History writing on South Asia has over time debated the politics of its sources. It has also confronted the assumptions underlying the periodization of Indian history. As reflected in this collection of essays, Subrahmanyam takes a sharp and discriminating look at the archive to challenge certain enduring beliefs regarding temporal and geographical frontiers in the task of history writing. From the Tagus to the Ganges is a set of interlinked studies that deploys the concept of ‘connected histories’ to shed important light on aspects of the history of early modern Eurasia. These studies are based on a wide variety of Asian and European materials, and while their main focus is on relations between European and South Asia, other parts of the world also play a major role in the arguments. Like its companion Mughals and Franks, this work revisits some old debates and casts new light on them. It also draws attention to hitherto neglected aspects of South and Southeast Asian history, within a new conceptual framework. These two volumes together demonstrate that just as our notions of periodization have to be interrogated, our maps have to be redrawn to address the issues thrown up by the area we historicize. In its meaningful contribution to history writing, this volume will be indispensable to historians, scholars and students interested in the early modern period in South Asia and Europe.
There are no reviews yet.