The Historian and her Craft

Romila Thapar is Professor Emeritus of History at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She has researched and written extensively on early Indian history including its historiography-both as written in those times and as in the present. In 2008 she was awarded the John W. Kluge Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Study of Humanity.

• Volume I - Ideology, Theory, and HistoryIntroduction to the Set - Romila Thapar Introduction to the Volume - Neeladri BhattacharyaDecolonising History 1. Ideology and the Interpretation of Early Indian History 2. Early India: An Overview 3. The Decolonization of History: Early IndiaMarxism, Sociology and the writing of History 4. Durkheim and Weber on Theories of Society and Race Relating to Pre-colonial India 5. The Contribution of D.D. Kosambi to IndologyWriting the Region 6. Regional History: The Punjab 7. Regional History with Reference to the KonkanSecularism and the Writing of History 8. Imagined Religious Communities? Ancient History and the Modern Search for a Hindu Identity 9. Secularism and History 10. The Historiography of the Concept of 'Aryan' 11. The Tyranny of LabelsThe Question of Historical Consciousness 12. Society and Historical Consciousness: The Itihasa-purana Tradition 13. Was There Historical Writing in Early India?Narrative - An History 14. A Historical Perspective on the Story of Rama 15. Sakuntala: Histories of a Narrative 16. Somanatha: Narratives of a HistoryRomila Thapar in conversation with Neeladri Bhattacharya IndexVolume II - Pre-Mauryan and Mauryan India Introduction to the Volume - Kumkum RoyStarting Up 1. A Possible Identifi cation of Meluhha, Dilmun and Makan 2. Society in Ancient India: The Formative PeriodArchaelogy and Texts 3. The Rigveda: Encapsulating Social Change 4. The Archaeological Background to the Agnicayana Ritual 5. Archaeological Artifacts and Literary Data: An Attempt at Co-relationState and Empire 6. The Evolution of the State in the Ganga Valley in the Mid-first Millennium BC 7. The Early History of Mathura: Up to and Including the Mauryan Period 8. Towards the Definition of an Empire: The Mauryan State 9. State Weaving-Shops of the Mauryan PeriodInscriptions 10. Asoka and Buddhism as Reflected in the Asokan Edicts 11. Raya Asoko from Kanaganahalli: Some Thoughts 12. Literacy and Communication: Some Thoughts on the Inscriptions of AsokaBeyond the Empire 13. Epigraphic Evidence and Some Indo-Hellenistic Contacts during the Mauryan Period 14. Text and Context: Megasthenes and the Seven Castes 15. The Role of the Army in the Exercise of Power in Early IndiaRomila Thapar in conversation with Kumkum Roy IndexVolume III - Social and Cultural Transactions Introduction to the volume - Rajan GurukkalLooking at Epics 1. The Historian and the Epic 2. Some Aspects of the Economic Data in the Mahabharata 3. Dana and Daksina as Forms of Exchange 4. The Ramayana: Theme and VariationThe Hero 5. Death and the Hero 6. As Long as the Moon and the Sun EndureGenealogies and Claims to Status 7. Genealogical Patterns as Perceptions of the Past 8. Origin Myths and the Early Indian Historical Tradition 9. Clan, Caste and Origin Myths in Early India 10. The Mouse in the AncestryIndia and Europe in Early Times 11. The Image of the Barbarian in Early India 12. Indian Views of Europe: Representations of the Yavanas in Early Indian History 13. Black Gold: South Asia and the Roman Maritime TradeRomila Thapar in conversation with Rajan Gurukkal IndexVolume IV - Religion and Society Introduction to the volume - Kunal ChakrabartiExploring New Ideas 1. Sacrifice, Surplus, and the Soul 2. Ideology, Society and the Upani?ads 3. Ethics, Religion and Social Protest in the First Millennium BC in Northern India 4. The Oral and the Written in Early IndiaThe Social Role of the Renouncer 5. Dissent and Protest in the Early Indian Tradition 6. Renunciation: The Making of a Counter-Culture? 7. The Householder and the Renouncer in the Brahmanical and Buddhist Traditions 8. Millenarianism and Religion in Early IndiaInclusion and Exile 9. The Puranas: Heresy and the Vamsanucarita 10. Exile and the Kingdom: Some Thoughts on the 'Ramayana' 11. Perceiving the Forest: Early IndiaReligion as an Aspect of Politics 12. Syndicated HinduismForms of Patronage-Old and New 13. Cultural Transaction and Early India: Tradition and Patronage 14. Patronage and the Community 15. The Museum and History 16. The Museum ExperienceRomila Thapar in conversation with Kunal Chakrabarti Index