Must reads for understanding and teaching of history
Few of my friends have been asking me to put a list of books on Indian history, which in my 'esteemed' opinion has made seminal contribution to our understanding of our pasts. So here it is - my twenty books on Indian history, a must read for any pretender who claims to be passionate about Indian history and for anyone seeking to know Indian history in all its dynamism, nuances and vibrancy -
1. Culture and civilization of Ancient India in an historical outline - D D Kosambi
2. History of India (Vol 1) - Romilla Thapar
3. Agrarian systems of Mughal India - Irfan Habib
4. Material culture and ancient social formation - R S Sharma
5. History of South India - Nilakanta Shastri
6. R. Champakalakshmi. Trade Ideology and Urbanization: South India 300 BC to AD 1300
7. On history - the history and culture of Karnataka's people - Saki
8. The Mughal State - Sanjay Subhramanyam & Muzaffar Alam (Ed)
9. The intimate enemy - Ashis Nandy
10. Indian nationalism - A derivative discourse - Partha Chatterjee
11. Ecology and Equity - Ramchandra Guha & Madhav Gadgil
12. India's struggle for independence - Bipan Chandra & others
13. Modern India - Sumit Sarkar
14. Social history of Indian architecture - V B Pramar
15. India - a painful transition - Achin Vanaik
16. India's mistaking modernity - Dipankar Gupta
17. Subaltern studies Vol 4 - Ranajit Guha (ed)
18. Social Startification - Dipankar Gupta (ed)
19. Colonialism, property and the state - Dharma Kumar
20. Social Change in modern India - M N Srinivas
(Caveat - As a student of modern indian history, one naturally will see a bias towards the modern period of Indian history. Would like to have your valued feedback and suggestion to expand the number of essential reading beyond 20 books)
1. Culture and civilization of Ancient India in an historical outline - D D Kosambi
2. History of India (Vol 1) - Romilla Thapar
3. Agrarian systems of Mughal India - Irfan Habib
4. Material culture and ancient social formation - R S Sharma
5. History of South India - Nilakanta Shastri
6. R. Champakalakshmi. Trade Ideology and Urbanization: South India 300 BC to AD 1300
7. On history - the history and culture of Karnataka's people - Saki
8. The Mughal State - Sanjay Subhramanyam & Muzaffar Alam (Ed)
9. The intimate enemy - Ashis Nandy
10. Indian nationalism - A derivative discourse - Partha Chatterjee
11. Ecology and Equity - Ramchandra Guha & Madhav Gadgil
12. India's struggle for independence - Bipan Chandra & others
13. Modern India - Sumit Sarkar
14. Social history of Indian architecture - V B Pramar
15. India - a painful transition - Achin Vanaik
16. India's mistaking modernity - Dipankar Gupta
17. Subaltern studies Vol 4 - Ranajit Guha (ed)
18. Social Startification - Dipankar Gupta (ed)
19. Colonialism, property and the state - Dharma Kumar
20. Social Change in modern India - M N Srinivas
(Caveat - As a student of modern indian history, one naturally will see a bias towards the modern period of Indian history. Would like to have your valued feedback and suggestion to expand the number of essential reading beyond 20 books)