Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia @JLFInternational

Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago

Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia
Sam Dalrymple introduced by Manu S. Pillai

Historian, author, and filmmaker Sam Dalrymple delves into his acclaimed debut, Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia, a sweeping narrative of how the once-unified Indian Empire splintered into twelve modern nations. Drawing on rare archives, untranslated memoirs, and interviews across multiple languages, Dalrymple excavates five key partitions that reshaped the political, cultural, and emotional geography of the region. From boardroom deals and battlefield lines to personal stories of loss, resistance, and reinvention, the session reflects on how borders are drawn and the human cost they carry.

Sam Dalrymple is a Scottish historian, writer, filmmaker, and co-founder of the partition peace-building Project Dastaan. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the New Yorker, and TIME. His debut book, Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia, is published by William Collins.

Manu S. Pillai is an Indian historian and the author of five books, most recently Gods, Guns & Missionaries: The Making of the Modern Hindu Identity. A newspaper columnist and an award winning writer, Manu holds a PhD in history from King's College London.

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