Raj : the making and unmaking of British India

This is an account of British rule in India. It is the remarkable story of how the British made themselves masters of the subcontinent in less than a century, and then ruled it for a further century before departing in 1947, leaving behind the independent states of India and Pakistan.British rule taught Indians to see themselves as Indians, and its benefits included railways, hospitals, law, and a universal language.

But the Raj, outwardly so monolithic and magnificent, was always precarious.

Its masters knew that it rested ultimately on the goodwill of Indians.The subject is one rich in incident and character; the India of the Raj was that of Clive, Kipling, Curzon, Gandhi, and a host of lesser-known figures.

The author aims to shed new light on Mountbatten and the events of 1946-47 which ended an exercise in benign autocracy and an experiment in altruism.