Indian summer : the secret history of the end of an empire /

At midnight on August 15, 1947, 400 million people were liberated from the British Empire. With the loss of India, its greatest colony, Britain ceased to be a superpower. This defining moment was brought about by a handful of people: Jawaharlal Nehru, the fiery Indian prime minister; Mohammed Ali Ji...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Von Tunzelmann, Alex, 1977-
Format: Book
Language:English
Published: New York : Henry Holt and Co., 2007.
Edition:1st ed.
Subjects:
Online Access:Table of contents only
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Summary:At midnight on August 15, 1947, 400 million people were liberated from the British Empire. With the loss of India, its greatest colony, Britain ceased to be a superpower. This defining moment was brought about by a handful of people: Jawaharlal Nehru, the fiery Indian prime minister; Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the leader of the new Islamic Republic of Pakistan; Mohandas Gandhi, the mystical figure who enthralled a nation; and Louis and Edwina Mountbatten, the glamorous but unlikely couple sent to get Britain out of India. Within hours, their dreams would turn to chaos, bloodshed, and war. Behind the scenes, a secret personal drama was also unfolding, as Edwina Mountbatten and Jawaharlal Nehru began a passionate love affair. Their romance developed alongside Cold War conspiracies, the beginning of a terrible conflict in Kashmir, and an epic sweep of events that saw one million people killed and ten million dispossessed.--From publisher description.
Physical Description:x, 401 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm.
Bibliography:Includes bibliographical references (pages [375]-382) and index.
ISBN:9780805080735
0805080732