Author: Subhash Kak
Publisher: Voice of India
Year: 1994
Language: English
Pages: 214
ISBN/UPC (if available): 818599014x
Description
This book is a summary of the new emerging understanding of ancient India; it also has essays on contemporary social and political problems confronting India.
The book argues that to discover solutions to current problems, it is essential to understand India's past. Indian history was constructed by the nineteenth century Orientalists with an imperial agenda in mind. For example, the Orientalists dismissed references to sciences in the Vedic literature. New results from archaeology, archaeoastronomy, history of science, and literary analysis have proven the Orientalists wrong.
This book defines the framework for a new history. The essays include the latest archaeological and scientific findings on the rise of the Indian civilization that shows the Indian tradition goes back to at least 6500 BC; the relevance of Indian political and social theory to contemporary problems of science policy and development a critical examination of caste. Political issues covered include Punjab, Kashmir, and the problem of quotas and reservations.