Maps -- Preface -- The ecological setting -- Indus culture (ca. 2500-1600 B.C.) -- The Aryan age (ca. 1500-1000 B.C.) -- North Indian conquest and unification (ca. 1000-450 B.C.) -- India's first imperial unification (326-184 B.C.) -- Political fragmentation and economic and cultural enrichment (ca. 184 B.C.-A.D. 320) -- The classical age (A.D. 320-ca. 700) -- The impact of Islam (ca. 711-1556) -- Mughal imperial unification (1556-1605) -- Western Europe's vanguard (1498-1669) -- Great Mughal glory (1605-1707) -- Twilight of the Mughal empire (1707-64) -- John Company Raj (1765-93) -- The new Mughals (1793-1848) -- Unification, modernization, and revolt (1848-58) -- Crown rule--a new order (1858-77) -- Indian nationalism--the first movement (1885-1905) -- The machine solidifies (1885-1905) -- Revolt, repression, and reform (1905-12) -- The impact of World War One (1914-19) -- Toward independence (1920-39) -- The impact of World War Two (1939-46) -- The Nehru era (1947-64) -- From collective leadership to Indira Raj (1964-77) -- Shifting coalition sands -- India today.