Keeping the Jewel in the Crown: The British Betrayl of India

by Walter Reid

Overview

An in-depth look at what truly happened when the Great Britain gave India its independence, from the author of Five Days from Defeat.
 
When India became independent in 1947, the general view, which has prevailed until now, is that Britain had been steadily working for an amicable transfer of power for decades. In this book, Walter Reid argues that nothing could be further from the truth. With reference to a vast amount of documentary material, from private letters to public records and state papers, Reid shows how Britain held back political progress in India for as long as possible—a policy which led to unimaginable chaos and suffering when independence was granted, and which created a legacy of hatred and distrust that continues to this day.
 
Praise for Keeping the Jewel in the Crown
 
“A fascinating, robust and provocative version of the sunset of the Raj.” —Lawrence James, author of Raj: The Making and Unmaking of British India
 
“A thorough and hard-hitting account . . . presented with clarity and sobriety.” —BBC History Magazine (UK)
 
“An excellent and original work . . . A meticulously researched, pioneering study that will appeal to many in both countries.” —The Open (India)
 
“It is a rare book that will alter the way you look at one of history’s pivotal events and one of its greatest tragedies, but this is one of them.” —Matt Rubin, Washington Times

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780857909008
Publisher:	Birlinn, Limited
Publication date:	03/23/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	619,976
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Walter Reid studied at the universities of Oxford and Edinburgh. He has written a number of acclaimed books of military and political history, including Churchill: Under Friendly Fire and Empire of Sand How Britain Made the Middle East.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations viii

Acknowledgements ix

Maps xi

Principal Events xiv

Political Framework xv

1 Introduction 1

The End of Empire 1

The Argument 3

2 The Back story 8

The Reasons for Empire 9

The Indian Background 10

The Cultural Divide 15

3 The Morley-Minto Reforms 18

4 The Impact of the First World War 22

5 The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms 26

India after the War 26

Montagu 27

Chelmsford 30

Montagu-Chelmsford 30

The Thinking behind the Reforms 31

The Reaction in India 32

The Reaction in Britain 34

6 Gandhi 35

7 Amritsar 38

8 Rufus Isaacs, First Marquess of Reading 44

9 British Politics between the Wars 47

10 Lord Irwin 52

11 F.E. Smith and the Simon Commission 57

12 Empire, Dominions and Commonwealth 61

Birth of Dominion 61

How Independent Were the Dominions? 62

Commonwealth: the End of Empire? 65

13 The Irwin Declaration 67

14 Simon and Irwin Collide: the Political Reaction 75

15 Reaction to the Declaration in India 80

16 The Gandhi-Irwin Pact 83

17 The Round-table Conferences 88

18 Willingdon 93

19 Confusion within the Conservative Party 95

Baldwin and the St George's Election 95

Pressure Groups 97

20 Looking Behind Churchill's Words 100

21 The Background to the India Bill: Civil War in the Conservative Party 105

22 Churchill and the Privileges Committee 110

23 The Legislation 113

24 After the Act 118

25 Rab Butler 121

26 Linlithgow: A New Viceroy for the New Act 123

27 Indian Politics 128

28 Policy and the War 131

29 Amery 135

30 Military Developments 140

31 Stafford Cripps 145

Mission One (1939) 146

Moscow (1940-42) 149

32 Preparation for the Mission of 1942 151

33 Cripps in India 160

Deadlock 162

American Influence 164

34 Failure of the Mission 168

35 Quit India 172

36 Government Policy Post-Cripps 175

37 Wavell 178

38 Wavell as Viceroy 185

39 The Simla Conference 192

40 A New World 195

Collapse of Morale 196

The Red Peril 198

Official Thinking after the Second World War 199

41 India in 1945 204

42 The Cabinet Mission 210

43 After the Failure of the Mission 217

Wavell under Attlee 218

44 The Last Viceroy 222

45 Mouatbatten's Instructions 227

46 The View from Whitehall 232

47 The Princely States 235

48 The Final Plan 239

49 Commonwealth and Independence 243

50 Endgame 247

Drawing Lines on the Map 247

Last Days 249

After the Awards 252

51 Conclusion 255

Notes 259

Index 273

Editorial Reviews

Reid's book makes for absorbing reading. He has the capacity to make his characters come out alive with all their human frailties. We are constantly reminded that imperialism, despite being such an awesome phenomenon, has had after all to operate through human agencies'

New Delhi Outlook

It is a rare book that will alter the way you look at one of history’s pivotal events and one of its greatest tragedies, but this is one of them'

Washington Times - Matt Rubin

Given the author, Walter Reid is a hugely admired and respected writer on military and political history whose research is incredibly impressive, his viewpoint should not be ignored. Keeping the Jewel in the Crown is an incredibly readable work of non-fiction that deserves to be read'

LoveReading.co.uk

an excellent and original work ... a meticulously researched, pioneering study that will appeal to many in both countries'

The Open (India)

a thorough and hard-hitting account ... presented with clarity and sobriety'

BBC History Magazine