यह पुस्तक भारत और विश्व के भौतिक, आर्थिक व मानवीय भूगोल की स्पष्ट और तथ्यपूर्ण व्याख्या प्रस्तुत करती है। UPSC व अन्य प्रतियोगी परीक्षाओं के लिए यह एक विश्वसनीय और मानक संदर्भ ग्रंथ मानी जाती है।

Each candidate aspiring to clear the Civil Services Examination is expected to have adequate knowledge about the elegant aspects of India’s traditions and aspects. This book on Indian Art and Culture has been divided into 16 Chapters covering the different aspects of India’s Heritage and Culture such as Art & Culture: An Introduction, Indian Architecture, Sculpture, Painting, Music, Dance, Theatre & Drama, Cinema, Traditional Martial Art, Social Culture, Religion, Philosophy, Language & Literature, Handicraft, Festivals & Fairs and Miscellaneous, which are asked in theCivil Services Examinations conducted by UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) and State PCS. Exercises with objective questions have been given after each chapter.

Dramatic changes have taken place in the Indian Political scene during the last few years. Not only large number of regional political parties have formed governments in different states, but the Centre also witnessed the formation of coalition governments in 1996, 1998 and 1999. All this has given rise to doubts whether the Parliamentary System of government provided under the Constitution shall be able to copy with the new challenges. No wonder, a demand has been made in certain quarters for replacement of Parliamentary Government by a Presidential System. Further, these changes have also imparted a new meaning to the Federal System in which the various regional parties are playing a key role. All these dimensions have been kept in mind while revising the book. Several chapters have been recast and revised in the light of the latest changes. I am sure, the revised edition of the book would be found very useful by the students, teachers as well as the general readers. I am grateful to all esteemed readers and friends for their useful suggestions which helped me to improve the book. My special thanks are due to Dr. K. K. Wadhwa, Reader in Political Science for the pains taken by him to clarify several vague points. Long discussions with Dr. Wadhwa helped me to clear several doubts and rendered my job of revision of book easy. In the end I must also express my thanks to the Publishers for bringing out the revised edition of this book with remarkable speed