As recently as 1928, a vast region spanning twelve of today’s Asian countries—India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, Bhutan, Yemen, Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait—were bound together as a single entity known as the Indian Empire, or simply the Raj. In less than 50 years after 1928, this Indian empire was shattered by five partitions, which created new nations, redrew maps, led to mass migrations, and left behind a legacy of conflict that still haunts the region. What led to these partitions and the creation of new nations? And why is studying these partitions important today in a globalised world? In this episode, Sam Dalrymple joins us to answer these questions.

References:

1. Sam Dalrymple: Website, X, Instagram, Substack
2. Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia by Sam Dalrymple
3. Project Dastaan
4. Aanchal Malhotra, Kavita Puri, Anirudh Kanisetti
5. Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon from the movie Patanga, sung by Shamshad Begum and C. Ramachandra
6. Quote from Jinnah’s Speech, 11 August 1947:
7. Vajpayee: The Ascent of the Hindu Right, 1924–1977 by Abhishek Choudhary
8. Believer’s Dilemma: Vajpayee and the Hindu Right's Path to Power, 1977–2018 by Abhishek Choudhary
9. Gandhi’s Assassin: The Making of Nathuram Godse and His Idea of India by Dhirendra K. Jha