The book provides a detailed account of the last year of the
British Raj; the reactions of
princely states towards independence, including descriptions of the colourful and extravagant lifestyles of the Indian princes; the
partition of British India (into
India and
Pakistan) on religious grounds; and the bloodshed that followed. There is a description of
Shimla, the British
summertime capital in the
Himalayas, and how supplies were carried up steep mountains by porters each year. Also covered in detail are the events leading to the
assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, as well as the life and motives of
Jawaharlal Nehru and
Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Regarding partition, the book—providing maps of
Punjab,
Bengal, and
Kashmir—relates that the crucial maps setting the
boundary separating India and Pakistan were drawn that year by
Cyril Radcliffe, who had not visited India before being appointed as the chairman of the
Boundary Commission. The book depicts the fury of both
Hindus and
Muslims, misled by their communal leaders, during the partition; and the biggest
mass slaughter in the history of India, as millions of people were uprooted by the partition and tried to migrate by
train, oxcart, and on foot to new places designated for their particular religious group. Many migrants fell victim to bandits and religious extremists of both dominant religions. One incident quoted describes a canal in
Lahore that ran with blood and floating bodies. The book is told casually, similar to the authors' previous works,
Is Paris Burning? and
O Jerusalem!. ==Background==