The Book is a historical analysis of the Militaries of the Bhopal Princely State. Bhopal had the singular position in the comity of Princely States in British India, with a Hundred and seventy-five years' continuous line of Begums rulers. They were visionaries, educated and erudite. They displayed tremendous administrative ability, leadership qualities and diplomatic acumen, coupled with comparable skill at horse riding and arms. These Rulers set the tone of the Militaries and its motivation. The Bhopal Battalion, as part of the Indian Expeditionary Force, was the first non-Europeans to have disembarked in France to fight the War. The Battalion was the recipient of the Victoria Cross in World War I and a Nishan-e-Haider in post-independence period, a rare feat indeed. The icing on the cake was that its Militaries were demobilized in a peaceful and a placid manner, to be absorbed by the Civvy Street in a symbiotic equation.

This is the story of a dancer Noorbai at the Moghul Court, who with her matchless beauty and artistic accomplishments, had captivated the hearts of the Moghul Emperor Muhammad Shah and the infamous invader Nadir Shah who had taken a fancy to take her along on his way back to Iran. However, Noorbai made up her mind not to leave her country. The realistic picture of the agony of the country in the grip of disruption and unrest, serves as a backdrop to the romantic love between Noorbai and Mohan—a Jat guard and a commoner, the latter making the secret and dramatic escape, from the Red Fort, of the former possible. Mohan, the Jat hero of the novel is a remarkable common man who leads Noorbai to elevate and sublimate her life at Vrindavan by singing devotional songs addressed to Lord Krishna. Noorbai with her transformed spirit finally symbolises the magic touch of the liberal Hindu philosophy of adjustment and assimilation, without whose operation the broken thorns of divisiveness sticking deep into our body politic, even now in the present turbulent times, cannot be dislodged or dissolved easily to make us a united nation i.e. India of our vision. Her self-abnegation in throwing gold and jewellery into the river Yamuna re-establishes that spiritual values are supreme in life.

Marathas and the Maratha Country' : under this general theme we have already published two books of Professor A. R. Kulkarni, namely (1) Maharashtra in the Age of Shivaji and (2) Maharashtra Society and Culture. We are now introducing his four books under the same series containing reasearch articles based on orginal source and published in various journals. They are (i) The Marathas (1600-1818), a brief survey, (ii) Medieval Maratha Country, essays throwing fresh light on the various aspects of land and people of the region, (iii) Medieval Maharashtra containing essays on Village Communities, social relations, jiziya etc. and (iv) Studies in Maratha History which also includes articles of some other foreign and Indian scholars on Maratha historiography.

An analytical and critical account of the political history of early modern India from 1707 to 1813. The narrative shatters the contention of contemporary European writers that it was 'the dark age' of Indian history, characterised by 'political anarchy and misgovernment', until the British brought it under their sway. The main thesis of the author is that the period was marked by two distinct phases; the first phase, which lasted from 1707 to 1760, saw the rapid disintegration of the Mughal power and its replacement by the Maratha hegemony. Meanwhile, the English traders turned colonialists, after consolidating their hold along the Indian seacoasts and conquest of 'Carnatic' and Bengal, challenged the Maratha hegemony. The second phase of developments was thus marked by the struggle for supremacy between these two powers. The author makes use of contemporary English and Marathi sources and the intensive researches of modern historians to portray a compact picture of their findings in the form of a text book for the benefit of the degree students. Historical facts are reinterpreted through illuminating expositions, refreshing characterisation of historic personalities, and objective assessment of events and movements. Together with maps, a select bibliography, glossary and an elaborate index, the volume makes a rich contribution to the advancement of modern historical literature.

Journey of Survivors is one book that sums up the entire 70,000-year journey of India and her people. The book contains not just history, but also some interesting legends like how the Asuras were once our god, the legendary kingdom of women in the Himalayas, Alexanders search for somras, the bloody coins of Jesus that made its way into India and how Genghis Khan helped cool the earth. It discusses interesting facts like Chanakyas cunning policies, science in ancient India, the myth of Indians never attacking foreign lands, the Indian Greeks, how Buddhism died in India, how few Indian officials sailed across the Bay of Bengal in search of a king, the woman who defeated Ghori, the mysterious distribution of rotis before the revolt of 1857, the letters of Indian soldiers during the world war and how the 1975-77 Emergency changed Sholay's ending. The book poses intriguing questions like what is the identity of India, did temple destruction only happen in medieval India, was Gandhi a hero and will India survive. At the end, the author tries to discuss the various issues that in his opinion India, as a nation, needs to address.

For B.A. Pass and Hons. Students of History. Based on UGC Model Curriculum and also Modified Curriculum of Several Universities