The Idea of Ancient India : Essays on Religion, Politics, and Archaeology

A major contribution towards the different perspectives and issues central to understanding ancient India.

This book engages with some of the most important issues, debates, and methodologies in the writing of ancient Indian history.

Thematically structured, the first section discusses religious and regional processes through a meticulous analysis of inscriptions and material remains. The second—based extensively on archival sources—connects ancient and modern India through a discussion of the beginnings of Indian archaeology and the discovery, interpretation, and reinvention of ancient sites in colonial and post-colonial times. The third underlines the importance of reconstructing the intellectual landscape of ancient India through a sensitive, yet, critical historicization of political ideas in texts and inscriptions. The final section makes a strong case for situating ancient India within a broader, Asian, frame.

"This book, as a whole, has an interesting trajectory…singh's clarity regarding the extent and limits of what her source materials can reveal to her remains unclouded…this is a collection of essays where material remains and textual sources come together to create a plausible historical narrative in which we are not missing the forests for the trees." - Economic and Political Weekly, Volume 2 (Issue 12), 25 March 2017