ABSTRACT
In 1813, as James Mill finished his great work on India, the first attempt in any language to give a comprehensive account of Indian history and culture, he wrote of the difficulties that confronted him as he struggled to make a coherent story from the confusing mass of materials that he had discovered. His conclusion was that there were only two possibilities for the historian: “Either he must resolve to observe minutely a part; or he must resolve to make a cursory review of the whole. Life is insufficient for more.” 1
