Interest in the science, technology and medicine of India under British rule has grown in recent years and has played an ever-increasing part in the reinterpretation of modern South Asian history. Spanning the period from the establishment of East India Company rule through to Independence, David Arnold's wide-ranging and analytical survey demonstrates the importance of examining the role of science, technology and medicine in conjunction with the development of the British engagement in India and in the formation of Indian responses to western intervention. One of the first works to analyse the colonial era as a whole from the perspective of science, the book investigates the relationship between Indian and western science, the nature of science, technology and medicine under the Company, the creation of state-scientific services, 'imperial science' and the rise of an Indian scientific community, the impact of scientific and medical research and the dilemmas of nationalist science.

‘The history of modern India has long needed a series of survey volumes to bring together the fruits of the past twenty-five years’ intensive scholarship. This The New Cambridge History of India promises to do.’

Source: The Times Literary Supplement

‘ … works of substantial scholarship, providing not merely a synthesis of existing material but also original research, insight and in some cases thoughtful new interpretations. They are all compelling reading.’

Source: The Times Higher Education Supplement

‘In almost every way (these books) mark a tremendous leap forward. (The New Cambridge History of India) is a detached, post-colonial enterprise and if the volumes which follow preserve the same quality of scholarship and writing then there is a treat in store for all students of sub-continental history. The literary fluency which makes all the volumes an excellent read for lay persons interested in recent Indian history comes, I think, from a deep and intimate knowledge of the subject.’

Source: The Guardian