General Non-fiction

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William Edward Frere (1811–1880), brother of Sir Bartle Frere, Governor of Bombay, was a Civil Servant who arrived in Bombay in 1830. He began his career as Principal Collector of Surat, and he moved from there to serve the Sudder Diwani Adalat Courts in...

The prime object of this monograph is to review the Indian career of the two Jervis brothers George Risto and Thomas Best with a view to highlighting their pioneering contributions to the cause of rational education and to the dissemination of scientific knowledge which...

Researchers on the Bombay Presidency, epigraphy, and the history and folklore of Karnataka have the advantage of a solid foundation laid by an extraordinary gentleman, John Faithfull Fleet. A British I.C.S. officer, whose love for India and its people is well documented, Fleet held...

Alexander Kinloch Forbes (1821-1865) is best known as the author of Ras Mala, a book on the history and culture of Gujarat. The people of Gujarat know him as an agent of change, a harbinger of modernity, a fountainhead of new ideas and institutions,...

Professor Peter Peterson, a Sanskritist by training, was the last European to be appointed as Professor of Oriental Languages in the Elphinstone College, Bombay. He served as Registrar of the Bombay University for a considerably long period. Peterson was the President of the Bombay...

Dr. George Buist (1805–1860), the editor of the Bombay Times (precursor of the Times of India), merits attention of historians on account of his significant contributions to Indian journalism in its infancy, his contributions to the Society and the civic life of Mumbai in...

“I buy MSS wherever I am able to put my hand on them, which is not at all easy. The Brahmins do not want to part with them and hand them over to people from another faith. Only some deceitful agents are able to...

Largely drawn from original and archival sources, this monograph stands out as a distinctive work on the biography of Philip Anderson: 1816 - 1857.  The monograph sketches Anderson’s contribution in the field of literature. As Chaplain of the Afghan Church in Bombay, the monograph explores his ability to navigate between...

Sir James Mackintosh was born on 24 October 1765, in the Scottish Highlands and came from a humble background. From a young age, he showed an aptitude to achieve high goals and his extraordinary proficiency in studies earned him the name ‘prodigy of learning’....

This monograph attempts to review the writings and research of William Henry Sykes (1790–1872) on India. Sykes came to India to serve as an officer in the East India Company Army. Later he was appointed as the Statistical Reporter of the Deccan. During the...

An attempt is made in this monograph to explore the life and research work of William Erskine (1773–1852), the first Secretary of the Literary Society of Bombay (later the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society of London and now the Asiatic Society of...

A series of 25 monographs on the Founders, Promoters and Guardians of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai, the series expects to prepare meticulously researched monographs based on the primary and fresh source material preserved by the Society, along with that available elsewhere, highlighting the...

Sir George Birdwood can certainly be considered as one of the architects of the city of Bombay in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Although he was trained as a doctor of medicine from the University of Edinburgh, he devoted his life to...

The Role of Women in Hinduism In ancient patriarchal societies, the birth of a girl was generally not welcomed. The daughter was considered the weaker sex and did not have an important role to play in family matters. During the Vedic period, as also in the...

Traditionally, ageing in India was not a problem largely because of the strong family structure. However, change is an essential feature of any society and in India the social structure has been undergoing transformation due to the breakdown of the joint family system, increased...

Translated by Shubhada Kamthe. Traditionally, ageing in India was not a problem largely because of the strong family structure. However, change is an essential feature of any society, and in India the social structure has been undergoing transformation due to the breakdown of the...

In Intimate Death, Marie de Hennezel is a gifted psychologist who works as part of a remarkable team of doctors and nurses in a hospital for the terminally ill in Paris. The men and women who come there do not always know that they...

Co Published with Harper Collins India. This book is a compilation of Devdutt Pattanaik’s articles on culture that break down the complex maze of stories, symbols, and rituals into clear systems and present the significance of myths in making cultures what they are. Book...