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[India: A History. Revised and Updated] [Author: Keay, John] [May, 2011] Paperback
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- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherGrove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press
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This book is a sweeping narrative that tells the story of the peoples of the subcontinent, from their ancient beginnings in the valley of the Indus to the events in the region today.Popular highlight
Clearly Harappan settlements were not just India’s first cities and townships but its first, indeed the world’s first, planned cities and townships.284 Kindle readers highlighted thisPopular highlight
Historically it was Europe, not India, which consistently made religion grounds for war and the state an instrument of persecution.253 Kindle readers highlighted thisPopular highlight
India’s history as currently understood must be seen as beginning with two woefully unconnected cultures.224 Kindle readers highlighted thisPopular highlight
Again, the Harappans may have been the first in the world to use wheeled transport.216 Kindle readers highlighted this
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- ASIN : B00FBAEGK4
- Language : English
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My review, then, is based on my judgment about the book as in introduction to and survey of the history of the region of world currently known as India. For my purposes, I find the book to be quite good. India seems to defy extensive historical summary because of the many different people who have lived in the region throughout history and the relative lack of documentation detailing the early history of those people and their political associations. Like China, India's multitude of kingdoms had elastic borders, with many contemporary nations occupying the subcontinent at any given time. Referring to India as a single entity is often a geographical convenience more than a reality of governance.
That Keay is knowledgeable about the history of the region is certain, and his book's approach to describing the cultural and political factors that set the events of India's history to movement is certainly informative. There are a few points in the book, however, where relating the myths and legends of the people are too seemlessly blended with the narrative of the historical fact (or theory, as the facts are often in dispute).
As a simple consequence of the complexity of the topic, the crush of information (like the list of a regions of a monarch's conquests, for example) can overwhelm to the point of diluting understanding. I would have found the descriptions more informative if I had been provided with more of a summary of the historical significance of a king or kingdom, providing the list-like information bracketed as a section. The names of the conquered in a particular conquest are not useful for such a coarse view of India's history, and their listing exhausts the reader.
There is one weakness that I attribute to the information presented. When studying a large region, I like to have a feel for where in the geography of the region a certain thing or event was located. Keay does mention place names, but from the very outset of the book, I had the feeling that I would be getting more out of the book if I was more familiar with the geography of India. For example (for those like me with a knowledge of U.S. geography), imagine reading a passage that described an area stretching from Salt Lake City to Nashville - not a very useful description for a person not familiar with at least the general location of those cities within the overall geographic region. One cannot easily envision whether this is a large area or a small area, north, south or centralized, near the borders or far from them without at least a feel for their position. I recommend reading this book alongside a good map.
For generalists unfamiliar with the topic, I also recommend reading the book with a personal list of non-English terms that are presented in the book. Although Keay does a good job of explaining and introducing concepts that are best expressed in the native language, it is easy to forget many pages later what the deccan, arya-varta, hind, stupa, etc. etc. refer to exactly.
The weaknesses of the book are far outweighed by the book's strengths - at least for my stated purposes. The author's style is reasonably readable given the often-times dry material. I am dinging one star for not condensing the overly detailed conquests and bloodlines of comparatively trival houses, as I just feel that, while important to the student of India's history, they are out of place in a survey this general, and dilute the most salient points of interest of these ancient kingdoms. Still, I shouldn't complain about getting exactly what I asked for, which is a complete history of India from the earliest extant knowledge to the present day.
There a few minor challenges to the book, in particular its introduction to the European presence in India is weak but it eventually recovers the narrative as the British presence becomes a real factor in India.
All that said, this book is long. In that context, it is a great book for those interested in Indian history. For those interested in a short summary, look elsewhere.
I read this book to prepare for a my first tourist trip to India and loved it -- it brought to life the great palaces in Delhi and Agra and made real the forces that shaped India such as modern nationalism, the Raj, and the Chola.
The first few chapters discuss archaeology as well as history, since there are no written records of the Harrapan civilization, and records are scarce for later civilizations, including the period in which the epic poems Mahabharata and Ramayana were written, as well as the life of Buddha. The historical record starts appearing with the reign of Ashoka who left inscriptions on numerous columns around the country, but it is fragmentary for many centuries after that.
There was more detail on the subsequent dynasties than I could absorb on a first reading. A second reading might help. Some readers might prefer studying a less complete introduction like the excellent series of videos, Story of India, produced by Michael Wood.
A high point in the book is a discussion of Mughals, Muslim invaders who are responsible for many of the most impressive Indian monuments, including the Taj Mahal, and the Fatehpur Sikri of Akbar the Great. The rulers from this period seem to have been psychopaths who did not flinch from killing brothers or fathers in order to achieve the throne.
Although there were efforts in India to foster tolerance between Muslims and Hindus, independence led to a fracturing of India, first into India and Pakistan along religious lines, with East Pakistan becoming an independent state, Bangladesh. Hundreds of thousands lost their lives when forced to move to states consistent with their religious beliefs.
At partition in 1947 the population of India was 330 million Indians and about 30 million each in East and West Pakistan. The population of India has quadrupled since then, and the populations of Pakistan and Bangladesh have increased by a factor of about 6.
We live on a finite planet. Such population growth is unsustainable. One wonders why the British and the Indians themselves did not realize that continued population growth would produce continued poverty.
There was an effort to establish a form of democracy, although it was corrupted to a form of “demockery” to quote one of the chapter titles. But can democracy work when the people are malnourished? Or are demagogues inevitable?
Perhaps one needs a benevolent autocracy at least for poor countries, although such autocracies are rare. The China autocracy introduced a one-child policy in 1979. It is amazing that more people don’t notice the vast difference in outcomes.
China now vies with the US for economic dominance, while malnutrition is still a source of early death for many in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. This in spite of the Green Revolution.
And time has been lost. Population growth cannot continue forever. In fact, it leads to global warming, which threatens human extinction.
The simple use of birth control would alleviate much suffering and might help India achieve higher living standards, as well as curb sectarian violence in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Top reviews from other countries
John Keay macht aus dieser Situation eine ganze Menge. Obwohl das Buch nicht gerade kurz ist, erzählt er nicht sklavisch alle Details nach sondern setzt Schwerpunkte, die ihm dann erlauben, die wesentlichen Gründe und Argumente für bestimmte Theorien nachvollziehbar machen. Ganz undogmatisch entscheidet er sich dann für eine wahrscheinliche Theorie als Grundlage seiner Darstellung, lässt aber offen, ob nicht spätere Funde oder bessere Argumente noch einmal zu einer anderen Wertung führen können. Im Kern folgt er dabei Leitlinien, die sich auch in anderen Büchern über indische Geschichte finden, er bewegt sich also auf sicheren akademischen Boden. Das einzelne seiner Stellungnahmen aber dennoch hier auf Amazon kritisiert werden, ist vieleicht verständlich, stellt aber aus meiner Sicht keine wirkliche Kritik am Buch selbst dar.
Eine Freude zu lesen ist dieses Buch aber aus einem anderen Grund: Es ist einfach sehr, sehr gut geschrieben. Ich habe einmal gelesen, dass man sich dann etwas gut merken kann, wenn man eine emotionale Verbindung zu etwas entwickelt. Und da ist es mit dem Lernen von Daten und Fakten aus der indischen Geschichte eben nicht ganz einfach. Ein Reich, ein Herrscher scheint jeweils seinen Vorgänger abgelöst zu haben, ohne dass sich in der Struktur der Herrschaft wirklich etwas verändert hat. Anders: Es fällt eben gerade nicht so einfach, aufgrund der überlieferten Faktenlage die Guten und die Bösen in dieser Geschichte zu identifizieren. Keay sucht sich aber aus den vorhandenen Informationen das heraus, was die handelnden Menschen in dieser Geschichte lebendig werden lässt, er baut auf einzelnen, überlieferten Anekdoten auf und macht daraus kleine Biographien. Und die bleiben dann im Gedächtnis. Dass daneben auch die strukturellen Veränderungen dargestellt werden (Beispiel: Entwicklung der Administration bis hin zum Reich der Mogul), macht das dann zu einer wirklich gelungenen Gesamtansicht.