A Companion to South Asia in the Past provides the definitive overview of research and knowledge about South Asia’s past, from the Pleistocene to the historic era in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, provided by a truly global team of experts. The most comprehensive and detailed scholarly treatment of South Asian archaeology and biological anthropology, providing ground-breaking new ideas and future challenges Provides an in-depth and broad view of the current state of knowledge about South Asia’s past, from the Pleistocene to the historic era in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal A comprehensive treatment of research in a crucial region for human evolution and biocultural adaptation A global team of scholars together present a varied set of perspectives on South Asian pre- and proto-history

Urban history is a rapidly expanding interdisciplinary field of research. The rate of urban growth in the twentieth century has also stimulated interest in the city as an object of socio-historical inquiry. Some historical studies on individual Indian cities like Bombay, Calcutta, Cawnpore, Delhi, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Surat and Madras have primarily explored the growth of urban centres by tracing their histories under colonial rule. This study offers a macro picture of the urban process under British administration, giving an understanding of how colonial capitalism shaped and imposed urban patterns in India. It contextualizes the urbanization of India in the world capitalist system of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, explaining the multifaceted historical conditions in 1857, just before the imposition of direct Crown rule. Sahoo examines the socio-economic developments and demographic changes in India under British rule and analyzes the impact of the world capitalist economy, the pattern of urbanization under British rule, and the contribution of railways to urbanization. This volume is a profile of India’s primate cities, identifying the core, the periphery and the underdeveloped hinterlands.

This book discusses the importance of socio-spatial patterns in cities that are embedded in the cultural heritage and self-understanding of a society, showing that Indian cities follow different urban concepts. In nine episodes (nine is a sacred figure), it highlights the principal influences and social impacts on cities from ancient times to contemporary city developments. As such, it provides planners and architects with insights that can easily be applied in contemporary cities and towns and help foster India’s cultural heritage—a much-needed, but little-discussed approach. Indian cities are the result of various factors, some imposed, others following local traditions that shaped them. They were founded around social needs, landscape conditions and production routines, as well as the religious influences of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Islam, Christianity and animism. However, Western town-planning models are often implemented, blurring the traditional way of life in cities. For sustainable town development, it is of key importance to find solutions that deal with Indian city models.

The material in this study is covered by Myron L. Cohen on religion and family organization in China; John R. Bowen on family, kinship, and Islam in Indonesia; Robert W. Hefner on hierarchy and stratification in Java; and Nancy Rosenberger on gender roles in Japan. Further material is provided by William W. Kelly on rural society in Japan; Theodore C. Bestor on urban life in Japan; Stephen R. Smith on the family in Japan; Doranne Jacobson on gender relations in India; Lawrence A. Babb on religion in India; Owen M. Lynch on stratification, inequality, and the caste system in India; Laurell Kendall on changing gender relations in Korea; Andrew G. Walder on comparative revolution in China and Vietnam, Maoism, and the sociology of work in China and Japan; Moni Nag on the comparative demography of China, Japan, and India; and Helen Hardacre on the new religions of Japan. Other contributors offering information through case studies are Hiroshi Ishida on stratification and mobility in Japan; Robert C. Liebman on work and education compared in Japan and the US; Joseph W. Elder on education, urban society, urban problems, and industrial society in India; Andrew J. Nathan on totalitarianism, authoritarianism, and democracy in China; Jean C. Oi on mobilisation and participation in China; Edwin A. Winckler on political development in Taiwan; Carl H. Lande on political parties and representation in the Philippines ; Clark N. Neher on political development and political participation in Thailand; and Benedict R. O'G. Anderson on political culture, the military, and authoritarianism in Indonesia. The final chapters of this work include studies by Stephen Philip Cohen on the military in India and Pakistan; Paul R. Brass on democracy and political participation in India; T.J. Pempel on Japanese democracy and political culture, political parties and representation, and bureaucracy in Japan; Han-kyo Kim on political development in South Korea; and Thomas G. Rawski on the economies of China and Japan.

The Second Half Of The Twentieth Century Has Witnessed A Marked Shift Of Population From Rural To Urban Areas. This Accelerated Rate In The Growth Of Urban Population Is A Necessary Consequence Of Modernization And Industrialization To Which We Are Committed. The Rice Of Urban Centres Of Population, If Not Properly Controlled, Is Bound To Be Haphazard And To Lead To Growth Of Slums. The Administration Of These Urban Areas, Which Generally Is, Or Should Be, The Responsibility Of Local Bodies, Is An Important Part Of The Administration Of The State. As A Matter Of Fact, The Quality Of Urban Administration Affects Urban Dwellers More Immediately And Closely Than The Administration At Higher Levels. This Is Because Subjects Like Health, Sanitation, Slum Clearance, Housing, Education, Etc., Have A Direct Bearing On The Welfare Of The People.Urban India Has Attracted The Attention Of Town Planners, Architects, Traffic Experts, Scientists, Sociologists As Well As Social Scientists. But The Area That Has Received The Least Attention And The One That Has Remained Largely Unexplored Are The Ones Relating To The Problem Of The Agency For Urban Planning And Development. It Is Time The Political Scientists And Students Of Public Administration Closely Study The Structure And Suitability Of The Agency For Urban Planning And Development, And Suggest Ways And Means For Streamlining It Specially In The Context Of The Problems And Challenges That Urban Government Is Called Upon To Tackle. The Need To Comprehend And Synthesize The Analysis And Interpretation Of Basic Facts And Forces Relating To Urban Improvement Gains Fresh Urgency. The Present Study Accomplishes This Task By Providing A Bold, Balanced And Imaginative Approach To Meeting The Greatest Challenge Of Urban India. Based On Empirical Data, It Examines The Suitability Of Improvement Trusts In The Field Of Urban Development, Their Administrative Set-Up, Working And Planning, The Execution Process And The Problem Of Finance. The Study Is Intended For Policy Makers, Administrators, Teachers And Students Who Are Concerned With Problems Of Urban Planning And Development. The Author Intends To Focus Attention On Urban Issues And Provides Material For Independent Research And Guidelines For Policy Formulation On Complex Problems Of Urban India.

India is undergoing massive urbanization. The future form of Indian cities in terms of urban planning and design is most urgent. A study of the key historical moments from the point of view of urban development is thus important. With case studies from the time cities originated in the Indian subcontinent and hand-drawn illustrations of these cities till the ones in recent times, the author discusses the last two hundred years of urban development in India with emphasis on the overall structure of the city, its nature of public places, institutions, and housing.