Irfan Habib Livres

This volume in the People's History of India series gives a general account of Indian economy in the first century of British rule (1757-1857). It describes the changes in Indian economy brought about by the pressure for tribute, the British land settlements, and the triumph of free trade. In order to set these changes in a proper perspective, it begins by furnishing a survey of pre-colonial economic conditions. A notable feature of the book is its reference to how aspects of Indian economy were seen and interpreted by contemporary observers. This is accomplished partly by a rich collection of extracts from the sources. There are also special notes on current interpretations of eighteenth-century history, the nature of tribute or drain of wealth from India to England, and the scope and problems of historical demography.

This collection brings together, for the first time, several seminal essays by Professor Irfan Habib interpreting the main currents in Indian history from a Marxist perspective. They cover a wide range of issues: the nature of evolution of caste through the centuries, the role played by the peasantry in Indian history, the forms of class struggle and the stage of development of the economy in Mughal India, the impact of colonialism on the Indian economy, the changes in Marx's perceptions of India, the problems of Marxist historiography. Representing three decades of scholarship, each essay in this collection is painstakingly researched and unfailingly stimulating.

This volume explores the economic and social history of India from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century. It describes the agrarian order, urban economy, and trading world during the Delhi Sultanate, the subsequent period of political divisions, and conditions in the Vijayanagara Empire, which flourished during this period in south India.

This volume takes up the story of the Indian National Movement from 1919 when the first nationalist struggle took place on an all-India scale. The work ends with August 1947 when India finally attained independence.

Religion has been, and is, an important element in Indian society and history. It is, however, rare for the subject to be discussed with the necessary degree of detachment. This volume was, therefore, planned with the object of providing a collection of studies that would deal with the role of religion in Indian history on the basis of a rigorous application of academic criteria. The results may surprise those who are more familiar with chauvinistic or apologetic interpretations. The editor's introduction and the fifteen chapters range over an extensive period, from prehistory to the present day, and take up specific problems of crucial significance in exploring the inter- relationship between religion and social change. This volume draws on new research and is meant for academics as well as general readers, who may find here much that is of relevance to their social and intellectual concerns.

Exploring the concept of nationalism, the book delves into its historical evolution, ideological underpinnings, and cultural significance. It examines how nationalism shapes identities and influences political movements across different societies. Through various case studies, the author analyzes the impact of nationalism on global relations and individual rights, offering insights into contemporary debates surrounding national identity and sovereignty. This thought-provoking work invites readers to reconsider their understanding of nationalism in today's world.

This volume consists of five essays on the National Movement that arose to overthrow British rule in India. Three of these essays are devoted to the two men, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, whose divergent ideas dominated the National Movement and to different degrees influenced its course. A fourth essay studies in detail how ideas and practice enmeshed to produce the civil disobedience movement in its initial phase, 1930-31, being undoubtedly the most powerful mass agitation organized by the Congress. The final essay studies the contributions made by the Left, especially the Communists, to the National Movement, seeking to fill a gap quite often found in conventional histories.

This volume explores the economic and social history of India from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century. It describes the agrarian order, urban economy, and trading world during the Delhi Sultanate, the subsequent period of political divisions, and conditions in the Vijayanagara Empire, which flourished during this period in south India.

This book considers the first phase of Indian popular resistance to colonial rule, including the Revolt of 1857-58, its nature and legacy; the rise of national consciousness; the movement for social reform and political awakening among the middle classes, and, finally, Gandhiji's arrival and the agitations of 1917-18.

This book covers the whole range of technology, from the tools and skills of ordinary men and women to the instruments of astronomers and the equipage and weaponry of war. Changes in technology are carefully traced and their consequences examined. Larger questions, such as those of constraints on technological development and the role of the social and economic environment, are also addressed. This volume, in line with the others of A People's History of India, gives several extracts from texts, containing significant information about specific aspects of pre-modern technology. There are special notes on technical terms, sources of the history of technology, the problem of invention versus diffusion, and the development of medieval technology outside India. It includes illustrations taken from medieval sculpture, painting and book-illustrations. The volume is addressed to the general reader as well as the student, who would like to read about something on which conventional textbooks have little to offer. A special effort is made to keep the style non-technical without loss of accuracy. It is hoped that the theme is sufficiently interesting not only for the historian but for any citizen wanting to know what common people, men and women, did with their hands and tools in earlier times.