ABSTRACT

Contemporary political developments, in the Indian subcontinent as elsewhere, can only be fully appreciated in their historical context. Whether it is the case of the predominance of the army in Pakistan politics, or the periodical outbreaks of communal rioting in some north Indian towns and cities, understanding requires an assessment of the inheritances from the colonial era. These encompass not only the ideas and institutions the British bequeathed, but the legacies arising from the nationalist struggle and from the 1947 division of the subcontinent.These three legacies form the focus of this article.We will turn first to the colonial inheritance.