Five partitions that shaped South Asia
HistoryExtra podcast
11/07/25
•36m
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If you were to look down at South Asia from space at night, you would see a bright scar stretching more than 2,000 miles. This is the border between India and Pakistan – a division established within living memory. Speaking with Danny Bird, Sam Dalrymple explains how, in just a few decades, the British Raj shattered along five partitions, from Burma’s separation in 1937 to the birth of Bangladesh in 1971, and uncovers stories of migration, memory and resilience that continue to echo through South Asia today.
(Ad) Sam Dalrymple is the author of //Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia// (William Collins, 2025). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shattered-Lands-Partitions-India-1937-71/dp/0008466815/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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Want to know more about the Gunpowder Plot? Danny Bird has curated a selection of essential reading from the HistoryExtra and BBC History Magazine archive to help you explore the religious tensions, political intrigue and lasting impact of this infamous act of treason: https://bit.ly/3WDunPw.
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(Ad) John Cooper is the author of The Lost Chapel of Westminster: How a Royal Chapel Became the House of Commons (Apollo, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Chapel-Westminster-John-Cooper/dp/1801104514#:~:text=debate....-,John%20Cooper's%20The%20Lost%20Chapel%20of%20Westminster%20is%20a%20meticulously,beating%20heart%20of%20parliamentary%20debate/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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