Top 10 iNDIAN HISTORY BOOK
We have all studied history in our school
days. But rarely is studying any history book enough to get you aware of all
that's happened since time immemorial. It’s time to go beyond the basics. Take
a look at 9 books that will help you understand our 5000-year-old heritage
better.
1. India: A History
This is written by John Keay and covers
everything from the Harappan Civilisation to the pre-independence era. Critics
say that this has been written from an objective point of view. Keay has done a
commendable job of blending insights from a variety of sources and strings
these together to present you a 5000-year-old history. The best part of the
book is that it finishes in 600 pages.
2. India After Gandhi
This is written by Ramachandra Guha. It is a
comprehensive book covering everything about the world’s largest democracy from
conflicts, struggles and humiliations to victories. Most importantly, his
writing presents India as the protagonist of it all. If you are looking to read
something about India’s past and present, you cannot find anything better than
this.
3. The Argumentative Indian
This book is written by award winning
economist Amartya Sen. He gives you 16 essays covering essential themes such as
India’s political heritage, identity, social and economic disparities and its
current position in the world today. However, some readers suggest that he
hasn’t done justice to history and is repetitive in a lot of places.
Nevertheless, it makes for a good alternative point of view.
4. The Last Mughal
This is written by historian and travel writer
William Dalrymple. The Last Mughal covers broadly everything about the fall of
Delhi. It includes individual stories of bad experiences along with everything
that happened under Bahadur Shah Zafar II’s rule. For those who are especially
interested in knowing about how Delhi came about and the 1857 mutiny, this book
is for you.
5. Early India : From the
origins to AD 1300
This book is written by Romila Thapar and she
gives a detailed account of Indian history beginning from the Aryan culture to
the establishment of Mughals in 1526 A.D. Thapar traces India’s evolution
including the cities of the Indus Civilisation, emergence of dynasties such as
the Mauryas, Guptas and Cholas and much more. You’ll take much more from this book
than you think.
6. The Great
Partition
This book is written about Yasmin Khan. She
examines the context, execution and aftermath of the partition including
internal politics and how ordinary lives were affected. It was released
in 2007 and gave a fresh point of view to the partition. The author also
tries to understand why we are still dealing with the repercussions of
partition. If you want to know go beyond the ‘political leaders’ of that time
and focus on more on-ground issues during the partition, this is the book for
you.
10 बाते भारतीय सेना के बारे में
7. Freedom At Midnight
This book is written by Larry Collins and
Dominique Lapierre. It is a major work done on the partition and the most
eminent leaders of the time, including Gandhi, Jinnah, Nehru and Mountbatten.
It is a must read for everyone who wants to know about why and how partition
happened and the bloodshed that followed.
8. The Discovery of India
This was written by India's first Prime
Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Yes, it does present Nehru’s perspective of India
but that is definitely worth noting. It covers mainly the years between 1942
and 1945. Read it if you are interested in a first-hand account of our freedom
struggle. Moreover, Nehru’s writing will not disappoint you.
9. The Wonder That Was
India
This was written by Arthur Llewellyn Basham.
If you want to understand India from the perspective of religion, literature,
politics, society, art and music, then take a look at this one. However, it is
mainly for those readers who are fascinated with ancient history.
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