This pathbreaking study provides the first comprehensive examination of India-China interactions in the broader contexts of Asian and world history. By focusing on material exchanges, transmissions of knowledge and technologies, networks of exchange during the colonial period, and little-known facets of interactions between the Republic of India and the People’s Republic of China, Tansen Sen argues convincingly that the analysis of India-China connections must extend beyond the traditional frameworks of nation-states or bilateralism. Instead, he demonstrates that a wide canvas of space, people, objects, and timeframe is needed to fully comprehend the interactions between India and China in the past and during the contemporary period. Considering as well the contributions of people and groups from beyond India and China, Sen also explores the interactions between Indians and Chinese outside the Asian continent. The author’s formidable array of sources, pulled from archives and libraries around the world, range from Chinese travel accounts to Indian intelligence reports. Examining the connected histories of the two regions, Sen fills a striking gap in the study of India and China in a global setting.

"This book [is] a timely reminder of the long relationship between these two cultures, and of their generally peaceful concord." - Week in China

"India, China, and the World: A Connected History is a big book with equally large ambitions. . . [it] covers everything from the movement of people, objects, and ideas across the ancient Silk Road up to the formation of the contemporary One Belt, One Road Initiative. Rather than simply depicting the flows between South Asia and China as traveling along a one-way street, the author does an admirable job of demonstrating how those movements were circulatory. . . . This book will make for engaging reading for specialists and general readers who are interested in the longue durée history of exchanges between India and China." - Journal of Asian Humanities at Kyushu University

"This book [is] a timely reminder of the long relationship between these two cultures, and of their generally peaceful concord." - Week in China