course structure

course syllabus

themes in indian history part - i

unit 1: the story of the first cities: harappan archaeology

• broad overview − early urban centres.
• story of discovery − harappan civilization
• excerpt − archaeological report on a major site
• discussion − how it has been utilized by archaeologists/historians

unit 2: political and economic history: how inscriptions tell a story

• broad overview −
  • political and economic history from the mauryan to the gupta period
• story of discovery −
  • inscriptions and the decipherment of the script
  • shifts in the understanding of political and economic history
• excerpt −
  • asokan inscription
  • gupta period land grant
• discussion −
  • interpretation of inscriptions by historians

unit 3: social histories: using the mahabharata

• broad overview −

  • issues in social history

  • including caste

  • class

  • kinship

  • gender

• story of discovery −

  • transmission and publications of the mahabharata

• excerpt − from the mahabharata, illustrating how it has been used by historians

• discussion − other sources for reconstructing social history

unit 4: a history of buddhism: sanchi stupa

• broad overview −

  • a brief review of religious histories of vedic religion, jainism, vaisnavism, saivism

  • focus on buddhism

• story of discovery − sanchi stupa

• excerpt − reproduction of sculptures from sanchi

• discussion − ways in which sculpture has been interpreted by historians, other sources for reconstructing the history of buddhism

themes in indian history part - ii

unit 5: agrarian relations: the ain-i- akbari

• broad overview −
  • structure of agrarian relations in the 16^th and 17^th centuries
  • patterns of change over the period
• story of discovery: account of the compilation and translation of ain-i-akbari
• excerpt − from the ain-i-akbari
• discussion − ways in which historians have used the text to reconstruct history

unit 6: the mughal court: reconstructing histories through chronicles

• broad overview −

  • outline of political history 15th-17th centuries

  • discussion of the mughal court and politics

• story of discovery: account of the production of court chronicles, and their subsequent translation and transmission

• excerpts: from the akbarnama and padshahnama

• discussion: ways in which historians have used the texts to reconstruct political histories

unit 7: new architecture: hampi

• broad overview −

  • outline of new buildings during vijayanagar period-temples, forts, irrigation facilities.

  • relationship between architecture and the political system

• story of discovery − account of how hampi was found

• excerpt − visuals of buildings at hampi

• discussion − ways in which historians have analyzed and interpreted these structures

unit 8: religious histories: the bhakti-sufi tradition

• broad overview −
  • outline of religious developments during this period
  • ideas and practices of the bhakti-sufi saints
• story of transmission − how bhakti-sufi compositions have been preserved
• excerpt − extracts from selected bhakti-sufi works
• discussion − ways in which these have been interpreted by historians

unit 9: medieval society through travelers' accounts

• broad overview −

  • outline of social and cultural life as they appear in travelers' accounts

• story of their writings − a discussion of where they travelled, why they travelled, what they wrote, and for whom they wrote

• excerpts − from alberuni, ibn batuta, bernier

• discussion − what these travel accounts can tell us and how they have been interpreted by historians

themes in indian history part - iii

unit 10: colonialism and rural society: evidence from official reports

• broad overview −

  • life of zamindars, peasants and artisans in the late 18^th century

  • east india company, revenue settlements and surveys

  • changes over the nineteenth century

• story of official records − an account of why official investigations into rural societies were undertaken and the types of records and reports produced

• excerpts − from firminger's fifth report, accounts of frances buchananhamilton, and deccan riots report

• discussion − what the official records tell and do not tell, and how they have been used by historians

unit 11: representations of 1857

• broad overview −

  • the events of 1857-58.

  • how these events were recorded and narrated?

• focus: lucknow

• excerpts −

  • pictures of 1857

  • extracts from contemporary accounts

• discussion − how the pictures of 1857 shaped british opinion of what had happened

unit 12: colonialism and indian towns: town plans and municipal reports

• broad overview −

  • the growth of mumbai, chennai, hill stations and cantonments in the 18^th and 19^th centuries

• excerpts −

  • photographs and paintings

  • plans of cities

  • extract from town plan reports

  • focus on kolkata town planning

• discussion − how the above sources can be used to reconstruct the history of towns. what these sources do not reveal

unit 13: mahatma gandhi through contemporary eyes

• broad overview −

  • the nationalist movement 1918 - 1948

  • the nature of gandhian politics and leadership

• focus − mahatma gandhi in 1931

• excerpts − reports from english and indian language newspapers and other contemporary writings

• discussion − how newspapers can be a source of history

unit 14: partition through oral sources

• broad overview −

  • the history of the 1940s

  • nationalism, communalism and partition

• focus − punjab and bengal

• excerpts − oral testimonies of those who experienced partition

• discussion − ways in which these have been analyzed to reconstruct the history of the event

unit 15: the making of the constitution

• broad overview −
  • independence and the new nation state
  • the making of the constitution
• focus − the constitutional assembly debates
• excerpts − from the debates
• discussion − what such debates reveal and how they can be analyzed

unit 16: map works

• on units 1 to 15

project work

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