Charles Allen (1) (1940–2020)

This book tackles what has become a fiercely contested topic in the newly resurgent India of today. The contention is because the dominant communities in India, or more specifically Hindu, society were claimed to be the descendants of an alien, Indo-European or Indo-Iranian/Aryan immigrant population (or less benignly, maurading tribes) from the Central Eurasian steppes across the Hindu Kush. Although this purported immigration was relegated to the millennia before the present era (BC), and nobody questions the right of the so-called Indo-Aryans to their present places of residence as citizens in India (and in many other countries of the world!), it still raises a fierce sense of indignation that their legitimacy is being questioned in their own motherland, and that too based on conjectures and theries spun by colonial rulers, who have always tried to drive a wedge between different sections of the people they ruled, and their modern successors. The author has brought together the various threads of the argument, posted us up on the results of archaeological discoveries and comparative linguistics investigations in both the Indian area and in Central Asia and Anatolia, correlated the Aryan (Indo-Iranian) pre-history with various other sources, and generally tried to present the state of the field based on what is known to be factual, as against speculations. However he has also not hidden his distaste for the more strident strands of Hndutva lines of argument, some of which challenge the Aryan Immigration theory with an equally argumentative Out-of-India hypothesis.… (mais)

For the first time, I have read a book about South India and I enjoyed it. Indian history books are usually Delhi centric and neglect almost everything south of the Vindhays. The Indian culture we see in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Bali etc. would not have been possible without South Indian influence.
Also, this is about time, the history we learn in school is re-written. What we learned was a simplistic view and too many things, which the Muslim Sultans/Emperors did like killing Hindus, forced conversions, looting temples etc. have been glossed over for the sake of unity. Historians Like Prof. Romila Thapar got more importance than R. C. Majumdar.
This book is a start but not a comprehensive history. I would like to read a proper history of South India, including Telegu speaking land, which has been largely omitted.… (mais)