Summary
For centuries, India was the crown jewel of the British Empire, full of natural resources, spices and foods, and well-situated for access to the Asian ports. Great Britain maintained its hold on the subcontinent until 1947, when India was granted its independence. The battle for an independent India took place on many levels and in numerous ways, both peaceful and violent. Mohandas Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah led the movement for a free India. Yet the common quest for liberation pitted these leaders against one another and caused the partitioning of the subcontinent into the nations of India and Pakistan, sparking one of the most turbulent and deadly migrations of populations in history.
Illustrated with full-color and black-and-white photographs, and accompanied by a chronology, bibliography, and further resources The Indian Independence Act of 1947, Updated Edition, continues to impact the world in terms of politics, religion, and culture. Historical spotlights and excerpts from primary source documents are also included.
About the Author(s)
SUSAN MUADDI DARRAJ is associate professor of English at Harford Community College in Bel Air, Maryland. She completed her M.A. in English literature at Rutgers University-Camden and has authored several titles for Chelsea House. Her book of short fiction, The Inheritance of Exile, was published in 2007. She currently serves as senior editor of the literary journal The Baltimore Review.