The Indian Army and the End of the Raj

A unique examination of the role of the Indian army in post-World War II India during the run-up to Partition.

Daniel Marston (Author)

9781316635513, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 17 November 2016

400 pages, 12 b/w illus. 5 maps
23 x 15.3 x 2 cm, 0.59 kg

'Marston's work is eminently readable and presents a very clear analysis of what strengths the Army of the Raj was able to draw upon to overcome civil and political disorder. His use of a myriad of primary sources further reinforces his thesis and position. His is not a study of the individual soldier but their reminisces and that of their peers and commanders are the basis upon which the work is built … Marston's book is an outstanding work and deserves the closest of review.' Chris Buckham, War History Online (warhistoryonline.com)

The Partition of British India in 1947 resulted in the establishment of the independent states of India and Pakistan and the end of the British Raj. The decision to divide British India along religious lines led to widespread upheaval and communal violence in the period leading up to and following the official day of independence, 15 August 1947. In this book, Daniel Marston provides a unique examination of the role of the Indian army in post-World War II India. He draws upon extensive research into primary source documents and interviews with veterans of the events of 1947 to provide fresh insight into the vital part that the Indian Army played in preserving law and order in the region. This rigorous book fills a significant gap in the historiography of the British in India and will be invaluable to those studying the British Empire and South Asia more generally.

Introduction
1. The bedrock of the Raj: the Indian Army before 1939
2. The performance of the Indian army in the Second World War
3. Question of loyalty? The Indian National Army and the Royal Indian Navy mutiny
4. The Indian Army in French Indo-China and the Netherlands East Indies 1945–6
5. 1946, the year of difficulty: internal security and the rise of communal violence
6. Demobilisation, nationalisation and division of the army in the midst of chaos
7. 1947: the year of reckoning and the end of the Raj
Conclusion: the end of the British Indian Army
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Military history [HBW], Asian history [HBJF], History [HB]