The Re-Educated Indian is a concise overview of all of Indian history, with dozens of bite-sized chapters on all the things an Indian person, or someone interested in Indian history, should know. We start at 4000 BC with ancient Indian civilization and go all the way up to Independence. Many young Indians, both in India and abroad, don't know large chunks of Indian history or know what *really* happened, and this book aims to correct that.
In this book, you'll learn about all sorts of important historical figures like Ashoka the Great, Tipu Sultan, Rukhmabai, and Dadabhai Naoroji. You'll also learn about all sorts of kingdoms like the Gupta empire, the Nawabs of Bengal, the Vijaynagar empire in South India, as well as visits from the Europeans and the colonial era. In addition, we'll cover interesting bits of Indian history like the invention of black pepper, sugar, chess, and the history of Yoga and Ayurveda. There's also fun sections on pehlwani ("wrestling") and why Indians love gold.
The book is extensively researched with 300+ citations and presents a historical, but opinionated view of Indian history. I hope you'll enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it.
The Re-Educated Indian is a concise overview of all of Indian history, with dozens of bite-sized chapters on all the things an Indian person, or someone interested in Indian history, should know. We start at 4000 BC with ancient Indian civilization and go all the way up to Independence. Many young Indians, both in India and abroad, don't know large chunks of Indian history or know what *really* happened, and this book aims to correct that.
In this book, you'll learn about all sorts of important historical figures like Ashoka the Great, Tipu Sultan, Rukhmabai, and Dadabhai Naoroji. You'll also learn about all sorts of kingdoms like the Gupta empire, the Nawabs of Bengal, the Vijaynagar empire in South India, as well as visits from the Europeans and the colonial era. In addition, we'll cover interesting bits of Indian history like the invention of black pepper, sugar, chess, and the history of Yoga and Ayurveda. There's also fun sections on pehlwani ("wrestling") and why Indians love gold.
The book is extensively researched with 300+ citations and presents a historical, but opinionated view of Indian history. I hope you'll enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it.
“We, in India, must make up our minds that we cannot borrow other people's history, and that if we stifle our own, we are committing suicide. When you borrow things that do not belong to your life, they only serve to crush your life.
And therefore I believe that it does India no good to compete with Western civilization in its own field. But we shall be more than compensated if, in spite of the insults heaped upon us, we follow our own destiny.”
- Nationalism In India, Rabindranath Tagore
This book is called the Re-educated Indian because many young Indians don’t know Indian history. We know about some key dates and Gandhi and we know that yoga was invented in India, but Indian history spans thousands of years, and we’re unaware of large chunks of that period.
This isn’t a history book, but it is a historical one. There’s no way to write about everything in one book unless you want a 10,000-page paperweight. History is not about knowing everything–it’s about understanding the past and its people. Indian history, in particular, is filled with stories and tales of religion, food, battles, betrayal, culture, and innovation.
My hope with this book is to shed some light on the interesting facts and events that have shaped modern Indian culture and to help you understand where we came from and why. I hope it inspires you to learn more about Indian sanskriti (culture) and itihas (history) and to pass it on to the next generation. Indian history is often anchored around the history of Delhi, but India has deep roots throughout the country, and this book attempts to shed light on many of the overlooked parts.
There are extensive citations provided if you want to read more on a particular topic. All errors are my own. For controversial topics, there is no clear answer. I have tried to provide arguments on both sides and encourage you to form your point of view.
Let’s begin!
The Re-Educated Indian is a succinct history book that every student of history should have in their library. It contains bite-sized chapters that are easy to read and understand, with lessons on India from their religion to their dynasties to the British control of the Indian continent, before it was dived up into smaller countries like India, which still carries many of the earliest cultural practices and beliefs.
While this book appears to be geared towards students of Indian history, I found it to be very interesting. Most history books contain years and significant moments, which must be remembered to be a proper history student. Thus, many students shy away from history as a study. However, this book uses simple embellishments to increase the interest of readers, without focusing too much on the significance of dates or movements as focal points. One of the interesting chapters is about the invention of black pepper - such a simple and exquisite story!
There are many advantages to writing bite-sized chapters, one being that reading becomes more manageable. Another is a sense of accomplishment based on the knowledge acquired from each chapter. But bite-sized chapters tend to feel disjointed, and leave the readers questioning the premise of the book. As such, I usually advise against using this format. However, I found this book to be well-organized and easy to understand.
The pictures are relatable and interesting and I found that the visual imageries adequately build on each chapter. More of such imageries added in an appendix would have definitely been a bonus.
In sum, I think this is an interesting book to read. I found that the author adequately examined key historical figures and events. You'll learn more about the various Indian dynasties, as well as about the visits from the Europeans. In addition, you will find information on the invention of black pepper, sugar, chess, and the history of Yoga. This is a definite buy for all lovers of history!