The great Partition : the making of India and Pakistan / Yasmin Khan.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [233]-242) and index.

Timeline of major events, 1945-1950 -- Introduction : the plan -- 1. In the shadow of war -- 2. Changing regime -- 3. The unravelling Raj -- 4. The collapse of trust -- 5. From breakdown to breakdown -- 6. Untangling two nations -- 7. Blood on the tracks -- 8. Leprous daybreak -- 9. Bitter legacies -- 10. Divided families.

"The Partition of India in 1947 promised its people both political and religious freedom - through the liberation of India from British rule and the creation of the Muslim state of Pakistan. Instead, the geographical divide brought displacement and death, and benefited the few at the expense of the very many." "Yasmin Khan examines the context, execution and aftermath of Partition, weaving together local politics and ordinary lives with the largo political forces at play. She exposes the widespread obliviousness to what Partition would entail in practice and how it would affect the populace. Drawing together fresh information from an array of sources, Khan underscores the catastrophic human cost and shows why the repercussions of Partition resound even now, some sixty years later. The book is an intelligent and timely analysis of Partition, the haste and recklessness with which it was completed and the damaging legacy left in its wake."--BOOK JACKET.