| Summary/Abstract |
In India historical knowledge was always given importance to the extent
that Kautilya’s Arthashashtra prescribes that king must spend his
afternoon hearing the Itihas Puranas from knowledgeable scholars.
The Puranas were the preserve of Indian history. Subsequently, much
of the historical knowledge has been enshrined in Sanskrit literature,
dealing with the various subjects and aspects of Indian society. After
the arrival of the Mughals a tradition of court historiography began
where rulers commissioned the historical account of their reigns. This
has not been the tradition in India during the pre-Mughal periods.
Whatever was written was written by independent scholars. With the
advent of Europeans, history of India started being written by them.
This can be divided into two phases.
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