Ancient India


Book Description




The Culture and Civilisation of Ancient India in HIstorical Outline


Book Description

First published in 1965, The Culture and Civilisation of Ancient India in Historical Outline is a strikingly original work, the first real cultural history of India. The main features of the Indian character are traced back into remote antiquity as the natural outgrowth of historical process. Did the change from food gathering and the pastoral life to agriculture make new religions necessary? Why did the Indian cities vanish with hardly a trace and leave no memory? Who were the Aryans – if any? Why should Buddhism, Jainism, and so many other sects of the same type come into being at one time and in the same region? How could Buddhism spread over so large a part of Asia while dying out completely in the land of its origin? What caused the rise and collapse of the Magadhan empire; was the Gupta empire fundamentally different from its great predecessor, or just one more ‘oriental despotism’? These are some of the many questions handled with great insight, yet in the simplest terms, in this stimulating work. This book will be of interest to students of history, sociology, archaeology, anthropology, cultural studies, South Asian studies and ethnic studies.




Ancient India


Book Description

This book is a substantially modified and enlarged version of the author's "Ancient India: An Introductory Outline" (Delhi, 1977) and surveys the major developments in India's social, economic and cultural history up to the end of the ancient period and the beginning of the early middle ages and explains the rise and growth of states with reference to their material basis. Special attention has been paid to the elements of change and continuity in society, economy and culture, and to the changing forms of exploitation and consequent social tensions as well as to the role of religion and superstition in society. The book demolishes the popular historiographical stereotypes created by the Hindu-chauvinist communal writings. It also gives the lie to the view that the Indian society has been stagnant and changeless -- a view which was propagated by Western scholars in the heyday of British imperialism and continues to be peddled ingeniously in our own times. The assassination of Mahatma Gandhi ... and the demolition of the Baburi Masjid are two ... unforgettable milestones in the unfolding of the backward-looking Hindu revivalist and fascist politics of contemporary India. Since both Harappa and Mohenjodaro are situated now in Pakistan, the Hindu revivalists are busy locating the epicentre of the Harappan culture in the elusive Saraswati valley.




MAP Entries for History Optional


Book Description

History is a popular optional subject in Civil Services Mains Examination and Allied Civil Services. History Optional includes a compulsory question of 50 marks on map entries in Paper-I. However, to locate and remember the entries is a challenging task in itself and the cumbersome process of preparing notes for them adds to the woes of a civil services aspirant. It requires ample amount of precious time and energy for these tasks. 'Map Entries for History Optional' contains more than 400 map entries with descriptive notes, in a concise and lucid form. The book will properly cater to the requirements of the candidates to score high marks in History Optional. Salient features: - Specific focus on the civil services examination - Over 400 entries related to historical map entries - Precise, informative write-up on each entry - Solved Questions from 2013 to 2017 Map Entries for History Optional Contents 1. Hominid Fossil Sites 2. Palaeolithic Sites - I 3. Palaeolithic Sites - II 4. Palaeolithic Sites - III 5. Palaeolithic Sites - IV 6. Mesolithic Sites - I 7. Mesolithic Sites - II 8. Mesolithic Sites - III 9. Neolithic Sites - I 10. Neolithic Sites - II 11. Neolithic Sites - III 12. Neolithic Sites - IV 13. Neolithic Sites - V 14. Indus Valley Civilisation Sites - I 15. Indus Valley Civilisation Sites - II 16. Indus Valley Civilisation Sites - III 17. Indus Valley Civilisation Sites - IV 18. Chalcolithic Sites - I 19. Chalcolithic Sites - II 20. Chalcolithic Sites - III 21. Chalcolithic Sites - IV 22. Megalithic Sites - I 23. Megalithic Sites - II 24. Megalithic Sites - III 25. Painted Grey Ware (PGW) Sites - I 26. Painted Grey Ware (PGW) Sites - II 38. Ancient Capital - V 39. Ancient Capital - VI 40. Ancient Capital - VII 41. Inscription Sites - I 42. Inscription Sites - II 43. Major Rock Edicts of Ashoka - I 44. Major Rock Edicts of Ashoka - II 45. Minor Rock Edicts of Ashoka - I 46. Minor Rock Edicts of Ashoka - II 47. Pillar Edicts of Ashoka 48. Ashoka's Inscriptions for Famine Relief 49. Rock Cut Cave / Cave Paintings - I 50. Rock Cut Cave / Cave Paintings - II 51. Ancient Port Cities - I 52. Ancient Port Cities - II 53. Ancient Cities and Trade Centres - I 54. Ancient Cities and Trade Centres - II 55. Ancient Cities and Trade Centres - III 56. Ancient Cities and Trade Centres - IV 57. Ancient Cities and Trade Centres - V 58. Temple Sites - I 59. Temple Sites - II 60. Temple Sites - III 61. Temple Sites - IV 62. Ancient Education Centres 63. Fort Cities 27. Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW) Sites - I 64. UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Ancient and 28. Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW) Sites - II 29. Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW) Sites - III 30. Buddhist Sites - I 31. Buddhist Sites - II 32. Buddhist Sites - III 33. Jain Sites 34. Ancient Capital - I 35. Ancient Capital - II 36. Ancient Capital - III 37. Ancient Capital - IV Early Medieval India - I 65. UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Ancient and Early Medieval India - II 66. UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Ancient and Early Medieval India - III Previous Years' MAP Solved Questions - History Optional (Mains)-2017 - History Optional (Mains)-2016 - History Optional (Mains)-2015 - History Optional (Mains)-2014 - History Optional (Mains)-2013




The Goddess and the Nation


Book Description

Making the case for a new kind of visual history, The Goddess and the Nation charts the pictorial life and career of Bharat Mata, “Mother India,” the Indian nation imagined as mother/goddess, embodiment of national territory, and unifying symbol for the country’s diverse communities. Soon after Mother India’s emergence in the late nineteenth century, artists, both famous and amateur, began to picture her in various media, incorporating the map of India into her visual persona. The images they produced enabled patriotic men and women in a heterogeneous population to collectively visualize India, affectively identify with it, and even become willing to surrender their lives for it. Filled with illustrations, including 100 in color, The Goddess and the Nation draws on visual studies, gender studies, and the history of cartography to offer a rigorous analysis of Mother India’s appearance in painting, print, poster art, and pictures from the late nineteenth century to the present. By exploring the mutual entanglement of the scientifically mapped image of India and a (Hindu) mother/goddess, Sumathi Ramaswamy reveals Mother India as a figure who relies on the British colonial mapped image of her dominion to distinguish her from the other goddesses of India, and to guarantee her novel status as embodiment, sign, and symbol of national territory. Providing an exemplary critique of ideologies of gender and the science of cartography, Ramaswamy demonstrates that images do not merely reflect history; they actively make it. In The Goddess and the Nation, she teaches us about pictorial ways of learning the form of the nation, of how to live with it—and ultimately to die for it.




(Free Sample) 27 Years UPSC IAS-IPS Prelims Topic-wise Solved Papers 1 & 2 (1995 - 2021) 12th Edition


Book Description

The thoroughly Revised and Updated 12th edition (2 colour) of Disha's BESTSELLER "27 Years UPSC IAS/ IPS Prelims Topic-wise Solved Papers 1 & 2 (1995-2021)" consists of past years solved papers of the General Studies Paper 1 & 2 distributed into 8 Units and 52 Topics. # This new edition includes Strategy Video by Mrunal, Notes & Sources for select questions. # The USP of the book is its flawless detailed solution to each and every question whose answer key has been validated with UPSC. # This new edition also includes an IAS Planner which will help the aspirants in planning their preparation for the Prelim & Main Exam. # This is the only book that provides Solved Papers of 27 Years of Prelim Exam along with Unsolved Questions of Mains Exam from 2013 to 2020. # The book has been empowered with Unique Inputs/ Articles by the author who is also one of the Most esteemed faculties for IAS - Mrunal on : • Understanding the IAS Exam & Strategies to Crack the Prelim & Main Exam. • How to Attempt the IAS Main Exam Questions? • How to approach the Economics section? • How to write Essays for GS IV Main exam? # The book provides UNSOLVED Mains Papers from 2013 - 20, divided topic-wise. The book also provides List of Essays divided topic-wise from 1993 - 2020. # The strength of the book lies in the Errorless DETAILED Solutions. The book is 100% useful for both the General Studies papers (1 and 2) of the Prelims/ CSAT.










Outline of the Religious Literature of India


Book Description

The author believes that it would be necessary for a student of Indian religions to undertake first of all a long and difficult investigation into sources, and further that from the point of view of the study of religions what was wanted was wanted was not so much fresh study of individual books as a clear comoprehensive survey of the literature so far as critical inquiry, translations and the publication of texts have made it known, so that the student might be able to begin the study of any part of it with intelligence and to find his way without serious difficulty to all the existing literature, modern as well as ancient which deals with the section of the field in which he is interested.




India


Book Description

The subject of India's rapid growth in the past two decades has become a prominent focus in the public eye. A book that documents this unique and unprecedented surge, and addresses the issues raised by it, is sorely needed. Arvind Panagariya fills that gap with this sweeping, ambitious survey. India: The Emerging Giant comprehensively describes and analyzes India's economic development since its independence, as well as its prospects for the future. The author argues that India's growth experience since its independence is unique among developing countries and can be divided into four periods, each of which is marked by distinctive characteristics: the post-independence period, marked by liberal policies with regard to foreign trade and investment, the socialist period during which Indira Ghandi and her son blocked liberalization and industrial development, a period of stealthy liberalization, and the most recent, openly liberal period. Against this historical background, Panagariya addresses today's poverty and inequality, macroeconomic policies, microeconomic policies, and issues that bear upon India's previous growth experience and future growth prospects. These provide important insights and suggestions for reform that should change much of the current thinking on the current state of the Indian economy. India: The Emerging Giant will attract a wide variety of readers, including academic economists, policy makers, and research staff in national governments and international institutions. It should also serve as a core text in undergraduate and graduate courses that deal with Indias economic development and policies.