Books of this sort germinate, grow and ripen in mysterious ways. Yet one thing is clear. Over years of teaching, reading, and immersing myself in fieldwork in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, many colleagues and friends, perhaps unbeknown to them, helped shape my thinking about South Asian history generally, and about this book in particular. Those to whom I am especially indebted include Said Arjomand, Akeel Bilgrami, Jerry Brennig, Carl Ernst, Munis Faruqui, Barry Flood, Stewart Gordon, Najaf Haider, Harbans Mukhia, Laura Parodi, Shelly Pollock, Ajay Rao, Rajat Ray, Ronit Ricci, Francis Robinson, Samira Sheikh, David Shulman, Ramya Sreenivasan, Audrey Truschke, Phil Wagoner, and André Wink. I also wish to thank those who offered useful comments at talks I gave at the University of California at Berkeley, Vanderbilt University, Jahangirnagar University, Cambridge University’s Trinity College, St Andrews University, and Yale University. For sharpening my focus on what this book is really about, I owe special thanks to Özlem Ayse Özgür. I alone, however, am responsible for any mistakes that might remain.
For his sound advice and steadfast support, I am deeply grateful to Simon Winder and his talented team at Penguin. Linden Lawson’s meticulous copyediting proved immensely valuable. In different ways, many others helped me in this project. For their warm hospitality in Hyderabad (Deccan), I thank V. K. Bawa and Frauke Quader; in Bangalore, Amar Kumar; and in Dhaka, Perween Hasan. I thank Gail Bernstein for commenting on early drafts, Lois Kain for her expert work in preparing the maps, and the staffs at the University of Arizona Main Library and the Chillicothe & Ross County Public Library for their able assistance. I am also grateful to my dean, J. P. Jones, for generously granting me sufficient leave time to complete this project.
That might never have happened, however, were it not for the tranquility and the fellowship of my sister Beth’s lovely farm in the Appalachian foothills. The following chapters were drafted in the walnut-panelled hallway of her rambling, nineteenth-century farmhouse, surrounded by fields of corn and soybeans. It was a delightful place to work – inscribed on the brick and stone hearth was an old Scottish adage: ‘East, West, Hame’s Best’. On occasion, I might spot an eagle soaring high in the skies outside, or hear the sound of horses galloping along the pasture fence that lay only a few meters beyond the hallway’s big front door. I dedicate this book to those treasured days.