Publisher's Synopsis
Convergence: Rethinking India's Past explores the multiplicity of sources that can be used for studying Indian history. Texts, literature, inscriptions, and other sources have long been but the fountainheads of history. The contributors to this volume, however, begin with the premise that such sources, in the true spirit of historical research, need to be re-interrogated. Without ignoring questions of the validity of a source, they also emphasize the hybridity and range of material that can be used as a historical source. Starting, therefore, with the idea of 're-search', Convergence examines sources that have so far been used, before proceeding to study newer ones that have yet to be utilized. Keeping this in mind, it re-examines the better known sources, such as Portuguese, French and English factory records, travel accounts, Chinese texts, and also maps, travel accounts, Tibetan and Japanese sources.
