Zubrzycki, John – The Bell Bookshop

Dethroned

Emma — Thu, 29 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This is a saga of intrigue, brinkmanship and broken promises, wrought by Mountbatten and two of independent India’s founding fathers: the country’s most senior civil servant, V.P. Menon, and Congress strongman Vallabhbhai Patel. What India’s architects described as a ‘bloodless revolution’ was anything but, as violence engulfed Kashmir and Indian troops crushed Hyderabad’s dreams of independence.

Most princes accepted the inevitable, exchanging their power for guarantees of privileges and titles in perpetuity. But these dynasties were still led to extinction-not by the sword, but by political expediency-leaving them with little more than fading memories of a glorified past.

Dethroned

Emma — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The dramatic true story of the betrayal of hundreds of Indian princely states by both the departing British and the new Congress government. In July 1947, India’s last Viceroy, Lord Louis Mountbatten, stood before New Delhi’s Chamber of Princes to deliver the most important speech of his career. He had just three weeks to convince over 550 sovereign princely states-some tiny, some the size of Britain-to become part of a free India. Once Britain’s most faithful allies, the princes could choose between joining India or Pakistan, or declaring independence. This is a saga of intrigue, brinkmanship and broken promises, wrought by Mountbatten and two of independent India’s founding fathers: the country’s most senior civil servant, V.P. Menon, and Congress strongman Vallabhbhai Patel. What India’s architects described as a ‘bloodless revolution’ was anything but, as violence engulfed Kashmir and Indian troops crushed Hyderabad’s dreams of independence. Most princes accepted the inevitable, exchanging their power for guarantees of privileges and titles in perpetuity. But these dynasties were still led to extinction-not by the sword, but by political expediency-leaving them with little more than fading memories of a glorified past.

The shortest history of India

Emma — Tue, 07 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

From the tantalising traces of ancient Harappan civilisation to today's emerging superpower, here is India's story, expertly condensed and brimming with colour. John Zubrzycki transforms five millennia of gods and kings, conquerors and colonisers into an epic tale, teeming with personalities both legendary and largely unknown outside India. Gautama Buddha, Alexander the Great and Gandhi share the stage with Nizam Saqqa, the slave made king for a day, and Raziyya, the first Muslim woman to rule the subcontinent. The later chapters reveal a modern India riven by contrasts: the brutal reality of partition and the fantasies of Bollywood, the call centres and the expanding slums. Five thousand years of history are no guarantee of the future, and as he concludes his story, Zubrzycki asks whether internal challenges could thwart India's rise to dominance.