World History
Teaching Indian independence? Here's an excellent review of a new book about the parition of India by William Dalrymple for the New Yorker.
Most of us learn that the British left India and that the country split into two parts--the Hindu majority in India and the Muslim majority in Pakistan.
But few of us understand the bloody legacy of that paritition, which is the subject of a new book by Nisid Hajari called Midnight's Furies: The Deadly Legacy of India's Partition.
Did you know, for example?
- History Of India
History of India. This is a good summary overview to the history of the Asian nation of India. From the site: The people of India have had a continuous civilization since 2500 B.C., when the inhabitants of the Indus River valley developed an urban culture...
- History Of Bangladesh
History of Bangladesh. This essay presents the history of Bangladesh in a short and readable format. From the site: Bengal was absorbed into the Mughul Empire in the 16th century, and Dhaka, the seat of a nawab (the representative of the emperor),...
- Teaching About India
Teaching about India. This essay has ideas for teaching about India. This includes dealing with the history of India. From the site: India, a significant area of Asia in the past, is a very important part of today's world. Therefore, the peoples...
- Indian Influence In Afro-eurasia
William Dalrymple, the Indian historian and travel writer, wrote a fascinating review of two new books about exhibitions of Buddhist art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2013 and 2014. Dalrymple argues that between 400 and 1200 Indian culture and...
- East India Company: Qatar Digital Archives
Studying exploration? Here's a great summary of the East India Company. Want to learn about slavery in Arabia in the 19th century? Here are documents that outline the slavery that the British encountered. And its different from the slavery the...
World History
The Bloody Legacy of Indian Partition: New Book
Most of us learn that the British left India and that the country split into two parts--the Hindu majority in India and the Muslim majority in Pakistan.
But few of us understand the bloody legacy of that paritition, which is the subject of a new book by Nisid Hajari called Midnight's Furies: The Deadly Legacy of India's Partition.
Did you know, for example?
- The partition represented one of the greatest human migrations in history
- Millions of Muslims migrated to West and East Pakistan while millions of Hindus & Sikhs headed in the opposite direction
- Sectarian violence broke out and atrocities were committed on a scale not seen since the Holocaust--"a mutual genocide as unexpected as it was unprecedented," writes Hajari.
- In addition, "some British soldiers and journalists who had witnessed the Nazi death camps claimed Partition?s brutalities were worse: pregnant women had their breasts cut off and babies hacked out of their bellies; infants were found literally roasted on spits.?
- More than 15 million people uprooted, 2 milllion killed
- The Islamic conquest of the 11th century blended Muslim and Hindu cultures "along with hybrid languages?notably Deccani and Urdu?which mixed the Sanskrit-derived vernaculars of India with Turkish, Persian, and Arabic words."
- This cultural mixing lasted well into 19th century but the British ended it, according to one historian, ?the British started to define ?communities? based on religious identity and attach political representation to them, many Indians stopped accepting the diversity of their own thoughts and began to ask themselves in which of the boxes they belonged."
Below, you can listen to Hajari's interview with NPR's Fresh Air.
- History Of India
History of India. This is a good summary overview to the history of the Asian nation of India. From the site: The people of India have had a continuous civilization since 2500 B.C., when the inhabitants of the Indus River valley developed an urban culture...
- History Of Bangladesh
History of Bangladesh. This essay presents the history of Bangladesh in a short and readable format. From the site: Bengal was absorbed into the Mughul Empire in the 16th century, and Dhaka, the seat of a nawab (the representative of the emperor),...
- Teaching About India
Teaching about India. This essay has ideas for teaching about India. This includes dealing with the history of India. From the site: India, a significant area of Asia in the past, is a very important part of today's world. Therefore, the peoples...
- Indian Influence In Afro-eurasia
William Dalrymple, the Indian historian and travel writer, wrote a fascinating review of two new books about exhibitions of Buddhist art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2013 and 2014. Dalrymple argues that between 400 and 1200 Indian culture and...
- East India Company: Qatar Digital Archives
Studying exploration? Here's a great summary of the East India Company. Want to learn about slavery in Arabia in the 19th century? Here are documents that outline the slavery that the British encountered. And its different from the slavery the...