''The Wonder That Was India: A Survey of the Culture of the Indian Sub-Continent Before the Coming of the Muslims'', is a book on

Indian history According to consensus in modern genetics, anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by m ...

written by

Arthur Llewellyn Basham Arthur Llewellyn Basham (24 May 1914 – 27 January 1986) was a noted historian, Indologist and author of a number of books. As a Professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London in the 1950s and the 1960s, he taught a number of fa ...

and first published in 1954.

Synopsis

The book was aimed at a western audience. Basham, in the book, has attempted to correct the negative stereotypes of India created by authors like

James Mill James Mill (born James Milne; 6 April 1773 – 23 June 1836) was a Scottish historian, economist, political theorist, and philosopher. He is counted among the founders of the Ricardian school of economics. He also wrote ''The History of Brit ...

Thomas Babington Macaulay Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, (; 25 October 1800 – 28 December 1859) was a British historian and Whig politician, who served as the Secretary at War between 1839 and 1841, and as the Paymaster-General between 1846 and 1 ...

and

Vincent Arthur Smith Vincent Arthur Smith, , (3 June 1843 – 6 February 1920) was an Irish Indologist, historian, member of the Indian Civil Service, and curator. He was one of the prominent figures in Indian historiography during the British Raj. In the 1890s, he ...

Reception

Thomas Trautmann Thomas Roger Trautmann is an American historian, cultural anthropologist, and Professor Emeritus of History and Anthropology at the University of Michigan. He is considered a leading expert on the '' Arthashastra'', the ancient Hindu text on s ...

considers this book his primary influence which encouraged him to study India. The foreword of the 2005 edition by

Picador A ''picador'' (; pl. ''picadores'') is one of the pair of horse-mounted bullfighters in a Spanish-style bullfight that jab the bull with a lance. They perform in the ''tercio de varas'', which is the first of the three stages in a stylized bullf ...

was written by him.

David Dean Shulman David Dean Shulman (born January 13, 1949) is an Israeli Indologist, poet and peace activist, known for his work on the history of religion in South India, Indian poetics, Tamil Islam, Dravidian linguistics, and Carnatic music. Bilingual ...

has said that the book fascinated him.

References

1954 non-fiction books Books about India History books about India Sidgwick & Jackson books {{anthropology-book-stub

Synopsis

Reception

See also

References