List of illustrations . . vii 
Preface . . viii 
Acknowledgements . . xi 
Introduction: History and the Environment . . xii

Chapter One Early Civilisations of the Northwest . . 1 
Prehistory and the Indus civilisation . . 1 
Immigration and settlement of the Indo-Aryans . . 12 

Chapter Two The Great Ancient Empires . . 26 
The rise of the Gangetic culture and the great empires of the east . . 26 
Ashoka, the Beloved of the Gods . . 38
The end of the Maurya empire and the northern invaders . . 43 
The classical age of the Guptas . . 54 
Subjection and alliance: Shakas and Vakatakas . . 58 
The rise of south India . . 63 

Chapter Three The Regional Kingdoms of Early Medieval India . . 72 
The rise and conflicts of regional kingdoms . . 72 
Kings, princes and priests: the structure of Hindu realms . . 86 
The emergence of regional kingdoms . . 88 
Gods, temples and poets: the growth of regional cultures . . 96 
India's impact on southeast Asia: causes and consequences . . 106 

Chapter Four Religious Communities and Military Feudalism in the late Middle Ages . . 113 
The Islamic conquest of northern India and the sultanate of Delhi . . 113 
The problems of administrative penetration . . 125 
The states of central and southern India in the period of the sultanate of Delhi . . 127 

Chapter Five The Rise and Fall of the Mughal Empire . . 139 
The great Mughals and their adversaries . . 139 
Indian land power and European sea power . . 155 
The struggle for supremacy in India . . 165 

Chapter Six The Period of Colonial Rule . . 178 
Company Bahadur: trader and ruler . . 178
The colonial economy . . 190 
The regional impact of British rule . . 194 
The pattern of constitutional reform . . 207 

Chapter Seven The Freedom Movement and the Partition of India . . 211 
The Indian freedom movement . . 211 
The return to the constitutional arena . . 221 
The partition of India . . 231 

Chapter Eight The Republic . . 242 
Internal affairs and political development . . 242 
External affairs: global and regional dimensions . . 269 

Perspectives . . 287
Glossary of Indian terms . . 289 
Chronology . . 293 
Bibliography . . 301 
Index . . 320