James Mill (17731836), in his The History of British India (1817), distinguished three phases in the history of

India, namely Hindu, Muslim and British civilisations. This periodisation has been influential, but has also been
criticised for the misconceptions it gave rise to. Another influential periodisation is the division into "ancient,
classical, medieval and modern periods", although this periodisation has also been criticised.[26]
Romila Thapar notes that the division into Hindu-Muslim-British periods of Indian history gives too much weight to
"ruling dynasties and foreign invasions",[27]neglecting the social-economic history which often showed a strong
continuity.[27] 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.[27] According to Thapar, a periodisation could also be based on "significant social and economic
changes", which are not strictly related to a change of ruling powers.[28][note 1]