India’s History (550 B.C. to 1858 A.D.): An Analytical Review

India has had a varied and colourful history over a period of several millennia. The people inhabiting India over all this time were highly sophisticated and gave rise to great civilisations, some lasting several hundred years. All were characterised by systems of government, philosophic and religious thought, scientific knowledge in medicine and metallurgy, wildlife and weaving, building and brewing, and so on, which were mostly indigenously generated, and were often far in advance of their times. Much of this history still lies enshrouded under the ground all over India, and in obscure and indecipherable or cryptic writings of learned men working either from their villages, or from temples, monasteries and mosques, or from courts of little known monarchs. But, the known history of India, established by physical proof in the form of archaeological evidences, epigraphical records, and from writings of well-known and recognised authors over the centuries, has been interpreted, or has been only partly emphasised, according to the viewpoints of British or other non-Indian historians and writers who were conditioned by their own non-Indian backgrounds. This book seeks to highlight the glory of certain epochs of our ancient history, and attempts to explain events of our past and the motivations for such events by trying to recreate the actual conditions under which such events occurred. In doing this, the author believes that he has not tampered with the established facts of our history. The period selected for this analytical review is the known historical period from 550 B.C. to 1858 A.D. when the British formally took over the governance in India. This book also aims to popularise Indian history among students and working people by adopting an objective and easily readable style.