Metcalf's A Concise History Of Modern India

The first chapter of Metcalf and Metcalf’s A Concise History of Modern India, addresses the popular assumption that India is a “timeless” country. Because of that misconception, people often correlate India’s past directly with the present, especially when it comes to the caste and other social organizational systems (Metcalf & Metcalf, 3). In reality, referring to the Mughal and Sultanate era of India as a stagnant period of time is misleading and incorrect. This underlying theme of the development and evolution of South Asia during this period of time reappears throughout the chapter, enforcing the idea that the Mughal rule was in fact, an age of substantial growth and change. The authors’ argument is concisely stated when they write, “The
This statement triggers the thought-provoking question of why making that point clear seemed to be such a priority of the chapter. The class discussion that followed this reading expanded upon Metcalf’s and Metcalf’s possible literary motives, and what they were trying to convey by describing the considerable change that occurred throughout these centuries. An interesting theory that was brought to my attention during the discussion was that the authors’ goal in deconstructing the perception of India as a “timeless” nation may have been a response to Hindu Nationalism. Certain rhetoric of Hindu Nationalists is centered around painting Muslims in a villainous light--focusing only on past violent occurrences, and not crediting them as the source of any positive change within India-- making the minority Muslim population of India the target of prejudice and discrimination. By Metcalf and Metcalf acknowledging the important role the Sultanate and Mughal empires played in developing India economically, politically, agriculturally and in regards to establishing infrastructure, perhaps people will be more informed when it comes to understanding the advancements that occurred in India due to Islamic