Subalterns and Raj presents a unique introductory history of India with an account that begins before the period of British rule, and pursues the continuities within that history up to the present day. Its coverage ranges from Mughal India to post-independence Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, with a focus on the 'ordinary' people of India and South Asia.

Subalterns and Raj examines overlooked issues in Indian social history and highlights controversies between historians. Taking an iconoclastic approach to the elites of South Asia since independence, it is critical of the colonial regime that went before them.

This book is a stimulating and controversial read and, with a detailed guide to further reading and end-of-chapter bibliographies, it is an excellent guide for all students of the Indian subcontinent.

About the Author
Crispin Bates is Reader in Modern South Asian History at the University of Edinburgh. His publications include, with S. Basu, Community, Empire and Migration: South Asians in Diaspora (2001), Rethinking Indian Political Institutions (2005), and Beyond Representation: Constructions of Identity in Colonial and Post-Colonial India (2006).

Reviews

'A remarkable accomplishment - a survey that is very accessible but nevertheless thoughtful, deeply argumentative, and marked by several critical insights ... The book is remarkably appropriate as a provocation with which to teach modern South Asia history.' - Journal of Asian Studies'It is widely acknowledged that Crispin Bates' Subalterns and Raj ranks among the best general overviews of South Asian history since the turn of the millennium.' - Michael Mann, South Asian's Modern History: Thematic Perspectives (Routledge, 2015), p. 11.

'Even in the increasingly crowded field of introductory historical texts on modern South Asia, Subalterns and Raj stands out as a major and excellent addition...What follows is a remarkable accomplishment-a survey that is very accessible but nevertheless thoughtful, deeply argumentative, and marked by several critical insights...the book is remarkably appropriate as a provocation with which to teach modern South Asia history in the contemporary moment in Britain and the United States. What makes Subalterns and Raj all the more attractive is the way it backs its unobtrusive invocation of scholarly debates by an extensive bibliography separately for each chapter in order to encourage students to further explore these debates.' - Journal of Asian Studies

Book Information
ISBN 9780415214841
Author Crispin Bates
Format Paperback
Page Count 420
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 600g