[2] The journey in The Discovery of India begins from ancient history, leading up to the last years of the British Raj.

Nehru uses his knowledge of the Upanishads, Vedas, and textbooks on ancient history to introduce to the reader the development of India from the Indus Valley civilization, through the changes in socio-political scenario every foreign invader brought, to the present day conditions.

He gives special mention to four of them namely Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Govind Ballabh Pant, Narendra Deva and Asaf Ali.

The book was first published from Signet Press at Calcutta (now Kolkata), India on March 1946.

[5] [6] The book became the basis of the 53-episode Indian television series Bharat Ek Khoj (1988), directed by Shyam Benegal, first broadcast in 1988 on state-run Doordarshan channel.