certainly part of human evolution
The status of women in a period during invasions and thereafter. Their identity, subjugation, slavery and what not at the hands of savage invaders in the ancient and medieval Bharat. One prime example of this could be a check on how the Jats and Gurjars survived and what happened to the education, liberty of their women in northern India, living in vicinity of savage Turks, Mughal kingdoms in Delhi. That impact led to the womenfolk being forced behind veil, their freedom taken away from them
The looting, destruction of temples, specially in northern and western India is well known. However, a little detail in terms of current status and stories would have been great.
o Linking it to the fact that every river was worshipped, and there were small and large temples next to them. Which were destroyed and pillaged
o An incident happened some years back in a fort temple in Rajasthan I believe. There was a stampede that resulted in the death of many people. Primary reason was that the alley leading to the temple was narrow. It was built this way plausibly to not let invaders pillage and loot the temple easily. And to keep it hidden from their eyes. But its impact was not positive
o The fact that there are hardly any big temples in northern and western parts of modern Bharat which pre-date 17th century. What happened to them?
The reference to “Reconquista” in Spain is incorrect. Reconquista was done by Christian fighters in Spain to convert all the people to Christian faith. Which is the foundation of a modern Spanish state currently
October 9, 2022
Medieval Indian history is always a fascinating read. Unexpected twists/turns , anecdotes of valor, pride and betrayal, all make it unmatched even to the best works of fiction.This particular book presents a critical analysis of the various invasions India had endured during its existence. It clearly details how the destiny of India had turned multiple times.
A major portion of the book is dedicated to the impact of Islamic attacks as they shaped the future course of India; politically and socially. It allows the reader get a perspective of the remarkable resilience exhibited by the Hindus in the face of repeated plunders and iconoclasms; the ability to continually reinvent and reform Hinduism in response to challenges has indeed kept this religion alive despite a thousand years of oppression . The author does criticize the complacency, pride, lack of tactics and the inability of the Hindu rulers to unite under one common banner, at the same time he also exposes the brutality and ruthlessness of the invaders. He discusses at length about post war looting and slave trading of war prisoners. He attributes India’s losses to the lag in technological advancements and adherence of its rulers to the tenets of dharmayuddha.
Throughout the book, the author reflects on what could have changed the outcomes of these battles and presents various strategies that could have turned the tables for India. Towards the end he uses mathematical models to lend credence to his analysis. Using similar models he asserts the importance of a homogeneous society for economic development and heavily critiques the caste system.
Luck might have deserted the Indian rulers in the past ; to not learn from these mistakes will be an unforgivable folly .
A major portion of the book is dedicated to the impact of Islamic attacks as they shaped the future course of India; politically and socially. It allows the reader get a perspective of the remarkable resilience exhibited by the Hindus in the face of repeated plunders and iconoclasms; the ability to continually reinvent and reform Hinduism in response to challenges has indeed kept this religion alive despite a thousand years of oppression . The author does criticize the complacency, pride, lack of tactics and the inability of the Hindu rulers to unite under one common banner, at the same time he also exposes the brutality and ruthlessness of the invaders. He discusses at length about post war looting and slave trading of war prisoners. He attributes India’s losses to the lag in technological advancements and adherence of its rulers to the tenets of dharmayuddha.
Throughout the book, the author reflects on what could have changed the outcomes of these battles and presents various strategies that could have turned the tables for India. Towards the end he uses mathematical models to lend credence to his analysis. Using similar models he asserts the importance of a homogeneous society for economic development and heavily critiques the caste system.
Luck might have deserted the Indian rulers in the past ; to not learn from these mistakes will be an unforgivable folly .
June 16, 2021
Swift Horses Sharp Swords is the most necessary book to be read at the moment. We are living in a time where Christian and Islamic concepts are ruling the world. This book through its detailed research, good organization, and simple literature gives in a detailed explanation of how Bharat lost its position in the world.
Moreover in the book, there are dedicated chapters that have given a detailed explaination of the etymology of various terms. It also describes the importance of history in its very first chapter.In the 50 plus chapters, the author has very meticulously described the reasons for the failures in the wars of Bharatiya Kings.
In the discussion of the Aryan Invasion Theory, the author could have more focussed on its debunking through more detailed literature as it is the need of the hour. A very good discussion has also been given on the concepts of Dharmayuddha and Kootayuddha.
In conclusion, this book through its well-organized explaination of the timeline, warfare, concepts is a good eye opener for a layman.
Moreover in the book, there are dedicated chapters that have given a detailed explaination of the etymology of various terms. It also describes the importance of history in its very first chapter.In the 50 plus chapters, the author has very meticulously described the reasons for the failures in the wars of Bharatiya Kings.
In the discussion of the Aryan Invasion Theory, the author could have more focussed on its debunking through more detailed literature as it is the need of the hour. A very good discussion has also been given on the concepts of Dharmayuddha and Kootayuddha.
In conclusion, this book through its well-organized explaination of the timeline, warfare, concepts is a good eye opener for a layman.
May 4, 2021
Swift Horses and Sharp Swords: Medival Battles which shook India by Amit Agarwal is my third book by Indic Academy. First of all kudos to the author for the amount of research he has put into every topic covered in the book. What a marvelous book it is to read and understand our history, how our rich glorious past was destroyed to what we see today. Very systemically written events with religious, social, political and economic life from pre- islamic period till current time.
Additionally topics like Indus Valley Civilization, the Silk route, importance of idolatry in Bharat, rise of Buddhism and Islam with its rapid expansion are also discussed. All the invasions and migration are sequentially noted in a tabulated form as well.
It focuses on Dharmayudha and the caste system which acted as both boon and bane during the battles. The author gives much detailing on the war strategy, battle formation, weapons and armour used with its pictoral depiction and what went wrong with each successive kings of both sides during the battle.
Author also mentions about our heroes like Bappa Rawal, Suheldev, Nayaki Devi, Kurma Devi etc whose great sacrifices have been long forgotten or unknown to most of the people.
It also mentions on how India witnessed recurring destruction of Indian temples and building of mosques over it with ever rising religious conversion. Also it provides an insight on why India which was once an epitome of knowledge, culture and religion is still not able to retaliate to all the atrocities happening around and remain on the losing side. This books includes data on people killed or made slaves, temples destroyed and wealth looted. The author has also combined the game theory, Maslow's hierarchy and belll curve to continued survival of Hindu religion and culture despite all the invasions since centuries.
Overall i enjoyed reading the book and learning a lot new things about our history. A very interesting book in a very simple language.
Additionally topics like Indus Valley Civilization, the Silk route, importance of idolatry in Bharat, rise of Buddhism and Islam with its rapid expansion are also discussed. All the invasions and migration are sequentially noted in a tabulated form as well.
It focuses on Dharmayudha and the caste system which acted as both boon and bane during the battles. The author gives much detailing on the war strategy, battle formation, weapons and armour used with its pictoral depiction and what went wrong with each successive kings of both sides during the battle.
Author also mentions about our heroes like Bappa Rawal, Suheldev, Nayaki Devi, Kurma Devi etc whose great sacrifices have been long forgotten or unknown to most of the people.
It also mentions on how India witnessed recurring destruction of Indian temples and building of mosques over it with ever rising religious conversion. Also it provides an insight on why India which was once an epitome of knowledge, culture and religion is still not able to retaliate to all the atrocities happening around and remain on the losing side. This books includes data on people killed or made slaves, temples destroyed and wealth looted. The author has also combined the game theory, Maslow's hierarchy and belll curve to continued survival of Hindu religion and culture despite all the invasions since centuries.
Overall i enjoyed reading the book and learning a lot new things about our history. A very interesting book in a very simple language.
May 8, 2021
A must-read for every Indian who would like to know more about India's rich history and traditions the only major civilization that survived the onslaught and conversion by invaders of two (maybe three) Abrahamic religions (Islam, Christianity (many versions) and Jewish) while not only growing richer but also stronger by the experience.
Starting with a glimpse of the rich socio-economic and cultural life of ancient India from the Indus valley civilization, through the rise of the Vedic Hinduism it covers religious symbolism like the swastik; the cast system that was a professional division of labour before it got tainted; idol worship and temples.
The booming trade within and outside India through the land (Silk Routes) and sea routes (to Arab countries and Africa) and cross-cultural influences are covered as is the rise of Buddhism and India's influence through South East Asia, China and Japan. Indian contributions to science, mathematics and art & Music is also covered.
The birth of Islam and its influence on peace-loving Indian society which caused a cataclysm in the social, cultural and economic fabric of India and the decline in Hinduism is explained very well; as is the reason why despite getting the short end of the stick since various Islamic and western invaders; India still remains peace-loving Hindu majority nation.
A must-read for every Indian.
Starting with a glimpse of the rich socio-economic and cultural life of ancient India from the Indus valley civilization, through the rise of the Vedic Hinduism it covers religious symbolism like the swastik; the cast system that was a professional division of labour before it got tainted; idol worship and temples.
The booming trade within and outside India through the land (Silk Routes) and sea routes (to Arab countries and Africa) and cross-cultural influences are covered as is the rise of Buddhism and India's influence through South East Asia, China and Japan. Indian contributions to science, mathematics and art & Music is also covered.
The birth of Islam and its influence on peace-loving Indian society which caused a cataclysm in the social, cultural and economic fabric of India and the decline in Hinduism is explained very well; as is the reason why despite getting the short end of the stick since various Islamic and western invaders; India still remains peace-loving Hindu majority nation.
A must-read for every Indian.
September 22, 2021
This book covers a large canvas of 5500 years of Indian history right from Indus Valley, but dwells mainly the Medieval period of 6th to 13th Century AD. The book catalogues the events of waves of invasions from north western part of India which were instrumental in establishing Muslim Sultanate in Delhi. And also the resultant Hindu slavery scarring their psyche deeply which is evident even today. It also deals with the consequent religious, social, political and economic effects on India. The sections on much-earlier Indian history such as Indus valley, silk route, Gupta Kingdom, rise of Hinduism and Buddhism, Indian influence in South East Asia etc., provide a contrasting backdrop to the history of plunders and subjugation India was subjected to in the medieval period.
While the book narrates chronologically the repeated invasions of Turks in substantial detail, it also provides interesting analysis of reasons for frequent defeat of Indian kings in the hands of these marauding armies. The concept of Dharmayuddha followed by Hindu royalty had no match when facing the ruthless invader forces for whom the battle was a no-holds-bar endeavour to win, plunder, enslave and establish an Islamic regime. Innovations by Turks in weaponry, horse riding accessories and even the battle strategies gave them a decisive advantage. Their steeds were far superior to their Indian counterparts due to hard conditions in which they were brought up. Indian armies’ heavy dependence on elephants became a liability because soon the invaders understood how to handle elephants in a battle. Soldiers of Turkish armies were full-time, well trained, fighting fit and highly motivated by the religious fervour and spoils of war. In contrast, Indian armies were largely put together from the population of various trades such as farmers who became soldiers only when a war approached. There was no dearth of bravery in Indian kings. But a lack of deep understanding of the enemy and using that information to devise a dynamic war strategy, lack of innovative weaponry and most importantly lack of collaborative support from other kings put paid to their efforts. As a result, India was repeatedly plundered, its people enslaved and subjugated.
These events had a far reaching impact on India and resulted in diverse social, political, religious and spiritual responses from Hindus to deal with the unpleasant reality. The reverberations can be felt even today.
While the book covers medieval period in some depth, this is predominantly a birds-eye view of Indian history. The short chapters, easy-to-read language, copious pictures and tables etc., help in holding the reader’s interest. The bibliography is an impressive list of 50 diverse books.
But a word of caution is in order. Lack of nuance on some topics leads to simplistic generalisations. “The vegetarians positioned themselves above the non-vegetarians…….Even among vegetarians people not eating garlic or onion are put on a higher pedestal” (pg.64). Who placed them on higher pedestal? When? “(Mahabharata) although considered mythical or spiritual, it is entrenched….” (pg.172). Mahabharata is considered historical by most Indians and not mythical. ” (elephants), being vegetarians, are normally mild and peaceful…” (pg. 219). Elephant’s vegetarian food makes it mild and peaceful? “Few (Hindus), nonetheless, tried to chalk out some workable synthesis with Islamic outlook which eventually resulted in a new format of Bhakti cult…” (pg. 323). The author even quotes Wendy Doniger that Bhakti movement was inspired by the Islam. (pg. 331). What is the basis of this debatable point? Also, while the author acknowledges that Aryan Invasion Theory (AIT) is disputed and there are other theories as well, this explanation comes at the end of the narrative which draws generously from AIT! It is even stated that Aryans brought with them the ‘Swastika’.
All in all, the book can be used as a primer in Indian history. As a maiden effort, the author has managed to put together a cohesive book on various related topics drawn from a rich set of sources.
While the book narrates chronologically the repeated invasions of Turks in substantial detail, it also provides interesting analysis of reasons for frequent defeat of Indian kings in the hands of these marauding armies. The concept of Dharmayuddha followed by Hindu royalty had no match when facing the ruthless invader forces for whom the battle was a no-holds-bar endeavour to win, plunder, enslave and establish an Islamic regime. Innovations by Turks in weaponry, horse riding accessories and even the battle strategies gave them a decisive advantage. Their steeds were far superior to their Indian counterparts due to hard conditions in which they were brought up. Indian armies’ heavy dependence on elephants became a liability because soon the invaders understood how to handle elephants in a battle. Soldiers of Turkish armies were full-time, well trained, fighting fit and highly motivated by the religious fervour and spoils of war. In contrast, Indian armies were largely put together from the population of various trades such as farmers who became soldiers only when a war approached. There was no dearth of bravery in Indian kings. But a lack of deep understanding of the enemy and using that information to devise a dynamic war strategy, lack of innovative weaponry and most importantly lack of collaborative support from other kings put paid to their efforts. As a result, India was repeatedly plundered, its people enslaved and subjugated.
These events had a far reaching impact on India and resulted in diverse social, political, religious and spiritual responses from Hindus to deal with the unpleasant reality. The reverberations can be felt even today.
While the book covers medieval period in some depth, this is predominantly a birds-eye view of Indian history. The short chapters, easy-to-read language, copious pictures and tables etc., help in holding the reader’s interest. The bibliography is an impressive list of 50 diverse books.
But a word of caution is in order. Lack of nuance on some topics leads to simplistic generalisations. “The vegetarians positioned themselves above the non-vegetarians…….Even among vegetarians people not eating garlic or onion are put on a higher pedestal” (pg.64). Who placed them on higher pedestal? When? “(Mahabharata) although considered mythical or spiritual, it is entrenched….” (pg.172). Mahabharata is considered historical by most Indians and not mythical. ” (elephants), being vegetarians, are normally mild and peaceful…” (pg. 219). Elephant’s vegetarian food makes it mild and peaceful? “Few (Hindus), nonetheless, tried to chalk out some workable synthesis with Islamic outlook which eventually resulted in a new format of Bhakti cult…” (pg. 323). The author even quotes Wendy Doniger that Bhakti movement was inspired by the Islam. (pg. 331). What is the basis of this debatable point? Also, while the author acknowledges that Aryan Invasion Theory (AIT) is disputed and there are other theories as well, this explanation comes at the end of the narrative which draws generously from AIT! It is even stated that Aryans brought with them the ‘Swastika’.
All in all, the book can be used as a primer in Indian history. As a maiden effort, the author has managed to put together a cohesive book on various related topics drawn from a rich set of sources.
September 4, 2021
Recommended for all.
This book is aimed at readers who have little or no knowledge of history but are eager to learn it nevertheless. They are growing up on the historical tit-bits from social media, most of which are either fake or incomplete. As most of the history books are dull and drab and too detailed, this book comes as a breeze. Packed of entertaining anecdotes and references, it traverses the medieval era with a quick pace. The book is written in such a simple and flowing style so that an ordinary Indian, who is the target audience of the book, can easily understand the concepts. The author has also given the quotes and citations in support of his theories. The reader is bound to not just admire but also fall in love with history. As the title amply suggests, it examines the early medieval era with a sense of investigation. Still this cannot be treated as a scholarly work, which in my opinion, is a strength of the book.
This book comprises of more than 500 pages so it had ample real estate to touch upon the various aspects of the turbulent era. There is also a well compiled glossary and bibliography at the end.
First few chapters deal with the concept of Dharamyuddha and rise of Hinduism etc., author throws light on the glory of ancient India. Chapters of the medieval era begin after the building of the contrast. Author could establish by the usage of different mathematical models that how Hindu culture has not just survived and thrived over the millennia but it continues to be full of life amongst the cacophony of secularism all around.
In the second part, the invasion by Arabs and Turks especially by Mahmud Ghazanawi and Ghori has been described in all the gory details. Strengths of Turks and use of Islam in subjugating Hindus was critically scrutinized. The weaknesses of Hindu warfare had also been examined threadbare. Author is of the opinion that lag in military innovation was the main factor in the Hindu defeats. Division in Hindu fold on account of casteism was another prime reason, though there was no dearth of individual bravery by Hindu warriors.
Third part primarily deals with analysis of horrible events. Few chapters why all the battles were fought in Haryana, the importance of Khyber Pass, counting of dead and fondness of Muslim invaders to make pyramids of human skulls were interestingly described.
The book must be read by all to know ‘our’ truth and give credit where it belongs, to all our brave warriors. Finally, this book should be a part of your library and young Indians should learn from the book to know the glory of ancient India and also the mistakes committed in the medieval era. This way they will not feel inferior about their culture, religion and traditions.
The book is little too big and it could have easily bifurcated into two. At some places formatting errors and typos are also there.
The book is self-published and is listed on Amazon in both the Kindle version and paperback format. It has 174 reviews with excellent 4.5 ratings. It is recommended for everyone to read it cover to cover to understand the subtleties of Indian history of that turbulent period.
This book is aimed at readers who have little or no knowledge of history but are eager to learn it nevertheless. They are growing up on the historical tit-bits from social media, most of which are either fake or incomplete. As most of the history books are dull and drab and too detailed, this book comes as a breeze. Packed of entertaining anecdotes and references, it traverses the medieval era with a quick pace. The book is written in such a simple and flowing style so that an ordinary Indian, who is the target audience of the book, can easily understand the concepts. The author has also given the quotes and citations in support of his theories. The reader is bound to not just admire but also fall in love with history. As the title amply suggests, it examines the early medieval era with a sense of investigation. Still this cannot be treated as a scholarly work, which in my opinion, is a strength of the book.
This book comprises of more than 500 pages so it had ample real estate to touch upon the various aspects of the turbulent era. There is also a well compiled glossary and bibliography at the end.
First few chapters deal with the concept of Dharamyuddha and rise of Hinduism etc., author throws light on the glory of ancient India. Chapters of the medieval era begin after the building of the contrast. Author could establish by the usage of different mathematical models that how Hindu culture has not just survived and thrived over the millennia but it continues to be full of life amongst the cacophony of secularism all around.
In the second part, the invasion by Arabs and Turks especially by Mahmud Ghazanawi and Ghori has been described in all the gory details. Strengths of Turks and use of Islam in subjugating Hindus was critically scrutinized. The weaknesses of Hindu warfare had also been examined threadbare. Author is of the opinion that lag in military innovation was the main factor in the Hindu defeats. Division in Hindu fold on account of casteism was another prime reason, though there was no dearth of individual bravery by Hindu warriors.
Third part primarily deals with analysis of horrible events. Few chapters why all the battles were fought in Haryana, the importance of Khyber Pass, counting of dead and fondness of Muslim invaders to make pyramids of human skulls were interestingly described.
The book must be read by all to know ‘our’ truth and give credit where it belongs, to all our brave warriors. Finally, this book should be a part of your library and young Indians should learn from the book to know the glory of ancient India and also the mistakes committed in the medieval era. This way they will not feel inferior about their culture, religion and traditions.
The book is little too big and it could have easily bifurcated into two. At some places formatting errors and typos are also there.
The book is self-published and is listed on Amazon in both the Kindle version and paperback format. It has 174 reviews with excellent 4.5 ratings. It is recommended for everyone to read it cover to cover to understand the subtleties of Indian history of that turbulent period.
July 19, 2021
The book Swift Horses Sharp Swords by Amit Agarwal mainly deals with battles fought by Indian rulers against Turkic invaders before 1200A.D. and the consequences of the those battles.
I would divide the book into 3 parts, the first part has chapters that talk about important events, times of Indian society starting from Indus civilisation till the creation of Islam.
The second part is the main or important part of the book, it deals with expansion of Islam, Indian rulers who fought against invaders.
The third and last part is of chapters that discuss the consequences of these invasions and analyses of battles.
The author describes all the attacks of Islamic invaders in detail. He gave details of all the attacks of Mahmud of Ghazini, how valiantly several Indian rulers fought him but couldn't finish him for good. The comparison of military strategies of invaders and Indian rulers gives a glimplse into why several Indian rulers who put up a fight had lost. The author shows how sufis or local Muslim preachers asked Turkic rulers to attack India and help in spreading Islam, in creating saints out of invaders, Masud, nephew of Mahmud was made a saint after his defeat at the hands of King Suheldev and that even Hindus now visit his annual death anniversary festival. we get the account of battles fought by Jaipal, Anandpal, Prithviraj Chauhan, Suheldev etc. and many ohter names which we never heard in school history books.
I feel the introduction chapters on India could have been reduced as they almost run into 100 pages before starting about the battles. The author uses AMT, which is being contested by several researchers and authors which he fails to mention. The book is good for those who never read anything regarding Islamic invasions other than school history books, as this book provides the key details of those invasions which gives an actual picture of what happened.
I would divide the book into 3 parts, the first part has chapters that talk about important events, times of Indian society starting from Indus civilisation till the creation of Islam.
The second part is the main or important part of the book, it deals with expansion of Islam, Indian rulers who fought against invaders.
The third and last part is of chapters that discuss the consequences of these invasions and analyses of battles.
The author describes all the attacks of Islamic invaders in detail. He gave details of all the attacks of Mahmud of Ghazini, how valiantly several Indian rulers fought him but couldn't finish him for good. The comparison of military strategies of invaders and Indian rulers gives a glimplse into why several Indian rulers who put up a fight had lost. The author shows how sufis or local Muslim preachers asked Turkic rulers to attack India and help in spreading Islam, in creating saints out of invaders, Masud, nephew of Mahmud was made a saint after his defeat at the hands of King Suheldev and that even Hindus now visit his annual death anniversary festival. we get the account of battles fought by Jaipal, Anandpal, Prithviraj Chauhan, Suheldev etc. and many ohter names which we never heard in school history books.
I feel the introduction chapters on India could have been reduced as they almost run into 100 pages before starting about the battles. The author uses AMT, which is being contested by several researchers and authors which he fails to mention. The book is good for those who never read anything regarding Islamic invasions other than school history books, as this book provides the key details of those invasions which gives an actual picture of what happened.
July 23, 2021
I was never interested in history but this book was so engaging that it made me ponder over the harsh realities of our past. It provided the amazing facts which I was not even aware of.
Although there are many books on the subject, this one stands out for its wide and detailed coverage of the topics of economy, geography, polity and social structures. The book is obviously written from a different perspective combined with a lot of passion.
Author combined the fundamentals of game theory, Maslow's hierarchy and bell curve to emphasize the reason for survival of Hindus despite the brutal onslaught which was an eye-opener for me. Author also threw ample light on the Hindu warriors who successfully defended their motherland against the invaders. I was also amazed at the enormity of Indian wealth during the ancient and medieval period which constituted 25% of the world's GDP in those times. There are some unique chapters like how Geometric mean is used while counting the dead and why all the battlefields were in Haryana.
I also loved the fact that once Indians ruled all over Asia without even lifting a sword. I was glad to know that Cholas built their empire all over south east Asia and their emphasis on building intricate Hindu temples which survive even to this date.
I vehemently recommend all Indians to read it cover to cover to understand the niceties of the Indian history.
Although there are many books on the subject, this one stands out for its wide and detailed coverage of the topics of economy, geography, polity and social structures. The book is obviously written from a different perspective combined with a lot of passion.
Author combined the fundamentals of game theory, Maslow's hierarchy and bell curve to emphasize the reason for survival of Hindus despite the brutal onslaught which was an eye-opener for me. Author also threw ample light on the Hindu warriors who successfully defended their motherland against the invaders. I was also amazed at the enormity of Indian wealth during the ancient and medieval period which constituted 25% of the world's GDP in those times. There are some unique chapters like how Geometric mean is used while counting the dead and why all the battlefields were in Haryana.
I also loved the fact that once Indians ruled all over Asia without even lifting a sword. I was glad to know that Cholas built their empire all over south east Asia and their emphasis on building intricate Hindu temples which survive even to this date.
I vehemently recommend all Indians to read it cover to cover to understand the niceties of the Indian history.
July 23, 2021
The book is an eye-opener and in depth study of the very controversial subject. We have always been taught that the Arabic, Turkish and Afghan invasion was a cakewalk for them but after reading the book, I came to know that we were no pushover.
The book is full of such heroes who fought bravely against them but lack of technological prowess had done them in. The book brings out nicely about this aspect of technology by which sturdy Chainmail armour, solid tree saddle and the metallic stirrup were designed and developed in Central Asia. Due to this Turks could accurately fire 6 arrows per minute while galloping on the horse.
The overemphasis of Dharamyuddha by Indians was the other factor in our defeat. Ghori was severely injured and lying on the battlefield unconscious and PrithviRaj could have easily killed him. Within a year, Ghori came back to rule over us for centuries. The book is thus an excellent study, written in a simple English fathomable to all Indians .
In the end, the book deals with an important and necessary subject which has always been written in a lopsided manner . The author has certainly succeeded to live up to the promise of the subject.
Strongly recommended for the reading.
The book is full of such heroes who fought bravely against them but lack of technological prowess had done them in. The book brings out nicely about this aspect of technology by which sturdy Chainmail armour, solid tree saddle and the metallic stirrup were designed and developed in Central Asia. Due to this Turks could accurately fire 6 arrows per minute while galloping on the horse.
The overemphasis of Dharamyuddha by Indians was the other factor in our defeat. Ghori was severely injured and lying on the battlefield unconscious and PrithviRaj could have easily killed him. Within a year, Ghori came back to rule over us for centuries. The book is thus an excellent study, written in a simple English fathomable to all Indians .
In the end, the book deals with an important and necessary subject which has always been written in a lopsided manner . The author has certainly succeeded to live up to the promise of the subject.
Strongly recommended for the reading.
July 19, 2021
This book is an effort to add a pinch of genuine golden luster to the history of medieval India, which has otherwise, been painted in depressing and dismal colours of black and grey by the agenda driven indigenous and foreign historians. It tries to remove the historical distortions and bring to fore the sacrifices made by rulers of various small Hindu Kingdoms, who despite losing ultimate battles, faced the numerically larger fanatic armies of invaders bravely and succeeded in slowing down the Islamic juggernaut, rusting its wheels in the process.
On the flip side, the books seems to be a bit hurriedly compiled volume. Vision of the author is great, as well as noble. His portrayal of the character of King Dahir—despite all his weaknesses—as a hero is praiseworthy. War strategy of Suhel Dev--King of Shrasvati—also leaves its mark on the mind of reader. However, deeper research about other heroes of resistance coupled with the patience of a historiographer could have made this book a historical document.
Overall, It is a great read, an eye opener that can give some moments of pride while thinking of the bravery and resilience of our forefathers.
On the flip side, the books seems to be a bit hurriedly compiled volume. Vision of the author is great, as well as noble. His portrayal of the character of King Dahir—despite all his weaknesses—as a hero is praiseworthy. War strategy of Suhel Dev--King of Shrasvati—also leaves its mark on the mind of reader. However, deeper research about other heroes of resistance coupled with the patience of a historiographer could have made this book a historical document.
Overall, It is a great read, an eye opener that can give some moments of pride while thinking of the bravery and resilience of our forefathers.
August 3, 2021
The book covers the early Indian medieval period from the 7th century till the 13th century in great detail and analyses the social, economic, religious, technological and geographical factors of that era and their interplay. The book has 3 distinct parts. First is about ancient India and its glory. But it's the second part in which author comes into his element and give a detailed narration about the battles. The author does not shy away from pointing out the mistakes committed by Indian warriors too. Especially the battle of Tarain has been detailed in interesting manner. Many times it seemed that we are inside the battle.
The third part is analysis in which many mathematical models have been used to explain the different happenings. Why India is still having its ancient tradition intact is explained in nice manner.
The book has certain weaknesses too. It is too long with 500 pages and could have been split into 2 volumes. It has few formatting problems too.
Overall, The book is a nice account of various critical battles of medieval times covering all the aspects and its aftermath.
Recommended for all Indians.
The third part is analysis in which many mathematical models have been used to explain the different happenings. Why India is still having its ancient tradition intact is explained in nice manner.
The book has certain weaknesses too. It is too long with 500 pages and could have been split into 2 volumes. It has few formatting problems too.
Overall, The book is a nice account of various critical battles of medieval times covering all the aspects and its aftermath.
Recommended for all Indians.
June 17, 2021
Swift Horses Sharp Swords presents the grand sweep of Indian history of antiquity
in a compact and readable survey. The author provides a panaromic view about the cities of Harappa and Mohenjodaro of the Indus Valley civilizations all the way to the modern India.
This book addresses the history, literature and material culture of peoples of Turkish origins in India over the eleventh to eighteenth centuries. Although many ruling dynasties and members of the elite in this period claimed Turkish descent, this aspect of their identity has seldom received much scholarly attention. The discussion is enriched by a focus on connections and comparisons with other parts of the broader world.
The authors examine the major wars, political, economic, social and cultural
forces which have shaped the history of the Indian subcontinent. This text is an authoritative and detailed account which emphasises and analyses the structural pattern of Indian history.
Overall, this would be a perfect textbook for any who wants to study India.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews