The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the history of South Asia.
The broader region in and around the historical Indian subcontinent, which includes the contemporary geopolitical entities of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and the island countries of Maldives and Sri Lanka.
Notes Different periods are designated as "classical Hinduism": References Sources James Mill (1773–1836), in his The History of British India (1817), distinguished three phases in the history of India, namely Hindu, Muslim, and British civilisations.
[1] Romila Thapar notes that the division into Hindu-Muslim-British periods of Indian history gives too much weight to "ruling dynasties and foreign invasions",[2] neglecting the social-economic history which often showed a strong continuity.
[2] The division into Ancient-Medieval-Modern periods overlooks the fact that the Muslim conquests occurred gradually during which time many things came and went off, while the south was never completely conquered.