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India: A History
Fully revised with forty thousand new words that take the reader up to present-day India, John Keay's India: A History spans five millennia in a sweeping narrative that tells the story of the peoples of the subcontinent, from their ancient beginnings in the valley of the Indus to the events in the region today.
The Indian subcontinent is one of the world’s most fascinating and complicated regions, the home of a billion and a half people, several major religions, and one of the world’s oldest and most richly diverse civilizations. In India: A History, acclaimed South Asia expert John Keay spans five millennia in a sweeping narrative that tells the story of the peoples of the subcontinent, from their ancient beginnings in the valley of the Indus to the events in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh today.
This book is a compelling epic of cultures and conquest, colonization and independence. It vividly re-creates the turning points of Indian history and brings to life the leaders who shaped India’s evolution, from Ashoka, the “Caesar of Ancient India,” who ruled the vast Mauryan empire in the third century B.C., to twentieth-century figures such as Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. Along the way Keay provides fresh insights into the patterns of invasion and migration that have stirred the subcontinent’s cultures for centuries, from the “Aryan” invaders, to Alexander’s Macedonian armies, to the Islamic conquerors, to the coming of the East India Company and the establishment of the British Raj. He also profiles the rise of religions and philosophies that have profoundly shaped these cultures, including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam.
Throughout the book Keay synthesizes recent revelations from archaeology, anthropology, and textual scholarship to explode the myths that have plagued the highly politicized historiography of the region. He investigates the controversy surrounding the origins of the Harappan peoples who built the first cities of the subcontinent, explains the cultural and political significance of India’s architectural marvels such as the Taj Mahal, and details the bloody suppressions that characterized the “Pax Britannica” of the Raj. Provocative, comprehensive, and highly readable, India: A History is a panoramic portrait that is destined to become the authoritative work on the region for years to come.
The Indian subcontinent is one of the world’s most fascinating and complicated regions, the home of a billion and a half people, several major religions, and one of the world’s oldest and most richly diverse civilizations. In India: A History, acclaimed South Asia expert John Keay spans five millennia in a sweeping narrative that tells the story of the peoples of the subcontinent, from their ancient beginnings in the valley of the Indus to the events in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh today.
This book is a compelling epic of cultures and conquest, colonization and independence. It vividly re-creates the turning points of Indian history and brings to life the leaders who shaped India’s evolution, from Ashoka, the “Caesar of Ancient India,” who ruled the vast Mauryan empire in the third century B.C., to twentieth-century figures such as Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. Along the way Keay provides fresh insights into the patterns of invasion and migration that have stirred the subcontinent’s cultures for centuries, from the “Aryan” invaders, to Alexander’s Macedonian armies, to the Islamic conquerors, to the coming of the East India Company and the establishment of the British Raj. He also profiles the rise of religions and philosophies that have profoundly shaped these cultures, including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam.
Throughout the book Keay synthesizes recent revelations from archaeology, anthropology, and textual scholarship to explode the myths that have plagued the highly politicized historiography of the region. He investigates the controversy surrounding the origins of the Harappan peoples who built the first cities of the subcontinent, explains the cultural and political significance of India’s architectural marvels such as the Taj Mahal, and details the bloody suppressions that characterized the “Pax Britannica” of the Raj. Provocative, comprehensive, and highly readable, India: A History is a panoramic portrait that is destined to become the authoritative work on the region for years to come.
640 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2000
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11828 people want to read
About the author
John Keay
60 books253 followersJohn Stanley Melville Keay FRGS is an English journalist and author specialising in writing popular histories about India and the Far East, often with a particular focus on their colonisation and exploration by Europeans.
John Keay is the author of about 20 books, all factual, mostly historical, and largely to do with Asia, exploration or Scotland. His first book stayed in print for thirty years; many others have become classics. His combination of meticulous research, irreverent wit, powerful narrative and lively prose have invariably been complimented by both reviewers and readers.
UK-based and a full-time author since 1973, he also wrote and presented over 100 documentaries for BBC Radios 3 and 4 from 1975-95 and guest-lectured tour groups 1990-2000. He reviews on related subjects, occasionally speaks on them, and travels extensively.
John Keay is the author of about 20 books, all factual, mostly historical, and largely to do with Asia, exploration or Scotland. His first book stayed in print for thirty years; many others have become classics. His combination of meticulous research, irreverent wit, powerful narrative and lively prose have invariably been complimented by both reviewers and readers.
UK-based and a full-time author since 1973, he also wrote and presented over 100 documentaries for BBC Radios 3 and 4 from 1975-95 and guest-lectured tour groups 1990-2000. He reviews on related subjects, occasionally speaks on them, and travels extensively.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 346 reviews
April 24, 2022
“If time is the locomotion of history, place could be the gradient against which it is pitted. Dynamic, the one hurtles forward; inert, the other holds it back. Not for nothing are unspoilt landscapes invariably billed as ‘timeless.’ Boarding at random an overnight train, and awakening twelve hours later to a cup of sweet brown tea and a dawn of dun-grey fields, the traveler – even the Indian traveler – may have difficulty in immediately identifying his whereabouts. India’s countryside is surprisingly uniform. It is also mostly flat. A distant hill serves only to emphasize its flatness. Distinctive features are lacking; the same mauve-flowered convolvulus straggles shamelessly on trackside wasteland and the same sleek drongos – long-tailed blackbirds – festoon the telegraph wires like a musical annotation. It could be Bihar or it could be Karnataka, equally it could be Bengal or Gujarat. Major continental gradations, like west Africa’s strata of Sahara, sahel and forest or the North American progression from plains to deserts to mountain divide, do not apply…There are, of course, exceptions; in India there are always exceptions, mostly big ones. The Himalayas, the most prominent feature on the face of the earth, grandly shield the subcontinent from the rest of Asia; likewise the Western Ghats form a long and craggy rampart against the Arabian Sea. Both are very much part of India, the Himalayas as the abode of its gods, the Ghats as the homeland of the martial Marathas, and both as the source of most of India’s rivers…”
- John Keay, India: A History
In choosing to write a single volume about the whole of India, John Keay certainly cannot be faulted for lack of ambition. The scope of India: A History, is breathtaking, covering a five-thousand year span in the existence of a massive landmass full of diverse peoples, cultures, and religions, controlled by various competing and overlapping rulers, and which today comprises three separate nations. The challenge Keay faced is enormous and his task is – in a way – impossible to execute perfectly. Any single chapter could itself be a long and complex book.
Even though Keay exerts a great deal of selectivity in his coverage of individual topics, there are still moments when India is overwhelming, and I found myself lost in the weeds of unfamiliar dynasties in unfamiliar regions, and just trying to hold on as he bounces briskly around the subcontinent. For the most part, though, Keay does an exceptional job of presenting an overview of not only India, but Pakistan and Bangladesh as well. In this he is aided by a solid structure, strong writing, and a multitude of maps, charts, and tables, that keep you spatially oriented and up-to-date on the lineal succession of various dynasties.
***
India is presented chronologically, beginning three-thousand years before the common era. There are no thematic cutaways, meaning – for instance – no independent chapters covering religion or art or literature. Instead, each chapter is devoted to a discrete period, with the dates helpfully provided at the top of each page. It’s a simple thing, but doing this provides a nice little roadmap.
In the early going – as he teases out the mysteries of the Harappan Civilization, or discusses the spread of the Vedic religion – Keay spends much of his time sifting through the available evidence, and providing a synthesis of the work of other historians. While he would have been forgiven for spending the bulk of this work on more recent years, he does not stint on the age of antiquity. To the contrary, Keay really seems to enjoy it. There is a lot of analysis given to the smallest clues that shed pinpoints of light on the ancient past.
Looking back so far requires a lot of speculation, and the projection of meaning onto incomplete data. As a person who connects with history most immediately through other lives, these initial chapters were sometimes a bit of a slog, since there is no character around which to build a narrative. Instead, Keay resorts to architectural remains, fragments of surviving literature, and close scrutiny of really old coins.
As we move along the timeline, however, names and personalities begin to emerge, and the story becomes more engaging on a human level. The pace really picks up around the time of the Mughal invasion, and in Keay’s account of the great emperors who held dominion until the arrival of the British.
***
As India progresses, and as the spring of sources really begins to flow, Keay tightens his focus. Whereas earlier in the book he discussed monuments and temples, economics, religion, and culture, he eventually devotes most of his coverage to politics. This is a concession to the reality that it would be impossible to merely list all the subtopics and themes connected to his subject, much less give them their due.
Unfortunately, this means that potentially fruitful avenues of inquiry are ignored. I had numerous questions going into this book, and many of them did not get answered. For example, I never really got a good sense of the arc of the relationship between Hindus and Muslims, a relationship that turned decidedly sour at the time of the Partition. Additionally, Keay takes such a broad view that critical moments – such as the Indian Rebellion of 1857 – are discussed abstractedly, rather than presented as a linear set piece.
Again, I don’t hold this against Keay. To open this book is to accept the inherent limitations of a single volume history.
***
A note on the most current edition: When it was first published in 2000, India ended at the turn of the twenty-first century. In the revised and expanded edition I read, though, Keay has added three new chapters, while reworking two others, all of which brings the tale to 2010. While obviously not up-to-the-minute, it provides supplementary context for a vital and ever-changing section of the world.
***
Not surprisingly – and despite the elisions – trying to summarize five busy millennia requires a big book. Specifically, it requires just over 600 pages of text. Thankfully, India is made more digestible by Keay’s style. He is not simply here to dump information, or to put events into sequence, but to relay it artfully, in prose that is by turns descriptive, incisive, and generally graceful. Keay takes pains to maintain an objective balance, and look at things from different perspectives, which is important, because from the Raj to Partition to today, there are a lot of competing voices.
***
There are no shortage of reasons to study India. At the most basic level, there is endless drama to be found in its thousands of years of existence, in its glories and tragedies, its setbacks and triumphs, from wars and famines and colonization to independence and nationhood.
At a more immediate level, the Republic of India occupies a critical geopolitical position. It is the second most populous nation in the world, is armed with nuclear weapons, and is a democracy. As the twenty-first century bends towards totalitarian regimes, it will be interesting to see what kind of moral force it will exert.
- John Keay, India: A History
In choosing to write a single volume about the whole of India, John Keay certainly cannot be faulted for lack of ambition. The scope of India: A History, is breathtaking, covering a five-thousand year span in the existence of a massive landmass full of diverse peoples, cultures, and religions, controlled by various competing and overlapping rulers, and which today comprises three separate nations. The challenge Keay faced is enormous and his task is – in a way – impossible to execute perfectly. Any single chapter could itself be a long and complex book.
Even though Keay exerts a great deal of selectivity in his coverage of individual topics, there are still moments when India is overwhelming, and I found myself lost in the weeds of unfamiliar dynasties in unfamiliar regions, and just trying to hold on as he bounces briskly around the subcontinent. For the most part, though, Keay does an exceptional job of presenting an overview of not only India, but Pakistan and Bangladesh as well. In this he is aided by a solid structure, strong writing, and a multitude of maps, charts, and tables, that keep you spatially oriented and up-to-date on the lineal succession of various dynasties.
***
India is presented chronologically, beginning three-thousand years before the common era. There are no thematic cutaways, meaning – for instance – no independent chapters covering religion or art or literature. Instead, each chapter is devoted to a discrete period, with the dates helpfully provided at the top of each page. It’s a simple thing, but doing this provides a nice little roadmap.
In the early going – as he teases out the mysteries of the Harappan Civilization, or discusses the spread of the Vedic religion – Keay spends much of his time sifting through the available evidence, and providing a synthesis of the work of other historians. While he would have been forgiven for spending the bulk of this work on more recent years, he does not stint on the age of antiquity. To the contrary, Keay really seems to enjoy it. There is a lot of analysis given to the smallest clues that shed pinpoints of light on the ancient past.
Looking back so far requires a lot of speculation, and the projection of meaning onto incomplete data. As a person who connects with history most immediately through other lives, these initial chapters were sometimes a bit of a slog, since there is no character around which to build a narrative. Instead, Keay resorts to architectural remains, fragments of surviving literature, and close scrutiny of really old coins.
As we move along the timeline, however, names and personalities begin to emerge, and the story becomes more engaging on a human level. The pace really picks up around the time of the Mughal invasion, and in Keay’s account of the great emperors who held dominion until the arrival of the British.
***
As India progresses, and as the spring of sources really begins to flow, Keay tightens his focus. Whereas earlier in the book he discussed monuments and temples, economics, religion, and culture, he eventually devotes most of his coverage to politics. This is a concession to the reality that it would be impossible to merely list all the subtopics and themes connected to his subject, much less give them their due.
Unfortunately, this means that potentially fruitful avenues of inquiry are ignored. I had numerous questions going into this book, and many of them did not get answered. For example, I never really got a good sense of the arc of the relationship between Hindus and Muslims, a relationship that turned decidedly sour at the time of the Partition. Additionally, Keay takes such a broad view that critical moments – such as the Indian Rebellion of 1857 – are discussed abstractedly, rather than presented as a linear set piece.
Again, I don’t hold this against Keay. To open this book is to accept the inherent limitations of a single volume history.
***
A note on the most current edition: When it was first published in 2000, India ended at the turn of the twenty-first century. In the revised and expanded edition I read, though, Keay has added three new chapters, while reworking two others, all of which brings the tale to 2010. While obviously not up-to-the-minute, it provides supplementary context for a vital and ever-changing section of the world.
***
Not surprisingly – and despite the elisions – trying to summarize five busy millennia requires a big book. Specifically, it requires just over 600 pages of text. Thankfully, India is made more digestible by Keay’s style. He is not simply here to dump information, or to put events into sequence, but to relay it artfully, in prose that is by turns descriptive, incisive, and generally graceful. Keay takes pains to maintain an objective balance, and look at things from different perspectives, which is important, because from the Raj to Partition to today, there are a lot of competing voices.
***
There are no shortage of reasons to study India. At the most basic level, there is endless drama to be found in its thousands of years of existence, in its glories and tragedies, its setbacks and triumphs, from wars and famines and colonization to independence and nationhood.
At a more immediate level, the Republic of India occupies a critical geopolitical position. It is the second most populous nation in the world, is armed with nuclear weapons, and is a democracy. As the twenty-first century bends towards totalitarian regimes, it will be interesting to see what kind of moral force it will exert.
December 26, 2014
I purchased this book looking for a good survey of Indian history. I have a degree in history and I am perfectly familiar with the heavy, ratkilling monograph. I am in no way intimidated by them and sat down to tackle Keay's work like I would any other such book.
The book wouldn't let me.
One comes to expect certain things of a historical survey. That is what this book purports to be. I expect to see chronology, events follow in sequence as best as possible. I don't expect, for example, to be reading about Chandragupta and get treated three pages of stories about 18th century orientalists followed by a paragraph about Chandragupta followed by another two pages about some 20th century historian wandering around Pune with a stick.
In the introduction Keay states that he is not a historian. I believe him wholeheartedly. He does not respect chronology. He speculates without explaining his line of reasoning. His writing is stream of consciousness and he makes no effort to restrain himself from banging out on a keyboard whatever is popping into his head. PIck a page out of a chapter heading and there's about a 50-50 chance that what's on that page has something to do with the subject it's filed under. The writing is also stilted. It doesn't flow naturally. I get the impression Keay is trying to impress us with his mastery of the written language but all he does is take 30 words to write something that could be written in 10.
I've done some more digging now that I've dumped this book off at Goodwill to be inflicted on some poor unsuspecting soul. If you want a decent survey of India's vast history look at college syllabi on the subject. I scavenged a few used copies of books that were required reading in college level history classes and they are all much, much better than what I found from Keay. I can recommend so far A History of India by Kulke and Rothermund, the identically titled A History of India by Stein, A New History of India by Stanley Wolpert or A Concise History of Modern India by Barbara Metcalf. Either of these books are a far better survey of the subject than Keay's Book. Now that I think about it, Cartoon History of the Universe II, Vol. 8-13: From the Springtime of China to the Fall of Rome does a better job of discussing India's early history that Keay did.
The book wouldn't let me.
One comes to expect certain things of a historical survey. That is what this book purports to be. I expect to see chronology, events follow in sequence as best as possible. I don't expect, for example, to be reading about Chandragupta and get treated three pages of stories about 18th century orientalists followed by a paragraph about Chandragupta followed by another two pages about some 20th century historian wandering around Pune with a stick.
In the introduction Keay states that he is not a historian. I believe him wholeheartedly. He does not respect chronology. He speculates without explaining his line of reasoning. His writing is stream of consciousness and he makes no effort to restrain himself from banging out on a keyboard whatever is popping into his head. PIck a page out of a chapter heading and there's about a 50-50 chance that what's on that page has something to do with the subject it's filed under. The writing is also stilted. It doesn't flow naturally. I get the impression Keay is trying to impress us with his mastery of the written language but all he does is take 30 words to write something that could be written in 10.
I've done some more digging now that I've dumped this book off at Goodwill to be inflicted on some poor unsuspecting soul. If you want a decent survey of India's vast history look at college syllabi on the subject. I scavenged a few used copies of books that were required reading in college level history classes and they are all much, much better than what I found from Keay. I can recommend so far A History of India by Kulke and Rothermund, the identically titled A History of India by Stein, A New History of India by Stanley Wolpert or A Concise History of Modern India by Barbara Metcalf. Either of these books are a far better survey of the subject than Keay's Book. Now that I think about it, Cartoon History of the Universe II, Vol. 8-13: From the Springtime of China to the Fall of Rome does a better job of discussing India's early history that Keay did.
February 12, 2021
Before reading this book, if somebody had asked me how much I knew about the history of India, I would have responded “very little.” Now I know that even that answer would have been optimistic. Though I normally like to consider myself an informed, educated, well-rounded person, the reality was that one of the largest and most populous countries in the world—a place with a deep history and a rich culture—was virtually unknown to me, aside from a few common clichés. It is amazing how ignorant one can be without ever suspecting it.
That I can now at least tell Nehru from Chandragupta is thanks to this book. I must extend my deepest gratitude, then, to John Keay for helping me out of the pit of darkness. Even so, I am afraid that much of what I have to say about this book is negative.
Keay notes in the introduction that histories of India have suffered from an overemphasis on culture, art, philosophy, or religion, rather than a chronological history of political events. This may have been true, but for my part Keay’s treatment is an overcorrection. This book is almost exclusively focused on who ruled when, how much territory, for how many years, and how he (most are men) came to power (or lost it). This makes for some fairly dry reading. In a book of this modest length, the result is a parade of names who briefly strut across the stage, and then are heard no more. I would also argue that such a treatment is neither more accurate nor more insightful than the approaches he decries. What justification is there, for example, to cover dozens of fairly minor rulers without once mentioning Aryabhata, the pioneering Indian mathematician and astronomer? After all, Isaac Newton has had a more decisive effect on history than William of Orange.
Keay’s writing also leaves a lot to be desired. Not that he is inarticulate. Indeed, his style can be quite enjoyable. What he lacks is the ability to weave his sentences into a satisfying whole. One might even say that he writes badly in good prose. Perhaps because Keay knows his subject too well, he always seems to be narrating in medias res, plunging into a flurry of names and places without giving the reader a larger context to latch onto. Admittedly my own ignorance added to the confusion; but I do not see the value in a single-volume history of India if it presumes familiarity with the subject. Where is the student to start?
As evidence, I submit this entirely typical passage:
If this section came after a careful setup, perhaps it would be enjoyable; but when every page is written this way, then the neophyte is hopelessly lost.
Keay does deserve our sympathy, as any single-volume history of virtually any country will fall short. There is simply too much to cover. Nevertheless, I think Keay’s chronological approach, and his near-exclusive focus on political history, does not do any favors for the curious outsider. I spent a good deal of time on internet searches, and even decided to supplement this book with Michael Wood’s BBC series on India. Still I was frequently lost. But at the very least, I can now truthfully say I know “very little” about the history of India. That is progress.
That I can now at least tell Nehru from Chandragupta is thanks to this book. I must extend my deepest gratitude, then, to John Keay for helping me out of the pit of darkness. Even so, I am afraid that much of what I have to say about this book is negative.
Keay notes in the introduction that histories of India have suffered from an overemphasis on culture, art, philosophy, or religion, rather than a chronological history of political events. This may have been true, but for my part Keay’s treatment is an overcorrection. This book is almost exclusively focused on who ruled when, how much territory, for how many years, and how he (most are men) came to power (or lost it). This makes for some fairly dry reading. In a book of this modest length, the result is a parade of names who briefly strut across the stage, and then are heard no more. I would also argue that such a treatment is neither more accurate nor more insightful than the approaches he decries. What justification is there, for example, to cover dozens of fairly minor rulers without once mentioning Aryabhata, the pioneering Indian mathematician and astronomer? After all, Isaac Newton has had a more decisive effect on history than William of Orange.
Keay’s writing also leaves a lot to be desired. Not that he is inarticulate. Indeed, his style can be quite enjoyable. What he lacks is the ability to weave his sentences into a satisfying whole. One might even say that he writes badly in good prose. Perhaps because Keay knows his subject too well, he always seems to be narrating in medias res, plunging into a flurry of names and places without giving the reader a larger context to latch onto. Admittedly my own ignorance added to the confusion; but I do not see the value in a single-volume history of India if it presumes familiarity with the subject. Where is the student to start?
As evidence, I submit this entirely typical passage:
From Ghazni the Ghorid had first turned his attention to Sind, routing the restored Ismaili ruler of Multan and eventually pushing down the Indus to Mansurah and Debal. He had thence attempted to attack the Solankis of Gujarat by crossing the Thar desert in imitation of Mahmud’s raid on Somnath.
If this section came after a careful setup, perhaps it would be enjoyable; but when every page is written this way, then the neophyte is hopelessly lost.
Keay does deserve our sympathy, as any single-volume history of virtually any country will fall short. There is simply too much to cover. Nevertheless, I think Keay’s chronological approach, and his near-exclusive focus on political history, does not do any favors for the curious outsider. I spent a good deal of time on internet searches, and even decided to supplement this book with Michael Wood’s BBC series on India. Still I was frequently lost. But at the very least, I can now truthfully say I know “very little” about the history of India. That is progress.
July 27, 2011
How do you boil down thousands of years of civilization, empires, kingdoms and conquests too numerous to mention here into one book? I haven't the faintest idea how he manages to pull it off, but in India, A History John Keay does exactly that- and more to the point, does it extremely well.
This book represents the best one volume answer to everything you ever wanted to know about India but were afraid to ask. Starting with the earliest civilizations (the Harrapans of the Indus Valley) and wending and winding its way through to the present day, Keay takes the reader by the hand and does his best not to put you into a coma, though he doesn't necessarily succeed at that for the entire book. So yeah, as a history book, this wasn't bad. I've read, seen and heard about plenty worse- dry, dusty and academic to the point of putting the reader into catatonia, but this, thankfully isn't one of those books. Keay is sufficiently engaged and enthusiastic about his subject matter that his enthusiasm is translated to the reader and you actually want to get to more juicy bits when you're stuck between empires.
I guess the obvious question to ask when reading volumes of history is a simple one: did you learn anything? Happily, I can report that with this volume, I learned- a lot. There's a lot more to India than Bollywood movies, curry and catching 'Gandhi' on AMC's Oscar month- much, much more and Keay's real strength lies not in illuminating or saying new things about the Mughal Period or the British Conquest, but filling in the wide gaps of well, my general knowledge about what came before. Empires like the Mauryans, the Cholas (who spread into the SE Asia) and the Guptas with their gold- or even more recent Empires like Vijayanagar in the South were all completely unknown to me, so I learned more than I could possibly want to know- all in one volume.
If Keay does have a fault, well, it's that this book is 500 pages long. Comprehensive, yes, but difficult to read all at once- in fact, I can say that about the next three books I've been reading (including this one)- which is why it's taken me so long to read them. I just couldn't concentrate on this book for an extended period of time and read it all at once- I'd just slip into a coma if I tried. But, slowly but surely- with the right amount of breaks in between, you can get through this book, be entertained, be informed and learn a heckuva lot.
Another fault for Keay: the closer it gets to the present, the less detail Keay offers. To be totally fair, he is trying his best to put the entire history of India into one volume- not an easy feat, so you're probably going to lose something along the way, but the fight for independence and certainly the disaster of Partition and the ramifications of that throughout the past century weren't given the analysis they truly deserve- especially given the magnitude of the disaster of Partition, it's hard to think of another disaster, man-made or otherwise that has impacted the sub-continent so much, even after thousands of years of civilization and history.
Overall: Believe it or not, Keay manages to credibly achieve the near impossible and put the history of this magnificent country into a single volume. If you need to learn about India, rest assured that Keay provides a remarkably clear-eyed view (as free as you can be of Western, colonialist or culturalist biases) of the incredible complexity and succession of kingdoms, empires and civilization that have risen and fallen throughout the history of India and the rest of South Asia.
This book represents the best one volume answer to everything you ever wanted to know about India but were afraid to ask. Starting with the earliest civilizations (the Harrapans of the Indus Valley) and wending and winding its way through to the present day, Keay takes the reader by the hand and does his best not to put you into a coma, though he doesn't necessarily succeed at that for the entire book. So yeah, as a history book, this wasn't bad. I've read, seen and heard about plenty worse- dry, dusty and academic to the point of putting the reader into catatonia, but this, thankfully isn't one of those books. Keay is sufficiently engaged and enthusiastic about his subject matter that his enthusiasm is translated to the reader and you actually want to get to more juicy bits when you're stuck between empires.
I guess the obvious question to ask when reading volumes of history is a simple one: did you learn anything? Happily, I can report that with this volume, I learned- a lot. There's a lot more to India than Bollywood movies, curry and catching 'Gandhi' on AMC's Oscar month- much, much more and Keay's real strength lies not in illuminating or saying new things about the Mughal Period or the British Conquest, but filling in the wide gaps of well, my general knowledge about what came before. Empires like the Mauryans, the Cholas (who spread into the SE Asia) and the Guptas with their gold- or even more recent Empires like Vijayanagar in the South were all completely unknown to me, so I learned more than I could possibly want to know- all in one volume.
If Keay does have a fault, well, it's that this book is 500 pages long. Comprehensive, yes, but difficult to read all at once- in fact, I can say that about the next three books I've been reading (including this one)- which is why it's taken me so long to read them. I just couldn't concentrate on this book for an extended period of time and read it all at once- I'd just slip into a coma if I tried. But, slowly but surely- with the right amount of breaks in between, you can get through this book, be entertained, be informed and learn a heckuva lot.
Another fault for Keay: the closer it gets to the present, the less detail Keay offers. To be totally fair, he is trying his best to put the entire history of India into one volume- not an easy feat, so you're probably going to lose something along the way, but the fight for independence and certainly the disaster of Partition and the ramifications of that throughout the past century weren't given the analysis they truly deserve- especially given the magnitude of the disaster of Partition, it's hard to think of another disaster, man-made or otherwise that has impacted the sub-continent so much, even after thousands of years of civilization and history.
Overall: Believe it or not, Keay manages to credibly achieve the near impossible and put the history of this magnificent country into a single volume. If you need to learn about India, rest assured that Keay provides a remarkably clear-eyed view (as free as you can be of Western, colonialist or culturalist biases) of the incredible complexity and succession of kingdoms, empires and civilization that have risen and fallen throughout the history of India and the rest of South Asia.
April 20, 2022
John Keay points out in his introduction that given the lack of early source materials and the specialist nature of recent discoveries a current overview is needed for Indian history prior to the 13th century. If a generalist approach is needed Keay is a very likely writer to provide it. His study of India over the past fifty years and an eloquent writing style add a shine to this work that other more academic renderings have failed to achieve. Despite concerns about the survey format it is a worthwhile place to start.
Many prior histories of ancient India have emphasized culture and religion due to the absence of primary sources for early political and military events. Keay amalgamates a narrative from the disciplines of archaeology, architecture, art, numismatics and philology. Rather than a reconstruction based only on written material he uses India's monuments as a portal to the past. The book has an added dimension in its account of the discovery process of Indian history that began in the past several centuries.
For the most part Keay is successful in his goals. He delivers a straight forward chronological account with much topical material integrated into the story line. The ancient through classical part of the book spans half of the 500 page text. I would probably look elsewhere for the later history of India. For the medieval era through the Mughals there are other choices but they are not great. In the modern period Jon Wilson and Ramachandra Guha may suffice. This is a good choice as an introduction to the early history.
In the first ten chapters Keay covers the Harappa, Aryan, Maurya, Gupta, Chalukya, Chola, Pallava and Pandyan periods up to the Islamic conquest of 1206. He weighs the various theories of invasions, migrations and miscegenation debated since Sir William Jones found common roots in Sanskrit and English. Undaunted by fraught origin topics he views Aryans as nomadic migrants who owed much to the settled locals. Europe's medieval city-states yield a useful comparison with later Deccan dynasties.
The next five chapters deal with the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire. Keay traverses the historical minefields of Muslim invasions and temple destruction emerging mostly unscathed. Five more chapters cover East India Company rule, the Raj and onward towards the Partition, another political third rail. A lot of Keay's writings focuse on the colonial period but they do not reveal him to be particularly anglocentric. He finishes five millennia standing on two feet, sustained by an abiding love for India.
Many prior histories of ancient India have emphasized culture and religion due to the absence of primary sources for early political and military events. Keay amalgamates a narrative from the disciplines of archaeology, architecture, art, numismatics and philology. Rather than a reconstruction based only on written material he uses India's monuments as a portal to the past. The book has an added dimension in its account of the discovery process of Indian history that began in the past several centuries.
For the most part Keay is successful in his goals. He delivers a straight forward chronological account with much topical material integrated into the story line. The ancient through classical part of the book spans half of the 500 page text. I would probably look elsewhere for the later history of India. For the medieval era through the Mughals there are other choices but they are not great. In the modern period Jon Wilson and Ramachandra Guha may suffice. This is a good choice as an introduction to the early history.
In the first ten chapters Keay covers the Harappa, Aryan, Maurya, Gupta, Chalukya, Chola, Pallava and Pandyan periods up to the Islamic conquest of 1206. He weighs the various theories of invasions, migrations and miscegenation debated since Sir William Jones found common roots in Sanskrit and English. Undaunted by fraught origin topics he views Aryans as nomadic migrants who owed much to the settled locals. Europe's medieval city-states yield a useful comparison with later Deccan dynasties.
The next five chapters deal with the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire. Keay traverses the historical minefields of Muslim invasions and temple destruction emerging mostly unscathed. Five more chapters cover East India Company rule, the Raj and onward towards the Partition, another political third rail. A lot of Keay's writings focuse on the colonial period but they do not reveal him to be particularly anglocentric. He finishes five millennia standing on two feet, sustained by an abiding love for India.
August 5, 2011
Ok....so it has been on my wall for a year and I still have only read 1/2. I am officially giving up. I will probably continue to read parts on and off but this book is too encompassing.
India is far to eclectic to try and cover it's thousands of years of history for all parts into one book. The south and the north have very different histories. The rise and fall of kingdoms to be covered in one book comes across very rushed and hard to follow.
I would find it much more beneficial to pick an area and to pick a time period and then read on that so that you understand it better. For example reading about the British Raj and the Freedom movement that followed or the Moghul Rulers. Otherwise it feels like you will never grasp it.
It does give you a glimpse at the country as a whole and makes you understand many of the issues that are still around today.
India is far to eclectic to try and cover it's thousands of years of history for all parts into one book. The south and the north have very different histories. The rise and fall of kingdoms to be covered in one book comes across very rushed and hard to follow.
I would find it much more beneficial to pick an area and to pick a time period and then read on that so that you understand it better. For example reading about the British Raj and the Freedom movement that followed or the Moghul Rulers. Otherwise it feels like you will never grasp it.
It does give you a glimpse at the country as a whole and makes you understand many of the issues that are still around today.
October 4, 2019
Without particular prior knowledge, I wanted to get an overview of the history of India. And this book was very effective for my purposes. It encompasses around 5000 years of Indian history and it does not focus more on the later periods, which was an asset for me. Obviously, it is not comprehensive, but it is cohesive and contains a lot of interesting nuggets of information, especially about the older periods where there was no written evidence per se. In the later periods, I would prefer more cultural history rather than the focus on politics with numerous names of leaders and the wars. But any book of such scope would have potential limitations.
I've learned a lot about the interactions between the Muslims who has started to arrive in significant quantities in the 11th century and the people who lived on the subcontinent before that. At that time, the book claims, more of the Muslims arrived as refugees than the conquerors. They also brought paper and probably the spinning will into India.
The period of British colonisation would probably be controversial whatever a writer does. I felt in some parts (not always) slightly like the Indian people colonised themselves. And East Indian company just appeared to be there and did not have a choice in the matter but to start to govern the region. Which i seriously doubt. However, I've read some reviews, and they are angry with the author for underplaying the positive role of British Empire and mentioning only negatives. So here we go. Overall, I think the book at least tried to be balanced. However, if someone is interested in this particular period, I would search for a different book.
I've learned a lot about the interactions between the Muslims who has started to arrive in significant quantities in the 11th century and the people who lived on the subcontinent before that. At that time, the book claims, more of the Muslims arrived as refugees than the conquerors. They also brought paper and probably the spinning will into India.
The period of British colonisation would probably be controversial whatever a writer does. I felt in some parts (not always) slightly like the Indian people colonised themselves. And East Indian company just appeared to be there and did not have a choice in the matter but to start to govern the region. Which i seriously doubt. However, I've read some reviews, and they are angry with the author for underplaying the positive role of British Empire and mentioning only negatives. So here we go. Overall, I think the book at least tried to be balanced. However, if someone is interested in this particular period, I would search for a different book.
April 9, 2023
This book did what my history teachers failed to do in school, year after year,.... To make me love the extremely complicated Indian History which spans from prehistory to today.John Keay did a fantastic job of making the tapestry of Indian history by taking the time to weave one thread at a time. He didn't leave any events worthy of mentioning in his chronology and then some unknown events , with facts mixed in and made this book extremely interesting. Numerous times I thought "Ah ha he missed mentioning about a person or an event or a place" .But to my surprise he always came back and touched on that subject subsequently ,guaranteed. Keay has painstakingly sorted though numerous references and formulated the skeletal structure by his extensive research and added meat to the story by voicing his opinions on touchy subjects as he has the luxury of any outsiders.Any person even mildly interested in knowing about Indian history should pick up this book and give it a try. I say give it a try , because I failed to make progress beyond first 2 chapters numerous times in the past 2 years .Be forewarned.. This is a heavy read. Take the time to read and digest the details and it is worth it. But when you finish the book you will have immense satisfaction that you have tamed this 535 page behemoth and in the process you have learned quite a bit. One thing I regret is not book marking or highlighting the interesting , intriguing facts while reading the book. Now I might have to reread this book to fish out those details.Higly Recommend this book.
September 10, 2014
Keay's
India: A History
is an insightful book. Insight into the past of the vast Indian subcontinent. To pack 5000 years of diffusive and tumultous history into 650 pages seems unattainable but Keay manages to do it, and impressively.
Keay's meticulousness and resourcefulness are quite evident in the book. Referenced from many excellent sources - old and new; western and indian - it is extremely informative and fluent. It's like an old wise man sitting beside you and recounting what all he has seen through his eyes and heard through his ears since the last 5000 years. And you want to thank this man for such an impartial account of history.
Keay has tried to give an honest interpretation, it seems, of the historical events which had betrayal and submission; battles and alliances; extravangaza and indigence; valiance and cowardice; development and destruction; death and resurrection; conquest and loss.
Maps, charts and timelines helped me get a better understanding of the battle sites, the area of the empires and all the other ssignificant sites in the ancient, medieval and modern history.
Since I've read a more detailed account of India after 1947, the last chapters in Keay's book were a mere formality for me but for someone who is not familiar and has not read anything about modern Indian History, this presents itself as a formidable source of information and enlightenment.
Keay's meticulousness and resourcefulness are quite evident in the book. Referenced from many excellent sources - old and new; western and indian - it is extremely informative and fluent. It's like an old wise man sitting beside you and recounting what all he has seen through his eyes and heard through his ears since the last 5000 years. And you want to thank this man for such an impartial account of history.
Keay has tried to give an honest interpretation, it seems, of the historical events which had betrayal and submission; battles and alliances; extravangaza and indigence; valiance and cowardice; development and destruction; death and resurrection; conquest and loss.
Maps, charts and timelines helped me get a better understanding of the battle sites, the area of the empires and all the other ssignificant sites in the ancient, medieval and modern history.
Since I've read a more detailed account of India after 1947, the last chapters in Keay's book were a mere formality for me but for someone who is not familiar and has not read anything about modern Indian History, this presents itself as a formidable source of information and enlightenment.
May 23, 2024
Keay's history of India was quite interesting. When dealing with a span of history as vast as India's, Keay does a very good job of explaining its complex history.
Starting with the Harrapan civilization of 3,000-1,700 BCE, Keay takes us through the various invasions that formed India. From the Aryans, to the Muslim and Mongol invaders, to the British Empire.
Keay shows the variety of nations that make up modern-day India and the challenges it will face as the BJP tries to make it a Hindu-dominant nation. Considering the multicultural background of India this will pose serious problems in the future.
The history of India is a convoluted one with conflict between warring Princely states and a variety of different religions. This strange mixture was united by their dislike of the British and this led to the formation of the modern state of India.
A vast and oft complex history is well explained and quite interesting. If you would like to increase your knowledge on the long history of India then this is an excellent book for you.
Starting with the Harrapan civilization of 3,000-1,700 BCE, Keay takes us through the various invasions that formed India. From the Aryans, to the Muslim and Mongol invaders, to the British Empire.
Keay shows the variety of nations that make up modern-day India and the challenges it will face as the BJP tries to make it a Hindu-dominant nation. Considering the multicultural background of India this will pose serious problems in the future.
The history of India is a convoluted one with conflict between warring Princely states and a variety of different religions. This strange mixture was united by their dislike of the British and this led to the formation of the modern state of India.
A vast and oft complex history is well explained and quite interesting. If you would like to increase your knowledge on the long history of India then this is an excellent book for you.
October 17, 2021
Deciphering India’s history is a muddle. I’ve read a lor of history about poorly documented places. The Ancient World overall is spotty in documentation and leaves out a lot of everyday things we’d expect in a history. And places like Persia, whose history was mostly written by outsiders, pose particularly interesting challenges. But Persia’s got nothing on India. Indian history is like having six or seven Persias all intertwined with each other with the sources written by distant foreigners who aren’t even intending to write history or else by later Indian sources based on centuries of confused and half-remembered oral memory and which can’t state for sure which state or era it’s even talking about. In short: an absolute mess that’s pretty intimidating for the outsider.
So it’s a real relief to read this guide by John Keay that lays out Indian history in as clear a manner as it can be. Given the source problems, most historians tend to focus on social, religious, or linguistic matters, which are better documented, but this is a political history seeking to explain how the myriad dynasties scattered across India actually fit into chronological order. This is particularly important in the earlier sections where all is very vague.
The maps are a particular standout. There’s about one per chapter and they focus on specific locations of relevance to the discussion. Given all the unfamiliar names and regional variety this is essential to have the faintest clue what’s going on. The book has a string of useful diagrams as well, especially the dynastic lists. Such resources make following along easy.
Given the nature of the challenge the book is often unsatisfactory. While it speaks with great clarity towards the better documented end, the early sections often have to admit just how tenuous these historical threads are. At times the narrative focus switches towards the discovery of artifacts that illuminate the era (always an interesting storytelling tool) or else take us on meandering sidestories. At times he can even fall for that old chestnut of throwing unfamiliar names at you as if you should be familiar with them. Particularly locations. It’s rather unfortunate that simplifying a difficult civilization for a popular audience can at times be highly unfulfilling, but there it is.
I really enjoyed this book and found it a very useful source of information. It is a highly informative guide where focus on specific periods is never allowed to occlude the big picture. It is not a complete guide: cultural and religious history in particular get short shrift in the grand narrative. But it is a useful introductory book to a large and often confounding topic.
So it’s a real relief to read this guide by John Keay that lays out Indian history in as clear a manner as it can be. Given the source problems, most historians tend to focus on social, religious, or linguistic matters, which are better documented, but this is a political history seeking to explain how the myriad dynasties scattered across India actually fit into chronological order. This is particularly important in the earlier sections where all is very vague.
The maps are a particular standout. There’s about one per chapter and they focus on specific locations of relevance to the discussion. Given all the unfamiliar names and regional variety this is essential to have the faintest clue what’s going on. The book has a string of useful diagrams as well, especially the dynastic lists. Such resources make following along easy.
Given the nature of the challenge the book is often unsatisfactory. While it speaks with great clarity towards the better documented end, the early sections often have to admit just how tenuous these historical threads are. At times the narrative focus switches towards the discovery of artifacts that illuminate the era (always an interesting storytelling tool) or else take us on meandering sidestories. At times he can even fall for that old chestnut of throwing unfamiliar names at you as if you should be familiar with them. Particularly locations. It’s rather unfortunate that simplifying a difficult civilization for a popular audience can at times be highly unfulfilling, but there it is.
I really enjoyed this book and found it a very useful source of information. It is a highly informative guide where focus on specific periods is never allowed to occlude the big picture. It is not a complete guide: cultural and religious history in particular get short shrift in the grand narrative. But it is a useful introductory book to a large and often confounding topic.
August 14, 2014
The history of a subcontinent is bound to be a complex affair. The more people, the more going on, and the more needs to be simplified and cut down to make a manageable volume. Most historians look for trends: if you're writing a history of Europe, for example, then the Black Death, the Reformation and the Age of Enlightenment are all pan-continental developments which can be discussed either in broad terms or through the prism of one country's experience.
Maybe for India these developments don't exist. Certainly Keay's work gives that impression. Once he's got out of prehistory, about half the book is consumed with little more than a series of wars, whether between the various regional leaders, between the natives and the invading forces of Mongols and Turks, or between rulers and their sons, the violence seems endless. The cast of characters is large, with names and places passing by in a blink of history's eye, but none of them ever seem to have substance. Mentions of anything else seem little more than cursory, with the Taj Mahal referred to only in passing and the entire colonial enterprise of Portugal reduced to a couple of paragraphs. Buddha gets a little more than that, but not much so.
Until, that is, the British arrive. Keay's view of British India is somewhat confused. During the rise of the East India Company and its transmutation into the Raj, he clearly regards it as little short of evil. Explaining why a country which seems thus far to have done nothing but make war for over a thousand years is made worse by the arrival of Europeans is difficult, but Keay gives it his best shot, often using tortured justifications such as the claim that Indian military escapades never went beyond the "natural borders" of the country (a way of thinking which could equally have been applied to justifying Hitler's annexations) or by playing up the apparent racism of some Brits and more or less ignoring the period in which many ex-pats started adopting Indian dress, customs and even wives. Similarly, when it comes to the uprising of 1857, Keay does his best to gloss over the massacre of women and children by the Rani of Jhansi's troops whilst making political capital from the savagery of British retribution. By sugar-coating one side of the story, Keay turns his two-page account of the struggle into a creation myth to rank alongside the version of the American War of Independence spoonfed to US children.
Where the book performs better is in its later stages, when it looks at the rise of the nationalist movement, the road to independence and its aftermath. Although the narrative is still littered with character assassinations of the British political class (mostly, it has to be said, of those on the right), it does at least make it clear that giving autonomy to such a complex land - one which had never been a single nation before - wasn't going to be a simple process. The politics of regions with different ethnic balances, different political cultures and systems, of the competing interests of Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus, make it clear that Britain was never going to leave India whole and happy. That an attempt at partition had already failed in Bengal is balanced against the point that the Muslims had already been agitating for a separate nation (and had themselves coined the name Pakistan) before the British ever broached the notion.
Beyond partition, Keay also becomes more balanced, seeking justifications for the struggles over Kashmir or Indira Ghandi's assumption of absolute authority. Whilst this approach is welcome, it beggars the question of why it was absent throughout the rest of the book. A real analysis of the way in which India's history had shaped its peoples could have made it clearer whether an equitable solution to the problem of independence had ever been possible. The fears of federalism being a Trojan Horse for ongoing British interference may not have been groundless, but could such a scheme have prevented the violence which followed partition? Whilst the Cold War and the Middle East crisis of the 1970s clearly impacted the Indian subcontinent, was it inevitable that these would lead to military dictatorships, fundamentalism and the wary nuclear balance we have today? Was it possible that a federal India might have instead become an example of successful religious pluralism for the wider world?
The ultimate impression I received from Keay's book was it was written by a man who didn't want to answer these questions; rather he wanted to grind his axe on the perceived failings of the British Empire. My quest for a more balanced history therefore continues.
Maybe for India these developments don't exist. Certainly Keay's work gives that impression. Once he's got out of prehistory, about half the book is consumed with little more than a series of wars, whether between the various regional leaders, between the natives and the invading forces of Mongols and Turks, or between rulers and their sons, the violence seems endless. The cast of characters is large, with names and places passing by in a blink of history's eye, but none of them ever seem to have substance. Mentions of anything else seem little more than cursory, with the Taj Mahal referred to only in passing and the entire colonial enterprise of Portugal reduced to a couple of paragraphs. Buddha gets a little more than that, but not much so.
Until, that is, the British arrive. Keay's view of British India is somewhat confused. During the rise of the East India Company and its transmutation into the Raj, he clearly regards it as little short of evil. Explaining why a country which seems thus far to have done nothing but make war for over a thousand years is made worse by the arrival of Europeans is difficult, but Keay gives it his best shot, often using tortured justifications such as the claim that Indian military escapades never went beyond the "natural borders" of the country (a way of thinking which could equally have been applied to justifying Hitler's annexations) or by playing up the apparent racism of some Brits and more or less ignoring the period in which many ex-pats started adopting Indian dress, customs and even wives. Similarly, when it comes to the uprising of 1857, Keay does his best to gloss over the massacre of women and children by the Rani of Jhansi's troops whilst making political capital from the savagery of British retribution. By sugar-coating one side of the story, Keay turns his two-page account of the struggle into a creation myth to rank alongside the version of the American War of Independence spoonfed to US children.
Where the book performs better is in its later stages, when it looks at the rise of the nationalist movement, the road to independence and its aftermath. Although the narrative is still littered with character assassinations of the British political class (mostly, it has to be said, of those on the right), it does at least make it clear that giving autonomy to such a complex land - one which had never been a single nation before - wasn't going to be a simple process. The politics of regions with different ethnic balances, different political cultures and systems, of the competing interests of Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus, make it clear that Britain was never going to leave India whole and happy. That an attempt at partition had already failed in Bengal is balanced against the point that the Muslims had already been agitating for a separate nation (and had themselves coined the name Pakistan) before the British ever broached the notion.
Beyond partition, Keay also becomes more balanced, seeking justifications for the struggles over Kashmir or Indira Ghandi's assumption of absolute authority. Whilst this approach is welcome, it beggars the question of why it was absent throughout the rest of the book. A real analysis of the way in which India's history had shaped its peoples could have made it clearer whether an equitable solution to the problem of independence had ever been possible. The fears of federalism being a Trojan Horse for ongoing British interference may not have been groundless, but could such a scheme have prevented the violence which followed partition? Whilst the Cold War and the Middle East crisis of the 1970s clearly impacted the Indian subcontinent, was it inevitable that these would lead to military dictatorships, fundamentalism and the wary nuclear balance we have today? Was it possible that a federal India might have instead become an example of successful religious pluralism for the wider world?
The ultimate impression I received from Keay's book was it was written by a man who didn't want to answer these questions; rather he wanted to grind his axe on the perceived failings of the British Empire. My quest for a more balanced history therefore continues.
February 20, 2014
Going into my first visit to India, I realized that I had almost no knowledge of its history, so I was seeking a readable single volume that would bring me somewhat up to speed. I had followed a similar approach with Leonard Thompson's "A History of South Africa" and very much enjoyed it. While I enjoyed Keay's book as well, it became clear pretty early on that it would be a bit more of a slog.
The fundamental difference, of course, is that while South Africa and India have both been inhabited for many thousands of years, South Africa's written history is pretty sparse before the arrival of the Europeans. As a result, Thompson's book ended up focusing mostly on the last 400 years or so, which meant a fairly linear narrative of proxy battles between European powers and struggles between the newcomers and the natives. India, by contrast, has a significant written history and was really a set of independent cultures until fairly recently. The result is that the book doesn't build any momentum until about half-way through. A short-lived power will spring up out of nowhere in the south of India and then fade away as quickly as it came, leaving no meaningful impact on the India of today. Meanwhile, something similar will be happening in the north, with neither power having any real interaction with each other. It is really only when the Mughal Empire begins to rise and unite the subcontinent that a more cohesive narrative begins to form. Indeed, Keay makes a comment to this effect when he teases the arrival of the Mughals at the beginning of Chapter 13:
"Through the agency of Babur, first of the Great Mughals, the multilateral history of the Indian subcontinent begins to jell into the monolithic history of India".
You can almost sense his relief rising off the page and as the reader, you feel much the same way.
Of course, I can't really fault the author for this. It wouldn't be appropriate for him to build a linear narrative where none exists. However, the casual reader looking to understand the India of today by learning about its history should be aware that there are several hundred pages of effectively "throwaway" history here, which is to say events and people that didn't have a meaningful impact on what happened later.
All that being said, once Keay did make it to Mughals, readability definitely picked up and I enjoyed the remainder of the book significantly more. As a neutral observer, his summary of the lead-up to and execution of partition seemed balanced and I appreciated that he followed through with the post-partition history of Pakistan and Bangladesh - in other words, this is the history of the Indian subcontinent, not just India the country that we know today.
Keay's writing style is clear and readable, with choice use of wit thrown in to liven up the history, my favorite example being:
"In what the latter often characterized as a doctor-patient relationship, it looked as if India could be retained on a drip-feed of concessions until the sacred cows came home. The First World War changed all that. With the imperial medico coming under severe strain, the Indian patient was co-opted onto the nursing staff. He was fitter, evidently, and the doctor frailer than had been supposed. Doing the rounds, he heard tell of an American panacea called self-determination and of a more revolutionary cure being pioneered in Russia. It was doubtful whether he should be in hospital at all. If the doctor was so obviously fallible, why should the patient be patient?"
If you want a thorough, readable single-volume history of India, I can definitely recommend this. Just be prepared for a bunch of false starts through the first half. And if you find yourself struggling through that part of the book, consider skipping ahead to the Mughals and proceeding from there. If your goals for reading the book were like mine, you'll get most of what you're looking for with much less of a slog.
The fundamental difference, of course, is that while South Africa and India have both been inhabited for many thousands of years, South Africa's written history is pretty sparse before the arrival of the Europeans. As a result, Thompson's book ended up focusing mostly on the last 400 years or so, which meant a fairly linear narrative of proxy battles between European powers and struggles between the newcomers and the natives. India, by contrast, has a significant written history and was really a set of independent cultures until fairly recently. The result is that the book doesn't build any momentum until about half-way through. A short-lived power will spring up out of nowhere in the south of India and then fade away as quickly as it came, leaving no meaningful impact on the India of today. Meanwhile, something similar will be happening in the north, with neither power having any real interaction with each other. It is really only when the Mughal Empire begins to rise and unite the subcontinent that a more cohesive narrative begins to form. Indeed, Keay makes a comment to this effect when he teases the arrival of the Mughals at the beginning of Chapter 13:
"Through the agency of Babur, first of the Great Mughals, the multilateral history of the Indian subcontinent begins to jell into the monolithic history of India".
You can almost sense his relief rising off the page and as the reader, you feel much the same way.
Of course, I can't really fault the author for this. It wouldn't be appropriate for him to build a linear narrative where none exists. However, the casual reader looking to understand the India of today by learning about its history should be aware that there are several hundred pages of effectively "throwaway" history here, which is to say events and people that didn't have a meaningful impact on what happened later.
All that being said, once Keay did make it to Mughals, readability definitely picked up and I enjoyed the remainder of the book significantly more. As a neutral observer, his summary of the lead-up to and execution of partition seemed balanced and I appreciated that he followed through with the post-partition history of Pakistan and Bangladesh - in other words, this is the history of the Indian subcontinent, not just India the country that we know today.
Keay's writing style is clear and readable, with choice use of wit thrown in to liven up the history, my favorite example being:
"In what the latter often characterized as a doctor-patient relationship, it looked as if India could be retained on a drip-feed of concessions until the sacred cows came home. The First World War changed all that. With the imperial medico coming under severe strain, the Indian patient was co-opted onto the nursing staff. He was fitter, evidently, and the doctor frailer than had been supposed. Doing the rounds, he heard tell of an American panacea called self-determination and of a more revolutionary cure being pioneered in Russia. It was doubtful whether he should be in hospital at all. If the doctor was so obviously fallible, why should the patient be patient?"
If you want a thorough, readable single-volume history of India, I can definitely recommend this. Just be prepared for a bunch of false starts through the first half. And if you find yourself struggling through that part of the book, consider skipping ahead to the Mughals and proceeding from there. If your goals for reading the book were like mine, you'll get most of what you're looking for with much less of a slog.
January 10, 2011
The main problem with this book is its scope. Purportedly a book about India's history, it is quickly apparent that there is hardly any available data on which a plausible history for the three thousand plus years BCE. While this is no fault of the author, it does disappoint a little to find that instead of an actual history, what is provided is founded largely on myth.
Where facts were available, the book suffered from the fact that it was extremely difficult to relate what was happening in North India with what was taking place in South India. Perhaps this was due to the obscure geography and place names being used or possibly developments in one had no effect on the other but if that was the case, it was not clear.
The wars between the French and the British for control of India seemed to have been skimmed over. Ultimately, the book serves to leave the reader looking for more detail.
Where facts were available, the book suffered from the fact that it was extremely difficult to relate what was happening in North India with what was taking place in South India. Perhaps this was due to the obscure geography and place names being used or possibly developments in one had no effect on the other but if that was the case, it was not clear.
The wars between the French and the British for control of India seemed to have been skimmed over. Ultimately, the book serves to leave the reader looking for more detail.
January 28, 2016
Alright. I give up. Here's my most-of-the-way (and slow-going) review.
The author knows what he's talking about. He has taken centuries and centuries of data and compiled it into a logical timeline, showing the rise and fall of the dynasties throughout Indian history. He takes events that seem isolated and unimportant and places them in a historical context - a valuable skills for any historian.
The problem is that while the author clearly has a fine grip on the facts (or at least the evidence and the currently held logical conclusions), he doesn't know how to WRITE prose that isn't clunky and overly academic. More than once while reading this I had to stop, restart a sentence or paragraph and read it again. Then again. Then aloud. I'm not a slow reader, nor am I one who has poor reading comprehension. But when I have to repeat - out loud - a sentence multiple times in order to parse the sentence structure, there is something wrong. When I can't immediately tell which verb belongs with which predicate and adverbial phrase, the editor let something slip.
There are ways to make this kind of writing easy to understand, and by no means am I suggesting that the vocabulary be simplified or the content "dumbed down" to suit a less intelligent audience. That defeats the purpose. I'm saying that having such a stilted and clumsy prose just distracts from the message and the facts, making your book less meaningful.
That said, if you have any interest in a sweeping survey of Indian history, one that focuses on more than just Post-Colonial period, this is an invaluable resource. Keep in mind that there was a new edition recently that includes more modern history, while the first edition pretty much ended with Gandhi's victories.
The author knows what he's talking about. He has taken centuries and centuries of data and compiled it into a logical timeline, showing the rise and fall of the dynasties throughout Indian history. He takes events that seem isolated and unimportant and places them in a historical context - a valuable skills for any historian.
The problem is that while the author clearly has a fine grip on the facts (or at least the evidence and the currently held logical conclusions), he doesn't know how to WRITE prose that isn't clunky and overly academic. More than once while reading this I had to stop, restart a sentence or paragraph and read it again. Then again. Then aloud. I'm not a slow reader, nor am I one who has poor reading comprehension. But when I have to repeat - out loud - a sentence multiple times in order to parse the sentence structure, there is something wrong. When I can't immediately tell which verb belongs with which predicate and adverbial phrase, the editor let something slip.
There are ways to make this kind of writing easy to understand, and by no means am I suggesting that the vocabulary be simplified or the content "dumbed down" to suit a less intelligent audience. That defeats the purpose. I'm saying that having such a stilted and clumsy prose just distracts from the message and the facts, making your book less meaningful.
That said, if you have any interest in a sweeping survey of Indian history, one that focuses on more than just Post-Colonial period, this is an invaluable resource. Keep in mind that there was a new edition recently that includes more modern history, while the first edition pretty much ended with Gandhi's victories.
May 29, 2018
A fascinating subject was unfortunately rendered extremely dull. John Keay’s prose is akin to a stream of conscious. This might suite a novel but it does not suit a history book at all. I want to know who the important people and events were and a bit about them. I thus feel very let down by this. Keay likes to introduce people with little background build up and then get rid of them just as quickly. He likes to drop in Nehru and Gandhi when talking about civilisation 2000 years before their time. I now have to find another history book of india better suited to actually tell the history of india.
March 18, 2011
The history seems to be conjecture until we get to Alexander the Great. It is hard to construe a narrative out of next to nothing. Once we enter recorded history, the book actually becomes interesting.
July 5, 2014
A history of India from 3000 BC to 1999 AD.
A comprehensive account, readable, of course very interesting.
A comprehensive account, readable, of course very interesting.
January 22, 2026
At 605 pages of text and several pages of bibliography and notes, India: A History, is but the merest gloss on the many civilizations that have existed on the Indian subcontinent. Yet for readers who have limited knowledge of the dynastic and political history of the region it serves as a good introduction. I specifically read this book in preparation for an upcoming trip to India as I wanted a greater knowledge of the internal politics of the region specifically leading up to independence and the Partition of 1947.
November 19, 2016
Keay's well-cited history of the sub-continent reads a bit like India itself: big and messy and difficult to quite pin down. In a country, this is an understandable quality; in a book, less so. Despite having read 600 pages of Indian history, I don't feel as I'm much better equipped to understand India (nor Pakistan or Bangladesh, for that matter) than I was at the beginning. I suppose this is a tall order for such an immense subject, but I suppose I'm demanding.
Having said that, it really is extremely well written; one gets the sense that Keay fancies himself a stylist first and a historian second, for he drafts beautiful phrases throughout with the flourish of a confident Victorian travel writer, sometimes to the neglect of the subject matter. For amateur historians, I suspect there are more readable volumes to mine, though probably not any as confidently poetic.
Having said that, it really is extremely well written; one gets the sense that Keay fancies himself a stylist first and a historian second, for he drafts beautiful phrases throughout with the flourish of a confident Victorian travel writer, sometimes to the neglect of the subject matter. For amateur historians, I suspect there are more readable volumes to mine, though probably not any as confidently poetic.
July 2, 2011
The book covers the entire history of India, from the most ancient times to the near present. As a result, the history tends to be brief and unfortunately dry. Thankfully the book was well written, and was therefore somewhat interesting. I greatly appreciate the effort the author took to outline areas of debate, presenting both sides. I certainly understand modern India more as a result of completing the book.
May 19, 2018
I haven't failed to finish a book for many years but this one is so replete with references to things which I don't know or need to research separately that I can't get through it. Defeated by page 200. It's just not interesting, the chronology is all over the place and the geography and reference material far too obscure for enjoyment. Back to John Julius Norwich for history I think.
March 6, 2015
It is hard to decouple facts from authors opinion, the later being heavily biased and anti India at times. The book is extremely well written and easy to read in-spite of the complex topic it covers. Good for facts and statistics but not a true understanding of India or Indians.
February 5, 2016
While John Keay is an excellent writer, I found the book thoroughly boring. Unless one understands Indian geography and a timeline of it's kings, it is total jibberish, especially to an American reader.
April 21, 2018
Ho. Ly. Shit. That took forever. Probably a good history if you already have a background, but he name drops so often with so little information I felt like I still didn't know much after reading a chapter.
November 20, 2013
Dry and academic, but a worthwhile addition to a historian's shelf or as a reference book.
September 23, 2016
unreadable
May 20, 2017
"For the Nations of the Indian subcontinent, as for the rest of the colonial world, the 20th century peaked at Independence"
Not so much an apology for colonialism but a love letter to it.
Not so much an apology for colonialism but a love letter to it.
January 11, 2016
In fables and legends we come across the story of a magic pill, having the size of a small pea but containing the nourishing potential of a hundred feasts. Such stories are not amenable to rational thinking, but this book is a real case in point, in which the entire history of the Indian subcontinent from the pre-Harappan age to the ascent of Prime Minister Vajpayee is condensed in a brilliant saga told over 534 pages of absorbing narrative. As can be expected when the history of five millennia is being told, the author has to be very careful in not venturing too deep into the historical waters. John Keay is immensely successful in achieving his objective without omitting any important event or personality even while presenting almost all there is to it, in a nutshell. With a heart deeply sympathetic to the Indian spirit, Keay sails through centuries of rule and misrule by Hindu kings and Muslim sultans to reach the British period. Astonishingly for an Indophile, the author inspects the pre-Independence politics with a distinctly skeptic viewpoint that is also critical of the nationalist perspective. Barring a few minor glitches like failing to distinguish between the various hues of right-wing politics like that of the Hindu Mahasabha and RSS, the book is essentially free from factual errors. Wherever an event can be interpreted both ways, Keay’s locus is strictly anti-nationalist. Even though John Keay needs no introduction, it may be noted that he lives in Scotland and is the author of three acclaimed histories on India.
A delectably objective narrative of ancient India ending with the invasion of Alexander can be found in these pages. Keay’s work combines extensive research and wit, without losing sight of the relevance of incidents to present-day society. India always took pride in its culture, which was thought to be established on the soil from time immemorial. The realization came about during the British Raj and it is only natural to conceive a pride in one’s past in a bid to keep one’s head high above the high-tide line of oppression by foreign aggressors – both on the economical and cultural spheres. The remains of a great civilization were found in Harappa and Mohenjo Daro during the 20th century. This confirmed what was till then only a hope of establishing the country’s heritage with something tangible to show off. The remains of the exquisite urban settlements tell eloquently of a people whose achievement could well contend for the title of the ‘cradle of civilizations’. Early archeologists thought the Harappan culture to be one of the mere outposts of the Sumerian, but later excavations have proved that the civilization was homemade, with remains of intermediate stages unearthed in sufficient numbers. The coming of the Aryans eclipsed these urban dwellers. By invasion or assimilation, Aryans obtained hegemony in society and Vedic literature dawned on the world. All this time, migration to the east continued, bringing more and more of the Ganga plains under cultivation. For hunter-gatherers, land is of marginal importance that could be brought under communal control for enjoyment by all. When agriculture predominated, as seen in the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata and the Puranas, individual property rights became essential. Local republics like the Gana Sanghas gave way to kingdoms. Buddhist texts describe the events in the Ganga valley in more detail. Alexander’s invasion, though it did not bring in any immediate revolutionary change, was instrumental in opening up India’s minds and geography to outside influence.
British historians first began the practice of dividing Indian history into the Hindu, Muslim and British periods, loosely based on chronology as the ancient, medieval and modern eras. Leftist historians take them to task for studying history on religious lines, but this book also follows this line. Keay has also followed the politically correct way; by employing delicate care not to aggrandize anything nationalist historians may find it worthwhile to cater to their constituency. Thus, Shivaji doesn’t get any credit for his strict policy not to desecrate mosques, the Koran and not to seize women (as conceded by Keay himself). But the hordes of sultans and bigoted Mughals who indulged in desecration and demolition of temples, rape and pillage of Hindu kingdoms and women and conversion as an instrument of state policy are condoned by construing such acts as ‘natural’ actions to collect booty from conquered territories, victor’s natural right to confiscate anything considered valuable by the vanquished and an attempt to swell the ranks of the minority who was ruling the land, respectively. In a clear reflection on the priorities of the Delhi sultans, Keay quotes Balban, who ruled from 1265 to 1287, regarding the circumstances which forced his hand in temporarily stopping the conquest of neighbouring Hindu kingdoms and to stay put in Delhi trying to ward off a likely Mongol raid. Balban says that, “if this anxiety as guardians and protectors of Mussulmans were removed, I would not stay one day in my capital, but would lead forth my army to capture treasures and valuables, elephants and horses and would never allow the Rais and Ranas [i.e., the rajputs and other Hindus] to repose in quiet at a distance” (p.248). We can’t expect modern-day ideals of equality or enlightenment from a bigotedly barbarous medieval sultan, but treating the vast majority of his subjects to a status not much above that of animals and never a moment of care about their welfare helps to explain the extreme backwardness of the country on all parameters of economic wellbeing when at last it stepped on to modernity. Vast amounts of treasure in gold, gems and jewelry were amassed as war booty and taken out of the country, impoverishing it for centuries to come. In fact, India has still not freed herself from the adverse impact of economic pillage that continued throughout the medieval era.
When he reaches the 20th century, the author gives a version of events that is considerably at variance with the Congress-centric narrative common in India. While Indian children learn in their classrooms that Curzon’s partition of Bengal in 1905 was a deliberate ploy of ‘Divide and Rule’, implying that the division of Bengal into Hindu and Muslim majority areas was designed to drive a wedge between the two communities, Keay argues that Curzon made a division which was already there in the minds of the adherents of India’s two most numerous religions. He quotes a League leader who remarked that “we divide and you rule”, and buttresses this argument with what happened when elections to provisional assemblies were conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Government of India Act 1935. In the meanwhile, bowing to extensive agitation by Congress, Britain had annulled the partition of Bengal. In the combined province, Muslims constituted the majority which became painfully evident to Congressmen in Bengal when their party faced a rout at the hustings. Demand then arose from them for a separate electorate for Hindus on the lines of those granted to minorities. Keay concludes that this incident was the real reason for the spar between Subhash Chandra Bose who hailed from Bengal and Nehru’s official faction within the Congress. In the end, Gandhi intervened against Bose, whose only option then was to get out of the party. He conspired against the government’s war effort. Arrested and charged for sedition, Bose escaped narrowly from house arrest and allied with Hitler and Japan’s Tojo. Finding an easy puppet for legitimising its already planned invasion of India, Japan placed him on the forefront of the war in the guise of a hastily constituted Indian National Army (INA). They occupied the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal and declared India’s independence there. Keay notes with irony that Bose ended up in those islands – which contained a penal colony that housed people convicted and transported – exactly where he would have gone, had he not fled India. He also finds fault with Congress’ totally uncooperative stand towards the British when they proclaimed India’s participation in the Second World War without consultation or consent of Indians. The Muslim League freely collaborated with the government. This might have helped them gain advantage over the Congress when the issue of partition of the country heated up after the war’s conclusion.
The book contains some assertions which may seem controversial. One is that the Pallavas of early Tamil Nadu were descendants of the Pahlavi/Parthian interlopers who reached India from Iran. It also clearly brings out the vast uncertainties in dates of kingdoms and societies as ancient India was not very enthusiastic in history writing. Even with this huge doubt on the chronology, we find a few Indians attributing impossibly antique time periods for the country’s earliest dynasties and origin of religious literature like the Vedas and epics. The book is a classic as far as its subject matter is concerned, and endowed with a large number of monochrome photographs, an extensive index, a comprehensive list of bibliography and enlightening footnotes collected at the end of the book. This book is written in an impeccable style celebrating the author’s extraordinary mastery over unlocking the beauty of English language. The size of letters is somewhat small, which may cause some difficulty to readers.
The book is highly recommended.
A delectably objective narrative of ancient India ending with the invasion of Alexander can be found in these pages. Keay’s work combines extensive research and wit, without losing sight of the relevance of incidents to present-day society. India always took pride in its culture, which was thought to be established on the soil from time immemorial. The realization came about during the British Raj and it is only natural to conceive a pride in one’s past in a bid to keep one’s head high above the high-tide line of oppression by foreign aggressors – both on the economical and cultural spheres. The remains of a great civilization were found in Harappa and Mohenjo Daro during the 20th century. This confirmed what was till then only a hope of establishing the country’s heritage with something tangible to show off. The remains of the exquisite urban settlements tell eloquently of a people whose achievement could well contend for the title of the ‘cradle of civilizations’. Early archeologists thought the Harappan culture to be one of the mere outposts of the Sumerian, but later excavations have proved that the civilization was homemade, with remains of intermediate stages unearthed in sufficient numbers. The coming of the Aryans eclipsed these urban dwellers. By invasion or assimilation, Aryans obtained hegemony in society and Vedic literature dawned on the world. All this time, migration to the east continued, bringing more and more of the Ganga plains under cultivation. For hunter-gatherers, land is of marginal importance that could be brought under communal control for enjoyment by all. When agriculture predominated, as seen in the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata and the Puranas, individual property rights became essential. Local republics like the Gana Sanghas gave way to kingdoms. Buddhist texts describe the events in the Ganga valley in more detail. Alexander’s invasion, though it did not bring in any immediate revolutionary change, was instrumental in opening up India’s minds and geography to outside influence.
British historians first began the practice of dividing Indian history into the Hindu, Muslim and British periods, loosely based on chronology as the ancient, medieval and modern eras. Leftist historians take them to task for studying history on religious lines, but this book also follows this line. Keay has also followed the politically correct way; by employing delicate care not to aggrandize anything nationalist historians may find it worthwhile to cater to their constituency. Thus, Shivaji doesn’t get any credit for his strict policy not to desecrate mosques, the Koran and not to seize women (as conceded by Keay himself). But the hordes of sultans and bigoted Mughals who indulged in desecration and demolition of temples, rape and pillage of Hindu kingdoms and women and conversion as an instrument of state policy are condoned by construing such acts as ‘natural’ actions to collect booty from conquered territories, victor’s natural right to confiscate anything considered valuable by the vanquished and an attempt to swell the ranks of the minority who was ruling the land, respectively. In a clear reflection on the priorities of the Delhi sultans, Keay quotes Balban, who ruled from 1265 to 1287, regarding the circumstances which forced his hand in temporarily stopping the conquest of neighbouring Hindu kingdoms and to stay put in Delhi trying to ward off a likely Mongol raid. Balban says that, “if this anxiety as guardians and protectors of Mussulmans were removed, I would not stay one day in my capital, but would lead forth my army to capture treasures and valuables, elephants and horses and would never allow the Rais and Ranas [i.e., the rajputs and other Hindus] to repose in quiet at a distance” (p.248). We can’t expect modern-day ideals of equality or enlightenment from a bigotedly barbarous medieval sultan, but treating the vast majority of his subjects to a status not much above that of animals and never a moment of care about their welfare helps to explain the extreme backwardness of the country on all parameters of economic wellbeing when at last it stepped on to modernity. Vast amounts of treasure in gold, gems and jewelry were amassed as war booty and taken out of the country, impoverishing it for centuries to come. In fact, India has still not freed herself from the adverse impact of economic pillage that continued throughout the medieval era.
When he reaches the 20th century, the author gives a version of events that is considerably at variance with the Congress-centric narrative common in India. While Indian children learn in their classrooms that Curzon’s partition of Bengal in 1905 was a deliberate ploy of ‘Divide and Rule’, implying that the division of Bengal into Hindu and Muslim majority areas was designed to drive a wedge between the two communities, Keay argues that Curzon made a division which was already there in the minds of the adherents of India’s two most numerous religions. He quotes a League leader who remarked that “we divide and you rule”, and buttresses this argument with what happened when elections to provisional assemblies were conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Government of India Act 1935. In the meanwhile, bowing to extensive agitation by Congress, Britain had annulled the partition of Bengal. In the combined province, Muslims constituted the majority which became painfully evident to Congressmen in Bengal when their party faced a rout at the hustings. Demand then arose from them for a separate electorate for Hindus on the lines of those granted to minorities. Keay concludes that this incident was the real reason for the spar between Subhash Chandra Bose who hailed from Bengal and Nehru’s official faction within the Congress. In the end, Gandhi intervened against Bose, whose only option then was to get out of the party. He conspired against the government’s war effort. Arrested and charged for sedition, Bose escaped narrowly from house arrest and allied with Hitler and Japan’s Tojo. Finding an easy puppet for legitimising its already planned invasion of India, Japan placed him on the forefront of the war in the guise of a hastily constituted Indian National Army (INA). They occupied the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal and declared India’s independence there. Keay notes with irony that Bose ended up in those islands – which contained a penal colony that housed people convicted and transported – exactly where he would have gone, had he not fled India. He also finds fault with Congress’ totally uncooperative stand towards the British when they proclaimed India’s participation in the Second World War without consultation or consent of Indians. The Muslim League freely collaborated with the government. This might have helped them gain advantage over the Congress when the issue of partition of the country heated up after the war’s conclusion.
The book contains some assertions which may seem controversial. One is that the Pallavas of early Tamil Nadu were descendants of the Pahlavi/Parthian interlopers who reached India from Iran. It also clearly brings out the vast uncertainties in dates of kingdoms and societies as ancient India was not very enthusiastic in history writing. Even with this huge doubt on the chronology, we find a few Indians attributing impossibly antique time periods for the country’s earliest dynasties and origin of religious literature like the Vedas and epics. The book is a classic as far as its subject matter is concerned, and endowed with a large number of monochrome photographs, an extensive index, a comprehensive list of bibliography and enlightening footnotes collected at the end of the book. This book is written in an impeccable style celebrating the author’s extraordinary mastery over unlocking the beauty of English language. The size of letters is somewhat small, which may cause some difficulty to readers.
The book is highly recommended.
August 23, 2023
After having been to India 3 times I wanted to find a book that would help me understand some of the many questions that came up during my travels. I was especially curious about what makes up the Indian 'national identity' as it seemed less pronounced to me than in most other countries. I didn't know this question was so complicated to answer... and so fascinating.
Writing a book spanning millennia of convoluted history is no easy task, and by and large this book does a great job. It is a fascinating account of empires rising and falling, some spawning again and again in various ways, some still carrying weight today, and others almost completely lost to memory.
I particularly enjoyed the later parts of the narrative, probably because it helps understand many of the contemporary issues that India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are grappling with. It is probably also easier to write an account of relatively modern history given the wealth of source material available compared to ages long past.
The main flaw of this book is its almost singular focus on politics, leaving out much about the people and their lives on the subcontinent through the ages. Without any connection to India or personal experience this book is almost impossible to follow (too many names, too many unrelatable events). It leaves too many gaps to paint a good picture of life today and in the past or even to help understand what people in India might feel and think today. I was often shocked to read about extremely violent episodes, some very recent, in a few lines just to go back to paragraphs of political intrigue that seems comparatively insignificant, at least to me. But then it's not surprising that after fewer than 700 pages, all of India is not fully expounded. Overall it's a remarkable work of synthesis.
Writing a book spanning millennia of convoluted history is no easy task, and by and large this book does a great job. It is a fascinating account of empires rising and falling, some spawning again and again in various ways, some still carrying weight today, and others almost completely lost to memory.
I particularly enjoyed the later parts of the narrative, probably because it helps understand many of the contemporary issues that India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are grappling with. It is probably also easier to write an account of relatively modern history given the wealth of source material available compared to ages long past.
The main flaw of this book is its almost singular focus on politics, leaving out much about the people and their lives on the subcontinent through the ages. Without any connection to India or personal experience this book is almost impossible to follow (too many names, too many unrelatable events). It leaves too many gaps to paint a good picture of life today and in the past or even to help understand what people in India might feel and think today. I was often shocked to read about extremely violent episodes, some very recent, in a few lines just to go back to paragraphs of political intrigue that seems comparatively insignificant, at least to me. But then it's not surprising that after fewer than 700 pages, all of India is not fully expounded. Overall it's a remarkable work of synthesis.
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