Units and Topics
Syllabus
- Broad Overview : Political and Economic History from the Mauryan to the Gupta Period
- Inscriptions and the Decipherment of the Script
- Asokan Inscription and Gupta Period Land Grant
- Interpretation of Inscriptions by Historians - Mauryan to the Gupta Period
Broad overview: Poilitical and economic history from the Mauryan to the Gupta period.
Story of discovery: Inscriptions and the decipherment of the script. Shifts in the understanding of political and economic history.
Excerpt: Asokan inscription and Gupta period land grant.
Discussion: Interpretation of inscriptions by historians.
Objectives-
- Familiarize thelearner with major trends in the political and economic history of the subcontinent.
- Introduce inscriptional analysis and the ways in which these have shaped the understanding of political and economic processes.
- Brief Review of Religious Histories of Vedic, Religion, Jainism, Vaisnavism, Saivism and Buddhism
- Story of Discovery: Sanchi Stupa
- Reproduction of Sculptures from Sanchi
- Ways in Which Sculpture Has Been,Interpreted by Historians
Broad overview:
- A brief review of religious histories of Vedic religion, Jainism, Vaisnavism, Saivism.
- Focus on Buddhism.
Story of discovery: Sanchistupa
Excerpt: Reproduct on of sculptures from Sanchi.
Discussion: Waysin which sculpture has been interpreted by historians, other sources for reconstructing the history of Buddhism.
Objectives-
- Discuss the major religious developments in early India.
- Introduce strategies of visual analysis and their usein reconstructing histories of religion.
- Broad Overview: Early Urban Centres
- Story of Discovery: Harappan Civilization
- Archaeological Report on a Major Site (Harappan civilization)
- Utilized by Archaeologists/Historians
Broad overview: Early urban centres. Story of discovery: Harappan civilization
Excerpt: Archaeological report on a major site.
Discussion: How it has been utilized by archaeologists/historians.
Objectives-
- Familiarize thelearner with early urban centres as economic and social institutions.
- Introduce the ways in which new data canlead to a revision of existing notions of history.
- Illustrate how archaeological reports
- Issues in Social History, Including Caste, Class, Kinship and Gender
- Transmission and Publications of the Mahabharata
- From the Mahabharata, Illustrating How It Has Been Used by Historians
Broad overview: Issues in social history,including caste, class, kinship and gender.
Story of d scovery: Transmission and publications of the Mahabharata.
Excerpt: from the Mahabharata, illustrating howit has been used by historians.
Discussion: Other sources for reconstruct ng social history.
Objectives-
- Familiarize the learner with issues in social history.
- Introduce strategies of textual analysis and their use in reconstructing social history
- Social and Cultural Life as They Appear in Travelers Accounts
- Discussion of Where They Travelled, Why They Travelled, What They Wrote, and for Whom They Wrote
- Alberuni, Ibn Batuta, Bernier -what These Travel Accounts Can Tell Us and Interpreted by Historians
Broad overview:
Outline of social and cultural life as they appearin travelers' accounts.
Story of thef r wrftfngs: A discussion of where they travelled, why they travelled, what they wrote, and for whom they wrote.
Excerpts: from Alberuni, lbn Batuta, Bernier.
Discussion: What these travel accounts can tell us and how they have beeninterpreted by historians.
Objectives-
- Familiarize the learner with the salient features of social histories described by the travelers.
- Discuss how travelers' accounts can be used as sources of social history.
- Outline of New Buildings During Vijayanagar Period
- temples
- forts
- irrigation facilities
- Relationship Between Architecture and the Political System
- Account of How Hampi Was Found
- Hampi - Ways in Which Historians Have Analyzed and Interpreted
Broad overview:
- Outline of new buildings during Vijayanagar period-temples, forts, irrigation facilities.
- Relationship between architecture and the political system.
Story of Discovery: Account of how Hampi was found.
Excerpt: Visuals of buildings at Hampi
Discussion: Ways in which historians have analyzed and interpreted these structures.
Objectives-
- Familiarize thelearner with the new buildings that were built during the time.
- Discuss the ways in which architecture can be analyzed to reconstruct history.
- Outline of Political History 15th-17th Centuries
- Mughal Court and Politics
- Account of the Production of Mughal Court Chronicles
- Account of Subsequent Translation and Transmission
- Ways in Which Historians Have Used the Texts to Reconstruct Political Histories
Broad overview:
- Outline of political history 15th-17th centuries.
- Discussion of the Mughal court and politics.
Story of Discovery: Account of the production of court chronicles, and their subsequent translation and transmission.
Excerpts: from the Akbarnama and Padshahnama.
Discussion: Waysin which historians have used the texts to reconstruct political histories.
Objectives-
- Familiarize the learner with the major landmarks in political history.
- Show how chronicles and other sources are used to reconstruct the histories of political institutions.
- Religious Developments During this Period (Bhakti-sufi Tradition)
- Ideas and Practices of the Bhakti-sufi Saints
- Bhakti-sufi Compositions Preserved
- Bhakti-sufi - Ways in Which These Have Been Interpreted by Historians
Broad overview:
- Outline of religious developments during this period.
- Ideas and practices of the Bhakti-Sufi saints.
Story of Transmission: How Bhakti-Sufi compositions have been preserved.
Excerpt: Extracts from selected Bhakti-Sufi works.
Discussion: Ways in which these have been interpreted by historians.
Objectives-
- Familiarize the learner with religious developments.
- Discuss ways of analyzing devotional literature as sources of history.
- Structure of Agrarian Relations in the 16th and 17th Centuries
- Patterns of Change Over the Period (Ain-i- Akbari)
- Account of the Compilation and Translation of Ain-i-akbari
- Ways in which historians have used the text to reconstruct history (Ain-i-Akbari)
Broad overview:
- Structure of agrarian relationsin the 16th and 17th centuries.
- Patterns of change over the period.
Story of Discovery: Account of the compilation and translation of Ain-i Akbari.
Excerpt: from the Ain-i Akbari
Discussion: Waysin which historians have used the text to reconstruct history.
Objectives-
- Discuss developments in agrarian relations.
- Discuss how to supplement official documents with other sources.
- Life of Zamindars, Peasants and Artisans in the Late 18th Century
- East India Company, Revenue Settlements and Surveys
- Colonialism and Rural Society - Changes Over the Nineteenth Century
- Story of Official Records
- An account of why official investigations into rural societies were undertaken
- types of records and reports produced
- Official Records Used by Historians
Broad overview:
- Life of zamindars, peasants and artisans in the late 18th century
- East India Company, revenue settlements and surveys.
- Changes over the nineteenth century.
Story of official records: An account of why official investigat ons into rural societies were undertaken and the types of records and reports produced.
Excerpts: From Firminger's Fifth Report, Accounts of Frances Buchanan-Hamilton, and Deccan Riots Report.
Discussion: What the official records tell and do not tell, and how they have been used by historians.
Objectives-
- Discuss how the events of 1857 are being reinterpreted.
- Discuss how visual material can be used by historians.
Broad overview:
- The Nationalist Movement 1918 ·48.
- The nature of Gandhian politics and leadership.
Focus: Mahatma Gandhiin 1931.
Excerpts: Reports from English and Indian language newspapers and other contemporary writings.
Discussion: How newspapers can be a source of history.
Objectives-
- Discuss the last decade of the national movement, the growth of communalism and the story of part tion.
- Understand the events through the experience of those who lived through these years of communal violence.
- Show the possibilit es and limits of oral sources.
- Growth of Mumbai, Chennai, Hill Stations and Cantonments in the 18th and 19th Centuries
- Photographs and Paintings
- Plans of Cities
- Extract from Town Plan Reports
- Focus on Kolkata Town Planning
Broad overview: The growth of Mumbai, Chennai, hill stations and cantonments in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Excerpts: Photographs and paintings. Plans of cities. Extract from town plan reports.
Focus on Kolkata town planning.
Discussion: How the above sources can be used to reconstruct the history of towns. What these sources do not reveal.
Objectives-
- Familiarize the learner with significant elements of the National st Movement and the nature of Gandhianleadership.
- Discuss how Gandhi was perceived by different groups.
- Discuss how historians need to read and interpret newspapers, diaries and letters as historical source.
- The History of the 1940s
- Nationalism, Communalism and Partition
- Focus: Punjab and Bengal
- Oral Testimonies of Those Who Experienced Partition
Broad overview:
- The history of the 1940s.
- Nationalism, Communalism and Partition. Focus: Punjab and Bengal.
Excerpts: Oral test monies of those who experienced parttion.
Discussion: Ways in which these have been analyzed to reconstruct the history of the event.
Objectives-
- Familiarize students with the history of the early years after independence.
- Discuss how the founding ideals of the new nation state were debated and formulated.
- Understand how such debates and discussions can be read by historians.
- The Events of 1857-58
- How These Events Were Recorded and Narrated
- Pictures of 1857 Shaped British Opinion
Broad overview:
- The events of 1857-58.
- How these events were recorded and narrated.
Focus: lucknow.
Excerpts: Pictures of 1857. Extracts from contemporary accounts.
Discussion: How the pictures of 1857 shaped British opinion of what had happened.
Objectives-
- Famil arize the Learner with the history of modern urban centres. Discuss how urban histories can be written by drawing on different types of sources.
Broad overview:
- Independence and the new nation state.
- The making of the Constitution.
Focus: The Constitutional Assembly debates.
Excerpts: from the debates.
Discussion: What such debates reveal and how they can be analyzed.
- Introduction to Harappan Civilisation
- Subsistence Strategies
Subsistence Strategies
- Agricultural technologies
- How artefacts are identified
- Mohenjodaro: a Planned Urban Centre
Mohenjodaro: A Planned Urban Centre
- Laying out drains
- Domestic architecture
- The Citadel
- Tracking Social Differences
Tracking Social Differences
- Burials
- Looking for “luxuries”
- Finding Out About Craft Production
- Identifying centres of production
- Strategies for Procuring Materials
Strategies for Procuring Materials
- Materials from the subcontinent and beyond
- Contact with distant lands
- Seals, Script, Weights
Seals, Script, Weights
- Seals and sealings
- An enigmatic script
- Weights
- Ancient Authority
Ancient Authority
- Palaces and kings
- The End of the Civilisation
- Discovering the Harappan Civilisation
Discovering the Harappan Civilisation
- Cunningham’s confusion
- A new old civilisation
- New techniques and questions
- Problems of Piecing Together the Past
Problems of Piecing Together the Past
- Classifying finds
- Problems of interpretation
Bricks, Beads and Bones: the Harappan Civilisation
-Beginnings of Harappan Civilisation
-Subsistence Strategies
- Agricultural technologies
-Mohenjodaro: A Planned Urban Centre
- Laying out drains
- Domestic architecture
- The Citadel
-Tracking Social Differences
- Burials
- Looking for “luxuries”
-Finding Out About Craft Production
- Identifying centres of production
-Strategies for Procuring Materials
- Materials from the subcontinent and beyond
- Contact with distant lands
-Seals, Script, Weights
- Seals and sealings
- An enigmatic script
- Weights
-Ancient Authority
- Palaces and kings
-The End of the Civilisation
-Discovering the Harappan Civilisation
- Cunningham’s confusion
- A new old civilisation
- New techniques and questions
-Problems of Piecing Together the Past
- Classifying finds
- Problems of interpretation
- Prinsep and Piyadassi
- The Earliest States
The Earliest States
- The sixteen mahajanapadas
- First amongst the sixteen: Magadha
- An Early Empire
An Early Empire
- Finding out about the Mauryas
- Administering the empire
- How important was the empire?
- New Notions of Kingship
New Notions of Kingship
- Chiefs and kings in the south
- Divine kings
- A Changing Countryside
A Changing Countryside
- Popular perceptions of kings
- Strategies for increasing production
- Differences in rural society
- Land grants and new rural elites
- Towns and Trade
Towns and Trade
- New cities
- Urban populations: Elites and craftspersons
- Trade in the subcontinent and beyond
- Coins and kings
- Back to Basics - How Are Inscriptions Deciphered?
Back to Basics: How Are Inscriptions Deciphered?
- Deciphering Brahmi
- How Kharosthi was read
- Historical evidence from inscriptions
- The Limitations of Inscriptional Evidence
Kings, Farmers and Towns: Early States and Economies
-Prinsep and Piyadassi
-The Earliest States
- The sixteen mahajanapadas
- First amongst the sixteen: Magadha
-An Early Empire
- Finding out about the Mauryas
- Administering the empire
- How important was the empire?
-New Notions of Kingship
- Chiefs and kings in the south
- Divine kings
-A Changing Countryside
- Popular perceptions of kings
- Strategies for increasing production
- Differences in rural society
- Land grants and new rural elites
-Towns and Trade
- New cities
- Urban populations: Elites and craftspersons
- Trade in the subcontinent and beyond
- Coins and kings
-Back to Basics: How Are Inscriptions Deciphered?
- Deciphering Brahmi
- How Kharosthi was read
- Historical evidence from inscriptions
-The Limitations of Inscriptional Evidence
- The Critical Edition of the Mahabharata
- Kinship and Marriage: Many Rules and Varied Practices
Kinship and Marriage Many Rules and Varied Practices
- Finding out about families
- The ideal of patriliny
- Marriage: definition and functions.
- Definition, merits, demerits, functions of the following:
- Rules of marriage: exogamy and endogamy (clan, gotra, pravara, village and sapinda), cross and parallel cousin, levirate, sororate, hypergamy and hypogamy.
- Forms of marriage: polygamy (polyandry and polygyny), monogamy.
- The gotra of women
- Were mothers important?
- Social Differences: Within and Beyond the Framework of Caste
Social Differences: Within and Beyond the Framework of Caste
- The “right” occupation
- Non-Kshatriya kings
- Jatis and social mobility
- Beyond the four varnas: Integration
- Beyond the four varnas Subordination and conflict
- Beyond Birth Resources and Status
Beyond Birth Resources and Status
- Gendered access to property
- Varna and access to property
- An alternative social scenario: Sharing wealth
- Explaining Social Differences: a Social Contract
- Handling Texts Historians and the Mahabharata
Handling Texts: Historians and the Mahabharata
- Language and content
- Author(s) and dates
- The search for convergence
- A Dynamic Text
Kinship, Caste and Class: Early Societies
-The Critical Edition of the Mahabharata
-Kinship and Marriage Many Rules and Varied Practices
- Finding out about families
- The ideal of patriliny
- Rules of marriage
- The gotra of women
- Were mothers important?
-Social Differences: Within and Beyond the Framework of Caste
- The “right” occupation
- Non-Kshatriya kings
- Jatis and social mobility
- Beyond the four varnas: Integration
- Beyond the four varnas Subordination and conflict
-Beyond Birth Resources and Status
- Gendered access to property
- Varna and access to property
- An alternative social scenario: Sharing wealth
-Explaining Social Differences: A Social Contract
-Handling Texts: Historians and the Mahabharata
- Language and content
- Author(s) and dates
- The search for convergence
-A Dynamic Text
- A Glimpse of Sanchi
- The Background: Sacrifices and Debates
The Background: Sacrifices and Debates
- The sacrificial tradition
- New questions
- Debates and discussions
- Beyond Worldly Pleasures: the Message of Mahavira
Beyond Worldly Pleasures: The Message of Mahavira
- The spread of Jainism
- The Buddha and the Quest for Enlightenment
- The Teachings of the Buddha
- Followers of the Buddha
- Stupas
Stupas
- Why were stupas built
- How were stupas built
- The structure of the stupa
- “Discovering” Stupas the Fate of Amaravati and Sanchi
- Sculpture
Sculpture
- Stories in stone
- Symbols of worship
- Popular traditions
- New Religious Traditions
New Religious Traditions
- The development of Mahayana Buddhism
- The growth of Puranic Hinduism
- Building temples
- Can We “See” Everything?
Can We “See” Everything?
- Grappling with the unfamiliar
- If text and image do not match
Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings: Cultural Developments
-A Glimpse of Sanchi
-The Background: Sacrifices and Debates
- The sacrificial tradition
- New questions
- Debates and discussions
-Beyond Worldly Pleasures: The Message of Mahavira
- The spread of Jainism
-The Buddha and the Quest for Enlightenment
-The Teachings of the Buddha
-Followers of the Buddha
-Stupas
- Why were stupas built
- How were stupas built
- The structure of the stupa
-“Discovering” Stupas: The Fate of Amaravati and Sanchi
-Sculpture
- Stories in stone
- Symbols of worship
- Popular traditions
-New Religious Traditions
- The development of Mahayana Buddhism
- The growth of Puranic Hinduism
- Building temples
-Can We “See” Everything?
- Grappling with the unfamiliar
- If text and image do not match
- Al-biruni and the Kitab-ul-hind
Al-Biruni and the Kitab-ul-Hind
- From Khwarizm to the Punjab
- The Kitab-ul-Hind
- IBN Battuta’S Rihla
IBN Battuta’s Rihla
- An early globe-trotter
- The “enjoyment of curiosities”
- Francois Bernier a Doctor with a Difference
François Bernier: A Doctor with a Difference
- Comparing “East” and “West”
- Making Sense of an Alien World Al-biruni and the Sanskritic Tradition
Making Sense of an Alien World Al-Biruni and the Sanskritic Tradition
- Overcoming barriers to understanding
- Al-Biruni’s description of the caste system
- Ibn Battuta and the Excitement of the Unfamiliar
IBN Battuta and the Excitement of the Unfamiliar
- The coconut and the paan
- Ibn Battuta and Indian cities
- A unique system of communication
- Bernier and the “Degenerate” East
Bernier and the “Degenerate” East
- The question of landownership
- A more complex social reality
- Women Slaves, Sati and Labourers
Through the Eyes of Travellers: Perceptions of Society
-Al-Biruni and the Kitab-ul-Hind
- From Khwarizm to the Punjab
- The Kitab-ul-Hind
-IBN Battuta’s Rihla
- An early globe-trotter
- The “enjoyment of curiosities”
-François Bernier: A Doctor with a Difference
- Comparing “East” and “West”
-Making Sense of an Alien World Al-Biruni and the Sanskritic Tradition
- Overcoming barriers to understanding
- Al-Biruni’s description of the caste system
-IBN Battuta and the Excitement of the Unfamiliar
- The coconut and the paan
- Ibn Battuta and Indian cities
- A unique system of communication
-Bernier and the “Degenerate” East
- The question of landownership
- A more complex social reality
-Women Slaves, Sati and Labourers
- A Mosaic of Religious Beliefs and Practices
A Mosaic of Religious Beliefs and Practices
- The integration of cults
- Difference and conflict
- Poems of Prayer Early Traditions of Bhakti
Poems of Prayer Early Traditions of Bhakti
- The Alvars and Nayanars of Tamil Nadu
- Attitudes towards caste
- Women devotees
- Relations with the state
- The Virashaiva Tradition in Karnataka
- Religious Ferment in North India
- New Strands in the Fabric Islamic Traditions
New Strands in the Fabric Islamic Traditions
- Faiths of rulers and subjects
- The popular practice of Islam
- Names for communities
- The Growth of Sufism
The Growth of Sufism
- Khanqahs and silsilas
- Outside the khanqah
- The Chishtis in the Subcontinent
The Chishtis in the Subcontinent
- Life in the Chishti khanqah
- Chishti devotionalism: ziyarat and qawwali
- Languages and communication
- Sufis and the state
- New Devotional Paths Dialogue and Dissent in Northern India
New Devotional Paths Dialogue and Dissent in Northern India
- Weaving a divine fabric: Kabir
- Baba Guru Nanak and the Sacred Word
- Mirabai, the devotee princess
- Reconstructing Histories of Religious Traditions
Bhakti - Sufi Traditions: Changes in Religious Beliefs and Devotional Texts
-A Mosaic of Religious Beliefs and Practices
- The integration of cults
- Difference and conflict
-Poems of Prayer Early Traditions of Bhakti
- The Alvars and Nayanars of Tamil Nadu
- Attitudes towards caste
- Women devotees
- Relations with the state
-The Virashaiva Tradition in Karnataka
-Religious Ferment in North India
-New Strands in the Fabric Islamic Traditions
- Faiths of rulers and subjects
- The popular practice of Islam
- Names for communities
-The Growth of Sufism
- Khanqahs and silsilas
- Outside the khanqah
-The Chishtis in the Subcontinent
- Life in the Chishti khanqah
- Chishti devotionalism: ziyarat and qawwali
- Languages and communication
- Sufis and the state
-New Devotional Paths Dialogue and Dissent in Northern India
- Weaving a divine fabric: Kabir
- Baba Guru Nanak and the Sacred Word
- Mirabai, the devotee princess
-Reconstructing Histories of Religious Traditions
- The Discovery of Hampi
- Rayas, Nayakas and Sultans
Rayas, Nayakas and Sultans
- Kings and traders
- The apogee and decline of the empire
- The rayas and the nayakas
- Vijayanagara - the Capital and Its Environs
Vijayanagara The Capital and its Environs
- Water resources
- Fortifications and roads
- The urban core
- The Royal Centre
The Royal Centre
- The mahanavami dibba
- Other buildings in the royal centre
- The Sacred Centre
The Sacred Centre
- Choosing a capital
- Gopurams and mandapas
- Plotting Palaces, Temples and Bazaars
- Questions in Search of Answers
An Imperial Capital Vijayanagara
-The Discovery of Hampi
-Rayas, Nayakas and Sultans
- Kings and traders
- The apogee and decline of the empire
- The rayas and the nayakas
-Vijayanagara The Capital and its Environs
- Water resources
- Fortifications and roads
- The urban core
-The Royal Centre
- The mahanavami dibba
- Other buildings in the royal centre
-The Sacred Centre
- Choosing a capital
- Gopurams and mandapas
-Plotting Palaces, Temples and Bazaars
-Questions in Search of Answers
- Peasants and Agricultural Production
Peasants and Agricultural Production
- Looking for sources
- Peasants and their lands
- Irrigation and technology
- An abundance of crops
- The Village Community
- Caste and the rural milieu
- Panchayats and headmen
- Village artisans
- A “little republic”?
- Women in Agrarian Society
- Forests and Tribes
- Beyond settled villages
- Inroads into forests
- The Zamindars
- Land Revenue System
- The Flow of Silver
- The Ain-i Akbari of Abu’L Fazl Allami
Peasants, Zamindars and the State: Agrarian Society and the Mughal Empire
-Peasants and Agricultural Production
- Looking for sources
- Peasants and their lands
- Irrigation and technology
- An abundance of crops
-The Village Community
- Caste and the rural milieu
- Panchayats and headmen
- Village artisans
- A “little republic”?
-Women in Agrarian Society
-Forests and Tribes
- Beyond settled villages
- Inroads into forests
-The Zamindars
-Land Revenue System
-The Flow of Silver
-The Ain-i Akbari of Abu’l Fazl Allami
- The Mughals and Their Empire
- Production of Chronicles
- From Turkish to Persian
- The making of manuscripts
- The Painted Image
- The Akbar Nama and the Badshah Nama
- The Ideal Kingdom
- A divine light
- A unifying force
- Just sovereignty as social contract
- Capitals and Courts
- Capital cities
- The Mughal court
- Titles and gifts
- The Imperial Household
- The Imperial Officials
- Recruitment and rank
- Information and empire
- Beyond the centre: provincial administration
- Beyond the Frontiers
- The Safavids and Qandahar
- The Ottomans: pilgrimage and trade
- Jesuits at the Mughal court
- Questioning Formal Religion
Kings and Chronicles - the Mughal Courts
-The Mughals and Their Empire
-The Production of Chronicles
- From Turkish to Persian
- The making of manuscripts
-The Painted Image
-The Akbar Nama and the Badshah Nama
-The Ideal Kingdom
- A divine light
- A unifying force
- Just sovereignty as social contract
-Capitals and Courts
- Capital cities
- The Mughal court
- Titles and gifts
-The Imperial Household
-The Imperial Officials
- Recruitment and rank
- Information and empire
- Beyond the centre: provincial administration
-Beyond the Frontiers
- The Safavids and Qandahar
- The Ottomans: pilgrimage and trade
- Jesuits at the Mughal court
-Questioning Formal Religion
- Bengal and the Zamindars
- An auction in Burdwan
- The problem of unpaid revenue
- Why zamindars defaulted on payments
- The rise of the jotedars
- The zamindars resist
- The Fifth Report
- The Hoe and the Plough
- In the hills of Rajmahal
- The Santhals: Pioneer settlers
- The accounts of Buchanan
- A Revolt in the Countryside the Bombay Deccan
- Account books are burnt
- A new revenue system
- Revenue demand and peasant debt
- Then came the cotton boom
- Credit dries up
- The experience of injustice
- The Deccan Riots Commission
Colonialism and the Countryside
-Bengal and the Zamindars
- An auction in Burdwan
- The problem of unpaid revenue
- Why zamindars defaulted on payments
- The rise of the jotedars
- The zamindars resist
- The Fifth Report
-The Hoe and the Plough
- In the hills of Rajmahal
- The Santhals: Pioneer settlers
- The accounts of Buchanan
-A Revolt in the Countryside The Bombay Deccan
- Account books are burnt
- A new revenue system
- Revenue demand and peasant debt
- Then came the cotton boom
- Credit dries up
- The experience of injustice
-The Deccan Riots Commission
- Pattern of the Rebellion
- How the mutinies began
- Lines of communication
- Leaders and followers
- Rumours and prophecies
- Why did people believe in the rumours
- Awadh in Revolt
- “A cherry that will drop into our mouth one day”
- “The life was gone out of the body”
- Firangi raj and the end of a world
- What the Rebels Wanted
- The vision of unity
- Against the symbols of oppression
- The search for alternative power
- Repression
- Images of the Revolt
- Celebrating the saviours
- English women and the honour of Britain
- Vengeance and retribution
- The performance of terror
- No time for clemency
- Nationalist imageries
Rebels and the Raj: 1857 Revolt and Its Representations
-Pattern of the Rebellion
- How the mutinies began
- Lines of communication
- Leaders and followers
- Rumours and prophecies
- Why did people believe in the rumours
-Awadh in Revolt
- “A cherry that will drop into our mouth one day”
- “The life was gone out of the body”
- Firangi raj and the end of a world
-What the Rebels Wanted
- The vision of unity
- Against the symbols of oppression
- The search for alternative power
-Repression
-Images of the Revolt
- Celebrating the saviours
- English women and the honour of Britain
- Vengeance and retribution
- The performance of terror
- No time for clemency
- Nationalist imageries
- Towns and Cities in Pre-colonial Times
- What gave towns their character?
- Changes in the eighteenth century
- Finding Out About Colonial Cities
- Colonial records and urban history
- Trends of change
- What Were the New Towns Like?
- Ports, forts and centres for services
- A new urban milieu
- The first hill stations
- Social life in the new cities
- Segregation, Town Planning and Architecture: Madras, Calcutta and Bombay
- Settlement and segregation in Madras
- Town planning in Calcutta
- Architecture in Bombay
- What Buildings and Architectural Styles Tell Us
Colonial Cities: Urbanisation, Planning and Architecture
-Towns and Cities in Pre-colonial Times
- What gave towns their character?
- Changes in the eighteenth century
-Finding Out about Colonial Cities
- Colonial records and urban history
- Trends of change
-What Were the New Towns Like?
- Ports, forts and centres for services
- A new urban milieu
- The first hill stations
- Social life in the new cities
-Segregation, Town Planning and Architecture Madras, Calcutta and Bombay
- Settlement and segregation in Madras
- Town planning in Calcutta
- Architecture in Bombay
-What Buildings and Architectural Styles Tell Us
- A Leader Announces Himself
- The Making and Unmaking of Non-cooperation
- Knitting a popular movement
- A people’s leader
- The Salt Satyagraha a Case Study
- Dandi
- Dialogues
- Quit India
- The Last Heroic Days
- Knowing Gandhi
- Public voice and private scripts
- Framing a picture
- Through police eyes
- From newspapers
Mahatma Gandhi and the Nationalist Movement: Civil Disobedience and Beyond
-A Leader Announces Himself
-The Making and Unmaking of Non-cooperation
- Knitting a popular movement
- A people’s leader
-The Salt Satyagraha A Case Study
- Dandi
- Dialogues
-Quit India
-The Last Heroic Days
-Knowing Gandhi
- Public voice and private scripts
- Framing a picture
- Through police eyes
- From newspapers
- Some Partition Experiences
- A Momentous Marker
- Partition or holocaust
- The power of stereotypes
- Why and How Did Partition Happen?
- Culminating point of a long history
- The provincial elections of 1937 and the Congress ministries
- The “Pakistan” Resolution
- The suddenness of Partition
- Post-War developments
- A possible alternative to Partition
- Towards Partition
- The Withdrawal of Law and Order
- The one-man army
- Gendering Partition
- “Recovering” women
- Preserving “honour”
- Regional Variations
- Help, Humanity, Harmony
- Oral Testimonies and History
Understanding Partition: Politics, Memories, Experiences
-Some Partition Experiences
-A Momentous Marker
- Partition or holocaust
- The power of stereotypes
-Why and How Did Partition Happen
- Culminating point of a long history
- The provincial elections of 1937 and the Congress ministries
- The “Pakistan” Resolution
- The suddenness of Partition
- Post-War developments
- A possible alternative to Partition
- Towards Partition
-The Withdrawal of Law and Order
- The one-man army
-Gendering Partition
- “Recovering” women
- Preserving “honour”
-Regional Variations
-Help, Humanity, Harmony
-Oral Testimonies and History
- A Tumultuous Time
- The making of the Constituent Assembly
- The dominant voices
- The Vision of the Constitution
- The will of the people
- Defining Rights
- The problem with separate electorates
- “We will need much more than this Resolution”
- “We were suppressed for thousands of years”
- The Powers of the State
- “The centre is likely to break”
- “What we want today is a strong Government”
- The Language of the Nation
- A plea for Hindi
- The fear of domination
Framing the Constitution: the Beginning of a New Era
-A Tumultuous Time
- The making of the Constituent Assembly
- The dominant voices
-The Vision of the Constitution
- The will of the people
-Defining Rights
- The problem with separate electorates
- “We will need much more than this Resolution”
- “We were suppressed for thousands of years”
-The Powers of the State
- “The centre is likely to break”
- “What we want today is a strong Government”
-The Language of the Nation
- A plea for Hindi
- The fear of domination