John Keay

An epic narrative history that compares and contrasts the fortunes of all the countries that make up South Asia. If British India had not been partitioned in 1947, its population would today be the world's largest. At c1.5 billion, Midnight's Descendants (the offspring of those affected by 'the midnight hour' Partition) already outnumber Europeans and Chinese; and they are growing faster than either. They comprise all the peoples of what is now called 'South Asia' (the preferred term for the partitioned subcontinent of modern India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, plus Nepal and Sri Lanka). 'Midnight's Descendants' is the first history of the region as a whole. Correlating and contrasting the fortunes of all the constituent nations over the last six decades affords unique insights into what is hailed as one of the world's most dynamic regions. John Keay is an expert on the region and the book will be the first account to incorporate the rich story of South Asia's transnational, or 'diasporic', peoples - from the overlooked narratives of the subcontinent to the rise of India as a global force, 'Midnight's Descendants' will be expansive and tumultuous in the great tradition of India's narrative epics.

The most authoritative and highly regarded single-volume history of India - from ancient time to the modern day. Five millennia of the sub-continent's social, economic, political and cultural history are interpreted by one of our finest writers on India and the Far East. India's history begins with a highly advanced urban civilisation in the Indus valley, regressing to a tribal and pastoral nomadism, and then evolving into a uniquely stratified society. The pattern of inward invasion plus outward migration was established early: from Alexander the Great via the march of Islam and the great Moghuls to the coming of the East India Company and the establishment of the British Raj. Older, richer and more distinctive than almost any other, India's culture furnishes all that the historian could wish for in the way of continuity and diversity. The peoples of the Indian subcontinent, while sharing a common history and culture, are not now, and never have been, a single unitary state; the book accommodates Pakistan and Bangladesh, as well as other embryonic nation states like the Sikh Punjab, Muslim Kashmir and Assam. In this brilliant new edition, John Keay continues the narrative of India's history - covering events from partition to the present day and examining the very different fortunes of the three successor states: Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Republic of India. Based on the latest research, this is an indispensible history of a country set to be a definitive influence on the future of world economics, politics and culture.