History of Ancient India : Earliest Times to 1200 A.D.

Contents: Preface. 1. Physical features of India. 2. Sources of early Indian History and its reconstitution. 3. Indus Valley culture. 4. Indo-Aryans. 5. The Vedic literature. 6. Jainism and Buddhism. 7. Ancient Indian Republics (650-325 B.C.). 8. Persian and Greek invasions. 9. The rise of Mauryas. 10. Asoka (273-232 B.C.) 11. The Sungas, Kanvas and the Andhras (185 B.C. to 225 A.D.). 12. The Indo-Greeks and the Sakas. 13. The Kushan Empire. 14. The rise and growth of the Gupta Empire. 15. Harshvardhan and his terms. 16. The Rajput period (650 to 1200 A.D.). 17. Kingdoms of South India. 18. The Kingdoms of the South (contd..). 19. Greater India. 20. Indian civilization and culture. 21. Muslim invaders (India upto 1206 A.D.) Mahmud Ghaznavi and Mohammad Ghori.

"Ancient History of India is a very controversial subject and Western writers have expressed different opinions about it. On the other hand, new facts have come to light and recent Indian writers have expressed different opinions. For a student of Indian history it becomes a difficult task to come to the right conclusion. In this book, an attempt has been made to give the accepted conclusions.

The author has chosen the follow the historical and objective method and has confined himself to giving an accurate exposition of the views of the renowned historians together with fair and reasonable criticism of their views from various standpoints.

The book covers ancient history of India from the very beginning to 1200 A.D. It has been written in a simple and lucid style. Controversial matters have been dealt with in such a way that scientific and objective conclusions may be drawn. The book has been written for students of history at graduation level." (jacket)