India and Pakistan

This first volume in the series looks at a region that is all too often viewed through the prism of European experience: India and Pakistan. Ian Talbot provides a wide-ranging study of nationalism in a non-European context, showing how the 'invention' of modern India and Pakistan drew heavily for inspiration on indigenous values.

Analyzing both the effects of colonial rule and the post-colonial aftermath, the book is a readable and up-to-date introduction to the major issues in the contemporary history of the sub-continent and an examination of a recent trend in historical writing to emphasize the extent to which nations are made, not born. The book explores whether the forging of the nation is a matter of conscious manipulation by an elite or guided by more popular imperatives or a combination of the two.

“A thoughtful and up-to-date account that will be of great value to all those interested in the history of nationalism in South Asia.” —English Historical Review

“A pithy commentary on the formation of modern national identities in the subcontinent.” —Commonwealth and Comparative Politics