Anyone who has an interest in the partition of South Asia in 1947 and the amazing consequences must read this book. The Independent comments: “This absorbing, important history of South Asia over the six decades since British India was partitioned is the first time a book has been written on the history of this region as a whole.” Moreover practically every page has a surprising fact or an unexpected angle. India alone has the 2nd largest population in the world, the 11th largest economy, rapid growth, huge income inequality (about 30% of people live below the Poverty Line – more than the whole population of the USA) John Keay leads us, rather optimistically, to consider the future of this fast-moving, dysfunctional and sometimes volatile region.