Author: Romila Thapar
Publisher: Three Essays
Year: 2011
Language: English
Pages: 192
ISBN/UPC (if available): 81-88789-68-2
Description
This collection of Essays, written over some years, is not intended as a definitive statement on what is often referred to as ‘the Aryan Question’. It is rather, an attempt to explore aspects of the theme that might further our understanding of an early period of Indian history.
The constituents that went into the concept have changed from race, ethnicity and elements of nationality to language, status and culture. This has involved recasting the constructs and has inevitably been controversial.
The essays attempt to explain how the constructs came to be formulated, why they changed and what might be more meaningful interrogations of this history.
Contents
Map
Preface
Introduction
The Historiography of the Concept of ‘Aryan’
Some Appropriations of the Theory of Aryan Race and the Beginnings of India History
Exploring Societies of the Early Past
The Rgveda: Encapsulating Social Change
The Archaeological Background to the Agnicayana Ritual
Index