Boot, Hooves and Wheels: And the Social Dynamics behind South Asian Warfare

By Saikat K Bose

The books title has an apparent misnomer—boots were not used in early armies, at least as apparent from temple sculptures which depict bare-bodied and barefooted soldiers.
But is it likely to have been true? Or social reasons led to suppression of footgear on temple walls?
The book explores these and myriad other questions on the military experience of South Asia, hoping to construct a picture of how men, animals, and equipment were used on South Asian battlefields from the end of the Paleolithic till the dawn of our era.
Further, as all that happens on battlefields is no more than the tip of the proverbial iceberg whose submarine mass conceals many cause–effect relationships in a wide variety of fields, the author, adopting a wide fronted approach, examines the evidence of anthropology, literature, mythology, folklore, technology, archaeology, and architecture, to reconstructs the military atmosphere of South Asia beyond the battlefield, which is the aim of this book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: VIJ Books (India) Pty Ltd
• Release date: Jun 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9789384464547

Saikat K Bose

Col Saikat K Bose (Indian Army) survives from personal crisis to personal crisis in the Army. An avid traveler, he loves to nose around places associated with battles and combat, and hopes to make the subject of Battlefield Archaeology popular in his part of the world.