12-18-2003, 08:09 AM
<b>History of India : A New Approach</b>/Kittu Reddy
Contents: I: Foreword/Kireet Joshi. Introduction. 1. The study of history. 2. Origins of Indian history. 3. The Vedas. 4. The Upanishads. 5. Mohenjadaro and Harappa. 6. The great epics. 7. The Indian social system. 8. The coming of the Buddha. 9. The first invasions. 10. Chanakya. 11. Ancient Indian polity â part 1. 12. Ancient Indian polity â part 2. 13. The Mauryan Empire. 14. The later empires. 15. South Indian kingdoms. 16. Shankaracharya, Madhavacharya and Ramanuja. 17. The Muslim invasions. 18. The Hindu revival â part 1. 19. The Hindu revival â part 2. 20. Summary and retrospect. 21. The Moghul Empire â part 1. 22. The Moghul Empire â part 2. 23. Shivaji. 24. The coming of the British. 25. The economic exploitation. 26. Tipu Sultan. 27. Ranjit Singh. 28. The Indian renaissance. II: 1. The Sepoy mutiny. 2. Indian National Congress. 3. The partition of Bengal. 4. The Surat Congress. 5. The early revolutionaries. 6. Minto-Morley reforms. 7. The home rule movement. 8. The non-cooperation movement â part 1. 9. The non-cooperation movement â part 2. 10. The civil disobedience movement â part 1. 11. The civil disobedience movement â part 2. 12. Two revolutionaries. 13. The Government of India Act â 1935. 14. The Quit India Movement and the Cripps proposals. 15. A divided freedom. 16. Summary and conclusion. 17. Appendix.
"History, as it has generally been conceived and written in modern times, has limited itself to the outer narration and interpretation of events and ignored the psychological forces and factors that affect human life. This predominance of external events has been so great that most modern historians and political thinkers have concluded that objective necessities are by law of nature, the only really determining forces; all else is result or superficial accidents of these forces. Scientific history has been conceived as if it must be a record and appreciation of the environmental motives of political action of the play of economic forces and developments and the course of institutional evolution.
"Indian history in particular loses all its true significance when looked from this purely external viewpoint. For the Indian mind and temperament is naturally inward looking. This book is an attempt to look at Indian history from the psychological and inner angle. It is an attempt to place in proper perspective, the deeper psychological and spiritual elements even in the outer life of the Indian nation. It starts from the pulsating spiritual beginnings of the Vedic and Upanishadic times and traces the evolution of India to the building of empires; it is followed by a description of the invasions both Muslim and English and the psychological impact that they had on the people of India. Next there is a detailed description of the freedom movement with special emphasis on the psychological forces that were in play till the attainment of independence in 1947. Finally it concludes with a vision for the future of India.
"We hope that this book will give a greater insight and lead to a true understanding of Indian culture and civilization. This book is particularly aimed at the young, not only to those who are young in body but also in the heart." (jacket)
Contents: I: Foreword/Kireet Joshi. Introduction. 1. The study of history. 2. Origins of Indian history. 3. The Vedas. 4. The Upanishads. 5. Mohenjadaro and Harappa. 6. The great epics. 7. The Indian social system. 8. The coming of the Buddha. 9. The first invasions. 10. Chanakya. 11. Ancient Indian polity â part 1. 12. Ancient Indian polity â part 2. 13. The Mauryan Empire. 14. The later empires. 15. South Indian kingdoms. 16. Shankaracharya, Madhavacharya and Ramanuja. 17. The Muslim invasions. 18. The Hindu revival â part 1. 19. The Hindu revival â part 2. 20. Summary and retrospect. 21. The Moghul Empire â part 1. 22. The Moghul Empire â part 2. 23. Shivaji. 24. The coming of the British. 25. The economic exploitation. 26. Tipu Sultan. 27. Ranjit Singh. 28. The Indian renaissance. II: 1. The Sepoy mutiny. 2. Indian National Congress. 3. The partition of Bengal. 4. The Surat Congress. 5. The early revolutionaries. 6. Minto-Morley reforms. 7. The home rule movement. 8. The non-cooperation movement â part 1. 9. The non-cooperation movement â part 2. 10. The civil disobedience movement â part 1. 11. The civil disobedience movement â part 2. 12. Two revolutionaries. 13. The Government of India Act â 1935. 14. The Quit India Movement and the Cripps proposals. 15. A divided freedom. 16. Summary and conclusion. 17. Appendix.
"History, as it has generally been conceived and written in modern times, has limited itself to the outer narration and interpretation of events and ignored the psychological forces and factors that affect human life. This predominance of external events has been so great that most modern historians and political thinkers have concluded that objective necessities are by law of nature, the only really determining forces; all else is result or superficial accidents of these forces. Scientific history has been conceived as if it must be a record and appreciation of the environmental motives of political action of the play of economic forces and developments and the course of institutional evolution.
"Indian history in particular loses all its true significance when looked from this purely external viewpoint. For the Indian mind and temperament is naturally inward looking. This book is an attempt to look at Indian history from the psychological and inner angle. It is an attempt to place in proper perspective, the deeper psychological and spiritual elements even in the outer life of the Indian nation. It starts from the pulsating spiritual beginnings of the Vedic and Upanishadic times and traces the evolution of India to the building of empires; it is followed by a description of the invasions both Muslim and English and the psychological impact that they had on the people of India. Next there is a detailed description of the freedom movement with special emphasis on the psychological forces that were in play till the attainment of independence in 1947. Finally it concludes with a vision for the future of India.
"We hope that this book will give a greater insight and lead to a true understanding of Indian culture and civilization. This book is particularly aimed at the young, not only to those who are young in body but also in the heart." (jacket)