A History of India
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A History of India
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Narrated by:
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Michael H. Fisher
About this listen
Over 5,000 years, India has been home to a rich tapestry of peoples and cultures. Two of the world's great religions - Hinduism and Buddhism - have their origins in South Asia, and the lands east of the Indus River have long been a central hub for trade, migration, and cultural exchange. Today the subcontinent contains 20 percent of the world's population and is a thriving center for global business, making this region one of most significant economic powerhouses in the world.
Go inside this thrilling story with A History of India, a breathtaking survey of South Asia from its earliest societies along the Indus and Ganges rivers through the modern challenges of the 21st century. These 36 sweeping lectures enable you to understand the epic scope of the subcontinent's history. Perhaps the most important facet of this history is how diverse the region truly is. Roughly the size of continental Europe, India - along with its neighbors, Pakistan and Bangladesh - contains a myriad of ethnic groups, socioeconomic classes, religions, and cultural mores.
In this wide-ranging investigation, you'll:
- Meet the many religious communities that have coexisted in India, including Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians
- Delve into the legacies of the Mauryan Empire, the Mughal Empire, and British colonialism - three of the few governments that ever unified the subcontinent
- Witness the fight for independence from European powers and the partition of the region into the countries of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh in the 20th century
- Consider the challenges and opportunities faced by this area today, from expanding urbanization to the vast need for energy sources to the ongoing heated debates about national identity
Professor Fisher, who has traveled and taught in South Asia for decades, reveals this complex narrative with skill and compelling insights.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2016 The Great Courses (P)2016 The Teaching Company, LLCListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about A History of India
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lea
- 28-08-18
Love history
learned alot from this and enjoyed listening to the chapters. very informative.
very enjoyable book
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Matteo R.
- 21-09-20
Very informative. Great for beginners
If one knows little or nothing of the Indian subcontinent's history, this it the perfect place to start. Since it covers more than three millennia of rich cultural, social and political history, the course portions concerning each specific period do not go, by necessity, into too much detail. But this is actually an advantage you are a beginner. You can always get a more focused book on a specific subject later. This remark notwistanding, Professor Fisher's course is very well laid out and highly informative. The only real critiques that one can give is that he sometimes stutters and has to repeat a word, and that he sometimes uses the term "English" when "British” would have been more appropriate. Both elements do not however impact the overall quality of the work
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Maximillen (Saif)
- 18-04-19
Excellent
Good audiobook. Covers the essential parts of Indian history very well with later focus on Pakistan and Bangladesh too. There wasnt a lot of focus on regional kingdoms, in particular those in the south but nevertheless an excellent book.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Mister Peridot
- 11-08-16
On the dry side ...
Prof. Fisher has a pleasant voice and style of delivery. Clearly he knows his subject inside out and India seems very dear to him. But. The lectures themselves consist principally of painstaking detail that forms a rather monotonous picture. Infact a few real pictures of what he's describing would liven things up. These lectures could well serve as a useful revision on various aspects of India to someone already familiar with what should be a fascinating subject. Yes, don't think I'll get much further with this series. At least for now. Sorry Prof.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- salman
- 13-01-20
One of the most brilliant pieces of research, hard work, dedication and honesty I have ever come across
Dear Dr Fisher
Thanks for putting this all together from last 3000 years in such an amazing and succinct way. Your grasp of subject, presentation and ready command on the topics can only be achieved after input of dozens of years of hard work. It’s a great course for each and every South Asian and would help nations of India and Pakistan in several ways. I wish I could give it 10 stars out of 5 in each category. Simply brilliant.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Adisha
- 22-05-16
An outstanding, epic and memorable lecture series!
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this excellent lecture series. It is very clear from the outset that Professor Michael H. Fisher speaks with a wealth of personal experience and his knowledge about the history and development of this vast country is second-to-none.
There are 36 lectures in total, each one logically flows one after the other, and is packed full of fascinating details, vivid descriptions, anecdotes and biographical notes about key events and people that helped influence the country. No stone is left unturned and some very difficult subject matter (e.g socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, religious, environmental and political aspects) are expertly and sensitively covered.
In fact, I would love to hear a similar account of other SE Asian neighbouring countries such as the pearl of the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka.
A joy to listen to and a wonderful addition to my audiobook library indeed!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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10 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- P. B. Hall
- 30-08-18
Enlightening and wide in scope
These lectures are well structured and the speaker displays a deep knowledge of Indian subcontinent history, particularly the complex development of Hinduism and the modern political history of the three present countries. My only criticisms are that he is not the greatest speaker and also that he repeatedly refers to the British army as the ‘royal army’ which is a schoolboy error. Nevertheless this is an excellent series which never got boring. The accompanying illustrated PDF is also useful and concise.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Jessie Rogers
- 30-04-23
Fantastic for beginners
The pace and coverage was fantastically informative for someone who only has a splattering of knowledge from school and their grandparents. I really appreciate that it's been produced.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Placeholder
- 07-12-19
Interesting narrative of Indian history
I must congratulate and salute professor M. Fischer for this detailed and knowledgeable narrative of the history of South Asian subcontinent. though I am an Indian but had never considered Adivasis as the original inhabitants of this land mass with their unique way of life embedded with the knowledge of their surroundings. Then the dravidians and other natives, The western influences, break down of local kingdoms, Persian/Turk attacks, assimilation with locals all the way to European settlers taking over most of the kingdoms, training of locals un sepoy army by East India company, looting the natural resources, freedom movement, independence and then economical, industrial, growth till now. This must be read by every Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan etc. voice over is effective and as matter-of-fact style.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Mark Roberts
- 15-03-17
Too much for one course
So I was interested in this book as my wife's parents are Indian and I wanted to understand more of their culture and heritage.
I feel like this course tried to bite off way more than it could chew. It glazed over so many different subjects giving a half hour lecture at most to any key point or figure. I feel as though you could have a great courses series on any of these topics, Hinduism, the Mongul Empire, British Colonialism, Mahatma Gandhi, the partition. All of these are touched on but none of them explored.
The course lecturer is clearly very knowledgeable of his subject and one you feel that he understands in part from personal experience, however I was left feeling as though this should be an overview for other modules and not a course in and of itself.
If you want a Potted History of India then look no further, for an insight into India and what has shaped it you will need to look elsewhere.
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4 people found this helpful