The Mlechchhas of Ancient India – their History and Culture embodies in eight chapters a detailed survey of references to the Mlechchhas found in early and medieval Indian literary texts, foreign notices and epigraphic documents. The term Mlechchha originally denoted a language or speakers of a particular language. Later, it was attributed to both foreigners and some indigenous racial stocks who did not abide by Brahmanical rules and regulations relating to religious rites and social customs. Mlechchhas were not always shunned as impure barbarians. Matrimonial alliance with them was often cemented by ruling houses adhering to Indian religious systems. An attempt is perceptible in later Smriti texts at absorbing the Mlechchhas into the Brahmanical fold by providing for them a berth in the jati system. The concluding chapter deals with the development of the concept of the term mlechchha in the light of available source materials.
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