South Asia: an Introduction

Fire Dancers, Kandy, Sri Lanka

South Asia: India and Beyond

South Asian history had no one beginning, no one chronology, no single plot or narrative. It is not a singular story, but rather many histories, with indefinite, contested origins and with countless separate trajectories that multiply as we learn more about the past. This course tries to unravel the multiplicity, antiquity and ambiguity of South Asia. 

Under the layers of diversity lies a solid core of South Asian tradition. Traditions have endured for over 5,000 years — from the earliest known Indian civilization to the present day. The vast scale of South Asian history makes it inappropriate for readers to imagine that any one set of peoples or places represents the whole of South Asia's past. 'South Asia' is a recent geographical construction, but  'India' has an older origin ( Bose, 3) - rather than telling the story of India, this course analyses complex historical trends that illustrate the diversity of the region. It traces the historical invention and reinvention of group definitions, associations, solidarities that have shaped peoples' experience and a sense of belonging to a village, town, locality, region, state, nation. 

This module introduces a brief overview of this region and provides the setting for the course.

Objectives:  

Students reading this module will be able to -

• have an overview of broad historical and cultural trends that have defined South Asia
• understand the role of geography in shaping the collective identity of people inhabiting this region.