Haryana: A Historical Perspective

Haryana: A Historical Perspective is a dispassionate and systematic attempt at a reconstruction of the historical past of Haryana. It deals with events from those following the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761 to the formation of the new State of Haryana in 1966.
The book examines the nature of political ideas, institutions, and the course of struggle of the people of Haryana in a historical perspective, and in doing so analyses the character of the political structure of Haryana under the local Chiefs, the East-India Company, and the British Crown. It raises and answers the pertinent questions such as why this region could not gain a separate political and administrative identity earlier, and was tagged to Delhi (1803), North-Western Provinces (1834), or the Punjab (1858). Besides it explores why the growth of national consciousness was stunted in this region and the Indian National Congress could not strike deep roots here. It meticulously describes the nature of mutual rivalries and conflicts among the local chiefs and the changing attitude of the British Residents and Governor-Generals towards them. Its important concern comprises the study of the wider impact of the 1857 uprisings; the socio-religious reform movements of the later nineteenth century; the contribution of Haryana during the First World War; the nature, character, and course of the national movement in the region up to the Indian Independence; the subsequent sufferings of the people of Punjab and their migration with all its aftermath; and the demand for a separate state and its formation in 1966.
The book will be of immense interest to the general reader as well as scholars, and also serve as a useful reference on the national and political history of India.