Having its beginnings in a dim past where history has no peep, the Indian culture has had the fortune of being nurtured by numerous great sages, monks, kings, poets, and men of wisdom born on its soil. This book by G. Venkataramana Reddy, a well-known architect and town planner, colourfully overviews the rich heritage of India from the Vedic period to the advent of Sri Ramakrishna in the nineteenth century. These pages that depict the glorious history of India are dotted with pictures of exquisite paintings by renowned artists Purushottam Karanth and Maniam Selvan. This book will inspire everyone to love India and her rich cultural and spiritual heritage.

This book, first published in 1962, is an analysis of the history of the philosophy of a country that has never distinguished philosophy from religion. Indian philosophy is not merely metaphysical speculation, but has its foundation in immediate perception. This insistence upon immediate perception rather than abstract reasoning is what distinguishes the Indian philosophy of religion from philosophy as Western nations know it.

The revision comes 10 years after the first edition and completely overhauls the text not only in terms of look and feel but also content which is now contemporary while also being timeless. A large number of words are explained with the help of examples and their lineage which helps the reader understand their individual usage and the ways to use them on the correct occasion.

This concise book portrays the vignettes of what I call ‘A Remarkable Political Movement’. It draws upon my experiences in social and political activism. This remarkable movement; anchored to Indian view of nationalism; captivated my imagination. Subsequently; it became the preoccupation of my life. While still young; I came across an extraordinary letter written by Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay to his maternal uncle. The letter succinctly explains why the ideologue of Jana Sangh wanted to dedicate his life for the cause of the nation. Pt. Upadhyay says; “Any individual may achieve a very high degree of progress; but that has no significance unless his motherland too; registers corresponding progress.... We are nowadays interested only in reaping the harvest and have forgotten to provide the field with manure. Can we not forego a few worthless ambitions for the protection and benefit of our own people?” The letter turned a refreshing chapter in my life. It was an exposition that ‘giving’ makes one nobler than ‘taking’. It was in 1951 that Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee launched the Bharatiya Jana Sangh. The BJP is continuing the work of the Jana Sangh with a missionary zeal to make Bharat the greatest country in the world. The book also contains some articles on India’s rich cultural; spiritual and literary life.

The author, a historian of repute, confronts important issues of Indian history in this classic work. He raises such questions as “Was there an Aryan Invasion of India in the past?”, “Is the caste system a bane or a boon?”, “Did Indian women enjoy equal rights in ancient times?”, “Was Democracy an alien concept to Vedic Indians?”, “Why Buddhism became extinct in the country of its origin?”, “What is India’s lasting contribution to the field of Science, Mathematics, Astronomy, Medicine, Chemistry, Metallurgy, etc.?”, “Was Indian Culture greatly impacted by foreign religions?”, “How did India influence its neighbouring Eastern and Western countries?”, “Is Sanskrit only an off-shoot of the Indo-European Languages Group?”, “What was the scale of the social, economic and political implosion detonated by two centuries of British Colonial Rule?”. The author has answered the above vexing questions based on an intensive study of Archaeology, Epigraphy, Numismatics, original records in different languages and the travelogues of foreign visitors.(Translator’s Note).