3 Review(s)

The Penguin History of Early India - a complete rewrite of Thapar's A History of India (Volume 1) brings to life India's precolonial history, the prehistoric beginnings, the Harappan cities, the context to the Vedas, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, the history of the time of the Buddha, powerful dynasties such as the Mauryas, Guptas and Cholas and the evolution of regional histories and cultures. Dynastic history provides a chronological frame but the essential thrust of this book is the explanation of the changes in society and the political economy. Its opening chapters explain how the interpretations of early Indian history have changed in the last half century. This narrative provides fresh readings and raises new questions. About the Author Romila Thapar is Emeritus professor in History at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She is also an Honorary Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford and has been a Visiting Professor at Cornell University and the University of Pennsylvania as well as the College de France in Paris. In 1983, she was elected general president of the Indian History Congress and in 1999 a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy. Among her publications are Ashoka and the Decline of the Mauryas, Ancient Indian Social History, From Lineage to State, History and Beyond, Sakuntala and Cultural Pasts, as well as a children's book, Indian Tales.