The Loss of Hindustan: The Invention of India
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- Author：Manan Ahmed Asif
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Summary
Shortlisted for the Cundill History Prize
"Remarkable and pathbreaking。。。A radical rethink of colonial historiography and a compelling argument for the reassessment of the historical traditions of Hindustan。"
--Mahmood Mamdani
"The brilliance of Asif's book rests in the way he makes readers think about the name 'Hindustan'。。。Asif's focus is Indian history but it is， at the same time， a lens to look at questions far bigger。"
--Soni Wadhwa， Asian Review of Books
"Remarkable。。。Asif's analysis and conclusions are powerful and poignant。"
--Rudrangshu Mukherjee， The Wire
"A tremendous contribution。。。This is not only a book that you must read， but also one that you must chew over and debate。"
--Audrey Truschke， Current History
"Asif has given us nothing short of a master class in the ethics of history writing， illuminating the path to a South Asian future free of intercommunal prejudice and the oppression of minorities。"
--Cemil Aydin， author of The Idea of the Muslim World
"How has the great Indo-Islamic tradition of history-writing been used and misused， bowdlerized or simply effaced？ This is a significant contribution to intellectual history， as well as to the long-term political and cultural history of South Asia。"
--Sanjay Subrahmanyam， author of Europe's India
Did India， Pakistan， and Bangladesh have a shared regional identity prior to the arrival of Europeans in the late fifteenth century？ Manan Ahmed Asif tackles this contentious question by inviting us to reconsider the work and legacy of the influential historian Muhammad Qasim Firishta， a contemporary of the Mughal Emperors Akbar and Jahangir。 Inspired by his reading of Firishta and other historians， Asif seeks to rescue our understanding of the region from colonial narratives that emphasize difference and division。
Asif argues that a European understanding of India as Hindu has replaced an earlier， native understanding of India as Hindustan， a home for all faiths。 Turning to the subcontinent's medieval past， he uncovers a rich network of historians of Hindustan who imagined， studied， and shaped their kings， cities， and societies。 The Loss of Hindustan reveals how multicultural Hindustan was deliberately eclipsed in favor of the religiously partitioned world of today。 A magisterial work with far reaching implications， it offers a radical reinterpretation of how India came to its contemporary political identity。
"Remarkable and pathbreaking。。。A radical rethink of colonial historiography and a compelling argument for the reassessment of the historical traditions of Hindustan。"
--Mahmood Mamdani
"The brilliance of Asif's book rests in the way he makes readers think about the name 'Hindustan'。。。Asif's focus is Indian history but it is， at the same time， a lens to look at questions far bigger。"
--Soni Wadhwa， Asian Review of Books
"Remarkable。。。Asif's analysis and conclusions are powerful and poignant。"
--Rudrangshu Mukherjee， The Wire
"A tremendous contribution。。。This is not only a book that you must read， but also one that you must chew over and debate。"
--Audrey Truschke， Current History
"Asif has given us nothing short of a master class in the ethics of history writing， illuminating the path to a South Asian future free of intercommunal prejudice and the oppression of minorities。"
--Cemil Aydin， author of The Idea of the Muslim World
"How has the great Indo-Islamic tradition of history-writing been used and misused， bowdlerized or simply effaced？ This is a significant contribution to intellectual history， as well as to the long-term political and cultural history of South Asia。"
--Sanjay Subrahmanyam， author of Europe's India
Did India， Pakistan， and Bangladesh have a shared regional identity prior to the arrival of Europeans in the late fifteenth century？ Manan Ahmed Asif tackles this contentious question by inviting us to reconsider the work and legacy of the influential historian Muhammad Qasim Firishta， a contemporary of the Mughal Emperors Akbar and Jahangir。 Inspired by his reading of Firishta and other historians， Asif seeks to rescue our understanding of the region from colonial narratives that emphasize difference and division。
Asif argues that a European understanding of India as Hindu has replaced an earlier， native understanding of India as Hindustan， a home for all faiths。 Turning to the subcontinent's medieval past， he uncovers a rich network of historians of Hindustan who imagined， studied， and shaped their kings， cities， and societies。 The Loss of Hindustan reveals how multicultural Hindustan was deliberately eclipsed in favor of the religiously partitioned world of today。 A magisterial work with far reaching implications， it offers a radical reinterpretation of how India came to its contemporary political identity。
Reviews
Azhar
，
It was a nice book to read， but most books about topics that we care about and don't drop midway seem like nice books to read。the structure isn't very good and there is a lot and lot of incoherent name-dropping， A LOT of it， and then a few lines of information about the name dropped book/person and then more name dropping， the various chapters in it albiet possessing clearly different titles regarding what they are going to be talking about still talk about the same thing over and over again mak It was a nice book to read， but most books about topics that we care about and don't drop midway seem like nice books to read。the structure isn't very good and there is a lot and lot of incoherent name-dropping， A LOT of it， and then a few lines of information about the name dropped book/person and then more name dropping， the various chapters in it albiet possessing clearly different titles regarding what they are going to be talking about still talk about the same thing over and over again making you wonder why bother with that chapter format？ and towards the end of the book i started feeling like how most of the things it talks about could just have fit in a 50 page introduction for some other book on/translation of the piece of document it keeps talking about for most of the book （firishta's tarikh）。so despite my criticisms and me saying it was overall a bad experience to read why did i rate it not 2 or 3 stars？ because it is a book on history and although i accept it could have been better written by a more skilled writer， the research put into it by the author seems solid， and i tried asking myself if i or some historian i liked would have written this， could it have been any other way with the content it talks about？ and i felt unsure of that，so yeah， here it was， here was the review， that was all。 。。。more
abby
，
read for hist400
Faisal Hameed
，
If someone had defined history writing as “flower was picked from every garden and a drop from every ocean。” I would’ve started reading history books much earlier 。
Annikky
，
This is a very learned book and as far as I am able to tell， makes important and well-considered points。 But I must also admit that this was too academic for me and probably required a more detailed understanding of India's history than I currently possess。 So the three stars reflect my enjoyment level rather than the quality of the book。 This is a very learned book and as far as I am able to tell， makes important and well-considered points。 But I must also admit that this was too academic for me and probably required a more detailed understanding of India's history than I currently possess。 So the three stars reflect my enjoyment level rather than the quality of the book。 。。。more
krn ਕਰਨ
，
A half-remembered ditty from childhood， lying undisturbed in the deepest mental crevices， re-emerged as I started reading this book。Sikandar ne Porus se kee thee ladayee / Jo kee thee ladayee / to main kya karoon？ Kaurav ne Pandav se kee hathapayee / Jo kee hathapayee / to main kya karoon？ [ * see endnote for quick context & translation]Annoying earworm。 Try as I might， it wouldn't go away。 So I looked up the reference。 Turns out to be a song from a Hindi film （Anpadh， singer: Mahendra Kapoo A half-remembered ditty from childhood， lying undisturbed in the deepest mental crevices， re-emerged as I started reading this book。Sikandar ne Porus se kee thee ladayee / Jo kee thee ladayee / to main kya karoon？ Kaurav ne Pandav se kee hathapayee / Jo kee hathapayee / to main kya karoon？ [ * see endnote for quick context & translation]Annoying earworm。 Try as I might， it wouldn't go away。 So I looked up the reference。 Turns out to be a song from a Hindi film （Anpadh， singer: Mahendra Kapoor）， but I had the timing all wrong。 More suitable to say it's from my parents's childhood。But why was it playing in my head？Maybe because the link between the two ostenisbly incompatible timelines - Alexander arriving in the subcontinent and The Mahabharata - is mentioned pretty early on in The Loss of Hindustan: The Invention of India。 As the song lyrics suggest， generations of Indian children have grown up with the assumption that their history basically consists of a series of invasions， beginning with Alexander。 This is framed against a backdrop of mythical time: the age of epics and sagas。 Manan Ahmed Asif lays out， in patient， exhaustive detail， the colonial origins of this narrative。 Timeless India， ergo ahistorical， where history only begins with an interruption by the Greek （Macedonian） Alexander。 Layered on top of this foundation is the medieval Christian/European bias against Islam - a hangover from the Crusades - which sees invaders as essentially Muslim （debauched， brutal， intolerant） and the natives of India as essentially Hindu （superstitious， weak， oppressed）。 Three basic periods: timeless Bharat， Mughal Hindustan， British India。 And this way of telling the national story gets locked in as education itself comes to be defined as essentially a colonial， administrative project。 So far， so meh。 Why should anyone care in 2022？ （to main kya karoon？）We should care， cautions the historian， because the past refuses to remain in the past。 The way of telling the story about that which may or may not have happened hundreds of years ago continues to impinge on our own time。 Asif is a serious scholar， engaged in sober and measured intellectual history， but even within the highly restrained academic language the warning is unmissable: "History writing has the power to sanction retributive violence in the present" （p。62， emphasis mine）Arcane debates about dated manuscripts， bloodless questions of methodology， endless rounds of revisions and amendments: why bother？ Because history matters。 How it's written， who gets to write it， which elements are accentuated， where the focal points of meaning are located。 To properly demonstrate the divergences in the various histories of Hindustan， Asif takes the work of Deccan court historian Muhammad Qasim Firishta （1560-1620） as his guiding star。[Wait， Firishta who？ Never heard of him。 One of the pre-eminent historians of India， whose magnum opus was instrumental in shaping history as a discipline， is unkown today outside very specialist circles。 Personal moment of outrage and shame。 Anyway， back to the review。] Through a close reading of Firishta's text， Tarikh-i-Firishta， Asif uncovers a way of doing history that is polyvalent， sensitive to local nuances， and cognisant of multiple polities as sites of meaning-making。 Asif then shows how colonial historians deliberately subvert these elements in Firishta's history to tell a more polarising story， the effects of which can be felt to this day。This isn't by any means an easy read。 A lot to take in: many unfamiliar names， personalities and texts。 Narrated in prose that is dry as a bone。 If I might also add a slightly critical note， Asif sounds on occasion a bit partisan himself。 Counterpoints to his own readings are ignored。 William Jones， for instance。 The difference between how William Dalrymple approaches Jones in The Anarchy: The East India Company， Corporate Violence， and the Pillage of an Empire and Asif's own take is quite glaring。 But on balance， I feel Asif has done us all a huge favour。 His quest to unearth long-forgotten books in the archives and libraries of the world， and the countless hours reading and interpreting histories written in Arabic and Farsi， will no doubt open new pathways for lovers of Hindustan to connect more authentically with their past。_______________________ *Alexander fought Porus （Indian king mentioned only in Greek sources）If they fought / why should I care？Kauravas fought Pandavas （warring cousins in The Mahabharata）If they fought / why should I care？ 。。。more
Pramod Pant
，
Basically， a Muslim perspective。
Sayani
，
Reviewing The Loss of Hindustan by Manan Ahmed Asif is a personal journey for me。 Book reviewers often write about why the readers ought to pick up certain books。 We indulge your individual senses， desires， and passions。 For an observer， India looks candy-wrapped with its diverse delicacies， dialects， and festivals。 Yet our television-worthy panoramas have a long tumultuous history behind them。 This review creates a sense of belonging and assurance for me as a citizen of this country where cultu Reviewing The Loss of Hindustan by Manan Ahmed Asif is a personal journey for me。 Book reviewers often write about why the readers ought to pick up certain books。 We indulge your individual senses， desires， and passions。 For an observer， India looks candy-wrapped with its diverse delicacies， dialects， and festivals。 Yet our television-worthy panoramas have a long tumultuous history behind them。 This review creates a sense of belonging and assurance for me as a citizen of this country where cultural symbiosis has long prevailed。 In the current political climate of this land where divisiveness has created tentacles of hatred and subversive intellectual discourse is frowned upon books like these give the readers to step away from the myopic narratives。Once this subcontinental landmass was known as “Hindustan”。 From the sixteenth to the nineteenth century Mughal rulers were Shahanshah-i-Hindustan （emperors of Hindustan）。 But this word stars fading away from the early nineteenth-century to the advent of “British India。” This book is an erudite exploration of how the concept of Hindustan which was once paramount of this subcontinental cultural identity was systematically erased by colonial powers resulting in the act of “political forgetting” for its own imperialist gains。The conventional thinking that this subcontinent was largely a group of “regional kingdoms” with no central political control before the British arrived is mistaken。 The entire subcontinent spanning from the Himalayas to the Deccan to the southern coast of the Indian Ocean had an established territorial integrity and unity long before the Mughals ruled。 Where lies the proof？ Why and how was this concept of identity erased by colonial power？ How did Hindustan become India in the historical archives？ What purpose does the act of political erasure serve？ What lessons can be learnt in the present day from the intellectual makeup of colonial historians？ These are the pertinent questions the book tries to answer。 A crucial summary of how colonial power creates political forgetting of identity is given by the author in the introduction。 It says，"Colonization refuses the colonized access to their own past。 By imposing a colonial language， it retards the capacity of indigenous languages to represent reality。 It claims that the languages of the colonized lack “technical” or “scientific” vocabulary。 It removes the archives， renders history as lacking， blurs faces and names。 Thus， the colonized face a diminished capacity to represent their past in categories other than those given to them in a European language， or provided to them in an imperial archive。 This rupture， brought about by the colonial episteme， erases the fuller memory or awareness of the precolonial。 Now， a “translated” term for an indigenous concept is deemed sufficient to stand in for it by an academy more inclined to maintain citational coherence than the truth of history。 The discipline of history， itself a colonizing tool， is resistant to the demands of the colonized。"Many historical works hold the political and spatial concept of Hindustan between the tenth and the nineteenth centuries。 These works are in Arabic， Persian， Urdu， Sanskrit， or Prakrit。 From these works， the author chose the historical work by Muhammad Qasim Firishta written in the early seventeenth century as the major source for this thesis。 The work is titled Tarikh-i Firishta （The history by Firishta） and was written in the first decades of the seventeenth century at the court of Ibrahim `Adil Shah II （r。 1580–1627）。 In the midst of a vibrant milieu that thrived in the Deccan polities of Ahmadnagar， Golkonda， Hyderabad， Gulbarga， Bidar， and Vijayanagar， Firishta created the first comprehensive history of Hindustan。 It is an amalgamation of the histories， cultures， and geography of the subcontinent rather than a dichotomy of the Deccan or Mughal rule steeped in conflicts and successions。Tarikh-i Firishta was instrumental in the understanding of the newly formed colonies to establish the British dominion over Hindustan in the mid-eighteenth century。 A key player was Lieutenant Colonet Alexander Dow （1735- 1779） who acquired and translated Persian and Sanskrit texts （including Firishta） from Bengal and Bombay。 Dow and other soldier-scribes of the British East India company transmogrified Firishta’s work as the history of Muslim conquest over the Hindus rather than a colloidal history of the subcontinent。 The Loss of Hindustan shows how translations of indigenous texts played a role in dissociating the history of “Hindustan” from “India。” The former features Muhammadans or Muslim rulers and invaders and the latter features hapless and oppressed Hindus under Muslim rule whose only salvation was in the form of British colonial rule。As a non-historian reader， Manan’s book was my foray into how revisionist historical writings are researched and structured。 Historiography is often a slate where chalk marks are half wiped rendering the narrative stuttering and incomplete。 The Loss of Hindustan is an exemplary work of making sense of that narrative without extrapolations but grounded in well-researched findings。 The book is an education in intellectual history and how works such as Firishta’s influence history and the art of writing history itself。 。。。more
Paula Darwish
，
A brillilant， painstaking and forensic piece of historical research。 A much needed book in an era when challenging colonial narratives and breaking down physical and mental borders is so crucial for the survival of humanity。 The arrogance of the colonial historians and their loose relationship with the truth is really quite shocking。 Manan Ahmed Asif's meticulous work is a testament to this。 A brillilant， painstaking and forensic piece of historical research。 A much needed book in an era when challenging colonial narratives and breaking down physical and mental borders is so crucial for the survival of humanity。 The arrogance of the colonial historians and their loose relationship with the truth is really quite shocking。 Manan Ahmed Asif's meticulous work is a testament to this。 。。。more
Divya Pal Singh
，
It was a struggle to wade through this bilge。Much before Hindustan or Sarvarkar’s Hindusthan – as the author sanctimoniously puts it – this geographical region was known as Bharata。 Thus， the basic premise of the title is inaccurate。According to this rabidly anti-Indian author， the Muslims came to India as peaceful traders and scholars and not as reaving marauders。 He denies Gazni’s plunder yet contradicts himself Page 56。 He does not accept Sanskrit as an ancient language。 The other Pakistani o It was a struggle to wade through this bilge。Much before Hindustan or Sarvarkar’s Hindusthan – as the author sanctimoniously puts it – this geographical region was known as Bharata。 Thus， the basic premise of the title is inaccurate。According to this rabidly anti-Indian author， the Muslims came to India as peaceful traders and scholars and not as reaving marauders。 He denies Gazni’s plunder yet contradicts himself Page 56。 He does not accept Sanskrit as an ancient language。 The other Pakistani obsession Kashmir – the raison d’etre of their army’s existence – is needlessly dragged in and in a painfully convoluted verbose arguement tries to prove the prehistoric peaceful conversion to Islam。 It was the Sufi brand of Islam actually which peacefully existed along with the Hindu equivalent of Bhakti。 He does not seem to comprehend that this is the land that gave birth to Buddhism， Jainism， Sikhism and was the saviour of Parsis。Pakistanis can never reconcile to their lack of a glorious spatial history – everything boils down to the jihadi conquest of barbarian people beyond the Indus riverIn reality their history is a seven-decade old army rule after a painful sanguineous birth by C-section of India and the inevitable cleaving of this schizophrenic miscegenation of a nation based on theocracy。 Whew！ Got that off my chest。 。。。more
Mehsaan
，
Impressive research！ Manan’s argument that a common regional identity （Hindoostani） transcended kingdoms， societies， religions and cultures in the subcontinent from Kashmir to Malabar， Sindh to Bengal and led to a multicultural Hindustan is an important one， especially in a decade where majoritarian politics believe one’s religion and linguistic heritage determine belonging and exclusion in India， Pakistan and Bangladesh。
Ankush Rai
，
Book - Loss of HindustanWritten by- Manan Ahmed AsafPublished by - Harvard University Press India as a country or subcontinent has always been called with various names in the past - Meluha， Jambudwipa， Bharatvarsha， Hindustan etc。 The most popular name in the medieval period was ‘Hindustan’ which was coined by the invaders， traders from the west。 In this book Manan Ahmed Asif narrates the idea of Hindustan， its geographical extent and India in the medieval times under Islamic hegemony。 Drawing Book - Loss of HindustanWritten by- Manan Ahmed AsafPublished by - Harvard University Press India as a country or subcontinent has always been called with various names in the past - Meluha， Jambudwipa， Bharatvarsha， Hindustan etc。 The most popular name in the medieval period was ‘Hindustan’ which was coined by the invaders， traders from the west。 In this book Manan Ahmed Asif narrates the idea of Hindustan， its geographical extent and India in the medieval times under Islamic hegemony。 Drawing parallels from the work of 16th century Persian Chronicler - Ferishta， the author traces the history of Hindustan， mentions the bustling cities， the sultans and Rajas who held sway in this land。 The author takes help of the memoirs， books written by medieval scholars and historians。 He also takes account of the sources from the Colonial period。 Works of Jonathan Duncan， Macaulay， Elphinstone and Dow’s History of Hindustan also find mention。 Most interesting chapter in this book was ‘The peoples in Hindustan’。 Ferishta’s works became the base for the colonial Indologists to further write about India of medieval times; the author has listed those books in the last chapter。 In the afterword the author lists out the difference between the ‘India’ colonial historians portrayed as compared to ‘Hindustan’ of the medieval times。 We are familiar with the white supremacy and divide and rule policy of the British which was reflected in their writings to disunite the gap between two communities。 The author’s painstaking effort for the book is noticeable by the sheer size of the footnotes。 Also， this book is a commentary on the ‘idea of Hindustan’ based on medieval period writings and chronological events。 People have been mistaken with the title， considering it a thorough history of medieval India。 Recommended read for History aficionados of Hindustan ！Review by @getthefactshistory IG #getthefactshistorybookreviews 。。。more
Haaris Mateen
，
This is a history of histories of India， specifically about those written through the medieval period right up to the turn of the nineteenth century。 Asif meticulously and painstakingly dismantles dominant colonial narratives of medieval history and shows how they are linked to a colonial episteme and historiographic tradition that has long framed how we understand and analyze the subcontinent's past。 He does this by focusing his attention on an influential medieval historian named Firishta。 Fir This is a history of histories of India， specifically about those written through the medieval period right up to the turn of the nineteenth century。 Asif meticulously and painstakingly dismantles dominant colonial narratives of medieval history and shows how they are linked to a colonial episteme and historiographic tradition that has long framed how we understand and analyze the subcontinent's past。 He does this by focusing his attention on an influential medieval historian named Firishta。 Firishta， who was based out of Bijapur in the Deccan， wrote a history of Hindustan， a fascinating work that begins with the Mahabharata， and concludes with the different places， peoples， and rulers of this land， somewhere at the end of the sixteenth century。（tl;dr: Enlightening meta-history of history writing in the subcontinent。 Academic style， only for very serious readers。）Firishta's history was influential in the subcontinent during his time and the centuries after， and acted as a model for future historians of the region。 It was also an important source for the British colonial project of re-constructing India's history， a project that was intimately connected with a tone of condescension and dismissal towards any historiographic tradition or， indeed， any tradition in India， along with a process of culling out details for an analysis that set the tone for justifying the British conquest of India。 Firishta's Tarikh was used extensively in this vein -- his content and analysis were largely discarded; instead， it was used both to extract a chronology of historical events， as well as made to justify the colonial narrative about India being a land crying for British deliverance。Asif starts with a number of medieval historians who were precursors to Firishta， who display a slow evolution in what they choose to write and how they write。 What builds up is an inexorable and convincing march towards a syncretic identity of what it meant to be in Hindustan: a land of different places， of peoples of different faiths and cultures， of rulers who were good if they strove for public welfare， and most importantly， of networks and connections between all the aforementioned aspects。This book can be called a meta-history。 It demands patience。 I would not recommend to anyone but the most serious， academic readers of history。 But its conclusion is one that is oft-repeated these days but doesn't seem to lose its urgency -- to defeat the forces of toxic majoritarianism in South Asia necessitates engaging with the practice of history writing， and to defeat the prejudices involved in its writing。 。。。more
Revanth Ukkalam
，
Actually the biggest take away from the book are the great historiographical tradition in India。
Titas Bose
，
A history book that made me smile。 Made me think a lot about writing as a method of thinking。
Mihr Chand
，
Scholars well and truly need to use Ahmed's understanding of Hindustan to move towards throwing off the colonial episteme。 Scholars well and truly need to use Ahmed's understanding of Hindustan to move towards throwing off the colonial episteme。 。。。more
tpg0
，
As an AI language model， I do not have personal opinions or beliefs。 However， I can provide you with a summary of the book to help you better understand its content。 'The Loss of Hindustan: The Invention of India' is a book by Manan Ahmed。 The book explores the history of the Indian subcontinent and deconstructs the idea of an ancient and unified 'India。' The author argues that the notion of a cohesive and unchanging India is a colonial construct that obscures the complex and diverse histories of the region。 The book examines the time period of the Mughal empire and traces how the British colonial rulers created an idealized version of Indian history to consolidate their power。 The author further explores how this invented narrative has been used to justify political and social hierarchies that continue to have an impact today。 Overall， the book challenges widely held beliefs about the history of India and encourages readers to critically examine the origins and consequences of these narratives。
tpg1
，
As an AI language model， I do not have personal opinions or experiences。 However， "The Loss of Hindustan: The Invention of India" by Manan Ahmed Asif is a critically acclaimed book that explores the political and cultural history of the Indian subcontinent， delving into how the idea of "India" was shaped and formed by colonialism and the personal agendas of British rulers。 The author argues that a loss of historical knowledge and an emphasis on British colonial narratives have obscured the true complexity and diversity of South Asian history。 The book has been praised for its meticulous research and interdisciplinary approach， but may not be suitable for all readers。
tpg2
，
As an AI language model， I am not capable of reading books or having personal opinions。 However， 'The Loss of Hindustan: The Invention of India' is a book written by Manan Ahmed Asif， which explores the history of the Indian subcontinent and the politics of nation-building。 It aims to challenge the notion of a singular Indian identity and instead presents a diverse and complicated history of the region。 It is known for its critical analysis of the colonial period in India and how it impacted the country's socio-political fabric。 The book has been praised for its fresh perspectives and nuanced portrayal of the Indian subcontinent。
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