The present volume sketches the profiles of some 350 eminent personalities of modern India starting from the Battle of Plassey in 1757 and closing with the attainment of freedom in 1947. It is a period of about two centuries which witnessed the disintegration of the Mughal Empire and the rise of the British supremacy. The rivalries between the leading European trading companies, the infighting between the Indian rulers and the superior administrative and military skills of the British generals and policy-makers resulted in the subjugation of India. The period also saw the unfolding of administrative reforms and the far-reaching impact of the Western institutions and ideas on Indian people. The era is remarkable for a number of progressive trends including urbanization and growth of middle class, challenge of Christianity and new learning, recovery of the past, development of transport and communication, evolution of national consciousness and constitutional changes culminating in the partition and independence of the country. The men and women included in the volume have been drawn from various fields like administration, freedom movement, literature, art and social and religious crusades. Sections devoted to Basic Historical Perspectives, Chronology and Bibliography are likely to be helpful for understanding the era as well as its architects.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR A N Kapoor
A.N. Kapoor After obtaining M.A., D.Phil, in English from Allahabad University, Dr. Kapoor taught English at Agra and Delhi Universities for over four decades and has edited, compiled and authored more than hundred titles including reference books, encyclopaedias and language dictionaries. His dictionary of geographical terms published in 1955 was the first work of its kind in Hindi. His comprehensive English-Hindi dictionary stands as the crowning work of the four decade long effort. The lexicon is considered a work of tremendous relevance for the entire gamut of bilingual activity, being undertaken in the country as almost all levels of our social system, educational institutions and government department.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mohini Gupta
A constant collaborator in the intellectual pursuits of her husband V.P. Gupta she is co-author in a number of his publications including an Encyclopaedia of History and Culture of Punjab, and biographical studies of Raja Rammohun Roy, Swami Dayaand Saraswati, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. A two-volume study of India since independence critically examines the triumphs and tragedies of Indian people during the last fifty five years. These books brought out in both the languages - English and Hindi - have been widely acclaimed as the harbinger of awareness about the ideals of our freedom struggle.
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