Borders and Conflict in South Asia: The Radcliffe Boundary Commission and the Partition of Punjab (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780719091360)

Borders and conflict in South Asia: The Radcliffe boundary commission and the partition of Punjab is the first full-length study of the 1947 drawing of the Indo-Pakistani boundary in Punjab. Using the Radcliffe commission as a window onto the decolonization and independence of India and Pakistan, and examining the competing interests, both internal and international, that influenced the actions of the various major players, it highlights British efforts to maintain a grip on India even as the decolonization process spun out of control. It also demonstrates that it was not the location of the line but flaws in the larger partition process that caused the mass violence and chaos of 1947. Drawing on extensive archival research in India, Pakistan, and Britain, combined with innovative use of cartographic sources, the book paints a vivid picture of both the partition process and the Radcliffe line's impact on Punjab.

This book will be vital reading for scholars and students of colonialism, decolonization, partition, and borderlands studies, while providing anyone interested in South Asia's independence with a highly readable account of one of its most controversial episodes.

Author: Lucy Chester
ISBN-10: 0719091365
ISBN-13: 9780719091360
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Language: English
Published: 11/30/2013
Pages: 252
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.78lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.52d