ABSTRACT
This essay concentrates on the linkages between war and society with a strong historiographic bent. The bulk of this essay will deal with India for two reasons. Firstly, there was no Pakistan before 1947 and no Bangladesh before 1971. Nepal, Bhutan, and Sikkim play marginal roles in the evolution of warfare and society in the subcontinent. Secondly, the sheer size and demographic resources of India overwhelm the other countries of South Asia put together. Within the rubric of the war and society approach, this essay will also include technological developments and evolution of polities until the present era. The focus will mostly be on land warfare, as naval warfare played a marginal role in South Asia’s history and the air force came into play only in the 1930s. The central issue of Indian military history is repeated conquests of the subcontinent, despite its huge demographic and economic resources, by a small number of foreigners until the early modern era. Chariot-borne nomads who came through the north-west frontier passes were the first wave; mounted nomads along the same route composed the second wave; the third and last wave was the coming of the British from the sea. The theme of British conquest is related with the nature of professionalism of the armed forces in postcolonial South Asia.
