ABSTRACT
This chapter concentrates on the linkages between war and society with a strong historiographic bent. The bulk of the chapter deals with India for two reasons. Firstly, there was no Pakistan before 1947 and no Bangladesh before 1971. Nepal, Bhutan, and Sikkim play marginal roles in the evolution of warfare and society in the subcontinent. Secondly, the sheer size and demographic resources of India overwhelm the other countries of South Asia put together. Within the rubric of the war and society approach, the chapter also includes technological developments and evolution of polities until the present era. The imperialist school was concerned with the rise of British power in India. The proponents of this school argue that before the advent of the British, India lacked standing armies and bureaucratic state structures. Imperialist scholars began a debate about who were the original inhabitants of India.
