The Past Before Us: Historical Traditions of Early North India

“An authority on thousands of years of India’s past, Thapar has a rare and special perspective on the country it was and the country it is becoming.” —Financial Times

Winner of the Kluge Prize Romila Thapar presents a sweeping survey of the historical traditions of North India, revealing a deep consciousness of history embedded in classical Indian literature.

The claim, often made, that India—uniquely among civilizations—lacks historical writing distracts us from a more pertinent question, ac...