Reviews
By Dineshchandra Sircar, Anukul Chandra Banerjee, A. B. M. Habibullah
Summary
The review section of this issue evaluates several recent publications. It begins with A C. Banerjee’s assessment of S. T. Srinivasa Iyengar’s posthumous ‘Advanced History of India (Hindu Period)’, edited by Gurty Venkata Rao; Banerjee notes the author’s South Indian perspective, bold claims about Dravidian contributions and lack of evidence but welcomes the extensive use of Tamil sources. Banerjee then reviews N. Venkataramanyya’s ‘The Early Muslim Expansion in South India’, praising its integration of new Hindu and Muslim sources and epigraphic records though regretting the absence of maps and bibliography. The section summarises S. Muhammad Husain Nainar’s doctoral study ‘Arab Geographers’ Knowledge of South India’, which analyses Arabic travelogues and shows that many are compilations of two or three original sources; its tabulated summary helps correct misconceptions and offers valuable notes. Finally, Dines Chandra Sircar reviews V. S. Bendrey’s edition of Kesava Pandita’s ‘Dandanitiprakarana’, providing biographical details of Kesava Bhata, his role in Maratha courts and the treatise’s value for studying Hindu criminal law. Each review situates the work within current historiography and comments on its strengths and weaknesses, offering guidance for scholars.
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Conclusion
The review section provides critical overviews of works on ancient and medieval Indian history. It highlights methodological innovations and gaps, helping readers understand recent scholarship on Hindu political history, Muslim expansion in the south, Arab geographic knowledge and a seventeenth‑century legal treatise.