Oral Testimonies and History

Themes in Indian History Part 1

Themes in Indian History Part 2

Themes in Indian History Part 3

Bricks, Beads and Bones: the Harappan Civilisation

• Introduction to Harappan Civilisation
• Subsistence Strategies
• Mohenjodaro: a Planned Urban Centre
• Tracking Social Differences
• Finding Out About Craft Production
• Strategies for Procuring Materials
• Seals, Script, Weights
• Ancient Authority
• The End of the Civilisation
• Discovering the Harappan Civilisation
• Problems of Piecing Together the Past

Kings, Farmers and Towns Early States and Economies

• Prinsep and Piyadassi
• The Earliest States
• An Early Empire
• New Notions of Kingship
• A Changing Countryside
• Towns and Trade
• Back to Basics - How Are Inscriptions Deciphered?
• The Limitations of Inscriptional Evidence

Kinship, Caste and Class Early Societies

• The Critical Edition of the Mahabharata
• Kinship and Marriage: Many Rules and Varied Practices
• Social Differences: Within and Beyond the Framework of Caste
• Beyond Birth Resources and Status
• Explaining Social Differences: a Social Contract
• Handling Texts Historians and the Mahabharata
• A Dynamic Text

Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings: Cultural Developments

• A Glimpse of Sanchi
• The Background: Sacrifices and Debates
• Beyond Worldly Pleasures: the Message of Mahavira
• The Buddha and the Quest for Enlightenment
• The Teachings of the Buddha
• Followers of the Buddha
• Stupas
• “Discovering” Stupas the Fate of Amaravati and Sanchi
• Sculpture
• New Religious Traditions
• Can We “See” Everything?

Through the Eyes of Travellers: Perceptions of Society

• Al-biruni and the Kitab-ul-hind
• IBN Battuta’S Rihla
• Francois Bernier a Doctor with a Difference
• Making Sense of an Alien World Al-biruni and the Sanskritic Tradition
• Ibn Battuta and the Excitement of the Unfamiliar
• Bernier and the “Degenerate” East
• Women Slaves, Sati and Labourers

Bhakti - Sufi Traditions: Changes in Religious Beliefs and Devotional Texts

• A Mosaic of Religious Beliefs and Practices
• Poems of Prayer Early Traditions of Bhakti
• The Virashaiva Tradition in Karnataka
• Religious Ferment in North India
• New Strands in the Fabric Islamic Traditions
• The Growth of Sufism
• The Chishtis in the Subcontinent
• New Devotional Paths Dialogue and Dissent in Northern India
• Reconstructing Histories of Religious Traditions

An Imperial Capital Vijayanagara

• The Discovery of Hampi
• Rayas, Nayakas and Sultans
• Vijayanagara - the Capital and Its Environs
• The Royal Centre
• The Sacred Centre
• Plotting Palaces, Temples and Bazaars
• Questions in Search of Answers

Peasants, Zamindars and the State: Agrarian Society and the Mughal Empire

• Peasants and Agricultural Production
• The Village Community
• Women in Agrarian Society
• Forests and Tribes
• The Zamindars
• Land Revenue System
• The Flow of Silver
• The Ain-i Akbari of Abu’L Fazl Allami

Kings and Chronicles - the Mughal Courts

• The Mughals and Their Empire
• Production of Chronicles
• The Painted Image
• The Akbar Nama and the Badshah Nama
• The Ideal Kingdom
• Capitals and Courts
• The Imperial Household
• The Imperial Officials
• Beyond the Frontiers
• Questioning Formal Religion

Colonialism and the Countryside

• Bengal and the Zamindars
• The Hoe and the Plough
• A Revolt in the Countryside the Bombay Deccan
• The Deccan Riots Commission

Rebels and the Raj: 1857 Revolt and Its Representations

• Pattern of the Rebellion
• Awadh in Revolt
• What the Rebels Wanted
• Repression
• Images of the Revolt

Colonial Cities: Urbanisation, Planning and Architecture

• Towns and Cities in Pre-colonial Times
• Finding Out About Colonial Cities
• What Were the New Towns Like?
• Segregation, Town Planning and Architecture: Madras, Calcutta and Bombay
• What Buildings and Architectural Styles Tell Us

Mahatma Gandhi and the Nationalist Movement: Civil Disobedience and Beyond

• A Leader Announces Himself
• The Making and Unmaking of Non-cooperation
• The Salt Satyagraha a Case Study
• Quit India
• The Last Heroic Days
• Knowing Gandhi

Understanding Partition: Politics, Memories, Experiences

• Some Partition Experiences
• A Momentous Marker
• Why and How Did Partition Happen?
• The Withdrawal of Law and Order
• Gendering Partition
• Regional Variations
• Help, Humanity, Harmony
• Oral Testimonies and History

Framing the Constitution: the Beginning of a New Era

• A Tumultuous Time
• The Vision of the Constitution
• Defining Rights
• The Powers of the State
• The Language of the Nation