Prof H C Raychaudhuri As A Historian

This book, Prof. H.C. Raychaudhuri as a Historian, is a milestone in the field of Indian historiography. Prof. H.C. Raychaudhuri was a distinguished scholar and academician. His Political History of Ancient India has deserved commendation from the students and scholars of India and abroad. He had reconstructed the history of ancient India through his thorough research. He had given a toe challenge to the colonial historiography. The most neglected aspect of Indian History was the historical geography which Prof. Raychaudhuri analysed vividly and opened new horizons for the scholars of the land to pursue further research in this field. His critical analysis on Indian religion, particularly on Vaishnavism, has earned him immortal fame. For his erudition, he became the member of many learned societies of India including Indian History Congress and served in various capacities contributing in his own way to the growth of knowledge. This book, revealing the contributions of Prof. H.C. Raychaudhuri to the historiography of India, will be indispensable for the students and teachers of Indian historiography. Salient Features (i) Objectivity is the forte of the book. This objective analysis is however done in an intimitably lucid style that makes this book irresistably readable. (ii) Welcome light has been thrown on the virgin topics which had been taken up by Prof. Raychaudhuri for analysis. (iii) It is a treasure-house for any student or teacher of Historiography and Indology. (iv) The works of a 'first class mind' have been evaluated with a critical and analytical manner. (v) A clear picture of India' s rich cultural heritage of the past has been projected through the analysis of the works of Prof. Raychaudhuri. (Vi) A peep into the pages of the book will acquaint the readers with the profound scholarship of Prof. H.C. Raychaudhuri as a historian.

This book traces the political history of ancient India from the accession of Parikshit to the extinction of the Gupta dynasty. The aim of the author is to present materials for an authentic chronological history of ancient India through facts recovered from sources.

The past decades public interest in history is booming. This creates new opportunities but also challenges for professional historians. This book asks how historians deal with changing public demands for history and how these affect their professional practices, values and identities. The volume offers a great variety of detailed studies of cases where historians have applied their expertise outside the academic sphere. With contributions focusing on Latin America, Africa, Asia, the Pacific and Europe the book has a broad geographical scope. Subdivided in five sections, the book starts with a critical look back on some historians who broke with mainstream academic positions by combining their professional activities with an explicit political partisanship or social engagement. The second section focusses on the challenges historians are confronted with when entering the court room or more generally exposing their expertise to legal frameworks. The third section focuses on the effects of policy driven demands as well as direct political interventions and regulations on the historical profession. A fourth section looks at the challenges and opportunities related to the rise of new digital media. Finally several authors offer their view on normative standards that may help to better respond to new demands and to define role models for publicly engaged historians. This book aims at historians and other academics interested in public uses of history.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Little has so far been written on the "Prataparudradeva, the last great suryavamsi king of Orissa". For the first time in this work attempt has been made to throw new light on this field and thereby filling up a very major gap in the study of Orissan History. Salient Features (i) This illuminating volume leads to fascinating revelations about the life and activities of the great king Prataparudradeva. (ii) It constitutes a unique asset in understanding how Prataparudradeva who more or less through out his life had a fight and fight against adversaries from the North from the South and from the West with both Hindu and Muslim powers and proved himself as a great emperor of Orissa. Not only did he show his persistence to fight out the enemy but also in diplomatic skill he was found well conversant. (iii) In the field of religion his contribution was on less. He was a respector of all the religions and was tolerant to all religious sect. The most remarkable event in the field of religion during his rule was steady growth of Oriya Vaishnavism as well as Goudiya Vaishnavism under his patronage. (iv) Economic life of Orissa received new turn during his rule. He allowed the Portuguese trades to establish a settlement at Pipli in Balasore District (Orissa). The industries of Orissa got a boost because of the Portuguese demand. (v) He himself was a poet and great patronised of literature. His court was adorned with galaxy of very important poets. In his region the contributions of Panchasakha to the Oriya Literature paved the way for further prosperity in later period. The Panchasakha’s also initiated a reformist movement which sought to remove social barriers and minimized the existing social problem of inequality between man and man. (vi) He was strong and efficient administrator. The key note of his administrative system was to bring peace and prosperity of the people. (vii) If people suffered from the baneful effect of natural calamities life famine and draught he war alert to do his best for welfare of the suffering mass. Hope this book from a variety of stand points will be popular for the scholars, students and the public.

Some men are born great. Some are made great. Some are denied greatness in their life time. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the doyen of Indian Revolutionaries and a front-rank freedom fighter belongs to the third category. Whether as a social revolutionary, or political revolutionary or politician Savarkar was always firm by his convictions. Despite suffering ignominy at the hands of his own undeserving brethren Savarkar kept the flame of true nationalism burning. The book not only gives us details about the various achievements of Savarkar in various fields of social, revolutionary and political life but also in the field of poetry and literature. This book fully dispels all doubts, apprehensions, misconceptions and misunderstanding about this Great Son of Mother India who sacrificed his present to mould the future of his country. Power politics makes mischevous attempts to malign this peerless patriot. But truth has already started dawning and all the clouds eclipsing the multi-dimentional personality of Veer Savarkar have started dispersing and the bright sun of his name and fame will soon illuminate the political sky of India that is Bharat. Read this book to appreciate Savarkar¿s real worth.

We take it for granted that some historical figures become heroes, and others do not. Chandragupta Maurya evolved from obscure ruler to contemporary national icon. The key moment in the making of this Indian hero was a meeting by the banks of the River Indus between Chandragupta and Seleucus, founder of the Seleucid empire and one of Alexander the Great’s generals, in c.305-3 BC. This significant event was a moment of peace-making at the end of conflict. But no reliable account exists in early sources, and it is not even clear which ruler was victorious in battle. This uncertainty enabled British and Indian historians of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to interpret the sources in radically different ways. With Chandragupta representing India and Seleucus standing in for Britain, British scholars argued that Seleucus defeated Chandragupta, while Indian academics contended the opposite. The writing and reception of history fundamentally influences how we engage with the past, and the evolving colonial and post-colonial relationship between Britain and India is crucial here. In India, the image of Chandragupta as an idealised hero who vanquished the foreign invader has prevailed and found expression in contemporary popular culture. In plays, films, television series, comic books and historical novels, Chandragupta is the powerful and virtuous Hindu ruler par excellence. The path to this elevated standing is charted in this book.

Kanauj is of high antiquity and renown. Founded long before the dawn of the Christian era, it first rose to importance in the sixth century a.d. when it became the capital of the Maukharis and when it grew rapidly in authority and influence till its conflict with later Guptas. This followed Harsa of Thaneswar assuming control of affairs in Kanauj. Harsa`s death plunged Kanauj into anarchy and darkness that lasted for about half a century. However, as a result of the protracted campaigns of the next rulers, Pratiharas, Kanauj grew to enormous dimensions camprising territories as widely apart as Saurastra and North Bengal, Magadha and Rajputana till it fell from its high position because of armed adventures of Mahmud and then Sihabuddin Ghori. History of Kanauj presents, in short the story of this ancient realm which is full of political vicissitudes and ephemeral grandeur.