Unmaking of Pakistan by Anil Athale

The central figure of this work of fiction is the late Indian leader, Subash Chandra Bose. Over fifty years ago, one of the enduring human tragedies occurred when the Indian sub-continent was divided on religious lines. Nearly one and half million innocent people lost their lives during that partition. Even till today, one fifth of humanity, living in south Asia, continues to pay the price of that division. The book is set in a historical framework that covers the period 18 August 1945 to 30 November 1948. This historical framework is based on facts, and many of the players that move within this frame are real world figures. The forces at play in India and on the international stage during that period have not been invented. This gives the fictional story the effect of verisimilitude. But many conclusions and characters have been invented and their dialogue is often pure fiction. The book attempts to answer two historical questions, which no Indian or British historian has yet attempted to explain satisfactorily. The first question is: why did Lord Wavell, the Viceroy, on 11 June 1945, abruptly call off the Simla talks when all the political parties favoured the creation of a united India? The second question arises from the British Cabinet