The Discovery of India
Encyclopedia
The Discovery of India was written by India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

's first Prime Minister
Prime Minister of India
The Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...

 Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...

 during his imprisonment in 1942-1946 at Ahmednagar in the Ahmednagar Fort.

Nehru was jailed for his participation in the Quit India movement along with other Indian leaders, and he used this time to write down his thoughts and knowledge about India's history. The book is widely regarded as a classic in India since its first publication in 1946, and provides a broad view of Indian history
History of India
The history of India begins with evidence of human activity of Homo sapiens as long as 75,000 years ago, or with earlier hominids including Homo erectus from about 500,000 years ago. The Indus Valley Civilization, which spread and flourished in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent from...

, philosophy and culture
Culture of India
India's languages, religions, dance, music, architecture, food and customs differ from place to place within the country, but nevertheless possess a commonality....

, as viewed from the eyes of a liberal Indian fighting for the independence
Independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....

 of his country.

In The Discovery of India Nehru argued that India was an historic nation with a right to sovereignty. (Calhoun, Craig, Nations Matter: Culture, History and the Cosmopolitan Dream, Routledge, p. 63.)

In this book Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru tries to study the history of India starting from the Indus Valley Civilization
Indus Valley Civilization
The Indus Valley Civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that was located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, consisting of what is now mainly modern-day Pakistan and northwest India...

, and then covers the country's history from the arrival of the Aryans to government under the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

. The effect of these various people on Indian culture and their incorporation into Indian society is examined.
This book also analyses in depth the philosophy of Indian life.

This book was dedicated to the Prisoners of Ahmednagar jail.

The book became the basis of the 53-episode Indian television series Bharat Ek Khoj
Bharat Ek Khoj
Bharat Ek Khoj is a 53-episode television series that dramatically unfolds the 5000 year history of India from its beginnings to the coming of independence in 1947...

, first broadcast in 1988.

Editions

  • The Discovery of India by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, ISBN 0-670-05801-7
  • The Discovery of India by Jawaharlal Nehru (paper back, thirteenth edition), ISBN 019-562359-2

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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