Book excerpt: The First Volume Is A New Adventure In The Historiography Of Indian Civiliztion. It Avoids The Ethnic And West-Centred Bias Which Has Been A Legacy Of Colonial Historiography. It Seeks Strict Scientific Objectivity, Differing From All Hitherto Existing Volumes Of This Kind By Giving Due Attention To Science And Philosophy In The History Of Indian Civilization. The Contributions Are Based On The First-Hand And Critical Study Of The Original Sources By The Best Known Experts. While Meticulously Attending To Chronology And Hard Data, The Volume Also Seeks To Understand Scientific And Philosophical Concepts, Methods And Theories. It Seeks To Present The Symbolic World Of Art And Culture As Grounded In Moral Vision As Well As Social Reality. The Work Is Designed To Be Of Use To Scholars And Specially To Students And General Readers. The Volume Is Divided Into Six Sections: Historiography; Technology And Social Evolution; Proto-History; The Vedas, Vedic Society And Ideas; And Foundations And Beginnings Of Systematic Science.