Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia

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.” It was the British Empire’s crown jewel, home to a quarter of the world’s population. In this vivid history, Sam Dalrymple presents the story of how that empire was unmade, charting the five partitions that carved out twelve modern nations—including not only India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh but also Burma, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar—and created a legacy of war, exile, and division. It’s a story of maps being redrawn in boardrooms and on battlefields, of politicians in London and revolutionaries in Delhi, kings in remote palaces and ordinary citizens swept up in wars. Deeply researched and utterly gripping, Shattered Lands offers a new understanding of modern South Asia, one that brings to light the continuing legacy of empire.