Thinking about Time and Historical Periods in India |
Thinking about Time and Historical Periods Historians do not see time just as a passing of hours, days or years - as a clock or a calendar. Time also reflects changes in social and economic organisation. in the persistence and transformation of ideas and beliefs. The study of time is made somewhat easier by dividing the past into large segments - periods - that possess shared characteristics. In the middle of the nineteenth century British historians divided the history of India into three periods: " Hindu ". "Muslim" and "British". This division was based on the idea that the religion of rulers was the only important historical change, and that there were no other significant developments in the economy, society or culture. Such a division also ignored the rich diversity of the subcontinent. Few historians follow this periodisation today. Most look to economic and social factors to characterise the major elements of different moments of the past. The...