This is the fifth volume in the series on Indian history with the generic title From Indus to Independence: A Trek through Indian History. It covers the period from the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate (accepted as 1206 by most historians) and its defeat and obliteration by Babur the Mughal in 1526. The initial phase of the Delhi Sultanate was more a military occupation than the establishment of an empire and accordingly was chaotic, violent and turbulent. Throughout its existence, the Sultanate continued a program of the aggressive imposition of Islam on the northern part of the Indian sub-continent. This book chronicles the events of more than three centuries, especially in North India that had, and continues to have a momentous influence on further developments in India. The Delhi Sultanate was the first major Islamic kingdom to be established in India and brought about a direct confrontation between Hinduism and Islam. The encounter transformed not only India’s social fabric but had a lasting impact on the subcontinent's architecture, literature, music, and even cuisine. More importantly, it divided the socio-political and economic structure of India in an irrevocable manner. This book recounts the historic events and analyses the social, cultural and religious developments that transformed India permanently. It combines detailed research and great erudition, weaving together the events of three centuries and the aftermath and influence of each on the development of India as an entity.

This is the seventh volume of the series on Indian history, From Indus to Independence: A Trek through Indian History, and provides the history of the great Vijayanagara Empire. Named in aspiration of victory—in both the spiritual and temporal realms—Vijayanagara more than lived up to its name for more than three centuries, before it was brought down by a number of factors, some of them beyond its control. Vijayanagara was established at a critical juncture in the politico-religious history of Peninsular India. Even though it was not proclaimed as such, there is no doubt that the kingdom was created as the answer to the ferocious Islamic invasions of the 'Deep South' that was becoming a regular feature in Peninsular India. It succeeded in holding back the invading armies, for three long centuries, thereby blunting the zeal and urgency of the Islamic conquest. These three centuries provided the balm to make the interaction between Hinduism and Islam more congenial than at the outset of the Islamic invasion of the Deccan Plateau. This book provides a detailed historical narrative of the great Vijayanagara Empire and carries out an assessment of its successes and failures. The book provides the reader with an in-depth understanding of the irrevocable and fundamental forces of history that have been instrumental in forming the present that we live today.

Daniel Haines uncovers the history of one of the most important factors in relations between these two South Asian powers -- water

This book describes and evaluates how institutional innovation and technological innovation have impacted on humanity from pre-historical times to modern times, and how societies have been transformed in history. The author interrogates the relationship between innovation and civilisation -– particularly the dynamic whereby innovation leads to empire-building -– and explores innovation efforts that stimulated economic and social synergies from the Babylonian Empire in 1900 BC up to the British Empire in the twentieth century. The author uses historical cross-cultural case studies to establish the factors which have given competitive advantages to societies and empires. This book will be of interest to researchers and students in political economy, economic history, economic growth and innovation economics.

This longue durée survey of the Indian subcontinent's environmental history reveals the complex interactions among its people and the natural world.

"In his new introduction, Khilnani addresses these issues in the new perspectives afforded by events of the recent year in India and in the world."--BOOK JACKET.

*Includes pictures *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading "Placed as if by Nature in a locality which gives it a crowning position and serving as a gateway to India, every invader from the North has, by its possession, sought the road to fame." - Syed Mohammad Latif Gujarat is one of the most storied sites in a storied area. Many groups and empires ruled India or tried to, and Gujarat was the power center for the region's oldest of all, the Indus Valley Civilization. Gujarat also played an instrumental role in India's greatest ancient empire. During the last centuries of the first millennium BCE, most of the Mediterranean basin and the Near East were either directly or indirectly under the influence of Hellenism. The Greeks spread their ideas to Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Persia and attempted to unify all of the peoples of those regions under one government. Although some of the Hellenistic kingdoms proved to be powerful in their own rights - especially Ptolemaic Egypt and the Seleucid Empire, which encompassed all of Mesopotamia, most of the Levant, and much of Persia during its height - no single kingdom ever proved to be dominant. The Hellenic kingdoms battled each other for supremacy and even attempted to claim new lands, especially to the east, past the Indus River in lands that the Greeks referred to generally as India. But as the Hellenistic Greeks turned their eyes to the riches of India, a dynasty came to power that put most of the Indian subcontinent under the rule of one king. The dynasty that came to power in the late fourth century BCE is known today as the Mauryan Dynasty, and although the ruling family was short-lived and their power was ephemeral, its influence resonated for several subsequent centuries and spread as far east as China and into the Hellenistic west. Through relentless warfare and violent machinations, the Mauryans were able to take a land that was full of disparate and often warring ethnic groups, religions, and castes and meld it into a reasonably cohesive empire. After establishing the empire, subsequent kings were able to focus their attentions on raising the living standards of their people. One particular Mauryan king, Ashoka, embarked on several ambitious public works projects and promoted the tenets of Buddhism. Due to its influence on religion and what many believe was the world's first attempt by a government to legitimately acknowledge human rights, the Maurya Empire continues to be a source of interest and inspiration today. From there, Gujarat's history is similar to much of the rest of the subcontinent, which witnessed the rise and fall of various conquerors, from the Islamic era in the Middle Ages to the British Empire. In that time, the ethnic and religious divides brought about by time and the movements of people hardened, and by the time Gujarat was part of an independent India again, there were numerous separatist and independence movements. To this day, Gujarat has a highly charged political environment, situated as it is on the volatile border between India and Pakistan. Gujarat: The History of the Indian State from the Ancient Indus Valley Civilization to Today looks at the region, the various civilizations that lived there, and what took place there over the last 5,000 years. Along with pictures and a bibliography, you will learn about Gujarat like never before.

This book traces the history of India's progress since its independence in 1947 and advances strategies for continuing economic growth. Insiders and outsiders that have criticized India for slow economic growth fail to recognize all it has achieved in the last seven decades, including handling the migration of over 8 million people from Pakistan, integrating over 600 princely states into the union, managing a multi-language population into one nation and resolving the food problem. The end result is a democratic country with a strong institutional foundation. Following the growth strategies outlined in the book and with a strong leadership, India has the potential to stand out as the third largest economy in the world in the next 25 to 30 years. Subhash Jain and Ben Kedia delve into India's development and emergence as an economic power, one of the three countries that can make its own supercomputers, one of the six countries that can launch satellites and that has the second largest small car market in the world. They discuss its need for innovative initiatives and top leadership to pursue an agenda of economic growth, and monitored policies to encourage entrepreneurship at all levels. With an emphasis on the new leadership of Prime Minister Modi, the book identifies policies that need to be adopted to make India s future bright and prosperous. This book is a critical resource for students and scholars interested in India and invested in its progress, as well as policymakers, government officials and corporations considering India as a place to expand and do business.