Canberra, 18 August 2013 A MAURYAN INTERLUDE IN THE PENINSULA In 4th century B.C. the Nandas of Pataliputra expanded the borders of their Magadhan kingdom towards the south, although the exact limit of their move south is not known. It is certain that Kalinga was conquered, confirmed by the famous Hathigumpha inscriptions of Kharavela who […]
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FROM INDUS TO INDEPENDENCE: A TREK THROUGH INDIAN HISTORY Part 14
August 10, 2013 
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Canberra, 11 August 2013 SHARDS OF LIGHT IN PENINSULAR HISTORY Section II THE IMPERCEPTIBLE ARYANISATION The process of ‘aryanisation’ of the Indian sub-continent has been discussed and debated since Indian history became a subject of serious study. There have been a number of theories that have been put forward, most based on the analysis of […]
Continue readingFROM INDUS TO INDEPENDENCE: A TREK THROUGH INDIAN HISTORY: Part 14
July 30, 2013 0 Comments
Canberra, 30 July 2013 SHARDS OF LIGHT IN PENINSULAR HISTORY Section I THE AGASTYA CONNECTION The history of Peninsular India starts to take recognisable shape only with the chronicling of the southern movement of the ‘Aryans’ from the north. This is indicated in literature, both of the south and the north, and through legends that […]
Continue readingFROM INDUS TO INDEPENDENCE: A TREK THROUGH INDIAN HISTORY: Part 13
June 14, 2013 0 Comments
Canberra, 15 June 2013 PENINSULAR INDIA: OF PEOPLES AND LANGUAGES Peninsular India is normally divided by historians into the Deccan and Southern India, the separation being effected by the Krishna and the Tungabhadra rivers. This is primarily because the southernmost part of the peninsula has a character of its own [the geographic differences have been […]
Continue readingFROM INDUS TO INDEPENDENCE: A TREK THROUGH INDIAN HISTORY: Part 12
May 30, 2013 0 Comments
Canberra, 30 May 2013 PENINSULAR INDIA: OF MOUNTAINS AND RIVERS [GOING SOUTH OF THE VINDHYAS: AN EXPLANATION Even a cursory glance at the available literature on Indian history reveals that there is an absolute bias towards recounting the history of the northern part of the sub-continent, specifically that of the Indus-Gangetic plains, and labelling it […]
Continue readingFROM INDUS TO INDEPENDENCE: A TREK THROUGH INDIAN HISTORY: Part 11
May 20, 2013 0 Comments
Canberra, 20 May 2013 THE GLORY OF THE MAURYAS Section IV Kautilya and the Arthashastra Kautilya: A King’s Mentor Kautilya, also called Chanakya, is often maligned as a teacher of unethical and even immoral behaviour in statecraft by a number of historians, analysts and commentators. Perhaps no other assessment could be as biased and farther […]
Continue readingFROM INDUS TO INDEPENDENCE: A TREK THROUGH INDIAN HISTORY: Part 11
May 4, 2013 0 Comments
Canberra, 5 May 2013 THE GLORY OF THE MAURYAS Section III The Imperial Mauryan Rule The Maurya Empire was of unprecedented size with its geography being extremely varied encompassing jungles, mountains, deserts and flood-plains. Similarly the population was also diverse, consisting of nomadic hunter gatherers, slash-and-burn tribesmen, pastoral herdsmen, fishing communities, regular farmers, and urbanised […]
Continue readingFROM INDUS TO INDEPENDENCE: A TREK THROUGH INDIAN HISTORY: Part 11
April 27, 2013 1 Comment
Canberra, 27 April 2013 THE GLORY OF THE MAURYAS Section II Ashoka the Great (269-232 BC) (aka ‘Devanampriya Piyadassi’ – The Beloved of the Gods) The Mauryan capital of Pataliputra has been described by Megasthenes as well as by other Greek sources. It stood at the junction of the rivers Ganges and Son-Hiranyabahu (Erranoboas in […]
Continue readingFROM INDUS TO INDEPENDENCE: A TREK THROUGH INDIAN HISTORY: Part 11
April 12, 2013 2 Comments
Jakarta, 12 April 2013 THE GLORY OF THE MAURYAS Section I The Beginnings Between the years 321 and 185 BC three generations of a dynasty carved out the first pan-Indian empire—the Mauryas. This empire covered an area of 5,000,000 square kilometres and comprised almost the entire sub-continent, and had an estimated population of 50-60 million […]
Continue readingFROM INDUS TO INDEPENDENCE: A TREK THROUGH INDIAN HISTORY: Part 10
March 31, 2013 0 Comments
Emirtaes Business Lounge Dubai International Airport, 31 March 2013 THE TALE OF TWO INVASIONS Indian history is a continuous tale of invasions and conquests. Although the arrival of the nomadic ‘Aryans’ from the Iranian plateau perhaps should not be counted as an invasion, from the 5th century BC, the sub-continent has been buffeted by invading […]
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