The Geopolitical Orbits of Ancient India

Abstract

This book explores how the political history of ancient India has transpired in various geographical orbits, the definition of which has long bothered scholars. Contrary to widely held assumptions, there was no fixed boundary line or ‘divide’. The Oxus-Indus orbit is the most popular and well understood geopolitical orbit. The idea can be attributed to T.H. Holdich in the late nineteenth century, when the question of delineating a permanent border between British India and Afghanistan became a crucial issue. This book explores whether such orbits are fixed entities in our geographical understanding of Indian archaeology and history, or whether they should be considered nothing more than useful concepts to understand the geography of the flow of historical events in India. To address this issue, it is necessary to historically trace the persistence of all such orbits throughout the course of political events in ancient India.