Western scholars writing of the creation of Pakistan focus on Jinnah as the leading force for its creation. This book introduces us to a wider…
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Tag: History of South Asia
Carelessly planned – Borders and Conflict in South Asia: The Radcliffe Boundary Commission and the Partition of Punjab
Partition caused between 500,00 and 1 million killed in Punjab. Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims fleeing across the new borders numbered between 10 to 16 million.…
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Excellent history – The Ruling Caste: Imperial Lives in the Victorian Raj
This is an excellent book on how the men of the Indian Civil Service worked and lived from Chota hazri to sundown; how a mere…
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A wonderful book – Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire
It is appropriate that I finished reading this book at the stroke of midnight 14 August 2007. This first book by the author is a…
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Untouchability — The Doctor and the Saint: Caste, Race, and Annihilation of Caste
This book was first published as an introduction by Arundhati Roy for an annotated edition of Ambedkar’s pamphlet Annihilation of Caste in 2014. It is…
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Social history – The British in India: Three Centuries of Ambition and Experience
This 2018 book does not focus on the politics of the British Raj. Neither does it focus on famous politicians. Instead, the spotlight is on…
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Unsatisfying read – Splendours of the Subcontinent: A Prince’s Tour of India, 1875-6
This book merits 4 stars only as it could have been more comprehensive to do justice to the unprecedented 4-month tour of the Indian subcontinent…
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The Elgin family
The Elgin family is notorious in history. A father and son were responsible for the desecration of two famous monuments. Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of…
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Well told – The Siege: 68 Hours Inside the Taj Hotel
This is a very good book. I read it with great interest as my wife and I actually stayed in The Taj to attend a…
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Thoroughly researched – Gandhi 1914-1948: The Years That Changed the World
A highly readable and brisk biography of 1000 pages on The Mahatma from his return to India in 1915 to his assassination in 1948 .…
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