Book excerpt: This textbook provides a different approach to the History of India than previously advocated. It argues that there was constant interaction between peoples and cultures, and as such, the it presents the history of India in this fashion. This interactive, dialogic approach provides a more better understanding of how power and social relations operated in South Asia. Consisting of seven chapters, each being divided roughly between political and thematic questions, the book covers the history of India from Mughal times to the first years of independent India. Topics discussed include: The Mughal system and European engagement in local and Asian commerce Mughal warfare and military developments The growth of India's pre-colonial economy India under British rule and the development of Indian states The construction of Indian culture Indian, regional and local political articulation The discovery of the Indus Valley culture in 1922 The Indian National Congress, Gandhian and Anti-Gandhian Movements, local 'separatist' and other groups India's Independence and the end of British rule The growth of the Hindu Right The 1946 Elections, rise of the Muslim League, the high politics of Partition and the drive for Pakistan Dispute over Kashmir The Indian Constitution as a product of dalit consciousness - 1950 Diasporic movements Written in an accessible, narrative style, this book will be suitable as required reading in courses on Indian and South Asian History, courses on World History and South Asian Studies.