History of India – Romila Thapar

This book details the history of India in ancient and medieval ages. It starts with the Iron age civilization and ends with the declination of Mughal empire in the 18th century after the arrival of British. In the very first chapter the author describes how man in Iron age transformed from a food gatherer to a food producer.

Indus valley /Sind civilization, Mohenjadaro-Harappa cities and their infrastructure, Aryan civilization are described in the next few chapters. The emergence and declination of some famous empires like Magadha, Mourya, Gupta, Pallava, Chola, Chera, Pandya, Satavaahana, Mughal etc are detailed. The social, cultural, economical, political and geographical conditions prevalent in each era are discussed. Some religious aspects in Buddhism, Jainism and Islam are also presented.

This book is just about 178 pages, but it gives you an overall picture of entire history of ancient and medieval India. A delighful read for history lovers


Telugu translation was done by Sahavasi. Printed by HBT(Hyderabad Book Trust)