From the coming of the Mughals to the Post-Nehru era. This classic study of the history of the Indian people emphasizes the unity of texture in the development of Indian society. Dr Spear, a specialist in Indian history, takes the unusual and illuminating approach of dealing with the Mughal and British periods together in one volume, on the principle of continuity. He views the Mughal rule as a preparation and precondition for the modern age ushered in by the British, and the British Raj as a harbinger of Western civilization, which precipitated the transformation of India that is still in progress. In Volume 1 of this history Romila Thapar traces Indian history from about 1000 BC to the coming of the Mughals in the sixteenth century AD.