A new History of India
(Sixth edition)
By Stanley Wolpert
Oxford, 2000
Pp.511, price Pakistani Rs.480.

To write a history of 4000 years of India, covering its political, social, cultural, and economic development, incorporating all recent research which has taken place in various aspects, and relating all periods with each other to make the continuity of historical process, is an uphill and arduous task. Stanley Wolpert has successfully accomplished this task in his ‘ A new History of India’ which was first published in 1977. Such a comprehensive book requires periodising the historical process mentioning changes that shaped social, political, cultural, and economic fabric of a society. The saga of the Indian history begins with the Indus valley civilization whose silent sites spread all over Sindh, Baluchistan, Pubjab, Rajasthan, and Gujrat. The excavations of these sites tell a story of glorious civilization that made India parallel to Egyptians and Mesopotamian civilizations.

The center of the Indian civilization then shifted from Sindh to the Gangetic plains on the arrivals of new ethnic groups known as the Aryans. They brought new gods, new language, caste system, and patriarchy. As a result of socio-economic and political development simple tribal society became engaged in the process of state formation. They built an empire known as an ‘Arya Verta’ or the land of the Aryans. Its capital was Hastinapur (pur i.e. fortified town). Among the institutions of the state important ones were the king, army (kshatriyas), sabha or samiti (councils). In the plains of Ganges and Yumuna, the Aryan civilization developed into a complex one. The first Aryans who settled in the Punjab had great optimism in their outlook, but once they shifted to the dark woods of Bihar, their philosophy became pessimistic, especially about sufferings of life and how to get salvation. The complexities of religious rituals made Brahman superior caste to the warriors. To maintain their domination, the Brahmans evolved so many rituals that to pay their cost became unbearable for the people.

Gutanma Buddha (563 B.C.) was the first who challenged the Brahmanism and emphasized on virtuous conduct, non-violence, and poverty. The other apostle was Mahavira (540 B.C.) who preached ‘Ahimsa’ both philosophies greatly influenced in shaping the mind of the Indian society throughout the history. On the one hand there was philosophical development, while on the other hand the first great Maurya empire emerged under Chandraguta whose advisor Kautilya wrote the famous book ‘Arthashastra’ containing the principals of ‘Realpolitick’. His successor, Asoka made Buddhism a universal religion. The emergence of Gupta reversed the cycle of history. Brahmanism again assumed the ascendancy and nearly wiped out Buddhism from India.

A new phase of history began when the Arabs conquered Sindh in 711 A.D. However, the Arab conquest remained confined only to Sindh, the region changed its social and cultural pattern under the influence of new religion. For three centuries there was no new conquest of India by the foreigners. However, during this period, Central Asian Turks were converted to Islam. A new wave of invasion began with the advent of the Ghaznavid Empire. It was followed by the Ghorids.The Sultanate period began with Qutbuddin Aibak (1206-1210). The main characteristics of this period were that it ended the feudalism and established a strong central government. With the introduction of Persian language, a new and dynamic culture developed under the patronage of the sultans. The Mughals who succeeded them promoted the Persian-Central Asian culture. Akbar, following the philosophy of Sulh-i-kul (peace with all), Indianised the state institutions and treated his subject on the basis of equality irrespective of their religion. The Mughal culture continued even after their decline in the regional states.

The European traders who arrived in India in the 15 and 16 centuries, taking advantage of political fragmentation, involved in local conflicts. The East India Company that was founded in 1600 A.D. assumed political power after the battles of Plassy and Buxer.The Indian conquest thrilled the Englishmen. They wanted to modernize it on their own model. An age of Reform initiated in 1930s which upset the established traditions and institutions. As a reaction the Great Revolt of 1857 occurred. The result was that on the one hand the rule of the Company came to an end and India came under direct control of the crown, on the other hand it also ended the Mughal rule. India became a part of the British Empire. The British had learnt a lesson from the revolt. That is why they changed their policy to rule India. 560 Indian states were given guarantee to remain independent in their internal affairs. The ratio of the Indian was reduced in the army. The feudal class was promoted as the loyalists to the empire. Policy of isolation was adopted and the British had their own residential areas and clubs.

When the nationalist movement started, it heavily borrowed its symbols from the Indian past. Gandhi was inspired by Buddha and Mahavir and adopted ahimsa or nonviolence to fight against the mighty empire. Common people were inspired by the slogan of ‘Ram Rajiya’which was used during the Bhakti movement by Tulsi Das.The ‘swaraj’ was taken from Shivaji.The Hindu nationalist leaders revived the old Hindu festivals and rituals to involve people in the process of struggle. On this stage, the Muslim community of India differed with these symbols that created a gulf between these two communities. This consequently caused partition of the India subcontinent.

There were two different plans to develop India after the independence. Gandhi’s vision was to revive the Indian rural past while Nehru wanted to adopt the modern European model for economic development. The strong center and planned economy was the programme on which modern India developed.

What we learn from reading the history of India is that in spite of all vicissitudes, changes, and developments, there is continuity of the Indian traditions. The arrivals of the foreign nations, their culture, and modernization process fail to suppress or eliminate the traditional continuity of India. Its soul remains alive.

Wolpert brings the narratives up to the present. The reading of the last chapter poses the question as to how India is changing as a result of coming BJP to power? Could India sustain its secularism, democracy, plurality and tolerance or succumb to communalism and discrimination and caste prejudices?

By reading comprehensive history and by understanding the change give historical consciousness that is essential to comprehend not only the process of history but also a society and its people. Wolpert does not adopt any particular interpretation like nationalist, Marxist, or Subaltern, but narrates the history with objectivity.