The Aeroplane and the Making of Modern India

The book "The Aeroplane and the Making of Modern India" explores how aircraft played a crucial role in India's journey from a British colony to an independent republic, serving both civil and military purposes. It highlights how other South Asian countries also invested in aviation to bolster their power and legitimacy.

Format: Hardback
Length: 306 pages
Publication date: 06 March 2023
Publisher: Oxford University Press

From the crowded airports filled with refugees seeking to escape the violence of Partition to the rugged battlefields of Kashmir, aircraft became an indispensable tool in the newly independent India's arsenal. The aeroplane played a modest yet crucial role in India's journey from a British colony to a sovereign republic. By examining aviation, both civil and military, The Aeroplane and the Making of Modern India offers a comprehensive account of India's transformation from the Second World War to the nationalization of Indian airline companies in 1953. For independent India, the aeroplane represented not only a potent instrument of state power but also a symbol of modernity. This significance was not lost on other contenders for sovereignty in South Asia. Both Pakistan and the Indian princes also invested heavily in aviation, hoping to enhance their influence and legitimacy in the region. Drawing upon a wealth of archives, untapped personal collections, and newspaper reports from India and the United Kingdom, Aashique Iqbal presents the first comprehensive history of the Indian state's engagement with aviation. This book features a diverse cast of characters, including Indian maharajas, Polish pilots, American entrepreneurs, Australian adventurers, and British Air Force officers, who together contributed to the story of how the aeroplane shaped the modern India.

Weight: 516g
Dimension: 222 x 147 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780192864208