Shameful Flight: The Last Years of the British Empire in IndiaBritain's precipitous and ill-planned disengagement from India in 1947--condemned as a "shameful flight" by Winston Churchill--had a truly catastrophic effect on South Asia, leaving hundreds of thousands of people dead in its wake and creating a legacy of chaos, hatred, and war that has lasted over half a century. Ranging from the fall of Singapore in 1942 to the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi in 1948, Shameful Flight provides a vivid behind-the-scenes look at Britain's decision to divest itself from the crown jewel of its empire. Stanley Wolpert, a leading authority on Indian history, paints memorable portraits of all the key participants, including Gandhi, Churchill, Attlee, Nehru, and Jinnah, with special focus on British viceroy, Lord Louis Mountbatten. Wolpert places the blame for the catastrophe largely on Mountbatten, the flamboyant cousin of the king, who rushed the process of nationhood along at an absurd pace. The viceroy's worst blunder was the impetuous drawing of new border lines through the middle of Punjab and Bengal. Virtually everyone involved advised Mountbatten that to partition those provinces was a calamitous mistake that would unleash uncontrollable violence. Indeed, as Wolpert shows, civil unrest among Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs escalated as Independence Day approached, and when the new boundary lines were announced, arson, murder, and mayhem erupted. Partition uprooted over ten million people, 500,000 to a million of whom died in the ensuing inferno. Here then is the dramatic story of a truly pivotal moment in the history of India, Pakistan, and Britain, an event that ignited fires of continuing political unrest that still burn in South Asia. |
Contents
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The Last Years of the British Empire in India 2 From Crippss Failure to the Failure of the Congress Partys Quit India Movement AprilOctober 1942 | 35 |
The Last Years of the British Empire in India 3 From Gandhis Fast through the First Year of Wavells Viceroyalty January 1943July 1944 | 53 |
The Last Years of the British Empire in India 4 Summit Failures and Cabinet Obstacles August 1944July 1945 | 67 |
The Last Years of the British Empire in India 5 From the End of World War II through the Cabinet Mission August 1945June 1946 | 89 |
The Last Years of the British Empire in India 6 The Interim Government JuneDecember 1946 | 109 |
The Last Years of the British Empire in India 7 Lord Mountbattens Last Chukka December 1946June 1947 | 129 |
The Last Years of the British Empire in India 8 Partitioned Transfer of Power JuneAugust 1947 | 153 |
The Last Years of the British Empire in India 9 Freedoms Wooden Loaf SeptemberDecember 1947 | 173 |
The Last Years of the British Empire in India 10 IndoPak War over Kashmir October 1947July 1948 | 183 |
The Last Years of the British Empire in India NOTES | 195 |
The Last Years of the British Empire in India BIBLIOGRAPHY | 223 |
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Shameful Flight: The Last Years of the British Empire in India Stanley A. Wolpert No preview available - 2006 |
Common terms and phrases
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