79-156 Introduction to Indian History: From the Mughals to Modi

9 units, Carnegie Mellon University

This class covers the roughly 500-year period that constitutes "modern India" from the establishment of the Mughal Empire in the subcontinent to the ascent of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP. This course will trace the rule of the Mughals, the arrival of Europeans, the British East India Company and the British Raj, the Indian nationalist movement, and focus extensively on post-independence Indian history (often ignored or short-changed in Indian surveys). In addition to providing a chronological narrative of the recent Indian past, this class will analyze the use and interpretation of history within post-independence and contemporary political debates between the Indian National Congress and Hindu nationalists along with the intersections of history and intellectual and pop culture.

Prerequisites: none listed

Offered: Spring 2026

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