A SHORT HISTORY OF INDIA By Sir Atul ChatterJee and
W. H. Moreland The historian of India who sets out to write a history of the great sub- continent has no easy task. If he im- poses upon himself the limits of a single volume he must choose with care which of many keys to the labyrinth of Indian history he will offer to the reader. He cannot altogether disregard mere chronology ; but if he confines himself to the record of dynasties and politics he must miss the very essence of the story.which lies more in the sphere . of culture than in that of action. The two authors of this volume have (Longmans, 12s. 6d.) solved the problem by making their theme " the evolution of Indian cul- ture and its response to successive foreign contacts." They do not, by any means, ignore the calendar of events ; and it may be said that their chapters are, each of them, valuable opercus of the successive stages of this evolution, strung like beads on a chronological ,thread.. Their book thus takes its place somewhere between Vincent Smith's useful Oxford text-book and the fuller volumes of the Cambridge history of India ; and, by. its competent com- pression of the vast theme, as also by the balanced judgement of men, events and tendencies which its authors pro- nounce, it is likely to make good a claim to the interest of a wide class of readers. Sir Atul Chatterjee and Mr. Moreland are both known for their public service in India, while the latter is also a writer who has established his claim to recognition by his contribu- tions to Indian history, especially of the Mogul period. His collaboration with the former High Commissioner has now resulted in a volume of timely merit.
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