Drawing on the newest and most sophisticated historical research and scholarship in the field, Modern South Asia is written in an accessible style for all those with an intellectual curiosity about the region. After sketching the pre-modern history of the subcontinent, the book concentrates on the last three centuries from c. 1700 to the present. Jointly written by two leading Indian and Pakistani historians, it offers a rare depth of historical understanding of the politics, cultures and economies that shape the lives of more than a fifth of humanity. In this comprehensive study, the authors debate and challenge the striking developments in contemporary South Asian history and historical writing, and cover the entire spectrum of modern South Asian history - social, economic and political. The book provides new insights into the structure and ideology of the British raj, the meaning of subaltern resistance, the refashioning of social relations along the lines of caste, class, community and gender, the different strands of anti-colonial nationalism and the dynamics of decolonisation. This new second edition has been updated throughout to take account of recent historical research. It brings the story up to date and offers new insights on the last millennium in subcontinental history. There is a new chronology of key events.

Table of Contents

1. South Asian History: an introduction 2. Modernity and antiquity: interpretations of ancient India 3. Pre-modern accommodations of difference: the making of Indo-Islamic cultures 4. The Mughal Empire: state, economy and society 5. India between empires: decline or decentralization 6. The transition to colonialism: resistance and collaboration 7. The first century of British rule, 1757 to 1857: state and economy 8. Company Raj and Indian society, 1757 to 1857: reinvention and reform of tradition 9. 1857: rebellion, collaboration and the transition to Crown Raj 10. High noon of colonialism, 1858 to 1914: state and political economy 11. A nation in the making? 'Rational' reform, 'Religious' revival and Swadeshi nationalism, 1858 to 1914 12. Colonialism under siege: state and political economy after World War I 13. Gandhian nationalism and mass politics in the 1920s 14. The depression decade: society, economics and politics 15. Nationalism and colonialism during World War II and its aftermath: economic crisis and political confrontation 16. The partition of India and the creation of Pakistan 17. 1947: memories and meanings 18. Post-colonial South Asia: state and economy, society and politics, 1947-1971 19. Post-colonial South Asia: state and economy, society and politics, 1971-1991 20. Post-colonial South Asia: state and economy, society and politics, 1991-2003 21. Decolonizing South Asian history: the view from a new millennium