From the perspective of history and art history, B. N. Goswamy and Barbara Ramusack note that for thousands of years, India witnessed the rise and fall of great empires. When the last of these declined in the eighteenth century, the princely states that contended for their power soon confronted a new and different kind of rival, the British East India Company. What happened to the Indian princely states, and why are they important in Indian history?
At the time of the interview, Goswamy, a Fellow at the National Humanities Center (1986-87), was professor of art history at Panjab University in Chandigarh, India. Ramusack, also a Fellow at the Center (1986-87), was professor of history at the University of Cincinnati.
This edition of Soundings was conducted by Wayne J. Pond.
