ABSTRACT
The politically defined India of the turn of the millennium is deeply rooted in an India that was defined socially. For centuries, actually for millennia, Indian identity was determined not primarily in political terms but in social terms. As a political system, India has existed only since 1947. As a social system, India has existed for millennia. Independent India—the democracy that emerged from British India—was a new nation. Before 1947 there was no Indian state— there were states within India. But there was still an India before 1947—defined not as a political but as a social and cultural identity. Before there was a political India there was a social India.
