
Defining a Nation
India on the Eve of Independence, 1945
The University of North Carolina Press
Published on 30. July 2022
Book
Paperback/Softback
100 pages
978-1-4696-7079-9 (ISBN)
Description
Defining a Nation is set at Simla, in the foothills of the Himalayas, where the British viceroy has invited leaders of various religious and political constituencies to work out the future of Britain's largest colony. Will the British transfer power to the Indian National Congress, which claims to speak for all Indians? Or will a separate Muslim state&8213;Pakistan&8213;be carved out of India to be ruled by Muslims, as the Muslim League proposes? And what will happen to the vulnerable minorities&8213;such as the Sikhs and untouchables&8213;or the hundreds of princely states? As British authority wanes, tensions among Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs smolder and increasingly flare into violent riots that threaten to ignite all India. Towering above it all is the frail but formidable figure of Gandhi, whom some revere as an apostle of nonviolence and others regard as a conniving Hindu politician. Students struggle to reconcile religious identity with nation building&8213;perhaps the most intractable and important issue of the modern world. Texts include the literature of Hindu revival (Chatterjee, Tagore, and Tilak); the Koran and the literature of Islamic nationalism (Iqbal); and the writings of Ambedkar, Nehru, Jinnah, and Gandhi.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Chapel Hill
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
2 halftones, 1 tables
Dimensions
Height: 280 mm
Width: 216 mm
Thickness: 6 mm
Weight
276 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4696-7079-9 (9781469670799)
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E-Book
07/2022
The University of North Carolina Press
€19.49
Available for download
Persons
Ainslie T. Embree was professor of history emeritus at Columbia University.
Mark C. Carnes is professor of history at Barnard College.
Mark C. Carnes is professor of history at Barnard College.