"This comprehensive history of India does it all, covering geography, religion, politics, economics, times of Mughal rule and British colonialism, as well a chronicle of India since independence up to the present. SarDesai has created an indispensable resource for understanding the complexity of India, past, present, and future." -Christopher Key Chapple, Doshi Professor of Indic and Comparative Theology, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles "SarDesai offers a comprehensive history of India based on a lifetime of intimate and deep study ... An authoritative guide backed by SarDesai's deep and exhaustive knowledge of the sources ... the volume's great strength is its comprehensiveness, its readability, and ... it goes the extra step of explaining concepts and terms that make it a very valuable guide to those coming to this rich subject for the first time ... This book is the most sophisticated and erudite history of India penned by an Indian scholar." -Roger D. Long, Professor of History, Eastern Michigan University