b" ' India is a macrocosm, and may be the world's default setting for the future.' \n\n The independence of India was a time of hope and uncertainty in equal measure.\nIt was also a time of accelerated history, when every decisionwhether\nconsidered or arbitraryhad a lasting effect on its vast and diverse populace.\nIn the decades since, India has evolved into a globally prominent nation of\nenormous promise and achievement, great contradictions and conflict. In this\nlandmark book, Patrick French, author of the acclaimed bestseller Liberty or\nDeath: India's Journey to Independence and Division , chronicles the epic\nchange. \n\n With his superb sense "