Attempted in this book is a brief presentation of the history of the people of the land of the Indus –the river from which are derived the names India and Hindustan, Hindu and Hindi.

The Indian sub-continent is a distinct geographical entity whose inhabitants developed over the centuries a syncretist ethos. It has been affected by and also impressed itself on and absorbed into itself, successive waves of foreign influence brought by those who came as refugees or traders, missionaries or conquerors.