A History of India,by John Keay (HarperCollins, £9.99 in UK)

India today, of course, is a partioned country, with the original Hindu population inhabiting the greater share of the sub-continent…

India today, of course, is a partioned country, with the original Hindu population inhabiting the greater share of the sub-continent while the Moslems have Pakistan. A historical tragedy, no doubt, but the religious divide had been there for centuries and the Moslems came originally as conquerors into the vast territories traditionally known as Hindustan. Babur, a prince ruling a minor Turkic kingdom, defeated the Sultan of Delhi at Panipat in 1527 and set up the Mughal (Mogul) dynasty, which reached its zenith in the Emperor Akhbar but was squandered in the 18th century by the religious intolerance of Aurangzeb. The resulting anarchy was exploited by Britain and France and neighbouring Afghanistan, resulting in British rule which ended little more than a half-century ago. This history is long and dense, yet covers a huge area or areas with knowledge and style.