http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05b5fdg

It’s a welcome change for the BBC to focus on the partition of India. For too long the only history we get is the Tudors, WW1 and WW2.   Almost ignored  are the Industrial Revolution and  the Empire which created the world  in which we  live  and  has determined the multi-cultural nature of the UK post WW2 .  It’s a myth that we shed our empire gracefully.  Our communities will understand each other better if the truth is acknowledged.  The Partition of India  led to the biggest migration in history  and indescribable suffering . It could have been avoided  After the Massacre at Amritsar  the demand for home rule and Dominion status  like Canada and Australia was loud in this country as well as in India but racism meant it didn’t happen. When we had no choice but to leave India we did it in haste. The lines of partition  of a sub-continent were drawn  in 50 days ( It takes 30 times that to  draw just 50 miles of road or rail in the UK today) We brought forward  the date of Independence and left in haste  leaving the just formed governments of  India and Pakistan to deal with the mess. Shameful!  This country has a lot to be proud of but not admitting our mistakes is not one of them .

For my second novel my focus is on early Indian history and  pre-Millennium Oxford and India . I’ve finished the 5th re-write and working on edits and minor changes.  Its lighter than Brushstrokes in Time and  has a lot of humour but is not a whitewash of Britain or India both of which I love.

Part of my husband’s family’s story of pre Partition and  in the process of Partition is in this feature I wrote for the Madras Courier.

http://madrascourier.com/opinion/can-india-and-pakistan-overcome-partition/