Product Description

A new edition of this leading textbook that offers a rare depth of historical understanding of the politics, cultures and economies that shape the lives of more than a fifth of humanity.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #279693 in Books
• Published on: 2003-11-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

From the Back Cover
Drawing on the newest and most sophisticated historical research and scholarship in the field, Modern South Asia is written in an accessible style for all those with an intellectual curiosity about the region. After sketching the pre-modern history of the subcontinent, the book concentrates on the last three centuries from c. 1700 to the present. Jointly written by two leading Indian and Pakistani historians, it offers a rare depth of historical understanding of the politics, cultures and economies that shape the lives of more than a fifth of humanity.
In this comprehensive study, the authors debate and challenge the striking developments in contemporary South Asian history and historical writing, and cover the entire spectrum of modern South Asian history - social, economic and political. The book provides new insights into the structure and ideology of the British raj, the meaning of subaltern resistance, the refashioning of social relations along the lines of caste, class, community and gender, the different strands of anti-colonial nationalism and the dynamics of decolonisation. This new second edition has been updated throughout to take account of recent historical research. It brings the story up to date and offers new insights on the last millennium in subcontinental history. There is a new chronology of key events.

Customer Reviews

Intelligent, simple, and well written
This book is one of the best introductory books to the history of modern South Asia. Well written by two revisionist historians, it gives an impressive overview of the partition of India. Although it is detailed enough to understand the complexities of South Asian history, it lacks depth. Good bibliography.

Concise
This is an impressive overview of South Asian history, going over key debates and events in the last three centuries with some clarity. Be it cultural, economic, social or political many angles are covered here and an extensive bibliography is supplied for further invesitgation, but for a starting reader on the history of the times you will probably find no better book.

Apologetics unlimited
A spurious effort, synthesizing all the cliched prejudices of Left-liberal cogitation, the main purpose of which is to demean and insult the people of India and Pakistan by equating them with each other. It surely pleased the US State department and the British FCO, but Pakistani Muslims must find it galling to be unceremoniously corralled with despicable Kaffirs whom they are making every effort to destroy with bombs and guns across the length and breadth of India. The educated among the latter will no doubt be delighted to find themselves useful in the noble venture to unite all and sundry, but the majority will find in it a vile misrepresentation of the truth. But that is Left-liberal scholarship from Harvard and it should be read by Obama's advisers before the launch of a new offensive to demolish India. Mediocre in the extreme and ontologically misconceived in the first place.