Raghavan - Indias war: World War II and the making of modern South Asia

Utterly absorbing Its a sprawlingly multifaceted subject, and Indias War captures it more fully and more authoritatively than any other single volume of popular history has yet managed This is a panoramic and richly researched history of the first order, not to be missed by any student of Indias history Steve Donoghue, The National

Absorbing and important Philip Hensher, Spectator

A highly readable account of one of the more complex and ignored phases of World War II Joseph C. Goulden, Washington Times

A panoramic work, spanning the deliberations of the highest Allied councils of war to the febrile mood on the streets of Kolkata An important story Raghavans splendid history is a reminder not just of Indias historic contribution to the defeat of fascism, but also its geo-political potential throughout the Indo-pacific Shashank Joshi, Financial Times

Raghavans study fulfils his mission in presenting readers with intertwined narratives of military campaigns, international strategies, and the rise of the freedom struggle that was to determine the future of the subcontinent Raghavan highlights India as a power in its own right, rather than a mere bastion of the British Empire Aamer Hussein, Independent

Contains enormous scope and a great depth of detail Nigel Collett, The Diplomat

A fascinating account The history he writes is inspired by the search for a wider horizon for India as a regional superpower beyond the confining frame bequeathed by World War II and the ragged end of British Empire in Asia. It is all the more important and urgent for that Adam Tooze, Wall Street Journal

Rarely does one come across a relatively young analyst being as thoughtful and erudite on questions of war, peace and national strategy, as Dr Srinath Raghavan G.Parthasarathy, New Indian Express

Srinath Raghavan is Senior Research Fellow at the India Institute, Kings College London. He is the author of the highly praised 1971: A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh. He spent six years as an infantry officer in the Indian Army.

Srinath Raghavan

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INDIAS WAR

The Making of Modern South Asia, 19391945

UK | USA | Canada | Ireland | Australia
India | New Zealand | South Africa

Penguin Books is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.

First published by Allen Lane 2016

Published in Penguin Books 2017

Copyright Srinath Raghavan, 2016

Cover images Imperial War Museum/Alamy
Author photograph S.C. Sekhar
Cover design Stoddart&Colao

The moral right of the author has been asserted

ISBN: 978-1-846-14543-8

For Sukanya Venkatachalam

1. Viceroy at bay: Lord Linlithgow

2. Gandhi arrives in Delhi with Rajendra Prasad (left foreground) and Vallabhbhai Patel (far right), October 1939

3. Nehru, Song Meiling and Chiang Kai-shek, September 1939

4. Generals Auchinleck and Wavell

5. Marching to war: Indian students in Lahore, c. 1940

6. Preparing for modern war: Indian infantrymen, c. 1940

7. Clearing a village in Eritrea, 1941

8. An Indian armoured division in Iraq, 1941

9. Securing an oil refinery in Iran, September 1941

10. 4th Indian Division in Tunisia, April 1943

11. Raising of the Free Indian Legion in Berlin, 1942

12. Subhas Bose and Tojo taking the salute in Shonan, 1944

13. General Stilwell inspecting Chinese troops in India, 1942