PART I

THE ANCIENT AGE

CHAPTER I

The Ancient Age--When it began--Earliest hymns--The Black people--The White people-Was there a third tribe?

CHAPTER II

The Vedic times--Extent of India--Rig-Veda--Seven rivers--Agriculture--Aryan gods--Aryan features--Hymns to the Dawn.

CHAPTER III

Days of the Epics--Larger extent of India known--Two great epics--The BrahmÂnas--The MÂhÂbhÂrata--Story of Bhishma --A golden age--Bhishma's vow and its results--The Princess DrÂupadi--Bhishma's death--The RÂmÂyana.

CHAPTER IV

The marvellous millennium--Its literature--The Ûpanishads--KapÎla's philosophy--Vedanta teaching--Religious atmosphere--GÂutama Buddha--Yoga, and other philosophies--Megasthenes' accounts.

CHAPTER V

The Sesu-nÂga and other kings--Actual history--Scythians--First breath of reality--History of parricides--Nanda dynasty.

CHAPTER VI

The Anabasis--Alexander's march--Halt on the Indus--The Hydaspes--The stealing of a passage--His victory--Appeal to his soldiers--Forced to return--His sail down the Hydaspes to the sea--His death.

CHAPTER VII

The Great Mauryas--A landmark of history--ChÂndra-gupta's ability --His iron nerve--Seleukos Nikator--His great success and vast empire--Bindu-sÂra--The great Asoka--His reign of religion--The Rock and Pillar edicts--An example to all people --His vast empire.

CHAPTER VIII

The outlying provinces--Difficulty of piecing together historical facts--Case of coins--The personal equation our only guide--The SÂkas--The Yuehchi--Manes--Gondophares--St Thomas --Horse sacrifice--VikramadÎtya--His era--Difficulty of recognising him--Soter Megas-Greek influence on India.

CHAPTER IX

The Bactrian Camel and the Indian Bull--Indo-Greek rulers--Age of gold--Transference of power--Mongolian invasion--Embassy to Rome--KanÎshka--Buddhist council--HÛshka, JÛshka, KanÎshka--Secretiveness of India--Song of the Plough.

CHAPTER X

The Great GÛpta Empire--Wedding bells--KumÂri Devi-- ChÂndra-gÛpta II.--SamÛdra-gupta--An Indian Alexander-- An Admirable Crichton--VikramadÎtya-gupta--The Golden Age of Hindus--Extraordinary artistic activity--A real Renaissance.

CHAPTER XI

The White Huns and good King Harsha--Attributes of the Huns-- Worst invasion--Hindu life crystallised into custom-HypoÆstheticised--Good King Harsha--Conversion to Buddhism--Hiuen T'sang, the Chinese priest.

CHAPTER XII

Chaos--The Dark Ages--No hero to hold the imagination--History silent--The Mahomedan invasion imminent--Mahomed's character.

PART II

THE MIDDLE AGE

CHAPTER I

Campaigns of the Crescent--Northern battlefield--Constant invasion --New blood against old--New creed against old--MahmÛd of Ghuzni--Taking of Nagarkot--Twelve raids--The last to SomnÂth--MahmÛd's cruelty--His avarice--A born doubter.

CHAPTER II

Campaigns of the Crescent again in milder form--MasÛd's imitation of MahmÛd's exploits--The Ghuznevide dynasty--ShahÂb-ud-din and GhiÂss-ud-din, the brother kings--The former's change of name to Mahomed--His loot and riches.

CHAPTER III

The RÂjput resistance--RÂjputs born soldiers--Prithvi-RÂj--Story of his marriage with Princess Sunyogata of KanaÛj--His victory over Mahomed Ghori--The latter's disgust--His final attempt at revenge--Princess Sunyogata's reply--The fatal field of PÂniput--RÂjputs overthrown--Kutb-din the slave left viceroy of India--Mahomed Ghori's death.

CHAPTER IV

The slave kings--Delhi founded by a slave--The Kutb MinÂr-- Kutb-ud-din EÎbuk--AltÂmish--His bad sons and good daughter--The Empress RÂzia--Scandal--Her and her husband's death--NÂsir-ud-din--A good king followed by many bad ones--Extinction of dynasty.

CHAPTER V

The Tartar dynasties--Slack rule--Tendency to break up into petty States--House of Khilji--Allah-ud-din--His murder of his uncle, Dervish Sidi--Allah-ud-din and Padmani--Sack of Chitore--Difficulties in the Dekkan--Extinction of House of Khilji--Toghluk dynasty--FerÔze Toghluk.

CHAPTER VI

Invasion of Timur--The Toork--Timur's terrible cruelty--A crushing blow--Thirty years of stupefaction.

CHAPTER VII

Devastated India--No master hand in India--Puppet kings--The Dekka fairly consolidated--The RÂjputs raise their heads-- Thirty-six years of kinglessness--Three strong men: a warrior, a bigot, a tyrant.

CHAPTER VIII

The Great Moghuls--Story of Babar the adventurer--His extraordinary versatility and charm--His memoirs and literary skill--His constant knight errantry and endless fluctuations of fortune--His final attraction to India.

CHAPTER IX

Babar Emperor of India--His invasion of the PunjÂb and return to gather more troops--His swoop on Delhi--The fatal field of PÂniput once more--His victories--His dislike to India--His overthrow of the RÂjputs--His vow of total abstinence and victory--His unfailing vitality--Babar as lover and husband-- Devotion to his wife and children--His son HumÂyon--Strange story of a father's devotion--The most romantic figure in Indian History.

CHAPTER X

HumÂyon--His patience and clemency--Addicted to opium-- Dilatory character--The brothers' bracelet--Ungrateful brothers --His flight from Bengal--Increasing misfortunes--Driven to the desert--Falls in love--Romantic story--Akbar born in the desert--Father and mother forced to fly to Persia.

CHAPTER XI

The House of SÛr--Absolute usurpers--Not royal--Aided, however, by HumÂyon's brothers--Held India for twelve years.

CHAPTER XII

The wanderings of a king--Humayon's record of misfortunes--His dilatoriness and absolute good temper--Little Prince Akbar's marvellous escapes--Europe's first knowledge of India--The Portuguese settlement-HumÂyon's final return to India as Emperor--His death.

CHAPTER XIII

Akbar the Great--The times in Europe--His singular, almost incredible, character--A man of genius--His age at accession--His immediate grip on affairs--ByrÂm-KhÂn--Fatal field of PÂniput once more--Hemu--Akbar's mercy--Dismissal of ByrÂm--Record of the reign--English merchants--Birth of an heir--Fatehpur Sikri--Akbar's religion--His disappointment in his sons--A great dreamer.

CHAPTER XIV

JahÂngir and NurjahÂn--Story of Mihr-un-nissa--Her meeting with JahÂngir-His constancy and final marriage--The first charter of the English trading company--Sir Thomas Roe's embassy-- Captain Hawkins--NurjahÂn's influence.

CHAPTER XV

ShÂhjahÂn--Knight of the rueful countenance--An age of gold-- Grant to England--Greatest magnificence of the Court--Trouble with English settlers at Calcutta--Pirates of Arracan--Indian revenues--ShÂhjahÂn's sons--His devotion to his wife--The TÂj.

CHAPTER XVI

Aurungzebe--End of Middle Age--Unamiable character--Good king--Quarrel with Mahrattas under Siva-ji--Likeness between Aurungzebe and the Mahratta general--Extreme astuteness of latter--Additional grants to England--Help promised by James II. to East India Company--Sir John Child as scapegoat-- India's coral strand--Aurungzebe's untiring energy--His deathbed.

PART III

THE MODERN AGE

CHAPTER I

India in the beginning of the eighteenth century--General volte face--Review of the Indian Peninsula--Temptation of Tom Tiddler's ground--Gold but no riches--Bernier's horror at commercial status of India--Surprise at high state of intellectual civilisation--Curious contrasts--Western methods-- Salaries of officers--Story of the king of GuzerÂt--Gabriel Boughton--William Hamilton.

CHAPTER II

Rise of the Mahratta power--Siva-ji's genius for the sea--Moghuls' star descending--BahÂdur ShÂh's difficulties--The Sikhs--Death of the Emperor--Recrudescence of the murders and horrors of the past--Accession of Farokhsir--Mahratta war--Growing strength of Mahrattas--Final victory--Asaf-JÂh returns Delhi-wards--NÂdir the Persian crosses the Indian Border.

CHAPTER III

The invasion of NÂdir--Once more the cry of "Toorkh"--Sole object gold--The raid seemed born out of due time--Diplomacies of NÂdir--The fatal field of PÂniput once more--This time an almost bloodless route--Delhi sieged, one hundred and fifty thousand killed--Thirty millions worth of solid plunder carried off--Decrease in dividends of Company--Opposition to its monopoly in trade once more raised--Renewal of monopoly.

CHAPTER IV

The game of French and English--French East India Companies-- Joseph Dupleix--His diplomacies--Admiral Labourdonnais-- Jealousies between the two--British squadron--Game of hide and seek--Pondicherry given to French by Nawab of Arcot-- Siege of Madras--Plight of England--Saved by a storm-- Labourdonnais impeached by France--Nawab of Arcot sides with England--Coast of Coromandel saved by another storm-- Siege of Pondicherry--Disastrous failure--Dupleix sings "Te Deums"--Peace of Aux la Chapelle.

CHAPTER V

Plots and counterplots--Peace brings thought--French and English turn to commerce--Only ascending power in India the Mahrattas--Western soldiers used as mercenaries--Immediate difficulties--Successional wars, French on one side, English the other--Putting up of puppets--England gets the worst of it--Robert Clive as champion.

CHAPTER VI

Robert Clive as writer, as soldier, as writer once more--Tales of his youth--He takes Arcot--Wonderful vitality--Great influence with natives--They refuse to start on campaign unless led by him--Constant increase of his army by desertions from the enemy--Game of French and English again--Council of Negotiation a farce--Attention of both France and England drawn to constant hostilities in the East--Dupleix recalled --Dies miserably in poverty--Clive commanding at Madras-- News of Black Hole outrage--Sails to avenge it--Cause of the outrage--Clive avenges it--Great friction at Calcutta--Battle of Plassey--Omichand incident--England has real hold on India.

CHAPTER VII

Robert Clive as Governor of Bengal--State of Upper India-- Ahmed-ShÂh's invasion and revenge--Comte de Lally--Bussy and Bobbili--Sir Eyre Coote--Gradual defeat of French interests-- Quarrels over batta money--Mir-JÂffar as NawÂb of Bengal gives trouble--Gives jÂghir to Clive--Clive goes home-- Trouble at Murshidabad--Ahmed-ShÂh, DurrÂni, invades Upper India--Historic battlefield once more--Question of private trade--Warren Hastings opposes it--Clive returns to India-- Raises status of Civil Service--Puts down corruption--Health fails--Goes to England--Disgrace--Disillusionment--Dies by his own hand after a grudging acquittal.

CHAPTER VIII

Hyder-Ali et Alia--Treaty of Paris harmful--Hyder-Ali's lawlessness--Colonel Smith holds his own--Treaties--Money-bags-- Plunder--Price of India stock goes down--Financial pressure.

CHAPTER IX

Warren Hastings--Early career--Supporter of Clive--Makes many enemies--Treaty of NawÂb of Oude and Mahrattas--English mercenaries--Hastings appointed first Governor-General-- Reconstruction of appointments under new Act--Mr Francis-- Persistent enmity--Dissensions in the Council--Incident of NuncomÂr--Hastings in minority--In majority--Financial reforms--Francis refuses assent or criticism--Suggests the Great Mistake--Hastings relieved of office--Refuses to accept dismissal--Two Councils, two Governor-Generals--Supreme Court decides for Hastings--Incomprehensible conspiracies in Mahratta Court--Hyder Ali again gives trouble--Dies--His son, Tippoo Sahib--Case of the RÂjah of Benares--Of the Begums of Oude--Harsh terms imposed on NawÂb of Oude.

CHAPTER X

Administrations and impeachments--Review of Clive's and Warren Hastings' careers--Attempt to unravel the clues--Influx to India of foreigners--Walter Reinhardt--Begum Sumroo--George Thomas--General view of India.

CHAPTER XI

The Board of Control appointed by the Crown--Responsibilities-- Lord Cornwallis--JÂwan Bakht--Civil and military reforms-- Tippoo Sahib again--Four years' wear--Permanent settlement evolved at Wimbledon--Immediate effects--France and England at war--Renewed trouble in Oude--Death of Tippoo Sahib--English action in Oude--Threatening outlook-- Mahratta jealousy--Assaye--Marquis of Wellesley--First interview of conquering England with Great Moghul--Mutiny at Vellore--Lord Minto--Debt of India.

CHAPTER XII

The extinction of monopoly--Church establishment formed-- Parliament--History of cotton trade--Earl Moira--War in Nepaul-- RÂjputana smouldering--Kishen KumÂri--Lord Hastings-- Final Mahratta war--More trouble in Oude--Lord Amherst-- Burmese war--Lord William Bentinck--Policy of noninterference-- Disastrous result--Trouble in Oude--Diplomacy with ShÂh-Sujah--The short sea passage.

CHAPTER XIII

Freedom and frontiers--Tea--India thrown open to the world-- Struggle over Governor--Generalship--Lord Auckland-- Macaulay's Penal Code--Fresh trouble in Oude--Embassy to Dost Mahomed--Sir Alexander Burnes--Disaster at Kabul-- Lord Ellenborough--Sir Henry Hardinge--Annexation of PunjÂb.

CHAPTER XIV

Manners, morals, and missionaries--Second Burmese war--Annexation of Oude--Unrest--Causes of it--Evangelical wave--Successions-- Annexations--General review of Oude--Question.

CHAPTER XV

The Great Mutiny--Sir Charles Metcalfe's prediction--Signs of the times--Barrackpore--Meerut--Delhi--Fateful delay--Lucknow-- Cawnpore--John Nicholson--End of defence--Success of attack-- Retribution--Final question.

INDIA THROUGH THE AGES