MODERN SOUTH INDIA

The sounds and flavours of the
land south of the Vindhyas?temple bells, coffee and jasmine, coconut and
tamarind, delicious dosais and appams?are familiar to many, but its history
is relatively unknown. In this monumental study, the first in over fifty years,
historian and biographer Rajmohan Gandhi brings us the South Indian story in
modern times. At heart, the story he tells is one of four powerful
cultures?Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu, as well as the
cultures?Kodava, Konkani, Marathi, Oriya, Tulu and indigenous?that have
influenced them.When the narrative begins at the end of the sixteenth
century, the Deccan sultanates of Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, Golconda and Bidar
have combined to defeat the kingdom of Vijayanagara, one of the last great
medieval empires of the South. After the fall of Vijayanagara, less powerful
nayakas or sultans ruled the region. Competition raged between these rulers
and the many European trading companies. By the seventeenth century, only the
French and British remained to fight it out, in association with Indian
rulers and princely states.The eighteenth century saw the growth of the
kingdom of Mysore, first under Haidar Ali, a military leader who had briefly
served the Nawab of Arcot, and then under his son Tipu Sultan, who annexed
parts of present-day Tamil Nadu and Kerala. By now the European presence was
growing strong and assertive. And with the fall of Tipu in the Fourth
Anglo-Mysore War at the end of the eighteenth century, the British East India
Company (now the sole European power in South India) consolidated its
holdings in the South.In the nineteenth century, power changed hands from the
private East India Company to the British monarchy?Queen Victoria became the
?Empress of India??and Britain continued consolidating its territory. Despite
the tumultuous environment, this century also saw a creative outpouring.The
twentieth century saw a change in the relationship between the foreign ruler
and the Indian citizenry. No longer content with isolated military campaigns
led by rajas or nawabs, Indians expressed their urge for freedom through
democratic outlets. National parties such as the Indian National Congress and
the Muslim League and regional ones like the Justice Party, Andhra Mahajana
Sabha, Dravida Kazhagam and others emerged. Prominent South Indian leaders
such as Annie Besant, C. Rajagopalachari, E. V. Ramasami Naicker,
Varadarajulu Naidu, K. Kamaraj, Annadurai, Kamaladevi, E. M. S.
Namboodiripad, Potti Sriramulu and others took the fight to the British
while, at the same time, carrying on campaigns to ensure the dignity of all
citizens.After Independence, new states were carved out from the former
presidencies and princely states along linguistic lines?Tamil Nadu,
Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra. The book ends in the present, with a look at
the new generation of political leaders who have taken over from dominant
personalities like M. Karunanidhi, N. T. Rama Rao, M. G. Ramachandran, J.
Jayalalithaa, K. Karunakaran and Ramakrishna Hegde. It also covers some of
the most significant figures from other fields such as Narayana Guru, M. S.
Subbulakshmi, U. R. Ananthamurthy, Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy and others.A
masterpiece in every sense of the word, Modern South India is a rich,
authoritative and magnificent work of history about the South that will be
read, debated and reflected upon for years to come.