HISTORY OF WESTERN TRADE AND EDUCATION IN INDIA by Himen Das

Hundreds of books are available on the subject of Indo-American Relations in the perspective of 20th century; but in the perspective of pre 20th century, in which the Indo-American Relations were incepted and developed to a considerable extent, only a few works have been done so far. Some of the scholars even dare to say that Indo-American Relations prior to the Second World War (1939-45) is not tangible. But the reality is this that the Indo-American Relations took place at least in 1780s. This book highlights on it with a lot of information. And it is one of the unique natures of this book.

In nutshell, it is apparent that all the five chapters of this book are so thought provoking and immensely valuable that each of it is carrying seeds at least for five books, if not more. And for researchers of commercial history and Indo-American relations this would be a good hand book with no doubt at all.

Himen Das (b. 1992), a Ph.D. Scholar of  Pondicherry University who hails from the state of Assam in India, is interested mainly in the history of contacts between one country to another country, more clearly Western and Eastern history, which is nothing but Global History. Global History, besides other corners, is the history of mankind. Mankind earns spirit from contact. The history of contact leads us to understand the various aspects of global society— culturally, commercially, mythological, ethnically, economically, and so on. Without contact man becomes a creature of barren land, about which T.S. Elliot, the Nobel Laureate Poet of 1948 wrote symbolically in his world-famous work The Waste Land. Main purpose of history is not to live on waste land but on fertile soil. History is for past, present and future— at least in his understanding.

He reads and writes history with in depth knowledge and clear understanding more particularly in this area. His research topic for Ph.D. is also bordering, and echoing on this horizon— ‘Anti-British Resistance in North East India: 1774-1919’. This is his third book consequently on history at the age of 27 years.

ISBN 81-8324-998-1