Concise History of South India

This book presents the history of South India from the earliest historical periods to the present times. It analyses all the relevant questions in the history of South India ranging from the debate on ethnicities of the earliest people and communities to megalithic cultures to the formation of states in the Sangam era. Tackling the various interpretations of the medieval period in South India, the book surveys the languages, cultures, economic patterns that developed with the formation and consolidation of centralized states. Further unwrapping the developments from sixteenth century onwards, the volume goes on to describe the onset of commercial relations with various European countries and then the onset of the colonial period. The volume discusses the contemporary history of South India since Independence, addressing the research after Nilkanta Sastri's classic A History of South India, and brings in the elements of local culture and language, economic and social history as well as research of the last four decades. Describing the complete history of South India, the book provides the readers with the contemporary state of the region as emerging out of its historical trajectory. Profusely illustrated with maps, and images, this will be useful and enjoyable to all the readers including students, historians, and the general public.