In a second edition of their successful Concise History of Modern India, Barbara Metcalf and Thomas Metcalf explore India's modern history afresh and update the events of the last decade. These include the takeover of Congress from the seemingly entrenched Hindu nationalist party in 2004, India's huge advances in technology and the country's new role as a major player in world affairs. From the days of the Mughals, through the British Empire, and into Independence, the country has been transformed by its institutional structures. It is these institutions which have helped bring about the social, cultural and economic changes that have taken place over the last half century and paved the way for the modern success story. Despite these advances, poverty, social inequality and religious division still fester. In response to these dilemmas, the book grapples with questions of caste and religious identity, and the nature of the Indian nation.

‘Lucid, comprehensive and up-to-date, this book will surely establish itself as essential reading for all undergraduate and graduate courses on South Asian history.’

C. A. Bayly - Vere Harmsworth Professor of Imperial and Naval History, University of Cambridge

‘The almost impossible task of writing a concise history of the subcontinent covering a period of four centuries is achieved by the Professors Metcalf … This is a great introduction to the subject and the authors are to be congratulated on a most interesting book.’

Source: Open History

‘[The authors’] account of the early Islamic state and popular misconceptions about religious conversion is so persuasively written that these few introductory pages could serve as an excellent model for secular history writing and should be circulated widely.’

Source: The Hindu