Winston Churchill was closely connected with India from 1896, when he landed in Bombay with his regiment, until 1947, when Independence was finally achieved. No other British statesman had such a long association with the subcontinent―or interfered in its politics so consistently and harmfully.
Churchill strove to sabotage any moves towards Independence, crippling the Government of India Act over five years of dogged opposition to its passage in the 1930s. As prime minister during the Second World War, Churchill frustrated the freedom struggle from behind the scenes, delaying Independence by a decade. To this day for Indians, he is the imperialist villain, held personally responsible for the Bengal Famine of 1943.
This book reveals Churchill at his worst: cruel, obstructive and selfish. However, the same man was outstandingly liberal at the Colonial Office, risking his career with his generosity to the Boers, the Irish and the Middle East.
Why was he so strangely hostile towards India?
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PRAISE FOR THE BOOK
History writing at its best. A fascinating and important story, beautifully, clearly and fairly told. An excellent read.
Oliver Everett, CVO, Librarian Emeritus, Royal Library, Windsor Castle; and First Secretary, UK High Commission, New Delhi, 1969-73
Judicious, elegantly argued and a joy to read, ‘Fighting Retreat’ addresses the thorny questions of why Churchill took such a jaundiced view of India and whether his obduracy over Indian independence fed the rancour that led to Partition. As the author of seminal works on both India and Churchill, Walter Reid is well placed to supply the answers. He does so with elan and conviction. This is an important and immensely rewarding account of a hitherto puzzling conundrum.
John Keay, author of India: A History of India, The Honourable Company: A History of the English East India Company etc
In this day and age, Churchill remains a controversial figure: he is seen as a great patriot in Britain but nothing less than an archetypical imperialist villain in India. Reid has put his hands into a wasp’s nest to examine Churchill’s attitude towards India. To his credit, he has come up with a fair and warts-and-all account that explains Churchill’s attitude, even while it does not excuse it.
Manoj Joshi, Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi
Walter Reid pulls no punches in this troubling book, and the attentive reader will have much to reconsider.
John Hussey, OBE, Winner of the Templer Medal Prize for Waterloo: The Campaign of 1815
Reid’s account and assessment is critical and impartial. The real Winston Churchill emerges with blemishes and strengths but not a friend of India.
General T S Shergill PVSM
The official release date for the book is 20th November, informed Peter Modoli, Associate Vice President, Marketing & Publicity, Penguin Random House India
About The Author
WALTER REID is a historian educated at the universities of Oxford and Edinburgh, a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the author of a number of acclaimed books on British politics and history, including Keeping the Jewel in the Crown: The British Betrayal of India and most recently Neville Chamberlain: The Passionate Radical. He raises sheep and cattle in Scotland and grows olives in France. He is married to Janet Reid, a journalist, and has two adult daughters.
