Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East (Vol. I: Champa; Vol. II: Suvarnadvipa) v2.c22.87

v2.c22.87

It is a sign of great hope that an accomplished and sober Indian scholar like Dr. Majumdar has come forward to write a manual of ancient Indian history and civilisation from the strictly historical point of view. He has managed to compress into this excellent handy volume precise information about the vast literature, the arts and cults ( both orthodox and heterodox ), the social systems and the politico-economic organisations of ancient India. In doing this he has not only indicated the claims of the Hindus as one of the foremost nations of antiquity, that could boast of a culture history, but he has at the same time, with commendable loyalty to Truth, pointed out the defects in our social structure and limitation of our historical outlook from age to age. The caste system and such other social iniquities that have ever stood in the way of a consolidated national India have received from Dr. Majumdar, an unerring judgment which will, let us hope, make our students of history think seriously about the vital problems of our country. Another very laudable feature of this book is its fine balancing of historical meterials which produced an organic picture of *India as a whole*, the much neglected South India and Dravidian contributions receiving as much attention as the North Indian episodes. We congratulate Dr. Majumdar on supplying a long-felt need and recommend his book to all educational institutions of India. The historical and geographical notes together with suggestions for further study and an exhaustive index have gone to increase the usefulness of the book both to general readers as well as to regular students of our Universities. The history of ancient Indian commerce and colonisation in Greater India receives the attention that was long overdue, enhancing the historical value of the book.”