A history of India

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