Inheritance of Empire: Britain, India, and the Balance of Power in Asia, 1938-55

This book considers the forces that shaped India's postwar position as a major power. It examines the growth and development of India's defense infrastructure from the eve of the Second World War in 1938 through the transfer of power and partition in 1947 to the creation of the Baghdad Pact in 1955. The study shows how the British invested in the expansion of India's defense infrastructure during the Second World War in order to defend their imperial interests east of Suez. It also examines the effects of partition and de jure independence on India's access to this infrastructure. Finally, it analyzes the impact that India's possession of this infrastructure had on three developments of major importance to postwar geopolitics: India's leadership of newly independent former colonies, the decline of the British empire east of Suez, and the origins of the Cold War in Asia.

Table of Contents:
Charts Abbreviations Acknowledgments Independence and Defense The Arsenal Of Empire, 1938-45 The Indian Arsenal, the British Empire, and the Western Alliance India and Imperial Defense before the Second World War The Imperial Arsenal The Western Alliance's Eastern Arsenal The Alienation of India The Nationalist Movement The Military The Business Community India's Potential for Power The Limits of Expansion Defense Production Supporting Industries The Transfer of Military Power, 1945-49 Indian Unity and the Commonwealth Alliance Anachronisms in British Defense Planning Partition and Commonwealth Defense The Partition of India's Defense Resources The Problem of Partition The Collapse of Indian Military Unity Britain and the Origins of the South Asian Arms Race Communal Violence and the Kashmir Conflict The Indo-British Sterling Imbalance The South Asian Military Imbalance The First Phase of the South Asian Arms Race India's Nuclear Resources and the Status of Travancore Travancore's Nuclear Resources and Indian Unity India's Nuclear Program and the Cold War Alternatives for British Strategy in the East India's Withdrawal from Commonwealth Defense The Search for Alternatives The Decline of British Military Power East of Suez The Third Power in Asia, 1949-55 India as a Third Force India's Defense Priorities Priorities Competing with Defense Production High-Technology Defense Industries The New Indo-British Relationship The United States' Role in the Indo-British Relationship The Korean War and the Indo-British Arms Trade The Cold Wars in South Asia India and the United States-Pakistan Alliance Britain's Role in Indian Defense Production during the 1950s Alternatives to British Armaments The New Indo-British Arms Trade The New Balance of Power in Asia Appendices Principal Indian Munitions Factories Railway Workshops Comparable Strengths of Armed Forces of India and Pakistan, 1958 Bibliography