Notwithstanding the views of a section of historians and literati, spiritual, religious, and cultural continuity in India goes back many millennia. Identification with, and adoration of, the land was expressed in the sixty-three verses long Prithvi Sukta of the Atharva Veda, described as the first “national song” in the world. Veneration of the land remained a recurrent theme in sacred literature. Kautilya, in the Arthasastra, articulated the ideal of political unification, when he said that from the Himalayas to the seas, the land should have one ruler. That ideal was accompanied by a consciousness of cultural union. Paithinasi, reputed author of a work on dharma sastra belonging to the Atharva Veda, stated that dharma stood on four legs (i.e. it was fully developed) from the Himalayas to Kanya Kumari. Evidence of continuity of religious beliefs and motifs could be traced to the late Upper Palaeolithic (c. 9000-8000) site of Baghor I (Sidhi district, Madhya Pradesh), to the celebrated Indus Valley Civilization, and well thereafter. Rulers of foreign origin, who ruled over parts of the north-western regions for significant periods, wholly immersed themselves in the spiritual traditions of the land. Ancient lawgivers facilitated the assimilation of foreign groups within the capacious embrace of Indian civilization. Things took a dramatically new turn with the advent of a new group of invaders in the eighth century ce. The book highlights the underlying features of Indian civilization, that were manifest from its founding moments, and that remained unchanged over the millennia. Contents: Preface Section A The Making of Early India 1. Mapping the Landscape 2. Veneration of the Land 3. The Notion of Aryavarta 4. Sources of Dharma 5. Movement Beyond the Land of the Seven Rivers 6. The Movement Southwards 7. The First Civilization and Its Continuities 8. Cult of the Pillar – Another Case of Continuity 9. A Fundamental Harmony 10. Images, Temples, and Participation of All 11. Sacred Literature – A Common Wellspring 12. They Came and Were Conquered 13. Influx of Hunas 14. The Maligned Lawgivers Section B The Advent of Islam 15. The Advent of Islam 16. Mahmud Ghaznavi, Muhammad Ghori 17. Resistance to Muslim Invaders Documented in Inscriptions 18. Why Early Foreigners Became Part of the Indic-fold, Not Later Ones 19. Living Together Separately – The New Normal References Index About the Author: Meenakshi Jain is a historian interested in cultural and religious developments in ancient and medieval India. Her recent publications include Vasudeva Krishna and Mathura (2021); Flight of Deities and Rebirth of Temples (2019); The Battle for Rama: Case of the Temple at Ayodhya (2017); Sati: Evangelicals, Baptist Missionaries, and the Changing Colonial Discourse (2016); Rama and Ayodhya (2013); The India They Saw: Foreign Accounts of India from the 8th to mid-19th Century, 3 vols., (2011); and Parallel Pathways (2010). In 2020, she was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for her contribution in the field of literature and education.