I’m looking for a book that covers, or at least focuses on, pre-independence Indian history maybe in the same style as Albert Hourani’s A History of Arab Peoples. I’m having trouble finding a non euro-centric book that doesn’t try to primarily address independence or efforts towards modernity. In Fareed Zakaria’s books and various articles/essays, when he refers to India he usually references Nehru’s books*. Anyone have other suggestions?
*Which my local library (and network) don’t possess. 
Don’t know if this stops too short for you, but Romila Thapar’s Early India:* From the Origins to AD 1300* ( 2002, University of California Press ) is well regarded, an updating of sorts of an earlier classic work published in 1966. As far as non-European goes, she is a very prominent Indian historian of Indian extraction, emeritus from an Indian university. However…
It should be noted that the Hindutva crowd in India do not think highly of her. She’s been a vocal critic of what she sees as nationalistic revisionism of history texts and her own work hews closer to the wider consensus that I believe some ardent Hindis have indeed decried as “Eurocentric.”
ETA: Here’s her wiki page, if you want more details.
Thank you Tamerlane, I read some of it from Google preview and I think I’ll pick it up.
As far as euro-centric, what I was aiming for was not written by a British guy actively involved in the occupation. I also want to avoid the Hindu fundamentalists on the other side. She easily falls between the two.
This is a good general history: http://www.amazon.com/India-History-John-Keay/dp/0802137970/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254305475&sr=8-1
Romila Thapar is, in general, a good general historian, and I would turn to her book in the first instance for a general overview, with emphasis on ancient history. For recent Indian history, I can highly recommend India After Gandhi by Ramachandra Guha. I have also read and enjoyed A New History of India by Stanley Wolpert, but this is somewhat dated now. I have also heard good things about (but have not personally read) A Concise History of Modern India.
If anything, I would see that as a point in her favour. The Hindutva crowd in India, if you’ll forgive me for saying so, are a bunch of loonies ranging from the midly eccentric to the frighteningly raving. I think Thapar’s credentials as a historian are far more weighty than their rantings.
Hey I was looking for something like this, too. Thanks!
I came in here to recommend India after Gandhi by Guha. Excellent book.
Thank you snoopygal, Dervorin and Lantern for your suggestions.