565: The Dramatic Story of Unifying India by Mallika Ravikumar covers a chapter in India’s Independence that is missing from most of our history textbooks. This is a story from a time when ‘Independent India was yet to be born. And already, every day, she was dying a thousand deaths.’ The transition from British India to Independent India involved a crucial step: forging together a patchwork of territories, the Princely States, all armed with a powerful weapon—choice. The choice to accede to India, join Pakistan, or remain independent.
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