The Indians: Histories of a Civilization
Edited by G. N. Devy, Tony Joseph, and Ravi Korisettar
How do we map the origins, evolution, and present-day reality of India’s civilization and people during a period of about 12,000 years – from the last Ice Age to the twenty-first century?
The Indians: Histories of a Civilization is arguably the most ambitious literary project undertaken to answer that question.
More than a hundred of South Asia's foremost scholars and academics have contributed succinct essays centered around sociopolitical, historical, and geographical topics. These essays address the non-specialist reader with the goal to equip them to understand and truly make sense of our collective identity on the basis of scientific and scholarly research.
A signed copy of the book will be given to all participants. Post-event food and beverages will be provided.
Dr. Ganesh Devy is a cultural activist whose accomplishments include spearheading the ambitious People’s Linguistic Survey of India (PLSI) project.
In this volume, he has put together what we know – scientifically – over the past 12,000 years: history, culture, languages, society and political movements as well as the archeological and genetic basis of this knowledge base.
A hundred experts from various domains have written a short essay each on a selected aspect of our common identity as Indians. Tony Joseph and Ravi Korisettar to serve as co-editors to provide expertise on the scientific themes.
The team of editors have provided adequate space for histories of various regions, faiths, and languages that constitute the ‘idea of India’ founded in immense diversity.” It is divided into seven parts from the evolution of humans on the subcontinent to today.
The volume will thus serve an ‘intelligent lay reader’ as well as a scholar seeking to familiarize themselves with adjoining branches of knowledge. It will serve as a repository of our knowledge bases about India’s civilization, and also as a guard against politically motivated projects to undermine it.