The Story of India by Michael Wood

The Story of India by Michael Wood takes us on a historical journey from the first human migrations to present day. The book contains interesting and surprising facts, like Sanskrit, Greek, and Latin all appear to have originated from one common root.

Indeed, listening to the story, one can’t help but feel India was affected by the presence of many empires, British being the most recent.

Interestingly the story goes on to Muslim(Mughal) rulers in the 1500-1700s who actually tried to unite religions, and even dreamed of instituting a state under the rule of reason and not religion. Quite a dream, and arguably one that has yet to be achieved in our more enlightened times.

The 1500-1700s was a time when India was powerful and presided over some 100 million people, quite a contrast to England’s then 3 million. Quite amazing that colonization ever occurred, though India's disparity of class, wealth, and religion, probably played a part in their fall to the British.

India, however, came out of colonization with its culture intact. Indeed, one could say that commonwealth of nations of the former British empire is almost a kind of joke to India, now a nation that has come into its own still rich with all the diversity of its past.

From the long view, the increase in India’s economy is not so much something new, but more a returning to its former state of 200-300 years ago.

India is home to many religions and cultures including Hindu, Muslim, Jain, and Parsee. I enjoyed this read and strongly recommend it. The Story has also got made into a BBC (and PBS) series, which I plan to watch some day. Though in my mind the T.V. series are often slower than books with less information, but being able to see all the sights, people, and landmarks will be great.

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