Bücher von Kaushik Roy

This book addresses the global history of technology, warfare and state formation from the Stone Age to the Information Age. Using a combination of top-down and bottom-up methodologies, it examines both interstate and intrastate conflicts with a focus on Eurasian technology and warfare. It shows how human agency and structural factors have intertwined, creating a complex web of technology and warfare. It also explores the interplay between technological and non-technological factors to chart the evolution of warfare from its origins to the present day, arguing that the interactions between civilian and military sectors have shaped the use of technology in warfare. Given its scope and depth, it is a valuable resource for researchers in fields such as world history, history of science and technology, history of warfare and imperialism and international relations.

The Indian Army which was the bulwark of the British Empire in South Asia functioned as an imperial fire brigade force during the Great War. The ''brown warriors'' of the Raj defended the British Empire from Belgium and France in the west to Singapore in the east. The Indian Army fought the Kaiserheer and the Ottoman Army in diverse theatres like Flanders, Gallipoli, Salonika, East Africa, Egypt-Syria-Palestine and finally Mesopotamia. Indian society was mobilized toprovide military and non-military manpower as well as economic assets in order to sustain the British imperial war effort. The Indian Army before 1914 was geared to conduct unconventional warfare/irregular warfare against the Indus tribesmen and to police the subcontinent to prevent any anti-Britishuprising. However, between 1914 and 1918 due to the demands of ''Total War'', the Indian Army learnt to conduct high intensity conventional war against the armies of the Central Powers. In fact, it could be argued that during the four years of the First World War, the Indian Army probably exhibited a high learning curve. A force originally geared for waging low intensity warfare became adept, not only for conducting trench warfare within the context of high intensity conventional war in Francebut also mobile mounted warfare across Sinai and in the flat plains of Mesopotamia.

This book challenges the view, common among Western scholars, that precolonial India lacked a tradition of military philosophy. It traces the evolution of theories of warfare in India from the dawn of civilization, focusing on the debate between Dharmayuddha (Just War) and Kutayuddha (Unjust War) within Hindu philosophy. This debate centers around four questions: What is war? What justifies it? How should it be waged? And what are its potential repercussions? This body of literature provides evidence of the historical evolution of strategic thought in the Indian subcontinent that has heretofore been neglected by modern historians. Further, it provides a counterpoint to scholarship in political science that engages solely with Western theories in its analysis of independent India's philosophy of warfare. Ultimately, a better understanding of the legacy of ancient India's strategic theorizing will enable more accurate analysis of modern India's military and nuclear policies.