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Chapter 1. Introduction: A step away from the long shadow of colonial Europe -- Chapter 2.The Wider World of Indo-Sasanian Interactions -- Chapter 3. Trade Networks, Metallic Currency, and the Huns in Early India -- Chapter 4. The Commodities, the Producers and the Consumers: Defining Markets -- Chapter 5. Christian and Sogdian Traders, and the Indo-Sasanian Trade -- Chapter 6. Trade Routes, Traders and the Making of the Sacred Landscapes -- Chapter 7. India's Ancient Economy: How does this book differ from available writings?.-Chapter 8. Conclusion: Theorizing the Indo-Sasanian Trade. .

This review article ponders over the debate on the river Sarasvati's association with the Harappan civilization through a critical analysis of G. D. Bakshi's book The Sarasvati Civilization: A Paradigm Shift in Ancient Indian History (2019, Gurugram: Garuda Prakashan). By identifying the Rigvedic river Sarasvati with the now dry Ghaggar-Hakra, scholars like G. D. Bakshi co-relate the Vedic-Aryan culture with the Harappans and, by doing this, they Aryanize the Harappan civilization. Since the Aryans are accepted as the ancestors of the modern Hindus, by locating the origin of the Aryans within India, right-leaning scholars put forth the exclusive claim of the Hindu community over the Indian nation. Contrary to them, the left-liberal scholars endorse the Aryan migration theory, and it allows them to explain the origin of the Indian civilization due to the contribution of different ethnic, linguistic and cultural groups that have had migrated into India from faraway lands. It is argued in this review paper that the Aryan debate is more about politics than academic endeavour, and its primarily focus is on the following question: Who has a righteous claim over the Indian nation?

Limited attention seems to have been paid in Indian historical work to the Hūṇas (Huns) except for the general assumption that they played a very destructive role in Indian history. There is need for a fresh appraisal of the Hūṇa polity in the light of the Schūyen copper scroll, and further work on the numismatic evidence, while the details of their conflict with the Guptas need to be properly worked out. Finally, the objective behind their deep intrusion into central India (especially Malwa) has to be located in a broader context.

The Harappan civilisation that was discovered in the early 1920s became a matter of intense debate in the decades following the partition of India in 1947. As the boundaries of the newly created nation-states, Pakistan and India were drawn, almost entire excavated area associated with the Harappan civilisation went to Pakistan. And it inaugurated an era of academic politics in which Pakistani scholars and politicians claimed a five thousand years old antiquity for their nation-state based on the Harappan civilisation. On the other hand, the Indian archaeologists began searching for the Harappan sites in the valley of the Ghaggar (identified with Rigvedic Sarasvati River) – now dry, to justify India's linkages with the same civilisation. In this academic politics, one British archaeologist, R. E. Mortimer Wheeler (the Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India; from 1944 to 1948, and Archaeological advisor to Pakistan ministry; from 1948 to 1950) played a central role. Both, colleagues and several erstwhile students of this Englishman in India and Pakistan, this paper argues that participated in this academic politics. As they formulated a new national historical framework, the Harappan civilisation was transformed into a first civilisational landmark in the history of their respective countries.

AbstractEconomic development is closely related to accumulation and mobilisation of capital, sources of which can either be domestic or foreign. In a developing country context, foreign capital has emerged as an important source of supplementing domestic capital, and is increasingly being channelised through official export credit agency (ECA) support. For this support to have a lasting impact, it is important that projects are designed and developed in a coordinated manner with strong involvement of the host country. Simultaneously, it is critical to devise mechanisms such as local currency financing to ensure the sustainability of such support.

Wendy Doniger, Beyond Dharma: Dissent in the Ancient Indian Sciences of Sex and Politics (New Delhi: Speaking Tiger Publishing Pvt. Ltd), 2018, XIV + 226 pp., ₹599 (Hb).

This article discusses the Dalit narratives of India's ancient past, particularly varied interpretations of Aryan invasion of India. The colonial administrators introduced Aryan theory and race science in order to justify their authority over India. In a response, social reformers and nationalist scholars, largely coming from upper castes, constructed their own narratives of Indian history, which promoted the idea of glorious Aryan-Hindu past. Contrary to the colonial and nationalist scholars, who had characterized the Aryan race as a founder of Hindu civilization, Jotirao Phule's counter-narrative projected them as foreign invaders. In addition, as Brahmanas were identified with Aryans, all non-Brahmanas including Shudras and untouchables were identified as original inhabitants of India in Dalit writings. However, Ambedkar, who challenged the colonial and nationalist views on Aryan invasion, refused to accept Jotirao Phule's identification of Aryans with foreign invaders. Instead, he rejected the Aryan invasion theory and presence of distinct warring races in ancient India. The article highlights the impact of the rapidly changing political atmosphere of the 1940s on Ambedkar's counter-narratives that proposed a common Aryan identity for all—Brahmanas, Shudras and untouchables.

The Gupta Empire (fourth–fifth centuries ad) succeeded in subjugating a series of local forest chiefs and tribal territories. The Allahabad prashasti not only enumerates the conquests of the Gupta king Samudragupta, but also lays out the hierarchy of the kings equal in status and such as were subordinate to him, in his eyes. The political integration of dispersed political elements under the Guptas was linked with the changing contours of the Gupta authority in central India, on the one hand, and the process of transition from pre-state to state-society, on the other. This process is studied here mainly on the basis of epigraphic evidence.

This study investigates the behavioural bias of market-wide herding in the Indian equity market during the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. The study also examines the impact of market volatility and government response on herding during the sample period. We use the measure of cross-sectional absolute deviation and semi-parametric estimator of quantile regression for the period 1 January 2020 till 15 June 2020 for S&P CNX Nifty Index and its 50 constituent companies. The results obtained reveal significant herding in the Indian equity market that is aggravated by market volatility. Further, we find that the government response and control measures implemented are successful in reducing herd behaviour. The research calls for better information disclosure guidelines to promote market efficiency. We further suggest that during exogenous events, investors need to realign their portfolios and formulate trading strategies for better risk-return management.