Download or read book Keeping the Jewel in the Crown written by Walter Reid and published by Birlinn Ltd. This book was released on 2016-05-19 with total page 459 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1947, when India achieved independence, Britain portrayed the transfer of power as the outcome of decades, even centuries, of responsible planning – the honourable discharge of an historic responsibility. That view has never been seriously challenged in Britain. But this book shows that the official narrative is a travesty of what really happened. Drawing on the documentary evidence – letters, diaries, state papers – Walter Reid reveals how Britain selfishly deceived and prevaricated in order to arrest political progress in India for as long as possible – a shameful passage in British imperial policy which led to tragedy and untold suffering when independence finally became inevitable.