Overview

As recently as 1928, a vast swath of Asia stretching from the Red Sea to the borders of Thailand was bound together under a single imperial banner, an entity known officially as the “Indian Empire” or, more simply, as the Raj. It was the British Empire’s crown jewel, home to a quarter of the world’s population. In the span of just fifty years, that empire shattered. Five partitions tore it apart, carving it into twelve modern nations, including not only India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, but also Burma, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. In vivid and compulsively readable prose, Sam Dalrymple presents, for the first time, the whole story of how the Indian Empire was unmade. It’s a story of maps being redrawn in boardrooms and on battlefields, bumbling politicians in London and idealist revolutionaries in Delhi, kings in remote palaces and ordinary citizens swept up in wars and mass migrations. It is a history of ambition and betrayal, of forgotten wars and unlikely alliances, of borders carved with ink and fire. And it has left behind a legacy of exile and division. It began in 1937, when Burma was carved out of India, to devastating result. The partition of the Arabian Peninsula started the same year with the separation of Aden and was completed in 1947 with the transfer of the Gulf States. Also in 1947 was the “Great Partition,” culminating in the largest forced migration in history and the creation of Pakistan, swiftly followed by the partition of Princely India. Finally, in 1971, the fledgling nation of Pakistan was itself torn apart, and Bangladesh was born. Based on deep archival research, previously untranslated sources, and hundreds of interviews in English, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Punjabi, Konyak, Arabic, and Burmese, Shattered Lands is an utterly gripping history that offers a new understanding of modern South Asia—one that brings to light the continuing legacy of empire.

Full Product Details

9781324123781

Table of Contents

Reviews

A sparkling debut by an outstanding young historian.--Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads A vivid account that is meticulous and memorable in detail and authoritative in its ambitious sweep. This is a stunning and assured debut, by an important new voice in narrative history and a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the making of modern Asia.--Kavita Puri, author of Partition Voices Excellent...It is a disturbing story of hatred, violence and treachery....[P]acked with riveting detail.--Martin Chilton ""Independent"" It is as if the tight-lipped reticence of our fathers and grandfathers has at last been unleashed, and we hear this epic tale of the Decline and Fall of the Raj for the first time, mingled with the proud struggle for freedom, independence and identity. This is a vast and intricate investigation, with an impressive geographical and political reach but skilfully combined with a page-turning focus on the principal players, their crimes, lovers, ideals and agents.--Barnaby Rogerson, author of A House Divided It is astonishing that this story has not been told before. Both essential and irresistible reading--an unputdownable book.--Eugene Rogan, author of The Damascus Events This is a book that combines scholarship with a flair for narrative story-telling of the highest order.--Hugh Thomson ""Spectator"" This richly researched and vividly written book tells the story of how a colossal and powerful Empire was broken up into many distinct nation-states. The narrative is peopled by a wide range of characters: arrogant imperialists, ambitious nationalists, self-absorbed princes, passionate dissidents, suffering refugees. Through these individual lives, Sam Dalrymple deftly explores the persisting fault-lines of language, ethnicity, religion, and nation. An impressive debut by a gifted and very energetic young writer.--Ramachandra Guha, author of Gandhi: The Years that Changed the World Shattered Lands is a vivid, unputdownable account of the collapse of the Indian Empire. With clarity and narrative flair, Sam Dalrymple reimagines 'Partition' as a series of upheavals, far more layered than commonly acknowledged--tracing its unique implications on geography, language, citizenship, economy, daily life and the aspect of belonging. From monarchs and soldiers to ordinary citizens, he brings to life the many protagonists of this colossal rupture with nuance and intimacy. Both expansive and incisive, this is history recovered and restored to public memory.--Aanchal Malhotra, author of Remnants of a Separation A stunning achievement. Shattered Lands reframes the story of South Asia with rare empathy and elegance, breathing life into the legacies of the partitions that shape a quarter of our world today.--Thant Myint-U, author of The Hidden History of Burma Remarkable....Shattered Lands speaks powerfully to our present moment....The prose is vivid, the storytelling cinematic, and Dalrymple draws together forgotten archives from Aden to Assam. Above all, there is a refusal to mythologise, and instead a clear-eyed history that lays bare the possibilities foreclosed by the region's fragmentation.--Nishad Sanzagiri ""Guardian""

""Remarkable….Shattered Lands speaks powerfully to our present moment….The prose is vivid, the storytelling cinematic, and Dalrymple draws together forgotten archives from Aden to Assam. Above all, there is a refusal to mythologise, and instead a clear-eyed history that lays bare the possibilities foreclosed by the region’s fragmentation."" -- Nishad Sanzagiri - Guardian ""This is a book that combines scholarship with a flair for narrative story-telling of the highest order."" -- Hugh Thomson - Spectator ""Excellent…It is a disturbing story of hatred, violence and treachery….[P]acked with riveting detail."" -- Martin Chilton - Independent ""A sparkling debut by an outstanding young historian."" -- Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads ""It is astonishing that this story has not been told before. Both essential and irresistible reading—an unputdownable book."" -- Eugene Rogan, author of The Damascus Events ""This richly researched and vividly written book tells the story of how a colossal and powerful Empire was broken up into many distinct nation-states. The narrative is peopled by a wide range of characters: arrogant imperialists, ambitious nationalists, self-absorbed princes, passionate dissidents, suffering refugees. Through these individual lives, Sam Dalrymple deftly explores the persisting fault-lines of language, ethnicity, religion, and nation. An impressive debut by a gifted and very energetic young writer."" -- Ramachandra Guha, author of Gandhi: The Years that Changed the World ""A stunning achievement. Shattered Lands reframes the story of South Asia with rare empathy and elegance, breathing life into the legacies of the partitions that shape a quarter of our world today."" -- Thant Myint-U, author of The Hidden History of Burma ""It is as if the tight-lipped reticence of our fathers and grandfathers has at last been unleashed, and we hear this epic tale of the Decline and Fall of the Raj for the first time, mingled with the proud struggle for freedom, independence and identity. This is a vast and intricate investigation, with an impressive geographical and political reach but skilfully combined with a page-turning focus on the principal players, their crimes, lovers, ideals and agents."" -- Barnaby Rogerson, author of A House Divided ""Shattered Lands is a vivid, unputdownable account of the collapse of the Indian Empire. With clarity and narrative flair, Sam Dalrymple reimagines ‘Partition’ as a series of upheavals, far more layered than commonly acknowledged—tracing its unique implications on geography, language, citizenship, economy, daily life and the aspect of belonging. From monarchs and soldiers to ordinary citizens, he brings to life the many protagonists of this colossal rupture with nuance and intimacy. Both expansive and incisive, this is history recovered and restored to public memory."" -- Aanchal Malhotra, author of Remnants of a Separation ""A vivid account that is meticulous and memorable in detail and authoritative in its ambitious sweep. This is a stunning and assured debut, by an important new voice in narrative history and a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the making of modern Asia."" -- Kavita Puri, author of Partition Voices

Author Information

Sam Dalrymple is a historian, filmmaker, and cofounder of Project Dastaan, a peace-building initiative that reconnects refugees displaced by the 1947 partition of India. He graduated from the University of Oxford as a Persian and Sanskrit scholar, and lives in Delhi.

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