The Raj at War: A People's History of India's Second World War

Description

The story of India's home front in the Second World War, as told by the many lost voices of Indian soldiers and civilians The Second World War was not fought by Britain alone. India produced the largest volunteer army in world history- over 2 million men. But, until now, there has never been a comprehensive account of India's turbulent home front and the nexus between warfare and India's society. In The Raj at War we hear the myriad voices of ordinary Indian people, from the first Indian to win the Victoria Cross to the three soldiers imprisoned as 'traitors to the Raj' who returned to a hero's welcome, from the nurses in Indian General Hospitals to labourers and their families in remote villages. Yasmin Khan presents the overlooked history of India at war, and shows how mobilisation for the war unleashed seismic processes of economic, cultural and social change - decisively shaping the international war effort, the unravelling of the empire and India's own political trajectory.

Yasmin Khan is a British writer and historian. She is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Kellogg College. Her first book, The Great Partition- The Making of India and Pakistan, won the Gladstone Prize from the Royal Historical Society in 2007 and was longlisted for the Orwell Prize in 2008.

Exceptional...balances analysis, history and human compassion in a narrative that leaves one shaken -- Juliet Nicolson, 5 stars * Daily Telegraph * Almost impossible to put down * New Statesman * The Second World War is one of the most written-about episodes in all world history: every month sees a dozen new titles published. Yet, astonishingly, The Raj at War breaks new ground on almost every page -- William Dalrymple * Spectator * A striking example of people's history, packed with anecdotes, memories and information about a shared but largely unwritten global past * Guardian * Unprecedented in scope...rich both in detail and in its unique insights... Khan's history has paved the way for a more complex understanding of the Second World War as India's War -- Vinay Lal * Indian Express * A fascinating, vividly written history full of surprises, some of them shocking * The Times * Yasmin Khan...offers a richly researched social history of wartime India that is peppered with fascinating detail * The Economist * Remarkable Account... Compassionate, judicious and brilliantly readable, this is a compelling account of a dramatic, but little examined, aspect of history * Daily Mail * This fascinating book tells the story of World War Two's impact on India: the shattering of the ordered relations which underpinned the Raj making its end inevitable. It's also a much needed reminder of India's contribution to that war -- Mark Tully This fascinating book tells the story of World War Two's impact on India: the shattering of the ordered relations which underpinned the Raj making its end inevitable. It's also a much needed reminder of India's contribution to that war -- Mark Tully