Pre partition India mainly consisted of British controlled areas and sovereign princely states which were not fully and formally part of British India. In a call for independence from British Rule, Cyril Radcliffe, who had never been to India was given less than 40 days to draw up the new borders based on outdated mapsContinue reading “How India, Pakistan and Bangladesh were formed”
Category Archives: History
The Partition of India: A Brief Timeline
British Rule The British arrived in India in the 1600s, In 1858 the country came under direct British rule; this began the period known as the Raj, meaning “to rule” or “kingdom” in Hindi. At the time, dominant religious groups in the country included Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs. The British colonised this large nation throughContinue reading “The Partition of India: A Brief Timeline”
The Patiala Necklace; designed by Cartier
In 1928, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala arrived at Cartier’s headquarters in Paris. He presented 2,930 diamonds, including one inherited from his father which was the world’s seventh-largest diamond at the time, with a pre-cut weight of 428 carat; the ’De Beers’. He asked the famed Parisian jewellers to make him a necklace. They obligedContinue reading “The Patiala Necklace; designed by Cartier”
The Relationship between Nehru and Edwina Mountbatten
The relationship between Jawaharlal Nehru and Edwina Mountbatten of Burma, was indeed ubiquitous. There is a hum of agreement that Lady Mountbatten held strong influence, even in brokering talks between Nehru’s India and Imperial Britain, represented by her husband. But their relationship transcended the bloody politics that introduced them.Lady Mountbatten and Nehru shared a deeplyContinue reading “The Relationship between Nehru and Edwina Mountbatten”
British Sport: Paki-Bashing
The United Kingdom has seen waves of South Asian immigration. Following World War II and Indian Independence from British rule, Britain encouraged South Asians to emigrate to repair their broken nation. In the 1950s to 1970s, immigrants were usually manual labourers working in industrial settings. The ‘80s and ‘90s saw a shift to immigrants trainedContinue reading “British Sport: Paki-Bashing”
Operation Blue Star: The Indian Army’s blood-stained operation which led to the death of thousands of Sikhs
In June 1984, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ordered the Indian Army storm the Golden Temple – one of the holiest Sikh shrines, which led to her assassination and the killing of thousands of Sikhs. ‘Operation Blue Star’ which lasted from 1st to 8th June was an attempt to flush out Sikh separatists led by JarnailContinue reading “Operation Blue Star: The Indian Army’s blood-stained operation which led to the death of thousands of Sikhs”
The burning and rebuilding of Jaffna Public Library
At midnight on 31st May 1981, the prestigious Jaffna Public Library was set ablaze by Sri Lankan security forces and state-sponsored Sinhala mobs. The library housed over 97,000 rare books and manuscripts, positioning it as one of the largest in Asia and the foremost repository of Tamil literature and culture. Library’s Origins The library wasContinue reading “The burning and rebuilding of Jaffna Public Library”
Postcards from the Past: Mom
I don’t really tell this story too much because I never felt I had the complete rights to tell it, but since, I’ve begun to see the parallels. This story feels like the start of my own story. It’s shaped my core.When my mom was 16, her father died, plunging her family into poverty. MyContinue reading “Postcards from the Past: Mom”
India & WW2
3rd September 1939, Lord Viceroy Lithlingow pledged Indians as cattle, without any consultation, in the war against Germany. While, as a colony, they could not contest – Indians used this as a vantage point to bargain for their independence.Young Sikh men volunteered and expanded the Indian army from 189,000 to 2.5 million, despite only accountingContinue reading “India & WW2”
The Swadeshi Movement
In the 1830s, the British East India Company educated select Indians, mainly from Calcutta, described by Thomas Babington Macaulay as ‘a class of persons Indian in blood and colour, but English in tastes, in opinions, in morals and in intellect’.In 1858, Queen Victoria announced ‘equal opportunity’ for all races and the ambitious young Indians feltContinue reading “The Swadeshi Movement”