Self-determination
In 1947, India gained independence from the British Empire. The empire was in decline but adapted to these circumstances by creating the British Commonwealth—since 1949 the Commonwealth of Nations—which is a free association of equal states. As India obtained its independence, multiple ethnic conflicts emerged in relation to the formation of a statehood during the Partition of India which resulted in Islamic Pakistan and Secular India. Before the advent of the British, no empire based in mainland India had controlled any part of what now makes up the country's Northeast, part of the reason for the ongoing insurgency in Northeast India. In 1971 Bangladesh obtained independence from Pakistan.
India After Gandhi
India after Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy is a book by Indian historian Ramachandra Guha, published by HarperCollins in August 2007. A history of the Indian nation after it gained independence from the British Empire on 15 August 1947, "India after Gandhi" was chosen Book of the Year by "The Economist", "The Wall Street Journal" and "Outlook", among others. The book won the 2011 Sahitya Akademi Award for English.